Eisenhart Family Groups

George Eisenhart/Isenhart

The record book in the village of Dachtel lists the baptism of Georg Eisenhardt, the 10th child of Hans Jakob Eisenhardt, born June 16, 1736. His mother was Anna Elisabeth Schneider, the first wife of Hans Jakob. Anna Elisabeth died at age 37, just weeks after the birth of her 11th child, and Hans Jakob married Magdalena Zinser a few months later. Six more children were added to the family after the 2nd marriage.

Hans Jakob Eisenhardt died in 1758 and young George received a small inheritance from his father’s estate. The timing of this bequest may have provided George with the means to emigrate, which he did some time in 1759. Unlike his 1st cousin Andreas Eisenhart II or Conrad Eisenhart of York Co., we do not have documentation of his arrival in the American Colonies. Because the Württemberg authorities had temporarily stopped issuing exit visas during this time period, it seems likely that he emigrated illegally, possibly under a false name, but this may never be known. Wherever he entered the Colonies, he seems to have immediately sought out Conrad Eisenhart in York Co. Why he chose not to join his 1st cousin Andreas in Northampton Co. is another issue that may never be resolved.

George married Anna Elisabeth Ottinger in September 1767; however, they were apparently keeping company long before that since starting in 1759 they served together as “single person” sponsors at the baptisms of several of Conrad Eisenhart’s children. George first appeared on the tax lists in York Co. in 1762, and it is likely that he was accumulating the financial means necessary to marry and raise a family. George and Elizabeth Eisenhart eventually became the parents of five children: Anna Maria, Anna Elisabeth, Dorothea, (Johann) Jacob, and (Johann) George.

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On at least one document George was listed as a blacksmith, a trade he may have learned from Conrad during the years he spent as a member of Conrad’s household. He became a naturalized citizen of the Colony of Pennsylvania in September 1764. Willis Wolf Eisenhart noted that George apparently spent some time in Maryland after his marriage since when he purchased a tract of land in York Co PA in 1771 he was referred to as George Isenhart of Frederick Co. Maryland. He followed the Eisenhart tradition and gradually increased his land holdings until in 1781 he paid taxes on 120 acres of land. Also in 1781, George “Eissenhart” was called to serve in the York Co. Shrewsbury Twp Militia during the Revolutionary War. Sometime during his residence in York Co. he began to spell his surname Isenhart, presumably to differentiate himself and his interests from Conrad, and particularly Conrad’s son George Eisenhart.

After Conrad’s death at the end of 1781 and the end of the American Revolutionary War, George’s ties to York Co. began to loosen. After 1789 there were no further references to him in York Co. records. In the 1st U. S. Census in 1790, George and his family were enumerated in Bedford Co. Pennsylvania, one of the far western counties that had opened up after the British gave up control after the successful outcome of the war. He was enumerated in Washington Co. in 1800. His son George II lived in Washington Co. in 1810, by which time George I was deceased. His burial site is unknown, but it is presumably in one of the Washington Co. burial grounds. His wife Elizabeth also died before 1810.

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