Gene Dear found several Revolutionary War pension applications for members of the Germanna community. Several were rich in genealogical information. One of these notes, W4107 , relates to the Ziegler/Ziglar family. [A member of this family is the current Sergeant of Arms in the US Senate.] Information previously published in the Germanna Records was brief and also in error.
The immigrant Johann Leonhart Ziegler came through Philadelphia in 1732 and moved on to Virginia, where he married Barbara Zimmerman. Leonard (I) died at a young age (46) and his will, probated in 1757, mentions children Christopher, Leonard (II), Elizabeth, Ann, and Susanna. Leonard (II) died young also (in 1772), and his will, not mentioning children, leaves all of his estate to his wife Ann.
The pension application adds considerable information to this. The application was made on behalf of Leonard Ziglar (or his widow), who was born 2 Jul 1762 and died 10 Aug 1849. This Leonard, the third in the sequence, married Nancy Zimmerman (b. 3 Jan 1766), the daughter of John. In 1789, Leonard moved to Surry Co., North Carolina, to a part which became Stokes Co., in 1789, and became and Forsyth Co., in 1849. He and Nancy Zimmerman had fourteen children:
Elizabeth (b. 1786),
John,
Anna,
Christopher,
William,
Leonard (IV),
Susanna,
Mary,
Reuben,
Michael,
Zimmerman,
James,
Daniel, and
Benjamin.The latter two died before their father did.
In 1851, the following lived in Forsyth Co., NC:
Elizabeth Ziglar, b. ca 1765, sister of Leonard III,
James Ziglar, b. ca 1771, cousin of Leonard III,
Susanna (Zimmerman) Ziglar, b. ca 1776, wife of James, and sister of Nancy Ziglar, wife of Leonard III.
Thus it appears that Leonard II had at least two children, Elizabeth, who never married, and Leonard III.
In compiling this information, some information was received from Kathy Sullivan, whose husband is a descendant of Leonard IV.
Leonard I had two sons, Christopher and Leonard II. Christopher had a son, James (above), and Elizabeth, who married Reuben Zimmerman. Leonard II had two children, Elizabeth and Leonard III, both of whom are mentioned above. There was a Leanna, who married Elisha Thomas, in 1788, who might be assigned to either Christopher or Leonard II.
North Carolina would be the starting point for further research on the Ziglar family. I would not advise starting out until I had a good road map showing who the players were. With all of those Ziglars and Zimmermans, one could get confused.
(17 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.