A gathering of Low Dutch descendants is being planned for Friday September 20 to Sunday September 22, 2013 at Clifty Falls State Park, Madison, Jefferson County, Indiana. This is about 30 miles northeast of Louisville. See "Next Dutch Cousins Gathering" Apparently, this group with a mailing list of over 1,000 has a gathering every two years at a location near a site of historical significance. They were involved in the restoration of the Old Mud Meeting House . Contact me at link at the end of the page and I can also provide additional contact information if needed. Plans are still evolving as of this date, June 2012, and I do not have further details.
A comprehensive history of the Low Dutch Company of Kentucky has never been published, either in print or on the web. The only information that exists about this fascinating group of courageous pioneers is piecemeal in the form of a couple articles in an obscure journal, some pages in a few family genealogy books, a few paragraphs from local history books and some early source documents, all of which are long out of print, very rare and/or not accessible to the general researcher. The few isolated, cryptic blurbs found on websites help a little, but not much.
The following are some notes, in very abbreviated and unfinished form, along with a few short excerpts that represents piecemeal the information that I have collected so far. Time does not currently allow for research and preparation of a more extensive narrative. Hopefully later.
The "Low Dutch Company" of Kentucky was a group of pioneers of predominantly Dutch origin from Pennsylvania and New Jersey that joined together in the early 1780's to acquire a large tract of land in Kentucky to divide and farm. The group has also been called the "Low Dutch Colony" or "Low Dutch Settlement", but I am reserving the term "Colony" for those earlier Dutch settlements in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and "Company" for the organized, collective group that went to Kentucky. The purpose of the migration was preservation of the Dutch language, religion and culture; to obtain more farmland to support their large multi-generational families; and to escape the increasing influence and domination of the "English" in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
The Low Dutch "Company" was an organized project with specific objectives and plans, and was not an informal settlement as was the case of others of the time. They had a formal charter accompanied by articles of operation (bylaws) and did, in fact, operate as a company, keeping books of account. Farm plots of about 200 acres were assigned to individuals and their families, but actual legal title was held by the Company, which had combined elements of a modern business corporation, cooperative, religious congregation and collective. Periodic meetings were held, minutes were recorded and account books were kept, both of which survive. These books had been in private hands, but have since been donated to the Filson Historical Society At Louisville, 1310 South Third Street. Formerly called the "Filson Club."
It should be noted here that during the 15th and 16th centuries the English would refer to all persons of Germanic heritage as "Dutch" or "Dutch-men." The term "Low" Dutch refers to descendants of the Netherlands while "High" Dutch refers to Germans and Swiss. It was not until the Latter part of the 17th century that the current distinction between Dutch and German came into common usage. Many of the families of the Low Dutch Company and, previously Low Dutch Colonies in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, did, in fact, originate in the Netherlands. However, populations of those areas were mixed, so actual German or other origins for untraced families who were referred to as "Dutch," especially in Pennsylvania, cannot be dismissed. Note also that what is now "Germany" was, at the time of these migrations in the 1700's, consisted of a series of independent states. See "Pennsylvania Dutch Are of German Heritage, Not Dutch"
The Low Dutch movement to Kentucky began with the
first scouting expedition in March of 1779.
>>> More here about the first scouting expedition ...
origin, people, story
The families apparently initially migrated in 1786 to the area that became
Mercer County, KY
and moved on
to the tract which was in (now) Shelby and Henry
Counties in Kentucky in the mid-1780's.
A number of the Low Dutch settlers stayed in Mercer County.
While the settlers were predominantly Dutch, the Company did include some of other origins who were "of good character." My ancestry is through Andrew Shuck (est1733-1803) whom I believe was more likely German, but possibly from a part of Germany that was influenced by Dutch culture.
In about 1783, the Low Dutch Company submitted a petition to the Continental Congress asking for a grant of a tract of land in Kentucky. (Recall that the Revolutionary War effectively ended in April of 1782 with the vote of the British House of Commons and formally with the Treaty of Paris signed on September 3, 1783.) The petition was not dated, but it was reported by a committee of the Continental Congress (1781-1789) on September 27, 1783 where it was denied. The petition included names of inhabitants and "intended friends" and are listed in the T.M. Banta book, below.
A tract of land was purchased from Squire Boone, brother to the famous Daniel Boone, and was formally divided by lot March 14, 1786. The division is listed in the T.M. Banta book, below. However, the effort was not particularly successful and was plagued by problems including conflicting land claims which resulted in numerous law suits and financial loss to the Company. Indian attacks were a major hazard. After the tract division, the group had to retreat to the safety of Mercer County and actual first settlement of the tract did not begin until about 1794/5. Furthermore, one of the primary objectives of the Company, which was to establish a Dutch Reformed church and obtain a Dutch Reformed minister, failed, and members defected to other churches, primarily the Presbyterians who were in harmony with their Calvinistic beliefs, but also the Baptists, Methodists and even Shakers at Pleasant Hill.
Beginning in 1817, families started moving away, first to Switzerland County, Indiana and then Johnson County, Indiana where farmland was $1.25 an acre. This period was referred to as "the exodus." The Company was officially dissolved and title to the land formally transfered to individual owners during the period from about 1831 to 1839.
The Company has its origins in pioneers who lived in communities also known as Low Dutch Colonies in other parts of the country prior to the move to Kentucky. These colonies included Conewago, York Co. (Adams Co. after 1800), Pennsylvania (near Gettysburg); Somerset Co., New Jersey; Bergen Co., New Jersey; possibly New Brunswick, Middlesex Co., New Jersey; and beginning 1769 near present-day Shepherdstown, Jefferson Co., West Virginia. Some of the prominent families were Banta, Demaree, Voorhees (Voris) and VanArsdale. Hendrick and Abraham Banta (father and son, respectively) were the leaders of the group and came from the Conewago and Somerset/Bergen Co. settlements.
Due to lack of time, I have not been able to further study the subject in more depth or prepare a more extensive narrative for this page.
The following are transcriptions from those histories and sources that are out of copyright. I have included The Winning of the West by Theodore Roosevelt as a source. It is noteworthy because this well-known series of volumes specifically mentions the Low Dutch group that migrated to Kentucky (Volume Two, page 101). However, Roosevelt's statement regarding of the number of families is disputed. Although the information about the Dutch is limited to a single sentence, the overall context of the work provides very interesting and informative insight into the struggles, challenges and conditions - both physical and political - faced by the pioneers who migrated westward during the period. Unlike many histories of the period, it is particularly unique in that it describes the "real people" who courageously embarked on the pioneering journey, while attempting to avoid catering to mass appeal and remain faithful to historical accuracy. It is very important background reading to understand the overall conditions and background under which the specific descriptions of the Low Dutch Company existed. I have transcribed the paragraph that mentions the Low Dutch.
The history of the Low Dutch Company is intertwined with the overall history of the settlement of the Kentucky frontier. Prominent in that history was Squire Boone, brother to the more famous Daniel Boone. It was, in fact, Squire Boone who sold the tract to the Low Dutch settlers. It should be noted that title to parts of the tract were clouded and subject to many, extended law suits for many years, some of which forced the Dutch settlers to surrender parts of the tract. A careful research into this history and law suits might provide a very revealing portrait of the dealings of the day and character of this Squire Boone.
A few links to further information about the Boone involvement:
More about the Boones later.
The original Articles of Agreement and account and minute books of the Low Dutch Company have been donated to the Filson Historical Society At Louisville, 1310 South Third Street. Formerly called the "Filson Club."
See J. K. Demarest History of the Low Dutch Company and bibliography, listed later.
More TBA/TBR.
Secondary destinations appeared to be limited to a few families or a single branch each and were scattered across western Kentucky, Missouri and Illinois. These families followed the typical patterns of westward migration and settlement of the country, and descendants subsequent migrations ranged from Iowa, to Texas on the south, Minnesota on the North and California on the west. (Shuck's went to Hickman/Fulton Counties in Kentucky, Dent/Shannon Counties in Missouri, Pike/Lincoln Counties in Missouri.)
Beginning in 1805, some other members and descendants (Banta, Montfort) joined the Shakers and were founding members of the Shaker Community at Pleasant Hill, Mercer County, Kentucky. The following is from the Shaker records (Murray, pg. 47):
Francis Montfort joined the Shakers in 1806 and moved to Pleasant Hill in December 1807 or 1808. His brother Jacob Montfort joined in 1809 (do not know when Jacob moved to Pleasant Hill).
(Hopefully, will do more on this post-LDC migration later.)
The following represent a few preliminary links for further information.
Most of the families associated with the Low Dutch are able to trace their ancestral histories back into Europe and the Netherlands. Mine is not. Andrew Shuck (est1733-1804) and his family are first found in 1762 in the records in the vicinity of what is now Shepherdstown, Jefferson County, West Virginia. Back then it was known as Pack Horse Ford, Frederick County, Virginia. The "Ford" was a crossing over the Potomac River at a low spot and the nearby town was called Mecklenburg (before 1734, until 1798) as a result of its German population, later renamed Shepherdstown (1798, "Shepherd's Town") for a local landowner and politician. (In 1772 Berkeley County was created from the northern third of Frederick County, which included Mecklenburg.) The European origins of the Shuck family is unproven. Family legend and speculation is that the may have come from areas in what is now Germany of the Rhine Valley, the Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz), Alsace (now part of Alsace-Lorraine) or Wuerttemberg. That the Shuck's were even of Dutch origin is actually doubtful though they may have lived in an area that was mixed between Dutch and Germanic cultures. Nonetheless, they were somehow accepted by the Dutch and probably connected with them at Pack Horse Ford in Virginia where other Low Dutch families were known living at the time: Duree, et. al. (TBA.
More ... TBA .
Daniel (also wife?) was supposedly dug up and reburied in Kentucky, but there is apparently doubt if that was really Daniel or a family friend whom Daniel allowed to be buried in the family plot.
There's more to research on this. But for now, there's a lot more information about Daniel, Squire and other Boone's in the Jess M. Thompson History of Pike County Illinois. See chapters 75, 76, 77, 85, 156, 158 and probably content in others.
"In 1833 occurred what is known as "The Exodus", when a vast majority of the people (Low Dutch Colony, Six Mile Creek Area of Henry County) sold out and moved West, one body going to Johnson County, Indiana, another to Switzerland County, Indiana, and still another to Lotes, Iowa." Page 39
Name: Henry (5) Banta
Sex: M
Birth: 23 JAN 1762 in Somerset County, New Jersey
Death: 17 OCT 1844 in Bourbon County, Kentucky
Reference Number: 018400
Note:
The following extract is from the Revolutionary War Pension File of
Henry Banta, Microfilm Roll Number M804-135, located in the National
Archives, Washington, D.C.
State of Kentucky
Bourbon County ss
On this 28 day of Nov. 1833 Personally appeared before me D. O.
Rickart a Justice and Judge of the county court for the county aforesaid,
Henry Banta, residing in the county aforesaid State aforesaid aged 72
years on the 23d of January next. His having first duly sworn and
according to law doth make the following declaration in order to obtain
the benefit of the act of Congress passed 7th of June 1832. That he
entered the services of the United States under the following named
officers and served as herein stated.
He states he was born on the 23d day of January 1762 in the county of
Sussex in the State of New Jersey. Lived there till twelve years, at that
age he moved with his father to the State of Pennsylvania, York County.
In this county he states he lived till eighteen years old. At this age he states
he started to move to Kentucky, and having with difficulty reached Ky
owing to the great number of hostile savages which roamed the wilderness
at that time. He states he moved in the fall of 1779 as he knows he was
eighteen years old the January following. He states that the first place he
proceeded to stop after reaching Ky was at Burgrass at the Dutch Station
about seven miles from the falls of Ohio. After his arrival at this place he
states that much excitement existed at this time (which was in the month of
April) 1780. (about the fifteenth)
Owing to the Indians having attacked some two or three of the forts
situated in Ky it became necessary that every man in the state should
perform active service. In the above month and day thereof (to wit 15th
April 1780) he states he Volunteered in Captain Hill's Company of Spies
& Rangers, Lieutenant Samuel Welsh for a term of twelve months at the
station above named determined to assist his countrymen in saving the
innocent women & children from the tomahawk and scalping knife. He
accordingly was attached to the captains company aforesaid and
stationed as a guard at the station. And during this twelve months he says
he was called out of the fort by authority of an officer under the direction
of the government to perform an expedition to the State of Ohio against
the Indians at Pickaway in 1780. At this place we had a battle and killed
some fifteen of the Indians and he thinks we lost about the same number.
This expedition was performed under G. R. Clark as General. He states
also continued under Hill as Capt. He states that the battle took place
sometime in the month of Sept 1780. He states that so soon as the Battle
was over or as soon as they could they returned back to the station to
guard as formerly under the command of the officers under whom he first
volunteered. And there continued as guard, Spy & Ranger to protect the
few inhabitants from the scourge of the ruthless savage until the Spring of
1781 - having performed active service during one year from the time he
entered the service until discharge by his Capt. But thinks he received no
written discharge. During this year of service he says he was wounded in
the shoulder very badly. From the station above named, he says he went
to the Dutch station near Harrodsburgh at the end of the time above
named. There he says he was still compelled to continue in the service
either as a drafted Soldier or a volunteer. He says he however chose to
volunteer which he did in Capt. Joseph Kingcade's company of spies and
rangers. He states that now he was immediately put to building and forting
against the Indians. He says he was called out by his Capt. who
succeeded Kingcade (he having been killed at the battle of the Blue licks)
by the name of Irvin on an expedition to Leestown against the Indians.
And gone something like a month and returned back to the station as
above named as a guard under the same officer under whom he served all
this campaign (Kingcade having been killed as above named). And here
he says he remained as a guard & spy having ranged through the country
from this fort until the end of the year in the spring of 1782.* And was
regularly discharged by his Capt. But he thinks he received no written
discharge so it is he has none now. He states that in the spring of 1782 the
Indians still continued to ravage the country and occasionally attack our
fort.* He states that there was a campaign performed during this years
service to Dentons Station on which he went under his officer above
named, this was done in 1782 in the month of March (this he had
forgotten). In the spring of 1783. He states he again renewed his services
by volunteering under the command of Capt. Irvin and was compelled to
perform the service of guard, ranger and spy. He again volunteered in the
company above named for during that year at the station above named
and was by his Capt. stationed at the fort as a guard to protect the
women & children from the fury of the savages. But happy for the country
the Indians had nearly all left our country. Left us to enjoy the wilderness
alone. He states that it was one continued warfare with the Indians from
the time he came to the country in the spring of 1780 until the close of the
Revolutionary war in 1783 - He states that putting all his services together
it would amount to three years guarding, spying & rangering, as we were
compelled to Military service for self protection as well as the protection
of our fellow citizens.
He states as he has above that he was born on 23 Jan 1762. He says he
has a record of his age & it makes him 72 next Jan. He states as he has
above that he was living in Ky when he was called into the service at the
several stations above named. From Jefferson and Mercer counties. He
says he served as a volunteer on all the above tours of duty. He says he
had no opportunity to form any acquaintances with regular officers. He
says he well remembers Gen. Roy Gen. G. R. Clark Col. Harod Maj.
Harlin Maj. Bolger Col. McGary Col. T. Bowman Col. Figg and many
others. Also Col. Boon. He states he thinks he never did receive a written
discharge, so it is he has none at this time. He also says he never did have
a commission but served the whole time as a private soldier. He says he
knows of George Havens a clergyman residing in his neighborhood and
Sanford Allen residing in same who can testify as to his character for
veracity and his reputation in his neighborhood as having been a soldier of
the revolutionary war. He says he has no documentary evidence but
knows of Henry Wilson and James McCullough who can prove his
services as a revolutionary soldier and served as he states above. He
hereby relinquishes any claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the
present and declares that his name is not on the pension rolls of the
agency of any state. Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid.
He says he lives in Ky Bourbon County.
Henry Banta {seal}
We George Havens a clergyman residing in Bourbon County and Sanford
Allen residing in same hereby certify that we are still acquainted with
Henry Banty who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration that
we believe him to be 72 years of age that he is reported and believed in
the neighborhood where he resides to have been a soldier of the
revolution and that we concur in that opinion. And further that he is unable
to get to _____. Sworn to & subscribed to the day and year aforesaid.
George Havens {seal}
Sanford Allen {seal}
And I D. O. Rickart a judge and Justice of the county court for the county
court of Bourbon & State of Kentucky do declare my opinion after the
investigation of the matter and after putting the interrogations prescribed
by the _____ department that the above named applicant was a soldier of
the revolutionary war and served as he states. And I further certify that it
appears to me that George Haven who has signed the secondary
certificate is a clergyman residing in Bourbon County and Sanford Allen
who has signed the same resident in same and is a credible person and
that their statement is intended to assist. And I further certify that the
above named Banty is a man of undoubted credit on oath and further that
he is unable to get to _____ owing to his great age and infirmity being
much inflicted with Rhumatick pain. Given under my hand and seal this 8th
day of Nov 1833.
D. O. Rickart J.P.B.C.
Commonwealth of Kentucky & county of Bourbon
I Thos P. Smith clerk of the said county do certify that the above named
D. O. Rickart is a magistrate of said County duly qualified & that his
signature is genuine. In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand &
affixed the seal of said County this 2nd day of Decr 1833 & in the 42nd
year of the Commonwealth.
Thos P. Smith
Clerk Bourbon County Court
Father: Hendrick (4) Banta b: ABT. 27 JUL 1740 in Schraalenburgh, New Jersey
Mother: Maria Stryker b: 11 JUN 1738
Marriage 1 Sarah Shuck b: 27 OCT 1761 in Berkeley, Albermarle County, Virginia
Married: 5 JUN 1784 in Danville, Lincoln County, Kentucky
Children
1. Polly Banta b: 3 MAR 1785
2. Henry (6) Banta b: 20 NOV 1786 in Little Rock, Bourbon County,
Kentucky
3. Margaret Banta b: 17 NOV 1788
4. Andrew Jackson Banta b: 9 JAN 1790
5. Peter Banta b: 24 OCT 1791 in Bourbon County, Kentucky
6. Rachel Banta b: 9 OCT 1793
7. Sally Banta b: 5 APR 1796
8. Elizabeth Banta b: 17 DEC 1798
9. Anna Banta b: 4 AUG 1802
10. Abraham Banta b: 18 APR 1805
From Mercer County KY USGenWeb site, information about the Low Dutch including records at Conewago and Baptisms at the Reformed Dutch Church of New Amsterdam (1639-1730) and further Dutch links.
The "Old Mud Meeting House" was erected abt. 1801 in Mercer County by the Low Dutch settlers who first arrived in 1781 from Conewago, Pennsylvania, which is near Gettysburg. These Low Dutch settlers stayed in Mercer County, while others moved on the Shelby County to form the Low Dutch Company.
The Old Mud Meeting House initially served as a Dutch Reform Church house of worship, but when its first pastor resigned in 1816, he was replaced by a Presbyterian minister and the congregation eventually converted to that denomination. The Meeting House has been restored and is now maintained by the Harrodsburg (Mercer County) Historical Society.
There is a bit more information at: The "Old Mud Meeting House" at Harrodsburg Historical Society (www.harrodsburg.org) .
In 1822 a split occurred among members which led to a lawsuit over the use of the building. In that year, part of the congregation still referred to itself as Dutch Reformed, but procured the services of Reverend Thomas Kyle. The other faction followed a Reverend Joel H. Haydon. See: Dutch Reformed Church vs. Christian Church, Mercer County, KY
The adoption of the Presbyterian faith is described at: Bethel #1 Cumberland Presbyterian Church . The Bethel Cumberland group was organized in 1826 at the Old Mud Meeting House and worshipped there until 1847 when a separate structure was erected on land given by Henry Comingo.A list of burials at the cemetery adjoining the Old Mud Meeting House has been compiled and published. It is available at: Mud Meeting House Cemetery This page lists names buried in the cemetery there; no Shuck's, but Bonta (Banta), Terhune, VanArsdall and others.
The Six Mile Meetinghouse was constructed in 1824 near (now) Pleasureville, Kentucky in about the middle of what was the original Low Dutch tract to serve as the religious center and house community gatherings. The framework had been covered over by a barn that was built in the 1870's and was re-discovered in about September 2003 when that barn was being demolished. The remnants were disassembled, preserved, temporarily stored and reconstructed in 2005 on a farm within eyeshot of its original location. It currently houses some local craft activities. More details via the following links.
More information:
Prepared May 21, 2005 for dedication of the rebuilt meetinghouse. Near Pleasureville, Henry County, Kentucky.
Boone's Cave
(Marker Number: 1343)
County: Mercer
Location: 3 mi. E. of Harrodsburg, Jct. of Handy Pike & US 68
Description: Not open to public - Only cave in Kentucky historically verified as used by Daniel Boone. He spent rest of winter in cave alone after companion, John Stuart, was killed in January, 1770, the first recorded white man killed by Indians in Ky. Boone joined in summer by brother Squire. Together they continued to explore and hunt before returning to North Carolina.
Doe Run Creek Historic District
(Marker Number: 1755)
County: Meade
Location: S. of Brandenburg, at Doe Run Inn, KY 448
Description: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Creek discovered by Squire Boone and John McKinney, 1778. District includes one of oldest mills in Ky., built before 1792 by Jonathan Essery. Mill operated until 1900 when converted to resort; became Doe Run Inn, 1927. Another mill, three houses (one log) and county's first hydro-electric plant also in district.
Dutch Colony Here
(Marker Number: 852)
County: Henry
Location: 1 m. S. of Pleasureville, US 421
Description: In 1780 communal colonists came from Penn. to Mercer Co., Ky. In 1784 thirty of the families came here, purchased 10,000 acres from Squire Boone. Lived in log fort. Managed by Abraham Banta; George Bergen made trustee later . Shaker missionaries from New York tried to convert colonists, 1804. Their doctrine accepted by a few, who followed John Banta to Mercer Co.
Long Run Massacre
(Marker Number: 991)
County: Jefferson
Location: Eastwood, US 60
Description: One mile south. Scene of massacre, undoubtedly the bloodiest in early Kentucky, which took place, 1781. A Miami Indian party killed over 60 pioneers en route from Squire Boone's Painted Stone Station to safety of forts at F alls of Ohio. Next day, reinforced by British Capt. McKee's Hurons, they killed 16 of 25 militia led by Col. John Floyd to bury massacre victims.
Low Dutch Station
(Marker Number: 1848)
County: Jefferson
Location: At Jct. of Brown's Ln., Bowling Pkwy., & Kresge's Way, St. Matthews
Description: In 1780 Hendrick Banta led large group of Dutch pioneers from Pa. They rented land from John Floyd and built Low Dutch (New Holland) Station here, one of six pioneer forts on Beargrass Creek. Fleeing from Indians, group later bought land from Squire Boone in Henry and Shelby counties. This property was acquired in 1810 by James Brown of Md., a leading agriculturalist.
Lulbegrud Creek
(Marker Number: 137)
County: Clark
Location: Clark-Powell Co. line, KY 15
Description: Near site of winter camp of Daniel and Squire Boone, Alexander Neeley, and John Stuart, 1769-70. Creek named by these pioneers after "Lorbrulgrud" of Gulliver's Travels, first known book brought to Kentucky. Corrupted to Lu lbegrud.
Squire Boone's Station, 1779
(Marker Number: 28)
County: Shelby
Location: Shelbyville, 5th & Main Sts., US 60
Description: "Painted Stone" 2-1/2 miles north on Eminence Road, thence, 1/2 mile west to site on Clear Creek. For nearly 2 years only large station on the Wilderness Road between Harrodstown and the Falls of the Ohio River. Ground plan found among papers of Gen. George Rogers Clark. Disastrous attack by Indians 1781-re-occupied by the whites. First improved 1775-called "Painted Stone Tract" 1776.
Station Camp
(Marker Number: 810)
County: Estill
Location: West Irvine, KY 52
Description: Indian Trading Post and camping ground. Called "Ah-wah-nee," a grassy place, by the Shawnees who hunted here and obtained their lead supply in this vicinity. In 1769, Daniel Boone, Squire Boone, and Joseph Proctor were firs t of many pioneers to use camp, which is located on an old buffalo trace known as War Road, then a direct route from Boonesborough to the East.
The Old Church on the Dry Ridge
(Marker Number: 1560)
County: Grant
Location: Warsaw Ave., Dry Ridge
Description: Organized 1791 as Baptist Church by Elders Lewis Corban and John Conner. Indians threatened early services. Squire Boone preached here, in 1798. Reorganized in 1826 as Williamstown Particular Baptist Church by William Conra d, imprisoned as Confederate sympathizer, 1864; pastor 54 yrs. Present building erected, 1892. Affiliated with Presbyterian Church in 1975.
The majority of this work is the narrative history of the Low Dutch Settlements, rather than the specific genealogy of the Van Voorhees family. Consequently, it is of significant value to researchers of all families with Low Dutch Colony involvement. Unfortunately, it is extremely rare and is out of print and all copies sold.
"A series of [four] articles reprinted from the Holland Society's magazine of history: de Halve Maen"; vol. 60-61, 1980-81. Includes "Henry County's Low Dutch Company", prepared for the Henry County Historical Society.
A history of Johnson County, Indiana was written by D.D. Banta and delivered at the Shiloh Reunion on May 26, 1887. Some of the early settlers came from the Low Dutch Colony of Henry County, Kentucky. The text can be viewed online at: Making a Neighborhood
Historical material of the involvement of the Banta family with the Low Dutch Company, pages 49-60. Has extensive genealogies of the Banta's. The full title may appear in citations as: A Frisian Family: The Banta Genealogy: Descendants of Epke Jacobse, Who Came From Friesland, Netherlands, to New Amsterdam, February, 1659; (This form matches the banner page and appears precisely correct, "The Banta Genealogy" being a shorthand.) OR The Banta genealogy: Descendants of Epke Jacobse, Who Came From Friesland, Netherlands, to New Amsterdam, February, 1659 OR Banta A Frisian Family. Various hardcopy reprints subsequent years.
The book is available online for free in various forms and formats, including downloadable PDF, EPUB and full text. This version was scanned from a photocopy, so some images are faded. The Banta Genealogy at Archive.org The Internet Archive ;
This book covers one particular line of Banta's: Hendrick-1, Hendrick-2, Hendrick-3, Hendrick-4 (1740-1777)(father of Polly Banta who marr. William "Billy" Shuck), Henry-5 (1762-1844)(marr. Sally Shuck), Henry-6, Henry-7. It has a comprehensive and very interesting history of the Low Dutch settlements and migration from NJ, PA, VA and KY.
A lot of historical material about the Low Dutch Company and involvement of the Banta family. Also previously unpublished (and very interesting) information about the Shaker community of 1805 at Pleasant Hill, Kentucky (Mercer County?).
"Shelby County, situated in the north-central part of Kentucky, was formed from Jefferson County in 1792, and was itself a parent county of Franklin, Warsaw, Henry, Oldham, and Spencer counties. Willis's History of Shelby County is still the best source on the founding and founders of this pivotal Kentucky county. Roughly half of the book is devoted to the county's geology and geography, first settlers and settlements, churches and schools, courts and jails, newspapers, cemeteries, and other county institutions. Another valuable section of the book is the collection of reminiscences assembled by the author, including an account of the 1781 Long Run Massacre attributed to the grandson of Squire Boone, a younger brother of Daniel and one of the county's founders.
Two other sections hold the greater interest for genealogists. One of them consists of a group of source records, including the first Shelby County tax list, 1792-1795; lists of Shelby County judges, county clerks, and postmasters; Shelby County marriages, 1792-1800; an index to the first will book of Shelby County; a list of Shelby County Revolutionary soldiers and pensioners; and various other listings of Shelby County pioneers. Of equal importance is the section of biographical sketches of the following Shelby County personages: Squire Boone, William Shannon, Bland Ballard, Col. Chas. S. Todd, William Logan, John Allen, Col. Abraham Owen, Gov. John Pope, Capt. John Simpson, Moses Hall, Dr. John Knight, Nicholas Merriwether, and Joseph Hornsby."
See page 101 of Volume Two of the reprint edition.
Written by Rev. J. K. Demarest (1843-1892), this History of the Low Dutch Colony of Conowago was published in a series of eleven installments, weekly on Monday from August 31, 1925 through November 2, 1925 (ten installments) and concluding on Tuesday, November 3, 1925. (Note "Conowago" was the spelling he used consistently throughout.) According to a note at the end of the concluding installment, the series was originally published in the Gettysburg Star and Sentinel, but it does not provide a date although the description indicates the source newspapers were very old and deteriorated at the time of republication. There have been reports in various places on the internet that there was a reprint 1960 and 1962 in "a Gettysburg newspaper." However, no such reprint was found in my own brief review of such newspaper archives, but that was not an exhaustive search. I did see that during the 1960-1962 period (possibly wider range) there were a few articles with miscellaneous information about the Low Dutch and their families, but did not take notes.
Various mentions of this source on the internet seem to indicate that its original publication was in 1884, which is consistent with my guess. I do not find, however, a notation as to how or where it was published.
REV. J. K. DEMAREST, pastor of the Presbyterian Church, Gettysburg, was born in the State of New Jersey October 10, 1843, a son of Jasper and Catherine (Lozier) Demarest, whose place of nativity was New York City, and who were of French lineage. Jasper Demarest was employed in New York City for many years, and of his four children Rev. J. K. is the eldest. Our subject attended a select school in the city of New York, subsequently studied under the Rev. W. R. Gordon, D.D., and at the age of fifteen years entered the University of New York City, from which he graduated in 1863. The same year he entered the Theological Seminary, located in Princeton, N.J., from which he graduated in 1866. For four years following his graduation he was occupied as a pastor of a church in the State of New York. He then removed to Kentucky, where he served in a similar position until 1872, when he returned to New York City, and was engaged in ministerial duties until 1875. In the latter year he removed to Gettysburg, having been chosen pastor of the Presbyterian Church there, his present position. December 18, 1866, Mr. Demarest married Miss Mary J., daughter of James H. McCampbell, of Scotch origin, and to this union have been born five children, of whom three are living: Bertha L., Letitia M. and C. R. Agnew. Mr. Demarest, politically, is a Republican.
- History of Cumberland and Adams Counties, Pennsylvania; Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co., 1886; Part III, History of Adams County, Page 352.
The Demarest series is probably the same as this catalog listing from Filson:
Local history : the dutch colony of Conewago / by Rev. J.K. Demarest, pastor of the
First Presbyterian Church of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. (copied from the scrap book
of D.D. Banta by his grandson, Mark Banta ... original article appeared in a Western
Pennsylvania paper).
by Demarest, J.K
Call No.: 285.7 D372
Following are the series of articles, presented as .jpg images
'The Low Dutch Colony of the Conewago.' Rev. J.J. Demarest - 1884. Much of the information about Conewago was taken from this book. It includes newspaper articles by Rev. Demarest. It was copied with a spirit printer and has a index and references to 1,186 paragraphs including ALL THE names of the Conewago Settlement. It is spiral bound, has complete text and includes these chapters: Location, Date of Church formation, Sources, Congregation, Decline of the Colony including the MASS MIGRATIONS, Land and deed information, Account of trustees November 16, 1820.
SOMERSET COUNTY
HISTORICAL QUARTERLY
Pages 161-167
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Vol. 4 Somerville, New Jersey, July, 1915- No, 3
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PRE-REVOLUTIONARY SOMMERSET AND BERGEN MIGRATION TO CONEWAGO, PA.
BY A. VAN DOREN HONEYMAN, PLAINFIELD, N.J.
Few of our readers, probably, are aware of the migration before the Revolution of a large number of families from the neighborhood of Millstone and Neshanic, this county, and from Bergen county, to the vicinity of Gettysburg, Pa., from which they subsequently removed to near Pleasureville, Ky., the Lake Country N. Y., and to other scattering places in what was then known as the West. The late Rev. David Demarest, D. D., of New Brunswick gathered together such newspaper articles relating to this subject as he could obtain a few years ago, perhaps with the intention of publishing them in a more permanent shape, hut no such publication was made in his lifetime. The writer has seen and made notes of these articles, and has also examined a number of scattered authorities giving isolated facts concerning the Pennsylvania colony. It may now prove of interest to some of the readers of the Quarterly to place the few known facts before them.
It is to the researches of the late Rev. J. K. Demarest, formerly pastor of the Presbyterian church of Gettysburg, Pa., and to Dr. David Demarest, that the truth about this migration, and the history of the church formed by the colony in Pennsylvania, have become known.
The former, while in Gettysburg, came into possession of a stray leaf or two of the baptismal records of the Reformed Dutch church of Conewago (which was the name of the Pennsylvania settlement; a name taken from Conewago creek near by and an Indian name, of course), and this gave him an unexpected clue to the size and importance of a church long before extinct. He soon discovered that the church was made up wholly of New Jersey settlers, and perhaps his special interest in the matter arose from his finding families of "Demaree" on the record. In some way Dr. Demarest (not closely related to Rev. J. K.), hearing of the discovery, wrote to the Gettysburg pastor urging him make full searches in the county records concerning this church and its membership. This was done. Old people were also interviewed, and a correspondence begun with descendants of the Conewago Dutch families scattered throughout New York State and the West. The result was that Mr. Demarest published a most valuable series of articles in the Gettysburg "Star" in 1884, bringing out all the leading ascertainable facts. Other writers in other newspapers (e. g., the "Christian Intelligencer") followed with real or traditional facts. Just when or where the entire church records of Conewaga, including a plan of the church sittings, were found I am unable W say, but Dr. Demarest secured a copy of the baptismal record, and a copy of this copy is in the writer's s possession.
It is apparent from the York county and the church records that the colonization of Conewago began about the year 1765 and stopped in the main in 1771. just how it came about has nowhere been clearly stated. As early as 1730 the Governor of Virginia, and afterward Lord Fairfax, made strenuous efforts to secure settlers from Pennsylvania and New Jersey in the Shenandoah valley. In 1732 John Hite, a German, and John Van Meter, a Hollander, were engaged to settle 200 families on land ceded to them in that valley, and they went to Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and even to Holland and Germany for that purpose. (Dr. Schmucker in "Lutheran Quarterly," Oct, 1883). They succeeded in part, and the route through which these settlers traveled led them by Lancaster and York. In time the "York Road" became a thoroughfare from New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia to Virginia, and it is not unreasonable to suppose that reports reached their friends at home of good and cheap lands midway, or in the general vicinity of York. But the special reason for the migration to the Gettysburg district must lie, I think, in these two facts: First, the general tendency of our population in that day to go westward, as the Indians withdrew from the coast States, and, second, the bad conditions in money matters prevailing in New Jersey, and near the larger centres of population during the decade preceding the Revolution, because of a depreciated paper currency. No finer farms could be found in America than were in the Raritan valley, or The ra5ley of the Hackensack, but the "times" were not good, and farmers became restlessness.
Whatever the immediate cause, a first settlement was made at Conewago, as stated, about 1765, and we are sure families by the name of Cassat and Monfort of near Millstone, and of Van Arsdale and Sebring {both Somerset names), and some Bantas, Westervelts and Amermans of Bergen county, were among these earliest settlers. The earliest deed on record at York, the county seat, given in 1768, by a Van Arsdale, who must have been a previous settler, recites that the property conveyed them adjoined lands "of Henry Banta, George Sebring, William Love, David Hunter and Francis Coserte."
Except for the discovered chruch records we should now know almost nothing of the individuals and families composing the Conewago colony, but with these records most of the names, doubtless, are brought to light. It would he most interesting to know just which families of the colony were from Somerset and which from Bergen, and if some were from adjoining counties in New Jersey, but this can never be ascertained. A large number of the family names in Somerset were duplicated in Bergen, and hence the uncertainty. But the full names known, which will be published in the next number of the Quarterly, will be surprising to Somerset readers, as indicating a far larger migration from this county to Conewago than any hint in any previous publication has even suggested. Certainly as many as 150 Dutch (including a few German} families from New Jersey and doubtless a third of them from Somerset, are indicated on the church rolls. representing perhaps 750 souls, and among the Somerset names (if not families} were those of Aten, Amerman, Bise (Boyce), Brokaw, Bogart, Brower. Bodine, Cossart, Conover, Coshow (Kershaw). Duryea, Ditmars Dunn, Dubois, De Mott, De Graff, Dorland, Griggs, Hulick, Hoff, Hoagland Kline, Kipp, Lagrange, Lott, Middagh, Myers, Montfort, Nevis, Purcel, Patterson Schamp Stryker Sebring, Smock, Terhune, Van Dyke, Van Cleef, Van Nuys, Vanderbilt, Orden, Van Nest, Van Arsdale, Van Dine, Van Sant, Van Pelt, Van Harlingen, Van Horn, Vanderveer, Van Tine, Voorhees, Wyckoff and Williamson. They were spelled in various ways, but all these names are discernible.
The place of the settlemeent was about three miles south of Gettysburg, in Straban township, in what was then the county of York, but became m 1801 part of the newly-erected county of Adams. York was the county seat; the county seat of Adams County is now Gettysburg.
That many of these settlers went thither from the neighborhood of Neshanic and Millstone is expressly stated by the pastor of the church of "Sourland and Neshanic," Rev. J. M. Van Harlingen, in a "Memorial" of 1783, to be referred to later. This Somerset clergyman went to Conewago to administer baptism as the covered church records show, and he may have had much to do with organizing the congregation. On Oct. 23, 1769, he baptized 13 children; on May 31, 1772, the same number; on June 2, 1770, 2 children; and on May 3t, 1772, 27 children. On Sept. 8. 1771, Rev. John Leydt, of Six-Mile Run was there and baptized. Not till 1772 was a pastor called, the Rev. Cornelius Cozine, a minister born on Long Island, who is said to have lived and perhaps preached later in Somerset County, and he remained there 16 years, or until 1788. From 1789 to 17933 the Rev. George G. Brinkerhoff was pastor. There was no subsequent pastor, owing to the decline of the community and church, but occasional supplies.
The farms taken up by the settlers seem to have begun at a point about two miles east of what is now Hunterstown, and extended to within a few miles of present Gettysburg. The public road used by the settlers in going to the church they built in their community came to be known as the Low Dutch Road, and is so known to-day on certain maps. It may be found on some maps of Gettysburg Battlefield, although the severe Fighting was to the south of Gettyburg, and several miles from this Low Dutch Road.
The Low Dutch Road runs from the York Pike to what is known as the Two Taverns, and along this road Stewart's cavalry was moving on that third of July in 1863, when the Union cavalry under our brave General Kilpatrick and General Gregg encountered them.
The church of Conewago was built in 1768 or '69; in the latter year its records begin. Cornelius Cosine conveyed the ground for it (one acre} to Francis Cossart, David Van Dine and David Demaree, trustee of the organization. The first church officers seem to have been David Cossart (spelled Cossaart), John Smock, Garret Van Arsdalen, John Van Dyck, Henry Commingore(?), Isaac Van Arsdalen, Luke Brinkerhoff, John Conover, Thomas Johnson and Ralph Brinkerhoff. The building was on a stone foundation but was built of boards and was "barn-like in architecture" according to the accounts of those old people who, thirty years ago. remembered it as standing. From its errection until toward the year 1793 it was a flourishing Dutch church. But as the colony began to disintegrate and go "West" after 1791, the church gradually declined, and by 1817 there was scarcely a family left in the community. Then application was made to the Pennsylvania Legislature by William Houghtalin (who had served as a Captain in the Revolution), Jacob Cossart and Garret Brinkerhof for permission to the trustees to sell the church building and to apply the proceeds to erect "a permanent wall around the burying-ground connected with the said church, and the remainder to such religious purposes as a majority of those who were formerly members of the said congregation and now reside in the said county of Adams shall recommend in writing." The application recited that the original trustees were deceased and that "the members of the said corporation have become attached to other corporations." The Legislature gave the permission by an Act, and the church building was sold for $288.20 to one George Lashell, a tavern-keeper, who used the weatherboards for a road fence to his property, "painting it with gay colors." The foundation stones he used for a smokehouse. The tavern was in the near vicinity of the church. As to this sale Mr. Demarest quaintly observed: "In the dissolution of the Low Dutch church at Connewago, the Devil obtained as his share little more than those stones and that flimsy, old red weatherboarding." The Cassat and Monfort families from Somerset county were among the leading families in the colony and church. Francis Cassat's daughter, Elizabeth, wife of John Monfort of Conewago, was grandmother to the late venerable Rev. John Montfort, D. D., of Cincinnati, long the well-known editor of the "Herald and Presbyter," the Western organ of the Presbyterian denomination. It is still edited by his son, Francis C. Monfort. Some years ago I had correspondence with Dr. Monfort concerning his ancestry, the substance of which agrees with the following, written by him on Dec. 9, 1883, to Rev. J. K. Demarest: "The ancestors of the Monforts, Peter and John, were among the early settlers in New Amsterdam. Peter's descendants went up the Hudson and John's to New Jersey, settling at Millstone, Harlingen and Somerville. My grandfather's grandfather, Peter, of Millstone, had four sons, Peter, John, Jacob and Abraham. Except Abraham, they settled at Conewago. John, my great-grandfather, had four sons, Peter, John, Francis and Lawrence. Lawrence came West before 1800. He had three sons, all Presbyterian ministers--Francis, Peter and David. Francis, my father, had four sons, all Presbyterian ministers--Joseph G., Francis C., Isaac W. and David."
The reasons for the utter abandonment of Conewago by so large a Dutch population have never been satisfactorily made out. There were inducements for a migration to Kentucky and the Lake Country, New York, but only such as were always held out to Eastern farmers. Daniel Boone opened up Kentucky to colonists about 1775, but there were then too many troublesome Indian tribes in Western Pennsylvania for Pennsylvanians to seriously consider going farther West. In 1778, during the Revolution, the Six Nations [at Tory instigation as was claimed) were responsible for the Wyoming Massacre, of such bitter memory. A fearful penalty was inflicted on the Indians by General Sullivan, in the battle of Chemung, where Elmira now stands, in 1779, and in the burning of nearly 50 Indian villiages in the Genesee valley. In 1794 "Mad Anthony" Wayne, at the Maumee, finally destroyed the Red Man's power in the East, and after that it was possible for peaceful settlements to be made beyond the Susquehanna river and Alleghenies. Then settlements by whites in New York State and Kentucky were safe.
But years before this, when it was not so safe, the Conewago colony began to break up, and it may be the delay in closing the Revolutionary War had something to do with it. In the spring of 1780 there moved to Kentucky a considerable number of the Colony....
The article goes on to end with this:
It will he sufficient to add that I had the satisfaction, about ten years ago, to visit the site of the Conewago Low Dutch church near Gettysburg. The churchyard was still enclosed, but full of grass and weeds, as was to have been expected. Scarcely any gravestones were visible; it is to be doubted if many ever existed, although there must have been scores of burials there beside the church, during the life of that community. A few stones 1eft of the wall of the edifice, grass, trees, the twittering of birds, are all that now remain to tell us of the sermons and the worship on that spot for the thirty years of an active church life.
Migration from New Jersey to the Conewago Colony, PA and other locations including Kentucky. Also includes link to Conewago Baptisms
"The Montfort Family 1624: A Narrative"
Brief historical information about LDC also.
Voris/Voorhees/VanVoorhees Family Association
Gerardus Ryker (1740-1781) and Rachel Demaree (1743-?)
Online database, includes descendants of William Ethington. See also Descendants of William Ethington - Notes Archived 4 May 2005.
Cozine, Corzine, Cosyn, etc. Family history by Lola Corzine Berkstresser; June, 1963.
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Last revised 28 March 2013.
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