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The African-American Troutmans of North Carolina are thought to be the descendents of slaves owned by white Troutmans, primarily John Absalom Troutman (1821) of Stanly County, North Carolina, and John Sidney Troutman (1827) of Iredell County, North Carolina.
African-American genealogy is very difficult, for several reasons. Marriages between slaves were not officially sanctioned and very rarely recorded. The 1850 and 1860 Censuses listed slaves by their owner, but did not give names, just race, age, and gender. It should be noted that slaves could fall into two race categories. Most slaves were considered Black, for which the enumerator wrote a capital "B". However, many slaves were "Mulatto" (capital "M"). Mulatto was a somewhat racist term for a person of mixed white and black blood. The term comes from "mule" with the idea being that whites and blacks were so different that any mixed-race children would be sterile, like a mule, the sterile offspring of a horse and a jackass. Of course, children of mixed-race parentage are not sterile, but that is what our ancestors thought at first. The 1870 Census marked the first census in which free blacks were enumerated. The enumerators were always white men, and some did very poor jobs of counting the non-whites in their areas. Although white families were occasionally missed in the censuses, black families were very often missed. After Emancipation, county governments began to recognize marriages between blacks, but usually recorded them in separate books than whites, a practice which only ended in some parts of the South within the past fifty years.
Most of my information on black Troutmans in North Carolina has been gathered coincidentally as part of my research of the Troutman family. I have done very little research specifically looking for black Troutmans, but have found a few, and I think I can draw a few relationships and conclusions about them. There is a slight possibility that some or even all of the black Troutmans in North Carolina were not the former slaves of white Troutmans, but I doubt that very much. Some former slaves did not take the surnames of their former masters, but I think that a great many did. Also, the numbers given for slaves in the 1860 census match pretty well with the free black Troutmans in the 1870 and subsequent censuses.
Before 1850, slaves were enumerated in categories of race, age, and gender under the names of their owners. Very few names come from this period. Only a few North Carolina Troutman families owned slaves during this period, and then only one or two at a time. Significantly, slaves are not mentioned in any wills or probate records of Troutmans before 1850.
An odd story appeared in a local newspaper in 1825:
The Western Carolinian Newspaper, Friday, 23 Sep 1825, page 3, column 1 Died in Salisbury, Sept 6 ... a yellow man by the name of Josiah Troutman was drowned on Saturday last. He had been digging for gold.
For a long time, I had not known what was meant by "yellow man." There were no Asians in the area at that time, so I thought perhaps it was a term like "gold fever" to describe someone looking for gold. I have come to the conclusion that Josiah Troutman was a light-skinned black man. The word "yellow" is sometimes used among African-Americans today to describe someone who is considered black, but light-skinned. Josiah was likely a slave of one of the early Troutman families in Rowan County. The fact that he was digging for gold is interesting because James Brawley's history of Rowan county states that the first veins of gold were discovered in 1842 on the lands of Andrew Troutman (1784). Gold had been found much earlier in Cabarrus County, and I would bet that one could pan gold in the creeks of Rowan county before the first veins were discovered. Perhaps the people in the area in 1825 felt it was only a matter of time before a major vein of gold was discovered. Once gold was found, very many slaves were turned from agriculture to labor in the gold mines.
An interesting fact about the slaves of German families in the Cabarrus/Rowan/Stanly area is that these slaves, like their owners, also spoke German as their primary language. The German language died out in the late 1800s in this part of North Carolina.
The 1850 Slave Schedules show that three Troutman households owned a total of 4 slaves in 1850:
1850 NC Iredell Slave Schedules page 602
J J Troutman 66 F B
1850 NC Rowan Slave Schedules page 1046
Jacob Troutman 22 M B
16 F B
David Troutman 25 F B
According to the census, Jacob Troutman (1797) owned two slaves and David Troutman (1808) and John Jefferson Troutman (1815) each owned one slave. Nothing else is known of these slaves.
The 1860 Slave Shedules show that four Troutman households owned a total of 15 slaves:
1860 NC Cabarrus Slave Schedules, page 272
John A. Troutman 58 F B
36 F B
24 M B
19 M B
14 F B
13 F B
12 F B
6 M B
3 M B
7m M B
1860 NC Iredell Slave Shedules, page 533
Sidney Troutman 40 F B
19 M B
14 F B
1860 NC Rowan Slave Shedules, page 115-116
Mary Troutman 11 M M
Samuel Troutman 51 F B
According to this census, John Absalom Troutman (1821) owned 10 slaves, John Sidney Troutman (1827) owned 3 slaves, and Mary (Harkey) Troutman, widow of Jacob Troutman (1797), and Samuel Troutman (1827) each owned one slave. The 11 year old mulatto boy owned by Mary (Harkey) Troutman was actually listed under the name of Christian Bringle, but with Mary Troutman listed as "proprietor." In other words, she rented use of her slave to Christian Bringle.
Although we do not have any names of slaves from the 1860 Census, we can begin to make educated guesses as to who these people were. For example, the 1870 Mortality Census of Rowan County lists a Rachel Troutman, black, age 61, who died in the previous year of dropsy. She was obviously the 51 year old black female slave of Samuel Troutman (1827) in 1860.
The black Troutmans of the Mooresville area of Iredell County were the former slaves of John Sidney Troutman (1827), while the black Troutmans of the Richfield area of Stanly County were the former slaves of John Absalom Troutman (1821). In both cases, these men inherited most of their slaves through their wives.
Iredell County, North Carolina African-American Troutmans
John Sidney Troutman (1827) married Isabella McCrary (also spelled McRary, McCreary) in 1856.
Carolina Watchman newspaper, issue of 9 Sep 1856 John S. K. Troutman married to Isabella Irene McCreary (daughter of David McCreary, deceased) on 3 Sep 1856
In the 1850 Census, Isabella, age 8, was listed in Iredell County in the household of David McRary, age 85, along with Charlotte McRary, age 28. Charlotte McCrary was almost certainly the mother of Isabella, since she later named a daughter Charlotte McCrary Troutman (c1870). David McCrary was probably Isabella's grandfather, and her father, also named David, was dead. However, it is possible that the David McCrary who was 85 in 1850 married a much younger woman and was Isabella's father. In any case, she married John Sidney Troutman (1827) in 1856 and after David McCrary's death, John Sidney inherited David McCrary's slaves through Isabella, since at that time all property inherited by a a woman became the property of her husband. In 1850, David McCrary owned 4 slaves: a 45 year old female, a 11 year old male, a 9 year old male, and a 2 year old female. These, I believe, were a mother and her three children. However, I think the mother's age in 1850 was wrong; she should have been listed as 30 years old. This fits in with slaves owned by John Sidney Troutman (1821) in 1860. In 1860, the mother was now 40, her 9 year old son was now 19, and her daughter listed as 2 in 1850 was now listed as 14 (off by a couple years somewhere). It is unknown what became of the 11 year old boy in 1850, whether he died or was sold away.
The 1870 Census of Iredell shows the following black family living right next door to the family of John Sidney Troutman (1827):
NC Iredell Davidson's Twsp p.81
75 72 McCray, Silas 24 M B Farm hand NC
-Anny 50 F B Keeping house NC
-Margaret 20 F B Dometic servant NC
-Harriet 3 F B NC
-John 4m M B born in Feb NC
Ann, Silas, and Margaret McCrary had been the three slaves of John Sidney Troutman (1827) in the 1860 Census. In subsequent records, they had the surname "Troutman." Apparently, having belonged to David McCrary for so long, they considered themselves to be McCrarys, but late changed to the name of their last owner, Troutman. The ages of Silas and Margaret here are probably off, with Silas being closer to 29 and Margaret about 23. The children, Harriet and John, were probably Margaret's children.
Silas Troutman (c1840) married Mary Krunkleton in Iredell County on 31 Dec 1871. According to the abstract of the marriage record, Silas Troutman was the son of Ann Troutman, and Mary Krunkleton was the daughter of Dan Krunkleton. However, I could find no Dan or Daniel Krunkleton in the 1870 Census of Iredell. I did find a Ham Krunkleton, age 45, with wife Sarah, age 45, and daughter Mary (age 20) on page 80. Whoever abstracted the marriage record probably mistook "Ham" for "Dan". I have not seen the original record.
Silas Troutman (c1840) had three children with his wife, Mary Krunkleton, before dying sometime before 1880. His widow and children were listed in the 1880 Census:
NC Iredell Davidson Twsp SD 2 ED 143 p.87, 94
194 194 Troutman, Hetie B F 13 Servant NC NC NC
[living with the family of Moses Heighleg, a black blacksmith]
324 324 McCorcle, Canie ?B M 53 H Farmer NC NC NC
Troutman, Mary B F 25 Co NC NC NC
-Dora B F 11 Co NC NC NC
-Cyrus B M 8 Co NC NC NC
-Rosa B F 4 Co NC NC NC
Again, the ages seem off here. Mary (Krunkleton) Troutman, widow of Silas Troutman (c1840), was probably closer to 30, and her daughter, Dora Troutman, was probably younger than 11, since Mary married Silas in 1871. Note also the girl "Hetie" Troutman living with the family of Moses Heighleg in 1880. This was probably Hattie Troutman, short for "Harriet," the daughter of Margaret Troutman.
Besides the marriage of Silas Troutman to Mary Krunkleton in 1871, four other marriages of black Troutmans were recorded in Iredell County before 1900:
Troutman, William (age 21) to Clarke, Victory (age 22), 13 Dec 1883, Davidson Township Tuck, Lee (age 33) to Troutman, Maggie (age 30), 12 Mar 1886, no township given Hall, Lake (age 22) to Troutman, Sarah J. (age 19) 17 Sep 1886, no township given Troutman, Cyrus (age 22) to Long, Mary (age 21), 30 Sep 1894, Davidson Township
Other than Cyrus Troutman (c1872), who was the son of Silas Troutman (c1840), I'm not sure who the others are. The Maggie Troutman who married Lake Hall in 1886 may have been Margaret Troutman (c1846), daughter of Ann Troutman (c1819) and sister of Silas (c1840). However, she would have been about 40 in 1886. The Sarah J. Troutman who married Lee Tuck in 1886 was possibly Harriet Troutman (c1866), daughter of Margaret (c1846); the age definitely fits. I have no idea who the William Troutman who married Victory Clarke in 1883 was. I need to look at the actual marriage records of these individuals, since the actual records should list the parents of the bride and groom.
The family of Cyrus Troutman (c1872) was missed in the 1900 Census of Iredell Co, NC, but was listed in 1910 and 1920:
1910 Census
NC Iredell, Davidson Twsp [SD 8, ED 76], p.155
210 210 Troutman, Sly[?] H M B 39 M1 16 NC NC NC Farmer
-Mary W F B 34 M1 16 NC NC NC 6 6
-Marvin S M B 12 S NC NC NC farm labor
-Ethel D F B 9 S NC NC NC
-John S M B 7 S NC NC NC farm labor
-Finsy[?] S M B 6 S NC NC NC
-Nettie D F B 4 S NC NC NC
-Bernice D F B 2 S NC NC NC
-Natinee[?] D F B 4mS NC NC NC
1920 Census
NC Iredell, Davidson Twsp [SD 8, ED 89], p.44
151 152 Troutman, Cyrus H M B 51 M NC NC NC Farmer
-Mary W F B 48 M NC NC NC
-Marvin S M B 21 S NC NC NC farm labor
-Ethel D F B 18 S NC NC NC farm labor
-John S M B 15 S NC NC NC farm labor
-Alfonso S M B 14 S NC NC NC farm labor
-Juanita D F B 12 S NC NC NC farm labor
-Bernice D F B 10 S NC NC NC
-Myrtle D F B 9 S NC NC NC
-Julia D F B 7 S NC NC NC
-Bessie D F B 5 S NC NC NC
-Tallie D F B 3y7m NC NC NC
North Carolina death records, as well as Social Security records, show that the descendents of Cyrus Troutman still live to this day in the area of Mooresville in Davison Township of Iredell County. Note that an article on the TRoutman family in the book Heritage of Iredell County, North Carolina stated that the black Troutmans of the Mooresville area were the descendents of slaves owned by John Jefferson Troutman (1815). This is incorrect. These black Troutmans were the descendents of slaves owned by John Sidney Troutman (1827), and before him by David McCrary.
Stanly County, North Carolina African-American Troutmans
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