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_Thomas ASHCROFT _|
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|--Elizabeth ASHCROFT
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|_ SUSANNAH _______|
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|-- BENDER
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|--Jacob EPPLEY
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[162]
Excerpts from
HISTORY AND GENEALOGY of the DESCENDANTS of JACOB (Eppli, Aeply, Ebli)
EPPLEY
THE PIONEER EPPLEY of AMERICA
Compiled By MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY AND
MRS. L. GERTRUDE FRYBURG, GENEALOGIST, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
Printed by Martzell Brothers, Publishers, Carlisle, Pennsylvania 1936
JACOB EPPLEY
(JACOB EPPELI OR EPPLEE)
The first of the name to arrive in Pennsylvania and Pioneer Ancestor
of this branch of the Family
Jacob Eppley, undoubtedly the first of the name to arrive in
Pennsylvania, we find recorded in the earliest records spelled with "i"
and "ee", thus "Eppeli" or "Eppelee" or "Epplee," which later spelling
was sometimes copied "Eppler." This caused more less confusion as there
were families by the name of Eppler. The name was spelled and misspelled
in numerous other ways, but gradually it was spelled Eppley or Epply and
has been carried down thus. In fact nearly all the Eppleys today write
it that way, regardless of how it was spelled originally.
The name of the ship upon which he arrived we have not learned. If the
list of the three ships which arrived in 1717 could be found, there is no
doubt Jacob Eppelee's name would be thereon.
A noteworthy group of Germans arrived in the year of 1717. It was a
group of Lutherans, headed by the Rev. Anthony Jacob Henckel and his
son-in-law, Valentine Geiger. They arrived on one of the three vessels
which reached Philadelphia in September 1717. On September 19, 1717,
"Captain Richard, Captain Tower and Captain Eyers, waited upon the
(Provincial) Board with the List of Palatines they had imported here from
London; by which list it appeared Captain Richard had imported one
hundred and sixty-four, Captain Tower, ninety-one and Captain Eyers, one
hundred and eight."
In 1718, Anthony Jacob Henckel acquired a tract of 250 acres in Hanover
township, where numerous members of this group settled. It was through
the arrival of the three ships in 1717, upon one of which this group
came, that the attention of provincial authorities was first directed to
the newcomers.
Jacob Eppley's name appears in a Survey dated 17th April 1719, in which
it is written Jacob Eppler (or Epplee) but proved by later deed to have
been the same land held by Jacob Eppley. This land was adjoining the New
Hanover Church property, a part of that acquired by Anthony Jacob Henckel.
In 1723 he signs a petition for a road from Limerick Township through
Falckner Swamp to Oley. He was then located in Falckner's Swamp and the
name is written Jacob Eppeli.
In a deed of April 14, 1726, John Henry Sprogell deeds to Jacob Applee,
one hundred and sixty-three acres.
In 1731, he is still an inhabitant of Falckner's Swamp, and was one of
those who petitioned for the division of Hanover Township. This would
indicate he was settled in that part which was set off into Hanover
Township. This is the last date upon which we find his name entered and
his death occurred undoubtedly soon after this, as we find in an old list
of the names of Inhabitants of Philadelphia County for 1734, the
following entry:
"Wido Apply, 100 acres New Hanover"
Little more is known of Jacob Eppley than this. His parents' name we do
not know or date of his birth, but it was no doubt about 1700 and in
Germany. His marriage was no doubt in America, but beyond the first name
of Eva of his wife we know little more. After his death, which occurred
between 1731 and 1734, we find that she married John Jurg Beck (George
Beck) of New Hanover, at some date between 1734, when she is called the
widow Eppley, and 1743 when Johannes and Jacob Eppley are called
step-sons of George Beck.
The proof of the marriage of the widow, and the names of Johannes and
Jacob as the sons of Jacob Eppley is found in the following entry of
those who were confirmed in the New Hanover Church in 1743:
Jacob Eppele
Johannes Eppele Jurg Beck's step-sons
Numerous other references are found which connect George Beck with
Johannes and Jacob Eppley. One is that at the marriage of Johannes he is
referred to as George Beck's step-son; another is the baptism of the
first child of Jacob Eppley, Jr., in New Hanover, June 15, 1755, who is
named George, undoubtedly for George Beck who was the only god parent.
Eva, the wife of George Beck, was buried at New Hanover, June 20, 1764,
and George Beck who was born 12 mo. 1694 was buried May 22, 1775.
If there were any other children of Jacob and Eva Eppley, we have found
no indications of same, and therefore the descendants of Jacob Eppley,
the Pioneer Ancestor of this family, are traced through his sons,
Johannes and Jacob.
NOTE: As these records show that Jacob Eppley was in New Hanover as early
as 1718 or 1719 and an adult owning property, the thought suggests that
Eva may have been a second wife, and Jacob and Johannes his children by
the second marriage, as in all probability they were not born until after
1730.
References:
1. Dotterers Papers, MSS P.H. Lib, Vol. IX, pg. 31.
2. Penna German Pioneers, by Hinke, Vol. 1, p. XVII.
3. Penna German Society Mag., Vol. XX, pg. 419.
4. Penna German Society Mag., Vol. XX, pg. 345.
5. Penna German Society Mag., Vol. XX, pg. 227
6. Penna German Society Mag., Vol. VII, pg. 486
7. Penna German Society Mag., Vol. XX, pg. 32.
Jacob Eppley, sometimes written Epple, son of Jacob and Eva was born
around 1732 in Philadelphia County. He married Anna Eva Eckert, daughter
of Philip of Lancaster, on May 21, 1754. They were married by the Rev.
John Waldenhundt, pastor of the Lutheran Church at New Holland in
Lancaster County, Pa. They remained in Hanover and Jacob continued
action in the Church. Jacob Eppeli signed numerous petitions, etc., in a
clear handwriting and the births of their children are recorded up to
1761. In 1765 a daughter was buried aged two years, and in 1766 a son
who was young was buried. Any children born after 1761 were probably
baptized somewhere else.
In the minutes of the new Hanover Church of May 29, 1765, Jacob is named
one of the overseers for the building. His name was written Jacob Ebli
and in 1766 he signs a petition for the building of a new church - he
signs Jacob Eppele. (Trying to Anglicize the name accounts for the
different spellings.)
The Burial Record is very defective and few deaths are recorded there. In
the Baptismal list some places the paper has fallen away with age and
names appear only in part. Many of the tombstones have also fallen to
pieces and been removed; but all have been copied and the records which
are alphabetically arranged are in the Pennsylvania Historical Society,
Philadelphia, Pa. Each graveyard or cemetery is kept separately. Our
Eppleys are found in the records of the New Hanover Lutheran Church.
This is the oldest German Lutheran Congregation in America. Services
were held there as early as 1703.
In a footnote on page 8 of the "The Old Trappe Church" by Dr. Kretchman,
we find the following:
The first German Lutheran Church in America was built at New Hanover
(the Swamp) prior to 1719. Another log church was built there in 1721. A
third, begun in 1741 and completed in 1747, was superseded in 1768 by the
present fine stone church.
It is a gray stone building with brown stone trimmings, 67 x 46
feet. The walls are very heavy thirty inches and over in thickness.
The zeal and industry of those devoted people must have been great.
They were building for centuries to come.
The second church was provided with a bell and seems also to have
had an organ. The ringing of the bell was to invite worshiper to the
house of God. It was installed with the special proviso that, "The bell
was to be rung for them and their descendants on the day of their
marriage and on the day of their death, if they die as Christians."
The cornerstone of the present building was laid June 25, 1767. It
was dedicated by the assembled Synod Nov. 6, 1768.
The church at first had but few arrangements for the comfort of
worshiper, except benches or pews. It had a brick floor and was without
stoves. It is, therefore, not strange to find that F. A.C. Muhlenberg in
his diary tells us that, "The cold in the church was almost unendurable."
In 1811 two stoves were installed and remained in use until 1858.
April 22, 1826, at a congregational meeting held in the school house
it was decided to remodel the church:
1st To take up the brick and lay a board floor;
2nd That the windows be changed;
3rd That the woodwork be repainted and new doors put in.
On the cornerstone we find: Michael Stofflet
M.M. (Master Mason) A.D. 1767
A rectangular brown sandstone is placed above the keystone in the
arch of the doorway on which are engraved the name of the building
committee:
Adam Warman Jacob Ebli
Mathias Reichert als Baubern
$ 1767
On the lower left hand corner of the stone is this mark $. It is
the mark of the Master Mason. After the mason had laid the section of a
wall, the master mason would come, and, if the walls were well laid, if
they were plumb, he would carve into the section of the wall his sign of
approval. In this instance, it is carved into the stone along with the
names of the Building Committee.
You will notice in the picture (shown on page 29 of the original
book) a white marble stone above the rectangular sandstone. Its
inscription is:
Built 1767
Remodeled 1867
Soon after 1767, Jacob Epple begins to sell his property and later he is
found in York County, Pennsylvania.
In 1769, he sells 63 acres and 18 perches of the land he had purchased of
Elizabeth Diehl to John Schneider. This land, as he had purchased it,
bordered the New Hanover Church property.
Jacob Epple and wife, in February of 1769, conveyed to the trustees of
the Lutheran Congregation of New Hanover two tracts of land. The first
of them 21 acres and 142 perches, bordered on the road leading to
Pottsgrove. It was part of the Soanes' tract of 7500 acres, of which
Preston conveyed November 1749, 85 acres to Elizabeth Diehl, who conveyed
the same to Jacob Epple in 1753. The other tract consisted of five acres
and adjoined the church land at the northeast corner and was 22 by 40
perches. On the former of these tracts, the Lutheran parsonage was
located until it sold to Mr. Brendlinger. (Perk. Reg., Vol VII-3, p. 74)
Prowell, in his "History of York County," writes:
So there is no doubt that Jacob Epplee, or Eppley as it is later written,
was one of the early settlers in York County. He is referred to once as
a chair-maker.
REVOLUTIONARY WAR RECORD
The name of Jacob Epple appears in the Company of Captain George Hoover,
1776; reference: Pennsylvania Archives, Sixth Series, Volume 2, page 609:
also in the History of York County, by George Prowell in Volume I, page
264. This company was recruited in Codorous Township.
All descendants through this line are eligible for membership in The
Colonial Dames, Daughters of the American Revolution and Sons of the
Revolution.
The following children were born to Jacob and Eva (Eckert) Eppley:
1. George Eppley, b. May 26, 1755; d. ca 1797; married Agnes
Zimmerman
2. Anna Marie Eppley, b. Sept. 27, 1756
3. John Eppley, b. Jan 14, 1759
4. Rosian Margaretha Eppley, b. Feb. 2, 1761
5. Jacob Eppley, b._______; d._____ married 1st Prowell; married
2nd Janet (Jane McGrew)
The list of children was taken from the Hanover Records.
George Eppley, born in Philadelphia County, May 26, 1775, son of Jacob
and wife Eva (Eckert) was raised in Newberry Township and resided there
until after his marriage to Nancy Zimmerman, daughter of Jacob Zimmerman
of Mt. Rock, York Co., Pa. which took place in 1782. He then went to
Cumberland County and settled in Lower Allen Township where his death
occurred around 1797.
In the Orphans Court for Cumberland County, Pa, held May 9th, 1797. The
Petition of Agnes Epele, mother and next of kin of Jacob, George, Samuel,
Mary and Nancy Epele, minor orphan children of George Epele deceased,
under the age of fourteen years, for a guardian.
Englehart Wormley was appointed guardian for their person and estate.
(Cumberland Co., Pa O.C. Docket, Vol 3, p. 220)
This is the only record on which Mrs. Eppley's name appears as Agnes, on
all other records it is written Ann or Nancy.
George Eppley's death occurred in 1797. The date of the death of Ann, his
wife, is unknown or anything in regards to her after his death. They may
have been buried in the burying ground of the old Poplar Church, near
Wormleysburg in Cumberland County, but a visit to the grounds proved
fruitless, as the place is in ruins, stones broken and destroyed. Among
some old records of this church we found numerous mentions of the name of
Eppley, but no death or burial record of George or Ann Eppley.
GEORGE EPPLE
COUNTY: PHILADELPHIA CITY
REVOLUTIONARY WAR
The name of George Epple appears as a First Lieutenant upon the muster
roll of Captain George Honey's Company. The Northern District of the
Philadelphia City Guards, commanded by Lewis Nicola, Town Major of the
city of Philadelphia. Militia of the City of Philadelphia, War of the
Revolution. (This muster roll is not dated.)
Reference: Pennsylvania Archives, Series 6, Vol. 1, page 591.
Children of George and Ann (Zimmerman) Eppley:
1. Jacob Eppley, b. March 13, 1784; died August 29, 1865; married
Feb. 3, 1809 to Mary Magdalena Womelsdorf.
2. George Eppley, b. Feb. 21, 1786; d. June 21, 1852; bur.
Carlisle; married Susanna Brookhart, Sept. 15, 1815.
3. Samuel Eppley, b. November 10, 1787; d. ______; unmarried.
4. Mary Eppley, b. Nov. 3, 1790; d. June 12, 1844; married Jacob
Bare
5. Nancy Eppley, b. Nov. 6, 1794; died Jan. 20, 1874; married 1st
Christian Grubb; married 2nd Jacob Bare who had first married her sister
Mary.
All Baptized, May 17, 1795.
ZIMMERMAN
Deposition of Jacob Eppley, son of George and Nancy (Zimmerman) Eppley
(The following data on the Zimmerman-Eppley line is taken from some
papers in the Shettle Bible. It was written by Jacob Eppley, born 1784,
a grandson of the Jacob Zimmerman he mentions in his deposition. At the
time he wrote it he was quite an old gentleman. Unfortunately, the
record is not dated.)
(Jacob Zimmerman came from Amsterdam, Holland, about 1730 or 1732.
He was the father of three sons and five daughters.)
"My grandfather Jacob Zimmerman came from Holland. His children were:
William, Samuel, Jacob, Rachael, Susan, Elizabeth, Nancy and Mary. Cannot
tell who William was married to. Samuel died single. Jacob was married
to a Hawley. Rachael was married to George Richarrt or Richard. Susan
married Caseberry. Elizabeth married Eisaberger, and Nancy married
George Eppley, who was my father.
"The following named persons are the children of George and Nancy Eppley,
formerly named Zimmerman:
Jacob, George, Samuel, Nancy and Mary.
Jacob married Mary Magdalene Womelsdorf
George married Susan Brookhart
Samuel died single
Mary married Jacob Bare
Nancy married Christian Grubb. After the death of Christian Grubb
and Mary Bare, Nancy (Grubb) married Jacob Bare, who had been the husband
of her sister Mary.
"My grandfather Jacob Zimmerman came to this country when young, a long
time before the Revolutionary War, and as near as I can tell settled in
part of Lancaster County, Pa., which may now be part of Dauphin County,
Pa. Afterwards, he moved into York County, Pa., near the border of
Cumberland County. Jacob Zimmerman, afterwards, called Carpenter,
settled at or near Mount Rock, York County, between 1800 and 1816."
(The wife of Jacob Zimmerman was ______Metzger, a sister of Von Theobald
Metzger of Holland, and a story at one time was that there was a fortune
in Holland that on several occasions created some expectation among
prospective heirs. The above deposition was probably made at one such
time.)
______________
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______________________|
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_Samuel FORD _____|
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| | ____________________|______________
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|--Charles FORD
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| ______________
| _Daniel MANSBERGER _|______________
| _Levi MANSBERGER _____|
| | | ______________
| | |_Mary KELLER _______|______________
|_Emma MANSBERGER _|
| _Jacob BAER __+
| _David BAER ________|_Mary EPPLEY _
|_Anna Elizabeth BAER _|
| ______________
|_Susan BRYAN _______|______________
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_George JOHNSON _|
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_George JOHNSON II_|
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| |_Elinor UNKNOWN _|
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|--Affradosie JOHNSON
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|_Lydia UNKNOWN ____|
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|_________________|
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|--Rosina ORR
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