A to Z April Challenge: L is for Lorraine

“We need to get together more often and not at a funeral.” How many times have you and a cousin said that? Funerals are much like a family reunion. You can learn a lot about a family just by looking at who showed up. Using my grandparents’ guest books and sympathy cards, I’ll be exploring “Who came to the funeral?”

is for Lorraine Keim. She was not a member of the family but nonetheless she attended the funeral of my maternal grandfather Orvin Davis in 1963. Her connection to my family reads like the Seven Degrees of Kevin Bacon game.

Connection #1

A school picture shows that Lorraine undoubtedly knew several members of my family. In her class were Rosalind Rucker, my grandmother’s sister. Also Granddaddy’s cousins Leota and Elta Sullivan attended school with Lorraine Keim.

Shenandoah School 1918
#1 Rosalind Rucker, #2 Leota Sullivan
#3 Elta Sullivan, #4 Lorraine Keim
scanned from Shenandoah: A History of Our Town and Its People

Connection #2

The census records show that Lorraine and her widowed mother lived in the same rented house from 1920 to at least 1940, right next door to my grandmother’s uncle Robert Rucker. There were many opportunities for the families to get to know one another.

Keims' house on the left
Ruckers' house on the right
Third Street, Shenandoah, Virginia

Lorraine’s mother Hettie Keim was a widow most of her life. Her husband Adam, a carpenter for the railroad, apparently was badly burned and died in Hagerstown, Maryland. Lorraine spent the rest of her life with her mother, never marrying.

Connection #3

Lorraine signed the Guest Book right after Floyd Eppard. Floyd was my grandmother’s cousin. He was also an officer of the First National Bank there in Shenandoah. In the 1930 and 1940 census, Lorraine was a bookkeeper at a bank. And that bank was none other than FNB. In fact, she retired from FNB, and she and Floyd posed for a keepsake photo. If Lorraine retired at a normal retirement age, she did not live much longer.  She died at age 68 in 1969.

Floyd Eppard on the left with Lorraine
scanned from Shenandoah: A History . . . 

Lorraine may not have been related, but she was a part of my family’s lives for many years.

Don’t let the labyrinth of lampoons and belles-lettres languish at the A to Z April Challenge.

© 2015, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors: #40 - Jacob FOLAND

Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued a challenge:  write one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor.  It can be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem – anything that focuses on one ancestor.

My 4X great-grandfather Jacob FOLAND was the third generation of Folands born in America and the second to be born in Virginia.  Jacob’s great-grandfather Johan Phillip Foland arrived in New York in 1715, at the age of 12.  Nine years later he married Eva Switselaar, also a German immigrant.  While they remained in New York for the rest of their lives, their son Jacob joined the migration of Germans moving south along the east coast.

Before 1755, Jacob and his bride Anna Zufelt settled in Rockingham County, Virginia where they raised their family.  Their son Jacob Valentine Foland was born there in 1756.  Church records for the Rader Lutheran Church suggest the family lived in or near what is now Timberville, Virginia. 

Valentine lived his entire life in Rockingham County, but perhaps it was during the Revolutionary War that he wound up in Frederick, Maryland where he met and married a nice German girl, Anna Christina Schuckmaeninn.  They married in 1775 and raised about 15 children, among them my 4X great-grandfather Jacob. 

Flag from Fort McHenry War of 1812
from wikimedia commons

Jacob was born in February 1786.  At age 19 he married Mary Elizabeth Hinkle, and the two raised thirteen children.  In 1814, Jacob was drafted into the Virginia Militia engaged in “Mr. Madison’s War,” the unpopular War of 1812.  He served as a private under Captain Reuben Moore for 60 days between September 1 and December 1.  How quickly new recruits were sent into battle is not known, but the timing was right for Jacob to have been a part of the defense of Fort McHenry, preventing the British from entering the Baltimore Harbor.  This was the battle that inspired “The Star Spangled Banner” which became our national anthem.

Jacob mustered out at Camp Crossroads near Baltimore, Maryland, and headed back to Rockingham County.

Jacob Foland's discharge from the Virginia Militia

 He qualified for bounty land, but I’m not positive he applied for it.  In fact, the Folands remained in Virginia until sometime after 1835 when the whole clan –except one – took off for Jefferson County, Tennessee.  The lone exception was Helena, my 3X great-grandmother who married William EPPARD in 1835.

The rest of the Folands settled in Tennessee, Indiana, or Missouri.  Jacob died in Tennessee on September 8, 1846.  Fortunately his wife Elizabeth lived long enough to see the Act of February 1871 which granted pensions to widows of servicemen from the War of 1812 based on service alone, provided they had served sixty days and were honorably discharged.  Before then, only those whose husbands had died in service received any pension. 

Elizabeth Foland was 82 when she began jumping through the government’s hoops.  The pension file contains over twenty pages, but the best tidbit is the description of her address: 

Her P.O. is Erie, Roane Co, Tenn, her domicile or place of abode
is on wagon road leading from Kingston to Athens, & 16 miles from Kingston.

Kingston is just west of Knoxville, Tennessee.  If the Folands were alive today, no doubt they would vacation in Gatlinburg and visit the stomping grounds of Dolly Parton in Pigeon Forge. 

THREE GENERATIONS:

Jacob FOLAND ( 14 Feb 1786 Virginia – 08 Sep 1846 Jefferson City, Jefferson, TN ) & Mary Elizabeth HINKLE  (15 May 1789 Virginia – 12 Dec 1876 Jefferson, TN)   Feb 1807 Shenandoah Co, VA

1.  Maria FOLAND ( 1807 Rockingham Co, VA – 1812 Rockingham Co, VA )

2.  Valentine FOLAND ( 20 May 1810 Rockingham Co, VA – 31 Oct 1893 Indianapolis, IN ) & Jane Ann SMITH 07 Mar 1855 Jefferson Co, TN

3.  Nimrod FOLAND ( 13 Dec 1812 Rockingham Co, VA - Before 1850 Jefferson Co, TN ) & m1) Lucretia BAUGHER ( 1814 Rockingham Co, VA – 1840 Jefferson Co, TN)  11 Dec 1834 Rockingham Co, VA ; & m2) Emeline HINKLE 23 Jun 1842 Jefferson Co, TN

4.  Solomon FOLAND ( 1814 Rockingham Co, VA – Before 1900 Indiana ) & Sarah Belle FRANCISCO (1824 – 1905 )  19 Aug 1844 Montgomery Co, OH

5.  Helena FOLAND ( 02 Apr 1818 Rockingham Co, VA – 1880 Page Co, VA ) & William EPPARD ( 1803 Rockingham Co, Va – 24 Feb 1872 Page Co, VA )  24 Dec 1835 Rockingham Co, VA

• Thomas Alfred EPPARD ( 30 Jan 1837 Page Co, VA – 19 Jun 1908 Page Co, VA ) & m1) Mary Jane “Polly” MONGER  (15 Apr 1846 Rockingham Co, VA – 20 Mar 1884 Page Co, VA ) 10 Sep 1865 Rockingham Co, VA ; & m2) Elizbeth HAM (08 May 1846 Page Co, VA – 02 Jan 1903 Page Co, VA ) 08 Apr 1886 Page Co, VA ; & m3) Annie MERICA 14 Nov 1907 Page Co, VA
• George Harvey EPPARD ( Sep 1839 Rockingham Co, VA – 13 Jan 1917 Rockingham Co, VA ) & Segourney F. SHIFLETT (1851 Virginia – 09 Feb 1926 Washington D.C.)  28 May 1870 Rockingham Co, VA
• Sarah Elizabeth “Betty” EPPARD ( 1843 Rockingham Co, VA – 18 Mar 1924 ) & William Lewis BAKER ( 1837 – 13 Apr 1905 ) 24 Sep 1869 Rockingham Co, VA
• William Henry EPPARD ( Jan 1850 Page Co, VA – 14 Aug 1916 Muncie, IN ) & Pamela Ann ROGERS (03 Aug 1848 Rockingham Co, VA – 22 Apr 1939 Page Co, VA )  16 Sep 1867 Page Co, VA

6.  Esau FOLAND ( 1820 Rockingham Co, VA – 1897 Indiana) & Jeanette A. MCDEVITT  01 Jan 1873 Wayne Co, IN

7.  Sarah FOLAND ( 1823 Rockingham Co, VA – 1892 Missouri ) & William J. PUTNAM 18 Sep 1847 Jefferson Co, TN

8.  Henrietta FOLAND ( After 1825 Rockingham Co, Virginia – )

9.  Matilda FOLAND ( 19 Jan 1825 Rockingham Co, VA – 28 Dec 1903 Roane, TN ) & William B. SELLERS  Jan 1852 Jefferson Co, TN

10.  Erasmus FOLAND ( 17 May 1826 Rockingham Co, VA – 29 Dec 1891 Vernon Co, MO ) & m1) Mary Ann TUCKER  (10 Feb 1837 Kentucky – 1878 Vernon Co, MO )  15 Jun 1858 Vernon Co, MO ; & m2) Ida Wentworth ANDERSON ( 29 May 1858 Kentucky – 02 Feb 1927 Vernon Co, MO )

11.  Harriet FOLAND ( 18 Oct 1827 Rockingham Co, VA – 26 Jan 1880 Jefferson Co, TN ) & John SELLERS  Dec 1850 Jefferson Co, TN

12.  William FOLAND ( 1832 Rockingham Co, VA – 1885 Jefferson Co, TN ) & Mary SMITH  17 Jun 1848  Jefferson Co, TN

13.  Jacob FOLAND ( 1833 Rockingham Co, VA – 1925 Vernon Co, MO ) & Sarah Elizabeth JONES  05 Feb 1857 Jefferson Co, TN

© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors: #38 - Windle EBERT/EPPARD

Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued a challenge:  write one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor.  It can be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem – anything that focuses on one ancestor.

My 5X great-grandfather Windle EBERT/EPPARD was among the first generation of Eppards born in what became the United States.  He was born about 1736 in Pennsylvania, son of Hans Jerg (George) and Margaret Christina Starke EBERT.  By 1750, this family had worked its way down through Maryland and into the Shenandoah Valley. 

In 1762, Windle obtained a patent for about 300 acres on the south side of Naked Creek in Rockingham County  (it was Augusta County at the time). 

Windle paid thirty shillings for his 300 acres

Most of this is the metes and bounds description
from Library of Virginia
Augusta County Land Grant to Windle Evert
dated 15 August 1762
Land Office Patents No. 36, 1764-1767
(v.1 & 2 p.557-1083), p. 613 (Reel 36)

Windle married Christiana MOYLE/MOYER about 1769. How many children they had is unknown; however, in 1780 they had twin boys, Johann George and Philip B.  Their baptism was recorded in the Parish Register at Saint Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. 

Windle and his father Hans Jerg (George) were farmers, but they also had an iron ore mine on Fox Mountain.  Mountain ore or “brown ore” could be fed directly into blast furnaces to produce pig iron. Windle’s property provided the three essential ingredients for a furnace:  an adequate supply of iron ore and limestone (plentiful enough on Fox Mountain), a water source powerful enough to turn a waterwheel (Naked Creek and Shenandoah River), and enough timber for making charcoal which was the fuel for the furnace (the mountains and valley were covered in trees!). 

Image from waymarking.com

The iron industry was responsible for much of the success of the early colonies.  Towns grew up around the blast furnaces which required a fair number of employees not only to operate the furnace but also to cut down trees, burn charcoal, dig for ore, mine the limestone, and even care for the mules and oxen.  In 1781, Thomas Jefferson listed five operating furnaces in Virginia, two of which were in the Shenandoah Valley.  It is most likely that Windle sent his iron ore to Henry Miller at Mossy Creek in present-day Bridgewater.  No doubt pig iron for the Revolutionary War was made from ore supplied by Windle’s mine. 

Windle died about 1810.  His wife Christiana was head of household in the 1810 Rockingham County, Virginia census.  A male older than 45 was there as well suggesting there might have been another son besides the twins. 

Windle and Christiana were likely buried on their property or in one of the two Eppard cemeteries located on their land since those cemeteries were associated with the original St. Peter’s Lutheran Church.  However, due to a terrible flood in 1800, many graves were moved.  Also the church was rebuilt in another part of the county following a fire.  The current St. Peter’s Lutheran Church Cemetery in nearby Elkton is one of the oldest cemeteries in the Shenandoah Valley.

THREE GENERATIONS:

Windle EBERT ( 1736 Pennsylvania – 1810 Rockingham Co, VA) & Christina MOYLE/MOYER  1769

1. Johann George EPPARD ( 23 Apr 1780 Naked Creek, Rockingham Co, VA – 1869 Naked Creek, Rockingham Co, VA ) & Catherine BEASLEY ( 1784 – 1850 Rockingham Co, VA )  28 Apr 1802 Rockingham Co, VA

• William EPPARD ( 1803 Rockingham Co, VA – 24 Feb 1872 Page Co, VA ) & Helena FOLAND  (02 Apr 1818 – 1880 Page Co, VA )  24 Dec 1835 Rockingham Co, VA
• Andrew EPPARD ( 1804 Rockingham Co, VA – after 1870 Luray, Page, VA ) & Melissa SMITH (04 Jan 1811 Rockingham Co, VA – 07 Mar 1896 Rockingham Co, VA )  25 Jan 1827 Rockingham Co, VA
• John EPPARD ( 1806 Rockingham Co, VA – 1855 Luray, Page, VA ) & Mary “Polly” Mathene SMITH  (22 Jan 1816 Rockingham Co, VA – 05 Jan 1913, Madison Co, IA ) 02 Feb 1832 Page Co, VA
• Elizabeth EPPARD ( 1807 Rockingham Co, VA – 25 Apr 1889 Elkton, Rockingham Co, VA ) & Isaac GOODEN ( 12 Apr 1816 Shenandoah, Page Co, VA –  12 Apr 1898 Rockingham Co, VA)   30 Aug 1841 Rockingham Co, VA
• Mary EPPARD ( 24 Aug 1808 Rockingham Co, VA – 1879 Rockingham Co, VA ) & William MERICA (28 Aug 1804 Rockingham Co, VA – 31 Aug 1895 Rockingham Co, VA )  17 Oct 1834 Rockingham Co, VA
• Parmelia EPPARD ( Nov 1808 Rockingham County, VA – 1905 Shenandoah Iron Works, Page, VA ) & Joseph Hiram SAMUELS JR. ( 1804 – Aft 1880 ) 28 Aug 1828 Rockingham County, VA
• Nancy EPPARD ( 1812 Rockingham Co, VA – 31 May 1890 Rockingham Co, VA ) & Zachariah TAYLOR JR.  (1800 –  21 Jan 1871 Page Co, VA )  03 Sep 1834 Rockingham Co, VA
• Reuben EPPARD ( 1815 Rockingham Co, VA - Bef 1880 Rockingham Co, VA ) & Sarah Elizabeth SMITH  (31 Aug 1819 – 06 Apr 1864 Page Co, VA )  12 Feb 1837 Rockingham Co, VA
• Jacob EPPARD ( 1817 Rockingham Co, VA – 1850 ) & Pamelia COOK ( 1819 – )  11 Jun 1836 Page Co, VA
• James D. EPPARD (1819 Rockingham Co, VA – 1857 Rockingham Co, VA ) & Mary Ann FOX (17 Aug 1817 –  23 Nov 1908 )  06 Aug 1842 Page Co, VA        
• Wesley EPPARD ( 1825 Rockingham Co, VA – 09 Sep 1882 Argonia, Sumner, Kansas) & m1) Phoebe BREEDEN  ( 1831 – 1874 Randolph Co, MO ) 18 Dec 1848 Page Co, VA ; & m2) Sarah F. TURNER (1847  Missouri –  )

2. Philip B. EPPARD ( 23 Apr 1780 Naked Creek, Rockingham Co, VA – Before 1850 Moonsville, Madison, IN ) & Margaret UTZ  (1785 – 23 Aug 1853 Madison Co, IN )  11 Mar 1803 Rockingham Co, VA

• Daniel EPPARD ( 28 Nov 1803 Rockingham Co, VA – 30 Jul 1878 Rockingham Co, VA ) & Delilah Ann HENSLEY  (15 mar 1810 Rockingham Co, VA – 1890 Page Co, VA )  08 Dec 1825 Rockingham Co, VA
• David EPPARD ( 1810 Rockingham Co, VA – 13 Jul 1895 Muncie, Delaware, IN ) & Sarah Elizabeth JONES (1812 Indiana – 1880 Indiana )  1834 Indiana
• Mary Virginia EPPARD ( 1814 Rockingham Co, VA – 1870 Madison Co, IN ) & David PENCE (01 Mar 1809 Shenandoah Co, VA – 22 Mar 1883 Madison Co, IN )  06 Aug 1835 Champaign, OH
• Samuel EPPARD 02 Jun 1815 Rockingham Co, VA –  1887 Indiana )  & m1) Mary Ann EBERT (Aft 1820 Ohio – Before 1850 Indiana ) ; & m2 Hannah WRIGHT  16 Jan 1853 Delaware Co, IN
• Noah EPPARD ( 23 Jul 1823 Rockingham Co, VA – 28 Dec 1900 Madison Co, IN ) & Rebecca Ann MOON (30 Nov 1827 Clinton, OH – 07 Oct 1900 Madison Co, IN )  20 Jun 1842 Indiana 

Sources:

"George Washington & Jefferson National Forests - History & Culture." U.S. Forest Service. N.p., 18 Sept. 2014. Web. 18 Sept. 2014. <http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/gwj/learning/history-culture/?cid=FSBDEV3_000460>.

Lauck-Ranson, Louise. "Shenandoah History." Town of Shenandoah. N.p., 2014. Web. 18 Sept. 2014. <http://www.townofshenandoah.com/index.php/component/content/article/76-history/149-shenandoahhistory>.

© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors: #37 - Hans Jerg (George) EBERT

Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued a challenge:  write one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor.  It can be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem – anything that focuses on one ancestor.

My 6X great-grandfather Hans Jerg (George) EBERT lived to be roughly 61 years old, and half of that life was spent in the British colonies that later became the states of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia.  He didn’t live to see the establishment of a new country although his wife Margaret Christina witnessed the American Revolution, or part of it anyway. 

Great Philadelphia Wagon Road

George arrived in Philadelphia from Germany in 1731 and settled in York County.  At some point, he joined other Germans who followed the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road south through Maryland into the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Virginians today know this route as the Valley Pike, or Route 11.  

Some highlights of George’s 30 years in the American colonies:

• He lived under the rule of King George II.
• There was a slave revolt in New York in 1741. 
• The Centigrade thermometer was invented.
• South Dakota saw its first settlement in 1743.
• Sign language for deaf-mutes was developed.
• Britain and its colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar (which explains why some of our ancestors show a “double year” for life events such as birth or death).
• Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning rod and bifocals.
• Halley’s Comet made an appearance.
• The French and Indian War lasted past George’s lifetime.

THREE GENERATIONS:

Hans Jerg (George) EBERT (1701 Germany – 1762 ) & m1) Johannata Charlotte HUNERMANN (1695 Germany – )  1724  Germany ; & m2) Margaret Christina STARKE (1698 Pennsylvania  – 1778 Rockingham Co, VA )  1732 Pennsylvania

George and Johannata had the following children:

1. Philip EBERT ( 1725 Germany – ? Pennsylvania)

2. John EBERT ( 1726 Germany – 1804 Pennsylvania ) & Maria RICHM  1750 Pennsylvania

3. Catherine Sybella EBERT ( 1727 Germany – ) & John SCHAUT 15 May 1748 New Hanover, Montgomery, Pennsylvania

4. Andrew EPPARD ( 1728 Germany – 1804 Rockingham Co, VA ) & Mary Elizabeth UNKNOWN ( - 1804 Rockingham Co, VA )  1761

• John EBERT ( 1762 Pennsylvania – 1834 ) & Sarah UNKNOWN ( 1770 – 1834)
• Enoch EPPARD ( 1768 Pennsylvania – 1838 Page Co, VA ) & Elizabeth HEPLER

George and Margaret had the following children:

1. Jacob EBERT ( 1733 Philadelphia, PA – 1807 Rockingham Co, VA )

2. Windle EBERT ( 1736 Pennsylvania – 1810 Rockingham Co, VA ) & Christina MOYLE 1769

• Johann George EPPARD ( 23 Apr 1780 Rockingham Co, VA – 1869 Rockingham Co, VA ) & Catherine BEASLEY  (1784 – 1850 Rockingham Co, VA ) 28 Apr 1802 Rockingham Co, VA
• Philip EBERT ( 23 Apr 1780 Rockingham Co, VA – 1850 Moonsville, Madison, IN ) & Margaret UTZ (1785 Rockingham Co, VA – Before 23 Aug 1853 Madison Co, IN )  11 Mar 1803 Rockingham Co, VA

3. George EBERT ( 1737 Pennsylvania –1804 Virginia ) & Catherine BAKER  1760

4. Margaret Christina EBERT ( 02 Feb 1738 Philadelphia, PA – 19 Dec 1818 Rockingham Co, VA) & George Jacob MOYER ( 06 Jan 1727 Germany – 19 Feb 1796 Rockingham Co, VA )  1757

• Philip MOYER ( 1757 Rockingham Co, VA – 20 Jun 1797 Rockingham Co, VA
• Gasper MOYER ( 1760 Rockingham Co, VA – 1814 Rockingham Co, VA
• Jacob MOYER ( 1760 Rockingham Co, VA – Jul 1795  Rockingham Co, VA
• Mary Margaret MOYER ( 15 Feb 1762 Rockingham Co, VA – 08 Dec 1820 Rockingham Co, VA) & John Stephen CONRAD (26 Feb 1749 Berks Co, PA – 12 Aug 1822 Rockingham Co, VA)  1782 Rockingham Co, VA
• Anna Marie Mary MOYER ( 24 May 1764 Rockingham Co, VA – 24 Feb 1838 ) & Daniel BAUGHER ( 30 Mar 1756 Conewago, PA – 13 Feb 1812 Rockingham Co, VA )   1783 Rockingham Co,  VA
• George Jacob MOYER ( 16 Feb 1767 Rockingham Co, VA – 1833 Montgomery Co, OH )
• Michael MOYER ( 1769 Rockingham Co, VA – 1852 Stanardsville, Greene, VA)
• Henry MOYER ( 22 Jun 1771 Rockingham Co, VA – Nov 1841 Montgomery Co, OH )
• Christina MOYER ( Dec 1774 Rockingham Co, VA – 01 Jun 1837  Rockingham Co, VA )
• Barbara MOYER ( 24 May 1777 Rockingham Co, VA – 28 May 1848 Rockingham Co, VA ) 

5. Eva Christina EBERT ( 08 Oct 1739 Lancaster, Pennsylvania – 1740 Pennsylvania)

6. James EBERT ( 1740 Pennsylvania –1815 Rockingham Co, VA ) & Elizabeth OLDHAM  1761 

© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

52 Ancestors: #36 - Balthus EBERT

Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued a challenge:  write one blog post each week devoted to a specific ancestor.  It can be a story, a biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem – anything that focuses on one ancestor.

Balthus EBERT was my 7X great grandfather.  He was born in Germany in 1663 and died there just a short forty-one years later.  While he never made it to America, he and his wife Catarina Sophia STEINBACH had two sons who did:  Hans Michael Ebert and Hans Jerg/George Ebert, from whom my line descends.

It is likely that my Eppards were part of the great migration of Germans from the Rhineland Provinces.  Queen Anne of England offered refuge to over 7000 Palatines seeking relief from religious persecution.  They traveled by barge and flat boats down the Rhine into Holland, specifically to Rotterdam where the Rhine flowed into the sea.  Queen Anne sent some of the Germans to Ireland to build up the Protestant population and then some to America, mostly to the colonies along the east coast.

Painting by Isaac Sailmaker
"The First Britannia"
(possibly but not likely the one my ancestors arrived on)
image from en.wikipedia.org labeled for noncommercial use

Most of the Germans arrived in Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, the new colony chartered by William Penn.  The Quakers were open to the idea of religious tolerance, making this colony very attractive to the large numbers of Lutherans, Swiss Mennonites, Baptist Dunkers/Dunkards, Moravians, Amish and other small German religious groups. 

Of course, at that time, the colonies were under the rule of the British crown.  William Penn’s agents were Englishmen, and English was the official language.  The leaders in Pennsylvania became concerned about the number of Continentals arriving who were used to a different language and different form of government.  As a result, in 1727 the Provincial Council passed a law requiring all male Continentals age sixteen and older to sign an “Oath of Allegiance” to the King of England.  In 1729, they also began requiring them to take the “Oath of Abjuration and Fidelity to the Proprietor,” in other words to disavow any previous allegiance to the Pope.   

These two laws were in effect when the Ebert brothers arrived in Philadelphia.  In fact, the Minutes of the Provincial Council dated September 21, 1731 lists the names of 106 Palatines plus their families who arrived on the Ship Britannia of London.  The two names appear together, indicating they traveled together:

York County is in the southeastern part of the State,
not very far from Philadelphia.
image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Hans Jerg (George) Ebert Age 30 Born 1701

Hans Michael Ebert Age 35 Born 1696

The Eberts settled in York County, Pennsylvania, on a farm of between 600 and 700 acres along Codorus Creek.  Michael and his descendants remained in Pennsylvania at least for several generations.  His brother George, on the other hand, joined a number of Germans who went in search of land in Maryland and eventually settled in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.   

THREE GENERATIONS:

Balthus EBERT ( 1663 Jagst, Wyttemberg, Germany – 1704 Germany) & Catarina Sophia STEINBACK (1669 Germany – 1717 Germany)

1. Hans Michael EBERT ( 1696 Wallersheim, Germany – 1785 York, PA) & Eva Margaret DIEHL (1718 Germany – 1788 York, PA)  1741 Pennsylvania

•  Michael EBERT ( 28 Dec 1742 Pennsylvania – Apr 1790 Manchester, York, PA) & Elizabeth RUDISELL (1741 – 01 Sep 1838 York, PA) 07 Aug 1764 Pennsylvania
• Jacob EBERT ( 02 Oct 1746 York, PA – Mar 1786 York, PA)
• John Martin EBERT ( 09 Jan 1751 York, PA – 19 Apr 1814 York, PA) & Anna Maria SMYSER (10 Nov 1756 York, PA – 29 Mar 1833 York, PA)   1777 York, PA
• Philip EBERT ( 1755 York, PA – 06 Dec 1803 St Louis, MO) & Anna Margaret KNAUSS
• Anna Maria EBERT (1765 York, PA – 1820)
• Eva EBERT
• Susanna EBERT
• Jonas EBERT
• Martin EBERT 

2. Hans Jerg (George) EBERT (1701 Germany – 1762 Virginia) & m1) Johannata Charlotte HUNERMANN (1695 Germany – Abt 1730 Germany ) 1724 Germany ; & m2) Margaret Christina STARKE  ( 1698 Pennsylvania – 1778 Rockingham Co, VA )  1732 Pennsylvania

Hans Jerg EBERT and Johannata Charlotte HUNERMANN had the following children:

• Philip EBERT 1725 Germany
• John EBERT 1726 Germany – 1804) & Maria RICHM 1750 Pennsylvania
• Catherine Sybella EBERT ( 1727 Germany –  ) & John SCHAUT  1748
• Andrew EBERT (1728 Germany –1804 Rockingham Co, VA) & Mary Elizabeth UNKNOWN  1761

Hans Jerg EBERT and Margaret Christina STARKE had the following children:

• Jacob EBERT ( 1733 Philadelphia, PA – 1807 Rockingham Co, VA)
• Windle EBERT ( 1736 Pennsylvania – 1810 Rockingham Co, VA) & Christina MOYLE ( ? –1810 Rockingham Co, VA)  1769
• George EBERT ( 1737 Pennsylvania – 1804) & Catherine BAKER  1760
• Margaret Christina EBERT ( 02 Feb 1738 Philadelphia, PA – 19 Dec 1818 Rockingham Co, VA) & George Jacob MOYER  (06 Jan 1727/28 Germany – 19 Feb 1796 Naked Creek, Rockingham Co, VA)   1757
• Eva Christina EBERT ( 08 Oct 1739 Lancaster, PA – 1740 Pennsylvania)
• James EBERT ( 1740 – 1815 Rockingham Co, VA) & Elizabeth OLDHAM 1761

Sources:
"Germans in America, The."  European Reading Room.  Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/rr/european/imde/germchro.html   Accessed 5 Sep 2014.

“Hans Michael Ebert.” Public Member Story posted by pschreck 150.  Ancestry.com.  Accessed 23 Aug 2014.

“History of Ebert/Eppards/Etc. in America.”  Genforum Genealogy.  http://genforum.genealogy.com/ebert/messages/614.html  Accessed 23 Aug 2014.
"Oaths of Fidelity and Abjuration."  Pennsylvania & Historical Museum Commission.  Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/documents_from_1681_-_1776/20421  Accessed 7 Sep 2014.

© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved. 

Sepia Saturday: Dressed to Impress

Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family history through old photographs.

This week’s Sepia Saturday photo prompt depicts a lovely young woman adorned with some elegant jewelry.  While many of the women in my family tree appreciated jewelry, their tastes were decidedly more modest than that of the woman in the prompt. 

Mary Susan "Sudie" Eppard Rucker
my great-grandmother
(maternal grandmother's mother)

According to my aunt, my great-grandmother Mary Susan “Sudie” Eppard Rucker was considered a well-dressed woman.  Her husband was a railroad conductor in the days when railroads were booming.  I suppose she had to dress the part.  

Jet jewelry that belonged to Mary Sudie Rucker

Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of her wearing her jet beads that now are mine.  The triple strand was originally a long single strand which was popular among 1920s flappers who liked wearing a necklace that reached at least to their waist.  Since Sudie would have been too old to be a flapper, maybe her jet beads were actually mourning beads.  The somber color and simple design made them appropriate jewelry for women in mourning. 

Mary Sudie Rucker

My sister is now the caretaker of Sudie’s ornamental hair comb.  It is black, probably celluloid.

Turn of the century “big hair” required a little help.  Enter the hair receiver.

Celluloid dresser set including the hair receiver

A Victorian dresser set would have included a tray, a powder jar, and a hair receiver like the celluloid one I display on my dresser.  The hole in the lid allowed a lady to fill the pot easily with hair removed from her brush and comb.  When she gathered enough hair, she would stuff it into a cloth bag called a “ratt” that could then be tucked under her own hair to add volume and height. 

I wish I could say this was Sudie’s dresser set and her hair receiver.  However, supposedly this celluloid dresser set was my mother’s.  She was a teen in the 40s, so it’s unlikely the set is turn of the century.  Plus it’s in terrible condition, speckled with paint that probably resulted from being left out while a ceiling was being painted.  And there is nail polish, of all things, on the lid of the hair receiver.  Had this dresser set been valuable, Momma would have taken better care of it. 

So why am I including it in a post about jewelry?  Because of something weird we found in Sudie’s attic.

I was quite young but I remember visiting Grandma Rucker’s house one last time after she died. 

In the attic we found a bag full of hair. 

She must’ve been planning some big ratt!

Please visit my friends at Sepia Saturday.  You can bet their posts are real gems.

© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

A to Z April Challenge: P is for Parmela

This is Day 16 of the A to Z April Challenge.  My theme is women with unusual names although I must cheat now and then or I’ll have a name and no story.

is for Parmela Eppard Samuels.  She was my third great grandaunt, sister to my 3G grandfather William Eppard, and thus sister-in-law to Helena Foland Eppard (about whom I wrote for “H”). 

Daughter of Johann George and Catherine Beasley Eppard, Parmela was born November 1808 in the Naked Creek area of Rockingham County, Virginia, in the heart of Eppard country.   Even after she married Joseph Hiram Samuels, Jr.  on August 28, 1828, they remained close to their Eppard and Samuels families.  In every census record from 1830 to 1900, their nearest neighbors were Eppard, Samuels, Smith (lots of Smith-Eppard weddings along Naked Creek!), and Jollett (Smiths and Jolletts married too).   

Parmela and Joseph had 6 children:

1. Frances Caroline (1830 - )
2. Joseph Hiram III (1834 - )
3. Sarah Elizabeth (1837 – 1925)
4. Amanda Catherine (1840 - )
5. George Franklin (1846 – 1920)
6. Greenberry (1849 – 1937)

For more Pontificating and other Pieces in Print, Pop over to the A to Z April Challenge.

© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

A to Z April Challenge: H is for Helena

This is Day 8 of the A to Z April Challenge.  My theme is women with unusual names although I must cheat now and then or I’ll have a name and no story.

is for Helena “Ellen” Foland.

Helena Foland is my 3G grandmother.  She was born in Virginia in 1818, the daughter of Jacob Foland and Mary Elizabeth Hinkle; the granddaughter of Johann Valentine and Anna Christina Schuckmaeninn Foland and George and Susannah Goetzinger Hinkle; the great-granddaughter of Jacob and Anna Zufelt Foland, Fernandus and Neeltje Schuckmaeninn, and George and Barbara Rowland Henckel.  

With all that German influence, you’d think I would love knockwurst and bratwurst, but I don’t.  I do, however, really like sauerkraut.

Anyway, back to Helena. Her ancestors were among those many Germans and Swiss who escaped religious persecution by immigrating to Pennsylvania in the early 1700s.  From there many of the German families continued south into Maryland and then into the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.

The Folands, Schuckmaeninns, and Henckel/Hinkles were among those early settlers.

In 1835, Helena married William Eppard, whose family migration story reads much like that of Helena’s.  They settled in the Naked Creek area of Rockingham County.  They farmed and raised 4 children.

Meanwhile Helena’s parents and most of their children kept moving westward into Tennessee.  Helena was separated from her family not only by miles but also by politics.  The Civil War.  Tennessee was Union.  Virginia was Confederacy.  While Helena’s own son fought for the South, her brothers were fighting for the North. 

A house divided.

Hop on over to the A to Z April Challenge for Hundreds and Hundreds of posts on the letter H.

© 2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.

Sepia Saturday: The Test of Time

Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family history through old photographs.

This week’s Sepia Saturday prompt features a typical country store with numerous goodies to catch the eye.  Most prominent is the clock. 

The Techtron is a pretty clock but notorious
for being non-repairable.  

When my granddaddy Orvin Davis got up in the morning and wandered out into the living room, he probably checked the time on his Techtron Ship’s Bell mantel clock.  

There's the clock on the mantel.
Lucille and Orvin Davis holding my sister Mary Jollette

In the morning I wipe the sleep from my eyes and check the time here:  

The Ansonia clocks with porcelain body
were often painted with flowers
or idyllic scenes.  

When my great-aunt Velma Davis Woodring was a bride, she might have gone into her dining room to check her lovely porcelain Ansonia clock to know when to start dinner.  

  

If I want to know whether to start dinner, all I need is a remote control.

This Seth Thomas tambour-style clock has simple lines.

When my great-aunt Helen Killeen Parker was cooking, her Seth Thomas mantel clock might have reminded her to take a look at that roast.  

I just look here:  

In the evening when the busy-ness of the day came to an end, my great-grandmother Mary Sudie Eppard Rucker probably relaxed in her favorite chair and drifted off to sleep to the gentle ticking of her Seth Thomas Adamantine mantel clock.  She might even have been awoken by the rich cathedral-like chiming on the hour.  

Sudie Rucker's clock went to my mother
and then to my sister.

This clock on YouTube sounds like what my great-grandmother used to hear.

Today we’re awoken by an annoying beep and glowing red numbers.  

Unlike the handsome mantel clocks my sister and I inherited, it’s doubtful any of our modern clocks will stand the test of time.

I hope you have time to check the clocks at Sepia Saturday.  

©2014, Wendy Mathias.  All rights reserved.