Isaac Cushwa1

M, #645, b. circa 1680, d. after 1745
Last Edited: 12 May 2022
Charts:
Ancestors of Elmira Seltzer

Family:

Elisabeth Katherina Hoffman b. c 1675, d. 21 Apr 1729

Children:

Balthasar Cushwa5 b. 29 May 1706
Balthasar Cushwa5 b. 22 Jun 1707
Anna Klara Cushwa5 b. 26 Aug 1708
Johannes Cushwa5 b. 24 Nov 1709, d. a 1754
Hans Jacob Cushwa5 b. 15 Sep 1711
Isaiah Cushwa+ 7 b. Jun 1714, d. c Jun 1788
Louisa Cushwa5 b. 1 Mar 1717

Notes

  • Immigration*: circa 17384
  • Note*: Cushwa family researcher Lawson writes:

    "Our earliest known Cushwa ancestor was Isaac Couschoua/Gousoy/Coscholos who was born about 1680 (assuming age 25 at marriage). On September 15, 1705 he married Elisabeth Katherina Hoffman in Mutterstadt. Elisabeth was the daughter of Jacob Hoffman of nearby Weidenthal; she died April 21, 1729 at age 54." [citing Mutterstadt records]

    "At least three members of this family immigrated to Pennsylvania...Isaiah arrived in September 1732 with cousins (Schueys) and family friends (Renners). His older brother, Johannes, also received permission to immigrate from Weidenthal (near Mutterstadt) in 1750 with his wife and two children..."

    "It also appears likely that the father, Isaac, immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1738. Evidence for this comes from the Mutterstadt land records which state that his property in Mutterstadt was sold Dec. 1738 because he had moved to Pennsylvania."

    "Some have thought this record about Isaac's immigration to Penn. was referring to his son, Isaiah, because occasionally the names Isaac and Isaiah become confused with each other, but this record could not have been referring to Isaiah who was only 17 when he immigrated, much too young to own property. Also no death record of Isaac has ever been found in the Mutterstadt area even though the churches kept excellent records. Furthermore, the Writs Returnable records of Lancaster Co. Pennsylvania (card catalog # 974.815 H25L, vols. 1,4,6) for the years of 1742-45 lists both an Isaac Cushwa and an Isaiah Cushwa, three times each. No land records for Isaac have been found in the U.S., but this may be due to his living with his son or his Schuey relatives."5
  • Note: Cushwa family researcher Lawson also wrote about the origins of the Cushwas in Mutterstadt, citing a German history of the town written in 1967.

    The Cushwas were Huguenots (French Protestants) from the Wallonia area (present day French Belgian) who fled to Mutterstadt in the Palatinate near the Rhine river about 1655 to avoid religious persecution. By the early 1690s persecution against French-speaking Huguenots by German Catholic Palatinates became severe, causing many to flee. The Cushwas who remained in the Mutterstadt were German speaking and Germanized the spelling of their name.

    Lawson presents at least eight different spellings of the Cushwa name.6

Citations

  1. [S112] Lawson, Larry, 'The Gushwa Family - Revisions 1995, Larry Lawson (Substitute for pages 1-10 of the 1988 book. Other corrections on p. R15)' (n.p.: Printed, 15 pages. FHL microfilm 2055162), p. R1-R3.   Lawson--Gushwa-Family-Revisions-2055162.pdf
  2. [S112] Lawson, Larry, Gushwa Family - Revisions 1995, p. R2, citing Mutterstadt church records.
  3. [S112] Lawson, Larry, Gushwa Family - Revisions 1995, p. R3, citing Lancaster Co. tax records.
  4. [S112] Lawson, Larry, Gushwa Family - Revisions 1995, p. R1-R3, citing Mutterstadt land records.
  5. [S112] Lawson, Larry, Gushwa Family - Revisions 1995, p. R2.
  6. [S112] Lawson, Larry, Gushwa Family - Revisions 1995, p. R1.
  7. [S112] Lawson, Larry, Gushwa Family - Revisions 1995, p. R2, R5-R7.