Author: William Leslie Lehman PLS

Philip Burbach was born about 1747.  He immigrated to America aboard the Ship “Recovery” on October 31, 1771.  Histories of the Burbach / Poorbaugh families indicate he may have been consigned to Willing and Morris, a Philadelphia merchant, who had paid for his passage to America.  He appears to have been sent to Lititz, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to work off his passage debt by farming.

When his obligation was fulfilled, he was married to Catherine Elizabeth Ilgenfrits Blinkensderfer by Reverend John Christian Gobrecht, in Royers Reformed Church on November 16, 1779.  She was the daughter of Johan George Ilgenfritz and Margaretha Mohr.  To their union were born five children:

1. Catherine Elizabeth Bauman was born on September 10, 1793
2. John Burbach
3. Philip Burbach
4. John Burbach born in 1785
5. Henry Burbach

Philip served in the Revolutionary War as is shown in the Pennsylvania Archives, Series 5, Volume 7, Pages 282, 284 and 330.  He was a private, 4^th Class, 8^th Company, 3^rd Battalion Lancaster County Militia.  He lived in Lititz, Lancaster County during his service in 1781-1782.

Philip acquired multiple warrants for land on the waters of Brush Creek in Londonderry Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania.  Londonderry Township later became Allegheny Township and later Northampton Township, Somerset County, Pa.  The land amounted to over 425 acres.  One tract was for 315 acres and the other was for 112 acres.  The 112 acre tract is evidently was the tract upon which he lived.  The survey that was performed on the land indicated, “that a good dwelling house and barn, a young apple orchard and about 50 or 60 cleared acres under good fence and the said Philip Burbach and family resided thereon.”

He died intestate in about 1812.  On July 11, 1815 his wife Elizabeth relinquished her rights to administer his estate.  She requested that George Flickinger and Daniel Bowman, her son in law, to be administrators.  He is buried in the Burbach Cemetery in Northampton Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania.

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