Tombstone Tuesday :: William and Elizabeth Lavering

Interred at Benton Lutheran Cemetery, at the intersection of CR 33 and CR 44 in Benton, Elkhart County, Indiana are William and Elizabeth (Schuder) Lavering, my 3rd great grandparents through the Shuder line: Me > Dad > Elsie Shuder Wiseman > Nancy Jane Lavering, wife of Isaac Shuder > Daniel Lavering > William & Elizabeth

Wm. LAVERING / DIED / Oct. 5, 1870 / AGED / 73 Ys. 1 M. 7 D.
ELIZABETH / Wife of / Wm. LAVERING / DIED / June 5, 1863 / AGED 55 Y's. 4 Mo. 28 D

In 1897, Col. John Levering and the Levering Historical Association published the "History and Genealogy of the Levering Family" which chronicles the descendants of Rosier Levering, particularly Wigard and Gerhard, who crossed the ocean in 1685. They initially settled in Germantown, near Philadelphia, but in 1691 removed a short distance to the west to Roxborough Township. Apparently Wigard was really good about keeping records but Gerhard, alas, was not.

On page 833 of this massive missive, the compiler mentioned having received a telegram on October 14, 1895 from Henry Lavering, of Milford, in Kosciusko County, Indiana, informing him of the death of Daniel Lavering. As it turns out, the telegram was missent to Col. John Levering in LaFayette instead of going to John Lavering, a brother of the deceased Daniel. John and Daniel were sons of William and Elizabeth (Schuder) Lavering. Apparently, the Colonel did not know of "our" little branch of the Lavering family. He attempted to "fit" them into the family and discovered a "possibility" in a child named William, of Gerhard's line, born about 1796 and who was reported as having died in infancy.

Two years later, Samuel Lavering, brother of Daniel, contacted the Colonel and provided the following information:

William was born about 1796, in the vicinity of Philadelphia, and was the oldest of three children. The names of the brother and sister were not known. The maiden name of William's mother was Haus, or Hass. While too young to remember, William's parents separated and he was reared by a Mothberger family whose place of residence was not known. When he attained matured years, William removed to Montgomery County, Ohio, where he married Elizabeth Schuder, and where their first child, Daniel, was born. Soon after Daniel's birth they removed to Allen County, Ohio and from there to Elkhart County, Indiana.

On page 835, the Colonel states: "As my compilation is considered complete, and these descendants are a recent accession, and I can not place them with certainty, I assign them place collectively. William appears a dropped stitch in the family fabric in the sixth generation."

Dropped stitch or not, the Colonel then lists, in the next nine pages, the descendants of William and Elizabeth (Schuder) Levering, most with full dates of birth! And, when known, dates of death and location of residence. Additional research by my cousin has shown that most of the information is correct! It was, quite literally, a goldmine. But we still haven't been able to determine who William's parents were...