Chat
|
Daily Search
|
My GenForum
|
Community Standards
|
Terms of Service
|
|
|
HANS JACOB HAUSSLI and JACOB HELSLEY are ONE
Written by Dunbar M. Helsley, March 15, 2003
I am looking for your feedback about this paper – both critical and supportive.
Jacob Helsley (born abt. 1728 and died 1799) appears in various records of Rowan County, NC in the last 20 years of the 18th century. Where did he come from and who were his ancestors? This paper tries to answer those questions.
In 1991 in the Introduction to the “Heltsley-Helsley Family” by Brenda Collier she wrote:
“Holtzel the original spelling of Heltsley or Helsley. Of the three brothers who came to Muhlenberg County, KY John and his descendants chose to spell their name Heltsley, while Jacob and Michael and their descendants chose the Helsley spelling.
In order to have a more uniform index to this book I have used the Heltsley spelling. Although my grandmother, Rushia Mae (Helsley) Collier, was a descendant of both Jacob and Michael.
There are those who will make such irresponsible statements as: “I have the name of the ship our ancestors came to America on” or “our ancestor came from Alsace-Lorraine Germany”, there is no documentation to prove either of these statements at this time!
We do have documentation to the year 1783, in the Salisbury District of Rowan County, NC, through Wills, Deeds and Court Records.
In the year of 1783 Jacob Helsley purchased a tract of land in Rowan County, NC. At his death in 1799 he had willed his property to sons: John, Jacob, Michael and Adam, to daughters: Mary and Catherina. John Jacob and Michael sold their share of inheritance in 1804.
These three brothers are on the 1810 Census of Muhlenberg County, KY. After that date they are visable in Court Records, Census’ and Tax Lists of Muhlenberg, Todd, Christian, Logan and Hopkins Counties, KY.
It is the hope of this researcher the data contained within the page of this publication will be of help and interest to all.”
Basically, the Doss book was about the Heltsley/Helsley family after it arrived in Kentucky with brief mention that Jacob Helsley died in 1799 in Rowan County, NC. No specific sources are cited for statements, dates or names included in her book.
Does anyone have a copy of the 1783 Land Deed and 1799 Will?
Heltzel Linkage
Some individuals believe that Jacob Helsley’s forbearers were named Heltzel. Nicholas Heltzel was born about 1697 in Palatine, Germany. He, his wife Maria Dorthea and children Eva Catarina age 12, Christoffel age 4 and Hans Jacob age 1 were imported to Philadelphia on the ship “Charming Betty” in 1733.
Nicholas took his family to the York County, PA area where he was a member of the Lutheran Old Canadochly Church. Christopher (Christoffell) grew and married Dorthea Kron. One of their children was John Jacob or Jacob. He was born in York about 1758.
This child, Jacob Heltzel, is supposed to be Jacob Helsley in Rowan County, NC. There does not seem to be any evidence to support this transformation. What evidence there is suggests Jacob Heltzel married Christina, had 5 children and died about 1818.
Haussli Linkage
After reviewing sources that were not easily obtainable in 1991 when Mrs. Doss wrote her book, it is probable that Jacob Helsley who died in Rowan County, NC in 1799 changed his name from Han Jacob Haussli to Jacob Helsley when he moved from Pennsylvania to North Carolina.
Let us review the past leading up to the Hausslis arrival in America. Felix Haussli was born in 1632 in Brutten, Switzerland. He married Verena Ochsner in 1658 in Brutten. He had a son named Ulrich who had a son named Joachim Haussli, born in 1704. Joachin married Elsbeth. From this union came 7 children. Hans Jacob Haussli was the oldest son. His older sister, Barbara, died in infancy.
Hans Jacob Haussli was born about 1728 in Switzerland. He immigrated to America with his father, mother and younger brother Heinrich in 1738. They sailed from Rotterdam on the boat “Jamaica Galley” and landed in Philadelphia in 1739.
It is not clear where Joachim Haussli took his family to live but a record attested by the pastor of the Parish of Landau, Switzerland in 1744 states the Haussli family and a widow, Sarah Blauler Keller with her son Jacob Keller, “went to Carolina”.
Joachim Haussli went to North Carolina sometime between 1766 when he made his will in Northhampton County, PA when his will was filed in Rowan County, NC in 1778.
It is interesting to note that in some genealogies all of Jaochim’s children are listed with a last name of Healsey. Jacob’s youngest brother, Leonard Haussli, born 1746 had 11 children – all with the last name of Heasley. Other spellings were Heisley, Heissley, Heissly and Housley. The Haussli families were anglicizing the spelling of their last name.
Hans Jacob Haussli may have anglicized his name by dropping Hans and changing the spelling of his last name to Helsley. In 1766 in his father’s will he is referred to as Son Jacob Heissley. In 1788 and 1791 his name appears in deeds in Rowan County, NC as Jacob Helsley. He is listed as a “planter” on the 1788 deed. Also, Jacob Helsley is listed on the 1790 Census of Rowan County, NC with 5 males 16 years and under and 1 female. He had no slaves. Sons, Jacob and Michael Helsley, appear on the 1790 Census as well.
The above offers convincing evidence that Jacob was in Rowan County, NC in at least 1788. Mrs. Doss says Jacob purchased land in Rowan County, NC in 1783. He probably went there with his father before his father died in 1778.
Notify Administrator about this message?
Followups:
|
| http://genforum.genealogy.com/heasley/messages/47.html | ||
 |
Link to GenForum Add Forum |
|