Johannes Flinner Information

Johannes Flinner & Anna Minnick are regarded as the beginning of our Fleenor/Fleener/Flener line here in the United States, although there have been other Fleenors that made their way here before Johannes came. We believe Johannes was born 10 June 1721 in Weurttemburg, Germany, but this has not been positively proven. What we do know is that Johannes, and Anna decided to leave their native country, for whatever reason, and with their small children and belongings they left Germany and traveled to Holland. There they boarded the ship "John & Elizabeth", which sailed to Portsmouth, England, before crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Their ship carried 330 passengers, some from Hanau, Weurttemburg, & the Palatinate. 120 passengers were Protestants, 11 were Catholic. We do not know how long this journey took, though I'm sure it must have seemed like a very long time to them, but on 7 November 1754, they arrived safely in Philadelphia, PA. This information was taken from Passenger and Emigration Lists Index-Vol.1-First Edition-Rupp-a collection of 30,000 names, pgs. 346-347. At that time all immigrants were required to take an oath, which is listed below.

(Because of limited space I have only shown Johannes on the Passenger List below, but do not know for sure Johannes took this oath, nor how he signed his name. The following information is from researcher Larry Flinner - Jan 1, 2001- "Concerning Johannes FLINNER: if he signed his name on the ship's log, he would have signed it in German. The average German immigrant had little need for English. I am uncertain of the educational characteristics of the immigrants, however I suspect that most had at least enough education to read the scriptures and count change. It is quite possible that there was a "secretary" that wrote the names, or perhaps a translator that transcribed the names of the passengers in the ledger. It would be good if someone is able to view the original documents and compare the handwriting. If it is at all similar then somebody wrote all of the names. If the handwriting differs then perhaps they were written personally or someone wrote it for them. There should be microfilmed copies of these records through NARA, although I'm not sure. Whatever the case, the name appears to be written "FLINNER".)

Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild Ship John & Elizabeth Rotterdam, Netherlands to Philadelphia, PA November 7, 1754

List 231 B - List of Foreigners imported in the Ship John & Elizabeth, Capt. Ham from Rotterdam. Qual. 7th November, 1754.

Johannes Flinner*
Hans Minich (might have been a relative of Anna?) -- on board 130

[Endorsed:]
Foreigners imported in the Ship John & Elizabeth, Capt. Peter Ham, from Amsterdam. Qual. 7th Novr 1754. No 130. Benezet."

Formatter Notes:
As of 1727 it was required of all those over 21 years old entering Philadelphia to sign an "Oath of Allegiance" and later two other oaths.

OATHS
"We subscribers, Natives and Late Inhabitants of the Palatinate upon the Rhine & Places adjacent, having transported ourselves and Families into this Province of Pensilvania, a Colony subject to the Crown of Great Britain, in hopes and Expectation of finding a Retreat & peaceable Settlement therein, Do Solemnly promise & Engage, that We will be faithful & bear true Allegiance to his present Majesty King George II, and his Successors, Kings of Great Britain, and will be faithful to the Proprietor of this Province; And that we will demean ourselves peaceably to all His said Majesties Subjects, and strictly observe & conform to the Laws of England and of this Province, to the utmost of our Power and best of our understanding."

Beginning with August 19, 1729, the immigrants were required to sign two additional declarations, which were entered in a bound book. The latter in course of time became a series of bound books, to each of which these two declarations where prefixed.

The two additional declarations, to which the immigrants affixed their signatures in the bound books, were as follows:

"I ___ do solemnly & sincerely promise & declare that I will be true & faithful to King George the Second and do solemnly sincerely and truly Profess Testifie & Declare that I do from my Heart abhor, detest & renounce as impious & heretical that wicked Doctrine & Position that Princes Excommunicated or deprived by the Pope or and Authority of the See of Rome may be deposed or murthered by their Subjects or any other whatsoever. And I do declare that no Foreign Prince Person Prelate State or Potentate hath or ought to have any Power Jurisdiction Superiority Preeminence or Authority Ecclesiastical or Spiritual within the Realm of Great Britain or the Dominions thereunto belonging.

"I ___ do solemnly sincerely and truly acknowledge profess testify & declare that King George the Second is lawful & rightful King of the Realm of Great Britain & of all others solemnly & sincerely declare that I do believe the Person pretending to be Prince of Wales during the Life of the late King James, and since his Decease pretending to be & taking upon himself the Stile & Title of King of England by the Name of James the third, or of Scotland by the Name of James the Eighth or the Stile & Title of King of Great Britain hath not any Right or Title whatsoever to the Crown of the Realm of Great Britain, nor any other the Dominions thereunto belonging. And I do renounce & refuse any Allegiance or obedience to him & do solemnly promise that I will be true and faithful, & bear true allegiance to King George the Second & to him will be faithful against all traiterious Conspiracies & attempts whatsoever which shall be made against his Person Crown & Dignity & I will do my best Endeavours to disclose & make known to King George the Second & his Successors all Treasons and traiterous Conspiracies which I shall know to be made against him or any of them. And I will be true & faithful to the Succession of the Crown against same is & stands settled by An Act Entituled An Act declaring the Rights & Liberties of the Subject & settling the Succession of the Crown to the late Queen Anne & the Heirs of her Body being Protestants, and as the same by one other Act Entituled An Act for the further Limitation of the Crown & better securing the Rights & Liberties of the subject is & stands settled & entailed after the Decease of the said late Queen, & for Default of Issue of the said late Queen, to the late Princess Sophia Electoress & Dutchess Dowager of Hanover & the Heirs of her Body being Protestants; and all these things I do plainly & sincerely acknowledge promise & declare according to these express Words by me spoken & according to the plain & common Sense and understanding of the same Words, without any Equivocation mental Evasion or secret Reservation whatsoever. And I do make this Recognition Acknowledgment Renunciation & Promise heartily willingly & truly."
Philadelphia Free Library Archives
Contributed by nielson@mgmt.ucalgary.ca to the
Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild
5 May 2000

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In his new book, "The Genealogy and Story of the FLENER Family in America", Rick Flener* tells how Johannes and family did not remain in PA. for long, moving from Lancaster Co., PA. around the time of the early 1760's. From Lancaster Co. they moved to Frederick Co., MD., on Israel's Creek around the summer of 1768. There, the family attended the St. Peter's Rocky Hill Lutheran Parrish in Woodsboro. Family records from this time are to be found there, which is now called Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church. The last date which mentions the couple 29 September 1789, on which they are both listed. This was about the year of their 50th wedding anniversary, and this may possibly have been the occasion.
Almost all of the children migrated to Washington Co., Virginia, (**notes about Virginia following).
Casper being the first in 1769, then Adam, Nicholas, John, Jacob, and Michael. Even the daughters went to Virginia, but we believe only Margaretha remained behind with her husband. It was at this time while they were living in Virginia that the name was changed in spelling. Most commonly spelled Fleenor, descendants can be found in nearly every state of the country today. But there were those who went to Kentucky and Indiana who started the Flener and Fleener lines.
*I would like to add that Rick Flener's Book is a wonderful source of our Flener line of Kentucky and their descendants.

(**The following is from researcher Wilma Smith - Dec 7, 2000- "Don't forget that when the Fleenors settled in S.W Virginia it was the Western Frontier. Just a few years before they settled, the King forbad any settlers there because it was too dangerous. It was in S.W. Virginia that the pioneers went to Ky. What is now Gate City, county seat of Scott Co. - once Washington Co.- was the gateway to the west through the Cumberland Gap. Kentucky was called the "dark and bloody" ground. The Fleenors and other Germans settled amongst Scotch Irish and English. I suspect since the Germans were such expert farmers that they had little to do with their neighbors since their customs were so different as well as their language and religion. In the second generation, it looks as if some married out of the German family. The Gobbles, Linders, Andtes, Mongles, Hortenstines, etc. were all German families who settled there. It is the history that is fascinating to me and not just the names and dates. Can back up everything I wrote.
Benge was an Indan who killed early settlers in S.W. Virginia. Dr. Larry Fleenor has a book out on him but seems to me some of it was fictional. Vincent Hobbs supposedly killed Benge. But that area is so steeped in history with Daniel Boone and Russell's son who were killed by Indians. Their hands and arms had been slashed to pieces trying to ward off the knife. If you found my essay interesting you would absolutely love some of the books on early settlers.)

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Below are the records from the Grace Evangelical Luthern Church
Grace Evangelical Lutheran or St. Peters Church Rocky Hill, Frederick Co., Maryland, U.S.A.1767 - 1875 Flinner Christened: 8 Apr 1771, Born: 31 Jan 1771, Johannes (s) 00083-6 Father: Nicholas Flinner Mother: Maria Catarina Flinner
Flinner Christened: 25 Mar 1774, Born: 5 Feb 1774, Adam (s) 00144-0 Father: Casper Flinner Mother: Margaretha Flinner
Flinner Born: 2 May 1774, Johannes Jacob (s) 00153-1 Father: Nicholas Flinner Mother: Maria Catharina

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Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland, U.S.A. 1743 - 1811 Flinner Marriage: 24 November 1772, Casper Flinner/Margaretha Andtes 112-4
Lydia Fleenor, Born: 16 Jan 1810 Washington County, Virginia Died: 22 Dec. 1893, Washington County
Casper Fleenor Died: 11 Jan 1825, Washington County, Virginia
Adam Fleenor Born: 5 Feb 1774, Washington County, Virginia Died: 1846 Father: Casper Fleenor Mother: Margaretha. Margaretha's fa: Wilhelm Andtes
Michael Fleenor Born: 18 Nov 1760, Died: 3 Aug 1837, Washington County Virginia.
Casper Fleenor Marr: 24 Nov 1772, Woodsboro, Frederick County, Maryland Father: Johannes Flinner Mother: Anna Flinner
Margaretha Andtes B: 5 Mar 1750, Frederick County, Maryland D: 10 Jun 1829
(From Genealogy of Fleenor Family 975.5735 DZL Vol. 1 LDS Library-Salt Lake City, Utah)

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Notes for Johannes Flinner:
The information about Johannes Flinner and his familes migration from Germany, as well as the information about his ancestors in Germany came from the Flinner Genealogical report on file at the John Hays Historical Center in Salem, Indiana which was deposited by Mary Fleenor of Indianapolis, Indiana on March 1994.
She cited the following sources for the German data:
"Wurttemburgisch Geschichtsquellen" (4. Band); "Urkundenbuch der Stadt Esslingen" ( 1. Band); "Wurttenburgisches Adels-und Wappenbuch" by Otto von Alberti; " 'Oeler' schen Stambuch' (seihe Seite 56) Wurttemburg Landesmuseum in Stuttgart; "Wappenbuch Burgerliche Geschlecter" (Bank IV.5 Tafel 19) by Siebmacher; "Flyner-Fliner-Fleiner" by Else Rath-Horing and Karl Fleiner, 1961, Verlag Degener and Co., Inh Gerhard Gessner, Neustadt a.d. Aisch Sonderdruck aus "Deutsches Familienarchiv" (17. Band).
The Flinner/Fleiner family emigrated aboard the English ship "John and Elizabeth" which was commanded by Captain Ham. It set sail from Amsterdam via Portsmouth, England with passengers from Hanau, Wurttemburg, and the Palatinate. The ship arrived in Philadelphia on November 7th , 1754. The 124 heads of households were listed on the ships manifest included Johannes Flinner. Source: "A Collection of Upwsards of Thirty Thousand Names of German, Swiss, Dutch, French and Other Immigrants in Pennsylvania from 1727 to 1776" 2nd edition, Philadelphia, 1876, pgs 346-347.
Mary Fleenor's report states: Johannes Flinner and family first settled in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and then moved into Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, but no records have been found of them owning land in either place. The Parish Register of Grave Evangelical Lutheran Church, formerly St. Peter's at Rocky Hill near Woodsboro, Frederick County, Maryland, shows that Johannes and Anna were there in 1767. This was the first year of the parish register. These records are now in the Historical Society Library at Baltimore. Johannes and his wife Anna died in Woodsboro, Frederick County, Maryland after the 24th of Sepbember 1789 as this is the last time their names were mentioned. When their sons moved from Maryland to Virginia they changed their name from Flinner to Fleenor and were in Washington County, Virginia as early as 1772 according to land grants in that county. Proof has been confirmed that the Johannes Flinner family of Woodsboro, Frederick County, Maryland and the sons spelling of the name Fleenor in Washington County, Virginia were the same family. This came to light in the Redfearn family Bible on two loose sheets of old tablet paper now in the possession of Vernon R. Goudie of Oakville, Iowa, who is a descendant of Michael and Sarah Linder Fleenor and has been verified by the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution...." Some researchers feel Johannes middle name was Jacob, but not proven so far-2001.

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