Jacob Burkhart
Jacob Burkhart was born 08 May 1758 in Reading, Berks County, PA. He
died 19 November 1840 in Fairhope Township, Somerset County, PA.
Jacob Burkhart's pension application indicates that he enlisted
three times during the war. His first enlistment was in Reading,
Berks County, PA., during June 1776 in the company commanded by
Capt. Jacob Krowl or Croul and served until August 27, 1776 when
taken prisoner during the Battle of Long Island. While the Battle of
Long Island occurred early in the war, it was the largest battle of
the war having the largest number of combined troops.
Jacob married Elizabeth (possibly Schwartz) in 1785. Elizabeth was
born 1759 in Berks County, PA. She died in 1848 in Fairhope
Township, Somerset County, PA. Per Jacob’s pension application, file
# S-22150, he claims they were the parents of 27 children. To date,
13 of those children have been identified. We do not know how many of
the children survived to be adults. The pension application notes
various spellings of his name; but, he stated BURKHART was correct.
Jacob’s brother, John, also served in a unit assigned the
responsibility of guarding General Washington.
Jacob and Elizabeth settled on land in Fairhope Township, Somerset
County, PA that is now part of the 724 acres owned by the
International Conservation Center, an extension of the Pittsburgh
Zoo and PPG Aquarium. Jacob’s original headstone is not identified
in the Burkhart graveyard. Elephants now guard the graveyard.
