Peter “The Quaker” and Margaret Stout
By
LaVonne Stout Oertel
Peter “The Quaker” Stout was born 14 Apr 1715 in New Castle, DE. According to
Quaker records, he was the son of Samuel and Margaret Stout. He was a direct
descendant of the English Richard Stout who came to the New World c1640 and
eventually settled in Monmouth Co., NJ. It is not known for certain how Peter became
known as “The Quaker“. One theory is that he was the first of the Stout family to convert
to Quakerism and the family, being mainly Baptist, affectionately referred to him as “The Quaker”.
In PA., Peter met Margaret Cypert from Palatinate, Germany. They were married in
Swatara Twp, Berks Co., PA on 12 June 1739. Around 1762, Peter and Margaret , along
with their children, traveled the Quaker Trail from PA. to Cane Creek Monthly Meeting
near Snow Camp, NC. Peter and Margaret dedicated many hours of service to the
Meeting over a 40 year period. Peter also sat at the head of the Meeting for many of those years.
Sometime in the mid 1900’s, members of the Stout family honored them by placing a
special marker at their gravesite in Cane Creek Friends Cemetery.
Peter and Margaret were the parents of seven children:
Samuel b. 10 Apr 1740 married Rachel Chancy
Charles b. 29 Mar 1742 married Mary Noblett
Margaret b. 27 July 1744 married Daniel Osbun
Joseph b. 28 June 1749 married Hannah Osbun
Peter b. 9 June 1754 married Hannah Brown
Elizabeth b. 25 Nov 1757 married Thomas Osbun
Rachel b. 28 Feb 1761 married John Allen
Most Stout’s in the Alamance, Chatham, Guilford, and Randolph County areas can
trace their ancestry back to Peter “The Quaker” and Margaret Stout.
added Sept 7, 2004