The latest assignment in my Research Like a Pro Study Group involved research planning. I have already created a research objective, analyzed existing sources by creating a timeline of known information, analyzed each piece of known information, and researched the locality (Pennsylvania).
Research planning includes restating the objective, providing background information for the project, summarizing known facts, creating a working hypothesis, listing all possible sources where the answer to the research question might be found, and creating a prioritized research strategy. This detailed plan will guide my research and help me stay focused on my objective.
Here’s a copy of my research plan:
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this research project is to determine which of two Jacob Fishers listed on the 1790 Census in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, is the Jacob Fisher that was born 20 April 1761 in Pennsylvania. Jacob married Elizabeth, and died 7 December 1847 in Irwin, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Quaker William Penn was granted the tract of land that became known as Pennsylvania by King Charles II of England in 1681 as repayment of a debt owed to Penn’s father, Admiral William Penn.
The state land office (now called the Bureau of Land Records) was established in 1682 by William Penn. Original deeds and patents were recorded by this office until 1776.
With the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, Pennsylvania became the owner of all unsold land in the state. It was unprepared for this, so it continued the proprietary land distribution practices established by William Penn and his heirs for many years afterward.
Starting around 1735 and continuing for the next decade, German settlers moved into the area known as present-day Northampton and Lehigh Counties in significant numbers. As these immigrants came into the territory, they felled the forests, built cabins, and organized religious worship. German Lutherans clustered in the area around the Lower Lehigh River.
Around 1800, a number of Lutherans migrated to the Hempfield area in Westmoreland County from Whitehall, Milford, and Macungie Townships in present southern Lehigh County.
SUMMARY OF KNOWN FACTS
- Jacob Fisher was born 20 April 1761 according to the birthdate inscribed on his headstone.
- Jacob was born in Pennsylvania, according to the 1880 census record for daughter Hannah Beck.
- Jacob is reported to have been a Revolutionary War Veteran according to a marker on his headstone.
- Jacob married a woman named Elizabeth sometime prior to 1786, when their first child was born and christened in Whitehall Township. Christening records for each of Jacob’s children list Elizabeth as the mother. No marriage record has yet been located.
- An Ancestry Public member tree lists Christian Fisher of Upper Milford, Northampton County, Pennsylvania as the father of Jacob Fisher, born 1761 and died 1847.
- Two Jacob Fishers were enumerated in the 1790 census for Northampton County, one in Whitehall Township, and one in Upper Milford Township.
- Four of the children of Jacob and Elizabeth were christened in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, the last in 1798. Places listed for these christenings are Lehigh, Whitehall, Unionville, and Neffs.
- Three of the children of Jacob and Elizabeth Fisher were christened in Greensburg, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania in 1808.
- Jacob and Elizabeth Fisher along with each of their known children are listed as beneficiaries of the will of a Jacob Fisher of Sewickley, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania in 1846. This will is likely the will of Jacob, Jr., son of Jacob and Elizabeth.
- Jacob Fisher died 7 December 1847 according to the inscription on his headstone. He is buried in Irwin, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania. No death certificate has yet been located.
WORKING HYPOTHESIS
Jacob Fisher was born 20 April 1761 in Pennsylvania. He was married to a woman named Elizabeth (maiden name unknown) likely between 1781 and 1786, when their first known child, Susannah, was born. Christening records for some of their children show locations of Egypt, Unionville, and Neffs, Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania in the years spanning 1786 – 1798.
Unionville is the historical name of Neffs, Pennsylvania. Neffs is a village in Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, and is about 5 miles away from the village of Egypt, also in Whitehall Township. Since Lehigh County was formed from Northampton County in 1812, it is likely that additional records for Jacob and Elizabeth Fisher can be discovered in Northampton County during this time period.
The 1790 Census of Northampton County shows two Jacob Fishers, one in Whitehall Township, and the other in Upper Milford Township. The christening records of some of Jacob and Elizabeth Fisher’s children in the Egypt/Neffs area of Whitehall Township support the likelihood that Jacob Fisher, born 20 April 1761, is the Jacob Fisher living in Whitehall Township. However, an Ancestry Public Member Tree shows that the father of Jacob Fisher, born 20 April 1761, is Christian Fisher of Upper Milford Township, just 18 miles away from Egypt/Neffs in Whitehall Township.
Christening records for three younger children of Jacob and Elizabeth Fisher show that the family had migrated to Greensburg, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania by 1808, so the presence of either Jacob Fisher in Northampton County after 1808 will eliminate him as a candidate for the Jacob Fisher that was born 20 April 1761 and died 7 December 1847 in Irwin, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
The headstone of Jacob Fisher, born 20 April 1761 and died 7 December 1847 in Irwin, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, includes a Revolutionary War Veteran Plaque. Military records could show whether one or both Jacob Fishers served in the Revolution.
A search for additional records about both Jacob Fishers, including church, land, and probate records, will help distinguish between the two men and could prove that Jacob Fisher of Whitehall Township is the Jacob Fisher born 20 April 1761 and the Jacob Fisher of Upper Milford Township is the son of Christian Fisher.
IDENTIFIED SOURCES
- 1800 and 1810 United States Censuses for both Jacob Fishers
- Military Records for both Jacob Fishers
- Upper Milford Church Records for marriage of Jacob Fisher of Upper Milford, christening records of his children
- Whitehall Church Records for marriage of Jacob Fisher of Whitehall, christening records of his children
- Probate records for both Jacob Fishers and for Christian Fisher
- Land records in Northampton County for both Jacob Fishers
- Tax records in Northampton County for both Jacob Fishers
PRIORITIZED RESEARCH STRATEGY
1 – Create a list of friends, associates, and neighbors (FAN club) for both Jacob Fishers. The FAN club will consist of neighbors found in the 1790 Census for each Jacob. Refer to these lists as other records are checked and note when men from the lists appear in other records.
- 1790 United States Census, Whitehall, Northampton County, Pennsylvania
- 1790 United States Census, Upper Milford, Northampton County, Pennsylvania
2 – Search the 1800 and 1810 United States Censuses in Northampton and Westmoreland Counties for Jacob Fisher. The Jacob Fisher that was born 20 April 1761 should be present in Westmoreland County and not Northampton County by 1810.
- 1800 United States Census, Upper Milford Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania
- 1800 United States Census, Whitehall Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania
- 1800 United States Census, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
- 1810 United States Census, Upper Milford Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania
- 1810 United States Census, Whitehall Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania
- 1810 United States Census, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
3 – Search Church Records of Upper Milford and Whitehall Townships for Marriage, Christening, and Burial Records for both Jacob Fishers.
- Pennsylvania, Lutheran Baptisms and Marriages, 1730-1799
- Pennsylvania, Births and Christenings, 1709-1950 Index.
- Church records of the Egypt Reformed Congregation, Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, v. 1-2, 1734-1834,
- Burial records 1758 to 1968; Zion Evangelical Lutheran Congregation Cemetery; Old Zionsville, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania Microfilm Viewable at Family History Libraries.
- Church records, 1757-1819 [Upper Milford Lutheran] Microfilm Viewable at Family History Libraries.
- Church records, 1757-1885 [Upper Milford Reformed] Microfilm Viewable at Family History Libraries.
4 – Search Revolutionary War Records for both Jacob Fishers
- Daughters of the American Revolution database of applications and known soldiers
- Revolutionary War Pensioner Census, 1841
- Pennsylvania, Revolutionary War Battalions and Militia Index, 1775-1783
- U.S. Revolutionary War Rolls for Pennsylvania, 1775-1783
5 – Search Land Records for both Jacob Fishers
- Revolutionary War Bounty Land Grants –
- Early Pennsylvania Land Records
- Pennsylvania, Land Warrants and Applications, 1733-1952 –
- Abstracts of deeds, Northampton County, Pennsylvania by Candace E. Anderson
6 – Search Probate Records for both Jacob Fishers
- Pennsylvania, Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993
7 – Search Tax Records for both Jacob Fishers
- Pennsylvania, Septennial Census, 1779-1863
The Research Like a Pro Study Group has really helped me see the importance of a research process. Instead of haphazardly thinking of sources to search and performing the same searches over and over, my research is becoming very focused. I’m looking forward to finding some answers in the last few weeks of the study group. Stay tuned to see the results!
