| Notes |
- == Biography ==
Maria Hershey was the daughter of [[Hersche-10|Benjamin Hirshy]] of Lancaster Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Her mother was likely [[Rhode-96|Mary Rhode]]. A 1773 deed, which settled the estate of Maria's father, Benjamin, listed his four children:[1773 Deed, Christian Hershy et al to Benjamin Hershy, Jr.: [https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSFB-K37F-3?i=279&cat=224489 Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book X, page 551.] FamilySearch film #008067076, image 280 of 621.]
* Christian Hirshy and his wife Ann, of Warwick Township
* Ann and her husband Jacob Hostetter
* '''Mary and her husband Benedict Mellinger'''
* Benjamin Hershey of Warwick Township
On 4 July 1759, Maria Hersey, "spinster," purchased 100 acres of land in Hempfield Township, Lancaster County, from Christian Hersey and his first wife, Barbara. It was adjacent to land belonging to Anna Elizabeth Hersey.[1759 Deed, Christian Hershy & ux to Mary Hershy: [https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSF1-SBCQ?i=111&cat=224489 Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book DD, page 210.] FamilySearch film #008067079, image 112 of 623.]
Christian and Anna Elizabeth were likely Maria's siblings.(Why was Maria called a spinster? See a discussion of this in the Research Notes below.)
Maria married twice, as shown by a 1785 deed which referred to "Maria Hershey having intermarried with Jacob Musser of the said County of Lancaster and afterwards intermarried with Benedict Mellinger of the said County of Lancaster." [1759 Deed, John Musser & al. to Jacob Hostetter: [https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSF1-SBH3?i=114&cat=224489 Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book DD, page 216.] FamilySearch film #008067079, image 115 of 623.]
Maria likely married her first husband, [[Musser-155|Jacob Musser]], son of John and Fronny Musser, sometime around 1747, based on the birth of their first child in 1748. They had five children:[Deed: John Musser et al. to Jacob Hostetter, 27 September 1785: [https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSF1-SBHC?i=112&cat=224489 Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book DD, page 212.] FamilySearch film #008067079, image 113 of 623. (The deed lists the children of Jacob and Maria, as well as Maria's children with her second husband.)][[https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/media/library/docs/edit_vol83no3pp158_185.pdf ''John Musser's Plantation in Southeast Lancaster''], by Edgar A. Musser, Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society, volume 83 (1979), number 3, pages 158-185. Lancasterhistory.org]
# John Musser, b. 1748
# Benjamin Musser, b. 1749
# Ann Musser, b. 1751
# Jacob Musser, b. 1753, died before 1785.
# Maria Musser, b. 1755, died in infancy.
Maria's husband, Jacob Musser, died sometime between 27 December 1754, when he signed his will, and 13 December 1756, when it was proved. In the 1756 tax roll for Manor Township, Lancaster County, Jacob's name no longer appeared, but was replaced by "Widow Moser." In addition to her land, she was taxed on 5 [bushels?] of winter grain, one horse, one mare, two horned cattle and 10 sheep. She was listed next to Christian Hershy.[[https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS77-1SP2-6?i=23&cat=201844 1756 Tax List for Manor Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania] FamilySearch film #007857866, image 24 of 615.]
With several young children to care for, Maria didn't waste any time after Jacob's death before marrying her second husband, [[Mellinger-139|Benedict Mellinger]]. The marriage took place on 31 October 1756. [''Notes: Mellinger'', Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage, Volume 15, Number 1 (January 1992), page 38: "The following information was abstracted from a 1748/1749 ''Martyrs Mirror'' published by the Ephrata Cloister. The book is located at the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society." Information on nine Mellingers in four generatioins is provided, including, "Benedict Mellinger m. Oct. 31, 1756, Mary Hershey." Birth dates for their five children are also included.]
Maria and Benedict had five children:
# Franni (Frances?), b. 1757
# Feronica Mellinger, b. 1759
# David Mellinger, b. 1760
# Christian Mellinger, b. 1762
# John Mellinger, b. 1764
Maria was dead by 27 September 1785. A deed on that day referred to her as "Maria Mellinger late Maria Hershey …lately died intestate leaving … seven children viz. John, Benjamin, Ann, Frane, David, Christian, John Millinger, and two grandchiildren named Henry Musser and Ann Musser, minor children of her son Jacob Musser, late of Manor Township, deceased."
On 27 September 1785, after Maria's death, the 100-acre tract in Warwick (previously Hempfield) Township that she purchased from her brother in 1759 was sold to Jacob Hostetter of Warwick Township. Three deeds were created to make the transfer.
* DD-212: Maria's seven surviving children sold their share in the property. The seven children were:
## John Musser of Manor Township and Susanna his wife
## Benjamin Musser of Manor Township and Magdelin his wife## Henry Wanner of Codorus Township, York County, and Ann his wife ("Ann being one of the daughters of Maria Mellinger, late Maria Musser, and also late Maria Hershey.")## Jacob Ebersole of Donegall Townshjip and Frene his wife ("Frene being another of the daughters of the said Maria.")
## David Mellinger of Manor Township
## Christian Millinger of Manor Township
## John Mellinger of Manor Township and Elizabeth his wife
* DD-214: Benedict Mellinger sold his life estate in the property: "Maria Hershey intermarried with … Benedict Mellinger and by him had several children and then died whereby the said Bendict Mellinger became entitled to his Life Estate in the said Premises." [1759 Deed, Benedict Mellinger to Jacob Hostetter: [https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSF1-SB8Y?i=113&cat=224489 Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Deed Book DD, page 214.] FamilySearch film #008067079, image 114 of 623.]
* DD-216: Maria's seven living children bound themselves to pay £300 to Jacob Hostetter unless Maria's two grandchildren, Henry Musser and Ann Musser, minor children of her deceased son Jacob Musser, signed releases to the property within a year after turning 21.
=== Research Notes ===
In 1759, when Maria Hershey purchased land from Christian and Barbara Hershey, [ she was married to Benedict Mellinger, yet the deed referred to her as a spinster. She married Benedict, her second husband, on 31 October 1756, and she was still married to him when she died in about 1785. Several theories have been proposed to explain this discrepancy:]
# The word 'spinster' was mistakenly inserted, either in the original deed or by the scribe who copied the deed into the Lancaster County Deed Book. This seems unlikely because it would have been unusual at that time for a married woman, rather than her husband, to purchase land.# The wrong date was inserted by the scribe who copied the deed, and the deed was actually signed before 1748, when Maria was still a spinster. This seems unlikely because several 1785 deeds refer to the earlier deed (for example, "Christian Hershey and Barbara his wife by his Indenture bearing Date the 4th Day of July 1759 …" [), and if there had been a discrepancy in the dates, someone would have likely noticed it at that time.# The Maria Hershey who married Jacob Musser and Benedict Mellinger was not this Maria Hershey, but her niece, [[Hershey-547|Maria Hershey]], daughter of Christian Hershey and Barbara Hostetter. ][Edgar A. Musser, ''John Musser's Plantation in Southeast Lancaster'', Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society, volume 83 (1979), number 3, pages 158-185; see Appendix I.] [''Early Lancaster County Mennonite Mussers'', Mennonite Research Journal, Volume 17, Number 2 (April, 1976), pages 13-14, 22-23; see page 14.] But in 1784, when Christian Hershey's estate was divided among his children, his daughter Maria was referred to as the wife of Jacob Burkhart, [[https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9PF-XS51-J?i=155&cat=244145 Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Orphans Court: Miscellaneous Books, 1782-1784, page 300-301]. FamilySearch film #007646360, image 156 of 682.] not Benedict Mellinger.
A previous version of this profile contained the following unsourced information: Maria Hershey was born in 1728 in Lancaster, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
== Sources ==
: See also:* Janet and Robert Wolfe have created an EXCELLENT detailed and thoroughly researched account of the [https://websites.umich.edu/~bobwolfe/gen/pn/p11550.htm known events] in Maria Hershey's life.* Emigrants, Prisoners, and Refugees by Richard Warren Davis, Provo,Utah
== Acknowledgments ==
* Thank you to [[Ludwig-317 | Richard Ludwig]] for creating WikiTree profile Hershey-191 through the import of Richard Ludwig's Family.ged on Jan 18, 2013.* WikiTree profile Hershey-155 created through the import of Lutz-Amoroso Family Tree.ged on May 18, 2012 by [[Lutz-294 | Michelle Lutz]]. * WikiTree profile Hershey-172 created through the import of Becker _ Dietrich Family Tree .ged on Jan 14, 2013 by [[Hackett-252 | C. D. Hackett]].
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Abt 1728 - Bef 1785 (< 57 years)
