The records of Augustus Lutheran Church in Trappe, Montgomery County, PA record the 7 Nov 1741 birth of Johann Henrich to Henrich and Ann Elisabeth. A year earlier, Johan Valentin had been born to the same couple and the sponsor of that baptism was Hieronymous Haas.

That a Henry Haas was born in 1741, baptized in Montgomery County and married Elizabeth Pennypacker there is fact; that a Henry Haas died in Northumberland County in 1805 is also fact. The Pennypacker name was one of prominence in Colonial Pennsylvania so the temptation to a genealogist is to simply believe what others say that Henry Haas of Northumberland was one and the same as Henry Haas of Montgomery -- but I try to take a cautious approach before leaping to such a conclusion -- where is the proof?

One form of proof would be if I could find that Henry baptized children in Montgomery County who had the same names as the children of Henry of Northumberland County -- known from the deed after his death when they sold his land. But, strangely, I cannot find any record of (the younger) Henry and Elizabeth baptizing any children in Montgomery County.

A good but not 100% solid proof is that Valentine Haas was a unique name in Colonial Pennsylvania and Henry of Montgomery County is known to have had a brother of that name who died before 1788 and Henry of Northumberland County is known to have had a son of that name. We do not find anyone named Valentine Haas in the 1790 or 1800 Census -- since the brother had died and the son was not yet old enough to be found on his own. Then in 1810, 1820, 1830 and 1840, there is but one man of that name in Census and it is most certainly the son.

But the solid proof that Henry of Montgomery County was Henry of Penns Township is told by two land records. In April 1793, Henry Haas sold his land in Skippack and Perkiomen Township for the sum of 700 pounds gold and silver money. Then, in May 1793, Henry Haas acquired 328 acres in Northumberland County for 959 pounds gold and silver coins. The description of the money involved is strikingly similar.

But even more convincing is that the deed whereby Henry acquired his Northumberland County land specifically said he was of Skippack Township, Montgomery County. Sometimes, deeds are just long, cumbersome documents full of legal language, with a lengthy “metes and bounds” property description and not much of a useful nature to a genealogist. But this deed, by stating the exact place Henry was moving from, established for me that there was no question that the Henry Haas whose Montgomery County 1741 birth and 1767 marriage to Elizabeth Pennypacker were documented events was the exact same Henry Haas who died in Northumberland County in 1805.

Fisher shows only LOA, no will, for Henry. Issued 30 Jan 1805 to Abraham and John Haas.

Both the properties Henry sold and then bought have an interesting history. The land he sold was the 50 acres that his grandfather Hieronymous had left to the 7 children of his deceased son Henry. Hieronymous had bought that land in 1747 from none other than Peter Pennebacker and Elizabeth his wife. This was before either of Peter’s daughters had married grandsons of Hieronymous but it seems to establish the geographic closeness of the two families. The deed of sale also spells out that between the time Hieronymous died (1761) and this 1793 transaction, three of Henry’s siblings had died -- Anna Elizabeth died under age, Hieronymous died intestate and unmarried and Valentine died leaving children: Henry (wife Rosina), Valentine, Elizabeth and Sarah.

As to the property Henry bought, it also makes an interesting story. In 1800, Henry Haas and Leonard Boyer jointly bought 120 acres adjoining that original tract. Henry retained his ownership in both tracts for the remainder of his life at which point his ownership of his tract and half ownership of the other were inherited by his eleven heirs, nine of whom, one by one, either sold their share to Andrew Straub (Andrew was the founder of Freeburg, having once owned all the land that became that town) or William Haas. William Haas and his sister Sarah (Haas) Keester (both also heirs in their own right) never sold their original shares. So finally in 1811, Andrew Straub, William Haas and Sarah Keester divided up (partitioned) the 448 acres and each took separate ownership of a single tract.

We know that Peter Pennypacker had a daughter named Elizabeth, he named her in his will. At the time, though, she was not yet married, so no husband was mentioned. And there was a 1767 citation of the marriage of Henry Haas and Elisabeth Pannebeckern in the Trappe Church where the Haas family worshipped.

However, it needs be said that in the same records where we find the marriage of Elisabeth Pannebecker to Henry Haas, we also find, about 6 months later, the marriage of Elisabeth Pannebecker to Tobias Moore.

So, while I am certain it was my Henry Haas who married Elisabeth Pannebecker, the strongest evidence of that being they married in his family church, how can I prove which Elisabeth it was? (The other I believe was the daughter of Adolph Pannebecker, Peter’s brother -- but I have the same problem there -- his will referred to a daughter Elisabeth, as yet unmarried.)

There is no one absolute piece of evidence I can point to that proves it was exactly this Elisabeth, daughter of Peter, who married my Henry -- beyond all doubt. But there are several pieces of evidence -- each circumstantial when considered alone -- that together make the case.

• First. Consider that Peter had two other children who married two siblings of my ancestor Henry Haas. Catherine Pennypacker married Valentine Haas. And William Pennypacker married Anna Maria Haas. This is also supporting evidence that it was my Henry Haas that Elisabeth married.

• Second. Consider that one of the tracts of land Hieronymous Haas acquired over the years was bought from Peter and Elizabeth Pennypacker in 1747. This was before any of Hieronymous’ grandchildren had married any of Peter’s children -- but establishes that the families knew each other then and were probably neighbors later in the time period when boys went looking for girls to marry -- and quite often found them living next door.

• Lastly. There are no discordant notes, the timeline works. Peter wrote his will in 1765. He referred to daughter Elizabeth and the wording makes it clear she was not yet married. He didn’t die until 1770, but the 1765 language is what matters. Elizabeth Pennypacker who married Henry Haas did so in 1767. Of course this timeline logic applies similarly to the other Elizabeth, but I checked with the archivist at Pennypacker Mills and he assured me they all believe Adolph’s daughter married Tobias Moore.