Coots Miscellaneous
MISCELLANEOUS COOTS INFORMATION

This page includes bits and piecies of materials that may help in the research of linking together Coots family members.

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This was an interview of my gggrandfather, John George Castoe,who married Jestern Coots.
It was given to "The Mountain Wave"
a newspaper in Searcy Co., AR
on page 3, July 8, 1899.
(Submitted by Winnie Bell)

JOHN CASTOE
Was born in Wood County, West Virginia, in 1805.
He moved to Missouri in 1832.
He came to Arkansas in 1875.
Was married in 1835 and raised nine children; has 52 grandchildren, 45 great grand-children, and 5 great great grand-children.
Total number of descendants, 213.
His wife, Mrs Jestern Castoe, was born in East Tennessee, in 1816, and was the first and only wife of John Castoe.


This information was submitted by :
Mildred & A J Coots
[email protected]
and is posted by permission of Louise Overton


GUILFORD CO, NC Regulators 1765-1771

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Louise Overton
[email protected]

REGULATORS 1765-1771
There are nearly 100 undecipherable German names on this petition. It is believed that the Germans, almost to a man, were Regulators. This is only a partial listing. Names are listed in the order of the signature on the petitions, and spelling is as was written.
Patrick Hays...James Coots....Jeffrey Beck... Thomas Wilson... John Blair....Isaac Beeson.... William Beeson....Benjamin Beeson....William Beeson....William Field...Robert Field...Jeremiah Field....William Field, Jr.... Joseph Field... John Talbot... Isaac Edwards....Francis McNary... Ralph Gorrell....Levi Pennington... Hugh Blair... David Jackson... William Armfield... William Armfield Jr.... Jonas Touchstone.... James Calhoon.... Isaac Armfield Jr.... Jeremiah Reynolds.... Conrad Shoemaker... Seymore York.... William Spurgeon.... Henry Strader.... Samuel Deviney.... Peter Julian... William White.... George Finley.... William Rankin.... Samuel Clark.... James Powell ......John Alexander..... William Mebane.... James Neeley... James Neeley Jr....Robert Neeley.... James Graham.... John Hall... Thomas McCuistion ....John Doak.... John Fanin.... William Stringfellow.... John Par.... Lodwick Clapp.... Nicholas Goble .....George Clap.... Tobias Clap .....John Flemming.... George Goble.... Jacob Soots... James Phipps... Powell Glase... Phillip Glase Sr .....Jacob Stelie... Barnit Swing... James Low... James Hunter.... Andrew Finley.... David Barnhill.... Adam Lackey... William Cusick.... William Wiley.... John Forbes.... Edward Ryan... William Shannon ....John Clap.... George Cortner.... Peter Cortner.... John Goble... Bartoledum Dun.... Peter Julian Jr.... Adam Larance.... Joseph Phipps.... John Phipps... Christen Fall.... Hugh Wyley ... William Jones... Phillip Glase Jr ....Christian Glase.... George Glase..... Ludwig Swing


Henninger Geneology

Anna Catherine Coots.

I do not locate a William K Henninger but there were several William Hennnger's at about this time who were decedents of John Jacob Henninger and Sally Starns.
This family was from TAZWELL COUNTY VA Others were in Smyth and Washington Counties.
John Jacob was borned in PA. His father was Conrad Henninger sr and his mother Anna Catherine Coots.
In the VA, Tenn and NC, area were also descended from Conrad sr. John Jacob and Sally had about 13 children
10 of which were boys, 1 named William .
One was a William born in 1812.
Several of John Jacob's children had sons named William.
My book does not give middle names or initials on most of these. It was however common in the family to have middle names and in many cases the same name was used for 2 or more children.
There was also a William Greever who could have used the Henninger name at times, his Mother being Mary Heninger Companion to Philip Greever.He would have been much older though unless he had a son William but he would have been unlikely to use the Henninger name.
There are a variety of spellings and all are the same family.

John M. Heninger
[email protected]



(Note: A record of a Private Martin Coons from Hamilton County, Illinois in Capt. Halls Company, 3 Reg't, 1 Brig., Ill. Mtd. Vols, during the Black Hawk War (1832) was probably Martin, Jr. He would have been about the right age then.)

Martin and Mary Coons engendered 13 children. Elizabeth E. Coons, their second child, married Obediah Hudson, Jr. (III), about 1821 in Jackson County Tennessee.

Obadiah was a farmer and in 1825 received a grant for 100 acres of land in Jackson County, Tennessee. He and Elizabeth lived near North Springs, Jackson County, Tennessee where they raised their family and lived out their days.

Weaver family tree on Southern Traveler website,

Southern Traveler




From John Blankenbaker's "Notes on the Germanna Colony (Virginia)" 1997

"Who were the forty-two people who were settled in Fort Germanna? Most of the names are clear but one family is a surmise. The first individual is Johann Justus Albrecht who recruited the miners and described himself as the chief miner. He was known to be working with the group later in Virginia so he should be counted. After the stay at Germanna was ended, he was not associated with the group. For the following names, the suggestion of B.C. Holtzclaw, a modern writer, is used. He gave 42 names which would make 43 names with the addition of Albrecht.

Even so, Holtzclaw's list is as good a starting point as any. 2-5. Rev. Henry Hager, his wife Anna Catherine Friesenhagen, and their daughters, Agnes, b. 1697, and Anna Catherine, b. 1702. The two daughters were 16 and 11 while the parents were 69 and 50 when they arrived. This definitely made Rev. Hager the senior citizen in the group.

6-9. Jacob Holtzclaw, b. 1683, his wife Anna Margaret Utterback, b. 1686, and their two sons, John, b. 1709, and Henry, b. 1711. Besides the German spelling of Holtzclaw, the spelling of Holsclaw and other variants are used. Jacob Holtzclaw had been a teacher in Germany. While he did keep school in Virginia, he was also involved in farming and mining. 10. Melchoir Brumbach was a bachelor when he came, age ca. 28.

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James J. Hughes PhD, Assistant Research Professor,
University of Connecticut, Sociology Dept
(MWF) 860-486-3084 * [email protected]
[email protected]

Kouts/Koontz cont.

11-15. Joseph (Jost) Cuntze, b. 1674, and his wife Anna Gertrud Reinschmidt, son, John, b. 1706; daughter, Ann Elizabeth, b. 1708; daughter, Catherine, b. ca 1713/14. There is a possibility that Catherine should not be counted in the 42 people. Two popular modern spellings are Coons and Koontz. 16-21.

Philip Fischbach (now Fishback) was b. 1661 and came with his wife Elizabeth Heimbach (Hanback); son, John, b. 1691; son, Harmon, b.1693; daughter, Mary Elizabeth, b.1687; and daughter, Mary Elizabeth, b. 1696.

Much of this information comes from the church records in the Nassau Siegen area. Many of the families took out proofs of importations at the Spotsylvania Courthouse in which they declared who came. And they bought land in the region that eventually became Fauquier Co. Rev. Hager and Jacob Holtzclaw were the best educated, but it appears that all of the men had received schooling.

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Continuing a list of the Germans who came to Germanna in 1714:

22. John Hoffman, b. 1682, was a bachelor. A popular spelling in America is Huffman.

23-24. Peter and (Mary) Elizabeth Hitt. The name in Germany was Heite but in Virginia the spelling was always Hitt. Peter was thought to be in his young 30's.

25. John Kemper was a 22 year-old bachelor. Sometimes the name is spelled as Camper.

26. Joseph (Jost) Martin was also a bachelor, a year older than John Kemper. The German form of the name is Merden but Martin is universal in America for this branch. 27-29. Jacob Rector, b. 1674, his wife, Elizabeth, b. 1685,
(the daughter of Philip Fishback above) and their son, John, b. 1711. The German spelling is Richter.

30. John Spilman (Spielmann) was another bachelor, about 35 years of age.

31-35. The Weaver (Weber) family consisted of John Henry Weaver, b. 1667, his wife, Anna Margaret Huttman; son, John, b. 1693 (who appears to have died young); daughter, Catherine, b.1697; son, Tillman, b. 1701. There is documentation for all of the preceding families. About eight individuals are still needed to make the official count of 42 persons. Prof. Holtzclaw offered the suggestion that one family, whom he named and described, could have been the missing people. His reasons for selecting this family include (1) they were related to other families in the group, (2) they disappeared from the church records in Germany at the right time, (3) and the family has several women in it to provide wives for the bachelors. This family is:

36-43. Harman Utterback (Otterbach), b. ca 1664, his wife, Elizabeth Heimbach, b. 1662; son, John Philip, b. 1692; son, John, b. 1702; daughter, Elizabeth, b. 1689; daughter, Alice Catherine, b. 1697; doughier, Mary Catherine, b. 1699; daughter, Anna Catherine, b. 1705. There is no record of this family in Virginia including the two sons. (Later, Utterbacks did come which strengthens the argument that Utterbacks came in 1714.)
This count gives 43 persons but Holtzclaw included at least two problematic people and did not include Albrecht.

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The forty-two Germans that we have been talking about were called, in the course of time, the First Colony or the Colony of 1714. Their general history has been distorted badly at several points. Largely this arose because of the following observations which are true:

1. Spotswood was eventually into iron mining, smelting and refining.

2. The Germans came from a region in Germany which was well known for its iron mining and processing.

3. The Germans worked for Col. Spotswood. Well meaning individuals tried to put this all together and they came up with a number of erroneous conclusions.

"Spotswood recruited the Germans." We have seen that the Germans were on the sea and almost on his doorstep before he knew they were coming. So it stretches one's imagination to say that he recruited them. "Spotswood had Graffenried recruit the Germans." Actually Graffenried started the process of recruiting before he had met Gov. Spotswood. Furthermore, Graffenried was recruiting for the purpose of the company he worked for, not Spotswood.

"The Germans were recruited to mine iron." Actually the Germans were recruited to mine silver.
"Spotswood had found iron on his property and needed someone to develop it." Spotswood did not own any property in his own name until a couple of years after the Germans came. His earlier and partial ownership of a tract of land was for the purposes of extracting silver. "The Germans built the first iron furnace for Spotswood." We have not discussed this yet, but the iron furnace was not built until after the First Colony had left the employment of Spotswood. When the First Colony was settled in Fort Germanna, their first task was to clear land and ready it for farming. They had to support themselves by their own efforts. They probably received assistance in limited ways. Spotswood had a practice of loaning cattle to people who raised them and bred more. At the conclusion of the contract, the equivalent of the original cattle plus one-half of the increase were returned to Spotswood. The second way assistance was provided was by the ban on hunting in their neighborhood by everyone except the Germans. Some flour was probably granted them in the initial setup.

Though the Germans wanted to dig in the ground to assay the silver potential, Spotswood said no to this. (He never resolved the precious metal question as far as the Crown was concerned.) Until this was settled, development of the silver mine was verboten. So for about two and one half years, the Germans were engaged in farming but no mining. This must have been frustrating for them; they had had a very bad year in getting to America. Once here, they were denied the opportunity to perform the functions for which they had been hired.

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Lt. Gov. Spotswood continued to push for a resolution of the precious metals question. Col. Blakiston in London must have dreaded opening letters from Spotswood which harped on the theme of getting approval for the gold and silver mines. Queen Anne died and was succeeded by King George I, a German himself. Spotswood urged Blakiston to try the argument with King George that he would be helping his fellow countryman if the question were resolved. In the meanwhile, Spotswood complained about the expense of the Germans (he mentioned partners) and said there was no chance to recover these expenses until the Germans could be put to work.

Actually, this was not true. Spotswood did recover his expenses from the efforts of the Germans. On 31 Oct 1716, William Robinson patented 3,229 acres above the falls of the Rappahannock in the parish of St. George in Essex Co. This was the land where Fort Germanna was built. The true owner of the land was soon divulged; no one was surprised when the land was transferred by Robinson to Spotswood. Spotswood explained that a third party was used because it did not look good for him to sign a land patent as governor to the benefit of himself as a private individual. While it is true that Robinson paid the required fees for this (and no doubt was reimbursed by Spotswood), it was also a requirement that the land be proven up by building houses, clearing and planting crops and setting an orchard. This the Germans did by their farming activity. So Spotswood could consider that he clear title to the land thanks to the Germans. There is, of course, a minor question about who was the sponsor of the Germans. Spotswood had suggested, and it was approved by the Council, that the Colony ought to contribute to their expense since they were guarding the frontier. The Fort, for example, would probably be considered as property of the Colony, not of Spotswood. Nevertheless, he patented the land on whichthe fort sat, giving his approval as Governor to his actions as a private individual.

Spotswood visited Germanna on only a few occasions before he eventually decided to move there. By and large, he left the Germans on their own, with little direct supervision. For a while, he put a relative on the site as overseer. This was Frances HOME who was an interesting tale in himself. Francis Home had revolted against the Crown and was sentenced to hanging but was able to get the sentence changed to "transportation" meaning he was to be banished to the colonies and sold as a servant. A kinsman purchased his freedom and he went to work for Spotswood as overseer at Germanna. Unfortunately for him, he died not long after this (in 1718) and was buried on the shores of the Rapidan River at Germanna. Francis had a brother, George Home, who was also transported to the colonies. George, took up the trade of surveying and became very well known among the later Germanna people. It merely shows that some of the best people in Virginia did not come voluntarily. Some of George Home's descendants married Germanna people, so Spotswood could have claimed (had he lived long enough) that he was related to some of the Germanna people.

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On 24 August 1716, John FONTAINE arrived at "German town" for his second visit to Germanna. He and many other men were assembling here for a proposed trip across the Blue Ridge Mountains. The next day they went to see the mines but Fontaine was not convinced there was a good mine. He stated that the Germans pretended it was a silver mine. He also stated that several gentlemen of the country were concerned in this work. And once again, he complained about the bed where he slept. Among the men gathering at Germanna were two companies of soldiers, Indians and "gentlemen". Many of the gentlemen were known land speculators. And the group included two surveyors. The motivations for the trip are mixed. Officially Spotswood said that a pass over the (Blue Ridge) mountains had been discovered and that he resolved to see it. The motivation that seemed to have carried most of the men along was the desire to look for land that they might patent. Spotswood himself was in this group as he was to patent, in conjunction with others, 60,000 acres along the Rapidan River and up to and including the present city of Culpeper. All of this land lay to the west of Germanna, toward the mountains. So it is hard to escape the conclusion that the trip was made for the purpose of scouting the land. And once again public policy was bent for private benefit. Certainly the gathering of this many people was the biggest excitement that Germanna had seen since it was founded.