Pylant Geneology

HISTORY: Velten Van Hoesen or Valentine (Felty) Van Hooser, chr 16 Jan 1726 at Claverack, Albany (now Columbia), NY; md 22 Dec 1746 Maria Barbara Zerwe or Zerbe; SOURCE: Van Hooser Family of the United States, by Joyce Lindstrom, page 11; RESEARCH: Sherry Smith.

HISTORY: When he was two years old, he migrated with his parents to Tulpehocken Lancaster (now Berks) Co, Pennsylvania. There he grew up in Heidelburg Township in the vicinity of what is now called Robesonia. He lived in a predominately German community, since his mother, aunts and uncles were also of that nationality.
On the 22 of Dec 1746 he married Maria Barbara Zerwe or Zerbe at Tulpehocken, Lancaster (now Berks), Pennsylvania. They were married in the German Lutheran Church by the Lutheran minster, Johan Caspar Stoever.
On the 5th of March 1750 he took out a land grant for fifty acres in Philadelphia (now Berks) Co, Penns. The land adjoined that of Richard Brasier and James Boone, uncle to the celebrated and well known Daniel Boone. While he was improving this land, the family lived in Tulpehocken township where his first four children was baptized.
Valentine disappears from Pennsylvania records after 1751 and it is my belief that he was enticed by the Boone Family and other surrounding neighbors to move to North Carolina. So he deserted his land grant in what later became Oley Township, Berks, Pa. and traveled via Virginia's Big Valley to North Carolina. Valentine is listed among the taxpayers in Rowan Co., NC in 1759, 1761, and 1768.
In 1771 Surry County was created and the Van Hooser family found themselves living in a new county, though they hadn't moved. Deeds of Rowan and Surry Cos. reveal that Valentine was a shrewd businessman.
Each piece of property he purchased, he sold for a profit. For example, on January 1, 1763 he purchased 159 1/4 acres from Solomon Sparks for thirty pounds and sold it October 10, 1765 to Samuel Jones for one hundred pounds---a profit of seventy pounds.
About 1771 Valentine sold his land in Surry Co., NC and moved to Virginia, settling just across the border in what was then Fincastle (now Carroll) Co., Va. He lived there for about four years before moving to the North Fork of the Clinch River in what is now Tazewell Co., Va. According to Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Augusta Co., Va by Chalkey, Vol.11, pp. 227-8, Valentine and his oldest son, John took up land in that area, but only lived there two years before they were driven out by Indian uprisings. They returned to their former piece of land which was located along New River and Little Reed Island which was then in Montgomery Co., which became Wythe Co. in 1789/90 and Grayson Co. in 1792 and finally Carroll Co. in 1842.
According to law suits brought about by his son, Jacob Van Hooser, Valentine was a wealthy man. He owned lots of land and had quite a few Negro slaves. However, when the Revolutionery War broke out, Valentine was loyal to the British and became a known Tory. He took up arms against the colonists and fought for Genral Cornwallis, dying in the year 1781 at one of the last two battle Cornwallis fought in--the Guilford Co., North Carolina County court house, or at Yorktown, Virginia, where Cornwallis surrendered. Hence, the reason why there's no will or probate records for Valentine Van Hooser.
According to the book, Early Adventures on Western Waters Vol. 1 by Mary B Kegly, p. 140, on September 7, 1779 a complaint was brought before the court against Valentine Vanhouser for "enlisting Soldiers for the King of Great Britain and maintaining the Authority of said king." Once he was heard in court, the court decided he should be bound over to appear at the next court, but had to give security for himself for 500 pounds to make sure he appeared at the next court. In 1781 most of his property was confiscated and his slaves were sold at public auction; SOURCE: Van Hooser Family of the United States, by Joyce Lindstrom, page 237-238; RESEARCH: Sherry Smith. [:CR:]