For the last few weeks, The Vagabond has been discussing some of the folks who settled in the area located west and north of Attalla before the Cherokee Indians were removed. This area was from around Highways 77 and 431 all the way up to Sand Valley Road and over to Reece City.
Last week The Vagabond discussed the Rink family that lived around the Keener area.
This week The Vagabond will discuss another Ger-man immigrants settlers in Etowah County before the Cherokee were removed. There were also the Sitz and the Keener families that came here from Ger-many. All of these families were listed in the old Avery store ledger book in the Cherokee Nation of 1835.
Engle (Ingle) Family
The first of the Engle family was Melchor E Engle, who was born about 1719 in Palatinate, Germany. He died on Jan. 12, 1760 in Jefferson, Alexandria, Va. The name of Engel, or Engle, is of German origin and is stated by some au-thorities to have been a corruption of the name applied to the race known as Angels.
Melchor was one of the early settlers in the Lancaster, Penn., area and was naturalized in 1743.
Melchor’s son was Michael M Engle, who was born in 1740 at Lincoln, N.C., and died there in 1810.
It is not known when Michael Engle and his brothers John and George left Berkeley County in search of new homes. It is likely that these brothers, hearing of the vast boundaries of virgin forests available at the southern end of the Valley of Virginia, determined to seek new homes in that area.
It was also an area where German emigrants came to live and where the Rink, Sitz and Keener families were from before coming to the Keener area.
It was during still hazardous Indian times that the three brothers migrated to North Carolina.
Michael M Engle’s son was Jacob Engle, who was born in 1770 at Tryon, Polk, N.C., and died in 1840 at Lincoln, N.C. He married Mary K. Keener, who moved with family and died in 1870 in De Kalb (Etowah) County, Ala.
Their son was Phillip Engle, who was born on May 3, 1819, in Lincoln, N.C., and died in 1860 in Etowah County.
Daniel Engle’s birth was on Nov 8, 1801, in Lincoln, N.C., and his death was in 1880 in Etowah County, Ala. On Apr. 9, 1832, he married Mary Polly Keener at Lincoln, N.C.
He was a Corporal in the 48th Alabama Infantry. His enlistment date was 1862.
There is an old, badly worn and mostly written account in the form of a diary. It says:
“David Keener started to Alabama Oct. 1832; Daniel Ingle started to Alabama Nov. 1837; Andrew Keener started to Alabama 1837.”
In the old Allen Avery ledger book of 1935, it already shows several Keeners in the area Abraham, John, Franklin, David, Andrew and William.
For the Engles (Ingles), there were John, Jacob, Phillip, Daniel, Mary and Elizabeth.
NOTE: Many people have asked The Vagabond the names in the old 1835 Avery store ledger book. Listed in the Avery ledger account book were:
Allen Aver, Christopher Ashel, Mary Avery, William Andrews, Julia Ann Avery, Roberson Ackidge, David Avery, John C. Avery, James F. Avery, Reuben Avery, Thomas Allen, William Blythe, William Burgess, Mary Brothers, Francis Brothers, David Brock, Mary Burgess, Gadi Bu-llard, Elizabeth Brown, Carter Burgess, Ezekial Brothers, John Boyd, Ale-sanderia Bullard, James Burgess, Polly Burges, Hugh Berry, Thomas Bu-llard, Richard Burgess, Alesander Burgess, G. Avery Crucher, Eli Cooper, H. F. Callihan, Bethel Crump, James Crucher, Andrew Caddell, James Croney, Widow Callahan, Sanders Chote, Silas Chote, Cosby, James Cooper, William Carmikel, Joseph Coyle, Sarah Carleton, Joshua Callahan, Smith Case, John Callahan, Jesse Cunningham, P. Coplen, Henry Dunn, Jacob Dykes, James M. Davis, Elizabeth Edwards, Lewis Edwards, Laben Elli, John Edwards, William Edwards, Je-sse Edwards, Thomas Edwards, John Ellis, William Ellis, Sr., William Ellis, Jr., John Eason, William Fletcher, E. M. Fulter, Isaac Foreman, Ab-ner Field, General Farrar, Byers D. Gilliland, David Mcb Gilliand, Wiley B. Gilliland, Rebecca Gilli-land, John Glaznor, Jacob Gerrard, Jas M. Gee, Lewis Hazle, Madison Hol-comb, John Humphris, Willis Hill, John Hide, Thomas Howel, Archy Henry, Jesse Horton, Solomon Holcomb, William Hambrite, John Ingle, Jacob Ingle, Philip Ingle, Daniel Ingle, Mary Ingle, Elizabeth Ingle, Joseph Johnson, Joseph B. Johnson, Abraham Keener, John M. Keener, Franklin Keener, David Keener, John P. Keener, Andrew W. Keener, William Keener, Robert Little, Thomas Lankford, Levi I. Littlefield, Vachel Lank-ford, Elijah Low, Jehu Littlefield, Silas Lankford, Phil R. Littlefield, Jackson Low, Mackey Low, John Lankford, Jr., John Lankford, Sr., Humphrey Mcbrayer, Joseph T. Mcbrayer, David Mcbrayer, Dulcena Mcbrayer, Mary Mcbrayer, Samuel Mcbrayer, Jr., Samuel B. Mcbrayer, Thomas Mcbrayer, Ruben Mccoy, Henry Mccoy, Thompson Mccluney, Price Mcnair, Joseph Morgan, Allis Morgan, Mark Morgan, Natheniel Morgan, Clement Malone, Nathaniel Malone, Michel Miller, James Mayfield, Elizabeth Moffitt, George Murphy, William W. Mayfield, William J. Moffet, Robert Murphree, Madison Maise, A. P. Melson, Thomas Malone, Jr., Robert Murphey, John Newmun, G. C. Newmun, William Noble, Willis Parmer, Cary Prince, Asa Pilkinton, John Pitts, Mar-garet Powell, Andrew Rink, Jacob Rink, John Rink, Eliza Rink, Ransom Ricks, Jesse Ross, George Ross, Jacob Robbins, Sr., Thomas A. Ramsey, Seth Ricks, John Reece, George Reed, A. C. Ramey, John F. Roden, Alexander Ross, Richard Robbins, Richard Ramsey, Larry Scott, Sr., David Scott, Calvin Scott, Azuila Scott, John Stokstel, Isom Shuffield, Andrew Sitz, Jr., William Stephens, Johathan Sitz, Nathan Steel, C. Smith Solom, Middleton Sapp, Willis B. Sharp, David Srum, Archibald Sutherland, Robert Shoemaker, Samuel Sauls, Goerge Thrasher, William Tate, Jonson Thrasher, David L. Tarrh, Jesse Turner, Jonathan Tailor, Jeremiah Tailor, Peter Tittwitt, William Thomas, Howard Thrasher, Joseph Uenable, Elijah Wilson, John Williams, A. G. Ward, Joseph Wilson, George Walker, Jeremiah Walker, Malinda Ward, John Wilson, Phillip Walker, William White, Jr., James Ward, Jr., William Walker, John Ward, King H. Williford, Nathaniel Uptain, George Uptain, Charily Uptain, Rachel Uptain and William Young.