My name is Thomas Jefferson
Bolch. I was not named for the third president of the United
States, although my grandfather may have been named for him. Four of
my distant cousins also shared the name Jefferson: Sidney Jefferson
Bolch, Sidney Jefferson Bolch, Jr., Sidney Jefferson Bolch, III, and
Sidney Jefferson Bolch, IV.
I got the name Jefferson
from my father and grandfather, Jefferson Augustus Bolch and
Jefferson Anthony Bolch, respectively.
Another "cousin", Jeff Bolch, lives in
Canada.
The Bolch family also includes
Bolick, Bolich, Boliek, etc., as the name was Americanized to make it
more pronouncable.
My genealogical line is as
follows:
Johann Adam Bolch -- native of
the Palatinate, that area along the Rhine River ruled in the 1700's
by the Palatine, including Frederick the Great
- He was a shoemaker and
hatmaker by trade from the mountains in Alsace. He, his brother
Andreas, and his wife and two children (Jacob and Sebastian)
sailed for the New World American Colonies from Rotterdam,
Holland, and arrived in Philadelphia aboard the ship, Neptune, on
September 24,
1753. He was a part of that
vast migration of German-speaking immigrants enticed to the New
World by the agents of William Penn to colonize Pennsylvania. Many
settled in Pennsylvania but many more followed the wagon trail
down the eastern side of the Appalachians into North
Carolina.
- Family legend is that he
converted all his possessions to gold, made a new pair of shoes
for all his family members and placed a layer of gold between the
upper and lower soles so that he could bring what resources he had
to the new world without having it taken along the way.
- Before the Atlantic crossing
to the New World, the Neptune put in at Cowes, Isle of Wight,
England, where those planning to settle in the New World had to
pledge allegiance to King George II of England.
- There were seven children in
all -- Jacob (b. 1751), Sebastian (b. 1753), Johan Adam Jr.
(b.1755), Johan Caspar (b.
1756), Christiana (b.
1780), Godfrey and Elizabeth.
- Johann Adam and his family
left Philadelphia within a year or two of their arrival and
settled in what then was Lincoln County, North Carolina, which was
later split into Lincoln and Catawba Counties in 1842.
The place of settlement was
in what is now Hickory, in what is now Catawba County. He was a successful farmer in North
Carolina. He died in April, 1794. His will, in German, was
probated in Lincoln County, North Carolina. Click here for an
English translation of his German language will. "Bolch" supposedly was a trade name
like "Smith" was a trade name. "Bolch" was the equivalent of "fish
smoker".
-
Johan Caspar Bolch -- First Generation born in this country
Born December, 1756 -- Died 1834.
Fought against the troups of King George III in the Revolutionary
War Battle of Kings Mountain at Kings Mountain, North
Carolina.
Nine children -- William,
Johan Casper Bolch,
Jr., Sally, Regina, Polly,
Elizabeth, Frances, Solomon and John.
Johan Caspar Bolch,
Jr. -- Second Generation
Eight children -- Emanuel,
Anthony, Logan, Polly , Amy, William Henry, Mahala,
and Jordan. Emanuel and Anthony were killed in the battle of
Chancellorsville. Logan survived this battle but was mortally
wounded in Pickett's Charge, July 3, 1863, at
Gettysburg.
Logan Bolch -- Third Generation
(Great Grandfather)
Seven children -- Nathaniel
A., Camila, Jefferson
Anthony, Harriet S.,
Rebecca, Mahala, and Monroe M.
He enlisted as a private in
the Confederate Army on March 14, 1863, fought with the North
Carolina 28th under Stonewall Jackson at Chancellorsville, was
badly wounded in Pickett's Charge on July 3, 1863, in the Battle
of Gettysburg, and died a prisoner of war at the U.S. Army
Hospital, Chester, Pennsylvania, on September 30, 1863. His
remains were later moved to Philadelphia National Cemetery, where
his name is among those honored on the Confederate
Memorial.
Jefferson Anthony
Bolch -- Fourth Generation
(Grandfather)
Born in 1862, was a little
over a year old when his father enlisted as a private in Company C
North Carolina 28th Regiment on 14 March 1863. Was a stone mason.
Later owned and operated a tombstone business with his brother
Charles. Died in 1935.
Eight children -- Braxton
Bragg, Lizzie Maye Flowers, Linden Logan, Minnie Pearl Cline,
Ernest Eugene, Alvin Perry,
Jefferson Augustus, and
Hazel Jacob.
Jefferson Augustus
Bolch -- Fifth Generation
(Father)
Born June 14, 1902 in
Hickory. Died May 8, 1998, and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in
Hickory. Graduated from Hickory public schools. Worked in the
hosiery industry, running his own small mill from the late 1930's
through the 1950's. Retired at age 62 in 1964. Wife, Vera
Honeycutt, died in 1994.
Five children -- Charles
Ray, Audrey Ruth Robeson, Glenn Alfred, Donald Ernest,
Thomas
Jefferson.
Thomas Jefferson
Bolch -- Sixth Generation (ME)
Born 1939 in Hickory. Graduated
from Hickory public schools and the University of North Carolina
and its law school. Presently live in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Commissioner, North Carolina Industrial Commission. Wife
Mary Katherine
Peele.
Two sons from previous
marriage: Jonathan David
Bolch, 12/14/69, BS in
Architecture University of Virginia School of Architecture 1992,
Masters in Architecture,Yale University, presently working in an architect
practice in Boston, MA. Benjamin Thomas Bolch, 2/12/74, BS in Journalism, Medill School of
Journalism, Northwestern University, 1996, presently a
sportswriter for The Los Angeles
Times and living in Marina Del
Ray, California.
Mary Katherine Peele
Bolch has two sons from a
previous marriage: Ralph
Barnes Perry, Jr.,
11/17/63, presently a practicing optometrist in Wilson, NC; and
Russell Scott
Perry, 4/3/68, presently
working for a trucking company in Raleigh.
Mary Katherine and
Thomas J. Bolch
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