JOHANN PETER TRAUTMANN AND HIS DESCENDANTS: History of the Troutman Family of Rowan & Cabarrus Counties, NC

Gross Gumpen is about 20 miles southeast of Darmstadt City, in the Landkriese (County) of Erbach. Erbach is the name of the County and a small town in the middle of the County. Erbach County is in the very southeast corner of Hessen, and it borders the States of Baden and Bavaria (Bayern). It should be noted that the Trautmann family in Germany began in the area where Hessen, Baden, and Bavaria come together, and those American Troutman families that have traced their ancestry back to Germany all come from this general area. Darmstadt Administrative District is divided into two portions which are not contiguous. The northern portion, called Oberhessen (Upper Hessen) contains five Counties. The southern portion, called Starkenburg contains six Counties, including Erbach. Although Hessen is today divided into three Adiministrative Districts, each containing a few Counties and City Districts, Hessen was for a time divided into eight Districts. During this time, Gross Gumpen was in the District of Odenwaldkreis, sometimes just called Odenwald. Erbach County is divided into what we might call Townships. One of these Townships is Reichelsheim, which is also the name of the largest town in the township. Each of the Townships is divided into several Gemeinde (Communities). These are basically the areas around small villages. One such Communtity in the Township of Reichelsheim is Gross Gumpen, which is the Community around the village of Gumpen. Gross Gumpen means Greater Gumpen, or "the area around Gumpen." This area of Germany has been part of several different nations, large and small, over the centuries. The towns of Gumpen and Reichelsheim and the County of Erbach all existed when Johan Hans Tr?utmann (c1657) was alive. During the time Johan Hans Tr?utmann (c1657) lived, this area was part of the Landgraviate of Hessen-Darmstadt. Thus, Johan Hans Tr?utmann (c1657) lived in Gross Gumpen, near the town of Reichelsheim, in the County of Erbach, in the former district of Odenwald, in the region of Starkenburg, in the Administrative District of Darmstadt, in the state of Hessen, in the modern nation of Germany.The Thirty Years War from 1618-1648 was the reason why so many Germans later came to America. It was also the reason why many of the relationships between early German families, including the Troutmans, may never be discovered. The war was fought over religion between Catholics and Lutherans. Martin Luther posted his famous 95 theses in 1517. At the time, Germany was supposedly part of the Holy Roman Empire, but was really ruled by dozens of minor rulers. Lutheranism had a strong appeal to many of these rulers, and most in northern Germany converted to Lutheranism. Of course, the people they ruled had to convert as well. War broke out in 1618 between the Catholic German princes and the Lutheran German princes. Other countries were involved, with Sweden on the Lutheran side and Spain on the Catholic side. The Lutherans and the Catholics massacred each other and destroyed churches of the opposite faith. In most of Germany, over one third of the people were killed, and in some areas, over two thirds died. The population of Germany in 1618 has been estimated at 21 million. By 1648, the population was 13 million. In those days, churches kept most of the records that pertain to genealogy - baptisms, marriages, etc. Uncountable records were lost during the Thirty Years War in the destruction of Catholic and Lutheran churches. Our Troutman ancestors were undoubtedly Catholic before converting to Lutheranism or other Protestant faiths. This loss of records prevents most researchers from tracing their families back before 1648. It is unlikely that anyone will ever find the records to tie all the Troutman lines together. The Thirty Year War was also one of the major reasons Germans came to America. Although the first Troutman did not arrive until 88 years after the end of the war.