Johann Michael Grindstaff (1728 - 1789)

Born 3 Oct 1728 in Hornbach, Bergstrasse, Hessen, Germany

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 1789 at about age 60 in Carter County, Tennessee

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Keith Longhauser [send private message] and Robin Grindstaff [send private message]

Biography

Michael was baptized Johan Michael Crantzdorf ^[1]

He grew up in Pennsylvania and eventually moved to North Carolina. He settled in Tryon County where he purchased land in May 1773. The area was later called Lincoln County and eventually became Catawba County in 1842.

The four sons of Johan Michael Crantzdorf / Grindstaff - Nicholas, Isaac, Jacob and Michael - all served in the American Revolutionary War on the patriot side. ^[1]

Michael Grindstaff probably died in 1789 in Carter County, Tennessee. ^[2]

Note Some believe Michael Grindstaff was in Burke County, North Carolina in 1790 and possibly died in North Carolina. ^[3] A check of the North Carolina Census in 1790 shows Isaac Grenstaff / Grindstaff and family in Burke County. No Michael Grindstaff was in the 1790 North Carolina Census. ^[4]

Vitals

Birth: 1728 Hornbach, Germany. Christening: 3 OCT 1728 Hornbach, Germany ^[5]

Birth: 3 Oct 1728 Zweibrueckan, Germany. ^[6]

Immigration

Johann Michael (Crantzdorf) Grindstaff, his father Johann Nichel Crantzdorf and his uncle, Johann Bartholomew Crantzdorf, plus other family members boarded the "Thistle" at Rotterdam, Holland then traveled to Plymouth, England. Next they sailed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and arrived on 19 Sep 1738. ^{[7] [8]} Johann later migrated from Pennsylvania to Virginia, and then to North Carolina. ^[9]

Note 1: The Passenger lists of the Thistle which arrived 19 Sep 1738, from Rotterdam by way of Plymouth, Capt. John Wilson, had no name that could be construed as Crantzdorf. The same was true for the Thistle that arrived in Philadelphia 28 Oct 1738, Capt George Houston, from Rotterdam by way of Cowes.

Note 2: During this time names were spelled phonetically and German names were difficult for the English. Some names were shortened as they were recorded. For example, the name Lanzknecth could appear as Landsknecth, Lantz, Lants, Lins, Lentz, Lintz, Lans or Lance. Using this as an example, Crantzdorf could end up a number of ways on a ship manifest when the passenger couldn't write and the English scribe was in a hurry. The following names are possible for Johann Nichel Crantzdorf. All three names were signatures for the same person appearing on three different documents upon arrival. They were written by the hand of someone who may have listened as Johann Nichel Crantzdorf said his name.

1. George Mich Gras (Captain's list)
2. Johan Mich (G) Groets (loyalty oath)
3. George Michiel (O) Krans (loyalty oath) ^{[10] [11]}

Marriage

m. Catrin UNKNOWN A Tennessee Taxables List, 1790, Washington Co. shows Catherine Grindstaff, widow of Michael Grindstaff, Sr. ^[12]

Children:

• Catherine Grindstaff
• Nicholas Grindstaff
• Isaac Grindstaff
• Michael Grindstaff
• Jacob Grindstaff
• Susannah Grindstaff
• Jane Grindstaff ^[13]

Grandstaff/Grindstaff Excursus provided by Mrs. Gladys Burns of Phoenix, Arizona. Four of the Grindstaff brothers were Revolutionary soldiers in North Carolina - Nicholas, Isaac, Michael and Jacob. A grandson, Jacob Gabbard, stated in his Revolutionary pension that Michael Grindstaff of Burke Co NC was his grandfather. ^[14]

Occupation

Michael was a planter who bought land in May 1773, near Newton , North Carolina. This had been Tryon County, then Lincoln County in 1779. Later, this area became part of Catawba County when it was formed in 1842. Michael Grindstaff applied for the following land grants in the adjacent Burke County:

• 11 Oct 1783 - 300 acres
• 11 Oct 1783 - an additional 200 acres
• 07 Oct 1787 - 200 acres. ^[15]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} William G. Cooper, "494 - Grindstaff/Peters," in Carter County Tennessee and Its People (1796-1993), Margaret Ellis Sepello, Editor (Marceline, Missouri: Walsworth Publishing Company, 1993), page 351.
2. ↑ Barbara Jean Hobson, "486 - Grindstaff Heritage," in Carter County Tennessee and Its People (1796-1993), Margaret Ellis Sepello, Editor (Marceline, Missouri: Walsworth Publishing Company, 1993), pages 348-349.
3. ↑ Terry Hunter, "488 - Grindstaff/Hunter," in Carter County Tennessee and Its People (1796-1993), Margaret Ellis Sepello, Editor (Marceline, Missouri: Walsworth Publishing Company, 1993), page 349.
4. ↑ Year: 1790; Census Place: Burke, North Carolina; Series: M637; Roll: 7; Page: 99; Image: 67; Family History Library Film: 0568147. Ancestry.com. 1790 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: First Census of the United States, 1790 (NARA microfilm publication M637, 12 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/156648:5058?_phsrc=lia561&_phstart=successSource&gsln=grandstaff&ml_rpos=1&queryId=e37a29c24a98075a807c48b8cfdf0982
5. ↑ Crantzdorf/Grindstaff Genealogical Lineage. Vol 6, No. 3; September 1996.
6. ↑ Crantzdorf/Grindstaff Genealogical Lineage. Vol 6, No. 3; September 1996.
7. ↑ Filby, P. William, ed. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. Farmington Hills, MI, USA: Gale Research, 2012. Place: Pennsylvania; Year: 1738; Page 310. Accessed via Ancestry.com. Publisher Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Publisher date 2010. Publisher location Provo, UT, USA. https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/168212282/person/122179289514/facts
8. ↑ Don Yoder, Pennsylvania German Immigrants, 1709-1786: Lists Consolidated from Yearbooks of the Pennsylvania German Folklore Society (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980), page 394. Repr. 1984.
9. ↑ Barbara Jean Hobson, "486 - Grindstaff Heritage," in Carter County Tennessee and Its People (1796-1993), Margaret Ellis Sepello, Editor (Marceline, Missouri: Walsworth Publishing Company, 1993), pages 348-349.
10. ↑ Passenger Lists for Thistle, Arrived at Philadelphia 19 September 1738. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Passenger_Lists_for_Thistle%2C_Arrived_at_Philadelphia_19_September_1738
11. ↑ Strassburger, Ralph Beaver; edited by William John Hinke. Pennsylvania German Pioneers: A Publication of the Original Lists of Arrivals in the Port of Philadelphia from 1727 to 1808. Pennsylvania German Society, Norristown, PA, 1934. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., Baltimore, 1980. Pages 221-225. https://archive.org/details/pennsylvaniagerm03penn_2/page/220/mode/2up
12. ↑ Crantzdorf/Grindstaff Genealogical Lineage. Vol 6, No. 3; September 1996
13. ↑ Debra Carlisle Woods, "490 - Michael Grindstaff Sr. and Descendants," in Carter County Tennessee and Its People (1796-1993), Margaret Ellis Sepello, Editor (Marceline, Missouri: Walsworth Publishing Company, 1993), page 350.
14. ↑ Tennessee Smithology. Appendix II.
15. ↑ The History of Catawba County North Carolina. Page 124.

See also:

• Debra Carlisle Woods, "490 - Michael Grindstaff Sr. and Descendants," in Carter County Tennessee and Its People (1796-1993), Margaret Ellis Sepello, Editor (Marceline, Missouri: Walsworth Publishing Company, 1993), page 350.

• Gabbert, Howard M. Gabbard/Gabbert Family Newsletter. Published Quarterly. Howard M. Gabbert, 5990 E. Camino Desierto, Tucson, AZ 85750-1873). Note: The publisher changed in the Spring of 2003. The last know information regarding new publishers and address (in 2003) follows: Joel Meyers & Jill Frese, 820 Lee St, Manhattan, KS 66502-3644.

• Preslar, Charles J., Jr. The History of Catawba County North Carolina. Rowan County, NC: Rowan Printing Company, 1954.

• Reeves, Emma Barrett. Tennessee Smithology. Cook & McDowell Publications: Owensboro, Kentucky, 1980. LDS Film Number #0982327.

• Yoder, Don, editor. Pennsylvania German Immigrants 1709-1786. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980, Reprinted 1984. Accessed via U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. Author Ancestry.com. Publisher Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Publisher date 2010. Publisher location Provo, UT, USA.

• Smith, R. Michael. Crantzdorf/Grindstaff Genealogical Lineage. Vol 6, No. 3; September 1996.

• West, Edmund. Family Data Collection - Marriages. Provo, Utah: The Generations Network, Inc., 2001.

• West, Edmund. Family Data Collection - Births. Provo, Utah: The Generations Network, Inc., 2001.