The
Lancaster / York Pennsylvania Kipps
Johann Heinrich Kipp
(about 1733 – 1807)
Johann Heinrich Kipp --
John George Kipp – George Kipp – George William Kipp Jr. – John
Wilbert Kipp – Earl Lloyd Kipp
IMMIGRATION
Johann Heinrich Kipp arrived in America
shortly before he took the oaths of allegiance to the British Crown
before Joshua Maddox, Esquire on September 26, 1752. He arrived
on the ship Richard and Mary, John Moore, Master. This ship originated
in Rotterdam, Netherlands, stopped in Portsmouth, England, and then
continued on to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
There was a large immigration of Germans
to Pennsylvania in the 1700’s. The reasons for this migration
included political, economic, religion, and even recruitment.
Some of those that emigrated from Germany stayed in England as ships
were required to stop there on the way. Others went onto Ireland after
debarking in England, while still others came to the American Colonies.
Typical sailing time from England, during the summer months, took 60
to 90 days. The voyage was long and difficult. Various
articles indicate food and water were of poor quality and sometimes
ran out during the voyage. The accommodations were crowded and
unsanitary leading to illness and disease. Many on board died
and were buried at sea.
Those Germans that immigrated to and
settled in Pennsylvania during this time period were referred to as
Pennsylvania Dutch. The term “German” may better be identified
as those that came from an area that spoke German so includes many more
areas than just what is now known as Germany. The term “Dutch”
was really “Deutsch” and which means German. The term
“Dutch” does not refer to what we now know as the Netherlands.
The naming custom in Germany was to
make the first given name that of a saint, and the second given name,
the name that person would be known by. Therefore, Johann Heinrich would
have gone by the name of Heinrich (Henry). It is believed that
this Henry Kipp is the most distant American ancestor of our specific
Kipp ancestry line.
The oaths of allegiance and abjuration
were only required of those who were age 16 years or older. Since
Henry Kipp was listed as taking the oaths we know that he must have
been at least 16 at the time of immigration. In reviewing other
immigration records from Germany, where age was available, the average
age appeared to be from the late teens to early 20s. This information
would indicate that Henry Kipp was born at least by 1736 and most likely
in the early 1730s.
I have researched current German directories
to see where the Kipp surname is common. Germans with the surname
Kipp are mostly located in Steinfurt, North Rhine-Westphalia, or in
Borken, Minden-Libbecke, and Herford in North Rhine-Westphalia. (47%)
There is also a concentration of the Kipp surname in Rottwell, Baden-Württemberg
(13%). There are lesser concentrations in other parts of Germany.
There is also a Kipp Farm located in North Rhine-Westphalia.
There is a Kipp hill located in Lower Saxony.
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania
in an article titled German Settlement in America, An Overview
stated that “Most early German immigrants came from the southwest
region of Germany, the areas known as the Rhineland, Palatinate, Wurtemberg,
Baden, and German Switzerland.” The directory information and this
article would both indicate that the most likely origin of Henry Kipp
was southwest Germany. It is hoped that in the future, the specific
origin of Henry Kipp can be identified.
LANCASTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
Subsequent to immigration the first
record that I could find of Henry Kipp was in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
where he shows up in the church records of Blaser’s Reformed Church
in Donegal, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. This congregation
was founded in 1752. The Blaser Reformed Church was named after Peter
Blaser. Peter Blazer and his wife donated one acre of land, upon
which the church was built, for the consideration of 20 shillings.
Documents state "All the members of said congregation, their heirs
and assigns forever yielding and paying to the said Peter Blaser, his
heirs and assigns on the first day of September the yearly rent of one
grain of wheat." Peter Blaser was also a direct ancestor of the
Kipp family.
The records of Blaser’s Reformed
Church record the birth of two sons: John Henry (1761) and John George
(1763), and four daughters: Anna Maria (1759), Mary Magdalena (1765),
Anna Catharine (1768), and Marie Gertrude (1772) to Henry and Anna Maria
Kipp. Since the first known child was born in August 1759
Henry Kipp was most likely in the area by at least 1758. I have
not found any records of his location from 1752 to 1758.
Many German immigrants were indentured
servants, “redemptioners”, who sold their labor for a number of
years (normally three to seven) in exchange for payment of their passage
to America. Once they paid off their passage they then set out
on their own. Joshua Rosenbloom, University of Kansas states in
Indentured Servitude in the Colonial U.S. “Because of the cost
of passage—which exceeded half a year’s income for a typical British
immigrant and a full year’s income for a typical German immigrant—only
a small portion of European migrants could afford to pay for their passage
to the Americas. They did so by signing contracts, or “indentures,”
committing themselves to work for a fixed number of years in the future—their
labor being their only viable asset—with British merchants, who then
sold these contracts to colonists after their ship reached America.”
This could account for the time period from 1752 to 1758.
Henry’s wife, Anna Maria, was born
on February 24, 1738 to John George Schmidt and Catharine Jung (Young).
John George was born in 1712, and Catherine in 1716, both in Lebanon
County, Pennsylvania.
REAL ESTATE
Land records show that Henry Kipp purchased
about 65 acres of property in York County on April 12, 1798 for 295
Pennsylvania Pounds. His will states that this purchase was for
his daughter Catherine. While the Revolutionary War was over,
the use of the pound currency was still in place. Note that these
were Pennsylvania Pounds and not British Pound Sterling. The land
was purchased from Gabriel Beaker and his wife Carhareena.
There are also land records that show
a Henry Keep owning a parcel of land in Lancaster County. After additional
research, it is my belief that the spelling of the last name is in error
and that it should be Henry Kipp. The property consisted of 200
acres and was purchased on June 11, 1763. The land is located on Conoy Creek in Donegal Township,
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. A plot map is provided as a document
attached to Henry Kipp on the Kipp Family Web Site.
Tax information of Donegal Township,
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania for the year 1782 states that Henry Kipp
owned 200 acres. This would support his ownership as stated
in the prior paragraph. He also had three horses, and four cows.
His tax for the year was 12 pounds, 8 shillings, and 10 pence.
MILITARY SERVICE
Henry Kipp was a member of the Lancaster
County, Pennsylvania Militia during the American Revolutionary War.
All men age 18 to 53 capable of bearing arms were required to serve
two months active duty on a rotating basis. He was in the 7th
Battalion of the Lancaster Militia, in Captain Boggs Company.
If one chose not to serve they would
be subject to a fine. The process recognized that some may not
serve because of position, religion, convenience, or that they were
just unable to serve. The fine was not punitive, but a way to raise
funds to pay for a substitute to serve in his place. I have found
records that Henry Kipp paid fines in the amount of 62 pounds, 15 schillings
for 1780 and before, and 15 pounds, 10 schillings for the 1781-82 time
period. This would indicate that while he was a member of the
militia, he did not serve on active duty. I have found records
that other close friends and members of the same church also paid fines.
It should also be noted that during this time he had six children under
18, a 200 acre farm, and was about age 50 at the end of the war.
Serving in the militia during this
time would qualify descendants, if lineage could be proven, to be members
of the Daughters or Sons of the American Revolution. DAR
does not currently have Henry Kipp listed in their files as being in
the American Revolutionary War. It doesn’t mean he wasn’t,
it just means no descendant has applied to be a member and provided
acceptable evidence.
WILL AND ESTATE SETTLEMENT
What does the will tell us about Henry
Kipp and his family? Henry and Anna Maria had six children and
only four are mentioned in the will. It is therefore most likely
that the two not mentioned in the will, Henry Jr. and Anna Maria, preceded
Henry in death. The remaining son, and the three remaining daughters
and their husbands are mentioned. It tells us that he also sold
some of his land to his son George Kipp and also to Frederick Hipple,
a son in law, for 400 pounds. The will mentions that he still
had land that he owned which appears by the wording to have two houses
located on it. In addition the will mentions land that he has
purchased for his daughter Catharine.
The will provides to his beloved wife
“one bed and one cow and of my household and kitchen furniture as
much as she may have need for her use and also the kitchen closet and
the stove”, the interest from 200 pounds of money, and shall
have her dwelling on his land in which house she may choose.
What does the estate inventory tell
us? The dominant item seems to be the amount of money that he
loaned to others which are listed in the inventory as Bonds and Notes.
One Note in the amount of 90 pounds is identified as being to a particular
individual.
The inventory lists basic items one
may expect to see in a house in the very early 1800s. A stove,
cooper pot, bedstead, and other furniture items are noted. The
inventory listed over 50 yards of linen cloth, a lot of books, a clock
and case, a heckle, and a wool comb. Also included in the inventory
were two cows, one horse, a saddle, and a wagon. No other animals were
listed.
Based on the will and estate inventory
I think we can assume that he had some degree of wealth, as least compared
to other families at that time. The ownership of a clock and case
may also indicate a level of wealth. He was likely a generous
man as he loaned money to others but did so with proper loan papers.
Even gifts to his children were documented in a book record he maintained.
We can assume he was a farmer as there
was no significant mention of live stock. It is likely that he
raised flax as they had a heckle with
which to smooth and comb out the fibers of flax. The fibers would
normally be sent to a weaver who would weave them into linen.
The weaver would keep part of the linen for his services. The
remainder went back to the farmer. The linen that was in
the estate inventory may have been the as yet unused yardage from the
weaver. Henry may have had other endeavors which helped him accumulate
the assets he held.
The estate inventory done by two close
friends was in English but written using German script. This could indicate that there was still a strong
presence of German language in the family and those close to the family,
over 50 years after Henry’s arrival in the colonies.
The will terms directed that settlement
of the estate would be necessary in three phases. The first was
at his death. The second was after the death of his wife so that
those processions could be distributed according to his will.
The third was after the death of his daughter Catherine to distribute
certain assets she received from his will. The estate settlements
give us information on the year that Henry died (1807), that Anna Maria
died (1811) and that daughter Catherine (1826) died. George, the
son, died in early 1826 prior to Catherine. No clues are provided
to Gertrude’s date of death. The estate inventory, after
Anna Maria’s death, stated that she had close to 100 yards of linen,
many table clothes and sheets, and a spinning wheel.
CENSUS
The first federal United States census
was taken in 1790. Henry Kipp was listed on that census as living
in Donegal Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He was also
the only Kipp listed in the entire Pennsylvania 1790 census. The
census listed the following information.
1790
Census
|
FREE WHITE MALES |
FREE WHITE FEMALES |
16 and over |
3 |
|
Under 16 |
0 |
|
All Ages |
|
2 |
No
other Free Persons or Slaves were listed.
The second federal United States census
was taken in 1800. Henry Kipp was listed on that census as living
in Donegal Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The census
listed the following information.
1800
Census
|
FREE WHITE MALES |
FREE WHITE FEMALES |
Under 10 |
1 |
0 |
10 thru 15 |
0 |
0 |
16 thru 25 |
0 |
0 |
26 thru 44 |
0 |
0 |
45 and over
|
1 |
1 |
One
other “Free Persons” and no “Slaves” were noted.
Henry Kipp was not listed in any future
census beyond 1800.
Copyright 2009 by E. Michael Kipp,
All Rights Reserved
Revised July 31, 2009
SOURCES:
Rupp, Daniel L. “Thirty Thousand
Names of Immigrants in Pennsylvania”
Wright, F. Edward. “Church Records
of the 18th Century, Lancaster County Pennsylvania”
Grubb, Farley. “The Market for Indentured
Immigrants: Evidence on the Efficiency of Forward Labor Contracting
in Philadelphia, 1745-1773.” Journal of Economic History 45,
no. 4 (1985a): 855-68
US Federal Census of 1790, Donegal
Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
US Federal Census of 1800, Donegal
Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Inventory
Henry Kipp deceased 1807
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Will
of Henry Kipp 1807
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Administrative
Account, Henry Kipp deceased, 1807
Pennsylvania State Archives, Land Records,
Lancaster County, Volume AA, No. 5, Page 65
Pennsylvania State Archives, Returns
and Valuations, Lancaster County 1782 Taxes
Pennsylvania, York County Land Records,
Indentures, Volume 2T, Page 296, 1809
Christ Church USS, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania
– Remembering the Past