Researching J. Martin Heiner, Bodyguard to Washington In Sunbury

 
A Tombstone for Martin Heiner in the Sunbury Cemetery
Noted as "The Bodyguard For George Washington"

Find the Post about this find in the Sunbury Pa Facebook Group here

Recently, during a cemetery clean up in Sunbury, the owner of the Sunbury Pa list [an excellent, well run, on topic facebook group, for those interested in Sunbury Memories and History] found a burial record for "George Washington's Bodyguard".  

This is an incredibly interesting topic, but to get a new stone and marker to recognize this location, more facts are needed.  What we have so far are a lot of stories, and some obvious errors.  I could spend weeks on this and get nowhere on my own, so I am hoping that if I put all of the information in one place, some of you who enjoy research and have subscriptions to various research sites may  be able to chime in and see what you can find.

Here's what we Know:

[In an attempt to make this easier for comments, each of the items below has a link to a facebook photo where anyone can add comments and photos with more information]

On FB HERE	WPA Burial Record WPA tombstone requests were often  made based on information from families, and can be unreliable when used for genealogical purposes.  This information was provided in January 1940, and likely based on the newspaper articles stating that Matilda [Heiner] Wray's father served as Washington's bodyguard.  Her father would have been about 6 when the Revolutionary War ended, so definitely not her father - maybe her grandfather? On it's own, this card cannot be used as proof.
On FB HERE	Map showing burial location, shared in the Sunbury Group Questions - when was this map drawn, and what information is it based on?   Is there a church record for the burial? [that would be a source that could be used for verification]
On FB HERE And see the full sheet this is taken from here	To further complicate matters, this tombstone request is from: in the U.S., Headstones Provided for Deceased Union Civil War Veterans, 1861-1904 However, Martin Heiner, Tillie's father, could also not have served in the civil war - having died in 1847.  This record states that he served in the Revolutionary War.   The death date is one I commonly see used for Martin Jr in Sunbury, but the only record of his death I have found so far is in the newspaper in May of 1847.  Was there more than one Martin Heiner in Sunbury at this time, or are the dates simply not correct? Census Records, and church burial records , may help sort this out.
On FB HERE	Another Burial Card Showing information given in 1934 by  M.M. Siegfried.  The information for this marker was verified by the GAR [Civil War] but lists Heiner as a bodyguard for George Washington.
On FB HERE	Record for Martin Heiner found in a booklet in the Northumberland County Historical Society Collection. Two items of interest here - can we trace who this Martin is for certain, and find records of him living in Sunbury? And - DAR #387888  I used that number to do an online search on the DAR site, but I don't know enough about how these numbers are used.  my search returned no results with that number.
On FB Here	Death announcement for Tillie [Heiner] Wray In the Miltonian, April 4th 1912 Stating that her father served in the Revolution [which we know is not possible.  Possibly her grandfather?]

On FB HERE AND HERE	Another story of Martin Heiner as George Washington's bodyguard, this time placing him at Valley Forge as they were about to resort to cannibalism.   Even if it is true, I cannot see any source or additional helpful information.
On FB Here	1977 Interview of Charles Wray "When I was a kid, my mother died, so I was raised by my grandparents, Alexander and Matilda Wray, who lived at 252 S. Front St. My grandmother told me that her great -grandmother told her that her (the great-grandmother's) great-great-grandfather, Martin Hiner, was one of Washington's bodyguards when they crossed the Delaware River" in 1776. "The other things I know of him are," Wray, who lives at 445 S. Awl St., says, "that he sometime after that married a young girl. They came to the forks of the Susquehanna River here at Sunbury and decided to stay. "*He was the first white man to live here at Sunbury. My grandmother said she was told that the Indians, who were still on Blue Hill, would come down and steal things but that they wouldn't harm you. Martin Hiner is buried on the Wray plot at the Sunbury cemetery.' Because he is the only living member of the family line allegedly descended from Hiner and has no children, Wray believes he may be the last man to have such historical ties to Sunbury's past..

 I did a preliminary search of the following records, with no results for any Heiner/Hiner/Hyner

• Historical Collections of the State of Pennsylvania, by Sherman Day, Philadelphia, 1843, Page 524 -537
• Genealogical and biographical annals of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania .. by Floyd, J.L., & Co., Chicago, pub
• History of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania by Bell, Herbert C. [does show a William Heiner in Milton]
• Fold 3 - trying a variety of searches including name, and the location of Sunbury Pa.  I found nothing that seems to pertain to a Heiner in Northumberland County.

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Matilda "Tille" Susan [Heiner] Wray 

Born February 18 1837

Married Alexander Donaldson Wray

Died March 28 1912

Genealogical Records

Matilda Susan "Tillie" Heiner was born February 13th 1838, the daughter of John Martin Heiner Jr  who was born in 1776, and died in 1847. He married Mary "Polly" Miller, according to her death certificate.

Martin , her father, died in 1847, age 70. His death notice is in the May 1 1847 issue of the Sunbury Gazette. If all of that is correct, Martin was 60 years old when Tillie was born. Her mother Mary [Miller] Heiner is shown age 54 in the census with Alexander and Tillie Wray. If her age is correct, she was born about 1806. The 1850 census shows Mary as a widow, age 45, with 13 year old Matilda living with her - keeping her age consistent, and consistent with Martin's death notice in 1847.

Tillie was 9 or 10 years old when her father died, in 1847, which may be why she was confused in her later years. The Revolutionary war ended in 1783, when Tillie's father was about 6 years old. Possibly her grandfather served in the Revolution?  Can we confirm who Martin Jr's father was?

	Who was the father of John Martin Jr 1776-1847?
On FB HERE	The 1840 Census for Sunbury Pa shows a Martin Heiner 1 Male aged 60-69 [Martin age 63 ] 1 Female 40-49 [Mary age 34] 1 Female Under 5 [Tillie age 2]
	The Sunbury Gazette Sat, May 1, 1847 Pg 3 Martin Heiner who died in Sunbury in 1847 was said to be 70 years old, making his birth year approximately 1777.
On FB Here	The 1850 Census in Sunbury, Northumberland County, shows: Mary Heiner age 45  [b. abt. 1805] Matilda Heiner age 13 [b. abt 1837]
ON FB HERE	The Sunbury Gazette, March 19, 1853 reported thar Mr Alexander Wray married Miss Matilda, "daughter of the late Captain Hiner, all of this place." Could her father possibly have served in the War of 1812?
On FB here	The 1860 census in Sunbury Shows Alexander Ray 27 Matilda Ray 20 Eleanora Ray 4 Harriet Ray 1 Mary Heiner 54

	Find a grave has a listing for Mary "Polly" Heiner,  1806-1865 , in Sunbury Cemetery

 Searched, But No Results Found:

Chronicles of a Germany family, or, Heiners of Germany, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Texas

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On December 31 1833 there was a letter left at the post office in Sunbury for Martin Heiner.  It's proof of nothing, other than that a Martin Heiner likely lived in Sunbury in 1833.  This would likely have been Matilda [Heiner] Wrays father.

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A LEAD

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I think the info below is what I need to follow up on next.  It looks like he is the father of the Martin buried in Sunbury-

John Martin Heiner,Sr., was a soldier of the Revolution, at the time of his entrance in the Army, He lived in Dover Township, York Co., PA., this was in 1778, He sold his land to Anthony Deardorff here in Dover Township., PA, Then he moved to Botetourt County, Virginia in 1788, where he bought 700 acres of land along the little James River, He was married to Mary Deardorff they were the parents of a large family, The Will of John Hiner, Sr. is on file in the indenture book, Vol.B.Page 6, date of record 1801.

[There is also a  different John Hiner who enlisted IN Virginia, not in Berks County.  He died in 1814, and is buried in VA, seems to be well documented and does not appear to be connected to Martin Jr]