NameErhard Fehrenbacher
BirthJan 7, 1829, Kappel am Rhein, Baden, Germany
DeathMay 2, 1892, Carroll Township, Cambria County, Pa.
BurialSt. Benedict's Church Cemetery, Carrolltown, Pa.
BaptismJan 8, 1829, Kirsche St. Cyprian und Justina, Kappel am Rhein, Baden, Germany
FatherAugustin Fehrenbacher (1800-1874)
MotherMaria Anna Kienz (1805-1866)
Spouses
BirthOct 21, 1835, Carroll Township, Cambria County, Pa.
DeathMar 18, 1906, Allegheny Township, Cambria County, Pa.
BurialSt. Benedict's Church Cemetery, Carrolltown, Pa.
FatherJohn Eckenrode (1806-1882)
MotherBarbara Illig (1807-1882)
MarriageApr 28, 1853, St. Benedict's Church, Carrolltown, Pa.
ChildrenPhilomena (Adopted) (1845-1943)
 Mary Barbara (Adopted) (1847-1918)
 Joseph (1854-1947)
 William (1855-1855)
 John A. (1856-1863)
 Augustine Erhart (1858-1942)
 Mary Catherine (1859-1894)
 Mary Magdalen (1861-1863)
 Andrew J. (1863-1913)
 Susanna Philomena (1865-1888)
 Henry L. (1867-1901)
 Michael Lawrence (1869-1877)
 Mary Emily (1871-1877)
 Lucinda Elizabeth (1874-1895)
 James Albert (1875-1958)
 Barbara Ann (1877-1877)
 Edward Giles (1879-1969)
Notes for Erhard Fehrenbacher
Erhard's name was often spelled "Erhart", "Earhart", or even ”Arehart.” Census records from 1850 to 1880 indicate that he was a farmer in Allegheny Township, Cambria County, Pa., that he was from the province of Baden, Germany, and that he couldn't read or write English.
They adopted a Barbara Moser (and perhaps her sister Philomena). Barbara was Mother Teresa Moser at Mount St. Scholastica, in Atchison, Kansas.
The couple had 15 children of their own. Their daughter Minnie (Susanna Philomena) was a school teacher who died young. Michael, Mary Emily and Barbara Ann died of diptheria in the Summer of 1877. Lucinda died of typhoid fever; a relative remembered that as a child she took a liking to a spy glass, which she used as a plaything.
Erhard acquired the lower half of his father's hilltop farm near Bradley Junction, Pa. He built a log house on his property that was "bull strong" and later occupied by his nephew, Edward Giles Farabaugh. Erhard also cleared much of the farm land. Trees were cut and rolled into piles for burning. He plowed around the stumps to plant wheat which was carried by horseback to a local grist mill, where flour was produced. Much of Erhard's original log house was still standing in 1973, on the farm occupied by his great-grandson, James Kirsch. Dr. Charles Farabaugh, Erhard's grandson recalled:

As a child of about six [in 1894] I had lived for a short time in the household of my grandmother [Annie Farabaugh]. I well remember the living room, especially with its grandfather's clock tick-tocking away as grandmother led the family rosary every night - and the smooth lawn by the kitchen door where she plucked seed spikes of the broad-leafed plantain weeds as feed for her canary; the outdoor brick bake oven that stood between the house and the fenced lane.

In August of 1863, Erhard was among the 62 drawn from a 204 name wheel, drafted for the Civil War. However, there is no record of his service and it is possible he paid for a substitute to serve.

In 1866 and 1868, Erhard was called for jury duty for the Cambria County Courts in Ebensburg, Pa. In 1867, he pledged $1.00 for the construction of the Catholic church in Ebensburg.

Erhard's death was unexpected. One descendant relates that when Erhard was "63 years old [he] got sick, he climbed up the hill [to his home], opened the door and fell in on the floor dead, in warm weather." A slightly different account from the Cambria Freeman states that he died suddenly on the Thomas Eger farm in Carroll Township, which Erhard recently bought from Eger’s executors, and that while looking over the farm the previous Monday [2 May] “became very sick, and continuing to grow worse, sent to Carrolltown for a physician and a Catholic priest,” but died before their arrival.
Erhart's probate file included a nuncupative (i.e. deathbed) Will offered by his wife Ann and son James, which stated that Erhart was "surprised by sickness" on May 1, at the Carroll Township dwelling. The next day, Erhard declared to Annie there that if anything should happen to him “everything is yours.” Annie and son James petitioned the probate court to approve the will, which was contested by a William A. Chaplin, a creditor of Erhart's son "A. J." It is not clear which son is referenced and the nature of the debt is not revealed. Chaplin's contest apparently claimed that the will was created to circumvent the debt and defraud him. In April of 1893, the Register of Wills, David A. McGough, rejected the will contest on the basis that Chaplin was not a party in interest.
In 1896, Joseph Farabaugh overtook administration of Erhard's estate. Subsequently, James A. Farabaugh acquired Erhard's interest in the lower half of the homestead. Part of the land near Chest Creek was sold to the Pennsylvania Railroad Co. for the tracks that lead through Allegheny Township. The land was then owned by James' descendants, the Kirsch family. James also purchased the upper half of the homestead, from his uncle Edward's second wife, Amanda. However, the land was later divided again, with the upper half being sold to Jim's brother Ed. The lower half was then occupied by Jim's grandson, James Kirsch.

1850 census Pa Cambria Co Alleghany Twp pg 53A house # 68 Farabaugh
1860 census Pa Cambria Co Alleghany Twp pg 28/152 house 1069 Farabaugh/Barbara Moser
1870 census Pa Cambria Co Alleghany Twp pg 24b/26 house 170 Farabaugh
1880 census Pa Cambria Co Alleghany Twp pg 375/15 ED202 house # 69 Farabaugh
Notes for Sarah Ann (Spouse 1)
Annie was often known as "Ann", or "Anna", but rarely her given name, "Sarah Ann." She was raised on Carroll Township, Cambria County, Pa. She was the daughter of John and Barbara (Illig) Eckenrode, who were married July 21, 1833, by Rev. Demetrius Gallitzin.
In 1900, Anna was living on the family farm in Allegheny Township. She died of pneumonia in 1906, at the home of her son James.

1850 census Pa Cambria Co Carroll Twp 26b house # 143 Eckenrod
1860 census Pa Cambria Co Alleghany Twp pg 28 house # 1069 Farabaugh
cousin B Moser
1870 census Pa Cambria Co Alleghany Twp pg 24b/26 house #170 Farabaugh
1880 census Pa Cambria Co Alleghany Twp pg 375/15 ED202 house 69 Farabaugh
1900 census Pa Cambria Alleghany Twp pg 48b sh 11 E99 house 188 Farbaugh/Adams
Last Modified Sep 16, 2019Created Sep 1, 2022 using Reunion for Macintosh