Mary is the daughter of Abraham as evidenced by the Fauquier County marriage bond displayed in the Abraham section.  The permission slip that accompanies the bond clearly identifies Mary as his daughter.

The need for a permission slip likely places Mary as under age 21, thus born after 25 August 1770.  As explained in the Abraham section, a Magdalena Schwartz was born 27 September 1774 and baptized in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland on 2 November 1774.  Her parents were Abraham and Elisabeth Schwartz.  As we saw previously, Abraham was in Loudoun County, Virginia in 1774.  Donald Roger Hickman posted a RootsWeb site regarding his Hickman ancestors of Loudoun County and wrote of the close proximity of Frederick and Loudoun counties and the necessity of free movement between them.  In the early days of Loudoun, the churches often relied on ministerial services from Frederick County churches he states.  It would not be out of the question that Mary was born in Loudoun and then 6 weeks later taken to Frederick for baptism.  Especially if the sponsors desired by the parents lived in Frederick County and worshiped in that church.  One last item is presented, namely the 1820 census - Frankfort District, Greenbrier County, page 143:

At the time of this census, assuming Mary's birth date above, she would have been 45 years of age.  She would not have been 46 until September 27.  Even at 45, she should have been enumerated in the next age category, but it is easy to see how the census taker might enter her in this age grouping.  Census records are not considered primary evidence as to age, but this is offered as one more item to consider.

The assumption of 27 September 1774 as Mary's birth date is largely based on the parental names of Abraham and Elisabeth.  As with Peter in York County, Pennsylvania, there have been no other Abraham and Elisabeth Schwartz found in the area to this point in time who might be parents.  Could Magdalena have been Maria Magdalena or Magdalena Maria?  If this were to be Mary's birth date, she would have been just a month shy of being 17 years old when married - well within reason.  Until more information can be unearthed we are using this birth information with the knowledge that it may be disproved in the future.

Conrad Dearing was more than likely born in Germany and received most of his schooling there, based on the way he signed his name on the marriage bond.  He did not live to be enumerated in the 1850 census, and for lack of other documents his birth date must be identified by means of earlier censuses or legal documents.  The information found in the censuses is not of great help in that the 1820 census above shows him born before 1776, 1830 census (No Township listed, Greenbrier County, page 173, head of household Conrad Dearin) shows him born 1760 to 1770, and the 1840 census (North Greenbrier region, Greenbrier County, page 202, head of household Conrad Dearing) shows him born 1750 to 1760.  It is possible he was born in 1760 and the timing of the taking of the census in 1840 versus in 1830 put him over the cusp and into the next age bracket.  Of course, it could be that the enumerator placed him in the wrong age grouping.  But which census is incorrect?  Assuming he was of age when he was married, the best we can say from this information is that he was likely born before 1770.

William Reed has scanned copies of documents provided to him of a 1786 marriage between Konrad Dearink and Abigail Marr in Shenandoah County, Virginia (LDS film 2167812, images 0582-0585).  It is likely this is the same Conrad, and this is an earlier marriage.  Conrad and Mary's oldest child was Jacob, and his death record states he was born in Shenandoah County, Virginia to Conrad and Mary.  If we assume Conrad was of age (Abigail swore she was of age), that would place his birth date prior to 1765.

Conrad has another link to Shenandoah County.  On 13 October 1809 Conrad and Phillip Henkle (sic) receive a patent for 130 acres of land in Greenbrier (Land Office Grants No. 59, 1809-1810, page 387).  According to research done and published on the web by Butch Willard, 5th great grandson of Phillip Hinkle, Phillip was a soldier from the German province of Hesse-Hanau Erprinz.  Phillip was a Hessian soldier, part of British General John Burgoyne's army.  Butch goes ahead to state that Phillip was captured and taken prisoner by the Americans near Albany in 1777, transported to prisoner barracks in Albemarle County, Virginia, and later deserted the Albemarle Barracks in 1780 and made his way to the Shenandoah Valley, blending in with established German settlements to avoid detection by the British.  Phillip possibly joined Virginia militia forces and fought in support of the Americans, then later married and moved to Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia and lived near Frankfort (where Conrad was enumerated in the 1820 census above).

Were Phillip and Conrad friends simply because of their common German heritage, or was there more to it?  Interestingly Phillip and Conrad had much earlier entered into "partnership" by jointly purchasing a tract of 364 acres on Culbertson's Creek from Francis Luddington for the sum of 5 shillings.  Strangely one deed between Francis Ludington and his wife Ursula and Philip Hinkle and Coonrod Daring was made 27 April 1802 (Greenbrier County Deed Book 2, page 517) and a second between Francis Luddington and Ursula his wife and Conrad Daring and Philip Hinkle was made for the same legal land description and same purchase amount on 26 July 1803 (Greenbrier County Deed Book 2, page 681).  Then on 22 June 1813, Phillip and Barbara his wife and Conrad and Mary his wife take the total of the 364 acre purchase and the 130 acre patent and split it down the middle, each getting 247 acres for the sum of $1 given to the other (Greenbrier County Deed Book 5, pages 463 - 468).  This would have been about the time that Phillip's sons were coming of age, and he may have wanted clear ownership for sake of providing for his children.

In a separate communication, Butch relates a visit he made to the Williamsburg, West Virginia Museum while researching his Hinkle ancestry.  While there a woman told him of an old log cabin that still stands.  She told of how it belonged to Phillip Hinkle and was sold to Phillip about 1802 by one of the lady's Dearing ancestors.  Butch drove to the old home site on Germany Road very near Culberston Creek and snapped this picture.  Butch adds that he does not know for certain that this was Phillip's home, but it makes for an interesting story.  Even without the potential log home link, there seems to have been a very close relationship, and it may indeed have been more than the common German heritage that drew them together.  William Reed feels there may be a possibility that Conrad was also a Hessian soldier who remained in America.  The following are some similar names of known Hessians remaining in America:

William Reed has also come across the name Conrod Doeringer on a listing of Hessian soldiers, but the details are not legible.  Should this turn out to be Conrad then perhaps the 1840 census is closer to the right enumeration.  Another option presented by John H. Merz is that many Hessian soldiers went back to Germany only to return to America, some with a family, and settle down.  Could Conrad have been one of the Hessians, or a family member of a Hessian soldier who came to America to live?  This could be an interesting option to follow up on.

Conrad and Mary appeared in Greenbrier County by 1794.  He is shown that year for the first time in the Greenbrier Personal Property Tax (PPT) rolls, and he was documented later to say he was in Greenbrier County by 1794 working as a distiller for Francis Luddington (same individual who sold him land above).  He lived on Culbertson's Creek.  As abstracted in the "Journal of The Greenbrier Historical Society", Vol. IX No. 3, 1983, page 37, Coonrod Daring's will was made in Greenbrier, dated 11 March 1840 and probated in May Court, 1841 (Greenbrier Will Book No. 2, page 117) and lists his wife as Molly (likely a nickname for Mary), and identifies 4 sons Adam, James, Jacob, John and 5 daughters Elizabeth Snedegar, Sarah Brown, Hanna Jones, Margret Subtle (sic), Mary Daring.  Witnesses to the will were listed as Samuel Correll, Samuel Hinkle (son of Phillip above), and Joseph Myles.  It is this information along with PPT data, census information and Greenbrier marriage information that we used in constructing the list of children for Conrad and Mary.

The children of Conrad Dearing and Mary Black are:

1. Jacob Dearing, b. Abt. 1794, Shenandoah County, Virginia; d. 5 June 1861, Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia
2. Elizabeth Dearing, b. Abt. 1796, Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia; d. Bet. 1870 and 1880, Greenbrier County, West Virginia
3. Hannah Dearing, b. Bet. 1801 and 1802, Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia; d. Aft. 1860
4. John Dearing, b. Abt. 1805, Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia; d. Aft. 1860
5. Adam Dearing, b. Abt. 1807, Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia; d. 14 September 1869, Greenbrier County, West Virginia
6. Mary Dearing, b. Abt. 1813, Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia; d. Bet. 1860 and 1870, Pocahontas County, (West) Virginia
7. Margaret Dearing, b. Abt. 1814, Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia; d. 29 March 1876, Greenbrier County, West Virginia
8. James A. Dearing, b. Abt. 1817, Greenbrier County, (West) Virginia; d. Bet. 1866 and 1870, Greenbrier County, West Virginia
9. Sarah Dearing, b. (unknown); d. (unknown)