Our earliest Beal Ancestors came from Germany

Our Beal ancestors came from Germany. The name has changed over the years. It was originally written as Buhl, but that evolved into Biehle/ Biehl and finally into Beal. This occurred in many families, as literacy and particular spelling patterns became more important.

Our first Beal ancester to come to this country was Peter Biehle, sometimes spelled as Biehl. Peter, his father Mathes Buhl and his grandfather Christof Buhl, were all born on the Lampertheim area of Germany. Lampertheim is a town in the Bergstrasse district in Hesse, Germany. It is an ancient town that was founded before the year 1000.

Peter was born 21 March 1726, and being an adventurous fellow, boarded the ship, Friendship Harley. He arrived in Philadelphia on 12 October 1741 at the young age of 15. He found his way out to Berks County , Pa (near Reading, Pa.) and on 3 December 1750, married Anna Magdalena Merkel (she was referred to as Lena and as Helena). They married in the Zion Moselem Lutheran Church in Berks County, Pa. Peter and Lena are the 6th great-grandparents of my generation. Peter died on 20 December 1802 at the age of 76, and Lena died a few months later, on 18 March 1803, at the age of 78.

In my next blog, I will recount how Peter’s descendants became our direct ancestors.