Day 4

This morning we had a short drive to Blairsville, PA.  We went directly to the Hopewell Church and cemetery where Johannes "John" Herrold is buried.  John is our 4 times great - grandfather.  John is the first born American in our family.  He was also a Revolutionary War veteran.  John and his family moved to the Blairsville area around the time of the Revolution. They were in Elders Ford (Elders Fort) where soldiers trained. Their son, Christopher (our 3 times great -grandfather) was born at Elders Fort in 1777.

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This is the Hopewell Methodist Church.  Before the Church was built people met in homes. John and his wife often held Church in their home. We are unclear why John and Barbara were not at the Lutheran Church. Maybe they just established community with these neighbors.

John Herrold is on the left. His wife Barbara is on the right. 

It is reported that John spoke broken English and only prayed in German.

John had a large expanse of land. He farmed, had a mill and a distillery. His land was West of Blacklick creek and North of the Conemaugh River. His land bordered Altmans Run (land owned my Barbara's family).  Some records state the John's acreage was called "Forerunner Plantation".  We were able to drive to what had been John's land AND walk some of it.  So fun to walk the ground of our ancesters.

Qualities of John that he has given to his descendents:

• Standing up for Freedom
• Respect 
• Hardworking

After a lovely walk with ancient relatives, we went to the Historical society.

Marna was gracious to come in on her day off to meet with us. She had found some information and made copies for me.  She shared about the growth of the community from past to present.  We learned about the floods and the building of the dam (that occurred after John died) that resulted in John's land  becoming a floodplain.

Thirty minutes down the road, we met with Carl at the Sampson/Clark Toll House.  The original warrant for the land named the owner as Christopher Harold. At this time we are unsure if this is our Christopher, son of John or John's brother, Christopher Columbus Harrold.  We'll let you know if we find out. Herrold sold the property to Mr. Sampson who built the Toll house. (yes, he collected tolls, no I-pass in those days....you had to stop).

The building is a replica of the original, because it was in such bad shape by the time the Murrysville Historical society acquired it.  The fireplace, however IS the original.   Travelers could stop along the trail to warm themselves by the fire and maybe get something to eat. 

After lunch, we took the scenic route to Marrietta, OH.  I wanted the scenic route so we could travel along the Ohio River (Christopher and Martha Cable Herrold traveled down the Ohio River on a Flatbush around 1800). We saw less of the river and more of the little towns, trees and mountainside. ☺

The Ohio River is beautiful!!!!

Tag Frei continued:  The Tollhouse

Back in the day when Pennsylvania was the Northwest Wilderness, the one main route to the west from Philadelphia was more of a pack trail and on this road, John's second son Christopher, (b 1777-d 1823) worked as a teamster.
As more people pushed west the government improved the road, called the old (General) Forbes Road by allowing private citizens to improve sections with layers of rock and sheet asphalt and charge tolls to lessen the costs of improvements.
This Northern Turnpike collected tolls in 1818 until trains caused traffic to dwindle.
On the refurbished cabin there is a sign saying the builders bought the land from Christopher Herrold.

                                  Toll House Sign showing
                          Christopher Herrold as land owner

We were so excited to see Christophers name on this plaque. After Christopher married, he and his wife "worked land for themselves".  We know they owned this Millersburg land and later when buying Ohio land Christopher was listed as a yeoman, a land freeholder.

                                Tollhouse original chimney

                                          Tollhouse front

Tag Frei         Johannes "John" Georg Harrold
                        Our Fourth Great-Grandfather
                                A Soldier in Revolt

Georg Stophel's first son John, born 1745, moved farther west in 1771 and settled near the juncture of the Conemaugh River and Black Lick Creek. 1788 records show he got a warrent to land adjacent to his father-in-law and called his farm Forerunner Plantation. Tribes of the area were Delaware and Shawnee and the land still wild and covered with old growth hardwoods.  When John was twenty, he faught with the 12th Regiment-Virginia in the Revolution, officially Navy Mil 1st Partisan Legion 3; trp musician 10/26/1781The local frontiersmen were drilled nearby at Elder's Ford which is gone now but was on the flats by the river and near John's home.
Together John and Barbara became successful owning 250 acres, a grain mill, sawmill, tannery and distillary they passed on to their son John, one of their thirteen children. The second son called Christopher is our lineage. The family continued to speak in broken German all their lives.
Barbara worked alongside her husband all her married life. It was common in those days for wives to not to inherit their "husbands" property at their passing and in John's will money and property were set aside to care for Barbara until her death.
John (d February 28,1828 age 83) and Barbara (b 1757-d January 19,1837 age 80) are buried near their home in row 2, Hopewell Methodist Cemetary, no, not the Lutheran one.

Teri found a site map of John and Barbara's bottom land and after several deadly floods (Johnstown Flood) in the area, the Conamaugh was dammed causing John's land to flood. The Army corps of engineers oversees the area and has opened it to hunting and farming....

Herrold Hunters

                      What's left of Forerunner Plantation

                                   John's cabin repurposed

                                      John's Veteran Star

                               John Harrold, Rest in Peace