Rigdon Family History
The first Rigdon we can definitively trace our lineage to is George Rigdon.
George Rigdon
George Rigdon was born about 1680 in St. George's Parish, Harford County, Maryland and married Elizabeth. They had nine children.
Charles, Elizabeth, George, Thomas Baker, John, William, Enoch, Stephen and Ann.
He was a farmer and land owner. He acquired land from John Roberts, known as "Kiddyminster" and land known as "Rigdon Escape". In present day Harford County, the Rigdon properties run along Deer Creek and Cherry Hill Road. They are part of the ridge known as "Rock Ridge". This area is now a state park.
George Rigdon also acquired land called "Hazzard", "Baker's Choice", "Father's Gift" and "Long Alley". George made it into the early record books by being indicted "for refusing to repair his road". He was fined.
John died before July 1755 in Baltimore County, Maryland. He willed to his son, John, the tract of land called "Father's Gift". Later John's widow sold this tract of land to John's brother.
John Rigdon
John Rigdon was born September 17, 1716, in St. George's Parish, Baltimore County, Maryland and married Elizabeth Bond (widow of Oachisson). They had nine children: Elizabeth, John, Ann, Mary, Baker, Margaret, Ruth, John and William.
John died before August 6, 1766 in Baltimore County, Maryland.
By The Way: John's brother, Thomas Baker Rigdon, was the father of William Rigdon (born in Harford County, Maryland) and was the grandfather of Sidney Rigdon (born in St Clair Township, Allegheny, Pennsylvania). Sidney Rigdon was a famous Mormon leader. Alexander Rigdon was also from this family and he is famous for signing the 1775 Bush Declaration of Independence.
Baker Rigdon
Baker Rigdon was one of nine children, born July 30, 1750 in St. George's Parish, Baltimore County, Maryland and died in 1820 in Harford County, Maryland. He was mustered into the Montgomery County, Maryland, James Bond's Company #11, in 1775 and served in the Revolutionary War. He married Sarah Smith in 1788 and possibly married a second time to Sara.
His childrens' names were: William, Baker Jr., Robert, Jean and Sarah.
Baker Rigdon Jr.
Baker Rigdon Jr. was born in Mill Green, Harford County, Maryland between 1784 and 1790 and was one of five children. He married Mary Brown who was from Cecil County, Maryland. They had eleven children: a son, a daughter, a son, a son, Baker, Sarah, Eli S. (born May 23, 1819), Alexander, Evaline, Franklin, a daughter.
The terrain around Mill Green is hilly with many forests, streams and ponds. The early Rigdon settlers probably found this good for raising crops and livestock for their own use and it provided abundant game and fish. The class of farmers in northern Maryland used few if any slaves. Rigdons fought on both sides in the Civil War.
A street in Mill Green, Maryland, called Rigdon Road, still exists and a number of Rigdons are listed in the telephone book and live in the area.
Eli S (or Ely) Rigdon
Eli S. (or Ely) Rigdon was born May 23, 1819 in Maryland and died July 8, 1905 in Cooptown or Mill Green, Harford County, Maryland.
In 1850 Eli and Sophia maintained a household together in Harford County. Francis D. (3) and Amanda M. (3) and Thomas (12 months or years?) are documented on the census. An Eli N appeared in 1850 but not in 1860 and also a Robert was living in their household. Francis and Amanda were born in Maryland and Thomas in Pennsylania.
Francis D. in this household is thought to be Dallas F. Rigdon.
In 1880 Eli maintained a household with wife Mary and ten children ranging in age from 22 to 8: Eliza Laura Caleb Mary William Sarah Jesse Louanna Franklin and Eveline.
In 1880, Francis D. (Dallas) and Amanda and Thomas were not living with Eli. Eli's occupation was farming. It is unclear what happened to Sophia and the three children. Sophia probably died and Eli remarried. Dallas was an adult and had moved to Illinois. Eli left a detailed will and willed everything to Mary and nine children. Nothing was mentioned in the will about Dallas.
Eli and Mary are buried in the Emory Methodist Church Cemetery near Mill Green, Harford County, Maryland. Many Rigdons are buried there.
Dallas Rigdon
Dallas Francis Rigdon was born in Harford County, Maryland. The exact date is unclear but probably around 1846 and maybe in October. He started out as Francis D.
Eli and Dallas signed up to work in a mine in 1862 in Hickory, Maryland. Dallas lied about his age, saying he was 20 when he was only 17.
Dallas volunteered to serve 100 days in the Eleventh Regiment of Infantry, Maryland Volunteers on June 7, 1864, during the Civil War. He indicated his name was Dallas and listed his residence as Forest Hill, Hartford County, Maryland.
Dallas moved from Maryland to Mt. Hope Township, McLean County, Illinois sometime between 1864 and 1870. Dallis (spelling per marriage documents) married Elizabeth Annie Adkins. They had ten children and lived in Pesotum, Illinois.
Children of Dallas:
George E born December 2, 1872 married Lizzie Ross
Ira born July 5, 1874 married Fannie
Jefferson T born January 3, 1876 married Mattie Swisher children: Fern, Alpha and Frank
John Henry born November 2, 1877 married Anna Barron twelve children died November 4, 1941
Ora E born January 1, 1880 married William P Thornton children: Wilma, Gaylord, Elgin
Margaret May born January 13, 1882 married Edward T Maleney children: Danny, Elizabeth
Grover born January 13, 1885 married Lita Moore
Frank born January 13, 1887
Carrie A born April 25, 1889 married Ray Searle children: Betty, Dick
Merritt (Red) born May 20, 1896 married Muretta Beth children: Jim
Memories of Dallas from grandchildren are sketchy. Some say he was quiet and kept to himself. Others say he had a drinking problem. The most persistent rumor about Dallas is that he was adopted.
On the death certificate for Dallas, Eli is documented as his father and Sophia Rigdon as his mother's maiden name. His occupation was carpenter. He also farmed and was the town telephone manager.
He spent the last years of his life at the Soldiers' Home in Danville, Vermillion County, Illinois (located just east of Champaign-Urbana, Illinois) and died at the age of 79. He and his wife are buried in the Davis cemetery, in Pesotum, Champaign County, Illinois.
Dallas and Elizabeth Rigdon
Rigdon Home and Family in Pesotum, Illinois
Dallas and Elizabeth Rigdon
Davis Cemetery
Pesotum, Illinois
John Rigdon
John Henry Rigdon was born November 2, 1877 in McLean County, Illinois and came to Black Hawk County Iowa at the age of 21 with his brothers, Grover and Jeff, and lived in Iowa the rest of his life except for about six years in Texas. He farmed in Barclay Township and in East Waterloo Township. He met and married Anna Elizabeth Barron in Iowa, married on February 25, 1903 and raised 12 children on farms around the Waterloo area.
Children are: Lee, Neal, Ruth, Jay, Ethel, Myrtle, Russell, Irene, Ruby, Paul, Marie and Norma
He was a well-known farmer and active in the Farmers' Union and the Black Hawk County Farm Bureau and in political circles. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for State Representative in about 1921. He fought T.B. Testing. He was one of the leaders who in opposition to compulsory testing of dairy cattle for tuberculosis, and fought in the courts for many years against the testing of his herd. The case was carried to the Iowa Supreme Court. Red-haired, and a vigorous public speaker, he was in the thick of many a battle within and among Iowa farm organizations. In 1936, he went to Washington, D.C. to present a farm recovery plan to members of Congress.
John died November 4, 1941, and is buried in Fairview Cemetery, Waterloo, Iowa.
Adkins Family History
Elijah Adkins
Elijah Adkins and Annie Hackwith had twelve children. Larkin Jefferson, Piety Evaline, Owen Wesley, Wiatt Armstrong, Green Lee, Harvey Bruce, Marion Francis, Charity Virginia, Margaret Drandy, Susan Julaney, Dorothea Ellen and Anna.
Larkin Adkins
Larkin Jefferson Adkins was born on April 7, 1824 probably in Kentucky. He married Hester Edwards Poor and they had nine children born between 1852 and 1872.
Larkin's children: Charles, Elizabeth, Mary, Robert, John, Etta Belle, William, Francis, and Margarett Ellen. Charles and Elizabeth were born in Kentucky and the rest of the children were born in Illinois.
Larkin's wife, Hester, was the daughter of Elizabeth Britt and Drury Woodson Poor. Drury W. Poor died at General Moorhead's home while serving in his 3rd year in the Kentucky legislature. A monument was erected to his memory at Frankfurt, Kentucky by the state.
Larkin lived in Kentucky and moved to Illinois. He moved to Illinois perhaps between 1854 and 1856. He later moved to Nebraska. Larkin may have moved to Nebraska to be with his younget child, Margarett and her husband John McEntarffer and their nine children. Margarett Ellen died in 1946 in Lincoln, Nebraska and is buried in DeWitt, Nebraska.
Elizabeth Adkins
Elizabeth Anna (Annie) Adkins was born in Kentucky on June 20, 1854 and moved to Illinois with her family as an infant. She met her husband, Dallas Rigdon, when he lived next door to her family. They were married on February 14, 1872 in Bloomington, McLean County, Illinois. They had ten children. Three of the children, Jefferson, Grover and John moved to Black Hawk County, Iowa. Frank moved to Texas, Ira and Merritt (Red) to Florida, George to Michigan, Ora and Margaret remained in Illinois and Carrie to Davenport, Iowa. A recollection of Elizabeth by one of her granddaughters was that Elizabeth always welcomed her and made her feel special. Little is known about the daily life of Elizabeth, but it must have been a busy life, with ten children and no modern conveniences. She would have traveled by horse and buggy. She maintained a large home in Pesotum, Illinois which also served as the telephone station for the town. Her daughters were "hello girls" for the telephone company. Elizabeth died February 15, 1919 at her daughter's home in Sadorus, Champaign County, Illinois and is buried beside her husband, Dallas, in the Davis Cemetery in Pesotum, Illinois.
Barron Family History
Nicholas Barron
Nicholas Barron was born in 1731 in Germany and traveled to the far away shores of America arriving on October 4, 1752. In 1761 he married a woman named Catherine in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He migrated to Berks County and then to the northern part of Milford Township, Somerset County, where he cleared and settled a three hundred acre farm in 1795 where he finished out his years.
His children went on to become prominent and well-respected citizens of Middlecreek and Milford Township. His children were: Catherine Barbara, George Sr, Nicholas, John and Phillip. They were born near Berks and Somerset Counties in Pennsylvania between the years of 1761 to 1767. Somerset County was a dangerous place due to Indian conflicts during the Revolutionary War period.
His son, Nicholas, married Rachel Houser, who "was captured by the Indians in Morrison's Cove, Bedford County, during the Revolutionary War. She watched her father and brother, John, killed and scalped on the spot at the time of her capture. Martin, another brother, was present, but escaped. The mother was absent at Pittsburgh. Rachel and one of her brothers were taken by the Indians to Detroit where they hoed corn and made corn pone. After two years she and her brother tried to escape, her brother escaped but she nearly lost her life. After seven years, she was then permitted to return home. She was delivered to Pittsburgh. Her mother paid a man twenty dollars ransom for her. She returned with rings in her ears and nose."
Nicholas Barron played a major role with other German immigrants in the organization of the Samuel's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Somerset County. The first building was built by Nicholas Barron, his sons, and other members. Nicholas donated the land according to his will dated 1785. The same building was used for school during the weekdays. It is possibly the second or third oldest church in Somerset County. The first German church records begin April 16, 1795.
George Barron Sr.
George Barron Sr. was the oldest son of Nicholas. He and Anna Maria Friedline (daughter of Johann Ludwig Friedline and Anna Margaret Lenhart) had eleven children.
Their children were: George (John), Catherine, Nicholas, Barbara, Catherine, Mary Ann, Ludwick, Frederick, Frederick, John and Nicholas.
They all lived in Somerset County.
The Barronvale Covered Bridge also was built by Barrons in Middlecreek Township. The Barronvale Covered ridge crosses the Laurel Hill Creek leading up to the hill to Barronvale. The bridge was built in 1846, and while it is not still in operation, you can cross over it by foot.
Barron Cemetery, located in Middlecreek Township, is adjacent to St. Peter's Lutheran Cemetery. It is right in the middle of what used to be Barronvale.
Nicholas, George Sr., their wives and many Barrons are buried in Samuels Lutheran Cemetery in Somerset Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania about one mile south of Lavansville, Pennsylvania.
John George Barron
John George Barron was the oldest son of George. He and Christiana Barclay (1784 - 1851 daughter of Jacob Barclay and Veronica Hauer) had six children. Three of his sons (Joseph, George and John) had children who migrated to Iowa.
Joseph was the father of David Austin who moved to Iowa. George was the father of Isaac who moved to Iowa. John was the father of Araminda who moved to Iowa.
Joseph A Barron
Joseph A. Barron was the first born child of John George Barron. He and Eva Friedline (daughter of Ludwig Friedline and Barbara Hechler) had seven children -- Mary, Catherine, George, unknown, David Austin, Christiana and Jacob. Joseph and Eva are buried in the Samuel's Lutheran Cemetery as well as Eva's parents Ludwick and Barbara (Hechler) Friedline.
David Austin Barron
David Austin Barron was the fifth child born to Joseph A. Barron. He was born on December 27, 1844 in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
David Austin and Josephine Chorpenning (daughter of Simon Chorpenning and Susan Weller) were married on October 9, 1866, at the Evangelical Lutheran Congregation in Lavansville, Somerset County, Pennsylvania. This was during the Civil War.
They had eight children. The first four children, all boys, were born in Pennsylvania.
The rich farm land of Iowa lured many residents from Somerset County. David Austin and Josephine moved to Iowa with four of their children probably around 1876 to 1878.
David moved to Iowa probably with or to join his cousins, Isaac (son of George) and Araminda (daughter of John).
Their last four children, all girls, were born in Iowa.
Children of David and Josephine Barron:
Henry Irvin born December 16, 1867 married Ida Barclay children: Gladys, Ralph, Glenn, Guy, Harold and Richard
William Russell born March 21, 1870
Simon Edward born October 31, 1872 married Myrta Wilson children: Claude and Floyd
Joseph Franklin born September 11, 1875 married Maude Washburn children: Helen, Homer, Kenneth, Marian, Mildred and William
Orpha Susan born February 23, 1879 married Frank Falk children: Pearl and Hazel
Anna Elizabeth born July 24, 1881 married John Henry Rigdon twelve children
Fannie Eve born July 24, 1881 twin of Anna died as infant
Julie Gurtrud born April 7, 1884 married Samuel Brooks children: Margaret and Paul and Gurtrude
David Austin Barron and his wife Josephine are buried in Mount Zion Cemetery, Black Hawk County, Iowa.
About David Austin Barron's Cousins and Relatives in Iowa:
"After the Civil War, families of Isaac Barron, David Austin Barron, first cousin, Amos Adams and his wife Arimand Barron and Abraham Barclay's children, Charles I and Ida C Barclay moved to Iowa. In 1878 Isaac rented a farm in east Waterloo Township, Black Hawk County, Iowa. He purchased the land and farmed until his death. He was a member of the school board for several years and served as county supervisor, a Lutheran. All his children were born in Somerset County, Pennsylvania."
David Austin's cousin, Isaac (son of George) married Rosanna Maurer and had seven children. In the 1897 obituary for Isaac's father, George Barron "a highly respected and esteemed gentleman", all children were listed as living in Iowa. David's cousin Isaac's children who lived in Iowa:
Sarah Amanda b 1858 in PA d 1901 SD
George Albert b 1860 in PA d 1911 Waterloo, IA
Jacob Irvin b 1861 in PA d 1950 MN
Elizabeth Susan b 1863 in PA d 1952 Green, Butler Co, IA, married to Royal Wirth
Annie Elizabeth b 1865 in PA d 1955 Cedar Rapids, IA
Isaiah Webster b 1870 in PA d Black Hawk County, IA married to Stella M Spoull
Carrie B b in PA d 1954 Waterloo, IA
David Austin's cousin, Araminda (daughter of John) married Amos Adams and had three children.
John Quincy Adams
Anna Catherine Adams (married Shalis?)
Sarah Adams (married Frank Lemley)
Ida Barclay and her brother, Charles, moved to Iowa. They were the children of Sarah Marteeny and Abraham Barclay. Abraham died in Pennsylvania. Sarah also came to Iowa and married Simon Chorpenning (his third marriage) in Iowa. They had two children. Simon Chorpenning was the father of Anna Elizabeth Barron's mother, Josephine Chorpenning. Ida married Anna Elizabeth's oldest brother, Henry Barron.
Anna Elizabeth Barron
Anna Elizabeth Barron was the sixth child born to David Austin and Josephine (Chorpenning) Barron on July 24, 1881. She had a twin sister, Fannie, who died as an infant. She and her husband, John Henry Rigdon, were married February 25, 1903 and had twelve children. Anna died on March 21, 1962 and is buried next to her husband in Fairview Cemetery, Waterloo, Iowa.
Chorpenning Family History
Hendrich Courpenning
Hendrich Courpenning was born in the Netherlands in 1727. Also spelled Hendrick Kourpning.
John George Chorpenning
John George Chorpenning, son of Hendrich, was also born in the Netherlands in 1749 or 1751. His original given name was Johann. His lastname was spelled a variety of ways: Corpenny, Corpeny, Chorpening, Courpenning, Kourpning.
He came to America probably with his father and perhaps on the ship "Duke of Bedford" to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He lived in Washington County, Pennsylvania and then settled in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
"John George Courpenning (Chorpenning) was a pioneer settler of Somerset Pennsylvania. He came with friends John Michael Walter and Peter Ankeny to Somerset Pennsylvania in 1774. Peter had fled from Somerset for safety from the Indians the previous year. They were among the first settlers in Somerset Township. They settled on land about two and a half miles southwest of Somerset. In 1776 (year of the U.S. Independence) John George Chorpenning married Anna Maria Ankeny (Peter's sister) in Washington County, Maryland. John, Michael and Peter didn't bring their families to Somerset until about 1780 due to Indian danger, but instead went back and forth, returning to Washington County, Maryland in the winters."
John George and Anna Maria had ten children: Elizabeth, Henry, John, Johann, Rosanna, John P, Michael, Jacob, David and Catherine.
John George died in Somerset Pennsylvania in 1804 and Anna Maria died in France in 1806.
Henry Chorpenning
Henry Chorpenning was the first born son of John George. He was born in 1779, just three years after the U.S. received its independence. He married Framy Shaff and they had ten children.
Children: John, Joseph, Regina, Jonathan, Michael, Mary Ann, Sally, Simon, Hannah and Frank. Henry died in 1865 and is buried in Samuel's Evangelical Luthernan Cemetery in Somerset County Pennsylvania. There are many Chorpennings and Barrons buried in this cemetery.
The following excerpt might be about Framy Shaff's father or maybe an uncle:
"John Shaff was born in Switzerland in 1745. After emigrating to America, he first settled in Berks county, whence he removed to Summit township and engaged in pioneer farming on Saylor's Hill. Strange to say, he found the soil too rich; the grain fell and would not ripen. About 1790 Mr. Shaff moved to Milford Township and settled north of Rockwood on a farm which Valentine Hay, of Somerset, now owns. During the first of this residence here, Mr. Shaff and several of his neighbors loaded pack horses with grain and went to Hagerstown, Maryland, to have it ground. It chanced that there was a large amount of work already on heand at the mill, and as each grist must await its turn, it was so long before Mr. Shaff got his grain ground, that his family were six weeks without bread. Fortunately they had plenty of hominy and fresh meat and did not suffer. On of John Shaff's sisters were taken captive by the Indians, and remained twelve years among them before making her escape. She came home with her ears clipped and a ring in her nose after the Indian style. John Shaff married Fanny Freederick. He died in 1816. His sons were John, Henry, Michael and David; his daughters Christiana, Catharine (Lower), Eve (Grifith), and Sara (Frieze)."
Simon Chorpenning
Simon Chorpenning was the eigth of ten children born to Henry and Framy on September 24, 1818.
He had two children, William Frederich and Sevilla Sarah, with Sarah Walter (1824 - 1843, she is buried in Samuel's Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery).
Simon then married Susan Weller on September 20, 1843 and they had eight children, including Josephine, between the years of 1844 and 1865. All born in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Children: Samuel Austin, Josephine, Julia Elizabeth, Henry Harrison, Ellen Minerva, Mary Belinda, Harvey Franklin, and Charley Weller.
Simon may have moved to Iowa with his daughter Josephine and her husband, David Austin Barron, some time around 1876 and 1878.
He may have met Sarah Barclay in Iowa, although they both came from Somerset County, Pennylvania. Simon married Sarah Barclay (Marteeney) (1838-1919 and buried in Blackhawk County, Iowa) in May of 1879 and they had two children, Calvin and Edna, who were born in Black Hawk County, Iowa in 1881 and 1885.
Sarah Barclay's daughter Ida and her son Charles moved to Iowa with the Barron cousins from Somerset. Ida Barclay married Josephine Chorpenning's oldest son, Henry Irvin Barron.
Simon Chorpenning died April 2, 1898 in Black Hawk County, Iowa, and is buried in Fairview Cemetery, Waterloo, Iowa.
Josephine Chorpenning
Josephine Chorpenning was the daughter of Simon and Susan Weller (Simon Chorpenning's second wife). Josephine was born in Pennsylvania on January 3, 1846, married David Austin Barron on October 9, 1866 -- during the Civil War -- in Lavansville, Somerset County, Pennsylania. They had four children born in Pennsylvania between the years of 1867 and 1875 and four children born in Iowa between the years of 1879 and 1884. Josephine and David Barron moved to Iowa probably around 1876 - 1878. She died on February 19, 1898. She was buried in Mt. Zion Cemetery, Black Hawk County, Iowa. The cemetery no longer exists.
Credits and Resources
Information used in the Rigdon, Adkins, Barron and Chorpenning Family Histories from:
"Descendants of Jacob Barkley and Veronica Hauer of Somerset County Pennsylvania", Sun City Genealogy
"Early Pioneers of Somerset County Pennsylvania" Somerset County, Pennsylvania
"The History of Somerset, Bedford and Fulton Counties, Pennsylvania -- 1884" Somerset County, Pennsylvania
"The Rigdon Family History", John Rigdon, Clearwater, Florida
Census Records
Ancestry.com