Louisa Prelle 1822 - Aft. 1879 My 2nd Great Grandmother on My Mother's Side

Market Church where Louisa
was baptized

Louisa Prelle was born Johanna Louisa Wilhelmina Christiane Prelle on March 9, 1822. She was the daughter of Johann Christoff Andreas Prelle and Johanna Elisabeth Carolina Henriette Kratzenstein. She was one of five children. She had an older sister Henriette Prelle born December 26, 1817 and an older brother Fritz Christoph Prelle born October 25, 1819. She also had two younger sisters Johanna Henritta Prelle born September 22, 1823 and Johanna Christiane Caroline Prelle born August 19, 1825.

Louisa and her family lived at 777 Goslar in Germany. She was baptized at Market Church in Goslar on March 21, 1822. Strangely, the only witness listed on her birth record was a man named Theuerkauf. Traditionally the baby is named after the persons present at his or her birth but this was not the case for Louisa.

Louisa married Heinrich Christian Menge on October 27, 1840 when she was 18, and gave birth to 12 children. They Were: 

Johanna Sophia Christianne Menge, who was born April 2, 1841. Johanne Christoph Prelle, her maternal grandfather, and Johanna Sophia Menge (who was likely her paternal grandmother though she was not identified as such) were present at her birth.  It was the custom at that time for the new child to be given the names of the witnesses. This explains the multiple names for each child. Sophia was baptized on April 25, 1841, in Market Church in Goslar. This is the town’s Catholic church. She married Johanne Friedrich Carl Eilmann. 

This screenshot from Google Earth shows the location of
Market Church at one end of Breite and Market Streets
on the left and Stephans Church at the other end

Louise Henrietta Menge, born August 27, 1842, and baptized on September 11, 1842, at Market Church. The only witness recorded at her birth was her father, which was very unusual in Germany at that time.

Anna Frederika Menge was born on May 20, 1844. One of the two witnesses at her birth was Friedrich Menge, who was probably an uncle, but I don’t know that for certain.  Sadly, Anna died six months later, on November 15.

A detail shot of Goslar from Thomas Henze's
Facebook page

Anna Henrietta Christianne Menge, born in 1845. Two witnesses were listed at Henrietta’s birth, but I don’t know who they are yet. One was Mrs. Joh. Christiane Brönnecke, nee Dammayer. Brönnecke is a family name on Henrietta’s maternal side of the family. The other witness was Mrs. Sophia Henrietta Bach, nee Rosenkranz. Both were probably aunts. Henrietta was baptized at Market Church on July 21, 1845.

Heinrich Gottlieb Otto Menge was born on November 22, 1847. His father and August Gottlieb Menge, a white tanner from Alfeld, were listed as witnesses. August Gottlieb may have been an uncle, a brother of his father. Gottlieb was baptized on Christmas day in 1847.

Christian Hermann Menge was born on May 20, 1849, and baptized on August 6, 1849. The only witness at his baptism was Christian Menge, identified as a master miller from Alfeld, so he was likely another brother of Heinrich Christian Menge and an uncle to Hermann. The baptism was performed by Pastor Ernst Bendeler, the same pastor who performed some of the ceremonies for the other children.

Heinrich Friedrich (Henry) Menge, my great grandfather was the next child. You can read his biography on this blog. I posted it July 20, 2014.

A daughter was born in June of 1854. Unfortunately, her first names are not legible on the birth or baptism records. She was christened on September 11, 1854, by Pastor Bendeler. Two witnesses are listed, but only one name is legible — that of Karl Prelle, her uncle on her maternal side.

The town of Goslar from Thomas Henze

Emma Marie Hermine Menge was born on July 3, 1856, and baptized on September 15, 1856. The two baptism witnesses were Hermann Becker from Vienenburg and Marie Cassebaum. There were also two “representatives,” a Karl (?) Prelle, Miller from Goslar, and Christian Müller. A small cross marked on the original record, indicates that Emma Marie died young.

The tenth child was August Heinrich Albert Menge, who was born on July 15, 1858, and baptized on September 9, 1858. His witnesses were August Menge from Alfeld; Anton Menge, a cooper from Goslar; and a third witness that is not legible. The priest who performed the baptism was Father Lohmann. This child also died young, on January 25, 1860.

Johanna Ottilia Alwina Menge came into this world on April 4, 1862, and was baptized by Father Siever on April 28. Heinrich Becker from Vienenburg and her older brother Heinrich Otto Gottlieb Menge were present at her birth. Unfortunately, this child also died young, when she was two months and fourteen days old, on June 19, 1862.

The last child born to Louisa Menge was another son, who lived only six days, from October 2nd to the 8^th in 1862. He was not baptized. Louisa would have been 41 when he was born.

A copy of the original church record of Louisa's birth
and baptism, 1822. Found by Thomas Henze

She died sometime after 1862 but I have not yet found a record of her death. A marriage record for her son Heinrich Menge, my great grandfather, includes a reference to both of his parents noting that they were living in Goslar, Germany. This note, in the present tense, suggests that Louisa was living at that time, August 15, 1879, when she would have been 57 years old.

Sources for this Post: Heinrich Menge’s journal and his marriage record; baptism and marriage records for Louisa found by Thomas Henze; Google; FamilySearch and Ancestry

Martin Phillips 1724-1781 My Fifth Great Grandfather on My Father's Side

This house built in Mecklenburg in 1751 may be
the type of home inhabited by Martin Phillips
and his family.

Martin Phillips was the father of Pettus Phillips. He was born about 1724 in King and Queen County, Virginia. The county formed in 1691, and in 1728 a portion of the county, along with portions of King William and Essex counties, was carved out to form Caroline County. Records show that Martin lived in Caroline County near Williamsburg prior to 1766 at which time he moved south to Mecklenburg County.  

None of the research I’ve done has provided any clues as to who Martin’s parents were. According to Katherine B. Elliott, a prolific researcher from Mecklenburg County where our Pattillo ancestors are from, “most of the records of King and Queen County were destroyed during the Civil War.” [1]. Elliott notes that “all of the early deed and will books of Caroline County were destroyed in 1865.” So, it is very unlikely that I will ever know who his parents were.[2]

Martin married Anne Pettus in about 1750 when he would have been about twenty-six. He and Anne had seven children that were recorded in the Ancestry of the Land Family written by Samuel B. Land and researched by Katherine Elliott. They were Mary, Dabney, Nancy (Anne), Sarah, Pettus, Elizabeth and William Phillips. According to Samuel Land all the children were born in Virginia between about 1752 and 1768. The only child I’ve researched thoroughly is Pettus, my fourth great grandfather.

A similar style home after restoration from
Mecklenburg in 2017.

Martin married Anne Pettus in about 1750 when he would have been about twenty-six. Anne was the daughter of Dabney Pettus of James City County, Virginia. Dabney was the son of Captain Thomas Pettus of Littleton in James City County.[3] Thomas Pettus married Elizabeth Dabney – the source of this uncommon family name. Anne was born about 1730 in King and Queen County and died before March 17^th, 1794 in Mecklenburg County, Virginia.

I found deed records for five land transactions involving Martin between October 1765 and February of 1781. The earliest was his purchase of two hundred acres in Mecklenburg County from a William Sandefer. Martin paid 120 pounds for a parcel of land lying on both sides of the Long Branch of Allens Creek. One of his neighbors was the Brame family with whom we have a connection. Elizabeth Brame Hutcheson was the second wife of Robert C. Land who is my third great grandfather.

This topo map shows the location of the Long Branch of
Allen Creek between the towns of Boydton and Baskerville

Three years later Martin acquired an additional one hundred acres nearby paying fifty pounds to William Hatsel. Then in 1775 Martin made a large purchase – five hundred acres on the Reedy Branch of Allens Creek adjacent to land he already owned. This purchase was from John Rufin for two-hundred and fifty pounds. In 1777 he sold twenty-nine acres to John Goode for forty pounds and three shillings. A few months before he died, he gave his son Dabney nearly three hundred acres of the parcel on the Reedy Branch. In his will Martin left his plantation to his wife Anne and stipulated that his youngest son William would get it upon Anne’s death. The will also left some property to his son Pettus. He signed his will on July 26, 1781.

The Phillips household kitchen likely looked something
like this kitchen from the Clarksburg Museum in Mecklenburg, Virginia

Other records for Martin include a couple of examples of his having witnessed a land deed and two records dated April 8, 1776 of his having supported candidates to serve as delegates for Mecklenburg. I have found one record that Martin supplied bacon and cattle to support the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Though this seems highly probable it needs further study and documentation.

Martin Phillips died before September 10, 1781. He would have been about fifty-seven years old.

Another photo of a bedroom from the Clarksville Museum

Sources for this Post: Mecklenburg land records, Early Settlers of Mecklenburg by Katherine Elliott, The Land Family History by Samuel Land, the Pettus Family History compiled by A. Boher Rudd, the will and probate documents for Martin.

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[1] Katherine B. Elliott, Early Settlers of Mecklenburg Co. VA Vo. II (South Hill, VA: Republished Southern Historical Society Easley, South Carolina 1983, 1965).

[2] I found Martin Phillips on the Phillips surname DNA group and he is far back as it goes. It shows Anne Pettus as his wife and Pettus Phillips as a son.

[1] A. Böhmer Rudd, The Pettus Family, Published in Washington D.C., 1957.

 

Lottie's Photos: Friends Who Got Away 1933 - 1946

L-R Connie Neal, Mom & Mickey
Risoli, and Mollie

This is a rare photo because it depicts two women who were friends of Mom’s that she did not maintain a friendship with for the rest of her life as she did with so many other friends. Mom first wrote about Connie on April 11, 1933 when the two of them hiked to Lake Chabot. Mollie first appeared in Mom’s journal on June 12, 1936 the last day of school. That day Mom and a group of friends including Mollie “crashed” the movie theater to see a movie with Fred McMurry. Connie was mentioned 11 times in Mom’s writings while Mollie earned 21 mentions. How is it neither of these friends was ever mentioned or invited to our home while I was growing up?

These friendships involved several hikes together, at least three trips to Brookdale, going to the movies, shopping together, and regular dance outings – in fact, mom was with Mollie at the German House the night she met dad for the first time. She was also with Mollie on June 4, 1938 when she wrote, “I got myself practically engaged to Ed. He wants to get me a ring. I asked him not to. I don’t want to be engaged to anyone.”  She and Mollie went to check out a class in power sewing at a local trade school. On another day she taught Mollie how to play bridge. Mollie and Connie both attended the Valentine’s Day party mom hosted in 1938.

Mom did a lot of sewing for Connie and for Connie’s mother Mrs. Neal. I think she made more clothes for Mrs. Neal than any other client. Connie was interested in our Uncle Bert but the feeling was not mutual. The last reference about Connie was in April of 1946 when Mom gave her a baby shower.

It is obvious that Mollie and Connie were very close friends – like Rosemary, the two Mickey’s, Jessie and Gracie but somehow these two friends got away – very curious.

Pettus Phillips 1762-1821 My 4th Great Grandfather on my Father's Side

A tobacco field near Baskerville
where I belive Pettus Phillips lived

Like his father-in-law Cluverius Coleman, Pettus Phillip’s name combines his mother’s maiden name
with his father’s surname. Pettus was the son of Martin Phillips and Anne Pettus. He was born in Caroline County, Virginia on October 8, 1762. This date was recorded in his son’s family bible. Caroline County is in Eastern Virginia bounded by the Rappahannock River. The county was formed from portions of Essex, King and Queen, and King William Counties in 1728 – long before the American Revolution.

Pettus was the fifth child born to Martin and Anne. He had three older sisters Mary, Nancy and Sarah and one younger sister, Elizabeth. Plus one older brother Dabney and a younger brother William. I don’t yet have exact birth dates for Phillip’s siblings but believe they were all born between 1752 and 1768.

In 1765, when Pettus was three, his father acquired 200 acres in Mecklenburg County and moved the family south where he continued to expand his holding with several more land purchases.

At nineteen Pettus was appointed to serve as a juror in Mecklenburg during the fourth quarter of 1782. At twenty he was one of the delegates supporting Samuel Goode to represent Mecklenburg County. He was also a delegate for Col. Lewis Burwell. Given his young age, I suspect his elevated stature in the community was based in part on his father’s status.

Marriage document for Pettus and Rebecca

On September 4, 1784, Pettus was a witness to a land transaction executed by Cluverius Coleman. Less than four years later Pettus married Coleman’s daughter Rebecca. Their marriage bonds were dated March 6, 1788, so they would have married a few days after that in Mecklenburg. None of the records I have found so far include clues about where in Mecklenburg Pettus and Rebecca lived. His father owned land along the Reedy Branch – a stream that runs between Baskerville and Antler. It is very likely that Pettus lived in the same vicinity, east of Boydton.

Pettus and Rebecca had at least three children who were named in his will. They were Sally Coleman Phillips, my third great grandmother, John Cluverius Phillips and Nancy Pettus Phillips. In his will Pettus left half of his property to his wife Rebecca and the other half to his son John. Upon Rebecca’s death, John was to receive her half of the land. Pettus also stipulated that Rebecca should receive eleven Negroes, and as much furniture, livestock, and utensils she would need to operate the plantation. The word “plantation” indicates that he owned more than 1000 acres at the time of his death. Given that he was in Mecklenburg and that he owned several slaves, it is reasonable to assume that he grew tobacco.

The red highlight shows the location of
Caroline County where Pettus was born

His daughter Sally received one Negro and $400 and daughter Nancy received the same amount. Everything he left to Rebecca and the rest of his estate were to be equally divided among his three children when she died. Pettus’s will was witnessed by Edward Delany, Wright King and a Pettus Phillips, Jr. His son John Phillips was his executor. Pettus Phillips, Jr. was probably a nephew though I have yet to pin down this relationship.

Pettus signed his will on April 15, 1821, and it was recorded on May 21^st of the same year so Pettus probably died between those two dates.

This is the first part of the will of Pettus Phillips

Sources for this Post: Marriage document, the Will and another probate document, The Land Family by Samuel B. Land researched by Katherine B. Elliott, Mecklenburg deeds, Revolutionary War Records by K. Elliott, Mecklenburg County Deeds by TCL Genealogy, Marriage Records of Mecklenburg by K. Elliott, Early Settlers of Mecklenburg by K. Elliott, Will Book 9 for Mecklenburg, Melba Crosse's Pattillo book, Rootsweb, FamilySerach, and Ancestry.com