Johann Zachariah REXROAD - 1725-1799
My 5th great grandfather
Nancy Simmons to Paul Simmons to
Walter Simmons to Andrew Simmons to Phebe Rexroad, to John Rexroad to Johann
George Rexroad to Johann Zachariah REXROAD
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| Johann Zacharias REXROTH Book written by William D. Rexroad |
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| William D. "Bill" Rexroad Holding bell made by Johann Zacharias Rexroth Rexroad Cemetery, Pendleton County, West Virginia |
In 2004, Bill as he is better
known, wrote his book Johann Zacharias Rexroth The Pioneer and in 2006
he produced A Line of Rexroad in America.
Bill is my 4th cousin and we never had the chance to meet but in
2011 I wrote him and purchased both his books on the Rexroad family. Unfortunately,
in 2014 Bill died in an automobile accident and I so wish I could have met him
and told him how much I appreciated his extensive research.
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| Birth place of Johann Zacharias Rexroth Erbach, Odenwald, Germany |
Zach, as we call old Zacharias
Rexroth, was born the 22 February 1725 in Erbach, Germany, the last of seven
children born to Johann Balthasar Rexerodt and Johanna Lowisa Christina Keppler.[1]
Erbach lay in an area called the Odenwald, a land of forest, mountains,
and valleys to the south of Frankfort and east of the Rhine. Zach's father was
a blacksmith in Erbach, as well as several of his brothers,[2]
so it is reasonable to believe that Zach apprenticed as a blacksmith. At the
age of 24, Zach decided to leave Erbach and travel to America.
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| Deutsches Geschlechterbuch (German Gender Book) by Dr. Jur. Bernhard Koerner |
In May of 1749 Zach boarded the
ship Albany[3]
and set sail from Rotterdam to England to the new world. According to Bill's
research, Zach had no known relatives traveling with him and the trip probably
took nine weeks before dropping anchor in the river near Philadelphia. Within
48 hours of arrival Zach was most certainly marched to the courthouse where he and
other male passengers were required to sign oaths of allegiance to King George the
Second.[4]
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| Passenger list of the ship ALBANY 1749 Another misspelled version of Rexroad |
By the fall of 1751, Zach was known
to be living west of Reading in an area known as the Tulpehocken. Zach married
Anna Maria Voeglin on 19 November 1751 at Christ Lutheran Church near
Stouchburg, Lancaster (later Berks) County, Pennsylvania.[5] As expected, Zach probably worked as a
blacksmith as he and Anna Maria started their family. Their first five children
while born in this area of Pennsylvania and several were baptized in the same
church where they were married. In the mid-1700's this area was tormented by
Indians who would murder, loot, and scalp the residence. It is during this time
that Zach and his family departed the area and traveled from Pennsylvania down
into Virginia.
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| 1768 Tax List for Berks County, Pennsylvania Zacharias Rexrode - blacksmith |
The earliest known record of Zach in Virginia is a
court record in June 1764 with a Nicholas Null[6] probably dealing with a
land dispute. In 1767 Zach attended an estate sale for Stephen Conrad[7] and purchased Stephen's blacksmith
tools paying £25,10s[8]. This was a
sizable amount of money for Zach and how he acquired this amount is unknown.
This estate sale took place in the Shenandoah Valley and Zach and Anna Maria
must have lived there for several years.
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| Revolutionary War Militia Vouchers 1788 Pendleton County, Virginia Zachariah Rexrode and son contributed 5 horses |
Zach and Anna Maria eventually traveled across the Alleghenies and settled in the South Fork area. In September 1772 Zach was appointed appraiser of the estate of Mark Swadley who lived in the South Fork area a few miles from Brandywine.[9] The area was divided into militia districts around the time of the Revolutionary War. Both Zach and his son Zachariah Jr. belonged to Militia Company No. 6 and even though Zach was not called into military action he and his son contributed five horses.[10] On 6 October 1788 Zach paid £8 for an eight-acre tract on South Fork east of Socrates Mountain[11] later referred to as Rexroad’s Mountain. It is here on this piece of land that Zach built his home and blacksmith shop and possibly where him and Anna Maria are buried. Zach purchased 110 acres on 30 June 1791[12] and a second tract containing 130 acres on 6 October 1796[13] both adjacent to the eight-acre tract.
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| Zachariah Rexroth Will Dated 26 April 1798 - Probated 1 October 1799 Pendleton County, Virginia (West Virginia) |
The exact date of Zach’s death is
unknown, but he wrote his will 26 April 1798,[14] probably in anticipation
of his demise. Most of the will provides for his wife and his son Leonard is to
carry out his father’s wishes regarding care of his mother. Upon his
wife’s death Leonard is to sell his land, the house, the smith tools and the
rest of his tools and pay his siblings their share of its worth. The will was
probated the 1 October 1799.[15] Zach probably died during
the last days of September. No record of Anna Maria’s death is known but it probably
occurred about five years after Zach’s death. This is indicated by the fact
that all the children came together on 6 May 1806 to sell Zach’s land.[16] The children were George
Rexrode and Margaret his wife, Zachariah Rexrode and Catherine, John Rexrode &
Margaret, George Ritz ad Dorothy (Rexrode) his wife, John Grogg and Mary (Rexrode)
his wife, Sophia (Rexrode) Ekert and Leonard Rexrode and Elizabeth his wife.[17]
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| Deed Record for sale of Zachariah Rexrode 6-May 1806 |
I had researched Johann Zacharias
Rexroth years ago and had the basic birth, death, marriage information but
William D. Rexroad knew Zachariah had a legacy that needed to be told. Bill was
a man with a mission. He spent years traveling from his home in Kansas to
Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Pendleton County, West Virginia to explore and
discover the life of old Zach. He states in his preface of one of his books
that he “presents his work for the benefit of all those who have an interest in
Rexroad family history.” He knew Johann
Zacharias Rexroth was newsworthy!
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| Rexroad Cemetery, Pendleton County, West Virginia Zachariah and wife Anna Maria Rexrode were re-interred here in 2009 where his son Zachariah Rexrode and many other family members are buried. |
[1] Koerner,
Dr, Jur. Bernhard, Deutsches Geschlechterbuch, Band (vol.) 94, pp.
197-204.
[2]
Ibid
[3] Strassburger,
Ralph B. & William J. Hinkle, Pennsylvania German Pioneers, Vol 1,
pp. 394-395.
[4] Ibid,
pp. 3-6
[5] Records
of Pastoral Acts at Christ Lutheran Church, Stouchsburg, Berks County,
Pennsylvania, translated and edited by Frederick S. Weiser, Part 2, p. 41.
[6] Augusta
County, VA Courthouse, Court Minute Book, 1764-1766, pp. 60, 63, 87,
109; Null v. Rexroad.
[7] Augusta
County, VA Courthouse, Will Book no 4, p. 241.
[8] Augusta
County, VA Courthouse, Will Book no 4, p. 241.
[9] Augusta
County, VA Courthouse, Will Book no 5, p. 67
[10] Wayland,
John W., Virginia Valley Records, p. 103.
[11] Pendleton
County, VA Courthouse, Deed Book no.1, pp. 18,19.
[13] Library
of Virginia, Land Office Grants No. 37, p. 1, microfilm reel 103.
[14] Pendleton
County, VA Courthouse, Will Book no 1, pp.262, 263.
[15]
Ibid, p. 263.
[16] Pendleton
County, VA Courthouse, Deed Book no. 4, pp. 284-287.
[17]
Ibid, p. 284.
