6 Dec 2002
I found Dennis Jones' message on the Ipock name and
some of the NC genealogy interesting, and on-target,
insofar as I'm only familiar, basically, with the line ex-
tending from Arthur Ipock (b. 1800) and his wife, Sina
Whitford, in Craven County, NC. My great-grandmother,
Virginia Pritchett (Baxter?) Ipock (b. 1873--I'm writing
from memory), m. William Loviner (descendant of a Spanish-born sea-captain who settled in New Bern)...around 1890.
Years ago, at the New York Public Library, I found an old
history of the Palatine emigration to America--Protestant
refugees from the religious wars that plagued the area
along the upper?? Rhine River around 1700. Palatines
were from a district or state called the Palatinate, which
originally signified a border area.
Anyway, it did list one, perhaps two "Eibachs" or "Ibachs"
who were among the original settlers of New Bern, the
first permanent colonial capital and first state capital of
NC. (Note: I'm familiar with Heritage of Craven County,
a useful book but compiled from info provided by families
who rarely had genealogical or historical training. I'm
fortunate to have had both. I'm just saying that, unless
primary documents are cited--and sometimes even then,
of course--we have to be wary about using family tradi-
tions or even "facts" that can't be corroborated in other
sources...)
"Jacob" is correct, apparently, but "Elbach" is a typographi-
cal error--apart from the fact that standardized name spel-
lings are a fairly recent thing. "Eibach" in German is pro-nounced EYE-back...I've seen the spelling "Ibach" as well.
It is actually the name of the town in Switzerland where the
famous Victorinix Swiss Army knives are made. And that
is where I would say the family likely originated.
"Jacob," incidentally, comes from the Latin for what we
would call "James"...as in the Jacobites, the followers
of James Stuart, "Bonnie Prince Charlie" in the Scottish
rebellion of 1745...
I, too, have found and often heard that Ipock--the anglicized
version of "Eibach" or "Ibach"--is very unusual outside
Craven Co, NC and adjacent areas.
The "Ipocks"--perhaps two brothers--came with the group
of about 100(?) settlers--both German Swiss and Palatine
Germans--who settled New Bern in 1710. They were led
by Baron Christoph von Graffenried (or de Graffenried) of
Bern, Switzerland, who had a grant of land from Queen
Anne. (I've seen his name as "von de Graffenried" but
that seems like overkill. "Von" means of in German, and
"de" means of in French, so one wouldn't have repeated
the word...
Anyway, the settlers didn't get along too well with the
local tribe, the Tuscarora--and in large part because some
of the Europeans mistreated them. Anyway, a war with
the Tuscarora ensued in 1713, and they were driven out
of North Carolina with the help of troops from South
Carolina. As I recall more specifically now, "Jacob
Eibach/Ibach" was listed as one of the survivors of a
massacre by the Tuscarora--as was the other, "Johan-
nes" (John.)"
Interestingly, the name of the Indian village on the site
where New Bern was built was "Chattawka." When the
Tuscarora realized they couldn't prevail, they migrated
north to upstate New York, where they joined the Iroquois
Confederacy as the sixth nation (along with the Mohawk,
Seneca?, and others who escape me at the moment; they
may have had a language related to that of the other
Iroquois, as I recall.).
The Tuscarora named their new "capital" in western New
York state, "Chattawka," which whites came to spell "Chat-tauqua." And this was where the famous "Chattauqua Institution" was founded in the mid- to late 1800s. This was an ambitious and very successful effort to bring culture and more education to the masses of people around the country, through traveling exhibits lectures, etc. It still exists, I believe--in this day of the Internet--and certainly its historic buildings can be visited.
I'd be particularly interested in what anyone might be able
to add about the genealogy of Arthur Ipock, going back to
his immigrant "Eibach" ancestor.
Cheers, Brian