Thanks for the reminder, Lee. Jost Hite's daughter Magdelena b 1713 NY married Jacob Christman/Crismon, my 7th great grandparents. Their stone house south of Winchester is still inhabited, but has not been in the family for 200 years. I tell people the last president to work for my family was George Washington since he helped survey the Hite land. When I was in Alexandria, VA this summer I visited the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. I assume the field compass he used 1748 - 1751 was the one he used during that survey. Don On Fri, Oct 30, 2015 at 9:41 AM, Lee Ramsey via <genealogy-dna@rootsweb.com> wrote: > One of these enterprising Germans was Hans Joist Hite (Hans Justus Heyd) > who's birth was recorded in 1685 in the village church of Bonfeld in the > Neckar Valley of Germany, where he was later listed as a "linen weaver." > He married Anna Maria Merckle 11 Nov 1704. In 1709, he, his father and > their families joined over 13,000 other Germans in making their way to > Rotterdam and to London - the largest single group of immigrants in > colonial times. His father was then dead but Jost, his wife, infant > daughter and stepmother were among those who reached New York in 1710. > After several years in camp along the Hudson, Hite came to the Philadelphia > area where he purchased land in 1714 along the Skippack Creek. He sold > this shortly after he purchased a larger tract a few miles farther west on > the Perkiomen. There he built his home and a grist mill. He sold this > property in 1730, prior to obtaining rights to 140,000 acres of land in the > Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. > > Of Hite's grant, 100,000 acres was a grant from the Council of Virginia, > the other 40,000 acres had been granted to the Van Meters, whose rights > Hite purchased. Much earlier, King Charles II had made a large grant to > Lord Colepepper which by 1732 had been inherited by Thomas, Lord Fairfax; > this included the land granted to Hite. Later, this led to litigation > which was decided in favor of Hite long after both he and Fairfax were > dead. John Marshall, later Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was the > lawyer for Fairfax; George Washington was among those who contributed to > the payment of Marshall's fee. At age 16, Washington had been engaged by > Lord Fairfax to conduct surveys in the Shenandoah Valley. Washington > admired the accomplishments of the Hites, writing to Capt. John Posey in > June, 1767,..."look to Frederick (County) and see what fortunes were made > by the Hites and the first takers of this land." > > Hite's grandson, Major Isaac Hite, Jr., was the builder of Belle Grove. > He married Nelly Conway Madison, a sister of James Madison. He studied at > William and Mary where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa 27 Mar 1777, the > first man elected by the charter members. Later he served on the staff of > General Muhlenberg. Mrs. Francis Madison Beale, the 2nd wife of Jost > Hite's son, Jacob, was an aunt of James Madison. Sarah Hite, daughter of > Isaac Hite, Sr., married Jonathan Clark, brother of George Rogers Clark. > > Lee > > > Henry Z. Jones Jr., the highly respected genealogist who did an extensive > study of the Palatine migration in 1709-1710 and later, is firmly convinced > that Germans "traveled together and stayed together." These people were > primarily from the Palatinate (Rhine River) region, although the group > included some Swiss and others. My own family history reflects this. Of the > 300+ families that arrived in the Hudson Valley of New York State in > 300+ 1710, > I descend from more than 50, many of whom now proven by DNA. A great many > of their descendants remain in Columbia, Dutchess, Green and Ulster > Counties even today. In fact, in an effort to study the genetic patterns of > this group, I started a Palatine DNA Project at FTDNA many years ago. I'm > no longer associated with it, but it still survives and, hopefully, will > one day prove a useful database for someone. Jones also conducted studies > of other settlements of Germans in America, especially later in > Pennsylvania. The 1710 migration was the first large group to arrive in > America. > > Doris > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > GENEALOGY-DNA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >