Relationship: 6th great-grandfather (Mowrey line)
German Immigrant, Pennsylvania Pioneer, Progenitor of the Mowrey Line
Johann Peter Maurer was born in 1709 in the Rhineland region of what was then Prussia, likely in or near Baumholder. He would become the immigrant ancestor who brought the Maurer family to America, where the surname would evolve into Mowrey/Mowery across subsequent generations.
On February 27, 1738, Johann Peter married Anna Sophia Germann (also recorded as Germannin) at the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Evangelisch-Lutherische) in Baumholder, Rheinland, Prussia. Together they would raise a large family, first in Germany and then in the New World.
In 1751, Johann Peter Maurer brought his family to Pennsylvania aboard the ship Edinburgh, arriving in Philadelphia. The passenger manifest lists the household members:
Their son Peter (later Peter W. Mowrey) was born in Pennsylvania in 1760, nine years after the family's arrival—indicating they continued to grow their family in America.
Another son, John Heinrich (Henry) Maurer, was christened on September 20, 1753, at Trapp Lutheran Church, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.
The Maurer family settled initially in the Philadelphia area, part of the large Pennsylvania German community that had been growing since the early 1700s. Like many German immigrants, they likely maintained their Lutheran faith and German language while gradually integrating into colonial American society.
At some point, part of the family migrated south to Augusta County, Virginia, where son Peter would later serve in the Revolutionary War militia. Johann Peter himself appears to have remained in Pennsylvania.
Johann Peter Maurer died before September 10, 1781, when his estate passed probate in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The Lancaster County probate records document his will and the settlement of his estate.
His son Henry (John Heinrich) Maurer's will was later probated in July 1833 in Augusta County, Virginia, providing another link in the documentary chain connecting the Pennsylvania immigrants to the Tennessee and Texas Mowreys.
Notes:
| Name | Notes |
|---|---|
| Anna Catharina Maurer | On 1751 passenger list |
| Georg Ludwig Maurer | On 1751 passenger list |
| Maria Dorothea E. Maurer | On 1751 passenger list |
| Maria Elisabeth Maurer | On 1751 passenger list |
| Louisa Dorothea M. Maurer | On 1751 passenger list |
| John Heinrich (Henry) Maurer | Christened Sept 20, 1753, Trapp Lutheran Church, Philadelphia; will probated July 1833, Augusta Co., VA |
| Peter W. Mowrey | Born Sept 15, 1760, Philadelphia Co., PA — our direct ancestor |
German naming conventions can cause confusion: boys were almost always baptized with the first name Johannes (Johann), and girls with Maria or Anna. The "call name" (Rufname) was typically the second name. Thus "Johann Peter" was called Peter, and his son "Johann Peter" (Peter W. Mowrey) was also called Peter.
Last updated: 2026-02-01