| Notes |
- The Frederick Family How it all began...
More than 250 years ago a ship set sail from a port in Rotterdam in the Netherlands for a long journey across the Atlantic Ocean. On board were 563 men, women and children.
It is almost romantic to think that our ancestors hopped on a boat and sailed into the sunset to realize their dreams of a new start in a new world. In reality the voyage was long, uncomfortable and incredibly dangerous. A good crossing could take eight or nine weeks, but crossings of six or seven months were by no means unknown. Often times food would rot or become infested and water turn brackish. Personal hygiene was non-existent and lice and disease ran rampant. Trans-Atlantic voyages were tough on experienced mariners and you can only imagine how hard it must have been on these men, women and children making their first voyage. These were people who had likely never even seen the ocean before, putting their lives on the line to pursue their dreams in America.
This particular ship was called the "Dragon"; her master was a captain by the name of Georg Spencer. We do not know a lot about the ship, other than it must have been quite large in order to carry so many passengers. It was a common practice of the day to use these tall ships to take loads of tobacco and other products from the colonies across the ocean to Europe. Rather than return empty, these cargo ships were often loaded with people for the trip back to America. If this were the case, the "Dragon" would have few if any accommodations for the immigrants. The kids must have been out of control! It seems improbable that they would be allowed much "carry on baggage" so these families were leaving everything behind only to arrive in a strange new world with little more than the clothes on their backs.
Finally, after weeks of staring at nothing but endless sea, land came into view. One can only imagine how excited the families must have been. They made it! In late September 1749 the "Dragon" eased up the Delaware River and into the port of Philadelphia and off stepped a man by the name of Bastian Freithrick.
Bastian's descendants would later call him Sebastian Frederick. The change of his surname is not as significant as the change in his first name. Calling Bastian "Sebastian" was a common Americanization of the name, however, it would eventually lead to a lot of confusion between Bastian Frederick and his son Sebastian Frederick (born about 1754). The fact of the matter is that in all the known official records and accounts from the 18th century the elder Frederick is always listed as "Bastian", "Bostian", or "Boston" but never "Sebastian". It was not until after his death that Bastian Frederick's descendants started referring to him as Sebastian. This discrepancy goes to the root of a lot of misinformation that has been perpetuated about the Fredericks. To that end, and for the sake of accuracy, the elder Frederick will be referenced to as "Bastian" and his son by the name of "Sebastian".
Bastian may have been from Germany or Switzerland, exactly where and when he was born, is lost to history. His first son was born around 1749, and one of his daughters may have been born even earlier than that. Some sources list his year of birth as 1732, but that would mean he was having children and traveling to America with his family while in his mid-teens. That is possible, but unlikely. Bastian was probably born sometime in the 1720s. Since ship passenger lists of the time normally only listed men over the age of 16, there is no way of knowing exactly how many other family members may have been traveling with him. There is evidence that might suggest that Bastian made the trip with a large group of Fredericks. The passengers on the "Dragon" were processed on September 26th. The very next day passengers from the ship the "Isaac" were processed. The "Isaac" had the same port of origin as the "Dragon" and made a similar voyage (the "Dragon" made a stop at Deal, England before setting out across the Atlantic, while the "Isaac" stopped in Cowes). It is possible that the two ships departed Rotterdam about the same time, and may have sailed across the ocean together. It is also possible that they arrived in America on the same day, but the passengers were processed a day apart. The registry of passengers on the "Isaac" includes the name Johann Frieterick. It is possible, but not yet proven, that Bastian and Johann were related. Because a transatlantic voyage was so dangerous, it was not uncommon for members of the same family to travel on different ships just in case tragedy should strike.
Bastian Frederick was married to a woman named Mary. Her maiden name, her date of birth, the date and location of their marriage is not known. We can assume that they were together before their arrival in the colonies. We can be sure of her name from two separate petitions to congress that she would sign decades later. There is a great deal of speculation and discrepancy regarding just how many children Bastian and Mary had, their names and their birth dates.
Peter is assumed to be the oldest son because he was given the task of handling his father's estate. He is also the first son to make land claims along with his father in 1770. If he was at least 21 at the time then his date of birth might have been around 1749. The Daughters of the American Revolution index of patriots from Pennsylvania lists a Peter Frederick born on January 10, 1750. If that is true, then Mary Frederick was five or six months pregnant when she and Bastian made the trip to America. The DAR register places his date of death as September 25, 1814 and lists his wife as Margaretha.
Lewis is assumed to be the second eldest son as he is the second Frederick boy to make a land claim in 1772. Following the same line of reasoning used with Peter, it is possible that he was born around 1751. He married a woman by the name of Elizabeth. This is the line of the Frederick family that Bryce Moore is associated with.
Sebastian is believed to be the third oldest son as it is later that he gets married and starts making land claims of his own. Some sources list 1763 as his date of birth, however, all the evidence points to the fact that this is incorrect. We know he was married in 1778 and it is highly unlikely that he was married at age 15. In 1775 he is already listed as a caretaker of a road so it is possible that he might have been born around 1754.
We can be certain of those three sons, however, some sources maintain that Bastian actually had six boys. If that is the case then the following three may be the best candidates to fill that role.
Frederick Frederick is listed on a 1783 census; however, this is the only reference to him in Indiana. Back in Beaver County, Pennsylvania a John Frederick's name appears on a deed. It may very well be that Frederick and John are one in the same and his name was actually Johan Frederick Frederick. It may be a situation where he made the trip to Indiana, but did not stay and returned to Pennsylvania.
George Frederick's name appears in Indiana much later than the others. There is little to connect him to the family other than his name and a very interesting entry in his will. In that document he lists his horses by name. One of his horses was named "Dragon," the same name as the ship Bastian took to America. Coincidence?
David Frederick's name appears on a deed when Sebastian sells some of his land in Indiana in 1784. David would have had to have been of age to sign the document, and to be an adult at that time would make him too old to be anyone else's son other than Bastian.
Another name that comes up for one of Bastian's sons is Daniel, however, there is no documentation to back up this contention.
Mary is an important daughter because she stays close to her parents for most of their lives, and her second marriage to a man named John Conger launched a line of ancestors that includes James Robling. It is the stories that she shared with her grandchildren, first hand accounts of the struggles of living on the frontier, that make these early years come alive.
Anna Catherine may be the most intriguing of the known children. Some records indicate that she was born around 1754, and that number is likely derived from the theory that she married John Small in approximately 1775 (and that date may be way off). A Small family entry submitted to the Latter Day Saints more than fifty years ago states that John Small married Anna Catherine - "from Switzerland." If this were the case then she would have had to of been born before the Fredericks arrived in 1749. The LDS entry was made in 1943, and if the unnamed source was older or elderly, then they may have been born around the turn of the century, and might have had the story passed along to them from a parent, or grandparent who was likely born in the early 1800s; not that far removed from Anna Catherine. There are at least three applications to the DAR by women, who are all related on the Small side, claiming that Anna Catherine was from Switzerland. One of these women would have been old enough to be Anna Catherine's granddaughter. All of this is speculation, but some credence must be given to the Switzerland connection, as it is one of the few facts that the Small family seems to know about Anna Catherine other than her name.
Everyone has always assumed that the Fredericks were from Germany because the information on the passenger aboard the "Dragon" states that most of the passengers were from the Palatinate and Zweibrucken (Zweybreckt?) area in the Rhine River valley of southwest Germany, which is very close to Switzerland. The record does state "most" but does not claim "all" the passengers were from Germany. No evidence has been established placing these Fredericks in Germany before making the trip to America. Since the Swiss speak German it is easy to understand why this connection was made. Regardless, the Frederick's country of origin is something that is worth more research.
Why were the Fredericks listed as Freithrick and Frieterick in the ship registries? Many officials were not good or consistent spellers, and many immigrants could not spell their own names. Foreign accents were often misunderstood, as phonetic spelling of names was common. As a result the spelling of names is often inconsistent.
In 1749 Philadelphia was the place to be. It was the second largest city in the new world, probably the most impressive settlement in its diversity and design. It was a thriving metropolis of about 40,000 residents and the gateway for many immigrants to the colonies. Streets were laid out in a well-organized grid with roadways twice as wide as most other cities. Most importantly to immigrants, there was plenty of work for everyone.
While the first Germans had arrived decades earlier, the Fredericks were on the first wave of a sudden flood of German speaking immigrants to the colonies. In the five years from 1749 to 1754 some 90,000 Germans made the trip across the ocean. Germans thrived in their new home, despite being one of the few groups of immigrants that did not speak English.
Upon arriving in Philadelphia the male immigrants took an Oath of Abjuration to the King of Great Britain, as was required by the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania. Most Germans gravitated to the suburb of Germantown where many families settled or stayed just long enough to save up some money and head off into the wilderness. Many of the new settlers, including Bastian Frederick, were farmers so it is likely they headed out to stake their claim and start their new farm, and new life as quickly as possible. There is evidence that suggests, but nothing that confirms Bastian Frederick was ever in Germantown.
Many of the German settlers were members of the Dunker and Moravian faith. These Dunkers, or German Baptists, practiced a strict faith based on total allegiance to God. They were called Dunkers because they celebrated the rite of baptism by dunking a person face first in the water three times for the Holy Trinity. They sought to worship without interference from the outside. Ideally these groups would try to avoid any involvement with the government including paying fees, taxes or registering marriages or land claims. They felt that the land was God's and not anyone else's to own or sell. Many times they would move west into the wilds of the Appalachians to get as far away from the government as possible.
Many sources relate that Dunkers were generally self-educated, self sufficient, good farmers and craftsmen. They generally kept to themselves in their own communities. They were a little different, and they were often targets for discrimination. In some instances others construed their piety and pacifism as being unpatriotic; when in their minds their loyalty was to a much higher power than that of the colony. It is written that if forced, they might serve in the military as a chaplain or medic; however, it was generally against their beliefs to serve as a soldier. Regardless, Bastian Frederick and his sons would serve in the military on numerous occasions in different locations and under various commands. The apparent irony of this fact might be explained when one considers the events that took place in the areas where the Fredericks lived. It becomes much clearer in the historical context that rather than fighting for a cause, they were likely fighting for their land and fighting for their lives.
Robling suggests that the Fredericks and another family, the Leathermans, came from Germany about the same time and settled in Germantown, PA. Robling's research into his own connections to both of these families has uncovered the fact that in the 1740s and early 1750s some Fredericks and Leathermans left Germantown and went to Frederick County, Maryland to a Dunker settlement. It is his belief that other members of these two families, including Bastian Frederick, headed west to the wilderness of western Pennsylvania. These two families were apparently very close for a very long time. If our Fredericks were in fact Dunkers we should be thankful for what little information we have about these early years. It is not difficult to suppose circumstances in which they could have managed to avoid government contact, and as a result the recording of their whereabouts and activities all together.
There are at least two theories on exactly where Bastian and Mary went once they left the Philadelphia area. One story suggests they moved more than 200 miles from Philadelphia into the heart of the Appalachian Mountains to an area along the south branch of the Potomac River in Northern Virginia. The location would later be known as the town of Moorefield, in Hardy County West Virginia. According to this theory it was from here that the Fredericks and the Catt family would later move to the area near Fort Pitt Pennsylvania.
While there is no documentation to support this theory, the land west of the Allegheny Mountains was a vast wilderness claimed by both Pennsylvania and Virginia. So to say that they left Philadelphia and went to Virginia, at this point in history, would not be inaccurate. But, on the other hand, you could say with as much conviction that they never left Pennsylvania at all.
The evidence indicates the Fredericks never went to Hardy County, but went west right into the area where the Ohio, Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers meet, an area that would eventually be known as Pittsburgh. From "The History of Beaver County, Pennsylvania" it is noted that in the 1750's both "a Dunker from Pennsylvania" and a Moravian came here looking for a place to settle." The book "Settlements of Western Pennsylvania 1743-1788" writes that Dunkers and pious Germans were probably the earliest immigrants who came with the intention of making permanent settlements. Early on Dunkers were living at a settlement along Dunker Creek at the Cleat River.
In 1748 the king granted the Ohio Company 500,000 acres of land west of the Allegheny Mountains between the Monongahela and the Kanawha Rivers. This land was to be free of tax for ten years. The Ohio Company was to settle 100 families within seven years (1755) and build a fort to protect the families. It is possible that this was the impotence for Bastian moving to this area.
This was the wild west of the time. The only way across the rugged mountains was to follow small Indian trails, hardly suitable for wagons. As a result, pioneers could travel with only as much as they could carry or pack on a horse, if they had one. Settlers were easy prey for Indians, wild animals and other settlers. Many of these pioneers were paranoid even after they had established settlements and forts. Take the case of Dr. Thomas Eckerly. For years he and his family lived in the Dunker Creek area without ever seeing an Indian. On his way home from a trip to get supplies he stopped in at a fort in the area. When Eckerly told those at the fort that the Indians had never threatened his family, they threw him into jail and accused him of being a sympathizer of the savages. After what must have been some intense pleading, the leaders at the fort allowed him to return home, but only with a military escort. As it turns out, the time he spent in jail at the fort saved his life. When Eckerly finally got home they found Indians had raided the settlement and Eckerly's family had been murdered and scalped.
Records of this time, and even much later, give account after account of murder, thievery and senseless acts of violence. Being a pioneer was an extremely dangerous proposition. It is hard to imagine why anyone would put themselves and their families at such risk.
Pioneer log cabins were often crude structures that were drafty and without windows. Doors were hung with leather hinges. A massive fireplace in the center provided cooking, heat and light. Candles were usually too expensive for settlers or more likely unavailable. Family dogs were trained not to bark unnecessarily in order to avoid attracting the attention of Indians.
These pioneers had to hunt daily for food. There were no natural sources for salt in this region, so there was no way of preserving meat. It is written that one bushel of salt was worth a cow and a half. Settlers would have to make trips to Kentucky or back east to barter furs for what the field and forest failed to provide.
From accounts of the time it is no mystery why the Fredericks would move to this area. A 1778 letter cited by Crumrine includes, "The land consists of rich intravals and fine farming grounds. The whole country abounds in bear, elks, buffaloe, deer, turkeys etc." Or as a Colonel Gordon relayed in a journal entry from the time, "This country may, from a proper knowledge, be affirmed to be the most healthy, the most pleasant, the most commodious, the most fertile spot on earth ever known to the European people."
Despite all the hardships, many of our ancestors not only survived but also thrived, living to ages many of us would be happy to reach today. Consider that in 1789 the life expectancy for a male born in the more densely populated colonies of Massachusetts and New Hampshire was just over 34 years. The Fredericks, in many cases, beat the odds and lived well into their 80s.
In the first half of the 18th century the French controlled the vast regions west of the Appalachian Mountains. Before there was Fort Pitt, the French had an important outpost at the site called Fort Duquesne. In 1755 British Major General Edward Braddock was sent to the area with a large regiment of men and members of the Virginia Militia to take the fort and run the French out of the region. On July 9th, the French, with the help of Indians, routed Braddock's forces. Braddock and most of his officers were among the dead. George Washington, who was leading the Virginia Militia under Braddock, had two horses shot out from underneath him and rode home with holes in his coat from musket shots.
So where was Bastian Frederick during this turbulent time? There are no records that Frederick served under Braddock, however, there is a record that he was in this area as early as two months following the battle. At a court martial on September 2, 1755, in Frederick County, Virginia, delinquents of Wm. Bathal (Bethell), Capt. Of Foot (foot soldiers) Bastian Frederick (note that his name is listed as Bastian and not Sebastian) was fined for missing muster. In 1755 Bathal was a Captain in Frederick County, a vast area of the western Virginia. The record of this court martial proves Bastian Frederick was in Frederick County in 1755, however it does not prove that he served in the militia. Without further evidence, you must allow that his failure to report could mean that he refused to serve.
1755 was a rough year to be in this area. The Delaware Indians started a new campaign of violence against the settlers. For the next two years the pioneers in this region dealt with a surge of attacks.
In November 1758 General John Forbes led an army of over 6,000 British and Colonial soldiers across the mountains to take Fort Duquesne. The French had allowed the fort to fall into disrepair, and upon seeing Forbes' forces coming one way and their Indian allies fleeing the other, they decided to burn the structures and sneak away under the cover of night. Once General Forbes secured the Point, he renamed Fort Duquesne, Pittsborough in honor of the Prime Minister of England, William Pitt. Fort Pitt, as it would be known, became one of the largest English strongholds in North America.
Once again the question might be asked, "Where are the Fredericks?" Clues might be found in another family in the area at the time by the name of the Deckers. The Decker family is recorded as living on a settlement near the Cleat River and Dunkard Creek during this time. In 1758 an Indian raid resulted in the deaths of some members of the family. One of the Deckers managed to escape and fled to nearby Fort Redstone for help. Capt. John Gibson led a group of 30 men out of Fort Pitt to go after the Indians. The surviving members of the Decker family ended up moving closer to Fort Pitt. While we can not be sure where the Fredericks are, we do know that for the next 100+ years the Frederick and Decker families would live close to each other and eventually move west together. We know that the Fredericks were living in Frederick County at this time; however, no one knows exactly where. The Fredericks were probably Dunkers, and a Dunker settlement was near the Deckers. Since these two families moved around together there is the possibility that the Fredericks were living in the Cleat River area with the Dunkers and Deckers. Take it one step farther and the Fredericks may have moved closer to Fort Pitt along with the Deckers.
By 1760 there were 200 families living at Fort Pitt.
At this time the Indians got along with the French much better than they did the British. The French traded with the Indians, and in some cases built them log homes, even small villages. In 1763, with the French out of the area, Indian raids against settlers led by the Ottawa Chief Pontiac, increased. Part of the reason the Indians focused on the English pioneers was that they were made up of mainly families who farmed and established homesteads and communities. It is possible that the English settlers were perceived by the Native Americans to be a greater threat, and easier targets. Pontiac's Rebellion resulted in numerous raids by settlers on Indian villages and vice versa. In response to the attacks, in 1763 the British ordered all settlers out of the area west of the Appalachians.
If the Fredericks were in this area they were living in a veritable "no man's land" and could not legally own property. As a result, there is no chance of any finding any official records of them living there. Records of Bastian's military service are the only clues we have placing him here at this time.
There is a possibility, though it may be remote, that Frederick may have been fighting Indians all the while. Henry Bouquet, a Swiss who spoke German, was given charge over the England's 1st Battalion of the 6th Regiment of Foot, better known at the Royal Americans. This collection of Pennsylvania Germans fought back the Indians at the Battle of Bushy Run (August 6, 1763), and built a blockhouse (September 1764) at Fort Pitt that still stands to this day. There is no known list of the men that served under Bouquet.
In 1768 the Treaty at Fort Stanwix, between the Indians and the British reopened the area west of the Appalachians to settlements and legal claims to the land.
Applications for land grants provide a good way of nailing down where Bastian Frederick and his sons were living in the last half of the 18th century. We know that he was in Frederick County, Virginia in 1755 because he missed muster for the militia. Exactly where he was living at this time and even up to 1768 is not known. However we can make some educated guesses.
There was a process, and sometimes it was a faulty process for obtaining property at this time. If you wanted to buy land you first had to make an application to a land office for a specific tract. Next, a warrant would be issued by the land office authorizing you or the appropriate authority to survey the tract. The third step was to conduct the survey and then give the results back to the land office. This precise description of the land and its boundaries would include the names of the neighbors who owned adjoining tracts. The final step took place six months after the survey when the settler actually paid for the property. At that time the settler was issued a patent giving him a clear title to the land. The process was far from perfect, and often times applicants would complete the first three steps of the process but never pay for the land. Once you owned the land you had to pay the taxes.
In 1770 District of West Augusta, Virginia court records lists Bastian applying for a grant of 400 acres on Traverse Creek and Peter asking for 400 acres on Raccoon Creek. Since Peter is applying for land of his own we might assume that he is at least 21 years old. If so, that places his birth date in or around 1749, the same year that Bastian Frederick arrived in the colonies. In 1772 Lewis asks for 400 acres on the Monongahela.
In the Ohio County Court Records, Land Entry 1779-1784 Volume No. 368, Bastian, Peter and Lewis Frederick each apply for land grants, and each is listed as having certificates for these parcels. This is the second time they have applied for the property and it gives us a little better insight as to where everyone may have been living.
On April 23rd (entry 503) Bostian Frederick produced a certificate for 400 acres of land in Ohio County on the Monongahela River just across the river from Fort Pitt. The request stated that the land included his settlement made in 1768. It is possible, even probable, that he had been living there earlier than 1768, however, remember the British had previously ordered settlers out of the area and did not allow them back until that year. To claim that he was there any earlier would be admitting he was living on the land illegally.
It is very likely that Sebastian Frederick lived on this tract and stayed here once his father moved a little farther from the fort. In other court records Sebastian, not Bastian, is listed as a caretaker of a road that extended from Peters Creek north through or very near the Frederick's land to property owned by Jacob Bausman. In 1775 Bausman, one of the most prominent Germans in the area, operated a ferry to the fort across the Monongahela. This places his property just across the river from Fort Pitt. All inhabitants that lived within three miles of the road were charged with the upkeep of the trail. This means the Frederick land was within three miles, probably just to the south, of Bausman.
There is a possibility that Bastian's daughter Anna Catherine was also living on or very near the same tract of land claimed by her father. A 1772 list of the 79 inhabitants of the Pitt Township that includes Bausman's land and most likely Bastian's first claim, does not list any Fredericks. It does include the name of John Small. Small married Bastian's daughter Anna Catherine, however the date of their wedding is unknown. What is known is that Small was born in 1747 and would have been 25 at the time. If Anna Catherine was born in Switzerland, as the Small family claims, she would have been born prior to 1749 and could have been about the same age as her husband. A more thorough search of land, tax and census records in this area could reveal more details.
On April 26th Bastian Frederick submitted a second claim (entry 564) for 400 acres of land on Traverse Creek to include a settlement made in the year 1770. This shows Bastian had moved farther away from the fort, probably in the year 1770. This move coincides with a more peaceful time between the settlers and Indians so a move away from the fort was not as great of a risk. In September of 1775, in the minutes of the Yohogania County court at Fort Pitt, Bastian is given charge over the upkeep of the road from the Saw Mill Run to Fort Pitt. Mr. Robling believes Saw Mill Run would eventually be called Perry's Mill Run and was located across the river from Traverse Creek where Frederick lived. This road ran directly to Fort Pitt and may have been the main if not only road from these settlements to the fort. Additional confirmation comes from the Virginia Court Records of Deeds for West Augusta, Virginia for February 23, 1775. It is here that a deed describes land "lying on the waters of Traverse Creek joining Bostian Frederick."
On April 25th Peter Frederick, Bastian's eldest son, submitted a claim (entry 449) for 400 acres of land on Raccoon Creek where he had established a settlement in 1772. Traverse Creek flows into Raccoon Creek so it is very likely that Peter's land bordered, or at least was very close to Bastian's second settlement.
Lewis Frederick submitted his claim (entry 568) for 400 acres of land on the Monongahela River to include his 1772 settlement. There are no more details provided for us to know if this property was anywhere near his father's original claim.
As if things were not confusing enough, the Fredericks and others would find themselves caught in the middle of Dunmore's War with the Indians and a critical border battle between Virginia and Pennsylvania. All of this complicated their requests for land. The 1770s and the historic events that ensued would set the course for the rest of Bastian Frederick's life, and have a direct impact on his descendents. His military service and the decisions he makes during these trying times tell us a lot about the man.
One of the biggest problems facing the Fredericks and others was the confusion over where they lived. With two colonies claiming the region, settlers loyal to Pennsylvania were at the throats of their neighbors, settlers who pledged their allegiance to Virginia.
On April 3, 1769 William Penn opened a land office, accepting 3,200 applications for claims the very first day. Five pounds sterling could buy you 100 acres, while one penny would get you one acre. The area saw a boom in population growth between 1770 and 1775. Some of the Pennsylvania claims were undoubtedly for land west of the Monongahela where Virginia settlers, including the Fredericks, had already established a stronghold. Virginia had already offered land for 1/14 the price of Pennsylvania. This all resulted in a number of conflicting claims over large tracts of land in an area far removed from the central governments of the two colonies. Imagine what it must have been like for a Pennsylvania settler to make the dangerous journey over the mountains only to arrive and find someone living on the land he or she had just purchased, or vice versa.
There is an interesting account in the family history of George Tombaugh that describes an incident when the land he had settled on came into dispute. Apparently the other parties that wanted the land decided to play off the "rather superstitious nature" of many of the Germans and decided to stage a ghost scene. At night they surrounded the house with whirligigs. However, during a lull in their ghostly music and moans they heard the click of a rising flintlock hammer, and the "ghosts" made a run for it and were never heard from again.
Making matters worse, on October 10, 1772 the British abandoned Fort Pitt, selling the garrison to Alexander Ross and William Thompson for fifty pounds. The region was left without any sort of military protection or the deterring effect of having soldiers at the site.
Virginia was not about to back down from the Pennsylvania land rush. In 1773, John Murray the fourth Earl of Dunmore became the Governor of Virginia and traveled to Fort Pitt where he met Dr. John Connolly. Lord Dunmore, as Murray would be known, left it to Connolly to use whatever means necessary to extend Virginia's influence over the three-river area. To that end, on January 1, 1774 Connolly raised a militia. Eighty men showed up at Fort Pitt, shared a barrel of rum and declared their allegiance to the Virginia colony. Pennsylvania authorities were shocked and angered by the move. But, as had become their custom, they offered no resistance and instead wrote letters complaining about developments.
What followed was a campaign by Connolly and his posse of bodyguards of stirring up trouble, arresting Pennsylvania authorities and harassing Pennsylvania settlers. In letters back to Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania magistrates wrote that Connolly's men were "composed of armed men without character or fortune." If you complained about Connolly's action you were thrown in jail. Connolly went as far as to change the name of Fort Pitt to Fort Dunmore.
The situation nearly hit a boiling point when attention was suddenly diverted from the border battle to an all out war with the Indians. In 1773 three Indians, who were well known and friendly to the settlers, were senselessly murdered. The local tribes were outraged over the incident and vowed revenge. Needless to say, the settlers stopped worrying about their land and started fearing for their lives.
On April 30, 1774 the Indians struck hard, and the Virginia militia fought back sparking Lord Dunmore's War. The battles that ensued sent settlers fleeing for safety. Valentine Crawford, George Washington's agent was living on Jacob's Creek at the time. He wrote in a letter back to Washington on May 6, 1774 that, "This alarm has caused the people to move from over the Monongahela, off Chartier's and Raccoon creeks as fast as you ever saw them." Remember some of the Fredericks were living along Raccoon Creek. A letter from the about the same time reported that just the rumor of approaching Indians would send settlers into a panic.
The Fredericks and their friends were called to service to fight the Indians. Bockstruck writes on page 148 of his "Virginia's Colonial Soldiers" that in the "fall of 1774 Bosham Frederick & his future son-in-law John Conger both served under Major John Connelly.
In October 1774, Gwathmey writes in his "Historical Register of Virginia and the Revolution" that he presumes Bastian Frederick took part in a battle against the Shawnee Indians at Point Pleasant. This was the decisive battle in which the Virginians defeated the Indians under the command of Chief Cornstalk.
Virginia state archives show Bastian Frederick was compensated, or at least made claims for compensation, for supplies he provided for the war effort. In a listing of public service claims from West Augusta begun 12th September and ending 7th October 1775, and held at Fort Dunmore, Bastian Frederick is listed as being compensated on September 20, 1775 for supplying rye. This proves he was a farmer. Two days later Boston Frederick is listed as making another claim for unspecified provisions.
The long list of residents seeking payment for contributions includes some familiar names such as the Leathermans and Catts. Abraham and John Decker appear on September 14th to be paid for supplying cattle. On September 20th Michael Catt makes a claim for wagonage, proving the Catts were in the area in 1775.
And finally, on September 22nd when Bastian Frederick is making his second claim for provisions, another man by the name of George Rogers Clark is on hand making a claim for supplying corn. Clark must have been well known by those keeping records that day because he is the only entry that has his full name listed, rather than just his first and last name. Clark would later gain fame for defeating British forces in Vincennes, Indiana. This is an indication that Bastian Frederick likely knew Clark before the Fredericks and other families moved to the Indiana territory.
In 1775 Gwathmey writes that Bastian Frederick went to Fort Pitt to collect back pay for his service in the Virginia Militia. No details are provided so this could be just another reference to the compensation hearing from above.
The war would last for three months, and would be the final time that colonists would take up arms for the King. Dunmore's War was fought entirely by Virginia; Pennsylvania did not have a militia in the area. The war strengthened Virginia's claim to the region and won over many settlers who felt Pennsylvania was taxing them without offering any protection.
At the conclusion of the war attention returned to the battle over the border. Each state was so determined to keep its claim that there were two sets of laws, courts, magistrates, officers, assessors and commissioners over the same area. It is written that had it not been for the common enemy of the Indians, and then six months later the British in the Revolutionary War, that the border battle would have most certainly ended in bloodshed. The Fredericks were right in the thick of it.
On July 25, 1775, the colonists received a letter from the Pennsylvania and Virginia and delegates in Washington asking them to set aside the border dispute and join the fight for independence. The letter was signed by, among others, future presidents Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Harrison, along with Patrick Henry and Benjamin Franklin. Bastian Frederick and his sons answered the call to fight the British, more on that later.
All of this paints a much clearer picture of Bastian Frederick, John Conger and the other settlers who would stick together for years to come. With the border controversy no one could possibly feel safe about his land claims. As pioneer farmers they would have invested years of their lives clearing the land and preparing it to take crops, and yet they could lose it all at the swipe of a quill. They found themselves in a situation where Pennsylvania was charging more for land, levying higher taxes and offering less protection from the Indians. Virginia, on the other hand, seemed to have its act together. Instead of writing letters complaining about the Indians, the Virginians took action. If a settler wanted to keep his land he would be wise to align himself with John Connolly and the Virginia authorities. There is little doubt that this is what prompted Bastian Frederick to serve under Connolly and supply provisions to the war effort. You would have had to be a fool to show loyalty to anyone other than Lord Dunmore if you really wanted to stay.
With the arrival of the American Revolution Connolly took off for Boston to join the British in fighting the Americans. In 1775 Fort Dunmore was switched back to the name of Fort Pitt. While the war raged back east, the settlers in the three rivers area had their hands full with the Indians. In the winter of 1776 a concerned official in Williamsburg wrote the settlers "unless your people wisely improve this winter you may probably be destroyed. Prepare then to make resistance while you have time." 1777 would go down in history as one of the worst years for Indian attacks. The British had started a campaign of supplying Indians with weapons and provisions and offered them a bounty for American scalps. The goal was to split the American forces between fighting the Red Coats and the red man.
In 1779 land offices were once again established forcing Bastian Frederick and settlers -- who had been living on their land for more than 20 years -- to reapply for the rights to their claims. The border dispute was finally settled on August 28, 1780, however it would be several more years before the two colonies would reach an agreement over how the property disputes would be settled. Bastian Frederick, a man who had fought for Virginia, now found himself living in Pennsylvania and subject to that state's laws and more importantly its land records.
There is no doubt that the Fredericks served in the American Revolution. Pennsylvania Archives, Third Series, Vol. XXIII, Pages 198-220 lists Boston, Peter and Sebastian Frederick as members of Stockley's Rangers of the Washington County Rangers on the Frontier 1778-1783. According to the Pennsylvania State Archives Rangers were soldiers that served long periods of time on the frontier protecting against Indian attacks. 1783 is important, as after November of that year a soldier's service was no longer considered to be part of the Revolutionary War.
There are at least two other mentions for Bastian Frederick in the Pennsylvania Archives (PA Archives S. 2, Vol. 17 and S. 3 Vol. 23). These two mentions could have been pay vouchers, or some other trivial mention.
Indians captured some of Stockley's Rangers in November 1782, and did not release them until January 6, 1783. There is no mention that the Fredericks were ever taken captive by Indians. We can be certain that Bastian's son Sebastian was never captured. If the younger Frederick had been, it most certainly would have been a defining moment of his military career. There is no mention of any such incident when Sebastian's widow applied for a pension years later. Stockley's Rangers are also named as the group that participated in the massacre of Moravian Indians at Gnaddenhutten on March 8, 1782. The militia herded Indian men, women and children who had been converted to Christianity by Moravian missionaries into a church and bludgeoned them to death. There is no record of any of the Fredericks participating in this attack.
What's in a name?
The big mistake that has been made in researching the Revolutionary War service of Bastian and his son Sebastian has been a result of confusion over their names. Consider that it is only after his death that the Frederick family starts referring to Bastian as Sebastian and his son as Sebastian, Jr. Consider that in every 18th century record the elder Frederick is always listed as Bastian, Bostian or Boston and the son as Sebastian.
He was called Bastian Frederick in 1785 in regard to the settlements in Indiana. His own daughter was still calling him Bostian in 1820, more than thirty years after his death.
As a result of the confusion, when 20th century descendants have inquired about the elder Frederick's service in the Revolutionary War they have mistakenly asked for information on Sebastian Frederick when they should have been asking about Bastian Frederick. When you consider you are searching 18th century records it is obvious that the discrepancy is critical.
See for yourself.
A document dated August 9, 1967 from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Bureau of Archives and History states the following:
"This is to certify that one Sebastian Fredrick was enrolled sometime during the period 1780-1783 as a Sergeant, Captain Samuel Cunningham's First Company, Second Battalion, Washington County Militia, according to evidence of an undated Company Return. Signed William H. Work, Chief Division of Archives & Manuscripts. Residence ascribed: Peters Township."
Another document from the same state office confirms Sebastian Frederick's service under Cunningham, specifically in the summer of 1782. A letter dated May 21, 1969 states:
"This is to certify that, under the Militia Loan of 1 April 1784, a certificate of public debt, Number 2026, in the amount of £5.12.0, was issued in the name of Sebastian Frederick for a tour of active duty in the Washington County Militia, which he performed as a member of Captain Samuel Cuningham's Company during the period June 22 -July 23, 1782. Signed William H. Work, Chief Division of Archives & Manuscripts. Authority: Interest Register Volume A, page 68 Militia Loans of 1784 and 1785, "Public Debt," Records of the Comptroller General, at the Division of Archives and Manuscripts.
Both of these documents have in the past been cited as proof that the elder Frederick served in the Revolutionary War, however they could not be more wrong. These documents are clearly referring to "Sebastian Frederick" and in records from the 1700s "Sebastian Frederick" was the son not the father.
Bastian Frederick and his sons were not anywhere near Pennsylvania at this time. They were in the Indiana territory, showing up in a 1783 head count in Vincennes. Missing from the list is Sebastian. That is because he and his wife, Anna Maria Catt (b. about 1757), were living on land they owned seven miles up river on the banks of the Monongahela River at the site of what would eventually become Homestead, Pennsylvania. While her name was Anna she went by Mary and signed her name as such on court documents in later years.
Sebastian and Mary were married at Fort Pitt in 1778. It is likely that they were living on land from Bastian's original claim along the Monongahela, but moved on when the Frederick's failed to get the titles to the property. Sebastian and his wife relocated up the Monongahela several miles to where land was available. They are recognized as being the first settlers in Mifflin Township, settling in an area that would later become Homestead, Pennsylvania. Historical records for this area show that they settled on land that was just up river from his in-laws, the Catts, who had established homesteads eight miles below the mouth of the Cleat (Cheat) River on the Monongahela. It was about this time, on January 27, 1783, that Sebastian and Mary's third child, Philip, was born. The Reverend Johann Wilhelm Weber baptized the couple's first son on July 20, 1783.
Sebastian likely stayed waiting to be paid for his military service. Soldier's pay was often delayed for long periods of time, especially on the frontier. Many militia members returned home with no money, and only a slip of paper signed by a commanding officer. Under the act of April 1, 1784 (the same date as the record mentioned above) Pennsylvania compensated militiamen for their active service with certificates of the funded or militia debt. These bonds were eventually redeemed at face value once they matured. Many soldiers, desperate for money, sold their certificates at a steep discount.
In May of 1784 records show that Sebastian Frederick sold his land and "conveyed the tract to Matthew Hay." It seems Hay had money problems, so Sheriff David Williamson deeded the tract to Alexander Lowry. A 1788 map of Mifflin Township clearly shows the Frederick and then Lowery claim to the land. All the records list his name as Sebastian, not Bastian. It appears that Sebastian Frederick was the first of Bastian's sons to legally own land in America, as he is the first and only one of the Frederick men on record as selling his property in this area.
While Sebastian stayed behind, he did not stay long. The collection of his money for serving in the militia in April 1784 and then the sale of his land the very next month seems to indicate that Sebastian was pulling up stakes and moving on, most likely to Indiana. We know that Sebastian and Mary were in the Fort Pitt area up until May 16, 1784. On this date they served as sponsors at the baptism of Bastian Katz, the two-month-old son of Phillip and Magthalena Katz (Catt). The record of this baptism comes from German Church Records of Westmoreland County, PA: 1771-1791. The church records actually lists Sebastian's name as Bastian and Anna Maria's name as Maria. We know that this is about the time that Sebastian Frederick and the Catts, his in-laws, and several other families left for Indiana.
In addition to the previously mentioned records from the State of Pennsylvania, evidence that Sebastian Frederick served in the Revolutionary War comes from his wife Mary's application for a widow's pension. Her husband had died on October 9, 1827 in Pike County, Indiana. On February 15, 1839, 82 year old Mary (Catt) Frederick appeared before Judge James Hillman at the Circuit Court in Indiana. She told the court that she was the widow of Sebastian Frederick and that he deserved a pension as provided by an act of congress on July 4, 1836.
Mary Frederick said that her husband was a private in Captain Minter's militia in Pennsylvania and volunteered as a spy. She testified Sebastian entered the service at age 19, though that she did not know the exact dates of his service. She claimed that her husband served in a number of campaigns including helping to build Logstown under the command of General Gibson. She claimed that he served no less than two years during the war.
Mary got the support of her brother, 89-year-old Phillip "Scratch" Catt. He was already receiving a pension of $40 per year for his service in the war. On February 16, 1839 he testified that his brother-in-law was with him during a campaign against the Indians under General McIntosh. He claimed, though his memory was a little foggy, that Sebastian was a private under Captain Morgan and Col. Gibson. Catt also stated that he and Sebastian served as privates under Captain Jacob Tevebaugh.
Colonel Gibson (Gibson County, IN would later be named for him) took over control of the Seventh Virginia Regiment from Colonel William Crawford (he was later burned at the stake by Indians). When formed in 1775, the 7th was the first considerable body of men raised in the Monongahela country for service in the revolution. With formation of the 7th and later the 13th it was noted as being remarkable that such a sparse area could produce enough men for two full regiments that could be placed in the field by 1777. This is not so surprising since, as was mentioned earlier, the Virginia Militia had already been formed and battletested in Lord Dunmore's War.
On June 30, 1842 Michael Thorn testified on Frederick's behalf stating that he had witnessed Sebastian and Anna Maria Catt's wedding. Thorn stated that he recalled Sebastian serving at Fort Pitt and Redstone prior to 1783.
For three years the elderly Mary Frederick fought to receive the pension she felt she was due. Despite the evidence and eyewitness accounts, the court denied the request for a pension on the grounds that Sebastian had not served the required six months. Mary died without ever receiving a schilling for her husband's service.
Descendents of Sebastian Frederick feel, with good reason, that the court ruling was an injustice. However, it is really not that great of a surprise as the entire process of applying for war pensions was stacked against the families. Pension hearings for Revolutionary War veterans were not made available until after 1820 some 37 years after the end of the war. Hearings for widows of veterans were not allowed until the Act of 1838, a whopping 55 years after the war! In these hearings the testimony of family members carried little weight, while testimony of independent eyewitnesses was essential. Can you imagine how difficult this must have been for families to build a legitimate case, so long after the fact when so many potential witnesses had either died or become to frail to testify. The system appears to have been designed so that the veterans, witnesses and their widows would die before the government would ever have to pay up. If the government did grant a pension, recipients would be so elderly that payments would only last a short period of time before they died.
There is also evidence in addition to that presented of Peter Frederick's service in the war. The Pennsylvania State Archives has a Revolutionary War card for Peter stating that he served as a private in the Washington County Militia, Certificate 545 and paid £5.5.0. The source for this information comes from Public Debt Records of the Comptroller General, Militia Loan of April 1, 1784 and March 30, 1785, and Register Vol. A, page 17.
Then there is Jacob Frederick. While we do not know how he is connected to the family, if at all, we do know that he served with Stockley's Rangers. The Friends of Fort Laurens list Jacob Frederick on their Web site as having served at that outpost while with the 13th Virginia. Fort Laurens was located near Bolivar, Ohio and was an important outpost in the march to push back the Indians and boot the British out of Detroit. Mr. Robling has uncovered pension papers for Jacob Frederick that indicates he spent time in Germantown, PA before moving to Washington County. That is a thin thread that could link Bastian back to Germantown if in fact the two men are related.
The Daughters of the American Revolution list four Revolutionary War patriots from Pennsylvania named Frederick including Peter (dob 1/10/1750…dod 9/25/1814), Thomas (dob 2/1751…5/3/1808 m. Anne M. Tibbens), Nicholas (dod 6/27/1824 m. Catherine) and finally Bastian. To be accurate a search also needs to be done on patriots named Frederick from Virginia.
While we do not know the exact date that Sebastian's father, Bastian Frederick, headed west, we can narrow it down to a couple of years. We know that Bastian signed a petition in Pennsylvania in 1781, and we know that he shows up in the Vincennes, Indiana head count in 1783.
There is no shortage of reasons why he, and a large group of other families, may have decided to head west to Indiana.
The most likely theory is that they lost the land that they had settled. There are several accounts that the Fredericks were squatters, living on the land without ever owning or paying taxes on it. The dispute between Pennsylvania and Virginia over control of the territory made a mess of everything. Unfortunately for them they had sided with Virginia during the border controversy, and that had to be a big strike against them when Pennsylvania authorities considered their claims. Another problem was that they were asking for land in 400-acre blocks when at the time land was only being offered 300 acres at a time.
The Fredericks had another problem on their hand in the commanding officer of Fort Pitt, Colonel Brodhead. The settlers in the area were outraged over the conditions of martial law that Brodhead had imposed on citizens. It was about this time that settlers around Fort Pitt decided that they had had enough. In April 1781 they sent a letter to the President and Supreme executive council of the state of Pennsylvania saying as much. "All of us have contended for the cause of America, and are willing to lay down our lives in the field but not to have our Liberty, our property our lives suspended on the will of a Commanding Officer and a court martial." Twelve men signed this petition.
The next letter to Pennsylvania's top brass was more to the point and much more threatening. In this correspondence the settlers accuse Broadhead and the Assistant to the Deputy quartermaster David Duncan of exceeding their authority, monopolizing trade, stealing public money and allowing the fort to crumble.
"Thus with arms in our hands, defending our natural rights, your petitioners unhappily find themselves under a Tyranny far more unsupportable than that which they have successfully resisted…"
"There has been unfortunately implanted in our breasts, doubts, fears, suspicions and jealoucies (sic) the natural production of Tyranny and despotism."
"Patriotism will here find Friends and publick (sic) good may depend on being supported with our lives and fortunes."
410 men including Boston Frederick, his son Sebastian and his son in law John Small signed the petition. Also on the list you will find Jacob Twebough (Tevebough), Luck (Luke) Decker and Jacob Bausman. When you consider the sheer number of women and children represented by the men, these heads of households, you get a very clear indication of just how unpopular Colonel Brodhead really was.
Brodhead did not seem to be much happier. In numerous letters back to his commanding officers in Philadelphia he writes about the terrible conditions. His troops had no food; no clothes and soldiers were walking away. Brodhead writes of facing the possibility of taking food by force from nearby residents. He also writes that he fears the impoverished conditions had made the fort vulnerable to Indians, and British troops based out of Detroit.
Brodhead's letters give a good picture of the circumstances the Fredericks and other families were facing. In a July 31, 1779 letter to George Washington Brodhead writes that so many men, women and children have been attacked that, "The inhabitants are so intent on going to the Kentuck and Falls of Ohio, I fear I shall have few volunteers."
In another letter to Washington on March 8, 1780 he writes, "Last Sunday they (Indians) killed five men at a sugar camp on Raccoon Creek and prisoner three boys and three girls." Peter Frederick had made a land claim along Raccoon Creek and Bastian lived nearby. While there is no evidence that the Fredericks had a sugar camp in Pennsylvania, they were without a doubt tapping trees for sugar years later.
Brodhead later writes in a 1780 letter that between forty and fifty settlers had been killed or kidnapped in the months of March and April.
By 1781 Fort Pitt was a heap of ruins with Brodhead in command of just 200 ill fed, poorly equipped and unorganized men. The civil government was in chaos as a result of the border dispute. The "History of Allegheny County" states, "Hence there was a restlessness, bordering on insubordination, prevailing in many parts of the county, and a desire on the part of some to emigrate into the wilderness, beyond the Ohio and form a new state.
In March of 1781 Washington County was formed, bringing the center of government and the taxman closer than ever. The population at the time was 23,866.
In October 1781 the Revolutionary War ends.
The settlers finally got their revenge when a power struggle between Brodhead and Colonel Gibson resulted in Brodhead being placed on trial for extravagant use or waste of public stores.
Western Pennsylvania and the area around Fort Pitt was a mess.
There is no evidence that the Fredericks were ever granted titles to the land that they had lived on and farmed for so many years. There is nothing to indicate they ever paid taxes or sold the property when they departed. It is not clear whether they were forced to leave, or left on their own. It is clear that losing their land was the reason why they decided to move on.
While no one can possibly know for certain when they first found out about it, there is little doubt that the Fredericks had heard a lot about a former French outpost 420 miles away in the southwest territory called Vincennes.
This remote village was originally a French fort and trading outpost that was taken over by the British and renamed Fort Sackville. The British troops were forced out, or maybe a better way to say it is "faked" out, in February 1779 when George Rogers Clark tricked the English commander into thinking the fort was surrounded by more than 500 soldiers. In reality Clark was leading a band of 200 men, exhausted by a frigid march all the way from Cahokia, Illinois. Clark's victories at Vincennes, Cahokia and Kaskakia removed the British threat from territories west to the Mississippi River. This was big news back east and most certainly at Fort Pitt where Clark had spent a considerable amount of time.
They probably heard about it from Bastian's son-in-law, Major John Small (he married Bastian's Daughter Anna), who was in Vincennes between 1780 and 1782. Letters in the Draper's Collection, Vol. 14 by Lyman C. Draper list Small's request of George Rogers Clark in help with dealing with the Indians.
John Conger, a man who served with Bastian Frederick under Major John Connelly in 1774, was a scout for George Rogers Clark and had made a trip to deliver Clark's seal to Vincennes. Conger was in the southwestern Indiana community as early as 1778.
Exactly when the Fredericks arrived in Indiana is unclear. A listing of men and boys at Post Vincennes in 1783 lists Boston and Lewis Frederick. Also listed are Lewis Frederick, Jr. (Most likely Bastian's grandson, but not Lewis' son) and two boys named Phillip and Peter Frederick. It is not clear whose children these were. There is also a man named Frederick Frederick who may or may not be another of Bastian's sons.
Other sources list a large group of families, including the Fredericks as applying for land grants in the area in 1784. This is also the year listed in two separate petitions that were signed by members of the Frederick family. At Mary (Catt) Frederick's pension hearing, her brother Phillip Catt testified that Sebastian and Mary had arrived in Indiana in 1784. Yet another source, a listing of members of the Vincennes Militia, suggests both Sebastian and Lewis as having arrived in 1785.
It may have been even earlier than that. Consider that the 1860 census lists a Peter Frederick in Clay Township or Pike County, the area that the Fredericks settled. This could be Lewis' or Peter's son and Bastian's grandson. The census lists Peter as having been born in Indiana. If the census is accurate, and often times they were not, that could place the Fredericks in Indiana by 1781. You could assume that because of his age Peter Frederick would have been home when the census enumerator stopped by, and that he would know better than anyone else where he was born. Contradicting evidence turns up however in an old family bible owned by Emma Traylor that notes that Lewis' son Peter and his wife Catherine were both born in Virginia.
There is always the possibility that Bastian and other family members may have been in Vincennes more than once or arrived separately before settling in for good.
Exactly how the Fredericks and other families got to Vincennes is another mystery. They could have traveled by flatboat down the Ohio River. This was the route George Rogers Clark had previously used to take some settlers farther west.
Another possibility is that they could have traveled by land. The Tuscarawas Trail, or the Great Trail as it is sometimes called, was an Indian trace that extended from western Pennsylvania, near Bastian Frederick's settlement and then into eastern Ohio. One branch went north toward the Great Lakes, however a southern route extended into southwest Indiana toward Vincennes. The Fredericks were likely familiar with the trail. Before the Fredericks left Pennsylvania, several Indian battles occurred along the trail involving General McIntosh, whom we know Sebastian had served under. Colonel Bouquet also led many successful campaigns against the Indians along this trail. The massacre of Moravian Indians by Stockley's Rangers happened in Gnaddenhutten, which sits right along the trail.
Regardless of whether they traveled by river or by land the trip was extremely treacherous. Despite numerous treaties recognizing the transition of ownership from the British to the Americans, the Ohio Indians in the area around what would later be Cincinnati terrorized settlers passing through the region.
Not everyone in Bastian's family made the trip west. Bastian's daughter Anna Catherine married John Small (German name Schmahl). The couple had children born in the 1770s and they lived in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. John Small (b. 1747 York County, PA - d.1819 Beaver County, PA) served as a Major during the American Revolution. He and his sons (Sebastian and Frederick) owned a considerable amount of land just west of Traverse Creek, where they lived their entire lives. Another of their sons, Jacob, makes an appearance in Indiana years later.
Among the early settlers who joined Bastian Frederick in making the trip to the Indiana territory were his old friend Jonathan Conger, Phillip Catt, George Catt, Mary (Frederick) Glass, Louis (Lewis) Frederick and Peter Frederick. Mary (Frederick) Glass was Bastian's daughter and was married to John Glass, a man from New Jersey.
In 1778 there were 621 residents in Vincennes. In nine years the population more than doubled to 1,300 and included approximately 900 French and 400 Americans.
If the Fredericks thought they were leaving property disputes and the threat of violence from Indians behind in Pennsylvania, they could not have been more wrong. The word Indiana, after all, means land of Indians.
The Fredericks and other settlers arrived Knox County, in the territory of the United States northwest of the Ohio at the encouragement of Colonel Jean Marie Phillipe LeGras, the magistrate in Vincennes. A Frenchman and long time resident in the community, LeGras told the families that they were welcome to settle on vacant land wherever they could find
- Alternate Surname Spelling: Friethrick
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Abt 1740 - 1787 (47 years) 
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