Nicholas Yost was a buyer and then seller of two tracts containing 183 acres of land in Windsor Twp, York Co. On 18 Nov 1779, Henry Heltzel and wife Margaret sell this land to Nicholas Yost Jr. of York Twp for £2100. Then on 19 Nov 1779, Nicholas Yost Jr. of York Twp and wife Rachel sell this land to George Weinhold of Berks County for £2700. Neither deed was actually recorded until 1801.

The issue is: what really happened here? Did Nicholas really “flip” this land for a profit of £600 in one day? Why did he buy it in his name alone and the next day sell it in the name of he and is wife?

My hunch is that perhaps he bought it well before 1779 and only got around to recording it when he decided to sell it and maybe Rachel became his wife in the meantime.

NICHOLAS YOST, JUNIOR WILL
In the name of God Amen, I Nicholas Yost Junior of Shrewsbury Township in the County of York and state of Pennsylvania Innkeeper, being weak in Body but of Perfect, Sound and Disposing Mind, Memory and Understanding, Thanks be unto God for the same, Do make and publish this my last Will and Testament in Manner and Form following (to wit) Principally and first of all, I recommend my Soul into the Hands of Almighty God who gave it, and my Remains to be Buried in a decent and Christian-like Manner at the discretion of the Executrix of this my last Will and Testament and Guardian herein after Named.

Item, I will that all my Just Debts and Funeral Charges be fully paid and satisfied out of my Estate.

Item, I give and bequeath unto my beloved Wife Rachel the residue of all my Estate of what kind and Nature soever, until the Youngest of my Children shall arrive to the Age of fourteen Years, and then to be accountable and pay two thirds out of the Amount of the Appraisement of my Estate (which is to be made immediately after my decease by two impartial and Judicious Men agreeable to Law) to the Guardian of my Children herein after Named, which is to be equally distributed and divided amongst all my Children Share and Share alike, or to his her or their Heirs and Assigns; Provided always Nevertheless my said Wife Rachel shall sufficiently, Cloath, Maintain and School my said Children until each of them shall arrive to the Age of fourteen Years, otherwise to be accountable for two thirds of my said Estate to the Guardian herein after named, immediately after She shall or may refuse to keep, maintain and school my said Children in manner and form aforesaid; And I further Will and direct, that in Case my said Wife shall happen to Marry again, before the youngest of my Children shall arrive to fourteen years then and as soon as the same shall happen, to pay and be Accountable for two thirds of my said Estate in Manner and Form aforesaid, or else to give sufficient security unto the guardian herein after Named, for the true and faithful Payment thereof when the Youngest of my said Children shall arrive to the Age of fourteen Years as aforesaid, Provided they and each of them is sufficiently kept, Maintained and Chooled (sic) as aforesaid, otherwise to be accountable for the same, at the time of the refusal thereof as aforesaid. And I further direct that as soon as my Sons, or either of them shall arrive to the Age of fourteen Years, to be put out Apprentices to learn a Trade, by and with the Consent and Approbation of the Guardian herein after Named.

And lastly I do hereby nominate and appoint my said Wife Rachel Sole Executrix of this my last Will and Testament, and my Brother in Law Conrad Laub Overseer, thereof, to see and take Care that the same be kept and put in Execution according to the true intent and meaning hereof, and also to be the Guardian of the Persons and Estates of all my Children during their Minority. In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my Hand and Seal the tenth Day of March Anno Domini one thousand Seven hundred and eighty five.

Note, The Words on the first Page, ”immediately after my decease” and on the second Page ”before the Youngest of my Children shall arrive to fourteen years” being interlined before the signing hereof.

(signed) Nicholas Yost, Junior

Nicolaus Yost Jr. wrote his will on 10 Mar 1785 and it proved 14 Jun 1785. He named his wife Rachel. He didn’t name his children but the wording implied two sons and at least one daughter. The wording seems a little strange to me and makes it sound like Rachel was not the actual mother of his children. He gave specific instructions that she must clothe, maintain and educate his children until they are 14. But he gave her an out if she wished to turn over 2/3 of his estate to the Guardian he named for the children. It makes it seem like the children were his by a previous wife.

My conclusion, though, is that he had but one wife, Rachel, that she was the mother of his children, and his wording must have been normal in 1785 even though it seems strange to us.

There was a Jacob Yost buried in the Hendrix plot at the Leader Farm and so the obvious guess would be that Jacob Yost’s mother was Rachel (Klingemann) (Yost) Hendrix. There is a problem, though, and that is that his tombstone implies a birth date too close to that of Abraham, known son of Nicholas and Regina. Jacob’s tombstone supposedly says “died 3 Jan 1854 age 69 years, 9 months”, implying that Jacob was born March or April 1784. Abraham was born 10 May 1784.

The Yost consortium has determined that Jacob was the son of Abraham who was the brother of Nicholas Jr. They also speculate that Abraham married Elizabeth Klingemann, sister of Rachel “Regina”. Thus Jacob was Rachel’s nephew -- in two ways. I have found my own way of agreeing with this by also concluding Abraham did indeed marry Elizabeth Klingemann, my conclusion based on her association with Magdalena Klingemann -- who I believe was named Mary in their father’s will.

Rachel was mentioned in her father’s will.

1790-1830. Rachel can be accounted for in her husband’s household in each of these Census listings except for 1820, which is probably a result of a Census taker error.

1840. The Widow Hendrix age 80-90 lives in Shrewsbury.

Here are some notes covering random sources not listed elsewhere that assist in documenting (or further confusing) the puzzle of Rachel and Regina and Jorg Philip and John Philip Klingeman. The aim is to attempt to shed light on two issues: whether Regina and Rachel Klingemann are one and the same or two different people, and the related question of whether Johann Philip Klingemann and Philip (or Jorg Philip) Klingemann are one and the same or also two different people.

15 Apr 1749. Elisabetha Klingemann was born, daughter of Jorg Philip & Elisabeth Klingemann. Source: Lutheran New Hanover Church, Montgomery County, PA.

5 Aug 1754 to 3 Aug 1756. Rachel Klingemann was born. The date range is computed from the tombstone of Rachel Hendrix, which says she died 4 Aug 1842 in her 87th year. Now at first glance you’d think she was 87 and she may well have been, but I could argue that she was actually 86 (thus in her 87th year, but not yet 87). So, taking account of all possibilities, I think she was at least 86 years and 1 day old (3 Aug 1756) and no more than 87 years 364 days old (5 Aug 1754).

13 Jul 1773. Regina Klingemann, daughter of Johann Philip, married Johann Nicolaus Jost per the marriage citation of Rev. John Waldschmidt. (If this is really Rachel, she is at least 16 years and 11.5 months old and no older than 18 years, 11.5 months.)

2 May 1779. Johannes Yost was baptized in Berks County. He was the son of Nicholaus Jost Jr. and wife Regina per the baptismal citation of Rev. John Waldschmidt. He was born 18 April 1779. Johannes Klingeman was a sponsor. Rachel, we know from Philip’s will, had a brother named John.

18 Nov 1779. A deed is recorded wherein Nicholas Yost Jr. bought 183 acres of land in York County for £2100. There are several very important details in the transaction record for this purchase. Nicholas, last seen in Berks County married to Regina, is now in York County and interestingly there is no mention of a wife.

19 Nov 1779. Nicholas Yost Jr. and wife Rachel sold the same land in York County to George Weinhold of Berks County for £2700.

21 Feb 1785. Elizabeth Yost was baptized. She was the daughter of Abraham Yost and a witness was Magdalen Klingeman, daughter of John Philip Klingemann. Note that the record does not indicate that John Philip was deceased; that proves nothing, of course, but is a curiosity if it was in fact referring to Philip who died 11 years earlier. Source: Records of Friedensaal Church, York County.

24 Dec 1793. Elizabeth Yost married Jesse Low. She will later name a daughter Rachel. The theory is that Elizabeth is the daughter of Nicholaus Yost Jr. -- born not long after he and Regina were married, so naming her daughter Rachel gives credence to the theory that they are one and the same.

24 Aug 1796. Adam Hendrix and his wife Rachel file an administrative account for the estate of Nicholaus Yost.

10 May 1798. Abraham Yost turned 14.

4 Aug 1842. Rachel Hendrix died in her 87th year.

Elenora Green says: “Johannes, son of Nicholas Jost Jr & Regina was born 18 April 1779.  He married Catherine Weiser. The name Rachel was used on civil documents while the name Regina was used in church records.”

I first learned of this woman from Becky Curry who, in her genealogy, identified the wife of Adam Hendrix as Rachel Klingemann Yost. I assumed therefore (erroneously) that Rachel’s father was named Yost and I also guessed that Klingemann might prove to be her mother’s maiden name.

So I set out to research the Yost family to determine Rachel’s forbears and that led me to become part of an email consortium devoted to discussing the Yost family. In the course of that research, many documents and several previously written family histories were discussed to try to sort out the truth of this family. (As has happened in my own research, you start out with what you believe is a well researched narrative of a family’s history but then you find a document which seems to contradict a certain key conclusion of the published work and you have to find a way to reconcile things -- or else revise/debunk the accepted narrative.)

It was during these discussions that it became apparent that it could only be that Rachel’s maiden name really was Klingemann, that she married first Nicholas Yost Jr., was widowed young and then married second Adam Hendrix. Nonetheless, the documents were quite confusing because at times the wife of Nicholas was said to be Regina and at other times Rachel. Nicholas, in his will, referred to his wife Rachel -- but added to the problem by seeming to give her the option of raising his young children -- thus making it sound like they might have been his children by a previous wife.

Then there is the apparent documentary evidence that suggests that a man named Philip Klingemann had a daughter Rachel while a man named Johan Philip Klingemann had a daughter named Regina. So, were Philip and Johan Philip the same person? Were Rachel and Regina the same person, or perhaps sisters? Or do we, in fact, have four unique persons here?

I have concluded, after some work, that Rachel and Regina were the same person and that she was the daughter of Johan Philip Klingemann. I convinced myself that Rachel was sometimes called Regina. Nicholas married Regina in 1773, he sold land with Rachel in 1779, he had son Abraham with Regina in 1784 and he named his wife Rachel in his 1785 will. Later I did more research on the family and realized that we know from their father’s will, that Rachel had a brother John and that John at times associated, like a brother, with Regina.

Rachel Hendrix wrote a very funny will 13 Apr 1839 and it proved 9 Aug 1842. Adam’s will had basically spelled out how everything he left her was to be disposed of upon her death, so she acknowledged that was the case, but did claim some possessions separate from those left her by Adam and these she left to her granddaughter Rachel Sumwalt. She differentiated the possessions itemized by Adam from those she owned in her own right by saying hers were “not dead, worn out or broke”.