Maria Margaret Lightner

Origins

Marie Margaret was said by Lightner family members to be French, and born in 1713.
There is a likely brother, Jonas Christian LaRue, whose family was thought to have been Jonas or Jonar Larrowa, born in Quebec and died in Schoharie, New York. But most of Jonar's family remained in upstate New York for their entire lives, so I must conclude that if this is indeed Marie's family, she came to Pennsylvania with her brother. Nathaniel Lightner, whom she married, clearly arrived in Pennsylvania long before their marriage, so she did not travel with him.

However, a new piece of information has come to light, namely that brother Jonas could not have been born in 1716, as he would have had to have been to be a son of Jonar Larrowa, because he owned and ran an active farm by 1733. This, combined with the fact that father Jonar could not have left Schoharie New York to run that farm, basically disproves the idea that the Lancaster County LaRue's have anything to do with the New York Larrowas.

Notes from Paul Lightner Whitehouse

I know very little about the LaRue family - only two tidbits that I can spot:

1. Jonas LaRu, Jr. was a sponsor, with Regina Scheil, for the baptism of Nathaniel and Margaret's son Jonas, b. 15 Aug 1733 and bapt 16 --- 1733 at Trinity (Muddy Creek) Lutheran Church, New Holland, Lancaster Co., Pa, Baptized by Rev. John Casper Stoever. (in transcription by William C. Lightner, c. 1956 from original records at Frackenthal Library, F & M College, Lancaster, Pa.)

2. Chris Rutter has documented, in his "Leacock Settlers Map", Jonas LaRue's land closer to Lancaster just north of Rt. 30.

FindAGrave

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Sep 29 2019, 23:15:58 UTC