| Notes |
- RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. FHL book 929.273 EL54ejg "John Jacob Eller and His Descendants with Other Pre-1800 Eller Immigrants to America...," by J. Gerald Eller, Edward K. Eller, and Janine Eller Porter (The Eller Family Association, 1998), pp. 22-27; the following is a partial excerpt from the full transcript which I place in the notes of George Michael Eller:
"George Michael Eller.
Many gaps in our knowledge of the genealogy of descendants of George Michael Eller are revealed in Table VI. Until new information was reported in the Eller Chronicles, the published genealogy of this immigrant and his descendants came exclusively from Hook (1925, 1955, 1957, 1957A). His genealogies were limited largely to descendants of four sons: Peter, Leonard, Jacob, and George. His listing of Jacob, as a son (1957, pp 53-63), has been questioned; this point is discussed further in chapters 8 and 10. Other researchers have now contributed extensively to the genealogy of this line, as shown in the bibliography at the end of the chapter. As can be seen in Table VI, little is known of the descendants of the daughters of immigrant George Michael Eller.
Table VI
George Michael Eller married (1st)? (2nd)? (3rd) Eva Maria. Frederick County, Maryland. Their children and grandchildren:
1. Peter, married Elizabeth Dick, children John, Catherine, Peter Jr., Elizabeth, unnamed daughter, Jacob, Mary, Henry, George.
2. Elizabeth married Heinrich Reb. Nothing more is known
3. Leonard married Elizabeth Mast, children: Adam, Elizabeth, John, Joseph, Sarah, Mary Lucinda, Jacob, Henry, George.
4. Jacob. No other known record unless he was the Jacob Eller of Chapter 8.
5. George died in Davidson County, North Carolina, before 1841; his wife was Susanna. Children: George Jr., Henry, David.
6. John married Catherine Fight (Fort)? Nothing more is known.
7. Eve. Nothing more is known.
8. Catherine married Peter Lehman? Nothing more is known. (From Hook, 1957, pp. 15-16).
9. Maria (Mary) married Jacob Eller; Children: Cloah (Chloe) "Glory" Eller. (Troutman and File. EC, XI:1, Sp. Ed., Feb. 1997)..."
2. Even though George Michael did have a son name Jacob as attested by his George's will, there may be some controversy as to whether the information ascribed herein is correct or mixed with another Jacob Eller. Consider the following two "Eller Chronicles" online articles that pretty well disconnects this Jacob with the Jacob Eller of Botetort Co., VA married to Magdalena ___:
A. Eller Chronicles Vol. VIII-3, Aug. 1994, March 29, 1994, John C. Eller 245 Oak Ave., Apt. 714 Sebring, Fl 33870: "Genealogy Problems Regarding Jacob and Magdalene Eller of Botetourt County, Virginia. Because misinformation regarding Jacob Eller, who was the first Eller to settle in Botetourt County, Virginia, and his wife Magdalene, continue to be circulated among genealogists, I am writing this to tell how I have been involved and what I know about Jacob and Magdalene. Just recently I received undocumented material which illustrate the continuing problems. Also, The Eller Family Association recently reprinted the book George Michael Eller and His Descendants in America by James W. Hook, which, I believe, has given wider circulation to Mr. Hook's incorrect data.
Problem No. I
The descendants of Jacob Eller have and continue to relate the family tradition which I have heard repeated many times: "Jacob Eller was born in Germany and emigrated to America along with three of his brothers. They spent some time in Pennsylvania. Later Jacob settled in Botetourt County, Virginia and the other brothers settled in North Carolina."
The first documented evidence of Jacob Eller in Virginia was a Land Grant given by Governor Baverley Randolph July 19, 1790 (1). He later sold that land to a John Brubaker(2). On February 9, 1802 he bought 400 acres of land from Jacob and Elizabeth Yest(Yeast)(3).
In 1947 while working on a term paper for a class at Bethany Theological Seminary I found the name of James W. Hook at the Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois. He had written a genealogy book about his family and included his address in Connecticut. Since Mr. Hook's mother was an Eller from North Carolina, I wrote to introduce myself and to enquire whether he knew of any connection between the Virginia Eller Family and his ancestors in North Carolina.
To my surprise he was not aware of Eller families in Virginia and urged me to send more information. Since my Brother Henry had produced in writing(4) the information we had on the family, I gave him Henry's name and address who mailed him the information he had. The two never met or discussed the information provided. Mr. Hook and I continued to correspond occasionally until 1957. My last letter was answered by his secretary. Mr. Hook had died, however, he had published his latest book (5).
I immediately wrote for a copy and was not only surprised but a bit horrified to see on pages 53 through 63 our Jacob Eller and his descendants as prepared by brother Henry. Mr. Hook had decided that our Jacob Eller "may have been" (See p. 54) the son of George Michael Eller. On page 5, he used the expression, "The evidence is strong." No documentation was given.
By this time my father Christian E. Eller, who was the genealogist of the family, had died. He had a brother Daniel M. Eller, born May 8, 1863(6), La Verne, California, and a sister Cora Eller Bream, born August 3, 1888(7), Whittier, California. Both were born and grew up on the Eller Farm in Virginia. Living on the farm was their grandmother Mary "Polly" Wertz Eller. She was the wife of Abraham(Abram) Eller, their grandfather. He was the son of Jacob Eller. Abram and Mary were married March 26, 1831.(8) Mary would have known Jacob Eller. She died February 1908(9) well after Uncle Dan and Aunt Cora had left home. In 1958 I needed to go to California on business and decided to ask both separately about the Eller tradition regarding Jacob Eller. Uncle Dan was 95 and Aunt Cora was 70. Both were in good health, alert and did not know of my visit with the other.
My inquiry to both of them went something like this: "Tell me about the Ellers in Maryland".
Both were astonished that I had asked. Both gave essentially the name answer. "I never heard of them." I persisted, "Did you ever hear great grandmother "Polly" speak of the Eller families in Maryland?" Both replied, "No." Aunt Cora became inquisitive. "Why do you ask? I told her about James Hook's genealogy book about George Michael Eller who lived near Frederick, Maryland and that he believed our Jacob Eller was one of his sons. Her reply was, "That is wrong. Jacob Eller came to America from Germany. He couldn't have been the son of some Eller in Maryland." Both she and Uncle Dan repeated the Virginia Eller tradition about where Jacob Eller came from.
To my knowledge no documentation has ever been found that proves Jacob Eller emigrated from Germany to America nor that he did not. However, there are two listings of Eller men on ships that landed in Pennsylvania in the late seventeen hundreds:
(a) Rupp, Prof. I. Danial, A Collection of Thirty Thousand Names of German, Swiss, Dutch, French and other Immigrants in Pennsylvania from 1727-1776. 1985, P. 402.
November 3, 1772. Ship Sally, John Osmond, Master, from Rotterdam, last frown Cowes. Johann Jacob Eller.
(b) Strassbutger, Ralph Beaven, Pennsylvania German Pioneers, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1966, Vol. I and Vol. II., Second Printing, P. 8
Sept. 5, 1785. Ship Favourite, Group # 12, German Passengers, List 328. Jacob Eller.
One of these could have been the Jacob Eller who settled in Botetourt County, Virginia prior to 1790.
Problem No. II
Magdalene Eller was the wife of Jacob. The earliest known reference to her is when she and her husband Jacob Eller sold land to a John Brubaker June 12, 1804(10). To my knowledge there is no documentation regarding her family or maiden name. The late Chester Peter of Long Beach, Calif. did much research on the Peters family in the 1950-60 years. He did a great deal of research in Virginia, especially in Franklin County. Since I knew the Peters and Eller families had intermarried a number of times, I talked with him several times at the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference. He told me of his belief that Magdalene, the wife of the first Jacob Eller in Virginia, may have been a Peters. He showed me a reference to a marriage he found at the Courthouse at Rocky Mount, Va. In his genealogical listings he listed her as Magdalene Peters with a "?" mark. Many genealogists have noted this reference. Some are now omitting the "?" mark. On October 10, 1985 my wife and I visited the Courthouse at Rocky Mount, Va., the County seat of Franklin County, and found what, I believe, led Chester Peters astray. There was a marriage between a Jacob Eller and Magdalene Peters(11). However, this Jacob Eller was a grandson of the original Jacob Eller. His parents were John (Johnny) Eller and Catherine Brubaker Eller. Also, the wedding date of this Jacob Eller was twenty-one years after the death of his grandfather. I am glad to see the recently published genealogy book on the Peters family(12) by Ed. Peters, Rt.1, Box 432, Manson, WA, 98831 does not include a reference to my great grandmother Magdalene Eller.
End Notes:
Richmond, Va., Virginia State Library, Deed Book-Land Office Grants, No. 22, Reel 88, P. 430-431. Fincastle, Botetourt County, Va., Clerk of the Court, Deed Book 8, Part 2, P. 421-422. Ibid., Deed Book 7, P. 655. Eller, Henry C, The Jacob Eller Family Tree, Salem, Va. (Now Bridgewater., Va.), Mimeograph, 1948. Hook, James W., George Michael Eller and His Descendants in America, New Haven, Connecticut, 1957. Eller, Henry C., op. cit., P. 17. Eller, Henry C., op. cit., P. 20. Fincastle, Botetourt Co., Va., Clerk of the Court, Marriage Register 1770-1853 Part I, P. 348. Eller, Henry C., op. cit. P. 6. Fincastle, Botetourt County, Va., Clerk of the Court, Deed Book 8, Part 2, P. 421-422. Rocky Mount, Franklin County, Va., Clerk of the Court, Marriage Bond Book 1787-1853, P. 29. Peters, Edward L., Some Descendants of Michael Peters, Manson, Wa.; Peters Publishing, 1993."
B. Website <http://freepages.family.rootsweb.com/~adelr/may88/may88p1.htm>:
"The Jacob Eller Family of Roanoke County, Virginia. A Research Report (Part I): Compiled by David B. Eller and Presented at the Eller Family Reunion, Salem, Virginia, June 22, 1986; Copyright (c) 1986. Published here with permission of the author.
This essay will explore the origins and identify the first generation descendants of Jacob Eller, wife Magdalene, who settled in what is now Roanoke County, Virginia, in the last decade of the eighteenth century. By doing so it will address two questions of concern to Jacob Eller descendants. The first is that of his ancestry. What is known of him, his wife, and their family backgrounds? How is Jacob Eller related to other Eller families? Secondly, the paper will explore early connections of the Jacob Eller family with the Church of the Brethren, known popularly in the nineteenth century as "Dunkers" but more formally as German Baptists. At question is when the family became associated with the Brethren. As will be noted later, the problem of Jacob Eller's origins and the family's Brethren identity are not unrelated. These are questions which should be addressed before a definitive Jacob Eller family history can be compiled.
Defining Jacob and Magdalene Eller in historical terms presents problems typical of research in early German-American family history. There are few existing church records or family papers. Legal documents which might be helpful are often vague or nonexistent. Spelling was not standardized in the early nineteenth century and diminutive forms of names ("Rebecca" and "Becky" to cite a clear example) were used interchangeably. Family tradition about certain ancestors is unclear, inconsistent, and in many cases lost.
It seems clear that the name Eller is of German origin and means literally "one who lives near an alder tree" (German: Erle), or it may have some connection with the noun Ell-e which means a yard, as in a unit of measurement. The E-l-l-e-r spelling has remained remarkably standard, although variations including E-l-e-r, A-l-l-e-r, and E-l-l-o-r- have been found in records referring to a Jacob Eller descendant. There are literally scores of persons (and a few place names) with E-l-l-e-r spelling in West Germany today. Eller immigrants continued to come to the United States well into the nineteenth century so that there are numerous Eller families in various sections of the country who appear to have no connection with the Roanoke County, Virginia, family.
The problem of identification for Jacob Eller begins in America as early as the mid-eighteenth century. Between the 1740s and 1810s no fewer than twenty adult E-1-1-e-r males (this spelling) immigrated to the colonies and the newly formed United States. Three of these had the Christian or given name of Jacob. These are: Johann Jacob Eller, ship "Sally," December 31, 1772 and Jacob Eller, ship "Favourite." September 5, 1785 - both of whom took the oath of allegiance in Pennsylvania; and a Jacob Eller who arrived in North Carolina in 1765 and took the oath there. Presumably many of these families were related, although there is no definitive Eller family study. Interesting too is the fact that although many of these families came into the country through Philadelphia, few remained in Pennsylvania. There are only scattered references to Ellers in Pennsylvania records before 1800. The 1790 census reveals that only one Eller family lived in the state (Germantown, Philadelphia). Apparently most moved south. There are three E-1-1-e-r households in Maryland (two in Washington County) and eleven in Rowan County, North Carolina. Unfortunately, there are no existing 1790 or 1800 census returns for Virginia.(2)
Back to Jacob and Magdalene Eller. Family tradition is rather strong that three brothers arrived in Philadelphia, presumably from the Rhine Valley of Germany (Rhineland or Palatinate) before 1800. With other German immigrants they made their way south down the Blue Ridge Mountains into Virginia. Jacob settled in what was then Botetourt County (created from Augusta in 1769-1770) while the two unnamed brothers continued south and settled in North Carolina. This tradition, while never thoroughly studied, is plausible in that there clearly was a major migration of Germans from Pennsylvania into Maryland and down the Blue Ridge into the Carolinas, beginning in the early decades of the eighteenth century.(3) According to an Eller genealogy published in 1925, three Eller brothers - Jacob, Christian, and Melchior - do appear to have settled in Rowan County, North Carolina in the 1760's. Details concerning their travel route and point(s) of departure, however, are lacking. This Jacob Eller died in Rowan County in 1782. Another, younger Jacob Eller is picked up in the 1790 census who continued to live in western North Carolina well into the nineteenth century.(4)
In addition, there were two Jacob Ellers who, assuming them to have been young men when they landed in Philadelphia, would have been of the approximate age of the Virginia Jacob. Our Jacob is enumerated in the 1810 census for Botetourt County. Both he and wife are shown as over age 45, meaning that they were born sometime before 1765. The household at that time consisted of six children: a female between 16 and 26, a male and female between 10 and 26, and two males and one female under age 10.(5)
The "three brothers" tradition was briefly presented in Jacob Eller Family Tree (Salem, Va., mimeograph, 1948) by Henry C. Eller, now of Bridgewater, Virginia. This brief but important study was put together from information collected and preserved by his father, Christian E. Eller, and others. This family tree has been used by genealogists of related families such as Brubaker, Barnhart, and Flora. While The Jacob Eller Family Tree is incomplete and contains some minor errors, it still provides the core of what is known about early Jacob Eller descendants.
One of the genealogists who used Henry Eller's 1948 compilation was James W. Hook. Hook was a descendant of a North Carolina Eller family (Virginia Eller and James Hook, married in 1867) and in several publications endeavored to trace various branches of these two families. The last of his books, "George Michael Eller and Descendants of his in America," (New Haven, Conn.: for the Author, 1957) is a thorough updating of the earlier publications and is based on considerable research. By including Henry Eller's material, however, Hook created a past for Jacob Eller totally outside the Virginia family's tradition.
Briefly, Hook theorized that our Jacob was a younger son of George Michael Eller, a German immigrant who died in Frederick County, Maryland, in 1778, but who had earlier lived in western North Carolina where the other Eller families had settled. His will names several children, including his "youngest son Jacob" who was given the family Bible. Three of his known sons, Peter, Leonard, and George, all lived in North Carolina.(6)
The evidence for Jacob Eller of Virginia being the son named in George Michael's will is circumstantial, but hardly conclusive. Jacob would have been of the approximate age to have been a younger son, that is, born in the 1760s. And, Frederick County, Maryland records do indicate that a Jacob Eller was active there in the 1790s. He married Mary Willjard in 1792, voted "Federalist" in the presidential election of 1796, and is enumerated there in the census of 1800. By the 1790s, however, our Jacob was well established in Botetourt County, Virginia. Hook believed the Frederick County Jacob to have been a son of Henry Eller (d. 1788 in Frederick County) whom he suggested was a brother of George Michael.(7)
In support of his theory that the Virginia Jacob was a son of George Michael Eller, Hook cites the westward movement of David Eller, an older son of Jacob to infer a relationship between the two families. Unfortunately, David Eller has been completely lost from the Virginia family tradition and was therefore not recorded in The Jacob Eller Family Tree. Extensive but unpublished research by Charles E. Martin between 1978 and 198O demonstrates that David moved from Virginia to Montgomery County, Ohio in the mid-1820s, to Preble County, same state in the mid-1830s, and from there to Hamilton County, Indiana, sometime in the late 1840s.(8) Hook learned of the existence of David Eller through a reading of Jacob Eller's probate records, census returns, and from a brief reference to him in a Hamilton County, Indiana, history published in 1915. David's move west did parallel somewhat that of Leonard Eller, a known son of George Michael. He moved from North Carolina to Miami County, Ohio in 1801, and from there to Hamilton County, Indiana in 1834. Hook's inference is that David followed his "uncle" Leonard both to Ohio and Indiana. Such conjecture is not without merit, except that there is nothing in deed, probate, census, or other records which prove that the two men had any financial ties, or that they even knew each other.(9)
There are other problems with Hook's theory concerning the origins of Jacob Eller. For example, three of Jacob Eller's daughters still living in 1880 and enumerated in the Federal census that year indicate a belief that both parents were born in Virginia. (10) If Jacob were a son of George Michael, he would more likely have been born in Maryland or North Carolina. Furthermore, Jacob's son David was born c1782 (according to a now lost grave marker), and David's children believed that he too was born in Virginia. This means that there is a rather strong family tradition which places Jacob in Virginia far earlier than Hook's theory would allow.
Finally, there is a weak argument from silence. George Michael's Bible, important enough to be mentioned in the 1778 will, is not in the possession of any known Jacob Eller descendant, nor is there any known family tradition about such an important book. Given the family's strong ties to the German Baptist Brethern in the following generations, surely it would have been preserved. A Bible is not mentioned in the Jacob Eller's will or in an inventory of articles in his estate which were sold in 1830.
Unfortunately, for the present, Jacob Eller's background remains unclear. There simply is no hard evidence to support Hook's belief that he was the son of George Michael Eller. It does seem probable, however, that he was related in some way to one or more of the Carolina Eller families.
The background of his wife Magdalene does not help resolve the matter. That her name was Magdalene (or Magdalena/Magdalen/Magalein) is without question since it appears with Jacob on an early deed record in Botetourt County. Some family researchers have suggested that her maiden name was Peters, and indeed, this is the name recorded on the family record in the Latter Day Saints church archives.(11) Documentation of her family name is circumstantial at best. There is no known recorded marriage of Jacob Eller to a Magdalene of any name before 1800 in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia or North Carolina. Obviously more research on her background needs to be undertaken before the full Jacob Eller family history can be completed.
The land records of Jacob Eller in what is now Roanoke County (created from Botetourt in 1838) are helpful in locating him. As mentioned previously, the earliest first known reference dates Eller in Roanoke County in the 1790s. On July 19, 1790, the Commonwealth of Virginia conveyed to him 150 acres on "Wolf Run, a Branch of Back Creek." This tract was apparently part of a land warrant originally issued to one John Minter (or Minten?) in 1788. Minter assigned a portion of the warrant to Humphrey Smith, who in turn assigned it to Eller. A few years, in 1804, Eller sold this same property to his in-law, John Brubaker for $500.(12) Research to date has not been able to locate "Wolf Run" or the 150 acre tract. It may well have been located in Franklin County (created in 1787).
The farm which until a few years ago was known as the "Eller homeplace" was conveyed to Jacob Eller from Jacob Yest in 1799. Located approximately seven miles southwest from the county seat at Salem, "on the headwaters of Craven Creek," this property of 470 acres was part of survey originally granted by the Commonwealth of Virginia to Thomas Harrison in 1790. Harrison sold a portion of this grant to John Harris, who in turn sold it to Yest. Yest had it resurveyed, then sold 470 acres of it to Eller for $1165.67. His title was not recorded until 1802.(13)The "sheepskin deed" (land grant) which contains a survey description of the property patented to Harrison has remained in the Eller family until the present.
Jacob Eller also acquired an additional 49 acres next to the Craven Creek land on "Mudlick, a Branch of the Roanoke." This was obtained from the estate of Abraham Statler, deceased, in 1819, although Eller was not a Statler heir.(14) This brought his real property to approximately 519 acres.
The only other land transaction known to involve Jacob Eller is intriguing, but vague. In 1814 the Commonwealth of Virginia, under a newly enacted law, moved to collect back taxes of $3.25 on 400 acres which Jacob Eller owed for the years 1797 and 1798. The location of this property is unknown, as are the details as to when and how Eller acquired it. The tax could have been on the Craven Creek farm. Eller may have rented here prior to purchase in 1799 and part of the now lost purchase agreement was to pay taxes owed by Yest. The Back Creek property to which he then did have title, consisted of only 150 acres, and it was transferred in total to John Brubaker in 1804. In any event, the county Deputy Sheriff certified to the Commonwealth "that no property could be found," and declared the 400 acres legally for sale in a Richmond newspaper. Fifty acres was sold in August, 1814 for $3.45 to Frederick Barst, who was subsequently given a Sheriff's deed, recorded May 21, 1817.(15) What makes this transaction even more unusual is that Garst was Eller's son-in-law, he having married Susan Eller in 1809.
There are few family traditions about Jacob Eller. It is assumed that he farmed but he may also have liked to hunt, and if so was probably absent from the family and farm for long periods. It is entirely possible that he spoke both German and English and he could apparently sign his name in English script. Local records have him being appointed overseer of the road" in 1799. According to a C. E. Eller statement, Jacob's two story house (cabin?) stood on the homeplace close to where his son Abraham and later his son J.W. Eller built homes.(16) Interestingly enough, in 1805 Jacob Eller sold to Michael Danner various household and kitchen furniture, "shop tools used for making wagons." as well as a stud horse and cow, apparently in an attempt to settle a debt.(17)
When Jacob Eller prepared his will in May of 1830 he had sufficient real property to make a detailed bequest to his wife and Children. Since the will and the settlement of the estate provides the clearest identification of his children, it merits careful attention. His wife (unnamed) was allowed to remain in the house where they lived "throughout her natural life." half the garden, a clock, two beds, a cupboard, table and other furniture and household items, a mare, saddle and bridle, and $200 in cash. Two sons, John and Abraham, were to equally divide his plantation of "about five hundred acres" after it was surveyed, each son posting an appropriate bond. John, also an executor of the estate, was to receive that portion of the division on which he then lived. Abraham received various farming implements. An unmarried daughter Rebecca received various household items, including a spinning wheel, a saddle and bridle, a cow and a calf, as well as $50 in cash. Further, it was Jacob's desire that she live with her mother during her lifetime "and if she thinks proper to remain after the death of her mother in the house where they both occupy and is to have the use of the upper room in the said house so long as she conducts herself decently." Finally, Eller directed that his remaining personal property be sold at public auction and that the proceeds be distributed equally among his children and wife. To be included in this distribution were the heirs of Susan Garst, deceased, wife of Frederick Garst.(18)
The sale was held November 12, 1830, which meant that Jacob probably died sometime in early fall. The location of his grave and that of Magdalene, death date unknown, has not been preserved. Both are probably buried on the family farm.(19) According to estate administration papers filed in January, 1840, his real property was valued at $2,538.17 and a division of $239.99 paid to nine heirs, including Magdalene. These heirs were: Henry Brubaker, wife Sarah; Frederick Garst; Peter Himley, wife Nancy; Isaac Wertz, wife Rebecca; David Eller; Daniel Peters, wife Elizabeth; Abraham Eller; and John Eller.(20) These then are the known children and grandchildren of Jacob Eller. They are arranged in order of marriage, not in order of birth (*indicates a Brethern minister):
1. David Eller, c1782-1858; m. 1) Anna Brubaker, 1785-1825 on December 21, 1802 in Franklin County, VA; 2) Elizabeth Foutz (1825), and 3) Mary Martin (1827), the latter two in Montgomery County, OH. Anna Brubaker was a daughter of John and Anna Myers Brubaker who moved to Franklin County in 1781 and to whom Jacob Eller sold land in 1804. David Eller moved to Ohio in the mid-1820s, then to Hamilton County, IN, in the late 1840s. He is not in the 1850 census and died without a will or property (intestate). Several children in the 1850 census are enumerated in other households, Preble County, OH. Children by Anna Brubaker:
Catherine Eller, 1806-?; m. William R. Bowles
Mary Eller, 1808-1882; m. (as the 2nd wife) William Bowser, ?-1842; 2) George Miller, ?-1856
Daniel Eller, 1810-? (unmarried)
Abraham Eller, c1815-? (unmarried)
Andrew Eller, 1819-1896; m. 1) Elizabeth Auchenback, 1816-1868; 2) Hannah M. Smeltzer; 3) Elizbeth Bright
Samuel Eller, c1825-? (unmarried)
Children of Elizabeth Foutz:
Joseph Eller, 1826-?
Children of Mary Martin:
Nancy Eller, 1828-?; m. Zachariah Clark
Benjamin Eller, 1830-1870; m. Diana Dacus
Henry Eller, 1834-?
2. Sarah ("Saloma") Eller(21), c. 1787-1882; m. (2nd wife to) Henry Brubaker, 1775-1848, on January 24, 1810 in Franklin County. Brubaker was a brother to Anna Brubaker (above). He owned land on Peters Creek, Roanoke County, where he bequeathed the land for the Peter Creek Brethern meetinghouse. He fathered nine children by his first wife, Elizabeth Flory. Children by Sarah Eller:
John Brubaker,* 1811-1887; m. Susannah Flory, 1816-1886
Nancy Brubaker, 1813-?; m. Christian Wertz
Tobias Brubaker, 1814 (d. infant)
Benjamin Brubaker, 1816-1891; m. 1) Mary Garst, 1822- 1848; 2) Susan(nah) Wolfe 1820-1903
Magdalene Brubaker, 1820-1892; m. 1) Samuel Franz; 2) David Blocker, 1812-1886
Abraham Brubaker, 1820-1898; m. Elizabeth Rivercomb
Isaac Brubacker, 1825-1897(8?); m. Christine Beckner 1828?-1910
Elias Brubaker,* 1828-1899; m. Susan Beckner
Elizabeth Brubaker, 1829-1899; m. John Beckner
Moses E. Brubaker, 1831-1904; m. Susannah Grisso
3. Susan ("Susanna") Eller,(22) c1778-1827; m. Frederick Garst (Jr.), 1784-1850, on December 28, 1809. This is undoubtedly the same Garst that purchased 50 acres from Virginia in 1814 to settle Jacob Eller's back taxes. He and his wife lived in Botetourt County until c1826 when the family relocated to near Jonesboro, Tennessee. Children:
Samuel Garst, 1810-1876; m. Susannah Peffley
Jacob Garst, 1812-1893; m. 1) Wrightsman; 2) Fanny Sherfy, 1817-1898
David Garst, 1814-1886; m.1) m. 2) Anna Bashor, 1808-1895
Magdalena Garst, 1816-1906; m. Abraham Sherfy, 1818-1866
Nancy Garst, 1817-1860; m. Samuel Sherfy,* 1817-1896
Henry Garst, 1818-1898; m. Mary Bowman, 1820-1890
Catherine Garst, 1820-1911; m. Richard Deakins, 1798-1873
Sarah Garst, 1822-1917; m. Michael Bashor, 1811-?
Elizabeth Garst, 1824-1892; m. David Bowman, 1828-1896
Joel Garst, 1824-1892; m. Catherine Sherfy, 1822-?
Frederick Garst married 2) Sarah Franz and ten more children were added to his family. Many of the Eller-Garst children resided in the Jonesboro area.
4. Elizabeth Eller, c1793-aft.1880; M. Daniel Peters, c1782-aft.1850. The family resided in Franklin County at the census of 1850. Known children:
Rebecca Peters, c1816-?; m. Henry Donahue
Moses Peters, c1819-?; m. Rebecca Barnhart 1626-1903
Jonathan Peters, c1823-?
Magdalene Peters, c1829-?; m. Jacob Eller 1823-1907(a first cousin, see John Eller family below) Aaron Peters, c1831-?; m. Frances Flora
Samuel Peters, c1833-?; m. Hannah Flora, 1830-?
5. John ("Johnny") Eller,* c1795-1871; m. Catherine Brubaker, 1794-?1880 on February 19, 1818. Catherine was a sister of Anna Brubaker and Henry Brubaker (above) - all children of John and Anna Myers Brubaker. John Eller lived on part of Jacob Eller's Craven Creek property, seven miles southwest of Salem. He was a Brethern minister.
Lavina Eller, 1826-?; m. John Deaton; 2) Samuel Danner
George Eller, 1821-?; m. Nancy Sloan
Jacob Eller, 1823-1907; m. ?1) Susan Fisher 2) Magdalene Peters, c1829-?
Joel W. Eller, 1825-1902; m. Martha Reynolds
Abraham J. Eller.* 1828-1923; m. Saloma Flora, 1834-1919
John B. Eller, 1831-1912; m. 1) Marly Flora, 1829-?; 2) Sarah Weddle Flora
Henry Eller, 1837-1912; m. Harriet Reynolds
Ann(a) Eller, 1835-1919; m. James Parker
Catherine Eller, 1841-?; m. 1) Carey F. Johns; 2) John B. Peters
6. Nancy Eller, c 1800-?; m. Peter Himley on February 24, 1820. His name is also spelled Himleck and Himlick. This family is not in the 1850 census for Virginia. Himley was present at the sale of personal property for Jacob Eller's estate in 1830, and he received a share of the estate for his wife in 1840. Himleck bought land in 1819 from John and Daniel Barnhart, and in 1825 from John Stoner. No other information.
7. Abraham ("Abram") Eller, 1801-?1870; m. Mary (Polly) Wertz (Wirtz), on March 31, 1831. They lived on a portion of Jacob Eller's Craven Creek land, seven miles southwest from Salem in Roanoke County on what became known as the "Eller homeplace." Children:
Anna F. Eller, 1832-1906; m. 1) Frances Asberry Deaton, 1827-1865; 2) John W. Deaton 1838-1911
Magdalene Eller, 1833-1894; m. Joseph W. Barnhart 1832-1900
John W. Eller,* 1836-1899; m. 1) Leah Barnhart 1836-1865; 2) Hannah Brubaker, 1842-1902
Eliza Eller, 1838-1926; m. John B. Naff,* 1836-1905
Sarah Eller, c1838-1921; m. James Neff
David Eller, c1840-?; m. Julia Neff
Christian Eller, 1846-1866 (unmarried)
Abraham C. Eller, 1848-1924; m. Salome Brubaker, 1850-1921
Amanda Eller, c1848-c1869 (unmarried)
Francis Asberry Eller,* 1851-1938; m. Elizabeth (Bettie) Brubaker, 1855-1941
Nannie Eller, c1854-1945; m. Daniel R. Brubaker, 1850-1928
8. Rebecca Eller, c1810-?; m. Isaac Wertz (Wirtz) c1813-1891 on June 9, 1832. The family lived in Franklin County at the census of 1850. Known children:
Magdaline Wertz, 1832-1911; m. Henry Laprad
Ann(a) Wertz, c1835-?; m. Abraham Barnhart
Catherine Wertz, c1836-?
Noah Wertz, c1839-?
Samuel E. Wertz, 1841-1928; m. Barbara 1841-1931
James Hook also suggests another son, Jacob, based on the fact that a second Jacob Eller, age 26-45, appears in the 1820 census for Botetourt County. His household consisted of female over 45, a female 26-45, three males under 26, and a female under 16.(23) Our Jacob in 1810 had a male "under 10" that cannot be explained in terms of known sons. However, this child is clearly not old enough to be the second 1820 Jacob. The 1810 male could have a son that did not survive or the child of a relative. In any event, the second 1820 Jacob is not in the 1830 census for Botetourt County and is otherwise unknown. Hook and Henry Eller also list a daughter Magdalene based on the fact that she received an equal share of Jacob Eller's estate. As noted earlier, however, this is Eller's wife, not daughter.
(Eds. Part II of David B. Eller's Research Report will trace the relationship between the Ellers and the Brethern Church and will appear in the August Newsletter. Dr. David B. Eller is Editorial Director, The Brethren Press, Church of the Brethern General Board, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120. Several members of the Jacob Eller of Virginia lineage belong to the Eller Family Assoc. and we are delighted to share this excellent paper and the following story, Jay Vernard Eller by Geraldine Crill Eller, with them and other readers. The Jay Vernard Eller story concerns another of the many descendants of Jacob Eller of Virginia who were ministers in the Church of the Brethern. The uncertain but probable relationship described by David Eller between the North Carolina and Virginia Ellers raises an interesting challenge that should be pursued by researchers of both groups. Only one clarification can be offered here to David Eller's account: The Jacob Eller who "arrived in North Carolina in 1765 and took the oath there" indeed did so on that date but his presence in North Carolina dates from 1761 or earlier and he arrived in North Carolina from Montgomery County, PA where he was married in 1753. Records of the date and place of his arrival in America have not been found; he probably entered at Philadelphia c1750.)
Having thus identified the children of Jacob Eller a second task is to explore the early relationship of this family to the Church of the Brethern. Between 1800 and 1980 many descendants in the next four or so generations have had close ties to the Brethern, not only in Virginia, but in the Midwest, Kansas and Pacific Coast states as well. For example, among Jacob's direct male descendants (sons David, John, Abraham) there are 20 ordained ministers.(24) (See Appendix I for names and biographical information) This list is easily doubled when the female lines of Brubaker, Garst, and Wertz are added. Literally hundreds of Eller descendants have served the Brethern in other ways: local church offices (deacon, moderator and clerk), church school teachers, national and district committees and staff, volunteer service workers, missionaries, even college faculty. How did this relationship of the family to the Brethern begin?
The origins of the German Baptist movement may be traced back to eighteenth century Germany. Early Brethern were Protestant dissenters who for good conscience believed they could not remain within the state churches of Europe (Lutheran, Reformed). They developed out of the Radical Pietism, a reform effort that sought to strengthen the evangelical fervor and spiritual life of the state churches. Brethern were also strongly influenced by the Mennonites (Anabaptists) whose emphasis on nonresistance (biblical pacifism), separation of church and state, living simply, community life, and nonconformity reflect the sixteenth century Radical Reformation(25). In America the Brethern became known for their unique form of trine immersion baptism, love feast (communion) with feetwashing, plain dress, and refusal to participate in military service.
The Eller name is not found in existing lists of Anabaptist martyrs or in extensive compilations of early Mennonite families which have been made for Switzerland, Germany, and Holland. There were Ellers in eighteenth century Pietism. Perhaps the most well-known of these was Elias Eller of Elberfeld. In 1727 he and his wife founded the mystical, millennialist sect, but because of persecution this group was forced to an estate some thirty miles distant. Here the group founded what became the city of Ronsdorf, a name by which Eller's sect was widely known. While Elias Eller's views were somewhat extreme, dissention among the sect's leaders following his death in 1750 forced the congregation back into the conformity of the state Reformed Church. (26)
It is possible that many of the colonial Eller immigrants to America were Pietists, perhaps without affiliating with either Lutheran or Reformed Churches. Few Ellers may be found in the baptismal or marriage records of these groups. James Hook was the first non-Brethern family researcher to associate the family with the German Baptists, the first group of whom arrived in America In 17l9. Still there are no Ellers mentioned among the scant records of the Brethern in either Europe or Colonial America. A Henry E-l-e-r was baptized in the Conestoga congregation, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in 1747.(27) Hook believed this same Henry Eller later lived in Frederick County, Maryland, and was a brother of George Michael Eller. Some of the early western North Carolina Ellers do appear to have been associated with Carolina Brethern, although the history of the congregations which existed there is extremely sketchy.(28)
In Southwest Virginia the picture is brighter. As sectarians, Brethern generally settled in family groupings. By the late eighteenth century, a few such clusters had developed, the earliest on the Blackwater River in Franklin County (1760's) and a second in the Amsterdam/Daleville area of Botetourt County (1780's). Jacob Eller, along with clearly Identifiable Brethern related families such as the Brubakers were located between these two in what later became Roanoke County. The dates when these settlements developed into congregations is not known, but meetinghouses were built at Peters Creek (Roanoke County, 1845), Germantown Brick (Franklin County, 1848) and Botetourt Valley (Daleville, Botetourt County, 1851). Prior to this the Brethern met in homes for worship, generally once a month.(29)
Whether Jacob and Magdalene Eller were actually Dunkers will probably never be known. If not baptized members, they were certainly in close contact with the Brethern in that several of their children married into Brethern families. Their son John and five grandsons became preachers; two granddaughters also married men who were placed in the ministry. The frequent marriages of Jacob Eller children and grandchildren into Brethern families, and the leadership which these families provided the church, strongly suggests that the Ellers affiliated with the Brethren in Roanoke County at an early date. Indeed, local tradition is clear that the Brubaker, Wirtz, and Eller families were among the early members of the Peters Creek Church. John Eller, whose ordination probably dates from the late 1840s, would have been among the congregation's first ministers.(30) Whether Jacob and Magdalene themselves came from Brethern homes before settling in Roanoke County is pure speculation.
The Oak Grove community in which sons John and Abraham resided is several miles to the south of the Peters Creek area. While the story of a Brethern church in this community more properly belongs to the twentieth century, it should be noted that a Brethern meetinghouse was built at Cave Spring, a few miles to the east, which dates from the Civil War.(31) It is reasonable to assume that Dunker services were held in the Oak Grove area, perhaps as early as the 1840's.
End-notes:
1. "The Passenger and Immigration Lists Index," ed. P. William Filby with Mary K. Meyer (Detroit: Gale Research Co., 1981). Vol. I A-G, and Supplements (through 1984) contains the most thorough list of published listing of Eller immigrants. Excellent resources for Pennsylvania German immigrants are 1. Daniel Rupp, "A Collection of Thirty Thousand Names," 2nd. ed. rev. (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1965) and R. B. Strassburger, "Pennsylvania German Pioneers," 3 vols. (Norristown, PA: Pennsylvania German Society, 1934).
2. "Heads of Families, at The First Census of the United States taken in 1790," (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1907); see listing for each state. Unfortunately the Virginia returns were destroyed when the British burned Washington during the war of 1812.
3. An excellent study of this migration is Klaus Wurst, "The Virginia Germans" (Charlottesville, VA: Univ. of VA Press, 1969).
4. James W. Hook, "James Hook and Virginia Eller" (New Haven, CN: Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, 1925), pp. 103-106. See also Robert W. Ramsey, "Carolina Cradle; Settlement of the Northwest Carolina Frontier, 1747-1762," (Chapel Hill, NC: Univ. of N.C. Press, 1964), pp. 90-91.
5. Virginia 1810, microfilm #66, P. 620. Listed next Jacob is the household of David Eller, presumably the eldest son.
6. James W. Hook, "George Michael Eller and Descendants of his in America," (New Haven, CN: for the Author, 1957), pp.53-68, 6-9. George Michael Eller's will may be found in Frederick Co. (MD) Wills, G.M. 1, p. 76.
7. Gaius M. Brumbaugh, "Maryland Records, Colonial, Revolutionary, and Church," 2 vols. (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1915; reprint 1975), 1: 291, 292, 11:509; Charlotte A. Vokel, et. al., "An Index to the 1800 Federal Census of Carolina, Cecil, Charles, Frederick, and Kent Counties, State of Maryland," (n.p.: privately printed, 1968); Hook, "George Michael Eller," p. 13.
8. Hook, "George Michael Eller," pp. 32-35, 53-54; Charles E. Martin, "The Search and Identification of the Lost Lines of David Eller," (1979 MS, photocopy in possession of the writer). Martin is a descendant of David Eller and a retired attorney who lives in Dayton, Ohio.
9. John F. Haines, "History of Hamilton County, Indiana," (Indianapolis: B.F. Bowen & Co., 1915), pp. 851-853. Actually, Hook cited with reference to David, "Portrait and Biographical Record of Madison and Hamilton Counties, Indiana," (Chicago: Biographical Publishing Co., 1893) pp. 624-625, which in actuality is a citation for Leonard Eller. It is quite possible that both men were Brethern, and if so, they would have had numerous opportunities to meet in Ohio.
10. The daughters are Saloma Flora Brubaker (Roanoke County), Rebecca Wertz, and Elizabeth Peters (both in Franklin County). David Eller is not in the 1850 census for either Ohio or Indiana and it is likely that he died while living with son Andrew. Several of David's younger children had been placed in the homes of guardians in Preble County, thus indicating he was unable to care for them. He is buried in the Mount Pleasant cemetery near Arcadia, Indiana, although the marker is missing. The only evidence that he lived until 1858 is a transcript of the cemetery made in 1963. His notation reads: "David Eller, d. 1858 age 76y-9m-5d." This notation comes from the letters, Charles Martin to this writer, August 13, 1980; October 3, 1979; and "The Search and Identification of the Lost Lines of David Eller."
11. Letters, Chester Peters to this writer, July 15, 1973; July 31, 1973; with family charts.
12. Land Office Grants (Virginia State Library), 22 (1789-1791), reel 88, pp. 430-431. Eller is not named in published Virginia tax lists for 1782 or 1787, which means that his first property was probably the Back Creek tract. See Botetourt County Deeds, 8:421.
13. Botetourt County Deeds, 7:655.
14. Ibid., 13:356; 22:1.90.
15. Ibid., 13:27.
16. Christian E. Eller statement (shorthand MS, 1947) in possession of John C. Eller. See also Lewis Preston Summers, "Annals of Southwest Virginia, 1769-1800," (Abington, VA: for the Author, 1929), P. 479. Eller's transfer of land to Brubaker (1804) is not marked with "X" seal.
17. Botetourt County Deeds, 9:1. The Deed Book is faded: the name could be Etter. This transaction is not jointly signed by a wife. The two witnesses named, Robert Preston and John McAly?, are not associated with Jacob Eller In other land or probate records.
18. Botetourt County (VA) Wills, E:124.
19. In 1874 a cemetery on Abraham's division of Jacob Eller's farm was platted, although it was not recorded until Abraham's estate administration papers were filed in probate court, August 30, 1878; See "Roanoke County Deed Book," 20: 137. The cemetery certainly could have contained burials before it was platted. It was removed in the 1960s and, unfortunately, there is no known list the persons interred there.
20. Ibid., F:237. The division between John and Abraham Eller is recorded in "Botetourt County Deeds," 22: 190-192. John Eller received 240 acres, Abraham 237 acres; see also "Botetourt County Survey Book," 4:187.
21. This family is traced in Ethel H. Weddle and Ralph Smeltzer, comps., "A Brubaker Genealogy," (Elgin, IL: for the Compilers by the Brethern Press, 1970), pp. 11, 153ff.
22. This family is traced in William Tell Garst, "Our Garst Family in America," (Kansas City, MO: for the Author, 1950, pp. 35-103.
23. Virginia, Botetourt County, 1820, roll #130, Vo. 1, p. 535, 536. The second Jacob Eller listing could be Etter. In 1820 Jacob Eller's household consisted of a male and female over age 45, a female 10 to 16, one male 26 to 45, one male 18 to 26, one male 16 to 18, and one male 10 to 16. The household of John Eller is listed separately. Since Jacob had only three known sons, the identity of the younger male children in his 1820 home is unknown.
24. See "The Brethren Encyclopedia," 3 vols. (Philadelphia and Oak Brook, IL: The Brethern Encyclopedia, Inc. 1983-1985), III: 1608-1609 for a list of ordained Eller ministers. The list is presented in the appendix below.
25. "The Brethren Encyclopedia," has excellent introductory articles on Pietism, Anabaptism and articles of related interest.
26. C. David Ensign, 11 "Radical German Pietism." (e. 1675c.1760)" (unpub. Ph.D. dissertation, Boston Univ. School of Theology, 1955), pp. 387-398.
27. Martin G. Brumbaugh, "A History of the German Baptist Brethern in Europe and America," (Mt. Morris, IL: Brethern Publishing House. 1899), p. 312. Brumbaugh includes a list of persons thought to have joined the Brethern in Europe that includes such names as Eley and Iller (Eller). The Eller name is not found in a census of Brethern congregations compiled in 1770-1772 by a Baptist historian, Morgan Edwards.
28. Roger E. Sappington has reconstructed these early Dunker settlements in his "The Brethern in the Carolinas: The History of the Church of the Brethern in the District of North and South Carolina," (n.p., n.d. (Kingsport, TN: District of North and South Carolina, 1972)), pp. 4-93. See also, Hook, "George Michael Eller," pp. 4, 10-11.
29. The best study of the Brethern of Virginia is Roger E. Sappington, "The Brethern of Virginia: This History of the Church of the Brethern in Virginia," (Harrisonburg, VA: Committee for Brethern History of Virginia, 1973), see esp. pp. 28-29, 30, 44-46.
30. "Peters Creek Church of the Brethern," "Brethren Encyclopedia," 11: 1011; "Quasquicentennial Services, Peters Creek Church of the Brethern," (pamphlet, 1970).
31. A Dunker meetinghouse is shown at Cave Spring on a "map of Roanoke County (VA) 1865, "National Archives, Washington, D.C. Oddity, the brick, Peters Creek house is missing."
3. The following reference to Jacob Eller appears mixed in with the wrong Jacob Eller as noted above; FHL book 929.273 P684pn: "Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 119-123:
"Jacob Eller: d. between 10 May 1830 and Oct 1830, Botetort Co., VA; md. to Magdalena ___. He was a wagon maker and farmer. In 1797, he bought 420 acres of land in Botetort Co., VA. Their children were David, Jacob, Sarah (Salome), Susannah 'Susan' L., Elizabeth, John, Nancy, Rebecca, Magdalene and Abram (Abraham)."
4. Even though Jacob of Virginia as reported by James Hook is disputed as noted above, I do include the following contested information per FHL Book 929.273EL54h "George Michael Eller and Descendants of His in America," compiled by James W. Hook, 1957, also on FHL film 896571, item 2, pp. 53-64:
"Jacob Eller, called 'one of my youngest children' in the will of George Michael Eller may have been and probably was the Jacob Eller of Botetort County, Virginia. He died there between 10 May 1830 when his will was written and the Oct. court of 1830 when it was proved. (Will Book E. p. 124, Botetort Co., VA.) Jacob Eller's will referred to his 'beloved wife' without naming her and mentioned his sons John and Abraham and daughters Rebecca Eller and Susan Garst and Susan Garst's children. His estate settlement by John and Abraham Eller, executors, dated 25 Jan 1840, showed equal payments of $239.99 to David Eller, John Eller, Abraham Eller, Magdalene Eller, Henry Brubacker, F. Garst, P. Himley, Isaac Wertz and Daniel Peters, the latter five being sons-in-law. (Deed Book F, p. 237, Botetort Co.)
The wife of Jacob Eller was Magdalene as proved by a deed dated 12 Jun 1804 wherein Jacob Eller and his wife Magdalene sol land to John Brubaker. (Deed Book 8, p. 421, Botetort Co., VA.) Her maiden name was not found.
Jacob Eller settled in Botetort County in the late years of the 18th century. He bought 420 acres of land on Craven Creek, a branch of Roanoke River, 24 May 1797. The deed was dated 18 Apr 1799 and recorded 9 Feb 1802. The seller was Jacob Yest or Yast and his wife Elizabeth and the price paid $1,166.67. (Deed Book 7, p. 655, Botetort Co., VA.) Apparently Jacob Eller was a wagon maker as well as a farmer because on 23 Feb 1805 he sold to Michael Danner his household kitchen furniture and mechanical tools and 'the timber for the purpose of making wagons that is now in my shop and in the yard' and also a stud horse and cow. (Deed Book 9, p. 2, Botetort Co.)
A pertinent bit of evidence indicating that Jacob Eller was a member of the George Michael Eller family is the fact that his son David removed to Hamilton County, Indiana where sons of Leonard Eller, a known son of George Michael Eller, settled about 1822 and where Leonard himself died in 1839/1840. (Portrait and Biographical Record of Madison and Hamilton Counties, Indiana, 1893, pp. 851-853.)
The federal census of 1810 for Botetort Co., VA, there is no earlier one, shows the family of Jacob Eller and wife each aged over 45 with one male aged between 16 and 26 and two males and two females under 16. It also shows the family of David Eller, aged between 26-45, with wife of same age and two female children under 10. The 1820 census shows families of Jacob and John Eller but not of David who apparently was then in Indiana. The census of 1830 shows families of John Eller, aged between 30 and 40 and of Magdalene Eller, aged between 60-70, she doubtless being the widow of Jacob Eller, deceased. Living with her was one male and one female person each aged between 20-30 and two other children, one a male and the other a female, each aged between 15 and [blurred on page].
The writer acknowledges with thanks the records of Jacob and Magdalene Eller that were supplied to him by Rev. Henry C. Eller... [The book details extensive descendants of this couple.]"
Also in the same book, p. 74, under the biography of John Eller, son of Peter Eller, grandson of George Michael Eller is the following comment on the bible referred to in the dispute of Hooks work above:
"A precious memento of the John Eller household is the family bible in which is recorded the birth dates of all but the youngest child Mary of his family. It also records the birth of Simeon Bumgarner on 8 Jan 1808. It was printed in the German language at Halle, Germany in 1770. It may be the same Bible that George Michael Eller, John's grandfather, willed to his son Jacob because on page 17 is written the words 'Jacob Eller his Bible.' There is also written on page 15 of the Vorrede, or preface, the words 'The holey Bible of Peter Eller.' (See George Michael Eller's Will.) Of course these bits of writing, all in English, could have been placed there by later members of the family. The Bible is now owned by Mr. Wade Eller of Warrensville, Ashe County, NC, son of Jacob Eller (David, Jacob, Peter, George Michael). Regretfully it records nothing about John Eller or his wife. The Simeon Bumgardner whose birth on 8 Jan 1808 is recorded in the old Bible very probably was a son of a sister of John Eller who had married, probably, James Bumgarner. Proof of this however has not been definitely established."
5. FHL Book 929.273, film 6005243, "John Jacob Eller and His Descendants with Other Pre-1800 Eller Immigrants to America," by the Eller Family Association, 1998, 817-297-1280; Chapter 4, concerning the George Michael Eller and his children:
"Many gaps in our knowledge of the genealogy of descendants of George Michael Eller are revealed in [the following:]
George Michael Eller married (1st)? (2nd)? (3rd) Eva Maria [Why Eva and not Anna - later in same article they use Anna Maria]. Frederick County, Maryland. Their children and grand-children:
1. Peter, married Elizabeth Dick; Children: John, Catherine, Peter Jr., Elizabeth, unnamed daughter, Jacob, Mary, Henry, George.
2. Elizabeth married Heinrich Reb. Nothing more is known.
3. Leonard married Elizabeth Mast; Children: Adam, Elizabeth, John, Joseph, Sarah Mary Lucinda, Jacob, Henry, George.
4. Jacob. No other known record unless he was the Jacob Eller of [Botetort Co., Virginia].
5. George, d. in Davidson County, North Carolina before 1841; his wife was Susanna; Children: George Jr., Henry, David.
6. John married Catherine Fight (Fort)? Nothing more is known.
7. Eve. Nothing more is known.
8. Catherine married Peter Lehman? Nothing more is known.
9. Maria (Mary) married Jacob Eller; Children: Cloah (Chloe) 'Glory' Eller (Source: Troutman and File, 'Eller Chronicles,' XI:1, Sp. Ed., Feb 1997)
The book comments on current thinking of the Eller Family Association (EFA) on Hook research into George Michael Eller (GME) which I summarize as follows:
A. The two arrival records, Michael Eller in the ship "Phoenix" and Geo. Eler and Hans Jerg Ohler of the "St. Andrew" continue to lead to some confusion and differences of opinion. Recent analysis has led the Eller Family Association to believe that Geo. Eler and Hans Jerg Ohler were apparently the same individual. The clarification of the misinterpretation is that EFA does not feel that Hook documented where he got an age of 43 for Hans Georg Oehler. According to the actual records as reported by EFA as found in Strassburger and Hinke, Vol. 1, pp. 348-352: List 103A, p. 349, 'Geo. Eler listed age 20 and between Johannes Mayer and Peter Warner; List 103B, p. 350, Hans Jerg Ohler listed between Johannes Mayer and Peter Warner; List 103C, p. 351, Hanes Jerg Ohler listed between Johannes Mayer and Peter Warner. My note: did not the age come from the Oaths of Allegiance taken in 1743 in Pennsylvania right after the 1743 ship arrivals?
B. The 1753 deed in Lancaster Co., PA to 25 acres, the 1759 Rowan County tax list, and the 1772 Randolph Co., NC, tax list for Michael Eller may or may not be for George Michael Eller. Specifically EFA thinks the 1759 tax list may actually be for Melchior Eller whom was in Rowan County at that early date - Melchior sometimes being rendered as Melker or perhaps even Michael. On the other hand, four of GME's sons were in NC in the 1770s including Leonard as a large landowner in Randolph County making the 1772 Randolph Co. tax list a possibility. There is still no concrete evidence that GME was in North Carolina before his 1773 evidence of being in Frederick Co., MD. 1773 was the same year Peter, his eldest son, first shows in Rowan Co. and it wasn't until 1778 that his other sons were in NC.
C. The Bible record of Leonard being born at Fort (Ford) Litters, NC and his father from Bebon (Baden?) continues to puzzle researchers. No record or location of Fort Litters has yet been found. Most researchers believe Leonard was born in the United States and not Germany as reported by Hook on page 32. My note: I don't believe that Hook ever stated one way or the other except to quote what the Indiana history book he cites had quoted.
D. A will for George Eller, son of GME has been located. An abstract of his will from the Division of Lands Book, pp. 32-33, Davidson Co., NC was obtained from the Public Library in Lexington, NC. His heirs listed in the may Term 1841 Court Record includes: Caroline Sowers, Katharene Darr(?), Sally Warlow, Dolly Long, David Eller, Christene Waggoner, Elizabeth Reket(?), George Eller, Sally Haines, Polly Reed.
E. As for John, son of GME, no further record has been found. EFA acknowledges that the name John Eller is too unspecific making it difficult to identify which John Ellers if any of Rowan Co. may be him.
F. "Based in part on an Eller family oral tradition in Rowan County, Maria, youngest daughter of GME, a recent report says she married Jacob Eller, a grandson of immigrant (John) Melchior Eller. Louise Barringer File of Salisbury, NC, now in her eighties, has vivid memories of being told by her grandmother, Joyce Delinda Eller Morgan, of her descent from George Michael Eller, and how intermarriages among descendants of four different Eller immigrants enabled her and many other Ellers to claim four immigrant Ellers as ancestors. …taken from the work of Troutman and File (1997)." A chart accompanies the book showing how children of the original immigrants John Jacob, Christian, Melchior, and GME intermarried over about four generations to produce Joyce Delinda Eller from all four immigrants. The connection with GME purports to be Maria, GME's dau., marrying the grandson of Melchior Eller.
G. Questions still to be answered according to EFA: Where in Germany is he from, how was he related to others original immigrants (John Jacob, Christian, Melchior, and Henry), what of his son Jacob and his daughters, and how many wives did he have and who were they?
H. When did the sons of GME arrive in North Carolina?
Hook (1957, p. 21). "Peter Eller was living in Rowan Co., NC as early as 6 Mar 1773."
Land deeds of Rowan Co., NC:
"#3068, 1778, Leonard Eller 300 A on both sides of Sheit's Crk., adj Widow Bower, & Valentine Beard, including his improvements." (R.A. Enocks, Indianapolis, 1988, p. 233.)
"#1605, 28 Sep 1778, Philip Sewell 100 A on the headwaters of Reedy Creek & Tinkers Crk [adj] Joseph Meizell, William Oliver & Lewis Defore, including his Improvements. Made to George Ellor by the Enterer." (ibid. pg. 115.)
"#1608, 28 Sep 1778, William Oliver 100 A on waters of Reedy Crk adj Philip Sewell, Joseph Meizell & Peter Eller, including his Improvements. Made over to Ja's Cheney." (ibid, pg. 115.)
Marriage Records, Rowan County, North Carolina: Hook (1957) p. 16: "This writer's guess is that this was the John Eller (s/o Geo Michael) who married Catherine Fight (Fort) 10 Aug 1785."
6. The book "The Howard Leytham Stoker Von Dollen Family Histories," FHL 929.273 H833a, by Doris Lewis, 2017 So. 80th Ave., Omaha, Nebraska, 68124, p. 88 [FHL book 929.273 P684pn:
"Graybill/Stoker/Eller/Smith/Koons/Pitt Connections," by Norman E. 'Gene' Pitt, 1996, pp. 119-123, has almost the same verbatim except what I note in brackets]: "...James Hook wrote a history of 'George Michael Eller and His Descendants in America.' Much of the information I have on the Ellers come from this book or a book by Judge Johnson J. Hayes, called 'The Land of Wilkes,' a history of Wilkes County in North Carolina. In the ninth century Alamans, Teutons of Jutland, moved into Westallgan as early settlers. One group, called Ellers, started at the foot of Hirshberg in the Algauer Alp area near Bregenz, on Lake Constance. [They may have stayed in this general area for 600 years. This is the same area of the Palatinate that the Graybill religious refugees from Switzerland had fled and the same time frame. So the Ellers and Graybills may have known each other as neighbors or fellow churchmen.] Alta March, of Herman, Nebraska, has an Eller genealogy based in Germany, which probably connects with our family. In this record a Bartl and Barbara Swartz Eller had three children, Joseph, George and George Michael, the latter thought born in Baden, Sept. 5, 1695 and emigrated to America. He could well have been the father of our George Michael Eller, for he was a bit old to start his family in 1748. [The American Ellers apparently came from the Palatinate of Germany in the first half of the 18th century. The Pennsylvania Archives, 2nd Series, Vol 17, records the arrival of 13 Eller families who took the oath of allegiance between 30 Sep 1740 and 3 Nov 1772.] A Geo. Eller [age 20] emigrated on the ship 'St. Andrew,' and took his oath in Pennsylvania on Oct. 7, 1743 and [a George Michael Eller, apparently this same George Eller,] bought land he called 'Hammond Strife,' in Frederick County, Maryland. A Michael Eller aboard the ship Phoenix, took oath on September 30, 1743, and was on the tax list of Rowan Co. in N.C. in 1759. George Michael Eller, our ancestor, who may be the son or one of the above, was in Rowan County with Jacob, Christian and Melchoir Eller [Pitt book does not say location of the above three Ellers] at that same time and may have been there for a number years since his son Leonard said he was born at Fort Litters, N.C. in 1759. George Michael Eller bought land next to his brother Henry, in Frederick Co., MD in 1773, so he went back to Frederick County. His wife's name was Anna Marie and was the known mother of the last seven children, and may well have been Peter's and Leonard's mother. The Ellers of North Carolina have been connected with education since that state's earliest days. Academies in Virginia and North Carolina were started by Ellers and a list of the public school personnel today in N.C. is sprinkled with Ellers. [In 1790 there were 11 Eller families shown in the Rowan Co., NC census. At that time, members of the Eller family also were in Wilkes Co., NC and
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Abt 1758 -
, d. Bef 25 Aug 1778, , Frederick, Maryland, United States