This is the THIRTY-FIRST page of John BLANKENBAKER's series of Short Notes on GERMANNA History, which were originally posted to the GERMANNA_COLONIES Discussion List. Each page contains 25 Notes.
|
GERMANNA History Notes Page 31 |
Nr. 751:
At the start of the half-centuries in these notes, it has become customary to remark on their purpose, which is to promote an awareness of the Germans who lived in the Virginia Piedmont, the lands between the Tidewater and the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Tidewater lands extend from the ocean up to the Fall line where the waters from the Piedmont tumble down to more placid and deeper routes to the ocean. In 1714, Germans were among the first settlers of these foothills and their first settlement was called Germanna by Gov. Spotswood, after the reigning monarch, Queen Anne, and the Germans. The events which brought them to Germanna are very complex. The Germans stayed a little less than five years, and then moved to lands of their own in today's Fauquier County.
This first group was soon followed by more Germans who had been imported (a word which Gov. Spotswood himself chose) to populate lands when he wished to claim land on the western frontier. These Germans lived about two to five miles west of Germanna, and after seven years they moved to lands of their own in today's Madison County. The Germans continued to come to Virginia, apparently at first by direct importation through Virginia ports, but later by the Philadelphia route.
Even though only a minority of the Piedmont Germans were ever associated physically with Germanna, a geographical locality, the term has grown to encompass all of the Piedmont Germans. Because research is so geographically oriented, it is not reasonable to divide the Germans into groups; they interacted too much to make this a feasible course of action. In fact, they interacted so much with Germans outside the Piedmont area, and with Germans who lived only briefly in the Piedmont area, that it is impossible, and undesirable, to confine a discussion to the physical area defined by the Piedmont.
But still, to give some focus to the research, these notes are primarily concerned with the Piedmont Germans. Some of these people lived their entire lives here, while others only passed through and stayed but a brief time.
The Germanna Colonies list on which these notes appear is intended as a research tool by providing a communication opportunity among people who are interested in the Piedmont Germans. To enhance the value of the list, these notes try to provide general information with a broad interest to encourage people to read them. With more readers, the probability is higher that a question can find an answer. The topics covered in these notes vary widely; experience tells me that at least a few readers are interested in every subject. No individual is so isolated that he does not have a few descendants.
Nr. 752:
One of the success stories in finding a Germanna colonist has occurred in the last year and a half, and was the result of work by Louise and Jim Hodge, with some assistance from others. The man of interest to the Hodges was Charles Frady, nationality unknown. Though the name Frady looks simple, it just did not show in records before 1780. There were variants in the spellings, several in fact, which in itself is a clue that the name might not be English. In a 1790 Culpeper County, Virginia, deed the neighbors of Charles Frady had names appearing to be German, suggesting that Charles himself might be German. Plotting of the land confirmed that he was living in the Robinson River Valley where the German language church was the one known today as Hebron.
Looking through the records of the church, one article, recently translated from the German by Elke Hall, and published in Beyond Germanna, had a name that warranted more investigation, Carl Vrede. Checking with Elke, she suggested that a German pronouncing his Vrede name would be understood in English as Frady. So Charles Frady might be a case of converting the first name to the equivalent English name and of keeping the sound in the last name. Elke furthermore suggested that the name was unusual as it was not a southern German name but from farther north. The spelling of Carl with a "C" instead of a "K" also suggested this. In the church record, two other names which could also be "Frady" were Vorete and Wrede. The time of appearance, and the general locality in Germany from which the man could have come, suggested that perhaps he was a "Hessian", a soldier who was forced to come to America to fight for the British.
A search in the German telephone directory confirmed the general northern source of the name. But it also showed that the name might have been Wrede as that was a more popular name than Vrede.
Using both the names Vrede and Wrede, a search was made through the German military records of the men who served in America. The task was not especially easy because more than 30,000 Germans served in the war in America. A monograph was found which listed the Brunswick soldiers who deserted the English army. This included a Carl Simon Wrede who deserted at Winchester, in Virginia, in 1781; however, this monograph did not give any military units which would describe the service performed by Wrede or possibly his place of enlistment and other early details.
The information about Carl Simon Wrede was consistent with the known information about Charles Frady. He deserted in 1781, he was in the Hebron Church Register in 1782, and he was in the Culpeper tax lists of 1783. Obviously, he was readily accepted into the German community.
Later research has disclosed his military unit, his age, his height, his religion, and his general place of origin. He was not a Hessian but a Brunswicker. Knowing his military unit, it is possible to retrace his steps from his departure from Germany in 1776 until 1781. The majority of the time he was a prisoner of war, held either in Massachusetts, or in Virginia. It is very doubtful that he ever went back to Germany. Unfortunately, he is identified with more than one woman as his wife, which creates some doubts about who was the mother of his children. Very likely she, or they, came from the Robinson River community. So far, twelve children have been tentatively identified. Before long, he moved to North Carolina.
Nr. 753:
Besides Charles Frady (a.k.a. Carl Simon Wrede) of the last note, there were other Germans, on American soil in foreign armies during our Revolutionary War, who later were associated with the Hebron Lutheran Church. One of these was Georg Daniel Flohr who was in the French regiment, Royal Deux-Ponts, that was largely composed of Germans. We know something of Flohr because he left a diary of his experiences, in which he said the purpose was to describe towns, villages, hamlets, and plantations, as well as the habits and customs of the inhabitants. After the war was over, he returned to France and to Germany. He undertook a course of study in medicine but decided that the sight of blood was not to his liking. He returned to America and undertook a course of study in theology with Rev. William Carpenter at the Hebron Lutheran Church. We do not know why he chose to study here. He lived in Culpeper County and taught school while studying. By 1800, he had his own church(s) in southwestern Virginia where he lived out his life. He had a very open attitude toward dogma, as he had observed, while in the Deux-Ponts regiment, that the "natural religions" of Lutheranism, Reformed, and Catholic could all live together with the Baptists, Congregationalists, Quaker, Dunkers, Anabaptists, Jews, and Moravians. The story of Georg Daniel Flohr was told by Robert Selig in Beyond Germanna (BG 10:6:591ff).
During Rev. Carpenter's pastorate, the Hebron Church's organ was acquired in 1802. The "Kapellmeister" at the church was Frederic J. Schad, who was the organist and the music director. He also taught school. Schad was an ex-German soldier who chose to live in America. It would be desirable to know more about him.
The minister who followed Rev. Carpenter at Hebron was the son of another German soldier. This was the Rev. Michael Meyerhoeffer. (I keep hoping that Dr. Dorothy Boyd-Rush will reach into her history books and tell us more about this individual.)
It has been almost three weeks now since the November issue of Beyond Germanna was mailed to subscribers. This completed eleven years or sixty-six issues of it that have been published in a timely manner. A major portion of the issue is devoted to an in-depth examination of the Hebron Baptismal Register, which is not quite what it seems to be. The evidence is examined in considerable detail and the resolution of the apparent problems is given. One page of the issue is used to present an updated chart of the first three generations of the Rector family. This is the third time that a Rector chart has been presented, but it has been necessary to reissue the chart to stay up with the findings. Finally, the issue closes with a surname index to the volume. Volume number 12 should commence with the January issue.
Nr. 754:
The Lehman family has a one line statement in the publications of the Germanna Foundation. Thanks to Earl R. Layman who sent an article on the family, we can say something more about the family. It is believed that the patriarch of the American family was Peter Leman (Sr.) born about 1680, perhaps in Switzerland. He died before 11 Jun 1741 in Lancaster Co., PA. Richard Warren Davis in the book "Emigrants, Refugees and Prisoners", identifies him as an Anabaptist. By his first wife, Anna, he had five children:
After 1720 in Pennsylvania, he married Ann, with whom he had children:
A group of Bernese Mennonites emigrated from Berne, Switzerland, in 1671, according to the National Genealogical Society Quarterly. The family name of Leman is included, as well as other families who were early immigrants to Lancaster County in Pennsylvania. Most likely, the Lemans were immigrants in 1717, when about one thousand Germanic people left their homes for the New World. The will of Peter above names the eleven children above. The son Jacob of Peter (Sr.) had a son George, who married Elisabeth Bleistein on 17 Dec 1754, in Host Reformed Church in the Tulpehocken area of Pennsylvania. This George is believed to be the elder George who is named in the Hebron Church Register in Virginia. Over the course of several years, the family moved from Pennsylvania to the French Broad River, in what later became eastern Tennessee.
A Jacob Layman (1759-1841) noted in his Rev. War pension application that he returned home to Culpeper Co., VA, after each tour of duty. In 1778, George Layman is listed with land next to James Bohannon. In 1779, he bought 205 acres of land from John Wayland, and he was then a land owner next to John Deer. In 1786, perhaps about ten years after he came to the Robinson River Valley, George and Elizabeth Layman sold their 205 acres to Lewis Baker. Apparently a twelve-year mortgage was a part of the bargain, and when the due date came Lewis Baker still had not paid. It was necessary for a son to come from Tennessee to bring suit against Baker to secure payment.
From multiple sources, the children of George Layman and his wife Elizabeth Bleistein were:
More information about the family is contained in Howard Lehman Spessard's "A Brief History of the Lehman Family and Genealogical Register of the Descendants of Peter Lehman of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania". Short notes on the family have been carried in Beyond Germanna.
Nr. 755:
The Northern Neck boundaries were finally settled by an Order of the Privy Council on 11 April 1745. Altogether, it encompassed 5,280,000 acres, and included the present day counties of Northumberland, Lancaster, Westmoreland, Richmond, Stafford, Rappahannock, Fauquier, Culpeper, Frederick, Madison, Clarke, Warren, Page, Shenandoah, and, in West Virginia, Hardy, Hampshire, Morgan, Berkeley, and Jefferson. Prior to the Order of the Privy Council, Madison, Culpeper, and Rappahannock had not been included. The order also made some changes in the Shenandoah Valley. A survey of the region was undertaken, and was completed in 1746. Lord Fairfax returned to Virginia from England in May of 1747, and he resumed signing grants, transfers of land from himself to the purchasers.
To obtain a tract of land in the Proprietary, an individual appeared before the agent for Lord Fairfax and suggested the existence of a specific piece of vacant land. The buyer had first to find a piece of unclaimed land to purchase. When the individual made application he paid a set fee called the "composition". The agent then wrote a "warrant", which directed a specific surveyor to mark the property so described for the individual. The purchaser then made arrangements for the survey of the specified tract.
Once that the survey was completed, it, and the original warrant, were returned to the Proprietor's Office, where the agent, on behalf of the Proprietor, gave title in fee simple through an instrument called a grant. Besides the composition fee, the purchaser also had to pay an annual rent of two shillings sterling per hundred acres (sometimes stated as one shilling per fifty acres). An original parchment of the grant was given the owner, a record of this was made in a bound volume, and the warrant, survey, and supplemental papers were filed. These supplement papers could include many things, but often were intended to show the right of the person in whose name the grant was issued to have the grant. From the original warrant to the grant, there might be a change of rights to the land resulting from sale or death, and the supplemental documents were intended to show how the rights were transferred. Since the process from the warrant to the grant could take several years, it was not uncommon to have such a change of ownership. These supplemental documents were kept indefinitely in the Northern Neck office, unlike the Colonial Land Office, where they were destroyed annually.
In 1785, the Virginia General Assembly terminated the Proprietorship and had the records of the Northern Neck transferred to the Land Office. Besides the twenty-four bound volumes of the grants, the warrants, surveys, and supplemental papers were sent along also. The state of Virginia assumed the issuance of grants and continued in the last volume ("S") that the proprietor had been using. The supplemental papers were never recorded but were kept and finally transferred to the State Library.
Nr. 756:
The question was asked, "When could a man say that he owned the land specified in a grant?" As soon as he received his copy of the grant, he should have felt secure in saying it was his land; however, then as now, if you do not pay your taxes on the land, the state may take it away from you. If you did not pay the Northern Neck Proprietor the one shilling per fifty acres every year, then he could take the land back. So it was your land as long as you stayed current on your "tax" money.
All of those warrants and loose pieces of paper, that were filed with the Northern Neck Proprietor to support the grantee's right to have the grant issued in his (or her) name, ended up at the Library of Virginia. Peggy Shomo Joyner pulled these all together in a series of books. I have found them to be some of the best bedtime reading there is. Looking first in the book for Culpeper Co. and Augusta Co., for the period 1730 to 1754, here are some typical items:
Joseph Coant/Count, 7 Oct 1747 � 7 Oct 1747 [sic], [one document had the survey for both Count and John Crim. Crim's dates were 6 Aug 1747, 7 Oct 1747]; CC for both surveys: Frederick Fishbeg and Jno Button. Surv. George Hume. [The same names appear here as in Button grant.]
Henry Eiler [Aylor], 7 Mar 1747 � 4 Aug 1748; adj. Micael Kook/Cook, Capt. Rousie, Robert Tanner's pat. CC: Christopher Tanner & Michael Thomas. Surv. George Hume. [Only recently, after two hundred and fifty years, was it realized that Michael Thomas was Henry Aylor's brother-in-law. Christopher Tanner was also a brother-in-law of Henry.]
Frederick Fishback, 6 Aug 1747 � 6 Oct 1747. CC: Jno Crim & Jno Button. [The same names appear again] Surv. George Hume.
Andrew Gaar, 6 Aug 1747 � 21 Sept 1747; adj. Michael Smith, Theobald Critler [Crisler] Michael Caver [Kaifer], Adam Gaar. CC: Adam Gaar, John Couts. Pilot: Lorentz Gaar. Surv. James Genn. [Adam and Lorentz were sons of Andrew Gaar. The name Couts is not recognized.]
If anyone can fill in on the ones that I do not know, please speak up.
Nr. 757:
In going through the warrants and surveys from the Northern Neck, I am emphasizing the chain carriers. Some of the warrants and surveys mention our Germanna people but there are no chain carriers. I am skipping these now.
Thomas Kennerly, 2 Oct 1747 � 24 Oct 1747, 499 acres in the Great Fork on branches of Deep and Devel's Runs; adj. Joseph Bloodwork (now Capt. Roan's land), Samuel Coleman, Conrade Amburger, John Paul Vaught, Thornton's entry. CC: John Amburger and John Towles. Surv. James Genn.
John Kilvy [Kilby], survey undated, warrant 6 Aug 1747, 400 a. on a branch of Deep Run (called Falling Run on survey); adj. Jos. Bludworth (now Capt Roans), Jacob Manspike, George Martin. CC: Thomas Kennerly, John Ambargo [Amberger]. Marker: John Towles. Surv. James Genn.
Dr. William Lynn/Linn, 27 Feb 1747 � 15 Feb 1748/9; 378 a. in fork of Rappidan R. on Dark Run; neighbors included Long,Crest, Castler, Doughardy, others. CC: Wm. Givens, Christopher Moyer. Surv. George Hume.
Henry Otterback, 8 Oct 1747 � 6 Aug 1747 (sic), 200 a. in Little Fork. CC: Frederick Fishbeg & Jno Otterback. Surv. Geoge Hume.
John Sneider, 6 Aug 1747 � 25 Sept 1747; 364 a. on Deep Run; adj. Michael Smith, Francis Shirtley, John Huffman. CC: John Weelheyd [Willheit?] and Adam Whaland [Wayland]. Marker: John Thomas. Surv. James Genn.
John Towles, 6 Aug 1747 � 25 Sept 1747; 300 a. adj. John Kilvey. CC: Thomas Kennerly & John Ambargo. Marker: John Kilvy.
John Weelheyd, no warrant, date from survey, 6 Aug 1747 � 20 Oct 1747, 116 a. on Meander Run Mt. Tract, the German Road; adj. Tobias Weelheyd, Col. Beverley, Francis Kirtley. CC: Michael Smith, Tobias Weelheyd. Surv. James Genn. [John Willheit and Tobias Willheit were brothers.]
Nr. 758:
Continuing with the warrants and surveys in which Germanna people were mentioned, especially as chain carriers or markers, there are:
Joseph Williams, 1 Sep 1747 � 8 Oct 1747; 80 a. on S. side of Hedgeman R. in Little Fork; adj. William Picket. CC: Frederick Fishbeg & Joseph Duet. Surv. George Hume.
[Frederick Fishback was certainly active.]
John Zimmerman, 20 May 1748 � 14 Jul 1748; 556 a. on Muddy Run, Zimmerman's Mt.; adj. his old land and late survey, Maxfield, Henry Eiler [Aylor], Banks, Fleshman. CC: Zachariah & Michael Blankenbeeker. [His brothers-in-law served again.]
Over in Augusta Co. in the Shenandoah Valley, which originally was a part of Orange Co., the following warrants and surveys for the following grants appear:
Lawrence Garr of Culpeper, 4 Jan 1749/50 � 3 Feb 1750; 290 a. on S. Fork of Shannondoah; adj. Matthias Selser. CC: Tivall & Zacharias Blancumbaker. Surv. George Hume. [Turn about is fair play, Lawrence got Zach to carry the chains for him.]
Jacob Holtzclaw, assignee of Mathias Selcer, no warrant, date from survey, 20 Sep 1749 � 1Dec 1749; 401 a. on S. fork of Shan. R. CC: Micall Koffman & David Laudibouch. Surv. George Hume. [These CC may have been selected because they were in the Valley and Holtzclaw may have had to pay them.]
I emphasize that, when I give the relationship, it is known to me. When I do not give any relationship, regard it as ignorance on my part which someone else may be able to fill in.
Nr. 759:
Still quoting from the warrants and surveys:
The selections that I have given so far are from the Peggy Shomo Joyner's "Northern Neck Warrants & Surveys, Orange and Augusta Counties". Of the series that she published, this is volume 1. The following are taken from volume 3 for Dunmore, Shenandoah, Culpeper, Prince William, Fauquier, and Stafford Counties.
Adam Broyle, assignee of George Moyer; 10 Mar 1753 � 10 Apr 1753; 375 a. on Island Run, now called White Oak Run; adj. Moyer, Adam Yager, Michael Kafer, Christopher Moyer. CC: George Holt & Adam Wilhite. [Adam Wilhite married Catherine Broyles, which appears to make him an uncle of Adam Broyles. I am uncertain about George Holt. Incidentally, this land was the subject of a lawsuit between Adam Broyles and George Moyer which Broyles won.]
John Broyle, 21 Nov 1767 � 12 Apr 1768; 115 a. on Ragged Mt. CC: Michael & Matthew Broyles. [They were John's brothers.]
Nicholas Crigler once served as a chain carrier for Richard Burdine but I know of no relationship between the two. On another occasion, Paul Yowell was a chain carrier for Burdine, but I know of no relationship here either. Reginald Burdine served once as a chain carrier for his father. John Grissom/Gresham served once for his father-in-law, Richard Burdine.
Nicholas Cabler, surveyed 25 Oct 1750; 162 a. CC: David Jones & Christopher Cabler. Pilot: Frederick Cabler. Surv. Philip Clayton. [Nicholas and Christopher were brothers, and Frederick was probably their father. This land was in the Mt. Pony area of Culpeper Co.]
Nr. 760:
More warrants and surveys follow:
John Clore, Jr., assignee of John Stansifer, 6 Dec 1769 � 12 Apr 1770, on S. side of Pass Run. CC: Michael Clore and John Clore, Jr. [John Stansifer was John Clore's brother-in-law, Michael was his brother, and the second John Clore, Jr., may have been the John Clore for whom the land was intended, e.g., he carried the chains for himself.]
[The following warrant and survey show how involved the history of a piece of land could become.] Christopher Crigler, assignee (in 1765) of George Rootes; 6 Jul 1763 - resurveyed 22 Aug 1763; 422 a. formerly granted to Thomas Dimmack 13 Oct 1727, which appears to have been lapsed by the General Court of this Colony in 1732. Application was made by John Stubblefield who sold before he obtained a patent to Mr. Philip Rootes, dec'd. Rootes devised it to his son George Rootes, the now petitioner. CC: William Chapman and Christopher Crigler. [This one is confusing as the survey seems to have been made before Christopher obtained his rights.]
Nicholas Crigler, 17 Oct 1778 � resurveyed 25 Mar 1779; 339a. on Robinson R.; to add surplus land to the tract where he now lives. CC: Nicholas Crigler, Jr., and Matthew Rouse. [Nicholas, Jr. was only 17 years old.]
Deobald (Theobald) Cristler; assignee of Christian Tivall; 12 May 1752 � 17 Mar 1752/3; 62 a. on branches of Robinson R. CC: Lawrence Gar & Henry Tivall. [Lawrence Gar was the brother-in-law of Theobald Crisler. Who the Tivalls were is a mystery waiting for a solution.]
[Another involved piece of land follows.] John Dear, 25 Jun 1766 � no survey. 200 a.; John Dear having set forth to the office that John Creal on 3 Feb 1763 entered 200 a. on the Hazel R.; adj. Philip Hup [Hupp], William Paine, & John Dear, being part of a larger tract formerly granted to Francis Brown for 400 a. by deed 26 Nov 1749 of which 200 a. was conveyed to John Molear by said Brown, and Molear died intestate and without heirs. The same escheats to the Proprietor. John Creal refusing to prosecute his entry, John Dear makes applycation.
[It's Thanksgiving time and I will take a few days break here.]
Nr. 761:
Two grants which shows an involved history are these:
Adam Fisher, assignee of Lewis Fisher; no warrant, date from survey, 4 June 1763, resurveyed 30 Nov 1764; 238 a. � the remainder of a former survey made for Lewis Fisher excluding a patent granted to Thomas Dimack in 1727 for 500 a. in Spotsylvania (now Culpeper) and by Lewis Fisher's request is now returned in his son Adam Fisher's name; on the N. side of Round Hill Ridge; adj. Paul Planeanpetler [i.e., Balthasar Blankenbaker] now Lewis Fisher's, Dimmack. CC: Michael Planeanpetler and Adam Fisher. Surv. Richard Young. [Michael Blankenbaker was Adam's mother first cousin.]
More routines ones include:
Stephen Fisher had another grant in the same general area as the previous for which the same chain carriers served.
James Maxwell had a survey made for a piece of land in 1748 but he assigned the land to Lawrence Garr. The chain carriers were the selection of James Maxwell. The transfer of the land from Maxwell to Garr was witnessed by Zacharias Blankenbaker, Adam Cook, and Michael Koch. [Zacharias was the brother-in-law of Lawrence. Michael Koch was probably the immigrant and Adam Cook was probably his son.]
Nr. 762:
[I apologize for the time taken in discussing the warrants and surveys but I find them both interesting and instructive.]
Two years later, Reginall Burdyne also served again as a chain carrier for John Gresham.
John Huffman [the 1714 immigrant, now living in the Robinson River Valley], no warrant, 22 Apr 1752; 3,525 a., a tract whereon he lives on mouth of Deep Run and Robinson R. CC: William Lobb and William Jones. Surv. Philip Clayton. [With ten sons, why John Huffman had to get two other people to be chain carriers is a mystery. Another mystery is the note on the back side of the survey, "to be drawn and sent to Jacob Holtzclaw."]
William Huffman & Paul Huffman, 10 Jun 1766 � 17 Jun 1766; 58 a. in the Great Fork of Rappa. R.; adj. Frederick P(B)amgarner, Joseph James, John Snider, Kirtley's Road. CC: Charles Cox & Adam Smith. Surv. Richard Young. [Paul and William were sons of 1714er John Huffman, and were born in 1735 and 1737, respectively. Again, it is a mystery why they couldn't get some of their brothers to do the work. It is interesting to find Adam Smith as a chain carrier. He was the son of Michael Smith and Anna Magdalena Thomas. Adam was married twice, his first wife is totally unknown and his second wife is known only as Elizabeth. Adam was born at about the same time as the two Huffman men. The wife of Paul is unknown, the wife of William is Catherine.]
These examples show why the Warrants and Surveys are interesting.
Nr. 763:
[More warrants and surveys follow.]
John Francis Lucus Jacoby, 2 Mar 1773 � 18 Mar 1775; 368 a. on Eastham's R. & the Bastard Mt. At the foot of the Blue Ridge & foot of Peaked Mt.; adj. Presley Thornton, Esqr., John Oldham, Dad's line, by the Bear Waller; adj. Alexander McPherson. CC: Charles McQueen & James Browning. Surv. George Hume. [I wonder if "Dad's line" refers to the previous grant to Francis Jacoby. If so, Francis might have been very comfortable with the English language.]
Christopher Kabler/Cabler, 13 May 1762 � 17 May 1762; 136 a. in the Great Fork on the S. arm of "Mount Poney"; adj. Adam Yeager (now Conrad Kabler's), Timothy Scisk [or Seisk?]. CC: Conrad Kabler & Thomas Older. Surv. Richard Young. [Christopher and Conrad were brothers. Note that this is also a "connection" between the Yager and Kabler families. Adam Yager is often said to have married Susanna Kabler, but no proof is ever presented. Circumstantial evidence such as this makes the statement believable, but not necessarily true.]
[Leonard Ziegler was a chain carrier for Capt. Goodrich Lightfoot but this was probably a paid job, not a favor for a relative.]
[A "pilot" led the way for the surveying party and showed the line which was to be surveyed. The "marker" made monuments for the corners which might be a pile of rocks. Lines and corners might also be marked by blazed trees.]
Nr. 764:
[More grants, or more specifically, warrants and surveys preliminary to grants.]
[Conrad Wilhoit was the son of Tobias who was the son of Johann Michael Willheit. Conrad married Elizabeth Broyles. Adam Delph married Magdalena Aylor.]
Henry Otterback & John Button, no warrant, surveyed 20 July 1748; 198 a. & 214 a. on NW side of Red Oak Mt.; adj. Otterback's own land, William Harris, Capt. Grant, decd. CC: Frederick Fishback & Harmon Miller. Surv. John Baylis. [On the reverse the following appears] 11 Aug 1748 � Jacob Nay, 16 years old, an orphan, claims 100 a. within this survey bought by his Mother of Chas. Dewit. By Jacob Houlsclaw I am informed Nae has got 140 a. & is satisfied. Draw deed as surveyed. [Note that Jacob Holtzclaw seems to have a position of leadership and authority in the community.]
Adam, George, Frederick & Joel Pamgarner/Bumgardner, 12 Jan 1763 � 10 Mar 1763; 993 a. (593 a. surplus) on S. side Huffman's br.; from warrant � Adam Bumgardner hath informed of surplus land in bounds of a 400 a. tract granted to his father; from survey � tract formerly granted to Frederick Pamgarner 20 July 1736 who devised by will to his 4 sons; adj. John Huffman, Peter Weaver, Jett, Kirtley (now Joseph James). CC: Adam Broyle & John Fray. Pilots � Peter Weaver and John Wilhoit. Surv. Richard Young. [Frederick Baumgartner was a nephew of Michael Willheit so John Wilhoit [the exact one is not clear] is related to the Baumgartners.]
Nr. 765:
Most of the warrants and surveys that I have been quoting recently were in Culpeper County, which was created in 1748, and this included the modern counties of Madison and Rappahannock also. Some of the geographical locations are the Little Fork, the Robinson River Valley, and the Mount Pony settlement.
Zachariah Plancapetler, 25 Jul 1770 � 10 Sep 1770; 27 a. in the Robinson Fork; adj. his own land, Nicholas Yeager. CC: Zachariah Plancanpetler, Junior & John Plancanpetler. Surv. Richard Young. [Zachariah used two sons as chain carriers.]
Mathias Rouse, 4 Oct 1750 � 5 Dec 1750; 33 a. on fork of Robinson R., "a hillside near the old German Church"; adj. William Carpenter, decd, John Carpenter, George Utz. CC: John Carpenter & Nicholas Yager. Surv. Philip Clayton. [The "old German Church" is not the building we know as Hebron, as the Hebron Church would have been regarded as "new" in 1750. Prior to the existing building, there was a log chapel on about the same site. I have plotted this grant and it lies just to the north of the modern church building. Apparently this 33 a. fell into the cracks between the Carpenters and Utz and had remained unclaimed.]
[Yesterday, I had reservations about Harmon Miller, and I still do. They are as follows. The Miller family left Freudenberg in 1738 with only one son, Matthias, and he probably died en route, as there are no records for him in Virginia. The next sons are Haman and Harman who were born in the estimated years 1739 and 1741, respectively. The two are very often confused in the records but are distinct people. According to the warrant I quoted from in the last note, Harman Miller was a chain carrier in 1749. He could hardly have been more than ten years old which would seem to preclude his being a chain carrier. Family researchers say the first record for John Frederick Miller was in the modern Patrick-Henry County area in the spring of 1748. If he were there in the spring of 1748, how could Harman be in Culpeper Co. less than a year later? All of this is a little disturbing to me and suggests there is more to the story than I know.]
Nr. 766:
[More warrants and surveys follow.]
James Shirley, 7 Jul 1769 � 2 Jan 1770; 55 a. waste land between 3 tracts lately belong to Philip Roots on drs. of Quaker Run, a br. of Robinson R.; adj. 2 patents granted William Rush & Benjamin Walker (now Root's), Thomas Phillips (now Roote's). CC: Thomas Garrett [probably Garriott] and James Sherly, Junr. Surv. Richard Young. [Shirley and Garriott family members married members of the Germanna families besides each other.]
Henry Souther, no warrant, date from survey 28 Mar 1748 � 12 Aug 1748; 324 a. in fork of Rapidan in Orange; adj.William McDonnach. CC: Daniel Crisler and Steven Hansburger. Surv. George Hume. [Probably the name Souther was derived from the German Sauder. I cannot place Daniel Crisler.]
John Tacquet, assignee of Francis Brown for whom surveyed; 24 Jun 1752 � 1 Jun 1757; 367 a. on brs. of Potato run in the Great Fork of Rappahannock; adj. Timothy Sisk, Frederick Cabler in warrant and Conrode Cabler in survey. CC: Thomas Brown & Christopher Cobler. [The Kabler and Brown families seem to be close, but a closer connection may have existed between John Tacquet and Thomas Brown.]
Nr. 767:
[Still in Culpeper/Orange County with warrants and surveys]
Tilman Viscarber [Weisgarber], assignee (in 1751) of Thomas Corbin for whom surveyed; 3 Feb 1747/8 � surveyed n.d.; 329 a. in fork of Krooked Run; adj. George Fairfax, Esqr., Gabriel Jones, Antony Scott, Mr. Green. CC: Ambrose Corbin & Gabriell Murphew. Surv. George Hume.
Elizabeth Waters, no warrant, date from survey, 7 Mar 1747/8 � 1 Apr 1748; 280 a. in the Goard Vine Fork, Orange Co.; adj. Francis Kooper. CC: Richard Nall, Jno Kooper. Surv. George Hume.
John Wayman, assignee of Murdock McKenzey; no warrant, resurveyed 4 Nov 1767 for McKenzey; 156 a. adj. Col. William Beverley. On a survey made 8 Apr 1761, 211 a. of Col. Beverley's was included & now removed. CC: Thomas Jordan & Francis Cooper. Surv. Richard Young.
Peter Weaver, no warrant, date from survey, 13 May 1762 � 10 Jun 1762; 1295 a. I have resurveyed round the bounds of a patent granted to Peter Weaver for 400 a. on 20 Jul 1736 & his property of a patent formerly granted to George Moyer 28 Sep 1728 of which 189 a. conveyed to Weaver by Moyer 10 Jan 1745. On Beaverdam Run; adj. Frederick Pamgarner, Michael Stolts, George Moyer, John Huffman. CC: Andrew & William Carpenter. Surv. Richard Young. [Andrew Carpenter was Peter Weaver's son-in-law. William was the brother of Andrew. Peter Weaver died a short time after this.]
Tilman Weaver [this is from the First Colony Weavers as opposed to the Second Colony Weavers, of which Peter Weaver was the head.] of Prince William Co. [Fauquier Co. had not been formed yet]; 11 Dec 1747 � surveyed n.d.; 400 a. on Negro Run, a poysond [poisoned] hill in the Little Fork [of Orange Co. at the time] ; adj. John Button & Charles Dewit, Capt. Green. CC: Frederick Fishback & William Tapp. Surv. James Genn. [It is remarkable how many times that Frederick Fishback served as a chain carrier in the Little Fork area. Perhaps he was putting his knowledge of the region to use.]
Nr. 768:
[In the last note reference was made to a "poisoned field". I asked John Gott once what this meant, and he said a poisoned field was the result of native Americans burning the trees to produce a pasture, which was attractive to deer, who would come there to eat. Need I say more?]
In 1762, Francis Jacoby was a witness to the transfer of land to John Strother.
John Wilhoit, assignee (in 1757) of William Rumsey for whom surveyed 1 May 1753 -- 12 Oct 1753; 403 a. on Pignut Ridge on N. Thornton R.; adj. John Strother, John Manifield/Manify, Jones, warrant shows also Martin Harden & John Botts. CC: John Cheek and Martin Trew. Surv. Richard Young. NB -- This deed to be made out to Isaac Settle of Prince William. [I guess that John Wilhoit sold the property to Isaac Settle.]
John Wiyland, assignee of Adam Barler; no warrant, date from survey, 25 Aug 1758 -- surveyed for Wiyland 28 Mar 1761; 237 a. on a br. of Deep Run, by Towle's Path leading to Tenant's Church; adj. John Hughman/Huffman, John Snyder, Michael Smith, John Wieland's own land, Henry Field. CC: Adam Barler & Zacharias Smith. Surv. Richard Young.
John Yeager, son & assignee (in 1753) of Adam Yeager/Ayger; 19 Apr 1753 -- 14 Aug 1753; 130 a. on branches of White Oak Run; adj. his own, Matthias Smith, Andrew Garr. CC: George Moyer, Jr., Jacob Barlor. Marker: John Floyd. Surv: Philip Clayton. [As far as I can tell, Moyer and Barlor were just neighbors.]
John Yeager, 11 Feb 1764 -- 17 Apr 1764; 183 a. on Robinson fork on spurs of the Double Topp; adj. Capt. John Rootes, Christopher Dickens. CC: James Hinson & Nicholas Wilhoit. Surv. Richard Young.
David Yewell, 24 Aug 1748 -- 3 Dec 1748; 53 a. in the Great Fork of the Rappahannock on top of the Long Mt. in Orange [Orange still included old Culpeper at this date]; adj. Robert King. CC: Christopher & James Yewell. Surv. George Hume.
Nr. 769:
John Yowell, 7 Mar 1770 � 22 May 1770; 29 a. on N. br. of Robinson R.; adj. his own land, George Roe [Row/Rowe], Powell. CC: James Hurtt & Nicholas Wilhoite. Surv. Richard Young.
Frederick Zimmerman, 1 May 1762 � 19 May 1762; 27 a. in the Great Fork of Rappa.; adj. Charles Carter, Esqr., James Conners, the Parish line, the Rev. John Thompson (the Glebe Land). CC: John Ballenger, Morgan Murrah. Surv. Richard Young. [Rev. John Thompson married the widow of Alexander Spotswood and lived at Salubria very close to where the Zimmermans lived.]
Frederick Zimmerman, 15 Aug 1764 � 17 Dec 1764; 80 a. near Mt. Run in Great Fork Rappa. & E. side Mountpony [Mt. Pony]; adj. Charles Carter, Esqr., Edward Ballenger, Sr., John Pitcher, Nicholas Kabler. CC: Conrad Kabler & Thomas Bryan.
[Frederick Zimmerman in the previous two warrants/surveys was a half-brother of John Zimmerman in the following. The two men lived in distinctly different areas, with John in the Robinson River Valley.]
John Fishback of Stafford Co.; 20 Nov 1730 � 1 Apr 1731; 1,028 a. on brs. of Broad Run of Occoquan, Broad Run Mt., br. of Goose Creek; adj. John Towards. Surv. John Warner. [The time of this was just about the same time as the County of Prince William was being formed from Stafford and King George.]
Peter Hitt, Jr., 6 Jun 1746 � 7 Feb 1746/7; 276 a. near Rosser's br.; adj. Joseph Martin, Mr. Richard Buckner & Willis, Peter Kemper, Henry Martin (survey shows Joseph Martin). CC: Henry and Hermon Hitt. Pilot: Joseph Williams. Surv. James Genn. NB � Peter Hitt desires deed issue to his son Peter Hitt.
Nr. 770:
[More warrants and surveys from Prince William County.]
Jacob Holtzclaw, no warrant, surveyed 12 Jun 1731; 362 a. at Broad Run Mt., a br. of Goose Crk.; adj. Fishback. Surv. John Warner.
John Kemper/Kempar, no warrant, date from survey, 4 Apr 1740 � 30 Apr 1740; 362 a. on ye Great Run, a br. of Rappa.; adj. his own land, Thomas Lee, Esqr., Major Richard Buckner, decd., warrant adds Peter Kemper. CC: Peter Kempar & William Kerns. Surv. John Savage. N.d. � "in the name of Heni, Catharina, & Maria Kemper."
Peter Kemper, 6 Jul 1745 � 10 Jul 1745; 187 a. on brs. of Carter's Run, Rosser's Run; adj. in warrant � between lines of Michael Meldrum, James Crapp, John Dagy; in survey � Benjamin King, Buckner. CC: John Rosser & Jacob Smith. Pilot � Joseph Williams. Surv. James Genn.
Nathan Ricter/Rickter & John Ricter, 28 Nov 1740 � 10 Dec 1740; 115 a. on naked Mt. above ye great Run of Rappa.; adj. John Kemper. Surv. John Savage. pd by Tim: (?) Redding Father in Law [actually he was the boy's step father] to John Ricter & Nathan Ricter in whose names the deed is to be drawn.
Tillman Weaver, no warrant, surveyed 7 Nov 1740; 539 a. in Hamilton Parish & brs. of Cromey's Run; adj. Mr. Ball. CC: Jacob Holtzclaw & John Richter. Pilot � Thomas Barton. Surv. Joseph Berry.
Tillman Weaver, 5 Apr 1751 � 1 Jun 1751; 221 a. In Culpeper Co. on Crummel's Br.; adj. Thornton, Charles Burgess, decd., Charles Taylor's Settlement. CC: John Houlsclaw & Francis Littel. Surv. George Hume.
Nr. 771:
[Fauquier County is now the scene of the action.]
Mr. John Peter Kempar, 6 Nov 1775 � 10 Nov 1775; same land for which Minor Winn, Senr. obtained a warrant 13 Mar 1775 (not executed); house on plat; 70 a. one half mile from Kempar's Mill Run & ca. two and one half miles from Fauquier Court House; adj. his own land, Harmon Button, Col. Richard Henry Lee, Mr. Hooe. CC: John Kemper & Jacob Button. Surv. John Moffett. [Note that John Peter Kempar is called "Mr.".]
[Now we move to Stafford County.]
John Fishback/Fischback, no warrant, date from survey, 8 Oct 1724 -10 Apr 1725; 592 acres between Bull and Broad Runs. Surv. John Savage. [Five years, from 1719, and John Fishback was adding to his land holdings beyond what he had in the Germantown tract.]
Jacob Holtzclaw, no warrant, surveyed 27 Oct 1724; 496 acres on Broad Run, adj. William Stone. Surv. Thomas Barber. [Holtzclaw was also adding to his holdings. Both men must have felt confident.]
John & Jacob Kemper & Henry & Mary Martin, 10 Jan 1728/9 � 20 Mar 1728/9; 327 acres and 327 acres adjoining & to be in 2 deeds; on N. fork Rappa.; adj. Peter Kemper. Surv. John Warner.
Nr. 772:
The warrants and surveys which I have been quoting come from two of four books, which Peggy S. Joyner has published. All four of these books, which are really volumes of one common theme, are:
Ms. Joyner's address, as of 1990, was 3113 Riveredge Drive, Portsmouth, VA 23703.
Anyone working on land problems in the Northern Neck should also obtain copies of the two volumes of "Northern Neck Land Grants", by Gertrude Gray. The information in these two books is also available from the State Library in Virginia, but Gray's books are so much easier to use than the card index of the State Library. What is great about the State Library is that one can down load an actual copy of a grant in a few minutes work.
It is a lot of fun to work out the plots of land ownership. Then, as one drives over the territory, you can say to yourself, for instance, "This is where Michael Kaifer lived." But, I have noted the frustrations of working with the patents and grants. When I come back in a reincarnation, maybe I will devote myself to land research. In the life after, maybe it will be spent in research on the records in England. Copies of many of these are available in the Virginia State Library, which has an online search system for the copies that they do have. Unfortunately, these records are not available for downloading. And, if I were to have still another life, working on the German church records would be a challenge.
Alas, there is so much to do and so little time left. What we can hope to do is to build in such a way that people in the future can extend our work.
Nr. 773:
I mentioned the books (two) of Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants published by Gertrude Gray. Here is a typical abstract from them.
The "G" tells us the grant is filed in book G, on page 40, where the complete information is given. We must use our imagination in reading the names. If we did not do so, we might miss that this was John Willheit. (The land fell into Madison County several decades later, but, at the time, it was in Orange Co. Very soon after this, the new county of Culpeper was formed.) In general, the abstract gives the pertinent data about the size and date. Any information in the original grant that would help to locate the tract of land is repeated in the abstract. This includes neighbors, streams, and roads. Occasionally a grant will contain none of these items in it, which makes its placement difficult.
Armed with the knowledge that the grant is book G, on page 40, I could go immediately to the Virginia State Library files (via computer) and get a copy of it.
The Library files have an online card index to these grants, but it is slow to use. It takes a lot of thumbing to scan all of the possible spellings. This is why Gray's book is so valuable. One can peruse and study the abstracts to find the grants that are of interest. As soon as one receives one grant, say the one above for John Willheit, then one starts wondering about Col. Beverley's tract, etc. It's an ever expanding circle. But, typically, one encounters grants (or patents) which do not have any more new references in them. Also, one finds references to grants and patents which are not to be found.
The grants are recorded one per page, unlike the patents where more than one may appear on a page. (Many times, with a patent, one retrieves a page only to find that it continues on the next page which requires another retrieval.) For both patents and grants, I have been amazed at the quality which one receives back on the net. In some cases (John Huffman's large final patent is one), the document is simply not readable, especially in the essential parts, like the course bearings and the distances. Overall, the quality of the survey and the writing for the grants is better than for the patents.
There is an index of surnames in Gray's books. This permits fast scanning and looking for names, especially the variations. The neighbors are indexed also so one could use the index for other grants which refer to John Willheit as a neighbor. But I like to read the abstracts, one by one, and put check marks by the interesting ones.
Nr. 774:
Returning to Volume I of Joyner's Warrants & Surveys, there is a section of Tithables in Orange County for the years 1736 to 1739. They are not complete. Why only sections of the original larger lists were saved is not known. The more important fact for us is that several of the sections which have been saved pertain to the Robinson River community.
There is an amusing aspect to the lists, in that the spelling sets new lows. It was not just the Germans who had their names butchered; the poll takers were indiscriminate in their machinations. David Phillips, Constable, used these spellings of German names in his 1736 list:
In 1737, he did better on some of the names, but there was no general improvement:
A list of more interest (to me, at least) was made by John Mickell in 1739:
If one takes a map of the original patents (this area was not recognized as a part of the Northern Neck in 1739, so there were no grants yet), one finds that the list maker was going over the ground in a logical fashion. Nearly always the next name is a neighbor of the previous name. So one can put this principle to work in placing the patents. And the reverse is also true, if one has some notion of the plots than this makes the interpretation of the names easier. It is valuable information to have. In addition to the purposes just cited, one can look for extra names and missing names.
Nr. 775:
If you have a few ancestors from Great Britain, you may want to note that there is a book due out before long, the 106th edition of Burke's Peerage & Baronetage. It has been 29 years since the previous edition appeared. The original book first appeared in 1828. The newest edition is the result of fifteen editors who have spent 1.2 million dollars in bringing the book forth. The two volume set weighs 26 pounds and will cost $395. The expected press run is 4,000 copies. Oscar Wilde called it, ". . .the best thing in fiction that the English have ever done."
What are the chances that you descend from royalty? Actually quite good, as Edward III, of the 14th century, had 13 legitimate and 4 illegitimate children. Descent from Henry I is even more likely, as he was earlier, in the 12th century, and he fathered 25 illegitimate children. This latest edition of Burke's attempts to list all of the children, both legitimate and natural. It will be impossible though to carry these down to the present.
Some of the illegitimate children achieved fame and standing by their own efforts. William the Conqueror was known first, for good reason, as William the Bastard, who was the result, according to Burke's, of a dalliance, unsolemnized by the Church, between a tanner's daughter and a reigning Duke.
The first edition of Burke's was published by John Burke. It was his son, Bernard, who created the position for Burke's that it has today. Bernard had a total indifference to truth. He was happy to publish any wild tale that was submitted to him. On the theory that the oldest lineage was the best, some families "borrowed" names and history from other families. To fill in some of the blanks, stained glass windows with the appropriate dedication were made by one family. Burke's became, one man said, "Impossible men with impossible names . . . doing impossible acts in impossible places at impossible times." Of course, we wouldn't do anything like that, would we? No, we are enlightened people now, dedicated to the truth.
A modern version of Burke's is the data base in a computer. Whole histories of families are maintained there. What is the criterion for entry of information? Only that you are capable of transferring a set of magnetic impressions from one hard drive to another hard drive. Though we laugh at what has been done in Burke's, we are even more guilty of spreading impossible "truths".
A little truth in advertising compels me to say that this note is based on a story in the last issue of the Smithsonian magazine (December 1999), by Richard Conniff. It might be noted that the Smithsonian Institution is the result of the efforts of James Smithson, the illegitimate son of a Duke of Northumberland.
John Button, 6 Aug 1747 � 8 Oct 1747; 100 a. in the Little Fork "where he now lives". CC: Frederick Fishbeg & James Williams. Surv. George Hume. [The two dates are of the warrant and of the survey. CC stands for chain carriers, the men who carried the heavy chains of the surveyor. This was hard work. I have been impressed by the number of times that the grantee asked a relative to carry the chains. As we look at some of these warrants, I know some of the relationships and will call them out. Perhaps readers can add to the information. Fishbeg is a misspelling of Fishback.]
Jacob Holtzclaw of Prince William Co. [this was before Fauquier Co. was formed], 2 Oct 1747 � 29 Feb 1747/8, 1300 acres. The chain carriers were Frederick Fishback & William Tapp. The marker was John Young. [The marker led the surveying party and pointed out the route or boundaries. I believe that John Young was a nephew of Jacob.]
John Zimmerman, 6 Aug 1747 � 23 Sep 1747; 400 a. on N. side of said Zimmerman's land where he dwells; adj. Huffman, John Sutton. CC: Zachariah Blankenbeeker, Michael Blankenbeeker. Marker � John Zimmerman, Jr. Surv. James Genn. [Zimmerman, Sr., came up with two brothers-in-law, brothers of his wife Ursula Blankenbaker.]
Zachary Blankenbaker/Blankenbeeker, 4 Jan 1749/50 � 2 Feb 1749/50; 440 a. on Line Run neigh Shenandoah R., S. side thereof; adj. Phillip Long. CC: Nicholas Long & Lawrence Gar. Surv. George Hume. [Zach should have asked John Zimmerman, but he found another brother-in-law to do the dirty work. Lawrence Gaar married Dorothy Blankenbaker, Zach's sister. Concerning the Longs, I know nothing except they do appear in conjunction with the Germanna people.]
Jacob Holtzclaw of Prince William Co. 5 Apr 1751 � 6 May 1751; 104 a. on Shannandoah where he lives. CC: Herman Houltclaw & Joseph Strickler. Surv. George Hume. [The suggestion that Jacob lived on the Shenandoah was probably a mistake. Apparently, he had his son Harmon serve as chain carrier. It is interesting that Harmon had a daughter who married a Stribling which is not too far from Strickler.]
Michael Blankenbeker of Orange Co. 20 Sep 1748 � 17 Nov 1748; 50 a. at head of Pass Run in the Great Fork; adj. his own land. CC: Lawrence Garr and Jacob Blankenbaker. [Michael snagged his brother-in-law and brother.]
John Button, surveyed 18 Apr 1752; original warrant was issued to Richard Jones but assigned to Button; 472 a. in Little Fork. CC: Edmond Brouning (Browning?) & Samuel Scott.
John Carpenter, surveyed 11 Apr 1753; 1245 a. on White Oak Run. [Many Germanna neighbors are given.] CC: Peter Weaver and (damaged). [I know of no direct relationship between Carpenter and Weaver except that John's son Andrew married Peter's daughter Barbara. Barbara had been married to George Clore but he died in 1751 and she married Andrew.]
Henry Ealer (probably Aylor), 26 Feb 1776 � resurveyed 10 Apr 1776; 422 a. on Deep Run in the Great Fork being the same land granted to Joseph Bloodworth by King's patent; adj. James Newman & said Ealer. CC: Thomas Chissell & Tivolt Fife. Surv. George Hume. NB � This land first taken up by Joseph Bloodworth who conveyed to Roan who conveyed to Thomas Newman & Thomas Porter who conveyed to Ealer. [I would appreciate learning more about the names Ealer, Chissell, and Fife.]
Stephen Fisher, 3 Nov 1769 � 23 May 1770; 216 a. near Milam's Pass on the Blew Ridge, part in Culpeper and part in Frederick; adj. near his Lordship's Manor Line on top of the Ridge. CC: Adam Fisher & James Hobbs. Surv. Richard Young. [Adam was Stephen's brother.]
Lawrence Garr, 5 Mar 1750/1 � 22 Mar 1751; 50 a.; adj. Adam Garr, John Carpenter. CC: Andrew Garr and Michael Blankenbaker. [Andrew was his brother and Michael was the brother-in-law of Lawrence.]
John Grissum/Gresham, no warrant, surveyed 31 Aug 1757; 27 a. on Banks Mt.; adj. Thomas Farmer (now the Dutch Glebe Land). CC: Riginal Burdyne & James Shearer. Surv. Richard Young. [Poor Reginald Burdyne; no one could get his given name correct. In the Culpeper Classes he is Oreginal. At the "Dutch" church he was called Richard once. Notice how the German Lutheran Church is referred to, as the "Dutch" church. No wonder so many of our ancestors came from Holland! Oh yes, Reginald was the brother-in-law of John Gresham. The Burdynes are a Germanna family as the patriarch of the family, Richard Burdyne, married Catherine Tanner (Gerber) and therefore all Burdynes have a Germanna ancestor.]
Henry Huffman/Hoffman, 10 Sep 1766 � 10 Oct 1766; 369 a. to include his patent[ etc., etc.]. CC: Herman & Joseph Huffman. Pilot: Frederick Fishback. Surv. Richard Young. [This is the Little Fork Huffman, not to be confused with John Henry Hoffman in the Robinson River Valley. It would not be much of a stretch of the imagination to believe the chain carriers were related to the grantee.]
John Francis Lucus Jacobi, escheated from John Daniel Jacoby; 23 May 1772 � resurveyed 2 Oct 1772; 341 a. adj. Capt. Compton. CC: William McClanihan & Daniel Jacoby. Surv: Richard Young. From the warrant: Francis Jacoby hath informed there are ca. 300 a. which his father John Daniel Jacoby by his last Will & Testament divised to his eldest son, Francis, on Condition he should have land valued and pay to his Brothers and Sisters a certain proportion. John Daniel Jacoby departed this life an Alien & the will is not valid in Law & the land escheats to the Proprietor. P.S. The above petitioner says he spells his name thus John Francis Lucas Jocobi. [Francis Jacoby married Johanna Frederika Lotspeich in London, and the larger Jacoby family came to Virginia shortly before the time of this warrant. The father died shortly after their arrival, but had appointed Francis his attorney; the other children were minors. I would like to contact individuals who know more about the Jacoby and Lotspeich families. The Lotspeich family is German and the nationality of the Jacobi family is not so clear to me.]
Adam Kilby, 16 Mar 1776 � 9 Apr 1776; 42 a. in the Great Fork about two miles from the Hazel R.; adj. John Kilby, decd, himself, John Vawter, William Thompson, John Reynolds. CC: John Kilby & Jonathon Wall. Surv. George Hume. [I threw this warrant in because of the names which often appear in the extended region around the Germanna community.]
Jacob Manspile, 29 Mar 1779 � 17 July 1779; 817 a. includes the surplus in a tract granted to him by patent from the Crown 3 Oct 1731 (400 a. patented land & 417 a. surplus); adj. his old lines, Henry Aylor. CC: Adam Delp [Delph] & Conrod Wilhoit. Surv. George Hume. [One interesting point about this grant is that it was made during the Revolutionary War. The grantor was Thomas Lord Fairfax, perhaps considered by some to be an English citizen; however, the government of Virginia considered him as a Virginian for he had lived many years in Virginia, and he was allowed to continue to make grants during the Revolution. After the Revolution, he died without any direct heirs, and some relations in England came forth to claim his rights. The State of Virginia would not allow these people to continue as Proprietors and settled with them to terminate their claim.]
Jacob Nay of Orange; no warrant, date from survey, 10 Jan 1748 � 24 Jan 1748 [the year by our calendar would have been 1749]; 146 a. on branches of Negro Run [upper part of the Little Fork]; adj. William Harris, Charles Dewit, Otterback, Button. CC: Harman Miller & Joseph Conts (?)[no doubt Countz or Koontz]. Surv. John Baylis. [Harman Miller was the son of John Frederick Miller, who came from Freudenberg in 1738 on the ship Oliver; however, I am going to think some more about this statement and may report more.]
Zachariah Plancapetler/Plankelbeeler, 30 Apr 1770 � 21 May 1770; 50 a. in the Robinson Fork; adj. his own land, Nicholas Wilhoite. CC: John Garr & John Planeapetler. Surv. Richard Young. [Once that we get over the hurdle that the names have not been spelled even reasonably well, we might observe that Zachariah had a son John and a nephew John Garr. I am not positive where the Fork of the Robinson was located, though I think it was in the upper reaches. The spelling shows why not too much reliance should be placed on an index. Sometimes the best thing to do is simply read the whole book.]
Martain, Matthew & Adam Rouse; 7 Mar 1747/8 � 14 Jun 1748; 318 a. on White Oak Run in the fork of Rapidan R.; adj. Micall Holt. CC: Adam Eager [Yager] and Micall Holt. Surv. George Hume. From warrant � Mary Rouse, widow of John Rouse late of Orange Co. having set forth by Petition that her said husband being a German & neglecting to naturalize Himself died an Alien, Pray his Lordship will give his land to his 3 sons, Martain, Matthew & Adam Rouse according to the will of their father. His Lordship consented. Martin, Matthew & Adam Rouse advised by Adam Eager, Micall Holt, Adam Wilhide & Micall Cafer, desire one deed in their 3 names. They would divide the land & their mother should have her Life in the plantation where she now lives. [Now follows something which seems chronologically out of place.] 7 Jan 1741/2 � By vertue of an Exheat [Escheat] Warrant from the Secretaries Office at Williamsburg, surveyed for Mr. John Grame, Gent., of the College of William and Mary, being part of the a 600 a. patent to John Rouse; 305 a. on White Oak Run; adj. Micall Holt, Thomas Wayland. Surv. J. Wood. 10 Sep 1741 � Surveyed for Richard Quin, 800 a. in fork of Rappahannock R. on Derby's Run; adj. Charles Blunt, Benjamin Cave. This tract formerly surveyed 28 Sep 1728, but survey is incorrect. Surv. J. Wood. [The best that I can make this all out is that half of the original Rouse patent of 610 a. reverted to the colony [Crown, more exactly], perhaps because of a lack of development. John Grame obtained a title to this. The other 305 a. of the original Rouse tract went by Mary Rouse's petition to the three sons. What the remarks about Quin was doing in this document is a mystery. If anyone can improve on this interpretation, please speak up.]
George Utz, 16 Jun 1763 � resurveyed 14 Jul 1763; 472 a. to include surplus in 2 patents of 312 a. and 78 a. granted Utz 24 Jun 1726 (surplus 82 a.); on Robinson R. & Island Run alias White Oak Run; adj. Adam Wyland & the Island Run Tract[?]. CC: Michael Yeager and John Plancanpetler. Pilot � George Utz. Surv. Richard Young. [George Utz seems to be the immigrant of 1717, and John Blankenbaker was probably his son-in-law. Michael Yager was probably the son of Adam Yeager, with no relationship to George Utz.]
Michael Wilhite, assignee of Isaac Smith, assignee (in 1763) of Enoch Hill who had survey returned in Smith's name; 13 May 1762 -- 14 Apr 1763; 265 a. on S. side the Double Top Mt. on Rappadan & Stanton's R.; adj. Mr. Zachary Lewis. CC: Enoch Hill & William Knight. Pilot -- Isaac Smith. Surv. Richard Young. Witnesses to transfer from Hill to Smith were Richard Young, Isaac (X) Smith, Matthew (X) Knight. [Michael Wilhite was not involved in the preliminary parts and he acquired the land after almost everything was settled.]
Christopher Yewell, no warrant, date from survey, 24 Aug 1748 � 3 Dec 1748; 80 a. adj. his own land, John Thomas. CC: David & James Yewell. Surv. George Hume.
John Zimmerman, no warrant, resurveyed n.d.; (a 400 a. tract surveyed for Zimmerman 24 Mar 1734) 805 a. in the Great Fork of the Rappa.; adj. Peter Fleshman, John Huffman, Richard Burdyne, John Shepard. CC: John Sheppard & John Fleshman. Surv. Philip Clayton.
[We now move to Prince William County where we find some members of the First Germanna Colony.]
Henry Holtzclaugh, no warrant, surveyed 12 Jun 1764; 100 a. on Broad Run; adj. his own land, Mr. Thornton, Capt. William Tebbs, Col. Cock (sold to Capt. James Tebbs). CC: George Adams & Benjamin Bristow. Surv. John Moffett.
Harman Fishback of Prince William; Feb 1753 � 18 Apr 1753; 179 a. on the Long br. & Goose Creek; adj. Charles Taylor, Benjamin Ashby. CC: David Robinson & Jacob Rector. [John Rector, son of Hans Jacob Richter, was married twice, the second time to Catherine Taylor Robinson. Her father was Charles Taylor. David Robinson was Catherine Taylor Robinson Rector's eldest son (who sued his mother). It has been a question as to who was the mother of Jacob Rector, the first or second wife of John Rector. This document does not answer the question. It is interesting that Harman Fishback picked two sons of John Rector as chain carriers. For any good reason? Jacob Rector's wife is known only as Jane, maiden name unknown, if anyone is curious.]
John Fishback & John Hoffman & Jacob Holtzclaw, no warrant, surveyed n.d.; 1805+ acres on Licking run. Surv. Thomas Barber. (Grant was dated 22 Aug 1724, NN Grant Book A, p. 63.) [The First Colony had been living on this land for five years before the grant was issued. The problem was a death in the Fairfax family.]
G�40. John Welkeyd of Orange Co.; 116 A. in Orange Co. Surv. Mr. James Genn. By Col. Beverley's Meander Run Mt. Tract, Tobias Weelkeyd, by the German Road, Francis Kirtley. 13 Feb 1747.
John Hufmon, Cotley broyle, William offill, Mark Fink, John hanchbirque, Nicholas Yeagoe, Adam Yeagoe, Larance Christ, George Long, Willim Caphinder, George Myers, Andrew Garr, Christopher parter, Denel Christler, Micale Smith, Michale Copher, Thos Weland, Andrew Kerkar, John Rouse, Mathias Kaseler.
Peter Rucker, William offill, Lerance Chrise, John Hufmon, Cortley broyle, Andrew Careker, Andrew Carr, William Carpinter, Michale Cook, George Myers, Michale Capher, Michale Smith, Nicheles Yeage, Adham Yeago, Mathias Caselear, George Long, Mark fink, Mathias Smith, Christopher Taner, Michale Holt.
Tobias Wilhite, John Stolts, Frederick Bumgarner, Christopher Moyers, Peter Weaver, Michaell Wilhite, George Woods, Pals Blunkabeamer, Ludwick ffisher, Mathias Blunkabeaner, Nicholas Blancabeaner, George Shively, Conrat Slater, Jacob Broil, Zacharias fleshman, Peter fleshman, Richard Birdine, John Wilhide, Michaell Claur, Martin Dalbeck, Michaell Oneall, George Ouylor, ...., David Ouell, John Kynes, Christopher Ouell, Thomas Fargason. John Thomas, Henry Shiter, John Zimmerman, John Dotson, John Sutton, Robert Hutchison, Joseph Bloodworth, Thomas Canely, John Full, Christian Clemon, and Jacob Manspoille. (Not all of these names are German.)
(This page contains the THIRTY-FIRST set of Notes, Nr. 751 through Nr. 775.)
John and George would like very much to hear from readers of these Germanna History pages. We welcome your criticisms, compliments, corrections, or other comments. When you click on "click here" below, both of us will receive your message. We would like to hear what you have to say about the content of the Notes, and about spelling, punctuation, format, etc. Just click here to send us your message. Thank You!
There is a Mailing List (also known as a Discussion List or Discussion Group), called GERMANNA_COLONIES, at RootsWeb. This List is open to all subscribers for the broadcast of their messages. John urges more of you to make it a research tool for answering your questions, or for summarizing your findings, on any subject concerning the Germanna Colonies of Virginia. On this List, you may make inquiries of specific Germanna SURNAMES. At present, there are about 1200 subscribers and there are bound to be users here who can help you.
If you are interested in subscribing to this List, click here. You don't need to type anything, just click on "Send". You will shortly receive a Welcome Message explaining the List.
This material has been compiled and placed on this web site by George W. Durman, with the permission of John BLANKENBAKER. It is intended for personal use by genealogists and researchers, and is not to be disseminated further.
(As of 12 April 2007, John published the last of his "Germanna Notes"; however, he is going to periodically post to the GERMANNA_COLONIES Mailing List in the form of "Genealogy Comments" on various subjects, not necessarily dealing with Germanna. I'm starting the numbering system anew, starting with Comment Nr. 0001.)
Pg.101-Comments 0001-0025
