In 1850, William Bitler and his daughter, Susanna, were living in Ephrata, Lancaster Co, PA, on the farm of William and Elizabeth Jacob. William was 30, and Susanna was 12 in that year according to the Census record. By 1880, Susannah had married John F Hartranft, and was living on the Hartranft farm in Elizabeth Twp, Lancaster Co, PA, listing 4 daughters, 2 sons, her father, William Bitler, and John F Hartranft's father, William Hartranft. John F Hartranft's mother was Lea Fetter. Susannah Bitler and John Hartranft are buried in Emmanuel Lutheran Church Cemetery, near Brickerville, Lancaster County.
I have about 154 descendants of William Bitler but no way to connect him to the family tree.
The Brick Wall: Who was William Bitler's parents and wife ?
May 2010 update:
I am one step closer to finding the answer to this mystery.
William is buried in a cemetery in Mellinger's Cemetery near
Schoeneck, Lancaster Co, PA. There is no stone there for
his wife. His daughter was Susannah K
Bitler, and In 1850 they were living with a Killian
family, so the K probably was for Killian, his likely wife.
From the headstone, we now know that William was born in 1815
and died in 1881. Given the date of his birth and his
location, I'm speculating that he is a son of John Bitler and
Susan Bixler, who are buried at Robeson Lutheran Church Cemetery
in Plowville, Robeson Township, Berks County, PA. There
two other known children were born in 1816 and 1817
respectively. I just need to find the proof of it.
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