Virginia's American Revolutionary War Public Service Claims

I'm hot on the trail of Joseph Kirk who lived - and apparently died - in 18th century Berkeley County, Virginia (now West Virginia).

Was he the father of my fifth great-grandfather Thomas Kirk (1778-1846)?

My ongoing investigation indicates Joseph may be the answer to this longstanding genealogy brick wall. However, until I get access to Berkeley County's probate records (and find an estate settlement for Joseph that names his heirs) it remains an open question.

An Exhaustive Search Uncovers A Patriot

Meanwhile, my exhaustive search into Joseph Kirk turned up Anne Waller Reddy's West Virginia Revolutionary Ancestors.

Originally published in 1930, the volume was the first compiled list of Virginians who provided aid to the American Revolutionary forces. Their "services were non-military and ... names, therefore, do not appear in Revolutionary indexes of soldiers and sailors."

The names come from Virginia's American Revolutionary War Public Service Claims, which Reddy says recorded services "not only for supplies furnished the army and navy, but also for riding express, transporting prisoners, transporting the sick, transporting provisions, manufacturing firearms."

Among Berkeley County's contributors were Joseph Kirk and John Beard (husband to Margaret Kirk, a likely sister to Joseph).

Microfilmed copies of the records are held at the Library of Virginia in Richmond.

Understandably, I was very intrigued. In fact, I was so intrigued that I boarded a train after work and headed south into the driving rain for a genealogy road rail trip!

Arriving in Richmond, Virginia during a driving rain

The Library of Virginia

Impressed to Support A Revolution

Minor T. Weisiger, a librarian with the Library of Virginia, wrote that beginning in 1780, "the Virginia General Assembly authorized the procurement of supplies from its citizenry for the use of the militia, state, and Continental troops."

To undertake this effort, "Commissioners were appointed in each county to impress such supplies and services as were thought necessary to the war effort." 

Basically, it's a nice way of saying they were forced to provide goods in support of the Revolution's military forces.

A certificate was issued to the Virginians who provided supplies, which served as a receipt for the value of the goods rendered. The certificate could then be presented to the state treasury at a later date for reimbursement.

With the help of an archivist (shout out to Amanda!), I located Joseph Kirk's certificate. 

Public Service Claim for Joseph Kirk

The certificate reads:

[No. 486] Certificate Berkeley County, Virginia. I do hereby Certify, that I have received from Joseph Kirk & Joseph Olive of the said County, six bushels and a half of wheat for the use and on account of the State of Virginia, for which the said Joseph Kirk is entitled to receive from the Treasury of the said State the Sum of one hundred and thirty pounds current money, agreeable to an Act of Assembly, entitled, An Act for procuring a Supply of Provisions and other Necessaries for the use of the Army. Given under my Hand, this 3rd day of April 1781.

Previously, Joseph Kirk and Joseph Olive were jointly named in a 1773 Berkeley County land lease. The six bushels of wheat must have come from that farm and were valued at 130 pounds. 

I could find no record that either man ever sought remuneration for the impressed grain. This could be because the reimbursements were carried out in 1783, the year before Joseph Kirk is believed to have died. But why wouldn't his estate or a designated agent seek payment? It remains a mystery.

This was also about the time that Sarah Kirk (believed to be Joseph Kirk's widow) appeared in Berkeley County court records on a replevy bond for apparently falling behind in rent payments. 

The replevy bond and unclaimed Public Service Claim both suggest that Joseph Kirk's family was struggling.

Brother-In-Law Seeks Reimbursement

I also pulled the certificate for Joseph's likely brother-in-law John Beard (yes, the same man who appeared on the above-mentioned replevy bond with Sarah Kirk, and then in 1812 sold 100 acres of farmland to my Thomas Kirk in Licking County, Ohio). 

While the records are microfilmed in alphabetical order by surname, I was immediately struck by the number noted on John Beard's certificate.

Public Service Claim for John Beard

John's certificate was numbered 487, which was immediately preceded by Joseph Kirk's certificate numbered 486. Did the two men complete their paperwork together? Perhaps it's a tiny clue.

Unlike Joseph, John did seek and obtained reimbursement for the three bushels of wheat he provided. Valued at sixty pounds on the certificate, the county court later determined that he was eligible for twelve shillings.

However, the final Commissioner's Book enumerated a payment of 15 shillings on August 1, 1783.

Although my trip to Richmond did not turn up any records confirming a relationship between Joseph Kirk of Berkeley County and my Thomas Kirk, I've certainly learned more about Virginia's efforts to supply the Revolutionary forces and Joseph Kirk's role supporting the fledgling nation. That's certainly a legacy I wouldn't mind linking to my pedigree.

Now back to finding the elusive probate package...

A Genealogical Land History: Location, Location, Location!

Licking Township, a small rural Ohio community located about 35 miles east of Columbus, was, for much of the early 19th century, the epicenter of my fifth great-grandfather Thomas Kirk's life.

The jurisdiction is one of 25 townships that make up Licking County today, but in 1805 when Thomas first arrived in the Ohio wilderness it was part of Fairfield County, which had expansive borders across the center of the Buckeye State.

Used by permission of Licking County Genealogical Society

Settling in the Garden of Eden

The Licking valley landscape, ripe with abundant and diverse flora and fauna must have appealed to early settlers like Thomas who subsisted off the land through farming and hunting. The 1881-published History of Licking County, Ohio: Its Past and Present paints a picture of a pristine Garden of Eden:

"When...the earliest settlers occupied Licking valley they must have been surprised at the variety and beauty of its vegetable productions. The silence of the primeval woods had until then been unbroken; the forest was here in all its native majesty and beauty; the gigantic size and venerable antiquity of the trees, the rankness of the weeds, grasses and trailing vines which formed a thick covering for the ground, the luxuriance and variety of the underbrush, the long vines that reached to the tops of the tallest trees, the parasites that hung in clusters from the loftiest bough, the brillancy of the autumnal foliage, the splendor and variety of the vernal flowers, the snowy whiteness of the dogwood blossoms of early spring and the exuberance of the fruits that were maturing during the summer and autumn, were undoubted manifestations of the most vigorous vegetable life, and an encouraging proof of the quality of the soil."

As early as 1806, Thomas Kirk paid a 65 cent land tax for 100 acres located in Range 12, Township 1, Section 4. Township 1 was - and still is today - Licking Township.

1806 Licking Township, Fairfield County, Ohio Land Tax List

While the tax records place Thomas in Licking Township as early as 1805 (the year for which the 1806 list assessed tax liability), it wasn't until 1812 that he was on record purchasing the land.

An indenture dated January 25, 1812, recorded Thomas purchasing 100 acres in Licking Township (now located in Licking County) from "John Beard and Margaret his wife." For the sum of $175 "current money of the United States," Thomas procured a tract of land "situated in the Fourth Section, First Township and Twelfth United States Military Range" (approximate GPS coordinates 39.960128, -82.411208).

1812 Land Indenture between John & Margaret Beard and Thomas Kirk

America Moves West: The National Road

As fate would have it, Thomas' land purchase was ideally located and would prove to be a remarkable financial investment. In 1806, during the administration of President Thomas Jefferson, Congress authorized the construction of the first Federally-funded highway - the National Road.

In 1815, after the end of the War of 1812, construction began in earnest and pushed the road (paved with compacted gravel) from Cumberland, Maryland to Wheeling, (West) Virginia and westward into central Ohio.

The new thoroughfare lined the southern boundary of Thomas' 100 acres, bringing previously unparalleled movement of people and goods to his property's edge.

From a series of vignettes recorded by Harper's Monthly in 1879, men who traveled the National Road during its heyday shared recollections illustrating what ran along Thomas' doorstep.

"The wagons were so numerous that the leaders of one team had their noses in the trough at the end of the next wagon ahead and the coaches, drawn by four or six horses, dashed along at a speed of which a modern limited express might not feel ashamed. Besides the coaches and wagons, there were gentlemen travelling singly in the saddle, with all their luggage stuffed into their saddlebags. There were enormous droves of sheep and herds of cattle, which raised the dust like a cloud along their path. Once in a while, Mr. Clay or General Jackson made an appearance, and answered with stately cordiality the familiar greetings of the other passers-by. Homespun Davy Crockett sometimes stood in relief against the busy scene, and all the statesmen of the West and South Harrison, Houston, Taylor, Polk, and Allen among others came along the road to Washington."

"The traffic was so heavy that generally it was safe from highway robbery, but the traveler by coach had his expedition spiced by the occasional assaults of highwaymen, who sprang out of the pines that in some places made perpetual night of the most brightest day. Nearly every mile had its tavern, and every tavern its pretty maid or jovial host. ‘The eating was the cream of the earth, Sir,’ said an old traveller to me. ‘I dined at Delmonico's (in New York) last week, and my dinner was nothing to the venison cutlets and the ham and eggs and johnny-cakes of the pike...'"

Moving On Up

Tucked away on the shelves of the Licking County Genealogical Society's library is a self-published family history by Lua Beard Wallace.

The volume includes a handwritten remembrance:

"Charles Wallace worked on the 'National Pike' from 1828 on to 1835 part time from before Wheeling to Springfield [Illinois]. He rode horse back with saddle bags and superintended the masonry all along and when pay day came he paid off the men working on the stone culverts, some of which are still standing and being used. Going back and forth so many trips between Wheeling and Columbus he thought this farm was the prettiest between these two places... He thought about these things for a long time... finally he bought this farm."

On March 1, 1838, Thomas Kirk made his second appearance in county land records. For $2,000, he sold his 100 acres in Licking Township to Charles Wallace. Although Charles owned several properties, perhaps Thomas' farm was the one that he thought was "the prettiest" between Columbus and Wheeling.

1838 Land Indenture between Thomas Kirk and Charles Wallace

The $2,000 sale price represented a whopping return on Thomas' initial $175 investment. Over the span of 26 years, the value of his 100 acres in Licking Township grew more than 1,000%. Perhaps the close proximity to the newly-built National Road propelled the property value skyward.

1847 Licking County map detailing the 100 acres once owned by Thomas Kirk

In summer 2017, I visited Licking Township and gazed across Thomas' 100 acres. If you listen carefully, you can hear faint traffic noise as cars speed along Highway 40 - the modern name for the National Road.

  

A Genealogy Cold Case Heats Up

The stage is set: Berkeley County in the late 1700's when it was still part of Virginia.

1796 Map of the United States, Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division

The leading lady is Mary (Kirk) Geiger, a likely sister to my fifth great-grandfather Thomas Kirk. Their genetic link has cast Mary as a central figure - the linchpin, really - in the effort to identify Thomas' parents. Like fame-hungry paparazzi, this investigation has followed her to Berkeley County.

It's there in 1797 that a marriage bond recorded her impending nuptials to Anthony Geiger. The surety for the bond was John Beard, husband of Margaret Kirk, and likely uncle to Mary and Thomas.

Why wasn't the surety a male Kirk? Where was her father? Had he pre-deceased the 1797 marriage? Surely an 18th century single woman wouldn't be too far from her parents. Could pre-1797 Berkeley County records identify her father?

Berkeley County's surviving tax, land, and court records date to the early 1770's. From these records emerge a couple who are of particular interest. Were they Mary and Thomas Kirk's parents?

Joseph and Sarah Kirk

Joseph Kirk, along with his brother John, made their first recorded appearance in Berkeley County on a 1773 land lease, which identified them as siblings. The land was leased to them by George William Fairfax.

1773 Land Lease, Berkeley County, (West) Virginia

In the following decade, the two brothers also appeared in county tax records (as featured in last week's post Building A Reverse Genealogy Case Study). In 1787, following Joseph's death sometime between 1784 and 1788, his presumed widow Sarah first appeared on tax records. She continued to appear in the records intermittently throughout the following decade.

1799 Personal Property Tax List, Berkeley County, (West) Virginia 

The research pauses here. The next step is to review the Berkeley County probate records to see if a file exists for Joseph. Until then, the investigation is currently on hold because the county's digitized records are restricted, only accessible to view from within a family history center. I need to convince my local family history center to let me pull an all nighter.

Replevy Bond

I did manage to make one discovery (from the comfort of my home) in the Berkeley County court order books. In 1783 or 1784, a judgment was recorded between George William Fairfax as plaintiff and Sarah Kirk and John Beard as defendants on a replevy bond.

A replevy bond is "a procedure used by a court to protect against the loss of property sought to be returned to a petitioner."

1783 or 1784 Berkeley County, (West) Virginia Judgment on Replevy Bond

The record states:

Judgment: 

George William Fairfax Plt.
Vs.
Sarah Kirk & John Beard Deft. 

On Replevy Bond 

This day came the Plaintiff by his attorney and it appearing to the Court that the Defendants had legal notice of this motion and not appearing the solemnly called. Therefore it is considered by the Court that the Plaintiff recover against the defendants seven pounds and his costs by him about this suit in this behalf expended and the Defendant in mercy be. But this judgment is to be discharged by next repayment of three pounds and ten shillings with interest these on to be computed after the rate of five [illegible] from the 15th date of December 1783 [illegible] 

Ordered that the court be adjourned [illegible] court in course.
The Minutes of these proceedings concerned by John Cooke

Apparently the Kirks fell behind on their payments to Fairfax, and, per the terms of the lease, he took them to court to recoup his losses. 

It's curious to see John Beard appear with Sarah on the record. Did he do so because both Joseph and John, the original parties to the land lease, were deceased? Was he her go-to male representative because he was her most senior living relative?

I haven't yet located anything further on this case, so it's still not known what the outcome was on the lease for the land. Was the property relinquished back to Fairfax? I need to dive further into those (non-indexed!) court order books. 

What is known is that Joseph Kirk's executors paid land tax as late as 1797, so it seems they were able to get their financial house in order and pay their debts to Fairfax. It's worth reiterating that 1797 was when Mary Kirk married Anthony Geiger.

All of this talk about Joseph, Sarah, and Mary Kirk jogged my memory.

Branches of a Geiger Family Tree

In summer 2017, I visited the Licking County Genealogical Society's Library in Newark, Ohio. With limited research time, I made quick notes from the handful of volumes I reviewed with the intention of pouring over them more carefully at a future date.

The future is now.

Among the books I reviewed was a 1992-published volume by Mary Elizabeth (Geiger) Riggs titled, Branches of a Geiger Family Tree.

Page 15 included this curious snippet on the Geiger family:

"The family lived in Maryland through 1786, at which time they moved to Martinsburg in Berkeley Co., Virginia. Mary Kirk, daughter of Joseph and Sarah Kirk, married Anthony 26 September 1797 in Martinsburg."

There you have it. A descendant of Anthony and Mary (Kirk) Geiger named Mary's parents as the very Joseph and Sarah Kirk that I've been investigating. Now if I could just find a document to corroborate that claim.

Riggs' book adds, "Mary Kirk, of Irish descent, had two brothers and one sister, all of whom had a primary education." 

It's maddening that the siblings weren't named, and I can't help but wonder if Thomas was one of them.

Riggs' narrative included very specific details about Mary, lending an air of added credibility to the family history: "Mary was five feet in height, weighed 180 pounds, had light, brown hair and brown eyes... Mary Kirk Geiger died from 'Head Pleurisy' on 6 June 1832 at the age of 58. She is buried in the Beard Cemetery in Jacksontown, Ohio."

The descriptive details about her physique and the cause of her 1832 death are very specific. No one makes that stuff up, right? The specificity makes them seem persuasively true.

Mary Elizabeth Riggs is my new favorite person, but I learned that, sadly, she passed away in 2009 at the age of 90. 

I wonder if her descendants have kept her genealogy, and whether it includes names for Mary's siblings, or cites substantiating records. 

Regardless, a new avenue of research has opened up, and the once cold case to identify Thomas Kirk's parents has started to heat up.