Hi All, The information following in this and my next three posts was sent to me by a friend. The original posting was to the Bourbon County, KY list and was made by Bob Francis, [email protected] Its interesting reading so I thought I'd pass it on. Larry ---------- Name: George Michael STONER _________________________________________ Birth: about 1743 nr. Schuylkill R, Lancaster, Pennsylvania Death: September 3, 1814 Wayne, Kentucky Age: 71 Occupation: Longhunter, Surveyor, "spie" for the Revolution, farmer Father: John Leonhardt HOLSTEINER Mother: Barbara Misc. Notes NOTE: The George Michael Stoner genealogy is graciously provided Elizabeth Laird. Her e-mail address is: [email protected] Thanks, Elizabeth! --------------- Michael Stoner, the Frontiersman who was Always There By James P. Pierce Lifelong friend of Daniel Boone and associate of Simon Kenton, Michael Stoner was one of the very best long hunter frontiersmen of the late 18th century. He was born in 1748 in southeastern Pennsylvania in the same general region that Daniel Boone came from. Stoner was of German-speaking background, a fact that was immediately obvious to any who heard him. His English carried a heavy German accent his entire life. The original family name was Holsteiner. Two brothers, Peter and John Leonhardt Holsteiner left their home at Zweibruecken in what was then the Rhenish, or Lower Palatinate (near Saarbruecken now in the German province of Saarland). Along with about three thousand other Palatine refugees from the War of the League of Augsburg and the War of Spanish Succession (known in North America as Queen Anne's War), the brothers migrated down the Rhein and across the Channel to England. From England they went to the province of New York in 1710 along with Robert Hunter, the new governor of the Colony. Upon arrival, the Palatines were expected to pay for their transport by working as laborers for the British producing naval stores; tar and pitch and the like. After this scheme fell apart, the British encouraged the Palatines to migrate up the Mohawk and Schoharie valleys to settle in the wilderness, and also, incidentally, to act as a buffer between British and the French and Indians to the north.. Then, after going out into the wilderness and establishing homes for themselves, many of the Palatines, including the Holsteiner brothers, were robbed of their lands by people with the knowledge and power to do so using the pretext of unsound land title as justification for their actions. In 1728, the brothers left Schoharie, N.Y. and moved to Tulpehocken, Pa. Both their names appear in the membership list of the Tulpehocken Lutheran Church from 1743-45. Peter's name disappears from the records after this date. Further record of him consists of only a vague family accounting of him settling somewhere in southwestern Virginia and that the Holsten River was named after him. In March of 1752, John Leonhardt Holsteiner obtained a tract of 300 acres from Peter Weiser and others in Heidleburg Township, near Millback, now in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. Part of this land is still held today by members of the family bearing the name Holstein. On the deed, John appears as Leonard Holsteiner. He dropped his first name and the "h" and the "t" out of his second name. His wife's name was Barbara. Nothing is known of her, or of their deaths, except that both died some time before 1758. The couple had several daughters and two sons; George and George Michael. The county records show that George Holsteiner made application of have the family farm appraised to him. His parents had died without a will, and George wished to take over the land. On June 5, 1759, George Holsteiner received a deed to the farm from Laurence Bausam and his wife, Philipina. Philipina was the only one of George's sisters who was of legal adult age at the time. After this transaction, the family name appears to have been changed to Holstein in all other papers. -- Larry DeFrance, Helena Montana USA Caretaker: The DeFrance Family Home Page - http://www.helenet.com/~larry/fam_home.html The DeFrance Mailing List - [email protected], The Susquehanna River Mailing List - [email protected] Co-Caretaker: The Boone Mailing list - [email protected]