I am removing the previous biography fo Professor Batdorf. Much of it is a mixup with Peter Batdorf
Johannes Jacob Peter Batdorf was born ca. 1671 in Darmstadt, in the current state of Hessen, Germany, and died in London, England in 1709.
He married Anna Maria Catharina Anspach. After his death, she married Johannes Zellar in 1712 in New York. She died in 1747/8 at Millbach, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. She was buried in the old Rieth's Church cemetery next to her second husband.
Johannes and Anna lived for several years in Palatine, Germany, where their five children were born.
In the summer of 1708, Johannes and family fled religious persecution and wars, and left their home in the small village of Badorf, near Stuttgart, in the current state of Baden-Wurttenberg, Germany. They traveled by boat down the Rhine River to Rotterdam, Holland, then traveled by boat to England to await further transportation to America.
Like the Hans Adam Walborn family with whom they had become acquainted, and with whose children their children would marry, they joined thousands of others who took advantage of Queen Anne's offer of transportation to America, with the intention of establishing a colony in the present state of New York.
Johannes died in London before the journey to America by his family began, and three of the five children died enroute or shortly after arriving in New York on Jun 10, 1710.
When the boat landed, the passengers set up tents that they had brought with them from England, and lived in them. They remained until late autumn, when about fourteen hundred of them, including our Batdorf and Walborn families, were moved a hundred miles up the Hudson River to Livingston Manor. (Today, there is a town of Livingstonville in Schoharie County.)
The three surviving members of this family lived at Livingston Manor, New York for two years until Governor Hunter refused to pay the bill for their subsistence because the English Crown was slow in reimbursing him. Consequently, Anna and the two children joined a group of about 150 Germans, including the Walborns, and moved about 60 miles northwest to Schoharie Valley to New Annsburg (sometimes called Schmidsdorf), pulling their belongings on crude sleds through a forest and over three feet of snow without horses or roads. It took them three weeks to travel the 60 miles.
About this time (1712), Anna Maria Catharina married Johannes Georg Zellar. He was born in 1686 in France and died in 1737 about the age of 51. He was the younger son of Jacques de Sellaire and Clothelde de Valois.
After living in Schoharie about ten years, 33 families (150 people), including the Battdorfs and Walborns, had their land and improvements taken away from them because of some defect in their land titles. About this time, Governor Keith of Pennsylvania visited them and invited them to Pennsylvania.
In late winter, 1722, the group began the journey, travelling by a well-known and much used route down 300 miles of the Susquehanna River on crude flatboats and canoes. The cattle were driven along the riverbanks. They arrived at the mouth of the Swatara Creek, now Middletown, in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, about May 19, 1723. By Jun, 1723, they had traveled up the Swatara Creek and landed at their destination, about fifteen miles west of Reading to a point near Jonestown in the western part of what is now Lebanon county. From there they made their way on foot across the country to the Tulpehocken region, east of Stouchsburg. At that time there were no roads in the area. Indians guided their entire journey and became their neighbors.
The tract of land settled by this group was about ten thousand acres in the Tulpehocken and Lebanon Valleys. Deeds were procured from the three Penns: John, Thomas, and Richard.
Anna Maria Catherina and Johannes Zellar squatted on land which is now called Millbach in Lebanon County.
family
The two children of Johannes Jacob Peter Batdorf and Anna Maria Catharina Anspach who survived the voyage to America were:
- Catharina Elisabetha, b. ca. 1697, confirmed Mar 23, 1712, m. Christian Wilhelm Walborn on Dec 11, 1717, d. 1764
- Johannes Martin, b. Sep 1698, m. Maria Elisabeth Walborn, sister of Christian Wilhelm Walborn on Jul 18, 1720, d. Apr, 1787
- Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Apr 17 2021, 3:13:55 UTC
From James E. Baucom, Jr.
The Documented Zeller and Batdorf German Palatine Immigrants: Who they were, who they were not and Their Relationship
By Jim Baucom, husband of Betty Jo Zellers, a descendant of immigrant Johannes Zeller.
The Battdorfs Immigrants
Johann Martin Batdorf married Maria Elizabetha Walborn 9 JUN 1716 at New York. His sister Catherine Elizabetha Batdorf married Christian Wilhelm Walborn 11 DEC 1717 at New York. A member of genealogist Henry (Hank) Jones team found Batdorf information on church records at Helmershausen Germany. that showed, Peter Batdorf married Kunigunda Weygand 16 MAY 1682. Among their eight children were Johann Martin baptized 8 JAN 1695 and Catherine Elizabetha baptized 17 JAN 1698.Their last child was baptized 10 JUN 1699. Sometime after that Kunigunda died and he married Anna unknown. In the summer of 1708, Peter, Anna and 5 children boarded a ship at Holand and sailed to London. At London or at sea Peter and 3 children died and only widow Anna and her two stepchildren, Johann Martin and Catherine Elizabetha, arrived at New York. 30 JUN 1710.They were added to NY GOV Hunter’s subsistence list (3,0), 3 persons, age 10 and up and no children under age 10
The Zeller Immigrants
30 JUN 1710 Johann Henrich Zeller was added to the subsistence list, (3,0). Four day later Johann Henrich Zeller was (1,1) and widow Anna Battorffinn was (5.0) The three Zeller over age 10 people who were identified later as Johann Henrich, Johannes and his father Johann George. The 30 JUN recorder missed the under age 10 person in the Zeller party. She was Henrich’s daughter or sister, Anna Maria age 9 who later married Johannes Schaeffer at New York. She lived with Henrich and Johannes and his father Johann George lived with the Batdorfs for the duration of the subsistence period. JUN 1712.
Kin aways assist a widow with protection and help, so the related Batdorfs and Zellers came from Helmershausen Germany. It was always assumed Henrich and Johannes were brothers, and that would make Henrich his son. Was widow Anna Batdorf a Zeller sister? We only know that they were related and they came from Helmershausen Germany.
Here is my favorite, unprovable assumption: immigrants Henrich and Johann George were brothers. Johann George married a Batdorf woman. He was the uncle of Martin and Elizabetha Batdorf they were Johannes’ cousins. The Batdorf children went to PA with the Johannes and Henrich Zellers. Martin Batdorf and his sister’s husband were co-executor’s of Johannes; 1737 PA estate along with Johannes’ son Johann Henrich.
I started looking for ancestors OCT 1969 and in 1970, during a business trip to Salt Lake City Utah I discovered that her ancestors were probably Swiss Jacques Zeller and French Lady Clothilda de Valois. Betty’s great grandfather, Josiah Zeller born PA, died NE and buried at Marysville KN. He was wounded in US Civil War and we got a copy of his pension request from US Government, He was born and married at Stauchburg, Lebanon Co. PA. When I sent a copy of his pension request to the Zeller Family Assoc, about 1980 they mailed information that traced Betty’s line to Johannes Zeller, b 1686, who was in London England 1709 with his family that included his father, Phillip Zeller.
I had posted my line on Wikitree starting 2013 and 2021. I added Betty’s Zeller line and found that genealogist Henry Jones team stated that her Johannes Zeller and his brother Johann Henrich were probably from a Johann Henrich Zoller near Etzbach Germany, When I find conflicting information, I never copy until it can be proven.
Retired Asst professor turned professional genealogist, John Valentine, a descendant of immigrant Johannes Zeller, who was a LDS member had collaborated with Hank Jones prior to 1985 when Jones published his book, Palatine Families of New York-1710 that had the Etzbach Zoller data.
2012 Valentine published a book, The Tulpehocken Zellers and Their Descendants. He tells about the de Valois myth, but the most important item in his book was what he viewed on microfilm of the original list NY Gov Hunter’s. LDS members began microfilming original US records in 1938. One of these records was New York Gov. Hunter's subsistence list of money given to German immigrants sent to New York by Queen Ann of England to collect sap from pine trees to be used when building new sailing ships. New York pine trees yielded very little sap, while southern pines were a perfect source. Subsistence payments stopped after 2 years. 2800-3000 Palatines left England. 400 died at sea and 200 died after arriving at New York. This included 100 orphans and 50 widows.
The four recorded Zeller Palatine immigrants were Johann George Zeller and his son Johannes boroand Johann Henrich and his daughter, Anna Maria who was younger than age 10 and she married Johannes Schaeffer at New York.,
The three recorded Batdorf Palatine immigrants were widow Anna Batdorf (aka Anna Battorffin) and her two step children, Johann Martin and Catherine Elizabetha. Johann Martin married Maria Elizabetha Walborn 9 JUN 1716 at New York and his sister married Christian Wilhelm Walborn 11 DEC 1717 at New York.
The team of professional genealogist, Henry (Hank) Z. Jones found church records at Helmershausen Germany that Peter Batdorf, b abt 1661, married Kunigunda Weygand 16 MAY 1682 and the baptism names and dates for their eight children that included Johann Martin Batdorf baptized 8 JAN 1695 and Catherine Elizabetha baptized 17 JAN 1698. After their last child was baptized 10 JUN 1699 Kunigunda died about 1701 and Peter later married Anna Maria and ship records show Peter, Anna and five children sailed from Rotterdam to London. Peter and three of his children died at London or at sea. Peter’s children, Johann Martin, age 15 in 1710 and his sister Catherine Elizabetha, age 12 in 1710.,
- Jacques Zeller and wife Lady Clothilda de Valois was myth.
- Immigrant Johannes Zeller was never recorded as Johannes George
- Peter Batdorf who died at London or at sea was not Professor Johann Jacob Peter Batdorf b 1648, or his son Professor Johann Jacob Peter Batdorf b 1671.
The Zeller-Batdorf Connection
Who always supports and protects a widow and her children when her husband dies? HER KIN! Johann George Zeller and son Johannes lived with the Batdorfs for the two years that they received subsistence and Johann Henrich Zeller and young Anna Maria Zeller were together. The two most obvious relationships are Johann George married a Batdorf woman which would make the children cousins or widow Anna Batdorf was a Zeller. Either way it appears that they were neighbors at Helmershausen Germany before leaving for London.
In 1717 Palatine Ulrich Simmendinger returned to Germany and published a register of the Palatines alive at New York before he left. At Neu-Ansberg were widow Anna Badtorffin and 2 children, Johannes Schaeffer and wife Anna Maria (born Zeller) Henrich Zoller, wife and 3 children and Johannes, wife Anna Catharina and 2 children. Their father Johann George was not listed. He probably died at New York before 1717. This is proof that immigrant Johannes Zeller did not marry widow Anna Batdorf.
The Batdorfs
Prof Batdorf never left Germany.
Peter Batdorf who died at London was a wine industry worker. Here is his story:
Peter Bardorf was probably born about 1661 in Helmershausen, Thuringia (Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach). This region is about 150 km northeast of Frankfurt. He died in London, England in 1709, just prior to the immigration of his family to New York.
16 May 1682: Peter first married Kunigunda Weygand (b. 1662 in Helmershausen), and the couple had the following children baptized at Helmershausen:
- Infant daughter bpt. 2 Jan 1684. Sponsor was Caspar Völcken of Wohlmuthausen
- Johann Georg, bapt, 22 Jan 1686.
- Elisabetha, bpt. 10 Jun 1689, d. or bur. 2 Sept. 1689.
- Johann Caspar, bpt. 7 Aug 1690
- Johann George, bpt. 10 Jun 1693, d. or bur. 26 Jan 1694
- Johann Martin bpt. 8 Jan. 1695 (he carried on the surname in New York and Tulpehocken. Married Maria Elizabetha Walborn)
- Catharine Elisabetha, bpt. 17 Jan 1698. (she married Christian Wilhelm Walborn)
Following the death of his first wife, Kunigunda Weygand in 1702, Peter Bardorf married Anna Maria Catharina Unknown--AKA "Widow Anna Battorfin" on the 1710 Hunter Lists. There are no European records to support the marriage [or birth surname] or her [given] name Anna Maria.
When Anna Battorfin and her two (probable) step-children arrived at New York, her household (#18 on the Hunter Lists), appears to closely associate with the household of Johannes Zeller/Johann George Zeller (#840 on the Hunter Lists). Just how they were related is subject to interpretation. The two most likely relationships are widow Anna was a Zeller or Johann George Zeller married a Batdorf woman, and she was the mother of Johannes Zeller.
If Peter Bardorf from Helmerhausen is the Palatine immigant, then Batdorf children Martin and Catharine Elisabetha have baptismal records located near Helmerhausen, in Thuringia. No Zeller birth or marriage records have been located in the Helmerhausen area of Thuringia [which lies outside the regions of the Holy Roman Empire that bore most of the 1709er Palatines. Zeller family historian John Vallentine speculated that perhaps Peter Batdorf left Thuringia and moved west or south into the Palatinate before emigrating in 1708/9. If so, perhaps Peter Batdorf found Anna when living elsewhere in the Palatinate.
In the summer of 1708, Peter Batdorf and family made their way to London en route to New York.
3 Jul 1709: Peter Petturf, his wife, and 5 children were recorded on Capt. Francois Waren's ship in Holland. He was listed near Niklas Roel and Hans Peter Appelmahn, and next to Johan Peter Kneskern--all NY settlers who originated near the town of Darmstadt. [2] But Peter Bettorf died in London prior to overseas departure, leaving his widow Anna Maria Catharina UNKNOWN (Battorfin) with children and step-children.
By the time they reached New York, only Anna Battorfin, and her two step-children--Martin Bardorf (age ~15; son of Peter Bardorf) and Catherine Elisabetha Bardorf (Age ~12; dau of Peter Bardorf) --survived.
When the boat landed, the passengers set up tents that they had brought with them from England, and lived in them. They remained until late autumn, when about fourteen hundred of them, including Batdorf, Walborn and many other Palatine families were moved a hundred miles up the Hudson River to Livingston Manor. (Today, there is a town of Livingstonville in Schoharie County.) Johannes Zeller and his father Johann George Zeller shared living quarters with Anna and her two step children
The three surviving members of this family lived at Livingston Manor, New York for two years until Governor Hunter refused to pay the bill for their subsistence because the English Crown was slow in reimbursing him. Consequently, Anna and the two children joined a group of about 150 Germans, including the Walborns, and moved about 60 miles northwest to Schoharie Valley to New Annsburg (sometimes called Schmidsdorf), pulling their belongings on crude sleds through a forest and over three feet of snow without horses or roads. It took them three weeks to travel the 60 miles.
Anna Battorfin did not marry Johannes Zeller in New York. In 1717 Ulrich Semmingdinger returned to Germany and reported that Anna and her two step children, Johannes Zeller with wife Anna Catherine and two children, and Johann Heinrich Zeller with a wife and three children were alive and living in three separate families in NY. This is the last documented fact on the widow Anna Batdorf.
Surviving stepchildren of Anna Battorfin
Anna Batdorfin and two of her two step children survived the voyage to America. Both Martin and Catharina Elisabeth married Walborns.
Sources: pages 20 and 21/ 291 A must read: https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/203984-the-...
Even More Palatine Families, vol 3 (2002) by HZ Jones and Lewis Bunker Rohrbach.
