Our Merkley lineage
(ancestory) begins with the Merkley Story, Part 1, Germany to New York:
the history of the Palatine German immigrants. Johann Frederich Merckel (7th Great Grandfather), the first of the
Merckel family to immigrate to America and settle in Ulster Co., NY.
His son, Wihelmus Merckel (6th Great Grandfather), was born in Ulster Co., NY (1722) and died there in 1813. He was
53 at the time of the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the beginning of
the Revolutionary War.
The
only Document I have connected to him is a copy of his handwritten Will (1806).
Only two of his sons, Benjamin and Jacob inherit his estate and personal
property, his other children are allotted (as their birthright) one dollar and
twenty-five cents.
Note:
notice the surname change from Wilhelmus Merckel to Markle -here, again, I find new spellings for the Merkley surname: Markill, Markell,
The Declaration of Independence was signed, July 4, 1776 in Philadelphia. The first major
battle fought was the Battle of Long Island, in New York; George
Washington was at the head of the Continental Army; the British won and they
remained in control of the strategic New York ports throughout the war.
The End of the Revolutionary War
Timeline: Oct 19, 1781, Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown,
Virginia. Feb 12. 1782, the British House of Commons voted against
further war. Sept 3, 1783, The Treaty of Paris ends the American Revolutionary War. But it wasn't until Dec 14, 1783
that the British evacuated New York, marking the end of British Rule.
The British controlled another
important port at Fort Niagara, Ontario, Canada; the document, United Empire
of Loyalists, has this to say about it: Standing on a bluff above
Lake Ontario not far from Niagara Falls, Old Fort Niagara has dominated the
entrance to the Niagara River since 1726. The
fort played an important role in the struggles of France, Great Britain, and
the United States to control the Great Lakes region of North America, and also helped shape the destinies of the Iroquois (Six
Nations) peoples and the nation of Canada.
Next in our Merkley lineage is Frederick Markle (5th Great Grandfather), this story reveals the
history of the movement of our ancestors from New York, (USA), to Canada after
The Revolutionary War. A factor to remember is that our ancestors were
recent Palatine Refugees who left their homeland in Germany due to French invasion, death
and destruction and had only recently settled in the New World in the
area of Ulster Co., New York. The Queen of England had been instrumental in transporting them and supplying food,
shelter and agricultural implements. These refugees worked hard harvesting
trees for the British Navy, cleared their own settlement lands, and were paying
tax assessments to England. The first major battles took place in seaports of
New York, areas where our ancestors had settled. I'll share the Thomas Bush
Story to give you an idea of what it was like to live in that time and place:
Thomas Bush (Bosch)
married Elizabeth Maria Markel, daughter of Johann Frederick Merckel (our 7th Great Grandfather) -our
Palatine ancestors covered in The Merkley Story, Part 1.
The
following Document can be found in its original form in my Ancestry Family
Tree, Thomas Bush Profile Page. Here, I will insert sections representative of
the conditions related to the Revolutionary War period. The story is about the
kidnapping of the children of Frederick Bush (grandchildren of Thomas and
Elizabeth).
Thomas Bush settled in 1755
upon a tract of land above a place that would be known as Winchell's Falls. He
lived there during The Revolutionary War and supported the Patriot cause. Toward the end of the war, his son Frederick and
his wife and eleven children were also living on the Bush Homestead. The area
was constantly patrolled but even with a Fort at Shokan, they could not prevent Tories and Indians from wreaking havoc on the
farmers.
In 1781, three of Frederick's
children were kidnapped by the Indians who were
supporters of the Tories.
The Story of the Bush Children
During the year 1755 Thomas Bush
settled upon a tract of land in the present town of Olive near Marbletown line
not far from the present Brown's Station on the Ulster and Delaware Railroad.
Here he was living all through the troublous times of the Revolutionary
struggle ardently supporting the patriot cause. His son, Frederick, became as earnest a patriot and when
the cause was so far advanced as that those who were willing to fight for their
liberties resolved to band themselves together for mutual defense and
protection Frederick was one of the signers of the immortal Articles of
Association.
The
years succeeding the surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga in 1777 were
years of scalping, marauding and desolation along the frontier of Ulster county. Olde Ulster has told of the massacre
at Fantine Kill and of the construction by Governor George Clinton of the fort
at Shandaken... But these were but a
few of the incidents of those troubled years. We expect to narrate many of
these almost forgotten events. This article will give the thrilling story of
what befell the children of this old patriot. *I
would guess that the town and county Ulster was named for this pioneer settler,
Olde Ulster and that this story came from a historical publication relating to
the history of Ulster County.
Towards
the close of the war Frederick was living upon the old Bush homestead. His family consisted of a
wife and five sons. These were Thomas, John, Stephen, Isaac and Cornelius. Of
these Stephen was fourteen years of age; Isaac twelve and Cornelius but five
years old.
One morning in the year 1781 Frederick
Bush and his son Thomas left the house to hunt for a bee tree. His wife and the
three boys, Stephen, Isaac and Cornelius remained at home, where the wife
prepared to do her baking. Fire was built in a large, old-fashioned,
out-of-doors oven when her loaves were ready they were put therein and had been
long enough to have an outer crust partly formed. Suddenly a band of Indians appeared and surrounded the house with
the expectation of capturing Frederick Bush, against whom his Tory neighbors
had a bitter animosity. Failing in this they
demanded food. The odor of the baking came from the oven and they investigated
its source and drew the half-done loaves out and greedily devoured the crusts
and threw away the doughy inside. This done they prowled around for plunder.
Mrs. Bush weighed three hundred and sixty pounds. She protested against their
intrusion and one of the band brandished his tomahawk and seized the hair over
her forehead with the motion of tearing off her scalp. In the cradle, a long
old-fashioned wooden affair, Cornelius was lying. Leaving the mother he sprang
towards the child, swinging the weapon. The little fellow had no idea of his
object and smiled. Such a defense discomfited the savage and he exclaimed:
"Me no can kill baby!" and picked up the child.
Meantime
the rest of the band came upon a sow with a litter of pigs in a pen close at
hand. They killed the sow and, returning to the house, seized the younger three
boys, Stephen, Isaac and Cornelius, despite the pleadings of their frantic
mother, and hastened away into the surrounding forest.
On a ledge of rocks not far from his
house Frederick Bush and his eldest son Thomas were watching the course of bees
to locate the bee-tree. They saw the party of Indians come in sight. It was too
numerous to attack. Just above the present Winchell's Falls it came to the
Esopus and Bush saw the savages wade the stream and, to his horror, he saw in
their possession his younger three boys. He knew that exposure meant death to
him and his eldest son, so was compelled to keep quiet. In a moment they party
had passed out of sight.
Bush they hurried home and found his
wife alive to his great joy, his house still standing and nothing damaged but
the hog. She was lying on her side and her litter of sucking pigs was
struggling for nourishment. A chorus of disappointment told their utter want of
success. That night Bush and family hid themselves in the undergrowth along the
Esopus.
All this while the savages were
hastening up the mountains with the children. The Catskills were crossed and the
long march to Fort Niagara undertaken. Bravely the
two lads kept up their courage and helped along their baby brother. He could
not keep up with the party and then the captors would approach the little boy
and flourish a tomahawk and threaten to strike unless he hurried and marched
with the others. This would bring the two lads to pick up their brother and
carry him. The cruel savages would then place an extra load upon the elder one.
The
neighbors of Bush organized a rescuing party. The Indians were tracked down the
Schoharie to some point west of
Schenectady but then the traces were lost and the pursuers sadly returned.
At last their destination at Fort Niagara was reached. The tired
children rested. Negotiations for peace were reported and Indians of the friendly Oneidas and Tuscaroras appeared among their
Iroquois brethren. The lads were adopted
among the tribes in the vicinity of Niagara. But they were separated. For two years they did not see each
other. Through the influence of some Indian traders Isaac was released and went
to Buffalo in pursuit of his
brothers. He found Stephen working in a hotel there but neither knew of the
other. These traders brought back the older two to their homes in Olive. Six months after,
someone who knew of the whereabouts of Cornelius searched for him and found
him. The little fellow had forgotten his name and could remember nothing of
this native language but the word "Sopus," as Kingston was invariably called
by the Dutch, and could recall nothing of his parents but remembered that an
older brother had lost two fingers from his right hand. After a little he was
able to recall a few Dutch expressions.
It was difficult to ascertain from
his color that the boy was white. He had been painted so often, and in his
Indian trappings, with his savage training, he was, seemingly, one of the young
men of the tribe. As he approached his home he pointed to a tree and exclaimed:
"There dad shot a crow!"
After the Revolution Isaac removed
to the vicinity of Buffalo. Here he lived and died, while Stephen and Cornelius settled in
their native Olive where numerous
descendants are among the prominent families to this day.
Early Stone Arabia -Essay by Andrew L. Dillenbeck
Paper read before
the New York State Historical Association at Canajoharie on the historical tour
of September 24, 1931
Source: Proceedings
of the New York State Historical Association, Vol. XIII, 1932
The
name itself, variously spelled and pronounced, has long been a matter of
curiosity, conjecture and myth - and may always remain so.
In the Old Testament and later times, Arabia
carried the idea of blessedness, happiness and
security. This connotation has passed down the centuries
in many lands and languages. The name Stone Arabia, in its Dutch spelling, is found in
Dutch writings long before its use in America.
Thus it
may be that Steen Rabi was
the land of promise to various groups
settling in America in the 17th and 18th centuries. At least we find the name
applied to a region on the west side of the Hudson near
Kingston, to the site of the present North Troy, and later to our Stone Arabia in the Mohawk Valley.
But
perhaps we have a clue that comes from the Hudson Valley. Under patent dated
19 October 1668, Robert Sanders and Harmen Vedder bought of the Mohican Indians land called by the
Indians "Taescameasich" lying on the east side of the North River and stretching along the River from the second to the third
spring which runs over to the west side of the river straight into the woods up
to the high hills. On 21 August 1670 Harmen Vedder conveyed his interest to
Robert Sanders. Reference to this land is made in a lease given by Robert
Sanders to Hendrick Meussen Vrooman, 3 May 1670, wherein it is described
as "lying over against the long island" and named Steen Raby. In 1680 Robert Sanders
sold his farm on the east side of the Hudson's river, obliquely over against
the farm of Anthony van Shayk, commonly called Steen Arabia. Captain
John Schuyler in his report of his journey to
Canada in 1698, says, "we went from Albany
and came to Stony Arabia 8 miles up the river, where we lodged that
night". All these references are to Stony Arabia on the site of modern
Lansingburg or North Troy. This is also the Stein
Raby at which an outpost of 10 men was stationed as early as 1710.
It is
possible that the name was transferred to the Mohawk Valley location through
Robert Sanders, an Albany merchant who was interested in the Lansingburg Stone
Arabia and acted as Indian interpreter for the governor, and who may have
assisted the Stone Arabia patentees in their purchase from the
Indians.
The
name is still applied to the central and southeastern portion of the original
patent. For a few years just
before the Revolution, Stone Arabia was given
as a name to that section later to be called the Palatine District extending from the
Nose to the Falls and northward to Canada,
but on March 8, 1773, it lost this wider application and from that time
was confined to the patent.
It is probable that a number of families from
the Hudson Valley Palatine Camps never settled in Schoharie at all but went directly to Stone Arabia in
1712-15. Some families drop out of the Kocherthal-Berkenmeyer
Records of the Camp and Schoharie for about
nine years appearing later in Stone Arabia. Research made in Switzerland
recently by one of the Palatine families reveals
relationship by marriage with the Frey family several generations before
1710. If Hendrick Frey was in this immediate section before 1712-13
it is fair to assume that the relationship
established in Europe before coming to America would still hold and he probably was the cause of several
families coming directly to Stone Arabia from the Hudson. Indeed Simms says some
of the party had relatives or friends there [Stone Arabia] who located at the
time the Schoharie settlements were begun, which induced them to remove
thither. Frothingham says they were on the ground before 1723.
The original pateentees
were, with one or two exceptions, of German
ancestry coming from the Rhine
Valley in Switzerland and Germany.
When in 1720, the colonial governor
lent an open ear to the desire of about 60 Schoharie families in the Schoharie
settlement to join the others who had gone to Stone Arabia without leave, a new era dawned for the distressed Palatines. They were now to find a
more tolerant and kindly attitude even though that attitude was
inspired by hope of protecting the Mohawk frontier by settling these sturdy and
stubborn folk along the upper reaches of the river. So the Stone Arabia and the Burnetsfield settlements were given
official countenance. The grants were permitted
and bestowed "for their loyalty to government" - a belated return for
their help in the Colonel Nicholson expedition of 1711.
The Indian deed for the Stone Arabia land cost 300
pounds in Indian goods and bears date of 12 February 1723 and approved 9 March 1723. The warrant to grant was issued 14 September and the patent dated 19 October 1723. On the first division,
most of the patentees took 100 acres, two lots of 50 acres each; in 1733 another division was made…
*I am only going to
include names possibly related to our ancestry: The 27 names which appeared in the patent were: Bartholomew
Picart (Pickard?), Johannes Schnell, Hans Deterick Cassalman, John Joost Schnell, (there are two Feink that could be Finck), Lodowick Cassalman. Bartholomew Picard, Jr.
In the
second allotment, made in 1733, we find that 14 who took land in the
first division took none in the second. Ten years had witnessed the death or
removal of these or they were convinced they had enough land. 26 different
titles were given in the 2nd allotment; 4 were titles in partnership. The 30
men who thus shared were as follows: Andris Finck, Nicholas Pickard, Lodewyck Casselmann, Andreas Finck, Jr., Symon Erhart, Jacob Snell, Johannis Snell, Wilhelmis Casselman, Dierik Loucks, Hanes Erhart... Deeds were given to all who shared in this allotment, a few of
which are still in existence. Most of the new grantees were sons of the patentees, in several instances were men from Schoharie, and in some cases
Dutchmen.
The
first allotment had given title to 2550 acres, the second to 9169 acres, a
total of 11719 acres. There was but little left. Another survey and allotment
was made in 1793... making the total acreage of the patent nearly 13,000
acres.
Peace prevailed in the Valley until 1757.
Sir William's influence with both whites and Indians made for peace and
harmony. How busy he was in keeping order, in restraining certain settlers, in
pacifying the red men when their pride and sense of justice were violated, is a
matter set down in his correspondence.
People
were land-mad apparently. Sir William declared in 1769 that all land
worth patenting had been taken. Stone Arabians were over-zealous in possessing
land. King Hendrick and three other Indians appeared before the council in New York City June 12, 1753,
declaring their intentions of driving out of the country a certain Barclay and
a Mrs. Pickard because of their
selling liquor to the Indians and taking more land than they were given. They
"intend to take a little Rod and whip" to Arent Stevens and Conradt
Gunterman for taking more land than was sold to them. A like complaint was
lodged against "Peter Wagenaer over
against Canajohary Castle north side of the
River" and Hannes Clock.
Within this period there was a large increase in
the population of the section and throughout the Valley; the first generation born here came to maturity, married, made homes
for themselves, and the second generation of native-born arrived. New immigrants of many nationalities came. A French spy reports
in 1737 that there was not a fort between Ft. Johnson and the Falls. He
says there were 500 houses on the north side road east of the Falls, most of
them stone and some a half-league back from the river.
There
was probably a more rapid growth in the period following the close of the French and Indian War, and the opening of the
Revolution found the Stone Arabia
section well occupied. Churches, schools, stores, mills, blacksmith shops, lime
kilns, taverns and boatyards were plentiful along the Mohawk. Each farm had an orchard, which was generally the family
burial-ground. Wheat, flax, potatoes, corn, fruit, hemp, hay, peas, and oats were
grown, with wheat the leading crop. The wheat flour of the
Valley was worth more in New York City than any other. The first houses were
log; the next frame or stone. Dwight observed in 1799 that the houses were of the Dutch style with few windows, and
many doors with windowless sheds over the doors. Lean-tos and other awkward additions often joined the main building which was generally a one and a half story structure and
"frequently looked like a collection of kitchens."
Those
of the first generation that came could write their names, but of the first and
second generation born here few could. The language became a sad
mixture of German, Dutch, English and Indian - the Mohawk Dutch.
The Stone Arabia settlers were found, with the
settlers in the other districts, in the Valley
militia of the colony which in
pre-Revolutionary days met regularly for training and was subject to call
to arms when emergencies arose. One familiar with the
Stone Arabia family names may readily see the part they took in the military
preparations in the Valley, by perusing the roster of the company commanded by
Capt. Soffrinus Deychert from 1757-1762. This was the Stone Arabia company in the 2d battalion of Palatine
militia. Still living in the
Valley are found many of the descendants of these Stone Arabia colonial soldiers, e.g., Keyser, Louck, Markell, Swits, Coppernoll, Finck, Cook, Roller,
Dillenbeck, Brower, Roof, Kilts, Becker, Snell, Getman, Empie, Nestell, Lasher, Nellis, Dygert, Davy, Walrath,
Saltsman, Shults, Baum, Frank, Christman, Wick, Duesler, Fox, Dockstader,
Edick, Wert, and others.
And then came the
struggle for independence. The Stone Arabia settlers were significantly American on their stand. Nearly two years before
the Philadelphia Liberty bell rang out independence, the Stone Arabia
farmers had drafted their declaration of
American Principles. This took place 27
Aug. 1774 in the tavern of Adam Loucks, known as the White Tavern and identified by some as the upper
tavern, which for generations has now been called the Red Tavern, while the
White Tavern or Corners is a few roads above the churches.
These resolves read in part as follows:
III [in part]. That We think it is our undeniable Privilege to be taxed only with our own Consent given by ourselves (or by our
Representative). That Taxes otherwise
laid and exacted are unjust and
unconstitutional....
IV. That the Act for blocking up the Port of Boston is oppressive
and arbitrary, injurious in its principles and particularly oppressive to the Inhabitants of Boston, who we consider as Brethren
suffering in the Common Cause.
V (in part). ...that we
will join and unite with our Brethren of the Rest of this Colony in anything
tending to support and defend our Rights and Liberties.
As indicative of the attitude of mind of Loucks, the tavern keeper, to
current conditions, which of course reflected the mind of the Stone Arabia settlers,
there was to be found on the walls of the tavern the portraits of Martin
Luther, Frederick the Great, George III, and Louis XIV, visible tokens of a
loyalty to religion, to the old homeland and the new home in America
and of a lasting and intense hatred to the one who drove them from their
Palatinate homes on the Rhine, for the picture of the French King was inserted
in its frame upside down and under it- these lines-
This is the man we all should hate, Who drove us from our home,
Who burned the old Palatinate And sent us forth to roam.
Major Zielly and Andrew Dillenback (later killed
at Oriskany) were early appointed on a committee
to secure material for war. The people of Stone
Arabia were alert and informed. The fertile Mohawk Valley
and the fields, particularly of Stone Arabia, were sources of supply for the
Continental Army throughout the long struggle.
Especially in 1780 did Washington look to the wheat and oats of Stone
Arabia. Hence the Raid of 1780, with its intensive destruction,
was a telling blow to the cause.
It should be noted that there was more unanimity among the Palatine
farmers in opposition to the British policy than in some other districts in the
Valley. There was scarcely a
family, however, that was not divided between loyalty to the crown and loyalty
to the cause. Canadian records reveal the extent to which the Valley population
contributed to the British interest.
Two forts, Keiser and Paris, were reared on
Stone Arabia soil. Twice the enemies ravaged StoneArabia, in the Ephratah-Dillenburgh
raid in 1778 and the direful raid of 1780. Oriskany took its
sanguinary toll. And yet showing the spirit of the Stone Arabia settlers, we
find Governor Clinton saying of them in 1781,
"Most of Tryon and Schoharie have been
destroyed. They are not however
abandoned; the inhabitants having recovered themselves, continue to improve
their farms and assist in the general defense." Truly Stone Arabia played
a telling and significant part in the early life of New York and America.
Of great interest in Stone Arabia's development
and showing the opposing desires of the inhabitants is the history of the "Union Academy of palatine,"
incorporated March 31, 1795. The Reformed Dutch church of Stone Arabia gave land to the institution and also permission to use the school
house of the church (apparently a part of the parsonage) for one year. John
Nifher was probably the first principal. The two-story frame academy
building was erected by subscription and completed in 1799 opposite
the Reformed church. It was burned in 1806 or 1807 and not rebuilt. To the
above data from Beers' History of Montgomery County, Dr. W. N. P. Dailey
adds, in his History of Montgomery Classis, that the principal mover in
the project was Major Andrew Finck and that his neighbors objected on the ground that "too much learning
made bad farmers." The title to the land was questioned, the administration was sued
and Finck was forced to yield.
ANDREW L. DILLENBECK
Johnstown, N. Y.
-Children of Wilhemus Merckel
Now... I'll resume the story of our ancestors in the
Revolutionary War
Frederick Markle (5th Great Grandfather) was 19 at the time of the Declaration of Independence (1776)
and the beginning of the Revolutionary War. He was living in Kingston, Ulster,
NY; he joined the (British) Butlins Rangers -they called these colonists, 'Loyalists' -Loyal to the
King/Queen of England.
I have
several documents for Frederick Markle's Profile, beginning with a letter of
recommendation sent to the King of England regarding a Land Petition Henry has
made:
May it please your Excellency to permit me to
take the liberty to recommend Henry and Frederich Markles.
Henry (Frederick's brother) is a man that
formerly belonged to Butlins
Rangers, whose zealous
attachments to the British standard, has occasioned him to suffer many
hardships during the American Revolution. at the conclusion of the same, he
went into the United States after his family, which are in this Province (Ontario): He has a Petition now in Council, since the year 1807. The
certificates are attached to the same, certifying his Loyalty and Services,
during the American War: He has three sons, able young men.
In 1781,
Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia. On Feb 12, 1782, the
British voted against further war. In 1782 Frederick's unit was disbanded and
sent to Camp Niagara, Ontario,
Canada. It is here that
Frederick married Rebecca Pickard, daughter of a friend and fellow Butler Ranger,
William Pickard Sr on July 29, 1783 -Rebecca, born in 1769 in Stone
Arabia, New York, was 13 years old when they married. 18 children were born
from this union. Michael Frederick, their 17th child, is our 4th Great Grandfather; he was the first of our ancestors to return to the U.S. and settle in Iowa.
There are
Land Petition records for Frederick for the years 1797, 1810 and 1816. On Feb. 26, 1797, 200 acres of land was given to Rebecca by the Order of Council
for her father's military service (for England) in the Revolutionary War
-according to the Document, Loyalists in Ontario, each of his children
received 200 acres of land; children of Frederick also received land due to his
military service -his surname on the document is misspelled as Maracle.
Frederick
died in 1836 (age 79), Rebecca, in 1844.
Henry Markle was 16 yrs old when the Revolutionary War
began. He joined the same (British) Butlins Rangers as
his brother, Frederick.
He
married Mary Vrooman in 1782 (he was 22), most likely at Camp Niagara, Canada. 4 children were born of this union. Rev. Barney is the son
mentioned in the Transfer of Henry's land, he became executor of Henry's estate
after his death (age 52) in 1812 (he died without a Will). Records show
several Land Petitions for Henry Markle.
John Markle was 20 years old when the Revolutionary War
began. According to the Document, United Empire of Loyalists, he also
joined Butlins Rangers, he received a promotion to Sergeant.
In 1782,
after the war ended (age 27), he married Margaret Smith at
Niagara Camp, Canada, daughter of a friend and fellow Butlin's
Ranger. 6 or 7 children were born from this union.
Records show
that he petitioned for 1200 acres of land. He died without a Will about
1800 (age 45) -it is certain that he died before 1806, at the time that his
father's Will was witnessed John was listed as deceased.
James Markle, oldest son of Wilhelmus Merckel, was 23 years
old at the beginning of the Revolutionary War; he is another brother mentioned
as joining the Butler Rangers during the Revolutionary War -Document, United
Empire of Loyalists.
In 1784,
after the Revolutionary War, James received a small grant indicating that he
was unmarried and without children. He died about 1796 (age 43).
Wilhelmus II was 22 years old when the Revolutionary War
began. Around 1779 (age 25), he married married Agnes, in Rhinebeck,
Dutchess, NY, USA., and 6 children were born to this union.
Ancestry Family Trees show the first two children as being born in New York (no death information). The remaining children are shown as being
born in Canada; two show up in a Canada Census (Isaac &
Abraham William), most of the children have no death information.
I have found
no Revolutionary War military service record for Wilhelmus II. However, there
is record of him fighting in the War of 1812 in Lincoln;s 5th, Niagara
District: 9/25-10/24, 1812. 10/25-11/24/1812, AWOL 9/21-10/7/1813,
9/5-9/12/1814. He made a land claim after the war as a member of a flank
company. Source: Ancestry, Fred Blair. He died around 1836 (age 82) in
Ancaster, Canada.
Petrus Markle was 17 years old when the Revolutionary War
began.
I can find
no record of military service, no Land Petitions, no spouse or children, no
State or Country Census. All I know is that he was born in New York, U.S.A. and
died, 12/26/1800 (age 42), in Canada in the same area as most of his siblings.
Alexander Markle was 13 years old when the Revolutionary War
began.
His story
was the hardest for me to complete beginning with his marriage to Rebecca Weaver; many Ancestry Family Trees used the date of her OC as their
wedding date -that is the date her Council Order for land was executed, not her
wedding date. I used 1779 as their wedding date, it is the year given
for the birth of their first child (Alexander would have been 16 years old,
Rebecca 14). According to the records of St Mark's / St Andrew's Church in Niagara, Canada, three of his children were baptized in 1793 which, to me,
signifies joining the church. 6 children were born to this union
-all born in Ontario, Canada.
Between the
years of 1795 and 1822, there are Land Petition (received) totaling 1300 acres,
indicating Land Petitions
for military service.
An
Ancestry.com search gave me the following: June 14, 1824, UK, American Loyalists Claims -evidence that Alexander Markle had an
unresolved Petition at this time, and, 1829, Flamborough West, Ontario, Canada
-Publication of Story/History, Canadian
Genealogy -Flamborough West was a 'relocation' destination after the
Revolutionary War. These entries are an
indication that Alexander Markle died after 1829 (age 66).
Benjamin and Jacob Markle, are the two sons of Wilhelm Merckel that
inherited his estate and personal property. All his other children were
bequeathed one dollar and twenty-five cents.
Benjamin Markle was 11 years old when the Revolutionary War
began. He shows up on the U.S. Revolutionary War Rolls in 1776 (age
12) and in 1780 (age 16).
Oct 19, 1781,
Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia. Feb 12. 1782, the British
House of Commons voted against further war. Sept 3, 1783, The Treaty of
Paris ends the American Revolutionary War. But it wasn't until Dec 14, 1783
that the British evacuated New York, marking the end of British Rule.
In 1793 (age
28), Benjamin married Sarah Hasbrouck, in Kingston, Ulster Co., NY. I find no record of any children.
He shows up in New
York, Tax Assessment Rolls of Real and Personal Estates: 1801, 1802, 1803.
According to Ancestry Family Trees, he died May of 1811 (age 41), before his
father Wilhelmus died in 1813.
Jacob Wilhelmus Markle was 9 years old when the Revolutionary War
began, making him too young to serve.
On Oct. 20, 1792
(age 26), he married Sally Higgins, Kingston, Ulster, New York, USA; 2 children born to this union: Thomas and Abigail.
1801 (age
35) Jacob shows up on the New York, Tax Assessment Rolls of Real & Personal
Estates, Woodstock, Ulster Co., NY. In 1806, Jacob witnesses the signing of his
father, Wilhelmus Merckel's Will; he and his brother, Benjamin are to inherit
his real and personal property; they are appointed executors.
Jacob is
listed in the New York Census of 1820, 1830, 1840, and 1850 before he dies at
83 years of age, he is buried in the Shandaken Rural Cemetery, Markle Family Ground, Ulster Co., NY. as is his wife who died in
1853 and his daughter, Abigail (Markle) Riseley who died in 1888.
The daughters of
Wilhelmus Merckel:
Sarah Sally Markle was 14 years old when the Revolutionary War
began. On Oct. 24, 1801 (age 39), she married John Vandemerk, Marbletown, Ulster, NY, USA. No record of any children. Her mother died, before the Revolutionary War
began, in 1768, she most likely looked after her younger siblings. According to Ancestry Family Trees she died
April 22, 1844 (age 82).
Bridget Markle was 7 years old when the Revolutionary War
began. According to "The Descendants of Jacob Longyear of Ulster Co.,
New York" (age 18) she married William Longyear
(age 18), in Marbletown, Ulster, NY. 3 children were born to this union. William
served 4 (1 to 3 month) 'tours of duty': 1778, 1779, 1780, 1781. He died Sept
22, 1842.
According to
U.S. Pensioners Records, Sarah, as his widow (age 74), received pension money.
According to Ancestry Family Trees, she died, April 22, 1844 (age 75),
Shandaken, Ulster, NY.
A writer of
"The Descendants of Jacob Longyear of Ulster Co., New York"
states that her parents were Tories and were sent to Canada at the close of the
War. I placed this comment on
her profile page: She had several brothers who were 'Loyalists' and ended up
in Canada; I haven't seen any records of her parents being 'Tories', according
to records Wilhelmus died in Shandaken, Ulster Co., New York; his Will is
written and witnessed, 5/2/1806, Shandaken, Ulster Co., NY. Her mother, Sarah
Kock, died in 1768, before the Revolutionary War began.
The youngest son of Wilhelm
Merckel, Abraham
Markle, was only 5 years old when
the war began making him too young for service. I found so much interesting
information about him I ended up creating a separate document for him. He’s
part of a ‘new generation’ and of the development and expansion of the newly
formed United States of America.
Bio Markle - Abraham
Markle
1: BIO MARKLE -Source: Wikipedia
2: Abraham Markle 1770-1826 Source:Submitted by Dennis Bell - used with permission. Copyright 1999
Dennis Bell.
3: His biography in the
"Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online" Source: copied from http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=3000
Abraham Markle was a businessman and political figure in Upper Canada and co-proprietor Abraham Markle, born 10/26/1770 in
Marbletown, Ulster Co., New York, USA -the youngest child of Wihelmus Merckel (our 6th Great Grandfather). He would be remembered as
a businessman, politician, and army officer of the Canadian Volunteers who was
promoted to Major during the War of 1812.
When the
Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776 Abraham was 5
years old. Four of his brothers: James, John, Frederick (our 5th Great Grandfather), and Henry served with (British)
Butler's Rangers during the American Revolution. The first major battle to take
place after the United States declared independence took place at Long Island,
New York. Throughout the war the British held New York and there many battles
in the area where Benjamin would have lived.
On November
25, 1783 the British evacuated New York. The Markles who were Loyalists
would have moved to Canada around this time; they settled at Newark
(Niagara-on-the-Lake), Canada. At some point in time, Abraham joined
them; up until the end of the War of 1812 Benjamin would go back and forth
between Canada and the United States.
back in the New York, USA area when he married Rachel Van Deusen in 1791;
they had one child, William Markle, before her death in 1792. The only
information I have about her is the year of her birth, marriage to Abraham and
her death, that she was born and died in New York, USA.
returning to Newark,
Canada, in the year 1794
(age 24) he passed the Fellowcraft
degree and became "an
honest brother" in good standing of the Newark Masonic Lodge
returning to New York, at the age of 24, he married Catharine Thorn, November 10, 1794 at the Stone Arabia Reformed Church,
Montgomery Co., New York, USA.
April 9, 1795 (age 25) he was appointed the first Town Clerk of Ulysses, Onanadaga Co. (now Ithaca), New York,
USA.Other records show him to have been a justice of the peace there as late as
1800. (2)
- There is also in existence a
deed for 115 acres Abraham purchased 12/3/1795, from Peter
Himepaugh, and sold in 1800 to Simeon DeWitt. The land parcel later
came back into Markle family hands and was eventually donated as the original site for Cornell
University, which occupies it to this
day. (2) *Cornell University, Ithaca (Onandaga County), New York.
Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White. -Wikipedia
- In 1801 he ran a hotel in Niagara (Niagara-on-the-Lake) (Canada) in partnership with one of Robert Hamilton's sons; they also operated a local stage line for a short period. On 25 Jan. 1802 the partnership was dissolved with Markle taking control for several months before selling the operation to his former associate. (3)
Abraham was still buying lands in 1801 in America, but by 1803 he
had returned to Canada with his family; on 10/21/1803 he
purchased Lot 41 in Ancaster. But he maintained his New York interests. (2) By 1806 he was established in
Ancaster as a distiller. In the first quarter of that year his distillery had the largest production in
the Niagara District, outstripping even Richard Hatt's large complex, Dundas Mills (Canada)
(3)
Like most businessmen of the period, Markle was an active speculator in
land. He did not operate on the scale of investors such as Robert Addison, but his lots were always
well chosen for their marketability. In 1808 he patented, and then sold,
200 acres in nearby Nelson Twp.; the following year he purchased 200 acres in
Aldborough Twp. By 1810 he had acquired 700 acres in Ancaster Township,
200 acres in Markham Twp, and 400 acres in Nelson which he leased from the
crown. His portfolio was completed by the acquisition of a tavern licence in
January 1813. (3) *this was the building of his 'wealth' in Canada, prior to and during
the period of The War of 1812, that he lost when he joined the Canadian
Volunteer Corps and fought against the British forces in Canada -estimated
value, 26,000.
Markel plunged into business and into politics
in Ancaster, Canada
In 1811, he refused to serve with the
Lincoln Militia. (1)
Abraham aligned himself
with a fiery gentleman named Joseph Willcocks, probably the most outspoken opponent of British rule in Upper Canada at
the time. Willcocks was the descendant of an upper-class British family, born
in Ireland, who emigrated to the Thirteen Colonies and left during the War of
Independence, settling in Newark,
Ontario, a little town on the Niagara Peninsula. It was there that he became acquainted with Abraham and other
members of the Markle family. Willcocks aligned himself with those who opposed the British rulers of Upper
Canada and was elected to the Upper Canada legislature in 1812 along with Abraham Markle. Willcocks was also thrown in jail for suggesting that bribery
was going on in the legislature. He campaigned unsuccessfully for a universal school system. (2)
Markle's election
to the House of Assembly for Saltfleet, Ancaster, and the west riding of York
in June 1812 thrust him to the centre of provincial concerns.(3)
And then came the War of 1812, which deeply divided the Markle family politically and socially. Abraham joined Willcoks in a successful legislative effort blocking
Major General Isaac Brock's attempt to declare martial law in Upper Canada at
the outbreak of the war.
"I am
flattered at being ranked among the enemies of the King's service in this
colony," said Willcocks. "I glory in the distinction."
Then he
suddenly reversed himself to become the right-hand man to Upper Canada's
Provisional Administrator and military commander. Brock dispatched him to
secure the loyalty of the Grand River Indians, which he accomplished, and then
Willcocks fought alongside Brock on the winning side at the Battle of Queenston
Heights, Oct. 13, 1812, in which the commander was killed. It's not
known if Abraham Markle was at the battle. Willcocks and Markle soon fell out with Brock's
successors, who moved to stiffen colonial resistance to the American threat by
cracking down on Canadian dissidents. (2)
Willcocks
fled across the border and went over to the American side during the second occupation
of York (now Toronto) by the Americans.
Abraham was
arrested (June 1812) (1) and sent to imprisonment
in Kingston as an American sympathizer. He pleaded his innocence to the charge, pointing out that five of his brothers had fought for the Crown with
Butler's Rangers during the revolutionary war, and that his own father
had spent many months in an American prison because of his unswerving loyalty
to King and Country (?). (2)
Willcocks became a
lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army and established the Corps of Canadian Volunteers on July 18, 1813. The unit was recruited mainly from among
dissidents who fled across the border to escape the post-Brock crackdown. They
were mostly from the Niagara peninsula, men who saw some hope of freedom for Canadians in an American
victory over the British colonial forces, defending a corrupt colonial
bureaucracy based in Newark.
Joseph
Willcocks came home to Newark with a vengeance on Dec. 10, 1813,
proudly riding at the head of about 100 heavily armed members of his militia
unit along with 70 U.S. Army regulars. They burned the town to the ground, making no distinction between
public and private property.
Willcocks was wearing a green band and a white cockade hat identifying
him as a Canadian Volunteer, shouting threats at his former neighbors and other
Tories as his men set their homes ablaze. Twenty-four prominent residents of
the town were captured and taken back to New York state, declared
"prisoners of war," including Willcocks's successor as member of the
legislative assembly for Lincoln, Ralfe Clench.
Four
other residents joined up with the Americans. Abraham's eldest son, William, joined the invaders that very day and was immediately commissioned
as a lieutenant. Abraham Markle's role
in the attack is unknown. But it is known that he enlisted in the Canadian Volunteers two days later and was
assigned the rank of major, becoming
Willcocks's second in command. (2)
What is
certain is that by 12
Dec. 1813 he
was a captain in the Company of Canadian Volunteers, formed by Willcocks after
he had left for the United States. His enlistment was a coup for Willcocks, who
described him as an assemblyman "possessing a Large property, and a very
powerful influence." The volunteers, dedicated to establishing a republic in British North
America.
(3)
In response
to the Newark attack, the British burned Buffalo, New York. And in response to
the Buffalo attack, Willcocks and Markle organized a series of
guerrilla-style attacks along the Canadian side of Lake Erie. Willcocks was killed in one of those raids
and Markle assumed full
command of the the Canadian Volunteers, which soon became known as Markle's
Volunteers. (2)
The unit saw
action during the burning of Niagara in December 1813 and later at the
British raids on Fort Schlosser (Niagara Falls), N.Y., and Lewiston. Markle was
wounded "severely" during one of the latter engagements, but he
recovered sufficiently to accompany a large American force which landed in
Upper Canada at Dover (Port Dover) on 14 May 1814 and burned every
building between the village and Turkey Point, including Robert Nichol's mills.
(3)
Markle's
raiding escalated the British response. The firing of private as well as public
property became official British policy, resulting in the torching of the
White House in Washington by a raiding Royal Navy flotilla. (2)
Ontario's
acting attorney-general, John Beverley Robinson, convened a trial in Ancaster,
Ontario of 23 captured American sympathizers on charges of high treason. Others
were tried in absentia, including Abraham Markle. Fifteen of the prisoners were
convicted, eight of them were hanged July 20, 1814. The rest where
sentenced to prison. It is said that two of
his brothers changed the spelling of their surname to avoid association with
Abraham. (2)
Markle acted as liaison
with Indians in New York before being stationed at Fort Erie until 31 August, (1814) when he moved to
Albany. On 16 November he
received permission to move his family "Eastward . . . to procure a
situation to settle them." When his unit was disbanded in March 1815,
he seems to have been living at Batavia. (3)
(Abraham Markle) Indicted for treason on 24 May 1814 and convicted in absentia,
in 1817 he was declared an outlaw
and his lands vested in the crown. In December 1815 an acquaintance had estimated the value of his
Upper Canadian holdings at $26,900. (3)
Abraham took his sons, their wives,
and his grandchildren from Upper Canada and New York with him to southwestern
Indiana which was at the time an unsettled land; now Terre Haute, in Vigo
County, Indiana, along the east bank of the Wabash River. (2)
Markle participated in the lobbying of the
American government which led in early 1816 to
the passage of bounty legislation compensating volunteers. The bounty land acts of 1816 and 1817 entitled Markle to 800
acres in total. In
June 1816 he applied for additional land in his own right and another 2,080
acres for others with himself as assignee; a month later he filed papers for
320 acres more. All these petitions were granted. (3)
He located his lands in Indiana's Wabash valley
and on 19 Sept. 1816 became one of the five shareholders of the Terre Haute Land Company. The town of Terre Haute
soon became the district capital for the newly organized Vigo County; Markle
leapt at the possibility for investment. He owned several mills, a distillery and tavern, and land. He mortgaged his land to
finance further expansion but overextended himself and by 1823 he faced foreclosure. At
his death he had extensive property investments, mills, and shipping and
manufacturing interests, but he was heavily in debt. He died as a result of an
apparent stroke, incurred while pulling up fence posts on his farm. (3)
what follows seems to be a Abraham Markle, 'good guy' 'bad guy'
debate from His biography in the "Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online" (3). Remember, in
Canada, he was tried for Treason in Canada.
Markle's treason ranks on
a scale with that of Willcocks and Mallory. Unfortunately, the lack of sources makes it difficult to judge
the reason for his conduct.
American
historians tend to repeat the
conclusions of the family historian that Markle, aided by his
"Masonic connections," had fled official persecution in the courts
and elsewhere, persecution that had resulted from his remarks "favorable to the annexation of Canada"
by the United States.
It is possible
that with so much to lose he wanted to await an outcome favourable to his
interests. But in that case neutrality and not opposition would have been the
prudent course in 1813. Crucial to an understanding of his treason, therefore,
is its timing. Markle's successor in the assembly, James Durand, decried the
summer of 1813 as a period of military despotism.
An echo of
this view is found in an
American newspaper's obituary for Markle. Opposing "the corruption and oppression practised upon the
people," Markle, it said, "gave strong evidence that the spirits of
those who had laid the basis of American Freedom, were very similar to his
own."
As for his treason, it was suggested
that when the "civil law had been
prostrated by martial despotism, the outrage and violence of the public
functionaries toward him proved that the laws no longer afforded him
protection, and consequently he was absolved from any allegiance he could have
owed that government." (3)
Unlike his brothers, Markle had been
too young for active involvement in the loyalist cause during the American
revolution. Moreover, prior to 1801
he had spent almost his entire life in the United States. His political
sympathies, then, were likely to have been
democratic. Certainly in Upper Canada he shared the most radical
tendencies in the opposition, those of Willcocks.
Events
during the summer of 1813 forced Willcocks to the logical extension of his
beliefs, republicanism. They had a similar effect on Markle and Mallory.
Convinced that civil rights had been extinguished, these three men saw no
alternative but to cross the border – desperate times required desperate
measures.
It is,
perhaps, significant that Markle's inn in Terre Haute, Ind., the Eagle and the
Lion, carried a sign depicting a "sorely dejected British lion, fast
losing its eyes under the attacks of a victorious eagle." (3)
Markle was
not a popular figure in Indiana. He frequently resorted to the civil courts to
secure payment of debts. He himself was hauled before the criminal courts: in
one instance on gambling charges and in another for assault and battery. When
he ran for the post of lieutenant governor on 5 Aug. 1822 he received a
mere two votes.
Local American historians depict him as a large man,
of great energy, quick-tempered, but often generous and warm-hearted. He loved
horse-racing and enjoyed drinking. He died as a result of an apparent stroke, incurred while pulling up
fence posts on his farm. A
member of the local masonic lodge, he was buried with its full honours. Vilified in Upper
Canadian history as a traitor, when remembered at all, he is viewed by Americans as a
soldier in freedom's cause, a worthy inheritor of the revolutionary tradition. (3)
