No Post This Week

I had my first DAR meeting as an officer this weekend, so I did not have a chance to prepare a post. Instead, I will leave you with a photo I took at Gettysburg during the 150th anniversary of the Battle.

Copyright, 2013

While I don't know if any men from Randolph County fought with this unit, Ramseur is the name of a town in Randolph County, so I was convinced there had to be a connection. Sure enough, Ramseur was named after Confederate General Stephen Dodson Ramseur. I hope to do a post on him in the future.

Guilford Charge

While working on my Daughters of the American Revolution-themed Patriots Remembered blog last weekend, I found myself combing the North Carolina Colonial and State Records. I came across something that caught my eye and pertained to my husband's family. This specific excerpt discusses the founding of the German Reformed Churches in North Carolina.

The most exciting part of this document is that it is the only reference I have found that actually suggests the inhabitants of central North Carolina originally migrated from Pennsylvania. While I knew they were German and that a lot of Germans settled in Pennsylvania, I hadn't found satisfactory proof that that's where the people from Guilford and Randolph County came. I have seen a few other researchers suggest that they probably did, but they provided no sources to substantiate their claims. This does that.

The other exciting part of this document is the fact that it mentions several of my husband's family names. The one in particular I was happy to find was the Leinberger name. If I am correct, this name eventually evolved into Lineberry. As with the suggestions that the Germans in Randolph County came from Pennsylvania, I have seen unsourced references to this spelling for the Lineberry family. Until now, I assumed this spelling was just a theoretical possibility; one of the spelling variations the family researchers utilized but didn't actually find documented. This opens up a whole new realm of research avenues for this line of the tree.

The following is the related excerpt I found in the colonial records. Some of the names listed are names I do not recognize, but I hope to do a little extra digging now to see if I can unearth anything on these other names and lines.

It has been mentioned that the Reformed (German) Churches in North Carolina are, owing to their number, weakness and the paucity of ministers, divided into several pastoral charges, and of these we propose to gather what we can of their founders and history. 

GUILFORD CHARGE. 

The immigrants to this region—now making parts of Alamance, Guilford and Randolph counties—came in wagons by the emigrant route of those days from Philadelphia, through Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, bringing their household furniture and farming tools, accompanied by young men coming to seek their fortunes in this new country. These came mostly from the counties of Berks, Lancaster and Schuylkill, and a few from Maryland, from 1745 to 1760, perhaps. This was then Orange and Rowan, and these German settlements were made on the waters of Haw River and its tributaries—Alamance, Reedy Fork, Beaver Creek, Stinking Quarter, Sandy Creek, etc. These were the Albrights, Clapps, Fausts, Holts, Sharps (Scherbs), Laws, Graves (Greff), Summers, Cobbs (Kaubs), Cobles, Swings (Schwenks), Cortners (Goertners), Ingolds, Browers, Keims, Staleys, Mays, Amicks (Emigs), Smiths, Stacks, Neases, Ingles, Leinbergers, Straders, Wyricks, Anthoneys, Scheaffers (Shepherds), Weitzells, Trollingers, Longs, Isleys, Shaffners, Foglemans, Sthars, Brauns, Reitzells, with others. 

Their first place of worship was in a log building near where Law's Church now stands, on the old road from Hillsborough to Salisbury, now in the South-east corner of Guilford County. It was a union Reformed and Lutheran Church. This union was brought to an end by the divergent sentiments growing out of the sentiments and feelings that culminated in the Regulation movement and the rebellion of the colonies. Rev. Samuel Suther, who had recently come from the County of Mecklenburg, an advanced patriot, was the Reformed pastor, and under his inspiring guidance the Albrights Goertners, Clapps, Fausts, the Scheaffers, Ingolds, Schwenks and Leinbergers, who were of Reformed stock, at once moved to a schoolhouse near where the Brick Church now stands, and, there undisturbed by factional differences, erected an altar where to serve God. Suther was pastor until the close of the war, and was the animating spirit of the community. Soon this small log house gave way to a larger and more comfortable place of worship, whose corner-stones a few years since could still be seen. In these years Ludwig Clapp and Christian Faust were Elders, and Ingold and Leinberger Deacons, and even in these dark years the church grew and was prosperous. Rev. Bithahn, of Lincoln, succeeded Suther after three years. His ministry was a short one, he dying suddenly on a Sabbath evening after preaching a long-remembered sermon. His grave is in the Brick Church cemetery unmarked, and to-day no one knows his resting-place. For twelve succeeding years this church was without a pastor. In this time the Rev. Andrew Loretz, with unflagging devotion, four times in the year made visits to the Guilford churches and ministered to their spiritual wants. In 1801 Rev. Henry Dieffenbach became pastor, and for six years had the oversight of this church. He was a student of Dr. John Brown, the apostle of the Reformed Church in Virginia. During this time Jacob Clapp (of Ludwig) and John Greff were Elders. There was now again an interval of fourteen years, during which time the visits of Rev. Loretz were again made annually until his lamented death. It is not to be supposed that these godly people were content with these infrequent ministrations. They were wont to meet in their place of worship on the Sabbath—had services of prayer and praise, when Jacob Clapp (of Ludwig) or the school-master, Scherer, read a selected sermon. In 1812 Captain Wm. Albright, an Elder of the church, a patriot captain of the war of the Revolution, was sent to attend the meeting of the Reformed Synod in Pennsylvania to secure the services of a pastor for the Clapp church, as it was yet called. The Rev. James R. Riley, a young minister, was deputed by the Synod to visit all the Reformed Churches of the South. In 1813 he made the visit on horseback, coming by the emigrant route, and spent several months among the Guilford churches. On October 16th was had a memorial communion, the largest, till then, ever held in the Clapp church. Fifty-seven were added to its membership. On this occasion the old log church, large as it was, could not hold the congregation, and it had become dilapidated and uncomfortable. In their joy and gratitude the congregation proposed to erect a new frame house of prayer, but at the suggestion of Mr. Riley it was determined that it should be of brick. From thence it was no longer the “Clapp” church, but the “Brick” church of the present day. So harmonious and liberal were the people, that no difficulty was experienced in raising the needed funds for the purpose. This was, perhaps in 1814, and in this church's palmiest days, when Captain Albright, John Clapp, Jacob Clapp, George Clapp, Barney Clapp, Col. D. Clapp, Daniel Faust and Daniel Albright were the leading spirits in the church. Still no permanent ministry could be had, owing to the paucity of preachers, and the churches were dependent on the casual visits of missionaries sent by Synod until 1821, when Rev. John Rudy became pastor of the associated churches in Orange, Guilford and Randolph. After a successful ministry of four years he returned to New York. In 1828, the Rev. J. H. Crawford, of Maryland, was elected his successor. His pastorate lasted twelve years. It was now that the pulpit service was heard in the English language. For the welfare of the church this was none too soon. In 1841, Rev. G. William Welker, the present pastor of the church, took charge of it. It is a large congregation, mostly composed of the descendants of those early German immigrants from Pennsylvania. In the grave-yard, hard by the church, rest in unmarked graves Tobias Clapp and Peter Goertner, who were in the Regulation battle; and there also sleep Capt William Albright and Barney Clapp and Matthew Schwenck, and others, who were soldiers in the War of the Regulation, and the passer-by who stops to read may find other humble graves of noble men, and that of George Goertner (Cortner), who was the civil leader of this community of Germans.

Sources:

• Colonial and State Records of North Carolina, Volume 8, History of the German Reformed Church in North Carolina, Pages734-736 

Benjamin Beeson

The following is an edited repost of my Patriots Remembered post on DAR Patriot Benjamin Beeson.

Benjamin Beeson was born 14 January 1715 to Richard and Charity Grubb Beeson. Benjamin and his family is rather special to me because my husband and I connect through this family via a few intermarriages of our families. (I love seeing families that married or had friendships centuries ago coming back together in later generations!)

Benjamin was given his Patriot status with the Daughters of the American Revolution because of "patriotic service." His source of service is from the "North Carolina Revolutionary War Army Accounts." He is credited as having "furnished supplies" for the War. As a Quaker by faith, it makes sense that he would not have taken up arms against the British in the War (even though his son, Edward served as a Captain in the War).

Benjamin married Elizabeth Hunter in 1738. According to the New Garden (located in Guilford County, North Carolina) Monthly Meeting Minutes, Benjamin and Elizabeth had the following children:

• Isaac Beeson (born 26 December 1739)
• Benj. Beeson (born 9 February 174?)
• William Beeson (born 11 November 1743/1744)
• Frances Beeson (born 10 December 174?)
• Richard Beeson (born 11 March 1747)
• Ann Beeson (born 3 May 1749)
• Charity Beeson (born 25 August 1751)
• Betty Beeson (born 30 July 1754)
• Edward Beeson (born 1 January 1757)
• Rachel Beeson (born 14 February 1759)
• Jane Beeson (born 22 March 1760)
• Mary Beeson (born 21 September 1762)

Taken from New Garden Monthly Meeting Minutes

Supposedly, Benjamin died in Randolph County on 4 June 1794. I haven't found any supporting documents for this date and location, but that is what other family researchers tend to have recorded for him. I hope to visit his grave in the Centre Friends Meeting Cemetery in Greensboro, Guilford County, North Carolina this summer when we visit North Carolina.

Sources:

• Centre Monthly Meeting Minutes (accessed at the Florida State Society Daughters of the American Revolution Library, Orlando, Orange County, Florida)
• Deep River Monthly Meeting Minutes (accessed at the Florida State Society Daughters of the American Revolution Library, Orlando, Orange County, Florida)
• New Garden Monthly Meeting Minutes (accessed at the Florida State Society Daughters of the American Revolution Library, Orlando, Orange County, Florida)

Jacob Lineberry, III

The following is a repost (edited slightly with additional information) from my Patriots Remembered blog.

In my first post on my Civil War Souls blog, I posted about W. S. Lineberry. In addition to all of his personal and military accomplishments, he wrote a "Biography on the Lineberry Family." In this Biography, he tells a story of his great-grandfather, Jacob Lineberry, in the time of the Revolutionary War. This is what he says about him.

"There is an incident connected with my great-grand-father Jacob Lineberry that I feel bound to relate. In the time of the Revolutionary War he was a Whig. (God bless the name; I love it yet.) He came home at one time to see his family and get something to eat. Old grandmother got the big oven by the fire and was cooking him a big corn pone which we older ones loved, but the present generation knows but little of, and I must say that they have missed a great treat if they never tasted pone bread. 

Those who have read the history of the Revolution know how David Fanning, a British officer who commanded a company of men, mostly Tories, ravished the country from Fayetteville up to the mouth of Deep River, and how they committed murder, rape and arson, and how they left their path destitute wherever they went, committing all kinds of depredations.

North Carolina Highway Marker "Tory Raid"

Grand-father was sitting by the fire waiting for his bread, when some of the family looked out and said, Dave Fanning is coming! Grandfather seized his gun and poked it through a crack in the wall and took aim at Dave and no doubt would have brought him down, as he was said to be a good marksman, but grandmother seized his arm and with tears in her eyes begged him not to kill him, for if he did his men would murder the whole family. 

I imagine I can see him now, brave man that he was, standing there meditating what to do. Finally for the sake of his family he withdrew his gun, jumped out at the back door and ran. The Tories fired several shots at him, but their shots went wild and he made his escape. Some of the family took the bread, ran upstairs and hid it in the big chest, but Fanning's men smelled it and never left the house until they found it and carried it with them."

W. S. Lineberry's story about his great-grandfather, Jacob, is one of my favorites in this line of my husband's family. He has told the story a few times, but the facts always stay the same. I love tracing family stories down the generations, and this is a good one!

Jacob Lineberry is a proven DAR ancestor in their database, but unlike the other patriots I've covered in this blog, I haven't found a pension record, rejected or approved, for Jacob or his wife. The source the service the DAR uses for Jacob is the "North Carolina Revolutionary War Army Accounts" volumes. He is listed under the category of "patriotic service" having been paid for services or supplies.

According to the W. S. Lineberry stories, including one article posted in The Asheboro Courier on 4 July 1918, Jacob was away at camp before he came home for the home-cooked meal mentioned. (In the article, he also gives a beautiful description of the family home and its location. I hope to attempt to locate the area where it stood on my next trip to Randolph County.)

I am still looking for information on his involvement in the camp. I need to order the microfilm of the source the DAR mentions in his Patriot file. That would be a good starting point, I think.

As for his descendants, so far Daughters have joined under the following children of Jacob's:

• Samuel
• Jacob
• George

This leaves a whopping eight children unaccounted for lineage! Here are the children of Jacob and Mary Catherine who would be considered "new children" in the eyes of the DAR:

• Francis (W. S. Lineberry's own grandfather)
• John
• James
• Thomas
• Solomon
• Catherine
• Mary
• Elizy Amey

I have traced all of these lines out except for Mary's. (Mary married a man with a common name for the area, and I am struggling to untangle each of the various families.) Even still, it seems Mary and her husband had children at least, so that means all of Jacob's children had descendants meaning all of Jacob's children should appear in the DAR database. They are simply waiting for people to join under them!

This family is a huge research interest of mine. If you or anyone you know descend(s) from this brave man and you're interested in joining the DAR, send me an email! I would love to help you on that journey and get this man's children accounted for in the DAR database.

Sources:

• Lineberry, W. S., Biography of the Lineberry Family, 1918
• Lineberry, W. S., Reminiscenes of Randolph County, "The Asheboro Courier," 4 July 1918
• North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program
• Will of Jacob Lineberry