The Descendants of Michael Zimmerman (1769-1839)
The Zimmerman family emigrated from Germany in the 18th century, and by 1788 Michael Zimmerman, his wife Elizabeth and their children, were living in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. It was about that time that he bought some 150 acres of land in what was then Westmoreland County, from a John Powell. That parcel of land, which the family named “Zeeland,” became the original family farm; located near Thompson Run adjoining Coal Hill, between what would later become Wilkins and Patton Townships.
Michael and Elizabeth were to have five children: four girls (Margaret, Elizabeth, Mary and Harriet; and one boy, William). There’s little evidence of their daily life on the family farm except for a newspaper notice of 1813 informing the reader that “…a stray steer came onto the plantation of Michael Zimmerman of Allegheny County.”
Michael died in 1839 leaving his wife Elizabeth, and later his son William, in charge of the family farm. William was to marry Elizabeth Jordan in 1825, and the couple had nine children. Their descendants would intermarry with other early families of Monroeville, including the Tilbrooks, the Langs, and the McMunns. Many would remain in the area while others settled in nearby communities including Wilmerding, North Versailles, East McKeesport, and Plum Borough; still others moved out of state.
The family were members of the Cross Roads Presbyterian Church. Many of the Zimmermans are buried in Monroeville’s Cross Roads Cemetery, and in the Plum Creek Cemetery.
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Sources:
New Purchase Application, Number NP-3362. Pennsylvania State Archives.
U.S. Federal Census for 1810 to 1930.
Pittsburgh Gazette microfilm, Pennsylvania Room, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Tracing the Zimmermans in Western Pennsylvania, David Zimmerman, 2008
Zimmerman Family Tree, David Zimmerman, 2007