THE MOSER FAMILY
The Moder River, in the summer of 1975 at least, was barely a stream winding its way through wooded slopes and peaceful villages to empty into the Rhine above Strasbourg in northwestern France. Alsace, though always this beautiful, has rarely been this calm. For centuries it has provided the justification for bloody and fanatical wars between those to the east and those to the west. In the seventeenth century it was a part of the German Palatinate and, in the cluster of villages - Wingen, Zittersheim, Kohlthal, Ingweiler, Busweiler - lived the Moser family. There are two marriage records relating to Niclaus Moser. In Wingen, on July 3rd, 1692, Nicolas Moser from Zittersheim married Anna Elizabetha Stiel from Busweiler. In Ingweiler, on November 20th, 1692, Niclaus Moser, charcoal burner from Zittersheim, and widower, married Maria Elizabetha, daughter of deceased Paul Ritter, citizen and justice man of Ingweiler. One can consider the possibility that we have here only one person, married, widowed and remarried within four months, or we can assume that there were two Niclaus Mosers, perhaps father and son. Maria Blizabetha Ritter was born April 9th, 1666, to Paul Ritter, shoemender of Ingweiler. The latter, a son of deceased Johannes Ritter the dyer, had married Anna Maria Sebastian, a daughter of Noa Sebastian, watchman in Lichtenberg, on April 15th, 1656. Apart from Maria Elizabetha, their children included Anna Catherine (born August 9th, 1669) and Hans Paul (born January 9th, 1670).
The Ingweiler records show the births of two children to Niclaus and Maria Elizabetha Moser - Hans Philipp on September 3rd, 1693, and Anna Barbara on January 13th, 1701. The Wingen records show the birth of Johan Pauly to Nicolaus and Maria Elizabetha Moser from "Spekthal" on March 31st, 1697. The sponsors were all from Ingweiler. We believe that these are the same parents as those in the above Ingweiler records. A later record at Wingen shows the birth of Maria Elizabetha to Paul Moser, worker at the Wingen glass factory, and wife Catherina Barbara on November 19th, 1723. There is no further mention of this family in records checked to 1735.
JOHAN PAUL MOSER FAMILY
The records of the Oley "Hill" Lutheran Church in Pike Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, state that Johan Paul Moser was born March 29th, 1697, at Kohlthal near Wingen to Nicholas and Maria Elizabetha Moser. He married, in 1723, Maria Barbara Cassel, who was born May Ist, 1702, to Wilhelm and Maria Catherina Cassel of Zittersheim. The children of J. Paul and Maria Barbara Moser are given as Maria Elizabetha, born November 1724, Franciskus, born 14 days before St. John's Day 1733 (i.e. June 10th), Maria Christina, born April 19, 1740, and Johan Michael, born July 9th, 1743, and died July 27th, 1754. It is further stated that the family came to America in 1729. There is no record of Paul Moser arriving in that year, although a Hans Moser arrived on the "Molley" in 1727, a Paulus arrived on the "Adventurer" in 1732, and a Paul on the "Robert and Alice" in 1738. Before becoming a member of the Hill church, Paul Moser attended the New Hanover Lutheran church, where his presence has confused him with another Paul Moser. The only mention at New Hanover are the confirmations of Franz, aged 16, in 1750, and Christina, aged 13, in 1753. On June 30th, 1747, John Paul Moser was granted a warrant to one hundred acres on the Manatawney Creek in what was to become District Township in the newly erected county of Berks in 1752. On June 10th, 1771, J. Paul deeded this land to his son Francis. As no will was recorded we may assume that this transfer of land was probably made shortly before Paul died. The land was surveyed December 4th, 1771, at 192 acres, and a patent was issued to Francis Moser the following day.
FRANZ MOSER FAMILY
Johan Franciscus Moser was married on April 20, 1756, to Maria Elizabetha Busch, daughter of Jacob Busch, at the Hill church. Their children, as recorded in the church register, were: Catherine, born January 7th, 1757, Johannes, born October 16, 1758, J. Michael, born December 16th, 1760, J. George, born January 1, 1763, Franciscus, born March 19, 1765, Anna Elizabeth, born July 29, 1769, Magdalena, born March 8, 1771, Daniel, born August 21, 1774, Barbara, born April 5, 1779, Christina, born December 4, 1782. Franz Moser was a taxpayer in East District Township until 1781, and after that in Earl Township. It is not known when his wife died but the first census of the United States in 1790 recorded Franz as having 3 females in his household - presumably his youngest daughters. On October 24th, 1799, Franz had a deed drawn up transferring his land to his son Franz, Jr., with mention made of daughters, Barbara, Christina, Magdalena, and Catherina (deceased). As the deed was recorded December 26th, 1800, we might assume that Franz died between the two dates.
DANIEL MOSER FAMILY
Daniel Moser was married by Rev. John William Boos at the Schwarzwald Reformed church, in Exeter Township, on December 2nd, 1794. His wife was Rosina Wagner of Alsace Township, who was a daughter of Elias and Eva Wagner. Their first child, Daniel, was born July 4th, 1795, and baptised at the Hill Church on August 9th. The sponsors were Daniel and Catherine Motz. A deposition by Nancy Catherine Reed (see page 26), who claimed to be married to a grandson of Daniel Moser, states that the children of Daniel were Mary (married Abraham Shook), Catherine (married Henry Shook), Susannah (married William Reed), Annie (married Thomas Beam), Lydia (married Thomas Baillete), Henry, Daniel, and Eve (married Benjamin Wian.) Daniel settled in Beaver Township, Northumberland County, where he was an executor of the will of his father-in-law, Elias Waggoner, in 1804. In the 1810 census of that township he was listed as having a son aged 10 - 16 (which would have been 15 year old Daniel), two sons under 10 (one Henry, one died?), one daughter aged 10 - 16 (a Susannah Reed, born 1797, died August 20, 1863, and was buried in the Great Island Cemetery in Lock Haven*), and three daughters under 10. Daniel took his family to Derry Township, Mifflin County, after 1810 and was listed in the 1820 census of that township. He and his wife were over 45, with one son aged 10 - 16 (Henry), three daughters aged 10 16, and three daughters under 10 (one of whom was Eva, born January 28, 1814 and died January 4th, 1899, according to her tombstone at Pleasant Gap, Centre County). Daniel Moser died in 1821. The only record relating to his death appears in the Administration Bond Book (3, page 139) wherein bond was held to John Rothrock, William Shaw, John Schug, James Robinson on December 6th.
No further record has been found of Rosina Moser.
The 1830 census of Derry Township listed Henry Moser.
Daniel Moser, Jr., became a lutheran preacher in Centre County.
*The records of the Schwarzwald Reformed church where Daniel and Rosina were married show the birth of Susanna on April 10, 1797, to Johannes Moser. The records at the Hill church show that Daniel's brother Johannes had a daughter Susanna on April 7th, 1797. It seems, as the rest of Johannes' children were also baptised at the Hill church, that the child baptised at the Schwarzwald was another child of different parents, possibly Daniel and Rosina.
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