Johann Zeller (1686 - bef. 1742)

Born 1686 in Heiliges Römisches Reich

Died before Jun 1742 before age 56 in Craven, North Carolina

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Palatine Migration WikiTree [send private message] and Jim Baucom [send private message]

John Zeller was a Palatine Migrant. Join: Palatine Migration Project Discuss: palatine_migration

Biography

NOTE: this person is sometimes conflated with Johann George Zeller or Johannes Zeller, who also were among the Palatines who passed through London on the the way to New York in 1709-1710. The Immigrant represented by this profile probably went to North Carolina, as documented by Henry Jones Jr and colleagues below.

Johannes was born in 1686 in what is today Germany.

11 Jun 1709: The earliest record we have for this Palatine immigrant is probably the mention of a Johan Sildere, single, a member of the 3rd Departure List from Rotterdam. He is listed on the same ship as Johan Martin Frank AKA Johann Martin Franck, a 1710- immigrant who became the wealthiest man in Craven County, North Carolina.^[1]

Jun 1709: John Zeller then appears the 3rd list of arrivals at St. Catherine's Parish in London, England as "age 23, cooper and brewer, Lutheran, single" ^[2]

Appearing on the same 3rd London List is a Philip Zweiler, husbandman & V., age 44, sons 12-5, daughter 15 C. Some have attributed this entry as pertaining to John Zeller's father, but his is speculation.

It is unknown if John Zeller married during his voyage to American, or later in Craven County, NC. There is no record of his marriage, but in the 1742 will of John Sellar names his widow as Abie.

1710: he is NOT named on a compilation of 1710 Swiss and Palatine settlers who settled in Bern, North Carolina. However, this list is based chiefly on land Petitions for Redress made after 1747, and John Zeller apparently did not own land, based on his will.

1714: A John Suller appears on a Tuscarora War Claims List. He was paid a total 4£ and 2 shillings--16 claims of 5 shillings each (the lowest payment category). Jones speculates that his pertains to part of his flock or herd lost during the War.^[3]During the Tuscarora War, 60 Swiss and Palatines were killed, and 15 were taken captive.

1713-1720: his name does not appear on ANY records from the Craven County Precinct in North Carolina. Jones speculates that this may be because John Suller/Zeller/Sildare left the area when war broke out. Jones notes: "Those who left the settlement were disproportionately either men with specialize occupations, such as Zeller had, or strapping young men who also could more easily find work elsewhere."

1718-1721: John Zeller is not found on any Craven NC records, but there are two mentions of a Marthew Seller. His relation to this profile is unclear.

He died before June 1742 in North Carolina.

15 Jun 1742: Abia Sellar widow & Relect of John Seller, deceased was granted letters of Administration to her husband's estate.^[4]

23 Sep 1742: Abie Sellar, widow of John Sellor, brought an inventory of his estate into court and had it recorded. The court nominated Wm. Spikes, William Bently, and Jacob Giddiens as appraisers^[5]

22 Dec 1742: inventory and appraisal of the estate of John Sellar, deceased was "Exhibited upon oath" and admitted to the record. Unclear why a 2nd appraisal was required^[6]

Research Notes

Many genealogies of the Palatine Zeller family in New York attribute a birth year of 1686 to either Johann George or Johannes Zeller. This age is based on the 1709 London list showing a John Zeller, age 23. Since that London entry most likely pertains to different unrelated Zeller/Seller--it tells us nothing about the ages of the New York Palatine Zeller immigrants. Many secondary genealogies mistakenly retained the 1686 birth year for New York Johannes Zeller.

Pertaining to the name of his wife. The will of John Sellar in North Carolina names his wife as Abie. This may be short for Apollonia, abbreviated Ablonia, etc. In this case, they may have been among those married in London by Rev. Georg Hainer, German Pastor. Or, perhaps she was English and was named "Abby"--in which case John would have more likely married her in the Craven District of North Carolina^[7]

No children are known for Johan Zeller, and given his almost complete absence from the records of Craven Precinct and County, perhaps he married late in life, never owned property, and worked for other people. His widow seems to have associated mainly with English-speaking settlers.

The book, "Becoming German", by Philip Otterness documents the fact that the location "Carolina" can pertain not only to the American Carolinas, but also to anyplace in North America, including New York or Pennsylvania.^[8] This is because of a pamphlet widely circulated in the Palatinate at that time that wrote glowingly of the opportunities in English "Caroline/Carolina." This pamphlet was probably written by Rev. Joshua Kocherthal, entitled, "Ausführlich und Umständlicher Berich von der verühmten Landschafft Carolina, in dem Engelländischen America gelegen" [Translation: "A Complete and Detailed Report of the Renowned District of Carolina located in English America."].

Thus, It remains possible that the John Zeller recorded in London is different from the John Sellar who died in 1742, in North Carolina.

Sources

1. ↑ Even More Palatine Families by HZ Jones Jr and Lewis Bunker Rohrbach (2002), pp.1425-1426
2. ↑ http://threerivershms.com/names1709thirdlist.htm
3. ↑ Jones and Rohrbach (2002), p. 1425
4. ↑ Craven County Court records 1742-1748, p. 9
5. ↑ Craven County Court records, 1742-1748, p. 9
6. ↑ Craven County Court records, 1742-1748, p. 14
7. ↑ Jones & Rohrbach (2002), p. 1426
8. ↑ Becoming German: the 1709 Palatine Migration to New York by Philip Otterness (2004), Cornell U. Press, p. 26