| Home Surname List Name Index Sources Email Us | First Generation1. Valentin John Paul LEONARD was born on 23 October 1718 in Katzenbach, Altenkirchen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. He died on 13 November 1781 at the age of 63 in Rowen, NC. He came to Philadelphia in 1746, probably with his wife.
He was a tailor by trade and may have followed this occupation for several years after arriving in Philadelphia. The records of the First Re formed Church of Philadelphia show that his son, John Peter Leonhart,w as baptized there on Mar. 14, 1748 and that his wife's name was Elizab eth Wallacher. The Centennial History of Davidson County, North Carolina indicates that the family may have arrived there by 175 4 but there is a period of several years during which their residence is unknown. In Davidson County, North Carolina, which was formally part of Rowan County, the family made its home on a large tract of land (Lord Granville and Henry McCulloch land) between Abbott's Creek and Leonard's Creek . In 1754 a nearby site was selected for a Reformed Church which for m any years was known as Leonard's Church. At this time the church building has been replaced for the third time. The cemetery to the west contains many ancient German markers and Leonard's Creek is along the west side of the cemetery. Nearby a two story manor house was constructed . When the Revolutionary War broke out Valentin Leonhardt had a consider able amount of gold coin on hand. He took a piece of walnut timber three inches square and 20 inches long, bored a hole in it, put the coin s inside and then closed up the hole. This was then hidden in the cellar wall under his house with only he and his son, Jacob, knowing the exact location. Here it remained until after the Revolution. When the Revolutionary War broke out Valentin Leonhardt took the side of the Patriots without hesitation by immediately enlisting in the arm y at the age of 55. Before the war was over he and each of his sons had seen service. He was very influential in getting the German community to support the Revolution and this fact created great hatred for hi m among the Tories. The last battle in which he fought was that of Guilford Court House about 30 miles from his home. It was on March 15, 1781 between Cornwallis and General Green. The British had bayonets but the Patriots did not . This made it necessary for the Patriots to form several battle lines . After firing their guns the front line would retreat to the rear to reload. It was necessary to maintain this procedure while the battle lasted. This had the double disadvantage of exposing the backs of the re treating line to British fire and the wounded who could not retreat were overrun by the British line. After the Guilford battle Cornwallis moved toward Virginia and Valentin Leonhardt went to his home. On Sept. 2, 1781 a band of Tories came there and shot him. He lived until the 13th of Sept. before passing away. A Patriot neighbor, Wooldrich Fritz was also killed by the same ban d. On July 4, 1896 a tall marble shaft was dedicated to the two neighbors and Patriots in the presence of 10,000 citizens. Valentin Leonhardt's name is on the north side and Wooldrich Fritz's on the south. The monument is at their graves in the Leonhardt cemetery, later known as the Pilgrim Cemetery. On the footstone in English is the inscription "Be eath this stone doth now remain an ancient man by murder slain". The following was supplied by Jeri Walsh, Huachuca City, AZ, 520-456-1 523 by internet on 8/22/97: "Valentine Leonardt (original spelling) took passage from Rotterham, N etherlands on the ship 'Neptune' during the high tide of immigration fr om Germany. The ship reached the port of Philadelphia, October 25, 174 6. He took the oath of allegiance to the Province and State of Pennsylvania. Just how long he stayed in Pennsylvania, there are no records at hand to show, but if he tarried at all in Pennsylvania, it was onlyf or a few days. Valentine came to North Carolina in 1746 and settled o n Leonhardt's Creek, a branch of Abbot's Creek in Rowan County, NorthC arolina. Valentine Leonhardt took the side of the Patriots in the Revolutionary War. Some of the German settlers in North Carolina were Tories. This was, in a sense, natural since the English had offered to the persecuted Germans an asylum in the new world. Valentine was past 55 years o f age at the outbreak of the war, but he enlisted just the same, and b efore the close of the war all his sons had also enlisted. The last battle in which they fought was that of Guifford Court House between Cornwallis and General Greene, March 15, 1781, thirty miles distant from the Leonhardt farm. After this battle General Greene's army was partly disbanded and Valentine and his sons returned home. There were many Tories in North Carolina and they hated the Patriots. It happened that neighbors were often on opposite sides in battle. Thi s was notably true in the battle of Ramsour's Mill in Lincoln County, and at Guilford Courthouse in Guilford County. Valentine Leonardt did not escape the malice of the Tories. They were very bitter against him, and planned to take his life. Eight months after the battle at Guilford, on November 2, 1781, some Tories (reputably led by Col. Fannon and perhaps some from this general area) holding malice toward Valentine for his position on freedom, crept up to the lower closed section of the door to his house. Valentine was resting in front of the old fashioned open fireplace. Supper was over and the farm hands had gone to their places of rest. The Revolutionary Patriot sat peacefully meditating quietly in the gathering gloom of night. Suddenly, unexpectedly, a gunshot rang out at the open door; the hero, the gallant soldier fell to the floor. The clean uncarpeted floor ran red with the master's blood. The perpetrators of the black deed, this bloody crime, this gruesome tragedy, were Tories, They hated t he man because he was a Patriot and stood for American independence. The cruel murderers, thinking that they had executed their design when t hey saw the old man fall to the floor, fled into the adjacent forest and escaped. The murderers were never positively identified, though family and friends had well-grounded convictions as to the primary actors in this foul crime. The murderers fled thinking that they had killed Leonhardt on the spot. He was in fact mortally wounded, though he live d until the thirteenth of the month, when his spirit took its flight from the fallen temple which had been his home for sixty-three years. On the same night a similar murderous tragedy was enacted on the neigh boring farm of Wooldrich Fritz. Fritz was also a Revolutionary War soldier. He had enlisted in the army with Valentine Leonhardt, and had re turned home with him after the battle of Guilford Courthouse. While one band of Tories went to Leonhardt's house, another went to the home of Fritz and shot him. At the crack of the gun the man fell dead on th e spot. The murderers here, also made their escape. The bodies of these two soldiers lie side by side in the Leonhardt's C hurch grave-yard. Soapstone slabs mark the graves of these two Patriot s. On the head of Fritz's grave is the inscription: 'Wooldrich Fritz, deceased November the second, 1781, aged 50 years. Remember me as you pass by; As you are now, so once was I; As I am now, so must you be; Pre pare therefore to follow me.' The stone at the foot of the grave has these words on it: 'Lo, here doth lifeless Wooldrich lie, cut off by murder's cruelty.' The inscription on Valentine's tombstone is written in German. A loose translation is as follows: Valentine Leonhardt was born at Katzenbach, in the Electorate of Palatinate, October 13, 1718 and died Novembe r 13, 1781. 'Here now lies a handful of ashes washed in the blood of Christ.' On the stone at the foot of his grave are the following lines in English: 'Beneath this stone doth now remain An ancient man by murder slain.' These graves had no other monument to mark the last resting place of t heir heroic dead until the year 1896, when citizens of the community decided to erect over them a handsomer and more pretentious stone. Popular subscriptions were taken to defray the expenses and the people contributed liberally. A tall marble shaft was erected on a broad and strong concrete base. On the north side of this stone is the name of Leonhardt, with the dates of birth and death; on the south side is the same concerning Fritz. On the east face of the die are the words: 'This monument was erected by citizens A.D. 1896 out of veneration for our br ave dead. These men were of those who fought for and gained out liberty. Unveiled with appropriate ceremonies July 4, 1896' On the west face are the words: 'The heroes buried in this spot were cruelly assassinated in their own homes by Tories near the close of the Revolutionary War . They were Patriots and bravely fought for American Independence.' On the forth day of July, A.D. 1896, one hundred and fifteen years after the death of these patriots who died as martyrs to American independence, this handsome monument was unveiled in the presence of ten thousand people. The memory of these brave men is fondly cherished not only by numerous descendants, but by the citizenship of the entire community. Peaceful be the slumbers of the brave heroes who sleep beneath th is shaft." Sources: Name : Will dated 22 Aug 1779 Birth Date: Reform Note: Valentin Leonhardt sailed down the Rhine River to Holland where he too k passage from Rotterdam on the ship Neptune with Captain Thomas Wilki nson, arriving at the port of Philadelphia on October 25, 1746. He too k the oath of allegiance and signed his name in German script. This signature is translated as Valladin Leonhardt. His name was later accepted as Valentin Leonhardt. Valentin was married in about 1747 to Elizabeth Wallacher as listed in the records of the Old First Reformed Churc h in Philadelphia at the time of their son Peter's baptism. He was a tailor by trade for the years he spent in Philadelphia. Valentin stayed in Pennsylvania for about eight years. By this time, t he English and Scotch-Irish had already settled most of the best land . Many Germans nevertheless settled in Bucks, Berks, and Lancaster Counties. Valentin, along with many other German immigrants brought his f amily down one of the Great Wagon Roads through the Shenandoah Valleyi n Virginia. From time to time families would drop out and settle down . Thus we have a stream of German settlers in the Shenandoah and in th e Piedmont section of North Carolina. The migration ended at about th e South Carolina line; however, the great majority of the immigrants settled in Rowan County, which embraced about thirty of the present counties of North Carolina. Valentin Leonhardt purchased several tracts of land between Abbott's C reek and Leonard's Creek, from Lord Granville, through the Lord's agent, Henry McCulloh. McCulloh was the agent appointed by Lord Granvillet o collect rents in Carolina and, when land was sold to settlers, to ma ke the proper deeds. Lord Granville also deeded several large tracts of land to McCulloh himself, and the latter disposed of his own holding s to settlers. It will be remembered that Lord Granville was one of th e eight Lords Proprietors who held this part of Carolina when the seven surrendered their interests back to the King. This large tract of la nd is near the present town of Lexington, North Carolina. After moving to North Carolina, Valentine became a farmer as his fathe r had been in Germany. His estate covered many hundreds of acres of la nd, and he had many horses, cattle, sheep and hogs. It is not positive ly known whether he was a slaveholder or not. None are named in his wi ll along with other bequests. However, he may have owned slaves, as th ey would have been included in the clause, "my personal estate wholly. " His sons, as is shown by their several wills, were large slaveholder s. Until a few years ago there still lived a very aged colored woman w ho belonged to Philip Leonhardt, one of the sons of Valentin, who came into a large property from his father's estate. Her name was Lucy, a nd she was a remarkable and interesting character. Aunt Lucy did not know her exact age, but facts prove her to be considerably over one hundred years old. Her master Philip died about 1828, and Lucy was a grown woman at the time of his death, which she remembered and described w ith clear vividness. He was taken ill on Saturday night at the home o f his brother, Jacob, where he had gone to spend the night, expecting to attend church on Sunday. Jacob lived at the old home place quite near "Leonhardt's Church." Philip was not able to return home until Monday, and then he lived only a few hours after reaching his house. Lucy testified to the excellent character of her master. She said he was a good Christian man, an officer in the "Dutch Congregation" (Leonhardt's Church), and that he often entertained the preachers in his home. She s aid she and the other colored people on his plantation had to go to church whenever there was preaching, and that the singing and preaching were in "Dutch" (German). Lucy learned to speak German while in this German family and she could speak and understand that tongue as she hea rd it spoken then. By the last will and testament of her master Philip , Lucy came into the possession of his daughter Leah. By a strange oversight the date when this will was made is not written in the instrument itself, which was probated in 1830. The will was Valentin and Elizabeth had eight children: Barbara, Valentine, Michael , Peter, Catherine, Elizabeth, Philip, and Jacob. Our line of Leonard' s is descended from his son Michael. It is also interesting to note th at our Father's Grandfather was named Valentine and his brother who also came to Texas was named Michael. Valentin, his family, and most of his neighbors were members of the Re formed (German) Church. They had brought with them on their trek sout h their Bibles, hymnals, and catechisms. They felt from the beginning of their settlement a real and pressing need for a place of worship; th erefore, about 1753 on a fifty-acre tract of land between the plantations of Philip Sauers on the west and Valentin Leonhardt on the east was set aside a site for a church. This early church was known as "Leonh ardt's Church". This Reformed Church is now known by the name of Pilgrim, or Church of the Pilgrims. The selection of the site of this church forms an interesting incident in the life of Valentin Leonhardt. On e of his nearest neighbors was Jacob Berrier. One day in 1753, the old man Berrier and two or three companions were riding through the country between the Yadkin River and Abbott's Creek. The Indians then still roved through this section of North Carolina. Mr. Berrier and his companions had visited several settlers on the lands between and on the waters of these two streams. These men were neighbors though they live d in some cases many miles apart. About three-quarters of a mile west of Abbott's Creek these gentlemen came to a beautiful spot in a grove of oak, hickory, and sugar maple trees, where was also a spring of sparkling water bubbling up. Here they paused, and Jacob Berrier said to his companions: "God fashioned this place for a house of worship; here we must have a meeting house". First, they built a temporary shelter i n the form of a brush arbor. Soon after, they felled trees and put up a log building that they called to begin with Leonhardt's Church. To the west of the church runs Leonard's creek. For many years, this church served two congregations, the Reformeds and the Lutherans. Having the means to do so, Valentin built for himself and his family a "mansion house" of hewn logs with dimensions of forty by thirty feet two stories high with a massive basement. Two long beans, twelve byfour teen inches, ran through the whole length of the house to support the joists of the upper floor. They were hewn with a broad-axe almost to perfect smoothness, and the lower edges were chamfered. The logs of the w alls were very large; the two bottom ones being twelve by twenty inche s. These bottom logs were rabbeted on the inner side to receive the jo ists for the first floor. The joists themselves were worked out of log s with the broad-axe, and are much larger than A hundred yards distant from the house was large crystal clear spring that was the source of the drinking water. Three hundred yards from the house ran Leonhardt's Creek, on which the pioneer built a grist mill . Barns and granaries were built near the house. Of later significance was the unusual front door to the house, the design brought from th e old country. It was a double door; the upper part could be opened wh ile the lower part remained closed or vice-versa. Often in mild weather the lower door was closed and the upper one left open. Leonhardt was about 58 years old at the outbreak of the American Revol ution, but he did not hesitate to enlist in the American army. Before the close of the war all of his sons had also seen service in the army . He was very influential in getting the German Community to support t he Revolution and this fact created great hatred for him among the Tor ies. The last battle in which they fought was that of Guilford Court H ouse between Lord Cornwallis and General Nathaniel Greene on, March 15 , 1781, 30 miles from his farm. The British had bayonets but the Patriots did not. This made it necessary for the Patriots to form several battle lines. After firing their guns the front line would retreat to the rear to reload. It was necessary to maintain this procedure while t he battle lasted. After this battle General Greene's army was partly disbanded, and Leonhardt and his sons returned home. The elder Leonhardt had considerable money in gold and silver coins wh en the war broke out. There were no banks in which to deposit it for safekeeping so he took a piece of walnut timber about three inches square and twenty inches in length, bored a hole into it, put the gold in , stopped it up and concealed it in the cellar wall under the house. H e told no one about this except his youngest son Jacob. He did not eve n tell his wife, fearing the cruel British soldiers might force her to reveal the place if she really knew. This wooden bank is now in the N orth Carolina Archives in Raleigh. There were many Tories in North Carolina and they hated the Patriots a nd Valentin in particular for his involvement in gaining the German co mmunities support for the Patriots. It so happened that neighbors wer e often on opposite sides in battle. On the evening of November 2, 178 1, while sitting quietly by his hearthstone with his family, ValentinL eonhardt was shot by a band of Tories and he died eleven days later o n November 13, 1781. On the same night another patriot and neighbor, W ooldrich Fritz, was shot and killed in the same manner. The bodies ofb oth men are buried side by side in the Old Leonard's Church, now the Pilgrim UCC graveyard. The inscription on Valentin's tombstone reads as follows: "Valentin Leonhardt, geboren in der Kuhr Pfaltz in Katzenbach den 13 October 1718, und ist in dem Herrn entschlafen den 13 Novembe r, 1781. Nun hier ligt eine Handvoll Aschen mit Christi Blut Gewashen. " A free translation is as follows: "Valentin Leonhardt was born at Ka tzenbach, in the Electorate of Palatine, October 13, 1718, and died No vember 13, 1781. Here now lies a handful of ashes washed in the blood of Christ." The footstone on his grave reads: "Beneath this stone doth now remain" In the fall of 1781, Michael and the other sons of Valentin were servi ng as light horseman under Captain John Lopp and Lt. Joseph Cunningha m and marched to Wilmington, meeting Captains Butler and Rutherfordton , and then to Fayetteville after the British had vacated Wilmington af ter Cornwallis's surrender there. From Fayetteville they marched to attack Colonel Fannon who was at the head of the band of Tories who murdered Valentin Leonhardt while his sons were on this tour of duty. Valentin wrote his will on August 22, 1779, and we gather that his holdings and possessions were extensive. Couched in the quaint jargon ofh is day, this will has a great deal to say about Valentin, the man, hi s wealth, his religious beliefs and his concern for his family. The following is taken from that will: Valentin Leonhardt's Will In the name of God Amen. I, Valentin Leonhardt of the County of I recommend my soul into the hand of Almighty God who gave it; Likewise to my beloved daughter Barbara Hege I leave 50ú's in Likewise my desire is that after please God when death of my Signed, sealed, Pronounced On July 4, 1896, 115 years after the death of Valentin and Wooldrich,t he citizens of the community who contributed liberally to the expense of this tall marble stone honoring these heroes erected a large monume nt. The monument was unveiled before thousands of people and was anal l day affair according to Mrs. Mary Leonard. Mrs. Leonard remembers that she was 10 years old when she helped her mother prepare their family lunch for the event. The food was placed in a small trunk stored in the wagon bed for the all day festival at the church. Mrs. Leonard wh o was 96 in 1982 and residing at the Golden Age Home in Lexington recalls seeing her first bottle of soda pop on this occasion. On the north side of this monument is the name of Leonhardt with the dates of birth and death; on the south side is the same concerning Fritz. On the east face of the die are the words: Citizens erected this monument AD 1896 On the west face are the words: The heroes buried in this spot Family 1: Anna Elizabeth Wallacher Elizabeth Wallacher Details: Footnote: Keith Wolf, Oregon, 1983. Footnote: Keith Wolf, Oregon, 1983. Valentin John Paul LEONARD and Anna Elizabetha WALLACHER were married about 1740 in PA?. Anna Elizabetha WALLACHER, daughter of Barnhard WALLACHER and Maria Margaretha LAMP, was born on 23 October 1718 in Germany. She died on 13 November 1788 at the age of 70 in Lexington, Rowan Co., NC. She was in Valentin's confirmation class in 1733 in Rockenhausen. Valentin John Paul LEONARD and Anna Elizabetha WALLACHER had the following children:
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