OUR FAMILY VALENTINE
Valentine’s Day was a few weeks ago, but I thought the month should not go by without mentioning an ancestor named Valentine.
Valentine VANHOOSER was born
January 16, 1726 in Clavernack, Albany County, New York. The VANHOOSER immigrant was Valentine’s great-grandfather,
Jan Franse VAN HUSUM (1608-1667), who was born in Husum, Germany, in the region
of Schleswig-Holstein, a region that moved back and forth between Germany and
Denmark, and immigrated to “New Netherland,” present-day New York state. New Netherland was established by the Dutch
West India Company in 1624. (see https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/new-amsterdam-becomes-new-york#:~:text=Following%20its%20capture%2C%20New%20Amsterdam's,Island%2C%20Connecticut%20and%20New%20Jersey.)
Valentine was christened on February 3, 1726 at the Dutch Reformed
Church in Clavernack, NY. Somewhere
along the way Valentine was given the nickname “Felty.”
On December 22, 1746, Valentine
married Maria Barbara ZERWE (1726-1790) in Claverack. They would have 13 children. In about 1753, Valentine moved his family to
Rowan County, North Carolina. He shows
up in the 1761 Rowan County, NC Early Tax List, and the NC Early Census
Index.
About 1771 Valentine sold his land in Surry Co., NC and moved to Virginia, settling just across the border in what was then Fincastle (now Carroll) Co., Va.
In
"Annals
of Augusta County, Virginia from 1726-1871," by Waddell, Joseph Addison,
page 239: "The minister referred to
was the Rev. John McMillan, the founder of Jefferson College; and a portion of
his diary is found in a book called "Old Redstone" (Presbytery), by
the Rev. Dr. Joseph Smith. Young
McMillan came from Pennsylvania, on his second visit, in November, 1775. He says:
"Monday - Passed through Stephensburgh, Stoverstown, and
Millerstown - crossed Shenandoah, and after travelling forty-eight miles, we
came to a Dutchman's, where we tarried all night.” Could the Dutchman have been VanHooser, or is
he referring to a German, since they were commonly called “Dutch” due to the
country’s name Deutschland?
When the Revolutionary War broke out,
Valentine sided with King George. Known
as Loyalists or Tories, approximately 20% of free white colonists are believed
to have remained loyal to the Crown. In the Carolinas, where enmity between
rebels and Loyalists was especially strong, few of the latter regained their
property. Since Valentine was dead, it
is doubtful any of his heirs were able to regain his property. (See http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/outlines/history-1994/the-road-to-independence/loyalists-during-the-american-revolution.php.)
I did a Google search for
Valentine Vanhooser, and found him mentioned in a 1783 letter from Captain
Flower Swift to Colonel William Preston:
“A exact list of the Dilinkquentes[sic] (or Delinquent, which may mean
missing in action) you will be pleased to furnish me with warrants agreeable to
this list . . .” Valentine Vanhooser is listed.
Vanhooser may have been killed in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, NC.
(See https://www.newrivernotes.com/carroll_history_1779-1783_flower_swift_company.htm)
In CHRONICLES OF THE SCOTCH-IRISH
SETTLEMENT IN AUGUSTA CO., VA by Chalkey, Volume 2, pp. 227-228 is the
following mention of Vanhoosers in the Virginia county:
“March
1814 John Hooser, aged 67, deposes, came with his father Felty and brother
Abraham to this country 37 years ago [ca.1777]. John has a brother Jacob who
was never out in this country.”
Valentine’s son John was born in 1748, so this is quite probably Valentine’s oldest son. Also in this volume:
“Charles Carter deposes, in Lee County. . . remembers the family Hooser or VanHooser, as they were called, who settled on North Fork of Clinch near Flat Lick in 1775. The oldest Van Hooser (deponent understood from his father) made the upper improvement, and the old man's son John was the next oldest man and made an improvement near the old man. Deponent remembers two other members of the family, Abram and Isaac. Deponent lived with his father in the Rye Cove at the time those improvements were made. Never heard of Jacob Hooser. Deponent's statement is founded on hearsay.”
“HISTORY:
When he was two years old, he migrated with his parents to Tulpehocken
Lancaster (now Berks) Co, Pennsylvania. There he grew up in Heidelburg Township
in the vicinity of what is now called Robesonia. He lived in a predominately
German community, since his mother, aunts and uncles were also of that
nationality.
“On the 22 of Dec 1746 he married
Maria Barbara Zerwe or Zerbe at Tulpehocken, Lancaster (now Berks),
Pennsylvania. They were married in the German Lutheran Church by the Lutheran
minster, Johan Caspar Stoever.
“On the 5th of March 1750 he took out
a land grant for fifty acres in Philadelphia (now Berks) Co, Penns. The land
adjoined that of Richard Brasier and James Boone, uncle to the celebrated and
well known Daniel Boone. While he was improving this land, the family lived in
Tulpehocken township where his first four children was baptized.
“Valentine disappears from
Pennsylvania records after 1751 and it is my belief that he was enticed by the
Boone Family and other surrounding neighbors to move to North Carolina. So he
deserted his land grant in what later became Oley Township, Berks, Pa. and
traveled via Virginia's Big Valley to North Carolina. Valentine is listed among
the taxpayers in Rowan Co., NC in 1759, 1761, and 1768.
“In 1771 Surry County was created and
the Van Hooser family found themselves living in a new county, though they
hadn't moved. Deeds of Rowan and Surry Cos. reveal that Valentine was a shrewd
businessman.
“Each piece of property he purchased,
he sold for a profit. For example, on January 1, 1763 he purchased 159 1/4
acres from Solomon Sparks for thirty pounds and sold it October 10, 1765 to
Samuel Jones for one hundred pounds---a profit of seventy pounds.
“About 1771 Valentine sold his land in
Surry Co., NC and moved to Virginia, settling just across the border in what
was then Fincastle (now Carroll) Co., Va. He lived there for about four years
before moving to the North Fork of the Clinch River in what is now Tazewell
Co., Va. According to Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Augusta Co.,
Va by Chalkey, Vol.11, pp. 227-8, Valentine and his oldest son, John took up
land in that area, but only lived there two years before they were driven out
by Indian uprisings. They returned to their former piece of land which was located
along New River and Little Reed Island which was then in Montgomery Co., which
became Wythe Co. in 1789/90 and Grayson Co. in 1792 and finally Carroll Co. in
1842.
“According to law suits brought about
by his son, Jacob Van Hooser, Valentine was a wealthy man. He owned lots of
land and had quite a few Negro slaves. However, when the Revolutionery War
broke out, Valentine was loyal to the British and became a known Tory. He took
up arms against the colonists and fought for Genral Cornwallis, dying in the
year 1781 at one of the last two battle Cornwallis fought in--the Guilford Co.,
North Carolina County court house, or at Yorktown, Virginia, where Cornwallis
surrendered. Hence, the reason why there's no will or probate records for
Valentine Van Hooser.”
[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/55844996/valentine-felty-van_hooser]
I have gotten much of my information from the book, “Van Hooser Family of the United States”, by Joyce Lindstrom. On pages 237-238 she references another book:
“According to the book, Early
Adventures on Western Waters Vol. 1 by Mary B Kegly, p. 140, on September 7,
1779 a complaint was brought before the court against Valentine Vanhouser for
"enlisting Soldiers for the King of Great Britain and maintaining the
Authority of said king." Once he was heard in court, the court decided he
should be bound over to appear at the next court, but had to give security for
himself for 500 pounds to make sure he appeared at the next court. In 1781 most
of his property was confiscated and his slaves were sold at public auction.”
NEXT: Strong Women
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