Page News & Courier
Heritage and Heraldry
Discovering the roots of the Page County Nauman families
Article of April 9, 1998
On August 21, 1750 the ship Anderson arrived in Philadelphia from Germany with 86 passengers. Among the large number of recent immigrants were Johannes and John Gottlieb Nauman of Hanover. Germany. Once debarked from the ship, the new settlers took their oath of allegiance to the English crown before embarking on the ultimate challenge of heading for land on the frontier. Settling initially in Pennsylvania, John Gottlieb and his wife had several children including Thomas and John Christian Nauman.
Stories from the other lines of Naumans collaborate the information of the 1750 Nauman arrival in Pennsylvania. Though only two brothers were recorded as arriving in Philadelphia, there was also a third brother, Christian Nauman, that arrived on the Brotherhoodon November 3, 1750 from Rotterdam and Cowes in England. From this confusion of Johannes, Johns and Christians, there leaves room for possible variation in family lineage, though inevitably ending in the same line of blood brothers that came from Hanover. Christian, who had arrived on the Brotherhood, was said to have gone south and never heard from again, leaving the possibility that it was him rather than the above stated John Christian that was the progenitor of Page County families, with a son, John Christian Nauman, Jr. as the husband of Christina Stoneberger.
While this may remain a uncertain link for a short time to come, there is one certainty of the Nauman family that remained in Germany. Apparently there was yet another brother, Emil Nauman, that remained and was reputed as telling his children never to go to America, "because he had brothers who went to America and he never heard of them afterward, the wild beasts must have killed them." Ultimately however, a grandson, also named Johannes Gottlieb Nauman, later settled in 1853 in Iowa.
Nevertheless, around 1774 - 1775, Thomas and one of the above stated John Christian Naumans, like many other Swiss and German settlers, made their way to the area of land that later became Page County. Thomas settled in the Valley only briefly before moving onto Ohio. John Christian found happiness in the valley and made permanent settlement. Between 1777 - 1778, John, now a school master and farmer, married Christina Stoneberger, the supposed daughter of Frederick Stoneberger.
From the union of John and Christina there were several children including Elizabeth, John Christian, Jr., Catherine, David, Eva, Mary, Barbara, Benjamin Harrison, Hannah, and Christina. In 1795, John played a part in the foundation of St. Luke's Lutheran Church at Alma as a trustee, along with Daniel Snyder. Deeded the property by Frederick Stoneberger and Mathias Friermood, the church was originally located on Stony Run near Stanley before a new log structure was built in 1801. This church was later abandoned and moved to Alma.
Sometime around 1835, both John and his Christina passed away, buried on their land in roughly marked graves, "a large white oak tree" shading the spot where they were laid. Of the number of children produced from the marriage, over half or their heirs later relocated to Ohio or Missouri. In time, the irony of history would bring the family at odds with each other in the Civil War. Though no documentation or proof exist that any family members clashed on the battlefield, several family members did serve on opposite sides during the war.
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