The Tracht family came from Germany. Johann Philipp Tracht immigrated to the United States in 1831. In Germany the name was usually spelled Drach or Dracht.
Most of the information on this family comes from a published genealogy, “The Tracht Family Tree,” compiled in 1935 by Minnie C. Miller and Elizabeth Schaefer.
Point of interest: Johann Philipp Tracht was one of the early settlers of Hancock County, Ohio.
Notes on those who married into this family are mixed in with the information on the Trachts. The note for the parents of each woman who married into this family follows the note pertaining to her husband’s parents.
See Nicholas E. Price.
BRAUERBACH and LUTZ
According to “The Tracht Family Tree,” the first Tracht moved into the town of Gadernheim, Germany, in the middle of the 1600s. Adam Tracht married into the Lutz family and his in-laws’ genealogy is recorded. (1)
Nickolaus Brauerbach was the son of Peter Brauerbach of Staffel, a branch of Beedenkirchen parish near Gadernheim. On April 2, 1583, Nicholaus married Anna Bauer, the daughter of Adam Bauer of Gadernheim. Anna gave birth to Else on March 15, 1590.
On May 24, 1614, Else Brauerbach married Philipp Lutz, who was born Feb. 18, 1593 to Instad and Anna Lutz. Else gave birth to Peter Lutz on May 23, 1619.
Peter Lutz became a miller in Gadernheim. Among his children was Anna Lutz, who married Adam Tracht on Oct. 31, 1657.
Gadernheim is in the Odenwald region south of Darmstadt. From 1618 to 1648, the Thirty Years’ War ravaged much of Germany, including the area around Gadernheim. And in 1630, the plague killed about 100 people in the neighboring village of Reichenbach, a town of 300.
(1) Information comes from “The Tracht Family Tree,” page 6.
ADAM and ANNA DRACH
Adam Drach was born in 1629. (1)
Married Anna Lutz on Oct. 31, 1657. Anna was the daughter of Gadernheim’s miller, Peter Lutz.
Children:
Johannes, born May 27, 1659.
Hans Peter, born Dec. 29, 1660, died Feb. 3, 1661.
Elisabeth, born April 16, 1662.
Johann Adam, born June 22, 1664.
Peter, born March 6, 1666.
Anna Katharina Barbara, born Sept. 12, 1670.
Hieronymus, born 1672.
Hans Peter, born March 8, 1674.
Hans Martin, born Nov. 17, 1676.
Anna Elisabeth, born Oct. 27, 1678, died before 1682.
Margarete, born June 19, 1681.
Anna Elisabeth, born July 16, 1682, unbaptized and probably still born.
Adam lived in Gadernheim, Germany, where he eventually became a church elder. He was possibly a miller, because he was the son-in-law of one. (2)
Adam died July 14, 1715.
(1) Unless noted, information comes from “The Tracht Family Tree,” page 7. The approximate year of birth and the death date are also listed in the card file at the Hessian Family History Association in Darmstadt. I opted for the spelling - “Drach” - in the card file and in most church records of Adam’s descendants. (2) The card file only mentions that he was a church elder in Gadernheim.
JOHANN MARTIN and URSULA DRACH
Johann Martin Drach was born Nov. 17, 1676 in Gadernheim, Germany, to Adam and Anna (Lutz) Drach. (1)
Married Anna Ursula Zehfuss. Ursula was born in 1670 in Raidelbach to Hildebrandt and Margarethe Zehfuss.
Children:
Hans Peter, born Feb. 6, 1705.
Johann Heinrich, born May 17, 1707.
Anna Margarete, born July 5, 1709.
Anna Appolonia, born July 14, 1713.
Ursula had been married before, to Johann Adam Lutz, citizen of Gadernheim. They had two children: Anna Elisabeth, born Nov. 2, 1697, died Aug. 12, 1718; and Johann Joerg, born Nov. 7, 1701, drowned in a pool on Dec. 14, 1704.
Hans was a citizen of Gadernheim and died there May 19, 1735.
(1) Information comes from “The Tracht Family Tree,” page 8.
JOHANN PETER and MARGARETHE DRACH
Johann Peter Drach was born Sept. 6, 1705 in Gadernheim, Germany, to Johann Martin and Anna Ursula (Zehfuss) Drach. (1)
Married Elisabeth Margarethe Zehfuss on Jan. 22, 1726 in Reichenbach. She was born April 8, 1705 to Hans Jacob Zehfuss, the mayor of Raidelbach. Hans Jacob Zehfuss died Dec. 9, 1724. He went to Neunkirchen on the first Sunday in Advent. The next morning, he was found laying in the woods, dead of a broken neck. (2)
Children: (3)
Eva Maria, born Feb. 20, 1727, died Nov. 25, 1727.
Hans Georg, born Oct. 1, 1728.
Anna Margarete, born Dec. 16, 1730.
Elisabeth Margarete, born Nov. 27, 1733.
Eva Maria, born March 23, 1735.
Johann Leonhard, born Jan. 21, 1738.
Anna Ursula, born June 18, 1740.
Johann Peter, born Jan. 14, 1743.
Hans was a citizen of the village of Reidelbach. (4)
Hans died Aug. 27, 1742, in Raidelbach several days after falling from a cherry tree. (5)
(1) Card file at the Hessian Family History Association in Darmstadt. (2) Wife’s name, marriage date and wife’s parents’ names come from card file. Other information in the paragraph comes from “The Tracht Family Tree,” page 8 and 9, which confirms the card file information. (3) Card file and Tracht book agree on names and dates. (4) Death record of Anna Margaretha, March 11, 1788, Reichenbach Church Books, page 694. (5) Card file and Tracht book agree.
JOHANN GEORG and KATHARINE DRACH
Johann Georg Drach was born Oct. 1, 1728 in Raidelbach, Germany, to Johann Peter and Elisabeth Margarethe (Zehfuss) Drach. (1)
Married Anna Katharine Karmann on May 7, 1750. Katharine was born May 2, 1729 in Seeheim on the Bergstrasse to Johannes Karmann. (2)
Children:
Johann Adam, born March 5, 1752.
Johannes, born Nov. 16, 1754.
Johann Georg, born May 22, 1758.
Eva Maria, born Oct. 6, 1761.
Johann Peter, born Oct. 15, 1769.
Hans was a citizen of Raidelbach, probably a farmer.
Hans died Sept. 24, 1781 and Katharine died Jan. 10, 1810.
(1) Card file at the Hessian Family History Association in Darmstadt. (2) Information comes from “The Tracht Family Tree,” page 10.
JOHANN PETER and ELISABETH TRACHT
Johann Peter Tracht was born Oct. 15, 1769 in Raidelbach, Germany, to Johann Georg and Anna Katharine (Karmann) Drach. (1)
Married Anna Elisabeth Weber on May 1, 1798. Elisabeth was born June 8, 1777 in Gadernheim, Germany, to Johann Philipp and Anna Margarethe (Wiener) Weber. Johann Philipp Weber was the innkeeper and a master linen weaver in Gadernheim. (2)
Children: (3)
Anna Margarethe, born May 8, 1799 and died Aug. 2, 1800 of smallpox.
Johann Philipp, born June 17, 1802.
Johann Jakob, born Sept. 17, 1804.
Anna Elisabeth, born Sept. 29, 1806.
Eva Elisabeth, Jan. 9, 1809.
Anna Margarete, born Jan. 31, 1811.
Johann Peter, born April 28, 1813.
Peter was a master linenweaver and resident of Gadernheim.
Peter died Feb. 4, 1830. Elisabeth died April 16, 1847. (4)
(1) German records begin the list the family as “Tracht” on a regular basis in this generation. Information from “The Tracht Family Tree,” page 12. Birth date is confirmed in Reichenbach Church Books, page 368. (2) Marriage date and wife’s name listed in the German book “... wir ziehen nach America,” page 121 as well as the Trach book. Other information comes from Tracht book. (3) Johann Philipp’s birth is in the Reichenbach Church Books, page 222. It is followed by a notation that he left from North America in 1831. Other births listed there are those of Anna Margarethe, Johann Jakob and Anna Elisabetha, on pages 211, 232 and 241, respectively. Anna Margarethe’s death is listed on page 735. The other births are listed in the Tracht book, with confirmation on Johann Peter in “... wir ziehen nach America.” (4) Tracht book, with confirmation on Peter’s death in Reichenbach Church Books.
JOHANN PHILIPP and KATHARINA TRACHT
Johann Philipp Tracht was born June 17, 1802 in Gadernheim, Germany, to Johann Peter and Anna Elisabeth (Weber) Tracht. (1)
No record of a marriage has been found, but Philipp appears to have lived with Anna Katharina Schaller as a wife. Because they were not married, their children were considered illegitimate in church records. Katharina was born May 3, 1802 in Lautern to Christian and Anna Christina (Heldmann) Schaller. Christian Schaller was a village citizen and millwright of Lautern. Christian died April 3, 1818. (2)
Children: (3)
Peter, born May 20, 1827 in Lautern.
Eva Maria, born March 27, 1829 in Lautern.
John Philip, born March 22, 1837 in Ohio.
Margaret, born Nov. 27, 1839 in Ohio. Married Nicholas E. Price.
The Trachts immigrated to the United States with a party organized by Philipp’s cousin Johann Adam Tracht. Adam had been a soldier in the bodyguard of Prince Ludwig of Hesse-Darmstadt and had served in Napoleon’s forces in Spain. Adam was a relatively wealthy man and paid for the trans-Atlantic passage of many of his relatives.
In 1831, Philip and Katharina were among the immigrants on the Famous Dove, which ran aground off the coast of Virginia. For a full account of the wreck, see the biographical note on Nicholas and Anna Elizabeth Price.
The Trachts settled in Van Buren Township in Hancock County, Ohio, in 1834. Philip Traht is listed as living in Ohio when his property transaction was recorded on June 13, 1834. (4)
The 1850 Census lists Philip Tracht a farmer in Van Buren Township and states that he owned real estate valued at $1,200. His household contained Catharine; Philip, age 13; and Margaret, age 11. The children were born in Ohio.
That year’s agricultural census of Van Buren Township describes the family’s property, crops and livestock. The Tracht farm covered 60 improved acres and 64 unimproved acres, which where were valued at $1,200. The value of the Trachts’ farming implements and machinery was $90, a relatively high amount for that area. The family owned 3 horses, 4 milk cows, 5 other cattle, 7 sheep and 30 swine, with a total of $200. In the year ending June 1, 1850, the form produced 145 bushels of wheat, 10 bushels of rye, 200 bushels of Indian corn, 40 bushels of oats, 10 pounds of wool,6 bushels of Irish potatoes, 8 bushels of barley, 100 pounds of butter, 10 tons of hay, 10 bushels of clover seed, 7 bushels of other grass seed and 25 pounds of maple sugar. The value of “Home-made Manufactures” was $6 and the value of animals slaughtered was $49.
The 1860 Census find the Trachts in Madison Township, Hancock County. The census lists Philip as a farm manager who owned real estate in valued at $3,500 and personal property valued at $495. His household also contained Catharine. It seems likely that his daughter Margaret and her husband Nicholas E. Price lived on Philip’s property. They are listed beside Philip and Nicholas is listed as a farm laborer who didn’t own any real estate.
The 1870 Census shows Philip and Katherina living in Madison Township, near their daughter, Margaret Price, and their son, Philip. Philip was still farming and owned real estate valued at $5,000 and personal property valued at more than $1,400.
Philip died Oct. 12, 1872. (5)
In the 1880 Census, Katharine is listed in the household of her son Philip in Madison Township, Hancock County. The census mentions that he was widowed and had been born in Hesse-Darmstadt.
Katharine died April 25, 1894. She and her husband are buried at St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jenera.
(1) Reichenbach Church Books, page 222. (2) “The Tracht Family Tree,” pages 23 and 24, and the German book “... wir ziehen nach Amerika,” page 121, although the Tracht book says she was born May 18, 1801. (3) Children listed in Tracht book, “... wir ziehen nach Amerika,” and 1850 Census of Hancock County. Eva Maria’s birth is listed in Reichenbach Church Books. (4) “Early Land Records of Hancock County, Ohio, Hancock County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society, page 75. (5) Information from Philip and Katharine’s tombstones is recorded at Findagrave.com under the cemetery for St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jenera.
