Johan Valentine (Leonhardt) Leonard (1718 - 1781)

Born 13 Oct 1718 in Katzenbach, Rockenhausen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Deutschland

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 13 Nov 1781 at age 63 in Lexington, Old Rowan, North Carolina

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Biography

Valentin Leonhardt was born in about 1718 in Katzenbach near Rockenhausen in the Palatinate region of Germany. No incontrovertible record has been found of his birth or baptism, but there is record of his confirmation in 1733. Confirmation would usually have taken place on the Easter nearest a child’s fourteenth birthday. The confirmation record names Micheal Leonhardt as Valentin's father.^[1]

Valentin married Elisabetha Wallacher in Katzenbach. Elisabetha was in the same 1733 confirmation class with Valentin.

Valentin emigrated to Pennsylvania on the Ship Neptune, from Rotterdam, arriving in Philadelphia on 25 Oct 1746. ^[2] Elisabetha probably accompanied him, but immigration records of the period would only record males over the age of sixteen, so her name does not appear in the logs.

Valentin and Elisabetha, now spelling their names Valentine and Elizabeth Leonard, took up residence in Philadelphia. Baptisms of their first two children, Peter ^[3] and Barbara ^[4] , are found in the records of the First Reformed Church of Philadelphia. It is said that Valentine worked as a tailor.

Some time before 1754 Valentine, Elizabeth and their children moved to what was then Rowan County, North Carolina, now the city of Lexington, Davidson County. The book, “First Church -- Davidson County, A History Of Pilgrim Evangelical and Reformed Church, Lexington, North Carolina, 1757 to 1957”, describes the arduous overland journey undertaken by the first settlers of the Rowan and Davidson County, including Leonard and his family.

The usual route taken was through Lancaster, Pa., to York, Pa., where they forded the Susquehanna River, on down to Fredrick, Maryland; over to Winchester, Va., down the Shenandoah Valley; crossing the Fluvanna River at Looney's Ford; on down to the Staunton River, and down the river through the Blue Ridge to Roanoke, Va.; southward to a crossing on the Dan River below the mouth of the Mayo River; and on the Salem, and into the heart of Piedmont, N. C. ^[5]

Valentine purchased acreage along Abbott’s Creek in a community of other Palatine emigrants. In the next few years, four more sons, Michael, Valentine, Philip, and Jacob and two more daughters, Elizabeth and Catherine, were born to Valentine and Elizabeth. ^[6]

A German Reformed Church was founded around 1753 adjoining his property. Its official name was the Pilgrim Reformed Church, but it was known locally as Leonard’s Church, apparently due to its proximity and to the Leonard family’s active participation. ^[7]

At the advent of the Revolutionary War, Valentine strongly advocated for independence and encouraged his neighbors to enlist in that cause. He and his sons joined the Rowan County Regiment of the North Carolina Militia. ^[8] Among other engagements he fought in the Battle of Guilford Court House. ^[6] This battle was ostensibly won by the British under General Cornwallis, but the considerable casualties they took weakened the British forces and contributed to their surrender at Yorktown some months later. ^[9]

After that battle, Valentine returned to his farm. On the evening of 2 November 1781, as he sat before his fire he was shot and mortally wounded by a band of Tories. He died on 13 November. His neighbor, Wooldrich Fritz was also shot and killed on the same night by the band of Tories. ^[10] He is buried in the Pilgrim Reformed Church Cemetery, Lexington, North Carolina. ^[11] He is also memorialized on a cenotaph in Daniels Church Cemetery, Lincolnton, North Carolina. The tall monument was erected 4 July 1896. The inscription on the East Side reads: "This monument was erected by citizens A.D. 1896 out of veneration for our brave dead. These men are of those who fought for and gained our liberty. Unveiled with appropriate ceremonies July 4, 1896." The West Side reads: "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." ^[11]

Valentine's will was signed on 22 August 1779 and lists 8 children. It states in part (with spelling and capitalization preserved):

First I give & bequeath to Elizabeth my dearly beloved Wife, the manner plantation that I now live on, during her bearing the name of Leonard and in case she dont alter her name she is to keep it to have full rule over it during her life time and like I leave to my wife all my horses cattle and my personal estate holley Also I leave to my sons Philip and Jacob the plantation after my wife death — Likewise to my son Peter I leave and bequeath his Equal part of four hundred and ninty acres betwen him and his Brothers Valentine and Michael — Likewise to my beloved Daughter Barbary Heage I leave fifty pounds Gold and silver to be raised out of my personal Estate, Likewise to my beloved daughter Elisabeth fifty pounds like money to be raised in the same form — Likewise to my daughter Catharine [?] I leave fifty pounds like money to be raise as before —— Likewise my desire is that after please God the death of my beloved wife, that the remainer of my Estate that can be raised to be equally divided between all my children... ^[12]

Research Notes

• Other possible death location: Davidson, North Carolina, United States
• An attempt to research Valentine and Elizabeth’s line was made in 1904. Unfortunately the person with direct access to the records made faulty assumptions and concluded that Martin Leonhardt was Valentine’s father. The further research and analysis of Ray Haupt and Gary Leonard ^[13] has given us a clearer picture of the family history. Many thanks for their thorough research and well-reasoned analysis.

Sources

1. ↑ Leonard, Gary; https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/27581249?cid=mem_copy, accessed 14 Mar 2019
2. ↑ Rupp, I. Daniel; ”A collection of upwards of thirty thousand names of German, Swiss, Dutch, French and other immigrants in Pennsylvania from 1727-1776”; Leary, Stuart; Philadelphia, 1898; accessed at https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008730790?type%5B%5D=all&lookfor%5B%5D=30%2C000%20Names&ft=ft on 6 Mar 2019; p 176.
3. ↑ "First Reformed Church of Philadelphia Baptisms, 1747-1748"; http://files.usgwarchives.net/pa/philadelphia/church/baptisms/firstref1747.txt, accessed 9 Feb 2019.
4. ↑ "First Reformed Church of Philadelphia Baptisms, 1749-1750"; http://files.usgwarchives.net/pa/philadelphia/church/baptisms/firstref1749.txt, accessed 9 Feb 2019.
5. ↑ Snider, Frank W., Editor; “First Church -- Davidson County, A History Of Pilgrim Evangelical and Reformed Church, Lexington, North Carolina, 1757 to 1957”; Pilgrim Evangelical and Reformed Church, 1957; p 7-10. Accessed: https://archive.org/details/firstchurchdavid00snid on 3 Feb 2019.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Leonard, Lewis Keeler and Melvena Burris Leonard; “Seven Hundred Ancestors”; Typewritten manuscript; 1975; (https://www.worldcat.org/title/seven-hundred-ancestors/oclc/8610014); p 79.
7. ↑ Snider, Frank W.; “First Church — Davidson County, a History of the Pilgrim Evangelical and Reformed Church, Lexington, North Carolina 1757 to 1957”; Pilgrim Evangelical and Reformed Church, 1957; pp 7-9.
8. ↑ http://www.carolana.com/NC/Revolution/nc_rowan_county_regiment.html, accessed 14 Mar 2019
9. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Battle of Guilford Court House," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Guilford_Court_House&oldid=883805183 (accessed March 10, 2019).
10. ↑ McCubbins Papers at the Library in Salisbury, North Carolina. Leonard-1; accessed at https://edithclark.omeka.net/items/show/84387 on 10 Mar 2019
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 26 September 2020), memorial page for Valentine Leonard (13 Oct 1718–13 Nov 1781), Find A Grave: Memorial #14649058, citing Pilgrim Reformed Church Cemetery, Lexington, Davidson County, North Carolina, USA ; Maintained by Gary Leonard (contributor 47968291) .
12. ↑ "Wills, 1757-1959"; Author: North Carolina. Superior Court (Rowan County); Probate Place: Rowan, North Carolina
13. ↑ Leonard, Gary; https://www.familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/28848943?cid=mem_copy; accessed 14 Mar 2019

• http://records.ancestry.com/catherine_leonard_records.ashx?pid=152591861
• "Deutschland Heiraten, 1558-1929", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N8VV-G6B : 22 February 2020), Johann Leonhard in entry for Philipp Adam Hornberger, 1774.
• "North Carolina, Historical Records Survey, Cemetery Inscription Card Index", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPRB-GFM2 : 16 October 2019), Valentine Leonard, 1781.