Eisenhart Family Groups

Northumberland County Eisenharts

The patriarch of the Northumberland Co. Eisenhart family was Johannes “John” Eisenhart. Born in 1777 in the Macungie/Alburtis area of what was then Northampton Co., he was the grandson of Andreas Eisenhart II The Immigrant, and the son of George Simon AKA “Samuel” Eisenhart and his wife Catharina nee Jarrett. John married Magdalena Knerr in 1799. They set up housekeeping in Macungie Twp, and two daughters, Maria and Catharina, were born to them there. In 1802, John moved his family to Mahanoy Twp. in Northumberland Co. to take advantage of the lumbering opportunities that had opened up in this area. He and Magdalena eventually had 7 sons: Jonas, Samuel, John F., Stephen, Reuben, Elias, and Edward, and one more daughter, Elisabeth.

In more remote areas like Mahanoy Twp., the settlers’ relationship with the Indians was unpredictable. According to a family story passed down through the generations, John had the foresight to place baskets of corn on his porch during the winter months. The Indians would creep in during the night and take the corn. After one particularly violent Indian raid in the area, John’s homestead was the only one not burned to the ground, and unlike some of his neighbors, no one in the Eisenhart family was harmed. He died in 1836, and was buried in Howerter’s Church Cemetery in Upper Mahanoy Twp.

This large family group spread throughout Northumberland Co. and eventually moved in large numbers into Schuylkill and Snyder Counties where many of the descendants were involved in the mining activities prevalent in these areas. A few families returned to the Lehigh/Northampton Co. area, as well as to the East Coast. Also, as the generations passed, some family group members left Pennsylvania and settled in the Midwest and Far West.

John’s 3X great grandson, Rev. George W. Eisenhart II of Sewell NJ, has been researching and documenting all branches of the Eisenhart family for many years. His work led to the breakthroughs that have made this web site possible

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