York Co., PA Settlement

Urban quickly settled in York County, PA. He married Anna Maria BALTY/BALDY, the daughter of John and Mary Sophia BALTE, of Roxbury [Roxborough] in Philadelphia Co., PA, and started a family by 1743. Urban and his family were long time members of Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church in the City of York, York County, PA. Church records show that several of his children were baptized there from 1743 through 1760. The first to be born was Maria Christina, on 27 August 1743. Her baptism took place on 18 September 1743 at Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church. Sophia was born circa 1745 and was probably named after her grandmother, Mary Sophia BALTE. Henry was born about 1747 based upon his tombstone reading. Michael was born on 2 July 1752, and was baptized on 29 July 1752 at the same church. Phillip and Urban Jr. probably followed. John Valentine "Felda" and Maria Esther were probably next in the sibling ranks since they were both confirmed on the same date. Their ages were likely close together. Maria Esther was born on 25 September 1760 and baptized on 19 [October] 1760. Barbara was probably the youngest child appearing to be the last one left at home appearing in the 1790 census. All of Urban's children were likely born in York Co., PA and baptized at the same church.

New World Pauper or Prince

I find it hard to imagine what life must have actually been like, in 1740, for my ancestor. No matter how many sources I collect, it only amounts into a glimpse of time, a vague moment in reality. Yet, I imagine so much more... until the next piece is found, and redefines the reality around me. Will this be the challenge of my descendants after me? I don't have any records of Urban entering indentured service but I thought that this topic was very important to cover. Most ship's passengers probably couldn't afford the passage fare. This fare was equivalent to about $176.00 in today's terms. I know it doesn't seem like much today, but credit didn't exist then for the poor. Consider the journey leading up to Rotterdam and the day-to-day expenses along the way. In some instances families were broken-up and siblings never seen nor heard from again when those passage debts could not be settled. Payment was often due upon arrival at Philadelphia. Settling these debts usually meant that the person would have to agree to be an indentured servant for two to eight years.

Survival of the Fittest

We often give little thought to our past. Our lives are filled with many day-to-day tasks and challenges that routinely occupy our lives with little consequence to our well being or survival. All that is known about Urban's origin begins with his arrival. Little else is known about his life before coming to America. This part of his story leaves out, possibly, the greatest adventure of his life and one that we can only speculate upon. It is believed that many early German immigrants came from parts of south-western Germany, known today as the Rhineland Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfaltz) and Baden-Wuerttemberg. His journey may have begun here. While traveling down the Rhine River Urban may have encountered thirty to forty custom houses along the way taking some five to six weeks to travel through. This delay was often because not all of these houses were open along the way to Rotterdam, Holland. Upon arriving, he would have needed a place to stay while he waited for a ship to be ready to sail. This would have taken at least another five to six weeks. Securing his passage aboard the ship "Samuel", he may have had a short voyage of eight to fourteen days, depending on the weather, to Deal, England. The ship docked at port for up to ten days while supplies were loaded aboard and more passengers added beyond the ship's capacity. Now packed with 175 men, women, and children his ship was ready for the great Atlantic crossing. The voyage took some two to three months before arriving at Philadelphia. Some never made it; most vulnerable were children under the age of seven and the elderly. Passengers were often subject to choking stench, swarms of lice, chilling cold and dampness, hunger and thirst, and deadly diseases such as dysentery and scurvy. Of course, it is not known how long it took Urban ASCHENBRENNER to make his journey to America, nor where he actually came from.

Some ships carried up to 200-300 passengers. In Urban’s case there were 175 passengers aboard the ship “Samuel”. There were between 47 to 67 listed passengers on the ship’s lists. All of those listed were males of 16 years and older. These individuals were all required to take an “Oath of Allegiance”. When this ship docked at Philadelphia at least 11 listed men were sick, 15 more didn’t sign their own names (reasons unknown), and 1 listed death. No mention was made about the other passengers aboard. What can be understood from this is that there must have been extreme hardships endured by these passengers. The passenger lists noted illness for at least 6% of the working providers, often the strongest and healthiest members of these families, by the end of the voyage. How many more were women and children?

· Exhibits & Abstracts: [Bibliography]

1740 Passenger Ship List

Urban ASCHENBRENNER came to the America aboard the ship "Samuel". This ship set sail from Rotterdam in the Netherlands and traveled to Deal, England where more passengers and supplies were picked up before the long voyage. Departing from Deal the ship crossed the Atlantic and arrived on 3 December 1740 at Philadelphia in the Pennsylvania Colony. Most voyages to the colonies were miserable. Packed to capacity ships were often overcrowded, with no privacy and offering nothing more than polluted water, and vermin-ridden food for the passengers. Food stocks were only large enough for the longest possible voyage. Ship Masters packed ships with as much human cargo as possible to insure many new laborers for the colonies and greater profitability for England. Many would die along the voyage with their families still responsible for all their expenses. Thus was a common struggle for many a traveler in the eighteenth century. Upon arriving he immediately took his Oath of Allegiance to the British Crown. On one ship list he was listed as "Orbinos ASHENBRANDER", age 37, while two other lists had him listed as "Urban ASCHENBRENNER". There is no certainty that he traveled alone since these lists named only males sixteen years and older. He would have been born circa 1703. With the better part of his youth already behind him, Urban was faced with an unusual circumstance for a man of his age, to begin a new life in a new world and start a family. There is no evidence to support the idea that he traveled neither with a wife nor with any children. All supporting evidence indicates that he married sometime within 2-3 years of his arrival.

· Exhibits & Abstracts: [Bibliography]

Introduction

Hi! My name is Steven Ashabraner. I hope you like my family research blog. This blog will be dedicated to the genealogical research of the descendants of Urban ASCHENBRENNER. We will explore my research notes and expand on ideas of how this family may have lived. Follow along as I introduce the research that I have compiled since 1989. I welcome other researchers in unpuzzling the mysteries of this family and many others. This project will take some time to transform into a blog format so please check back regularly. I hope not to disappoint.

My relation to Urban Aschenbrenner:
> Steven C Ashabraner
>> "Private"
>>> Charles E Ashabraner + Olive M Weems
>>>> Edward T Ashabraner + Theresa G Hassenstab
>>>>> William H Ashabraner + Mary E Turner
>>>>>> Joseph Ashabraner + Elizabeth A Gullett
>>>>>>> Henry Ashabraner + Sarah Kiser
>>>>>>>> Henry Ashabraner + Barbara Kingery [?]
>>>>>>>>> Urban Aschenbrenner + Anna M Balte