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An American Family History

Daniel Ferree and Marie Warrembere

The Huguenots were 16th and 17th century French protestants. About 500,000 Huguenots fled France because of religious persecution. They relocated to Protestant nations.
American colonists continued to use British monetary units, namely the pound, shilling and pence for which £1 (or li) equalled 20s and 1s equalled 12d. In 1792 the dollar was established as the basic unit of currency.
Europeans began to settle in the Lancaster County, Pennsylvania area about 1710. It was part of Chester County until May 10, 1729.
Early European settlers in the American colonies were mostly farmers and craftsmen. They had to work hard to provide daily neccesities for themselves.

Daniel Ferree married Marie (Mary) Warrembere about 1675.

Daniel Ferree, Jr. was born about 1677.

Catherine Ferree Lefevre was born about 1679.

Jane Ferree Davis was born between 1682 and 1687 .

Documents from the archives in Speyer show that Daniel and Maria purchased goods in Steinweiler 0n September 12, 1681 for 100 gulden.

On November 17, 1681 they sold three cottages in Steinweiler to Pierre LeGrain.

Marie (Mary) Catherine Ferree Faulkner was born about 1683.

Philip Ferree was born in 1687.

John Ferree was born about 1688.

About 1705 Mary Catherine married Isaac LeFevre. Their son Abraham LeFevre, was born on April 9, 1706.

Daniel died in 1708. In March, 1708 the family received permission to leave Steinweiler from the local authorities. The family was granted passage to emigrate from Steinweiler via Holland and England to the "island of Pennsylvania." They also received a certificate from the French Reformed Church at Pelican that was a "testimonial of their life and religion."

The two married couples went on to America before Mary and the single children. Daniel and Isaac's families appeared on June 28, 1708 list of the fifty-three people who sailed with Joshua Kocherthal's party. Daniel and Isaac were both called farmers.

Mary did not arrive in England until 1709 when she appeared on "A list of all the poor Germans lately come over from the Palatinate into this Kingdom, taken in St. Katharine's, the Sixth May 1709."

They went to the Hueguenot settlement at Esopus, New York where they had relatives. They lived in New Paltz.

The surveyor's book from Chester County, Pennsylvania (page 33) shows that Mary had 2,000 acres.

They stayed in New York until spring, 1712 while their Pennsylvania land was being surveyed. The Ferree-Lefever land was near Strasburg.

Philadelphia November 7, 1712 -
Received of Maria Warenbuer 20 shillings sterling for 1 year quit rent of land liad out to her at Strasburg in this Province. James Logan, Recvr.

Mary was a party to this transaction, and that the two parties named in the instrument merely held the tract

on behalf of themselves and others, their kindred and relations, who had advanced part of the purchase money for the same.

The old Ferree family graveyard was laid out and walled at a very early date in the northwest corner of the tract. Mary was probably the first to be buried in that graveyard. She died about January, 1716.
The area of present day Ulster County, New York was called Esopus by Dutch settlers and was part of the New Netherland Colony. The village of New Paltz was founded in 1678 by French Huguenots. In 1683, the Duke of York created Ulster County.
Picardy (Picardi) is a region in the northern part of France.
Variations of Ferree: Fara, Ferie, Ferree, Ferrez, Ferrie, Fiere, Firre, Fierre, Fuchre, Fuehre, LeFerre, and Verree.
Lyon is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region. The St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of Huguenots was there in 1572. Silk manufacturing was vital to the city's development.
Landau in der Pfalz, Germany is an autonomous city in the Rhineland-Palatinate. It was part of France from 1680 to 1815.
Queen Anne ruled England and Great Britain from March 8, 1702 to August 1, 1714.
Steinweiler is a municipality in the district of Germersheim, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It was in the Mayorality of Bittingheim.
Old Style Calendar
Before 1752 the year began on Lady Day, March 25th,. Dates between January 1st and March 24th were at the end of the year. Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) are used to indicate whether the year has been adjusted. Often both dates are used.

William Penn (1644-1718) was a Quaker philosopher and real estate developer. He was the founder of the Province of Pennsylvania.

The Edict of Nantes (1598) granted the Huguenots substantial rights in Catholic France. The revocation in 1685 led to a Protestant exodus from France.

The Palatinate is a region in south-western Germany. Many thousands of Palatine immigrants were driven out of Germany by war, famine, despotic rule and disease. They were attracted to Pennsylvania by the first settlers who sent back favorable reports.
 

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from Speyer, Stadtarchiv
courtesy of Eleanor Edmondson
translated from the original French

Today the 12 day of September, 1681 did Hanss Felte Ziegler sell his part of goods which he inherited from his parents at Steinweiller to be bought by Daniel Ferrez and his wife Maria Warenbour in the amount of 100 Gulden. 40 Gulden should be paid by next Christmas. At that time Daniel Ferrez is to buy the wine and pay all by himself at the court.

As witnesses at the sale was present Johannes Scheulein, mayor of Steinweiller and Hanss Niclass Scheffer and Hanss Thomas Fischer both members of the court.

Signed in Steinweiller on 12 Sep. 1681
Leonard Bretor official in Billigheim
Johns Scheulin mayor
Hans Thoma Fischer
Hanss Nicklaus Schefer
Hanss Valentin Zigler the seller


 
 
 
 

from Speyer, Stadtarchiv
translated from the original French
courtesy of Eleanor Edmondson

On November 17, 1681, this matter was reconciled.
Daniel Ferrez and his wife sold and ceded to Pierre LeGrain and his wife three cottages situated in the outlying areas, abutting the home of Jochem Heÿl at the top of the property, abutting the home of Thomas Ficher at the bottom of the property, and also abutting the Community dump, near the aforementioned Community's road. The aforementioned sale was completed.

The aforementioned Pierre Lefrain and his aforementioned wife promise to pay 22 Risdaller, hard currency. The revenues due (property taxes), which are required from the aforementioned cottages are understood to be:
Three capons
One ½ pound of beeswax
45 krüzer [monetary unit]

The seller promises to pay these revenues and satisfy his obligations. Payments of the aforementioned revenues to begin next year ("the year of 1682), continuing until all arrears are paid. The aforemntioned buyer takes these revenues as a term of the sale.

This is all resolved and occurs in the presence of the Provost and Sheriff of the village of Steinweiller.

17 November 1681

Leonard Breton
Scribe, in absence of the Clerk of the King's Court
In the Leasing Office of the city of Billigheim

 
 

 

 
 
 
After the Thirty Years War, from 1618-1648, Bavaria [Bayern] was devastated. The depopulated countryside slowly filled with people from other areas including many who left their homes for religious reasons. Bavaria took in Exulanten who were, protestant religious refugees from Catholic, Austria. Church records included the notation "aus dem Ländlein ob der Enns" which meant they were from Austria.

From Olde Ulster: An Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Volume 7 by Benjamin Myer Brink ,"First Riflemaker in America an Ulster Huguenot." Contributed by Chaplain Roswell Randall Hoes, U. S. N.

Prominent among the Huguenots of France, prior to the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 1685, were the LeFevre and Ferree families, who, upon the revocation fled from thence into the Palatinate of Bavaria; met almost upon the eve of their arrival by the Germersheim succession war; at Lindan eight members of the LeFevre family were massacred.

Isaac, the only survivor, fled with the family of the Hon. Daniel Ferree to the village of Steenweiler in the vicinity of the Black Forest, close to the border of the Grand Duchy of Baden.

In less than two years thereafter the Hon. Daniel Ferree died, leaving a widow and six children, the youngest, Philip, an infant. In this strange country they remained for twenty-three years.

In 1704 Isaac LeFevre, the only survivor of that family, married Catherine, the daughter of the widow, Madame Marie Warembier Ferree,

and in 1708 this entire family emigrated to America on the ship Transport Globe, arriving at the port of New York, December 31, 1708, went to the Huguenot colony at Esopus, New York (now Kingston)

and in the fall of 1712, with other Huguenots of this colony, emigrated to Pennsylvania and settled a colony in Pequa valley, now Lancaster county.

Prior to leaving New York, on March 16, 1710, was born at Esopus, Philip LeFevre, the gunsmith of the Pennsylvania Huguenot colony.

A grant of 10,000 acres of the Province of Pennsylvania from William Penn was made to the Palatines, as these Huguenots were called (see Rupp's Hist. Lancaster Co., pub. 1844.) Besides a grant of 2,000 acres from William Penn and Queen Anne, Isaac LeFevre purchased 1,500 acres in Strasburg township, Lancaster county (see Penna. Archives, 2nd series, p. 247, 334, 335, 529, 559, 587, 607, 609, 628, in Vol. XIX).

On this land, four miles from Lancaster city, at a place called Big Spring, in Beaver valley, Philip LeFevre, son of Isaac, made guns or rifles from 1731 to 1766. (See Rupp's Hist. Lancaster Co., pub. 1844, page 98). . .

   
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©Roberta Tuller 2023
tuller.roberta@gmail.com
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