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1   Johan Andersson, alias Stålkofta/Stalcop 2   The sons with families:        (A) Andrew,        (B) John and,        (C) Pietter Stalcop 3   John Stalcop 4   Peter Stalcop 5   William Stalcop

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JOHAN ANDERSSON, alias STåLKOFTA/STALCOP

The first ever Stalcop family is unique. The family name has never existed anywhere outside of North America, even in Sweden. There is never been any heraldry of any sort associated with the family. No background of royalty, no Coat of Arms.  Simply stated we are All AMERICAN. We are a single-family unit. Everyone born to the name is directly descended from Johan Anderson and Christina Carlsdaughter. Everyone born to the Stalcop name is related by blood to everyone else in the family regardless of how the name is spelled.

 

Artist’s rendering of Fort Christina as seen from out in the river downstream at about 1654. It is based on Lindeström’s map. This was about a year before the Dutch invasion. The wedding of Johan Anderson Stålkofta and Christina Carlsdaughter probably took place in the big red house inside the fort about one year after the Dutch invasion. Watercolor painting by Roslyn Etheridge Stallcup, 2008 Prints of the painting and note cards featuring this artwork are available at the New Sweden Centre Museum at the Kalmar Nyckle Shipyard in Wilmington, DE

The First Stalcop

A Swedish stålkofta from the period

The early records of Johan Andersson, alias 'Stålkofta', are foggy at best. There are several reasons for this. One is that most of the surviving records are scattered, both in America and in Europe and are written in several languages; Dutch, Swedish, Latin and English and even a few in German. Some of these may never have been translated. The main reason, however, is that there were more than one person in the colony with the same name. At least two were Dutch and perhaps as many as seven were Swedish or Finnish.

It is clear the 'lad' or 'boy' onboard the ship CHARITAS when it arrived in 1641 was from Strängnäs and had been hired by Mans Kling, an agent for the Swedish Government, to be a farm hand. The passenger list for the CHARITAS includes 35 people. Following the name of Johan Andersson is this notation;

There are at least two additional sources of positive information on the matter. One is "Rulle der Völcker So in New Schweden den 1 Marty Anno 1648", the 1648 Roll List of the South Company. This is a listing of all adult male inhabitants of New Sweden as of March 1, 1648, listed in the order of their arrival. The roll list has this to say:

Johan Andersson, first hired by Måns Kling in 1641 to serve as a farm hand, and he later became a soldier.

The second source is "Monat Gelder Buch". This was Governor Printz's monthly account book. This book lists the people, including soldiers, in the employ of Printz during his tenure as governor. The Monat Gelder Buch, or monthly account book has a continuous record of our him and includes this final entry for him:

Johan Anderson from Strängnäs served as a soldier from 1 October 1646, to 1 September 1653. This account book consistently refers to our ancestor as "Johan Anderson from Strängnäs".

Now we have a nearly continuous record of Johan Andersson Stålkofta from his hiring as a young lad in Strängnäs, Sweden, until his death.

Johan Andersson joined the military detachment of the colony in 1646, serving alongside an older Johan Andersson, Soldat, This is probably the reason he adopted his nickname. The military detachment was tiny by today’s standards so there had to be some way to distinguish between the two men. Two years later (1648) when the older Johan Andersson, Soldat, left the colony and returned to Sweden the use of the nickname for our Johan Andersson had become so prevalent that it was continued even after the reason for its use had been removed.

His Stålkofta, steeljacket or steelcoat, nickname must have been a reference to plate armor worn by our ancestor. Armor had all but disappeared by this time. It was heavy, uncomfortable, cumbersome and largely ineffective against weapons of the day. Certain military men, however, found it useful to continue to use a portion of such armor. These were the men who fired cannons. The armor protected them from the powder flash when these heavy guns were fired. Gunners often developed the habit of wearing this particular piece of armor most of the time. It is probable the wearing of breastplate armor by our Johan Andersson is the basis for his Stålkofta, or "The steelcoat" nickname. He was trained as a Gunner. The English from Jamestown in Virginia imported plate armor in large quantities as a trade item for the Indians. It is probably that Johan Andersson obtained it from one of the English Traders.

In 1651 the Dutch under Peter Stuyvesant sent a fleet of eleven ships, all armed but four of the ships being warships they were very heavily armed and each carrying soldiers, down the Atlantic coast and back up the South River past Fort Elfsborg, past Fort Christina and Tinicum Island to Fort Nassau. Stuyvesant marched overland at the head of a column of another120 men to meet the ships at Fort Nassau. The fleet loaded the additional men then about a week after sailing up the river sailed back down the river past Tinicum and Fort Christina with flags, banners and streamers flying, drummers beating at the rails and a continuous booming of salutes being fired from the guns of all ships. All accounts say it was quite a loud and colorful spectacle. It made several back and forth circuits up and down the river. It is sometimes known as the Dutch Water Circus.

Stuyvesant needed an excuse to justify an invasion and military occupation of the New Sweden territory. He was trying to provoke Governor Printz into committing a military clash by firing on the Dutch ships.

Governor Printz was taken by surprise when the Dutch fleet sailed northward on its way to Fort Nassau. He immediately called all of his men to Tinicum including the garrisons of forts Christina, Korsham and Elfsborg. When the Dutch fleet sailed back down the river about a week later it had all of its colorful flags flying and making all of that noise Printz loaded his entire military force, about thirty men, into his little yacht rigged vessel and trailed the Dutch fleet at a discreet distance. Our Johan Andersson Stålkofta, without doubt, was one of the thirty men riding on the yacht with Governor Printz.

When this initial enticement scheme failed to provoke an attack Stuyvesant proceeded with the next step in his plan of provocation. The Dutch landed and erected a fort at Sandhucken (Sand Hook); the spot were the town of New Castle now stands.

This new fort, Fort Cassimir, was only five miles south of Fort Christina. Upon completion Stuyvesant sent nine of the ships and the soldiers back to New Amsterdam. He left two ships on guard to patrol and disrupt Swedish boat traffic on the river until winter set in. He also left men to garrison the new fort. Fort Cassimir, rather than the Dutch fleet, now became the bait in Stuyvesant’s trap.

Fort Cassimir and the patrolling Dutch ships cut direct communications between Fort Christina and Fort Elfsborg, fifteen miles down river and over on the opposite (east) shore. Printz was force to abandon Fort Elfsborg. He sent a working party overland to prepare the fort for abandonment. This included hiding the guns so the Dutch could not find them. After hiding the guns he abandoned the fort by simply not sending the garrison back to reactivate it.

All of these problems apparently became more than Printz could stand. Printz had been promised to be relieved as Governor after three years service. He had been Governor of New Sweden for nine years with little or no support from the homeland. In September 1653 Printz resigned his post as Governor and returned to Sweden.

Because of illness Printz was confined to a sick bed in the Netherlands. Future Governor Risingh sailed past without the two seeing each other. After the ship Örnen (Eagle) entered the South River it anchored for the night off the abandoned Fort Elfsborg. The next morning Risingh disregarded all of his orders and in direct violation of those orders he assumed complete military command. This act against his direct orders must be considered as a coup.

Risingh then ordered the captain of the ship to sail the Örnen up to the Dutch fort, anchor it directly under the fort’s guns, and fire a salute. The Dutch did not return the salute nor fire on the ship. Next Risingh ordered Captain Swen Skute ashore to demand the surrender of the fort claiming it was standing on Swedish ground. The Dutch commander delayed longer than Risingh thought necessary so he fired a second salute and landed three files of musketeers, about 30 men, and deployed them in preparation for storming the fort. Seeing Risingh do this the Dutch commander surrendered the fort without a struggle. The muskets of seven of his nine soldiers were with the gunsmith being repaired and the Dutch fort had not been supplied with sufficient gunpowder or any 12-pound cannonballs to fire from its dozen cannons.

These foolish acts by Risingh proved to be the trigger that sprang the trap Stuyvesant had set with his loud and colorful water circus and fort building project of 1651. Risingh gave the Dutch the very excuse they needed to justify the total conquest of New Sweden. About three months after the capture of Fort Cassimir Stuyvesant sent a letter to Risingh informing him that the Dutch intended to come to the South River and reclaim the entirety of New Sweden. This letter set the stage for a dramatic event in the life of Johan Anderson Stålkofta during the Dutch invasion of 1655.

Johan Andersson held a specific title as a military officer, that of Constaple or Gunnery Sergeant.

He was the eighth person named on a list of just fifteen people beginning with the Director, Johan Rising. The title of “Constaple”, means that he had been promoted. His salary had been dramatically increased as well.

Risingh had been ordered to keep a Journal during his tenure as Governor. Our ancestor is mentioned in it quite often.

In the meanwhile the Swedes were planning to build a small town near Fort Christina. This was to be called Christinaham or simply Christina. Stålkofta was heavily involved in the undertaking.

Peter Stuyvesant and the Dutch set about quietly to assemble a tremendous military force. A number of the Swedish settlers, on business in New Amsterdam, had observed these military preparations. They told Governor Risingh what they had seen.

Finally the Dutch felt they were ready to return and take control of New Sweden and the South River for good. In August 1655 Stuyvesant set sail from Manhattan with between 300 and 350 soldiers plus about an equal number of sailors in seven armed ships, with one being a heavily armed warship. This force was smaller than the 1651 water circus but was still on the order of ten times the size of the military forces of Governor Risingh and the Swedes.

The Indians informed Risingh about the departure of the Dutch expedition as soon as it sailed. Acting on this information Risingh made another of his strange decisions. He split his forces and sent Lt. Swen Skute with men to activate Fort Trinity. Johan Stalkofta was among the officers sent with Swen Skute. He is listed as fourth in command. The force totaled about 37 men, including Freemen volunteers.

At this moment the men of Fort Trinity, including the commander, Captain Swen Skute, had no idea of the overwhelming size of the Dutch force being hurled at them. Risingh did not tell them.

Contrary to some assumptions the fleet probably was not actually sighted from Fort Trinity until it rounded the last bend in the river early in the morning of August 31, 1655. In about twenty minutes or less the Dutch ships began passing the fort. They were riding the current of an inbound tide.

Skute’s orders were specific about when he should fire on the Dutch and the circumstances did not match his orders. Faced with the overwhelming size of the Dutch force and the dangerous timber fort Captain Skute knew it would be instant suicide for all of his men if he did. He went out and met with Stuyvesant and after an overnight delay they agreed to a surrender. During the night Skute receive an order from Risingh telling him to surrender if the situation was hopeless. Suddenly and dramatically, on the morning of September 1, 1655, Johan Anderson Stålkofta found himself captured by Peter Stuyvesant and the Dutch. Commandant Swen Skute and his officers, including our Stålkofta, were placed under arrest and held in Fort Cassimir. The rest of the soldiers were put aboard a Dutch ship and sent to New Amsterdam. Governor Risingh surrendered the whole of the New Sweden Colony at Fort Christina two weeks later.

Christina Carlsdotter arrived on the last ship sent from Sweden in support of the Colony. Due to the slow speed of communications the ship arrived about six months after the Colony had already fallen. She married Johan Anderson Stålkofta about six months after she arrived in New Sweden. Their wedding marked the beginning of the Stalcop Family in America.

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JOHAN ANDERSSON STÅLKOFTA’S SIGNATURE DISCOVERED

The New York State Archives made recently digital images of two very important documents available to Larry Stallcup. One is an extremely important artifact to the Stalcop family. The first is a report to Peter Stuyvesant’s Council in New Amsterdam (New York) concerning events and conditions in the Swedish Nation, also known as the Colony of The Company. This was the former Colony of New Sweden. The Vice-Director, Willem Beeckman, wrote the report. It served to forward a request for a patent (deed) for a gristmill and is written in Dutch. The petition it forwarded also is also written in Dutch and was likely written out by a notary. A translation of the petition is found in the book, New York Historical Manuscripts-Dutch, as document 19:28 and is shown below. The forwarding letter, in NYHM-Dutch, is document 19:27. It contains the background of the mill request. Document 19:27, the forwarding report, has been abridged and only the last two paragraphs are shown translated here.

The reference to the Company is the Dutch West India Company. They operated the Dutch New Netherlands Company headquartered at New Amsterdam (New York). The reference to “sewant” is to Native American money. It was long strings or belts of beads made from Guahog clamshells. It is probably better known today as “wampum”. The Dutch mile used here was approximately 5.8 kilometers or about 3 statue miles. The old Swedish mill was located about 18 miles north from Fort Altena (formally Fort Christina). This was about a days walk in both directions. Much quicker trip by boat. The horse mill in New Amstel, now New Castle, Delaware, was about 5 miles south of Fort Altena. The horse mill to the south was under the control of the Colony of the City. At times there was very little cooperation between the two Dutch Colonies. The ½ hour walking time up Shellpot Creek bank to the new mill probably indicated a distance of about one mile, especially since the Brandywine Creek had to be crossed at the start. Probably all of the trip to the new mill could be made by small boat.

This petition is extremely important to the Stalcop Family. Not only does it document a business adventure of the primogenitor, it also contains his signature, written by his own hand in May of 1662. It is the only known surviving example of his signature. It is not known exactly when the three partners signed the petition but it was most like sometime between May 1st and May 10th, 1662.

Notice that he used the Dutch spelling, “Staelcop”, rather than the Swedish spelling, “Stålkofta”, when signing. He probably did that to match how his name was spelled in the body of the petition. But he used “Johan” rather than the Dutch “Jan” for his given name. These two documents also define the first known privately owned commercial business venture within the former New Sweden Colony begun by Swedish colonist. The three partners did not operate the mill themselves but had a hired employee working for them. The mill petition document is by far the oldest known artifact, May of 1662, of the Stalcop family. Johan Andersson Stålkofta/Staelcop/Stalcop, the very first Stalcop, held this document in his hands when he affixed his signature to it.

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The Will Of Johan Anderson Stalcop

PAGE FROM CHURCH RECORDS

TRANSCRIBED WILL OF JOHN STALCOP

Transcription of the will of John Stalcop found in the archives files of Old Swedes Church (1). Original transcription made by Ann Lee S. Bugbee, Curator HOLY TRINITY (OLD SWEDES) CHURCH, 606 CHURCH STREET, WILMINGTON, DELAWARE 19801 Transcribed from the will in as faithful a rendering as possible. Parts difficult to read are bracketed, or where a name is incorrectly spelled. Other spellings such as their for there and heirs as heyres have been transcribed as written.                                                                                                                                    ALSB                                                                                                                                    1983i _____________________________________________________________________________________________ In the name of God, Amen. I, John Stalcop, of Christina Creke in the counties of New Castle, being weak of Bodie but of sound and perfect memorie, blessed be the Lord for the same to make this my last will and Testament as followeth Imprimis I do freely give and surrender my mortal soul into the Hands of the Lord God everlasting that gave me Life and being in this fading and transitory world faithfully hoping and believing that through the merits of his dear son my only Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus to find merit with him and. forgiveness for all my sins for that he laid down his Life and shed his precious blood for the Redemption of poor man and being in perfect Charitie with all men as to my outward Estate it hath pleased the Lord to bestow upon me I do give and bequeath as followeth I give and bequeath my bodie to the grave to be decently interred by my executors 2dly  I do give and bequeath unto my dear and loving wife all my Lands, Howings Ordhards, clear land and meadow withh all and singular the Appurtinaces during her widowhood but if it so happens that she marries again then my will is that she have and possess from thence forward duering her naturall Life only the best Roum in the dwelling House and one third part of my Lands with the Appurtinaces. 3dly  I do give and bequeath to my two sons Jonas Stalcop and Israell Stalcopp all my Lands, Houses, Orchards, Gardings, Meadows with all and singular the Apputinaces in the Countie of New Castle after the Decease of my wife then (m) and their heyre (heirs) for ever to be equally divided between them and if in case my wife marrie again my will is that from thenceforward my two sons receive two third parts of the profit and produce of all my Lands and Appurtaines thereunto belonging. 4thly  I do give and bequeath unto my dear and loving wife one half of all my goods, Chattells and personal Estate my Debts first paid and funeral expenses discharged to her own disposing all the rest of my Goods undisposed of I give and bequeath to my fouer children Jonas Israell Mary and Christina to be equally divided among them. 5thly  My will is that whereas I have given and bequeathed all my land to my two sons Jonas and Israell that they pay to each of my daughters Mary Stalcop and Christina Stalcop ____________________ Fifty pounds apiece at the age of one Twenty years or when they marrie may first happen . . . . . . (Line)( Lieu)(i.e. in lieu) of there share or part of the Land, and if in case it so happen that either of my two daughters, Mary Stalcop or Christina Stalcop, die before they attain to the age of Twenty one years or be married that my sons Jonas and Israell Stalcop pay in consideration of the land above specified one Hundred pounds to the survivor and if in the case it so happen that my two sons fail to make the payment of the Hundred pounds to my two Daighters or the survivor of them have and enjoy so much of my Land and pemises as may by good omen be thought and deemed the value thereof to them and their heyres for ever or until such Time as my sons or either of them make good payments thereof according to the true intent and meaning hereof. Lastly my will is that my loving wife and Ericus Bircke (Biorck) the minister and my trusty friend have the sole care and disposal of my children during there minorities and I do hareby ordain and appoint my wife and trusty friend Ericus Bircke minister my sole executrix and executor of this my last will and Testament and for the more full confirmation hereof I have herein set my Hand and Seal this first Day of july Anno Dom 1700   I do hereby certifie that the within and the above is a true copy compared with the original given under my hand at New Castle this twenty second day of March Anno Dom 1735                       ____________________ (1) This original will document was found in a box of Holy Trinity Church records marked Charles Springer records. There is no indication of why and how Charles Springer came to have the will in his possession. According the staff of the Delaware State Archives in Dover, DL the original will was submitted to the registrar who’s job it was copy it over into the county will books. After copying the original document was given back to the person presenting it. It was Ann Lee S. Bugbee’s opinion that the document was written in the hand of Charles Springer. She had many other Charles Springer documents to compare it with. This will is NOT recorded in the New Castle County will books either in 1700 when John Stalcop died or in March, 1735 as noted by the certification of William Shaw.

The Will Of Pietter Stallcop

This is the copy recorded in the New Castle County, DE Will books. The original document has not survived. This Will is believed to have been written by Charles Springer and possible was submitted to the Court by Springer. This copy bears his distinctive signature which could only happen if Springer was present when the will was copied over into the Will Books. This Will was written on September 3, 1709. Pietter Stallcop died just two days later on September 5, 1709. His Will was submitted for probate seven months later on April 10, 1710.

b- April 19, 1686  d- March 16, 1720 Falun, Sweden Daughter of Pietter Stalcop and Catherine Samuelsdaughter Wife of Rev. Erik Björk 1712 Portrait by Gustav Hesselius Gift to Holy Trinity Church in 1714, Taken to Sweden. Restored 2002. Now on display Delaware Historical Museum, Wilmington. DE See The Faces of New Sweden, Hans Ling, Swedish Colonial Society, Library of Congress  2004114138, ISBN 0-9762501-0-1

Maria Stalcop’s Journey to Sweden and Return By Edward Smith* July 2010

Maria Stalcop, the youngest daughter of Pietter Stalcop and Catherine Peterson and the granddaughter of Johan Anderson Stalcop was married to Johan Van de Veer on the 14th of January 1714. Johan, whose name soon evolved to “John Vandever“, was from a large, prominent Dutch family that lived on the north side of Brandywine Creek, across from the holdings of the Stalcop family. John was about 25 years old and Maria was 17 years old when they married. Maria’s sister, Christina, who was eleven years older than Maria, had married Erik Björk, the Pastor of Holy Trinity Church in 1702 and had already borne him 6 children. Maria’s brother-in-law, Pastor Erik Björk, was promoted within the Church in 1712 and directed to return to Sweden. Christina was apparently somewhat distraught with this turn of events since she had been born and raised in Delaware and was reluctant to make the long journey with her young children. She expressed her concern and later a family friend wrote that she felt it “strange and difficult” that she must leave “her place of birth and fatherland” and be so separated from her relatives and friends “---without hope of ever seeing them again in this life, especially since she was the first woman to make such a long and difficult journey”. However, women were generally subservient to the wishes of their husbands in those days and Christina soon accepted the situation for what it was so preparations were made for the departure. It was determined that the party of travelers would consist of Erik, Christina and their three daughters, Magdalena, Christina and Catherine and their son, Tobias. Their son Peter and daughter Maria had died. Also accompanying the travelers would be Maria and Christina’s cousin, Anna Stidham, the daughter of Luloff Stidham and Christina Stalcop, the widow of Anders Stalcop who had married Luloff after Anders death. Anna had lived with the Björks as their foster child after the death of her parents. The return journey to Sweden also included a man named Henrik Brunjahn whose function had been to map and describe the area for the Swedish authorities and last but not least, Maria Stalcop and her new husband of less than 6 months, John Vandever. There is no factual clue available to help in determining the reasoning behind Maria’s accompaniment of her sister on such a difficult journey, but it could have been as simple as to give companionship and “peace and pleasure” to her sister. After their protracted goodbyes in New Sweden, Erik Björk and his party traveled overland to take care of the business of the church in Philadelphia and then took a carriage to Maryland where they sailed from America on 29 Jun 1714 aboard the sailing vessel Amity. The Amity was a ship of 798 tons burden carrying four canons and had been used as one of the first three ships carrying the Quakers of William Penn to the area. At was a very sturdy ship. The exact point of departure in Maryland has not been determined. After stops in England, and an unscheduled stop at Marstrand, Sweden caused by bad weather, the ship reached their destination, Gothenburg, Sweden, on 2 Oct 1714. The Björk family stayed in Gothenburg a month to rest up from the rigors of the journey and then continued by horse and carriage for about 80 miles to Jesper Svedberg’s home in Brunnsbo, the Episcopal residence, just outside the city of Skara, Vastergotland, the religious center of Sweden since ancient times. Jesper Svedberg had been Björk’s professor and mentor in college and was now very highly placed in Swedish government, religious and social circles. Some of the Björk children were still sick from the sea journey, so Björk continued alone on to the city of Falun, a distance of some 200 miles, and sent for them a little later. Erik was given a parish consisting of three congregations plus an additional congregation made up of miners working in the huge copper mine located there. The family soon moved into the former Governors residence on main street, as befit their rank in society. An educated guess leads one to believe that Maria and John Vandever were with them all this time and lived in the same residence, which was a compound consisting of more than one building. The activities and whereabouts of Maria and John are not known for some period of time but they did produce a child, Catherine, who was christened in Falun on 6 Nov 1715. Pastor Björk had convinced the Mining Company to donate some gifts to Holy Trinity Church in America consisting of a still existing chalice with a paten and a host box of gilded silver. John Vandever was selected to carry the gifts to America but he suddenly died before this could happen. cThis fact suggests that John and Maria had made plans to return to America before his death. After John’s death Maria married Hans Jürgen Smidt, a hatmaker, on 3 Mar 1720 in Falun, Sweden. Hans and Marie may have already made plans to go to America before the marriage since Hans had written a will which he signed on 15 Mar 1720 and gave to his sister Magdalena for proper disposition. In this will he basically directs that everything he might inherit from his father’s will, who had already died (but no settlement had been made), and also any inheritance from his mothers will, if she should die in his absence, to his sister, but with the provision that he could make claim if he returned from America. On 16 Mar 1720, the very next day after Hans had given his will to his sister, Maria’s sister Christina suddenly died from complications of her eleventh pregnancy! Given the state of pre-natal care and obstetrics in those times, it was probably a complete surprise when Christina died. This event surely disrupted the plans of Maria and Hans to make their return trip! Christina was buried in front of the alter in Christine Church, in Falun. Erik Björk may have named the church in her honor and he would be buried beside her when he died. She had been highly revered by the people of Falun and was given an elaborate funeral on the 12th of April 1720. The funeral was conducted in Christine Church by Anders Sandal who 18 years earlier had officiated at her marriage in the Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church in Christina, New Sweden. Göta Rudbeck, a relative of Erik Björk, gave a speech at the funeral and said among other things: “There is said to be a land some hundreds of miles from here, situated westwards, about which I have heard much said, which is called America. It should be especially loved because of its fertility, for if what I have heard is true, then there is an abundance of everything to find so that nothing is missing of that, which is needed for peace and satisfaction of the mind and to feed the body and satisfy its temporal needs. In this land she was born, who now enters this chamber of death to rest her bones.” Maria was surely in attendance at her sister’s funeral so she and her new husband, and her daughter, Catherine Vandever, could not have sailed from Sweden before that date. That she and Hans returned to Delaware is first shown by the birth record of her first son, Peter, who was born 12 Oct, 1720 and christened on the 14th of the same month in Holy Trinity Church, Wilmington, Delaware the event being duly recorded in the church records. Maria and Hans continued to produce children on a regular basis having 6 more sons and a daughter The last born child was named Maria who was born 25 Sep 1740 when her mother was 44 years old. There are very few records mentioning Maria, who came to be recorded as “Mary” in later life, but Hans Jürgen (George) Smidt left a plethora of records during his time in Delaware as a hatter and a prominent citizen. The daughter of Maria and John Vandever, Catherine, returned to America with her mother and step-father. She married Simon Johnson from Cecil County, Maryland on 4 Nov 1738. I have not traced her further. Maria and Hans Jürgen (George) Smidt’s children: 1. Peter Smith b: 12 OCT 1720 m. Elizabeth Van de Ver 2. John Smith b: 28 DEC 1722 m. Anna Springer 3. Tobias Smith b: 16 MAR 1723/24 m. Mary McDonald 4. FredErik Smith b: 19 SEP 1727 m. Margaret Paulson 5. Andreas Smith b: 14 JAN 1730/31 m. Sarah Gregg 6. Erik Smith b: 31 MAY 1734 m. Brigita Anderson 7. Jonas Smith b: 21 NOV 1737 m. Died young 8. Maria Smith b: 25 SEP 1740 m. Died as an infant. * Edward Smith is a direct descendant of Maria and Hans Jürgen (George) Smidt. References: Burial Records 1713-65, Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church; translated & edited by Courtland B. & Ruth L. Springer; p. 199 "Burials in the Year 1753 (Third Book, p. 913) Dec 27 Hans Smidt, born in Sweden, in Fahlun(sic) Town. Came here to this land in the year 1720. Was the first ancestor of the Swedish family of Smidt on the Christiana. Hatmaker. Died of consumption." In the book "History of the Original Settlements on the Delaware" by Ferris is a list of some of the oldest stones in the church yard. Among them is the following: "In memory of Mary Smidt. She was born ye 15th of March, 1697. She went to Sweden in 1714, and returned in 1721. She departed this life ye 19th of Nov'r, 1750." Communicant Records, Third Book, pg. 913 has the notation that Maria accompanied her brother-in-law, Provost Björk to Sweden in 1714, was married at Falun to Hatmaker Hans Smidt, and came back here with him in 1722. Communicant Records, Second Book, pg 113 show that Hans Smith and his wife, Maria, were here as early as Oct 1720, and that she was buried Nov. 19, 1750 as Hans Smidt's wife aged 54 years 10 months. NOTE: There is about a fourteen-month difference in the age of Maria at her death between the Communicant Records and her tombstone. Neither match her date of birth as determined by baptismal records that falls between the two dates.

JOHN STALCOP 1692-1751

John Stalcop, son of Pietter (Peter) Stallcop[i] and Catherine Samualsdotter, was born probably sometime in 1692. The exact date of his birth has not been discovered. He likely was the third child of his parents and born somewhere along Red Clay Creek where his father had his home. Nothing is known about his early life but he likely spent it mostly on his fathers land and in and around his father’s businesses. Peter owned extensive lands along Red Clay Creek and maintained a farm. Peter also had a number of water-powered mills, both grist and saw mills, along Red Clay Creek. A large portion of the land was probably used to supply raw materials for the mills. When John’s father died in 1709 he was about seventeen years old. He received 300 acres of land and also his father’s house upon the death or remarriage of his mother under terms of his fathers Will. His mother remarried to Lucas Stedham. It is reasonable to think that he raised his own family there. His father’s Will also charged him with helping his brother Andrew with building a home. Probably sometime in 1711 John Stalcop married Maria Morton, daughter of Mathias Morton and Anna Gustafsson. Their first child was born in 1712. Maria Morton was a cousin to John Morton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence from Pennsylvania. They had a family of ten children. On August 28, 1714 there was a general perish meeting of the congregation of Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church. During this meeting: “Christian Joransson and John Stalcop were elected a church watch to keep good order and propriety both within and without the church during God’s service.” Part of their duties as the church watch were described as “Whenever any one shall be cited before the Church Council it shall be the duty of either of the designated church watchmen to arrest him and bring him forward and do whatever else time and circumstances may render Necessary and proper.” [ii] During 1715 to 1717 the parsonage of Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church was being built.[iii] At different times members of the congregation donated materials, time and labor to this project. Careful records of each such contribution were kept. On August 16, 1715 John Stalcop worked a full day on the well and in 1717 he helped raise the frame of the kitchen of the parsonage. On May 7, 1717 the first school in the vicinity of Wilmington got its start at a congregational meeting of Holy Trinity (Old Swedes). The new Pastor or Provost, Rev Hesselius, brother to the portrait painter that created the portrait of John’s sister Christina, wife of Pastor Björk, transcribed the minutes of the meeting “The Provost represented the necessity of setting up regular Swedish school . . . They all seemed to think well of the project, provided they could agree upon the school place. They thereupon named three places around which most of the children were to be found. Viz: with Mr. Springer, John Stalcop and Christiern Brunburg.” On June 17, 1717 the children were sent to Johan Gustafsson’s [iv] house. Here: “. . . the pastor . . . . examined the children as to their proficiency and then recommended them to Mr. Gioding [the teacher], the names of which children are here inserted: . . . [no] 7. Peter Stalcop, Johansson’s son, 5 years old, knows the letters. [no] 8. Margaretta, the late Peter Stalcop’s daughter, 11 years old, reads Swedish indifferently well, but must learn to spell anew. . . . “ The Swedish school apparently was a rotating proposition for the next year it was at John Stalcop’s house. On April 8, 1719: “The Pastor met with Mr. Gioding and all the scholars in the house of Johan Stalcop in the presence of most of the parents of the children, to have a formal closing of the past school keeping.” In 1724 John Stalcop sold some land located on the east side of Red Clay Creek to Jonathan Evens. This was the father of Charles Evens, son-in-law of John Stalcop, who married Ann or Annika, his daughter. Charles and Ann Stalcop Evens were the parents of the famous inventor, Oliver Evens. Apparently John Stalcop and Pastor Samuel Hessellius did not get along well together. This was probably because the Pastor before Hessellius was Erik Biörk, John Stalcop’s brother-in-law. Biörk was well liked by most members of the parish. When he had to leave and return to Sweden in 1712 it cause quite a stir. Biörk delayed and at one point even challenged Hessellius’ right to take his place. When Biörk was finally ordered to end the delay and return to Sweden in 1714 many parish members were reluctant to see him go. For John Stalcop it likely meant that he might not ever see two of his sisters, Christina and Maria [v], ever again. Apparently this situation did not improve with the passage of time. Finally in 1729 certain members of the parish tried to have Hessellius removed. They made accusations against him to his superiors in Sweden. In a letter of September 1, 1729 Hessellius defended himself. In part he said: “ . . . Indeed, I have some suspicion too of Mr. Biörk’s brother(s)-in-law. Hans Smith the hatter, and John Stalcop. who are not the best of men, and have made themselves my greatest enemies . . . . they are both very poor writers and weak men, and cannot be credited . . . “ On January 21, 1738 John Stalcop gave seven shillings and six pence toward payment of the church ground rents (taxes). In 1744 there was still a controversy over clear title to the glebe lands. It must have involved the entire Stalcop family because the Church obtained a release for the land from all male members of the family including John Stalcop even though it was the land of his uncle, John Stalcop, and not his father, Pietter Stallcop, that originally had title to the land. In 1745 John Stalcop was elected an Assistant Burgess. [vi] John Stalcop wrote out his Will on October 1, 1748. He stated that he was he was very sick in body yet he much have recovered to some extent for he lived for another three years. He died in June 1751 and was buried in the graveyard of Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church. [i] Pietter used the STALLCOP spelling. Some branches of his descendants still use that spelling, mostly his descendants currently residing in the State of Washington. [ii] The U S Constitution stripped judicial powers away from all churches. Church councils could still cite members but they had no power to punish except for dismissal. [iii] Although long planned it was never built during Rev. Björk’s time. Björk made his home at Pietter Stallcop’s home living in an addition that was added onto the main house. After he was recalled to Sweden it was apparent that a dedicated parsonage for the new minister had to be provided. Because of the high risk if fire kitchens were often in separate buildings away from the main structure. [iv] The English had great difficulty pronouncing and spelling this name. Eventually it evolved phonetically into ‘Justice’. John Stalcop’s wife Maria was the daughter of Annika Justice (Gustafsson) and Mathias Morton. Johan Gustafsson was Maria’s grandfather. [v] His sister Christina died in Sweden in 1720. Maria returned to the New Sweden community very soon after the death of her sister. [vi] A person with municipal authority or privileges, in particular, a magistrate or member of the governing body of a town.

Will of JOHN STALCOP
This will has been transcribed as faithfully as possible from the Will Book copy of New Castle County, Delaware. Spelling, capalitation and punctuation are as in the original. Alphabetic characters no longer in use have been rendered into their nearest present day form. Larry S. Stallcup February, 1993. ______________________________________________________________
In The Name of God Amen I John Stalcop of Christina hundred in the County of New Castle upon Dellaware Yeoman; being weak in Body but of sound memory (Blessed be God) do this first day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred Forty Eight, Make & Publish this my Last will & Testament in manner following (that is to say). Imp. that I will & order all my just debts & funeral Charges be paid out of my Moveable Estate Item I will and bequeath to my wife Mary Stalcop all my Moveable Goods & Chattels to be under her management & command during her Widdowhood, but when she shall Marry; then I will & order the overpluss thereof above her lawfull thirds thereof to be equally devided among my Sons John & Andrew Stalcop and my daughter Ann Evens. Item I will & bequeath unto my Son Peter Stalcop all that Land & Plantation o^n which he now dwells containing about one hundred & forty Acres to hold to him his heirs & assigns forever which bequest on the Express Condition that he shall pay unto my son Emick Stalcop the sum of thirty Pounds Pensylvania money at five years after my desease and A Like sum of thirty pounds of like money to my Son [Isreal] Stalcop at five years after my desease. Item, I will & bequeath to my Son Matthias Stalcop the sum of five shillings, Item I will & bequeath to my son Emick Stalcop one lott of ground whic[h] be in Newport near the Creek to hold to him his heirs and assigns for Ever, above & Ye Bequest above.; Item, I will & bequeath to my Son Isreal Stalcop more than is to him above Bequeathed one Lott of ground Sit-uated in or about Ye middle of Newport, also about Seven Acres of Marsh behind Newport on express Condition that he pay to my Daughter Ann Evens the sum of fifteen pounds of like money above sd at two years after my desease; to hold sd Lott & Marsh to him his heirs & Assigns for ever Item; I do bequeath to my son Andrew Stalcop all the Land & Plantation with the Improvements thereon on which I now dwell containing one hundred and Sixth Acres more or less on Express Condition that he pay to my Son John Stalcop the Sum of fifty pounds like money aboved at three years after Andrew arrive to Ye Age of twenty one years, to hold to him his heirs & assigns for ever _______ Item; I bequeath to my son John Stalcop the s^d sum of fifty pounds to be paid him by my Son Andrew as above Conditioned. And I make ordain & Constitute my wife Mary Stalcop & my son Peter Stalcop Joynt Executors of this my last will in [test ?] for the Intents & Impres[ :es] in this my Will contained. In Witness whereof I the sd John Stalcop have to this my last Will & Testament set my hand and Seal the day and year above written x x x ----------
John Stalcop                Seale
Signed, Sealed, Published and Delivered by Ye sd John Stalcop as and for his Last will & Testamt in presents of us - - Hans G. Sikmuz (?)          his Garret     Garretson         mark John Gillahan	New Castle II Hanse G. Sikmuz & Garret Farretson on their Oaths do say that they were present & saw the Testor John Stalcop sign & Execute the within Instrument of writing & declared it to be his last will & Testament he being then of sound mind memory & understanding & that they together with John Gillahan give Evidence to ye same as wherefor my hand this first day  July 1951.                              Jehu Curtis       Registr

The Stalcop family took part in the mass exodus of New Sweden families prior to the beginning of the Revolutionary War. We will generally be moving along with the members of the family that went toward the South and passed through North Carolina. The seventh and eighth generations were the first to move into the Smoky Mountains.

THE SECOND PETER STALCOP

The second Peter Stalcop in our line was born in New Castle County, Delaware sometime in 1712. The actual date has not been discovered. He was the oldest child of ten children of John and Mary (Maria) Morton Stalcop and the great-grandson of Johan Andersson Stålkofta. He is the fourth generation ancestor in our direct Stalcop family line.

There was a community effort to establish a school. When Peter was age five a school was finally set up so he was included in the first class. It was held at Johan Gustafason’s home and classes began on June 17, 1717. All of the students were gathered there but before classes began each student was examined by the Pastor of the church and then turned over to the teacher, Johan Andersson Gioding. The Pastor’s record says:

“Peter Stalcop, Johansson’s son, 5 years old, knows the letters.”

Without doubt Peter was also in attendance the next school year, 1718, when the classes were held in his father’s house. There seems to be no record yet found of how far Peter’s schooling advanced. The traditional standards were that education ceased at about age twelve for ordinary folks. Only the clergy, nobility and royalty received higher education.

At the age of 25 Peter married Susanna Paulson, the daughter of Olof and Elizabeth Anderson Colsbury Paulson, in Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church on December 15, 1737. Susanna was born in late March of 1716 and Baptized April 14, 1716 at the age of three week.

The next record found is a little over one month after the wedding. Peter contributed five shillings to the ground rents for the church. His contribution was on January 21, 1738.

Peter and Susanna had their first child, a son, born on April 22, 1739. He was baptized and christened Johan on April 29, 1739. Their second child, a son, was born on May 27, 1741. He was baptized and christened William on June 27, 1741.  Their third child, a son, was born on August 1, 1743 baptized and christened Tobias on August 5, 1743.

Peter and Susanna had two children that, for whatever reasons now unknown, were apparently not baptized and christened in Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church. At least there is no record of their births in the Church records books. One was a son named Swithin, born probably sometime about 1747, and the other a daughter named Rachel, born August 1, 1749.

Their next child, a daughter, was born on June 11, 1750. She was baptized and christened Lady on July 19, 1750. Later her name became Lydia.

Peter’s father, John Stalcop, died in 1751. He named Peter as one of the executors of his estate. Peter inherited 140 acres of land in Christina Hundred from his father as his share. He and his family were already living on this land so a house must have been included in the inheritance.

Peter and Susanna had a third daughter born to them on August 10, 1754. She was baptized and christened Susannah on September 22, 1754.

Peter and Susanna’s last child, a son, was born on January 21, 1757. He was baptized and christened Peter on May 5, 1757. This son is often confused with his nephew, about six years younger and the son of his brother William Stalcop. The two boys live on the same farm for a number of years in Orange County, North Carolina.

Peter is recorded as having died on July 19, 1768 in Christina Hundred, New Castle County, DE. He did not leave a will.

All five sons and at least one daughter of Peter and Susanna Paulson Stalcop migrated to Orange County, North Carolina. Their daughter Rachel married Isaac Brackin in Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church on August 31, 1769. Theirs is among the last Stalcop weddings performed there. The Brackins also migrated to Orange County, North Carolina. Daughter Susannah is reported to have married James Roney, Jr. and moved to the Philadelphia area. No record of Lydia is known.

There is no farther record of Susanna Paulson Stalcop. She disappears from Delaware records and there has been no record found of her remarrying or of her death. It seems likely that she moved into Orange County, NC. as a member of one of her children’s households.
 

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THE GRAND EXODUS

In the late 1760’s there was a near abandonment of the former New Sweden Colony territory by all of the early Swedish, Dutch and even a few English families. There were many reasons but several were pressing. All of the families were farmers. To be a farmer you have to have sufficient land to be able to raise crops. After five generations of population growth the available land had been fragmented into smaller and smaller plots to the point where it was no long possible to raise enough food to feed growing families. Piled on top of this was a massive influx of emigrants into the area. There was a switch in primary language from Swedish to English and the Swedish ministers had been withdrawn from the Swedish churches. All of these things contributed to the Grand Exodus. The families of the former New Sweden settlers were split during the exodus, including the Stalcop family. Some of them headed to Ohio and some to North Carolina.  Soon after the death of Peter Stalcop in Wilmington his son William sold off the Stalcop family holdings in the area and the family, plus a most of their neighbors, left the area. There is some suggestion that the Stalcop family may have been planning the move before Peter’s death. It appears that two of the Stalcop brothers, John and Tobias, had become an advanced scouting team. John appears to have moved his family into Loudon County, Virginia just across the Potomac River, and Tobias his family into Fredrick County, Maryland. They may have made brief reconnaissance trips into North Carolina. At the time both Virginia and North Carolina were offering free land to anyone who would settle in their territories. Fredrick Maryland had become perhaps the first of the jumping off points for wagon trains heading out to settle new territories. There were two main migration trails from Frederick. One ran westward to the Pittsburg area and then down the Ohio River. The land Virginia was offering was mostly in what is now eastern Ohio.  The trail our branch of the Stalcop family, and a number of their neighbors, took ran south from Frederick toward what is now Richmond, Virginia, well east of the mountains. From there it continued on south and took them into Orange County in north central North Carolina.

The Conestoga wagon, popular for migration, was built in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It was the primary overland cargo vehicle until the development of the railroad. A team of up to eight horses or up to a dozen oxen pulled the wagon. People often banded together in long trains of wagons for mutual support and safety. The Conestoga wagon was built with its floor curved upward to prevent the contents from tipping and shifting. The seams and cracks in the body of the wagon were plied with tar to prevent leaking while crossing rivers.  The body often had outward leaning sides and ends to resemble a boat shape to aid in crossing over water. It could carry up to 12,000 pounds of cargo. A heavy canvas cover for protection against bad weather was stretched across the top of the wagon on bent wooden ribs. The wagon frame and suspension were made of wood, while the wheels were ironrimmed.  Water barrels, toolboxes and a feedbox were built onto the sides of the wagons. It is likely that the several Stalcop families traveled in Conestoga built wagons during their migration into North Carolina. A number of their neighbor families probably also used Conestoga wagons. It has been estimated that the Stalcop family used four wagons as mobile living quarters and perhaps four more were used to haul their belongings during the migration trip. All in all it was quite a long wagon train. Single file the Stalcop family alone would stretch out about a quarter of a mile.

THE FIRST WILLIAM STALCOP

The first William Stalcop in our line, sometime spelled Stalcup, was born in New Castle County, Delaware, May 27, 1741. He was the second son of Peter and Susannah Paulson Stalcop, and the fifth generation ancestor in our direct Stalcop family line. William grew up at a time of great change in his community. After five generations in one community William led the second major migration journey in our branch of the Stalcop family.

There had been a massive influx of new settlers of various nationalities into the former New Sweden Colony area. The Swedish community, as a cohesive unit, was quickly becoming Americanized. At the community’s request the Swedish Lutheran Church had withdrawn its Swedish-speaking ministers because fewer and fewer people spoke Swedish.

The switch in languages, marriages outside of the pure Swedish lines plus remoteness from the parent Swedish society, were additional forces pulling the community apart but by far the major force facing the community was the approaching Revolutionary War. A tremendous amount of political and religious strife abounded in the area. Neither the Stalcop family, nor any of the former New Sweden families, had any control or influence in these events. The many families that had played such a large part in the development of the entire Delaware Valley area suddenly found themselves strangers in their own community. Their way of life was being overwhelmed and submerged by unfamiliar and out of their control influences.

The very large increase in population into the area also meant there was a decrease in available land. The vast majority of the Stalcop family members were farmers. Their community was being squeezed into smaller and smaller plots of land scattered here and there over the original New Sweden territory. It was more difficult for each generation to raise enough food or even to keep in contact with each other.

Virginia in form of the Northwest Territories (later Ohio) and North Carolina were offering free land just for the settlement. These two areas of the country appeared to provide the same opportunity as had the New Sweden Colony itself generations earlier. They now had the chance to move into an entirely new land and start fresh.

Not only did William and his family leave the former New Sweden territory but virtually the entire Stalcop family, plus a significant majority of all other original New Sweden families abandoned the Delaware valley area at nearly the same time. They split into two large groups. One group headed for the Northwest Territories, the Ohio River Valley, and the other group headed south into the central plain of North Carolina. This became a great exodus of nearly all of the original New Sweden families away from the New Sweden Colony area.

William and his brothers choose to head south into what is now central North Carolina. They settled first in Orange County.

Shortly after William’s father, Peter Stalcop, died in Wilmington, 1768, William closed out his father's estate, plus his own including the sale of all of the property the family owned in and around Wilmington. All members of his immediate family including all four of his brothers; John, Tobias, Swithin [Swen] and Peter, and at least one of his aunts, Rachel, who had married Isaac Brackin, along with their own families, migrated south into  North Carolina. The families of these five brothers were later to become known as the "Carolina" branch of the Stalcop family. It has been estimated that nearly one-half of all present day Stalcop's can trace their lineage through these five brothers.

It is not known if William’s mother, Susanna Paulson Stalcop, made the trip but it seems logical that she would have moved with all of children and grandchildren. She disappears from Delaware records and there has been no record found of her marrying again. There is no record of her death.

That trip must have been quite an adventure. There were enough of them that they probably made up their own wagon train. The trail first ran westward through Lancaster and York in southern Pennsylvania before dipping south toward Frederick, Maryland. There is some indication that the families may have paused in southern Maryland or northern Virginia for a while, perhaps using the area as a rendezvous point, before heading on to North Carolina, probably in late 1769 or early spring of 1770.

From Frederick the trail ran south through mid-Virginia toward Petersburg. Continuing on south the trail debauched into the central plain of North Carolina. The entire journey was made in what was then the far western frontier wilderness of America. It was almost entirely on land occupied and defended by Indians and populated by a large variety of wild animals.

Orange County North Carolina encompassed a very large part of the north central part of North Carolina when the family arrived so the exact spot where they first stopped is not known for sure. William soon purchased about 320 acres on Stony Creek near the mouth of Jordon Creek. The later sale of most of this land gives us a description but not the original date it was purchased.

William and his family lived in Orange County apparently some thirteen to fourteen years. Most of the family then packed up and move yet again. This 1783 trip was probably more difficult and likely more exciting than the earlier migration. A good deal of it followed the Wilderness Road or the Daniel Boone Trail.

From Orange County they went west and then northward and crossed the western tip of Virginia, through the Cumberland Gap and on over to Barren River in Kentucky. From there the families turned due south and went into the Goose Creek area of Davidson County, NC. Today this is Trousdale County, Tennessee.

William purchased a Revolutionary War Bounty Warrant from a man named William Robb. It is No.173 and is for 357 acres of land on Goose Creek. Robb signed over his Warrant to William Stalcop in 1783 without filling in the day and month. The NC Secretary of State order for the survey to be conducted in William’s name is dated October 23, 1783.  The survey apparently was finally conducted three years later, October 21, 1786. The track is slightly rectangular with boundaries running north/south, east/west, and with the creek running east to west through it.

This land was Indian Territory but the North Carolina Legislature just appropriated it and declared it open for settlement. Probably it was intend to provide land to satisfy all of the NC Revolutionary War land bounty warrants. Earlier treaty agreements did not please all of the Indians so a split developed. One group elected a war chief named Dragging Canoe and changed their name to the Chickamaugas. Needless to say this appropriation of their land did not please the Chickamaugas so they began attacking the settlers.

Indian attacks continued in the area until about 1800 but the area had changed. North Carolina, which had extended from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River, was split into two parts. The western part was formed into the State of Tennessee. When William moved westward he retained ownership of his land in Orange County. His younger brothers, Peter and Swithin apparently lived on William’s NC land from arrival but they were either getting ready to move or they were moving because William was selling the land. William and Margaret returned to Orange County and arranged to sell approximately 300 of the approximately 320 acres to Joseph Ming from Chowan County, NC, for six hundred silver Spanish Milled Dollars. This sale took place on April 8, 1796. William says he sold seventeen and a half acres of his original land to his son, John Stalcup. This was on the south end of the track on the east side of Stony Creek.

From various land transactions we know that two of William’s son’s moved eastward out of Tennessee back into North Carolina at least for a while. Son Peter moved to Burke County, NC in 1794 and son John moved to Orange County, NC in 1796. We also know that William could write and signed his name to various documents but Margaret Andersson Stalcop could not sign her name. She made her mark on the documents. After the sale apparently William and Margaret returned to their Tennessee home. They appear to live quietly thereafter.

Works Projects Administration (WPA) transcription of the original document.

On November 22, 1815 William wrote out his Will. In it he says that he is infirmed of body but sound of mind and memory. It is a very simple Will that leaves a legacy to his granddaughter Margaritt Stalcop without naming which of his sons was her father. All of his property not disposed of he leaves for his wife Margaret Andersson Stalcop during her life and after her death anything remaining is to be divided equally between his children. The problem is that he names eight of his children but leaves out the names of three; Mary, Linda and George. William did not sign the Will but rather made a mark. These anomalies may be a sign of his infirmity.

William died about age 78 in 1819 and was buried in the Stalcop graveyard. He either did not have a tombstone or it was somehow destroyed by time. Margaret Andersson Stalcop lived on for another twenty years and died in 1839 at about age 94. A large memorial stone for William and Margaret has since been erected in their memory.
 

Will of WILLIAM STALCOP//STALCUP

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In the name of God Amen. I William Stalcup of the County of Smith and State of Tennessee being infirmed of body but of sound mind & memory do make this my Last will and Testament (Viz) 1st That my body be decently buried 2nd That all my just debts be paid 3rd. I give my Granddaughter Margaritt Stalcup one negro Girl named Lix [Liz ?] 4 It is my will that all my property not otherwise Disposed of in this my will be given to my beloved wife Margaret Stalcup during her life and what remains at her death be Equally divided between all my Children (to wit) Peter Stalcup, Isaac Stalcup John Stalcup William Stalcup, Caty Martin Peggy Ausburn [Osborn] Eli Stalcup Samuel Stalcup Lastly I appoint my wife Margaret Stalcup & John Bradly the exectutors of this my will and Testament Signed in the Presents of us this 22 nd day of November 1815 Test.   John Shullow                                               his           Robert Jackson                                 William     Stalcup S(eal)           James Cartwright                                         mark

Will of Swithin Stalcop
Sumner County, TN WILLS Vol 1 pages 313 & 314 Transcribed by Larry S. Stallcup , August, 2008 The nuncupative will of Swen Stallcup who died on Saturday the 25 day of March in this year of our Lord One thousand and eight hundred and twenty. We whose names are [undersigned] written being present some little time before his decease, his desire appeared to be in the following [vizest] to wit, He being as we believe full in his seventies –-- Item the first that all his just debts Should be paid after that being done –-- the balance or residue of his property both real and personal should remain in the possession of his wife Barbary Stallcopp during her natural life to raise and school their children on and that at her death to be equally divided amongst them all --- the foregoing being the substance of Said Swan Stallcups request on his death bed --- given under our hands this 30th day of March in the year 1820. Witness
	Wm Sanders Charles Sanford [Jem’ary] King
Swithin Stalcop, often called Swan or Swen.    b- ca 1747 New Casle Co. DE    d- March 25, 1820 Sumner Co. TN Note the several name spellings: “Stallcup”, “Stallcopp” and “Stallcups”. Also “Swen” and “Swan”. A nuncupative will is an oral or spoken will. The witnesses reduce it to a written document and swear in court that what they wrote is true and correct.

MAP PARTIALLY SHOWING PETER STALCOP’S VIRGINIA LAND Originally in Washington Co. Now in Smyth Co.

Map partially showing 257 acres of land between the South and Middle forks of the Holston River in southwest Virginia owned by Peter Stalcop (here spelled Stolkup). It is on the right hand side of the map. Joining the land on the south side is tract “P” owned by Joseph Cole, Jr., which spans the south fork of the Holston River. It indicates it was the location of a “Loves Mill”. There is an indication that a road once crossed the river near the mill. The Cole family and Peter’s family intermarried.

PETER STALCOP (STALKUP/STOLCOP/STALCUP) Larry Spencer Stallcup

Peter Stalcop was born in Wilmington, Delaware, on January 21, 1757. He was the youngest son of Peter and Susanna Paulson Stalcop and was baptized in the Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church on May 3, 1757. This Peter Stalcop is often confused with his younger nephew, the oldest son of his brother William Stalcop. The nephew was six years younger but both boys named Peter traveled to NC and lived on the same Orange County, NC farm for a number of years.

Just before Peter reached the age of eleven his father died in Wilmington. As soon as his father's estate was settled, including the sale of all of the property the family owned in and around Wilmington, nearly all of Peter's family, including all four of his brothers; John, William, Tobias, and Swithin [Swen], and at least one of his sisters, Rachel, who had married Dr. Isaac Brackin, left the area. They went south into Orange County, NC. It has been estimated that nearly one-half of all present day Stalcop's can trace their lineage through these five brothers.

The exact reasons for so many of the early colonist families leaving the Wilmington area are not fully known. A great deal of religious and political strife abounded in the area. The Revolutionary War was fast approaching. The Swedish Lutheran Churches no longer provided Swedish-speaking ministers. Fewer and fewer families could speak Swedish. There were probably many other reasons. Not only did young Peter and his family leave but the entire Stalcop family, in toto, plus nearly all of the other original families, both Swedish and Dutch, abandoned the Wilmington area at about this same time.

Peter traveled as part of one of his older brother's families on the migration into central North Carolina. It is not known if his mother, Susanna Paulson Stalcop, made the trip but it seems logical that if she were still living that she would have moved with her children. She disappears from Delaware records at this time and there has been no farther record found of her. There is no record of her death.

That trip must have been quite an adventure for a young boy. The trail first ran westward through Lancaster and York in southern Pennsylvania before turning south toward Frederick, Maryland. From Frederick the trail ran south well east of the Blue Ridge mountain slopes through mid-Virginia toward Petersburg. The trail debauched into the central plain of North Carolina. The entire journey was made in what was then the far western frontier wilderness of the country on land occupied and defended by Indians and populated by a large variety of wild animals. Indeed, that trip must have been an adventurous time for all.

Orange County encompassed a very large part of the north central part of North Carolina when the family arrived so the exact spot where they first stopped is not known for sure. Peter's older brother, William, soon acquired land, 320 acres on the waters of Jordan Creek, Orange County. This area is now in Alamance County.

Sometime about six years after arriving in Orange County Peter married. His wife was named Mary but there is no surviving indication as to her maiden name or exactly when the marriage took place. The oldest child in the family, judging from later records, appears to have been born about 1776. This tends to place the marriage about 1775 when Peter was about age eighteen.

Peter lived on in Orange County, NC then moved his family to Virginia about the year 1796 when his brother William sold the Orange County, NC farm where he and his brother Swithin had been living. He purchased land near St. Clair Bottom, an area in Washington County (now in Smyth County), Virginia, along the middle fork of the Holston River in the southwestern tip of Virginia. This is beautiful rolling valley country between two mountain ridges. It is ideally suited for farming. Tax records make it clear that Peter was paying taxes on the land in Washington County from at least 1788 until his death. He does not appear on Virginia federal census records until 1810. Peter and his family moved to Virginia in company with the family of Swithin (Swen). The two families appear to have lived on the same track of Virginia land for a short while until Swithin moved on to Floyd County, Kentucky about 1797. The two brothers had been close for forty years.

Peter obtained more Washington County land by purchase. He made a purchase of a bounty warrant from a man named Robert Preston. This warrant was for 100 acres. The land was then granted by Washington County to Peter as Preston's "assignee". The dates on this land grant have caused a lot of confusion. Because the land transfer was by an original grant or patent, it is dated back to when the land first set aside by the State of Virginia to pay the warrant holders; i.e. back to 1796 in most instances. The next date quoted is when the land was initially surveyed and these dates generally fall between 1800 to 1802. A later deed for this first track when Peter transferred ownership of it to his son John quotes a date of 1801 for the actual purchase.

Peter lived and raised his family along the banks of the Holston River over the next forty years. He became a fairly large landowner, successful farmer and businessman in the community. Since there was no such thing as a banking system then successful people, or perhaps wealthy people is a better description, filled that roll for the community. Peter loaned money, at interest, to a large number of his neighbors, friends and even his sons.

The 1810 Washington County census shows Peter with a wife, one son and two daughters. The 1820 census shows Peter with a wife, one daughter and a girl less than 10 years old. Peter was 63 years old in 1820 and his wife must have been nearly his same age. This makes it most unlikely the less than 10 years old girl on the 1820 census could be Peter's child since his wife would be past her child-bearing age. This means the child was most probably a grandchild, a child of the daughter still living in Peter's household.

One of the daughters, Polly Stallcup, married Samuel Cole in Washington County, Virginia, June 9, 1814. Polly had four Cole children; Peter [named for Peter Stalcop], Joseph [named for Samuel's father, Joseph Cole], Elizabeth and Remember, by Samuel Cole before his death. The name, Remember, may have been a tribute to the memory of Samuel Cole. Polly Stalcop Cole is reported to be the same person as the Mary Stalcup Cole who married William St. Clair in Washington County. Since she had four Cole children it is unlikely that she is the daughter, with only one young daughter of her own, living in Peter's household as shown on the 1820 federal census.

The only female heir reported to be a widow was Elizabeth, the widow of Robert McBroom. She was the only one of the heirs represented on the deeds and various other court proceedings relating to Peter's estate by an attorney, William McBroom, brother to Robert McBroom. Elizabeth Stalcop McBroom is the leading possibility to be the daughter with a small child of her own living with Peter and Mary in 1820.

Peter died on May 11, 1827 apparently without making out a will. At least no will was submitted to the court for probate. William Stalcup was appointed by the Washington County court to be the administrator to settle Peter's estate. The wording in a passage on one of the estate documents makes it appear as if William clearly is the son of Peter's wife, Mary, but creates some doubt that he is Peter's natural son.

Peter's estate records clearly identify Mary Stalcup as his wife. Exactly when and where Peter married her is not known. Peter's marriage to Mary may have deteriorated into a very unhappy one. On June 22, 1826, there was an agreement negotiated between William Stalcup, on behalf of his mother, Mary, and Peter Stalcup. This agreement called for semiannual annuity payments of ten dollars each, twenty dollars a year, from Peter to Mary for the rest of her natural life. Divorce in those days took at least an act of the Virginia General Assembly if it were possible at all.

Most of the Stalcops were Lutheran. Lutheran marriages in North Carolina and southwestern Virginia were mostly "underground" affairs. Victory in the Revolution did not bring about instant freedom of religion in all parts of the country. Local authorities with leanings toward the Anglican Church often branded Lutheran ministers were as outlaws on all sorts of trumped up charges. The only records kept of most Lutheran marriages were in the diaries of the itinerant ministers performing the marriage ceremonies and can be found today only if the diary survived. If it were hard to get married as a Lutheran it would be even harder to get a divorce dissolving such an "underground" marriage. The annuity agreement may have been an attempt to settle the fact of Mary’s estrangement from Peter and may have been an early form of alimony. Peter did not live long enough to make any of the payments to Mary. A due bill covering the period up to June 22, 1829, three years plus interest, is included in Peter's estate settlement record.

The 1830 Washington County census shows Mary 'Stolcop', aged 70 but not yet 80 years old, living alone. She is listed as head of the next household after William 'Stolcop' which indicates she lived in the house next to William. If she were about the same age as Peter when they married, and she probably was, then she would be about 72 or 73 years old in 1830.

On December 4, 1824, some two and a half years before his death, Peter made out a deed to John Stalcup for the original track of land he first purchased in Washington County. This deed was for 95 acres (this track started out as 100 acres) at the nominal price of two dollars. Two cents per acre was quite a bargain even for those times. Just a few years later the rest of Peter's land fetched nine dollars and acre and that sale was to and among his heirs. This sale appears to be an advance bequest by Peter to his son, John. This track almost assuredly contained Peter's dwelling house since the house is never mentioned in his estate settlement.

Peter left a most unusual estate. It is surprising that Peter did not make out a will. He seemed to document all of his business transaction very well and judging from his advanced sale of land to John Stalcop he seemed to be quite aware of the problems the settlement of his estate might involve. From the almost hostile nature of the estate settlement proceedings Peter seems to have been justified in taking some advance precautions. A most unusual aspect of his estate settlement is that there are no personal items included. No jewelry, guns, tools, furniture, dishes, pewter or clothing are mentioned. This indicates his house and all of his personal items in it was located on the property he sold to his son John and it all ceased to be part of his estate.

Aside from the 255 acres of land he still possessed at the time of his death his estate consisted of the cash equivalent of $1582.02-1/2. Considering 165 years of inflation this represents an enormous fortune. With the exception of sixteen dollars in cash received by the administrator back "from the heirs" the entire estate consisted entirely of moneys due from loans made by Peter to numerous people in the community and to various family members. This also is very strange for it implies that Peter kept no cash reserves whatsoever, a most unlikely situation. William Stalcup, the estate administrator, owed Peter's estate nearly one-third of all of the outstanding money but William included a bill of his own against the estate claiming Peter had borrowed cash from him! When sold some three years after his death Peter's land increased his estate value by $2295.00.

There were outstanding debts charged against the estate of $924.64. This included hefty administrators fees that eventually reached a total of $129.76 collected by William Stalcup. William calculated the fee by adding together the sum of the assets and the sum of the outstanding debts of Peter's estate, ignoring the minus sign, and then taking for himself five percent of the total. The inclusion of such fees is highly unusual for an administrator who is also an heir. This fee comes directly out of the portion of the estate which otherwise would have been distributed to all the heirs on an equal share basis. In effect William was enriching himself at the direct expense of his brothers and sisters.

On June 18, 1831 there were two deeds made out disposing of the land remaining in Peter's estate. One deed is for 25 acres and 60 poles of land and was purchased by John Stalcup. The second deed was for 230 acres and was purchased by William Stalcup. Both sales were for nine dollars per acre and both deeds identify the same nine people as heirs of Peter. Six males were named; William, Isaac, Aaron, Elias, Moses and John Stalcup. The three females named were; Elizabeth Stalcup McBroom, widow of Robert McBroom, Mary (Polly) Stalcup St. Clair, wife of William St. Clair, and Rachel Stalcup Dungan, wife of George Dungan. It is interesting to note that the moneys realized by the sale of the two parcels of Peter's land were not included in with the "Balance due from the administrator to be distributed among the heirs"

The widow, Mary Stalcup, received nothing from Peter's estate except what was due her under the earlier annuity agreement. A copy of that agreement is indicated as being filed with the Washington County court as part of the estate record but it was not copied over into the Will Book records. On July 25, 1831 William Stalcup was directed by the Court to "retain in his hands and loan out, as much money as will from the interest arising therefrom, pay the said annuity as it comes due. Upwards of one-half of the net moneys remaining in Peter's estate would have been necessary for this if it was paid out of interest earned alone. This court order is the final record of Peter's estate. There is no record indicating that William ever distributed the money he retained to the rest of the heirs. Within the estate records there is a six-dollar bill for Peter's coffin and a bill for eleven dollar for tombstones. This second tombstone almost had to be for Mary Stalcop. Peter's tombstone was still standing in the graveyard of the Old St. Clair Bottom Primitive Baptist Church in Smyth County, Virginia, in 1984 but there was no stone standing for Mary Stalcup. The inscription on Peter's stone read:

"PETER STALCUP departed this life MAY 11th, 1827 Aged 70 Years"

 

CLICK HERE TO SEE PETER STALCUP'S WILL Will Book 1, pages 92, 93 & 94 Washington County, Virginia

CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE OF PETER STALCUP'S WILL Will Book 1, pages 193, 194 & 195 Washington County, Virginia

Witnesses as to Moses Stalcup Robert Beatre # Abram B Trigg # Joseph Newton #

° Isaac Stalcup seal ° ° Elias Stalcup seal ° ° William Sinclair seal ° ° William Stalcup seal ° his ° George Dungan seal ° mark her ° Mary St Clair seal ° mark her ° Rany Stalcup seal ° mark her ° Rachel Stalcup seal ° mark her ° Ann Stalcup seal ° mark ° Moses Stalcup seal ° his ° William McBroom seal ° mark

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