I am looking for the birth information and parents of my 4xggrandfather, Christopher Turnpaugh. The earliest reference for him is 1752, New Jersey, with an event described as "Other" in the LDS database with no documentation. He next appears in the pastoral records of Jacob Lischy for the baptism of his son, Görge Dornbach (1755) then daughter, Susanna (1758). The immigration records indicate his taking of the Oath of Allegiance in Baltimore in 1760 in order to acquire land in Maryland. I have documented his land acquisitions in Maryland, the will indicates land in Adams County, PA (passing to his son, William). His children (according to the will) were George, Susanna, John (resided in Harford County, MD then Ohio), Phillip, Margaret, Mary, and Elizabeth. Simon Turnpaw of Salem, NJ (1763-1851) is purported to be a son and is my 3xgreat grandfather. I can find only the marriage records for Simon in NJ but no birth, property, etc. until his relocating to Ohio in the 1800's. Who were Christopher's parents? Where did he come from? Was he born in America or did he emigrate? He appears to have been quite successful (the overseer for Charles and Nicholas Carroll's plantation (3,000 acres called "The Caves") and the witnesses of his will were very prominent people in Baltimore County. After finding no immigration records or European birth records, that leads me to suspect he was born in America. The lack of a grave (LOL...another brick wall) leaves me wondering if he is still walking the streets of Baltimore laughing at me). Then, who was Simon? Supposedly a son but not mentioned in the will. At the same time as Simon's birth in (supposedly) NJ, Christopher is residing in Baltimore and acquiring property in what is now Hampstead, MD. Maybe he WAS in NJ at the time??? But where is the birth record for Simon as his son? Anyways, I would sincerely appreciate the help of anyone out there in solving this mystery. From what I can see out on the internet, I am the FIRST person to actually research Christopher and his children. Everything I've found in other genealogies has just been copied from one tree by someone making assumptions to another and no one has ever documented their data. I've been practically living at the Maryland Historical Society lately and found a lot of material but no birth information and no grave (I should be so lucky to find that!). As for Simon, what I have seen online shows him born in Salem County, NJ in 1763 but the Salem Historical Society has no record of a Dornbach or Turnpaugh/Turnpaw in their records. That leaves me wondering if he was indeed born in Salem, NJ or was his birth or baptism recorded in the Salem Reformed Church and someone assumed that he was born in Salem, NJ from the marriage records. So, that is my brick wall and I would be forever grateful for assistance.
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Permalink Reply by Roger L. Gansauer on May 5, 2012 at 9:38am Kate,
I am intrigued by your request for information on Christopher and Simon Turnpaugh. My mother was a Turnpaugh descended from Joshua A Turnpaugh. Joshua A. was born circa 1801 in Mannington Township, Salem County, NJ. He married Martha "Patsy" Pearson in 1829 in ? and died on 21 April 1881 in Washington Township, Cass County, IN. This is where it gets “murky.” I have not been able to positively confirm who his father was – Simon or a Mathias or someone else – and who his grandfather was.
There are two items that lead me to believe without confirming proof however, that Joshua’s father was Simon. The first is that one of his sons was named Simon (b. 26 Dec 1829 in Warren County, OH; d. 25 Nov 1916 in Logansport, Cass County, IN). And, the second is Joshua possibly had a brother or half-brother named John who supposedly had the middle name Simon. Unfortunately, these may only be coincidences.
I assume you’ve seen the two marriage records fron Ancestry for a Simon Turnpaw (All New Jersey Marriages, 1684-1895 results for Simon Turnpaw):
Have you been able to determine the relationship between Christopher and Simon? I know there are many family trees linking a Mathias to Christopher and many have Mathias’ marriage date to a Mary Smith that is the same as Simon Turnpaw’s first marriage.
Roger
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