Harshbarger line: Leonard Duliban Tullepan and related spellings 1730-1785

 It's always interesting to find an ancestor who hasn't been researched very thoroughly.  Sometimes, it seems, maybe he has been researched and very little has been found about him.  That seems to be the case with immigrant Leonard Duliban.  He has a name that is spelled many different ways, and that is part of the problem, I'm sure.  I have seen it spelled Duliban, Tulepane, Dulibohn, Dullenbaum, Dulybantz, Dulleton, Tulpan, and Dulban, and I've undoubtedly missed some spellings. To add to the fun, Leonard is also seen as Lenhard and over variant spellings.

 Leonard is believed to have been born to a French Huguenot family, in Alsace, what is now France, and likely the family went to Germany to escape the persecutions under Louis XIV, perhaps around 1680.  The "D" and "T" sounds are very similar in German, which would explain some of the differences in spelling. 

The Duliban (used here for convenience) family probably came to Philadelphia in 1752.  The man generally acknowledged as his father, Frantz Dulibon, arrived then.  Leonard is not enumerated on that list, which I have recently learned means he likely came as an indentured servant, meaning neither he nor his father could pay his way here.  That may explain why there seem to be no records of him during the 1750s; he was serving an indentureship and thus more or less invisible.  

We don't know when he married, nor whom.  His wife when he died was named Margaret, but as far as I know no records have been found regarding his marriage.  He may have been married when he and his father came here from Germany or Alsace, France, or he may have married here.  The list of children that I have starts in 1762, so that would indicate a marriage after his arrival here, but it's not proof.  

Leonard seems to have been either a tenant farmer or a tradesman of some sort, because none of the tax records I've seen indicate that he owned land or a dwelling.  The most taxable items I've seen him listed with is 2 cows, which could easily have been for household use and kept wherever it was he was living.  We know he spent most if not all of his life in America in Warwick Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  

Assuming that the French Huguenot religion is correct, Leonard likely supported or belonged to a Reformed church of some kind, Calvinist in nature.  The most likely candidate is Old Zion Church at Brickerville, which has a communion table that was crafted in 1743 by Wendell Laber, the grandfather of his son's wife.  I have not, however, found records that support this.  

We don't know what role, if any, Leonard played in the French and Indian War.  That whole area was subject to raids and many families left their homes for relative safety in larger cities.  However, we don't know whether Leonard was in Warwick Township that early.  

I've found his name listed twice in Revolutionary War records.  The Pennsylvania State Archives shows him as being in the inactive duty militia, 9th battalion, 3rd company, second class, with the note "Non Attendance Return 1777-1780", so possibly he missed more than one training session.  He is also noted as being in the Lititz District, 3rd Battalion, 8th company, 2nd class in 1781.  There is a note that the first class served in Northumberland County but nothing is said about the 2nd class.  By this time, he was about 51 years old, so I hope he didn't have to go on a long expedition.  

Leonard and (possibly) Margaret are credited with having at least seven children: Henry, John, Susanna, Elizabeth, Margaret, Jacob, and Christian.  They were born between 1762 and 1783.

Leonard died prior to March 4, 1785, when Margaret Dullebaun was granted administration of his estate.  Apparently the will itself is in German and has not been translated, based on the introduction to "An index to the will books and intestate records of Lancaster County".  One of my fellow researchers says that the administration notice is all that the County has, so someone is right!  Margaret would have had a long road ahead of her, if she lived to raise her children.  I have not been able to find a death date for her, and she may well have re-married.  

This is the total of my information about Leonard.  I hope someone reading this has more information than this and will contact me so we can learn more about him.  He lived through some interesting times.

The line of descent is

Leonard Duliban-possibly Margaret

Elizabeth Tullepan-Conrad Mentzer

Catherine Mentzer (Mancer)-Lewis Harshbarger

Emmanuel Harshbarger-Clara Ellen Harter

Grover Harshbarger-Goldie Withers

Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Beeks

Their descendants