| I am researching the Ours Family(Auer Family) from Hampshire County West Virginia and Germany. Any information relating to the ancestors of Johannes Auer would be greatly appreciated. In a little village in Germany called Singen located near Karlsruhe and the Black Forest lived Johannes Auer. He was born in the early 1700's. Johannes married Catharina Barbara Methias in 1738 at Karisruhe, Germany. They had a son named Johannes Godfrey Auer, born November 27, 1739. After being granted permission to leave the principality of Baden-Durlach, Johannes decided to bring his family to America. They traveled down the Rhine River to Rotterdam. There they boarded the ship Edinburg where the quarters were -small and cramped - about 6 x 6. It took a lot of courage to undertake such a voyage. To cross the Atlantic took from 6 to 12 weeks and some people died. Johannes, Catharina Barbara and John Godfrey Auer arrived at Philadelphia, PA on Friday, September 14, 1753 according to Capt. James Russell of Rotterdam, who was the captain of the ship Edinburg. People from the Rhineland were Donkers, Bavarians, Mennonites, and Lutherans. The Auers were of the Lutheran faith. The family probably waited till spring to travel down the Great Road (Rt. 81) which was mostly a trail in the year 1753. They went to Lancaster, then to York PA. The Potomac River had no bridges, so the pack horses forded a low place in the river near Shepherdstown, Virginia which is called "Pack Horse Ford". from there they went down the Great Road to Winchester and Harrisonburg and west to a large settlement near the South Branch of the Potomac River. (1 Johannes leased a large number of acres from Lord Fairfax for 99 years. Lord Fairfax owned land from Alexandria, Virginia to the South Branch of the Potomac which is now in West Virginia. Times were hard. This was a time of Indian attacks. Fort Seybert was attacked April 7, 1776 and 22 rangers were killed. The people had to keep an eye out for Indians as well as make a living and most were farmers. (1) Johannes Elias and Catharina Barbara had a second son named Searchman Auer, Ower, or Ours. Searchmaan fought in the Revolutionary War, and he and (2) Johannes Godfrey are the only two Auer children to be found in the records. Searchman was born 1755 in Hampshire County, Virginia. Some of the documents found were written in German by Searchman Auer. But we are not from the Searchman side of the family. We are from the (2) Johannes Godfrey line. By now the name Johannes was being written as John (English) and one of (2) John Godfrey's children put the 'S' on Ours. John Godfrey Ours married Anna Marie Wetherholt in Winchester, Virginia on January 20, 1776. They had four children - Nicholas, (3) John, Henry, and Sara. John Godfrey was of the Lutheran faith. He wanted to be near his father-in-law, so he sold his South Branch property to his Dad and moved over the mountains to Brocks Gap, then to Morgantown and to Buckhannon, West Virginia. (3) John Ours, son of (2) John Godfrey stayed in Rockingham area and was in the War of 1812. He married Mary Bonnet of Ripley, West Virginia. They had several children-(4) William B., Marion, Sara, George, James M., Henry, Jehu and Nicholas. Page 3 Jehu fought in the Civil War and was killed in Mississippi The Meigs Couflty, Ohio Court House monument bears his name. Sara Ours married George Casto of Ripley, West Virginia, who was the Sheriff of Ripley. (3) John and Mary Bonnet later moved to Gallia County, OH. (4) William B. Ours, born January 10, 1822 in Ripley, married Rebecca Sully. They had Sara Jane, Mary E., (5) John Gilbert born August 1858, James M., Charles E., Martha M., Olive, Poe B., and Thomas Ours. (4) William B. Died January 28, 1891 and his wife Rebecca Sully died February 1900. They are buried in Blake Cemetery at Swann Creek, Ohio (near Crown City, Ohio.) The father, Johannes Elias Auer (John Ours) (1) died 1790 in Hampshire |
The Leo Ours Family Home Page
Updated September 2, 2002 |
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Leo,Jr. E. Ours 1319 Woodgate Way Tallahassee, Florida 32308 United States 850-386-3934 leoours@earthlink.net |
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