Measuring Up to a Master
A close examination of Elizabeth Shown Mill's Witter research
Some time ago, I posted an essay about…
John Witter might be the name of my 5th-great-grandfather, on my paternal grandmother’s side. If so, his son was Abraham Witter (1786-1882), but I haven’t been able to prove that connection.
I was reminded to take another look at the available research after I saw a comment from
:I believe this Abraham Witter 1786-1820 was the son of John Michael Weider or Witter (1746-1787). John was the son of Christofel (Christoph Widder/Witter and wife Christina Royer/Roeser. John was born in Cocalico, Twp., Lancaster Co. and his wife was Catherine Volkman.
I think the evidence below compels me to disagree with that conclusion. The facts given by Theresa appear to come from two records:
First: John Michael Widder married Catharine Voeckmann (or Volkman) in Lancaster County, PA, on 3 Nov 1757. (See Pennsylvania, Church Records - Adams, Berks, and Lancaster Counties, 1729-1881)
Second: John Michael Widder was born 1 Aug 1746 and baptized 14 Sep 1746 in Lebanon County, PA, son of Christoph Widder. (See Pennsylvania, U.S., Lutheran Baptisms and Marriages, 1730-1799)
Since it is unlikely John Michael Widder was married at age 11, I have to conclude that these records are talking about two different people. I have no other information to suggest that either of those people is the John Witter, born before 1755, whom I am seeking.
I had some theories about Abraham’s parentage based on research notes published by Elizabeth Shown Mills, but I needed to devote some time (about 12 hours last weekend) to reviewing those notes before I could be sure.
I’m still not “sure,” but I have a working theory.
Genealogists Know…
Elizabeth Shown Mills is a big deal in the field of genealogy. One of the first books recommended in any beginner course on the subject is her Evidence Explained — the Gold Standard for understanding how evidence works and how to make an argument based on the facts.
I was thrilled to discover in the winter of 2023 that Ms. Mills had published a case study of my (possible) 4th-great-uncle, Samuel Witter, on her website at HistoricPathways.com.1 The document is 52 pages and includes abstracts of most of the records cited; there is a lot to dig into, and much of the research was intended to determine whether the titular Samuel Witter was the brother of my 5th-great-grandfather, Abraham.
On pages 5 through 7 of her document, Mills sets out the reasoning and evidence assessing four men, each of whom could be the father of Samuel and/or Abraham.
Jacob Weider (Weidener)—has land records in Franklin County, PA, 1790-1794
Peter Witter (Wither)—possible son of John Witter, thus brother of Samuel & Abraham
Christoffel “Stophel” Widder (aka “Christopher” Witter, Wither)—possible brother of John Witter
Johannis Widder (aka John Witter, Witer, Wither)—this is the John Witter we are talking about
She used a variety of spellings for the name in her research, and she looked for candidates to be Samuel’s father in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Since I am looking for Abraham’s father, our research overlaps quite a bit, though I am coming to the problem with a different set of expectations and goals.
I don’t have the skills and experience of Ms. Mills, and I don’t have access to some of the land records she references, but this is a rare opportunity for me to compare my outcomes with someone who knows what she is doing!
Different Starting Points
I started with Abraham’s obituary and worked “backward” to see if I could find records to support or refute what it says. I haven’t found an original copy or scan, but Mills cites the "McConnellsburg, Penn., Fulton Republican, 2 March 1882” as the source of the text (which can be seen on Abraham’s WikiTree profile).
We don’t know who wrote the obituary, so we don’t know how reliable the facts it gives are. For example, it claims “the deceased was with the militia at Baltimore in war of 1812,” but neither Mills nor I found Abraham's military records. It also claims “He married a daughter of Daniel Pipers, of Amberson’s Valley…” which can’t be true based on the other facts we have about Abraham’s likely sister, Mary (Witter) Piper, and Daniel Piper’s family. (Mills discusses these discrepancies on page 9 of her notes.)
Abraham’s obituary and headstone appear to agree on the date of his death and give the same “age at death,” which allows us to calculate a birthday of 11 June 1786. The obituary says he was born in Frederick County, Maryland, and came to Franklin County about 1797. So, we should expect that his father’s records would fit with that timeline.
(Not) Jumping to Conclusions
I don’t want to simply repeat Mills’s research here, point by point, but I was pleased to find that I had already found several of the documents she identified, and reached the same conclusions that she did about them.
Among the records I was not able to find, Mills found evidence showing John Witter living in Tom’s Creek Hundred,2 Frederick County, Maryland, as far back as 1783. Abraham’s obituary gave Frederick County as his place of birth in 1786, I was very excited to see her land records supporting that theory.
I was less confident in my discovery of “John Withers” (could also be “Withero”) in Frederick County in the 1790 U.S. Census3. A Witherow family also lived near the Witters in Franklin County, and the information about the household doesn’t say anything that would help determine which family this is.
Abraham’s obit says, “came with his father to Franklin county when eleven years of age [1797], his father settled at Carrick Furnace, and when a young man learned the millwright trade.” Carrick Furnace was located in Metal Township.
I found two records in Ancestry’s “Pennsylvania, U.S., Septennial Census, 1779-1863” database, 18004 and 1807. These showed John Witter and several other Witters. Mills found land records for Franklin County, Pennsylvania, that name John’s wife and help explain some of the census records.
I also found this gem on Newspapers.com, from The Franklin Repository (Chambersburg, PA) dated 16 October 1804 (note that the original text used “f” to represent “s” sounds in some-but not all-cases):
Fulling & Dying
THE Subfcribers refpectfully inform their friends and the public in general, that they have commenced the above bufiness at the Fulling Mill of John Witter, in the Path Valley, three miles below Fannettfburg; where they will thankfully receive and punctually execute, all orders in the line of their profeffion. For the convenience of cuftomers living at a diftance, they have appointed fix ftages to take raw cloth and return it dreffed, once in every three weeks--viz. At Mr. M'Clelland's ftore in Strafburg, Mr. Brufler's ftore in Fannettfburg, Mr. Cridler's tavern at the Burnt Cabbins, Mr. Dixon's tavern in M'Conneilfburg, Meffrs. Adair & M'Mullan's ftore near Beam's mill, and Mr. Foreman's tavern in the Path Valley. Thofe Ladies & Gentlemen who may pleafe to leave cloth at any of the above places, will pleafe alfo to leave, ''particular written directions on the cloth'', to prevent miftakes. The fubfcribers flatter themfelves from their fuperior conveniencies & experience in profeffion, as well as puractuality to orders received, both to give general fatisfaction and merit the encouragement of the public.
The terms will be made as easy as poffible ; and favors in their line thankfully acknowledged by the
Public's humble fervents.
THOMAS SHANNON,
JOHN & JOSEPH WITTER.
Metal township, Franklin county, October 18, 1804.
Some Conclusions
With all the evidence laid out, I am reasonably comfortable accepting the premise that John Witter and his wife, Catherine, lived in Tom’s Creek Hundred, about 16 miles south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. John was born about 1755 and lived in the Toms Creek area from as early as 1783 until 1797.
The evidence we found points to John Witter being the father of Samuel and Abraham. In addition, John Witter is likely the brother of Christophel and the father of Peter (both mentioned above); not to mention that Mary (Witter) Piper is probably the sister of Samuel, Abraham, and Peter.
John moved his family to Franklin County, where he lived in Metal Township near other men named “Witter” who might or might not be related to him. In 1804, he went into business with Thomas Shannon and Joseph Witter. He last appears in the 1820 census in Metal Township. If that’s him (Ancestry transcribed the name as “Wilton” but it looks like “Witter” to me), he was probably widowed, and the other people counted in his household are likely to be relatives.
While I will probably never be qualified to be president of the American Genealogical Society, it is gratifying to see that the work I do at least somewhat harmonizes with the work of someone who did!
Mills, E.S., Historic Pathways, "Samuel Witter (1787–1876) & wife Rachel “Lizzie” Smith (1802–54) RESEARCH NOTES" 5 DECEMBER 2013, last updated 21 APRIL 2018: accessed 4 April 2025.
If you review the history of Tom’s Creek Hundred at that link, John Witter appears to have come to the area after the Revolutionary War ended.
''1790 United States Federal Census'', Place: Frederick, Maryland; Series: M637; Roll: 3; Page: 213; Family History Library Film: 0568143; Provo, UT, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
''Pennsylvania, U.S., Septennial Census, 1779-1863'' (for 1800) : accessed 30 Mar 2025; Provo, UT, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.