Adam Troutman (1690)

The Troutman Family of North Carolina

A Genealogy from 1690 to 1850 with some records up to 1900

Adam Troutman (1690) of Gross Gumpen, Hesse, Germany


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First Revision: 27 Sep 1998


Adam Troutman or Johann Adam Trautmann (1690) was the son of Hans Peter Trautmann (1657) and Catherine (maiden name unknown).

FIRST GENERATION

1. Johann Adam TRAUTMANN was born on 19 Feb 1690 in Gross Gumpen, Hesse, Germany. He died on 10 Apr 1737 in near Pfaffen-Beerfurth, Hesse, Germany. He was married to Anna TREUSCH on 4 Aug 1712 in Bayern, Germany. Anna TREUSCH was born on 10 Nov 1695 in , , Germany. She died on 1 Jun 1718 in Gross Gumpen, Hesse, Germany. Johann Adam TRAUTMANN and Anna TREUSCH had the following children:

He was married to Anna Margaretha HARTMANN on 26 Oct 1718 in , , Germany. Anna Margaretha HARTMANN was born on 23 May 1694 in , , Germany. She died in PA or NC. Johann Adam TRAUTMANN and Anna Margaretha HARTMANN had the following children:


A little German geography...

Source of information and maps: "The Atlantic Bridge to Germany, Volume II" by Charles M. Hall.
 

Where is Gross Gumpen?

Well, it is in the modern German Land (State) of Hessen (Hesse).

Hessen is divided into three Regierungsbezirke (Administrative Districts):
Darmstadt
Kassel
Wiesbaden (Nassau)

It should be noted that Darmstadt (which literally means "Gut City") is the name of an Administrative District, a County within Darmstadt Administrative District, a City District inside Darmstadt County, and the city of Darmstadt itself within Darmstadt City District.

Gross Gumpen is about 20 miles southeast of Darmstadt City, in the Landkriese (County) of Erbach. Erbach is the name of the County and a small town in the middle of the County. Erbach County is in the very southeast corner of Hessen, and it borders the States of Baden and Bavaria (Bayern). It should be noted that the Trautmann family in Germany began in the area where Hessen, Baden, and Bavaria come together, and those American Troutman families that have traced their ancestry back to Germany all come from this general area.

Darmstadt Administrative District is divided into two portions which are not contiguous. The northern portion, called Oberhessen (Upper Hessen) contains five Counties. The southern portion, called Starkenburg contains six Counties, including Erbach.

Although Hessen is today divided into three Adiministrative Districts, each containing a few Counties and City Districts, Hessen was for a time divided into eight Districts. During this time, Gross Gumpen was in the District of Odenwaldkreis, sometimes just called Odenwald.

A map I have of Erbach County shows that it is divided into what we might call Townships. One of these Townships is Reichelsheim, which is also the name of the largest town in the township. Each of the Townships is divided into several Gemeinde (Communities). These are basically the areas around small villages. One such Communtity in the Township of Reichelsheim is Gross Gumpen, which is the Community around the village of Gumpen. Gross Gumpen means Greater Gumpen, or "the area around Gumpen."

This area of Germany has been part of several different nations, large and small, over the centuries. The towns of Gumpen and Reichelsheim and the County of Erbach all existed when Adam Troutman (1690) was alive. During the time Adam (1690) lived, this area was part of the Landgraviate of Hessen-Darmstadt.

Thus, Adam Toutman (1690) lived in Gross Gumpen, near the town of Reichelsheim, in the County of Erbach, in the former district of Odenwald, in the region of Starkenburg, in the Administrative District of Darmstadt, in the state of Hessen, in the modern nation of Germany.

Map of Hesse, Germany

County of Erbach highlighted green

For more maps of this region, visit MapQuest and do a search for Gross Gumpen or Reichelsheim.


The information we have on Adam Troutman (1690), his immediate family, and his ancestry, is based upon the work of Dr. Fritz Brown in Germany. The work is undocumented as far as I know, and needs to be verified before it can be fully trusted. However, the work fits very well with information on the Troutman family in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. It makes sense that Adam was the father of both Peter (1716) and Melchior (1729) since both named their first sons Adam.

According to the Dr. Fritz Brown information, Adam Troutman (1690) was a tailor, and he died of an accidental gunshot wound. For more information on Adam Troutman and his ancestors in Germany, see Descending Jacob's Ladder.

For the purposes of this genealogy, Adam Troutman (1690) is the First Generation, although Troutman lineage in Germany goes back two more generations. I start with Adam (1690) because he is the first common ancestor of all the North Carolina Troutmans (except, of course, for the African-American Troutmans). Also, I start with Adam (1690) because there is nothing more I can say about his ancestors than what may be found in Descending Jacob's Ladder.

Supposedly, Anna Margaretha, Adam's (1690) second wife, accompanied Peter (1716) and Melchior (1729) on their voyage to America in 1751. She most likely died in Pennsylvania, before the Troutman family migrated south to Rowan County, North Carolina, about 1773.

From Pennsylvania German Pioneers
[List 172C]  At the Court House at Philadelphia, Tuesday, the 24th September 1751.
Present:  William Peters, Esquire
The Foreigners whose names are underwriten, imported in the Ship Neptune, John Mason, 
Commander, from Rotterdam & last from Cowes, did this day take the usual Qualifications & 
subscribe them.  By List 144.  Whole Freights 300.  Messrs. Shoemaker.
Melchior Trautman
Johann Petter Trautmann
Johan Leonhart Trautman

Johan Leonhart Trautmann, or Leonard Troutman, was associated with the Troutmans of Maryland who later moved to Kentucky. Some of this very large Kentucky Troutman clan later moved to South Carolina and Georgia. The presence of Leonard on the Neptune, along with Peter (1716) and Melchior (1729), was probably not coincidence; it probably suggests a link between the North Carolina Troutmans and the Kentucky Troutmans.


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