Peter Riley Poff Sr. (1773 - 1830)

Born 27 Jan 1773 in Pennsylvania [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Pickle) Poff — married 1790 in Augusta, Virginia, United States

Descendants

Died 14 Sep 1830 at age 57 in Montgomery County, Virginia

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Biography

LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

WILL OF PETER POFF, SR. I Peter Poff Seynior of the County of Montgomery and State of Virginia do hearby make my last will and testament in manner and form following that is to say 1st that out of my moneys now in hand I desire that all my just debts if any thar be and funeral expences [be] fully paid off and discharged 2nd I will and bequeath unto my Dear and loving wife two of her chois Cows two beds and all the Ballance of the Household and Kitchen furniture except the ballance of the beds The Home place whear we now live during her natural life the paroshable part of what hath been bequeathed to my Dear Wife she may dispose of During her lifetime if she pleases 3rd I will and bequeath unto my Son Henry Poff the tract of land on which he now lives with all its appurtenances thereto belonging Beginning at the Draw bars whear they now stand near the old mill then a strait line on easterly course to the Cross fence whar it now stands and with said fence as it now runs to the Corner of Anthony Poff's [illegible] fence whar it now stands and then a line according to Anthony's Clamd land now is woods that is the land he now occupys and from his Clamd land a strait line to the nearest part of the old line and with the old line to the Bent road and with said road to the Beginning 4th I will and bequeath unto my Son anthony Poff all the mill place and all the Ballance of the land except that part devised to Henry Poff Beginning at the above named Draw Bars along the Bent road to whar it Crosses the old mill branch and down that branch to Wiley's line. 5th I will and bequeath unto my Son michael Poff all the land that lays of the [illegible] on the south side of the Bent mountain road and according to Anthony Poff's lines mentioned above 6th I will and bequeath unto my Son Charles Poff all that tract of land on the Pine Spar road which I purchased of Stephen R[illegible] 7th I will and bequeath unto my Son Peter Poff two small tracts of land and which he now lives on the aker adjoining the same Which is set forth by 2 small patterns 8th I will and bequeath unto my Son John Poff a piece of land that I took up adjoining the old place which will be set forth By a pattern of about ninety akers. 8th I will and bequeath unto my Son Samuel Poff after the decease of his mother the Ballance of the old tract of land 9th I Will and bequeath unto my two younger Daughters Christiniah and Anna Poff 1 Cow and 1 Heifer each and Anna 1 Bed and furniture also twenty dollars and the ballance of my paroshable property I wish sold and my outstanding debts Collected and my specified legays paid off and out of the proceeds of such sale and Colection I wish to Be equally divided between my five daughters I mor over Will and bequeath unto my Loving Wife Seventy five Bushels of the grain growed or growing and lastly I do hereby constitute and appoint my friends William Conner Seynior & Jacob Hoback By this my will and testament hearby revoking all others In witness whearof I have hearunder set my hand and affixed my seal In the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty September the 14th.

Citation Tazewell County Historical Society, PO Box 916, 100 E. Main Street, Tazewell, Virginia 24651-0916. Poff Family History section of this book submitted by Wesley Poff, 5003 Jefferson Road, Danville, VA 24540.

Pg 137-138 - George Poff - Most all of the Poffs living in the United States today are descendants of those who settled our country in the 1700s. The name Poff has had many different spellings across the years with one of the most common as Pauff among the first settlers. The Poffs of Floyd County are first found in York, Pennsylvania. It is believed that George Poff married Anna Merchant on August 30, 1772 in the German Reform Church in Philadelphia. They later moved to what is known today as Floyd County, VA. George is listed on the tax rolls in 1792 but disappears 1798 so it is widely assumed he died that year. George and Anna had at least five children. Their names were: Charles, George Jr., Jonathan, Peter and Mary Elizabeth. It seems that Peter and Jonathan stayed in the Montgomery and Franklin County area so most of the Poffs that live in Floyd today are descendants of these to men. In fact most of their line has never left the area and live within a 50-75 mile radius of Floyd. Peter was a very prosperous man and owned a grist mill and a saw mill on Little River in 1813 and 1814 according to tax records. It is widely held that Peter married a Elizabeth Pickle or Pickleseimer. To verify this information, however, has been one of the greatest challenges to researchers of this family. Tradition says that Peter and Elizabeth married but no real proof has ever been found. At the time of his death on September 14, 1830 Peter had twelve children and owned 665 acres of farm land in the Check area on the Bent Mountain Road. According to his will he left this land to his children and his "loving wife." Jonathan Poff, it seems, moved to Franklin County to raise his family. He married Mary Hartsough and had at least six children. One of his children, Peter Edward Poff, married a Catherine Radford who according to family legend was somewhat of a daredevil. She enjoyed riding a horse bareback standing up. At the time of Jonathan's death he and Mary had six children, of which some had moved back to Floyd from Franklin County. As for the rest of George and Anna's children very little is known; however, it is thought that George Jr. may have moved to Kentucky and many of the Poffs from that state are from his line. The Poffs have found the land in Floyd County to be just right to live a simple life, raise a family and to farm. There are no heroes or supermen in this line. Just plain folks whoo have served our country in the World Wars and the Civil War - people who are proud to call Floyd home of their heritage.

Buried in Head of the River Cemetery, Copper Hill, Floyd Co., Virginia. Will probated in November 1830. Peter is thought to have been in Augusta Co. in 1792 because his name appears with a George Poff on a tax list. In 1800 Peter and George are both listed on the delinquent tax list of Augusta as having gone "to French Broad". This is a river that flows from North Carolina to Knoxville, Tennessee. In 1798 Gorge Poff, Sr. and Jr., are listed but in 1798 and 1800 only one George is listed. It is assumed that George Sr. died about 1798 because his name is missing. It seems that Peter arrived in Montgomery Co. and purchased a farm on Wilson's Creek. On Dec 28, 1803, he was granted a land deed of 96 more acres. In a few years it seems the family moved near Check, Virginia (now in Floyd County) on Little River, still part of Montgomery County. Peter continued adding to his farm. Tax records show he owned a sawmill in 1813 and a gristmill in 1814. When Peter died in 1830 his family divided his 665 acres of land. The area that Peter Poff Sr. settled in Montgomery County Virgina is now part of Floyd County and is near the communities of Check and Copper Hill. He owned a mill and land along the old 'Bent Mountain Road,' which is now route 221. Many Poffs still reside there and probably still own some of the original tract.

Sources

• WikiTree profile Poff-67 created through the import of tree.ged on Jun 4, 2011 by Carolyn Living. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Carolyn and others.

• Source: S-1926737577 Repository: #R-1926755204 Title: Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. Note: This information comes from 1 or more individual Ancestry Family Tree files. This source citation points you to a current version of those files. Note: The owners of these tree files may have removed or changed information since this source citation was created. Page: Ancestry Family Trees Note: Data: Text: http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=27284681&pid=253
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