Adam Koontz's father

This is just a short post of my wonderings.

Adam Koontz (1768 - 1848) was born in Loudoun County, VA and died in West Providence Twp, Bedford, PA, husband of Edna/Mary Diehl.

It's been theorized that his father was an Adam Counts/Coons/Koonts (1733 - 1799).

First, I'll list what I believe are the reasons people believe Adam was his father.

(1.) The name

(2.) Adam Sr. was from Loudoun County, VA and died in Bedford County, PA

(3.) Adam Sr. had been in Bedford early on, moved back to Loudoun, and then moved back to Bedford (presumably anyway), and a historical account says Adam Jr.'s father was in Bedford early on before "being driven back by Indians".

(4.) Age-wise, Adam Jr. fits into the Adam Sr.'s known children.


However, the more I look at this, the more questions pop-up in my mind.

(1.) People overlook the fact that Adam Jr. was not listed in Adam Sr.'s will.  Is it possible he had already given him something or just didn't want to give him anything?

(2.) Adam Sr. was not the only Koontz/Counts to move from Loudoun, VA to Bedford, PA.  His brother Henry *also* moved from Loudoun to Bedford, and is found early on in Bedford as well.

(3.) Adam and Henry also had at least one other brother, Philip, and are believed to have another brother, Frederick.


Now, it is almost certain that one of these four men is indeed the father of Adam Koontz (1768 - 1848), I am just not as willing as most to lay claim to Adam Counts (1733 - 1799) as his father.

You may ask, "what did he name his sons?"  Well, he only had three living children, Mary, Catherine, and John.  John is unfortunately not one of the choices for his father.

From Loudoun County, VA land records, this leaves us with, Adam & Mary, Philip & Margaret, or Henry & Katherine as his likely parents (unless of course Frederick is correct).

I can't say why exactly, but I am leaning towards Henry as Adam's father.

Bedford County, PA Quarter Sessions Docket 6

Docket 6 is finally complete!  This transcription covers the years from 1838 - 1850.  It gives an interesting look into some of the daily lives of those living in Bedford county during this time period.  Some of the most useful pieces include the Bastardy cases, genealogically speaking.  I researched some of them myself and a number it seems married soon after.  Others did not.  And in some cases the man in question was already married!

I myself found several court records involving my ancestor Philip Clingerman.  He was part of a mob (one of the ring leaders I suspect) who helped tar and feather a man in the middle of the night because he was a Mormon preacher and had converted several families in the area.  Possibly including his wife's sister and her family.

This book is now available for sale here, and will be up on Amazon, hopefully by the end of the week.  Any recommendations or notes are welcome as I am hoping to start Docket 5 soon :)

https://www.createspace.com/4222383

EDIT:  Now available on Amazon!

http://www.amazon.com/Bedford-PA-Quarter-Sessions-Docket/dp/1484005236/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364815101&sr=8-1&keywords=1484005236

Philip Clingerman

The more I learn about my ancestor Philip Clingerman, the more I don't know what to make of him.  Originally, the only thing I had to go on regarding his life was a small mention in a history book of Bedford County, PA, his will, and his father's will.

It has been in my attempts to find out who his wife Susanna's family was, that I've begun to uncover a multitude of new things about Philip.  More specifically, his criminal record.

Philip was born in 1800 in Providence Township, Bedford County, PA.  To my knowledge, he had no run-ins with the law prior to 1838-1839.  Quite a feat considering his record after!

Let's start with the first record I have.  His arrest in January 1839 for taking part in (and probably leading) a riot that grabbed a man out of his bed in the middle of the night in December 1838, before they tarred and feathered him.  The logical question is, why would someone do this?  The answer, as it has been throughout most of human history came down to one thing it appears.  Religion.  The man they tarred and feathered, a mister Albert Brown, was a Mormon missionary it would seem.  A number of people had been converted in the area, and this was most likely the spark behind this incident.  I only qualify it as "most likely" because the records themselves do not indicate a reason.  He was ordered to pay the costs of prosecution, but otherwise appears to have gotten off scot-free.

I do wonder, given Philip's views on the subject of religion by this arrest, what he thought about my line.  Philip was Lutheran.  His daughter, Elizabeth, married Adam Shuss, who was part of the Church of the Brethren.  Adam and Elizabeth's son Nelson, married Clara Gill, who was Catholic, and our family has been Catholic ever since.

Philip then shows up again in November 1843.  This time for Larceny charges "on oath of Styles Hill".  A Mary and Peter Koontz testified against him, and a Daniel McDaniel paid Philip's bail.  It is worth noting that Philip's mother was a woman named Mary Koontz, so this Peter Koontz was a relative.  Mary could also be a relative, or Peter's wife more likely.  Another thing worth noting, Philip's daughter Mary Clingerman would eventually marry a John Nelson McDaniel, a likely relative of Daniel.  This one is however, a bit unusual, because in the initial arrest record, he is listed as "Philip Clingerman" but then at the proceedings, they instead say "Peter Clingerman".  Philip did have a brother Peter, so it appears that for some reason one of them was mistaken for the other.  Whether Philip or Peter was the true one up on charges is unknown to me at the moment.  Whoever it was, he was found not guilty.

Lest we get complacent, Philip *again* shows up in September 1851.  This time, he was one of four people arrested for "Forcible Entry and Detainer" against a Rebecca Baughman.  They were reported to have taken her and her belongings and thrown them out of her home and into the street.  My only presumption is that one of these people owned the home, and she had not paid the rent.  Keep in mind, this is only my assumption in the matter.  They were found not guilty.

First, I admit, my father liked this one.  In September 1870, Philip this time brings his son Lewis in on the crimes.  They are arrested for "unlawfully selling liquors on Sundays to minors and others without license to the great annoyance of the community".  This time, the case was settled, and it appears they paid a fine.  What's interesting about this is that the woman at the historical library in Bedford even told me (before I told her) that the Clingerman's were "moonshiners" but she was unaware of this particular arrest record.  So, whether there are still Clingerman's in the area 130 years later, still making alcohol, or whether this story was simply passed down, I'm not sure.  It is interesting nonetheless!

And thus ends Philip's illustrious life of crime.  He lived out his life, dying in 1881.  His wife, Susanna, preceded him in death in 1861.  Admittedly, between the two of them, she's really the one I'd like to talk to, and know her feelings on the subject of Philip!

Bedford County Quarter Session Dockets

So, I decided to undertake a new project: my first transcriptions.  I'm currently working through 1843.  It's an interesting insight into the daily issues in Bedford county, PA.

Along with the Assault and Battery cases, and Cutting Timber Illegally, a number of the cases are for Bastardy and Fornication, which of course could prove quite valuable to many people who have hit a brick wall for one reason or another.

My curiosity has led me to research several of these incidents.  In one case, I found that the couple in question later got married, had more children, and now their descendants have a marriage date listed in their family trees a good two years before they actually were, simply because they don't know the whole story and just presumed their first child was born following marriage.  In another cases, the man in question was already married, and within a maximum of 5 years from the verdict, he and his family moved to another state.  I have to wonder if it was at his wife's insistence?  In this case, the man's descendants from his marriage don't seem to know about this other child.  And I haven't been able to prove one way or another that the child lived (at this point).  Although I do believe there's a good chance he/she did, and was simply listed under a step-father's surname.

Here's an example of one,

The Commonwealth Vs. Hugh Moore

Fornication and Bastardy – on oath of Mary Stiffler.  November 28, 1842, Anthony Stiffler tent in $100 conditioned on the appearance of Mary Stiffler at next sessions to prosecute and give evidence.  November 29, 1842 defendant tent in $600 and Joseph Mortimore surety tent in $600 conditioned for the appearance of said defendant at next sessions to answer to a Bill of Indictment to be preferred against him for fornication and bastardy and not depart the court without license.  Taken and acknowledged in open court.  Joseph B. Noble Clerk.

In this particular case, and from online sources, it appears Mary Stiffler and Hugh Moore eventually reconciled, married, and had many more children following their first here.

Funeral Customs?

I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine about funerals.  Random, I know, but we got to talking about it after she saw a photo of my family dressed up and asked where it had been taken.  When I responded it was taken at a restaurant after my grandmother's funeral she seemed more than a bit shaken. 

I replied that in my family, while it's obviously okay to cry at the funeral itself, you are supposed to use the wake to celebrate the person's life, and it is not supposed to be a time for tears.  Instead, you're supposed to eat, drink, and reminisce about the good times with the person.  When I told her this, she was rather shocked by this and thought it was very strange, and honestly I think she thought it was in poor taste.

I'm curious what everyone elses' experiences are in the matter?  Is this just a tradition passed down by family country of origin, or is it family specific?  If it matters, my family is primarly German, Irish, and Scottish and if religion matters, Catholic.

I've truly never given any thought to it because it was just the way it was done in my family.  But now I am curious.

New Blog

Well, I've started yet another blog, lol.  This one *hopefully* will be helpful to others :)

http://wheretoresearchpagenealogy.blogspot.com/

Essentially this will be a place to find easy answers as to where, how, and when you should do onsite research in Pennsylvania.  It will be broken down by county, and will eventually have quite a few details.

Please note this is a brand new startup, and is of course a work in progress.  It will take a while to get the site up to speed, but I do plan to make updates regularly.

Searching for the Diehls and Koontz' in Loudoun County, Virginia

In attempting to trace my ancestors out of Bedford County, PA, one line traces back into Loudoun County, Virginia.  I will update with the records found later.  This is just an overview of the facts and my theories to this point.


Mary Koontz (1789 - 1864), wife of Jacob Shuss, is from this lineage.  It is her parents that started in Loudoun Co, VA.  And Mary herself was born in Virginia.


Mary's father was Adam Koontz who lived from about 1770 - 1848.  His surname has been recorded as everything from Koontz, Koons, Coons, Count, Counts, Coonts, and everything in-between.  His parentage is officially uncertain.  Many people have claimed that his parents are "Adam Counts" and his wife Mary of Loudoun County, VA.  They did after all move to Bedford county, PA, and they are the right age.  However, since Adam "Jr" is not listed in Adam "Sr"'s will, I personally doubt this account.  Adam Sr specifically mentions his children, "David, Elizabeth Smouse, Henry, Nicholas, Peter, and Abraham".  While it is conceivable he simply did not mention a child, perhaps due to a falling out, or perhaps he had already received his share, I find this highly unlikely.

My personal belief is that this "Adam Sr", as I will refer to him, was Adam's uncle.  In 1762, both Adam Counts and a Henry Counts received a "lease of lives" from Charles the Earl of Tankerville.  Adam's states that he was 20, his wife Mary was also 20, and their son David was 1.  Henry's puts himself at 27, his wife Katherine 20, and their daughter Salomay as 3 years old.  It is worth noting, they both seem to live very near one another for many years.

The only reference I can find to Adam's father is one in a history of Bedford county.  In it, it is noted that "Adam Koontz's father settled at Clevian Springs at a very early day, but was driven away by Indians".


Next, we see Mary's mother was an Edna/Mary Diehl (1767 - ?).  Just like her husband, her last name has many variations.  Among them are Deal, Deel, Teel, Teal, etc.  She was alive at the time of her husband's death in 1848.  Her ancestry is also uncertain.  It is, however, fairly certain that her grandfather is a Joseph Teel/Diehl (1760 - ?).  He and his family lived very near the Koontz/Counts family above, and actually in some cases had land adjoining one another.  In 1762, Joseph has sons, Joseph age 28, Peter 15, Henry 13, and George 5.  Joseph also had a son Samuel who would have been about 22 at this time (though not recorded in the lease of lives).  It is possible he had other sons, but I have not seen any hard evidence to them yet.

Samuel Diehl as is well known, moved from Loudoun County, VA to Bedford, PA.  He, like Adam Koontz Sr, has a will in the records.  Once again, there is no trace of Edna/Mary Diehl Koontz.  It is therefore unlikely she was his daughter.  Given the ages of his brothers, it seems most likely, Joseph or Peter is Edna/Mary's father.  Henry Diehl is also a possibility.  George is obviously too young.