Leonidas Hamman Kelly

Notes:

Source: West Virginia and its people, Volume 3, Thomas Condit Miller, Hu Maxwell, Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1913, p. 857."

"He received his early education in the public schools, taught in the country schools two years, served as deputy clerk of the circuit court and deputy clerk of the county court of said county and then entered the law department of Washington and Lee University, from which he graduated in 1893, and was admitted to the bar. He at once began the active practice of his profession in Sutton, and at the end of one year formed a partnership with W. E. Hines, under the firm name of Hines & Kelly, which still continues; he was prosecuting attorney of his home county from 1897 to 1900; he is a stockholder in the Home National Bank, president of the Sutton Electric Light, Power & Water Company, is a member of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and has served two years as grand master workman of the state of the Ancient Order of United Workmen; he is a member and officer of the Presbyterian church. He married (first) in Sutton, March 3, 1897, Bertha, daughter of Amos and Saccharissa (Hall) Gorrell, who died March 5, 1904; to this union were born Robert Gorrell, born April 30, 1898, and Janet, born April 1D, 1900. He married, (second) at Buckhannon, West Virginia, June 19, 1907, Nellie, daughter of Arthur and Elizabeth (Leonard) Kiddy, who was born in Buckhannon, July 8, 1882. Her father served in the Union army throughout the civil war, and was afterward a furniture dealer and undertaker in Buckhannon, where he died 1904; her mother was born in Braxton county and now resides in Buckhannon; to this union there has been born one daughter, Virginia Elizabeth, born March 5, 1910."

Birth:
West Virginia and its people, Volume 3, Thomas Condit Miller, Hu Maxwell, Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1913, p. 857.

Buried:
Grave location:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Kelly&GSfn=Leonidas&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=52&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=83384215&df=all&

Died:
West Virginia Vital Records
http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=1042764&Type=Death

Notes:

He was engaged in farming and lumbering until the outbreak of the civil war, and in the hotel business at Sutton after the close of that war until his death.
Source: West Virginia and its people, Volume 3, Thomas Condit Miller, Hu Maxwell, Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1913, p. 857.

Note: His death record indicates he died of consumption [tuberculosis].


John McH. Kelly, son of Robert and Margaret (Hamilton) Kelly, was born Feb. 14, 1824, in Nicholas county. He made his home in Braxton county in 1850, and was married Oct. 23, 1860, to Allie V. Hamman who was born Oct. 23, 1860 at New Castle, Va., and her parents were Jacob and Amma (Ferrier) Hamman. Four children were born: Fanny F., Margaret, Sallie C., and Leonidas H. On March 9, 1863, Mr. Kelly was shot by bushwhackers while on his road as a private citizen, from Braxton to Nicholas, the dastardly deed occurring on Powells mountain. He died Nov. 27, 1873, and is interred in the Sutton cemetery.
Source: History of Braxton County and Central West Virginia by John Davis Sutton, 1919. Pg 398.

Wendy Irwin, familytree1819@gmail.com, sent the info from Sutton's book. She is a contact person for this branch of the Hammans.

Birth:
West Virginia and its people, Volume 3, Thomas Condit Miller, Hu Maxwell, Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1913, p. 857.

Buried:
Grave location:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Kelly&GSfn=John&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=52&GScnty=3067&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=81426062&df=all&

Died:
West Virginia and its people, Volume 3, Thomas Condit Miller, Hu Maxwell, Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1913, p. 857.

West Virginia Vital Records

http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_view.aspx?Id=4567122&Type=Death

John married Alzira Virginia HAMMAN 23 Oct 1861. Alzira (daughter of Jacob HAMMAN and Anna/Amma Farrier) was born 26 Feb 1837, New Castle, Botetourt Co. VA; died 06 Jun 1904, Sutton, Braxton Co. WV; was buried , Sutton Cemetery, Braxton Co.WV. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Birth:
West Virginia and its people, Volume 3, Thomas Condit Miller, Hu Maxwell, Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1913, p. 857.

Buried:
Grave location:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Kelly&GSiman=1&GScid=2228343&GRid=81426058&

Died:
West Virginia and its people, Volume 3, Thomas Condit Miller, Hu Maxwell, Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1913, p. 857.

Notes:

Married:
West Virginia and its people, Volume 3, Thomas Condit Miller, Hu Maxwell, Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1913, p. 857.

Other Events:

• Religion: Methodist
• _UID: 58D7FD93A0694BA1A0A490DEA098964074E6

Notes:

Entered the War of 1812 in company headed by Captain Bowyer of Botetourt Co. Was a lieutenant assigned to Norfolk's defensive fortifications. Settled in Newcastle in Craig Co. where he had a store. Rev. Jehu Hank said Jacob was "virutally converted from the Race Track."

Was a cavalry lieutenant in the War of 1812. Source: West Virginia and its people, Volume 3, Thomas Condit Miller, Hu Maxwell, Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1913, p. 857.

Birth:
West Virginia and its people, Volume 3, Thomas Condit Miller, Hu Maxwell, Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1913, p. 857.

Occupation:
Store keeper

Died:
West Virginia and its people, Volume 3, Thomas Condit Miller, Hu Maxwell, Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1913, p. 857.

Jacob married Anna/Amma Farrier. Anna/Amma (daughter of John Farrier and Mary Reynolds) was born 08 Jan 1806; died 24 Jan 1889, Sutton, Braxton Co. WV. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Birth:
West Virginia and its people, Volume 3, Thomas Condit Miller, Hu Maxwell, Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1913, p. 857.

Died:
West Virginia and its people, Volume 3, Thomas Condit Miller, Hu Maxwell, Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1913, p. 857.

Other Events:

• _UID: 2BB6880DCB45458595ED77E3ED6F15EF8CC3

Notes:

Although several family trees on Rootsweb and Ancestry.com connect this Peter Hamman as the the son of Georg Adam Hamman of Kürnbach, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, recent DNA evidence from the Hamman DNA project shows this not to be the case.
http://www.brian-hamman.com/Hamman_Y_chromosomeResults.htm

Peter is connected to the southeastern Hessen-Darmstadt group, which leads to an interesting possibility. The evidence strongly suggests that this is the Johann Peter Hammann born on 5 Sep 1753, in Langstadt, Hessen-Darmstadt, Germany; if so, then this is the long lost Peter Hamann who deserted the Hessian Army in 1781 after seven years of service. Please see the following link for more details as John Helmut Merz has extensively researched Hessian soldiers who settled in the US and Canada. John was the list moderator for the Rootsweb American Revolution Hessian mailing list and provided a wealth of information and expertise.

http://boards.ancestry.com/surnames.hamann/122.1/mb.ashx

The Hammans from Langstadt serving in the Hessen-Hanau troops included:

Hamann, Jacob, 1752/53 born in Langstadt/Hessen, returned to Langstadt, married and lived a long and happy life.
Hamann, Konrad, 1754/55 born in Langstadt, married and is the progenitor of the Canadian Hammans, and died in Canada,
Hamann, Peter, 1752/53, Langstadt, deserted 1781 in the US.

The military records that "Peter" disappeared in the U.S.A. in 1781 just as the American Revolution was ending.

It is possible and plausible that this is the Peter who was a Hessian deserter. He would have found a large German population in the Shenandoah Valley, but his service as a Hessian soldier would have made him an outcast.

According to the Hammond Genealogy, Peter supposedly came from PA into Valley of VA, settled in Botetourt Co., then part of Augusta Co. and became owner of Heibst/Hypes/Hipes estate. Fiske Edwards Hammond, author of the Hammond Genealogy, uses the stereotypical genealogical convention of three brothers coming from x, in this case Pennsylvania, settling in y, the Valley of Virginia, Botetourt County. In this instance, instead of the other brothers migrating to other sections of the country never to be heard from again, these 2 brothers die without marrying, and no offspring, leaving Peter being the progenitor of this family.

Fiske Edwards Hammond indicated Peter was known to enter shooting matches and horse races and was middle aged when thrown from a horse and killed. [Source: The Hammond Genealogy, 1919, p.12] As a skilled, professional soldier Peter would have been an excellent shooter and perhaps rider. So this bit of biographical information has a ring of truth to it.

Also it makes sense that Peter would provide general information about coming from PA which had large German settlements and be evasive about his past since he married into a German Palatinate family who supported the American Revolution. Having Hessian military connections would not endear one to some of the patriot populace. He marched through PA as a prisoner of war, so he came "from" PA to Virginia. While not a complete lie, it disconnected him from his role in fighting for the British, and in all probability, he wasn't too enthusiastic to be fighting against German-speaking colonists.

With the results of the DNA tests, the likely ancestors of Peter are provided at the following link:

http://www.brian-hamman.com/ANCESTORS-OF-27019.htm

Information from Dr. Ernst Hamman, Hessen-Darmstadt on Hessian soldiers from Langstadt, Hessen-Darmstadt who fought in the American Revolution has Peter listed as a soldier in the Hess-Hanaulschen Regiment, with the word "erbprinz or Crown Prince," also known as the Prince Hereditaire Regiment He enlisted July, 1774 and was active until July, 1781. He is listed as a deserter.

There was a Hesse Hanau Erbprinz Regiment that was one of the units from Hesse-Hanau that fought in the American Revolution. The Hessian soldiers were regular or professional army units hired out by the German leaders to Great Britain. The Germany of the 1700's was not a unified country like it is today. It was divided up into many different principalities, each one with their own ruler. These princes often found themselves running short of money. One method they had of making money was to rent out their armies to other countries.

The Hessians made up about 25 percent of the forces sent by the British in the American Revolution. The use of Hessian troops angered the American colonists, and pushed more Loyalists to be in favor of the revolution. The British use of non-English speaking foreign troops to put down the rebellion was seen as insulting.

Family records of Johann Nicholas Bahner(t), one of the Hessians captured in the Battle of Trenton, indicate that some of the Hessian soldiers enrolled in the service of King George III of England under the false pretense that they were needed to defend the American Colonies against Indian incursions. It was not until after they arrived upon American shores that they discovered they were enlisted to fight against, rather than for, the colonists.

About 30,000 of these men served in America with the majority returning home. Hesse-Hanau sent 2,422 men and officers with 981 not returning to Germany from death or desertion.

The Patriots enticed Hessians to desert and join the large German-American population. The US Congress authorized the offer of 50 acres of land to individual Hessian soldiers to encourage them to desert. Most of the former Hessian solders married and settled amongst the population of the newly formed United States.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hessian_soldiers

The Hesse-Hanau Erbprinz Regiment was taken at Saratoga on Oct. 17, 1777. They made up part of the left wing of Lt. General Burgoyne's army as part of the 2nd Brigade under Brigadier General Wilhelm von Gall. After the fall of Fort Ticonderoga, the Infantry Regiment Erbprinz was left behind as a garrison, and most likely did not see combat.

There were over 2,000 German troops who were part of the British surrender. All British, German, and Canadian troops had to leave their weapons on the field of surrender, and from there march to Boston, Massachusetts, to be put aboard ships and never return to fight again. They were known as the Convention Army. At Cambridge, called the Winter Hill prison camp, Brunswick and Hessen Hanau Regiments were kept in barracks for a whole year. The American Congress did not ratify the surrender agreement. British ships that came to pick up the prisoners according to the original agreement, were refused entry into Boston harbour. Some of the prisoners went out to work by special permits. Some deserted or joined the American forces. The soldiers themselves were still under the command of their officers, and kept together within their regimental units.

In November 1778, these surrendered troops started their march towards Virginia, arriving in Charlottesville on Jan.14, 1779. They found unfinished barracks and deplorable conditions. The Brunswick and Hesse Hanau prisoners stayed until the end of Feb.1781, when they were ordered to march north towards Winchester, VA, and Frederick, MD. Hessian solider prisoners were kept in Lancaster, PA, York, PA, Carlisle, PA, Lebanon, PA, Philadelphia, PA, and Reading, PA. Since Johan Peter's last record is July, 1781, we assume he deserted somewhere in PA. He made his way from PA, escaping as a prisoner of war, to Botetourt County, VA where he married into the prosperous Heibst/Hypes family in 1789.

Source: http://freepages.military.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~amrevhessians/hpnah.htm

Until there is newer evidence to contradict the DNA indications, I will assume Peter is the lost Hessian soldier and these are his ancestors.


Birth:
Information from Dr. Ernst Hamman, Hessen-Darmstadt on Hessian soldiers from Langstadt, Hessen-Darmstadt who fought in the American Revolution. He provides Peter's date of birth.

Johann married Anna Barbara Heibst 15 Dec 1789, Botetourt Co. VA. Anna (daughter of Johann Nicholas Heibst and Apolonia Abigail Wamser) was born 02 Jul 1771, Botetourt Co. VA; died 1829, Botetourt Co. VA. [Group Sheet]

Other Events:

• _UID: 154D256CE14E444CB947DD5696CAD4445DC6

Notes:

Marriage date: Early Marriages, Wills, and Some Revolutionary War Records: Botetourt County, Virginia. Anne Lowry Worrell . (1958) p.21 Surname was spelled Hammond in this source.

Last name was sometimes spelled HYPES/HIPES

Notes:

Married:
Original data: Virginia, Marriages, 1785-1940. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013.

Name: Peter Hammond [Hamman]
Gender: Male
Marriage Date: 8 Dec 1789
Marriage Place: Botetourt, Virginia
Spouse: Barbara Hypes Or Hipes
FHL Film Number: 30734
Reference ID: pg 51
Household Members
Name: Barbara Hypes Or Hipes
Name: Nicholas Hipes
Name: Peter Hammond

Notes:

Was a captain in the War of 1812. Source: West Virginia and its people, Volume 3, Thomas Condit Miller, Hu Maxwell, Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 1913, p. 857.

John married Mary Reynolds. [Group Sheet]