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2851 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 B233bd, "The Connecticut Barbers, A Genealogy of the Descendants of Thomas Barber of Windsor, Connecticut," 2nd Ed., Donald S. Barber: "The English Family of Thomas Barber. This section is based on my original 1996 entry in The American Genealogist, v. 71, no. 2, p. 111. It has long been known that Thomas Barber, with several others, was apprenticed to Francis Stiles, who was paid to bring them to Windsor, CT. Francis Stiles was a carpenter and London freeman, so it seemed reasonable to search in the appropriate guild records in London. The following entry was found in the records of the Worshipful Company of Carpenters at the Guildhall, in the minutes of a meeting held on 18 Dec 1634: 'Received of Francis Stiles for apprenticing Thomas Barber son of John Barber of Stamford in the County of Lincoln, yeoman, deceased, from St. Thomas's day next for 9 years. 2s 2 d (2 shillings, 2 pence)." In the parish registers in Stamford and the adjacent parish of Uffington is the following:
A. St. George Parish, Stamford, Lincoln County:
a. Rebecca, dau. of John Barber, labourer, bapt. 17 Apr 1609.
b. Rebecca, dau. of John Barber, bur. 6 Aug 1609.
c. Sara, dau. of John Barber, labourer, bapt. 16 Sep 1610.
d. Thomas, son of John and Elizabeth Barber, bapt. 25 Dec 1612.
B. All Saints Parish, Stamford:
a. Elizabeth Lumley, dau. of Thomas Lumley, bapt. 4 Aug 1597 (how related?).
b. Elizabeth, dau. of John Barber, bapt. 10 or 11 Nov 1616.
c. John, son of John Barber, bapt. 4 Aug 1620.
d. John Barber, bur. 21 Apr 1620.
e. Elizabeth Barber, widow, bur. 8 Mar 1632.
f. John Barber, son of Widow Barber, bur. 22 Mar 1632.
C. Uffington Parish, Lincoln County:
a. Elizabeth Barber, m. William Fowler, 8 Jun 1590 (? related).
b. Margaret Barber, m. John Preeste, 2 Oct 1607 (? a sister of John the father).
c. John Barber, m. Elizabeth Lumley, 17 Oct 1608.
From the above records the English family of Thomas Barber appears to be as follows: John Barber, b. probably in the early to middle 1580s; buried at All Saints, Stamford, Lincoln County, 21 Apr 1620, md. Uffington, Lincoln County, 17 Oct 1608, Elizabeth Lumley, who was buried at All Saints, Stamford on 9 Mar 1632/3. John is called a labourer in 1609, and a yeoman later. Yeomen were small land owners, a step up from labourers, but below gentry. John and Elizabeth lived first in St. George Parish, Stamford, Lincoln County, which is the part of Stamford adjacent to Uffington, and later in All Saints Parish on the other side of Stamford. Stamford is about 80 miles north of London. Children of John and Elizabeth, bapt. in Stamford:
a. Rebecca, bapt. St. George Parish 17 Apr 1609; bur. there 6 Aug 1609.
b. Sarah, bapt. St. George Parish, 16 Sep 1610.
c. Thomas, bapt. St. George Parish 25 Dec 1612; died in Windsor, Connecticut, 11 Sep 1662.
d. Elizabeth, bapt. All Saints Parish 10 or 11 Nov 1616.
e. John, bapt. All Saints Parish 4 Aug 1620; bur. there 22 Mar 1632/3.
It seems likely that Thomas Barber was born 21 Dec 1612, which is St. Thomas' Day, and bapt. 4 days later. He was still 21 old on the date of his apprenticeship (18 Dec 1634) and this figure (21) was perhaps mistakenly carried over by Francis Stiles when reporting it less that 3 months later for the shipping list of 16 mar 1634/5 by which time Thomas was 22 years old. The Elizabeth Lumley who was baptized in 1597, dau. of Thomas Lumley, is probably not the same person who married John Barber, since her baptism was only 9 years before the marriage, and baptisms at that time almost always took place soon after birth. No other Lumleys were found in Stamford or Uffington. I notice that John Barber [the son] was born 3 months after his father John died."

2. FHL book 929.273 B695bo "Ancestral Lines, Third Edition," compiled by Carl Boyer, 3rd [Santa Clarita, CA; 1998], p. 735:
"JohnA Barber, probably born in the early or middle 1580s, was buried at all Saints, Stamford, Lincolnshire, England, 21 April 1620. He married in Uffington, Lincs., 17 Oct. 1608 Elizabeth Lumley, who was buried at All Saints 8 March 1632/3. He was called a "labourer" in the baptismal record of his daughter Elizabeth in 1616, and a yeoman in the guild record of 1634. No relevant probate records were found in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury or the Consistory Court of Lincoln. Children, listed by Donald S. Barber, baptized in parishes of Stamford, Lincs.:
i. Rebecca1, bapt. St. George 17 April 1609; bur. there 6 Aug. 1609.
ii. Sarah, bapt. St. George 16 Sept. 1610.
iii. Thomas, bapt. St. George 25 Dec. 1612; d. Windsor, Conn., 11 Sept. 1662; m. Windsor 7 Oct. 1640 Jane, who d. Windsor 10 Sept. 1662.
iv. Elizabeth, bapt. All Saints 10/11 Nov. 1616.
v. John, bapt. All Saints 4 Aug. 1620; bur. there 22 March 1632/3."

3. The periodical "The American Genealogist," 71[1996]:111-12, "The English Origin of Thomas1 Barber of Windsor, Connecticut," by Donald S. Barber:
"It has long been known that Thomas1 Barber, with several others, was apprenticed to Francis Stiles, who was paid by Sir Richard Saltonstall to bring them to Windsor to build houses for those who would come from England later.[1] They were on the 16 March 1634/5 shipping list for the "Chrystian" of London,[2] which arrived in Boston on 16 June; the party reached Windsor about 1 July 1635. The shipping list gives Thomas's age as 21. Further details about Thomas1 Barber and his family are given in my book, "The Connecticut Barbers,"[3] published in 1992, before I became aware of his English origin.
Francis Stiles was a carpenter and London freeman, so it seemed reasonable to search the appropriate guild records in London. Frances Markham, a London researcher, recently found the following entry for me in the records of the Worshipful Company of Carpenters at the Guildhall. The entry is part of the minutes for a meeting held on 18 December 1634:[4]
"Received of Francis Stiles for apprenticing Thomas Barber, son of John Barber of Stamford in the County of Lincoln, yeoman, deceased, from St. Thomas's day next for 9 years. 2s 2d."
This led to the International Genealogical Index [IGI] for Lincolnshire and then to the appropriate parish registers in Stamford and to the Bishops' Transcripts for the adjacent parish of Uffington:
St. George, Stamford, co. Lincoln:[5]
Rebecca, dau. of John Barber, bp. 17 April 1609.
Rebecca, dau. of John Barber, bur. 6 Aug. 1609.
Sara, dau. of John Barber, labourer, bp. 16 Sept. 1610.
Thomas, son of John and Elizabeth Barber, bp. 25 Dec. 1612.
All Saints, Stamford:[6]
Elizabeth, dau. of John Barber, bp. [10 or 11] Nov. 1616.
John, son of John Barber, bp. 4 Aug. 1620.
John Barber, bur. 21 April 1620.
Elizabeth Barber, widow, bur. 8 March 1632[/3].
John Barber, son of Widow Barber, bur. 22 March 1632[/3].
Uffington, co. Lincoln:[7]
Elizabeth Barber m. William Fowler, 8 June 1590.
Margaret Barber m. John Preeste, 2 Oct. 1607.
John Barber m. Elizabeth Lumley, 17 Oct. 1608.
SUMMARY
JOHNA BARBER was born probably in the early or middle 1580s and was buried at All Saints, Stamford, county Lincoln, on 21 April 1620. He married at Uffington, county Lincoln, on 17 October 1608, ELIZABETH LUMLEY. She was buried at All Saints, Stamford, on 8 March 1632[/3]. He was called a "labourer" in the baptism of his daughter Sarah.
Children of JohnA and Elizabeth (Lumley) Barber:
i REBECCA BARBER, bp. St. George, Stamford, co. Lincoln, 17 April 1609, bur. there, 6 Aug. 1609.
ii SARAH BARBER. bp. St. George, 16 Sept. 1610.
iii THOMAS1 BARBER, bp. St. George, 25 Dec. 1612, d. Windsor, Conn., 11 Sept. 1662;[8] m. Windsor, 7 Oct. 1640, JANE ___,[9] who d. Windsor, 10 Sept. 1662.[10] [St. Thomas Day is 21 December, and that may be the day of his birth and the source of his name, as well as the day on which his apprenticeship began.]
iv ELIZABETH BARBER, bp. All Saints, Stamford, 10 or 11 Nov. 1616.
v JOHN BARBER, bp. Alt Saints, 4 Aug, 1620, bur. there, 22 March 1632[/3].
No relevant probates were found in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury or the Consistory Court of Lincoln.
More research in records in the Stamford area (including nearby sections of Rutland and Northamptonshire) might be helpful in showing the origin of JohnA Barber and of his wife Elizabeth Lumley.
I am grateful to Frances Markham for finding the key entry in the records of the Carpenters' Company in London, and to Dr. Neil D. Thompson, CG, FASG, for checking my readings of the pariah registers, for confirming the IGI entries for Uffington in the Bishops' Transcripts, and for searching for relevant probates."
Footnotes:
1. Henry R. Stiles, "The History of Ancient Windsor, Connecticut, ..." [1st ed.] (New York, 1859), 19-22; [2d ed.], 2 vols. (Hartford, 1891-92), 1:44, 151, 2:50.
2. John Camden Hotten, "The Original Lists of Persons of Quality…" (New York, 1874),
42-43.
3. Donald S. Barber, "The Connecticut Barbers" (Middlefield, Conn., 1992), 1-2.
4. Worshipful Company of Carpenters, Court Minute Book 1618-35, Guildhall Library MS
4329/4.
5. Family History Library [FHL], Salt Lake City, film #1,450,474.
6. FHL film #1,450,472.
7. FHL film #509,002, Item 2.
8. Edwin Stanley Welles, ed., "Births, Marriages and Deaths Returned from Hortfirrd, Windsor, and Fairfield ..." (Hartford, 1897), 21; hereafter cited as Welles.
9. "Matthew Grant Record," "Some Early Records and Documents of and Relating to the Town of Windsor[,] Connecticut, 1639-1703" (Hartford, 1930), 24. For the unlikely claim that Jane (___) Barber was a widow Bancroft, see George E. McCracken, "Bancrofts in the Connecticut Valley," TAG 37(1961):154-60.
10. Welles, 21."
 		Barber, Sarah (I1140)
 
2852 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 D789td (film 1321147) "The Descendants of John Drake of Windsor, Connecticut," comp. by Frank B. Gay (Rutland, VT; 1933), pp. 5-7:
"John Drake (John1), born, probably in England; married in Windsor, Conn., Nov. 30, 1648, Hannah, daughter of john Moore, who died Feb. 16, 1686 at Windsor.
John Drake's Ratable List in the year 1686 was one person, House land 4 acres, meadow 8 1/2 acres East of ye River 10 acres, 4 cows: one of 1 year, valued at 70.10.00. He purchased from the overseers of the estate of Mr. Ephraim Huit land in the Great Meadow 3 1/2 acres more or less, which in 1684 he claimed by right of undisputed possession for twenty years or more. He deeded the woodlot he purchased from Richard Lyman to his son Enoch in 1679. He received 40 acres of woodland from the town.
John Drake's will was datd Sept. 12, 1689, proved Nov. 11, 1689. Inventory ₤225/02/02.
Children of John and Hannah (Moore) drake, born in Windsor:
John, b. 14 Sep 1649.
Job, b. 15 Jun 1651.
Hannah, b. 8 Aug 1653.
Enoch, b. 8 Dec 1655.
Ruth, b. 1 Dec 1657.
Simon, b. 28 Oct 1659.
Lydia, b. 26 Jan 1661.
Elizabeth, b. 22 Jul 1664.
Mary, b. 29 Jan 1666.
Mindwell, b. 10 Nov 1671.
Joseph, b. 26 Jun 1674.
Will of John Drake. (Hartford Probate Records, files at the State Library.)
"I John Drake Sen. of windsor being sick and weakly yet having my understanding sound: doe make this my last will for the disposall of my estate
Impr. my will is that my debts be duly pd by my executor
2. I give to my son Job twenty shillings beside wht i have allready given him
3. I give to my son Enoch Drake that Lot in gt meadow wch was mr huits being about 3 ackers a nd halfe
4. I give to my son Symon my house and homelot and barne and my wood Lott upon ye mill broock being about fifteen ackers
5. I give to my son Joseph the Remaynder of my Land on the east side the gt River
6. I give to my three daughters Lydia Elizabeth and mindwell the Remayder of my Land wch is undisposed of in the Lot going to hartford known by the name of clay bridge allsoe i give to my daughter mary that wood Lot being about fifteen ackers Lying by my bro Jobs pasture
7. I give to my son Johns 3 children twenty pounds that is to his son John ten pounds and th e two daughters 5 pounds apeice to be payd wn they Come to be of age and if any dy before they Come to be of age then there part to be devided to them that doo survive
8. It is my will and I doe hereby give to my daughter Ruth and son Symon Drake that Land wch i bought of mr Howkins and Capt marshall being about 5 ackers upon the conditions following viz that they pay to my son Johns three children the twenty pounds I have given them in currant Country pay as they Come to be of age and wt the Land Comes to more at eight pounds pr acker shall be payd to all my daughters equally unles there be a nessessity for the discharging any of my debts and wt of moveables are undisposed be equally divided amongst my daugters Allsoe my will is that my 40 ackers of woodLand wch was Granted mee by the town shall be to him or them of my children wch will give most for it and the effects or price of it be equally devided amonst all my children allsoe my will is yt the severall percells of Land above mentioned and given to my children be and Remayne to ym and yr heyers for ever and ever
Allsoe I doe nominate and appoint my son Job Drake and my son in Law Sam'll Barber to be executors to ys my will and for the Confirmation of wt is above written i doe hereunto set my hand this twelfth day of Sept 1689 signed in the presence and witnes of
John Moore Sen., John Drake
John Haill"
Mar. 3, 1706/7 Joseph Loomis, Sen., son of Joseph deceased, Nicholas Buckland and James Loomis, all of Windsor, Conn., deed 27 ½ acres of wood land to Daniel Loomis, Sen., part of a lot bought by "our father-in-law John Drake deceased," of Richard Lyman, and given to his three daughters, Lydia, late wife of Joseph Loomis, above, Elizabeth, late wife of Nicholas Buckland, and Mindwell, wife of James Loomis, by his last will. (Windsor, Conn., Land Records, Vol. 3, p. 55.)"

2. FHL book 929.273 D789td (film 1321147) "The Descendants of John Drake of Windsor, Connecticut," comp. by Frank B. Gay (Rutland, VT; 1933), pp. 18-19:
"Ruth Drake (John2, John1), born Dec. 1, 1657, at Windsor, Conn.; married Jan. 25, 1676, at Windsor, as second wife, Samuel Barber, baptized Oct. 1, 1648, son of Thomas and Jane Barber. Samuel Barber married (1) Mary Coggens, Dec. 1, 1670. They had Thomas, born Oct. 7, 1671, who died Oct. 1673, and Samuel, born Jan. 26, 1673. Mary, wife of Samuel, died May 19, 1676. Samuel barber's will was dated Feb. 21, 1708/9, proved Apr. 4, 1709, Inventory ₤598/04/10. Ruth Barber, widow of Samuel, made her will Nov. 13, 1716. It was proved Dec. 1731. She died Nov. 13, 1731.
Children of Samuel and Ruth (Drake) Barber:
I. William, b. - -; d. 1704, leaving son William.
II. Hannah, b. Oct. 4, 1681; not mentioned in will of father or mother.
III. Ruth, b. July 24, 1683; m. William Phelps, Apr. 18, 1706.
IV. Elizabeth, b. Feb. 9, 1685; m. Daniel Loomis, Jr., Nov. 10, 1709.
V. David, b. May 12, 1686.
VI. Joseph, b. - -.
VII. Benjamin, b. - -.
VIII. John, b. - -.
IX. Mindwill, b. - -; d. unm., Dec. 3, 1712.
X. Sarah, b. Aug. 28, 1698; m. Stephen Palmer, Oct. 17, 1717.
XI. Mary, b. - -; m. Peter Brown, July 22, 1696.
Children mentioned in wills of both father and mother.
Samuel Barber died Mar. 12, 1708/9."

3. FHL book 929.273 B233bd, "The Connecticut Barbers, A Genealogy of the Descendants of Thomas Barber of Windsor, Connecticut," 2nd Ed., Donald S. Barber, p. 6-8: "Samuel, bapt. 1 Oct 1648 at Windsor, d. there 12 Mar 1708.9; md. (1) Mary Coggin, b. Taunton, MA abt. 1647, d. Windsor 19 May 1676, dau. of Thomas and Joan (___) Coggin, and sister of Bathsheba who m. Samuel's brother John Barber. Samuel md. (2) Ruth Drake, b. 1 Dec 1657, d. Windsor 13 Nov 1731, dau. of John and Hannah (Moore) Drake. After his parents' death just after his 14th birthday, Samuel was placed (4 Feb 1662) in the home of his brother Thomas until age 21. At about the time of his marriage, Samuel apparently went with his brother to Simsbury, but must have returned to Windsor soon, because all of his family's vital records were recorded in Windsor. He lived in a house on the original Barber tract, nearly opposite the Windsor Cannery on Poquonock Ave. This house was first occupied by his brother John, but was transferred to Samuel when John moved to Springfield. (Sources: 1909 Barber Gen; Barbour Indes; CT Hist Soc: LB Barbour Manuscripts; Early Coggins, English and American, by Geo. E. McCracken.)
Children of Samuel and Mary, born in Windsor:
a. Thomas, b. 7 Oct 1671, bur. 31 Oct 1673.
b. Samuel, b. 26 Jan 1673/4, d. Windsor 1 Feb 1722/3, m. (1) Hepzibah 'Ziba' Brown, b. Windsor 19 Nov 1664, d. 20 Dec 1711, dau. of Peter and Mary (Gillett) Brown. Samuel m. (2) Windsor 18 Jun 1713, Martha Ponder of Westfield, MA, b. 1677/8, d. Windsor (Bloomfield Church rec.) 6 Aug 1758. Samuel lived in Poquonock (in the northwest part of Windsor), one mile north of the Baptist Meeting House. [9 children listed for this couple.]
Children of Samuel and Ruth born at Windsor:
a. John Drake, b. ??25 Jan 1676/7, died young. This birth date is probably incorrect since it is the same as the marriage date of Ruth to Samuel. Probably John Drake was born a bit later, and was the first child of Ruth, and was named for her father John Drake.
b. William, b. 1678, m. Esther Brown.
c. Mary 'Mercy', b. 1680, d. 27 Aug 1719, m. Windsor 22 Jul 1696 Peter Brown, b. Windsor 12 Mar 1666/7, d. there 6 Mar 1739, son of Peter and Mary (Gillette) Brown; res. Windsor. Mary died on the day her twins were born. Peter was perhaps a grandson of Peter Brown of Plymouth, MA, and of the Mayflower; however, the Mayflower Society thinks there is not enough proof to allow this connection, and will not allow this to be a valid connection. [7 children of this couple listed.]
d. Hannah, b. 4 Oct 1681, d. before 1708.
e. Joseph, b. 1681, m. (1) Hannah ___, m. (2) Mary Loomis.
f. Ruth, b. 24 Jul 1683, d. 2 Aug 1747, m. Windsor 18 Apr 1706 William Phelps, b. 4 Feb 1668/9, d. 1733, son of Timothy and Mary (Griswold) Phelps, res. Windsor. [Lists 3 children for this couple.]
g. David, b. 12 May 1686, m. Hannah Post.
h. Benjamin, b. abt 1690, m. Hannah Lewis.
i. Elizabeth, b. abt. 1690 (Barbour Index states 9 Feb 1684/5), m. Windsor 10 Nov 1709 Daniel Loomis, b. 15 Nov 1682, d. 1754, son of Daniel and Mary (Ellsworth) Loomis. Eliza. and Daniel lived 2 1/2 miles south of Windsor Center which would place them in the Deerfield section of present day Windsor. Samuel's will of 21 Feb 1708/9 left 25 pounds each to Elizabeth, Mindwell, and Sarah, when they become 18 years of age. This would mean Elizabeth was born after 1689. [7 children of this couple are detailed.]
i. Mindwell, b. 3 Dec 1691, d. 3 Dec 1712.
j. John, b. 1696, m. Jane Alvord.
k. Sarah, b. Windsor, 28 Aug 1698, d. Westfield, MA, 4 Jan 1741/2, m. (1) Windsor ('both of Windsor') 17 Oct 1717 Stephen Palmer, b. Windsor 20 Jan 1686, d. there 17 Nov 1720, son of Timothy and Hannah (Buel) Palmer. Sarah m. (2) 5 Oct 1729 Isaac Phelps III, b. Westfield, MA, 26 Jan 1692/3, son of Isaac and Mary (Maudsly) Phelps. Sarah lived in Poquonock with her first husband Stephen, and at Westfield with Isaac. [9 children detailed of Sarah and Stephen.]"

4. FHL book 929.273 B233w, "Descendants of Thomas Barber of Windsor, Connecticut, 1614-1909," John Barber White:
Pp. 15-19: "The Hartford Probate Records contain the following regarding the settlement of Thomas Barber's estate: 'Barber, Thomas, Windsor, Invt. ₤132-14-00; taken 10, Oct. 1662, by Benj. Newberry and John Moore. 'Court Record, Page 187 - 4 Feb., 1662-3, Invt approved. Samuel was placed with his brother Thomas Barber to learn a trade; Mercy (Mary) Barber was placed with Lt. Walter Fyler and his wife until 18 years of age, unless she marries before, with her Master's and Dame's and eldest brother's approbation; Josias Barber was placed with Dea. John Moore until 21 years of age to learn a trade; Thomas Barber doth engage to take Samuel Barber's portion and after two years from the present to allow 6% simple interest per annum. John Barber took Josias' portion upon the same terms. Page 188 - 6 Jun 1662, Dist. to John and Sarah jointly. House and Home lot as their Father willed - 126-13-04. To Thomas Barber by Gift & his portion - 13-00-00. To Samuel, Mercy & Josias each - 36-15-00. By Capt Newberry, Deacon Moore, Sgt. Alvord.' He died on Sept. 11th, and his wife Joan on Sept. 10th, 1662. Children: John, bp. 24 Jul 1642; Thomas, b. 14 Jul 1644; Sarah, bp. 19 Jul 1646; Samuel, bp. 1 Oct 1648; Mary, bp. 12 Oct 1651; Josiah, b. 15 Feb 1653. In the Hartford Probate records it will be observed that the name of the fifth child of Thomas and Joan Barber is given as Mercy instead of Mary, as shown above. Also some records seem to indicate that she married a Hale, but the Gillett family records furnish conclusive evidence of her marriage to John Gillett. It is possible that in the records showing the name of Hale, her marriage was confused with that of her sister Sarah's to Timothy Hall, as a confusion of the names Hale and Hall is quite common."
Pp. 23-29: "Samuel Barber, bp. Oct. 1, 1648; m. 1st, Dec. 1, 1670, Mary Coggins, who d. May 19, 1676. He m. 2nd, Jan. 25, 1677, Ruth Drake, dau. of John and Hannah (Moore) Drake, who was bp. Dec. 6, 1657. John Drake, the father of Ruth, was descended from the illustrious English family of that name, which had its seat at Ashe. In England the name has long been borne by many distinguished as navigators, clergymen, martyrs, and authors. Among the foremost of these English families is that which has its seat at Ashe, Co. Devon and from it descended the greater portion of the Drakes of Massachusetts and Connecticut. (Book has extensive genealogy for Drakes starting from John of Exmouth of 1360 to Ruth's parents John, b. about 1635 [who] m. Hannah, dau. of Thomas Moore.] Children, by the first marriage; born at Windsor:
a. Thomas, b. 7 Oct 1671, bur. 31 Oct 1673.
b. Samuel, b. 26 Jan 1673; d. Windsor 1 Feb 1722/3, m. Martha Ponder.
c. John Drake, probably died young.
By 2nd marriage:
a. William, b. 1678, m. Esther Brown.
b. Hannah, b. 4 Oct 1680-1, probably d. young, as she is not mentioned in either her father's, mother's or sister Mindwell's wills.
c. Joseph, b. 1681, m. Mary Loomis.
d. Ruth, b. 24 Jul 1683, m. William Phelps.
e. Mary.
f. Elizabeth, b. 9 Feb 1684/5), m. Daniel Loomis.
g. David, b. 12 May 1686, m. Hannah Post.
h. Sarah, b. 28 Aug 1688.
i. Benjamin, b. abt 1690, m. Hannah Lewis.
j. Mindwell, b. 3 Dec 1691; unmarried.
k. John, b. probably about 1694, m. Jane Alvord.
The dates of birth of the children of this family, as given by the best authorities, are greatly at variance with the clear and unmistakable evidence contained in the father's will. Stiles' 'Ancient Windsor' gives the birth of a son John, but places him as the son of the first wife. In Samuel Barber's will, dated Feb. 21, 1708-9, it will be observed that he makes provision for his son John when he shall come to the age of 21 years. Now, if this son John had been born in 1676, he would have been at least 32 years old at the time the father's will was written, whereas it is evident from that document that he was the youngest son. Further, John Barber, the son of Samuel, was married in 1717, at which date, had he been born in 1676 he would have been 41 years old, and his wife, Jane Alvord, born in 1698, would have been 21 years younger than he; all of which is, to be sure, a possible situation, but hardly a probable one, in those days of early marriages. The New England Gen. and Hist. Reg., Vol. V, page 64, makes mention of John Drake Barber, son of Samuel and Ruth, b. Jan. 25, 1676. This is the only record found of John Drake Barber. From all this evidence, the conclusion seems inevitable that if there was an older son John, he must have died young; and as to the confusion regarding the date of his birth, it is not improbable that he was the son of the first wife. At all events, the son John who was living at the time of the father's death was a younger Child, and in all probabilities the youngest son, born presumably about 1694. The dates given above as the dates of birth of Elizabeth and Sarah are undoubtedly incorrect, as in his will, their father Samuel provides that they and their sister Mindwell shall be paid ₤25 each when they shall be 18 years of age, so that they must have been under 18 years of age when the father's will was made, and hence born after 1690. Stiles' 'Ancient Windsor' gives Sept. 25, 1704, as the date of birth of the daughter Mary, but in the record of the Brown family, the same authority states that she married Peter Brown in 1696, or eight years before the date of her birth. In the Appendix of the volume mentioned, Dr. Stiles calls attention to this discrepancy. It will be seen, by reference to the wills heretofore mentioned that there was a daughter Mary belonging to this family; that she was married prior to the making of her father's will, in Feb., 1708-9, and in her sister Mindwell's will she is specifically mentioned as the wife of Peter Brown. Hence she was evidently one of the older children. In Samuel Barber's will he makes unconditional bequests to his son Benjamin, which would indicate that he was of age at the time the will was made, and hence must have been born prior to 1690, as given in the above record."
Transcript of will for Samuel Barber, Sr., follows with mention of wife Ruth, grandson William (son of his son William deceased, son David, son Joseph, son Benjamin, son John when he shall be 21 years of age, and three daughters Elizabeth, Mindwell, and Sarah all under age 18. He also mentions his older married daughters Mary and Ruth. His wife Ruth and his son-in-law William Phelps were executors. Will dated 21 Feb 1798/9, inventory March 1709, and proven 4 Apr 1709. Source is Hartford Probate Records.
Transcript of will for Mindwell Barber follows with mention of her brother Joseph as executor. Mentions her siblings Samuel, William, David, Joseph, Benjamin and John, Elizabeth wife of Daniel Loomis, Mary wife of Peter Browne, Ruth wife of William Phelps, Sarah, and William Barber son of William Barber deceased. Inv. Feb. 1712/13. Source Hartford Probate Records.
Transcript of will of Ruth Barber, widow of Samuel Sr., follows with mention of her children Benjamin, John, Sarah Barber, Joseph, son-in-law Samuel Barber, grandson William, and daughters: Mary Brown, Ruth Phelps, Elizabeth Loomis and Sarah Barbour (Barber). Will dated 13 Nov 1716, inv. 30 Nov 1731, proved Dec. 1731. Source Hartford Probate Records.

5. Henry R. Stiles, "The History and Genealogies of Ancient Windsor, Connecticut," 1892, v. 2, p. 50: "Barber, Samuel (son of Thomas), m. (1) 1 Dec 1670, Mary Coggins, who d. 19 May 1676 (Col. Rec.); m. (2) 25 Jan., 1676-7, Ruth (dau. John) Drake (O.C.R.), who d. 13 Nov 1731 (W.C.R.); he owned Half-way Covenant in W. church 12 Oct., 1671(O.C.R.); res. at W. on the paternal homestead, which he bought of his bro. John, 1671; contrib. 2s. 6d. to the Conn. relief fund for the poor of other colonies, 1676; rem. to Simsbury. W. Rec. say Sam'l, Sen. d. 12 Mch 1708; if so, he must have ret. to W. in his later days.
A. Ch. by 1st mar. (O.C.R.):
a. Thomas, b. 7 Oct 1671; bu. 31 Oct 1673.
b. Samuel, b. 26 Jan 1673, m. Martha Ponder of Westfield, 18 Jun 1713; she prob. the Martha (wid.) d. Aug., 1758, ae. about 80 (Why. Ch. rec.).
B. By 2d. mar.:
c. John, b. 25 Jan 1676, m. Jane Alford, 24 Jul 1717.
d. Hannah, b. 4 Oct 1681. - O.C.R.
e. Ruth, b. 24 Jul 1683; m. Wm. Phelps; sett. W. near where Wm. Cook res. 1859.
f. Elizabeth, b. 9 Feb 1684; m. Daniel Loomis; res. W. near where R.W. Loomis res. 1859.
g. David, b. 12 May 1686 (Col. Rec.); m. Hannah Post; sett. at Hebron on ld. giv. him by his fath.
h. Sarah, b. 28 Aug 1698; m. (1) Stephen Palmer; sett. Poq., W.; m. (2) a Phelps; rem. to Wstfld.
i. William, m. Esther Brown, 5 Nov 1700; res. Poq., W.; d. 17 Jul 1704.
j. Mary, b. 25 Sep 1704; m. Peter Brown; sett. W. near where Julius Ransom res. 1859.
k. Mindwell, d. unm'd 3 Dec 1712 (W.R.); her bro. Joseph app. adm'r on her est. 17 Mar 1713; est. £61, 11s.
l. Joseph, m. Mary Loomis, 6 May 1708.
m. Benjamin, m. Hannah Lewis, 30 Jun 1720; sett. Poq., W., near William Barne's res. 1859.

6. Henry R. Stiles, "The History and Genealogies of Ancient Windsor, Connecticut," 1892, v. 2, p. 179: Ruth's brother Enoch Drake married Sarah Porter of my database.
"John Drake (son of John), m. Hannah (dau. Dea. John) Moore, 30 Nov 1648; a first settler at Simsbury, but res. Windsor until 1659, perhaps longer. Inscription on his gravestone at Sims., as copied by Miss R.T. Sperry, gives 7 Jul 1688, as date of his death, age 39; but 'Sims. Town Rec.' (Vol. I, 80) give invent. of est. of John D. of S., 'dec'd July ye 9, 1689, taken Aug 1689...': also mentions wid. Mary and Children: Mary, age 15 y., Hannah, age 11 y., John, age 1... His wife d. 16 Feb 1686; she was admitted to Windsor Church 2 Apr 1655 (O.C.R.). Children (born and baptized Old Church Records):
a. John, b. 14 Sep 1649; bpt. 15 Apr 1655, m. Mary (dau. Robert and Mary Rockwell Watson of E.W.), b. 11 Jan 1651; rem. to Sims.; he d. 8 Feb 1724/5 (Sims. Rec.)...
b. Job b. 15 Jun 1651, bp. 15 Apr 1655.
c. Hannah, b. 8 Aug 1653, bp. 10 Apr 1655, m. John Higley, located N.W. from Tariffville, now called Higleytown.
d. Enoch, b. 8, bp. 10 Dec 1655.
e. Ruth, b. 1, bp. 6 Dec 1657 (Col. Rec.); m. Samuel Barber; res. Windsor; rem. to Simsbury.
f. Simon, b. 28, bp. 30 Oct 1659.
g. Lydia, b. 26 Jan, bp. 2 Feb 1661; m. Joseph Loomis; she d. May 1702.
h. Mary, b. 29 Jan, bp. 3 Feb 1666; m. Thomas Marshall.
i. Elizabeth, b. 22, bp. 24 Jul 1664; d. 20 Feb 1697.
j. Mindwell, b. 10 Nov 1671.
k. Joseph (Capt.), b. 26, bp. 28 Jun 1674."

7. The book "The Winthrop Fleet of 1630," by Banks, p. 102:
"The 'Mary and John' made a good passage and arrived at Nantasket May 30 without casualty. These 140 passengers are generally known as the Dorchester Company, from the place chosen for their settlement, and as they remained a distinct body of colonists, and there are contemporary records to identify most of them, it has been possible to compile a tentative list of those who came on this pioneer ship. Five years later a great majority of them removed to Windsor, Connecticut, under the leadership of Warham.
The following list shows the names of heads of family and the number in each family sailing in this ship. It gives the county of origin and the place of settlement after arrival, with other notes of identification. The list shows that fifteen came from Somerset, fifteen from Dorset, six from Devon and three are of undetermined origin. The total number thus listed makes 134 out of 140 who came over.
[List includes:] John Drake (6). Devon, Removed to Windsor (Stiles)."
 		Drake, Ruth (I2210)
 
2853 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 EL54ejg "John Jacob Eller and His Descendants with Other Pre-1800 Eller Immigrants to America...," by J. Gerald Eller, Edward K. Eller, and Janine Eller Porter (The Eller Family Association, 1998), pp. 22-27:
"George Michael Eller
Many gaps in our knowledge of the genealogy of descendants of George Michael Eller are revealed in Table VI. Until new information was reported in the Eller Chronicles, the published genealogy of this immigrant and his descendants came exclusively from Hook (1925, 1955, 1957, 1957A). His genealogies were limited largely to descendants of four sons: Peter, Leonard, Jacob, and George. His listing of Jacob, as a son (1957, pp 53-63), has been questioned; this point is discussed further in chapters 8 and 10. Other researchers have now contributed extensively to the genealogy of this line, as shown in the bibliography at the end of the chapter. As can be seen in Table VI, little is known of the descendants of the daughters of immigrant George Michael Eller.
Table VI
George Michael Eller married (1st)? (2nd)? (3rd) Eva Maria. Frederick County, Maryland. Their children and grandchildren:
1. Peter, married Elizabeth Dick, children John, Catherine, Peter Jr., Elizabeth, unnamed daughter, Jacob, Mary, Henry, George.
2. Elizabeth married Heinrich Reb. Nothing more is known
3. Leonard married Elizabeth Mast, children: Adam, Elizabeth, John, Joseph, Sarah, Mary Lucinda, Jacob, Henry, George.
4. Jacob. No other known record unless he was the Jacob Eller of Chapter 8.
5. George died in Davidson County, North Carolina, before 1841; his wife was Susanna. Children: George Jr., Henry, David.
6. John married Catherine Fight (Fort)? Nothing more is known.
7. Eve. Nothing more is known.
8. Catherine married Peter Lehman? Nothing more is known. (From Hook, 1957, pp. 15-16).
9. Maria (Mary) married Jacob Eller; Children: Cloah (Chloe) "Glory" Eller. (Troutman and File. EC, XI:1, Sp. Ed., Feb. 1997).
Primary centers from which known descendants spread: Frederick Co., MD, Rowan Co., NC, Ashe Co., NC, Wilkes Co., NC, Miami Co., OH, Hamilton Co., IN, Wapello Co., IA.
An arrival record for George Michael Eller has led to some confusion and differences of opinion. Two different records, possibly for George Michael Eller, are cited in reports: "Sept. 30th 1743. The Foreigners imported in the ship Phoenix … and in the Ship Robert & Alice ... from Rotterdam … list from Cowes." Among passengers listed was: "Michael x Ellen," and "October 7, 1743, list of Men's Names pr the St Andrew … Qualified October 7, 1743 ... ''Geo Eler" and "Hans Jerg Ohler".[1] See Appendix Q for the most recent analysis of these two arrival records which shows that Geo Eler and Hans Jerg Ohler were apparently the same individual. Some other aspects of the family history of George Michael Eller of Frederick County, Maryland are muddled by different reports among the several documents, mainly family group sheets prepared by various individuals, now in circulation.
Other records for a Michael Eller, may or may not be for George Michael Eller. This applies to the deed for twenty-five acres to a Michael Eller dated 12 April 1753, and recorded in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania[2] and to the Michael Eller on a 1759 tax list for Rowan County. North Carolina,[3] also to a Michael Eller on a 1772 tax list for Randolph County, North Carolina.[4]
As already mentioned, early Ellers in Rowan County were known to sometimes transcribe the name "Melchior" as "Michael," and more than one Melchior Eller was in that county during the early period. However, the Randolph County record of 1772 may indeed refer to George Michael Eller since land records show that three or four of his sons were in North Carolina in the 1770s, and his son Leonard was a large land owner in Randolph County.
Descendants of George Michael Eller are searching for evidence that he lived in North Carolina before he settled in Frederick County, Maryland in 1773. That same year one report places his eldest son Peter in Rowan County, North Carolina.[5] By 1778 his other sons were in that area of North Carolina.
A Bible record for Leonard, second son of George Michael Eller, gives his birthplace as Fort (Ford) Litters, North Carolina, but no record of such a place has been found.[6] Another puzzling part of this record says Leonard's father was born in Bebon. Germany. Bebon may have been intended for Baden, but this is not certain. A record cited by Hook (1957, p. 32) says Leonard was born in Germany, but most researchers say he was born in the United States. He married Elizabeth Mast, daughter of John and Barbara Mast of Randolph County, North Carolina. From the late 1770s until after 1821 Leonard Eller owned land in Rowan and Randolph Counties, North Carolina. About 1801 he took his family to Miami County, Ohio, and later to Indiana, where some of his descendants still live. Leonard Eller was a large land-owner in three states. He continued to own land in Randolph County, North Carolina until after 1821.[7]
George Eller, another son, left descendants in Davidson County, North Carolina, where he died before 1841, but the Eller Family Association has yet to establish contacts with descendants of this line. An abstract of George Eller's will from the Division of Lands Book, pp. 32-33, Davidson County, North Carolina was obtained from the Public Library in Lexington, North Carolina. His heirs listed in the May Term 1841 Court Record includes: Caroline Sowers, Katharene Darr(?), Sally Warlow, Dolly Long, David Eller, Christene Waggoner, Elizabeth Reket(?), George Eller, Sally Haines, Polly Reed. We would like to know more about his descendants. Hopefully, other records will appear in future issues of the Eller Chronicles. For more information on this family see Hook (1957), p 64-68.
For John, another son of George Michael Eller for whom Hook (1957, p. 16), found no "identifiable record," and speculated that some of the John Eller records in Rowan County, North Carolina, might be for this John Eller. Hook encountered the problem already mentioned - too many Eller men with only the single name of John living in the county at the same time, making final identifications impossible.
Based in part on an Eller family oral tradition in Rowan County, Maria, youngest daughter of George Michael Eller, a recent report says she married Jacob Eller, a grandson of immigrant (John) Melchior Eller.[8] Louise Barringer File of Salisbury, North Carolina, now in her eighties, has vivid memories of being told by her grandmother, Joyce Delinda Eller Morgan, of her descent from George Michael Eller, and how intermarriages among descendants of four different Eller immigrants enabled her and many other Ellers to claim four immigrant Ellers as ancestors. As previously mentioned, intermarriages among the four lines, taken from the work of Troutman and File (1997), appears as Fig. 2, Chapter 2, p. 10.
The earliest American record that lists the full name, George Michael Eller, is a land deed, dated 14 April 1773, showing he purchased land known as Hammond's Strife in Frederick County, Maryland.[9] There he lived until his death, which came before 25 August, 1778, when his will, written in German, was recorded. The relatively large sum of money (950 pounds) dispersed by his will suggests that he was a wealthy man for his time. His will mentions Children: Peter, Leonard, Elizabeth, Jacob, George, John, Eve, Catherine, Maria and a wife, Anna Maria, who apparently was not the mother of his older children.[10] Some think he was probably named three times, the first being in Germany.
"If all facts were known, they might show that George Michael Eller was married three times and that his eldest son, Peter, was a child of his first wife and the others by a second or third spouse. Peter was a grown man with a wife and child in Rowan County, North Carolina by 6 March 1773.[11] Hook goes on to report that Peter Eller was the only Eller in North Carolina listed outside or Rowan County, North Carolina in the 1790 census. However, by this date, John Jacob Eller Jr. had been living in Sullivan County, North Carolina over a decade, but because census records for 1790 were lost for the Tennessee region his presence there was unknown lo Hook. In 1790. Peter Eller was living on Bones (Roans) Creek in Wilkes (later Ashe) County, North Carolina.[12]
Troutman and File (1997) compiled an extensive genealogy of descendants of four Rowan County, North Carolina Eller immigrants including George Michael Eller, that was based in part on the family tradition, concerning his daughter Maria, described above. This, with the mass of new information previously reported in the Eller Chronicles, and the gaps in his genealogy (Table VI) the need for a new book on George Michael Eller and his descendants is obvious.
A project by the Eller Family Association to develop a computer data base for descendants of George Michael Eller has been under way for sometime. A new book may come from this project in the next few years. Hopefully it will include more genealogy* for each of [the] Children, especially his daughters.
Many questions about George Michael Eller remain to be answered. Where in Germany was he born and who were his ancestors? Did he ever live in North Carolina? If so, where and when? How was he related to other immigrants to America, especially to John Jacob, Christian, and John Melchior Eller of Rowan County, North Carolina and Henry Eller of Frederick County, Maryland? What of his son Jacob? How many wives did he have and who were they? Many of these same questions remain to be answered about all pre-1800 Eller immigrants to America.
When did sons of George Michael Eller Arrive in North Carolina?
Hook (1957, p. 21) "Peter Eller was living in Rowan County, North Carolina as early as 6 March 1773."|
Land Deeds. Rowan County, North Carolina:
"#3068, 1778, Leonard Eller 300 A on both sides of Sheit's Crk., adj Widow Bower. & Valentine Beard, including his improvements." (R. A Enocks, Indianapolis, 1988, p. 233).
"#1605, 28 Sep 1778, Philip Sewell 100 A on the headwaters or Reedy Creek & Tinkers Crk [adj] Joseph Mizzell, William Oliver & Lewis Defore, including his Improvements. Made to George Ellor by the Enterer." (ibid, pg. 115.)
"#1608, 28 Sep 1778, William Oliver 100 A on waters of Reedy Crk adj Philip Sewell, Joseph Meizell & Peter Eller, including his Improvements. Made over to Ja's Cheney." (ibid, pg. 115.)
Marriage Records, Rowan County, North Carolina; Hook (1957) p. 16: "This writer's guess is that this was the John Eller (s/o Geo. Michael) who married Catherine Fight (Fort) 10 Aug 1785."
End Notes:
1. Strassburger & Hinke, 1:349, 350, 351 (Geo. Eler); 1:345-346 (1992) (Michael x Eller)
2. Hook (1957), p. 1.
3. Norlh Carolina Department of Archives and History. Tax List Rowan Co., NC, File No. 85.007.1.
4. Ratcliff, Clarence A. North Carolina Tax Payers 1609-1790; ibid 1701-1786, Geneal. Publ. Co., Inc., Baltimore, pp. 61, 63.
5. Hook (1957) p. 21."Peter Eller was living in Rowan County, North Carolina as early as 6 Mar 1773 on which date the Patriarchal Blessing or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints states that Peter Eller's daughter Catherine was born in Rowan County, North Carolina."
6. Hook, (1957) p. 32. William Eller, Bible record of 1819-1894. "William Eller was Born July 26, A.D. 1819 John Eller was mi father he was Born in Ashe County, North Carolina his father was Leonard Eller he was born in at fort (ford, fork) litters, North Carolina and his father came from Bebon (Baden) Co." Note: This enigmatic record, obviously based on memories that were not perfect, has never been verified. No such place as Fort Litters, North Carolina is known. That Leonard Eller ever lived in Ashe county has never been proven; that he was born in Germany in 1690 is untrue.
7. Davidson Co., NC, Deed Bk. 1:257-258. Abstract, 13 June 1821 Leonard Eller, County of Miami and State of Ohio. Land situated in Randolph County on Cariway where he did live and left in the hand of Jacob Hoover. Three tracts in Rowan, one on waters of Lick Creek, other on Sheets Creek in possession of Jacob Hoover, late dec'd. He now appoints Samuel Hoover of Randolph County Attorney for him. Wit John Hoover, Jr., Henry Hoover acting Justice of Peace in Ohio, William Norwood, one of the Judges of Court of Law and Equity and affirmed appointment." Note: For more on the Eller-Hoover relationships, see Lyle (1994). These Hoovers were of the ancestral line of President Herbert Hoover.
8. Troutman and File (1997). This tradition was long established in the Eller ancestral line of Louise Barringer File of Salisbury, North Carolina.
9. Hook (1957) p I, Deed Bk. S96-98, Frederick County Maryland
10. Ibid. Will Book G.M. No. 1, pp. 76-78, Frederick County Maryland Reprinted: EC, V:2:106-107 (1992).
11. Hook (1957), p. 21.
12. Ibid. p. 5.
New Information on George Michael Eller and His Descendants from the Eller Chronicles (EC):
Ashley, Melissa Kay Kemp, Kirby Luke Eller of Ashe County. NC. VII:2:104-110 (1994).
Baldwin, Myrell, Nebraska Eller Family History, VI:1:43-48 (1992).
Black, Kay, Descendants of America Elizabeth Eller (1850-1925), VII:2:68-82 (1993).
Collidge, Louise Eller, Cleveland Eller, Honor Guardsman at President Lincoln's Funeral, VI:1 (1992).
Eller, A. Wm., Descendants of Robert Tracy Eller, Vol. III:1:14-18 (1989).
1992 Reunion of Descendants, Chugwatcr, Wyoming. VII:2:170 (1993)
The Nebraska Ellers, VI:1:67-69 (1992).
Eller, Byron H., John Cleveland Eller and Jane Rebecca Montgomery. VI:2:120-122 (1992)
Eller, George C. II, Lucius Elom Eller, Vol IX:2:53-56 (1995).
Eller, George C. III, Genealogical Relationships Between Byrkits and Ellers, X:4:1-10 (1996).
Eller, J. Gerald et al, Tributes to Gertrude Eller Waddell, VI:4:226-241 (1992).
Review - Franklin Plato Eller & John Carlton Eller by Jay B Hubbell (1909), VI:4:242-249 (1992).
James W. Hook, III:3:48, 67, 80-82.
Genealogy of the James Eller Family of Ashe Co., NC. VI:4:250-254 (1992).
Eller, James, Letter from Rev. J. Ben Eller, 1925, VIII:3:160-162 (1994).
Eller, Joseph Burton Jr., Lineage of Joseph Burton Eller, Jr., V:4:264-273 (1991).
Eller, Lucile, Family Group Data, V:2:91A-98 (1991).
Eller, Lynn, Harvey Eller 1819-1906, IV.4:169-177 (1990).
Another Reunion, Another Time - 1925, V:4:237-241 (1991).
William Hamilton Eller, 1842-1922, IV:3:101-108 (1990).
Letters from J. W. Hook - Research in Germany, VII:2:153-169 (1993).
James W. Hook Remembered in III:3:82-84; VI:1:82-85, VII Suppl. Pp 82-83 (1989).
Eller, Nora Robinette, Descendants of James Madison of Wilkes Co., NC, 1974, VII: 1:18-43 (1993).
Eller, Raymond, Past Reunions of the Harvey Eller Family, II:2:68-70 (1988).
An Eller Family in Nebraska at the Turn of the Century, V:3:142-168 (1991).
Eller, Robert C., My Pedigree and Some Relatives in Wilkes Co., NC, X:2:34-35 (1996).
Eller, Van, Leonard Eller, VII:4:308-311 (1993).
Ellis, Rose Eller, Descendants of Anderson Eller, Wilkes Co., NC. X:2:29-33 (1996).
Additions and Corrections to J. W. Hook, 1957, X:3:81-83 (1996).
Evans, Calvin Welker, A Family's Lifetime Research, IV:3:108-113 (1990).
Green, Connie, Descendants of Henry Cleveland Eller, Sr., IX:2:57-64 (1995).
Greer, Charles, Julia Caroline Greer: Ancestral Chart. VII:2:142-146 (1993).
Clinton Eller, VIII:69-71 (1994).
Honeyman, Gale, E.S., Additions and Corrections to Hook (1957), II:3:126-128 (1988).
Hook, James W., Genealogical Field Trip to North Carolina, VII:1:12-15 (1993).
Hubbell, Paul E., James Eller Family and the Bushwhackers, 1864-1865, VI:1:54-65 (1992).
Johnson, Phyllis Tollison, Mananna Faye Eller: Ancestral Chart. I:1:28.
Phineas H Eller, Ancestral Chart, VI:1:29 (1992).
Kemp, Melissa Kay (Ashley), A Biography of Kirby Luke Eller, VIII:2:104-110 (1994).
Kidd, Elise P., Sarah "Sallie" Eller and John Haines, Davidson Co., NC, III:1:11-13 (1989).
Kilburn, Deborah Eddington, Kurt Jeffrey Kilburn: Ancestral Chart, IX:1:15-16 (1995).
Leonard, Daphne Eller, Ethel B. Eller, Ashe County, NC, VIII:1: 61-66 (1994)
Lyle. Edith D.. Hoover - Eller Family Relationship. VIII:4:194-199 (1994).
McNeil, George and Joyce, Wilkes Co., NC, Eller Cemetery Records, VI:2:90-109 (1992).
Murray, Pat Wheeler, Elizabeth "Betty" Eller, Wilkes Co.. NC, IX:1:12 (1995).
Newbold, Dorothy W., Bible Record George Eller of Davidson Co., NC, IV:3:150 (1990).
Oliver, Jean, Leonard Eller, VI:3:161-179 (1992).
Ancestry and Descendants of Jean Oliver, VI:3:158-159 (1992).
James W. Eller (Portrait and Biographical Record of Madison and Hamilton Co., IN. Chicago, 1893). VI:3:162-163 (1991).
Early Eller Families of Hamilton County, Indiana, VI:3;156-160 (1992).
Miscellaneous Eller Records from Hamilton Co., IN, VI:3:166-179 (1992).
Overton, Kathleen Stoker, Linkage of Kathleen Stoker Overton, Sp Ed., IX:3:1-15 (1995).
Pell, George P., Adolphus Hill Eller, Bio Hist. of NC. (Chas. L. Van Noppen). III:1:1-8 (1989).
Pilker, Iona Fisher, America Elizabeth Eller and Abraham Covert Fisher, VII 3:213-247 (1993).
Ratcliffe, Clarence A., North Carolina Tax Payers 1679-1790, Geneal. Publ. Co., Inc. Baltimore, 1987, p. 61; ibid 1701-1786. p. 63.
Reese, Michael A., Julius Marion Eller: Going to Texas, V:3:127-141 (1991).
David and Henry Eller, sons of Peter Eller, Jr., and Mary Pennington, II:18-20 (1987).
Schoen, Kathleen A., Family Group Data, I:1:12-13 (1987).
Family Group Data, V:2:99-105 (1991).
Schweers, Lovetta Miller, William and Elizabeth Stike Eller, IX:1:13-14 (1995).
Descendants of Mathias and Sarah Amanda Roark Eller, Sp. Ed., IX:2:1-26 (1993).
Stelle, Bethel, Eller, Thomas A., III:2:39-41 (1989).
Israel Curtis, Otis R., and Thomas R. Eller, III:4:133-135 (1989).
Troutman Peggy A. and Louise B. File, EC. XI:1, Sp. Ed., (Feb. 1997)."

2. Ordinance Index reports wife as Anna Maria ____. This is the same name that appears in husband's will.

3. There are many varying pedigrees going way back from this individual which to the best of my research are all spurious and undocumented. See notes with the father of this individual for a discussion of what is known of the Eller ancestry. Thus far there has been no documented connection with the European ancestry and places.

4. So far I only list two brothers, George Michael and Henry. There may be some relationship between these two with John Jacob, Melchoir, and Christian Eller of Rowan County, North Carolina. Rowan County was the original furthest west North Carolina County in colonial days and later was divided up into more than 20 other counties and the State of Tennessee. The following article is from the online "Eller Chronicles;" the author, J. Gerald Eller, is well respected in the Eller Family Association. Copied from website http://freepages.family.rootsweb.com/~adelr/feb94/feb94p5.htm. He notes:
"Were John Jacob, Christian, John Melker, George Michael and Henry Eller close relatives, even brothers? Present evidence supports only a limited answer. That John Jacob and John Melker were brothers is considered proven; a preponderance of evidence supports the same relationship existed with Henry and George Michael Eller. Christian was a probable brother or close relative of Jacob and Melchior. If all five were not brothers, they appear, as J.W. Hook inferred, to have been close relatives who probably came from the same place in Germany. The search for that place is a current Eller Family Association sponsored research project."
See their father's notes for more extensive article on the other three North Carolina Ellers, their migration, and other interesting notes on early Eller days in North Carolina.

5. FHL Book 929.273, film 6005243, "John Jacob Eller and His Descendants with Other Pre-1800 Eller Immigrants to America," by the Eller Family Association, 1998, 817-297-1280. The book in chapter 5 comments on current thinking of the Eller Family Association (EFA) on Hook research into George Michael Eller (GME) which I summarize as follows:
"A Henry Eler (Eller) and wife were baptized at Conestoga Church, a Dunkard Church in Lancaster Co., PA, by Elder Michael Franz on Apr. 14, 1754. The will of Dunker Zachariah Albaugh (Frederick Co., MD) also reveals the Dunker relationships of Henry Eller who was a witness to his will dated July 4, 1782. J.M. Henry describes Henry Eller as a Brethern (Dunkard) (Brumbaugh, M.G., pp. 202-203). This same Henry Eller later removed to Frederick County, Maryland and took up land in 1767. In 1773, George Michael Eller took up land adjacent to that of Henry Eller. Henry and George Michael Eller lived on Pipes Creek, Frederick County, Maryland until their deaths, George Michael in 1778, and Henry in 1788. Henry belonged to the Pipes Creek Dunkard Church which was located near his farm. George Michael Eller may also have been a Dunkard, although records show two of his daughters were married in Lutheran churches (Hook-1957, p. 10). There are no records that Henry or any of his children ever lived in North Carolina."

6. FHL Book 929.273, film 6005243, "John Jacob Eller and His Descendants with Other Pre-1800 Eller Immigrants to America," by the Eller Family Association, 1998, 817-297-1280: Chapter 1, concerning migration patterns in Colonial North Carolina and early pre-1800 immigrants:
"When the Ellers... arrived in Pennsylvania, they found all the productive land occupied, or available only at high prices. In the favored easterly sections, the cost of farms was almost prohibitive. Under these conditions the newly arrived German immigrants began to move southward, some stopping in Maryland, and some in the Shenandoah Valley. When word came of cheap and abundant land in North Carolina, particularly in Rowan County, that became the choice destination for a growing stream of German migrants who traveled south on the Great Wagon Road... [The Ellers presumed path from their homeland was] German Palatinate - Rhine River - Rotterdam - England - Philadelphia - Montgomery County, Pennsylvania - Great Wagon Road - Crane Creek on the Yadkin River in Rowan County, North Carolina... Their arrival there began about 1745, the number increased markedly prior to 1760, and except for a decline during the French and Indian War, continued until the Revolutionary War. A large number of Scotch-Irish settlers had settled in Rowan County, and taken up the most fertile land prior to the arrival of the Germans. This left the land of less fertile soil to the east and southeast of Salisbury for the Germans."
"In colonial times two major travel routes entered North Carolina from the north. The Great Wagon Road began in Philadelphia, passed through the Shenandoah Valley, and entered the northern border of North Carolina. After crossing the Yadkin River at the 'Shallow Ford' west of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the road continued south to Rowan County and beyond. This was the route taken by most of the Pennsylvania Germans who came to North Carolina."
"Another route known as the Trading Path began in tide-water Virginia at Petersburg and joined the Great Wagon Road at the Trading Ford on the Yadkin River only a few miles east of the present town of Salisbury, Rowan County, North Carolina… Until after the French and Indian War, which ended in 1761, the Indians, principally the Catawba and Cherokee tribes, were not far to the west of Salisbury."
"From the Trading Ford, the road continued southward into Cabarrus and Mecklenburg Counties and on into South Carolina. Situated strategically at the confluence of major travel and trading routes, Salisbury, founded in 1755, remained for decades the most western frontier town in North Carolina. Rowan County extended westward beyond the Appalachian Mountains to include the present state of Tennessee. This gave the distinction to Rowan County of being the largest ever in the United States. The trans-mountain region was destined to become the state of Tennessee in 1796, but first it was a part of the Cherokee Indian Nation, as was most of the mountain area of present western North Carolina… [It was] reported that settlers were coming from the north in hundreds of wagons, and in 1755 it was reported that 5,000 had crossed the James river in Virginia bound for Rowan County..."
"[During the French and Indian War of 1759-1760 which disrupted life in Rowan County, immigrant] Christian Eller [was] listed in a militia company in 1759 that was called up after an Indian attack near Salisbury. (Clark-1983, p. 851. Christian Eller listed on 'muster roll of Captain Morgan Bryan's Scouts.")…Three young Eller men from Rowan County fought in the Revolutionary War (John Melchior Eller, son of immigrant John Jacob Eller; John and Joseph Eller, other probable sons of immigrant John Jacob Eller.)…]… In the last 16 years of the Colonial Era… south bound traffic along the Great Wagon Road was numbered in the tens of thousands. It was the most heavily traveled road in all America… A significant number [of settlers] moved to the head waters of the Yadkin River, then crossed the Appalachians on the Boon Trail, to settle… in an area that was destined to become the northeastern corner of the state of Tennessee… Some descendants of immigrant Eller families of Rowan County were drawn toward the western frontier. Peter Eller, eldest son of George Michael Eller, moved to the headwaters of the Yadkin in time to acquire choice land in Wilkes (now Ashe) County, North Carolina. George Eller, eldest son of Christian Eller, moved to the southeastern corner of Virginia; and John Jacob Eller, Jr., eldest son of John Jacob Eller, crossed the mountains, perhaps as early as 1779, into the Holston Valley in the future state of Tennessee…"
"The Germansrans and records suggest they worshiped at the Peint (Pine) Church, the predecessor of today's Union Lutheran Church on Bringle Ferry Road near Salisbury…"
"The first known Eller record in Rowan County was a 1758 court record for a Jas Eller. This was followed in 1759 by a record for Christian Eller, already mentioned, and a Michael Eller. Then came the first records for Jacob Eller, and John Melchior Eller, another record for Christian Eller (1762), and another record for (John) Melker (Melchoir) Eller (1764)…"
"These Eller families may have arrived some years before their names appeared in public records. Some researchers think the Michael Eller of the 1759 was George Michael Eller, but this is not certain because the name Melchior was sometime recorded as Michael, and there was a Melchior Eller in Rowan County who probably arrived there before 1759. The presence of George Michael Eller in North Carolina has never been proven beyond some doubt, but several of his children lived there as adults and one, Leonard, was said the have been born there.
"Land records and plat map at the Public Library in Salisbury show that Jacob, Melker (Melchoir) and Christian Eller settled near one another on sizable farms on Crane Creek, a few miles south of the Trading Ford on the Yadkin River. This stream arises southwest of Salisbury, and enters the Yadkin River some seven miles to the southeast of the town. Jacob Eller lived at the mouth of Crane Creek, only a few miles down stream on the Yadkin River from the home of his famous contemporary, Daniel Boone…"
"As mentioned, the land settled by the Eller families… was not highly fertile… [which] may have been the major reason why second generation Ellers left Rowan County in the last quarter of the 18th Century…"
The book explains it is difficult to sort out all the Eller families in North Carolina since the same given names were recycled among successive generations. Another problem was the use of the same first name, i.e. John, whereas the middle name would change but not always be recorded with some public records of Rowan County usually listing only one given name, sometimes the first, often the second, but rarely both. The Eller Family Association has not been successful to date in placing all of the Ellers of Rowan Co. into a broad and linked genealogy.
J. Gerald Eller, one of the principals and founders of the modern Eller Family Association, presents in the book a chronological listing of all known pre-1800 Eller immigrants to America beginning in 1663 in Virginia including 26 total. Included in the list with his comments are:
No. 9: George Michael Eller, 'he may have been the George Eller, aged 20, who came on the ship St. Andrew with Hans George Oehler, aged 43, both of whom took their oaths 7 Oct 1743.' No descendants are known. Note: This is not George Michael Eller."
No. 10: "Michael (+) Eller (1743, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), "…imported in the ship Phoenix…from Rotterdam…last from Cowes, (S&H, Pennsylvania German Pioneers, Vol. 1), P. 356). (Note: Other evidence says this was George Michael Eller of Frederick Co., MD for whom many records exist - see Chap. 4.
No. 12: "Henry (H) Eller (1746, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), '…imported in the Neptune… from Rotterdam …last from England…' (S&H, Pennsylvania German Pioneers, vol. 1), p. 362. Note: This is thought to be Henry Eller of Frederick Co., MD for whom many records exist. He signed his name with an H rather than an X."
No. 13: "Christian (x) Eller (1747, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), "…imported in the Restauration …from Rotterdam …last from Lieth…inhabitants of the Palatinate and places adjacent." (S&H, Pennsylvania German Pioneers, vol. 1), p. 365). Note: this is thought to be Christian Eller of Rowan County, North Carolina, for whom many records exist."
No. 14: Jacob Eller (1753, Red Hill, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania), Lutheran Church Marriage Record: St. Paul's Lutheran (Red Hill) Churchbook, Montgomery Co., Pennsylvania. Burgert, Annette K. 'Eighteenth Century Emigrants, Vol. II, The Western Palatinate,' (The Pennsylvania German Society, Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, 1985), p. 142. Note: This was John Jacob Eller of Rowan County, North Carolina."
No. 15: "Michael Eller (1753, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania), Deed: 25 Acres, April 12, 1753. Egle, William Henry (Ed.), Wm. Stanley Ray, 'Provincial Papers: Warrantees of Land in the Several Counties of the State of Pennsylvania, 1730-1898, Vol. II, 1898,; p. 402. Note: This possibly was George Michael Eller who later removed to Frederick County, Maryland."
No. 16: "Henry Eler (Eller) (1754. Lancaster County, Pennsylvania), Church Record: "Henry Eler and wife baptized 14 April 1754 by Elder Michael Franz, Conestoga Dunker Congregation, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Cocalico District" by Martin Baumbaugh, 'A History of the Brethern, (Church of the Brethern Press, Elgin, Illinois, 1899), p. 312. Note: This Henry Eller removed to Frederick County, Maryland, and was perhaps the same Henry Eller as listed above #12 above."
No. 17: "Melchior Eller (1756, The New Hanover Lutheran Church, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania), 'Pennsylvania German Church Records of Births, Baptisms, Marriages, Burials, etc., From the Pennsylvania German Society Proceedings and Addressed Vol. II., Baltimore,' (Geneal. Publ. Co., Inc, 1983), p. 299. (Note: This is the confirmation record for 'Melchior Eller, son of the late Casper Eller, in his 20th year,' and the immigrant Melchior (Melcher) Eller, of Rowan County, North Carolina.)"
Chapter 2, concerning kinships among the early Eller families:
"Christian Eller purchased land in 1764 near that of John Jacob and John Melchior Eller in Rowan County, North Carolina, but the degree of kinship to the latter two remains unsettled. As an executor of Jacob's will, he was called 'my well beloved friend'. This phrase has led some to doubt that Christian was a brother to John Jacob and John Melchior Eller. However, this phrase was applied to his brother-in-law, John Gitchey (Ketchey) (Jr.)."
The book states that James Hook in his early 1925 book (but not in his last 1957 book) tried to connect the American Eller line to the nobility line of Elner-Eller families of the two Eller towns, one in the Dusseldorf area and the other in the Moselle River area. The book convincingly disputes this connection with expert quotes from German authorities on the Elner/Eller family.
"The association of the name of Eller with the alder tree is the version most widely quoted, although it is listed as the second choice in the 'Dictionary of Surnames,' Oxford University Press, 1988, 'Eller: 1. German: habitation name from places in the Rhine and Moselle areas, so called form an old stream name Elera, Alira, possibly of Celtic origin. 2. Low German: topographic name for someone who lived by an alder tree; from Modern Low German Elre, Alre, Alder; Old High German, Elira; Modern German Erle from Erila, (alder)…"
"…[We] learn from German authorities that the surname of Eller originated independently at different times and places, and that many German Eller families are totally unrelated. These reports have altered greatly our initial assumption that all past and present Eller families of Germany were related and originated from one ancestral family and place - this, we have learned, is totally incorrect…"
The book notes that in German the Palatinate area is known as the Pfalz. Also that Hook could never make the connection in Germany to his dying day even though he had worked extensively in trying to connect to the Dusseldorf noble line of Ellers. One German authority noted that nobility did not immigrate to America. The authors of this book indicate past efforts to connect our immigrants to their European ancestral places and families have been unsuccessful but the association has hired recent professional research to continue the effort.
Chapter 4, concerning the George Michael Eller:
"Many gaps in our knowledge of the genealogy of descendants of George Michael Eller are revealed in [the following:]
George Michael Eller married (1st)? (2nd)? (3rd) Eva Maria [Why Eva and not Anna - later in same article they use Anna Maria]. Frederick County, Maryland. Their children and grand-Children:
1. Peter, married Elizabeth Dick; Children: John, Catherine, Peter Jr., Elizabeth, unnamed daughter, Jacob, Mary, Henry, George.
2. Elizabeth married Heinrich Reb. Nothing more is known.
3. Leonard married Elizabeth Mast; Children: Adam, Elizabeth, John, Joseph, Sarah Mary Lucinda, Jacob, Henry, George.
4. Jacob. No other known record unless he was the Jacob Eller of [Botetort Co., Virginia].
5. George, d. in Davidson County, North Carolina before 1841; his wife was Susanna; Children: George Jr., Henry, David.
6. John married Catherine Fight (Fort)? Nothing more is known.
7. Eve. Nothing more is known.
8. Catherine married Peter Lehman? Nothing more is known.
9. Maria (Mary) married Jacob Eller; Children: Cloah (Chloe) 'Glory' Eller (Source: Troutman and File, 'Eller Chronicles,' XI:1, Sp. Ed., Feb 1997)
The book comments on current thinking of the Eller Family Association (EFA) on Hook research into George Michael Eller (GME) which I summarize as follows:
A. The two arrival records, Michael Eller in the ship "Phoenix" and Geo. Eler and Hans Jerg Ohler of the "St. Andrew" continue to lead to some confusion and differences of opinion. Recent analysis has led the Eller Family Association to believe that Geo. Eler and Hans Jerg Ohler were apparently the same individual. The clarification of the misinterpretation is that EFA does not feel that Hook documented where he got an age of 43 for Hans Georg Oehler. According to the actual records as reported by EFA as found in Strassburger and Hinke, Vol. 1, pp. 348-352: List 103A, p. 349, 'Geo. Eler listed age 20 and between Johannes Mayer and Peter Warner; List 103B, p. 350, Hans Jerg Ohler listed between Johannes Mayer and Peter Warner; List 103C, p. 351, Hanes Jerg Ohler listed between Johannes Mayer and Peter Warner. My note: did not the age come from the Oaths of Allegiance taken in 1743 in Pennsylvania right after the 1743 ship arrivals?
B. The 1753 deed in Lancaster Co., PA to 25 acres, the 1759 Rowan County tax list, and the 1772 Randolph Co., NC, tax list for Michael Eller may or may not be for George Michael Eller. Specifically EFA thinks the 1759 tax list may actually be for Melchior Eller whom was in Rowan County at that early date - Melchior sometimes being rendered as Melker or perhaps even Michael. On the other hand, four of GME's sons were in NC in the 1770s including Leonard as a large landowner in Randolph County making the 1772 Randolph Co. tax list a possibility. There is still no concrete evidence that GME was in North Carolina before his 1773 evidence of being in Frederick Co., MD. 1773 was the same year Peter, his eldest son, first shows in Rowan Co. and it wasn't until 1778 that his other sons were in NC.
C. The Bible record of Leonard being born at Fort (Ford) Litters, NC and his father from Bebon (Baden?) continues to puzzle researchers. No record or location of Fort Litters has yet been found. Most researchers believe Leonard was born in the United States and not Germany as reported by Hook on page 32. My note: I don't believe that Hook ever stated one way or the other except to quote what the Indiana history book he cites had quoted.
D. A will for George Eller, son of GME has been located. An abstract of his will from the Division of Lands Book, pp. 32-33, Davidson Co., NC was obtained from the Public Library in Lexington, NC. His heirs listed in the may Term 1841 Court Record includes: Caroline Sowers, Katharene Darr(?), Sally Warlow, Dolly Long, David Eller, Christene Waggoner, Elizabeth Reket(?), George Eller, Sally Haines, Polly Reed.
E. As for John, son of GME, no further record has been found. EFA acknowledges that the name John Eller is too unspecific making it difficult to identify which John Ellers if any of Rowan Co. may be him.
F. "Based in part on an Eller family oral tradition in Rowan County, Maria, youngest daughter of GME, a recent report says she married Jacob Eller, a grandson of immigrant (John) Melchior Eller. Louise Barringer File of Salisbury, NC, now in her eighties, has vivid memories of being told by her grandmother, Joyce Delinda Eller Morgan, of her descent from George Michael Eller, and how intermarriages among descendants of four different Eller immigrants enabled her and many other Ellers to claim four immigrant Ellers as ancestors from all four immigrants. The connection with GME purports to be Maria, GME's dau., marrying the grandson of Melchior Eller.
G. Questions still to be answered according to EFA: Where in Germany is he from, how was he related to others original immigrants (John Jacob, Christian, Melchior, and Henry), what of his son Jacob and his daughters, and how many wives did he have and who were they?
H. When did the sons of GME arrive in North Carolina?
Hook (1957, p. 21). "Peter Eller was living in Rowan Co., NC as early as 6 Mar 1773."
Land deeds of Rowan Co., NC:
"#3068, 1778, Leonard Eller 300 A on both sides of Sheit's Crk., adj Widow Bower, & Valentine Beard, including his improvements." (R.A. Enocks, Indianapolis, 1988, p. 233.)
"#1605, 28 Sep 1778, Philip Sewell 100 A on the headwaters of Reedy Creek & Tinkers Crk [adj] Joseph Meizell, William Oliver & Lewis Defore, including his Improvements. Made to George Ellor by the Enterer." (ibid. pg. 115.)
"#1608, 28 Sep 1778, William Oliver 100 A on waters of Reedy Crk adj Philip Sewell, Joseph Meizell & Peter Eller, including his Improvements. Made over to Ja's Cheney." (ibid, pg. 115.)
Marriage Records, Rowan County, North Carolina: Hook (1957) p. 16: "This writer's guess is that this was the John Eller (s/o Geo Michael) who married Catherine Fight (Fort) 10 Aug 1785."

7. Index of miscellaneous deeds from the book "Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881," Vol. II, comp. and ed. by Elayne Stoker, 2004, printed by Stevenson's Genealogy Center, Provo, UT. I am not sure of the relationship, if any, of all the parties herein listed and this is for reference only:
"Some Frederick County Maryland Deeds:
E-125 Joseph Grable to Jacob Funk, March 20, 1753
E-509 Joseph Grable to Jacob Funk, August 21, 1754 Agreement
F-244 Joseph Grable to Jacob Funk, May 28, 1757
F-393 Joseph Grable from James ___, February 11, 1758
K-782 Joseph Grable to Jacob Roland, November 19, 1766
K-782 Samuel Grable from Leonard White, November 14, 1766
K-743 Joseph Grable to Jacob Funk - Release
K-803 Martin Garver from Jacob Danner, December 19, 1766
K-1284 Henry Eller to Jacob Flora, June 6, 1767
L-515 John Garver from Jacob Danner, October 1, 1768
N-396 Leonard Kitzmiller from Samuel Stringer, October 10, 1770
N-505 Peter Wampler from Richard Coroxal, December 15, 1770
S-96 George Michael Eller from Edward Gaither
O-3 Henry Eller to David Buzzard, January 14, 1771
L-665 John Grable to Jacob Roland, May 1772
P-128 Henry Eller from Leonard Kitzmiller, June 13, 1772
P-110 Leonard Kitzmiller to Samuel Carver, June 13, 1772
BD1-539 John Garver to Jacob Danner, May 22, 1775- did not find
BD6-34 John Grabill to Jacob Danner, June 20, 1775
WR-2-543 Peter Grable to Michael Christ, May 26, 1779
WR-3-71 John Grabell to Wm. Renner, July 27, 1782
GM2-444 Peter Wampler, 1782
WR-4-98 Peter Grable to Michael Christ, May 26, 1779
WR-6-4 Henry Eller to Philip Fishburn, June 22, 1784
WR-6-84 Henry Eller to Francis B. Sappington, August 19, 1784
WR-3-205 John Grable from John Bowman, Bill of Sale
WR-7-332 John Grable and others to George Kitzburger, June 12, 1787
WR-7-616 John Grable to Paul Clapsdale, December 4, 1787
WR-8-505 John Grable from John Shuk, June 8, 1789 Bill of Sale
WR-9-194 John Grable from Sam Cole, April 30, 1790
WR-9-250 John Grable from Joseph Boyer, June 1, 1790
WR-9-46 Peter Grable from Martin Sheets, July 8, 1790
WR-9-546 Peter Grable from Henry Repp, December 7, 1790
WR-11-279 John Garber and others, September 24, 1791, Agreement
WR-11-210 John Wampler to Lazarus Findburg, November 21, 1792
WR-11-199 Joseph Wampler from Michael Baer, November 19, 1792
WR-11-587 Joseph Eller from Jacob Baer, May 31, 1793
WR 12-41 John Garber, Upton Scott and others, May 9, 1794 Agreement
WR 12-445 John Grable from Balser Riam, June 3, 1794
WR 12-447 John Grable from Balser Riam, June 3, 1794
WR 12-456 John Grable to Christian Ebey, June 6, 1794
WR 12-451 John Grable to Christian Ebey, June 6, 1794
WR 12-535 John Grable from Conrad Cragon, August 14, 1794
WR 12-516 John Grable to Rebecca Reynolds, July 30, 1794
WR 13-153 John Grable to Conrad Hi , March 26, 1795
WR 13-126 Joseph Eller from Frederick Murray, March 24, 1795
WR 13-449 Martin Garber from Richard Cook, August 11, 1795
WR 13-263 Martin Garber from Philip Fishburn, May 6, 1795
WR 15-481 John Grable from Negro Bill, July 5, 1797
WR 15-595 Joseph Eller from John Kerr, September 6, 1797
WR 15-518 Martin Garber from Richard Coal, August 8, 1797
WR 15-519 Joseph Grable from Martin Garber, August 8, 1797
WR 15-395 David Wampler from Joseph Grable, June 8, 1797
WR 17-44 Jacob Grable from Wm. Hardin, May 24, 1798
WR 19-71 David Wampler from Christian Simmons, October 8, 1799
WR 12-245 Peter Wampler from Samuel Chase, March 1794
WR 16-463 John Wampler from Joseph Baker, May 2, 1795
WR 17-302 John Garber from ___ Scott, October 2, 1798
WR 19-247 Joseph Eller from Jacob Young, January 16, 1800
WR 19-250 Joseph Eller to Jacob Pofsbarger, January 17, 1800
WR 19-252 Joseph Eller to Michael Minor Sr., January 17, 1800
WR 19-444 John Wampler to John Iler, April 16, 1800
WR 21-466 John Grable from Christian Leasner, September 17, 1801
WR 21-541 Jacob Garber to Joseph Baker, October 21, 1801
WR 23-227 Martin Carver and others to Samuel Garber, July 29, 1802
WR 23-228 Samuel Garber from Christian Garber and others, July 29, 1802
WR 23-229 Samuel Garber and others to Christian Garber, July 29, 1802
WR 23-231 John Garber from John Wampler, July 29, 1802
WR 23-234 John Wampler to Martin Garber, July 29, 1802
WR 22-548 Moses Grable from Craig Marshall, May 15, 1802
WR 20-41 Martin Garber from Wm. Head, June 21, 1800
WR 20-43 Martin Garber from Peter Kramer, June 28, 1800
WR 22-4 Moses Grable to Michael Freeze, November 3, 1801
WR 25-579 John Garber from Israel Bigler, May 8, 1804
WR 26-71 John Garber from Anna Garber and others, September 5, 1804
WR 27-544 Joseph Grable to Peter Grable, October 10, 1805
WR 39-561 John Grable from Peter Grable, May 22, 1811
WR 42-380 John Grable and others to State of Maryland, May 31, 1813
WR 44-85 John Grable to Louis Mottier, April 5, 1813"

8. The book "The Howard Leytham Stoker Von Dollen Family Histories," FHL 929.273 H833a, by Doris Lewis, 2017 So. 80th Ave., Omaha, Nebraska, 68124, p. 88 [FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 119-123, has almost the same verbatim except what I note in brackets]:
"...James Hook wrote a history of 'George Michael Eller and His Descendants in America.' Much of the information I have on the Ellers come from this book or a book by Judge Johnson J. Hayes, called 'The Land of Wilkes,' a history of Wilkes County in North Carolina. In the ninth century Alamans, Teutons of Jutland, moved into Westallgan as early settlers. One group, called Ellers, started at the foot of Hirshberg in the Algauer Alp area near Bregenz, on Lake Constance. [They may have stayed in this general area for 600 years. This is the same area of the Palatinate that the Graybill religious refugees from Switzerland had fled and the same time frame. So the Ellers and Graybills may have known each other as neighbors or fellow churchmen.] Alta March, of Herman, Nebraska, has an Eller genealogy based in Germany, which probably connects with our family. In this record a Bartl and Barbara Swartz Eller had three children, Joseph, George and George Michael, the latter thought born in Baden, Sept. 5, 1695 and emigrated to America. He could well have been the father of our George Michael Eller, for he was a bit old to start his family in 1748. [The American Ellers apparently came from the Palatinate of Germany in the first half of the 18th century. The Pennsylvania Archives, 2nd Series, Vol 17, records the arrival of 13 Eller families who took the oath of allegiance between 30 Sep 1740 and 3 Nov 1772.] A Geo. Eller [age 20] emigrated on the ship 'St. Andrew,' and took his oath in Pennsylvania on Oct. 7, 1743 and [a George Michael Eller, apparently this same George Eller,] bought land he called 'Hammond Strife,' in Frederick County, Maryland. A Michael Eller aboard the ship Phoenix, took oath on September 30, 1743, and was on the tax list of Rowan Co. in N.C. in 1759. George Michael Eller, our ancestor, who may be the son or one of the above, was in Rowan County with Jacob, Christian and Melchoir Eller [Pitt book does not say location of the above three Ellers] at that same time and may have been there for a number years since his son Leonard said he was born at Fort Litters, N.C. in 1759. George Michael Eller bought land next to his brother Henry, in Frederick Co., MD in 1773, so he went back to Frederick County. His wife's name was Anna Marie and was the known mother of the last seven children, and may well have been Peter's and Leonard's mother. The Ellers of North Carolina have been connected with education since that state's earliest days. Academies in Virginia and North Carolina were started by Ellers and a list of the public school personnel today in N.C. is sprinkled with Ellers. [In 1790 there were 11 Eller families shown in the Rowan Co., NC census. At that time, members of the Eller family also were in Wilkes Co., NC and in Botetort Co., VA.] Children:
a. Peter, b. [1746/]1748 [possibly in Germany]; d. [bef] 29 Jul 1799 at Ashe Co., NC; m. [abt 1766/7 probably of Frederick Co, MD] Elizabeth Dick.
b. Leonard, b. 20 Mar 1752 at Ft. Litters [20 Mar 1754 probably in NC, possibly in Germany]; d. 1839, [probably] Hamilton Co., IN; m. Elizabeth Mast [Elizabeth ___].
c. Elizabeth, b. 1756; d. 1777; m. Henry Repp [10 Jun 1777 to Heinrich Reb, s/o Caspar Reb of Bucks Co., PA].
d. Jacob, b. 1758; d. 1830 [between 10 May 1830 and Oct 1830, Botetort Co., VA], m. Magdalena [___].
e. George, b. 1760 [d. probably abt 1839, Davidson Co., NC; m. Susannah [___].
f. John, b. 1762; m. [possibly] Catherine Fight [or Fort].
g. Eve, b. 1764.
h. Catherine, b. 1767; m. [probably 27 May 1788, Frederick Co., MD] Peter Lehman.
i. Maria, b. 1769."

9. FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 119-123:
"George Michael Eller, b. 1722, probably Germany; d. Frederick Co., MD bef 25 Aug 1778; md. (1) to ___; md. (2) to Anna Marie ___. George apparently had a brother, Henry (d. 1788; md. to Elizabeth Bigler). George Michael is first found in the records 14 Apr 1773, when he was deeded 100 acres of land in Frederick Co. MD. this land was part of a 1230 acre tract called Hammond's Strife, located about 10 miles east of Frederick Town, Frederick Co., MD."

10. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 6-14:
"George Michael Eller died in Frederick County, Maryland before 25 Aug 1778 when his will, written in the German language and translated and put on record by Thomas Schley, was proved in the Frederick County court. The fact that his will was written in German indicates that he was born in Germany. No George Michael Eller is shown in any list of foreigners who took the Oath of Allegiance to the State of Pennsylvania between 1727 and 1775 nor in any other list of immigrants that this writer has seen. He may or may not have been the Michael Eller who came on the ship 'Phoenix' and took his oath 30 Sep 1743, or he may have been the George Eller, aged 20, who came on the ship 'St. Andrew' with Hans Georg Oehler, aged 43, both of whom took their oaths 7 Oct 1743. Or he may have come to America as a lad before 1727 before importee lists were kept and, of course, he may have been one of those immigrants whose name was lost in the mutilation of the 1727-1775 lists that occurred before they were gathered together and published by the State of Pennsylvania in Vol.17 of the second series of Pennsylvania Archives. Finally, he may not have landed in Pennsylvania at all but in Maryland which state kept no record of individual German importees.
William Eller, 1819-1894, son of John Eller and grandson of Leonard Eller and great-grandson of George Michael Eller wrote the following in a family Bible, published in 1880, and now owned by Mrs. Paul Joseph Harrop, 1613 W. Riverview Av., Dayton, Ohio: 'William Eller was born July 26, A.D. 1819 John Eller was mi father he was Born in Ashe County, North Carolina his father was Lenard Eller he was born in at fort (ford, fork) littors, North Carolina his father came from Bebon (Baden) Co. Germany in the year 1690.'
All parts of this Bible record are proved by public records except the birth place of Lenard (Leonard) Eller, the place (Bebon Co., Germany where Leonard's father was born and the date (1690)… Fort (ford, fork) Littors, North Carolina and Bebon Co., Germany have not been located at this writing by this writer and 1690 as the arrival date of the father of Lenard (Leonard) Eller, born in 1754 is not tenable. The date of 1690 would not have been unreasonable as the birth year of Leonard Eller's father and 1730 to 1745 as the time of his arrival in America. (Note by J.W.H. - Peter Eller, elder brother of Leonard Eller, lived on land described in the land grant as 'beginning at a spruce pine on the Upper Ford of Rones Creek.' Trading Ford on the Yadkin River was an early landmark in Rowan Co. It was located about 6 miles north east of the town of Salisbury, probably where the present road to Lexington crosses the Yadkin River near the fork of the two branches of the river. It is mentioned as early as 1701 and doubtless was on the primitive road called the 'Trading Path' down which many of the settlers traveled on their way to N.C. from PA and MD. Littors Fort (Ford, Fork) of above Bible record may be the same. At any rate, the river crossing of the road that runs from Salisbury to Lexington is very near the place where all the Ellers first settled in NC.)
The wife of George Michael Eller as given in his will was Anna Maria, but the way the will reads it is apparent that she was not his first wife and very likely not the mother of any of the children named in same. The will bore no date but was proved by its witnesses 25 Aug 1778. This writer suspects that it was written several years before his death. It reads as follows, (Will Book G.M., No. 1, p. 76, Frederick Co., MD):
'In the name of God amen. I George Michael Eller of Frederick County in the province of Maryland living, am for this time sik and not right well but in my sound memory thanks be given unto God therefore seeing my nullity, ordain herein my Last Will and Testament in full love. I recommend my soul into the hands of God that gave it and my body to the earth, to be buried in a Christian like manner at the discretion of my Executors, my Executors shall in the first place pay out of my Estate all my just debts, and the overplus what the Lord gave me in this world I ordain as followith, my beloved wife, Anna Maria I give fifty pounds lawful Money, the small red cow with a white head, thirty bushels of wheat, her bed and her chest she bought (brought) to me, also the small and large Iron Potts, a half dozn peuter plates, one peuter basin, a dozn peuter spoons and a small melt pan, three iron kettles, a small washer tup a water tup and the churn, her spinnin wheel, her lamp, her Bible and Psal mody, one quart tin mog, and a pint do, on quart bottle, and every year fifteen pounds as long as they can live together also her clothing out of my Estate they can agree together, the aforesaid fifteen pounds to be paid to her in the first year only out of my whole estate, and if they can agree to live longer together, then the six younger children shall pay her the same by themselves out of my good consideration I caused to be right and is my last will and Testament that my oldest son Peter Eller, shall have the sum of 97 pounds lawful money, and my son Leonard Eller shall have the sum of 82 pounds and my daughter Elizabeth shall likewise have 82 pounds lawful money; and these said three children shall have that money three years after my decease then my two Executors, namely Henry Eller and Martin Gerber, shall be impowered to sell the Place, wagon and horses, all the creatures and moveables, and shall pay to my beloved wife her part of the same; and the overplus shall be divided by my Executors among my six youngest children namely, Jacob Eller, George Eller, John Eller, Eve Eller, Cathrine Eller and Maria Eller; further Jacob Eller shall have the Bible and to pay to George ten shillings, also shall Jacob have the young colt, if it mare bring the same luky. This is George Michael Eller his x mark and Seal X (Seal) Attested by John Bergers and Henry Schmaus (Smous) - John Bergers, Henry Smouse the above witnesses were sworn Frederick County, 25th August 1778. Then came the above Thomas Schley and made oath on the holy Evangelists of Almighty God, that the within and above writing is a just and true Translation to the best of his knowledge of the original Will of the above named George Michael Eller, which is written in the German language and that he hath not knowingly or intentionally translated any matter of substance contrary to the true meaning of said Will. Certified by George Murdock, Regr.'
The phrases in the above will pertaining to his wife and the things 'she brought to me' and the legacies to her that were made contingent on his six youngest children and her being able 'to live longer together,' indicates that she was not their mother. The name of his first wife was not found. The Evangelical Lutheran Church records of Frederick County, Maryland, records the baptism, on 8 Nov 1756, of Marie Magdalena Aller, daughter of Michael Aller and his wife Salome. (Evangelical Lutheran Church Records, p. 40, Maryland Hist. Soc.) This, doubtless, was another family because in the same year (1756) Carl Aller baptized a daughter Anna Barbara and in 1775 one Michael Aller was recorded as owing money to Mr. Hass, the same probably being for the church. (pp. 42 and 49 Ibid.)
If all facts were known they might show that George Michael Eller was married three times and that his first son Peter was a child by his first wife and all others by his second. Peter was a grown man with a wife and child as early as the late seventeen sixties. His brother, Leonard, was born 20 March 1754. Peter Eller was called 'my eldest son' in the George Michael Eller will and the latter's children, Jacob, George, John, Eve, Catherine and Maria, called 'my six youngest children,' were given the residue of the estate in equal shares. The son, Peter, was given 97 pounds and the son, Leonard, and daughter, Elizabeth, were given 82 pounds apiece. All of this adds up to the fact that Peter, Leonard and Elizabeth were his eldest children and that Peter probably was some years older than the other two, and, maybe, their half brother.
It would be sheer guesswork to give a name to George Michael Eller's first wife. His son, Peter, whose wife was Elizabeth, named his first daughter Catherine, doubtless in honor of his wife's mother whose name was Catherine. Miss Addie J. Stoker of Lovelock, Nevada and some other descendants of Peter and Elizabeth Eller say that this daughter's full name was Catherine Martha which, if true, could mean that Martha was in honor of her father's mother, the child thus bearing the name of her two grandmothers. No sound evidence, however, has been found to support this conjecture.
Tradition in the Eller families who descended from Peter and Elizabeth Eller of Wilkes and Ashe Counties, N.C. is that these Eller ancestors came from the Palatinate of Germany as German Baptist Brethren or Tunkers, sometimes called Dunkards. The North Carolina branch impressed by the similarity of their faith with that of the American Baptists whose church, in the late 18th century, was growing so rapidly in western North Carolina, flocked to that church in great numbers. By the end of the 19th century it would be difficult to find any Ellers in Wilkes and Ashe counties in North Carolina who were not Baptists. The same may also be said for their descendants in Iowa and Nebraska. The Eller family of Roanoke Co., Virginia, descendants, this writer believes, of George Michael Eller, are members of the Church of the Brethren some of them presently serving as pastors. [Kerry's note: the Virginia connection is contested by many modern researchers - for full discussion on this issue, see notes for Jacob Eller, son of George Michael Eller.]
The new church along with members of other sects who refused to join one of the three state religions, namely the Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran and German Reformed (Calvinists), that were given exclusive religious liberty by the treaty of Westphalia in 1648 which ended the 30 years' war, were notoriously persecuted and driven from place to place. In 1719 Peter Becker, one of the founder members of the German Baptist Brethren Church in Schwarzenau brought his church in Krefelt, Germany to Germantown, Pennsylvania. He was followed in 1729 by Alexander Mack who found going congregations at Wissahicton near Germantown, at Coventry in Chester Co. and at Conestoga some fifteen miles south of Lancaster, all in Pennsylvania. From these starting points the church spread to Conowego in York County and thence to Maryland including Pipe Creek in 1758 and Beaver Dam in 1762/3. The Pipe Creek Church, organized about 1758, was located, I believe, at Union Bridge in Carrol Co. about two miles northeast of the Eller farms. Beaver Dam Church, organized about 1762 was located, I believe, on Beaver Dam Creek and was still nearer to the Eller farms. The Annual Meeting of all Brethren Congregations in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia were held at Pipe Creek in 1778, 1783, 1787, 1799, 1804, 1814, 1830 and 1867. (See 'History of the German Baptist Brethren' by Martin Grove Brumbaugh, 1890 and 'History of the Church of the Brethren in Maryland' by J. Maurice Henry, 1936.) The exceedingly sparse records of the Conestoga Church show the following adult baptisms of new members which are pertinent to this genealogy. First, on 24 Apr 1748, Adam Dick and his wife, Odilga. Second, on 29 Mar 1752, Daniel Seiler. Third, on 26 Aug 1753, George Eder and wife, her name not given. It is possible that George Eder was the same as George Michael Eller. Fourth, on 14 Apr 1754, Henry Eler (sic) and wife, her name not given (Ibid). Very likely he was the Henry Eller who with George Michael Eller later acquired land called Hammond Strife on the waters of Little Pipe Creek in Frederick Co., MD. The records of the Conestoga Church from the Sept. 1755 to the year 1763 have not been found. (Ibid)
One of the churches that served the Pipe Creek and Beaver Dam Brethren may have been on a 4 acre tract of land described as a part of 'Browns Delight,' that, on 8 Oct. 1765, was deeded to the 'Dutch Congregation of Pipe Creek' by John Grider, (Garber). This land was located on the Clemson branch of Sam's Creek in Frederick Co., about two and a half miles southeast of the farms of George Michael and Henry Eller. If these nearby churches had made records that were now extant they, doubtless, would show George Michael Eller and Henry Eller as members. Neither is shown in the records of the Evangelical Lutheran or the German Reformed Churches of Frederick Co., MD except for the marriage of Elizabeth, daughter of George Michael Eller who is recorded in the Evangelical Lutheran Church as having married Henrich Reb, 10 Jun 1777. Very probably Reb was a member of the church.
Both the Evangelical Lutheran and the German Reformed Churches were organized early in Frederick County. Simon Kern, Michael Hoffner, Philip Kuntz and others, 'who built the church in the mountains,' declared their loyalty and faith on 31 Oct 1746 'when the Swedish Pastor, Mr. Nasman, was here.' (Evangelical Lutheran Church Records, page 490 at Md. Hist. Soc., Baltimore.) Apparently this was not the Frederick Town Church because that church was not built until 1761. (Frederick Co. Deed Books B, p. 574 and F, pp. 535-536.) The Reformed German Church was built about 1747-48. Thomas Schley (b. 1712; d. 1789) who brought a party of Germans to Maryland about 1740-45 and served as their teacher, interpreter and friend, was a member of this church and its organist for many years. He was an educated man and translated the wills of deceased Germans for the county records. One of the wills which translated was that of George Michael Eller shown above.
The Estate of George Michael Eller was settled by the executors Henry Eller and Michael Gerber, 26 Oct 1779. It was valued at 956 pounds, 15 shillings and 5 pence, a substantial sum for those early times. The widow received 50 pounds, the son, Peter Eller, 97 pounds, the son, Leonard and daughter, Elizabeth Reb, 82 pounds each and 'the youngest children, namely Jacob, George, John, Eve, Catherine and Maria' the balance, amounting to 645 pounds, 15 shillings and 5 pence, in equal portions.
George Michael Eller is first found in the records, 14 April 1773, when he was deeded 100 acres of land in Frederick Co., MD by Edward Gaither and his wife Eleanor. (Deed Book S, pp. 96-98, Frederick Co., MD) When he appeared, 17 Aug 1773, to pay his alienation fine his name was given as George Eller, the Michael being omitted. This land was a part of a tract called Hammond's Strife. Hammond Strife, containing 1230 acres, was patented to John Hammond 10 Aug 1753 and was located about 10 miles north east of Frederick Town and ju 		Eller, George Michael (I1860)
 
2854 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 EL54ejg "John Jacob Eller and His Descendants with Other Pre-1800 Eller Immigrants to America...," by J. Gerald Eller, Edward K. Eller, and Janine Eller Porter (The Eller Family Association, 1998), pp. 22-27; the following is a partial excerpt from the full transcript which I place in the notes of George Michael Eller:
"George Michael Eller.
Many gaps in our knowledge of the genealogy of descendants of George Michael Eller are revealed in Table VI. Until new information was reported in the Eller Chronicles, the published genealogy of this immigrant and his descendants came exclusively from Hook (1925, 1955, 1957, 1957A). His genealogies were limited largely to descendants of four sons: Peter, Leonard, Jacob, and George. His listing of Jacob, as a son (1957, pp 53-63), has been questioned; this point is discussed further in chapters 8 and 10. Other researchers have now contributed extensively to the genealogy of this line, as shown in the bibliography at the end of the chapter. As can be seen in Table VI, little is known of the descendants of the daughters of immigrant George Michael Eller.
Table VI
George Michael Eller married (1st)? (2nd)? (3rd) Eva Maria. Frederick County, Maryland. Their children and grandchildren:
1. Peter, married Elizabeth Dick, children John, Catherine, Peter Jr., Elizabeth, unnamed daughter, Jacob, Mary, Henry, George.
2. Elizabeth married Heinrich Reb. Nothing more is known
3. Leonard married Elizabeth Mast, children: Adam, Elizabeth, John, Joseph, Sarah, Mary Lucinda, Jacob, Henry, George.
4. Jacob. No other known record unless he was the Jacob Eller of Chapter 8.
5. George died in Davidson County, North Carolina, before 1841; his wife was Susanna. Children: George Jr., Henry, David.
6. John married Catherine Fight (Fort)? Nothing more is known.
7. Eve. Nothing more is known.
8. Catherine married Peter Lehman? Nothing more is known. (From Hook, 1957, pp. 15-16).
9. Maria (Mary) married Jacob Eller; Children: Cloah (Chloe) "Glory" Eller. (Troutman and File. EC, XI:1, Sp. Ed., Feb. 1997).
Primary centers from which known descendants spread: Frederick Co., MD, Rowan Co., NC, Ashe Co., NC, Wilkes Co., NC, Miami Co., OH, Hamilton Co., IN, Wapello Co., IA. ...
Based in part on an Eller family oral tradition in Rowan County, Maria, youngest daughter of George Michael Eller, a recent report says she married Jacob Eller, a grandson of immigrant (John) Melchior Eller.[8] Louise Barringer File of Salisbury, North Carolina, now in her eighties, has vivid memories of being told by her grandmother, Joyce Delinda Eller Morgan, of her descent from George Michael Eller, and how intermarriages among descendants of four different Eller immigrants enabled her and many other Ellers to claim four immigrant Ellers as ancestors. As previously mentioned, intermarriages among the four lines, taken from the work of Troutman and File (1997), appears as Fig. 2, Chapter 2, p. 10. ...
End Notes:
8. Troutman and File (1997). This tradition was long established in the Eller ancestral line of Louise Barringer File of Salisbury, North Carolina...
New Information on George Michael Eller and His Descendants from the Eller Chronicles (EC)... [See notes of George Michael Eller for full bibliographical listing of these articles.]"

2. The book "The Howard Leytham Stoker Von Dollen Family Histories," FHL 929.273 H833a, by Doris Lewis, 2017 So. 80th Ave., Omaha, Nebraska, 68124, p. 88 [FHL book 929.273 P684pn]: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 119-123, has almost the same verbatim except what I note in brackets]:
"...James Hook wrote a history of 'George Michael Eller and His Descendants in America.' Much of the information I have on the Ellers come from this book or a book by Judge Johnson J. Hayes, called 'The Land of Wilkes,' a history of Wilkes County in North Carolina. In the ninth century Alamans, Teutons of Jutland, moved into Westallgan as early settlers. One group, called Ellers, started at the foot of Hirshberg in the Algauer Alp area near Bregenz, on Lake Constance. [They may have stayed in this general area for 600 years. This is the same area of the Palatinate that the Graybill religious refugees from Switzerland had fled and the same time frame. So the Ellers and Graybills may have known each other as neighbors or fellow churchmen.] Alta March, of Herman, Nebraska, has an Eller genealogy based in Germany, which probably connects with our family. In this record a Bartl and Barbara Swartz Eller had three children, Joseph, George and George Michael, the latter thought born in Baden, Sept. 5, 1695 and emigrated to America. He could well have been the father of our George Michael Eller, for he was a bit old to start his family in 1748. [The American Ellers apparently came from the Palatinate of Germany in the first half of the 18th century. The Pennsylvania Archives, 2nd Series, Vol 17, records the arrival of 13 Eller families who took the oath of allegiance between 30 Sep 1740 and 3 Nov 1772.] A Geo. Eller [age 20] emigrated on the ship 'St. Andrew,' and took his oath in Pennsylvania on Oct. 7, 1743 and [a George Michael Eller, apparently this same George Eller,] bought land he called 'Hammond Strife,' in Frederick County, Maryland. A Michael Eller aboard the ship Phoenix, took oath on September 30, 1743, and was on the tax list of Rowan Co. in N.C. in 1759. George Michael Eller, our ancestor, who may be the son or one of the above, was in Rowan County with Jacob, Christian and Melchoir Eller [Pitt book does not say location of the above three Ellers] at that same time and may have been there for a number years since his son Leonard said he was born at Fort Litters, N.C. in 1759. George Michael Eller bought land next to his brother Henry, in Frederick Co., MD in 1773, so he went back to Frederick County. His wife's name was Anna Marie and was the known mother of the last seven children, and may well have been Peter's and Leonard's mother. The Ellers of North Carolina have been connected with education since that state's earliest days. Academies in Virginia and North Carolina were started by Ellers and a list of the public school personnel today in N.C. is sprinkled with Ellers. [In 1790 there were 11 Eller families shown in the Rowan Co., NC census. At that time, members of the Eller family also were in Wilkes Co., NC and in Botetort Co., VA.] Children:
a. Peter, b. [1746/]1748 [possibly in Germany]; d. [bef] 29 Jul 1799 at Ashe Co., NC; m. [abt 1766/7 probably of Frederick Co, MD] Elizabeth Dick.
b. Leonard, b. 20 Mar 1752 at Ft. Litters [20 Mar 1754 probably in NC, possibly in Germany]; d. 1839, [probably] Hamilton Co., IN; m. Elizabeth Mast [Elizabeth ___].
c. Elizabeth, b. 1756; d. 1777; m. Henry Repp [10 Jun 1777 to Heinrich Reb, s/o Caspar Reb of Bucks Co., PA].
d. Jacob, b. 1758; d. 1830 [between 10 May 1830 and Oct 1830, Botetort Co., VA], m. Magdalena [___].
e. George, b. 1760 [d. probably abt 1839, Davidson Co., NC; m. Susannah [___].
f. John, b. 1762; m. [possibly] Catherine Fight [or Fort].
g. Eve, b. 1764.
h. Catherine, b. 1767; m. [probably 27 May 1788, Frederick Co., MD] Peter Lehman.
i. Maria, b. 1769."

3. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, p. 16: "Maria Eller. No further record found."

4. FHL Book 929.273, film 6005243, "John Jacob Eller and His Descendants with Other Pre-1800 Eller Immigrants to America," by the Eller Family Association, 1998, 817-297-1280, p. 10, in commenting on Eller intermarriages in Rowan Co, NC, suggests that Maria Eller, dau. of George Michael Eller married Jacob Eller, son of John Melchior Eller, Jr. and grandson of the immigrant John Melchior Eller.

5. FHL Book 929.273, film 6005243, "John Jacob Eller and His Descendants with Other Pre-1800 Eller Immigrants to America," by the Eller Family Association, 1998, 817-297-1280; Chapter 4, concerning the George Michael Eller and his children:
"Many gaps in our knowledge of the genealogy of descendants of George Michael Eller are revealed in [the following:]
George Michael Eller married (1st)? (2nd)? (3rd) Eva Maria [Why Eva and not Anna - later in same article they use Anna Maria]. Frederick County, Maryland. Their children and grand-Children:
1. Peter, married Elizabeth Dick; Children: John, Catherine, Peter Jr., Elizabeth, unnamed daughter, Jacob, Mary, Henry, George.
2. Elizabeth married Heinrich Reb. Nothing more is known.
3. Leonard married Elizabeth Mast; Children: Adam, Elizabeth, John, Joseph, Sarah Mary Lucinda, Jacob, Henry, George.
4. Jacob. No other known record unless he was the Jacob Eller of [Botetort Co., Virginia].
5. George, d. in Davidson County, North Carolina before 1841; his wife was Susanna; Children: George Jr., Henry, David.
6. John married Catherine Fight (Fort)? Nothing more is known.
7. Eve. Nothing more is known.
8. Catherine married Peter Lehman? Nothing more is known.
9. Maria (Mary) married Jacob Eller; Children: Cloah (Chloe) 'Glory' Eller (Source: Troutman and File, 'Eller Chronicles,' XI:1, Sp. Ed., Feb 1997)
The book comments on current thinking of the Eller Family Association (EFA) on Hook research into George Michael Eller (GME) which I summarize as follows:
A. The two arrival records, Michael Eller in the ship "Phoenix" and Geo. Eler and Hans Jerg Ohler of the "St. Andrew" continue to lead to some confusion and differences of opinion. Recent analysis has led the Eller Family Association to believe that Geo. Eler and Hans Jerg Ohler were apparently the same individual. The clarification of the misinterpretation is that EFA does not feel that Hook documented where he got an age of 43 for Hans Georg Oehler. According to the actual records as reported by EFA as found in Strassburger and Hinke, Vol. 1, pp. 348-352: List 103A, p. 349, 'Geo. Eler listed age 20 and between Johannes Mayer and Peter Warner; List 103B, p. 350, Hans Jerg Ohler listed between Johannes Mayer and Peter Warner; List 103C, p. 351, Hanes Jerg Ohler listed between Johannes Mayer and Peter Warner. My note: did not the age come from the Oaths of Allegiance taken in 1743 in Pennsylvania right after the 1743 ship arrivals?
B. The 1753 deed in Lancaster Co., PA to 25 acres, the 1759 Rowan County tax list, and the 1772 Randolph Co., NC, tax list for Michael Eller may or may not be for George Michael Eller. Specifically EFA thinks the 1759 tax list may actually be for Melchior Eller whom was in Rowan County at that early date - Melchior sometimes being rendered as Melker or perhaps even Michael. On the other hand, four of GME's sons were in NC in the 1770s including Leonard as a large landowner in Randolph County making the 1772 Randolph Co. tax list a possibility. There is still no concrete evidence that GME was in North Carolina before his 1773 evidence of being in Frederick Co., MD. 1773 was the same year Peter, his eldest son, first shows in Rowan Co. and it wasn't until 1778 that his other sons were in NC.
C. The Bible record of Leonard being born at Fort (Ford) Litters, NC and his father from Bebon (Baden?) continues to puzzle researchers. No record or location of Fort Litters has yet been found. Most researchers believe Leonard was born in the United States and not Germany as reported by Hook on page 32. My note: I don't believe that Hook ever stated one way or the other except to quote what the Indiana history book he cites had quoted.
D. A will for George Eller, son of GME has been located. An abstract of his will from the Division of Lands Book, pp. 32-33, Davidson Co., NC was obtained from the Public Library in Lexington, NC. His heirs listed in the may Term 1841 Court Record includes: Caroline Sowers, Katharene Darr(?), Sally Warlow, Dolly Long, David Eller, Christene Waggoner, Elizabeth Reket(?), George Eller, Sally Haines, Polly Reed.
E. As for John, son of GME, no further record has been found. EFA acknowledges that the name John Eller is too unspecific making it difficult to identify which John Ellers if any of Rowan Co. may be him.
F. "Based in part on an Eller family oral tradition in Rowan County, Maria, youngest daughter of GME, a recent report says she married Jacob Eller, a grandson of immigrant (John) Melchior Eller. Louise Barringer File of Salisbury, NC, now in her eighties, has vivid memories of being told by her grandmother, Joyce Delinda Eller Morgan, of her descent from George Michael Eller, and how intermarriages among descendants of four different Eller immigrants enabled her and many other Ellers to claim four immigrant Ellers as ancestors. …taken from the work of Troutman and File (1997)." A chart accompanies the book showing how children of the original immigrants John Jacob, Christian, Melchior, and GME intermarried over about four generations to produce Joyce Delinda Eller from all four immigrants. The connection with GME purports to be Maria, GME's dau., marrying the grandson of Melchior Eller.
G. Questions still to be answered according to EFA: Where in Germany is he from, how was he related to others original immigrants (John Jacob, Christian, Melchior, and Henry), what of his son Jacob and his daughters, and how many wives did he have and who were they?
H. When did the sons of GME arrive in North Carolina?
Hook (1957, p. 21). "Peter Eller was living in Rowan Co., NC as early as 6 Mar 1773."
Land deeds of Rowan Co., NC:
"#3068, 1778, Leonard Eller 300 A on both sides of Sheit's Crk., adj Widow Bower, & Valentine Beard, including his improvements." (R.A. Enocks, Indianapolis, 1988, p. 233.)
"#1605, 28 Sep 1778, Philip Sewell 100 A on the headwaters of Reedy Creek & Tinkers Crk [adj] Joseph Meizell, William Oliver & Lewis Defore, including his Improvements. Made to George Ellor by the Enterer." (ibid. pg. 115.)
"#1608, 28 Sep 1778, William Oliver 100 A on waters of Reedy Crk adj Philip Sewell, Joseph Meizell & Peter Eller, including his Improvements. Made over to Ja's Cheney." (ibid, pg. 115.)
Marriage Records, Rowan County, North Carolina: Hook (1957) p. 16: "This writer's guess is that this was the John Eller (s/o Geo Michael) who married Catherine Fight (Fort) 10 Aug 1785."

6. Mentioned in father's will per FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 119-123, see George's notes for full quotation:
"George Michael Eller's will, possibly written several years before his death, was proved 25 Aug 1778 (Will Book G M., No. 1, p. 76, Frederick Co., MD) follows: 'In the name of God amen. I George Michael Eller of Frederick County in the province of Maryland living, ...my beloved wife, Anna Maria ...my oldest son Peter Eller ...my son Leonard Eller ...my daughter Elizabeth ...the overplus shall be divided by my Executors among my six youngest children namely, Jacob Eller, George Eller, John Eller, Eve Eller, Cathrine Eller and Maria Eller; further Jacob Eller shall have the Bible..."

BIRTH:
1. Mother of this individual and listing of this individual in father George Michael's will is expertly discussed in the following per FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 6-14: "George Michael Eller died in Frederick County, Maryland before 25 Aug 1778 when his will, written in the German language and translated and put on record by Thomas Schley, was proved in the Frederick County court. The fact that his will was written in German indicates that he was born in Germany...
The wife of George Michael Eller as given in his will was Anna Maria, but the way the will reads it is apparent that she was not his first wife and very likely not the mother of any of the children named in same. The will bore no date but was proved by its witnesses 25 Aug 1778. This writer suspects that it was written several years before his death. It reads as follows, (Will Book G.M., No. 1, p. 76, Frederick Co., MD):
'In the name of God amen. I George Michael Eller of Frederick County in the province of Maryland living, am for this time sik and not right well but in my sound memory thanks be given unto God therefore seeing my nullity, ordain herein my Last Will and Testament in full love. I recommend my soul into the hands of God that gave it and my body to the earth, to be buried in a Christian like manner at the discretion of my Executors, my Executors shall in the first place pay out of my Estate all my just debts, and the overplus what the Lord gave me in this world I ordain as followith, my beloved wife, Anna Maria I give fifty pounds lawful Money, the small red cow with a white head, thirty bushels of wheat, her bed and her chest she bought (brought) to me, also the small and large Iron Potts, a half dozn peuter plates, one peuter basin, a dozn peuter spoons and a small melt pan, three iron kettles, a small washer tup a water tup and the churn, her spinnin wheel, her lamp, her Bible and Psal mody, one quart tin mog, and a pint do, on quart bottle, and every year fifteen pounds as long as they can live together also her clothing out of my Estate they can agree together, the aforesaid fifteen pounds to be paid to her in the first year only out of my whole estate, and if they can agree to live longer together, then the six younger children shall pay her the same by themselves out of my good consideration I caused to be right and is my last will and Testament that my oldest son Peter Eller, shall have the sum of 97 pounds lawful money, and my son Leonard Eller shall have the sum of 82 pounds and my daughter Elizabeth shall likewise have 82 pounds lawful money; and these said three children shall have that money three years after my decease then my two Executors, namely Henry Eller and Martin Gerber, shall be impowered to sell the Place, wagon and horses, all the creatures and moveables, and shall pay to my beloved wife her part of the same; and the overplus shall be divided by my Executors among my six youngest children namely, Jacob Eller, George Eller, John Eller, Eve Eller, Cathrine Eller and Maria Eller; further Jacob Eller shall have the Bible and to pay to George ten shillings, also shall Jacob have the young colt, if it mare bring the same luky. This is George Michael Eller his x mark and Seal X (Seal) Attested by John Bergers and Henry Schmaus (Smous) - John Bergers, Henry Smouse the above witnesses were sworn Frederick County, 25th August 1778. Then came the above Thomas Schley and made oath on the holy Evangelists of Almighty God, that the within and above writing is a just and true Translation to the best of his knowledge of the original Will of the above named George Michael Eller, which is written in the German language and that he hath not knowingly or intentionally translated any matter of substance contrary to the true meaning of said Will. Certified by George Murdock, Regr.'
The phrases in the above will pertaining to his wife and the things 'she brought to me' and the legacies to her that were made contingent on his six youngest children and her being able 'to live longer together,' indicates that she was not their mother. The name of his first wife was not found. The Evangelical Lutheran Church records of Frederick County, Maryland, records the baptism, on 8 Nov 1756, of Marie Magdalena Aller, daughter of Michael Aller and his wife Salome. (Evangelical Lutheran Church Records, p. 40, Maryland Hist. Soc.) This, doubtless, was another family because in the same year (1756) Carl Aller baptized a daughter Anna Barbara and in 1775 one Michael Aller was recorded as owing money to Mr. Hass, the same probably being for the church. (pp. 42 and 49 Ibid.)
If all facts were known they might show that George Michael Eller was married three times and that his first son Peter was a child by his first wife and all others by his second. Peter was a grown man with a wife and child as early as the late seventeen sixties. His brother, Leonard, was born 20 March 1754. Peter Eller was called 'my eldest son' in the George Michael Eller will and the latter's children, Jacob, George, John, Eve, Catherine and Maria, called 'my six youngest children,' were given the residue of the estate in equal shares. The son, Peter, was given 97 pounds and the son, Leonard, and daughter, Elizabeth, were given 82 pounds apiece. All of this adds up to the fact that Peter, Leonard and Elizabeth were his eldest children and that Peter probably was some years older than the other two, and, maybe, their half-brother."

DEATH:
1. This individual is listed living in father's will of 25 Aug 1778.
 		Eller, Maria (I3628)
 
2855 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 EL54ejg "John Jacob Eller and His Descendants with Other Pre-1800 Eller Immigrants to America...," by J. Gerald Eller, Edward K. Eller, and Janine Eller Porter (The Eller Family Association, 1998), pp. 22-27; the following is a partial excerpt from the full transcript which I place in the notes of George Michael Eller:
"George Michael Eller.
Many gaps in our knowledge of the genealogy of descendants of George Michael Eller are revealed in Table VI. Until new information was reported in the Eller Chronicles, the published genealogy of this immigrant and his descendants came exclusively from Hook (1925, 1955, 1957, 1957A). His genealogies were limited largely to descendants of four sons: Peter, Leonard, Jacob, and George. His listing of Jacob, as a son (1957, pp 53-63), has been questioned; this point is discussed further in chapters 8 and 10. Other researchers have now contributed extensively to the genealogy of this line, as shown in the bibliography at the end of the chapter. As can be seen in Table VI, little is known of the descendants of the daughters of immigrant George Michael Eller.
Table VI
George Michael Eller married (1st)? (2nd)? (3rd) Eva Maria. Frederick County, Maryland. Their children and grandchildren:
1. Peter, married Elizabeth Dick, children John, Catherine, Peter Jr., Elizabeth, unnamed daughter, Jacob, Mary, Henry, George.
2. Elizabeth married Heinrich Reb. Nothing more is known
3. Leonard married Elizabeth Mast, children: Adam, Elizabeth, John, Joseph, Sarah, Mary Lucinda, Jacob, Henry, George.
4. Jacob. No other known record unless he was the Jacob Eller of Chapter 8.
5. George died in Davidson County, North Carolina, before 1841; his wife was Susanna. Children: George Jr., Henry, David.
6. John married Catherine Fight (Fort)? Nothing more is known.
7. Eve. Nothing more is known.
8. Catherine married Peter Lehman? Nothing more is known. (From Hook, 1957, pp. 15-16).
9. Maria (Mary) married Jacob Eller; Children: Cloah (Chloe) "Glory" Eller. (Troutman and File. EC, XI:1, Sp. Ed., Feb. 1997).
Primary centers from which known descendants spread: Frederick Co., MD, Rowan Co., NC, Ashe Co., NC, Wilkes Co., NC, Miami Co., OH, Hamilton Co., IN, Wapello Co., IA. ..."

2. The book "The Howard Leytham Stoker Von Dollen Family Histories," FHL 929.273 H833a, by Doris Lewis, 2017 So. 80th Ave., Omaha, Nebraska, 68124, p. 88 [FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 119-123, has almost the same verbatim except what I note in brackets]:
"...James Hook wrote a history of 'George Michael Eller and His Descendants in America.' Much of the information I have on the Ellers come from this book or a book by Judge Johnson J. Hayes, called 'The Land of Wilkes,' a history of Wilkes County in North Carolina. In the ninth century Alamans, Teutons of Jutland, moved into Westallgan as early settlers. One group, called Ellers, started at the foot of Hirshberg in the Algauer Alp area near Bregenz, on Lake Constance. [They may have stayed in this general area for 600 years. This is the same area of the Palatinate that the Graybill religious refugees from Switzerland had fled and the same time frame. So the Ellers and Graybills may have known each other as neighbors or fellow churchmen.] Alta March, of Herman, Nebraska, has an Eller genealogy based in Germany, which probably connects with our family. In this record a Bartl and Barbara Swartz Eller had three children, Joseph, George and George Michael, the latter thought born in Baden, Sept. 5, 1695 and emigrated to America. He could well have been the father of our George Michael Eller, for he was a bit old to start his family in 1748. [The American Ellers apparently came from the Palatinate of Germany in the first half of the 18th century. The Pennsylvania Archives, 2nd Series, Vol 17, records the arrival of 13 Eller families who took the oath of allegiance between 30 Sep 1740 and 3 Nov 1772.] A Geo. Eller [age 20] emigrated on the ship 'St. Andrew,' and took his oath in Pennsylvania on Oct. 7, 1743 and [a George Michael Eller, apparently this same George Eller,] bought land he called 'Hammond Strife,' in Frederick County, Maryland. A Michael Eller aboard the ship Phoenix, took oath on September 30, 1743, and was on the tax list of Rowan Co. in N.C. in 1759. George Michael Eller, our ancestor, who may be the son or one of the above, was in Rowan County with Jacob, Christian and Melchoir Eller [Pitt book does not say location of the above three Ellers] at that same time and may have been there for a number years since his son Leonard said he was born at Fort Litters, N.C. in 1759. George Michael Eller bought land next to his brother Henry, in Frederick Co., MD in 1773, so he went back to Frederick County. His wife's name was Anna Marie and was the known mother of the last seven children, and may well have been Peter's and Leonard's mother. The Ellers of North Carolina have been connected with education since that state's earliest days. Academies in Virginia and North Carolina were started by Ellers and a list of the public school personnel today in N.C. is sprinkled with Ellers. [In 1790 there were 11 Eller families shown in the Rowan Co., NC census. At that time, members of the Eller family also were in Wilkes Co., NC and in Botetort Co., VA.] Children:
a. Peter, b. [1746/]1748 [possibly in Germany]; d. [bef] 29 Jul 1799 at Ashe Co., NC; m. [abt 1766/7 probably of Frederick Co, MD] Elizabeth Dick.
b. Leonard, b. 20 Mar 1752 at Ft. Litters [20 Mar 1754 probably in NC, possibly in Germany]; d. 1839, [probably] Hamilton Co., IN; m. Elizabeth Mast [Elizabeth ___].
c. Elizabeth, b. 1756; d. 1777; m. Henry Repp [10 Jun 1777 to Heinrich Reb, s/o Caspar Reb of Bucks Co., PA].
d. Jacob, b. 1758; d. 1830 [between 10 May 1830 and Oct 1830, Botetort Co., VA], m. Magdalena [___].
e. George, b. 1760 [d. probably abt 1839, Davidson Co., NC; m. Susannah [___].
f. John, b. 1762; m. [possibly] Catherine Fight [or Fort].
g. Eve, b. 1764.
h. Catherine, b. 1767; m. [probably 27 May 1788, Frederick Co., MD] Peter Lehman.
i. Maria, b. 1769."

3. FHL Book 929.273, film 6005243, "John Jacob Eller and His Descendants with Other Pre-1800 Eller Immigrants to America," by the Eller Family Association, 1998, 817-297-1280; Chapter 4, concerning the George Michael Eller and his children:
"Many gaps in our knowledge of the genealogy of descendants of George Michael Eller are revealed in [the following:]
George Michael Eller married (1st)? (2nd)? (3rd) Eva Maria [Why Eva and not Anna - later in same article they use Anna Maria]. Frederick County, Maryland. Their children and grand-Children:
1. Peter, married Elizabeth Dick; Children: John, Catherine, Peter Jr., Elizabeth, unnamed daughter, Jacob, Mary, Henry, George.
2. Elizabeth married Heinrich Reb. Nothing more is known.
3. Leonard married Elizabeth Mast; Children: Adam, Elizabeth, John, Joseph, Sarah Mary Lucinda, Jacob, Henry, George.
4. Jacob. No other known record unless he was the Jacob Eller of [Botetort Co., Virginia].
5. George, d. in Davidson County, North Carolina before 1841; his wife was Susanna; Children: George Jr., Henry, David.
6. John married Catherine Fight (Fort)? Nothing more is known.
7. Eve. Nothing more is known.
8. Catherine married Peter Lehman? Nothing more is known.
9. Maria (Mary) married Jacob Eller; Children: Cloah (Chloe) 'Glory' Eller (Source: Troutman and File, 'Eller Chronicles,' XI:1, Sp. Ed., Feb 1997)
The book comments on current thinking of the Eller Family Association (EFA) on Hook research into George Michael Eller (GME) which I summarize as follows:
A. The two arrival records, Michael Eller in the ship "Phoenix" and Geo. Eler and Hans Jerg Ohler of the "St. Andrew" continue to lead to some confusion and differences of opinion. Recent analysis has led the Eller Family Association to believe that Geo. Eler and Hans Jerg Ohler were apparently the same individual. The clarification of the misinterpretation is that EFA does not feel that Hook documented where he got an age of 43 for Hans Georg Oehler. According to the actual records as reported by EFA as found in Strassburger and Hinke, Vol. 1, pp. 348-352: List 103A, p. 349, 'Geo. Eler listed age 20 and between Johannes Mayer and Peter Warner; List 103B, p. 350, Hans Jerg Ohler listed between Johannes Mayer and Peter Warner; List 103C, p. 351, Hanes Jerg Ohler listed between Johannes Mayer and Peter Warner. My note: did not the age come from the Oaths of Allegiance taken in 1743 in Pennsylvania right after the 1743 ship arrivals?
B. The 1753 deed in Lancaster Co., PA to 25 acres, the 1759 Rowan County tax list, and the 1772 Randolph Co., NC, tax list for Michael Eller may or may not be for George Michael Eller. Specifically EFA thinks the 1759 tax list may actually be for Melchior Eller whom was in Rowan County at that early date - Melchior sometimes being rendered as Melker or perhaps even Michael. On the other hand, four of GME's sons were in NC in the 1770s including Leonard as a large landowner in Randolph County making the 1772 Randolph Co. tax list a possibility. There is still no concrete evidence that GME was in North Carolina before his 1773 evidence of being in Frederick Co., MD. 1773 was the same year Peter, his eldest son, first shows in Rowan Co. and it wasn't until 1778 that his other sons were in NC.
C. The Bible record of Leonard being born at Fort (Ford) Litters, NC and his father from Bebon (Baden?) continues to puzzle researchers. No record or location of Fort Litters has yet been found. Most researchers believe Leonard was born in the United States and not Germany as reported by Hook on page 32. My note: I don't believe that Hook ever stated one way or the other except to quote what the Indiana history book he cites had quoted.
D. A will for George Eller, son of GME has been located. An abstract of his will from the Division of Lands Book, pp. 32-33, Davidson Co., NC was obtained from the Public Library in Lexington, NC. His heirs listed in the may Term 1841 Court Record includes: Caroline Sowers, Katharene Darr (?), Sally Warlow, Dolly Long, David Eller, Christene Waggoner, Elizabeth Reket (?), George Eller, Sally Haines, Polly Reed.
E. As for John, son of GME, no further record has been found. EFA acknowledges that the name John Eller is too unspecific making it difficult to identify which John Ellers if any of Rowan Co. may be him.
F. "Based in part on an Eller family oral tradition in Rowan County, Maria, youngest daughter of GME, a recent report says she married Jacob Eller, a grandson of immigrant (John) Melchior Eller. Louise Barringer File of Salisbury, NC, now in her eighties, has vivid memories of being told by her grandmother, Joyce Delinda Eller Morgan, of her descent from George Michael Eller, and how intermarriages among descendants of four different Eller immigrants enabled her and many other Ellers to claim four immigrant Ellers as ancestors. …taken from the work of Troutman and File (1997)." A chart accompanies the book showing how children of the original immigrants John Jacob, Christian, Melchior, and GME intermarried over about four generations to produce Joyce Delinda Eller from all four immigrants. The connection with GME purports to be Maria, GME's dau., marrying the grandson of Melchior Eller.
G. Questions still to be answered according to EFA: Where in Germany is he from, how was he related to others original immigrants (John Jacob, Christian, Melchior, and Henry), what of his son Jacob and his daughters, and how many wives did he have and who were they?
H. When did the sons of GME arrive in North Carolina?
Hook (1957, p. 21). "Peter Eller was living in Rowan Co., NC as early as 6 Mar 1773."
Land deeds of Rowan Co., NC:
"#3068, 1778, Leonard Eller 300 A on both sides of Sheit's Crk., adj Widow Bower, & Valentine Beard, including his improvements." (R.A. Enocks, Indianapolis, 1988, p. 233.)
"#1605, 28 Sep 1778, Philip Sewell 100 A on the headwaters of Reedy Creek & Tinkers Crk [adj] Joseph Meizell, William Oliver & Lewis Defore, including his Improvements. Made to George Ellor by the Enterer." (ibid. pg. 115.)
"#1608, 28 Sep 1778, William Oliver 100 A on waters of Reedy Crk adj Philip Sewell, Joseph Meizell & Peter Eller, including his Improvements. Made over to Ja's Cheney." (ibid, pg. 115.)
Marriage Records, Rowan County, North Carolina: Hook (1957) p. 16: "This writer's guess is that this was the John Eller (s/o Geo Michael) who married Catherine Fight (Fort) 10 Aug 1785."

4. Mentioned in father's will per FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 119-123, see George's notes for full quotation: "George Michael Eller's will, possibly written several years before his death, was proved 25 Aug 1778 (Will Book G M., No. 1, p. 76, Frederick Co., MD) follows: 'In the name of God amen. I George Michael Eller of Frederick County in the province of Maryland living, ...my beloved wife, Anna Maria ...my oldest son Peter Eller ...my son Leonard Eller ...my daughter Elizabeth ...the overplus shall be divided by my Executors among my six youngest children namely, Jacob Eller, George Eller, John Eller, Eve Eller, Cathrine Eller and Maria Eller; further Jacob Eller shall have the Bible..."

BIRTH:
1. I use an estimated date based on an assumed minimum age of 18 at the time of her presumed marriage of 1788.

2. Mother of this individual and listing of this individual in father George Michael's will is expertly discussed in the following per FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 6-14:
"George Michael Eller died in Frederick County, Maryland before 25 Aug 1778 when his will, written in the German language and translated and put on record by Thomas Schley, was proved in the Frederick County court. The fact that his will was written in German indicates that he was born in Germany...
The wife of George Michael Eller as given in his will was Anna Maria, but the way the will reads it is apparent that she was not his first wife and very likely not the mother of any of the children named in same. The will bore no date but was proved by its witnesses 25 Aug 1778. This writer suspects that it was written several years before his death. It reads as follows, (Will Book G.M., No. 1, p. 76, Frederick Co., MD):
'In the name of God amen. I George Michael Eller of Frederick County in the province of Maryland living, am for this time sik and not right well but in my sound memory thanks be given unto God therefore seeing my nullity, ordain herein my Last Will and Testament in full love. I recommend my soul into the hands of God that gave it and my body to the earth, to be buried in a Christian like manner at the discretion of my Executors, my Executors shall in the first place pay out of my Estate all my just debts, and the overplus what the Lord gave me in this world I ordain as followith, my beloved wife, Anna Maria I give fifty pounds lawful Money, the small red cow with a white head, thirty bushels of wheat, her bed and her chest she bought (brought) to me, also the small and large Iron Potts, a half dozn peuter plates, one peuter basin, a dozn peuter spoons and a small melt pan, three iron kettles, a small washer tup a water tup and the churn, her spinnin wheel, her lamp, her Bible and Psal mody, one quart tin mog, and a pint do, on quart bottle, and every year fifteen pounds as long as they can live together also her clothing out of my Estate they can agree together, the aforesaid fifteen pounds to be paid to her in the first year only out of my whole estate, and if they can agree to live longer together, then the six younger children shall pay her the same by themselves out of my good consideration I caused to be right and is my last will and Testament that my oldest son Peter Eller, shall have the sum of 97 pounds lawful money, and my son Leonard Eller shall have the sum of 82 pounds and my daughter Elizabeth shall likewise have 82 pounds lawful money; and these said three children shall have that money three years after my decease then my two Executors, namely Henry Eller and Martin Gerber, shall be impowered to sell the Place, wagon and horses, all the creatures and moveables, and shall pay to my beloved wife her part of the same; and the overplus shall be divided by my Executors among my six youngest children namely, Jacob Eller, George Eller, John Eller, Eve Eller, Cathrine Eller and Maria Eller; further Jacob Eller shall have the Bible and to pay to George ten shillings, also shall Jacob have the young colt, if it mare bring the same luky. This is George Michael Eller his x mark and Seal X (Seal) Attested by John Bergers and Henry Schmaus (Smous) - John Bergers, Henry Smouse the above witnesses were sworn Frederick County, 25th August 1778. Then came the above Thomas Schley and made oath on the holy Evangelists of Almighty God, that the within and above writing is a just and true Translation to the best of his knowledge of the original Will of the above named George Michael Eller, which is written in the German language and that he hath not knowingly or intentionally translated any matter of substance contrary to the true meaning of said Will. Certified by George Murdock, Regr.'
The phrases in the above will pertaining to his wife and the things 'she brought to me' and the legacies to her that were made contingent on his six youngest children and her being able 'to live longer together,' indicates that she was not their mother. The name of his first wife was not found. The Evangelical Lutheran Church records of Frederick County, Maryland, records the baptism, on 8 Nov 1756, of Marie Magdalena Aller, daughter of Michael Aller and his wife Salome. (Evangelical Lutheran Church Records, p. 40, Maryland Hist. Soc.) This, doubtless, was another family because in the same year (1756) Carl Aller baptized a daughter Anna Barbara and in 1775 one Michael Aller was recorded as owing money to Mr. Hass, the same probably being for the church. (pp. 42 and 49 Ibid.)
If all facts were known they might show that George Michael Eller was married three times and that his first son Peter was a child by his first wife and all others by his second. Peter was a grown man with a wife and child as early as the late seventeen sixties. His brother, Leonard, was born 20 March 1754. Peter Eller was called 'my eldest son' in the George Michael Eller will and the latter's children, Jacob, George, John, Eve, Catherine and Maria, called 'my six youngest children,' were given the residue of the estate in equal shares. The son, Peter, was given 97 pounds and the son, Leonard, and daughter, Elizabeth, were given 82 pounds apiece. All of this adds up to the fact that Peter, Leonard and Elizabeth were his eldest children and that Peter probably was some years older than the other two, and, maybe, their half-brother."

MARRIAGE:
1. LDS Ordinance extracted record for the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, per Batch M504181, 1743 - 1811, source 0824392, Film 0883763: Peter Lehmann and Catharina Eller, 27 May 1788.

2. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, p. 16: "Catherine Eller. She may have been the Catherine Eller who married, 27 May 1788, Peter Lehman with Adam and Martha Lehman serving as witnesses. (Evangelical Lutheran Church, Frederick Co., MD.)"
 		Eller, Catherine (I3627)
 
2856 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 EL54ejg "John Jacob Eller and His Descendants with Other Pre-1800 Eller Immigrants to America...," by J. Gerald Eller, Edward K. Eller, and Janine Eller Porter (The Eller Family Association, 1998), pp. 22-27; the following is a partial excerpt from the full transcript which I place in the notes of George Michael Eller:
"George Michael Eller.
Many gaps in our knowledge of the genealogy of descendants of George Michael Eller are revealed in Table VI. Until new information was reported in the Eller Chronicles, the published genealogy of this immigrant and his descendants came exclusively from Hook (1925, 1955, 1957, 1957A). His genealogies were limited largely to descendants of four sons: Peter, Leonard, Jacob, and George. His listing of Jacob, as a son (1957, pp 53-63), has been questioned; this point is discussed further in chapters 8 and 10. Other researchers have now contributed extensively to the genealogy of this line, as shown in the bibliography at the end of the chapter. As can be seen in Table VI, little is known of the descendants of the daughters of immigrant George Michael Eller.
Table VI
George Michael Eller married (1st)? (2nd)? (3rd) Eva Maria. Frederick County, Maryland. Their children and grandchildren:
1. Peter, married Elizabeth Dick, children John, Catherine, Peter Jr., Elizabeth, unnamed daughter, Jacob, Mary, Henry, George.
2. Elizabeth married Heinrich Reb. Nothing more is known
3. Leonard married Elizabeth Mast, children: Adam, Elizabeth, John, Joseph, Sarah, Mary Lucinda, Jacob, Henry, George.
4. Jacob. No other known record unless he was the Jacob Eller of Chapter 8.
5. George died in Davidson County, North Carolina, before 1841; his wife was Susanna. Children: George Jr., Henry, David.
6. John married Catherine Fight (Fort)? Nothing more is known.
7. Eve. Nothing more is known.
8. Catherine married Peter Lehman? Nothing more is known. (From Hook, 1957, pp. 15-16).
9. Maria (Mary) married Jacob Eller; Children: Cloah (Chloe) "Glory" Eller. (Troutman and File. EC, XI:1, Sp. Ed., Feb. 1997).
Primary centers from which known descendants spread: Frederick Co., MD, Rowan Co., NC, Ashe Co., NC, Wilkes Co., NC, Miami Co., OH, Hamilton Co., IN, Wapello Co., IA. ..."

2. The book "The Howard Leytham Stoker Von Dollen Family Histories," FHL 929.273 H833a, by Doris Lewis, 2017 So. 80th Ave., Omaha, Nebraska, 68124, p. 88 [FHL book 929.273 P684pn:
"Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 119-123, has almost the same verbatim except what I note in brackets]: "...James Hook wrote a history of 'George Michael Eller and His Descendants in America.' Much of the information I have on the Ellers come from this book or a book by Judge Johnson J. Hayes, called 'The Land of Wilkes,' a history of Wilkes County in North Carolina. In the ninth century Alamans, Teutons of Jutland, moved into Westallgan as early settlers. One group, called Ellers, started at the foot of Hirshberg in the Algauer Alp area near Bregenz, on Lake Constance. [They may have stayed in this general area for 600 years. This is the same area of the Palatinate that the Graybill religious refugees from Switzerland had fled and the same time frame. So the Ellers and Graybills may have known each other as neighbors or fellow churchmen.] Alta March, of Herman, Nebraska, has an Eller genealogy based in Germany, which probably connects with our family. In this record a Bartl and Barbara Swartz Eller had three children, Joseph, George and George Michael, the latter thought born in Baden, Sept. 5, 1695 and emigrated to America. He could well have been the father of our George Michael Eller, for he was a bit old to start his family in 1748. [The American Ellers apparently came from the Palatinate of Germany in the first half of the 18th century. The Pennsylvania Archives, 2nd Series, Vol 17, records the arrival of 13 Eller families who took the oath of allegiance between 30 Sep 1740 and 3 Nov 1772.] A Geo. Eller [age 20] emigrated on the ship 'St. Andrew,' and took his oath in Pennsylvania on Oct. 7, 1743 and [a George Michael Eller, apparently this same George Eller,] bought land he called 'Hammond Strife,' in Frederick County, Maryland. A Michael Eller aboard the ship Phoenix, took oath on September 30, 1743, and was on the tax list of Rowan Co. in N.C. in 1759. George Michael Eller, our ancestor, who may be the son or one of the above, was in Rowan County with Jacob, Christian and Melchoir Eller [Pitt book does not say location of the above three Ellers] at that same time and may have been there for a number years since his son Leonard said he was born at Fort Litters, N.C. in 1759. George Michael Eller bought land next to his brother Henry, in Frederick Co., MD in 1773, so he went back to Frederick County. His wife's name was Anna Marie and was the known mother of the last seven children, and may well have been Peter's and Leonard's mother. The Ellers of North Carolina have been connected with education since that state's earliest days. Academies in Virginia and North Carolina were started by Ellers and a list of the public school personnel today in N.C. is sprinkled with Ellers. [In 1790 there were 11 Eller families shown in the Rowan Co., NC census. At that time, members of the Eller family also were in Wilkes Co., NC and in Botetort Co., VA.] Children:
a. Peter, b. [1746/]1748 [possibly in Germany]; d. [bef] 29 Jul 1799 at Ashe Co., NC; m. [abt 1766/7 probably of Frederick Co, MD] Elizabeth Dick.
b. Leonard, b. 20 Mar 1752 at Ft. Litters [20 Mar 1754 probably in NC, possibly in Germany]; d. 1839, [probably] Hamilton Co., IN; m. Elizabeth Mast [Elizabeth ___].
c. Elizabeth, b. 1756; d. 1777; m. Henry Repp [10 Jun 1777 to Heinrich Reb, s/o Caspar Reb of Bucks Co., PA].
d. Jacob, b. 1758; d. 1830 [between 10 May 1830 and Oct 1830, Botetort Co., VA], m. Magdalena [___].
e. George, b. 1760 [d. probably abt 1839, Davidson Co., NC; m. Susannah [___].
f. John, b. 1762; m. [possibly] Catherine Fight [or Fort].
g. Eve, b. 1764.
h. Catherine, b. 1767; m. [probably 27 May 1788, Frederick Co., MD] Peter Lehman.
i. Maria, b. 1769."

3. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, p. 16: "Eve Eller. No further record found."

4. FHL Book 929.273, film 6005243, "John Jacob Eller and His Descendants with Other Pre-1800 Eller Immigrants to America," by the Eller Family Association, 1998, 817-297-1280; Chapter 4, concerning the George Michael Eller and his children:
"Many gaps in our knowledge of the genealogy of descendants of George Michael Eller are revealed in [the following:]
George Michael Eller married (1st)? (2nd)? (3rd) Eva Maria [Why Eva and not Anna - later in same article they use Anna Maria]. Frederick County, Maryland. Their children and grand-Children:
1. Peter, married Elizabeth Dick; Children: John, Catherine, Peter Jr., Elizabeth, unnamed daughter, Jacob, Mary, Henry, George.
2. Elizabeth married Heinrich Reb. Nothing more is known.
3. Leonard married Elizabeth Mast; Children: Adam, Elizabeth, John, Joseph, Sarah Mary Lucinda, Jacob, Henry, George.
4. Jacob. No other known record unless he was the Jacob Eller of [Botetort Co., Virginia].
5. George, d. in Davidson County, North Carolina before 1841; his wife was Susanna; Children: George Jr., Henry, David.
6. John married Catherine Fight (Fort)? Nothing more is known.
7. Eve. Nothing more is known.
8. Catherine married Peter Lehman? Nothing more is known.
9. Maria (Mary) married Jacob Eller; Children: Cloah (Chloe) 'Glory' Eller (Source: Troutman and File, 'Eller Chronicles,' XI:1, Sp. Ed., Feb 1997)
The book comments on current thinking of the Eller Family Association (EFA) on Hook research into George Michael Eller (GME) which I summarize as follows:
A. The two arrival records, Michael Eller in the ship "Phoenix" and Geo. Eler and Hans Jerg Ohler of the "St. Andrew" continue to lead to some confusion and differences of opinion. Recent analysis has led the Eller Family Association to believe that Geo. Eler and Hans Jerg Ohler were apparently the same individual. The clarification of the misinterpretation is that EFA does not feel that Hook documented where he got an age of 43 for Hans Georg Oehler. According to the actual records as reported by EFA as found in Strassburger and Hinke, Vol. 1, pp. 348-352: List 103A, p. 349, 'Geo. Eler listed age 20 and between Johannes Mayer and Peter Warner; List 103B, p. 350, Hans Jerg Ohler listed between Johannes Mayer and Peter Warner; List 103C, p. 351, Hanes Jerg Ohler listed between Johannes Mayer and Peter Warner. My note: did not the age come from the Oaths of Allegiance taken in 1743 in Pennsylvania right after the 1743 ship arrivals?
B. The 1753 deed in Lancaster Co., PA to 25 acres, the 1759 Rowan County tax list, and the 1772 Randolph Co., NC, tax list for Michael Eller may or may not be for George Michael Eller. Specifically EFA thinks the 1759 tax list may actually be for Melchior Eller whom was in Rowan County at that early date - Melchior sometimes being rendered as Melker or perhaps even Michael. On the other hand, four of GME's sons were in NC in the 1770s including Leonard as a large landowner in Randolph County making the 1772 Randolph Co. tax list a possibility. There is still no concrete evidence that GME was in North Carolina before his 1773 evidence of being in Frederick Co., MD. 1773 was the same year Peter, his eldest son, first shows in Rowan Co. and it wasn't until 1778 that his other sons were in NC.
C. The Bible record of Leonard being born at Fort (Ford) Litters, NC and his father from Bebon (Baden?) continues to puzzle researchers. No record or location of Fort Litters has yet been found. Most researchers believe Leonard was born in the United States and not Germany as reported by Hook on page 32. My note: I don't believe that Hook ever stated one way or the other except to quote what the Indiana history book he cites had quoted.
D. A will for George Eller, son of GME has been located. An abstract of his will from the Division of Lands Book, pp. 32-33, Davidson Co., NC was obtained from the Public Library in Lexington, NC. His heirs listed in the may Term 1841 Court Record includes: Caroline Sowers, Katharene Darr(?), Sally Warlow, Dolly Long, David Eller, Christene Waggoner, Elizabeth Reket(?), George Eller, Sally Haines, Polly Reed.
E. As for John, son of GME, no further record has been found. EFA acknowledges that the name John Eller is too unspecific making it difficult to identify which John Ellers if any of Rowan Co. may be him.
F. "Based in part on an Eller family oral tradition in Rowan County, Maria, youngest daughter of GME, a recent report says she married Jacob Eller, a grandson of immigrant (John) Melchior Eller. Louise Barringer File of Salisbury, NC, now in her eighties, has vivid memories of being told by her grandmother, Joyce Delinda Eller Morgan, of her descent from George Michael Eller, and how intermarriages among descendants of four different Eller immigrants enabled her and many other Ellers to claim four immigrant Ellers as ancestors. …taken from the work of Troutman and File (1997)." A chart accompanies the book showing how children of the original immigrants John Jacob, Christian, Melchior, and GME intermarried over about four generations to produce Joyce Delinda Eller from all four immigrants. The connection with GME purports to be Maria, GME's dau., marrying the grandson of Melchior Eller.
G. Questions still to be answered according to EFA: Where in Germany is he from, how was he related to others original immigrants (John Jacob, Christian, Melchior, and Henry), what of his son Jacob and his daughters, and how many wives did he have and who were they?
H. When did the sons of GME arrive in North Carolina?
Hook (1957, p. 21). "Peter Eller was living in Rowan Co., NC as early as 6 Mar 1773."
Land deeds of Rowan Co., NC:
"#3068, 1778, Leonard Eller 300 A on both sides of Sheit's Crk., adj Widow Bower, & Valentine Beard, including his improvements." (R.A. Enocks, Indianapolis, 1988, p. 233.)
"#1605, 28 Sep 1778, Philip Sewell 100 A on the headwaters of Reedy Creek & Tinkers Crk [adj] Joseph Meizell, William Oliver & Lewis Defore, including his Improvements. Made to George Ellor by the Enterer." (ibid. pg. 115.)
"#1608, 28 Sep 1778, William Oliver 100 A on waters of Reedy Crk adj Philip Sewell, Joseph Meizell & Peter Eller, including his Improvements. Made over to Ja's Cheney." (ibid, pg. 115.)
Marriage Records, Rowan County, North Carolina: Hook (1957) p. 16: "This writer's guess is that this was the John Eller (s/o Geo Michael) who married Catherine Fight (Fort) 10 Aug 1785."

5. Mentioned in father's will per FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 119-123, see George's notes for full quotation:
"George Michael Eller's will, possibly written several years before his death, was proved 25 Aug 1778 (Will Book G M., No. 1, p. 76, Frederick Co., MD) follows: 'In the name of God amen. I George Michael Eller of Frederick County in the province of Maryland living, ...my beloved wife, Anna Maria ...my oldest son Peter Eller ...my son Leonard Eller ...my daughter Elizabeth ...the overplus shall be divided by my Executors among my six youngest children namely, Jacob Eller, George Eller, John Eller, Eve Eller, Cathrine Eller and Maria Eller; further Jacob Eller shall have the Bible..."

BIRTH:
1. Mother of this individual and listing of this individual in father George Michael's will is expertly discussed in the following per FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 6-14:
"George Michael Eller died in Frederick County, Maryland before 25 Aug 1778 when his will, written in the German language and translated and put on record by Thomas Schley, was proved in the Frederick County court. The fact that his will was written in German indicates that he was born in Germany...
The wife of George Michael Eller as given in his will was Anna Maria, but the way the will reads it is apparent that she was not his first wife and very likely not the mother of any of the children named in same. The will bore no date but was proved by its witnesses 25 Aug 1778. This writer suspects that it was written several years before his death. It reads as follows, (Will Book G.M., No. 1, p. 76, Frederick Co., MD):
'In the name of God amen. I George Michael Eller of Frederick County in the province of Maryland living, am for this time sik and not right well but in my sound memory thanks be given unto God therefore seeing my nullity, ordain herein my Last Will and Testament in full love. I recommend my soul into the hands of God that gave it and my body to the earth, to be buried in a Christian like manner at the discretion of my Executors, my Executors shall in the first place pay out of my Estate all my just debts, and the overplus what the Lord gave me in this world I ordain as followith, my beloved wife, Anna Maria I give fifty pounds lawful Money, the small red cow with a white head, thirty bushels of wheat, her bed and her chest she bought (brought) to me, also the small and large Iron Potts, a half dozn peuter plates, one peuter basin, a dozn peuter spoons and a small melt pan, three iron kettles, a small washer tup a water tup and the churn, her spinnin wheel, her lamp, her Bible and Psal mody, one quart tin mog, and a pint do, on quart bottle, and every year fifteen pounds as long as they can live together also her clothing out of my Estate they can agree together, the aforesaid fifteen pounds to be paid to her in the first year only out of my whole estate, and if they can agree to live longer together, then the six younger children shall pay her the same by themselves out of my good consideration I caused to be right and is my last will and Testament that my oldest son Peter Eller, shall have the sum of 97 pounds lawful money, and my son Leonard Eller shall have the sum of 82 pounds and my daughter Elizabeth shall likewise have 82 pounds lawful money; and these said three children shall have that money three years after my decease then my two Executors, namely Henry Eller and Martin Gerber, shall be impowered to sell the Place, wagon and horses, all the creatures and moveables, and shall pay to my beloved wife her part of the same; and the overplus shall be divided by my Executors among my six youngest children namely, Jacob Eller, George Eller, John Eller, Eve Eller, Cathrine Eller and Maria Eller; further Jacob Eller shall have the Bible and to pay to George ten shillings, also shall Jacob have the young colt, if it mare bring the same luky. This is George Michael Eller his x mark and Seal X (Seal) Attested by John Bergers and Henry Schmaus (Smous) - John Bergers, Henry Smouse the above witnesses were sworn Frederick County, 25th August 1778. Then came the above Thomas Schley and made oath on the holy Evangelists of Almighty God, that the within and above writing is a just and true Translation to the best of his knowledge of the original Will of the above named George Michael Eller, which is written in the German language and that he hath not knowingly or intentionally translated any matter of substance contrary to the true meaning of said Will. Certified by George Murdock, Regr.'
The phrases in the above will pertaining to his wife and the things 'she brought to me' and the legacies to her that were made contingent on his six youngest children and her being able 'to live longer together,' indicates that she was not their mother. The name of his first wife was not found. The Evangelical Lutheran Church records of Frederick County, Maryland, records the baptism, on 8 Nov 1756, of Marie Magdalena Aller, daughter of Michael Aller and his wife Salome. (Evangelical Lutheran Church Records, p. 40, Maryland Hist. Soc.) This, doubtless, was another family because in the same year (1756) Carl Aller baptized a daughter Anna Barbara and in 1775 one Michael Aller was recorded as owing money to Mr. Hass, the same probably being for the church. (pp. 42 and 49 Ibid.)
If all facts were known they might show that George Michael Eller was married three times and that his first son Peter was a child by his first wife and all others by his second. Peter was a grown man with a wife and child as early as the late seventeen sixties. His brother, Leonard, was born 20 March 1754. Peter Eller was called 'my eldest son' in the George Michael Eller will and the latter's children, Jacob, George, John, Eve, Catherine and Maria, called 'my six youngest children,' were given the residue of the estate in equal shares. The son, Peter, was given 97 pounds and the son, Leonard, and daughter, Elizabeth, were given 82 pounds apiece. All of this adds up to the fact that Peter, Leonard and Elizabeth were his eldest children and that Peter probably was some years older than the other two, and, maybe, their half-brother."

DEATH:
1. This individual is listed living in father's will of 25 Aug 1778.
 		Eller, Eve (I3626)
 
2857 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 EL54ejg "John Jacob Eller and His Descendants with Other Pre-1800 Eller Immigrants to America...," by J. Gerald Eller, Edward K. Eller, and Janine Eller Porter (The Eller Family Association, 1998), pp. 22-27; the following is a partial excerpt from the full transcript which I place in the notes of George Michael Eller:
"George Michael Eller.
Many gaps in our knowledge of the genealogy of descendants of George Michael Eller are revealed in Table VI. Until new information was reported in the Eller Chronicles, the published genealogy of this immigrant and his descendants came exclusively from Hook (1925, 1955, 1957, 1957A). His genealogies were limited largely to descendants of four sons: Peter, Leonard, Jacob, and George. His listing of Jacob, as a son (1957, pp 53-63), has been questioned; this point is discussed further in chapters 8 and 10. Other researchers have now contributed extensively to the genealogy of this line, as shown in the bibliography at the end of the chapter. As can be seen in Table VI, little is known of the descendants of the daughters of immigrant George Michael Eller.
Table VI
George Michael Eller married (1st)? (2nd)? (3rd) Eva Maria. Frederick County, Maryland. Their children and grandchildren:
1. Peter, married Elizabeth Dick, children John, Catherine, Peter Jr., Elizabeth, unnamed daughter, Jacob, Mary, Henry, George.
2. Elizabeth married Heinrich Reb. Nothing more is known
3. Leonard married Elizabeth Mast, children: Adam, Elizabeth, John, Joseph, Sarah, Mary Lucinda, Jacob, Henry, George.
4. Jacob. No other known record unless he was the Jacob Eller of Chapter 8.
5. George died in Davidson County, North Carolina, before 1841; his wife was Susanna. Children: George Jr., Henry, David.
6. John married Catherine Fight (Fort)? Nothing more is known.
7. Eve. Nothing more is known.
8. Catherine married Peter Lehman? Nothing more is known. (From Hook, 1957, pp. 15-16).
9. Maria (Mary) married Jacob Eller; Children: Cloah (Chloe) "Glory" Eller. (Troutman and File. EC, XI:1, Sp. Ed., Feb. 1997).
Primary centers from which known descendants spread: Frederick Co., MD, Rowan Co., NC, Ashe Co., NC, Wilkes Co., NC, Miami Co., OH, Hamilton Co., IN, Wapello Co., IA. ..."

2. In Peter Eller's probate of 1799, there is a John Eller mentioned who could possibly be this individual (his brother) or possibly Peter's son John: FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 119-123:
"An accounting of the sale of Peter Eller's personal estate after his death follows: The personal estate of Peter Eller was sold and an accounting reported to the Nov 1799 court of Wilkes Co., NC by John Eller, Adr. The property, 111 individual sales, consisted of household utensils and furniture, farm yard tools, and accessories, including one tomahawk, ten sheep, fifteen head of cattle, among which were a yoke of yearlings and one yearling bull, hogs, geese, beehives, etc. The widow took a good deal of the furniture and household accessories including interestingly enough a trumpet which indicates that the early Ellers possessed musical interest. Other items taken by her were one lot of books, a chest, five head of hogs, four cows, one mare colt, two sheep, oven hammer and anvil and a pair of saddle bags. Other purchasers were John Eller, Michael Bumgardner, Leonard Bumgardner, John Dick, Leonard Pfouts, Jacob Huntsinger, Daniel Dickson, James Dickson, James Cash, William Cash, Henry Michael Sr., Henry Michael Jr., Danien Michael, Thomas Baker, Alexander Smith who purchased the tomahawk and some of the farm animals and other items, David Smith, Frederick Younce, Christian Shear, Abraham Shear, Coonrod Coldiron, David Ingram, Balsar Raimer, Conrat Grub, William Colward, George Miller, John Calloway, Allen Nowlin, John Holman and John Tirey. The amount of the sale, including the items taken by the widow, totaled 300 pounds, 18 shillings, 7 pence. (Will Book 1, pp. 540-41, Wilkes Co., NC)."

3. There is a John Eller mentioned with Michael Stoker as chain carriers in the survey of some land in Wilkes Co., NC granted to Conrad Dick and later sold to Peter Eller. They are listed as neighbors. John may be this individual or Peter's brother John Eller.

4. The book "The Howard Leytham Stoker Von Dollen Family Histories," FHL 929.273 H833a, by Doris Lewis, 2017 So. 80th Ave., Omaha, Nebraska, 68124, p. 88 [FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 119-123, has almost the same verbatim except what I note in brackets]:
"...James Hook wrote a history of 'George Michael Eller and His Descendants in America.' Much of the information I have on the Ellers come from this book or a book by Judge Johnson J. Hayes, called 'The Land of Wilkes,' a history of Wilkes County in North Carolina. In the ninth century Alamans, Teutons of Jutland, moved into Westallgan as early settlers. One group, called Ellers, started at the foot of Hirshberg in the Algauer Alp area near Bregenz, on Lake Constance. [They may have stayed in this general area for 600 years. This is the same area of the Palatinate that the Graybill religious refugees from Switzerland had fled and the same time frame. So the Ellers and Graybills may have known each other as neighbors or fellow churchmen.] Alta March, of Herman, Nebraska, has an Eller genealogy based in Germany, which probably connects with our family. In this record a Bartl and Barbara Swartz Eller had three children, Joseph, George and George Michael, the latter thought born in Baden, Sept. 5, 1695 and emigrated to America. He could well have been the father of our George Michael Eller, for he was a bit old to start his family in 1748. [The American Ellers apparently came from the Palatinate of Germany in the first half of the 18th century. The Pennsylvania Archives, 2nd Series, Vol 17, records the arrival of 13 Eller families who took the oath of allegiance between 30 Sep 1740 and 3 Nov 1772.] A Geo. Eller [age 20] emigrated on the ship 'St. Andrew,' and took his oath in Pennsylvania on Oct. 7, 1743 and [a George Michael Eller, apparently this same George Eller,] bought land he called 'Hammond Strife,' in Frederick County, Maryland. A Michael Eller aboard the ship Phoenix, took oath on September 30, 1743, and was on the tax list of Rowan Co. in N.C. in 1759. George Michael Eller, our ancestor, who may be the son or one of the above, was in Rowan County with Jacob, Christian and Melchoir Eller [Pitt book does not say location of the above three Ellers] at that same time and may have been there for a number years since his son Leonard said he was born at Fort Litters, N.C. in 1759. George Michael Eller bought land next to his brother Henry, in Frederick Co., MD in 1773, so he went back to Frederick County. His wife's name was Anna Marie and was the known mother of the last seven children, and may well have been Peter's and Leonard's mother. The Ellers of North Carolina have been connected with education since that state's earliest days. Academies in Virginia and North Carolina were started by Ellers and a list of the public school personnel today in N.C. is sprinkled with Ellers. [In 1790 there were 11 Eller families shown in the Rowan Co., NC census. At that time, members of the Eller family also were in Wilkes Co., NC and in Botetort Co., VA.] Children:
a. Peter, b. [1746/]1748 [possibly in Germany]; d. [bef] 29 Jul 1799 at Ashe Co., NC; m. [abt 1766/7 probably of Frederick Co, MD] Elizabeth Dick.
b. Leonard, b. 20 Mar 1752 at Ft. Litters [20 Mar 1754 probably in NC, possibly in Germany]; d. 1839, [probably] Hamilton Co., IN; m. Elizabeth Mast [Elizabeth ___].
c. Elizabeth, b. 1756; d. 1777; m. Henry Repp [10 Jun 1777 to Heinrich Reb, s/o Caspar Reb of Bucks Co., PA].
d. Jacob, b. 1758; d. 1830 [between 10 May 1830 and Oct 1830, Botetort Co., VA], m. Magdalena [___].
e. George, b. 1760 [d. probably abt 1839, Davidson Co., NC; m. Susannah [___].
f. John, b. 1762; m. [possibly] Catherine Fight [or Fort].
g. Eve, b. 1764.
h. Catherine, b. 1767; m. [probably 27 May 1788, Frederick Co., MD] Peter Lehman.
i. Maria, b. 1769."

5. FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 119-123 notes that his children may have included Peter, David, and George.

6. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 15-16:
"John Eller. No identifiable record of him was found. He may be one of the John Ellers found in the early census records of Rowan Co., N.C. This writer's guess is that he was the John Eller who married Catherine Fight (Fort) 10 Aug 1785. (Rowan Co. Marriages.) She was the daughter of Peter Fight. (Deed Book 19, p. 876, Rowan Co., NC.) One son of theirs probably was Peter Eller, b. in Rowan Co. in 1788, who served during the War of 1812 as a private in Capt. W.L. Dufphey's Company Company of the 3rd Regiment of U.S. Riflemen. (His Hon. Discharge papers, Archives Bldg., Wash., D.C.) For these services he was granted 160 acres of Bounty Land in Missouri which he sold to Henry Fight, his brother-in-law probably, 10 Dec. 1819. (Deed Book 26, p. 112, Rowan Co.) Peter Eller, probably, m. 17 Apr 1809, Susannah Lemly and removed to Montgomery Co., VA and there shown in the 1820 census of that county, aged between 26 and 45 with wife of same age and with six male and one female children under 16. Others sons of John Eller may have been David Eller who had a license dated 31 Jun 1815 to marry Sarah Leonard, a dau. of Valentine Leonard of Davidson County, NC, and George Eller who had a license dated 9 Sep 1814 to marry Caty (Catherine) Eller. (Rowan Co., NC Marriages.)"

7. Censuses:
1790: FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, p. 5:
"Of the 11 Eller families shown in the Fed. Census of Rowan Co., NC in 1790, 8 of them can be identified as sons either of Jacob, Christian or Melcher. The other three were named Leonard, John and George. That Leonard was a son of George Michael Eller who died and left a will in Frederick Co., MD that was probated 25 Aug 1778 is substantially proved. That John and George were Leonard Eller's brothers appears reasonably certain to this writer. Another brother of Leonard was Peter Eller, who lived first in that part of Rowan Co. that, in 1777, became Wilkes and 1799 Ashe Co., NC... Peter Eller is listed in the 1790 census (original list) of Wilkes Co., NC and is the only person of the Eller name outside of Rowan Co., NC who is shown in the 1790 census of North Carolina…" [Current thinking is that Jacob, Christian, and Melcher were probable brothers and that Leonard, John, and George were a separate group of brothers (sons of George Michael). The relationship between both groups are undetermined but believed to perhaps involve earlier relationship in Germany.]

8. FHL Book 929.273, film 6005243, "John Jacob Eller and His Descendants with Other Pre-1800 Eller Immigrants to America," by the Eller Family Association, 1998, 817-297-1280; Chapter 4, concerning the George Michael Eller and his children:
"Many gaps in our knowledge of the genealogy of descendants of George Michael Eller are revealed in [the following:]
George Michael Eller married (1st)? (2nd)? (3rd) Eva Maria [Why Eva and not Anna - later in same article they use Anna Maria]. Frederick County, Maryland. Their children and grand-Children:
1. Peter, married Elizabeth Dick; Children: John, Catherine, Peter Jr., Elizabeth, unnamed daughter, Jacob, Mary, Henry, George.
2. Elizabeth married Heinrich Reb. Nothing more is known.
3. Leonard married Elizabeth Mast; Children: Adam, Elizabeth, John, Joseph, Sarah Mary Lucinda, Jacob, Henry, George.
4. Jacob. No other known record unless he was the Jacob Eller of [Botetort Co., Virginia].
5. George, d. in Davidson County, North Carolina before 1841; his wife was Susanna; Children: George Jr., Henry, David.
6. John married Catherine Fight (Fort)? Nothing more is known.
7. Eve. Nothing more is known.
8. Catherine married Peter Lehman? Nothing more is known.
9. Maria (Mary) married Jacob Eller; Children: Cloah (Chloe) 'Glory' Eller (Source: Troutman and File, 'Eller Chronicles,' XI:1, Sp. Ed., Feb 1997)
The book comments on current thinking of the Eller Family Association (EFA) on Hook research into George Michael Eller (GME) which I summarize as follows:
A. The two arrival records, Michael Eller in the ship "Phoenix" and Geo. Eler and Hans Jerg Ohler of the "St. Andrew" continue to lead to some confusion and differences of opinion. Recent analysis has led the Eller Family Association to believe that Geo. Eler and Hans Jerg Ohler were apparently the same individual. The clarification of the misinterpretation is that EFA does not feel that Hook documented where he got an age of 43 for Hans Georg Oehler. According to the actual records as reported by EFA as found in Strassburger and Hinke, Vol. 1, pp. 348-352: List 103A, p. 349, 'Geo. Eler listed age 20 and between Johannes Mayer and Peter Warner; List 103B, p. 350, Hans Jerg Ohler listed between Johannes Mayer and Peter Warner; List 103C, p. 351, Hanes Jerg Ohler listed between Johannes Mayer and Peter Warner. My note: did not the age come from the Oaths of Allegiance taken in 1743 in Pennsylvania right after the 1743 ship arrivals?
B. The 1753 deed in Lancaster Co., PA to 25 acres, the 1759 Rowan County tax list, and the 1772 Randolph Co., NC, tax list for Michael Eller may or may not be for George Michael Eller. Specifically EFA thinks the 1759 tax list may actually be for Melchior Eller whom was in Rowan County at that early date - Melchior sometimes being rendered as Melker or perhaps even Michael. On the other hand, four of GME's sons were in NC in the 1770s including Leonard as a large landowner in Randolph County making the 1772 Randolph Co. tax list a possibility. There is still no concrete evidence that GME was in North Carolina before his 1773 evidence of being in Frederick Co., MD. 1773 was the same year Peter, his eldest son, first shows in Rowan Co. and it wasn't until 1778 that his other sons were in NC.
C. The Bible record of Leonard being born at Fort (Ford) Litters, NC and his father from Bebon (Baden?) continues to puzzle researchers. No record or location of Fort Litters has yet been found. Most researchers believe Leonard was born in the United States and not Germany as reported by Hook on page 32. My note: I don't believe that Hook ever stated one way or the other except to quote what the Indiana history book he cites had quoted.
D. A will for George Eller, son of GME has been located. An abstract of his will from the Division of Lands Book, pp. 32-33, Davidson Co., NC was obtained from the Public Library in Lexington, NC. His heirs listed in the may Term 1841 Court Record includes: Caroline Sowers, Katharene Darr(?), Sally Warlow, Dolly Long, David Eller, Christene Waggoner, Elizabeth Reket(?), George Eller, Sally Haines, Polly Reed.
E. As for John, son of GME, no further record has been found. EFA acknowledges that the name John Eller is too unspecific making it difficult to identify which John Ellers if any of Rowan Co. may be him.
F. "Based in part on an Eller family oral tradition in Rowan County, Maria, youngest daughter of GME, a recent report says she married Jacob Eller, a grandson of immigrant (John) Melchior Eller. Louise Barringer File of Salisbury, NC, now in her eighties, has vivid memories of being told by her grandmother, Joyce Delinda Eller Morgan, of her descent from George Michael Eller, and how intermarriages among descendants of four different Eller immigrants enabled her and many other Ellers to claim four immigrant Ellers as ancestors. …taken from the work of Troutman and File (1997)." A chart accompanies the book showing how children of the original immigrants John Jacob, Christian, Melchior, and GME intermarried over about four generations to produce Joyce Delinda Eller from all four immigrants. The connection with GME purports to be Maria, GME's dau., marrying the grandson of Melchior Eller.
G. Questions still to be answered according to EFA: Where in Germany is he from, how was he related to others original immigrants (John Jacob, Christian, Melchior, and Henry), what of his son Jacob and his daughters, and how many wives did he have and who were they?
H. When did the sons of GME arrive in North Carolina?
Hook (1957, p. 21). "Peter Eller was living in Rowan Co., NC as early as 6 Mar 1773."
Land deeds of Rowan Co., NC:
"#3068, 1778, Leonard Eller 300 A on both sides of Sheit's Crk., adj Widow Bower, & Valentine Beard, including his improvements." (R.A. Enocks, Indianapolis, 1988, p. 233.)
"#1605, 28 Sep 1778, Philip Sewell 100 A on the headwaters of Reedy Creek & Tinkers Crk [adj] Joseph Meizell, William Oliver & Lewis Defore, including his Improvements. Made to George Ellor by the Enterer." (ibid. pg. 115.)
"#1608, 28 Sep 1778, William Oliver 100 A on waters of Reedy Crk adj Philip Sewell, Joseph Meizell & Peter Eller, including his Improvements. Made over to Ja's Cheney." (ibid, pg. 115.)
Marriage Records, Rowan County, North Carolina: Hook (1957) p. 16: "This writer's guess is that this was the John Eller (s/o Geo Michael) who married Catherine Fight (Fort) 10 Aug 1785."

9. Index of miscellaneous deeds from the book "Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881," Vol. II, comp. and ed. by Elayne Stoker, 2004, printed by Stevenson's Genealogy Center, Provo, UT. I am not sure of the relationship, if any, of all the parties herein listed and this is for reference only:
"Some Frederick County Maryland Deeds:
E-125 Joseph Grable to Jacob Funk, March 20, 1753
E-509 Joseph Grable to Jacob Funk, August 21, 1754 Agreement
F-244 Joseph Grable to Jacob Funk, May 28, 1757
F-393 Joseph Grable from James ___, February 11, 1758
K-782 Joseph Grable to Jacob Roland, November 19, 1766
K-782 Samuel Grable from Leonard White, November 14, 1766
K-743 Joseph Grable to Jacob Funk - Release
K-803 Martin Garver from Jacob Danner, December 19, 1766
K-1284 Henry Eller to Jacob Flora, June 6, 1767
L-515 John Garver from Jacob Danner, October 1, 1768
N-396 Leonard Kitzmiller from Samuel Stringer, October 10, 1770
N-505 Peter Wampler from Richard Coroxal, December 15, 1770
S-96 George Michael Eller from Edward Gaither
O-3 Henry Eller to David Buzzard, January 14, 1771
L-665 John Grable to Jacob Roland, May 1772
P-128 Henry Eller from Leonard Kitzmiller, June 13, 1772
P-110 Leonard Kitzmiller to Samuel Carver, June 13, 1772
BD1-539 John Garver to Jacob Danner, May 22, 1775- did not find
BD6-34 John Grabill to Jacob Danner, June 20, 1775
WR-2-543 Peter Grable to Michael Christ, May 26, 1779
WR-3-71 John Grabell to Wm. Renner, July 27, 1782
GM2-444 Peter Wampler, 1782
WR-4-98 Peter Grable to Michael Christ, May 26, 1779
WR-6-4 Henry Eller to Philip Fishburn, June 22, 1784
WR-6-84 Henry Eller to Francis B. Sappington, August 19, 1784
WR-3-205 John Grable from John Bowman, Bill of Sale
WR-7-332 John Grable and others to George Kitzburger, June 12, 1787
WR-7-616 John Grable to Paul Clapsdale, December 4, 1787
WR-8-505 John Grable from John Shuk, June 8, 1789 Bill of Sale
WR-9-194 John Grable from Sam Cole, April 30, 1790
WR-9-250 John Grable from Joseph Boyer, June 1, 1790
WR-9-46 Peter Grable from Martin Sheets, July 8, 1790
WR-9-546 Peter Grable from Henry Repp, December 7, 1790
WR-11-279 John Garber and others, September 24, 1791, Agreement
WR-11-210 John Wampler to Lazarus Findburg, November 21, 1792
WR-11-199 Joseph Wampler from Michael Baer, November 19, 1792
WR-11-587 Joseph Eller from Jacob Baer, May 31, 1793
WR 12-41 John Garber, Upton Scott and others, May 9, 1794 Agreement
WR 12-445 John Grable from Balser Riam, June 3, 1794
WR 12-447 John Grable from Balser Riam, June 3, 1794
WR 12-456 John Grable to Christian Ebey, June 6, 1794
WR 12-451 John Grable to Christian Ebey, June 6, 1794
WR 12-535 John Grable from Conrad Cragon, August 14, 1794
WR 12-516 John Grable to Rebecca Reynolds, July 30, 1794
WR 13-153 John Grable to Conrad Hi , March 26, 1795
WR 13-126 Joseph Eller from Frederick Murray, March 24, 1795
WR 13-449 Martin Garber from Richard Cook, August 11, 1795
WR 13-263 Martin Garber from Philip Fishburn, May 6, 1795
WR 15-481 John Grable from Negro Bill, July 5, 1797
WR 15-595 Joseph Eller from John Kerr, September 6, 1797
WR 15-518 Martin Garber from Richard Coal, August 8, 1797
WR 15-519 Joseph Grable from Martin Garber, August 8, 1797
WR 15-395 David Wampler from Joseph Grable, June 8, 1797
WR 17-44 Jacob Grable from Wm. Hardin, May 24, 1798
WR 19-71 David Wampler from Christian Simmons, October 8, 1799
WR 12-245 Peter Wampler from Samuel Chase, March 1794
WR 16-463 John Wampler from Joseph Baker, May 2, 1795
WR 17-302 John Garber from ___ Scott, October 2, 1798
WR 19-247 Joseph Eller from Jacob Young, January 16, 1800
WR 19-250 Joseph Eller to Jacob Pofsbarger, January 17, 1800
WR 19-252 Joseph Eller to Michael Minor Sr., January 17, 1800
WR 19-444 John Wampler to John Iler, April 16, 1800
WR 21-466 John Grable from Christian Leasner, September 17, 1801
WR 21-541 Jacob Garber to Joseph Baker, October 21, 1801
WR 23-227 Martin Carver and others to Samuel Garber, July 29, 1802
WR 23-228 Samuel Garber from Christian Garber and others, July 29, 1802
WR 23-229 Samuel Garber and others to Christian Garber, July 29, 1802
WR 23-231 John Garber from John Wampler, July 29, 1802
WR 23-234 John Wampler to Martin Garber, July 29, 1802
WR 22-548 Moses Grable from Craig Marshall, May 15, 1802
WR 20-41 Martin Garber from Wm. Head, June 21, 1800
WR 20-43 Martin Garber from Peter Kramer, June 28, 1800
WR 22-4 Moses Grable to Michael Freeze, November 3, 1801
WR 25-579 John Garber from Israel Bigler, May 8, 1804
WR 26-71 John Garber from Anna Garber and others, September 5, 1804
WR 27-544 Joseph Grable to Peter Grable, October 10, 1805
WR 39-561 John Grable from Peter Grable, May 22, 1811
WR 42-380 John Grable and others to State of Maryland, May 31, 1813
WR 44-85 John Grable to Louis Mottier, April 5, 1813"

10. Mentioned in father's will per FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 119-123, see George's notes for full quotation: "George Michael Eller's will, possibly written several years before his death, was proved 25 Aug 1778 (Will Book G M., No. 1, p. 76, Frederick Co., MD) follows: 'In the name of God amen. I George Michael Eller of Frederick County in the province of Maryland living, ...my beloved wife, Anna Maria ...my oldest son Peter Eller ...my son Leonard Eller ...my daughter Elizabeth ...the overplus shall be divided by my Executors among my six youngest children namely, Jacob Eller, George Eller, John Eller, Eve Eller, Cathrine Eller and Maria Eller; further Jacob Eller shall have the Bible..."

BIRTH:
1. Mother of this individual and listing of this individual in father George Michael's will is expertly discussed in the following per FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 6-14:
"George Michael Eller died in Frederick County, Maryland before 25 Aug 1778 when his will, written in the German language and translated and put on record by Thomas Schley, was proved in the Frederick County court. The fact that his will was written in German indicates that he was born in Germany...
The wife of George Michael Eller as given in his will was Anna Maria, but the way the will reads it is apparent that she was not his first wife and very likely not the mother of any of the children named in same. The will bore no date but was proved by its witnesses 25 Aug 1778. This writer suspects that it was written several years before his death. It reads as follows, (Will Book G.M., No. 1, p. 76, Frederick Co., MD):
'In the name of God amen. I George Michael Eller of Frederick County in the province of Maryland living, am for this time sik and not right well but in my sound memory thanks be given unto God therefore seeing my nullity, ordain herein my Last Will and Testament in full love. I recommend my soul into the hands of God that gave it and my body to the earth, to be buried in a Christian like manner at the discretion of my Executors, my Executors shall in the first place pay out of my Estate all my just debts, and the overplus what the Lord gave me in this world I ordain as followith, my beloved wife, Anna Maria I give fifty pounds lawful Money, the small red cow with a white head, thirty bushels of wheat, her bed and her chest she bought (brought) to me, also the small and large Iron Potts, a half dozn peuter plates, one peuter basin, a dozn peuter spoons and a small melt pan, three iron kettles, a small washer tup a water tup and the churn, her spinnin wheel, her lamp, her Bible and Psal mody, one quart tin mog, and a pint do, on quart bottle, and every year fifteen pounds as long as they can live together also her clothing out of my Estate they can agree together, the aforesaid fifteen pounds to be paid to her in the first year only out of my whole estate, and if they can agree to live longer together, then the six younger children shall pay her the same by themselves out of my good consideration I caused to be right and is my last will and Testament that my oldest son Peter Eller, shall have the sum of 97 pounds lawful money, and my son Leonard Eller shall have the sum of 82 pounds and my daughter Elizabeth shall likewise have 82 pounds lawful money; and these said three children shall have that money three years after my decease then my two Executors, namely Henry Eller and Martin Gerber, shall be impowered to sell the Place, wagon and horses, all the creatures and moveables, and shall pay to my beloved wife her part of the same; and the overplus shall be divided by my Executors among my six youngest children namely, Jacob Eller, George Eller, John Eller, Eve Eller, Cathrine Eller and Maria Eller; further Jacob Eller shall have the Bible and to pay to George ten shillings, also shall Jacob have the young colt, if it mare bring the same luky. This is George Michael Eller his x mark and Seal X (Seal) Attested by John Bergers and Henry Schmaus (Smous) - John Bergers, Henry Smouse the above witnesses were sworn Frederick County, 25th August 1778. Then came the above Thomas Schley and made oath on the holy Evangelists of Almighty God, that the within and above writing is a just and true Translation to the best of his knowledge of the original Will of the above named George Michael Eller, which is written in the German language and that he hath not knowingly or intentionally translated any matter of substance contrary to the true meaning of said Will. Certified by George Murdock, Regr.'
The phrases in the above will pertaining to his wife and the things 'she brought to me' and the legacies to her that were made contingent on his six youngest children and her being able 'to live longer together,' indicates that she was not their mother. The name of his first wife was not found. The Evangelical Lutheran Church records of Frederick County, Maryland, records the baptism, on 8 Nov 1756, of Marie Magdalena Aller, daughter of Michael Aller and his wife Salome. (Evangelical Lutheran Church Records, p. 40, Maryland Hist. Soc.) This, doubtless, was another family because in the same year (1756) Carl Aller baptized a daughter Anna Barbara and in 1775 one Michael Aller was recorded as owing money to Mr. Hass, the same probably being for the church. (pp. 42 and 49 Ibid.)
If all facts were known they might show that George Michael Eller was married three times and that his first son Peter was a child by his first wife and all others by his second. Peter was a grown man with a wife and child as early as the late seventeen sixties. His brother, Leonard, was born 20 March 1754. Peter Eller was called 'my eldest son' in the George Michael Eller will and the latter's children, Jacob, George, John, Eve, Catherine and Maria, called 'my six youngest children,' were given the residue of the estate in equal shares. The son, Peter, was given 97 pounds and the son, Leonard, and daughter, Elizabeth, were given 82 pounds apiece. All of this adds up to the fact that Peter, Leonard and Elizabeth were his eldest children and that Peter probably was some years older than the other two, and, maybe, their half-brother."

MARRIAGE:
1. See notes in quote above from James Hook's book.
 		Eller, John (I3625)
 
2858 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 EL54ejg "John Jacob Eller and His Descendants with Other Pre-1800 Eller Immigrants to America...," by J. Gerald Eller, Edward K. Eller, and Janine Eller Porter (The Eller Family Association, 1998), pp. 22-27; the following is a partial excerpt from the full transcript which I place in the notes of George Michael Eller:
"George Michael Eller.
Many gaps in our knowledge of the genealogy of descendants of George Michael Eller are revealed in Table VI. Until new information was reported in the Eller Chronicles, the published genealogy of this immigrant and his descendants came exclusively from Hook (1925, 1955, 1957, 1957A). His genealogies were limited largely to descendants of four sons: Peter, Leonard, Jacob, and George. His listing of Jacob, as a son (1957, pp 53-63), has been questioned; this point is discussed further in chapters 8 and 10. Other researchers have now contributed extensively to the genealogy of this line, as shown in the bibliography at the end of the chapter. As can be seen in Table VI, little is known of the descendants of the daughters of immigrant George Michael Eller.
Table VI
George Michael Eller married (1st)? (2nd)? (3rd) Eva Maria. Frederick County, Maryland. Their children and grandchildren:
1. Peter, married Elizabeth Dick, children John, Catherine, Peter Jr., Elizabeth, unnamed daughter, Jacob, Mary, Henry, George.
2. Elizabeth married Heinrich Reb. Nothing more is known
3. Leonard married Elizabeth Mast, children: Adam, Elizabeth, John, Joseph, Sarah, Mary Lucinda, Jacob, Henry, George.
4. Jacob. No other known record unless he was the Jacob Eller of Chapter 8.
5. George died in Davidson County, North Carolina, before 1841; his wife was Susanna. Children: George Jr., Henry, David.
6. John married Catherine Fight (Fort)? Nothing more is known.
7. Eve. Nothing more is known.
8. Catherine married Peter Lehman? Nothing more is known. (From Hook, 1957, pp. 15-16).
9. Maria (Mary) married Jacob Eller; Children: Cloah (Chloe) "Glory" Eller. (Troutman and File. EC, XI:1, Sp. Ed., Feb. 1997)..."

2. Even though George Michael did have a son name Jacob as attested by his George's will, there may be some controversy as to whether the information ascribed herein is correct or mixed with another Jacob Eller. Consider the following two "Eller Chronicles" online articles that pretty well disconnects this Jacob with the Jacob Eller of Botetort Co., VA married to Magdalena ___:
A. Eller Chronicles Vol. VIII-3, Aug. 1994, March 29, 1994, John C. Eller 245 Oak Ave., Apt. 714 Sebring, Fl 33870: "Genealogy Problems Regarding Jacob and Magdalene Eller of Botetourt County, Virginia. Because misinformation regarding Jacob Eller, who was the first Eller to settle in Botetourt County, Virginia, and his wife Magdalene, continue to be circulated among genealogists, I am writing this to tell how I have been involved and what I know about Jacob and Magdalene. Just recently I received undocumented material which illustrate the continuing problems. Also, The Eller Family Association recently reprinted the book George Michael Eller and His Descendants in America by James W. Hook, which, I believe, has given wider circulation to Mr. Hook's incorrect data.
Problem No. I
The descendants of Jacob Eller have and continue to relate the family tradition which I have heard repeated many times: "Jacob Eller was born in Germany and emigrated to America along with three of his brothers. They spent some time in Pennsylvania. Later Jacob settled in Botetourt County, Virginia and the other brothers settled in North Carolina."
The first documented evidence of Jacob Eller in Virginia was a Land Grant given by Governor Baverley Randolph July 19, 1790 (1). He later sold that land to a John Brubaker(2). On February 9, 1802 he bought 400 acres of land from Jacob and Elizabeth Yest(Yeast)(3).
In 1947 while working on a term paper for a class at Bethany Theological Seminary I found the name of James W. Hook at the Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois. He had written a genealogy book about his family and included his address in Connecticut. Since Mr. Hook's mother was an Eller from North Carolina, I wrote to introduce myself and to enquire whether he knew of any connection between the Virginia Eller Family and his ancestors in North Carolina.
To my surprise he was not aware of Eller families in Virginia and urged me to send more information. Since my Brother Henry had produced in writing(4) the information we had on the family, I gave him Henry's name and address who mailed him the information he had. The two never met or discussed the information provided. Mr. Hook and I continued to correspond occasionally until 1957. My last letter was answered by his secretary. Mr. Hook had died, however, he had published his latest book (5).
I immediately wrote for a copy and was not only surprised but a bit horrified to see on pages 53 through 63 our Jacob Eller and his descendants as prepared by brother Henry. Mr. Hook had decided that our Jacob Eller "may have been" (See p. 54) the son of George Michael Eller. On page 5, he used the expression, "The evidence is strong." No documentation was given.
By this time my father Christian E. Eller, who was the genealogist of the family, had died. He had a brother Daniel M. Eller, born May 8, 1863(6), La Verne, California, and a sister Cora Eller Bream, born August 3, 1888(7), Whittier, California. Both were born and grew up on the Eller Farm in Virginia. Living on the farm was their grandmother Mary "Polly" Wertz Eller. She was the wife of Abraham(Abram) Eller, their grandfather. He was the son of Jacob Eller. Abram and Mary were married March 26, 1831.(8) Mary would have known Jacob Eller. She died February 1908(9) well after Uncle Dan and Aunt Cora had left home. In 1958 I needed to go to California on business and decided to ask both separately about the Eller tradition regarding Jacob Eller. Uncle Dan was 95 and Aunt Cora was 70. Both were in good health, alert and did not know of my visit with the other.
My inquiry to both of them went something like this: "Tell me about the Ellers in Maryland".
Both were astonished that I had asked. Both gave essentially the name answer. "I never heard of them." I persisted, "Did you ever hear great grandmother "Polly" speak of the Eller families in Maryland?" Both replied, "No." Aunt Cora became inquisitive. "Why do you ask? I told her about James Hook's genealogy book about George Michael Eller who lived near Frederick, Maryland and that he believed our Jacob Eller was one of his sons. Her reply was, "That is wrong. Jacob Eller came to America from Germany. He couldn't have been the son of some Eller in Maryland." Both she and Uncle Dan repeated the Virginia Eller tradition about where Jacob Eller came from.
To my knowledge no documentation has ever been found that proves Jacob Eller emigrated from Germany to America nor that he did not. However, there are two listings of Eller men on ships that landed in Pennsylvania in the late seventeen hundreds:
(a) Rupp, Prof. I. Danial, A Collection of Thirty Thousand Names of German, Swiss, Dutch, French and other Immigrants in Pennsylvania from 1727-1776. 1985, P. 402.
November 3, 1772. Ship Sally, John Osmond, Master, from Rotterdam, last frown Cowes. Johann Jacob Eller.
(b) Strassbutger, Ralph Beaven, Pennsylvania German Pioneers, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1966, Vol. I and Vol. II., Second Printing, P. 8
Sept. 5, 1785. Ship Favourite, Group # 12, German Passengers, List 328. Jacob Eller.
One of these could have been the Jacob Eller who settled in Botetourt County, Virginia prior to 1790.
Problem No. II
Magdalene Eller was the wife of Jacob. The earliest known reference to her is when she and her husband Jacob Eller sold land to a John Brubaker June 12, 1804(10). To my knowledge there is no documentation regarding her family or maiden name. The late Chester Peter of Long Beach, Calif. did much research on the Peters family in the 1950-60 years. He did a great deal of research in Virginia, especially in Franklin County. Since I knew the Peters and Eller families had intermarried a number of times, I talked with him several times at the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference. He told me of his belief that Magdalene, the wife of the first Jacob Eller in Virginia, may have been a Peters. He showed me a reference to a marriage he found at the Courthouse at Rocky Mount, Va. In his genealogical listings he listed her as Magdalene Peters with a "?" mark. Many genealogists have noted this reference. Some are now omitting the "?" mark. On October 10, 1985 my wife and I visited the Courthouse at Rocky Mount, Va., the County seat of Franklin County, and found what, I believe, led Chester Peters astray. There was a marriage between a Jacob Eller and Magdalene Peters(11). However, this Jacob Eller was a grandson of the original Jacob Eller. His parents were John (Johnny) Eller and Catherine Brubaker Eller. Also, the wedding date of this Jacob Eller was twenty-one years after the death of his grandfather. I am glad to see the recently published genealogy book on the Peters family(12) by Ed. Peters, Rt.1, Box 432, Manson, WA, 98831 does not include a reference to my great grandmother Magdalene Eller.
End Notes:
Richmond, Va., Virginia State Library, Deed Book-Land Office Grants, No. 22, Reel 88, P. 430-431. Fincastle, Botetourt County, Va., Clerk of the Court, Deed Book 8, Part 2, P. 421-422. Ibid., Deed Book 7, P. 655. Eller, Henry C, The Jacob Eller Family Tree, Salem, Va. (Now Bridgewater., Va.), Mimeograph, 1948. Hook, James W., George Michael Eller and His Descendants in America, New Haven, Connecticut, 1957. Eller, Henry C., op. cit., P. 17. Eller, Henry C., op. cit., P. 20. Fincastle, Botetourt Co., Va., Clerk of the Court, Marriage Register 1770-1853 Part I, P. 348. Eller, Henry C., op. cit. P. 6. Fincastle, Botetourt County, Va., Clerk of the Court, Deed Book 8, Part 2, P. 421-422. Rocky Mount, Franklin County, Va., Clerk of the Court, Marriage Bond Book 1787-1853, P. 29. Peters, Edward L., Some Descendants of Michael Peters, Manson, Wa.; Peters Publishing, 1993."

B. Website :
"The Jacob Eller Family of Roanoke County, Virginia. A Research Report (Part I): Compiled by David B. Eller and Presented at the Eller Family Reunion, Salem, Virginia, June 22, 1986; Copyright (c) 1986. Published here with permission of the author.
This essay will explore the origins and identify the first generation descendants of Jacob Eller, wife Magdalene, who settled in what is now Roanoke County, Virginia, in the last decade of the eighteenth century. By doing so it will address two questions of concern to Jacob Eller descendants. The first is that of his ancestry. What is known of him, his wife, and their family backgrounds? How is Jacob Eller related to other Eller families? Secondly, the paper will explore early connections of the Jacob Eller family with the Church of the Brethren, known popularly in the nineteenth century as "Dunkers" but more formally as German Baptists. At question is when the family became associated with the Brethren. As will be noted later, the problem of Jacob Eller's origins and the family's Brethren identity are not unrelated. These are questions which should be addressed before a definitive Jacob Eller family history can be compiled.
Defining Jacob and Magdalene Eller in historical terms presents problems typical of research in early German-American family history. There are few existing church records or family papers. Legal documents which might be helpful are often vague or nonexistent. Spelling was not standardized in the early nineteenth century and diminutive forms of names ("Rebecca" and "Becky" to cite a clear example) were used interchangeably. Family tradition about certain ancestors is unclear, inconsistent, and in many cases lost.
It seems clear that the name Eller is of German origin and means literally "one who lives near an alder tree" (German: Erle), or it may have some connection with the noun Ell-e which means a yard, as in a unit of measurement. The E-l-l-e-r spelling has remained remarkably standard, although variations including E-l-e-r, A-l-l-e-r, and E-l-l-o-r- have been found in records referring to a Jacob Eller descendant. There are literally scores of persons (and a few place names) with E-l-l-e-r spelling in West Germany today. Eller immigrants continued to come to the United States well into the nineteenth century so that there are numerous Eller families in various sections of the country who appear to have no connection with the Roanoke County, Virginia, family.
The problem of identification for Jacob Eller begins in America as early as the mid-eighteenth century. Between the 1740s and 1810s no fewer than twenty adult E-1-1-e-r males (this spelling) immigrated to the colonies and the newly formed United States. Three of these had the Christian or given name of Jacob. These are: Johann Jacob Eller, ship "Sally," December 31, 1772 and Jacob Eller, ship "Favourite." September 5, 1785 - both of whom took the oath of allegiance in Pennsylvania; and a Jacob Eller who arrived in North Carolina in 1765 and took the oath there. Presumably many of these families were related, although there is no definitive Eller family study. Interesting too is the fact that although many of these families came into the country through Philadelphia, few remained in Pennsylvania. There are only scattered references to Ellers in Pennsylvania records before 1800. The 1790 census reveals that only one Eller family lived in the state (Germantown, Philadelphia). Apparently most moved south. There are three E-1-1-e-r households in Maryland (two in Washington County) and eleven in Rowan County, North Carolina. Unfortunately, there are no existing 1790 or 1800 census returns for Virginia.(2)
Back to Jacob and Magdalene Eller. Family tradition is rather strong that three brothers arrived in Philadelphia, presumably from the Rhine Valley of Germany (Rhineland or Palatinate) before 1800. With other German immigrants they made their way south down the Blue Ridge Mountains into Virginia. Jacob settled in what was then Botetourt County (created from Augusta in 1769-1770) while the two unnamed brothers continued south and settled in North Carolina. This tradition, while never thoroughly studied, is plausible in that there clearly was a major migration of Germans from Pennsylvania into Maryland and down the Blue Ridge into the Carolinas, beginning in the early decades of the eighteenth century.(3) According to an Eller genealogy published in 1925, three Eller brothers - Jacob, Christian, and Melchior - do appear to have settled in Rowan County, North Carolina in the 1760's. Details concerning their travel route and point(s) of departure, however, are lacking. This Jacob Eller died in Rowan County in 1782. Another, younger Jacob Eller is picked up in the 1790 census who continued to live in western North Carolina well into the nineteenth century.(4)
In addition, there were two Jacob Ellers who, assuming them to have been young men when they landed in Philadelphia, would have been of the approximate age of the Virginia Jacob. Our Jacob is enumerated in the 1810 census for Botetourt County. Both he and wife are shown as over age 45, meaning that they were born sometime before 1765. The household at that time consisted of six children: a female between 16 and 26, a male and female between 10 and 26, and two males and one female under age 10.(5)
The "three brothers" tradition was briefly presented in Jacob Eller Family Tree (Salem, Va., mimeograph, 1948) by Henry C. Eller, now of Bridgewater, Virginia. This brief but important study was put together from information collected and preserved by his father, Christian E. Eller, and others. This family tree has been used by genealogists of related families such as Brubaker, Barnhart, and Flora. While The Jacob Eller Family Tree is incomplete and contains some minor errors, it still provides the core of what is known about early Jacob Eller descendants.
One of the genealogists who used Henry Eller's 1948 compilation was James W. Hook. Hook was a descendant of a North Carolina Eller family (Virginia Eller and James Hook, married in 1867) and in several publications endeavored to trace various branches of these two families. The last of his books, "George Michael Eller and Descendants of his in America," (New Haven, Conn.: for the Author, 1957) is a thorough updating of the earlier publications and is based on considerable research. By including Henry Eller's material, however, Hook created a past for Jacob Eller totally outside the Virginia family's tradition.
Briefly, Hook theorized that our Jacob was a younger son of George Michael Eller, a German immigrant who died in Frederick County, Maryland, in 1778, but who had earlier lived in western North Carolina where the other Eller families had settled. His will names several children, including his "youngest son Jacob" who was given the family Bible. Three of his known sons, Peter, Leonard, and George, all lived in North Carolina.(6)
The evidence for Jacob Eller of Virginia being the son named in George Michael's will is circumstantial, but hardly conclusive. Jacob would have been of the approximate age to have been a younger son, that is, born in the 1760s. And, Frederick County, Maryland records do indicate that a Jacob Eller was active there in the 1790s. He married Mary Willjard in 1792, voted "Federalist" in the presidential election of 1796, and is enumerated there in the census of 1800. By the 1790s, however, our Jacob was well established in Botetourt County, Virginia. Hook believed the Frederick County Jacob to have been a son of Henry Eller (d. 1788 in Frederick County) whom he suggested was a brother of George Michael.(7)
In support of his theory that the Virginia Jacob was a son of George Michael Eller, Hook cites the westward movement of David Eller, an older son of Jacob to infer a relationship between the two families. Unfortunately, David Eller has been completely lost from the Virginia family tradition and was therefore not recorded in The Jacob Eller Family Tree. Extensive but unpublished research by Charles E. Martin between 1978 and 198O demonstrates that David moved from Virginia to Montgomery County, Ohio in the mid-1820s, to Preble County, same state in the mid-1830s, and from there to Hamilton County, Indiana, sometime in the late 1840s.(8) Hook learned of the existence of David Eller through a reading of Jacob Eller's probate records, census returns, and from a brief reference to him in a Hamilton County, Indiana, history published in 1915. David's move west did parallel somewhat that of Leonard Eller, a known son of George Michael. He moved from North Carolina to Miami County, Ohio in 1801, and from there to Hamilton County, Indiana in 1834. Hook's inference is that David followed his "uncle" Leonard both to Ohio and Indiana. Such conjecture is not without merit, except that there is nothing in deed, probate, census, or other records which prove that the two men had any financial ties, or that they even knew each other.(9)
There are other problems with Hook's theory concerning the origins of Jacob Eller. For example, three of Jacob Eller's daughters still living in 1880 and enumerated in the Federal census that year indicate a belief that both parents were born in Virginia. (10) If Jacob were a son of George Michael, he would more likely have been born in Maryland or North Carolina. Furthermore, Jacob's son David was born c1782 (according to a now lost grave marker), and David's children believed that he too was born in Virginia. This means that there is a rather strong family tradition which places Jacob in Virginia far earlier than Hook's theory would allow.
Finally, there is a weak argument from silence. George Michael's Bible, important enough to be mentioned in the 1778 will, is not in the possession of any known Jacob Eller descendant, nor is there any known family tradition about such an important book. Given the family's strong ties to the German Baptist Brethern in the following generations, surely it would have been preserved. A Bible is not mentioned in the Jacob Eller's will or in an inventory of articles in his estate which were sold in 1830.
Unfortunately, for the present, Jacob Eller's background remains unclear. There simply is no hard evidence to support Hook's belief that he was the son of George Michael Eller. It does seem probable, however, that he was related in some way to one or more of the Carolina Eller families.
The background of his wife Magdalene does not help resolve the matter. That her name was Magdalene (or Magdalena/Magdalen/Magalein) is without question since it appears with Jacob on an early deed record in Botetourt County. Some family researchers have suggested that her maiden name was Peters, and indeed, this is the name recorded on the family record in the Latter Day Saints church archives.(11) Documentation of her family name is circumstantial at best. There is no known recorded marriage of Jacob Eller to a Magdalene of any name before 1800 in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia or North Carolina. Obviously more research on her background needs to be undertaken before the full Jacob Eller family history can be completed.
The land records of Jacob Eller in what is now Roanoke County (created from Botetourt in 1838) are helpful in locating him. As mentioned previously, the earliest first known reference dates Eller in Roanoke County in the 1790s. On July 19, 1790, the Commonwealth of Virginia conveyed to him 150 acres on "Wolf Run, a Branch of Back Creek." This tract was apparently part of a land warrant originally issued to one John Minter (or Minten?) in 1788. Minter assigned a portion of the warrant to Humphrey Smith, who in turn assigned it to Eller. A few years, in 1804, Eller sold this same property to his in-law, John Brubaker for $500.(12) Research to date has not been able to locate "Wolf Run" or the 150 acre tract. It may well have been located in Franklin County (created in 1787).
The farm which until a few years ago was known as the "Eller homeplace" was conveyed to Jacob Eller from Jacob Yest in 1799. Located approximately seven miles southwest from the county seat at Salem, "on the headwaters of Craven Creek," this property of 470 acres was part of survey originally granted by the Commonwealth of Virginia to Thomas Harrison in 1790. Harrison sold a portion of this grant to John Harris, who in turn sold it to Yest. Yest had it resurveyed, then sold 470 acres of it to Eller for $1165.67. His title was not recorded until 1802.(13)The "sheepskin deed" (land grant) which contains a survey description of the property patented to Harrison has remained in the Eller family until the present.
Jacob Eller also acquired an additional 49 acres next to the Craven Creek land on "Mudlick, a Branch of the Roanoke." This was obtained from the estate of Abraham Statler, deceased, in 1819, although Eller was not a Statler heir.(14) This brought his real property to approximately 519 acres.
The only other land transaction known to involve Jacob Eller is intriguing, but vague. In 1814 the Commonwealth of Virginia, under a newly enacted law, moved to collect back taxes of $3.25 on 400 acres which Jacob Eller owed for the years 1797 and 1798. The location of this property is unknown, as are the details as to when and how Eller acquired it. The tax could have been on the Craven Creek farm. Eller may have rented here prior to purchase in 1799 and part of the now lost purchase agreement was to pay taxes owed by Yest. The Back Creek property to which he then did have title, consisted of only 150 acres, and it was transferred in total to John Brubaker in 1804. In any event, the county Deputy Sheriff certified to the Commonwealth "that no property could be found," and declared the 400 acres legally for sale in a Richmond newspaper. Fifty acres was sold in August, 1814 for $3.45 to Frederick Barst, who was subsequently given a Sheriff's deed, recorded May 21, 1817.(15) What makes this transaction even more unusual is that Garst was Eller's son-in-law, he having married Susan Eller in 1809.
There are few family traditions about Jacob Eller. It is assumed that he farmed but he may also have liked to hunt, and if so was probably absent from the family and farm for long periods. It is entirely possible that he spoke both German and English and he could apparently sign his name in English script. Local records have him being appointed overseer of the road" in 1799. According to a C. E. Eller statement, Jacob's two story house (cabin?) stood on the homeplace close to where his son Abraham and later his son J.W. Eller built homes.(16) Interestingly enough, in 1805 Jacob Eller sold to Michael Danner various household and kitchen furniture, "shop tools used for making wagons." as well as a stud horse and cow, apparently in an attempt to settle a debt.(17)
When Jacob Eller prepared his will in May of 1830 he had sufficient real property to make a detailed bequest to his wife and Children. Since the will and the settlement of the estate provides the clearest identification of his children, it merits careful attention. His wife (unnamed) was allowed to remain in the house where they lived "throughout her natural life." half the garden, a clock, two beds, a cupboard, table and other furniture and household items, a mare, saddle and bridle, and $200 in cash. Two sons, John and Abraham, were to equally divide his plantation of "about five hundred acres" after it was surveyed, each son posting an appropriate bond. John, also an executor of the estate, was to receive that portion of the division on which he then lived. Abraham received various farming implements. An unmarried daughter Rebecca received various household items, including a spinning wheel, a saddle and bridle, a cow and a calf, as well as $50 in cash. Further, it was Jacob's desire that she live with her mother during her lifetime "and if she thinks proper to remain after the death of her mother in the house where they both occupy and is to have the use of the upper room in the said house so long as she conducts herself decently." Finally, Eller directed that his remaining personal property be sold at public auction and that the proceeds be distributed equally among his children and wife. To be included in this distribution were the heirs of Susan Garst, deceased, wife of Frederick Garst.(18)
The sale was held November 12, 1830, which meant that Jacob probably died sometime in early fall. The location of his grave and that of Magdalene, death date unknown, has not been preserved. Both are probably buried on the family farm.(19) According to estate administration papers filed in January, 1840, his real property was valued at $2,538.17 and a division of $239.99 paid to nine heirs, including Magdalene. These heirs were: Henry Brubaker, wife Sarah; Frederick Garst; Peter Himley, wife Nancy; Isaac Wertz, wife Rebecca; David Eller; Daniel Peters, wife Elizabeth; Abraham Eller; and John Eller.(20) These then are the known children and grandchildren of Jacob Eller. They are arranged in order of marriage, not in order of birth (*indicates a Brethern minister):
1. David Eller, c1782-1858; m. 1) Anna Brubaker, 1785-1825 on December 21, 1802 in Franklin County, VA; 2) Elizabeth Foutz (1825), and 3) Mary Martin (1827), the latter two in Montgomery County, OH. Anna Brubaker was a daughter of John and Anna Myers Brubaker who moved to Franklin County in 1781 and to whom Jacob Eller sold land in 1804. David Eller moved to Ohio in the mid-1820s, then to Hamilton County, IN, in the late 1840s. He is not in the 1850 census and died without a will or property (intestate). Several children in the 1850 census are enumerated in other households, Preble County, OH. Children by Anna Brubaker:
Catherine Eller, 1806-?; m. William R. Bowles
Mary Eller, 1808-1882; m. (as the 2nd wife) William Bowser, ?-1842; 2) George Miller, ?-1856
Daniel Eller, 1810-? (unmarried)
Abraham Eller, c1815-? (unmarried)
Andrew Eller, 1819-1896; m. 1) Elizabeth Auchenback, 1816-1868; 2) Hannah M. Smeltzer; 3) Elizbeth Bright
Samuel Eller, c1825-? (unmarried)
Children of Elizabeth Foutz:
Joseph Eller, 1826-?
Children of Mary Martin:
Nancy Eller, 1828-?; m. Zachariah Clark
Benjamin Eller, 1830-1870; m. Diana Dacus
Henry Eller, 1834-?
2. Sarah ("Saloma") Eller(21), c. 1787-1882; m. (2nd wife to) Henry Brubaker, 1775-1848, on January 24, 1810 in Franklin County. Brubaker was a brother to Anna Brubaker (above). He owned land on Peters Creek, Roanoke County, where he bequeathed the land for the Peter Creek Brethern meetinghouse. He fathered nine children by his first wife, Elizabeth Flory. Children by Sarah Eller:
John Brubaker,* 1811-1887; m. Susannah Flory, 1816-1886
Nancy Brubaker, 1813-?; m. Christian Wertz
Tobias Brubaker, 1814 (d. infant)
Benjamin Brubaker, 1816-1891; m. 1) Mary Garst, 1822- 1848; 2) Susan(nah) Wolfe 1820-1903
Magdalene Brubaker, 1820-1892; m. 1) Samuel Franz; 2) David Blocker, 1812-1886
Abraham Brubaker, 1820-1898; m. Elizabeth Rivercomb
Isaac Brubacker, 1825-1897(8?); m. Christine Beckner 1828?-1910
Elias Brubaker,* 1828-1899; m. Susan Beckner
Elizabeth Brubaker, 1829-1899; m. John Beckner
Moses E. Brubaker, 1831-1904; m. Susannah Grisso
3. Susan ("Susanna") Eller,(22) c1778-1827; m. Frederick Garst (Jr.), 1784-1850, on December 28, 1809. This is undoubtedly the same Garst that purchased 50 acres from Virginia in 1814 to settle Jacob Eller's back taxes. He and his wife lived in Botetourt County until c1826 when the family relocated to near Jonesboro, Tennessee. Children:
Samuel Garst, 1810-1876; m. Susannah Peffley
Jacob Garst, 1812-1893; m. 1) Wrightsman; 2) Fanny Sherfy, 1817-1898
David Garst, 1814-1886; m.1) m. 2) Anna Bashor, 1808-1895
Magdalena Garst, 1816-1906; m. Abraham Sherfy, 1818-1866
Nancy Garst, 1817-1860; m. Samuel Sherfy,* 1817-1896
Henry Garst, 1818-1898; m. Mary Bowman, 1820-1890
Catherine Garst, 1820-1911; m. Richard Deakins, 1798-1873
Sarah Garst, 1822-1917; m. Michael Bashor, 1811-?
Elizabeth Garst, 1824-1892; m. David Bowman, 1828-1896
Joel Garst, 1824-1892; m. Catherine Sherfy, 1822-?
Frederick Garst married 2) Sarah Franz and ten more children were added to his family. Many of the Eller-Garst children resided in the Jonesboro area.
4. Elizabeth Eller, c1793-aft.1880; M. Daniel Peters, c1782-aft.1850. The family resided in Franklin County at the census of 1850. Known children:
Rebecca Peters, c1816-?; m. Henry Donahue
Moses Peters, c1819-?; m. Rebecca Barnhart 1626-1903
Jonathan Peters, c1823-?
Magdalene Peters, c1829-?; m. Jacob Eller 1823-1907(a first cousin, see John Eller family below) Aaron Peters, c1831-?; m. Frances Flora
Samuel Peters, c1833-?; m. Hannah Flora, 1830-?
5. John ("Johnny") Eller,* c1795-1871; m. Catherine Brubaker, 1794-?1880 on February 19, 1818. Catherine was a sister of Anna Brubaker and Henry Brubaker (above) - all children of John and Anna Myers Brubaker. John Eller lived on part of Jacob Eller's Craven Creek property, seven miles southwest of Salem. He was a Brethern minister.
Lavina Eller, 1826-?; m. John Deaton; 2) Samuel Danner
George Eller, 1821-?; m. Nancy Sloan
Jacob Eller, 1823-1907; m. ?1) Susan Fisher 2) Magdalene Peters, c1829-?
Joel W. Eller, 1825-1902; m. Martha Reynolds
Abraham J. Eller.* 1828-1923; m. Saloma Flora, 1834-1919
John B. Eller, 1831-1912; m. 1) Marly Flora, 1829-?; 2) Sarah Weddle Flora
Henry Eller, 1837-1912; m. Harriet Reynolds
Ann(a) Eller, 1835-1919; m. James Parker
Catherine Eller, 1841-?; m. 1) Carey F. Johns; 2) John B. Peters
6. Nancy Eller, c 1800-?; m. Peter Himley on February 24, 1820. His name is also spelled Himleck and Himlick. This family is not in the 1850 census for Virginia. Himley was present at the sale of personal property for Jacob Eller's estate in 1830, and he received a share of the estate for his wife in 1840. Himleck bought land in 1819 from John and Daniel Barnhart, and in 1825 from John Stoner. No other information.
7. Abraham ("Abram") Eller, 1801-?1870; m. Mary (Polly) Wertz (Wirtz), on March 31, 1831. They lived on a portion of Jacob Eller's Craven Creek land, seven miles southwest from Salem in Roanoke County on what became known as the "Eller homeplace." Children:
Anna F. Eller, 1832-1906; m. 1) Frances Asberry Deaton, 1827-1865; 2) John W. Deaton 1838-1911
Magdalene Eller, 1833-1894; m. Joseph W. Barnhart 1832-1900
John W. Eller,* 1836-1899; m. 1) Leah Barnhart 1836-1865; 2) Hannah Brubaker, 1842-1902
Eliza Eller, 1838-1926; m. John B. Naff,* 1836-1905
Sarah Eller, c1838-1921; m. James Neff
David Eller, c1840-?; m. Julia Neff
Christian Eller, 1846-1866 (unmarried)
Abraham C. Eller, 1848-1924; m. Salome Brubaker, 1850-1921
Amanda Eller, c1848-c1869 (unmarried)
Francis Asberry Eller,* 1851-1938; m. Elizabeth (Bettie) Brubaker, 1855-1941
Nannie Eller, c1854-1945; m. Daniel R. Brubaker, 1850-1928
8. Rebecca Eller, c1810-?; m. Isaac Wertz (Wirtz) c1813-1891 on June 9, 1832. The family lived in Franklin County at the census of 1850. Known children:
Magdaline Wertz, 1832-1911; m. Henry Laprad
Ann(a) Wertz, c1835-?; m. Abraham Barnhart
Catherine Wertz, c1836-?
Noah Wertz, c1839-?
Samuel E. Wertz, 1841-1928; m. Barbara 1841-1931
James Hook also suggests another son, Jacob, based on the fact that a second Jacob Eller, age 26-45, appears in the 1820 census for Botetourt County. His household consisted of female over 45, a female 26-45, three males under 26, and a female under 16.(23) Our Jacob in 1810 had a male "under 10" that cannot be explained in terms of known sons. However, this child is clearly not old enough to be the second 1820 Jacob. The 1810 male could have a son that did not survive or the child of a relative. In any event, the second 1820 Jacob is not in the 1830 census for Botetourt County and is otherwise unknown. Hook and Henry Eller also list a daughter Magdalene based on the fact that she received an equal share of Jacob Eller's estate. As noted earlier, however, this is Eller's wife, not daughter.
(Eds. Part II of David B. Eller's Research Report will trace the relationship between the Ellers and the Brethern Church and will appear in the August Newsletter. Dr. David B. Eller is Editorial Director, The Brethren Press, Church of the Brethern General Board, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120. Several members of the Jacob Eller of Virginia lineage belong to the Eller Family Assoc. and we are delighted to share this excellent paper and the following story, Jay Vernard Eller by Geraldine Crill Eller, with them and other readers. The Jay Vernard Eller story concerns another of the many descendants of Jacob Eller of Virginia who were ministers in the Church of the Brethern. The uncertain but probable relationship described by David Eller between the North Carolina and Virginia Ellers raises an interesting challenge that should be pursued by researchers of both groups. Only one clarification can be offered here to David Eller's account: The Jacob Eller who "arrived in North Carolina in 1765 and took the oath there" indeed did so on that date but his presence in North Carolina dates from 1761 or earlier and he arrived in North Carolina from Montgomery County, PA where he was married in 1753. Records of the date and place of his arrival in America have not been found; he probably entered at Philadelphia c1750.)
Having thus identified the children of Jacob Eller a second task is to explore the early relationship of this family to the Church of the Brethern. Between 1800 and 1980 many descendants in the next four or so generations have had close ties to the Brethern, not only in Virginia, but in the Midwest, Kansas and Pacific Coast states as well. For example, among Jacob's direct male descendants (sons David, John, Abraham) there are 20 ordained ministers.(24) (See Appendix I for names and biographical information) This list is easily doubled when the female lines of Brubaker, Garst, and Wertz are added. Literally hundreds of Eller descendants have served the Brethern in other ways: local church offices (deacon, moderator and clerk), church school teachers, national and district committees and staff, volunteer service workers, missionaries, even college faculty. How did this relationship of the family to the Brethern begin?
The origins of the German Baptist movement may be traced back to eighteenth century Germany. Early Brethern were Protestant dissenters who for good conscience believed they could not remain within the state churches of Europe (Lutheran, Reformed). They developed out of the Radical Pietism, a reform effort that sought to strengthen the evangelical fervor and spiritual life of the state churches. Brethern were also strongly influenced by the Mennonites (Anabaptists) whose emphasis on nonresistance (biblical pacifism), separation of church and state, living simply, community life, and nonconformity reflect the sixteenth century Radical Reformation(25). In America the Brethern became known for their unique form of trine immersion baptism, love feast (communion) with feetwashing, plain dress, and refusal to participate in military service.
The Eller name is not found in existing lists of Anabaptist martyrs or in extensive compilations of early Mennonite families which have been made for Switzerland, Germany, and Holland. There were Ellers in eighteenth century Pietism. Perhaps the most well-known of these was Elias Eller of Elberfeld. In 1727 he and his wife founded the mystical, millennialist sect, but because of persecution this group was forced to an estate some thirty miles distant. Here the group founded what became the city of Ronsdorf, a name by which Eller's sect was widely known. While Elias Eller's views were somewhat extreme, dissention among the sect's leaders following his death in 1750 forced the congregation back into the conformity of the state Reformed Church. (26)
It is possible that many of the colonial Eller immigrants to America were Pietists, perhaps without affiliating with either Lutheran or Reformed Churches. Few Ellers may be found in the baptismal or marriage records of these groups. James Hook was the first non-Brethern family researcher to associate the family with the German Baptists, the first group of whom arrived in America In 17l9. Still there are no Ellers mentioned among the scant records of the Brethern in either Europe or Colonial America. A Henry E-l-e-r was baptized in the Conestoga congregation, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in 1747.(27) Hook believed this same Henry Eller later lived in Frederick County, Maryland, and was a brother of George Michael Eller. Some of the early western North Carolina Ellers do appear to have been associated with Carolina Brethern, although the history of the congregations which existed there is extremely sketchy.(28)
In Southwest Virginia the picture is brighter. As sectarians, Brethern generally settled in family groupings. By the late eighteenth century, a few such clusters had developed, the earliest on the Blackwater River in Franklin County (1760's) and a second in the Amsterdam/Daleville area of Botetourt County (1780's). Jacob Eller, along with clearly Identifiable Brethern related families such as the Brubakers were located between these two in what later became Roanoke County. The dates when these settlements developed into congregations is not known, but meetinghouses were built at Peters Creek (Roanoke County, 1845), Germantown Brick (Franklin County, 1848) and Botetourt Valley (Daleville, Botetourt County, 1851). Prior to this the Brethern met in homes for worship, generally once a month.(29)
Whether Jacob and Magdalene Eller were actually Dunkers will probably never be known. If not baptized members, they were certainly in close contact with the Brethern in that several of their children married into Brethern families. Their son John and five grandsons became preachers; two granddaughters also married men who were placed in the ministry. The frequent marriages of Jacob Eller children and grandchildren into Brethern families, and the leadership which these families provided the church, strongly suggests that the Ellers affiliated with the Brethren in Roanoke County at an early date. Indeed, local tradition is clear that the Brubaker, Wirtz, and Eller families were among the early members of the Peters Creek Church. John Eller, whose ordination probably dates from the late 1840s, would have been among the congregation's first ministers.(30) Whether Jacob and Magdalene themselves came from Brethern homes before settling in Roanoke County is pure speculation.
The Oak Grove community in which sons John and Abraham resided is several miles to the south of the Peters Creek area. While the story of a Brethern church in this community more properly belongs to the twentieth century, it should be noted that a Brethern meetinghouse was built at Cave Spring, a few miles to the east, which dates from the Civil War.(31) It is reasonable to assume that Dunker services were held in the Oak Grove area, perhaps as early as the 1840's.
End-notes:
1. "The Passenger and Immigration Lists Index," ed. P. William Filby with Mary K. Meyer (Detroit: Gale Research Co., 1981). Vol. I A-G, and Supplements (through 1984) contains the most thorough list of published listing of Eller immigrants. Excellent resources for Pennsylvania German immigrants are 1. Daniel Rupp, "A Collection of Thirty Thousand Names," 2nd. ed. rev. (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1965) and R. B. Strassburger, "Pennsylvania German Pioneers," 3 vols. (Norristown, PA: Pennsylvania German Society, 1934).
2. "Heads of Families, at The First Census of the United States taken in 1790," (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1907); see listing for each state. Unfortunately the Virginia returns were destroyed when the British burned Washington during the war of 1812.
3. An excellent study of this migration is Klaus Wurst, "The Virginia Germans" (Charlottesville, VA: Univ. of VA Press, 1969).
4. James W. Hook, "James Hook and Virginia Eller" (New Haven, CN: Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, 1925), pp. 103-106. See also Robert W. Ramsey, "Carolina Cradle; Settlement of the Northwest Carolina Frontier, 1747-1762," (Chapel Hill, NC: Univ. of N.C. Press, 1964), pp. 90-91.
5. Virginia 1810, microfilm #66, P. 620. Listed next Jacob is the household of David Eller, presumably the eldest son.
6. James W. Hook, "George Michael Eller and Descendants of his in America," (New Haven, CN: for the Author, 1957), pp.53-68, 6-9. George Michael Eller's will may be found in Frederick Co. (MD) Wills, G.M. 1, p. 76.
7. Gaius M. Brumbaugh, "Maryland Records, Colonial, Revolutionary, and Church," 2 vols. (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1915; reprint 1975), 1: 291, 292, 11:509; Charlotte A. Vokel, et. al., "An Index to the 1800 Federal Census of Carolina, Cecil, Charles, Frederick, and Kent Counties, State of Maryland," (n.p.: privately printed, 1968); Hook, "George Michael Eller," p. 13.
8. Hook, "George Michael Eller," pp. 32-35, 53-54; Charles E. Martin, "The Search and Identification of the Lost Lines of David Eller," (1979 MS, photocopy in possession of the writer). Martin is a descendant of David Eller and a retired attorney who lives in Dayton, Ohio.
9. John F. Haines, "History of Hamilton County, Indiana," (Indianapolis: B.F. Bowen & Co., 1915), pp. 851-853. Actually, Hook cited with reference to David, "Portrait and Biographical Record of Madison and Hamilton Counties, Indiana," (Chicago: Biographical Publishing Co., 1893) pp. 624-625, which in actuality is a citation for Leonard Eller. It is quite possible that both men were Brethern, and if so, they would have had numerous opportunities to meet in Ohio.
10. The daughters are Saloma Flora Brubaker (Roanoke County), Rebecca Wertz, and Elizabeth Peters (both in Franklin County). David Eller is not in the 1850 census for either Ohio or Indiana and it is likely that he died while living with son Andrew. Several of David's younger children had been placed in the homes of guardians in Preble County, thus indicating he was unable to care for them. He is buried in the Mount Pleasant cemetery near Arcadia, Indiana, although the marker is missing. The only evidence that he lived until 1858 is a transcript of the cemetery made in 1963. His notation reads: "David Eller, d. 1858 age 76y-9m-5d." This notation comes from the letters, Charles Martin to this writer, August 13, 1980; October 3, 1979; and "The Search and Identification of the Lost Lines of David Eller."
11. Letters, Chester Peters to this writer, July 15, 1973; July 31, 1973; with family charts.
12. Land Office Grants (Virginia State Library), 22 (1789-1791), reel 88, pp. 430-431. Eller is not named in published Virginia tax lists for 1782 or 1787, which means that his first property was probably the Back Creek tract. See Botetourt County Deeds, 8:421.
13. Botetourt County Deeds, 7:655.
14. Ibid., 13:356; 22:1.90.
15. Ibid., 13:27.
16. Christian E. Eller statement (shorthand MS, 1947) in possession of John C. Eller. See also Lewis Preston Summers, "Annals of Southwest Virginia, 1769-1800," (Abington, VA: for the Author, 1929), P. 479. Eller's transfer of land to Brubaker (1804) is not marked with "X" seal.
17. Botetourt County Deeds, 9:1. The Deed Book is faded: the name could be Etter. This transaction is not jointly signed by a wife. The two witnesses named, Robert Preston and John McAly?, are not associated with Jacob Eller In other land or probate records.
18. Botetourt County (VA) Wills, E:124.
19. In 1874 a cemetery on Abraham's division of Jacob Eller's farm was platted, although it was not recorded until Abraham's estate administration papers were filed in probate court, August 30, 1878; See "Roanoke County Deed Book," 20: 137. The cemetery certainly could have contained burials before it was platted. It was removed in the 1960s and, unfortunately, there is no known list the persons interred there.
20. Ibid., F:237. The division between John and Abraham Eller is recorded in "Botetourt County Deeds," 22: 190-192. John Eller received 240 acres, Abraham 237 acres; see also "Botetourt County Survey Book," 4:187.
21. This family is traced in Ethel H. Weddle and Ralph Smeltzer, comps., "A Brubaker Genealogy," (Elgin, IL: for the Compilers by the Brethern Press, 1970), pp. 11, 153ff.
22. This family is traced in William Tell Garst, "Our Garst Family in America," (Kansas City, MO: for the Author, 1950, pp. 35-103.
23. Virginia, Botetourt County, 1820, roll #130, Vo. 1, p. 535, 536. The second Jacob Eller listing could be Etter. In 1820 Jacob Eller's household consisted of a male and female over age 45, a female 10 to 16, one male 26 to 45, one male 18 to 26, one male 16 to 18, and one male 10 to 16. The household of John Eller is listed separately. Since Jacob had only three known sons, the identity of the younger male children in his 1820 home is unknown.
24. See "The Brethren Encyclopedia," 3 vols. (Philadelphia and Oak Brook, IL: The Brethern Encyclopedia, Inc. 1983-1985), III: 1608-1609 for a list of ordained Eller ministers. The list is presented in the appendix below.
25. "The Brethren Encyclopedia," has excellent introductory articles on Pietism, Anabaptism and articles of related interest.
26. C. David Ensign, 11 "Radical German Pietism." (e. 1675c.1760)" (unpub. Ph.D. dissertation, Boston Univ. School of Theology, 1955), pp. 387-398.
27. Martin G. Brumbaugh, "A History of the German Baptist Brethern in Europe and America," (Mt. Morris, IL: Brethern Publishing House. 1899), p. 312. Brumbaugh includes a list of persons thought to have joined the Brethern in Europe that includes such names as Eley and Iller (Eller). The Eller name is not found in a census of Brethern congregations compiled in 1770-1772 by a Baptist historian, Morgan Edwards.
28. Roger E. Sappington has reconstructed these early Dunker settlements in his "The Brethern in the Carolinas: The History of the Church of the Brethern in the District of North and South Carolina," (n.p., n.d. (Kingsport, TN: District of North and South Carolina, 1972)), pp. 4-93. See also, Hook, "George Michael Eller," pp. 4, 10-11.
29. The best study of the Brethern of Virginia is Roger E. Sappington, "The Brethern of Virginia: This History of the Church of the Brethern in Virginia," (Harrisonburg, VA: Committee for Brethern History of Virginia, 1973), see esp. pp. 28-29, 30, 44-46.
30. "Peters Creek Church of the Brethern," "Brethren Encyclopedia," 11: 1011; "Quasquicentennial Services, Peters Creek Church of the Brethern," (pamphlet, 1970).
31. A Dunker meetinghouse is shown at Cave Spring on a "map of Roanoke County (VA) 1865, "National Archives, Washington, D.C. Oddity, the brick, Peters Creek house is missing."

3. The following reference to Jacob Eller appears mixed in with the wrong Jacob Eller as noted above; FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 119-123:
"Jacob Eller: d. between 10 May 1830 and Oct 1830, Botetort Co., VA; md. to Magdalena ___. He was a wagon maker and farmer. In 1797, he bought 420 acres of land in Botetort Co., VA. Their children were David, Jacob, Sarah (Salome), Susannah 'Susan' L., Elizabeth, John, Nancy, Rebecca, Magdalene and Abram (Abraham)."

4. Even though Jacob of Virginia as reported by James Hook is disputed as noted above, I do include the following contested information per FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 53-64:
"Jacob Eller, called 'one of my youngest children' in the will of George Michael Eller may have been and probably was the Jacob Eller of Botetort County, Virginia. He died there between 10 May 1830 when his will was written and the Oct. court of 1830 when it was proved. (Will Book E. p. 124, Botetort Co., VA.) Jacob Eller's will referred to his 'beloved wife' without naming her and mentioned his sons John and Abraham and daughters Rebecca Eller and Susan Garst and Susan Garst's children. His estate settlement by John and Abraham Eller, executors, dated 25 Jan 1840, showed equal payments of $239.99 to David Eller, John Eller, Abraham Eller, Magdalene Eller, Henry Brubacker, F. Garst, P. Himley, Isaac Wertz and Daniel Peters, the latter five being sons-in-law. (Deed Book F, p. 237, Botetort Co.)
The wife of Jacob Eller was Magdalene as proved by a deed dated 12 Jun 1804 wherein Jacob Eller and his wife Magdalene sol land to John Brubaker. (Deed Book 8, p. 421, Botetort Co., VA.) Her maiden name was not found.
Jacob Eller settled in Botetort County in the late years of the 18th century. He bought 420 acres of land on Craven Creek, a branch of Roanoke River, 24 May 1797. The deed was dated 18 Apr 1799 and recorded 9 Feb 1802. The seller was Jacob Yest or Yast and his wife Elizabeth and the price paid $1,166.67. (Deed Book 7, p. 655, Botetort Co., VA.) Apparently Jacob Eller was a wagon maker as well as a farmer because on 23 Feb 1805 he sold to Michael Danner his household kitchen furniture and mechanical tools and 'the timber for the purpose of making wagons that is now in my shop and in the yard' and also a stud horse and cow. (Deed Book 9, p. 2, Botetort Co.)
A pertinent bit of evidence indicating that Jacob Eller was a member of the George Michael Eller family is the fact that his son David removed to Hamilton County, Indiana where sons of Leonard Eller, a known son of George Michael Eller, settled about 1822 and where Leonard himself died in 1839/1840. (Portrait and Biographical Record of Madison and Hamilton Counties, Indiana, 1893, pp. 851-853.)
The federal census of 1810 for Botetort Co., VA, there is no earlier one, shows the family of Jacob Eller and wife each aged over 45 with one male aged between 16 and 26 and two males and two females under 16. It also shows the family of David Eller, aged between 26-45, with wife of same age and two female children under 10. The 1820 census shows families of Jacob and John Eller but not of David who apparently was then in Indiana. The census of 1830 shows families of John Eller, aged between 30 and 40 and of Magdalene Eller, aged between 60-70, she doubtless being the widow of Jacob Eller, deceased. Living with her was one male and one female person each aged between 20-30 and two other children, one a male and the other a female, each aged between 15 and [blurred on page].
The writer acknowledges with thanks the records of Jacob and Magdalene Eller that were supplied to him by Rev. Henry C. Eller... [The book details extensive descendants of this couple.]"
Also in the same book, p. 74, under the biography of John Eller, son of Peter Eller, grandson of George Michael Eller is the following comment on the bible referred to in the dispute of Hooks work above:
"A precious memento of the John Eller household is the family bible in which is recorded the birth dates of all but the youngest child Mary of his family. It also records the birth of Simeon Bumgarner on 8 Jan 1808. It was printed in the German language at Halle, Germany in 1770. It may be the same Bible that George Michael Eller, John's grandfather, willed to his son Jacob because on page 17 is written the words 'Jacob Eller his Bible.' There is also written on page 15 of the Vorrede, or preface, the words 'The holey Bible of Peter Eller.' (See George Michael Eller's Will.) Of course these bits of writing, all in English, could have been placed there by later members of the family. The Bible is now owned by Mr. Wade Eller of Warrensville, Ashe County, NC, son of Jacob Eller (David, Jacob, Peter, George Michael). Regretfully it records nothing about John Eller or his wife. The Simeon Bumgardner whose birth on 8 Jan 1808 is recorded in the old Bible very probably was a son of a sister of John Eller who had married, probably, James Bumgarner. Proof of this however has not been definitely established."

5. FHL Book 929.273, film 6005243, "John Jacob Eller and His Descendants with Other Pre-1800 Eller Immigrants to America," by the Eller Family Association, 1998, 817-297-1280; Chapter 4, concerning the George Michael Eller and his children:
"Many gaps in our knowledge of the genealogy of descendants of George Michael Eller are revealed in [the following:]
George Michael Eller married (1st)? (2nd)? (3rd) Eva Maria [Why Eva and not Anna - later in same article they use Anna Maria]. Frederick County, Maryland. Their children and grand-children:
1. Peter, married Elizabeth Dick; Children: John, Catherine, Peter Jr., Elizabeth, unnamed daughter, Jacob, Mary, Henry, George.
2. Elizabeth married Heinrich Reb. Nothing more is known.
3. Leonard married Elizabeth Mast; Children: Adam, Elizabeth, John, Joseph, Sarah Mary Lucinda, Jacob, Henry, George.
4. Jacob. No other known record unless he was the Jacob Eller of [Botetort Co., Virginia].
5. George, d. in Davidson County, North Carolina before 1841; his wife was Susanna; Children: George Jr., Henry, David.
6. John married Catherine Fight (Fort)? Nothing more is known.
7. Eve. Nothing more is known.
8. Catherine married Peter Lehman? Nothing more is known.
9. Maria (Mary) married Jacob Eller; Children: Cloah (Chloe) 'Glory' Eller (Source: Troutman and File, 'Eller Chronicles,' XI:1, Sp. Ed., Feb 1997)
The book comments on current thinking of the Eller Family Association (EFA) on Hook research into George Michael Eller (GME) which I summarize as follows:
A. The two arrival records, Michael Eller in the ship "Phoenix" and Geo. Eler and Hans Jerg Ohler of the "St. Andrew" continue to lead to some confusion and differences of opinion. Recent analysis has led the Eller Family Association to believe that Geo. Eler and Hans Jerg Ohler were apparently the same individual. The clarification of the misinterpretation is that EFA does not feel that Hook documented where he got an age of 43 for Hans Georg Oehler. According to the actual records as reported by EFA as found in Strassburger and Hinke, Vol. 1, pp. 348-352: List 103A, p. 349, 'Geo. Eler listed age 20 and between Johannes Mayer and Peter Warner; List 103B, p. 350, Hans Jerg Ohler listed between Johannes Mayer and Peter Warner; List 103C, p. 351, Hanes Jerg Ohler listed between Johannes Mayer and Peter Warner. My note: did not the age come from the Oaths of Allegiance taken in 1743 in Pennsylvania right after the 1743 ship arrivals?
B. The 1753 deed in Lancaster Co., PA to 25 acres, the 1759 Rowan County tax list, and the 1772 Randolph Co., NC, tax list for Michael Eller may or may not be for George Michael Eller. Specifically EFA thinks the 1759 tax list may actually be for Melchior Eller whom was in Rowan County at that early date - Melchior sometimes being rendered as Melker or perhaps even Michael. On the other hand, four of GME's sons were in NC in the 1770s including Leonard as a large landowner in Randolph County making the 1772 Randolph Co. tax list a possibility. There is still no concrete evidence that GME was in North Carolina before his 1773 evidence of being in Frederick Co., MD. 1773 was the same year Peter, his eldest son, first shows in Rowan Co. and it wasn't until 1778 that his other sons were in NC.
C. The Bible record of Leonard being born at Fort (Ford) Litters, NC and his father from Bebon (Baden?) continues to puzzle researchers. No record or location of Fort Litters has yet been found. Most researchers believe Leonard was born in the United States and not Germany as reported by Hook on page 32. My note: I don't believe that Hook ever stated one way or the other except to quote what the Indiana history book he cites had quoted.
D. A will for George Eller, son of GME has been located. An abstract of his will from the Division of Lands Book, pp. 32-33, Davidson Co., NC was obtained from the Public Library in Lexington, NC. His heirs listed in the may Term 1841 Court Record includes: Caroline Sowers, Katharene Darr(?), Sally Warlow, Dolly Long, David Eller, Christene Waggoner, Elizabeth Reket(?), George Eller, Sally Haines, Polly Reed.
E. As for John, son of GME, no further record has been found. EFA acknowledges that the name John Eller is too unspecific making it difficult to identify which John Ellers if any of Rowan Co. may be him.
F. "Based in part on an Eller family oral tradition in Rowan County, Maria, youngest daughter of GME, a recent report says she married Jacob Eller, a grandson of immigrant (John) Melchior Eller. Louise Barringer File of Salisbury, NC, now in her eighties, has vivid memories of being told by her grandmother, Joyce Delinda Eller Morgan, of her descent from George Michael Eller, and how intermarriages among descendants of four different Eller immigrants enabled her and many other Ellers to claim four immigrant Ellers as ancestors. …taken from the work of Troutman and File (1997)." A chart accompanies the book showing how children of the original immigrants John Jacob, Christian, Melchior, and GME intermarried over about four generations to produce Joyce Delinda Eller from all four immigrants. The connection with GME purports to be Maria, GME's dau., marrying the grandson of Melchior Eller.
G. Questions still to be answered according to EFA: Where in Germany is he from, how was he related to others original immigrants (John Jacob, Christian, Melchior, and Henry), what of his son Jacob and his daughters, and how many wives did he have and who were they?
H. When did the sons of GME arrive in North Carolina?
Hook (1957, p. 21). "Peter Eller was living in Rowan Co., NC as early as 6 Mar 1773."
Land deeds of Rowan Co., NC:
"#3068, 1778, Leonard Eller 300 A on both sides of Sheit's Crk., adj Widow Bower, & Valentine Beard, including his improvements." (R.A. Enocks, Indianapolis, 1988, p. 233.)
"#1605, 28 Sep 1778, Philip Sewell 100 A on the headwaters of Reedy Creek & Tinkers Crk [adj] Joseph Meizell, William Oliver & Lewis Defore, including his Improvements. Made to George Ellor by the Enterer." (ibid. pg. 115.)
"#1608, 28 Sep 1778, William Oliver 100 A on waters of Reedy Crk adj Philip Sewell, Joseph Meizell & Peter Eller, including his Improvements. Made over to Ja's Cheney." (ibid, pg. 115.)
Marriage Records, Rowan County, North Carolina: Hook (1957) p. 16: "This writer's guess is that this was the John Eller (s/o Geo Michael) who married Catherine Fight (Fort) 10 Aug 1785."

6. The book "The Howard Leytham Stoker Von Dollen Family Histories," FHL 929.273 H833a, by Doris Lewis, 2017 So. 80th Ave., Omaha, Nebraska, 68124, p. 88 [FHL book 929.273 P684pn:
"Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 119-123, has almost the same verbatim except what I note in brackets]: "...James Hook wrote a history of 'George Michael Eller and His Descendants in America.' Much of the information I have on the Ellers come from this book or a book by Judge Johnson J. Hayes, called 'The Land of Wilkes,' a history of Wilkes County in North Carolina. In the ninth century Alamans, Teutons of Jutland, moved into Westallgan as early settlers. One group, called Ellers, started at the foot of Hirshberg in the Algauer Alp area near Bregenz, on Lake Constance. [They may have stayed in this general area for 600 years. This is the same area of the Palatinate that the Graybill religious refugees from Switzerland had fled and the same time frame. So the Ellers and Graybills may have known each other as neighbors or fellow churchmen.] Alta March, of Herman, Nebraska, has an Eller genealogy based in Germany, which probably connects with our family. In this record a Bartl and Barbara Swartz Eller had three children, Joseph, George and George Michael, the latter thought born in Baden, Sept. 5, 1695 and emigrated to America. He could well have been the father of our George Michael Eller, for he was a bit old to start his family in 1748. [The American Ellers apparently came from the Palatinate of Germany in the first half of the 18th century. The Pennsylvania Archives, 2nd Series, Vol 17, records the arrival of 13 Eller families who took the oath of allegiance between 30 Sep 1740 and 3 Nov 1772.] A Geo. Eller [age 20] emigrated on the ship 'St. Andrew,' and took his oath in Pennsylvania on Oct. 7, 1743 and [a George Michael Eller, apparently this same George Eller,] bought land he called 'Hammond Strife,' in Frederick County, Maryland. A Michael Eller aboard the ship Phoenix, took oath on September 30, 1743, and was on the tax list of Rowan Co. in N.C. in 1759. George Michael Eller, our ancestor, who may be the son or one of the above, was in Rowan County with Jacob, Christian and Melchoir Eller [Pitt book does not say location of the above three Ellers] at that same time and may have been there for a number years since his son Leonard said he was born at Fort Litters, N.C. in 1759. George Michael Eller bought land next to his brother Henry, in Frederick Co., MD in 1773, so he went back to Frederick County. His wife's name was Anna Marie and was the known mother of the last seven children, and may well have been Peter's and Leonard's mother. The Ellers of North Carolina have been connected with educa 		Eller, Jacob (I3622)
 
2859 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 EL54ejg "John Jacob Eller and His Descendants with Other Pre-1800 Eller Immigrants to America...," by J. Gerald Eller, Edward K. Eller, and Janine Eller Porter (The Eller Family Association, 1998), pp. 22-27; the following is a partial excerpt from the full transcript which I place in the notes of George Michael Eller:
"George Michael Eller.
Many gaps in our knowledge of the genealogy of descendants of George Michael Eller are revealed in Table VI. Until new information was reported in the Eller Chronicles, the published genealogy of this immigrant and his descendants came exclusively from Hook (1925, 1955, 1957, 1957A). His genealogies were limited largely to descendants of four sons: Peter, Leonard, Jacob, and George. His listing of Jacob, as a son (1957, pp 53-63), has been questioned; this point is discussed further in chapters 8 and 10. Other researchers have now contributed extensively to the genealogy of this line, as shown in the bibliography at the end of the chapter. As can be seen in Table VI, little is known of the descendants of the daughters of immigrant George Michael Eller.
Table VI
George Michael Eller married (1st)? (2nd)? (3rd) Eva Maria. Frederick County, Maryland. Their children and grandchildren:
1. Peter, married Elizabeth Dick, children John, Catherine, Peter Jr., Elizabeth, unnamed daughter, Jacob, Mary, Henry, George.
2. Elizabeth married Heinrich Reb. Nothing more is known
3. Leonard married Elizabeth Mast, children: Adam, Elizabeth, John, Joseph, Sarah, Mary Lucinda, Jacob, Henry, George.
4. Jacob. No other known record unless he was the Jacob Eller of Chapter 8.
5. George died in Davidson County, North Carolina, before 1841; his wife was Susanna. Children: George Jr., Henry, David.
6. John married Catherine Fight (Fort)? Nothing more is known.
7. Eve. Nothing more is known.
8. Catherine married Peter Lehman? Nothing more is known. (From Hook, 1957, pp. 15-16).
9. Maria (Mary) married Jacob Eller; Children: Cloah (Chloe) "Glory" Eller. (Troutman and File. EC, XI:1, Sp. Ed., Feb. 1997).
Primary centers from which known descendants spread: Frederick Co., MD, Rowan Co., NC, Ashe Co., NC, Wilkes Co., NC, Miami Co., OH, Hamilton Co., IN, Wapello Co., IA. ...
Other records for a Michael Eller, may or may not be for George Michael Eller. This applies to the deed for twenty-five acres to a Michael Eller dated 12 April 1753, and recorded in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania[2] and to the Michael Eller on a 1759 tax list for Rowan County. North Carolina,[3] also to a Michael Eller on a 1772 tax list for Randolph County, North Carolina.[4]
As already mentioned, early Ellers in Rowan County were known to sometimes transcribe the name "Melchior" as "Michael," and more than one Melchior Eller was in that county during the early period. However, the Randolph County record of 1772 may indeed refer to George Michael Eller since land records show that three or four of his sons were in North Carolina in the 1770s, and his son Leonard was a large land owner in Randolph County.
Descendants of George Michael Eller are searching for evidence that he lived in North Carolina before he settled in Frederick County, Maryland in 1773. That same year one report places his eldest son Peter in Rowan County, North Carolina.[5] By 1778 his other sons were in that area of North Carolina.
A Bible record for Leonard, second son of George Michael Eller, gives his birthplace as Fort (Ford) Litters, North Carolina, but no record of such a place has been found.[6] Another puzzling part of this record says Leonard's father was born in Bebon. Germany. Bebon may have been intended for Baden, but this is not certain. A record cited by Hook (1957, p. 32) says Leonard was born in Germany, but most researchers say he was born in the United States. He married Elizabeth Mast, daughter of John and Barbara Mast of Randolph County, North Carolina. From the late 1770s until after 1821 Leonard Eller owned land in Rowan and Randolph Counties, North Carolina. About 1801 he took his family to Miami County, Ohio, and later to Indiana, where some of his descendants still live. Leonard Eller was a large land-owner in three states. He continued to own land in Randolph County, North Carolina until after 1821.[7]
George Eller, another son, left descendants in Davidson County, North Carolina, where he died before 1841, but the Eller Family Association has yet to establish contacts with descendants of this line. An abstract of George Eller's will from the Division of Lands Book, pp. 32-33, Davidson County, North Carolina was obtained from the Public Library in Lexington, North Carolina. His heirs listed in the May Term 1841 Court Record includes: Caroline Sowers, Katharene Darr(?), Sally Warlow, Dolly Long, David Eller, Christene Waggoner, Elizabeth Reket(?), George Eller, Sally Haines, Polly Reed. We would like to know more about his descendants. Hopefully, other records will appear in future issues of the Eller Chronicles. For more information on this family see Hook (1957), p 64-68.
For John, another son of George Michael Eller for whom Hook (1957, p. 16), found no "identifiable record," and speculated that some of the John Eller records in Rowan County, North Carolina, might be for this John Eller. Hook encountered the problem already mentioned - too many Eller men with only the single name of John living in the county at the same time, making final identifications impossible.
Based in part on an Eller family oral tradition in Rowan County, Maria, youngest daughter of George Michael Eller, a recent report says she married Jacob Eller, a grandson of immigrant (John) Melchior Eller.[8] Louise Barringer File of Salisbury, North Carolina, now in her eighties, has vivid memories of being told by her grandmother, Joyce Delinda Eller Morgan, of her descent from George Michael Eller, and how intermarriages among descendants of four different Eller immigrants enabled her and many other Ellers to claim four immigrant Ellers as ancestors. As previously mentioned, intermarriages among the four lines, taken from the work of Troutman and File (1997), appears as Fig. 2, Chapter 2, p. 10.
The earliest American record that lists the full name, George Michael Eller, is a land deed, dated 14 April 1773, showing he purchased land known as Hammond's Strife in Frederick County, Maryland.[9] There he lived until his death, which came before 25 August, 1778, when his will, written in German, was recorded. The relatively large sum of money (950 pounds) dispersed by his will suggests that he was a wealthy man for his time. His will mentions Children: Peter, Leonard, Elizabeth, Jacob, George, John, Eve, Catherine, Maria and a wife, Anna Maria, who apparently was not the mother of his older children.[10] Some think he was probably named three times, the first being in Germany.
"If all facts were known, they might show that George Michael Eller was married three times and that his eldest son, Peter, was a child of his first wife and the others by a second or third spouse. Peter was a grown man with a wife and child in Rowan County, North Carolina by 6 March 1773.[11] Hook goes on to report that Peter Eller was the only Eller in North Carolina listed outside or Rowan County, North Carolina in the 1790 census. However, by this date, John Jacob Eller Jr. had been living in Sullivan County, North Carolina over a decade, but because census records for 1790 were lost for the Tennessee region his presence there was unknown lo Hook. In 1790. Peter Eller was living on Bones (Roans) Creek in Wilkes (later Ashe) County, North Carolina.[12]
Troutman and File (1997) compiled an extensive genealogy of descendants of four Rowan County, North Carolina Eller immigrants including George Michael Eller, that was based in part on the family tradition, concerning his daughter Maria, described above. This, with the mass of new information previously reported in the Eller Chronicles, and the gaps in his genealogy (Table VI) the need for a new book on George Michael Eller and his descendants is obvious.
A project by the Eller Family Association to develop a computer data base for descendants of George Michael Eller has been under way for sometime. A new book may come from this project in the next few years. Hopefully it will include more genealogy* for each of [the] Children, especially his daughters.
Many questions about George Michael Eller remain to be answered. Where in Germany was he born and who were his ancestors? Did he ever live in North Carolina? If so, where and when? How was he related to other immigrants to America, especially to John Jacob, Christian, and John Melchior Eller of Rowan County, North Carolina and Henry Eller of Frederick County, Maryland? What of his son Jacob? How many wives did he have and who were they? Many of these same questions remain to be answered about all pre-1800 Eller immigrants to America.
When did sons of George Michael Eller Arrive in North Carolina?
Hook (1957, p. 21) "Peter Eller was living in Rowan County, North Carolina as early as 6 March 1773."|
Land Deeds. Rowan County, North Carolina:
"#3068, 1778, Leonard Eller 300 A on both sides of Sheit's Crk., adj Widow Bower. & Valentine Beard, including his improvements." (R. A. Enocks, Indianapolis, 1988, p. 233).
"#1605, 28 Sep 1778, Philip Sewell 100 A on the headwaters or Reedy Creek & Tinkers Crk [adj] Joseph Mizzell, William Oliver & Lewis Defore, including his Improvements. Made to George Ellor by the Enterer." (ibid, pg. 115.)
"#1608, 28 Sep 1778, William Oliver 100 A on waters of Reedy Crk adj Philip Sewell, Joseph Meizell & Peter Eller, including his Improvements. Made over to Ja's Cheney." (ibid, pg. 115.)
Marriage Records, Rowan County, North Carolina; Hook (1957) p. 16: "This writer's guess is that this was the John Eller (s/o Geo. Michael) who married Catherine Fight (Fort) 10 Aug 1785."
End Notes:
1. Strassburger & Hinke, 1:349, 350, 351 (Geo. Eler); 1:345-346 (1992) (Michael x Eller)
2. Hook (1957), p. 1.
3. North Carolina Department of Archives and History. Tax List Rowan Co., NC, File No. 85.007.1.
4. Ratcliff, Clarence A. North Carolina Tax Payers 1609-1790; ibid 1701-1786, Geneal. Publ. Co., Inc., Baltimore, pp. 61, 63.
5. Hook (1957) p. 21."Peter Eller was living in Rowan County, North Carolina as early as 6 Mar 1773 on which date the Patriarchal Blessing or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints states that Peter Eller's daughter Catherine was born in Rowan County, North Carolina."
6. Hook, (1957) p. 32. William Eller, Bible record of 1819-1894. "William Eller was Born July 26, A.D. 1819 John Eller was mi father he was Born in Ashe County, North Carolina his father was Leonard Eller he was born in at fort (ford, fork) litters, North Carolina and his father came from Bebon (Baden) Co." Note: This enigmatic record, obviously based on memories that were not perfect, has never been verified. No such place as Fort Litters, North Carolina is known. That Leonard Eller ever lived in Ashe County has never been proven; that he was born in Germany in 1690 is untrue.
7. Davidson Co., NC, Deed Bk. 1:257-258. Abstract, 13 June 1821 Leonard Eller, County of Miami and State of Ohio. Land situated in Randolph County on Cariway where he did live and left in the hand of Jacob Hoover. Three tracts in Rowan, one on waters of Lick Creek, other on Sheets Creek in possession of Jacob Hoover, late dec'd. He now appoints Samuel Hoover of Randolph County Attorney for him. Wit John Hoover, Jr., Henry Hoover acting Justice of Peace in Ohio, William Norwood, one of the Judges of Court of Law and Equity and affirmed appointment." Note: For more on the Eller-Hoover relationships, see Lyle (1994). These Hoovers were of the ancestral line of President Herbert Hoover.
8. Troutman and File (1997). This tradition was long established in the Eller ancestral line of Louise Barringer File of Salisbury, North Carolina.
9. Hook (1957) p I, Deed Bk. S96-98, Frederick County Maryland
10. Ibid. Will Book G.M. No. 1, pp. 76-78, Frederick County Maryland Reprinted: EC, V:2:106-107 (1992).
11. Hook (1957), p. 21.
12. Ibid. p. 5.
New Information on George Michael Eller and His Descendants from the Eller Chronicles (EC)... [See notes of George Michael Eller for full bibliographical listing of these articles.]"

2. Per online "Eller Chronicles," http://freepages.family.rootsweb.com/~adelr/may88/may88p6.htm: Gale Edwin Spitzer Honeyman, 470 Grove #2, San Francisco, CA 94102, says, "I have fully abstracted all Eller data, except deeds, in the Miami CO., OH courthouse. Leonard Eller of the George Michael line lived there for a short time and Hook did not hit 100% in his data regarding Leonard's family."

3. Per online "Eller Chronicles," per website http://freepages.family.rootsweb.com/~adelr/aug92/aug92p2.htm:
"Leonard Eller2, George Michael Eller1(Eds. Thanks to Jean Oliver, a descendant of the Leonard and George Michael Eller-line, for the following documentation on the early Eller families of Hamilton County, Indiana. We hope this begins a series on Leonard Eller and his descendants which will lead to corrections and additions to the published work of J. W. Hook, George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America, New Haven, 1957. All references to Hook in the following come from this source.) Hook published much information on the Leonard Eller family, pp. 32-52, including those who first settled in Hamilton County, IN. He probably was in error when he inferred that Jacob Eller of Roanoke Co., VA, whose son, David, removed to Hamilton County in order to join his relatives of the Leonard Eller family. (See the sketch on John Eller below, and Dr. David B. Eller, "The Eller Chronicles," Vol. II, Nos. 2, 3). Perhaps this and future articles on the Ellers of Hamilton Co., IN will help resolve whether or not Jacob Eller of Roanoke Co., VA, whose son David settled in Hamilton County, was a son of George Michael Eller. Hook's basis for suggesting this possibility was not definitely proven by his evidence, although his premise that Eller families living in a given locality were closely related was valid. Hook lists Leonard Eller as a son of George Michael Eller b. 20 March 1754; d. in Hamilton Co., Indiana in 1839 or 1840. He says, "it is entirely possible that George Michael Eller, Leonard's father, went to North Carolina with the other Ellers and later returned to Frederick Co., Md ... Leonard Eller first appears in the North Carolina record 19 June 1784 when he entered 640 acres of land in Rowan Co., North Carolina." Leonard appears in the 1790 census for Rowan Co., N.C. and in the 1800 census for Randolph (formerly Rowan) Co., N.C. About 1801 he removed to Miami Co., Ohio where he remained until 1834 or early 1835 when he removed to Hamilton Co., Indiana, where he died intestate in 1838 or 1840.)
Abstract of Court Document, Hamilton Co., IN: 'Eller, Leonard. No will. Appraisal 21 Nov. 1839. Sale dated 21 Dec. 1839. Admin. David Wilkinson. Appr: Amasa Bond, Michael Wise. Debtors: E. Brock, Thomas Cooper, Thomas Dansan, William Dickerson, Bethel J. Duning, Absolum Eller, Adam Eller, Adam Eller, deceased, David Eller, Jacob Eller, John Eller, Joseph Eller, Sarah Eller, James Ellis E.B. & Peter Flanagon, Peter Flanagon, Mary Flanagan/Flanagon, James Flanagon, John Flanagon, Leonard Flanagon, Peter Flanagon, Jonathan Galey, Deford George, Ephraim Hoover, Robert Kimberlin, Ezekiel Mills, Alexander Mock, James North, Mary North, Samuel North, Aaron Osborn, George Owen, Jonathan Parsons, William Rice, John S. Richardson, Elisha Reddick, Joshua Reddick, Peter Smith, William Threlkeld, Madison Urell. Present at Sale: Absalum Eller, Joseph Eller, Alexander North, William Stricklin. Will Record B, pp. 211-216.'
(Eds. Jean Oliver notes that the date of the appraisal and sale of Leonard Eller's estate, 21 Nov. 1839, indicates his death came before that date. She raises the question as to why other records list 1840 as the date of death.)"

4. The book "The Howard Leytham Stoker Von Dollen Family Histories," FHL 929.273 H833a, by Doris Lewis, 2017 So. 80th Ave., Omaha, Nebraska, 68124.
"Leonard Eller, the 2nd son [of George Michael Eller], settled Ohio with Henry Fouts and Adam Eller in 1801, and built one of the first log cabins in that state. (Union township, Miami Co.) After the men cleared the land they returned to N.C. for their families. Leonard died in Hamilton County, Ind. leaving 950 pounds, which was worth nothing in those days."

5. The book "The Howard Leytham Stoker Von Dollen Family Histories," FHL 929.273 H833a, by Doris Lewis, 2017 So. 80th Ave., Omaha, Nebraska, 68124, p. 88 [FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 119-123, has almost the same verbatim except what I note in brackets]:
"...James Hook wrote a history of 'George Michael Eller and His Descendants in America.' Much of the information I have on the Ellers come from this book or a book by Judge Johnson J. Hayes, called 'The Land of Wilkes,' a history of Wilkes County in North Carolina. In the ninth century Alamans, Teutons of Jutland, moved into Westallgan as early settlers. One group, called Ellers, started at the foot of Hirshberg in the Algauer Alp area near Bregenz, on Lake Constance. [They may have stayed in this general area for 600 years. This is the same area of the Palatinate that the Graybill religious refugees from Switzerland had fled and the same time frame. So the Ellers and Graybills may have known each other as neighbors or fellow churchmen.] Alta March, of Herman, Nebraska, has an Eller genealogy based in Germany, which probably connects with our family. In this record a Bartl and Barbara Swartz Eller had three children, Joseph, George and George Michael, the latter thought born in Baden, Sept. 5, 1695 and emigrated to America. He could well have been the father of our George Michael Eller, for he was a bit old to start his family in 1748. [The American Ellers apparently came from the Palatinate of Germany in the first half of the 18th century. The Pennsylvania Archives, 2nd Series, Vol 17, records the arrival of 13 Eller families who took the oath of allegiance between 30 Sep 1740 and 3 Nov 1772.] A Geo. Eller [age 20] emigrated on the ship 'St. Andrew,' and took his oath in Pennsylvania on Oct. 7, 1743 and [a George Michael Eller, apparently this same George Eller,] bought land he called 'Hammond Strife,' in Frederick County, Maryland. A Michael Eller aboard the ship Phoenix, took oath on September 30, 1743, and was on the tax list of Rowan Co. in N.C. in 1759. George Michael Eller, our ancestor, who may be the son or one of the above, was in Rowan County with Jacob, Christian and Melchoir Eller [Pitt book does not say location of the above three Ellers] at that same time and may have been there for a number years since his son Leonard said he was born at Fort Litters, N.C. in 1759. George Michael Eller bought land next to his brother Henry, in Frederick Co., MD in 1773, so he went back to Frederick County. His wife's name was Anna Marie and was the known mother of the last seven children, and may well have been Peter's and Leonard's mother. The Ellers of North Carolina have been connected with education since that state's earliest days. Academies in Virginia and North Carolina were started by Ellers and a list of the public school personnel today in N.C. is sprinkled with Ellers. [In 1790 there were 11 Eller families shown in the Rowan Co., NC census. At that time, members of the Eller family also were in Wilkes Co., NC and in Botetort Co., VA.] Children:
a. Peter, b. [1746/]1748 [possibly in Germany]; d. [bef] 29 Jul 1799 at Ashe Co., NC; m. [abt 1766/7 probably of Frederick Co, MD] Elizabeth Dick.
b. Leonard, b. 20 Mar 1752 at Ft. Litters [20 Mar 1754 probably in NC, possibly in Germany]; d. 1839, [probably] Hamilton Co., IN; m. Elizabeth Mast [Elizabeth ___].
c. Elizabeth, b. 1756; d. 1777; m. Henry Repp [10 Jun 1777 to Heinrich Reb, s/o Caspar Reb of Bucks Co., PA].
d. Jacob, b. 1758; d. 1830 [between 10 May 1830 and Oct 1830, Botetort Co., VA], m. Magdalena [___].
e. George, b. 1760 [d. probably abt 1839, Davidson Co., NC; m. Susannah [___].
f. John, b. 1762; m. [possibly] Catherine Fight [or Fort].
g. Eve, b. 1764.
h. Catherine, b. 1767; m. [probably 27 May 1788, Frederick Co., MD] Peter Lehman.
i. Maria, b. 1769."

6. Per online "Eller Chronicles," website http://freepages.family.rootsweb.com/~adelr/nov93/nov93p6.htm#mast:
"J.W. Hook's genealogy of Leonard Eller did not include the name of his wife at the time of publication in 1957. Hook later learned her name was Elizabeth Masts and this Information appears as a marginal note in some books. The information here comes from the Watauga Co., NC, Heritage Book, Watauga Co. Genealogical Soc., Boone, NC. Records show the Masts to be of German ancestry. A majority of these early ancestors identified as being consecrated to the teachings of the word of God, suffered much for conscience sake, yet remained faithful to their belief. Because of persecution many left Germany, went to Switzerland, and later some to the Netherlands.
John Mast was born in Switzerland in 1740. He, in company with an uncle, an older brother Jacob, and four sisters, sailed from Rotterdam on the ship "Brotherhood" and landed in Philadelphia, Pa., Nov. 3, 1750. They resided nearly ten years in the district of the Northkill Congregation of Amish Mennonites. In 1760 they were attacked by Indians and forced to seek another refuge from persecution. They settled in the beautiful Conestoga Valley between the Schuylkill River and Conestoga Creek, Berks County, Pa. Here Jacob erected a comfortable log farm house for the family. He married Magdeline Holly and they reared twelve children, He was a prominent citizen and was elected to the office of Bishop of the Mennonite Church in 1788. John, shortly after becoming twenty years old, left his brother Jacob and family to explore and hopefully find a more suitable location. After a period of wandering through lonely forests, he settled in the year 1764 in Randolph County, N.C. He was married to Barbara and they had five sons and seven daughters. John, first son, was married, wife unknown; Joseph married Eve Bowers; Jacob married; David married Nancy Ware; Steve, a bachelor; Nancy married James Curtis; Elizabeth married Leonard Eller; Hannah married, Daniel Hoover; Mary married David Hoover; Mollie married John Wagner; Catherine married Andrew Sheets; Susanna married Henry Fouts. John, Jacob, David, and some of the sisters and their husbands went to Ohio (Montgomery and Miami Counties) In 1801, Steve went to Ohio and later to Maryland where he located on land, now the City of Baltimore." (Sources: Mast, C.Z., "Mast Family History," Mennonite Publishing House, Scottsdale, Pa., 911, 822 pp.; Family and Public Records.)

7. FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 119-123:
"Leonard Eller: b. 20 Mar 1754, probably in NC; possibly in Germany; d. abt 1839/1840, probably in Hamilton Co., IN; md. to Elizabeth ___. She d. 1831, possibly in Miami Co., OH. They moved to Union Twp., Miami Co., OH in 1801 from NC. He possibly returned to NC for a time and then came back to OH. They lived in Miami Co., OH until abt 1834/5, then moved to Hamilton Co., IN. He purchased land in Hamilton Co., IN as early as 1826 and 1832, but he lived in Miami Co., OH, at the time. Their children were Adam, Elizabeth, John, Joseph, Sarah 'Sally', Henry, Mary Lucinda and Jacob."

8. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 17-31, clarifies early North Carolina counties and land grant practices:
"Land grants in North Carolina originated with an entry application which was filed in the county where the land was situated and if not lost are now on file there. This was followed, sometimes soon and sometimes years later by an order from the land office for the tract to be surveyed. Sometimes soon and sometimes years later the survey was made and a surveyor's plat filed with the Secretary of State in Raleigh. Then came the grant which may have been issued reasonably near the date of the survey or sometimes several years later. These grants, orders to survey and the survey itself are on file now in the Secretary of State's office at Raleigh...
Many counties were formed from what originally was Rowan County, namely Surry and Guilford in 1770, Burke and Wilkes in 1777, Randolph in 1779, Iridell in 1788, Stokes in 1789, Buncomb in 1791, Ashe in1799, Davidson in 1822, Yancey in 1833, Davie in 1836 and Yadkin in 1850. Some of these counties were grandchildren of Rowan County; for instance Wilkes was taken partly from Burke and partly from Surry, Randolph from Guilford, Buncomb and Yancy form Burke, Ashe from Wilkes and Stokes and Yadkin from Surry. These facts must be kept in mind when tracing early Rowan County families."

9. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 33-52:
"Leonard Eller, was born, according to 'Portrait and Biographical Record of Madison and Hamilton Counties, Indian, 1893, pp. 624, 625,' on 20 Mar 1754 in Germany. Other records say he was born in the USA which probably is correct. He died, according to Hamilton Co., Indiana Court Records, in 1839 or 1840. He married Elizabeth who died in 1831 between the dates of 13 Jan and 27 Jun. (Deed Book 8, pp. 388, 11, and 463, Miami Co., Ohio.) Her surname was not found [Mast later added by typescript in the book]. As already stated, one Leonard Eller, doubtless the same, was mentioned as a son in the will of George Michael Eller probated in Frederick Co., MD, 25 Aug 1778 and shown to be one of his three eldest children, a son Peter being the eldest son a daughter Elizabeth being the other one of the three. Other children mentioned in his will as 'my youngest children' were Jacob, George, John, Eve, Catherine and Maria.
William Eller, 1819-1894, son of John Eller and grandson of Leonard Eller wrote the following in a Bible that is now, 1956, in the possession of Mrs. Paul Joseph Harrop, 1613 W. Riverview Av., Dayton, Ohio:
'William Eller was born July 26, A.D. 1819 John Eller was mi father he was Born in Ashe County, North Carolina his father was Lenard Eller he was born in at fort (ford, fork) littors, North Carolina his father came from Bebon (Baden) Co. Germany in the year 1690.'
The writer has not been able to locate fort (ford, fork) littors in North Carolina and he suspects that 'Bebon Co., Germany' was meant for the Republic of Baden in south west Germany, and, of course, it could scarcely have been possible for Leonard Eller's father to have come from Germany as early as 1690 unless he was a babe in arms and came with his parents. Even then he would have been pretty old to have had a son Leonard born 20 March 1754. What would be more likely is that Leonard's grandfather Eller was born in 1690 and came later to America with his son George Michael.
If, as the Bible asserts, Leonard Eller was born in North Carolina then his father was also living there and may have been the Michael Eller found in the list of taxables in Rowan Co., NC in 1759. Jacob, Christian and Melker Eller, as already stated, were also in Rowan Co. in 1762-65. It is entirely possible that George Michael Eller, Leonard's father, went to North Carolina with the other Ellers and later returned to Frederick County, MD where he is first found in the records on April 14, 1773 when, describing himself as then being of Frederick Co., MD, he bought 100 acres of land at a place called 'Hammond Phife' (Strife) where Henry Eller, doubtless his brother had purchased land 6 Jun 1767. Hammand Strife was a tract of 1230 acres of land that was patented to John Hammond 10 Aug 1753. It was located in Frederick Co., MD about ten miles north east of Fredericktown and just east of the town of Johnsville in the District of Johnsville.
Leonard Eller first appears in the North Carolina records 19 Jun 1784 when he entered 640 acres of land in Rowan Co., NC on both sides of Lick Creek, (now in Davidson Co.). This land adjoined lands of James Riley, William Grist and Michael Ritter and include Richard Beams mill. 416 acres of this land was surveyed for Leonard Eller 30 Dec 1791 with no explanation of what became of the remaining 224 acres. The 416 acres were granted to him 26 Nov 1793. (Grant 2165, Sec'y of State's Office, Raleigh, NC) On the same date (26 Nov 1793) he was given two additional grants in Rowan County, both on Sheets Creek, waters of Urray (now in Davidson Co., NC) one for 348 acres and the other for 150 acres. (Grants 2166 and 2237, Secretary of State's office, Raleigh, NC) Waters of Urry doubtless refers to creeks in Davidson Co. that flow into the Uwharrie River of Western Randoph Co., NC. On 13 Jun 1821 Leonard Eller of Miami Co., Ohio gave a power of attorney to Samuel Hoover of Randoph Co., NC, empowering him 'to lease or sell' his three tracts of land, 'one on the waters of Lick Creek and the other two on Sheets Creek all now in the possession of Jacob Hoover, late deceased.' (Deed Book 1, p. 257, Davidson Co., NC.) These Hoovers were early members of the family from whom descended Herbert Hoover, the thirty-first President of the United States.
It should be re-stated here that land was granted on 25 Oct 1786 and 12 Aug 1788, respectively to George and Peter Eller in that part of Rowan that in 1820 became Davidson Co. These two and Leonard Eller, doubtless were brothers. Another brother, the records strongly indicate was Jacob Eller who settle in Botetort Co., VA [disputed - see his notes in this database] about the same time and one of the John Ellers shown in the 1790 and later censuses of Rowan Co., NC, probably, was another brother.
Leonard Eller is shown in the 1790 census of Rowan Co, NC at the age over 16 with a family of 4 females, including the female head of the family, ages not indicated, and with three males all under 16. He is shown in the 1800 census of Randolph Co. in NC as Leonard Ellier aged between 26 and 45 with a wife of same age and with a family of one female aged between 16 and 26, one male aged between 10 and 16 and with three males and two females all aged under 10. He removed to Miami Co., Ohio about 1801 and settled in the Stillwater River Valley of what in 1807 became Union Township.
Leonard Eller lived in Miami Co., Ohio until 1834 or early 1835, (Deed Book 16, p. 685 and Deed Book 13, p. 110 of Miami Co., Ohio), at which time he removed to Hamilton Co., Indiana where he died in 1839 or 1840. (Administrator apptd.) He purchased land in Indiana, district of Brookville, Hamilton County, as early as 31 Jan 1826, (Deed Book D, p. 180, Hamilton Co., IN) and again purchased land there 9 Jun 1832 (Deed Book A., p. 434, Hamilton Co., IN), but in both deeds he described himself as residing in Miami Co., Ohio. The latest deed showing him to be of Miami Co., Ohio was dated 15 Mar 1834. (Deed Book 16, p. 685, Miami Co., Ohio.) The earliest deed showing him living in Hamilton Co., IN was dated 10 Mar 1835. (Deed Book 13, p. 110, Miami Co., Ohio.)
'The History of Miami Co., Ohio,' 1880, p. 225, says that Leonard Eller settled in Section 35, Union Twp. of the county, coming from North Carolina. He came with Henry Fouts also of North Carolina who settled in Section 33 which turned out to be better land. Eller, the account says, was a much older man than Fouts and possessed more means, the greater portion of which he invested in land. 'His five sons,' continued the account, 'settled near him and, being robust and industrious, soon made a visible mark in the forest.' The account concludes by saying 'There seems to be some diversity of opinion in regard to the first of the resolute men who invaded the wild domain of nature in the township (Union Twp.) and wrested from her giant grasp the gifts with which she so reluctantly parts. The weight of authority seems to be in favor of Henry Fouts who in company with Leonard and Adam Eller, in the year 1801, erected the first cabin nestled in this forest primeval. The Ellers located in the southern part of the township, east of the Stillwater River, while Fouts' settled on the west side.'
'The Centennial History of Troy, Piqua and Miami Co., Ohio' by Thomas C. Harbough, 1909, page 91, says that it was a 'tide of emigration that flowed northward from the Carolinas that broke upon the shores of Stillwater and populated Union Township,' and further on continues by saying, 'In the year 1801 Henry Fouts and the two Ellers, Leonard and Adam, settled in Union Township in the very heart of the forest primeval.' Others coming about the same time were Caleb Mendinhall with his family of six followed by John Mast and Frederick Yount the latter of whom located a mill site and supplied the settlers with flour and meal. In 1804 came David Motes Sr. with his five sons who settled on the west side of the river while William Fincher, William Neal, Benjamin Pike and Jacob Byrkett settled on the east side. The Hoover family of North Carolina came later, the president's grandfather, Eli Hoover, having been born in the township in 1820.
Apparently Leonard Eller and his son Adam returned to North Carolina for a time after 1800 because Lenard Ellor (sic) of Randoph Co., N.C. purchased from Samuel Underwod 150 acres of land on Caraway Creek in Randolph Co., NC, 17 Nov 1803. (Deed Book 8, p. 490, Randolph Co.) It is possible that the name was Leonard Ellord because, on 18 Sept 1792, one Lenard Ellord of Randolph County purchased from Thomas Curtis 250 acres of land on Caraway Creek in Randolph Co. including 'all improvements, orchards, mines, minerals Heraditaments and appurtenance to the said land belonging' and also 'all of the estate rights, title, interest, property claims and demands,' etc. (Deed Book 5, p. 172, Randolph Co., NC.) The name was spelled Ellord in all places in the first deed and Ellor in the second.
Another indication that Leonard Eller returned from Miami Co., Ohio for a time after 1800 arises from the fact that his grandson, David Eller, son of Adam gave his date of birth as 1805/6 and place of birth North Carolina in the census taken in Marion County, Indiana in 1850. His brother Andrew, born 1807/8, gave his birth place as Ohio.
Two land grants to Leonard Eller are recorded in the Miami County Courthouse at Troy, Ohio. They apparently were confirmations by President Madison of land earlier taken up by Leonard Eller. they are dated 30 July 1812 and convey two quarter sections of land, one the S.E. quarter and the other the NW quarter in Section 26 of Township 6, Range 5, East of the meridian of lands directed to be sold at Cincinnati, Ohio by Act of Congress entitled 'An act providing for the sale of land of the United States in the territory Northwest of Ohio and above the mouth of the Kentucky River.' (Deed Book 26, p. 270, Miami Co., Ohio, Vol. 1, p. 316 and Vol. 20, p. 172 at Cincinnati.)
According to the Harbough Centennial History supra, Congress Land (Public Lands) in the Ohio country prior to 1799 could not be sold in quantities of less than 4000 acres but in that year through the efforts of General Harrison, (William Henry Harrison the 9th president, then a member of Congress), a law was passed authorizing the sale of one half the public lands in sections and other half in half sections. A law permitting the sale of land in quarter sections was passed in 1804.
On 25 Sep 1828 Leonard Eller, his wife Elizabeth concurring, filed a plat and field notes of a town,' laid off by Leonard Eller, proprietor, to be known as Frederick Town.' (Deed Book 7, p. 14, Miami co., Ohio.) It consisted of 40 lots situated in Union Township of Miami County. The town was rectangular in outline, the long way being approximately north and south. The plat was bounded by North Street, South Street, West Street and East Street and intersecting the town half way between North and South Streets was a street named Cross Street. Later records show to whom these lots were conveyed. It would be interesting to know if the selection of Frederick Town for the town's name was in honor of Frederick Town, Maryland near where Leonard Eller's parents lived and where, perhaps, he was born. The town is only barely remembered by present citizens of the county.
Leonard Eller died intestate in 1839 or 1840 when an administrator of his intestate estate was appointed. Distribution was not completed until 13 Nov 1854 when the administrator, David Wilkinson, filed his final account. This account showed that Leonard Eller had eight children who married and left children only three of whom namely Mary Lucinda North, Joseph Eller and Jacob Eller survived him. The heirs at law of all deceased children were named, some of them being great grandchildren of Leonard Eller, as shown below. The children, given below, of his son Joseph, a survivor of his father, were found in the settlement papers of Joseph's estate and in the book 'Portrait and Biographical Record of Madison and Hamilton Counties, Indiana,' by Thomas Harbough, 1893.
Children of Leonard and Elizabeth Eller were:
a. Adam Eller, b. say about 1780; d. before 1840; m. probably Nanny (Nancy) Wood of Randolph Co., NC. 'The History of Miami Co., Ohio' says that he was a settler with his father, Leonard Eller, in that county indicating that he probably was Leonard's eldest son. 'The History of Indianapolis and Marion Co., Indiana' by Sulgrove, 1884, p. 548, says that Adam Eller came with his family to Marion Co., Indiana from Stillwater, (meaning obviously the Stillwater River Section of Miami Co.), Ohio in an early day and entered 160 acres of land. He was a farmer and had daughters Elizabeth, Lucinda and Nancy and sons David, Andrew and Leonard... [The book continues with more biography on this couple's children.] ...Pages 66, 537 and 539 of the same history states that Adam Eller entered 80 acres in Lawrence Twsp. of Marion Co., Aug. 1824 and that Leonard, Joseph and John Eller each entered 80 acres of land in Lawrence Township April 1825 and that Adam, Leonard, David, and Andrew Eller were on the Lawrence Township tax list of 1829... The first Federal Census of Miami County, Ohio, 1820, shows that Adam Eller was then living in that county at an age between 26 and 45 with a wife of the same age, two male Children, aged between 10 and 16 and four female children all under 10. This writer looked for him, without results, in the land and other records of Miami and Montgomery Counties in Ohio and Hamilton County, Ohio [Indiana?]... [The book continues with biographies on this couple's descendancy.]
b. Elizabeth Eller, m. 21 Sep 1807 Thomas North. (Miami Co., Ohio Marriages)... [The book continues with biographies on this couple's descendancy.]
c. John Eller, b. according to the Harrop Bible record, supra, in North Carolina; m. 14 Feb 1811, Sarah (Sally) Burkit, b. abt. 1792. (Miami Co., OH. Marriages.) He died in 1830 according to Harrop Bible Record but a guardianship for his minor children Philip, Enoch (Enos) and Elizabeth was dated 23 Apr 1841. (Estate No. 1112, Miami Co., Ohio.) The latter date may have been about the time of his wife Sarah's death. Joseph Eller, uncle doubtless of said children, was appointed guardian. The 1850 census of Miami Co., Ohio shows a female Malinda Eller, aged 17 living with Sarah Eller, aged 58, the latter, doubtless the widow of John Eller... [The book continues with biographies on this couple's descendancy.]
d. William Eller, b. 26 Jul 1819; d. 23 Mar 1895; m. 27 Aug 1843, Elizabeth Friend. (Bible Records; also Miami Co., Ohio Marriages.) She was born 1819/20 and d. 23 Mar 1895, aged 75. (Miami Co. death records.)... [The book continues with biographies on this couple's descendancy.]
e. Joseph Eller, b. 25 Oct 1788 in N.C.; d. in Hamilton Co., Indiana in 1854. (Order Book 1, pp. 533, 543, and 587; Order Book 2, pp. 110, 145; Order Book 3, p. 216 - Hamilton Co., Ind., Clerk's office.) He m. 15 Mar 1811, Rachel Casey, b. 19 Feb 1791, who predeceased her husband. (Miami Co., Ohio Marriages, also see 'Portrait and Biog. Record of Madison and Hamilton Counties, Ind., 1893, pp. 624/625.) The family removed from Miami Co., Ohio to Hamilton Co., Ind., in 1822... [The book continues with biographies on this couple's descendancy.]
f. Sarah (Sally) Eller, m. 20 Mar 1814, Joseph Byrket (Burkit). (Miami Co., Ohio Marriages.) [The book continues with biographies on this couple's descendancy.]
g. Henry Eller, d. 1821 in Miami Co., Ohio. He m. 10 Jul 1814, Sally (Sarah) Jeffries. (Miami Co. Marriages, also Estate record #0290, Miami Co., 28 Dec 1821.) She prob. m. 2nd, 4 Aug 1825, Samuel Hoover. There is also another Henry Eller marriage recorded in Miami Co., viz. Henry Eller who m. Molly Rench, 19 Nov 1816. This second Henry Eller quite certainly was the son of Henry and Fronica Eller who lived in Dayton, Ohio, Montgomery Co. and a grandson of Henry and Elizabeth (Bigler) Eller of Frederick Co., MD... [The book continues with biographies on this couple's descendancy.]
h. Mary Lucinda Eller, b. in North Carolina in 1782; d. in Lawrence Twsp. of Marion County, Indiana in 1863, aged 81 years. She was married twice, the first time in North Carolina to Francis Flannigan who was born in Maryland and moved first to North Carolina, then to Miami Co., Ohio and in 1824 to Lawrence Twsp. of Marion Co., Indiana where he entered 80 acres of land near Millersville. She married 2nd James North who was born in North Carolina, emigrating later to the Stillwater River Country in Ohio and in 1821 to Marion Co., Indiana where he was a farmer but not a land owner. ('Hist. of Indianapolis and Marion Co., Ind.', by Berry L. Sulgrove, 1884, p. 548.) The estate settlement of Leonard Eller, father of Mary Lucinda Eller, first refers to this daughter as Lucinda North then as Mary North indicating that her full given name was Mary Lucinda or Lucinda Mary... [The book continues with biographies on this couple's descendancy.]
i. Jacob Eller, m. 28 April 1822, Elizabeth Byrket (Burkit). He survived his father... [The book continues with biographies on this couple's descendancy.]"

BIRTH:
1. Per James Hook's book quoted above.

2. Mother of this individual and listing of this individual in father George Michael's will is expertly discussed in the following per FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 6-14:
"George Michael Eller died in Frederick County, Maryland before 25 Aug 1778 when his will, written in the German language and translated and put on record by Thomas Schley, was proved in the Frederick County court. The fact that his will was written in German indicates that he was born in Germany...
The wife of George Michael Eller as given in his will was Anna Maria, but the way the will reads it is apparent that she was not his first wife and very likely not the mother of any of the children named in same. The will bore no date but was proved by its witnesses 25 Aug 1778. This writer suspects that it was written several years before his death. It reads as follows, (Will Book G.M., No. 1, p. 76, Frederick Co., MD):
'In the name of God amen. I George Michael Eller of Frederick County in the province of Maryland living, am for this time sik and not right well but in my sound memory thanks be given unto God therefore seeing my nullity, ordain herein my Last Will and Testament in full love. I recommend my soul into the hands of God that gave it and my body to the earth, to be buried in a Christian like manner at the discretion of my Executors, my Executors shall in the first place pay out of my Estate all my just debts, and the overplus what the Lord gave me in this world I ordain as followith, my beloved wife, Anna Maria I give fifty pounds lawful Money, the small red cow with a white head, thirty bushels of wheat, her bed and her chest she bought (brought) to me, also the small and large Iron Potts, a half dozn peuter plates, one peuter basin, a dozn peuter spoons and a small melt pan, three iron kettles, a small washer tup a water tup and the churn, her spinnin wheel, her lamp, her Bible and Psal mody, one quart tin mog, and a pint do, on quart bottle, and every year fifteen pounds as long as they can live together also her clothing out of my Estate they can agree together, the aforesaid fifteen pounds to be paid to her in the first year only out of my whole estate, and if they can agree to live longer together, then the six younger children shall pay her the same by themselves out of my good consideration I caused to be right and is my last will and Testament that my oldest son Peter Eller, shall have the sum of 97 pounds lawful money, and my son Leonard Eller shall have the sum of 82 pounds and my daughter Elizabeth shall likewise have 82 pounds lawful money; and these said three children shall have that money three years after my decease then my two Executors, namely Henry Eller and Martin Gerber, shall be impowered to sell the Place, wagon and horses, all the creatures and moveables, and shall pay to my beloved wife her part of the same; and the overplus shall be divided by my Executors among my six youngest children namely, Jacob Eller, George Eller, John Eller, Eve Eller, Cathrine Eller and Maria Eller; further Jacob Eller shall have the Bible and to pay to George ten shillings, also shall Jacob have the young colt, if it mare bring the same luky. This is George Michael Eller his x mark and Seal X (Seal) Attested by John Bergers and Henry Schmaus (Smous) - John Bergers, Henry Smouse the above witnesses were sworn Frederick County, 25th August 1778. Then came the above Thomas Schley and made oath on the holy Evangelists of Almighty God, that the within and above writing is a just and true Translation to the best of his knowledge of the original Will of the above named George Michael Eller, which is written in the German language and that he hath not knowingly or intentionally translated any matter of substance contrary to the true meaning of said Will. Certified by George Murdock, Regr.'
The phrases in the above will pertaining to his wife and the things 'she brought to me' and the legacies to her that were made contingent on his six youngest children and her being able 'to live longer together,' indicates that she was not their mother. The name of his first wife was not found. The Evangelical Lutheran Church records of Frederick County, Maryland, records the baptism, on 8 Nov 1756, of Marie Magdalena Aller, daughter of Michael Aller and his wife Salome. (Evangelical Lutheran Church Records, p. 40, Maryland Hist. Soc.) This, doubtless, was another family because in the same year (1756) Carl Aller baptized a daughter Anna Barbara and in 1775 one Michael Aller was recorded as owing money to Mr. Hass, the same probably being for the church. (pp. 42 and 49 Ibid.)
If all facts were known they might show that George Michael Eller was married three times and that his first son Peter was a child by his first wife and all others by his second. Peter was a grown man with a wife and child as early as the late seventeen sixties. His brother, Leonard, was born 20 March 1754. Peter Eller was called 'my eldest son' in the George Michael Eller will and the latter's children, Jacob, George, John, Eve, Catherine and Maria, called 'my six youngest children,' were given the residue of the estate in equal shares. The son, Peter, was given 97 pounds and the son, Leonard, and daughter, Elizabeth, were given 82 pounds apiece. All of this adds up to the fact that Peter, Leonard and Elizabeth were his eldest children and that Peter probably was some years older than the other two, and, maybe, their half-brother."

MARRIAGE:
1. My guess based on the approximate birth of presumed eldest son Adam Eller and the number of children in the 1790 census. Location based on the first land record of Leonard in North Carolina in 1784 per James Hook book quoted above.

2. FHL Book 929.273, film 6005243, "John Jacob Eller and His Descendants with Other Pre-1800 Eller Immigrants to America," by the Eller Family Association, 1998, 817-297-1280, supplemental information, p. 437: "Leonard Eller married Elizabeth, dau. of John Mast, Sr. (See p. 57 of 'History of West Branch Quarterly Meeting of Friends' pub. 1957, for the Sesquicentennial of West Milton, Ohio."

DEATH:
1. Per James Hook's book quoted above.
 		Eller, Leonard (I3618)
 
2860 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 EL54ejg "John Jacob Eller and His Descendants with Other Pre-1800 Eller Immigrants to America...," by J. Gerald Eller, Edward K. Eller, and Janine Eller Porter (The Eller Family Association, 1998), pp. 22-27; the following is a partial excerpt from the full transcript which I place in the notes of George Michael Eller:
"George Michael Eller.
Many gaps in our knowledge of the genealogy of descendants of George Michael Eller are revealed in Table VI. Until new information was reported in the Eller Chronicles, the published genealogy of this immigrant and his descendants came exclusively from Hook (1925, 1955, 1957, 1957A). His genealogies were limited largely to descendants of four sons: Peter, Leonard, Jacob, and George. His listing of Jacob, as a son (1957, pp 53-63), has been questioned; this point is discussed further in chapters 8 and 10. Other researchers have now contributed extensively to the genealogy of this line, as shown in the bibliography at the end of the chapter. As can be seen in Table VI, little is known of the descendants of the daughters of immigrant George Michael Eller.
Table VI
George Michael Eller married (1st)? (2nd)? (3rd) Eva Maria. Frederick County, Maryland. Their children and grandchildren:
1. Peter, married Elizabeth Dick, children John, Catherine, Peter Jr., Elizabeth, unnamed daughter, Jacob, Mary, Henry, George.
2. Elizabeth married Heinrich Reb. Nothing more is known
3. Leonard married Elizabeth Mast, children: Adam, Elizabeth, John, Joseph, Sarah, Mary Lucinda, Jacob, Henry, George.
4. Jacob. No other known record unless he was the Jacob Eller of Chapter 8.
5. George died in Davidson County, North Carolina, before 1841; his wife was Susanna. Children: George Jr., Henry, David.
6. John married Catherine Fight (Fort)? Nothing more is known.
7. Eve. Nothing more is known.
8. Catherine married Peter Lehman? Nothing more is known. (From Hook, 1957, pp. 15-16).
9. Maria (Mary) married Jacob Eller; Children: Cloah (Chloe) "Glory" Eller. (Troutman and File. EC, XI:1, Sp. Ed., Feb. 1997).
Primary centers from which known descendants spread: Frederick Co., MD, Rowan Co., NC, Ashe Co., NC, Wilkes Co., NC, Miami Co., OH, Hamilton Co., IN, Wapello Co., IA. ...
Other records for a Michael Eller, may or may not be for George Michael Eller. This applies to the deed for twenty-five acres to a Michael Eller dated 12 April 1753, and recorded in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania[2] and to the Michael Eller on a 1759 tax list for Rowan County. North Carolina,[3] also to a Michael Eller on a 1772 tax list for Randolph County, North Carolina.[4]
As already mentioned, early Ellers in Rowan County were known to sometimes transcribe the name "Melchior" as "Michael," and more than one Melchior Eller was in that county during the early period. However, the Randolph County record of 1772 may indeed refer to George Michael Eller since land records show that three or four of his sons were in North Carolina in the 1770s, and his son Leonard was a large land owner in Randolph County.
Descendants of George Michael Eller are searching for evidence that he lived in North Carolina before he settled in Frederick County, Maryland in 1773. That same year one report places his eldest son Peter in Rowan County, North Carolina.[5] By 1778 his other sons were in that area of North Carolina.
A Bible record for Leonard, second son of George Michael Eller, gives his birthplace as Fort (Ford) Litters, North Carolina, but no record of such a place has been found.[6] Another puzzling part of this record says Leonard's father was born in Bebon. Germany. Bebon may have been intended for Baden, but this is not certain. A record cited by Hook (1957, p. 32) says Leonard was born in Germany, but most researchers say he was born in the United States. He married Elizabeth Mast, daughter of John and Barbara Mast of Randolph County, North Carolina. From the late 1770s until after 1821 Leonard Eller owned land in Rowan and Randolph Counties, North Carolina. About 1801 he took his family to Miami County, Ohio, and later to Indiana, where some of his descendants still live. Leonard Eller was a large land-owner in three states. He continued to own land in Randolph County, North Carolina until after 1821.[7]
George Eller, another son, left descendants in Davidson County, North Carolina, where he died before 1841, but the Eller Family Association has yet to establish contacts with descendants of this line. An abstract of George Eller's will from the Division of Lands Book, pp. 32-33, Davidson County, North Carolina was obtained from the Public Library in Lexington, North Carolina. His heirs listed in the May Term 1841 Court Record includes: Caroline Sowers, Katharene Darr(?), Sally Warlow, Dolly Long, David Eller, Christene Waggoner, Elizabeth Reket(?), George Eller, Sally Haines, Polly Reed. We would like to know more about his descendants. Hopefully, other records will appear in future issues of the Eller Chronicles. For more information on this family see Hook (1957), p 64-68.
For John, another son of George Michael Eller for whom Hook (1957, p. 16), found no "identifiable record," and speculated that some of the John Eller records in Rowan County, North Carolina, might be for this John Eller. Hook encountered the problem already mentioned - too many Eller men with only the single name of John living in the county at the same time, making final identifications impossible.
Based in part on an Eller family oral tradition in Rowan County, Maria, youngest daughter of George Michael Eller, a recent report says she married Jacob Eller, a grandson of immigrant (John) Melchior Eller.[8] Louise Barringer File of Salisbury, North Carolina, now in her eighties, has vivid memories of being told by her grandmother, Joyce Delinda Eller Morgan, of her descent from George Michael Eller, and how intermarriages among descendants of four different Eller immigrants enabled her and many other Ellers to claim four immigrant Ellers as ancestors. As previously mentioned, intermarriages among the four lines, taken from the work of Troutman and File (1997), appears as Fig. 2, Chapter 2, p. 10.
The earliest American record that lists the full name, George Michael Eller, is a land deed, dated 14 April 1773, showing he purchased land known as Hammond's Strife in Frederick County, Maryland.[9] There he lived until his death, which came before 25 August, 1778, when his will, written in German, was recorded. The relatively large sum of money (950 pounds) dispersed by his will suggests that he was a wealthy man for his time. His will mentions Children: Peter, Leonard, Elizabeth, Jacob, George, John, Eve, Catherine, Maria and a wife, Anna Maria, who apparently was not the mother of his older children.[10] Some think he was probably named three times, the first being in Germany.
"If all facts were known, they might show that George Michael Eller was married three times and that his eldest son, Peter, was a child of his first wife and the others by a second or third spouse. Peter was a grown man with a wife and child in Rowan County, North Carolina by 6 March 1773.[11] Hook goes on to report that Peter Eller was the only Eller in North Carolina listed outside or Rowan County, North Carolina in the 1790 census. However, by this date, John Jacob Eller Jr. had been living in Sullivan County, North Carolina over a decade, but because census records for 1790 were lost for the Tennessee region his presence there was unknown lo Hook. In 1790. Peter Eller was living on Bones (Roans) Creek in Wilkes (later Ashe) County, North Carolina.[12]
Troutman and File (1997) compiled an extensive genealogy of descendants of four Rowan County, North Carolina Eller immigrants including George Michael Eller, that was based in part on the family tradition, concerning his daughter Maria, described above. This, with the mass of new information previously reported in the Eller Chronicles, and the gaps in his genealogy (Table VI) the need for a new book on George Michael Eller and his descendants is obvious.
A project by the Eller Family Association to develop a computer data base for descendants of George Michael Eller has been under way for sometime. A new book may come from this project in the next few years. Hopefully it will include more genealogy* for each of [the] Children, especially his daughters.
Many questions about George Michael Eller remain to be answered. Where in Germany was he born and who were his ancestors? Did he ever live in North Carolina? If so, where and when? How was he related to other immigrants to America, especially to John Jacob, Christian, and John Melchior Eller of Rowan County, North Carolina and Henry Eller of Frederick County, Maryland? What of his son Jacob? How many wives did he have and who were they? Many of these same questions remain to be answered about all pre-1800 Eller immigrants to America.
When did sons of George Michael Eller Arrive in North Carolina?
Hook (1957, p. 21) "Peter Eller was living in Rowan County, North Carolina as early as 6 March 1773."|
Land Deeds. Rowan County, North Carolina:
"#3068, 1778, Leonard Eller 300 A on both sides of Sheit's Crk., adj Widow Bower. & Valentine Beard, including his improvements." (R. A Enocks, Indianapolis, 1988, p. 233).
"#1605, 28 Sep 1778, Philip Sewell 100 A on the headwaters or Reedy Creek & Tinkers Crk [adj] Joseph Mizzell, William Oliver & Lewis Defore, including his Improvements. Made to George Ellor by the Enterer." (ibid, pg. 115.)
"#1608, 28 Sep 1778, William Oliver 100 A on waters of Reedy Crk adj Philip Sewell, Joseph Meizell & Peter Eller, including his Improvements. Made over to Ja's Cheney." (ibid, pg. 115.)
Marriage Records, Rowan County, North Carolina; Hook (1957) p. 16: "This writer's guess is that this was the John Eller (s/o Geo. Michael) who married Catherine Fight (Fort) 10 Aug 1785."
End Notes:
1. Strassburger & Hinke, 1:349, 350, 351 (Geo. Eler); 1:345-346 (1992) (Michael x Eller)
2. Hook (1957), p. 1.
3. North Carolina Department of Archives and History. Tax List Rowan Co., NC, File No. 85.007.1.
4. Ratcliff, Clarence A. North Carolina Tax Payers 1609-1790; ibid 1701-1786, Geneal. Publ. Co., Inc., Baltimore, pp. 61, 63.
5. Hook (1957) p. 21."Peter Eller was living in Rowan County, North Carolina as early as 6 Mar 1773 on which date the Patriarchal Blessing or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints states that Peter Eller's daughter Catherine was born in Rowan County, North Carolina."
6. Hook, (1957) p. 32. William Eller, Bible record of 1819-1894. "William Eller was Born July 26, A.D. 1819 John Eller was mi father he was Born in Ashe County, North Carolina his father was Leonard Eller he was born in at fort (ford, fork) litters, North Carolina and his father came from Bebon (Baden) Co." Note: This enigmatic record, obviously based on memories that were not perfect, has never been verified. No such place as Fort Litters, North Carolina is known. That Leonard Eller ever lived in Ashe County has never been proven; that he was born in Germany in 1690 is untrue.
7. Davidson Co., NC, Deed Bk. 1:257-258. Abstract, 13 June 1821 Leonard Eller, County of Miami and State of Ohio. Land situated in Randolph County on Cariway where he did live and left in the hand of Jacob Hoover. Three tracts in Rowan, one on waters of Lick Creek, other on Sheets Creek in possession of Jacob Hoover, late dec'd. He now appoints Samuel Hoover of Randolph County Attorney for him. Wit John Hoover, Jr., Henry Hoover acting Justice of Peace in Ohio, William Norwood, one of the Judges of Court of Law and Equity and affirmed appointment." Note: For more on the Eller-Hoover relationships, see Lyle (1994). These Hoovers were of the ancestral line of President Herbert Hoover.
8. Troutman and File (1997). This tradition was long established in the Eller ancestral line of Louise Barringer File of Salisbury, North Carolina.
9. Hook (1957) p I, Deed Bk. S96-98, Frederick County Maryland
10. Ibid. Will Book G.M. No. 1, pp. 76-78, Frederick County Maryland Reprinted: EC, V:2:106-107 (1992).
11. Hook (1957), p. 21.
12. Ibid. p. 5.
New Information on George Michael Eller and His Descendants from the Eller Chronicles (EC)... [See notes of George Michael Eller for full bibliographical listing of these articles.]"

2. Burketts, Graybeals, and Ellers mentioned in the book "History of Western North Carolina," by John Preston Arthur, 1914, chapter 8:
"Some Early Settlers of Ashe. These noble, self-sacrificing men and women of the early times endangered their lives and braved many hardships in the wild Indian country to open the way to happy homes, schools, churches and the blessings of our present civilization. Some of these were Henry Poe, Martin Gambill, Thomas Sutherland, Timothy Perkins, Captain John Cox, Henry Hardin, Canada Richardson, James Douglas, Daniel Dickson and Elijah Galloway. Besides these were many others whose names awaken much unwritten history: Miller, Blevins, Ham, Reeves, Woodin, Barr, Baker, Eller, Goodman, Ray, Burkett, Graybeal, Houck, Kilby, Ashley, Jones, Gentry, Smith, Plummer, Lewis, Sutherland, McMillan, Colvard, Barker, Senter, Maxwell, Calhoun, Sapp, Thomas, Worth, Oliver and others."
Another reference to Ellers: "Jacob, Henry, and John Eller. They were sons of Christian Eller, once a resident of the Jersey Settlement in Davidson County. The two former came to Ashe and settled on the North Fork of New River, reared large families, and were successful, useful, respected citizens. Their sons were Peter, Luke, William, John, David and Jacob. John settled on the South Fork and later moved to Wilkes. His sons were Simeon, David, Absalom, John and Peter, who reared large families which are scattered over Western North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Iowa and Nebraska. (From information furnished by Hon. A. H. Eller, 1912.)" [Kerry's note: the part of these three Ellers being sons of Christian Eller is incorrect; they are sons of this Peter Eller.]

2. The book "The Brethren in the New Nation, A Source Book on the Development of the Church of the Brethren, 1785-1865," compiled by Roger E. Sappington and printed by the Brethren Press, Elgin, IL, FHL 973 Kzch gives background on the Dunker or the Brethren religious movement and some family ancestors as follows:
Pp. 10-11: "The Brethren, frequently known as the Dunkers (from the German, tunken, to dip) from their pattern of baptizing adult believers by three separate complete immersions forward. They are distinctly different from other groups which use the term Brethren, including the Moravians, the Plymouth Brethren, the United Brethren, and the Brethren in Christ or River Brethren. In 1836 they became known officially as the Fraternity of German Baptists, which was changed in 1871 to German Baptist Brethren and in 1908 to the Church of the Brethren... these Brethren had been organized in Germany in 1708 under the leadership of Alexander Mack, a young German miller. They were influenced by the Pietistic movement of the late 17th and early 18th centuries and by the earlier Anabaptist movement, which was currently represented in Germany by the group known as Mennonites. Beginning in 1719 and for about the next fifteen years almost all of the Brethren emigrated to America, landing in William Penn's city of Philadelphia. From that port they moved west and south, primarily into the mountain valleys of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas, all of which had settlements of Brethren before 1785. They shared the German fame for agricultural skill, generally settling on limestone soil and building large bank barns to take care of their livestock. The Germans developed the Conestoga (from a stream in Pennsylvania) workhorse and the Conestoga wagon (the famed covered wagon of the American frontier)... [Information on the Brethren from] 1785 to 1865 is very limited, which was evidently the way the Brethren intended it to be... at present, a fixed principle with them, to make no communication; and that they feel hurt when interrogated respecting their society. Indeed, they have always been shy of the English, and suspicious of encroachment and exposure... [It has been observed that they] altogether neglect any records of their proceedings, and are opposed even to publishing their numbers, lest it should seem to savor of pride..."
P. 15: "During the years from 1785 to 1865... [the] Brethren were engaged [in emigrating] from their homes in the Atlantic seaboard states to the new territory of the U.S. that was being opened to settlement on the west side of the Appalachian Mountains... [due to] the dissatisfaction with one's status in the present location and the call to move to new areas because 'the grass might be greener...'
Pp. 17, 26-29: "North Carolina. Although there were Brethren living in in North Carolina at least as early as the 1740's and 1750's... none of these settlements became the basis of a permanent Brethren congregation. They usually came to an end as the result of the loss of leadership, either by death or by emigration. By the end of the 18th century, however, Brethren had established settlements in two areas which would survive across the years and become permanent congregations. The older of these settlements probably began in the 1770's in an area south of the present-day city of Winston-Salem. The Moravians had purchased a large piece of property on which they established several different communities, including Salem... In addition to the Brethren settlement known as the Fraternity congregation which developed on the south side of the Moravian territory, the Brethren also put down permanent roots before 1800 in the mountainous northwestern corner of North Carolina in Ashe County. When the first Brethren arrived in this area is not known, but certainly they were there by the 1780's, for numerous Brethren names were reported in this area in the census of 1790. The number of brethren in the settlement increased during the 1790's, and in 1801 many of them placed their names on a petition to the government of North Carolina dealing with land problems. [The petition is as follows:] 'To the Honourable House of the General Assembly. The distressed Situation in which your humble petitioners by the late Act of Assembly for the Year 1801 in the Second Section, in respect to the Land Law's is reduced: it is impossible without flowing Tears the Grievances thereof to prescribe! it is evident, that the County of Wilkes before its division, that part of it, which is called now the County of Ashe, being first inhabited with Hunters, made their living by Hunting game. Ulrick Kessler, a Dunkard Preacher coming from the North, was the first inhabitance of the Germans who bought his land for 300 £, and paid for it, and by his persuasion, drawing his congregation hither, till this Wild Country became inhabited with industrious farmers, Purchasing their land, and give their Money, Horses, Waggons and nearly all their living for their Possessions. Then this part of the Country being Granted by the Legislature unto a party of Speculators, who by their granted Authority, oppressed this people very much, to make themselves rich of their Labour. The first Settlers and Hunters could not endure to live amongst Labouring and industrious farmers, Sold their rights, moving to the West Country's, Cumberland, Kentucky, etc. The Germans who had bought their Possessions, labouring with industry, clearing Land, building Houses, Barns, planting Orchards, made Meadows, raising Stock, building Gear Mills, Saw Mills, fulling mills; that this Wild Country became fertile Utility, by the blessing of the Supreme being, who made all things; paying their taxes annually, and living peaceably and quietly in their Possessions, under the Protection of the legislature of the State; till this present juncture of the above mentioned late Act, when the Speculators Grants and Rights was broke, and the Land Office for to make Entry's upon Land was estblish'd. Some of them made Entry's upon Vacant Treasury, getting their Grants; improved it by their families, without hearing of any other Claim of any other person of persons, of their possessions till now. at the time when Wilkes County was divided, and this Country became the Name the County of Ashe, the Commissioners faithfully Purchasing Fifty Acres of Land, laying it out in Lot's, Sold them, and Builded a Court House, made a Contract for to Build the Prison, out of the Surplus of that Money, which gave the date to Conceive and bring forth a New-Birth of the infernal part of Self Interested party Speculators. Robert NaIl, Surveyor who. had undoubtedly a View of this Speculation; for the former Benefit, made him Sure of the New, that by his influence, to the Committee of this County, under a Cloak that it was beneficial for the poor inhabitance, to petition for that Law; no Sooner that Law came in existence; than he had a Store of Old Warrants, which was bought for a trifle, having the Books of Fletcher, forming a Body of party Speculators, claiming the Town Land and all the plantations within Six Miles round, near the Court House, Surveyes the Land and especially where a German lives without distinction. For this Speculators Say, they had the Oldest Warrant, it was their Right and Title, and in any Court of justice and Equity they could keep it, for the Word: previous of that date give it to them by the Said Act. and not in one clause of Said Act is left a iota of reserve, for the defence of a Labouring industrious Citizen; it is impossible that your humble petitioners can believe, that the Legislature could be so Tyrannical to pass Such Act and Law, with an intent; that Honest Citizen should be cheated and defrauded out of their property and Possessions for the Cause of a few Speculating individuals. Therefore your Humble petitioners beg the Honourable House of Assembly to take the Grievances of the foregoing Circumstances into Consideration; and Consider at first That the Established Land paid into the Treasury, and that the Grants for said Land is Lawfull and Ought to be protected. Secondly That the Warrants, with which the Speculators will Cheat and Defraud, to drive honest Citizens out of their Possessions; if they had not be revived by the late Act, being all Dead and out of date, and then to make a Conclusion for a remedy of redress. Thirdly That an Additional Act, that it the meaning of the Legislature not is, that honest Citizen should be cheated, defrauded and deprived out of their Possessions by the said Act, and that the Older Grant should be protected in any Court of justice and equity for ever in which hopes your humble petitioners is in duty bound, and will for ever pray.'
[Signed {Kerry's note: the ones with asterisks are in this database and related to me}:] Michajah Pennington, Wm hubbart, Peter Hart, Jos Rowland, James Mulkey Capt, David Connelson, John Johnson, John Byrket, Andrew Fouts, Jacob May, Christian Byrket *, Wm May, George Grubb, William Migapha, Moses Toliver, George Eberly, Allen Noulin, William Pennington *, G Koons *, John Phillips, Henry Miller, George Miller, Henry Dulheur, John Kessler, David Engrum, Lewis Bonner, Andrew Sheets, Peter Dick *, John Dick jr *, Conrad Grubb, Luke White, John Koons *, Daniel Miller, Leonard Baumgarner, Michael Stocker *, Jacob Fouts, Wm Shepperd, Emmanuel Croster, Henry Michel, Andrew Rowland, Jonathan Miller, Wilm Henson Junr *, Jacob Grimes, benja manhubbire, Woller Weaver, Jacob Reese, John Ford, John Norris, Gilbirt Norris, Barnet Owen, Henry Graybeal *, John Whit, Jacob Eller *, Peter Eller *, John Maxwell, Zacariah Harwood, James rowrick, Jacob Pfau, Samuel Wilcocken, John Sturgin, Charles Williams, John Miller, Jas Bunyard, Samuel Taylor, Isaac Weaver, Id manhubbire, Landrine Eggers, John Ress, Henry agrer, Wm Morris, Ephrim Norris, Wm Owen."

3. FHL book "Ashe County, A History," by Arthur L. Fletcher, publised by Ashe County Research Association, Inc., Jefferson, N.C., p. 89, has the following info that may or may not be accurate: "The Graybeal family, of Dutch ancestry, came to the area before it was a county and contributed much to building a sound foundation for the new county. So did the Ellers who came to Ashe from the Jersey Settlement, now in Davison County, and settle on the North Fork of New River." I am unsure as to which Ellers this statement refers.

4. Censuses:
1790: FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, p. 5: "Of the 11 Eller families shown in the Fed. Census of Rowan Co., NC in 1790, 8 of them can be identified as sons either of Jacob, Christian or Melcher. The other three were named Leonard, John and George. That Leonard was a son of George Michael Eller who died and left a will in Frederick Co., MD that was probated 25 Aug 1778 is substantially proved. That John and George were Leonard Eller's brothers appears reasonably certain to this writer. Another brother of Leonard was Peter Eller, who lived first in that part of Rowan Co. that, in 1777, became Wilkes and 1799 Ashe Co., NC... Peter Eller is listed in the 1790 census (original list) of Wilkes Co., NC and is the only person of the Eller name outside of Rowan Co., NC who is shown in the 1790 census of North Carolina…" [Current thinking is that Jacob, Christian, and Melcher were probable brothers and that Leonard, John, and George were a separate group of brothers (sons of George Michael). The relationship between both groups are undetermined but believed to perhaps involve earlier relationship in Germany.]

5. FHL Book 929.273, film 6005243, "John Jacob Eller and His Descendants with Other Pre-1800 Eller Immigrants to America," by the Eller Family Association, 1998, 817-297-1280; Chapter 4, concerning the George Michael Eller and his children:
"Many gaps in our knowledge of the genealogy of descendants of George Michael Eller are revealed in [the following:]
George Michael Eller married (1st)? (2nd)? (3rd) Eva Maria [Why Eva and not Anna - later in same article they use Anna Maria]. Frederick County, Maryland. Their children and grand-Children:
1. Peter, married Elizabeth Dick; Children: John, Catherine, Peter Jr., Elizabeth, unnamed daughter, Jacob, Mary, Henry, George.
2. Elizabeth married Heinrich Reb. Nothing more is known.
3. Leonard married Elizabeth Mast; Children: Adam, Elizabeth, John, Joseph, Sarah Mary Lucinda, Jacob, Henry, George.
4. Jacob. No other known record unless he was the Jacob Eller of [Botetort Co., Virginia].
5. George, d. in Davidson County, North Carolina before 1841; his wife was Susanna; Children: George Jr., Henry, David.
6. John married Catherine Fight (Fort)? Nothing more is known.
7. Eve. Nothing more is known.
8. Catherine married Peter Lehman? Nothing more is known.
9. Maria (Mary) married Jacob Eller; Children: Cloah (Chloe) 'Glory' Eller (Source: Troutman and File, 'Eller Chronicles,' XI:1, Sp. Ed., Feb 1997)
The book comments on current thinking of the Eller Family Association (EFA) on Hook research into George Michael Eller (GME) which I summarize as follows:
A. The two arrival records, Michael Eller in the ship "Phoenix" and Geo. Eler and Hans Jerg Ohler of the "St. Andrew" continue to lead to some confusion and differences of opinion. Recent analysis has led the Eller Family Association to believe that Geo. Eler and Hans Jerg Ohler were apparently the same individual. The clarification of the misinterpretation is that EFA does not feel that Hook documented where he got an age of 43 for Hans Georg Oehler. According to the actual records as reported by EFA as found in Strassburger and Hinke, Vol. 1, pp. 348-352: List 103A, p. 349, 'Geo. Eler listed age 20 and between Johannes Mayer and Peter Warner; List 103B, p. 350, Hans Jerg Ohler listed between Johannes Mayer and Peter Warner; List 103C, p. 351, Hanes Jerg Ohler listed between Johannes Mayer and Peter Warner. My note: did not the age come from the Oaths of Allegiance taken in 1743 in Pennsylvania right after the 1743 ship arrivals?
B. The 1753 deed in Lancaster Co., PA to 25 acres, the 1759 Rowan County tax list, and the 1772 Randolph Co., NC, tax list for Michael Eller may or may not be for George Michael Eller. Specifically EFA thinks the 1759 tax list may actually be for Melchior Eller whom was in Rowan County at that early date - Melchior sometimes being rendered as Melker or perhaps even Michael. On the other hand, four of GME's sons were in NC in the 1770s including Leonard as a large landowner in Randolph County making the 1772 Randolph Co. tax list a possibility. There is still no concrete evidence that GME was in North Carolina before his 1773 evidence of being in Frederick Co., MD. 1773 was the same year Peter, his eldest son, first shows in Rowan Co. and it wasn't until 1778 that his other sons were in NC.
C. The Bible record of Leonard being born at Fort (Ford) Litters, NC and his father from Bebon (Baden?) continues to puzzle researchers. No record or location of Fort Litters has yet been found. Most researchers believe Leonard was born in the United States and not Germany as reported by Hook on page 32. My note: I don't believe that Hook ever stated one way or the other except to quote what the Indiana history book he cites had quoted.
D. A will for George Eller, son of GME has been located. An abstract of his will from the Division of Lands Book, pp. 32-33, Davidson Co., NC was obtained from the Public Library in Lexington, NC. His heirs listed in the may Term 1841 Court Record includes: Caroline Sowers, Katharene Darr(?), Sally Warlow, Dolly Long, David Eller, Christene Waggoner, Elizabeth Reket(?), George Eller, Sally Haines, Polly Reed.
E. As for John, son of GME, no further record has been found. EFA acknowledges that the name John Eller is too unspecific making it difficult to identify which John Ellers if any of Rowan Co. may be him.
F. "Based in part on an Eller family oral tradition in Rowan County, Maria, youngest daughter of GME, a recent report says she married Jacob Eller, a grandson of immigrant (John) Melchior Eller. Louise Barringer File of Salisbury, NC, now in her eighties, has vivid memories of being told by her grandmother, Joyce Delinda Eller Morgan, of her descent from George Michael Eller, and how intermarriages among descendants of four different Eller immigrants enabled her and many other Ellers to claim four immigrant Ellers as ancestors. …taken from the work of Troutman and File (1997)." A chart accompanies the book showing how children of the original immigrants John Jacob, Christian, Melchior, and GME intermarried over about four generations to produce Joyce Delinda Eller from all four immigrants. The connection with GME purports to be Maria, GME's dau., marrying the grandson of Melchior Eller.
G. Questions still to be answered according to EFA: Where in Germany is he from, how was he related to others original immigrants (John Jacob, Christian, Melchior, and Henry), what of his son Jacob and his daughters, and how many wives did he have and who were they?
H. When did the sons of GME arrive in North Carolina?
Hook (1957, p. 21). "Peter Eller was living in Rowan Co., NC as early as 6 Mar 1773."
Land deeds of Rowan Co., NC:
"#3068, 1778, Leonard Eller 300 A on both sides of Sheit's Crk., adj Widow Bower, & Valentine Beard, including his improvements." (R.A. Enocks, Indianapolis, 1988, p. 233.)
"#1605, 28 Sep 1778, Philip Sewell 100 A on the headwaters of Reedy Creek & Tinkers Crk [adj] Joseph Meizell, William Oliver & Lewis Defore, including his Improvements. Made to George Ellor by the Enterer." (ibid. pg. 115.)
"#1608, 28 Sep 1778, William Oliver 100 A on waters of Reedy Crk adj Philip Sewell, Joseph Meizell & Peter Eller, including his Improvements. Made over to Ja's Cheney." (ibid, pg. 115.)
Marriage Records, Rowan County, North Carolina: Hook (1957) p. 16: "This writer's guess is that this was the John Eller (s/o Geo Michael) who married Catherine Fight (Fort) 10 Aug 1785."

6. The book "The Howard Leytham Stoker Von Dollen Family Histories," FHL 929.273 H833a, by Doris Lewis, 2017 So. 80th Ave., Omaha, Nebraska, 68124, p. 89:
"Peter was the first son of George Michael Eller. Because there were a number of years between Peter's birth and the others, the question arises if he might not be a child of a first marriage. He grew up in North Carolina and married Elizabeth Dick in 1766. His land grant was close to other Ellers, beginning at the spruce pine on the Upper Ford on Rones Creek. In 1797 he bought the 70 acres which had been granted to his father-in-law, Conrad Dick. This land had been surveyed and chain carriers were listed as Michael Stoker and John Eller, neighbors. Peter had 470 acres at his death... Their oldest daughter, Catherine, married Michael Stoker and their youngest daughter, Mary, married George Koons and their great granddaughter, Betty Oman married Orson Hyde Stoker. Children:
a. John, b. 1767 or 1769; d. 1823; m. Susanna Kerns.
b. Catherine, b. 6 Mar 1773 at Rowan Co., NC; d. 1850 at Council Bluffs, Iowa; m. Michael Stoker.
c. Elizabeth, b. 1780; m. William Pennington.
d. Barbara, b. 1782; m. Pertune.
e. Mary, b. 1783, NC; d. 1872; m. George Koons (a Quaker who was disowned for marrying Mary, who was a Dunkard). She was 18 and he 19.
f. Jacob, b. 1784; d. 1855; m. Catherine White.
g. Henry, b. 1788; d. 1876; m. Elizabeth Johnson.
h. George."

7. See notes of grandson-in-law John Smith for biography mentioning the daughter of this individual: Massie Koons was the second child of George Koons and Mary Eller, born in 1806 in Randolph County, North Carolina. George Koons, also born in Randolph County, in 1782, was a Quaker who was disowned by his family for marrying Mary Eller, a Dunkard. George and Mary Eller Koons left North Carolina in 1819, moving Wayne County, Indiana, and finally settling in Liberty Township, Henry County, Indiana, in 1821. There Massie Koons met and married John Smith. Their first six children were female - Mary born in 1823, followed by Patience, Hannah, Elizabeth, Lydia Rhoda, and Anna. The first son, Stephen, was born in 1836. John and Massie settled on 80 acres of land in Liberty Township, Henry County, Indiana.

8. The book "The Howard Leytham Stoker Von Dollen Family Histories," FHL 929.273 H833a, by Doris Lewis, 2017 So. 80th Ave., Omaha, Nebraska, 68124, p. 88 [FHL book 929.273 P684pn:
"Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 119-123, has almost the same verbatim except what I note in brackets]: "...James Hook wrote a history of 'George Michael Eller and His Descendants in America.' Much of the information I have on the Ellers come from this book or a book by Judge Johnson J. Hayes, called 'The Land of Wilkes,' a history of Wilkes County in North Carolina. In the ninth century Alamans, Teutons of Jutland, moved into Westallgan as early settlers. One group, called Ellers, started at the foot of Hirshberg in the Algauer Alp area near Bregenz, on Lake Constance. [They may have stayed in this general area for 600 years. This is the same area of the Palatinate that the Graybill religious refugees from Switzerland had fled and the same time frame. So the Ellers and Graybills may have known each other as neighbors or fellow churchmen.] Alta March, of Herman, Nebraska, has an Eller genealogy based in Germany, which probably connects with our family. In this record a Bartl and Barbara Swartz Eller had three children, Joseph, George and George Michael, the latter thought born in Baden, Sept. 5, 1695 and emigrated to America. He could well have been the father of our George Michael Eller, for he was a bit old to start his family in 1748. [The American Ellers apparently came from the Palatinate of Germany in the first half of the 18th century. The Pennsylvania Archives, 2nd Series, Vol 17, records the arrival of 13 Eller families who took the oath of allegiance between 30 Sep 1740 and 3 Nov 1772.] A Geo. Eller [age 20] emigrated on the ship 'St. Andrew,' and took his oath in Pennsylvania on Oct. 7, 1743 and [a George Michael Eller, apparently this same George Eller,] bought land he called 'Hammond Strife,' in Frederick County, Maryland. A Michael Eller aboard the ship Phoenix, took oath on September 30, 1743, and was on the tax list of Rowan Co. in N.C. in 1759. George Michael Eller, our ancestor, who may be the son or one of the above, was in Rowan County with Jacob, Christian and Melchoir Eller [Pitt book does not say location of the above three Ellers] at that same time and may have been there for a number years since his son Leonard said he was born at Fort Litters, N.C. in 1759. George Michael Eller bought land next to his brother Henry, in Frederick Co., MD in 1773, so he went back to Frederick County. His wife's name was Anna Marie and was the known mother of the last seven children, and may well have been Peter's and Leonard's mother. The Ellers of North Carolina have been connected with education since that state's earliest days. Academies in Virginia and North Carolina were started by Ellers and a list of the public school personnel today in N.C. is sprinkled with Ellers. [In 1790 there were 11 Eller families shown in the Rowan Co., NC census. At that time, members of the Eller family also were in Wilkes Co., NC and in Botetort Co., VA.] Children:
a. Peter, b. [1746/]1748 [possibly in Germany]; d. [bef] 29 Jul 1799 at Ashe Co., NC; m. [abt 1766/7 probably of Frederick Co, MD] Elizabeth Dick.
b. Leonard, b. 20 Mar 1752 at Ft. Litters [20 Mar 1754 probably in NC, possibly in Germany]; d. 1839, [probably] Hamilton Co., IN; m. Elizabeth Mast [Elizabeth ___].
c. Elizabeth, b. 1756; d. 1777; m. Henry Repp [10 Jun 1777 to Heinrich Reb, s/o Caspar Reb of Bucks Co., PA].
d. Jacob, b. 1758; d. 1830 [between 10 May 1830 and Oct 1830, Botetort Co., VA], m. Magdalena [___].
e. George, b. 1760 [d. probably abt 1839, Davidson Co., NC; m. Susannah [___].
f. John, b. 1762; m. [possibly] Catherine Fight [or Fort].
g. Eve, b. 1764.
h. Catherine, b. 1767; m. [probably 27 May 1788, Frederick Co., MD] Peter Lehman.
i. Maria, b. 1769."

9. FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 119-123:
A. "Peter Eller, b. abt 1746/8, possibly Germany; d. bef 29 Jul 1799, Ashe Co., NC; md. abt 1766/7, probably in Frederick Co., MD or in NC to Elizabeth 'Betsey' Dick. She was b. abt 1759, the d/o Conrad Dick and Katherine ___ of Frederick Co., MD. Peter was living in Rowan Co., NC as early as 6 Mar 1773. In 1790, he owned 550 acres in Ashe Co., NC, in 1797, he bought 70 acres in Wilkes Co., NC which earlier had been granted to his father-in-law, Conrad Dick. This land had been surveyed, and the chain carriers were Michael Stoker and John Eller. Peter had 470 acres at the time of his death. The Ellers were Dunkards, members of the Church of the Brethren. They practiced triple immersion, opposed oaths and military service. Peter and Elizabeth lived in NC. Their children were John, Catherine, Peter Jr., Elizabeth, Barbara, Jacob, Mary, Henry and George."
B. (See George's notes for full quotation) Mentioned in his father's will: "George Michael Eller's will, possibly written several years before his death, was proved 25 Aug 1778 (Will Book G M., No. 1, p. 76, Frederick Co., MD) follows: 'In the name of God amen. I George Michael Eller of Frederick County in the province of Maryland living, ...my beloved wife, Anna Maria ...my oldest son Peter Eller ...my son Leonard Eller ...my daughter Elizabeth ...the overplus shall be divided by my Executors among my six youngest children namely, Jacob Eller, George Eller, John Eller, Eve Eller, Cathrine Eller and Maria Eller; further Jacob Eller shall have the Bible..."

10. Land transaction and proximity mentioned in biography of Henry Eller, son of Peter Eller and Elizabeth Dick per FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 172-176:
"Henry Eller, b. 1786/1788; family records said he died about 1876 at the age of more than 90 years. The 1850, 1860, and 1870 censuses of Ashe Co. give his age as 62, 72 and 80 respectively. These records indicate a birth year of 1786/88 and a death year of 1876. He married, about 1812/1813, Elizabeth Johnson, b. according to the 1850 census of Ashe Co., NC, in 1791/92, her age being given as 58 years. The 1860 and 1870 censuses give her age as 68 and 80 respectively. She was born in Iridel Co., NC. Henry Eller entered 250 acres of land on the North Fork of New River, 16 July 1812. This land was surveyed 8 Sep 1813 and granted to him 23 Dec 1813. (Grant 840, Secy. of State's Office, Raleigh, NC.) The land was on the north side of 'feneck' (Phoenix) Mountain and bordered the 150 acre farm surveyed to Michael Stucker (Stokard, Stoker). The survey, dated 8 Sep 1813, was attested by Peter and Jacob Eller. Henry Eller figured in several land transactions in Ashe County after 1812. In one, dated 9 Dec 1819, he purchased 90 acres of land from George Koons for $150.00. This land was in Ashe County on the south side of the North Fork of New River 'to my south line and down to the conditional line made between Abraham May and John Dick Jr. against the mouth of Piney Creek being part of the 150 acre tract where Thomas Brooks Mill formerly stood.' George Koons, doubtless, was Henry's brother-in-law, the husband of Mary Eller, shown in... herein [see notes in this database for George Koons and Mary Eller]. The sale was made about the time that George and Mary Koons left North Carolina for their new home in Henry County, Ind. Mary Koons' name does not appear in the deed but this is not strange because the dower rights of wives were often not mentioned in early deeds of Ashe and Wilkes Counties. Later deeds indicate that Henry Eller's farm in 1845 consisted of 240 acres.
The records show that Henry Eller's brother-in-law, Michael Stoker (Stokard, Stucker) as well as his brother-in-law, George Koons, lived on farms adjoining his on the North Fork of New River. His brothers, Peter and Jacob, lived nearby while his brother John lived on the south fork of New River near where Peter Eller Sr., their father, late deceased, lived. About 1816 John and Peter moved to lower altitudes in Wilkes County, John to Lewis Fork Creek west of Wilkesboro on a farm of 451 acres and Peter to a farm on Creoles Creek."

11. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 69-87:
"John Eller doubtless lived with his father [Peter Eller] on Reedy Creek in Rowan County until the latter removed to his Rones Creek farm in what was then Wilkes but after 1799, Ashe Co. The surmise is that he was not living with his father when the 1790 census was taken and did not settle in or near his father's farm on Rones Creek until after his marriage. His first son Simeon was born in Wilkes Co. 7 Sep 1794 and on 27 Oct 1795 he witnessed the deed by which his father, Peter Eller, conveyed 200 acres of land on Rones Creek to Gabriel Barn. (Deed Book B-1, p. 466, Wilkes Co., NC) On 13 April 1795 he and Michael Stuckers (Stoker) [John Eller's brother-in-law] helped to survey 70 acres of land on Rones Creek for Conrad Dick, his grandfather probably."

12. FHL Book 929.273, film 6005243, "John Jacob Eller and His Descendants with Other Pre-1800 Eller Immigrants to America," by the Eller Family Association, 1998, 817-297-1280, supplemental information, p. 437:
"Deed Book W.R.3, p. 294, Fred'k Co., MD shows a deed, recorded 18 Nov 1782, from Peter Eller of Rowan Co., N.C. to Henry Raep of Fred'k Co., MD, his brother-in-law doubtless, in which Eller deeded to Raep all his right, title and interest in land purchased by his father, George Michael Eller, from Edward Gaither 14 Apr 1772."

13. From an article entitled "Michael Stoker and Catherine Eller." from the book "Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881," Vol. II, comp. and ed. by Elayne Stoker, 2004, printed by Stevenson's Genealogy Center, Provo, UT. The following is a partial transcription concerning Peter Eller from the full account contained in the notes of Peter's son-in-law Michael Stoker:
"After the French and Indian War new territories were opened up to European settlers. Michael moved south locating just inside the North Carolina state line on or near the head waters of New River in Wilkes County. Country side events that were going on at the time shaped the settlement patterns and life styles. In the book German New River Settlement: Virginia by Rev. Ulysses S. A. Heavener, the author goes into detail about life for the German settlers in the New River territory. Rev. Heavener states that the Germans of this area were not used heavily in the Revolutionary War because of the language barriers. It is known from parish records of these early years that the people still spoke and wrote in their native language, although English influences can be noted. Reverend Heavener further states that the military titles found among the Germans were from their fight with the Indians. But that is not to say that the Revolutionary War was not around them. "In the movements and battles of Cornwallis and Tarrelton about Greensborough, North Carolina, in the Revolutionary War, menaced the people of the Northern part of the Colony of North Carolina as well as those of the southern part of Virginia. In fact they were seriously threatened" (Heavener 1976)...
In 1792 Michael married Catherine Martha Eller, daughter of Peter Eller and Elizabeth Dick. She was born on 6 March 1773 in Rowen County, North Carolina. In a few records found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints genealogical database there is reference to a middle name of 'Martha': Catherine Martha Eller. The middle name of Martha has been verified by the Eller Family Organization. The ancestry of Catherine Eller has and is being very well documented by the descendants of the Eller families. Recently these researchers found the homestead of Peter Eller in Ashe County, North Carolina where Catherine Eller was born. Interested parties can access their web site at Eller.org. Because of this extensive and active work the Eller story will not be addressed in this writing."

14. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 17-31:
"Peter Eller was born, say about 1746 and died in that part of Wilkes County, North Carolina that in 1799 became Ashe County, before 29 Jul 1799 on which date the administration of his estate was given to Betsey and John Eller. He married, say about 1767, probably in Frederick County, Maryland, Elizabeth Dick, daughter of Conrad and Catherine Dick who were living in Frederick Co. as early as 15 Aug 1755 when all of that tract of 'land called Mon Hime' lying on a small creek leading into Beaver Dam Branch in Frederick Co., MD containing 100 acres, was surveyed and patented to Conrad Dick. (B.C. and G.S. No. 5, folio 127, Hall of Records, Annapolis, MD) Beaver Branch is a branch of Little Pipe Creek. Conrad and Catherine Dick, she relinquishing her dower right, sold this land to William Aldridge on 23 Mar 1764 after which they disappear from the Frederick Co. records. He was called a weaver in the deed. (Book J, pp. 244, 245, Frederick Co. Deeds.) Mon Hime, apparently, was his own name for this land and may have been named for the township of Manheim in Bavaria located about 80 miles south of Nurnberg. On 28 March 1758, Marie Catherine Dick, daughter of Conrad Dick and his wife Anna Catherine Dick, was christened in the German Reformed Church of Frederick Co., Maryland.
Conrod Dick (sic) purchased 200 acres of land from Martin Sheets in Rowan Co., NC in 1774. The land was located on Hodgeilkes Co., NC, 28 Nov 1792. A record on film at the Genealogical Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City (FNCW 5B Land Entries, 1778-1781 and 1783-1785, Wilkes Co., NC) shows that this land was entered 20 Feb 1779 but the order for survey, dated 10 Mar 1787, in the Sec'y of State's office in Raleigh, NC, shows that Coonrod Dick's name had been written in over another name that the original entry may have been made for someone else who later assigned his right to Coonrod (Conrad) Dick. The land was surveyed for Conrod Dick (sic), 13 Apr 1795, and found to contain only 70 acres. Jno. Eller and Mich. Stucker (Stoker) signed the survey as chain carriers. (Grant #1258, Secretary of State Office, Raleigh, N.C.) In view of the fact that Peter Eller, son-in-law of Conrad Dick, entered land on Rones Creek about a year later (24 July 1780), it is reasonable to suppose that the two settled in North Carolina at the same time. Whether they came directly form Frederick County, Md. or not is not clear but the fact that Conrad Dick sold his land in Frederick County, Md. in Mar 1764 and didn't show up in NC until ten years later suggests that he may have lived in some intermediate place, say Virginia, meantime. Conrad Dick sold his 70 acres to Peter Eller, 3 Mar 1797. (Deed Book D, p. 165, Wilkes Col, NC.)
A John Dick, son perhaps of Conrad Dick, was granted 86-1/2 acres on the south fork of New River in Ashe Co., on 27 Jun 1797. John Dick Jr. and Jesse Ray attested the survey. John Dick and John Dick Jr. doubtless were father and son. John Dick was also granted 400 acres of land on the south fork of New River on 13 Jun 1798. This grant was accompanied by a document saying that it was issued to correct errors in an earlier grant not identified but probably the one dated 27 Dec 1797 for 400 acres that, on 3 Jan 1783, had been ordered to be surveyed probably for Robert Nall and actually surveyed for John Dick 22 July 1787. John Nall and Alexander Johnson attested the survey. On 1 Dec 1798, John Dick was granted an additional 100 acres on the south fork of New River. This land was first ordered to be surveyed for William Nall on 11 Nov 1779 and actually surveyed for Robert Nall 24 Jun 1794. How it came to be granted later to John Dick is not clear but very likely it was by assignment. (Grants 1484, 1749, 1547 and 1471, Secretary of State's Office, Raleigh, NC.) That John Dick and his wife Mary once lived in Rowan Co. is indicated by a deed of that county dated 3 Sep 1795 wherein John Dick, of Wilkes Co., sold to Jacob Helfer of Rowan Co., 200 acres of land including improvements located on Bear Creek in Rowan Co. He signed the deed 'Johannes Dick' in German script in his own hand. His wife Mary signed with a mark. (Book 14, p. 523, Rowan Co. Deeds.)
Land grants in North Carolina originated with an entry application which was filed in the county where the land was situated and if not lost are now on file there. This was followed, sometimes soon and sometimes years later by an order from the land office for the tract to be surveyed. Sometimes soon and sometimes years later the survey was made and a surveyor's plat filed with the Secretary of State in Raleigh. Then came the grant which may have been issued reasonably near the date of the survey or sometimes several years later. These grants, orders to survey and the survey itself are on file now in the Secretary of State's office at Raleigh. The two grants to Peter Eller totaling 350 acres on Rones Creek in Wilkes County (now Ashe) mentioned above has an entry date of 10 Mar 1780 in Wilkes Co., NC records. (Land Entries 1778-1781, 1783-1795 Wilkes Co., NC, on film at the Gen. Soc. of the LDS Church in Salt Lake City.) This was followed by a warrant of survey, dated 24 Jul 1780. The survey was made 28 Mar 1787 and the grant issued 18 May 1789. Apparently Peter Eller merely retained his entry privilege and did not ask for a survey and grant until some years later, probably about the time he removed there for his farm on Reedy Creek in Rowan (now Davidson County,) North Carolina. The same situation also applied to the Conrad Dick grant of 150 acres on Rones Creek. The Wilkes county entry date is 20 Feb 1779 whereas the order to survey was issued 10 Mar 1787, the grant 28 Nov 1792 and strangely enough the survey was not made until 13 Apr 1795. Very likely it was a resurvey because it showed that instead of containing 150 acres the tract contained only 70 acres, the same acreage that Conrad Dick sold to Peter Eller, 3 Mar 1797 (supra). Quite often there would be an acreage discrepancy between entry and survey. The reason for this was that the entries were estimates and the surveys actual. Instances are also found where a person would make an entry and not follow through, then at a later date make a new entry on the same land. The Wilkes County, NC entries mentioned above were found on microfilm at the Gen. Soc. of the LDS Church. ((FNCW 5B, Land Entries 1778-1781, 1783-1795, Wilkes Co., NC.) The writer is indebted to Honorable Thad Eure, Secretary of State of North Carolina for his letter of 2 Dec 1955 which explains early land grant procedure in North Carolina.
The date of birth for Elizabeth Dick, wife of Peter Eller, is not known. Her eldest son John Eller was born about 1767-1769 and her youngest son George after 1790. This would indicate that she was born not later than about 1749 or 1750. The 1800 census of Ashe County, N.C. states her age as over 45. She probably was alive in 1830 and, according to the Federal Census of Ashe County of that year, living with her son Jacob, her age being shown as between 70 and 80. The fact that her daughter did not have herself baptized for her mother as well as her father at Nauvoo, Ill. in 1841 as shown below, indicates either that she was then living or, as is more likely, that she had embraced the Mormon faith and was baptized in her own lifetime. [KP: This statement now appears in error since it has been found that Catherine Eller Stoker was baptized for Elizabeth White, her mother in 1843, who appeared to have remarried to Luke White, whose baptism was done by Catherine's daughter Mary (Polly) Stoker in 1841.]
Proof of many facts concerning Peter Eller and his family was gleaned from the microfilm records of the Index to Nauvoo (Illinois) Baptisms for the Dead of the [LDS Church] that are in the custody of the Gen. Soc. of the Church in Salt Lake City. They show the following [Kerry's note: baptisms are currently not done cross-gender; however, when first introduced in 1841 on the banks of the Mississippi River, there were indeed indiscriminate cross-gender proxies.]:
1. That Catherine Stoker, wife of Michael Stoker and daughter of Peter Eller had herself baptized in 1841 for:
a. Her deceased grandfather, Kinrod (Conrad) Dick. (Book A, p. 37)
b. Her deceased grandmother, Catherine Dick (Book A, p. 37)
c. Her deceased father, Peter Eller. (Book A, p. 41)
d. Her deceased brother, John Eller. (Book A, p. 42)
e. Her deceased daughter Rebecca Stoker. (Book C, p. 338)
2. Eller Stoker, son of Catherine Stoker had himself baptized in 1841 for:
a. His deceased uncle, George Eller. (Bk. A, p. 41)
3. Michael Stoker, son of Catherine Stoker had himself baptized in 1841 for:
a. His deceased aunt, Barbara Pertune. It is not clear whether this aunt was a sister of his mother or father. (Book A, p. 94)
From the above it is apparent that Catherine (Eller) Stoker in 1841 was living in or near Nauvoo, Illinois. When she and her husband embraced the faith is not known but indications are that it was some years prior to 1841 when they lived in Jackson County, Ohio.
Peter Eller was living in Rowan County, NC as early as 6 Mar 1773 on which date the Patriarchal Blessing of the [LDS Church] states that Peter Eller's daughter Catherine was born in Rowan Co., NC. Rowan County at that time embraced all of what, in 1777, became Wilkes Co. and of what, in 1799, became Ashe Co. Ashe Co. was set off from Wilkes County in the latter year.
Many counties were formed from what originally was Rowan County, namely Surry and Guilford in 1770, Burke and Wilkes in 1777, Randolph in 1779, Iridell in 1788, Stokes in 1789, Buncomb in 1791, Ashe in 1799, Davidson in 1822, Yancey in 1833, Davie in 1836 and Yadkin in 1850. Some of these counties were grandchildren of Rowan County; for instance Wilkes was taken partly from Burke and partly from Surry, Randolph from Guilford, Buncomb and Yancy form Burke, Ashe from Wilkes and Stokes and Yadkin from Surry. These facts must be kept in mind when tracing early Rowan County families.
Land transactions in western North Carolina between 1740 and 1780 were so frequently unrecorded and in some cases titles supplied by the Earl of Granville and other British proprietors were considered so worthless that property owners found it necessary to have their land holdings legalized by grants from the state. This situation may explain why Peter Eller and many other settlers who are known to have lived in Rowan, and what is now Davidson County, of Western North Carolina during the period cannot be found in the records of that time. They must have done something to support themselves and their families and about all they could have done was farm lands that, by squatter rights, they assumed they owned or lands upon which they worked as laborers or tenants. [Kerry's note: Many may have finally gone for the actual grant after the Revolution since a new local and more responsive government was finally in place.]
As already stated Peter Eller first appears in the land records of North Carolina on 10 Mar and 24 Jul 1780 when he entered upon and obtained orders to have surveyed two parcels of land on the upper ford of Rones Creek in Wilkes County, one containing 200 acres and the other containing 150 acres. Both of these parcels were surveyed to him 28 Mar 1787 and granted to him 18 May 1789. (Grants 878 and 889, Secretary of State Office, Raleigh, NC.) The first parcel ran south of and the second north of the 'upper ford of Roans Creek a branch of New River' in Wilkes County, NC. Roans Creek is on the south fork of New River in Ashe County which county was formed out of Wilkes County in 1799. None of the three papers concerned with these grants namely the entry, the survey, or the grant mention any improvements on the land and as will be shown below it is likely that he did not settle in Roans Creek section until after the land was granted to him 18 May 1789 and probably not until about the time he purchased the 200 acre farm of Andrew Baker at the mouth of Roans Creek 3 Aug 1789. (Deed Book D, p. 242, Wilkes Co., NC.)
Peter Eller, apparently, was living in Rowan County, NC in 1785 upon land located on Reedy Creek, (now in Davidson County), that was granted to him in two parcels, one of which, containing 125 (124) acres was ordered surveyed to him 20 Nov 1785, surveyed to him 21 Nov 1785, and granted to him 18 May 1789, (the latter date being the same that land on Roans Creek in Wilkes County was granted to him). The second tract containing 325 acres was ordered surveyed to him 20 Dec 1785, surveyed to him 17 Jun 1788 and granted to him 12 Aug 1788. The first parcel, according to the order to survey, adjoined the lands of James Chaney, Martin Shukell, John Coonce (Koons) and John Wilson and the second the lands of Isaac Perrimon, Francis Williams, James Chaney and Joseph Greenwood. (Grants 1640 and 1921 Secretary of State's Office, Raleigh, NC.) Both parcels are described as having 'improvements' upon them the larger one showing that Peter Eller was already living on the property when the order to survey was issued to him 20 Dec 1785. The wording of said order to survey is as follows.
'State of North Carolina, No. 2949, James Brandon, Entry officer of claims for Lands in the County of Rowan. To the surveyor of said County, Greeting; You are hereby required as soon as may be to lay off and survey for Peter Ellor a tract or parcel of Land Containing Three Hundred and Twenty five Acres lying in the County Aforesaid on the waters of the South Fork of Reedy Creek and Including his Own Improvement whereon he now lives and Joining James Chaney, Martin Shukill &, observing The Directions of the Act of Assembly in such case made and provided for turning out Lands. Two just and fair plans of such Survey with a Certificate Annexed to each you are to transmit with this Warrant to the Secretary's office Without Delay. Given under my hand at Salisbury the twentieth Day of December Anns. Dom. 1785. Jas. Brandon.'
It will be noted that Peter Eller was living on the land before the order to survey was issued to him. Very likely he had earlier and probably before the Revolutionary War entered upon the land later filing an entry and still later obtaining a survey and grant from the new government of the State of N.C. The reason for believing this to be the case is that the record of the Patriarchal Blessing that was accorded to his eldest daughter Catherine Stoker by Hiram [Hyrum] Smith of the [LDS Church] at Nauvoo, Illinois in July 1843, gave her birth date as 6 March 1773 and the place of her birth as Rowan County, North Carolina. His name was spelled Ellor in the above quoted order to survey and Eller in the survey and grant as well as in the entrys, surveys and grants of the two parcels on Roans Creek in Wilkes County the name was uniformly spelled Eller. Peter Eller sold the land (325) acres covered by the above quoted order to survey to Andrew Farr on 6 Dec 1793. (Deed Book 16, p. 698, Rowan County, NC.) No record was found of the disposal of the 124 (125) acres also granted to him on Reedy Creek but a careful search of the land records of Rowan County probably would disclose it.
George Eller, doubtless Peter Eller's brother, also obtained an order to have surveyed to him 150 acres of land on the 'waters of Reedy Creek' in Rowan County 28 Dec 1778. This land was surveyed for him 24 Sep 1785 and granted to him 25 Oct 1786. It included 'Improvements Bought of Philip Sewell for completement,' and bordered the land of James Chaney, Joseph Mussell, John Olliver and Lewis DeLee. (Grant 1402, Secy. of State's Office, Raleigh, NC.) This writer believes that the George Eller of this grant was the [brother of Peter].
Leonard Eller, doubtless a brother of Peter and George, obtained an order, 19 Jun 1784, to have surveyed for him, 640 acres of land located 'on both sides of Lick Creek in Rowan County, N.C.,' (now Davidson Co.). This land joined the lands of James Riley, William Grist and Michael Ritter and included 'Richard Beams Mill.' The land was surveyed for Leonard Eller, 30 Dec 1791, and found to contain only 416 acres with no reason given for the discrepancy of 224 acres. The land was granted to him 26 November 1793. (Grant 2165, Secretary of State's Office, Raleigh, NC.) On the same date, (26 Nov 1793) he was given two additional grants of land in Rowan Co. both on Sheets Creek, waters of Urray, (now in Davidson County.) one for 348 acres and the other for 150 acres. (Grants 2166 and 2237 Secretary of State's Office, Raleigh, NC.) On 13 Jun 1821 Leonard Eller of Miami Co., Ohio gave power of attorney to Samuel Hoover of Randolph Co., NC empowering him 'to lease or sell' his three tracts of land 'on the waters of Lick Creek and the other two on Sheets Creek all now in the possession of Jacob Hoover late deceased.' (Deed Book 1, p. 257, Davidson County, NC.)
Returning to Peter Eller, it is apparent that he was living in Morgan District of Wilkes County, NC, that now is in Ashe County, in 1790 when the first census was taken. At that time his land holdings on Rones Creek in Ashe County consisted of the 350 acres that the state had granted him and 200 acres that he had purchased from Andrew Baker of Wilkes County, 3 Aug 1789.He sold 200 acres of the land that had been granted to him to Gabriel Barn of Rowan County, 27 Oct 1795. John Eller, his eldest son, was one of the witnesses. (Deed Book B-1, p. 466, Wilkes Co., NC.)
Peter Eller added other property to his holdings on 27 Dec 1797 when two parcels of 50 and 25 acres were granted to him by the State of NC. These parcels were surveyed for him on 21 Mar and 11 May respectively. John Dick, Jr., and Leonard Fouts attested the first survey and Michael Stuckard [Stoker] and Peter Eller, Jr. the second. (Grants 1479 and 1532, Secy. of State's Office, Raleigh, NC.) On 3 Mar 1797 he purchased from Conrad Dic 		Eller, Peter (I1858)
 
2861 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 M625u "A Mills and Kendall Family History…," by Helen Schatvet Ullmann (Boston, 2002), pp. 11-14:
"A "List of the Town of Jamaica Anno 1683" included:
Jonathan Mills, 2 horses, 2 oxen, 6 cows, 3 swine, 16 acres, I head, £119
Zachariah Mills, 1 horse, 2 oxen, 2 cows, 0 swine, 19 acres, 1 head, £83
Samuell Mills, 1 horse, 2 oxen, 4 cows, 0 swine, 30 acres, I head, £105
George Mills, 0 horses, 0 oxen, 2 cows, 0 swine, 4 acres, 1 head, £34[26]
Jonathan2 MILLS (George1), son of George and perhaps Rebecca (___) Mills, was born perhaps about 1637. It has been said that "He was living at an advanced age at Jamaica 1718."[41] But no confirmation of this has been found. He was surely living on January 21, 1714 and probably on January 18, 1717 (see below). Although he lived in the area of Jamaica called Springfield, there is no gravestone for him in the cemetery on Springfield Avenue. This contains many Mills but none early enough for Jonathan's family.[42] He married, probably in the mid-1660s, Martha WOOD. It has often been said that Martha "was born about 1644, probably in America, and died after 1710 in Jamaica, L.I., daughter of Jonas Halstead" of Hempstead, Oyster Bay and Jamaica.[43] However, Martha was much more likely the daughter of Timothy and ___ (Strickland) Wood.[44] She was living on January 21, 1714 (1714/15?) when she and Jonathan sold land.
Records at Jamaica:
On November 7, 1668 the town of Jamaica voted that (illegible) Mills "should have 4 acres of Land by the South side of Mary Fosters Lot by the Bever Pond to get a hous on and to improve for his own use."[45] The first time Jonathan definitely appears on Jamaica records was on January 24, 1675. On that date four men, including Jonathan Mills, were freed from an alteration in the country pay of "Me" Wooddrop,"[46] the minister.
On August 1, 1677 the court at Hempstead confusedly recorded what is apparently two cases, both involving horses claimed by Jonathan Mills, both given the same earmark. The horses had evidently been wandering around the common land for a year or more.[47]
Jamaica records contain more information about Jonathan's lands during the 1680s and 1690s.[48] In 1683 Jonathan had the most stock and land of any in his family.[49] The subscription list for the quarterly salary of the minister, Mr. Phillips, dated January 1, 1693/4, assessed "Sam Miles 1 sh, Jothan Miles 10d, Timothy Mills 5d, Zary Mills 10d."[50] On a tax list of February 4, 1708/9 Jonathan Mills Senior was listed with 4s ld and Jonathan Jun 2d.[51]
By a deed of gift dated November 10, 1710 Jonathan Mills of Jamaica and his wife Martha "for love and affection" gave their son Samuel Mills half of the homestead farm of 80 acres in the Springfield section of Jamaica, a piece of fresh meadow on the "further East Neck in the said township, And also two small lotts ... on ye said Neck in ye Cove, Containing about three acres," reserving for themselves the largest room in the house, half the orchard and a third of the crops during their lifetime. After their deaths Samuel was to pay their executors ₤25 current money of New York. Jonathan and Martha made their marks and it was witnessed by Joseph Smith and William Ludlum.[52] On January 20, 1714 Samuel transferred this back to Jonathan and the next day, January 21, Jonathan and Martha sold it to Peter Noorstrant of Jamaica in two documents.[53] It has been said that they moved to Smithtown with all four of their sons.[54] But no record confirming this has been found. Perhaps Jonathan and Martha did go to Smithtown, but the only son found there is Timothy.[55]
Children of Jonathan and Martha (___) Mills.[56]
i. Timothy3 Mills, born about 1667;[57] died at Mills Pond in Smithtown March 30, 1751 age 54;[58] married firstly Elizabeth ___. They were living at Jamaica on Nov. 26, 1698 when Timothy and Elizabeth sold a house and land on Sherman's Neck in Hempstead, "formerly in the tenure & occupation of Richard Manwaring of Hempstead."[59] Perhaps Elizabeth was Richard Manwaring's daughter or widow. Timothy married secondly Sarah Longbotham of Brookhaven, L.I.1[60] who was named in Timothy's will dated March 16, 1741.[61] The first record of him was on Sept. 22, 1693 when he sold land in Jamaica to Thomas Wellin.[62] On March 19, 1705 Samuel Smith of Smithtown sold Timothy Mills 100 acres in Smithtown "in a place commonly called Stony Brook necke."[63] In 1715 Timothy was a member of Capt. Samuel Smith's Smithtown Co. in the Suffolk Co. Regiment of Col. Henry Smith[64] and was elected to his first recorded town office at Smithtown, as a surveyor of highways, on May 3, 1715.[65] The settlement of Mills Pond was named for Timothy and "is composed of a number of dignified old houses surrounding a small pond, situated on the North Country Road about four miles east of the village of Smithtown Branch."[66]
ii. Samuel MILLS; born say 1673,[67] probably married firstly ___; secondly Abigail Smith.
iii. Isaac Mills? See comments under Isaac, a possible son of George. Earlier researchers have assumed that the Isaac who first appears in Smithtown records in 1723 was Timothy's brother. However, Timothy named "my eldest son Isaac Mills" in his 1741 will, Isaac having been born March 13, 1697 according to a Bible record.[68] It would seem reasonable that Timothy's son Isaac would have inherited the proprietorship and that he would have been the Isaac who held various town offices at Smithtown.[69]
iv. Jonathan Mills, born June 5, 1677;~01 On July 22, 1695 Jonathan Mills senior of Jamaica agreed with Jacob Hendrickson "Zuytdam" of Flatbush, Kings Co., Smith, that Jonathan Mills Jr., son of Jonathan senior would serve Jacob for three years beginning June 5, 1695. Jacob would provide "washing, sleeping, victuals and drink." Jonathan would "have the liberty to go in night school in winter, and at the expiration of said time his master is to give him a good suit of clothes for Sabbath-day, and also two pairs of tongs and two hammers, one big and one small."[71] This must be the "Jonathan Jun" who was included on the Feb. 4, 1708/9 tax list at Jamaica. There is no reason to believe Jonathan went to Smithtown.[72]
ENDNOTES
41. Edward C. Mills, 1:4.
42. William Applebee Eardeley, "Springfield, Jamaica, Queens County, Long Island, New York, Cemetery, 1735 or 1760 to 1909," typescript (Brooklyn, 1912), FHL #0,017,931.
43. William Leon Halstead, "The Story of the Halsteads of the United States" (Ann Arbor, Mich., 1934), p. 58, which says Jonas had a daughter Martha who married Jonathan Mills and had Timothy, Jonathan, Samuel and perhaps others but gives no evidence. She may have been born in Stratford, Connecticut, since Orcutt's history of that town says, "Jonas Halstead was among the early dwellers of Stratford, went to Jamaica, L.I., before 1660" (Samuel Orcutt, "A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut" [New Haven, 1886], Part I, p. 136, his source unknown), but no deeds for him appear in Stratford land records. The English origin of the Halsteads is treated by Arthur S. Wardwell, "Jonas Halstead and John Lum of Hempstead, New York," "The American Genealogist," 18 [19421:146-47. He concludes that Jonas was baptized at Northowram Patish in Halifax, Yorkshire, on 23 Feb. 1611, son of Abraham and Susan (Whitley) Halstead and discusses his relationship to other Hempstead families. The theory that Martha was the daughter of Jonas Halstead is based on a land record where on 30 March 1677 Jonas Halstead of Jamaica deeded to Jonathan Mills of the same place, "for a valluable consideration," a third of the whole "Acomadation" which Jonas had bought from Robert Coe, but described as a half of the housing, orchard, land, meadow and fences which Jonas and his son Joseph owned. Cook says, "This was apparently a dowery (sic) given to Jonathan Mills at least ten years after his marriage to Halstead's daughter Martha." But six days later, by an assignment of 5 April 1677, Jonathan Mills transferred this property to William Creed and Daniel Whitehead (Frost, "Jamaica," 1:72-73, from 1:84-85, Cook says from Queens Co. Deeds, Liber B2, pp. 148-49, recorded 28 April 1706). The apparent contradiction in the portion may be due to Jonas having previously sold a third of his original purchase. The assignment to Creed and Whitehead might have been a mortgage except that they turned around and on 10 April 1677 sold it to John Skidmore (Frost, "Jamaica," 1:74, from 1:86). This does not seem sufficient evidence of Martha's ancestry.
44. Some time ago Harry Macy, Jr., raised the possibility that Jonathan's wife Martha was a daughter of Timothy Wood, based on the will of John Strickland. Strickland's will gave Jonathan Mills and John Loum's eldest daughter each a cow and later said, "it is to be understood that those two cows mentioned to John Loum's daughter & to Jonathan Mills were my wife's and she gave them as she saw good" (Matthew Wood, "English Origins of the Mitchell, Wood, Lum and Halstead Families," NYGBR, 120[1989]:9; Anderson, "Great Migration Begins," 1786). In "Descendants of Timothy Wood, of Long Island," (NYGBR, 132[2001], 37-45), Matthew V. Wood, Jr., concludes that Martha was indeed the daughter of Timothy Wood and granddaughter of John Strickland. .
45. Frost, "Jamaica," 1:42, from 1:49. Cook feels this probably pertains to Jonathan (Cook, pp. 5, 20a).
46. Frost, "Jamaica," 1:65, from 1:74.
47. The first case, brought by John Jackson against Abraham Smith involved Jonathan Mills' horse which was said to have been taken by Smith. However, one deponent talked about what sounds like the same horse, but said it belonged to Isaac Mills. The case was continued. Then on the same day, 1 August, Jonathan Mills was plaintiff vs. William Noble, saying Noble "hath taken up a hors of his of the Comons,…" The court found for Noble and Jonathan had to pay the costs ("Town Records of North and South Hempstead" 1:358-59, from Liber B, pp. 310-312). Whether both cases were about the same horse is not clear, but in any case, it seems most likely that the name Isaac was used in error.
48. On a list perhaps dated 12 April 1681 Jonathan Mills was listed with (granted?) 10 acres of meadow and 20 of something else, probably upland (Frost, "Jamaica," 1:119, from 1:135). As noted in the account of his father, in 1682 Jonathan Mills had ten acres of meadow and was granted 10 more. At some point, probably in 1687, Jonathan was also given five acres of "Chasmores Land," evidently an island, taken from seven other men (Frost, "Jamaica," 1:134-35, from 1:153). On 28 July 1683 Jonathan Mills of Jamaica in the "north Ryding of Yorkshier on Longe Island" conveyed to Theodoros D(P)ollhelmas [sic] of Flatbush, fifteen acres (Frost, "Jamaica," 1:271, from 1:100). On 9 August 1692 Benjamin Thirston exchanged 11/4 acres and some fresh meadow for Jonathan Mills' ten acres of meadow at "Charsmores Island" (Frost, "Jamaica," 2:173, from 2:382).
49. See above under his father.
50. Frost, "Jamaica," 2:375, from 2:548-49. Note that this list did not include a second Samuel.
51. Frost, "Jamaica," 2:440, from 3:58. This list included "Samuel Mills Sener" and "Samuel Mills Junr," but no third Samuel Mills who could be Jonathan's son.
52. Queens Co. Deeds, as transcribed, B2:176 from B2:512-14.
53. Queens Co. Deeds, C:49-51.
54. Cook, 25, and Edward C. Mills, 1:4, who both probably had it from James H. Mills.
55. See the discussion below under the section for Jonathan's son Samuel3 Mills. On 18 February
1717 Timothy Mills of Smithtown, mentioning "my father Jonathan Mills of Springfield," quitclaimed on the same land to Peter Nostrant alias Garrassin (Queens Co. Deeds, C:141). If Jonathan had died, the deed probably would have called him "deceased."
56. The fact that Jonathan Mills was listed with only one head on the 1683 list (see above) suggests that he had no son born by 1664-at least no son that lived to his majority. Jonathan's name is on a list of the number of various vital events for Jamaica for each family during the seven years preceding 1688, but either there were none in his family or the numbers were missing (O'Callaghan, "Documentary History," 3:197).
57. William S. Pelletreau, "Records of the Town of Smithtown, Long Island, N.Y." (np., 1898), 493.
58. Cook 23, 29; ECM, 1:5. A transcription of an "old family cemetery" on the road from
Smithtown to Stony Brook at the place called Mills Pond was done by George W. Cox and W.A.
Macy. While there are many Mills in the cemetery, including a Jonathan who died 28 Oct. 1798
"age 88 the day he died," who must be Timothy's son, the only older ones were fieldstones with no
marks on them (FHL #0,017,696, item 2, and #0,017,117 item 5).
59. Cook, p. 29, 32, from Queens Co. Deeds, B2:15.
60. Cook, p. 30, from Benjamin F. Thompson, "the historian of Long Island."
61. "Abstracts of Wills," v. 4, 416-18, from 18:215; Cook, 30, 36, from New York City Wills, 18:251 "(old no. 215)," says Sarah was named executrix on 18 Nov. 1852.
62. Cook p. 29-31, from Queens Co. Deeds, C:135.
63. Suffolk Co. Deeds, A:141. This also says the land was granted to Samuel Smith by his father
Richard.
64. Cook, 30, 35; "Second Annual Report of the State Librarian of the State of New York" (1897), 513; "Suffolk Co. Historical Society Register 23 [1988}:118.
65. Pelletreau, "Smithtown,", p. 79.
66. Cook, p. 30. A reconstructed historical map shows Timothy's house at the intersection of Three
Sisters Road and Mills Pond Road, a bit east of the head of Three Sisters Harbor (Norman O'Berry, "Early Smithtown, 1665-1865" (1975?), FHL #1,830,698 item 12).
67. Cook, p. 38, suggests 1670, but Samuel Mills was not on the 1 January 1693/4 list of those
assessed for the minister's salary (see above), so was probably not yet 21 years old.
68. Cook, 34, 36, 40.
69. 1n 1723 Isaac Mills was chosen Collector at Smithtown, in 1730 and 1733 Constable, in 1735 and
1744 Assessor, in 1740, 1744, 1745, 1752 and 1753 Overseer of Highways, in the latter year called "Isaac Mills Sr." On 10 June 1755 he was one of the proprietors signing an agreement to divide "lands, meadows and thatch beds" (Pelletreau, "Smithtown," pp. 80, 83-85, 90-92, 99, 219-20).
70. E.C. Mills, 1:4,50, his source unknown.
71. Cook, p. 23, from "The Social History of Flatbush, L.I.," p. 261. Zuytdam's name was often spelled "Suydam."
72. In April 1738 a Jonathan Mills was chosen Collector in Smithtown, in 1742 assessor and in 1744 fence viewer. In April 1740 he "brought his receipts of the Town money, for the year 1738, in which he was Collector" (Pelletreau, "Smithtown," pp. 90-92, 95). But this is more likely Jonathan, son of Timothy3, born 23 Oct. 1710 (Cook, pp. 37, 42-43, citing a family record in possession of Mrs. Robert B. Carnahan, Jr., of New York City)."

SOURCES_MISC:
1. FHL book 929.273-K727kf: "Knapp's N' Kin, The Ancestral Lines of Frederick H Knapp and Others," compiled by: Frederick H Knapp, Rt. #2, Box 438C, AB Hwy, Richland, Missouri, 65556; 1987; Revised/Updated 1991. It notes the following sources, none of which I have yet reviewed:
-Hist. of Greenwich, by S.P. Mead (1911).
-7 Gen. of Judith's, by A. Gibson
-NEGHR, v. 14, p. 106.
-CT Ancestry (Dec 1963 and 1986).
-Samuel Mills and Descendants, by Samuel Mills IX.
-Rundle Fam. of Amer. (1992). 		Mills, Jonathan (I4775)
 
2862 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 M625u "A Mills and Kendall Family History…," by Helen Schatvet Ullmann (Boston, 2002), pp. 11-14:
"Jonathan2 MILLS (George1), son of George and perhaps Rebecca (___) Mills, was born perhaps about 1637. It has been said that "He was living at an advanced age at Jamaica 1718."[41] But no confirmation of this has been found. He was surely living on January 21, 1714 and probably on January 18, 1717 (see below). Although he lived in the area of Jamaica called Springfield, there is no gravestone for him in the cemetery on Springfield Avenue. This contains many Mills but none early enough for Jonathan's family.[42] He married, probably in the mid-1660s, Martha WOOD. It has often been said that Martha "was born about 1644, probably in America, and died after 1710 in Jamaica, L.I., daughter of Jonas Halstead" of Hempstead, Oyster Bay and Jamaica.[43] However, Martha was much more likely the daughter of Timothy and ___ (Strickland) Wood.[44] She was living on January 21, 1714 (1714/15?) when she and Jonathan sold land...
By a deed of gift dated November 10, 1710 Jonathan Mills of Jamaica and his wife Martha "for love and affection" gave their son Samuel Mills half of the homestead farm of 80 acres in the Springfield section of Jamaica, a piece of fresh meadow on the "further East Neck in the said township, And also two small lotts ... on ye said Neck in ye Cove, Containing about three acres," reserving for themselves the largest room in the house, half the orchard and a third of the crops during their lifetime. After their deaths Samuel was to pay their executors ₤25 current money of New York. Jonathan and Martha made their marks and it was witnessed by Joseph Smith and William Ludlum.[52] On January 20, 1714 Samuel transferred this back to Jonathan and the next day, January 21, Jonathan and Martha sold it to Peter Noorstrant of Jamaica in two documents.[53] It has been said that they moved to Smithtown with all four of their sons.[54] But no record confirming this has been found. Perhaps Jonathan and Martha did go to Smithtown, but the only son found there is Timothy.[55]
ENDNOTES
41. Edward C. Mills, 1:4.
42. William Applebee Eardeley, "Springfield, Jamaica, Queens County, Long Island, New York, Cemetery, 1735 or 1760 to 1909," typescript (Brooklyn, 1912), FHL #0,017,931.
43. William Leon Halstead, "The Story of the Halsteads of the United States" (Ann Arbor, Mich., 1934), p. 58, which says Jonas had a daughter Martha who married Jonathan Mills and had Timothy, Jonathan, Samuel and perhaps others but gives no evidence. She may have been born in Stratford, Connecticut, since Orcutt's history of that town says, "Jonas Halstead was among the early dwellers of Stratford, went to Jamaica, L.I., before 1660" (Samuel Orcutt, "A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut" [New Haven, 1886], Part I, p. 136, his source unknown), but no deeds for him appear in Stratford land records. The English origin of the Halsteads is treated by Arthur S. Wardwell, "Jonas Halstead and John Lum of Hempstead, New York," "The American Genealogist," 18 [19421:146-47. He concludes that Jonas was baptized at Northowram Patish in Halifax, Yorkshire, on 23 Feb. 1611, son of Abraham and Susan (Whitley) Halstead and discusses his relationship to other Hempstead families. The theory that Martha was the daughter of Jonas Halstead is based on a land record where on 30 March 1677 Jonas Halstead of Jamaica deeded to Jonathan Mills of the same place, "for a valluable consideration," a third of the whole "Acomadation" which Jonas had bought from Robert Coe, but described as a half of the housing, orchard, land, meadow and fences which Jonas and his son Joseph owned. Cook says, "This was apparently a dowery (sic) given to Jonathan Mills at least ten years after his marriage to Halstead's daughter Martha." But six days later, by an assignment of 5 April 1677, Jonathan Mills transferred this property to William Creed and Daniel Whitehead (Frost, "Jamaica," 1:72-73, from 1:84-85, Cook says from Queens Co. Deeds, Liber B2, pp. 148-49, recorded 28 April 1706). The apparent contradiction in the portion may be due to Jonas having previously sold a third of his original purchase. The assignment to Creed and Whitehead might have been a mortgage except that they turned around and on 10 April 1677 sold it to John Skidmore (Frost, "Jamaica," 1:74, from 1:86). This does not seem sufficient evidence of Martha's ancestry.
44. Some time ago Harry Macy, Jr., raised the possibility that Jonathan's wife Martha was a daughter of Timothy Wood, based on the will of John Strickland. Strickland's will gave Jonathan Mills and John Loum's eldest daughter each a cow and later said, "it is to be understood that those two cows mentioned to John Loum's daughter & to Jonathan Mills were my wife's and she gave them as she saw good" (Matthew Wood, "English Origins of the Mitchell, Wood, Lum and Halstead Families," NYGBR, 120[1989]:9; Anderson, "Great Migration Begins," 1786). In "Descendants of Timothy Wood, of Long Island," (NYGBR, 132[2001], 37-45), Matthew V. Wood, Jr., concludes that Martha was indeed the daughter of Timothy Wood and granddaughter of John Strickland. .
52. Queens Co. Deeds, as transcribed, B2:176 from B2:512-14.
53. Queens Co. Deeds, C:49-51.
54. Cook, 25, and Edward C. Mills, 1:4, who both probably had it from James H. Mills.
55. See the discussion below under the section for Jonathan's son Samuel3 Mills. On 18 February
1717 Timothy Mills of Smithtown, mentioning "my father Jonathan Mills of Springfield," quitclaimed on the same land to Peter Nostrant alias Garrassin (Queens Co. Deeds, C:141). If Jonathan had died, the deed probably would have called him "deceased."
 		Wood, Martha (I4010)
 
2863 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 M625u "A Mills and Kendall Family History…," by Helen Schatvet Ullmann (Boston, 2002), pp. 3-9:
"A "List of the Town of Jamaica Anno 1683" included:
Jonathan Mills, 2 horses, 2 oxen, 6 cows, 3 swine, 16 acres, I head, £119
Zachariah Mills, 1 horse, 2 oxen, 2 cows, 0 swine, 19 acres, 1 head, £83
Samuell Mills, 1 horse, 2 oxen, 4 cows, 0 swine, 30 acres, I head, £105
George Mills, 0 horses, 0 oxen, 2 cows, 0 swine, 4 acres, 1 head, £34[26]
Zachariah Mills, will made May 9, 1696 and proved Sept. 17, 1696;[35] married between Dec. 13, 1676 and June 10, 1680 Abigail (Messenger) Darling[36] who was living on the date of Zachariah's will. On Dec. 12, 1662 he was granted a home lot in Jamaica.[37] Zachariah was town clerk in Jamaica for many years. There were no marriages or christenings in his family 1681-87, but there was one burial.[38]
ENDNOTES
35. Abstract in NYGBR, 65:246; also abstracted by William Applebee Eardeley, in "Records in the Office of the County Clerk at Jamaica, Long, Island, New York, 1680-1781, Abstracts of Wills and Administrations, Guardians and Inventories," typescript (Brooklyn, 1918), 32 from Queens Co. Deeds, A:114, which is on FHL #0,017,715.
36. Cook, 16, cites a deed of 1 Sept. 1674 when Abigail Darling of Jamaica sold her house and land (from Frost, "Jamaica," 1:127-28) and a petition of Abigail Mills quondam Darling, dated 10 June 1680, "praying for a remission of a fine for cohabiting with her present husband before marriage" ("Calendar of Historical Manuscripts in the office of the Secretary of State, Albany, N.Y.," Part II, E.B. O'Callaghan, ed. [Albany: Weed, Parsons & Co., 1865-66], 89). A recent transcription of the Andros Papers gives further detail: on 13 December 1676 Abigail Darling and Zachariah Mills had been bound over by the last Court for having a bastard. Abigail claimed that "your Peticioners remisness in that kind was chiefly occasioned by her former Husbands unkindness, hee going away from her, and her three children, and Leaving them in a desolate and deplorable condlicion." Even though their neighbors recommended leniency, on 13 Aug. 1680 the Governor denied their petition for relief from the fine of ₤5 each. ("The Andros Papers, 1674-76," Peter R. and Florence A. Christoph, eds. (Syracuse University Press, 1989), 487, 1679-80 (1991), 312). For evidence that Abigail's maiden name was Messenger see Ullmann, "The Three Messengers," Register 152[1998]:362.
37. Cook, 16, from Frost, "Jamaica," 1:18, from the original 1:19.
38. O'Callaghan, "Documentary History," 3:197."

2. The periodical "New England Historical and Genealogical Register," 152(July 1998): 358-63, "The Three Messengers: Clearing the Decks," by Helen S. Ullman:
"ANDREW1 MESSENGER was born in England, probably before 1618 as he was probably at least 21 years of age when he signed the New Haven Fundamental Agreement. He died, probably at Jamaica, Long Island, New York, before 12 April 1681 (see below). He married, perhaps about 1641, RACHEL ___, who died at Jamaica after 1688, when "Widow Messenger" was listed as remembering no marriages, christenings or burials in her family during the last seven years.[23]...
Children, actual order unknown...
ii. ABIGAIL MESSENGER, b. say 1644; m. (1) 1662 RICHARD DARLING of New Haven; they were divorced 7 July 1674;[59] she m. (2) between 1 Sept. 1674 and 10 June 1686, ZACHARIAH MILLS, son of George1 Mills of Jamaica.[60]
iv. SARAH MESSENGER, b. say 1648; m. (1) ca. 1668 EPHRAIM PALMER, of Greenwich,[62] who d., prob. at Stratford, as the probate file for an Ephraim Palmer of Stratford contains an inventory saying he died 19 April 1684, leaving a widow Sarah, seven children, and land;[63] m. (2) bef. 15 Oct. 1699, ___ GREGORY, prob. JOHN, b.1638-40, d. ca. 1720.[64]
Footnotes:
23. "Return of Marriages, Christenins [sic) & Burials in the Town of Jamaica for 7 years preceding 1688," The Documentary History of the State of New York, E.B. O'Callaghan, ed., vol. 4 (Albany, N.Y.: Weed Parsons & Co., 1849-51), 3:197.
60. Cook, Mills ms. [note 54], 15, 18, citing several documents from Frost's Jamaica records.
62. Hickok [note 8], 386.
63. Fairfield District Probate File 4802.
64. Hickok [note 8], 386; Grant Gregory, Ancestors and Descendants of Henry Gregory (Provincetown, Mass.: the author, 1938), 54."

SOURCES_MISC:
1. FHL book 929.273-K727kf: "Knapp's N' Kin, The Ancestral Lines of Frederick H Knapp and Others," compiled by: Frederick H Knapp, Rt. #2, Box 438C, AB Hwy, Richland, Missouri, 65556; 1987; Revised/Updated 1991. It notes the following sources, none of which I have yet reviewed:
-Hist. of Greenwich, by S.P. Mead (1911).
-7 Gen. of Judith's, by A. Gibson
-NEGHR, v. 14, p. 106.
-CT Ancestry (Dec 1963 and 1986).
-Samuel Mills and Descendants, by Samuel Mills IX.
-Rundle Fam. of Amer. (1992). 		Mills, Zachariah (I4774)
 
2864 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 M625u "A Mills and Kendall Family History…," by Helen Schatvet Ullmann (Boston, 2002), pp. 3-9:
"Bethia Mills. Cook lists her, based on Nicholas Tanner's will dated Sept. 2, 1658. It seems reasonable to include her."
Endnotes:
6. Tanner's will reads:
September 2, 1658. The last Will and testament of Nicholas TANNER, of Rustdorp (Jamaica), made the day and date above written. Imprimis, my will is yf it please God to take me away, yf I doe not otherwise alter in ye meantime, that my son, John Tanner, living in Tolspidle, within Dorsetshire, England, shall have ₤30 sterling out of my estate. And my will is that if my son cannot be procured to come over, or not heard of, the town where I live shall have the use of it for their general good. Provided they put in Securitie to send it to my sonn or as he shall come over to fetch it.
2. My will is that Thomas Ireland shall have five pounds. And Richard Everard's children, and Roger Lynn his boy, and John Rodes his youngest boy shall have ten pounds amongst them.
3. My will is that Bethia Mills shall have a cow and a calfe, and that she and her mother shall have ten pounds more betwixt them, to buy them clothes with.
4. My will is that Henry Pearsall's children shall have 5 shillings a peice. My will is that John Eazor shall have my share of the tackling and cart that is betwixt us, and my share of the hollowes. Henry Pearsall shall have my cloak, and Daniel Denton my suit of cloathes. Zacharias Mills shall have a calf. My will is that a beast shall be sold to buy some linnen to bury me in, and also a sheete and other things that shall be needfull; And the white faced cow killed at my burial and given to the neighbours. My will is that yf God take me away, and that I doe not otherwise alter in the mean time, that Henry Pearsall, of Hempstead, and Daniel Denton, of Rustdorp, shall be my executors.
George Mills is to have all my cloathing except as above given.
Witnesses, George Mills, Timothy Halstead, Henry Pearsall, Daniel Denton. Quietus granted, June 23, 1666 ("Collections of the New York Historical Society: Abstracts of Wills on file in the Surrogate's Office, City of New York, vol. II (1893), Appendix, 415-16).
On 2 July 1660 the following was entered on Jamaica town records:
"Whereas there was a certaine parsell off mony Amounting to thirty pounds was left By Nicolas Tanner deceased for the use of his sonn and the Towne to have the use of it after Inquirie made for his sonn till he shall come and fetch it or send for it. These underwritten doe protest against having any thing to doe with the saide Mony either themselves or heirs or executors for beneffit or damage."
John Townsend and George Mills made their marks on this (Josephine C. Frost, ed., "Records of the Town of Jamaica, 1656-1751" [Brooklyn: Long Island Historical Society, 1914], 1:8-9, from the original 1:10). A second copy, "taken out of the owld booke by mee Nath Denton Town Clerk," does not mention the marks. On 24 January 1664 the town, having spent the money, agreed that they would pay it if lawfiilly demanded. (Frost 1:170-711, from the original 2:3-4).
Many have claimed, presumably based on this will, that George's wife Rebecca must have been surnamed Tanner. However, if so, it seems odd that Tanner referred to her, not by name, but as Bethia's mother. If one assumes his daughter was deceased the omission seems plausible; George might already have married again. On the other hand, the fact that the town, rather than heirs, was to have the ₤30 if John didn't claim it, suggests that Tanner left no heirs in America. On the other hand, George's disclaimer does suggest that at least some thought he and Townsend might claim a right to it. Cook lists Bethia and Zachariah as George's children, but does not suggest that Rebecca's maiden name was Tanner. Actually, Bethia could even be George's wife.
There was another Nicholas Tanner at Swansea, Mass., in 1663 and Rehoboth in 1666 (James Savage, "A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England [Boston, 1860-62; reprint, Baltimore, 1965, 1981] 4:253), but no connection with Nicholas of Long Island has been found.
 		Mills, Bethia (I573)
 
2865 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 M625u "A Mills and Kendall Family History…," by Helen Schatvet Ullmann (Boston, 2002), pp. 3-9:
"George1 Mills was born, surely in England, perhaps about 1605.[3] He died at Jamaica, Long Island, New York,[4] probably on October 17, 1694 age 89.[5] His only known wife was Rebecca ___ who was living on March 24, 1681/2 when he signed a deed providing for her. But the wording of the deed, charging his son Samuel with her care, suggests that perhaps she was not Samuel's mother and that George may have had an earlier wife. Many have assumed that this was a daughter of Nicholas Tanner, but the documents relating to Nicholas Tanner's estate do not show this clearly at all. Tanner's will named only one relative, a son John living in "Tolspidle" in England. Then it listed a number of other people, particularly children of various families. These included Bethia Mills and her mother and Zacharias Mills. George Mills was to have most of his clothing.[6] George may have married a daughter of Tanner but more likely was associated with him in some other way. However, Nicholas Tanner's residence around 1631, when George would have married, becomes of great interest. Tanner's son John was at Tolspidle in Dorsetshire, England, in 1658.[7] Thus if George Mills married a daughter of Nicholas Tanner before coming to America, he was probably from the West Country of England...
On March 24, 1682/1 [sic] "George Mils of Jemaicae in the North Rideing of Yorkshire upon Long Island," in a legal statement which some have called his will, said that his "...wife Rebeccae shall peaseably and quietly posses and injoye my now dwelling howse and home Lot and ortchard dureing her Life time if it please god that shee should live longer than I and allsoe I doe declare that to the best of my understanding that the oblegation given to mee from my sonn Samuel Mills for the Mowing of hay and cutting of wood or any thing els was to be done for my wife if she shall live longer than I and therefore though the writeing be somwhat short in that perticular I doe exspect that what my sonn Samuel Mills should doe for mee dureing my Life the same to be done to my wife if it please god that shee shall live longer than I..."
This was witnessed by Nathaniell Denton, senior, Edward Higbee and John Everit and copied into the town records from the original.[24] The fact that George felt it necessary to direct Samuel to care for George's wife suggests that perhaps Rebecca was not Samuel's mother. On the other hand, there may have been some friction between Samuel and his mother which prompted George to close all possible loopholes. Or perhaps he just wanted it in writing...
No probate records exist for George, probably because he transferred his land to his wife Rebecca on March 24, 1681/2, to his son Zachariah on February 22, 1678/9 and apparently to his son Samuel.
ENDNOTES
3. Some sources, in particular the manuscripts of William Applebee Daniel Eardeley (on FHL microfilm #416,893), have said he was born in 1595 and died in 1684. Charles J. Werner, in "Genealogies of Long Island Families," compiled "mainly from records left by Benjamin F. Thompson" (New York, 1919), 105, even says George was born in 1585 and died 17 October 1674 at age 89. But he appears on a tax list in 1683.
4. Now in the Borough of Queens in New York City.
5. Cook, 2-3. Cook's note on p. 3 reads, "Note on the Date of Death of George MILLS… In a letter dated Feb. 9th. 1895, Mr. J.H. Mills of Buffalo, N.Y., to Mr. M.P. Mills of New York, (bound herewith), it is stated that 'These old papers were found in the attic of the homestead [at Smithtown} and are now in custody of Mr. Huntington. Ethelbert jr., (sic, no surname given) of Brooklyn had access for a time to the old papers, about a barrel, among them he has found that George Mills of Jamaica died Oct. 17, 1694 aged 89.', also that 'B.F. Thompson compiled genealogical notes (mss.) but did not publish them relating to Mills. I have a copy of said Notes. Thompson undoubtedly obtained his information from the old papers that had accumulated for five generations in the homestead of my g. grandfather Wm. Mills at M(ills) P(ond).' This serves to correct the date as since published from Thompson's said notes in Genealogies of Long Island Families, 1919, and in a chart opp. p. 341 in "The Whitney Family.' LDC"
6. Tanner's will reads:
September 2, 1658. The last Will and testament of Nicholas Tanner, of Rustdorp (Jamaica), made the day and date above written. Imprimis, my will is yf it please God to take me away, yf I doe not otherwise alter in ye meantime, that my son, John Tanner, living in Tolspidle, within Dorsetshire, England, shall have ₤30 sterling out of my estate. And my will is that if my son cannot be procured to come over, or not heard of, the town where I live shall have the use of it for their general good. Provided they put in Securitie to send it to my sonn or as he shall come over to fetch it.
2. My will is that Thomas Ireland shall have five pounds. And Richard Everard's children, and Roger Lynn his boy, and John Rodes his youngest boy shall have ten pounds amongst them.
3. My will is that Bethia Mills shall have a cow and a calfe, and that she and her mother shall have ten pounds more betwixt them, to buy them clothes with.
4. My will is that Henry Pearsall's children shall have 5 shillings a peice. My will is that John Eazor shall have my share of the tackling and cart that is betwixt us, and my share of the hollowes. Henry Pearsall shall have my cloak, and Daniel Denton my suit of cloathes. Zacharias Mills shall have a calf. My will is that a beast shall be sold to buy some linnen to bury me in, and also a sheete and other things that shall be needfull; And the white faced cow killed at my burial and given to the neighbours. My will is that yf God take me away, and that I doe not otherwise alter in the mean time, that Henry Pearsall, of Hempstead, and Daniel Denton, of Rustdorp, shall be my executors.
George Mills is to have all my cloathing except as above given.
Witnesses, George Mills, Timothy Halstead, Henry Pearsall, Daniel Denton. Quietus granted, June 23, 1666 ("Collections of the New York Historical Society: Abstracts of Wills on file in the Surrogate's Office, City of New York, vol. II (1893), Appendix, 415-16).
On 2 July 1660 the following was entered on Jamaica town records:
"Whereas there was a certaine parsell off mony Amounting to thirty pounds was left By Nicolas Tanner deceased for the use of his sonn and the Towne to have the use of it after Inquirie made for his sonn till he shall come and fetch it or send for it. These underwritten doe protest against having any thing to doe with the saide Mony either themselves or heirs or executors for beneffit or damage."
John Townsend and George Mills made their marks on this (Josephine C. Frost, ed., "Records of the Town of Jamaica, 1656-1751" [Brooklyn: Long Island Historical Society, 1914], 1:8-9, from the original 1:10). A second copy, "taken out of the owld booke by mee Nath Denton Town Clerk," does not mention the marks. On 24 January 1664 the town, having spent the money, agreed that they would pay it if lawfully demanded. (Frost 1:170-711, from the original 2:3-4).
Many have claimed, presumably based on this will, that George's wife Rebecca must have been surnamed Tanner. However, if so, it seems odd that Tanner referred to her, not by name, but as Bethia's mother. If one assumes his daughter was deceased the omission seems plausible; George might already have married again. On the other hand, the fact that the town, rather than heirs, was to have the ₤30 if John didn't claim it, suggests that Tanner left no heirs in America. On the other hand, George's disclaimer does suggest that at least some thought he and Townsend might claim a right to it. Cook lists Bethia and Zachariah as George's children, but does not suggest that Rebecca's maiden name was Tanner. Actually, Bethia could even be George's wife.
There was another Nicholas Tanner at Swansea, Mass., in 1663 and Rehoboth in 1666 (James Savage, "A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England [Boston, 1860-62; reprint, Baltimore, 1965, 1981] 4:253), but no connection with Nicholas of Long Island has been found.
7. Or at least Nicholas thought he was. "Tolspidle" must be the village called Tolpuddle, for which there are no extant church records until the 1730s. However, it is beyond the scope of this project to pursue this lead.
24. Frost, "Jamaica," 1:212, from 2:41.

SOURCES_MISC:
1. FHL book 929.273-K727kf: "Knapp's N' Kin, The Ancestral Lines of Frederick H Knapp and Others," compiled by: Frederick H Knapp, Rt. #2, Box 438C, AB Hwy, Richland, Missouri, 65556; 1987; Revised/Updated 1991. It notes the following sources, none of which I have yet reviewed:
-Hist. of Greenwich, by S.P. Mead (1911).
-7 Gen. of Judith's, by A. Gibson
-NEGHR, v. 14, p. 106.
-CT Ancestry (Dec 1963 and 1986).
-Samuel Mills and Descendants, by Samuel Mills IX.
-Rundle Fam. of Amer. (1992). 		Rebecca (I4771)
 
2866 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 M625u "A Mills and Kendall Family History…," by Helen Schatvet Ullmann (Boston, 2002), pp. 3-9:
"George1 MILLS was born, surely in England, perhaps about 1605.[3] He died at Jamaica, Long Island, New York,[4] probably on October 17, 1694 age 89.[5] His only known wife was Rebecca ___ who was living on March 24, 1681/2 when he signed a deed providing for her. But the wording of the deed, charging his son Samuel with her care, suggests that perhaps she was not Samuel's mother and that George may have had an earlier wife. Many have assumed that this was a daughter of Nicholas Tanner, but the documents relating to Nicholas Tanner's estate do not show this clearly at all. Tanner's will named only one relative, a son John living in "Tolspidle" in England. Then it listed a number of other people, particularly children of various families. These included Bethia Mills and her mother and Zacharias Mills. George Mills was to have most of his clothing.[6] George may have married a daughter of Tanner but more likely was associated with him in some other way. However, Nicholas Tanner's residence around 1631, when George would have married, becomes of great interest. Tanner's son John was at Tolspidle in Dorsetshire, England, in 1658.[7] Thus if George Mills married a daughter of Nicholas Tanner before coming to America, he was probably from the West Country of England.
But there are other theories about George Mills' origins. The remarkable obituary of his son Samuel (see below) says that Samuel was born in America, implying that George was in this country by about 1632. It has been said that George came to Long island via Milford, Connecticut, and that his father was a John Mills of Boston.[8] But George was a contemporary of this John of Boston, not his descendant. In fact, no trace of a George Mills has been found in any New England record of this period. There was a Richard Mills who went from Stratford, Connecticut, just west of Milford, to Southampton which is on the eastern end of Long Island, and later to Newtown, just west of Jamaica, but he seems to have no connection to George.[9]
Another theory of George's origins, that he came from Yorkshire, is probably based on the fact that in the 1650s he lived in Hempstead, Long Island, where the Rev. Richard Denton arrived in 1644. Denton was from Yorkshire and apparently did not arrive in America until sometime between 1635 and 1638.[10] But since his son Samuel's astonishing obituary states that Samuel was born "in America" and died at the age of ninety-five on March 10, 1727, George must have been on this side of the Atlantic by about 1632. If he was in New England for twenty-two years before the first record of him at Hempstead in 1654, it seems odd that he left no known record. So it may be that Samuel's obituary was wrong. Or perhaps George came from a colony to the south, even from the West Indies.
Records at Hempstead and Jamaica:
In 1644 fifty proprietors settled at Hempstead, many from the Stamford, Connecticut, area. Nicholas Tanner was among them. Between that time and about 1654 when a list of proprietors and their holdings was made, some fifty more families arrived, among them George Mills - unless perhaps he had been there all along but was not a landowner. On this list George Mills had six acres "in Mr. Ogden's necke propriety" and six more "In ye Mill River."[11]
On March 10, 1656 fourteen Hempstead residents, saying they had purchased from the Indians the adjacent tract before February 18, of that year, for the third time petitioned Governor Pieter Stuyvesant at New Amsterdam for his confirmation of the purchase. They said the land, then called Conorasset (later Jamaica), between "Conarie See" and Hempstead, was capable of supporting about twenty families. This Stuyvesant accepted on March 21, 1656. George Mills was not one of the signers. Evidently there was a subsequent communication from Stuyvesant, dated July 4, 1656, demanding "the tenths" and the inhabitants of Hempstead replied, agreeing to pay, "iff there be any deputed to receave them according to Covenant." This was signed by many Hempstead citizens including George Mills who made his mark, "M."[12]
By this time George had already received a grant of land in Jamaica. On February 18, 1656 the Town of Jamaica held their first town meeting. They elected Daniel Denton as clerk, decided that anyone who felled a tree in the highway should "take both top and body out of ye highway," and offered a bounty of fifteen shillings for every wolf killed. They granted to George Mills and five others house lots "lying upon the South Quarter off ye Town. The afforesay home lots are to bee six acres in a Lot 18 ffoot longe pole, 12 pole in breadth, 80 in length."[13]
On "November ye 25th 1656 stylo Novo," George Mills and sixteen others including "Nic: Tanner." signed an agreement by which each settler would be allotted ten acres of planting land and twenty of meadow.[14]
However, George still had some ties back in Hempstead. In 1657 a list of 23 owners and their "Number of Cattell" kept in the Neck included "George Miles fower…4."[15] In the same year there was recorded "The number of every mans gattes that they have at the necke," which included "George Miles hath six gattes...6,"[a6] that is, "gates," sections of fencing that he was responsible for.
On "July ye 1st 1657 Stylo Novo," the town of Jamaica divided themselves into four squadrons and divided the mowing of the meadows accordingly. George Mills was in Nathaniel Denton's third squadron, "to lie eastward ffrom Massepe to ye Crick in ye Hassokie medowes;…"[17]
On the "11th off Ffebruary 1661: Stylo novo," George Mills and several others agreed to give information about any Quakers meeting in Rustdorp (the Dutch name for Jamaica) to the Governor's authorities and would assist the town if necessary against them.[18] Actually, this was not so much their anti-Quaker feeling as a desire to avoid having Governor Stuyvesant's soldiers quartered in their homes. Governments at the time felt that Quaker preaching threatened the peace, and Stuyvesant had forbidden people to harbor Quakers in their homes and conduct "conventicles," in other words, preach. "In August 1657 Robert Hodgson, a traveling Quaker preacher, came to Jamaica, where he was received with gladness and made his home at Henry Townsend's, who invited his neighbors to come in and listen to a word of exhortation." Stuyvesant fined Townsend, but other incidents occurred and in January 1661 the governor ordered soldiers to Jamaica until the householders would sign a pledge "to aid the authorities in putting down Quaker meetings." Soon after, Townsend and others moved to Oyster Bay and the agitation seems to have ceased.[19]
On April 11, 1662 a number of men agreed to bring a load of wood apiece to the minister, Mister Prudden, every year. Below the first list is another list, repeating many of the names and adding a few others, including George Mills. Marks next to the names suggest that a tally was kept for many years.[20]
George appeared in town records many other times, mostly relating to lands and taxes.[21] On February 22, 1678/9 he sold to Zachariah Mills ten acres of meadow on Long Neck, half of George's twenty acres there, with the privilege of commonage. No consideration was mentioned, but that does not necessarily mean this was a gift. Nor does the deed call Zachariah his son.[22] But neatly twenty years later, on February 20, 1697 Samuel Ruscoe deposed, saying that he had witnessed the above, referring to "Zachariah & George Mills his father."[23]
On March 24, 1682/1 [sic] "George Mils of Jemaicae in the North Rideing of Yorkshire upon Long Island," in a legal statement which some have called his will, said that his "…wife Rebeccae shall peaseably and quietly posses and injoye my now dwelling howse and home Lot and ortchard dureing her Life time if it please god that shee should live longer than I and allsoe I doe declare that to the best of my understanding that the oblegation given to mee from my sonn Samuel Mills for the Mowing of hay and cutting of wood or any thing els was to be done for my wife if she shall live longer than I and therefore though the writeing be somwhat short in that perticular I doe exspect that what my sonn Samuel Mills should doe for mee dureing my Life the same to be done to my wife if it please god that shee shall live longer than I..."
This was witnessed by Nathaniell Denton, senior, Edward Higbee and John Everit and copied into the town records from the original.[24] The fact that George felt it necessary to direct Samuel to care for George's wife suggests that perhaps Rebecca was not Samuel's mother. On the other hand, there may have been some friction between Samuel and his mother which prompted George to close all possible loopholes. Or perhaps he just wanted it in writing.
On August 13, 1683, the last dated record of George in the town records reads, "There being of fresh Medow a sertaine pese of fresh Medow Lyeing at the upper end of Andrew Mesengers Lot of Medow which was not Layde out as parte of his Lot it was left by the company that belonged to the Long Neck to George Mills and Edward Rowse now it was soe that afterwardes George Mills did bye Edward Rowses parte of that fresh Medowe and afterwardes George Mills did make an Exchange with Andrew Mesenger for some fresh Medowe that the sayde Messenger had upon the west side of his Medowe the truth of which George Mills did owne before mee the day and date above written… Nathaniell Denton, Clerck.[25]
A "List of the Town of Jamaica Anno 1683" included:
Jonathan Mills, 2 horses, 2 oxen, 6 cows, 3 swine, 16 acres, I head, £119
Zachariah Mills, 1 horse, 2 oxen, 2 cows, 0 swine, 19 acres, 1 head, £83
Samuell Mills, 1 horse, 2 oxen, 4 cows, 0 swine, 30 acres, I head, £105
George Mills, 0 horses, 0 oxen, 2 cows, 0 swine, 4 acres, 1 head, £34[26]
No probate records exist for George, probably because he transferred his land to his wife Rebecca on March 24, 1681/2, to his son Zachariah on February 22, 1678/9 and apparently to his son Samuel.
Children of George and Rebecca (___) Mills:[27]
i. Samuel Mills, supposedly born about 1632 but perhaps a few years later; died at Jamaica March 10, 1726[27] age 95 according to his obituary; married about 1659 Susannah Palmer, born probably at Yarmouth, Mass., about 1640-41, daughter of William and Judith (Feake) Palmer.[28] She was still living on May 8, 1718 when she and Samuel with their son Ephraim and his wife Susannah sold land in Jamaica,[29] and was living at the time of Samuel's obituary.
The first record of Samuel in Jamaica town records was for a grant of a house lot on Nov. 18, 1660.[30] There were two marriages and two christenings in Samuel Mills family in the seven years preceding 1688.[31] Deeds document only three of his many Children.[32] The son Samuel3 Mills of Greenwich,[31] should not be confused with Samuel3 [Jonathan2, George1] Mills of Elizabethtown, N.J., discussed below.
"Mills, Jamaica, on Long Island, March 10 (1727). This day died Samuel Mills of this Place, yeoman, who was born in America, aged ninety-five years. He was always a very laborious, honest man, of a very Temperate Life, and was able to do a good day work but a few days before he died. He lived Sixty-eight years with one Wife, who is still alive, by whom he had sixteen children. He has left behind him Nine Children, Eighty Grand Children, and Fifty-four Great Grand Children, and several of his Great Grand children are marriageable. His wife was delivered of a child when she was one and fifty Years of Age.[34]
ii. Zachariah Mills, will made May 9, 1696 and proved Sept. 17, 1696;[35] married between Dec. 13, 1676 and June 10, 1680 Abigail (Messenger) Darling[36] who was living on the date of Zachariah's will. On Dec. 12, 1662 he was granted a home lot in Jamaica.[37] Zachariah was town clerk in Jamaica for many years. There were no marriages or christenings in his family 1681-87, but there was one burial.[38]
iii. Isaac Mills?[39] On August 1, 1677 at a court in Hempstead, several men testified about a horse or horses belonging to Jonathan Mills (see him). One was said to be "Isack Millsis" and added that Isaac Mills gave John Jackson an order "to look after his Jeads (jades, i.e., mares?) that Runs about hempsted bounds."(40) However, from the context one suspects the deponents may have meant Jonathan or perhaps the writing was difficult. If there was such an Isaac in the Hempstead/Jamaica area, this man would have been too old to be a son of Jonathan2.
iv. Jonathan MILLS, married Martha WOOD.
v. Bethia Mills. Cook lists her, based on Nicholas Tanner's will dated Sept. 2, 1658. It seems reasonable to include her.
ENDNOTES
1. Daniel Denton, "A Brief Description of New York 1670," ed. Gabriel Furman (1845 reprinted in "Historical Chronicles of New Amsterdam, Colonial New York and Early Long Island," 2d series, compiled by Cornell Jarray [Port Washington: Ira J. Friedman, 1968], 3-7, 18-19, 20-21; reprinted in Natalie A. Naylor, "The Roots and Heritage of Hempstead Town" [Interlaken, N.Y.: Heart of the Lakes Publishing, 1994), Appendix (4). These excerpts are taken from the latter publication.
2. During the early 1890s, Dr. Edward C. Mills, a young dentist living at the YMCA in Columbus, Ohio, spent a great deal of time corresponding with various Mills families all over the country, seeking his own Mills ancestry. One of his correspondents was James Harrison Mills whose own collection now resides at the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society in New York. Dr. Mills discovered his own family was from Virginia, but, after a hiatus where he married and fathered two daughters, he returned to his voluminous Mills correspondence in 1903. By about 1905 he had compiled three 500-page, well-indexed, handwritten volumes. At some point thereafter these volumes arrived at the Ohio Historical Society in Columbus. They were incorrectly catalogued as the work of Edwin, not Edward, C. Mills, and were microfilmed. In the mid-1990s, after a considerable search, this author located the work, purchased the microfilm and persuaded the Ohio Historical Society to search for and recatalog the original books. These books contain a great deal of material on the descendants of George1 Mills of Jamaica, Long Island, New York. Much may have been derived from Dr. Mills correspondence with J.H. Mills of Buffalo. Unfortunately Dr. Mills transcribed the information into his well-indexed volumes, and the original letters are not with the collection (Mills, Edward C. "Mills Family Genealogy," three vol. on two microfilms, Ohio Historical Society, call no. FLM 28, accession no. M90-789).
The James H. Mills Collection does contain many old letters, but not as much information on the recent generations as E.C. Mills. J.H. Mills worked over his material for at least 25 years, copying and rearranging but without indicating when he did which work. There is some earlier material collected about 1848 by Henry J. Mills of Morristown, New Jersey.
Some years later Lewis D. Cook, relying to some extent on J.H. Mills' work but also doing a great deal of research himself compiled for Frances Paton Mills (Mrs. Robert B. Carnahan, Jr.,) a manuscript entitled "A Documentary History of the Family of Mills, Descended from George Mills of Hempstead and Jamaica, Long Island, 1656." This manuscript, dated 1939, and now at the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society, was microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah and is on Family History Library microfilm #1,697,455. This documented monograph is the best source for many of George Mills' descendants.
In preparing the present volume, I began with Dr. E.C. Mills' manuscript as a framework, then added Lewis D. Cook's detailed research. I also then checked the present-day database of Michael Mills of Hinesburg, Vermont, who has been collecting data on this family for many years and has published a newsletter which has gone by various names, "Mills Ancestry" being one of them. Parts are on the Internet at . The extensive James H. Mills Collection in Buffalo was searched after much research had been done, so not much new was gleaned except insight into some of the errors in accounts of this family.
During the whole process I attempted to verify as much data as possible by reference to original or expertly transcribed copies of original sources. In the process, the original references to E.G. Mills and Cook have mostly been eliminated.
I have tried to include every known fact about the direct ancestors of Herbert Lee Mills. As far as possible, siblings and their spouses are identified with their vital data. In a few places I have analyzed conflicting data.
3. Some sources, in particular the manuscripts of William Applebee Daniel Eardeley (on FHL microfilm #416,893), have said he was born in 1595 and died in 1684. Charles J. Werner, in "Genealogies of Long Island Families," compiled "mainly from records left by Benjamin F. Thompson" (New York, 1919), 105, even says George was born in 1585 and died 17 October 1674 at age 89. But he appears on a tax list in 1683.
4. Now in the Borough of Queens in New York City.
5. Cook, 2-3. Cook's note on p. 3 reads, "Note on the Date of Death of George MILLS… In a letter dated Feb. 9th. 1895, Mr. J.H. Mills of Buffalo, N.Y., to Mr. M.P. Mills of New York, (bound herewith), it is stated that 'These old papers were found in the attic of the homestead [at Smithtown} and are now in custody of Mr. Huntington. Ethelbert jr., (sic, no surname given) of Brooklyn had access for a time to the old papers, about a barrel, among them he has found that George Mills of Jamaica died Oct. 17, 1694 aged 89.', also that 'B.F. Thompson compiled genealogical notes (mss.) but did not publish them relating to Mills. I have a copy of said Notes. Thompson undoubtedly obtained his information from the old papers that had accumulated for five generations in the homestead of my g. grandfather Wm. Mills at M(ills) P(ond).' This serves to correct the date as since published from Thompson's said notes in Genealogies of Long Island Families, 1919, and in a chart opp. p. 341 in "The Whitney Family.' LDC"
6. Tanner's will reads:
September 2, 1658. The last Will and testament of Nicholas TANNER, of Rustdorp (Jamaica), made the day and date above written. Imprimis, my will is yf it please God to take me away, yf I doe not otherwise alter in ye meantime, that my son, John Tanner, living in Tolspidle, within Dorsetshire, England, shall have ₤30 sterling out of my estate. And my will is that if my son cannot be procured to come over, or not heard of, the town where I live shall have the use of it for their general good. Provided they put in Securitie to send it to my sonn or as he shall come over to fetch it.
2. My will is that Thomas Ireland shall have five pounds. And Richard Everard's children, and Roger Lynn his boy, and John Rodes his youngest boy shall have ten pounds amongst them.
3. My will is that Bethia Mills shall have a cow and a calfe, and that she and her mother shall have ten pounds more betwixt them, to buy them clothes with.
4. My will is that Henry Pearsall's children shall have 5 shillings a peice. My will is that John Eazor shall have my share of the tackling and cart that is betwixt us, and my share of the hollowes. Henry Pearsall shall have my cloak, and Daniel Denton my suit of cloathes. Zacharias Mills shall have a calf. My will is that a beast shall be sold to buy some linnen to bury me in, and also a sheete and other things that shall be needfull; And the white faced cow killed at my burial and given to the neighbours. My will is that yf God take me away, and that I doe not otherwise alter in the mean time, that Henry Pearsall, of Hempstead, and Daniel Denton, of Rustdorp, shall be my executors.
George Mills is to have all my cloathing except as above given.
Witnesses, George Mills, Timothy Halstead, Henry Pearsall, Daniel Denton. Quietus granted, June 23, 1666 ("Collections of the New York Historical Society: Abstracts of Wills on file in the Surrogate's Office, City of New York, vol. II (1893), Appendix, 415-16).
On 2 July 1660 the following was entered on Jamaica town records:
"Whereas there was a certaine parsell off mony Amounting to thirty pounds was left By Nicolas Tanner deceased for the use of his sonn and the Towne to have the use of it after Inquirie made for his sonn till he shall come and fetch it or send for it. These underwritten doe protest against having any thing to doe with the saide Mony either themselves or heirs or executors for beneffit or damage."
John Townsend and George Mills made their marks on this (Josephine C. Frost, ed., "Records of the Town of Jamaica, 1656-1751" [Brooklyn: Long Island Historical Society, 1914], 1:8-9, from the original 1:10). A second copy, "taken out of the owld booke by mee Nath Denton Town Clerk," does not mention the marks. On 24 January 1664 the town, having spent the money, agreed that they would pay it if lawfiilly demanded. (Frost 1:170-711, from the original 2:3-4).
Many have claimed, presumably based on this will, that George's wife Rebecca must have been surnamed Tanner. However, if so, it seems odd that Tanner referred to her, not by name, but as Bethia's mother. If one assumes his daughter was deceased the omission seems plausible; George might already have married again. On the other hand, the fact that the town, rather than heirs, was to have the ₤30 if John didn't claim it, suggests that Tanner left no heirs in America. On the other hand, George's disclaimer does suggest that at least some thought he and Townsend might claim a right to it. Cook lists Bethia and Zachariah as George's children, but does not suggest that Rebecca's maiden name was Tanner. Actually, Bethia could even be George's wife.
There was another Nicholas Tanner at Swansea, Mass., in 1663 and Rehoboth in 1666 (James Savage, "A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England [Boston, 1860-62; reprint, Baltimore, 1965, 1981] 4:253), but no connection with Nicholas of Long Island has been found.
7. Or at least Nicholas thought he was. "Tolspidle" must be the village called Tolpuddle, for which there are no extant church records until the 1730s. However, it is beyond the scope of this project to pursue this lead.
8. Benjamin F. Thompson, History of Long Island (New York: B. French, 1839), 382-83, implies that most of the first settlers of Jamaica came from Milford. Besides George Mills, he names Henry Messenger, which is totally inaccurate. It was Andrew Messenger who was at Hempstead and Jamaica (Helen S. Ullmann, "The Three Messengers: Henry, Andrew and Edward: Clearing the Decks," New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 152 [1998]:353-372). However, no trace of George has been found in Milford deeds or other records. Charles Werner said George "was probably a descendant of John Mills who was made freeman of Boston in 1632" (Werner, Long Island Families, 105.) Since Werner also says the Timothy Mills, who actually was a son of Jonathan2, was a son of Jonathan's brother Samuel, we can see that Werner's (actually Thompson's) conclusions were based on insufficient evidence. A copy of B.F. Thompson's partially inaccurate work on the Mills family is in the James Harrison Mills Collection. John Mills and his wife Susan were admitted to the Boston church in the fall of 1630, and he was admitted freeman on 6 March 1631/2. His children were born in the 1620s and 1630s. In his will dated 12 January 1677 he appointed "my only son John Mills" his sole executor (Robert Charles Anderson, "The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633," 3 vol. [Boston: NEHGS, 1995], 2:1259-62.).
9. Richard also lived in Stamford, Conn., Newtown, which neighbors Jamaica on Long Island, and Westchester, New York, now part of the Bronx (Helen S. Ullmann, "Richard Mills, Seventeenth-Century Schoolmaster in Connecticut and New York," New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 154 [2000]:189-210) Herbert Furman Seversmith's manuscripts, Notebook #4, p. 1125f, on FHL #569823, treat Richard to some extent. A paper by John A. Drobnicki, "Richard Mills of Stratford, Connecticut or is it New Haven, Long Island, or Westchester?," (nd.), was published in Michael Mills' "Mills Ancestry" newsletter #34 (10 July 1994), but without its bibliography, and at www.york.cuny.edu-/~drobnik/mills.html. This erroneously suggests that there were two different Richard Mills in the area.
10. Denton, a 1623 graduate of St. Katherine's College, Cambridge, had served at Coley Chapel in Halifax in Yorkshire and arrived in Watertown, Massachusetts, sometime between 1635 and 1638. From there he went to Wethersfield, Connecticut, by about 1638. In 1641 he led the majority of the Wethersfield church members to the new colony at Stamford, Connecticut, but remained there for only about three years and moved to Hempstead. About 1659 he retumed to England. "Coley Chapel… was the center of a small group of outlying communities near Halifax, and from several of these places came quite a few of the early settlers of Hempstead." The best treatment of this family is that by Walter C. Krumm, "Who was the Rev. Richard Denton," "New York Genealogical and Biographical Record," 117 [1986]:163-66, 211-27. See also George D.A. Combes, "Genealogy of the Descendants of Rev. Richard Denton of Hempstead, Long Island, for the First Fiat Generations," typescript, (1936), photocopy by University Microfilms at the Family History Library, "written up from mss. notes prepared over a period of several years by Wm. AD. Eardeley Esq., now deceased, a careful genealogist," 1, 3-4. Henry R. Stiles, "The History of Ancient Wethersfield," 2 v. (New York, 1904; reprint, Somersworth, N.H., 1987), 1:21, 142-45, provides additional detail. Unfortunately extant parish registers for Coley Chapel do not begin until 1734.
On the other hand, Long Island was called "Yorkshire" for a some administrative purposes from 1664 to 1683 and was divided into three ridings. In one deed (detailed below) George is said to be of the North Riding of Yorkshire upon Long Island. Possibly this is where the rumor that he was from Yorkshire originated.
11. The second piece identified as "for estate number last but 1 (51)" in George D.A. Combes, "The 1654 List," published in several places including "The Roots and Heritage of Hempstead Town," Natalie A. Naylor, ed. (Interlaken, N.Y.: Heart of the Lakes Publishing, 1994), 185-89. This is a carefully documented collection of scholarly essays on the early years of the town. Also, "Records of the Towns of North and South Hempstead, Long Island, N.Y.," 8 v. (Jamaica: Long Island Fanner Print., 1896), 1:114, from Liber A, 164.
12. "Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New York," v. 14, B. Femow, ed., (Albany: Weed, Parsons and company, 1883), 339-40, 362-63. A facsimile appears in Naylor, "Roots and Heritage," 36, saying that this document is in New York Colonial Manuscripts, v. 12, document 41, at the New York State Archives.
13. Frost, Jamaica, 1:1-2, from the original 1:1-2.
14. "wee whose names are underwritten being true owners by vertue of purchase from ye Indians & graunt from ye Governor & Council given & graunted ye 21st off March 1656… living at ye new plantation near unto ye bever pond, comonly called Jemaico: I say wee in Consideration off our charge & trouble in getting & setting off ye place have reserved ffor our selves ye ffull and just sum off ten acres off planting Land a man besides ye home lots, in ye nearest & most Convenientst place ye Can ffind & soe likewise 20 acres off medowing a man in ye Convenientst place ye Can ffind and this shall remain as theirs their heirs executors and assighnes ffor their proper right every man taking his Lott according to their ffirst right to ye Land…" ("Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New York," 14:504-05; also transcribed with slight differences in Frost, Jamaica, 1:2 from the original 1:2, repeated in Frost, 1:170, from the original 2:3). "Stilo Novo," or New Style, refers to the difference between the Julian calendar (Old Style) used by the English and the Gregorian (New Style) used by the Dutch. England did not make the change until 1752.
15. "North and South Hempstead," 1:19 from Liber A, p. 4.
16. Ibid., 20, from Liber A, p. 7. Cow Neck (now Manhasset Neck) was a peninsula of several thousand acres of well-timbered, fertile land on the north side of the town. A fence across the head of the neck from Manhasset Bay to Hempstead Harbor had been built by some members of the town who were then entitled to pasture their cattle on the neck in proportion to the number of sections of fence or "gates" that each had built and maintained ("Roots and Heritage," pp. 59-60). At some point, perhaps in 1658, George was allotted twelve acres of meadow at Hempstead, and on 9 March 1659 New Style he was taxed "12," presumably meaning on the twelve acres. Finally on 13 December 1661 George Mills of Rusdorp (the Dutch called Jamaica "Rustdorp") sold to Robert Beddell "my house barne and whome Lott in hempsted Affores'd and alsoe Another home lot adjoyning to it, w'ch I purchassed of Daniell Whitehead." On the same day he sold to Thomas Ellison "all my acomodations in Hempsted... (excepting one house & barne with two house lots which formly I sold to Roberd beagle [sic])" ("North and South Hempstead," 1:31 from Liber A., p. 19; 1:68 from A:79; 1:247 from B:165; 2:372-73 from D:252, the deeds also abstracted in NYGBR 71[1940]:5).
17. Frost, "Jamaica," 1:3-4, from the original 1:4-5. Evidently they rotated which squadron mowed where, because on 29 June 1658 Nathaniel Denton's squadron was to mow "at ye neck below y' old houses," and on 25 March 1659 the town concluded that Nathaniel Denton and his squadron should mow "at ye bawtrees [a river]." On 18 February 1660 the town again cast lots "ffor ye South medowes as ye have done fformerly for this ensuing year ye medowes being devided into 4 necks... so they shall continue ffor perpetuity…" Goodman Everet had taken over the third squadron which was thus to mow the long neck ("Documents Relating to the Colonial History of New York,' 14:505-06, "a true Coppy taken out of ye townbooke by Daniel Denton, clark, Rustdorp, ye 29th off August 1661").
On 27 Februaiy 1658 the town agreed "according to a fformer order" that the first proprietors and their associates should have ten acres of planting land in a convenient place. George Mills was to have a lot on the east side (Frost, Jamaica, 1:4, from the original 1:5; the date is probably 1657/8 as it follows an item dated 13 Jan. 1657).
18. Frost, "Jamaica," 1:105-06, from 1:120.
19. "History of Queens County, New York" (New York: W.W. Munsell & Co., 1882), 235. Another account of the Quaker presence in Long Island appears in Peter Ross, "A History of Long Island" (New York & Chicago: Lewis Publ. Co., 1902), 1:166f the incident at Jamaica at 1:168.
20. Frost, "Jamaica," 1:100, from the original 1:115. While the first names have multiple marks, George has only one.
21. On 30 April 1661 the men belonging to Long Neck drew lots for their meadows, George Mills among them (Frost, "Jamaica," 1:11, from the original 1:12). An undated item, "A Rate made for ye Satisfiing off ye West Purchase," included George Mills and two of his sons on a list of 46 names. George had 20 acres of meadow, Samuel and Zachary 10 each (Frost, "Jamaica," 1:91-93, from 1:106-07. Cook says this was ordered on 5 February 1665 but the date does not appear at 1:91-93).
acres Medows Ld b cg
20 George Mills 1 02 2
10 SamuelMi11s 0 13 8
b d
10 ZacharyMills 09 5f
George Mills was among those voting to grant land to William Brinkly on 5 December 1670 (Frost, "Jamaica," 1:45, from 1:53). Two years later, George and Zachariah made their marks with those
"whose names are underwritten being the true owners of the medowe Lying upon the Nek called the Longe Neke have unanimowsly agreede to fens (fence) the Neke to themselvs the which fens is to be done well and suffitiontly between this and the Last of Marche next. And after it is fensed the fens is to be mainetened and kept in repaire yearely by every man acordeing to theire share. And Likewise it is agreede upon that noe cattell shall be put in to the Neke in the spring of the yeare unles it be such horses as they keepe up for to Ryde or Worke. And a fortnit after Michalmas none to put in above a beaste for every twae akers of medow And Likewise it is agreede upon that when wee carte hay out of the medowse if any one have ocation he may leave his oxen there all nighte. November the 18 Anno 1672 (Frost, "Jamaica," 1:99-100, from 1:114).
George and Zachariah Mills were on a list of 28 May 1674 of "those men that will give a dayse worke towardes the removeing of the fens at the owlde Towne Nek to the end that that (sic) medowe that was formerly apointed by the Towne to ly comman for the cattel to goe to at their pleasure may now be layde comman and soe Remaine for perpetuety" (Frost, "Jamaica," 1:94, from 1:108). Along with others, George and Zachariah signed on town records on 8 April 1676 saying,
"This may sertefy any whome it may conserne that wee whose names are heare underwritten doe owne and acknowledge to have sould and reseived full satesfaction for all our rightes of comman medow at or upon the furder easte neck all medow not devided nor layde out wee have sould and made over unto Daniell Whitehead of Jemaica as his proper right..."
A list dated 19 March 1684 shows the number of acres each man listed above had received. George Mills got 20 and Zachariah Mills 5 (Frost, "Jamaica," 1:253, from 2:82; the first document recorded in Queens Co. Deeds, A:30, on 23 Oct. 1688).
22. On the same day George sold to William Creed of Jamaica the right to commonage and upland belonging to ten acres of meadow. Again on the same day, George and Zachariah, both of Jamaica, bound themselves to deliver to Will Creed of Jamaica ten acres of upland to be laid out "in some convenant place wher ye sayed Creed shall think fit" (Frost, "Jamaica," 1:149-50, from 1:171; 1:153-54, from 1:176; see also 2:233 from 2:430).
23. Frost, "Jamaica," 2:233-34. This says 1696/5([sic), but it must be 1696/7. This 1697 deposition also says Zachariah was deceased but he was living when he made his will on 20 May 1696. Thus the clerk must have made an error in the date.
An undated statement in Jamaica town records says, "The Litle playnes was measured and divided by John Oldfield and Samuell Smith the survayres chosen by the Towne into foure parts or squadrons to the men hearafter Mentioned viz…" In the list of ten for the southwest quarter is George Mills, and on the list of 16 for the southeast quarter are Samuel and Zachariah Mills (Frost, "Jamaica," 1:183, from 2:11, said to be copied from the "owlde booke" where the list, without an introductory explanation, appears in Frost, 1:45-46, from 1:53, still undated, between an entry in 1670 and one in 1695. It is interesting that, while they are in exactly the same order, some of the names are rendered quite differently in the two versions, e.g. Fult Clauis on the old list is Fulk Davis on the copy and Rd Linas on the first is Roger Lynas on the second, etc.).
On 12 May 1679 the town decided that some of the meadow on the East Neck should be divided. On the list of existing meadow shares were George Mills with 20 acres and Zachariah and Samuel with 15, the two latter each dividing a 20-acre right with another man. George drew lot 15, Samuel lot 18 with John Ludly, and Zachariah must have gotten lot 36 along with Wait Smith (Frost, "Jamaica," 1:208-10, from 2:39).
One wonders why Jonathan Mills was not included in these divisions.
24. Frost, "Jamaica," 1:212, from 2:41.
25. Frost, "Jamaica," 1:230, from 2:59.
26. The Documentary History of the State of New York, E.B. O'Callaghan, ed., 4 v., (1849), 2:519-21. Cook refers to this as 1:509. These volumes were printed in both a large and a small format. It may be that it appears at 1:509 [or perhaps 2:509] in the large format set.
27. Some, in particular B.F. Thompson and in some places the James H. Mills Collection, have included sons named George and Nathaniel, saying the latter died at Jamaica on 4 November 1728 age 91 (James H. Mills, in several places, e.g. Box 1, Chart 1; Edward C. Mills, 1:3, probably had it from J.H. Mills who in turn had it from B.F. Thompson, published in 1919 in Werner, "Genealogies of Long Island Families," 105. The source of the death record has not been found. No trace of a younger George has been found. Nathaniel was not listed by Cook who discusses the erroneous transcription of a 1678 document by Benj. F. Thompson in his "History of Long Island." Cook said that Thompson dated it 1660 and changed the name of Zachariah to Nathaniel (Cook, 17).
28. Horace Wilbur Palmer, "Palmer Families in America" (Neshanic, N.J.: Neshanic Punting Co., 1966), 14, 19.
29. Frost, "Jamaica," 3:220-22, from 3:246-47; Ephraim signed and the others made their marks.
30. Frost, "Jamaica," 1:9, from 1:10.
31. "Return of Marriages Christenins (sic) & Burials in the Town of Jamaica F 7 Years Preceding
1688" in O'Callaghan, "Documentary History," 3:197.
32. On 22 Jan. 1682/3 Samuel, "sonn of George Mills Inhabitant of Jemaicae," sold 2½ acres of salt meadow to his son-in-law John Smith of Jamaica (Frost, "Jamaica," 1:226, from 2:55; also 3:11-12, from 3:70). On 25 Feb. 1685/6 Samuel and "Susana" made their marks on a deed to their son-in-law John Smith and Elizabeth his wife (Frost, Jamaica, 3:12-13, from 3:71. Samuel acknowledged this at Queens Co. on 19 Dec. 1709). On 6 April 1697 Samuel and "Sewzanah Miles" made their marks on a deed to Samuel Mills Jr. of Jamaica. It included three pieces of land with house, gardens, orchards, etc. (Frost, "Jamaica,' 2:196-98 from 2:401-02). On 6 July 1698 Samuel, Sr., and "Seuzanah" of Jamaica deeded several pieces to "our sone John Miles" (Frost, Jamaica, 2:294-95, from 2:477). In a Greenwich, Conn., deed dated 19 March 1716, Samuel Mills, Senr, and his wife Susanna of Jamaica made their marks on a deed to their son Samuel Mills of Greenwich, "in consideration of a mare," conveying one sixth of the land granted to "our brother John Palmer deceased of Greenwich." Samuel's mark resembled a backwards S and Susannah's a little pie with a piece cut out (Greenwich Deeds, 2:236, acknowledged at Queens County the same day, witnesses Jeremiah Smith and Samuel Denten, recorded 6 Feb. 1717/8).
33. Helen Schatvet Ullmann, "Samuel Mills of Jamaica, New York, and Greenwich, Connecticut," scheduled for the NEHG Register in April, 2002.
34. Cook, p. 10, from "Boston News Letter," 1727. No. 14; reprinted in "New England Historical and Genealogical Register," 14[1860]:106. Cook added by hand, "The original Gazette is dated from March 6 to Monday, Mar. 13th. 1726,' i.e. 1726/7 - examined in N.Y.C. Public Library, 5th Ave. & 42d St. L.D.C." A similar obituary notice in the "New York Gazette" as reprinted in Benjamin F. Thompson, "History of Long Island," 1st ed. (1839), 164; 2d. ed. (New York: Gould, Banks & Co., 1843), 1:272; 3rd ed. (1918), 2:48, reports, under date of March 15th, 1727 [i.e. 1726/7], "On Friday last, died at Jamaica, Queen's County, Samuel Mills, yeoman, (who was born in America,)" etc. as above.
35. Abstract in NYGBR, 65:246; also abstracted by William Applebee Eardeley, in "Records in the Office of the County Clerk at Jamaica, Long, Island, New York, 1680-1781, Abstracts of Wills and Administrations, Guardians and Inventories," typescript (Brooklyn, 1918), 32 from Queens Co. Deeds, A:114, which is on FHL #0,017,715.
36. Cook, 16, cites a deed of 1 Sept. 1674 when Abigail Darling of Jamaica sold her house and land (from Frost, "Jamaica," 1:127-28) and a petition of Abigail Mills quondam Darling, dated 10 June 1680, "praying for a remission of a fine for cohabiting with her present husband before marriage" ("Calendar of Historical Manuscripts in the office of the Secretary of State, Albany, N.Y.," Part II, E.B. O'Callaghan, ed. [Albany: Weed, Parsons & Co., 1865-66], 89). A recent transcription of the Andros Papers gives further detail: on 13 December 1676 Abigail Darling and Zachariah Mills had been bound over by the last Court for having a bastard. Abigail claimed that "your Peticioners remisness in that kind was chiefly occasioned by her former Husbands unkindness, hee going away from her, and her three children, and Leaving them in a desolate and deplorable condlicion." Even though their neighbors recommended leniency, on 13 Aug. 1680 the Governor denied their petition for relief from the fine of ₤5 each. ("The Andros Papers, 1674-76," Peter R. and Florence A. Christoph, eds. (Syracuse University Press, 1989), 487, 1679-80 (1991), 312). For evidence that Abigail's maiden name was Messenger see Ullmann, "The Three Messengers," Register 152[1998]:362.
37. Cook, 16, from Frost, "Jamaica," 1:18, from the original 1:19.
38. O'Callaghan, "Documentary History," 3:197.
39. An Isaac Mills on 9 April 1671 purchased a house and four acres of land at Southampton from John Beswick (Southampton Records, 2:59, from the original Book A, No. 2:92). This was almost certainly the son of Richard Mills of Southampton (Ullmann, "Richard Mills," Register, 154:204-05). Cook did not list an Isaac in this family, and no Isaac Mills appears in Jamaica records.
40. "Town Records of North and South Hempstead," 1:358-59, from Liber B, pp. 310-312."

SOURCES_MISC:
1. FHL book 929.273-K727kf: "Knapp's N' Kin, The Ancestral Lines of Frederick H Knapp and Others," compiled by: Frederick H Knapp, Rt. #2, Box 438C, AB Hwy, Richland, Missouri, 65556; 1987; Revised/Updated 1991. It notes the following sources, none of which I have yet reviewed:
-Hist. of Greenwich, by S.P. Mead (1911).
-7 Gen. of Judith's, by A. Gibson
-NEGHR, v. 14, p. 106.
-CT Ancestry (Dec 1963 and 1986).
-Samuel Mills and Descendants, by Samuel Mills IX.
-Rundle Fam. of Amer. (1992). 		Mills, George (I4770)
 
2867 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 M625u "A Mills and Kendall Family History…," by Helen Schatvet Ullmann (Boston, 2002), pp. 3-9:
"Isaac Mills?[39] On August 1, 1677 at a court in Hempstead, several men testified about a horse or horses belonging to Jonathan Mills (see him). One was said to be "Isack Millsis" and added that Isaac Mills gave John Jackson an order "to look after his Jeads (jades, i.e., mares?) that Runs about hempsted bounds."(40) However, from the context one suspects the deponents may have meant Jonathan or perhaps the writing was difficult. If there was such an Isaac in the Hempstead/Jamaica area, this man would have been too old to be a son of Jonathan2.
ENDNOTES
39. An Isaac Mills on 9 April 1671 purchased a house and four acres of land at Southampton from John Beswick (Southampton Records, 2:59, from the original Book A, No. 2:92). This was almost certainly the son of Richard Mills of Southampton (Ullmann, "Richard Mills," Register, 154:204-05). Cook did not list an Isaac in this family, and no Isaac Mills appears in Jamaica records.
40. "Town Records of North and South Hempstead," 1:358-59, from Liber B, pp. 310-312."

SOURCES_MISC:
1. FHL book 929.273-K727kf: "Knapp's N' Kin, The Ancestral Lines of Frederick H Knapp and Others," compiled by: Frederick H Knapp, Rt. #2, Box 438C, AB Hwy, Richland, Missouri, 65556; 1987; Revised/Updated 1991. It notes the following sources, none of which I have yet reviewed:
-Hist. of Greenwich, by S.P. Mead (1911).
-7 Gen. of Judith's, by A. Gibson
-NEGHR, v. 14, p. 106.
-CT Ancestry (Dec 1963 and 1986).
-Samuel Mills and Descendants, by Samuel Mills IX.
-Rundle Fam. of Amer. (1992). 		Mills, Isaac (I4777)
 
2868 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 119-123, in speaking of George Michael Eller: "George apparently had a brother, Henry (d. 1788; md. to Elizabeth Bigler).

2. Per online "Eller Chronicles," http://freepages.family.rootsweb.com/~adelr/may88/may88p6.htm:
"Immigrant Henry Eller. Sr. and Elizabeth Bigler," compiler: Gale Edwin Spitzer Honeyman, 470 Grove #2, San Francisco, CA, 94102. (Eds.: The following confirms and greatly extends the information first published by James W. Hook, 1957, on Henry Eller who arrived in Philadelphia 25 Oct 1746 aboard the Neptune.)
Henry Eler and wife baptised 14 Apr 1754 by Elder Michael Franz, Conestoga Dunker Congregation, Lancaster Co., PA, Cocalico District. From: "A History of the Brethern," by Martin Brumbaugh, 1899, p. 312.
Frederick Co., MD Deed Liber K, Folio 1284: Jacoby Catherine Flora to Henry Eller, 90 acres, part of Hammond Strife, 6 Jun 1767, witnesses Thomas & Elizabeth Wood. Located near Linwood between Uniontown and New Windsor in the Pipe Creek Dunker District.
Ibid, Liber B-0, Folio 3: Henry & Elizabeth Eller sold same 14 Jun 1771.
Ibid, Liber P, Folio 128: Henry bought 110 on Beaver Dam Branch of Little Pipe, Creek, 13 Jun 1772 in Beaver Dam Dist.
Ibid, Liber WR-6, Folio 4: Henry and Elizabeth Eller sold same 16 May 1785.
Washington Co., MD Deed Liber H-41, Folio 657: "Where as a certain Henry Eller of Washington County deceased the father of Joseph Eller, Elizabeth Eller, Rebecca Eller, Henry Eller, Jacob Eler (sic), Ester (sic) Eller, Daniel Eller, Sarah Eller, Magdalena Eller, Maria Eler (sic), Saloma Eler (sic), Peter Eler (sic), and at the same time of his death was seized in fee of two tracts of Land the one called Wallings Such the other tract called part of Adventure lying and being in Washington County and containing One Hundred and Ninty and One Half Acre of Land. Deed to Joseph Eller by Heirs Christian Elizabeth Herter, Christian and Rebecca Gerber, Henry & Fronica Eller, Jacob & Magadalena Gerber. 24 Dec 1793, all of Washington Co., MD.
lbid, have Reference to Deed Liber & Folios as follows regarding said tracts, but not content: H,657, 860; J, 396; M, 462. Peter Eller signed release 5 Apr 1800. Apparently remaining heirs signed deeds for which I have no record.
Abstracts from The Mary Bigler Family: 1738 bought tract in Lancaster (York) Co., PA. 1743, 1750, 1761, 1781 bought adjoining tracts along Great Pipe Creek. As Marks Beigler of Pipe Creek Hundred wrote will 19 Mar 1787, "... To my daughter Elizabeth wife of Henry Eller the sum of six pounds lawful money of the State of Maryland." Known as a Dunker of the Pipe Creek Congregation.
Children of Henry Eller, Sr. and Elizabeth Bigler:
1. Joseph
2. Elizabeth c1757 - c1827 Lanier Twp., Preble Co., OH, m. c1774 Christian Herter c1754 - c1825 s/o Johannes George & Eva
3. Rebecca m. Christian Gerber/Garber
4. Henry II? - 1832 Randolph Twp., Montgomery Co., OH, m. Francis
5. Jacob c1764 - Buried 8 May 1831 Burkittsville, MD, m. 14 Oct 1789
6. Esther (?) m. 18 Mar 1794 Frederick Co., MD to George Bechtel
7. Daniel m. Hannah
8. Sarah
9. Mary Magdalena 8 Aug 1775 - ?, m. 3 Dec 1793 to Jacob Garber, 14 May 1767 - 19 Jan 1852, s/o Jacob
10. Maria (? Anna Mary 28 Jan 17 - ) - 8 Dec 1816, m. John Mikesell, 28 Mar 1752 - 14 Aug 1827 Montgomery Co., OH, s/o Andrew & Catharina (Ahlentz) - (Anna Mary), (John's first wife whom he m. c1775 which places her too early of a birth if children were named in deed according to rotation of their birth.)
11. Salome, thought to have m. Henry Schultz
12. Peter, thought to have m. Anna Ingle (Angle)
Editor's note. Mr. Honeyman goes on to say that upon request he can send data for Children, Elizabeth Harter, Mary Magdalena Garber and the assumed Anna Mary Mikesell. He says, "I have fully abstracted all Eller data, except deeds, in the Miami CO., OH courthouse. Leonard Eller of the George Michael line lived there for a short time and Hook did not hit 100% in his data regarding Leonard's family." Mr. Honeyman also listed the following citations: (1) "A Harter Journal," 1982, by Byron H. Harter, 701 SE 6th St., Ft. Lauderdale, FL, 33301 (contains the family records of Christian & Elizabeth Eller Harter. Eldest daughter of emigrant Henry, pp. 23-105. Removed from MD to Preble Co., OH.) (2) "The Garber Historical and Genealogical Record," Vol. 1, No. 1, 1937, by (late) Clark M. Garber. (Contains the family record of Jacob, Mary Magdalene (Eller) Garber II, daughter of Emigrant Henry Eller. A Brethern minister, removed from MD to Washington Co., PA to Jefferson Twp., Richland Co., OH. Clark noted there were numerous Eller burials in the Ten Mile Church of the Brethern Cemetery in Washington Co., PA.) (3) "The Mark Bigler Family," 1960 by Norman Burns, is descendant of Mark (Marcus Beegler) Bigler, emigrant on Richard and Elizabeth, 28 Sep 1733, Philadelphia, subsequently wed Catharine ___?, parents of Elizabeth, wife of emigrant Henry Eller. This marriage is mentioned but line of descent was unknown to author. (4) "Meiyssel Meixel Mikesell," 1985, by Aradella M. Rohde, gives family of John & Anna Mary (Eller) Mikesell."

3. Per online "Eller Chronicles," http://freepages.family.rootsweb.com/~adelr/may90/may90p1.htm#henry: "Henry Eller, Sr. married Elizabeth Bigler, daughter of Mark and Catherine Bigler, in Pennsylvania. According to a deed recorded in Deed Book K, pg. 1284, of Frederick County, Maryland, Henry bought a parcel of 90 acres in "Hammond's Strife" near his brother George Michael, on June 6, 1767. He sold his property on June 14, 1771, as shown in Deed Book O, pg. 3. On June 23, 1772, Henry bought 110 acres on Beaver Dam, a draught of Little Pipe Creek, in Frederick County, Maryland, and sold it on May 16, 1785. This deed was recorded in Deed Book P, pg. 128, and Deed Book WR 6 pg. 4. Henry Eller died in 1788 in Washington County, Maryland."

4. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 13-14: "Henry Eller, brother apparently of George Michael, also owned 90 acres of land called a part of Hammond Strife that he purchased, 6 Jun 1767, from Jacob Flora. Thomas and Elizabeth Wood witnessed the deed. (Deed Book K, p. 1284, Fred. Co., MD.) Henry Eller and Elizabeth, his wife, sold this land, 14 June 1771, (Deed Book O, p. 3, Fred. Co., MD), and on 13 June 1772 bought 110 acres of land nearby on Beaver Dam Branch, a draught of Little Pipe Creek. (Deed Book P, p. 128, Fred. Co., MD) Henry Eller and his wife, Elizabeth, sold this 110 acre farm 16 May 1785. (Deed Book WR6, p. 4, Fred. Co., MD.) He died in 1788, (Admin. Acct. Washington Co., MD) leaving Children, according to a deed, dated 4 Dec 1793 in Washington Co., MD, which show his children and in some cases their spouses to have been named (1) Joseph Eller, whose age in the 1800 census of Washington Co., MD was over 45 and whose family consisted of a wife, aged over 45, three daughters, aged between 16-26, two daughters, aged between 10 and 16 and three sons, aged under 10. (2) Elizabeth Eller, who m. Christian Herter (Hester); (3) Rebecca Eller, who m. Christian Gerber; (4) Henry Eller Jr. and his wife Fronica. He removed to Montgomery Co., Ohio where he died in 1832 leaving a wife Fronica and children Daniel, b. 28 Mar 1785; d. 7 Jun 1863; m. Elizabeth Siler, b. 4 Oct 1784; d. 16 Mar 1872 (gravestones), a daughter Mary, b. 29 Jan 1788; d. 14 Aug 1876 (gravestone) who married Jacob Albaugh, and probably Abraham and Joseph and other children; (5) Jacob Eller and his wife Margareth, doubtless the Jacob Eller who m. 14 Oct 1789, Mary Willjard; (6) Esther Eller who probably was the Esther Eller who m. 18 Mar 1794 George Bechtel; (7) Daniel Eller and his wife Hannah; (8) Sarah Eller; (9) Magdalene Eller who m. Jacob Gerber; (10) Maria Eller, probably the Maria Eller who m. Christian Schaub, 31 Aug 1803; (11) Salome Eller who m. Henry Schultz; (13) Peter Eller a minor not of age in 1795 but who signed an heirship release 5 April 1800 indicating that he had then reached his majority. (Washington Co., Md. Deeds, Book H, pp. 657 and 860; Book J, p. 396 and Book M, p. 462)
According to a letter of Mary Hoss Headman of Knoxville, Tenn., published in the Maryland Historical Magazine in 1945, (Vol. 50, p. 250), Henry Eller Sr. married Elizabeth Bigler (Beigler), dau. of Mark and Catherine Boggler. Mark Bigler's will, proved in Frederick Co. in 1787, mentions a wife Catherine, (sometimes written Marie Catherine), and Children, (1) Catherine Bigler, who m. Henry Miller; (2) Elizabeth Bigler, who m. Henry Eller (Etter); (3) Phoebe Bigler, who m. Lazarus Fonderburgh; (4) Salome Bigler, who m. Samuel Tomme; (5) Mark Bigler Jr., who m. Catherine Lease, dau. of Philip Lease who d. in Frederick Co., MD about 1769; (6) Israel Bigler; (7) Daughter Bigler, who m. Mr. Randabush; (8) Hester Bigler; (9) Juliana Bigler; (10) Barbara Bigler. (Will Book GM, No. 2, p. 238, Frederick Co., MD.)"

5. FHL book 929.273 EL54ejg "John Jacob Eller and His Descendants with Other Pre-1800 Eller Immigrants to America...," by J. Gerald Eller, Edward K. Eller, and Janine Eller Porter (The Eller Family Association, 1998), pp. 22-27:
"Henry Eller
A Henry Ellars (Eller) came on the ship Neptune from Rotterdam and took the Oath of Allegiance 25 Oct 1746.[1] This is believed to be Henry Eller who bought land called Hammond Strife in Frederick County, Maryland on 6 June 1767.[2] Hook thought Henry Eller was probably a brother of George Michael Eller since they lived in the same community.[3] As already slated elsewhere, evidence indicates they were probably also brothers or close relatives of John Jacob, John Melchior and Christian Eller of Rowan County, North Carolina, but the degree of their kinship to the latter three has not been proven beyond some doubt.
Table VII below is based on genealogy by Clarice Eller Stanley of Martin's Ferry, Ohio and taken from the Eller Chronicles, Vol VII:2 Sp. Ed. May, 1994. This provides much new information on Henry Eller and descendants of his sons, but little new information on descendants of his daughters. For sources of new information on this line, see the listings from the Eller Chronicles in the bibliography at the end of this chapter for her major contribution to the family history and genealogy of this line. Clarice Eller Stanley was awarded the James W. Hook Memorial Award by the Eller Family Association at its 1995 biennial conference in Asheville, North Carolina.
Table VII: Henry Eller married Elizabeth Bigler. Frederick County, Maryland. Their children and grandchildren:
1 Joseph married Elizabeth Graybill.
2. Maria Elizabeth, b 1752, Frederick Co., MD; d ca. 1815, Preble Co., OH; m Christian Herter; Children: Susanna, Henry, Phoebe, John, Rebecca, Mary, Joseph, Catherine.
3. Rebecca, b ca. 1760; M. Christian Gerber
4. Henry Jr ... b ca. 1762, MD; d ca. 1838, Montgomery Co., OH; m Frances Graybill; Children: Daniel. Mary, Christina. Unknown female. Henry HI. Abraham. Frances. Sarah. Elizabeth Anna.
5. Jacob Sr., b ca. 1764, MD; d 1831, MD; m. MD, 14 Oct 1792, Eva Margaret Willard; Children: Sally, Jacob Jr., Elias, Susan, Peter.
6. Esther, m George Bechtel, 18 Mar. 1794, German Reformed Ch., Frederick Co., MD.
7. Daniel, b ca 1769 in VA or MD; d aft. 1850; m Hannah (Unknown); one child.
8. Mary Magdalene, b 8 Aug 1775, MD; m 3 Dec 1793, Carroll Co., MD, Jacob Garber II; Children: Michael Jacob III, Rebecca, Elizabeth, Samuel, Lydia, Christina, Nancy, Mary Madlana, Henry, Susanna.
9. Maria, b in Maryland, m Christian Schaub, 31 Aug. 1803, Frederick Co., MD.
10. Salome, born in Maryland, m Henry Schultz.
11. Peter, b ca. 1780. Maryland; d 8 Jan 1843, Washington County, Pennsylvania; m. Mary.
Primary centers from which descendants spread: Frederick and Washington Co., MD; Montgomery and Preble Co., OH; Washington Co., PA; Calloway and Autrain Co., MO; Marshall Co., WV. (Stanley Clarice V. Eller, Eller Chronicles, VIII 2, Sp. Ed., May 1994)
"A Henry Eler (Eller) and wife were baptized at Conestoga Church, a Dunkard Church in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania by Elder Michael Franz on April 14, 1754. The will of Dunker Zachariah Albaugh (Frederick County, Maryland) also reveals the Dunker relationships of Henry Eller who was a witness to his will dated July 4, 1782. J. M. Henry describes Henry Eller as a Brethern (Dunkard)"[4] This same Henry Eller later removed to Frederick County, Maryland and took up land 6 Jun 1767. In 1773, George Michael Eller took up land adjacent to that of Henry Eller.
Henry and George Michael Eller lived on Pipes Creek, Frederick County, Maryland until their deaths. George Michael in 1778,[5] and Henry in 1788.[6] Henry belonged to the Pipes Creek Dunkard Church which was located near his farm George Michael Eller may also have been a Dunkard. Although records show two of his daughters were married in Lutheran churches,[7] there are no records that Henry or any of his children ever lived in North Carolina.
The fact that Henry Eller was a Dunkard, and so possibly was George Michael Eller,
undoubtedly influenced Hook (1957. p. 53) to think that Jacob Eller of Botetourt County, Virginia (Chapter 8) was probably a son of George Michael Eller, because this Jacob Eller and his descendants were Dunkards, and many of them remain so today.
End-Notes:
1. Strassburger & Hinke. Vol. I (1992), p. 362.
2. Hook (1957). p. 1 (Deed Bk. K. p 1284, Frederick Co., MD.)
3. Ibid. p. I "On 6 June 1767 a Henry Eller bought land called Hammond Strife in Frederick Co., Maryland (Deed Book K. p. 1248. Frederick Co., MD.).
4. Brumbaugh, M.G., pp 202-203.
5. Hook (1957), pp 6-8. George Michael Eller died in Frederick County, Maryland before 23 August 1778 when his will, written in the German language and translated and put on record by Thomas Schley, was proved in the Frederick Co., MD court.
6. Stanley, Clarice V. Eller, EC, VIII:2. Sp. Ed., (May 1994).
7. Hook (1957), p. 10.
New Information on Henry Eller and His Descendants from the Eller Chronicles (EC):
Barrup, Jay B., Henry Eller, Ann Mary Eller, and Some Mikesell Descendants, VI:2:123-129.
Christensen, Brian, Christina Eller and Henry Shoup. IV:4:181-187.
Eller, A. Wm., Discovery of a New Eller Book: Eller-Cochran Genealogy. IV:4:199-207.
Eller, Alfred D., Joshua Nubo Eller, Sp. Ed. IX:1. Feb. 1995.
Hepper, Thelma N., More on Immigrant. Henry Eller. IV:2:63-65.
Honeyman, Gale, E.S., Immigrant Henry Eller, Sr., and Elizabeth Bigler, II:2:63-65.
Genealogical Notes, IV:4:208-209.
Stanley, Clarice V., Immigrant Henry Eller and Elizabeth Bigler, II-3:112-122.
Henry & Elizabeth Bigler Eller Family History, VII:4:304-305.
Peter Eller, IV:4:187-198; V:1:34-40.
Henry Eller Descendants, IV:4:211-213.
Henry and Elizabeth Bigler Eller, VIII:2, Sp. Ed., May 1994."

MARRIAGE:
1. Couple was married prior to the date below per Hook book cited above that "Henry Eler (sic) and wife, her name not given" being baptized 14 Apr 1754 in the Conestoga Church fifteen miles south of Lancaster in Pennsylvania.

DEATH:
1. Named as living in father's will of 1787 proved in Frederick Co., MD as noted above.
 		Bigler, Elizabeth (I504)
 
2869 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 6-8: "Joseph Graybill, b. 1796, Jefferson, Wilkes Co. (now Ashe), NC. d. bef. 1800, Jefferson, NC; md. to Elizabeth ___. She was b. 1798, Ashe Co. NC." [Note very conflicting information in this statement. Variant view per Rootsweb.com Worldconnect database ":480580": "HCG (The book "A Partial Record of the Graybeal Family of Ashe Co., NC," 1960, by Henry Clay Graybeal) doesn't show Joseph at all. Joseph might be the figment of our imagination. Joseph probably died at an early age. At one time I had Joseph married to Elizabeth (?), but I eliminated her. I doubt that Joseph ever had a wife, but it was there, so I put it in. I also have Joseph dying at the age of 4, mainly because he doesn't show up on any census. I eliminated Elizabeth as just plain wrong in spite of it being in HCG's book."

2. Censuses:
1800 US: Ashe County, North Carolina. The total population for Ashe County, North Carolina in 1800 was 2785, including slaves. The 1800 Ashe County Census was the first for the northwestern most county in the Tar Heel State. This county was formed in late 1799 and included all of Wilkes County west of the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountain. The 977 square miles that then composed Ashe County has been further divided, first in 1849 to form Watauga County, North Carolina and again 10 years later to form Alleghany County. This record includes families who may have been living in those areas at the time. The original census was in rough alphabetic order, and this does not facilitate the research of particular communities. I include all interrelated families of this time and place to better show relationships. A word of explanation on some of these families:
A. Mary and Barbara Burkett who married Peter and David Graybeal, had a father named Christian - unsure as to which is correct of the two.
B. Elizabeth Eller appears to be Elizabeth Dick, the wife of Peter Eller who had just died per his probate of 1799.The one daughter is probably Mary; unsure who the two boys are since there should be three: Jacob, Henry, and George. John Eller would be Elizabeth's eldest son and married to Susannah Kerns.
C. Henry Graybeal would have recently married Celia Henson and also the eldest son of [John] Peter and Christina [Wampler] Graybill who also appear to be in this same census. Note that Peter evidently had owned slaves at that time - the census does not say how many.
D. One of the William Hensons could be somehow related to William Henson who marries Nancy Graybill and to Celia Henson who marries Henry Graybeal.
E. The two Koons are probably brothers and are sons of Devault Koon judging from their ages. This would make them uncles to George Koons who eventually marries Mary Eller.
F. James Lewis, b. abt. 1790, marries Christena Graybill in 1807 - there may be a connection with these two James Lewis.
G. William Pennington marries Barbara (or Elizabeth) Eller and may be the younger of the two here listed.
H. Michael Stucker is a misspelling for Michael and Catherine Eller Stoker with their three oldest children: Polly, David, and Elizabeth.
Head of Family; Males 0-9, 10-16, 16-26, 26-45, 45+; Females - 0-9, 10-16, 16-26, 26-45, 45+:
Burkett, Christian; 1-2-0-1-0; 1-0-2-0-0
Burkett, Christian; 4-1-0-1-0; 1-0-1-0-0
Eller, Elizabeth; 1-0-1-0-0; 0-0-1-0-1
Eller, John; 3-0-0-1-0; 1-0-0-1-0
Graybeal, Henry; 0-0-1-0-0; 2-0-1-0-0
Graybeal, Peter; 2-1-1-0-1; 3-1-0-0-1
Henson, William; 0-1-1-0-0; 2-0-1-0-0
Henson, William; 3-0-0-0-1; 1-1-1-0-0
Koons, George; 0-0-1-0-1; 0-0-0-0-1
Koons, John; 0-0-1-0-1; 0-1-2-0-1
Lewis, James; 2-2-1-0-1; 4-1-0-0-1
Lewis, James, Jr.; 1-0-1-0-0; 1-0-1-0-0
Pennington, William; 0-1-0-1-0; 1-2-1-0-1
Pennington, William; 0-0-1-0-0; 0-0-1-0-0
Stucker, Michael; 1-0-0-1-0; 2-0-0-1-0

1810 US: Ashe County, North Carolina; I include several related families in my database for this time and place. Some notes:
A. One of the two William Penningtons is married to an Eller - I assume it is the one with a younger wife.
B. One of the two Christian Burketts is probably the parent of Barbara and Mary who married Graybeal brothers.
C. James Lewis married Christina Graybill.
D. The older Peter Graybill would be John Peter and Christina Wampler Graybill. The other Peter and Henry would be their sons.
E. Adam Wilker could be Adam Welker, father of James Welker who later marries Elizabeth Stoker.
F. Surprisingly there is no Michael Stoker who should be there unless in adjoining county.
G. One of the two George Koons should be the George Koons of this database.
H. Not sure why two J. Ellers unless the transcriber inadvertently named the "J." as both Jacob when in fact the older one is John. Peter Eller would be a brother.
I. The older Peter Graybill would be John Peter Graybill, father of the other two Graybills: Henry and Peter [Jr.].
Head of Family; Males 0-9, 10-16, 16-26, 26-45, 45+; Females - 0-9, 10-16, 16-26, 26-45, 45+; Slaves:
Pennington, W. (William); 1-0-1-0-0; 2-0-1-0-0
Bourket C. (Christian); 2-2-2-0-1; 5-1-1-1-0
Wilker, A. (Adam); 0-1-2-0-1; 0-1-0-0-1
Graybill, H. (Henry); 3-0-0-1-0; 2-0-1-0-0
Lewis, J. (James); 1-0-1-0-0; 1-0-1-0-0
Graybill, P. (Peter); 0-1-0-1-0; 0-1-0-0-1
Graybeal, P. (Peter); 1-0-1-0-0; 1-0-1-0-0
Graybill, H.; 2-0-1-0-0; 3-0-0-1-0
Koons, G. (George); 2-0-0-1-0; 2-0-0-1-0
Pennington, W. (Wm); 2-0-1-0-0; 2-0-0-0-1
Eller, P. (Peter); 3-0-0-1-0; 2-0-0-1-0
Eller, J. (Jacob); 2-3-1-0-0; 2-0-0-1-0
Burket, C. (Christian); 4-1-0-0-1; 0-1-0-0-1
Koontz, G. (George); 1-0-0-1-0; 2-0-1-0-1; 3
Eller, J. (Jacob [John?]); 2-0-0-1-0; 1-0-1-0-0

3. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 17-31, clarifies early North Carolina counties and land grant practices:
"Land grants in North Carolina originated with an entry application which was filed in the county where the land was situated and if not lost are now on file there. This was followed, sometimes soon and sometimes years later by an order from the land office for the tract to be surveyed. Sometimes soon and sometimes years later the survey was made and a surveyor's plat filed with the Secretary of State in Raleigh. Then came the grant which may have been issued reasonably near the date of the survey or sometimes several years later. These grants, orders to survey and the survey itself are on file now in the Secretary of State's office at Raleigh...
Many counties were formed from what originally was Rowan County, namely Surry and Guilford in 1770, Burke and Wilkes in 1777, Randolph in 1779, Iridell in 1788, Stokes in 1789, Buncomb in 1791, Ashe in1799, Davidson in 1822, Yancey in 1833, Davie in 1836 and Yadkin in 1850. Some of these counties were grandchildren of Rowan County; for instance Wilkes was taken partly from Burke and partly from Surry, Randolph from Guilford, Buncomb and Yancy form Burke, Ashe from Wilkes and Stokes and Yadkin from Surry. These facts must be kept in mind when tracing early Rowan County families."

4. Website http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/ashe/deeds/deedsabs.txt accessed 14 Dec 2008:
"Ashe County, NC - Deeds - Abstracts of selected deeds." This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Kyle R. Graybeal krgrebiel@verizon.net, 37 Spring Lake Drive, Stafford, VA 22554. Revised 9 October 2001. This file contains abstracts of selected deeds from Ashe County, North Carolina Land records, mostly involving Graybeal family members. The information contained herein does not constitute the sum total of deeds in the Ashe County records involving Graybeal individuals. There are a few incomplete fields in some records especially in acreage, land description & witness names. This means that I have not copied them, not that the information is missing from the court records. The file now includes more deeds and has been corrected for errors dealing with land grants appearing in the original file. In the original file, the entry date and the date the deed was signed were reversed. This new file corrects that problem.
Information sorted in date order, which is yyyy-mm-dd. Grantee & Grantor names are [last], [first]. Witness names are [first], [last]. NFNR = North Fork of New River. Mn and Vn means Deed Books M new and V new respectively. Information in [ ] inserted by me and correct to the best of my knowledge. Information in ( ) added for clarification. Price paid, proven date, and registered date not included to save space. I have this information on most deeds in case it is desired. Some compass directions are indicated by N, S, etc., rather spelled out. Deeds for state grants did not require witnesses' signatures. The indication that a particular person signed with an "x" is not consistent from record to record in this transcription. {Kerry's note: I have refined the list so as to cut it off after whom I think may be the first generation after John Peter Graybill and Christina Wampler; see that more complete list with John Peter Graybill - this partial list are for those only including the name of Joseph Graybill. This Joseph is elusive and the fact that no Josephs show up until 1843 makes the following deeds as suspect in belonging to this Joseph. There were several Josephs in later generations of the Graybill family starting Joseph (1819-1903) who was the son of Joseph's brother David as well as Joseph (1820-1890), son of Joseph's brother Henry.}:
Bower, S. TO: Graybeal, Joseph 150 a.; Signed: 1843-11-22; Book: S, 009.
Bower, S. TO: Graybeal, Joseph 30 a.; Signed: 1843-11-22; Book: S, 010; Witness: Reason Jones, David Graybeal.
Bower, S. TO: Graybeal, Joseph 25 a.; Signed: 1843-11-22; Book: S, 011.
Graybeal, John et al TO: Graybeal, Eli 40 a.; Signed: 1844-02-08; Laurel Fork of NFNR, p/o 50a. grant to Henry in 1822. Book: O, 472; Witness: Jeremiah Osborn, David Graybeal (This deed contains the signatures of all of Henry's children including signatures of his daughters' spouses).
Graybeal, Joseph TO: Graybeal, David 100 a.; Signed: 1846-02-24; Laurel Fork of NFNR, on a Beech H. Graybeal's crnr J Osborn's; Book: P, 382; Witness: ?
State (NC) TO: Graybeal, Joseph 75 a., Grant: 4212, Ent: 1846-01-19; Signed: 1846-12-02; On Big Horse Creek. Book: Vn, 437.
State (NC) TO: Graybeal, Joseph 15 a., Grant: 4458, Ent: 1845-01-28; Signed: 1848-09-26; Book: S, 008.
State (NC) TO: Graybeal, Joseph 15 a., Grant: 4458, Ent: 1845-01-28; Signed: 1848-09-26; Book: O, 008.
State (NC) TO: Graybeal, Joseph 50 a., Grant: 3319, Ent: 1855-01-05; Signed: 1855-04-28; On Big Horse Creek. Book: Vn, 439.
Graybeal, David TO: Graybeal, Simeon 361 a.; Signed: 1862; Old Field Creek, the waters of Big Horse Creek. Book: U, 554; Witness: Calvin Graybeal, Joseph Graybeal.
Graybeal, David [Sr] TO: Graybeal, Joseph 300 a.; Signed: 1862-01-15; Old Field Creek. Book: U, 488; Witness: Calvin Graybeal, Micagor Lewis.
Graybeal, David TO: Graybeal, Joseph 300 a.; Signed: 1862-01-15; On Old Field Creek [duplicate of V/488]. Book: TT, 102; Witness: Calvin Graybeal, Micagor Lewis.
Phillips, J. H. TO: Graybeal, Calvin 50 a.; Signed: 1866-06-30; Big Horse Creek; Book: Vn, 250; Witness: David (x) Graybeal, P. J. Hardin.
Graybeal, Joseph TO: Weaver, Martha J. 110 a.; Signed: 1869-03-18; Old Field Creek [Joseph's daughter]. Book: V, 451; Witness: David M. Graybeal.
Graybeal, Jos & Marg TO: Roberts, John, 50 a.; Signed: 1875-02-01; Waters of Roundabout Creek; Book: Z, 085; Witness: Wm S. Eastridge"

BIRTH:
1. Wilkes County, NC split off to make Ashe County in late 1799.

DEATH:
1. Many Worldconnect databases report a death of 16 Sep 1890 with some purporting it to be in North Carolina. They also show marriage to an Elizabeth ___. I can find no Joseph Graybills (using spelling variations) in the 1850-1880 censuses that would fit this individual in either North Carolina or Ohio.
 		Graybill, Joseph (I3639)
 
2870 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 82-83: "Balthasar Stoker, b. 24 May 1767(?), Frederick Co., MD; d. in infancy; twin to Maria Barbara."

2. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 88-97:
"Michael Stoker, doubtless, was the son of Michael Stoker (Stocker) who settled in Frederick Co., Md. about the middle of the 18th century. No other family of the Stoker (Stocker) name was found by this writer in any of the early Frederick Co. records. The 18th century translated records of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. established about 1746, show many Michael Stoker (Stocker) entries beginning with the birth, on 1 Apr 1758, of Anna Barbara, daughter of 'Mich. Stocker' and his wife 'Ana Barb.' On p. 552 of a copy of these church records, now in possession of the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore, Maryland, will be found a recording of eight children of Michael Stocker, the youngest named George, born 13 Nov 1781. The first of these children was named Marie Barbara, born 1 Apr 1758. She doubtless was the same as or the twin of another daughter named Anna Barbara mentioned above as having been born on the same date. Another record shows, again, the birth of Marie Barbara, daughter of Michael Stocker born 1 Apr 1758; baptized 15 May 1758. Thus the church records contain three separate entries of the birth on 1 April 1758, of a daughter to Michael Stoker (Stocker) as follows:
a. 'On 1 Apr. 1758 to Mich. Stocker et uxori Ana Barbara a daughter Anna Barbara. Witnesses (to baptism) Marie Barbara filia coelebs Michael Roemers.' Filia Coelebs means unmarried daughter of.'
b. '1758, 1 April to Michael Stoker a daughter Marie Barbara, sponsored by Barbara Romerin, baptized 15 May 1758.'
c. '1758, 1 April to Michael Stocker a daughter Marie Barbara, sponsored by Barbara Romerin, baptized 15 May 1758.'
As already stated, page 552 of the church book records, on one single page, the birth of eight children to Michael Stocker the last child of whom, named George, was born 13 Nov 1781 and baptized 7 Jun 1782. The first seven of these recordings obviously were made in 1769, the 8th having been put there in 1782 as will be explained later. Preceding the names of the 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th and 7th Child, the symbol ϯ was added to show, doubtless, that the child was deceased when the record was made. The record, on page 552 of the church records, is as follows:
a. 1 April 1758, to Michael Stocker a child Marie Barbara; ϯ godmother, Barbara Romerin; baptized 15 May 1758.
b. 1 Jan 1760, to Michael Stocker, a child Johana Magdale, godparents, Heinrich Hanth (and wife) Magdalena. Date of baptism not stated. (Note by JWH - On page 454 of the church record is shown the marriage on 2 Nov 1784 'by license' of Johanna Magdalena Stockern and Johann Jost Stimmel, Michael Stocker, Peter Stimmel and John and Peter Schnog serving as witnesses.)
c. 20 May 1762, to Michael Stocker, a child Michael; godparents Michael Romer (and wife) Charlotte Amalia, (Amalis). Date of baptism not stated. (Note by JWH - This writer believes that this was the Michael Stocker who married Catherine Eller.)
d. 26 Aug 1764, to Michael Stocker, a child, Elizabeth; ϯ godmother, Elizabeth Romerin. Date of baptism not stated.
e. 24 May 1767, to Michael Stocker, a child Balthasar; ϯ godparents, Balthsar Bock (and wife) Rosina. Date of baptism not stated.
f and g. 11 gbr 1769 (two children) to Michael Stocker, namely a child Marie Barbara; godparents, Johannes Haas (and wife) Mar. Barbara, and a child Christina; godmother, Christina Romerin, ledig, meaning unmarried. Baptized 19 gbr. 1769. (Note gbr is usually an abbreviation in German for born but in this case probably means November of possibly February.)
h. 13 Nov 1781, to Michael Stocker, a child, George; sponsor George Bens. Baptized 7 Jun 1782.
The above record of children of Michael Stocker, together with others shown below are interesting in two ways. First it will be noted that one of the sponsors in every case bore the same given name as the child. It was a custom in early German families to select as godmother or godfather of children being baptized the person for whom the child was named, usually a close relative and in some cases a respected friend. Second, as was shown by the first record quoted above and as will be shown by other records quoted below, Michael Stoker's wife as late as 24 March 1766 (Deed Record) was Barbara and as early as 12 April 1770 (Deed Record) was Elizabeth. That these two wives, Barbara and Elizabeth, were spouses of the same Michael Stocker is definitely established by the land records of Frederick County but, as the two next following church records show, Michael Stocker's full name was Joh. (John) Michael Stoker.
a. Page 564 of the translated church records at Maryland Hist. Soc. - Johannes, son of Joh. Michael and Elizabeth Stoker, b. 4 Jan 1772 and baptized 9 Feb 1772. (Note by JWH - p. 233 of the church records show that Johannes Stocker, aged 19, was confirmed on 22 Apr 1791. A translated record of the German Reformed Church of Frederick Co., Md., p. 196, found at the Gen. Soc. in SLC shows a child Marianna Stocker, was born to Johannes and Catherina Stocker 10 Aug 1809. Susan Kuntz (Frentz) was her godmother. A Catherina Stoker (sic) is mentioned as a dau. in the will of John Coons (sic) of Frederick Co., Md. dated 23 Dec. 1816 and proved 6 Mch. 1817. (Liber H.S, No. 2, p. 55, Frederick Co., Md. Wills.))
b. Page 591 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City - Marie Salome, dau. of Michael and Elizabeth Stocker b. 9 May 1773; bap. 27 June 1773. Her godparents were John Michel and Salome Alex (sic).
c. Page 617 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at Maryland Hist. Society [Baltimore] - Marie Barbara, dau. of Joh. Michael and Elizabeth Stoker, b. 23 Dec 1774; bapt. 16 Apr 1775. Her godparents were Johannes and Marie Barbara Hass.
d. Pages 638 and 1017 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City - Eva Margreth, dau. of Michael and Elizabeth Stocker, b. 22 Jul 1776; bap. 10 Nov 1776. Her godparents were Jacob and Margreth Bens. This child died 12 Sept. 1777, aged 1 year.
One may wonder why these four children were not listed with other children of Michael Stoker on page 552 of the church record (supra). After mentioning seven additional, more or less pertinent, translate church records the reason for this, as this writer sees it will be explained.
a. Page 407 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at Maryland Hist. Society, Baltimore, it is shown that Michael Stoker and Mary Adams were married, by license, 21 Jun 1778. The witnesses were Abraham Fah and his wife Juliana and Adam and Peter Schnock. Frederick Co. Marriage Records show that Michael Stoker and Mary A___, the spelling not complete, on 1 Jun 1778, were given a license to be married.
b. Page 209 [of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at Maryland Hist. Society, Baltimore] shows that Michael Stoker born 24 May 1862 and Magdalena Stockern (sic) born 1 Jan 1760 were confirmed. These two were brother and sister, children of Michael and Barbara Stoker (Stocker), their birth dates in their confirmation checking substantially with those recorded on page 552 of the same translated church record.
c. Page 664 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City shows that Anna Margareth, daughter of Michael and Anna Marie Stocker was born 15 May 1779 and baptized 24 July 1779. Her godparents were Adam and Anna Margareth Schnock.
d. Page 686 [of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City ] shows that Marie Catharina, daughter of Michael and Anna Maria Stocker was born 4 Sept. 1780.
e. Page 752 [of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City] shows that Jacob, son of Michael and Anna Maria Stocker, was born 22 May 1785. His sponsors at baptism were his parents.
f. Page 113 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City, Utah, shows that Charlotte, daughter of Michael Stocker, was born 19 Feb 1788. Her mother's name was not given. Her godparents were Peter and Julia (Juliana) Schnock (Schnod).
g. Page 1017 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City shows that Elizabeth, wife of Michael Stoker died 10 Oct 1777 at the age of 33 years.
It should be kept in mind that the only Stoker (Stocker) family found in the early church, land or court records of Frederick County, Maryland was one headed by Michael. The only suggestion of a Stoker of Stocker of another given name was the same Michael in the recordings of his children by his second wife, Elizabeth. In those recordings he was called Joh. Michael Stoker. Deed Records in Frederick Co., calling him a saddler in every case and showing his wife to have been Barbara in March 1766 and Elizabeth in April 1770 proves the two Michaels to have been the same person. The second wife, Elizabeth, died 10 Oct 1777 at the age of 33. On 21 Jun 1778 he married Mary (Marie) Adams as already shown.
This writer explains the one page record that is found of Michael Stoker's (Stocker) children in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick Co., Md. as follows. When his first two daughters (twins probably) were born he had them baptized or recorded as they were born. When his twins, Marie Barbara and Christina were born in 1769 he had them baptized and recorded and when this was being done he decided to record all of his other children, four of whom had not been recorded, naming their godparents from memory. This would account for all of these children appearing on one page where immediately prior entries were 1769 and immediate subsequent ones 1770.
When children of his second wife, Elizabeth, came he had them baptized and recorded. Apparently there were four of them, one named Johannes, b. 4 Jan 1772, another named Marie Salome, b. 9 May 1773, the third was Marie Barbara b. 23 Dec 1774 and the fourth Eva Margreth b. 22 Jul 1776 - d. 12 Sep 1777. Then on 10 Oct 1777 his wife, Elizabeth, aged 33, died and on 21 Jun 1778 he married Mary (Marie) Adams, his third wife.
The first child of the third marriage was Anna Margareth, b. 15 May 1779. She was baptized and recorded. The second child by this third marriage was Marie Catherina, born 4 Sep 1780 and bapt. 4 March (May) 1781. She probably died young. The fourth child was Georg b. 13 Nov 1781. This child was baptized 7 Jun 1782 and the baptism recorded not on the current page of the record book but squeezed in on the 1769/1770 page where other children of Michael Stoker (Stocker) had been recorded enmasse. Thus we have on the 1769/1770 page of the church book a record of eight children of Michael Stoker (Stocker) born between 1758 and 1782 appearing on that page with other children of his who were born after 1769 appearing on other pages. The fact that his son Georg was so recorded is pretty conclusive proof that all of the eight Stoker (Stocker) children on that one page had the same father. The symbol ϯ apparently was to indicate that the child was deceased and, doubtless, was inserted when the baptism of the son George was recorded.
Other entries in the church records show Michael Stocker (Stoker) and his wife, Anna Maria, had two other children, one named Jacob, b. 22 May 1785, and the other named Charlotte, b. 19 Feb 1788, making 17 children as follows:
By first wife Barbara:
1. Anna Barbara Stocker, b. 1 Apr 1758. She died young.
2. Marie Barbara Stocker, b. 1 Apr 1758, the same as or twin of [Anna Barbara]. She died young.
3. Johana Magdale Stocker, b. 1 Jan 1760.
4. Michael Stocker, Jr., b. 20 May 1762 (24 May 1762 or 24 Mar 1762).
5. Elizabeth Stocker, b. 26 Aug 1764. She died young.
6. Balthasar Stocker, b. 24 May 1767. He died young.
7. Marie Barbara Stocker, b. 11 ??? 1769. [Twin of Christina.] She died young.
8. Christina Stocker, b. 11 ??? 1769. Twin of [Marie Barbara]. She died young.
By second wife Elizabeth:
9. Johannes Stocker, b. 4 Jan 1772.
10. Marie Solome Stocker, b. 9 May 1773.
11. Marie Barbara Stocker, b. 25 Dec 1774.
12. Eva Margreth Stocker, b. 22 Jul 1776, d. 12 Sep 1777.
By third wife Anna Marie Adams:
13. Anna Margareth Stocker, b. 15 May 1779.
14. Marie Catherina Stocker, b. 4 Sep 1780.
15. George Stocker, b. 13 Nov. 1781, bapt. 2 Jun 1782.
16. Jacob Stocker, b. 22 May 1785.
17. Charlotte Stocker, b. 19 Feb 1788.
[Note: James Hook totally missed one child, Eva Catherina, who was born between George and Jacob; see her notes for church record documentation.]

3. From the book "Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881," Vol. II, comp. and ed. by Elayne Stoker, 2004, printed by Stevenson's Genealogy Center, Provo, UT. From an article entitled: "Michael Stocker 1731-1819 with wives: Ana Barbara Romerin, Elisabeth Fah, and Mary (Anna Maria) Adams." See notes of Johan Michael Stocker for complete text of which the following is a small part:
"Important Note: All of the original Evangelical Lutheran Church record was originally in German mixed with some Latin. Parts of it have been copied on to microfilm by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is available for anyone to study. A complete copy is found in the Maryland State Archives on microfilm. This record has been translated by Frederick S. Weiser, James Hook, William Hinke, and E.W. Reinecke. In comparing the four records each has small differences in dates and names from the original record. The translation work by Frederick S. Weiser has been most commonly used...
Researchers Take Note
In relationship to the birth dates and number of children Michael and Ana had there is much confusion. I believe most of this has stemmed from the differences of the translations and then the descendants propagating the same mistakes throughout the year. I have tried to verify the different translations with the original hand written records available to me. For researchers working through the Family History Centers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the only translation records available was made by Frederick Weiser and James Hook. Located in the Frederick County Historical Library in Maryland are the translations by Frederick Weiser, William Hinke, and E. W. Reinecke. All of the microfilm of the original and its various translations can be found at the Maryland State Archives in Baltimore, Maryland.
Michael and Ana's Family
Because of the problems with this family I have provided endnotes for references to where the information is located so others may research this dilemma...
[A.] Anna Barbara on 1 April, 1758 and baptized on Pentecost 1758. This church ordinance was witnessed by Maria Barbara, the unmarried daughter of Michael Romer. (As of 1769 daughter was deceased.) [Footnote 1: "The hand written record is located in Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, Maryland on microfilm. Cr. Fred. 1 #437. Zion Luth-Ch, recs (1871-1877) and index Evan. Luth Ch 1742-1877, pp. 1-1048, Index I-N, page 53."]
It is the opinion of this author that Maria Barbara and Anna Barbara are the same child. The record of this child was made eleven years after her birth at the Festival of the Resurrection. It is only recorded with several other children of Michael and has no independent record as seen in the baptismal records of Anna Barbara and Michael. The hand written record is located in Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, Maryland on microfilm. Cr. Fred. 1 #437. Zion Luth-Ch, Recs (1871-1877) and index Evan. Luth Ch 1742-1877, pp 1-1048, Index I-N, page 552.
[B.] Jan 1 1760, A little daughter Johana Magdalena, Sponsors: Henrich Fauth and Magdalena. [Footnote 2. The record of this child was made nine years after her birth. It is only recorded with several other children of Michael and has no independent record as seen in the records of Anna Barbara and Michael. The hand written record is located in Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, Maryland on microfilm. Cr. Fred. 1 #437. Zion Luth-Ch, recs (1871-1877) and index Evan. Luth Ch 1742-1877, pp. 1-1048, Index I-N, page 552."]
[C] The next child recorded for Michael and Ana was that of: son Michael on 20 May 1762 baptized Sept 18 [Schw.]. Sponsors: MIchael and Charlotte Amalia Romer. [Footnote 3. "Maryland German Church Records Vol. 3, Baptismal records of the Monocacy Lutheran Congregation, and its successor, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland 1742-1779, as translated and edited by Frederick S. Weiser pg. 34. This record does not have a translation error on the year of Michael's birth where he has it listed as 1768."]
The following children for Michael and Ana were found only in the hand written record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church recorded in conjunction with the Festival of the Resurrection which was held March 26 and 27 of 1769, 3-5 years after the children were born. [Footnote 4. "The record of this child was made nine years after her birth. It is only recorded with several other children of Michael and has no independent record as seen in the records of Anna Barbara and Michael. The hand written record is located in Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, Maryland on microfilm. Cr. Fred. 1 #437. Zion Luth-Ch, recs (1871-1877) and index Evan. Luth Ch 1742-1877, pp. 1-1048, Index I-N, page 552."]
[D.] Elisabetha, dau. of Michael Stocker b. 26 Aug 1764 bp. (not given). Sponsors: Elisabeth Romerin (as of 1769 daughter was deceased).
[E.] Balthasar, son of Michael Stocker b. 24 May 1767 bp. (not given). Sponsors: Balthasar and Rosina Bach (as of 1769 son was deceased)."

BIRTH:
1. Per LDS extraction program of film #13933, "Evangelical Lutheran or Lutheran Congregation of Zmiddletown, Middletown, Frederick, Maryland" as cited with online Ordinance Index: "Balthasar Stocker, born 24 May 1767 with parent listed as Michael Stocker." Ordinance work reference is Film 13933 IT 2, batch C507701.

2. Per LDS extraction program of film #883605 item 1, "The Evangelical Lutheran Church, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, parish register 1743-1811 [actual start of 1737]. 975.287/F1 V26 w v. 1-2" as cited with online Ordinance Index: "Balthasar Stocker, b. 24 May 1767, no christening date given, with parent listed as Michael Stocker." Ordinance work reference is Film 824392 IT 2, batch C504181.

CHRISTENING:
1. Anna Barbara's presumed surname of Römerin is technically unproven but surmised from the sponsors of her children's baptisms in Frederick, MD. Her surname Anna Barbara is however found in conjunction with her husband Michael Stocker in land deeds and baptismal sponsorships. Six children were born to her and her husband and with the exception of Balthasar, all the rest had baptismal sponsors from the Römer family (including the last two on the following list who were the first two children of the second wife Elizabeth Pfau); i.e:
Anna Barbara, 1758: Maria Barbara Römerin (Anna Barbara's unmarried sister)
Maria Barbara, 1758: Barbara Römerin (most likely Anna Barbara's unmarried sister Maria Barbara again)
Johanna Magdalene, 1760: Henrich Fauth and Magdalena (Anna Barbara's married sister Johanna Magdalene whose husband is named in their father's will as Henry Foutz)
Michael, 1762: John Michael and Maria Amalia Römer (Anna Barbara's parents)
Elizabeth, 1764: Elizabeth Römerin (Anna Barbara's unmarried sister)
Balthasar, 1767: Unrelated party - Balthasar and Rosina Bach.
Maria Barbara, 1769: Johannes and Maria Barbara Haas (Anna Barbara's married sister Maria Barbara whose marriage is proved by their father's will and by tombstones)
Christina, 1769: Christina Römerin (Anna Barbara's unmarried sister)
The name Römerin is the German female version of Römer.

2. FHL book 975.287/F1 K28we "Maryland German Church Records," vol. 3, "Baptismal records of the Monocacy Lutheran Congregation, and its successor, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland, 1742-1779," translated and edited by Frederick S. Weiser:
- All recorded at once:
- Maria Barbara, dau. of Michael Stocker, b . 1 Apr 1758 (+), bp. 15 May. Sponsors: Mar. Barb. Römerin [now] deceased.
- Johanna Magdalina, dau. of [parents names not given] b. 1 Jan 1760, bp. [not given]. Sponsors: Heinrich and Magdalena Fauth.
- Michael, son of Michael Stocker b. 20 May 1762, bp. [not given]. Sponsors: Michael and Scharletta Amalia Romer.
- Elisabetha, dau. of Michael Stocker b. 26 Aug. 1764, bp. [not given]. Sponsors: Elisabetha Romerin.
- Balthasar, son of Michael Stocker, b. 24 May 1767 (+), bp. [not given]. Sponsors: Balthasar and Rosina Bach.
- Maria Barbara, twin dau. of Michael Stocker, b. 11 Sept. 1769 (+), bp. 19 Sept. 1769. Sponsors: Johannes and Maria Barbara Haass.
- Christina, twin dau. of Michael Stocker, b. 11 Sept. 1769 (+), bp. 19 Sept. 1769. Sponsors: Christina Römerin, single.
- [name not given], son of Michael Stocker, b. 13 Nov. 1781, bp. 2 Jun. 1782. Sponsor: Georg Bens. [Kerry's note: This child is George Stocker.]

DEATH:
1. Per church records of the Evangelical Lutheran Church as quoted above by James Hook. He shows deceased prior to the 1769 birth of Marie Barbara and Christina Stocker. This individual is entered in the record at the same time and marked with a "cross" doubtless indicating that he was probably deceased by that time.

2. Not mentioned in father's will dated 10 May 1818: "...my sons, Jacob, Michael and John and my daughters, Mary, Catherine, Charlotte, Margaret, Barbara, Salome and Magdalene..." See full quotation in his notes.

SOURCES_MISC:
1. Ancestral File.

2. Ancestry.com. 		Stocker, Balthasar (I194)
 
2871 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 82-83: "Christina Stoker, b. 19 Sep 1769, Frederick Co., MD; d. 9 Oct 1777."

2. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 88-97:
"Michael Stoker, doubtless, was the son of Michael Stoker (Stocker) who settled in Frederick Co., Md. about the middle of the 18th century. No other family of the Stoker (Stocker) name was found by this writer in any of the early Frederick Co. records. The 18th century translated records of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. established about 1746, show many Michael Stoker (Stocker) entries beginning with the birth, on 1 Apr 1758, of Anna Barbara, daughter of 'Mich. Stocker' and his wife 'Ana Barb.' On p. 552 of a copy of these church records, now in possession of the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore, Maryland, will be found a recording of eight children of Michael Stocker, the youngest named George, born 13 Nov 1781. The first of these children was named Marie Barbara, born 1 Apr 1758. She doubtless was the same as or the twin of another daughter named Anna Barbara mentioned above as having been born on the same date. Another record shows, again, the birth of Marie Barbara, daughter of Michael Stocker born 1 Apr 1758; baptized 15 May 1758. Thus the church records contain three separate entries of the birth on 1 April 1758, of a daughter to Michael Stoker (Stocker) as follows:
a. 'On 1 Apr. 1758 to Mich. Stocker et uxori Ana Barbara a daughter Anna Barbara. Witnesses (to baptism) Marie Barbara filia coelebs Michael Roemers.' Filia Coelebs means unmarried daughter of.'
b. '1758, 1 April to Michael Stoker a daughter Marie Barbara, sponsored by Barbara Romerin, baptized 15 May 1758.'
c. '1758, 1 April to Michael Stocker a daughter Marie Barbara, sponsored by Barbara Romerin, baptized 15 May 1758.'
As already stated, page 552 of the church book records, on one single page, the birth of eight children to Michael Stocker the last child of whom, named George, was born 13 Nov 1781 and baptized 7 Jun 1782. The first seven of these recordings obviously were made in 1769, the 8th having been put there in 1782 as will be explained later. Preceding the names of the 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th and 7th Child, the symbol ϯ was added to show, doubtless, that the child was deceased when the record was made. The record, on page 552 of the church records, is as follows:
a. 1 April 1758, to Michael Stocker a child Marie Barbara; ϯ godmother, Barbara Romerin; baptized 15 May 1758.
b. 1 Jan 1760, to Michael Stocker, a child Johana Magdale, godparents, Heinrich Hanth (and wife) Magdalena. Date of baptism not stated. (Note by JWH - On page 454 of the church record is shown the marriage on 2 Nov 1784 'by license' of Johanna Magdalena Stockern and Johann Jost Stimmel, Michael Stocker, Peter Stimmel and John and Peter Schnog serving as witnesses.)
c. 20 May 1762, to Michael Stocker, a child Michael; godparents Michael Romer (and wife) Charlotte Amalia, (Amalis). Date of baptism not stated. (Note by JWH - This writer believes that this was the Michael Stocker who married Catherine Eller.)
d. 26 Aug 1764, to Michael Stocker, a child, Elizabeth; ϯ godmother, Elizabeth Romerin. Date of baptism not stated.
e. 24 May 1767, to Michael Stocker, a child Balthasar; ϯ godparents, Balthsar Bock (and wife) Rosina. Date of baptism not stated.
f and g. 11 gbr 1769 (two children) to Michael Stocker, namely a child Marie Barbara; godparents, Johannes Haas (and wife) Mar. Barbara, and a child Christina; godmother, Christina Romerin, ledig, meaning unmarried. Baptized 19 gbr. 1769. (Note gbr is usually an abbreviation in German for born but in this case probably means November of possibly February.)
h. 13 Nov 1781, to Michael Stocker, a child, George; sponsor George Bens. Baptized 7 Jun 1782.
The above record of children of Michael Stocker, together with others shown below are interesting in two ways. First it will be noted that one of the sponsors in every case bore the same given name as the child. It was a custom in early German families to select as godmother or godfather of children being baptized the person for whom the child was named, usually a close relative and in some cases a respected friend. Second, as was shown by the first record quoted above and as will be shown by other records quoted below, Michael Stoker's wife as late as 24 March 1766 (Deed Record) was Barbara and as early as 12 April 1770 (Deed Record) was Elizabeth. That these two wives, Barbara and Elizabeth, were spouses of the same Michael Stocker is definitely established by the land records of Frederick County but, as the two next following church records show, Michael Stocker's full name was Joh. (John) Michael Stoker.
a. Page 564 of the translated church records at Maryland Hist. Soc. - Johannes, son of Joh. Michael and Elizabeth Stoker, b. 4 Jan 1772 and baptized 9 Feb 1772. (Note by JWH - p. 233 of the church records show that Johannes Stocker, aged 19, was confirmed on 22 Apr 1791. A translated record of the German Reformed Church of Frederick Co., Md., p. 196, found at the Gen. Soc. in SLC shows a child Marianna Stocker, was born to Johannes and Catherina Stocker 10 Aug 1809. Susan Kuntz (Frentz) was her godmother. A Catherina Stoker (sic) is mentioned as a dau. in the will of John Coons (sic) of Frederick Co., Md. dated 23 Dec. 1816 and proved 6 Mch. 1817. (Liber H.S, No. 2, p. 55, Frederick Co., Md. Wills.))
b. Page 591 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City - Marie Salome, dau. of Michael and Elizabeth Stocker b. 9 May 1773; bap. 27 June 1773. Her godparents were John Michel and Salome Alex (sic).
c. Page 617 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at Maryland Hist. Society [Baltimore] - Marie Barbara, dau. of Joh. Michael and Elizabeth Stoker, b. 23 Dec 1774; bapt. 16 Apr 1775. Her godparents were Johannes and Marie Barbara Hass.
d. Pages 638 and 1017 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City - Eva Margreth, dau. of Michael and Elizabeth Stocker, b. 22 Jul 1776; bap. 10 Nov 1776. Her godparents were Jacob and Margreth Bens. This child died 12 Sept. 1777, aged 1 year.
One may wonder why these four children were not listed with other children of Michael Stoker on page 552 of the church record (supra). After mentioning seven additional, more or less pertinent, translate church records the reason for this, as this writer sees it will be explained.
a. Page 407 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at Maryland Hist. Society, Baltimore, it is shown that Michael Stoker and Mary Adams were married, by license, 21 Jun 1778. The witnesses were Abraham Fah and his wife Juliana and Adam and Peter Schnock. Frederick Co. Marriage Records show that Michael Stoker and Mary A___, the spelling not complete, on 1 Jun 1778, were given a license to be married.
b. Page 209 [of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at Maryland Hist. Society, Baltimore] shows that Michael Stoker born 24 May 1862 and Magdalena Stockern (sic) born 1 Jan 1760 were confirmed. These two were brother and sister, children of Michael and Barbara Stoker (Stocker), their birth dates in their confirmation checking substantially with those recorded on page 552 of the same translated church record.
c. Page 664 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City shows that Anna Margareth, daughter of Michael and Anna Marie Stocker was born 15 May 1779 and baptized 24 July 1779. Her godparents were Adam and Anna Margareth Schnock.
d. Page 686 [of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City ] shows that Marie Catharina, daughter of Michael and Anna Maria Stocker was born 4 Sept. 1780.
e. Page 752 [of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City] shows that Jacob, son of Michael and Anna Maria Stocker, was born 22 May 1785. His sponsors at baptism were his parents.
f. Page 113 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City, Utah, shows that Charlotte, daughter of Michael Stocker, was born 19 Feb 1788. Her mother's name was not given. Her godparents were Peter and Julia (Juliana) Schnock (Schnod).
g. Page 1017 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City shows that Elizabeth, wife of Michael Stoker died 10 Oct 1777 at the age of 33 years.
It should be kept in mind that the only Stoker (Stocker) family found in the early church, land or court records of Frederick County, Maryland was one headed by Michael. The only suggestion of a Stoker of Stocker of another given name was the same Michael in the recordings of his children by his second wife, Elizabeth. In those recordings he was called Joh. Michael Stoker. Deed Records in Frederick Co., calling him a saddler in every case and showing his wife to have been Barbara in March 1766 and Elizabeth in April 1770 proves the two Michaels to have been the same person. The second wife, Elizabeth, died 10 Oct 1777 at the age of 33. On 21 Jun 1778 he married Mary (Marie) Adams as already shown.
This writer explains the one page record that is found of Michael Stoker's (Stocker) children in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick Co., Md. as follows. When his first two daughters (twins probably) were born he had them baptized or recorded as they were born. When his twins, Marie Barbara and Christina were born in 1769 he had them baptized and recorded and when this was being done he decided to record all of his other children, four of whom had not been recorded, naming their godparents from memory. This would account for all of these children appearing on one page where immediately prior entries were 1769 and immediate subsequent ones 1770.
When children of his second wife, Elizabeth, came he had them baptized and recorded. Apparently there were four of them, one named Johannes, b. 4 Jan 1772, another named Marie Salome, b. 9 May 1773, the third was Marie Barbara b. 23 Dec 1774 and the fourth Eva Margreth b. 22 Jul 1776 - d. 12 Sep 1777. Then on 10 Oct 1777 his wife, Elizabeth, aged 33, died and on 21 Jun 1778 he married Mary (Marie) Adams, his third wife.
The first child of the third marriage was Anna Margareth, b. 15 May 1779. She was baptized and recorded. The second child by this third marriage was Marie Catherina, born 4 Sep 1780 and bapt. 4 March (May) 1781. She probably died young. The fourth child was Georg b. 13 Nov 1781. This child was baptized 7 Jun 1782 and the baptism recorded not on the current page of the record book but squeezed in on the 1769/1770 page where other children of Michael Stoker (Stocker) had been recorded enmasse. Thus we have on the 1769/1770 page of the church book a record of eight children of Michael Stoker (Stocker) born between 1758 and 1782 appearing on that page with other children of his who were born after 1769 appearing on other pages. The fact that his son Georg was so recorded is pretty conclusive proof that all of the eight Stoker (Stocker) children on that one page had the same father. The symbol ϯ apparently was to indicate that the child was deceased and, doubtless, was inserted when the baptism of the son George was recorded.
Other entries in the church records show Michael Stocker (Stoker) and his wife, Anna Maria, had two other children, one named Jacob, b. 22 May 1785, and the other named Charlotte, b. 19 Feb 1788, making 17 children as follows:
By first wife Barbara:
1. Anna Barbara Stocker, b. 1 Apr 1758. She died young.
2. Marie Barbara Stocker, b. 1 Apr 1758, the same as or twin of [Anna Barbara]. She died young.
3. Johana Magdale Stocker, b. 1 Jan 1760.
4. Michael Stocker, Jr., b. 20 May 1762 (24 May 1762 or 24 Mar 1762).
5. Elizabeth Stocker, b. 26 Aug 1764. She died young.
6. Balthasar Stocker, b. 24 May 1767. He died young.
7. Marie Barbara Stocker, b. 11 ??? 1769. [Twin of Christina.] She died young.
8. Christina Stocker, b. 11 ??? 1769. Twin of [Marie Barbara]. She died young.
By second wife Elizabeth:
9. Johannes Stocker, b. 4 Jan 1772.
10. Marie Solome Stocker, b. 9 May 1773.
11. Marie Barbara Stocker, b. 25 Dec 1774.
12. Eva Margreth Stocker, b. 22 Jul 1776, d. 12 Sep 1777.
By third wife Anna Marie Adams:
13. Anna Margareth Stocker, b. 15 May 1779.
14. Marie Catherina Stocker, b. 4 Sep 1780.
15. George Stocker, b. 13 Nov. 1781, bapt. 2 Jun 1782.
16. Jacob Stocker, b. 22 May 1785.
17. Charlotte Stocker, b. 19 Feb 1788.
[Note: James Hook totally missed one child, Eva Catherina, who was born between George and Jacob; see her notes for church record documentation.]

3. From the book "Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881," Vol. II, comp. and ed. by Elayne Stoker, 2004, printed by Stevenson's Genealogy Center, Provo, UT. From an article entitled: "Michael Stocker 1731-1819 with wives: Ana Barbara Romerin, Elisabeth Fah, and Mary (Anna Maria) Adams." See notes of Johan Michael Stocker for complete text of which the following is a small part:
"The Second Family...
The next land record for Michael Stocker also list his second wife Elizabeth. It was recorded on 12 April 1770, when they sold a five foot strip of a lot (Deed Book N p. 90).
In putting together the family of Michael and Elizabeth Stocker, the date that James Hook uses leaves many questions as to who and if the first two children were twins and who was their mother. He list Maria Barbara born in May of 1769 and Christina in September. If Michael married Elizabeth in Feb of 1769 it would have been unlikely that Maria was born in May, but not impossible. However it is highly unlikely that a second child would be born only four months later. In Frederick Wieser's translation of the Maryland German Church Records Vol 3 he stated that the two girls were born in September and were twins. On the hand written record under the heading {Bapt. Mar. 26, 27- Festival of the Resurrection [1769]} it lists the two girls but with the dates as James Hook translated it and does not list them as twins. I have not located the original record that Wieser used for his translations...
Michael and Elizabeth's children [Footnotes 5-10. "Maryland German Church Records Vol. 3, Baptismal records of the Monocacy Lutheran Congregation, and its successor, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland 1742-1779, as translated and edited by Frederick S. Weiser pg. 34."]
[A.] Maria Barbara, twin dau of Michael Stocker, b. 11 Sept. 1769 bap 19 Sep 1769 Sponsors: Johannes & Maria Barbara Haafs (Died in 1769).5
[B.] Christina, twin dau of Michael Stocker b 11 Sept 1769, Sponsors: Christina Romerin, single (Died in 1769).6
[C.] Johanes, son of Joh. Michael and Elizabeth Stocker b. 4 Jan. 1772, baptized on 9 Feb. 1772, sponsors: Joh. Michael and Salome Alex.7 A later church entry states that Johannes was confirmed at age 19, on 22 April 1791.
[D.] Maria Salome, dau of Michael and Elizabeth Stocker, b 9 May 1773, bp. 27 June 1773. Sponsors: Joh. Michael and Salome Alex.8
[E.] Maria Barbara b 23 Dec 1774, bp 16 Apr 1775. Sponsors: Johannes & Marie Barbara Haafs.9
[F.] Eva Margreth b 22 July 1776 bap 10 Nov 1776, Sponsors: Jacob and Margreth Bens d 12 Sep 1777.10
[G.] Stillborn b Oct 7 1777 this child is mentioned only in connection with Elizabeth's obituary record within the church's records. [Footnote 11. "A hand written record verifying the event dates for Johannes, Marie Salome, Marie Barbara, and Eva Margareth can be found in the Church Record [Evangelical Lutheran], 1742-1910 Evangelical Lutheran Church (Frederick, Maryland) located in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Family History Center, Salt Lake City, Utah. US/CAN Film #1414857."]
...On 9 Oct 1777 Elizabeth Fah Stocker passed away only two days after giving birth to a stillborn child."

BIRTH:
1. See Christening.

2. In the past, there was a question as to which wife the twin daughters Maria Barbara and Christina Stocker belong -- Anna Barbara Roemer or Elizabeth Pfau. Family Tree was showing Barbara.
The following death entry confirms the marriage date of Elizabeth and her chidlren: "1777 Oct 10. Elizabeth Stockern, born March 15, 1744, to Jacob Fahs and his first wife. Married Christian Scott, with whom she had 2 children, of whom 1 son still lives. Feb. 15, 1769 she married Michael Stocker with whom she had 7 children of whom one son and two daughters still live. Died Oct. 9 (1777) after she gave birth to a dead child on Oct 7, age 33 years, 5 months, 3 weeks, 3 days."
The count of children also confirms the twins as her children. There is always the slight possibility that the clerk wrote the marriage date incorrectly, but I assume it is correct.
So the problem now revolves around whether the often reported 11 Sep 1769 for the birth and 19 Sep 1769 for the baptism are accurate. According to James Hook, the actual entry uses the abbreviation "gbr" for the month for both the birth and baptism. Hook correctly uses the actual verbiage; however, Weiser translated it as Sep. I don't believe it a German abbreviation. I believe September is unrealistic since the the babies would have been born with less than 7 months of pregnancy (and that assumes pregnancy starting with the wedding day). Also we know the children survive long enough for a baptism 8 days later which may not have been the case with "preemies" in that day and age.
I believe the correct rendering should be "9br", not "gbr." This would lead to the mistranslation of September by assuming that the clerk was talking of the 9th month; however, the "br" shows it was an abbreviation and not the month. I have seen similar shorthand used in old English records and Colonial records. In the old Julian calendar system, the 7th month was September, 8th October, 9th November, and 10th December. In fact in latin the term Sept is 7, Oct is 8, etc. So 9br is Nov'br or Nine'br and the problem is solved! A little under 10 months from marriage to delivery.
The fact that two Roemer girls were sponsors is just happenstance and apparently not a deciding factor one way or another even though all the other children of Anna Barbara except Balthasar had Roemer sponsors. No other subsequent children of Elizabeth have Roemer sponsors.

CHRISTENING:
1. Per LDS extraction program of film #13933, "Evangelical Lutheran or Lutheran Congregation of Zmiddletown, Middletown, Frederick, Maryland" as cited with online Ordinance Index: "Christina Stocker, christened 1769 with parent listed as Michael Stocker." Ordinance work reference is Film 13933 IT 2, batch C507701.

2. Per LDS extraction program of film #883605 item 1, "The Evangelical Lutheran Church, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, parish register 1743-1811 [actual start of 1737]. 975.287/F1 V26 w v. 1-2" as cited with online Ordinance Index: "Christina Stocker, b. 11 Sep 1769, christened 19 Sep 1769 with parent listed as Michael Stocker." Ordinance work reference is Film 824392 IT 2, batch C504181.

3. The question for many in the past has been to which wife the twin daughters Maria Barbara and Christina Stocker belong -- Anna Barbara Roemer or Elizabeth Pfau. Many in the past were showing Barbara.
The solution lies in the death of Elizabeth (Pfau) Stocker recorded in the Frederick Church which included a bit of an obituary as follows:
"1777 Oct 10. Elizabeth Stockern, born March 15, 1744, to Jacob Fahs and his first wife. Married Christian Scott, with whom she had 2 children, of whom 1 son still lives. Feb. 15, 1769 she married Michael Stocker with whom she had 7 children of whom one son and two daughters still live. Died Oct. 9 (1777) after she gave birth to a dead child on Oct 7, age 33 years, 5 months, 3 weeks, 3 days." [Note that in the German language, the letter "n" is often added after the female version of the surname as in Stocker(n).]
The death entry is very specific. It confirms the date of the second marriage, which was not recorded in the church at the time it occured. The count of children also confirms the twins as her children.
So the problem evolved around whether the 11 Sep 1769 birth date and 19 Sep 1769 christening date for twins are accurate. (These dates are from the translators of the German Church Records.) On the other hand according to James Hook, the book author of other notes herein, the actual entry uses the abbreviation "gbr" for the month for both the birth and baptism. Hook correctly uses the actual verbiage; however, Weiser translated it as Sep. It is not a German abbreviation. I believe September would be unrealistic since the the babies would have been born with less than 7 months of pregnancy (and that assumes pregnancy starting with the wedding day). Also we know the children did survive long enough for a baptism 8 days later which may not have been the case with preemies in that day and age.
This problem has a solution. I believe the correct rendering should be "9br", not "gbr." This would lead to the mistranslation of September by assuming that the clerk was talking of the 9th month; however, the "br" shows it was an abbreviation and not the month. I have seen similar shorthand used in old English and Colonial records. In the old Julian calendar system, the 7th month was September, 8th October, 9th November, and 10th December. In fact in latin the term Sept is 7, Oct is 8, etc. So 9br is Nov'br or Nine'br and the problem is solved. A little under 10 months from marriage to delivery.
The fact that two Roemer girls were sponsors does not necessarily mean that the twins' mother was a Romerin in this case.

4. Anna Barbara's presumed surname of Römerin is technically unproven but surmised from the sponsors of her children's baptisms in Frederick, MD. Her surname Anna Barbara is however found in conjunction with her husband Michael Stocker in land deeds and baptismal sponsorships. Six children were born to her and her husband and with the exception of Balthasar, all the rest had baptismal sponsors from the Römer family (including the last two on the following list who were the first two children of the second wife Elizabeth Pfau); i.e:
Anna Barbara, 1758: Maria Barbara Römerin (Anna Barbara's unmarried sister)
Maria Barbara, 1758: Barbara Römerin (most likely Anna Barbara's unmarried sister Maria Barbara again)
Johanna Magdalene, 1760: Henrich Fauth and Magdalena (Anna Barbara's married sister Johanna Magdalene whose husband is named in their father's will as Henry Foutz)
Michael, 1762: John Michael and Maria Amalia Römer (Anna Barbara's parents)
Elizabeth, 1764: Elizabeth Römerin (Anna Barbara's unmarried sister)
Balthasar, 1767: Unrelated party - Balthasar and Rosina Bach.
Maria Barbara, 1769: Johannes and Maria Barbara Haas (Anna Barbara's married sister Maria Barbara whose marriage is proved by their father's will and by tombstones)
Christina, 1769: Christina Römerin (Anna Barbara's unmarried sister)
The name Römerin is the German female version of Römer.

5. FHL book 975.287/F1 K28we "Maryland German Church Records," vol. 3, "Baptismal records of the Monocacy Lutheran Congregation, and its successor, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland, 1742-1779," translated and edited by Frederick S. Weiser:
- All recorded at once:
- Maria Barbara, dau. of Michael Stocker, b . 1 Apr 1758 (+), bp. 15 May. Sponsors: Mar. Barb. Römerin [now] deceased.
- Johanna Magdalina, dau. of [parents names not given] b. 1 Jan 1760, bp. [not given]. Sponsors: Heinrich and Magdalena Fauth.
- Michael, son of Michael Stocker b. 20 May 1762, bp. [not given]. Sponsors: Michael and Scharletta Amalia Romer.
- Elisabetha, dau. of Michael Stocker b. 26 Aug. 1764, bp. [not given]. Sponsors: Elisabetha Romerin.
- Balthasar, son of Michael Stocker, b. 24 May 1767 (+), bp. [not given]. Sponsors: Balthasar and Rosina Bach.
- Maria Barbara, twin dau. of Michael Stocker, b. 11 Sept. 1769 (+), bp. 19 Sept. 1769. Sponsors: Johannes and Maria Barbara Haass.
- Christina, twin dau. of Michael Stocker, b. 11 Sept. 1769 (+), bp. 19 Sept. 1769. Sponsors: Christina Römerin, single.
- [name not given], son of Michael Stocker, b. 13 Nov. 1781, bp. 2 Jun. 1782. Sponsor: Georg Bens. [Kerry's note: This child is George Stocker.]

DEATH:
1. Not mentioned in father's will dated 10 May 1818: "...my sons, Jacob, Michael and John and my daughters, Mary, Catherine, Charlotte, Margaret, Barbara, Salome and Magdalene..." See full quotation in his notes.

2. Per church records of the Evangelical Lutheran Church as quoted above by James Hook. He shows an entry done in late 1769 when this Christina and her twin sister Maria Barbara were presented in the Evangelical Lutheran Church records. There is a "cross" in front of this single entry for the twins doubtless indicating death.

3. What are the correct death dates for the twin sisters Maria Barbara and Christine Stocker? What I can glean from the published sources gives us two alternatives. As we know, the twins were recorded at the same time as all the other children of Mich. and Anna Barbara Stocker even though they were not Anna Barbara's daughters. This recording was done retroactively by Michael sometime after the date of the date of the two entries which proceed it for Anna Maria Hoffmann (bp. 2 Jul 1769) and Anna Maria Raver (bp. ___ 1769). Since the twins were baptized in late 1769, it was probably their baptisms that triggered the recording of all of Michael's previous children. The last Stocker entry is for George, the son of the third wife Anna Marie -- it is the odd one since it occurred 10 years later and is out of sequence. There definitely are two crosses in the entries for the twins indicating death. So the question becomes whether the crosses were originally recorded before the next sequential record (datewise) of Jacob Weber who was bp. 22 Apr 1770. If so the the death dates would be "about 1770." On the other hand, if the crosses were added when George's entry was appended into the record in 1782, then the death dates would be better said as "before 1782." Contrary to Elayne Stoker's book, they were not recorded at a some kind of religious revival known as the "Festival of the Resurrection" since the same record book gives that date as 26-27 Mar 1769. The book gives only five baptisms associated with that date. It then has 10 other entries ranging from May 1769 to that of the Stocker children. Oddly, the first entry of the ten shows Johannes, son of Martin Waltz, b., 18 Dec. 1769, bp. 1 Jan. 1770 -- this may indicate that perhaps the Stockers were recorded after 1770 as were the 9 entries before them. If this was the case, then perhaps the Stocker group recording was perhaps done all at once in 1782 in conjunction with George's baptism -- the clerk may have simply inserted them back in 1769 as a codicil. To resolve this, a look at the original handwritten record may help in comparing handwriting styles of the various entries.
 		Stocker, Christina (I191)
 
2872 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 82-83: "Elizabetha Stoker, b. 26 Aug 1764, Frederick Co., MD; d. in infancy."

2. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 88-97:
"Michael Stoker, doubtless, was the son of Michael Stoker (Stocker) who settled in Frederick Co., Md. about the middle of the 18th century. No other family of the Stoker (Stocker) name was found by this writer in any of the early Frederick Co. records. The 18th century translated records of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. established about 1746, show many Michael Stoker (Stocker) entries beginning with the birth, on 1 Apr 1758, of Anna Barbara, daughter of 'Mich. Stocker' and his wife 'Ana Barb.' On p. 552 of a copy of these church records, now in possession of the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore, Maryland, will be found a recording of eight children of Michael Stocker, the youngest named George, born 13 Nov 1781. The first of these children was named Marie Barbara, born 1 Apr 1758. She doubtless was the same as or the twin of another daughter named Anna Barbara mentioned above as having been born on the same date. Another record shows, again, the birth of Marie Barbara, daughter of Michael Stocker born 1 Apr 1758; baptized 15 May 1758. Thus the church records contain three separate entries of the birth on 1 April 1758, of a daughter to Michael Stoker (Stocker) as follows:
a. 'On 1 Apr. 1758 to Mich. Stocker et uxori Ana Barbara a daughter Anna Barbara. Witnesses (to baptism) Marie Barbara filia coelebs Michael Roemers.' Filia Coelebs means unmarried daughter of.'
b. '1758, 1 April to Michael Stoker a daughter Marie Barbara, sponsored by Barbara Romerin, baptized 15 May 1758.'
c. '1758, 1 April to Michael Stocker a daughter Marie Barbara, sponsored by Barbara Romerin, baptized 15 May 1758.'
As already stated, page 552 of the church book records, on one single page, the birth of eight children to Michael Stocker the last child of whom, named George, was born 13 Nov 1781 and baptized 7 Jun 1782. The first seven of these recordings obviously were made in 1769, the 8th having been put there in 1782 as will be explained later. Preceding the names of the 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th and 7th Child, the symbol ϯ was added to show, doubtless, that the child was deceased when the record was made. The record, on page 552 of the church records, is as follows:
a. 1 April 1758, to Michael Stocker a child Marie Barbara; ϯ godmother, Barbara Romerin; baptized 15 May 1758.
b. 1 Jan 1760, to Michael Stocker, a child Johana Magdale, godparents, Heinrich Hanth (and wife) Magdalena. Date of baptism not stated. (Note by JWH - On page 454 of the church record is shown the marriage on 2 Nov 1784 'by license' of Johanna Magdalena Stockern and Johann Jost Stimmel, Michael Stocker, Peter Stimmel and John and Peter Schnog serving as witnesses.)
c. 20 May 1762, to Michael Stocker, a child Michael; godparents Michael Romer (and wife) Charlotte Amalia, (Amalis). Date of baptism not stated. (Note by JWH - This writer believes that this was the Michael Stocker who married Catherine Eller.)
d. 26 Aug 1764, to Michael Stocker, a child, Elizabeth; ϯ godmother, Elizabeth Romerin. Date of baptism not stated.
e. 24 May 1767, to Michael Stocker, a child Balthasar; ϯ godparents, Balthsar Bock (and wife) Rosina. Date of baptism not stated.
f and g. 11 gbr 1769 (two children) to Michael Stocker, namely a child Marie Barbara; godparents, Johannes Haas (and wife) Mar. Barbara, and a child Christina; godmother, Christina Romerin, ledig, meaning unmarried. Baptized 19 gbr. 1769. (Note gbr is usually an abbreviation in German for born but in this case probably means November of possibly February.)
h. 13 Nov 1781, to Michael Stocker, a child, George; sponsor George Bens. Baptized 7 Jun 1782.
The above record of children of Michael Stocker, together with others shown below are interesting in two ways. First it will be noted that one of the sponsors in every case bore the same given name as the child. It was a custom in early German families to select as godmother or godfather of children being baptized the person for whom the child was named, usually a close relative and in some cases a respected friend. Second, as was shown by the first record quoted above and as will be shown by other records quoted below, Michael Stoker's wife as late as 24 March 1766 (Deed Record) was Barbara and as early as 12 April 1770 (Deed Record) was Elizabeth. That these two wives, Barbara and Elizabeth, were spouses of the same Michael Stocker is definitely established by the land records of Frederick County but, as the two next following church records show, Michael Stocker's full name was Joh. (John) Michael Stoker.
a. Page 564 of the translated church records at Maryland Hist. Soc. - Johannes, son of Joh. Michael and Elizabeth Stoker, b. 4 Jan 1772 and baptized 9 Feb 1772. (Note by JWH - p. 233 of the church records show that Johannes Stocker, aged 19, was confirmed on 22 Apr 1791. A translated record of the German Reformed Church of Frederick Co., Md., p. 196, found at the Gen. Soc. in SLC shows a child Marianna Stocker, was born to Johannes and Catherina Stocker 10 Aug 1809. Susan Kuntz (Frentz) was her godmother. A Catherina Stoker (sic) is mentioned as a dau. in the will of John Coons (sic) of Frederick Co., Md. dated 23 Dec. 1816 and proved 6 Mch. 1817. (Liber H.S, No. 2, p. 55, Frederick Co., Md. Wills.))
b. Page 591 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City - Marie Salome, dau. of Michael and Elizabeth Stocker b. 9 May 1773; bap. 27 June 1773. Her godparents were John Michel and Salome Alex (sic).
c. Page 617 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at Maryland Hist. Society [Baltimore] - Marie Barbara, dau. of Joh. Michael and Elizabeth Stoker, b. 23 Dec 1774; bapt. 16 Apr 1775. Her godparents were Johannes and Marie Barbara Hass.
d. Pages 638 and 1017 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City - Eva Margreth, dau. of Michael and Elizabeth Stocker, b. 22 Jul 1776; bap. 10 Nov 1776. Her godparents were Jacob and Margreth Bens. This child died 12 Sept. 1777, aged 1 year.
One may wonder why these four children were not listed with other children of Michael Stoker on page 552 of the church record (supra). After mentioning seven additional, more or less pertinent, translate church records the reason for this, as this writer sees it will be explained.
a. Page 407 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at Maryland Hist. Society, Baltimore, it is shown that Michael Stoker and Mary Adams were married, by license, 21 Jun 1778. The witnesses were Abraham Fah and his wife Juliana and Adam and Peter Schnock. Frederick Co. Marriage Records show that Michael Stoker and Mary A___, the spelling not complete, on 1 Jun 1778, were given a license to be married.
b. Page 209 [of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at Maryland Hist. Society, Baltimore] shows that Michael Stoker born 24 May 1862 and Magdalena Stockern (sic) born 1 Jan 1760 were confirmed. These two were brother and sister, children of Michael and Barbara Stoker (Stocker), their birth dates in their confirmation checking substantially with those recorded on page 552 of the same translated church record.
c. Page 664 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City shows that Anna Margareth, daughter of Michael and Anna Marie Stocker was born 15 May 1779 and baptized 24 July 1779. Her godparents were Adam and Anna Margareth Schnock.
d. Page 686 [of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City ] shows that Marie Catharina, daughter of Michael and Anna Maria Stocker was born 4 Sept. 1780.
e. Page 752 [of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City] shows that Jacob, son of Michael and Anna Maria Stocker, was born 22 May 1785. His sponsors at baptism were his parents.
f. Page 113 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City, Utah, shows that Charlotte, daughter of Michael Stocker, was born 19 Feb 1788. Her mother's name was not given. Her godparents were Peter and Julia (Juliana) Schnock (Schnod).
g. Page 1017 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City shows that Elizabeth, wife of Michael Stoker died 10 Oct 1777 at the age of 33 years.
It should be kept in mind that the only Stoker (Stocker) family found in the early church, land or court records of Frederick County, Maryland was one headed by Michael. The only suggestion of a Stoker of Stocker of another given name was the same Michael in the recordings of his children by his second wife, Elizabeth. In those recordings he was called Joh. Michael Stoker. Deed Records in Frederick Co., calling him a saddler in every case and showing his wife to have been Barbara in March 1766 and Elizabeth in April 1770 proves the two Michaels to have been the same person. The second wife, Elizabeth, died 10 Oct 1777 at the age of 33. On 21 Jun 1778 he married Mary (Marie) Adams as already shown.
This writer explains the one page record that is found of Michael Stoker's (Stocker) children in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick Co., Md. as follows. When his first two daughters (twins probably) were born he had them baptized or recorded as they were born. When his twins, Marie Barbara and Christina were born in 1769 he had them baptized and recorded and when this was being done he decided to record all of his other children, four of whom had not been recorded, naming their godparents from memory. This would account for all of these children appearing on one page where immediately prior entries were 1769 and immediate subsequent ones 1770.
When children of his second wife, Elizabeth, came he had them baptized and recorded. Apparently there were four of them, one named Johannes, b. 4 Jan 1772, another named Marie Salome, b. 9 May 1773, the third was Marie Barbara b. 23 Dec 1774 and the fourth Eva Margreth b. 22 Jul 1776 - d. 12 Sep 1777. Then on 10 Oct 1777 his wife, Elizabeth, aged 33, died and on 21 Jun 1778 he married Mary (Marie) Adams, his third wife.
The first child of the third marriage was Anna Margareth, b. 15 May 1779. She was baptized and recorded. The second child by this third marriage was Marie Catherina, born 4 Sep 1780 and bapt. 4 March (May) 1781. She probably died young. The fourth child was Georg b. 13 Nov 1781. This child was baptized 7 Jun 1782 and the baptism recorded not on the current page of the record book but squeezed in on the 1769/1770 page where other children of Michael Stoker (Stocker) had been recorded enmasse. Thus we have on the 1769/1770 page of the church book a record of eight children of Michael Stoker (Stocker) born between 1758 and 1782 appearing on that page with other children of his who were born after 1769 appearing on other pages. The fact that his son Georg was so recorded is pretty conclusive proof that all of the eight Stoker (Stocker) children on that one page had the same father. The symbol ϯ apparently was to indicate that the child was deceased and, doubtless, was inserted when the baptism of the son George was recorded.
Other entries in the church records show Michael Stocker (Stoker) and his wife, Anna Maria, had two other children, one named Jacob, b. 22 May 1785, and the other named Charlotte, b. 19 Feb 1788, making 17 children as follows:
By first wife Barbara:
1. Anna Barbara Stocker, b. 1 Apr 1758. She died young.
2. Marie Barbara Stocker, b. 1 Apr 1758, the same as or twin of [Anna Barbara]. She died young.
3. Johana Magdale Stocker, b. 1 Jan 1760.
4. Michael Stocker, Jr., b. 20 May 1762 (24 May 1762 or 24 Mar 1762).
5. Elizabeth Stocker, b. 26 Aug 1764. She died young.
6. Balthasar Stocker, b. 24 May 1767. He died young.
7. Marie Barbara Stocker, b. 11 ??? 1769. [Twin of Christina.] She died young.
8. Christina Stocker, b. 11 ??? 1769. Twin of [Marie Barbara]. She died young.
By second wife Elizabeth:
9. Johannes Stocker, b. 4 Jan 1772.
10. Marie Solome Stocker, b. 9 May 1773.
11. Marie Barbara Stocker, b. 25 Dec 1774.
12. Eva Margreth Stocker, b. 22 Jul 1776, d. 12 Sep 1777.
By third wife Anna Marie Adams:
13. Anna Margareth Stocker, b. 15 May 1779.
14. Marie Catherina Stocker, b. 4 Sep 1780.
15. George Stocker, b. 13 Nov. 1781, bapt. 2 Jun 1782.
16. Jacob Stocker, b. 22 May 1785.
17. Charlotte Stocker, b. 19 Feb 1788.
[Note: James Hook totally missed one child, Eva Catherina, who was born between George and Jacob; see her notes for church record documentation.]

3. From the book "Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881," Vol. II, comp. and ed. by Elayne Stoker, 2004, printed by Stevenson's Genealogy Center, Provo, UT. From an article entitled: "Michael Stocker 1731-1819 with wives: Ana Barbara Romerin, Elisabeth Fah, and Mary (Anna Maria) Adams." See notes of Johan Michael Stocker for complete text of which the following is a small part:
"Important Note: All of the original Evangelical Lutheran Church record was originally in German mixed with some Latin. Parts of it have been copied on to microfilm by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is available for anyone to study. A complete copy is found in the Maryland State Archives on microfilm. This record has been translated by Frederick S. Weiser, James Hook, William Hinke, and E.W. Reinecke. In comparing the four records each has small differences in dates and names from the original record. The translation work by Frederick S. Weiser has been most commonly used...
Researchers Take Note
In relationship to the birth dates and number of children Michael and Ana had there is much confusion. I believe most of this has stemmed from the differences of the translations and then the descendants propagating the same mistakes throughout the year. I have tried to verify the different translations with the original hand written records available to me. For researchers working through the Family History Centers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the only translation records available was made by Frederick Weiser and James Hook. Located in the Frederick County Historical Library in Maryland are the translations by Frederick Weiser, William Hinke, and E. W. Reinecke. All of the microfilm of the original and its various translations can be found at the Maryland State Archives in Baltimore, Maryland.
Michael and Ana's Family
Because of the problems with this family I have provided endnotes for references to where the information is located so others may research this dilemma...
[A.] Anna Barbara on 1 April, 1758 and baptized on Pentecost 1758. This church ordinance was witnessed by Maria Barbara, the unmarried daughter of Michael Romer. (As of 1769 daughter was deceased.) [Footnote 1: "The hand written record is located in Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, Maryland on microfilm. Cr. Fred. 1 #437. Zion Luth-Ch, recs (1871-1877) and index Evan. Luth Ch 1742-1877, pp. 1-1048, Index I-N, page 53."]
It is the opinion of this author that Maria Barbara and Anna Barbara are the same child. The record of this child was made eleven years after her birth at the Festival of the Resurrection. It is only recorded with several other children of Michael and has no independent record as seen in the baptismal records of Anna Barbara and Michael. The hand written record is located in Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, Maryland on microfilm. Cr. Fred. 1 #437. Zion Luth-Ch, Recs (1871-1877) and index Evan. Luth Ch 1742-1877, pp 1-1048, Index I-N, page 552.
[B.] Jan 1 1760, A little daughter Johana Magdalena, Sponsors: Henrich Fauth and Magdalena. [Footnote 2. The record of this child was made nine years after her birth. It is only recorded with several other children of Michael and has no independent record as seen in the records of Anna Barbara and Michael. The hand written record is located in Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, Maryland on microfilm. Cr. Fred. 1 #437. Zion Luth-Ch, recs (1871-1877) and index Evan. Luth Ch 1742-1877, pp. 1-1048, Index I-N, page 552."]
[C] The next child recorded for Michael and Ana was that of: son Michael on 20 May 1762 baptized Sept 18 [Schw.]. Sponsors: MIchael and Charlotte Amalia Romer. [Footnote 3. "Maryland German Church Records Vol. 3, Baptismal records of the Monocacy Lutheran Congregation, and its successor, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland 1742-1779, as translated and edited by Frederick S. Weiser pg. 34. This record does not have a translation error on the year of Michael's birth where he has it listed as 1768."]
The following children for Michael and Ana were found only in the hand written record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church recorded in conjunction with the Festival of the Resurrection which was held March 26 and 27 of 1769, 3-5 years after the children were born. [Footnote 4. "The record of this child was made nine years after her birth. It is only recorded with several other children of Michael and has no independent record as seen in the records of Anna Barbara and Michael. The hand written record is located in Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, Maryland on microfilm. Cr. Fred. 1 #437. Zion Luth-Ch, recs (1871-1877) and index Evan. Luth Ch 1742-1877, pp. 1-1048, Index I-N, page 552."]
[D.] Elisabetha, dau. of Michael Stocker b. 26 Aug 1764 bp. (not given). Sponsors: Elisabeth Romerin (as of 1769 daughter was deceased).
[E.] Balthasar, son of Michael Stocker b. 24 May 1767 bp. (not given). Sponsors: Balthasar and Rosina Bach (as of 1769 son was deceased)."

BIRTH:
1. Per LDS extraction program of film #13933, "Evangelical Lutheran or Lutheran Congregation of Zmiddletown, Middletown, Frederick, Maryland" as cited with online Ordinance Index: "Elisabetha Stocker, born 26 Aug 1764 with parent listed as Michael Stocker." Ordinance work reference is Film 13933 IT 2, batch C507701.

2. Per LDS extraction program of film #883605 item 1, "The Evangelical Lutheran Church, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, parish register 1743-1811 [actual start of 1737]. 975.287/F1 V26 w v. 1-2" as cited with online Ordinance Index: "Elisabetha Stocker, b. 26 Aug 1764, no christening date given, with parent listed as Michael Stocker." Ordinance work reference is Film 824392 IT 2, batch C504181.

CHRISTENING:
1. Anna Barbara's presumed surname of Römerin is technically unproven but surmised from the sponsors of her children's baptisms in Frederick, MD. Her surname Anna Barbara is however found in conjunction with her husband Michael Stocker in land deeds and baptismal sponsorships. Six children were born to her and her husband and with the exception of Balthasar, all the rest had baptismal sponsors from the Römer family (including the last two on the following list who were the first two children of the second wife Elizabeth Pfau); i.e:
Anna Barbara, 1758: Maria Barbara Römerin (Anna Barbara's unmarried sister)
Maria Barbara, 1758: Barbara Römerin (most likely Anna Barbara's unmarried sister Maria Barbara again)
Johanna Magdalene, 1760: Henrich Fauth and Magdalena (Anna Barbara's married sister Johanna Magdalene whose husband is named in their father's will as Henry Foutz)
Michael, 1762: John Michael and Maria Amalia Römer (Anna Barbara's parents)
Elizabeth, 1764: Elizabeth Römerin (Anna Barbara's unmarried sister)
Balthasar, 1767: Unrelated party - Balthasar and Rosina Bach.
Maria Barbara, 1769: Johannes and Maria Barbara Haas (Anna Barbara's married sister Maria Barbara whose marriage is proved by their father's will and by tombstones)
Christina, 1769: Christina Römerin (Anna Barbara's unmarried sister)
The name Römerin is the German female version of Römer.

2. FHL book 975.287/F1 K28we "Maryland German Church Records," vol. 3, "Baptismal records of the Monocacy Lutheran Congregation, and its successor, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland, 1742-1779," translated and edited by Frederick S. Weiser:
- All recorded at once:
- Maria Barbara, dau. of Michael Stocker, b . 1 Apr 1758 (+), bp. 15 May. Sponsors: Mar. Barb. Römerin [now] deceased.
- Johanna Magdalina, dau. of [parents names not given] b. 1 Jan 1760, bp. [not given]. Sponsors: Heinrich and Magdalena Fauth.
- Michael, son of Michael Stocker b. 20 May 1762, bp. [not given]. Sponsors: Michael and Scharletta Amalia Romer.
- Elisabetha, dau. of Michael Stocker b. 26 Aug. 1764, bp. [not given]. Sponsors: Elisabetha Romerin.
- Balthasar, son of Michael Stocker, b. 24 May 1767 (+), bp. [not given]. Sponsors: Balthasar and Rosina Bach.
- Maria Barbara, twin dau. of Michael Stocker, b. 11 Sept. 1769 (+), bp. 19 Sept. 1769. Sponsors: Johannes and Maria Barbara Haass.
- Christina, twin dau. of Michael Stocker, b. 11 Sept. 1769 (+), bp. 19 Sept. 1769. Sponsors: Christina Römerin, single.
- [name not given], son of Michael Stocker, b. 13 Nov. 1781, bp. 2 Jun. 1782. Sponsor: Georg Bens. [Kerry's note: This child is George Stocker.]

DEATH:
1. Per church records of the Evangelical Lutheran Church as quoted above by James Hook. She shows deceased prior to the 1769 birth of Marie Barbara and Christina Stocker. This individual is entered in the record at the same time and marked with a "cross" doubtless indicating that she was probably deceased by that time.

2. Not mentioned in father's will dated 10 May 1818: "...my sons, Jacob, Michael and John and my daughters, Mary, Catherine, Charlotte, Margaret, Barbara, Salome and Magdalene..." See full quotation in his notes.
 		Stocker, Elizabeth (I195)
 
2873 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 82-83: "Eva Margareth Stoker, b. 22 Jul 1776, Frederick Co., MD."

2. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 88-97:
"Michael Stoker, doubtless, was the son of Michael Stoker (Stocker) who settled in Frederick Co., Md. about the middle of the 18th century. No other family of the Stoker (Stocker) name was found by this writer in any of the early Frederick Co. records. The 18th century translated records of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. established about 1746, show many Michael Stoker (Stocker) entries beginning with the birth, on 1 Apr 1758, of Anna Barbara, daughter of 'Mich. Stocker' and his wife 'Ana Barb.' On p. 552 of a copy of these church records, now in possession of the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore, Maryland, will be found a recording of eight children of Michael Stocker, the youngest named George, born 13 Nov 1781. The first of these children was named Marie Barbara, born 1 Apr 1758. She doubtless was the same as or the twin of another daughter named Anna Barbara mentioned above as having been born on the same date. Another record shows, again, the birth of Marie Barbara, daughter of Michael Stocker born 1 Apr 1758; baptized 15 May 1758. Thus the church records contain three separate entries of the birth on 1 April 1758, of a daughter to Michael Stoker (Stocker) as follows:
a. 'On 1 Apr. 1758 to Mich. Stocker et uxori Ana Barbara a daughter Anna Barbara. Witnesses (to baptism) Marie Barbara filia coelebs Michael Roemers.' Filia Coelebs means unmarried daughter of.'
b. '1758, 1 April to Michael Stoker a daughter Marie Barbara, sponsored by Barbara Romerin, baptized 15 May 1758.'
c. '1758, 1 April to Michael Stocker a daughter Marie Barbara, sponsored by Barbara Romerin, baptized 15 May 1758.'
As already stated, page 552 of the church book records, on one single page, the birth of eight children to Michael Stocker the last child of whom, named George, was born 13 Nov 1781 and baptized 7 Jun 1782. The first seven of these recordings obviously were made in 1769, the 8th having been put there in 1782 as will be explained later. Preceding the names of the 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th and 7th Child, the symbol ϯ was added to show, doubtless, that the child was deceased when the record was made. The record, on page 552 of the church records, is as follows:
a. 1 April 1758, to Michael Stocker a child Marie Barbara; ϯ godmother, Barbara Romerin; baptized 15 May 1758.
b. 1 Jan 1760, to Michael Stocker, a child Johana Magdale, godparents, Heinrich Hanth (and wife) Magdalena. Date of baptism not stated. (Note by JWH - On page 454 of the church record is shown the marriage on 2 Nov 1784 'by license' of Johanna Magdalena Stockern and Johann Jost Stimmel, Michael Stocker, Peter Stimmel and John and Peter Schnog serving as witnesses.)
c. 20 May 1762, to Michael Stocker, a child Michael; godparents Michael Romer (and wife) Charlotte Amalia, (Amalis). Date of baptism not stated. (Note by JWH - This writer believes that this was the Michael Stocker who married Catherine Eller.)
d. 26 Aug 1764, to Michael Stocker, a child, Elizabeth; ϯ godmother, Elizabeth Romerin. Date of baptism not stated.
e. 24 May 1767, to Michael Stocker, a child Balthasar; ϯ godparents, Balthsar Bock (and wife) Rosina. Date of baptism not stated.
f and g. 11 gbr 1769 (two children) to Michael Stocker, namely a child Marie Barbara; godparents, Johannes Haas (and wife) Mar. Barbara, and a child Christina; godmother, Christina Romerin, ledig, meaning unmarried. Baptized 19 gbr. 1769. (Note gbr is usually an abbreviation in German for born but in this case probably means November of possibly February.)
h. 13 Nov 1781, to Michael Stocker, a child, George; sponsor George Bens. Baptized 7 Jun 1782.
The above record of children of Michael Stocker, together with others shown below are interesting in two ways. First it will be noted that one of the sponsors in every case bore the same given name as the child. It was a custom in early German families to select as godmother or godfather of children being baptized the person for whom the child was named, usually a close relative and in some cases a respected friend. Second, as was shown by the first record quoted above and as will be shown by other records quoted below, Michael Stoker's wife as late as 24 March 1766 (Deed Record) was Barbara and as early as 12 April 1770 (Deed Record) was Elizabeth. That these two wives, Barbara and Elizabeth, were spouses of the same Michael Stocker is definitely established by the land records of Frederick County but, as the two next following church records show, Michael Stocker's full name was Joh. (John) Michael Stoker.
a. Page 564 of the translated church records at Maryland Hist. Soc. - Johannes, son of Joh. Michael and Elizabeth Stoker, b. 4 Jan 1772 and baptized 9 Feb 1772. (Note by JWH - p. 233 of the church records show that Johannes Stocker, aged 19, was confirmed on 22 Apr 1791. A translated record of the German Reformed Church of Frederick Co., Md., p. 196, found at the Gen. Soc. in SLC shows a child Marianna Stocker, was born to Johannes and Catherina Stocker 10 Aug 1809. Susan Kuntz (Frentz) was her godmother. A Catherina Stoker (sic) is mentioned as a dau. in the will of John Coons (sic) of Frederick Co., Md. dated 23 Dec. 1816 and proved 6 Mch. 1817. (Liber H.S, No. 2, p. 55, Frederick Co., Md. Wills.))
b. Page 591 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City - Marie Salome, dau. of Michael and Elizabeth Stocker b. 9 May 1773; bap. 27 June 1773. Her godparents were John Michel and Salome Alex (sic).
c. Page 617 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at Maryland Hist. Society [Baltimore] - Marie Barbara, dau. of Joh. Michael and Elizabeth Stoker, b. 23 Dec 1774; bapt. 16 Apr 1775. Her godparents were Johannes and Marie Barbara Hass.
d. Pages 638 and 1017 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City - Eva Margreth, dau. of Michael and Elizabeth Stocker, b. 22 Jul 1776; bap. 10 Nov 1776. Her godparents were Jacob and Margreth Bens. This child died 12 Sept. 1777, aged 1 year.
One may wonder why these four children were not listed with other children of Michael Stoker on page 552 of the church record (supra). After mentioning seven additional, more or less pertinent, translate church records the reason for this, as this writer sees it will be explained.
a. Page 407 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at Maryland Hist. Society, Baltimore, it is shown that Michael Stoker and Mary Adams were married, by license, 21 Jun 1778. The witnesses were Abraham Fah and his wife Juliana and Adam and Peter Schnock. Frederick Co. Marriage Records show that Michael Stoker and Mary A___, the spelling not complete, on 1 Jun 1778, were given a license to be married.
b. Page 209 [of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at Maryland Hist. Society, Baltimore] shows that Michael Stoker born 24 May 1862 and Magdalena Stockern (sic) born 1 Jan 1760 were confirmed. These two were brother and sister, children of Michael and Barbara Stoker (Stocker), their birth dates in their confirmation checking substantially with those recorded on page 552 of the same translated church record.
c. Page 664 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City shows that Anna Margareth, daughter of Michael and Anna Marie Stocker was born 15 May 1779 and baptized 24 July 1779. Her godparents were Adam and Anna Margareth Schnock.
d. Page 686 [of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City ] shows that Marie Catharina, daughter of Michael and Anna Maria Stocker was born 4 Sept. 1780.
e. Page 752 [of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City] shows that Jacob, son of Michael and Anna Maria Stocker, was born 22 May 1785. His sponsors at baptism were his parents.
f. Page 113 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City, Utah, shows that Charlotte, daughter of Michael Stocker, was born 19 Feb 1788. Her mother's name was not given. Her godparents were Peter and Julia (Juliana) Schnock (Schnod).
g. Page 1017 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City shows that Elizabeth, wife of Michael Stoker died 10 Oct 1777 at the age of 33 years.
It should be kept in mind that the only Stoker (Stocker) family found in the early church, land or court records of Frederick County, Maryland was one headed by Michael. The only suggestion of a Stoker of Stocker of another given name was the same Michael in the recordings of his children by his second wife, Elizabeth. In those recordings he was called Joh. Michael Stoker. Deed Records in Frederick Co., calling him a saddler in every case and showing his wife to have been Barbara in March 1766 and Elizabeth in April 1770 proves the two Michaels to have been the same person. The second wife, Elizabeth, died 10 Oct 1777 at the age of 33. On 21 Jun 1778 he married Mary (Marie) Adams as already shown.
This writer explains the one page record that is found of Michael Stoker's (Stocker) children in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick Co., Md. as follows. When his first two daughters (twins probably) were born he had them baptized or recorded as they were born. When his twins, Marie Barbara and Christina were born in 1769 he had them baptized and recorded and when this was being done he decided to record all of his other children, four of whom had not been recorded, naming their godparents from memory. This would account for all of these children appearing on one page where immediately prior entries were 1769 and immediate subsequent ones 1770.
When children of his second wife, Elizabeth, came he had them baptized and recorded. Apparently there were four of them, one named Johannes, b. 4 Jan 1772, another named Marie Salome, b. 9 May 1773, the third was Marie Barbara b. 23 Dec 1774 and the fourth Eva Margreth b. 22 Jul 1776 - d. 12 Sep 1777. Then on 10 Oct 1777 his wife, Elizabeth, aged 33, died and on 21 Jun 1778 he married Mary (Marie) Adams, his third wife.
The first child of the third marriage was Anna Margareth, b. 15 May 1779. She was baptized and recorded. The second child by this third marriage was Marie Catherina, born 4 Sep 1780 and bapt. 4 March (May) 1781. She probably died young. The fourth child was Georg b. 13 Nov 1781. This child was baptized 7 Jun 1782 and the baptism recorded not on the current page of the record book but squeezed in on the 1769/1770 page where other children of Michael Stoker (Stocker) had been recorded enmasse. Thus we have on the 1769/1770 page of the church book a record of eight children of Michael Stoker (Stocker) born between 1758 and 1782 appearing on that page with other children of his who were born after 1769 appearing on other pages. The fact that his son Georg was so recorded is pretty conclusive proof that all of the eight Stoker (Stocker) children on that one page had the same father. The symbol ϯ apparently was to indicate that the child was deceased and, doubtless, was inserted when the baptism of the son George was recorded.
Other entries in the church records show Michael Stocker (Stoker) and his wife, Anna Maria, had two other children, one named Jacob, b. 22 May 1785, and the other named Charlotte, b. 19 Feb 1788, making 17 children as follows:
By first wife Barbara:
1. Anna Barbara Stocker, b. 1 Apr 1758. She died young.
2. Marie Barbara Stocker, b. 1 Apr 1758, the same as or twin of [Anna Barbara]. She died young.
3. Johana Magdale Stocker, b. 1 Jan 1760.
4. Michael Stocker, Jr., b. 20 May 1762 (24 May 1762 or 24 Mar 1762).
5. Elizabeth Stocker, b. 26 Aug 1764. She died young.
6. Balthasar Stocker, b. 24 May 1767. He died young.
7. Marie Barbara Stocker, b. 11 ??? 1769. [Twin of Christina.] She died young.
8. Christina Stocker, b. 11 ??? 1769. Twin of [Marie Barbara]. She died young.
By second wife Elizabeth:
9. Johannes Stocker, b. 4 Jan 1772.
10. Marie Solome Stocker, b. 9 May 1773.
11. Marie Barbara Stocker, b. 25 Dec 1774.
12. Eva Margreth Stocker, b. 22 Jul 1776, d. 12 Sep 1777.
By third wife Anna Marie Adams:
13. Anna Margareth Stocker, b. 15 May 1779.
14. Marie Catherina Stocker, b. 4 Sep 1780.
15. George Stocker, b. 13 Nov. 1781, bapt. 2 Jun 1782.
16. Jacob Stocker, b. 22 May 1785.
17. Charlotte Stocker, b. 19 Feb 1788.
[Note: James Hook totally missed one child, Eva Catherina, who was born between George and Jacob; see her notes for church record documentation.]

3. From the book "Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881," Vol. II, comp. and ed. by Elayne Stoker, 2004, printed by Stevenson's Genealogy Center, Provo, UT. From an article entitled: "Michael Stocker 1731-1819 with wives: Ana Barbara Romerin, Elisabeth Fah, and Mary (Anna Maria) Adams." See notes of Johan Michael Stocker for complete text of which the following is a small part:
"The Second Family...
The next land record for Michael Stocker also list his second wife Elizabeth. It was recorded on 12 April 1770, when they sold a five foot strip of a lot (Deed Book N p. 90).
In putting together the family of Michael and Elizabeth Stocker, the date that James Hook uses leaves many questions as to who and if the first two children were twins and who was their mother. He list Maria Barbara born in May of 1769 and Christina in September. If Michael married Elizabeth in Feb of 1769 it would have been unlikely that Maria was born in May, but not impossible. However it is highly unlikely that a second child would be born only four months later. In Frederick Wieser's translation of the Maryland German Church Records Vol 3 he stated that the two girls were born in September and were twins. On the hand written record under the heading {Bapt. Mar. 26, 27- Festival of the Resurrection [1769]} it lists the two girls but with the dates as James Hook translated it and does not list them as twins. I have not located the original record that Wieser used for his translations...
Michael and Elizabeth's children [Footnotes 5-10. "Maryland German Church Records Vol. 3, Baptismal records of the Monocacy Lutheran Congregation, and its successor, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland 1742-1779, as translated and edited by Frederick S. Weiser pg. 34."]
[A.] Maria Barbara, twin dau of Michael Stocker, b. 11 Sept. 1769 bap 19 Sep 1769 Sponsors: Johannes & Maria Barbara Haafs (Died in 1769).5
[B.] Christina, twin dau of Michael Stocker b 11 Sept 1769, Sponsors: Christina Romerin, single (Died in 1769).6
[C.] Johanes, son of Joh. Michael and Elizabeth Stocker b. 4 Jan. 1772, baptized on 9 Feb. 1772, sponsors: Joh. Michael and Salome Alex.7 A later church entry states that Johannes was confirmed at age 19, on 22 April 1791.
[D.] Maria Salome, dau of Michael and Elizabeth Stocker, b 9 May 1773, bp. 27 June 1773. Sponsors: Joh. Michael and Salome Alex.8
[E.] Maria Barbara b 23 Dec 1774, bp 16 Apr 1775. Sponsors: Johannes & Marie Barbara Haafs.9
[F.] Eva Margreth b 22 July 1776 bap 10 Nov 1776, Sponsors: Jacob and Margreth Bens d 12 Sep 1777.10
[G.] Stillborn b Oct 7 1777 this child is mentioned only in connection with Elizabeth's obituary record within the church's records. [Footnote 11. "A hand written record verifying the event dates for Johannes, Marie Salome, Marie Barbara, and Eva Margareth can be found in the Church Record [Evangelical Lutheran], 1742-1910 Evangelical Lutheran Church (Frederick, Maryland) located in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Family History Center, Salt Lake City, Utah. US/CAN Film #1414857."]
...On 9 Oct 1777 Elizabeth Fah Stocker passed away only two days after giving birth to a stillborn child."

BIRTH:
1. See Christening.

CHRISTENING:
1. Per LDS extraction program of film #13933, "Evangelical Lutheran or Lutheran Congregation of Zmiddletown, Middletown, Frederick, Maryland" as cited with online Ordinance Index: "Eva Margreth Stocker, christened 10 Nov 1776 with parents listed as Michael and Elizabeth Stocker." Ordinance work reference is Film 13933 IT 2, batch C507701.

2. Per LDS extraction program of film #883605 item 1, "The Evangelical Lutheran Church, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, parish register 1743-1811 [actual start of 1737]. 975.287/F1 V26 w v. 1-2" as cited with online Ordinance Index: "Eva Margrethe Stocker, b. 22 Jul 1776, christened 10 Nov 1776 with parents listed as Michael and Elisabeth Stocker, d. 10 Sep 1777." Ordinance work reference is Film 824392 IT 2, batch C504181.

3. FHL book 975.287/F1 K28we "Maryland German Church Records," vol. 3, "Baptismal records of the Monocacy Lutheran Congregation, and its successor, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland, 1742-1779," translated and edited by Frederick S. Weiser:
- Eva Margreth, dau. of Michael and Elisabeth Stocker, b. 22 July 1776, bp. 10 Nov. 1776. Sponsors: Jacob and Margreth Bens.

DEATH:
1. See Christening. See also James Hook per his quote above.

2. Not mentioned in father's will of 1818.

BURIAL:
1. FHL book 975.287 K2w "Records of Marriages and Burials in the Monocacy Church in Frederick County, Maryland and in the Evangelical Lutheran Congregation in the City of Frederick, Maryland 1743-1811," translated and edited by Frederick Sheely Weiser, Special Publication No. 38, The National Genealogical Society, Washington, D.C., 1972, p. 94:
"Sept. 12, 1777: Eva Margreth, little daughter of Michael Stocker and his wife Elisabeth, born July 22, 1776, died of consumption Sept. 10, aged 1 year, 1 month, 2 weeks, 5 days."

2. Findagrave Website accessed 23 Feb 2015 for burials at the Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery, 35 East Church Street, Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland, 21701, (301) 663-6361. "Very few stones remain, as the cemetery was removed to nearby Mount Olivet Cemetery (area NN) in the early 1900s. The remaining stones have all been placed against the stone wall behind the church building and have been photographed." Memorials of interest:
A. Memorial #39323057:
"Elisabeth Fahs Stockern
Birth: Mar. 15, 1744
Death: Oct. 9, 1777
d/o Jacob Fahs
Md. 1 Christian Schott 2 children
15 Feb 1769 md. Michael Stocker, 7 children
7 Oct. 1777 gave birth to a stillborn child."
B. Memorial #39322782:
"Eva Margareth Stocker
Birth: Jul. 22, 1770
Death: Sep. 10, 1777
d/o Michael & Elisabeth Stocker
Consumption"
 		Stocker, Eva Margareth (I2457)
 
2874 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 82-83: "George Stoker, b. 13 Nov 1781, Frederick Co., MD."

2. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 88-97:
"Michael Stoker, doubtless, was the son of Michael Stoker (Stocker) who settled in Frederick Co., Md. about the middle of the 18th century. No other family of the Stoker (Stocker) name was found by this writer in any of the early Frederick Co. records. The 18th century translated records of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. established about 1746, show many Michael Stoker (Stocker) entries beginning with the birth, on 1 Apr 1758, of Anna Barbara, daughter of 'Mich. Stocker' and his wife 'Ana Barb.' On p. 552 of a copy of these church records, now in possession of the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore, Maryland, will be found a recording of eight children of Michael Stocker, the youngest named George, born 13 Nov 1781. The first of these children was named Marie Barbara, born 1 Apr 1758. She doubtless was the same as or the twin of another daughter named Anna Barbara mentioned above as having been born on the same date. Another record shows, again, the birth of Marie Barbara, daughter of Michael Stocker born 1 Apr 1758; baptized 15 May 1758. Thus the church records contain three separate entries of the birth on 1 April 1758, of a daughter to Michael Stoker (Stocker) as follows:
a. 'On 1 Apr. 1758 to Mich. Stocker et uxori Ana Barbara a daughter Anna Barbara. Witnesses (to baptism) Marie Barbara filia coelebs Michael Roemers.' Filia Coelebs means unmarried daughter of.'
b. '1758, 1 April to Michael Stoker a daughter Marie Barbara, sponsored by Barbara Romerin, baptized 15 May 1758.'
c. '1758, 1 April to Michael Stocker a daughter Marie Barbara, sponsored by Barbara Romerin, baptized 15 May 1758.'
As already stated, page 552 of the church book records, on one single page, the birth of eight children to Michael Stocker the last child of whom, named George, was born 13 Nov 1781 and baptized 7 Jun 1782. The first seven of these recordings obviously were made in 1769, the 8th having been put there in 1782 as will be explained later. Preceding the names of the 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th and 7th Child, the symbol ϯ was added to show, doubtless, that the child was deceased when the record was made. The record, on page 552 of the church records, is as follows:
a. 1 April 1758, to Michael Stocker a child Marie Barbara; ϯ godmother, Barbara Romerin; baptized 15 May 1758.
b. 1 Jan 1760, to Michael Stocker, a child Johana Magdale, godparents, Heinrich Hanth (and wife) Magdalena. Date of baptism not stated. (Note by JWH - On page 454 of the church record is shown the marriage on 2 Nov 1784 'by license' of Johanna Magdalena Stockern and Johann Jost Stimmel, Michael Stocker, Peter Stimmel and John and Peter Schnog serving as witnesses.)
c. 20 May 1762, to Michael Stocker, a child Michael; godparents Michael Romer (and wife) Charlotte Amalia, (Amalis). Date of baptism not stated. (Note by JWH - This writer believes that this was the Michael Stocker who married Catherine Eller.)
d. 26 Aug 1764, to Michael Stocker, a child, Elizabeth; ϯ godmother, Elizabeth Romerin. Date of baptism not stated.
e. 24 May 1767, to Michael Stocker, a child Balthasar; ϯ godparents, Balthsar Bock (and wife) Rosina. Date of baptism not stated.
f and g. 11 gbr 1769 (two children) to Michael Stocker, namely a child Marie Barbara; godparents, Johannes Haas (and wife) Mar. Barbara, and a child Christina; godmother, Christina Romerin, ledig, meaning unmarried. Baptized 19 gbr. 1769. (Note gbr is usually an abbreviation in German for born but in this case probably means November of possibly February.)
h. 13 Nov 1781, to Michael Stocker, a child, George; sponsor George Bens. Baptized 7 Jun 1782.
The above record of children of Michael Stocker, together with others shown below are interesting in two ways. First it will be noted that one of the sponsors in every case bore the same given name as the child. It was a custom in early German families to select as godmother or godfather of children being baptized the person for whom the child was named, usually a close relative and in some cases a respected friend. Second, as was shown by the first record quoted above and as will be shown by other records quoted below, Michael Stoker's wife as late as 24 March 1766 (Deed Record) was Barbara and as early as 12 April 1770 (Deed Record) was Elizabeth. That these two wives, Barbara and Elizabeth, were spouses of the same Michael Stocker is definitely established by the land records of Frederick County but, as the two next following church records show, Michael Stocker's full name was Joh. (John) Michael Stoker.
a. Page 564 of the translated church records at Maryland Hist. Soc. - Johannes, son of Joh. Michael and Elizabeth Stoker, b. 4 Jan 1772 and baptized 9 Feb 1772. (Note by JWH - p. 233 of the church records show that Johannes Stocker, aged 19, was confirmed on 22 Apr 1791. A translated record of the German Reformed Church of Frederick Co., Md., p. 196, found at the Gen. Soc. in SLC shows a child Marianna Stocker, was born to Johannes and Catherina Stocker 10 Aug 1809. Susan Kuntz (Frentz) was her godmother. A Catherina Stoker (sic) is mentioned as a dau. in the will of John Coons (sic) of Frederick Co., Md. dated 23 Dec. 1816 and proved 6 Mch. 1817. (Liber H.S, No. 2, p. 55, Frederick Co., Md. Wills.))
b. Page 591 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City - Marie Salome, dau. of Michael and Elizabeth Stocker b. 9 May 1773; bap. 27 June 1773. Her godparents were John Michel and Salome Alex (sic).
c. Page 617 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at Maryland Hist. Society [Baltimore] - Marie Barbara, dau. of Joh. Michael and Elizabeth Stoker, b. 23 Dec 1774; bapt. 16 Apr 1775. Her godparents were Johannes and Marie Barbara Hass.
d. Pages 638 and 1017 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City - Eva Margreth, dau. of Michael and Elizabeth Stocker, b. 22 Jul 1776; bap. 10 Nov 1776. Her godparents were Jacob and Margreth Bens. This child died 12 Sept. 1777, aged 1 year.
One may wonder why these four children were not listed with other children of Michael Stoker on page 552 of the church record (supra). After mentioning seven additional, more or less pertinent, translate church records the reason for this, as this writer sees it will be explained.
a. Page 407 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at Maryland Hist. Society, Baltimore, it is shown that Michael Stoker and Mary Adams were married, by license, 21 Jun 1778. The witnesses were Abraham Fah and his wife Juliana and Adam and Peter Schnock. Frederick Co. Marriage Records show that Michael Stoker and Mary A___, the spelling not complete, on 1 Jun 1778, were given a license to be married.
b. Page 209 [of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at Maryland Hist. Society, Baltimore] shows that Michael Stoker born 24 May 1862 and Magdalena Stockern (sic) born 1 Jan 1760 were confirmed. These two were brother and sister, children of Michael and Barbara Stoker (Stocker), their birth dates in their confirmation checking substantially with those recorded on page 552 of the same translated church record.
c. Page 664 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City shows that Anna Margareth, daughter of Michael and Anna Marie Stocker was born 15 May 1779 and baptized 24 July 1779. Her godparents were Adam and Anna Margareth Schnock.
d. Page 686 [of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City ] shows that Marie Catharina, daughter of Michael and Anna Maria Stocker was born 4 Sept. 1780.
e. Page 752 [of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City] shows that Jacob, son of Michael and Anna Maria Stocker, was born 22 May 1785. His sponsors at baptism were his parents.
f. Page 113 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City, Utah, shows that Charlotte, daughter of Michael Stocker, was born 19 Feb 1788. Her mother's name was not given. Her godparents were Peter and Julia (Juliana) Schnock (Schnod).
g. Page 1017 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City shows that Elizabeth, wife of Michael Stoker died 10 Oct 1777 at the age of 33 years.
It should be kept in mind that the only Stoker (Stocker) family found in the early church, land or court records of Frederick County, Maryland was one headed by Michael. The only suggestion of a Stoker of Stocker of another given name was the same Michael in the recordings of his children by his second wife, Elizabeth. In those recordings he was called Joh. Michael Stoker. Deed Records in Frederick Co., calling him a saddler in every case and showing his wife to have been Barbara in March 1766 and Elizabeth in April 1770 proves the two Michaels to have been the same person. The second wife, Elizabeth, died 10 Oct 1777 at the age of 33. On 21 Jun 1778 he married Mary (Marie) Adams as already shown.
This writer explains the one page record that is found of Michael Stoker's (Stocker) children in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick Co., Md. as follows. When his first two daughters (twins probably) were born he had them baptized or recorded as they were born. When his twins, Marie Barbara and Christina were born in 1769 he had them baptized and recorded and when this was being done he decided to record all of his other children, four of whom had not been recorded, naming their godparents from memory. This would account for all of these children appearing on one page where immediately prior entries were 1769 and immediate subsequent ones 1770.
When children of his second wife, Elizabeth, came he had them baptized and recorded. Apparently there were four of them, one named Johannes, b. 4 Jan 1772, another named Marie Salome, b. 9 May 1773, the third was Marie Barbara b. 23 Dec 1774 and the fourth Eva Margreth b. 22 Jul 1776 - d. 12 Sep 1777. Then on 10 Oct 1777 his wife, Elizabeth, aged 33, died and on 21 Jun 1778 he married Mary (Marie) Adams, his third wife.
The first child of the third marriage was Anna Margareth, b. 15 May 1779. She was baptized and recorded. The second child by this third marriage was Marie Catherina, born 4 Sep 1780 and bapt. 4 March (May) 1781. She probably died young. The fourth child was Georg b. 13 Nov 1781. This child was baptized 7 Jun 1782 and the baptism recorded not on the current page of the record book but squeezed in on the 1769/1770 page where other children of Michael Stoker (Stocker) had been recorded enmasse. Thus we have on the 1769/1770 page of the church book a record of eight children of Michael Stoker (Stocker) born between 1758 and 1782 appearing on that page with other children of his who were born after 1769 appearing on other pages. The fact that his son Georg was so recorded is pretty conclusive proof that all of the eight Stoker (Stocker) children on that one page had the same father. The symbol ϯ apparently was to indicate that the child was deceased and, doubtless, was inserted when the baptism of the son George was recorded.
Other entries in the church records show Michael Stocker (Stoker) and his wife, Anna Maria, had two other children, one named Jacob, b. 22 May 1785, and the other named Charlotte, b. 19 Feb 1788, making 17 children as follows:
By first wife Barbara:
1. Anna Barbara Stocker, b. 1 Apr 1758. She died young.
2. Marie Barbara Stocker, b. 1 Apr 1758, the same as or twin of [Anna Barbara]. She died young.
3. Johana Magdale Stocker, b. 1 Jan 1760.
4. Michael Stocker, Jr., b. 20 May 1762 (24 May 1762 or 24 Mar 1762).
5. Elizabeth Stocker, b. 26 Aug 1764. She died young.
6. Balthasar Stocker, b. 24 May 1767. He died young.
7. Marie Barbara Stocker, b. 11 ??? 1769. [Twin of Christina.] She died young.
8. Christina Stocker, b. 11 ??? 1769. Twin of [Marie Barbara]. She died young.
By second wife Elizabeth:
9. Johannes Stocker, b. 4 Jan 1772.
10. Marie Solome Stocker, b. 9 May 1773.
11. Marie Barbara Stocker, b. 25 Dec 1774.
12. Eva Margreth Stocker, b. 22 Jul 1776, d. 12 Sep 1777.
By third wife Anna Marie Adams:
13. Anna Margareth Stocker, b. 15 May 1779.
14. Marie Catherina Stocker, b. 4 Sep 1780.
15. George Stocker, b. 13 Nov. 1781, bapt. 2 Jun 1782.
16. Jacob Stocker, b. 22 May 1785.
17. Charlotte Stocker, b. 19 Feb 1788.
[Note: James Hook totally missed one child, Eva Catherina, who was born between George and Jacob; see her notes for church record documentation.]

3. From the book "Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881," Vol. II, comp. and ed. by Elayne Stoker, 2004, printed by Stevenson's Genealogy Center, Provo, UT. From an article entitled: "Michael Stocker 1731-1819 with wives: Ana Barbara Romerin, Elisabeth Fah, and Mary (Anna Maria) Adams." See notes of Johan Michael Stocker for complete text of which the following is a small part:
"The 1790 census record for Frederick Maryland lists for Michael Stocker:
2 white free males over age 16
Michael and his son Michael- age 28 (Ana's son)
2 white males under age 16
Johannes- age 12 (Elizabeth's son)
Jacob- age 5 (Mary's son)
It is this authors belief that by 1790 there should have been three boys listed on the census record. It is possible that Georg was not alive in 1790. There are no church records for Georg in Frederick except for that of his birth and baptism. In the original hand written record a cross mark has been put next to all deceased Stocker Children. Georg's record also has this mark next to it that he was deceased at the time the record was made. Georg is also missing from the will of his father Michael Stocker.
Next on the census record is the listing of seven white, free, females but they are not separated by ages. These individuals should be:
Wife- Mary (Anna Maria)
Maria Barbara- age 16 (Elizabeth's daughter)
Marie Salome- age 17 (Elizabeth's daughter)
Anna Margareth- age 11 (Mary's daughter)
Marie Catherine (Mary)- age 10 (Mary's daughter)
Eva Catherina- age 6 (Mary's daughter)
Charlotta- age 2 (Mary's daughter)
Johanna Magdalena is not listed on the census with this family as she married (Yost) Jost Stimmel in 1784."

4. From the book "Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881," Vol. II, comp. and ed. by Elayne Stoker, 2004, printed by Stevenson's Genealogy Center, Provo, UT. From an article entitled: "Michael Stocker 1731-1819 with wives: Ana Barbara Romerin, Elisabeth Fah, and Mary (Anna Maria) Adams." See notes of Johan Michael Stocker for complete text of which the following is a small part:
"The Third Family
The Evangelical Lutheran Church record lists a marriage on 21 June 1778 for:
"Michael Stocker and Mary Adams by License. Witnesses: Abraham Fah and wife Juliana, Adam and Peter Schnock." (Abraham Fah was a brother to Elisabeth.) This is also recorded in the Marriage and Burial in the Monocacy Church 1743-1811 in Frederick City Historical Offices.
In the collaborated retranslation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church Records by Hinke and Reinecke, all entries for Mary Adams are listed as Anna Maria Adams.
The next record of Michael is a land record, dated 19 November 1778, in which Michael and Mary sold part of her dower land (Deed Book RP1 p.519).
Michael and Mary's children
[a.] Anna Margareth b. 15 May 1779 bp. 24 July 1779, Sponsors: Adam and Anna Margaretha Schnock. [Footnote 12. "A hand written record is found in the Church Record [Evangelical Lutheran], 1742-1910 Evangelical Lutheran Church (Frederick, Maryland) located in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Family History Center, Salt Lake City, Utah. US/CAN Film #1414857."
[b.] Marie Catherina, b. 4 Sep 1780 bp. 4 Mar 1781, no sponsors listed. Marie was also known as Mary. [Footnote 13. "A hand written record is found in the Church Record [Evangelical Lutheran], 1742-1910 Evangelical Lutheran Church (Frederick, Maryland) located in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Family History Center, Salt Lake City, Utah. US/CAN Film #1414857."
[c.] Georg b. 13 Nov 1781, Bp. 2 Jun 1782, Sponsor: Georg Bentz. [Footnote 14. "Georg is not listed in the same hand written record with Anna Margareth and Maria. In Frederick Weiser's translation he states that the name for Georg is not listed. But on the hand written record located in Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, Maryland on microfilm, Cr. Fred. 1 #437. Zion Luth-Ch, recs (1871-1877) and index Evan. Luth Ch 1742-1877, pp. 1-1048, Index I-N, page 552 the name of Georg with his sponsor is given."]
[d.] Eva Catherina b. 31 Jan 1784. [Footnote 15. "Hand written record is found in the Church Record [Evangelical Lutheran], 1742-1910 Evangelical Lutheran Church (Frederick, Maryland) located in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Family History Center, Salt Lake City, Utah. US/CAN Film #1414857."]
[e.] Jacob b. May 22, 1785 Sponsors: His parents. [[Footnote 16. "Hand written record is found in the Church Record [Evangelical Lutheran], 1742-1910 Evangelical Lutheran Church (Frederick, Maryland) located in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Family History Center, Salt Lake City, Utah. US/CAN Film #1414857."]
[f.] Charlotta b. Feb 19 1788 bp. 28 Sept 1788, Sponsors: Peter Schnook, Juliana. [Footnote 17. "Charlotta is not listed in the same hand written record with Anna Margareth, Maria, Eva, and Jacob. William Hinke does include her in his translation Church Record of the Evangelical Reformed Church in Frederick, Maryland; Vol 1 1746-1833."]

BIRTH:
1. See christening record.

CHRISTENING:
1. Per LDS extraction program of film #883605 item 1, "The Evangelical Lutheran Church, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, parish register 1743-1811 [actual start of 1737]. 975.287/F1 V26 w v. 1-2" as cited with online Ordinance Index: "[No first name given] Stocker, b. 13 Nov 1781, christened 2 Jun 1782 with father listed as Michael Stocker." Ordinance work reference is Film 824392 IT 2, batch C504181.

2. Per LDS extraction program of film #13933, "Evangelical Lutheran or Lutheran Congregation of Zmiddletown, Middletown, Frederick, Maryland" as cited with online Ordinance Index: "Georg Stocker, b. 13 Nov 1781, christened 7 Jun 1782 with father listed as Michael Stocker." Ordinance work reference is Film 13933 IT 2, batch C507701.

3. The publication "Records of the Evangelical Reformed Church in Frederick, Maryland, 1746-1800," translations by William J. Hinke and E.W. Reinecke (copy at the Historical Society of Frederick County, Frederick, Maryland), edited by F. Edward Wright; Mr. Wright notes that the original translation by Reinecke was made in 1861 and Hinke made is in 1941. The book is mainly based on Hinke since Reinecke alphabetized his list thereby losing the original order; Reinecke also did not include the godparents. The editor notes that an extensive history of this church is given in "A History of the Evangelical Reformed Church, Frederick, Maryland: Unto Us," by Ranck, Margaret and Dutrow, 1964. Also see Frederick Weiser's "Frederick Maryland Lutheran Marriages and Burials, 1743-1811," published by the National Genealogical Society, 1972. From Hinke/Reinecke:
P. 47: "Michael Stocker, Maria/Georg b - - , bapt. Jun 2 1782/Georg Bentz."
P. 57: "Jost Stimmel, Magdalena/Johan Michael b. Oct 11 1786, bapt Apr 9 1787/Michael Stocker, Anna Maria."

4. FHL book 975.287/F1 K28we "Maryland German Church Records," vol. 3, "Baptismal records of the Monocacy Lutheran Congregation, and its successor, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland, 1742-1779," translated and edited by Frederick S. Weiser:
- All recorded at once:
- Maria Barbara, dau. of Michael Stocker, b . 1 Apr 1758 (+), bp. 15 May. Sponsors: Mar. Barb. Römerin [now] deceased.
- Johanna Magdalina, dau. of [parents names not given] b. 1 Jan 1760, bp. [not given]. Sponsors: Heinrich and Magdalena Fauth.
- Michael, son of Michael Stocker b. 20 May 1762, bp. [not given]. Sponsors: Michael and Scharletta Amalia Romer.
- Elisabetha, dau. of Michael Stocker b. 26 Aug. 1764, bp. [not given]. Sponsors: Elisabetha Romerin.
- Balthasar, son of Michael Stocker, b. 24 May 1767 (+), bp. [not given]. Sponsors: Balthasar and Rosina Bach.
- Maria Barbara, twin dau. of Michael Stocker, b. 11 Sept. 1769 (+), bp. 19 Sept. 1769. Sponsors: Johannes and Maria Barbara Haass.
- Christina, twin dau. of Michael Stocker, b. 11 Sept. 1769 (+), bp. 19 Sept. 1769. Sponsors: Christina Römerin, single.
- [name not given], son of Michael Stocker, b. 13 Nov. 1781, bp. 2 Jun. 1782. Sponsor: Georg Bens. [Kerry's note: This child is George Stocker.]

DEATH:
1. Not mentioned in father's will dated 10 May 1818: "...my sons, Jacob, Michael and John and my daughters, Mary, Catherine, Charlotte, Margaret, Barbara, Salome and Magdalene..." See full quotation in his notes. Also see note above where it appears he is not listed with his family in the 1790 census.
 		Stocker, George (I2462)
 
2875 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 82-83: "Maria Barbara Stoker, b. 23 Dec 1774, Frederick Co., MD."

2. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 88-97:
"Michael Stoker, doubtless, was the son of Michael Stoker (Stocker) who settled in Frederick Co., Md. about the middle of the 18th century. No other family of the Stoker (Stocker) name was found by this writer in any of the early Frederick Co. records. The 18th century translated records of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. established about 1746, show many Michael Stoker (Stocker) entries beginning with the birth, on 1 Apr 1758, of Anna Barbara, daughter of 'Mich. Stocker' and his wife 'Ana Barb.' On p. 552 of a copy of these church records, now in possession of the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore, Maryland, will be found a recording of eight children of Michael Stocker, the youngest named George, born 13 Nov 1781. The first of these children was named Marie Barbara, born 1 Apr 1758. She doubtless was the same as or the twin of another daughter named Anna Barbara mentioned above as having been born on the same date. Another record shows, again, the birth of Marie Barbara, daughter of Michael Stocker born 1 Apr 1758; baptized 15 May 1758. Thus the church records contain three separate entries of the birth on 1 April 1758, of a daughter to Michael Stoker (Stocker) as follows:
a. 'On 1 Apr. 1758 to Mich. Stocker et uxori Ana Barbara a daughter Anna Barbara. Witnesses (to baptism) Marie Barbara filia coelebs Michael Roemers.' Filia Coelebs means unmarried daughter of.'
b. '1758, 1 April to Michael Stoker a daughter Marie Barbara, sponsored by Barbara Romerin, baptized 15 May 1758.'
c. '1758, 1 April to Michael Stocker a daughter Marie Barbara, sponsored by Barbara Romerin, baptized 15 May 1758.'
As already stated, page 552 of the church book records, on one single page, the birth of eight children to Michael Stocker the last child of whom, named George, was born 13 Nov 1781 and baptized 7 Jun 1782. The first seven of these recordings obviously were made in 1769, the 8th having been put there in 1782 as will be explained later. Preceding the names of the 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th and 7th Child, the symbol ϯ was added to show, doubtless, that the child was deceased when the record was made. The record, on page 552 of the church records, is as follows:
a. 1 April 1758, to Michael Stocker a child Marie Barbara; ϯ godmother, Barbara Romerin; baptized 15 May 1758.
b. 1 Jan 1760, to Michael Stocker, a child Johana Magdale, godparents, Heinrich Hanth (and wife) Magdalena. Date of baptism not stated. (Note by JWH - On page 454 of the church record is shown the marriage on 2 Nov 1784 'by license' of Johanna Magdalena Stockern and Johann Jost Stimmel, Michael Stocker, Peter Stimmel and John and Peter Schnog serving as witnesses.)
c. 20 May 1762, to Michael Stocker, a child Michael; godparents Michael Romer (and wife) Charlotte Amalia, (Amalis). Date of baptism not stated. (Note by JWH - This writer believes that this was the Michael Stocker who married Catherine Eller.)
d. 26 Aug 1764, to Michael Stocker, a child, Elizabeth; ϯ godmother, Elizabeth Romerin. Date of baptism not stated.
e. 24 May 1767, to Michael Stocker, a child Balthasar; ϯ godparents, Balthsar Bock (and wife) Rosina. Date of baptism not stated.
f and g. 11 gbr 1769 (two children) to Michael Stocker, namely a child Marie Barbara; godparents, Johannes Haas (and wife) Mar. Barbara, and a child Christina; godmother, Christina Romerin, ledig, meaning unmarried. Baptized 19 gbr. 1769. (Note gbr is usually an abbreviation in German for born but in this case probably means November of possibly February.)
h. 13 Nov 1781, to Michael Stocker, a child, George; sponsor George Bens. Baptized 7 Jun 1782.
The above record of children of Michael Stocker, together with others shown below are interesting in two ways. First it will be noted that one of the sponsors in every case bore the same given name as the child. It was a custom in early German families to select as godmother or godfather of children being baptized the person for whom the child was named, usually a close relative and in some cases a respected friend. Second, as was shown by the first record quoted above and as will be shown by other records quoted below, Michael Stoker's wife as late as 24 March 1766 (Deed Record) was Barbara and as early as 12 April 1770 (Deed Record) was Elizabeth. That these two wives, Barbara and Elizabeth, were spouses of the same Michael Stocker is definitely established by the land records of Frederick County but, as the two next following church records show, Michael Stocker's full name was Joh. (John) Michael Stoker.
a. Page 564 of the translated church records at Maryland Hist. Soc. - Johannes, son of Joh. Michael and Elizabeth Stoker, b. 4 Jan 1772 and baptized 9 Feb 1772. (Note by JWH - p. 233 of the church records show that Johannes Stocker, aged 19, was confirmed on 22 Apr 1791. A translated record of the German Reformed Church of Frederick Co., Md., p. 196, found at the Gen. Soc. in SLC shows a child Marianna Stocker, was born to Johannes and Catherina Stocker 10 Aug 1809. Susan Kuntz (Frentz) was her godmother. A Catherina Stoker (sic) is mentioned as a dau. in the will of John Coons (sic) of Frederick Co., Md. dated 23 Dec. 1816 and proved 6 Mch. 1817. (Liber H.S, No. 2, p. 55, Frederick Co., Md. Wills.))
b. Page 591 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City - Marie Salome, dau. of Michael and Elizabeth Stocker b. 9 May 1773; bap. 27 June 1773. Her godparents were John Michel and Salome Alex (sic).
c. Page 617 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at Maryland Hist. Society [Baltimore] - Marie Barbara, dau. of Joh. Michael and Elizabeth Stoker, b. 23 Dec 1774; bapt. 16 Apr 1775. Her godparents were Johannes and Marie Barbara Hass.
d. Pages 638 and 1017 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City - Eva Margreth, dau. of Michael and Elizabeth Stocker, b. 22 Jul 1776; bap. 10 Nov 1776. Her godparents were Jacob and Margreth Bens. This child died 12 Sept. 1777, aged 1 year.
One may wonder why these four children were not listed with other children of Michael Stoker on page 552 of the church record (supra). After mentioning seven additional, more or less pertinent, translate church records the reason for this, as this writer sees it will be explained.
a. Page 407 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at Maryland Hist. Society, Baltimore, it is shown that Michael Stoker and Mary Adams were married, by license, 21 Jun 1778. The witnesses were Abraham Fah and his wife Juliana and Adam and Peter Schnock. Frederick Co. Marriage Records show that Michael Stoker and Mary A___, the spelling not complete, on 1 Jun 1778, were given a license to be married.
b. Page 209 [of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at Maryland Hist. Society, Baltimore] shows that Michael Stoker born 24 May 1862 and Magdalena Stockern (sic) born 1 Jan 1760 were confirmed. These two were brother and sister, children of Michael and Barbara Stoker (Stocker), their birth dates in their confirmation checking substantially with those recorded on page 552 of the same translated church record.
c. Page 664 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City shows that Anna Margareth, daughter of Michael and Anna Marie Stocker was born 15 May 1779 and baptized 24 July 1779. Her godparents were Adam and Anna Margareth Schnock.
d. Page 686 [of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City ] shows that Marie Catharina, daughter of Michael and Anna Maria Stocker was born 4 Sept. 1780.
e. Page 752 [of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City] shows that Jacob, son of Michael and Anna Maria Stocker, was born 22 May 1785. His sponsors at baptism were his parents.
f. Page 113 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City, Utah, shows that Charlotte, daughter of Michael Stocker, was born 19 Feb 1788. Her mother's name was not given. Her godparents were Peter and Julia (Juliana) Schnock (Schnod).
g. Page 1017 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City shows that Elizabeth, wife of Michael Stoker died 10 Oct 1777 at the age of 33 years.
It should be kept in mind that the only Stoker (Stocker) family found in the early church, land or court records of Frederick County, Maryland was one headed by Michael. The only suggestion of a Stoker of Stocker of another given name was the same Michael in the recordings of his children by his second wife, Elizabeth. In those recordings he was called Joh. Michael Stoker. Deed Records in Frederick Co., calling him a saddler in every case and showing his wife to have been Barbara in March 1766 and Elizabeth in April 1770 proves the two Michaels to have been the same person. The second wife, Elizabeth, died 10 Oct 1777 at the age of 33. On 21 Jun 1778 he married Mary (Marie) Adams as already shown.
This writer explains the one page record that is found of Michael Stoker's (Stocker) children in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick Co., Md. as follows. When his first two daughters (twins probably) were born he had them baptized or recorded as they were born. When his twins, Marie Barbara and Christina were born in 1769 he had them baptized and recorded and when this was being done he decided to record all of his other children, four of whom had not been recorded, naming their godparents from memory. This would account for all of these children appearing on one page where immediately prior entries were 1769 and immediate subsequent ones 1770.
When children of his second wife, Elizabeth, came he had them baptized and recorded. Apparently there were four of them, one named Johannes, b. 4 Jan 1772, another named Marie Salome, b. 9 May 1773, the third was Marie Barbara b. 23 Dec 1774 and the fourth Eva Margreth b. 22 Jul 1776 - d. 12 Sep 1777. Then on 10 Oct 1777 his wife, Elizabeth, aged 33, died and on 21 Jun 1778 he married Mary (Marie) Adams, his third wife.
The first child of the third marriage was Anna Margareth, b. 15 May 1779. She was baptized and recorded. The second child by this third marriage was Marie Catherina, born 4 Sep 1780 and bapt. 4 March (May) 1781. She probably died young. The fourth child was Georg b. 13 Nov 1781. This child was baptized 7 Jun 1782 and the baptism recorded not on the current page of the record book but squeezed in on the 1769/1770 page where other children of Michael Stoker (Stocker) had been recorded enmasse. Thus we have on the 1769/1770 page of the church book a record of eight children of Michael Stoker (Stocker) born between 1758 and 1782 appearing on that page with other children of his who were born after 1769 appearing on other pages. The fact that his son Georg was so recorded is pretty conclusive proof that all of the eight Stoker (Stocker) children on that one page had the same father. The symbol ϯ apparently was to indicate that the child was deceased and, doubtless, was inserted when the baptism of the son George was recorded.
Other entries in the church records show Michael Stocker (Stoker) and his wife, Anna Maria, had two other children, one named Jacob, b. 22 May 1785, and the other named Charlotte, b. 19 Feb 1788, making 17 children as follows:
By first wife Barbara:
1. Anna Barbara Stocker, b. 1 Apr 1758. She died young.
2. Marie Barbara Stocker, b. 1 Apr 1758, the same as or twin of [Anna Barbara]. She died young.
3. Johana Magdale Stocker, b. 1 Jan 1760.
4. Michael Stocker, Jr., b. 20 May 1762 (24 May 1762 or 24 Mar 1762).
5. Elizabeth Stocker, b. 26 Aug 1764. She died young.
6. Balthasar Stocker, b. 24 May 1767. He died young.
7. Marie Barbara Stocker, b. 11 ??? 1769. [Twin of Christina.] She died young.
8. Christina Stocker, b. 11 ??? 1769. Twin of [Marie Barbara]. She died young.
By second wife Elizabeth:
9. Johannes Stocker, b. 4 Jan 1772.
10. Marie Solome Stocker, b. 9 May 1773.
11. Marie Barbara Stocker, b. 25 Dec 1774.
12. Eva Margreth Stocker, b. 22 Jul 1776, d. 12 Sep 1777.
By third wife Anna Marie Adams:
13. Anna Margareth Stocker, b. 15 May 1779.
14. Marie Catherina Stocker, b. 4 Sep 1780.
15. George Stocker, b. 13 Nov. 1781, bapt. 2 Jun 1782.
16. Jacob Stocker, b. 22 May 1785.
17. Charlotte Stocker, b. 19 Feb 1788.
[Note: James Hook totally missed one child, Eva Catherina, who was born between George and Jacob; see her notes for church record documentation.]

3. From the book "Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881," Vol. II, comp. and ed. by Elayne Stoker, 2004, printed by Stevenson's Genealogy Center, Provo, UT. From an article entitled: "Michael Stocker 1731-1819 with wives: Ana Barbara Romerin, Elisabeth Fah, and Mary (Anna Maria) Adams." See notes of Johan Michael Stocker for complete text of which the following is a small part:
"Surviving Children
Johanna, with her family, also moved from Frederick, Maryland to Ohio. She died in Hamilton Twp., Franklin, Ohio.
It was around the year of 1815 that Michael, (Michael and Ana's son), moved his young family from North Carolina to Vega, Jackson County, Ohio. They settled approximately 60 miles south of his father's family. In the early 1830's Michael and his family joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, left Ohio, and moved west. He died in the Missouri.
Jacob married Mary Swinehart.
John married Catherine Koons.
Both John and Jacob purchased land in Montgomery, Ohio in June of 1816 and both are found on the 1830 census for Fairfield County, Ohio as head of households.
Maria Salome married a Mr. Reynolds.
Maria Barbara married a Mr. Burdoon.
Anna Margareth married Mr. Phillip Baker.
Mary never married. She died on the 5 Sep 1839 and is buried in the Lutheran Cemetery by her father.
Catherine married a Mr. Hidlebaugh.
Charlotta married John Binckley."

4. From the book "Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881," Vol. II, comp. and ed. by Elayne Stoker, 2004, printed by Stevenson's Genealogy Center, Provo, UT. From an article entitled: "Michael Stocker 1731-1819 with wives: Ana Barbara Romerin, Elisabeth Fah, and Mary (Anna Maria) Adams." See notes of Johan Michael Stocker for complete text of which the following is a small part:
"Michael Stocker died on 26 March 1819 in Somerset, Perry County, Ohio. His third wife, Mary, died in the year of 1822. I do not have the location of Mary's death/burial at this point of writing. Michael's last will and testament was signed on 10 May 1818 listing the existing family: (note the Anglicized names used)
Wife: Mary,
Sons: Michael (Ana's son)
John (Elizabeth's son)
Jacob (Mary's son)
Daughters: Mary (Marie Catherine)
Catherine (Eva Catherine?)
Charlotte
Margaret (Anna Margareth?)
Barbara (Maria Barbara)
Salome (Maria Salome)
Magdalene (Johanna Magdalene)
The will of Michael Stocker was proved in special court, Court of Common Pleas, 17 April 1819, Perry County, Ohio."

5. From the book "Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881," Vol. II, comp. and ed. by Elayne Stoker, 2004, printed by Stevenson's Genealogy Center, Provo, UT. From an article entitled: "Michael Stocker 1731-1819 with wives: Ana Barbara Romerin, Elisabeth Fah, and Mary (Anna Maria) Adams." See notes of Johan Michael Stocker for complete text of which the following is a small part:
"The 1790 census record for Frederick Maryland lists for Michael Stocker:
2 white free males over age 16
Michael and his son Michael- age 28 (Ana's son)
2 white males under age 16
Johannes- age 12 (Elizabeth's son)
Jacob- age 5 (Mary's son)
It is this authors belief that by 1790 there should have been three boys listed on the census record. It is possible that Georg was not alive in 1790. There are no church records for Georg in Frederick except for that of his birth and baptism. In the original hand written record a cross mark has been put next to all deceased Stocker Children. Georg's record also has this mark next to it that he was deceased at the time the record was made. Georg is also missing from the will of his father Michael Stocker.
Next on the census record is the listing of seven white, free, females but they are not separated by ages. These individuals should be:
Wife- Mary (Anna Maria)
Maria Barbara- age 16 (Elizabeth's daughter)
Marie Salome- age 17 (Elizabeth's daughter)
Anna Margareth- age 11 (Mary's daughter)
Marie Catherine (Mary)- age 10 (Mary's daughter)
Eva Catherina- age 6 (Mary's daughter)
Charlotta- age 2 (Mary's daughter)
Johanna Magdalena is not listed on the census with this family as she married (Yost) Jost Stimmel in 1784."

6. From the book "Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881," Vol. II, comp. and ed. by Elayne Stoker, 2004, printed by Stevenson's Genealogy Center, Provo, UT. From an article entitled: "Michael Stocker 1731-1819 with wives: Ana Barbara Romerin, Elisabeth Fah, and Mary (Anna Maria) Adams." See notes of Johan Michael Stocker for complete text of which the following is a small part:
"The Second Family...
The next land record for Michael Stocker also list his second wife Elizabeth. It was recorded on 12 April 1770, when they sold a five foot strip of a lot (Deed Book N p. 90).
In putting together the family of Michael and Elizabeth Stocker, the date that James Hook uses leaves many questions as to who and if the first two children were twins and who was their mother. He list Maria Barbara born in May of 1769 and Christina in September. If Michael married Elizabeth in Feb of 1769 it would have been unlikely that Maria was born in May, but not impossible. However it is highly unlikely that a second child would be born only four months later. In Frederick Wieser's translation of the Maryland German Church Records Vol 3 he stated that the two girls were born in September and were twins. On the hand written record under the heading {Bapt. Mar. 26, 27- Festival of the Resurrection [1769]} it lists the two girls but with the dates as James Hook translated it and does not list them as twins. I have not located the original record that Wieser used for his translations...
Michael and Elizabeth's children [Footnotes 5-10. "Maryland German Church Records Vol. 3, Baptismal records of the Monocacy Lutheran Congregation, and its successor, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland 1742-1779, as translated and edited by Frederick S. Weiser pg. 34."]
[A.] Maria Barbara, twin dau of Michael Stocker, b. 11 Sept. 1769 bap 19 Sep 1769 Sponsors: Johannes & Maria Barbara Haafs (Died in 1769).5
[B.] Christina, twin dau of Michael Stocker b 11 Sept 1769, Sponsors: Christina Romerin, single (Died in 1769).6
[C.] Johanes, son of Joh. Michael and Elizabeth Stocker b. 4 Jan. 1772, baptized on 9 Feb. 1772, sponsors: Joh. Michael and Salome Alex.7 A later church entry states that Johannes was confirmed at age 19, on 22 April 1791.
[D.] Maria Salome, dau of Michael and Elizabeth Stocker, b 9 May 1773, bp. 27 June 1773. Sponsors: Joh. Michael and Salome Alex.8
[E.] Maria Barbara b 23 Dec 1774, bp 16 Apr 1775. Sponsors: Johannes & Marie Barbara Haafs.9
[F.] Eva Margreth b 22 July 1776 bap 10 Nov 1776, Sponsors: Jacob and Margreth Bens d 12 Sep 1777.10
[G.] Stillborn b Oct 7 1777 this child is mentioned only in connection with Elizabeth's obituary record within the church's records. [Footnote 11. "A hand written record verifying the event dates for Johannes, Marie Salome, Marie Barbara, and Eva Margareth can be found in the Church Record [Evangelical Lutheran], 1742-1910 Evangelical Lutheran Church (Frederick, Maryland) located in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Family History Center, Salt Lake City, Utah. US/CAN Film #1414857."]
...On 9 Oct 1777 Elizabeth Fah Stocker passed away only two days after giving birth to a stillborn child."

7. FHL book 929.273 "Some Descendants of Michael Stoker 1731-1819," compiled by Kathleen Stoker Overton (ca. 2003?), 59. This book does a good job of tracing several non-Mormon descendancy lines from the original immigrant. The birth date looks faulty and the husband is likely Mr. Burdoon and not Mr. Pertune (a phonetic spelling?):
"Maria Barbara Stoker
Barbara was born 25 December 1774 in Frederick, Frederick, Maryland to Michael Stoker and Elizabeth Fahs. Her birth was registered in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Frederick. Her Mother, Elizabeth, died when Barbara was only three years old and she got a Step Mother the next year when her Father married Mary.
Barbara married a Mr. Pertune as indicated in her Father's will written in 1818. Her Father left Barbara a cow and a share when real and personal property was sold. Barbara probably died before 1841 as her nephew, Michael Stoker, was baptized as a proxy for her in Nauvoo when Baptism for the dead began.
It has been difficult to find any trace of Barbara and so know little about her.
Sources of Information
1- Will of Michael Stoker died 1819 in Perry County, Ohio.
2- Baptisms For The Dead in Nauvoo 1841.
3- "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America" by J.W. Hook."

BIRTH:
1. See Christening.

CHRISTENING:
1. Per LDS extraction program of film #13933, "Evangelical Lutheran or Lutheran Congregation of Zmiddletown, Middletown, Frederick, Maryland" as cited with online Ordinance Index: "Maria Barbara Stocker, christened 16 Apr 1775 with parents listed as Joh. Michael and Elisabeth Stocker." Ordinance work reference is Film 13933 IT 2, batch C507701.

2. Per LDS extraction program of film #883605 item 1, "The Evangelical Lutheran Church, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, parish register 1743-1811 [actual start of 1737]. 975.287/F1 V26 w v. 1-2" as cited with online Ordinance Index: "Maria Barbara Stocker, b. 23 Dec 1774, christened 16 Apr 1775 with parents listed as Joh. Michael and Elisabeth Stocker." Ordinance work reference is Film 824392 IT 2, batch C504181.

MARRIAGE:
1. Per Ancestral File v.4.19 unverified by me thus far.

DEATH:
1. A Barbara is mentioned in father's will dated 10 May 1818: "...my sons, Jacob, Michael and John and my daughters, Mary, Catherine, Charlotte, Margaret, Barbara, Salome and Magdalene..." See full quotation in his notes. Most likely this will references this same individual since her older sister of the same name from the same mother would probably had to been deceased for this individual to have also received the same name. My experience shows this was often a practice from at least lutheran Danish areas and may have also been in lutheran Germanic culture as well. Unverified research notes for the former Maria Barbara seems to support of young death.

SOURCES_MISC:
1. Per Ancestral File v.4.19. 		Stocker, Maria Barbara (I2456)
 
2876 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 R871rg "Ancestry of Long Island and Greenwich 1667-1992," by Rundall, Austin, Brownhill, Parker (poorly punctuated), p. 522:
"ELI ZABETH (Rundle) MOULTHROP 2, William Rundle 1.
Resided: Greenwich, Fairfield Co.; East Haven, New Haven Co., CT.
Born: ca. 1695 Greenwich, Fairfield Co., CT.
Parents: William Rundle / Abigail Tyler wife 3.
Married: after father's will Oct. 22 1714 (before ? son Benjamin Moulthrop b. July 20, 1735 ?) if she m. to ? possibly Benjamin Moulthrop ?, born: Mar. 02, 1707 EHV (East Haven VR.)
[1707/8], died 1736 EHV (East Haven VR.); parents: Matthew Moulthrop / Mary Brockett
Religion: Congregational
Children (MOULTHROP) 3:
1) Benjamin, b. July 20, 1735, d. Sep. 02 1815 ae 85, m. Thankful Grannis.
References:
1. William Rundle 1 Will (See Chapter 1) refers to his married daughters by husbands' surnames; to dau. Hannah & dau. Elizabeth only as daughters, implying they were not yet married. Some reports claim Elizabeth died young so perhaps there were two Elizabeths. The fact that this Elizabeth was mentioned in her father's will defies the possibility that she died young.
2 The American Genealogist VOL. 12 #1 refers to Elizabeth Rundle, sister of Joseph of New Fairfield, Conn... as wife of Benjamin Moulthrope, (1707-1736) of East Haven, Conn.
3. Families of ANCIENT NEW HAVEN. Vol. V. See Deborah 1-5. pg. 1236-1237: "7 Benjamin... married Elizabeth ___. Perhaps she m. (2) Joseph Rundle of New Fairfield, or she may have been his sister." (Since the two wives of Joseph Rundle are documented, it seems more likely this was his sister, Elizabeth Rundle.)"

2. Not found in the book "Families of Ancient New Haven," by Donald L. Jacobus (New Haven, 1981), 7 vols.
 		Moulthrop, Benjamin (I217)
 
2877 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 R871rg "Ancestry of Long Island and Greenwich 1667-1992," by Rundall, Austin, Brownhill, Parker (poorly punctuated), pp. 517-518:
"Abigail (Rundle/Rundall) Finch 2, William Rundle Sr. 1.
Resided: Greenwich, Fairfield Co., CT; may have removed to Westchester Co., NY with husband.
Born: ca 1681, Fairfield Co., Connecticut.
Parents: William Rundle / Abigail Mills wf 2.
Married: ca 1700 to Jonathan Finch, born about 1679; granted, Aug. 23 1700 parcel of land in Town of Greenwich (pg. 549 Mead); parents: Joseph Finch / Elizabeth Austin
Religion: "May 31, 1731 following inhabitants residing in northeasterly part of the town served notice on the Horseneck Society, now 2nd Cong. Ch., of their intention to withdraw... and form the Stanwich Society... Jonathan Finch..."
Children (Finch)3:
1) Nathan, b. 1718, Greenwich, d. 1803.
2) Abigail, m. Charles Green.
3) ?Jonathan.
References:
1. Finch Family Association Bulletins #1-13 pg. 6: "Jonathan Jr." pg. 32: Abigail dr. of Jonathan & Abigall m. Charles Green." pg. 46: "(5) Joseph (Finch) Conveyes to son Jonathan Jan. 31, 1711/12. Letters of Administration granted to son Joseph and Jonathan Jan. 3, 1714. Inventory taken by Thomas Marshall & Caleb Knapp & filed Jan. 3, 1714/15. Agreement between his children dated Feb. 2, 1714/15, Joseph, Samuel, Jonathan, Benjamin, Elizabeth Whitney, Sarah Finch, & sons-in-law Joseph Reynolds & Jonathan Mead. Wit. David Reynolds & Robert Lockwood." pg. 73: "Nathan - 53 (Jonathan & Abigail Rundle)."
2. "Ye Historie Ye Greenwich." See William 1. pg. 457: "Landowners. 'Jonathan Finch, Aug. 23, 1700, granted a parcel of land.' 'Joseph, 1711 and 1713, deeded lands to his sons, Joseph and Jonathan." pg. 545: Abraham Finch was born in County York, England, about 1585 and probably came to New England with Governor Winthrop in 1630. He settled first at Watertown, MA; removed to Wethersfield, CT in 1634 where he died, probably in 1638. His children were: Abraham, John, Daniel, and perhaps David. Abraham Finch was killed by the Indians in 1637 at Wethersfield, John removed to Stamford, CT in 1641 and died there Sep. 5, 1657."
3. "Families of Old Fairfield," vol. 1. See Anne 1-10-"3-8. Appendix pg. 718-20: "Finch. It is the writer's belief that Abraham (1) is fictitious; that Abraham (2) who was killed by the Indians was son of Daniel; and that Abraham (3) and Abraham (4) are identical. The conventional pedigree above is built on a single record; for in 1640, in records of the estate of Abraham (2), who left an only son Abraham (3), the Child's grandfather, erroneously called Abraham, offered to educate it. The child's grand-father should have been called Daniel." There are further reasons given in explanation as to why Jacobus believes the above."
 		Finch, Jonathan (I3160)
 
2878 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 R871rg "Ancestry of Long Island and Greenwich 1667-1992," by Rundall, Austin, Brownhill, Parker (poorly punctuated), pp. 518-519:
"Deborah? (Rundle/Rundall) Downs 2, William Rundle Sr. 1.
Resided: Greenwich Community, Fairfield Co. CT.
Born: ca 1683 Greenwich, Fairfield Co. Connecticut.
Died: ca 1710? prior to writing of her father's Will dated Oct. 22, 1714.
Parents: William Rundle / Abigail Mills wife 2.
Married: ca 1700-1709? to (John?) Downs (given name not known).
Children (Downs)3:
1) John, b. ca 1700 1709 (before Oct. 22, 1714 Will of William Rundle 1 who left his grdson John Downs 2 shillings).
Compiler note: Deborah? Rundle - (her name remains unconfirmed) however, we note her eldest sister, Sarah (Rundle) Knapp, named her fifth child born Aug. 25 1710, Deborah (Knapp). Was this child named in her sister's memory? To compound this mystery, the Downs Family Genealogies by Jacobus list John Downs Sr. as having seven sons with Deborah the name of two sons' wives. The 2nd wife of John Jr. was Deborah Odell. They married May 25th 1713; she died May 23, 1745 at Greenfield. Son Daniel m. Deborah who had children between the years of 1716-1722 after the death of Deborah Rundle Downs. According to Jacobus' records there could be only one other exception, that of John Downs Sr.'s youngest son Nathaniel born Dec. 27, 1676 and bpt. Sep. 27, 1685 at New Haven (no further information on him). Is it possible Nathaniel Downs was attracted to Deborah Rundle thus giving the Downs a third daughter-in-law by name of Deborah? If so, it is probable the couple named their son John after Nathaniel's father, John Downs.
References:
1. Families of Ancient New Haven... Compiled by Donald Lines Jacobus, M.A. Vol. I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII... 1922 to 1939; reissued 1974 - Downs Family Genealogy.
2. Families of Old Fairfield V. 1. See Anne 1-10-3-8. Downs Family.
3. William Rundle 1 Will See copy in Chapter 1.
4. "Ye Historie Ye Greenwich." See William 1, pg. 453: "John Downs, Jr. Sep. 12 1719 bought land of Joseph Ferris."

SOURCES_MISC:
1. FHL book 929.273-K727kf: "Knapp's N' Kin, The Ancestral Lines of Frederick H Knapp and Others," compiled by: Frederick H Knapp, Rt. #2, Box 438C, AB Hwy, Richland, Missouri, 65556; 1987; Revised/Updated 1991. It notes the following sources, none of which I have yet reviewed:
-Hist. of G'Wich, by S.P. Mead (1911).
-Hist. of Stamford, CT, by E.B. Huntington.
-G'wich VR's.
-Fam. of Old F'fld, by D.L. Jacobus.
-Mass. Col. Rec., Vol. I.
-TAG Vol. 25, p. 38 (1949)
-New Haven Co. VR's.
-Rundle Fam. of America (1992). 		Downs, John (I4761)
 
2879 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 R871rg "Ancestry of Long Island and Greenwich 1667-1992," by Rundall, Austin, Brownhill, Parker (poorly punctuated), pp. 519-521:
"Hannah (Rundle) Brown 2, William Rundle Sr. 1.
Resided: Rye, Westchester Co., NY (Greenwich, CT).
Born: July 16, 1690 Greenwich, Fairfield Co., CT.
Died: ca Feb./Mar. 1784 Rye, Westchester Co., NY.
Buried: probably Rye, Westchester Co, NY.
Parents: William Rundle / Abigail Tyler wf 3.
Married: ca 1719-20 probably Greenwich, Fairfield Co. CT to Samuel Brown, born Apr. 15, 1689 Greenwich, Fairfield Co.; died about 1750 Rye, Westchester Co., NY.
Buried: probably Rye, Westchester Co., NY.
Parents Deliverance Brown / Mary Purdy.
Occupation: agriculture.
Religion: Congregational.
Children ... [Lists 9 children b. 1771-1739.]
References:
1. "Ye Historie Ye Greenwich." See William 1. Pg. 504-507:
Pg. 507: Brown Family compiled by Mead, with the assistance of Robert B. Miller, Editor of the "Lyon Memorial, New York Families," pub. 1907. "There has been a mix-up in the Brown family ... Greenwich and vicinity. Bolton's "Hist. Westchester Co. NY" & Baird's "Hist. Town of Rye, NY," state Thomas Brown of Concord, MA settled in Rye ... but Thomas Brown of Concord was never in Westchester Co., NY. The Thomas & the Hackaliah Brown who settled in Rye, NY in 1665 were the sons of Peter Brown of the New Haven Colony. Peter was one of the Gov. Theophilus Eaton & Rev. John Davenport Co. at New Haven in 1638 ... He sold out in 1647, removed to Stamford CT ... his w Elizabeth d. Sep. 21, 1657. He m2 May 25 1658 Unity, wid of Clement Buxton; Peter d Aug. 22, 1658 at abt 48 yrs; she m.2 Nicholas Knapp." pg. 92-93 (see above).
Pg. 449: Samuel Brown, Dec. 13 1723 bought land of Jonathan Hobby. Mar. 22, 1738, bought of Samuel Banks part of his father's, John Banks', estate.
2. William Rundle Will - See copy in Chapter 1.
3. "Westchester Patriarchs," ... Norman Davis...
Pg. 35: S "Hannah De Bruyn (Brown) listed dau of William Rundle & Abigail Tyler (Note: 3rd wife of Wm; probable that Hannah was her first child by Wm.) Same article states Hannah's will was dated Feb. 21, 1781; proved Mar. 17, 1784.
pg. 231: "Sutton, James, sb Joseph & Mary (Sands); Innholder at Croton, will dated 8 May 1760, proved 5 Jan 1761; m. Elizabeth b 27 June 1724, d/o Samuel & Hannah (Rundle) Brown. Had: Mary, Jerusha, Hannah, Joseph, Amy, James."
4. Mormon I.G.I."
 		Brown, Samuel (I3167)
 
2880 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 R871rg "Ancestry of Long Island and Greenwich 1667-1992," by Rundall, Austin, Brownhill, Parker (poorly punctuated), pp. 519:
"PATIENCE (Rundle) Reynolds ? 2, William Rundle Sr. 1.
Resided: Greenwich, Fairfield Co. CT.
Born: ca 1687 Greenwich, Fairfield Co. CT.
Parents: William Rundle / Abigail Tyler wife 3.
Married: date unknown; after father's will Oct. 22, 1714 to: ___ Reynolds ??
n.f.i."

SOURCES_MISC:
1. FHL book 929.273-K727kf: "Knapp's N' Kin, The Ancestral Lines of Frederick H Knapp and Others," compiled by: Frederick H Knapp, Rt. #2, Box 438C, AB Hwy, Richland, Missouri, 65556; 1987; Revised/Updated 1991. It notes the following sources, none of which I have yet reviewed:
-Hist. of G'Wich, by S.P. Mead (1911).
-Hist. of Stamford, CT, by E.B. Huntington.
-G'wich VR's.
-Fam. of Old F'fld, by D.L. Jacobus.
-Mass. Col. Rec., Vol. I.
-TAG Vol. 25, p. 38 (1949)
-New Haven Co. VR's.
-Rundle Fam. of America (1992). 		Reynolds (I4762)
 
2881 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 Sp33 "The Spencers of the Great Migration," by Jack Taif Spencer and Edith Woolley Spencer (Gateway Press, Baltimore; 1997) vol. 1, partial excerpts from pp. 79-80, 85:
"When we seek to define the status of the Spencers at Edworth in the mid-1500s, it seems clear that they were still in the "tenant" category. In Rev. John Holding's study, he found that the farm operated by the Spencers was held under a leasehold arrangement from the lord of the manor (in this case the PARRYS). A careful reading of ANNE (Merrill) Spencer'S will (widow of JohnC) shows that there was no mention of the distribution of land or tenements to her oldest son. Holding calculated that the leasehold at Edworth would expire in the year 1575. Anne died in 1560, so apparently her son's operation of the farm was safe for another fifteen years. We know that MichaelB did serve out the remaining years of the lease, but by 1573 he had located at STOTFOld, a short distance south of Edworth.
Just what lease or ownership arrangements the Spencers had at Stotfold has not been revealed in the literature, but presumably it was another leasehold. MichaelB and his wife Elizabeth still had several small children at this stage and indeed their last three children (including GerardA born at Stotfold There was at least one other living son (ThomasA, b. 1571), so it seems unlikely that GerardA (b. 1576) would have inherited a leasehold. In any event, GerardA and Alice Whitbread had all of their children born at Stotfold.
In the sequence of events mentioned above, it would appear that leases were the predominant pattern of land usage at least by the parents and grandparents of GerardA Spencer (b.1576) Rev. Holding notes that GerardA in 1615 conveyed a lease to his brother, ThomasA, (b. 1571) and quote "conveying them next year to the same". This may have marked the year when GerardA and Alice Spencer moved from Stotfold, but their new location has never been ascertained. Apparently they did not move to co. Essex as was once believed since a careful search of the records in 1993 in Braintree and nearby towns revealed no clue as to their presence in that region. At this time in the family's history, the children ranged in age from one to fourteen years."
"...This vast expanse of time brought us from Thomas1 of Badby down through HenryH, ThomasG, RobertF, and JOHNE Spencer. The "E" generation ended about 1500 with the death of JOHNE of South Mylls, Beds. His children, however had survived the internal struggles of the 1500s for the possession of the English Crown.
The children of JOHND Spencer of South Mylls and CHRISTIAN BAKER came on the scene in time to witness the attack on the Catholics by Henry VIII (1509-1547) and the great religious struggle of that period.
The life spans of the children of JohnSpencer of South Mylls (ca 1500-1568) (William, Robert, JOHN) and ETHELREDE BAKER coincide almost exactly with the reign of Henry VIII to the mid-1500s. It was during this period also, that we note the shift of the family from SOUTH MYLLS to EDWORTH. JohnC (later the husband of ANNE Merrill) was the first born at EDWORTH shortly before Henry VIII ascended the throne in 1509.
The Spencer occupation at Edworth extended on for another three-quarters of a century to about 1576. The last Spencer to be born at Edworth appears to have been ThomasA Spencer in 1571. His unborn siblings (KatherineA, GerardA, and RichardA) were born at STOTFOld. Thus, those who lived at Edworth survived the reign of Henry VIII (1509-1547), EdwardVI (1547-1553), and much of the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603). It was during this period that the Spencers in generations "C" and "B" of Edworth were exposed to the great religious convulsions under HenryVIII and the restraints implosed under Elizabeth I against the rising Puritan forces.
When GerardA (b. 1576) (father of the Four Brothers) was born at Stotfold, Elizabeth was in the middle of her reign and the great battle against the Spanish Armada (1588) took place when GerardA was only twelve years of age. When GerardA and Alice Whitbread were married at UPPER GRAVENHURST in 1600, Elizabeth'S long reign was coming to a close and Puritanism had become a widespread influence in the life of the average Englishman. During the years that Gerard and Alice's children were born (1601-1614), James I (1603-1625) had come to the throne and the struggle against the Puritans was intensifying. Charles I (1625-1649) continued to oppress the Puritans and by 1630 the stage was being set for a great Civil War between the religious and political factions.
We can now see that the Four Spencer Brothers were young men who had arrived on the scene at a critical juncture in English history. It is clear from the record that neither they nor their parents were in a solid position of land ownership. Indeed, this Spencer line for generations seemed to be in the "tenant" class. Consequently, Gerard and Alice's children easily could have looked to America for the "great salvation" and the acquisition of a promised one hundred acres of free land for each emigrant."

2. FHL book 929.273 Sp33 "The Spencers of the Great Migration," by Jack Taif Spencer and Edith Woolley Spencer (Gateway Press, Baltimore; 1997) vol. 1, pp. Preface-78:
"Foreword.
The co-authors, Jack and Edith Spencer, have been accumulating data on the history and genealogy of the Bedfordshire Spencers for many decades. Indeed, as far back as the 1950s, they were corresponding with Donald Lines Jacobus (Dean of American genealogists) regarding his monumental genealogy of the "Four Spencer Brothers" which was published in The American Genealogist (TAG) in the early years of that decade...
Another important source of information has been the enormous collection of genealogical records compiled by Flora S. Clark of Elkin Park, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, this gold mine of information of some 1,400 typed pages on the Bedfordshire Spencers and their New England descendants was never issued as a formal publication. However, the former librarian of the Spencer Historical and Genealogical Society, Dr. Rowena Spencer of New Orleans, undertook the massive task of organizing and indexing all of Flora Clark's data...
...Suffield's long-time Historian, Mr. Hawley E. Rising ... supplied us with the Spencer vital records, the early maps of Suffield, and invaluable photographs of buildings and monuments.
Finally, recognition is given to Zena Grant Collier of Pulloxhill, Bedfordshire, England, who devoted several years in the early 1990s to reviewing every conceivable record on the origins and lineage of the Spencers of Bedfordshire. From America, Collier worked under the guidance of two individuals. One was Henry C. Spencer of Green Valley, Arizona, Past President of the Spencer Society. The other individual was Dr. Rowena Spencer of New Orleans. The nearly 300 pages of the English Research was indexed by the co-authors of this book.
The co-authors also wish to give special recognition to Henry C. Spencer for his life-long contributions to the genealogy of the Bedfordshire Spencers. His many publications in the "Le Despencer", Quarterly Journal of the Spencer Society, have been a source of invaluable information, especially on the Four Spencer Brothers...
The PARAMETERS of The Spencer History
The genealogy and history of the Spencers (DeSpencers) of England and America extends back at least one thousand years beginning with the Vikings and Normans in France (Normandy) and later with the first centuries of Norman rule in England.
As might be expected there were several lines of Spencer descendants in England after their beginnings at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D. In the present study, the authors have a principal interest in the Spencer line which produced the emigrants from Bedfordshire to New England about 1630 A.D...
The accompanying Chart will show the lineage of the Five [Immigrant] Spencer Siblings back to Thomas[I] Spencer who was a native of Badby in Northamptonshire a county immediately northwest of Bedfordshire on the east.
1. Thomas[I] Spencer of Badby
2. Henry[H] of Badby m. Isobel Lincoln
3. JOHN
3. Thomas[G] b. ca 1378
4. Johnb.ca1404
4. Robert[F] b. ca 1406
5. Robert ca 1432-1521
5. JOHN[E] b. ca 1434 (Living 1490)
6. Robert b. ca 1460
6. JOHN[D] b. ca 1462 m. Christian Baker
7. JOHN[C] 1505-1558 m. Ann Merrill
8. Michael[B] b. ca 1531 (moved from Edworth to Stotfold between 1573
and 1576) m. Agnes Limer; m. Elizabeth ___ (d. 1599)
9. John1557- [Children:] Daniel m. Sarah Audley; Francis, d. 1636, m. Marg. Marler; Elizabeth 1586-; Anne 1590-.
9. Michael 1558-
9. Ann 1560-
(Wife #2)
9. Joan 1564-
9. Alice 1566-
9. Thomas[A] 1571- m. Margaret Spencer. [Children:] Anthony m. Kath. Mills; Gerard, d. 1601, m. Joan Mills; Thomas; Richard; Margaret m. Simon Spencer.
9. Katherine 1573- m. ___ Bland. [Children:] Sarah and Hannah Bland.
9. Gerard[A] 1576-1646 m Alice Whitbread [Parents of the five immigrants William, Elizabeth, Thomas, Michael, Gerard, and non immigrants John and Henry.]
9. Richard 1580-1646
8. Johnca 1533-1560
8. Gerard ca 1543-1577 [Children:] Richard, Agnes, Joan, and a child 1576/7.
8. William b. ca 1545
5. Henry b. ca 1436 (Living 1490)
5. Thomas ca 1438-1490 m. Margaret Smyth(?)
4. Thomas ca 1408-1453 m. Joan ___
3. William
3. Nicholas
...The family of JohnC Spencer and Ann (Merrill) Spencer all lived in the town of Edworth in southeastern Bedfordshire. The oldest son, MichaelB Spencer (who was the grandfather of the children who came to New England) moved to the nearby town of Stotfold about 1572 and some of the "A" generation, including GerardA, were born in this new location. Our principal interest will focus on the children of GerardA Spencer and his wife, Alice (Whitbread) Spencer, who were the parents of the Five Siblings who emigrated to New England, 1630-1631.
Much of the information in the above chart is based on the extensive data published by Donald Lines Jacobus in the The American Genealogist (TAG) between 1951 and 1954. This monumental work includes nearly 100 pages of text. All the descendants of the Five Siblings owe Jacobus an immense debt of gratitude for his publications on the Spencers. For the much older generations in England (approximately "E" to "I") the authors relied heavily on the study of the Bedfordshire Spencers published by Vicar JohnHOldING in 1903. Holding was the first to review the so-called "Phillipps Manuscript" which threw much light on the earlier generations in east Bedfordshire.
The accompanying map of the counties in present-day England shows that Bedfordshire is located in the Central Heartland of England and that it provides ready accessibility to the Greater London area as well as the East Anglican counties of the Channel Coast. The Heartland stretches clear across England from Hertfordshire on the east to Gloucestershire on the west. However, Bedfordshire also has close links to East Anglia and the Fens. The Heartland itself extends about seventy miles from east to west and 100 miles from north to south. It is largely a rural area, but today also includes the urban sprawls from London and Birmingham. The most significant topographic features are the Chiltern Hills in the east and the Cotswolds in the central section. The term "Hills" is appropriate for elevations which range up to a thousand feet as a maximum.
Although the towns of Edworth and Stotfold in Bedfordshire played pre-eminent roles in the early history of the Spencer Siblings, there apparently was a change in location by the family of GerardA Spencer and Alice (Whitbread) Spencer before their children went to America about 1630. One writer (L.E. DeForest) suggested the family may have removed to co. Essex where there was a focus of leaders in the Puritan movement.
Braintree was believed to be the new location of the Spencers. In 1993, the authors of this article sponsored a research study in the areas in and around Braintree and Chelmsford to ascertain if there was any trace of Gerard and Alice Spencer and/or their children. All records pertaining to property deeds, probate records, marriages and births, were carefully explored by Adam Smith, a local historian well acquainted with the vital records in co. Essex. No trace of any kind could be found of this particular Spencer family.
There have been other suggestions that the family may have moved to London and that the Spencer siblings departed from that location on their long journey to New England. This hypothesis, like the one respecting co. Essex, remains to be proven.
Braintree and its environs, of course, were the home of the members of the well known "Braintree Company" which came to the Boston area in 1632 and first settled at Wollaston (Quincy). They remained at Wollaston only a few short weeks before moving on to Newe Towne (Cambridge) late that same year. We know that William1 Spencer was not among the Braintree Company because already he was at Newe Towne in 1631 (perhaps in New England by 1630). The earlier arrivals at Newe Towne had been passengers in the first flotilla of ships in the Wintrhop Fleet in the summer of 1630...
References:
DeFOREST, L. E. "Moore and Allied Families". 1938.
Jacobus, Donald L. "The Four Spencer Brothers - Their Ancestors and Descendants". The American Genealogist, Vols. 27-30, 1951-1954.
Spencer, HAROld L. Jr. "A Spencer Genealogy - The Descent From Gerard of Haddam, Connecticut". 1977.
Spencer, William D. "The Maine Spencers". The Rumford Press, Concord, New Hampshire, 1898.
BANKS, Charles E. "The Planters of the Commonwealth". Gen. Publ. Co., Inc. Baltimore, 1979, 231 pp.
BREMER, Francis J. "The Puritan Experiment". St. Martin's Press, N.Y. 1976. 255 pp.
GIES, FRANCES & Joseph. "Life in a Medieval Village". Harper Perennial, 1991. 258 pp.
HINDE, Thomas. Ed. "The Domesday Book, England's Heritage, Then and Now". Crown Publ. New York, 1985. 351 pp.
HOldING, JohnRev. "The Spencers of Bedfordshire". England, 1901. 60 pp.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY. 'The Age of Chivalry". Washington, D.C. 1969. 378 pp.
A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS of The GENEALOGICAL Records FOR The NEW
England Spencers
I. BACKGROUND
Many genealogists in both England and America have attempted in recent years to resolve the lineage of the "The Four Spencer Brothers" (William, Thomas, Michael, Gerard) and their sister (Elizabeth) who came to New England about 1630 from Stotfold, Bedfordshire, England. These five siblings were the ancestors of thousands of Spencers who now reside in the United States. Most of the research which has focused on their ancestry in England began in the early years of the twentieth century and has continued up to the present day (1996). Despite the importance of the subject, only a half dozen or fewer writers have made important contributions to the published literature. Probably the most significant milestones have been the writings of Vicar JohnHOldING in 1903, Henry F. WATERS in 1907, and Donald Lines Jacobus in the mid-1950s. A third contribution of an unpublished nature has been the research of ZENA COLLIER of Pulloxhill, Bedfordshire, who commencing in 1989 under the auspices of "The Spencer Historical and Genealogical Society of America", has delved into many resources in Bedfordshire and adjacent counties which were hitherto unknown to the American workers. In the present article, we shall attempt to review Collier's material as well as summarize some of the progress made by Holding, Waters, Jacobus, and others.
At the outset we must caution that despite the valiant efforts of the above named authors a final solution to the complete lineage of the Five Spencer Siblings has yet to be achieved. It is true that we are on sound ground for about four generations leading back from the Five Siblings. However from the fifth generation back in time the trail becomes somewhat uncertain. Many theories have been advanced regarding those earliest generations but some questions still remain Perhaps the situation is not entirely discouraging for there still remains a great challenge for the future students to confirm those early generations of Spencers who were the ancestors of the Five Spencer Siblings of Stotfold Beds We do know that the trail would lead to the first Normans who came to England in 1066 with William the Conqueror...
In addition to the sources mentioned above, the data in the International Genealogical Index from Salt Lake City has been especially valuable for corroboration of generation "D" in England as well as the clarification of surnames of some of the wives of the early Spencers. Mention also should be made of the old Visitation Records of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire dating from the 16th and 17th centuries which were attempts to establish the credibility of the "gentry" as to lineage and coats of arms. Some of these Visitation Records are questionable, but in some cases they support the evidence from other sources.
Aside from the IGI, separate searches have evolved based on related records found in the Salt Lake City archives. Notable among these is the lineage developed in 1963 by Dr. James LeRoy Kimball and Virgil Spencer of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Their results were summarized in an article published by the present authors in "Le Despencer", the journal of the Spencer Historical and Genealogical Society in America, Vol. 17, 1993. In 1993 we believed that the Kimball-Spencer lineage might well serve as a standard for judging the credibility of other published articles prior to 1993. Our continuing review of sources has tended to support the Kimball-Spencer records, especially for the early generations in England. However, the Kimball-Spencer lineage for generations "C" and "D" was faulty. We shall discuss these changes in detail later in the present article.
Our Chart No. I summarizes the lineage of the Spencers of Befordshire and Northamptonshire as viewed by most of the genealogists, both English and American, who have published on this subject. The Chart also summarizes the visitations of 1566, 1572, and 1634 which included lineages for the Spencers of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.
CHART I: Proposed Lineages Leading to the Four Spencer Brothers who Came to America from England about 1630:
KIMBALL-Spencer-1963:
HenryI of Badby m. Isabel Lincoln
ThomasH of Eaton Socon
RobertG of Colmworth m. ___ Smyth
JohnF of S. Mylls
RobertE of S. Mylls m. Anne Pecke
JohnD of Cople m. Christian Baker
JohnC of Edworth m. Anne Merrill
MichaelB of Edworth & Stotfold m. Agnes Limer, m. Elizabeth ___
GerardA of Stotfold m. Alice Whitbread (Parents of the Four Brothers.)
IGI 1990:
JohnD of Edworth m. Christian Baker
JohnC of Edworth m. Anne Merrill
MichaelB of Edworth & Stotfold m. (not in IGI), m. Elizabeth ___
GerardA of Stotfold m. Alice Whitbread
VISITATION BEDS. - 1634:
JohnF of S. Mylls
RobertE of S. Mylls
JohnD of S. Mylls m. Christian Baker
JohnC of London
Four dau. - line extinct.
VISITATION HERTS. - 1572:
JohnF of S. Mylls
RobertE of S. Mylls
JohnD of S. Mylls m. Christian Baker
JohnC of London
HERALD VIS - 1566:
RobertE of S. Mylls m. Anne Pecke
JohnD of Pavenham m. Anne Arnold
ThomasC of Cople m. Anne Bowlkeley
PHillIPS MANUSCRIPT:
ThomasG of Eaton Socon
RobertF of St. Albans m. ___ Smyth
JohnE of South Mylls.
JohnD of Kempston m. Christian Baker
HOldING-COPLE LINE:
Back to Geoffrey
HenryI of Badby m. Isabel Lincoln
John H of ___, m. ___ Warnstede.
WilliamG of Redborn m. Elizabeth Empson
Sir WilliamE of ___ m. Susan Knightly
Sir JohnD of ___ m. Mary Catelyn
K. Spencer 1979:
HenryI of Badby
JohnH of Hodnell
JohnG, m. Ann Eupson; m. Jane Gruant
RobertF of S. Mylls, m. Anne Pecke
JohnE of S. Mylls m. Christian Baker
JohnD of Edworth m. Isabela Osborne
JohnC of Edworth m. Anne Gerrard
MichaelB of Stotfold m. Annes Lymer, m. Elizabeth ___
GeratA of Stotfold m. Alice Whitbread
DIANA TRITTON-1989:
HenryI of Badby m. Isabella Lincoln
ThomasH of Eaton Socon
RobertG m. Anne Peake
JohnF of Pavenham m Anne Arnold
ThomasE of Cople m. Anne Bulkeley
[Not shown]
JohnC of Edworth m. Anne Clark?Arnold?; m. Anne Merrill.
MichaelB of Stotfold m. Agnes Limer; m. Elizabeth ___
GerardA of Stotfold m. Alice Whitbread
The reader should become acquainted with the names and locations of the English counties located in the "Heartland", especially Bedfordshire (Beds), Hertfordshire (Herts), Cambridgeshire (Cambs) and Northamptonshire (Northants). Special mention should be made of the many small towns in these counties where the Spencers had lived for countless generations. The most important of these towns for the ancestors of the Five Siblings are South Mylls (near Blunham), Edworth, and Stotfold in Beds. There also are many other towns in eastern Beds associated with the general ancestry of the Spencer family beyond the direct lineage of the Five Siblings. One of the major mysteries still confronting the genealogist is the delineation of the exact relationships among these various branches bearing the surname of Spencer (and sometimes Despencer). Zena Collier in her unpublished research notes (1989-1995) has made the most extended effort to solve the riddle of these various linkages.
After the construction of the Spencer lineage based on the Kimball-Spencer charts of the 1960s, the present authors reviewed many additional sources, including the Visitations of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire in the 16th and 17th centuries, the IGI, and especially the research notes compiled by Zena Collier between 1989 and 1995. We also have re-studied the many charts compiled by Vicar John Holding in 1903, with special emphasis on the information that he found in the old "Phillipps Manuscript". Based on these sources we have constructed a new lineage chart which is designated the "Holding-Phillipps Chart" (see Chart No. II). We will review the new chart in some detail as it relates to Holding's earlier charts. On this Chart No. II we have presented not only the lineage of the Five Spencer Siblings of New England, but also the ancestry of the "Cople Spencers" who were closely related to the "Spencers of South Mylls". The Cople descendants eventually became the line of Spencers who settled n Virginia, often referred to as the "southern Spencers", although there were also other Spencer immigrants in the South aside from the Virginia line from Bedfordshire.
II. The "HOldING-PHillIPPS" CHART:
CHART NO. II. The "HOldING-PHillIPPS" CHART, A PROPOSED LINEAGE FOR The FIVE Spencer SIBLINGS of Bedfordshire WHO CAME To NEW England ABOUT 1630:
-ThomasI of Badby = Isabel Lincoln
-HenryH of Badby = Isabel Lincoln
-John of Hodnal & Wormleighton
-William
-Nicholas
-ThomasG of Eaton Socon (b. ca 1378) [Author lists Thomas as second Child; however, I rearrange for a better visual on his descendancy.]
-John of Begery (b. ca. 1404)
-Alice = Robert Arnold of St. Neots
-Ann Arnold
-Thomas of Eaton Socom (ca 1408-1453) = John ___
-RobertF of St. Albans (b. ca 1406) - ___ Smyth of Bedford. [Author lists Robert as second Child; however, I rearrange for a better visual on his descendancy.]
-Robert of South Mylls, Blunham & Cople (ca1432-1521) = Ann Pecke of Cople (d. 1523.
-Alice (b. ca. 1478) = Thomas Dyckons.
-Johane (b. ca 1490) = ___ Batell
-John of Pavenham (ca1486-1531 = Ann Arnold. [Author lists John as second Child; however, I rearrange for a better visual on his descendancy.]
-Elizabeth = John Slade
-Rose = John Colbecke
-Thomas of Cople (1514-1547) = Anne Bulkley [Author lists Thomas as first Child; however, I rearrange for a better visual on his descendancy.] Children: Robert of Cople (ca 1533-1620?) = Rose Cokain; William; Elizabeth = Robert Parrys; Anne (unm.). [Note that author continues with three more generations from Robert to Spencer descendants in Virginia.]
-Henry of Colmworth (b. ca 1462; living 1490)
-Thomas of Eaton Socom (ca1438-1490) = Margaret (Smyth?) (d. 1506). Children: John, Elizabeth, Andrew?
-JohnE of South Mylls (b. ca 1434; living 1490) [Author lists John as second Child; however, I rearrange for a better visual on his descendancy.]
-Robert of South Mylls (b. ca 1460)
-John of South Mylls (ca1500-1568) = Ethelrede Baker
-William of South Mylls & Northants (d. 1582) = Isabel Osborne
-Robert of St. Albans (living 1572) = Frances Foster, Herts; = ___ Smyth. Children: John (1562-1622) = Margaret Bayly of Herts; Ann = ___ Gylman of Herts.
-John of London (d. 1583 = ___ Tichborne; = Margaret Green. Children: Mary = John White, = Thomas Ballard; Christian = Reginald Greene of London; Jane = Richard Cockerham of London; Margaret = Laurance Greene of London.
-JohnD of South Mylls "John of Kempston" (b. ca1462) = Christian Baker
-JohnC of Edworth (ca 1505-1558) = Ann Merrill (d. 1560)
-MichaelB of Stotfold (b. ca 1531) = Eliz. ___ (d. 1599)
-JohnA (b. 1557)
-Thomas (b. 1571) = Margaret Spencer
-Katherine (1573-) = ___ Bland
-Gerard (1576-) = Alice Whitbread. [Author continues with another generation down from Gerard.]
-Richard (1580-1645)
-John of Edworth (ca 1523-1560)
-Gerard of Edworth (ca 1543-1577) = Ellen Whysson
-William of Edworth (b. ca 1545)
The Spencer lineage on the "Holding-Phillipps" chart is divided into two main groups. On the left is the line of "Cople Spencers" which leads eventually to the Spencers of Virginia. The
Virginia Spencers were first represented in America by Nicholas 1 Spencer who came to America "sometime during or before 1659". Thus, Nicholas1 Spencer came to America at. least one generation later than the Spencers in New England. The latter represented the tenth generation from ThomasI of Badby, while the Cople Spencers had eleven generations coming down to the "third Nicholas". Some members of the first generation in America from Cople returned to England, making it difficult to trace their colonial descent. The best authority on the Virginia line is Henry W. RIGBY who prepared his unpublished report in 1977.
In reviewing the Holding-Phillipps Chart (No. II), we could begin with the first generation in New England and trace them backwards in time or we could begin with the earliest known generation in England and come forward in time to the first generation in New England. We shall elect to begin with the earliest postulated ancestor in England and come forward to the Five Siblings of Beds.
III. The "TRAP" FOR SCHOLARS of The Spencer Genealogy
Before examining the earliest generations line by line, let us note at the outset that many lineages developed by genealogists of the past failed because of two women who occupied central positions in the descending line for the Spencers of South Mylls. These two women were ETHELREDE BAKER and CHRISTIAN BAKER. Both women (see chart II) were married to a JohnSpencer, but one of these men was JOHN[D] Spencer of Kempston and the other was JohnSpencer of S. Mylls. Because of this similarity, a majority of the early lineage charts were derailed. The records found in the International Genealogical Index were critical in identifying CHRISTIAN BAKER as the gr gr grandmother of the Five Siblings of Beds who came to New England about 1630.
One of the first examples of the "Baker mixup" was repeated by Vicar John Holding in 1903 when he reprinted the chart for the Spencers of South Mylls from the Visitation of Bedfordshire, 1634 (Harleian Society of London, 1884). We have placed dotted lines around the mistaken entry for CHRISTIAN BAKER (see Chart VI). This single mistake in 1634 mislead nearly every Spencer genealogist up into modern times.
Conversely, if we make the single change from CHRISTIAN to ETHELREDE BAKER in Chart V, we seem to have a consistent record of this South Mylls line. However, it was not the line leading to the Five Siblings of New England. CHRISTIAN BAKER was in a parallel line from the South Mylls Spencers and was the true gr gr grandmother of the Five Siblings.
IV. The VISITATION CHARTS
Chart III. The Visitation of Bedfordshire For Spencers of Cople 1566 (Holding, p.3)
-Robert Spencer of South Mylls = Ann Pecke of Cople
-John Spencer of Pavenham = Ann Arnold
-Thomas Spencer of Cople = Ann Bulkley
-Robert Spencer of Cople (as yet unm.)
-William Spencer
-Elizabeth Spencer = Robert Parrys
-Anne Spencer (unm.)
-Elizabeth Spencer = John Slade
-Rose Spencer = John Colbecke
-Alice Spencer = Thomas Dyckons
-Johane Spencer = ___ Battell
Chart IV. The Spencers of Cople, Visitation of Bedfordshire, 1634 (Holding, p. 4)
-Thomas Spencer of Cople = Anne Bulkley of Burgate, Southampton
-Robert Spencer of Cople = Rose Cokain of Hatley, Beds
-Nicholas Spencer of Cople, Esq. = Mary Elmes of Lylford, Northants
-Alice Spencer = Gains Squier of Rowland
-Nicholas Spencer = Mary Gastwick of Willington, Beds.
-William Spencer
-Nicolas Spencer
-Robert Spencer
-Mary Spencer
-Christian Spencer
-Rose Spencer
Signed Nicholas Spencer
The Cople lineage as shown in the Visitations of 1566 and 1634 (Charts III and IV) seem to have held up well to later scrutiny so far as they go. We note that the 1634 Chart began with Thomas Spencer of Cople (1514-1547), but does not reveal the earlier generations leading to Thomas Spencer of Eaton Socon (b. ca 1378).
We shall now return to the early generations on the Holding-Phillipps chart (No. II) and attempt to evaluate their sources and credibility.
Chart V. The Spencers of St. Albans – Visitation of Hertfordshire. 1572
-John Spencer of South Mylls, 1475
-Robert Spencer
-John Spencer of South Mylls = Christian Baker (note: the correct entry should be Ethelrede Baker)
-William Spencer of South Mylls = Isabella Osborne of Kélmarsh, Northants
-Robert Spencer of St. Albans = Frances Foster of Brantfield, Herts; = ___ Smythe of Beds.
-John Spencer (b. 1562)
-Anne Spencer
-John Spencer of London
By me Robert Spencer (Note: Robert did not identify his mother correctly)
CHART VI. ThE Spencers of SOUTH MYLLS. VISITATION of Bedfordshire. 1634 (Holding, p. 5)
-John Spencer of South Mylls, 1474
-Robert Spencer of South Mylls
-John Spencer of South Mylls = Christian Baker (Note: The wife was Etheldred Baker and the error has been repeated by many genealogists)
-William Spencer of of South Mylls, Beds = Isabel Osborne of South Mylls & Meyrs Asby, Northants.
-Robert Spencer of St. Albans, Herts = Frances Foster of Brantfield, Herts; = ___ Smyth of Beds
-John Spencer (1562-1622) = Margaret of Bayly (marr. 2nd to Twyford Wath)
-Anne Spencer = ___ Gylman of Herts
-Mary Spencer = John White of Nordian; = Thos. Ballard
-Christian Spencer = Reginald Greene of London, grocer
-Jane Spencer = Richard Cockerham of London, grocer
-Margaret Spencer = Laurance Greene Merchant
-John Spencer of London, Merchant = Anne Clark of London
IV. The EARLIEST ANCESTORS LEADING To The Spencers of SOUTH MYLLS and COPLE, Bedfordshire.
We shall first focus on generations C, D, E, F, G, H, and I. The present authors have carefully reviewed all of the voluminous records on the Spencers of central and eastern Beds which are available up to 1996. Many of these records will be presented in detail later in this article. From an overall view, we believe that the study by Vicar John Holding (1903) and the Phillipps Manuscript presented in his report offer the most credible evidence for the earliest generations beginning with ThomasI Spencer of Badby, Northants. The final master chart prepared by Holding (pages 50-51) suggests that ThomasG of Eaton Socon (living 1433) may have been the ancestor of the Spencers of Eaton Socon. Based on this assumption, we have included HenryH of Badby and ThomasI of Badby as the two preceding generations. From ThomasG of Eaton Socon (who was in the Phillipps Manuscript), we take the next step to RobertF of St. Albans who was born about 1406 and who married a woman with the surname of SMYTH. The siblings of RobertF of St. Albans were Johnof BEGERY (b. ca 1404) and Thomas of EATON SOCON (b. ca 1408). The latter Thomas Spencer and wife Joan had no children.
In summary, we have combined Holding's early generations (G, H, and I) with the Phillipps Manuscript starting at generation F (Robert of ST. ALBANS) and following in the South Mylls line to JOHNE of SOUTH MYLLS, JOHND of KEMPSTON, and JohnC of EDWORTH. The critical juncture lies with JOHNE of SOUTH MYLLS (b. ca. 1434). Some genealogists (esp. Zena Collier, p. 100) depicted the descent as flowing through Thomas of EATON SOCON (d. 1490) and his wife Margaret (SMYTH?). Margaret died in 1506. Their son Johnwas considered by Collier to be the likely JOHNE of SOUTH MYLLS leading to JOHND of KEMPSTON and JohnC of EDWORTH. We shall examine this suggested linkage in detail at a later point when we read the Will of Thomas and the Court Mandamus relating to Margaret's estate. However, we find no positive evidence to prove that John, son of Thomas and Margaret SMYTH, was the JOHNE of SOUTH MYLLS leading to JOHND of KEMPSTON and JohnC of EDWORTH.
The lineage chart leading to the Spencers of Cople has followed the same principles as those described for the Spencers of South Mylls. We know that the Cople and South Mylls families were very closely related because of the naming of beneficiaries and executors in some of the Wills left by the male line. For example, Robert of SOUTH MYLLS (b. ca 1460) was named as an executor for Johnof KEMPSTON (d. 1531) and Robert of COPLE (d. 1521). They respectively were his cousin and uncle.
V. The Estates of Thomas of EATON SOCON (ca 1438-1490) and WIFE Margaret (SMYTH?) (d.1506).
As mentioned above, ZENA COLLIER (p. 100) considered the eldest son (JOHN) of Thomas and Margaret to be the Johnof SOUTH MYLLS leading directly to JOHND of KEMPSTON and JohnC of EDWORTH. Although this hypothesis does not seem proven, we will review the Will of Thomas and the estate of Margaret (Court Mandamus) for reference purposes.
The Will of Thomas Spencer dated as 22 Jan 1490/91 contained the following provisions:
1. To be buried in Eaton churchyard.
2. To son John, all lands, tenements, rents, and services belonging in Eaton in fee simple.
3. If he dies without heirs, executors to sell and give Elizabeth, testator's daughter, 20 marks from money received and Henry, testator's brother, to have aforesaid lands for a smaller sum of money than anyone else by 20 marks and if he doesn't buy them then, Thomas FITZHUGH and JohnBETTS shall have them.
4. Executors: Thomas FITZHUGH, JN BETTS, HEN Spencer. Pro by HEN Spencer. Power reserved to THOS FITZHUGH.
From the foregoing Will of Thomas Spencer, we can identify his brother Henry, his son John, and his daughter Elizabeth. If Thomas was born about 1438, we can estimate his eldest son Johnto be born about 1463, or closely parallel to the generation of JOHND of KEMPSTON. Hence, we find a problem in depicting Thomas's son Johnas the father of JOHND of KEMPSTON. On the other hand (Chart II), the JOHNE, who was the son of RobertF of ST. ALBANS and born about 1434, fits well into the time scale for generation D, E, and F.
There is no mention of the widow of Thomas, in the latter's Will, but this omission is probably related to the Will of JohnSMYTH, a relative of Margaret's, who made bequests to both Margaret and her husband Thomas. For some reason, JohnSMYTH's estate was disposed under a Mandamus, or Court Order, but this was issued nearly a decade after the death of Thomas. Such action is perhaps a reminder that there was no mention of Margaret in the Will of Thomas, nor is their any mention of the property at Wold (Old?), Northants. The Court Order reads as follows:
"John Smyth. Writ of Mandamus 28 May 13 Henry Vii inq. 30 December 14 Henry VII (1498). He was seized of the under-mentioned manor etc in fee, being so seized, gave them to one Thomas SPENSER and Margaret, wife of the said Thomas, his cousin and heir, to hold to them and the heirs of the body of the said Margaret, with remainder in default to one Alice BRETT, her heirs and assigns for ever; by virtue whereof the said Thomas
and Margaret were seised. Thomas in his demesne as of free tenement and Margaret in her desmesne as of fee tail, and they had issue between them one William SPENSER; and afterwards the said Thomas SPENSER died so seised and the said Margaret survived him and continued her possession, and was and still is solely seised in her desmesne as of fee tail, by the form of the gift by right of survivorship. He died 10 March 12 Henry VII (1497). The said Margaret, aged 40 and more, is his cousin and heir".
"NORTHAMPTON. The manor of Wold with its appurtenances in Wold, the three virgates of land and a quarter in the same town, also the advowson of the church of the same town to the same man belonging; also two other messuages and three virgates land in Wold, worth L7, HELD of John, EARL of OXFORD, by socage."
One suspects from the Court Order of 1498 that Margaret had to exert her rights to part of the Wold property which had been divided between her and Thomas according to the wishes of JohnSMYTH. Whatever happened to Thomas'S half of the Wold property is not revealed, but it may have been disposed of by Thomas earlier and the proceeds invested in the Eaton Socon property.
The mention of Margaret as his "cousin" may be subject to interpretation. In Holding's ancestral chart of the Cople Spencers (pp.50-51 and our Chart VIII), he calls Margaret a "daughter" of JohnSMYTH of "OULD" (Wold?). The Smyth Mandamus is also at odds with the later Will of Margaret (see below) in that the Court Order cites a son, William SPENSER, who does not exist in Margaret's Will. The so-called "William SPENSER" would seem to be the son-in-law William Reynolds. Furthermore, there is no reference in the Court Order to an "Andrew Spencer" mentioned in Margaret's Will.
For comparison, we quote a verbatim version of Margaret (SMYTH?) Spencer'S Will of 1506:
"MarGT. Spencer (Eaton Socon). "5 day of Our Lord 1506", pr. 19 Nov. 1506. (161). For her mortuary as custom and manner is to the church of Lincoln 20d.; to the high altar for tithes forgotten 12d.; to Eaton church 5 r. land abutting on "Hundyssh dytch". To the prior of St. Neots 8d. to pray for her.
"To JN. Spencer sr. land in his grandfather's will, and the "platt", a pair of great "landyrens", also 1 a. land; to Andrew Spencer 1/2 a. land; residue of land and house that she dwells in to d., w. of WM. Reynolds; 2 and 1/2 a. meadow to be sold, WM. Reynolds to have option of buying; a priest to sing for her and her husband as long as the money lasts; residue of goods to exor., he to give part to poor, part to godChildren and part to himself. Exor. s. WM. RAYNALD, witn. JAS. STEvenSON, vicar of Eaton, and JN. MAN".
The reading of Margaret's Will reveals the existence of son-in-law William Reynolds (RAYNALD) as well as an Andrew Spencer who may be a sibling of Elizabeth. In addition, the mention of "JohnSpencer sr." as a beneficiary of land in his "grandather's will" poses one of the great enigmas in Spencer genealogy. The correct interpretation is critical to the linkage between generations "D " and "E" in the ancestral line of the Spencers of South Mylls (see Chart III). If we assume the reference is to John, son of Thomas and Margaret, then the grandfather might be RobertF of ST. ALBANS, or it might be Margaret's father (JohnSMYTH?). No Will has been found for RobertF of ST. ALBANS and JohnSMYTH mentioned no grandson in his Will according to the Court Mandamus.
After weighing the pro and con, we believe that the reference to a "grandfather" referred specifically to JohnSMYTH. In the Mandamus quoted above, JohnSMYTH (or the court) clearly split the estate between Thomas and Margaret, so that Margaret in her Will still had control of property, presumably at Wold (Ould) in Northants. She refers to "JohnSpencer, sr. land in his grandfather's Will". Thus we can infer that John, son of Thomas and Margaret, had inherited his father's share of the Smyth estate as well as his mother's share of the same estate. One flaw in this hypothesis is that Thomas (b. ca 1438) in his Will mentions only the property in Eaton Socon and makes no reference to Wold Manor in Northants. The same can be said for Margaret's Will. In terms of geography, however, Wold Manor was a long distance from Eaton Socon and both Thomas and Margaret may have disposed of the property after the death of JohnSMYTH. Actually, we do not know when JohnSMYTH died. The Court Order was dated 1498, but the property granted by JohnSMYTH to Thomas and Margaret may have been made many years earlier while JohnSMYTH was still living.
JOHNE Spencer of South Mylls (b. ca 1434) is listed as living in South Mylls, perhaps the first Spencer to live there. His wife is unknown, but perhaps she had land in South Mylls and wished to live there. JOHNE Spencer had two sons, Robert of South Mylls and JOHND of South Mylls, the latter known as "Johnof KEMPSTON", a suburb of Bedford.. He was in the line leading to the Five Siblings of New England. Robert (b. ca 1460) as the eldest son received the property of JOHNE and was known to have land at Duloe, Charlton, and Blunham (adjacent to South Mylls).
Johnof SOUTH MYLLS (b. ca 1500), son of Robert (b. ca 1460), owned land in at least nine different locations. His wife was EHELREDE BAKER (often mistakenly identified as CHRISTIAN BAKER).
There is one final but significant reservation regarding Thomas Spencer (ca 1438-1490) of Eaton Socon. His origin is noted in the Phillipps Manuscript (Chart VII) as being the grandson of ThomasG of EATON (b. ca 1378). in contrast, Holding thought that this same Thomas was the grandson of HenryH of BADBY and ISABEL LINCOLN (CHART V). Holding even hints that the Thomas who was the son of Henry of BADBY may have been the ThomasG of EATON SOCON (probably 1438). However, another generation down the line, Holding identifies Thomas of BADBY as married to Margaret SMYTH of OULD (Wold). Regrettably, we do not know the source of Holding's information on this Northants lineage. We recall Holding's statement on page 51 as follows: One thing, however, is certain; the Bedfordshire Spencers were allied to those of Northamptonshire, but where the point of junction lies, it is impossible for us to say.
Apparently Holding had not seen the Wills of JohnSMYTH, Thomas of EATON SOCON (b. ca 1438), and the latter's wife Margaret. Is it possible Holding had the clue to the descent of all the Spencers of Eaton Socon and South Mylls but failed to recognize it? We note that Holding in his document made repeated references to tracing the Spencers of Edworth and Stotfold to ancestors who came from St. Albans. Perhaps he was strongly influenced by the Phillipps Manuscript (Chart VII) where RobertF of ST. ALBANS is shown as the father of Robert of COPLE, JOHNE of SOUTH MYLLS, and Thomas of EATON SOCON (d. 1490). It is fascinating to see that this Robert of ST. ALBANS was married to a woman with the surname of SMYTH. There is a strong possibility that Margaret of EATON SOCON (d. 1506) also was a SMYTH. The SMYTH name leads us back to Northants and the Manor of Wold. A close approximation to OULD or WOld is the town of "Old", a few miles NE of Northampton. The town of Wormleighton, although in Warks, is close to the western border of Northants. As a consequence, we can see that the SMYTHS of Old as well as the Spencers of Badby, Everdon, and Wormleighton all revolved around the northern area of Northamptonshire (which also is the location of the ALTHORPE Spencers and the former home of DIANA Spencer, Princess of Wales, daughter of the recently deceased EARL Spencer).
CHART VII. The LINEAGE of The Spencers of EAST Bedfordshire AS INTERPRETED byVICAR JohnHOldING from The PHillIPPS MANUSCRIPT.1903
-Thomas Spencer of Eton (Living in 1433)
-JohnSpencer of Begery = Alice
-Alice Spencer = Robert ARNOld of St. Neots
-ANNE ARNOld = JohnSpencer of Pavenham (See below.)
-Thomas Spencer (d. 1453) = Joan [Author lists Thomas after Robert, but I arrange differently for a better visual on descendancy of Robert.]
-Robert Spencer of St. Albans = ___ SMYTH of Beds.
-Robert Spencer of Cople (d. bef. 1523) = ANNE PECKE (d. 1523)
-JohnSpencer of Pavenham (d. 1523) m. ANNE ARNOld (See above.) [Child:] Thomas Spencer (b. 1514)
-JohnSpencer of South Mylls
-Robert Spencer of St. Neots [Child:] JohnSpencer (d. 1568)
-JohnSpencer of Kempston
-Henry Spencer
-Thomas Spencer (d. 1490) [Children:] John and Elizabeth.
CHART VIII. The LINEAGE of The Spencers of NORTHANTS and WARKS SHOWING POSSIBLE Origin of The Spencers of EATON SOCON, BEDS. from HenryH Spencer of BADBY and ISABEL LINCOLN (After Holding, pp. 50-51):
-Geoffrey le Despencer (son and heir of Thurstan, descended in the fifth generation from Robert le Despencer; steward to William the Conqueror, 1066; d. 1251)
-Hugh le Despencer (Justiciary of England; slain at Evesham,1265) = Alice Bassett, relict of Earl of Norfolk.
-Hugh le Despencer Earl of Winchester
-Alianora = Hugh Courtney, Earl of Devon
-Geoffrey = Emma, dau. of St. John
-Sir John =Anne Spencer, 1274
-Adam Spencer of Stanley, co. Gloucester [Author lists as second son, however, I reposition for an easier visual on the descendancy of his brother William.]
-Sir William Spencer of Defford; d. 1328
-John Spencer of Defford = Alice Deverell
-Nicholas Spencer of Defford = Joan Pollard
-William Spencer = Margaret Clare [Children:] John Spencer o.s.p. 1445; Alice Spencer.
-Thomas Spencer [Author lists him as first son; however, I rearrange for a better visual on his descendancy.]
-Henry Spencer of Badby, d. 1476 = Isabel Linclon
-Thomas Spencer
-William Spencer
-Nicholas Spencer
-John Spencer of Hodnall and Wormleighton = ___ Warnstede. [Author lists John as first son; however, I rearrange for a better visual on his descendancy.]
-Henry Spencer
-John Spencer of Hodnall = John Graunt [Child:] Thomas Spencer of Everdon.
-Thomas Spencer of Badby = Margaret Smyth of Ould
-William Spencer of Redbourn = Elizabeth Empson [Author lists William as eldest Child; however, I rearrange for a better visual on his descendancy.]
-Thomas Spencer
-Dorothy Spencer
-Jane Spencer = ___ Smyth of Shefford
-Sir John Spencer, d. 1522 = Isabel Graunt [Author lists John as eldest Child; however, I rearrange for a better visual on his descendancy.]
-Anthony
-Isabella
-Dorothy
-Sir William Spencer, d. 1532 = Susan Knightly [Author lists William as eldest Child; however, I rearrange for a better visual on his descendancy.]
-Sir John Spencer, d. 1595 + Mary Catelyn (relict of Thomas Burgoyne of Sutton, Beds.)
-Mary = Thomas Bolles of Wallington, Herts
Chart No. VIII is a copy of the linkages presented by JohnHOldING on pp. 50-51 in his report of 1903. In a footnote, Holding suggested that the ThomasG Spencer who was the son of HenryH Spencer of Badby and Isabel Lincoln posed an interesting question as follows: "Is it possible that the Spencers of Eaton came from this Thomas?" In our Chart II, we essentially adopted this suggestion and then followed the chart of the Phillipps Manuscript for the descendants of ThomasG Spencer of Eaton Socon who was b. ca 1378 and living in 1433.
One of the fascinating aspects of Holding's final chart is the linkage back to one of the most powerful DESpencers of the realm in the person of HUGH le DESpencer, Justiciary of England, who was slain at the battle of Evesham in 1265. It is but a few steps back to Robert le DESpencer, Steward to William the CONQUEROR in 1066.
VI. The COATS-OF-ARMS AS EVIDENCE of The Linkage of The Bedfordshire and NORTHAMPTONSHIRE Spencers.
The similarity in Coats-of Arms between the Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire Spencers was noted by John Holding in his 1903 study (p 51). We can quote directly from his article:
"One thing, however, is certain; the Bedfordshire Spencers were allied to those of Northamptonshire, but where the point of junction lies it is impossible for us to say, as we have no materials at our disposal to enable us to decide. They must have satisfied the Heralds in their visitations in 1566, 1634, and 1663 that they were of the same family, otherwise they would not have been allowed to bear the same coat of arms and crest, as they did with one slight difference only, that whereas on the bend sable of the Northampton arms there are three escallops (shells), on the Bedfordshire shield there are three fleurs-de-lis. The crest is exactly the same - a griffin's head between two wings expanded emerging out of a mural crown.
The actual descriptions of the Coats-of-Arms from the several Visitations were as follows:
Spencer of ST. ALBANS, 1572 (Herts):
ARMS - Quarterly Or and Gules, in the second and third quarters a fret of the first, over all a bend Sable charged with three fleurs-d-lis Argent.
CREST - Out of a ducal coronet Argent, gemmed Gules, a demi-griffin of the first, beaked and eared of the second, collared per pale of the second and Or, winged of the third, on each wing and on the breasts fleur-de-lis Sable.
Spencer of SOUTH MYLLS, 1634 (Beds):
ARMS - Quarterly or and gules, in the second and third quarters a fret of the first, on a bend sable three fleurs-de-lys argent.
CREST - Out of a mural crown per pale argent and gules, a griffin 's head, collared or, beaked gules, between two wings expanded, charged on the breast and on each wing with a fleur-de-lys sable, all counterchanged.
Spencer of COPLE, 1566 (Beds):
ARMS - Quarterly Or and gules, in the second and third quarters a fret or; on a bend sable three fleurs-de-lis argent.
Spencers of COPLE, 1634 (Beds):
ARMS – Quarterly - 1, Quarterly or and gules, in the second and third quarters a fret of the first, on a bend sable three fleurs-de-lys, Spencer; 2, Argent, three pickaxes sable, PECK; 3, Sable, two lions passant or, ARNOld; e, blank.
CREST - Out of a ducal coronet gules a griffin's head argent, collared or, between two wings expanded of the third, charged on the breast and on each wing with a fleur-de-lys sable, and on the neck a crescent.
Holding noted the Coat-of Arms for some of the Northants Spencers bore three scallops in place of the three "fleurs-de-lis" Argent.
Some of the terms used for the coats-of-arms may be unfamiliar to the reader. GULES - red, represented in engravings by parallel vertical lines. FRET - ornamental network. ARGENT - silver, whiteness, shining. SABLE - black. PASSANT - any animal represented as walking with the dexter forepaw raised.
There may be a special significance attached to the close similarity of the Spencer Coat-of-Arms in Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire. As we noted earlier, there has been considerable discussion among genealogists as to whether the Spencers of Beds were closely related to the Spencers of Northants. The identical characteristics of the Coats-of-Arms would seem to add much weight to the linkage of the South Mylls Spencer with Henry of BADBY and ISOBEL LINCOLN. The relationship may be one based on "cadet" branches of the earlier ancestors in Northants, i.e. younger sons of the family who were excluded from the line of inheritance when the oldest son in a family inherited the estate, a custom long entrenched in the well-to-do families in order to prevent the breakup of the feudal manorial system.
VII. The Linkage 10 Henry Spencer and JohnSpencer of BEGERY.
Henry Spencer is clearly identified in the Will of Thomas of EATON SOCON (d. 1490) as a brother, but almost nothing is known about Henry. Henry also is shown on the chart of the Phillipps Manuscript (Chart VII) as well as Holding's final chart (Chart VIII), again as a brother of Thomas of BADBY (who as we noted seems to be the same as Thomas of EATON SOCON who died ca 1490).
Turning now to JohnSpencer of BEGERY, we have another significant point. There is no doubt that Johnof BEGERY has an important linkage to the Cople Spencers. What is the basis for considering him to be a sibling of Robert of ST. ALBANS and. Thomas Spencer of EATON SOCON (b. ca 1408)? A search of a II existing records traces the beginnings of Johnof BEGERY to a list prepared in 1433 by a Commission created by Henry VI "for all persons of quality to take an oath". The list included "Thomas Spencer DE GETON" and "JOHANNES" (John) Spencer. From this simple entry it has been deduced that this was Thomas of EATON (1378) and his son John(later of BEGERY). Since Johnhad no residence indicated in the Commissioners' List, it was believed that he must the son of Thomas6 Spencer. We find this concept incorporated in the Phillipps Manuscript (Chart VII). The same source identifies Johnof BEGERY as a brother of Thomas of EATON SOCON who died in 1453, but left no heirs. Johnof "BEYGAI" was listed as one of the Executors of the Will of Thomas "of Ford by Eaton Socon", strengthening the view that he was a close relative of the deceased.
A final comment is made on the "F" generation level which as we see on the Holding-Phillipps Chart (No. II) includes Johnof BEGERY, Henry, and Thomas of EATON SOCON (b. ca 1408). The main deviation from this concept is found in the Phillipps Manuscript which would include "Robert of ST. ALBANS" (m. to ___ SMYTH), Thomas of FORD (m. Joan ) who died in 1453, and Johnof BEGERY in a generation preceding Henry and the Thomas who d. in 1490 (m.. Margaret SMYTH?). There is perhaps some justification for this alternate view in that Johnof BEGERY who was an adult in 1433 would likely be a generation older than Thomas of EATON SOCON (d. 1490) who is believed to have been born about 1438.
As we can see from these various considerations, the ancestors of both the Cople and South Mylls Spencer tines could deserve more study. ZENA COLLIER herself throughout her five-year study proposed many theories regarding these early ancestors, especially in regard to the Spencers of South Mylls. Collier (p. 237) considered it most likely that the very early Spencers who lived in Blunham and Mogerhanger were the direct line to South Mylls. She also leaned heavily towards the Spencers of Hatley who lived along the eastern border of Beds with Cambs. She did not comment on Robert of COLMWORTH (or ST. ALBANS?) who occupies a prominent slot on the Kimball-Spencer Chart (No. IX).
VIII. The KIMBALL-Spencer CHART of 1963 (Chart No. IX)
Earlier we mentioned the Spencer lineage compiled in the 1960s by DR. James L. KIMBALL of Salt Lake City and Virgil Spencer of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, but which was never formally published. The present authors (Jack and Edith Spencer) presented an outline of this lineage in their "Comparative Analysis" article published in 1993 in the Le Despencer Journal (Spencer Historical and Genealogical Society). We have drawn a detailed Chart (No. IX) of the lineage proposed in the Kimball-Spencer papers. This is an appropriate point to look at their version of the early Spencer ancestors as derived from the then existing records at Salt Lake City.
First, their treatment of the descent from ThomasG of EATON SOCON, 1433, and the next three generations is identical to the Phillipps Manuscript with the exception of "RobertF of ST. ALBANS" who they tag as "Robert of COLMWORTH". The entry of "COLMWORTH" as an early location for this Robert is a new designation. Colmworth is in the far northern section of Bedfordshire and a considerable distance from St. Albans in Hertfordshire. Colmworth, however, is next door to Eaton Socon in county Beds.
The "unknown" Henry (as designated on most charts) is now "Henry of COLMWORTH" in the Kimball-Spencer lineage.
Robert of SOUTH MYLLS (later Robert of COPLE) who married Ann PECKE) is shown in the line leading to the Five Siblings of New England, whereas in fact he was the head of the Cople line leading to the Spencers of Virginia. The same can be said of Johnof PAVENHAM. He married Ann ARNOld, but had no relationship to CHRISTIAN BAKER.
CHART NO. IX. The Kimball-Spencer Version of the English Ancestors of the Five Spencer Siblings of Bedfordshire who came to New England about 1630.
-HenryH of Badby = Isobel Lincoln
-ThomasG of Eaton Socon (b. ca 1378 – living 1433)
-John of Begery (b. ca 1404)
-Thomas of Ford, Eaton Socon (b. ca 1408-1453 = Joan ___.
-Robert of Colmworth (b. ca 1406) = ___ Smyth of Bedford. [Author lists Robert as 2nd Child; however, I rearrange for a better visual on his descendancy.]
-Robert of Cople (b. ca 1432)
-Henry of Colmworth (b. ca 1436)
-Thomas of Eaton Socon (b. ca 1438)
-JohnE of South Mylls (b. ca. 1434) [Author lists John as second Child; however, I rearrange for a better visual on his descendancy.]
-JohnD of South Mylls (b. ca 1462. [Author lists John as second Child; however, I rearrange for a better visual on his brother's descendancy.]
-Robert of South Mylls (ca. 1460-1521)
-Alice of South Mylls (b. ca 1486) = Thomas Decons
-Johanne (b. ca 1490 = ___ Battell
-John of South Mylls (b. ca 1486-1532), d. at Pavenham = Anne Arnold; = Christian Baker. [Author lists John as second Child; however, I rearrange for a better visual on his descendancy.]
-William of South Mylls (b. ca 1496) = Isabella Osborn
-Robert of St. Albans (b. ca 1498) = Frances Foster
-JohnC of Edworth (1505-1558) = Ann Merrill ca 1509-1560
-John Jr. of Edworth (ca 1533-1560)
-Gerard of Edworth (ca 1543-1577) = Ellen Whysson
-William of Edworth (b. ca 1545)
-MichaelB of Edworth (b. ca 1531) = Agnes Limer (1532-1562); = Eliz. ___ (ca 1542-1599)
-Alice of Edworth (b. 1556)
-John of Edworth (b. 1557)
-Michael of Edworth (b. 1558)
-Ann of Edworth (b. 1560)
-Joan of Edworth (b. 1564)
-Thomas of Edworth (b. 1571) = Margaret Spencer
-GerardA of Stotfold (b. 1576-1646) = Alice Whitbread (Ten Children, five f whom were the sibings who came to New England about 1630 and all of whom were born at Stotfold, Bedfordshire.)
-Richard of Stotfold (b. 1580)
-Katherine of Stotfold (b. 1582) = ___ Bland
In conclusion, the Kimball-Spencer lineage is confused between the Cople line of descent and that of South Mylls. The upper and lower ends of Chart IX may have some merit in that the former has a strong resemblance to the Phillipps Manuscript (No. VII). The lower end of the K-S Chart from JohnC Spencer (1505-1558) and Ann Merrill (d. 1560) is a credible ancestry leading to the Five Spencer Siblings of New England.
We might repeat that the confusion over the Cople and South Mylls lines has been duplicated over and over by most Spencer genealogists in the 20th century.
IX. The LINEAGE DEVELOPED byH.R.Spencer, 1927.
One of the earliest American genealogists to study the English lineage of the Spencers of Bedfordshire was H.R. Spencer of Duluth, Minnesota. His unpublished notes were widely adapted by John Kimball and Virgil Spencer in their own studies. It is noteworthy that H.R. Spencer completed his work a quarter century before the reports by Donald Lines Jacobus in the early 1950s. H.R. Spencer actually visited England as well as Normandy and was well acquainted with the work which John Holding had published in 1903. H. R. Spencer developed the Spencer lineage clear back to the time of William the Conqueror (1066 A.D.). For our purposes, however, we will show in the accompanying chart only those Spencers from the early 1400s onward.
CHART X. The LINEAGE PROPOSED byH.R. Spencer: "THE Spencers of Bedfordshire. England and EAST HADDAM. CONNECTICUT". 1927.
-Thomas Spencer (living 1435)
-John of Hodnell &Wormleighton (Ancestor of Duke of Marlborough & Earl Spencer of Althrope)
-William
-Nicholas
-Thomas of Eaton Socon (living 1453) [Author lists Thomas as second Child; however, I rearrange for a better visual on his descendancy.]
-John of Begery (b. ca 1432, living 1453)
-Thomas of Eaton Socon (d. 1453; no issue)
-Robert of St. Albans (& South Mylls) = ___ Smyth [Author lists Robert as second Child; however, I rearrange for a better visual on his descendancy.]
-Robert
-Henry
-Thomas of Eaton Socon (ca. 1448-1490)
-John of Kempston & South Mylls [Author lists John as eldest Child; however, I rearrange for a better visual on his descendancy.]
-Robert [Author lists Robert as second Child; however, I rearrange for a better visual on his descendancy.]
-John of Edworth (1505-1558) = Ann Lymer
-Gerard
-John
-William
-Michael of Edworth & Stotfold (d. 1599) = Alice Lorimor; = Eliz. ___ [Author lists Michael as eldest Child; however, I rearrange for a better visual on his descendancy.]
-John, Michael, Thomas, Gerard, Richard, Joan, Anne, and Katherine.
Beginning with Thomas Spencer who was living in 1435, H.R. Spencer follows the Spencer lineage described in Holding's report of 1903. However, when it came to the children of Henry of BADBY, H.R. developed the succeeding generations from Thomas, the second son of Henry. Holding did not pursue this line, but merely suggested the possibility of such a connection.
From Robert of ST. ALBANS (and SOUTH MYLLS), H.R. follows the Phillipps Manuscript on through Johnof SOUTH MYLLS (d. 1503) and his son Johnof KEMPSTON. H.R. errs in naming Ann LYMER (Lorimer) as the wife of the second John, whereas it was Ann Merrill. H.R. made no attempt to delineate the Cople line from Johnof BEGERY.
One feature of H.R. Spencer's lineage is the emphasis on the Spencers of Badby, Northants, as the origin of the Spencers of South Mylls. Holding himself hinted at this, but l 		Spencer (I1911)
 
2882 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 Sp33 "The Spencers of the Great Migration," by Jack Taif Spencer and Edith Woolley Spencer (Gateway Press, Baltimore; 1997) vol. 1, pp. 55-57:
"Chart II. The Near Relatives of Alice Whitbread who Married Gerard Spencer of Stotfold, Beds. - Parents of the Five Spencer Siblings who Came to New England about 1630:
-Thomas Whitbread (b. ca 1522)
-John (b. ca. 1548 Upper Gravenhurst, Beds. = Eleanor Radcliffe. Children all b. Upper Gravenhurst:
-Elizabeth
-William (ca1573-1640) = Elizabeth ___. Children b. Upper Gravenhurst: Henry (b. 1601) = Eliz. Farnell; William (1602-1602); John (1603-1621); Elizabeth (1605); Henry Whitbread; Thomas (b. 1607) = Joan Carter; Sibyl (b. 1610) = Caesar Lucas; William (b. 1612) = Joan Cooper. [Note that the author continues with another generation or two from children of this family.]
-Henry (b. ca 1576) = Elizabeth Leventhorpe. Children b. Cardington, Beds.: Henry (b. 1605) = Eliz. Whitbread; John (unm.); Elizabeth (b. 1607); Eleanor = Robt. Sheering; Mary; Ann = Samuel Baker; Frances.
-Alice = Gerard Spencer
-Francis (b. 1581)
-John (b. 1584) = Mary Newman. Children b. Elstow, Beds.: Eleanor 9b. 1616) = William Newman; William (1617-ca 1660) = Eliz. Peck; John (b. 1617 - twin); Judith (b. 1619 = Wm. Edwards; Mary (b. 1622), and Thomas (b. 1624).
-Judith (b. 1591) = Richard Poulter"
 		Elizabeth (I4863)
 
2883 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 Sp33 "The Spencers of the Great Migration," by Jack Taif Spencer and Edith Woolley Spencer (Gateway Press, Baltimore; 1997) vol. 1, pp. 55-57:
"Chart II. The Near Relatives of Alice Whitbread who Married Gerard Spencer of Stotfold, Beds. - Parents of the Five Spencer Siblings who Came to New England about 1630:
-Thomas Whitbread (b. ca 1522)
-John (b. ca. 1548 Upper Gravenhurst, Beds. = Eleanor Radcliffe. Children all b. Upper Gravenhurst:
-Elizabeth
-William (ca1573-1640) = Elizabeth ___. Children b. Upper Gravenhurst: Henry (b. 1601) = Eliz. Farnell; William (1602-1602); John (1603-1621); Elizabeth (1605); Henry Whitbread; Thomas (b. 1607) = Joan Carter; Sibyl (b. 1610) = Caesar Lucas; William (b. 1612) = Joan Cooper. [Note that the author continues with another generation or two from children of this family.]
-Henry (b. ca 1576) = Elizabeth Leventhorpe. Children b. Cardington, Beds.: Henry (b. 1605) = Eliz. Whitbread; John (unm.); Elizabeth (b. 1607); Eleanor = Robt. Sheering; Mary; Ann = Samuel Baker; Frances.
-Alice = Gerard Spencer
-Francis (b. 1581)
-John (b. 1584) = Mary Newman. Children b. Elstow, Beds.: Eleanor 9b. 1616) = William Newman; William (1617-ca 1660) = Eliz. Peck; John (b. 1617 - twin); Judith (b. 1619 = Wm. Edwards; Mary (b. 1622), and Thomas (b. 1624).
-Judith (b. 1591) = Richard Poulter"
 		Leventhorpe, Elizabeth (I4861)
 
2884 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 Sp33 "The Spencers of the Great Migration," by Jack Taif Spencer and Edith Woolley Spencer (Gateway Press, Baltimore; 1997) vol. 1, pp. 55-57:
"Chart II. The Near Relatives of Alice Whitbread who Married Gerard Spencer of Stotfold, Beds. - Parents of the Five Spencer Siblings who Came to New England about 1630:
-Thomas Whitbread (b. ca 1522)
-John (b. ca. 1548 Upper Gravenhurst, Beds. = Eleanor Radcliffe. Children all b. Upper Gravenhurst:
-Elizabeth
-William (ca1573-1640) = Elizabeth ___. Children b. Upper Gravenhurst: Henry (b. 1601) = Eliz. Farnell; William (1602-1602); John (1603-1621); Elizabeth (1605); Henry Whitbread; Thomas (b. 1607) = Joan Carter; Sibyl (b. 1610) = Caesar Lucas; William (b. 1612) = Joan Cooper. [Note that the author continues with another generation or two from children of this family.]
-Henry (b. ca 1576) = Elizabeth Leventhorpe. Children b. Cardington, Beds.: Henry (b. 1605) = Eliz. Whitbread; John (unm.); Elizabeth (b. 1607); Eleanor = Robt. Sheering; Mary; Ann = Samuel Baker; Frances.
-Alice = Gerard Spencer
-Francis (b. 1581)
-John (b. 1584) = Mary Newman. Children b. Elstow, Beds.: Eleanor 9b. 1616) = William Newman; William (1617-ca 1660) = Eliz. Peck; John (b. 1617 - twin); Judith (b. 1619 = Wm. Edwards; Mary (b. 1622), and Thomas (b. 1624).
-Judith (b. 1591) = Richard Poulter"
 		Poulter, Richard (I2289)
 
2885 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 Sp33 "The Spencers of the Great Migration," by Jack Taif Spencer and Edith Woolley Spencer (Gateway Press, Baltimore; 1997) vol. 1, pp. 55-57:
"Chart II. The Near Relatives of Alice Whitbread who Married Gerard Spencer of Stotfold, Beds. - Parents of the Five Spencer Siblings who Came to New England about 1630:
-Thomas Whitbread (b. ca 1522)
-John (b. ca. 1548 Upper Gravenhurst, Beds. = Eleanor Radcliffe. Children all b. Upper Gravenhurst:
-Elizabeth
-William (ca1573-1640) = Elizabeth ___. Children b. Upper Gravenhurst: Henry (b. 1601) = Eliz. Farnell; William (1602-1602); John (1603-1621); Elizabeth (1605); Henry Whitbread; Thomas (b. 1607) = Joan Carter; Sibyl (b. 1610) = Caesar Lucas; William (b. 1612) = Joan Cooper. [Note that the author continues with another generation or two from children of this family.]
-Henry (b. ca 1576) = Elizabeth Leventhorpe. Children b. Cardington, Beds.: Henry (b. 1605) = Eliz. Whitbread; John (unm.); Elizabeth (b. 1607); Eleanor = Robt. Sheering; Mary; Ann = Samuel Baker; Frances.
-Alice = Gerard Spencer
-Francis (b. 1581)
-John (b. 1584) = Mary Newman. Children b. Elstow, Beds.: Eleanor 9b. 1616) = William Newman; William (1617-ca 1660) = Eliz. Peck; John (b. 1617 - twin); Judith (b. 1619 = Wm. Edwards; Mary (b. 1622), and Thomas (b. 1624).
-Judith (b. 1591) = Richard Poulter"

2. TAG 127[July 1956]:129-142 "The Whitbread Family of Gravenhurst, Bedfordshire, England," by Clarence Almon Torrey:
"John(2) Whitbread (Thomas-1), born probably about 1548, was a resident of Upper Gravenhurst as early as 1571, and appears to have been the John Whitbred (as the name is written in the parish register) who was buried 28 Nov 1598. Diligent search has failed to bring to light a will or other probate record and no deeds to or from him have been found.
He married Eleanor (or Ellenor as her name appears in the probate record). She was of Elstow in her nuncupative will (given below) which was probated 18 April 1629, and was probably then living with her youngest son John, who had settled in Elstow. But she was the "widow Whitebread" who was buried at Upper Gravenhurst 20 Nov 1628, probably in the churchyard near her husband's grave.
There is reason to believe that Eleanor was related in some way to a promenet Radcliffe family. On 1 Aug 1611, Sir Edward Radcliffe of Elstow, Knt., for 32 pounds, conveyed to John Radwell of Kempaton, ploughwright, a messuage or tenement in Elstowe, giving a covenant of assurance against Dame Isabel Radcliffe, late of Elstowe, deceased, his mother. And the same date, John Whitbred of Elstow, husbandman,for 20 pounds, gave to John Radwell assurance of quiet enjoyment of the same premises against "Elner Whitbread fo Eluestowe," his mother. (Publications for the Bedfordshire Historical Record Society, 4:22-23)
Sir Edward Radcliffe was son of Sir Humphrey Radcliffe, who died 13 Aug 1566, aged 57, by his wife Isabel Hervey, who died 8 May 1594. Eleanor, a generation younger than Isabel, does not appear on the Radcliffe pedigree in the Visitation of Bedfordshire, 1566. Sir Edward presumably was giving assurance against any incumbrance tha tmight have been placed on the property by his mother Isabel, or perhaps against claims of her creditors or heirs, so the property may have an inheritance from the Hervey family. It has not been learned how Eleanor was related to the Radcliffes or Herveys.
"The last will and testmt, or Ellenor Whitebread last of Elstowe deceased uttered by her in her life time and since her death put into writings as followeth. The said Ellenor Whitebread beinge of pfect memorie did in the prsence of William Whitebread and Henrye Whitebread utter her minds touchings the disposing of her worldlie goods as followeth vizt. Imprimis she gave unto Willia' Whitebread her eldest sonne her silver measure and after his decease to his eldest sonne Henery Whitebread and after his decease to his eldest sonne Willia' for to be a standard for ever unto the heire of the Whitebreads. It' she gave unto Willia' Whitebread her godsoone a silver spoone. It' she gave unti Henery Whitebread her godsonne a silver spoone and unto Ellenor Whitebread her goddaughter his sister a silver spoone and a porridg pot. It' she gave unto Willia' Spencer a silver spoone beinge my godsonne. It' she gave unto Ellenor Whitebread her goddaughter unto John Whitebread a silver spoone & a porridgpot. It' she gave unto Ellenor Chapman her godaughter (sic) a porrigpott if ever she do come for it. It' she gave unto John Whitebread her godsonne a silver spoone. It' she gave unto Thomas Spencere xlvj s. viij d. It' she willed her sonne John Whitebread to pay all her debts and to be her Executor." (No signatures or date) Probate: 18th April to Executor named. (Copy of the Will of Ellenor Whitbred of Elstow 1629, Bedord Archdeaconry Court, 1628/9, No. 122.)
The manner in which Eleanor left her silver measure to be a standard forever to the heir of the Whitbreads suggest that she was a woman of great family pride, even though not of great wealth, and accords with the belief that she may have belonged to a family of a somewhat hight social status than her husband's family was in her generation. Her eldest son William by 1639 styled himself a gentelman, and it is possible that some part of his landed property may have been inherited from his mother.
The recorded marriage of Alice Whitbread in 1600 to Gerard Spencer, the known baptisms of her Spencer children, and the fact that two of them, William and Thomas received legacies in Eleanor's will, one of them being her godson, make it certain that Alice belongs in the family of John and Eleanor Whitbread. Furthermore, William Whitbred and Gerrard Spencer sold to John Whitbread 11 messuages, 1 pigeon house, 11gardens, 11 orchards, 200 acres arable, 200 acres meadow, and 60 acres pasture, in Shillington, Over Gravenest, Nether Gravenest, Flitton, Silsoe, Elstoe, Kempston, and Stotfolde, Easter, 9 James I (1611). (Feet of Fines for Beds. P.R.O., CP. 25 (2) 270.)
In listing the children, we have assumed that the Whitbreads baptized at Upper Gravenhurst between 1571 and 1591 belonged to John and Eleanor. However, the register at that period fails to state the parents of children christened, and the assumption may not be entirely correct, since it is possible that Henry Whitbread (No.4 of the First Line) may have lived in this parish during part of that period. Of the children listed below, William, Henry, Alice and John are considered positively proved as belonging to John. The others seem likely. Judith had not long been married when Eleanor made her will and probably had no children by then to be remembered as godchildren; and the name Judith appears in the family in the next generation (see 5, iv, below.) In additon to those listed, a Thomas buried 6 June 1585 and an Ellen buried 11 June 1585 may have been young children of John.
With the above caution, the children, probably all born in Upper Gravenhurst, were:
i. Elizabeth (3), bapt. 28 Sept. 1571; no further record.
ii. William, b: (say ca. 1573); m. Elizabeth (unknown).
iii. Henry, bapt. 9 Jan 1575/6; m. Elizabeth Leventhorpe
iv. Alice, b. (say ca.1578) m. 10 Nov 1600, Gerard Spencer (supra, 27:84). Four ofher sons came to New England and all left decendants.
v. Francis, bapt. 30 Apr 1581; no further record.
vi. John, bapt. 8 Nov 1584; m. Mary Newman
vii. Judith, bapt. 6 June 1591; m. 23 July 1626, Richard Poulter."
 		Whitbread, Francis (I1934)
 
2886 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 Sp33 "The Spencers of the Great Migration," by Jack Taif Spencer and Edith Woolley Spencer (Gateway Press, Baltimore; 1997) vol. 1, pp. 55-57:
"Chart II. The Near Relatives of Alice Whitbread who Married Gerard Spencer of Stotfold, Beds. - Parents of the Five Spencer Siblings who Came to New England about 1630:
-Thomas Whitbread (b. ca 1522)
-John (b. ca. 1548 Upper Gravenhurst, Beds. = Eleanor Radcliffe. Children all b. Upper Gravenhurst:
-Elizabeth
-William (ca1573-1640) = Elizabeth ___. Children b. Upper Gravenhurst: Henry (b. 1601) = Eliz. Farnell; William (1602-1602); John (1603-1621); Elizabeth (1605); Henry Whitbread; Thomas (b. 1607) = Joan Carter; Sibyl (b. 1610) = Caesar Lucas; William (b. 1612) = Joan Cooper. [Note that the author continues with another generation or two from children of this family.]
-Henry (b. ca 1576) = Elizabeth Leventhorpe. Children b. Cardington, Beds.: Henry (b. 1605) = Eliz. Whitbread; John (unm.); Elizabeth (b. 1607); Eleanor = Robt. Sheering; Mary; Ann = Samuel Baker; Frances.
-Alice = Gerard Spencer
-Francis (b. 1581)
-John (b. 1584) = Mary Newman. Children b. Elstow, Beds.: Eleanor 9b. 1616) = William Newman; William (1617-ca 1660) = Eliz. Peck; John (b. 1617 - twin); Judith (b. 1619 = Wm. Edwards; Mary (b. 1622), and Thomas (b. 1624).
-Judith (b. 1591) = Richard Poulter"

2. TAG 127[July 1956]:129-142 "The Whitbread Family of Gravenhurst, Bedfordshire, England," by Clarence Almon Torrey:
"John(2) Whitbread (Thomas-1), born probably about 1548, was a resident of Upper Gravenhurst as early as 1571, and appears to have been the John Whitbred (as the name is written in the parish register) who was buried 28 Nov 1598. Diligent search has failed to bring to light a will or other probate record and no deeds to or from him have been found.
He married Eleanor (or Ellenor as her name appears in the probate record). She was of Elstow in her nuncupative will (given below) which was probated 18 April 1629, and was probably then living with her youngest son John, who had settled in Elstow. But she was the "widow Whitebread" who was buried at Upper Gravenhurst 20 Nov 1628, probably in the churchyard near her husband's grave.
There is reason to believe that Eleanor was related in some way to a promenet Radcliffe family. On 1 Aug 1611, Sir Edward Radcliffe of Elstow, Knt., for 32 pounds, conveyed to John Radwell of Kempaton, ploughwright, a messuage or tenement in Elstowe, giving a covenant of assurance against Dame Isabel Radcliffe, late of Elstowe, deceased, his mother. And the same date, John Whitbred of Elstow, husbandman,for 20 pounds, gave to John Radwell assurance of quiet enjoyment of the same premises against "Elner Whitbread fo Eluestowe," his mother. (Publications for the Bedfordshire Historical Record Society, 4:22-23)
Sir Edward Radcliffe was son of Sir Humphrey Radcliffe, who died 13 Aug 1566, aged 57, by his wife Isabel Hervey, who died 8 May 1594. Eleanor, a generation younger than Isabel, does not appear on the Radcliffe pedigree in the Visitation of Bedfordshire, 1566. Sir Edward presumably was giving assurance against any incumbrance tha tmight have been placed on the property by his mother Isabel, or perhaps against claims of her creditors or heirs, so the property may have an inheritance from the Hervey family. It has not been learned how Eleanor was related to the Radcliffes or Herveys.
"The last will and testmt, or Ellenor Whitebread last of Elstowe deceased uttered by her in her life time and since her death put into writings as followeth. The said Ellenor Whitebread beinge of pfect memorie did in the prsence of William Whitebread and Henrye Whitebread utter her minds touchings the disposing of her worldlie goods as followeth vizt. Imprimis she gave unto Willia' Whitebread her eldest sonne her silver measure and after his decease to his eldest sonne Henery Whitebread and after his decease to his eldest sonne Willia' for to be a standard for ever unto the heire of the Whitebreads. It' she gave unto Willia' Whitebread her godsoone a silver spoone. It' she gave unti Henery Whitebread her godsonne a silver spoone and unto Ellenor Whitebread her goddaughter his sister a silver spoone and a porridg pot. It' she gave unto Willia' Spencer a silver spoone beinge my godsonne. It' she gave unto Ellenor Whitebread her goddaughter unto John Whitebread a silver spoone & a porridgpot. It' she gave unto Ellenor Chapman her godaughter (sic) a porrigpott if ever she do come for it. It' she gave unto John Whitebread her godsonne a silver spoone. It' she gave unto Thomas Spencere xlvj s. viij d. It' she willed her sonne John Whitebread to pay all her debts and to be her Executor." (No signatures or date) Probate: 18th April to Executor named. (Copy of the Will of Ellenor Whitbred of Elstow 1629, Bedord Archdeaconry Court, 1628/9, No. 122.)
The manner in which Eleanor left her silver measure to be a standard forever to the heir of the Whitbreads suggest that she was a woman of great family pride, even though not of great wealth, and accords with the belief that she may have belonged to a family of a somewhat hight social status than her husband's family was in her generation. Her eldest son William by 1639 styled himself a gentelman, and it is possible that some part of his landed property may have been inherited from his mother.
The recorded marriage of Alice Whitbread in 1600 to Gerard Spencer, the known baptisms of her Spencer children, and the fact that two of them, William and Thomas received legacies in Eleanor's will, one of them being her godson, make it certain that Alice belongs in the family of John and Eleanor Whitbread. Furthermore, William Whitbred and Gerrard Spencer sold to John Whitbread 11 messuages, 1 pigeon house, 11gardens, 11 orchards, 200 acres arable, 200 acres meadow, and 60 acres pasture, in Shillington, Over Gravenest, Nether Gravenest, Flitton, Silsoe, Elstoe, Kempston, and Stotfolde, Easter, 9 James I (1611). (Feet of Fines for Beds. P.R.O., CP. 25 (2) 270.)
In listing the children, we have assumed that the Whitbreads baptized at Upper Gravenhurst between 1571 and 1591 belonged to John and Eleanor. However, the register at that period fails to state the parents of children christened, and the assumption may not be entirely correct, since it is possible that Henry Whitbread (No.4 of the First Line) may have lived in this parish during part of that period. Of the children listed below, William, Henry, Alice and John are considered positively proved as belonging to John. The others seem likely. Judith had not long been married when Eleanor made her will and probably had no children by then to be remembered as godchildren; and the name Judith appears in the family in the next generation (see 5, iv, below.) In additon to those listed, a Thomas buried 6 June 1585 and an Ellen buried 11 June 1585 may have been young children of John.
With the above caution, the children, probably all born in Upper Gravenhurst, were:
i. Elizabeth (3), bapt. 28 Sept. 1571; no further record.
ii. William, b: (say ca. 1573); m. Elizabeth (unknown).
iii. Henry, bapt. 9 Jan 1575/6; m. Elizabeth Leventhorpe
iv. Alice, b. (say ca.1578) m. 10 Nov 1600, Gerard Spencer (supra, 27:84). Four ofher sons came to New England and all left decendants.
v. Francis, bapt. 30 Apr 1581; no further record.
vi. John, bapt. 8 Nov 1584; m. Mary Newman
vii. Judith, bapt. 6 June 1591; m. 23 July 1626, Richard Poulter."

3. The Upper Gravenhurst parish records give two burials that some have speculated could be children of John and Eleanor Whitbread. (See TAG 127[July 1956]:129-142 "The Whitbread Family of Gravenhurst, Bedfordshire, England," by Clarence Almon Torrey. He notes after listing Elizabeth, William, Henry, Alice, Francis, John, and Judith as children of these parents:
"...a Thomas buried 6 June 1585 and an Ellen buried 11 June 1585 may have been young children of John."
When one analyzes the births of the first six children from 1571 to 1583, there is no good gap to fit in births for these children. There is a gap of about 6 years from John bp. 8 Nov. 1584 and Judith bp. 6 Jun 1591, but the burials for both Thomas and Ellen occur in June of 1585, which means they could not have been born since Nov. 1584. Since there is not a good gap for them otherwise, these two are most likely not children. This is bolstered by the common practice of listing a father's name when children die, which did not occur in these two cases. The possibility remains that they could be children of this couple, but it is very speculative at this point.

4. TAG 127[July 1956]:129-142 "The Whitbread Family of Gravenhurst, Bedfordshire, England," by Clarence Almon Torrey:
"In the TMG(27.84) it is stated that Gerard Spencer married at Upper Gravenhurst, co., Bedford, England, 10 Nov 1600, Alice Whitebread or Whitbred. They were the parents of the four Spencer Brothers who came to New England. The Spencer ancestry, prepared by the Editor is found in the same magazine, beginning at page 79, Volume 27. It was the present writers's purpose to prepare a similar account of the Whitbread ancestry. The result of the investigation is not entirely satisfactory, as some greatly desired records were not found. It is hoped that other Whitbread descendants will seek additional information in English records. Members of the Whitbread family Gravenhurst, co., Bedford, are mentioned in very early records. The records are fagmentary before 1500. After 1500 records of two branches of the family were found. The first shown Thomas was born, presumably, by 1500, and the second Thomas, it is believed, about 1522. Circumstancial evidence indicates that these men were closely related, but how related is left ofr subsequent research of others to determine, if indeed records exist to make positive conclusions possible.
The Second Thomas Whitbread Line:
1. Thomas Whitbread is supposed to have been born about 1522; married, presumably about 1546, a wfie whose name has not been found. They may have serveral children, but the name of only one child is known. Death dates of Thomas and his wife cannot be stated. He may perhaps be the Thomas buried at Upper Gravenhurst 6 June 1585, though this record may refer to a young child of his son John.
No record has been found of this Thomas, who heads the second line, during his lifetime. The authority for his existence is a land transaction in 1639, many years after his death. This important record is as follows:
Conveyance of Wm. Whitbred of Ion alias Ine, Upper Gravenhurst, gent; Henry Whitbread of the same, get (son and heir apparent of Wm.)and Elizabeth his wife; Wm. Carter of Offley, Herts, gent; and John Shepard of Upper Gravenhurst, yeoman; to Wm. Aleyn, citizen & grocer, of London; for 2,200 pounds paid to Wm. and Henry Whitebred; with convenat to levy a fine. A capital house or manor house in the tenure of Wm. and Hen.Whitbred; 4 cottages in Upper Gravenhurst (names of occupants are given). Covenant as to "tytles troubles charges incumbrances and demands whatsoever heretofore donne or wittingly suffered by them the said Wm. Whitbred and Hen. Whitbred or either of them or by John Whitbred deceased father of the sd. Wm. Whitbred or by Thomas Whitbread his deceased grandfather." 8 October 1639. (Whitbread Collection at Bedford Record Office, particulars supplied by Anthony R. Wagner, Richmond Herald.) From this record we learn that Thomas was father of John, who was father of William, who was father of Henry. That this Thomas was a near relative of the older Thomas who heads the First Line, seems ceretain, but it is idle to speculate in the absence of records whether he was a son, nephew or other connection.
Child: 2 - John (2), b. say ca. 1548; m. Eleanor _____."
 		Whitbread, John (I1906)
 
2887 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 Sp33 "The Spencers of the Great Migration," by Jack Taif Spencer and Edith Woolley Spencer (Gateway Press, Baltimore; 1997) vol. 1, pp.157-158:
"Sarah2 Spencer (Thomas1).
b. ca. 1646.
m. Thomas HUXLEY at Suffield, CT. He d. 21 July 1721 at Suffield. A dau. Elizabeth Huxley m. James King who was b. 14 March 1675 at Ipswich, MA. James d. 15 July 1757 at Suffield. He had a large landed estate.
d. 24 Oct 1712."
 		Huxley, Elizabeth (I4414)
 
2888 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 Sp33 "The Spencers of the Great Migration," by Jack Taif Spencer and Edith Woolley Spencer (Gateway Press, Baltimore; 1997) vol. 1, pp.157-158:
"Sarah2 Spencer (Thomas1).
b. ca. 1646.
m. Thomas HUXLEY at Suffield, CT. He d. 21 July 1721 at Suffield. A dau. Elizabeth Huxley m. James King who was b. 14 March 1675 at Ipswich, MA. James d. 15 July 1757 at Suffield. He had a large landed estate.
d. 24 Oct 1712."
 		King, James (I1986)
 
2889 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 St67d "Descendants of William Stoker (1819-1892): with a View of his Ancestors," by Jay and Rachel Phillips Deeben, Feb. 2014, pp. 11-17:
"Michael Stoker (1762-1838), compiled by Jay Deeben.
Michael Stocker/Stoker, Sr.,[1] son of Johann Michael Stocker and Ana Barbara Romer/Romerin, was born on 24 Mar 1762,[2] in Frederick, Maryland and baptized on 20 May 1762, in Frederick, Frederick, Maryland.[3]
Michael moved to North Carolina sometime prior to or early on in 1790. His name appears on the first Federal Census in 1790,[4] for Wilkes County,[5] North Carolina. In this census he appears alone and his surname is spelled Stockerd.
On 7 Feb 1792, he married Catherine Martha Eller in North Carolina.[6] Catherine was born 6 Mar 1773, Rowan County, North Carolina.[7] Her parents are Peter Eller and Elizabeth Dick. It is noted here that there was a Peter Eller[8] family that appears on the same page as Michael on the 1790 census. Michael was the fifth family down from the Eller family. Though the 1790 census does not list each member of the family there were five females counted in the Eller household.
While in North Carolina, Michael Stoker procured two pieces of land on the North Fork of New River. The first piece of land was for 300 acres and the recorded entry is dated 11 Dec 1805,[9] on this entry his surname spelled "Stockerd." The second entry is for 150 acres, also on the North Fork of New River. This entry is dated 13 Mar 1806. Both of his land parcels were in Ashe County, North Carolina. His name appears a third time[10] in the Ashe County Land Book but this one is as a reference point for some land that a "Ephraim Stanaford" entered. The entry is dated 6 Jul 1806, and a corner of Michael Stoker's property is used as a reference along with a Ellers Fletcher.
On 1 Jul 1829 Michael Stoker received a Land Patent for 80 acres in Jackson County Ohio. This is the same land that is referenced in a land transaction when he sold the land to a William Whilmore for $350. The date of the land transaction is 7 Oct 1836.[11] The sale of this land was in preparation to move to Far West, Missouri to join with the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who were beginning to establish a community there.
Sometime in 1815 Michael and Catherine moved their family from Ashe County, North Carolina to Jackson County, Ohio.[12] One of the first records that can be found of Michael Stoker is the 1820 Federal Census for Bloomfield Township, Jackson County, Ohio.[13] Michael's name also appears on the 1830 Federal Census for Bloomfield Township, Jackson County, Ohio.[14] Other records that Michael Stoker's name appears on are the tax records the run from 1826 to 1831, for Bloomfield Township, Jackson County, Ohio.[15] His name also appears on a land transaction for 80 acres that he purchased from the US Government land patent on 1 Jul 1829.[16]
Sometime between 1833 and 1836 Michael Stocker/Stoker and his family were approached by the missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and accepted the teachings of the missionaries and joined the church. Then in 1836 (as described above) they sold their Ohio property and moved to Missouri to be with members of the Church at church headquarters.[17] Michael and Catherine and their family lived through the good times and bad times that occurred to members of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while in Missouri and Illinois. To get a sense of what occurred during the years of 1836 through 1846/1847 one just has to read a history of the church during those years. He died sometime in 1838, probably in Caldwell County, Missouri, United States.18]
Catherine Eller Stoker lived at least 14 years after her husband, Michael, died. All records found thus far indicate that she died sometime after 1 Jul 1850, probably in Pottawattarnie, Iowa.[19]
Children of Michael Stoker and Catherine Eller[20] Stoker (Name - Birth - Place - Death - Place):
Mary Stoker, 24 Nov 1792 Jefferson, Wilkes, North Carolina, 18 Feb 1864 Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie, Iowa. Mary Stoker married Michael Graybill, in May 1811 in Jefferson, Ashe, North Carolina. He is the son of John Peter Graybill and Christina Wampler. Mary was also known as Polly.
David Stoker, 23 Mar 1795, , Wilkes, North Carolina, 27 May 1872 Traders Point, Pottawattamie, Iowa. See chapter on David Stoker (1795 - 1872)
Elizabeth Stoker, 28 Feb 1800 , Ashe, North Carolina, Jan 1868, Bloomington, Oneida, Idaho. Elizabeth Stoker married James Welker 2 Jul 1822. He is the son of Adam Welker and Sarah Fletcher.
John William Stoker, 16 Mar 1803, , Ashe, North Carolina, 2 Aug 1857, Traders Point, Pottawattamie,
Iowa. John W Stoker married Sarah Electa McDaniel on 13 Mar 1827 in , Jackson, Ohio. Sarah is the daughter of James McDaniel and Zebiah McCarley.
Michael Stoker Jr., 10 Feb 1805, , Ashe, North Carolina, 30 Mar 1858. Michael Stoker, Jr. married Martha Carr McDaniel on 1 Jan 1829 in , Butler, Ohio. Martha is the daughter of James McDaniel and Zebiah McCarley and the sister of Sarah Electa McDaniel.
Rebecca Stoker, 19 Mar 1807, , Ashe, North Carolina, Abt 1821, Bloomfield Twp, Jackson, Ohio. Rebecca Stoker died at age 14, thus she did not marry.
Catherine Stoker, 19 Feb 1809, , Ashe, North Carolina, 3 Aug 1896, , Gallia, Ohio. Catherine Stoker married Alexander Lackey on 1 Jan 1829 in , Jackson, Ohio. He is the son of James Lackey and Esther McAlexander.[21]
Jacob Stoker 7 Apr 1812, , Ashe, North Carolina, 22 Feb 1893 Adelaida, San Luis Obispo, California. Jacob Stoker married Catherine Burcham on 8 Oct 1835 in Lawrence, Ohio. She is the daughter of John Sylvester Burcham and Nancy Ann Dowden.
Eller Stoker, 28 Jul 1816, Bloomfield Twp, Jackson, Ohio, 18 Jul 1855, Council Bluffs, Pottawattornie,
Iowa. Eller Stoker married Margaret Judd abt 1839 and thought to have been in , Jefferson, Iowa. She is the daughter of John Judd and Rhoda Sheperd.
Chapter Notes for Michael Stoker, Sr (1762-1840):
1. International Genealogical Index(R), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, International Genealogical Index(R) (Copyright (c) 1980, 2002).
2. Statement on back of Michael Stoker or Stocker and Catherine Eller family group sheet that was assembled by the family Genealogist V. S. Barlow. The Lackey Family Bible gives the date of 24 March 1762 and a birth date and from the Evangelical Lutheran Church records we get the baptismal date of 20 May 1762. Also referenced in James W. Hook's book "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," vol. 1, page 88, referring to the "Lackey Family Bible," owned by the Lackey Family.
3. Hook, James W.; "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," p. 88-89. Reference to the translated record of the German Reform Church of Frederick, Maryland at the Family History Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah, call No. 929.273 EL54h - FHL FAM HIST Book. ... Book is online at Heritagequest.com under the "Search Books" option from main menu. … Weiser, Frederick S. (Frederick Sheely); "The Evangelical Lutheran Church Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland / Parish Register Books I & II 1743-1811"; call No. 975.287/F1 K2wf.
4. Year: 1790; Census Place: Wilkes, North Carolina; Roll: M637_7; Page: 169; Image: 103; Family History Library Film: 0568147 … Original data: First Census of the United States, 1790 (NARA microfilm publication M637, 12 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
5. To track the Stoker family it is necessary to keep track of what county boundaries are in place at what period of time. The county boundaries of this comer of North Carolina change over a period of about 46 years. Rowan County was the first county created in this part of North Carolina and then subsequent divisions of this county up through 1799 brought about the creation of Ashe County in 1799. Keep in mind this same problem will confront any researcher as they follow the Stoker family as they move into Ohio.
6. John Michael Stoker Family, John Michael Stoker Family Descendant Chart via Michael Stoker and Catherine Eller, p. 2. Copy of this chart is in the possession of Rachel A. Deeben, Payson, Utah.
7. Hook, James W.; p. 88.
8. Year: 1790; Census Place: Wilkes, North Carolina; Roll: M637_7; Page: 169.
9. Pruitt, Dr. A. B.; "Abstracts of Land Entries: Ashe County, NC Part 1,Abstracts of Land Entries:
Ashe County, NC; Part I (Feb. 1800-Jun. 1809)," p. 103, entry 1415; call number FHL US/CAN
Books 975.6835 R2p v.1 & v.2. The second entry is on page 113 entry # 1562.
10. Pruitt, Dr. A. B., p. 117.
11. A copy of the Land Patent filed by Michael Stoker is included in this history. The sale of land was obtained from a land transaction document provided by Randal Stoker in his written history of Michael Stoker (1762-1840).
12. Rowley, Alta Aitken, Aitken, Grant, Aitken, Charlene; "The Stoker/ Winegar/Wet/Youd Legacy"; p.
12; FHL US/Can 929.273 St67ra.
13. 1820 U S Census: Bloomfield, Jackson, Ohio, page 275; NARA Roll: M33_89; Image: 157.
Ancestry.com. 1820 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA.
14. 1830 U S Census: Bloomfield, Jackson, Ohio, page: 111; NARA Roll: M19-134; Family History
Film: 0337945. Ancestry.com. 1830 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT,
USA.
15. "Jackson County Ohio Tax Record 1819 - 1838, Jackson County (Ohio)." Auditor, Tax duplicates,
1819-1838, film 493,566, year of 1826, p.5, 1827 p.5, 1828 p. 4, 1829, 1830 p.4, 1831 p. 5. film 493615, image 100 p. 6, image 203 p. 5, image 301 p. 2, image 361, p. 3.
16. Kocher, L. Richard; A Listing of Entrymen on Lands in Jackson County, Ohio; p. 67;. . .Original
Documents in BLM -General Land Office Chillicothe, General Land Office, Land Patent Search,
DocumentNo.1091. Ohio, Jackson County;
17. Rowley, Alta Aitken, Aitken, Grant, Aitken, Charlene; p. 12.
18. Alta Aitken Rowley, Grant Joseph Aitken, Charlene Attryde Aitken, "Stoker/Winegar/West/Youd
Legacy," page 3. Repository: Family History Library, 35 N West Temple Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84150 USA, Call Number: 929.273 St67ra. And Jimmie "B" Stoker, "The Michael and Catherine Eller Stoker family as early Mormons in Ohio and Missouri"; p. 5 [printed page number in upper right hand corner], Nauvoo Land and Records, P.O. Box 215, Nauvoo, IL 62354
19. Rowley, Alta Aitken, Aitken, Grant, Aitken, Charlene; p. 11.
20. Information concerning the children of Michael Stoker and Catherine Eller came from the following sources: (1) Rowley, Alta Aitken, Aitken, Grant, Aitken, Charlene; p. 17 & 18; (2) Hook, James W., p. 115; (3) Stoker, Elayne, "Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881," Vol II; p. 122 & 123.
21. Note to those researching Esther McAlexander. Watch the formation date of the county. In checking her birth county it was found that she was probably born in Pittsylvania County, Virginia and not Patrick County, Virginia. There are two or three counties listed on new.familysearch.org as the county of birth for Esther. But in looking at her birth date and the county formations her parents would have been living in Pittsylvania County, Virginia at the time of her birth. Following the time line back: Patrick County was not formed until 1790 from Henry County. Henry County was not formed until 1776 from Pittsylvania County which was formed in 1766. Her parents may have been living in the area at the time but the actual county of birth would have been Pittsylvania."

2. Michael's son Jacob shows definite birth in Ashe Co., NC per Susan Easton Black, compiler, "Early Members of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints," (Religious Studies Center, BYU, 1993, copy in Family History Library in Salt Lake City): "Stoker, Jacob, Birth: 12 (7) April 1812, Ash County, North Carolina. Jacob Stoker was baptized a member of the [RLDS] on 8 Oct. 1863 by W.W. Blair. He was confirmed by W.W. Blair, Geo. Morey, and T. Hougas. Sources: Early Reorganization Minutes, 1852-71, book A, pp. 162, 308, 430; The History of the [RLDS], p. 332."

3. 1880 US census for daughter Catherine (Stoker) Lackey indicates both parents as born in NC. Appears to be bad info given to census taker.

4. The book "Pioneer Women of Faith and Fortitude" by the daughters of the Utah Pioneers for daughter-in-law Barbara Graybill Stoker, b. Apr 1792 at Ashe, NC, notes the Wamplers, Graybills, and Stokers were of German origin coming to this country in the mid-1700's and settling in Ashe County, NC. They were neighbors and friends, and their children grew up together. Barbara was the fifth child born to her parents. When she grew up, she married David Stoker. After a forest area of Ohio was cleared in the early 1800's, the main body of Stoker and Graybill relatives crossed the border into Ohio on Christmas Day, 1815. While living in Ohio, the Stokers became members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

5. The name Martha Mansfield also comes up in Ordinance Index and may have been an earlier wife subject to further research.

6. Per website : Ashe County, North Carolina Land Grants 1799-1936, filed in NC Secretary of State Land Office from NC Department of Archives Index. [To obtain copies from NC Dept. of Archives see http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/sections/archives/arch/default.htm#Topics]. The following is by NC Dept. of Archives reference file number, name, then dates [no other explanation given except that first date may be when the transaction occurred and the second date could be when registered]:
12.14.28.630 - 630 - Michael Stockerd - 1806
12.14.28.615 - 615 - Michael Strucker - 1793 - 1806

7. Censuses:
1790: Michael (Stockerd) Stoker is listed on the 1790 census record for Morgan District, Wilkes County, North Carolina as being over 16 years of age and with no other family recorded. At that time Michael would have been a 28 year old bachelor. (At this time there is no evidence that any of Michael's immediate family went to North Carolina with him.)

1800 US: Ashe County, North Carolina. The total population for Ashe County, North Carolina in 1800 was 2785, including slaves. The 1800 Ashe County Census was the first for the northwestern most county in the Tar Heel State. This county was formed in late 1799 and included all of Wilkes County west of the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountain. The 977 square miles that then composed Ashe County has been further divided, first in 1849 to form Watauga County, North Carolina and again 10 years later to form Alleghany County. This record includes families who may have been living in those areas at the time. The original census was in rough alphabetic order, and this does not facilitate the research of particular communities. I include all interrelated families of this time and place to better show relationships. A word of explanation on some of these families:
A. Mary and Barbara Burkett who married Peter and David Graybeal, had a father named Christian - unsure as to which is correct of the two.
B. Elizabeth Eller appears to be Elizabeth Dick, the wife of Peter Eller who had just died per his probate of 1799.The one daughter is probably Mary; unsure who the two boys are since there should be three: Jacob, Henry, and George. John Eller would be Elizabeth's eldest son and married to Susannah Kerns.
C. Henry Graybeal would have recently married Celia Henson and also the eldest son of [John] Peter and Christina [Wampler] Graybill who also appear to be in this same census. Note that Peter evidently had owned slaves at that time - the census does not say how many.
D. One of the William Hensons could be somehow related to William Henson who marries Nancy Graybill and to Celia Henson who marries Henry Graybeal.
E. The two Koons are probably brothers and are sons of Devault Koon judging from their ages. This would make them uncles to George Koons who eventually marries Mary Eller.
F. James Lewis, b. abt. 1790, marries Christena Graybill in 1807 - there may be a connection with these two James Lewis.
G. William Pennington marries Barbara (or Elizabeth) Eller and may be the younger of the two here listed.
H. Michael Stucker is a misspelling for Michael and Catherine Eller Stoker with their three oldest children: Polly, David, and Elizabeth.
Head of Family; Males 0-9, 10-16, 16-26, 26-45, 45+; Females - 0-9, 10-16, 16-26, 26-45, 45+:
Burkett, Christian; 1-2-0-1-0; 1-0-2-0-0
Burkett, Christian; 4-1-0-1-0; 1-0-1-0-0
Eller, Elizabeth; 1-0-1-0-0; 0-0-1-0-1
Eller, John; 3-0-0-1-0; 1-0-0-1-0
Graybeal, Henry; 0-0-1-0-0; 2-0-1-0-0
Graybeal, Peter; 2-1-1-0-1; 3-1-0-0-1
Henson, William; 0-1-1-0-0; 2-0-1-0-0
Henson, William; 3-0-0-0-1; 1-1-1-0-0
Koons, George; 0-0-1-0-1; 0-0-0-0-1
Koons, John; 0-0-1-0-1; 0-1-2-0-1
Lewis, James; 2-2-1-0-1; 4-1-0-0-1
Lewis, James, Jr.; 1-0-1-0-0; 1-0-1-0-0
Pennington, William; 0-1-0-1-0; 1-2-1-0-1
Pennington, William; 0-0-1-0-0; 0-0-1-0-0
Stucker, Michael; 1-0-0-1-0; 2-0-0-1-0

1810 census record [for Ashe County, NC] lists members of the Eller and Graybill families but there are no names of the Stoker family. There were many reasons why their names were or were not listed at this time.

1820 US: Bloomfield Township, Jackson, Ohio, pg. 195, township had a little over 40 families; related families include James Lackey, Michael Stoker, and Michael Graybill. In neighboring Madison Township, related families David Stoker, Peter Graybill, Nancy (Graybill) Henson, and James McDaniel are found. Columns are male 0-10, 10-16, 16-18, 16-26, 26-45, 45+// female 0-10, 10-16, 16-26, 26-45, 45+:
Michael Stoker: 2,1,0,1,0,1//1,1,0,0,1. [Appears to be Michael, his wife Catherine, and their children John, Michael, Rebecca, Catherine, Jacob, and Eller; the three oldest appear gone in this census.]
Michael Graybill: 3,0,0,0,1,0//1,0,0,1,0.
James Lackey: 2,2,1,2,0,1//1,2,1,1,5.

1830 US: Bloomfield Township, Jackson, Ohio, pg. 109-112, note whole township had 527 people living in it, related families include Michael Stoker, Michael Stoker Jr., Alexander Lackey, James Welker, Michael Graybill, and John Stoker:
Michael Stoker. Males 10-15: 1; 15-20:1; 60-70:1. Females 10-15:1; 50-60:1. [Family appears to be Michael, his wife Catherine, and their two youngest sons Jacob and Eller; unsure who the girl age 10-15 may be.]

1840 US: Quincy, Adams, Illinois, the following related families living in near proximity to each other (with exception of John McDaniel and his wife Christina Stoker, all of David Stoker's siblings, children, and mother are accounted for and it confirms his father Michael was dead by 1840):
P. 43a:
David Stoker, males 5-10:1; 40-50:1//females 5-10:1; 10-15:1; 40-50:1. [David, his wife Barbara, and their children Sarah (13), Catherine (11?), and Michael (6). Note daughter Nancy not in census which means she was probably deceased by then.]
Simeon P. Grabell [Graybill], males 0-5:1; 20-30:1//females 0-5:1; 20-30:1. [David's nephew: Simeon and his wife Amanda Hill and their two oldest children.]
Jacob Stoker, males 20-30:1//females 0-5:1; 20-30:1. [Younger brother to David: Jacob and his wife Catherine and their oldest child.]
P. 44a:
Eller Stoker, males 20-30:1//females 0-5:1; 15-20:1; 60-70:1. [Youngest brother to David: Eller with his wife Margaret and their oldest child and probably their mother Catherine Eller.]
James Walker [Welker], males 10-15:1; 15-20:1; 30-40:1//females 5-10:2; 40-50:1. [Living next door to Eller and ages work perfectly that this is James Welker and Elizabeth Stoker, who is David's sister.]
John W. Stoker, males 0-5:2; 10-15:1; 30-40:1//females 0-5:1; 5-10:2; 30-40:1. [John and his wife Electa Sarah and their six oldest children.]
John Stoker, males 0-5:1; 20-30:1//females 0-5:1; 5-10:2; 20-30:1. [David's son: John and his wife Jane and their children.]
P. 52a:
William Stoker, males 0-5:1; 20-30:1//females 20-30:1 (father-in-law Samuel Winegar is next door). [David's son William and his wife Almira with their child.]
P. 55a:
Michael Stoker, males 0-5:2; 5-10:2; 10-15:1; 30-40:1// females 30-40:1. [Michael, his wife Martha, and their five oldest children.]

8. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 17-31, clarifies early North Carolina counties and land grant practices:
"Land grants in North Carolina originated with an entry application which was filed in the county where the land was situated and if not lost are now on file there. This was followed, sometimes soon and sometimes years later by an order from the land office for the tract to be surveyed. Sometimes soon and sometimes years later the survey was made and a surveyor's plat filed with the Secretary of State in Raleigh. Then came the grant which may have been issued reasonably near the date of the survey or sometimes several years later. These grants, orders to survey and the survey itself are on file now in the Secretary of State's office at Raleigh...
Many counties were formed from what originally was Rowan County, namely Surry and Guilford in 1770, Burke and Wilkes in 1777, Randolph in 1779, Iridell in 1788, Stokes in 1789, Buncomb in 1791, Ashe in1799, Davidson in 1822, Yancey in 1833, Davie in 1836 and Yadkin in 1850. Some of these counties were grandchildren of Rowan County; for instance Wilkes was taken partly from Burke and partly from Surry, Randolph from Guilford, Buncomb and Yancy form Burke, Ashe from Wilkes and Stokes and Yadkin from Surry. These facts must be kept in mind when tracing early Rowan County families."

9. From Sep 2006 Internet, http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge.2509/brownson.html: It appears the Stoker family probably knew the Seymour Brunson family of nearby Lawrence Co., Ohio. Brunson had served with Luke Johnson in 1832. In 1833 he is again with Luke in the area as are Zerubbabel Snow and Amasa Lyman. He is also specifically in Bloomfield, Jackson, Ohio in Nov. 1834 when his son his born and also per letters he wrote. He appears generally in Kirtland thereafter. His journal notes that in July 1836 he visited the church in Bloomfield. He does note the baptism of John Stoker 13 Nov 1837. It was at his funeral in Nauvoo in 1840 that Joseph Smith first revealed the doctrine of baptisms for the dead.
I also find per FHL Film #301,043 "Jackson County, Ohio Marriages 1831-1843" has the following entry in Marriage Book, Vol. B (1831-1843), page 46: "John McDaniel to Christina Stucker (sic)." License date 7 Feb 1835. Marriage by Seymour Brunson on 8 Feb 1835 by virtue of a license from the Cerk of the Court of Common Pleas in Jackson Co. This further ties Seymour Brunson and the Stokers together. He is the Mormon authority and probable missionary who converted the Stokers.

10. From the book "Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881," Vol. II, comp. and ed. by Elayne Stoker, 2004, printed by Stevenson's Genealogy Center, Provo, UT. From an article entitled: "Michael Stocker 1731-1819 with wives: Ana Barbara Romerin, Elisabeth Fah, and Mary (Anna Maria) Adams." See notes of Johan Michael Stocker for complete text of which the following is a small part:
"Surviving Children
Johanna, with her family, also moved from Frederick, Maryland to Ohio. She died in Hamilton Twp., Franklin, Ohio.
It was around the year of 1815 that Michael, (Michael and Ana's son), moved his young family from North Carolina to Vega, Jackson County, Ohio. They settled approximately 60 miles south of his father's family. In the early 1830's Michael and his family joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, left Ohio, and moved west. He died in the Missouri.
Jacob married Mary Swinehart.
John married Catherine Koons.
Both John and Jacob purchased land in Montgomery, Ohio in June of 1816 and both are found on the 1830 census for Fairfield County, Ohio as head of households.
Maria Salome married a Mr. Reynolds.
Maria Barbara married a Mr. Burdoon.
Anna Margareth married Mr. Phillip Baker.
Mary never married. She died on the 5 Sep 1839 and is buried in the Lutheran Cemetery by her father.
Catherine married a Mr. Hidlebaugh.
Charlotta married John Binckley."

11. From the book "Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881," Vol. II, comp. and ed. by Elayne Stoker, 2004, printed by Stevenson's Genealogy Center, Provo, UT. From an article entitled: "Michael Stocker 1731-1819 with wives: Ana Barbara Romerin, Elisabeth Fah, and Mary (Anna Maria) Adams." See notes of Johan Michael Stocker for complete text of which the following is a small part:
"Michael Stocker died on 26 March 1819 in Somerset, Perry County, Ohio. His third wife, Mary, died in the year of 1822. I do not have the location of Mary's death/burial at this point of writing. Michael's last will and testament was signed on 10 May 1818 listing the existing family: (note the Anglicized names used)
Wife: Mary,
Sons: Michael (Ana's son)
John (Elizabeth's son)
Jacob (Mary's son)
Daughters: Mary (Marie Catherine)
Catherine (Eva Catherine?)
Charlotte
Margaret (Anna Margareth?)
Barbara (Maria Barbara)
Salome (Maria Salome)
Magdalene (Johanna Magdalene)
The will of Michael Stocker was proved in special court, Court of Common Pleas, 17 April 1819, Perry County, Ohio."

10. Mentioned in father's will dated 10 May 1818: "...my sons, Jacob, Michael and John and my daughters, Mary, Catherine, Charlotte, Margaret, Barbara, Salome and Magdalene..." See full quotation in his notes.

11. Mentioned in the book "The Howard Leytham Stoker Von Dollen Family Histories," FHL 929.273 H833a, by Doris Lewis, 2017 So. 80th Ave., Omaha, Nebraska, 68124:
P. 87: Michael Stoker, the son of (John) Michael Stoker, was a 28 year old bachelor in Wilkes County, NC when the US census was taken in 1790. The farm which Michael Stoker bought from John Dick was on the north fork of New River in Ashe County. (The boundary line had been changed from Wilkes.) In 1792 Michael married Catherine Eller, the oldest daughter of Peter Eller and Elizabeth Dick. The Ellers and Dicks were settlers in this same area and all of Michael and Catherine's children, except Eller, were born and raised among numerous family members in North Carolina. In 1815, the family joined a migration of relatives moving west into Ohio. This party of Graybills and Stokers, all ages from babies to the elderly crossed the border into Ohio on Christmas Day, 1815. Michael and his son David, who had just turned 21, took part in the first election held in Jackson County on April 1, 1816. John Michael Stoker, Michael's father, settled in Perry County, Ohio, about 60 miles north. While in Ohio the Stokers became members of the newly organized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In 1837 [error: Feb 1836?], Michael, Jr., who was now a man and a member of the Priesthood, baptized Eller's future wife and her mother, Margaret and Rhoda Judd. Pauline Stoker of Council Bluffs has Michael Jr.'s old notebook where he kept records of baptisms, birthdays and deaths. On October 27, 1836, Michael and Catherine Stoker sold their land in preparation of the move to Missouri where the Saints were gathering. Michael was then 74 and Catherine 63 years old. Great persecutions took place in Missouri during the next two years and the family had to flee to Illinois for safety. Michael was not among those who reached Illinois, and how or when he died is not known. Catherine was at Nauvoo, IL, when the Saints again had to flee in February of 1846. She settled in Pottawattamie County, living with her eldest daughter, Polly, where she died. She is buried in the Stoker-Graybill Cemetery east of Council Bluffs, Iowa." (Note this same narrative appears almost verbatim in the book, FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996 p. 86.)
P. 89: "Peter was the first son of George Michael Eller. Because there were a number of years between Peter's birth and the others, the question arises if he might not be a child of a first marriage. He grew up in North Carolina and married Elizabeth Dick in 1766. His land grant was close to other Ellers, beginning at the spruce pine on the Upper Ford on Rones Creek. In 1797 he bought the 70 acres which had been granted to his father-in-law, Conrad Dick. This land had been surveyed and chain carriers were listed as Michael Stoker and John Eller, neighbors. Peter had 470 acres at his death... There oldest daughter, Catherine, married Michael Stoker..."
Pp. 90-91: "Polly Stoker, also called Mary, was the oldest child of Michael Stoker and Catherine Eller. Her mother lived with Polly in her old age in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. In North Carolina Polly married Michael Graybill, born May 14, 1787 to Peter Graybill and Christina Wampler, both natives of North Carolina and children of German parents. When Christina was five years old she had been stolen by Delaware Indians, but had been returned to her family when twelve. Her families were Dunkards or Anabaptists, both groups stemming from German Protestants. The Graybills lived in the German communities of early America, Lancaster County in Pennsylvania, Frederick County in Maryland and Ashe County in North Carolina. After a forest area of Ohio had been cleared in the early 1800's, the main body of Stoker and Graybill relatives crossed the northwest line into Ohio on Christmas Day, 1815. Some Graybills moved into Indiana where they married the daughters of John Smith and Massie Koons, great granddaughters of Peter Eller. In 1837, The Graybills left Ohio and Indiana for Caldwell County in Missouri. During the Mormon persecutions in Missouri, they fled to Illinois, coming to Pottawattamie County in Iowa in 1846-48. Vivian Graybill, of Independence, Missouri, has worked on the Graybill genealogy for many years and since he plans to publish a book with a great amount of detailed information I will not list the names of their complete families."

12. Mentioned in the book "The Howard Leytham Stoker Von Dollen Family Histories," FHL 929.273 H833a, by Doris Lewis, 2017 So. 80th Ave., Omaha, Nebraska, 68124.

13. Mentioned in daughter's biography in the FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 17-24, note that this book has a considerable downline of the children of this couple: "Michael Peter Graybill, b. 14 May 1787, Jefferson, Wilkes Co. (now Ashe Co.), NC; d. 24 Sep 1856, Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie Co., IA; bur. in the Graybill-Stoker Pioneer Cemetery; Pottawattamie Co,., IA; md. 1811, Ashe Co., NC to Mary 'Polly' Stoker. Michael was the s/o John Peter Graybill and Christena Wampler. Polly was b. 24 Nov 1792, Ashe Co. [Wilkes], NC; d. 18 Feb 1864, Pottawattamie Co., IA; bur. in the Graybill-Stoker Pioneer Cemetery. She was the eldest child of Michael Stoker and Catherine Eller... Michael and Polly left North Carolina probably in early 1816, and settled in Bloomfield Twp., Jackson Co., OH. Michael's parents, Peter Sr. and Christena (Wampler) Graybill, accompanied them; also, Michael's brother Henry and sister Barbara who had married Polly's brother David Stoker. Polly's parents, Michael and Catherine (Eller) Stoker, and other Stokers also made the journey with them. [Also John Graybill?] In the early 1830's, the family was visited by Missionary John Fisher from Bloomfield Twp. and was introduced to the early Latter Day Saints church. Those who were old enough were baptized in 1833. Involved in the church, Michael Graybill Sr. and related families anxiously followed the news from Independence, MO. The wanted to gather with the Saints in Caldwell Co., MO to be part of Zion, the new Jerusalem. Michael sold his farm to his father, Peter Graybill Sr., who along with Henry, Michaels' brother, and sister Celia (Graybill) Henson, decided to stay in OH. In 1836, Michael and other relatives packed to make the trip to Far West, MO. They spent the winter with Stoker relatives in Monroe Co., IN, then arrived at Far West in September 1837. The family withstood the dangers and aggravations of mob attacks. They endured many hardships. They had their plows, wagons and horses taken and even their first crop was taken just before it was harvested. With no provisions of food for the coming winter, Michael's sons, Simeon and Levi, left to look for work. They found jobs chopping railroad ties for the Eastern Railroad in Hannibal, MO. But they were unable to collect their pay until the following spring of 1839, when they were allowed to take the amount of their earnings out in goods. This allowed them to obtain wagons and horses and move the related families to Quincy and Nauvoo, IL. Michael Sr. and his family, Simeon's family and Catherine (Eller) Stoker's lived eleven miles southeast of Quincy, IL. After the death of Joseph and Hyrum Smith in 1844, Simeon went to Nauvoo to help guard the secretly hidden bodies of Joseph and Hyrum. Fearful that the anti-Mormon mob might try to do further violence to Joseph's and Hyrum's bodies, their caskets were filled with sand for the public burial. By 1846, most of Nauvoo had been vacated. Michael Sr.bara (Graybill) Stoker went to UT later. Michael's and Polly's children were David, Catherine, Simeon Peter, Joseph Levi, George Washington, William Lenore, Juliann or (Julia Ann?) Michael S., Jr., Mary Ann, Elizabeth, Sidney Rigdon and Christina."

14. Land transactions and proximity mentioned in biography of Henry Eller, son of Peter Eller and Elizabeth Dick per FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 172-176: "Henry Eller, b. 1786/1788; family records said he died about 1876 at the age of more than 90 years. The 1850, 1860, and 1870 censuses of Ashe Co. give his age as 62, 72 and 80 respectively. These records indicate a birth year of 1786/88 and a death year of 1876. He married, about 1812/1813, Elizabeth Johnson, b. according to the 1850 census of Ashe Co., NC, in 1791/92, her age being given as 58 years. The 1860 and 1870 censuses give her age as 68 and 80 respectively. She was born in Iridel Co., NC. Henry Eller entered 250 acres of land on the North Fork of New River, 16 July 1812. This land was surveyed 8 Sep 1813 and granted to him 23 Dec 1813. (Grant 840, Secy. of State's Office, Raleigh, NC.) The land was on the north side of 'feneck' (Phoenix) Mountain and bordered the 150 acre farm surveyed to Michael Stucker (Stokard, Stoker). The survey, dated 8 Sep 1813, was attested by Peter and Jacob Eller. Henry Eller figured in several land transactions in Ashe County after 1812. In one, dated 9 Dec 1819, he purchased 90 acres of land from George Koons for $150.00. This land was in Ashe county on the south side of the North Fork of New River 'to my south line and down to the conditional line made between Abraham May and John Dick Jr. against the mouth of Piney Creek being part of the 150 acre tract where Thomas Brooks Mill formerly stood.' George Koons, doubtless, was Henry's brother-in-law, the husband of Mary Eller, shown in... herein [see notes in this database for George Koons and Mary Eller]. The sale was made about the time that George and Mary Koons left North Carloina for their new home in Henry County, Ind. Mary Koons' name does not appear in the deed but this is not strange becasue the dower rights of wives were often not mentioned in early deeds of Ashe and Wilkes Counties. Later deeds indicate that Henry Eller's farm in 1845 consisted of 240 acres.
The records show that Henry Eller's brother-in-law, Michael Stoker (Stokard, Stucker) as well as his brother-in-law, George Koons, lived on farms adjoining his on the North Fork of New River. His brothers, Peter and Jacob, lived near by while his brother John lived on the south fork of New River near where Peter Eller Sr., their father, late deceased, lived. About 1816 John and Peter moved to lower altitudes in Wilkes County, John to Lewis Fork Creek west of Wilkesboro on a farm of 451 acres and Peter to a farm on Ceroles Creek."
Elsewhere in the book on p. 96, James Hook adds: "Michael Stockerd (Stoker) is shown in the 1790 census of Wilkes County, Morgan District as being over 16 [possible Hook error] years of age but with no other person listed in his family. Morgan District later (1799) became Ashe County and was the same District where Peter Eller, John Koons and Conrad Dick lived. His farm was on the North Fork of New River in Ashe Co. He married Catherine Eller about 1791/92 and on 29 Dec 1792 purchased of John Dick 100 acres of land on Naked Creek in Ashe Co. which creek flows from the west into the south fork of New River. Ames Bunyard was a witness. (Book B-1, p. 249, Wilkes Co., NC Deeds.) On 13 March 1806 he entered 150 acres of land on the North Fork of New River adjoining his existing land. This land was surveyed March 12, 1806 and granted to Michael Stoker, 27 Nov 1806. (Grant #629, Ashe Co., NC, Sec'y of State's Office, Raleigh, NC.) The survey was signed by Jesse and Eli Cleveland and attested by Peter and Jacob Ellar (sic)."
Elsewhere also on pp. 130-140, concerning Michael's brother-in-law Jacob Eller: "Jacob Eller first appears in Ashe County records 27 Nov 1806 when, with his brother Peter Eller, he witnessed the survey of 150 acres to Michael Stucker (Stoker), his brother-in-law probably. On 7 Jul 1809, as an heir at law of Peter Eller, deceased, he signed a deed disposing of land to Leonard Fantz. (Deed Book M, p. 163, Ashe County.) He signed other similar deeds 17 Sep 1816 and 11 Feb 1817. (Deed Book F, pp. 83 and 414, Ashe Co.) In 1811 a deed of his to Alexander Smith for 15 acres of land was acknowledged by the Nov 1811 Court. (Deed Book F, p. 109, Ashe Co., NC.)"

15. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 88-97:
"Michael Stoker, doubtless, was the son of Michael Stoker (Stocker) who settled in Frederick Co., Md. about the middle of the 18th century. No other family of the Stoker (Stocker) name was found by this writer in any of the early Frederick Co. records. The 18th century translated records of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. established about 1746, show many Michael Stoker (Stocker) entries beginning with the birth, on 1 Apr 1758, of Anna Barbara, daughter of 'Mich. Stocker' and his wife 'Ana Barb.' On p. 552 of a copy of these church records, now in possession of the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore, Maryland, will be found a recording of eight children of Michael Stocker, the youngest named George, born 13 Nov 1781. The first of these children was named Marie Barbara, born 1 Apr 1758. She doubtless was the same as or the twin of another daughter named Anna Barbara mentioned above as having been born on the same date. Another record shows, again, the birth of Marie Barbara, daughter of Michael Stocker born 1 Apr 1758; baptized 15 May 1758. Thus the church records contain three separate entries of the birth on 1 April 1758, of a daughter to Michael Stoker (Stocker) as follows:
a. 'On 1 Apr. 1758 to Mich. Stocker et uxori Ana Barbara a daughter Anna Barbara. Witnesses (to baptism) Marie Barbara filia coelebs Michael Roemers.' Filia Coelebs means unmarried daughter of.'
b. '1758, 1 April to Michael Stoker a daughter Marie Barbara, sponsored by Barbara Romerin, baptized 15 May 1758.'
c. '1758, 1 April to Michael Stocker a daughter Marie Barbara, sponsored by Barbara Romerin, baptized 15 May 1758.'
As already stated, page 552 of the church book records, on one single page, the birth of eight children to Michael Stocker the last child of whom, named George, was born 13 Nov 1781 and baptized 7 Jun 1782. The first seven of these recordings obviously were made in 1769, the 8th having been put there in 1782 as will be explained later. Preceding the names of the 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th and 7th Child, the symbol ϯ was added to show, doubtless, that the child was deceased when the record was made. The record, on page 552 of the church records, is as follows:
a. 1 April 1758, to Michael Stocker a child Marie Barbara; ϯ godmother, Barbara Romerin; baptized 15 May 1758.
b. 1 Jan 1760, to Michael Stocker, a child Johana Magdale, godparents, Heinrich Hanth (and wife) Magdalena. Date of baptism not stated. (Note by JWH - On page 454 of the church record is shown the marriage on 2 Nov 1784 'by license' of Johanna Magdalena Stockern and Johann Jost Stimmel, Michael Stocker, Peter Stimmel and John and Peter Schnog serving as witnesses.)
c. 20 May 1762, to Michael Stocker, a child Michael; godparents Michael Romer (and wife) Charlotte Amalia, (Amalis). Date of baptism not stated. (Note by JWH - This writer believes that this was the Michael Stocker who married Catherine Eller.)
d. 26 Aug 1764, to Michael Stocker, a child, Elizabeth; ϯ godmother, Elizabeth Romerin. Date of baptism not stated.
e. 24 May 1767, to Michael Stocker, a child Balthasar; ϯ godparents, Balthsar Bock (and wife) Rosina. Date of baptism not stated.
f and g. 11 gbr 1769 (two children) to Michael Stocker, namely a child Marie Barbara; godparents, Johannes Haas (and wife) Mar. Barbara, and a child Christina; godmother, Christina Romerin, ledig, meaning unmarried. Baptized 19 gbr. 1769. (Note gbr is usually an abbreviation in German for born but in this case probably means November of possibly February.)
h. 13 Nov 1781, to Michael Stocker, a child, George; sponsor George Bens. Baptized 7 Jun 1782.
The above record of children of Michael Stocker, together with others shown below are interesting in two ways. First it will be noted that one of the sponsors in every case bore the same given name as the child. It was a custom in early German families to select as godmother or godfather of children being baptized the person for whom the child was named, usually a close relative and in some cases a respected friend. Second, as was shown by the first record quoted above and as will be shown by other records quoted below, Michael Stoker's wife as late as 24 March 1766 (Deed Record) was Barbara and as early as 12 April 1770 (Deed Record) was Elizabeth. That these two wives, Barbara and Elizabeth, were spouses of the same Michael Stocker is definitely established by the land records of Frederick County but, as the two next following church records show, Michael Stocker's full name was Joh. (John) Michael Stoker.
a. Page 564 of the translated church records at Maryland Hist. Soc. - Johannes, son of Joh. Michael and Elizabeth Stoker, b. 4 Jan 1772 and baptized 9 Feb 1772. (Note by JWH - p. 233 of the church records show that Johannes Stocker, aged 19, was confirmed on 22 Apr 1791. A translated record of the German Reformed Church of Frederick Co., Md., p. 196, found at the Gen. Soc. in SLC shows a child Marianna Stocker, was born to Johannes and Catherina Stocker 10 Aug 1809. Susan Kuntz (Frentz) was her godmother. A Catherina Stoker (sic) is mentioned as a dau. in the will of John Coons (sic) of Frederick Co., Md. dated 23 Dec. 1816 and proved 6 Mch. 1817. (Liber H.S, No. 2, p. 55, Frederick Co., Md. Wills.))
b. Page 591 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City - Marie Salome, dau. of Michael and Elizabeth Stocker b. 9 May 1773; bap. 27 June 1773. Her godparents were John Michel and Salome Alex (sic).
c. Page 617 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at Maryland Hist. Society [Baltimore] - Marie Barbara, dau. of Joh. Michael and Elizabeth Stoker, b. 23 Dec 1774; bapt. 16 Apr 1775. Her godparents were Johannes and Marie Barbara Hass.
d. Pages 638 and 1017 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City - Eva Margreth, dau. of Michael and Elizabeth Stocker, b. 22 Jul 1776; bap. 10 Nov 1776. Her godparents were Jacob and Margreth Bens. This child died 12 Sept. 1777, aged 1 year.
One may wonder why these four children were not listed with other children of Michael Stoker on page 552 of the church record (supra). After mentioning seven additional, more or less pertinent, translate church records the reason for this, as this writer sees it will be explained.
a. Page 407 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at Maryland Hist. Society, Baltimore, it is shown that Michael Stoker and Mary Adams were married, by license, 21 Jun 1778. The witnesses were Abraham Fah and his wife Juliana and Adam and Peter Schnock. Frederick Co. Marriage Records show that Michael Stoker and Mary A___, the spelling not complete, on 1 Jun 1778, were given a license to be married.
b. Page 209 [of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at Maryland Hist. Society, Baltimore] shows that Michael Stoker born 24 May 1862 and Magdalena Stockern (sic) born 1 Jan 1760 were confirmed. These two were brother and sister, children of Michael and Barbara Stoker (Stocker), their birth dates in their confirmation checking substantially with those recorded on page 552 of the same translated church record.
c. Page 664 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City shows that Anna Margareth, daughter of Michael and Anna Marie Stocker was born 15 May 1779 and baptized 24 July 1779. Her godparents were Adam and Anna Margareth Schnock.
d. Page 686 [of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City ] shows that Marie Catharina, daughter of Michael and Anna Maria Stocker was born 4 Sept. 1780.
e. Page 752 [of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City] shows that Jacob, son of Michael and Anna Maria Stocker, was born 22 May 1785. His sponsors at baptism were his parents.
f. Page 113 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City, Utah, shows that Charlotte, daughter of Michael Stocker, was born 19 Feb 1788. Her mother's name was not given. Her godparents were Peter and Julia (Juliana) Schnock (Schnod).
g. Page 1017 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City shows that Elizabeth, wife of Michael Stoker died 10 Oct 1777 at the age of 33 years.
It should be kept in mind that the only Stoker (Stocker) family found in the early church, land or court records of Frederick County, Maryland was one headed by Michael. The only suggestion of a Stoker of Stocker of another given name was the same Michael in the recordings of his children by his second wife, Elizabeth. In those recordings he was called Joh. Michael Stoker. Deed Records in Frederick Co., calling him a saddler in every case and showing his wife to have been Barbara in March 1766 and Elizabeth in April 1770 proves the two Michaels to have been the same person. The second wife, Elizabeth, died 10 Oct 1777 at the age of 33. On 21 Jun 1778 he married Mary (Marie) Adams as already shown.
This writer explains the one page record that is found of Michael Stoker's (Stocker) children in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick Co., Md. as follows. When his first two daughters (twins probably) were born he had them baptized or recorded as they were born. When his twins, Marie Barbara and Christina were born in 1769 he had them baptized and recorded and when this was being done he decided to record all of his other children, four of whom had not been recorded, naming their godparents from memory. This would account for all of these children appearing on one page where immediately prior entries were 1769 and immediate subsequent ones 1770.
When children of his second wife, Elizabeth, came he had them baptized and recorded. Apparently there were four of them, one named Johannes, b. 4 Jan 1772, another named Marie Salome, b. 9 May 1773, the third was Marie Barbara b. 23 Dec 1774 and the fourth Eva Margreth b. 22 Jul 1776 - d. 12 Sep 1777. Then on 10 Oct 1777 his wife, Elizabeth, aged 33, died and on 21 Jun 1778 he married Mary (Marie) Adams, his third wife.
The first child of the third marriage was Anna Margareth, b. 15 May 1779. She was baptized and recorded. The second child by this third marriage was Marie Catherina, born 4 Sep 1780 and bapt. 4 March (May) 1781. She probably died young. The fourth child was Georg b. 13 Nov 1781. This child was baptized 7 Jun 1782 and the baptism recorded not on the current page of the record book but squeezed in on the 1769/1770 page where other children of Michael Stoker (Stocker) had been recorded enmasse. Thus we have on the 1769/1770 page of the church book a record of eight children of Michael Stoker (Stocker) born between 1758 and 1782 appearing on that page with other children of his who were born after 1769 appearing on other pages. The fact that his son Georg was so recorded is pretty conclusive proof that all of the eight Stoker (Stocker) children on that one page had the same father. The symbol ϯ apparently was to indicate that the child was deceased and, doubtless, was inserted when the baptism of the son George was recorded.
Other entries in the church records show Michael Stocker (Stoker) and his wife, Anna Maria, had two other children, one named Jacob, b. 22 May 1785, and the other named Charlotte, b. 19 Feb 1788, making 17 children as follows:
By first wife Barbara:
1. Anna Barbara Stocker, b. 1 Apr 1758. She died young.
2. Marie Barbara Stocker, b. 1 Apr 1758, the same as or twin of [Anna Barbara]. She died young.
3. Johana Magdale Stocker, b. 1 Jan 1760.
4. Michael Stocker, Jr., b. 20 May 1762 (24 May 1762 or 24 Mar 1762).
5. Elizabeth Stocker, b. 26 Aug 1764. She died young.
6. Balthasar Stocker, b. 24 May 1767. He died young.
7. Marie Barbara Stocker, b. 11 ??? 1769. [Twin of Christina.] She died young.
8. Christina Stocker, b. 11 ??? 1769. Twin of [Marie Barbara]. She died young.
By second wife Elizabeth:
9. Johannes Stocker, b. 4 Jan 1772.
10. Marie Solome Stocker, b. 9 May 1773.
11. Marie Barbara Stocker, b. 25 Dec 1774.
12. Eva Margreth Stocker, b. 22 Jul 1776, d. 12 Sep 1777.
By third wife Anna Marie Adams:
13. Anna Margareth Stocker, b. 15 May 1779.
14. Marie Catherina Stocker, b. 4 Sep 1780.
15. George Stocker, b. 13 Nov. 1781, bapt. 2 Jun 1782.
16. Jacob Stocker, b. 22 May 1785.
17. Charlotte Stocker, b. 19 Feb 1788.
[Note: James Hook totally missed one child, Eva Catherina, who was born between George and Jacob; see her notes for church record documentation.]
The church records also show that Michael Stocker witnessed a goodly number of baptisms and marriages. One marriage, 'by license in Virginia,' which he and George Schaeffer witnessed, on 20/21 Apr. 1788, was that of Christopher Schaeffer and Elizabeth Adams, she, perhaps, a sister of his third wife. (Page 309 [of church record].) Michael Stoker attended communion service on 18 Oct 1778, 13 May 1779, 14 May 1780, 19 May 1782, 8 Jun 1783, 30 Jun 1784, 4 Jun 1786, 27 May 1787, 7 Oct 1787, and 24 Apr 1791. On 30 Jun 1784 and 4 Jun 1786 he was accompanied by his 'filia', meaning his daughter. A Michael Stocher (sic) attended services 23 Oct 1803 and 2 Jun 1805. After the latter date he was not found again in the records.
The spelling of the name in the church records varied frequently between Stoker and Stocker but in deeds mentioned herein, it was spelled Stoker. He obviously was a German but from whence in Germany he or his parents came was not discovered. This writer once thought that he was, very likely, the son of Michael Stoker, aged 31, who came to Pennsylvania on the ship 'Brittania' with Margaret Stoker, aged 24, his wife probably, and took his oath of allegiance 21 Sep 1731 but dismissed the idea when he later learned that Michael and Margaret Stoker's son Michael died in 1771 in Macungie Twsp. of Northampton (now Lehigh Co.) Pennsylvania, his will having been probated there, 25 Jan 1771, naming a wife Margaret and children Mary, Elizabeth, Catherine, Susannah and George.
Michael Stoker of Frederick Co, MD is first found in the records of that county on 1 Apr 1758 when the birth dates of his daughters Ann Barbara and Marie Barbara (they may have been the same Child) were recorded in the Evangelical Lutheran Church at Frederick, MD. On 14 May 1760 he purchased from Ballis Paugh lot no. 118 in Fredericktown, Frederick Co., MD. (Deed Book F, p. 985.) In that deed he is called a sadler. Another Frederick Co. deed dated 24 Mar 1766, 'Michael Stoker, sadler,' his wife Barbara relinquishing her dower, sold this same lot in Frederick Town to John Hoffman. (Deed Book K, p. 432.) On 30 Aug 1768, 'Michael Stoker, sadler' purchased from Henry Brunner lot no. 83 and a half interest in lot No. 80 located in Frederick Town. (Deed Book L, pp. 473-475.) This deed was corrected on 24 Dec 1772 to read lot 82 rather than lot 83. (Deed Book P. p. 530.)
Sometime near the date of the last purchase his first wife Barbara apparently died because on 12 Apr 1770 'Michael Stoker, sadler,' his wife Elizabeth relinquishing her dower, sold to Henry Brunner, a five foot strip off of the lot purchased from said Brunner 30 Aug 1768. (Deed book N, p. 90.) On 7 Nov 1774 'Michael Stoker,' his wife Elizabeth relinquishing her dower, conveyed to Samuel Miller a part of lot no. 82 that he had acquired from Henry Brunner, 30 Aug 1768, when his wife doubtless was Barbara. (Deed Book L, p. 473-475 and Deed Book w, p. 235.) On 19 Nov 1778 'Michael Stoker farmer,' his wife Mary relinquishing her dower, sold another part on lot No. 82 to Philip Shade, (Deed Book RP1, p. 519.) These deeds relating to Lot No. 82 first when his wife, doubtless was Barbara, second when his wife, certainly was Elizabeth and third when his wife, certainly, was Mary (Marie) are conclusive proof that it was the same Michael Stoker who married these three wives.
The Archives of Maryland, Vol. XLVIII shows orders in Council on 30 Nov. 1781 to pay certain sums of money to Michael and James Stocker. On 14 Mar 1783 other orders were given to pay Michael Stoker 17 pounds, 17 shillings and 1 pence.
[The son] Michael Stockerd (Stoker) is shown in the 1790 census of Wilkes County, Morgan District as being over 16 [possible Hook error] years of age but with no other person listed in his family. Morgan District later (1799) became Ashe County and was the same District where Peter Eller, John Koons and Conrad Dick lived. His farm was on the North Fork of New River in Ashe Co. He married Catherine Eller about 1791/92 and on 29 Dec 1792 purchased of John Dick 100 acres of land on Naked Creek in Ashe Co. which creek flows from the west into the south fork of New River. Ames Bunyard was a witness. (Book B-1, p. 249, Wilkes Co., NC Deeds.) On 13 March 1806 he entered 150 acres of land on the North Fork of New River adjoining his existing land. This land was surveyed March 12, 1806 and granted to Michael Stoker, 27 Nov 1806. (Grant #629, Ashe Co., NC, Sec'y of State's Office, Raleigh, NC.) The survey was signed by Jesse and Eli Cleveland and attested by Peter and Jacob Ellar (sic).
The family removed to Jackson Co., Ohio about 1814/15. It was here, probably, that the parents embraced the Mormon Faith. On 27 Oct 1836 he sold his property in Jackson Co., Ohio and followed the Mormon migration to Missouri. His wife Catherine, apparently was living near Nauvoo, Illinois in 1841 where she had herself baptized for her father Peter Eller, her grandparents on her mother's side, vis. Kinrod (Conrad) and Catherine Dick, her brother John Eller and her dau. Rebecca Stoker. (Nauvoo, Ill. Baptisms for the Dead, Mormon, at Gen. Soc. of Utah, Salt Lake City.)"

16. Per the book "A History of Jackson County, Ohio," by D.W. Williams, vol. 1 The Scioto Salt Springs, Jackson, Ohio, 1900, pp. 99-100: "BLOOMField - The election in this township was held at the house of Judge Hugh Poor, which stood in a central location. the officers were... Thirty-seven electors cast their ballots, the name of Reuben Long being the first registered. the others were: Theophilus Blake, Henry Humphreys, John Hale, William Keeton, Morris Humphreys, Ellis Long, Benjamin Long, Azariah Jenkins, Joshua Stephenson, Thomas Barton, John R. Corn, John Scurlock, John Dickerson, Sharp Barton, George Campbell, Hugh Poor, Hugh Scurlock, Moses Hale, Arthur Callison, Christopher Long, Benjamin Hale, Robert Irwin, Moses Gillespie, DAVID Stoker, Nimrod Arthur, Allen Rice, Michael Stoker, James LACKEY, Martin Poor, John Stephenson, Sr., Samuel McClure, Andrew Donnally, John Stephenson, Jr., Robert G. Hanna and Alexander Poor. There was considerable excitement at this voting place, occasioned by a number of free fights, growing out of a feud between membersof the Long and Hale families. The origin of the trouble is unknown, but at some time in the day Joel Long and John Hale started the ball rolling by agreeing to 'box and fight each other at fisticuffs.' The well known code of the backwoods was no doubt followed to the letter in this fistic duel, but the result did not give satisfacaction. Blood was up, and some words led Christopher Long to assault Moses Hale, and, according to the indictiment, did 'strike, beat, wound and illtreat, to the great damage of the said Moses Hale.' John R. Corn interferred in behalf of the latter, and Long promptly gave him a dose of the same medicine. At this point James LACKEY got mixed up in the affair, and Benjamin Long then took a hand and assaulted him. These contests furnished some of the grist for the first term of court in the following August, John Hale and Joel Long being fined $12 each, and Christopher Long $6 under each indictment. Benjamin Long's affair with LACKEY was not adjusted until the November term, when Long plead guilty and was fined $10 and the costs."

17. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 69-87: "John Eller doubtless lived with his father [Peter Eller] on Reedy Creek in Rowan County until the latter removed to his Rones Creek farm in what was then Wilkes but after 1799, Ashe Co. The surmise is that he was not living with his father when the 1790 census was taken and did not settle in or near his father's farm on Rones Creek until after his marriage. His first son Simeon was born in Wilkes Co. 7 Sep 1794 and on 27 Oct 1795 he witnessed the deed by which his father, Peter Eller, conveyed 200 acres of land on Rones Creek to Gabriel Barn. (Deed Book B-1, p. 466, Wilkes Co., NC) On 13 April 1795 he and Michael Stuckers (Stoker) [John Eller's brother-in-law] helped to survey 70 acres of land on Rones Creek for Conrad Dick, his grandfather probably."

18. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 17-31, in speaking about Peter Eller Sr.'s [b. abt. 1746, d. 1799] estate settlement, the following quotes refer to family members involved with the settlement. Note that sons-in-law William Pennington (wife Barbara or Elizabeth Eller?) and George Koons (Mary's husband) do not show up at the estate sale of 1799 but do show up from 1809 to 1817 when the inherited land of Peter Eller is sold. Of the younger sons, Henry and Jacob appear in the later land heirship land deeds, but they would have been only minors at the estate sale of 1799. George, the youngest son, never shows up which may be indicative of an early death. The older sons- John and Peter - and the eldest daughter - Catherine Eller Stoker thru her husband Michael - show up in both 1799 and the later land deeds. Elizabeth Eller Jr., the unmarried dau. shows up only in the 1799 purchaser list buying household items as if she were preparing for an imminent marriage (see her notes for more detail on her purchases). The open-ended question of who married Elizabeth and who married Barbara is not resolved by these documents except the assurance that William Pennington was definitely a husband of one of them. There is no Bumgardner listed in the later heirship deeds but there are two listed early in the estate purchasers - Michael and Leonard - but if Elizabeth really married a Bumgardner and had a son Simeon in 1807, why is there no listing of a Bumgardner on the heirship deeds. The various quotes are as follows:
"Peter Eller died before 29 July 1799 as evidenced by an entry in an old court record book found by this writer in the courthouse at Wilkesboro, Wilkes Co., NC in October 1954. It reads as follows: 'Betsey Eller and John Eller having made application for Administration on the estate of Peter Eller gave Bowers and John Koons for security who were bound in the sum of 800 pounds and qualified as the law directs.'
Betsey Eller doubtless was Peter's widow and John his eldest son. The time was 1799 when Ashe County was being set off from Wilkes and the year just preceding the one in which the first federal census of Ashe Co. was taken...
Three deeds in the courthouse at Jefferson, Ashe Co., NC record settlement actions on the property of Peter Eller deceased. In brief they are:
1. Deed Book M, p. 163, dated 7 July 1809 shows Peter Eller, Jacob Eller, George Koontz and William Pennington of the county of Ashe in the state of NC, heirs of Peter Eller, deceased, selling to Leonard Fantz 200 acres of land in Ashe Co. the same apparently being the tract Andrew Baker had deeded to Peter Eller 3 Aug 1789. The deed was signed by all the said heirs except William Pennington. Why Pennington did not sign is not clear.
2. Deed Book F, p. 414, dated 17 Sep 1816, shows John Eller, Peter Eller, Jacob Eller, Henry Eller, Michael Stocker (Stoker), George Koontz and William Pennington all of the County of Ashe in the State of NC, heirs of Peter Eller deceased, selling Luke White Sr. 122 acres of land located on the south fork of New River at the mouth of Rones Creek etc. This deed was signed by all the said heirs named as party of the first part in the deed except George Koontz. Why George Koontz did not sign is not clear.
3. Deed Book F, p. 83, dated 11 Feb 1817 shows John Eller, J.A. (Jacob) Eller, Henry Eller, Michael Stocker (Stoker), George Koontz and William Pennington all of the county of Ashe in the state of N.C., heirs of Peter Eller, deceased, selling to Frederick Black, 25 acres of land on the south fork of New River the land being that warranted to Peter Eller, 3 May 1793 and granted to him 27 Dec 1797. All of these heirs signed the deed.
This writer believes that other heirship deeds exist probably of earlier dates and, if found, would show a Bumgardner heir. The above three deeds distributed only 347 acres of Peter Eller's estate when it appears that it consisted at his death of at least 470 acres. The Bumgardner connection is suggested in an ancient family Bible in which the birth dates of seven children of John Eller, eldest son of Peter and Elizabeth (Dick) Eller was recorded. Another birth entry in this old Bible is that of Simeon Bumgardner, born 8 Jan 1807. This child probably was a son of a daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Dick) Eller who had marred a Bumgardner, probably James Bumgardner.
The old Bible was printed in the German language at Halle, Germany in 1770 and is now in the possession of Mr. Wade E. Eller of Warrensville, Ashe Co., NC. It may be the Bible which George Michael Eller willed to his son Jacob because on page 17 is written 'Jacob Eller his Bible.' On page 15 of the vorrede or preface is also written 'The Holy Bible Peter Eller.' The only information of genealogical value in the Bible are the dates of birth of all but the youngest child, Mary, of John and Susannah (Kerns) Eller… and of Simeon Bumgarner above mentioned 		Stoker or Stocker, Michael (I1235)
 
2890 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 St67d "Descendants of William Stoker (1819-1892): with a View of his Ancestors," by Jay and Rachel Phillips Deeben, Feb. 2014, pp. 11-17:
"Michael Stoker (1762-1838), compiled by Jay Deeben.
Michael Stocker/Stoker, Sr.,[1] son of Johann Michael Stocker and Ana Barbara Romer/Romerin, was born on 24 Mar 1762,[2] in Frederick, Maryland and baptized on 20 May 1762, in Frederick, Frederick, Maryland.[3]
Michael moved to North Carolina sometime prior to or early on in 1790. His name appears on the first Federal Census in 1790,[4] for Wilkes County,[5] North Carolina. In this census he appears alone and his surname is spelled Stockerd.
On 7 Feb 1792, he married Catherine Martha Eller in North Carolina.[6] Catherine was born 6 Mar 1773, Rowan County, North Carolina.[7] Her parents are Peter Eller and Elizabeth Dick. It is noted here that there was a Peter Eller[8] family that appears on the same page as Michael on the 1790 census. Michael was the fifth family down from the Eller family. Though the 1790 census does not list each member of the family there were five females counted in the Eller household.
While in North Carolina, Michael Stoker procured two pieces of land on the North Fork of New River. The first piece of land was for 300 acres and the recorded entry is dated 11 Dec 1805,[9] on this entry his surname spelled "Stockerd." The second entry is for 150 acres, also on the North Fork of New River. This entry is dated 13 Mar 1806. Both of his land parcels were in Ashe County, North Carolina. His name appears a third time[10] in the Ashe County Land Book but this one is as a reference point for some land that a "Ephraim Stanaford" entered. The entry is dated 6 Jul 1806, and a corner of Michael Stoker's property is used as a reference along with a Ellers Fletcher.
On 1 Jul 1829 Michael Stoker received a Land Patent for 80 acres in Jackson County Ohio. This is the same land that is referenced in a land transaction when he sold the land to a William Whilmore for $350. The date of the land transaction is 7 Oct 1836.[11] The sale of this land was in preparation to move to Far West, Missouri to join with the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who were beginning to establish a community there.
Sometime in 1815 Michael and Catherine moved their family from Ashe County, North Carolina to Jackson County, Ohio.[12] One of the first records that can be found of Michael Stoker is the 1820 Federal Census for Bloomfield Township, Jackson County, Ohio.[13] Michael's name also appears on the 1830 Federal Census for Bloomfield Township, Jackson County, Ohio.[14] Other records that Michael Stoker's name appears on are the tax records the run from 1826 to 1831, for Bloomfield Township, Jackson County, Ohio.[15] His name also appears on a land transaction for 80 acres that he purchased from the US Government land patent on 1 Jul 1829.[16]
Sometime between 1833 and 1836 Michael Stocker/Stoker and his family were approached by the missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and accepted the teachings of the missionaries and joined the church. Then in 1836 (as described above) they sold their Ohio property and moved to Missouri to be with members of the Church at church headquarters.[17] Michael and Catherine and their family lived through the good times and bad times that occurred to members of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while in Missouri and Illinois. To get a sense of what occurred during the years of 1836 through 1846/1847 one just has to read a history of the church during those years. He died sometime in 1838, probably in Caldwell County, Missouri, United States.18]
Catherine Eller Stoker lived at least 14 years after her husband, Michael, died. All records found thus far indicate that she died sometime after 1 Jul 1850, probably in Pottawattarnie, Iowa.[19]
Children of Michael Stoker and Catherine Eller[20] Stoker (Name - Birth - Place - Death - Place):
Mary Stoker, 24 Nov 1792 Jefferson, Wilkes, North Carolina, 18 Feb 1864 Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie, Iowa. Mary Stoker married Michael Graybill, in May 1811 in Jefferson, Ashe, North Carolina. He is the son of John Peter Graybill and Christina Wampler. Mary was also known as Polly.
David Stoker, 23 Mar 1795, , Wilkes, North Carolina, 27 May 1872 Traders Point, Pottawattamie, Iowa. See chapter on David Stoker (1795 - 1872)
Elizabeth Stoker, 28 Feb 1800 , Ashe, North Carolina, Jan 1868, Bloomington, Oneida, Idaho. Elizabeth Stoker married James Welker 2 Jul 1822. He is the son of Adam Welker and Sarah Fletcher.
John William Stoker, 16 Mar 1803, , Ashe, North Carolina, 2 Aug 1857, Traders Point, Pottawattamie,
Iowa. John W Stoker married Sarah Electa McDaniel on 13 Mar 1827 in , Jackson, Ohio. Sarah is the daughter of James McDaniel and Zebiah McCarley.
Michael Stoker Jr., 10 Feb 1805, , Ashe, North Carolina, 30 Mar 1858. Michael Stoker, Jr. married Martha Carr McDaniel on 1 Jan 1829 in , Butler, Ohio. Martha is the daughter of James McDaniel and Zebiah McCarley and the sister of Sarah Electa McDaniel.
Rebecca Stoker, 19 Mar 1807, , Ashe, North Carolina, Abt 1821, Bloomfield Twp, Jackson, Ohio. Rebecca Stoker died at age 14, thus she did not marry.
Catherine Stoker, 19 Feb 1809, , Ashe, North Carolina, 3 Aug 1896, , Gallia, Ohio. Catherine Stoker married Alexander Lackey on 1 Jan 1829 in , Jackson, Ohio. He is the son of James Lackey and Esther McAlexander.[21]
Jacob Stoker 7 Apr 1812, , Ashe, North Carolina, 22 Feb 1893 Adelaida, San Luis Obispo, California. Jacob Stoker married Catherine Burcham on 8 Oct 1835 in Lawrence, Ohio. She is the daughter of John Sylvester Burcham and Nancy Ann Dowden.
Eller Stoker, 28 Jul 1816, Bloomfield Twp, Jackson, Ohio, 18 Jul 1855, Council Bluffs, Pottawattornie,
Iowa. Eller Stoker married Margaret Judd abt 1839 and thought to have been in , Jefferson, Iowa. She is the daughter of John Judd and Rhoda Sheperd.
Chapter Notes for Michael Stoker, Sr (1762-1840):
1. International Genealogical Index(R), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, International Genealogical Index(R) (Copyright (c) 1980, 2002).
2. Statement on back of Michael Stoker or Stocker and Catherine Eller family group sheet that was assembled by the family Genealogist V. S. Barlow. The Lackey Family Bible gives the date of 24 March 1762 and a birth date and from the Evangelical Lutheran Church records we get the baptismal date of 20 May 1762. Also referenced in James W. Hook's book "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," vol. 1, page 88, referring to the "Lackey Family Bible," owned by the Lackey Family.
3. Hook, James W.; "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," p. 88-89. Reference to the translated record of the German Reform Church of Frederick, Maryland at the Family History Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah, call No. 929.273 EL54h - FHL FAM HIST Book. ... Book is online at Heritagequest.com under the "Search Books" option from main menu. … Weiser, Frederick S. (Frederick Sheely); "The Evangelical Lutheran Church Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland / Parish Register Books I & II 1743-1811"; call No. 975.287/F1 K2wf.
4. Year: 1790; Census Place: Wilkes, North Carolina; Roll: M637_7; Page: 169; Image: 103; Family History Library Film: 0568147 … Original data: First Census of the United States, 1790 (NARA microfilm publication M637, 12 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
5. To track the Stoker family it is necessary to keep track of what county boundaries are in place at what period of time. The county boundaries of this comer of North Carolina change over a period of about 46 years. Rowan County was the first county created in this part of North Carolina and then subsequent divisions of this county up through 1799 brought about the creation of Ashe County in 1799. Keep in mind this same problem will confront any researcher as they follow the Stoker family as they move into Ohio.
6. John Michael Stoker Family, John Michael Stoker Family Descendant Chart via Michael Stoker and Catherine Eller, p. 2. Copy of this chart is in the possession of Rachel A. Deeben, Payson, Utah.
7. Hook, James W.; p. 88.
8. Year: 1790; Census Place: Wilkes, North Carolina; Roll: M637_7; Page: 169.
9. Pruitt, Dr. A. B.; "Abstracts of Land Entries: Ashe County, NC Part 1,Abstracts of Land Entries:
Ashe County, NC; Part I (Feb. 1800-Jun. 1809)," p. 103, entry 1415; call number FHL US/CAN
Books 975.6835 R2p v.1 & v.2. The second entry is on page 113 entry # 1562.
10. Pruitt, Dr. A. B., p. 117.
11. A copy of the Land Patent filed by Michael Stoker is included in this history. The sale of land was obtained from a land transaction document provided by Randal Stoker in his written history of Michael Stoker (1762-1840).
12. Rowley, Alta Aitken, Aitken, Grant, Aitken, Charlene; "The Stoker/ Winegar/Wet/Youd Legacy"; p.
12; FHL US/Can 929.273 St67ra.
13. 1820 U S Census: Bloomfield, Jackson, Ohio, page 275; NARA Roll: M33_89; Image: 157.
Ancestry.com. 1820 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA.
14. 1830 U S Census: Bloomfield, Jackson, Ohio, page: 111; NARA Roll: M19-134; Family History
Film: 0337945. Ancestry.com. 1830 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT,
USA.
15. "Jackson County Ohio Tax Record 1819 - 1838, Jackson County (Ohio)." Auditor, Tax duplicates,
1819-1838, film 493,566, year of 1826, p.5, 1827 p.5, 1828 p. 4, 1829, 1830 p.4, 1831 p. 5. film 493615, image 100 p. 6, image 203 p. 5, image 301 p. 2, image 361, p. 3.
16. Kocher, L. Richard; A Listing of Entrymen on Lands in Jackson County, Ohio; p. 67;. . .Original
Documents in BLM -General Land Office Chillicothe, General Land Office, Land Patent Search,
DocumentNo.1091. Ohio, Jackson County;
17. Rowley, Alta Aitken, Aitken, Grant, Aitken, Charlene; p. 12.
18. Alta Aitken Rowley, Grant Joseph Aitken, Charlene Attryde Aitken, "Stoker/Winegar/West/Youd
Legacy," page 3. Repository: Family History Library, 35 N West Temple Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84150 USA, Call Number: 929.273 St67ra. And Jimmie "B" Stoker, "The Michael and Catherine Eller Stoker family as early Mormons in Ohio and Missouri"; p. 5 [printed page number in upper right hand corner], Nauvoo Land and Records, P.O. Box 215, Nauvoo, IL 62354
19. Rowley, Alta Aitken, Aitken, Grant, Aitken, Charlene; p. 11.
20. Information concerning the children of Michael Stoker and Catherine Eller came from the following sources: (1) Rowley, Alta Aitken, Aitken, Grant, Aitken, Charlene; p. 17 & 18; (2) Hook, James W., p. 115; (3) Stoker, Elayne, "Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881," Vol II; p. 122 & 123.
21. Note to those researching Esther McAlexander. Watch the formation date of the county. In checking her birth county it was found that she was probably born in Pittsylvania County, Virginia and not Patrick County, Virginia. There are two or three counties listed on new.familysearch.org as the county of birth for Esther. But in looking at her birth date and the county formations her parents would have been living in Pittsylvania County, Virginia at the time of her birth. Following the time line back: Patrick County was not formed until 1790 from Henry County. Henry County was not formed until 1776 from Pittsylvania County which was formed in 1766. Her parents may have been living in the area at the time but the actual county of birth would have been Pittsylvania."

2. The use of a middle name Martha appears not to be reliable and proof is needed for it..
James Hook in his book states: "There is some evidence stemming from endowment transcripts in the Index Bureau of the Gen. Soc. of the LDS Church in SLC that she had a middle name, Martha. Some of her children, viz. Elizabeth, John and Michael appear on those transcripts as children of Michael Stoker and Catherine Martha Eller."
I have verified the documents cited in the above quote and it is incorrect concerning Elizabeth, John, and Michael. Each of their endowment records occurred in the LDS Nauvoo temple in the mid-1840s and I have looked at the Index Bureau records on FHL film 1263432 (Special Collections) - in all cases the mother's name appears as Catherine Eller. There is a relatively modern subsequent index card for Elizabeth of erroneously duplicated LDS temple work ca. 1923-1925 in which she appears as Catherine Eller with Martha pencilled in afterwards -- this late work was by a grandnephew named David Stoker and is not contemporaneous to the earlier records making it too late of an addition to be considered reliable. Additionally, in the films I have viewed of the originial entries for her own temple endowment of the 1840s in Nauvoo, she gives her name as "Catherine Stoker." In her sealing record of the same time she gives her name as "Catherine Eller." In her LDS Patriarchal Blessing July 30, 1843, it states: "A blessing given by Hyrum Smith, Patriarch, upon the head of Catherine Eller Stoker daughter of Peter Eller and Elizabeth Dick Eller born March 6, 1773 at Rowan County, North Carolina. Sister Catherine Eller..."

3. Censuses:
1800 US: Ashe County, North Carolina. The total population for Ashe County, North Carolina in 1800 was 2785, including slaves. The 1800 Ashe County Census was the first for the northwestern most county in the Tar Heel State. This county was formed in late 1799 and included all of Wilkes County west of the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountain. The 977 square miles that then composed Ashe County has been further divided, first in 1849 to form Watauga County, North Carolina and again 10 years later to form Alleghany County. This record includes families who may have been living in those areas at the time. The original census was in rough alphabetic order, and this does not facilitate the research of particular communities. I include all interrelated families of this time and place to better show relationships. A word of explanation on some of these families:
A. Mary and Barbara Burkett who married Peter and David Graybeal, had a father named Christian - unsure as to which is correct of the two.
B. Elizabeth Eller appears to be Elizabeth Dick, the wife of Peter Eller who had just died per his probate of 1799.The one daughter is probably Mary; unsure who the two boys are since there should be three: Jacob, Henry, and George. John Eller would be Elizabeth's eldest son and married to Susannah Kerns.
C. Henry Graybeal would have recently married Celia Henson and also the eldest son of [John] Peter and Christina [Wampler] Graybill who also appear to be in this same census. Note that Peter evidently had owned slaves at that time - the census does not say how many.
D. One of the William Hensons could be somehow related to William Henson who marries Nancy Graybill and to Celia Henson who marries Henry Graybeal.
E. The two Koons are probably brothers and are sons of Devault Koon judging from their ages. This would make them uncles to George Koons who eventually marries Mary Eller.
F. James Lewis, b. abt. 1790, marries Christena Graybill in 1807 - there may be a connection with these two James Lewis.
G. William Pennington marries Barbara (or Elizabeth) Eller and may be the younger of the two here listed.
H. Michael Stucker is a misspelling for Michael and Catherine Eller Stoker with their three oldest children: Polly, David, and Elizabeth.
Head of Family; Males 0-9, 10-16, 16-26, 26-45, 45+; Females - 0-9, 10-16, 16-26, 26-45, 45+:
Burkett, Christian; 1-2-0-1-0; 1-0-2-0-0
Burkett, Christian; 4-1-0-1-0; 1-0-1-0-0
Eller, Elizabeth; 1-0-1-0-0; 0-0-1-0-1
Eller, John; 3-0-0-1-0; 1-0-0-1-0
Graybeal, Henry; 0-0-1-0-0; 2-0-1-0-0
Graybeal, Peter; 2-1-1-0-1; 3-1-0-0-1
Henson, William; 0-1-1-0-0; 2-0-1-0-0
Henson, William; 3-0-0-0-1; 1-1-1-0-0
Koons, George; 0-0-1-0-1; 0-0-0-0-1
Koons, John; 0-0-1-0-1; 0-1-2-0-1
Lewis, James; 2-2-1-0-1; 4-1-0-0-1
Lewis, James, Jr.; 1-0-1-0-0; 1-0-1-0-0
Pennington, William; 0-1-0-1-0; 1-2-1-0-1
Pennington, William; 0-0-1-0-0; 0-0-1-0-0
Stucker, Michael; 1-0-0-1-0; 2-0-0-1-0

1820 US: Bloomfield Township, Jackson, Ohio, pg. 195, township had a little over 40 families; related families include James Lackey, Michael Stoker, and Michael Graybill. In neighboring Madison Township, related families David Stoker, Peter Graybill, Nancy (Graybill) Henson, and James McDaniel are found. Columns are male 0-10, 10-16, 16-18, 16-26, 26-45, 45+// female 0-10, 10-16, 16-26, 26-45, 45+:
Michael Stoker: 2,1,0,1,0,1//1,1,0,0,1. [Appears to be Michael, his wife Catherine, and their children John, Michael, Rebecca, Catherine, Jacob, and Eller; the three oldest appear gone in this census.]
Michael Graybill: 3,0,0,0,1,0//1,0,0,1,0.
James Lackey: 2,2,1,2,0,1//1,2,1,1,5.

1830 US: Bloomfield Township, Jackson, Ohio, pg. 109-112, note whole township had 527 people living in it, related families include Michael Stoker, Michael Stoker Jr., Alexander Lackey, James Welker, Michael Graybill, and John Stoker:
Michael Stoker. Males 10-15: 1; 15-20:1; 60-70:1. Females 10-15:1; 50-60:1. [Family appears to be Michael, his wife Catherine, and their two youngest sons Jacob and Eller; unsure who the girl age 10-15 may be.]

1840 US: Quincy, Adams, Illinois, the following related families living in near proximity to each other (with exception of John McDaniel and his wife Christina Stoker, all of David Stoker's siblings, children, and mother are accounted for and it confirms his father Michael was dead by 1840):
P. 43a:
David Stoker, males 5-10:1; 40-50:1//females 5-10:1; 10-15:1; 40-50:1. [David, his wife Barbara, and their children Sarah (13), Catherine (11?), and Michael (6). Note daughter Nancy not in census which means she was probably deceased by then.]
Simeon P. Grabell [Graybill], males 0-5:1; 20-30:1//females 0-5:1; 20-30:1. [David's nephew: Simeon and his wife Amanda Hill and their two oldest children.]
Jacob Stoker, males 20-30:1//females 0-5:1; 20-30:1. [Younger brother to David: Jacob and his wife Catherine and their oldest child.]
P. 44a:
Eller Stoker, males 20-30:1//females 0-5:1; 15-20:1; 60-70:1. [Youngest brother to David: Eller with his wife Margaret and their oldest child and probably their mother Catherine Eller.]
James Walker [Welker], males 10-15:1; 15-20:1; 30-40:1//females 5-10:2; 40-50:1. [Living next door to Eller and ages work perfectly that this is James Welker and Elizabeth Stoker, who is David's sister.]
John W. Stoker, males 0-5:2; 10-15:1; 30-40:1//females 0-5:1; 5-10:2; 30-40:1. [John and his wife Electa Sarah and their six oldest children.]
John Stoker, males 0-5:1; 20-30:1//females 0-5:1; 5-10:2; 20-30:1. [David's son: John and his wife Jane and their children.]
P. 52a:
William Stoker, males 0-5:1; 20-30:1//females 20-30:1 (father-in-law Samuel Winegar is next door). [David's son William and his wife Almira with their child.]
P. 55a:
Michael Stoker, males 0-5:2; 5-10:2; 10-15:1; 30-40:1// females 30-40:1. [Michael, his wife Martha, and their five oldest children.]

1850 US: District 21, Pottawattamie, Iowa, p. 128b, dwelling and family 1020:
Michael Graybel, 63, labour, NC.
Polly, 58, NC. [Wife]
Cimiel, 34, M, OH. [Son; should be Simeon.]
Michael, 22, OH. [Son]
Elizabeth, 17, OH. [Daughter]
Sidney, 14, OH. [Son]
Almeda, 14, OH. [Grandchild through David.]
Maridith, 12, OH. [Grandchild through David.]
David, 7, IL. [Grandchild through David.]
Amanda, 4, IL. [Grandchild through David.]
William, 10, IL. [Grandchild through Simeon.]
Andrew, 8, IL. [Grandchild through Simeon.]
Aaron, 5, IL. [Grandchild through Simeon.]
Cathern Stoker, 77, NC. [Catherine Eller, Polly's mother, before she died; census was taken 11 Nov 1850.]

1851 Iowa State: Pottawattamie County. FHL film 1022203. The entire state was counted but only Pottawattamie listed everyone by name in the household and their ages; other counties only listed the head of the household and a numerical count without names of the various ages by sex in the household. No date is given when the census was taken but it was certified in Dec. 1851; however, the other counties show a Sep 1851 date which also appears more likely for Pottawattamie as well in light of ages given some children with known birthdays in October. Census return:
Grabill: Michael 65, Polly 58, William L. 26, Michael Jr. 23, Elizabeth 17, Sidney R. 15, Almeda 15, Marideth 13, David 7. Also in household are Catherine Stoker 78 and Amanda Grabill 5. [Note that the following related families are in this census and very close neighbors: Simeon P. Graybill, Michael/Polly Graybill with Polly's mother Catherine Eller Stoker, Eller/Margaret Stoker, Jacob/Catherine Stoker, Philip/Catherine Gatrost, David/Barbara Stoker, Edward/Sarah Davis, and William/Almira Stoker. Other relatives in same county but separated by several pages of census include the following families: Thomas/Hannah Pilling whose daughter Hannah, later marries William Lenore Graybill, Levi/Patience Graybill, John W./Sarah Stoker, Hannah Ford whose son Martin later marries Zibiah M. Stoker, and John/Sarah Smith.]

1856 Iowa: (From Ancestry.com) Kane, Pottawattamie, Iowa, p. 14 of 63, 87/88:
Michael Graybill, 68, 10 years in Iowa, NC, farmer.
Polly, 63, 10, NC.
Michael S., 28, 10, OH, farmer.
Elizabeth, 22, OH.
Sidney R., 20, 10, OH, farmer.
Almeda, 20, 7, OH.
Merideth, 18, 7, MO.
David M., 12, 7, IL.
Amanda, 10, 7, IL.
Catherine Stoker, 83, 10 years in Iowa, MD. [Note: this individual shows up as the next entry on the top of page 15 as part of the next family of Walter J. Woodward. This appears to be a mistake and I believe it was intended that she be with the Graybill family since she is Polly's mother.]

4. The book "The Brethren in the New Nation, A Source Book on the Development of the Church of the Brethren, 1785-1865," compiled by Roger E. Sappington and printed by the Brethren Press, Elgin, IL, FHL 973 Kzch gives background on the Dunker or the Brethren religious movement and some family ancestors as follows:
Pp. 10-11: "The Brethren, frequently known as the Dunkers (from the German, tunken, to dip) from their pattern of baptizing adult believers by three separate complete immersions forward. They are distinctly different from other groups which use the term Brethren, including the Moravians, the Plymouth Brethren, the United Brethren, and the Brethren in Christ or River Brethren. In 1836 they became known officially as the Fraternity of German Baptists, which was changed in 1871 to German Baptist Brethren and in 1908 to the Church of the Brethren... these Brethren had been organized in Germany in 1708 under the leadership of Alexander Mack, a young German miller. They were influenced by the Pietistic movement of the late 17th and early 18th centuries and by the earlier Anabaptist movement, which was currently represented in Germany by the group known as Mennonites. Beginning in 1719 and for about the next fifteen years almost all of the Brethren emigrated to America, landing in William Penn's city of Philadelphia. From that port they moved west and south, primarily into the mountain valleys of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas, all of which had settlements of Brethren before 1785. They shared the German fame for agricultural skill, generally settling on limestone soil and building large bank barns to take care of their livestock. The Germans developed the Conestoga (from a stream in Pennsylvania) workhorse and the Conestoga wagon (the famed covered wagon of the American frontier)... [Information on the Brethren from] 1785 to 1865 is very limited, which was evidently the way the Brethren intended it to be... at present, a fixed principle with them, to make no communication; and that they feel hurt when interrogated respecting their society. Indeed, they have always been shy of the English, and suspicious of encroachment and exposure... [It has been observed that they] altogether neglect any records of their proceedings, and are opposed even to publishing their numbers, lest it should seem to savor of pride..."
P. 15: "During the years from 1785 to 1865... [the] Brethren were engaged [in emigrating] from their homes in the Atlantic seaboard states to the new territory of the U.S. that was being opened to settlement on the west side of the Appalachian Mountains... [due to] the dissatisfaction with one's status in the present location and the call to move to new areas because 'the grass might be greener...'
P. 17, 26-29: "North Carolina. Although there were Brethren living in in North Carolina at least as early as the 1740's and 1750's... none of these settlements became the basis of a permanent Brethren congregation. They usually came to an end as the result of the loss of leadership, either by death or by emigration. By the end of the 18th century, however, Brethren had established settlements in two areas which would survive across the years and become permanent congregations. The older of these settlements probably began in the 1770's in an area south of the present-day city of Winston-Salem. The Moravians had purchased a large piece of property on which they established several different communities, including Salem... In addition to the Brethren settlement known as the Fraternity congregation which developed on the south side of the Moravian territory, the Brethren also put down permanent roots before 1800 in the mountainous northwestern corner of North Carolina in Ashe County. When the first Brethren arrived in this area is not known, but certainly they were there by the 1780's, for numerous Brethren names were reported in this area in the census of 1790. The number of brethren in the settlement increased during the 1790's, and in 1801 many of them placed their names on a petition to the government of North Carolina dealing with land problems. [The petition is as follows:] 'To the Honourable House of the General Assembly. The distressed Situation in which your humble petitioners by the late Act of Assembly for the Year 1801 in the Second Section, in respect to the Land Law's is reduced: it is impossible without flowing Tears the Grievances thereof to prescribe! it is evident, that the County of Wilkes before its division, that part of it, which is called now the County of Ashe, being first inhabited with Hunters, made their living by Hunting game. Ulrick Kessler, a Dunkard Preacher coming from the North, was the first inhabitance of the Germans who bought his land for 300 £, and paid for it, and by his persuasion, drawing his congregation hither, till this Wild Country became inhabited with industrious farmers, Purchasing their land, and give their Money, Horses, Waggons and nearly all their living for their Possessions. Then this part of the Country being Granted by the Legislature unto a party of Speculators, who by their granted Authority, oppressed this people very much, to make themselves rich of their Labour. The first Settlers and Hunters could not endure to live amongst Labouring and industrious farmers, Sold their rights, moving to the West Country's, Cumberland, Kentucky, etc. The Germans who had bought their Possessions, labouring with industry, clearing Land, building Houses, Barns, planting Orchards, made Meadows, raising Stock, building Gear Mills, Saw Mills, fulling mills; that this Wild Country became fertile Utility, by the blessing of the Supreme being, who made all things; paying their taxes annually, and living peaceably and quietly in their Possessions, under the Protection of the legislature of the State; till this present juncture of the above mentioned late Act, when the Speculators Grants and Rights was broke, and the Land Office for to make Entry's upon Land was estblish'd. Some of them made Entry's upon Vacant Treasury, getting their Grants; improved it by their families, without hearing of any other Claim of any other person of persons, of their possessions till now. At the time when Wilkes County was divided, and this Country became the Name the County of Ashe, the Commissioners faithfully Purchasing Fifty Acres of Land, laying it out in Lot's, Sold them, and Builded a Court House, made a Contract for to Build the Prison, out of the Surplus of that Money, which gave the date to Conceive and bring forth a New-Birth of the infernal part of Self Interested party Speculators. Robert NaIl, Surveyor who. had undoubtedly a View of this Speculation; for the former Benefit, made him Sure of the New, that by his influence, to the Committee of this County, under a Cloak that it was beneficial for the poor inhabitance, to petition for that Law; no Sooner that Law came in existence; than he had a Store of Old Warrants, which was bought for a trifle, having the Books of Fletcher, forming a Body of party Speculators, claiming the Town Land and all the plantations within Six Miles round, near the Court House, Surveyes the Land and especially where a German lives without distinction. For this Speculators Say, they had the Oldest Warrant, it was their Right and Title, and in any Court of justice and Equity they could keep it, for the Word: previous of that date give it to them by the Said Act. and not in one clause of Said Act is left a iota of reserve, for the defence of a Labouring industrious Citizen; it is impossible that your humble petitioners can believe, that the Legislature could be so Tyrannical to pass Such Act and Law, with an intent; that Honest Citizen should be cheated and defrauded out of their property and Possessions for the Cause of a few Speculating individuals. Therefore your Humble petitioners beg the Honourable House of Assembly to take the Grievances of the foregoing Circumstances into Consideration; and Consider at first That the Established Land paid into the Treasury, and that the Grants for said Land is Lawfull and Ought to be protected. Secondly That the Warrants, with which the Speculators will Cheat and Defraud, to drive honest Citizens out of their Possessions; if they had not be revived by the late Act, being all Dead and out of date, and then to make a Conclusion for a remedy of redress. Thirdly That an Additional Act, that it the meaning of the Legislature not is, that honest Citizen should be cheated, defrauded and deprived out of their Possessions by the said Act, and that the Older Grant should be protected in any Court of justice and equity for ever in which hopes your humble petitioners is in duty bound, and will for ever pray.'
[Signed {Kerry's note: the ones with asterisks are in this database and related to me}:] Michajah Pennington, Wm hubbart, Peter Hart, Jos Rowland, James Mulkey Capt, David Connelson, John Johnson, John Byrket, Andrew Fouts, Jacob May, Christian Byrket *, Wm May, George Grubb, William Migapha, Moses Toliver, George Eberly, Allen Noulin, William Pennington *, G Koons *, John Phillips, Henry Miller, George Miller, Henry Dulheur, John Kessler, David Engrum, Lewis Bonner, Andrew Sheets, Peter Dick *, John Dick jr *, Conrad Grubb, Luke White, John Koons *, Daniel Miller, Leonard Baumgarner, Michael Stocker *, Jacob Fouts, Wm Shepperd, Emmanuel Croster, Henry Michel, Andrew Rowland, Jonathan Miller, Wilm Henson Junr *, Jacob Grimes, benja manhubbire, Woller Weaver, Jacob Reese, John Ford, John Norris, Gilbirt Norris, Barnet Owen, Henry Graybeal *, John Whit, Jacob Eller *, Peter Eller *, John Maxwell, Zacariah Harwood, James rowrick, Jacob Pfau, Samuel Wilcocken, John Sturgin, Charles Williams, John Miller, Jas Bunyard, Samuel Taylor, Isaac Weaver, Id manhubbire, Landrine Eggers, John Ress, Henry agrer, Wm Morris, Ephrim Norris, Wm Owen."

5. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 17-31, clarifies early North Carolina counties and land grant practices:
"Land grants in North Carolina originated with an entry application which was filed in the county where the land was situated and if not lost are now on file there. This was followed, sometimes soon and sometimes years later by an order from the land office for the tract to be surveyed. Sometimes soon and sometimes years later the survey was made and a surveyor's plat filed with the Secretary of State in Raleigh. Then came the grant which may have been issued reasonably near the date of the survey or sometimes several years later. These grants, orders to survey and the survey itself are on file now in the Secretary of State's office at Raleigh...
Many counties were formed from what originally was Rowan County, namely Surry and Guilford in 1770, Burke and Wilkes in 1777, Randolph in 1779, Iridell in 1788, Stokes in 1789, Buncomb in 1791, Ashe in1799, Davidson in 1822, Yancey in 1833, Davie in 1836 and Yadkin in 1850. Some of these counties were grandchildren of Rowan County; for instance Wilkes was taken partly from Burke and partly from Surry, Randolph from Guilford, Buncomb and Yancy form Burke, Ashe from Wilkes and Stokes and Yadkin from Surry. These facts must be kept in mind when tracing early Rowan County families."

6. From Sep 2006 Internet, http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge.2509/brownson.html: It appears the Stoker family probably knew the Seymour Brunson family of nearby Lawrence Co., Ohio. Brunson had served with Luke Johnson in 1832. In 1833 he is again with Luke in the area as are Zerubbabel Snow and Amasa Lyman. He is also specifically in Bloomfield, Jackson, Ohio in Nov. 1834 when his son his born and also per letters he wrote. He appears generally in Kirtland thereafter. His journal notes that in July 1836 he visited the church in Bloomfield. He does note the baptism of John Stoker 13 Nov 1837. It was at his funeral in Nauvoo in 1840 that Joseph Smith first revealed the doctrine of baptisms for the dead.

7. Mentioned in the book "The Howard Leytham Stoker Von Dollen Family Histories," FHL 929.273 H833a, by Doris Lewis, 2017 So. 80th Ave., Omaha, Nebraska, 68124:
P. 87: Michael Stoker, the son of (John) Michael Stoker, was a 28 year old bachelor in Wilkes County, NC when the US census was taken in 1790. The farm which Michael Stoker bought from John Dick was on the north fork of New River in Ashe County. (The boundary line had been changed from Wilkes.) In 1792 Michael married Catherine Eller, the oldest daughter of Peter Eller and Elizabeth Dick. The Ellers and Dicks were settlers in this same area and all of Michael and Catherine's children, except Eller, were born and raised among numerous family members in North Carolina. In 1815, the family joined a migration of relatives moving west into Ohio. This party of Graybills and Stokers, all ages from babies to the elderly crossed the border into Ohio on Christmas Day, 1815. Michael and his son David, who had just turned 21, took part in the first election held in Jackson County on April 1, 1816. John Michael Stoker, Michael's father, settled in Perry County, Ohio, about 60 miles north. While in Ohio the Stokers became members of the newly organized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. In 1837 [error: Feb 1836?], Michael, Jr., who was now a man and a member of the Priesthood, baptized Eller's future wife and her mother, Margaret and Rhoda Judd. Pauline Stoker of Council Bluffs has Michael Jr.'s old notebook where he kept records of baptisms, birthdays and deaths. On October 27, 1836, Michael and Catherine Stoker sold their land in preparation of the move to Missouri where the Saints were gathering. Michael was then 74 and Catherine 63 years old. Great persecutions took place in Missouri during the next two years and the family had to flee to Illinois for safety. Michael was not among those who reached Illinois, and how or when he died is not known. Catherine was at Nauvoo, IL, when the Saints again had to flee in February of 1846. She settled in Pottawattamie County, living with her eldest daughter, Polly, where she died. She is buried in the Stoker-Graybill Cemetery east of Council Bluffs, Iowa." (Note this same narrative appears almost verbatim in the book, FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996 p. 86.)
P. 89: "Peter was the first son of George Michael Eller. Because there were a number of years between Peter's birth and the others, the question arises if he might not be a child of a first marriage. He grew up in North Carolina and married Elizabeth Dick in 1766. His land grant was close to other Ellers, beginning at the spruce pine on the Upper Ford on Rones Creek. In 1797 he bought the 70 acres which had been granted to his father-in-law, Conrad Dick. This land had been surveyed and chain carriers were listed as Michael Stoker and John Eller, neighbors. Peter had 470 acres at his death... There oldest daughter, Catherine, married Michael Stoker and their youngest daughter, Mary, married George Koons and their great granddaughter, Betty Oman married Orson Hyde Stoker. Children:
a. John, b. 1767 or 1769; d. 1823; m. Susanna Kerns.
b. Catherine, b. 6 Mar 1773 at Rowan Co., NC; d. 1850 at Council Bluffs, Iowa; m. Michael Stoker.
c. Elizabeth, b. 1780; m. William Pennington.
d. Barbara, b. 1782; m. Pertune.
e. Mary, b. 1783, NC; d. 1872; m. George Koons (a Quaker who was disowned for marrying Mary, who was a Dunkard). She was 18 and he 19.
f. Jacob, b. 1784; d. 1855; m. Catherine White.
g. Henry, b. 1788; d. 1876; m. Elizabeth Johnson.
h. George."
Pp. 90-91: "Polly Stoker, also called Mary, was the oldest child of Michael Stoker and Catherine Eller. Her mother lived with Polly in her old age in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. In North Carolina Polly married Michael Graybill, born May 14, 1787 to Peter Graybill and Christina Wampler, both natives of North Carolina and children of German parents. When Christina was five years old she had been stolen by Delaware Indians, but had been returned to her family when twelve. Her families were Dunkards or Anabaptists, both groups stemming from German Protestants. The Graybills lived in the German communities of early America, Lancaster County in Pennsylvania, Frederick County in Maryland and Ashe County in North Carolina. After a forest area of Ohio had been cleared in the early 1800's, the main body of Stoker and Graybill relatives crossed the northwest line into Ohio on Christmas Day, 1815. Some Graybills moved into Indiana where they married the daughters of John Smith and Massie Koons, great granddaughters of Peter Eller. In 1837, The Graybills left Ohio and Indiana for Caldwell County in Missouri. During the Mormon persecutions in Missouri, they fled to Illinois, coming to Pottawattamie County in Iowa in 1846-48. Vivian Graybill, of Independence, Missouri, has worked on the Graybill genealogy for many years and since he plans to publish a book with a great amount of detailed information I will not list the names of their complete families."
Pp. 102-105: "Eller Stoker was the last and ninth child born to Michael and Catherine Eller Stoker. He was born in Jackson County, Ohio on July 28, 1816, just seven months after the family had made the trek from North Carolina. While in Ohio, probably in 1833 or early 1834, the family joined the newly organized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. His older brother, Michael Jr., baptized a number of relatives and friends in Feb. of 1836, among them, Margaret Judd, Eller's future wife. In 1837, the family moved to Far West, Caldwell County, Missouri, a gathering place for the Saints. Two years later, Eller, with numerous relatives, fled the persecutions in Missouri. His mother, Catherine, lived through these times to die in 1850 in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, but Michael was not among those accounted for later..."

8. The book "Mormon Redress Petitions, Documents of the 1833-1838 Missouri Conflict," edited by Clark V. Johnson, contains a copy of the "Scroll Petition" dated 28 Nov 1843 at Nauvoo, IL addressed to the U.S. Congress by members of the LDS Church who had property destroyed by Missouri mobs in the 1830's. Included with over a couple thousand signatures are Elles, Mary, and Catherine Stoker. Elles is Eller, Mary is Margaret, and Catherine is Eller's mother Catherine Eller.

9. Received her patriarchal blessing of Hyrum Smith, 30 Jul 1843 at Nauvoo, IL.

10. Mentioned in daughter's biography in the FHL book 929.273 P684pn:
"Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 17-24, note that this book has a considerable downline of the children of this couple: "Michael Peter Graybill, b. 14 May 1787, Jefferson, Wilkes Co. (now Ashe Co.), NC; d. 24 Sep 1856, Council Bluffs, Pottawattamie Co., IA; bur. in the Graybill-Stoker Pioneer Cemetery; Pottawattamie Co,., IA; md. 1811, Ashe Co., NC to Mary 'Polly' Stoker. Michael was the s/o John Peter Graybill and Christena Wampler. Polly was b. 24 Nov 1792, Ashe Co. [Wilkes], NC; d. 18 Feb 1864, Pottawattamie Co., IA; bur. in the Graybill-Stoker Pioneer Cemetery. She was the eldest child of Michael Stoker and Catherine Eller... Michael and Polly left North Carolina probably in early 1816, and settled in Bloomfield Twp., Jackson Co., OH. Michael's parents, Peter Sr. and Christena (Wampler) Graybill, accompanied them; also, Michael's brother Henry and sister Barbara who had married Polly's brother David Stoker. Polly's parents, Michael and Catherine (Eller) Stoker, and other Stokers also made the journey with them. [Also John Graybill?] In the early 1830's, the family was visited by Missionary John Fisher from Bloomfield Twp. and was introduced to the early Latter Day Saints church. Those who were old enough were baptized in 1833. Involved in the church, Michael Graybill Sr. and related families anxiously followed the news from Independence, MO. The wanted to gather with the Saints in Caldwell Co., MO to be part of Zion, the new Jerusalem. Michael sold his farm to his father, Peter Graybill Sr., who along with Henry, Michaels' brother, and sister Celia (Graybill) Henson, decided to stay in OH. In 1836, Michael and other relatives packed to make the trip to Far West, MO. They spent the winter with Stoker relatives in Monroe Co., IN, then arrived at Far West in September 1837. The family withstood the dangers and aggravations of mob attacks. They endured many hardships. They had their plows, wagons and horses taken and even their first crop was taken just before it was harvested. With no provisions of food for the coming winter, Michael's sons, Simeon and Levi, left to look for work. They found jobs chopping railroad ties for the Eastern Railroad in Hannibal, MO. But they were unable to collect their pay until the following spring of 1839, when they were allowed to take the amount of their earnings out in goods. This allowed them to obtain wagons and horses and move the related families to Quincy and Nauvoo, IL. Michael Sr. and his family, Simeon's family and Catherine (Eller) Stoker's lived eleven miles southeast of Quincy, IL. After the death of Joseph and Hyrum Smith in 1844, Simeon went to Nauvoo to help guard the secretly hidden bodies of Joseph and Hyrum. Fearful that the anti-Mormon mob might try to do further violence to Joseph's and Hyrum's bodies, their caskets were filled with sand for the public burial. By 1846, most of Nauvoo had been vacated. Michael Sr.'s and Levi's families had gone west and settled in Kanesville, now Council Bluffs, IA. Some of the related families went on to UT. Michael Sr.'s daughters, Juliana and Mary Ann, were among those who went to UT. Michael Sr.'s sister Barbara (Graybill) Stoker went to UT later. Michael's and Polly's children were David, Catherine, Simeon Peter, Joseph Levi, George Washington, William Lenore, Juliann or (Julia Ann?) Michael S., Jr., Mary Ann, Elizabeth, Sidney Rigdon and Christina."

11. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 88-97:
"Catherine Eller, was born in Rowan County, NC, 6 Mar 1773; d. after 1850, probably in Pottawattamie Co., Iowa at the home of her daughter Mary (Polly) Graybill. The date and place of her birth and the names of her parents were stated in the Patriarchal Blessing accorded her on 30 July 1843 at Nauvoo, Ill. by Hyrum Smith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (Vol. 3, p. 148 on file at the Genealogical Society in Salt Lake City.) She married, about 1791/92, Michael Stoker, born 24 March 1762, according to a Bible owned by a member of the Lackey family and 20 May 1762 by Evangelical Lutheran Church Records of Frederick, Md. and died after 27 Oct 1836 when he sold land in Jackson Co., Ohio and removed to Missouri. There is some evidence stemming from endowment transcripts in the Index Bureau of the Gen. Soc. of the LDS Church in SLC that she had a middle name, Martha. Some of her children, viz. Elizabeth, John and Michael appear on those transcripts as children of Michael Stoker and Catherine Martha Eller. [KP note: Incorrect statement concerning Elizabeth, John, and Michael. Each of their endowment records occurred in the LDS Nauvoo temple in the mid-1840s and I have looked at the Index Bureau records on FHL film 1263432 (Special Collections) and in all cases the mother's name appears as Catherine Eller. There is a relatively modern subsequent index card for Elizabeth of erroneously duplicated LDS temple work ca. 1923-1925 in which she appears as Catherine Eller with Martha added afterwards. This late work was by a grandnephew named David Stoker and is not contemporaneous to the earlier records making it too late of an addition to be considered reliable.]
Michael Stoker, doubtless, was the son of Michael Stoker (Stocker) who settled in Frederick Co., Md. about the middle of the 18th century. No other family of the Stoker (Stocker) name was found by this writer in any of the early Frederick Co. records. The 18th century translated records of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. established about 1746, show many Michael Stoker (Stocker) entries beginning with the birth, on 1 Apr 1758, of Anna Barbara, daughter of 'Mich. Stocker' and his wife 'Ana Barb.' On p. 552 of a copy of these church records, now in possession of the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore, Maryland, will be found a recording of eight children of Michael Stocker, the youngest named George, born 13 Nov 1781. The first of these children was named Marie Barbara, born 1 Apr 1758. She doubtless was the same as or the twin of another daughter named Anna Barbara mentioned above as having been born on the same date. Another record shows, again, the birth of Marie Barbara, daughter of Michael Stocker born 1 Apr 1758; baptized 15 May 1758. Thus the church records contain three separate entries of the birth on 1 April 1758, of a daughter to Michael Stoker (Stocker) as follows:
a. 'On 1 Apr. 1758 to Mich. Stocker et uxori Ana Barbara a daughter Anna Barbara. Witnesses (to baptism) Marie Barbara filia coelebs Michael Roemers.' Filia Coelebs means unmarried daughter of.'
b. '1758, 1 April to Michael Stoker a daughter Marie Barbara, sponsored by Barbara Romerin, baptized 15 May 1758.'
c. '1758, 1 April to Michael Stocker a daughter Marie Barbara, sponsored by Barbara Romerin, baptized 15 May 1758.'
As already stated, page 552 of the church book records, on one single page, the birth of eight children to Michael Stocker the last child of whom, named George, was born 13 Nov 1781 and baptized 7 Jun 1782. The first seven of these recordings obviously were made in 1769, the 8th having been put there in 1782 as will be explained later. Preceding the names of the 1st, 4th, 5th and 6th and 7th Child, the symbol ϯ was added to show, doubtless, that the child was deceased when the record was made. The record, on page 552 of the church records, is as follows:
a. 1 April 1758, to Michael Stocker a child Marie Barbara; ϯ godmother, Barbara Romerin; baptized 15 May 1758.
b. 1 Jan 1760, to Michael Stocker, a child Johana Magdale, godparents, Heinrich Hanth (and wife) Magdalena. Date of baptism not stated. (Note by JWH - On page 454 of the church record is shown the marriage on 2 Nov 1784 'by license' of Johanna Magdalena Stockern and Johann Jost Stimmel, Michael Stocker, Peter Stimmel and John and Peter Schnog serving as witnesses.)
c. 20 May 1762, to Michael Stocker, a child Michael; godparents Michael Romer (and wife) Charlotte Amalia, (Amalis). Date of baptism not stated. (Note by JWH - This writer believes that this was the Michael Stocker who married Catherine Eller.
d. 26 Aug 1764, to Michael Stocker, a child, Elizabeth; godmother, Elizabeth Romerin. Date of baptism not stated.
e. 24 May 1767, to Michael Stocker, a child Balthasar; godparents, Balthsar Bock (and wife) Rosina. Date of baptism not stated.
f and g. 11 gbr 1769 (two children) to Michael Stocker, namely a child Marie Barbara; godparents, Johannes Haas (and wife) Mar. Barbara, and a child Christina; godmother, Christina Romerin, ledig, meaning unmarried. Baptized 19 gbr. 1769. (Note gbr is usually an abbreviation in German for born but in this case probably means November of possibly February.)
h. 13 Nov 1781, to Michael Stocker, a child, George; sponsor George Bens. Baptized 7 Jun 1782.
The above record of children of Michael Stocker, together with others shown below are interesting in two ways. First it will be noted that one of the sponsors in every case bore the same given name as the child. It was a custom in early German families to select as godmother or godfather of children being baptized the person for whom the child was named, usually a close relative and in some cases a respected friend. Second, as was shown by the first record quoted above and as will be shown by other records quoted below, Michael Stoker's wife as late as 24 March 1766 (Deed Record) was Barbara and as early as 12 April 1770 (Deed Record) was Elizabeth. That these two wives, Barbara and Elizabeth, were spouses of the same Michael Stocker is definitely established by the land records of Frederick County but, as the two next following church records show, Michael Stocker's full name was Joh. (John) Michael Stoker.
a. Page 564 of the translated church records at Maryland Hist. Soc. - Johannes, son of Joh. Michael and Elizabeth Stoker, b. 4 Jan 1772 and baptized 9 Feb 1772. (Note by JWH - p. 233 of the church records show that Johannes Stocker, aged 19, was confirmed on 22 Apr 1791. A translated record of the German Reformed Church of Frederick Co., Md., p. 196, found at the Gen. Soc. in SLC shows a child Marianna Stocker, was born to Johannes and Catherina Stocker 10 Aug 1809. Susan Kuntz (Frentz) was her godmother. A Catherina Stoker (sic) is mentioned as a dau. in the will of John Coons (sic) of Frederick Co., Md. dated 23 Dec. 1816 and proved 6 Mch. 1817. (Liber H.S, No. 2, p. 55, Frederick Co., Md. Wills.))
b. Page 591 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City - Marie Salome, dau. of Michael and Elizabeth Stocker b. 9 May 1773; bap. 27 June 1773. Her godparents were John Michel and Salome Alex (sic).
c. Page 617 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at Maryland Hist. Society [Baltimore] - Marie Barbara, dau. of Joh. Michael and Elizabeth Stoker, b. 23 Dec 1774; bapt. 16 Apr 1775. Her godparents were Johannes and Marie Barbara Hass.
d. Pages 638 and 1017 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City - Eva Margreth, dau. of Michael and Elizabeth Stocker, b. 22 Jul 1776; bap. 10 Nov 1776. Her godparents were Jacob and Margreth Bens. This child died 12 Sept. 1777, aged 1 year.
One may wonder why these four children were not listed with other children of Michael Stoker on page 552 of the church record (supra). After mentioning seven additional, more or less pertinent, translate church records the reason for this, as this writer sees it will be explained.
a. Page 407 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at Maryland Hist. Society, Baltimore, it is shown that Michael Stoker and Mary Adams were married, by license, 21 Jun 1778. The witnesses were Abraham Fah and his wife Juliana and Adam and Peter Schnock. Frederick Co. Marriage Records show that Michael Stoker and Mary A___, the spelling not complete, on 1 Jun 1778, were given a license to be married.
b. Page 209 [of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at Maryland Hist. Society, Baltimore] shows that Michael Stoker born 24 May 1862 and Magdalena Stockern (sic) born 1 Jan 1760 were confirmed. These two were brother and sister, children of Michael and Barbara Stoker (Stocker), their birth dates in their confirmation checking substantially with those recorded on page 552 of the same translated church record.
c. Page 664 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City shows that Anna Margareth, daughter of Michael and Anna Marie Stocker was born 15 May 1779 and baptized 24 July 1779. Her godparents were Adam and Anna Margareth Schnock.
d. Page 686 [of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City] shows that Marie Catharina, daughter of Michael and Anna Maria Stocker was born 4 Sept. 1780.
e. Page 752 [of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City] shows that Jacob, son of Michael and Anna Maria Stocker, was born 22 May 1785. His sponsors at baptism were his parents.
f. Page 113 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City, Utah, shows that Charlotte, daughter of Michael Stocker, was born 19 Feb 1788. Her mother's name was not given. Her godparents were Peter and Julia (Juliana) Schnock (Schnod).
g. Page 1017 of the translated record of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Md. at the Gen. Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at Salt Lake City shows that Elizabeth, wife of Michael Stoker died 10 Oct 1777 at the age of 33 years.
It should be kept in mind that the only Stoker (Stocker) family found in the early church, land or court records of Frederick County, Maryland was one headed by Michael. The only suggestion of a Stoker of Stocker of another given name was the same Michael in the recordings of his children by his second wife, Elizabeth. In those recordings he was called Joh. Michael Stoker. Deed Records in Frederick Co., calling him a saddler in every case and showing his wife to have been Barbara in March 1766 and Elizabeth in April 1770 proves the two Michaels to have been the same person. The second wife, Elizabeth, died 10 Oct 1777 at the age of 33. On 21 Jun 1778 he married Mary (Marie) Adams as already shown.
This writer explains the one page record that is found of Michael Stoker's (Stocker) children in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick Co., Md. as follows. When his first two daughters (twins probably) were born he had them baptized or recorded as they were born. When his twins, Marie Barbara and Christina were born in 1769 he had them baptized and recorded and when this was being done he decided to record all of his other children, four of whom had not been recorded, naming their godparents from memory. This would account for all of these children appearing on one page where immediately prior entries were 1769 and immediate subsequent ones 1770.
When children of his second wife, Elizabeth, came he had them baptized and recorded. Apparently there were four of them, one named Johannes, b. 4 Jan 1772, another named Marie Salome, b. 9 May 1773, the third was Marie Barbara b. 23 Dec 1774 and the fourth Eva Margreth b. 22 Jul 1776 - d. 12 Sep 1777. Then on 10 Oct 1777 his wife, Elizabeth, aged 33, died and on 21 Jun 1778 he married Mary (Marie) Adams, his third wife.
The first child of the third marriage was Anna Margareth, b. 15 May 1779. She was baptized and recorded. The second child by this third marriage was Marie Catherina, born 4 Sep 1780 and bapt. 4 March (May) 1781. She probably died young. The fourth child was Georg b. 13 Nov 1781. This child was baptized 7 Jun 1782 and the baptism recorded not on the current page of the record book but squeezed in on the 1769/1770 page where other children of Michael Stoker (Stocker) had been recorded enmasse. Thus we have on the 1769/1770 page of the church book a record of eight children of Michael Stoker (Stocker) born between 1758 and 1782 appearing on that page with other children of his who were born after 1769 appearing on other pages. The fact that his son Georg was so recorded is pretty conclusive proof that all of the eight Stoker (Stocker) children on that one page had the same father. The symbol ϯ apparently was to indicate that the child was deceased and, doubtless, was inserted when the baptism of the son George was recorded.
Other entries in the church records show Michael Stocker (Stoker) and his wife, Anna Maria, had two other children, one named Jacob, b. 22 May 1785, and the other named Charlotte, b. 19 Feb 1788, making 17 children as follows:
By first wife Barbara:
1. Anna Barbara Stocker, b. 1 Apr 1758. She died young.
2. Marie Barbara Stocker, b. 1 Apr 1758, the same as or twin of [Anna Barbara]. She died young.
3. Johana Magdale Stocker, b. 1 Jan 1760.
4. Michael Stocker, Jr., b. 20 May 1762 (24 May 1762 or 24 Mar 1762).
5. Elizabeth Stocker, b. 26 Aug 1764. She died young.
6. Balthasar Stocker, b. 24 May 1767. He died young.
7. Marie Barbara Stocker, b. 11 ??? 1769. [Twin of Christina.] She died young.
8. Christina Stocker, b. 11 ??? 1769. Twin of [Marie Barbara]. She died young.
By second wife Elizabeth:
9. Johannes Stocker, b. 4 Jan 1772.
10. Marie Solome Stocker, b. 9 May 1773.
11. Marie Barbara Stocker, b. 25 Dec 1774.
12. Eva Margreth Stocker, b. 22 Jul 1776, d. 12 Sep 1777.
By third wife Anna Marie Adams:
13. Anna Margareth Stocker, b. 15 May 1779.
14. Marie Catherina Stocker, b. 4 Sep 1780.
15. George Stocker, b. 13 Nov. 1781, bapt. 2 Jun 1782.
16. Jacob Stocker, b. 22 May 1785.
17. Charlotte Stocker, b. 19 Feb 1788.
[Note: James Hook totally missed one child, Eva Catherina, who was born between George and Jacob; see her notes for church record documentation.]
The church records also show that Michael Stocker witnessed a goodly number of baptisms and marriages. One marriage, 'by license in Virginia,' which he and George Schaeffer witnessed, on 20/21 Apr. 1788, was that of Christopher Schaeffer and Elizabeth Adams, she, perhaps, a sister of his third wife. (Page 309 [of church record].) Michael Stoker attended communion service on 18 Oct 1778, 13 May 1779, 14 May 1780, 19 May 1782, 8 Jun 1783, 30 Jun 1784, 4 Jun 1786, 27 May 1787, 7 Oct 1787, and 24 Apr 1791. On 30 Jun 1784 and 4 Jun 1786 he was accompanied by his 'filia', meaning his daughter. A Michael Stocher (sic) attended services 23 Oct 1803 and 2 Jun 1805. After the latter date he was not found again in the records.
The spelling of the name in the church records varied frequently between Stoker and Stocker but in deeds mentioned herein, it was spelled Stoker. He obviously was a German but from whence in Germany he or his parents came was not discovered. This writer once thought that he was, very likely, the son of Michael Stoker, aged 31, who came to Pennsylvania on the ship 'Brittania' with Margaret Stoker, aged 24, his wife probably, and took his oath of allegiance 21 Sep 1731 but dismissed the idea when he later learned that Michael and Margaret Stoker's son Michael died in 1771 in Macungie Twsp. of Northampton (now Lehigh Co.) Pennsylvania, his will having been probated there, 25 Jan 1771, naming a wife Margaret and children Mary, Elizabeth, Catherine, Susannah and George.
Michael Stoker of Frederick Co, MD is first found in the records of that county on 1 Apr 1758 when the birth dates of his daughters Ann Barbara and Marie Barbara (they may have been the same Child) were recorded in the Evangelical Lutheran Church at Frederick, MD. On 14 May 1760 he purchased from Ballis Paugh lot no. 118 in Fredericktown, Frederick Co., MD. (Deed Book F, p. 985.) In that deed he is called a sadler. Another Frederick Co. deed dated 24 Mar 1766, 'Michael Stoker, sadler,' his wife Barbara relinquishing her dower, sold this same lot in Frederick Town to John Hoffman. (Deed Book K, p. 432.) On 30 Aug 1768, 'Michael Stoker, sadler' purchased from Henry Brunner lot no. 83 and a half interest in lot No. 80 located in Frederick Town. (Deed Book L, pp. 473-475.) This deed was corrected on 24 Dec 1772 to read lot 82 rather than lot 83. (Deed Book P. p. 530.)
Sometime near the date of the last purchase his first wife Barbara apparently died because on 12 Apr 1770 'Michael Stoker, sadler,' his wife Elizabeth relinquishing her dower, sold to Henry Brunner, a five foot strip off of the lot purchased from said Brunner 30 Aug 1768. (Deed book N, p. 90.) On 7 Nov 1774 'Michael Stoker,' his wife Elizabeth relinquishing her dower, conveyed to Samuel Miller a part of lot no. 82 that he had acquired from Henry Brunner, 30 Aug 1768, when his wife doubtless was Barbara. (Deed Book L, p. 473-475 and Deed Book w, p. 235.) On 19 Nov 1778 'Michael Stoker farmer,' his wife Mary relinquishing her dower, sold another part on lot No. 82 to Philip Shade, (Deed Book RP1, p. 519.) These deeds relating to Lot No. 82 first when his wife, doubtless was Barbara, second when his wife, certainly was Elizabeth and third when his wife, certainly, was Mary (Marie) are conclusive proof that it was the same Michael Stoker who married these three wives.
The Archives of Maryland, Vol. XLVIII shows orders in Council on 30 Nov. 1781 to pay certain sums of money to Michael and James Stocker. On 14 Mar 1783 other orders were given to pay Michael Stoker 17 pounds, 17 shillings and 1 pence.
[The son] Michael Stockerd (Stoker) is shown in the 1790 census of Wilkes County, Morgan District as being over 16 [possible Hook error] years of age but with no other person listed in his family. Morgan District later (1799) became Ashe County and was the same District where Peter Eller, John Koons and Conrad Dick lived. His farm was on the North Fork of New River in Ashe Co. He married Catherine Eller about 1791/92 and on 29 Dec 1792 purchased of John Dick 100 acres of land on Naked Creek in Ashe Co. which creek flows from the west into the south fork of New River. Ames Bunyard was a witness. (Book B-1, p. 249, Wilkes Co., NC Deeds.) On 13 March 1806 he entered 150 acres of land on the North Fork of New River adjoining his existing land. This land was surveyed March 12, 1806 and granted to Michael Stoker, 27 Nov 1806. (Grant #629, Ashe Co., NC, Sec'y of State's Office, Raleigh, NC.) The survey was signed by Jesse and Eli Cleveland and attested by Peter and Jacob Ellar (sic).
The family removed to Jackson Co., Ohio about 1814/15. It was here, probably, that the parents embraced the Mormon Faith. On 27 Oct 1836 he sold his property in Jackson Co., Ohio and followed the Mormon migration to Missouri. His wife Catherine, apparently was living near Nauvoo, Illinois in 1841 where she had herself baptized for her father Peter Eller, her grandparents on her mother's side, vis. Kinrod (Conrad) and Catherine Dick, her brother John Eller and her dau. Rebecca Stoker. (Nauvoo, Ill. Baptisms for the Dead, Mormon, at Gen. Soc. of Utah, Salt Lake City.)"

12. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 17-31, in speaking about Peter Eller Sr.'s [b. abt. 1746, d. 1799] estate settlement, the following quotes refer to family members involved with the settlement. Note that sons-in-law William Pennington (wife Barbara or Elizabeth Eller?) and George Koons (Mary's husband) do not show up at the estate sale of 1799 but do show up from 1809 to 1817 when the inherited land of Peter Eller is sold. Of the 		Eller, Catherine (I1234)
 
2891 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 St67d "Descendants of William Stoker (1819-1892): with a View of his Ancestors," by Jay and Rachel Phillips Deeben, Feb. 2014, pp. 18-23:
"David Stoker (1795-1852), by Jay Deeben.
David Stoker, son of Michael Stoker (1762) and Catherine Eller, was born 23 Mar 1795[1] in Wilkes[2] County, North Carolina. He married Barbara Graybill in February 1814 in North Carolina, probably Ashe County,[3] in Western North Carolina. Barbara Graybill was born 1 Apr 1792,[4] in Wilkes County, North Carolina. Her parents[5] are John Peter Graybill and Christina Wampler. Sometime after David and Barbara were married, probably in early 1815, they moved to Southern Ohio. All of David Stoker and Barbara Graybill's children were born in and around Bloomfield Township, Jackson County, Ohio except for their oldest child Christina who was born in August 1815, a year before Jackson County,[6] Ohio was organized. The most likely county of her birth would be Scioto.
During the research for this history Bloomfield, Morrow, Ohio was found as a place of birth for David. We are not sure how the county of (1792-1872) Morrow was used as a place of birth. Speculation on this subject brings us to the idea that whomever entered Morrow County was using a current map. The only Bloomfield that appears on the map is located in Morrow County and it is about 100 miles north of Jackson County.
At the time of the 1820 Federal Census David and his family are in Madison Township, Jackson, Ohio.[7] Their family consisted of David, Barbara, Christina, John, and William. In the 1830 Federal Census David and his family are still in Madison Township, Jackson, Ohio.[8] The family is made up of David, Barbara, Christina, John, William, Nancy, and Sarah.
David and Barbara Graybill Stoker were introduced to the church around 1833, while living in Bloomfield Township, Jackson County, Ohio. They were baptized in late 1833 or early 1834. Evidently a large number of the Stoker family joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1833 and 1836 while living in Ohio.[9] "During the late fall and winter of 1836, the Stoker families, whether together or separately, …"[10] left Ohio and moved to Missouri.
For a more detailed history on David Stoker and Barbara Graybill refer to chapter 4, of the book "The Stoker/Winegar/West/Youd Legacy."[11]
David and some of his family are listed in the 1851 census of Pottawattamie County, Iowa. There is a total of three families listed in three different households. Household one: David Stoker age 57, Barbara Stoker age 57, and Michael Stoker (1833) age 17 (son). Household two is Edward Davis age 27, (son-in-law); Sarah Davis age 24, (daughter); Michael Davis (grandson). Household three is William Stoker (1819) (son) age 32, Alrnira Stoker age 33 (daughter-in-law), Samuel D. Stoker age 11 (grandson), Wm A. Stoker age nine (grandson), Susan A. Stoker age six (granddaughter), and Michael Stoker (1847) age four (grandson).[12] (Relationships to David Stoker added to clarify)
David and his family remained in Jackson County, Ohio until sometime after the taxes were paid in 1834. There are tax records for David in Bloomfield Township, Jackson County, Ohio for the years of 1828, 1830, 1831, 1833. He also had tax records in Madison Township, Jackson County, Ohio for the years of 1833 and 1834.[13]
David and most of his family joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints around 1833 while in Ohio.[14] Then around 1836 the call from Church Headquarters came for the members of the church to move to Missouri. With this move to Missouri the Stoker family was right in the middle of the persecutions that were inflicted upon the church in Missouri and later in lllinois.
When the church members were driven out of Missouri in late 1838 and early 1839 under the extermination orders of "Lilburn Boggs," governor of Missouri, David Stoker and his family were caught up in this exodus. They went with the church to Illinois and settled there. David Stoker's name appears on the 1840 census for Quincy Township, Adams County, Illinois.[15]
The year of 1840 was a hard year for David and Barbara. While trying to get settled into a routine and a home in their new area in Illinois, their daughter Nancy Stoker who was sixteen or would turn sixteen that year, died.[16]
They remained in Illinois until the winter of 1846 when the church members were again driven out of their homes. As the church headed west though Iowa they set up waystations at various points across Iowa, with the main group settling at a place known as Council Bluffs on the western edge of Iowa.
David, Barbara, and family members still living with them stopped at Mt. Pisgah, Union County, Iowa,[17] one of the way-stations midway across Iowa, to earn enough funds to continue their journey west. When the Stoker family left Mt. Pisgah for Council Bluffs[18] is not known. But there is some indication that he operated a ferry across the Missouri River near Council Bluffs, Iowa. In 1852 as the family was preparing to leave Council Bluffs for the Salt Lake Valley, David contracted cholera and died on 27 May 1852,[19] about two weeks before the family members started west with the Isaac M. Stewart Emigrating Company.[20] Barbara is not listed with the Stewart Company or any other company leaving for the Salt Lake Valley in 1852. But her name is listed as having traveled in 1852 to the Salt Lake Valley.
Barbara Graybill Stoker died 3 October 1872, in Summit, Iron, Utah.
Children of David Stoker and Barbara Graybill[21] Stoker (Name - Birth - Place - Death - Place):
Christina Stoker, 24 Aug 1815, Bloomfield, Scioto, Ohio, 10 May 1854, Alpine, Utah, Utah.
John Stoker, 8 Mar 1817, Madison Twp., Jackson, Ohio, 11 Jun 1881, Bountiful, Davis, Utah.
William Stoker, 26 Mar 1819, Bloomfield, Jackson, Ohio, 19 May 1892, Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah.
Nancy Stoker, Oct 1824, Bloomfield, Jackson, Ohio, 1840, Missouri.
Sarah Stoker, 20 Jun 1827, Bloomfield, Jackson, Ohio, 10 Mar 1908, Summit Creek, Iron, Utah.
Catherine Stoker, 24 Jul 1829, Bloomfield, Jackson, Ohio, 8 Nov 1882, Summit, Iron, Utah.
Michael Stoker[22], 12 Sep 1833, Bloomfield, Jackson, Ohio, 2 Sep 1904, Junction, Piute, Utah.
Obituary of Barbara Graybill Stoker, Deseret News, 16 Oct 1872, p. 13, as found on Utah Digital NewsPapers at http://digitalnewspapers.org/: "At Summit Creek, Iron Co., Oct. 3, of old age, Barbary Stoker, in her 81st year. She was baptised into the church in Nov., 1833, moved to Far West, Mo., in 1837, and passed through the persecutions with the Saints in that place. She went to Illinois in 1839, and was also in the persecutions at that place. In 1852 she came to Utah, lived in Springville, Utah Co., and afterwards moved to the South. She died in full faith of the gospel. -Com."
There is a chapter on each of David and Barbara's children in this book. Please refer to those chapters for information concerning them.
Chapter Notes for David Stoker (1795-1852)
1. Stoker, Elayne, "Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881" Volume H, p. 59, (copy of book is on
CD in possession of Rachel A Deeben)
2. Ashe County, North Carolina was created from Wilkes County, North Carolina in 1799. Any births, marriages, and deaths that occurred prior to 1799 would be in Wilkes County. Reference obtained from the Animap program from the Goldbug Company.
3. Ashe County was created from Wilkes County in 1799.
4. Stoker, Elayne, "David Stoker and Barbara Graybill," p. 59.
5. Stoker, Elayne, "David Stoker and Barbara Graybil1," p. 59.
6. Animap: State of Ohio, Jackson County was created from four counties, Scioto, Gallia, Athens, and Ross in 1816. Animap program from the Goldbug Company.
7. Federal Census of 1820 for Madison Twp, Jackson, Ohio. Image is on Ancestry.com. Year:
1820; Census Place: Madison, Jackson, Ohio; Roll M33_89; Page: 141; Image: 154.
8. Federal Census of 1830 for Madison Twp, Jackson, Ohio. Image is on Ancestry.com. 1830 U S
Census; Madison, Jackson, Ohio, Page: 93; NARA Roll: M19-134; Family History Film: 0337945.
9. Stoker, Jimmie "B", "The Michael and Catherine Eller Stoker as early Mormons in Ohio and
Missouri," subheading "The Stokers join the LDS Church," p. 1, November 24, 1993, Nauvoo
Land and Historical Library, Nauvoo, Illinois.
10. Stoker, Jimmie "B", p. 4.
11. Rowley, Alta Aitken; Grant Joseph Aitken; and Charlene Attryde Aitken, "The Stoker/Winegar/West/Youd Legacy", Chapter 4, David Stoker and Barbara Graybill, p. 25, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, Call N0. 929.273 St67ra.
12. Pottawattamie County, Iowa 1851 Census, lines 14 thru 25; Ancestry.com. Iowa State Census
Collection, 1836-1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2007. Original data: film number IA_1 18, Microfilm of Iowa State Censuses, 1856, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915, 1925 as well various special censuses from 1836-1897 obtained from the State Historical Society of Iowa via Heritage Quest.
13. Jackson County Ohio Tax Record 1819 - 1838, Jackson County (Ohio). Auditor, Tax duplicates,
1819-1838, Repository: Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. Film 493,566, year of 1828, p. 4, year of 1831, p. 6, Film 493,615, image 99, p. 5, image 156, p. 58, image 258, p. 59.
14. Rowley, Alta Aitken, p. 26.
15. Year: 1840; Census Place: Quincy, Adams, Illinois; Roll: 54; Page: 43; Image: 89; Family History Library Film: 0007641. Ancestry.com. 1840 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.
16. Our Stoker Family Histories 1731 - 1881, Vol H, Compiled and Edited by Elayne Stoker, Our
Stoker Family Histories 1731 - 1881, Vol H (copy of book on CD), p. 60, 116. Repository: Rachel Anne Phillips Deeben.
17. A brief history of Mt. Pisgah, Union County, Iowa can be seen at website:

18. Council Bluffs, Iowa was known until 1852 as Kanesville, Iowa -- the historic starting point of the Mormon Trail and eventual northernmost anchor town of the other emigrant trails, is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattarnie County, Iowa, United States and is on the east bank of the Missouri River across from what is now the much larger city of Omaha, Nebraska. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanesville ,_Iowa)
19. Rowley, Alta Aitken, p. 27.
20. The following families, all related to Barbara Graybill Stoker traveled with the Isaac M. Stewart Emigrating Company from June 1852 thru Sep 1852.
William Stoker[,] 7 in family[,] 4 oxen[,] 2 cows[,] 0 horses[,] 0 Sheep[,] 1 Waggons[,] 1 loos Cattle
Michael Stoker[,] 3 in family[,] 4 oxen[,] 3 cows[,] 1 horses[,] 15 Sheep[,] 1 Waggons[,] 0 loos Cattle
John Mc Daniells [Mc Daniel][,] 10 in family[,] 6 oxen[,] 4 cows[,] 0 horses[,] 0 Sheep[,] 1 Waggons[,] 0 loos Cattle
Edward Davis[,] 4 in family[,] 2 oxen[,] 2 cows[,] 0 horses[,] 0 Sheep[,] 1 Waggons[,] 0 loos Cattle
Source: (Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, 1847-1868; Source of Trail Excerpt: Isaac M. Stewart Emigrating Company, Journal).
21. Stoker, Elayne, p. 59 and 60 (questionable on county, see chapter note "Animap")
22. Endowment House Living Endowments; Endowment House Recorder, Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints; Film 0183406 -- Book "G"; p. 95, line #23; Family History Library."

2. Censuses:
1800 US: Ashe County, North Carolina. The total population for Ashe County, North Carolina in 1800 was 2785, including slaves. The 1800 Ashe County Census was the first for the northwestern most county in the Tar Heel State. This county was formed in late 1799 and included all of Wilkes County west of the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountain. The 977 square miles that then composed Ashe County has been further divided, first in 1849 to form Watauga County, North Carolina and again 10 years later to form Alleghany County. This record includes families who may have been living in those areas at the time. The original census was in rough alphabetic order, and this does not facilitate the research of particular communities. I include all interrelated families of this time and place to better show relationships. A word of explanation on some of these families:
A. Mary and Barbara Burkett who married Peter and David Graybeal, had a father named Christian - unsure as to which is correct of the two.
B. Elizabeth Eller appears to be Elizabeth Dick, the wife of Peter Eller who had just died per his probate of 1799.The one daughter is probably Mary; unsure who the two boys are since there should be three: Jacob, Henry, and George. John Eller would be Elizabeth's eldest son and married to Susannah Kerns.
C. Henry Graybeal would have recently married Celia Henson and also the eldest son of [John] Peter and Christina [Wampler] Graybill who also appear to be in this same census. Note that Peter evidently had owned slaves at that time - the census does not say how many.
D. One of the William Hensons could be somehow related to William Henson who marries Nancy Graybill and to Celia Henson who marries Henry Graybeal.
E. The two Koons are probably brothers and are sons of Devault Koon judging from their ages. This would make them uncles to George Koons who eventually marries Mary Eller.
F. James Lewis, b. abt. 1790, marries Christena Graybill in 1807 - there may be a connection with these two James Lewis.
G. William Pennington marries Barbara (or Elizabeth) Eller and may be the younger of the two here listed.
H. Michael Stucker is a misspelling for Michael and Catherine Eller Stoker with their three oldest children: Polly, David, and Elizabeth.
Head of Family; Males 0-9, 10-16, 16-26, 26-45, 45+; Females - 0-9, 10-16, 16-26, 26-45, 45+:
Burkett, Christian; 1-2-0-1-0; 1-0-2-0-0
Burkett, Christian; 4-1-0-1-0; 1-0-1-0-0
Eller, Elizabeth; 1-0-1-0-0; 0-0-1-0-1
Eller, John; 3-0-0-1-0; 1-0-0-1-0
Graybeal, Henry; 0-0-1-0-0; 2-0-1-0-0
Graybeal, Peter; 2-1-1-0-1; 3-1-0-0-1
Henson, William; 0-1-1-0-0; 2-0-1-0-0
Henson, William; 3-0-0-0-1; 1-1-1-0-0
Koons, George; 0-0-1-0-1; 0-0-0-0-1
Koons, John; 0-0-1-0-1; 0-1-2-0-1
Lewis, James; 2-2-1-0-1; 4-1-0-0-1
Lewis, James, Jr.; 1-0-1-0-0; 1-0-1-0-0
Pennington, William; 0-1-0-1-0; 1-2-1-0-1
Pennington, William; 0-0-1-0-0; 0-0-1-0-0
Stucker, Michael; 1-0-0-1-0; 2-0-0-1-0

1820 US: Madison Township, Jackson, Ohio, pg. 192, township had a little over 40 families; related families of Michael Stoker and Michael Graybill are in neighboring Bloomfield Township; columns are male 0-10, 10-16, 16-18, 16-26, 26-45, 45+// female 0-10, 10-16, 16-26, 26-45, 45+:
David Stoker: 2,1,0,1,0,0//1,0,0,1,0.
Peter Grabill: 1,0,0,1,0,1//0,0,2,0,1.
Nancy Henson: 0,1,0,1,0,0//0,1,1,1,0.
James McDaniel: 0,0,0,0,0,1//3,2,0,0,1.

1830 US: Madison Township, Jackson, Ohio, p. 93a:
David Stoker: Males 10-15:2; 30-40:1; female 0-5:2; 10-15:1; 30-40:1. [Appears to be David, his wife Barbara, and their children: Christina, John, William, Sarah, and Catherine; appears from children enumerated that Nancy may have been dead by 1830.]

1840 US: Quincy, Adams, Illinois, the following related families living in near proximity to each other (with exception of John McDaniel and his wife Christina Stoker, all of David Stoker's siblings, children, and mother are accounted for and it confirms his father Michael was dead by 1840):
P. 43a:
David Stoker, males 5-10:1; 40-50:1//females 5-10:1; 10-15:1; 40-50:1. [David, his wife Barbara, and their children Sarah (13), Catherine (11?), and Michael (6). Note daughter Nancy not in census which means she was probably deceased by then.]
Simeon P. Grabell [Graybill], males 0-5:1; 20-30:1//females 0-5:1; 20-30:1. [David's nephew: Simeon and his wife Amanda Hill and their two oldest children.]
Jacob Stoker, males 20-30:1//females 0-5:1; 20-30:1. [Younger brother to David: Jacob and his wife Catherine and their oldest child.]
P. 44a:
Eller Stoker, males 20-30:1//females 0-5:1; 15-20:1; 60-70:1. [Youngest brother to David: Eller with his wife Margaret and their oldest child and probably their mother Catherine Eller.]
James Walker [Welker], males 10-15:1; 15-20:1; 30-40:1//females 5-10:2; 40-50:1. [Living next door to Eller and ages work perfectly that this is James Welker and Elizabeth Stoker, who is David's sister.]
John W. Stoker, males 0-5:2; 10-15:1; 30-40:1//females 0-5:1; 5-10:2; 30-40:1. [John and his wife Electa Sarah and their six oldest children.]
John Stoker, males 0-5:1; 20-30:1//females 0-5:1; 5-10:2; 20-30:1. [David's son: John and his wife Jane and their children.]
P. 52a:
William Stoker, males 0-5:1; 20-30:1//females 20-30:1 (father-in-law Samuel Winegar is next door). [David's son William and his wife Almira with their child.]
P. 55a:
Michael Stoker, males 0-5:2; 5-10:2; 10-15:1; 30-40:1// females 30-40:1. [Michael, his wife Martha, and their five oldest children.]

1850 US: Can't find.

1851 Iowa State: Pottawattamie County. FHL film 1022203. The entire state was counted but only Pottawattamie listed everyone by name in the household and their ages; other counties only listed the head of the household and a numerical count without names of the various ages by sex in the household. No date is given when the census was taken but it was certified in Dec. 1851; however, the other counties show a Sep 1851 date which also appears more likely for Pottawattamie as well in light of ages given some children with known birthdays in October. Census return:
Stoker: David 57, Barbary 57, Michael 17. [Note that the following related families are in this census and very close neighbors: Simeon P. Graybill, Michael/Polly Graybill with Polly's mother Catherine Eller Stoker, Eller/Margaret Stoker, Jacob/Catherine Stoker, Philip/Catherine Gatrost, David/Barbara Stoker, Edward/Sarah Davis, and William/Almira Stoker. Other relatives in same county but separated by several pages of census include the following families: Thomas/Hannah Pilling whose daughter Hannah, later marries William Lenore Graybill, Levi/Patience Graybill, John W./Sarah Stoker, Hannah Ford whose son Martin later marries Zibiah M. Stoker, and John/Sarah Smith.]

1870 US: 7-Dist. Summit, Iron, Utah, p. 295b, entry 13 [neighbors to three children: Michael, Catherine, and Sarah]:
Barbary Stoker, 78, $100 real estate, $1000 personal property, NC.

3. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 17-31, clarifies early North Carolina counties and land grant practices:
"Land grants in North Carolina originated with an entry application which was filed in the county where the land was situated and if not lost are now on file there. This was followed, sometimes soon and sometimes years later by an order from the land office for the tract to be surveyed. Sometimes soon and sometimes years later the survey was made and a surveyor's plat filed with the Secretary of State in Raleigh. Then came the grant which may have been issued reasonably near the date of the survey or sometimes several years later. These grants, orders to survey and the survey itself are on file now in the Secretary of State's office at Raleigh...
Many counties were formed from what originally was Rowan County, namely Surry and Guilford in 1770, Burke and Wilkes in 1777, Randolph in 1779, Iridell in 1788, Stokes in 1789, Buncomb in 1791, Ashe in1799, Davidson in 1822, Yancey in 1833, Davie in 1836 and Yadkin in 1850. Some of these counties were grandchildren of Rowan County; for instance Wilkes was taken partly from Burke and partly from Surry, Randolph from Guilford, Buncomb and Yancy form Burke, Ashe from Wilkes and Stokes and Yadkin from Surry. These facts must be kept in mind when tracing early Rowan County families."

4. From Sep 2006 Internet, http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge.2509/brownson.html: It appears the Stoker family probably knew the Seymour Brunson family of nearby Lawrence Co., Ohio. Brunson had served with Luke Johnson in 1832. In 1833 he is again with Luke in the area as are Zerubbabel Snow and Amasa Lyman. He is also specifically in Bloomfield, Jackson, Ohio in Nov. 1834 when his son his born and also per letters he wrote. He appears generally in Kirtland thereafter. His journal notes that in July 1836 he visited the church in Bloomfield. He does note the baptism of John Stoker 13 Nov 1837. It was at his funeral in Nauvoo in 1840 that Joseph Smith first revealed the doctrine of baptisms for the dead.

5. From the book "Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881," Vol. II, comp. and ed. by Elayne Stoker, 2004, printed by Stevenson's Genealogy Center, Provo, UT [Note: spelling corrected by myself.]. From an article entitled "A Brief History of Sylvanus Cyrus & Catherine Stoker Hulet":
"Catherine Stoker was a daughter of David Stoker and Barbara Graybill (Graybull). She was born July 29, 1829, at Bloomfield, Jackson County, Ohio. The Stoker's (Stocker's) originated from Switzerland and lived for one generation in Maryland and the next generation in North Carolina before moving to Missouri. Barbara Graybill may have been a full blood Cherokee Indian or may have had a white mother and a Cherokee father. [Kerry's note: This seems like a very odd statement and it is without support. DNA testing has not confirmed such a wild statement.]
The Stoker's May have heard the gospel preached by a brother Luke Johnson on January 19, 1833. Having become "Mormons" during that early period of the Church they were subjected to the same persecution that other members of the Church are known to have had and were forced to move through the Missouri period and into Illinois...
David Stoker, also, helped with the building of the Nauvoo Temple and some of the homes in the City of Nauvoo. The Hulets and the Stokers left Nauvoo with other Saints during the cold winter of 1846 and crossed Iowa. It was at Mt. Pisgah that Sylvanus met and fell in love with Catherine Stoker. They were married May 19, 1850, by a Reverend March. Evidently, the Hulets and the Stokers had been in some of the groups who had stayed to protect some of the villages as they were not in the first companies to go to Utah. However, it was soon after Sylvanus and Catherine were married that they started on their journey westward from Mt. Pisgah, with a company of Saints led by Aaron Johnson, who was appointed by President Young. At Winter Quarters Catherine's father, David Stoker, was laid to rest.
Catherine's mother, her brothers John, William, and Michael, and her sisters Christina and Sarah, and Sarah's husband, Edward David, were in the company of the Hulets. It was the latter part of September when they arrived in Salt Lake City. They thought they had reached their journey's end, but President Young asked the Hulets to go on with some other families to Hobble Creek and help settle that area. It was the first week in October 1850 when they arrived at this place, later named Springville."

6. The book "Pioneer Women of Faith and Fortitude" by the daughters of the Utah Pioneers:
"Barbara Graybill Stoker, b. Apr 1792 at Ashe, NC, d. 3 Oct 1872 at Summit Creek, Iron, Utah, parents are John P. Graybill and Christina Wampler, pioneer of 1852, m. David Stoker 1814 (he died 27 May 1852 in Council Bluffs, Iowa), children:
Christina, 24 Aug 1815
John, 8 Mar 1817
William, 26 Mar 1819
Nancy, Oct 1824
Sarah, 20 Jun 1827
Catherine, 25 Jul 1829
Michael, 12 Sep 1833
The Wamplers, Graybills, and Stokers were of German origin coming to this country in the mid-1700s and settling in Ashe County, NC. They were neighbors and friends, and their children grew up together. Barbara was the fifth child born to her parents. When she grew up, she married David Stoker. After a forest area of Ohio was cleared in the early 1800's, the main body of Stoker and Graybill relatives crossed the border into Ohio on Christmas Day, 1815. While living in Ohio, the Stokers became members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1836, they moved to Missouri with the main body of the Saints, but great persecutions took place here and they were forced to flee to Illinois for safety. Enemies of the church soon drove them from Nauvoo to Iowa. They then went to Council Bluffs where David and his brothers were operating a ferry across the Missouri River to obtain enough money for their journey west to Utah. On May 27, 1852 David Stoker died of cholera and was buried in the Stoker-Graybill cemetery at [near] Winter Quarters, Iowa. Barbara came West with her children in June, 1852, and lived with her children. On Oct. 3, 1872, she passed away at the home of her daughter in Summit, Iron County, Utah."

7. Visited Summit 25 Dec 2002. Town is just off Interstate 15 and only a few blocks long with one main street with little if any commerce. The original Hulet house is on the northwest corner of Center and Main streets. Many photos of house on file. It is a two story brick structure with three dormers, two chimneys on either end, and in poor repair being used for what appears as a low priced rental. Since Barbara died in Oct. 1872, she may or may not have lived in this house briefly since the Hulets moved to Summit in 1872 and I am unsure as to when the house was actually built by 1872 or not. There is a large memorial plaque and rock cairn placed on the property which reads:
"Sylvanus Cyrus Hulet, 1826 - 1901, a convert of 1831, Utah Pioneer 1850, settled in Springville, Called to the Dixie Mission 1861, Moved to Summit 1872,
Children by Catherine Stoker: John Riley, Sarah Ann, Barbara Adlinda, Sylvanus Cyrus, Sylvester Silas, Cathryn Melissa, Emma Tryphena, Charles Franklin, Luella, Oscar Willard,
Children by Elzina R. Miller: Nora Dean, Eliza Ellen, Minnie Elzina, Theresa, Cora,
Daughter by Elizabeth Dalley: Emma Wright."

8. Being that Barbara was born in 1792 and made it to Utah, she may be the oldest direct ancestor I have who made it to Utah.

9. From a typescript of an unknown source but most likely of the archives of the daughters of the Utah Pioneers (copy in my files) with pages hand-numbered 49-51. Text [with typographical corrections by me]:
"Life of Michael Stoker. Michael Stoker was born at Bloomfield Twp., Jackson County, Ohio, September 12, 1833. He was the son of David Stoker and Barbara Graybill. He was the youngest child in a family of seven children, four girls and three boys. There was a period of time we don't know much about the family or where they first heard and became interested in the 'Mormon' Church. According to records, Michael was baptized into the LDS Church in the year 1848. He would have been fifteen years old then. The Stoker family spent some time at Winter Quarters, Nebraska. They were advised to stay a while and get better prepared for the journey West, so they were among those who planted crops and harvested them so there would be food for the saints who came later on the long trek to the Rocky Mountains. In the spring of 1882 [1852?], a few days before their company started West, Michael's father, David Stoker, died and was buried at Winter Quarters, Nebraska. I think it is now called Council Bluff, Nebraska. Michael and his mother and brother and sisters came on to Salt Lake Valley. Many lifelong friendships began on the journey across the plains. Brigham Young encouraged them to sing and dance and play music and tell stories around the campfire after the day's travel was done. In spite of their trials, they had some good times remembered for years after. And so it was that often when the wagons were parked in a circle for protection at night, after suppers were over; the men who could play would get out their fiddles and a dance on the ground would begin and the weary travelers would forget their weariness for an hour or two. It was at one of these dances that Michael met a young woman he grew to admire very much. Her name was Polly Hughes. It was the girls' choice to choose a partner for the dance, she came up to Michael and said, 'Michael, may I have this dance?' As they tripped the light fantastic on the hard ground, to the lively tunes the fiddlers played, she asked him how his mother and sister were. Michael answered, 'I don't have any sisters by that name.' And she said, 'Aren't you Michael Graybill?' He said, 'No, but I have a cousin by that name. My name is Michael Stoker. They say we look a lot alike.' That was the beginning of their acquaintance and they became good friends. After arriving in Salt Lake Valley the Stoker family moved to Springville and were among the earliest settlers there. The friendship that began on the journey across the plains between Michael and Polly Hughes had grown into true love for each other. They were married at Springville, Utah, December 1, 1854. They lived in Springville about ten years. During this time three children were born to them: John Willard, Michael Charles, and David William. In 1860, two of Michael's sisters and their husbands were called by Brigham Young to go down and help settle Iron County. Michael who was the youngest of his Mother's family liked to live near his sisters; so he took his wife, Polly, and their three sons and his mother, Barbara Graybill Stoker, who was getting quite old, and moved to Iron County. Settling first at Johnson's Fort, a new settlement north of what is now Cedar City. While living here their first daughter, Emma, was born. She had convulsions and died as a small baby and was buried at Johnson's Fort. They lived at Johnson's Fort about a year and then moved to a nearby settlement called Summit, between Parowan and Cedar City..." (See Michael's notes for full quotation.)

10. Possibly referred to in the following from the book "The Howard Leytham Stoker Von Dollen Family Histories," FHL 929.273 H833a, by Doris Lewis, 2017 So. 80th Ave., Omaha, Nebraska, 68124, p. 87:
"Michael Stoker, the son of (John) Michael Stoker, was a 28 year old bachelor in Wilkes County, NC when the US census was taken in 1790. The farm which Michael Stoker bought from John Dick was on the north fork of New River in Ashe County. (The boundary line had been changed from Wilkes.) In 1792 Michael married Catherine Eller, the oldest daughter of Peter Eller and Elizabeth Dick. The Ellers and Dicks were settlers in this same area and all of Michael and Catherine's children, except Eller, were born and raised among numerous family members in North Carolina. In 1815, the family joined a migration of relatives moving west into Ohio. This party of Graybills and Stokers, all ages from babies to the elderly crossed the border into Ohio on Christmas Day, 1815. Michael and his son David, who had just turned 21, took part in the first election held in Jackson County on April 1, 1816. John Michael Stoker, Michael's father, settled in Perry County, Ohio, about 60 miles north..."

11. Burketts, Graybeals, and Ellers mentioned in the book "History of Western North Carolina," by John Preston Arthur, 1914, chapter 8:
"Some Early Settlers of Ashe. These noble, self-sacrificing men and women of the early times endangered their lives and braved many hardships in the wild Indian country to open the way to happy homes, schools, churches and the blessings of our present civilization. Some of these were Henry Poe, Martin Gambill, Thomas Sutherland, Timothy Perkins, Captain John Cox, Henry Hardin, Canada Richardson, James Douglas, Daniel Dickson and Elijah Galloway. Besides these were many others whose names awaken much unwritten history: Miller, Blevins, Ham, Reeves, Woodin, Barr, Baker, Eller, Goodman, Ray, Burkett, Graybeal, Houck, Kilby, Ashley, Jones, Gentry, Smith, Plummer, Lewis, Sutherland, McMillan, Colvard, Barker, Senter, Maxwell, Calhoun, Sapp, Thomas, Worth, Oliver and others."
Also the following quote is found; note that they were from Germany and may only have sailed from Holland - they were not Dutch: "The Graybeals. They are said to be of Dutch ancestry, are generally thrifty and successful folk, and own much real estate and live stock. They are honest, frugal and among the best citizens of Ashe."

12. FHL film 702: "Journal of John Stoker, b. 1817; Journal starts November 1, 1869." John was the son of David Stoker and Barbara Graybill. The first 35 pages detail his mission taken from Utah to Virginia and Tennessee through Council Bluffs, Iowa, which I have summarized and included with his notes in this database. Pp. 36-227, the balance of John's journal, are genealogical notations of family. Many pages are blank. Besides family, the journal also notes many other unrelated Stokers who were probably gleaned from books and other sources. It appears as if maybe his son David may have taken over the book later. Many entries are repetitive at different times. Pertinent data for this family or individual is quoted verbatim as follows on pages:
P. 103: "David Stoker, born Mar. 23, 1795, died May 27, 1852. Barbara Graybill wife of David Stoker and daughter of Peter Graybill and Christenia Wampler, died Oct. 3, 1872, Summitt, Utah. Children:
John Stoker, born 8 Mar 1817, died 11 June 1881 Bountiful, Utah.
Sarah Stoker, born 26 Jun 1827, married Edward H. Davis.
William Stoker.
Michael Stoker."
P. 189: "Barbara Stoker, daughter of Peter Graybill and Christenia Wampler and wife of David Stoker died October the 3d, 1872, at Summet Creek, Iron County, U.T., aged 81 years."
Edward Davis, husband of Sarah Stoker, the daughter of Barbara Stoker, died Jany 9th, 1873 of Putrid Sore throat, Iron Co., U.T., Summet Creek
P. 189: "David Stoker, son of Michael Stoker and Catherine Eller and father of John Stoker, died May 27th, 1852 at Trader's Point, Potawatamie Co., Iowa. The family emigrated to Utah the same Spring."
P. 190: "Sarah Davis, daughter of David Stoker and Barbara Graybill was born June 26th 1827, State of Ohio, Jackson Co., Bloomfield Township. Baptised by Wm. Stoker Feby 1850."

13. From the book "Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881," Vol. II, comp. and ed. by Elayne Stoker, 2004, printed by Stevenson's Genealogy Center, Provo, UT. The following is a partial excerpt from the longer article entitled "David Stoker and Barbara Graybill," which is quoted in its entirety in the notes of David Stoker:
"In 1814 David Stoker married Barbara Graybill. It is probable that it was in North Carolina as Barbara also was born and raised in North Carolina. (At the time of this writing the day and place of their marriage is unknown. The North Carolina court house for this area and its records were burned during the Civil War. Also no records have been found in Ohio for their marriage.)
Barbara Graybill was born on the 1 April 1792 in Wilkes County, North Carolina. She was the seventh child out of ten. Barbara's parents were John Peter Graybill and Christina Wampler. The Graybill family also came from the same Germanian background as did the Stoker family.
In the beginning era of the United States the people settled in towns and regions where their old world backgrounds/languages were a common element. After the Moravian Church moved many of its members from Maryland to northwestern North Carolina the German population was in the thousands...
Between the years of 1830 to 1836 David and Barbara Stoker along with some of the extended family received missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some of these missionaries were: Seymour Brunson, John A. Fisher, and Luke Johnson. All baptized members of the Stoker family into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. John Stoker (David's son) was baptized by Seymour Brunson and Luke Johnson in 1834. David's younger brother, Michael Jr., baptized Barbara in 1836. ('LDS Biographical Encyclopedia,' Andrew Johnson, vol. 2, pg. 252. Luke Johnson. Autobiography in 'Millennial Star' 1864, Lewis, p. 92.)
Some members of the Graybill family also joined the church as their baptismal dates and offices they held within the church are listed in the records of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
An article in the local paper records that there was strong religious persecution against members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Vega area. This fighting lead to some families leaving Vega. ('Jackson Herald,' Friday, February 27, 1959 and cited in Jim Stoker's Stoker history 1993)
It was in the fall and winter of 1836 that David Stoker, his father, Michael, with their families and some of the Graybill families left the Ohio valley traveling west. On the 15 August 1838, David bought 52+ acres of land in Harrison County, Indiana. His brother, William, bought 120 acres in Madison County, Indiana. (Bureau of Land Management- Eastern States- General land Office, records of the Ohio River Valley Survey)...
Other members of the extended Stoker family were already living in Indiana. David's sister, Elizabeth and her husband, James Welker, were married in Henry County, Indiana in 1828, and it's possible that their first son was born there. Albert Koons, a relative of Catherine Eller (David's mother), lived in Henry County, Indiana along with other Eller families. (The Indiana connections need to be fully researched to understand the detail of the different families' movements.)...
David, Barbara, and their grown children with their families, moved in to Central Iowa settling at a temporary camp the church called Mount Pisgah. They stayed long enough to replenish their supplies and help others as they could. It is noted in John's record (David's son) that some family members were in Mount Pisgah for nearly two years...
Mount Pisgah is located on top of a large knoll. Local residents state that early farmers had removed some of the headstones from the many small cemeteries that dotted the hill. When the railroad came through it built its grades on top of the wagon roads, but there still are many remaining signs of the large community buried in the soil. Dugout depressions can still be seen in the hillsides, while cabin outlines are scattered around the area. The Mormon settlers built many small cabins, fenced in the settlement around the north and east sides down to the Grand River. Gardens were planted, communications centers set up.
Today local volunteers from the neighboring towns, in cooperation with the current land owners, are working to map, restore, and provide some tour trails through the area. One local volunteer told this author that some believe there are a lot more graves there than are known. One of the schools has, as part of a history project, a working to find and map out the old rock wall fence. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints owns some land on the hilltop and has reconstructed a cabin and take care of the small cemetery. This area provides a small visitors center.
Most of the hill top area is currently private land and is used for grazing purposes only. The land owner is aware of the history of his land and stated he did not have the heart to plow the area under. It has been left for nature to take care of it...
William's family, along with his youngest brother, Michael and his family, and John McDaniel came into the Utah valley with ox teams in the company under the lead of Isaac Stewart. In the History of William Stoker and in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints historical records that Stewart's company consisted of 245 people with 53 wagons. The company arrived into Salt Lake City on the 28th of August, 1852. Some family descendants state that Barbara Graybill Stoker, Sarah Stoker and her husband, Edward Davis, were also in this wagon company. In the 'History of Catherine Stoker and Sylvanus Hulet' it states "Catherine's mother, her brothers: William, and Michael and her sisters: Christina, Sarah and her husband Edward Davis, were in the company of the Hulets and all arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in the latter part of August. It was early summer of 1850 that Pres. Brigham Young called the Hulet family to settle in the Hobble Creek area. This area would later be known as Springville, Utah. They arrived in the first week of October in 1850. While at Hobble Creek, Michael, married Polly Brittann Hughes on the 1 Dec. 1854. They had met each other on the trail west...
Some historical accounts state that Barbara Graybill Stoker came into Utah with family members but without her husband. If Barbara came with her daughter and the Hulet family in 1850 why was David still in Council Bluffs two years later? It is possible with this account that after David settled Barbara and his family in Utah that he returned to Traders Point to help run the ferry business. The reason why is unknown. If Barbara came out with her family among the Stewart Company in 1852 than it would explain why David was still at Traders Point when he passed away...
Barbara Graybill Stoker finished her days living with her daughter, Catherine, in Summit City, Iron Co., Utah, where she passed away on October 3, 1872. She is buried in the small cemetery in the town of Summit, Utah. Catherine and Sylvanus Hulet lived the remainder of their days along with Sarah and her husband Edward Davis, in Summit. The family descendants are still living in Summit, raising livestock and caring for their family cemetery..."

14. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 100-101:
"David Stoker4, b. 23 March 1795 in Ashe County, N.C.; d., 27 May 1852 at Winterquarters, Iowa. He m., 1814, Barbara Graybill, b., April 1792 in Ashe County, N.C., d., 3 Oct. 1872 at Summit Creek, Iron Co., Utah. She was a dau. of Peter Graybill and his wife Christina Wampler. (Family Records)
The children of David Stoker and his wife Barbara Graybill were:
(1) Christina Stoker5, b., 24 Aug. 1815 in Bloomfield Twsp. of Jackson Co., Ohio; d., 10 May 1854/56; m., John McDaniel.
(2) John Stoker5, b., 8 March 1817, in Madison Twsp. of Jackson Co., Ohio; d., 11 June 1881. He believed in polygamy and had three wives first of whom was Jane McDaniel; b. 24 Feb 1810 in Racoon Twsp. of Gallia Co., Ohio; d., 20 Jan. 1890 in Bountiful, Davis Co., Utah where both she and her husband lie buried. She was a dau. of James McDaniel and his wife Zibiah McCarley. Children of John Stoker5 and his first wife Jane McDaniel were:
(a) Hiram Stoker6, b., 9 Nov. 1840, at Columbus, Adams Co,, Ill.; d., 5 June 1885 (sic). He did not marry.
(b) Franklin Stoker6, b., 12 Aug. 1842, Hancock Co., Ill.; d., 25 Sept. 1855. No further records.
(c) David Stoker6, b., 28 Sept. 1844, in Hancock Co., Ill.; d. 1. Apr. 1911; m., 3 March 1866, Regena Hogan.
(d) Zibiah Stoker6, b., 21 March 1847 in Pottawattamie Co., Iowa; d., 28 May 1933; m., 5 Apr 1869, Judson Tolman.
(e) Sarah Ann Stoker6, b., 10 Oct. 1851 in Bountiful, Davis Co., Utah; d., 23 Jan. 1922; m., 2 March 1869, Harlan Simmons.
(3) William Stoker5, b., 26 March 1819 in Bloomfield, Jackson Co., Ohio; d., 19 March (May) 1892; m. Almira Winegar, b. 27 Feb. 1818 (1819); d., 6 Nov. 1884. She was a dau. of Samuel T. and Rhoda E. (Cummins) Winegar.
(4) Nancy Stoker5, b., Oct. 1824, in Bloomfield Twsp. of Jackson Co., Ohio.
(5) Sarah Stoker5, b. 26 June 1827, in Bloomfield Twsp. of Jackson Co., Ohio; d, 10 June 1900, Another record, probably an error, says she d., 10 March 1908. She married Edward H. Davis.
(6) Catherine Stoker5, b., 25 July 1829, in Bloomfield Twsp. of Jackson Co., Ohio; d. 8 Nov. 1882; m., 19 May 1850, Sylvanus Hulet.
(7) Michael Stoker5, b., 12 Sept. 1833, in Bloomfield Twsp. of Jackson Co., Ohio. He first married Martha C. Frederick. His second wife was Polly or Britan, or Britiania, or Britania Hughes."

15. From an article entitled "The Family" from the book "Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881," Vol. II, comp. and ed. by Elayne Stoker, 2004, printed by Stevenson's Genealogy Center, Provo, UT. For the full transcriptional listing of the descendants of Michael Stoker and Catherine Stoker, see the notes of Michael Stoker - the following only pertains to this immediate family. Generation "1" is Michael Stoker and Catherine Eller:
"The Michael Stoker Family as existed at the time of his death. Those names that are [bracketed] probably were involved in the Missouri experience...
2. [David Stoker], born 23 Mar 1795 in Ashe Co., NC. In 1814 married [Barbara Graybill], born 1 Apr 1792 in Ashe Co., NC, daughter of John Peter Graybill and Christina Wampler. They came with Stoker and Graybill relatives to Jackson Co., OH where David participated in the spring elections of 1816. They moved to Missouri in 1837 and to Illinois in 1839. On May 27, 1852, David died of Cholera contracted while working with his brothers on a ferry at the Missouri River. He was getting ready to bring his family to Utah. His wife, Barbara, came with others of his family three weeks later. She died on October 3, 1872 in Summit, Iron Co., Utah.
3. [Christine Stoker], born 24 Aug 1815 in Bloomfield Twp., Jackson Co., OH., married [John Riley McDaniel], son of James McDaniel and Zibiah McCarley, on Feb 8, 1835 in Jackson Co., OH. Resided in Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, and Utah. Christine died on May 10, 1854 in Alpine, Utah Co., Utah.
4. [Electa Jane McDaniel], born Nov. 3, 1835 in Jackson Co., OH, married James Eli Ashcraft in 1854. She died Jun 8, 1858.
4. [Tabitha McDaniel], born Jan 29, 1837 in Jackson Co., OH, married William David Norton on 30 Jan 1855 in Alpine, Utah Co., Utah. She died Dec 11, 1920 in Nephi, Juab, Utah.
3. [John Stoker], born Mar 8, 1817 at Madison, Jackson Co., OH, married [Jane McDaniel], daughter of James McDaniel and Zibiah McCarley on Jan 21, 1836. John and Jane, the following year moved to Missouri. In 1839 they moved to Illinois; in 1846 to Mt. Pisgah, Iowa; in 1848 to Salt Lake City, Utah and in 1849 to Bountiful, Utah. In 1851, John was ordained bishop of the North Canyon Ward where he served for the next 23 years. In Nov 1869 to Mar 1870 John served a short time mission for the LDS church. He visited many of his relatives in the Midwest at that time. Four years after his release as bishop, John was set apart as a member of the Davis Stake high council. He also served as a patriarch which offices he held until his death caused by a stroke in the spring of 1881. John died Jun 11, 1881 in Bountiful, Davis Co., Utah.
4. [Alma Stoker], born Dec 7, 1835 in Lick Twp., Jackson Co., Ohio, married Catherine Tolman on Jan 23, 1879. He died Jun 5, 1897.
3. [William Stoker], born Mar 26, 1819 in Bloomfield, Jackson Co., OH, married [Almira Winegar], daughter of Samuel Thomas Winegar and Rhoda Cummins, in Oct 1838 at Far West, Caldwell Co., MO. William moved to Illinois where in 1844 he was living six miles south of Nauvoo on the Carthage road. He moved to Mt Pisgah, Harrison Co., Iowa in the exodus from Nauvoo in 1846. He crossed the plains in 1852 and settled Spanish Fork, Utah Co., Utah.
3. [Nancy Stoker], born Oct 1824 in Bloomfield Twp., Jackson Co., OH. Died about 1840 probably in Illinois.
3. [Catherine Stoker], born Jul 24, 1829 in Bloomfield Twp., Jackson Co., OH, married Sylvanus Cyrus Hulet on May 19, 1850 at Mt Pisgah, Harrison Co., IA. She had moved to Missouri, Illinois, and Iowa with her family. She and Sylvanus moved to Springville, then to Iron Co., where her family was close to her sister, Sarah, and her brother, Michael and their families.
3. [Sarah Stoker], born 26 Jun 1829 in Bloomfield Twp., Jackson Co., OH, married Edward Horace Davis about 1849. They moved to Iron Co., Utah. She died Mar 10, 1908 at Summit Creek, Iron Co., UT.
3. [Michael Stoker], born Sep 12, 1833 in Bloomfield, Jackson Co., OH, married Polly Brittann Hughes on Dec 1, 1854."

BIRTH:
1. Daughter Sarah Stoker Davis in 1900 US census states this parent born in NC.

2. Per DUP biography cited above.

3. Per tombstone.

4. Wilkes County, NC split off to make Ashe County in late 1799.

MARRIAGE:
1. Per DUP biography cited above.

DEATH:
1. Date per website for Utah State Historical Society Cemeteries Database; 8 Jan 2002.

2. Per DUP biography cited above.

BURIAL:
1. Place per website for Utah State Historical Society Cemeteries Database; 8 Jan 2002. Notes: L-8-a.

2. Visited and viewed tombstone 25 Dec 2002. Photos on file. Cemetery is right next to Interstate 15. Tombstone transcription: "Sacred to the memory of Barbara Stoker died Octo' 3, 1872, Aged 81 years." Photo of tombstone on file.

SOURCES_MISC;
1. FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 6-8.

2. Rootsweb.com Worldconnect 17 Feb 2004 database ":480580" of Donna Shell .

3. FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, p. 100.

SOURCES_MISC:
1. Nauvoo LDS Land and Records Office research file (copy in my possession as of 2 Jun 2007) provides the following information (also partially viewable at www.earlylds.com). 		Graybill, Barbara (I1236)
 
2892 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 St67d "Descendants of William Stoker (1819-1892): with a View of his Ancestors," by Jay and Rachel Phillips Deeben, Feb. 2014, pp. 40-45:
"Sarah Stoker (1827-1908), by Jay Deeben.
Sarah Stoker, daughter of David Stoker and Barbara Graybill, was born on 20 Jun 1827 in Bloomfield, Jackson, Ohio[1]. Sarah married Edward Horace Davis, son of Isaac Davis and Sarah Ann Saulsbury, about 1849, probably in Mt Pisgah, Iowa. Edward was born on 24 Nov 1825 in Holderrnan, Northumberland, Ontario, Canada,[2] died on 9 Jan 1873 in Summit Creek (Summit), Iron, Utah Territory.
Sarah, Edward, and their children Michael, and Alexander traveled with the Isaac M. Stewart Company in 1852.[3] They left Kanesville, Iowa on 19 Jun 1852 and arrived in Salt Lake sometime between 28 Aug - 22 Sep 1852.
Sarah and her family were in Springville, Utah at the time of the 1860 Federal Census taken on 7 Sep 1860.[4] They were listed as Edwd H. Davis, Sally Davis, Alexn Davis, and Sarah C. Davis. Sarah's (Sally) mother Barbara Stoker was living with them at the time of the 1860 census. Her name was listed as Barbia Stoker.
In the 1861 October Sem1i-Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, "... church leaders called 309 families to establish the Cotton Mission. After the outbreak of the Civil War that same year, LDS Church President Brigham Young felt it necessary to grow cotton, if possible. Many of these families assigned to settle the area hailed from the South and possessed the necessary skills to grow cotton and establish a community."[5] The community was named St. George, its nickname is Utah's Dixie. Edward and Sarah and their family answered the call and moved south. Edward Horace Davis' name appears on and is marked as being among the original 309 settlers called to move south to help settle Utah's Dixie.[6]
By 1870 Edward and Sarah had moved their family to the community of Summit,[7] Utah, (also known as Summit Creek) which is just north of Cedar City, Utah. Edward died on 9 Jan 1873, in Summit Creek, Iron, Utah. Sarah died on 10 Mar 1908 in Summit Creek, Iron, Utah, at age 80.
Children of Edward Horace Davis and Sarah Stoker Davis (Name, Birth date, Birth Place, Death date, Death place):
Michael Davis[10], 18 Feb 1850, Kanesville, Pottawattamie, Iowa, 9 Mar 1855, Springville, Utah, Utah.
Alexander H. Davis[11], 17 Feb 1852, Kanesville, Pottawattamie, Iowa, 27 Dec 1923, Circleville, Piute, Utah. Alexander married Charlotte Ann Day, daughter of Thomas Day and Charlotte Ann Clarke, on 3 Jul 1882, in Circleville, Piute, Utah. Charlotte was born on 16 Jan 1863, in Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah.
John Stoker Davis[12], 5 Mar 1854, Springville, Utah, Utah, 9 May 1858, Springville, Utah, Utah.
Barbara Davis, 1 Mar 1856, Springville, Utah, Utah, 25 May 1856, Springville, Utah, Utah.
Sarah Catherine Davis[13], 15 Mar 1858, Springville, Utah, Utah, 10 Apr 1945, Delta, Millard, Utah. Sarah also went by the name of Catherine. According to a note on Sarah's death certificate she had lived in Delta for 26 years[14] prior to her death. Sarah married William Hillman Dalley[15], son of William H. Dalley and Mandana Hillman, on 17 Jan 1876 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah. William was born on 16 Jun 1853 in Pleasant Grove, Utah, Utah.
Elma Samantha Davis, 26 Jun 1860 Springville, Utah, Utah, 24 Sep 1901, Junction, Piute, Utah. Elma married Thomas Winn, son of Thomas Green Winn and Phoebe Jane Orton, on 28 Aug 1882, in Summit, Iron, Utah. Thomas was born on 8 Dec 1854, in West Jordan, Salt Lake, Utah.
Lydia Ann Davis[17], 17 Aug 1862, Fort Johnson, Iron, Utah, 20 Feb 1887, , , Utah. Lydia married Charles Dayton Johnson, son of Lorenzo Johnson and Ruth Sawyer Drury, on 7 Oct 1881, in St. George, Washington, Utah. Charles was born on 9 Feb 1860, in Springville, Utah, Utah.
Elizabeth Isola Davis[18], 30 Sep 1864, Summit, Iron, Utah, 29 Jul 1897, Junction, Piute, Utah. Elizabeth married Horrace Morrill, son of Laban Morrill and Permelia Handmore Drury, on 28 Jan 1887 in St. George, Washington, Utah. Horrace was born on 18 Jul 1863, in Fort Johnson, Iron, Utah.
Edward Davis[19], 19 Oct 1866, Summit, Iron, Utah, 12 Oct 1868 Summit, Iron, Utah.
Horace Davis[20], 31 Jan 1869, Summit, Iron, Utah, 6 Mar 1871, Summit, Iron, Utah.
Endnotes for Sarah Stoker:
1. Stoker, Elayne; Our Stoker Family Histories 1731-1881, Vol II (copy of book on CD); p. 60.
Repository: Rachel Anne Phillips Deeben, 1349 So 300 West, Payson, Utah 84651.
2. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, new.Familysearch.org , Family History Department, PID: KWJ8-8ZP.Repository: new.familysearch.org , LDS Church, Salt Lake City, Utah.
3. Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, 1847-1868, website; search for Catherine Davis ,15773,3966-1,00.html.
4. Springville, Utah, Utah, p. 299; Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database
online]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.
5. "Utah's Dixie History," _george.html accessed 2 Mar 2013.
6. Sons of the Utah Pioneer - Cotton Mission Chapter, "Utah's Dixie Historical Sites," "Called to Dixie" Dixie Pioneers, p. 2, accessed 2 Mar 2013, .
7. "United States Census, 1870," index and images, Familysearch (-BC6: accessed 02 Mar 2013), Sarah Davis in household of Edward H Davis, Utah, United States; citing p. 2, family 13, NARA microfilm publication M593, FHL microfilm 553109.
8. Summit Creek, Iron, Utah is the same as Summit, Iron, Utah as it is known today. Because the town was established at the side of a creek that was named Summit Creek, people referred to the town as Summit Creek at times.
9. The following source was used for all of the children. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, "FamilySearch," database, FamilySearch (). The entry to search for will be the Personal Identification Number (PID) for each child.
10. PID: KWVP-9ZV
11. PID: KWCK-CDM
12. PID: KWVP-9ZB
13. PID: KWVP-9ZG and State of Utah Department of Health, Utah - Death Certificate (), State File No. 42. Repository: Utah State Government, Division of Archives & Records Service, 300 S Rio Grande St., Salt Lake City, Utah 84101-1106.
14. State of Utah Department of Health, Utah - Death Certificate, State File No. 42.
15. PID: KWC4-DJH
16. PID: KWJX-GFY
17. PID: KWVP-H45
18. PID: KWZ9-MNM, and Find a Grave Memorial (), Find A Grave Memorial# 18759988; there is a difference in years between what is on the grave stone and what was entered by submitter. The church record also shows 1897 as the death year.
19. PID: KWVP-9ZT
20. PID: KWVP-98M
[Image of Death Certificate: State of Utah; #120; Sarah Davis; died at Summit, Iron Co.; resident for over 45 years at place of death; d. 10 Mar 1908; born 20 Jun 1827; widowed, b. Jackson Co., Ohio; father David Stoker with unknown birthplace and mother Barbara Graybell with unknown birthplace; informant Mayhew H. Dalley of Cedar City, Utah; bur. Summit Cemetery Mar. 11; undertaker Herbert White of Summit, Utah; cause of death: Senility contributed by chronic Gastro-Esteritis.]"

2. Censuses:
1870 US: 7-Dist. Summit, Iron, Utah, p. 295b, entry 13 [neighbors to Michael and Polly Stoker]:
Edward H. Davis, 46, farmer, real estate $300, personal property $200, Can.
Sarah, 42, housework, OH.
Alexander, 17, farm laborer, IA.
Catharine, 12, UT.
Elma S., 10, UT.
Lydia A., 7, UT.
Elizabeth, 5, UT.
Horace, 1, UT.

1880 US: Summit Creek, Iron, Utah, NA film T9-1336, p. 367C:
William Dalley, farmer, self, married, 27, UT Eng NY.
C. Sarah Dalley, wife, 22, UT CAN OH.
E. William, 3, UT UT UT.
M. Sarah, 3M, UT UT UT.

1900 US: Summit, Iron, Utah, p. 288A [living next door to mother Sarah Stoker Davis]:
William H. Dalley, Jun 1853, 47, m. 24 years, UT Eng USA, farmer.
Sarah, wife, Mar 1858, 42, m. 24 years, 6 total children with 5 living, UT Can/Eng OH.
Sady M., dau., Mar 1880, 20, S, UT UT UT.
Alexander, son, May 1882, 17, S, UT UT UT.
Isola, dau., May 1886, 13, UT UT UT.
Leonadus, Jan 1897, 3, UT UT UT.

3. Ancestry.com 6 Jun 2002 databases ":1816044" and "tedcox3" reports the following children all born at Summit, Iron, Utah:
William Edward, b. 26 Jan 1877, d. 21 Jun 1924.
Sarah Mandana, b. 4 Mar 1880, d. 26 Mar 1970.
Alexander, b. 2 May 1883, d. 12 Apr 1932.
Isola Laverna, b. 12 May 1887, d. 20 Jun 1923.
Leonadus, b. 5 Jan 1897, 27 Jun 1979.
Emma Leona, b. 5 Jan 1897, 5 Aug 1899.

4. FHL film 702: "Journal of John Stoker, b. 1817; Journal starts November 1, 1869." John was the son of David Stoker and Barbara Graybill. The first 35 pages detail his mission taken from Utah to Virginia and Tennessee through Council Bluffs, Iowa, which I have summarized and included with his notes in this database. Pp. 36-227, the balance of John's journal, are genealogical notations of family. Many pages are blank. Besides family, the journal also notes many other unrelated Stokers who were probably gleaned from books and other sources. It appears as if maybe his son David may have taken over the book later. Many entries are repetitive at different times. Pertinent data for this family or individual is quoted verbatim as follows on p. 71: "Mrs W. H. Hales, 5725 (3725) Washington Avenue, she being a granddaughter of Sarah Davis and the daughter of Cather. Davis Dalley who lives at Delta, Utah."

BIRTH:
1. Online Ordinance Index gives 15 Mar 1858 in Springville, Utah, UT. Parents Edward Horace Davis and Sarah Stocker. Ancestry.com 6 Jun 2002 concurs.

2. Tombstone; see citation below.

MARRIAGE:
1. Ancestry.com 6 Jun 2002.

DEATH:
1. Ancestry.com 6 Jun 2002. Ordinance Index 1.02.

2. USGenweb: Cemeteries, Iron County, Utah, Summit Cemetery Transcriptions by Cheryl Whitelaw . Text: "Dalley, William Hillman, b. 16 Jun 1852-21 Jun 1921; Dalley, Sarah Catherine, 15 Mar 1858-10 Apr 1945."

BURIAL:
1. Utah State Historical Society Burials Database: Grave location is I-5b Summit Cemetery. No burial date given. Birth and death same as USGenweb citation above.
 		Davis, Sarah Catherine (I3415)
 
2893 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 St67d "Descendants of William Stoker (1819-1892): with a View of his Ancestors," by Jay and Rachel Phillips Deeben, Feb. 2014, pp. 60-70:
"William Stoker[1] (1819-1892), by Jay C. and Rachel A. Phillips Deeben.
William Stoker, son of David Stoker and Barbara Graybill, was born in Bloomfield Twp., Jackson, Ohio on 26 Mar 1819.[2] He was the third child of a family of six children. William accepted the teachings of the missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while living in Jackson County, Ohio with his family.[3] Then on 27 Oct 1836, his grandfather, Michael Stoker (1762) and his wife Catherine Martha Eller sold their property in Ohio,[4] and began their travels to Missouri to join the Latter-day Saints. William probably traveled with his family (David and Barbara) about this same time to Missouri.
After William arrived in Far West, Missouri he met and courted Alrnira Winegar. She was born 27 Feb 1818, in Horner, Cortland, New York.5 Her parents are Samuel Thomas Winegar and Rhoda Cummins. William and Alrnira were married in October 1838,[6] in Far West, Caldwell, Missouri. When you read church history, their marriage occurred during the strife the Latter-day Saints were going through, just prior to being driven out of Missouri.
William didn't leave any journals as far as we could find, but John Welker, a cousin to William did leave some information in his journal. Jimmie "B" Stoker in his writing about "Michael and Catherine Eller's Descendants in Illinois" records an incident from John Welker's journal of the family's travel from Missouri to Illinois. John states, "We traveled through snow and rain and mud and water, laying out in the storms to sleep during the nights. All this I have passed through ... We make our way out of the state of Missouri to the Mississippi River through much suffering and privations."[7]
William and his wife, Alrnira, settled in Quincy, Illinois in the first one or two years after arriving in Illinois. The 1840 Federal Census for Quincy, Illinois lists William Stoker with a male child under five, one male between 20 and 30 years of age, and one female between 20 and 30 years of age.[8] The male child that was listed as being under five years of age would have been William and Almira's oldest son, Samuel David Stoker, born 24 Mar 1840. The male that was between 20 and 30 years of age would have been William and the female of the same age group would have been Almira.
To earn money to take care of their families the Stoker men would have hired out to some of the local farmers and other business owners that needed help. Jimmy "B" Stoker makes reference to the possibility of William hiring out to a farmer by the name of Coleman Wilkes[9] who lived about eighteen or twenty miles east of Quincy, Illinois. How long they may have worked here is not known. But eventually William and his family moved closer to Nauvoo, Illinois where they lived until they were driven out by the mobs.
William and his family were with the church members when they were forced out of Nauvoo, Illinois in the winter of 1845-1846. They crossed the Mississippi River into Iowa and then started their travels to Winter Quarters during 1846. They stopped at Mount Pisgah, Harrison County, Iowa on their way to Winter Quarters. Mount Pisgah was set up as a way station for those saints that would follow, it was about half way across Iowa. They stayed in Mount Pisgah until late 1851 or early 1852 when they traveled to Kanesville (present day Council Bluffs) and joined the Isaac Stewart Company and traveled to Utah. To meet the expenses of traveling to Utah, William borrowed money from the Perpetual Emigration Fund that had been established by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[10] This loan was repaid about 10 years later, in full.[11]
The company departed from Kanesville, Iowa (present day Council Bluffs) on 19 Jun 1852. There were about 245 individuals and 53 wagons in the company when it began its journey from the outfitting post. They arrived in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory sometime between 28 Aug and 22 Sep 1852.[12] When William and his family left Kanesville, Iowa,[13] his group consisted of: seven family members, four oxen, two cows, no horses, no Sheep, one Wagon, and one loose Cattle." Members of the family were: William Stoker - 33 years; Almira Stoker - 34 years; Samuel David Stoker - 12 years; William Alfred Stoker - 10 years; Susan Ann Stoker - age 7; Michael Stoker - 4 years; and Emily Jane Stoker - infant.
John S. Davis reported an incident that occurred while traveling west with the wagon train, "While coming to Utah there was a stampede of oxen directly back of my father's which threatened disaster to one of the wheels on the wagon. It seemed the driver of the oxen could not control them. My father realizing the danger of damaging his wagon as well as danger to members of the company drew back his whip stock and brought the ungovernable oxen to the ground. This act enraged the owner of the oxen and he threatened to whip my father, immediately Captain Isaac Stewart was brought to the scene of the trouble and after hearing the explanation from my father and other members of the company said my father did the right thing. This perhaps saving many lives by his act."[15]
After arriving in Utah in 1852, William and Alrnira and their family moved south to Palmyra, Utah.[16] William and his family were among the early settlers of Palmyra. The initial survey of Palmyra was done in July of 1852, just months prior to the arrival of William and his family. William's name appears in a list of early settlers of Palmyra that was put and Barbara on floor together by LaNora P. Allred in her book (Spanish Fork, City on the Rio De Aguas Calientes).[17]
We are not sure when William moved to the area that would become known as Spanish Fork. The city had its beginnings in 1855,[18] as stated in LaNora P. Allred's book. The first Federal Land Office was not established in Salt Lake City until 1869. Up to the establishment of the land office, land distribution was "supervised by the Mormon Church."[19] Some of the first land documents that are available are in the form of the transfer of property from the Mayor of Spanish Fork to residents of the city in 1873. This is when William was able to obtain a title to his lot in Spanish Fork.
One of the first things that William did after moving into Spanish Fork was to build a home from adobe bricks that were made available as they took the old fort down. The initial house that William built was two rooms and over time added two more rooms and a front porch.[20]
On March 29, 1873, William Stoker purchased Lot 2, in Block 75, Plat "A"[21] within the boundaries of Spanish Fork, Utah. George D. Snell, Mayor of Spanish Fork is listed on the deed transfer as agent for the city of Spanish Fork, Utah. The Lot when purchased took up one-fourth of the city block. Block 75 is bounded by Main Street, 300 North, 100 East, and 400 North. William's Lot 2 cornered on Main Street and 300 North.
William and Almira and their family are listed in the 1860, and 1870 Federal Census records[22] of Spanish Fork, Utah. In the 1880 Federal Census there is a change in William and Almira's household.
Almira's children have moved on with their lives and are not listed in the same household with William and Alrnira. Now within the same household with William and Alrnira we have Emily, William's second wife, and four of her five children. William is listed as being 61 years of age, Almira as 62 years of age. Emily is listed as 25 years of age.[23]
William married Emily Tegersen On October 27, 1873, in Salt Lake City, Utah.[24] She was born on October 9, 1854,[25] in Jetmark, Hjoring, Denmark. This marriage brought him into the practice of plural wives which the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was practicing at that time. Emily Tegersen, died on January 29, 1883, in Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah.[26]
Almost two years after Emily died Almira Winegar, William's first wife died on November 6, 1884, in Spanish Fork Utah, Utah.[27] About two years after Alrnira died William married a third time. This marriage was to Wilhelrnine Gudbjarg Hjalmarsson, on 15 Sep 1886.[28] She was born in Iceland on 22 Oct 1852. The marriage lasted about two years when Wilhelmina and William were granted a divorce on 3 Oct 1888 in the First District Court of Utah.[29] Then on 16 Aug 1890 Wilhelmine marries Thomardson Sigurdson in Provo Utah.[30] No children were born to William and Wilhelmina to our knowledge.
During William's life in Spanish Fork, Utah he served as one of the seven presidents of the 50th Quorum of Seventies. He served on the Spanish Fork City council for two terms and he farmed to support his family.[31]
On 11 May 1892, William Stoker began to put his affairs in order. He had drawn up Warranty Deeds,[32] to be effective upon his death, transferring his property to Emily's children, Matilda, Barbara, Joseph Peter, Alvin Winegar, and Dorothy Mariah Stoker. At the time these children were not of age and thus the property was placed in the trust with John S. Stoker as guardian and trustee.[33] John is William and Almira's son. It was during this time that William must have suspected his time to pass beyond this mortal life was coming close. By placing John as trustee of the land for Emily's children, he must have asked John and his wife to take care of the children until they were of legal age to handle their own affairs. William died eight days later on 19 May 1892, Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah.[34]
Children of William Stoker and Almira Winegar Stoker (Name, Birth date, Birth Place, Death date, Death place):
Samuel David Stoker, 24 Mar 1840, Adams County, lllinois, 7 Jul 1908, Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah.
William Alfred Stoker, 18 Jun 1842, Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, 9 Apr 1906, Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah.
Susan Ann Stoker, 16 Nov 1845, Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, 21 Mar 1920, Burlington, Big Horn, Wyoming.
Michael Stoker, 6 Sep 1847, Mount Pisgah, Harrison, Iowa, 1 Apr 1875, Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah.
Sarah Stoker, 1850, Mount Pisgah, Harrison, Iowa, 1850, Mount Pisgah, Harrison, Iowa.
Emily Jane Stoker, 28 May 1852, Bluff City, Pottawattamie, Iowa, 10 Nov 1927, Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah.
Almira Stoker, 1 Aug 1855, Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah, 8 Dec 1930, Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah.
John Stephen Stoker, 14 Mar 1858, Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah, 23 Mar 1944, Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah.
Rhoda Stoker, 10 Mar 1863, Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah, 10 Mar 1863, Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah.
Children of William Stoker and Emily Tegersen Stoker:
Matilda Stoker, 3 Sep 1874, Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah, 21 Nov 1951, Bountiful, Davis, Utah.[40]
Barbara Stoker, 21 Jan 1876, Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah, 20 Feb 1932, Springville, Utah, Utah.[41]
Joseph Peter Stoker, 5 Feb 1878, Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah, 31 Dec 1962. Joseph never married.
Alvin Winegar Stoker, 26 Feb 1880, Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah, 1 Jan 1931, Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah.[42] Alvin never married.
Dorothy Mariah Stoker 24 Sep 1882, Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah, 18 Feb 1974, Springville, Utah, Utah.
Chapter Notes for William Stoker (1819):
1. Wheeler, Dorthy Mariah Stoker, "William Stoker", copy in possession of Rachel Deeben.
2. Stoker, Jimmie "B", The Michael Stoker Family, "The Michael and Catherine Eller Stoker family as early Mormons in Ohio and Missouri", 1993, Nauvoo Land and Records Office", Nauvoo, Illinois, Digitized copy.
3. Based on a composite set of records in the Nauvoo Land and Records Office in Nauvoo, Illinois; Their RIN# 29026 William Stoker, born 1819, was first baptized on 26 March 1835. This occurred while his family (living with his parents: David Stoker and Barbara Graybill) in Jackson County, Ohio. These records consist of historical records researched by Susan E. Black, Nauvoo Death Record, Nauvoo Temple Endowment Register, 70's Record, Hancock Co., Illinois Marriage Register, and Nauvoo Marriage Register. Two other baptism dates are listed one for 1836 and one for 17 Nov 1852 (1857 possible).
4. Michael Stoker Sr, Bio, RIN# 16218, Nauvoo Land and Records Office Historical file., p. 4 or 5 (two numbers on this page one is 4, typed, and one is 5, handwritten).
5. Family Group Record of Samuel Thomas Winegar and Rhoda Curnrnins, in possession of Rachel Anne Phillips Deeben, Payson, Utah.
6. Stoker, Jimmie "B", p. 8 (typed page number).
7. As recorded by Stoker, Jimmie "B", The Michael Stoker Family, "Michael and Catherine Eller Stoker's Descendants in Illinois", 1994, Nauvoo Land and Records Office", Nauvoo, Illinois, Digitized copy. Jimmie Stoker references John Welker, "A Small Sketch," John Welker Journal.
8. Year: 1840; Census Place: Quincy, Adams, Illinois; Roll 54; Page: 52; Image: 107; Family History Library Film: 0007641. As filmed by Ancestry.com, Original data: Sixth Census of the United States, 1840; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M704, 580 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
9. Stoker, Jimmie "B", "Michael and Catherine Eller Stoker's Descendants in Illinois", p. 2
10. Perpetual Emigrating Fund Legers, for William Stoker on 15 Oct 1863. This is the only William
Stoker found. It shows a total of $180.25 was paid back. This included the principle and interest on the money borrowed. Records indicate the loan was repaid in full. This is found in Leger C page 709 (CR 376/2).
11. Perpetual Emigrating Fund Legers, for William Stoker.
12. Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, 1847-1868, Church History Archives, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah. Online database at
13. Ancestry.com. Iowa State Census Collection, 1836-1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: Microfilm of Iowa State Censuses, 1856, 1885, 1895, 1905, 1915, 1925 as well various special censuses from 1836-1897 obtained from the State Historical Society of Iowa via Heritage Quest. (This film has the 1852 census also.)
14. Trail excerpts from Isaac M. Stewart Emigrating Company, Journal Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel, 1847-1868, Church History Archives, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah. Online database at g/churchhistory/library/pioneercompany/. The original entry from the journal: William Stoker[,] 7 in family[,] 4 Oxen[,] 2 cows[,] 0 horses[,] 0 Sheep[,] 1 Waggons[,] 1 loos Cattle
15. Davis, John S., History of William Stoker, as told by William Stoker's youngest living daughter, Almira Stoker Davis, on file at the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, Salt Lake City, Utah.
16. Davis, John S., History of William Stoker.
17. Allred, LaNora P., Spanish Fork, City on the Rio De Aguas Calientes, p. 8, Spanish Fork Library, call number LA 979, A15; or the Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah, call number 979.224/S3 H2a. This book was published in connection with the celebration of 150 years.
18. Allred, LaNora P., p. 39
19. Allred, LaNora P., p. 39
20. Davis, John S., History of William Stoker
21. Land Records of Spanish Fork, Book 72, p. 324, Utah County Land and Records Office, Provo, Utah; Rachel Deeben has a copy of this record, her File-ID is ST-0001.
22. Year: 1860; Census Place: Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah Territory; Roll M653_1314; Page: 954;
Image: 426; Family History Library Film: 805314, P. 207, lines 6 thru 14. Image seen on Ancestry.com. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: 1860 U.S. census, population schedule. NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. Year: 1870; Census Place: Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah Territory; Roll M593_1612; Page: 314A; Image: 624; Family History Library Film: 55311 1, P. 21 and 22, Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data:
23. Year: 1880; Census Place: Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah; Roll T9_1338; Family History Film: 1255338; Page: 189.3000; Enumeration District: 83; P. 21; Image found on Ancestry.com, Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
24. Endowment House Living Endowments, Family History Library, film 183407.
25. Parker, Jack, Research notes of Danish records concerning the Thygesen Family. The full set of notes are in the appendix of this book titled, "Summary of ‘Reasonably' Well Known Facts about the Family of Mads Christian Thygesen and Dorthe Clausdatter". 9 Oct 1854 Birth: Illegitimate daughter of Mads Christian Thygesen and Johanne Marie Jensdatter; Jetsmark Parish Records (Hjorring County). Johanne is referred to as "Fruentimmer" (unmarried mother, & the term is usually used for more mature women, rather than Pige, meaning girl or maid). The father is "said to be" Mads Christian Thygesen.
26. Headstone of "Emily Tegersen Stoker," Spanish Fork Cemetery, Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah.
27. Headstone of "Almira Winegar Stoker," Spanish Fork Cemetery, Spanish Fork, Utah, Utah.
28. Sealing Record of Logan Temple, Logan, Cache, Utah, Film 0,178,135, p. 97, entry no. 1743.
Marriage and Sealing was performed on 15 Sep 1886, by M. W. Merrill, and witnessed by N. C. Edlefsen and L. J. Halling. Film was viewed at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. There were comments on the front and back of the Sealing record for Wilhelmina. Those comments are: Wilhelmina Gudbjorg gave her date of birth as 22 Oct 1852 at the time of her baptism in Iceland on 9 Jul 1883. Also this date of birth is given in the Spanish Fork Ward Records. It is believed that she was the Gudbjorg born in Saudanesi, Hjaltabakki Parish,, Austur-Hucavaia, Iceland on 8 Nov 1846. See family group record.
29. First District Court, Court minutes, 1852-1966 (Minutes, etc. May 1886-Oct. 1890), Page, 19.
30. On August 16, 1890 Wilhelmine married a second time a copy of that marriage index record, was found in the Western States Marriage Index housed at BYU-Idaho, follows: Marriage ID: 268720, Groom's Surname Name: SIGURDSON, Groom's First Name: Thomardson (38), Bride's Surname Name: HJALDMARSON, Bride's First Name: Wilhelmina (37), Place: Provo, Marriage Date: 16 Aug 1890, County: Utah, State: Utah, Bride's Residence: Spanish Fork, Groom's Residence: Spanish Fork, Volume: 1, Page: 211.
31. Essom, Frank, Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, printed 1913, p. 1191, accessed online copy through the familysearch.org , Family History Catalog.
32. Land Records of Spanish Fork, Book 72, p. 324, Utah County Land and Records Office, Provo,
Utah; Rachel Deeben has a copy of this record, her File-ID is ST-0004.
33. Land Records of Spanish Fork, Book 16, p. 405, Utah County Land and Records Office, Provo,
Utah; Rachel Deeben has a copy of this record, her File-ID is ST-0021.
34. International Genealogical Index, . Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.
35. State of Utah - Death Certificate, No. 326, on file at the Utah Archives on their website:

36. State of Utah - Death Certificate, No. 113
37. State of Utah - Death Certificate, No. 423
38. State of Utah - Death Certificate, No. 565
39. State of Utah - Death Certificate, No. 168
40. State of Utah - Death Certificate, No. 51-060104
41. State of Utah - Death Certificate, No. 74
42. State of Utah - Death Certificate, No. 4
68
Preliminary information for William Stoker and Almira Winegar's family.
There has been some extensive material printed on the Stoker line. The work centers on Almira's family and her descendants. The book is out of print but a copy of it can be found in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. It can also be found in the Spanish Fork Family History Library, Spanish Fork, Utah.
At the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah the following information will help you find it.
Title: The Stoker/Winegar/West/Youd legacy
Authors: Alta Aitken Rowley, Grant Joseph Aitken [and] Charlene Attryde Aitken
FHL FAM HIST Book on microfiche - 6007014 (7 fiche)
The book has also been digitized and is available on line. To view it, access it via the title and then click on the link associated with the book.
If you wish more information about what is provided in this book concerning Almira's family please refer to the above referenced book."
 		Hyalmarson, Wilhelmina Guldjorg (I3359)
 
2894 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 W462c "History and Genealogy of the Wells Family," comp. by John L. Cobb, 1999, pp. 74-75:
"James Wells, a son of Edmund and Welthia Ann (Goodrich) W. of Cambridge, NY, born 4 Mar. 1776, White Creek, Cambridge district, NY; he married 1st, 7 Oct. 1800 at Cambridge, to Clarinda GRIFFIN, daughter of Benjamin and Chloe (HOWARD) G. of Windham and Hampton, CT, born 16 Nov. 1776, Hampton, Windham town and Co., CT and she apparently died by 1818 and he possibly married 2nd 21 Aug. 1818, to Lois SCOTT, daughter of John and Asenath (___) S. of Cambridge, NY, baptized 25 Dec. 1791 at Protestant Presbyterian Congregation, Cambridge. Clarinda had been a school teacher, he was a merchant and the family lived in Argyle, Galesville (Easton town) and then Union Village, Greenwich, on the Battenkill, Wash. Co., NY; he died 27 Mar. 1825 in the 50th year of his age, Bottskill Baptist Church record, Greenwich, Wash. Co., NY. Children by 1st marriage of James and Clarinda (GRIFFIN) Wells of Argyle and Greenwich, Wash. Co., NY: [Lists five children b. 1801-1815.]
Refer: "Bottskill Baptist Church Records, Tombstone Inscriptions," by S.C. Wade 1901, 1995: 34; I.G.I.: NY: Wells; CT: GRIFFIN, as of Mar. 1992; A. Fitch's Notes for Hist.: Wash. Co., NY (30 Jan. 1850): 839; "Sleeper News," Nov. 1996: 4: 2: 2; Records: Prot. Presby. Church, Cambridge, NY.
 		Griffen, Clarinda (I3110)
 
2895 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 W462C "History and Genealogy of the Wells Family," compiled by John L. Cobb, 1999, supplementing "The History and Genealogy of the Wells Family" by Philip L. Cobb, 1897. Pp. 71-72, references given as: I.G.I. NY state: Wells, as of Apr 1988 and Mar 1992, CT: Wells et al.: 'Cem. Inscrip. from Cambridge, NY,' copied by P.L. and L.B. cobb 1913; Wash Co., NY deeds: CC: 13, 30 Aug. 1830, rec. 31 Aug 1831; Asa Fitch's Notes for a Wash Co., NY Hist.: re Wells: 839; Administration: Edmund Henry Wells of Cambridge, NY: 2 Jan 1815, by wid. Hepzibah: 2: 67; 'American Genealogist'; vol. 46, July 1970: 181-2: 'The Wells Fam. of Hebron, CT, and Cambridge, NY' by John G. Hunt, 821 No. Jackson St., Arlington, VA 22201 (Capt. Wm. C. Ball, USN (ret.) of Anaheim, CA. Text:
"Edmund Henry Wells, son of Edmund and Welthia Ann (Goodrich) W. of Cambridge, NY, born about 1770, probably in Hebron, CT; he married (1791), to Hepzipah Buel, daughter of Ichabod and Hepzibah (Dewey) B. of Hebron, CT, born about 1771, she received into communion of the Prot. Presby. Church of Cambridge, NY, 17 Oct. 1809; family resided in Cambridge, NY, where he died 2 Apr 1813 in 42nd year, of 'spotted fever' or 'the epidemic'; she died 15 Dec 1819 in 48th year, and both buried in the cemetery on the Turnpike, south of the village of Cambridge, Wash. Co., NY. Children all born Cambridge, Wash. Co, NY, order undetermined:
a. Edmund, b. 26 Mar 1792, at Cambridge, NY, bapt. 8 Sept 1792 at the Prot. Presby. Church, Cambridge; m. 1st (?) ____ to ?Louisa Livingston, dau. of William and ___ L. of Cambridge, NY, 1808-1839; he m. 2nd (?), 27 Sep 1814 at Prot. Presby. Church, Cambridge, by Rev. John Dunlap, to Ann or Abiah Cooper, dau. of John and ___ C.; Edmund was a wagon master, constable in White Creek, NY (1850 Cen.); fam. res. removed to Harmony, Chautauqua Co., NY. Children (7 reported): Henry (b. guess ca. 1830; d. before 30 Jan 1850, Quincy, IL [?]), John, Harriet, George, Amy, Unknown, and unknown.
b. Wealthy Ann, b. 25 Jan 1794, bapt. 13 Apr 1794 Prot. Presby Church, Cambridge, rec'd into comm. there ___ 1813 by Rev. John Dunlap; she m. 1 May 1815 at Cambridge, to Samuel Cooper, s. of John and ___C. of Eagle Bridge (on Hoosic River), White Cr., NY; b. ___; fam. rem. with brother Edmund W. to Chautaugua Co., NY and later, 1848, Burton (E. of Quincy), Adams Co., IL, where he died of fever. Several children Cooper: W.B., b. ___; in 1847 at Saltillo, Mexico, having enl. 1846 in Adams Co., IL (letter: 1847 to Uncle James about Texas and Mexico).
c. James, b. ___; shoemaker, m. ___: to ___, fam. moved to Harmony, Chautauqua Co., NY where he died, children 2-3 reported.
d. Pamilla, Priscella (?), b. ___; m. 17 June 1803? to ___Dickeson, Dickinson? Fam. rem. Busti, Chautq. Co., NY, children 3-4 reported.
e. Elizabeth, b. ___; m. ____; to ___; to Ransom Curtis of Busti, NY, fam. res. Ashville, Chautq. Co., NY, children 2-3 reported.
f. Sidney, b. ca. 1810; m. 7 Apr 1835 at 2nd Ref. Dutch Ch., Albany, NY to Mrs. Sarah Thayer; res. with Austin Wells many years, then with Edmund Wells, then at Albany, NY and died ca. 1849 in CA, children 2 boys reported.
g. Solomon, b. 18 Sep 1811, bapt. 4 Nov 1811 Prot. Presby. Church, Cambridge; m. ____ to ____, res. Chautq. Co., NY then MauChunk, PA; he died Quincy, IL. Children 3-4 reported.
h. Miriam Henry, b. 18 Sep 1811 (twin of above); bapt. 4 Nov 1811 Prot. Presby. Church, Cambridge,; apparently died young.
i. Harriet, b. ___; m. ___; to William Slayton of Harmony, Chautq. Co., NY fam. res. Harmony, NY, children Slayton."

2. TAG 46:180-183: "The Wells (Welles) Family of Hebron, CT. and Cambridge, N.Y.," by John G. Hunt:
"...Edmund Henry4 Wells, born about 1771, died at Cambridge, N.Y., "of the spotted fever" in 1813; by his wife, who was also his kinswoman, Hepzibah (daughter of that Ichabod Buell named at p. 131 of cited Bradford Genealogy), he left these Wells Children:
i. Edmund5, b. Ca. 1791, Cambridge, N.Y.; living 1850 at Harmony, Chautauqua County, N.Y.; had issue.
ii. Wealthy, m. John Cooper and was living 1848 at Burton, Ill. Their son, W. B. Cooper, was in 1847 at Saltillo, Mexico, having been enlisted in Adams County, Ill., in the preceding year. He gives his impressions of Texas and part of Mexico in a letter dated in 1847, addressed to his uncle, James5 Wells, whose descendant, Capt. William C. Ball, USN (ret.), of Anaheim, Call has made the information available.
iii. James, in 1850 of Harmony, N.Y.; had issue.
iv. Priscilla, m. ___ Dickinson of Busti, Chautauqua County, N.Y.; had issue.
v. Elizabeth, m. Ransom Curtis of Busti; had issue
vi. Sidney, d. in California, leaving two sons in Albany, N.Y.
vii. Solomon, d. at Quincy, Ill., leaving issue.
viii. Harriet, m. William Slayton of Harmony; issue."

BIRTH:
1. Per quotation above.

MARRIAGE:
1. Per citation above: "m. 7 Apr 1835 at 2nd Ref. Dutch Ch., Albany, NY to Mrs. Sarah Thayer."

DEATH:
1. Per quotation above.
 		Wells, Sidney (I3612)
 
2896 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 W462C "History and Genealogy of the Wells Family," compiled by John L. Cobb, 1999, supplementing "The History and Genealogy of the Wells Family" by Philip L. Cobb, 1897. Pp. 71-72, references given as: I.G.I. NY state: Wells, as of Apr 1988 and Mar 1992, CT: Wells et al.: 'Cem. Inscrip. from Cambridge, NY,' copied by P.L. and L.B. cobb 1913; Wash Co., NY deeds: CC: 13, 30 Aug. 1830, rec. 31 Aug 1831; Asa Fitch's Notes for a Wash Co., NY Hist.: re Wells: 839; Administration: Edmund Henry Wells of Cambridge, NY: 2 Jan 1815, by wid. Hepzibah: 2: 67; 'American Genealogist'; vol. 46, July 1970: 181-2: 'The Wells Fam. of Hebron, CT, and Cambridge, NY' by John G. Hunt, 821 No. Jackson St., Arlington, VA 22201 (Capt. Wm. C. Ball, USN (ret.) of Anaheim, CA. Text:
"Edmund Henry Wells, son of Edmund and Welthia Ann (Goodrich) W. of Cambridge, NY, born about 1770, probably in Hebron, CT; he married (1791), to Hepzipah Buel, daughter of Ichabod and Hepzibah (Dewey) B. of Hebron, CT, born about 1771, she received into communion of the Prot. Presby. Church of Cambridge, NY, 17 Oct. 1809; family resided in Cambridge, NY, where he died 2 Apr 1813 in 42nd year, of 'spotted fever' or 'the epidemic'; she died 15 Dec 1819 in 48th year, and both buried in the cemetery on the Turnpike, south of the village of Cambridge, Wash. Co., NY. Children all born Cambridge, Wash. Co, NY, order undetermined:
a. Edmund, b. 26 Mar 1792, at Cambridge, NY, bapt. 8 Sept 1792 at the Prot. Presby. Church, Cambridge; m. 1st (?) ____ to ?Louisa Livingston, dau. of William and ___ L. of Cambridge, NY, 1808-1839; he m. 2nd (?), 27 Sep 1814 at Prot. Presby. Church, Cambridge, by Rev. John Dunlap, to Ann or Abiah Cooper, dau. of John and ___ C.; Edmund was a wagon master, constable in White Creek, NY (1850 Cen.); fam. res. removed to Harmony, Chautauqua Co., NY. Children (7 reported): Henry (b. guess ca. 1830; d. before 30 Jan 1850, Quincy, IL [?]), John, Harriet, George, Amy, Unknown, and unknown.
b. Wealthy Ann, b. 25 Jan 1794, bapt. 13 Apr 1794 Prot. Presby Church, Cambridge, rec'd into comm. there ___ 1813 by Rev. John Dunlap; she m. 1 May 1815 at Cambridge, to Samuel Cooper, s. of John and ___C. of Eagle Bridge (on Hoosic River), White Cr., NY; b. ___; fam. rem. with brother Edmund W. to Chautaugua Co., NY and later, 1848, Burton (E. of Quincy), Adams Co., IL, where he died of fever. Several children Cooper: W.B., b. ___; in 1847 at Saltillo, Mexico, having enl. 1846 in Adams Co., IL (letter: 1847 to Uncle James about Texas and Mexico).
c. James, b. ___; shoemaker, m. ___: to ___, fam. moved to Harmony, Chautauqua Co., NY where he died, children 2-3 reported.
d. Pamilla, Priscella (?), b. ___; m. 17 June 1803? to ___Dickeson, Dickinson? Fam. rem. Busti, Chautq. Co., NY, children 3-4 reported.
e. Elizabeth, b. ___; m. ____; to ___; to Ransom Curtis of Busti, NY, fam. res. Ashville, Chautq. Co., NY, children 2-3 reported.
f. Sidney, b. ca. 1810; m. 7 Apr 1835 at 2nd Ref. Dutch Ch., Albany, NY to Mrs. Sarah Thayer; res. with Austin Wells many years, then with Edmund Wells, then at Albany, NY and died ca. 1849 in CA, children 2 boys reported.
g. Solomon, b. 18 Sep 1811, bapt. 4 Nov 1811 Prot. Presby. Church, Cambridge; m. ____ to ____, res. Chautq. Co., NY then MauChunk, PA; he died Quincy, IL. Children 3-4 reported.
h. Miriam Henry, b. 18 Sep 1811 (twin of above); bapt. 4 Nov 1811 Prot. Presby. Church, Cambridge,; apparently died young.
i. Harriet, b. ___; m. ___; to William Slayton of Harmony, Chautq. Co., NY fam. res. Harmony, NY, children Slayton."

2. TAG 46:180-183: "The Wells (Welles) Family of Hebron, CT. and Cambridge, N.Y.," by John G. Hunt:
"...Edmund Henry4 Wells, born about 1771, died at Cambridge, N.Y., "of the spotted fever" in 1813; by his wife, who was also his kinswoman, Hepzibah (daughter of that Ichabod Buell named at p. 131 of cited Bradford Genealogy), he left these Wells Children:
i. Edmund5, b. Ca. 1791, Cambridge, N.Y.; living 1850 at Harmony, Chautauqua County, N.Y.; had issue.
ii. Wealthy, m. John Cooper and was living 1848 at Burton, Ill. Their son, W. B. Cooper, was in 1847 at Saltillo, Mexico, having been enlisted in Adams County, Ill., in the preceding year. He gives his impressions of Texas and part of Mexico in a letter dated in 1847, addressed to his uncle, James5 Wells, whose descendant, Capt. William C. Ball, USN (ret.), of Anaheim, Call has made the information available.
iii. James, in 1850 of Harmony, N.Y.; had issue.
iv. Priscilla, m. ___ Dickinson of Busti, Chautauqua County, N.Y.; had issue.
v. Elizabeth, m. Ransom Curtis of Busti; had issue
vi. Sidney, d. in California, leaving two sons in Albany, N.Y.
vii. Solomon, d. at Quincy, Ill., leaving issue.
viii. Harriet, m. William Slayton of Harmony; issue."

3. Website "1800s Antislavery Activist" http://ugrr.orbitist.com/content/curtis accessed 5 Nov 2016 (includes photo of farm in Busti):
"One source says that Ransom B. Curtis was born on 20 August 1803 in Genesee NY, and another says Peru MA. His parents were Comfort and Priscilla A. (Whitney) Curtis. Comfort Curtis is listed in the 1800 Census of Peru but in Warsaw, Genesee County NY in the 1810 Census, where he remained until his death in 1831. Ransom Curtis married Elizabeth (Betsey) Wells. According to Young's History of Chautauqua County, p.228, Ransom Curtis contracted for or bought on Lot 39 in Busti in September 1822. Their son Sidney was born there in April 1829. Ransom Curtis' role as a conductor on the UGRR was described in a talk given by Eleazar Green at the Busti NY Centennial celebration on 18 August 1923. The talk was reprinted Emma by Gourdey, et al, in the Busti Centennial Booklet, 1923. Green described what he saw as a very young child when his father, also Eleazar Green, and their neighbor, Ransom Curtis, hid runaway slaves and then transported them on to the next station. The censuses for 1850 and 1855 show the Ransom Curtis and Eleazar Green families as close neighbors in Busti. The 1854 wall map locates R. Curtis on Lot 39 on the east side of a road with "Green & Co." across the road. Ransom Curtis died in Sugar Grove PA on 16 April 1876."

BIRTH:
1. Calculated from age of 47 y. 8 mo. given with burial. Death date was 12 Feb 1852. Source: Find A Grave http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=17082162 accessed 5 Nov 2016.

MARRIAGE:
1. Per citation above: Ranson Curtis of Busti, NY.
 		Wells, Elizabeth (I3611)
 
2897 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 W462C "History and Genealogy of the Wells Family," compiled by John L. Cobb, 1999, supplementing "The History and Genealogy of the Wells Family" by Philip L. Cobb, 1897. Pp. 71-72, references given as: I.G.I. NY state: Wells, as of Apr 1988 and Mar 1992, CT: Wells et al.: 'Cem. Inscrip. from Cambridge, NY,' copied by P.L. and L.B. cobb 1913; Wash Co., NY deeds: CC: 13, 30 Aug. 1830, rec. 31 Aug 1831; Asa Fitch's Notes for a Wash Co., NY Hist.: re Wells: 839; Administration: Edmund Henry Wells of Cambridge, NY: 2 Jan 1815, by wid. Hepzibah: 2: 67; 'American Genealogist'; vol. 46, July 1970: 181-2: 'The Wells Fam. of Hebron, CT, and Cambridge, NY' by John G. Hunt, 821 No. Jackson St., Arlington, VA 22201 (Capt. Wm. C. Ball, USN (ret.) of Anaheim, CA. Text:
"Edmund Henry Wells, son of Edmund and Welthia Ann (Goodrich) W. of Cambridge, NY, born about 1770, probably in Hebron, CT; he married (1791), to Hepzipah Buel, daughter of Ichabod and Hepzibah (Dewey) B. of Hebron, CT, born about 1771, she received into communion of the Prot. Presby. Church of Cambridge, NY, 17 Oct. 1809; family resided in Cambridge, NY, where he died 2 Apr 1813 in 42nd year, of 'spotted fever' or 'the epidemic'; she died 15 Dec 1819 in 48th year, and both buried in the cemetery on the Turnpike, south of the village of Cambridge, Wash. Co., NY. Children all born Cambridge, Wash. Co, NY, order undetermined:
a. Edmund, b. 26 Mar 1792, at Cambridge, NY, bapt. 8 Sept 1792 at the Prot. Presby. Church, Cambridge; m. 1st (?) ____ to ?Louisa Livingston, dau. of William and ___ L. of Cambridge, NY, 1808-1839; he m. 2nd (?), 27 Sep 1814 at Prot. Presby. Church, Cambridge, by Rev. John Dunlap, to Ann or Abiah Cooper, dau. of John and ___ C.; Edmund was a wagon master, constable in White Creek, NY (1850 Cen.); fam. res. removed to Harmony, Chautauqua Co., NY. Children (7 reported): Henry (b. guess ca. 1830; d. before 30 Jan 1850, Quincy, IL [?]), John, Harriet, George, Amy, Unknown, and unknown.
b. Wealthy Ann, b. 25 Jan 1794, bapt. 13 Apr 1794 Prot. Presby Church, Cambridge, rec'd into comm. there ___ 1813 by Rev. John Dunlap; she m. 1 May 1815 at Cambridge, to Samuel Cooper, s. of John and ___C. of Eagle Bridge (on Hoosic River), White Cr., NY; b. ___; fam. rem. with brother Edmund W. to Chautaugua Co., NY and later, 1848, Burton (E. of Quincy), Adams Co., IL, where he died of fever. Several children Cooper: W.B., b. ___; in 1847 at Saltillo, Mexico, having enl. 1846 in Adams Co., IL (letter: 1847 to Uncle James about Texas and Mexico).
c. James, b. ___; shoemaker, m. ___: to ___, fam. moved to Harmony, Chautauqua Co., NY where he died, children 2-3 reported.
d. Pamilla, Priscella (?), b. ___; m. 17 June 1803? to ___Dickeson, Dickinson? Fam. rem. Busti, Chautq. Co., NY, children 3-4 reported.
e. Elizabeth, b. ___; m. ____; to ___; to Ransom Curtis of Busti, NY, fam. res. Ashville, Chautq. Co., NY, children 2-3 reported.
f. Sidney, b. ca. 1810; m. 7 Apr 1835 at 2nd Ref. Dutch Ch., Albany, NY to Mrs. Sarah Thayer; res. with Austin Wells many years, then with Edmund Wells, then at Albany, NY and died ca. 1849 in CA, children 2 boys reported.
g. Solomon, b. 18 Sep 1811, bapt. 4 Nov 1811 Prot. Presby. Church, Cambridge; m. ____ to ____, res. Chautq. Co., NY then MauChunk, PA; he died Quincy, IL. Children 3-4 reported.
h. Miriam Henry, b. 18 Sep 1811 (twin of above); bapt. 4 Nov 1811 Prot. Presby. Church, Cambridge,; apparently died young.
i. Harriet, b. ___; m. ___; to William Slayton of Harmony, Chautq. Co., NY fam. res. Harmony, NY, children Slayton."

2. Censuses:
1840 US: Environs of Quincy, Adams, Illinois, p. 60a, related families:
Ebenezer Hanks, males 20-30:2//females 20-30:1. [Newly married Ebenezer and Jane - not sure who second male is.]
Henry Cooper, males 15-20:1; 20-30:2//females 40-50:1. [Four homes away from Ebenezer Hanks - probable brother to Jane Wells Cooper.]
James Wells, males 5-10:2; 20-30:2; 40-50:1//females 5-10:1; 10-15:1; 40-50: 1. [Next door to Henry Cooper - possible uncle to Jane Wells Cooper?]

3. TAG 46:180-183: "The Wells (Welles) Family of Hebron, CT. and Cambridge, N.Y.," by John G. Hunt:
"...Edmund Henry4 Wells, born about 1771, died at Cambridge, N.Y., "of the spotted fever" in 1813; by his wife, who was also his kinswoman, Hepzibah (daughter of that Ichabod Buell named at p. 131 of cited Bradford Genealogy), he left these Wells Children:
i. Edmund5, b. Ca. 1791, Cambridge, N.Y.; living 1850 at Harmony, Chautauqua County, N.Y.; had issue.
ii. Wealthy, m. John Cooper and was living 1848 at Burton, Ill. Their son, W. B. Cooper, was in 1847 at Saltillo, Mexico, having been enlisted in Adams County, Ill., in the preceding year. He gives his impressions of Texas and part of Mexico in a letter dated in 1847, addressed to his uncle, James5 Wells, whose descendant, Capt. William C. Ball, USN (ret.), of Anaheim, Call has made the information available.
iii. James, in 1850 of Harmony, N.Y.; had issue.
iv. Priscilla, m. ___ Dickinson of Busti, Chautauqua County, N.Y.; had issue.
v. Elizabeth, m. Ransom Curtis of Busti; had issue
vi. Sidney, d. in California, leaving two sons in Albany, N.Y.
vii. Solomon, d. at Quincy, Ill., leaving issue.
viii. Harriet, m. William Slayton of Harmony; issue."
 		Wells, James (I2234)
 
2898 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 W462C "History and Genealogy of the Wells Family," compiled by John L. Cobb, 1999, supplementing "The History and Genealogy of the Wells Family" by Philip L. Cobb, 1897. Pp. 71-72, references given as: I.G.I. NY state: Wells, as of Apr 1988 and Mar 1992, CT: Wells et al.: 'Cem. Inscrip. from Cambridge, NY,' copied by P.L. and L.B. cobb 1913; Wash Co., NY deeds: CC: 13, 30 Aug. 1830, rec. 31 Aug 1831; Asa Fitch's Notes for a Wash Co., NY Hist.: re Wells: 839; Administration: Edmund Henry Wells of Cambridge, NY: 2 Jan 1815, by wid. Hepzibah: 2: 67; 'American Genealogist'; vol. 46, July 1970: 181-2: 'The Wells Fam. of Hebron, CT, and Cambridge, NY' by John G. Hunt, 821 No. Jackson St., Arlington, VA 22201 (Capt. Wm. C. Ball, USN (ret.) of Anaheim, CA. Text:
"Edmund Henry Wells, son of Edmund and Welthia Ann (Goodrich) W. of Cambridge, NY, born about 1770, probably in Hebron, CT; he married (1791), to Hepzipah Buel, daughter of Ichabod and Hepzibah (Dewey) B. of Hebron, CT, born about 1771, she received into communion of the Prot. Presby. Church of Cambridge, NY, 17 Oct. 1809; family resided in Cambridge, NY, where he died 2 Apr 1813 in 42nd year, of 'spotted fever' or 'the epidemic'; she died 15 Dec 1819 in 48th year, and both buried in the cemetery on the Turnpike, south of the village of Cambridge, Wash. Co., NY. Children all born Cambridge, Wash. Co, NY, order undetermined:
a. Edmund, b. 26 Mar 1792, at Cambridge, NY, bapt. 8 Sept 1792 at the Prot. Presby. Church, Cambridge; m. 1st (?) ____ to ?Louisa Livingston, dau. of William and ___ L. of Cambridge, NY, 1808-1839; he m. 2nd (?), 27 Sep 1814 at Prot. Presby. Church, Cambridge, by Rev. John Dunlap, to Ann or Abiah Cooper, dau. of John and ___ C.; Edmund was a wagon master, constable in White Creek, NY (1850 Cen.); fam. res. removed to Harmony, Chautauqua Co., NY. Children (7 reported): Henry (b. guess ca. 1830; d. before 30 Jan 1850, Quincy, IL [?]), John, Harriet, George, Amy, Unknown, and unknown.
b. Wealthy Ann, b. 25 Jan 1794, bapt. 13 Apr 1794 Prot. Presby Church, Cambridge, rec'd into comm. there ___ 1813 by Rev. John Dunlap; she m. 1 May 1815 at Cambridge, to Samuel Cooper, s. of John and ___C. of Eagle Bridge (on Hoosic River), White Cr., NY; b. ___; fam. rem. with brother Edmund W. to Chautaugua Co., NY and later, 1848, Burton (E. of Quincy), Adams Co., IL, where he died of fever. Several children Cooper: W.B., b. ___; in 1847 at Saltillo, Mexico, having enl. 1846 in Adams Co., IL (letter: 1847 to Uncle James about Texas and Mexico).
c. James, b. ___; shoemaker, m. ___: to ___, fam. moved to Harmony, Chautauqua Co., NY where he died, children 2-3 reported.
d. Pamilla, Priscella (?), b. ___; m. 17 June 1803? to ___Dickeson, Dickinson? Fam. rem. Busti, Chautq. Co., NY, children 3-4 reported.
e. Elizabeth, b. ___; m. ____; to ___; to Ransom Curtis of Busti, NY, fam. res. Ashville, Chautq. Co., NY, children 2-3 reported.
f. Sidney, b. ca. 1810; m. 7 Apr 1835 at 2nd Ref. Dutch Ch., Albany, NY to Mrs. Sarah Thayer; res. with Austin Wells many years, then with Edmund Wells, then at Albany, NY and died ca. 1849 in CA, children 2 boys reported.
g. Solomon, b. 18 Sep 1811, bapt. 4 Nov 1811 Prot. Presby. Church, Cambridge; m. ____ to ____, res. Chautq. Co., NY then MauChunk, PA; he died Quincy, IL. Children 3-4 reported.
h. Miriam Henry, b. 18 Sep 1811 (twin of above); bapt. 4 Nov 1811 Prot. Presby. Church, Cambridge,; apparently died young.
i. Harriet, b. ___; m. ___; to William Slayton of Harmony, Chautq. Co., NY fam. res. Harmony, NY, children Slayton."

2. TAG 46:180-183: "The Wells (Welles) Family of Hebron, CT. and Cambridge, N.Y.," by John G. Hunt:
"...Edmund Henry4 Wells, born about 1771, died at Cambridge, N.Y., "of the spotted fever" in 1813; by his wife, who was also his kinswoman, Hepzibah (daughter of that Ichabod Buell named at p. 131 of cited Bradford Genealogy), he left these Wells Children:
i. Edmund5, b. Ca. 1791, Cambridge, N.Y.; living 1850 at Harmony, Chautauqua County, N.Y.; had issue.
ii. Wealthy, m. John Cooper and was living 1848 at Burton, Ill. Their son, W. B. Cooper, was in 1847 at Saltillo, Mexico, having been enlisted in Adams County, Ill., in the preceding year. He gives his impressions of Texas and part of Mexico in a letter dated in 1847, addressed to his uncle, James5 Wells, whose descendant, Capt. William C. Ball, USN (ret.), of Anaheim, Call has made the information available.
iii. James, in 1850 of Harmony, N.Y.; had issue.
iv. Priscilla, m. ___ Dickinson of Busti, Chautauqua County, N.Y.; had issue.
v. Elizabeth, m. Ransom Curtis of Busti; had issue
vi. Sidney, d. in California, leaving two sons in Albany, N.Y.
vii. Solomon, d. at Quincy, Ill., leaving issue.
viii. Harriet, m. William Slayton of Harmony; issue."

MARRIAGE:
1. Per citation above: Dickeson or Dickinson.
 		Wells, Pamelia (I358)
 
2899 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 W462c "History and Genealogy of the Wells Family. Some Ancestors and Descendants of Thomas Wells of Saybrook and Hebron, Connecticut, who had come from Dudley, Worcestershire, England in 1712. Supplementing: "The History and Genealogy of the Wells Family" by Philip L. Cobb, 1897"; compiled by John L. Cobb, 1999, pp. 78-79:
"Sydney Wells, a son of Edmund and Welthia Ann (Goodrich) W. of Cambridge, NY, born 6 Oct. 1786, Cambridge, Wash. Co., NY; he m. 1st calculated bef. 1812, to Sylvia Fairchild, dau. of Jesse and Mary (Stevens) F. from ___, CT, born abt. May 1789 in CT; she died 7 Oct. 1830 an bur. ae. 40 yrs. 5 mos., in cem. on Turnpike so. of Cambridge Village, NY; he m. 2nd, 18 Dec. 1831, 3rd Congreg. Ch., New Haven, CT, vi. rec.: 102, to Hannah (Merriman sp?) Reed, dau. of ___; she died 2 Apr 1858 in 68th yr., Cambridge, NY ("Wash. Co. Post"); and he, 1 Mar 1859 in 73rd year, there ("Sandy Hill Herald"); both bur. in cem. on Turnpike so. of Cambridge Village, NY; he, a farmer, Cambridge principal town officer 1816-20; school commissioner; on board and trustee: 1st Un. Presby. Congr. there 1813-28; J.P: 1834. Fam. res. Cambridge. Children, 8 by 1st wife; 1 by 2nd wife...
References: "Hist. & Gen.: Wells Fam.," by P.L. Cobb 1897: 3b; I.G.I. Wells: NY state, as of Apr. 1988; Bartholomew: CT, as of Mar. 1992; Barbour Index: CT vi. rec.: Wallingford, for Bartholomew & Wells; "Cem. Inscrip.: Cambridge," by P.L. and L.B. Cobb 1913; "NY Gen. & Biogr. Rec.": 118: 3 (1987): 141; "Wash Co. (NY) Journal": 8 July 1847; Wash Co., NY pro.: Sidney Wells will of 5 Feb 1858 codicil: 7 Apr 1858, pro. and rec. 2 May 1859; Notes for Hist.: Wash. Co., NY by Dr. A. Fitch 30 Jan. 1850: 839; "Records: 1st Un. Presby. Ch. Cambridge Village, Wash. Co., NY," ed. R.W. Vosburgh 1917; Carol Phelps, Ref. Dept. Public Library, 49 Spring St., Auburn, ME 04210, June 4 1998; I.G.I: CT Ann Jannette B., b. 18 June 1826, Wallingford, NH Co., CT."
 		Fairchild, Sylvia (I3000)
 
2900 RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 W462c "History and Genealogy of the Wells Family. Some Ancestors and Descendants of Thomas Wells of Saybrook and Hebron, Connecticut, who had come from Dudley, Worcestershire, England in 1712. Supplementing: "The History and Genealogy of the Wells Family" by Philip L. Cobb, 1897"; compiled by John. L. Cobb, 1999, pp. 13-15
"Joseph Wells. Third son of Thomas, "was born in Hebron, CT, 28 Aug. 1726, whence he removed about 1760 to Cambridge, NY, where he lived the remainder of his life, and died 6 Nov. 1819 age 95 years." He married in New London, CT, 17 May 1750 (Hebron vi. rec.: 1:55, CT) to Thankful SHAILER, daughter of Abel and Hannah (___) S. of Haddam, CT; she died 13 Sept. 1810 in Boston, MA (Shailer Gen.) in 84th yr both she and Joseph W were buried in the cemetery on the turnpike south of Cambridge village, NY. He had been captain and quartermaster in VanWoert's 16th regiment: Albany Co., NY militia during the American Revolution.
"In Cambridge in 1783, a pound was directed to be located on the east side of the road by Capt. Edmund Wells's house, Capt. Joseph Wells to build it, and Capt. Edmund Wells to be poundmaster". Stocks were also voted: "they were to be built by Capt. Joseph Wells near the pound. It is not told whether they were used to confine people" (Everts and Ensign: Hist. Washington Co., NY 1878).
He was called Deacon Joseph Wells, and he was a carpenter. Joseph and Thankful (SHAILER) Wells's children, all born in Hebron, CT: [Lists 13 children b. 1751-1771.]
References: "Hist. and Gen. Wells Fam.," by P.L. Cobb 1897: 1, 2, 3; Barbour mf.: CT vi rec.: Hebron, Bolton and Haddam; Mrs Damaris P. Reynolds 2928 NW 29th St., Corvallis, OR 97330 correspondence 24 June 1991, 11 June 1992 (DEWEY gen.); "Cem. Inscrip.: Cambridge,. NY," by P.L. and L.B. Cobb 1913; A. Fitch's Notes for Hist.: Wash. Co., NY: 842; "CT Nutmegger: 4: 4: 532-4; 12:4:706; Bailey's "CT Marr's": Hebron; Admon. estate: Joseph Wells of Cambridge NY 2 Feb 1826; bible record-page: Joseph Wells, (fr. Mrs. James Edson (Mary Elizabeth (Houghton) Wells, Munson Rd., 8243 U.S. Rt. 20, Westfield, NY 14787 Feb-Mar. 1995); Notes of the Rev. John Dunlap Wells, fr. Richard H. Jones, 339 Private Rd., E. Patchogue, LI., NY 11772, 18 Jan. 1996; Mrs. M. Sue Wells, 3400 Somerset Rd., London, KY 40741-9693."

MARRIAGE:
1. The marriage had to occur before their son Timothy was born in 1756, which date is established per the following cemetery record per the book "Cemetery Records, the Town of Cambridge, Washington Co., NY," 2003, comp. by Historical Data Services, 14 Clark St., Glen Falls, NY, 12804, www. hdsgenealogy.com, copy available in the Cambridge public library. For Old Turnpike Cemetery, with over 50 Wells including: Timothy Wells, d. 18 Oct 1784, Sec. c, Row 13, in his 28th year, son of Capt. Joseph and Thankfull.

BURIAL:
1. The book "Cemetery Records, the Town of Cambridge, Washington Co., NY," 2003, comp. by Historical Data Services, 14 Clark St., Glen Falls, NY, 12804, www. hdsgenealogy.com, copy available in the Cambridge public library. For Old Turnpike Cemetery, with over 50 Wells including: Thankful Wells, d. 13 Sep 1810, sec. C, row 13, in her 84th y, wife of Deacon Joseph.
 		Shaler, Thankful (I4502)
 

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