APPENDIX
(1) The writers would refer you to a book entitled German Allied Troops in the North American War of Independence, 1776-1783, by Max von Eelking, Captain Saxon-Meiningen Army and member of the Historical Society of New York; translated by J. G. Rosengarten; originally published in Hanover (Germany) in 1863 in two volumes; published in Albany, New York, 1893; reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, Maryland, in 1969. Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 72-81186.
This book offers insight into the German participation in the Revolutionary War but from the viewpoint of the Germans. For instance, it describes the Treaties signed between King George III and the various sovereigns, giving details regarding compensation for the men to the individual sovereigns. (Remember that Germany was not united as a country until the 1870's.) Provisions were in the contracts for compensation for men killed, wounded, captured, or made unserviceable by wounds or sickness, but no compensation was to be paid for deserters. Contracts were with several provinces, including Hesse, Hanover and Anspach as well as others.
(2) On deeds for land transactions registered in Albermarle County, Virginia, Frederick Roderick and his wife, Mary, signed those deeds. Her name appears on 25 December 1792; however, her name was required only for sale of property, and not for the purchase. Marriage records were not available for Albermarle County during these years.
(3) According to Albemarle County, Virginia, records, the following property transactions were made by Frederick Roderick. (The writers have copies of all these transactions.)
a. 9 August 1787, Frederick Roderick purchased 192 acres from James Bishop for 10 shillings.
b. 12 December 1792, Frederick purchased 100 acres from John Bent for 20 pounds Virginia money.
c. 25 December 1792, Frederick and Mary sold 192 acres to Andrew Keith for 90 pounds Virginia money.
d. 1 June 1795 Frederick purchased 8 acres from Peter Below for 6 pounds Virginia money. (Indications are this was adjoining land to the above 100 acres.)
e. 4 September 1797, Frederick purchased 15 acres from James Garland for 15 shillings. (Indications are this was also adjoining land.)
f. 1 March 1813 Frederick and Elizabeth sold 123 acres to William Galasby for $400.00 cash.
These records do not indicate any sort of mercantile business in Charlottesville. Property descriptions suggest these were farm lands. Also the above deeds lead us to believe Frederick and family remained in Albemarle County, Virginia, until 1813, and purchased the land from Weightstill Avery soon after arrival in Burke County. Travel was very difficult in those times, and it does not seem reasonable to the writers that Frederick would have left Virginia in 1808, and not sold his land there until 1813.
(4) According to Albemarle County, Virginia, records, Frederick Roderick married Elizabeth Phillips on 13 February 1802. (Incidentally the marriage bond was signed by James Monroe, then Governor of Virginia.) Some versions of John Roderick's history list her as Elizabeth Burgy, which could well have been her maiden name since she was a widow when Frederick married her.
(5) A 1925 letter from John Roderick to Belle Lane Landis refers to Elizabeth Burgy; however, he does not mention two marriages in that letter at all. He said Elizabeth and Frederick were the parents of five children (William, Nicholas, Charlie, Annie, and Daniel). This we feel was wrong information, as he ended the letter by saying he was "nervous". He made several errors throughout the letter, even referring to the 1700 men raised by draft from Germany in lieu of 17,000.
(6) According to records in the North Carolina Division of Archives and History in Raleigh, Nicholas married Julia Gowins on 24 October 1827 in Lincoln County. To date no further information has been discovered on either William or Nicholas, but the above information leads us to wonder if the descriptions of these two brothers perhaps had gotten reversed through the years.
(7) Refer to comments in the preface regarding Annie's marriage. In gathering information on the Kerleys, they were always "moving". Aaron (Sarah Jane Kerley Roderick's father) was the only one of that group to remain in Burke County. His brothers moved on to Tennessee and then to Illinois. The writers feel that there must be some family connection but have not been able to pinpoint it yet. The above Aaron's father was Henry Kerley who was born in Albemarle or Henrico County, Virginia, about 1750, placing him a contemporary of Frederick Roderick; however, he did not have a son named Tom. There are lots of possibilities here, and much is yet to be learned about the Kerleys.
(8) Caldwell Mill, later known as Henderson's Mill, is still standing on Upper Creek as of the summer of 1982. The original stone walls were heavily damaged in the flood of 1916, and the mill was rebuilt on its foundations. So how much of Frederick's stonework remains is unknown. The mill is inoperable now.
(9) To date, no formal record of this will has been located. Could it have been a verbal agreement? Daniel served regularly as a juror and in other capacities of community service. He was knowledgeable of court proceedings, etc., so it is felt that a will probably was probated, but no record has yet been found.
(10) Here follows a description of the location of the Roderick family cemetery. On N. C. Hwy. # 126 (Jamestown Road), locate Fire Station as marked on topo map, page (9). Proceed about 1.2 miles toward Linville Church, to a small green cinderblock house on left of road with name J. V. Ervin on mail box. (Color of house and name on box are as of August 1982.) Turn left off #126 to the right of this house, onto a rutted road; go to end of road (about 1/4 mile). Leave car and proceed on foot down into woods along logging trail. Power Company property begins at cable across trail where car must be left, and counting paces begins at cable. Follow winding logging trail into woods, about 550 paces from cable. When leaves are off trees, lake is visible to the right as you near the cemetery. Cemetery is 6 to 8 paces left of center of trail, visible from the trail all seasons of the year. Cedar posts border the cemetery, but no fencing is there.
(11) For information only------
In the 1925 letter from John Roderick to Belle Land Landis, he says that Daniel Roderick did not belong to any church, but that Elizabeth Spainhour Roderick was a Baptist.
(12) Of interest to all Roderick descendants:
The following newspaper clipping, dated October 26, 1878 (sixty years old when found in the Bible of Leah M. Turner in October 1938) reads:
"RODERICK FAMILY REUNION
On the 26th of October last a reunion of Daniel Roderick's family was held at the old homestead in Linville Township, Burke County. There were forty-five relatives present. Daniel Roderick died in the year 1860, at the age of fifty-six years, leaving his wife, Elizabeth who is now living at the advanced age of seventy-eight years and was present at the above mentioned occasion. At the death of her husband, Mrs. Roderick was left with a large family to raise. She has three children dead, and eleven living, all of whom are married and are members of some branch of the Christian church.
She has sixty-four grandchildren, six of whom are married and fourteen great-grandchildren. Her descendants with their wives and husbands number one hundred and nine persons of whom ninety-seven are now living. All these descendants were possessed with good minds and none of them ever had a law suit or have been imprisoned for crime, thus fulfilling the passage by scripture: 'Train up a child in the way it should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.'"
(13) The following information may be of interest:
The Daughters of the American Revolution has recognized Frederick Roderick as a Patriot, and at least two descendants have obtained membership in that organization on the basis of Frederick Roderick's service to this country:
Lillian Roderick Dickey
(daughter of John Henry Roderick, Dodd City, Texas)
National Number 452611)
Helen Lackey Lupton
National Number 660290