The Ages of the Sons
The age of the boys as given in the petition was 18 and 16 ½ years respectively, the petition dated August 13th, 1762. The writer has reason to believe that the father had in mind their age at time of capture, that being the age given by my grandfather, who saw them both in later years, as well as their brother John who saw them being taken away. Besides, it is not likely that Joseph and Christian if they were only 13 and 11 ½ years old would pick up their guns to defend the family and beg their father to allow them to shoot, their parents belonging to the defenceless people. The writer has yet several palpable reasons why he thinks the father in giving their age had in mind the time of capture, but the reader can have his choice.
Taken from p. 43 of Descendants of Jacob Hochstetler, by Rev. Harvey Hostetler, D.D., 1912. This portion was prepared by William F. Hochstetler.
Some time ago we discussed the probable age of Joseph and Christian at the time they were taken captive. Here is an opposing view to what I stated. Later today I will try to return to the information on which I based my thinking. Mr. Hochstetler's arguments do not make sense to me.
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