More on the Enke Family

Little by little, the amazing Enke family is coming more clear to me. Recently Erich, of Enke history fame, shared a map on Google that showed the passage of that family from Germany to various parts of the United Sates.

A synopsis of Erich's hard and probably tedius work follows. John Enke is my ancestor, the father of Lydia Enke who married William White Wilson. He traveled (with wife Anne Pryor) "to Trumbull/Mahoning County, Ohio from somewhere in Pennsylvania, and that he traveled on from there to Knox County, Illinois. There is some disagreement regarding which and how many children John had, but for many, John has a sure place in their ancestry." Note: First I had nine children listed, though heard numbers as high as 15. Found at least two more today, while going through information.
I have a tentative "Jacob, married to Elizabeth" as John's father. Here's what Erich says. "I think I have definitely proven that our John's father is Lewis, from Auch Chunk, in Northampton county Pennsylvania (present day Jim Thorpe in carbondale county)."

"Lewis and Jesse Pryor Enke (John's son) stayed behind in Wilkes-Barre in Luzerne County (the next county over). John is mentioned by name as Jesse's father in Alfred Alonzo's (Jesse's son) published family history (although facts ascribed to John pertain rather to Lewis --John left Pennsylvania before Alfred was even born so the confusion is understandable) and place names travel with our Enkes ("Elm", "mahoning', and "union") which link Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, and Northampton county Pennsylvania."

"Lewis was a native of Germany, who left his native country during the struggle for independence between England and the young colonies, and in this conflict he bore an active part AGAINST the Americans'. He was a man of considerable ability and intelligence, whose parents had set him apart for the church, but who thought for himself as he advanced in years and determined to choose his own career (the polite way of saying 'mercenary'). After the war ceased and the colonists were victorious, he settle at Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania."

"Edith Elizabeth Enke (aka Edie Adms) also mentions in a documentary that her family has passed down the idea that our ancestor was a Hessian soldier who fought in the Revolutionary War."