Ezekiel Dye
was the son of John Dye of South Amboy, New Jersey.
[There remains some dispute as to who his mother was and some sources spell his name "Ezekial"].
He was born in Cranbury, Middlesex Co., New Jersey on July 1, 1751 (dot
on the map to the right) and died on July 1, 1830 in Renrock, Ohio in 1830]
Ezekiel's great grandson James Vincent Dye, wrote that "the Dye family was of pioneer stock
and no one seems to be sure of their origin but it was English. Their eyes were steadily fixed
on the future forgetting the past. This fact has made an incomplete record of their genealogy
and renders a biography difficult. We do know that the father of Ezekiel Dye, Sr., and Anthony
Applegate married sisters (their maden name is not known). Ezekiel Dye, Sr. was left an orphan
and was reared by his uncle, Anthony Applegate." [This would have made Ezekiel about 21 years
old when his father John Dey died. Unfortunately, both the birth and death of
Mary Applegate, Exekiel's mother, are not recorded.]
Ezekiel's youngest son, Furman Dye, wrote about his father's
Revolutionary War record.
They moved to Westmorland County (West Newton - blue on the map of Pennsylvania above), Pennsylvania, around 1788 where they had 7 more children. She was born in 1757 and died about 1805 in West Newton, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
In traditional stories of the Dye family, Ezekiel had a flour mill in
Pennsylvania on Sewickley, Creek, in West Newton, Pennsylvania.
Vincent Dye was Ezekiel's uncle. Enoch Dye son of Vincent Dye, was born in Middlesex County New Jersey and died near West Newton, Pennsylvania. His son, Daniel Dye, was born in Sewickley, Pennsylvania" red dot on the map to the right). Enoch and Ezekiel may have migrated to western Pennsylvania at about the same time. This is being researched.
His great grandson, James Vincent Dye wrote
A Certain Man Went Forth which recounts much of what had been oral tradition within
the family. Note that James Vincent Dye argues that Ezekiel and his four brothers may have been
in Pennsylvania together prior to their migration into several states. I believe that these
were not all Ezekiel's brothers but included sons of Vincent Dye, Ezekiel's uncle from Prince
William County, Virginia. Information is available only for Ezekiel's oldest brother
John Dye and his youngest brother
Amos . This has relevance as at least three of John's
relatives married three of Ezekiel's children or grandchildren. One of Amos's grandsons,
Henry Dye settled in Vinton County, Ohio.
Thomas Dye was born in Middlesex County, New Jersey and died on January 29, 1865 in Nobel County, Ohio.
He married (1) Nancy Agnes Davis about 1805 in Pennsylvania. She was born 19
Jan 1777 in Ireland. Her parents are not known. Nancy died 20 Aug 1820 in Renrock,
Morgan Co., Ohio, at the age of 43, and was buried in Old Renrock Cem, Renrock, Ohio.
Thomas and Nancy had four children:
Thomas married (2) Isabella Bone on March 22, 1821 in Renrock, Morgan County, Ohio. She
was born on August 9, 1801 in Pennsylvania. Her parents are not known. Isabella died on March 11,
1852 in Renrock, Noble Co., Ohio, at the age of 50, and was buried in Old Renrock
Cem, Renrock, Ohio.
Thomas and Isabella had 12 children:
Thomas Dye "also reared a colored boy named Allen Guy "Al", whose descendents settled
in or near Zanesville.
Rebecca Dye was born 1781 in New Jersey. From Kat Lowrie comes the following. "Rebecca Dye married James Lowrey (Lowrie) in
Westmoreland County, PA where they lived in West Newton on a plateau
overlooking the Youghiogheny River. This is where William and Elizabeth
Lowrey were born, the first two of thirteen children. In 1809, they left with Rebecca's two sisters and brothers-in-laws (Sarah and Anthony Reed and
Axey-Axchia and Simeon Martin) and James' father William and traveled by
river to near Smith's Ferry - Wellsville, Ohio. William Lowrey died in 1811,
James in 1828 and Rebecca in 1867." James and Rebecca had 13 children. Wellsville, Ohio is located on the Ohio River, approximately 80 miles northeast of Renrock, Ohio.
He married Nancy Sprague in Ohio. She was born 1796 in Ohio and her parents are not known.
Nancy died December 12, 1863 in Renrock, Noble County, Ohio, at the age of 68, and was buried
in Old Renrock Cem, Renrock, Ohio. They had 8 children.
John Clark and Lucinda Swank Dye
The four Swanks who married the four children of Ezekiel Dye (shown in bold)
were the grand children of Ezekiel Dye's second wife Sarah Egbert Paul.
Washington County was where John Dey and his sons John and Thomas moved to at about this time.
What was the relationship - if any? The name Devol was later used as a first name in the Dye family.
Vincent Dye was one of the sons who came to settle in
Ohio a year before their father. He built the first brick house in Renrock in 1835,
near the top of the hill east of Renrock above the general store run by Silas Thorla.
He married Anna Waddell before 1812 in Ohio. She was born 1793 in Ohio. Her
parents are not known. Anna died 1873 in Renrock, Noble County, Ohio, at the age of 80,
and was buried in Old Renrock Cem, Renrock, Ohio
She was probably named after the sisters(s) of his mother,
Elizabeth Cox
William Dye lived in the "Grove Community" west of
Renrock. It is said he was a distiller of 'herb medicine'.
Married Margaret George (5 children)
John Dye " He was a prosperous farmer. on the
farm later known as the Barnhouse place, or just east of Ezekiel Dye II farm. He was also an
enterprising
man, building the first water wheel sawmill. Most of his children left the community as
they became of
age."
[David Wright supplied the following information about Catherine Sears and the family of John Dye.]
He married Catherine Sears who died in Renrock in 1870.
Catherine Sears was the grand daughter of Captain Robert Sears who "served in the Revolutionary War between 1776 and 1783, as a Captain in the 5th
Virginia Regiment. He died in 1812 in Belmont County, Ohio and was buried in the Gibson
Chapel Cemetery". Her father was John Manley Sears Sr. "Presumably was living in
Belmont County as early as 1815 inasmuch as he married Patty McNabb, in Belmont County on April 17,
1815. He was Viewer for Road Construction in Jul 1819 in Morgan County, Ohio. Dye's Road #1
beginning at the center stake of section 27, township 11, range 11, from Stan Fortices's on Meigs Creek
by Ezekiel Dye's and George Dye's to the Guernsey County Line, Joseph Devereau and John Sears were
appointed Viewers and Benjamin Thorla [related to Silas Thorla?], Surveyor. Their report was accepted and the road ordered to
be laid out July 1819.
He was living in Jul 1819 in Morgan County, Ohio. John Manley Sears, Sr. was involved in the
building of Dye Road in 1819 near the Ezekiel Dye farm in Morgan County, Ohio."
John Dye and Catherine Sears had 10 children - his oldest child was Ezekiel Dye and the ninth child was Simpson Dye who married Ruth Sears, daughter of John Manley Sears Jr. and Martha Sealock. Thus, her grandfather was John Manley Sears Sr and her husand was her first cousin.
John Dye
Catherine Sears Dye
Amos Dye was a small child when his family moved from
Pennsylvania to Ohio. He lived at Moss Run above Marietta and became a deacon in the
church there. He married Sophia Dye 22 Sep 1825 in Morgan County, Ohio. She was born 1805 in
Virginia. She was the daughter of Samuel Dye (the grandson of Ezekiel's brother John) and Susan Hoff. Sophia died
17 Oct 1868 in Lawrence, Washington Co., Ohio, at the age of 63, and was buried in
Moss Run Cem, Lawrence, Ohio. Amos died 6 Jul 1876 in Lawrence, Washington Co., Ohio, at the
age of 76, and was buried in Moss Run Cem, Lawrence, Ohio.
Married Sophia Dye (8 children)
Ezekiel Dye married Sarah Eggbert Paul, a young widow, about 1807 in Westmoreland, PA. She was born in 1781 in Allegeny County, Pennsylvania and died in 1844 in Morgan County, Ohio. Her parents were Rebecca Job and William Egbert. They were married 1775, Shrewsbury,Monmouth,New Jersey. This is close to where Ezekiel Dye's family lived. Rebecca Job's parents are not known. William Egbert's family can be traced back for five generations to Sanders Egbert, born about 1630 in Flatbush,Kings,New York
Sarah had been married to Joseph Paul before 1802 in Virginia(?). He was born
January 8, 1777. His parents are not known. Joseph died 22 May 1805 in Westmoreland County,
Pennsylvania, at the age of 28. He is said to have been killed by indians. Sarah Eggbert Paul and Joseph Paul had two children:
She married John Swank on April 8. 1821 in Morgan County. He was born June 9, 1793 in Pennsylvania and died on April 1, in Morgan County, Ohio on April 1, 1852.
They had 11 children:
Thus, four of Ezekiel Dye's (son of Ezekiel Dye, Sr.) children married four of Harriet Paul's (daughter of Sarah Egbert Paul) children.
Jacob Paul married M.E. Harding in 1823 in Morgan County, Ohio.
Thus, both children accompanied their mother and step-father to Ohio.
In 1806 Ezekiel and his family moved to the Ohio country having a deed from the U.S. government for 2,500 acres of land in the upper reaches of Meigs Creek a second family as indicated below. This second family included Sarah's two children There were so many Dyes in this region that it was known as the Dye Settlement until renamed Renrock.
In some traditional stories of the Dye family, some Indians came to the
cabin, begging for food. Mrs. Dye gave them some buttermilk to drink. They refused
it, thinking it was poison, until Mrs. Dye took a cup and drank some herself. Sarah died 19 Jul
1844 in Renrock, Morgan County, Ohio, at the age of 62, and was buried in Old Renrock
Cem, Renrock, Ohio
James E Dye was born about 1808 in Morgan County, Ohio. He
married Nancy Bell on April 4, 1835 in Morgan County, Ohio. She was born on March 1, 1816
in Ohio. Her parents are not known. Nancy died on March 20, 1895 in Manchester, Morgan County.,
Ohio, at the age of 79, and was buried in Reinersville Cemetery, Morgan Countuy., Ohio
James died on September 21, 1879 in Center, Morgan County., Ohio, and was
buried in Reinersville Cem, Morgan County., Ohio. They had five children.
Elizabeth Dye was born on September 4, 1809 in Morgan County, Ohio. She
married John Maxwell on June 16, 1825 in Morgan County, Ohio. He was born on December 27,
1800 in Virginia. His parents are not known. John died on April 9, 1888 in Manchester,
Morgan Co., Ohio, at the age of 87, and was buried in Reinersville Cemetery, Morgan County,
Ohio. Elizabeth died on January 26, 1888 in Manchester, Morgan County., Ohio, at
the age of 78, and was buried in Reinersville Cemetery, Morgan County., Ohio.
They had five children
She
married Samuel Dye 16 Dec 1830 in Morgan County, Ohio. He was born 24 Sep 1806
in Fearing, Washington Co., Ohio. He was the son of John Dye (the grandson of John Dye, Sr. and thus the grandnephew of Ezekiel Dye, Sr.) and Hannah Hoff. Samuel Dye spent most of his early life clearing the
forest and helping to support his brothers and sisters, as his father was of a
delicate constitution and unable to withstand the most ardurous duties of pioneer
life. Despite limited education, he held the office of justice of the peace for 12
years, and was noted for his just and impartial disposition. He has been a prominent
member of the Baptist church for 40 years, serving as a deacon for 30 years. In
politics, he is a Republican, and has worked hard for the success of that party since
its infancy. Samuel Dye was esteemed for his honesty, and was held to be one of the
kindest and most affectionate of men. In the biographical sketch of her husband, Samuel Dye;
Lucinda is described as
a woman of most generous impulses, and a most affectionate wife and mother. Like
Lucretia of old, her hands were never idle, and such was her devotion to her husband
and children that however ardurous her domestic duties her words of cheer and comfort
and her helping hand were always unreserved.
Married (1) Mehitable Kirkpatric (3 children) and (2) Miranda Ross.
She
married John Moore 8 June 1834 in Morgan County, Ohio. He was born about 1807 in
Ohio. His parents are not known. They lived on the site of the original Ezekiel Dye, S.
home south of Blanchard Creek, a tributary of Dyes Fork. John died 11 Mar 1882 in Brookfield,
Noble Co.,
Ohio, and was buried in Old Renrock Cem, Renrock, Ohio.
Silas Thorla notes that Charlotte died an untimely death when a derrick,
used for butchering beef, broke and fatally injured her. Thorla paints the following picture
of John Moore. "As we recall John Moore he filled the bill of an aristocratic country gentleman
farmer. His corpulent body, his sonorous voice, heavy gray beard, wide open expressive countenance
haunts us still. He never went about looking slouchy or slovenly. In a crowd you might well
as try to hide an earthquake as to conceal this man's presence and prestige. He built the first
two story frame house in the community that was so rickety that it had to be supported by poles."
He
married Lucy McElroy 15 April 1847 in Morgan County, Ohio. She was born 1829 in
Ohio. Her parents are not known. Lucy died 1918 in Renrock, Noble Co., Ohio, at the
age of 89, and was buried in Renrock M. P. Cm, Renrock, Ohio.
Furman Dye started the Renrock General Store which was
later purchased by Samuel J. Paxton (my great great grandfather). Silas Thola provided
some additional information about Furman Dye when he died.
The handwritten caption on the back of the photo says:
"Furman Dye - Youngest half brother of Grandfather Paul, Great Grandmother
Paul married Dye after great grandfather was killed. These people lived in
McConnelsville Ohio."
The writer was Edna Paul Ranier, granddaughter of Jacob Paul who is
referred to as "Grandfather" in the caption. "Great Grandfather" was Joseph
Paul, first husband of Sarah Egbert Paul Dye who is referred to as "Great
Grandmother".
There was no information on the identity of the two women in the photograph. Recently Jen Godwin identified Lucy McElroy Dye (wife of Furman) as the lady on the right. The woman on the left is her sister, Henrietta McElroy McNutt.
On February 4, 1870, Furman wrote a letter to Nancy Underwood Dye Combs (daughter of Thomas Dye and Isabella Bone) and her husband Alexander Combs who were living at Denver, Missouri. The letter contains a lot of information about who was doing what and with whom. It also has a rather graphic statement about the difference between living in Ohio and living in Missouri. Thanks to David Wright for a copy of the letter. David's ancestor Catherine Sears was the wife of the "brother John Dye" whose recent death is noted in the first paragraph of the letter.
Regina Barry has the following notes about Ezekiel Dye in her files:
"After serving in the Revolutionary War he married (1) Elizabeth Cox in 1780 and their first four children were born in Middlesex County, New Jersey. [She was born in 1758 in New Jersey and died ~ 1805 in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.] 
All told, Ezekiel Dye migrated more than 320 miles from Cranbury, New Jersey to Renrock, Ohio. The present day town of Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, is almost directly on the line from Cranbury to Renrock.
Elizabeth Cox - married in 1780
[born 1757 and died about 1805 in West Newton in Westmorland Co., PA.]
[b. 1781 d. 1865]
[b. 1781 d. after 1850]
[b. 1784 in New Jersey d. 1868]
"Ezekial Dye was known as an 'odd man', had a high
saddle, peaked Puritan hat and a stick which he held vertically infront of him as he
rode horseback. He would occasionally yell out 'Money Currency' as he rode through
the settlement. He was a member of the early Baptist church in Renrock, for which his brother
Thomas Dye provided the land."
[b. 1788? in New Jersey d. after 1840 ]
Married Arthafaxed (Faxy) Devol in 1808 in Washington County, Ohio (7 children).
He was born 1781 in
Tiverton, Rhode Island and he died before 1840 in Frookfield, Morgan County, Ohio.
[b. 1789 in Westmorland, Pa. d. after 1850]
Married Anthony Reed (1? child)
[b. 1793 in Westmorland, Pa. d,. 1870]
[b ?1795 in Pa. d after 1830 ]
. She married
Simeon Martin on August 15, 1815 in Columbiana County, Ohio. His parents are not
known.
[b 1795? in Westmorland Co., Pa. d after 1835 ]
[b 1797 in Westmorland Co., Pa. d. 1870]
[b 1800 d 1876 ]
[born before 1805 in West Newton, Westmorland Co., Pa. d. before 1820]
[b. 1802 in Westmoreland County. d. after 1850 in Morgan County, Ohio.]
[b. August 9, 1803, Westmoreland, PA d. September 5, 1887 in Monon, Indiana]
[b. about 1808 in Morgan Co., Ohio d. 1879]
[b. 1809 d. 1888]
[b. 1813 d. 1871]
Lewis Dye was born in 1813 in Morgan County, Ohio. He married
Susan Merwin on January 24, 1833 in Morgan County, Ohio. She was born about 1815 in
Ohio. Her parents are not known. Susan died on June 11, 1899 in Brookfield, Noble Co.,
Ohio. Lewis died on September 8, 1871 in Brookfield, Noble Co., Ohio, at the age
of 58.
They had four children.
[b. 1816 in Renrock d. 1870 in Lawrence, Washington Co., Oh]
Married Samuel Dye in 1830 (Children (9)
[before 1810 d. after 1830]
[b. before 1818 d. 1878]
Married John Moore
[b. before 1820 d. before 1830]
[b. before 1820 d. before 1830]
[b. 1820 d. 1903]
Married Lucy McElroy (7 children)
Jonathan Paul sent me the photograph of Furman Dye.
Ezekiel Dye
Sarah Egbert Paul Dye
A copy of his will is available.
Ezekiel Dye Sr., had 10 sons who lived to be at least 20; their average age was a remarkable 72 years. He had at least 113 grandchildren. Nearly 152 years is covered by the time from Ezekiel's birth to the death of his youngest son Furman.
Vincent Dye -- Generation 6
Return to the Dye Lineage Page
