Person:Johann Wehmeyer (1)

Born Johan Ludolph Weymeyer in Hanover, Germany (called Prussia) in 1725, the son of John Valentine (Johan

Voltine Weymeyer). Hanover lies west of Berlin in the Uplands.

Since 1701 the country had been ruled by the House of Hohenzollern, who called themselves the "Kings of Prussia."

Frederick William I had created a military state and by 1740, when his son Frederick II (called "Frederick the Great")

took over, they had made Prussia one of the strongest military powers in Europe.

John Rudolph grew to be a tall man with great physical strength. He served his mandatory enlistment in the army of

Frederick II and afterwards, he was kept on by the King as a personal bodyguard. The physical requirements to become a

bodyguard were a minimum height of 6'6" and minimum weight of 225+ lbs, but he qualified easily.

He showed such courage and executive abilities that the King made him governor of one of the provinces they had

seized in a battle. But this relationship deteriorated when he began refusing to follow orders that he didn't agree with,

and for speaking out in public about his complaints. Sometime after he began military service, he joined the Society of

Fgriends (Quakers) whose beliefs were against andy type of military actions whatever. He began speaking against the

military policies of the country and was warned to keep quiet. He was finally charged with insubordination and put in

prison for 30 days, but as soon as he was released he began publicly criticizing things again, saying that people weren't

being treated fairly, and that he intended to leave the country if things didn't change. His comments got him imprisoned

for a second time. This time he evidently learned that if he wanted to stay alive, he had to keep his opinions to himself.

He served another 30 days, and while in jail, quietly started making plans to leave Prussia and take his family to

AMERICA.

In the summer of 1753, at the age of 28, he boareded "The Leathley" at Hamburg. He took his wife and two small

children, his parents, and two sisters. He signed the boarding list for himself and his father. Unfortunately the names of

women and children weren't required, so we don't know the first names of his mother and sisters. His daughters Eleanor

Melinda, 4 and Rosannah, 2, are most likely the ones who journeyed with him. A third daughter, Elizabeth, was born

July 12, probably on board ship during the three month trip, but only two children were on the passenger list when he

boarded.

On the 3 he voyage, his mother became very ill. She died on the ship and was buried at sea.

When they landed in Philadepphia on September 19, 1753, his two sisters somehow separated from the family in all the

confusion of leaving the ship, and although he searched and searched, he would never see them or hear from them again.

The separation from his own country, the loss of his sisters and his mother's death haunted him forever, and he suffered

from terrible nightmares and visions.

After living here ashort time, he changed his name from Johan Ludolph Weymeyer to the more acceptable John Rudolph

Waymire. His father changed his name from Johan Voltine Weyermeyer to John Valentine Waymire. They settled in

Pennsylvania and began farming, but the ocean journey, the loss of his family, and the rough life here was too much for

his father, who died in 1757, only 4 years after arriving.

John Rudolph took his wife and children and moved to Guilford County (now called Randolph Co.) North Carolina, and

settled on the Uwharie River. Although the river valleys in North Carolina were fertile, they were narrow and flooded

often. The land outside the river valleys was rocky and the ground filled with clay. Farming was difficult, but John

continued there for many years. Altogether, he and his wife had 8 children: 7 daughters and 1 son. We are descended

from their daughter Eleanor Malinda Waymire, who married Jacob Fouts. Their descendants still hold Fouts-Waymire

Family Reunions in Richmond, Indiana.

It isn't known when his 1st wife died, but sometime around 1775 at the age of about 50, he married for the second time,

to Elizabeth "Molly" Louck. He started another family and had 7 sons. His last son, Solomon Waymire, was born when

John Rudolph was 66! Surprisingly for those times, all 15 of his children grew to be adults, all married and all had

children, remarkable for those times. (Must have been God's promised blessings for the descendants of a righteous man!)

In July of 1801 he wrote his will, and he died sometime between July and November, when his estate went into probate,

naming his wife "Molly" and children. He was 76 years old.

Eventually the land in North Carolina wasn't producing enough crops, so after his death, his children began moving

away to the "New Land" called Ohio. The soil was richer, and because the Waymires were Quakers, they wanted to live

somewhere where slavery wasn't tolerated. By 1808, 50 years after John Rudolph came to North Carolina, his children

had all oved to Ohio. Some stayed there, others moved farther and farther west.

A special THANKS goes to Margo McBride a descendant through her great-great-great-great grandmother Eleanore

Malinda Waymire who married Jacob Fouts. Margo wrote the above biography from her Genealogy research, and sent

me a copy. Research: *Broderbund Family Archive #17, Ed 1, Birth Records: United/Europe, Birth Records, CD #100,

Tombstone Inscriptions in Wayne Co., Indiana; Rowan Co. N.C. Genealogical Society. Books and Publications: John

Rudolph Waymire, 1925, Dr. William M. Reser

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Centennial portrait and biographical record of the city of Dayton and of Montgomery County, Ohio: containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of the presidents of the United States and biographies of the governors of Ohio. (A.W. Bowen, 1897).

   Centennial portrait and biographical record of the city of Dayton and of Montgomery County, Ohio: containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of the presidents of the United States and biographies of the governors of Ohio. (A.W. Bowen, 1897).
   THE WAYMIRE FAMILY [page 1069] is one of the oldest and most highly respected in Montgomery county, Ohio, having been a resident here since 1805. John Rudolph Waymire, the founder of the family in America, was a native of Germany, and died in North Carolina at the age of eighty-five years.
   Daniel Waymire, son of John Rudolph, was born in North Carolina, married Sophia Plumer, and after the birth of his first child came to Ohio (1805) and settled where the Polk church now stands in Butler township, Montgomery county, where his homestead embraced 160 acres of land, beside which he owned eighty acres in the Slashes, three miles south. At his house were held the first meetings of the members of the Christian church in his township, and he also contributed liberally toward the erection of the first house of worship, in 1816, belonging to that religious denomination, as well as to the building of the first schoolhouse. To Daniel and Sophia Waymire were born the following-named children : Davis, Mary, Daniel, John, Catherine, Elizabeth, Sarah, Rebecca, Rosannah, Henry and Isabel.
   John Waymire, the fourth enumerated of the above family, was born in Butler township, August 30, 1808, was educated in a frontier log school-house, and was taught the cooper's trade. At the age of twenty-two years he married Miss Margaret Coble, a native of Butler township, and daughter of Anthony and Mary (Coble) Coble, who settled in Butler township in 1806, and were the parents of Abraham, John, Sarah, Daniel, Margaret and Solomon. Mr. Coble was a substantial farmer, owning 160 acres of land, and died at the age of seventy-two years, a member of the Christian church. After his marriage, John Waymire settled on a farm of sixty-four acres, all in the woods, and known as Natchez Under the Hill. The tract abounded in game, and its soil was very rich, and the Stillwater river, on the banks of which it was situated, swarmed with choice fish, and the two afforded abundance of food at no cost. Nevertheless, Mr. Waymire worked industriously and increased his acreage to 235, which he fully improved. To his marriage with Miss Coble were born four children, viz: Isaac, Sarah, Daniel W. and Hamilton. Mrs. Waymire was called away, and Mr. Waymire married Elizabeth Woodhouse, daughter of Henry Woodhouse, and to this union was born one son, John. Mr. Waymire died an honored man, and left behind a family that is still highly respected by the residents of Butler township.