Looking for help with Amish genealogy in Berks Co., PA
My great-great grandfather Percival SEAMAN (b.1849) married Emma BURKHOLDER (b.1852), who we believe to have come from an Amish family. At some point after 1880 (last appearance in census), Emma was said to have passed away, and her two children--Wallace (b.1876) and Mary Emily (b.1878)--sent to live with her Amish family. There is a picture of Wallace wearing clothing that my family said was Amish, but looks more "Dutch" than "Deutsch" to me. The strongest evidence of this is that Wallace was said to have spoken Pennsylvania German on his deathbed, which no one could understand. Also, I have been unable to find early census records for Emma Burkholder, who was born in Germany; I found out that the Amish don't participate in the U.S. census. As for cemetery records, I know the early Seamans attended St. Michael's in Berks county, but I can't find graves for Percival or Emma. I also checked in Ontario county, New York, because Wallace and his wife, Mary (POTTER), worked at the Ontario County Children's Home. Likewise with Wallace and Mary--no cemetery records. Any help you could provide would be vastly appreciated!
on 2013-03-22 01:47:28
treenut , from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, has been a Family Tree Circles member since Mar 2013.