The Curious Life of Simon Siron (1707-1770)
I. INTRODUCTION
Simon Siron was born in England in 1707 but was educated in Germany. He emigrated to Pennsylvania about 1733, where he married and lived the remainder of his life, making his living as a shopkeeper, selling yarn and flax. He associated himself in some manner with several German religious sects (Moravians, ex-Sabbatarians, Dunkers, Separatists), although it is uncertain if he actually joined any of them. In his later years he became an invalid and was attended to by Samuel Eckerlin, one of the Eckerlin brothers whose adventures on the Virginia frontier form a separate remarkable tale. Eckerlin was responsible for bringing Simon's sons, Nathaniel and Simon Jr., to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
Some of the religious personalities who were directly or indirectly acquainted with Simon Siron or who influenced him were:
Gotthilf August Francke (1696-1769), the son of August Hermann Francke. He became chief professor at the University of Halle upon his father's death in 1727.
Pastors Johann Martin Boltzius and Israel Christian Gronau. They had been selected by Francke to accompany the first group of Protestant exiles from Salzburg who emigrated to Georgia in 1733. Detailed reports in the form of diary entries were periodically sent by Boltzius back to Germany.
Anton Wilhelm Böhme (1673-1722), court preacher first to Prince George of Denmark, consort of Queen Anne of England/Great Britain, and, after Anne's death in 1714, to George I.
Friedrich Michael Ziegenhagen (1694-1776). Upon Böhme's death he succeeded to the position of royal chaplain (Hofprediger) at the court of George I; after George I's death in 1727, he was royal chaplain to George II and later to George III.
Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf (1700-1760), a lay minister of the Bohemian Brothers (Fratres Bohoemiae), also known as the Moravian Brothers or Moravians, and as Herrnhuters.
August Gottlieb Spangenberg, Moravian missionary; he later succeeded Zinzendorf as leader of the Moravians.
Johann Adam Gruber (1693-1763), a prominent leader in the religious movement the Community of True Inspiration in Germany before coming to Pennsylvania in 1726 and settling in Germantown. He was a poet and prolific writer.
Alexander Mack, Jr., leader of the Church of the Brethren (Dunkers) in Germantown, Pennsylvania.
II. SIMON SIRON'S EARLY YEARS
According to records in the Francke Institutions in Halle, Germany (discussed below), Simon Siron was born in May 1707 in London, Great Britain. In the Institutions' personnel database, Simon's surname is listed as "Siron", although the alternative spelling of "Sieron" is shown in parentheses. All German correspondence which made mention of Simon used only the "Siron" spelling.
However, the "Sieron" spelling appears to connect him to a family named Sieron (or Sierons) who lived in London in the early 1700's, as indicated by baptismal records found in the Hamburg Lutheran or German Lutheran Chapel, Great Trinity Lane, City of London. This was the first Lutheran Church in England. In September 1672 the German Lutherans living in London obtained from Charles II letters patent enabling them to build their own church, with the power to appoint ministers and hold services according to their own customs. Construction was begun in November 1672, and the church was dedicated thirteen months later in December 1673, although baptisms were registered from 1669. It was built on the site of the Holy Trinity the Less, an Anglican parish church which had been destroyed in the Great Fire of London in September 1666. The members themselves called it Hamburg Lutheran Church as a nod to the generous donations towards its cost by the merchants of the city of Hamburg. The church was rebuilt and extended in 1773 but was demolished in 1867 as part of the construction of Queen Victoria Street.
[sources:
http://search.lma.gov.uk/scripts/mwimain.dll/144/LMA_OPAC/web_detail/REFD+CLC~2F189?SESSIONSEARCH
LONDON METROPOLITAN ARCHIVES: HAMBURG LUTHERAN CHURCH
http://www.trinitylutheran.org.uk/history.html
A HISTORY OF THE LUTHERAN CHURCH IN GREAT BRITAIN
http://www.aim25.ac.uk/cgi-bin/vcdf/detail?coll_id=16109&inst_id=118&nv1=search&nv2=
ANGLO-GERMAN FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY ]
Sieron(s) Baptismal Records from the Hamburg Lutheran Church, Trinity Lane, London, England
Anno 1702
d. 26. Dec. | Martin Sierons, Son to Mr. Sierons, Shopkeeper in St. Catharins near ye Stairs
Anno 1704
d. 14 Julii | Barbara Sierons, Daughter to Mr. Sieron in St. Catharins.
Anno 1705
d. 21 Nov. | John Sieron, Son to Mr. Sieron over against St. Catharin Stairs.
Anno 1707
d. 15 Maji | Simon Sierons, , Son to Mr. Sieron at St. Catharins.
Anno 1714/15
d. 12 Jan: | Elizabeth Sierons, Daughter to Mr. Sierons, Shopkeeper in St. Catharins near the Stairs.
[source citation variations:
The National Archives; Kew, England; General Register Office: Registers of Births, Marriages and Deaths surrendered to the Non-parochial Registers Commissions of 1837 and 1857; Class: RG 4; Piece: 4650: Hamburg Lutheran or German Lutheran Chapel, City of London (German Lutheran), 1695-1836.
---------------------
http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/browse/r/r/C2490003
RG 4/4650 1669-1836
FOREIGN CHURCHES: Hamburg Lutheran or German Lutheran Chapel, Great Trinity Lane, City of London (German Lutheran): Baptisms
---------------------
https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/176737?availability=Family%20History%20Library
Church records, 1669-1836
Authors: Hamburg Lutheran Church (London : Lutheran) (Main Author)
...
Notes
Microfilm of original records at the Public Record Office, London.
Text is in German and English.
Includes baptisms, 1669-1836, marriages, 1671-1754, 1837 and burials, 1695-1836.
Cover sheet names the chapel as "the Hambrough [sic] Lutheran - or the German Lutheran Chapel being of the Lutheran or Protestant denomination, situate in Great Trinity Lane, London in the county of Middlesex." Record calls it the "High German Lutherane [sic] Church in Trinty-Lane" and later the "Dutch Lutheran Congregation, in Trinity Lane".
RG-4 series no. 4650
Church records British Film 20057 Item 4 DGS 8004264
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS6K-8XLR?i=142&cat=176737
---------------------
In the online database of Ancestry.com, the church baptisms are under England & Wales, Non-Conformist and Non-Parochial Registers, 1567-1970.
The Sieron entries are on pages 6 through 9 (handwritten numbers) or pages 13 through 16 (stamped numbers). ]
The above baptisms indicate that Simon Sieron was baptized on 15 May 1707, and that he had two older brothers, one older sister, and one younger sister. Their father, identified only as Mr. Sieron, was a shopkeeper near St. Catherine's Stairs. St. Catherines is just east of the Tower of London, both of which are located on the north side of the Thames River.
Some London Area Geography
In John Strype's 1720 "A SURVEY OF THE CITIES OF London and Westminster, Book 4, Chapter 2: The SUBURBS without the Walls, briefly touched" (page 40, paragraph 5), St. Catharines near the Tower of London was called a hamlet.
John Rocque's 1746 map of "London, Westminster and Southwark" gives a fairly clear picture of the area. At the river's edge on the east side of the Tower are the "Iron Gate Stairs". (Stairs provided access from the street down to the river.) East of Iron Gate are rows of buildings, followed by "St. Catherines Stairs". In January 1735, a fire swept through this area, destroying forty houses, one of which was evidently the house of Simon's parents. (This event is more fully discussed later.)
See "JOHN ROCQUE LONDON, WESTMINSTER AND SOUTWARK First Edition 1746 (26 inches to a mile)" at http://www.motco.com/map/81002/
In the column at the left, click on "MAP AND PAGE GRID". The overview map is divided into 3 rows and 8 columns, producing 24 map sections. Locate the map section at row 2, column 6. Then click at the left center part of this section to find "Segment 112 (Sheet F2, section 4)".
A more contemporaneous map is James de la Feuille's map of London c. 1690 at
newer link: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/london-map-de-la-feuille/1690
older link: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/lmap.aspx?compid=16598&pubid=60&currbuff=1&slice=255&root=24&buffer=1&x=511&y=283 .
In the Francke Institutions' personnel database, Simon Siron's father's profession was listed as "Schiffer", the meaning of which ranges from the master of a ship to the more humble boatman on a river barge. Neither meaning quite matches up with the profession of shopkeeper, although the latter meaning would seem to be more appropriate here, given that Mr. Sieron's shop apparently was near "stairs", which, it might be inferred, could involve him in transporting goods by river.
In the 1758 book A Description of the River Thames &c., the authors gave an account of the towns, villages, etc. situated on the banks of the Thames. On page 40 they noted that St. Catharines--among others--though neither incorporated nor a market town, was "chiefly inhabited by such, who have their Dependence on the Navigation of the River". In addition, on page 268 they defined "docks" as "small Harbours cut into the Land, and are useful for the convenient Lying of Vessels, Hoys, Lighters, Barges, Boats, &c.", and then indicated that one of the principal docks was "St. Catherine's-Dock, Eastward from the Tower". St. Catherine's dock either corresponds to St. Catherine's stairs or is just east of it.
[source:
http://books.google.com/books?id=JHlJAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA40
A Description of the River Thames &c. ...
Roger Griffiths, Robert Binnell
T. Longman, 1758 - 296 pages]
(Note: "Hermitage-Dock, at Hermitage-Bridge, by Wapping", also mentioned on page 40, was just eastward of St. Catherine's. Here a Mr. BrounEngel plied his trade which would seem to be that of "Schiffer" as discussed above. As recorded in the baptismal record of his daughter Elizabeth on 2 Sept 1705, he was described as "a Seaman near Armitage [sic] Bridge", while in the baptismal record of his daughter Susanna on 24 Mar 1713, he was "a Shipper (or Skipper) near Armitage [sic] Bridge".)
------/------
Having (hopefully) correctly identified Simon and his siblings and the church where they were baptized, the conclusion drawn here is that Simon's parents, or at least his father, was a German immigrant. Beginning in the latter half of the seventeenth century (the 1600's), a stream of merchants from Germany settled in London, which was the center of the British overseas and Atlantic trade. Simon's father appears to have been such an individual. It is not known in what year he immigrated, but he probably came when he was in his twenties. Whether he arrived in England unmarried or brought with him a wife is also not known. What can be said is that he had already established his business near St. Catherine's Stairs by the end of 1702, when his oldest known child, Martin, was baptized.
====//====
Sometime in 1718, at about the age of eleven, he was sent to "das Waisenhaus der Franckeschen Stiftungen" (the Orphan House or orphanage of the Francke Institutions) in Halle, Germany, which had been founded by the Pietist August Hermann Francke in the 1690's. The term "Orphan House" is too narrow, for not only did it house children with no parents, it also boarded boys and girls sent there by their parents to attend one of the schools.
An initial assessment of Simon's abilities (his so-called Qualitates accedentium) indicated that he "could write and read German a little bit, was not able to count".
(source: Jacobi, Juliane and Thomas J. Müller-Bahlke (eds.), Man hatte von ihm gute Hoffnung: das Waisenalbum der Franckeschen Stiftungen 1695-1748, Volume 3 of Hallesche Quellenpublikationen und Repertorien, Verlag der Franckeschen Stiftungen im Niemeyer-Verlag, 1998, p.110)
The fact that Simon possessed some facility with the German language upon his arrival at Halle supports the idea that his father and perhaps also his mother were ethnically German.
Although how it was determined that he should be sent to Halle remains a mystery, the reason, apparently, was to further his education. He was fortunate to be given such an opportunity. The Francke Institutions were held in high esteem in England, and he was one of only a small number boys from England/Britain to study there. Since particulars about Simon are so lacking, it may be informative to relate some of the historical events which connected England and Halle and also to give brief biographies of these boys.
Englische Knaben nach Halle
A. Events During the Reign of William III
In 1688 Willam of Orange deposed James II of England. As William III, he and his wife Mary II reigned jointly during a period referred to as "William and Mary". Mary died on December 28, 1694, and William continued to rule as a sole monarch.
In 1698 the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) was founded in England to combat the "gross ignorance of the Christian religion" by promoting Christian knowledge through evangelical philanthropy. It encouraged education and was the catalyst for the charity school movement.
Note: Here is inserted some excerpts of the history and purpose of the Francke Institutions as presented on their own website:
http://www.francke-halle.de/main/index2_en.php?cf=6_2
Short History
The Francke Foundations are an impressive collection of buildings, whose historical heart came into being in less than one generation around the Linden Courtyard. However, they also form a building of thought, whose fundamental idea can today still captivate a good 300 years after its construction.
The religious school town, which August Hermann Francke (1663-1728) began in 1698 with an electoral privilege, was quickly considered by contemporaries to be the "New Jerusalem". It was the Pietist piety and the progressive pedagogy which created such an impression then. Francke's facilities consisted of an orphanage, a school system with many branches and scientific institutes. Additionally there were economic enterprises and agricultural lands. Francke succeeded in countering the social problems of his time with a widely admired example of Christian charity.
...
http://www.francke-halle.de/main/index2_en.php?cf=6_3_5
Britain
History
Heinrich Wilhelm Ludolf (1655-1712), one of Francke’s contemporaries, forged the links between the Francke Foundations and Britain. He had moved to London as the secretary of Prince George of Denmark, later the husband of Queen Anne, the last of the Stuarts. As Puritan and Pietist ideas on belief were closely related, Ludolf and Francke both became correspondent members of the British Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge [SPCK], along with other prominent figures such as the Archbishop of Canterbury [Thomas Tenison (1636-1715)]. Ludolf found a position for Francke’s student Anton Wilhelm Böhme (1673-1722) as a court priest in London in 1705. In return, Böhme sent English pupils to Halle. Queen Anne provided generous funds for their bed and board, enabling the construction of a special building for these students – the “English House” in the Foundations (House 26). Böhme’s successor, Friedrich Michael Ziegenhagen (1694-1776), maintained the links and acted as a point of contact between Gottlieb August Francke and the Lutheran communities in Pennsylvania and Georgia.]
At Halle, Francke had established three distinct schools. The "Poor" or "German" school was intended for children of the lower class. The Latin school trained middle-class students for university study. The Pädagogium was for the sons of nobility and the upper class. (Gawthorp, Pietism and the Making of Eighteenth-Century Prussia, p.155-156)
From 1701 to 1767, the total number of pupils sent to Halle from Great Britain is estimated to have been about twenty-five or twenty-six. Nearly all came from the London area. (Two came from Scotland.) Eight attended the Pädagogium, three went directly to the university at Halle, and twelve attended the Latin school. (Information about three others is vague.) The first two boys from England, Thomas Turner and Michael Belke, were admitted to the Pädagogium in Halle in 1701. Turner's father and brother were acquaintances of Ludolf. Belke had been recommended by Dr. Frederick Slare. Slare, a distinguished physician and chemist, was a member of London's Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) and a supporter of charity schools in England. He had been born about 1647 in Northamptonshire to an English mother, Anna Malory, and a German father, Frederick Schloer. (His father had been a eminent figure in his own right. Slare is the anglicized version of Schloer.) Young Slare studied medicine at the University of Heidelberg and then at Utrecht. He was admitted to Oxford in 1680.
B. Events During the Reign of Queen Anne
William III died on March 8, 1702, and Mary II's sister Anne became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland.
As early as 1702 Slare had considered the idea of sending more pupils to Halle. In 1704 Böhme suggested that he and Francke begin a correspondence. By late 1705 he was discussing with Francke a proposal to send some needy boys to Halle for education. The proposal was finalized during the spring and summer of the following year. Francke envisaged establishing an English Seminar at Halle. Meanwhile, Slare was to select six boys from the London charity schools to be educated at the Orphan House at Halle. The boys selected were Joseph Acors, Henry Creek, Thomas Parsons, Richard Smith, John Trevese, and a sixth boy whose name may have been either James Sims or Edward Brett. Smith had previously been a student at the Latin school in London founded by Jacob Bruno Wigers and Johann Christoph Mehder. On September 4th, Böhme wrote Franke that it had been decided "to have the boys travelling with this letter educated by you". (Brunner, Halle Pietists in England, p.89) In a letter to Francke dated September 9th, Ludolf requested special care for the eleven-year-old son of Mrs. Smith, who was a benefactor of the Orphan House at Halle. The boys traveled as far as Hamburg by the first week of November. On December 12, 1706, five boys from England, all born in the 1690's, were admitted to the Latin School of the Orphanage (Lateinische Schule des Waisenhauses). The sixth boy must have never completed the trip. Although all were under the patronage of English benefactors, the original criterion, that the boys selected be needy or poor, seems to have been disregarded, for these boys came from the tradesmen's or middle class. Joseph Acor's father was a baker; Henry Creek's, a mechanic; Thomas Parsons', a brushmaker; Richard Smith's, a captain; and John Trevese's, a merchant. After their studies were completed, it was expected they would become teachers.
On May 1, 1707, England and Scotland were united into the single sovereign state of Great Britain with a single parliament.
On September 4, 1708, Henry Hastings enrolled in the University of Halle. His father was E. Hastings, a merchant. But it was Lady Elizabeth "Betty" Hastings who provided the financial support for his theological studies. Presumably a relative of some sort, she was a well known philanthropist. She wrote to Francke in 1712 that her "names sake" was in particular need of charity because his father was a Roman Catholic and his mother an Anglican "too much taken up by the Cares of the World". (Brunner, Halle Pietists in England, p.91)
On October 26, 1708 Abraham Mackbeth enrolled in the University of Halle. He returned to England in 1710 and was made inspector over a newly formed society of schoolmasters "... to teach and farther Instruct them [the schoolmasters] in all the Necessary Dutys." (Brunner, Halle Pietists in England, p.92)
On June 6, 1708, Ludolf had written Francke that it was the intention of Henry Hoare's father-in-law William Benson to send his fourteen-year-old son to the Pädagogium and then afterwards to Amsterdam for Kaufsmannausbildung (training as a merchant). Hoare was another major supporter of charity schools. (Brunner, Halle Pietists in England, p.81) William Benson was sheriff of London in 1708. (Brunner, Halle Pietists in England, p.91) Hoare wrote to Francke on July 13, 1708, giving his own recommendation that Harry be admitted. On August 3rd he repeated an earlier request that Harry not be accommodated with Henry Hastings since he would thereby be prevented from learning. By 1709 Harry Benson was a student in the Pädagogium. Three years later he was living in Amsterdam, as reported by Hoare to Francke on August 17, 1711.
In 1711 Johann Gottfried (John Godfrey) Hanckwitz (or Hauckwitz) entered the Pädagogium. He was the third son of Ambrose Godfrey Hanckwitz (1660-1741), a London apothecary and phosphorus manufacturer. Born in Germany, Ambrose and his wife had come to London in 1679, where for three years he assisted Sir Robert Boyle in trying to produce phosphorus. By 1685 he had gone into the phosphorous-making business for himself and in time became quite successful. The name Hanckwitz was dropped soon after his coming to England, and he became known simply as Ambrose Godfrey. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrose_Godfrey )
Ambrose had recommended his son to Francke in a letter date August 28, 1711. On March 28, 1715 John Godfrey enrolled in the University of Halle.
Note: Here is info on the later life of John Godfrey:
http://books.google.com/books?id=y7FLAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA504
Dictionary of national biography: Index and epitome
Sir Sidney Lee
Smith, Elder & Co., 1906 - 1456 pages
p.566
GODFREY. JOHN (/f. 1747), chemist: with his
brother Ambrose Godfrey the younger [q. v.] carried on
the business of his father Ambrose Godfrey the elder [i.e., Ambrose Godfrey-Hanckwitz] [q. v.];
published, also with his brother, ' A Curious Research into
the Element of Water,' 1747. [xxii. 31]
On October 28, 1712 Georg Friedrich (George Frederick) Scheibell enrolled at the University of Halle to study medicine. His father was Henry Scheibell, another London apothecary. Henry was evidently a close associate of Ambrose Godfrey Hanckwitz, for Amborse had recommended George Frederick to Francke in a letter dated July 7, 1712.
In 1712 a boy from London named Godfry studied at Halle. (It seems probable that this was a reference to John Godfrey Hanckwitz.) Also in 1712, the son of Samuel Stott was sent to Halle. A boy from Scotland named Joyner was at the Waisenhaus during the summer of 1712, but he appears to have left by October.
On July 25, 1712 Böhme had informed Francke of Samuel Urlsperger's departure for Halle, accompanied by three young Englishmen whom he was bringing to the orphanage. Francke had written back on August 14th that he was awaiting the arrival of the three Englishmen in the company of Urlsperger. Perhaps some or all of these three English boys were Godfrey, Stott, and Joyner. Scheibell is also a possibility.
On May 22, 1713, William Hastings (b. 1703) was the next boy from Britain to be admitted to the Latin School. He was the younger brother of Henry. (It is not specified if Lady Hastings was also his patron.) William returned to England in 1718. On July 27, 1718, Georg Heinrich Neubauer, the student overseer of the orphanage, wrote a letter to Böhme which reported the state of education and improper conduct of William Hastings.
C. Events During the Reign of the First Two Hanover Rulers (George I and George II)
On August 1, 1714, Queen Anne died. By the 1701 Act of Settlement her designated heir was Sophia of Hanover, a granddaughter of the Stuart King James I. However, Sophia had already died on June 8th, leaving her son Georg Ludwig (George Louis), elector of Hanover, heir to the British throne. George arrived in Britain on September 18th and was formally crowned George I on October 20th. Thus he became the first of five monarchs of the house of Hanover to rule both Hanover and Great Britain and Ireland. George lived mainly thereafter in Great Britain.
In 1718 a boy named Price might have entered the Pädagogium. His father Gul Price (alias William Price?) had written to Francke on July 7, 1718 expressing the desire that his eldest son perfect his education in the care of Francke. The father was an Anglican Preacher in Richmond, England. He had been "awakened" after reading Francke's Segensvolle Fusstapfen (Footsteps of Divine Providence). (In 1705 Böhme had translated this work into English, giving it the new title Pietas Hallensis.) However, a letter from Neubauer to Böhme dated May 21, 1719 referred to the student Price as departing from Halle.
Sometime during 1719, James Jacobus Carmichell (Carmichael) from Edinburgh, Scotland became a student in the Pädagogium. His father was a nobleman. He also appears to have been at the Waisenhaus back in the summer of 1712.
On October 10, 1719 Friedrich Ulrich Schicke (b. October 1706) was admitted to the Latin school. His father Johann August Schicke was a secretary in the German Chancellery in London. (When George I had come to England in 1714 he had brought with him about ninety ministers, courtiers and servants. Fifteen of these were members of what came to be known as the Hanoverian Chancery in London, the office through which the king-elector conducted the affairs of his German dominions. (Beattie, J.M., The English Court in the Reign of George I, Cambridge University Press (CUP) Archive, 1967, p.220) It is likely that Friedrich Ulrich was born in Germany and accompanied his father to Britain.)
On December 29, 1719, the father wrote to Francke, thanking him for the kindness shown him in connection with the admission of his son to the Orphan-House at Halle.
Simon Siron had been living at the Waisenhaus since 1718. The only information about him during this time is in a letter to Wilhelm Böhme from Georg Heinrich Neubauer, the student overseer of the orphanage, dated August 27, 1719. Neubauer made reference to the expenditure for Simon Siron's clothing. He also informed Böhme that Simon was suffering from dysentery. (Note: A letter from Gotthilf August Francke to his wife Anna Magdalena Francke dated 25 August 1719 had reported an outbreak of dysentery among the students at the "house" (presumably referring to the orphanage). He wrote to her again on the 28th, mentioning an improvement in the condition of the students who had been suffering from dysentery.)
Then on December 7, 1719 Simon was admitted to the Latin School. Note that his admittance came after a stay of a year or more in the orphanage whereas the preceding boys from Britain were admitted immediately upon their arrival at Halle.
A records search reveals that on December 7, 1719, in addition to Simon, at least eleven other boys from continental Europe were also admitted to the Latin School. One had been born in 1701, three in 1705, two in 1706, three in 1707, one in 1708, and one in 1709. Like Simon, one of them, Johann Jacob Remsberger (b. 1705), had been admitted after first living for a time at the Waisenhaus. Remsberger, the son of a converted Jew from Hungary, had been at the orphanage since May 26, 1717.
On June 11, 1727 George I died during a visit to Hanover, and his son George II became King of Great Britain.
After Simon Siron, it was almost thirteen years before another boy from Britain attended the Latin School. On October 18, 1732 George Gardner (b. 1716 in London) was admitted. His father Robert Gardner (d. 1721) had been valet to the King of Great Britain (presumably George I). Robert was an Englishman, but George's mother was German.
In 1735 Georg Martini (b. 1723 in London) was the next British boy admitted the Latin School. Like Simon, his entry was delayed, though not as long. He was admitted to the second class of the German school in the Waisenhaus on July 4th. It was three months later, on October 7th, before he started at the Latin school. His father Johann Christoph Martini was from Schweinfurt. Christoph had studied theology at the University of Halle. In 1722 he came to London and thereafter ministered to the German community. He died in London in 1733.
On September 21, 1748, Philipp August Meier (b. 1737) entered the Pädagogium. (This was the first time a boy from Britain attended the Pädagogium since 1719.)
George II died on October 25, 1760, and was succeeded to the throne of Great Britain by his grandson George III.
On August 24, 1765, Daniel Friedrich Wittich (b. 1755 in London) was admitted to the Latin school. His father Johann Gottlob Wittich was a London tailor. (A Daniel Friedrich Wittich from London was a preacher of the Evangelical church in Mettmann in the present-day German state of North Rhine-Westphalia from 1777 to 1836. He died January 24, 1836.)
On March 25, 1767, Wilhelm (William) Immanuel Tanner (b. 1756 in London) became the last British boy to be admitted to the Latin school. There is no information about his father.
In August 1767, Samuel Thornton was the last to enter the Pädagogium. His parents were John and Lucy Thornton.
============================================================================================================
SUMMARY OF BOYS SENT FROM BRITAIN TO HALLE
Name, Vorname Geburtsdatum
Turner, Thomas ----- 1701 Aufnahme in das Pädagogium in Halle.
Belck, Michael [aka Belke] ----- 1701 Aufnahme in das Pädagogium in Halle.
Acors, Joseph 00.00.1693 Am 12.12.1706 Aufnahme in die Lateinische Schule in Halle.
Kreck (Kreek), Heinrich 00.00.1694 Am 12.12.1706 Aufnahme in die Lateinische Schule in Halle.
Parsons, Thomas 00.00.1693 Am 12.12.1706 Aufnahme in die Lateinische Schule in Halle.
Smith, Richard ~12.12.1697 Am 12.12.1706 Aufnahme in die Lateinische Schule in Halle.
Trevese, John 00.00.1693 Am 12.12.1706 Aufnahme in die Lateinische Schule in Halle.
Hastings, Henry ----- Am 14.9.1708 an der Universität Halle immatrikuliert.
Mackbeth, Abraham ----- Aus England. Am 26.10.1708 an der Universität in Halle immatrikuliert.
Benson, Harry ----- 1709 Aufnahme in das Pädagogium in Halle.
Hanckwitz, Johannes Gottfried ~31.08.1697 1711 Aufnahme in das Pädagogium.
[see also Hauckwitz]
Haßdings, Wilhelm ~22.02.1703 Am 22.05.1713 Aufnahme in die Lateinische Schule in Halle.
[aka Hastings, William]
Schicke, Friedrich Ulrich ~04.10.1706 Am 4.10.1719 Aufnahme in die Lateinische Schule des Waisenhauses Halle.
[Schicke also listed as Chic]
Siron (Sieron), Simon 00.05.1707 Waise 00.00.1718
Schüler der lateinischen Schule 07.12.1719
Gardner, Georg ~18.10.1716 Am 18.10.1732 Aufnahme in die Lateinische Schule in Halle.
Martini, Georg Frieder. 22.03.1723 Waise 04.07.1735
Schüler der lateinischen Schule 07.10.1735
Meier, Philipp August ~21.09.1737 21.09.1748 Schüler des Pädagogiums
Wittich, Daniel Friedr. 00.00.1755 Am 24.08.1765 Aufnahme in die Lateinische Schule in Halle.
Tanner, Wilhelm Immanuel ~25.03.1756 Am 25.03.1767 Aufnahme in die Lateinische Schule.
Thornton, Samuel ----- 1767 in das Pädagogium in Halle aufgenommen.
Carmichell (Carmichael), James Jacobus ~13.06.1702 Aus Schottland. Bis Sommer 1712 im [Waisenhaus] Halle.
Schüler des Pädagogiums 00.00.1719
Scheibell, Georg Friedrich ----- Aus London. 1712 [Aufnahme in das Waisenhaus ?].
28.10.1712 Immatrikulation an der Universität Halle, Medizinstudium.
Godfry ----- Aus London. 1712 Studium in Halle.
[Probably John Godfrey Hanckwitz.]
Joyner ----- Aus Schottland. Bis Sommer 1712 im [Waisenhaus] Halle.
Stott ----- 1712 nach Halle geschickt. Vater: Samuel Stott.
Price [son of Gul Price] ----- 1718 Aufnahme in das Pädagogium. [?]
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An analysis of the above data shows that the number of students from Britain studying at Halle was greatest between 1709 and about 1713. (In 1710, a special building was even constructed in order to accommodate them. It was called the "English House".) Four more enrolled in 1718-1719, one of whom was Simon Siron. But after that only a few more students came from Britain, and they came one at a time and often many years apart. The decline probably began as a result of the death of Queen Anne. Her annual contributions to Halle were not continued by George I. (Brunner, Halle Pietists in England, p.56) Then in 1722 Böhme's death severed another link to Halle.
In an examination of their backgrounds, one item does stand out: a significant proportion of these "English" boys had some sort of ethnic connection to Germany. We see this first with John Godfrey (alias Johannes Gottfried Hanckwitz) and George Friedrich Scheibell in 1712. Of the ten who were admitted to either the Pädagogium or Latin school in or after 1718--namely, Price, James Carmichael, Friedrich Ulrich Schicke, Simon Siron, George Gardner, Georg Martini, Philipp August Meier, Daniel Friedrich Wittich, Wilhelm (William) Immanuel Tanner, and Samuel Thornton--Three of them, Schicke, Gardner, and Martini had traceable ties to the Fatherland. Wittich preached in Germany after he left Halle, and so it might be supposed he had also an ethnic connection. Meier's surname suggests that it had a Germanic origin. On the other hand, Price, Carmichael, Tanner, and Thornton were presumably purely British (i.e., English or Scottish), although Tanner could have a German origin instead. In the case of Simon Siron (or Sieron), it was previously concluded that his parents--or at least his father--was ethnically German.
====//====
After the Latin School
While at school Simon must have earned a reputation for being rebellious, for his character at his departure from Halle (his so-called Qualitates abeuntium) was recorded as "sehr flüchtig, frech und wild" (very volatile, insolent, and wild). On Nov. 21, 1721 Simon was apprenticed to a barber at Halle named Schmid. On 29 March 17222, Simon and August Hermann Francke said goodbye. On Feb. 12, 1725, after finishing his apprenticeship, he went to Berlin.
(source: Jacobi, Juliane and Thomas J. Müller-Bahlke (eds.), Man hatte von ihm gute Hoffnung: das Waisenalbum der Franckeschen Stiftungen 1695-1748, Volume 3 of Hallesche Quellenpublikationen und Repertorien, Verlag der Franckeschen Stiftungen im Niemeyer-Verlag, 1998, p.110; Tagebuch von August Hermann Francke, 29. März 1722)
Simon's movements from 1725 to 1730 are undocumented. At some point during that interval he returned to London. At a British port on 11 February 1730, two German missionaries boarded the ship Bridgewater for a journey to India. Simon came from London to act as their interpreter. (Presumably Simon was their interpreter only while they were in port and did not accompany them to India.) (source: Herrn Miss. Richtsteigs und Herrn Miss. Sartorii auf dem Schiff Bridgewater gefuehrtes Diarium.)
Probably near the beginning of 1733, booked passage on a ship bound for Pennsylvania.
III. SIMON SIRON'S MIDDLE YEARS
While at dock at Dover, England, waiting to set sail for Georgia with the first group of Salzburger emigrants, Pastor Johann Martin Boltzius made this journal entry on December 23, 1733: "We were told that we should find Mr. Siron in Pennsylvania, whither he traveled last summer to settle there, because he had to endure much displeasure among his unconverted parents and relatives. They say he is very partial to Count von Zinzendorf." ["Es wurde uns erzehlet, daß wir den Herrn Siron in Pennsylvanien finden würden, wohin er vergangenen Sommer gereiset, sich daselbst zu setzen, weil er bey seinem unbekehrten Eltern und Anverwandten grossen Verdruß ausstehen müssen. Von dem Herrn Grafen von Zintzendorff soll er sehr eingenommen seyn."]
By "unconverted" Boltzius meant is that his parents had not had the "conversion experience" in a pietistic sense; that is, their Christian faith was incomplete. So presumably that means his parents were not Pietists and instead belonged to the orthodox Lutheran, Reformed (Calvinist), or Anglican religion. (source: Jones, George Fenwick, Detailed Reports on the Salzburger Emigrants who Settled in America, Volume 3, 1736 (1972), p.292)
Who told Boltzius about "Mr. Siron"? One likely candidate was the Reverend Henry Alard Butjenter. Butjenter was a colleague of Ziegenhagen, and like him, a chaplain at the German court chapel of St. James. He had been sent by the S.P.C.K. to Dover to welcome the Salzburgers after their voyage across the English Channel from Rotterdam. Both Boltzius' diary entry and Butjenter's own account of his journey related that Butjenter preached from 2 Corinthians and then handed out gifts of money to the emigrants. It was at this point in his diary that Boltzius wrote about Siron. Although Butjenter never mentioned Siron, he continued his account by stating that "Having conversed sometime with them [the Salzburgers] I proceeded to their Minister's [Boltzius and Gronau's] Lodgings with whom I consulted about settling the form of their publick Worship." It could have been during this consultation that Butjenter told them about Mr. Siron.
Simon's name has not yet been found on any ship's passenger list, and so his arrival in America in the summer of 1733 is our best guess.
On March 7, 1734, the ship carrying Boltzius and the Salzburgers, having crossed the Atlantic ocean, was forced to anchor off Charleston, South Carolina. Boltzius, however, was able to go ashore with the captain in a sloop.
Diary of Johann Martin Boltzius (source: Jones, George Fenwick, Detailed Reports on the Salzburger Emigrants who Settled in America, Volume 1 (1968), p.57-58):
The 8th of March. Adverse winds did not permit us to return to our ship in the sloop, although we had left the harbor. A shoemaker from Nürnberg, who had come to America a few months earlier told us that not only had they been at sea for fifteen weeks but also a great storm had broken all of their water barrels save one. And, when all of the sixty persons aboard were near death for lack of water, God had taken mercy on them and had sent an unusually hard rain so that they could fill many barrels and thus escape death. As there are opportunities in Charleston to reach Pennsylvania, we wrote a letter to Mr. Siron. We hope he will visit us, since we will need him for a number of reasons.
The 9th. Today our dear Father brought us back to our flock [on shipboard], which caused great rejoicing. God had kept all of them in good health, and they had provided edification for each other from the Word of God, ...
Diary of Johann Martin Boltzius (source: Jones, George Fenwick, Detailed Reports on the Salzburger Emigrants who Settled in America, Volume 3, 1736 (1972), p.321):
Tuesday, the 14th of May [1734]
The commissary, who has set out on his return voyage, took along letters to the following persons: Senior Urlsperger, Professor Francke, Pastor Freylinghausen, Mr. Ziegenhagen, Mr. Butienter, Pastor Meier, Mr. Semmler, M.A., Mr. Lauren, Mr. von Burgsdorff, Inspector Betticher, Preacher Müller, Mrs. Arnold, Mr. Siron in Pennsylvania, Mr. Schumacher, Mr. Costerus in Rotterdam, Mr. Wachsmann.
On July 11, 1734, Rev. Archibald Cummings married Simon Siron and Anne Castle/Anna Cassel at Christ Church in Philadelphia.
For the two ways her name was listed, see the online records at
http://www.philageohistory.org/rdic-images/ChristChurch/search-register.cfm?ln=Siron&fn=&t=&s=ln
Her name was recorded as "Anna Cassel" in "Mr. Cummings's Private Register from Sept.r 9th 1726 to Jan. 31st 1741 A Register of Persons married in Philad.a". By this time the Philadelphia area was home to several related Cassel families (who had all emigrated from Germany), but no one has yet definitively connected Anna to any of them.
Diary of Johann Martin Boltzius (source: Jones, George Fenwick, Detailed Reports on the Salzburger Emigrants who Settled in America, Volume 2 (1968), p.26-27):
The 10th, Dec. [1734] Yesterday evening we had, quite unexpectedly, a violent thunderstorm with severe lightning and rain which lasted nearly all night. The people who have lived in this region for some time do not consider this unusual. Instead, they point out that a thunderstorm at this time is usually followed by much rain and cold weather. A German, who with his wife has been living for some time in Philadelphia, brought me a letter from Mr. Siron, of Philadelphia.
Diary of Johann Martin Boltzius (source: Jones, George Fenwick, Detailed Reports on the Salzburger Emigrants, Vol. 2 (1968), p.33):
The 7th, Jan. [1735] The Salzburgers who went to Savannah recently with my worthy colleague [Gronau] returned today with some provisions and confirmed the news recently received, namely, that there were Salzburgers in Savannah who would join us shortly;* one of these came with them in our boat. They were at sea only seven weeks. Not only in London but also on their entire sea voyage they received many benefits, for by arrangement of our worthy benefactors in London, their ship was loaded with more and better provisions than ours. They greatly praised Daniel Weisiger,** who is at home in Philadelphia and was sent to Germany for collecting, and who looked after them at all times. No one died, and with the exception of two people who are sick, all of them landed in good health. GOD be praised for hearing our prayers. He does more than we ask or understand. Since yesterday it has been as cold as it was previously.
_______
*This was the second group (Second Transport) of Salzburger emigrants to Georgia. Their ship the Prince of Wales had left Gravesend on Nov. 18, 1734 and arrived at Charleston on Dec. 16, 1734. They arrived at Savannah on December 30th, and at Ebenezer on Jan. 13, 1735. (source: Boltzius and Gronau to Francke, Feb. 6, 1735 (O.S.), in Detailed Reports on the Salzburger Emigrants, Vol. 2 (1968), p.227.)
Interestingly, another passenger on board this ship was a young English lad named Henry Bishop. Bishop had been brought up in the Charity School of St. Dunstan-in-the-West, London. This school was run by Joseph Acors, who in his youth had studied at Francke's Latin School. (See above.) A month before the voyage Bishop was bound as a servant to Boltzius for seven years. (sources: Brunner, Halle Pietists in England, p.90; Minutes of the Common Council of the Trustees for Establishing the Colony of Georgia, Oct. 9 and 16, 1734, p.72-74 (http://books.google.com/books?id=dg1UAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA72&dq="Henry+Bishop" ); Letter of Henry Newman to Boltzius and Gronau, dated Oct. 29, 1734, printed in Henry Newman's Salzburger letterbooks, p.135.)
**Weisiger had accompanied the Salzburgers on the voyage to Georgia. Daniel Weisiger, a German, had immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1731. In the latter part of 1733, Weisiger, the Rev. Johann Christian Schulze, and Johann Daniel Schöner had been authorized to return to Europe in order to collect contributions for the German Lutheran congregations at Philadelphia, New Hanover and Providence (Trappe).
Jan. 10, 1735 - Letter from Friedrich Michael Ziegenhagen in Kensington (London) to Gotthilf August Francke in Halle:
... On the 7th of January the parents of Simon Siron, whom you know well and who is in Philadelphia now and got married, had the misfortune that their house among others burned down. ...
[... Den 7. Januar haben die Eltern des Ihnen bekannten Simon Sirons, der itzo in Philadelphia ist, und sich verheiratet hat, das Unglück gehabt, dass ihr Haus nebst andern abgebrannt ist. ...]
The actual date of the fire may have been January 8th, for on that date it was reported that "A Fire broke out at the Queen's-Head Punch-House, at St. Katherine's near the Tower, about 3 in the Morning, which in a few Hours, the Wind being high, consumed near 40 Houses." (The Gentleman's Magazine (London, England), Vol. 5, p.49. See http://books.google.com/books?id=AkcdAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA49 .)
Another report gave slightly different details: "[A]bout Three in the Morning a terrible Fire broke out at Capt. Collins's, who kept ths Punch-House near Iron-Gate, St. Catherine's, which burnt so fierce, that the Persons in the House with Difficulty, and naked, made their Escape off the Leads, by the Rigging of a Vessel which lay close to the Back of the House. By the Narrowness of the Street, and Lowness of the Tide, the Fire got such a Height, that there were about thirty Houses destroyed, and several much damaged." (The London Magazine, Or, Gentleman's Monthly Intelligencer, Vol. 4, p.44. See http://books.google.com/books?id=Qv0qAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA44 .)
The loss of thirty or forty houses fits with Ziegenhagen's comment "their house among others".
By about 11 a.m. on January 8th, the wind had increased to storm intensity and over the course of the day caused considerable damage. Following his sentence about the Sirons' home being burned down, Ziegenhagen wrote: "And on the 8th we had a very terrifying storm ..."
The Tower of London and the area around St. Katherine's were situated on the north bank of the Thames about half a mile downstream of London Bridge. There are several old maps of London which include them. The most contemporary--before the 1735 fire--is a 1720 map entitled "A Plan Of The City's Of London, Westminster And Borough Of Southwark; With The New Additional Buildings. Anno, 1720." For the section of this map showing the Tower and St. Katherine's, see http://mapco.net/senex/senex16.htm. Stairs are shown leading down to the water at several places, such as at the Iron gate between the Tower and St. Katherine's and, to the southeast, St. Katherine's stairs. Buildings bordered the river. Note the boats tied up below them. North of these buildings ran "St. Catherins" Street. The number "76" refers to "St. Katherins Tower".
Another map of the area, made eleven years after the fire, is a bit clearer:
http://www.motco.com/map/81002/
JOHN ROCQUE LONDON, WESTMINSTER AND SOUTWARK First Edition 1746 (26 inches to a mile)
In the column at the left, click on "MAP AND PAGE GRID". The overview map is divided into 3 rows and 8 columns, producing 24 map sections. Locate the map section at row 2, column 6. Then click at the left center part of this section to find "Segment 112 (Sheet F2, section 4)".
A couple of other maps, although less contemporaneous, are also interesting. See
James de la Feuille's map of London c. 1690
http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/crace/t/zoomify88572.html
THE TOWER and St. CATHERINS Taken from the Last Survey with Corrections
Description:
This plan was published in Strype's 1755 annotated edition of Stow's 'Survey
of England'.
Diary of Johann Martin Boltzius (source: Jones, George Fenwick, Detailed Reports on the Salzburger Emigrants, Vol. 2 (1968), p.35-38):
The 14th, Jan. [1735] ...
My dear colleague and some Salzburgers arrived by water and brought Mr. Weissiger with him, who has been in Germany for
some time to collect for church and school construction in Pennsylvania. He just wishes to look our place over and depart again
already tomorrow. ...
The 15th, Jan. [1735] ...
... Weissiger journeyed back to Savannah today to get ready for his return trip to Pennsylvania. Yet he came back with a new
pastor. . . .
Today the English pastor, Mr. Vollerton [Fullerton], who is being sent to a congregation near Charleston, came to see us just at the time when the Salzburgers were arriving for evening prayer. ...
The 19th, Jan. [1735], Sunday. The English Pastor, Mr. Fullerton, Mr. Weissiger, and a merchant from Hamburg* left today for Purysburg [,South Carolina] after first attending our morning service. ...
_______
*Evidently the name of this merchant from Hamburg was "Gemig". See below Boltzius' diary entry of Oct. 22, 1735.
Feb. 6, 1735 - Letter from Margaretha Kalcher to Samuel Urlsperger in which she tells him about the passage of the second transport of Salzburger emigrants to Georgia and their arrival in Ebenezer:
Margaretha Kalcher thanks Urlsperger and all of the other benefactors for the support during the second transport of Salzburger emigrants.
She praises Weisiger, who accompanied this passage, for his spiritual work on the ship. ...
(source: Thomas J. Müller-Bahlke et al., Salzburg, Halle, Nordamerika: ein zweisprachiges Find- und Lesebuch zum Georgia-Archiv der Franckeschen Stiftungen (1999), p.212.
See also: http://192.124.243.55/cgi-bin/gkdb.pl?t_show=x&reccheck=140272 )
Simon Siron came into conflict with the Lutherans of Pennsylvania (and in particular with Daniel Weisiger) during the mid-1730's. This is chronicled in a number of letters and diary entries which are excerpted below.
Feb. 28, 1735 - Letter of the Wardens of the German Lutheran congregations in Philadelphia, New Hanover and Providence to Gotthilf August Francke:
... Mr. Weisiger, having sailed from England to Georgia in company with certain Salzburg emigrants, has now come back to us. ... ...We have begged Pastor Ziegenhagen, Court Chaplain, to use his influence with the Royal Society, so that Pastor Bolzius may be authorized to investigate our condition, which is, in fact, so lamentable that any description of it must fall far short of the reality. People of a worldly spirit cannot understand the miseries that oppress our religious life in consequence of the lack of churches and schools. We, however, have to make the sad experience that, for this very reason, our children are betrayed into all kinds of crooked ways, and that
those who, at first, encouraged us to hope that they would help us in advancing the interests of true religion, afterwards turned out to be its destroyers.
Mr. Siron, who is not unknown to you, is one example of such characters. When this man first came among us, the prospect of his usefulness in many of our congregations was quite promising; for he was known in Halle and also in other parts. But in a short time he broke off from the congregation altogether ; and now seeks to pass himself off as one inspired*. He cries out against all the exercises of public worship without exception ; says that it is better to build stables than to erect churches ; and strives, by his slanders and his lying letters, to make us odious everywhere.
...
_______
* "inspired" - perhaps a reference to a religious movement known as the Community of True Inspiration founded in Germany in 1714 by Eberhard Ludwig Gruber (father of Johann Adam Gruber) and Johann Friedrich rock. They believed that God provided divine guidance by communicating directly to humans through specially endowed individuals known as Instruments (Werkzeuge).
See below the discussion of Johann Adam Gruber in Sangmeister's journals.
Mar. 28, 1735 - Letter from Johann Martin Boltzius to Gotthilf August Francke:
Since the departure of Mr. Weisiger, we have had no report from Pennsylvania, although we have written to Mr. Siron in Philadelphia several times. ...
["Aus Pennsylvanien haben wir seit der Abreise des Herrn Weisiger von uns keine Nachricht gehabt, obwohl an den Herrn Siron in Philadelphia etlichemal geschrieben worden. ... "]
July 6, 1735 - Gotthilf August Francke reply to the letter of Feb. 28, 1735 of the Wardens of the German Lutheran congregations in Philadelphia, New Hanover and Providence:
... I deeply regret that Mr. Siron has fallen into such extravagant notions — yet in view of the fact, that in his very temperament he is rash and inconsiderate, it is not much to be wondered at. Possibly, Pastor Bolzius may succeed in bringing him back to the right way ; for in his earlier years he had made a good beginning. ...
Sept. 1, 1735 - Letter from Johann Martin Boltzius to Gotthilf August Francke:
... The Salzbergers from Ebenezer are invited by the Herrnhuters in Savannah and provided overnight lodging when they have business in that city. Boltzius is absolutely certain that they will not be influenced by the Herrnhuters' views.
The only thing heard about them is that the Herrnhuters are hard-working, live together quietly, live on little food, and that they conduct spiritual exercises daily and on Sundays hold their worship services. Although Spangenberg* would rather travel with the Indians into the mountains in order to learn their language, he is still going to Pennsylvania as he promised.
Boltzius informed Weisiger about that. He also would have written to Siron, but Siron and Weisiger make accusations against each other. Thus, Boltzius does not know to whom he should turn. ...
Note: Siron's and Weisiger's accusations against each other are better quoted in Heinrich Melchior Mühlenberg, patriarch der Lutherischen kirche Nordamerikas, p.218:
"... Dem Mstr. Weisiger habe von seinem Vorhaben Nachricht gegeben und würde noch mehr an den Herrn Siron deshalb geschrieben haben, wenn ich wüßte, wie ich recht mit diesem daran wäre. Weisiger beschreibt den Herrn Siron als einen Mann, der von einer Stufe zur andern gefallen fei, welches ich aber aus Siron's Briefe nicht schließe: hingegen dieser beschreibt den Weisiger als einen Erzheuchler und schlimmen Mann, sein Weib aber als eine sehr schändliche Person, die viel Aergerniß gebe."
[Paraphrased translation: Boltzius reports having written to Weisiger in Pennsylvania about his [Spangenberg's] intention to go there. He mentions that he would have written to Siron about the matter if he knew how he stood with Siron. Weisiger has described Siron as someone who "falls from one sect to another". Siron describes Weisiger as an arch-hypocrite and his wife as a very shameful person who give much offense.]
_______
*In 1735 August Gottlieb Spangenberg accompanied the first group of Moravian settlers to Savannah, Georgia. In 1736 he came to Pennsylvania. See below. (Also known as Brother "Joseph" Spangenberg, in 1748 he and another Moravian, Brother Matthew Ruetz, traveled part-way up the South Branch of the Potomac River of Virginia, getting as far as the home of Christian Evick.)
Sept. 26, 1735 - Letter of August Francke Gotthilf to Johann Martin Boltzius:
... Francke thinks that the Salzburgers currently do not need to fear the Spaniards, because there is peace between England and Spain. He is surprised that there is barely any correspondence between Boltzius and Weisiger or with Siron in Pennsylvania. ...
Diary of Johann Martin Boltzius (source: Jones, George Fenwick, Detailed Reports on the Salzburger Emigrants, Vol. 2 (1968), p.183-186.):
The 22nd, Oct. [1735]
... Just as I was getting in the boat, I was greeted by an Englishman who brought me greetings from a merchant and Indian Trader and said that the latter had sent me . . . bushels of peas which I could have someone pick up in Savannah at the first opportunity.
... I also received letters from Mr. Causton, some of which he had received from Charleston and some from Philadelphia. The letters from Pennsylvania were from a merchant named Gemig*, who was in Ebenezer a while ago with Mr. Weisiger. In them I was again asked to make the trip to Philadelphia for the benefit of the Lutheran people there, and also to answer the letters that the congregation there had written me. However, I know nothing of such letters, except that Mr. Weisiger referred to them some time ago in his letter. ...
_______
*called Grurg in the diary entry of Jun. 9, 1736.
Diary of Johann Martin Boltzius (source: Jones, George Fenwick, Detailed Reports on the Salzburger Emigrants, Vol. 3 (1968), p.116.):
Monday, the 26th of April [1736]. ... Schmansgruber, who earlier taught school in Purysburg, is moving further north again. So far he does not know himself whether it will be Pennsylvania or New York. His weaver's trade cannot earn him a living in Purysburg. ...
Diary of Johann Martin Boltzius (source: Jones, George Fenwick, Detailed Reports on the Salzburger Emigrants, Vol. 3 (1968), p.124.):
Monday, the 3rd of May [1736]. Because I have an opportunity to send letters to Pennsylvania through Schomansgruber from Purysburg, I am writing a few to Messers Siron and Weisiger, who have not written to me for a long time or answered two letters. Whether one of us shall travel there some time and inquire about church matters and whether they are sincere about Evangelical teachers
and schoolmasters rests with our Father in Heaven, who directs everything well. We cannot and shall not do it without permission
of the benefactors in London which, for good reasons, we do not wish to request. Nor do our current move to a new location and
the various preoccupations in official and external matters yet permit such a long trip. Our future and our resolution are in God's
hands.
Diary of Johann Martin Boltzius (source: Jones, George Fenwick, Detailed Reports on the Salzburger Emigrants, Vol. 3 (1968), p.152.):
Wednesday, the 9th of June [1736] I received a letter from the merchant Grurg*, who has his business in Pennsylvania. He was surprised that the letters written to me by the Evangelical congregation in Philadelphia had not heard, as he had heard, arrived. He also complained that the seeds that were sent to us from there long ago have been detained until now in Charleston, from where he is now sending them. He has a very bad opinion of Mr. Siron and his sympathy with all sorts of sects, and he also reports that Mr. Spangenberg is lodging in his house and stands in high credit with the Schwankfelders.**
_______
*called Gemig in Boltzius' diary entry of Oct. 22, 1735. Neither "Gemig" nor "Grurg" are recognizable German surnames. I suspect they represent the transcriber's best renditions of illegible handwriting. The merchant's actual surname was probably something like "Georg" or "Gering".
**In April 1733, the Protestant sect known as the Schwenkfelders had been ordered to leave Saxony. In 1734 Zinzendorf began making arrangements for the Schwenkfelders to settle in Georgia. Spangenberg hoped to serve as their pastor. However, while waiting in Holland, the Schwenkfelders were persuaded to go to Pennsylvania instead. Sailing on the ship St. Andrew, they arrived in Philadelphia on September 22, 1734.
Still intrigued by the idea of establishing a settlement in Georgia, Zinzendorf then made plans to send a group of Moravian emigrants. He negotiated with the Trustees of Georgia in London for a grant of five hundred acres. The "first company" of Moranvians, numbering ten were under the leadership of Spangenberg. On February 3, 1735, all but Spangenberg set sail from London on the ship Two Brothers. The ship stopped to take on her water supply at Gravesend, where Spangenberg join her a few days later. They passed the Azores on February 25th, and disembarked at Savannah on April 8th. (source: A. L. Fries, The Moravians in Georgia, 1735-1740 (1905), p.58.)
On December 10, 1735, a "second company" of twenty-two Moravians led by David Nitschmann, Zinzendorf's "Master of the Household", departed Cowes, England on the ship Symonds. It reached Georgia on February 5, 1736. Leaving the Georgia Moravians in the care of Nitschmann, Spangenberg traveled to Pennsylvania, with instructions to try to convert Schwenkfelders to the Moravian faith.
Spangenberg left Savannah on March 15th, going on Capt. Dunbar's ship the Prince of Wales to Port Royal, South Carolina. From there he went by land almost to Charlestown, the last short distance being in a chance boat, and from Charlestown he sailed to New York. (A. L. Fries, The Moravians in Georgia, 1735-1740 (1905), p.140.) He stayed a night in New York with Jacob Boemper. (H. E. Stocker, A History of the Moravian Church in New York City (1922), p.35-36.)
We have only a fragmentary and sometimes inconsistent timeline for Spangenberg's activities during his first visit to Pennsylvania:
On April 4, 1736, he appeared at the door of Christopher Wiegner, who lived in Towamencin Township, now Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Two days latter Spangenberg and Wiegner visited Germantown. Nitschmann arrived in Philadelphia on May 13th and traveled several weeks with Spangenberg. On June 10th, Spangenberg and Wiegner attended services at Melchior Kriebel's. On June 23, 1736, Nitschmann sailed from New York for Europe. On July 10 [or 21] (other sourses say in August) Spangenberg left to visit the Moravian mission on the island of St. Thomas in the West Indies. He did not return to Pennsylvania until November 27th.
It could only have been sometime after March 15th and before June 9th that Spangenberg could have lodged at the home of Simon Siron, as stated in the letter of the merchant Grurg.
June 19, 1736 - Letter from John Martin Boltzius and Israel Christian Gronau to Gotthilf August Francke:
Boltzius has not heard much from Pennsylvania and wonders whether or not Weisiger and Siron have received his letters.
July 7, 1736 - Letters of Friedrich Michael Ziegenhagen to Johann Martin Boltzius and Israel Christian Gronau:
... Ziegenhagen also believes that Weisiger is a hypocrite. After reading Gottfried Arnold's History of Church and Heresy,* Siron believes to have found true Christianity. It remains to be seen how he will develop, but Ziegenhagen warns about Siron's willfulness. ...
Note: Ziegenhagen's opinions regarding Weisiger and Siron are better quoted in Heinrich Melchior Mühlenberg, patriarch der Lutherischen kirche Nordamerikas, p.219:
"Die Furcht, die Herr Boltzius wegen Herrn Weisigers hat, nämlich daß sein Schönthun grobe Heuchelei [hypocrisy] sei, ist nur zu viel gegründet. Particularia davon anzuführen würde mehr Zeit erfordern als ich jetzt ersparen kann. Wie es mit Herrn Siron ablaufen wird, nachdem er anfängt zu glauben, daß ihm durch Gottfried Arnold's Kirchen- und Ketzerhistorie die Augen aufgegangen und er die rechte Beschaffenheit der rechten christlichen Kirche und des wahren Christenthums daraus erkennen lernen, wird die Zeit lehren. Ich bin wenigstens wegen der großen Weisheit, die er zu Beurtheilung des Wortes Gottes, der heiligen Sakramente, des Predigtamtes; sonderlich unbekehrter Prediger, erlangt zu haben vermeint, seinethalben billig in Sorgen."
_______
* Gottfried Arnold (Sept. 5, 1666 - May 30, 1714), a German Lutheran theologian and historian. His Impartial History of Church and Heresy was first published in 1699-1700.
Oct. 6, 1736 - Letter from John Martin Boltzius to Gotthilf August Francke:
Spangenberg has been in Pennsylvania and Boltzius has heard through an unnamed merchant that Spangenberg stayed with Siron. [See above Boltzius' diary entry for June 9, 1736.] Boltzius had asked Siron to report on Spangenberg's activity there but has heard nothing from him. (Nor has he heard from Weisiger).
Dec. 6, 1736 - Letter of the Providence and New Hanover in Pennsylvania to Gotthilf August Francke:
"... for Satan has been striving, sometimes in this way, sometimes in that, to distract and break up our congregation. In these operations Mr. Syron has done whatever he could ; for he has not only instigated Mr. Schulz to arrest our work in sending our collectors to secure help for our congregations, but he has also endeavored otherwise to create divisions ; and by false representations sent to the Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen, he has sought to oppose the undertaking. ..."
...
"Mr. Syron has persecuted Mr. Weisiger with much violence and brought heavy charges against him ; of which, however, we have until this day, seen no proof; on the contrary we hope that all will turn out well. Mr. Weisiger has bound himself to repay the 72 Thaler, 9 Gr., 8 Pf., which your Excellency has advanced to the book-binder, Fossgraf. ..."
[Original German text:
http://books.google.com/books?id=dlgJAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA62
"... indem der Satan bald auf diese, bald aus jene Weise die Mitglieder der Gemeine zu verwirren und zu zerstreuen suchet, dazu denn der Herr Syron das seinige fleißig beiträget, als welcher nicht nur durch sein Aufhetzen die Hrn. Schulzen bewogen, uns wegen derer bei Aussendung derer Collectanten denen Gemeinden vorgeschossenen Gelder zu resten, sondern auch anderweit Uneinigkeit zu machen, und durch unwahre Briefe an den Hrn. Hofprediger Ziegenhagen den Lauf der ganzen Sache zu hemmen suchet. ...
...
"Mr. Weisiger hat von Hrn. Syron viel Verfolgung und Beschuldigung, davon wir doch bis dato keinen Beweis haben, vielmehr alles Gute hoffen. Die von Ew. Hochehrw. an Herrn Foßgraffen [Buchbinder] bezahlten 72 Thlr. 9 Gr. 3 Pf. hat bemeldter Weisiger zu erstatten sich verbunden. ..."]
Feb. 8, 1737 - Letter of Gotthilf August Francke to Johann Martin Boltzius in Ebenezer, Georgia:
Abstracted excerpt as given in Salzburg, Halle, Nordamerika, p.273:
Francke assumes that Siron is under Spangenberg's influence and that Zinzendorf and his wife, who followed him to England, will go to Pennsylvania.
["Francke vermutet, daß Siron unter dem Einfluß Spangenbergs steht und daß sich Zinzendorf mit seiner Frau, die ihm nach England nachgereist ist, nach Pennsylvania begeben wird."]
Excerpt of letter as given in Heinrich Melchior Mühlenberg, patriarch der Lutherischen kirche Nordamerikas, p.219-220:
["Vermuthlich möchte sich auch wohl Herr Siron nach seinem hitzigen Naturell von dem Herrn Spangenberg haben einnehmen lassen, und wer weiß, wohin etwa des Herrn Grasen von Zinzendorf Absichten gehen. Sollte derselbe nach Pennsylvanien übergehen, so möchte er allda auf eine Zeitlang wohl einen Anhang finden. Vielleicht nöthigen ihn auch seine Umstände dazu, weil ihn in unfern Landen fast Niemand gern mehr aufnehmen will."]
[Note the differences in the two excerpts. The phrase "seinem hitzigen Naturell" ("his [Siron's] fiery temperament") was omitted from the abstracted version, whereas the inference "who followed him to England" was added.
The excerpt from Mühlenberg includes the speculation about what Zinzendorf would find if he did travel to Pennsylvania. (Does the excerpt refer to Siron as being Zinzendorf's "follower" ("Anhang")? A better translation is needed.)]
June 18, 1737 - Letter of Gotthilf August Francke to the Wardens of the German Lutheran congregations in Philadelphia, New Hanover and Providence:
Your very good letter of Dec. 6th, 1736, was transmitted to me by the Rev. Court Chaplain Ziegenhagen, and I have learned from it that you yourselves and other members of your congregations in Pennsylyania continue to cherish a desire for a competent and faithful pastor.
...
I have written to Pastor Boltzius several times, requesting him, if possible, to undertake a journey to Pennsylvania and gather information on the spot concerning the Evangelical congregations. But he has answered me, that under the existing circumstances of his own congregation at Ebenezer, he could not well absent himself from his post. We must therefore wait patiently to see if the thing can yet be done; for, indeed, I have indulged the hope that by this means the way might be opened to provide better things.
I am sorry Mr. Siron has been the cause of any disturbance amongst you. I deeply lament his departure from the right way which he had followed whilst he was here [at Halle] with us, and I sincerely hope that hereafter he will help your work rather than hinder it.
[Original German text of last sentence above:
http://books.google.com/books?id=M0IUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA65
"Daß der Herr Siron einiges Mißverständniß an Ihren Orten verursachet hat, thut mir leid und beklage ich, wenn derselbe von den guten Wege, den er allhier betreten, abkommen solle und wünsche, daß derselbe dero jetzab vielmehr befördern als hindern möge."]
Diary of Johann Martin Boltzius (source: Jones, George Fenwick, Detailed Reports on the Salzburger Emigrants, Volume 4, 1737 (1976), p.194.):
The 12th of November [1737]. This evening my dear colleague was fetched to Purysburg to preach the gospel of Christ there tomorrow, as the people there had recently requested him to. The Lutherans there are no longer so close together as previously, but are scattered here and there on their plantations or in other occupations; and therefore we preach God's word and hold Holy Communion seldomer than formerly. At that time I got back the letter I had written already in May of last year to Messrs. Siron and Weissiger in Philadelphia. Schonmansgruber had taken it with him for forwarding but had died under way; and his wife, who is still in Charlestown, must have forgotten it. ...
Oct. 15, 1739 - Letter of the three congregations in Pennsylvania, addressed to the Rev. Court Chaplain, Ziegenhagen, in London:
Most Reverend, Most Honored Chaplain.
Your letter of Sept. 26th, 1738, was duly delivered by Preacher Klug, and has been read with sincere respect. It seems, from your letter, as if you had not had any letter or answer from us for a long time, although your letter of Feb. 4th, 1736, was answered by us on Dec. 6th, 1736. Your letter had first been broken open by Mr. Siron, and then handed to us ; but since then we have not had any answer or letter from him. So, for our part, we did not know what to do in the matter. But now we see from your last letter that was handed to us by Preacher Klug, that it looks as if you had never received our letter of Dec. 6th, 1736. ...
Further on in the letter it becomes clear that the congregations' opinion of Daniel Weisiger had soured:
... Mr. Weisiger still owes the congregations 77 dollars, 15 shillings, Pennsylvania currency, for which he has given his note of hand, though the congregations will never get anything from him ; for the merchants have taken possession of all he had, still holding a claim of 300 dollars against him ; but allowing him a certain definite time for payment. Now if we should push him for what he owes us we should have onsiderable expense, and would get nothing from him, in the end.
So, we hope that your Reverence will not encourage the thought that the wardens have squandered the money that has been collected. We have been deceived by the hypocrisy of the wicked collectors ; and this hypocrisy you, no doubt, observe in their conduct yourself, although you would not have suspected it in Mr. Weisiger. ...
(source: see, for example, http://archive.org/stream/reportsofunitedg00unit#page/104/mode/2up )
Between 1739 and 1741, Daniel Weisiger relocated to Virginia and purchased several lots in the new town of Richmond. He died in 1758 in Chesterfield County. (Note 23 on page 196 of Detailed Reports, Vol. 1 (1968), states that "He later bought lands in western Virginia with allegedly misappropriated funds.")
Note: For a more thorough discussion of the United Congregations and the activities of Daniel Weisiger (but with no mention of Simon Siron), see Charles Henry Glatfelter, Pastors and people: German Lutheran and Reformed churches in the Pennsylvania field, 1717-1793 (1981), p.26-27, 31-35.
===============
IV. SIMON SIRON'S LATER YEARS
In early 1738 Simon made plans to move from Philadelphia to Plymouth Meeting House (in present-day Montgomery County). His intention was published in Benjamin Frankin's Pennsylvania Gazette dated February 7, 1738, and it is here that we first learn that he made his living as a shopkeeper:
ALL Persons indebted to Simon Siron, Shopkeeper in Second Street, are desired to make speedy Payment, that he may be enabled to settle with his Creditors. He designing to remove out of this Town in April next. The said Siron keeps a Store at Plymouth Meeting House, where all Persons may be supply'd with all Sorts of Goods suitable for the Country, at very reasonable Rates.
Simon's name was also listed twice Benjamin Franklin's Accounts for 1738:
17 March, Friday. Simon Siron, Dr. for a Bond and Jugment, 0.6. Shop Book.
14 Aug, Monday. William Dewees, Junior, Dr. For Cash, 5.0. Dr. For Cash Assumed to pay Simen Siron,
There are no records to describe his activities during his stay at Plymouth Meeting House. Ten years later he returned to Philadelphia, as shown in adverisements from both Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette and Christopher Sauer's German-language newspaper the Pennsylvanische Geschichts-Schreiber.
Pennsylvanische Geschichts-Schreiber, February 16, 1748:
Simon Siron has removed from Plymouth Meeting House to Philadelphia, on Second street at the Amsterdam Arms. He sells yarn and flax.
Pennsylvania Gazette, March 22, 1748:
Simon Siron, shopkeeper, is come to live in town, and keeps shop the upper end of Second street, at the sign of the Amsterdam Arms, and gives ready money for good linnen yarn.
Shortly after his return to Philadelphia, Christopher Sauer Sr. (1695-1758), the Germantown printer and newspaper publisher, advertised in his paper the sale of a book with the long title Verschiedene Christliche Wahrheiten, und Kurtze Betrachtung über ein kurtzlich Heraus gegebenes Büchlein, gekannt Lauter Wahrheit (Various Christian Truths, and a Short Essay on a Recently Published Small Book, Known as Plain Truth). "This [book] can be obtained," the advertisement indicated, "in Germantown from the printer, or in Philadelphia from David Daschler or Simon Siron, free of charge."
===============
A reference to Simon Siron's shop location in an adverisement for an eight-day chiming clock in the Pennsylvania Gazette for October, 13, 1753 is the last definite record we have of him in Philadelphia. Christopher Sauer mentioned him again in a long letter to Conrad Weiser dated September 16, 1755. Among other topics, Sauer complained about the Freemasons: "When I consider the foundations of the Freemasons as they are described in their booklet which a goldsmith among the Freemasons gave to Siron and which Siron gave to me, I do not know what I should think of Professor Smith's praise of the author and the booklet 'The Life of God in the Soul of Men'." There is no clear indication in this letter of Simon's residence. However, by 1759 he had relocated to Germantown. In April of that year his was listed as an executor in the will of George Rieff of Germantown. In 1760 his name appeared in the list of subscribers who gave money for maintenance of the Upper Germantown Burying Ground. Those who paid two shillings or more earned "a right of burial in the said Burying Ground for themselves and their family". Simon had paid one pound, ten shillings. His wife, presumably Anna Castle/Cassel, was buried in this cemetery on July 5, 1762. Immediately following Simon's name on 1760 list of subscribers was a woman named Elizabeth Barns, who had contributed ten shillings. Evidently she lived with Simon after Anna's death.
In the August 16, 1762 issue of the Pennsylvania Gazette, Simon advertised for sale a tract of land at "Point no Point". This was likely the land which he had purchased in the early 1750's as a place of residence for Eckerlin brothers, exiles from the Ephrata community. They chose instead to move to the northwestern Virginia frontier with ultimately tragic consequences for two of the brothers. (See below for more details.)
Simon Siron wrote his will on November 4, 1765. In it he described himself as a shopkeeper. He appointed as his executors John Koch of Germantown and Conrad Weaver of Bristol Township. Simon authorized his executors "to Sell and dispose of my House and Lot of Ground where I now dwell in Germantown" but "reserving to Elizabeth Barns her right and Estate therein". He desired that his executors have his negro boy named Joseph Zanco be apprenticed to a good master. After the term of his apprenticeship, Joe, having been born of a free negro woman, was to be declared free and manumitted. Simon bequeathed to his two sons Nathaniel and Simon equal shares of his estate. They had not been made his executors most probably because they were still living in Virginia. His will was probated April 21, 1770 in Philadelphia County, but by then he was no longer in Germantown. As will be more fully detailed in the next section, he and Elizabeth (Betty) had been brought by Samuel Eckerlin to Ephrata in Lancaster County in 1769. There at Ephrata Elizabeth died and was buried. Simon probably also died there and presumably was also buried there since there is no record of his burial in the Upper Germantown Burying Ground.
Background: Conrad Beissel and the Eckerlin Brothers
The later life of Simon Siron is better understood by first telling the story of certain individuals who came to influence it.
Conrad Beissel, the founder of the Ephrata Cloister, was born in Eberbach am Neckar, Germany, in March 1691. He came to America in 1720 and after a year in Germantown, Pennsylvania moved to Conestoga in Lancaster County. There in November 1724 he was baptised into the faith of of the Brethren (Dunkers) and soon became its leader.
The four Eckerlin brothers, Samuel, Israel, Gabriel, and Emanuel, and their widowed mother, came from Alsace to America in 1725 and settled near Germantown. After being told about the Conestoga congregation led by the charismatic Beissel, the Eckerlins were impressed enough to moved there in 1727.
On June 9, 1728, Israel Eckerlin and Christopher Sauer were baptised by Beissel. In December of that year Beissel formally broke with the Dunkers. In 1732 he established the community of Ephrata on Cocalico Creek. Because of his belief that Saturday was the proper day to observe as the Sabbath, his followers became known as Seventh Day Dunkers or Sabbatarians. He also taught that celibacy was superior to marriage. Thus Ephrata consisted principally of an order for unmarried "brothers" and another order for unmarried "sisters", but it also allowed some married "householders".
By 1734 all the Eckerlins had become a part of Beissel's settlement. Indeed, the Eckerlin brothers were leading spirits of the Ephrata Cloister. During their time there, they had been responsible for its successful commercial enterprises, which included a mill and a print shop; but in 1745 tensions between Beissel and Israel Eckerlin, who was then Prior of the Brethren, had grow so great that Israel was forced to leave. Accompanied by his brother Samuel and also by Alexander Mack Jr., Israel left Ephrata in September 1745. (Mack, whose father had founded the Dunker faith in Schwarzenau, Germany, had been converted from the Germantown Dunkers in 1738.) The group journeyed four hundred miles into far southwestern Virginia and there established a new settlement on the New River which they called Mahanaim.
On December 27, 1745 Emanuel Eckerlin departed the Cloister but--unlike his siblings--chose to remain in the vicinity, where he lived in seclusion as an anchorite. Early the following year Samuel Eckerlin and Alexander Mack returned to Pennsylvania to get supplies and to see friends. They also visited Ephrata, and when they left there on February 13th for the New River settlement, Gabriel Eckerlin went with them. Mack left Mahanaim in 1747 or early 1748 and went to Germantown, where he was again received by the Dunkers and, in time, became an elder and minister.
In early 1750, Israel and Gabriel Eckerlin made a return visit to Ephrata. They arrived in the vicinity on February 23rd. When their presence became known they were invited to the Cloister. All the former ill will was seemingly forgiven, and it was agreed that with the approval of Samuel, who was still at Mahanaim, the brothers would rejoin the community.
After visiting some old associates in Germantown and elsewhere, the brothers journeyed back to the New River to make the necessary preparations for their permanent return. Israel was so determined that he set out ahead of the others and arrived at Ephrata on April 25th. Unfortunately, dissatisfactions with the situation again arose, and so, on October 2nd, after a stay of five months and six days, Israel left and moved to home of a neighbor, Jacob Sontag. Is this account, given in the Chronicon Ephratense, Samuel and Gabriel arrived after Israel had run off "for the second time". Israel found his brothers on the road and convinced them not to return to Ephrata. "They brought their Indian wares to market and traded them for other goods and prepared for their return to the wilderness".
V. SIMON SIRON IN SANGMEISTER'S JOURNALS
Fortunately for us, Simon Siron's name appears a number of times in Ezechiel Sangmeister's autobiography "Leben und Wandel", translated into English as "Life and Conduct of the late Brother Ezechiel Sangmeister" by Barbara M. Schindler (Historical Society of the Cocalico Valley, Ephrata, PA 1986).
George Heinrich Sangmeister was born in Beddingen, Lower Saxony, Germany in 1723, the son of a school teacher. At the age of nine his father died, and at thirteen he left school to become an apprentice joiner. After a three year apprenticeship, he began his journeyman joiner wanderings which took him to Württemberg. In 1742 he and his master emigrated to Pennsylvania. To pay for his ocean passage he had to work four years as an indentured servant. Once he had fulfilled his obligation, he worked as a joiner in Germantown. During this time he met his lifelong companion Anthony Höllenthal. A Philadelphia shoemaker named Wilhelm Jung recruited the pair for the Ephrata Cloister, which they joined in March 1748. Sangmeister adopted the spiritual name Ezechiel, and Höllenthal became Antonius.
It was during 1750 that Ezechiel Sangmeister first became familiar with Israel Eckerlin. He had been requested by Beissel to associate with Israel and serve him. In Sangmeister's account, Samuel and Gabriel Eckerlin arrived with their baggage three months after Israel. Sangmeister did not give specific dates, but using those given in the Chronicon Ephratense, this would place their return in late July or early August--before Israel had left Ephrata. The two brothers were put up at the home of Johann Bauman instead of at the Cloister.
Sangmeister gave only a brief and rather vague account of Israel's second departure, after which he abruptly mentioned Simon Siron for the first time without any explanation of who he was: "They journeyed to Philadelphia and Siron bought the Peint no Peint [a piece of land north of Philadelphia] in order for them [the Eckerlins] to live on it, but Brother Israel did not want to move onto it. Thus the man [Siron] put himself in great debt, for which they were to blame." Then alluding to future events, he added: "This was the reason why he [Siron] finally reached out for Brother Samuel [i.e., Samuel Eckerlin] in his distress, because he was his debtor and consequently he [Samuel] had to serve him [Siron] for several years in his illness." (HSCV, v.v, p.99)
Having rejected Simon's offer to settle at "Point no Point", Israel, Gabriel, and Samuel Eckerlin moved this time to the northwestern frontier of Virginia, eventually settling at present-day Dunkard Bottom on the Cheat River near Kingwood, Preston County, West Virginia. Meanwhile at Ephrata, Sangmeister had become disenchanted with Beissel's dictatorial leadership and life in the commune; and so on the night of October 2, 1752, he and Höllenthal secretly departed the Cloister and relocated to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Here they again encountered the Eckerlin brothers. In August 1757, while Samuel was away, Israel and Gabriel Eckerlin were captured by Indians and their settlement on the Cheat River was destroyed. (A good account of the lives of the Eckerlin brothers from 1751 to 1757 can be found in R. E. Sappington, The Brethren in Virginia: the History of the Church of the Brethren in Virginia (1973), p.14-18.) Afterwards Samuel settled in the Shenandoah Valley with Sangmeister.
According to Sangmeister, it was Samuel Eckerlin who brought Simon Siron's sons Nathaniel and Simon to the Shenandoah Valley to set up a pottery-making business. The year was either 1761 or 1762. Sangmeister's piecemeal discussions of events, makes their timing unclear. In one paragraph he wrote:
"About this time Brother S. received a letter from North Carolina from Gerhard Zinn*, to whom they had sold a piece of land on the New River for 100 pounds. They reported to him that the said money was ready and he should come and get it. I offered to travel with him and thought to give myself some air in a harmless way and let the little community fend for itself and relieve myself of my difficult burdens for a while. He postponed it from days to weeks and from month to month until finally nothing became of it, to the misfortune of the poor people who many after many years lost all the interest on this godless money since they were never sure when he would come and get it. They also sent him him verbal messages to come for it several times and they were completely innocent in the matter, but he would not go. In the meantime, since he was putting off the matter off Brother Siron from Germantown sent his son to Brother S. with letters saying that his wife had died [she was buried July 5, 1762] and he was in great distress. Now he certainly could not refuse it since he had brought it about that the man bought a piece of land not far from Philadelphia called the Peint no Peint for him and his Brothers to live on. The man had put himself considerably into debt on their account and in doing so he lost a lot. He left for his journey on August 3, 1762." (HSCV, v.vii, p.106-107)
*Zinn and his wife were then living in a Moravian community near present-day Winston-Salem, NC.
Diary of Bethabara and Bethania: "July 13 [1762]. The Gerhard Zinns, an elderly pleasant couple who have belonged to the Seventh Day Adventists, desire closer connection with the Brethren. On account of the Indians they came here four years ago, have since kept in touch with the Brethren, and now desire to live here. ..." (source: Frias, Adelaide Lisetta et al., Records of the Moravians in North Carolina: 1752-1771 (1922), p.248.)
Sangmeister returned to the topic several paragraphs later:
"I have mentioned in my previous account that Brother S. received letters from Brother Siron in Germantown that he was ill and he should come to him. He set out on his journey on May 9, 1761 and stayed down there a for long time. ... ... When eleven weeks had passed Brother S. came home again and burdened us once again with another temptation, which I will mention hereafter. ...
"When Brother S. [Samuel Eckerlin] came home as I had mentioned he brought along one of Siron's godless boys. He burdened us with the same illbred fellow that we were burdened with all winter. Br. Hag. and I had to cook and bake for him as well as the others, for he constantly asked me to scold the man, make him work, and set him straight, but I did neither one nor the other. He himself had a fallout with him and treated him very roughly with scolding, but it accomplished nothing but that he [Samuel Eckerlin] could pour out his emotions and the fellow remained the same as before. Meanwhile he also urged very strongly that we should also take in his [evidently meaning Nathaniel Siron's] brother, Simon, and set up the pottery." (HSCV, v.vii, p.111-113.)
Exactly how instrumental the Sirons were in establishing the first pottery kiln in the area is difficult to judge from Sangmeister's diary. He wrote how--on Eckerlin's advice--on November 28, 1762, a somewhat ailing Brother Joh. Adam came to live with him. Eckerlin was to "give him medicine":
"[A]fterwards I soon noticed what Brother S.'s intentions were with this matter. He gave him no medical attention whatsoever, but rather on the contrary he urged once again that he [meaning Bro. Joh. Adam?] should get involved in pottery with the Sirons. What was even worse was when he finally could do it, the Sirons were to be let go and their tools kept. I had to wonder at such a strange and unjust attack. I said no to it and that it was impossible for me to advise a young person who loves and seeks goodness to do something like that, and I opposed it. Although I finally prevented it tactfully, he did not give up and still tormented me often with it." (HSCV, v.vii, p.115.)
This was Sangmeister's last reference to pottery-making.
Sangmeister devoted a couple of paragraphs to a man he had known in Pennsylvania whom he called Brother Gruber:
"The best thing Brother S. brought along from the aforementioned journey [to Germantown to attend Siron for eleven weeks] was an affectionate letter from Brother Gruber, who approximately one year ago underwent unusual trials and tests partly through severe illness and partly through his wife and children. They constantly blamed him that he had not lived like other men out in the world anymore and he had not provided more for them. After much raving and scolding his wife ran to the Ephratites and the children followed a new teacher, Ludewize, against the father's wishes. This man [Ludewize] wanted to begin a new sect. He called himself and his adherents the quiet ones in the land. Into his doctrine he incorporated that all the best things, for example the nicest clothing, good food and drink, and a comfortable life were actually for the children of God. However things went contrary to his perception, for he had to learn in the end that he had to die poor and in need. The same widow, who clung to him and he to her to the offense of others, got a wicked man. They fought and beat one another gravely. Nevertheless, against his father's wishes Gruber's son tried to carry on with the remaining followers of this established group after the death of the founder. They really did do it until they finally ran into debt and had to give it up. Instead of the young Gruber going back to his sick father again, he went to old Sauer to secretly earn money. There to his father's sorrow he also burdened himself with a wife. The oldest daughter, who had done the most to her father, also wrote me a sincere letter asking permission to come to us and live with us. However I was afraid of her since we already had had and had seen the wretchedest fruits from a supposed peace-loving old maid (namely Barbara Landes*), who could act as holy and pious as this one [Gruber's daughter] and afterwards she became a scourage. Moreover, as for old Gruber, I would gladly have gone to get him at his wish and served him up to the end, but Brother S. was against it although he [Brother S.] later wanted to burden us with sick Sauer [sic-Siron]**, for which I had no desire since he still had children just like the aforementioned one." (HSCV, v.vii, p.114.)
*Barbara Landes had come to the Valley from Pennsylvania sometime earlier and was living in Samuel Eckerlin's home. Sangmeister described her as a quarrelsome, old woman.
**The name must have been transcribed incorrectly. A "sick Sauer" makes no sense. The "old Sauer" mentioned in the paragraph must have been Christopher Sauer Senior, who had been dead since September 25, 1758. Hence he could not have been a burden later on. Nor is there any mention of Sauer's children by Sangmeister. On the other hand, a "sick Siron" does make sense, both in being a burden later on and in having an "aforementioned" child in Sangmeister's narrative.
...
"In the year 1763 we got word from Germantown about Brother Siron that he had a stroke so that he was completely paralyzed on one side and he also could not talk. The contents of the letter were also that Brother S. should quickly go down to him, but he was not as enthusiastic as they thought.
"Furthermore it was also mentioned that our dear brother Gruber died. It is very noteworthy that his intimate friend and Brother, Christian Wagner doctor in Schippach [Skippack], also died on the very same day and they were buried the next day at the same hour. For many years they had been close with one another and now God has also deigned them to enter into blessed rest and happiness together on one day. God send us a blessed successor. Brother Gruber loved the poor simple life of Jesus very much." (HSCV, v.viii, p.128.)
The Brother Gruber mentioned by Sangmeister was John Adam Gruber, who wrote his will in Philadelphia County on May 28, 1762. His executors were Simon Siron and Gruber's daughter Anna Augusta. One of the witnesses was John Koch [Cook]. Gruber added a codicil on May 4, 1763, revoking the appointment of his daughter as executor and substitting in her place John Cook. Witnessing the codicil were Christopher Sower [Saur/Sauer, Jr.] and Everah Anton Cruimel. Gruber died the next day, May 5. Burial took place on May 7 in his own back yard. The will was proved on May 20, 1763.*
The man identified as "Christian" Wagner by Sangmeister was actually Abraham Wagner, the noted Schwenkfelder physician and writer of religious poetry. Both Gruber and Wagner had belonged to "The Associated Brethren of Skippack” in the late 1730's.**
* http://files.usgwarchives.net/pa/philadelphia/wills/willabstrbkm.txt
Wills: Abstracts, Book M: 1760 - 1763: Philadelphia Co., PA
GRUBER, JOHN ADAM.
May 28, 1762. May 20, 1763. M.528.
Wife: Ann Elizabeth.
Children: Justina Dorthea, Anna Agusta and John.
Beneficiaries: The "Little meetings of the People" at Hamburg, Germany.
Exec: Simon Siron and daughter Anna Agusta.
Wit: John Wister, John Koch, Christian Laaschet.
Codicil: May 4, 1763.
Revokes the appointment of the daughter as Exec. and
substitutes in her place John Cook [John Koch].
Wit: Christopher Sower, Everah Anton Cruimel.
For more on the life of John Adam Gruber, see the reference below. His date of death and place of burial are mentioned on page 407.
http://dpubs.libraries.psu.edu/DPubS?service=UI&version=1.0&verb=Display&page=toc&handle=psu.pmhb/1172169066
Durnbaugh, Donald F., "Johann Adam Gruber, Pennsylvania-German Prophet and Poet", The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 83, No. 4 (Oct., 1959), p.382-408.
**For the life of Abraham Wagner, see, for example,
http://www.schwenkfelder.com/aboutus/newsletter/Schwenkfeldian_spring12web.pdf
Viehmeyer, Dr. L. Allen, "Abraham Wagner: Schwenkfelder physician, poet, and immigrant to Pennsylvania," The Schwenkenfeldian, Spring 2012, Vol. 112, No. 2, p.10-14.]
In early 1764 Samuel Eckerlin moved from the Shenandoah Valley and evidently went to live with Simon in Germantown to attend him. Before leaving, he proposed bringing Simon back to the Shenandoah Valley, but Sangmeister was much opposed to this:
"In the year 1764 on the 6th of March for the second time Brother S. [Samuel] set out on his journey to Germantown to Brother Siron (for he had made him wait long enough). Anton and I visited him once more before his departure. In addition to others he asked us this question whether we would rather see that he were to stay down with Siron or that he were to bring him up here? (But should he not first have rightly asked if we were contented that he was doing this or that, but not a word was said.) I said, 'As for your staying down there, that is not possible because you are settled here, and about bringing Siron up here I cannot advise it because we have already burdened ourselves enough with people through good intentions so that for the rest of our lives we will be troubled with them, but if you think you can take the responsibility then you may do it. We cannot take him in, for so far we have been taught lessons and have burdened enough by people and we have enough to put up with every day and every hour.' With this we bid farewell. I asked him again for the sake of God just to put Siron's things in order and to come back because his duty and place was here and not down there. But he gave me no answer and rode off ..." (HSCV, v.viii, p.140)
...
"I had told Brother S. at his depature [on March 6, 1764] that he should send me old Brother Gruber's posthumous writings, but the wife and children had already gotten rid of them. She secretly took away his posthumous clothing which he had bequeathed in part to the poor people, over which Siron as the trustee became so angry that he immediately had a stroke, which the evil woman also boasted about that she was the cause of it. She also ran around everywhere throwing suspicion on her husband and finally she went to the grave in a rage and even cursed him under the ground. She acted so frenzied and insane that what wickedness she could not carry out against him in his lifetime, she would carry out after his death. Hence this was the reward of a very righteous, God-fearing man who had led an irreproachable life and who was an ardent separatist." (HSCV, v.viii, p.140-141)
It was alluded to above that certain dates concerning the Sirons are inconsistent. First, "Brother Siron from Germantown sent his son to Brother S. with letters", informing Eckerlin that his wife had died and that he was in great distress. Eckerlin "left for his journey on August 3, 1762". Next, Sangmeister recalled how Eckerlin had "received letters from Brother Siron in Germantown that he was ill and he should come to him. He set out on his journey on May 9, 1761 and stayed down there a for long time," later indicating it was "eleven weeks". Finally, Sangmeister told that "In the year 1764 on the 6th of March for the second time Brother S. set out on his journey to Germantown to Brother Siron (for he had made him wait long enough)." If this was only the second time, then when was the first time, May 9, 1761 or August 3, 1762? Or was the 1764 trip in fact the third time? (Possibly Sangmeister meant that Eckerlin finally set out on August 3, 1762 to see Zinn in North Carolina rather than to see Simon in Germantown, although there is no evidence of a trip by Eckerlin to North Carolina.)
The other confusing point concerns when Simon Siron's sons arrived in the Valley. One son brought Eckerlin the letters which prompted him to set out on August 3, 1762. Did that son then return to Germantown with Eckerlin? Then there is Sangmeister's later entry saying that Eckerlin set out on May 9, 1761, stayed with Simon Siron in Germantown for eleven weeks, and returned to the Shenandoah Valley accompanied by one of Simon's "godless boys". That boy would seem to have been Nathaniel, since Eckerlin then requested that they "also take in his brother, Simon".
At the beginning of July 1764, weary of the constant threat of Indian attacks, as well as conflicts with neighbors, Sangmeister and his companions left the Shenandoah Valley in order to return to Ephrata in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. They first stopped to see Eckerlin in Germantown:
"On the 29th of July in this year we came to Germantown to Brother Samuel who received us with great love." (HSCV, v.ix, p.6)
Sangmeister did not specify exactly where Samuel was living, but it seems logical that he was staying with Simon Siron. On August 3, 1764, Sangmeister and his companions arrived in Ephrata and settled themselves in the house of Salma Höffle. He did not have long to rest before being called upon:
"When we had been in Ephrata for a few days, one well saw that everyone here was in utmost confusion and against one another, and it seemed as though everything would go to ruin. Therefore Brother Gideon and Jonathan Höcker as well as Anton and Haggai beseeched me (the last of whom would gladly have had me out of the way) to travel to Germantown to Brother Samuel and to relieve him so that in the absence of the great ones [Beissel was off visiting the heads of the community] he could conquer the empire. I finally agreed...
"When I came to Brother Samuel and presented the demands of the others to him, he traveled up [to Ephrata] and during that time I took his burdens with Siron upon myself ..." (HSCV, v.ix, p.9-10)
During Sangmeister's sojourn at Germantown "Brother Siron got convulsions and was so affected that his entire form was dreadful to look at. After violently shaking he finally came to his senses without knowing anything of the fits. The reason why the fits came over him from time to time was his anger since he had almost not overcome it at all so that a trifle could frightfully enrage him. This was real agony and torture for him so that he often broke out curing and scolding. Despite that his speech was almost completely taken through a stroke, he could still curse extremely well in German and in English. As soon as his anger had again abated, he cried over it again. Since I was not accustomed to this I was often afraid just to approach his bed because terror came over me. Therefore I was thankful to God that I opposed Brother Samuel so that he had not brought him to the Shenandoah, for he assuredly would have left us burdened with him and he would have gone away and we would have had to serve and take care of him." (HSCV, v.ix, p.10) ... "So it happened that after I had been with Siron in Germantown for six weeks, Brother Samuel again came from Ephrata with the report that I had to quickly come up..." (HSCV, v.ix, p.14)
Eckerlin lived in Germantown with Simon Siron for the next several years, although frequently he would be gone on business for days, weeks, or months at a time. He went to Ephrata in February 1765 and suggested bringing Simon there to live. Sangmeister lived for free in a house for which Eckerlin paid the rent. One proposal made by Eckerlin was that Sangmeister move out to make way for Simon. Another was to build an addition onto the the existing house for his and Simon's households. Sangmeister successfully dissuaded him, knowing full well that the domineering Eckerlin would "make servants of us". (HSCV, v.ix, p.35-36) From April to November 1765 Eckerlin was again in the Shenandoah Valley settling his affairs there. Simon was left in the care of the unreliable Brothers Anton and Haggai.
Sometime between May and August 1766 Sangmeister visited Eckerlin in Germantown. Eckerlin informed him that he and Simon Siron wanted very much to move to Ephrata. Sangmeister wrote, "For this reason he gave me a letter to take along to Conrad [Beissel], which was received in a very noble manner. Not only did they rejoice that Siron would have to bow down to them, but they had high hopes of again winning Br. S. They said he was a child of theirs, and was inscribed in their hearts, and he was a thousand times closer to them than Ezechiel." (HSCV, v.x, p.9)
Eckerlin then came to Ephrata to "to force his and Siron's coming up here with might and main". (HSCV, v.x, p.9) Sangmeister refused to get involved. Consequently a house could still not be found and Eckerlin returned to Germantown. A couple of weeks later, Sangmeister received "a letter from Br. S. in which he mentioned that they already had a sale and now were almost ready for their coming up here, which troubled me. Br. S. even wanted to burden us with the negro boy to teach him shoe-making, which I spoke very much against." (HSCV, v.x, p.10) This "negro boy" was very likely the Joseph Zanco who was mentioned in Simon Siron's will.
Sometime during 1767, Sangmeister stopped to see Samuel Eckerlin at Simon Siron's house in Germantown:
"About this time I was forced to journey to Philadelphia with our Br. Jonathan due to outward circumstances. On the way I got quite a toothache, and as soon as I arrived at Br. S.'s place he had to pull one out. We stayed with him him in Germantown for a while and helped them repair some things on their old house. I noticed, among other things, that Br. S. and Siron annoyed one another considerably, for Br. S. had a great shortcoming about him, that is that he was always too extreme in all things. He doctored these people with all sorts of things just to maintain a poor and modest lifestyle. But he could not compromise. Instead he went too far. Then when he had taken his modest lifestyles too far, he would always go too far to the other extreme and often buy unnecessary things like preserved ginger that is very expensive and oysters, and other things besides. When he did this for a while, the opposite came again. This was his entire way in eating, drinking, and working, namely either uncommonly extreme or not at all. In noticed indeed that difficult trials were at hand besides, for Siron and Bette had both taken to the strong drink. He [Eckerlin] said he himself was glad that he had not come to Ephrata with them [meaning Siron and Bette?] up to now since he found that he himself was not yet free of the community and thus could easily have been intertwined along into it, which was nothing unknown to me. When we got to talking with one another about the strange beliefs in Ephrata, he wanted to unconditionally maintain that there is no truth in that which one alleges concerning the conscience. I contradicted him ardently and in this case referred to his own brother, Israel, who in view of the governing in Ephrata did not take heed of his conscience and for that reason shed many tears and had to suffer greatly for it. He [Eckerlin] also associated too much with the new pious in Philadelphia, so then he neglected his duty with Siron and ran to them almost every week, sometimes even twice a week and passed his time with senseless babble. He even got me involved in it two or three times. On the other hand, he strongly protested against some (the Quakers) and this he did without his duty and calling, through which he burdened himself with many unrests. I did not like it and no dissuasion helped."(HSCV, v.x, p.18.)
Sometime about March 1768, Sangmeister again described the peculiar relationship between Simon Siron and Samuel Eckerlin. Eckerlin had just written back to Sangmeister, mentioning "that a while ago he had to considerably feel and experience the Ephrata magic, and at the same time he had to put up with a difficult household at Siron's place. The turba became astir in both of them, so that Siron waves his fists about. But Br. S. was an obliging man in that he often and many times promised to serve him for life, which displeased me very much. Consequently it was difficult for him to fulfill his promise because he went into town almost every week and was gone for two or three days, which caused Siron and Bette to suffer much. But he didn't care, for when he was good to them, he was extremely good and did more than was necessary. Then when he was away, he neglected them too long. In some things he just could not come to a happy medium. Hence Siron's guardian also repremanded him, that he made himself master over everything too much, which also was not unfounded. For the rest, Br. S. constantly asked me to help him come up here with Siron, which I was very afraid of since I had to worry that I would be burdened with him, for what I fear usually happens to me." (HSCV, v.x, p.27.)
In late 1768 or early 1769, Sangmeister again visited "Br. S., for he was totally resolved on moving up here to us with Siron and Betty [Elizabeth Barns/Barnes] which I dreaded and which made the Ephratites shudder, for I feared the hardships whereas they feared having a ruler." (HSCV, v.x, p.50) This time, however, Sangmeister acquiesced: "After I had made mention various times of how much Br. S. wanted to come to us, in spite of my fear of this move oftentimes I still considered it because in the first place if Br. S. should get sick down there [in Germantown], I would unavoidably have to go down and take care of him and the others. . . . These and many other temptations, that I do not want to mention, caused me finally to consent, which I never would have done otherwise if I had been alone for myself." (HSCV, v.x, p.51)
And so, in the middle of May 1769, Sangmeister sent out on his journey to help Samuel Eckerlin pack up. In order to save on expensives, he went on foot. Most of the furniture was loaded onto wagons which Sangmeister took back to Ephrata. On May 25th he again set out "at Br. S.'s request in order to fetch him and his burden." Sangmeister continued:
"When we arrived at Br. Siron's place we separated and I along with Br. S. took care of the packing again. We found there was more to be done than we had thought, so that I was very overwhelmed with all the work. And Br. Siron was in utmost distress and constantly wished for death. ...
"When everything was almost packed with much effort, Conrad Weber took a special interest in the matter. We put Br. Siron in a bed with bars between two horses. Samuel and Betty rode in a stage coach and I stayed behind to load two or more wagons with the remaining goods and furniture. Brothers Samuel and Siron and the rest arrived safely in Ephrata on May 30, 1769, and I came the following day exhausted along with the loaded wagons. At Siron's departure there were many people present and many tears were shed. Now as soon as we arrived in Ephrata, we were visited by somw who were glad over the arrival, whereas many of the Ephratites (as I heard it said afterwards) trembled. ..." (HSCV, v.x, p.52)
[Note: The Conrad Weber mentioned by Sangmeister was very likely the Conrad Weaver whom Simon had named as one of the two executors of his will.]
Sangmeister's published diary terminates with events in the fall of 1769. His subsequent volumes, representing one-half of his entire work, were never published and are now lost. In the editor's forward of Volume X of the "Journal of the Historical Society of the Cocalico Valley" (1985), James A. Tshudy wrote that "As a result we are left to wonder what might have been contained in the remaining half of the Sangmeister documents."
===============
Elizabeth Barnes died February 10, 1770 at age 72 and was buried in Mount Zion Cemetery at Ephrata. Simon had died by April 21, 1770, which was when his will was probated. It will be recalled that in 1760, both Simon Siron and Elizabeth Barns had purchased rights to be buried in the Upper Germantown Burying Ground. Simon's wife had been buried there in 1762. However, there is no record of Simon being buried in this cemetery. Given that Elizabeth was buried in Mount Zion cemetery, it seems probable that Simon was also buried in the latter place or perhaps in another cemetery near Ephrata. Had only Sangmeister's diary for the next six or so months been published, we might have had a more definitive answer.
In his List of Deaths Register, Alexander Mack, the leader of the Brethren (Dunkers) in Germantown, recorded the passing of Simon and his wife, describing them as "beloved friend Simon Siron and his sister-like wife". Mack referred to actual members of the Church of the Brethren who had passed away as brother or sister. Being called "beloved friend" and "sister-like" thus suggests that Simon and his wife did not belong to this church but nevertheless maintained a friendly association with it.
VI. DESCENDANTS OF SIMON SIRON
Nathaniel and Simon Siron evidently continued to live in what is now Shenandoah County (then still part of Frederick Co.), VA since having come there in the first half of the 1760's.
In November 1765, Simon Sirin (Junior) was listed as a chain carrier on a survey conducted by Peter Stephens for Henry Asbury for 300 acres at or near the Three Miles Lick in the Fork of the Shannandoah River in Frederick County. The tract was ultimately patented by Conrad Debo [perhaps Draban??]:
http://image.lva.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/GetLONN.pl?first=279&last=&g_p=GO&collection=NN Grant
http://image.lva.virginia.gov/LONN/NN-1/217/0296_0299.pdf Survey
Debo, Conrad. grantee.
Land grant 11 May 1770.
Location: Frederick County.
Description: 300 acres on or near the Three Miles Lick in the forks of Shannandoah.
Source: Northern Neck Grants O, 1767-1770, p. 279 (Reel 296).
Original survey exists (LVA Accession LOI 108).
Source: Virginia State Land Office Northern Neck Surveys Reel No. 12
Excerpts from the original survey:
http://image.lva.virginia.gov/LONN/NN-1/217/0296_0299.pdf
page 1/4
Debo, Conrad Frederick Co Survey 20 Nov 1765 300 acres
page 4/4
[drawing of survey]
By virtue of a Warrant from the Propriators Office Bearing Date
I have Surveyd November 20 day 1765 ...
...
Containing three hundred Acres Surveyd By Me
Peter Stephens
Suy Simon Sirin }
Mason Floyd }
...
In December 1768, brothers Simon Serin and Nathaniel Serin were listed as chain carriers on a survey conducted by Peter Stephens for George Jacob Troutvine for 525 acres "on Stephens Burgh Run. Drain of Crooked Run". The tract was ultimately patented by Philip Bush:
http://image.lva.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/GetLONN.pl?first=135&last=&g_p=GP&collection=NN Grant
http://image.lva.virginia.gov/LONN/NN-1/216/0221-0224.pdf Survey
Bush, Philip. grantee.
Land grant 24 July 1772.
Location: Frederick County.
Description: 525 acres on Stephens Burgh Run. Drain of Crooked Run.
Source: Northern Neck Grants P, 1771-1775, p. 135 (Reel 296).
Original survey exists (LVA Accession LOI 108).
Source: Virginia State Land Office Northern Neck Surveys Reel No. 11
Excerpts from the original survey:
http://image.lva.virginia.gov/LONN/NN-1/216/0221-0224.pdf
page 1/4
Bush, Philip Frederick Co Survey 22 Dec 1768 525 acres
page 3/4
right page [survey description continued from left page]
Said Run and Corner to the Land Surveyed for William
Remy thence with his Line ...
...
Beginning Containing five hundred and
Twenty five Acres Surveyd By
Peter Stephens
Desember 22 1768
Suy Simon Serin and
Nathaniel Serin
...
The information below was extracted by Calvin Hutchens (a descendant of Nathaniel Siron Jr.'s daughter Susan) from the Frederick County, Virginia Order Books, v. 14-15, 1767-1772:
p. 7 George Cabbage vs Nathaniel Siron, court date 3 Jun 1767
(Judgment against Nathaniel Siron for 1 pound, 19 shillings)
p. 93 Petition of Lawrence Stephens against Nathaniel Syron for a debt due by a bill, court date 10 Nov 1770
p. 307 Petition of Niswanger against Nathaniel Siron, court date 4 Aug 1768
(Judgment against Nathaniel Siron for 1 pound, 10 shillings plus court costs)
p. 658 Lawrence Stephens against Nathaniel Siron, court date 3 May 1770 (continued to next court)
p. 351 George Cabbage vs Simon Siron, court date 3 Jun 1772 (continued next court)
p. 383 Petition of George Cabbage vs Nathaniel Siron for debt due by a note, court date 7 Aug 1772
Dunmore (later Shenandoah) County, Virginia Deed Book B, p.246-250
25 September 1775 - Lease
26 September 1775 - Release
Elizabeth Berger, Godfred Daniel Stout, and Catharine his wife, John Stout and Catharine his wife, and Benjamin Stout and Mary his wife of the County of Dunmore
to
Nathaniel Siron of the same place
for and in Consideration of the sum of Twenty seven Pounds Current Money of Virginia
one Certain Track or parcel of Land Containing One Hundred and fifty Acres, lying on Stony Creek in the said County of Dunmore,
being part of a grater Track of 450 Acres of Land granted to Daniel Stout & Elizabeth his Wife ... bearing Date September ye.16th Day1761
Deed recorded: Tuesday, 26 September 1775
In 1776 Simon (Nathaniel's brother) enlisted in the 8th Virginia Regiment of Continental Line. They marched south to Georgia, where many of the soldiers, including Simon, became sick and died.
Nathaniel married Barbary (or Barbara) Zeigler by 1772. Her father had been killed by Indians about June 1764. Nathaniel Siron made no will. He made his last appearance in the 1788 personal property tax lists of Shenandoah.
Nathaniel and Barbara had two sons, John and Nathaniel Jr., and four daughters. John moved to what is now Highland County, VA and married Esther Hiner. Nathaniel Jr. eventually settled in Rockbridge County, VA (home of the Virginia Military Institute). Today there are Siron descendants from both of these lines.
The four daughters were Ann, Mary (Polly), Elizabeth, and Susannah.
Some Additional Notes on the Children of Nathaniel Siron and Barbara Zeigler
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Siron was born May 1771 in Dunmore (now Shenandoah) County, Virginia.
He settled at what came to be called "Sirons Mill" in Pendleton (now Highland) Co., Virginia.
He married Esther Hiner, daughter of John Hiner and Magdalena Burner, in 1794.
On 17 June 1798 John was named as one of the heirs of Nathaniel Siron (deceased) in a Shenandoah County deed which involved the sale of their father's land to Powlas Winters, husband of their sister Elizabeth Siron.
John died 17 Nov 1838.
John and Esther had twelve children. Two never married, sons John Siron Jr. and Jehu Siron.
Their other ten children did marry and left descendants. They were Esther, Ann, Elizabeth, Sarah, Jacob, Jane, Magdalena, Jemima, Jonathan, and Joseph.
Valentine Siron, who also lived in the Siron household, is believed to have been born out-of-wedlock to Magdalena Siron.
Siron marriages in Pendleton County (unless otherwise indicated)
Esther Siron m. Jacob Jack, 13 Apr 1820
Ann Siron m. Samuel Wilson, 29 Aug 1820, consent of father John Siron given
Elizabeth “Syron” m. Moses Stone, 17 Oct 1820, consent of father John Siron given ; m2. Robert Clark, 14 Feb 1837 (Lewis Co., Virginia)
Sarah Siron m. James Anderson, 10 Jun 1825
Jacob Siron m. Lenna Calhoon (Lavina Calhoun), 8 Apr 1829
Jane Siron m. George H. Damron, 3 Sept 1829, consent of father John Siron given
Magdalene Siron m. Thomas Douglass, 29 Jan 1838
Jemima Siron m. Joseph Edmond, 24 Feb 1842
Jonathan Siron m1. Christina Yeager, 8 Oct 1840 (Pocahontas Co., VA) ; m2. Elizabeth Propst, 21 Apr 1853
Joseph Siron m1. Jane Wilson, 10 Feb 1842 ; m2. Sarah Eagle, 8 May 1848 (Highland Co., VA)
Valentine Siron m. Emily Flesher, 11 June 1846
---------------------
Elizabeth Siron Stone Clark died in June 1880, Lewis Co., WV.
Her son-in-law Thomas L. McCray reported that she died 24 June 1880 at age 84 yrs 3 mos 27 das ===> calculated birth date: 26 Feb 1796
Her daughter-in-law Elizabeth Clark reported that she died 18 June 1880 at age 85y 9m ===> calculated birth date: 18 Sept 1794
See http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=2919743&Type=Death
line 6
Elizabeth Clark, died 24 June 1880, cause: unknown, age 84y 3m 27d, born Pendleton, wife of R. Clark, informant: T. L. McCray, Son in law
OR
line 11
Elizabeth Clark, died 18 June 1880, cause: paralysis, age 85y 9m, born Pendleton, married, informant: Elizabeth Clark, Daughter in Law
Magdalena Siron Douglass died after 1880 in Upshur Co., WV. The 1880 census of Upshur County shows "Magdelena Douglass", age 83, living in the household of Emily Siron (widow of Valentine Siron, d. 28 Dec 1878).
See https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6TH-1M8 .
Census records from 1850 to 1880 give an age for Magdalena which is consistent with her being born in 1797.
Esther Siron Jack died 5 Dec 1872 in Upshur County, WV at age 73y 4m 27d ===> calculated birth date: 8 June 1799
See http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_dcdetail.aspx?Id=5960644 .
Ann/Anna Siron Wilson died 23 Nov 1855 in Upshur Co., VA (now WV) at age 52y ===> calculated birth year: 1803
See http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_dcdetail.aspx?Id=5944788 .
Anna's headstone says she died aged 52 Ys. 1 Mo. 16 Ds. ===> calculated birth date: 7 Oct 1803
Sarah Siron Anderson died 7 Dec 1877 in Lewis Co., WV at age 73y ===> calculated birth year: 1804
See http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_dcdetail.aspx?Id=2919606 .
Jane Siron Damron, age 43, was living in Lewis Co., Virginia in 1850. See https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8DC-J4M ===============> calculated birth year: 1807
The Illinois 1860 Mortality Schedule indicated that Jane Damron, age 52, died 20 September 1859 in Hancock Co., Illinois from typhoid fever after being ill for 60 days. ===> calculated birth year: 1808
See https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99H9-F3V4?i=568&cc=2334599 .
Jemima Siron Edmond/Edman died 4 Mar 1870 in Coles Co., Illinois at age 60Y. 3M. & 11D. (from headstone) ==> calculated birth date: 23 Nov 1809
See https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/45749787 .
John Siron Jr. appears in the Pendleton Co., Virginia personal property tax lists from 1825 through 1834. He is missing in 1835 and thereafter. The date for all the Sirons in the 1834 list was Feb 15. For 1835, the date was May 13.
Thus John Siron Jr. died between 15 Feb 1834 and 13 May 1835.
As shown on page 334 of Oren F. Morton's History of Highland County, Virginia (1911): "John - s. - k. by mill." That is, John Siron (Jr.) was single and was killed by the mill owned by John Sr.
Joseph Siron died 1862 in Highland Co., Virginia. He wrote his will on 24 March 1862, and it was proved in Highland County Court June Term 1862. He was born in or about 1815.
View a copy of the 1862 will Joseph Siron of Highland Co., Virginia:
Virginia Chancery Records
Index Number: 1882-016
Locality: HIGHLAND CO
Plaintiff(s): ADMX OF George W Hull
Defendant(s): ADMR OF Joseph Siron ETC [Jonathan Siron became Joseph Siron's administrator]
https://www.lva.virginia.gov/chancery/full_case_detail.asp?CFN=091-1882-016#img
Images 45-49 of 650
Jacob Siron died of consumption in June 1873 in Highland Co., Virginia at age 73 ===> calculated birth year: 1800
See https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/177772232/jacob-siron .
Jonathan Siron was born 24 June 1812 and died of heart disease 27 Feb 1888 on Bull Pasture Mt. (Highland Co., VA) at age 75.
Jehu Siron, the youngest son, probably was mentally retarded. He was mentioned as having an "infirmity" and as not being "sane" in his father's will, dated 19 Feb 1836.
On June 6th and 7th, 1839, Jehu was one of several individuals named to be exempted "from paying County and Parish Levy in future".
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C34Z-W9TJ-M?i=319&cat=82290
Pendleton County Court Order & Minute Books 1838-1843
Image 318 of 529
p.65
Ordered that Peter Pope, John Devericks, Daniel Mouse
Joseph Waggoner, Philip Wimer Jacob Conrod Jehu Johnson
Christian Rexroad Henry Bennet, George Beverage Jehu
Siron, John Nezelrod Peter Hedrick (of Henry), be exempt from
paying County and Parish Levy in future.
...
Image 320 of 529
p.68
At a Court Continued and held for Pendleton County the 7th day of June 1839
...
p.69
Ordered that an order made yesterday exempting certain
persons from paying County & Parish Levy in future be rescinded
and that Jehu Johnson, Chris. Rexroad, Geo. Beverage (of Jno.),
Jehu Siron, John Nezelrode and Peter Hedrick (of Jno) be in
future in exempt from paying County and Parish Levy.
Jehu was probably one of the three white males of age "20 & under 30", who in 1840 were living in the household of their widowed mother Esther Siron. (The other two white males in that age range would have been Jonathan and Jacob.)
Jehu Siron was not listed in the 1850 census of Highland (formerly part of Pendleton) County, Virginia.
Thus he probably died between 1840 and 1850.
Valentine Siron died 28 Dec 1878 in Upshur Co., WV at age 54y 11m ===> calculated birth date: Jan 1824
See http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_dcdetail.aspx?Id=5961270 .
Name of Parents: S.P. & M. Siron [M. Siron is believed to be Magdalena Siron, daughter of John Siron and Esther Hiner. The identity of "S.P." is unknown.]
A further hint that Magdalena was Valentine's mother is that in the 1880 census of Upshur Co., WV, "Magdelena Douglass" (nee Siron) was living in the household of Valentine's widow Emily Siron.
As shown on page 334 of Oren F. Morton's History of Highland County, Virginia (1911): "Valentine (reared)". That is, Valentine Siron was raised in the household of John Siron.
He was probably the one white male of age "15 & under 20", who in 1840 was living in the household of his widowed mother Esther Siron.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nathaniel Siron Jr. was born between 1780 and 1783.
The Augusta County personal property tax lists showed Nathanial "Seyran" in 1803 and Nathl Syren in 1806. From 1807 onwards, Nathaniel is found in Rockbridge County.
In a few records Nathaniel was referred to as Daniel Siron. For example, in the 1809 personal property tax lists of Rockbridge Co., he was listed as Danl Siron.
Nathaniel appears to have been married twice:
Nathaniel's first marriage
As shown on page 335 of Oren F. Morton's History of Highland County, Virginia (1911): "Daniel - bro. to John (1) - m. Elizabeth Curry, 1813 - R'bridge." That is, John Siron's brother "Daniel" married Elizabeth Curry in 1813
and moved to Rockbridge County, Virginia.
Elizabeth Curry appears to have been the daughter of Jame Curry of the Bullpasture River in then Pendleton County (now Highland County).
In his will (written 14 May 1836 and proved 9 Nov 1837), James Curry mentioned a daughter named Elizabeth Siron. Thus he believed that his daughter Elizabeth was still living at that time.
Daniel and Elizabeth had one known surviving offspring: David Franklin Siron, born 1834 or 1835. Elizabeth apparently died within a few years of David's birth.
David F. Siron married Sarah Jane Vess, 3 Jun 1858, Rockbridge Co., VA.
On 27 April 1862, David enlisted as a private in Capt. Joseph Carpenter's company of Virginia Light Artillery (aka Carpenter's Battery, Alleghany Artillery).
He was killed in action at the Battle of Malvern Hill on 1 July 1862.
At the time of his death, David and Sarah had two children, but only one survived to adulthood, namely, James Simon Siron.
Note: For an account of artillery at the battle of Malvern Hill, see
Keith S. Bohannon, “ ‘One Solid unbroken roar of thunder:’ Union and Confederate Artillery at the battle of Malvern Hill,” in Gary Gallagher, ed.,
The 1862 Richmond Campaign: The Peninsula and the Seven Days (Chapel Hill and London: University of North Carolina Press, 2000).
Nathaniel's second marriage
Nathaniel Siron married Hannah McDaniel 13 Sep 1839 in Rockbridge Co., Virginia.
They had three children: Simon Mathew Siron, John Nathaniel Siron, and Susan Elizabeth Siron.
Simon M. Siron: b. 27 May 1840, Rockbridge Co., VA ; m.1 Sarah A. McDaniel, 12 Dec 1867, Rockbridge Co., VA ; m2. Litia (Alishia) Dowdy, 27 Nov 1894, Rockbridge Co., VA ; d. 25 Dec 1911, Rockbridge Co., VA
John N. Siron: b. 8 Oct 1843, Rockbridge Co., VA ; m. Elizabeth Young, 5 Dec 1870, Rockbridge Co., VA ; d. 16 Aug 1924, Rockbridge Co., VA
Susan E. Siron: b. 22 July 1845, Rockbridge Co., VA ; m. Joseph K. Lawhorn 28 Nov 1870, Rockbridge Co., VA ; d. 17 Oct 1916, Wayne Twp, Jay Co., Indiana.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ann Siron married Solomon Putt (also interpreted as Butt and Bull).
Shenandoah County, Virginia Marriage Bonds 1772-1850 by Bernice M. Ashby
p.46: Solomon Putt & Anna Searon - 1 Oct 1793. John Siron, bondsman.
“Some Marriages of the Rev. Paul Henkel, 1790-1810,” Virginia Genealogist 17(1973): 243-45.
p.245: Solamon Put & Anne Searon -1 Oct 1793.
On 17 June 1798 Ann was named as one of the heirs of Nathaniel Siron (deceased) in a Shenandoah County deed which involved the sale of their father's land to Powlas Winters, husband of their sister Elizabeth Siron.
Is this the same Solomon Putt?
http://www.binnsgenealogy.com/VirginiaTaxListCensuses/Amherst/1799PersonalA/11.jpg
1799 Personal Property Tax List of Amherst County, Virginia
[8th name from the bottom]
Solomon Putt 1 - - 2 [1 white tithable, 2 horses]
Evidently Ann was deceased by 1805, for this Solomon Putt next married Sarah Horner (widow of John Horner) on 17 Oct 1805 in Albemarle County, VA.
https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE213263
"Abstracts of Virginia families : volume II, part 3 of 5"
HORNER Family Research (including Solomon Putt/Butt)
by Dolores C. Rutherford
p.20
Solomon and Sarah Putt appeared in the 1810 Census of Nelson Co., VA
(made from Amherst Co. in 1808) with four males under age 16 and six
females under age 26. Solomon and Sarah's ages were in the 26-45 age
bracket.
NOTE: Familysearch and Ancestry have erroneously placed Solomon Putt in the 1810 census of Richmond County, Campbell Twp, Virginia rather than in Nelson County.
See
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH28-3WV
Soloman Putt
United States Census, 1810
Name: Soloman Putt
Event Type: Census
Event Date: 1810
Event Place: Campbell, Richmond, Virginia, United States [should be Nelson Co., Richmond, Virginia]
Page: 722
[2 males < 10, 2 males 10-16, 1 male 26-45 ; 3 females < 10, 2 females 10-16, 1 female 16-26, 1 female 26-45]
Were any of these children Solomon and Ann's, particularly the older ones??
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mary (Polly) married Benjamin Lendas (probably Landes).
On 17 June 1798 Mary was named as one of the heirs of Nathaniel Siron (deceased) in a Shenandoah County deed which involved the sale of their father's land to Powlas Winters, husband of their sister Elizabeth Siron.
On 29 July 1800, Benjamin Landus and Mary his wife appeared in Augusta County Court to further acknowledge this deed.
No further information.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elizabeth Siron married Powlis Winter (written as Paulus Windsor and Powells Winsor in the marriage records) on 26 Sept 1789.
Elizabeth was still living in August 1795 when Powlas Winters and his wife Elizabeth of Augusta County sold 200 acres on the Middle River of the Shenandoah to Sampson Eagan (Augusta Co. Deed Book 28, p.347).
On 17 June 1798, Powlas Winters purchased, for the sum of ten dollars, the deceased Nathaniel Siron's 150 acres in Shenandoah County from the other heirs of Nathaniel Siron.
Elizabeth had died by 9 November 1800 when Powlis/Paulus next married Catherine Cress:
http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/rockbridge/images/1800/1800-044.jpg
Rockbridge County, VA marriage bond between Powlis Winter and Catherine Cress, daughter of George Cress of Rockbridge.
Date: 9 November 1800
Bondsmen: Powlis Winter and George Cress
By 1823, he had married a third time. His third wife was Sarah Little.
Paulus Winter's will was proved in December 1839 in Floyd County, Virginia. In his will, he named
wife Sarah
daughter Barbary
daughter Susannah
daughter Mary
the heirs of daughter Elizabeth
daughter Nancy
son David
son George
David and George were children of Sarah Little.
Barbary, Susannah, and Mary ("Polly") appear to have been children of Elizabeth Siron.
Elizabeth and Nancy might have been children of either Elizabeth Siron or Catherine Cress.
Virginia, Compiled Marriages, 1740-1850
Rockbridge County marriages
Polly Winters m. Henry Link 1 Nov 1811
Barbara Winters m. John Link 24 Jun 1813
Susanana Winter m. Henry Weaver 2 Jan 1817
Elizabeth Winters m. David Trout 1 Aug 1818
Nancy Winters m. John G. Young 16 Aug 1821
The Fate of Some of the Children of Elizabeth Siron and Powlis Winter
Susanna Winter Weaver
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/36045092
Susanna C. Weaver
BIRTH 15 Apr 1793
Rockbridge County, Virginia, USA
DEATH 18 Dec 1866 (aged 73)
Gettysburg, Darke County, Ohio, USA
BURIAL
Gettysburg Cemetery
Gettysburg, Darke County, Ohio, USA
MEMORIAL ID 36045092
Headstone Inscription:
SUSANNA C.
wife of
HENRY WEAVER
~ DIED ~
DEC. 18, 1866
AGED
73 YS 8 MO. & 3D. ====> calculated birth date: 15 April 1793 ==> Susanna's mother was Elizabeth Siron
-------------------------------------
Barbara Winters Link Pease
Barbara Winters Link married second Adam Peas, 3 Jun 1830, Preble Co., Ohio:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2QHJ-3N2
Barbary Link
Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2013
Event Type: Marriage
Event Date: 03 Jun 1830
Event Place: Preble, Ohio, United States
Spouse's Name: Adam Peas
Barbara Pease died in 1874 in Preble Co., Ohio:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F6NY-WZ4
Barbara Pease
Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001
Line No.: 826
Name: Barbara Pease
Event Type: Death
Cause of Death: Old Age
Event Date: 18 Feb 1874
Event Place: Harrison Township, Preble, Ohio, United States
Residence Place: Harrison Tp.
Gender: Female
Age: 83y 6m 10d ======> calculated birth date: 8 Aug 1790 ==> Barbara's mother was Elizabeth Siron
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Race: White
Birth Year (Estimated): 1791
Birthplace: Virginia
-------------------------------------
Mary (Polly) Winters Link
In 1830 Henry Link was living in Montgomery County, Virginia.
See https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYYF-9WQ4?i=60&cc=1803958 .
The eldest white female in his household, presumably Henry’s wife Mary (Polly), was age 30-40, suggesting she was born between 1790 and 1800 and so her mother was Elizabeth Siron.
In 1831 Floyd County was created from the southeastern part of Montgomery County.
In 1840 Henry Link was living in Floyd County, Virginia.
The eldest white female in his household, presumably Henry’s wife Mary (Polly), was age 40-50, suggesting she was born between 1790 and 1800 and so her mother was Elizabeth Siron.
In the 1850 census of Floyd County, Virginia, Henry Link, age 59, had one female in his household: Rebecca Link, age 34, born in Floyd County.
See https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8DM-34L .
The find-a-grave memorial for Rebecca states that she was the daughter of Jonas and Lydia Likens, and had married Henry Link 14 Feb 1842 in Floyd County.
See https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/67531037/rebecca-link .
Although this marriage has not been independently confirmed, assuming it to be accurate, it suggests that Mary (Polly) Winters Link probably died in 1840 or 1841 in Floyd County.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There is a birth and baptism record for Susannah Siron:
Wayland, John Walter. A History of Shenandoah County, Virginia. Strasburg, Va.: Shenandoah Pub. House, 1927.
p.738
A LIST OF BIRTHS AND BAPTISMS IN SHENANDOAH COUNTY, VA., FROM
THE COURT RECORDS
Parents Children Born Baptized
Nathaniel Syron & Barbara Susannah Mar. 23 Aug. 10, 1773
Susannah Siron married Philip Summers, son of John Summers who died 9 May 1806 in Augusta County.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/rockbridge/index.html
http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/rockbridge/images/1798/1798-013a.jpg
Rockbridge County, VA marriage bond between Phillip Summer and Susannah Siron, daughter of Nathaniel Siron dec'd and being above the age of 21.
Date: 24 March 1798
Bondsmen: Phillip Summer and Powless Winter.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/rockbridge/images/1798/1798-013b.jpg
Powlis Winter ... made oath ...
...And that Jno. Summer the reputed father of said Phillip Summer is fully satisfied with the intended marriage ...
24 March 1798
On 17 June 1798 Susannah was named as one of the heirs of Nathaniel Siron (deceased) in a Shenandoah County deed which involved the sale of their father's land to Powlas Winters, husband of their sister Elizabeth Siron.
Are any of the following the Philip Summers who was husband of Susannah Siron?
A Philip Summers appears in the Augusta County personal property tax lists for 1801-1806, and 1809-1810.
A Philip Summers appears in the 1810 census of Rockbridge County, Virginia:
http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/rockbridge/index.html
http://genealogytrails.com/vir/rockbridge/census/1810/cen_1810_usfed_pg1.html
1810 Federal Census - Rockbridge County, VA
Page 268
Philip Summers 2 - 1 1 - || 2 - - 1
[ 2 males < 10, 1 male 16-26, 1 male 26-45; 2 females < 10, 1 female 26-45 ]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shenandoah County Deed Book M, p.307-309
17 June 1798
John Siron and Easter his wife,
Solomon Bull and Anna his wife late Anna Siron,
Philip Summers and Susannah his wife late Susannah Siron, and
Benja. Lendas and Polly his wife late Polly Siron,
heirs at Law of Nathanl. Siron decd.
to
Powlas Winters
in consideration of the sum of ten dollars Lawfull money of Virginia
a certain tract of land lying and being in the County of Shenandoah containing by estimation one hundred and fifty acres (be the same more or less) ...
... which said tract of land was conveyed to Nathaniel Siron by Elizabeth Borger, Godfrid Daniel Stout, Catharine Stout, John Stout, Catherine Stout,
Geo: Benjamin Stout and Mary Stout by deeds of Lease and release bearing date 25th & 26th April 1775 ...
...
Signed, Sealed and delivered } John Siron
in the presence of }
Micajah Coalter } Easter (X) Siron
Matthew Ives }
Alexr. T. Lyle }
{as to Landas } Solomon Putt
{and wife }
Calvin Morgan{ } Anah (X) Putt
Philip Summers
Susannah (+) Summers
Luniosmon Londus
Mary Landas
...
At a Court Continued and held for Augusta County July the 29th. 1800. This deed
from John Siron &c. to Powlas Winters was this day further acknowledged in Court
by Benjamin Landus and Mary his wife, two of the Grantors, the said Mary
having been first privily examined as the Law directs) and is ordered to be
Certified
At a Court held for Shenandoah County on Monday the 8th day of Decr. 1800
This Indenture of Bargain and Sale with Certificates therein ordered from
the County Court of Augusta, from John Siron and Easter his wife, Solomon
Butt and Anna his wife late Anne Siron, Philip Summers and Susannah
his wife late Susannah Siron, Benjamin Landus and Mary his wife late Mary
Siron heirs at law of Nathaniel Siron decd. to Powlas Winters, was exhibited
to the Court and ordered to be recorded, together with a certificate of the
Examination of Easter Siron**
**whose examination was taken 5 August 1800 in Pendleton County, Virginia
----------------------------------
Shenandoah County Deed Book S, p.489-490
14 March 1812
Nathaniel Siron of the County of Rockbridge
to
George Miller Junr.
in Consideration of the sum of Fifty Six Dollars Current money of the United States
Land lying in Shenandoah County on Stoney Creek ... Containing twenty six acres & 61 perches,
it being one Sixth part of a tract of Land which was possessed by Nathaniel Siron decd. and which he died seized of,
the other five parts being sold by Paulus Windors to Lichliter
Deed recorded: Tuesday, 14 April 1812
================================================================================
Image of a chest owned by John Siron, son of Nathaniel Siron and Barbara Zeigler, which was made April 2, 1793:
http://www.chipstone.org/SpecialProjects/CWSF/cwsf-29.html
Furniture Construction in the Backcountry
...
http://www.chipstone.org/SpecialProjects/CWSF/cats/cwsf-105.html
Chest
Shenandoah County or Pendleton (now Highland) County, Virginia, 1793
Black walnut with yellow pine
Catalog no. 105
In contrast to the simple nail construction used to join the earliest American chests, post-1725 examples increasingly employed more
technically sophisticated dovetailed cases. On coastal southern furniture, dovetails and other structural features often were concealed
behind complex miter joints or thin veneer strips. In contrast, backcountry furniture often displays such structural evidence conspicuously.
The exposed dovetails and large iron hinges riveted through the lid indicate the sound construction of this chest.
In a similar way, many wooden pins secure the lid and base moldings and create an undulating dot pattern across the top and bottom of the case.
The importance of chests in the backcountry is revealed by the common application of inscriptions and colorful ornamentation.
Here, the inscription “John Siron / Mad[e] April 2 / 1793” likely refers to the owner rather than to the maker.
A Few Select Notes on Jonathan Siron and his Children
Jonathan Siron (1812-1888) was a son of John Siron and Esther Hiner.
Jonathan Siron and Christina Yeager were married 8 October 1840 by Benny Tallman (in Pocahontas County, VA). (See their marriage record at
http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=11103780&Type=Marriage .)
Christina Yeager was the daughter of Jacob Yeager and Sarah Ann Hidy of Pocahontas County, VA (now WV).
Joel W. Siron was the older son of Jonathan Siron (b.1812) and Christina Yeager. He never married.
John Milton Siron was the younger son of Jonathan Siron (b.1812) and Christina Yeager. John married Mary Jane Hull. (Mary's paternal grandmother Rachel Tallman Hull was the sister of Benny Tallman.)
Sarah Margaret Siron was the older daughter of Jonathan Siron and Christina Yeager. She married James S. Malcom.
Christina Arminta Siron was the younger daughter of Jonathan Siron and Christina Yeager. She married John H. Wooddell.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joel W. Siron was a Confederate soldier during the Civil War. His service record is summarized below:
http://www.history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs62x/mscwmb/webbbs_config.pl?md=read;id=19460
Joel W. Siron
Residence was not listed;
Enlisted on 9/24/1862 at McDowell, WV as a Private.
On 9/24/1862 he mustered into "B" Co. VA 62nd Infantry
He was discharged on 12/29/1862
(Discharged after providing a substitute)
On 3/18/1864 he was drafted into "D" Co. VA 62nd Infantry
(date and method of discharge not given)
He was listed as:
* Wounded 6/2/1864 Cold Harbor, VA (Severely wounded in thigh)
* AWOL 10/1/1864 (place not stated)
* On rolls 12/31/1864 (place not stated)
* Oath Allegiance 5/20/1865 Staunton, VA
He was described at enlistment as:
5' 10.0", fair complexion, blue eyes, brown hair
Sources used by Historical Data Systems, Inc.:
- The Virginia Regimental Histories Series
...................
Joel W. Siron, Private, enlisted in Captain John J. Chipley's Company (A) 25th Regiment Virginia Infantry*, September 24, 1862 at McDowell by Capt. J. B. Mullin, shown present on the undated Nov. 30, 1861 to Oct. 25, 1862 muster roll, no further records
* This company was also known as (1st) Company H, 25th Regiment Virginia Infantry
1st Company H was assigned to the 62nd Virginia Mounted Infantry as Company B about January 28, 1863.
..................
Joel W. Siron, Private, (2nd) Company D, 62nd Regiment Virginia Infantry, enrolled January 30, 1864 as a Conscript at Camp Lee, Virginia and assigned to the 62nd Virginia March 18, enlisted April 1, 1864 at Rockbridge by Col. Lang for the duration of the war, wounded severely in thigh near Cold Harbor June 2, 1864, receipted for an issue of clothing September 25, 1864, paroled prisoner at Staunton, Virginia May 20, 1865
M324: Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Virginia
,,,,,,,,,,,
J. W. Siron, 20 year old Farmer, Private, Company D, 61st [sic]** Virginia Infantry, admitted June 15, 1864 to Chimborazo Hospital No. 2, Richmond, Virginia with a gunshot wound to the left thigh, furloughed June 30, 1864 for 30 days, no other record
** Believe a clerical error which should have been the 62nd Virginia
M347: Unfiled Papers and Slips Belonging to Confederate Compiled Service Records
,,,,,,,,,,,
In addition, Oren F. Morton's History of Highland County, Virginia (1911), page 207, noted that Joel Siron had served in the Signal Corps. [See https://books.google.com/books?id=ozctAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA207 ]
Certainly by February 1865 Joel was on detached service to the Signal Corps, for in that month he was mentioned in the diary of Captain Richard Eggleston Wilbourn, Chief Signal Officer, 2nd Corps, Army of Northern Virginia:
http://www.history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs62x/mscwmb/webbbs_config.pl?md=read;id=19457
...
By:Walter Earl Waddell (author of Perseverance: A Biography of Captain Richard Eggleston Wilbourn, Chief Signal Officer, 2nd Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (2008) )
Date: 12/7/2010, 10:00 am
...
I checked the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System and found Joel W. Siron listed as a private with the 62nd Regiment, Virginia Mounted Infantry but he was not included in the official roster of Confederate Signal Corps members. This is not usual since most privates in the Signal Corps were detached from their units but were still maintained on their original company muster roll. I only have the diary account of Captain Richard Eggleston Wilbourn for references to the Siron family. In early 1865, Captain Wilbourn was Chief Signal Officer for General Jubal A. Early and served in his headquarters in Staunton, Virginia. On February 2nd, 1865, Captain Wilbourn leaves the Valley District Headquarters on horseback heading west from Staunton traveling to the Jack Mountain signal station in Highland County. He wants to change the signal line from Jack Mountain and extend it beyond Franklin, West Virginia to the headquarters of Colonel George H. Smith. Smith was commanding Imboden’s Cavalry Brigade, which was then operating in Pendleton County, West Virginia. Here are the direct quotes from Captain Wilbourn’s diary concerning the Siron family:
Near Deerfield, Va
Friday Feb. 3rd, 1865
Went from Buffalo Gap to North Mt. signal station, thence with Calhoun [first name unknown] to his father-in-law’s, Mr. Crawford enroute to Jack Mt. signal station. Spent the night at Crawford’s near Deerfield – snowed and sleeted nearly all day. Could do no signal duty today in consequence of snow etc. – very disagreeable ride but spent a very pleasant evening and night. Nothing of interest transpired today.
Siron’s House Jack Mr.[sic-Mt.], Va
Saturday February 4th, 1865
Travelled from Crawford’s near Deerfield today, a distance of thirty (30) miles to Jonathan Siron’s at foot of Jack Mt. crossing the Shenandoah and Bull Pasture Mt. and Shaws Ridge which is between the two and crossing in succession the following streams, to-wit: Calf Pasture, Ramsey’s, Shaws’ Fork, Cow Pasture and Bull Pasture Rivers - through McDowell. Spent the night very agreeably at Siron’s. Did not have time to stop at signal post on Shenandoah Mt. Clear and pleasant day. Most of the snow that fell yesterday thawed today. A good deal of ice along the road in some places.
Jack Mt. & Siron’s
Sunday, Feb. 5th, 1865
Went with Sergt. Vermilion [R.A.] & Loper [W.S.] [sic-Loper, W. E.] on Jack Mt. today. Stayed on Mt. several hours & returned to Siron’s. It snowed a little early in the morning – clear rest of day but very cold and windy especially on the Mt. Sent Taylor [J.M.], Loper and J.W. Siron*** to Panther’s knob [elev. 4508 ft] early in the morning to get a point as intermediate station between Jack Mt. & Franklin. Succeeded in getting communication & sending some messages. Spent evening very pleasantly with some Highland girls at Siron’s and went at night to Taylor’s & Mrs. Siron’s [probably Sarah Eagle, widow of Joseph Siron who died in 1862] to see some girls and returned to Siron’s and spent the night pleasantly.
Captain Wilbourn leaves early the next morning with Sergeant Vermilion and eventually returns to Staunton:
Monday [Feb 6] brought even colder temperatures and the prospect for snowfall the
following day. Richard and Sergeant Vermillion left Jack Mountain together "crossing
Bull Pasture, Shaws Ridge & Shennandoah Mt." ...
***Actually, the names as given in the original handwritten entry are difficult to decipher. I believe the above interpretation of the names is incorrect. It does not make sense to me that Loper was one of those sent early in the morning to Panther's Knob if he (Loper) also went with Wilbourn and Vermilion to the top of Jack Mountain. My best guess is that the sentence should read "Sent Taylor S. M. & J. M. Siron to Panther's knob". Possibly one or both of the M's could be W's, although after comparing these initials to several other handwritten M's and W's, they both seem to me to be M's. Also, by modern rules of punctuation, there should be a comma after Taylor. As written the sentence is ambiguous and has two alternative interpretations. In the first interpretation, Wilbourn sent two individuals to Panther's knob: Taylor, S. M. and J. M. Siron. Here Taylor's initials are S. M., which Wilbourn presumably added as an afterthought to better identify that individual. However, there is no other example in his diary where where he wrote someone's initials after the surname.
In the second interpretation, Wilbourn sent three individuals to Panther's knob: one individual identified only by his surname Taylor, and two individuals indentified by their initials and their common surname Siron. In other words, Wilbourn sent Taylor, S. M. Siron, and J. M. Siron.
But there is still a problem with the "S" being one of the initials. There is no known individual named S. M. Taylor or S. M. Siron. There was a soldier named Emanuel Taylor who lived in the neighborhood. Jonathan Siron's two sons were named Joel Washington Siron (J. W. Siron) and John Milton Siron (J. M. Siron). Although the initial "S" certainly looks like other examples of handwritten S's, perhaps it should be interpreted as a "J". Or perhaps Wilbourn got the initial wrong, thinking the individual was "S. M." when he really was "J. M.".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The "J. Siron" mentioned in this 1883 article is presumably Jonathan Siron. His knowledge of when his ancestors came to Virginia is clearly incorrect.
Any land in Philadelphia would have belonged initially to Simon Siron. Did the "ten heirs to the property" ever collect any money??
Staunton spectator. (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, May 08, 1883, Image 3
Image and text provided by Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA
Persistent link: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024718/1883-05-08/ed-1/seq-3/
page 3, column 5 of 8
MILLIONS IN IT.—The Highland Recorder
says:—"Several weeks ago we published a news
Item to the effect that there are 265 lots in the
city of Philadelphia for which no owners can
be found. Mr. J. Siron, of this county, informs
us that the property in question belonged to
his father, who came to Virginia shortly after
the war of 1812, and died many years ago with
out attempting to establish his claim. There
are ten heirs to the property now living. The
property is supposed to be worth several mil-
lions."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The death of Jonathan Siron:
Staunton spectator. (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, March 07, 1888, Image 3 of 4
Image and text provided by Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA
Persistent link: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024718/1888-03-07/ed-1/seq-3/
page 3, column 2
DEATH OF MR. JONATHAN SIRON.—Mr. Jon-
athan Siron died suddenly of heart-disease on
Monday of last week at his residence, three
miles north of McDowell, Highland county.
Of him the Highland Recorder says:
"Mr. Siron was in the highest acceptation of
the term, a good citizen and neighbor. The
best testimony of this fact is borne by the poor
and needy of his neighborhood none of whom
were ever turned away without assistance. He
was a man possessed of a goodly portion of this
world's goods but he did not use them in a
selfish and stinted manner nor yet lavishly,
but in a large degree in alleviating the wants
of me needy. This disposition made him
friends and rendered him influential in his
neighborhood. He will be sadly missed by all
in his community, and especially the poorer
classes feel and deplore his death.
He leaves a large family connection to mourn
his sudden and unexpected departure,to whom
we extend our sincere sympathy and condo-
lence in their deep affliction. Peace to his
ashes.'
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Staunton spectator. (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, January 31, 1894, Image 3
Image and text provided by Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA
Persistent link: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024718/1894-01-31/ed-1/seq-3/
page 3, column 5
MARRIAGES.
MALCOM-SIRON.— At the Methodist Parson-
age in McDowell, Highland county, January
18th, by Rev. J. M. Hawley, Mr. J. S. Malcom
to Miss Sarah M. Siron.
Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, November 16, 1894, Image 3
Image and text provided by Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA
Persistent link: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn95079246/1894-11-16/ed-1/seq-3/
page 3, column 2
After visiting frie[n]ds in Highland
Jno. M Siron returned to his home
in Upshur county, W.Va.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The death of Joel W. Siron:
Joel W. Siron died 14 November 1896.
Highland Recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, November 20, 1896, Image 3
Image and text provided by Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA
Persistent link: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn95079246/1896-11-20/ed-1/seq-3/
page 3, column 2
Mr. Joel Siron, one of the lead-
ing citizens of eastern Highland,
died at his home near McDowell on
last Saturday morning, the cause
of his death being pneumonia, from
which he suffered only a short
while.
Highland Recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, November 27, 1896, Image 2
Image and text provided by Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA
Persistent link: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn95079246/1896-11-27/ed-1/seq-2/
page 2, column 1
John M. Siron and John H.
Wooddell qualified as administra-
tors of Joel W. Siron, dec'd, and S.
C. Eagle, Joseph Siple and Joseph M.
Siron were appointed to ap-
praise the personal estate of said
decedent.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C37T-VS41-7?i=380&cat=95416
Film # 008589720
Images 381-382 of 593
Upshur County Deed Book Vol.4, p.101-102
3 June 1891 ; recorded 5 October 1891
James T. Hull and Mahala Hull his wife to John M. Siron "all of the County of Upshur”
for 1600 dollars,
207 acres “on Crooked Run a tributary of the West fork River adjoining the lands of Sherman Wilson John W. Wilson Samuel Douglass and others ...”
“... corner to Wm H. Hull ... corner to Wesley Wilson ...”
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C37T-VSQ5-5?i=382&cat=95416
Film # 008589720
Images 383 of 593
Upshur County Deed Book Vol.4, p.104-105
9 March 1891 ; recorded 9 October 1891
William O. Smith and Ida B. Smith his wife to John M. Siron "all of the County of Upshur”
for $938.55, 55 acres and 91 square poles “on the Waters of Kanawha run a tributary of the Little Kanawha River in the County of Upshur ...”
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C37T-KS6C?i=639&cat=95416
Film # 008589723
Image 640 of 656
Upshur County Deed Book Vol.10, p.534-535
13 Jan 1894 ; recorded 4 Jun 1895
James M. Bennett and M. E. Bennett his wife to John M. Siron
for 1700 dollars, 66 and 2/3 acres
“... on French Creek ... adjoining the lands of D. N. Armstrong James Curry and John D. Rusmisell ... “
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Highland Recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, November 27, 1896, Image 3
Image and text provided by Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA
Persistent link: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn95079246/1896-11-27/ed-1/seq-3/
page 3, column 2
Mr. J. M. Siron, a former High-
lander, now residing at Frenchton,
W. Va., spent several days recently
visiting friends in the eastern part
of the county.
Highland Recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, December 18, 1896, Image 3
Image and text provided by Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA
Persistent link: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn95079246/1896-12-18/ed-1/seq-3/
page 3, column 1
J. M. Siron, who has been visit-
ing friends near McDowell return-
ed yesterday to his home at French-
ton, W. Va.
Highland Recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, May 01, 1903, Image 2
Persistent Link http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn95079246/1903-05-01/ed-1/seq-2/
page 2, column 1
Real Estate Transfers During the
Past Month.
...
J M Siron to Oliver R. Siron, 73
acres near Siron's Mill, $200.
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The death of John Milton Siron in Linn Co., Kansas:
Virginia Chronicle > The Recorder > 23 March 1917
The Recorder, Volume 39, Number 14, 23 March 1917
MONTEREY, HIGHLAND COUNTY VA., FRIDAY MARCH 23, 1917
page 2, column 4
J. M. Siron Dead
John Milton Siron was born in
McDowell, Highland country, Va.,
Sept. 28, 1846, died in St. Mary,s
hospital, Kansas City, Mo., Feb.
10, 1917, age seventy years, four
month and thirteen days. He was
the second son of Jonathan and
Christiana Siron. At the age of four
years his mother died and left him
to the care of a father. He resided
at home until twenty three years
of age when he was united in marr-
age to Miss Mary J Hull of French-
ton, Upshur county, West Va. Mr.
Siron and bride went to his old
home where they resided over
twenty one years. Mr. Siron and
family then moved to the home of
Mrs. Siron 's parents where they
res ded until December 1903 when
they moved to Pleasanton where
deceased had a short time before
phurchased a home. Here he con-
tinue to live until January 18 when
he was taken to Kansas City for
an operation, dying in St. Mary's
hospital last Saturday. He was the
father of eight children, five of
whom with their mother suvive to
mourn the loss of an indulgent and
kind father, faithful and true hus-
band. The surviving children are.
Mrs. W. S. McCoy of Goodrich,
Joel E , Jarred H. and Chas J. of
Pleasanton and Mrs. Clare M. Har-
per of Mound City.
In 1889 he untied with the M. E.
church of the town in wich he was
born. He was ever aithful to the
teachings of the good book--a faith-
ful husband and loving father, good
neighbor and citizen, ever ready
to lend assistance to those in trou
ble. In the death of J.M.Siron Linn
country has lost a citizen who was
ever ready to lend his every effort
for the betterment of society and to
make those around him happier.
Sunday evening the remains were
brought to Pleasanton by his son,
C. J., who had gone to the city the
night before. The next afternoon
at 2:30 feuneral services were held
in the M. E. church, conducted by
Rev. Boicourt, after which all that
was mortal of one of Linn county,
most valued citizens was tenderly
laid to rest in the Pleasanton ceme-
tery to wait the call of the Great
Judge.
To the bereaved wife who for al-
most a half century marched along
life's path hand in hand with dece-
ased, the sorrowing daughers and
sons, the Herald joins with other
friends in extending condolence.
--Pleasanton (Kan) Herold. Feb. 16
------------------------
The death of Mary Jane Hull Siron, widow of John Milton Siron:
Virginia Chronicle > The Recorder > 14 March 1919
The Recorder, Volume 41, Number 11, 14 March 1919
MONTEREY, HIGHLAND COUNTY VA., FRIDAY MARCH 14, 1919
page 3, column 2
...
DEATH
Mrs. Mary J. Siron, widow of the
late Milton Siron, died the 27th of
Feruary, at the home of her daugh-
ter, Mrs. Wm. McCoy, at Goodrich,
Kansas. Death was due to blood
poisoning caused by a chicken peck-
ing her hand. Her body was taken
to Pleasanton, Kan., and tenderly
laid by the side of her husband, who
preceded her to the grave a little
more than two years ago. Beside
a dost of friends and relatives she
leaves to mourn her loss, five chil-
dren, Mrs. Eva McCoy, Joel E., Jared
H., Chas. J. and Mrs. Clara Harper,
all of whom reside in Kansas. X
---------------------------------------------
Virginia Chronicle > Highland Recorder > 17 March 1944
Highland Recorder, Volume 66, Number 11, 17 March 1944
News of Twenty-Five Years Ago [i.e., in 1919]
H. B. WOOD, EDITOR
...
[1919]
Death of Good Woman
Mrs. Mary J. Siron, widow of the
late Milton Siron, died the 27th
February at the home of her daugh-
ter, Mrs. Wm. McCoy, at Goodrich,
Kansas. Death was due to [blood]
poisoning caused by a chicken
pecking her hand.
...
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The tragic death of Sarah Margaret Siron Malcom:
Virginia Chronicle > Highland Recorder > 11 January 1929
Highland Recorder, Volume 51, Number 2, 11 January 1929
Virginia Chronicle > Highland Recorder > 11 January 1929
Highland Recorder, Volume 51, Number 2, 11 January 1929
column 2
...
MCDOWELL
Jan. 8, 1929: Yesterday afternoon,
between 5 and 6 o’clock, Mrs. Marga-
ret Malcom was burned to death in
her home, which it is supposed had
caught fire while she was about her
evening work.
Her grandsons, who lived not far
away rushed to the burning house,
but could not enter, flames meeting
them at the door.
Her charred remains were taken
out after the fire had burned down.
Mrs. Malcom lived alone, since the
death of her husband, Stuart Mal-
com, and was probably 79 years old.
Before marriage she was a Miss Si-
ron. She is survived by one son,
Henry, and one daughter, Mrs. Dolar
Malcom of San Bernardino, and one
sister Mrs. Araminta Wooddell.
Mrs. Malcom was a member of the
Methodist church.
...
column 3:
...
AGED WOMAN MEETS
A TRAGIC DEATH
Mrs. Margaret Malcom, aged resi-
dent of the McKendree section of the
county, was burned to death Monday
evening when her home was destroyed
by fire of unknown origin. She lived
alone, and before any one was able to
reach the scene, the house was in ashes
or practically so, and her body was
found among the embers.
From the position of her body it is
thought that she had gone to the tele-
phone and tried to call help. It was
also probable that the outside doors
were locked and the keys shut off from
the rear of the house, where the fire
is known to have originated.
Mrs. Malcom was the widow of Stu-
art Malcom who died probably six
years ago, and spent most of her time
alone on her farm. She was near 80
years of age. Our informant spoke in
high terms of her devotion, in the
closing years of life, to the church of
which she was a member—the M. E.
Church, South —liberally supporting
the ministry, and attending regularly
the meetings of the church societies of
which she was a member. She was a
daughter of the late Jonathan Siron,
and mother of four children, one
daughter residing in California.
...
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The death of Christina Arminta (or Araminta) Siron Wooddell:
Virginia Chronicle > Highland Recorder > 22 October 1937
Highland Recorder, Volume 59, Number 41, 22 October 1937
column 2:
...
AN AGED LADY DIES
Funeral services for Mrs. Christiana
A. Wooddell, widow of the late J. H.
Wooddell who died Monday morning,
Oct. 18, were held at McKendree
Church, Wednesday afternoon at two
thirty. She was eighty-five years of
age and had spent her entire life in
this community. In early youth she
united with the Methodist Church and
lived a consecrated Christian life, prov
ing her profession of faith by her
doily conversation and works. She
was always willing and ready to lend
a helping hand in what ever was to be
done. It seemed that the task was
never too great for her to share part.
She possessed a kind disposition and
for her neighbors, friends and fami-
ly, she had a kind word and pleasant
smile for all even when the end of life
came.
September 21, 1870 she was united
in marriage to John H. Wooddell who
preceded her in death a number of
years ago. To this union were born
five children all of whom surive: A. I.
Wooddell of Doe Hill; J. S. Wooddell,
Arlie V. Wooddell, B. C. Wooddell and
Mrs. J. O. Malcom, all of McDowell.
She also leaves six grand children and
one great-grandchild.
Active pallbearers were her grand-
nephews, Roy Siron, Rodney Siron,
Virgil Armstrong, Melvin Armstrong,
Theodore Pullin and Burton Pullin
Honorary pallbearers —Addison
Crummett, Johnathon Eagle, Alpheus
Jones, Thomas Malcom, Conrad Ral-
ston, Pete Malcom, Norman Arm-
strong, Arthur Armstrong, Bud Ral-
ston, Morgan Smith.
...
column 3:
...
DOE HILL
Mrs. C. A. Wooddell Dies
Mrs. Christina Arminta Wooddell
passed away at her home near Mc-
Kendree Monday, Oct. 18 at 1:00 a. m.,
aged 85 years, 5 mos. and 20 days.
Mrs. Wooddell had been a member of
the Methodist Church since early in
life. Funeral services will be held
Wednesday afternoon, interment will
be in McKendree cemetery
Virginia Chronicle > Highland Recorder > 22 October 1937
Highland Recorder, Volume 59, Number 41, 22 October 1937
McDowell
...
Mrs. Araminta Wooddell who has
been ill for several weeks passed away
Monday morning at 1 o’clock .
She is survived by four sons, Arlie,
Ben, Siron, and Austin Wooddell, and
one daughter, Mrs. Oscar Malcom.
Mrs Wooddell has been a faithful
member of the Methodist Church for
a number of years
Funeral services were held this af-
ternoon at McKendree by her pastor,
Rev C W Paskel
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