Part 2. Jacob Hanger -Pioneer Settler of Knox County, Ohio; father of 20

Knox County Courthouse

    Not much is known about Jacob Hanger, son of (Johann) Peter Hanger, Sr. He was one of the first settlers of Knox County, Ohio; as such, he is included in History of Knox County, Ohio;  “Jacob Hanger came from Virginia about the year 1809, and settled in the southeastern part of the township. [error in marriage entry takes some explaining, refer to Note at the end of this biographical sketch]... and reared a family of twenty children, ten sons and ten daughters. He was a man of strict integrity and figured, quite prominently in the early history of Knox county. He served twenty-one years as justice of the peace in this township, and was otherwise honored by his neighbors with local offices. He died in 1834.”

Note: this biographical sketch has the date of his marriage to Rebecca Davis wrong. Unfortunately, I have found no marriage records for either of his marriages; the dates I have for are based on the birth of the first child for each wife.

    His son, Jacob S Hanger’s autobiography provides the following information: Jacob “grew tired of slavery” and moved his family to Ohio before the war of 1812. He brought his slaves, with him, three in number, a mother and two children; the mother was his wife’s maid (came with her when she married Jacob). He never bought or sold a slave. He brought them along to Ohio and freed them. In 1832, Jacob stricken with paralysis (a stroke). He died in 1834, leaving the following children, still at home: Harriet 2, Jackson 3, Eleanor and Caroline 7, Rhoda 9, Peter 11, Jacob 13, Sarah 15, Andrew 17. Jacob writes (when father was stricken with paralysis) “my brother Andrew was fifteen years old we were virtually under his guidance and mother’s” - “at ten years of age, I had to go to hard work”.

    What records tell us: 1799, Jacob began an Apprenticeship as a Tanner [Virginia Apprentices - biographical records of artisans who worked in Virginia before 1801]. 1799, married 1st wife, Nancy Robinson [no record found, based on the birth of her first child in 1800]. 1810 Substitute Census, Tax List, Knox Co, Ohio. January 29, 1813 death of his wife Nancy (Robinson), the same day she gave birth to twin girls; most likely she died from complications of childbirth; she left behind: 2 infant daughters (twins) Amelia and Nancy, James 2, Wright 3, David 5, William 6, Robinson 8, Frederick 9, Catherine 10, Elizabeth 12.

    June 12, 1813 Jacob Hanger married Rebecca Davis [no marriage record found]. Census records: 1820 and 1830, Morgan, Knox Co, Ohio - lists only total members of household (no name, except for “head-of-household”).

    No death records and no Find A Grave memorial page or headstone located - I found a memorial page and headstone for Rebecca Davis Hanger; buried at Washington Grove Cemetery, Chana, Ogle Co, Illinois - no family connections listed. I checked for other Hangers at this cemetery, I didn’t find Jacob; I found his son Jacob S Hanger, wife Rachel (Smith) and daughter Harriet - they share a grave marker.

Background for 1st Wife, Nancy Robinson (from her profile page):

   (her father) Field Robinson Jr’s Will from Court Records; contains reference to daughters Nancy married Jacob Hanger and Obedience married George Hanger. [Note: Nancy died in 1813, before her father’s death therefore only her children are mentioned as inheritor’s in his will]. Obedience died in 1851 and her husband, George, in 1844.] Nancy and Obedience Robinson’s Mother was Mary Arthur (1st wife of Field Robinson Jr). Record: American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI); Nancy Robinson b. 1780, Virginia [Colonial families Of the southern states of America by Stella Pickett Hardy. Baltimore. 1958.]  

    Nancy: unknown birth date; married about 1799, Jacob Hanger, first child in 1800. 3rd son named William A Hanger, after her grandfather… In their father’s will, Nancy and Obedience are identified as Hangers. In the remainder of the court case their husband’s names are also used.

Background for 2nd Wife, Rebecca Davis (from her profile page): Lucas genealogy; Mother, [D 7] Alice Van Meter (Elsie) married about 1780, Azariah Davis (she was his first wife). [E 5] Rebecca Davis married Jacob Hanger. They settled in Knox Co, Ohio. Note: the year of her parent's marriage is used as Rebecca’s birth year.

    Find A Grave memorial page and headstone: Rebecca wife of Jacob Hanger died April 5, [1833 - illegible]. Note: doesn’t match the death date 4/5/1877.

    Son, Jacob S. Hanger, wrote an autobiography in which he states his mother, Rebecca Davis, “was of Welsh descent, (her father) moved from Pennsylvania in 1809 and settled one mile south of where my father settled in Ohio. He served under Washington for three years (Revolutionary War) and two of his boys served in the war of 1812.

Inaccurate Record: Marriage date is wrong for Rebecca, and, she wasn’t the mother of all 20 children. Ancestry Record; Knox County, Ohio, Vital Records, 1800-1882: Jacob Hanger b. 1773, Virginia. m: 1796, Rebecca. d. 1834, Knox co, OH. Ten sons, ten daughters, all by same wife. Note: Most likely he married Nancy Robinson abt 1799, first child b. 1800 -see, Nancy Robinson, Media. Jacob was married twice, 10 children by each wife (not one wife who gave birth to 20 children).

    Word to the wise: Ancestry.com provides many “index-card” type records that are meant to be used as helpful research tools - they are not attesting accuracy - many of these “index-card” records contain data entered by family members who are building their family tree on Ancestry.

References:

Nancy Robinson. b. 1780. Virginia. Ancestry Source: American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI). Reference: Colonial farms, Of the southern states of America. By Stella Pickett Hardy. Baltimore. 1958. (643p.): 52. Volume 148, Page 206.

Note: *** This is a work in progress ***

A list of ALL Hanger Blog Posts -Blog Post: Hanger Family, Blog Links -*7/8/2016

https://gray-piperfamily.blogspot.com/2016/07/hanger-family-blog-links.html