A Visit to New Holland The 13th Biennial Weedman National Family Gathering Uniontown & Masontown, PA June 20 22, 2008
Dear Participants Welcome Letter From the Reunion Host Group We would like to welcome you to the 13th Biennial Weedman family national gathering! Despite record high gas prices and air fares, we are having excellent participation in this year s event and your presence is highly appreciated! The theme of this year s event is A Visit to New Holland and the event is intended to take us back to where our immigrant ancestor and most his family lived from the 1760s until 1799. We will return to the land that Christian Weedman received through a grant and visit two important churches. One, Jacobs Lutheran Church, is where the family worshipped and the other, Fairview Church of the Brethern, sits on land that was originally part of New Holland. None of the original buildings are left so we will need to use our imagination on how things might have been in the 1700s. To help on this aspect, we will visit Fort Necessity, the site of the only battle defeat George Washington suffered. There we will see displays that vividly portray history for us. We will end the event with our Reunion dinner at the Uniontown Country Club. A short business session will be held in conjunction with the dinner. Again, we welcome you and should you have any problem or suggestion, feel free to discuss it with either of us. Billie Lou (Weedman) Bruce West Lafayette, IN Nick Weedman Flat Rock, NC
Schedule of Events Friday afternoon Arrival and informal mingling Friday evening about 8:00 pm Get together and discussion on how the Weedman and other families got to Fayette County. We have invited Judge Sumner Walters, a descendent of Ephriam Walters and a genealogical researcher in his own right, to discuss the very interesting history of Ephriam Walters and how Christian Weedman, Sr. very likely traveled together from Hampshire Co., VA to settle here. Saturday morning depart the hotel at 9:00 am Visit Jacobs Lutheran Church. Although the original church building no longer stands, this historic place is of great interest. Here we will visit the cemetery and see burial sites for Nicholas Riffle, Revolutionary War veteran and husband of Barbara Weedman; John and Dorothy Huhn, the parents of John Huhn (who married Catherine Weedman) and Charlotte Huhn (who married George Weedman). Visit "New Holland" the homestead of Christian Weedman and his family. They lived here from 1765 until 1799. We will show where the log home built by Christian was likely sited and see the Brethern Church that stands on ground donated by Ephriam Walters from land he bought from Christian. Saturday afternoon depart New Holland by 11:30 am Journey to Fort Necessity where we will have a picnic lunch on the grounds. Tour Fort Necessity and get an understanding of what life was like in the late 1700s. Optional side trips to one or both Frank Lloyd Wright designed homes that are near Fort Necessity. One is Falling Waters, probably the best known of the two, and the other is Kentuck Knob Saturday evening beginning at 6:30 pm with dinner at 7 pm Reunion dinner at the Uniontown Country Club. Business session to recognize new Hall of Fame inductees and selecting a host team for the 14th Biennial Reunion in 2010. Sunday morning departure at your leisure Wrap up informally and bid farewell.
2008 Weedman National Family Gathering Participant List Achtien, Chris, Melissa, Lauren, Chris II, Katy, & Evan... Fishers, IN Bruce, Jimmy & Billie Lou... West Lafayette, IN Bruce, Lauren... West Lafayette, IN Bruner, Jan...Evansville, IN Bryden, Sharon & Amanda... Springfield, IL Carty, Tom, Sara, Kendall, Lindsey, Ethan & Cameron...Spotsylvania, VA Chapline, Joe, Audrey, James & Haley...Cincinnati, OH Fox, Becky... Sandusky, OH Fox, Nick...Evansville, IN Gerold, Diane... Sandusky, OH Hall, Jack & Diane...Evansville, IN Hering, Elizabeth G.... Silver Springs, FL Honsaker, Connie... Masontown, PA Hosse, Donna... Louisville, KY Kenyon, Neil & Marilyn...French Link, IN Kimberlin, Vicki... Sandusky, OH Mitchell, Ryan... West Lafayette, IN Murray, Jeb...Evansville, IN Novak, Scot... Hopwood, PA Proctor, Judi... Sandusky, OH Sharples, Reece... Northville, MI Smith, Ed & Anne... Maplewood, NJ Smith, Meg... Maplewood, NJ Sullivan, Debbie... Sandusky, OH Tantlinger, Linda... New Geneva, PA Theiss, Gena... Louisville, KY Walters, Judge Sumner... Lima, OH Weedman, Amy...Washington, DC Weedman, Bill & Thea...Encinitas, CA Weedman, Cliff, Shirley, Hannah, & Jared... Eighty Eight, KY Weedman, George Perry & Mary L.... Silver Springs, FL Weedman, Kenneth & Sue... Corbin, KY Weedman, Nick & Merrie Carol... Flat Rock, NC Weedman, Paul...Poway, CA Weedman, Roy & Sylvia...Charlotte, NC Weedman, Russell & Deborah... Williamsburg, KY Woolsley, Sharon...Evansville, IN
Travel Directions 1) Holiday Inn to Jacobs Lutheran Church, near Masontown, PA (about 25 minutes) Turn left onto West Main Street and continue toward town going past New Salem Road. Turn right to merge onto George C. Marshall Parkway (US 119). Go ½ mile and take Exit 21 onto McClellandtown Road (PA 21). Continue 6.1 miles. At the intersection of PA 21 and Puritan Road, take a left onto Puritan Road. Continue on Puritan Road for 1.8 miles, cross Leckrone Road and continue another ¼ mile. Bear left onto Baker Hill Road and continue 0.6 miles to Jacob s Lutheran Church Road. Turn left onto Jacob s Lutheran Church Road. The church is straight ahead. Park in the Church parking lot and gather in front of the Church building. 2) Jacob s Lutheran Church to New Holland (about 10 minutes) Take Jacobs Lutheran Church Road back to Baker Hill Road and turn left. After about 350 feet, take Maclasz Road on your right. In 0.2 miles, the name of the road changes to Boy Scout Road. Continue straight for 0.9 miles. Cross Smithfield Road and Boy Scout Road becomes Route T366. It is a gravel road. Continue 1.7 miles to Fairview Church on your right. You have arrived at New Holland! 3) Fairview Church to Fort Necessity (21.3 miles, 37 minutes) Backtrack on Route T366 to Smithfield Road (1.6 miles). Turn right at Smithfield Avenue and go 0.6 miles. Turn right at Smithfield Ave/Woodside OldFrame Road (384 feet) Turn left at Smithfield Avenue (0.6 miles) Turn left at Walnut Hill Road and continue 5.4 miles. Turn right to stay on Walnut Hill Road and continue 1.6 miles. Turn right again to stay on Walnut Hill Road and continue 0.3 miles. Turn right onto the George C. Marshall Parkway (US 119/ US 40). Continue on US 40 for10.7 miles. Fort Necessity National Battlefield is on your right. Enter the Battlefield and watch for the picnic grounds on your right. The road curves so be watchful. 4) Fort Necessity National Battlefield to Fallingwater (Frank Lloyd Wright designed home) (15 miles, 25 minutes) Exit Fort Necessity and turn right on US 40 and continue 1.3 miles. Turn left at Farmington Ohiophile road and continue 5.9 miles. Continue on Main Street for 0.9 miles. Continue on Mill Run Road for 6.9 miles. Fallingwater is at 1478 Mill Run Road, Mill Run, PA 5) Fort Necessity to Holiday Inn (14.2 miles, about 20 minutes) Exit Fort Necessity, turn left onto US 40 and continue for 13 miles around the South and West side of Uniontown. Take the Main Street Exit, turn left onto West Main Street and continue away from the city for about 1 mile. The Holiday Inn is on your right. 6) Holiday Inn to Uniontown Country Club Turn right out of the Holiday Inn parking lot onto US40 Business (West Main Street) Continue on Main Street for 1.6 miles then turn right onto South Vernon Avenue. Continue 0.2 miles. Turn left at West Berkley Street, continue 0.6 miles, then turn right at Derrick Avenue and go 0.2 miles. Turn left at Cramer Avenue, go 0.1 miles and the Club is on your left.
Jacobs Lutheran Church Near Masontown, PA History Little is known about the early beginnings of Jacobs Lutheran Church. The area had it first settler in about 1751 but it was in the period of 1765 through 1769 that so many came to this area. It was about 1765 that Christian Weedman came here to German Township from his home in Hampshire County, VA. Others that came from that area included Ephraim Walters, Henry Myers and his sons Adam, Frederick, and Henry, Jr., and others. Some early church records exist from as early as 1773 but it was when Rev. Johannes Stauch arrived about 1791 that records seemed to be methodically kept. It is interesting that in 1790 a church Constitution was signed by about 24 people including John Huhn, Matthias Riffle, and Jacob Frank, all familiar family names. There seems to have been two sects, presumably both of which are branches of the Lutheran Church called the Reformed branch and the Union branch. Although different in ways unclear, they shared the Jacobs Lutheran Church facilities. John Huhn was clearly a Lutheran. The church history states that the Germans would build a school and church early in their settlements and that German was the language used in the schools. In 1798 and 1799, according to the history, vast numbers of settlers left the area when lands in Ohio were opened for new settlements. It was in 1799 that Christian Weedman sold his land to Ephraim Walters and to another person and departed. Several years later the family appears in the extreme northeast corner of what would become Hoewell Township, Perry County, Ohio. If one compares the family names of German Township settlers with those in Hopewell Township, it is easy to see that there was mass migration from Pennsylvania to Ohio. Jacobs Lutheran Church was where many of the children of Christian Weedman were married and where a number of grandchildren were christened. A few are buried in the cemetery here. But noticeable by their absence are Christian and Elizabeth Weedman. Clearly, this was the family church but why they are not in the records is unknown. Family Members Buried in Jacobs Lutheran Church Cemetery This is the church where most if not all of our ancestors who lived in Fayette County worshipped. Graves of interest are marked with small American flags. Riffle Huhn Nicholas (1752 1808). Husband of Barbara Weedman, Revolutionary War Veteran Jacob (1781-1870). Son of Nicholas and Barbara (Weedman) Riffle Mary Magdalene Rider Riffle (1790-1871). Wife of Jacob Riffle. John (1730 1810). Patriarch of the Huhn family. Son, John, Jr. married Catherine Weedman and daughter Charlotte married George Weedman. Dorady (1741 1806). Wife of John, matriarch of the Huhn family from our perspective.
Fair View Church of the Brethern The Fair View Church of the Brethern was organized as the Georges Creek Congregation in 1790 and was an offshoot of the church founded in Germantown, PA. The church was build on land donated by Ephraim Walters which was part of the tract bought from Christian Weedman in 1799. Ephraim s son, Andrew, married Sarah Weedman, a daughter of Christian and Elizabeth Weedman, and was deeded the Weedman land for a short period of time. Apparently there was some agreement between Ephraim and Andrew that was in dispute and the land reverted to Ephraim. According to a letter from a grandson of Ephraim, the church was across the road from the log home Weedman had built. The letter was published in a local newspaper, The Genius of Liberty. When we visit this church, we will be in close proximity to the home site of the Weedman family and will be on land that was originally in the land grant that Christian called New Holland. The land is owned by Connie DeBolt Honsaker and her husband. They have turned their farm into a beef cattle operation. We hope that Connie can join us at the Reunion. There are no family members in the cemetery of this church but strolling among the tombstones will reveal many familiar names of neighbors to Christian and Elizabeth Weedman.
Weedman National Family Gathering 13th Biennial Event Reunion Dinner Uniontown Country Club Schedule of Events 6:30 pm Function begins with informal gathering 7:00 pm Dinner is served 8:00 am Annual Business Meeting Recognition of guests Weedman Family Hall of Fame recognition Determine if there will be a Reunion in 2010 and, if so, who will host. Other business to come before the group. 8:30 pm ~ 8:45 pm Adjourn to the hotel