Notebook. Miscellaneous Sifers Sources in SW VA

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Misc

From: Gary W Watson, 2009

Wythe County, Virginia, Deed Book 1, page 188, November 20, 1794, John Cyphers, assignee of William Finley withdraws 4 (?) acres of his entry made the 19th November 1794, and re-enters the same on the Town Branch the waters of Reed Creek, adjoining the lands of John Davis, John McNut and Jacob Helvey's on the north.

Wythe County Archives

1796 - May 18: John Davis wrote a will that was proven Sep. 14, 1797. The first name of his wife was Mary. He named as sons: Joseph Davis, John Davies, George Davies, Jacob Davies, and Abram Davis (deceased). His daughters were Betsy, Eve, Elizabeth, Barbara and Polly and they had married John Hutsell, Samuel Wisely, Lewis Hutsell, Joseph Tanner and John Tanner. Witnesses, R. Crockett and John Sifer. [Wythe Co., VA Will Book 1, pages 90 & 91]

Mail Lists

From: Bill Willis, Sifford Mailing List

The community of Holston (also known as Holston Post office), is on the North Fork of the Holston in Washington County. It is situated on US 19 where the Little Mocassin enters the the NFH. The LIttle Mocassin passes through a gap in Clinch Mountain. Mocassin Gap was a significant landscape feature for the early settlers since it provides ready access between the valleys on the north and south sides of Clinch Mountain. Brumley's Gap is located about 3 mils to the North of Houston, on the north side of the NFH.

The significance of the above is that a Sifers line first settled in this immediate area about 1840, settling in Brumley's Gap. I believe that the first of these was one Amos Sheffy Sifers. (Note: I use the generalized spelling 'Sifers'...up until after the Civil War most of these folks were illiterate and the spelling of their name depended more on what the county clerk thought than how they thought the name should be spelled---so everytime the clerk changed there's the possibility of a change in spelling of the name. 'Scyphers' is used, but there are many spelling variants---I've counted more than 50 possibilities---and then there are spelling variants that make no obvious phonetic sense at all---e.g. I've found records for some of these folks under the name 'Safors')

From Bill Willis 1999

its been a long time since I searched this line, but there are a number of Sifers in the area near the modern Wythe/Washington County line---specifically in the Locust Cove Creek area (NW of Saltville). I believe these folks came into the area ca. 1775 or so. A John Sifers seems to have been the eldest member of the family. As I recall George was clearly related to the family of John, but was not a son. Possibly a brother. As I recall, when John died, George sue one of his sons over the will.

From : http://www.familyorigins.com/users/c/a/n/William-Scott-Cannada/FAMO1-0001/d40.htm William Scott

JOHN SCIFERS was born before 1750 in GERMANY. The existance of John is based on seemingly pretty valid speculation by William Willis (wmwillis@earthlink.net.) There is other information that John Sifers was the son of Franis Scypeart who married an American. Francis came to America in 1745. So they would have had to go back to Germany where John was born, or Francis was married before.

From: http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/SIFFORD/1999-09/0936374289 Sifford Forum. Bill Willis, 1999]

Right now the available data doesn't look like it supports a a Rowan County connection for Eve Willis who married Abner. That was something of a long shot, but the circumstantial evidence for a connection was intriguing.

Still, without more evidence of a clear connection between the Sifers in Rowan Co and those in Wythe, it looks like other lines are more promising. Guess pursuing the Pennsylvania Sifers is the higher probability line. (Reasoning is that other German families in the Wyteh area, some of whom have clear connections with John Sifers I, are knownto have come from Pennsylvania

From: Sifford Mailing List, Bill Willis

I'm looking for information on the Sifers line (your choice of spelling varitions) in Rowan Co NC. I'm particularly intersted in those associated with the Mt. Zion Lutheran Church ca. 1785. Ann Winder has probided an extensive genealogy for this group.

I've been told from other sources that these folks were at one point Hutterites, though when I've checked Hutterite history I found that the modern Hutterites don't claim any lines in NC. Perhaps that information is wrong.

At any rate, any information on the religious background of these folks would be appreciated.

In addition, I'm partiucarly interested in the line of George Ludwig Sifers, who died 1786, and named a daughter Eva in his will. It has been sugested that this Eva is the same as the Eve Sifert who married Abner Willis 1803 in Wythe Co Va.

Abner and Eve were married by the Rev. John Stanger who came to the Wytheville area from Rowan Co NC about 1790. In Rowan Co he was associated with the Mt. Zion Lutheran Church in whose cemetery George Ludwig Sifers (father of Eva) was buried.

Eve Willis Sifers would have been a young girl at the time of George Ludwig's death (about age 6), and its hard to see how she would have ended up in Wytheville in 1803.