Jacobus Kuykendall

I have had the immense pleasure of touring the site of Fort Kuykendall in Hampshire Co. West Virginia while in Washington DC this past week. (No I didn't go to see Hillary). This was my first trip into that area of West Virginia and I am impressed. I looked out in amazement over the mountains and valleys and wondered "How in the world did anybody ever get into that place, and how in the world did they ever get out?" as I imagined the area as it was in colonial days.

A librarian in Moorefield told me that they walked in and I have to believe it. My daughter and I found Breakneck Hill and know full well why it's called that. I saw the South Branch of the Potomac as it is called, it was nothing like I had thought. At this point, it's just a pleasant looking stream. I'm sure it is different in a storm.

Every Kuykendall (by the way, they pronounce it "Kirkendall") should at least once in their lifetime, take a tour of this area. It will give you new and deeper respect for your ancestors. Fort Kuykendall was granted to John Kuykendall (son of Jacob and Sarah) in 1749. In 1756, while living at the Fort, he was paid for supplies which he had furnished the soldiers who helped to protect the settlers from the indians. These Kuykendalls, Peter, John, Benjamin, Mathias, Nathaniel, Abraham, Jacob, and Henry, had been the owners of Lots 1,5,6,7,8,9,10,12,1735, and 58 by the time the French and Indian War was drawing to a close (began ca 1753- ended ca 1763).

In 1763 during a skirmish with a party of Indians along the South Branch near this fort, Abraham Kuykendall was seriously wounded by a musket ball through his body and later petitioned the Virginia House of Burgess for compensation but denied. (I mention this to prove that he is not the Abraham (b. 1719) (son of Cornelius and Martije) who came into North Carolina in 1753 and remained until his death in 1812. This was ten years before Abraham (b. ca 1730) of Virignia (son of Jacob and Sarah) was wounded.

Suggested reading for serious researchers is:

• "Frontier Forts Along the Potomac and its Tributaries" by William H. Ansel, Jr.
• "The History of Hardy County 1786-1986" by Richard K. MacMaster. (Hardy Co was cut off from Hampshire.)
• "History of the Early Settlement and Indian Wars of West Virginia" by Wills De Hass.

These three books, with sources, will tell you probably more than you want to know.

Additional information from Robin Richmond (Cleveland, Ohio; Sep 2018)

To identify the eight Kuykendalls who owned property in Hampshire County in Betty Prices's text above (and the other Abraham she mentions), I'll list parts of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th generations of Kuykendalls in America. This hierarchy is mostly derived from George Benson Kuykendall's classic 1917 book, History of the Kuykendall Family.

Jacob Luurzen was our immigrant ancestor. His son, Luur Jacobsen Van Kuykendall was baptized in New Amsterdam in 1650. Most of his children were baptized in Kingston (up the Hudson River), though the family may have lived elsewhere. Luur Jacobsen Van Kuykendall and Grietje Margarita Artze Tack had 10 children. The sons of Luur Jacobsen who were involved in Betty Price's story are:

1. Cornelius (1686 Kingston - 1753 Kingston) did not move to Hampshire Co, nor did his descendants, but one of his seven children does appear in Betty Price's story:
   1. Abraham (1719 Kingston - 1812 Buncome Co NC). He is sometimes called "Captain" Abraham because of his militia service in North Carolina, and he is the Abraham who was not in Hampshire County in 1763.
2. Mattheus (or Mathias,Matthew) (1688 Kingston,NY - 1754 Anson Co, NC), who was the first of the Kuykendalls to move to Hampshire County. However, Matthew and his wife Jannetzen Westfall moved on to North Carolina in the early 1750's.
   1. Mattheus's son Petrus (Peter) married Mary Hampton, from Hampshire County, before moving to North Carolina either with or following his parents and at one other sibling.
3. Jacob (1683 Kingston,NY - 1664 Minisink Valley, NJ), who moved to the Minisink Valley before 1820. He did not reach Virginia, but his 5 sons did:
   1. Johannes (John) Sr (1713 Ulster Co - 1780 Romney, Hampshire Co) A 1914 photo of his Hampshire County log cabin, built between 1750 and 1760, is on page 48 of George Benson Kuykendall's book. John Sr had just one son:
      1. Johannes (John) Jr (1741 - abt 1895 Hampshire Co) GB Kuykendall calls the four sons of John Jr "The Four Brothers":
         1. Peter (1741 - )
         2. Daniel (1779 - )
         3. John III (1779 - )
         4. Henry (1785 - )
         Around 1805, all four moved to Kentucky, and then to Knox Co, Indiana (Fort Vincennes)
   2. Jacobus (Jacob,James) (1716 Machakemack - 1746 Indiana)
   3. Benjamin (1723 Kingston- 1789 Washington Co, PA) (1716 Machakemack - 1746 Indiana)
   4. Nathaniel (1728 Rochester - 1796 Hampshire Co)
   5. Abraham (b. aft 1731, and evidently far enough away from a Dutch Reformed church that his baptism is not recorded).
4. Pieter (1698 Kingston - 1778). He had 7 sons (including two Jacobs), plus one daughter, Elizabeth. Only one of his sons has a part in this story:)
   1. Hendrick (Henry) (1720 Kingston - 1773 Sussex Co, NJ)

I've added the hierarchical indicators from my list above to Betty Price's list of Kuykendalls who owned property in Hampshire County. The order is kind of random, but the list makes sense.
Peter(3ai), John(3a), Benjamin(3c), Matthew(2), Nathaniel(3d), Abraham(3e), Jacob(3b) and Henry(4a).
Note that it is possible that the Peter(3ai) she mentioned was Pieter(4), brother to Matthew(3). The 3rd-generation Peter(3ai) may have been too young to qualify for Betty Price's list, but I don't know whether Pieter(4) moved to Virginia, so I'll go with the younger Peter(3ai), who was definitely in Hampshire County.