Peter Laufer, The Shoemaker
We can be happy that Peter's wife, Magdalena Susanna Grosher, refused to travel to Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania in 1774 with the rest of the Laufer's when Peter's father, Christian, opted to relocate there and fight the Indian hostilities on the Western front. Peter first married Magdalena Susanna Grosher who was the mother of his children. Later he married Magdalena Althause.
The following is taken from The Lauffer History (1905), The Peter Laufer Branch. "He lived in troublous times, for it is said that it was not safe to sleep in the house at night, for fear of the Indians. The settlers had to go to the block house at Howersville. When his father Christian, and all his brothers and sisters emigrated into Westmoreland Co., he alone remained in Northampton Co. Tradition has it that he married a wife who refused to cross the Mountains."
He was a farmer and a shoemaker by trade. It is reported that he was a very short man and therefore too small to carry a musket, but he was one of the Pennsylvania German farmers who wanted to contribute to the success of Liberty's cause. So he joined Washington's army as a shoemaker and practiced that skill during the length of his enlistment. His name appears as a private of the 8th class, spelled Lawfart, in the 3rd Battalion of the 7th Company under Captain John Deeter of the Northampton County militia, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Nicholas Kern, in 1782, and again on March 3, 1783. He joined the company in 1780.
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| The shoemaker's shop in Williamsburg, Virginia |
In 1780 Peter Laufer was assessed on his property in Moore township at
292 pounds. In 1785 Peter Laufer is named as the owner of 150 acres of land
in Moore township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania and was by
occupation a farmer and shoemaker.
He married Magdalena Susanna Grosher. They were members of the Reformed congregation of Stone Church at Kreidersville, Northampton county. They were the parents of eight children who were:
1. Catharine, born July 26, 1778, and died may 28, 1847. She married Michael Asch. 2. Eizabeth, born Nov. 14, 1779, and died Nov. 14, 1859. She married Mathias Greber. They resided near Petersville, Pennsylvania.
3. Susanna, born December 8, 1782, and died in 1847. She married Andrew Lilly, of Petersville, Pennsylvania.
4. Peter Laufer, Jr., born June 25, 1785, and died Aug. 29, 1855. He married Eva Bush. They are buried at Kreidersville, Pennsylvania.
5. Adam Laufer, born in 1790, and married Elizabeth Koehler and moved to Monroe county.
6. Jacob Laufer who married Elizabeth Strauss.
7. Rachel, married Henry Renner.
8. Anna Maria, born Sept. 20, 1792, and died March 18, 1877. She married George Marsh, of Klecknersville, Pennsylvania.
Peter Laufer, son of Christian "The Pioneer" Lauffer and Susanna Best, was born Oct. 18, 1752, and died July
21, 1830. He is buried at Kreidersville Church, Allen township,
Northampton county where his grave is marked with an American Flag by the Veteran's Administration to recognize his service in the Revolutionary War.
It is unknown when his first wife Magdalena Susanna Grosher died or where she is buried. A record of burial for his second wife Magdalena Althause is found in the Burial Record of Zion's Stone Church. She was born May 15, 1767 and died in 1831 and is also buried at Zion Stone Church in Kreidersville, Pennsylvania.
We have two lines of descent from Peter Lauffer. Estella May Kunkle Smith was the granddaughter of Peter's daughter, Anna Maria Laufer who married George Marsh. Through a different line she was the great grand daughter of Peter's daughter, Susanna who married Andrew Lilly.
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