Hermann Otterbach

• Married Elizabeth Heimbach 11 Aug 1685.
• 9 children.

1. Anna Margaretha Otterbach, b. 1686, Trupbach, Nassau-Siegen (now Westphalia, Germany), d. 1730, Germantown, Fauquier County, Virginia (Age 44 years)
2. Ellsbeth Otterbach, b. 1689, Trupbach, Nassau-Siegen (now Westphalia, Germany), d. 1774 (Age 85 years)
3. Johann Phillipp Otterbach, b. 22 Mar 1692, d. Germantown, Fauquier County, Virginia
4. Johannes Otterbach, b. 6 May 1693
5. Johann Jacob Otterbach, b. 23 Nov 1695, d. 30 Jan 1696, Trupbach, Nassau-Siegen (now Westphalia, Germany) (Age 0 years)
6. Elisabeth Cathrina Otterbach, b. 19 Apr 1697, Trupbach, Nassau-Siegen (now Westphalia, Germany), d. Germantown, Fauquier County, Virginia
7. Maria Cathrina Otterbach, b. 5 Nov 1699, Siegen, Nassau-Siegen (now Germany), d. Aft 1724, Virginia (Age > 26 years)
8. Johannes Otterbach, b. 15 Apr 1702, Trupbach, Nassau-Siegen (now Westphalia, Germany), d. Aft 1772, Germantown, Fauquier County, Virginia (Age > 71 years)
9. Anna Cathrina Otterbach, b. 2 Jan 1705, d. Bef 1745 (Age < 39 years)

http://germannafamily.org/getperson.php?personID=I007912&tree=tree1

Hermannus Otterbach was the first of the Nassau-Siegen immigrants to apply for permission to immigrate on 5 Sep 1711, just three weeks after Johann Justus Albrecht, the Agent for the George Ritter Company, signed a contract with the ministers of Siegen on 15 Aug 1711. Albrecht was to recruit miners for the George Ritter Company in the Colonies, i.e., the Carolinas or Virginia in the Siegerland, an area well known for the mining and smelting of iron and other metals for more than 2500 years. Hermannus Otterbach, and his family, are well documented in the village of Trupbach and in the church records in Siegen. The Otterbach family immigrated to Virginia in 1713 as they disappear from the church records in Siegen, there is another family occupying their home and there is evidence of Hermannus selling possessions prior to 1713, probably to finance the immigration. This family would account for members of the 42 Germans that Lt. Gov. Alexander Spotswood stated he brought to Virginia in April 1714 and in an order of the Virginia Council passed 28 Apr 1714....."whereas certain German Protestants to the number of 42 persons or thereabouts..."

Hermannus/Herman Otterbach nor his wife nor any of his sons appear in any of the records in Virginia. All of the 1714 immigrants filed Importation Statements in the Spotsylvania County, Virginia Courthouse in 1724 except for Herman Otterbach, his wife, Elisabeth, or any of his sons. The Importation Statements can be found in:Spotsylvania County, Virginia Will Book A: 73-75

All five of the daughters of Herman and Elisabeth (Heimbach) Otterbach married members of the First Colony and there are records of them in the Importation Statements and other records in Virginia.

Sources: B. C. Holtzclaw, Germanna Record No. 5: Ancestry and Descendants of the Nassau-Siegen Immigrants to Virginia 1714-1750, (Culpeper, Virginia, The Memorial Foundation of the Germanna Colonies in Virginia, Inc., 1964). 480-483. Spotsylvania County, Virginia Will Book A: 73-75.

Otterbach Tradition states that Hermannus Otterbach, as he is referred to in the Siegen church records, arrived in April 1714 with his entire family; however, there is no documentation to support his arrival. He never received any land grants or patents, never applied for head rights, and never appeared on any tax list or other official list. It is proven that a daughter, Anna Margretha, did arrive as the wife of Hans Jacob Holtzklau in April 1714.

Source: German First Colony

Hermann  (Hermann) Johann Otterbach was born in 1664.   According to Mr. Holtsclaw, Hermann "was a "Fuhrmann" (carrier or carter), who transported goods and traded in them.  They were the most important middle-men for the export of the iron products of Nassau-Siegen."   He married Elisabeth Heimbach abt 1685 at Siegen, Germany.  They were part of the group of Nassau-Siegen ironworkers who came to found the Germanna Colony in Virginia in 1714.

Links

• http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~colettesite/Genealogy/Rect...
• http://boards.tiscali.ancestry.co.uk/surnames.holtzclaw/151.1/mb.ashx

Birth: 1664, Germany Death: 1719 Germantown Fauquier County Virginia, USA

Find A Grave Memorial# 104696669

Source: Find-A-Grave

Johann's wife: Elsbeth Heimbach.

Though some family trees show Elizabeth as having died in Germany around 1705, the majority of the most credible resources show her as having made the 1714 voyage to America with her husband Hermann Johann Utterbach (Otterbach) and their children, and being among the original first Germanna Colony settlers in Virginia.

The latest research from The Germanna Foundation (www.Germanna.org) indicates this fact. The year of death shown in this memorial is an estimate based on the fact that the Utterbacks were present in the Germanna Colony but did not appear in Germantown, Virginia.

Created by: Vicky Dawn Waller Flow Record added: Feb 05, 2013 Find A Grave Memorial# 104696669

Source: Find-A-Grave https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/104696669/johann-hermann-otterbach

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Feb 6 2021, 18:53:48 UTC

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GEDCOM Note

Hermann Otterbach was an immigrant with the first Germanna Colony that arrived in Virginia in 1714; he was originally from Trupbach. He is one of my 8g-grandfathers.

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