Tombstone Tuesday - Isaac and Elizabeth Wiseman

ISAAC WISEMAN

1738 - 1818

ELIZABETH WISEMAN

1738 - 1807

Buried at...

...The Old Rehobeth UMC, Keenan, Monroe, WV.

****Isaac and Elizabeth [Davis] Wiseman are my gr-gr-gr-grandparents.

Tombstone Tuesday - December 1, 2009

Isaac Wiseman

18 Aug. 1738 - 03 May 1818

Elizabeth Davis Wiseman

26 Aug 1738 - 19 July 1807

The stone marking their graves is neither old, nor ancient, considering that this couple left their earthly remains about 200 years ago! The marker was placed about 1960 marking the spot where this quite revered couple were buried, side-by-side.

Isaac Wiseman is actually a Junior; named after his father, Isaac Wiseman, who was the first Wiseman of our ancestry to set foot on these American shores in 1700. He actually has the distinction of being born while his parents, Thomas and Elizabeth (Renberg) Wiseman, were sailing to our continent (but that is another story unto itself!) The Isaac whom we are speaking of today was born in Amity Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania on a hot summers day of 18 August 1738. He was the first of at least 10 known children born to the couple.

Between 1738 and 1740 Isaac Sr. and family moved into Berks County. And it was here in 1758 that Isaac Jr. met and married 20-year old Elizabeth Davis. At this time, we know absolutely nothing of Elizabeth's parentage.

Isaac and Elizabeth went on to have 11 children while residing in Berks County. Isaac served in the Pennsylvania Militia during the American Revolution. Then around 1784, when the youngest child as about 5 years of age, the family migrated down into Rockingham County, Virginia. And approximately 10 years later, they headed west, just across the Alleghany Divide, into Monroe County, Virginia [now West Virginia].

Isaac and Elizabeth were an integral part in establishing the oldest church west of the Alleghany, The Old Rehobeth Church.Their son, John, was odained here under the auspices of the Bishop Francis Asbury, of the Methodist Church.

The Old Rehobeth Church
Keenan, Monroe, West Virginia

Most of the Wiseman children went on to continue moving west into Kentucky and most went into Ohio, several settling in Gallia County. However, Isaac and Elizabeth's eldest son, Joseph, stayed in Monroe County. In fact, he and his wife, Elizabeth (Bateman), are buried right beside his parents.

Isaac and Elizabeth were given a place of honor for their burial. The Northwest Corner of the churchyard was reserved for those individuals who helped to establish church. Here lie the Keenan's [who donated the property for the church and it's burial ground] and the Wiseman's.

A bronze Revolutionary War marker, also marks Isaac's grave.

Isaac died 03 May 1818. Elizabeth went before him on 19 July 1807. The shadow of the old log church covers their graves.

Tombstone Tuesday - November 3, 2009

Isaac Wiseman (1738-1818)

and

Elizabeth Wiseman (1738-1807)

Isaac and Elizabeth Wiseman are buried at the northwest corner of the Old Rehobeth Church in Keenan, Monroe County, West Virginia. It is the oldest church west of the Alleghany Divide. They helped to found and to build the tiny log church.

Isaac was the eldest son of Isaac Wiseman, Sr. [1700-1779] and Mary Marshall [1721-1790]. Isaac Sr. had the distinction of being born onboard ship during the immigration from England to America in 1700.

The family first settled in Pennsylvania. At some point, Isaac Sr. moved to Jersey Settlement, Rowan County, North Carolina, where he and Mary are buried.

Isaac Jr. moved first to Rockingham County, Virginia around 1784, and about 10 years later moved into Monroe County, Virginia [now West Virginia]. He had married Elizabeth Davis in 1758 in Pennsylvania. The couple had 11 children: Joseph, John, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Rachel, Samuel, Abner, Elizabeth, Margaret, and William.

His children were, by the time of his move into Monroe County, all grown and had families of their own. Some settled in Monroe County, while still others moved on to Kentucky and to Ohio.

The family was quite adamant in their faith. Son, John, was one of the first ministers of the Old Rehobeth Church. [I'll have to post a blog about the Old Rehobeth sometime to share with you the beauty of that simple log church!] John later moved on to Ohio. Although a minister of the gospel, when the country was in the throes of its birth, John did not hesitate to shuck his robes, and is documented as having served with General Washington on the battlefield at Valley Forge.

Isaac Jr., [John's father] also served in the Revolutionary War. He served with the Pennsylvania Militia, while his brother, James [Isaac Jr.'s brother], served in the North Carolina Militia.

When you walk the grounds of the Old Rehobeth Church and Cemetery, you will note that most graves are located on the eastern and southern edges of the yard. However, the "elite" of the church are buried on the northern most plot of land, which is a narrow spit. It is here that the Keenan's [who donated the land for the church] and the Wiseman's are buried. This small area was designated especially for these who worked so hard to establish the church [which is of the Methodist persuasion] and gave of themselves unselfishly to see the church grow and reach fruition.

Each time I visit this hallowed spot, I stand in awe of all of those who rest here, and of what they accomplished in the raw wilderness that once was.

It is with a great deal of pride that I say that I am the great-great-great-great granddaughter of Isaac and Elizabeth Wiseman. I am descended through their son, Joseph [who also served in the Pennsylvania Militia during the Revolution], and who married Elizabeth Bateman. From there, to their daughter, Rachel, who married William Bean [and from there I have posted my ancestry many times on this site].