The Troutman Land in Southampton Twp., Bedford, then Somerset Co., PA

After we came back from our drive to see Comps Church, I took a browse through the Troutman files on the computer. Found this, below. It shows that Benjamin Franklin Troutman, son of Peter Troutman who fought in the Revolutionary War and is buried there in the cemetery, donated the land that the church is built on, and the very land in which he's buried. Take a look. I've underlined the relevant parts, but you might have to click on the pages images in order to read them.

Now, I do love a good timeline and I've been working on one for Benjamin Franklin Troutman (1780- 1856) and his father Peter Troutman (1754-1846). Then to give it a whole other layer of frosting, added Peter's own father, William, born in 1730 in Germany and landed in Berks County  where he died in 1790. There an amazing number of documents that filled out that timeline pretty well. When put together it tells the saga of a family's pull west powered by a desire for good and then better farming land.

Peter had already moved from Berks County PA to his Bounty Land Grant in Somerset County which is more westerly in Pennsylvania, by the time his father William passed in 1790. Both Peter and his brother William were mentioned in old William's will. William was appointed as Administrator with his brother John. Peter had already moved to the Southampton area when his father made the will. As the oldest son, Peter might have been named as Administrator and I'd wondered why he wasn't. Did they have a falling out, was Peter deemed untrustworthy by his father? But then I put together the timeline and could see the answer right before my eyes. Peter couldn't have been named Administrator because he had already moved away to Bedford County.

The will of William Troutman Sr. is interesting and was worthwhile looking for. It names his sons, Peter and William Jr., so that's valuable right there. But the probate file had two copies of his will, one in English and one in German. Look there above and see a page from each version. What this told me is that they were still very German and probably spoke it at home and in their close circle of friends.

Just after William died, his son William Jr. moved to Somerset County and lived near his brother Peter. Because he was named as one of the administrators, he needed to renounce so that he could move. I have no documentation that this is the official reason why he renounced but it seems logical. Look.

William Jr., Peter his brother, and Peter's son Benjamin are all buried in Comps Cemetery on land that Benjamin donated to the church. At least I think that's William next to Peter there. Some say it's Peter's son who died early but the stone for William is in pieces now.

That's Peter's stone on the right foreground with the flag. His wife is marked by the brown stone, below, and in the above picture, to Peter's left and above.

That's Benjamin's stone standing tall above and his wife's stone, fallen, to the right.

You can see Peter's grave on the upper right of the image, with the flag.

 

The land is beautiful here and I just hope that I'll have the time to devote to finding some of those Troutman land records. Just discovered one in Berks that is a deed between William, mentioned as Peter's father, and Peter, separately mentioned as the son of William, and living in Bedford County.

Was talking to Mom when I was back to see her recently and we agreed that there's something about standing on the very soil of the ancestors that is extremely moving. I stood there at the edge of the Comps Church parking lot and I looked at a lovely farm off a ways. Yup, that was sure to have been Benjamin's land.

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A visit to Comps Church and Cemetery and the Troutmans

One of the reasons that I've ignored this blog is that I post stuff to Facebook instead. Of course, they are two different vehicles. And I've really got to break the habit of just posting to Facebook because some of my cousins aren't on Facebook! So here we go on the Great Troutman Adventure of 2015!

It was a nice warm day there in Western Maryland near the old Mason Dixon Line. Sunny, after a night of rain and the trees turning to fall colors. Mom and I were off for an adventure after breakfast at the Princess Restaurant on Main Street in Frostburg. We sat in the Truman booth where President Truman had lunch years ago. We do love that booth! Then we were off for a genealogy adventure, the kind that we are both lucky to get, Mom being 97 and both of us DAR members. We were going to see the graves of one of my DAR Patriots!!

Our goal was to find Comps Church, about 12 miles from Mom's house, as the crow flies. But us not being crows, it took some driving and chatting with the locals to figure out. Fifty miles later, we arrived. 

Maybe you've done this? Maybe you've set out on your genea-adventure with maps and plans and things written down? Along the way at some point you come to the shocking realization that you're missing some of the pieces. Ever done that? We just did!

What was missing? I thought Mom remembered how to get to Comps Church! After about 45 minutes of driving all around and up and down and stopping at some really picturesque country churches with no one home on a Friday afternoon, I slowly realized that Mom didn't remember, and was a bit shy about saying so. At 97, she is sharp as ever but the memory has it's moments, which is probably true of me too;)

Here's an example. We kept on driving past this road called Terra Alta. We're in Southampton Township, in Somerset County, PA in case you want to know, or maybe you have ancestors there...? So we drove past Terra Alta Road a couple of times. On the first pass Mom says, oh that's a pretty name. And on the second pass I chime in with, doesn't that sound familiar? On the third pass she said, why yes it does. So that time we stopped where a local man in overalls was selling cord wood for winter fires in wood burners. Did he by chance know where Comps Church was? Why yes he did. Turn right on Terra Alta Road. Oh. We had to laugh at ourselves!!!

I could have printed out a map, a couple of maps, a bushel of maps. Would have been the reasonable and safe thing to do. But noooo!! Silly me.

It was some miles more and about half-way to the turn on to Comps Church Road when we stopped to ask directions from a group of five men standing around a yard filled with cars in various states of repair. At first I hoped I hadn't made a mistake and stopped at the wrong sort of establishment. 

"Good morning gentlemen. We're trying to find Comps Church. We have people buried up there." They couldn't come over to help fast enough! They were awfully helpful. One even insisted that we follow him to the turn off. The grandfather was ready for a good long conversation with us, so I took an extra moment to talk with him. Have a very soft spot for the elders, even if their conversation rambles. Especially if their conversation rambles. We're looking for Troutman I told him. Oh, yes, they are still living all over these hills, he said. Well please tell them their cousin came to visit the old graves.

Comps Church and it's cemetery sit on a hill high above the rolling Allegany Mountains. That land over there, it was a bounty land grant given to my DAR ancestor, Peter Troutman. He's resting here in the Comps Church Cemetery, next to his brother, William Troutman, also a DAR patriot. They fought in the same company. Side by side. 

Peter had a rather long military history for a farmer and militia man. He ended up serving four tours of duty and one was as a substitute. His letter requesting a pension for his service outlines what he did and where and I'll have to write about that another time because it deserves a post of it's own.

Maybe you've been fortunate enough to read the pension file for one of your ancestors? If so, it's a thing to behold because it gives you a window into what it meant to serve in the Revolutionary War. Then with a little more effort you can find out what the battles were about, and who the commanding offices were. It helps to fill out the picture in a personal way.

I left stones atop their grave markers as is the custom. But this time I left a quarter too because I recently read about the military custom of leaving coins on stones and the meaning of each denomination. Wasn't there when he died, which is the true significance of the quarter, but because it is the highest honor so I dug for quarters. William, Peter's brother, got one too. 

Peter's son and my ancestor, Benjamin Franklin Troutman, is there too. I left a stone on his grave marker as well. And their wives are there, some listed with no maiden name, just X, and they received stones to honor their history.

I talked to them all a while. Some might think it silly but no one was around to cast a critical look.
Mom had been here years ago and taken pictures, long before I got interested in the ancestors and their stories. She sat in the car watching as I walked the rows and claimed the graves one more time.

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Bounty Land records... and the elusive records for Peter Troutman

Lately I'm obsessed with one of my ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War, Peter Troutman. I've written about him recently and about the quest for his estate papers. After finding what I was looking for I moved on to his bounty land papers. I had a lead and a number from a DAR record: BLTW#40921-160-55. Now what the heck did that stand for?!

Oh sure, I googled. That was a lesson in pure frustration. Sometimes googling is not the way to go.

I really like digging around the Pennsylvania Archives online. This link is my favorite and leads you to a page about Research Topics. Notice the list on the left and you'll see "Genealogy". Under that you'll see a tab for "Land Records" and that's where the bounty land goodies are kept. If you scroll down the page you'll see a good explanation of the whole bounty land process, and that's helpful. As I understand it, the soldier or his widow would first make application for land given out as a bounty or special payment to the infirmed soldier or the widow. There were local lawyers and agents to be dealt with and papers to fill out and letters to write. So the land just wasn't given out as a bonus pay but as a thank you from the government to the old warrior hard on his luck and not able to work, but only after some proper documentation and proper checking. And you know how we genealogists love documentation!!

After the application was approved, a warrant was issued to instruct the surveyor to go survey the actual land and provide a plot map indicating boundaries. This step also initiates the production of a title, which is not finalized until later.

Next step is the survey. We've all seen the old survey maps and the strange measurements and notations on them. I am especially fond of the old surveys that identify landmarks like an oversized rock or old oak tree.

Once the survey is completed it was, at lest back then in the late 1780s, copied neatly into a survey book. Next, a return with written description of the land was conveyed in Pennsylvania from the office of the Surveyor General to the Secretary of the Land Office.

The last step was that a patent was issued with title to the land conveying clear title and all rights.

As much as I enjoy a stumble through the old land records of the fine state of Pennsylvania, I ended up sending an email to an archivist asking for guidance. I included the cryptic code from the DAR record of BLTW#40921-160-55 and asked if he had any idea what that meant and where I might find it. I thought it would take a couple of days to get a reply, but one came back in an hour or two. Here's what he wrote:

“B.L. Wt. 40921-160-55” refers to a Federal Bounty Land Warrant (40921=warrant number; 160=number of acres; 55=act of 1855). The warrant would not have been for land in Pennsylvania. You’ll want to search the unindexed bounty land applications and surrendered warrant files at the National Archives in Washington D.C.

It was a federal bounty land warrant!! I thought it was a State of Pennsylvania warrant. So that's why I couldn't find it. And look what he wrote: The warrant would not have been for land in Pennsylvania!

Long about that time one of my internet Troutman researchers provided a transcribed document that spelled out that this land grant number belonged to the widow!! If it was the widow's, where was the patriot's land grant... if he had one? And so I dove back into the Pennsylvania Archives. Only this time I found it!!!

See that notation on the top image referring to the west side of the Little Allegany Mountains? And the mention of the township? That's exactly where the Troutman family settled when they moved from Berks County to Somerset County. It's right there near the Comp Church at Comps Crossroads, the church that Peter and his neighbors built, and the churchyard where he and his wife and some of his children are buried. Yes, this was his land grant for certain, this was Peter Troutman's land, my 4th great grandfather. And I'm glad to have found it.


The URL for this post is:  http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2014/10/bounty-land-records-and-elusive-records.html 
 

It's been a while.

Gosh, it's been a couple of weeks since I've posted here and there were some big doings in the family that kept me away. My brother got married thus adding another leaf to the family tree, and this is a lovely one. They've known each other 40 years and now it's official. The families and friends were thrilled. Mom's thrilled too, and she stole the show when she answered, "I do" with my brother! I don't know whether she was afraid that he'd forget the answer or if it was just pure enthusiasm. Here's Mom, now 96 years old, smack in the middle of the happy couple.

They were married in St. Michael's Catholic Church in Frostburg, Allegany, Maryland, the same church where Mom and Dad were married and where Dad's parents were married on 30 September 1913. 101 years of family weddings in the same church!

 

So that lovely wedding took up most of my time while visiting Mom. Last time I visited which was last summer, she and I made plans for this trip which included trips to cemeteries and a historical and genealogical society over the boarder from Western Maryland where she lives and into Pennsylvania in Somerset County. But as you see, all that went out the window, happily, as we took the bride to have her hair and nails done the day before and then went around to check on details. It was a whirlwind time with family!

 

When I got home, the boxes of Mom's genealogy materials that I'd packed and shipped arrived not long after the suitcase was empty. Three good sized boxes packed full of treasures arrived on my doorstep and I unpacked them with uppermost care. Lovingly, each item was placed into its new home. There was about one-third of Mom's surname binders, a book about the Troutman family, paper dolls given to Mom by Aunt Marg about 95 years ago, and Mom's high school graduation picture in its original paper folder. Mom's copies of Western Maryland Genealogy, a small format publication that's no longer in business is now with me and I can't wait to dig into those.

 

And there's one last binder: Mom's collection of death records and obits for the family. I dusted it off and got a cup of tea and curled up to read about the adventures of one family's members. I love reading death certificates because they give up so much information. I sipped my tea and learned and learned. Connections were made, causes of death revealed life style and genetic disposition, maiden names were verified. I can only imagine how much fun I'm going to have looking at the dozen or so other binders!

 

 

 

The URL of this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2014/10/its-been-while.html  

Tombstone Tuesday: She was buried in an unmarked grave

Recently I ran into two instances of female ancestors buried with husbands but there was no marker for the wife's grave. In my head, two is a cohort and deserves thinking about. Maybe in the future when I can find no obvious grave marker for the wife I'll first double check to see if she's buried next to the husband before I go looking far afield.

The first example is in St Micheal's Cemetery in Frostburg, Allegany, Maryland and the other is in the Comps Cemetery located next to the Comps Church in Comps Crossroad, Somerset, Pennsylvania. In both cases the husband died before the wife by about 20 years. A lovely stone was erected for the husband with full information on birth and death dates. In both cases no part of the main stone or any other stone indicated that the wife was also buried there, but she was.

Now I'm starting to suspect that there might be more of this going on than I originally thought. The problem of course is proving something that doesn't exist, in this case no stone marker. I took the lack of a stone at St. Michael's Cemetery as an indication that the wife wasn't buried there with the husband and thus began a year-long search of Western Maryland cemeteries for Bridget (Corcoran) Kelly that came up empty.

Now however, I'm thinking that the obvious place to look for the missing wife, especially for ancestors interred in church cemeteries, is right next to the husband... and in church records. If you can get to them.

My first thought based on the Kelly couple is that possibly by the time the wife passed, the funds to set a separate marker or even engrave the husbands marker were sparse. There could have been small satellite markers placed for the wife that are hidden under dirt and that is worth exploring. And then there could be a lot of other explanations too that I can only guess at.

So here are my two ladies without grave markers, "living" if you will, in the shadows of the husband's markers.

John Kelly (1829 - 1891), St. Michaels Cemetery, Frostburg, Allegany, Maryland.

Find A Grave # 107263732

Also buried there is his wife Bridget Corcoran (1830 - 1912)

Find A Grave # 107271558

Benjamin Franklin Troutman (1780 - 1856), Comps Cemetery, Comps Crossroads, Somerset, PA.

Find A Grave # 74544823

Also buried there is his wife Catherine Wolgerman (1765 - 1874)

The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2013/06/tombstone-tuesday-she-was-buried-in.html