Benedict Lehman, Sr.
Benedict Lehman is a second generation American of this family.
He came to the colonies on the ship Charming Nancy on October
7, 1737 with his parents Benedict and Veronica, and his siblings
John, Barbara and Catherine.
His father and mother settled on the west bank of the
Schuylkill River opposite of where the town of Hamburg, Pennsylvania
is located today.
He married a daughter of Christian Miller (ML of Gingerich and
Kreider) circa 1747.
They had five sons: John
(1749), George, Peter (1757), Benedict (c. 1760) and Jacob.
He and his family were members of the Amish church.
In the late 1760’s, he and several others members of the
church were sent west to explore the western lands and to report
back to the church on the potential for future settlement.
Their report must have been favorable for in the 1770’s he
moved with his wife and family to Brothersvalley Township, Bedford
County (now Somerset County).
He obtained a warrant for 216 ¼ acres on December 2, 1773.
The land was situated on the road from Bedford to Henry
Rhoads’ mill (near the current village of Roxbury about four miles
north-east of Berlin).
He is listed in the Brothersvalley Township tax records book for
1775, so he must have arrived in 1774 or earlier.
He obtained another warrant on December 2, 1774 for 300 acres
on the waters of Stony Creek in Quemahoning Township (now Stonycreek
Township). It was
located about a mile north of his original parcel.
This land later belonged to his son Jacob.
He died sometime after December 4, 1787.
He is buried in an unmarked grave on his original parcel, in
a field about 150 feet south of the barn (WPA records).
No stones are evident.
The farm was taken over by his son Benedict who would have
been around 27 years of age.