Resolved: The Ancestry of Peter Delp of Grayson County, Finally Connected.

Note: This article contains new research that has yet to be published elsewhere. As there is great demand for information concerning Peter Delp’s ancestry, I have provided my research findings through this article for the general public. However, as this is my original research, any researchers using this information for their own research or findings must cite or credit this article, regardless of any of the other original material cited herewith. Please contact the author if you have any questions concerning any information in this article. Conflicts with these findings must be addressed to bsburns1985@gmail.com.


For many years, the ancestry of the Delp family of Grayson County, Virginia, has remained a controversial mystery. Efforts to connect the patriarch, Peter Delp, to George Delp and Barbara Moyer of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, have long since been disproven[1], even though it is still an oft-repeated connection in many amateur genealogies of the family. These efforts were reignited after 2006, when a y-DNA study sought to examine the Delp lineages and bring some closure[2]. Although by 2013, only six male participants had taken part of this study, there was enough evidence to make a conclusion: five descendants of Peter Delp of Grayson County (through his son, John Delp) found a connection to a German DNA participant who was a proven descendant of Wilhelm Delph, one of the earliest proven Delp/Delph family members in Germany in the early 17th century. But if Peter Delp was not George Delp’s son, where did Peter Delp fit in with the rest of the family?

The answer to this question has been dogging everyone for years. However, in resolving this issue, there were two areas whereupon the research fell upon:

  • Examine all possible spellings of the surname.
  • Use cluster genealogy to follow migration patterns.

The first is extremely important when researching German surnames. It may be easy for us to be spoiled in our modern society of vital records and civil registrations, where we are commonly thought a surname has an exact spelling. However, this is absolutely not how we arrived at this point. Names were always spelled phonetically, particularly when the record taker was of a different ethnicity or educated through a different language, or even more, when the person in question was illiterate. The American public education did not exist until the 1830s; illiteracy was nearly half of the population throughout the 18th century, but amazingly, by 1850, even in the American south, at least 80% of free adults (read this as free white adults) were literate[3]; many of these men were autodidacts, that is, self-taught learners. The rise in literacy very much begins to align with how there was more “stability” in surname spelling variants (i.e., less variations in one surname spelling). This very much matters as a topic, however, because during the 18th century, men of Anglican backgrounds dominated government politics, and it was the governments who largely kept records (outside of the churches). The English alphabet is very different from Dutch and German alphabets, for instance, and therefore, pronunciations can be a hurdle. Couple this with dialects and you have all the makings for a tax assessor trying to spell a surname Schneider. Schneider can then be found as Schneyder, Snider, Sneider, Shneider, Sneijder, Snijder, Schnider, Schnaider, Znaider, Schneidre, and the common Snyder, the latter the most anglicized form of the surname. You may also find Schneider is entirely translated from its original Schneider into the English Taylor, in the literal sense, since “schneiden” in German means “to cut.”

The second approach is also an extremely important in tracing families during the 18th century in particular, as westward migrations can often be linked to groupings of families that moved for a variety of reasons. Whatever the reason for a migration, the same could often be found occurring with a number of other families and, by association, these families would often follow each other to establish new communities. These reasons may have been political, such as the aforesaid domination of Anglican power in older, more established areas of the eastern United States, which were less friendly to new immigrants arriving in their communities. During the 18th century, non-Anglican groups such as Scottish Presbyterians, Quakers, Mennonites and any other German Protestant groups, and any other similar group (by ethnicity or religion) were often pushed westward into pioneer communities on the edge of development; these groups would often act as barriers to the English communities from attacks by Native Americans[4]. The reasons may have been religious, whether remaining in the “religious zone” (i.e., the buffer between the English and natives) or whether it was establishing a new congregation in a different location. The reasons could be related to ongoing tensions leading to and during the American Revolution; the frontier was a well-known haven for Loyalists. Whatever the reason, however, families of like-minded characteristics often traveled with someone else of a similar constitution.

All of this takes us to Peter Delp and the Delp family overall. There were a number of recorded Delp immigrants to the American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s; of course, many ships carrying immigrants did not always keep passenger lists during this period. Many other immigrants are only known and found upon their arrival when taking an oath of allegiance to the King of England. In any event, the Delps constituting those who settled in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, were far from the only Delp families in the Americas; they just happened to be the largest grouping and cluster of representatives of the family name. I have also previously commented on another branch of the Delp family that settled in northern Virginia, near the German communities east of the Shenandoah Valley. This branch is also related to the Delps of Pennsylvania, but through a different immigrant ancestor.

Using the advice above, all spellings of the Delp surname needed to be considered. It would seem easy, upon first glance and pronunciation, that Delp would have few variants. But, as is the case with any surname, say it fast and say it slow; say it with an accent, say it with a lisp, say it clearly. Early records often included an -h in the surname, making the name Delph. The indication of this -h would indicate the “Delp” pronunciation did not finish with a hard “p,” making it rhyme with help. Adding an -h for German would change the pronunciation to a surname that rhymes with self. Therefore, Delp could be phonetically found as Delf. And yes, you can find this spelling in North Carolina in the 1700s; when written in German script, of course, the “p” could be written to look like an Arabic “f,” therefore, translations of records can make the Delp look like Delf. As is the case with some other German surnames beginning with “D-,” the “D” can be a harsh “D” that can sometimes come across as a “T.” Therefore, Dieter can be found as Tieter or Teter. So, it is possible that Delp can be found as Telp. To speed up this conversation, Delp was soon found to be Dolp, Dölp, Delb, Doelpin (the feminine version of the name for unwed women), and Doelp (anglicized, when umlauts are not used).

Focus also surrounded on one Isaac Leopoldus Delp, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 1 September 1736[5], when he took the required oath to the King of England; he was among the “Palatines imported in the ship Harle, of London,” commanded by Ralph Harle, who had sailed from Rotterdam, Holland, and stopped at Cowes, England. The ship contained 156 men, 65 women, and 167 “boys and girls,” containing in all 388 passengers. His whereabouts immediately thereafter are still being learned, but it appears that he removed to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, within a year or two. This is supported by an application for a survey of land on 11 September 1738 in Upper Milford Township, Bucks County (this later was incorporated into Northampton County after 1752) to one Peter Rosz (also Rose)[6]; sometime shortly thereafter, Rosz transferred this land to Isaac Delpe. Isaac received the warrant for 150 acres in Upper Milford Township on 31 January 1743; the return of the warrant would not be made, however, until 8 February 1763, by which time Isaac was deceased. The location of Delp’s land was located a short distance from a congregation of a Lutheran church in what was later included in Lower Milford Township (in Lehigh County after 1812). In the 1880s, Delp’s property was owned by one Abraham Musselman, and located a short distance from the Upper Milford Congregation School, later known as the Union School, on a property containing 29 acres and 37 perches[7]. A warrant was not issued for this property until 24 April 1770[8].

Information is still be learned at this time about the minutes of this congregation, but Isaac Dölp and his wife Margaretha were members of this church. The church today stands in the town of Dillingersville, Pennsylvania. Their activity at the church begins by 1746 and continues through the beginning of the 1760s; throughout this time, we also learn that Isaac Delb’s sister-in-law, Catharina Weidknechten, was also a member of the church. Isaac, Margaretha, and Catharina entered into communion at the church on 22 April 1751[9], and again on 10 May 1752[10]. In 1754’s communion list, we find Isaac Delp and wife Maria Magdalena, daughter Maria Luise, and “Cathrine Weidknechten’s widow and Delp’s mother-in-law.”[11] The communion of 1755, on the first day of the Pentecost, excludes Isaac Delp but his wife, daughter Elisabetha Doelpin, and Catharina Weitknechten were present[12]. Isaac and Magdalena were on the communion list on 1 January 1756 with their children Frederick and Maria Luisa[13]. The family and select children continue to appear in communion lists until 1759[14]. During this same period, between 1755 and 1759, Isaac Delb regularly appears on congregant lists paying taxes to the church, paying the sum of 15 shillings each time[15]. We are certain the Isaac Delp of this congregation is the German immigrant because multiple church lists and baptisms record him under his full church name, Isaac(k) Leopold Dölp, often with his wife (Maria) Magdalena. Isaac and Magdalena were the sponsors at the baptism of Isaac Leopold Hilligert on 22 December 1755[16], whereby Isaac’s name was undoubtedly the source for the naming of the infant son of Franz and Christina Hilligert. They were also sponsors of the baptism of Maria Magdalena Shantz at the same church on 13 November 1757, whereby Maria Magdalena’s name was also taken from Isaac’s wife[17].

According to a history of the Upper Milford church, attacks from Native Americans increased steadily by 1760. At the time, the church was led by one Pastor John Friederici, but as attacks increased, he was prompted to remove the congregation elsewhere in 1761[18]. Not everyone in the community followed, leaving a church that seemingly had no recorded pastor for several years. In the church’s official register of records, there were only two recorded baptisms through the late 1760s, and no communion lists. Although some activity resumed with the Upper Milford church by 1766, a communicant list from 1767 shows there were only 25 members of the church. Recording activity suddenly ceased with the congregation thereafter and did not resume until 1789, for reasons not fully explained[19].

Part of the reason for the shift in congregant activity has to deal with the original congregation splintering in 1758, reportedly over dissention with Rev. John Friederici at Upper Milford[20]. In that year, Peter Hittel and several others left the congregation to establish a new church two miles to the north of the Upper Milford church. On 20 May 1757, Hittel donated one acre of land to build a church that is now located in the town of Zionsville, Pennsylvania[21]. Once the church was established, it seemingly absorbed multiple attendants of the Upper Milford church, presumably since the community was also relatively stable and safer from attack. By May of 1768, most of the congregation from Upper Milford church had transferred membership to the Zionsville church. Around 1791, the Upper Milford church had become a public school, the Union School at Dillingersville[22].

There is little recorded activity during this period for Isaac Delp, but he remained at Upper Milford church. He was buried at the churchyard on 15 July 1760, according to the church’s register of burials, aged 49 years[23], though no known tombstone stands at this time. An inventory of his personal estate is known to exist in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, though it was never officially recorded in its will books. His widow, Magdalena, continued to reside in Upper Milford Township, as she was a sponsor for the baptism of Maria Magdalena Florus, daughter of Michael Florus, who was baptized on 26 October 1760 at the Upper Milford church[24]. Meanwhile, in 1761 and 1763, the Delp property was taxed under the names of the elder sons, Frederick Delp[25] and Valentin Delp. When Magdalena Delp died, however, we do not know, since this period is also when we begin losing records of the Upper Milford church. Magdalena was the former Magdalena Frutsch, as Isaac and Magdalena were both married on 4 October 1735 in Eberstadt, in what is now the German state of Hesse, Germany; she was the daughter of one Michael Frutsch of Eberstadt[26].

Based on the church records, however, we know of the following births of children to Isaac and Magdalena:

  1. Maria Luise Dölp, baptized 25 November 1735 at Eberstadt, Hesse (now in Germany)[27]. She sponsored the baptism of Marie Luise Shantz on 18 January 1756, the daughter of Jacob and Margretthe Shantz[28]. Maria Luisa was confirmed at Upper Milford church on 9 November 1751 and entered into communion[29].
  2. Friedrich (Frederick) Dölp, born 11 December 1739, probably in Philadelphia, PA, and died 24 September 1809 in York Co, PA. While he is one of three known children of Isaac and Magdalena who does not have a located baptismal record (at this time), he is known through the communion lists as a proven son. He married twice in his life, to Anna Barbara —, and secondly to Anna Jacoby. He relocated to York County prior to the American Revolution. He has many descendants traced from that location.
  3. Valentin Dölp, born ca. 1740-41 in Bucks Co, PA. He entered into communion at the Upper Milford church on the “third Sunday after Trinity” in 1757[30]; he was taxed in Upper Milford Township by 1761, thus establishing his age. He is possibly the Valentine Delb who was a communicant of the Evangelical Lutheran Church at Nockamixon Township, Bucks Co, PA, in May 1773.
  4. Catharina Delb, born 9 June 1746 and baptized at Upper Milford Township, Bucks Co (now Northampton Co), PA, on 15 June 1746[31]; her sponsors were Johann Adam Tromp and Catharina Guthmannin, “both of them unmarried.”
  5. Elisabetha Delb, whose birth has not been located, but may have been born by 1745, in between births of Valentin and Catharina. She was certainly alive as of the list on the Pentecost of 1755.
  6. Peter Dölp, born 29 January 1752 and baptized 3 February 1752 at Upper Milford Township, Northampton Co, PA[32]; his sponsors were Johann Peter Mechlin (“Theobald Mechlin’s son”) and Barbara Kurrin (“Thomas’s daughter”). He died ante 11 December 1840 in Grayson Co, VA. He married Eva Rickenpaugh. More will be discussed shortly.
  7. Jakob Dölp, born 31 August 1754 and baptized 22 September 1754 at Upper Milford Township, Northampton Co, PA[33]. His sponsors were Johann Jacob Dillinger and Elisabet Mechlin. He died ante October 1796 in Lincoln Co, NC. He married Catharine —-. More will also be discussed on him shortly.

The Delps are mentioned only sporadically in the 1760s in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. At the time of Isaac Delp’s death in 1760, he owned 157 acres of land in Upper Milford Township (at that time). In an unrecorded deed, the land was purchased by Christian Zeller (later Zellner) from the Delp heirs; Christian died on this property in 1820, leaving four sons and four daughters[34]. One of his daughters, Sarah Zellner, married Peter Reichenbach; this is an interesting connection, since we know that Peter Delp of Grayson County, Virginia, married one Eva Reichenbach (or Rickenpaugh), though her own ancestry is still being studied.


Additionally, there is the aforesaid lull in recorded activity of the Upper Milford congregation in Upper Milford Township during the 1760s. However, in 1766, on the “eleventh Sunday after Trinity,” Isaac’s son Peter Dölp was admitted into communion at the church[35]. After this point, we have little information to find on Peter Dölp, but this is not where the research ends. From here, we can use the second piece of advice, which is to incorporate cluster genealogy: how can any associated families with this congregation help out the research on the Delps? It turns out, following the Hittel family is an important key. Prior to 1758, Peter Hittel and his wife Elisabeth Margarethe were also congregants of the church at Dillingersville, along with Isaac Dölp. The earliest baptism for Peter Hittel’s children at that church was in 1748, when their son Nicholas Hittel was baptized; they did, however, have elder children. Additionally, Michael Flores, Peter Hittle, Henry Wilhelm, and Isaac Dalef, all residents of Upper Milford Township, were naturalized on 8 April 1755; Dalef would be a corruption of Delp or Dolp. Peter Hittel died at Upper Milford Township, where he was buried on 7 January 1764.

Hittel’s daughter, Sophia Margaret Hittel, is of interest in this research because of her marriage into the Schuler/Shuler family. She was the wife of Michael Shuler, who soon removed to Rowan County, North Carolina, by the early 1770s. Michael Shuler remained in Rowan County, in that part of the county that was taxed as Captain Lopp’s district in 1778, and which was later separated into the newly-created Davidson County, North Carolina, in the early 1820s. He wrote his last will and testament on 14 July 1812, while it was still Rowan County, but it was probated in Davidson County in February 1830[36]. His wife Sophia was still alive at the time of his will in 1812, while also identifying his son Peter Shular [sic] as his executor. His “surviving” children are also recognized but they were not named directly; they were only to receive all of his estate after the death of his widow. Peter Shuler, however, never took up executorship of the estate, apparently refusing to serve or qualify; it should be noted, however, the will was probated in February 1830, but Daniel Shuler entered into an administrator’s bond on the estate of his father on 9 November 1829, therefore, it appears the heirs may not have known a will was actually executed. The administration was taken up by another son, Daniel Shuler, who returned the final accounts of the estate on 24 February 1832. His computations showed a balance of $349.37 on the estate, which was divided among the following heirs (not in equal shares, however), in following order: Peter Shuler, Adam Shuler, Abraham Shuler, John Delph, Michael Shuler, John Riddle, and Daniel Shuler[37]. Identifying John Delph as one of the heirs entitled out of this settlement brings part of this research around to Peter Delp, who was the father of John Delp(h). John Delp had married Eve Shuler, daughter of Michael Shuler and Sophia Hittel, thus linking the Delps, Shulers, and Hittels.

The Peter Delp born on 29 January 1752 in Upper Milford Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, is very much the Peter Delp who eventually found his way to Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, in 1776, removed to Rowan County, North Carolina, in 1777, and was in Grayson County, Virginia, by 1793. However, if we need one more piece of evidence to fully ensure this research finding is accurate, we can visit Peter Delp’s brother, Jacob Delp. I had longer surmised in an earlier article that one Jacob Delph of Rowan County, North Carolina, and later of Lincoln County, North Carolina[38], was a close relative of Peter Delp because of the rarity of the surname in North Carolina during the 1700s, plus a similar geographic residency. This relationship is now confirmed. Jacob Delp’s estate records in Lincoln County proves he had a widow, Catharine. However, we can link this relationship to Pennsylvania. On 14 January 1783[39], Jacob Delb purchased 22 acres and 30 perches of land in Upper Milford Township from Henry Reiss and wife Mary. It is not understood why Delp purchased the land because on 23 January 1783[40], Jacob Delb and wife Catharine of Upper Milford Township sold this same tract of land unto Matthew Gerhard (signed Matthass Gerhardt), a weaver of Upper Milford Township. This deed, however, confirms the migration points from Pennsylvania to North Carolina, and thus ties in our relationships of Jacob Delp to Peter Delp.

As a conclusion of this research, we can now conclude that Peter Delp of Grayson County, Virginia, was born 29 January 1752 in Upper Milford Township, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, the son of Isaac Leopoldus Dölp and Maria Magdalena Frutsch. From 1776, we can carry on his story where he is found in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, and Rowan County shortly thereafter.

This research can also further connect the dots to Wilhelm Delph, the earliest ancestor of the Delp/Delph family for many branches of the family in Hesse, Germany. Isaac Leopoldus Dölp is the same man who was baptized 24 August 1711 at Eberstadt, Hesse, the son of Jacob Delp (as proven by his 1735 marriage to Magdalena Frutsch). However, from here, the research gets a bit fuzzy. Isaac Delp was born in and married in Eberstadt, thus suggesting a continuous residency in between 1711 and 1735. This likely means that Jacob Delp, his father, also remained in Eberstadt, thus he is likely not the Jacob Delp born in 1688 at Nieder Modau (a village now within the town of Modau, several miles to the east-southeast of Eberstadt), the son of Wilhelm Delp and Anna Koch of Webern, Hesse.

There is one Jacob Delp baptized on 13 April 1688 at Eberstadt, Hesse[41], the son of Peter Delp and wife Barbara, and based off the continuity at Eberstadt, this appears to be the best candidate for Jacob’s ancestry. Peter Delp was born 19 February 1654 at Klein-Bieberau in Hessen, the son of Wilhelm Delp and Maria Bossler. Peter removed at a later date to Eberstadt, since his birth is also recorded in the kirchenbuchen at Eberstadt[42], where he married Maria Barbara Maul. It is Peter’s father, Wilhelm Delp, who is the common ancestor of the Delps of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.


[1] Refer to my earlier blog article on this topic: “Next Page – The Delps of North Carolina,” published 21 January 2015, “The Ancestral Clark,” vtcrewcat.wordpress.com.

[2] Refer to the y-DNA Delp/Delph project page on FamilyTreeDNA administrated by Randy Walker; https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/delp-delph/about/results, accessed 10 January 2024.

[3] SCHWEIGER, BETH BARTON. “The Literate South: Reading before Emancipation.” Journal of the Civil War Era 3, no. 3 (2013): 331–59. http://www.jstor.org/stable/26062071.

[4] For the Scottish Presbyterians, see: HANZSCHE, WILLIAM THOMSON. “NEW JERSEY MOULDERS OF THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.” Journal of the Presbyterian Historical Society (1943-1961) 24, no. 2 (1946): 71–82 (especially p. 74). http://www.jstor.org/stable/23324624; for Moravians and other groups in the south, see: Fisher, Linford D. “‘I Believe They Are Papists!’: Natives, Moravians, and the Politics of Conversion in Eighteenth-Century Connecticut.” The New England Quarterly 81, no. 3 (2008): 410–37. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20474654.

[5] I. Daniel Rupp, Prof. A Collection of Upwards of Thirty Thousand Names of German, Swiss, Dutch, French and other Immigrants in Pennsylvania from 1727 to 1776 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1965), 100-102.

[6] Pennsylvania, U.S., Land Warrants and Applications, 1733-1952, Ancestry.

[7] Alfred Mathews and Austin N. Hungerford, History of the Counties of Lehigh and Carbon in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia: Everts & Richards, 1884), 350.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Andrew S. Berky, The Schoolhouse Near the Old Spring: A History of the Union School and Church Association, Dillingersville, Pennsylvania, 1735-1955 (Norristown, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania German Society, 1955), 121; hereafter cited as “Berky, The Schoolhouse Near the Old Spring.”

[10] Berky, The Schoolhouse Near the Old Spring, 124.

[11] Berky, The Schoolhouse Near the Old Spring, 125.

[12] Berky, The Schoolhouse Near the Old Spring, 127.

[13] Berky, The Schoolhouse Near the Old Spring, 128.

[14] Berky, The Schoolhouse Near the Old Spring, 132, 133, 136, 137.

[15] Berky, The Schoolhouse Near the Old Spring, 150-152.

[16] Berky, The Schoolhouse Near the Old Spring, 107.

[17] Berky, The Schoolhouse Near the Old Spring, 109.

[18] Berky, The Schoolhouse Near the Old Spring, 22-23.

[19] Berky, The Schoolhouse Near the Old Spring, 23, 24.

[20] Peggy Heminitz, “Zions’ Evangelical Lutheran Church: 240 Years,” DGS roll 4,469,683.

[21] Ibid.

[22] Ibid.

[23] Berky, The Schoolhouse Near the Old Spring, 117: “Register of those from this Congregation who died and were buried with the usual rites,” 15 July 1760, “Isaac Doelp was buried, aged 49 years.”

[24] Berky, The Schoolhouse Near the Old Spring, 113.

[25] “Northampton County Duplicate of a Provincial Tax in the year 1761,” Upper Milford Township, unpaginated, Friederich Telp; Tax Lists (1761-1793) and Assessments (1761-1815), Board of County Commissioners, Northampton County, Pennsylvania [FHL 21,682, image 31].

[26] Germany, Select Marriages, 1558-1929, Ancestry, citing FHL 1,190,527: Kirchenbuchen of the Evangelische Kirche Eberstadt (Kreig Darmstadt), Heiraten 1718-1763.

[27] Germany, Select Births and Baptisms, 1558-1898, Ancestry, citing FHL 1,190,527: Kirchenbuchen of the Evangelische Kirche Eberstadt (Kreig Darmstadt), Taufen 1718-1784.

[28] Berky, The Schoolhouse Near the Old Spring, 107.

[29] Berky, The Schoolhouse Near the Old Spring, 122.

[30] Berky, The Schoolhouse Near the Old Spring, 133.

[31] Berky, The Schoolhouse Near the Old Spring, 97.

[32] Berky, The Schoolhouse Near the Old Spring, 101.

[33] Berky, The Schoolhouse Near the Old Spring, 105.

[34] Alfred Mathews and Austin N. Hungerford, History of the Counties of Lehigh and Carbon in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia: Everts & Richards, 1884), 362.

[35] Berky, The Schoolhouse Near the Old Spring, 147.

[36] Davidson County, North Carolina Wills 1: 129.

[37] Davidson County, North Carolina, Wills and Estate Papers, Michael Shuler, 1829.

[38] Refer to my earlier blog article on this topic: “Next Page – The Delps of North Carolina,” published 21 January 2015, “The Ancestral Clark,” vtcrewcat.wordpress.com.

[39] Northampton County, Pennsylvania Deeds B2: 478-480. The original deed is not registered therewith, but it is included as part of the conveyance history of that tract of land in the December 1793 deed, when Matthew Gerhard and wife Ann of Upper Milford Township sold that tract unto Thomas Lindner, another weaver from the same township.

[40] Northampton County, Pennsylvania Deeds B2: 478-480.

[41] Taufen, 1650-1713, Kirchenbuchen – Evangelische Kirche Eberstadt (Kr. Darmstadt), Darmstadt-Eberstadt, Hesse, Germany [FHL 1,190,527].

[42] Taufen, 1650-1713, Kirchenbuchen – Evangelische Kirche Eberstadt (Kr. Darmstadt), Darmstadt-Eberstadt, Hesse, Germany [FHL 1,190,527].

To Be Native…

It has been posted over and over again that Elizabeth Warren, the current Democratic senator from Massachusetts, has Native American ancestry. Warren has claimed her native roots multiple times, including a defense of her ancestry after President Donald Trump referred to her as “Pocahontas” during a White House ceremony in November 2017. Warren’s interview with Chuck Todd in March 2018 continued to affirm the stories she was told from her parents regarding her mother’s ancestry. The senator, who is an aspiring and leading figure in the Democratic Party, particularly among young Progressives, has her roots in Oklahoma, a state whose history is steeped in Native American history. The Trail of Tears in the late 1830’s lead directly to the former “Indian Territory” created in 1834, and the later Oklahoma Territory created in 1890. Much of the northeastern part of Oklahoma is still populated with descendants of the Native Americans who were resettled here in a particularly controversial period of American history. It could be possible Warren has some Native American history, so how hard can it be to figure this out?

The native of Oklahoma City was born in 1949 to Donald Jones Herring and his wife Pauline Reed. Her parents had married in Hughes County, Oklahoma, on 2 January 1932, near their hometown of Wetumka, in the town of Holdenville. Today, Wetumka is known as the headquarters of two federally recognized Native American tribes: the Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town and the Kialegee Tribal Town. Warren herself described her family as “teetering on the ragged edge of the middle class” and “kind of hanging on at the edges by our fingernails.” The 1940 Census shows that “Don” Herring had attained at least two years of college education, and was working as a clerk for a hardware business in Wetumka. His salary was moderate at best, but above average for a majority of the local families in the community, particularly for a family living in Oklahoma just after the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl.

Herring’s ancestry would not be confused for Native American: his grandfather, John W. Herring, was a native of England, hailing from the town of Delabole in Cornwall County, England. His wife, Mary Ann Scharann (born Anna Maria Scharann), was a native of Spiez, Canton Bern, Switzerland, arriving in the United States at New York City in April 1877. Donald Herring’s mother, the former Ethel Virginia Jones, was a native of Christian County, Missouri, the daughter of Summerfield Jones and Sarah F. Carr (formerly Kerr, her father’s spelling). Summerfield Jones claimed Virginia ancestry in the 1900 Census (and an age younger than his actual age), but earlier census records trace Jones’ nativity to the Fifteenth Ward of Baltimore city, in Maryland. He went into the mercantile business, establishing himself in Billing, Missouri, by 1880 (note: the 1880 Census shows Summerfield’s parents as being natives of Ireland). The Carr ancestry connects to Maury County, Tennessee, with ancestry connecting to south-side Virginia and central North Carolina. None of this ancestry would have been associated with the Trail of Tears in the 1830s.

Warren, however, claims the Native American roots on her maternal side, particularly her grandmother’s ancestry.  In looking on the Reed side of Warren’s ancestry, I find that her mother Pauline was a native of Harris Township, in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, the youngest of eight children. Her father, Harry Gunn Reed, was a carpenter and a sander there at the time of the 1910 Census, with seven children as of that year. In 1920, the Reed’s were renting a farm in Hickory Ridge Township, Okfuskee County, Oklahoma, but by 1930, Pauline and her parents were living in Wetumka. Her father found work as a house and building contractor, a position he maintained through and after the Depression.

Harry G. Reed was a native of Knox County, Missouri, where he was born in October 1872, the son of Joseph H. Reed and wife Charity Gorman. Harry’s trade in carpentry was most likely adopted from his father, who was himself a carpenter for most of his life. However, it does not appear that Joseph found a comfortable living wherever he lived. Prior to his marriage, in the 1860 Census, Joseph was a carpenter in Washington County, Illinois, with only $50 worth of real estate to his name. After his marriage, and at the time of the birth of his firstborn son, Everett Reed, in 1870, the Reed’s resided in Salt River Township in Knox County, Missouri, where they appear to have rented or leased land; Joseph was only assessed as owning a small amount of personal estate. By 1880, the Reed’s resided in Freeburgh, St. Clair County, Illinois. Funeral home records in Sebastian County, Arkansas, indicate that Joseph died a widower in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and was buried in LeFlore County, Oklahoma in February 1898 (which was then Indian Territory).

Despite what appears to be a life on the move across the Mississippi River Valley, Joseph H. Reed’s background does not appear to be too humble. He was a native of Richland County, Ohio, the son of the Reverend Joseph Reed and his wife Elizabeth. The elder Joseph Reed was a native of New Jersey, and moved to Ohio with his wife, children, and his parents, at an early age. He was a War of 1812 veteran, and later served as a representative to the State Legislature. He followed in his father’s footsteps in the Methodist Episcopal Church; his father, Charles reed, was also a New Jersey native (in Cumberland County), a veteran of the American Revolution, and joined the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1785. His 1843 obituary states that he was licensed to preach in the year 1800, and was admitted to the Philadelphia conference in 1808. By 1830, he transferred to the Ohio conference, taking his wife and children with him to Richland County, Ohio. In 1837, Charles Reed transferred one last time to the Illinois conference, where he remained until his death on 5 December 1843 in Wabash County, Illinois. His widow, the former Sarah Nail of Salem County, New Jersey, was also a member of the same church. The elder Joseph Reed’s wife, the former Eliza Bell, was also a native of New Jersey. A tall obelisk headstone was erected for her in Olney, Richland County, Illinois, upon her death in 1869, the tallest tombstone for the family members herewith named. Review of the Reed branch, at the least, fails to show any evidence of Native American roots.

Charity Gorman, the wife of Joseph H. Reed, was a native of Washington County, Illinois, the daughter of Ezekiel Gorman and wife Elizabeth Matthews (found as Matthieus on her marriage record). Both of her parents were born in the first decade of the 19th Century in Missouri, when the territory was still considered part of Orleans Territory and prior to when the Missouri Territory was created. The couple was married in December 1828 in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri. Additional research has not turned up the ancestry of Ezekiel Gorman or Elizabeth Matthews. However, while the area was sparsely populated in the early 1800’s, it was not unusual to find settlers along the Mississippi Valley. The Spanish and French had been established in this area for over a century by that point. By 1800, settlers from the Mid-Atlantic and the southern states had started arriving as well. In Missouri, many settlers from these areas were Catholic, many hailing from Maryland and other areas where the rights of Catholics were restrictive. There is evidence of a James Gorman and Jonathan Gorman in Missouri during this time, with James being found in Ste. Genevieve District (later County), Missouri, in an 1806 memorial (petition) to President Jefferson. It should be identified that at least one John Gorman was found in an 1880 territorial census of the Cherokee Nation (now Oklahoma) in the Saline District; he appears on a list of persons “not recognized as Cherokee Citizens, and who are under permit, either by the Nation or the U.S.” This does not guarantee Cherokee nativity, given the title of the census record, and Gorman does identify himself as “white.” Furthermore, this John Gorman, while possibly a descendant or relative of Ezekiel Gorman, is not an ancestor of Warren.

Out of all of this ancestry, there is only one remaining branch of Warren’s ancestry to examine, and that is the lineage of her grandmother, the wife of Harry Gunn Reed. Census records often show her as “Hannie” (or “Honnie”) Reed, but vital records reveal her full name to be Bethania Elvina “Hannie” Crawford. Harry was a resident of Fayetteville, Arkansas, in June 1893 when he married the 17 year-old Hannie Crawford in Sebastian County, Arkansas; the bride was residing in Indian Territory in that year. She was the daughter of John Houston Crawford and wife Paulina Bowen, a family of farmers with Missouri nativity (John hailed from Laclede County, while Paulina from Ray County). By the time of Bethania’s birth in October 1875, the family was living in Johnson County, Arkansas; by 1900, John was a widower and farmer living in Township 12 in the Cherokee Nation.

Without delving too far into the details (and to make a long story longer), the Crawford line had only been in Missouri one generation when John H. Crawford was born. His parents came from central Tennessee, but not one generation remained in any given area for very long. The Crawford’s were pioneers from Virginia, to western North Carolina, to Bledsoe and then Madison Counties in Tennessee. Other lineages in this line are the Smiths, Marshes, and Pauls, all hailing from around Surry County, North Carolina, and settling in Overton and Bledsoe Counties in Tennessee, and later in Laclede County, Missouri. On the Bowen side of the lineage, Paulina’s father had hailed from Illinois, his ancestry coming from what is now Jefferson County, West Virginia (then in Virginia). Paulina’s mother was a Clark whose ancestry had settled in Floyd County, Kentucky before moving to Ray County Missouri. The lineage stems from eastern and western Virginia (Richmond and Tazewell Counties, to be exact), with some earlier connections into Pennsylvania.

In examination of Warren’s ancestry, if there were to be any Native American ancestry in her blood, it would not have been within the first hand knowledge of anyone living during her time. Some of her southern ancestry could still possibly turn up Native American lineage from the early to mid-18th Century. It was not uncommon for early western settlers and pioneers to intermarry with Native Americans. The problem is, however, that many of these relationships were only known by family lore or legend; that is, however, if it was chosen to be discussed or shared by the family. Furthermore, in study of all of the cited vital and census records, all members of the lineage identified themselves as “white.” There were racial distinctions classified for those who did not appear white during the 19th Century, but this does not appear evident in study of the Reed ancestry.

In the 19th Century, the Cherokee Nation accepted members into the Nation based upon proof of ancestry with the tribe. Members who still qualified as “white” could join, so long as they could still prove a link to a Cherokee within a certain distance (such as grandparents, great-grandparents). These membership applications still exist today, and are vital for anyone with Cherokee ties to learn of their connections to the Cherokee nation. However, no evidence has turned up to show anyone in Warren’s ancestry was a member, or would have had eligibility to join. In fact, there does not appear to be any evidence at all for any member of her lineage born after 1800 to be a Native American. DNA evidence would be the only way to reveal such a link, but given the distance this connection would be from Elizabeth Warren, a simple ancestry or 23andMe DNA test would not reveal it. A mitochondrial DNA test may reveal further details; or, if one of the Reed descendants took a Y-DNA test (since this test must be tested through male carriers only), the exact details may be known.

However, long story short, there is no evidence supporting Elizabeth Warren’s Native American ancestry. If the claim still chooses to remain in the public spotlight, then it must be substantiated by a mitochondrial DNA test (or Y-DNA test from one of her male cousins on her mother’s side).

For the record, I identify myself as a proud Democrat. This research (which has also been pursued by various other persons as well) is not politically motivated, however. A genealogical claim is not partisan, but in an era of “fake news,” the genealogical truth must always be told. Thankfully, as technology continues to improve, the accuracy in the genealogical field also continues to improve. This story only seeks to point out the difference in fact versus family lore or legends. It is a common habit of genealogists today to disprove family stories and lore from fact.

 

SOURCES:

Interview, Elizabeth Warren with Chuck Todd, “Meet the Press,” Sunday, 11 March 2018, NBC.

https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2010/10/04/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-elizabeth-warren

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/nov/27/trump-makes-pocahontas-joke-at-ceremony-honoring-navajo-veterans

1932 Marriage Record: OK County Marriage Rec’s, FamilySearch, citing Hughes Co, OK Marriage Records, vol 14, p 425, FHL Film No. 2203792.

1940 US Federal Census, Wetumka, Hughes County, Oklahoma, p 5-B, ED32-28A, hh#87, Don Herring, Roll No. 32098, NARA T627 Series.

US Passport Applications, 1795-1925, #9160, John W. Herring, 28 March 1906, Billings, MO, Certificates 8882-9581, 26 Mar 1906-5 Apr 1906.

New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957, NARA M237 Series, Roll 408, “La Laurent,” 11 April 1877, List #278.

1850 US Federal Census, 15th Ward, Baltimore, Baltimore County, Maryland, p 94-B, hh #1191-1517, Sarah A Jones, NARA M432 Series, Record Group 29, Roll 286.

1880 US Federal Census, Polk Township, Christian County, Missouri, p 25-A, ED8, hh #221-219, Summerfield Jones, NARA T9 Series, Record Group 29, Roll 681.

1900 US Federal Census, Polk Township, Christian County, Missouri, p 5, ED22, hh #107-108, Summerfield Jones, NARA T623 Series.

Missouri State Death Certificate, Sarah Frances Jones, July 1938, MO Digital Heritage, http://www.sos.mo.gov

1910 US Federal Census, Harris Township, Muskogee County, Oklahoma, p 11-A, ED99, hh #142-143, Harry G Reed, FHL Film No. 1375276, NARA T624 Series, Roll 1263.

1920 US Federal Census, Hickory Ridge Township, Okfuskee County, Oklahoma, p 7-B, ED145, hh #119-119, H G Reed, NARA T625 Series, Roll 1478.

1930 US Federal Census, Wetumka, Hughes County, Oklahoma, p 8-B, ED27, hh #174-175, Harry G Reed, NARA T626 Series.

1940 US Federal Census, Wetumka, Hughes County, Oklahoma, p 3-A, ED32-27, hh #59, Harry Reed, NARA T627 Series, Roll 03298.

1860 US Federal Census, Township 1 S, Range 4 W, Washington County, Illinois, p 26, hh #212-212, J Reed, NARA M653 Series, Roll 235.

1870 US Federal Census, Salt River Township, Knox County, Missouri, p 44, hh #368-325, Joseph Reed, NARA M593, Roll 785.

1880 US Federal Census, Freeburgh, St Clair County, Illinois, p 10-B, ED57, hh #94-100, Joseph H Reed, NARA T9, Roll 248.

Birnies Funeral Home Records, Sebastian Co, AR, Joseph H. Reed, buried 14 February 1898.

Findagrave Memorial #44310864, Joseph Reed, Calhoun Cemetery, Richland County, Illinois.

Findagrave Memorial #44309700, Charles Reed, Calhoun Cemetery, Richland County, Illinois – showing his 1843 obituary from the Western Christian Advocate.

Findagrave Memorial #44310472, Sarah Nail Reed, Calhoun Cemetery, Richland County, Illinois – showing her 1850 obituary from the Western Christian Advocate.

Findagrave Memorial #35554115, Eliza Bell Reed, Haven Hill Cemetery, Olney, Richland County, Illinois.

Missouri, Marriage Records 1805-2002, ancestry.com: Ezekiel Gorman to Elizabeth Matthieus, 1828.

1850 US Federal Census, 20th District, Washington County, Illinois, p 159A, hh #888, Ezekiel Gorman, NARA M432 Series, Roll 131.

Oklahoma and Indian Territory Indian Censuses & Rolls, 1851-1959, Schedule 6, Census of Saline District, Cherokee Nation, 1880, line 20, John Gorman.

Arkansas, County Marriages Index, 1837-1957, citing FHL Film No. 1034043, Sebastian Co, AR marriage records.

1880 US Federal Census, Grant Township, Johnson County, Arkansas, p 24-D, ED93, hh #167-178, J H Crawford, NARA T9, Roll 48.

1900 US Federal Census, Township 12, Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory, p 49, ED 46, hh #857-859, John H Crawford, NARA T623.