We have moved back in time from Lewis Peavler, born c1805 in Tennessee to his father, Lewis Peavler, born c1777, probably in Shenandoah County, Virginia to the earliest Lewis Peavler.

This Lewis Peavler was actually called Ludwig Bibler and Lewis Peavler in the same land deed, so his name was somewhat Americanized.

First, we need to begin with some background information. The Peavler family has many descendants and there has been years of research by many of them. However, not surprisingly, there is a lot of information to be found in online trees that is not sourced and is also not correct.

So, let’s take a look at some of what is out there.

FACT: In September 1751, the Ship St. Andrew arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from Rotterdam via Cowes, England. On the passenger list are two men – Friederich Biebler and Johan Frantz Bibler. Their names are separated in the list by only one other man – Albrecht Dederer – who might or might not have anything to do with the Biblers back in Europe or in the British colonies.

I find no further mention of Friederich Biebler, by any spelling, in any of the Peavler records I’ve found.

Johan Frantz Bibler is another story. With no documentation, it is said that he was born in 1711 and died in 1750 in Virginia. Also without any proof at all, he is said to be the father of Ludwig Bibler. Either of those statements may or may not be true.

I will be delving further into Ludwig aka Lewis’s life, but for now, I’d just like to mention a couple of facts which possibly help to narrow down his birth year.

One Jacob Wickle married Charlotte Peavler on 3 July 1774 in Shenandoah County, Virginia. Lewis Peavler/Bibler sold land to Jacob Wickle and is found on a couple of lists living next door to the Wickles. It seems likely that Charlotte is a daughter of Ludwig/Lewis Bibler/Peavler.

If that is true and Charlotte married in 1774, she was likely at least 21 years old at that time, placing her birth year c1753. She might have been as young as 16, but that would have been unusual for a young German girl. Charlotte does appear to be the first born child of Ludwig and Barbara (MNU).

Working backwards, Ludwig was probably at least 21 when he married Barbara, which would push his birth year back to at least 1732. It would not be surprising to learn that he was closer to 25 when he married – again, typical for the German community – which might indicate that he was born as early as 1727.

These estimates don’t completely rule out Johan Frantz Bibler as Ludwig’s father, but the timeline is getting a bit tight.

Some have placed comments on the FamilySearch family tree profile stating that Johan Frantz and Ludwig Bibler were of the same generation, e.g. more likely to be siblings or cousins. That is an unproven theory.

The other wild card is the Friederich Biebler on the ship’s passenger list. The name Frederick doesn’t continue down in the Peavler family, but what happened to this man? He would have been at least 21 years old so is of an age to possibly be a brother of Ludwig. However, he remains a mystery for the time being.

FACT: There are images of a letter and pages from an old German diary attached to Johann “Franciscus” Bibler in the FamilySearch family tree. This diary, apparently belonging to Johann Frantz (Franciscus is the Latin form of his name), also includes an entry about Johann Frantz’s birth in 1711, his marriage on 16 August 1740 to Albertina Charlotha Kroh and the births of two sons, Johan Christian Heinrich, born 13 May 1743 and Christian Henrich, born in August 1752. The earlier child likely died young. There is no mention in this journal of any other children born to this couple. It doesn’t mean there weren’t any, but it doesn’t prove there were others either.

The location of this diary is unknown today, but since Johann Frantz was born in 1711 and married in 1740, aged about 29 years old, I’d say he is eliminated as a possible father of Ludwig/Lewis.

Supposedly, Johann Frantz Bibler died in 1785 in Rockingham County, Virginia, but there are no sources or documents supporting that date.

Descendants of this man are said to be the Bibler branch who removed to Fairfield County, Ohio. It is difficult separating out the Biblers in Ohio because there are several children with the same name and at least three of Lewis and Barbara (MNU) Peavler’s children married and lived there, proved by land deeds in which they sold their share of land inherited from their father Lewis with the land described as owned by Lewis and Barbara.

One more item to note – some online trees show Ludwig/Lewis BiblerPeavler married to one Barbara Ann Bowman who died in 1817 in Fairfield County, Ohio. The husband of that Barbara was Lewis Bibler, who was in the Frantz Bibler line. She has been conflated with Ludwig’s wife, Barbara, whose maiden name is unknown and who remained in the Shenandoah/Rockingham Counties area of Virginia.

Now that you are thoroughly confused, we will look at factual information concerning Ludwig/Lewis and Barbara (MNU) Bibler/Peavler, who lived most of their adult lives in Virginia.