All,


I have just found a confusing set of four Abers listed in the 1860 Census and would appreciate any enlightenment others can offer as to their ancestry. Here is the census data:

Location: White Ash P.O., Penn Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Page: 33/586
Name: John Aber
Age: 41(?) (somewhat illegible)
Occupation: Farmer
Real Estate / Personal Estate: $2,000/$400
Place of Birth: Pennsylvania

Household Members:
Rachel 39 PA
Catherine 31 PA
William 18 PA

This group does not look like a husband/wife/daughter/son set, but instead like a husband/wife/sister/son or even four siblings.

They are the household listed immediately after the household of James and Margaret (Simon) Aber, James being the son of John and Rachel (Beatty) Aber, so I started to look at the sibling angle. With a little work, I can make them to be at least three of that James' siblings, but there are some problems:

- James' brother John would be 36 (not too bad a match on age), but I have him dead in 1856.

- James' sister Catherine is a better fit (31 when I would have her being approximately 34 in 1860) and

she didn't marry until 1870.

- James' brother William, again not a bad fit, according to my data, he would have been 19 at this point

in 1860, and he didn't marry until 1877.

- I have no sister of James named Rachel, but this might be assumed, based on his mother's name being Rachel. Or, this Rachel could be the wife of the aforementioned John, making for another error I have in John's record, as I have him dying without having been married.

Can someone enlighten me on these four Abers?


Floyd