Family History
The American history of the Andis family began
when Wilhelm ANTES left Rotterdam on the ship "Friendship". Upon arriving in
Philadelphia on October 12, 1741, he took the oath of allegiance to
Pennsylvania. He was listed as William ANTES, age 28, in the ship's list of
Palatines imported - providing a birth year of c. 1713. It is unknown where
Wilhelm was from 1741 to the time he purchased land in Frederick County, MD.
On December 17, 1766, Wilhelm bought 247 acres of land in Frederick County, MD
from Andrew Fogle (deed folio 868) for 111 pounds, and this became known as
"William's Purchase." It was located on Coppermine Road, near Rocky Hill
Lutheran Church. The other "bits and pieces" we know about Wilhelm are as
follows:
* His son, Johann Peter ANTES, was christened 14 May 1766 in the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Frederick, Frederick County, MD. His wife is named Elizabeth. Wilhelm and his wife, Elizabeth, served at the baptism of Elizabeth, daughter of Jacob Reinhard and wife Anna Margareth, at the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Frederick, Frederick County, MD.
* On 10 Apr 1779, William sold 15 1/2 acres of same tract listed above for 20 pounds - to Philip Smith Junior. Wilhelm served on the "Board of Trustees" for St. Peters Church, Frederick County, MD.
* A 1782 Guardian bond filed in Frederick County, MD indicates Wilhelm married a Mary Shutter, administrator of Christian Shutter, deceased. The document is signed by his mark.
* William ANDESS's
will was made February 15, 1783 and recorded March 19, 1783 in Frederick County,
MD. It was signed by his mark and Peter Beard, "his trusty friend", was the
executor. The inventory was completed August 20, 1783 , and the estate settled
July 1784. On August 21, 1783, Peter Beard, executor of Wilhelm, sold 231 1/2
acres of original tract to Philip Smith Jr for 206 pounds. The heirs of William
were named in his will:
1)
Mary Catherine 2) Andrew
3) Matthias*
4) Christina 5) Peter 6) John
7) Adam 8) Catherine 9)
Elizabeth 10) Margaret 11) Frederick 12)
Charity
Andrew (#2) migrated to Rockingham County, VA, where he raised a large family with many descendants; Matthias (#3), Margaret (#10), John (#6) migrated to Washington County, VA; Adam (#7) and Frederick (#11) migrated to Washington County, TN.
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*
Matthias ANDIS's place of birth is unknown to us.
We know that he sold land in 1784 and 1788 in Frederick County, MD, and
that he purchased 199 acres in Rich Valley, Washington County, VA from John
Young for 80 pounds on
As evidenced by his tombstone at
Fleenor Baptist Memorial
Cemetery
in Washington County, VA,
Matthias died c. 1810
Matthias had eleven children:
1) Sarah "Sally"...
married Henry Shutters, then died after 1830 (likely in VA). Henry then migrated to Washington County, Indiana.
Of those we know, the children settled in various locations as such:
Matthias - Howard Co, IN; Oliver - Jennings Co, IN;
Betsey - Jackson Co, IN, then Kansas;
William, Susan, Polly, Semira and Rebecca - Jackson Co, IN
2) Andrew...
married Mary Shutters in Washington Co, VA, then migrated to
southern Indiana.
Andrew died 1828 Washington County, Indiana, and soon after his death
his family settled in the Martin and Daviess Counties area of Indiana.
Three of his children (Henry, Catherine and Sarah) went on to settle in Illinois
and Missouri.
3) Christiana...
married John Shutters, then migrated to Moultrie County, Illinois before 1850.
4) John...
married Elizabeth Lewis and migrated to Indiana by 1830, then to Kansas
by 1870. With the exception of his son Isaac (who settled in central Indiana),
John's children also settled in Kansas.
5) Susannah...
married Isaac Fleenor and (as far as we know at this time)
remained in Washington County, Virginia.
6) Elizabeth...
married Solomon Fleenor and remained in Washington County, Virginia.
7) Isaac...
married Susannah ____ and moved from Washington County, Virginia
to Lee County, Virginia. His children all remained
in the Washington/Lee County, Virginia area.
8) Abraham...
married Mary A "Polly" ____ and moved to the adjoining areas of Scott,
then Lee County, Virginia.
As far as we know, his children remained in the Lee/Scott County, VA area,
with the exceptions of Nancy (Hamilton County, Indiana),
Harvey Thompson (southeast Texas)
and James W (Missouri, then Skagit County, Washington).
9) James...
married Nancy Fleenor and remained in Washington County, Virginia his entire
life.
His children also remained in this area, with the exception of Eliza Jane,
who was enumerated in Grant County, Oklahoma in the 1910 Federal census.
10) Nancy V...
married Sampson Fleenor and remained in Washington County, Virginia her entire
life.
As far as we know, all of her children also remained in that area.
11) Mary Ann...
married William Rush and moved to Johnson County, Indiana, where she died.
With the exception of her daughter Mary Jane,
who settled in Custer County, Nebraska,
all children remained in and around the Johnson County, Indiana area.
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Washington County, VA records concerning Matthias include:
2) Several documents concerning estate settlement in 1855.
Susannah (Thomas) Andis
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Researchers, please note:
At the present time, we are including only the descendants
of Matthias Andis on this site.