Does anyone have a handle on the Kitterman family(s) in the vicinity of Frederick, Maryland, during the last half of the 1700s?
I have a mystery that has defied solution. On the obverse of the last leaf of Volume I in Pastor Krug’s notation of St. Peter's Lutheran Church marriages, 1775 - 1787, is found the following entry:
“1781 Frantz Herder and Susanna Kettermaemmin, proclaimed 23, 25, 26 December.”
Apparently these were notations of marriages that were canceled, delayed, or occurred in other congregations and not performed by Pastor Krug. There is nothing particularly notable about this entry were it not that on March 12, 1782 Susannah Kitterman married Johannes Fishburn. Upon finding the Frantz Harter entry, Byron Harter assumed that Susannah had subsequently died and that Frantz then married Catharina Kurtz. We know now, however, that Susannah was born 2 Mar 1760 and died 27 Nov 1826 in Allen Co., Kentucky. She and John Fishburn had nine children.
What is the story here? Why did Susannah proclaim her intent to marry one man, then just over two months later marry another? Our imagination can come up with various scenerios, but it is unlikely that anyone will be able to definitively answer the question.
It is, of course, possible that there were two Kitterman families in the area, each with a daughter named Susannah, and this has been suggested. Christopher Kitterman (Susannah’s father) did have two brothers who probably lived in the area. Unfortunately, to date no evidence has been found that either had a daughter named Susannah.
Can anyone shed light on this mystery?