09 June 2008

John Valentine "Felda" Ashabranner [????-????]

>>> John Valentine "Felda" Ashabranner is the son of Urban Aschenbrenner and Anna Maria Balty. The confirmation John Valentin and his sister Maria Esther were mentioned in the diary of Johann G Arends a pioneer Lutheran Minister. John appeared in a 1778 Burke County petition using the name of "Felda" alongside his other brothers, Henry, Urban, and Phillip. This petition requested that the governor consider the area where they lived to remain as Tryon County. Felda probably derived from the nickname "Felty" used for the German name "Valentin". He must have died sometime after the 1778 petition signing, because no other documents have been found and no mention of him was made in Urban's will.

>>> Don't know where this descendant belongs. Look at my Descendants of Urban Aschenbrenner Chart to see how the relationships stack-up.




Sources and Citations




Diary Entry of Reverend Johann G Arends:

>>> Johann G Arends was a pioneer Lutheran Minister that served in several North Carolina counties including Lincoln County. Listed below are confirmations noted in his diary.

  • Johan Valentin Asschenbrenner [4]
  • Maria Ester Assenbrennen [4]

Source:

  1. North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal, Volume: VIII, Number: 4 November 1982 - Article: A List of Children of Settlers of German Descent in Central North Carolina, 1775-1791; Page: 194; Translated By: Ute-Ingrid Seidler; Published/Publisher: [1982] North Carolina Genealogical Society, P.O.Box 1492, Raleigh, NC 27602-1492



1778 Burke County Petition


>>> On 25 December 1778, residents of the newly reformed Burke County petitioned the Governor to remain a part of Tryon Co., NC. This included four of Urban's sons, Henry, Urban, Jr., Phillip, and Felda (John Valentine). All four brothers signed a Burke County petition in 1778/9 requesting the governor to consider the area where they lived to remain as Tryon County. It is not clear if they were living on their father's property, nor is it certain that the named Orband (Urban) was senior or junior, although it was likely Urban, Jr. This petition would never become reality since Tryon County was abolished in 1779 and replaced by the newly created Lincoln and Rutherford Counties. Many of these long time residences were again affected as neighboring county lines were again redrawn.

>>> This document shows the earliest consensus of the adopted spelling in the family name. All four of Urban's sons clearly signed their name using the "Ashabraner" spelling. Before 1778, Urban's signature appeared to vary greatly, resulting in a multitude of interpretations in spelling. The spellings varied to such an extent that I had only his first name and the location of the found document to go by to confirm the connection. There may yet be undiscovered documents waiting to be found. It is likely that the final variation in the spelling of this family name was meant to be "Ashabranner". This family name is phonetically simple and easy to pronounce. It is ironic that while researching my family that I would find this name so commonly misspelled. This presented to me an unusual circumstance to solve. How many spellings exist today which stem from Urban? I know of at least 6 variations: (In order of the highest common appearance in numbers.) [Date of the earliest known use.]

  • Aschenbrenner [1740]
  1. Ashabranner
  2. Ashabraner [1778]
  3. Asherbranner
  4. Asherbraner
  5. Ashabrann
  6. Ashabran

>>> I believe that there may be other variations in spelling used today. I am interested in understanding how each variation became created and when it derived. Please contact me if you share any of the above variations and when you believe it changed. Include your ancestral line. >>> There also seemed to be a strange but common circumstance of flip-flopping the spelling from one generation to the next and back again. [ie: Ashabraner to Ashabranner to Ashabraner]

Source:

  1. German Speaking People West of the Catawba River in North Carolina 1750-1800; Compiled/Edited By: Lorena Shell Eaker; Page: 35-6; Published/Publisher: [1994] SCK Publications, P.O.Box 2125, Church Hill, TN 37642.



German Speaking People West of the Catawba River in North Carolina 1750-1800; Compiled/Edited By: Lorena Shell Eaker; Page: 35-6, 70-1; Published/Publisher: [1994] SCK Publications, P.O.Box 2125, Church Hill, TN 37642.

  • This is a great source for understanding the families who settled along the Catawba River. A well research book.






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