The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
Andreas Schaber, son of Christoph and Anna Catherine (Schreiner) Schaber, was born on 31 January 1737 at Sachsenhausen, Wertheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.1
The family of Johann Christoph Schaber arrived on 2 November 1752 on the ship Phoenix from Rotterdam via Portsmouth. Andreas Schaber of Berks County was naturalized on 14 April 1762 in the Province of Pennsylvania.2
Andreas Schaber was married to Gertraud Schaurichin on 3 April 1759 at Trinity Lutheran Church of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Together, they had the following known children:
Johann Peter was born on 20 Aug 1760.
Eva/Eve was born on 4 December 1762 and married 1st William Welsch, 2nd Gottfried Gerloff.
Catherine was born on 18 September 1766 and married Jonas Kramer.
Andreas/Andrew was born on 6 September 1768 and married Ursula Miller.
Adam was born on 12 September 1770 and married 1st Hannah Harris, 2nd Elizabeth Barbara Young.
During the American Revolution, thousands of German soldiers were sent to America to assist the British armies. The first of these German soldiers were Brunswickers, under the command of General Baron von Riedesel, joined by a regiment from Hesse-Hanau in support of the campaign led by British General John Burgoyne to take Fort Ticonderoga and proceed to meet with British troops led by General Henry Clinton at Albany. The resulting failure of Burgoyne’s campaign and surrender of his troops, known as the “Convention Army,” led to their march to Boston for the winter of 1777-1778. Fearing their return to the British, General Washington ordered the Convention Army to be marched more than 500 miles south to Albemarle, Virginia. Again, fearing the return to their British allies, Congress ordered their removal from Virginia to Pennsylvania in March 1781. Passing through Lancaster County before their final destination at Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania, twelve hundred German Convention troops from the Brunswick and Hesse-Hanau regiments were camped near the Schuylkill River. With the prisoners to be provided huts, a camp was built, and a required guard of militia was raised—the payroll of Ensign Nicholas Conrad’s Party of Berks County. Militia Guarding Com’ Prisoners lists 31 men, including Private Andreas Shaber, time of entry, June 22, Days in service 57.4 The Convention prisoners remained more than two years at the camp at Reading, with the last shipload of German soldiers returning home in November 1783. However, many German soldiers chose to remain in America, including Jonas Kramer, originally from Schlüchtern, Hesse-Hanau, who married Catherine, daughter of Andreas/Andrew Schaber, and his wife Gertraud.
Andreas/Andrew remained in Berks County through 1800 but had moved to Botetourt County, Virginia by 1810. Andrew Shaber of Botetourt County, Virginia, wrote and signed his Last Will and Testament on 10 January 1824, naming his children Adam, Eve Gerloff, and Catherine Kramer. With his death, his will was presented to the Botetourt Probate Court in October 1825.
Sources:
Evan. Kirche Wertheim, Sachsenhausen, Mar., Bapt., Bur., 1721-1777, film #102154977 (image 612)
Denizations and Naturalizations in the British Colonies of America, 1607-1775, Chapter S, page 254.
Trinity Lutheran Church, Reading, PA, Baptisms, marriages, and deaths, 1751-1904.
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