My ancestor
John Lupher, as he became known, was the second son of Hans Jacob Lupfer,
whose birth, on 4 May 1762 as Johannes Lupfer, is listed in the old Bible
that is shown on the Lupfer/Lupher/Luper main page. He was born in
Berks County, PA but later moved with his parents to Cumberland County
(the part that is now Perry County, near New Bloomfield). As
a young man, John fought in the Revolution, joining the Cumberland County
militia at the age of 16. It is said that he did not fight
the British but was sent to what was then the frontier, in Western Pennsylvania,
to fight Indians. So he became familar with that area.
John returned
to Cumberland County after the war, where he married Margaret Barnett 1761-1832,
a daughter of Thomas Barnett (born Johann Thomas Bernhard) and Margaret
Pentz. There is something of a Romeo and Juliet story connected with
the marriage of these two, who were my 4th greatgrandparents. John's father,
the immigrant Jacob Lupfer, was a farmer and miller, as was Margaret's
father, his close neighbor. They both had mills on the same
stream, and Jacob Lupfer's was the upstream one. In dry years
there was not enough water to operate both mills, Lupfer took most of it,
and Barnett sued. The litigation went on for years and is documented
in the Pennsylvania Archives.
The marriage of
John and Margaret is said to have outraged both fathers, as one can well
imagine, and the resulting family ill-will is thought to be one of
the reasons the young couple went West. Be that as it may,
go West they did, first to Allegheny County and later to what is now Venango
County. They had the following children:
Jacob
Lupher 1782 - 1874, married
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1st Martha Elizabeth Hill 1797-1846
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2nd ?
Smith ?-1860
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| Rebecca
'Betsey' Lupher 1788 - 1854, married
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John
Lupher 1790 - 1880, married
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1st Mary 'Polly' Allerton
1787-1836
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2nd Jane Gibson Bennet 1793 - 1863
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3rd Nancy Marley
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Thomas
Lupher 1792 - 1885, married
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1st Elizabeth 'Eliza' Cousins ca 1792
- 1834
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(Thomas and Eliza were my 3rd greatgrandparents)
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2nd Mary Ann Douglas
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3rd Lucinda ??
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| Mary
'Polly' Lupher 1798 - 1879, married
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Henry
Lupher 1799 - 1853, married
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1st Mary Myers ? - 1824
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2nd Hannah Vanmeter
? - 1861
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Thomas
Lupher 1784-1885 was my 3rd greatgrandfather. It is difficult
to find much in the way of records about him, but he had at least three
wives and there is suspicion of a fourth. In any case his first wife,
Eliza Cousins ca 1792-1834, was the mother of most of his children and
my 3rd greatgrandmother. I have just recently learned that
she was a daughter of William Cousins, born in Ireland in 1755 and his
wife Mary Ann ??. My first Irish ancestor, and that is all I know
so far. Thomas and Eliza had the following children:
Margaret
'Peggy' Lupher 1812 - 1880, married
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William Hays, Jr 1806 - 1885
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Henry
Lupher 1814 - 1878 married
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Lavina Crouch 1822 - 1876 (my 2nd greatgrandparents)
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| Mary
'Polly' Lupher 1818 - ?, married
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| William
Lupher 1820 - 1844, married
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| Elizabeth
'Betsy' Lupher 1821 - ?, married
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Thomas
A. Lupher 1826 - 1900, married
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1st Mary Ann Whitman 1823 - 1891
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2nd Frances
Hanselman
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David
Lupher 1828 - 1890, married
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Mary Celia Badger 1834 - 1890
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| Hannah
Lupher 1832 - 1833 |
Eliza Cousins Lupher
died in 1834 and Thomas was married a second time, to Mary Ann Douglas.
With her he had three more children:
Julia
Ann Lupher 1837 - ?
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Clarinda
Lupher 1841 - ?
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Levi
Lupher 1847 - ?
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After Mary Ann's
death Thomas was apparently married a third time, to a Lucinda ?, but had no
more children as far as I know.
Henry
Lupher 1814-1878 was my greatgreatgrandfather. He lived in
Townville, Crawford county, with his wife Lavina Crouch
1822-1876, who was from an old New England family that had been in Crawford
County for a couple of generations. Henry and Lavina had the following
children:
Adelia
Violetta Lupher 1838 - 1917, married
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Thomas Burling Coburn ? - ca 1912
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Adoniram
Judson Lupher 1841 - 1913, married
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Almira Williams 1846 - 1939
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William
Addison Lupher 1844 - 1922, married
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Antoinette Eliza Little 1850 - 1936
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James
Melvin Lupher 1846 - 1924, married
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1st Theresa C. Baker ca 1858 - ca 1916
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2nd Myrtle Dunham 1868 - 1959
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Rosetta
Elizabeth Lupher 1851 - 1929, married
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1st John Delos Gilson 1843 - 1874
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2nd Chandler Price Taylor
1844 - 1897 (my greatgrandfather)
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3rd Hart Osborn 1844
- 1925
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Sophina
Alsina Lupher 1854 - 1935, married
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Ellison A. Oakes 1856 - 1907
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Eva
Adina Lupher 1858 - 1929, married
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Henry 'Harry' J. Rouche 1855 - 1929
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All seven
of these children may be seen in the photograph below, probably taken about
1900, when of course they were no longer children:
