Thursday, July 13, 2006

Mary "Molly" Hoax - Who are Her Parents?

Two of my most elusive ancestors are the parents of Maria (Mary) Magdalena (Molly) Hoax. She was born in about 1767 (age 71 in 1839 RevWar deposition, age 82 in the 1850 census in "MD"), married Martin Carringer in March 1785 in Westmoreland County PA, and died in Mercer County PA on 31 August 1850.

The only clue to her maiden name is a deposition by George Carringer, her son, in the RevWar Pension File that states his mother's maiden name was Mary Hoax. A deposition by Mary states that she married Martin Carringer in 1785. The RevWar Pension File includes a Bible record with the births of their children.

Martin and Mary's first child was Johann Jacob Carringer, baptized in Westmoreland County PA in 1785 with sponsors Nicolaus and Barbara Hack. The second child, Maria Elizabeth Carringer, had sponsors Thomas and Elisabetha Weickert. Some of these records have the surname "Geringer."

There are many potential spellings of a surname like "Hoax." The ones I have researched include Hoke(s), Hoak(s), Houk(s), Houck(s), Hauck(s), Hack(s), Hough(s), Hout(s), Hoat(s), Hawk(s), etc. If you have other suggestions, I certainly welcome them!

I have researched those surnames in Westmoreland County PA in the 1770 to 1800 time frame - in Church, Military, Census, Probate, Land, etc. I have also searched online databases (IGI, AF, WC, WFT, Ancestry, etc), personal web sites on the Internet, message boards and mailing lists, and published books (in libraries, including the FHL in SLC and LOC in DC). Needless to say, I'm stuck.

I have looked for Nicolaus Hack in the same resources without positively identifying one living in Westmoreland County PA in the 1785 time frame.

Any helpful advice or suggestions? I guess I'm lucky I know Mary's surname...

No comments: