This text is taken from the start of John W. Summy's book, "The Descendants of Hans Michael Sumi - Solomon Summy Branch." I have done some minor editing, mainly involving the indentation, and fixing some problems with numbering. I have included the details shown in the book that concern the Summy family in America as a whole, and my specific line, the "Hans Michael" but not the "Solomon" line. Specifics about Solomon's family make up the bulk of the book and those have been omitted in this excerpt. If you want to comment by email you can write to Frank Deis at deis@rci.rutgers.edu, or contact John W. Summy directly.
John W. Summy can be reached at 717-832-3182. His address is:
John W. Summy
117 W. Spruce St.
Palmyra PA 17078
1. Hans Peter(1) SUMI, Sr. [PIONEER] was born 3 Oct 1675 at Lauenen, Canton Bern, Switzerland. He was the son of Caspar SUMI and Anna ANNEN. Hans Peter, Sr. died before 1750 at or near Groffdale, Lancaster Co., PA. He married Maria Magdalena HALDY 30 Oct 1705 at Berg in Lothringen, Alsace, France. She was born about 1685 at Lauenen, Canton Bern, Switzerland. Maria died after 1749 at or near Groffdale, Lancaster Co., PA, and was buried at the Mennonite Cemetery, Groffdale, PA.
2. I. Maria Magdalena SUMI b. 19 Dec. 1706 d. 3. ii. Hans Jacob SUMI b. about 1711 d. Feb 1762 4. iii. Hans Peter SUMI, Jr. b. about 1713 d. 30 Aug 1787 5. iv. Otto Frederick SUMI b. about 1718 d. before 1790 6. v. Hans Michael SUMI b. about 1722 d. before 1790 7. vi. Johannes SUMI b. 25 May 1723 d. after 1790 8. vii. Johann Rudolph SUMI b. Jul 1725 d. 20 Jun 1727 9. viii. Gorg Andreas SUMI b. 11 Dec 1728 d. 19 Dec. 1728
Hans Peter was the son of Caspar Sumi from Saanen, Switzerland. Tradition has the family exiled from Canton Aargau and migrating to Offenburg in Middle Baden, then to Northern Alsace where Peter was a herdsman near Rexingen. It was there that he married in the Lutheran Church. There is no record as to when he converted to the "Anabaptists" or "Mennonites". Obviously it was after his marriage, possibly while they lived in Holland. In their travels and migrations they could accumulate little property and they apparently had to work at whatever the nobility provided.
Tradition says that when Alsace was ceded to France, they migrated to Holland and from there he came to America in 1733 with his wife, Maria, and family. He was the earliest known minister at the Groffdale Mennonite Church in Earl Township, Lancaster County, PA after the departure of Hans Rudolph Nagele about 1735.
The known records of Maria Haldy Sumi are in the ship arrivals in Colonial Recordds; as a sponsor for Hans Michael Sumi's daughter, Magdalena, at Tulpehocken Church in 1749; in son, Hans Jacob Sumi's will; and in the marriage records in northern Alsace at the Diedendorf Reformed Church. (The location is now Berg-sur-Moselle in France - Zip 57570 Cattenom.) [Source: Annette Burgert "Eighteenth Century Emigrants from the Northern Alsace"] On the passenger records she is shown as age 58 but those records were notoriously inaccurate as to ages and from the ages of her children it appears she was much younger.
He was known only as Jacob in America and took over the plantation of his wife and added considerable land to it during his lifetime. His will is filed in Book X, Vol. 2, Page 11 in Lancaster County, Pa. and was probated 7 Feb 1762. In it he says that "it is my will that they shall not drive away my mother as long as she liveth". Obviously his mother was living when he wrote the will in 1761.
The only mention of his life is in several tax records and in a visit by some Moravian missionaries who reported that "he was not at all interested in their message." History records that he was buried at the Groffdale Mennonite Church.
Barbara was the widow of John Jacob Bear. She had three girls to her first marriage and inherited his plantation. In 1759 she and her daughters signed over all land rights to her husband, Jacob Summy. History records that she was buried at the Groffdale Mennonite Church.
Peter was a member of the German Reformed Church in Berks Co., PA from 1735 to 1755. He placed an ad in a Germantown (German) newspaper in 1761 which possibly means that he was selling the land he owned in Jackson Twp, Lebanon Co. and/or had not yet migrated to North Carolina. The first records of him in North Carolina are Land Grants in Tryon/Lincoln County in 1765. His will (1787) is on file in Lincoln Co., NC. New information, in 1994, indicates that they may have lived in Frederick Co., MD for a time before going on to Lincoln Co., NC.
There is no information on him after that date but apparently he had a very large family. Many of the PIONEERS did not register their land, but merely "squatted" on unoccupied areas. It is believed that Frederick was one of these, both in Pennsylvania and in North Carolina. The problems arose later when SOMEONE took claim to it and registered their claim with the authorities.
It is no known if "Mar" was a shortening of his wife's middle name or if it was her last name. There were some Mahre/Maurer families nearby.
The descendants of Hans Michael(2) SUMI
(about 1722 - before 1790)
6. Hans Michael(2) SUMI [M] (1.Peter, Sr.(1)) was born about 1722 at Alsace (now France). Michael died before 1790 at Rowan Co., now Davidson Co., NC. He married Barbara MERCKEL about 1745. She was born about 1725 at Berks or Lancaster Co., PA. Barbara died in North Carolina.
10. i. Eve Barbara SUMMI c. 7 Nov 1746 11. ii. Peter SUMEY b. about 1748 12. iii. Magdalena SUMMI c. 11 Jun 1749 13. iv. Anna Margaretha SUMI b. 9 Apr 1751 14. v. Michael SUMEY b. about 1754 15. vi. John SUMEY b. about 1760 16. vii. William SUMMY
Known only as Michael in America. He was in Pennsylvania until 1758 or later. It is thought that he moved to the Yadkin River Valley in Rowan (now Davidson) County, North Carolina. His sons had land in what is now the Uwharrie National Forest which covers parts of Davidson, Randolph, and Montgomery Counties in North Carolina.
Barbara Mercklin and Michael Summi are shown as the parents of Eve Barbara Summi at her baptism, 7 Nov 1746, at Seltenreich Reformed Church in Lancaster County, PA. This is the only known record of her. There are Merkley and Merckey families in Lancaster & Berks Counties, Pa., but no record of a Mercklin family.
It was a German custom to add "in" to the names of females. Some day it may be possible to identify her family. There is an old will in Berks County, PA which lists Barbara Summy as a legatee, but it does not identify her family name.
10. Eve Barbara(3) SUMMI [MB] (6.Michael(2), 1.Peter, Sr.(1)) was christened 7 Nov 1746 at Seltenreich Reformed Church, Lanc. Co., PA. Source: Baptismal records at Seltenreich Reformed Church, Lancaster Co., PA
11. Peter(3) SUMEY [MP] (6.Michael(2), 1.Peter, Sr.(1)) was born about 1748 at Lanc (Lebanon) Co., PA. Peter died at Rowan Co., (now Davidson), NC, and was buried at Rowan Co., NC. He married Elizabeth (SUMEY) about 1767. She was born about 1749 at Lancaster Co., PA.
17. i. Jacob SUMMY b. 29 Oct 1769 d. 30 Oct 1838 18. ii. Peter SUMEY b. about 1771 d. 19. iii. Frederick SUMEY, Sr. b. about 1775 d. 31 Jan 1850 20. iv. John SUMY b. about 1776 21. v. George SUMEY b. 17 Aug 1777 d. 5 Sep 1855 22. vi. Michael SUMY b. about 1784
Source: No records of Peter were found in PA, but father, Michael, was a taxable in Lancaster Co., PA in 1759 so it is assumed he was born there. Peter Sumy's will, dated 23 Jul 1804, is filed in Book D, P 36, Rowan Co., NC. It is believed that this Peter was probably the oldest son of Pioneer Hans Michael Sumi. It was often the custom to name the first son after the paternal grandfather. See 1790 and 1800 Census of Salisbury Dist, Rowan Co., NC. Elizabeth is known only by her mention as "wife" in Peter Sumy's will of 1804.
Jacob is mentioned in Peter Sumy's 1804 will as a beloved son and was given the wagon and tools in addition to his equal part of the estate. Based on his birthdate and the estimated dates of his brothers, we have placed him as the oldest of the sons mentioned in the will, and as such received the equipment as a birth right. He lived and died in the Rowan/Davidson County area of NC. He married Elizabeth Goss and had two known children, Andrew and Darva.
Peter is believed to be the Peter who married Dorcas Kindley and emigrated to the north to be with his family. He may be the Peter Summey who was postmaster in Summum, Illinois in the early settlement of that area.
Frederick was an executor of Peter Sumy's will with brothers Peter and George. He married Rachel Plummer in Rowan Co., NC and later moved to Ohio; Union Co., Indiana; and then Kosciusko Co. or Elkhart Co. in northern Indiana, where he had a large family. He was a musician in the War of 1812.
John is on the census records in Randolph Co., NC. His age would indicate he was probably too young to be a son of PIONEER Hans Michael and Hans Michael's son, Mikel, said in his will that his only son was "Peter". John migrated to Ohio or Indiana. His son, Gilburd, was a counciler to the high Mormon leaders in Salt Lake City.
23. i. Peter SUMMY b. about 1799 d. after 1850 24. ii. Solomon SUMMY b. about 1801 d. aft Aug 1870 25. iii. Michael SUMMY b. about 1802 d. 3 Jun 1877 26. iv. Margaret SUMMY b. about 1805 d. 27. v. Jacob SUMMY b. about 1814 d. after 1850 28. vi. Wm. Alexander SUMMY b. 5 Dec 1818 d. 6 Oct 1862 29. vii. Obediah SUMMY b. 20 Nov 1819 d. 22 Nov 1893 30. viii. George SUMMY, Jr. b. 16 Jan 1823 d. 16 May 1898
George is the patriarch of the large Summy family of Brown County, Illinois. He was also the father of Solomon Summy of Benton, Polk County, Tennessee. George, and his brothers, Peter and Frederick, were the executors of Peter Sumy's will of 1804 in Rowan Co., NC. Elizabeth is not on the 1850 Census in Brown Co., IL, though her husband is there.
It is possible that this Peter may have been the Peter who was postmaster in Summum in Fulton Co., IL. This is about 30 miles upriver from Versailles in Brown Co.
It is thought that he was the oldest of George Sumey's sons, with the name of his paternal grandfather. While records show he was postmaster for many years, he is not in Illinois on the 1850 Census.
In Brown Co., on the 1850 Census, in the middle of a number of Briggs families, there is a Susan Summy, 36, with two children. She is not shown to be a widow. Also, in Butte Co., California, there is a Peter Summie, 50, miner, born in NC, living alone. Could this be the above Peter who succumbed to the 1849 gold rush?
One source says she was the wife of Jacob Summy but Jacob is also on the 1850 Brown County census, married to a Catherine and with children. The Briggs history may have confused the brothers since several Summys married to Briggs. Both families moved from Davidson County, North Carolina, to Brown County, Illinois at the same time.
31. i. George SUMMY b. 17 Jan 1826 d. 7 Jan 1892 32. ii. Eleanor SUMMY b. 15 Sep 1827 d. 7 Jul 1874 33. iii. Catharine SUMMY b. about 1832 34. iv. Jason (or Jesse) SUMMY b. about 1835 d. after 1864 35. v. Francis Marion SUMMY b. 21 Dec 1837 d. 27 Dec 1858 36. vi. Matilda "Tid" SUMMY b. about 1841 37. vii. Margaret SUMMY b. about 1844
SOLOMON SUMMY was a great mystery to members of the Summy family for many years. He first appeared on the 1830 Census in Monroe (later Polk) County, Tennessee. Census records in later years establish his birthdate as about 1801. [He was 49 years old on the 1850 Census.]
The membership rolls of Ocoee Baptist Church in Benton, TN record his membership ceasing August 1870. After this time, there is no record of him.
The Census records also show him as being born in North Carolina. No clues as to his family were developed until 17 September 1991, when Carlene Summy Huckaby, of Colorado discovered ... information on file in the Brown County, Illinois Courthouse in Mt. Sterling, Illinois.
[Documents omitted here which show Solomon to be brother of Michael Summy of Brown Co. IL] -- there is much more description and a complete accounting of descendants of Solomon Summy in John W. Summy's book from which this excerpt was taken.
Michael was one of the earliest pioneers to move from Davidson Co., NC to Brown Co., Illinois. He went there in 1831 or 1832 with his father-in-law, Richard Briggs. In 1850 he had a boarding house in Versailles, Ill. Stella Summy Browning of Corsicana, Texas, had individual pictures of her grandparents Michael and Phoebe, taken, she said, in Rich Hill, Mo. before her father moved to Texas. Approx. date - Civil War or a little later.
Phoebe was the daughter of Richard Briggs who pioneered to Brown Co., IL about 1830-32 from Davidson Co., NC. She and her husband, Michael, went with them.
George was a farmer and Baptist minister. They were in the 1880 Census in Tipton Co., TN.
587. i. William Alexander "Alec" HUFFMAN 588. ii. James Daniel HUFFMAN 589. iii. Eliza HUFFMAN 590. iv. Mary M. HUFFMAN 591. v. George Franklin HUFFMAN 592. vi. Martha Ann HUFFMAN 593. vii. Elizabeth M. HUFFMAN 594. viii. Hiram S. HUFFMAN
The above family is a late addition. Their generation ID's would be MPG4-A through H.
Jacob and his family were in Brown Co., Illinois in 1850. (pg. 150, Fam 372). He married Catherine Bennett. Briggs family history says he married Susan Briggs, but this appears to be in error. In the settlement of father George Summy's estate, Catherine signs with him.
Alex and his family were in Brown Co., Illinois in 1850, adjacent to his brother George, and father, George. He was 32, a farmer, born in NC. His second wife was Julia Ann Upchurch.
Obediah was in Brown Co., Illinois in 1850. He was 28, a farmer, born in NC, and living adjacent to brother, Alex.
George Jr. and his family were in Brown Co., Illinois in 1850, adjacent to his father. He is shown as a farmer, age 36, born in NC. In 1880 he is located in Benton Co., Arkansas, near John Quincy Summy. Based on the birthplace of his children, he moved from Illinois to Missouri to Arkansas between 1868 and 1880. It is not known how he was related to John Quincy Summy of Arkansas.
Michael remained in the Rowan/Davidson County area all his life. It is believed that he was the youngest son of Peter (but not mentioned in the 1804 will) and a grandson of PIONEER Hans Michael Sumi. He moved somewhat downstream from the original holdings into what is now Randolph County, North Carolina, near the town of Cid. He had a mill there and the current Summey family in that area are all descendants of him. He was known as "Old Mike" and was renowned for his bad temper.
12. Magdalena(3) SUMMI [MG] (6. Michael(2), 1.Peter, Sr.(1)) was christened 11 Jun 1749 at Tulpehocken Ch, Lanc. Co., (now Lebanon Co), PA.
Source: Baptismal Records of Trinity Tulpehocken Church, near Myerstown, Lebanon Co., PA. Parents were shown as Michael Summi and wife. Sponsor was Mrs. Summi, grandmother. There is no further information on her.
13. Anna Margaretha(3) SUMI [MA] (6.Michael(2), 1.Peter, Sr.(1)) was born 9 Apr 1751. Source: Baptismal records of Trinity Tulpehocken Church, near Myerstown, Lebanon Co., Pa. Parent shown was Michael Sumi, Swatara. (Swatara was a small sub congregation of Tulpehocken which was in the town now known as Jonestown, Pa. at the confluence of the Big Swatara Creek and Little Swatara Creek.) Sponsor was Ann Margaretha Guschwa. There is little further information on her.
14. Michael(3) SUMEY [MM] (6.Michael(2), 1.Peter, Sr.(1)) was born about 1754 at PA. Michael died at NC, and was buried at NC.
Michael is in the Salisbury Dist., Rowan Co., NC on the 1790 Census. (Two males over 16, 1 male under 16, and 4 females.) In 1800 he is in Rowan County, NC (2 males 16-26; 1 male over 45; 1 female under 10; 1 female 10-16; 1 female 16-26; and 1 female over 45.) It is believed that he is the Mikel who migrated to the Miami Valley of Ohio and left his will there. [See book section on the remainder of Hans Michael branch]
15. John(3) SUMEY [MJ] (6.Michael(2), 1.Peter, Sr.(1)) was born about 1760 at Pa or NC.
John Summey is on the 1800 Randolph County, NC Census with a family of 1 male 26-45, 1 female 26-45, 1 male under 10. This is the father of Gilburd Summe, one of the early Mormons in Salt Lake City. He migrated to Ohio and descendants were known to be in Ohio and Indiana as well as Utah.
16. William(3) SUMMY [MW] (6.Michael(2), 1.Peter, Sr.(1)) no firm evidence of this son has been developed to date (1991). There is a William Sawmy recorded in Orange Co., NC but it is not confirmed as our family.
7. Johannes(2) SUMI [J] (1.Peter, Sr.(1)) was born 25 May 1723 at Alsace, (now France). Johannes died after 1790 at Dauphin Co., (now Lebanon Co.) PA. He married Marie Magdalene BRUBAKER. [Last name is questionable]. History books indicate Johannes lived and died in PA. His home is believed, by old land patents, to have been in Jackson Twp, of what is now Lebanon County, PA in the 1750's. In 1790, there is a John Summy in Dauphin County from which Lebanon County was formed in 1813. History records and tradition say he had three sons: John, Abraham, and Michael; and one daughter.
8. Johann Rudolph(2) SUMI [R] (1.Peter, Sr.(1)) was born Jul 1725 at Alsace (now France). Johann died 20 Jun 1727 at Alsace, (now France).
9. Gorg Andreas(2) SUMI [A] (1.Peter, Sr.(1)) was born 11 Dec 1728 at Alsace (now France). Gorg died 19 Dec 1728.
Source: Records of Langensoultzbach Lutheran Church in Alsace.
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Last updated 6 Mar 2003.
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