More Spunaugle information

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1. Balsor Sponaugle, father of William.

Balsor Sponaugle and his wife Sarah's children were:

1. John Michael Sponaugle, b.abt 1794 m. Barbara Wimer
2. Jacob Joseph Sponaugle, b. Sept. 2, 1799 m. Elizabeth Arbogast
3. George Sponaugle, b. abt 1804, m. Catharine Schroyer(s)
4. Susan Sponaugle, b. abt 1804 (not a twin to George; we simply don't
have exact dates for either of them.)
5. Mary "Polly" Sponaugle, b. June 21, 1808, m. Isaac Bennett
6. William Sponaugle/Spunaugle, b. Mar. 17, 1814, m. Jemima Maria
Waybright

Balsor is said to have "come from Loudoun" (Loudoun County, VA) by Oren Morton in his History of Pendleton County, published 1910. His death apparently occurred before 1834 when Sarah transferred property without Balsor's name included on the document. Sarah’s maiden name is not known. There is some controversy as to where Balsor was born, however it was certainly between 1765 and 1776 if census and other documents can be believed, and the most likely dates are 1774 and 1775, because of his being age 18 when he joined the Loudoun County Militia in 1793 as required by the law. His descendants still living in Pendleton County say he came from everything from "Germany" to "Pennsylvania"--his spoken language as a child was without doubt originally German.

Paul Rondel Sponaugle, in his book The Sponaugle Family published by the author, 1997, cites a number of documents which make it clear that there were several persons with some form of the "Spannagel" name living in Pennsylvania (Berks, Montgomery and Huntingdon Counties), Maryland (Frederick and Montgomery Counties), and northern Virginia (Loudoun, Berkeley, and other counties) by the second half of the 1700's and early 1800's, but it is not yet possible to sort them out with certainty in a way that will identify Balsor's parents. I have also examined these same citations.

New clues (an 1806 Ohio will indicating a possible mother for Balsor and a 1794 Loudoun County VA militia muster roll) have been found recently; these clues throw light on Balsor's origins. In my opinion, it is at least possible at this time to say that Balsor himself was not an immigrant; he was almost certainly born in Frederick County MD. Although we have not found a birth record for him, we are 99% sure who his father was, and where his parents were living at the time of Balsor's birth. The surname is found as early as the 1760's in Frederick County MD when an "Andrew Spoonogle" sold his blacksmith gear, presumably as part of an estate; Balsor's birth family moved to Loudoun County VA about 1778, when Balsor was a young child. Balsor's parents and siblings apparently left Loudoun County at about the same time that Balsor and Peter migrated to Pendleton County. Although others believe that Balsor was born in Pennsylvania, I have not found any family there whose "dates" are correct to be the parents of Balsor and Peter.

I have recently published my information on Balsor’s origins as a chapter in my book about William Spunaugle’s biography and genealogy. This is still available. Contact me if interested.

2. The name:

It is apparent that the most likely original form of the name "Spunaugle or Sponaugle" was "Spannagel". Several immigrants with that name arrived in the New World around 1750 or so, and in no case did the spelling remain the same after they had been here for a while. Variants that developed include: Sponagle, Sponaugle, Spunaugle, Spoonogle, Spanogle, and Sponogle.

There is no reason to believe that the various Spannagel immigrants were all related. The name itself (in various forms) is fairly common in Germany, and is related to the German word "Spannagel" meaning the tough wooden nail used in yokes for beasts of burden; this nail keeps the parts of the yoke together; the closest English equivalent is "linchpin". It was also the name of a battle decoration given for bravery to the soldier who "held the line together" in the face of battle in the 1200's and 1300's. Prior to about 1300 or 1400 in German-speaking areas surnames were not ordinarily used, only patronymic names; the name Spannagel began to be used when surnames replaced patronymics.

--Elaine Spunaugle Jeter, Gx3 granddaughter of Balsor Sponaugle.
San Diego CA, revised March 1, 2003.

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