It took some time for me to develop a solid theory as to who the father of Mary A Hassinger was. Hers was not a unique name in Snyder County in the 1800’s. But I did find a will abstract of a John Hassinger of Centre Township dated 24 Apr 1828 proved 21 Jul 1828. It mentioned wife Catherine and children: Samuel, David, Jacob Wendel, Elizabeth, Sarah and Mary Ann.

I was able to track down David, who lived in Middlecreek and was buried at Salem Rowe’s, like his presumed sister. He was born about 1817. Since I knew that our Mary Ann was born in 1825, and making the assumption that the children were listed in order of birth, then what I knew about both David and Mary Ann pointed to John Hassinger as a very solid candidate to be the father of both.

But I finally found the irrefutable and conclusive proof, when I was able to visit the Snyder County Court House. There was a release signed by Benjamin Kramer and his wife Mary A stating that John’s Executors -- Conrad Hassinger and Solomon Engel-- none other than the Executors of John who died in 1828 -- had fulfilled their responsibility to Mary Ann. This locked it all together.

Census Listings. This recount is all based on the theory that Mary Ann was the daughter of John Hassinger who died in 1828. If this is a correct theory, he died not long after she is born and prior to the 1830 Census, so she would not be with him in 1830. There is a Widow Hassinger listed in 1830 with a daughter of the right age to be Mary Ann.

1820. John Hassinger lives in Centre Township, Union County. I don’t know if he is the one I think is a candidate to be our ancestor or not. He is 26-45 as is his wife. They have 2 young sons and 2 young daughters. His will mentions 4 sons and 3 daughters, but some may not yet have been born by 1820.

1830. Widow Hassinger lives in Beaver Township, Union County. She is 40-50. Living with her are 1 male 5-10 and 5 younger females spanning all age brackets. The female under age 5 could be Mary Ann. But reconciling the children mentioned in the will with the children enumerated in 1820 under John Hassinger and this group is difficult at best.

1840. I am still looking for the widow in 1840. If she has remarried or died, she will not be found.

Mary Ann is with her husband in 1850 and 1860, then she died young. In 1870, Benjamin has 3-year old daughter Laura, thus born about the time Mary A died -- I suspect there is some connection between those two events.

I had known from Census listings that Benjamin’s wife was named Mary (or Mary Ann) but I did not know her maiden name until I went looking for Benjamin’s tombstone in Salem (Rowe’s) Church Cemetery. There, to my delight, I found this written on Benjamin Kramer’s tombstone: ”Mary A. Hassinger his wife died 1 Jan 1867 aged 41y 3m” (thus born 1 Oct 1825).

Benjamin’s tombstone had even been listed and the dates transcribed in a listing of Snyder County tombstones but it totally omitted the vital information about his wife.

In the 1850 Census, Benjamin lived in John Kramer’s household. I know that John had two wives, but I think it is clear that Christina was alive into the 1830’s, so clearly she was Benjamin’s mother.

1810-1850. He can be accounted for in his father’s houeshold including 1850 when he lives there with his wife and four children. Then he is head of household in 1860-1880.

1860. Benjamin Kramer lives in Middlecreek Twp, Snyder Co. Jacob Kramer is also in Middlecreek, though not an immediate neighbor. Daughter Catherine lives with Benjamin in 1850 and 1860. And step-mother Catherine lives with him in 1860 and 1870.

I found a booklet at the Snyder County Historical Society on the history of Kreamer, PA. The booklet says that Kreamer was named for Benjamin Kreamer. It says: "In the early 19th Century, Benjamin Kreamer (1810-1897) and his brother came to this area from Germany, little suspecting that some day a small rural town would bear their family name. His brother soon left, and his name and whereabouts were lost.”

This account makes no mention of John Kramer who we know from the 1850 Census and from Benjamin’s death record as Benjamin’s father. And, living right next door in 1850 was Jacob Cramer, 44, with his family and a good guess would be that he was Benjamin’s brother, who apparently didn’t leave the area as fast as was implied by the article.

Moreover, John said in the 1850 Census that he was born in Pennsylvania and Benjamin said in 1880 that both his parents were born in Pennsylvania.

So I would guess that this family, like others in our line, lived a generation or two in some Eastern Pennsylvania locale before coming to (now) Snyder County.

John came to this area before he married and his two sons were born here. And the town took its name from this family, though not necessarily from Benjamin. The immigrant was probably an earlier ancestor than John, I'm still looking.

Benjamin’s birth and death dates and place of burial all are taken from his tombstone (died 21 Aug 1897 age 87y 6m 7d -- thus born 14 Feb 1810) which I have visited personally. It was from their tombstone that I learned his wife’s maiden name. That he was the father of Catherine Kramer was determined by a search of the Census listings looking for her as a young girl. Benjamin and Catherine were living at the time with John Kramer, who it seems just had to have been his own father.

On 29 Aug 1899, a release was filed by the heirs of Benjamin Kramer to his administrators who were A D and G B Kramer saying they had received their settlement of $1329.62 each.

The heirs were: John, A D, H F, G B and Laura M Kramer -- all of Kreamer. Separately, the adult heirs of their sister Catherine, including Ella Diehl, filed their own release.

The Kreamer history booklet I found lists Amelia as one of Ben Kramer’s daughters who it said married Frank Bubb and had three children. Amelia was listed in Benjamin’s household, age 18, in the 1880 Census. She did marry Frank Bobb in 1865 but apparently died by 1870. But her three children should have been part of the estate distribution, just as Kate Yerger’s children were -- unless all three died before the 1899 settlement was made.