A SHORT HISTORY OF THE FISCUS FAMILY
by Thomas J. Rider

The name Fiscus although German in origin, has a possible Latin source, as the Latin word Fiscus pertains to money. This may mean that the family name was introduced into Germany by a member of one of Caesar's legions in his conquest of Gaul at the time of Christ. Perhaps one of the Roman soldiers fell in love with a Germanic maiden and decided to cast his lot with her people. Unfortunately, the true origin of the name will be
forever lost in antiquity.

The immigrant ancestors of the Fiscus family of America were born in a region of southern Germany called Palatine in the little village of Ober Saulheims. There were three Fiscuses who came to America originally, two named Garret [Gerhardt?] and one named Frederick.

The Palatine at that time was being devastated by French and German armies that were continually marching back and forth across it destroying everything in sight. For this and also religious reasons, these three German peasants decided to make the long hard journey to the new American Colonies so that they might find peace. In the spring of the year 1743 Garret Sr. and Frederick Fiscus and their families booked passage on one of the many boats sailing up the Rhine River to Holland, where they would be able to board a ship bound for America.

The journey took several weeks and much of their money was gone when they reached Rotterdam, Holland. For those Palatine Germans going to America it was usually necessary to obtain a sponsor who would pay the cost of passage across the Atlantic. In return the German peasants agreed to work off the cost of the passage upon arrival in Philadelphia. Such a sponsor was obtained by Frederick and Garret Fiscus and they booked passage on the ship "Loyal Judith" James Cowey, Master. From Rotterdam, Holland they sailed across the English Channel to Cowes, England where final preparations were made for the long voyage to America.

Sometime in the early summer of 1743 the long journey was begun. We have no record of it, but it is safe to say that it must have been very long and difficult, for in those days of sailing ships, favorable winds were not always present and the ship might drift for days without wind. The quarters were cramped and many died of disease or even hunger before the ship arrived in America.

What a welcome sight it must have been to Frederick and Garret Fiscus when at last the blue line of the horizon was broken by land and they first set eyes on America. On the 2nd day of September in the year 1743 our ancestors set foot on the pier at Philadelphia. It was necessary for them to sign their names in the record kept for immigrants, and these names are still preserved to this day in the archives of the State of Pennsylvania. The record appears: Garret II (his mark) Fiscus, age 48; Frederick Fiscus, age 36; endorsed September 2, 1743.

And then they were alone in unfamiliar surroundings. Frederick and Garret of course, had to work off the cost of their passage and no doubt begin immediately to do so. Records state that they settled at German town, then a suburb of Philadelphia. From this time on, no record can be found to tell us what became of Garret Fiscus. He may have died very soon after arrival.

On October 8. 1744 another Garret Fiscus arrived in Philadelphia, took up residence at Germantown and
became a tailor. He was ancestor of the family in Pennsylvania and his children were John Charles, Abraham, and Barbara. Garret died in the year 1797 in Westmoreland County and was buried there.

After working off the cost of his Atlantic passage, Frederick Fiscus moved from Germantown to a farm in Lancaster County and settled in the Conestoga Township. This was about the year 1747.

Little has been said up to now about his family, so the following is a record up to the year 1750, (added later Johann) Frederick Fiscus was born in 1707. His wife Elisabeth (added later Anna Elizabetha Schwind) was born about the same time (2-14-1703 added later). Their children were Anna Cunigunda, Eleanora Margaretha, Maria, Barbara, Elisabeth, and Jacob Frederick, the last being born in Pennsylvania, the former in Germany.

In the year 1750, Elisabeth Fiscus, wife of Frederick, passed away and was buried in Lancaster County. We do not know what ended her life at so early an age, but her death left Frederick with three small children to care for.

Seeking better farm land and less crowded conditions, Frederick Fiscus sold his farm in Lancaster County and moved across the border into Frederick County, Maryland along the Susquehanna River. On November 5, 1752 his oldest daughter Anna was married to Michael Houser [Hauser] and it is supposed that the two families then lived together.

In November of 1753, hearing of the fine land far to the south in North Carolina, the Houser and Fiscus families sold their land in Frederick County and followed the mountains down into North Carolina where they settled on the Yadkin River in what was then Rowan County and is now Forsyth County. Soon after their arrival Frederick Fiscus again took a wife, her name was Eva Maria (latter added Arney), but we have no record of her maiden name. In 1759 they purchased the land they were living on and the last two children were born there. John Adam born September 25, 1759 and Eva Maria, born August 19, 1762.

Due to frequent Indian attacks, it was necessary to seek refuge at Bethabarba, a town which was being built as a Moravian Church Settlement. Upon staying there several members of the family joined the Moravian Church and it is for this reason that we have such a complete record of the early history of the family. The Moravians are very good record keepers and their records are complete from 1759-1958 in the Moravian Archives at Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

In the year 1763 new land was purchased about two miles west of Bethania in Rowan County on Muddy Creek and here Frederick Fiscus lived out the final years of his life, a much loved and respected elder of the Moravian Church. In the winter of 1771-1772 he became very ill and it was evident that he would not recover. Om the 13th day of January 1772 his last will and testament was made and signed. He lingered but a week longer and in the evening of the 19th day of January he died quietly in his sleep and was buried in the Shore Graveyard west of Bethania. The original Fiscus had died, but he left two sons to carry on his name.

The family remained intact, as Frederick Sr. had provided in his will that his eldest son Jacob Frederick was to care for his stepmother and half brother and sister. In the year 1771 Jacob Frederick was married to Magdalene Smith Shore, a widow whose husband John Shore had died in 1770. She had several small children and they were adopted by her husband’s brother. One infant son, Jacob Shore, was raised with the Fiscus family, however. Five children were born to Frederick and Magdalene Fiscus: Anne Catherine b. Feb. 11, 1778; John Adam b. Nov 15, 1775; Maria Barbara b. Feb 11, 1778; Elisabeth b. July 19, 1780; and John Frederick b. Nov. 19 1783.

The burden on young Frederick’s shoulders must have been great, but he kept the family together and soon his half brother and sister were able to shift for themselves.

Having no family obligations, young John Adam Fiscus (born 9-25-1759 added later), a boy of only 19 years, enlisted in August of 1778 in a company of militia under Capt. Henry Smith in a regiment under Col. Francis Locke, the whole service under General Rutherford. And thus, Adam Fiscus took his squirrel rifle and went to war.

The company that young Adam was in marched south into South Carolina in the fall of 1778 to a place called Purysburg on the Savannah River where they spent the winter. Early in March of 1779 they were ordered into action and engaged the British in the Battle of Brier Creek [see Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Brier_Creek], but were driven back into the swamps. The little army reformed however, and marched to a place on the Savannah River called Two sisters, went into preparation for a further campaign, and awaited orders. Adam’s eight month enlistment ended in April of 1779, however, and he returned to his home in Surry County.

Having no sooner reached home, young Adam answered the call of his neighbor to the South, Daniel Boone, and went with him into Kentucky in the spring of 1779. In Kentucky and became a member of Boone’s famous Kentucky Riflemen and marched into Ohio with Boone where they were placed under the command of General George Rogers Clarke. They commended Boone on his fine little army and it is written that they were the backbone of colonial resistance in the west. They began to attack Indian strongholds in Ohio, the Indians being led by the notorious Simon Gerty. In August 1780 they made a surprise attack on the Indians at Pickaway [also known as Piqua] [see Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Piqua] on the Big Miami River and destroyed their village.

There is a tradition in the family that Adam Fiscus was with George Rogers Clarke at Vincennes, but this is not stated in his war record, so the truth of this is not known.

In November of 1780 Adam Fiscus was discharged and he went back to North Carolina and in February 1781 he joined a company under Capt. Kinmens in a general army commanded by General Nathan Greene, whom it is said Adam Fiscus remembered well in his later years.

On March 15, 1781 the armies of General Greene engaged those of General Cornwallis at the battle of Guilford Courthouse [see Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Guilford_Court_House]. It is written that it was a clear cold March day and the continentals stood and watched the advancing wave of red coats for several hours before they did battle. The battle was hard fought and the continentals forced to withdraw, but the losses inflicted on Cornwallis were so great that it led to his final defeat at Yorktown. After the battle Adam Fiscus returned to Wilmington, N.C. where he remained until the battle of Yorktown October 19, 1781.

And so as only a boy of 22 Adam Fiscus returned to the hills of Surry County. His sister Eve had married another war veteran, Jacob Hilsabeck and they became the ancestors of the Hilsabeck family in North Carolina, Indiana and Iowa. The old mother of Adam and Eve, Eva Maria Fiscus, now made her home with the Hilsabecks, and did so until her death on February 23, 1786 of a bad growth on the head, which was probably cancer.

Sometime in the year 1782 Adam Fiscus was united in marriage to Elisabeth Spainhower (latter added Elizabeth Spaenhauer], a daughter of Warner and Elisabeth Lohner Spainhower. She was born in Pennsylvania in 1761 and came to North Carolina in 1763. To Adam and Elisabeth Fiscus were six children: Elisabeth b. Aug 14, 1783: Frederick b. Jan. 7 1785; Jacob b. 1787; Susannah b. 1789; Peter b. 1792 and Henry (latter added Heinrich) b. 1798. About the year 1785 Adam Fiscus purchased land on the Little Yadkin River near the present day town of King, North Carolina in Stokes County. He farmed there from 1785 until 1814 and as each of his children married, he gave them part of his original land to farm. (Elisabeth married John Fulk; Frederick married Magdalene (later added Anna) Arney; Jacob married Polly Moser . . . he was in the war of 1812; Susannah married Andrew Fulk; Peter married Hannah Filbert (later added Phillbert) and Henry (later added Heinrich) married Mary . . . (latter add edArney?)

In the meantime, Jacob Frederick Fiscus, Adam’s half brother, had continued to live on his farm two miles west of Bethania. He had lost his wife Magdalene about 1805 and his daughter Elisabeth June 23, 1816. His other four children were married. (Catherine married Jacob Bonn; John Frederick married Margaret George.

In the year 1814 Adam Fiscus sold his land in Stokes County and with his wife and sons Peter and Henry he followed trail into Kentucky, into Indiana where he purchased land in Jackson Township, Washington County. His half brother Jacob Frederick followed him in 1819, having remarried to Rebecca Arney in 1817. The rest of the Fiscus family went to Indiana around 1823. John Adam Fiscus Jr., son of Jacob Frederick did not move to Washington County but went to Owen County along with Henry Arney Sr., Henry Arney Jr., and Hieronymous Speas. John Adam Fiscus Jr. died in Owen County November 8, 1864. His sons were named Henry Fiscus, Jacob, John, Abraham, Daniel and John A. Fiscus. [Did John die young?]

In April of 1830, Jacob Frederick Fiscus passed away i n Washington County and was buried there.

In 1834, Elisabeth, wife of Adam Fiscus died, and Adam, along with his son Peter sold his land in Washington County and moved to Owen County. He lived out the remainder of his days there and died February 4, 1839 at the age of 79. He had lived a full rich like and had been a pioneer, soldier, and loving father. He was the last living child of the immigrant ancestor, Frederick Fiscus.

By the year 1840, all of the Fiscus family had moved to Owen County and settled inJefferson Township, near the town of Arney. All six grandsons of the immigrant ancestor were living there in 1845: John Adam Fiscus 1775-1864;John Frederick 1783-1872; Frederick Fiscus 1785-185?; Jacob Fiscus 1787-184?; Peter Fiscus d. 1870 and Henry Fiscus 1798-1867. The last to pass from this earth was John Frederick Fiscus who died in 1872 at the age of 89.

[Note in the original some names were underlined. Instead I underlined direct ancestors of my wife Debbie]