JOHN RUDOLPH WAYMIRE
Born Johan Ludolph Weymeyer in Hanover, Germany (called Prussia)
in 1725, the son of John Valentine (Johan Voltine Weymeyer). Hanover lies
west of Berlin in the Uplands.
Since 1701 the country had been ruled by the House of Hohenzollern,
who called themselves the "Kings of Prussia." Frederick William I had
created a military state and by 1740, when his son Frederick II (called
"Frederick the Great") took over, they had made Prussia one of the strongest
military powers in Europe.
John Rudolph grew to be a tall man with great physical strength. He
served his mandatory enlistment in the army of Frederick II and afterwards,
he was kept on by the King as a personal bodyguard. The physical
requirements to become a bodyguard were a minimum height of 6'6" and
minimum weight of 225+ lbs, but he qualified easily.
He showed such courage and executive abilities that the King made him
governor of one of the provinces they had seized in a battle. But this
relationship deteriorated when he began refusing to follow orders that he
didn't agree with, and for speaking out in public about his complaints.
Sometime after he began military service, he joined the Society of Fgriends
(Quakers) whose beliefs were against andy type of military actions whatever.
He began speaking against the military policies of the country and was warned
to keep quiet. He was finally charged with insubordination and put in prison
for 30 days, but as soon as he was released he began publicly criticizing things
again, saying that people weren't being treated fairly, and that he intended to
leave the country if things didn't change. His comments got him imprisoned
for a second time. This time he evidently learned that if he wanted to stay
alive, he had to keep his opinions to himself. He served another 30 days, and
while in jail, quietly started making plans to leave Prussia and take his family
to AMERICA.
In the summer of 1753, at the age of 28, he boareded "The Leathley" at
Hamburg. He took his wife and two small children, his parents, and two
sisters. He signed the boarding list for himself and his father. Unfortunately
the names of women and children weren't required, so we don't know the first
names of his mother and sisters. His daughters Eleanor Melinda, 4 and
Rosannah, 2, are most likely the ones who journeyed with him. A third
daughter, Elizabeth, was born July 12, probably on board ship during the
three month trip, but only two children were on the passenger list when he
boarded.
On the 3 he voyage, his mother became very ill. She died on the ship and
was buried at sea.
When they landed in Philadepphia on September 19, 1753, his two sisters
somehow separated from the family in all the confusion of leaving the ship,
and although he searched and searched, he would never see them or hear from
them again. The separation from his own country, the loss of his sisters and
his mother's death haunted him forever, and he suffered from terrible
nightmares and visions.
After living here ashort time, he changed his name from Johan Ludolph
Weymeyer to the more acceptable John Rudolph Waymire. His father
changed his name from Johan Voltine Weyermeyer to John Valentine
Waymire. They settled in Pennsylvania and began farming, but the ocean
journey, the loss of his family, and the rough life here was too much for his
father, who died in 1757, only 4 years after arriving.
John Rudolph took his wife and children and moved to Guilford County
(now called Randolph Co.) North Carolina, and settled on the Uwharie River.
Although the river valleys in North Carolina were fertile, they were narrow
and flooded often. The land outside the river valleys was rocky and the ground
filled with clay. Farming was difficult, but John continued there for many
years. Altogether, he and his wife had 8 children: 7 daughters and 1 son. We
are descended from their daughter Eleanor Malinda Waymire, who married
Jacob Fouts. Their descendants still hold Fouts-Waymire Family Reunions in
Richmond, Indiana.
It isn't known when his 1st wife died, but sometime around 1775 at the
age of about 50, he married for the second time, to Elizabeth "Molly" Louck.
He started another family and had 7 sons. His last son, Solomon Waymire,
was born when John Rudolph was 66! Surprisingly for those times, all 15 of
his children grew to be adults, all married and all had children, remarkable
for those times. (Must have been God's promised blessings for the
descendants of a righteous man!)
In July of 1801 he wrote his will, and he died sometime between July and
November, when his estate went into probate, naming his wife "Molly" and
children. He was 76 years old.
Eventually the land in North Carolina wasn't producing enough crops, so
after his death, his children began moving away to the "New Land" called
Ohio. The soil was richer, and because the Waymires were Quakers, they
wanted to live somewhere where slavery wasn't tolerated. By 1808, 50 years
after John Rudolph came to North Carolina, his children had all oved to Ohio.
Some stayed there, others moved farther and farther west.
A special THANKS goes to Margo McBride a descendant through her great-great-great-great grandmother Eleanore Malinda Waymire who married Jacob Fouts. Margo wrote the above biography from her Genealogy research, and sent me a copy. Research: *Broderbund Family Archive #17, Ed 1, Birth Records: United/Europe, Birth Records, CD #100, Tombstone Inscriptions in Wayne Co., Indiana; Rowan Co. N.C. Genealogical Society. Books and Publications: John Rudolph Waymire, 1925, Dr. William M. Reser
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