As noted earlier, three of Frederick and Maria Barbara Shittenhelm's four children moved to Ohio to take advantage of the land deals that were available at the time. Jacob, was their first-born land, and he stayed in the Frederick, MD, with his wife and five children. Jacob's younger sister, Elizabeth, and her husband. Nathan Brasher, Jr., seemed to have settled in Ohio at an early date and they reared 10 children on a farm there. Elizabeth's younger sister, Catherine, also relocated to an Ohio farm with her husband, Anthony Eckhart. The children of these three siblings- the Sheetenhelms, the Brashears, and the Eckharts, constitute the 3rd generation of our family in America... along with the children that belonged to
George Shedenhelm and Catherine Lease. Since George is my 3x great-grandfather, I will begin with his family.
When George Shedenhelm and Catherine (Shedenhelm) Lease moved to a family farm near Tiffin, Ohio. they were accompanied by their sons, Grafton McClellan and his older brother, Levi Adam... who became a successful member of Hopewell Township himself. Hopewell Township was little more than wilderness when its first election was held on December 25, 1824, and it is interesting to note that Shedenhelm family associates. John Stoner and John Rosenberger, were elected as trustees at that time. Later in time, 1846-1852,
Levi Shedenhelm served as a trustee in his own right. Levi might have remained in Seneca County for the rest of his life, except that he had married Margaret Elizabeth Rosenberger. It is impossible to talk about the Shedenhelm family without talking about the Rosenberger family and, for that matter, the Schall family because their lives and journeys were intertwined for decades.
Levi's father-in-law, John Anthony Rosenberger, was a significant figure in Seneca County, Ohio, serving as Justice of the Peace for 33 years, but he was also an adventurous man who became aware that land was being sold for $1.25 an acre in Iowa. So... on September 5, 1853, he organized a team of 26 wagons and set forth from Bascom, Ohio, for Marengo, Iowa, which was 520 miles away. The wagon train from Ohio arrived in Marengo 23 days later, on September 28, 1853, but since John Anthony and his wife, Catherine Schall, were deeply religious people, they did not travel on Sundays. Land was "cheap" in Iowa at the time, and Levi Shedenhelm, who was an integral part of the team, purchased 800 acres of rich Iowa farmland over the course of time. Many of our ancestors did well in Iowa, but it wasn't easy for them. Their land had to be cleared and they had to travel to Iowa City (45 miles away) to purchase the goods and supplies they needed. In addition, the early settlers were threatened by "barn-burners," who set fire to their buildings and grain to drive them out of Iowa. Indeed, several of our ancestors returned to Ohio until the barn-burners were subdued. Nicholas Rosenberger, however, refused to leave, choosing instead to stay and defend his property. He built the first, and at the time, the only, cabin between Marengo and Millersburg, Iowa, and it was in his house that a group of settlers decided to hold a town hall meeting in Marengo, where they would resolve to stand together against the "barn-burners," and threaten retaliation against them in the future.
In any event, the Rosenberger-Shedenhelm-Schall family made a significant contribution to both Sumner and Hartford Townships in Iowa County. When Hartford Township was originally organized, 1854/55, Anthony Rosenberger was elected as a trustee and
Levi Shedenhelm was elected as the township's first clerk. The first land entries in the township belong to Alexander Reynolds and J.A. Rosenberger, and the first school, a frame building costing $500, in the township, was called the "Shedenhelm" school. The first church in the township was called the "Ohio" chapel. John Anthony Rosenberger was known as the "Bishop of Iowa County," and the original members of the church he started were: himself and his wife, Catherine; their son, Nicholas and his wife, Hannell; their son, Michael B and his wife, Lavina; John and Nancy Bair; Levi A. Shedenhelm and his wife, Martha Ellen Rosenberger; their son, John Nicholas Shedenhelm and Mary C. Shedenhelm; Daniel Broachey and his wife, Mary; Anthony Rosenberger, and Elizabeth Rosenberger. Just as they had done in the Tiffin area of Ohio, the Shedenhelms made substantial, early contributions to Iowa as well.
Along I-80, west of Iowa City and the Amana Colonies, there is an exit to the small town of Ladora. If you take that exit and drive toward town, you will come across the aforementioned Ohio Methodist Chapel and the Ohio Cemetery, which is the resting place of many of our family members and their cohorts who helped build this part of central Iowa before and after our Civil War. Below is a sampling of the graves that relate to us:
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| Catherine Shaull Rosenberger 1792-1876 |
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| Elizabeth Jane Shedenhelm Bricker |
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| John Anthony Rosenberger |
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| Tribute to John Anthony Rosenberger & Catharine Shaull |
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| Ann Catherine Shaull Shedehelm |
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| "Ohio Chapel" |
Levi Adam Shedenhelm was a farmer, a blacksmith, a storekeeper, and a stage coach station manager. Tax records show that, in 1860, Levi owned 600 acres of land (80 of which had been improved) worth $7,000 in Hartford County, Iowa. In comparison, 1850 records show that he owned 160 acres (100 improved) of land worth $2,000 in Hopewell County, Ohio.
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| Levi Adam Shedenhelm |
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| Margaret Elizabeth Rosenberger Shedenhelm |
