Ling Family History

This is the Ling Family History. However, I would be remiss if I didn't mention surnames associated with the Ling family by marriage: Hill, Beers, Cornwell, Abercrombie, Brakke, Jansz, Crone, Hofmann, Nichols, Shorter, Morefield, Stamm... did I miss anyone? Probably! Let me know.

The Ling name, as far as research has taken me, started in 1740 in Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany, with the birth of Anthony Ling. Prior to the name Ling, which by the way was adopted by Anthony, started as Langk, lange, lang... then Ling.

Anthony Ling and family, landed in Baltimore in 1781, as far as research has established. This coincided with the final battle of the American Revolution, in Yorktown, Virginia. The battle lasted from September 28, 1781 to October 19, 1781. It was called by many names; the Siege of Yorktown, the Surrender at Yorktown, the Battle of Yorktown and the German Battle. The American Revolution War, was officially ended by the Treaty of Paris, where representatives of King Charles III, representatives of the US, Ben Franklin, John Adams, John Jay and Henry Laurens, signed the treaty. (A note here: Recently Queen Elizabeth Died and her son Prince Charles became the new Monarch of Great Britain and he was designated Charles III?)

Now, in 1781, the war was over. But what was the actual date of the Ling landing in Baltimore? Was it before or after the Battle of Yorktown.

Maybe it was the conflict that made the landing in Baltimore necessary. A landing in New York, Delaware, New Jersey or other coastal states would have been closer and easier. They had to go up the Chesapeake Bay, to Baltimore which would have taken about 9 hours. If they had been close to New York and sailed to the opening of the Chesapeake Bay, that would have been another 17 hours. These times are approximate and based on average wind conditions. Depending upon where they departed Europe, it may have taken a month or two… maybe even three. Since sailing ships were the only mode of transportation then, they were at the mercy of prevailing winds.

Here is an interesting fact. When the American Revolution began, the British had trouble recruiting sufficient numbers of soldiers from their own population, at home. As early as 1775, they sought to hire mercenaries from Russia or Germany. These efforts were unsuccessful in Russia, but the British had an easier time in Germany. Did you know that Germany then consisted of more than 300 different principalities? Some of these principalities were willing to hire out their soldiers.

The term "Hessian" is shorthand. Most of the Germanic people who came to America were from the German states of Hesse-Cassel (or Hesse-Kassel) and Hesse-Hanau. However, German soldiers were hired from other states as well.

In Hesse-Cassel, young boys signed up for military service when they were only 7 years old. They could be called to military service anytime between age 16 and 30. The training and discipline was generally harsh, yet morale was apparently pretty high. The families of soldiers received tax breaks, and the soldiers were able to keep plunder as part of their compensation.

Okay, so they weren't really **supposed** to keep the plunder, but somehow their officers managed to look away at just the right times.

For their part, Americans were furious that the British had hired Hessians. It would have been normal practice to hire mercenaries and auxiliaries to help fight a war against another country. But at this point, Americans still considered themselves to be British citizens! Why would their own government hire Hessians to fight against them? The hiring of the Hessians, one historian explains, was "irrefutable proof to the colonists that they were to be treated as foreigners." In short, the British decision to hire Hessians was yet another domino that fell, pushing the American colonists one step closer to a declaration of independence.

According to and old myth, General Washington met light resistance at the Battle of Trenton on the morning of December 26, 1776, because the town's Hessian defenders had been up late the night before celebrating Christmas. The story explains that the Patriots made quick work of the bumbling mercenaries besotted with holiday cheer. But the Hessian troops were hardly the hapless drunks of legend. Rather, they were generally excellent soldiers.

The term "Hessians" refers to the approximately 30,000 German troops hired by the British to help fight during the American Revolution. They were principally drawn from the German state of Hesse-Cassel, although soldiers from other German states also saw action in America. (At the time, Germany was not a unified country but a collection of individual states that shared a language and culture.)

When the formal Declaration was approved in July 1776, the issue even merited a line.

The 25th of 27 grievances in the Declaration of Independence against Charles III, declares:

"He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation."

Given all this history, perhaps it is ironic that some of the Hessians eventually decided to stay and make their home in America? The German-American community in America was quite strong at the time of the Revolution: Some 200,000 people resided in the country. The Hessians noticed this fact and up to 5,000 of them decided to remain in America when the war was over.

Possibly a friend or relative of those some 200,000 people, were what prompted the move to America by Anthony, his wife and possibly as many as 4 or 5 of his children. How long the remained in Baltimore I cannot say, but they did then move to Hagerstown, Maryland. Once again not sure how long they stayed in Hagerstown.

Places from Hagerstown; Bedford County, Dunnings Creek, Shade Township, Union Township, Somerset Township, Winber, Pavia and Johnstown PA. to name a few, then on to California.

By the way, I've been in contact with Dave Ling, who's great great Grandfather was the same as ours... Isaac Ling. He's doing his due diligence now to straighten out his family history. His great Grandfather was Alexander Hammer Ling. If you click on Ling Family, I think you will see him sitting behind Isaac. Alexander was Isaac and Delilahs oldest child.

I will continue doing my due diligence, garnering more information as I find it, and adding it to this site. Without a trip to Germany, I've gone about as far as I can go with the tools at my disposal. I recently joined WikiTree, and it has been exciting. There are many people to help with research. But, I am also open to any help from my family, or anyone reading this, for suggestions and or information.

Due to all the recent developments in my research, name changes, dates, etc., and this being just in the last 50 or so years, I've decided to update the narrative. After reading the following you will better understand the reasons for the difficulties in finding your genealogical past.

The earliest chronologies date back to Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt, though no historical writers in these early civilizations were known by name. By contrast, the term "historiography" is taken to refer to written history recorded in a narrative format for the purpose of informing future generations about events. In this limited sense, "ancient history" begins with the early historiography of Classical Antiquity, in about the 5th century BCE (Before Current Era or better known as Before Christ).

In the 5th century BCE, we find the earliest written narrative of history in the world and covers the period from 722 to 468 BCE... 'The Classic of History', is one of the Five Classics of Chinese classic texts and one of the earliest narratives of China. The Spring and Autumn Annals, the official chronicle of the State of Lu covering the period from 722 to 481 BCE, is among the earliest surviving historical texts to be arranged on annalistic principles in the world. It is traditionally attributed to Confucius (551–479 BCE).

The earliest known systematic historical thought emerged in ancient Greece, a development which would be an important influence on the writing of history elsewhere around the Mediterranean region. The earliest known critical historical works were The Histories, composed by Herodotus of Halicarnassus (484–425 BCE) who became known as the "father of history". Herodotus attempted to distinguish between more and less reliable accounts, and personally conducted research by travelling extensively, giving written accounts of various Mediterranean cultures. Although Herodotus' overall emphasis lay on the actions and characters of men, he also attributed an important role to divinity in the determination of historical events.

The Romans adopted the Greek tradition, writing at first in Greek, but eventually chronicling their history in a freshly non-Greek language. While early Roman works were still written in Greek, the 'Origines', composed by the Roman statesman Cato the Elder (234–149 BCE), was written in Latin, in a conscious effort to counteract Greek cultural influence. It marked the beginning of Latin historical writings. Hailed for its lucid style, Julius Caesar's (100–44 BCE) de Bello Gallico exemplifies autobiographical war coverage. The politician and orator Cicero (106–43 BCE) introduced rhetorical elements in his political writings.

Strabo (63 BCE – c. 24 CE, current or common era, or as we know it, AD, Anno Domini, after death, or year of our Lord) was an important exponent of the Greco-Roman tradition of combining geography with history, presenting a descriptive history of peoples and places known to his era. Livy (59 BCE – 17 CE) records the rise of Rome from city-state to empire. His speculation about what would have happened if Alexander the Great had marched against Rome represents the first known instance of alternate history, (Alternate history or alternative history sometimes abbreviated as AH, is a genre of fiction consisting of stories in which one or more historical events occur differently. These stories usually contain "what if" scenarios at crucial points in history and present outcomes other than those in the historical record). A widely used genre in the entertainment industry.

Christian historiography began early, perhaps as early as Luke-Acts, which is the primary source for the Apostolic Age, though its historical reliability is disputed. In the first Christian centuries, the New Testament canon was developed. The growth of Christianity and its enhanced status in the Roman Empire after Constantine, led to the development of a distinct Christian historiography, influenced by both Christian theology and the nature of the Christian Bible, encompassing new areas of study and views of history. Muslim historical writings first began to develop in the 7th century, with the reconstruction of the Prophet Muhammad's life in the centuries following his death. With numerous conflicting narratives regarding Muhammad and his companions from various sources.

French philosopher Voltaire (1694–1778) had an enormous influence on the development of historiography during the Age of Enlightenment through his demonstration of fresh new ways to look at the past. At the same time, philosopher David Hume was having a similar effect on the study of history in Great Britain. In 1754 he published the History of England, a 6-volume work which extended "From the Invasion of Julius Caesar to the Revolution in 1688". Hume adopted a similar scope to Voltaire in his history; as well as the history of Kings, Parliaments, and armies, he examined the history of culture, including literature and science, as well. His short biographies of leading scientists explored the process of scientific change and he developed new ways of seeing scientists in the context of their times by looking at how they interacted with society and each other.

He also argued that the quest for liberty was the highest standard for judging the past, and concluded that after considerable fluctuation, England at the time of his writing had achieved "the most entire system of liberty, that was ever known amongst mankind.

The apex of Enlightenment history was reached with Edward Gibbon's monumental six-volume work, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, published on 17 February 1776. Because of its relative objectivity and heavy use of primary sources, its methodology became a model for later historians. This has led to Gibbon being called the first "modern historian".