Let's look at Phillip Chelf in the records of the German Lutheran Church (now called Hebron) in Culpeper County, Virginia. He appears in the first Communion List (after 28 October 1775, but before 25 December of that year) as "Philipp Jelf wife Barbara". The couple appear on other occasions, always together, until 2 September 1792. That is her last appearance, though he appears alone in 1794, 1796, and 1798. He is not listed in 1794 as a widower, so perhaps Barbara was ill or unable to attend. Most probably, though, she had died between 1792 and 1794.
Phillip and Barbara were the parents of children, but none of them appear in the Baptismal Register. I believe that both Phillip and Barbara had children from previous marriages. Certainly Barbara did, as they are recorded in the Baptismal Register. Assuming that Phillip and Barbara were approximately of the same age, than it would be likely that he would have been a father when he married Barbara.
I think we have a clue as to one of these children in the Baptismal and Communion Lists. When Daniel Boehme and his wife Nancy had Johannes baptized 1779, one of the sponsors was Philipp Schelpf, whom I believe was her (Nancy's) father. Another sponsor was Johannes Jaeger, who would have been her step-uncle if Nancy were the daughter of Phillip. At a baptism of Susanna in 1777 (parents were Daniel Boehme and Nancy), one of the sponsors was Delila (Clore) Breil, who would have been a step-sister to Nancy. Thus, Nancy is closely tied to the family of Phillip and Barbara Chelf.
Looking at the Communion Lists for appearances of Daniel Boehme and his wife Nancy, we find that the first appearance of Nancy was in 1783, even though Daniel had appeared on five occasions prior to this. They had been married prior to this, for their children first appeared in 1777. This is a case of Baptism and Confirmation after marriage, a not unusual occurrence.
Thus, we might draw the following conclusions. Phillip Chelf was a Baptized and Confirmed Lutheran, for he participated in the Lutheran Communion Services. At this time in the German Lutheran Church in the Robinson River Valley, only Confirmed Lutherans could participate. (This is why no German Reformed people appear in the Communion Lists.) Apparently, though, he did not believe in baptizing his children, for none of the children of Phillip and Barbara Chelf appear in the Baptismal Register. Also, the apparent children of Phillip by a previous marriage were not baptized. Though this seems strange to us, there are many mysteries concerning Phillip Chelf. We do not know the usual German spelling of his name, nor where he came from. There is a hint that he was in the Shenandoah Valley before he came to the Robinson River Valley.
(18 Nov 05)
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.