52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge - Week 7 - Love.

 For this week's challenge, I chose Jean Valentine Ranc.  He has the "Valentine" name and he is my 8x great grandfather.  I met my first wikitree collaborator while working on this family, cousin SJ Baty.  We both contributed to dispelling the myths and fraudulent claims about our ancestors. I am really proud of the work that we did on the Ranck family.  I love it!

Rev Jean Valentine [uncertain] Ranc aka Ranck

Born about 1641 in Paris, France [uncertain]

Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]

[sibling(s) unknown]

[spouse(s) unknown]

Descendants

Father of Hans Valentine Ranck

Died 27 Dec 1712 in Neckarau, Mannheim, Holy Roman Empire

Categories: Huguenot Migration | Gustave Anjou Fraud | Ranck Name Study.

Jean Ranc was a Huguenot emigrant. Join: Huguenot Migration Project Discuss: huguenot

Disproven parents

NOTE: not the same person as Jean Duranc de Vibrac sieur de Coussargues^{[1] [2]}
NOTE: This profile was previously linked as son to parents seigneur Etienne du Ranc seigneur de Vibrac et de Saint Nazaire and Jeanne (Pelet) de Pelet de Combas. These links have been disproven. Please do not connect this profile to these parents - this widely circulated lineage has been disproven - see the note below and in the profile comments.
NOTE: There is a known Gustave Anjou (known fraudster) genealogy that exists for Jean Ranc. We know, through source documents that Jean Ranc exists but the Anjou genealogy casts doubt on much of the early history of Jean, notably that he originates from France and that he was a Huguenot refugee.^[3]

Biography

This profile is part of the Ranck Name Study.

The first authentic record for this Ranck family is a 1699 entry in the Neckarau church’s marriage register for Philip's mother and father.

1699: On 17 Febr., HANS VELTIN RANCK, son of VELTIN RANCK, here, was married to MARGRETH, daughter of the late HEINRICH PHILIPES, former citizen of Mannheim. ^[3]

Huguenot or Not?

In "Ranck Family Research Summary", John Ranck presents what is known and not known about the Ranck family's Huguenot origins. Anyone who is interested in the research of John P. Ranck can read his family research summary here.

"A Huguenot or Moravian Connection?

I have been working with Art Lawton, Moravian historian currently completing his PhD in American Folk History at Indiana University, to try to sort out the fact and fiction in our family's connection with the Moravians, a protestant sect that, in France, could have been classified as "Huguenot." "

"The existence of other Rancks in the area at the same time clearly suggests that our Pennsylvania family is/was/could have been part of a larger German family of Rancks -- rather than Huguenot refugees from Paris as related in the family legends for which I have (thus far) been unable to find any hard evidence."^[3]
Jean died 27 December 1712 In Neckarau, Germany.^[4]

Disputed Origins

An incorrect connection between Jean Ranc and noble parents Etienne Duranc de Vibrac and Jeanne de Pelet de Combas has circulated widely on the internet. Most of the ancestry websites carry this myth and it has been accepted as fact for several years. However, records do exist that show that Jean Ranc is a different person than Jean Duranc de Vibrac sieur de Coussargues.
The Ranc-Duranc myth was propagated widely after J. Allan Ranck's "The Rank of the Rancks" was published in 1978. This book suggested that a connection existed between the Ranc and Duranc families. J. Allan Ranck suggested a connection but offered no evidence or sources to back such a claim.^[5]
John P. Ranck's "What do we really know about the origins or our Ranck family," goes even farther calling into question the origin of Jean Ranc. John Ranck points out that it is only through family legend that we attribute a French nativity to Jean and explains that the official record of the Ranc/Ranck family begin in Germany. Further, he points out that a Ranc family tree was created by known fraudster and today we don't know how much of the family tradition was passed down within the Ranck family and how much was inserted as a result of the bogus ancestry research.^[3]
There is a record that a Jean Du Ranc at Aubenas who converted to Protestantism and baptized his 3 sons at the Reformed Church at Aubenas.^[6] This Jean however, was born in the 16th century. It is possible that, because he shared the name with the Jean of this profile that some connection was assumed. While there is no evidence connecting these Du Ranc members to Jean Ranc, further study on this topic is warranted.

Religion

Lutheran (Huguenot) [Uncertain]

Research Notes

NOTE: There is a G2G discussion topic open for this profile: https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/576672/researching-huguenot-reverand-jean-ranc

Sources

1. ↑ Francis de STORDEUR. "https://gw.geneanet.org/fdst?lang=fr&iz=65764&p=jean&n=du+ranc+de+vibrac&oc=1." Geneanet. Accessed 17 March 2018.
2. ↑ Judgement of nobility (reading of the will of Bernadin du Ranc de Vibrac), signed 5 Dec 1668 in Montpellier, France. Accessed on 17 March 2018 at: http://jac.deschard.pagesperso-orange.fr/Page%20C.htm
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} Ranck, John P., What do we really know about …The Origins of our Ranck family? " 5 March, 2013. http://jpranck.net/JPR/MiscGenealogyDocs/What%20do%20we%20really%20know.pdf." J. P. Ranck Genealogy. Accessed 17 Mar 2018.
4. ↑ Neckarau Church records. Accessed [[Baty-260|SJ Baty 8 June 2018 at http://ranck.org/J251/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=745.
5. ↑ Ranck, J. Allen. The Rank of Rancks. Lebanon, PA: Sowers Printing Co., 1978. http://ranck.org/J251/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=415&Itemid=671
6. ↑ Dictionary of old or notable French families at the end of the 19th century. Paris, France: Charles & Paul Herrisey., 1917. p. 173. Accessed 23 March 2018 at https://archive.org/stream/dictionnairedesf15chai/dictionnairedesf15chai_djvu.txt

 

 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge - Week 6 -  Surprise.

For this week's challenge I picked my 3x great grandfather Thomas Shaylor.  I was got quite a surprised a few weeks ago while watching a repeat episode of Louis Gate's "Finding Your Roots" featuring the ancestry of the author Stephen King. 

Dr. Gates was discussing Stephen's ancestors who were Quakers that migrated to Jay County, Indiana in the early 1800s.  He opened a book to show Stephen King a sketch of his Bowdin ancestor in a Jay County history book.  On the facing page, I see the large type heading that read "Thomas Shaylor". 
I was paused the program to confirm that I saw that name as I have a ancestor with that name that was in Jay County at the time.  I had not done much research on him to that point besides citing an 1850 U.S. Census record.

 I was intrigued to find this book and what it had to say about my 3x great grandfather Thomas Shaylor.  I found the book, I was surprised even more when I read about him. 
He was described as shiftless and a drunk.  He was arrested for assault and battery and the book included an anecdote about him moving my 3x great grandmother, Jane Simmons (a Quaker) and their young children 15 miles from any settler to a shanty without floors, chinking or a fireplace in the winter.  He left them there to go to a mill but went on a nine day bender instead.  Poor Jane was preparing to pull her 4 children by sled to the nearest neighbor when he showed up again. Wow!  He was also described as a Frontiersman who went with Fremont and Carson on their western expeditions.  I have not been able to further corroborate that fact but if true, it meant he left the family on their own again.

I think his father Maj. Joseph Shaylor would have been surprised too. Joseph was a decorated office in the American Revolution and in his last will and testament he expressed his desire for Thomas to be educated if possible at West Point and at a minimum at the Lancastrian Seminary in Cincinnati. I guess Thomas thought differently.

Biography

Birth

Thomas was born about 1802 in Union Township, Clermont, Ohio, to Joseph Shaylor and his second wife Mary whose last name at birth is unknown and who was the widow of a man named Fowler before she married Joseph Shaylor.^[1][2]

Union Township, Clermont County, Ohio.

After he resigned from the Army Joseph settled on a "plantation" about sixteen miles from Fort Washington on the east fork of the Little Miami river.^[3] This is where Thomas and his brother and sister were born.

Death of Parents

Thomas's mother Mary died before his father Joseph. His younger brother Samuel was born in 1807 and in Joseph's will he stated that his daughter Sophia had nursed him, "... And it is my will and desire that my Daughter Sophia be handsomely rewarded by my Executors for her nursing me..."^[1] Mary likely died between 1807 and 1815.
His father Joseph made his will on March 1, 1816 and his will was probated the same year in Clermont County, Ohio.^[1] Thomas was just fourteen when his father died and was left an orphan along with his nine year old brother Samuel. ^[1]

Early Years

It is uncertain where Thomas lived after the death of his father in 1816.
His half-sister Lucy Shaylor and her husband Jarius Mix were living in Clermont County, Ohio in 1820 and they had males that match the ages of Thomas and Samuel in the 1820 census.^[4] Another possibility is that Joseph and his brother Samuel are living with their sister Sophia and her husband Elias Porter in Miami, Clermont County, Ohio in 1820. Elias has three males aged 10 through 15 living in his household for the U.S. Census. ^[5]
Joseph's will explicitly provided for Thomas and Samuel to both receive an education.^[1]

"...rents arising from the Lands to be applied to their support and education in the Lancastrian Seminary in Cincinnati or same other academical institution, and if possible (my heart glows with the prospect, I have served my Country more than 38 years with applause and have 3 times received the thanks of the immortal Washington at the head of the Regiment and I die almost a beggar) I say if possible in the Military academy at West Point. ..."

It doesn't appear that Thomas followed his father's desires but became a blacksmith and "Frontiersman" of the American West.^[6] He is described in the Biographical Memoirs of Jay County, Indiana as "...blacksmith, noted hunter and Indian fighter..He was in the west with Fremont, in the Rocky mountains and on the plains." ^[7]

Marriage

Thomas Shaylor married Jane Simmons on June 22, 1826 in Randolph, Indiana.^[8]

Children

Thomas and Jane had the following children:^[2]

1. Rebeca Shaylor b. 1829
2. Isabella Shaylor b. 1832
3. John Shaylor b. 1836
4. Lucinda Shaylor b. 1838
5. Ellen Shaylor b. 1845
6. Samuel Vance Shaylor b. 1848

Early Settler of Indiana

Thomas was named in the court records of Randolph County, Indiana in 1828 where he was indited for assault and battery. He pleaded guilty and was fined $1 and costs and was to stand committed until paid.^[9] Thomas and Jane were living in Randolph County when their first child Rebecca was born about 1829.^[2]

Randolph County, Indiana.

"It was during this year (1831) that Thomas Shaylor moved into the county, occupying the vacated "shanties" of Mr Hawkins until he could build a cabin."^[10] The cabin the Thomas and Jane first resided was described as "without floor or chinking, the ground had been swept so much that there was quite a whole in the middle of the floor".^[10]
In 1882, Joseph C. Hawkins related a story about Thomas from the early 1830s when he went with him to the mill near Antioch, Jay County, Indiana. He and Thomas were to be gone a day or two but had been away from home from nine days and according to Hawkins, "his wife and family were starving". He described Thomas as " a drunken shiftless fellow boasting of being half-Indian" while Jane was described, "His wife was an excellent woman with four children; all girls. She was there in the woods, ten miles from any settler. Their cabin had no fireplace, floor, nor chimney, no daubing nor chinking and the snow was eight inches deep; everything was frozen up, and they had nothing to eat." Jane was preparing to take her children by sled fifteen miles to the nearest cabin of Mrs. Hawkins. Thomas returned the same night that Jane was preparing to leave the cabin.^[11]
The author of the History of Randolph County added a note that reads:

[ Note - This Tom Shaler was the same the James Porter found "squatted" on the land that Porter entered and afterward, northwest part of Jackson township, Randolph County. Shaler moved from there near to Liber, and soon after that to near Camden. This incident took place about 1833. Joseph Hawkins' father moved to Jay County in 1829. He died in 1833, and they were "roughing" it up there in the Jay County woods, a poor widow with a large family. ] "

The "fourth family to settle in Jay County was Thomas J. Shaylor, a blacksmith, and a noted Indian fighter. In later days he went West, and was with Kit Carson and General Fremont on the piains, but finally returned. His remains now lie near Pennvllle.^[12]
By November the family moved to a cabin that Thomas built upon a branch of the Salimonie near Madison township. Their daughter Isabella was born in Jay county in 1832.^[2] In 1833 the family moved again to become one of the first settlers of Green township.^[10]

William Simmons - Lost and Found

The History of Jay County, Indiana includes a story about William Simmons, Jane's older brother who came from Henry County, Indiana to visit Thomas and Jane in 1832. He became lost for three days and deep snow covered the ground. Thomas was said to have been drinking for several days with "some boon companions from Mississinewa". He and other neighbors went out to find William. He was found on the knoll where Liber College now stands. When he was found he was in terrible condition. He lost a leg and toes and the heal of this remaining leg and was left an invalid.^[10]

The history of Jay County states that a man named William Coffin was living with Thomas and Jane in 1832. He had a son named Greenbury Coffin that was mentioned in the same book.^[10] He is most likely William Greenbury Coffin who was born in 1771 in New Garden, North Carolina.^[13]
This birth date would match the 1830 census record which included two males aged 30 to 39 living in Thomas Shaylor's household. ^[14] The 1830 census includes two males aged 30 to 39 and Thomas was 28 at the time of this census so one of these individuals could be Coffin.^[14]
A further connection to New Garden is through Jane's mother Abigail Starbuck Simmons who was born in New Garden, Guilford, North Carolina. The Starbuck and the Coffin families were Quakers who migrated to North Carolina from Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. William Greenbury Coffin was the first cousin of Jane Simmon's maternal grandfather William Starbuck.
Joseph Williamson was named as a young man living with Thomas in 1832, According to the History of Jay County, Thomas and Joseph dug the grave for the first settler, John Hawkins, who died in Jay county. Thomas is named among those who attended the burial on March 16, 1832.^[10]
In 1835 Thomas put an advertisement in the local paper regarding two horses that were found stray in Randolph County. ^[15] Thomas and Jane had a son named John born about 1836 and a daughter named Lucinda born in 1838 while still in Indiana.^[2]
In March 1838, Thomas was the first settler and William Coffin was the second of Green township.^[10]

Frontiersman of the American West

Thomas was one of the men that accompanied John Frémont on his explorations of the west as stated in the Biographical Memoirs of Jay County, Indiana^[7]

"He was in the west with Fremont, in the Rocky mountains and on the plains.

Map of expedition 1842 and 1843-44 .

Beginning in 1842, John Frémont led five western expeditions. A series of seven maps produced from his findings, published by the Senate in 1846, served as a guide for thousands of American emigrants, depicting the entire length of the Oregon Trail.^[16]
Biographical and Historical Record of Jay and Blackford Counties, Indiana. contains the following passage about Thomas:^[17]
"He was a blacksmith by occupation, but was a noted Indian fighter. In later years, he went West, and was with Fremont and Kit Carson among the mountains and on the plains, but he finally returned to this county and died near Camden where he is buried."

Sutter's Fort.

In 1842 Frémont and twenty-five men journeyed for five months exploring the land between Missouri and the Rocky Mountains. The second expedition in 1843 again included Kit Carson as well as Charles Preuss, who continued to produce excellent topographic maps of all terrain they passed through. Their route took them along the Snake River to the Columbia River into Oregon—a route that became the Oregon Trail.^[18]
They reached the Cascade Mountains, turned south into California, and became the first to see and describe Lake Tahoe, then turned west to the site of Sacramento. The published report and map from this expedition became a guide for thousands of immigrants who came to Oregon and California.^[18] In August 1844, Frémont and his party finally arrived back in St. Louis, enthusiastically received by the people, ending the journey that lasted over one year.^[19]

Migration to Missouri

After his return from the west in about 1845 Thomas and the family migrated west to Cedar District, Cedar, Missouri. Thomas is recorded in a land record in Cedar on August 10, 1850 where he purchased 160 acres.^[20]

Death in Indiana

Sometime after 1850 Thomas moved back to Jay County, Indiana where he passed away.^[17] A primary source is needed for his death.
His son Samuel Vance Shaylor was left an orphan at the age of 13 and was counted in the 1860 census in Pennville, Jay County, Indiana in the household of his first cousin Francis Porter, the son of his aunt Sophia Shaylor.^[21]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} "Ohio Probate Records, 1789-1996," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89MK-PX5L?cc=1992421&wc=S24W-K6N%3A266274501%2C266293301 : 1 July 2014), Clermont > Wills 1810-1821 vol A-B > image 233 of 551; county courthouses, Ohio. [link].
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDZ7-T32 : 12 April 2016), Thomas J Shaylor, Cedar county, Cedar, Missouri, United States; citing family 369, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

   Name Thomas J Shaylor

   Event Type Census

   Event Year 1850

   Event Place Cedar county, Cedar, Missouri, United States

   Gender Male

   Age 48

   Race White

   Birth Year (Estimated) 1802

   Birthplace Ohio

   House Number 369

   Thomas J Shaylor M 48 Ohio

   Jane Shaylor F 35 Indiana

   Rebeca Shaylor F 22 Indiana

   Isebella Shaylor F 18 Indiana

   John Shaylor M 14 Indiana

   Lucinda Shaylor F 12 Indiana

   Ellen Shaylor F 5 Missouri

   Samul Shaylor M 2 Missouri

3. ↑ Williams, Byron. History of Clermont and Brown Counties, Ohio: From the Earliest Historical times down to the Present. Salem, MA: Higginson Book, 1997. pg. 244 Archive.org
4. ↑ Fourth Census of the United States, 1820. (NARA microfilm publication M33, 142 rolls). 1820 U S Census; Census Place: Batavia, Clermont, Ohio; Page: 82; NARA Roll: M33_89; Image: 56. Ancestry.com. 1820 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/7734/4093881_00056/299187
5. ↑ 1820 U S Census; Census Place: Miami, Clermont, Ohio; Page: 108; NARA Roll: M33_89; Image: 69. Ancestry.com. 1820 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/7734/4093881_00069
6. ↑ "Frontiersman" is a term to describe men who explored and fought to claim the country's vast wilderness during its early, volatile years, from the American Revolution through the California Gold Rush. See: American Frontier and Frontier.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Bowen, B.F. Biographical Memoirs of Jay County, Indiana: A Comprehensive Compendium of Biography ; Memoirs of Eminent Men and Women in Jay County, Whose Deeds of Valor or Works of Merit Have Made Their Names Imperishable. Portland, IN: Jay County Genealogy Society, 2008. pg. 253 https://books.google.com/books?id=Rk80AQAAMAAJ
8. ↑ "Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5PM-XKR : 10 December 2017), Thomas Shaylor and Jane Simmons, 22 Jun 1826; citing Randolph, Indiana, United States, various county clerk offices, Indiana; FHL microfilm 1,654,838.

   Name Thomas Shaylor

   Event Type Marriage Registration

   Event Date 22 Jun 1826

   Event Place Randolph, Indiana, United States

   Gender Male

   Marriage License Date 20 Jun 1826

   Spouse's Name Jane Simmons

   Spouse's Gender Female

   Officiator's Name Wm Massey

   Page 55

   Number of Images 1

9. ↑ Tucker, E., History of Randolph County, Indiana with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers. https://archive.org/details/historyofrandolp00tuck/page/n95
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6} Jay, Milton T., and M. W. Montgomery. History of Jay County, Indiana: Originally Published as Vol. II of a 2-volume Set That Included the Montgomery History. Indianapolis: Historical Pub., 1978. Indiana. Chapter VIII. Settlers and incidents of 1831 and 1832 on page 91
11. ↑ "History of Randolph County, Indiana with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers : To Which Are Appended Maps of Its Several Townships : Tucker, Ebenezer : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming." Full Text of "Passing". January 01, 1882. Accessed January 27, 2019. https://archive.org/details/historyofrandolp00tuck/page/n137.
12. ↑ "EARLY LIFE IN JAY COUNTY." Daily Tribune 1 April 1917 - Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana's Digital Historic Newspaper Program. Accessed January 26, 2019. https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=INN18991018-01.1.9.
13. ↑ Guilford College; Greensboro, North Carolina; Women's Minutes, 1843-1892; Collection: North Carolina Yearly Meeting Minutes. Ancestry.com. U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935 [database on-line]. https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2189/40642_290976-00488
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1} Original data: Fifth Census of the United States, 1830. (NARA microfilm publication M19, 201 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. 1830; Census Place: Ward, Randolph, Indiana; Series: M19; Roll: 29; Page: 33; Family History Library Film: 0007718 https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/8058/4410755_00073
15. ↑ Taken Up: by Thomas J. Shaylor. Richmond Weekly Palladium. (Richmond, Indiana) 10 Jan 1835, Saturday. First Edition. Page 3 (newspapers,com) https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24291159/richmond_weekly_palladium/?xid=637
16. ↑ Richards, Leonard L. (2007). The California Gold Rush and the Coming of the Civil War. New York, New York: Vintage Books Random House Inc. ISBN 978-0-307-27757-2. pp. 46–47.
17. ↑ ^{17.0 17.1} "Biographical and Historical Record of Jay and Blackford Counties, Indiana." Google Books. Accessed January 26, 2019. https://books.google.com/books?id=uquAlUBChG4C&pg=PA289&lpg=PA289&dq=Thomas J. Shaylor&source=bl&ots=WLCpHDYsRx&sig=ACfU3U0MYkDQyNsBnapytagQenO5d7Z2sQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjA5ZbcwozgAhXrTN8KHRiBD2YQ6AEwAXoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=Shaylor&f=false.
18. ↑ ^{18.0 18.1} "John C. Frémont: Claiming the West." New World Exploration. Accessed January 26, 2019. https://www.newworldexploration.com/explorers-tales-blog/john-c-fremont-claiming-the-west.
19. ↑ Nevins, Allan (1931). Allen Johnson; Dumas Malone, eds. Dictionary of American Biography Frémont, John Charles. 7. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 19–23.
20. ↑ United States. Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records. Automated Records Project; Federal Land Patents, State Volumes. http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/. Springfield, Virginia: Bureau of Land Management, Eastern States, 2007. https://glorecords.blm.gov/details/patent/default.aspx?accession=1008-371&docClass=MW&sid=bry4c1kx.lff
21. ↑ "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4FP-ZT8 : 13 December 2017), Samuel Shaler in entry for Francis Porter, 1860.

Notes

1830 census

Free White Persons - Males - 20 thru 29: 1 Thomas b. 1802 (28)

Free White Persons - Males - 30 thru 39: 2 (William Coffin and Joseph Williamson) ?

Free White Persons - Females - Under 5: 3 Rebecca b. 1828 and ? ?

Free White Persons - Females - 20 thru 29: 1 Jane b. 1807 (23)