History and Biography of Henry Tyson Jr. (Updated 5/1/2018)
Henry Tyson Jr., the fifth child of Henry Tyson and his wife Sarah, was born on around 1773 or 1774 in York County, PA. There are no baptismal records for him, nor have I been able to locate anything to verify his date of birth. Sometime in the late 1790’s he married Catherine Heckert, who was born in 1772 in York County, PA.
It appears that Henry and Catherine raised their young family near his father, as the 1810 census places them as neighbors and the 1811 tax records list him as a miller along with his father. Sometime between then and 1820, Henry moved his family to Allen Twp, Cumberland County, PA. Shortly after 1820, Henry moved to Fairview Township in York County, PA as there is a record in the PA House of Representatives in 1822 of a request for Fairview Township to be split into 2 voting districts with the elections for the new district being held at Henry’s house.
It is unknown when Henry passed away, but it appears to have occurred between 1822 and 1830, as the 1830 census does not include Henry, but it instead lists his widow Catherine as the head of household in Fairview Township. I have not been able to locate a death or burial record for Henry. Catherine stayed in Fairview Twp. for some time, as she is also listed as a head of household in 1840.
According to census records, it appears likely that Henry and Catherine were the parents of 10 children, as the 1810 census indicated 6 females born before that date and 2 males. the 1820 census also indicates 6 females in the household between 16 and 25 years old, along with 2 males 16-25 and 2 males under 10. However, I have only been able to identify four of those ten children. (Update – thanks to the assistance of Pam Kerstetter, a fifth child of Henry and Catherine has been identified).
Hannah Tyson married David Maish, who was also from the Fairview Twp area. Sarah Tyson married David Ghere who was from Halifax, Dauphin County. Sarah likely met her David because her two brothers that I have been able to identify also moved to the Halifax area and settled there. Eventually both Hannah and her sister Sarah and their families moved out to Clinton County, IN where they raised their families.
Thanks to Pam Kerstetter, a 3rd daughter of Henry and Catherine has been identified. Lydia Tyson, born March 12, 1807 married Jacob Wanbaugh 1805-1844. Evidence that Lydia is the daughter of Henry and Catherine starts with the fact that Lydia and her husband are both buried at the same cemetery as her mother Catherine and her two brother Henry and Jacob. Also, the death certificate for Lydia’s son Bailey lists her maiden name as Tyson, although Ancestry.com has it incorrectly indexed as Tyzer. Finally, the most compelling evidence is DNA matches that Pam shares with known Tyson descendants. Pam does not have any other ancestors known to be from York County, PA. She has a “4th cousin” level match to a descendant of Hannah Tyson who married David Maish (Hannah being Lydia’s sister) and also a “4th cousin” level match with a descendant of Jacob Tyson who married Elizabeth Lehman. Also, she has a “distant relationship” match to another descendant of Jacob and Elizabeth and two matches with descendants of Isaac Tyson. Considering her closest match is with a daughter of Henry Tyson and Catherine Heckert, Jacob and Jehu Tyson each had another daughter named Lydia and Isaac did not have a daughter by that name, it appears fairly evident that Lydia was the daughter of Henry Tyson and Catherine Heckert. Pam has informed she would love to hear from and connect with other researchers, please reach out to her at Sunkst7@aol.com. (This paragraph was added on 5/1/2018)
As I just mentioned, the two sons of Henry and Catherine that I have been able to identity were Jacob and Henry and they moved to Halifax, Dauphin County to raise their families. It also appears their mother Catherine probably moved to the area or lived with one of them because she is buried at Long’s Cemetery in Halifax Twp, Dauphin County.
Henry Tyson, Jr, born around 1773/1774 in York County, PA and died between 1820 and 1830. He married Catherine Heckert, born in 1772 in York County, PA, died October 2, 1855 in Dauphin County, PA and buried at Long’s Cemetery in Halifax Twp, Dauphin County, PA.
Children of Henry Tyson, Jr. and his wife Catherine Heckert:
- Hannah Tyson born January 1, 1800 in York County, PA, died April 17, 1879 in Clinton County, IN and buried at IOOF Cemetery in Clinton County, IN. She married David Maish born July 18, 1795 in York County, PA, died May 31, 1868 in Clinton County, IN and buried at IOOF Cemetery in Clinton County, IN.
- Sarah Tyson born October 29, 1801 in York County, PA, died November 8, 1877 in Clinton County, IN and buried at Old South Cemetery in Clinton County, IN. She married David Ghere born May 26, 1801 in Dauphin County, PA, died June 24, 1872 in Clinton County, IN and buried at Old South Cemetery in Clinton County, IN.
- Jacob Tyson born June 23, 1803 in York County, PA, died December 7, 1868 in Dauphin County, PA and buried at Long’s Cemetery in Halifax Twp, Dauphin County, PA. He married Elizabeth Schultz born May 3, 1803 in PA, died May 29, 1860 in Dauphin County, PA and buried at Long’s Cemetery in Halifax Twp, Dauphin County, PA.
- Lydia Tyson born March 12, 1807 in York County, PA, died January 23, 1872 in Dauphin County, PA and buried at Long’s Cemetery in Halifax Twp, Dauphin County, PA. She married Jacob Wanbaugh born September 8, 1805 in PA, died March 20, 1844 in Dauphin County, PA and buried at Long’s Cemetery in Halifax Twp, Dauphin County, PA.
- Henry Tyson born December 23, 1809 in York County, PA, died February 26, 1872 in Dauphin County, PA and buried at Long’s Cemetery in Halifax Twp, Dauphin County, PA. He married Mary Haverstick born December 25, 1815 in PA, died February 8, 1884 in Dauphin County, PA and buried at Long’s Cemetery in Halifax Twp, Dauphin County, PA