Their genealogy was fraudulent
Here is what happened...
How the fraudulent genealogy started: Despite the name of the club, not one member of The Back-Bach Genealogical Society was a genealogist. In fact, most of them never even graduated from high school. The only reason they formed their little club was to create a fraudulent genealogy book about their own family, and then sell it, to make money. It's so strange...yet, it's true.
But before they published their fraudulent genealogy book, they decided that they had to destroy as much proof of the actual genealogy of their own family that they could find, such as old family artifacts, books, and even historical documents. They wanted to make sure that, after they published their book, nobody could question their fraudulent genealogy, by bringing up proof of the actual genealogy.
They started their destruction program by cutting out a handwritten statement, made in 1762, from a page of their own family's historical Bible. That old Family Bible had been in their family for hundreds of years. The handwritten statement said that their family had originally come from Thuringia, Germany, which was true. They cut out that statement, because, later on, their fraudulent genealogy would claim that their family came from Freudenberg, Germany.
Then they damaged the research of Dr. Wilgus Bach, who had documented and proven the family's actual genealogy, in the early 1900s, by conducting interviews with scores of elderly people, and locating numerous historical documents. They got hold of his original manuscript (the only copy), and they nearly destroyed it. They crossed out the names of the actual ancestors of their own family, and then they wrote in the names of people that they would later use, in their fraudulent genealogy book. They also used some "white-out," to simply eliminate many of the names, and some of the information. They even removed a large number of pages and just threw them away. And brazenly, they actually inserted a piece of paper into his manuscript that described their fraudulent genealogy; it even had their name and address at the bottom of it!
Then they went into countless libraries and historical societies, and they either removed books and documents that proved the family's actual genealogy, or they used an ink pen to cross out the actual genealogy in those books and documents, and then they wrote in their fraudulent genealogy. The most common thing they did was cross out the name "Joseph Back" (the man who actually founded their family in southeastern Kentucky), and then they wrote in the name "Henry Back" (whose widow they falsely claim founded their family in southeastern Kentucky). That vandalism was so rampant, throughout the Kentucky Library System, that some librarians still talk about it, to this day.
But, probably the worst thing they did was in The Maggard Cemetery, in Partridge, Kentucky. There, in the fall of 1988, they actually pulled up the old gravestone of their own great, great, grandmother, Elizabeth Hoffman-Maggard Back (1755-1826), from the ground, and then threw it over the hill. Then they replaced it with a fake gravestone that they had made, which described her sister-in-law, Elizabeth Hoffman Back, the widow of Henry Back (1740-1809), who was the brother of her husband Joseph Back (1745-1819). They actually placed their new, fake gravestone on top of the remains of their own great, great grandmother. It was beyond belief. In fact, they actually admitted that they were going to do it, in an article that one of them wrote, in The Filson Club History Quarterly (Vol. 62, No. 4, Oct. 1988, p. 467-473), as if they were proud of it. They later claimed that their new, fake gravestone was "proof" that their fraudulent genealogy was correct! (Sadly, that fake gravestone is still there, on top of the remains of Elizabeth Hoffman-Maggard Back.)
Unfortunately, there is no way to know what other precious family artifacts, books, or documents they destroyed. But clearly, they eliminated a significant amount of their own family's actual genealogy, because there is not much left of it today. They did all of that, just so that nothing would stand in their way of selling their fraudulent genealogy book, later on. It was incredibly evil.
In 1994, they published their fraudulent genealogy in a big, orange book, which they sold for $85. Their book was titled, A Back Family History: The Story of a Major Branch of the Back/Bach Family. Their book falsely claimed that their family from southeastern Kentucky descends from a man named Harman Back (aka Hermann Bach), who was born in 1708, in Freudenberg, Germany; he came to America in 1738, and he settled in Little Fork, Virginia, in 1739.
Their book also falsely claimed that Harman had four sons: Harman Back Jr. (1737-1798); John Back (1738-1794); Henry Back (1740-1809); and Joseph Back (1756-1832), although they altered some of those dates of birth and death to fit in with their claims. However, Harman actually only had one son, which was Harman Back Jr. (1737-1798).
Their book falsely claimed that Harman's alleged son Henry Back (1740-1809) had two sons: John Back (1774-1853) and Henry Back (1785-1871). Their book further falsely claimed that, after the death of Henry Back (1740-1809), in Virginia, his frail, 63-year-old widow, Elizabeth Hoffman Back, suddenly moved 500 miles away, to the remote and dangerous wilderness of southeastern Kentucky, for no apparent reason, with her children, including her two alleged sons (John and Henry), and founded their Back (Bach) family there. But all of that was a blatant lie, and they knew it was a blatant lie.
There was not one piece of evidence in their book to prove any of their false claims about Harman Back, including that he had a son named Henry Back (1740-1809), or that Henry had two sons named John Back (1774-1853) and Henry Back (1785-1871). They just made it all up. Why anyone believed their outrageous claims is a mystery. They had no proof of any of it. No proof at all. (Because it wasn't true!)
They even had the nerve to include a list of people on the Acknowledgements Page of their book, implying that all of those people on that list supported their fraudulent genealogy. However, most of those people wanted nothing to do with them, and had never supported their fraudulent genealogy. Some of them were even dead by then (so they couldn't protest their name being used like that), including Dr. Wilgus Bach, whose manuscript they had nearly destroyed! They even had the audacity to claim that their fraudulent genealogy was the same genealogy that Dr. Wilgus Bach had written about! But that was a blatant lie as well. Dr. Bach had never even mentioned anyone named Harman Back, in his manuscript!
Dr. Wilgus Bach had proven that the Back (Bach) family in southeastern Kentucky was founded by Joseph Back (1745-1819), in 1791, and that Joseph Back was the father of John Back (1774-1853) and Henry Back (1785-1871). Dr. Bach had also proven that Joseph Back (1745-1819) was the son of John Henry Back (1709-1789), who had immigrated from Thuringia, Germany, and was related to the famous musical composer, Johann Sebastian Bach. That is the actual genealogy of the Back (Bach) family from southeastern Kentucky, which has been passed down, through the family, for hundreds of years. That genealogy is supported by the information written into the old Back (Bach) Family Bible, facts from numerous historical documents, and solid evidence from many well-documented family history books. That genealogy is also supported by the in-depth research done by several Board-Certified genealogists and respected historians, as well as the genealogy experts at DAR.
The Back-Bach Genealogical Society also included the name of Dr. B.C. Holtsclaw, on that list of people on the Acknowledgements Page, because he was also dead by then, and so he could not object to them using his name either. Dr. Holtsclaw had included information about their fraudulent genealogy, in his 1964 book, Ancestry and Descendants of the Nassau-Siegen Immigrants to Virginia 1714-1750, but he also wrote in that book that there was no proof of it, and that he most certainly did not support it. But yet, they implied that he did support it. It was simply another blatant lie.
Shockingly, the members of The Back-Bach Genealogical Society knew full well that their fraudulent genealogy was a blatant lie. In fact, they had known the actual genealogy of their own family, for a long time, because it had been passed down, from generation to generation, for hundreds of years. It had also been openly discussed at the annual family reunions, which the members of The Back-Bach Genealogical Society had actually attended (as proven by numerous newspaper articles). Those annual reunions had been held every fall, since 1933, on Miles Back's farm, in Quicksand, Kentucky, which was a small community in Breathitt County, where the family had first settled, back in 1791. Nearly 1,000 people attended those reunions every year. People brought a "basket lunch," and they sat out on the lawn, talking and laughing with each other, and sharing stories and pictures. They also passed around the old Family Bible, which included the family's genealogy. Everyone loved going to those reunions, because they were so much fun. The reunions were reported in the newspapers, and a summary of the family's genealogy was included in most of the articles, noting their connection to the famous musical composer Johann Sebastian Bach.
Yet, the members of The Back-Bach Genealogical Society thought that they could make a great deal of money, by creating and selling a fraudulent genealogy book about their family, which connected their family to Harman Back. They were completely driven by greed, to do this. It was truly appalling.
They knew that Harman Back was one of a small group of immigrants who were being researched by The Germanna Foundation, which is a genealogical organization in Virginia that brings in a tremendous amount of money by selling genealogy. So they thought that, if they could somehow connect their family to Harman Back, in a fraudulent genealogy book, they could make a tremendous amount of money as well, by selling that book.
The Germanna Foundation: This organization had been established, back in 1956, in order to research the ancestors, and the descendants, of a small group of German immigrants (including Harman Back) who had settled into northern Virginia, along the Rappahannock River, in the early 1700s. Those immigrants had lived in two small settlements: Germanna and Little Fork.
Back in the 1950s, in order to join The Germanna Foundation, a person had to descend from one of those German immigrants. But starting in the 1980s, The Germanna Foundation began taking money from anyone. That was also when they started to transition, from being a respected genealogical organization, into an aggressive money-making machine that turned the fun hobby of genealogy, into an obnoxious display of greed. Their primary focus was to bring in as much money as possible, for the people who were running it. That continues to be their primary focus today.
So, The Back-Bach Genealogical Society created a fraudulent genealogy that connected their Back (Bach) family in southeastern Kentucky, to Harman Back, simply to take advantage of The Germanna Foundation's extraordinary ability to make money from selling genealogy. They hoped to make a great deal of money as well. It was as simple as that.
Lexington, Kentucky
The Pine Mountain Grill
The Pine Mountain Grill
In 1994: When The Back-Bach Genealogical Society published their fraudulent genealogy book, in 1994, they came up with a devious plan to sell it. They knew that the people who lived in southeastern Kentucky would never buy the book, because they already knew about the actual genealogy of their own family.
So, The Back-Bach Genealogical Society started holding annual "secret family meetings," way up in Lexington, Kentucky, 90 miles away, to which they only invited members of the Back (Bach) family who had been born and raised, outside of southeastern Kentucky. They figured that those people probably would not have already heard about the actual genealogy of their family, and so they would buy their book.
The Back-Bach Genealogical Society held those annual "secret family meetings" for four years, from the fall of 1994, through the fall of 1997. They sold all 500 copies of their fraudulent genealogy book at those meetings, simply because the attendees didn't know the actual genealogy of their family.
The Pine Mountain Grill
The Pine Mountain Grill
The Pine Mountain Grill
They also sold a large number of memberships in their little club: $20 for a 1-year membership, and $100 for a lifetime membership. (A lifetime membership? Yes...you read that right!) They even collected money from anyone who wanted to join The Germanna Foundation, which they referred to as being their "sister organization." (How obvious is that!)
In 1998: In the spring of 1998, The Back-Bach Genealogical Society sent out "newsletters" to members of their family who lived in southeastern Kentucky, announcing that they were suddenly going to "be in charge of" the family reunions. They said that they were moving the reunions, from Miles Back's farm, in Quicksand (where they had been held for nearly 70 years), all the way down to the Pine Mountain Grill restaurant, in Whitesburg, 60 miles away. They also said they were charging people $25 to attend the reunion, and $20 to join The Back-Bach Genealogical Society. When family members in southeastern Kentucky received the "newsletters," they were outraged. And it's no wonder that they were.
Reedus Back
The Pine Mountain Grill
Reedus Back
Nobody had ever paid any money to go to their own family reunion before, and there was no reason to join any club! So, nobody from southeastern Kentucky went to that "new reunion" in Whitesburg that year, or to any of the subsequent "new reunions" in Whitesburg. The few people who went were from out-of-state.
New reunions: The attendees had to sit quietly, and listen, for well over two hours, while Reedus Back (the unscrupulous "president" of The Back-Bach Genealogical Society) loomed over them, from up at the podium, looking down at them, and lecturing them about Harman Back. He also continually solicited them for money, and he even had some of his friends come in and solicit them for money as well. And if anyone dared to ask about the actual genealogy of the family, Reedus and his cohorts mocked them, and laughed at them.
About fifty people attended that first "new reunion," but less and less people went, each year after that. By 2008, nobody showed up, and so the "new reunions" abruptly ended.
The real damage: But it was that big, orange, fraudulent genealogy book that caused the really serious damage to the family. It pitted the people who had bought the book, and somehow believed what was in it (even though there was absolutely no proof in the book for any of the claims that it made); against the people who already knew the actual genealogy of their own family, and those who had figured out that the fraudulent genealogy was fraudulent.
The Back-Bach Genealogical Society tore their own family apart, with their big, orange, fraudulent genealogy book. Most people just walked away from it all, because they were so disgusted by what The Back-Bach Genealogical Society had done. But there are still a few people around today, who blindly support that fraudulent genealogy; they are still known as the "Back-Bach people," which is definitely not a compliment.
The "Back-Bach people" still continue to cling to the fraudulent genealogy, because, either (1) they refuse to admit that they were duped, and they are too lazy to research the facts for themselves; (2) they are simply not very smart; or (3) they pretend they descend from Harman Back, or his alleged son Henry Back (1740-1809), so that they can be a member of DAR (The Daughters of the American Revolution). Harman Back apparently "rendered aid" (provided supplies or ammunition) to the soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War; and the name of Henry Back (1740-1809) was seen on a list of soldiers. That means that both men are considered to be "Patriots," in DAR, which means that the actual descendants of these men qualify for membership in DAR.
The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR): While The Back-Bach Genealogical Society was preparing their fraudulent genealogy book, they started looking for credible organizations that they could "use," to promote it. They decided that they would send copies of their book to The Library of Congress, and to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City; and then later, they would claim that, because their book was in those two locations, that meant that the genealogy it contained was accurate! Of course, that was ludicrous, because all they did was mail the book to those places, but that was the manipulative manner in which they always operated.
Another prestigious organization that they decided to "use," to promote their fraudulent genealogy, was The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).
This was because they had discovered that Harman Back, and Henry Back (1740-1809), were already listed as "Patriots" in DAR. And so, they simply submitted information to DAR, claiming that: (1) Henry Back (1740-1809) was a son of Harman Back; and (2) Henry Back (1740-1809) had sons named John Back (1774-1853) and Henry Back (1785-1871). Of course, both of those claims were false, and they had no evidence to support them, because they were false, however, DAR accepted their claims as being valid anyway.
That's because, back then (in the 1980s), DAR was not very strict about what information they accepted; they basically accepted whatever was submitted to them. However, nowadays, DAR requires a substantial amount of documented proof, when new information is submitted. Their standards are very strict now.
The Back-Bach Genealogical Society claimed that John Back (1774-1853) and his brother Henry Back (1785-1871) were sons of Henry Back (1740-1809), both in their fraudulent genealogy book, and in the information they submitted to DAR, because those two brothers were well-documented as living in southeastern Kentucky, and so they were the "key" to connecting Harman Back, to their Back (Bach) family, down in southeastern Kentucky.
John Back (1774-1853) had married Catherine Robertson, and they mainly lived in Breathitt County; and Henry Back (1785-1871) had married Susannah Maggard, and they mainly lived in Letcher County. Those two men were the "final links in the chain," of the fraudulent genealogy that was created by The Back-Bach Genealogical Society, in order to falsely connect Harman Back, who lived way up in Little Fork, Virginia, down to the Back (Bach) family in southeastern Kentucky.
For many years, that inaccurate information about Harman Back's alleged son Henry Back (1740-1809), and Henry's two alleged sons, John Back (1774-1853) and Henry Back (1785-1871), remained in DAR's database and was presented as being accurate. As a result, many people who actually descend from John Back (1774-1853) and Henry Back (1785-1871) were able to obtain membership in DAR, based upon that inaccurate information.
However, starting around 2003, when the accurate genealogy of the Back (Bach) family from southeastern Kentucky began to emerge again, through the publication of several well-researched books, written by very credible and educated people, who actually utilized The Genealogical Proof Standard (see the "Genealogy Books" section, at the bottom of this webpage), some of the "Back-Bach people" responded in anger, especially those who had obtained their DAR membership through either John Back (1774-1853) or his brother Henry Back (1785-1871). A few of the "Back-Bach people" even went berserk, because they realized that, either their DAR membership might be in jeopardy, or they might not be able to join DAR.
ADDITIONAL PROOF OF HER DECEPTION: In September of 2022, a comparison was made, between the current "DNA Results page," on her DNA website, to some saved screen-shots of that same webpage, from a few years ago. The results were absolutely shocking; they provide further proof that she is the one who writes in the names in the "Paternal Ancestor" column.
Back on March 2, 2017, there were three participants, in the 1st section, including her own brother, but none of them were shown to have Harman Back, or his alleged son Henry Back (1740-1809), as an ancestor, in the "Paternal Ancestor" column. You can verify this on the "Internet Wayback Machine." Click here for the direct link.
By May 23, 2018, there were four participants, in the 1st section, including one new participant. But, all three of the participants from 2017 had their ancestors changed! One of them suddenly had Harman Back as their ancestor, and two of them suddenly had Harman's alleged son Henry Back (1740-1809) as their ancestor, including her own brother! You can also verify this on the "Internet Wayback Machine." Click here for the direct link.
By May 24, 2022, there were seven participants, in the 1st section, including three new participants. Once again, all three of the participants from 2017, who had their ancestors changed in 2018, including her own brother, had their ancestors changed once more, by 2022! You can verify this on the "Internet Wayback Machine" as well. Click here for the direct link.
So, it is quite obvious that, by the spring of 2018, she had figured out how to rig her "DNA Project," to get the "results" that she wanted, by simply making every participant in the 1st section be shown to descend from Harman Back, or his alleged son Henry Back (1740-1809). She simply staged it to look that way. She was the one who wrote in "Harman Back," or his alleged son "Henry Back (1740-1809)," in the "Paternal Ancestor" column, as being the ancestor for every one of the participants.
The fact that the ancestors for the participants from 2017, including her own brother, have changed, two times, in five years, is even more proof that she changed them, that her "DNA Project" is a fraud, and that she is purposefully manipulating the data, and purposefully deceiving people.
By the way, shouldn't the participants be telling HER who their ancestors were, instead of HER assigning them ancestors?
What is wrong with that strange woman?: She keeps trying to claim that the Back (Bach) family from southeastern Kentucky (her own family) descends from Harman Back, even though it's not true, and she knows it's not true.
Many people have tried to show her the actual genealogy of her family, and have tried to help her. She has even been shown proof that the genealogy experts at DAR have conclusively determined that the Back (Bach) family from southeastern Kentucky does not descend from Harman Back (see the next section of this webpage). But she doesn't care! Whenever she is presented with the truth, she just "doubles down" on her lies, and creates even more lies on the internet.
Apparently, the actual genealogy of her own family is not important to her. All she really cares about is her DAR membership and "saving face" with all her DAR girlfriends. In fact, she is even an "Officer" at a local DAR Chapter! To her, her membership in DAR; attending DAR meetings and events; socializing with all her DAR girlfriends and having pictures taken of herself; wearing her DAR sash, pins, and ribbons, and pretending she's so important; and, of course, her obnoxious virtue-signaling that she is supposedly so honorable by simply being in DAR, is more important than being truthful about her own family's ancestors. How hypocritical can you get!
But here is the odd thing...besides Patriot Harman Back, she claims to have twelve other Revolutionary War Patriots in her lineage, so she really doesn't even need Patriot Harman Back, in order to be a member of DAR! That is how deranged she is.
She is simply using Patriot Harman Back for her own sick and selfish reasons, just like members of The Back-Bach Genealogical Society did, years ago.
She has no shame: She obviously has absolutely no shame, and no guilt, about deliberately lying about her own ancestors, and deliberately lying to members of her own family as to who their actual ancestors are. Instead, she is very proud of herself, and what she has done with her "DNA Project." She now presents herself as a DNA expert, and a genealogy expert, which is absolutely outrageous. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
She thinks she is much smarter than The Back-Bach Genealogical Society was. Instead of publishing a book that has no proof in it, and so it can be relatively easy to prove that it's contents are a monstrous lie, she has used the credible concept of DNA to create a monstrous lie about Harman Back. After all, everyone trusts DNA, right?
When people see her "DNA Project" on the "FamilyTreeDNA" website, it sure looks like the Back (Bach) family from southeastern Kentucky descends from Harman Back! People don't know that she just wrote in Harman Back's name herself, as being the paternal ancestor of every one of those DNA participants. And people simply don't realize that the only thing her "DNA Project" shows is that, hundreds of years ago, way back in Germany, those DNA participants simply shared the same ancestor.
Most people don't understand the complexities of DNA, and so they don't understand that her "DNA Project" does not, in any way, "prove" that the Back (Bach) family in southeastern Kentucky descends from Harman Back.
BUT THEY DO NOW!
IT 'S ALL OVER!
HER LIES HAVE FINALLY BEEN EXPOSED!
Her sick lies have finally been exposed...not only on her "DNA Project" website, but also on her family tree on Ancestry.com; on her memorials on FindAGrave.com for Harman Back and Henry Back (1740-1809); and on her "family website," which truly is a joke (see below). If she has any shred of decency left, she needs to remove all of her sick lies about Harman Back from those websites, and stop deceiving people about their own ancestors.
Her "family website": She has loaded up her "family website" with lots of documents, just to make it appear to be credible, however, her "family website" most certainly is not credible. For many of the documents, she either fails to understand what they are, or else she incorrectly names who is featured in them. For example, she calls a basic property tax list a "supply list" (which was a list used during the Revolutionary War). She thinks a 1785 property tax list shows Harman Back (Sr.) and his son Harman Back Jr., but it doesn't. It shows Harman Back Jr. and his son Harman Back. If Harman Back Sr. was still alive, in 1785, he would have been 77 years old, which was way too old to have been counted as a tithable, and so he would never have even been on a tax list anyway! (Men over the age of 50, disabled men, men in the military, and preachers, were not counted as tithables, and so they were not included on the tax lists.) But she knows nothing about tithables, even though it is a very basic genealogical term. (She is most certainly not a genealogy expert!)
She fails to realize that all of the property tax lists for John Back (1738-1794) and his brother Henry Back (1740-1809) were prepared, way down in the far southern part of Culpeper County, 25 miles away from Little Fork, in the part of the county that became Madison County in 1792. All of those tax lists were prepared by men who were different than the men who prepared the tax lists way up in Little Fork, because those were two entirely different taxing districts. John and his brother Henry lived on land that their wives had inherited from their father, John Hoffman; that land was along the Robinson River, and practically next door to John Henry Back's land, along Crooked Creek (which flowed into the Robinson River), who was the father of John and Henry. But yet, she claims that those two brothers were the sons of Harman Back, who lived 25 miles away, way up in Little Fork, in a different taxing district! (Is she really that stupid?)
She also purposefully omits pertinent information, by not showing the entire document, like her presentation of the 1789 land deed. That document clearly states that Harman Back Jr. inherited that land from his father, and that it was the same land that his father had bought from Jacob Holtsclaw, when it was still in Orange County, in 1741. But she pretends that information is not in the deed, by just not showing those parts of the deed.
She also repeatedly mixes up people who had the same name (often, on purpose, to make it fit the fraudulent genealogy). She actually claims that it was Joseph Back (1756-1832), the son of Harman Back Jr., who bought that Treasury Warrant in 1782, for land in Kentucky, when it was really Joseph Back (1745-1819), the son of John Henry Back (1709-1789), and the actual father of her own ancestor, John Back (1774-1853), who bought that Treasury Warrant.
She even pretends that Elizabeth Pennington (daughter of Abel Pennington) did not exist. Instead, she uses Elizabeth Pennington's land records, and claims that they named Elizabeth Hoffman Back, the widow of Henry Back (1740-1809), in her continuous, sick attempt to claim that Elizabeth Hoffman Back migrated to southeastern Kentucky and founded the Back (Bach) family there. Here are the facts...In 1809, in southeastern Kentucky, Elizabeth Pennington had an affair with Andrew Cope, who was married. When she gave birth to his daughter, Andrew was ashamed, and so, he and his wife moved to Tennessee, but he allowed Elizabeth to live on 100 acres of land that he owned. On 6-22-1812, Elizabeth Pennington married Lewis Back (1787-1865), the only son of Henry Back (1740-1809) and Elizabeth Hoffman Back who ended up living in southeastern Kentucky. Lewis had first migrated to southwestern Virginia and lived with his cousin John Back (1774-1853); when John and his wife Catherine Robertson moved to Kentucky, in 1810, Lewis went with them. After Lewis married Elizabeth Pennington, he adopted her illegitimate daughter and raised her as his own. Elizabeth Pennington Back paid taxes on that 100 acres in 1815; that tax list showed that Andrew Cope owned the land. Andrew later returned to Kentucky and deeded that land to her, on 8-9-1823, probably as his way of saying that he was sorry for what had happened. Elizabeth Pennington Back later deeded that land to her husband Lewis Back, on 12-10-1831. In the fall of 1850, Lewis and Elizabeth migrated to the Ozark Mountains, where they later died. But this strange woman claims that it was Elizabeth Hoffman Back, the widow of Henry Back (1740-1809), who was named in all of those land records! It's preposterous. Click here for more facts about Elizabeth Pennington Back.
She claims that Harman Back Jr. never had a twin sister named Anna Ella, even though their German birth records exist, showing they had the exact same date of birth, and the exact same parents. Instead, she presents what she claims is Anna Ella's christening record, and because her twin brother Harman Jr. was apparently not christened on the very same day, she claimed that meant that he was not her twin.
She doesn't even understand the significance of the 1787 entry into the old Back (Bach) Family Bible, which was owned by John Henry Back, in which the name of Elizabeth Hoffman, and her date of birth (July 13, 1746), was written. It proved that she, the daughter of John Hoffman and Maria Sabina Folg, and the wife of Henry Back (1740-1809), married into the family of John Henry Back, not into the family of Harman Back. She even thinks that John Henry Back's signature in that old Family Bible, as "Henry Back," was Henry Back (1740-1809)! She doesn't know that the old German custom dictated that, when a man had two first names, like John Henry Back did, he used his first first name (John) in public, and his second first name (Henry) with his family and friends. (If she is going to claim to be a genealogy expert, she had better start learning about genealogy!)
But clearly, her recent assertion that Harman Back had a daughter named Mary Boch, who became the second wife of Moses Tapp, is the most laughable part of her ridiculous "family website." Mary's marriage record shows that she was born in 1779. But Harman was born in 1708, and so he would have been 71 years old, when Mary was born! Even more absurd is the fact that Mary's marriage record also shows that she was born in Germany, in 1779. But Harman had left Germany, in 1738! So, how could she possibly have been Harman's daughter? Well, in order to "prove" that she was, this strange woman actually drew a crude, little map, on which she showed that Moses' father, Vincent Tapp, had supposedly lived right next door to Harman Back! It's hilarious! (The Tapp family actually lived way over by Red Oak Mountain, 15 miles west of Little Fork, and nowhere near where Harman Back lived.) In addition, it has been proven that Moses and his first wife moved to South Carolina, in 1804. In the 1810 Census Report, Moses' wife was age 45 and older, but Mary Boch would have been just 31, so that wasn't her. In the 1820 Census Report, Moses' wife was age 45 and older, but Mary Boch would have been just 41, so that wasn't her either. Obviously, Moses did not marry Mary Boch until after 1820, which means that he met her, and he married her, sometime after 1820, in South Carolina! She was from South Carolina! She never even lived in Culpeper County! Click here for the facts about Mary Boch.
These are just a few, of the dozens of examples, of this strange woman's astonishing stupidity, and her complete lack of genealogical knowledge. It's truly extraordinary. She has no idea what she's doing. She presents herself as being a genealogy expert (and strangely, she even calls herself a "sponge"). However, she clearly knows nothing about The Genealogical Proof Standard. She doesn't even have a basic understanding of simple genealogical terminology, or how to perform proper genealogical research! Her "family website" is so full of incorrect information, deliberately falsified information, and downright lies, that it would take another website just to go through it all. And yes, it truly is a joke.
She also claims that Dr. Wilgus Bach's research is not to be trusted because someone wrote all over it. (No...that's ridiculous. Some of what he wrote is still visible, and so, of course, that information is valid. Anyone can tell that his original information was purposefully, and maliciously, changed. Just because someone wrote all over it does not mean that the original information was wrong! It means that someone was trying to destroy the original information because it was right!) She even warns people not to believe documented and proven evidence that they may find, especially if it's in a book! (That's also ridiculous.) According to her, only her phony "DNA Project," and her disastrous "family website," are to be trusted! Her stupidity is truly frightening.
What she has done: This strange woman has caused so much anger, so much pain, and so much bitterness, within her own family, with all of her lies. She has pitted family members against family members, and many of those relationships have been damaged beyond repair, directly because of her.
She is also destroying the credibility, and the integrity, of DAR, by making a farce of their standards and their research. As an "Officer" in DAR, she should not be claiming descent from a Patriot, using lineage that DAR has proven to be completely invalid.
She has no right to hurt and deceive people like this, especially members of her own family. It has to stop. What she is doing is downright evil. Some people say that what she is doing is grounds for litigation. It probably is.
John Henry Back's Family Bible
John Henry Back's Family Bible
John Henry Back's Family Bible
This is a copy of the actual page from his Family Bible
Around Christmas of 1787, in the far southern part of Culpeper County, Virginia, along Crooked Creek, near the Robinson River, John Henry Back wrote down in his Family Bible the names, and dates of birth, of the people who were at his cabin that day.
Here is what he wrote: Elizabeth [Hoffman] Back was born the 13 day of July...1746; John Back was born the 19 of November...1774; Mary Back was born the 1 of November 1777; Henry Back was born the 6 of February 1785; [and] Lewis Back was born the 14 of October...1787.
Forty-one years earlier, Elizabeth Hoffman Back's father, John Hoffman, had written down her name, and her date of birth, into his Family Bible (see the other picture). The dates of birth were the same. This proves that Elizabeth Hoffman Back, the daughter of John Hoffman and Maria Sabina Folg, married into the family of John Henry Back, not into the family of Harman Back.
John Hoffman's Family Bible
John Henry Back's Family Bible
John Henry Back's Family Bible
His Family Bible was published in The Virginia Magazine
John Hoffman wrote down in his Family Bible the names, and dates of birth, of each of his children. For his daughter Elizabeth, he wrote that she was born on "1746, July 13th." She later married Henry Back (1740-1809), the son of John Henry Back.
Elizabeth's sister Anna Margaretha, who was known as Margaret, was born, two years later. John Hoffman wrote in his Family Bible that she was born on "1748, November 27th." Margaret later married John Back (1738-1794), who was a brother of Henry Back (1740-1809).
John and Henry had a brother named Joseph Back (1745-1819). Joseph was the member of the Back (Bach) family who migrated to southeastern Kentucky in 1791, and he founded the Back (Bach) family there. Joseph's wife was Elizabeth Hoffman-Maggard (1755-1826); she was not related to John Hoffman's family.
Elizabeth Hoffman Back (born July 13, 1746) died in 1815, in Rockingham County, Virginia; she never went to Kentucky. Her sister Margaret Hoffman Back (born November 27, 1748) also died in Rockingham County.
Forty-one years later, Elizabeth Hoffman Back's father-in-law, John Henry Back, wrote down her name, and her date of birth, into his Family Bible (see the other picture). The dates of birth were the same. This proves that Elizabeth Hoffman Back, the daughter of John Hoffman and Maria Sabina Folg, married into the family of John Henry Back, not into the family of Harman Back.