Adam Trollinger

Adam Drollinger

• Birth: Before Apr 4 1708 - Ellmendingen, bei Karlsruhe, Baden, Germany
• Death: Circa 1776 - Orange County, North Carolina
• Parents: Hans Michael Drollinger, Eva Klemmer
• Married: Margaretha Valencia Beck

In 1995, the Town of Haw River celebrated its birthday - its 250th birthday! No other community in Alamance County has had such a celebration.

It was in 1745 that Adam Trollinger, a German, brought his family to settle the area we now know as Haw River. The spot where he settled was good in that it was one of the best crossing spots, and there was ample water to provide power.

His son, Jacob, built a grist mill there, and for many years, the little settlement was known as Trollinger's Ford.

During the Revolutionary War, British Gen. Cornwallis camped there and used the ford to cross the river. His troops took grain from Jacob Trollinger's mill, and Cornwallis had Adam Trollinger seized when he protested, tied to a tree and bridled so he could not speak. He was later freed by a neighbor.

Jacob's son Henry built the first bridge over the river, a toll facility near the present railroad bridge.

NOTE 1: As Adam Trollinger died in 1776 and Lord General Cornwallis was not in North Carolina until 1780, there are 3 possibilities.

1. It was not Adam who was involved in this altercation. Wikipedia says it was his son Jacob.
2. Adam died after 1780. His death is not fully verified.
3. It was another British officer earlier in the war. There were battles in NC as early as 1771, and a single battle in 1776.

NOTE 2:: The original spelling of the family name is Drollinger; which is pronounced Trollinger in the original German language. Therefore the different family members used different spellings upon emigrating to English speaking countries (e.g. USA).

It was not Adam who was tied to the tree, it was his son Jacob Henry that had the altercation with Gen Cornwallis. Adam built a road from there to ? also helped build a Luthern Church...