• Jacob Surface and Sarah Null 1820 Marriage Records
• Sarah Null page on The Zeller-Sellers & Allied Families website by Michael Sellers

Title page

Page 76

Feb. Term 1811

• Polly Null 17 years of age chooses Adam Surface for her guardian
• Salley Null 10 years of age has Adam Surface appointed her guardian
• Ann Null 16 years of age chooses Teter Kisling for her guardian
• Catherine Null 14 years of age chooses Teter Kisling for her guardian.

[See image for exact wording and footnote for further details.]

In open court, two of the daughters, Polly and Sally, chose Rev. Adam Surface as their Guardian while the other two daughters, Ann and Catherine, chose Teter Kisling. A complete explanation for each girl’s individual choice probably cannot be given present-day. However, it should be noted that the three family names involved, Null, Surface, and Kisling, had known one another for a couple of generations in Rockingham County, Virginia, are found together as members of the Peaked Mountain Church in McGaheysville, Rockingham County, Virginia throughout the latter part of the 1700s and would seem to make logical sense with all three families having migrated to Warren County, Ohio, within 2-3 years of one another.

The choice of Teter Kisling as Guardian by Susannah (Ann) and Catherine Null is quite logical given that by 1811 two of their sisters had already married two of Teter Kisling’s sons: Margretta Null to John Kisling on October 1, 1808 and Elizabeth Null to Henry Kisling on October 11, 1810. Very early in their marriages to Null sisters, the Kisling men had sister-in-laws who were then orphaned minors. It’s quite logical that their father, Teter, being of sound moral character, a leader in the community, and considered as the “founder of the Kisling Clan of Ohio”, would step in and be considered for their Guardian. Within four years of their choice of Teter as their Guardian, Susannah and Catherine Null were both married and off beginning their own families. Susannah married Andrew Irick on July 22, 1813, while Catherine married John Griffis on November 9, 1815.

The choice of Rev. Adam Surface as Guardian by Mary Magdalene (Polly) and Sarah (Sally) Null is a bit murkier, and their reasoning can probably never be completely explained with any certainty. But, given the history of the two families having known and interacted with one another across two counties and two states and given that Rev. Adam Surface was also a leader within the community, their choice of him as Guardian does make a lot of sense. By early 1821, Mary Magdalene and Sarah Null were both married and on their own. Ironically, Sarah married Rev. Adam Surface’s son, Jacob Surface, on December 11, 1820. Following in their father’s footsteps, Jacob Surface and his brother, John Surface, both became Ministers.