Yesterday, I presented a few facts along with unsupported information found online for the subject of today’s post, Ludwig/Lewis Bibler/Peavler.

Ludwig/Lewis’s names are documented in a Shenandoah County, Virginia land deed dated 28 November 1782 whereby Lewis Peebler sold 138 acres of land to Francis Peebler for 5 shillings. Within the text of the deed he was called Lewis Peebler:

However, the same deed was signed by both Ludwig Bibler and wife Barbara:

Today, let’s look at facts uncovered through primary records to piece together the family of Ludwig and Barbara, who were also known as Lewis and Barbara Peebler.

First, based on presumed eldest child Charlotte Peavler’s marriage year, Ludwig Bibler was likely born sometime around 1730 in Germany to unknown parents.

Other than the Bibler surname, there is no evidence linking him to the 1751 immigrants Friederich and Johann Frantz Bibler who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the ship St. Andrew. It’s certainly not impossible, though.

Ludwig Bibler married Barbara (MNU), c1755 IF she was his first wife, place unknown, but possibly in Pennsylvania or the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. Barbara’s name is not found in any documents until the 1780s. However, the Bibler/Peavler children’s birth years range from c1756-c1790. Barbara would have had to have been a young teenage bride to be the mother of all the children. Again, not impossible, but the span of birth years is stretched to the limit.

Another possible clue that Lewis married twice is a gap of about 10 years between the births of Frantz, c1761, and Mary, c1772.

It is said that Lewis Peebler received a land grant in 1766 in Frederick County, Virginia and, indeed, several of his Shenandoah (formed from Frederick as Dunmore County in 1772 and then renamed Shenandoah in 1778) identify his tracts of land as part of a larger tract granted by the Northern Neck Office. However, I’ve had no luck at all finding any grant from 1750 to 1780 to anyone with a surname remotely resembling Bibler or Peebler/Peavler.

Lewis left a spotty paper trail from 1777 until the 1790s.

Lewis Peavler’s name is among those with Revolutionary War service in 1777 in Dunmore County, later Shenandoah County, Virginia. [No one has joined DAR under his service.]

In 1782, Lewis sold large tracts of land for the nominal amounts of 5 shillings each to Christian, Frantz and Jacob Peebler, with the assumption that these are three of his sons.

In 1783, a surviving Shenandoah County tax list includes three “Piblers” – Lewis Pibler, 5, Christian, 5, and Jacob 7. [The number after their names refers to number of whites in the household.]

1n 1788, a list of Rockingham County, Virginia militia “vochers” shows two groupings of Jacob Wickle, 2 horses, Lewis Peebler, 2 horses, Jacob Peebler, 2 horses and then Jacob Wickle, 2 horses, Lewis Peeber, 2 horses followed by Robert Gibson, no horses.

A list of Rockingham County landowners in 1789 credits Lewis Peebler with 195 acres.

Lewis Peavler is last found in a 1793 Rockingham County, Virginia deed and he is dead by 11 August 1809 when Jacob Ruffner and wife Magdalena, identified as a child and heir of Lewis Peebler deceased of Rockingham County, sell off their share of his estate.

A case may be made that, after Lewis died, his widow and some of his children removed to Fairfield County, Ohio where youngest daughters Magdalena, Catharine and Rebecca all married.

Whether Barbara survived Lewis is unknown, but if she did, she probably died in Ohio.

Ludwig/Lewis Bibler/Peebler [Peavler] was the father of about a dozen children. However, due to the span of years of birth and a gap in children between c1759 and c1772, it seems likely that Barbara (MNU) was a second wife and probably the mother of children 6-12.

Children:

1. Charlotte, born c1751; died after 14 January 1813, probably Fairfield County, Ohio; married Jacob Wickle, 3 July 1774, Shenandoah County, Virginia. Their daughter Barbara married William Beaver in 1803, Rockingham County, Virginia County, Virginia. He recorded an indenture, in 1815, with Jacob and Charlotte that appeared to be an agreement allowing them to remain on their land for the remainder of their natural lives, dated 14 January 1813, Fairfield County, Ohio.
2. Christian [Christopher], born c1753; married Anna (MNU)
3. Jacob, born c1755; died 1 November 1821, Fairfield County, Ohio; married Unknown (MNU)
4. Barbara, born c1757; died after 10 September 1799 when she and husband John sold land in Shenandoah County, Virginia “hereunto moving” to Fairfield County, Ohio; married John Taylor, c1777. John Taylor died before 29 October 1819 when his daughter Magdalene Hite of Fairfield county, Ohio sold his land in Shenandoah County, Virginia. Barbara was not mentioned in the deed so she might have also died before this date.
5. Frantz (Francis), born c1759; died between 14 December 1813-7 February 1814, the date he wrote his will and the date it was proved in Fairfield county, Ohio; married Mary Pense, 15 April 1783, Shenandoah County, Virginia.
6. Mary, born 2 July 1773, probably Dunmore County, Virginia; died 28 June 1848, Fairfield County, Ohio; married Christian Kagy, 17 March 1794, Rockingham County, Virginia
7. Susannah, born 8 February 1775, probably Dunmore County, Virginia; died October 1818, Fairfield County, Ohio; married Jacob Musselman, 8 May 1808, Fairfield County, Ohio
8. Lewis, born c1777, probably Dunmore County, Virginia; died c1850, probably Knox County, Kentucky; married Catherine Head, c1801
9. Anna, born c1779, probably Shenandoah County, Virginia; married John Hite, c1799, probably Rockingham County, Virginia
10. Magdalena, born 13 April 1788, probably Rockingham County, Virginia; died 24 April 1848, Fairfield County, Ohio; married Jacob Ruffner, 14 June 1807, Fairfield County, Ohio
11. Catherine, born c1790, probably Rockingham County, Virginia; died 2 August 1827, Fairfield County, Ohio; married Martin Hite, 17 September 1812, Fairfield County, Ohio
12. Rebecca, born about 27 March 1791, probably Rockingham County, Virginia; died 3 January 1871, Fairfield County, Ohio; married Jacob Kagy, 24 April 1810, Fairfield County, Ohio

Lewis’s son, Lewis, born c1777, looks like the odd man out since he didn’t removed to Fairfield County, Ohio. However, he appears to have followed the trail of his Head in-laws, who chose Kentucky and then Missouri as the places to make their new homes.

Timeline of Ludwig Bibler/Lewis Peavler:

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.

Today, it is time to move back a generation to the second of my husband’s three ancestral Lewis Peavlers.

Today’s Lewis Peavler was born c1777 in Virginia per the 1850 census and possibly in Shenandoah County, which formed in 1772 from part of Frederick County. It is said that his father, also Lewis Peavler aka Ludwig Bibler, received a land grant in 1766 in Frederick County, Virginia. The same census has his wife, Catherine (MNU) living at home with Lewis in Knox County, Kentucky.

Catherine was born c1780, reportedly in Tennessee. If Catherine was actually born in Tennessee and not Virginia or North Carolina, it’s possible that she was born in Sullivan County, which had some settlers by the late 1770s and the Peavlers lived there for a while, too.

No marriage record has been found for Lewis Peavler and wife Catherine, although it seems likely that they married sometime around 1800, possibly in eastern Tennessee.

Some have theorized that Catherine was a Bull by birth. However, while there is a connection with the Bull family and the Peavlers by marriage, the connections that I have found don’t appear until the next generation. Therefore, Catherine remains (MNU) in my records.

Lewis and Catherine might have met in Sullivan County as it isn’t known exactly when Lewis Peavler settled there. In support of that theory is the fact that Lewis Peavler Jr. consistently reported i n1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880 that he was born in Tennessee about 1805-1807. Secondly, Lewis Peavler Sr. appears on a Sullivan County tax list in 1812 and also was a witness in a land transaction there, also in 1812.

Similarly, there are no birth or church records found for their children, who have been placed together by two pieces of evidence. First, this family lived in Scott County, Virginia from c1819, when Lewis “Peevler” first appears on the tax list and he is the only Peavler of any spelling variation to be found on those lists until 1827 when William makes an appearance. Then in 1829, Lewis Jr. (who married Catherine Head) also appears. By 1830, Lewis Sr., Lewis Jr., William, Lewis and Christopher are all of age and tithable. Michael Peavler is the only son said to be a child of this Lewis who isn’t found on those personal property tax lists because he was born c1815 and didn’t reach legal age until the mid-1830s when the family lived in Knox County, Kentucky.

Lewis’s two daughters are placed in his family because they are the only two Peavler ladies who married in Scott County during the span of eyars in which Lewis Sr. lived there.

Lewis and Catherine (MNU) Peavler were the parents of seven known children:

Children:

1. William, born c1804, Tennessee (probably Sullivan County); died after 1880, probably Knox County, Kentucky where he lived with his son Lewis’s family; married Unknown (MNU). He was a widower at that time and, oddly, hasn’t been found in any census from 1840 through 1870. However, he does consistently appear on the Knox County, Kentucky tax rolls from 1841 through the 1840s. It appears his son might have gone by Peavley later on.
2. Lewis, born c1805, probably Sullivan County, Tennessee; died before 14 August 1882, when administration of his estate was held in Sullivan County, Missouri; married Catherine Head, c1828
3. Christopher, born about 12 August 1807, place uncertain – Tennessee, Virginia or Kentucky; died 8 April 1889, Linn County, Missouri; married Anna Head, c1830
4. Margaret, born c1809; died probably between 1830-1840; married Abraham Eakin, 7 January 1830, Scott County, Virginia. She was likely the mother of Abraham’s sons James, born 1834 and John, born 1836 at home in 1850. Abraham apparently married twice more after Margaret’s death.
5. Elizabeth, born c1812, probably Tennessee; died after 1830 census; married Samuel Cattron, 12 November 1828, Scott County, Virginia. Samuel is found on the Scott County personal property tax lists from 1822 through 1831. Neither Elizabeth nor Samuel has been found after that time. It is unknown whether they had any children.
6. John, born c1813, Virginia; died after 1890, when he was listed in the Union Civil War veterans census; married Mary Bull, 8 February 1838, Harlan County, Kentucky.
7. Michael, born c1815, Virginia; died after 1860; married Sarah Bull, 18 February 1836, Harlan County, Kentucky

Timeline of Lewis Peavler’s Life:

c1777 – Lewis Peavler born in Virginia, possibly Shenandoah County, VA which was formed in 1772 from part of Augusta County, VA
c1801 – Lewis married Catherine (MNU)
1812 – Lewis Peavler witnessed a land deed in Sullivan County, TN
1814 – Lewis Peavler credited with War of 1812 service, Sullivan County, TN
1819-1827 – Lewis Peavler appears on the personal property tax list, Scott County, VA
1828 – Not found
1829-1832 – Lewis Peavler taxed in Scott County, VA
1833 – Not found
1834- 1840 – Lewis Peavler taxed in Knox County, KY
1840 – Lewis Peavler was enumerated in Knox County, KY
1841-1850 – Lewis Peavler was taxed in Knox County, KY
1850 – Lewis Peavler and Catherine (MU), alone at home, were enumerated in Knox County, KY

Lewis and Catherine Peavler are last found in the 1850 census of Knox County, Kentucky. Lewis Peavler appears on the 1850 tax list, but is gone in 1851. He may have died late in 1850 or early in 1851. Although he was taxed on 50 acres of land valued at $25 in 1850, not a single land deed has been found in Knox County up to 1856 for any of the Peavlers.

Catherine appears to have died between 1850 and 1860, as she isn’t found in the 1860 census.

The digitized index of Knox County land deeds is a bit of a mess, filmed backwards with the first deed at image 661 and the last one at the beginning of the roll. I couldn’t find any Peavlers (any spelling variation) buying or selling land there even though they were taxed on land in the 1830s.