Who is Abraham Dehart?

The parentage of Abraham Dehart of Monroe Co., VA is unknown, although a number of guesses (some speculative, some completely erroneous) have been put forth and are available in Dehart-related publications and web sites. One obstacle in identifying his parents is the numerous Abraham Deharts who lived in the latter 18th and early 19th centuries in three states. A common misidentification of Abraham is with no. 1 Abraham below (of Somerset Co, NJ), though the Revolutionary War service of no. 2 Abraham below (of Northampton Co, PA) appears to be the source of misidentification of Abraham's wife as Christina. Other known facts about these Abrahams contradict these guesses.

Below is a list of known facts and events relating to Abraham Dehart of Monroe Co, VA, and source reference for each event. Following this table are five tables of the known Abraham Deharts in the period 1750-1850, and a brief assessment of the possibility of each being Abraham of Monroe.

If you have any facts to add or comments on this page, please let me know.

Year Event Location Source
ca 1755-
ca 1758		 Born PA Pension affidavit, June 1818, age "about 60"
Pension affidavit, June 1820, age "65"
War veterans census, 1834, age 79
1775 Enlisted in Army Berks Co, PA Pension application S 39426
1775-1781 Service as Private, 3rd PA Regiment of Musketry PA, NJ, VA Pension application S 39426
1781 Discharged from Army Philadelphia, PA Pension application S 39426
15 May 1792 Received land warrant of 100a for war service PA Pension application S 39426; warrant no. 9245.
unknown Married Sophia unknown Monroe Co, WV Deeds, 1821; Biography of Naomi Dehart King, 1889; Summers Co, WV Deaths, 1896
unknown Worked as weaver VA Pension application S 39426
1801 Patented land 100a US Military Reserve, Ohio (now Franklin Co.) Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office, Patent OH2100__.350
1810 Enumerated Monroe Co., VA US Census
1814 Served on sheriff's panel Monroe Co., VA Monroe Co, VA Deeds, Bk C, 1814.
1818 Applied for pension Monroe Co., VA Pension application S 39426
1820 Enumerated Monroe Co., VA US Census
1820 Applied for pension Monroe Co., VA Pension application S 39426
1821 Grantor in bond to Brice Miller Monroe Co, VA Monroe Co., WV Deeds, Bk G, p. 606
1823 Mortgage to James Shanklin Tr Monroe Co, VA Monroe Co, WV Deeds, Bk G, p. 603
1824 Mortgage to John Hutchinson Jr Tr Monroe Co, VA Monroe Co, WV Deeds, Bk H, p. 166
1824 Deed of Trust released from Alexander & Co. Monroe Co, VA Monroe Co, WV Deeds, Bk H, p. 185
1830 Enumerated Monroe Co., VA US Census
1834 Enumerated Monroe Co., VA Revolutionary War veterans census
unknown Died Monroe Co., VA  

 

Other Abraham Deharts of the period include:

Name: 1. Abraham Dehart of Middlesex Co, NJ
Facts:

  • parentage: Cornelius and Maaike (Mayke) Dehart (baptismal record)

  • 4 June 1759, baptized at Six Mile Run, Somerset Co, NJ (baptismal record)

  • married Sarah Van Cleef (Vorhees "Franklin Twp Historical Notes, 1874-1876," in Somerset Co. Historical Quarterly, vol. 5, 1916)

  • 21 August 1832, died in Middlesex Co., NJ (Vorhees, "Franklin Twp Historical Notes, 1874-1876")
Discussion: No evidence exists to link this Abraham with Abraham of Monroe Co., VA, and his birth, residence, and death in New Jersey directly contradicts known facts about Abraham of Monroe.

 

Name: 2. Abraham Dehart of Easton, Northampton Co, PA
Facts:
  • parentage unknown
  • date of birth unknown, probably 1755-65; first child born 1785
  • served in Revolutionary War as Sergeant, 3rd Regiment
  • 1781, received pay adjustment at Easton, Northampton Co, PA (Accounts of Auditors of Depreciation Accounts, Bk A, p. 32)
  • married Christina (named as wife in 1787 deed)
  • 1787, with wife Christina, deed with Peter Shire, Easton, Northampton Co, PA
  • 1830, enumerated in Northampton Co, PA (US Census; son Araham also listed)
  • died in Easton, Northampton Co, PA
  • buried at Easton Cemetery, Easton, Northampton Co, PA (Easton cemetery office, Lot G18; no headstone visible)
Discussion: This Abraham is likely the source of the misidentification of the wife of Abraham of Monroe as Christina. Both Abrahams served in the Revolutionary War, one as private and this one as sergeant, in the same regiment; Morton, in his History of Monroe Co., WV (1916), noted that "Thomas Dehart [i.e. Abraham] married Christina and was a Sergeant in the Revolutionary War". Abraham lived and died in Easton, PA and cannot be identified with Abraham of Monroe; no primary evidence exists either connecting Abraham of Monroe with a wife Christina.

Abraham Dehart/Christina Ensminger
The earliest (and only) citation of this I have found so far is the DAR application of Edna Hoffman, Wall, SD, descendant of Abraham Dehart of Monroe, dated 1945. (DAR Patriot Index, Vol. 1, p. 185, 1967)  The sources used in the application were other DAR applications, and indirect reference is made to Morton's 1916 history (on the question of "Thomas" Dehart). Mrs. Hoffman writes that Abraham married Christina Ensminger "approx. 1783". In this same application however, the DAR accepted her ancestors service as "Abraham De Hart came from France with La Fayette during Revolutionary War" and says he was born in France in 1755, none of which is substantiated and is now largely disproven. This Christina has been identified as the daughter of David Ensminger, baptized in York Co, PA in 1753, but no evidence exists to connect her to Abraham of Monroe Co. It is likely that the question is compounded by confusion with Christina, wife of Abraham of Easton, Northampton Co, PA.

 

Name: 3. Abraham Dehart of Westmoreland Co, PA
Facts:
  • parentage unknown
  • date of birth unknown, probably 1755-62
  • married unknown, perhaps ca. 1780 (3 children assumed in 1790 census)
  • 1790, enumerated in Unity Twp, Westmoreland Co, PA (US census: 1 wm over 16, 1 wm under 16, 3 females)

  • 13 Dec 1795, son John christened at St. John's Lutheran & Reformed Church, Mt. Pleasant Twp, Westmoreland Co, PA
Discussion: Nothing further is known about this Abraham. He may be related to John Dehart of Westmoreland Co, PA (1790), who emigrated to Louisiana in 1797, and had a son Abraham (see #5 below).

 

Name: 4. Abraham Dehart of Berks Co, PA
Facts:
  • parentage: Cornelius and Maria Catherine Dehart
  • married Barbara
  • resided in Berks Co, PA
Discussion: It is not known what happened to this Abraham.  I have no original documentation on Abraham's parentage, birth and marriage. A son, Christian, is attributed to this Abraham because Christian's birth record (3 June 1789, Berks Co, Schwartzwald Reformed Church), names his mother as Barbara (father not named); this is assumed to be Barbara, wife of Abraham. As the only Abraham Dehart identified in Berks Co, PA in the late 1700s, this Abraham may possibly be Abraham of Monroe Co, VA.

 

Name: 5. Abraham Dehart of Louisiana
Facts:
  • parentage: John Dehart
  • ca. 1783, birth (1797 age 14)
  • 1797, immigrated to Louisiana with father (Filby & Meyer, Passenger and Immigration List Index, Vol. I, p. 443; age 14)
  • 1805, received land conveyance in Ouachita parish (State Land Papers, 1821, p. 602)
  • 1812, claimed land in Ouachita parish, LA (State Land Papers, 1813, p. 766)
  • 1816, claimed land in Ouachita parish, LA (State Land Papers, 1816, p. 230)
  • 1821, land claim acknowledged, Ouachita  parish, LA (State Land Papers, 1821, p. 602)
  • 1824, resided in Louisiana
Discussion: Parentage known; too young; was in Louisiana when Abraham was recorded in Monroe Co.

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David Fridley

10 January 1999