Person:Balsor Sponaugle (1)

Balsor first lived on Straight Creek near Crab Bottom, originally Augusta Co., later Pendleton and still later Highland Co. Soon moved to Hunting Ground where most of the children were born

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/142209535/balsor-sponaugle

Balsor is said to have "come from Loudoun" (Loudoun County, VA) by Oren Morton in his History of Pendleton County, published 1910. His death apparently occurred before 1834 when Sarah transferred property without Balsor's name included on the document. Sarah’s maiden name is not known. There is some controversy as to where Balsor was born, however it was certainly between 1765 and 1776 if census and other documents can be believed, and the most likely dates are 1774 and 1775, because of his being age 18 when he joined the Loudoun County Militia in 1793 as required by the law. His descendants still living in Pendleton County say he came from everything from "Germany" to "Pennsylvania"--his spoken language as a child was without doubt originally German.

Paul Rondel Sponaugle, in his book The Sponaugle Family published by the author, 1997, cites a number of documents which make it clear that there were several persons with some form of the "Spannagel" name living in Pennsylvania (Berks, Montgomery and Huntingdon Counties), Maryland (Frederick and Montgomery Counties), and northern Virginia (Loudoun, Berkeley, and other counties) by the second half of the 1700's and early 1800's, but it is not yet possible to sort them out with certainty in a way that will identify Balsor's parents. I have also examined these same citations.

New clues (an 1806 Ohio will indicating a possible mother for Balsor and a 1794 Loudoun County VA militia muster roll) have been found recently; these clues throw light on Balsor's origins. In my opinion, it is at least possible at this time to say that Balsor himself was not an immigrant; he was almost certainly born in Frederick County MD. Although we have not found a birth record for him, we are 99% sure who his father was, and where his parents were living at the time of Balsor's birth. The surname is found as early as the 1760's in Frederick County MD when an "Andrew Spoonogle" sold his blacksmith gear, presumably as part of an estate; Balsor's birth family moved to Loudoun County VA about 1778, when Balsor was a young child. Balsor's parents and siblings apparently left Loudoun County at about the same time that Balsor and Peter migrated to Pendleton County. Although others believe that Balsor was born in Pennsylvania, I have not found any family there whose "dates" are correct to be the parents of Balsor and Peter

Military Service Service: Joined Loudoun County Militia Date: 1793 Place: Loudoun County, Virginia, USA. Residence Date: 1810 Place: Pendleton County, Virginia, USA.

Father of John Sponaugle, Jacob Sponaugle, George Sponaugle, Susan Sponaugle, Mary Polly Sponaugle, William Sponaugle and William Sponaugle

Parents of Balsor George Sponaugle was born in 1743 in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, . He married Barbary Frantz France in 1760. They had 10 children during their marriage. He died on November 23, 1820, in Alexandria, Virginia, having lived a long life of 77 years. Buried Christ Church Episcopal Cemetery, Alexandria, Alexandria City, Virginia USA.

Children,, Balsor Sponaugle, Sponaugle, Peter Sponaugle, Elizabeth Sponaugle, Margaret Sponaugle, Catharine Sponaugle , Jacob Sponaugle ,

Origin of the name Spanogle

The shiplists with immigrants using this name invariably spell it Spannagel, and that is an old German surname. A "Spannagel" is the name of a tough wooden nail or peg that was used to keep the parts of a yoke (as in oxen etc.) together (similar function to English word "linchpin"). As a result, in the 1200's and 1300's, it also became the name of a battle award given to the man who "held the line together" in the face of battle. Germanic areas did not use surnames until around 1400 or so, and Spannagel became used as a surname when the old patronymic forms were no longer used.
Surnames: Spannagel, Sponogle, Spunogle, Spunaugle, Sponaugle, Spanogle

Sources

•Ancestry. Cyndi's List .FamilySearch •Find a Grave. Rootsweb •“Braxton County, West Virginia Marriages” •“Gilmer County, West Virginia Marriages” •Conrad, Carol, Stewart pedigree chart •Coombs, Argil Leon Coombs pedigree chart •Douglas, Allen, Balsor Sponaugle descendancy chart •"Gilmer County, West Virginia history 1845-1989" pp.49,50,154,253,254 •"Lewis County, West Virginia, Her People and Places", 2000, p. 189 •Jackson, Dr. Harry A., "George Cutlip Descendants" •Marks, Geraldine, Sponaugle family group records •Marks, Steven, "George Sponaugle" •Marshall, Charles V., “Descendants of Joseph Marshall” •Norman, Don, "Descendants of Daniel Beckett," "Descendants of Peter Hardman," "Descendants of Aaron Bennett," "Descendants of William Burns," "Descendants of Patrick Kearns," “Descendants of John Stout” •1870, 1880, 1900 Braxton County, West Virginia census •1880, 1900, 1910, 1930 Gilmer County, West Virginia census •1850 Lewis County, Virginia census •"The Glenville Democrat" Nov 11 1999