Hans Herr and the Family Line

With cousins visiting from Pennsylvania, I’m reminded of Heather and Dexter’s link to the Old New World, going back to the founder of the Mennonite community in America—and from whom the Amish are descended—Hans Herr. Heather & Dexter’s family tree traces directly back on Nancy’s side. Here’s my diary entry from August 04, 1991, when we were visiting cousin Bob Reese.

“On the way back from Bobby’s we stopped off for a minute at the house of Robert Frost, the poet, an enormous, high-sided barn with the ubiquitous white wooden boards on every wall. The stone wall that runs around his garden and the rebuilding of which with his neighbours is the subject of one of his most popular poems, is still complete and maintained. It is a beautiful piece of old New England, fresh, uncomplicated, and deeply optimistic, and not 200 yards from the Babes and Studs Wedding Halls (Persian cats available).

This evening Bob got out his bag of tricks – a pale leather suitcase of family photos and documents, including a huge bound volume from 1908, detailing the descendants of Hans Herr, the Mennonite leader who negotiated a tract of land in Pennsylvania from William Penn in the 1600’s.The story as Bob tells it is that in the 100 Years War in Europe, the ruling families attempted to recruit Mennonite boys to their armies by terrorising them, including the technique of lining up 50 or so, and starting at one end of the line, decapitating them until the rest submitted. According to Mennonite lore, an officer in charge of this operation reasoned with the Amish boys lined up before him. He placed his cap at the feet of one of the boys, saying that if the next head landed in the cap, none of them would have to fight. The head bounced on the ground and rolled, and suddenly leapt into the cap. From that time on, the Mennonites were no longer obliged to fight. Hans Herr travelled to the New World from his home in Switzerland and with a few faithful followers cleared some land in what is now Pennsylvania. He sailed back to Europe, gathered his flock, and returned to America to make his new home. Hans Herr had 13 children, including the Reverend Christian Herr, and Christian had a daughter called Elizabeth. She had 9 children, in Lampeter, PA, one of which was Susannah. And although Susannah’s father was a Groff – so she lost the name – she married an Isaac Herr, whose father was Henry Herr, whose father was another Isaac Herr, whose father was another Henry Herr, whose father was Hans Herr himself, and Susannah had 9 daughters, of whom one, Susan, also married a Herr, Martin (Martin’s father was Abraham Herr, son of Reverend John Herr, son of another John Herr, son of Hans Herr). Martin and Susan had another 9 children, including Fannie, who married Peter Reece. Peter and Fannie had 5 children, Elias, Martin, Josiah, Susan and Simon. Martin Reece married Katherine, who had no one seems to know how many children, but about 8 or 9, including Mary. Mary’s 5 children included Richard and Molly. Richard had Bob Reece, and Molly had Nancy. Who had Heather. Who I married.

And if you think that Bob Reece is an abstinent, moderate, tempered, devout and simple man, who has given his life over to spreading the Word of Our Lord, and who dresses plainly in a life of meagre means, spending much of his time in earnest and silent contemplation, interrupted only by his long days of hard and honest work in the field, you would be wrong.”

Heather’s mother Nancy’s mother Molly’s mother Mary’s father Martin Reece, 1845 – 1925. Martin Reece’s father, Peter, married Fannie Herr, great-great-great-great grandaughter of Hans Herr, founder of the Mennonite community in Pennsylvania in the late 1600’s. Various intermarriages among the Herrs mean that my son Dexter is a direct descendant of Hans Herr on 3 separate lines.