That his parents were Henry and Mary Yerger is determined from Census records. But properly identifying Mary took me some time. At first I thought, based on the similarity of Henry’s and his wife’s tombstone to the two tombstones next to theirs -- those of Henry Benfer and wife Eve -- that Mary was Mary Benfer. This theory seemed substantially proven by the observation that Henry B was therefore probably named after her father and also by the knowledge that Henry Benfer had stated in his will that his daughter Mary had pre-deceased him. The dates on what I believed were their respective tombstones was consistent with this, she had apparently pre-deceased him by a couple of months: Magdalena Yerger died 5 Jun 1868, Henry Benfer 8 Aug 1868.

But then I found the will of Henry Benfer which he wrote in 1860. Indeed, he mentioned his deceased daughter Mary -- but this was eight years before (Mary) Magdalena Yerger died. This was a big discordant note for me.

This caused me to do more research. Henry B did not survive long enough for him to have had a death certificate but two of his siblings did and in both cases their mother was listed as Polly Boyer. Moreover, a release recorded in 1831 proves that Mary Boyer, daughter of George, was the wife of Henry Yerger.

The probate documents associated with Mary’s father and grandfather refer to her as Polly. Polly was a common nickname for Mary so the fact that the release named her Mary is not troubling -- I am quite confident that Polly and Mary are two names for the same person.

But what about that last detail, that her tombstone actually names her Magdalena? I had to consider that Magdalena was a different person but everything I knew about Mary/Polly was consistent with what I knew about Magdalena. Polly was over 14 in an 1817 Orphan’s Court record and then Mary’s age as given in every Census was quite consistent with Magdalena’s date of birth. Moreover, for Magdalena to be a different person, one would have to believe that Mary died after the 1860 Census, Henry married Magdalena second and when she died in 1868, everyone was comfortable with the idea that she would be buried with Henry and not Mary, the mother of his children.

Henry B’s mother, in my opinion, was probably named Mary Magdalena, went by the nickname Polly often and was otherwise usually called Mary, but for some reason the name Magdalena was chosen for her tombstone.

Census Listings 1840-1900. Henry can be accounted for with his father in 1840 and Henry (1839) lives with Henry (1805) in both the 1850 and 1860 Census. In 1870, 1880 and 1900 he is head of household.

He died intestate, his administrators appointed 20 Nov 1905 were William H and Charles F Yerger. The court order said that Henry of Middlecreek died 6 Nov 1905 @ 2:30 AM.

Henry B’s birth and death dates and place of burial all are taken from his tombstone which I have seen. I have assumed he was born in Middlecreek as I believe that is where his parents lived at the time. The event and date of his marriage to Catherine Kramer comes from a compilation of Snyder County marriages by C A Fisher. That he and Catherine were Ella Yerger’s parents is as stated by Meiser and confirmed by Census listings.

His tombstone quite clearly says: ”Henry B Yerger, born 14 Apr 1839, died 6 Nov 1905, aged 65 years 6 months 22 days.” The problem is those dates compute to 66 years 6 months and 22 days. So I’m not sure of which fact is in error, but I’m guessing it is the arithmetic and that he was actually 66 years, 6 months, 22 days of age.

The marriage date comes from work done by Charles A Fisher, in which he compiled the records of Rev C G Erlenmeyer, the same minister who married George Peter Mertz and Amelia Hummel in 1846.

The 1870 and 1880 Census show Henry as the father of Ella Jane. From the 1880 Census, we learn the names of five additional children of Henry and Catharine. Mary E born about 1866, Susan A born about 1871, Maggie V born about 1873, Carrie A born about 1875 and William H born about 1877. And we can add to that list Charles T who was listed in the 1900 Census as age 20 (probably born just after the 1880 Census was taken). In the 1870 Census, a new-born daughter Sarah was listed, she might be one and the same as Susan in 1880.

On her application for a delayed birth certificate, filed in 1955, Grandma listed a relative Cora T Eaton and a friend Sarah C Stine as persons who had known her all her life. I believe Cora T was in fact another of Ella’s sisters as explained further in her biography.

She was living with her parents in the 1850 Census. Her death record stated their names. And several documents associated with Benjamin Kramer’s death list the heirs of Catherine (Kate) Yerger who pre-deceased her father.

1850. I searched for Catherine Kramer about age 4 in Snyder County and the only one I found was age 4 living in Middlecreek Twp with John Cramer 73, Catharine 56, Benjamin 40, Mary A 25, Amelia 8, John 6 and Margaret 1. This listing convenienty showed me not only the name of her father but also her grandfather.

1860. Still with her father.

1870-1880. With her husband.

On 29 Aug 1899, there was a release filed by the eight heirs of Catherine (Kramer) Yerger to the administrators of the estate of Benjamin Kramer that they had received their full settlement of $166.20 each.

The eight heirs were: Emma Frock, Ellen (sic) Diehl, Alice Yerger, Margaret Yerger, Carrie Trevits, William Yerger and (Jacob Frock guardian for) Charles and Cora Yerger.

These same names all appear on a deed dated 2 Mar 1907 wherein the six daughters sell to the two sons a piece of land in Middlecreek containing 109 acres which was part of a tract deeded to Henry Yerger Jr. by Frederick P Bouse (Bonse) and his wife Elizabeth on 6 May 1852 and then inherited by Henry B Yerger in 1876. The 6 daughters now were named: Emma Frock (w/o Jacob), Alice Ziegler (w/o Edward) and Cora Yerger, all of Mifflinburg, and Ella Diehl (w/o William) and Maggie Yerger, of Northumberland, and Carrie Trivitz (w/o Emanuel) of Wash Twp.

Her birth and death dates and place of burial all are taken from her tombstone which I have seen. “Catherine, wife of Henry B Yerger, born 28 Jun 1846 died 7 Jun 1895, age 48 years, 11 months, 9 days.”

She was born in Middlecreek as that is where her parents lived at the time. That her father was Benjamin Kramer is known from Census records and stated on her death certificate. The event and date of her marriage comes from a compilation of Snyder County marriages by C A Fisher. That she and Henry were Ella (Yerger) Diehl’s parents is as stated by Meiser and confirmed by Census listings. The important relationship details here are also confirmed by Benjamin Kramer’s estate distribution account wherein Ellen (sic) Diehl and her Yerger siblings are listed as heirs of Kate Kramer, deceased. So I think I pretty well know the important facts of her life.