A Wilson Family Tree
Notes for Thomas Faus
From the biography of Frank Faus in "Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties, Pennsylvania" (J. H. Beers & Co., 1915; obtained from Google Books), Volume II p. 849:
Thomas Faus, son of Henry Faus, and father of Frank Faus, was born in Lehigh county, Pa., and coming to what is now Pine township, Columbia Co., Pa., bought a farm there. In time he cleared off his land and operated it until his death, which occurred on his property July 5, 1875, when he was seventy-one years, seven months, twenty-one days old; he is buried at Faus Church, in Pine township. Mr. Faus gave the land on which the church was built, and did much to gather other contributions. He was a Methodist, and was glad to do all in his power to get a church of his denomination in the neighborhood, and after it was established continued to give liberally to it as long as he lived.
Thomas Faus was married to Rachel Robbins, a daughter of Joseph Robbins, of Millville, and she died July 28, 1863, aged fifty-five years, six month, twenty-eight days. Their children were: Elizabeth J., who married Lafayette Unger; Henry, who is living in Michigan; Joshua, who is deceased; John, deceased; Josiah, deceased; Mary, who married Michael Kessler; William P., who is living in Pine township; Thomas, living in Texas; Matilda, who died in childhood; Theodore, a Methodist minister, in charge of the church at Millville, Pa.; Martha, who married John Sanders; Rachel, who married Rev. John Beishline; and Cyrus, who is deceased. For his second wife Thomas Faus married Susan Bacon, a daughter of Lyman Bacon, and by this union had children: Harriet, who married Lewis Kile; Frank; Rebecca, who married Howard Shultz; and Charles W., who is living on the old homestead in Pine township.
The death date and age above imply a birth date of 14 Nov 1803. There is also a birth and baptism record for him in "Christ Lutheran and Reformed Church, Shoenersville, Pa.: Evangelical Lutheran Congregation", transcribed by Laura Shoener (1937, p. 22; obtained from Ancestry.com, “Pennsylvania and New Jersey U.S. Church and Town Records 1669-2013”); thanks to Marilyn Riehl for telling me about this. He is listed as Thomas Faas, with parents Heinrich and Elisabeth Faas. Birth date is given as 14 Nov 1803 and baptism date is 18 Dec 1803. I do not know where the birth place of Whitehall Township comes from. Note that Shoenersville (or Schoenersville) is in Hanover Township, which is east of Whitehall Township.
From "Faus Genealogical Data Summarized: 1780 - 1961" by Sister Mary Euphrasia Faus (1961) [some typos have been corrected]:
... THOMAS FAUS was born in Whitehall Township, Northampton County.... After settling here on his tract of Land where he remained for his lifetime, on November 1, 1827, he married Rachel Robbins who was born of Irish parents, October 1, 1807.
The lot which Thomas Faus gave for the erection of a Methodist Episcopal Church was built around 1830 and for more than a century has been known by many as the Faus Church. In 1892 it was replaced by another structure, made of the lumber made from the surrounding Pine trees, which were replaced by the present Maple grove. From this little country Church, which through the century and more of its history, has maintained an active membership made up largely of the Faus family and its descendants, there have been fully ordained ministers of the gospel totalling over a dozen in number....
Eric von Dorster thinks that Thomas had a middle initial of W, like his son Thomas Ware Faus, but I don't think I have ever seen a middle initial for him anyplace else. I was including the W for a while, but have decided to stop using it.
Note: Some of the information in these pages is uncertain. Please let me know of errors or omissions using the email link above. ...Mike Wilson
Page generated on 31 October 2023; see http://wilsonfamilytree.org/ for further updates