Benjamin Shackelton Wintermute

Notes:

INFO: Republican

Religion: M. E. Church

Benjamin married Mary Ann West about 1836 in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. Mary was born on 22 Nov 1817 in Pennsylvania; died on 11 Oct 1891 in Peoria, Iowa. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Enos West Wintermute was born on 17 Apr 1841 in Uniontown, Pennylvania.
2. David Hazen Wintermute was born on 17 Oct 1844 in Uniontown, Fayette County, Pennsylvania; died on 25 Dec 1883 in Farm near Peoria, Iowa; was buried in 1883 in Buried in Peoria Cemetery.
3. Mary Margaret Wintermute was born on 6 Apr 1847 in Uniontown, Pennsylvania; died about 1925 in Bloomfield, Iowa.
4. Sarah Jane Wintermute was born on 11 Jan 1851 in Uniontown, Pennsylvania.
5. Anna Florence Wintermute was born on 24 May 1859 in Peoria, Iowa; died on 8 Mar 1863.

John married Sarah Shackelton on 14 Nov 1805. Sarah (daughter of Benjamin Shackelton and Mary Ogden) was born on 29 Aug 1785; died on 16 Jan 1818. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

T. Michael Louden has written:

"I have found the grave of George Wintermute and check the tombstone against the book. George is buried between the graves of Mary Wintermute and Ashfordby Wintermute (his son). Who is Mary Wintermute? The stone is very faded marble but
looks like it says:

"Mary

wife of

?A? Wintermute

died

?1? Jan 181?4?

Aged 5????..."

rest is unreadable but is shaped like the rest of age and a quote of some sort in smaller print as was the style at the time. The are no grave markers either side of these three or in front or behind. I assume these are filled graves but
without current markers. If I assume that Mary is a previously undocumented wife of Ashfordby it raises the question of why they were not buried adjacent to one another instead of with a space between them where George is buried 10 years
later.



Any ideas on who Mary "wife of Wintermute" is?

Mike Louden

George married Nancy\Anna Arason on 27 May 1771. Nancy\Anna (daughter of Jeptha Arason) was born on 6 May 1750; died on 19 Feb 1809 in Stillwater, New Jersey. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

middle name possibly Richard?

possible birth date - 1757

possible death date - 26 Nov 1800

Benjamin married Mary Ogden. Mary (daughter of Gabriel Ogden and Mary Shotwell) was born in 1758; died on 19 May 1838. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Tradition says this (Mrs) Mary Shackelton (whose maiden name was Mary Ogden), the second wife, was very proud; that when dressed for church she would wrap herself in a sheet to avoid contact with her husband while on the way, fearing he
would disarrange her toilet. She would array him in ruffles, a cocked hat and knee breeches, a costume he was unused to, and take him into distinguished society. This marriage was said not to have been pleasant or congenial, and a
separation occurred.



She had eight children by her former husband, Shackelton, named as follows: Sarah, Lydia, Elizabeth, John, Mary, Rachel, Robert, and Benjamin. They lived between Blairstown and Hope. Mary, their mother, died May 19, 1830, and was buried
near her residence in a cemetery close by a brick school house. Arason's widow says she understands Shackelton's name to have been Benjamin, and that he died previous to the birth of his youngest son, who was named for him on that account.

Notes:

On May 11, 1711, Johann George Windemuth was born in the southwest region of the Rhineland-Palatinate just east of the Rhine River in Pfungstadt, Germany. Johann was the youngest son of Johann Christoph Windemuth, a wainwright, and Mary Marguerite Kleppinger, a tailor. It was a challenging time to grow up in the Palatinate region of Germany in those years. The many years of war with their French neighbors really took its toll. Other factors like severe winters crippled the local economy. The economy was directly affected by the weather dependent agricultural industry. It is no wonder why so many ?poor Palatines?, like Johann George Windemuth, decided to leave everything behind to take the treacherous journey to North America.

Johann?s journey to North America started in May of 1736. He took a small crowded scow up the Rhine River to the port city of Rotterdam, Holland. Confronted with an endless barrage of tolls, depleting all or most of your resources was inevitable. The feverish demand to get to North America fed the economic growth of the bustling Colonial City of Philadelphia. As the existing pool of laborers and craftsmen were running low, the influx of these Palatine Germans really filled that void. This new bond between Palatines and the growth of Philadelphia created a new trade that was no different than indentured servitude. The Palatines were the unintended architects of this new trade, where their debt was sold to the highest bidder. They were mandated to work off their debt, which in many cases lasted 3 or more years. It is debatable who ended up with the better part of this arrangement. Cheap labor or temporarily relinquishing your freedom to live free in a new fertile land. It was only around 30 years later that the bargain was tested as the Colonists were preparing to declare their independence from Great Britain.

The path to freedom starts in Rotterdam. It is there that brokers traded the freedom of these Germans in exchange for passage to Colonial North America . Fueled by the promise of a fresh start, Johann and thousands of others ended up trading their freedom in exchange for the cost of the trip. He quickly made arrangements with Captain Robert Harle whose ship was named ?Harle?. Harle had a decent reputation, but he, too, could not escape the pressure to maximize profit at the expense of the desperate Palatines. Once all this business was sorted out, it was off to London. While in London, the passengers were immedietaly expected to pledge their allegiance to the King of England in exchange for the right of way to the Colonies. The Crown was desperately hoping to flood the Colonies with presumed loyalists.

During the summer of 1736, Johann and others flirted with death across the Altantic on the ship Harle. Overcrowding, rancid provisions and sea sickness were only some of the dangers. This was certainly not a deterrent to Johann. After four harrowing months, Johann finally arrived in Philadelphia. Despite coming from a rural community, life in the city of Philadelphia was likely more comfortable and familiar than expected. By 1736, there were thousands of German speaking people residing in Philadelphia. Johann and his family became acquainted with Johan Peter Bernhardt and his family. Most likely Johann George?s father struck up a friendship with Johan Peter Berhardt. There is the possibility they were acquainted back in Germany. This relationship eventually led to Johann George marrying the daughter of Johan Peter Bernhardt, Margaret Elizabeth Bernhardten in 1739. Johann George was 25 and Margaret Elizabeth 18 at the time of their marriage. A few years later in 1741, Johan?s youngest daughter, Maria Catharine, ended up marrying a young Palatine man named Caspar Shaver (later to be known as Caspar Shafer).

This new alliance, the Wintermute-Shafer family, was now ready to build a new future together. They unleashed themselves from the shackles of debt and raised enough money to lease some land. While many German immigrants looked to settle in Pennsylvania. They decided to settle in the ?wilderness? of New Jersey. They made a deal with the London Company who were trading properties that were part of the William Penn tract. One of the members of the London Company was Dr. John Fothergill, a very close friend of Benjamin Franklin. Some of that unsold land ended up in Western New Jersey, in what is now called Sussex County. They chose to settle in a small village called Stillwater that was part of the town of Hardwick, New Jersey. The alluvial and limestone rich land they chose was along the Paulinskill River and across from a powerful spring called The Big Spring. Their risk was certainly paying off, but all they had to do was get there.

The not so easy path to Stillwater was following a trail north east along the ?Blue Mountain? ridge (now known as Kitattinny). This was a risky journey that required tenacity and the basic knowledge of survival. They would have had to negotiate with rough terrain and their new cohabitants, the Lenape Indians. They ended up in Stillwater sometime in 1742. They did not waste any time settling in. They quickly built a rudimentary log cabin and began clear cutting fields for farming. The Shafers and the Wintermutes evolved into a productive and successful family business enterprise. By 1755, Johann had four children - his oldest was Elizabeth Snook, the 2nd child was Margaret Kreter, his first son was George and the youngest was Peter. It was at that time he decided to build a stone house along the Paulinskill river. A few years later he built a fulling mill along the river, which is said to be the first or one of the first in Sussex county. Eventually, his son Peter operated the mill and was able to build his own stone house (now known as Bonnie Brook Farm) on the road with an eye shot of his father?s house. While history paints a picture that Johann was in his brother-in-law?s (Caspar Shafer?s) shadow, there is an untold story about how great this man really was. A man whose dreams came true and died free in a country that was built on courage, hope and the promise of prosperity. He remained in Stillwater the rest of his life and was buried in the Stillwater Cemetery on December 19, 1782. He was survived by his wife, 5 children and 15 grandchildren. Three of his grandchildren were born within just a few months prior to his passing. The Windemuth aka Wintermute family is alive and well today. They are very proud of their heritage and the Windemuth family organization has come to visit the home many times over the years. Stillwater would not be the community it is today without Johann George Wintermute.



You can find this article here:
https://thebonniebrookfarm.com/f/remembering-johann-george-wintermute

Johann married Johanna Margaretha Elizabetha Bernhardten in 1739 in Sussex County, New Jersey. Johanna (daughter of John Peter Bernhardt) was born on 5 Aug 1721 in Kezenheim, Grafschaft Bolander, Europa; died on 15 Feb 1800 in Stillwater, New Jersey; was buried in 1800 in Buried in Stillwater, N.J. Cemetery. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

From her toombstone:



Here Rests in God

Margaret Elizabeth Windemuth, born 1721, (Aug. 5) in the Kezenheim in the Grafschaft Bolander Europa, Came to America with father, mother and two sisters in the year 1731. Died Febry 15 1800 aged 78 years 6 months and 10 days.

Notes:

--Other Fields

Education: King's American possessions & rec'd in pay

Maiden Name: a large tract of northern N.J. land.

Notes:

Reference:

Armstrong, William C.

1979 Pioneer Families of Northwestern New Jersery. Hunterdon House,

Lamberville, NJ, pp 169-170, 172, 208-210.

Gabriel married Mary Shotwell. Mary was born in in England?. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]