John VANSANDT 1791-1847

Hi Joe,

Attached is my Payne descendant database, compiled to the best of my ability (at this time). Hopefully there are few to no errors within, but gratefully accept corrections from those better informed. I included notes on Zadok Payne written by a man who knew the family well. On an historical note, Zadok's wife was sister to John Vansandt, an abolitionist whose exploits are well documented and who was a prototype for a character in "Uncle Tom's Cabin". For edification abt him, I include an attachment. Saves me from typing since I'm far from proficient.

Thanks for trying to enlighten me on DNA results and please, feel free to email anytime. ONE MORE question for you: can Sam Payne's DNA sample be upgraded by FTDNA considering it was originally tested by another firm?

Thanks for your help.

Teddy trbrock@woh.rr.com - January 4, 2007

Generation No. 1

1. John VANSANDT, born 23 September 1791 in Kentucky; died 25 May 1847 in Hamilton Co., Ohio. He was the son of Elisha VANSANDT and Mary Margaret CRAWFORD. He married (1) Nancy NORTHCOTT 16 June 1814 in Fleming Co., Kentucky. She was born 31 March 1798 in Kentucky, and died 06 May 1837 in Hamilton Co., Ohio. She was the daughter of Benjamin NORTHCOTT//NORTHCUTT and Jane ARMSTRONG. He married (2) Nancy "Mercy" BOWEN 17 April 1838. She was born Abt. 1808 in Maysville, Mason Co., Kentucky, and died 18 July 1871 in Putnam Co., Indiana.

Notes for John VANSANDT:

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[ inscribed on tombstone of John VanSandt ]

BORN SEPTEMBER 23, 1791

FLEMING COUNTY, Kentucky

DIED MAY 25, 1847

PIERPOINT, HAMILTON COUNTY, Ohio

"IN HIM CHRISTIANITY HAD A LIVING WITNESS. HE SAW GOD AS HIS FATHER AND RECEIVED EVERY MAN AS A BROTHER. THE CAUSE OF THE POOR, THE WIDOW, THE ORPHAN, AND THE OPPRESSED WAS HIS CAUSE. HE FED, CLOTHED, SHELTERED, AND GUARDED THEM. HE WAS THE EYES TO THE BLIND AND FEET TO THE LAME. HE WAS A TENDER FATHER, A DEVOTED HUSBAND AND A FRIEND TO ALL. HE WAS WHAT IS HERE DESCRIBED BECAUSE HE WAS A CHRISTIAN PHILANTHROPIST, WHO PRACTICED WHAT HE BELIEVED, AND WHO THUS LIVED PRACTICING HIS FAITH"

OVERVIEW:

THE BEGINNING OF THE 1800's found that the United States had increased in size by 885,000 square miles with the purchase, by President Thomas Jefferson, of the Louisiana Territory in 1803 and the Lewis & Clark Exploration to the Pacific Ocean, thus moving the boundaries of our country further West and opening up more migration to the West. This time frame also created more states with the inherited problem of Slave States and Free States. Abolitionists, in United States history, was a term pertaining to people from about 1835 to the close of the Civil war that were extreme opponents of Slavery, distinguished from persons of moderate Antislavery opinions, to the extremists who denied the validity of any laws which recognized Slavery as an Institution; thus they refused to obey the Fugitive Slave Laws....extremists such as John Brown, who was hanged for freeing slaves by force and those who organized and operated Underground Railroads. Such was the case of our ancestor, JOHN VANSANDT .... perhaps not the most likeable situation to be in, but in his lifetime, he stood for what he believed to be right and justifiable.

John VanSandt was born in Fleming County, KY on Sept. 23, 1791 and was the son of Elisha and Margaret (CRAWFORD) VanSandt. He was married twice. His first wife, Nancy Northcott, bore him eleven children. They were married June 16, 1814. His second wife, Nancy 'Mercy' Bowen bore him four children. They were married on Apr. 17, 1838. John VanSandt died on May 25,1847 at Pierpoint, in Hamilton County, Ohio.

The VanSandt name holds a place of honor among those who believe in freedom for all people for John VanSandt was the actual prototype "JOHN VAN TROMPE", a character in Harriet Beecher Stowe's book, UNCLE TOM'S CABIN. Like John VanSandt, Van Trompe, who appears in chapter IX of the book, had made his home a haven for runaway slaves en route to Canada. He takes in Eliza and her child and risks all to get her safely on her way.

The real John VanSandt was once a slave owner in Kentucky, but he was troubled by his belief that slavery was morally wrong and that "ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL" applied to all humanity. He gave his slaves their liberty, sold his plantation and moved to Hamilton County, Ohio. He purchased a home known as Mt. Pierpoint. There he gave protective shelter and care to any in need.

In this period of the early 1800's, it was not safe to be an Abolitionist. But John could not have lived with his conscience had he not tried to help the Black People find freedom and equality.

The critical point in his life came on Saturday, Apr. 23, 1842. He was on his way to Cincinnati with a load of farm produce. Having disposed of it, he drove to the home of Mr. Moore on Walnut Hills, where he stayed until early Sunday morning. While he was hitching his horses to the wagon he discovered eight blacks standing in the shadows of the nearby trees. They were running away to Canada. John invited them to get into the wagon. He fastened the curtains securely, gave the reins to one of the Blacks, a lad named Andrew, and proceeded northward.

Among his neighbors were many friends of the institution of slavery. They knew there were rewards for capturing runaway slaves. They were suspicious of John VanSandt's actions. Two of them, named Margraves and Hefferman, were awakened that Sunday morning to the sound of VanSandt's wagon being rapidly driven down the road. The two men mounted their horses and started after him.

They overtook John and his passengers near Bates, a small town southwest of Lebanon, Ohio. Van Sandt was captured and seven of the Blacks were returned to their owner. Only the young driver escaped. John was arrested, imprisoned, and fined $1200.

Salmon P. Chase, later Chief Justice of the United States, and Thomas Morris, were John's lawyers. But it was clear that the defendant had broken the law as it then existed and nothing could be done to help him.

The case was appealed by Chase, and contested until it finally reached the Supreme Court of the U.S. Chase now was assisted by the Hon. Wm. H.Seward. The law's delays continued with the final settlement of the case not coming until January 1847 when Justice Woodbury confirmed the ruling of the Circuit Court. Before the execution was issued, VanSandt had passed beyond earthly jurisdiction and appeared before the higher Tribunal of Heaven, dying in May 1847.

It was said that no stronghold of the Abolitionists was better known through the South than John VanSandt's Mt. Pierpoint. The kindness and bravery of the owner led many a slave to seek refuge there.

On a rainy night in June, 1843, an Attorney was returning from Cincinnati with a team attached to a hay wagon. Two young Blacks, a boy and a girl, asked if they might ride. The driver suspected they were trying to reach VanSandt's underground railroad station.

Finally Mt. Pierpoint loomed up in the distance and the lad impulsively exclaimed "There it is !". They dismounted and started towards the house on the hill. "I have no doubt they met with a hospitable reception at the home of John VanSandt", he later wrote.

In September 1893, BIXBY'S Magazine had a multiple page article on "A SKETCH OF JOHN VAN SANDT " (VOL VIII), which concluded:

"The costs of the case were now enormous. His Administrators compromised and paid off the Judgement and costs, a procedure that caused Mt. Pierpoint to be sold, and scattered the family to various states. VANSANDT was buried in the THE OLD SALEM CHURCHYARD, within sight of his home.

"Time made its ravages in the little churchyard at Salem and with a view to better preserving his remains, VAN SANDT and his wife, NANCY were removed to the cemetery at Cumminsville, the original epitaph on the tombstone being preserved."

[***The above data was taken from THE VAN ZANDTS IN AMERICA webpage at: http://home.pacifier.com/~vansandt/john.html***]

[NOTE: June 2002...Locating John Vansandt's final resting place was no easy task. I contacted anyone and everyone whom I thought might pinpoint the location of a cemetery known over a century ago as "Cumminsville". Thru many emails and trips into Hamilton county to search possible sites, my efforts were finally rewarded when I located his marker in the Wesleyan cemetery near Cincinnati, Ohio. Sad to say, the choice of Wesleyan, in retrospect, is dubious due to the controversy and lawsuits which have arisen because of neglect and theft of $93,000 from the cemetery endowment fund. The Trustee, Robert Merkle, has been found guilty and sentenced to 18 months in prison. Anyone having an interest in the Wesleyan Cmty. should visit their website at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~ohhamcem/main1.html

The site, created by Sherri Hall, is beautifully designed and chocked full of information..... Teddy Brock]

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In 1853 Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a 500 page follow-up book to UNCLE TOM'S CABIN titled "THE KEY TO UNCLE TOM'S CABIN"....a book designed to validate the incidents and characters in the original book as having their basis in fact & real life people. In seeking documentation to prove, for myself, that Mrs. Stowe had indeed patterned her character of John Van Trompe after my ancestor, John Vansandt, I knew the answer I sought may just reside within the pages of that book. Luckily, I was able to obtain it thru Inter-Library loan and found confirmation on page 36 of Chapter V., titled "Eliza".

EXCERPT and quote by Harriet Beecher Stowe: "They drove about 10 miles on a solitary road, crossed the creek at a very dangerous fording, and presented themselves, at midnight, at the house of John Van Zandt, a noble-minded Kentuckian, who had performed the good deed which the author, in her story, ascribes to Van Trompe."

I no longer will feel so timid when telling the story of this worthy citizen and humanitarian who just happened to become one of the characters, introduced as John Van Trompe in chapter 9, pp. 92 & 93, in the immortal works known as "Uncle Tom's Cabin".

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