The 6 Separate ERB Lines

Six Separate ERB Lines
Label	Settled	Progenitor
Descendants of Nicholas	Lancaster Co., PA	Nicholas Claus Erb 1680
Descendants of Henry	Lancaster Co., PA	Henry Erb 1740
Northampton Co. Erbs	Northhampton Co., PA	Lorentz Erb 1710
Montgomery Co. Erbs	Montgomery Co., PA	Casper Erb 1724
Maryland Erbs	Frederick Co., MD	Peter Erb 1710
French Erbs	Alsace, France	Jean Erb 1749 (& others)
Some Other Erb Lines:
Early Swiss Erbs	Canton Bern, Switzerland	Ulrich Erb 1545
Beaver County Erbs	Baden to Beaver Co., PA	Christopher Erb c1799
Arbs	Pennsylvania, Kansas	Jacob Arb 1821
Ontario Erbs	Ontario, Canada	grandsons of Claus 1680
New Brunswick Erbs	New Brunswick, Canada	Henry Erb c1760 Loyalist
German Erbs	Baden, Germany	??

Background.

This website is focused on the descendants of Nicholas (Claus) Erb. But in the process of trying to determine whether stray Erbs I have encountered are or are not descendants of Nicholas I have been more or less forced to become familiar with several other distinct Erb lines.

Nicholas was an Amish Mennonite from Canton Bern, Switzerland, as were the French Erbs. Henry appears to have been an immigrant from Switzerland but may or may not been have been from Bern. The origin of the Montgomery Co., the Northampton Co., and the Maryland Erbs is unclear, and may have been either Switzerland or Germany. Or both, since some Erbs may have lived in the Palatinate for one or more generations before eventually emigrating to America. Some of these lines may eventually be found to be descendants of Bernese Swiss Ulrich Erb 1545, as was Nicholas.

The Mennonite Erbs (with a few exceptions) objected to military service on religious grounds, so at least in the earlier years Erbs with military records are likely not to have been of Mennonite origin. In later years many of the Mennonite families converted to other Protestant denominations.

The links above lead to further information about each of these lines.

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Last updated: 9 May 2001

Email: jhlarkins@msn.com

Background.
This website is focused on the descendants of Nicholas (Claus) Erb. But in the process of trying to determine whether stray Erbs I have encountered are or are not descendants of Nicholas I have been more or less forced to become familiar with several other distinct Erb lines. Nicholas was an Amish Mennonite from Canton Bern, Switzerland, as were the French Erbs. Henry appears to have been an immigrant from Switzerland but may or may not been have been from Bern. The origin of the Montgomery Co., the Northampton Co., and the Maryland Erbs is unclear, and may have been either Switzerland or Germany. Or both, since some Erbs may have lived in the Palatinate for one or more generations before eventually emigrating to America. Some of these lines may eventually be found to be descendants of Bernese Swiss Ulrich Erb 1545, as was Nicholas. The Mennonite Erbs (with a few exceptions) objected to military service on religious grounds, so at least in the earlier years Erbs with military records are likely not to have been of Mennonite origin. In later years many of the Mennonite families converted to other Protestant denominations. The links above lead to further information about each of these lines.