The next Rev. War soldier seems to have left no descendants. Daniel Delph, who was born about 1749, give or take a few years, was a son of Conrad Delph and Magdalena Castler. The basis of a claim for Rev. War service is Gwathmey's " Historical Register of Virginians in the Revolution ".
That Daniel did exist is shown by the church records. He signed the 1776 petition at the German Lutheran Church, which asked for relief from supporting the state church. He appears to have been confirmed 27 Mar 1777, but this date is probably in error as he would not have been a signer until he was a member of the church (confirmed). He was a sponsor at church at the baptism of some of his nephews and nieces in '71, '75 (twice), and '76 (twice). But aside from these church records, there is no civil record in Culpeper County.
Maybe a reader can comment on the basis for inclusion in Gwathmey's work. Did he use Muster Lists of Virginia military units?
Daniel had a brother, David, for whom there are no civil records either. David is a name in the church register also, once in 1772, as a sponsor. One wonders if we have a pair of brothers that went to war and never returned. Or did they migrate?
The family of Conrad Delph is known. There were seven sons who were born before the war long enough to have been eligible for the 1781 draft, as represented by the Culpeper Classes. How many of the names appear there? The sons are Adam, Michael, Samuel, Henry, George Conrad, Mathias, Daniel, and David, in the apparent sequence of their ages. The three names in the Culpeper Classes are George, Henry, and Mathias. Adam, Michael, and Samuel (the oldest three but not older than 50) do not appear in the Classes. This is one of the reasons for saying that the Classes was not an exhaustive list of the men 16 to 50 years of age in Culpeper County. Too many names are missing without any known reason that they might be exempted.
The name seems to be most commonly spelled Delp in both the church and civil records at about the time of the Revolution.
A Daniel Delph who married Anna Millbank in Madison Co., in 1796, was the son of George Conrad Delph.
(08 Mar 01)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.