Lorentz Steffy

(Place of burial unknown; Muddy Creek was the family church, but he may well have died in New Jersey where his regiment was sent.) The subject arrived at Philadelphia on board the St. Andrew in Sep. 1837 as a young child. He grew up in East Cocalico Township, and in 1761 purchased land in the recently-laid-out Adamstown. There is no record of his marriage. After his father's death Lorentz purchased a farm in Brecknock Township. Lorentz' militia was mustered to the Jersey front on August 15, 1776 and nothing further is heard of him.

On Jul. 10, 1763 Lorentz and his wife baptized Anna Dorothea at Muddy Creek Reformed Church (Wright, "Lan. Co. Church Records", I p.96; on Dec. 26, 1766 he and wife Anna Catherine had a child they named Maria Barbara (Wright, p.98); a Susanna was born to them on Oct. 8, 1771 (Wright, p.103). Nothing has been discovered as to their life-spans or marriages.

Considering how scanty is the documentation for Lorentz's family, it is easily possible that he could have had several other children whose births aren't documented. By default Lorentz must be the father of Philip Steffy/Stephy (1765-1856), because Lorentz's brother George had a different Philip of his own (1765-1801) and Lorentz's three American-born brothers were all born too late to have sired this Philip. The Barbara Steffe who sponsored the baptism of Philip & Elizabeth's daughter Maria at Muddy Creek on Sep. 28, 1788 (Wright, p.114) is therefore likely to have been Lorentz's aforementioned daughter Maria Barbara. Perhaps more undocumented children of Lorentz remain to be discovered.* Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Jun 4 2019, 23:09:21 UTC