Henry Otterbach had a grant for 200 acres of land in the Little Fork on 10 Dec 1747. (Now, would it be correct to say that was exactly 255 years ago? I am writing this on 10 Dec 2002. What is the effect of the calendar change?)
It seems highly probable that one of the 1714 immigrants was Harman Otterbach, who died within a few years at Germanna. This Harman had a nephew and a great-nephew who came over in 1734. Both of these men were named Henry. The two men are distinguished in some cases by the county of their residence. The father was Fauquier Henry and the son was Culpeper Henry. The grant above was to Culpeper Henry, though at the time the land was in Orange, but within a couple of years it became Culpeper County.
The full name of Culpeper Henry was Johann Henrich Otterbach, and he was born at Trupbach in 1714. He lived until 1799 when he was quite elderly. He must have been filled with confidence for he did not write his will until 1797, when he was 83. He left his property to his sons, John, Joseph, and Harman, and to his daughters, Mary Scott and Christian (Christina?) Wommack, who received one Shilling each. To his daughters, Elizabeth and Ann Utterback, he also left one Shilling each. To his daughters, Caty Utterback and Sarah Barnett, he left all the moveable estate, except the horses, which went to the sons, Jacob, Henry, and William. The land went to the sons Jacob, Henry, and William.
Late in life, the father married a second time and had a second family. B. C. Holtzclaw surmised that the heirs who received one Shilling were of the first family, and the others were of the second family. Henry and William were underage when their father died at 85 years of age. Little is known about the two wives.
Two of the sons, Harmon and Joseph, are listed in the Culpeper Classes, both in number 37. The only other obvious Germans were Jacob Nay, Jr., and John Nay, who were near neighbors.
In the 1787 Personal Property Tax List for Culpeper County, the family members are listed as Utterbacks, not as Otterbacks. First names are Harman, Henry, Jacob, Joseph, Martin, and Susanna.
(11 Dec 02)
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