Week 9 - Multiples - Imel Brothers

March 04, 2021

Week 9: Multiples – Imel Brothers

This is the story of five Imel brothers: Henry, Thomas, Jacob, Joseph and Peter, during and after the Revolutionary War

All five brothers were born in Hesse-Cassel, Germany and orphaned in 1764.

All five were conscripted into the Hessian Army, forced into service fighting for the British as German mercenaries. When they landed in New York in 1776, they were aged 20, 19, 16, 14 and 12.

All five switched sides going AWOL from the Hessian Army in 1776 to enlist in George Washington’s Continental Army. General Washington promised any Hessian who changed sides 70 acres of land after the war and about 5,000 of the 30,000 conscripts took him up on his offer.

Hessian Soldier

There are many details lost to history but Henry, Thomas, Jacob, Joseph, and Peter all made it to America on British ships of war. Unfortunately, Thomas died of unknown causes in 1776 but the other four brothers survived Hessian service and United States service through the end of the war in 1783 and went on to marry and raise large families.

Henry Imel, my wife’s 5^th Great Grandfather, married Margaret Disher in 1778 in Fredrick, Maryland. Henry and Margaret had nine children between the years 1780 and 1792. She lived to age 85 dying in 1841. He lived to age 92 dying in 1849. Both passed away in Fayette County in southwestern Pennsylvania. Today mention of Henry Imel and his descendents can be found in more than 1,000 member family trees on Ancestry.com.

What happened to the other four boys?

Thomas, as mentioned, died shortly after arrival in New York in 1776. During the Revolutionary War more soldiers died of disease than combat, but we don’t know what the cause of death was for this young 19 year old. I suspect if he had died in battle that would have been part of the family story that we would know today.

Jacob was living in Lancaster Pennsylvania by 1790. He married Catherine in 1802. She also was an immigrant from Hesse, Germany. Jacob and Catherine had nine children between 1803 and 1818. Jacob lived to the age of 70, passing away in Center Township, Beaver, Pennsylvania in 1830. Catherine lived to the amazing age of 100 and had lived in Miami, Ohio with her son Andrew and his family until he died in 1860. She passed away the following year.

Joseph was living in Washington County, Maryland in 1790. The Census shows 1 male and 1 female. By the 1800 Federal Census he was living in Upper Antietam, also in Washington County, not far from Frederick, Maryland and the Potomac River. The 1800 Census shows Joseph as 38, and lists 3 males under 10, 1 male between 16-25, 1 female under 10 and 1 female 16-25. There are no names listed but it seems Joseph had at least four children under 10. Joseph died four decades later in 1839 in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, the same county where his older brother Henry lived with his family.

Peter, the youngest brother, was listed as a drummer boy in the Hessian Army and also for General Daniel Morgan’s Virginia Riflemen in the Continental Army. Peter married a widow and plantation owner from Rockingham County, Virginia in 1787. Her name was Susannah Kirkwood Puhl and they were married in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Frederick, Maryland. By the 1790 Federal Census, Peter and Susannah were living in Northern Liberties, Philadelphia. Their first three children were born in Frederick County, Maryland; the remaining ten children were born in Rockingham County, Virginia. By 1820 the family was in Wayne County, Indiana. Susannah died before 1830. Peter went on to live with a son in Shelby, Indiana where he died at age 84 in 1849. As an aside, three of Peter’s sons, Henry, George and Thomas served during the War of 1812.

The remaining four brothers after Thomas’ death in 1776 went on to have at least thirty four children. There are now several thousand Imel descendents spread all over the United States. Today, the largest number of Imel families in America are concentrated in Pennsylvania, California and Kansas.

Talk about multiples!