Jonas Christman
Jonas Christman | |
|---|---|
 The Christman family farmhouse in Pocono Lake, Pennsylvania, constructed circa 1870. | |
| Born | March 10, 1816 Lower Macungie Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | July 26, 1890 (aged 74) |
Resting place | Pocono Lake Cemetery, Monroe County, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Occupations | Magistrate, judicial official, township supervisor |
| Spouse | Mary Anna Albitz (m. 1841) |
| Children | 8, including Barnabus F. Christman and William Henry Christman |
| Parent(s) | Johann George Christman and Sara Fegely |
Jonas Christman (March 10, 1816 – July 26, 1890) was an American municipal official, regional magistrate, and farmer in Monroe County, Pennsylvania . He served for several decades in local government and judicial roles, and he is historically recognized as the father of Private William Henry Christman, the first soldier interred at Arlington National Cemetery .
Early life and family heritage
Christman was born in Lower Macungie Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, to Johann George Christman and Sara Fegely . He belonged to the fourth generation of his family in America, descending from the immigrant patriarch Jacob Christman . Several members of his family served in the military; his grandfather Henry Christman served in the Pennsylvania Militia during the American Revolutionary War, and his father served in defensive units during the War of 1812 . Following his father's death in December 1840, the Lehigh County Orphans' Court appointed an administrator in 1841 to manage the estate among Christman and his six siblings .
Marriage and northern migration
On May 9, 1841, Christman married Mary Anna Albitz in Bally, Berks County . The couple migrated north into Monroe County during the 1840s, settling permanently on the Pocono Mountain Plateau in Tobyhanna Township. In the late 1850s and 1860s, the family experienced financial and medical difficulties, including chronic rheumatism that cost Christman the use of one arm, a foreclosed 89-acre timber tract, and a severe 1860 wagon accident that fractured his right hip . While he was largely bedridden, Mary Anna supported the family through midwifery, gathering wild herbs, and managing farm duties .
Civil War and family
Christman served on local jury panels and was registered on the Pocono Township Military Enrollment List on March 31, 1864 . Two of Christman's sons died during the war:
- Private Barnabus F. Christman (4th Pennsylvania Reserve Infantry) was killed in action at the Battle of New Market Cross Roads on June 30, 1862 .
- Private William Henry Christman (67th Pennsylvania Volunteers) enlisted in early 1864 to secure a government bounty and help save his parents from debt . He died of illness at Lincoln General Hospital on May 11, 1864 , and on May 13 became the first military interment at Arlington National Cemetery .
Christman's poverty and disability prevented him from traveling to Washington to attend the burial .
Post-war civic and judicial career
With the bounty money sent home by his son, Christman cleared his debts and acquired a 40-acre property in Pocono Lake, where he erected a farmhouse and log barn around 1870. The property was later documented by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission as part of the state's cultural resources database. He also delivered U.S. Mail via a local horse team.
Christman held several local government and judicial positions:
- Served as Tobyhanna Township Supervisor in 1869 and 1879 .
- Elected Justice of the Peace, with commissions certified by Pennsylvania Governors John W. Geary (1871), Henry M. Hoyt (1881), and James A. Beaver (1887) .
- For nearly two decades, he operated a magistrate courtroom from his farmhouse parlor, arbitrating disputes and performing marriages .
- Served on county grand and petit jury pools over more than four decades, with selections continuing into his seventies .
Children and later family history
Christman and his wife raised eight children. Daughters Anna Maria, Emeline, and Mary Catharina reached adulthood on the homestead. Sophia died at age 16 in 1875, and Timothy continued the family line in the Poconos . In January 1896, youngest son John F. Christman purchased the family farmhouse for $500 under a formal maintenance deed requiring him to provide his widowed mother with lifelong care .
Death and estate legal history
Christman died on July 26, 1890, and was buried at the Pocono Lake Cemetery . Following his passing and the later death of his widow, his surviving children initiated property partition suits in the Orphans' Court to divide the family acreage among the heirs . These title evaluations and legal proceedings spanned from 1909 until the final probate account closure in September 1921 .
References
- 1 2 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880 U.S. Federal Censuses (Tobyhanna Township, Monroe County, PA).
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rick Bodenschatz and Kim de Bourbon (2012). "The William Henry Christman Story". Tobyhanna Township Historical and Preservation Society. Retrieved November 8, 2026.
- ↑ Amy Unger (May 26, 2025). "First soldier buried at Arlington National Cemetery was a Lehigh County man". WFMZ-TV. Retrieved November 8, 2026.
- 1 2 Lehigh County Church Registers; Pennsylvania Births and Christenings, 1709-1950, FamilySearch (Batch: C51070-1).
- ↑ Lehigh County Orphans' Court, Estate Administration Files (Early 1841), establishing the estate distribution of George Christman (d. December 1840) and listing surviving heirs.
- ↑ Sacramental Registers of the Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church (Bally, Berks County, PA); Marriage of Jonas Christman & Anna Albitz, 9 May 1841.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Civil War Mother's Pension File (Granted April 23, 1885, paying Mary $8/month); containing explicit 1888 sworn depositions by Jonas and Mary Anna Christman regarding chronic illnesses, hip fractures, land foreclosures, and the use of William's bounty money.
- ↑ The Monroe Democrat (Stroudsburg, PA), July 31, 1861 and August 14, 1861 editions, recording grand and petit jury panel selections during the Civil War era.
- ↑ The Jeffersonian (Stroudsburg, PA), March 31, 1864, p. 2 (Official Pocono Township Military Enrollment List).
- 1 2 Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) Cultural Resources Database; Comprehensive Historic Sites Survey Form, Inventory Code: 089-TB-14 (Key Number: 038826).
- ↑ The Jeffersonian (Stroudsburg, PA), September 22, 1864; October 25, 1864; and March 28, 1867 (Official Township Municipal Election Returns and Appointments).
- ↑ Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Executive Minutes; Gubernatorial election certifications and judicial commissions for Gov. John Geary (1871), Gov. Henry Hoyt (1881, 1882), and Gov. James Beaver (1887).
- ↑ Stroudsburg Times (Stroudsburg, PA), Thursday, April 17, 1890, page 3; recording marriages performed by Jonas Christman, Esq.
- ↑ The Jeffersonian Republican (Stroudsburg, PA), November 28, 1843, page 3; and spring court terms of 1858 and March 16, 1859 editions of The Jeffersonian.
- ↑ The Monroe Democrat (Stroudsburg, PA), October 13, 1887; verifying final late-career grand jury pool placement at age 71.
- ↑ The Allentown Morning Call (Allentown, PA), September 8, 1935, p. 37; Christman Family Association lineage retrospective.
- ↑ Office of the Recorder of Deeds (Stroudsburg, PA); 1870 Abraham Peters land clearing contract; September 28, 1885 Sheriff's Sale to Mary Christman; and January 11, 1896 John F. Christman maintenance deed.
- ↑ The Leitelt's Pocono Journal (Monroe County, PA), April 27, 1894, p. 8; documenting the first official county probate accounts and estate administration actions.
- 1 2 The Stroudsburg Times-Democrat (Stroudsburg, PA), August 27, 1909, p. 1 (Initial Orphans' Court Partition Suit filing); June 23, 1911; February 27, 1914; March 19, 1915; March 17, 1916 (pp. 1 & 6); and September 9, 1921 (Final Probate Account Closure).