THE ANCESTORS OF

MARY (POLLY) SIDENSPARKER NEWCOMB TWITCHELL

OF WALDOBORO, WARREN, THOMASTON

AND BURNHAM, MAINE

Note: "This surname comes from a place name. There are at least three towns in Germany by this name. One was located in Schlesien in Prussia. Another in the district of Eggenfeld in Bavaria. Seitz is a nickname for Siefried.........".

  Once in New England the name began to evolve and change, even in the tight-knit and somewhat insular community that the Broad Bay Germans formed. It went from Sidensperger to Sidensberger to Sidensparker and in some descendants it eventually metamorphosed into "Parker". (wcl)

   ANDREAS SEYTENSPERGER (sic) was a cowherd in the town of Fischerdorf, Bavaria, a mostly Catholic area. Andreas m. Margaretha ______. Their son's record of baptism is found in the Catholic Church records of Deggendorf, Bavaria, a nearby town. They had:

1. JOHANES SEITENSPERGER

    JOHANES SEITENSPERGER (sic), son of Andreas and Margaretha Seitensperger, was born in May of 1699 in Fischerdorf, Bavaria, and on 27 May 1699 was baptised into the Catholic Church in nearby Deggendorf, Bavaria. The town records of Fischerdorf from 1705 to 1734 no longer exist. This period would have included some note concerning Johannes' marriage to his wife Elisabeth _____, so her surname is lost.  In 1753, Johannes Seitensperger was listed as the deceased brewer of Fischerdorf. Johannes and Elisabeth had at least two children:

1. Maria Clara Seitensperger, b. 20 May 1722 in Fischerdorf, Bavaria

2.     MATTHIAS SEITENSPERGER

    MATTHIAS SEITENSPERGER was born in Fischerdorf, Bavaria in May of 1699 and was baptised into the Catholic Church on 26 Jan 1725 in the nearby town of Deggendorf, Bavaria . Matthias died in 1786 in Waldoboro, Lincoln Co., ME. He was the son of Johannes and Elisabeth Sidensberger. His mother's name is unknown. Matthias was a shoemaker in Bavaria. He was approaching his 54th year when he enters the records of Erlangen, Bavaria with his marriage to Maria. Where had he been and what was his life like prior to this? Had he been married? It seems likely. Did he have children from the marriage? If so they might well have been grown and on their own when he decided to pull up stakes and head for New England.

   Matthias married MARIA SUSANNA JOHANNA FRIEDERICH on 30 April 1753 in Erlangen-Neustdat, Bavaria, Germany. She was born on 10 Dec. 1729 in Erlangen, Bavaria and was baptised on 12 Dec. 1729 in the Erlangen-Neustadt Lutheran Church.  She died abt. 1826 in Appleton, Knox Co., ME., at the advanced age of 96 years after being a widow for abt 40 years. Maria was the daughter of the "Honorable"  JOHAN FRIEDERICH ,(a citizen of Erlangen and the owner of the Golden Oxen Inn in that town) and his wife ANNA MARIA KUNIGUND GORHAUER.

 When Matthias married Maria in 1752 he was almost 54 years old and she was 22. She was also about eight months pregnant with a son who was born a few weeks later either in Erlangen or while they were on their way to Rotterdam. This son, Johann Jacob Sidensberger was listed as being three weeks old on the passenger list when they shipped from Rotterdam bound for New England.

     While Matthias was born of Catholic parents Maria was a Lutheran, and they were married in a Lutheran church in Erlangen. There was no mention made in the church records of  his being Catholic. He could have converted to Lutheranism or perhaps he just wasn't strongly religious. A third possibility is that Maria's parents didn't care, that they just wanted Maria married and gone, ridding them of the social stigma which would have attached to them with an unwed daughter hanging around the house nursing her illegitimate child.

     When considering their marriage one has to wonder about the family drama that must have confronted Maria on a day to day basis once her pregnancy was discovered. Its strong odds that her parents weren't that pleased with Maria, probably exactly the opposite. So why did Matthias and Maria wait so late to get married?  It occurs to me that it was unlikely that Matthias was the father of Maria's unborn child.  At less than a month from his 54th year Matthias was over thirty years her senior and very likely was a widower; probably no longer handsome, and not necessarily what a normal young woman would consider a "catch".   But then Maria's condition wasn't normal was it? Having to deal with daily speculation from her fellow townspeople in addition to parental dissaproval as her delivery appoached might have made Matthias and his plans to emigrate a much more attractive future than the one that was shaping up for her in Erlangen.

Now consider what Matthias might have felt about all this. He was an older man with no wife who was about to emigrate to the new world where he would attempt to carve farm and a new life out of the the 'wilderness'. While planning what items to take with him to New England did he have "WIFE" on his shopping list? A farmer needs a wife to take care of his home, and sons to help with the farm. Maria was young, strong and healthy (considering she died at such an advanced age), and she was proven fertile. In some ways a perfect solution for both their needs.

     So this brand new family set sail with a tiny baby, bound for a land and life radically different from what they knew. From a life in ancient, settled, "civilized" Germany, to an upstart settlement about ten years old. A place where during the first two winters other settlers from Germany had starved, sickened and often died. At a time when attack by Indians was still a real threat. Young and old, in the space of a few weeks, Matthias and Maria's lives had changed beyond anything they could have known before. When the Elizabeth sailed into that bay on about 9 Oct 1753 we can only pretend to imagine what their thoughts were as they gazed from the ship up the cold, windswept waters of the bay, straining their eyes for the first glimpse of the rude settlement where they were to make their home.

 During the French and Indian Wars, Matthias served in Companies of Capt. Leissner, in 1757, 1759 and 1760.

In 1764, Matthias and wife Susanna were listed among the followers of the Moravian missionary Georg Soelle.

CHILDREN of Mathias and Maria:

1. Johann Jacob Sidensberger, b. abt. June 1753, Germany, and died in the Revolutionary War.  He was three weeks old when his parents were entered on the ship's passenger list in Rotterdam and was born either in Erlangen or enroute to Rotterdam. He was at Camp Prospect on 7 Oct 1755; served in the Continental Army during the Revolution; his residence once given as Georgetown, ..

2. Mary Seidensberger, b. abt 1755 Broad Bay. She m. a Mr. Campbell, a mariner who was killed while serving aboard a Man of War.      Children - one daughter who survived:

  1. "Peggy" Margaret Campbell, b. 4 Dec 1774 in Waldoboro, d. 7 Dec 1848. She m. John Henry Kaler abt. 1795, he was the son of Wilhelm Ernst Kaler and Eva Catherine Kuhn.

3. JOHN SIDENSBERGER

4. Charles Seidensberger, b. abt. 1761 Broad Bay, d. 23 Nov 1804 Warren, Knox, ME. He m. Caroline Leissner 10 Feb 1786  in Waldoboro. She was the daughter of Charles Christopher Godfrey Leissner and Mary _____. Charles and family moved from Waldoboro to Warren in Knox County, settling near West Pond. He served in the Revolutionary War as a private in Capt. Samuel Gregg's Co., Col. James Cargill's Reg't of Militia, from August to 31 Dec 1775. Charles and Caroline had a daughter:

  1. "Polly" Mary Seidensberger b 1802 Waldoboro. "Broad Bay Pioneers" states that Mary "Polly" was the third wife of Josiah Twitchell. This is disproved simply by noting that Mary Twitchell's age at death as stated on her gravestone gives her a birthdate of 1790, as does her age on the 1850 census. The Mary Sidensparker who m. Josiah Twitchell was this Mary's first cousin, the daughter of John Sidensparker and Katherine Demuth.

5. Michael Seidensberger, b. abt. 1765 Broad Bay.

6. George Seidensparker, b. abt. 1769 Broad Bay Maine.

7. "Pege" Seidensparker, b. abt. 1771 Broad Bay. She m. Richard Smith  on 5 Jan 1792 in Waldoboro, the son of John Martin Schmidt and Mary Catharina Schoat].

8. Matthias Seidensberger Jr., b. 11 May 1773 Broad Bay Maine, and d. on 11 or 14 May 1848 in Waldoboro aged 76 years. He was buried in the Shorey Cemetery. At age 14 he was apprenticed to a Mr. Nash, to learn the skill of joinery, but he was treated roughly during this apprenticeship and left as soon as possible. He m. Elizabeth Hahn abt. 1807, she was the daughter of Johann Frederich Hahn and Ann Dorothea Bornheimer. They had the following children, all surnamed PARKER:

  1. George Hiram Parker, b. 12 May 1808 Waldoboro, d. 2 Sept 1882 Waldoboro, aged 74 yrs 3 mos. He was buried in the  Shorey Cemetery.  He m. (1) Martha Hahn abt. 1831 in Waldoboro. She was the daughter of  George Hahn and Phebe Maddocks. He m. (2) Sarah Jane Hahn on 13 June 1859. She was Martha Hahn's sister.

  2. Mathias Shepard Parker, b. 3 July 1809 Waldoboro, d. 7 Jan 1891 Waldoboro.

  3. Elizabeth Hahn Parker, b. abt 1811 Waldoboro. She m. Willard Walton abt. 1833

  4. Americus Vespucius Parker, b. 26 Feb 1813 Waldoboro, d. 16 June 1891 Belfast, Waldo, ME. He m. Clarissa Maria Shepard in 1848 in Waldoboro, the daughter of John Shepherd and Ann Barbara Hahn.

  5. Catherine Mary Parker, b. abt 1815 Waldoboro. She had her name legally changed to Parker in 1834.

     John Seidensberger was born on  8 Jan 1760 at (Broad Bay) Waldoboro, Lincoln Co., ME., and died on1 June 1849 in Warren, Knox, ME. John married KATHERINE DEMUTH on 10 Sept 1784 in Waldoboro. Katherine was the daughter of JOHAN GEORGE DEMUTH and MARIA CATHERINE WELLER of Waldoboro.

   John and Katherine settled in the western part of Warren, ME. John was a veteran of the Revolutionary War and served as a private in Lieut. Alexander Kellock's company for 1 month. This company was assigned to protect the Eastern part of Lincoln county and was stationed at Camden and St. George's from 13 Nov 1779 to 13 Feb 1780. (Joan Burgess Brown believes that John served several more short term enlistments). John and Katherine had 10 children:

     MARY (POLLY) SIDENSBERGER/SIDENSPARKER,  was b. 8 Dec 1790 in Waldoboro, Lincoln Co., ME. and died 13 Oct 1868 in Burnham, Waldo Co., ME.  She m. (1) Jedidiah Newcomb on  30 July 1810 in Thomaston, ME. Jedidiah  was b. 27 Aug. 1785 at Provincetown, Barnstable Co., MA. and d. on  3 Oct 1818 in Thomaston, Knox Co., ME. when he was run over by a loaded wagon. He was a farmer and the son of Silas Newcomb and Azubah Crowell.

   Note: "Broad Bay Pioneers" indicates that Jedidiah and Mary resided in Belfast, Waldo, ME. but Joan Brown states she has never found any documentation that would prove a residence in Belfast. Their presence is documented in both Warren and Thomaston in Knox Co., ME., and B.M. Newcomb in his "memoir" of the Newcomb family gives no indication that they resided in Belfast but indicates that their last two children were born in Burnham, Waldo Co., ME. This would establish Mary's presence in Burnham a number of years before she married Josiah Twitchell who at the time of their marriage was noted as being "of Belfast". Josiah apparently removed to Burnham at the time of  their marriage.

   Jedidiah Newcomb and Mary had Children:

   After the death of Jedidiah  Newcomb in 1818 Mary m. (2) Josiah Twitchell  "of Belfast" [B.M. Newcomb] as his third wife on 16 Oct.1821. Josiah had been married (1) to Catherine Sidensparker, Mary's older sister.

*Note: Whitiker and Horlacher  in "Broad Bay Pionneers.." incorrectly assign this marriage to Mary's 1st cousin Mary (Polly) Sidensberger, the daughter of Charles Seidensberger and his wife Caroline Leissner, however, Joan Brown points out that a simple examination of the dates proves that this second "Mary" was not the wife of Josiah Twitchell. Mary Sidensparker Newcomb Twitchell was born in 1790. Josiah's wife Mary Twitchell was aged "78 yrs. 10 mo." at the time of her death in 1868, indicating that she was born in 1790 rather than 1802 when Charles and Caroline's daughter Mary was born. This is reinforced by the age of "61" given for Mary Twitchell in the 1850 U.S. Census of Burnham, ME., again indicating a birth year of 1789-1790. No death certificate exists for Mary because the early town records of Burnham were destroyed in a fire.

Sources:

  1.  "BROAD BAY PIONEERS. 18th Century German-Speaking Settlers of Present-Day Waldoboro, Maine", by Wilford W. Whitaker and Gary T. Horlacher, Pitcton Press, Rockport, Maine, p. 494.

  2.  "Andrew Newcomb 1618-1686 And His Descendants", by Bethuel Merritt Newcomb, privately printed by Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Co., New Haven, revised ed., 1923, pp. 319, 549.

  3.  "Annals of Warren", Cyrus Eaton, p. 614.

  4.  Gravestone Records, Mount Cemetery, Burnham, Waldo Co., ME.

  5.  1850 U.S. Census, Burnham, Waldo Co., ME.

ALPHABETICAL LISTINGS

A thru C     D thru F      G thru I       J thru L     M thru P      R thru T    V thru Y

HOME              ROLLCALL