HISTORY OF KREIDER FAMILY FROM THE PEN OF REV. J.G. FRANCIS

(Continued from Thursday)

We have considered the history of Michael and Daniel, sons of Christian Kreider, of Fairland. There was a son of John that died aged 21 years, so Christian had as many daughters as sons: Mary, Magdalena and Hannah. We shall now pay our respects to the ladies. No one should grow weary in that duty.

MARY KREIDER FUNK

Mary Kreider, daughter of Christian of Fairland, was married to John Funck. John Funck was a farmer on part of the Funck estate west of Lebanon. We have written a little about the Funks or Funcks,. See the News of June 16 and 19. John and Mary were members of the United Brethren church, and are buried in the United Brethren cemetery at Ebenezer. The tombstones there tell us that John Funk was born March 16, 1805, and died May 1, 1865, and that Mary Funk, daughter of Christian and Magdalena Kreider, was born Nov. 26, 1811, and died Sept. 22, 1857. Some of their children and grandchildren are buried in the same plot.

A little distance west of them in the cemetery rest the old Funks. The bodies and the tombstones of each were removed from the old Funk homestead west of Lebanon to the Ebenezer cemetery. We might say in other words, that the old Funk family cemetery was removed bodily to Ebenezer. The inscriptions on the old stones should be given. One stone marks the grave of Martin Funk, born Jan. 30, 1732, died Dec. 19, 1796. This Funk was born the same year as George Washington, arriving, however, a little more than three weeks ahead of him. And he departed hence about three years ahead of the Father of his Country. The year of the birth of these two great men was also the year that the Penns bought this valley from the Indians. Little Martin likely never saw the smoke going up from an Indian village, for with the purchase, the Indians moved their camp fires across to the other side of the Blue Mountains. If the Indians had practiced an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, they would have come across the Blue Mountains and built a camp fire on the Kreider settlement on Snitz Creek, for we are told that Martin Kreider the ancestor came up from Lancaster county and "[s]quatted" before the land had been bought from the Indians.

But we said we would pay our respects to the ladies, and we are forgetting Martin Funk's wife. She rests fittingly beside her husband and the German seems to give her name as "Judith"; Funk. She was born January 19, also 1732, and died March 12, 1812. Another stone tells us that Martin Funk, doubtless their son, was born Dec. 29, 1766; and died Feb. 17, 1838. His wife's name was Barbara, b. Dec. 10, 1773; d. Jan. 16, 1852. These last were doubtless the parents of John Funck who married our Mary Kreider. The older Martin may have been the one who received a warrant for 200 acres of land in 1759, for at that time he would have been 27 years old. There is a number of old unmarked limestones on the burial plot which suggest that there might have been buried on the old Funk land a generation older than the older Martin. John and Mary Kreider Funk had the following children with their children, third generation from the Kreider name:

MAGDALENA KREIDER SHENK

Magdalena Kreider, the second daughter of Christian of Fairland, was married to Henry Shenk, who died at the age of 39 years, son of Samuel of Annville. Henry owned the mill at Sunnyside and the mill farm. He farmed but did not operate the mill, which he rented out. Magdalena was United Brethren. They have 5 children:

HANNAH KREIDER BOMBERGER

Hannah Kreider, afore, youngest daughter of Christian of Fairland, married Joseph Bomberger, b. May 15, 1813; d. Mar. 20, 1877; farmer southwest of Rocherty; United Brethren, but became United Christian; 6 children:

This brings us to the end of the history of Christian Kreider of Fairland and of his descendants; we now turn to his brother, Tobias, who took up his residence on the eastern end of the old Kreider estate, in the old homestead just north of Cleona.