I would like to share with you why
Conrad Updegrove (b. bet. 1766- 1778 d. 1863-72) of Dauphin Co., PA is not the twin
of Edward Updegrove (b1771- d. <1850)
of Berks Co., PA and his father is not John
William Opdengraff(sic) as typically found in many family trees. Throughout the analysis below Conrad is referred to as
Conrad of Dauphin County since historically he was among the first settlers in
what is now Williamstown, Dauphin county.
Edward was born and raised his family in the area around Oley , PA Berks
County and therefore he is referred to as Edward of Berks County.
Below is a typical Tree that
Conrad Updegrove has been included :
Herman op den Graeff (1585–1642)
1. Isaac op den Graeff (1616–1679)
1. Hermann Isacks op den Graeff (1642–1708)
4. Margaretha op den Graeff (* 1651)
5. Jacob op den Graeff (* 1653)
6. Adolphus op den Graeff (1653–1680)
1. Frederick Opdengraff
1. John William Opdengraff (1732–1800)
1. Fronica Updegrove (* 1756)
2. Anna Magdalena Updegrove (* 1759)
3. Peter Updegrove (* 1766)
4.
Conrad
Updegrove (1771 ?–1865 ?) -
Dauphin Co. PA
1. John Updegrove (1805–1864)
2. Solomon (1809-1884)
5.
Edward
Updegrove (1771–1850) - Berks Co.
PA
1. Thomas Updegrove (1796–1872)
2. Jacob Opdegrove (1798–1873)
3. John Updegrove (1804–1870)
4. Solomon Updegrove (1812–1884)
Note : I added
the “?” By Conrad dates as they are part of the analysis below and are
questionable.
Since the information and analysis is
rather lengthy here is a recap of the conclusions :
1. Edward had a twin probably named Isaac or possibly Conrad
born 1771
2. The Conrad found in Dauphin Co records data seems to
indicate he was not born in 1771
3. No paper trail connecting Conrad of Dauphin to Edward of
Berks
4. DNA convincingly shows that the descendants of Conrad of
Dauphin are not related to Edward of Berks descendants and thus Conrad of
Dauphin was not the twin of Edward. This unfortunately seems to leave the
family genealogy of Conrad of Dauphin
ending with him.
Background information :
Edward Updegrove
Born November
27, 1771 in PA Berks
County
Baptized Dec
29, 1771 in St Josephs Union Church (aka Oley Hill Church
Died before
before 1850 Berks Co, PA. All well
documented and original source documented. He appears on various census, tax
and estate records.
From
researchers Clyde
(Updegraff) Shank and Dr. Franklyn E. Edwards :
Conrad is the
earliest ancestor of a large number of descendants in what is now Western
Schuylkill, upper Dauphin southern North Cumberland counties. Conrad was among the first
settlers in what is now Williamstown, Dauphin county. In a deed on which is
name appears it is written “ Updegraff” but his descendants early changed to
“Updegrove. The first Conrad record is
dated Oct 9, 1803 when he and wife, Elizabeth Angst, were confirmed at Jacob’s Lutheran Church
near Pine Grove, Schuylkill county. He was a
laborer, a farmer, and a mill operator. He attended St. JohnsLutheran Church , Mifflin
Township
in Dauphin County Elizabeth Angst ( b. Jan 1778 ) who was a
widow. Died : Circa April 1872 Williamstwon – Age 94.
1. Ancestral , surname and
geographical considerations :
There is a lot of of primary and good deal of secondary
documentation on the Germantown
original Op den Graeff families that would lead to a general hypothesis that
all families with similar surnames have common ancestors in the 1650-1750 time
frame. Updegrove / Updegraff is a fairly unique surname and the families of
both Edward and Conrad trace their individual family lines back into the 1700’s
in Pennsylvania with good paper trails. It would be a reasonable assumption
that Edward families of Berks Co. and Conrad families of Dauphin Co. are
connected and also connected to the Germantown
original families.
Edward was born and established his family
in the Oley PA area of Berks County ,
PA. Western Schuylkill ,
upper Dauphin, and southen Northcumberland counties PA. Geographically Oley PA
area and central Dauphin/ adjacent counties are about 50-60 miles distance. It
seems reasonable to suggest that these two families lines would be connected.
Clyde Updegraff
Shank /Dr. Franklyn E. Edwards in their Eleven Volumes of Family Sheets of Known
descendants of Herman Op den Graeff found at PA. State Library and Genealogical
Society of Pa. Germantown
PA Germantown descendants connection ( aka “unconnected
families”.) They were very through even obtaining affidavits where informaton
from people were thought to be correct but that they could not find primary
source material. As of 2012 several of the Shank/Edwards famlies groups having
good paper trails to Germantown
descendants had their DNA tested and shown to be related as expected. Two of
the “unconnected families” were tested ; one showing positive linkage with the
the Germantown
known familiy groups and the other showing no connection.
From this it appears that not all
southeastern Updegraff/Updegrove PA families with origins back into the 1700’s
or earlier have ommon ancestral connections even though sharing a unique
surname, and geographically co-located.
2. Birth year comparison for Edward of Berks & Conrad of Dauphin
Co.
Edward was born and his baptism is documented
in Oley Hill
Church (St. Jospeh’s) Pike Township
Berks County
PA
While it is difficult to read it
appears :
John Oppdegraff born ????
n’ baptised ? 2
December
_______ n’ Edward
Conrad Bohem & Magdalene --à Sponsors for Edward
Carl
Weiss , Eva Catharine -à 2nd set of sponsors
First
Conrad record Oct. 9, 1803 when he and wife Elizabeth Angst were confirmed at
Jacob’s Church (Lutheran) near Pine Grive, Schuylkill co. His age was given as 25 3¾.
è Shank/ Edwards had a
copy of the confirmation record and this would represent a primary source
document. One that Conrad himself would have likely inputted his information
directly. From this confirmation record Conrad’s birth year would have been
about 1778 vs Edward’s 1771.
Conrad of Dauphin county possible
birth years :
Per
1803 confirmation record - 1778
Per 1850 census
- 1773
Per 1860 census – 1766
Per
church burial records – 1768
The census and even the church
burial records are not considered primary sources and obviously there is a good
deal of variation (accuracy) of the
records.
In the Schuylkill County
Pennsylvania: Genealogy, Family History -
1916 there is a bio of Conrad and some of his descendants but it does not have
any information regarding his age or his ancestors.
3. Same man question
Assuming that Edward’s twin was
named Conrad and assuming Conrad of Duaphin birth year could be confirmed to be
the same as Edward what evidence is there to connect the two men?
June Shaull Lutz researcher and
publisher of History of the Op Den Graeff Opdegraff Family, 1988 stated the
possible connection of Conrad to Edward.
In June book she stated :
" Isaac
or Edward -/Conrad Optegraff b-twin 11/27/1771, bapt. 12/29/1771, sp: Carl
Weiss A Eva. C. The following records were found and are no doubt this same
Conrad:Conrad Opdegrove b- census says 1773, Shanks says 1778, but it has been
found through much research that these records are not
"absolute",and the author of this book feels
this is all the same man.d- 1865 Williamstown, Dauphin Co., Pa.-94y 3m 15d m -
after 1751 Elizabeth Angst b-1773, but
records for the St. Jacobs Church, Pine Grove twp., now Schuylkill Co., was
Berks Co.until 1811, Pa. show that Conrad & Elizabeth were both age 25 A 3/4 when they were
confirmed there 10/9/1803, if I am right then these are the
same Conrads …”
è Clearly June is stating her conjecture that Conrad of Dauphin Co. is the
twin of Edward. She references the Shank/Edwards information (confirmation
document) indicating 25+ yrs old in 1803 or birth year abt 1778 not 1771
(Edward’s birth year) so she mention that ages and dates can vary over the
years. The confirmation record as stated before would be considered a primary
source and more likely correct. But even if the twin was named Conrad and if
Conrad of Dauphin birth year could be proven to be the same as Edward &
twin there would be only circumstantial evidence to say that the Conrad of
Dauphin Co is the same person as Edward’s twin. This is salient in this analysis
and needs to stated with emphasized. Simply because there was a man named
Conrad Updegrove in Dauphin county documentation it takes more then a leap of
faith to assume that he is the twin of a man born in Berks county maybe named
Isaac or Conrad.
4. Indexed Church Records of the Oley Hill Church (St. Joseph ’s
) Pike Township Berk Co., PA showed both
Edward and Conrad. Possibly key source
document.
The
Reformed Church Index records first edition and then a 1938 revised/updated
edition showed Edward without Conrad but a master copy held by the Reformed
Historical Society in 1990 had Conrad penciled in. A genealogist in Reading PA
The
original Pastor who performed the baptism for Edward and his twin only included
Edward’s name as noted above. The Church records used of indexing may have additional
information and they may have recorded the name of both twins but the first and
2nd Indexed editions did not contain
the twin’s name.
Lastly
: Shank/Edwards as noted by June never
had a Conrad in the family group sheet but did included an Isaac.
5.
The LDS file(IGI file ?) with “ Edward + [and ?] Conrad “ seemed to be updated from showing only Edward
to including Conrad with [?] By Robin Kornides
è
No source documents so using LDS info would be questionable.
Summary and conclusions - what we do know – where does this leave us :
1. The connection of Conrad of Dauphin county to Edward
of Berks ( son of father Johann Wilhelm OpdenGraff) relies on Conrad being the
twin of Edward. This is not simply whether or not Edward’s twin was named
Conrad but if it was then is the the same Conrad found in Williamsburg Duaphin
Co early 1800 records.
2. Birth year + :
a. Edward
of Berks Co. born 1771 and had a twin per original pastor
baptism records. Twins name did not appear on baptism record.
b. Conrad of
Dauphin Co. birth seems more likley to be 1778 then 1771 based on confirmation record.
3. Church
Indexed records:
a. Chruch released
about 1920 & then revised/updated in 1938 listed only Edward.
b. Church Indexed records or Master copy found in 1987
included Conrad as twin of Edward
c. Jacob W. Udpegrove in Nov. 1988 communication with
researcher June Lutz who published , History of the Op Den Graef / Updegraff Family book said based on his
notes taken when he saw an English
translation of the original German church records that Isaac was listed as the
twin. I have not verified this.
Using
the Church Index records is not straight forward as there seems that over time
information was added and the original source(s) are not known. The Church
records ( indexed or original ) can not be used to prove that the Conrad of
Dauphin Co. is the twin of Edward of Berks.
4. Researchers Shank/Edwards in their 11
volume genealogy of the descendants of Herman Op den Graeff family group sheets
listed Edward and Isaac as children of Johann Wilhelm Op den Graeff of Oley PA
who is the father of Edward of Berks. There
was no Conrad in the family group sheet.
5. Researcher June Lutz in her book listed
“Issac or / Conrad” as the twin. She
stated that Shank/Edwards research had give the Conrad of Dauphin Co. a birth
year of 1778 based on Conrad’s confirmation records. She also stated that one census
had an estimated birth of 1773 for Conrad
Updegrove of Williamstown Dauphin Co. PA and that she “ “feels” that this Conrad of Williamstown was
the same person found in the Oley church records” (i.e. twin of Edward).
Copied directly from her book :
6. Many Internet family researchers have
picked up from one another that Conrad of Dauphin Co. was the twin of Edward of
Berks. It is now very pervasive and included in many genealogies , Wiki postings
, international family histories, etc. The few that have a reference source usually
trace back to another person who referenced another person etc without any even
secondary source(s) actually provided. After following up several of these it
seems like the most likely source trace back to June Lutz’s book which as
stated above does not provide any source for the connection of Conrad of Dauphin Co. to the Edward of Berks family. It was just her
feeling.
7.
Regardless
whether Edward’s twin name was Isaac or Conrad which remains very questionable the more important aspect is that
there is no known evidence to link the Conrad found
in Dauphin Co records to Edward of Berks. Searching for additional documentation and
hopefully being able to find non-disputable source(s) after all these years did
not seem the way to go. Using modern DNA testing was proposed to see if it
could support or reject the hypothesis that the Conrad OD Dauphin Co. and
Edward of Berks families were related and had a common ancestor in the time
frame supported by the known facts.
8. DNA testing
In 2011
and 2012 two 3rd cousins and known descendants of Conrad of Dauphin
Co through his son Solomon(1809-1884) took Y-DNA 37 marker test. Also three 4th
cousin descendants of Edward of Berks family took the same Y-DNA 37 marker
test. Two from an Edward brother branch and another was from Edward’s direct
descendant line.
The
Results were very straight forward :
The Conrad of Dauphin Co 3rd
cousins matched very closely as expected.
The three Edward of Beks 4th
cousins matched very closely as expected.
è
Conrad cousins
did not match the Edward cousins . The
genetic distance a measure of how far apart two individuals are when comparing
DNA was 19 indicating if there was a common ancestor it would have had to be
thousands of years before. The DNA supports that the Conrad line of Dauphin county is not related to Edward
family of Berks. This results supports the lack of source documentation ( primary
or secondary) tieing the two family groups together. It does not exist because the families are
not related.
Could
a challenge still be made ? – of course but it would have to overcome the DNA
data which is very, very strong. One
always could ask if there was an adoption or out of wedlock event. Since both 3rd
cousins were descendants from Conrad’s 4th and last known child,
Solomon, it is possible that Solomon was adopted or the illegitimate child of
Conrad’s wife. If someone has reason to suspect either of these
cases then Conrad’s first son, Johann , who has at least one known male living
descendant and he could be tested but if either of these scenarios happen then
the descendants still would not genetically be related to the family descendants
of Edward. Conrad and his wife were married and then confirmed in 1803 and the family
children births begin about 1 year later and continued every 2 years through
Solomon’s birth in 1809 it all fits a typical family scenario for that era.
Conclusions :
1. Edward had a twin probably named Isaac or possibly Conrad
born 1771
2. The Conrad found in Dauphin Co records data seems to
indicate he was not born in 1771
3. No paper trail connecting Conrad of Dauphin County to
Edward of Berks County.
4. DNA convincingly shows that the descendants of Conrad of
Dauphin are not related to Edward of Berks descendants and this supports that
Conrad of Dauphin was not the twin of Edward of Berks.
This unfortunately seems to leave the family
genealogy of Conrad of Dauphin ending with him.
Until other evidence is found the trail of the Updegrove family who are
descendants of Conrad end with him. Researchers Shank/Edwards did say that maybe Conrad was
the son of Peter “OBTIGRAV” whose
name is in the first US census , Pinegrove Twp, Berks
Co. – now Schuykill Co. but they could not find any sources to support this.
The 1790 census for Peter shows 2 males under the age of 16 which fits the
birth year range of 1775 to 1790 and fits the Conrad of Dauphin estimated 1778
based on his confirmation record.
I have
additional material including Edward’s descendants DNA test comparison to known
Germantown
If
interested please contact .
