Sunday Search: SAR Update

During the latter part of this past January, I finally sat down and pulled together my application and supplementary material to submit to the local chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. Since that time there have been many rounds of updates, revisions, and completing additional applications (and securing the appropriate documentation) for other family members. In all, five applications have now been submitted with more on the way once these initial memberships are approved. All of this work has been done while in direct contact with the state registrar who has been a tremendous asset throughout the process.

While it will still be approximately another two months before we hear back from the National Headquarters regarding our applications, I have remained quite busy during the wait pulling together the list of supplementary applications that I will be completing once my membership is approved. While this initial lineage is a line that is found on my father’s side, the next set of documents will be those from my mother’s side of the family. The hope is that I will have the information available to those family members who are interested in joining regardless of which side with whom I am speaking.

So, over the next year or two, I will be delving into the other lines that I have discovered thus far in my research. While there are many that I will be able to prove I am certain that there are some that are either incorrect or for which there is insufficient supporting documentation. However, I won’t find out until I am able to focus on each of the patriots below. While I am only confident about the first three I am sure that there will be endeavors that prove to be fruitful. So, here you go, this is the list of the patriots to whom I will be tracing my lineage:

• John Noblit, Private, 7^th Battalion, Chester County Militia; Suffered depredation.
• Thomas Noblit, Private, Chester County Militia, survived Battles of Chadds Ford and Brandywine.
• Jacob Duffordt, Virginia Patriotic Service, Provided supplies to the Continental Army
• Peter Rough/Rauch, 2^nd Battalion, Northampton County Pennsylvania Militia
• John Snider/Snyder, Corporal, Flying Camp Maryland Militia; Wounded at White Plains.
• George Michael Wilfong / Wildtfang, Virginia Patriotic Service, Paid Supply Tax
• John Cook, Private, Logan County Virginia Militia
• David Riggin, 2^nd Delaware Regiment
• Richard Payton Bailey, 15^th Virginia Regiment
• Robert Stinson, Massachusetts Patriotic Service, Committee to Produce Soldiers
• George Clapsaddle, Franklin County Pennsylvania Militia
• Johann David Von Nida, Virginia Patriotic Service, Paid Supply Tax
• Frederick Boyer, Philadelphia County Militia
• Thomas Brown, Private in Virginia Militia
• John Beverly, North Carolina Patriotic Service, Paid For Services
• William Terry, 3^rd and 5^th Virginia regiments
• Jacob Gery, 6^th Battalion, Philadelphia County Militia
• John Philip Mumbauer, Private, Bucks County Pennsylvania Infantry
• Johann Andreas Dressler (Andrew Tressler), 2^nd Battalion, Berks County Militia
• Johan Heinrich (Henry) Myers, 5^th Battalion, Lancaster County Pennsylvania Militia
• John Philip Negley, Private in Gray’s Pennsylvania Regiment
• John Norbeck, 1^st Battalion, Berks County Pennsylvania Militia
• John Phillip Young, 6^th Battalion, Philadelphia County Militia
• Rufus Cone, 7^th and 17^th Connecticut Regiments; Taken prisoner at the Battle of Long Island; Died aboard the prison ship off the coast.  
• George Philip Royer, 4^th Battalion, Philadelphia County Militia
• George Walker, Cumberland County Pennsylvania Militia
• Matthias Kerlin, Pennsylvania Patriotic Service, Paid Supply Tax
• John Sheaff, Private, 6^th Battalion, Chester County Pennsylvania Militia
• Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg, Pennsylvania Patriotic Service, Representative to Continental Congress
• Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg, Pennsylvania Patriotic Service, Patriot Minister

If you add in the application already submitted tracing back to John Redcross that makes for 31 ancestors that I will be researching. In addition to the history interest and family history that will certainly be uncovered during this endeavor, there is also a much more practical reason for not settling and submitting as many supplementary applications as I possibly can… verification. Many of the aforementioned names are recent discoveries and while there are many lines which I am confident that they are correct, there are some where the generational connections are tenuous at best.

However, overall, by submitting each of these lines and the supporting documents, I am able to have the research certified by and independent third party, the Sons of the American Revolution. In those instances where they are able to verify my findings, the family history just got that much stronger. All of the sudden, those branches which have been withering for decades, are once again vibrant and proving to be some of the more colorful contributors to the family foliage. And, just think, we will be able to pass this down to future generations and nearly ensure that our family history is not forgotten.

Our Family Was Here

Family from all over showed up for the reunion. 

I can’t say I have ever been one for big Independence Day celebrations. I have watched the fireworks from a variety of vantage points from the comfort of the living room on the television screen, in Philadelphia, at the New Jersey shore, at my Aunt and Uncle’s house, and while lying on the grass in my BDUs in central Missouri. However, while the temporary bright lights in the sky were never something that really interested me a lot, the day has always had tremendous meaning. While I didn’t quite understand it early in life, there was still always something a little different about the day.

Of course, now I have a much more complete understanding of what makes this day such a big part of who I am. And I am not talking about the reasons that this day is important to us all, I am talking about the connection that I have, that my family has, to this day and what generations have done since to defend this country. And with those thoughts fresh in my mind, it was particularly special to celebrate this holiday with family, with the whole family, as we gathered together this weekend in Virginia.

And when I say the whole family I really mean it. This is a little different than what usually comes to mind when someone mentions a family reunion. This is not simply the immediate members that you see here and there, this particular reunion brings together all those who can trace back their genealogy to our original immigrant ancestor, Jacob Duffordt, who arrived at the Port of Philadelphia aboard the Hero on the 27th of October 1764. There are thousands in our tree with a small sampling making the trip this year to the mountains of Virginia.

As you can tell by the date, we were here before the revolution and beginning with the simple act of Jacob Duffordt selling supplies to the Continental Army, we have taken an active role in supporting and defending this country. From Jacob Duffordt during the Revolution, to his grandson during the War of 1812, countless relatives during the Civil War, my grandfather and his siblings during World War II, my father in Vietnam, and others in the family who have served more recently. All have given of themselves to ensure that this holiday remains as a day to be celebrated.

Celebrating this day with family, with multiple generations, in a place near where we originally settled is what this holiday is about for me. This was about as close to a perfect representation of the holiday that I can recall and one that I hope to relive many times over in the future. This is our holiday, part of our history, and a reminder of all the generations that came before us and the ones that still lay ahead. We have to remember our history and continue to pass on what we have learned and the experiences we have had so that future generations can look back on this day and experience the same connection.

Four generations!

Answering An Unknown Number

It grazed my mind that I should call a couple of the places I sent emails to just before the holidays regarding membership. I reached out because in order to become a member of these heritage based organizations you need to prove your lineage as well as have a member sponsor your application. However, like so many thoughts in the midst of a hectic day, it quickly evaporated in the bitterly cold dry air not to touch upon the gray matter for the remainder of the working hours. At least that is what I thought….

Toward the end of the day my phone began to ring as I was waiting for my email to refresh on the screen. Not recognizing the number I questioned, I swiped my finger across the screen and answered in a usual authoritative business-like manner. While the accent caught me off guard, I quickly realized that the one of the tasks forgotten during the early part of the work day was about to take care of itself. And so our conversation began.

While trying to rekindle the genealogy research that has been put on hold in recent months (upon months) I began looking for different groups and heritage societies in the area where I might be able to, at a minimum, learn a little bit more about the culture in the deep and distant past of my family (most of our long standing heritage could easily be described simply as American). The two dominant cultures in my family histories (yes, there are numerous blood lines, stories, and histories) are of German and Irish origin with Germany having a substantial percentage lead. Honestly not knowing much about either I looked for different groups where I may learn a little more. That led me to the Irish Society and the German Society of Pennsylvania (both located in Philadelphia). Because you need a member to sponsor you for each I sent out emails in late December.

Today, when I answered the phone, I knew what the call was about as soon as I heard the thin German accent. IT was an interesting conversation because this was a man I had never met before but you could tell in our dialog that we shared a common interest and at some level and ancestral bond. Making the connection even stronger is the fact that the Society was founded about two months after Jacob Duffordt arrived in Philadelphia aboard the Hero on the 27^th of October 1764. My family and this proud society share the same anniversary and we will both be celebrating 250 years.

While there are blood lines that I can trace further back in this land and even a few that were here since before the colonies were even a consideration, the celebration of your surname, your family name, does add a tremendous amount of appreciation, pride, and humility. I am proud to be a very small part in the story of my family and I am hoping to bring things around full circle by honoring our heritage and appreciating a bit of the culture we carried with us on that prolonged and exhausting journey across the ocean from Rotterdam to Philadelphia. Just goes to show that sometimes you have to take a step back or return to the beginning in order to keep moving forward.