DAR calls her MARY ANN THOMAS who married first MICHAEL DEBOLT, A124351 and second MICHAEL CHRISLER, A027820

The following is excerpted from Note 1433 of "Debolt Connections in Germanna Colony History," under "The Germanna Colonies by John Blankenbaker," retrieved August 17, 2007 from http://www.germanna.net/germanna_notes/1rr.htm:

"I then remembered that Michael Crisler, the son of Theobald Crisler and Rosina Gaar, had married the widow Mary Ann (Thomas) Debolt. Mary Ann Thomas was the daughter of Michael Thomas, the son of John Thomas and Anna Maria Blankenbaker, both of Neuenbuerg. It seems to me that a connection had been carried from Neuenbuerg to America.

"Next, remembering that the Germans even had trouble spelling the name, I begin wondering about the confusing between “t” and “d” and between “b” and “v.” In the soundex system these are equivalent sounds. So could Tivall have been derived from Diebold? In America, a connection between the Diebold and Gaar families was established by the marriage of Christian Tivall to the unnamed daughter of Andreas Gaar. When Mary Ann Thomas Debolt was left a widow, Michael Crisler stepped to the plate and married her.

"I believe the only place so far that I have encountered the Debolt name has in southwest Pennsylvania. In the 1770s, this area around Red Stone Fort was thought to be a part of Virginia. Many members of the Thomas family had moved there at this time."

Further information is found under Note 1440 of the same reference:

"Continuing with the family of Michael Thomas, there was a daughter Anna Maria, no doubt named for her grandmother Anna Maria Blankenbaker who married first John Thomas in Germany. Anna Maria, the daughter, married first Michael Debolt.

"The bells started ringing when I read in the index of names for Neuenbürg the names Debelt/Debold/Debolt or in nearby Eppingen the names Dewald, Dibold, and Diebolt (t,dt). Was this a case that a family came from the same area of Germany that the Thomas family did? Were they influenced to come by the Thomas family?

"Michael Debolt did not live long and Anna Maria Thomas Debolt then married Michael Crisler. So often when a women is widowed, the family seems to rally around and tell some man from the family that he must do his duty and marry the widow. If this is true, what is the Crisler and Debolt connection? Do you remember a few notes ago when we were discussing Warrants & Surveys that a Christian Tivall assigned his rights to Theobald Crisler? Have we got another variation on the connection of a Dewald/Dibold/Debolt with a Crisler?

"Michael Crisler was the son of Theobald Crisler and Rosina Gaar. Where were Michael Debolt and Anna Maria Thomas living? Anna Maria died in Pennsylvania. Where did she live with Michael Debolt? It is so frustrating to have a little information and to be left with large gaps in one’s knowledge.

"I have some information Michael Debolt for which I do not vouch. On 10 Aug 1779, Mary Ann Thomas Debolt (probably the widow of Michael Debolt) married Michael Crisler. In January 1785, the Fayette County Orphan’s Court (in Pennsylvania) appointed Michael Chrisler to be a guardian over the persons and estates of Catherine Debolt, Michael Debolt, Mechlin (?) Debold, and Mary Debold minor children of Michael Debold during their minority. This family later settled in Beaver County, with the exception of Michael Debolt who married Abalona (Apollonia?) Yeager and settled in Fayette County. Catherine married George Mason, Mechlin (Mary Magdalene) married William Eckles, and Mary Ann married Ruel Reed. These surnames may all be German for Mason seems to have originated from Maurer meaning mason and the name Reed might be Rieth or a similar name.

"The story is told that a brother of the father Michael Debolt was captured as a lad by the Indians and forced to live with them for nine years. Apparently he was not mistreated but he felt that he should return to his own people and he made his escape."

Father Michael Thomas, b. Abt 1720, Virginia d. 5 Oct 1799, Fayette County, Kentucky (Age 79 years)
Relationship natural
Mother Anna Catharina Clara Wieland, b. 16 Dec 1715, Waldbach, Württemberg (now Baden-Württemberg, Germany) d. Bef 1768, Culpeper County, Virginia (Age < 52 years)
Marriage Y [4]
Family ID F21426 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Family 1 Michael Debolt d. 1779
Marriage Abt 1771 District of West Augusta (now Washington County, Pennsylvania) [1]
Children
1. Catherine DeBolt, b. 9 May 1772 d. 21 May 1851 (Age 79 years)
2. Michael DeBolt, b. 12 May 1774 d. 1779, Beaver County, Pennsylvania (Age 4 years)
3. Mary Magdalena DeBolt, b. 1775 d. 16 Jan 1841 (Age 66 years)
4. Mary Ann DeBolt, b. 1778 d. Abt 1815, Beaver County, Pennsylvania (Age 37 years)
5. George DeBolt
Family ID F32343 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Last Modified 5 Feb 2025

Family 2 Michael Christler, b. 17 Dec 1752 d. 29 Nov 1836 (Age 83 years)
Marriage 10 Aug 1779 Culpeper County, Virginia [5]
Children
1. Samuel Christler, b. 31 May 1780, Pennsylvania d. 13 Sep 1866 (Age 86 years)
2. Rosanna Christler, b. 22 Jun 1782, Pennsylvania d. 7 Dec 1861 (Age 79 years)
3. Martha Christler, b. 1784 d. 1858, Beaver County, Pennsylvania (Age 74 years)
4. John Christler, b. 11 Nov 1786, Pennsylvania d. 13 Jul 1873, Beaver County, Pennsyvlania (Age 86 years)
5. George Christler, b. 31 May 1788, Pennsylvania d. 3 Mar 1869 (Age 80 years)
Family ID F33979 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Last Modified 5 Feb 2025

Sources

1. [S0040271] Sgt. George Durman, Germanna Colonies Tree, (Ancestry, (http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/28427876: accessed 30 October 2011)).
2. [S0040225] John Wesley Garr and John Calhoun Garr, Genealogy of the Descendants of John Gar, or More Particularly of His Son, Andreas Gaar, Who Emigrated from Bavaria to America in 1732, (Cincinnati, OH: 1894), 67. name Mary Ann (Thomas) De Bolt
3. [S0045344] Census Records.
4. [S0040271] Sgt. George Durman, Germanna Colonies Tree, (Ancestry, (http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/28427876: accessed 30 October 2011)). According to John Blankenbaker it is not proven that Michael Thomas' wife Catherine was Catherine Wayland but it is likely
5. [S0040225] John Wesley Garr and John Calhoun Garr, Genealogy of the Descendants of John Gar, or More Particularly of His Son, Andreas Gaar, Who Emigrated from Bavaria to America in 1732, (Cincinnati, OH: 1894), 67.

• Reference: TNG Genealogy - SmartCopy: Mar 24 2025, 21:46:40 UTC

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