| Notes |
- RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. Frederick, Maryland records show another man name George Peter (or just Peter) Dick that was contemporaneous to our Conrad Dick. Some had tentatively linked a son George to Conrad, but that appears erroneous. A relationship, if any, has not yet been determined. Some observations:
A I find reference to him under the name Peter Dick in Lloyd DeWitt Bockstruck's book "Denizations and Naturalizations in the British Colonies in America, 1607-1775," Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2005, p. 72, which gives only limited information as shown below: All the Dicks in the book:
Adam Dick. He was naturalized in Pennsylvania 18 Nov. 1768.
Conrad Dick. He was naturalized in Maryland 10 Sep. 1760.
Dederick Dick. He was naturalized in New York 16 Dec. 1737.
Paul Dick. He was naturalized in New York 16 Dec. 1737.
Peter Dick. He was naturalized in Pennsylvania 10 Apr. 1760.
Peter Dick. He was naturalized in Maryland 16 Apr 1761.
Philip Dick. He was naturalized in Pennsylvania 10 Apr 1760.
Internet chatter as of 2 May 2015 shows Peter is often confused with the Peter in PA. Same chatter seems to indicate he may have had a son of the same name born ca1753 in Frederick. A Peter shows up in Frederick in the 1790 and later censuses, a Federalist voting roster in the mid-1790s in Frederick, and perhaps other records in the same era. Without deeper research, It is unclear if father or potential son. If he had a son ca. 1753, then he would more likely be of the same generation of our Conrad and not a son. With a Maryland wait time for naturalization of a minimum of 7 years, George Peter would have entered the country 1754 or earlier.
B. From the book "Pioneers of the Old Monocacy, the Early Settlement of Frederick County, Maryland, 1721-1743," by Grace L. Tracey and John P. Dern (1998; Clearfield Publishing), pp. 378-380, is found the "Frederick County Muster Rolls, circa 1757." Four muster rolls are shown but only the second one was actually dated (Aug. 13, 1757). They may have been separate musters and not all at the same date since the dates for the other musters are unknown. They are sourced as being from the transcripts printed in the "Maryland Historical Magazine," 9:260-280, 348-370. Days of service are indicated for the Captain of each Company, but actual days served by each individual are included in the source manuscript. A brief summary of the rolls:
a. Captain Peter Butler, 34 days' service, 135 total men. Interesting names include:
- Ensign Conrad Grosch. Father-in-law to one of Joh. Michael Roemer's daughter Christina.
- Valentine Adams. Possibly a relation to Anna Maria Adams, Joh. Michael Stocker's third wife.
- Charles and George Beatty. Possible relations to James Edward Beatty who married Elizabeth Roemer.
- Adam Combe, The same name as Johan Michael Roemer's slave; if the same man, not sure why he is without Michael unless Michael sent him as his contribution.
- Philip Coonce. A possible relation to the Koons who later marry into our Eller and Stocker families.
b. Captain Elias Delashmutt, Aug. 13, 1757, 52 days service, 37 men.
c. Captain Stephan Ransberger, 42 days service, 80 men. Interesting names include:
- Lieut. Michael Raymer. Our ancestor Joh. Michael Roemer with a common variant spelling.
- George Peter Dick. Contemporary of our Joh. Conrad Dick of unknown relationship if any.
- Henry Coonce and William Coonce. Possible relations to the Koons who later marry into our Eller and Stocker families.
- Henry Fout, Jacob Fout, Balser Fout, and George Loy. Possible relations to Michael's daughter Joanna Magdalena Roemer's husband Henrich Fauth.
d. Captain John Middaugh, service 30 days, 105 men. Interesting names include:
- Ensign Thomas Beatty, Jr., and John Beatty. Possible relations to James Edward Beatty who married Elizabeth Roemer.
The musters do not include any Stocker, Eller, or other Dick name. A possible reason for these men not being listed might be that of a religious conscientious objection to military service as was typical of the nearby Moravian Sect with which we find these names later associated in the next generation in North Carolina.
2. The following was posted on the Internet at a site concerning "Brethren-Genealogy" by Dwayne Wrightsman 30 Aug 2009 at http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/BRETHREN/2009-08/1251658713 accessed 2 May 2015. See comments about this posting in a separate note below by Rose Green:
"Conrad Dick was the head of the German Dick family that settled in Wilkes/Ashe County, NC, in 1788. His daughter, Maria Elizabetha Dick (baptized 18 December 1746, Evangelisch-Reformierte, Altrip, Pfalz) was married to Peter Eller who also settled with the Dicks in Wilkes/Ashe in 1788. Conrad's son, John Dick, and John's son, John Dick Jr., also arrived in Wilkes/Ashe in 1788. The younger John Dick was a Brethren elder who worked with elder Joseph Roland and elder Isham Gibson with the Long Creek Brethren in Muhlenberg, KY, and with the Sugar Creek Brethren in Sangamon, IL.
The Conrad Dick family is not well known in Brethren history compared to the Adam Dick family (of the Conestoga and Conewago congregations of Lancaster and York Counties, PA). We do not know if these two Dick families were related.
The wife of Conrad Dick was Anna Catharina. Her surname is not given in the literature. However, by checking German Reformed Church records it appears that she was born Anna Catharina Gross, 22 August 1717, Evangelisch-Reformierte, Altrip, Pfalz, daughter of Peter and Elsabetha Gross. At age 18 she married the widower Hans Jakob Bargeld, 15 November 1735, Altrip, Pfalz. By this marriage she bore two sons, Joh. Michel and Joh. Christoffel, whose births, 6 January, 1738, and 9 April, 1741, respectively, were recorded in the Evangelisch-Reformierte, Altrip, Pfalz, church records. Hans Jakob Ba(a)rgeld died 10 May 1744. On 22 February 1746, the widow Catharina Baargeldin married Johann Conrad Dick of Heddesheim. The marriage was recorded in the Evangelisch-Reformierte, Altrip Pfalz, church records. On 18 December 1746, their daughter Maria Elizabeth Dick was baptized, Evangelische-Reformierte, Altrip Pfalz. This was the daughter of Conrad Dick who married Peter Eller, oldest son of George Michael Eller of Frederick County, MD.
Given that Conrad Dick's wife was a widow of a widower, it is possible that Conrad Dick himself had been previously married. Since wife Anna Catharina (nee Gross) was born in 1717, Conrad Dick may have been born earlier than the "about 1725" birth year usually assigned to him in various genealogical accounts. Church birth/baptism records for Conrad Dick and for Adam Dick have not been found. Adam Dick's birth year was 1709 and his death year was 1785 according his German tombstone inscription, Mummerts Cemetery, Hamilton Twp., York Co., PA. Conrad Dick's birth and death years are both unknown.
Heddesheim and Altrip were villages on the outskirts of Manheim/Mannheim, Germany. When Conrad Dick bought 100 acres on a small creek leading into the Beaver Dam Branch of Little Pipe Creek in Frederick County, MD, in 1755, he named his tract "Mon Hime" apparently after his being from Manheim/Mannheim. Conrad Dick could neither read nor write. His family's immigration is unknown, but it was probably sometime between 1747 and 1753. He was naturalized in Maryland in 1760.
In 1758, a second daughter, Maria Catherine Dick, was born to Conrad and Anna Catharina Dick. She was baptized 28 March 1758, German Reformed Church, Frederick, Frederick, Maryland. Apparently the Conrad Dick family was not yet Brethren at that time even though they lived in the Beaver Creek - Pipe Creek among many Brethren families who were picking up and moving to North Carolina.
Conrad Dick sold his "Mon Hime" property on Beaver Creek in Frederick, Maryland, in 1764. Ten years later (1774) he bought 200 acres on Hodge's Fork of the Uwharrie River in North Carolina. He and his son John and his son-in-law Peter Eller settled in various parts of the Rowan County area of North Carolina until they converged in Wilkes County in 1788. Whether or not they were Brethren is unknown but what is known is that they associated with the Brethren on the Uwharrie River, on the Forks of the Yadkin, and on Reedy Creek prior to joining the Brethren settlement on the New River in Wilkes County, NC."
3. Emails from Rose Green, descendant and expert German researcher (rose.green@att.net):
29 Apr 2015: "Given that we've been talking about Birkenau and all [in regards to Johan Michael Roemer], I went back to look at exactly who it is of Conrad Dick's ancestors who lived in that parish. A while back, I found a discussion on a site about Brethren genealogy [see separate note above by Dwayne Wrightsman date 30 Aug 2009], in which he was identified as a member of that group, and traced to Heddesheim, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. His mother was from nearby Altrip and his father from Heddesheim. I discovered that there were printed Familienbuecher (genealogy books where someone has extracted the whole of a town's church records and organized them into neat family groups) for both villages. I ordered them via interlibrary loan, and yes, the whole family showed up. Conrad's mother was from Weschnitz (not in the Pfalz but over near Birkenau), and his grandparents were married in Furth (the Catholic parish that covered Birkenau at the time). (The grandparents were the ones moving up after the 30 Years' War from parts south.)
The Altrip records list a marriage for Johann Conrad Dick on 22 Feb 1746 to Anna Catharina, widow of Hans Jacob Baargeld (marriage 15 Nov 1735, which gives her maiden name as Gross, daughter of Hans Peter Gross and Anna Meyer). Altrip and Heddesheim are very near Mannheim (he named his farm Mon Hime in America). The new location, Berghuelen, Blaubeuren, Wuerttemberg, is quite a bit further away. The Altrip records also apparently include the birth record of Maria Elisabeth Dick, who would be the wife of Peter Eller, if this group is ours, on 14 Dec 1746. This was in the Reformed church. The Gross family goes back several generations (some of the children don't show up in Familysearch; it's more of a direct line thing).
...To me, the Altrip/Heddesheim connection seems to carry more weight than the Berghuelen one (if nothing else because of the Mannheim connection--but also because all of the people seem to show up there)."
2 May 2015: "Yes, I suspect that with the conversion to newer versions of Familysearch, some records have become garbled or incorrectly merged. You are right--all the background details list the name in FS as Anna Maria. And suddenly, she's bam! Ruth, out of nowhere. The Altrip Familenbuch does not list anyone in the Gross family named Ruth. It's not a name that commonly appears in German church records of the time. The siblings of Anna Catharina Gross that are recorded in the Altrip book all have specific death dates in Germany listed. Possibly there were more siblings who died young and would be in the original church records, but I'm not seeing anyone who could be remotely construed as Ruth.
Hannah sounds more English than German to me (Anna in German--unless maybe a nickname for Johanna?), but her husband--he's definitely got a German name, and he's living with all those Germans. The Heddesheim Familienbuch does list a sister to Conrad, Anna Maria, b. 1726. I don't see a Hannah Sophia, but it would be worth checking the actual primary church records in Altrip. Such published books have errors, as we know. I think it's worth putting her down as a hypothesis to be tested.
Regarding Margaret Susan Dick who married Koons, I can't tell from the information given if Dick was her maiden name, or if it was the name of her first husband who died while coming to America. Again, I don't see anyone by that name in the Familienbuch, but Conrad has some brothers who don't have death entries listed. There are certainly other Dick families in the US that don't have any apparent relation to us (Adam Dick--unless way back we have a DNA connection??). But since they all(Koons, etc.) seem to follow each other around, she's probably another one to look into.
In any case, there is a concrete marriage record for a Johann Conrad Dick marrying Anna Catharina Gross on 22 Feb 1746 in Altrip, Pfalz, Germany. The birth of a daughter, Maria Elisabetha Dick, who we suppose to be the one who married Peter Eller, was born in Altrip on 14 Dec 1746.
I suspect that a lot of incorrect merging (and some assumptions based on extracted records taken out of context) have happened in recent years. I have certainly seen several instances of people in Family Tree suddenly being connected to people they have no relation to, just because of a name similarity (and the new situation replacing the previous relationship that was based on detailed research and tangible data). Sometimes it seems like we've gone from the problem of temple work being done over and over for the same individual to some rather overzealous merging. I'm sure we'll get it all straightened out in the end, but it makes for confusion right now.
In any case, here's a summary of what the Familienbuch Heddesheim has to say about Conrad Dick:
Johann Velten (Valentin) Dick (son of Hans Velten Dick, +7 Mar 1735 Heddesheim) oo Anna Margaretha Hinderkircher (b. in the 1690s in Weschnitz, which is near Birkenau, +7 Mar 1742 Heddesheim) on 16 Feb 1718 in Heddesheim. She was the daughter of Johann Joachim Hinderkircher, married in Furth (again, near Birkenau) but from "Tirol," and Susanna Baltzer of Schwaben. Children (born in Heddesheim):
1. Johann Conrad, *3 Feb 1721
2. Justina Magdalena *5 May 1724, +19 Dec 1762 in Heddesheim
3. Johann Christoph, *28 Jul 1725
4. Anna Maria, *28 Dec 1726
5. Tobias, *8 Feb 1729
6. Johann Michael, *22 Mar 1731
Extra children not listed could of course be fit in here, and a search should be done of the church books. After Velten died, Anna Margaretha married a widower in the area, but I don't have a record of any children (not to say there weren't any).
On the Gross side (from the Altrip Familienbuch), I've got Hans Peter Gross of Altrip, no birth info given, but believed to be the son of Johann Ludwig Gross and Catharina of Altrip (md. bef 1692) m. Elisabeth Meyer of Reisen (Birkenau parish again! Her father was Hans Meyer) on 24 Nov 1716 in Altrip. Children born in Altrip:
1. Anna Catharina, 22 Aug 1717
2. Johann Heinrich, *16 Feb 1721, +11 Jun 1722
3. Maria Barbara, *15 Oct 1724, +15 Jun 1762 Altrip. Married Johann Georg Schwitzgöbel of Weisenheim, Sand, Germany 14 Sep 1745 in Altrip
Then Hans Peter Gross married again, this time on 9 May 1730 (Altrip) to Anna Clara Schneider, *25 Sep 1711 Altrip. They had one child that I know of in Altrip:
4. Johann Ludwig Gross, *5 Oct 1732, +25 Apr 1735
Anyway, I think that it might be a very good idea to poke into this some more ... I think I'll order up what records there may be for Altrip and Heddesheim. And I'd love to take another look in the Birkenau area for those people who show up over there."
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. 159-171, in regards to a possible relation of Susan Dick. [Update: Since Hook wrote this, the ancestry of Conrad Dick has been found. No sibling named Susan Dick was found. Her relationship, if any, is currently unknown. Additionally, Dewald Koonce has been found (per Burgert's book) to have come from Sous les Forets, which is adjoining the village where Joh. Michael Stocker came from (see his notes for more detail)]:
"The Koons Family of Randolph and Ashe Counties, North Carolina probably descended from Dewald Kuntz who came to Pennsylvania on the ship 'Phoenix' and took the Oath of Allegiance to the Province and State of Pennslvania 28 Aug 1750. (Penn. Archives, 2nd. series, Vol. 17.) According to an account of the family in the 'History of Henry County, Indiana,' p. 1163, by George Hazzard, 1906, Devault Koons, a native of Pennsylvania, married the widow Susan Dick, a native of Germany, whose husband died at sea while crossing to America. The account continues my naming three of their sons... The above account on the origin of the family is rendered doubtful, in one or two respects, by certain records found in the courthouse of Frederick, (Frederick Co.) Maryland. There we find a deed dated 21 Nov 1755 in which Devall Conce (sic) and his wife Margaret sold 70 acres of land on Grooses branch in Frederick Co. to Jacob Gallman. (Book E, p. 916) Another deed dated 2 Feb 1756 (Book E., p. 990) shows Devault Coons (sic) and Richard Kee leasing from Edward Matthias 100 acres of land on Abraham Creek at the foot of Kittocton Mountain called 'Davis Delight.' Still another deed dated 22 Aug 1770 (Book N, p. 305) shows Devalt Coons (sic) and Margaret his wife selling a lot in Sharpsburg to William Flick. The variation in the spelling of the name was due perhaps to the fact that the signatures were by marks making it necessary for the scriveners to write the name according to the way it sounded when spoken.
It could be said, of course, that the Dewald (Devault, Devall, Devalt) Kuntz (Koons, Conce, Coonce, Coons, Koontz) of Frederick Co., Md. was not the same as Devault (Davault) Koons of Hazzard's 'History of Henry Co., IN,' but when one notes that the Eller, Dick and Stoker families also lived in Frederick Co., MD contemporaneously with the Koons family and that members of all of these families later removed to the same county in North Carolina and intermarried and considering the uncommon name of Devault that appeared in both places, we can hardly escape believing that they were the same. This writer believes that the History of Hazzard errs in saying that Devault Koons the first, was a native of Pennsylvania, implying that he was born there and suggests that the Susan Dick account by Hazzard probably should have included the statement that she was Devault Koon's second wife or that her full name was Margaret Susan Dick, not just Susan Dick.
Devall Coonce (sic) was living in Frederick Co., MD as early 29 May 1751 when he, together with John Coon and Peter Apple, witnessed the will of Ballish Fought.
[The book continues with a will of another Devalt Koontz dated 8 Jan 1786 in Frederick Co., probably a son of the original DeVault and who did not join his brothers in NC. It also gives extensive biographies on the two sons that went to NC, John and Gasper and their progeny.]
5. 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."
6. The following is in the section about George Michael Eller, but it definitely has some bearing on the Dick family since it talks of the Brethren Congregation and also of the Lutheran Churches in Frederick, Maryland. Quoted from 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. 8-16:
"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..."
7. Partial transcription 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. See notes of Michael Stoker for full transcription of this article:
"Settling New Territory.
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)...
Picture, pg. 103: "First actual survey of the State of North Carolina David Stone & Peter Brown Esq. 1808." (North Fork of New River and Naked Creek are labeled.)
Land Records
James Hook states that Michael Stoker had a farm on the North Fork of New River in Ashe County. Then on 29 December 1792 Michael (Strucker) purchased: "100 acres from John Dick of land on Naked Creek in Ashe (Wilkes) Co. which creek flows west into the South Fork of New River" (Hook). The Morgan district, in which this land was located, in 1799 became part of the new Ashe County, North Carolina and was the same district where Peter Eller, John Koons and Conrad Dick lived. All now related by Michael's marriage to Catherine. There are two other reasons why Michael may have traveled south:
Living in North Carolina at this time was Jacob Fah born 1765. He was the son of Jacob Faw (Pfau) and his second wife. Jacob Faw (Pfau) was Elizabeth Fah's father.
Michael grew up around a religious group called the Moravians. They migrated a very large colony into northwestern North Carolina. (See John Michael Stocker story for more details.)
Michael (Strucker) is listed on the 1800 Ashe Co. census records as 'head of family' with one male age 0-9 yrs (David), one male age 26-45 (Michael), two females age 0-9 (Mary [Polly] and Elizabeth), one female age 26 (Catherine). The Eller, Koonz, and Graybill families are also listed.
On the 13 March 1806 Michael applied for 150 acres of land on the North Fork of the New River adjoining his existing land. The land was then surveyed and on the 27 of November it was granted to Michael (Ibid). Copies of these land transactions can be obtained by writing to the North Carolina Department of Archives.
The town of Jefferson became the main hub area for Ashe County during this time frame. The territory of New River is described as an area of: "hills and ridges and intervening valleys along the creeks and rivers. The supply of water is abundant. The north and south forks of New River pass through the county with their tributary streams. There is scarcely a plat of land to be found large enough for an ordinary farm that is not supplied with springs of clear, cold water and streams running through them. The productions are wheat, rye, corn, oats, buckwheat, sorgum-cane, tobacco, potatoes, flax, and a great variety of garden vegetables. The fruit-productions are apples, peaches, pears, quinces, and plums, with many varieties of small fruits, such as cherries, currants, whortleberries and gooseberries. Beautiful groves of timber, oak, hickory, ash, poplar, maple, walnut, pine and cherry. The climate and soil is well adapted to the growth of different grasses, as timothy, clover, red top, bluegrass, and evergreen" (Cox 1900)...
The 1810 census record [for Ashe County, NC] list members of the Eller and Graybill families but there are no names of the Stoker family. This is only a side note as there were many reasons why their names were or were not listed at this time...
In the minutes of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions of February 1807 Michael Stuckard is listed record as a witness to the Last Will and Testament of John Koons. In 1808 he was witness for a land exchange between John Dick and Seth Osborn. In August of 1809, Michael Stoker sold 110 acres to William Colvard. Ashe County, North Carolina Records Inventory. Original Records. www.ls.net/~newriver/nc/asherec.htm. Note the different spellings of the last name on three different records within the same office."
8. A partial quote 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: "Conrad and Katherine Dick":
"Conrad and Katherine Dick were living in Frederick County, Maryland as early as 1755, when 100 acres were registered on August 15, and named Mon Hime, perhaps after Manheim township in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania or Manheim, Germany. He sold this land in 1764 and 10 years later there is a record of buying 200 acres in Rowan County, North Carolina. His early deeds shows he was a weaver by trade.
Conrad later was granted land next to his son-in-law, Peter Eller, which he sold to him.
Another Dick, which is probably some relation, named Susan Dick, married Devault Koons, who in turn were the grandparents of George Koons, who married Mary Eller.
Children:
1. John Dick, m. Mary; John sold land to Michael Stoker in Wilkes County, N.C.
2. Marie Catherine Dick, christened on March 28, 1758.
3. Elizabeth Dick, m. Peter Eller."
9. There is a mystery as to the identity of the Sherrer family in the following list of baptisms done by Mary/Polly Stoker and Eller Stoker (sister and brother, both children of Michael Stoker and Catherine Eller. The relationship of the Sherrers is identified as relatives on their mother's side.
A. First, here is information on the baptisms:
The article "Michael and Catherine Eller Stoker's Descendants in Illinois," by Jimmie "B" Stoker, July 30, 1994, as reprinted in 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. See the notes of Michael Stoker (1762-1838) for the full transcript of this article. This portion of the article lists the proxy baptisms done in Nauvoo, Illinois by the Stokers and related families for their extended family in behalf of their dead relatives and friends per the doctrine of their newly embraced Mormon religion:
In 1841 Catherine Eller and members of her family traveled to Nauvoo to perform baptisms for their dead. At this time the church policy allowed men and women to be baptized indiscriminately for each other. Catherine was baptized for her father, Peter Eller, and her brother, John Eller. She may have been baptized for her deceased daughter, Rebecca Stoker at this date. Michael Stoker (1805-1858) was baptized for his Grandfather Stoker, Michael (1762-1838), Eller Stoker (1816-1857) was baptized for his uncle, George Eller.16
It is most probable that these 1841 Stoker baptisms were performed in the MIssissippi River. The first baptisms for the dead performed in the Nauvoo Temple font took place on Sunday November 21, 1841 in the basement. This temporary font had been dedicated a couple of weeks earlier and would be used until the Temple was completed with a permanent one.17
The following Stoker family members were baptized for these dead members of their families [Person baptized for/Relationship to above:]
Catherine Eller Stoker:
Elizabeth [Dick Eller] White/Mother
George M. Eller/Grandfather
Kinrod Dick/Grandfather
Catherine Dick/Grandmother
Peter Eller/Father
John Eller/Brother
Rebecca Stoker/Daughter
Michael Stoker (1805-1858):
Michael Stoker/Grandfather
Barbary Pertune/Aunt
Absalom Koons/Cousin
Eller Stoker (1816-1857):
Christian Sherrer/Great uncle
Sarah Sherrer/Great aunt
Jacob Sherrer/Mother's cousin
Catherine Sherrer/Mother's cousin
Philip Baker/Uncle
George Baker/Cousin
George Eller/Uncle
Margaret [Judd] Stoker:
William McQuarey/Uncle
James Welker:
Sarah Wilker/Mother
Elizabeth Stoker Welker
Lear Black/Mother's cousin
William Pennington/Uncle
Mary Polly Stoker Graybill
Molly Coons/Great aunt
Andrew Sherer/Mother's cousin
Andrew Black/Mother's cousin
Catherine Yance/Mother's cousin
Luke White/Step-grandfather
Mary Steemel [Stimmel]/Aunt"
B. Some comments on my research on the Sherrers and a very rough and wild possible relationship that needs much more corraboration and proof before accepting.
a. Listed in the 1800 census for Morgan District, Ashe Co., NC is the family of Christian Shearer (2-3-1-1-0/2-0-0-1-0) who is the only Christian Sherrer (using Soundex for his surname search) that shows up.
b. There is a Christian Sherrer that shows up in the online book from Ancestry.com: "The Goodner Family: a Genealogical History with a Brief History of the family of Jacob Daniel Scherrer." He is the son of Jacob Daniel Scherrer and Hannah Sophia Dick. Is there some chance that Hannah is the sister of Conrad? The book goes into a lot of detail, but basically Jacob was a tailer [hence the name: shearer] who came to America in May of 1752 on the ship "Richard and Mary" from Rotterdam arriving 26 Sep 1752. He eventually sent for his bride-to-be perhaps even paying for part of the voyage. They were married, according to one report, 7 Oct 1755, with their first child born in 1759 perhaps in Pennsylvania or Delaware. In the year 1763, Jacob is in Orange County, NC, residing in that portion of the county which was cut off in 1770 and formed into the county of Guilford. He and his family attended Frieden's Church located two miles north of Gibsonville. Christian first marries a wife by the name of Nellie with whom he has most of his children. Later, he moves to Preble co., Ohio, with his mother and family. He eventually marries a second time to a Sarah Lyon Willson in June 1819. Some correspondence from the old country survives showing that Jacob was born ca 1730 in Oberbetsbach, which no longer shows on modern maps, but is close to Ottweiler, Germany, which still shows. The book does not purport to know the ancestry of Hannah Dick, but does mention that she was not of the same Dick family that resided in Guilford County still to this day who trace their ancestry to William Dick, a man of Scotch-Irish lineage. The author does note that there is a belief among some of the family "that the Scherrers and Dicks of Germany are descendants of families that escaped form Scotland during the period of religious persecutions, fled first to Holland, and thence to Germany... [which] would account for both families being found in both Scotland and Germany." Jacob Scherer died 25 Sep 1795 and is buried at the Frieden Church.
c. Pros of a possible association with Conrad:
i. Some type of relationship showing per the Nauvoo baptismal records. Catherine Eller parents were Ellers and Dicks and I can find no potential relationship thus far on the Eller side.
ii. Conrad Dick was a weaver and Hannah Dick's husband was a tailor.
iii. There was a Christian Sherer in the neigborhood.
iv. Hannah is the right age to be a sister to Conrad.
d. Cons of a possible association with Conrad:
i. Christian, whose baptism was done ca 1841-1843 subject to checking for the exact date, died 19 Nov 1843. His wife Sarah dies 4 Jun 1854, which may make his death date."
[Update 5 May 2015: Since the above was written, the origins of Johan Conrad Dick have been discovered and his siblings found. There is no Hannah Sophia Dick found as a sister to Conrad. Also our Dick family did not come through Scotland before Germany.]
10. The book "The Howard Leytham Stoker Von Dollen Family Histories," FHL 929.273 H833a, by Doris Lewis, 2017 So. 80th Ave., Omaha, Nebraska, 68124, pp. 88-89 [same information more or less is found in FHL book 929.273 P684pn "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 119-123 - any additional info is shown bracketed]. Note that the inclusion of a possible son name George is proven false. See my separate note with Johann Conrad Dick that shows George Peter Dick was a contemporary of Conrad, but not a son -- a relationship between Conrad and George Peter has not yet been found. The transcript:
"Conrad and Katherine Dick were living in Frederick County, Maryland as early as 1755, when 100 acres were registered on August 15, and named Mon Hime, perhaps after Manheim Township in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania or Manheim, Germany. He sold this land in [Mar] 1764 and 10 years later there is a record of buying 200 acres in Rowan County, North Carolina. His early deeds shows he was a weaver by trade. Conrad later was granted [70 acres of] land [in Wilkes County] next to his son-in-law, Peter Eller, which he sold to him. Another Dick, which is probably some relation, named Susan Dick, married Devault Koons, who in turn were the grandparents of George Koons, who married Mary Eller. Children:
a. John [b. abt 1767/9]; m. Mary ___; John sold land to Michael Stoker in Wilkes Co., NC.
b. Marie Catherine, christened 28 Mar 1758 [in Frederick Co., MD].
c. Elizabeth [b. 1750]; m. Peter Eller."
[d. George.]
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 929.273EL54h "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" at 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 Hodge's Fork, a branch of the Uwaree River, now in Davidson or Randolph Co. He sold this land to Adam Bowers, 20 Dec 1785. (Book 10, p. 388, Rowan Co. Deeds.) Coonrod Dick (sic), doubtless the same, was granted 70 acres of land on Rones Creek in Wilkes 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...
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.
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.]...
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 Dick, of Wilkes Co., his father-in-law, doubtless, 70 acres of land in Wilkes Co. The deed was witnessed by John and George Koons. (Deed Book D, p. 165, Wilkes Co., NC.) As already mentioned this land had been entered 20 Feb 1779 and surveyed for Conrad Dick 13 Apr 1795 with Jno. Eller and Mich.Stuckers [Stoker] attesting the survey as chain carriers. The land had been granted to him in the amount of 150 acres on 28 Nov 1792 but when surveyed was found to contain only 70 acres. (Grant 1258, Secy. of State's Office, Raleigh, NC.)...
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, bee hives, 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, Peter Eller, Elizabeth Eller Jr., Michael Stucker (Stoker), Michael Bumgardner, Leonard Bumgardner, John Dick, Leonard Pfouts, Jacob Huntsinger, Daniel Dickson, James Dickson, James Cash, William Cash, Henry Michael Sr., Henry Michael Jr., Daniel 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 Raime, 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.)"
13. FHL book 929.273 D55h "History of Peter and Christina Shutt Dick Family; Frederick Co. Maryland; Wilkes Co. North Carolina; Muhlenberg Co. Kentucky; Sangamon Co. Illinois; Cass Co. Illinois," compiled by Muriel M. Hoffman; Anchor, Illinois; 1970; Chapter II "Ancestry of Peter Dick":
Supplemental material concerning Coonrod and Catherine Dick. Copied from "George Michael Eller and his Descendants in America." Inf. from Mrs. Willmetta Bauguess, Seattle, Wash, an Eller descendant.
p. 15 "Peter Eller, eldest son of George Michael Eller, b. c. 1746, d. Ashe Co. N.C. 1799, md abt. 1766 Elizabeth Dick, dau of Conrad and Katherine Dick of Frederick Co. Md."
p. 17 "Peter died in Ashe Co., a part that had been Wilkes Co. This also places the marriage as probably in Frederick Co. Md. and states that Conrad and Catherine Dick were living in that county as early as 15 Aug. 1755. Conrod Dick purchased land in Rowan Co. N.C. in 1774." (Note various spellings.)
p. 18-19 "Tell of a John Dick and his wife, Mary, selling land in Rowan Co. in 1795. He signed the deed "Johannes Dick" in German script in his own hand."
"Frederick Co. Maryland History" at Newberry Library, Chicago; Chapter "1st settlers of Germans in Maryland":
p. 14 "Between 1740-1754 the Palatines came into Maryland via Baltimore and Annapolis, 2800 of them. The lists were not preserved."
p. 18 "Many of them went to Ohio, Tiffin and Dayton." The Palatine region of Germany was along the Rhine River.
Pennsylvania German Pioneers by Strassburger-Henke. Lists of Palatines coming from Rotterdam, stopping at Portsmouth, Eng. and landing at Philadelphia. Many Dicks are named, Adam 1738, Frederick 1749, George 1750, Jacob 1750, Nicklas, Phillip, Johann Peter 1750, Johann Philip 1749, Peter 1754.
Supplemental material about another John Dick in Ashe Co. N.C., Simpson Co. Ky. and Sangamon Co. Ill. from Biography of Daniel Dick (his son) p.676- 677, History of Macoupin Co. Ill by Walker, 1911.
Daniel Dick was a native of Ashe Co. N.C. born Sept. 25, 1800 of Swiss and English lineage. His parents, John and Ann Mary (Donner) Dick were natives of the same state. The father was a minister of the Baptist church, moved from North Carolina to Virginia, thence to Kentucky, later becoming a pioneer of Sangamon Co. Ill. He died about 1838 at an advanced age and was buried at Thayer, in Sangamon Co. His widow died Jan. 16, 1844. They had six children, Daniel, John, James, George, Mary and Elizabeth. His grandfather, John Dick Sr. was of English descent.
Daniel was 3 years of age when he went to Virginia and the family reached Simpson Co. Ky about 1809. In 1827 he made a trip to Illinois, and later reÂturned to Kentucky and was married there (Muhlenberg Co. 1830). A month later he and his bride started for Illinois. He entered land 18 miles south of SpringÂfield, where Thayer is now located. In 1847 moved to Macoupin Co. In 1853, he moved to Carlinville. Daniel and Susan (Gates) Dick were the parents of 4 daughters, Mary, Permelia, Susan and Lucretia."
14. FHL book 929.273 D55h "History of Peter and Christina Shutt Dick Family; Frederick Co. Maryland; Wilkes Co. North Carolina; Muhlenberg Co. Kentucky; Sang
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Chris & Julie Petersen's Genealogy
1721 - Aft 1795 (~ 75 years)