Christopher Wippel was my fourth great-grandfather and he was a brother of Johann Wippel, who was also my fourth great-grandfather. Yes, you have correctly deduced that my third great-grandparents, Charles (Carl) and Catharine Wippel were first cousins. Christoph Wippel was born 2 December 1802 in Bobenheim Roxheim, Ludwigshafen Am Rhein, Rhineland Pfalz, Germany. His older brother, Wendelinus Joannis Wippel, was born 10 May 1796. Their parents were Jakob Wippel and Anna Maria Eisenhauer Wippel. Christoph married Katharina Anna Lauer on 6 February 1826 in the Catholic Church in Roxheim. He brought his wife and four children to the United States, arriving in Baltimore on 6 July 1840. It is possible that the family first went to Ohio, but I have no confirmation of that yet. Two children were subsequently born in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, where the family ultimately settled.

Christoph often anglicized his name. His given name became Christopher and sometimes Christian. Wippel took on the English spelling of “Whipple.” Since the theme of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks for this installment is “The Old Homestead,” I will focus on Christopher’s land ownership. He was a farmer and acquired a parcel of 100 acres. I was pleased that a cousin, Pete Whipple, located a mention of “C. Whipple” in the “Map of Lawrence and Beaver Counties from Actual Surveys” by N.S. Ames which was published in 1860. Ancestor Tracks generously hosts these images free to the public.

1860 Land Ownership Map for New Sewickley Township, Beaver County, Pennsylvania

The location of a cemetery south and slightly west of the Whipple land is a welcome landmark for later reference. While not named in the 1860 atlas, I was quickly able to learn that this is the Powell Cemetery. A search of Ancestry.com revealed that a land ownership map from 1876 is also available. In 1876 the same parcel is shown in the name of “A. Whipple,” and referring to the youngest son, Adam.

1876 Land Ownership Map for New Sewickley – Collection Number: G&M_17; Roll Number: 17; Ancestry.com. U.S., Indexed County Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.

1876 Land Ownership Map for New Sewickley – See reference above

This information matches Christopher’s (Christian’s) will which states that he bequeathed the farm to Adam upon his demise in 1877. The transfer had probably already taken place, but the will charged Adam to pay his brother Thomas $700 and each of his three sisters, Barbara, Catharine and Christine, $300 a piece. Finally, Adam was to pay the two granddaughters, children of Charles, $100 each. The latter bequest seems to suggest that Charles (who was divorced by his cousin Catharine in 1857) was deceased by the time Christopher wrote his will on 24 March 1870.

Copy of Christian Whipple’s Will from Beaver County, PA, Probate Records

Although I have found no record of his death, there is evidence that Charles Wippel died between 1865 and 1868.

I was able to use Powell Cemetery to get a rough idea on Google Earth where the Whipple was once located. Steel School road appears to take a slightly different route than it did in 1860 and 1876, but the cemetery is mapped, even though no markers are evident from the aerial view. This is still farmland and it is interesting to take a virtual tour of my family’s first surroundings in their new homeland. I imagine it was still wooded in the 1840’s and it must have taken a lot of hard work and grit to turn the land into a modestly prosperous farm. Here is the nearest I could get to the Whipple land using Google Earth’s Street View:

New Sewickley – Intersection of Lovi and Steel School Road