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.
State of Service: PA
Qualifying Service: Private / Patriotic Service
Balzer Umbenhauer was born in 1730 in the canton of Berne, Switzerland. He was the son of Stephanus Umbenhauer. The date of Stephanus Umbenhauer's arrival in Pennsylvania is unknown. However, it is known that Stephanus Umbenhauer was granted 200 acres of land on the North Creek "Northkill" on 10 January 1737 in Bern Township, Lancaster County (now Berks County), Pennsylvania, from Thomas Penn. Letters of Administration for Stephanus Umbenhauer, late of Bern Township were granted to only son Balthaser on 9 July 1764.
Balzer was married about 1750 to Maria Appolonia Brossman (1730-1815). She was born in Germany and was the daughter of Frantz and Anna Clara Elisabethe (Rudolph) Brossman. She arrived in Pennsylvania with her parents in 1739. Balzer and Maria Appolonia Brossman were the parents of ten known children: Frantz, Elisabetha, Samuel, Justine Catarina, Catharine Elizabeth, Johann Thomas, Jonas, Christine Hannah, Peter, and Maria Magdalena.
Balzer was a farmer his entire life in Bern Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. He died sometime after April 1799 at his homestead and was buried at the Old Northkill Church Cemetery, Bern Township (now Bernville), Berks County, Pennsylvania. Maria Appolonia is buried there, also. Her death record notes that she was the mother of ten children, 65 grandchildren, and 85 great-grandchildren.
During the Revolutionary War, Balzer Umbenhauer was a private in Captain Emrich's Company, Berks County, Pennsylvania, Militia. [SAR Editor's note: this service comes from a Lieutenant's List in the Pennsylvania Archives Series III, which lists the men who failed to attend military exercises and were fined. This list was incorrectly attributed as indicating military service, which it does not].
He took the Oath of Allegiance to the state of Pennsylvania on 30 May 1778. He also paid the Supply Tax in Bern Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, in 1779, 1780, and 1781.
Balzer's son Thomas founded the village of Bernville with 62 acres of land from the Umbenhauer homestead. Bernville became a borough in 1851. Of particular note, the author of this bio still lives in Bernville, only a short walk from where his patriot ancestor Balzer Umbenhauer is buried.
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