George Wisegarver and Mary Elizabeth Steel Wisegarver

George Wisegarver, my 6th great-grandfather, was one of the earliest of all my ancestors to become a resident of Bedford County.  He was a German immigrant.  Some researchers show that he and Mary Elizabeth Steel were married in Bedford County in 1770, but with no attached sources I have no way to confirm that.  A publication of the Historical Society of Bedford County indicates that he helped lay out a road in 1771, proving he was in Bedford County well before the Revolutionary War.  He's also listed in the 1772 tax roll as owning 100 acres of land, 20 improved, 2 horses and 1 cow.

George is also a Revolutionary War veteran, having served in the Bedford County Militia.  In 1781 he was listed as a private in Captain Charles Taggart's Company, 5th company, 1st Battalion.  More research is needed to determine if he achieved a higher rank than that of private.

Rye was a profitable crop in Bedford County and this was probably a primary crop for George. Many farmers grew rye for the purpose of manufacturing whisky.  Few of them owned more than one still, but George in listed in a 1792 historical record to have actually owned 2 stills.

By 1798, as shown on the tax list, he was quite a successful land owner.  His own farm (or farms) consisted of of land at a value of $1282.  In addition, he owned land in both Bedford Township and St Clair Township which he leased to 12 other farmers.  The value of that land totaled $6,649, quite a tidy sum in the late 1790s.

George and Mary had at least 2 children, maybe 4, maybe even 5.  The census records prior to 1850 only list the head of household's name, so the other household members are up for speculation and interpretation.  

George was one of the original land owners in Dutch Corner.  His initial purchase of land was not too far southwest of the John Ickes homestead.  A listing in findagrave.com shows that George and other family members were buried on the Blair Ott farm.  Lori at dutchcornerpa.org informed me that the Ott farm was the old Wisegarver farm and that the headstones, and maybe the graves (though doubtful) were either destroyed or moved as the new owners didn't want people coming and looking for dead ancestors. Another listing at findagrave.com shows that the headstones were located at St. John's Church near Cessna.  I located what I thought would be the Wisegarver farm from the Dutch Corner land map on a current map. Sure enough, Ott Road (which would have been on Ott farm) ran right through the middle of it.  It also happened to be just a little north of the church to which the headstones were moved.

The Wisegarver home was probably in the middle of this modern-day road.

Probably part of the original Wisegarver homestead (the land, not the building)

Another view of the Wisegarver homestead

The creek that ran through the Wisegarver farm. The house would have been very nearby.

Leaves turning color

The remains of an old bridge that crossed the creek

St. John's Church and Cemetery in Cessna.
There's only about 20 headstones in the cemetery.

I'm not sure where Mary Elizabeth is buried, but this may be her headstone, also in the St. John Church Cemetery.
The headstone is unreadable.

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All original content, images, commentary, etc. copyright © by Joy Denison 2015-2016.  All rights reserved. All writings, poems, speeches, essays, images, scans, likenesses, etc. by Adam Ickes (b 1845) as well as personal histories, images, and all other content by all persons referenced and discussed within the pages and posts in this blog may not be copied, shared, or reproduced in any way without expressed permission by the owner unless included here from other referenced sources or are historical records already considered to be in the public domain.