Michael Fouts, oldest son of Jacob of York County, went under the name of "Michael Fouts", but undoubtedly he was given the double name of Jacob Michael Fouts. There was no Jacob Fouts, or any other male Fouts in the Germany Twp. area, with a wife named Catherana that is unaccounted for.
Michael crossed the Atlantic while a babe in arms, along with his father, mother and older sister, Anna Margaretha. Their arrival in America took place prior to September 1727 at which time the first "Ship Lists and Oaths" were established. They settled on the Hillside farm in or near the small German village of Skippack, Philadelphia (now Montgomery) Co., about 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia, where they remained for the next fourteen years.
When Michael was about 14 years of age, a second relative from Germany arrived at Philadelphia and joined his family. Theevia (Theobald/Dewald/David), of about the same age, arrived of the Ship "Davy" in 1738, and came directly to Skippack. The relationship is unknown, but most likely the two boys were cousins, or cousins once removed, and became inseparable friends for the remainder of their lives. Theevia's name has undergone several changes over the years. In the early Maryland/Pennsylvania records he was known as "Theobald" or a nickname "Dewald"; in North Carolina records his name was "Dewald", and as time passed he was simply known as "David". Even his sons, when disposing of his lands in 1793, referred to him as "old David Fouts".
In 1741 Jacob and family, accompanied by David, moved from the Skippack area to Germany Twp., Lancaster (later York) Co., Pennsylvania, about one hundred miles in a southwesterly direction near the Maryland border.
On 30 August 1744, now 20 years of age, Michael obtained his first Land Survey Warrant. He secured a 50 acre tract of land called "Michael's Fancy" on little Pipe Creek.
In the spring of 1746, he married Catherine Varner, daughter of Adam Varner of Germany Twp., Lancaster (later York) Co., Pa. They lived on Little Pipe Creek Waters, Frederick (now Carroll) County, Maryland, 1744-1762. On 11 June 1747 a son John was born, and was baptized by the Rev. J. Waldeschmidt at the St Matthew's Lutheran Church, Hanover, on 23 June 1747. the date is in agreement with the Michael Pfautz "Bible" page contributed by Norman G. Fouts.
Michael stayed on his land, Michael's Fancy" about five years, during which time the land was placed within the bounds of Frederick Co., Maryland. He sold this farm and was granted a Warrant for 91 acres, bearing the date 20 July 1749, called "Clear Meadow", lying on the Great Bear Branch, a draught of Pipe Creek. Michael lived on his second farm about five years when on 28 August 1754, he sold to Henry Cassell.
Michael's third farm, located on Pipe Creek in Frederick (now Carroll) Co., Maryland, was surveyed on 20 February 1761. The 55 acres was first settled and named "Carolina" by Andrew Stiger who had apparently sold or abandoned his claim on the property. Michael's certificate was issued on 11 December 1762. (Hall of Records", Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland.)
Soon thereafter, word reached York County that the Cherokee War was over in Western North Carolina and that the waters of the Uwharrie (Rowan County) was open for settlers. The Pfautz families wasted no time in preparing for this move and in the summer of 1762, as of one mind, Michael, his father Jacob, his kinsman David and Brother-in-law Andrew Hoover, sold all of their holdings in Maryland and Pennsylvania within two months time.
Michael and David, young men in their prime, along with other interrelated families of that area, traveled a wilderness road for a distance of about 400 miles a the crow flies. It was the second time when these faithful companions set forth on a journey in search of a better homeland. At this time Michael and his wife Catherine (Varner), were the parents of 7 children, John 16, Catherine 14, Andrew 12, Elizabeth 10, Susanna 8, Magdalena 4, and Jacob about 18 months. David, married two years prior to Michael, had even more children. Three of his sons - John, Jacob and David Jr. - were 16 or older and looking forward to purchasing their first land at a reasonable price.
On 17 February 1763 the following obtained Henry McCulloh Deeds on the Waters of Uwharrie in Rowan County, North Carolina. Note the English spelling of the names.
(David Sr. & Jr. lands were consolidated)
David Fouts - 292 acres
David Fouts (Jr.) - 230 acres
Jacob Fouts - 200 acres (16 year old son of David Sr.)
Michael Fouts - 260 acres
John Barnhart - 200 acres
Andrew Hoover - 275 acres (Bro-in-law of Michael)
John Mast - 233 acres
William Merrill - 245 acres
Jacob Schwartz - 200 acres
Sunbright Heltzell - 200 acres
Adam Varner - 289 acres (Bro-in-law of Michael Fouts)
22 February 1763 Andrew Hoover bought an additional 289 acres
This is your earliest Uwharrie Dutch Settlement with the exception of William Merrill. The Uwharrie until 1771 were located in Rowan County. In 1771, they, in most part, were taken within the newly erected Guilford County. In 1779, the southern portion of Guilford, wherein they resided, was included in the newly formed Randolph County.
Dr. Davenport secured an area Map Maker who, from the deeds, plotted the land of the early Fouts on the Uwharrie. He secured over 3,000 land entries or deeds (property bought and sold) of the early Fouts and related families, covering Rowan, Davidson, Guilford and Randolph Counties. I have over 300 in my file that are related, in some manner, to Michael and his son Andrew. Sufficient to say, Michael, Sr. owned land on the Uwharrie at the junction of the Rich Fork and North Fork and along both sides of North Fork. the following may be of interest - Guilford County Land Entry No. 1632, made 7 May 1778, by James Allen is described as "a tract or parcel of land containing 100 acres lying in between Michael Fouts' Mill and Harmon's improvement"...Inasmuch as the Fouts Mill does not appear in Randolph County records, we can assume that it was not a public mill, but was used privately. That it was a grist mill is evidence by the designation of "John Fouts, miller" in 1792 (Michael's oldest son). If it was a saw mill, he would have been a "sawyer", and if a fulling mill, he would have been a "fuller".
Old David appears to have been the leader of the Uwharrie German community, for he was appointed "overseer of the Trading Road, from the Painted Springs east across the Uwharrie to Caraway Creek", by the Rowan County Court in 1768 (Rowan County, North Carolina Court of Pleas & Quarter Session Minutes, 2:17) He was the only German to be so recognized before 1771.
Bro. George Soelle, the Moravian Missionary from old Salem made 12 visits (46 days) on the Uwharrie and recorded in his Diary that he "never got south of Michael Fouts' place." He held his first meeting at Dewald (David) Fouts, Sr.'s place on 18 November, he wrote in his Diary --
"...This is a unique species of people. They appear to me like Aesop's crow which inflated itself with other birds' feathers. They have Moravian, Quaker, Separatists, Dunker principles, know everything and know nothing, look down on others, belong to no one, and spurn others. Just one soul inspired some hope in me, with whom I was also able to converse, namely, Dewald's wife, whose frivolity is getting to be a burden to her and often oppresses her. (This could be his second wife). She, also was the only one there who asked me to visit more frequently when I should return to that region...This Dewald has a lot of children who have been blind from birth." (David, Jr.'s children)...Old David Fouts was a hardheaded German according to Soelle who wrote that he "met stubborn resistance when I tried to enlighten him". Soelle stayed at David's one night when he "lost his way to Hoover's and had to turn back at Michael Fouts". On another occasion he wrote, "I often experience among such folks what Soloman says, "A fool often asks more questions than a wise man can answer". In general, he thought the Uwharrie Germans a "Course lot".
Within Michael, Sr.'s family there was a great diversion of religious faiths. Michael and his wife , Catherine were both "Dutch Friends", otherwise known as Mennonites. His son John's progeny were largely identified with the Dunker's (Church of the Brethren); daughter Catherine's religious persuasion unknown, but her husband, Lawrence Younce, was identified with the Dunker's; Andrew was a Baptist; Elizabeth Yount was a Dunker; Susanna Harmon and Mary Harmon were Baptists; Jacob was Quaker and Esther Yount was Dunker. For many years "old David Fouts" was considered un religious but in his later years he was called on the the "New Borns" of the Separate Baptist Church. The Baptist Historical Society identifies the Separate Baptists as practicing nine ordinances emphasizing - plainness of dress, espousing pacifism, eschewing oaths, and preaching in a peculiar sing-song manner, all of which were done also by the Dunker's.
At the beginning of the Revolutionary war, in 1775, each Poll was expected to take the Oath of Allegiance to the State of North Carolina, serve in the Militia, agree to bear arms, and pay taxes for the support of the war effort. The German's with few exceptions took the stance of "Pacifists" and refused to take the Oath, etc. As a result they lost their Civil Rights, which included purchasing land, until the end of the was when they were restored in 1787. Michael and his children, with the exception of Andrew who married into the very patriotic Merrill family, were pacifists. During the 12 year interim many of the Germans lost, or were literally pushed off, their lands. I was not a happy place for the non-conformists -- the Mennonites, Dunker's, Quakers and Moravians.
When the Uwharrie Dutch, with large families, needed more acreage, they were forced to seek out lands in the mountainous country of Wilkes-Ashe Counties, N.C. in the 1780's; in Kentucky in the 1790's and in the Northwest Territory (Ohio) in the late 1790's and early 1800's.
Old David, Sr., a staunch pacifist, and his son David, Jr., moved from the Uwharrie to Wilkes (now Ashe) Co. before 1789,where he bought and sold land. David apparently died there, for his sons were deeding away his Uwharrie lands in 1793.
In the fall of 1803, Michael, Sr. joined with his son John (the miller) and grandson, Michael, Jr., to sell off all the lands they owned, individually and jointly, in N.C. It was Michael, Sr.'s last appearance in Public records. It is believed that Michael, Sr. died in 1803, or soon thereafter, in Randolph County, N.C. Likewise it is possible that he went with his oldest son John and grandson, Michael, Jr. to German Twp., Montgomery Co., Ohio, where they made their Entries in the summer of 1804. Death dates are missing for both Michael, Sr. and his wife Catherine (Varner). He was not probated in either Randolph County, North Carolina or Montgomery County, Ohio.
Source: 5 Generations of the Pfautz - Fouts Family
Complied and Published by Audrey L. Woodruff, C.G.R.S., 1987
SOURCE INFORMATION:
Description:
This book contains a variety of lists of names of early Pennsylvania immigrants, prmarily those with German, French, Swiss and Dutch decent . Many are from ship passenger lists between 1727 and 1776. Some historical notes also accompany the lists. Most of the names are male but some female names are included too. Other extras include, some ages, acreage owned in certain townships, and a list of name interpretations.
Source Information:
Ancestry.com. Immigrants in Pennsylvania from 1727 to 1776. [database online] Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2001. Original data: Daniel Rupp, A Collection of Upwards of Thirty Thousand names of German, Swiss, Dutch, French and other Immigrants in Pennsylvania from 1727 to 1776..
Hans Michael Pfautz ,
Hans Michael Diel ,
Hans Jerg Anspacher ,
Georg Schumacher ,
Hans Georg N”gelle ,
Hans Georg Kremer ,
Andreas Holsbacher ,
Hans Adam Wilder , name written by clerk
Hans Georg Wolff ,
Hans Martin Liebenstein ,
Johan Henrich Hartman ,
Johannes Haberacker .
In vol. iii. 284. Colonial Records, it is stated, "sundry of these foreigners lying sick on board, never came to be qualified." I have compared Lists A, B and C and find in List A, besides those given above, the following names:
Benedict Strome , name written by clerk
Henericus Bell , name written by clerk
Daniel Levan , name written by clerk
Willm Jurgeins , name written by clerk
Adam Henrich , name written by clerk
Sebastian Vink , name written by clerk
Hans Georg , name written by clerk
_________________________________________
SOURCE INFORMATION:
Description:
This database contains the original lists of German pioneers who arrived at the port of Philadelphia from the years 1727 to 1808. These lists of early arrivals in Pennsylvania are significant because in none of the other ports of the American colonies, through which German settlers entered, were such lists prepared or preserved. In Philadelphia alone did the authorities insist on the preparation of careful and detailed lists of arrivals. About three hundred family associations, tracking their ancestry to these pioneers, meet annually in Pennsylvania.
Source Information:
Strassburger, Ralph Beaver, Pennsylvania German Pioneers, - Vol. I-II (2). Norristown, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania German Society, 1934
Hans Michel Pfautz
[List 2 A] A List of Palatyns, Imported In ye Ship James Goodwill, David Crockatt, Master, from Rotterdam, Sept 27, 1727.|R*|r
ttt
Michael Sigrist 1 6
Michael Tanner 1 2
Joseph Schurgh I 3
Hans Haggy 1 4
Jurgen Miller 1 5
Hans Leaman 1 5
Hans Langneker 1 2
Hendrich Aberlee 1 5
Raynard Jung 1 3
Jacob Wygart
Wm. Wygart 2 2
Tewalt Leatherman 1 6
Hans Michal Kunts
Jurg Michael Kunts 2 4
Ulrich Stoupher 1 6
Ulrich Zug 1 4
Peter Zug 1 4
Barthol. Sigrist 1 4
Abraham Aberholt 1 4
Jacob Fritz 1 3
Adam Kiener
Wm. Kiener 3 9
Hans Kiener
Christian Webber 1 4
Margaret Heislern 4
ttt
Hans Michael Fiedler 1 3
Philip Schaberger 1 5
Hendrich Wolfe 1 2
Jurgh Steiniger 1 7
Joseph Clap
Johan Adam Philple
Jurg Clap 6 14
Ludowigh Clap
Christian Miller
Jurg Coch
Jacob Walter, Senr
Jacob Walter, Junr 2 6
Christopher Kirchofe 1 5
Jacob Siegel 1 6
Jacob Gass, Senr, sick
Jacob Gass, Junr 3 6
Fredrich Gass
John Miller
Joseph Miller 3 9
Hans Miller
Jacob Arnet 1 3
Paul Hein
Hans Hein 2 6
Bastian Merree 1 1
Michael Lybert 1 3
|F|R*|rDate entered by different hand.|f
Jurg Zengh 2
Jacob Gangwyer 1 1
ttt
Hendrich Schultz 1 1
Hans Foster 1 1
53 166
|P11|p [Endorsed:] Names of the Palatines who subscribed the Declaration. 27th Sepr 1727.
Da. Crockat, 53 P[ersons].
|QAt a Council held in the Courthouse of Philadia, Septemr 27th 1727, · · · A List was presented to the Board of the names of Fifty-three Palatines, who with their Families making in all about two hundred Persons were imported into this Province in the Ship James Goodwill, David Crocket, Mr., from Rotterdam, but last from Falmouth, as by the Masters Affidavit signed by the Officers of the Customs there, it appeared upon Enquiry that the Master had no particular License for their Transportation."
From the Minutes of the Provincial Council, printed in Colonial Records, Vol. III, p. 284.
[List 2 B] Palatines imported in the Ship James Goodwill, David Crockat, Mr from Rottr, who hereunto sett their hands, 27th Sepr 1727, in the presence of the Governr & Council.
ttt Michael Sygrist
Michel Daner
__________________________________________
Immigrant: Pfautz, Hans Michael
Location: America
Year: 1727
Page Number: 338 & 339
Document Type: Immigrant Record
SOURCE INFORMATION:
Source: Passenger and Immigration Lists Index
Publication: HACKER, WERNER. Eighteenth Century Register of Emigrants from Southwest Germany to America and Other Countries. Apollo, PA: Closson Press, 1994. 516p.
Date and place of intended destination. Place of origin and reference number to original source are also provided. Date of birth is sometimes listed. Section letters in the page number refer to Addendum pages.
_____________________________________________________
Immigrant: Pfautz, Hans Michael
Location: America
Year: 1727
Page Number: 86
Document Type: Immigrant Record
Source: Passenger and Immigration Lists Index
Publication: HALL, CHARLES M. 'Pal-Index': A Surname Index of Eighteenth-Century Immigrants. Salt Lake City: Global Research Systems, 1979. 147p.
Data on immigrants from France (Alsace-Lorraine), Switzerland, southern Germany, and some adjacent places, arriving between 1727 and 1775. 'Palatines' was a term adopted from British merchants and the people of Philadelphia whose first contact with large migrations from continental Europe in the 1700s was with Palatines (Pfaelzer in German), people from the Palatinate (Pfalz). A third of the immigration in this period was from what later became Baden-Wuerttemberg. Information includes name, origin, date, place of settlement, and sometimes the religion. About 6,500 names gathered from about 50 sources.
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