The Snyder name has several common spelling variations: Snyder, Snider, Schneider. For those who don't get MUZZLE BLASTS his obituary is truly worth reading [he was subject of my column this month]. P. 83 of KRA red book, The JKY RIFLE A TRUE AMERICAN HERITAGE shows the gun that the late Fred Beck once owned.
John Ludwick Snider
John Ludwig Snider was first noted as a gunsmith on tax lists in Bell Township, Clearfield County. The Clearfield County History said, “The pioneer of the township was Johannes Ludwig Snyder, a veteran of the Revolutionary War. He came to this country about the time of the French and Indian War, with his father's family. The father, too, was a soldier in the war for American independence. Prior to the settlement of Johannes, or John, as he was generally known, in this county, he lived at Lewisburg. He came to this locality about the year 1820, and settled on lands on Chest Creek. Mr. Snyder attained an age in life far beyond that allotted to man, being, at the time of his death about one hundred and fifteen years. He died in the year 1860. His wife, it is said, also lived to the age of one hundred and eight years. By trade Mr. Snyder was a gunsmith, but during his life in this county gave his attention to farming.”
Later research has determined that John Ludwig Snyder was born on August 5th, 1746 in Michnelstadt, Germany. As we know, he died on March 23rd, 1860, near New Washington, Clearfield County, aged 113 years 7 months 16 days. Snyder immigrated to America in 1758 at the age of 12. Thus he lived in Pennsylvania 101 years, 7 months, and 18 days. He enlisted in 1776 as a Private from Penn-sylvania, fighting through the whole war.
He married Anna Maria Gilman At the time of his death he left four generations of descendants to a number of nearly three hundred.. He was a gunsmith, making a perfect one at age of 107.
There are three clear choices for spelling this last name: Synder, Snider, and Schneider. The latter is the original German spelling. Nearly all people with this name changed its spelling to one of the other two choices, with Snyder being the most popular. The gun shown uses the Snider spelling. As with most names, Snider was recorded in tax lists, newspapers, census records, and other public records by others who may or may not have spelled the name according to its bearer. His Christian name was origi-nally Johannes according to the German.
Snider’s obituary was carried across the nation. I first became aware of it from a newspaper article in a Winchester, Virginia, newspaper.
“Death of a Veteran. John Ludwig Snyder, died in Clearfield county, Pa., last week, at the age of 113 years. He was a native of Michaelstadt, Germany, and came to the United States in 1758. A paper noticing the event says: He was with Washington when he crossed the Delaware on Christmas night,1776, and was in the battle of Trenton of the 26th of December. The light of day was just breaking when the Americans drove in the outposts of the Hessians through a thick snowstorm. Snyder was in the battle of Brandywine, September 11, 1777, under LaFayette. He was transferred to the command of Gen. Wayne, and was in his defeat near Paoli, September 20, 1777. He was in the battle of Germantown, October 4, 1774 [sic]. He was encamped with Washington at Valley Forge, December 11, 1777. He said that the winter of that year was the coldest he ever experienced. Our troops, he has told us, shot squirrels and drew their skins over their feet for shoes. He was in the battle of Monmouth, June 28, 1774 [sic], under Wayne and was with Wayne at the taking of Stony Point, where the watchword was ³Remember Paoli, brave
boys!² He was with Lafayette at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, on the 19th of October, 1781, and, in his own words, ³in many more scrimmages that he could not remember the particulars of.² The warrior left descendants to the 4th generation, and to the number if nearly 300. He was a gunsmith by trade, and made a perfect gun when he was 107 years of age. During the last summer he could read with-out spectacles. When he was over 90 he walked to Clearfield and back, a distance in all of 60 miles, be-fore dark, on one and the same day. He never missed a Presidential or a Gubernatorial election since the very first.”
