2026 - A Theory in Progress

 A Theory in Progress: The Case of the Two Catarinas

Every genealogist knows the siren song of a "perfect" hint on a family tree. You find a name that matches, the dates are close enough, and suddenly, a brick wall seems to crumble. But as I’ve learned with my ancestor, Catarina Barbara Froelich, what looks like a breakthrough is often just a detour into someone else’s history.

For the 52 Ancestors in 62 Weeks challenge, my prompt is "A Theory in Progress." Today, that theory focuses on disentangling Catarina from a persistent case of mistaken identity and refocusing my search on the soil of Berks County, Pennsylvania.

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The New York Trap

If you search for Catarina Froelich online, you will find dozens of trees naming her parents as Johann Valentine Froelich and Anna Apollonia of Ulster, New York. It’s a tidy conclusion—except for one glaring problem: the facts don't fit.

The New York Catarina married Conrad Delange in 1743 in Dutchess County. Records show she remained with him, moving eventually to Ontario, Canada, where she died in 1790. Meanwhile, my Catarina was busy establishing a life in Pennsylvania. On March 29, 1748, she married Johann Heinrich Deck in Tulpehocken, Berks County.

Feature	The "Other" Catarina	My Catarina Barbara
Spouse	Conrad Delange (m. 1743)	Johann Heinrich Deck (m. 1748)
Location	Ulster/Dutchess Co, NY	Berks County, PA
Death	1790, Ontario, Canada	After 1774, Augusta Co, VA

The Pennsylvania Theory

Because Catarina married in Tulpehocken, my working theory is that her origins lie within the tight-knit German community of the Tulpehocken Settlement.

We know Heinrich Deck’s family were pioneers in the area. His parents, Johan Nicholas and Anna Deck, arrived on the ship Saint Andrew Galley in 1734 and settled in Bethel township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. They were active members of Christ Lutheran Church in Stouchsburg, Pennsylvania. It stands to reason that Catharina’s family lived within a day’s ride of this congregation.

Christ Lutheran Church, Stouchsburg, Berks, Pennsylvania

Expanding the Search: Who were the Froelich Men?

To move this theory forward, I am shifting my focus from "Catharina" to the Froelich men of Berks County between 1730 and 1750.

• Proximity is Key: I am currently scouring the pastoral records of Rev. John Caspar Stoever and the Christ Church registers for any Froelich (or Fröhlich) sponsors at baptisms. In German tradition, sponsors were almost always close relatives.
• The Land Records: I am investigating land warrants in Bethel and Tulpehocken. If a Froelich man owned land adjacent to the Decks, the connection becomes much stronger.
• Naming Patterns: Heinrich and Catharina moved to Augusta County, Virginia, where Heinrich died in 1774. I am analyzing the names of their children to see if they follow the traditional German naming pattern (naming the first sons and daughters after grandparents).

The Next Step

The New York theory is officially debunked. My theory in progress now rests on the belief that Catarina was either the daughter of a 1730s Palatine immigrant who settled directly in Berks County or perhaps a member of the Froelich family that arrived in Philadelphia and pushed west.

The wall hasn't come down yet, but the foundation is finally being built on the right ground.

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