John Payton ST. MYERS

John married Salena Ann SHORT 1861, Wheeling, Ohio Co., Virginia (West Virginia). Salena was born 23 May 1842, Birmingham, England; died 28 Aug 1922, Wheeling, Ohio Co., West Virginia. [Group Sheet]

1. Alonzo Loring ST. MYERS was born 29 Sep 1864, Wheeling, Ohio Co., Virginia (now West Virginia); died 21 Dec 1937, Wheeling, Ohio Co., West Virginia; was buried Dec 1937, Mount Olivet Cemetery, Marshall Co., West Virginia.

Notes:

George may be the son of Jacob or possibly his nephew and son of George and Elizabeth Dunn Santmyer.

George married Elizabeth CORDELL 3 Nov 1827, Frederick Co., Virginia . Elizabeth was born 1810, England; died 1844, Wheeling, Ohio Co., Virginia (West Virginia). [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Jacob and Jane moved from Frederick Co. to Shenandoah Co. after 1794 and before 1810.* Jacob served in the Virginia Militia from Winchester, Frederick Co., Virginia in the 1790's. He possibly served in the Revolutionary War. As only Jane signed the marriage permission for Barney in 1816, it is a strong indication that Jacob had died prior to that date.

*The sections of Frederick and Shenandoah Counties, where they lived, were very close together. This area later became part of Warren Co. when it was formed in 1836.

See notes under William Harrison Santmyer
In the 1790's Jacob served in the Virginia Militia in Winchester, Virginia." "The original spelling of this name was Zentmeyer. Jacob underwent the change to present spelling. This name has been, and presently is, spelled many horrified fashions. But the true spelling is the Anglicized SANTMYER from Zentmeyer as per Jacob in 1780." ............Glenn W. Santmyer

*Present spelling is Santmyer, at least in my branch of Santmyer's, and also in Glenn's. Other branches spell it as Santmyers and Santymire. Of all the names in my Family Tree, this is the one name I have encountered with the most different spellings. Some spellings are so far removed that they are difficult to recognize as Santmyer. Spelling variations: Santmyer, Santmyers, Santmire, Santmier, Santmiers, Santmeyer, Santymire, Santemeyer, Santamyer, Santimire, Santingere, St. Myer, St. Meyer, Sauntmire, Sanbaire, Santaire, Saintmyers, Sanskrives, St. Moyers, Sandmeyer, Saulmire and Sandmeier.

Ref: Information contributed by Gerilee Santmyers and Jan Jennier

VIRGINIA HISTORIC MARRIAGE REGISTER, Frederick County Marriages
1738--1850, Page 225
Santaire, Jacob & Jane Knape 20 July 1794
Minister Lewis Corbin

Militia Records 1796-1813, Winchester Co., VA
Private Jacob Santmire fined $.75 for a misdemeanor

Hardesty's WEST VIRGINIA COUNTIES, Vol. 8
Jacob Sauntmire / Jane Nafkin

Jacob married Jane KNAPS 20 Jul 1794, Frederick Co., Virginia. Jane was born 1767, Virginia; died 19 Jun 1855, Warren Co., Virginia. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

1850 Census Warren County, Virginia (6 July)
Roll 980 Page 23
Dwelling No. 333
Jane St Myers 83 female Born Virginia cannot read or write

1840 Census Warren County, Virginia
pg 187
Jane Santmyer

Notes:

There is much additional material about Bernhard on the York Co. page.



There is a Bernhard Nicholas Santmyer b.1735 listed in FamilySearch IGI and elsewhere as the father of Jacob and George Zentmeyer, which we believe to be an unfortunate fabrication by a misguided LDS compiler, combining our ancestor Bernhard Zentmeyer b.1740 with another actual immigrant, Nicholas Sandmeier, who arrived on 9 Oct 1775 on the good ship King of Prussia. I have convinced FamilySearch to quarantine this record, although no one can remove it entirely except for its contributor, who will not respond to us. This bogus record also lists the surname of Bernhard's first wife as 'Luther,' for which we have found no evidence, see Catharina LNU, but unfortunately this fabricated 'Luther' record has generated entries on 60+ trees on Ancestry.com.

Johann married Catharina LNU Bef 1760. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

We do not have a surname for Bernhard's wife. She was identified as 'Catharina' both in the birth record for her son Johannes in 1763, and as a baptismal sponsor with Bernhard for Anna Margaretha Geister on 7 Aug 1760. This dates their wedding to around 1760 when Bernhard would have been twenty years old.

The surname 'Luther' has been put forth on the internet for her, with some claiming she was Maria Catharina Luther, born 1734 in Herbitzheim, Bas-Rhin, Alsace. This Maria Catharina Luther did in fact emigrate to Philadelphia, arriving with her parents on 15 Sep 1749 aboard a different Phoenix voyage, according to Strassburger-Hinke's Pennsylvania German Pioneers. But according to Annette Burgert's Eighteenth Century Emigrants, this Maria Catharina married Josiah Harper on 10 Sep 1763, only weeks after Johannes Zentmeyer was born, so she was not Bernhard's wife.

Others identify her as Catharina Elisabetha Luther baptized 8 Jan 1744 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. But the Kichenbücher (church records) reveal that this Catharina was married in 1765 in Frankfurt and died there in 1782.

The only place we have found the surname 'Luther' connected to Bernhard other than in Ancestry.com member trees is in the IGI on FamilySearch, where Bernhard is wrongly identified in a completely fictitious member-submitted tree as 'Bernhard Nicholas Santmyer, b. 1735' with a wife whose surname is 'Luther.' We believe this is the source of the 60+ Ancestry.com member trees which identify her as 'Luther.'

It is our suspicion that some Ancestry.com tree-makers took 'Catharina' from our website and combined it with 'Luther' in the IGI record. When you then search 'Catharina Luther,' online, the two individuals above can be found.

Anyone having any original source information for the Catharina's surname - family bibles, hand-written genealogies, anything - please contact me.

Gary Zentmyer

Notes:

The 1760 marriage date is from a birth record for Anna Margaretha Geister, which lists Bernhardt Zentmoyer and Catharina as sponsors.