GUS-REEB-L Archives

From: JVRinSF <>
Subject: STROH
Date: Mon, 25 May 1998 21:15:43 EDT

In response to Nancy's post on the Strohs buried in the old Annville, Lebanon
County, Pennsylvania Reformed Cemetery. A little more detail: The cemetery is
referred to as "Annville's Oldest Cemetery." The first person to be buried
there was Anna Maria (Fischer) Stroh, wife of Johannes Stroh born 1736 in
Rimsdorf, Nassau-Saarwerden. Anna Maria Fischer, herself, was buried in a
place in Pennsylvania on the record of her death (Churchbook) as "in der Hohl"
[translation: in the Hollow]. This was merely describing the part of the
Dauphin-Lebanon County area where she was born. Her parents were from the
area in the Zweibrucken, Germany region. I do have the record but offhand,
the exact name does not come to mind.

Johnannes Stroh born 1736 in Rimsdorf, was son of Johann Jost Stroh born 1709
in Pisdorf, but his baptism recorded in the Lutheran Churchbook at
Neusaarwerden (now part of Sarre-Union, France). Neusaarwerden was the town
built by the Germans because they had had recently lost their main center of
govt., religion etc. when the town of Bockenheim was given to Lorraine. Rev.
Gustav Herrenschmidt, the godfather of Gustavus Reeb and friend and pastor for
Johann Peter Reeb in Pisdorf from 1797 until about 1710 had evidently taken
Jost Stroh's record and possibly other records to the new church in
Neusaarwerden when he was reassigned there. Jost Stroh was married to Anna
Margaretha, daughter of Nicolaus Mueller at Harskirchen and they lived at
Rimsdorf. This move to Rimsdorf can be explained: The Guth family home town
was in Rimsdorf. We the descendants of Gustavus Reeb have a reason to be
interested in the Strohs and the Guths since both families are part of our
lineage.

Jost Stroh and his brother Georg Friedrich Stroh both immigrated to Pa. in the
mid-1700s. Georg Friedrich Stroh was in debt and his goods were taken from
him in Saarbrucken when he and his family were escaping to the "Neu Land," so
his debts could be paid. The connection for the Strohs who came to the New
Land (God bless America) to the Guths was that their mother, Anna Dorothea,
wife of Johannes Stroh, was daughter of Johan Daniel Guth. Johann Daniel Guth
was brother to Anna Margaretha Guth, wife of Johann Peter Reeb, grandfather of
our Johann Peter Reeb (aka "old Peter Rape").

In her post, Nancy gave the tombstone inscriptions for some of the members of
a Daniel Stroh. This Daniel Stroh was son of Johannes Stroh and Anna Maria
Fischer. Therefore Daniel was born in Pa. Actually his record appears in the
Church Records of Hill Church in what is now Lebanon County, Pa. Lebanon Co.
Pa. came into existence in 1813 taken from a part of Dauphin County, which
itself came into existence in 1785 taken from old Lancaster County. Therefore
the location for the Stroh brothers and their famiies prior to 1785 was
Lancaster County. Then some of them became Dauphin County citizens and then
some of them became Lebanon County etc.

It is interesting that while we the descendants of Gustavus Reeb and his wife
Anna Margaretha Stroh can trace back to the Strohs through Anna Margaretha,
there is an earlier connection for us to the Stroh family. However even the
experts are not certain what that connection was. To explain: In some
entries in the old Bockenheim Churchbook, which contains the oldest records
for Lutherans in the entire Nassau-Saarwerden County, it often refers to our
Nicolaus Reeb when he was named as a witness at infants baptisms etc. as
"Niclass Reeb, genant Nickel Stroh" or similiar words. I was told by both Dr.
Gerhard Hein and Mrs. Trudy Schenk, two German born genealogists, that the
entries indicate that Niclass Reeb was possibly born out of wedlock to a Stroh
woman or for some other reason he was connected to the Stroh family. We know
that the record of his marriage in 1642 states he was son of Heinrich Reeb
deceased at Keskastel.

Since the wife of Johannes Stroh, Anna Dorothea Guth, was daughter of Daniel
Guth...brother of Anna Margaretha Guth Reeb, this would make Dorothea Guth
Stroh first cousin to Gustavus Reeb. Dorothea Guth Strohs, husband, Johannes
Stroh was son of Jacob Stroh an older brother of Johann Jost Stroh, father to
Anna Margaretha Stroh Reeb. Thus Anna Margaretha Stroh Reeb and Johannes
Stroh were first cousins. Therefore our own immigrant ancestors: Johann Peter
Reeb and his brothers who also came to Pa. Johann Michael Reeb etc. were
double second cousins to the Stroh brothers who immigrated to Pa. A third
Stroh, "Jacob" also came to Pa. on the ship, Halifax along with Gustavus Reeb
in 1754. This Jacob was first cousin to Jost and Georg Friedrich Stroh. He
was second cousin to the Reeb brothers.

Now there is the other interesting connection that even makes the descendants
of Gustavus Reeb distant cousins to some of the other REEBS who immigrated
from Keskastel or other towns in France who can trace back to Keskastel. In
the Keskastel Reeb family there were two brothers, sons of an old Heinrich
Reeb (whose relation is unknown to our Nicolaus Reeb) who continued to live in
Keskastel when Nicolaus left there and moved to Pisdorf the hometown of his
wife, Catharina Wuerth. They were by name: Johann Heinrich born 1647 and
Johann Theobald born 1653. Johann Theobald had a son named Johann Adam Reeb
born about 1681, who married a Maria Catharina Guth. This Maria Catharina
Guth was a daughter of Nicolaus Guth Jr. son of the old Nicolaus Guth.
Therefore Maria Catharina Guths father was brother to Anna Margaretha Guth
Reeb. Many of the Reebs who did come to the U.S. from France do trace back to
Johann Adam Reeb and Maria Catharina Guth. Nancy Reeb's husband is one
example. This means that yes AILEEN you and Nancy's husband are distant
cousins but not because of the Reeb blood that runs through your veins but
because of the Guth blood that does. Well....probably both, but only the Guth
connection has been discovered to date.

CONFUSION? Anyone?

John V. Reeb

This thread:

• STROH by JVRinSF <>