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Summary
and Analysis: Five Berks County Bechtel Wills
Submitted by: Susan Whittington
A. Jacob Bechtel, Berks County, Exeter
Township. English-language will
made July 12, 1790 and signed "Jacob Bechtel." Probably died mid-January 1803, as letters testamentary were issued
January 29, 1803.
Sons in order of mention:
Peter
Jacob
John
Henry
Dietrich
Daughters in order of mention:
Susannah
Elizabeth
Maria
Wife still living was:
Maria Elizabeth Bechtel
Inheritors were:
All sons, daughters, and sons-in-law John Hoch and Jacob Hoch
Executors were:
Peter Bechtel, who also inherited Jacob's "clock, dining-table and clothes-press."
Estate:
Worth ca. 150 pounds, including
debts owed by Peter Bechtel (75 pounds) and Jacob Bechtel (55 pounds).
Analysis:
Farmer Jacob Bechtel was probably in his sixties, born probably in the
1740's or 1750's, having had eight children. Peter Bechtel was named executor when the will was drafted in 1790, thus
it is unlikely he is "our" Peter Bechtel, who was born in 1778 and 12 years old
at the time. (However, see
analysis of the John Bechtel will on the next page.) Jacob's will mentions that Jacob had previously
sold land to his sons Peter, Jacob, John and
Henry. The latter four get little from
the will until they have paid Jacob's estate the (probably concessionary) price
of the land they've bought from their father.
B. John Bechtel, Berks County, Exeter
Township. English-language will
signed November 14, 1791 and signed with an "X". Probably died about one month later in mid-December 1791, as an
estate appraisal was done December 21, 1791, after his death. Will mentions that he is ill and a
bachelor.
Brothers
in order of mention:
Dietrich
John P(word
obscured, presumably Peter)
Jacob
Henry
Sisters in order of mention:
Elizabeth
(single)
Catherine
the wife of John Hoch
Name
partially obscured with tape, but probably Susannah, wife of Jacob Hoch
Obscured
with tape, but possibly Maria
Inheritors
were:
All brothers and sisters, especially Elizabeth and Dietrich
Executors
were:
Brother Henry Bechtel and friend Abraham Lincoln
Estate:
Worth ca. 111 pounds, plus 113 acres worth 813 pounds.
Analysis:
Farmer John Bechtel was probably in his late thirties or forties, born
probably in the 1760's. The land he
left to his heirs was probably sold to him by his father, Jacob Bechtel (d.
1803--See above). The estate appraisal
refers to the decedent as "John Bechtel Junior," probably to differentiate
between another, nearby and older John Bechtel, perhaps the decedent's
uncle. John's land is left to his
(probably youngest) brother Dietrich, who was the only one of Jacob's sons who
wasn't sold some of Jacob's land prior to the drafting of the 1790 will.
Perhaps the most interesting and
mystifying aspect of John Bechtel's Berks County estate package is a
handwritten and signed petition to the court dated January 2, 1792 from
Peter Bechtel, "a minor under the age of twenty years," stating that (his)
brother (John) had left him land in his will and asking that Peter be permitted
to choose a guardian to take care of (his portion of) the estate. Presumably because Peter is under age, he
needs a male guardian (his father may not automatically qualify, particularly
since his father once owned the land and Peter still owes his father money for
its purchase) to legally deal with the estate. This Peter might be our ancestor, as our Peter was born in 1778 and
would have been 13 when his brother John died.
C. Peter Bechtel, Berks County, Exeter
Township. English-language will
signed "Peter Bechtel" on May 14, 1802. Probably died ca July 1807, as an estate appraisal was done July 23,
1807 after his death.
Children in order of mention:
Jacob
George
Catharine
("now the wife of Henry Bechtel")
Susannah
("now the wife of John Weiler)
Executor:
"My son-in-law Henry Bechtel."
Inheritors
were:
Son, George
Bechtel, 10 acre tract of land in Exeter Township
Daughter
Susannah, 37 acre tract of land in Exeter Township.
"Prentice
Boy named Frederick Ox," a minor, 50 pounds
Residue of
estate divided equally among all four children.
Estate:
502 pounds,
which included a bond against Jacob Bechtel dated May 13, 1802, for 150 pounds;
another against Henry Bechtel, dated May 13, 1802 for 150 pounds; others
against Abraham Ludwig dated 1804 for 15 pounds and three pounds; one bond
against "John Bechtel Junior and John Bechtel Senior" dated November 24, 1804
for 50 pounds; and a note dated March 12, 1806 for 20 pounds against "John
Bechtel."
Analysis:
Assume
Peter Bechtel (d. 1807) and Jacob Bechtel (d. 1803) were brothers. The decedent, Peter, at the time he drew up
his will, probably lent his son Jacob and his daughter Catharine/son-in-law
Henry Bechtel (a nephew?) money to buy other tracts of Peter's land. (Need to check land records for transfers of
land in summer, 1802). His remaining
land was willed to those two children (Susannah and George) who did not benefit
from loans/land sales in 1802. Presumably the John Bechtels to whom he lent large sums of money in
1804/1806 were another brother and nephew?
D. Christopher
Beightle, Berks County, Exeter Township.English-language will made December 2, 1751 and signed with an
illegible signature. Probably died in
late August 1762, as will probate process was started August 25, 1762. Witnesses were James Tomson, George Henton
and Johannes Bischoff.
Sons
in order of mention:
Jacob
John
John Jacob
("Eldest Son")
Peter
Daughters
in order of mention:
Mary, "now
wife to Joseph Oldhaus(?)"
Rosanna
"now wife to Michail Ludowick" (Note: Owned plot 66, Exeter Township)
Wife
still living was:
Susanna
Inheritors
were:<
All sons
and daughters, especially Jacob.
Executors
were:
Jacob
Beightle (his son)
Estate:
Listing of estate not included in
his file.
Analysis:
Christopher Beightle in his will says he is "aged seventy-one." (His year of birth is thus probably
1680.) His wife Susanna is "advanced in
years." Christopher's son Jacob lives
with the elder Beightles and helps take care of them. Jacob receives in the will 225 acres of the single tract of 300
acres owned by Christopher (Note: presumably plots 44&45 totaling 300 acres
next to Christopher Boyer's plot 46). Son John receives 75 acres "at the end of this tract adjoining land of
James Thompson, Mordecai Lincoln and Chrisopher Bowyer." Will says he has already given and paid (and
ordered son Jacob to pay) several sums of money to the rest of his children.
E. Jacob Bechtel, Berks County, Exeter
Township. English-language will
made June 1, 1824 and "Jacob Bechtel." Probably died in mid-February 1826, as will probate process was started
February 19, 1826. Witnesses were John
Bechtel and John Christian.
Sons
in order of mention:
Jacob
John
Daughters
in order of mention:
Susana
Boone
Elizabeth Frenhel (?)
Catharine From (?)
Margaret
Wife
still living was:<
Elizabeth
Inheritors
were:
All sons
and daughters.
Executors were:
Sons John and Jacob.
Estate:
Listing of estate not included in
his file.
Analysis:
Will signed Jacob Bechtel, who is a "farmer,"
and may be in his handwriting. Jacob's son Jacob is to care for his mother
during her lifetime. Elizabeth may live
in the house and is to "have the same privilege she now has of making butter
cheese for her own use but she is not to sell any household goods." John and Jacob are to handle final
expenses. Jacob gets the "houseclock
and all the carpenter's tools," and John gets "all of the smith tools." John and Jacob divide the remainder of the
estate equally. Six hundred pounds is to eb paid to "my four dawters...Susana
Boone...Elizabeth Frenhel...Catharine From (?)...and Margaret.
F. Mary Bechtel of Oley Township, Berks
County left
all to her brother John Bertolet and her five sisters named Bertolet. No mention of Bechtel relatives.
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