Display Patriot - P-326737 - Michael ZIRKLE/ZERCKEL/ZERKEL

Michael ZIRKLE/ZERCKEL/ZERKEL

SAR Patriot #: P-326737

The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
 

State of Service: VA      Qualifying Service: Military Service / Patriotic Service
DAR #: A131099

Birth: 29 Jun 1735 Telford / / PA
Death: 02 Oct 1811 Forestville / Shenandoah / VA

Qualifying Service Description:
  1. He served as a Private in the Company of Captain Jacob Holeman in a Regiment of the Dunmore County Militia, 1775
  2. He provided beef to the war effort in Shenandoah County

Additional References:
  1. DAR RC 448801
  2. Dunmore County Papers, 1775-1776, 654550, Virginia State Library
  3. Brumbaugh, Gaius Marcus, "Revolutionary Records of Virginia", pg 607
  4. SAR Patriot Index Edition III (CD: PP2210, Progeny Publ, 2002) plus data to 2004
  5. Abercrombie, Janice L. and Slatten, Richard, Virginia Revolutionary Publick Claims, Volume 3, Georgia. Athens: Iberian Publishing Company, 1992, pg 840
  6. Brumbaugh, Gaius Marcus, Rev War Records Volume 1, Virginia Army and Navy Forces with Bounty Land Warrants for Virginia Military District of Ohio, and Virginia Military Scrip; from Federal and State Archives, Washington DC: Lancaster Press Inc, 1936, pg 607
  7. Genealogical, Burial and Service Data for Rev War Patriots Buried, Virginia (M.E. Lyman, 2016)

Spouse: Catharine Schlern
Children: Jonathan; Catharine; Anna; Abraham; Michael; George; Elizabeth; Jacob;
Members Who Share This Ancestor
Date Approved Society ACN SAR Member Info Lineage via Child View Application Detail
1975-03-31 KS Unassigned W Dean Vickery (107896) Abraham   
1976-01-13 KS Unassigned Rollin W Vickery (109878) Abraham   
1976-05-03 KS Unassigned Kent D Vickery (109890) Abraham   
1993-05-05 AZ 210918 Ralph William Fryxell (140711) Aberham   
2005-06-08 VA 22867 Robert Burk Andrews (165109) Jonathan/Jonas   
2010-06-23 VA 39483 Robert Russell Zirkle (177409) Jonathan   
2012-12-10 NC 49845 Steven Edward Frash USAF (182557) Catharine   
2020-08-13 IL 91476 Robert Elza Lybarger USN (197149) Jacob   
Burial:
Zerchel-Nehs Family Graveyard (C-0137546)
Location:
Forestville / Shenandoah / VA / USA
Find A Grave Cemetery #:
2304342
Grave Plot #:
Grave GPS Coordinates:
n/a
Find A Grave Memorial #:
36755623
Marker Type:

SAR Grave Dedication Date:

Comments:
  • Image provided with permssion from Sharon Weatherholtz, Find-a-Grave member # 50592005
  • The photographer adds, "Photo was taken by Blair Zirkle who saved the stones from completely being destroyed."  
  • Old and very worn stone that appears to be contemporary with the Patriot's death


Directions to Cemetery / Gravesite:

Location of this cemetery is unknown



Author: Robert B. Andrews
Michael Zirkle, Dunmore County Militia, Public Service
Documentary evidence:
A List of the Men's Names in Dunmore County Militia Under the Command of Captain Jacob Holeman, 28 May 1775 – Bird-Samuels Papers, Virginia Historical Society. Also “Revolutionary War Records, Virginia”, Gaius Marcus Brumbaugh pg. 607
Shenandoah County Publick Claims 20 October 1781 – one beef 325 pounds for the use of the Continental Army

Michael was born in Telford (Indianfield) Pennsylvania 29 June 1735, the third of eight children of Johann Ludwig Zirkle and his wife Maria Eva Baer. After the death of his father and also his stepfather, the family moved to Forestville, Dumore County, Virginia around 1755.
In 1762, he married Catherine Selher, daughter of Mathias Selher. He was first elder of Old Pine Lutheran Church and in 1787 signed the deed for the land where the church stood. The baptism records of the family are recorded in the church record in german.
He was a farmer, raised cattle and acquired and sold land. A respected man in his community, he served on the county Grand Jury on more than one occasion, was delegated to lay out routes for roads petitioned by residents, served as appraiser for estates, and was a census taker.
His name appears on a Dumore County Militia list in 1775. The militia was called into service in early 1776 and became the 8th Virginia Regiment. It is unknown if he served in the Continental Army.
He died October 2nd, 1811. His will is recorded in Will Book H, page 117 at the Shenandoah County Court House, Woodstock, VA. He left the house and personal possessions to his wife and divided his lands among his sons.
----------------
He purchased a 444 acre tract of land from Christian Funkhouser on Jun 1, 1755. He also received a land grant from Lord Fairfax the same year.
In December of 1774, he is recorded in the Shenandoah County Minutes as being appointed by the court to assist in determining a route for a new road.
In May of 1780, he is recorded in the Shenandoah County Minutes as an appraiser for the estate of Thos. Harpine.
27 November 1783, he was named to a Grand Jury of Inquest for the County of Shenandoah.
25 March of 1784, he is recorded in the Shenandoah County Minutes as being appointed by the court to assist in determining a route for a new road.
27 May of 1784, he was named to a Grand Jury of Inquest for the County of Shenandoah.
1785, Census taker for Shenandoah County

Send a biographical sketch of your patriot!

Patriot biographies must be the original work of the author, and work submitted must not belong to another person or group, in observance with copyright law. Patriot biographies are to be written in complete sentences, follow the established rules of grammar, syntax and punctuation, be free of typographical errors, and follow a narrative format. The narrative should unfold in a logical manner (e.g. the narrative does not jump from time period to time period) or have repeated digressions, or tell the history of the patriot's line from the patriot ancestor to the author. The thinking here is that this is a patriot biography, not a lineage report or a kinship determination project or other report published in a genealogy journal. The biography should discuss the qualifying service (military, patriotic, civil) of the patriot ancestor, where the service was rendered, whether this was a specific state or Continental service, as well as significant events (as determined by the author) of the patriot's life. This is the entire purpose of a patriot's biography.

Additional guidelines around the Biography writeup can be found here:

Send your submission1, in a Microsoft Word compatible format, to patriotbios@sar.org for inclusion in this space

1Upon submission of a patriot biography, the patriot biography becomes the property of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, and may be edited to conform to the patriot biography submission standards.


© 2025 - National Society of the American Revolution (NSSAR)