His brother’s petition to divide their father’s Northumberland County land proves that John had sons named George and Barnet and then in 1792 when Barnet died, his brother George was appointed administrator of his estate.

In about 1799, George sold his land in Shrewsbury Township, York County and moved to Baltimore County, Maryland.

I believe I have found him in 1790, 1810 and 1820. In 1790, he is in PA, then moves to MD. He may also have lived in MD in 1800, the decade the MD Census was lost.

He was living in Shrewsbury Township, York County at the time of the 1790 Census, a neighbor of Adam Hendrix. Then in 1799, he sold all his land in Shrewsbury and bought land in Baltimore County. His will was proved in Baltimore County and he is buried there so it may be that he spent the remainder of his life there after about 1800.

1810. George Hampshire lives in Pipe Creek and North Hundred, BAL Co. He would be 55, Elizabeth 46 and Joseph 10. The household males are 1 26-44, 4 16-25, 2 10-15 and 1 under 10. The females are 1 45+ and 1 16-25. I believe his age is a typo here and since his will lists 5 sons and 1 daughter, I am quite sure this is him. Neighbors are Isaac Oshel and Edward Matthews.

In 1820, George Hampshear lives in 5th District Baltimore Co, a neighbor of Jarratt Matthews.

After George dies, in 1840 Elizabeth Hampshire lives in 5th Collection District, Baltimore Co; a neighbor is Jacob Hampshire. Then in 1840, Joseph Hampshire lives in the 4th District and Jacob Hampshire is a neighbor.

I think the consistent location of first George then Elizabeth and Jacob and then Joseph and Jacob makes it all tie together that this is the George who died in 1827 with sons Jacob and Joseph.

Becky quotes Paul Burdick. “George Hamscher was born ca 1755, died 12 Aug 1827, married Elizabeth Messerly (1764-10 Jan 1841) 4 Nov 1768 at Trinity Reformed Church in York. Had 11 children, among them Joseph M. Lived in Shrewsbury Twp in 1790 Census. Then in 1799 sold all land in Shrewsbury and bought land in BAL Co. George and Elizabeth are both buried at Gunpowder Baptist.

His tombstone which I have seen gives his date of death and says he was in his 72nd year. His will proves the name of his wife and that he had a son Joseph. Church records document his marriage.

George’s will dated 2 Jul 1827 and proved 29 Aug 1827 mentioned wife Elizabeth and children: Joseph, John, Jacob, David, Benjamin and Elizabeth. Joseph was an Executor.

George and his wife were buried at Gunpowder Baptist as were Joseph M Hampshire and Nicholas Hoshall and wife Elizabeth Ann (Matthews) (Hampshire) Hoshall.

I believe all of these facts about George Hampshire pertain to the same George who was found in the 1790 Census in York County, who married Elizabeth Messerle in 1786 in York County, who sold several tracts of York County land in 1799 and then bought in Baltimore County and then was listed in the 1810 and 1820 Census in Baltimore County where he was living at the time of his death in 1827 in his 72nd year.

His tombstone is on find-a-grave and a biography of him is given there. “George Hampshire served in the York Militia as a member of Captain Hoover’s company during the Revolution. While serving a year, he lost an eye. After his service he moved to Maryland and George pursued, to great effect, the policy that veterans who served in the war would be given land. Under that policy, George was granted and received 650 acres in Zanesville, Ohio that he either sold or traded to his nephew Barnet. The Ohio land was the key gateway for the Hampshires to migrate to Ohio, and then across the United States.”

I have not verified all of those statements, especially the part about the land grant. However there was a John Hampshire listed in the 1820 Census of Muskingum County, Ohio (where Zanesville is located). Also in that year, the name Benjamin Hampshire began to show up in Ohio and he was no doubt the same person listed in 1850 as Benjamin M Hampshire, born in 1797 in Pennsylvania, living in Highland County. So I do believe that several of George’s sons (also apparently including son David) did move west.

GEORGE’S CURIOUS RELATIONSHIP WITH DANIEL BAEHLI
In the course of my research into the name of the woman George married, known to be Messerle, but a fact which I had begun to doubt, as I was casting about for ideas -- and thinking outside the box -- I came up with the idea that maybe she really was Elizabeth Baehli, daughter of Daniel. There seems to have been an unusual closeness between George Hampshire and Daniel Baeli.

Now Baeli is a name with more alternate spellings than almost any I have encountered. (Bailey, Beli, Behly and so forth.) But it is a York County name I was already familiar with when I discovered the George Hampshire-Daniel Baeli connection. For one thing, Margaret, daughter of Carl LeRoy Curry’s ancestor Peter Gerberich married a man named George Baehli. And more to the point, Barnet Hampshire, George’s brother, married Anna Barbara Baehli. George and Anna Barbara were siblings, both children of Jacob Baehli -- Daniel’s brother. But that makes Daniel Baehli nothing more than the uncle of his sister-in-law to George Hampshire, not what I’d call a close family member so how can that possibly explain the closeness of Daniel and George?

But consider:

• On 7 Sep 1787, George and Elizabeth baptized daughter Elisabetha at Fissel’s Church in Shrewsbury and the sponsors were Daniel and Rosina Baeli. Now I have examined a lot of German baptisms and, while it’s not always the case, it is often the case that the sponsors are family -- grandparents or an aunt and uncle of the infant. I think both George’s brother and sister were alive and living in the York area in 1787, as was Elizabeth’s sister and her mother, so why did George and Elizabeth choose Daniel and Rosina?

• And then there’s the remarkable deed executed between Daniel Baehli and George Hampshire. It is remarkable because George got a large tract of land, 191 acres, for which he paid very little cash but basically undertook an obligation to provide a share of the crops annually thereafter to Daniel Baehli and/or his wife Rosina until their death -- who continued to live on the place. This is the kind of deed that one might expect to see, and I have seen, executed between a man and his son or son-in-law -- but why between these two men? What was the connection? Daniel was putting a lot of faith in George that he would fulfill his end of the bargain and, in the end, George would ultimately own a very nice piece of property for basically little cash outlay. Maybe it was a good deal all around but it just strikes me as a strange deal for two men who had no other reason to consider themselves close.

• Moreover, when George moved to Baltimore County, while both Daniel and Rosina were still alive, he transferred the same property to Jacob Becker and Jacob assumed all the annual obligations to provide for the Baehli’s -- but Jacob, in addition, paid George £900 for the same deal George had only paid Daniel £5 -- that’s a nice tidy profit for George.

• Jacob Becker, it turns out, possibly was a son-in-law of Daniel Baehli because in his will, written in 1798 but probated in 1811, Daniel mentioned several presumed grandchildren named Rosina, Lydia and Henry Baker (Becker) and those same children were named as his children by Jacob Becker in his 1808 will.

Or Was it Just New Freedom Neighborliness? There are several other names that seem to be associated with this Hampshire-Becker-Baehli nexus. One is Conrad Free and the other Henry Ruhl. Now, arguably there was a neighborly closeness between these families living near Shrewsbury and New Freedom, but it still seems inextricably close.

George also bought land from Conrad Free (for whom supposedly New Freedom was named). He also sold this tract of land land to Jacob Becker as he was preparing to move to Baltimore County. The will of Conrad Free was written 27 Mar 1803. The executors were Jacob Becker and Henry Ruhl.

The will of Daniel Bohly was written 5 Jun 1798. His executors were Rosina Bohly and Henry Ruhl. Henry was also an executor for Rosina when she died in 1815. Henry Ruhl, I’m certain, was a son-in-law of Daniel Baeli. There was no mention by Daniel or Rosina of anyone named Hampshire.

I have subsequently found evidence that proves that Elizabeth was indeed born Messerle but I think there is still more to be learned about the Daniel Baeli and George Hampshire connection.

I know her name was Messerle from her 1786 marriage record at First Trinity Reformed Church in York. After ruling out Daniel Messerle as her father, my long search for his identity came to an end when Becky Curry pointed me to a York County deed wherein Elizabeth, wife of George Hamsher, was said to be the daughter of George Messerle, then deceased. George acquired land in 1770 in York County, his first mention anywhere.

She married before 1790, so she should be with her husband in 1790-1820. Then her husband dies before the 1830 Census, so she would be a widow in 1830 and 1840. I have found her in most of these Censuses, except 1800 — when she might have been living in MD which Census was lost — and 1840 — when she might have been living with a married child.

In 1830, Elizabeth Hampshire lives in 5th Collection District Baltimore Co, age 60-70 (she is 66). Living with her are just two females, 1 10-15 and 1 30-40. A neighbor is Jacob Hampshire who seems to be 30-40 and living with him are two males 20-30, one of whom just may be Joseph who is in fact 30 but not yet married.

The will of Elizabeth Hampshire dated 28 Apr 1839 proved 27 Jan 1841 names children: Joseph, John, David, Benjamin, Jacob M, and Elizabeth and Elizabeth’s dau Cassandra Tracey and various grandchildren -- none of Joseph (Joanna is born after will was written). Jacob M is the Executor. An abstract I found made it sound like Cassandra was a daughter but she is granddaughter. Also, all money going to daughter Elizabeth to be held by someone else and she only to get interest.

But this much I have confirmed by early records. Daniel and Anna Messerle baptized three children in York County: Anna Maria in July 1755, Peter in April 1760 and Susanna Catharina in June 1763 -- all at Strayer's (Salem) Reformed Church in York County. Daniel arrived on the ship Crown 30 Aug 1749. (A Jacob arrived on the Phoenix 15 Sep 1749 but it is not clear what happened to him.)

A message board post from Judith Hoover asks about Susanna Messerle who married at the First Trinity Reformed Church in 1784 and Anna Maria who also married in the same church. They married brothers named Huber.

Her tombstone which I have seen provides certain useful information. It is of identical shape and size and immediately beside that of her husband. It does not say she was his wife nor does it give her maiden name and, interestingly, her last name (married name) is spelled Hampsher and his Hampshire, but most certainly the markers are of man and wife. It further says she died 10 Jan 1841 in her 77th year and it states her name as Mary Elizabeth.

The will of Elizabeth Hampshire, dated 28 Apr 1839 and proved 27 Jan 1841, named children: Joseph, John, David, Benjamin, Jacob M and Elizabeth and Elizabeth’s daughter Cassandra Tracey. Various other grandchildren were also mentioned but no children of son Joseph. Joanna was born 12 Jun 1839 after the will was written which would explain why she was not mentioned.

After proving to myself that she was not Daniel’s daughter and, at the time, having no other candidates to be her father, I began to question whether her name had been correctly transcribed in those long ago church records. I was able to get a copy on microfilm of the actual record, the relevant citation reproduced nearby.

I have concluded that the minister of that era did indeed record her name as Messerly.

And the other avenue of research I undertook to try to find another way to verify her maiden name is that I observed that three of her sons had a middle name beginning with the letter “M”. Jacob M Hampshire, Joseph M Hampshire and Benjamin M Hampshire each quite often styled their name that way but unfortunately, try as I might -- and I did try -- I could find no record where their full name was ever spelled out. It would sure be nice to find some document where they went by their full name. But I’ve searched every Maryland land record -- maybe 20 of them -- where they were named, I’ve made an effort to find their tombstones, their wills and even tried to find the names they gave their own children -- and found no documented use ever of their actual middle name.

But the fact that three of her sons had the middle initial “M” makes me wonder if Elizabeth was proud of her maiden name, thought it a fine family name and wanted to pass it along -- and did to all three.

• As an aside, George and Elizabeth named another son, David Preston Hampshire. I don’t really know the reason for that choice of a middle name, but I do know, curiously, that Anna Maria Hamsher, George’s sister, sponsored, as a single woman, in 1789, the birth of Elizabeth, daughter of Johannes Preston and wife Anna Maria at Trinity Reformed Church. (Anna Maria Hamsher later married a Warner.) But what was special about the Preston connection to this family -- and who was Johannes Preston? I don’t know.