I contacted the DAR after several dead ends with my family tree. They have listed in their patriots a one George KELLER b. 19 Apr 1758 in Stoverstown, Frederick Co., VA (it's now Shenandoah Co.). Now to follow my bread crumbs on down.
Today, I'm posting about George KELLER, my Rev. War Patriot and my 6x Great Grandfather. Apparently, the KELLER family had a contest on who could name the most boys George.
I just made that up, but it could be true, right? :)
What I do know about my George KELLER is that he married Martha [maiden unknown, but *unconfirmed* possible last name is Garston], presumably in 1780. I have received information before my days of documenting my work, that he was married 13 Jul 1778 in Stoverstown. I do not know where I gleaned the marriage date from but it is a date I held onto, albeit undocumented (insert grain of salt here).
George KELLER of Monongalia County
Private in the VA Militia
$65 annual allowance starting 4 Mar 1831
Pension issued 10 May 1833
George Keller came to Monongalia County about 1786 from Augusta Co., VA. George was b. 19 April 1758 in Stoverstown then, Shenandoah County, Virginia. He volunteered at Staunton, VA to fight Cherokee Indians in July 1779. He was a private under the company commanded by Capt. Thompson in the regiment commanded by Col. Christee for 19½ months. (See Revolutionary War Pension Record #S5649).
Feel free to use this information below, as I've transcribed this from the original document. PLEASE be kind and give accredit Heritage Quest Images, and me for the transcription. I have seen the below just copy and pasted online elsewhere. I'm happy to share but users not acknowledging others hard work is rude and cuts off leads for joint research by mutual "cousins". Be kind. Attribute. Document your sources.
My transcription of the Rev. War Pension Record is as follows (transcribed June 2018 from originial images):
That in the month of July 1779 as well as he can recollect, he volunteered at Staunton in Augusta Co., VA (to go against the Cherokee nation of Indians) under Capt. Christee, ninety-nine of us volunteering at the same time, finding our own rifles. Capt. Christie, then being sixty four years of age---that we marched. In the same month through Botetourt and into North Carolina, on the Holstein River: near Big Island, where we were joined by about eighteen hundred troops, and also by Col. Christee of Staunton. Their being the place of rendezvous, ---Col. Christee was the commander---in a few days we marched and after crossing the Tennessee River, burnt six Indian towns. Six of the towns came in and made peace---that we remained three weeks and then were marched back on the same route to Staunton and arrived there about Christmas
day and was discharged, after a service of five months and a few days, which discharge he took no care of and has long since lost.
That in the the month of April 1780, he marched in Capt. Thompsons' volunteer company of Riflemen, from Staunton, to the West Fork [Fort] of the Monongahela River to protect the frontier settlements against the Indians---on half of us were stationed at West [Fork] Fort and the other at Lowther's Fort, where we remained until August, and then marched back to Staunton, where we arrived about the first of September, after an absence of upwards of four months and discharged by a general discharge.
That he believes it was in November 1780, he marched in a company of about ninety volunteer riflemen commanded by Capt. Rankin from Staunton, accompanied by other troops in all about three hundred under the command of Col. Sampson Mathews, to Falmouth and then to Hunter's Works a mile above where we remained a few days---we then marched through Petersburgh, that from Suffolk we went to Camp Carson, where our tents came and Col. Dicks' regiments came, and a considerable number of other troops from Camp Carson.
We frequently marched during the night to Porstmouth [Portsmouth?] and back to camp in the day---that about the hundred and fifty of our troops turned out as volunteers at Camp Carson
to go to Guilford, where it was expected an action took place---there men marched under Major Posey, our company commanded by Capt. Patterson and within a day and a half travel from Guilford. We heard of the battle and returned to Camp Carson---during the winter we had several skirmishes with Arnold's troops in one of which Capt. Cunningham from Augusta was wounded---in one of these skirmishes a Hessian shot at him, wheeled and run. He fired and shot the Hessian as he ran---that sometime in the spring the volunteers were marched back to Staunton and arrived there about the last of April and discharged after a service of six months, which discharge he has long since lost.
That two days after his return from Camp Carson to Staunton, he received orders again to march, in the same company of volunteers commanded by Capt. Rankin, that we immediately marched across the mountain in to Amherst Co., to the Old Store where Cornwallis was. That a large number of troops were at the store and the enemy had moved off toward Richmond---We marched to Westham where we had a few rounds with the rear guard of the enemy from thence we marched through Richmond to Bottom's Bridge across a swamp where we arrived about daylight and found the bridge destroyed---we made a bridge of rails and waited until our main force came up---we then followed the enemy to Jamestown, near which we fired on the enemy's rear guard and took a number of cattle from them and had a severe skirmish. Gen Wayne commanding---thence we marched after the enemy to Yorktown, where he remained until about three days before Cornwallis surrender, he was discharged having had the camp fever for some time before which discharge was signed by Capt. Rankin and long since lost. That he was in the service this time four months and a half.
That in January 1781 (as he omitted to mention above) the troops that had marched to Guilford, hearing that [Lieutenant Colonel Banastre] Tarleton was going to attack Morgan, Major Percy determined to join Morgan. We marched in haste and joined Morgan and was in the Battle of the Cowpens and after that engagement we marched the prisoners up to Bedford in Virginia where the county militia took charge of them, and we marched back to Camp Carson. That he recollects very well Gen. Morgan addressing and animating the troops before the Battle of Cowpens.
That he is under the impression that he served during the Revolution a longer period for he recollects that after the Revolution he frequently said that he served about two years, but he was unable to read and write and from loss of memory he is unable to make any other statement of his services and may mistake dates.
That he now recollects that his eldest daughter was but two days old when he marched from Staunton to Falmouth under Capt. Rankin and she was born on the first or second day of October. That they never beat up for volunteers, but he entered into the service---that he is confident he served more than twenty-one months.
That he was born on the 19th of April he believes in the year 1758 in Stoverstown in Shenandoah Co., Virginia---that he believes the record of his age is in Augusta Co., with a sister if she is still alive. That every town of duty he performed he marched from Staunton, that after the Revolution he continued to reside in Augusta until about forty-seven years ago. He removed to this county where he has continued to reside. That he has frequently seen Gen. Washington, Gen. Morgan, Gen. Greene, Col. Howard, Col. O. Williams, Col. Lee, Col. Washington.
That he was personally acquainted with Capt. Triplett and Taite whose companies were placed under Morgan - Taite was from Augusta - that he is personally acquainted with Col. Thomas S. Haymond, Francis Billingsley esq. Hillery/Baggess esq., Col. Dudley Evans, Capt John Evan's, and a great many other respectable men of the county who he believes can testify as to his veracity and the general belief in his services.
He hereby relinquishes every claim whatsoever to a pension or an annuity except the present and declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the Agency of any State. That there is no clergyman with whom he has any acquaintances residing in his neighborhood. That he knows of no other testimony than Henry Whiteman of Randolph to prove his services. Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforementioned.
signed (with his mark)
George Keller
********
Martha and George are recorded in Violet Gadd Coonts' The Western Waters as having seven children. I take this rescource with a grain of salt as Ms Coonts has some research already disproven from this publication:
"Martha, whose surname or family this author has at this writing no further knowledge about, was born in 1760 at Staunton, Augusta County, Virginia."
1) Sarah Keller
b. 2 October, 1780 in Stoverstown, Virginia
d in 1828 in Barbour Co.
Violet states in The Western Waters that Sarah was m. to Isaac "Boone". This is proven as Isaac BOOTH, with his military record sometimes showing erroneously as BOONE. Only recently I found his marriage to Sarah HENSHAW in the book Frederick County, Virginia, marriages, 1771-1825 by Eliza Timberlake Davis, published in Smithfield, VA by Davis in 1941.
27 Jan 1803, Isaac BOOTH and Sarah HENSHAW, daughter of William HENSHAW.
This was not Sarah KELLER. Images can be found on WV State Archive online. This website has been under construction and I was told by the WV Archivist in September 2021 to keep checking back.
BOOTH and KELLER researchers had no proof that the marriage existed. Since Isaac was documented as quite the ladies man, it was also fit that he couldn't marry his long time partner, Christina CARR. Also, with Sarah KELLER giving her two children her last name and not of their alleged father, BOOTH. It is said that he refused the children as his own also with no mention of his and Sarah KELLER's children in Isaac's will. As of September 2021, my DNA has been linked to Isaac and Christina's children. I am of the KELLER descendants. In other words, DNA has proven Isaac was indeed John and Sally's father with Sarah KELLER.
Sarah KELLER later m. 26 May 1816 to
Henry HARTSOCK
It is not yet established that this was George and Martha's daughter, Sarah KELLER.
2) Samuel Keller
b. 1782
m. 1 November 1798 to
Ann SPRINGSTONE (dau of Jacob and Elizabeth SPRINGSTONE of Randolph County). Samuel's granddaughter was Nancy Jane KELLER.
3) John KELLER and later changed to KELLAR.
George KELLER was living with him while George received his pension funds.
b 1784
d 1851
m. Rebecca HAMILTON
4) Elizabeth KELLER
b 1787 in Monongalia Co.
d 12 June, 1857
m 4 November 1806 to
Charles DIGMAN
They had at least eight children, four of them that I have researched are named:
Margaret "Peggy" DIGMAN
George Keller DIGMAN
Magdalene DIGMAN
Alpheus DIGMAN
5) Jacob KELLER
b. 1789
m. 5 February 1818
Elizabeth POLING
6) George KELLER, Jr.
b. 1791
He served in the War of 1812
m. 15 March 1827
Mary BOLYARD
They had eight known children
7) Mary KELLER
b. 1793
02/11/2018
Please feel free to leave a comment regarding the data or better, corrections with sources. It is always a work in progress and I still monitor this blog - Thanks, Bee
