Johannes Koppe

Researcher, Alice Chilcote, a descendant of Johannes Koppe, said, "There are two versions of the original spelling of the immigrant's name: Johannes Koppe and Jan Koptje, one being the German form and the other being the Dutch form. There are Koppe inhabitants in Germany today and Koptje folk living in Holland.  Either name in Anglicized form becomes John Cuppy."

"Another spelling for first name is John, Johann.!Another spelling for last name is Cuppye, Cuppett, Cuppje.!Sorce of information:Fern Marvel Parkin.!Birth place listed as S. E. Germany/South East Prusia.!Came over to USA in 1748 on a Morovian ship, landed in Phil. !Johan Coppje took the name of John Cuppy. In his own rough draft of is will he wrote: I Johan Coppje etc.,and than he signed it John Cuppy. Sons took the name of Cuppett.!Cuppytown is now New Cumberland, Handcock Co.,West Va.. Records of Berlin Cuppett. !Escaped France to Switzerland then to US. !Write to county Seat Hampshire Co.,West Va. for records of 1762-1778.!John was a luthern." Written by Reva Ashcroft, researcher. 

Researcher, Kathy Alvis Patterson, a Gen Circles member, wrote these  notes re Johannes Koppe . "Shriner Manuscript, unpublished, Vigo Co., Indiana Library in Terra Haute. John Cuppy, immigrant and progenitor of the Cuppy family in America, was born about 1730 near the border of Germany and Holland. Descendants of this man are indebted for the early data on John Cuppy to the manuscripts of Dr. Draper, found in the Wisconsin Historical Society's Kellog Frontier Advance. Dr. Draper recorded an interview with John Cuppy, Jr., the eldest of the immigrant, held during three days, Aug 21st to 23rd of 1860, when the son nearing the age of one hundred and living in Wayne Twp., Montgomery Co., OH...John Cuppy, Jr. stated that his father was of German ancestry, that he arrived in New York City around 1750, that he married Margaret Parker, a native of New Jersey, in 1754; and that he settled in Morris County, New Jersey, near Morristown where he worked as a stone mason and farmer and where the first three children were born.
   ...in the spring of 1762 they moved to Hampshire Co., VA, and settled on Mill Creek, a south drain of the South branch of the Potomac river...where four more children were born.  It was on Mill Creek that the Cuppy family lived prior to, during, and for sometime following the Revolutionary War.  The children were brought up as farmers and hunters of wild game and enjoyed some school opportunities.  There were two closely related families also who settled Hampshire County with the John Cuppy family, those of Margaret Parker Cuppy's brother, Benjamin Parker, and sister Anne Parker, who married John DeVore."

These notes appeared at FamilySearch.org about our Cuppy ancestors: 
"Name was originally Johan Coppje or Koupay. Stone mason/far mer. Arrived in New York in 1746. Engaged in Indian warfare and was in an expedition to Canad a. Lived near Morristown, NJ until 1763 when the family remove d to Hampshire Co., VA., near Romney. In 1769 he established settlement rights on 400 acres in th e Sandy Creek Glades of Monongalia Co., VA (now WV). Then s old his rights in 1781. In 1794, he sold his property in Hampshire Co. and settle d north of Wellsburg, WV, (then VA) along the Ohio River. 
 John Cuppy, (Johannes Koppe) immigrant and progenitor of the Cuppy family in America, was born about 1730 near the border of Germany and Holland. He was of German ancestry and arrived in America in 1750. Reportedly he was a young sailor and he jumped ship upon arriving in New York City. He married Margaret DeVore Parker, a native of New Jersey, in 1754 and settled in Morris County, New Jersey, near Morristown where he worked as a stone mason and farmer and where the first three children were born. In 1762 the family moved to Mill Creek, Hampshire County, Virginia, where four more children were born. It was on Mill Creek that the Cuppy family lived prior to, during, and for some time following the Revolutionary War. The children were brought up as farmers and hunters of wild game and enjoyed some school opportunities. The two oldest sons of John Cuppy and Margaret Parker (John Cuppy Jr. and Abraham Cuppy) served with the militia during the Revolution. The Hampshire County Military Service Claims Court reveal that on November 13, 1782, John Cuppy Sr. was credited with "having supplied one rifle gun worth three pounds" (Virginia State Library Booklet). Although too old to serve in the armed forces, John Cuppy Sr. had proved his loyalty to the American cause, and his descendants are entitled to membership in such patriotic organizations as the Daughters of the American Revolution on the basis of his contribution. On August 16, 1787, John Cuppy Sr. bought a tract of 350 acres for 140 pounds. It appears that at this time, old John and his wife Margaret were hoping to entice their sons to settle near the old home place on Mill Creek and buying up additional land in that community. The Indian trouble did not stop at the close of the Revolutionary War. The Indians in Ohio were making almost constant war on the encroaching settlers of the western frontier. John Cuppy Jr. and his brother Abraham were members of Captain Samuel Brady's Scouts. The Indian raids continued in Ohio until General Anthony Wayne, known as Mad Anthony, was chosen to take the field against the raiders. With a large force of men, he overthrew the Indians at Maumee Rapids and forced the signing of the Treaty of Greenville in 1794. Following this treaty, John Cuppy Sr. sold their land on Mill Creek for 575 pounds (Deed Book 9, pages 369 and 407, Hampshire County, Virginia) and moved to live with their eldest son, John Cuppy Jr. and family at Tomlinson Run in Brooke County, Virginia now Hancock County, West Virginia. Edited by Mindy Cuppy Bell from "The John Cuppy Family in America" The minute books of Hampshire County, Virginia (now West Virginia) reveal that in 1788 John Cuppy Sr. served on the Grand Jury. John Cuppy Sr.'s name appears many times in the early Brooke County Court Orders. In 1797 he was a road viewer. When the government wanted to build a new road, they had "road viewers" who went out and decided where a road should be built. These people would report back to the court and the process continued. If everyone was in favor the surveyor would begin to lay off the road and the people who lived along the road would build it. John Cuppy Sr. died in 1802 and left a will, dated August 4, 1801, and proven in the September term of court in 1802 (Will Book 1, page 13, Brooke County, Virginia). The will of John Cuppy, Sr. reads as follows: "In the name of God, Amen. I, John Cuppy, of the County of Brooke and Commonwealth of Virginia, being weak in body but of sound and per suit mind and memory, considering the uncertainty of this mortal life and sound mind, blessed be the Almighty God for the same, do make and publish this my last will and testament in manner and form as follows, viz., that is to say, First and principally, I give and recommend myself unto the hand of Almighty God who gave it, and my body I recommend to the earth to buried in decent form at the discretion of my executors, not doubting but at the General Resurrection I shall receiv e same again by power of the Almighty God. And as touching such worldly estate as it has pleased God to bless me in this life, I give, demise, and dispose the same in the following manner: First, I do constitute and appoint my wife, Margaret Cuppy, and my two sons, John and Abraham, my sole and whole executors to decide in all cases whatsoever to the best advantage and the mutual happiness of the heirs of my estate. Second, I give and bequeath unto my dear and loving wife all my personal estate, perishable property, to dispose of as she may choose. Third, I give and bequeath unto my grandson, John Cuppy, son of Abraham Cuppy, all my land estate, he the said John paying an equal share of the value of said land to all my heirs if he think proper to hold the land and the said Abraham Cuppy shall have full power to choose for the boy whether or not he shall keep the land or not at the value share of. Fourth, and as to what clothing there may be left of my wearing apparel, they are to be equally divided among my three sons as may suit themselves, and I do hereby alter, disallow, revoke, and disannul all and every other former testaments, wills, or legatees, or executors, by me in anywise before mentioned. In testimony of which, I hereunto set my hand and seal this 4th day of August in the Year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and one. John Cuppy (SEAL) 

JOHANNES KOPPE
BORN: 1729 in Grunow, Mecklenburg, Germany
MARRIED: abt 1754 in Morristown, Morris, New Jersey
DIED:  Dec 1802 in Wayne Twp., Montgomery, Ohio
SOURCES: FamilySearch.org notes about his will, occupation, military, and other affairs; Researchers Chilcote and Ashcroft about his name and family details; Researcher and descendant, Pam Bolton, contributed his baptismal record in Germany as 25 Jul 1729. 

BENJAMIN and SARAH (CUPPY) HUFFMAN and FAMILY

There must be errors in the dates that I have acquired about this couple because their marriage date of about 1768, would mean that Sarah was only ten years old when they married, and her first child was born when she was age 11. I'm sorry, but I haven't found any new, more believable records than what I have to share with you. 

Benjamin was born in Germany in 1750 and married Sarah Cuppy about 1768 in Hampshire County, Virginia. Sarah was born on the 10th of June in 1758 in Morristown, Monmouth County, New Jersey. Sarah migrated with her parents and siblings to Hampshire County, VA around 1763. Benjamin and Sarah's eleven children were all born in Hampshire County, as follows:
1769 John
1770 Conrad
1782 Benjamin
1782 Sarah
1785 Abraham, our ancestor
1787 Jacob
1789 Sarah
1790 Isaac
1790 Elizabeth
1793 Daniel
1794 Margaret

Benjamin died before December 1815 in Brooke County, VA. Sarah died in February 1835 in Ashland County, Ohio.

BENJAMIN HUFFMAN
BORN: 1750 in , , Germany
MARRIED: abt 1768 in , Hampshire, VA
DIED: Dec 1815 in ,Brooke, VA

SARAH CUPPY
BORN: 10 Jun 1758 in Morristown, Monmouth, NJ
DIED: Feb 1833 in ,Ashland, OH
SOURCES: Citation: "United States Census, 1810," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XH2Q-MJ2 : accessed 23 May 2018), Benjamin Hufman, Brooke, Virginia, United States; citing p. 680, NARA microfilm publication M252 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 66; FHL microfilm 181,426; Mar 1815=Benjamin applied for administrator of Samuel Strong's estate along with Daniel Swearingen; 17 May 1815=Appraisal of Benjamin's estate by James Blein, Joseph Louie rand Nicholas Pumphrey; ANCESTRAL FILE: Family of Sarah(?) and Benjamin Huffman, Huffman Research Book.<HTML><META HTTP-EQUIV="content-type" CONTENT="text/html;charset=utf-8">ABBR 1.Ancestral File, LDS2.Alice ChilcoteTITL 1.Ancestral File, LDS<BR>2.Alice Chilcote, descendant of Benjamin and Sarah Huffman.

JAMES P. EVANS AND ANNA BILLS AND FAMILY

It seems fairly evident that James and Anna met in  Augusta, Kennebec County, Maine and were married there c. 1841. They also probably started their family in Augusta because their first four children were born in Maine.  Anna Evans, their fifth child was born in South Scituate in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. Here is the list of the children:

1842 Emma Harriet, our ancestor
1848 Julia
1853 Katherine
1858 Charles F. W.
1862 Anna



Augusta is the capital city of Maine. Beside the Kennebec River, Old Fort Western is an 18th-century wooden fort, with a recreated general store. Exhibits at the Maine State Museum trace local and natural history. wikipedia

In the 1860  South Scituate, Massachusetts census, James is listed as a laborer. In the 1870 census James is a carpenter who is later listed, in an 1884 Michigan city directory, as a retired carpenter. As I mentioned to you readers in an earlier blog, James and Anna Evans adopted the infant child of their deceased daughter, Emma, in 1881, and cared for her until she was about two years old. Next, it became daughter Anna Evans' responsibility to look after little Edith Dickinson. Anna loved that experience and she and Edith were close companions for many years.

You may recall that this family followed their eldest daughter to Montcalm, Michigan after her marriage to Cyrus Dickinson. So, James and Anna lived in South Scituate for only about 7 years.

JAMES P. EVANS
BORN: abt 1814 in  ,  , Sweden
MARRIED: abt 1841 in Augusta, Kennebec, Maine
DIED: bef 1893 in Evergreen Twp., Montcalm, MI

ANNA BILLS
BORN: abt 1824 in  , , Maine
DIED: 3 Feb 1904 in Evergreen Twp., Montcalm, MI
SOURCES: US FED CENSUSES OF  1850, 1860, 1870, 1880; 1884 directory of Montcalm County, MI; marriage record of Anna Evans to Jos. Colson Googins, Jr.; Book, Elda Esch Dickinson: "Benoni Dickinson and His Descendants"

BENONI AND MERCY HILL DICKINSON AND FAMILY

While I write this blog about Benoni and his family, I will take this opportunity to thank again, Mrs. Elda Elsch Dickinson, for painstakingly gathering all the information for her book, "Benoni Dickinson and His Descendants". My husband purchased her book c. 1985 and I have referred to it countless times to learn about my husband's maternal ancestry.

Benoni was born in Charleston, Washington, Rhode Island on the 22nd of November in 1793. He and his family moved to Warren, Washington, NY when he was quite young. His marriage date to Mercy Hill  is unknown but in the 1820 census of Warrensburg, Warren, NY he is the head of a household and there is one female living with him. Here is a list of their known children, who were all born in New York, and their birthdates:
1824 Charles H.
1826 Ethan C.
1833 Hannah Jane
1836 Cyrus W. H., our ancestor
1838 Thomas R.

Benoni and his family are listed in the 1830 and 1840 censuses of Warren County, NY with the marks for his wife and children under their age categories. Here are what the marks said in 1840:
1840 Census=2 males under 5; 1 male between 10 and 15; 1 male between 15 and 20; and Benoni was between 40-50 years old.  Females: 2 between 5 and 10; Mercy was between 40-50 years. This census, saying that there were two females between 5 and 10, tells us that a little girl born to this family may have died before the 1850 census. See below:

 In the 1850 census we have some names, ages, and place of residence in a much clearer view:
"Benoni Dickinson of  Horicon, Warren, NY; age 56; Mercy, 50; Jane, 17; Cyrus 14; Tom, 11 [Two of the Dickinson sons were already heads of households themselves in 1850. Perhaps the other mentioned female in the 1840 census was married with a new surname.]

In the 1855 State Census of Warren County, NY, Benoni and Mercy are living w/ Jane, their daughter, and her family at Horicon.

If you have been following our Shepard Blog, you may recall that most of the Dickinson family members moved to Montcalm, Michigan about 1858. On the 25th of April 1859, Benoni's house, situated near the NE corner of Bushnell town was burned to the ground and their daughter's two little girls were burned to death. I cannot even imagine the heartbreak and sadness that all the Dickinsons felt because of that terrible accident.

Two of the Dickinson sons, Thomas and Cyrus, signed up for duty as Union soldiers in the Civil War in 1861. Thomas was killed in battle in 1865, giving the Dickinsons another sad death to cope with. Benoni and Mercy continued to live in Montcalm until the ends of their lives. Mercy died first in 1872 and Benoni died in 1874. They are buried at the Maple Ridge Cemetery, Vickeryville, MI, Sessions Rd., Section 11, Bushnell Twp., Montcalm, MI

BENONI DICKINSON
BORN: 22 Nov 1793 in Charleston, Washington, RI
MARRIED: bef 1820 in Warrensburg, Warren, NY
DIED: 4 Aug 1874 in Bushnell Twp., Montcalm, MI
Buried: Maple Ridge Cemetery, Vickeryville, Montcalm, MI

MERCY HILL
BORN: 27 Jun 1800 in ,Warren, NY
DIED: 27 Mar 1872 in Bushnell Twp., Montcalm, MI
Buried: Maple Ridge Cemetery, Vickeryville, Montcalm, MI
SOURCES: Book: Elda Esch Dickinson, "Benoni Dickinson and His Descendants";US Federal Censuses 1800-1870; NY State Census of 1855; Land Office: Ionia, Doc #16747 Sec #2 Twp 9North; Range 6West;40 acres