John Bortz-37 -- A 19th Century Pay It Forward Tale

I became acquainted with John Bortz, several years ago when I discovered that my great-great grandfather James William Whipkey was living with him on his farm in 1870. I speak about him as if I knew him personally, because, through my research, I feel like I have begun to know him as well as anyone can, nearly a century after his death. Genealogical research, as anyone who pursues it can tell you (or their friends and family who have to endure hearing about their latest discoveries) is an obsession. One fact, or person, leads to a desire to discover the truth about another fact or person hinted at through the research. Such was the case with John Bortz-37. (I began to call him that as he was born in 1837 as a type of short-hand to differentiate him from the other men living in his area with the name John Bortz.)

My ancestor James Whipkey had endured hardship as a young boy when his father, William Wipke, who had gone off to fight the Civil War for three years, returned to his family briefly, before disappearing. His absence put the family in severe financial distress, and by 1870, Sarah, (James’ mother) was desperate to provide for her children. She had two of her youngest children with her but Emma had died of Scarlet fever; her son Joseph was in the Poorhouse; her other son, Henry, had been in the Poorhouse but was signed out once indentured to George Roth; and James was fostered to John Bortz. Seven years later, Sarah tragically took her own life. The Coroner’s Report stated that she had been ill and despondent for many years following the disappearance of her husband, and had been struggling to feed her family. Just prior to her death, she was selling what little property remained to her in order to qualify her family for admittance to the Poorhouse again. 

In better times, when the family was all together
 and prior to William Wipke's leaving for the Civil War.

Due to these circumstances, James Whipkey never had the benefit of the presence of a father in his life. It would seem that John Bortz filled that role for some time. The records only tell that James was living with the Bortz family at the time of the census, so there is no way to tell how long he lived there. But it would seem that John Bortz remained in his life as they both are buried in the same churchyard. James lived for quite some time in the vicinity of John Bortz’ farm, according to family lore. It is my belief that John Bortz filled the role of father for James Whipkey.

One can fairly assume that John Bortz might have taken in the young boy of twelve in order to assist in the work on his large farm. Certainly James was put to work on the farm, as all young boys were at the time and there were several other people living on the farm at the time. This includes an elderly retired farmer, a young lady working as a domestic servant, and another 18 year old man. Neither of the young men are identified as farm labor. It would seem that John Bortz-37 had a habit of taking in strays and this led me to discover more about him and his motives for fostering my ancestor.

In an effort to understand more about this man, I needed to know about his origins, so I began to research his early years. During these times, it was not uncommon for family members to take in and raise the children of their kin. I wondered if perhaps James was somehow related to John Bortz through his mother’s line. James Whipkey’s ancestry on his mother’s side includes such names as Seip, Miller, Kemmerer, and Zellner. I was aware that there was some Bortz family who inter-married with the Kemmerers, so I pursued this lead by researching church records for Sarah, James’ mother.

Sarah (Seip) Whipkey was raised in South Whitehall Township and this is where she is found in 1860, shortly after marrying William Wipke. Her baptismal record is found in the Jordan Lutheran Evangelical Church records. This church was established in 1734 and was the church which most of Sarah’s family attended for several generations.

Like many of these early churches, the Lutheran and Reformed congregations shared the use and expense of the church, and the churches were called “Union” churches. (Many of these churches and the Reformed churches are now part of the United Church of Christ.) This arrangement continued for numerous years until 1752, when the Reformed members broke away and constructed their own church about a mile away. The Lutheran church is located in Orefield, South Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania and was originally called “The Lutheran Congregation at Macungie, Bucks County.” (The county and township names and lines have changed since those days.) The Reformed church is also located in South Whitehall Township at the edge of Allentown at 1837 Church Road, Allentown, PA 18104.

A search of the baptismal records for John Bortz-37 revealed that he was from the same area as James’ mother. John Bortz’s birth date is known from his burial records at Zionsville. Using this I was able to locate his birth and baptismal in the Records of Jordan Reformed Congregation, South Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1765-1858. (This record is available at the Lehigh County Historical Society Library in Allentown, PA as well as for paying subscribers to Ancestry.com.) The record reveals that John Henry Bortz was born on September 18, 1837 and baptized on November 5, 1837. His father is noted as John Bortz, his mother is Mary Reinhard, and there is a notation that the child was illegitimate.

John Bortz-37 Baptismal record

This information led me to look for John Bortz-37’s father, who likely lived in the same area. While there were several men with the name John Bortz in the area, the only one who looked to be of the correct age was John Bortz, who was born in 1815. His birth record is found in the Jordan Lutheran Evangelical Church records. He is the son of Johannes Bortz who was born in 1772 and Anna Maria Kemmerer. The elder Johannes was baptized and is buried in the Jordan Lutheran churchyard. The fact that his wife was a Kemmerer, closely related to James Whipkey’s mother, intrigued me and helped to support the theory that James was placed with kin to raise in 1870. Still, this was not conclusive evidence that John Bortz-1815 was the father of John Bortz-37.

According to the genealogical standards set forth by the Board of Certification for Genealogists published in The BCG Genealogical Standards Manual, it would be incorrect to conclude that John-37 is the son of John-1815 without further proof. These standards recommend “an exhaustive search” of the evidence and it can be supported that I did conduct such a search by ruling out any male named John Bortz who lived in the area where John-37 was born. But in order to definitely make the statement that John-1815 was the correct person, I would need clear evidence. That evidence was found in the will papers for John-1815.

John Bortz, who was born in 1815, died on February 3, 1886 near Trexlertown in Upper Macungie Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. He owned a large farm where he raised his family. The 1850 Federal Census shows that after fathering a child on Maria Reinhard, he relocated south to the Trexlertown area. His eldest child, a son named John, was nine years old at the time.  From this we can infer that he married his wife, Judith Steininger before 1841, or four years after the birth of John-37. By 1880, John is still living on the farm assisted by his son Theodore. On August 6, 1883, he wrote his will and designated his executor – his son-in-law Franklin Stephen (the husband of his daughter Ellen S.C. Bortz, who is identified in the will and census records as Elmina). In this document, he provides for his wife in her widowhood and leaves money to the son of his deceased son. Additionally, he orders that one share each of his estate be given to his son, Theodore and daughter Elmina. On the last page he includes a clause that states  that should his son Theodore and daughter Elmina die without heirs, that their shares should be assigned to “John Bortz (a son of Mary Reinhard) of Upper Milford, Lehigh County (near Buckhorn tavern)” and his heirs forever. This document provides conclusive evidence that John Bortz, born in 1815 and the son of Johannes Bortz is the father of Maria Reinhard's illegitimate son, John Bortz, born in 1837.

Portion of John Bortz-1815 will mentioning
his illegitimate son John Bortz-37

While Theodore did die with heirs, Elmina did not and there is no evidence in her husband’s will that he left anything to John Bortz-37. He was a wealthy man worth over $82,000 at the time of his death. He left one of his large estates to a man who helped him on that farm for many years. Records show he also owned the Bortz farm (of John 1815) consisting of 125 acres and worth over $21, 000. This and other properties were liquidated to settle the estate. Elmina, aka Ellen S.C. (Bortz) Stephen, did leave a will and in it she mentions a John Bortz, but this is likely the same child mentioned in her husband’s will who was the son of her deceased brother. Still, it is possible that she left provision for her half-brother for her will includes the words “"share that I owe him." One can only be hopeful that is the case and her father’s last acknowledgement of his bastard son was not forgotten.

It seemed that John Bortz-37 did well enough for himself, without the inheritance of his father. A search of census records reveals that in 1850 and 1860, John is living with the family of Israel Larosch near Dillingersville in Lower Milford Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. (This area is just south of where he was born.)  Research on this family reveals that Israel’s mother was a Bortz and his wife is a Reinhard. Both families connect directly to John Bortz. Also in the house are John George Reinhard and Joshua Reinhard. (Research at this time has not directly connected them to Israel’s wife or John Bortz.) It appears that kin took in and raised John Bortz.

John’s mother Maria is not found in these records with her son. A search for her reveals that a Mary Reinhard, 54, is living with J. Reinhard, 70 in South Whitehall Township. This could be John’s mother, but at this time, it has not been proven. At any rate, we know that John is not being raised by his mother. Like James Whipkey, he is being fostered by another family.

By July 1, 1863, John is married and living on his own, evidenced by the information he provided for his Civil War registration record. In the next year, he appears on tax rolls as owning a farm and in 1870, the census finds him farming near Shimersville in Lower Milford Township. By this time, he has started a family and has a son and two daughters. This is also the time period when he took in James Whipkey.



John Bortz-37 Tombstone
Zionsville, Lehigh Co, PA

By 1880, John was no longer caring for James, who was 20 years old and working on another farm, but he continued to take in strays. According to the 1880 and 1900 Federal Censuses, there is a young man listed as part of his household in both censuses. John remained in Lower Milford Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania until his death in 1921. At that time, he was still on his farm, but his daughter and son-in-law had taken over farming. He was 82 years old, and was buried in the Old Zionsville Cemetery (also known as the Upper Milford Reformed Church) in Zionsville, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. No will records have been found for him at this time, but judging from the size of his monument, he was well respected and affluent enough to warrant an impressive tombstone.

While there does seem to be a family connection between John Bortz and James Whipkey, it seems that John Bortz motive for taking in and raising a stranger’s child was motivated by his own life experiences and generosity. His life reflected a practice of helping others, and he himself came from a disadvantaged background. Though John was not familiar with the popular buzz-word/phrase “To pay it forward,” it certainly seems that this is exactly what he did in the case of James Whipkey. He must have seen himself in James as a young man – lacking a father to guide him and encourage him to rise above his condition. And he stepped into the role and helped my ggrandfather to be a successive man himself.

James Whipkey did not stay in the farming profession but went on to work for the Railroad. He stayed in that profession all his life. It seemed he followed in John Bortz-37 tradition of helping others.  The 1900 Federal Census  reveals that James and his wife Sarah opened their home to a boarder – a young woman by the name of Jeannie M Rader, 22. They continued to do this - the 1910 Federal census shows that they allowed David Slack, a widower, to stay with them. One might argue that they were simply collecting money from a boarder to help make ends meet, but their house was small and James was gainfully employed.  I would rather think that James was “paying forward” the generosity and support he received as a young child from John Bortz-37.

And so, the mystery of John Bortz-37 has been solved. One story is told, while others yet remain. It is ever that way – in Genealogy.

Tombstone and final resting place of
James William Whipkey and Sarah Gehman
Zionsville, PA