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Dunkers - Church of the Brethren

Dunkers: The Kentucky Migration, 1785

Editor's Note: The following article is part of Chapter XI of Two Centuries of Brothers Valley by the Rev. H. Austin Cooper, 1962. It concerns the migration to Muhlenberg County from Pennsylvania of members of the Church of the Brethren, commonly called Dunkers. The migration was headed by Capt. Henry Roth Jr. who changed his name to Rhoads. He became Muhlenberg's first representative in the Kentucky General Assembly and named his county for General John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, his commanding general in the Revolutionary War.

The terrible winter of 1784-85 all but depleted the hopes of the frontiersmen who had faith in the coming crops of the spring and summer. The snows began early in October and continued almost without letup until after Easter. The altitude and the formation of the mountains to the west and east cause the storms to funnel into this area. As related in the former section on Brothers Valley, the area is like an inverted saucer or dish lifted up above the surrounding country side. Thus the storms beat heavily upon the land and the temperature drops quickly and holds on for many weeks. On Easter Monday when the sun shined warmly the snow measured 85 inches on the level. This was one of the contributing factors for so many people leaving the area. However, this wasn't the only one.

Perhaps the other factors that induced the settlers to seek more pleasant settlement in the southern wilderness were the stories of some of their relatives, such as Capt. Henry Roth Jr. and Phillip Aswald, who had traveled extensively in the Kentucky country. No doubt, the determining factor for their departure from Bruedersthal in the summer of 1785 was the dual fact that the State of Virginia offered free land to her soldiers who fought in the Revolution.

Many of the young men who joined the Brothers Valley Militia and followed General George Washington throughout his campaigns against the British, received large land grants in what was then called “Western Virginia,” which was the Kentucky County.

Capt. Henry Roth Jr. led more than 100 to Kentucky from Pennsylvania, Maryland, (and) Virginia, and several from New Jersey joined the band at New Market, Virginia, in the early part of the summer of 1785 and proceeded to the new “promised land.”

Not all who came with this band were eligible for “military grants.” Some were termed later in Kentucky as “squatters” on the land. These people had the approval of those who received the grants. They were the workers and tillers of the soil for the large landholders. Many of them later purchased tracts for their homes and settled permanently in Kentucky.

Now for the heads of families in Captain Henry's band:

All of the above joined the company at Roanoke Settlement.

It seems evident that this company must have numbered well over 100. To be sure, there were many children in the group. The reader can see that for the most part only heads are listed. This list has come about through research across 12 years and names listed from many sources when it has been gleaned that these people came along with Capt. Henry Roth (Rhoads) to Kentucky. However, it must be said that the first 48 names were given to the author (Rev. H. Austin Cooper) by Mrs. W.H. Newmeyer of Pittsburgh, PA, on 23 August 1952 the day before the celebration at Brotherton, PA, the 190th anniversary of the founding of the congregation. Mrs. Newmeyer had researched in this area for some 40 years and her work has not been questioned by competent researchers in this area of history.

Source: Kentucky Family Records, Volume IV, Page 82-87. Originally printed in The Times-Argus/Messenger Magazine [Central City, KY].

See also Two Centuries of Brothers Valley, Church of the Brethren, 1762-1962.

Updated September 17, 2024.

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