Lambert, Marie (b. 1852, d. ?)

Note: Married Francis Cable

Source: (Birth)
Title: Glade Lutheran Church Register, Stonycreek Twp.
Media: Church Record

Page: 4

Source: (Birth)
Title: Tombstone
Media: Tombstone

Source: (Baptism)
Title: Glade Lutheran Church Register, Stonycreek Twp.
Media: Church Record

Source: (Birth)
Title: Glade Lutheran Church Register, Stonycreek Twp.
Media: Church Record

Page: 4

Source: (Baptism)
Title: Glade Lutheran Church Register, Stonycreek Twp.
Media: Church Record

Note: This farm is now (or previously) known as the Ed Zeigler farm in Stoneycreek
Twp., Shankville, PA.
Arrived in Somerset County in 1789, John Lambert had a land grant for about
3000 acres. He served in the militia in the Revolutionary War
Baptism sponsors were Johannes & Anna Sophia Zinn.

WILL OF JOHN LAMBERT

The last will and Testament of John Lambert of Stoney Creek Township Somerset County and State of Pennsylvania.

I, John Lambert, considering the uncertainty of this mortal life and being of sound mind and memory (blessed be God for the same) do make and publish my last will and Testament in manner and form following to viz;

I give and bequeath unto my beloved wife Mary (after paying my funeral expenses and other just debts) also all my household and kitchen furniture or as much thereof as she may keep or want for her own use, all my personal goods & chattels to viz;
notes, bonds, bills and cash for her use so long as she may live and after her death my Executor herein after named shall dispose of what may be left to the best advantage and shall divide the amount amonst my children to viz; Samuel, John, Jacob, and Moses Lambert. Rebecca intermarried with Daniel Ringler and the children of my deceased daughter Elisabeth who was intermarried to Abraham Brant also deceased, there share as much as their mother were entitled to were she alive, to be divided among them by my executor when they arrive at full age. Also Emanuel Lambert, Mary Lambert, and Catherine Lambert, each to have their share and share alike. I also have bequeathed unto my Grandchildren of Abraham Brant a certain tract of land containing one hundred and seventy one & fourth acre for which I have made them the title which my Executor is to retain in his hands until they all become of lawful age as also any other sum of money provided they do not appoint guardians.

Item, I have given each of my children lands and made them the titles for the same and have charged them in a small book which I keep for that purpose as I intend they should be by and from which my Executor is to make them all Equal share & share alike as above described with my personal effects after the death of my wife.

Item - Should it so happen that my wife should die before me then my Executor to proceed as before directed and lastly I hereby appoint my son Jacob Lambert Executor of this my Last will and Testament hereby revoking all former wills by me made.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal the 24th day of February 1843.

Signed, sealed & published and his
declared by the above namedJohn X Lambert
John Lambert to be his last will mark
and Testament in the presence of us
and have subscribed our names
in his presents as witnesses thereunto

Jacob Kimmel
Edmund M. Kimmel
Lewis Spangler


[Brøderbund Family Archive #315, Ed. 1, Census Index: U.S. Selected Counties, 1830, Date of Import: 27 Jan 1999, Internal Ref. #1.315.1.5295.115]

Individual: Lambert, John
County/State: Somerset Co., PA
Location: Stoney Creek Twp
Page #: 071
Year: 1830

Source: (Death)
Title: Tombstone
Media: Tombstone

Source: (Baptism Field)
York County, PA Church Records of the 18th Century, Marlene Bates and F.
Edward Wright.

Occupation: Place: Farmer

Source: (Birth)
Title: Tombstone
Media: Tombstone

Occupation: Place: Innkeeper

Note: Single

Note: Married (1) ______ Ringler (2) John Keller

Source: (Birth)
Title: Church Records
Media: Church Record

Data:
Text: Mt. Taber Reformed Church, Stoystown, PA

Note: Married John Graef

Note: Married (1) John Zimmerman (2) Solomon Kimmel

Source: (Birth)
Title: Church Records
Media: Church Record

Data:
Text: Mt. Tabor Reformed Church, Stoystown, PA.

Note: Casper Statler's great grandson E.M. Statler owned the Statler Hotels chain.
Rev War - Ensign, Capt. Ward's company, 1st battalion, PA regiment.

PETITION for valuation or partition of the estate of Casper Statler, deceased.

To the honorable Thomas Cooper esquire, presidant, and his associates [illegible] of the Court of Common Pleas of the County of Somerset now composing an orphans Court in and for the said county.

The petition of Casper Statler, eldest son and heir at law of Casper Statler, the elder, late of Somerset County aforesaid Yeoman, deceased, John Statler, Samuel Statler, and Emanuel Statler sons of the said deceased, John Lambert and Mary his wife,
George Lambert and Elizabeth his wife, daughters of the said deceased and Eleanor Statler another daughter of the said deceased by Casper Keller her guardian.

Humbly Sheweth,
That the said Casper Statler, the elder, died intestate about seven years since leaving a widow, to wit, Rebecca, and issue seven Children, to wit, your petitioners before named and the said intestate died seised in his demesne as of fee of and in the [illegible] plantations and tracts of land following, to wit, four hundred and eighteen acres & three quarters and allawance situate on the waters of Shade run in the County aforesaid, surveyed on a warrant in the name of Elizabeth Statler dated the 4th day of December 1784. One other tract containing three hundred acres and allowance situate on the waters of Shade run including a little cove of pine timber in the County aforesaid, surveyed in the name of Jacob Miller, dated the 6th of January 1794. One other tract containing three hundred and twenty nine acres and one half acre and allowance in partnership with the hiers of Emanuel Statler, deceased, situate in the forks of Shade creek including part of the timber ridge in the County aforesaid, surveyed on a warrant in the name of John Good dated the 6th day of January 1794. One other tract containing three hundred and eighteen acres and one quarter of an acre and allowance situate on the waters of Stoney Creek including Hull's improvement in the County aforesaid, surveyed on a warrant in the name of Casper Statler dated the 6th day of January 1794. One other tract containing three hundred and thirty acres and allowance situate on the Shade Run in the County aforesaid, surveyed on a warrant in the name of Casper Statler, dated the 6th day of January 1794. One other tract containing two hundred and eighty four acres and allowance situate on the waters of Shade run, including part of the Glade meadow in the County aforesaid, surveyed on a Warrant in the name of Casper Statler, Jr., dated the 17th day of March 1780. One other tract containing one hundred and seventy one acres and allowance situate on the head waters of little Shade Creek including the Gum Swamp in the County aforesaid, surveyed on a warrant in the name of Emanuel Statler, dated the 6th day of January 1794. One other tract containing one hundred and sixty seven acres and allowance situate on the head waters of Little Shade Run and on both sides of the Old-Pennsylvania Road in the County aforesaid, surveyed on a warrant in the name of Jacob Statler, dated the 4th day of December 1784. One other tract containing one hundred and ten acres and allowance situate on the waters of [clear or deer?] Run on both sides of the road leading from Casper Statler's to Berlin, in the County aforesaid, surveyed on a warrant in the name of John Smith, dated the 6th day of January 1794. One other tract containing one hundred and six acres and thru quarters and allowance, situate on both sides of the State road including the cross roads leading from Casper Statler's to Berlin, in the County aforesaid, surveyed on a warrant in the name of John Rhoads, dated the 30th day of December 1793. One other tract containing fifty five acres and allowance situate on both sides of the Old Pennsylvania Road in the County aforesaid, surveyed on a warrant in the name of Samuel Keller dated the 6th day of June 1794. One other tract containing three hundred and twenty acres and allowance adjoining a survey in the name of Jacob Keller in the County aforesaid, surveyed on a warrant in the name of George [Stuart?]. One other tract containing one hundred acres and allowance be the same more or less, situate on the waters of Roaring run adjoining lands of John Lambert, in the County aforesaid, surveyed on a warrant in the name of Felix [Malen?]. One other tract containing two hundred acres and allowance be the same more or less situate on the waters of [clear or deer?] run in the County aforesaid held in partnership with the heirs of Emanual Statler, deceased, surveyed on a warrant in the name of Jacob Cornelius. One other tract containing two hundred and thirty one acres and allowance situate on the waters of the little Shade run and on both sides of the Pennsylvania Road, held by improvement and in the possession of John Statler. One other tract containing four hundred and thirty five acres and three quarters and allowance situate on the waters of the Raystown branch of Juniata including the three licks in the County aforesaid, three other tracts adjoining each other. One in the name of Emanuel Statler, containing three hundred and nine acres and one quarter and allowance, one other in the name of George Burket containing one hundred and ten acres and allowance and one other in the name of Moses Lambert containing one hundred and seven acres and allowance situate on the Glade Road part in Somerset and part in Bedford County, together with the appurtenances. Your petitioners therefore humbly pray your honor to appoint and order John Lehman, Abraham Kimmil, Jacob Kimmel, John Musser, John Rhoads, Andrew Weyand, John Grove, sen. (who are chosen by your petitioners for that purpose, to make a partition of the premises aforesaid to and amonst the widow and children and representatives of the said intestate, in such manner and in such proportions as by the laws of the Commonwealth is directed, if such partition can be made without [illegible] to or spoiling the whole; but if such partitions cannot be made thereof aforesaid, then to value and appraise the same, and make report of their proceedings herein according to law.

And whereas they the said John Lehman, Abraham Kimmel, Jacob Kimmel, John Musser, John Rhoads, Andrew Weyand, John Groner, sen, seven persons were indifferently chosen on behalf and with consent of the parties viz the said Casper Stotler, John Stotler, John Lambert & mary his wife, Samuel Statler, Emanuel Stotler, George Lambert and Elizabeth his wife, and Casper Keller Guardian of Eleanor Statler, as appears of record.

And your petitioners will praise ye,

Sept. 9th, 1805

Casper Statler
John Stotler
John Lambert
Samuel Stotler
Emanuel Statler
George (his G. L mark) Lambert
Casper Keller, Guardian
for Eleanor Statler

Whereupon is was considered by the said Court and ordered that partition thereof should be made between the said Rebecca widow, and the said Casper Stotler, John Stotler, , Samuel Statler, Emanuel Stotler, Mary the wife of John Lambert and Elizabeth the wife of George Lambert and Eleanor Statler allowing to each child an equal share thereof if the same can be so divided without prejudices to or spoiling the whole, and that a writ should issue for that purpose, to them the said John Lehmer, Abraham Kimmel, Jacob Kimmel, John Musser, John Rhoads, Andrew Weyand, John Groner, sen commanding them that they should go in the proper persons to the several tracts and parcels of land and tenements & premises, and in the presence of the parties aforesaid or the guardians of such of them as are minors by them the said John Lehman, Abraham Kimmel, Jacob Kimmel, John Musser, John Rhoads, Andrew Weyand, John Groner, sen. being first warned if they will attend and the said several tracts of land with the appurtenances having respect to the true value of the said premises with the appurtenances they should cause to be divided between the widow and the children of the said deceased, as nearly as can be estimated alloting to each child an equal share. The widow having her dividend first made by them to be held in severalty of the same could be so divided without prejudice to or spoiling the whole. But in case the said premises with appurtenances would not admit of a division in manner aforesaid without prejudice to or spoiling the whole, then that they the said John Lehmer, Abraham Kimmel, Jacob Kimmel, John Musser, John Rhoads, Andrew Weyand, John Groner, sen should diligently inquire into the true value of the whole of the said premise with the appurtenances undivided and also whether the same would conveniently accomodate more than one of the children of the said intestate. And that the said partition or valuation so openly and distinctly make under their hands & seals together with the said [illegible] they should return to the next orphans court after the said partition or valuation was made.

CASPER STATLER

Buried in the Statler Cemetary. The cemetary is on the former George Lambert farm about three miles NE of Reels Corner, Shade Twp. The cemetary lies directly below the farmhouse on a slight rise of ground above the stream.

From: History of Bedford, Somerset & Fulton Counties

p.530.

The earliest settlers of Shade were Caspar Statler, Jacob Moses, Daniel Gibler, George Lambert and others.

Caspar Statler was probably the first settler in the township as well as one of the very earliest inhabitants of Somerset County. He came from Franklin County, following the old military road (built in 1758, and known to the settlers as Forbes' Road and having reached the western slope of the Allegheny mountain, settled, and began making himself a farm. He and his wife must have led a lonely life for many years. Statler at first went to Greencastle, Franklin County to trad. He was also obliged to flee several times from his mountain home and betake himself to that county, during the period of Indiand hostilities. At such times he was accustomed to conceal his tools and whatever ofhis personal property he could not take with him, by burying. Caspar Statler, the pioneer, was a thrifty, genial, whole-souled man. By his industry he accumulated wealth and was the owner of large bodies of land in Somerset and Bedford Counties.

Misc. Notes by NWH - 1999.

Caspar's father may have been Christopher Statler, but this is as yet unproven.

I Found Heinrich Stadtler who died in New Hanover, Montgomery Co.
on 7 Dec 1813. Born Feb 4, 1741. Buried New Hanover Lutheran Church.
(PA German Chruch Records, Vol 2, p. 387) Could this be Casper's brother?

He is not the right age to be the father of Veronica Stetler who married
George Keener. Though a relationship may exist there to apparently nearly
every generation of Stetler had at least one Heinrich (who was probably the
original immigrant for that line.)


BIOGRAPHY: Caspar Stotler of Shade Township

Copyright © 1998 by Leroy V. Baldwin (lbwitchdoc@@aol.com).

Casper Stotler was the first settler within the boundaries of Shade Township. He built a cabin as early as 1762 at a place called "The Fields" (now the Guy Lambert Farm) along the Forbes Road on the west slope of the Allegheny Mountain to which he brought his family in 1768. Casper Stotler served in General John Forbes' Army during the French and Indian War as an ensign in Captain Edward Ward's Company under the command of Colonel Henry Bouquet.

The Stotler family were temporarily driven out of their home several times by the Indians. They buried their tools and other personal belongings which they could not take with them and went back to Cumberland County for safety. Each time after peace was restored with the Indians, they returned to their mountain home.

Casper Stotler was a genial, thrifty, whole-souled man. By his industry he accumulated much wealth. He purchased more than fifteen hundred acres of land in Shade Township from the Penns, most of which he had titled in the names of his seven children. He also owned several hundred acres of land in Bedford County.

From his farm and in his home at "The Fields" he provided supplies and accommodations for the many travelers along the Forbes Road from which he benefited greatly, both financially and otherwise. Since the Forbes Road in this vicinity passed over much swampy ground and rugged terrain, it was found necessary to build a new road. The new road left the old road a short distance east of "The Fields," passing about a half mile south along what later became known as the "Great Road" or "Pennsylvania Road." This new road diverted much of Stotler's trade. To hold this trade, he then built a cabin near the intersection and stocked it with supplies, such as hay, oats, and other provisions. He employed a man to stay here, but when the man proved faithless, he put his son John, only fifteen years old, in charge.

Later he built a tavern here--the first tavern in Shade Township. In time, John Stotler became the owner. Years later, when the Pennsylvania Turnpike was constructed, this tavern became a noted place. It was located on the old Stoy farm, one mile east of Reel's Corners on the Lincoln Highway.

Mr. Stotler also taught school and built the first schoolhouse in Shade Township in 1810. The Stotler School was closed in 1937--the last of the one-room schools in the township.

Casper Stotler, son of Christopher Stotler, [note from NWH: Caspars parentage is NOT proven] was born August 18, 1743, and died April 12, 1798, aged 55 years. He married Rebecca Walters, who was born ----, 1736, and died February 20, 1826. They were married at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, 1764, and were the parents of the following children: Casper, Jr., Mary, Elizabeth, John, Samuel, Emanuel, and Eleanor. Casper and his wife, Rebecca Stotler, are interred in the Stotler Cemetery.

[From Mother Bedford & the American Revolution by Larry D. Smith, p. 235.]
Casper Statler "Born: 1743, Died: 1798 Buried in the Statler Farm Cemetery, Londonderry twp. Casper Statler was claimed, by records amassed by the Bedford County chapter of the DAR to have served in Captain Wood's company of the Bedford County Militia; but no reference can be found in the available public records of a company commanded by a man by the name of Woods. There was a company of the Cumberland County Militia, the 7th Company, 1st Battalion commanded by Captain John Woods. In the rosters of that company a number of men by the surname Statler appear, but the name of Casper is not one of them."

Note: Rebecca was taken captive by Indians on July 8, 1756. She was returned in
1762 by the Moravian christian missionary Frederick Post.


Statler Family Historical Documents
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~statler/statler/docs/casperrebecca.html
"A Compiled History of Casper Statler and Rebecca Regina Walter"
By Rhonda Whetstone Neibauer

This account of the Walter family, must start with some clarification on the name itself. Supposedly, among the Palatines who settled in PA, was Joseph Walter (His name may have actually been Casper Joseph Walter.), who sailed from Rotterdam on the ship "Robert and Mary," arriving in Philadelphia on 30 Dec 1740.1 It may also be possible that he was a Huguenot, as was the Statler family. Some years later, he settled in the Conochocheague settlement, Antrim Twp., Franklin Co., PA. His name appears on the list of taxables in that township in 1751.2

From another source,3 written by descendant Jonathan Walters, we are told that his name was Casper and that he was born about the year 1715 in Lancaster Co., PA, rather than in Germany, as PA Archive records tell us that Joseph was. This account goes on to say that Casper was the son or grandson of a German pioneer, which leads us to believe that Mr. Jonathan Walters may have been confusing Joseph and his father (whose name is Casper/Kaspar/Jasper, depending on the source you check), hence the same name. A Jasper Walter received a patent for 200 acres of land in Leacock Twp., Lancaster Co., on 21 Aug 1717. (This was probably his father, the true Casper, as the dates would be right, and if so, then Casper would have been born here and the Joseph who arrived on 1740 was unrelated.) This source then goes on to state that on Jan. 21, 1742, Casper Walter warranted 400 acres of land in Antrim Twp., Lancaster Co., in the Conococheague settlement, which is where we know that "Joseph" was listed on the tax rolls for 1751. He then states that Casper is shown on the 1750 tax rolls as a resident of same. In 1749, he supposedly also purchased land in Hampshire Co., VA, (now WV) which is where his son, Ephraim Walter, would ultimately settle in 1765.

Since we know that Ephraim was a son of Joseph, one can only conclude that the Casper mentioned in the above, and Joseph mentioned elsewhere, were one in the same and was the father of Rebecca Regina Walter, born 1746 at Rankin’s Mill. As stated above, it is entirely possible that his name was Casper Joseph and that he dropped the first name, using only the Joseph, except on legal documents, to keep from being confused with his father. As I have found serious errors in dates of birth, death and in other areas, I would give no special note to the difference in the name of Rebecca’s father.

The other cause for concern, of course, is who was the Joseph on the ship? I personally have no proof that the Joseph on the ship was one in the same as Rebecca’s father, so the name Joseph may be totally erroneous. It needs to be pointed out, however, that oral history and the earliest written accounts of the massacre at the Walter farm, all call Rebecca’s father Joseph. Two other mentions on the name: Some sources list the name with an "s" at the end--Walters. Since some of the descendants do use the "s," it can be supposed that it was tacked on somewhere along the line, but all early deeds and records show the name to be Walter. Later in this narrative, you will see mention of the name as "Walker." This was incorrectly used in one report and then recopied that way into others. There was no Walker family in that area at that time. Further details will be explained on this matter later.

One thing is certain, Casper/Joseph Walter married Barbara Baer in 1735. This all being said, we can now begin the story.

After Gen. Bradock’s defeat in July of 1755, the French and Indians overran the entire Province west of the Susquehanna River. In the latter part of that year, Indian chief King Shingas, a man known as Capt. Jacobs, and two Delaware or Shawnee Indians, started out from Kittanning Village (50 miles from Pittsburgh), where they lived, on a marauding expedition to the Conochocheague settlements. On the second of November, they killed many of the settlers in the Great Cave and Tonaloway settlement. They then crossed the Tuscarora Mountain and devastated the Conochocheague settlement. It was during this occasion, that Casper/Joseph Walter and some of his family were killed and others carried off by Indians. His house and buildings were burned to the ground.

Of all the problems the pioneers experienced, none were greater than Indian attacks. The French, who occupied Fort Dusquesne before the French and Indian War, encouraged the attacks by the Indians against the settlers from the eastern English colonies, hoping to stop their westward migration. After the war, they continued to encourage ambushes, telling the Indians it would help them regain their hunting grounds. To this end, Indians burned pioneers’ crops and homes, sometimes with settlers left dead or dying in the ashes, according to Mary Sue Whisker.4

Immediately after Bradock’s defeat, the Rev. John Steel, a Presbyterian minister, fortified his meeting house, known as the "White Church," with a stockade, providing a place of refuge for the neighbors from the cruelties of the Indians. Though a man of peace, he was determined to defend his parishioners and neighbors from the ruthless attacks. He organized a company of rangers for the defense of same, for which effort he was unanimously elected Captain. He was duly valiant in the war. During this critical period, when Rev. Steel entered the church, he took his place behind the rude pulpit and hung his hat and rifle behind him, as was also done by many of his male parishioners.

One Sunday, in the midst of his discourse, someone slipped into the church quietly, and called out a member of the congregation and related to him the murder of a family by the name of Walker (sic) at Rankin’s Mill, near Greencastle. (Note: It should be mentioned here that the name "Walker," above is in error and the name should be Walter. The taxable list of 1751 of Antrim Twp., contains the name of Joseph Walter but no Walker.) The tragic story of what had just transpired, was whispered from one to another in the congregation and as soon as Rev. Steel discovered what had taken place, he brought the services to a close, took his hat and rifle, and at the head of the congregation, went in pursuit of the Indians.

It is certain that the murder of the family took place on Sunday morning when Rev. Steel preached, as Mrs. Steel, and some of the neighbors had gone to church, while her children and other children were at the Walter home in the care of Joseph Walter. At the time the Indians attacked, Mr. Walter had been reading his bible on the front porch and the children were playing in the yard near the house. When he heard their screams, he grabbed his rifle from inside and ran to the door, which is where he was shot by an Indian’s rifle fire and fell dead in the doorway. The date of this event was Sunday, August 8, 1756. (Although several accounts written through the years list the date as July 8, it can be proven it was August by looking at a perpetual calendar. The 8th does not fall on Sunday in July 1756, but it does in August.)

The Indians then killed a neighbor of the family, and perhaps also some of the family and scalped them. They set fire to the house and other buildings and took Rebecca Walter, who was then about ten years of age, her sister Mary, three brothers, and some other children, captive. A neighbor boy that John Walter had been playing with at the time of the attack, managed to flee a short distance to Kesecker’s Mill, from which point an alarm went out to Fort Allison, about a quarter of a mile away. In fact, Capt. Potter and his men, arrived in time to prevent Casper Walter from being scalped, after his death. The dead were buried in a nearby meadow.5

Besides being taken captive, Rebecca Regina had also been scalped. Since the scalping process itself does not kill a person, she lived through it. Once back in civilization, she always wore a bonnet after the scalping, and in fact, upon her death, the pastor, Rev. Sam Williams, who was asked by Rebecca’s son-in-law, Peter Schell, to perform the funeral service, recounted later how "upon arriving at the home, Mr. Schell took him to the room where the deceased lay. Approaching the corpse of a very aged woman, Mr. Schell drew back her cap and showed Rev. Williams that this woman had been scalped and then narrated the story of her capture by the Indians, 70 years before."6

According to some accounts, Rebecca’s mother had gone to Sunday services and when Mrs. Walter returned from the church, she found her husband dead and the children either dead or gone and the house burned. Other, more believable accounts, state that Mrs. Walter was tortured and burned but did survive. She later married Henry Householder, a neighbor.

In all of the accounts of the children, I have only ever seen the names of those taken, so if there were older children (as at least one account indicates), who were not taken by the Indians but rather murdered there, there seems to be no record of them. Due to the fact that Casper and Barbara were married in 1735, and their earliest "known" child, John, was born in 1743, I think it may be safe to assume that the account of other Walter children being killed is correct, as they may have had several children between 1735 and 1743. What is known for certain is that Rebecca, her sister Mary and three of her brothers were taken. Rebecca was approximately ten at the time of the capture. Her brothers were John, age 13; Ephraim, 12; and an unnamed younger brother, who was killed on the forced march. Her sister Mary was 11. In later years, Rebecca recounted how they had forced her to carry her little brother, but after going some short distance, the Indians got tired of worrying about him and dashed his head against a tree. They were about to kill her also when a squaw who had taken a fancy to her (tradition says she was a beautiful little girl with piercing black eyes), saved her life and kept her until she was surrendered in 1762.

Rebecca’s brother, Ephraim, while in captivity, was "adopted" by a Shawnee Indian chief, named Yougashaw, to replace a son of his who had been killed.5

As Shingas and Capt. Jacobs had their village at Kittanning, it is absolutely certain that they took Rebecca and the others first to that place. It is also very likely that she was a captive at Kittanning in September 1756 when Col. John Armstrong took and destroyed the village. In the attack, Capt. Jacobs and his squaw were killed, but King Shingas and many of the captives escaped and went to Muskingham, OH, where he was staying on the 14th of November, 1756.

The agony and suffering endured by Rebecca Walter on the journey of nearly 200 miles to OH, over steep and rough mountains, must have been fearful beyond description. Besides, suffering great pain from her scalp wound, it is very likely she was forced to walk the entire distance.

Many of the captives at Kittanning were rescued by Col. Armstrong, among them a woman named Mrs. Mc Cord, who was captured at Fort Mc Cord earlier in 1756. She says that when it was known that the whites were upon them, orders were dictated to the squaws to flee to the woods with the captives. Rebecca was one of those taken to the woods.

George Cox, who was captured in Feb. 1756, says, "When I got to Kittanning, there were over 50 white captives and Col. Armstrong rescued only 13 of them." It is clear that the other captives, including Rebecca and her brothers, were taken to Muskingam. It appears that she and her brothers remained there until they were delivered in 1762 (This date is not correct for her brothers, they were not released until 1764.). In the meantime, they forgot the use of their own language and acquired the use of the Indian language. They also became acquainted with the habits and customs of Indian life.

A treaty of peace was offered wherein Shingas and his group agreed to surrender all the white captives held by them. They never fully performed this obligation, but in July of 1762, King Beaver of the Delaware tribe, did agree to surrender captives held by him an King Shingas.

Frederick Post, a Moravian missionary, was deputized to escort these Indians, with their captives, to Lancaster, PA. It is proper to state here, something in regard to this good man. In 1759, the Governor of PA, gave him a passport. It appears from the journal of Mr. Post, that he reached Fort Bedford on the 16th of July, 1762, at noon, where he was cordially received and remained one or two days. It is singular that Rebecca Regina Walter found rest within the same Fort in which her future husband, Casper Statler, had been an ensign in September 1759. There is a very detailed account in Mr. Post’s journal, telling how he led the Indians and their captives from Tuscarora, OH to Lancaster, PA in 1762.

At a conference, held with the Indians at Lancaster on Thursday, August 13, 1762, which was attended by several chiefs, from the Shawnee, Kickapoo, Wiwaltanes, Delaware, Ohio and Twithtnee nations, as well as the governor and interpreters, speeches were given by all.

Notices had been given requesting all persons who had lost children, due to the Indians carrying them into captivity, to come and reclaim them. Many of these captives had been taken when very young and had grown up to boyhood and girlhood in the wigwams of the Indians, having in the meantime forgotten their own language as was mentioned earlier. Such was the case of Rebecca Regina Walter. When her mother arrived to see if she could recognize her children, she could not. Then she remembered how she used to sing an old German hymn to her daughter, many years before, and the child was very fond of it. In her dilemma, she thought of this hymn and began to sing it:
Alone, yet not alone am I,
Though in this solitude so drear,
I feel my Savior always nigh,
He comes my dreary home to cheer.

She had not finished the first verse before her long-lost daughter rushed into her arms.

The other children were also returned to the mother at a later date, Mary about a month later and Ephraim and John not until November, 1764, more than two years after Mary and Rebecca’s return. Ephraim subsequently married Mary Debolt and settled on his father’s land in VA, as earlier mentioned.5,7

John served in the Sandusky Expedition in 1782, under the command of Col. Crawford, who was burnt at the stake during the operation. After the rout of this army, by the Indians, in what is now known as Wyandot Co., OH, including the death of nearly half the whites, many of the men simply fled on foot, never to be heard from again. No further record of John could ever be found, but family history has it that John could never adjust again to the "white man’s ways" and returned after a brief time to live with the Indians, where he married an Indian girl and spent the rest of his life.7

Mary appeared in Orphans Court in 1762, in Carlisle, PA, to petition for the balance of her father’s estate. In this petition,8 her father is again listed as Casper, once again leading us to believe that Casper and Joseph were one in the same and that Casper is the correct name.

Again, in the letter written by Mr. Isaac Craig,6 "In the old French War, two little girls (Mary and Rebecca) were in peach trees and were taken by the Indians, the younger scalped without injury by the Indians that first approached them, but another Indian who approached, took a fancy to them and instead of slaying them, carried them back to the wigwam." Rev. Williams, who was quoted in this letter and was nearly 80, told that he was born and raised in Bedford Co., where both of his parents were born. He had often heard the story referred to in 1825-26 while yet a licentrate in the ministry. He served a small Presbyterian church in Schellsburg and a small Baptist church in Somerset.

Casper Statler (Stotler) was born about 1740, and was reared in the Conochocheague settlement, that settlement now constituting Franklin County, PA. The first account of him is as an ensign in Captain Edward Wards’ First Battalion, PA Regiment. He fought in the French and Indian War under the command of Col. Armstrong at Fort Bedford, and this regiment accompanied Gen. Forbes army in the reduction of Fort Dusquesne at Pittsburgh in 1758, on their return.9

Casper Statler, in marching along the Forbes military road over the Allegheny Mountains in 1758 and 1759, passed over the land on which he subsequently settled. This was then in Cumberland County, in 1771 in Bedford County and in 1795 in Somerset County. It appears that he was pleased with this Allegheny wilderness for he then went back in 1762 and selected the tract of land on which he, a few years later, erected his house and other buildings. This place, on the west slope of the mountain, where he first built his cabin, was known as "The Fields" and is now known as the Guy Lambert Farm.

About 1762, he married Rebecca Regina Walter, who had just been released from seven years captivity among the Indians in Ohio. Casper Statler and Rebecca had been reared in the same settlement and were probably playmates before her captivity in 1755. David Husband, of Somerset Co., states in his annals, that "Rebecca and Casper were married soon after her release and that they then moved immediately to the frontier." While it may be possible that they settled on the western side of the Alleghenies in 1762, they may not have done so until 1768, as there was a severe penalty against settlers on the Indian’s land west of the mountain. On the 24th day of February, 1768, the Governor issued a proclamation warning settlers to leave their settlements. However, in the fall of 1768, the Indians released all of this land in Southwestern PA to the proprietors. There it was that Casper Statler and his wife settled on the land he had located in 1762.

The above mentioned annals say that in about 1770, Harmon Husband took a trip to Bedford, along the Forbes Road, from Fort Bedford to Fort Pitt, and that the road was well-traveled. He noted a small military post at Stoystown and that a number of adventurers had built cabins along the road for the accommodation of wayfarers. Among these men were mentioned Martin Stoy, John Mills and Casper Statler. Statler settled there about 1770 and was licensed to keep an Inn by the Court of Quarter Sessions of Bedford County in 1778. The said annals state that Stoy, Mills and Statler were the first settlers and noted where they located. It also said that Statler commenced the clearing and farming of his land as soon as he came, instead of devoting so much time to hunting as the others did. This road was the only avenue of commerce between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia for nearly forty years, and Casper’s home, near the summit, was a place of notoriety among the traders, trappers and packers of that time.10

The following extract is from the history of Somerset County published in 1884. "The earliest settlers in Somerset Co., were Casper Statler and George Lambert. Casper Statler was probably the first settler in Shade Twp., and one of the first inhabitants of Somerset Co. He came from Franklin Co."11

Upon settling, Statler first went to Greencastle to trade. He was obliged to flee there from his mountain home several times, and take himself there also during these periods of Indian hostilities. Casper, the pioneer, was a genial, whole-souled man. By his industry, he acquired wealth and owned a lot of land. His family consisted of the following children:
Casper Statler Jr. b. 19 Apr 1767 m. Anna Mary Lambert
Mary B. Statler b. 1768 m. John M. Lambert
Elizabeth Statler b. 1770 m. George Lambert
John Statler b. 1773 m.1 Catherine Lambert; 2 Molly ????
Samuel Statler b. 15 Jan 1776 m. Magdalena Mostoller
Emanuel Statler b. 1776 m. Catherine Mostoller
Eleanor Statler b. 1788 m. Peter Schell

In another account,12 Casper Statler Jr., above, was described as "genial, friendly and free-hearted. He acquired such property as was esteemed a vast fortune in the days when nearly all the settlers were poor; but he always exhibited generous traits, and frequently lent substantial aid to the needy and unfortunate. He owned many hundred acres of land in the western part of this township, which is now divided into more than a dozen farms. He is well remembered by the older people who bear cheerful testimony to his worth. Casper Jr. kept one of the first Taverns along the pike and started a small grocery store very early, what is now known as Gardill’s at West End. So, it seems from the above descriptions of Caspers Senior and Junior, the traits of generosity carried on down through the generations.

In a Statler Ancestry article by Eber Cockley, it states, "Statler was an innkeeper, catering to travelers and wagoners on the old PA Road. When a new road was opened a short distance to the south of his place, he built a log structure by the side of the new route, for the storage of grain and forage for sale to the wagoners, with an attendant on duty, giving curb service. School was held at Statler’s cabin at an early date, with William Newell the teacher."13

Casper Statler died 12 Apr 1798. In 1805, there was a Petition of Writ of Partition, setting forth that he had died seven years earlier, owning 19 tracts of land, containing a total of 4,332 acres. In two of the lands, an Emanuel Statler, probably his brother, but possibly his son, was part owner. These lands were appraised and divided among the children and they were under obligation to pay his widow, their mother Rebecca Regina, the interest on one-third of the appraised value of the land during her life. (Being a minor, a Mr. Casper Keller, was appointed guardian of Eleanor after her father’s death. Rebecca died 28 years after Casper, on 20 Feb 1826, at the home of a daughter.

In 1904, Mary Statler Sproat Hillegass died. She was a granddaughter of Rebecca. In her obituary, it retold briefly, the entire story of Rebecca Regina Walter, coinciding pretty much with details as set down in this narrative, with a few small differences, most notably the date of the captive exchange which was listed in this obituary source as 31 Dec 1764, with the exchange being made by Col. Bouquet at Carlisle.14 We know that the exchange of Rebecca, was made at Lancaster, two years earlier by the Moravian, Mr. Post.

An interesting story about Rebecca follows. "(Rebecca’s) years as an Indian captive fitted her for the wife of a pioneer settler. Long years after Casper and Rebecca had become settled in their mountain home, and after they had been able to supply themselves with the luxuries of a good home, through industry and management, a delegation of some twenty-five Indian chiefs and braves and a military escort were passing along the Forbes Road, along which the Stotlers lived, to a conference with the ‘Great White Chief’ of the white people.

It was evening when this delegation arrived at the Stotler Farm and the officers in charge asked permission to stop here for the night. The Indians built a fire near a large spring of water. Mrs. Stotler soon recognized several of the Indians as belonging to the tribe which had held her captive. Informing the officer in charge of the party this, she expressed the wish to see the old chief that she pointed out. The chief was then invited to come to the Stotler house.

Mrs. Stotler then spoke to the chief in his own language. He was greatly surprised and asked how she had learned the ‘Indian Talk.’ After she mentioned several incidents that had occurred in his family and tribe while she had been a captive, the old chief recognized her as the pale-faced squaw who had been with them so long and had fallen asleep when the white men came for her. The old chief was greatly pleased and asked about her brother. She told him that her brother, John, had returned to live with the Indians, which also pleased him."15

One last item of interest. In a book by Sally M. Keehn, entitled "I am Regina," the foreword reads, "Although the following narrative is fictionalized, it is based on a true story. It happened to Regina Leininger and is dedicated to her memory. The story begins in 1755 on a small farm near present-day Selinsgrove, PA . . ."

The book details the kidnaping of Regina, along with her siblings, after the murder of her father. It tells how she was held captive for years (finally being released in same exchange that John and Ephraim Walter were). The afterword in the book states, "Regina Leininger was reunited with her mother on December 31, 1764. Regina returned to the home she loved. There she lived, her life encircled by the warmth of family. Regina never married. Now, more than two centuries later, a tombstone stands at Christ’s Church Cemetery, near present-day Stouchsburg, PA. The inscription on it reads:
Regina Leininger
In Legend Regina Hartman
As a small child held Indian captive
1755-1763
Identified by her mother’s singing the hymn:
‘Allein, Und Doch Nicht Ganz Allein’*

*‘Alone, Yet Not Alone Am I’16

For many years, some have argued that the story of Rebecca Regina Walter and Regina (Hartman) Leininger, had been one in the same, adding more confusion to the story, but there is an actual plaque, in Carlisle, PA, commemorating the return of Rebecca Walter to her mother, just as there is an inscription on Regina Leininger’s headstone. I do think it plausible that perhaps the detail of the German hymn being sung, which was very well documented in the Leininger story, and appears nowhere but in legend in our story, has been "borrowed" from the other surrender in Lancaster. But, since we were not there, how are we to ever know for certain? And it does make for a better story, does it not?

Rebecca Regina Walter and her husband, Casper Statler, are both buried in the Statler Cemetery, on the Guy Lambert Farm, near Reels Corner, Shade Twp., Somerset Co., PA. Rebecca’s tombstone reads:
"In memory of Rebecca Stotler
wife of Casper,
who departed this life February 20, 1826
Aged 80 years
Why do we mourn departed friends
Or shake at death’s alarms?
It is but the voice that Jesus sends
To call us to His arms."17

By: Rhonda Whetstone Neibauer
9620 Oak Ridge Road
Wisconsin Rapids, WI 54494-9262
715/325-3533
©January, 1999

Endnotes:

1PA Archives (2nd Series), page 204.

2Ruff’s History of Cumberland County.

3Excerpts from "The Walters Family" from the "Genealogical Records of Some Early Fayette Co., PA Brethren" compiled in June, 1979, by Jonathan Walters for the Brethren Church Historical Society, pages 143-189.

4Bedford Gazette article by staff writer, Bill Clark, after covering a Pioneer Society Meeting.

5Sumner E. Walters, descendant of Casper Walter.

6October 28, 1879, letter written by Mr. Isaac Craig of Allegheny, PA, recounting a incident related to him by Reverend Sam Williams of a Baptist church in Pittsburgh, PA.

7PA Gazette article of 17 Jan 1765.

8Orphans Court Docket 1, Page 67, Carlisle, PA, Orphans Court Petition.

9PA Archives (2nd Series), page 558.

10Dr. Engle’s History of the Commonwealth of PA (as reviewed at the Library of Congress)

11History of Somerset Co., published 1884

12History of Bedford County, Chapter XLII, page 366.

13Laurel Messenger, Page 4, November 1962 Issue.

14Newspaper obituary of granddaughter of Rebecca Walter, dated 1904.

15Excerpt from "Two Hundred Years In Shade Township" by N. Leroy Baldwin ©1964.

16"I Am Regina" by Sally M. Keehn, Dell Publishing, Feb 1993.

17Notes compiled by Bill Jones, retired Senior Editor at the Tribune Democrat, 8 Nov 1998.



Note from the editor: Rebecca Regina Walter was my fifth-great-grandmother. The documented sources listed in this narrative were often cross-referenced with other notes that paralleled or confirmed what the listed source said. It is not my intention to attest to the accuracy of these documents and sources, but rather to compile a cohesive story from all the sources, which before was only told in bits and pieces. Where possible, I have researched as deeply into the subject matter as I could. I tried to retain all previously recorded information in its original form and when varying from it, indicated so. If you wish to share this account with others, for genealogical purposes, rather than extracting quotes from this narrative, I would prefer that you present it as a whole and credit me.

This narrative may not be reprinted elsewhere without my permission.

Rhonda Whetstone Neibauer, ©January, 1999

Note: Resident of Leacock Township, Conococheaque Settlement, Lancaster County, PA
If his birthdate is 1715 he was most likely born in Germany or England. If
1725, he would have been born in Lancaster County.
On Sunday, July 8, 1756 the farm in Cumberland (now Franklin) County was
attacked by Indians. Casper who had been sitting on the porch was killed
immediately. (See complete account.)

Occupation: Place: Miller

Note: On July 8, 1756 Casper, Barbara, & family were attacked by Indians. Barbara was tortured but survived.

From History of Cumberland County by Conway Wing. p. 402-403.

"A Great number of restored prisoners were brought to Carlisle, and col. Bouquet advertise for those who had lost children to ome here and look for them. Among those that came was an old woman, whose child, a little girl, had been taken from her several years before; but she was unable to designate her daughter, or converse with the released captives. With breaking heart, the old woman lamented to Col. Bouquet her hopeless lot, telling him how she used many years ago to sing to her little daughter, a hymn of which the child was so fond. She was requested by the Colonel to sing it then, which she did in hese words:

Allein, und doch nicht ganz alleine,
Bin ich in meiner einsamkeit;
Dann wann ich gleich verlassen scheine,
Vertreibt mir Jesus selbst die zeit;
Ich bin bey ihm, und er bey mir,
So kommt mir gar nichts einsam fuer.*

And the long lost daughter rushed into the arms of her mother. This happend December 31, 1764."

*Translation:
Alone, yet not alone am I,
Though in this solitude so drear;
I feel my Savior always nigh,
He comes my dreary hours to cheer;
I'm with him, and he with me
Thus, cannot solitary be.

I.D. Rupp recounts this same story minus the actual song in THE HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF DAUPHIN, CUMBERLAND, FRANKLIN, BEDFORD, ADAMS, AND PERRY COUNTIES. In this book he attributes the old woman as Barbara Walter and her daughter as Regina.

Source: (Birth Field)
http://www.genealogy.org/~dhickman/ruth/d0001/g0000072.htm

Note: Jacob Lambert, Sr. owned land in 1744 in York County. He also took his oath
as a British subject in 1744.
He resided in Dover Township, York County.
His will is probated March 5, 1788

Note: Served in the Revolutionary War.
Came to Somerset County in 1789 with his borthers John and George.
He lived in Stoneycreek Township and never married.
Christened Johan Jacob Lambert

Source: (Baptism Field)
York County, PA Church Records of the 18th Century, Marlene Bates and F.
Edward Wright.

Note: Captain in the 25th Regiment of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War.
He resigned in 1778/79.
Selectman 1774, 1775, 1787.


Source: Mass. Rev. War Soldiers & Sailors, Volume 3 page 402.
Child, Abijah, Waltham. Captain, Col. Thomas Gardner's regt.; list of officers; ordered in Provincial Congress June 2, 1775, that a commission be issued; also, same regt.; muster roll dated Aug. 1, 1775; engaged April 25, 1775; service, 98 days; stature, 5 ft. 8 in.; also, Lieut. Col. William Bond's (37th) regt.; muster roll for Aug., 1775, dated Camp Prospect Hill; also, company return dated Camp at Prospect Hill, Oct. 6, 1775.

Source: (Birth Field)
Early Settlers of Watertown, Mass. by Henry Bond. Boston, 1860.

Source: (Death)
Title: DAR
Author: The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution Volume 32
Media: Book

Source: (Burial)
Title: Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots, D.A.R.
Media: Book

Data:
Text: Vol.1, p. —Serial: 11393; Volume: 3

Note: Married Elizabeth Statler, sister of (his brother) John's wife Mary.
George Lambert and Elizabeth Statler had 11 children

Estate No. 31 of 1837 - Somerset Co. Courthouse
George Lambert. Bond filed Dec. 6, 1837. Admrs. Samuel Statler, Jr. and Jacob Lambert. Bondsmen, John L. Snyder and Joseph Imhoff.


Biography by Leroy Baldwin. copy 1998.

George Lambert, one of Shade Township's earliest settlers, accompanied by his two brothers, Jacob and John, came here from Cumberland County in 1789. George purchased and received warrants for more than a thousand acres of land located on Little Shade Creek and including all lands surrounding the junctions of Beaver, Crooked, Dark Shade, and Little Shade creeks, also lands extending westward into Miller Run Valley.

This was still a great wilderness overrun by many wild animals when George built his cabin here in 1790. This is illustrated by a story told by Mr. Lambert in later years. Lambert, in the company of several other settlers from this vicinity, journeyed to Greencastle, Franklin County, a distance of seventy miles, to purchase some badly needed supplies. Among other things, Mr. Lambert brought back home several pigs which he placed in a wooden pen for the night. The next morning he awoke to find his pigs gone--eaten by bears.

In 1790, George married Elizabeth Stotler, the second daughter of Casper Stotler. George built their cabin home on the west bank of Little Shade Creek, about one-half mile south of its junction with Dark Shade Creek--now known as the Henry Umberger Farm.

Here on Little Shade Creek in 1800, George Lambert built the first sawmill in Shade Township. (This land is now occupied by the Landis Sunoco Station and Tremelresidence.) The mill was a crude machine run by water power developed by the old bucket- type water wheel. The saw operated with an up-and-down motion, hence the up-and-down mill. This sawmill in later years became a boon to the Lamberts' plans, as we will see.

Years later, when their children grew to maturity, George and Elizabeth (Stotler) Lambert divided their lands among their eight children. Upon each tract of land they placed a log cabin home --a home for each one of their children.

George and Elizabeth (Stotler) Lambert were the parents of the following children: Jacob, John, George, Jr., Mary, Sarah, Rebecca, Eleanor, and Elizabeth. George and Elizabeth are both interred in the Stotler Cemetery.

Note: Rev. War?

Note: Matthew Lambert came to York County, PA from eastern France near the border
of Switzerland and Germany in the early 1700's. He came via Switzerland. In
1734 he was a land owner in Manchester Township. In 1748 (or 1744?), Matthew
and sixteen other Lamberts went to Philadelphia and took the oath of
allegiance to become British subjects.