Person:Johannes Hottel (2)

Land Acquisition in Virginia

• 30 August 1750 - Johannes Hottel bought 341 acres of land from Lord Thomas Fairfax.

Will of Johannes Hottel

JOHANNES HOTTEL'S WILL (Age 75)

A copy of John Hottel's last will and testament is herewith produced in full, bearing date August 11, 1760, admitted to probate in the Court of Frederick Co., Virginia, at Winchester, November 5, 1760, as follows:

In the name of God, Amen:

I, John Hoddle, of the county of Frederick and Colony of Virginia, being in health of body and of perfect mind and memory, thanks be given to God, calling to mind the mortality of my body and knowing it is appointed for all men to die once, do make and ordain this my last will and testament, that is to say, principally and first of all, I give and recommend my soul into the hand of God that gave it, and my body I recommend to the earth to be buried in a decent Christian burial at the discretion of my executors, nothing doubting but at the general resurrection I shall receive the same again by the mighty power of God, and as touching such worldly estate wherewith it has pleased God to bless me in this life, I give, devise and dispose of in the following manner and form.

First, that all my just debts and funeral charges be paid. I also give and bequeath to Margaret, my dear wife, one full third part of my whole estate by her to be enjoyed during her natural life, and then at her decease to fall to my executors. Also, I give to my eldest son, Charles Hoddle, ten pounds of current money of Virginia, to be raised and levied out of my estate.

Also, I give to my youngest son, George Hoddle, and my son-in-law, George Keller the -- which two I likewise constitute, make and ordain my executors of this, my last will and testament -- all and singular, my lands together with all my movable estate, to be equally divided between them after my decease and the decease of my wife, then by them freely to be possessed and enjoyed, and I hereby utterly disavow, revoke and disannul all and every other former testaments, wills, legacies, and bequests and executors by me in any wise before named, willed and bequeathed, ratifying and confirming this and no other to be my last will and testament.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal this eleventh day of August in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and sixty.

his: JOHN X HODDLE. [Seal]: mark:

Signed, sealed, published, pronounced and declared by the said, John Hoddle, as his last will and testament, in the presence of us who in the presence of each other and in his presence have hereunto subscribed our names.

Witnesses: Benjamin Denton, John North, John Little

[Source: Will book No. 2, page 444].

Information on Johannes Hottel

Johannes Hodel was very likely born in Switzerland in approximately 1685. He and his wife, Elizabetha, were married by 1712 and spent their early years together in Germany in the region of Alsheim bei Gronau, in the Rhineland-Pfalz (Palatinate), southwest of Manheim and northwest of Speyer. Although the tax record for 1722 listed the land as poor, Johannes and Elizabeth made their home on a 10-acre farm that included a 1/4-acre vineyard.

The couple had four children:

Anna Barbara (English name: Barbara), born Dec. 2, 1713

Johann Carl (English name: Charles), born Oct. 25, 1718

Johann Georg (English name: George), born Apr. 4, 1722

Catharina Elisabetha (English name: Elizabeth), born Nov. 17, 1725

On Dec. 22, 1726, a year after her last child was born, Elisabetha died and was buried at the Reformed Church in Alsheim bei Gronau.

Two years later, on June 23, 1728, Johannes married Maria Margaretha Steph Rheinwald (English name: Margaret) in the Reformed Church in Meckenheim, Germany. They had one son, Johannes (English name: John Jr.), born October 27, 1731.

The following spring, Johannes and his family traveled down the Rhine River to Rotterdam, where they lived for approximately 3 months while arranging passage to America. In June or July of 1732, the family boarded the Pennsylvania Merchant and sailed to the New World, arriving in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 11, 1732. Johannes purchased one hundred acres of land in Oley Township, Pennsylvania on February 22, 1734. On March 23, 1742, the land was repossessed after he was unable to keep up the payments.

Early in this period, daughter Barbara married George Keller (who had arrived in Philadelphia on October 11, 1732) in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

In the early 1740s, sons Charles and George traveled to Virginia to look for new land to establish a family homestead. Having found that suitable lands were available, they returned to Pennsylvania to help their father and his family move to Virginia, including their sister, Barbara, and her husband, George Keller. In Virginia they moved onto these new lands, built their first homes and began farming, all before they received land grants in 1750, in what was then Frederic County (now Shenandoah County). The first of those land grants was received from Thomas, Lord Fairfax in 1750. Johannes lived the remainder of his years in Virginia. He died in 1760.

1. He said that the Hodel family was obviously well respected in their community. He based this on the statuture of the people who were godparents of his children [i.e., a court recorder, a well respected businessman (the cooper), and the mayor). He said that if were they just ordinary people, none of the above people would have consented to be the godparents. 2. He said the godfather of Johann Carl, Johann Carl Wolff was well respected, as indicated by the word Herr before his name.

1.   Huddle, William David, and Lulu May Harden Huddle. History of the descendants of John Hottel (immigrant from Switzerland to America): and an authentic genealogical family register of ten generations from the first of the name in America, 1732, to the present time, 1929, with numerous brief biographical sketches, collected and compiled from many indisputable sources; court and church records, old and late family records and tombstones of the many states in the Union... (Strasburg, Virginia: Shenandoah Publishing House, 1930).