Phebe Neer

Phebe Neer was born on 17 Jan 1822 in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, died on 15 Sep 1872 in Town Center, OH at age 50, and was buried in Lick Creek Cemetery, Melbern OH.

The spelling of her name:

Phebe. So attested on her tombstone and the 1870 federal census.

Phoebe.

Phoeba. So attested in the "Eden Nier" entry in the 1860 federal census.

I originally had some difficulty establishing the identity of Oliver Lee Neer’s mother. His death certificate gives his mother’s name as Saba Trugan, born in Ohio. This certificate would appear to be contradicted by his 1910 census entry (stating his mother’s birth place as Pennsylvania) and his 1860 census entry, which lists no Saba Trugan in the household, and Phebe as the only woman old enough to be his mother, when he is just a year old.

Who was Phebe? Rick Bergman made the following argument to propose Fritz(h) to be her maiden name. He looked at the 1850 census records page with Eden’s family and picked out Pennsylvania-born adults old enough to be her parents who were also Eden Neer’s neighbors. This led him to the Fritz(h) families, two of which appear on the page.

The first man of both of those families was born in Germany, with the rest born in Pennsylvania. Bergman then guessed Phebe’s father’s name to be Walter, as this was the name of her first son by Eden. He then proposed looking for Walter Fritz(h) in the 1820 Pennslyvania census. No Fritz(h) can be seen in censuses that early. Jacob Fritz is the male on that census page most likely to be her father. More than one Jacob Fritz in the 1840 Pennsylvania census is recorded as having a daughter the right age to be Phebe.

Elsewhere in my notes I record that Phebe may have been a Hannum. Explore this possibility. The name ’Phebe’ is also attested in Eden’s 1850 census page in the Niehart family.

Peggy Reins says that she has the cause of Phebe’s death in her possession, as well as a photograph of her gravestone.

Eden’s gravestone in Lick Creek Cemetery, Williams Co., OH, reads: "Neer Eden d. Apr.11, 1890, ae 82 yrs, 3m, 26 days". Next to him are: "Nier [?] Sarah M., w/o ___ d.Aprl.1. 186_ 41 yrs __m 23 days" (stone flat on ground and covered with grass, almost unreadable) and "Neer Phebe, w/o Edon Neer, d. Sept. 15, 1872, ae 50 yrs, 8m, 29 days".

Phebe married Eden (Edon, Eaton) Neer.