Lewis Harper Ludwig Zirkle Jr. (abt. 1740 - 1815)

Born about 3 Apr 1740 in Telford, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Magdalene (Roush) Zirkle — married 1760 in Forestville, Shenandoah, Virginia

Descendants

Died 22 Jan 1815 at about age 74 in New Market, Shenandoah, Virginia, United States

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Biography

Lewis Zirkle Jr. performed Patriotic Service in Virginia in the American Revolution.

Lewis Zirkle Jr. is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A131098.

The first Zirkle who settled on Smith Creek, in Rockingham County, Virginia, was Lewis Zirkle, born in 1740 in Telford, Montgomery, Pennsylvania. He located in that region of the county at the beginning of the Revolutionary War. He came from Pennsylvania, that portion where Philadelphia now stands. He carried on a tannery and farming, was prosperous and accumulated a large estate. He married a lady by the name of Miss Mary Magdalena Roush, and their issue consisted of four sons and four daughters. He died on 22 January 1815 in Smith creek, New Market, Shenandoah, Virginia at the age of seventy years, and his body and that of his wife are buried in St. Matthews Lutheran church graveyard, he had given the ground for the first Lutheran Church at New Market, Virginia. Lewis Zirkle left a will dated 10 July 1814. At the time of his death he owned fifteen hundred acres of land, a good tannery and fine mill property. His son Lewis lived and died on Smith Creek.^[1]

They lived on Smith Creek, about three miles southeast of New Market, Virginia. He wrote in German. They were Lutherans. At his death he owned 1500 acres, a tannery, and a flour mill. They are believed to be buried in unmarked graves in the St. Matthew Lutheran Cemetery in New Market, Shenandoah Co., Virginia.

Birth

• Lewis H (Ludwig) Zirkle was born in 1740 in Telford, Pennsylvania, to Maria Eva Bear, age 31, and Johann "Lodowick" Ludwig Zirkle, age 35.^[2][3]

Marriage

• Lewis married Mary Magdalena Roush in Shenandoah, Virginia, in 1760 when he was 20 years old.^[2][3]

Death

• Lewis H (Ludwig) Zirkle died on January 22, 1815, in New Market, Shenandoah, Virginia, when he was 75 years old.^[2][3]

Burial

• Lewis is buried at Saint Matthews Cemetery, New Market, Shenandoah County, Virginia. ^[4][2]

Property

• On 17 Jul 1763 Lewis (or Ludwig) bought twenty-five acres from his brother, Andrew, straddling Holman's Run in the southeast corner of the tract Andrew had bought from George Brock, Jr.just south of Forestville, Virginia. He operated a tan yard there for nine years, until he sold it to another tanner, John Roush, in 1772
• 1768 - Bought property on Smith Creek.^[2]
• Received 192 acres of land February 16, 1771. Thomas Moore, his executor, sold the same land to Jacob P. Williamson December 20, 1816,^[2]
• On 3 June 1774 he surveyed a 300-acre tract there on the east side of Smith Creek, for which Thomas Jefferson, Governor of Virginia, issued him a land grant on 1 Mar 1781.
• Lewis bought a lot in New Market on Congress Street, Lot No. 12, 1/2 acre in 1792. Sold the same lot to Church trustees in 1794.^[2]
• Feb. 1, 1779 - purchased from James Deniston 2 tracts of land with 200 acres in each tract.^[2]
• May 25, 1779 - Lewis and his wife, Mary, sold to Henry Cook 200 acres of land on the north side of Shenandoah River.^[2]
• October 16, 1784 - Lewis and Mary sold 106 acres of land to James Hulvey.
• At his death, Lewis owned fifteen hundred acres of land, a tannery and a flour mill.^[2]

Occupation

• Farmer, Tanner, Miller^[2]

Children

• Lewis and Mary had the following issue:^[2]
  1. George Zirkle, m. 24 Jul 1786, Catherine Byrd West (widow)
  2. Eva Zirkle, 1763–1858; m.20 Mar 1791, Jacob Roller.
  3. Magdalena Zirkle, 1764–1831; m. 30May 1787, George Hoof.
  4. Elizabeth Zirkle, 1767–1859; m. 29 Aug 1795, Philip Arey.
  5. Catherine Zirkle, 1770–1855; m. 1804, Abraham Peters.
  6. Margaret Zirkle,1780– 31 Jul 1836; m. 13 Nov 1802, George Rosenberger.
  7. Susanna "Susan" Zirkle, 1782–1844; m. 17 Sep 1799, John Higgs.
  8. Sarah "Sallie" Zirkle, 1783–1861; m. 6 Sep 1803, Thomas Robinson.
  9. Lewis H Zirkle II, 3 Jan 1785– 3 Dec1862; m. Aug 1802, Nancy Caldwell.
  10. John Zirkle, 1786–1839; m. Elinor Jones.
  11. Rachel Zirkle, 1788–1850; m. May 31, 1804, William Pence.

Research Notes

• In 1825 a civil suit was brought against Mary Magdalena Zirkle, wife of Lewis Zirkle, by son George Zirkle. The suit was to contest the final will of Lewis Zirkle and the mental competence of Lewis Zirkle at the time the last version of his will was drafted. George questions the motives of Mary and whether she manipulated Lewis in his feeble minded state. Multiple witnesses were called to testify before a jury on behalf of both plaintiff and defendant. One witness confirms that Mary showed favoritism towards two of her children over the others. Included as evidence in the documentation of the court case were three wills drafted by Lewis Zirkle, versions from 1800, 1806, and the final draft of 1812 (all versions attached as pdfs to this profile for review).
• The Endless Caverns were discovered on this land on 19 Oct 1879.
• From the records of A History of Shenandoah Co., Virginia: In June 1791 the first timber for the church building was cut on the lands of Lewis Zirkle by those, some German and some English, who were interested in the building of a church. In February 1792, the logs were taken to the site selected, and during the spring of that year the first church building, a log house, was erected, and was known as the Davidsburg church. The lay promoters and builders of the church were: George Adam Zirkle, Lewis Zirkle, John Rausch, Michael Rader, Abraham Peter, Andrew Bord (Bird), Jacob Kipps, Jacob Olinger, John Bar (Bare) and David O'Roark Of these George Adam Zirkle, Lewis Zirkle and John Bar were selected as the deacons or council (vorsleher), the two former representing the Lutherans and the latter the Reforms The first service of the church building was held in the latter part of April 1792, by Rev. Paul Henkel who became the first pastor and preached in both German and English, holding services about once in every four weeks until 1794 when he and his family moved to Staunton, Virginia.^{[5] [6]}

Sources

1. ↑ "Zirkle Family in America - Germany to Pennsylvania." by Gordon K Zirkle.
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11} Harpine, J William. Zirkle Family History, page 121. Self Published; Harrisburg, VA; 1963 (PDF copy in possession of Arthur Van Riper.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Fowler, Donald. Little, Wettengel, Alexander & Zirkle Genealogy. Publisher: Donald Fowler; Oct 2011 https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~little/genealogy/combined/fam00576.htm
4. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/33568802/lewis-ludwick_harper-zirkle : accessed 24 October 2021), memorial page for Lewis Ludwick Harper Zirkle (3 Apr 1740–22 Jan 1815), Find a Grave Memorial ID 33568802, citing Saint Matthews Cemetery, New Market, Shenandoah County, Virginia, USA ; Maintained by jonathan grimm (contributor 46869455) .
5. ↑ Wayland John W.,PH.D. A History of Shenandoah County, Virginia. Shenandoah Publishing House; Strasburg, VA; 1927 https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/226882-a-history-of-shenandoah-county-virginia?viewer=1&offset=1#page=1&viewer=picture&o=download&n=0&q=
6. ↑ Cassell, C.W., Finck, W. J., Henkel, Elon O., Eds. A History of the Lutheran Church in Virginia and East Tennessee, pg 220, Shenandoah Publishing House; Strasburg, VA; 1930. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/10422/images/dvm_LocHist000029-00003-0?ssrc=&backlabel=Return

• Davidsburg Church Baptisms, New Market, Virginia
• "1810 Rockingham, Virginia U. S. Federal Census," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH2Q-DN6 : accessed 24 October 2021), Lewis Zirkle, Harrisonburg, Rockingham, Virginia, United States; citing p. 143, NARA microfilm publication M252 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 67; FHL microfilm 181,427.
• Yates Publishing. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/1382553:7836?ssrc=pt&tid=10675731&pid=-598087717
  • Name: Lewis Zirkle
  • Gender: Male
  • Birth Place: PA
  • Birth Year: 1739
  • Spouse Name: Mary Magdelene Roush
  • Spouse Birth Place: VA
  • Spouse Birth Year: 1742
• Boyd, William R. The Ancestors and Descendants of James Boyd and Nancy Wier: The Zirckle Family; 16 Jul 2003. https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~lgboyd/genealogy/chapter9.htm
• Floyd Wine, Some Zirkle Land Grants in the Shenandoah Valley, Zirkle Family Hist. Ass'n Newsletter, vol. 2, no. 2 (Jul 1984), page 2.
• Richard Circle, Circle Family History, in Zirkle Family Hist.Ass'n Newsletter, vol. 7, no. 2 (Jun 1989), page 1.
• Strickler, Harry Miller.. Tenth legion tithables (Rockingham Division) Rockingham County, Virginia : tithables for 1792, a list of all the white males above 16 years of age in the county and all the slaves above 12 in the county in 1792. Page 38. Luray, Va.: Strickler, 1930.
• Strickler, Harry Miller.. Forerunners, a history of genealogy of the Strickler families : their kith and kin, including Kauffmans, Stovers, Burners, Ruffners, Beavers, Shavers, Brumbachs, Zirkles, Blossers, Groves, Brubakers, Neffs, Rothgebs and many other early families of Shenandoah, Rockingham, Augusta, Frederick and Page counties of the Shenandoah Valley, a memorial to those who have gone before, from about 1700 to the present time, 1924. page 408. Harrisonburg, Va.: H. M. Strickler, c1925.
• Cassell, C. W.. History of the Lutheran Church in Virginia and East Tennessee. Strasburg, Va., page 220: Shenandoah Pub. House, 1930.