Chris & Julie Petersen's Genealogy

Peter Eller

Male Abt 1746 - Bef 1799  (~ 53 years)


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  • Name Peter Eller 
    Born Abt 1746  of, Rowan, North Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Died Bef 29 Jul 1799  , Wilkes (now Ashe), North Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I1858  Petersen-de Lanskoy
    Last Modified 27 May 2021 

    Father George Michael Eller,   b. Abt 1711, , , Germany Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Bef 25 Aug 1778, , Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 67 years) 
    Married Bef 1746  of, , Germany Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F1145  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Maria Elizabeth Dick,   b. 14 Dec 1746, Altrip, Ludwigshafen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Bef 1841, of, Ashe, North Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age < 94 years) 
    Married Abt 1768  of, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. John Eller,   b. Abt 1769, of, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1823, , Wilkes, North Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 54 years)
     2. Catherine Eller,   b. 6 Mar 1773, , Rowan, North Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Aft 7 Aug 1856, Kane Township, Pottawattamie, Iowa, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age > 83 years)
     3. Jacob Eller,   b. Mar 1776, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 3 Nov 1855, Clifton, Ashe, North Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 79 years)
     4. Elizabeth Eller,   b. Oct 1776, of, Rowan, North Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 7 Dec 1844, Sweetwater, Monroe, Tennessee, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 68 years)
     5. Peter Eller,   b. 1778, , Rowan, North Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Nov 1851, , Wilkes, North Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 73 years)
     6. Barbara Eller,   b. Abt 1782, of, Rowan, North Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Bef 1841  (Age ~ 58 years)
     7. Mary Eller,   b. 12 Oct 1784, , Rowan, North Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 18 Oct 1873, , Henry, Indiana, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 89 years)
     8. Henry Eller,   b. 1788, of, Rowan, North Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1876, Piney Creek Township, Ashe, North Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 88 years)
     9. George Eller,   b. Aft 1790, of, Rowan, North Carolina, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. From 1817 to 1841  (Age < 25 years)
    Last Modified 28 May 2021 
    Family ID F665  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • 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 Conra