Peter Gaver, father of Elizabeth and Rebecca

Volume 1 of the 1992 book "The Gaver Families: A Jigsaw Puzzle History" indicates that the father of the Elizebeth and Rebecca Gaver who married Peter Miller:

was known as Peter Gaver.

was the father of eight children: Valentine, Elizabeth, Asenath, Jacob, Peter, John, Rebecca, and Daniel (unknown order of birth). The book indicates that the son named Peter was born on October 8, 1759. With that birth date, he would have turned 18 years old on October 8, 1777, and would have turned 21 years old on October 8, 1780.

settled south of what is now Burkittsville, Maryland, on Broad Run. (I found Broad Run on a map. It is located east of Burkittsville, and empties into Catoctin Creek at 39.36121427, -77.57613950.)

obtained over 49 acres of the "I've Got It At Last" tract from Daniel Arnold in 1770, and that same Year Daniel Arnold also sold part of the same tract to Peter Miller.

Acquired a tract of more than 30 acres called "The Mountain". (Click here to see a survey of property near the foot of the Blue Ridge that may be for the referenced "The Mountain" tract.)

purchased land from Andrew Arnold on January 14, 1771 that was adjacent to "The Mountain" tract and/or the "I've Got It At Last" tract. (The book isn't clear which tract the land purchased from Andrew Arnold was adjacent to.)

served as a Deacon at the Broad Run Church of the Brethren, and permitted the church to cut wood on his property for church heating purposes. (The church is now known as "Pleasant View). The current church building is located at 39.40312212, -77.60906949. Click here to see a brief written history of the Pleasant View Church that mentions Peter Gaver and Peter Miller.)

had his 860 acres of property confiscated, and was fined for some Revolutionary War-related matter, such as declining to join the Militia, or declining to sign the Oath of Allegence. Major Joshua Harley was awarded 815 acres of his property. The amount of the fine was five pounds, reduced from 6-1/2 pounds.

acquired the 197-acre "Gaver's Recovery" tract in 1789. (It was a resurvey. He received a patent for the property in 1791.)

lived at what is now Burkittsville, on a farm that Dave Arnold eventually acquired. The farm was owned by the Arnolds until the middle of the 20th century.

is buried on the Arnold farm, in what is known as the Gaver Cemetery, where his wife and four of his children are also buried. (From what I can find, the exact location of the cemetery is no longer known.)

After acquiring a copy of the 1992 Gaver book in the 1990s, I corresponded with the author. She was not aware of the Miller Genealogy book "Genealogy of the Relatives of William J. Miller" that was printed in Meyersdale in 1963.

Emmert F. Bittinger’s 1990 book "Allegheny passage: churches and families, West Marva District Church of the Brethren, 1752-1990" indicates that the original portion of the large Arnold stone house that is located west of Burkittsville is reputed to have been built by Peter Gaver, a Dunker who purchased the property in 1771.

The following image is from the "Petersville, District 12" map in the 1873 "Atlas of Frederick County Maryland". It shows where the above-referenced Arnold farm is located. It is the site of the now-lost Gaver Cemetery. According to the South Mountain Heritage Society, the western part of Burkittsville is located on the "Gaver's Recovery" tract.

This shows where the Arnold farm is located.

The following excerpt from a 1910 topograpic map shows where Burkittsville and the village of Broad Run are located relative to the Blue Ridge. The current location of the Pleasant View Church of the Brethren is circled in red.

Topographic map showing the locations of Burkittsville and Broad Run.

The following composite image is from Volume 1 of the "History of Frederick County, Maryland...". It shows that Peter Gaver and Peter Miller appear in the 1790 census records of Frederick County, Maryland.

Peter Gaver in a transcript of the 1790 census records of Frederick County, Maryland.

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