Juliana Burger ^83,182

  General Notes:

Heidelberg Cemetery Old Sect Row 15, Slatington, Lehigh Co, PA

From David Helfrich (dhelfrich3@comcast.net)

"I think I may have figured out who our Julianna Burger was, who married Lorenz Wehr. I have found some records for the name Burger in Heidelburg Twp in the mid 1700's. The only name that shows up in the records as being the right age, in the right place at the right time to be Julianna Burger's father is Daniel Burger. According to Myron Wehr's book, she was born in 1747 and supposedly her tombstone says that as well. I believe this information is wrong, even if it does say it on the tombstone. I've seen other instances, especially with these early tombstones, where dates are completely wrong. Case in point being the tombstone of another ancestor of mine, Anna Newhard, wife of John Marcks. Her tombstone reads that she died June 17, 1804. She actually died September 7, 1864 - a difference of over 60 years! At any rate, I think the reason we can't find any more information on her is because her birth date is incorrect. Here's why I think that...

The only immigration record I can find of a Daniel Burger who came over prior to the date of his earliest appearance in the Heidelberg Church records, came on the Ship Samuel, Captain: Hugh Percy, from Rotterdam. It arrived in Philadelphia on 27 Aug 1739. It shows a list of 111 male passengers over 16 years of age, including Daniel Burger. But here's the kicker, in the following source, you can find the names of the people who travelled with Daniel...

BURGERT, ANNETTE KUNSELMAN. Eighteenth Century Emigrants from German-Speaking Lands to North America. Publications of the Pennsylvania German Society, 16/19. Birdsboro, PA: The Pennsylvania German Society. Vol. 2: The Western Palatinate. 1985. 405p.

Here's who was with him, and where they came from...

Daniel Burger, age 40
Maria Margretha (Faust)
Johann Adam, age 2
Juliana, age 1

From Essweiler, Bayern-Pfalz

That would make our Juliana Burger's real birth date sometime in 1738 or so. I would be willing to bet that the signature on Daniel Burger's will, which is at the Northampton County Court House, and the signature from the ship's list on his arrival in Philadelphia are a match. And the reason we can't find a birth record for Juliana in the Heidelberg Church Records is because she was actually born in Germany! Now if I only could get the time to check them out and prove it...

Anyway, that's my theory. What do you think?"

From David Helfrich Mar 12 2006

I appear to have solved the mystery of Juliana Burger - wife of Lorenz Wehr. I ordered a copy of Daniel Burger's will (finally) from the Northampton County Register of Wills so I could see his signature and compare it to the signature of the Daniel Burger who arrived in America in 1739 on the ship Samuel. Despite the 30+ years difference between the times the documents were signed, the signatures are virtually identical in all important aspects.

What threw me off for a while was that Juliana's tombstone places her birthdate as Feb 3, 1747. However, the ship list shows that Daniel Burger emigrated with his wife and daughter Juliana (whose age was shown as being 1 in 1739). So knowing what I now know, either Juliana's tombstone is wrong or she had an older sister who was born in Germany about 1738 and died, and was also named Juliana. Either way, our Juliana Burger, who married Lorenz Wehr was the definitely the daughter of Daniel Bürger (b. Abt. 1699 in Germany - d. between Jan 1774 - Jan 1775 in Heidelberg, Lehigh County, PA) and his wife Maria Margretha Faust. Daniel, Maria Margretha and two children - Johann Adam (age 2) and Juliana (age 1) arrived in Philadelphia on the ship Samuel on 27 Aug 1739. They were from the area of Essweiler, Bayern-Pfalz.

  Noted events in her life were:

• Alternate Spell: Juliana Borger.

• Born Alternate: Heidelberg Twp, Northampton Co, Pennsylvania, Feb 3, 1747. ²⁰⁴

Juliana married Lorenz Wehr, son of Simon Wehr and Catherina Unknown. (Lorenz Wehr was born on Mar 16, 1743 in Heidelberg Twp, Northampton Co., Pennsylvania,^182,183 died on Jul 1, 1795 and was buried in Heidelberg Cemetery, Slatington, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.)