The McKim Family James McKim Let’s start with James McKim. According to his own written testimony, he was born in Ireland (about 1741) and came to New York in 1774. He farmed lands in the Camden Valley near the village of Cambridge between the Hudson River and the Vermont border, about 40 miles north of Albany – an area legally known as the Wilson’s Patent. In 1777, with some of his neighbors, he joined the local British forces – a unit known as Jessop’s Loyal Rangers. He was captured at the Battle of Bennington in that same year. He later was either released or managed to escape, as his statement says he served for the duration of the war. By 1783, he is at Sorel outside Quebec, which is being used as a refugee camp for the Loyalists fleeing the American victory. Here he files his testimony to obtain compensation for his losses in New York. He lists 30 acres of land, a cow, house and implements – total worth over £49. In 1797, James applies to the government of Upper Canada for a Loyalist veterans’ bounty – 200 acres of land for himself and another 200 acres each for his two eldest sons, both now over 21 years of age. The government intends to settle veterans and their families along the northern banks of the St Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. They are granted lands near what would become Ernestown (now part of the enlarged Loyalist Township in Ontario). James died there in 1813. (‘Sir’ John McKim) (There is speculation which I can’t confirm – that James was a descendent of John McKim (born about 1655 in Invernesshire, Scotland) – perhaps a grandson. John McKim moved to Ireland and became a prosperous merchant in Derry. During the Siege of Derry when the Williamite garrison held out against the forces of King James in 1689, John McKim is supposed to have used his supplies and money to help the starving inhabitants of the town. After 105 days and with one third of the population dead, the siege was lifted. John McKim claimed to have been knighted by the victorious King William – but no record of this has ever been produced. What is known is that two of ‘Sir’ John McKim’s sons went to Pennsylvania and Delaware. Their families later became wealthy merchants and shipowners in Baltimore Maryland – in 1843 they commissioned the first true clipper ship – the ‘Ann McKim’.)
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The McKim Family James McKim Let’s start with James McKim. According to his own written testimony, he was born in Ireland (about 1741) and came to New York in 1774. He farmed lands in the Camden Valley near the village of Cambridge between the Hudson River and the Vermont border, about 40 miles north of Albany – an area legally known as the Wilson’s Patent. In 1777, with some of his neighbors, he joined the local British forces – a unit known as Jessop’s Loyal Rangers. He was captured at the Battle of Bennington in that same year. He later was either released or managed to escape, as his statement says he served for the duration of the war. By 1783, he is at Sorel outside Quebec, which is being used as a refugee camp for the Loyalists fleeing the American victory. Here he files his testimony to obtain compensation for his losses in New York. He lists 30 acres of land, a cow, house and implements – total worth over £49. In 1797, James applies to the government of Upper Canada for a Loyalist veterans’ bounty – 200 acres of land for himself and another 200 acres each for his two eldest sons, both now over 21 years of age. The government intends to settle veterans and their families along the northern banks of the St Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. They are granted lands near what would become Ernestown (now part of the enlarged Loyalist Township in Ontario). James died there in 1813. (‘Sir’ John McKim) (There is speculation -‐ which I can’t confirm – that James was a descendent of John McKim (born about 1655 in Invernesshire, Scotland) – perhaps a grandson. John McKim moved to Ireland and became a prosperous merchant in Derry. During the Siege of Derry when the Williamite garrison held out against the forces of King James in 1689, John McKim is supposed to have used his supplies and money to help the starving inhabitants of the town. After 105 days and with one third of the population dead, the siege was lifted. John McKim claimed to have been knighted by the victorious King William – but no record of this has ever been produced. What is known is that two of ‘Sir’ John McKim’s sons went to Pennsylvania and Delaware. Their families later became wealthy merchants and shipowners in Baltimore Maryland – in 1843 they commissioned the first true clipper ship – the ‘Ann McKim’.)
John McKim James’ son John (1784 – 1862) farmed in the area of Ernestown. In 1812 he married Lydia Elizabeth Switzer. They had a large family together. Her father, Christopher Switzer lived in the area of Ernestown known as Switzerville. Palatines The area on the upper River Rhine in western Germany, close to the French border, historically was known as the Palatinate (die Pfalz in German). During the religious wars of the time, the district became home to many Protestant refugees. In the early eighteenth century, the French took over the area. A series of very harsh winters, failed crops and foreign (Catholic) occupation led many of the so-‐called Palatines to want to leave. Encouraged by the British government, about 13,000 moved to England. Many then moved on to the North American colonies but several hundred families were settled in Ireland, mainly in Country Limerick. They were given subsidized leases on plots of land and developed settlements such as Rathkeale, Castlematrix and Ballingrane. They kept their German language, traditions and Lutheran religion. After a couple of generations, those leases with reasonable terms started to end and rents increased. Many now thought about leaving. Simultaneously, the Irish-‐German settlements had been visited several times in the 1750s by John Wesley who had taught himself German so he could preach directly to these people. Many were converted to Methodism. Assenheim im Pfalz Hans Jacob Switzer (or Schweitzer) was born in Assenheim in the Palatinate in 1620. He married, firstly, Eva, daughter of Michael Renner, the Schultheiss (Magistrate) of Assenheim. She died giving birth to their first child; the child did not live. His second wife was Elizabetha Kesselring, daughter of the Schultheiss of neighboring Ellerstadt. One of their sons was Johann Jacob Schweitzer (1658 – 1746). Two of his sons, Johann Michael (1681 – 1768) and Johann Christopher (1686 – 1755) ended up in Limerick. Johann Christopher married Katherine Elizabeth Ruttle (or Ruckle) and they were the parents of Peter Switzer.
Peter Switzer Among those Limerick Palatines was Peter Switzer who was born at Castlematrix in 1730. He married Anna Maria Guier, the daughter of Philip Guier, local schoolteacher and Burgomeister of Ballingrane. In 1760 a group left for New York City. Peter Switzer’s sister Margaret and brother-‐in-‐law Philip Embury, and cousin Barbara Heck nee Ruckle and her husband Paul. All were converts to Methodism. However, after reaching New York, their Methodist practices seemed to have tapered off. Anglican First Trinity Church at the foot of Wall Street served their religious needs. Then things came to a head when, famously, Barbara Heck returned to her kitchen to find her husband and friends playing cards. She threw the cards in the fire and went to Philip Embury. She demanded that he begin to preach again as he had in Ireland. He did – the first Methodist sermon in North America – and Barbara became the ‘mother of American Methodism’. She pushed for the construction of a Methodist chapel in the city, the first – built by Embury, who was a carpenter by trade. Camden Valley Having come from a rural background, it is not a surprise that these recent immigrants to New York City might return to farming. The Hecks, the Emburys and others took leases on land in what was called Camden Valley -‐ between the Hudson River and Vermont (where, several years later, James McKim also leased lands). In 1773 Peter Switzer moved from Ireland. He took his family to the Camden Valley – initially living in Philip Embury’s barn. Philip died that year while building a new home. His widow Margaret moved into the new house and Peter Switzer leased the original homestead. All of these were Loyalists after 1775, some served in British forces and all ended up in Canada after the American success in the War of Independence. Peter and family were among those delegated to remain at Camden to look after the farms. Ultimately the Switzers joined their relatives in Ontario in 1807. Peter Switzer’s granddaughter Lydia married John McKim and had a son Peter Switzer McKim (1813 – 1898). Peter Switzer McKim Peter was, variously, a tanner of leather, a harness maker, a city clerk and a Justice of the Peace. In 1837, he married Charlotte Guess, daughter of William Guess. He later moved to Kingston Ontario where he worked for the city government as an inspector of hides and leather. He died in Kingston.
Sydney McKim Peter Switzer McKim’s son Sydney was born in 1839. For most of his life he was in business as a merchant in Ontario. He married Elizabeth Whalen before 1861. William John McKim Sydney and Elizabeth’s third child, William John, was born on January 10 1868. He was baptized in the Methodist Church in Camden Ontario later that year. He became a farmer. On October 25 1887 he married Mahillo Jane Rothwell (known as Jennie), daughter of Irish-‐born Samuel and Rachael Rothwell. At the time of the marriage, William John was living at Sombra Ontario, just across the St Clair River from Michigan. The 1900 U.S. Federal Census shows that William had moved to Michigan in 1892. A Loyalist McKim returned to the United States over 100 years after the family had fled. The following year Jennie and their two Canadian-‐born children, Annie and Stanley joined him in the States. He carried on farming in Huron Township on the tip of Michigan’s ‘thumb’. Their first child born in Michigan was Hattie Emma McKim. Hattie Emma McKim Hattie Emma was born on March 14 1894. She married Colorado-‐born Clarence Philip Wallick on June 4 1917. Clarence had been working as a mechanic for the Haverford Cycle Co. in Detroit. After the wedding, the couple moved to California.
Appendices
Figure 1 - Schedule of the losses of James McKim
Figure 2 - Evidence of the claim of James McKim
Figure 3 - Land grant claim James McKim 1797
Figure 4 - Peter Switzer McKim
Figure 5 - Haverford Cycle Co. catalog page
Figure 6 - The restored Switzer home in Courtmatrix County Limerick built about 1710
The Wallick Family Clarence Philip Wallick Clarence was born in Denver, Colorado on February 12 1893. He worked as a mechanic in a cycle company in Detroit where he met his wife-‐to-‐be Hattie Emma McKim before moving to California. Samuel S. Wallick Clarence’s father was Samuel S. Wallick (1857 – 1930). He married Francis (Frankie) Moreland in Denver in 1891. He worked as a carpenter Born in Switzerland County, Indiana, by 1910 he and Frankie had divorced and he was living in Los Angeles where he died in 1930. Frankie lived first in Pueblo, Colorado, later in Enid, Oklahoma and died in 1937 in Arkansas City, Kansas. Philip Posey Wallick Samuel’s father, Philip Posey Wallick, was born in Switzerland County, Indiana in 1815. He may have been given his middle name for recently incorporated Posey County or for the then-‐Territorial Governor of Indiana, General Thomas Posey. He was a farmer all his life. In 1845 he married Catherine Frazer in Switzerland County. He died in 1885 and is buried in Totheroh Cemetery in Boswell, Indiana. Henry Wallick Philip Posey Wallick’s father was Henry Wallick. He was born in Dover Township near York, Pennsylvania in 1778. He married Nancy Ann Mounts, daughter of Thomas Mounts, a frontier spy during the War of Independence, and great-‐grand-‐daughter of Colonel William Crawford who was captured by Delaware Indians during a raid by American forces into Ohio in 1782, tortured and burnt at the stake. About 1810, Henry, his wife and father moved to the part of Dearborn County, Indiana, which later became Switzerland County, travelling by flat boat down the Ohio River. As well as farming, Henry built a water-‐powered corn mill at Grant’s Creek.Henry died in 1836, Nancy Ann in 1852; both are buried in Wallick Cemetery in Switzerland County.
Johann Philip Wallick Henry’s father, who accompanied him to Indiana, was Johann Philip Wallick, known as Philip. He was born in York, Pennsylvania about 1745. He married Maria Magdalena Ensminger in Pennsylvania. Hans Michel Walck Johann Philip’s father was Hans Michel Walck (the original German spelling). He was born in Germany (possibly the Palatinate) about 1707. He arrived in Philadelphia on the ship ‘Mary’ in 1732 – he was among those who signed the ship’s papers showing he had some level of literacy. The ship had come from Rotterdam with a stop at Cowes, England. Hans Michel married Frederica Esther Schultz in Pennsylvania before 1736. In 1736, during a land dispute over the border area between Maryland and Pennsylvania, the Governor of Maryland issued a £20 reward for the capture of ‘Michael Wallick’ and 27 others who held disputed land warrants and were thought to be acting ‘seditiously’. He was one of the first settlers of York, Pennsylvania in 1741.
Moreland, Campbell, Mudge and Fuller Samuel S. Wallick married Frankie Moreland in 1891. She was the daughter of John Moreland, a New Jersey born sometime-‐saloon keeper, and Lavinia Campbell. John’s father, Francis was born in Ireland in 1818, son of John Moreland and Jennie Gourley. Francis moved his family to Wisconsin about 1853 to farm. Lavinia Campbell was born in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin in 1848, the daughter of New York-‐born Vine Baldwin Campbell and Emmeline Bladgett Terry . Vine’s parents were William Campbell and Betsy Mudge of New York. Betsy was the daughter of Joshua Mudge and Mary Cornish. Joshua, a farmer, was born in Haddam, Connecticut about 1737. During the French and Indian War of 1756, he served as a private, losing his right eye after being struck by cannonball splinters. In 1777 he was in the American forces – Van Renseller’s Regiment of New York Volunteers and fought at the Battle of Bennington. (So there was a Wallick ancestor on one side at this battle; and a McKim ancestor on the other.) Joshua was the son of Ebenezer Mudge and his second wife, Patience Fuller. Ebenezer was born in Lebanon, Connecticut about 1709 and died in New Ashford in Western Massachusetts. Ebenezer was the son of Micah Mudge, a surveyor, born in New London, Connecticut about 1650 and grandson of Jarvis Mudge who arrived in Boston from England about 1638. Jarvis married Rebecca Steele, the widow of Abraham Elsen. After Jarvis died in 1653, Rebecca married, for a third time, Nathaniel Greensmith of Hartford. And it was at Hartford, on January 25 1663, following a trial and confession, that Nathaniel and Rebecca were hanged for witchcraft along with two other women. The charges followed the sudden death of a local child and another child developing fits. Ebenezer Mudge married Patience Fuller about 1736. Patience was the daughter of Benjamin Fuller and Content Fuller of Sharon, Connecticut and granddaughter of John Fuller and Mehitabel Rowley of Barnstable, Massachusetts. John Fuller was the son of Samuel Fuller born in Leyden in the Netherlands in 1612. With his father Edward Fuller and uncle Samuel Fuller they left Delfthaven on the ship ‘Speedwell’ to join the ‘Mayflower’ for passage to the Plymouth Colony, arriving November 11, 1620. Both the elder Fullers signed the Mayflower Compact. Edward and his unknown wife died shortly after arrival. His uncle raised the younger Samuel. In 1635, young Samuel married Jane Lathropp at Scituate, Massachusetts. Captain Miles Standish conducted the ceremony. Edward and Samuel were the sons of Robert Fuller and Sarah Dunkhorn. Robert was a butcher in Redenhall Norfolk who died before 1614.
Appendices
Figure 7 - Hans Michel Walck signs the articles of the ship 'Mary' in 1732
Figure 8 - Philip Posey Wallick tombstone in Totheroh Cemetery
Figure 9 - A witch hanging (woodcut)
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