Table of Contents | Surnames | Name List

Cool Ancestors

Royal and Noble Lines

If the legend is true, I am descended from these folks through Barbary Mauzey Miller, probable daughter of Henry Mauzey, Sr. and Ann Withers.  If you would like more information, click on Surnames and search my entire file.  Please be aware, however, that these lines are not complete, may be lacking sources, and may have mistakes in them - this is a work in progress so be sure to check your sources.

Colonial and Early Settlers

Thomas Ballard
Marmaduke Horseman
Erhard Glaze
William MackGahye
Bryan McDonald
William McGhee
Johannes Moelich
George Pownall
John Ruckman

Hans Ulrich Schwab

Early Germanna Colonists

Johannes Breuel
Johann Dietrich Reiner
Anna Barbara Schön

Revolutionary War

John Alford
John Biggs

Joseph Coon
Lewis Jacob Fillinger
Stephen Ferryman
John Malick
Henry Mauzey, Sr.
William Shingleton
Joseph Swope

War of 1812

Joseph McCallister
Absalom Shingleton
William Shingleton

Civil War

Robert Alford
Augustus Chapman Biggs
Joseph S. Poland

Swope's life and family are accounted in The History of Monroe County West Virginia, by Oren F. Morton, B. Lit., Originally Published: Staunton, Virginia, 1916, Reprinted, Regional Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1988, pgs. 494-506.

"The Swope family is a German family (Schwab or Swab being the original German name for what is now known as Swope). The Swopes were the first settlers in Monroe county, Joseph Ulrich or John Ulrich Swope being the ancient and original settler and ancestor of the family in this region of the country. He was the second son of Yost (Joseph) and was born in the town of Leiman, in the Duchy of Baden, in 1707. His grandfather was the mayor or burgomaster of that town. His father, Yost Swope, was born in the same town, on the 22d day of February, 1678, and owing to the persecutions of the Lutheran Church, of which he was an active member, he emigrated across the seas and settled in Upper Leacock Township of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Here he raised a family of five children, all of whom located there except John Ulrich, or Joseph, as he will hereafter be called. We are not positive as to his first name, whether it is John or Joseph. The family records show that frequently these Dutch people gave two of their children the same name, and tradition is that he dropped the name of John, the name of his older brother, and assumed and adopted his father's name of Joseph. The original ancestor wrote his name Swab, and it was ericanized into Swope. This Joseph Ulrich left Pennsylvania and emigrated with the German colony into the Valley of Virginia, locating in Augusta, near the site of the present Swope Depot on the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway. It was here that his son Joseph was born, on the 7th day of August, 1751. He was of a venturesome disposition, and began explorations in the country to the west. In 1750, 1751 or 1752, with his trusty flintlock gun, he followed the Indian trail up Jackson's River to the mouth of Dunlap's Creek, thence up that creek, crossing the tablelands into the country where Union is built. There, instead of following the trail down the waters of Indian Creek, he took a due west course and landed on top of those knobs which bear his name to this day Swope's Knobs and from there he viewed the country. He descended from this mountain into the Wolf Creek Valley, and was detected by a party of marauding Indians, who followed him, but whom he discovered in time to make preparations for his escape. He headed for a large hollow poplar tree which stood about a third of a mile west of the present site of the Wolf Creek post-office, near the Broad Run church. He managed to crawl into the hollow of this tree and climbed up the hollow, bracing himself against the sides, and there remained until the Indians gave up the search. He could hear them talking and walking around the tree, but they evidently decided it was impossible for a man to be inside of it. This tree remained standing until 1860, when it became dangerous from decay and was cut down. After the departure of the Indians he came out of his hiding place, and there located a claim to the land round about, and cut his name in a beech tree near the spring on the farm now owned by Mrs. Cornelius Leach, entered his tomahawk or corn title and cut a brush heap at the same place. He then left, and returned in a year or two, and brought his wife and son Joseph, and built his house a few yards north at what is known as the Conner Spring. In this house he lived and his son, Michael, was born there on the 29th of September, 1753. This child was the first white male child born in the territory of Monroe County, if not within the present territorial limits of Southern West Virginia. There is a tradition that there had been a girl born before this date within that territory, but if so, all history thereof is lost. This house, built by this pioneer, still remains in splendid condition, and it was from this house that his son, Joseph, was stolen by the Shawnee Indians in 1756, at the age of five years, and kept a prisoner with them near Chillicothe, Ohio, for nine years. After formally settling his family in this new home, Joseph, the settler, decided to visit his people in Pennsylvania and look after his interest in his father's estate. On this trip his horse threw him, fractured his leg where it had once been fractured by an Indian bullet, and from this wound he died, and where his place of burial is no one knows".

Joseph's life and family are accounted in The History of Monroe County West Virginia, by Oren F. Morton, B. Lit., Originally Published: Staunton, Virginia, 1916, Reprinted, Regional Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1988, pgs. 494-506.

"Joseph, was stolen by the Shawnee Indians in 1756, at the age of five years, and kept a prisoner with them near Chillicothe, Ohio, for nine years. Joseph, who was taken to the Indian village, was adopted by the queen of the tribe, who was said to have been Cornstalk's mother. He was treated with royalty and saved from death and many hardships. An Indian boy one day located a skunk near the camp, and induced his white comrade into making an investigation for game, the result being that he was thoroughly fumigated. Bent on revenge, and not large enough to whip the Indian, he waited his opportunity, and when the Indian boy started to kindle a fire with steel and flint, Swope placed some powder where the fire would ignite it, and when he got down to blow the smoke into a blaze, the powder ignited and blew out both eyes of the Indian. The Indian tribe took up the matter, and Swope was sentenced to death, and it was here the good offices of the old queen came in. She was a silent spectator to his sentence of death; then she quietly exercised her authority, took charge of her adopted boy, and told the Indians they had taught him nothing but revenge, and that this boy had a right to resent the treatment of the Indian; so saying, she led him to her wigwam, and the sentence was set aside and his life saved. The boy was returned to his parents by reason of the treaty following the battle of Point Pleasant".

I have found a discrepancy in the following account of Joseph's capture by the Shawnee Indians. It states that he was stolen in 1756 and kept for nine years - this would have been in 1765 and put him at age 14 when he was returned. However, it also states that he was returned after the Battle of Point Pleasant - this battle took place on October 10, 1774, so clearly there is a mistake somewhere. Joseph was clearly married by 1774 and most likely took part in the actual battle.