Person:Melchior Engle (1)

Land Record in Lancaster County, PA

• Deed Book 1, page 602 - October 18, 1750 - Michael Beyerle deeds to Melchor Engle. . ."he being the son-in-law of the said Michael Beyerle," a lot adjoining Philip Schutz which lot Michael Beyerle acquired by an indenture dated May 30, 1735 from James Hamilton, Esq. This deed is signed by Michael Beyerle in German. (Following is a release or Quit claim from Catharine Beyerle). [Source: "A Window in Time, Family History for Engle, Smithson, Horner, Furr, Randleman, Godown, Clapp Families"

Information on Melchoir Engle

Melchor Engle, the first of our Engle forebears of whom we have record, was doubtless an immigrant from the Palatinate. By an act of Parliament in 1740, Great Britain required Foreign Protestants to be naturalized as subjects of Great Britain they having resided here for seven years and upwards, etc. In the Pennsylvania Archives, 2nd series, volume 11, page 309 is a record of the naturalization of Melchor Ingle of Lancaster County on August 21, 1743 at a Supreme Court held in Philadelphia. Melchor Engle, of an age to be declared a naturalized subject in 1743, was probably born about 1720 or before. Whether he had come to this country with his parents, his stepfather and his mother, or alone is not known. [Source: "A Window in Time, Family History for Engle, Smithson, Horner, Furr, Randleman, Godown, Clapp Families"

Sources:

Familysearch submissions"

[Source: "A Window in Time, Family History for Engle, Smithson, Horner, Furr, Randleman, Godown, Clapp Families"

http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/h/a/r/Beverly-A-Harbourt/GENE3-0004.html

1.   History of Eastern Jefferson County, West Virginia William D. Theriaul.

   THE ENGLE FAMILY
   The land originally settled by the Engles is outside of the intended scope of this work, yet details of Engle family history shed light on the early settlement of the area and the controversy surrounding the Katrina Bierlin tombstone mentioned in the previous chapter. In addition, Engle land ownership expanded eastward, toward the Potomac River during the 18th century, and many of the social ties existing between the Elk Branch-Duffields neighborhood and the Bakerton area are the result of this family's movements. Melchior Engle [1], the progenitor of the Engle family in West Virginia, arrived in Pennsylvania in the early 1730's and was naturalized in 1743. His mother Catherine married widower John Michael Beyerle after the death of Melchior's father; J.M. Beyerle is known to have arrived from Germany in 1730.10 Melchior Engle received a patent to 397 acres near Duffields on January 1, 1754, and purchased another 105 acres in June of the same year from his neighbor Thomas Hart.11 Engle probably brought his wife Magdelena (Mary) and sons John [5], George [7], Michael [4], William [6], and Philip [3] to the area from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, shortly before this time. However, the land may have been occupied by Engle relations several decades before he arrived.
   
   Family tradition suggests that Jacob Engle, who arrived in Philadelphia with his father Paul in 1682, moved to the Duffields area in 1707 and built a fort.12
   If this tradition is true, then Jacob Engle is probably a relative of Melchior. According to one source, Cattana Biern was the daughter of John Biern, one of the men said to have helped Jacob Engle establish a fort at Duffields in 1707. She is supposed to have been killed in an Indian attack on the fort; the sandstone marker with the disputed date was reportedly brought from Philadelphia to mark the spot where she was buried.13 If such a story is to be believed, the Jacob Engle settlement would be one of the earliest in Jefferson County and the woman beneath the tombstone is not a member of the Engle family. A more conservative interpretation holds that Melchior's mother, Catherine Beyerle, accompanied her son to his land grant and died there in 1757. Death records for Catherine Beyerle have not been found, and there is no evidence that she made such a journey.14 If this version is true, her grave is still one of the earliest surviving in the area, but numerous settlers had arrived by that time.
   Melchior Engle was a saddler by profession, but it is not known if he continued this trade after he moved to the area. He did own a substantial number of horses and cattle, and farming appears to have been the principal occupation of Engle and his sons. He also operated a small still, possibly to convert part of his crop into a more portable commodity. Melchior Engle was not a slave owner, even though later generations of Engles used slave labor on their farms. Engle's arrival in the area on the eve of the French-Indian War, his ownership of a pair of pistols, and his sons' subsequent service in the American Revolution suggest that he and his family actively defended their farm while their were gaining a foothold on the land.15
   
   Melchior Engle died in 1760 and was buried in the graveyard at Duffields near the resting place of Catanna Biern. He left 100 acres adjacent to John Wright and Nicholas Parker to Philip Engle, Sr. [3], 100 acres adjacent to Joseph Darke and John Humphreys to Michael Engle [4], and the rest to his wife Mary to be divided equally between sons John [5], George [7], and William [6] at her death. His sons John, George, Michael, William, and Philip remained on their father's property until shortly before the Revolution.
   
   https://www.shannondale.org/sca/jefferson-county-history/History%20of%20Eastern%20Jefferson%20County%202009.pdf