*Descendants of Johann Jacob Barben
of Lower Palatinate, Germany

Palatinate of the Rhine (14th - 18th C.)

Generation #1

* Many facts related to the genealogy and immigration of the Barben/Barbe/Barb Family were excerpt from Barbe, Waverly Wilson, et. al. Barb-- Barbe Genealogy: A Progressive Numerical Register of Some of the Descendants of Johann Jacob Barb, born 28 Nov. 1725, Hochstenbach, Westerwald, Germany, died 20 Apr. 1819, Shenandoah Co., Virginia. Honesdale , PA: Barbe & Associates, 1993.

Johann Jacob Barben of Lower Palatinate, Germany

Johann Jacob Barben was born 11/28/1725 in Hochstenbach in the Westerwaldkreis on the western boundary of the Duchy of Nassau. He and the other passengers aboard the Two Brothers were described as "Inhabitants of the Palatinate upon the Rhine & Places adjacent." Located between the Main and Upper Rhine rivers and extending south to Switzerland, the Rhenish Pfalz was devastated by wars between Catholic France and Protestant German states, overpopulation, heavy taxation, and exceptionally harsh winters between 1708 and 1719. Conditions were rife for ex-migration. [Palatinate Immigration]

Johann's parents were Wigandt and Eva Maria Barben. His mother died before his 17th birthday, and Wigandt married Maria Catherina Richter, a local widow with several children. Maria Catharina's namesake, Maria Catharina (2), was a childhood friend of young Johann Jacob. And shortly after their parent's marriage, Johann Jacob married his new stepsister, Maria Catharina Richter, on about 6/18/1745 in Hochstenbach, Lower Palatinate.

Both Johann's father and and Maria Catharina's mother are reported to have died on 8/12/1746. With this catastrophic loss, there were no ties holding Johann and Maria Catharina in Germany. Shortly thereafter, Johann began preparing their departure for America. And, the pastor of the local Lutheran church recorded their departure among others as "dies Familie in Amerika gehen 1749, 30 May."

After selling their property and possessions to pay for their passage, Johann and Maria Catherina began their migration to the New World. Crossing the countryside toward the South, they booked passage on a barge in Bendorf which is located across the Rhine from Koblenz, Germany. After a leisurely passage down the Rhine River, the family embarked on the ship Two Brothers which was bound for Philadelphia.

The voyage across the Atlantic was probably uncomfortable; as there were 312 passengers on the manifest which was many more passengers than are recorded on subsequent voyages. Of note, due to the deplorable and many times fatal conditions aboard immigrant ships, the Middle Colonies and later the United States enacted Passenger Acts which set restrictions on passenger numbers and required the carrier to provide food and sanitation during the passage. Most significantly, the Passenger Act of 1819, passed by Congress, is cited as effectively ending the Redemptioner trade.

Arriving in Philadelphia on 9/14/1749, English authorities required all foreigners to sign the following loyalty oath:

We Subscribers, Natives and late Inhabitants of the Palatinate upon the Rhine & Places adjacent, will be faithful and bear true Allegiance to his present MAJESTY KING GEORGE THE SECOND, and his Successors, Kings of Great Britain, and will be faithful to the Proprietor of this Province: and will demean ourselves peaceable and strictly observe and conform to the Laws of England and of the Province.

Johann Jacob and Maria Catherina were reportedly bound for the German community in Pennsylvania; however, their first home in America is unknown. Many people believe they settled in Hunterton Co NJ, just upstream from Philadelphia along with a number of other passengers from the "Two Brothers." Evidence of the Barb Family's sojourn in New Jersey comes from Portrait and Biographical Record of Denver and Vicinity, Colorado. (Chicago: Chapman Publishing Company, 1898), p. 898.

MARTIN W. BARB, of Longmont. . .was born in Trumbell County, Ohio, in 1824, the son of Jacob and Naomi (Cox) Barb. His great-grandfather [Johann Jacob Barben] was of German descent and served in the Revolutionary war. His grandfather, William Barb, was a native of New Jersey, but moved to Virginia at an early day and was engaged in farming in Shenandoah County. From there he took his family to Ohio, conveying his goods by team over the Allegheny Mountains, his wife making the trip on horseback. He was well-to-do for those days and one of the foremost men of the times. He settled in Trumbull County in 1805 and was among the pioneers. . . .He was a member of the German Reformed Church. He died at the age of seventy years, after an honorable, upright life.

Jacob Barb, the father of our subject, was born in Virginia in 1798, but spent the greater part of his life in Ohio. The early years were spent in improving the land given him by his father, near Bristol, but in 1836 he sold this property and bought land at Mesopotamia, from which he cleared the timber, and was engaged in its cultivation at the time of his death, in 1868. . . .

After arrival in America, Johann Jacob stopped using his first name and dropped the e (or en) from his last name; going by the his Americanized name: Jacob Barb.

Jacob and Maria Catharina are first found in America in the 1769 Loudoun Co VA Tax List. In 4/1770 they leased 203 acres of land from Thomas Ludwell Lee. Their last lease was recorded in 6/1770. Maria Catharina is believed to have died in Loudoun Co VA; as she is not found in any further records. And, Jacob migrated to Shenandoah Co VA shortly thereafter. [Great Wagon Road]

Others have speculated on reasons why the Barb Family continued their westward migration. Conditions including flight from open warfare during the Revolutionary War, the increasing number of slaves and slave owners in lower Virginia, and population pressure are all historically correct, plausible reasons. However, continuous westward migration which fulfilled the growing sense of manifest destiny might qualify as the overarching cause. [Pioneer Road]

On 11/19/1779 Jacob Barb purchased land near Stony Creek in Shenandoah Co VA in the vicinity of several of his sons. In 1790 Jacob purchased 200 acres of land along Stony Creek from Gabriel Sager, son William's father-in-law. Jacob died 4/20/1819 in Shenandoah Co VA.

Two Brothers
Captain: Thomas Arnot
From: Rotterdam by way of: Cowes
Arrival: Philadelphia, 14 Sep 1749
312 Persons, from the Electorate Palatine & Trier.
Johan Jacob Barb, 24
Maria Catharina (Richter)
Anna Maria
Eva Maria, 3
Johann Adam, 1		 Höchstenbach, Hessen-Nassau
Jacob Barb, Sr.
# White males tithable   3   Jacob
Abraham
Henry
# Black males over 16   0  
# Black males 12 - 16   0  
# Horses   7  
Gabriel Sayger sold Johann Jacob Barb 200a. along Stony Creek.
Wit: George Weaver
Jacob Barb, Sr.
# White males tithable   1 
# Black males over 16     0
# Black males 12 - 16   0
# Horses   3

    Children

    1. Eva Maria Barben

    2. Johann Adam Barb

    3. Abraham Barb (Ancestor of Bob Goodie)

    4. Anna Maria Barb

    5. Henrich Barb

    6. Mary Barb b. 1761 Hunterdon Co NJ

    7.  William Barb

    8. Elizabeth Barb

    9. Jacob Barb, Jr.

    10. Isaac Barb

    11. Peter Barb

Generation #2

Caveat
This site is provided for reference only. Except where specifically cited, information contained is conjecture and should not be considered as fact.
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