Genealogy Reports
by James Stanley Compher,
Sr.
I have found no documented evident on the first Compher settlers in America. Most history going back to the mid 1700's is guess work. The German settlers kept little records and fire destroyed a great deal more. I feel that the first Compher came to America via of England from Germany. They landed in Philadelphia about 1733 and moved to the German settlement in Berks County, Pennsylvania, where they lived for a few years.. Peter, Johannes, William and Christian are thought to be brothers. Two girls born able this same time, Susanna and Juliana, are probably their sisters were born in Virginia. These brothers and sisters are thought to be the first Comphers born in America. Peter and Johannes moved to the German settlement in Loudoun County, Virginia whereas William and Christian remained in Pennsylvania. Their sisters married Steinbrenner brothers (Johann Peter and Johann Friedrich). Susanna and Peter moved to York, Ohio. Juliana and Friedrich lived in Virginia.
The birth date of Peter is unknown,. He died in 1810 and was the brother of John Compher. He lived most of his life in Virginia.
Johannes was born in 1740 and died in 1815. He is the brother of Peter Compher. Lived most of his life in Virginia
The birth and death dates for William are unknown. His son Phillip was born in 1778. Therefore, he would be about the same age as Peter and John. He lived in Pennsylvania.
Christian was born prior to 1765. Spent his life in Pennsylvania. According to the 1820 U. S. Census he was living in Bedford, Pennsylvania.
Susanna was born in 1760 in Lovettsville, Virginia.
Juliana was born March 20, 1762 in Lovettsville, Virginia
The original Comphers came from Germany. They were farmers and Lutherans from the northwestern area then known as the Palatinate, now the region around the industrial city of Bremen, Germany. They immigrated to America for religious freedom, as did thousands of others.
The original spelling of the name was Kumpfer. In the History of Bedford, Somerest and Fulton Counties, Pennsylvania published in 1884; Phillip Compher is earlier referred to as Phillip Kumpfer.
There are still several Kumpfer families in Germany. Dr. Wolfgang Kumpfer, a biologist living in Bremen, wrote to explain the origin of Kumpfer. He states " a kumpf is a case filled with water, usually placed near the door, where people kept the stone for sharpening knives. The origin seems to be somewhere in Westphalia, near the western border of Germany, near to Belgium and the Netherlands".
The Kumpfer families who are still living in Germany and replied to my request for information on the family stated that during World War II families were requires to write a paper showing a three generations of family ascendants. After the war, most families destroyed these papers because they caused terrifying memories of the war.