The emigrant
List in Broombough's History of Maryland states that on 31
August 1750, on the ship "Nanny", from Rotterdam,
Johan Jacob Weise and Frederick Weise were passengers.
The Weese family were residents of what is now Hardy and Pendleton
Counties on the South Branch as early as 1756, when the names
of Adam, Joseph, and George Weese appear in the records of
that area, recorded in Augusta County, Virginia. On March
21, 1765, it was ordered that Nicholas Harpole, Paul Shaver,
and Jacob Weese view a road on North Mill Creek in present
day Grant County from Upper Tract to the county line below
Jacob Peterson. The names of Adam and John Weese appear in
the records of the area in 1767, and on March 1, 1773, a land
grant was made by the Crown of England to Jacob, Adam, and
John Weese, for a tract on the South Branch of the Potomac.
The Jacob Weese who was the recipient of this grant was the
same Jacob who went from that area to North Carolina for a
time, and subsequently became the ancestor of the Weese family
in Randolph County, West Virginia.
In August of 1792, Jacob Weese purchased of William Briggs
135 acres on King's Run in Randolph County for 90 pounds,
the unit of money in use in the area at that time. In 1795
when St. Leger Stout was ordered to the stocks in Beverly
for five minutes on a charge of contempt of court, Briggs,
Weese, and two others were fined $2.00 each for their refusal
to assist Sheriff Uriah Gandy in Stout's arrest. Two years
later Weese sold the remainder of his Potomac River property
to Henry Rohrbough and Peter Kurkendall. Jacob Weese and his
wife Catherine were the parents of several children, and he
died on June 11, 1826. He is buried in the Arnold Hill Cemetery.
One of his sons, Jacob Weese Jr., remained in the King's Run
area and married Sarah, a daughter of Catherine Isner.
HISTORY OF RANDOLPH COUNTY 1898
Hu Maxwell
Acme Publishing Company
Morgantown, W.Va.
JACOB WEES, the first of the name in West Virginia, was an
early settler in Hardy County; was born 1733, died 1826; his
ancestors were citizens of Germany. The name at present is
spelled both Wees and Weese. The original spelling conformed
to neither of these, but was Waas, as is shown by the signatures
on the old records of Randolph County. It is said that in
German, Waas is pronounced the same as Wees in English, consequently
the name has always been pronounced the same, although the
orthography has changed. Jacob Wees moved from Hardy County
to North Carolina, where he remained a short time, and then
made his home in Randolph County. The date of his coming is
not definitely known, but it was during the Indian troubles,
for the family frequently took refuge in Wilson's fort in
time of danger. He was a man of influence in the community,
and acquired considerable property. He had four sons and several
daughters. The latter married and moved away from Randolph.
The sons were Jacob, George, Daniel and John. Of these, Jacob's
sons were Absalom, Jacob, John and Eli. George's sons were
Zirus, Zaiba'and Jacob, and his daughters, Rebecca, Catherine,
Dorcas and Martha. Daniel's sons were Judson, Haymond and
Duncan, and he had several daughters. John's sons were Elijah,
John and Job. All the Weeses of Randolph are descended from
these. |
