ERBs in Poplar Church Cemetery,
Cumberland County, Pennsylvania



--Photo by Keith J. Erb
Like an eery row of hump-shouldered ghosts, the tombstones that form Erb's Row in the Poplar Church Cemetery mark the resting places of Erbs buried there from 1811 to 1847. The weather-worn German language inscriptions are carved in old style German script.


--Photo by Keith J. Erb
A copper plaque relates the history of the cemetery, which is located on Poplar Road in East Pennsboro Twp., Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. It is also known as the "Old Poplar Cemetery". Cumberland County is next to Lancaster County, but across the Susquehanna River.


--Photo by Keith J. Erb
In front of Erb's Row are two piles of fallen tombstones that have been moved from their original locations along with the copper plaque shown above.

The photographs above and the tombstone transcriptions below have been made available by Keith J. Erb (KJERB@aol.com). Although Keith is himself a descendant of Casper Erb b.1724, he has generously provided this information about some descendants of Nicholas (Claus) Erb b.1680. These Cumberland County Erbs are not well known and this new data helps considerably in filling in the gaps in what we know about them.

The identifications proposed below are mine. The bold-face underlined names are interactive and connected to my Rootsweb WC database where more complete details are available. The numbers in front of the names represent the position of the gravestones (left to right) in Erb's Row.
 


1. Unknown Erb
Birth and death dates very hard to read, looks like 17__ -1819
61? Years, 9 Months, 16 Days
Identification: Uncertain. If this person died in 1819 at the age of 61, they would have been born about 1756. Unfortunately, these dates do not seem to fit any of the grandchildren of Nicholas (Claus) Erb 1680. But the well-worn inscriptions are indeed ambiguous and subject to more than one interpretation. After photo enhancement (see below), I read the birth date on this tombstone [upper left] as "178?" and the death date [lower right] as "184?" -- a nice example of how genealogical data, even when "carved in stone", is never quite as certain as we would like it to be.

--Photo by Keith J. Erb, Enhancement by John Larkins
A reading of 1788-1849 would fit the 61 year age at death. And a birth date of abt 1788 would fit two of the children of Christian Erb 1758 (#2 below): Abraham, and Benjamin. (Daniel can be ruled out if the identification of stone #5 is correct.)
       Little is known about
Benjamin c1788 but we do know that he was still in East Pennsboro in 1832 when he managed the estate sale of his deceased brother Christian 1793 (see #10 below). And he could well have died there himself some 17 years later at age 61.
       Abraham c1788 is an equally shadowy figure, but he was still in Cumberland Co. in 1819 when he signed over his rights to be repaid for a loan (in the form of a Judge's Bond). Although he was listed in the census of 1810, he does not appear in the censuses of 1830, 1840, or 1850. He might have fallen fatally ill in 1819 - which would be one explanation for the transfer of his bond and would fit Keith Erb's reading of an 1819 death date. Or he might have sold his repayment rights as part of his preparation to leave Cumberland Co. about 1819. Or he might have remained in East Pennsboro and died there about 1849. You can view a photo of Abraham's 1818 Judge's Bond here.
2. Christian Erb
1758 - 1820
25 October 1820
62 Years, 9? Months, 14 Days
Identification: Christian Erb 1758, son of Christian 1734, grandson of Nicholas (Claus) 1680, and husband of Elizabeth Hershey 1765 [#3]. At least two of his sons are also buried here: Daniel [#5] and Christian [#10]. And probably a third son as well [at #1] -- either Benjamin or Abraham.
3. Elizabeth Erb
1765 - 1847
26 November 1847
82 Years, 9 Months, 8 Days
Identification: Elizabeth Hershey 1765, wife of Christian 1758 [#2]. One source has her having died in Cumberland County, but with a different date - Dec 1832
4. Susanna Erb? (Very hard to read.)
17__ - 1811
This stone is lying flat and broken in half.
Identification: Uncertain. This was probably a heretofore unknown daughter of Christian 1758 [#2] and Elizabeth Hershey [#3]. (He is known to have had 4 sons and a daughter named Catherine, but could easily have had another daughter too.) Another possibility is that she was the young wife of the person buried next to her, Daniel Erb 1786 [#5]. (Daniel was only 25 when he died but might have married before then.) Since both Susanna and Daniel died in the same year, it is possible that they both contracted the same fatal disease or both were victims of the same fatal accident.
5. Daniel Erb
Eldest son of Christian
May 23, 1811
Identification: This would have been Daniel Erb c1786, eldest son of Christian 1758 [#2] and Elizabeth Hershey [#3]. His tombstone and that of Susannah are the earliest ones in "Erbs Row". His father was buried there 9 years later, and his mother 36 years later.
6. Samuel Erb
Son of Christian And Elizabeth
Died __ 1849 aged 18 years __ months __ days
Identification: This was probably Samuel Erb c1831, a previously unknown son of Christian Erb 1793 [#10] and Elizabeth Witmer. His calculated birthdate of abt 1831 rules out Christian Erb 1758 and Elizabeth Hershey as his parents and Emily Terrell, a descendant of Christian, has a family-portrait-style photo of Elizabeth Witmer and three young men labelled "Christian", "Jacob", and "Samuel". Christian and Jacob are known to have been her sons, strongly suggesting that Samuel was as well.
7. Johanne?
179_ - 1839
Identification: Uncertain. None of the known John Erb's fits. There is a Reverend John Erb (1795-1844) buried in Cumberland Co., but at another cemetery.
8. I.W. [or F. W.]
(Very small marker with initials only.)
Identification: Uncertain. Possibly a relative of Elizabeth Witmer 1796. (See #10.)
9. D.P.E.
(Small marker with initials only.)
Identification: Uncertain. Could be a Daniel (or a David) P. Erb. (See #13 for D.P.E.'s possible daughter Rebecca, whose surname is given as Erb". But keep in mind that small marker stones were usually reserved for the graves of children.) If the "D." stands for Daniel, he might have been the eponymous son of Daniel Erb 1796 (#5 above).
10. Christian Erb
Born 1793
Died January 1832
38 yrs, 5 months, 5 days
Identification: Christian Erb 1793, son of Christian 1758 [#2] and husband of Elizabeth Witmer 1796, who died in Iowa. One source has Christian as having died 1831 in East Pennsboro.
11. Charley
Son of John and Sara
(There is space for two or three markers betweeen 11 and 12.)
Identification: Uncertain. Could be the son of #7 Johanne. But Charles is a name unknown among early descendants of Nicholas Erb.
12. Christian Erb
Son of Jacob
Died Dec 5, 1838
Identification: Uncertain. None of the known Christian Erbs fits. But Christian and his brother Abraham (see #14) may have been the heretofore unknown sons of Bishop Jacob Erb (1804-1884) who was the son of Christian Erb 1758 (#2 above) and Elizabeth Hershey (#3) and is buried close by in Shropp's Cemetery near Shiremanstown. Jacob was the 10th Bishop of the United Bretheran Church and is known to have had a daughter named Mary (see #16). But the identities of his wife and other possible children are not known. If Christian and Abraham were his sons, they died young - a half century before their father.
      Alternately, Christian and Abraham might have been the sons of Jacob Erb c1815, who was himself the son of Benjamin Erb c1788 and the grandson of Christian Erb 1758 (#2). Benjamin is known to have lived in Hampden Twp., Cumberland County and had a son named Jacob. If Christian and Abraham were the sons of this Jacob, they would have to have both died in early childhood.
13. Rebecca Erb
Daughter of D. P. Erb
Died 1840
Identification: Uncertain. See #9 for her possible father.
14. Abraham Erb
Son of Jacob
Died 1840
Identification: Uncertain. None of the known Abraham Erbs fits. See #12 for his brother Christian and their possible fathers Bishop Jacob Erb 1804 and Jacob Erb c1815.
15. (Space for 1 tombsone.)

16. Mary Ann & Jacob Renninger
Identifications: Uncertain. Since her tombstone is in "Erb's Row", Mary Ann was probably an Erb. But no Erb-Renninger marriage is known. She may have been the Mary Erb c1850, who was the daughter of Bishop Jacob Erb 1804 -- particularly if it is her brothers Christian and Abraham that are buried at [#12] and [#14].



Note: All of the people identified above were descendants of Christian Erb 1758 or their spouses. So it would not be surprising if many of the remaining uncertain identities also turn out to be members of the same family line.

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© John Larkins 2001 Last updated: 2 Dec 2001 Email: jhlarkins@msn.com