Weaver family (North Carolina) explained

Weaver
Native Name:	Pennsylvania Dutch Weber
Native Name Lang:	German
Origin:	Dutch Republic
Country:	United States
Region:	Weaverville, North Carolina
Founder:	Unknown German linen weaver and refugee from the Holy Roman Empire

The Weaver family of North Carolina is a locally prominent Pennsylvania Dutch family that founded Weaverville along Reems Creek in North Carolina.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Origins

The progenitor of the family was an unknown linen weaver, surnamed Weber, that fled from the Holy Roman Empire to the United Provinces of the Netherlands due to religious persecution, likely because he was a member of the Reformed church. He married a Dutch woman and fathered John, Frederick, and two other sons in the Netherlands.

John Weaver (1763–1830) was a German-Dutch settler, immigrant, and Revolutionary War veteran who came to the Province of Pennsylvania from the United Provinces in the 18th century with his 3 brothers. Eventually, John would settle in the Reems Creek valley in North Carolina, where his son, Montraville Weaver (1808–1882) would found the town of Weaverville.^{[4] [5] [6] [7]}

Per the Family Tree DNA Weaver DNA Project, the family has the Y-DNA haplogroup J-FTC77280, originating in the Balkans.https://www.familytreedna.com/public/weaver?iframe=ycolorized

History

Initial settlement

John Weaver maintained friendly relations with the local Cherokee in the valley and built an Indigenous-style house, before purchasing 320 acres of land to construct a European log cabin as his family's permanent residence.^{[8] [9]}

Slavery and the Civil War

John's son, Montraville, became a slaveholder.^[10] Despite the vast majority of Germans in the Antebellum South not using slaves and many being generally opposed to the practice, there was a minority of German slaveholders located primarily in the Shenandoah Valley and other parts of the region.^[11]

As a slaveholding family, many members of the Weaver family fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War, such as Captain Elbert Weaver (1841–1935), who was Montraville's first son, and Private Abraham Weaver (1832–1913), who deserted in northern Georgia after his unit was slaughtered during Wheeler's October 1863 Raid. Abraham was the grandson of Frederick Weaver (1750–1839), John Weaver's brother, Revolutionary War veteran, and slaveholder in Sullivan County, Tennessee.^{[12] [13] [14]}

Weaver College

Weaver College, founded in 1851 as Weaverville College, was a co-educational Methodist academy located in Weaverville. It was founded on land gifted by the town's founder, Montraville Weaver, and operated from 1873 to 1934 before being merged with Rutherford College to form modern-day Brevard College.^{[15] [16]}

Members

• Richard Malcolm Weaver Jr (1910–1963) – University of Chicago professor of English and political philosopher^[17]
• Zebulon Weaver (1872–1948) – North Carolina congressman^[18]
• William Trotter Weaver (1858–1916) – President of the National Bank of Asheville and businessman who brought electricity to western North Carolina^{[19] [20]}
• Lieutenant Colonel James Thomas Weaver (1828–1864) – Commander of the 60th North Carolina Infantry Regiment killed during the Battle of Murfreesboro^{[21] [22]}
• Frederick Weaver (1750–1839) – Revolutionary War veteran who fought at the Battle of King's Mountain,^[23] who was married to his wife by Samuel Doak, a prominent Presbyterian reverend and abolitionist.
• Colonel Charles Owen Hobough – Retired NASA astronaut descended from Frederick Weaver (1750–1839)
• Command Master Sergeant David Weaver y Pérez (1970 –) – Command chief of Osan Air Base in South Korea,^[24] descended from Confederate deserter Abraham Weaver (1832–1913)

Sources

1. Web site: Neufeld . Rob . Visiting Our Past: There will be peace in the valley, Beech shows . 2024-06-08 . The Asheville Citizen Times . en-US.
2. Web site: Weaver, Zebulon NCpedia . 2024-06-08 . www.ncpedia.org.
3. Book: Weaver, Pearl M. . The Tribe of Jacob: The Descendants of the Reverend Jacob Weaver of Reems Creek, North Carolina, 1786-1868 . 1962 . Higginson Book Company . 9780740469220 . 1–5 . en.
4. Web site: 2015-09-23 . Wandering Weaverville: Main Street in the Countryside . 2024-06-08 . Explore Asheville . en-us.
5. Web site: Biffle Researchers: History of Rims Creek Valley, North Carolina . 2024-06-08 . biffle.org.
6. Book: Jackson . Tim W. . Weaverville . Jackson . Taryn Chase . 2015-09-14 . Arcadia Publishing . 978-1-4396-5318-0 . 9 . en.
7. Book: Arthur, John Preston . Western North Carolina: A History (1730-1913) . 1914 . Edwards & Broughton Printing Company . 9781570720628 . 154–159 . en.
8. Web site: Families . Filed under . 2013-05-31 . Weaver, John . 2024-06-08 . OBCGS . en-US.
9. Book: Allen, Martha Norburn . Asheville and Land of the Sky . 1960 . Heritage House . 55 . en.
10. Web site: Slavery in the Reems Creek Valley NC Historic Sites . 2024-06-08 . historicsites.nc.gov . en.
11. Barkin . Kenneth . 2008 . Kamphoefner . Walter . Helbich . Wolfgang . Vogel . Susan Carter . Gerstäcker . Friedrich . Di Maio . Irene S. . Ordinary Germans, Slavery, and the U.S. Civil War . The Journal of African American History . 93 . 1 . 70–79 . 10.1086/JAAHv93n1p70 . 20064257 . 1548-1867.
12. Web site: Newsome . Kaye Allen . Brittain . Jan . 2019 . A Personal History of Salem United Methodist Church: This Place is Holy . 8 June 2024 . Salem UMC Weaverville.
13. Book: Taylor, Oliver . Historic Sullivan: A History of Sullivan County, Tennessee, with Brief Biographies of the Makers of History . 1909 . King printing Company . 978-0-7222-4854-6 . 178,226 . en.
14. Book: Sullivan Co, TN - Veterans . 2002-11-02 . Turner Publishing Company . 978-1-56311-774-9 . 66 . en.
15. Web site: Weaver College NCpedia . 2024-06-08 . www.ncpedia.org.
16. Book: Price, Richard Nye . Holston Methodism: From Its Origin to the Present Time . 1908 . Publishing House of the M.E. Church, South, Smith & Lamar, agents . 9781018679501 . 409–411 . en.
17. Web site: Weaver, Richard Malcolm, Jr. NCpedia . 2024-06-08 . www.ncpedia.org.
18. Web site: Weaver, Zebulon NCpedia . 2024-06-08 . www.ncpedia.org.
19. Web site: Weaver, William Trotter NCpedia . 2024-06-08 . www.ncpedia.org.
20. Book: Ashe, Samuel A'Court . Biographical History of North Carolina from Colonial Times to the Present . C. L. Van Noppen . 1907 . 9780795048227 . 501–503 . en.
21. Web site: Battle Unit Details – The Civil War (U.S. National Park Service) . 2024-06-08 . www.nps.gov . en.
22. Web site: Bubenik . Christo . 2023-08-17 . Park Views: W. T. Weaver Park . 2024-06-08 . The City of Asheville . en-US.
23. Web site: 1855 . Pension application of Frederick Weaver . 8 June 2024 . Southern Campaigns Revolutionary War Pension Statements & Rosters.
24. Web site: 2023-03-21 . SecAF visits Osan Air Base . 2024-06-08 . Pacific Air Forces . en-US.