Otterbach
Maria Katherina OTTERBACH (1699 - 1734)
my 6g-grandmother
Maria Katherina OTTERBACH was born 5 Nov 1699, probably in Trupbach, Germany, the daughter of Hermann OTTERBACH and Elisabeth HEIMBACH. The OTTERBACH family, including Hermann, Elisabeth and their 6 children, were among the group of immigrants who came from the area of Siegen, Germany, and founded the Germanna Colony, in Virginia, 1714.
It seems fairly certain that this is the same Maria Katherina who married Johann Jost MARTIN, also of Germanna. (See also the Martins in America page.) They must have known each other well, having traveled together from Germany, and they married between 1714 and 1720, in Germanna. See [M] for more details.
The evidence that the wife of Johann Jost MARTIN was Maria Katherina OTTERBACH may seem to be weak, making this a weak link in the tree. However, I also have DNA evidence. Reuben Martin is strongly indicated to be one of my ancestors. His grandfather, Johann Jost MARTIN, is therefore also my ancestor. In addition, I have many distant cousins who are descendants of Johann Jost MARTIN, and many others who are descendants of the OTTERBACHs, with no MARTINs.
The Germanna colonists all came from the same region in Germany, and many were related before migration. There were even more intermarriages in Virginia. So it is possible that my Otterbach ancestry came in after Johann Jost MARTIN. However, the existence of many distant cousins with OTTERBACH ancestors but not MARTIN ancestors adds even more reason to conclude that the wife of Johann Jost MARTIN was Maria Katherina OTTERBACH. With that hypothesis, I will continue exploring this line.
The modern city of Siegen, Germany has incorporated several surrounding communities, including Trupbach and Seelbach.
By Bob. (self-made by author) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
Johannes Hermann OTTERBACH (1664 - 1748)
Johannes Hermann OTTERBACH was born about 1664, probably in Trupbach, near the city of Siegen, Germany. Hermann was the son of Johannes OTTERBACH and Anna STUELL.
Johannes Hermann OTTERBACH was a Fuhrmann, or one who transported goods. Basically, a 17th Century truck driver.
On 11 Aug 1685, in Siegen, Johannes Herman OTTERBACH married Elisabeth HEIMBACH, daughter of Phillip HEIMBACH and Catherina FISCHBACH. Johannes and Elisabeth had 9 children, probably all in Trupbach.
Phillip HEIMBACH was from Seelbach, also near Siegen. Separate pages on the HEIMBACH and FISCHBACH ancestries are planned.
1 Johannes Hermann OTTERBACH b: Abt. 1664 in Trupbach, d: Bet. 1714–1719 in Germanna
+ Elizabeth Elspeth HEIMBACH b: 1662 in Trupbach, m: 11 Aug 1685 in Siegen, d: 1714 in Germanna
...2 Anna Margarethe OTTERBACH b: 1686 in Trupbach, d: Bet. 1724–1730 in Germantown
+ Hans Jacob HOLTZCLAW b: 1683, m: 07 Aug 1708, d: 1760 in Germantown
...2 Elisabeth OTTERBACH b: 1689
+ Peter HITT b: Bet. 1680–1683
...2 John Phillip OTTERBACH b: 22 Mar 1692 in Trupbach
...2 Johannes OTTERBACH b: 06 May 1693
...2 Johann Jacob OTTERBACH b: 23 Nov 1695 in Seelbach, d: 30 Jan 1696 in Seelbach
...2 Alice Cathrina OTTERBACH b: 18 Apr 1697 in Trupbach, d: 1759 in Germanna
+ Johannes KEMPER b: 08 Jul 1692, m: Abt. 1715 in Germanna
...2 Maria Katherina OTTERBACH b: 05 Nov 1699 in Trupbach, d: Bet. 1724–1729 in Germantown
+ Johann Jost MERTEN b: 24 May 1691 in Muesen, m: 1718 in Germantown, d: 1758 in Germanna
...2 Johannes OTTERBACH b: 15 Apr 1702 in Trupbach
...2 Anna Catharina OTTERBACH b: 02 Jan 1705 in Trupbach, d: 1745 in Germantown
+ Harman FISCHBACH, b. 21 May 1693
It seems that the couple tried 4 times with the name John/Johann/Johannes. It may be that all died in childhood.
The walled city of Siegen (pronounced zee-gen) was devastated by a great fire, from 10 to 20 Apr 1695. This must have had a great effect on the outlying communities, like Trupbach and Seelbach. The OTTERBACH family at the time was Johannes (31), Elisabeth (33), Anna (9), Elisabeth (6), John Phillip (3), and Johannes (almost 2). Grandfather Johannes (73) died a year later, and grandmother Anna (67) died 3 years later.
The walled city of Siegen in 1700, just 5 years after the great fire of 10-20 Apr 1695.
In 1713 the OTTERBACH family was among a group of 12 families who migrated from the Siegen, Germany area to the New World. After a stay in London, they arrive in Virginia in Apr 1714, and established the Germanna colony. Included on this trip were Johannes Herman OTTERBACH and his wife Elisabeth, and 5 daughters: Anna Margarethe, Elisabeth, Elisabeth Cathrina, Maria Cathrina, and Anna Cathrina. If any of their sons named Johann were present, they must have died before 1718. Johannes and Elisabeth also seem to have died before 1718, when the colonists moved the short distance from Germanna to Germantown. See Martins in America for more information.
Anna Margarethe OTTERBACH was married in 1708, to Hans Jacob HOLTZCLAW, a young schoolmaster in Seelbach. Along with their two children, Johannes (b. 1709) and Johann Henerich (b. 14 Nov 1711), they joined the group emigrating to Germanna. [H p 482]
Elisabeth OTTERBACH traveled to Germanna as a single 25-year-old, and later became the second wife of Peter HITT. [H p 482]
Alice (or Elisabeth) Catharina OTTERBACH was 17 and single on the voyage, and married Johannes KEMPER soon after arriving. [H pp 9, 382, 483]
Maria Cathrina OTTERBACH was 15 years old during the voyage, and married Johann Jost MERTEN, as described in the previous section. [H p 483]
Anna Catharina OTTERBACH was only 9 years old on the voyage. She married Harman FISCHBACH. [H pp 9, 161, 483]
The OTTERBACH name became UTTERBACK in America. FISCHBACH became FISHBACK, MERTEN became MARTIN, and HITT became HEITE or WHITE. In general, the suffix BACH became BACK or BECK.
Johannes OTTERBACH (1622 - 1696)
Johannes OTTERBACH was born about 1622, probably in Trupbach, the son of Johannes OTTERBACH and Ottilia, maiden name unknown. Around 1650/1 in Seelbach, he married Anna STUELL, born around 1628/9, daughter of Jost STUELL and Ehla BEHR. They had 9 children, all born in Seelbach and christened in Siegen. [H p 480]
1. Anna OTTERBACH, chr. Palm Sunday, 1652 in Siegen.
2. Elsbeth OTTERBACH, chr. the 17th Sunday after Trinity, 1653, in Siegen.
3. Gerlach OTTERBACH, chr. the 7th Sunday after Trinity, 1655, in Siegen.
4. Klara OTTERBACH, chr. the 8th Sunday after Trinity, 1657, in Siegen. Married in 1677 Johann ARNOLD, son of Jacob ARNOLD.
5. Johannes OTTERBACH, chr. the 23rd Sunday after Trinity, 1659, in Siegen. Ancestor of the 1734 Virginia immigrants. Married 2 sep 1679 Margarethe DORNSIEFFER, daughter of Jacob DORNSIEFFER, of Langenholdinghausen, who had died before the wedding. Margarethe was born 1655, and died in Trupbach, 28 Jul 1709. They had 7 children.
6. Johannes OTTERBACH, chr. Easter Sunday, 1661, in Siegen.
7. Johannes OTTERBACH, chr. the 17th Sunday after Trinity, 1662, in Siegen.
8. Johann Hermann OTTERBACH, born about 1664. The previous section is about him and his family.
9. Henrich OTTERBACH, chr. Trinity Sunday, 1669, in Siegen.
Johannes OTTERBACH died 24 Apr 1696, and his wife Anna (STUELL) OTTERBACH died 23 Feb 1698, in Trupbach.
Separate pages are planned for the STUELL [H pp 483-8] and BEHR [H p 488] ancestries.
Johannes "Hannes" OTTERBACH (1590 - 1624)
Johannes OTTERBACH was born about 1590, the son of Johann OTTERBACH of Eiserfeld, another small town near Siegen. He was admitted to the Guild of Smelterers and Hammersmiths in 1606/7 as a "Huettenknecht," or handy man around the forges. This kind of work was usually done by boys 14-18 years old, which is where the estimate of 1590 for the birth date comes from. [H pp 478-480]
He married, probably about 1612-5. His wife's name was Ottilia, a form of Tilge or Dielge. She may have been the daughter of Hermann SCHNEIDER of Trupbach. Her date of death is not known, but she was still alive in 1656, as shown by a court record.
Johannes and Ottilia had 5 children.
1. Hermann OTTERBACH, born about 1620. His first child was born in 1643. Married Elisabeth, had 4 children.
2. Johannes OTTERBACH, born 1622. The previous section is about him.
3. Demuth OTTERBACH, born 1625.
4. Unknown, probably born before 1620, married Johannes HEITE, died before 1656. (This could be Demuth.)
5. Anna OTTERBACH, probably born before 1620, married Jost SCHNEIDER or Trupbach.
Siegen in 1605. Click for larger view. Source
Johann OTTERBACH of Eisenfeld (between 1550-60 - before 1599)
Johann OTTERBACH was probably born around 1550-60, and lived in Eisenfeld, where he died, before 1599.
Sources
[H] Ancestry and Descendants of the Nassau-Siegen Immigrants to Virginia 1714-1750, by B.C. Holtsclaw, 1964.
[M] A Martin Genealogy Tied to the History of Germanna, Virginia, by William A. Martin, 1995.
Last updated 10 Sep 2020 by William Haloupek. Contact haloupek at gmail dot com