Anna (1759-1829) and Agnes (Est1755/1775-?)

Comments by Martha Miller

ANNA SHUCK. The Banta Genealogy page 95 states, "Daniel Banta married Anna Shuck, widow of Peter Duree, who was born Nov. 2, 1759 and died June 10, 1829." This Daniel was a brother of Cornelius Banta who married Magdelena Shuck Duree, widow of Peter's brother, Henry Duree. Peter Duree was killed by Indians in March 1781 (Low Dutch Company history, pages 16-17). These Banta and Duree connections with the Shucks are circumstantial evidence that the widow Anna Duree 's maiden name was Shuck. The Conewago baptisms for Peter and Anna Duree's two children are inconclusive evidence. Both baptisms (1775 and 1778) spell her maiden name as "Seever." Perhaps the most compelling circumstantial evidence is that Daniel Banta and Anna Duree were married in Lincoln Co. on the same day (June 5, 1784) that his nephew, Henry Banta, married Sarah Shuck. Squire R.H. Shuck in his 1903 memorandum mentioned only two of his aunts (not three) as married to Bantas -- and it is clear the two Bantas were Cornelius and Henry (he calls Henry Peter, but states he lived in Bourbon Co.). If this widow Anna Duree was a daughter of Andrew Shuck, then she was for some reason left out of her father's will. The Hannah Batess named in the will is occasionally interpreted as Hannah (Anna) Banta, but this ignores her recorded marriage (see #9 above). There might be some conflict with Anna Banta's Nov. 2, 1759 birth date and Mathias Shuck's 1759 birth date. The descendants of Peter Duree and Daniel Banta are given in the Banta Genealogy under # 504 and 492. There really was an Anna Seever. There was no Anna Shuck in the line of Andrew Shuck.

AGNES SHUCK. According to the Banta Genealogy page 94, "Cornelius Banta married first, Magdelena Shuck, widow of Samuel [Henry] Duree; second, her sister Agnes Shuck; and third, a widow, Nancy Van Nice, who survived him. His first two wives were sisters of William Shuck, who married Mary Banta; another sister, Sally, married Henry Banta." If this Agnes Shuck existed, then she was for some reason left out of her father's will (Cornelius' first wife was still living in 1803). Futhermore, I have never noted any other record of the Cornelius Banta - Agnes Shuck marriage.

Subsequent Information and Comments

"Anna"

The evidence and concensus seems to be that this was Anna Seever.

1. The Banta Genealogy, in another section on page 61, shows the children of 163 WYNTIE4 BANTA who married Aug. 5, 1774 to Samuel Durie. These children include the following:

   504--PETRUS DURIE,5 b. July 13, 1754, m. Antie Seever.
   
                ISSUE.  Baptized at Conewago.
   
        1561--SAMUEL DURIE,6 bp. June 15, 1775.
        1562--WYNTIE DURIE,6 bp. Jan. 14, 1778.
   
   

   Thus, TMB provides the ammunition for his self-contradiction vis a vis page 95.

2. FS-IGI online 05DEC1999 has following records. These are apparently user-submissions, not extractions of original, primary records. I have not checked these to determine or verify any underlying primary source(s).

    "Annie SEEVER Birth 2 Nov 1759 New Jersey Marriage Daniel BANTA Batch number
   F600440 Sheet: 87 Source Call No. 1553694"  This is apparently a
   user-submission of some kind, not an original records extraction.
   
     "Anna SEEVER Birth: 2 Nov 1759 Of, Conewago,Adams,Pennsylvania; Marriage:
   Petrus Durie; Batch number: 5027594 Sheet 41 Source Call No. 1553870"  This
   is apparently a user-submission of some kind, not an original records
   extraction.
   

3. Those Conewago Baptism records of children are: FS-IGI online 18NOV1999 - All user-submitted entries. A bunch of others also show up (I did not copy) which show her as "Anntie" or "Antie" Seever (Strange since PA - Conewago Dutch Reformed Church, Straban Twp., Adams Co., PA have been extracted in FS Batch C510761 but do not show any surname Duree/variants. Christening records 1769-1793 Source Call No.: 00200338)

    "Samuel Duree Christening: 18 Jun 1775 Conewago, Adams [Co.], Pennsylvania;
   Parents: Father: Petrus Durie; Mother: Anna Seever;  Batch number: 5027594,
   Sheet: 41; Source Call No. 1553870"
   
    "Wyntie Duree Christening: 14 Jan 1778 Conewago, Adams [Co.], Pennsylvania;
   Parents: Father: Petrus Durie; Mother: Anna Seever;  Batch number: 5027162,
   Sheet: 36; Source Call No. 1553840"
   
    "Wyntie Duree Birth:  5 Dec 1777 Of, Salem,Adams,Indiana; Parents: Father:
   Petres Durie; Mother: Anna Seever;  Batch number: 5027649, Sheet: 11; Source
   Call No. 1553870"  Since this has the birth place all screwed up, this is in
   doubt.
   

4. There is an IGI entry, apparently user-submitted (i.e. not original record extraction) that shows: "Petrus DURIE Marriage Anna SEEVER Abt 1774 Of, Conewago, Adams, Pennsylvania Batch number 5027594 Sheet 41 Source Call No. 1553870" I have not checked the underlying source. However, since it doesn't give an exact date, probably not compelling.
5. Mathias Shuck was Andrew's first son and in his Revolutionary War Pension Application papers stated he was born in 1759 in New Jersey but couldn't remember the month.
6. The "Conewago" mentioned is at Adams Co., Pennsylvania and was the location of a colony of Low Dutch settlers before their move the Henry/Shelby Co. KY. Adams Co. formed in 1800 from York Co.
7. If a child of Peter Duree and Anna was baptized in 1775 and if she (i.e. "Anna Shuck" as reported by Banta) were born in 1759 (November 2), that means she would have been married at 15 or 16. Don't know where he got the date of 2 November 1759.
8. There is has been no evidence that Andrew Shuck or his children were at Conewago.
9. Boyle County, Kentucky, Cemetery Records, 1792-1992; Boyle County [Kentucky] Genealogical Association, Compilers; Danville, Kentucky; 1992; McDowell Publications, Utica KY, printers. shows the following buried at Nield Cemetery (page 179). These may be related to the Conewago "Seever"'s. (Boyle was separated from Lincoln County in 1842; Danville is in Boyle.)

   
   SEVIER, William                           b ca     1761 d        1825
   SEVIER, Elizabeth                         b 20 FEB 1774 d 04 FEB 1856
      wife of William Sevier
   SEVIER, Sarah                             b 20 JAN 1814 d 04 AUG 1847
      consort of *Taylor Sevier*
   
   

"Agnes"

The "Agnes Shuck" which T.M. Banta refers to is probably Agnes Durie, whom Cornelius Banta married 10 July 1825 at Washington Co., Indiana. Since Cornelius Banta would have been older (between 65 and 75), it is presumed Agnes would have been older (50+) and this would have been a second marriage for her as well. However, no record of a first marriage has (yet) been found.

1. The full passage from T.M. Banta, pg. 95: is:
   "491. CORNELIUS5 BANTA married first, Magdalena Shuck, widow of Samuel Duree; second, her sister Agnes Shuck; and third, a widow, Nancy Van Nice, who survived him. His first two wifes were sisters of William Shuck, who married 1446 Mary Banta; another sister, Sally, married 1439 Henry Banta. He was in the Revolutionary War. He owned a large farm covering the present site of Pleasureville, Henry County, Kentucky, and lived there until his son, Peter W., removed to Indiana and settled about four miles from Madison, when he followed him, and lived for a short time near Canaan. He died about 1835."

2. The above Madison, Indiana is in Jefferson County; Canaan, Indiana is in Jefferson County. Jefferson is one county east of Washington (separated by Scott Co.); Jefferson borders Ripley, Switzerland, Jennings and Scott Co.

3. A marriage record for Cornelius Banta and an Agnes Durie was found among the following sources:

    Indiana Marriages to 1850 online:
    "BANTA CORNELIUS  DURES AGNES  WASHINGTON  7-10-1825"
   
    Ancestry.com Marriages--Indiana to 1850:
    "Banta, Cornelius married Duree, Agnes on Jul 10 1825 in Washington County,
     Indiana"
   

4. It appears the above was the Agnes TMB was referring to. However, Cornelius would have been rather old in 1825: at least 60, possibly as old as 75. I have found nothing to indicate whether Duree was a married name name of Agnes, but given her likely age to match with Cornelius, that is likely.

5. T.M. Banta - Index pg. 387 has no mention of any Agnes Duree/Durie. This adds weight to the conclusion that the above 1825 marriage of Agnes Duree was to THIS Cornelius Banta (TMB# 491). (Still not absolutely, positively proven that this Agnes Duree could NOT have been Shuck as TMB claimed.)

6. T.M. Banta attributes all children to first wife (Magdalena Shuck). There is, however, a problem with this. The few birth dates of the children reported by Banta range from 1772 to 1804 -- a range of 32 years! Apparently, this has not been questioned. The 1772 birth is Jacob; the next date reported for the birth of a child is is 1783. I am guessing that Jacob's birth probably should be 1782 or 1792. Also, Jacob's wife Phebe Fallis' birth date is shown by TMB as 4 April 1793; their marriage 1810.

7. FS-AF online 15NOV1999 gives Cornelius' death as 15 Dec 1827 @ Canaan, Jefferson Co., IN. Does not give any children. Naturally, no source of the data is shown.

8. AIS Census Indices at Ancestry.com show:
   • In 1820 a "Cornelius Bonta" in census Jefferson Co. IN pg. 292
   • In 1830 a "Cornelius Bontee" in census Washington County IN pg. 326

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