Michael A. O’Neill
Copyright 01 November 2015
Last updated 01 November 2015
Redmond, King, Washington, USA
Summary
This research note will attempt to establish basic genealogical facts—with a focus on identifying parents and children—for the three Philip Sloughs born before 1800 who lived in Pennsylvania during and immediately after the Colonial period.
Much of this note is derivative of a 1966 article by Hannah Roach, “Hans Georg Hertzel, Pioneer of Northampton County, and His Family,” which documents the salient genealogical facts of Philip Sloughs [A] and [C]. Except for key genealogical events, I will not copy or summarize the article here.
The central issue of this note is to show that, contrary to Roach’s conclusion that there were only two Philip Sloughs of this period—a father [A] and his son [C]—there were in fact three, including a nephew/cousin [B] of the first two whom Roach combined with [C].
- Philip Slough [A] was born in 1710 in Adelshofen, the Kraichgau in what is today the German state of Baden-Württemberg. He immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1732, married Margaretha Herzel, and had seven or eight children, including Philip [C]. He died around 1755.
- Philip Slough [B] was born in 1743 in Old Northampton County, Penna. to Jacob Slough—Philip [A]’s younger brother. He married Rosina (possibly Klein), and probably moved to Rowan County, North Carolina in the late 1770s or early 1780s. He had four children in Pennsylvania, and possibly three more. He probably died around 1805 in North Carolina.
- Philip Slough [C] was born around 1754 in Old Northampton County, Penna. to Philip [A]. He married Maria Catharina and had at least three children. A blacksmith, he lived most of his life in Nazareth, Bethlehem and Easton, Penna, and passed away around 1827.
Sources consulted
Listing a full bibliography for this research note would be excessive. In addition to the easily searchable census and other records available on Ancestry.com, I reviewed over 30 microfilms of “evangelische” parish records for Pennsylvania, and consulted every volume in the Seattle Public Library’s Genealogy section covering central and south-eastern Pennsylvania.
A note on naming
Ethnic Germans and Pennsylvania Dutch of the period often had a “spiritual” name as their first name (used only in church records), and a middle “secular” name by which they were referred in daily life. I am omitting the spiritual/first name unless I believe it is relevant to the analysis.
There are multiple spelling variants of the Schlauch surname, including Slaug, Schlough, Schlowch, Slaugh, etc. For the sake of clarity, I will only use the Anglicized spelling “Slough” in this paper.
Philip Sloughs of Old Northampton County
A. Philip Slough, son of Ernst Bernhard Slough and Elisabetha Frick
Philip Slough was born on 11 June 1710 to Ernst Bernhard Slough and Elisabeth Frick, and baptized on 12 July 1710 at the Adelshofen Evangelische parish in the Kraichgau (modern-day state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany).[1]
In 1732—six years after his father died—Philip [A] traveled to Rotterdam with his brothers Andreas & Jacob, and with his half-sister Maria Schütz & her family. They boarded the Dragon bound for Philadelphia via Plymouth, England, and arrived on 30 September 1732.[2]
Philip [A] acquired 150 acres in what was then Bucks County on 6 December 1734, the same day his brother Andreas acquired 150 acres of land. Both men purchased land located in the area that became Northampton County in 1752.
Sometime around 1736 or 1737 when he was 26 or 27, Philip [A] married Margaretha Hertzel, a woman nine years’ his junior who was born in a village just a few miles northwest of Adelshofen. The couple had eight children together (baptismal records exist for only four of them):
- George, born in or before 1738. He did not marry and died without issue between 19 September 1759 and June 1769.[3]
- Margaret, born on 9 May 1739. She married Leonard Knecht and had six children. She passed away 20 April 1810.[4]
- Catharina, born on 13 February 1741. She married Ulrich Knecht and had nine children. She passed away 27 July 1781.[5]
- Jacob, born on 14 February 1743. He named five daughters in his will when he passed away in 1788.[6]
- Clara, born between 1744 and 1751, and probably in 1746. Roach bases her date of birth on her confirmation in 1760, assuming she would be fourteen. This would be a relatively safe assumption considering modern Lutheran practice, but confirmation age varied over time. In the 1700s, fourteen to sixteen was more common (suggesting birth between 1744 and 1746 for Clara), and between ten and twelve in the 1600s.[7] The broader range provides one year on either side of the known birth date of Jacob (prior in birth order) and the latest birthdate for Rosina (next in birth order), which is in turn based on the known birth date of Maria (assuming that Philip [A]’s probate records listed his children in birth order).
- Rosina, born between 1745 and 1752, based on the earliest possible birth date for Clara and the known birth date for Maria, assuming that Philip’s probate records listed his children in birth order.
- Maria, born 17 June 1753.[8] Roach does not list Maria as a child, noting a second, derivative source claiming this record is for the birth of Philip [C]. Whether or not this is true, Maria’s absence in her father’s probate records suggests she died before her father’s estate was probated.[9] Her birth date also helps separate Clara, Rosina and Philip [C]: with Philip [A] dying around 1755 yielding at most 2.5 (30 months) years from Maria’s birth to his death, there are two extremes of birth order scenarios:
- Assuming an average of eighteen to twenty-four months between children, there is time for only one child.
- Assuming an extremely short nine-months between children and the possibility of conception just prior to Philip [A]’s death (that is, 39 months), it is conceivable that as many as three children could have been born.
- Philip [C], born between 1746 and 1755, and most likely in 1754, based on the earliest possible birthdate for Rosina, the latest possible date based on probate records and his confirmation on 22 May 1768.
Philip [A]’s estate settlement shows birth order and birth years for George, Clara, Rosina and Philip.
In the case of George, state law established that he could only petition the Northampton County Orphan’s Court for possession of his father’s plantation when he reached the age of 21.[10] Assuming he made his March 1759 petition shortly after turning 21, this would place his birth in early 1738. Considering his mother’s often reported birth in 1719 would have made her just nineteen when she gave birth to George, each year earlier than 1738 becomes more improbable.
For the remaining three children, two different sources of evidence indicate their age.
First is the common practice of listing children by age of birth in probate documents. This was not merely a cultural practice, though: birth order mattered. In the event that a probate court could not divide real estate equally amongst the heirs without damaging the value of the property as a whole, one child would have the opportunity to claim the entire property by paying their siblings their share in cash. The sons would have first claim by birth order, followed by the daughters, again by birth order.[11]
The probate court listed Philip [A]’s children eleven separate times, as summarized below, and the documents were largely consistent throughout.
| Vol B | Vol D | ||||||||||
| Child | p. 9a | p. 9b | p. 11 | p. 12 | p. 13 | p. 14 | p. 28 | p. 29a | p. 29b | p. 29c | p. 70 |
| Margaret | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Catharina | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Jacob | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Clara | 4 | _ | 4 | 4 | _ | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Rosina | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
| Philip | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
There were only three variations (underlined and bolded) in the order of the names:
- The omission of Clara on pages 9 and 13 of Volume B. This was likely an error, considering that court documents list the children twice on page 9, the first time including Clara.
- The reversals of Rosina and Philip [C] on pages 28 and 29 of Volume B.
- The placement of Jacob in Volume D in 1769. This probate filing was Jacob’s petition as the eldest of Philip [A]’s son after George’s death (or as George’s eldest male heir), so the change in order is understandable.
Considering that parish register recorded Margaret, Catharina and Jacob’s birth years in that order, it is safe to conclude that Clara, Rosina and Philip were born in that order as well based on the probate file.
The second clue revealed by the probate documents are probable age ranges. Pennsylvania law at the time treated guardianship appointments differently by age: a minor between fourteen and twenty-one could choose their guardian, while the court assigned a guardian to those under fourteen.[12]
| Child | Mar 1759 | Sep 1759 | Jun 1769 | Earliest Birth Year | Latest Birth Year | Known Birthdate |
| George | 21+ | 21+ | 1733 | 1738 | ||
| Margaret | 14-20 | 14-20 | 1739 | 1745 | 9 May 1739 | |
| Catharina | 14-20 | 14-20 | 1739 | 1745 | 13 Feb 1741 | |
| Jacob | 14-20 | 14-20 | 21+ | 1739 | 1745 | 14 Feb 1743 |
| Clara | <14 | <14 | 1746 | 1753 | ||
| Rosina | <14 | <14 | 1746 | 1754 | ||
| Philip | <14 | <14 | 14-21 | 1749 | 1755 |
In 1759, Margaret, Catharina and Jacob all chose their guardians, suggesting birth years between 1739 and 1745, which matches their baptismal records.
Clara, Philip [C] and Rosina, however, were too young to choose a guardian in 1759, clearly indicating a birth year between 1746 and 1755. Then in 1769, Philip [C], the youngest based on birth order, choose a guardian, giving him a likely birth year of 1755 (assuming he requested a new guardian at fourteen) and an earliest possible birth year of 1749 (if he made the request for a new guardian at age twenty).
Lutheran confirmation records narrow it down even further: Philip [C] was confirmed on 22 May 1768, suggesting he was between 14 and 16, and thus born between 1752 and 1754.[13]
B. Philip Slough, son of Jacob Slough and Catharina Frantz
The Parish register for the Williams Township Congregation in Old Northampton County records the birth of Philip Slough on 12 April 1743 to Jacob and Catharina Slough. Jacob and Philip [A] were brothers, and Jacob certainly named his son after his brother. Philip [A] also had three children baptized at that church, including a son in February 1743 (just two months earlier) that he named Jacob after his brother.[14]
Parish records for the Dryland Church in Lower Nazareth Township record the births of seven children between March 1768 and February 1787 to a Philip Slough with two different women.[15]
Roach concludes that all seven records are for Philip [C], the son of Philip [A], and that his first wife, Rosina, died after the birth of their fourth child in 1773. Roach states that Philip [C] then remarried a Catherine before their first son was born in April of 1777. For this timeline to work Philip [C]—whose earliest possible birth year was 1749—would have been between thirteen and eighteen (probably 17) when he married, a challenge which Roach resolves by stating that Philip [C] married Rosina when underage.
In reality, these are almost certainly two different men. Jacob and Catharine’s son, Philip [B] would have been in his mid-twenties when he married Rosina, in 1766 or 1767, while his first cousin, Philip [C] would have been between 20 and 27 (and probably 21 or 22) when he married Catherine in 1775 or 1776.
Philip [B] and Rosina had four children, according to the Dryland Church parish register:
- Rosina was born on 11 March 1768.[16]
Her godfather was Leonard Slough,[17] one of Philip [B]’s younger brothers. - Susannah, born 1 August 1769.
Her godfather was Jacob Slough, possibly Philip [B]’s younger brother.[18] - Jacob, born 2 June 1771.[19]
His godparents were Jacob and Catharina Slough,[20] names shared by both his grandparents and his uncle & aunt. - Maria Magdalena, born 12 November 1773.[21]
Philip [B] and his wife Rosina disappear from the documentary record in Pennsylvania after 1773, but by 1784, a Philip Slough begins to appear in Rowan County, North Carolina property and census records, including
- A 20 April 1789 transaction naming his wife “Rosana;”[22]
- In North Carolina tax records in 1780;[23]
- In U.S. census records in 1790 and 1800;[24] and
- In a property transaction as late as 1802 when he was 59.[25]
He disappears from the record after that.
Pennsylvania Dutch definitely moved to the North Carolina backcountry, including Rowan County, in large numbers. For example, a 1903 book entitled History of the German Reformed Church in North Carolina notes:
The most valuable lands in Pennsylvania east of the Alleghenies were taken up. The Proprietors of Carolina offered very advantageous terms to settlers. The resources of salubrious climate and unrivalled fertility of soil, that made it a very paradise, soon attracted these industrious people hither. At this time one-third of the population of the Province of Pennsylvania were Germans. Their overflow into North Carolina was so profuse, that in 1785 the Germans from Pennsylvania alone numbered upwards of 15,000. Of the 30,000 names given in the State archives of Pennsylvania, a very large number can be found to-day among the Germans of North Carolina, and one who goes from the region populated by the Germans in North Carolina to Eastern Pennsylvania will find almost every familiar name in the counties of Berks, Schuylkill, Northampton, Lebanon, Dauphin, etc., in that State.
The territory in which the Germans settled in North Carolina was largely that which is now embraced in the counties of Alamance, Guilford, Randolph, Davidson, Forsyth, Stokes, Rowan, Cabarrus, Stanly, Lincoln, Gaston, Catawba and Burke. Pennsylvania certainly contributed in her German and Scotch-Irish emigrants a valuable population to this Colony. [26]
Still, two names in a single record coupled with a known historical event doesn’t feel sufficient to definitively establish that the Philip [B] and Rosina Slough from old Northampton County, Penna. moved to North Carolina in the late 1770s or early 1780s. A second record clearly showing one of their four children in North Carolina, however, would seal the deal.
Colonial & state marriage records coupled with an 1850 census record is one avenue: There are three women named Slough who married in Rowan County:
- Mary, who married Frederick Shulenberrier on 8 November 1799.[27] Assuming she was between 18 and 25 when she married, she would have been born between 1774 and 1781. Unfortunately, the last reference I found for the couple was an 1830 U.S. Census record in Ross, Butler County, Ohio, so there is no 1850 census record to establish Mary’s place of birth.[28]
- Catharine, born about 1784,[29] married Leonard Overcast on 26 September 1803.[30] Leonard and Catharine appear living Rowan County in 1850, and the census taker listed Catherine’s birthplace as North Carolina.[31]
- Charity, born in 1789[32] in Pennsylvania,[33] married Frederick Long on 11 September 1803.[34] Charity is more of a stretch for Philip [B] and Rosina’s child: her birthplace does not match their timeline of moving to North Carolina before 1784, and the spelling of her surname on the North Carolina marriage bond is difficult to make out.
Only Mary Shulenberrier née Slough is a potential match for one of Philip [B] and Rosina’s four known children, Maria Magdalena. Frustratingly, ethnic-German naming traditions—that people use their middle name for normal, every-day interaction—suggest the records would name her “Magdalena” rather than Mary.
Catherine is interesting, but her birthplace in North Carolina neither supports nor detracts from the Pennsylvania-to-North-Carolina story. She could be the child of other Sloughs from Pennsylvania or Germany.
Probate records would help, but the North Carolina State Archives does not have a probate loose file for a Philip Slough from Rowan County.[35] Frustratingly, the archive does not have indexes for probate proceedings, including wills, so the archive will only search for documents in a narrow time range. Unfortunately, we do not have any idea when Philip passed away—while it was probably before the 1810 U.S. Census as he does not appear in that source, there is no guarantee that he was not living in the household of one of his sons-in-law that year.
As a final note, Union soldiers destroyed larger swaths of court records in Rowan and other counties, creating a substantial risk that flames consumed Philip’s probate file—if it ever existed.
Lutheran church records for the area could also help, but I have only performed a cursory search using records of the St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church on Buffalo Creek (indexed by Daughters of the American Revolution). That source record a daughter, Barbara, born to a Jacob and Magdalene Schlauch in 1798. Philip [B] did have a brother named Jacob, but he would have been 50, a little old to be having a child.
Finally, DNA records could help. Two known descendants of one of Philip [B]’s brother do have some distant cousin matches with people who claim descent from the Overcasts and Shulenberriers, but they have not sufficiently documented their family trees for these families to create a feeling of confidence.
Without a more thorough review of Lutheran parish registers, we are left with only a single Rowan County, North Carolina property record naming Philip & Rosana Slough supports the connection with the Philip Slough [B] who had four children with Rosina in Northampton County, Penna.
Two final thoughts, one pro, one con:
- Philip [B] had a younger brother named Jacob. While sorting out which Jacob Slough is which is a far messier task, a Jacob Slough does appear in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina in 1780 and 1790, in Rowan County in 1800, and Burke County in 1810,[36] and could very well be Philip [B]’s brother, as the records show a man too old to be Philip [B]’s son.
- A David Slough signed a 1771 petition to pardon rioters who had destroyed the Crown’s ammunition depot near Charlotte, Mecklenburg County.[37] David must have been of a similar age to Philip [B], possibly older. With no evidence of a David Slough from Pennsylvania, David’s existence could indicate a completely different branch of the Slough family tree or even a different country of origin: Slough is an English surname as well as the Anglicization of the German surname Schlauch. David’s ethnic origin and place in the tree is muddled both by his association with an English/Scottish revolutionary group, and by that group’s ties to the Coddle Creek area where Philip and many other ethnic Germans lived.
C. Philip Slough, son of Johann Philip Slough and Anna Margaretha Hertzel
Probate records for Philip Slough [A] establish that he had a son named Philip [C] who was born between 1749 and 1755, and probably in 1754 judging by confirmation records.
Parish records for the Dryland Church in Lower Nazareth Township record the births of seven children to Philip Slough with two different women between March 1768 and February 1787.[38]
Roach concludes that this Philip is the son of Philip [A] and that his first wife, Rosina, died after the birth of their fourth child in 1773. Roach states that Philip then remarried a Catherine before their first son was born in April of 1777. For this timeline to work, Philip [A]’s son, Philip [C]—whose earliest possible birth year was 1749—would have been between thirteen and eighteen (probably 17) when he married, a challenge which Roach resolves by stating that Philip [C] married Rosina when underage.
In reality, these are almost certainly two different men. While men did occasionally marry this young in the Colonial period, it was an incredibly rare occurrence.[39] A simpler explanation is that Philip [C] married Catherine in 1775 or 1776 when he was probably twenty-one or twenty-two, while Rosina married Philip [B] when he was in his mid-twenties.
Philip [C] and Maria Catherina had at least three children according to the parish register of the Dryland Church in Lower Nazareth Township:[40]
- George, born 23 April 1777.
- John, born 24 July 1784.
- Margaret, born 9 February 1787.
Her godparents were Leonard and Margaret Knecht. Margaret Knecht was Philip [C]’s sister.[41]
Philip [C] was a blacksmith, who resided in Bethlehem, Penna.[42] until about 1798,[43] when he “retired” to Easton to run a hotel.[44] He quickly passed the inn onto one of his sons, and went back to smithing. Philip [C] passed away around 1827.[45]
Appendix
Probate file of Philip Slough [A]
20 March 1759
To the Worshipful the Justices of the Orphans Court
The humble Petition of Philip Groʃs and Margaret his wife late Margaret Sclough administratrix of her former Husband and Philip Sclough dec’d.
That your Petitioner Margaret having made up with the Register General her administration account there remained in the hands of your Petitioners a considerable Sum of money amounting to one hundred and eighty pounds fourteen shillings and eleven pence farthing due to the said Deceaʃed’s Estate of which your Petitioners desire to be Disburthened and that a diʃtribution on thereof may be made between your Petitioner Margaret formerly wife of the said dec’d and George Sclough, Margaret Sclough, Catherina Sclough, Jacob Sclough, Roʃina Sclough, Philip Sclough, the said dec’d children, all of whom are under age excepting George Sclough.
Your Petitioners humbly hope the Court will take this Petition into due consideration, and do therein what to them shall seem meet and pour Petitioners ever pray etc.
On due consideration of the petition of Philp Groʃs and Margaret his wife late Margaret Sclough administratrix of her former husband Philip Sclough dec’d. It is ordered that Anthony Lerch, Jacob Morey, ??? Waggoner do audit the administrative account of the Estate of Philip Sclough dec’d and make Report thereof to this Court what is the Surplusage of the said Decedent’s Estate in the hands of Philip Groʃs and Margaret his wife the said Administratrix and what portion share or Dividend of the said Decedent’s Estate belongs to Margaret Groʃs as widow of Philip Sclough dec’d, and George Sclough, Margaret Sclough, Catherine Sclough, Jacob Sclough, Roʃina Sclough, Philip Sclough the said dec’d’s children and to each and every of them severally and respectively. It is further ordered that the minors do attend this Court for choice of Guardians.
Upon the Petition of George Sclough Son and heir at Law of Philip Sclough late of the said County of Northampton dec’d setting forth that his said Father died Intestate seized of a considerable Real Estate and left a widow now wife of Philip Groʃs and also(?) this Petitioner, Margaret Sclough, Catherina Sclough, Jacob Sclough, Clara Sclough, Roʃina Sclough, Philip Sclough and that the Estate could not be divided amongst all the Children and Descendants of the said Intestate without prejudice and spoiling the whole and that Four or more perʃons indifferently choʃen by the Parties may be appointed to value the Said Estate and the Parties having choʃen and agreed the minors by their respective Guardians that George Shule, ??? Rinker, ??? Waggoner and George Heartzel should value the Real Estate of the said Peter [sic] Sclough dec’d. It is ordered according that George Shule, ??? Rinker, ??? Waggoner and George Heartzel do value the Real Estate of the said Peter [sic] Sclough dec’d and make Report thereof to this Court.
To the Worshipfull the Justices of the Court of General Quarter Seʃsions of the Peace for the County of Northampton 21 March 1759.
21 March 1759
By the Court
Margaret Sclough and Catherine Sclough Daughters of Philip Sclough dec’d being of Fourteen years of age and upwards appear and Choose Rudolph Oberly their Guardian, and he is accordingly so appointed.
Jacob Sclough Son of Philip Sclough dec’d of Fourteen years of age and upwards appears and choose Philip Groʃs for his Guardian and he is accordingly so appointed.
Clara Sclough, Roʃina Sclough, Philip Sclough minors under the age of Fourteen years appear in Court and George Heartswell Brother of Margaret Groʃs and uncle to Said minors is appointed Guardian of the said Clara, Roʃina and Philip and being preʃent accept of such Guardianship.
To the worshipful the Justices of the Orphans Court for the County of Northampton.
The humble Petition of George Sclough the son and Heir-at-Law of Philip Sclough late of the said County of Northampton dec’d.
19 September 1759
Anthony Lerch, Jacob Morey and ??? Waggoner the auditors appointed by an Order of this Court of the Twentieth of March 1759 to audit the Administratrix account of the Estate of Philip Sclough dec’d and what portion share or Dividend belonged to the widow and children of the said Philip Sclough and by a Subsequent Order of the Twenty first of March 1759 appointed to Settle which Portion Share or Dividend of the said Philip Sclough’s real Estate belonged to the said Philip Sclough’s widow and children respectively Do make Report to the Court in the words and figures following—
| Due | out of the moveables | out of the Real Estate |
| to Margaret Groce | £6 4s 8p | £56 13s 4p |
| to George Sclough | £3 2s 6p | £28 6s 8p |
| to Margaret Sclough | £1 11s 3p | £14 3s 4p |
| to Catrena Sclough | £1 11s 3p | £14 3s 4p |
| to Jacob Sclough | £1 11s 3p | £14 3s 4p |
| to Clara Sclough | £1 11s 3p | £14 3s 4p |
| to Philip Sclough | £1 11s 3p | £14 3s 4p |
| to Rosina Sclough | £1 11s 3p | £14 3s 4p |
Total £100 14s 8p
Which Report being taken by the court into due consideration do confirm the same and it is ordered that Philip Groʃs and Margaret his wife Administratrix of Philip Sclough do pay to George Sclough Three pounds two shillings and six pence his Share or portion of his said Dec’d’s Father personal Estate Philip Sclough; and to Rudolph Oberley Guardian of Margaret Sclough and Catherine Schlaugh three pound two shillings and six pence for the use of the said Catherine and Margaret being their shares or parts of their said decd’s Father’s Philip Sclough’s personal Estate; to Philip Groʃs Guardian of Jacob Sclough one pound eleven shillings and three pence for the use of the said Jacob Sclough being his share or part of his said decd’s Father’s Philip Sclough’s personal Estate; and to George Heartsell Guardian of Clara, Rosina and Philip Sclough the sum of Four pounds Thirteen Shillings and nine pence being their Shares or portions of the said Father Philip Sclough’s personal Estate. The Expence of the application to this Court being first deducted out of each and every of their shares in a due and equitable proportion.
Also 19 September 1759
By the Court,
It is Ordered that George Sclough of Lower Saucon Township in the County of Northampton, Yeoman, son and Heir-at-Law of Philip Sclough late of said Township and County deceased paying to Philip Groʃs in right of his wife Margaret, late widow of Philip Sclough deceased the sum of Fifty Six pounds Thirteen Shillings and Four pence and to Rudolph Oberley Guardian of Margaret Sclough and Catherine Sclough Twenty eight pounds Six Shillings and eight pence and to Philip Groʃs Guardian of Jacob Sclough Fourteen pounds three shillings and Four pence and to George Heartsell Guardian of Clara, Rosina and Philip Sclough Forty two pounds Ten Shillings or give Security for the same payable in ???? another being what their respective shares or per parts amount to by the valuation made of the Real Estate of the said Philip Sclough dec’d made Reported approved and confirmed by this court and which the said George Sclough hath agreed to take at the valuation of one hundred and seventy pounds. The said Philip Groʃs and Margaret his wife to whom payment and satisfaction shall be made for her purport as aforesaid and the said Margaret Sclough, Catherina Sclough, Jacob Sclough, Clara Sclough, Philip Sclough, Roʃina Sclough being minors to whose ??? payment or Satisfaction shall be made for their respective purparts severally as aforesaid shall be forever debarred of all the Right Title & Demand which they or either of them can or may have of in or to their respective shares or purparts of the Real Estate of the said Philip Sclough by virtue of the sworn acts of the General Aʃsembly of this Province in such case provided. But the said Real Estate of Philip Sclough dec’d shall be held and enjoyed by the said George Sclough in fee as Heir at-Law, and as freely and fully as the Intestate his late Father Philip Sclough held and enjoyed.
21 June 1769:
On the Petition of Jacob Slough eldest son and Heir at Law of Philip Slough late of Saucon Townsihp, Yeoman, deceased. Setting Forth That the Petitioner’s Father died about fourteen years ago, Intestate, leaving a Widow (who is since Intermarried with a certain Philip Groʃs) and seven Children to wit: George the eldest son (who died since without Issue), Jacob the Petitioner, Margaret, Catharine, Clara, Rosina & Philip. That the said Intestate was Seized at the time of his Decease of and in a certain Plantation and Tract of One hundred and seventy five Acres of Land more or leʃs situate in Lower Saucon Township aforesaid. Praying the Court would be pleased to award an Inquest to make Partition of the said Land to and among the Children of the said deceased if Partition thereof can be made without prejudice or spoiling the Whole. But if Partition thereof cannot be made that then the Inquest aforesaid may Value and Appraise the same And that the Petitioner may be allowed to hold the same upon paying or ???? to be paid to his Brother and Sisters their respective shares of the said Valuations according to the Provisions and Directions of the Acts of Aʃsembly of this Province in such Case made and provided. Whereupon it is Considered by the Court and Ordered that Writ of our Lord the King do Iʃsue out of the said Court Commanding the Sherif of the said County that takeing with him twelve honest and lawful Men of his Bailiwick by whom the truth of the matter may be better known he in his proper person shall go to the aforesaid Lands and there by the Oath or Affirmation of the Inquest make a true and Just Partition of the said Land to and among the Children of the said deceased if Partition thereof can be made without prejudice or spoiling the whole and if Partition thereof cannot be made that then by the Oath or Affirmation of the said Inquest he the said Sherif shall cause the aforesaid Lands to be Valued and Appraised and that the Division or Appraisment which he shall so make be diligently and openly have before our Justices of the next Orphan’s Court to be held at Easton for this County under his Seal and the Seals of those by whose Oath or Affirmation he shall make the Partition or Valuation aforesaid, and that Writ.
On the Petition of Jacob Slough oldest son Philip Slough late of Lower Saucon Township dec’d on behalf of Philip his Brother one of the Children of the said deceased Setting forth That the said Petitioner’s Brother Philip is above the age of fourteen years and is desirous of having a Guardian to take care of his person and Estate Praying the Court would be pleased to permit the said Philip to Chuse his Guardian for the purposes aforesaid. And the said Philip appearing in Court did Chuse Christopher Wagner Esquire as and for his Guardian of whom the Court do approve and he is so appointed accordingly.
End notes
[1] Kirchenbuch, 1655-1963. Evangelische Kirche Adelshofen (A. Eppingen). FHL 1189094.
[2] Pennsylvania German Pioneers: A Publication of the Original Lists of Arrivals in the Port of Philadelphia from 1727 to 1808, Vol. I.
Also, see O’Neill, Michael. “The Schlauch Siblings of Adelshofen and Pennsylvania.” 27 April 2015. Accessed via https://www.mikeoneill.us/raseroneill/articles/the-schlauch-siblings-of-adelshofen-and-pennsylvania/.
[3] Roach, Hannah Benner. “Hans Georg Hertzel, Pioneer of Northampton County, and His Family.” Genealogies of Pennsylvania Families from the Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine. Volume 1: Arnold-Hertzel. Genealogical Publishing Company. Baltimore. 1982. (Originally published in Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine, Vol. XXIV:3, 1996, 151-184.)
[4] Roach, op. cit.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
“Pennsylvania, Probate Records, 1683-1994,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-28759-19621-94?cc=1999196&wc=9PM8-DPD:268493601,270353201 : accessed 4 January 2015), York | Wills 1779-1789 vol E-G | image 596 of 649; county courthouses, Pennsylvania.
Also, see O’Neill, Michael. “Twenty Jacob Sloughs: A Single Name Study.” 25 April 2015. Accessed via https://www.mikeoneill.us/raseroneill/articles/twenty-jacob-sloughs/.
[7] Brenner, John. “A Brief Study of Confirmation: Historical Development, Theological
Considerations, and Practical Implications.” Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary (Accessed via http://www.wlsessays.net/files/BrennerConfirmation.pdf). 18 Nov 1996. Citing Repp, Arthur C., Confirmation in the Lutheran Church. (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1964), p 21-55, 64-68.
[8] Humphrey, John T. Pennsylvania Births, Northampton County, 1733-1800. Gateway Press, Inc. Baltimore, Md. 1991. p 187.
[9] Roach, op. cit.
[12] Wevodau, Edward N. Abstracts of Lancaster County, PA. Orphan’s Court Records, 1742-1767. Closson Press. Apollo, Pa. 2001.
[13] Brenner, op. cit.
[14] Humphrey, op cit. p 187.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Roach, op. cit.
[18] Her godmother was Susanna Abel. Philip [B] had a sister named Maria Susannah, for whom I have found no other records. It is possible these were the same woman.
[19] Humphrey, op. cit.
[20] Roach, op. cit.
[21] Humphrey, op. cit.
[22] Klutzz, James W. Abstracts of Deed Books 15-19 of Rowan County, North Carolina 1797-1807. Cary, N.C. 1997. p. 343.
[23] Document: Lists of Taxable Property – 1778 [NC State Archives]; Call Number: C.R. 085.701.5; Page Number: 20; Family Number: 13
[24] U.S. Census Year: 1790; Census Place: Rowan, North Carolina; Series: M637; Roll: 7; Page: 308; Image: 512; Family History Library Film: 0568147.
U.S. Census Year: 1800; Census Place: Salisbury, Rowan, North Carolina; Series: M32; Roll: 33; Page: 338; Image: 278; Family History Library Film: 337909.
[25] Klutzz, op. cit., p. 673.
[26] Welker, George William. History of the German Reformed Church in North Carolina. Colonial and State Records of North Carolina. (Accessed via http://docsouth.unc.edu/csr/index.html/document/csr08-0371). p. 728.
[27] North Carolina, Marriage Records, 1741-2011. Ancestry.com.
[28] U.S. 1830; Census Place: Ross, Butler, Ohio; Series: M19; Roll: 127; Page: 152; Family History Library Film: 0337938.
[29] U.S. Census Year: 1850; Census Place: School District 13, Rowan, North Carolina; Roll: M432_643; Page: 191A; Image: 388.
[30] North Carolina, Marriage Records, 1741-2011. Ancestry.com.
[31] U.S. Census Year: 1850; Census Place: School District 13, Rowan, North Carolina; Roll: M432_643; Page: 191A; Image: 388.
[32] U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1700s-Current.
[33] U.S. Census Year: 1850; Census Place: Miami, Clermont, Ohio; Roll: M432_667; Page: 140B; Image: 693.
U.S. Census Year: 1860; Census Place: Miami, Clermont, Ohio; Roll: M653_944; Page: 118; Image: 43; Family History Library Film: 803944.
U.S. Census Year: 1870; Census Place: Stonelick, Clermont, Ohio; Roll: M593_1181; Page: 279B; Image: 565; Family History Library Film: 552680.
[34] North Carolina, Marriage Records, 1741-2011. Ancestry.com.
[36] U.S. Census Reconstructed Records, 1660-1820. Document: Series: General Assembly; Box: Apr – May 1778 [North Carolina State Archives]; Call Number: Folder: Petitions JP; Page Number: 2; Family Number: 75. Ancestry.com
U.S. Census. Year: 1790; Census Place: Mecklenburg, North Carolina; Series: M637; Roll: 7; Page: 368; Image: 542; Family History Library Film: 0568147.
U.S. Census. Year: 1800; Census Place: Salisbury, Cabarrus, North Carolina; Series: M32; Roll: 29; Page: 718; Image: 282; Family History Library Film: 337905.
U.S. Census Year: 1810; Census Place: Morganton, Burke, North Carolina; Roll: 39; Page: 317; Image: 00211; Family History Library Film: 0337912.
[37] Tompkins, D.A. History of Mecklenburg County and the city of Charlotte from 1740 to 1903. Charlotte, N.C. 1903. p. 62.
[38] Ibid.
[39] Average age at first marriage for Germantown, Penna. families between 1750 and 1759 was twenty-nine for men and twenty-five for women. Fischer, David Hackett. Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America. Oxford University Press. New York. 1989. p 487.
[40] Humphrey, op. cit.
[41] Roach, op. cit.
[42] U.S. Census Year: 1790; Census Place: Nazareth, Northampton, Pennsylvania; Series: M637; Roll: 8; Page: 272; Image: 460; Family History Library Film: 0568148.
[43] Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, U.S. Direct Tax Lists, 1798 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
[44] Heller, William Jacob. Historic Easton from the window of a trolley-car. Easton, Pa.: unknown, 1911. Ancestry.com.
[45] “Pennsylvania, Probate Records, 1683-1994,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-28791-24862-6?cc=1999196&wc=9PMV-K6N:268497601,268525901 : accessed 8 March 2015), Northampton > Orphans’ Court record index 1752-1863 > image 1