Catawba County, North Carolina | c. 1780
23 minute read
Note to Reader
While my blog posts aren’t normally this lengthy, this one will serve as more of a living document that combines two stories. One, of Johann Bolch, a German immigrant who’s sons fought for our freedom. The other, the Chronicles of Laura (that’s me), a curious photographer who discovered patriots in an abandoned cemetery, who’s patriotic spirit tries to rescue it. I’ll weave the story of their past with my present day efforts to bring recognition and protection to this forgotten piece of history. So if you’d like to read more about my involvement in this project and the progress of it, keep reading! Or, if you’d like to skip straight to the Bolch family history, click here.
Just a stone’s throw from Spencer Road in Hickory, NC, a long-abandoned cemetery holds the stories of one of Catawba County’s earliest pioneer families. Overlooked by the daily rush of people passing by, its location is marked only by a few remaining headstones, fieldstones, and occasional American flags. As a local, I’d driven past the Bolch/Bolick Cemetery countless times over the years. Sometimes I was guilty of being a casual passerby. But most of the time I’d slow my car to a crawl, straining my neck to catch a glimpse of the lonely headstones peeking through the brush.
July 6, 2024: Called to Service
Over the years, I’ve experienced it often enough to understand that promptings are invitations to act. That certainly proved to be the case when, two weeks ago, the Bolch/Bolick Cemetery popped into my head out of nowhere. It’d been a blue moon since I’d traveled down Spencer Road, much less thought about the nameless in the woods. Suddenly, a strong curiosity about its current state of affairs kicked me in the gut and I needed to know if it was still abandoned or had it been rescued yet? Allowing instinct to lead, I did a quick HuntStand search to see who owned it, which in turn led to a late night of genealogy rabbit holes and scouring Bolch family trees online.
The spelling of their German surname, Bolch, seemed to change often (e.g., Bolick, Bollick, Bohlich, Balch, Boliek, Boling, Bolig, and Bolich), making research a bit tricky. While building their tree on Ancestry.com, I gathered census records, maps, wills, and to my surprise, Revolutionary War pay vouchers. I was aware of the three Civil War soldiers buried there, but was taken back a bit to discover potential Patriots as well. Knowing the adventure seed was already planted, I planned to drive by the next day after church to get a better idea of what I was about to get myself into.
Besides three Confederate headstones, most graves were marked by either fieldstones or depressions in the earth where pine boxes had decayed. As a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), the cemetery’s lack of recognition for Patriots added an unexpected layer of intrigue to my research. Especially when I learned there may be more than one.
July 7, 2024: Recon
I drove down Spencer Road, scanning the tree line in search of Old Glory on the side of the road. I slowed down, peering just like I always did, and then turned around so I could drive by again. To my disappointment, it was in the same state of abandonment it had been for decades. The Bolch family once held 640 acres, now reduced to a 30’x40′ patch of woods on the side of the road, owned by a corporation within rock throwing distance. Without so much as a sign or fence, pioneers, soldiers, and Patriots remained unrecognized and unprotected.
July 8, 2024: Going Live
I called the CEO of the corporation first thing in the morning and requested a meeting. He wanted an idea of the purpose of it and I told him the end goal was to get permission to clean up the site. He readily agreed to both. In the meantime, I went to the cemetery, thick with humidity and mosquitoes, and recorded a Live video to share a few updates with my online community.
I’d already posted a few videos and stories about the cemetery on my social media pages, and had a small army of people just as excited about the preservation project as I was. Several were ready to dive in and send cleaning supplies and tools, while others offered financial support; it was heartwarming to see so many ready to invest in saving history.
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Resurrecting History
On the drive home, the possibility of Patriots in unmarked graves nagged at me. I felt strongly that men who fought for our freedom deserved to be honored with proper headstones and historical recognition. In preparation for my meeting, I did more research trying to verify if (and how many) Patriots were buried on the CEO’s land. I visited the library and museum, gathering what information I could.
I found pay vouchers that I suspect belong to three of his sons, Jacob, Johann Casper, and Johann Adam, which led me to wonder how likely it’d be that all five sons served? The pay voucher above is for Jacob Bolick, which I believe is Jacob Bolch. The pay voucher below is for John Balch, which I believe is Johann Casper Bolch.
The third voucher is Adam Bolick’s, which I believe to be Johann Adam Bolch. From my preliminary research, none of their names and graves have been recognized as patriots, which means their descendants can’t claim them as patriot ancestors should they wish to join the Sons or Daughters of the American Revolution. Due to the variety of spellings, I was hoping to find an additional clue offering more proof.
1986: A Gift From the Past
When I got home from the cemetery, a book I owned came to mind that might prove useful titled, The Heritage of Catawba County, North Carolina. My mom had given it to me a couple of months ago and it’d sat on a shelf in my living room, untouched since.
In 1985, a telephone survey was conducted to the people of Catawba County who were interested in genealogy. Residents were invited to submit their written family history to be included in the soon to be published book. Over 900 family histories were published, two of which included a submission by my Grandmother, as well as a submission by a Bolch descendant.
When it was published in 1986, my Grandma purchased #98 of the 2000 limited edition copies available. That year, she gifted it to our family for Christmas with a note written on the inside cover. My mom was the keeper of that book until a few months ago, when she passed it on to me. I pulled it off the shelf, and flipped to the red sticky note tab that marked my Grandmother’s entry. Reading her handwritten note, as well as the historical narrative she submitted 38 years ago reminded me just how important preserving family history was to her. She’s the reason it’s important to me too.
Then I thumbed to entry 68, where the index told me I’d find information on the Bolick Family. I scanned through the paragraphs and found just what I was looking for, “Johann’s sons all served in the Revolutionary War and became valuable citizens.” What were the odds a gift from my Grandma decades ago would contain the very confirmation I was looking for today? It felt like a nudge from the other side.
And Then, More Stars Aligned
I posted several stories and videos on social media about the cemetery that caught the attention of a man by the name of Bill Gardner. He sent me a message letting me know he’d previously tried to preserve the Bolch/Bolick cemetery as well, working on it solo as a volunteer project. He had valuable information about the cemetery to pass on, so we scheduled a call.
He shared with me his background as a Medical Examiner, Crime Scene Investigator, and Forensic Anthropologist and how that led him to become interested in historic preservation such as the Bolch/Bolick Cemetery. Bill became acquainted with the CEO that owned the land and, working by himself for several years, engaged in cleaning the headstones and researching the Bolch family history. Due to a move out of state, he was no longer able to continue his efforts, leaving the weathered headstones in the hands of Mother Nature.
When he stumbled across my posts, he was pleased to see that someone was willing to pick up where he left off, and was more than happy to hand off the preservation baton. He pointed me in the direction of his contacts at the library, the museum, a GPR unit at the University, a surveyor, and historical society. With his extensive background in death investigations, he suggested I buy a soil probe to locate bodies to document the location of graves that had become obscured over time. Offering to teach me how to use it, he sent pictorial instructions, and followed up by shipping cleaning supplies to me. We agreed we felt like the stars aligned for our paths to cross.
July 9, 2024: Rallying the Troops
I felt confident I could rally a small army of people via social media to chip in and help preserve it, and felt just as confident to ask the CEO if he’d match what I could raise. In preparation of our meeting that morning, I armed myself with the story of the Bolch family, just in case he wasn’t aware of the important role they played in Catawba County history.
He was quick to agree to whatever cleanup project I deemed appropriate, and even quicker to shoot down my request to match funds. While I was grateful to have permission to proceed (with crossed fingers and toes I’d figure out funding on my own), I was disappointed he wasn’t compelled to take action with me. I in my snake boots and he in his Nikes, I invited him to walk down the road to the cemetery with me.
Despite his corporation’s stewardship over the cemetery since 1964, he’d yet to step foot in the small patch of woods where history lay decomposing under his forest floor. As we stepped from the pavement and climbed up the short bank through the rip rap filled culvert, he pointed out the challenges they faced with rainwater eroding the soil, which was the very reason preservation was so necessary.
As we walked among poison ivy and buried patriots, I told him a story about five brothers who fought in America’s War for Independence.
1700’s: Religious Oppression
Driven by desperation and hope, a significant number of Germans set sail for America throughout the 1700’s, in search of a better life. Several factors contributed to the mass migration, including the rapid industrialization of Germany. This led to an increase in population, food shortages, and land shortages. Farmers were living in poverty and facing harsh economic hardships. Religious oppression still lingered after the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648), swaying entire congregations to flee their homeland.
For many immigrants, the decision to embark on such an arduous journey across the ocean was not an easy one. It was widely known that passengers died on crowded ships. Despite the risks, immigrants were drawn to the allure of worshiping God in a free land. For them, it was worth it.
1725: Johann Adam Bolch, Sr., the Shoe maker
Johann Adam Bolch Sr. was a native of the Palatinate region in Germany, born in 1725. He became a skilled artisan crafting high quality shoes in Alsace.4 His success allowed him to acquire large tracts of land. Despite his wealth, his freedom to worship God was more important, leading him to immigrate to America.
As found on page 60 of The Heritage of Catawba County book, it says, “According to family stories, Johann, Sr. was a shoemaker in Germany and had considerable property there. Germany would only allow immigrants to take a small amount of their property with them when they left the country, so Johann converted the greater part of his property into gold. He made new shoes for the family, with an extra pair for each. He placed sheets of gold between the soles of the shoes, and the family carried the gold to America.” (source: personal knowledge, Cindy Worley)
Johann was said to have very strict religious habits. Evident in his final will and testament, he was a firm believer in God, as he makes mention of Him five times in the first paragraph.5 He also references a hymnal and his ‘Folio Bible, printed in Nuremberg’, the one he carried across the ocean when his family left Germany. So important was freedom of religion to him, that he gave up a successful business, liquidated his land holdings, packed up his family’s belongings, and left his beloved homeland.
1753: Freedom Reigns
In 1753, Johann, his very pregnant wife, Anna Christina (1725-?), and two year old son, Jacob (1751-1826) boarded the ship, Neptune, in England. It is thought that Johann’s brothers, Andreas Balch and Johan Georg Bohlich, sailed with him as well. Their destination of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was 3,400+ nautical miles away across the Atlantic, a route well-known by hundreds of Palatine Germans before them. The trip would’ve easily taken 4 – 6 weeks abroad on a choppy Atlantic on overcrowded boats with scarce food and poor sanitation. Some immigration ships were even known as “coffin ships” due to the high mortality rates. The price of freedom was high, but the risk was worth it.
While aboard Neptune, Anna Christina gave birth to their second child, whom they named Sebastian (1753-1822). Family lore has it that Sebastian was a clever spin on “See Boston”, indicating their ship was within eyesight of the city when he was born. With gold in their shoes and a newborn in their arms, the Bolch family arrived in Philadelphia on September 24, 1753. When they arrived at the port, Johann and his brothers took the oath of allegiance to the British Crown and Colonial government.
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1760: Pioneer of the South
Even though Johann and his wife first settled in Pennsylvania, he is considered the Bolick pioneer of the South. Before moving to North Carolina, they had three more sons: Johann Adam, Jr. (1755-1832), Johann Casper (1756-1834), and Godfrey (1759-1823). It is not known when Johann and his family left Pennsylvania or how long it took them to reach their destination. Probably traveling with other German pioneers, they made the 550+ mile trek and settled in Catawba County, North Carolina. They welcomed daughters Christina (abt. 1760) and Elizabeth (1762-?).
1776: America’s War for Independence
When the Revolutionary War broke out in 1775, the free people of America no longer recognized King George III as their King, accusing him of being a tyrant and unfit to rule a free people. At the start of the war, Johann’s sons, Jacob, Sebastian, Johann Adam, Johann Casper, and Godfrey were aged 24, 22, 20, 19, and 16; there are conflicting records that state how many of them served. Given Johann’s personal experience with religious persecution and tyranny in Germany, it’s likely that sending his sons off to fight for their freedoms would have been bittersweet. I wondered how frighteningly contagious the patriotism was in their home during that time? Was father encouraging them to enlist? Was mother pleading with them to stay? Was the oldest rallying his younger brothers to join him?
According to the oral family history recorded in The Heritage of Catawba County, all five sons served in the war. In another book, The Bolch Family in America with Genealogies, three sons served, Jacob, Casper, and Godfrey. Three Revolutionary War pay vouchers can be found online that verify Jacob, John, and Adam served. However, what I did not find were any names listed other than Casper listed in the Roster of Soldiers From North Carolina in the American Revolution published by the Daughters of the American Revolution.6
The only detailed records available are that of Johann Casper’s, who enlisted in 1776 and served as a Private in Captain Bateman’s North Carolina Regiment. He served under Col. Locke, Captain Davidson, Col. Charles McDowel, and went on an expedition against the Indians. He fought at the Battle of Ramsour’s Mill in 1780, reducing loyalist support in North Carolina. Ramsour’s Mill had one of the highest casualty rates of the war, with an estimated 60% of the Patriots being killed or wounded. He applied for a war pension in 1832 when he was 78 years old. His pension for his service was $36.00 per year and he received $109.98 on March 16, 1833.
As cited in The Heritage of Catawba County, all five brothers survived the war and went on to become valuable citizens. Each of them married, had children, and lived as farmers on family land next to each other. Johann was able to enjoy the liberating fruits of his son’s labors for another sixteen years after the war ended, living freely among the people he loved the most.
1794: The Will of a Pioneer
In his last will and testament from 1794, Johann’s declaration of being a shoe maker in the first sentence of his will suggests that he took pride in his craft and considered it a significant part of his identity. This is especially meaningful given that he left his successful career in Germany to pursue freedom in America. I hope it also suggests he never stopped practicing his craft and continued it here in Catawba County, even until his last day. Johann’s commitment to providing for his family (and belief in a good pair of shoes) were evident in his will.
To his wife, he left his home, garden, feather bed, bed-stead, furniture, one iron cot, one Sermon book, one Hymn book, a frying pan, milk cow, one ewe, his linen chest, and all the linens and goods inside. His other personal effects such as an iron pot, pewter basins and spoons, were divided among his children, as well as his land. Land grants of 320, 400, 218, 280, and 640 acres can be found in the name of Adam Bolick. 7
The Bolch/Bolick Cemetery
With land grants showing he owned land on both sides of Lyle Creek, this cemetery is likely located on his original land. Johann was the first to be laid to rest in the Bolch/Bolick family cemetery; however, the exact location of his grave, as well as those of his wife and children, remains unknown. As religious as he was, I wondered if he recorded birth, death, and baptism dates in his Folio Bible, and where did it end up after his passing?
Of the 36 memorials listed online, 8 have ‘unknown’ death dates, and approximately 26 are marked with unmarked fieldstones. Out of the five generations buried there, the last grave to be dug was for Saloma Bolch in 1894. What happened around that time that caused them to stop burying family on their land? Was there a significant change in circumstances or had death care become commercialized by then and public cemeteries were used instead?
What caused the last person that had stewardship over the cemetery to sell it to a corporation, abandoning their ancestors’ stories? Johann’s descendants were freedom fighters, farmers, inventors, manufacturers, soldiers, and wheelwrights that all contributed to the infrastructure of our early history. The cemetery is more than just a burial ground; it’s a historical treasure that tells the story of an early pioneer family in Catawba County.
The Bolick Historic District
In nearby Conover, NC, several buildings and homes owned by the Bolick family are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.8 This includes The Bolick Buggy Shop where Jerome Bolick and Sons were wholesalers of “high grade” horse and pony buggies in 1884. Bolick buggies were sold all over the south until 1919 when buggies faded away. They then began manufacturing school buses and became one of the leading school bus body manufacturers in the state until they closed their doors in 1978. The large warehouse where they built the buses still stands today.
InThe Bolich Family in America with Genealogies, published in 1939, Charles M . Bolich is quoted as saying, “The pioneers who came here were real pioneers. They cut the forest and broke the soil to the will of men. They participated in the movement to establish representative government in this country. They shouldered the musket to win liberty. They paid their taxes to help government function. They were strong men and women; they had religious convictions to which they adhered. They sought to leave each succeeding generation better than the last. They were a people who helped to form a wholesome society. They are a part of us and we of them. Having received this rich heritage, high in principle and strong in purpose, we of the present will do well to preserve these cardinal virtues in a changing and troubled world.”9
July 30, 2024: Networking
Since I first drove by a few weeks ago, I’ve emailed several people connected to the Bolick family to see if there’s an interest in preserving the graves of their unclaimed Patriots (I haven’t heard back from anyone yet). My end goal is to get it cleaned up, protected, recognized, and for the patriots to be identified as such so five generations can claim them.
I introduced myself to the Executive Director of the local history museum to let them know of my interest as well as gauge theirs, recruited a Supervisor at a National Cemetery to assist in resetting the stones, partnered with a real-life Bones to help me identify graves, reached out to the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution, the Sons of Confederate Soldiers, and have a group of people ready to clean and/or donate.
August 3, 2024: Family Field Trip
I attend church field with two Bolick descendants; Johann was their ancestral patriarch. Neither of them had visited the cemetery before, so I took them with me to visit it for the first time.
I went back again later and met with a local that’s held a long-time career in the management of historic cemeteries. After surveying the site, the first thing he suggested was that we straighten all of the historic headstones to prevent further damage. When they lean, they’re at risk of cracking when branches fall on them. He’s knowledgable in locating graves, and offered to help map the site as well (no maps currently exist of this cemetery). I went ahead and sprayed weeds while I was there, in preparation of clearing the grounds and locating fieldstones.
August 7, 2024: Team Building
I was asked to speak about my project at an upcoming meeting with the Catawba County Genealogical Society in September to get the word out. Also, I’ll be emailing this post out to the all of the above mentioned contacts to create a solid network of community support. My church group is on standby, waiting for me to tell them a date to start clearing debris. My new Bone Detective friend, Mr. Gardner, has given his expertise and guidance freely (and often) since we met. With my D2 and cleaning supplies from Atlas Preservation, I’m ready to get started!
My main goal is to get the cemetery cleaned up, protected, and for the Revolutionary War Patriots buried here to be identified as such. Being a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution myself, I can’t stand thinking about someone that secured my freedom, to be lying unrecognized in the woods in my own home town. Not only that, it doesn’t appear anyone has been able to claim them as their ancestral patriots. Maybe because only one has been listed as having served, when it fact, there may be five.
Up until now, I haven’t posted a public link to send donations yet, because I’m chewing on what’s the most responsible way to handle the financials. Considering the cemetery will need a fence, a sign/historical marker, mapping, erosion control, supplies, and ongoing maintenance, spending should be mapped out reliably. That being said, I believe setting up a 501c3 would be the appropriate course of action. There’s fees and time involved in that of course, and I would love any and all help in getting that going!
If you’d like to help purchase cleaning supplies or help start the nonprofit, click here! >>
If you enjoyed reading this article, or learned something from it, let me know in the comments! Your feedback is much appreciated, and it helps me better understand my readers <3
- Jacob Bolick Pay Voucher ↩︎
- John Balch Pay Voucher ↩︎
- Adam Bolick Pay Voucher ↩︎
- Descendants of Johann Adam Bolch, Sr. ↩︎
- NC Wills and Probate Records ↩︎
- Roster of soldiers from North Carolina – DAR ↩︎
- North Carolina Land Grants ↩︎
- Bolick Historic District ↩︎
- The Bolich Family in America with Genealogies ↩︎
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