BRETHREN-L Archives

From: Sharon and Joe Mills <>
Subject: a forward about John Jans/Younce
Date: Fri, 04 Mar 2005 08:03:39 -0500

I received these two messages from Geary R. Younce, a descendant of John
Jans/Younce of NC. Some members of this list may find parts of this
information interesting. In particular, the location of the grave of John
Jans/Younce and possible other early Younce family members. Geary visited
this site in Ashe Co NC in 1972 and mentions coordinates. Below are parts
of those two messages.

Sharon Mills

>X-From_: Wed Mar 2 21:48:16 2005


I have been reading your correspondence on the internet regarding John
>Younce, who lived in Ashe Co. NC just prior to 1800 and who owned land
>along the New River.
>
>This John Younce is my ancestor six generations back. I have visited
>his gravesite and have the location. There was at least one other
>grave at the same location. All my other direct male ancestors that I
>know about are buried in the same cemetary in Zionville, NC -- those
>that are presently deceased, that is. I was there (my second visit) just
last week.
>
>I would be most interested in knowing where John Younce came from. My
>history of him begins at his purchase of land along the New River in
>1792, and I know nothing of him before that date. My family legends
>also have him dying while crossing a ridge in mid-winter, and visiting
>relatives in Miami Co., Ohio.
>

>I have two references to deeds dated 1794 and 1799 in which John Younce
>is named (Deed Book A, p. 332 and Deed Book A, p. 152 Respectively),
>and a copy of State of North Carolina land grant (No. 1332) to John
>Younce for 100 acres along the New River.
>
>


>Here is my description of the location of the grave of John Younce. The
>site is on land that borders the South Fork of the New River, in what is now
>Watauga Co. NC. (It might be Ashe Co. I don't have a map handy that shows
>the counties).
>
>"I visited this site on 7/23/72. It lies within grid 8F of the Glendale
>Springs Quadrangle map of North Carolina, (the 7.5 x 7.5 minute scale) dated
>1967, at approximately
>
>36 degrees 18 minutes 41.4 seconds North
>81 degrees 26 minutes 39.5 seconds West
>
>as near as I can measure it on the map.

(reference to house owner is from 1972)

>There is a house at the foot of a small ridge which is inhabited by James
>Miller. He said that John Younce's house stood on the very same spot [as
>his house now stands], and that bricks from John's house were turned up when
>they excavated to build the Miller house. The present Miller house is
>located on the above map, published by the U.S. Geological Survey [the
>survey maps often show buildings as small squares].
>
>A fence now runs North along the crown of the ridge. Exactly on this fence,
>about 50 or 75 yards from the [Miller] house, on the very first leveling of
>the ridge crown, there is a slight depression. This is Johbn Younce's
>grave. About 15 feet East of this depression is another, which is not so
>visible. This is also a grave, but I don't know who lies there. At the
>present time [that is, at the time I wrote this in 1972], a second fence
>joins the first at right angles about 20 feet behond John's grave and runs
>eastward. This is the first intersecting fence encountered when climbing
>the ridge from the house.
>
>Ben Miller, who owns land West of the fence, said there used to be other
>grave depressions visible, but that the cattle had settled the ground so
>that they could no longer be seen."
>
>This description is dated 7/26/72 and signed by me.
>
>Although John was buried on his farm, his descendents that trace his line to
>me, namely Solomon, Abraham, Solomon Smith, James Arthur (my grandfather,
>who moved back to NC specifically so he could be buried with his ancestors)
>are all buried in the cemetery of the Baptist church in Zionville, NC. My
>father, son of James Arthur, is still living. He is now 91 and will not be
>buried in Zionville, but in Oregon where he has lived since shortly after I
>was born.
>
>Thank you so much for the information on John's origins. This is the first
>hint I have had as to where he came from. I also had Rhoda Foutz as a
>possible wife, and my citation is "History of Watauga County", p. 354, but I
>also have a note that says I'm not sure how much of what is written in that
>history is correct. I also had Margaret Tesh as a possible wife, from a
>chart prepared by Margaret Zdunic -- a name I believe you will recognize.
>It has no source citations, though, so I was never sure of its accuracy.
>Your spelling of her name and her Moravian orgins are new to me.


(Mary Younce, mentioned below is actually a sister of John Jans/Younce.)


>I have a notation on Mary Younce, daughter of John Younce (I have her as a
>Younce, not a Jans). I have her marrying John Fonts (not Fouts) on 31
>August, 1769 in Rowan Co., N.C., and the citation is a marriage bond from
>page 293 of a book located in the Library of Congress, titled
> "North and South Carolina Marriage Records from the earliest
>colonial days to the Civil War", by William Montgomery Clemens, published by
>E.P. Dutton & Co., New York, 1927, with the library reference numbers
> F
> 253
> C 62
> Copy 2

This thread:

• a forward about John Jans/Younce by Sharon and Joe Mills <>