Geneleaogy Wanderings – German Ancestry on the Gage family

There is no doubt that my 3^rd great grandmother, Phoebe Allen Gage’s maternal lines are unmistakably German with a little Dutch thrown in.  I have a small knowledge of German (from high school German) and I find it endlessly fascinating to see how these names change and that I have two separate lines that have similar names.  I have seen the name Zeybel spelled as Zeybel or Seibel.  The Zeh name is spelled as Zeh, Zehe or See. Since I don’t live in the region and I really don’t have a strong knowledge – I have had to rely on other’s research and sometimes I certainly wonder what’s what!

My 6^th great grandmother’s name was Anna Elizabeth Zeybel – she was born around April 1747 as that was when she was baptized in the Dutch Reformed Church (15 Apr 1747)  - her sponsors were Hannes Rikkert and Anna Elisabeth. Anna was married to Willem Truax on 17 Apr 1760 and they had 11 children.

• Jacob Willem Truax b. 1762 d. 1841 m. Barbara Bell
• Johannes Truax b. 1763 d. 1829 m. Gertuid Hainen
• Eve Truax b. 1765 d. aft 1873 m. John Van Schaick
• Elizabeth Truax b. 1766 d. ? m. Henrich Ervent
• Annatje Truax b. 1769 d. 1812 m. Peter Jost Zeh (my 5^th great grandmother)
• Maria Truax b. 1771 d. aft 1820 m. John Michael Bell
• Margaret Truax b. 1773 d. 1859 m. William Marinus
• Catharina Truax b. 1776 d. ? m. Matteus Werner
• Barbara Truax b. 1777 d. ?
• Angeline – Engeltje Truax b. 1779 d. 1852 m. George Leib
• Maria Barbara Truax b. 1781 d. 1853 m. James Herbert

Within those names above – I am not entirely sure that they are all spelled correctly, sometimes it is my best guess.  I got a lot of the information from a website no longer on the web called “The House of Truax” However, back to Anna Elizabeth Zeybel – her parents were either George or Jurrie Sybel and Anna Maria Reyin.  There are Dutch Reformed Church records that list their marriage on 12 Feb 1742 at the Schoharie Reformed Church in Schoharie, NY. (Jurrie was previously married to a Maria Engal Huls who was probably born about 1710 and d. before 1742.  She was the daughter of Christopher Hull and Eva Catherina and they had 6 children - all daughters) Jurrie’s parents are Jacob Zeybel d. 1735 and Anna Getha.  Jacob was born in Oberschild, Germany and his parents were Johann Zeybel and Catharina.  I have my doubts on these later generations as I can’t really research them because I really don’t have access to those records.  My best guess is that Jacob was the immigrant and probably came in the early 1700’s.

Here is a bit about the Truax family that I wrote in an earlier blog – Walloon’s to New Amsterdam

Annatje Truax was married to Peter Jost Zeh (b. abt 1770 d. aft 1830) and he was also of German descent and his family goes back a few more generations. 

His line is:

Jost Bellinger Zeh b. 1740 d. 1823 m. Anna Barbara Wanner b. 1740 d. 1800

Johannes Zeh Jr b. 1710 d. 1763 m. Anna Catherine Bellinger b. 1716 d. 1749

Johannes Zeh b. 1667 d. 1744 m. Anna Magdalena – Johannes was born in Rudelsheim, Germany and immigrated about 1710. 

Their children’s names are:

• Johann George Zeh b. 1698 d. 1751 m. Margaret Tschudi
• Johannes Gerhardt Zeh b. 1704 d. abt 1710 (during sea voyage to America)
• Ignatius Zeh b. 1706 d. 1710 (during sea voyage to America)
• Johannes Petrus Zeh b. 1709 d. abt 1710 (during sea voyage to America)
• Johannes Zeh b. 1710 d. 1763 m. Anna Catherine Bellinger (my 7^th great grandfather)
• Christian Zeh b. 1710 d. 1763 m. Anna Sophia Lawyer
• Adam Zeh b. 1712 d. 1771 m. Anna Meier
• Maria Margaretha Zeh b. 1712 m. Marcus Bellinger
• Sophia Zeh b. 1719 d. 1759
• Maria Barbara Zeh b. ? d. ? m. John Frederick Carel Schel

Check out Descendants of Johannes Zehe/Zeh/See by Harold See for more info on the family.

This reminds me that I have a few books that I need to reference about these families.  I wonder if it was desperation with their current circumstances that forced them to leave their homes or the promise of a new life and opportunity.  The original Zeh family shows some of the heartbreaking consequences and danger of traveling on a sea voyage to America. Johannes and Anna Magdalena lost three children on that voyage and she was likely pregnant during that voyage as my 7^th great grandfather was born in NY in September of the same year that they made the voyage. I have to wonder what those children died of...and how many others died during the journey.

I know that I have a considerable amount of German ancestry and that most of them immigrated in the 1700’s.  I assume that most of them are Palantine Germans and I suspect that there are many of us with ancestry in New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia would find similar stories in our family histories.  Here is another earlier blog that I wrote about these ancestors: Palantine Family Roots