{From a letter for the Nebeker Family Organization in association with the 2000 Nebeker Reunion}

August 13, 2000

Hello Cousins!

Summer is going by fast isn’t it?  Is sure was a pleasure to see all of you at the reunion this summer.  Enclose are the pedigrees of George Nebeker and Susannah Meredith. There are a few additions to the pedigrees that you may or may not have.  Most of the information is on the Ancestral File at the Family History Library, but not all of it.

The Nebeker line extending beyond Hans Nebeker of Delaware is new.  We discussed at the reunion the possibility that Hans Nebeker of Delaware is the same person as Johannes Nebiker of Eptingen Switzerland.  Just to recap why we believe this is the case:

1.The spelling of the name Nebeker is America matches closely to how it is spelled in Switzerland.  Hans of Delaware spelled his name as Nebucar. This spelling is also found in the records of Switzerland.  Hans’ great uncle Martin left Switzerland in 1679 and went into Germany, and he spelled his name this way.  Also, the spelling has been found in American as Nebiker as well.

2.The dates match between Hans of Delaware and Johannes of Eptingen.  Johannes born in 1727 in Eptingen would be 28 years old when he married in Delaware in 1755.  Years ago Lewis Nebeker of Idaho had us connected to a Johannes of Switzerland that was about 55 years old when he married in Delaware. The dates seemed really out of place. So this is another indication that we have the right line.

3.Johannes of Eptingen, Switzerland had a number of relatives that left Switzerland and came to America. His sister came in 1749 (this is proven) and possibly his grandparents, aunts and uncles on his mother’s side came as well (not proven, but will be—I’m confident).  His mother, Margaretha Spitler was born in Bennwill, Switzerland about 1695. She died shortly after the birth of Johannes in about 1728.  There is a family of Spitlers (Hans Spitler, the father) in Bennwill, Switzerland that came to America in 1749. The dates match up very closely for Margaretha to be a member of this family. 

4.Lukas Nebeker of Delaware kept a journal in the 1850s where he recorded that the name of his grandmother was Maria Sitler.  Actually the grandmother of Lukas was Maria Stilley, not Sitler. The similarity between Sitler and Spitler are very close.  We believe that Lukas was recording the surname of his great grandmother instead of his grandmother. 

There are a few other lines that have been found recently and added to the pedigree.

1.Sinnick Broer chart No. 7 came from Finland.  This is new as of a few years ago.  Some members of the family have this information though.

2.Luloffe Stidden chart 10 came from the Netherlands.  There is a Web site also called Timen Steddem if you are a Web surfer.

3.The Meredith line has changed a little. Samuel Meredith born 1652 came from Pembrokeshire, Wales with two brothers Luff and Job in 1670 and settled first in Bucks Co., Pennsylvania.  In about 1702 they moved to Delaware.  Samuel settled in New Castle Co., Job and Luff moved farther south to Kent Co., Delaware.  Since Samuel settled in New Castle Co., we believe (not proven) that he is our ancestor.  The lack of records has made searching for this line very difficult.  This might be all that we even find on this line.

4.William Henry chart 1 (Meredith pedigree) married in 1746 in New Castle, Delaware. He is in the right place and time for being the father of Susannah. Notice also the similarity between Susannah and Hanna, the name of the mother.  This connection has not been proved yet.

5.The Bowman line has changed.  It looks like we skipped one generation between Thomas Bowman and John Bowman.  Thomas Bowman and Mary are a new addition.  Also, Henry Bowman and Mary are the ancestors of all the Bowmans in Kent Co., Delaware, and are a new addition.  It is possible that Henry is the son of William Bowman, but this has not been proven yet.

Well, that’s about it for the Meredith ancestry.  I hope this all makes sense.  If you have any questions about any of this you can call me at 801-254-4279 or E-mail: iterry@aol.com.  I have family groups for these people.  So there is still lots to do. All of this information will be added to the new book, and the Ancestral File will need to be updated.

Have a great summer!

Sincerely,

O. Ira Terry