Yost (1678-1735)   (as detailed by Gilbert E Swope in  "The Swope Family History 1696-1896"  published 1898)   Showing Yost of unclear parentage,  married to Anna Katharina SURNAME UNKNOWN with 5 progeny there detailed   G E Swope was limited by the time frame in which he lived. For much of his book he relied on the correspondance of then living progeny. But in regards to Yost Swope, G E Swope referred in addition to a then extant family bible and five birth records at that time held in family member's possesion. He did not transcribe these sources in his text. He mentions that oral tradition maintains that Yost was son of a Burgomeister in Leimen.  Yost Schwab died and was originally buried on the family homestead Upper Leacock Twp, Lancaster Co, PA.. He was reinterred in Hellers Church, Bird in Hand, Penna in 1884. The remains of the original Yost Swope were buried on his farm,  about forty rods from the old dwelling, and his descendants still living on the homestead found it necessary to remove him from their orchard and reinter him on the date given above. Digging in the earth to the depth of seven feet, a stone slab was encountered, and it bore the inscription ì1735, Y.S.,î This Yost Swope, felt the first Swope in America (if you discount his married dtr who came BEFORE him with her husband ), had indeed a wife Anna Katherina as described by Gilbert E Swope. Her surname was unknown, but he reports a large portion of female red hair was found with him; These were presumably his wife's remains.  Again, G E Swope referred to a bible and the records of birth of 5 children, then held in the hands of descendants. Swope's  birth date for Yost is not clear as coming from the bible or the later 2nd grave, but it did reflect the oral tradition of the Swope forebears on whom his book relied. The bible and birth records were lost to fire just before G E Swope's book was published. The loss, particularly of the family bible, and the original death slabe encountered are  the primary reasons for  this page. We will never have the bible to evaluate  for the information it contained and to which G E Swope referred. What exactly were

Yost (1656-1727)  (as detailed by authors Morse and McLachlin in  "The Swope Family Book of Remembrance"  published 1972) Showing Yost as son and brother,  married to Anna Katharina  WOLFHARDT with 11 progeny there detailed Substantiation of this Yost in Extant Records [Letter from the Pastor of the Lutheran Church at Duhren written 1962]  This work of Morse and Maclachlan is diligent in the extreme, and endeavors to connect Yost Schwab, the headwater ancestor identified by Gilbert Swope as ëson of a burgomeisterí to wife and parentage. There were many Yost Swopes in that area of Germany,and their task was not easy. Through the records and a letter from the Pastor of the Lutheran Church at Duhren written 1962  they determined that our Yost was Yost ì Schwaben sur Duhren bei Sinscheimî and that the Anna Katarina unknown surname (identified by G.E. Swope) was in fact Anna Katarina Wolfhardt prior to marriage, and further determined a name for Yostís father (not a burgomeister, and they comment no record of a Swope burgomeister in Leimen was found, however they show that Anna Catharina, born 9 October 1663, was the daughter of the Mayor of Duehren:  Hans Jorg Wolfhardt/Wohlfahrt and his wife, Anna Haagen. ). BUT, to accomodate the marriage to this wife of Yost (identified by them as Anna Catharina Wolfhardt) they had to move back the birthdate given by G E Swope. They also moved forward his death date based on the settling of Yost Swope's estate. Both birth and death dates present on the grave in Heller's Church are not contemporaneous to Yost's passing (It is a second grave and the stone was erected on the occasion of his reinternment ). There were many Yost Schwabs from the area of Germany in question. Anna Katharina is likewise a common name.   They substantiate this redefining of his life span via parish records in which they connected him to progeny and offer much explanation and data to support their decision. They state his gravestone is  "wrong". They do not  address the slab found 7 feet in the ground with the entry "YS 1735" which lay above Yost when first he was buried. They make no mention of the family bible to which G E Swope referred but which he did not transcribe in his pages. The eleven children ascribed to this union are detailed below, where they can be viewed side by side to those identified by G E Swope.

 
 

The Children of Both Sources viewed side by side:

About German naming patterns:
It was common even for Prostestants to continue the Catholic practise of Saints names for a family. Thus it is  that  both girls and boys in the generations of many, not just our Swope line,German speaking American ancestors would all have the same first  [Saints]  name, followed by the name by which they were actually called within the family circle and in society in general. It also was not uncommon for a new child to be given the name of  a previously deceased one.
For more information on German Naming Patterns and  18th century Pa German Naming Patterns see links.