Surnames: Moser/Traut/Trout/Troutt/Troutting/
Martin/Phifer
Hello Fellow Listers. My husband's cousin, Heidi just sent this to us. I hope that
it will be of some help. We believe that my husbandÂ’s family comes from the Northern line. Happy Researching.
Peace and blessings. Dolores Cobb Phifer
Early
Trout Family History
Hi Stefan! Am in contact with a guy in Los Angeles. He sent me the following that I am forwarding for your info: IÂ’ll write again soon Love ya Heidi
Upon investigating early
Trout family origins in
America, descendants can typically trace their family back to either one of two seminal
Trout lines. The most well-known and documented line is the
Wendel TRAUT line, which arrived in
America in 1738. One of the most scholarly and source-supported books I have read on this particular line is the book 250 Year History of my
Trout Family. This book was written by George Egbert
Trout (1913-1999). I was able to purchase one of the last remaining copies before the author passed away. At that time, his grandson-Matthew Curtis-posted a message on the
Trout Genealogical Forum, "I have the last 30 copies of his book and I will be selling them for the family. Please e-mail me directly if you are interested" (
mattnmona@earthlink.net). The other
Trout line, and the focus of this essay, is the less well-known Brethren
TRAUT line, which arrived in
America in 1719. (Author's note: I will switch back and forth between
TRAUT, the original German variation of the surname, and
Trout, the Americanized variation of the surname).
First, I will give some background on the other line-the
Wendel TRAUT line. According to the aforementioned book by George E. TROUT, the
Wendel TRAUT line begins with the patriarch himself, his full name being
Johann Wendel George
TRAUT (1689-1760). He immigrated to
America, arriving in
Philadelphia in 1738. He brought with him four daughters and at least three sons:
Hans George (b. 1725),
Hans Nicklaus
(1727-1753), and
Hans Michael (1730-1780). They all settled into the Strasburg Township area of
Lancaster County,
Pennsylvania. In 1752, two of his sons-George and Niclaus-left
Lancaster County and moved to
Virginia. Niclaus moved to Augusta County and was accidentally killed by a shotgun blast shortly thereafter. George moved to Rockingham County, leaving descendants in the Roanoke area, and he may have eventually made it to North Carolina. The third son-Michael-stayed in
Lancaster County until after his father's death. Around 1771 he and his family moved to Frederick County,
Maryland. Wendel TRAUT's first wife had died before the family came to
America so a
year after his arrival, he married another woman in the Strasburg Township. They had at least four daughters and two sons: Johan Paul (1739-1794) and
Wendel II (1743-1820). It looks like Johan Paul stayed in
Lancaster County while
Wendel II moved to York County,
Pennsylvania. Finally, it must be noted that the patriarch,
Wendel I, had a cousin who had immigrated to
America prior to him in 1733. His name was
Hans Martin
TRAUT (b. 1677) and he settled in Berks County,
Pennsylvania. He brought with him at
least three daughters and two sons: Johan Debalt (1706-1738) and John Henry (1718-1746). The latter son ended up moving to Frederick County,
Maryland, just like his half-brother Michael. All of Wendel's and
Hans Martin's children had their own children in the areas noted above, and this
TRAUT family began to spread throughout
Pennsylvania and
Virginia.
While Wendel's family is more well documented, there is another
Trout family that arrived earlier. This is the family that is referred to in the 1903 book, Some
Virginia Families by Hugh Milton McIlhany, Jr. This book is one of the earliest and most well known
Trout family history books, and gives many details about descendants from this other
Trout family. However, the book cannot pinpoint the exact origins of this family, only stating that, "From the traditions preserved in several branches of the
Trout family today, it would seem that many years before the Revolutionary War three brothers, Lutherans, fleeing from religious persecution in Germany, emigrated from the neighborhood of Frankfort-on-the-Main and settled in Germantown,
Philadelphia." The book goes on to state that family tradition has it that the three brothers' names were Nathaniel, Daniel, and Jeremiah. The author states that while the traditional account of this family's history is "in the main correct, the names of the original immigrants have been handed down inaccurately." Instead, the names of the three brothers were John Balthazar (aka
Baltzer), George, and
Jeremias Trout, and the book picks up with an account of their lives and descendants beginning around 1740.
If one were only to rely upon the well-known text. Some
Virginia Families, it would seem that the exact details of this family's genesis in
America have been lost to antiquity. However, there are other, less well-known texts that exist, which I believe give a more detailed and accurate account of just who these initial TROUTs were. These books detail the history of the Church of the Brethren, which began in Germany in 1708. The Church of the Brethren (also known as the "Dunkers") was what could be considered an outlaw sect in Germany at the time. As a result of great persecution, 20 members of this small religious congregation left for
America in 1719, eight of whom were TRAUTs, and they landed in
Philadelphia, settling in Germantown. One of the earliest books that detailed this church's history is Martin Brumbaugh's. History of the German Baptist Brethren in Europe and
America, published in 1899. Another Brethren church historian whose books include these earliest
Trout ancestors is Donald F. Durnbaugh (see source footnotes for specific texts). Finally, a
Trout descendant and another Brethren church historian and author is Ellen Louise Larick, whom I have gotten to know and found very helpful and knowledgeable (she has even traveled to Germany to research the origins of this
Trout family; more on that further below).
According to these various texts about the history of the Church of the Brethren, of the eight
TRAUT family members who made the trek to
America in 1719 with 12 other Brethren congregants, the adult men consisted of three brothers. Their names were
Johann Henrich, Georg
Balthasar, and
Jeremias TRAUT. The names of these three brothers as recorded in the Church of the Brethren history is strikingly similar to those mentioned in the McIlhany's Some
Virginia Families book. All three brothers were from Frankenthal, Germany.1 Again, this is very similar to the fuzzy traditional account documented by McIlhany ("Frankfort-on-the-Main"), as is the fact that the three brothers immigrated here in the pursuit of religious freedom. These original three
TRAUT brothers settled in the vicinity of
Philadelphia County,
Pennsylvania. However, while the details of the very initial history of this family coming to
America are preserved, once they arrived in
America it becomes very difficult to determine who their offspring were. Apparently, many of their children bore the same name as the original three brothers,
probably in honor of each other. It becomes impossible to tell, for example, when a land grant states that
Baltzer Trout owned property in Germantown,
Philadelphia in 1734,3 whether this was the original
Baltzer or one of the many descendants who retained the
Baltzer namesake. Further complicating this puzzle is the confusion over
Johann Henrich or John Henry (see further below). In some ways it appears that the three brothers may have been the children of a man by the same name. One day I hope to stumble upon some new pieces of information that will shed light on this mystery.
Nevertheless, let me go back to the beginning in Germany and then onto
Philadelphia, and I will give as full account of the origins of this
Trout line as I can. Some of this comes from the aforementioned Brethren history texts while other information is pieced together from other sources (see footnotes to determine what comes from where). Not surprising for genealogical research, not all of the pieces fit. However, I wanted to give as full account as possible of all the information that I could find in hopes that someone else with other or new information might be able to eventually put things together in their right or complete order.
To start off with, in Germany during the late 1600s and early 1700s, there was the state-mandated form of Christianity and then there were other illegal denominations or "Pietists." One such group was the Anabaptists. They believed that infant baptism was not valid; an adult, in the understanding of his or her own mature mind, must make a decision to follow Christ and then be baptized. Thus came about their name Anabaptist": in other words, re-baptizers. As uncontroversial as it may sound today, this was a crime punishable by hard labor, prison, or banishment. Part of the problem was that all of these sects were a challenge to the church-state's prevailing viewpoints and consequently their power. While certain groups, like the "Inspirationists," made
dramatic prophecies in which they "denounced the wickedness of the authorities,"4 the Brethren were not as exciting. They were considered merely troublesome by the authorities "only because of their belief in the necessity of baptism by immersion."4
In 1705 a
Johann Henrich TRAUT was one of four citizens of Lambsheim (near Frankenthal), Germany, imprisoned for their refusal to swear oaths of allegience.1 In 1706, a Johannes
TRAUT was accused of Pietism in Lambsheim Rheinland/Pfalz and sentenced to cleaning the town's ditches.2 This may have been the same
Johann Henrich TRAUT that was one of our original three brothers or it may have been the father of all three. Records show that he was married to Anna Katharina and had two sons, aged 10 and 6 at the time;2 a daughter and a son-in-law also were living with him.1 At any rate, some records state that he sold his home in Lambsheim in 1709 and went to London,
England.1 He was 40 years old at this time. 2 Later on, he sailed to New York and then settled into the Dublin Township of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.2
Upon examining the early
Trout land records in
America, there is mention of one John
Trout who owned 100 acres of land in Upper Dublin,
Philadelphia County in 1734.3 In McIlhany's Some
Virginia Families, he contends that the original three brothers were actually sons of this "John
Trout of Upper Dublin Township in
Philadelphia County, Yeomen, who in his will, made April 3, 1728 and approved May 7, 1728, mentions his wife Catharine, his eldest son John as his executor, and his youngest son Philip."5 So it is possible that this John Henry
Trout was the father of the three original
TRAUT brothers mentioned in the Church of the Brethren history. He may have preceded his sons by a decade in his devotion to the Pietistic movement and in his immigration to
America. Since this John Henry
Trout was 40 in 1709, it is conceivable that he could have left behind three teenage sons who were old enough to fend for themselves. Furthermore, by 1719, when the three brothers traveled to
America with their Church of the Brethren cohort, each would have been an adult old enough to have their own families.
Although Philip is not noted as being one of the three brothers intimately involved with the foundation of the Church of the Brethren, this doesn't preclude him from being a sibling. After all, John Henry's will states that he was the youngest son. Perhaps he came over to
America as a child with his father in 1709. Whatever the case may be, there is no doubt he too is somehow tied in to this history because his name comes up frequently. A Philip
TRAUT held land in the
Philadelphia township of Franconia (140 acres) during 1734.3 Remember, this is all prior to
Wendel TRAUT arriving in
America in 1738, so these individuals cannot be a part of that line. There are also records of land deals in the Cocalico Township of
Lancaster County,
Pennsylvania by a Philip
TRAUT around the 1750s.6 The Cocalico Township was where the "Ephrata Cloister" was located.7 This was a breakaway group of Brethren members who organized a commune. One of its peculiar beliefs was in the practice of celibacy, even for married couples. They believed this would help them devote themselves more fully to the Lord. Philip
TRAUT became a member of this group and his wife is recorded in their records as having died in 1754.8 Philip is also recorded as having a daughter named Susanna.6 It is not known whether the Philip who lived in Ephrata was the same Philip who earlier owned
land in Franconia, but it may be likely.
Philip isn't the only
Trout that spent time in the Ephrata Cloister in
Lancaster County. A John Henry
Trout had also joined their group,2 presumably one of the original three brothers. In the Brethren historical records he is listed as being a member who "never married."9,10 However, another Brethren history book states that he "temporarily renounced celibacy and married, but later returned to his celibacy."2 The same publication states that he had a daughter named Eufenia that died at the Ephrata Cloister on 5 July 1753. There was also a Joseph and Mary
Trout who lived in the Cocalico Township and engaged in land deals with Philip
Trout and Adam
MOSER in the 1750s.6 Adam
MOSER may be the brother of Eva
MOSER who married
Balthasar Trout, probably the son of one of the three brothers. He lived in the Colebrookdale Township of Berks County, Pennsylvania.11 In his will dated 1782, he names his brother-in-law Adam
MOSER, as well as his wife Eva
MOSER and seven children: George (the eldest), Catharina, John, Jacob, Abraham, John
Baltzer, and
Magdalena. All of the boys were under 21 years of age at that time.11 So you can see it is a convoluted mess, but a good mess all the same because the Brethren connection keeps resurfacing, further substantiating through circumstantial evidence that the original three brothers were indeed ancestors of this other
Trout line not tied in to the
Wendel TRAUT line.
At any rate, let me get back to Germany again. The Brethren movement began around 1708 in Schwardzenau.10
Johann Henrich TRAUT, a native of Frakenthal and a
sackmaker by trade, moved with his family (two sons, a daughter, and a son-in-law) to Marienborn in the same year. The fact that he had a son-in-law living with him would indicate that he had a daughter of at least 18 years of age. Therefore, this would lead me to believe that this John Henry was the father of the three brothers I spoke of earlier, and the one who left Germany the following year in 1709, presumably leaving behind three of his sons including one by his same name. A man also by the name of John Henry
Trout (the son?) attended Brethren baptisms in Marienborn between 1712 and 1714; he was listed as being a Brethren member in 1714.1 The state began compiling lists of people who were engaged in illegal religious practices, the Brethren being one of them. Balthasar
TRAUT, also a native of Frankenthal and a sackmaker by trade, was on one such list as a member of the Brethren in the area of Dudelsheim (a section of Marienborn). Johann
Henrich TRAUT and his family were also on the same list.4 As a result of the pressure the authorities were putting on them, they both moved along with the congregation to Krefeld.1 Eventually it got to a point where the state gave them an
ultimatum: if they refused to confine their religious expression to devotions in their homes, then they must leave.4
The first group of the Brethren to leave Germany in order to seek religious freedom in
America constituted around 20 families.10 The
TRAUT family was one of these original 20, of which they numbered 8 total.1 Of the names we know, there were the three aforementioned brothers -- John Henry, George
Balthasar, and
Jeremias. The customary route was to sail down the Rhine River to Rotterdam, where one would book a voyage to
America. Normally the route would take them to England first, and then onto
Philadelphia. The ocean passage took at least seven weeks and was marked by high mortality.1
Once the group arrived in
America in the Fall of 1719, they became dispersed as they settled into different townships. The dispersion incapacitated them to meet for public worship; and therefore they soon began to grow lukewarm in religion.10 In response, a "missionary journey" was undertaken by the leaders of the church to visit the scattered Brethren. John Henry emerged as the second in command to the leader of the church, Alexander MACK.10 9 He and his brothers were among the leaders that visited the various congregations around 1722.12 They held "love feasts" where the group's spiritual fervor was temporarily revived. Interestingly, in attendance at the first love feast was one
Magdalena Trout. She may have been George Balzer's wife since he is recorded as having been married twice. At any rate, the visiting
TRAUT brothers and other Brethren leaders did not try to establish any sort of hierarchial manner of control over these congregations. Instead, upon leaving them, John Henry said to one such gathering, "You can now arrange your affairs among yourselves to the best of your ability; the better you do it, the better we will be pleased, since you constitute together a small congregation. You are in no way to be bound to us, as we are at too great a distance from you."10 Unfortunately, this revival did not last. The scattered church struggled until a second group of immigrants from the original church in Schwardzenau
arrived in
Philadelphia in the Fall of 1729. Upon arrival, one such individual wrote, "John Henry
TRAUT from Germantown, another of the Brethren, hauled our things a distance of four hours to this place without taking pay."10 With these reinforcements, the church began to grow and flourish, and it exists to this very day (its present-day headquarters are in Elgin, Illinois).
Sadly, just a few years later, Stephen KOCH--one of the early leaders of the church --wrote, "An important brother, Henry
TRAUT, by name, passed out of time into eternity, on January 4, 1733. When with sorrowful heart and deeply grieved I saw him pass into eternity, it made so deep an impression on me that I continually sighed unto God....But at length the power of darkness so revolted within me that for the life of me I had no
resource left; and I now was able to realize in what grievous condition the deceased brother, Henry
TRAUT, had been when at times he had so sorely wept, for I was in like condition....But when I came to again, I felt an inexpressibly pleasing love to God in my heart; and on the other hand, all anxiety, with all the temptations of the unclean spirits, had vanished. Yes, it seemed as if all my transgressions were pardoned and sealed, and day and night there was nothing else in my heart but joy, love, and praise to God."10 Another publication says about him, "He lived a quiet, godly life, rich in deeds of love, and died Jan. 4, 1733. His loss was deeply felt by the entire congregation."9
We don't know exactly what happened to the other two brothers. All three were described as "worthies of the early church...rich in experiences with God's people in Germany...all sterling men of God."9
Jeremias was believed to have been a minister2 and he was rumored to have been a chaplain in the Army during the Revolution.5 Apparently there is a record of one of his sermons printed in Harper's Magazine but it is attributed to a Joab TROUT5. Jeremias was also listed in the Brethren records as having "never married,"9 although we know this might have meant he never married as a member of the church once coming to
America (see the confusion over John Henry's marital status). He may have been previously married and his wife may have died so it is possible that he might have had children. George Balzer
TRAUT was twice married, although we don't know the names of his wives (one may have been
Magdalena).9 Overall, we just can't conclusively determine who the children of these original three
TRAUT brothers were. The Church of the Brethren was similar to the Mennonites. They didn't believe in taking oaths nor suing nor fighting in the military; they basically eschewed all government relations and this included keeping governmental-style records (this was considered too worldly). As a result, once in
America in 1719, they did not register births or marriages with the state, and thus there is a frustrating dearth of the crucial vital records that could help us make connections with some of the later records that start showing up around the 1740s (such as McIlhany's Some
Virginia Families).
Louise LARICK, the Brethren researcher and
Trout genealogist, related to me how when she visited Germany, she tried to scour the Lutheran (Germany's state church) record books in order to find the names of the children of the three brothers. If we could
find out their names, then much of the mystery of exactly who the second generation in
America was and from which brother they descended could be solved. However, upon locating the town in which the baptismal records were kept, she was horrified to discover that the names of the
TRAUT family had been physically cut out of the church book, presumably by the church itself back in the early 1700s. This was probably in response to what the state church viewed as the family's apostasy in joining the Brethren sect; in essence, they were viewed as having fallen away from the faith and were therefore cut out of the book of life. However, there is one last place where this mystery might be solved. Besides church records, each town in Germany usually kept a record of births, marriages, etc. These were called ort sippen books (ort means "place" and sippen means "list of"). Since we know from Brethren records that the
TRAUT family was in the following areas of Germany-Frankenthal, Lambsheim, Schwarzenau, Krefeld, Mareinborn, and Dudelsheim - then if the ort sippen books for each of these areas could be perused between the years of approximately 1665-1719, then perhaps the names of the three brothers could be found along with their wives and children.
In later years, the descendants of this family spread out as various Church of the Brethren congregations created their own settlements. The first settlement was in Germantown (
Philadelphia) in 1719, which later moved eastward into
Lancaster County (Cocalico, Conestoga, etc.) in the 1720s and 1730s. Another Brethren settlement was established in Amwell, New Jersey in 1733 and some Brethren
Trout descendants can trace their ancestry to one George
Trout (b. 1729) who lived there, presumably a son of one of the original three brothers. Brethren settlements were also established in South Carolina along the Broad River in the 1740s and 1750s, and along the Savannah River in Georgia (midway between Augusta and Savannah-a place then known as "Tuchosokin") in 1759. Similarly, Baltimore and Frederick County,
Maryland had Brethren settlements by the 1760s. Virginia had settlements in Roanoke County by 1745, and then Shenandoah County by 1752, and Franklin County by 1765. My
Trout ancestors were from Franklin County,
Virginia (siblings Joseph Jr., David, and Abraham, all sons of Joseph
Trout Sr.). They all lived there at least between 1789-1804 (as did a Christian and a Jacob TROUT; I haven't figured out yet who they were exactly, although they were relatives no doubt. I suspect that this Christian might have been the same Christian
Trout who later moved to Pike County, Kentucky). At any rate, David happened to be a Brethren minister, which would seem to indicate that these TROUTs, too, were descendants of one of the three original Brethren
TRAUT siblings. Brethren congregations also sprang up in North Carolina in the Rowan County area in the 1760s. I can't help but wonder if the Revolutionary War veteran Jacob TROUT14, who enlisted from Rowan County, was tied in to the Brethren
TRAUT line (no one has been able to establish his parentage, as of yet); he could have been a son or a grandson of one of the
original three
TRAUT brothers.
In summation, I believe the little-known Brethren
TRAUT history should provide many missing details for the origin of the
Trout family alluded to in McIlhany's Some
Virginia Families. Unfortunately, it doesn't establish the names of the children of the original three
TRAUT brothers. However, McIlhany's work captures many of the descendants. For other
Trout researchers like myself, who can trace a
Trout ancestor back to the late 1700s but are unable to connect him or her with any of the individual's listed in McIlhany's work, then I think it would be wise to try to cross reference this individual with the numerous descendants from the much better-known
Wendel TRAUT line (one incredible and exhaustive list is John A. Knouse's "
Trout Family Descendancy" website:
http://www.frognet.net/~jaknouse/trout.html). And if,as in my case, you cannot find your ancestor listed amongst any of
Wendel TRAUT's descendants, and if your
Trout ancestor happened to live in the vicinity of any of the Brethren settlements I listed above, then I believe it would be a good bet that your
Trout ancestor is tied in to the Brethren
TRAUT line!
Sources
1. Durnbaugh, The Brethren Encyclopedia.
2. George E. Trout, 250 Year History of My
Trout Family (1991), Closson Press, 6741
W. Lincoln Avenue, Space #117 Buena Park, CA 90620-4181, (714) 761-1154.
3. Genealogical Society of
Pennsylvania (1898), Landholders of
Philadelphia County,
1734: PA, USGenWeb Archives by James L. Stokes
jlstokes@postoffice.ptd.net,
http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ifetch2?/u1/data/pa+ind....
4. Durnbaugh, European Origins of the Brethren.
5. Hugh Milton McIlhany, Jr., Some
Virginia Families: the
Trout Family (1903).
6. R. Thomas Mayhill (1973),
Lancaster County,
Pennsylvania Deed Abstracts 1729-c1770 and Oaths of Allegience.
7. Ronald J. Gordon, "Church of the Brethren Network: The Ephrata Cloister," 1998.
8. Julius F. Sachse (1983),
Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine and
Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography: The Registers of the Ephrata Community, 1,
163-178.
9. Martin Grove Brumbaugh (1899), A History of the German Baptist Brethren in Europe and
America, Brethren Publishing House.
10. Donald F. Durnbaugh, The Brethren in Colonial
America, The Brethren Press.
11. USGenWeb Archives, Tim Conrad,
tconrad@lucent.com, "Will of Balthaser
Trout,
1782,"
http://www.surf-ici.com/mosier/textfile/trout000.txt, 1998.
12. History of the Church of the Brethren of the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania (1915),
17.
13. Louise Larick, personal correspondence, 4 April 1998.
14. The Pension Roll of 1835, Vol II, p. 32 (Jacob
Trout of Burlington Co, NJ); Vol II,
p. 759 (
Baltzer Trout of Westmoreland Co, PA); Vol III, p. 445 (Jacob
Trout of Rowan Co, NC); Vol IV, p. 74 (Anthony D. TROUT of Harrison Co, IN).
15. Surname Index to Roster of Soldiers and Patriots of the American Revolution Buried
in Indiana, Fort Wayne Public Library, 1976, Volume I.
http://www.surf-ici.com/mosier/textfile/trout000.txtFile contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Tim Conrad.
tconrad@lucent.comUSGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free informationon the Internet, data may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material.These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations.
____________________________________________________________
Will of Balthaser
Trout, 1782
In The Name of God Amen
This 27th Day of December in the Year of our Lord one Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty Two and in the Seventh Year of the Common Wealth of Pensilvania, I
Baltzer Troutt of Colebrookdale Township in the County of Berks and State of Pensilvania, Tanner, being Sick and Weak in Body but of Perfect and Sound Mind and Memory, Thanks be give unto God therefore Calling unto Mind the Mortallity of my Body and Knowing that it is Appointed for all Men once to die, I Make and ordain this as My Last Will and
Testament.....
First of all it is my Will and I do order that after my decease My Body be buried in a Christian Like and decent Manner and all My Last Debts and funerall Charge be first payd and Sattisfied by My Executors Who I Shall hereafter Nominate and Appoint......
Item, it is my Will and I do order that in four Weaks after my Decease all my Personall Estate, Exept my Household Goods and furniture be appraised and an Inventory thereof Exhibited in the Registeres Office in Reding....
Item, it is my Will that my beloved Wife Eva
Troutt in and my Eldest Son George
Troutt Shall Keep the Family together and go on with the Tanning Business as Well as they Can till my Son George arrives to the Age of 21 Year and then my Real Estate Shall be appraised and Likewise the Household goods and furniture as I exepted in the first appraisement, out if it first to be Taken my Wifes Eva her bed and furniture Whereunto be Longing and her Chest and Apparrel and also one Horse and Ten pound in money to my Son George and a Bed and furniture thereunto belonging and a Cow to my Daughter Catharina
Troutt in and than after this be all taken out, that Sum of money as the first appraisment came to that money the Last appraisment of my Real Estate and Household goods Came to after taken out as before Specified to my Wife Son and Daughter and What I Shall hereafter Bequeath to my beloved Wife Eva Troutin to be Employed as I Shall hereafter direckt and order....
Item, I give and Bequeath unto my beloved Wife Eva Troutin the equall Third part of all the money or ____ of my Estate, Real and personall after there be first taken out as before mentioned to her my Son and
Daughter and Fifty Pound over and above her Third aforesayd in Lew of her Right and Dowery out of the Premises if in Case Shee Should Leave them
and Whatever that appraisment or the Efect_ so appraised at the first appraisement mit be worth more or gained in Vallue Within that Term till my Son George arives to the age of Twenty on Year Shall be her
owry as also the Interest Money as Shall become due to each of my Young Children till the arives to the age of fourteen Year. But if in Case my Wife Should Mary before my Son George arives to the age of Twenty one Year then Shee Shall Leave the Premises and my Executors Shall Sell all my Estate both Real and personal at Publick Vendue to the Highest bider Exept What I have heretofore give and Bequeathed to my Said Wife Son and Daughter
and I do hereby inpower my Executors to make Execute and Deliver to the Purchaser as Good a Deed as Could have done my slef in my Life
Time to all intents and Purposes...
Item, if my Said Son George
Trout Should be Willing to take my Plantation and premises at the Ratte or Vallue it Shall be apraised
at after his arivall to the Age of Twenty one Year Then I give and Bequeath the Same to him my Said Son George
Trout his Heirs and
Assigns forever. But if he don¹t Chose to keep it at the appraisement My Execturors Shall Sell it at Publick vendue to the highest Bider together With the Household goods exept what out of the same to my Wife Son and Daughter
and after Such Salle Made my Executors Shall divide the money after it is Come to their hands Unto Seven equall Shares afte rthat wich I have given and Bequeathed to my Wife Son and Daughter is taken out of my Seven Children, George
Troutt, Catharina Troutting, John
Troutt, Jacob
Troutt, Abraham
Troutt, John
Baltzer Trout, and
Magdalena Troutting and putt the Same upon Intrest till they and each of them
arive to their proper Ages the Boys at 21 Year and the Girls at 18. Butt in Case any of them Should Decease before the arive to their proper ages or Lawfull Issues then to decend among her or her other Brothers or Sisters Share and Share alike
And I do hereby Constitute and apoint my beloved Friend Stephen Krumrein and my Brother in law Adam
MOSER to be my Executors of this my Last Will and
Testament Revoking and disallowing all other and former Wills and Testaments in any Wise by me made and Bequeathed Rattifying and Allowing this and no other to by my Last Will and
Testament. In Witness whereof I have hereunto Set my hand and Seal the Day and Datte above written....
Signed Sealled Pronounced Declared and Delivered by the Sayd
Baltzer Troutt as and for his Last Will and
Testament in the Present of us who where Presents at Signing...
Baltes
TroutJohn Koplin
Daniel Eiss
