Christian Michael ¹

   Other names for Christian were Christian Michel and Christian Mikell.

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Fact: 1765, Bethel Twp., Lebanon, PA. When Christian was married to Barbara their marriage record was recorded in the records of Rev. John Casper Stoever.
Stoever was an itinerant minister who rode a massive circuit across Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. An entry of "Bethel" does not necessarily mean the marriage took place inside a physical church building\emdash it frequently meant he performed the ceremony in a private home or a local gathering place within the township.
However, when the record is tied to a specific congregation, it refers to the Swatara Congregation (sometimes called the Bethel Congregation).
Here is the evolution of that specific church:
Swatara Congregation: Stoever organized the Lutherans in the Bethel Township area around 1740. They initially met in homes along the Little Swatara Creek and eventually built a log structure.
Indian Raids: That early log church was burned down in 1757 during the French and Indian War, forcing the congregation to return to worshipping in private homes for several years.
Die Ziegel Kirche (The Brick/Tile Church): In 1765, the congregation rallied and built a new church in the Mt. Zion area of Bethel Township.
Modern Counterpart: Today, the direct descendant of Stoever's "Bethel" congregation is the Zoar Evangelical Lutheran Church, located in Mt. Zion (Lebanon County).

Christian married Maria Barbara Eisenhauer, daughter of Hans Peter Eisenhauer and Elizabeth Graff, on 5 Mar 1765 in Bethel Twp., Lebanon, PA.¹ (Maria Barbara Eisenhauer was born on 22 Aug 1747 in Bethel Twp., Lebanon, PA ² and died in 1808 in , Rowan, NC ².)