Helen Weidner’s family lines go back in American history to the early days of the Colonies: the Weidner, Reider, Griesemer and Schmidt (Smith) families from Germany, the Van Buskirk family from Holstein-Schleswig, Denmark (now Germany) and the Hill family from England.
Weidner, Reider, Griesemer and families settled in Berks county, Pennsylvania, before moving west to eastern Ohio. The Schmidt (Smith) family settled in Chamburgsburg, Franklin County, Pennsylvania. The Hill family settled in Virginia initially, Richmond, then Culpeper, before moving west to eastern Ohio.
Weidner & Reider
The Weidner family and Reider family came to America in early colonial days settling in Pennsylvania. The Weidner family history has been extensively researched here and the line of descent seems to bear out.
The Combination Atlas Map of Tuscarawas County, Ohio (1884) pg 79
Compiled, Drawn and Published From Personal Examinations and Surveys By L.H. Everts & Co., entry for John Meredith includes the following history:
John W. Meredith became Superintendent of the County Infirmary on December 5, 1905, as told on Page 6. On February 27, 1877, he married Miss Hannah A., daughter of Jeremiah and Susan Hill Weidner, who were married April 10, 1845. Jeremiah, born February 19, 1815, in Berks County, Pennsylvania, was the eldest son of the eight children of Peter and Rebeccah Reider Weidner, who were married March 27, 1803. Their children were: Hannah, Sarah, Jeremiah, Isaac died in infancy, Isaiah, Henry and Elizabeth and William who came to Nineveh, Tuscarawas County, in 1836. Peter Weidner was for many years a school teacher in Pennsylvania. He died in 1851 at the age of seventy-two years. His wife, Rebeccah, born December 9, 1783, died in 1865. Jeremiah was a cabinet maker in the East but followed farming in Goshen Township. From April 1, 1873, to April 1, 1877, he was superintendent of the Tuscarawass County Infirmary. He died December 7, 1889. Susan Hill who was born January 13, 1822, at Trenton, now Tuscarawas, and died March 6, 1889, was the daughter of Robert and Hannah Van Buskirk Hill. Robert Hill who died about 1830 was of the family of Jesse Hill who came to Tuscarawas County in 1806. Hannah Van Buskirk was born November 22, 1800, in Virginia, came with her parents to Tuscarawas at an early day, and died December 1, 1870. The children of Robert and Hannah Hill were: Susan, Solomon, Rachel, Isaac. The children of Jeremiah and Susan Hill Weidner are Emmaline J., deceased; Emma C., married to Frank M. Brown and deceased; Isaiah, deceased; Hannah A., born January 30, 1853; and George W., married to Estella Fickes. John W. and Hannah A. Meredith have one child, Florence, born January 7, 1878, and, on October 25, 1903, married to James, the son of Darius and Nettie Holcomb Nichols of Lorain County. Howard Meredith, the son of James and Florence Nichols, was born July 30, 1904.
This passage describes three generations of Weidners:
Peter Weidner, husband of Rebecca Reider, parents of Jeremiah Weidner.
Jeremiah Weidner, husband of Susan Hill, parents of George Wallace Weidner.
George Wallace Weidner, husband of Estelle Fickes, parents of Helen Alma Weidner.
The Weidners moved from Berks county, Pennsylvania to Nineveh, Tuscarawas county, Ohio in 1836. The state of West Virginia did not exist until 1861, being admitted to the Union in 1863. The
1815 ▸ February 19. Birth of Jeremiah Weidner in Berks Co, PA.
1845 ▸ April 10. Marriage of Jeremiah Weidner and Susan Hill in Warwick Twp, Tuscarawas Co, OH.
1850 ▸ October 24. CENSUS. Warwick Twp, Tuscarawas Co, OH. Household includes Jeremiah Widner (35) with wife Susan (26), children Emeline (4) and Emma (2) and Laborors, John Lewis (16) and John Babst (19).
1860 ▸ July 30. CENSUS. Goshen Twp, Tuscarawas Co, OH. Household includes “J Widner” (46) with wife Susanna (38) and children Emeline (13), Emma (12), Hannah (8), Farm Hand Wm Shelbaker (26), George Shelbaker (19) and Mary Moserly (16).
1870 ▸ July 6. CENSUS. Goshen Twp, Tuscarawas Co, OH. Household includes Jeremiah (54) with wife Susan (47) and children Hannah (17) and George (15).
1880 ▸ June 15. CENSUS. Goshen Twp, Tuscarawas Co, OH. Household includes Jeremiah (65) with wife Susan (58) and son George (24).
1889 ▸ March 6. Death of Susan Hill Weidner in Blakes Mills, Tuscarawas Co, OH. Burial in Goshen Hill Cemetery.
1889 ▸ December 7. Death of Jeremiah Weidner in Warwick Twp, Tuscarawas Co, OH. Burial in Goshen Hill Cemetery.
1900 ▸
CENSUS.