Saturday Night Genealogy Fun...

I am so often late for making the SNGF challenge that I am almost afraid to post this one now, rather than wait for Sunday morning! Why? The proverbial roof may fall in on me for actually getting a SNGF challenge done on Saturday night! LOL

Here's Randy's  latest challenge from the Genea Musings blog:

Dear genealogists everywhere, it's Saturday Night! Time for some Genealogy FUN.

Is the bloom off of the Genea-Rose here? There has been very poor participation in SNGF the last two weeks, likely because the tasks were too hard or too esoteric. I'll try to fix that this week!

Your mission this week, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1) To celebrate Veterans Day, pick one of your ancestors or relatives with a military record and a gravestone.

2) Tell us about your ancestor's military service.

3) Tell us about your ancestor's gravestone - where is it, what is the inscription, when were you last there? Show us a picture of it if you have one available.

4) Write your own blog post about this ancestor and his gravestone, or share it in a Comment to this blog post, in a status line on Facebook, or in a Google Plus Stream post. 

Wow, Randy! You'd think that this would be a pretty straight forward, and rather easy, challenge. Right? But for me... it was a matter of which ancestor I wanted to choose from! See... I've got so many to choose from!!!

Well, I narrowed it down to my gr-gr-gr-grandfather, Joseph Wiseman [1759-1836]. Joseph's family was among the first settlers into what is now West Virginia. Back when they arrived, it was all wilderness. They assisted in building the very first church west of the Alleghany Divide, in what is now Monroe County, West Virginia. But I am ahead of this story!

Joseph was drafted in the first militia from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He first went out in August 1776, under Captain Thomas Berry, of Col. Mark Bird's regiment. They served in New Jersey and he was discharged from Paulos Hook in November.

The family then moved to Rowan County, North Carolina, in October 1777.

Joseph volunteered in September 1778 under Capt. Nickell and Lt. Chapman. They marched to Mecklenburg, where he was under the command of Col. Lock and Gen. Rutherford. They were then marched to Ten Mile House, near Charleston, then to the Two Sisters on the Savannah River, where he joined Gen. Ashe immediately after his defeat, covering the retreat across the Savannah River.

Joseph was discharged at Salisbury, North Carolina after nine months.

In July 1779 he substitued for three months, marched into Mecklenburg again, and was quickly discharged to go home and await further orders. No further call was made.

Making a move into Washington County, Maryland, where a call for every "ninth" milita man was given, he was drafted for the war. He and eight neighbors at that time hired a substitute each, for 45 pounds.

Joseph moved to Monroe County in 1794.

He was placed on the Pension Roll 10 Dec. 1832, at the age of 76. He received an annual allowance of $40, and received a sum total of $120 before his death.

Joseph was the father of eleven children, and one of whom became a clergyman.

He and his wife are buried at the northwest corner of the Old Rehobeth Church, the oldest church west of the Alleghany Divide.

JOSEPH WISEMAN

PVT NC MILITIA
REVOLUTIONARY WAR

MAR. 29, 1759          DEC. 27, 1836

He is buried at this church...

...which I last visited about 9 months ago, in the early spring.

Amanuensis Monday - Joseph Wiseman's Revolutionary Records

Joseph Wiseman served in the Militia during the American Revolution.

Born 1759 in Berks County, Pennsylvania, he was one of eleven known children born to Isaac Wiseman Jr. and his wife, Elizabeth Davis.

The records available for his service and request for pension number more than thirty pages.

This week, in honor of the anniversary of our country, I will be placing four or five of these images daily on this blog.

By clicking on the image, you should be able to read the documents with ease.

Amanuensis Monday... Joseph Wiseman Files For Pension

State of Virginia

Monroe County

    On this 27th day of November 1832 personally

appeared before me, Hugh Caperton, a magistrate in afor

said County and made oath according to law, that he was

drafted, he thinks, in the month of July 1776 in the country of

Berks and State of Pennsylvania to serve a tour of duty of

three months, as a soldier in the army of the Revolution

in Captain Thomas Perry's Company, that he did serve

in said company the full term of three months & then was

discharged in the City of Philadelphia; that in the

month of August or September 1778, he volunteered to serve in Captain

Nickell's Company for a term of nine months & that he did

serve in said company, in the Carolina's the full term of

of [sic] nine months according to his engagement at the end of

which time, he received a written discharge from Cpt. Nickell

for said service as a soldier, during this time of service of

nine months he was under the command of Col. Sack and Gen. Rutherford

that was in actual service in the Army of

the Revolution as a common soldier the full term of one

year; besides being on personal furlough for the space of

three months, having substituted to serve in the _____[illegible] of a

man, whose name he has forgotten; that he was born

in the year 1759 in the County of Berks and State of Virginia

Pennsylvania, as he has read the records of it in his Father's

bible, from which he recorded it in his own bible which is

now in his possession that he did on the 22nd day of August

1832 in the County Court of Monroe make his declaration

upon oath stating more particularly his service in detail,

that he is known in his personal neighborhood to William

Rice, James Mann, William _____[illegible] and Rev. David

Riffe who can testify as to his character for honesty,

and their belief as to his services as a soldier of the

Revolution.

                                                          Joseph Wiseman

Sworn to & Subscribed before

me the 27 day of November 1832

Hugh Caperton, J.P.

Tombstone Tuesday

Marker found on the grave of Joseph Wiseman

B: 1759, PA

D: 1832, WV

Served in the militia during the American Revolution.

The Old Rehoboth Church Cemetery

Keenan, Monroe, West Virginia

Is anyone familiar with this kind of marker???

An Indentured Servant

William Bean was born 18 September 1792, we believe in Baltimore, Maryland. [Family lore leaves us to believe that, and a search through Baltimore Church records indicate a male child was baptized who was born on 18 September 1792, whose name was William Bean.]

At some point, William McBean [William's father], brought his wife, Sarah, and his oldest son, John, into the the Potts Valley area of Monroe County, Virginia [now West Virginia].

What happens next is unknown. William McBean disappears from history sometime before February 1804. It was then that Sarah places John Bean, her eldest son, into an indenture contract. [through the overseers for the county poor] where he was to be taught to be a weaver. [We'll discource on John another time.]

Just a few months later, on his 12th birthday, young William was also placed through the county poor for indenture. A copy of the contract is above.

A transcription of the document reads:

Dated 18 Sept. 1804

"This indenture made this 18th of Sept 1804 one thousand eight hundred and four between Jas. Christy owen Neal Robt Johnston and henry McDaniel of the one part overseers of the poor for monroe County and henry Smith of the other part witnesseth that the so overssers doth bind an orphan boy named William Bean aged twelfth years to the said henry Smith of the county aforesaid and State of virginia to Serve the said henry Smith until he arrives at the age of twenty one years, during all which time the Said William Bean Shall faithfully Serve his Master and all his lawful Commands obay he Sall not suffer any Damage to be done to his Said Masters goods without giving him notice thereof he Shall not frequent Still houses or taverns he shall not play at Cards dice or any unlawful game or at any time abscond himself from his masters business without his Masters leave he Shall not commit fornication nor Contract matrimony during said term but as a true and faithful servant shall truely and diligently Serve his Said Master until he arrives at the age aforesaid and the henry Smith in Consideration thereof doth Covenant and agree to have the so William Bean taught the art trade or Mastery of a Black Smith and provide for him a sufficiency of everyt thing thats requiset for an aprentice during the term of his aprenticeship likewise he is to have him taught to read the holy Scriptures planely to write a plane hand and arithmatic through te rule of three which Education he is to be thoroughly acquainted with at the Expiration of his time and also to give him Such freedom dues as the law direct taking Care to have Said aprentice instructed in the Principals and duties of the Christian religion as far as Said Master is Capable In writing whereof the partys have interchangeably set their hands inscribed this day and year above writen Signed Sealed ad delivered in the presents of - John Hinchman - Owen Neal - Henry Smith - Jas. Christy" [sic]

I have left the grammar exactly as the original was written. There are no paragraphical or line delineations. You will also note that punctuation is sporadic at best.

Young William was taught to be a blacksmith. It was a trade he did not use.

Instead,  9 years later on 20 Nov. 1813, he married the daughter of one of the county's most influential residents, Joseph Wiseman.He married Rachel, who was born in 1790.

By 1820 William had begun to have a collective amount of land that would net him a fortune [worth a couple of million dollars today]. He brought a suit against a Mr. Ballard in Monroe County [to whom he had been indentured], and won a large sum of money which enabled him to begin his climb to fortune. While the suit is named in Monroe County, records, no one, to date, has located the details of this suit. I have searched through the County Clerk's records for the time, and if the suit actually went to court, the records are not there to support it, although the date for hearing was set and is noted on the court calendar.

William led a full life. He and Rachel were married just 13 days shy of their 43rd wedding anniversary, when she succombed to a fever. [Their daughter Nancy had fallen from the same fever just 27 days earlier.] Rachel was buried in the family cemetery on Potts Creek, near present day Waiteville, WV.

William was 72 years old when he lead a posse of "home guard" to arrest some renegade's from the Civil War who had stolen items from various homes in the area [the latest being clothing from a washline]. As he was approaching a cabin in Wiseman's Hollow, one of the renegade's shot from the loft of the cabin. The bullet hitting William in the top of his head.

He was carried back to the Bean home on Potts Creek, and "layed out" in the parlor. He was buried the next day in the family cemetery beside his love, Rachel.

From the county poor, to one of the most wealthiest men in the county at the time, William Bean overcame and prospered.

When I hear individuals say that they are victims of their circumstance, I am compelled to them that we are all victims. But we must rise above that victim mentality to become victors.

What an example I have had to come before me.

William is but one of the examples from which I have shaped my life. The poor little boy, who was placed up for indenture on his 12th birthday. He was my great-great-grandfather.

Tombstone Tuesday

Joseph Wiseman is my great-great-great grandfather. He served during the American Revolution in Pennsylvania. He was married to Elizabeth Bateman. The couple came to finally settle in what is now Monroe County, West Virginia [at the time it was Greenbrier County, Virginia.] Here they raised their family, and helped to begin the oldest church west of the Alleghany Divide, the Old Rehobeth Church, in what is now Keenan, WV.

Joseph and Elizabeth had 11 known children. Joseph and Elizabeth [Bateman] Wiseman are buried at the northwest corner of the Old Rehobeth Church in Keenan, WV. As I stated, it is the oldest church west of the Alleghany Divide. Their son John even preached there for a while. The church is a log building, nestled in a little valley depression. It was even defended against Indians when first built [notches cut in the logs for muzzles of long rifles can be seen in the building].