Lorentz Steffy

1735 -

• Name	Lorentz Steffy
  Birth	1735
  Gender	Male
  Burial	Y  [1]
  Person ID	I31439	Tulpehocken Genealogy
  Last Modified	17 Nov 2023

  
  

  Father	Johan Philip Steffan,   b. 1704, Hirschthal, Sudwestpfalz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany d. Feb 1765, Cocalico Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, USA (Age 61 years)
  Mother	Annamaria Barbara Hertzog
  Family ID	F9372	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  (Place of burial unknown; Muddy Creek was the family church, but he may well have died in New Jersey where his regiment was sent.) The subject arrived at Philadelphia on board the St. Andrew in Sep. 1837 as a young child. He grew up in East Cocalico Township, and in 1761 purchased land in the recently-laid-out Adamstown. There is no record of his marriage. After his father's death Lorentz purchased a farm in Brecknock Township. Lorentz' militia was mustered to the Jersey front on August 15, 1776 and nothing further is heard of him. However, the history of his regiment is known in pretty good detail. On Jul. 10, 1763 Lorentz and his wife baptized Anna Dorothea at Muddy Creek Reformed Church (Wright, "Lan. Co. Church Records", I p.96; on Dec. 26, 1766 he and wife Anna Catherine had a child they named Maria Barbara (Wright, p.98); a Susanna was born to them on Oct. 8, 1771 (Wright, p.103). Nothing has been discovered as to their life-spans or marriages. The maiden name of his wife is also unknown. The families that participated in his childrens' baptisms don't offer any suitable candidates for his wife. As for unexplained DNA links to people local to Muddy Creek, there are unexplained matches to descendants of the enormous Ream/Riehm family. Considering how scanty is the documentation for Lorentz's family, it is easily possible that he could have had several other children whose births aren't documented. By default Lorentz must be the father of Philip Steffy/Stephy (1765-1856), because Lorentz's brother George had a different Philip of his own (1765-1801) and Lorentz's three American-born brothers were all born too late to have sired this Philip. The Barbara Steffe who sponsored the baptism of Philip & Elizabeth's daughter Maria at Muddy Creek on Sep. 28, 1788 (Wright, p.114) is therefore likely to have been Lorentz's aforementioned daughter Maria Barbara. Perhaps more undocumented children of Lorentz remain to be discovered. It is normally assumed that Lorentz died during the war, since he is not recorded again after marching off from Adamstown. But another possibility is that he deserted and went into hiding. In 1830 a centenarian "Michael Steffy" suddenly turned up in Adamstown, and his claimed military activities match very close those associated with Lorentz Steffen's regiment. See memorial #181728459 for this other man, who may just be Lorentz Steffen in disguise. NOTE THAT IF LORENTZ DIED DURING THE WAR, THEN "WIDOW STEFFE" IN COCALICO TP. ON THE 1790 CENSUS IS LIKELY TO BE HIS. HOWEVER, IF LORENTZ AND HIS WIFE LEFT THE AREA IN 1778 (AS SUGGESTED ABOVE), THEN "WIDOW STEFFE" WOULD HAVE TO BE FREDERICK'S AS THERE IS NO OTHER CANDIDATE. THAT WOULD CLINCH THE SUSPICION THAT FREDERICK DIED IN COCALICO PRIOR TO 1790.

  
  

• Sources

  [S64] Website: Find a Grave [text], https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/181707580/lorentz-steffy.