The Hyphen Family Lineage

[Excerpt from The Genealogy of the Steiner Family, L.H. Steiner and B.C. Steiner, 1896, pp27-29.]

Captain Stephen Ramsburg, the father-in-law of John Stoner, on July 28, 1746, bought "Mortality," 473 acres, part of Tasker's Chance, from Daniel Dulany, for 15 pounds. He bought on Oct. 1, 1753, from Daniel Dulany the estate of Dearbought, containing 307 1/4 acres. He paid £100 for it (Frederick Co. Land Records, E. 278). On July 3, 1755, he sold the property to Sebastian Derr, whose son John had married a daughter of Capt. John Stoner (E. 764). On Aug. 25, 1758, he bought a tract of 100 acres, being part of Dulany's Lott (F. 566), and on Nov. 29, 1758, he bought 50 acres more of Dulany's Lott (F. 608). On May 11, 1761, he sold to Jacob Crist 190 acres of land on Ruess's (Reese's) Branch, which runs into the Monocacy (G. 6). He sold lots 28 and 29 in Fredericktown on July 14, 1761 (G. 106). These lots he bought from Daniel Dulany, and had his title confirmed to them by Dulany's executor on May 14 and Jun 23, 1762 (H. 51, 52, 82; G. 502).

He was a farmer and a miller, and on Oct. 1, 1762, made an agreement with his neighbot William Durm with regard to a proposed mill-dam, which would cause the overflow of some of Durm's land. In return for the damage he agreed to pay £45 (H. 135). Shortly afterwards he served as executor for his friend Jacob Storm (J. 1184) and bought 114 acres of land, being the Resurvey on Nutt Spring (J. 1245). On Aug. 16, 1768, he sold the Resurvey on Stoney Hill and Shoemaker's Choice, comprising 111 acres (L. 398). On April 6, 1770, he sold his eldest son, John Ramsburg, for £250, the part of Dulany's Lott which he owned (L. 628). The second son, Jacob, received the remainder of his father's property in the Resurvey on Stoney Hill and Shoemaker's Choice on July 4, 1770 (N. 231). Fourteen years later, on Dec. 30, 1784 (W.R. 5, 271), he transferred part of Tasker's Chance, known as Mortality comprising 62 1/2 acres, to his third son, Elias Ramsburg.

His wife was Catharine Brunner, whom he must have married soon after 1730, who was alive in 1770, but dead before 1784. Their children were: John; Catharine Elizabeth, who married Captain John Stoner; Jacob; Elias; Anna Margaret, who married Christopher Myers, and was great-grandmother of Lewis H. Steiner; Henry; and Christian. He was for many years an elder of the Evangelical Reformed Church of Frederick, and as such bought land for the church (G. 368, J. 362, M. 43). In 1768, with the other elders, he made an agreement with Rev. Bennet Allen, Rector of All Saints parish, "for the more general comfort and edification of that part of the parishioners who are Germans." For this and other good causes and considerations and the sum of two shillings, Allen grants to the elders, while he shall be incumbent of All Saints, £25 current money, yearly, provided they apply it to the payment of a "minister that is received of and approved" by the Reformed Calvinists.

On Jan. 25, 1785, he manumitted (W.R. 5, 290) his negro slave Nan, aged about 40; John Stoner was witness to the deed. To the same woman, who took care of him during the last years of his life, he willed the bed and bedding that she now uses at my house," and for "her past services and attention" he bequeathed her an annuity of £6 current money. Out of his personal estate £100 were to be reserved during her life for the payment of this annuity. His will was dated April 19, 1788, and describes him as "far advanced in years." He died on March 7, 1789, and on March 21 the will was presented for probate. He signed his name to it in German script. He left his son Johm, whom he made executor, a tract o 27 acres in Washington County, known as Adventure, and a bond of £43 3s 1d due from Capt. John Stoner. He also gave him "my two negro boys, named Jack and Bill, until they arrive at the age of 26 years, at which ages respectively, I have by deed duly executed, acknowledged, and to be recorded, manumitted and set them free, the said devise and bequest of the negroes to John to be on the express condition that he, his executors or administrators, do and shall, before their arrival at the ages at which they are manumitted by deed as aforesaid, instruct or cause the said negroe boys to be instructued and taught some good trade, whereby they may be at those ages the better enabled to support themselves."

Christian, the youngest son, received the family bible and two tracts of land in Frederick Couty: one, Chestnut Hill, of 50 acres; and the other, Mortality, of 200 acres. In return for these he is to pay £150 to Catharine Stoner. She also to have the "use and labour of a negro woman named Sarah, now 18 years old, until the said negro shall arrive at the age of 24 years, at which period her manumission, by deed bearing equal date herewith," is to take place. Stephen Ramsburg was born Oct. 11, 1711, and died March 7, 1789. The residue of the personal estate is to be divided equally among the children. The final account of the executor was rendered Aug. 10, 1792. He stated the personal estate amounted to £434 10s 8d. He charged the estate, among other items, with the following: Coffin and sundries for the funeral, £7 3d; Lawrence Brengle, clerk of the vendue, £1 10s; Jacob Miller, crier at the vendue, 15s; nine gallons of rum for vendue, £1 13s 9d.

Mrs. Ramsburg was a daughter of Joseph Brunner, who came from Schiefferstadt in Germany on the -- in --, 1729. With him came his son-in-law Christian Getzendanner, who married Anna Barbara Brunner (Rupp, 30,000 Names, p. 16). Joseph Brunner settled on a tract of land of about 1000 acres, immediately west of the present town of Frederick. This tract he divided into four farms: for his four sons, Jacob, John, Elias, and Henry, so that each farm should cross Carroll Creek and afford access to that stream for watering the cattle. On Jan. 17, 1753, he transferred to his third son Elias the homestead "Sheverstadt," which he had purchased from Dulany on July 28, 1746, and on which the present house was probably already built. He probably died soon thereafter (Frederick Co. Land Records E., p. 68, 104).