FIRST GENERATION

1. Christian TREFFENSTÄTT (1) was born between 1725 and 1730 in West Rhine River Valley, Germany. He immigrated on 23 Sep 1753 to the ship "Two Brothers" from Rotterdam. (2) The voyage of Christian Traffedstätt originated in Rotterdam and included a stopover in Wales. The ship landed in Philadelphia and the passengers qualified the day they arrived. Christian Traffenstätt's name is found on the passenger list of the "Two Brothers."
The only other record of Christian Traffenstätt in Penssylvania is a copy of his naturalization papers, filed with the Supreme Court in Philadelphia. The date was 9 October 1765 and he was living in MacCurgy Township, Northampton Co. at the time. Soon after, he moved the family to N.C. His name can be found on a land deed as a witness for one Samuel Derimer, dated 14 July 1767. He Living in on 9 Oct 1765 in MacCurgy Township, North Hampton Co., PA when he received his naturalization.(3) He was living in North Hampton County in MacCurgy Township, PA at the time he received his naturalization papers in Philadelphia. He moved soon thereafter to North Carolina as early records, (July 14, 1767) show his name as a witness to a land deed. Christian died about 1772/73 without leaving a will. Administrators to his estate were his wife, Mary Barbary and C.W. Beckman. He died in Sep 1774. He was buried in Burke/ Lincoln Co., NC. He Settled in Lancaster Co., Penn..(4) According to Catawba Co., NC Heritage Book No. 811 Christian Traffenstätt was a native of Germany. The name is spelled Christian Tressenstütt in the book "Thirty Thousand Names of Immigrants in Pennsylvania 1727-1776") by Rupp R-GEN 929.42
Christen TREFFENSTÄTT emigrated on 28 Sep 1753 in from Rotterdam on the ship "Two Brothers" settled in Lancaster Co., Penn.
The following was published in June 1994 Issue of "The Family Reporter":
Researching the Traffanstedt Family Tree for the past few weeks has left me very confused. It is like trying to unravel a string that has been tied in a thousand knots.

First Ancestor

Our first ancestor, so we believe, to come from Germany was Christian Traffanstedt. In the book "30,000 names of Immigrants in Pennsylvania (1727-1776) by Rupp," Christian shows up in the list aboard the ship "Two Brothers". On this list his name is spelled "Christian Tressenstütt" as rendered in German. The caption reads, "Sep. 28, 1753. Ship Two Brothers, Thomas Arnot, Captain, from Rotterdam, last from Portsmouth." The voyage of Christian Traffedstätt originated in Rotterdam (Holland) and included a stopover in Wales. The ship landed in Philadelphia and the passengers qualified the day they arrived. The only other record of Christian Traffenstätt in Pennsylvania is a copy of his naturalization papers, filed with the Supreme Court in Philadelphia. The date was 9 October 1765 and he was living in MacCurgy Township, Northampton Co. at the time. Soon after, he moved the family to N.C. His name can be found on a land deed as a witness for one Samuel Derimer, dated 14 July 1767.

Traffanstedt Confusion

In article 67 of the Catawba County N.C. Heritage Book, John H. Smith writes, "Godfrey Bolch married Catherine Traffenstadt, the daughter of another German pioneer, Christian Traffenstadt... Christina Bolch married Frederick Traffenstadt, a son of Christian Traffenstadt." Cindy Worley writes in the same book, article 68, "Godfrey married Catherine Hertie,." which is in conflict of article 67; however both agree that Christina married Frederic Trefflestred (a variation in the spelling, but there is little doubt that it is the same person). Christian’s Children The children of Christian as I have them listed (supplied by Mary Jo Nance) are: Catherine, Elizabeth, Fredrick, Barbara, Unknown, Catherine (another one), Peter, Sr., John, William, and Christian. Christian’s Marriage and Birth Place Christian, Sr. was married to Maria Barbara Eckard, who died about 10 Sep. 1793, date of will. Christian was born between 1725/1730 in West Rine River Valley, Germany and died in Sep. 1774. His son Peter is thought to be our direct ancestor. Part of my confusion lies in the 1850 census which shows living in the same household are Catherine Travelstrat 51 years old, Noah 22, Joseph was 19, William 17, Daniel Travelstrert 28. The census shows all the above mentioned children born in Catawba Co., NC and Catherine Winebarger 87 as being born in Maryland. I believe that Catherine Winebarger was the mother-in-law of Daniel Traffenstadt who married her daughter, Catherine. I do not have Noah listed as a son of Peter Treffenstat, but I do show a Noah as the son of Daniel, but the dates of birth do not match. I have Joseph listed as being born in 1809, but according to the 1850 census he would have been born about 1831. Daniel was 28 which means that he was born about 1822 and William was 17 which means that he was born 1833 instead of 1811. Anyone who may have answers to our query, please let us know.

Researchers on Track

I do believe that the Traffanstedt researchers are on the right track because most of the children married into families of German descent. In the following paragraphs we will numerate several German families who married children of Christian Tressenstütt whom we believe to be our ancestor who first migrated to North America. Christian Tressenstütt married Maria Barbara Eckard according to information received from Mary Jo Nance. According to Catawba Co. Heritage, article 204, Ruth Starnes writes that Martin Echert married Catherine Travelstrett, a daughter of Peter and Mary Barbara Travelstrett, which I believe to be in error. Peter, Sr.’s. spouse was Mahilia and Peter, Jr.’s spouse was Hannah Hawn. We have different researchers who holds this claim. Echerd Connection In article 248 of Alexander Co. Heritage it is stated, "There are varied ways that Echerd families spelled their names. It appears that the use of "h" is the literary of High German form, while the "k" is the Dutch form of spelling the name. The original spelling was most likely Eckhardt." In article 205 of Catawba Co. Heritage the statement is made, "According to tradition Martin Echert (22 Aug. 1759 - 29 Nov. 1830) and his wife, Catherine Treffenstätt (27 Dec. 1752 - 20 Jan. 1842), were first cousins." If this holds true then Martin and Maria Barbara (Christian’s spouse) were brothers and sisters. Maria’s parents would then be, at least thought to be Hann Adam Eckard. Article 203 states, "Family tradition is that the Echerts/ Eckerts/ Echerds/ Eckard/ Eckerd family came to what is now Catawba County, North Carolina, from Pennsylvania about the year 1770, but an intensive and extensive search covering a period of eight years has failed to reveal any evidence that this particular family had ever resided there. There is some evidence to indicate that the pioneer ancestor of the family came to this country with the Queen Ann colony of Palatinees to New York in 1709. In the long trek from New York to North Carolina, they may have spent some time in Frederick Co., Maryland, but the evidence from this is far from conclusive. Records of the German Reformed Church of Frederick Co., Maryland, show that Adam Eckert married Eva Reisz (Rice) on 16 August 1757... No further mention of Adam and Eva Eckert was found ... While there is no documentary proof to support such a theory, it seems nonetheless certain that Hann Adam Echert who died in 1775 was the father of the Pioneer Adam Echert (father of Martin, Catherine Traff.’s spouse) who died in 1803. Deal Family Ties Christian’s second child was Elizabeth who married Peter Deal. She died in Feb. 1755.

Bolick - Traffanstedt

The third child of Christian Tressenstütt was Frederick, who married Christina Bolick, daughter of Johan Bolch and Anna Christian. Johan Adam Bolch was the pioneer of the Bolch/Bolick family in Catawba Co., NC. Johan Adam, and his wife Anna Christina, landed in Philadelphia on 24 Sep. 1753. They had sailed with other Palatine Germans on board the ship "Neptune." With them were two sons, Jacob Bolch had been born in Germany in 1751.
A second son, Sebastian, was born at sea as the family crossed the Atlantic. Five more children were born later to the family. The Bolchs lived in Pennsylvania for several years, probably arriving in North Carolina about 1760. Over the years, the spelling of the original family name has changed. The most likely German spelling was Bolich. Bolch and Balch were most frequently used for the early generations of the family in America. In Catawba County today, some families still use Bolch, but most have evolved to the spelling Bolick.
-- John H. Smith

SOURCES: The will of Johan Adam Bolch, research in Catawba Co., the North Carolina State Archives, family history and knowledge. Johan's sons served all served in the Revolutionary War and became valuable citizens. -- Cindy Worley

Catawba Co. Heritage, Article 72, written by Peggy Marie Brooks, states: "According to the Archives in Washington, D.C., the name Bolick is spelled many ways: Bolick, Balch, Boliek, Boling, and Bolich. The reason for so many different ways of spelling the name is that it was a German name and the ship masters did not know how to pronounce the name, so therefore the spelling was so different" I believe that this is also a logical explaination as to why the Traffanstedt name is also spelled so many different ways.
Bolch

The Shoemaker According to Alexander Co. Heritage (NC) article 82, "J. Adam, was a shoemaker in Germany. The story goes that he melted down his gold into thin plates, hid them in the soles of the shoes of the family that came to America with him (since Germany would only allow immigrants to take a small amount of their property with them when they left the country, Catawba Co., Heritage Article 68). Christina (their daughter) married first Fredrick Trefflested, 2nd. Granis Trefflested. Abraham, a son of Adam, gave the land where the first Mt. Pisgah Lutheran Church was situated and where the cemetery is now (alongside the Catawba River).

The Cline Family

Christian’s 4th child, Barbara, 1758 - 1824, married John Cline, 1757-1841. John was the son of Sabastian Kline who was born between 1710/1715 in Germany (Alexander Co. (NC) Heritage) and migrated from Palatinate in Germany arriving 3 Sep. 1737 Philadelphia, PA aboard the ship "Robert and Alice". He settled in a section we know as Reading, Pa. and several of his children were born there. Sometime later he moved south and entered a large tract of land granted to him by the Earl of Granville. (Land office records Feb. 28, 1755) He divided the land with his father-in-law. Klein and his son built a house of their families to use jointly. The threat of Indian attacks forced them to gather all their goods and leave. When danger was over, they returned to their home on Clarks Creek near Newton, N.C.

Christopher Columbus

Christian’s 5th child (first name unknown) born 1760, married Christopher Columbus (Mary Jo Nance). Nothing more is known about them at this time. Godfrey Bolick Catherine (born 1763), 6th child of Christian, married Godfrey Bolick (died before 19 Feb. 1825), brother of Christina Bolick who married Frederick Treffenstätt. Catherine and Frederick married brothers and sisters. The Bolick German connection was articulated above under Frederick Treffenstätt and Christina’s Bolick heritage.

Our Ancestor, Peter Treffenstat

The 6th child of Christian and Mary Barbara was our direct ancestor, Peter Treffenstat, Sr., (1765 - 1849, buried in Lincoln/Catawba Co., NC) who married Mahalia (last name not known) (died between 1840/1849). (Source, Mary Jo Nance). A Peter Traflestet is mention in FIRST CENSUS OF THE UNITED STATES, Morgan District, Lincoln County, NC) as being 16 years of age and upwards and 1 female. Also a Mary Treflestet with 3 in the family above 16 and 1 female is also listed in the same census. That is all I have found on Peter and Mahalia. Their son Joseph was my second great grandfather. According to the 1850 Census Catherine Travelstrat was 51 years old and in the same household as Noah 22, Joseph 19, William 17, Daniel Travelstrert 28 Winebarger 87 b. Maryland and shows them born in Catawba Co., NC. First DeKalb Co., Ala. Traffanstedt Mary Jo Traffansted Nance stated, "The first Traffanstedt to migrate to DeKalb Co., AL was our Joseph, my great-great grandfather. He came from North Carolina about 1838 with his wife, Mary Morgan and two daughters who were born in North Carolina. Josephs' wife was the daughter of John Morgan, Sr. His family came to DeKalb County, AL also."

John Traffanstedt

The seventh child of Christian and Mary Barbara Traffanstedt was John. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1766 and died in Allen Co., Kentucky between 1840 and 1849. Nothing else is know by this writer about John Traffenstätt. William Treffenstätt Christian and Mary Barbara’s eight child was William Treffenstätt who was born about 1770 in Burke or Lincoln Co., N.C. He too died in Allen Co., Ky. between 1846 and 1850. On Dec. 8, 1773 he and Kathrine Anthony were married. (Sources: Mary Jo Nance, Lincoln Co., Marriage Records 1783-1886 [Females] by Frances T. Ingmire)
The ninth and last child of Christian and Mary was his name sake, Christian. All that I know of him is that he was born in 1772 in Burke/Lincoln Co., N.C.

SOME MORE SPELLINGS

If you are researching the Traffanstedt line just bear in mind that there are many different rendering of the name. Following are a few examples: In the North Carolina 1870 Census Index located in Catawba Co., there is a Levi Traffinstead, age 34; Delila Travensted age 25; Wm Travensted age 40. In the 1860 N.C. Census Index in Catawba Co. there is a Noah Trafflestroll; Daniel Traflestette; Levi Traflestrelle; William Traflestrelle; Reuben Traflestrette and a Joseph Traflestrolle. In the 1850 Census Index for the same place is recorded a Daniel Trafelstert and a Catharine Trarelstreat. In the same Index there is a Joseph Traffenstead of Buncomb Co. In the 1840 N.C. Index for Lincoln Co. there is a Peter, Peter Sr. David and a Christina Treffested in different households. In another section of the 1840 Census Index we have a Daniel Trefflested and a Christena Treffleston in Lincoln Co., N.C. referring to the same persons in the above sentence. In the First Census of the United States; Morgan District, Lincoln Co. N.C. dated in 1790 There is a Mary Treflestet listed as head of household with three males in the household. This could have been the Mary (Maria) spouse of Christian Treffenstätt who died in Sept. 1774. Also listed was a Peter Traflestet by himself. I have been told that the reason for many different spellings was because the Census Taker was about the only one that could read or write in those areas. He would ride around to the houses and collect the family information. The Census Taker would spell the name like he thought it sounded, thus a different Census Taker the next time around would spell the name differently. For that reason, I believe that all the afore mentioned names are in someway related to each other.
Our Tribute

We are greatly indebted to Mary Jo Nance and her sister Bobby Griggs for all the many dedicated hours of research they put into disclosing many of the secrets of our past by cultivating and nourishing our Traffanstedt Family Tree. Thanks to them we now know how we came to be in America.
The Ultimate Miracle

It never ceases to amaze me at the many personalities (ancestors) that it took to get together in order for our own personality to be born into existence. I have over 10,000 names of kin folk and related allied lines in my data base. As I look back from time to time at my many ancient ancestors I see the miracle of God in the creating from the multitudes of my ancestors a very insignificant person known as Timmie Van Cox, born July 2, 1941. Yes, I believe in miracles because I am one.

Papers received from M.H. Fritts of Franklin, Ky. state:
"Christian Traffenstätt's estate papers are of interest, and total 181 English poinds. Items listed included "1 dutch Bible; 2 dutch books; 1 sermon and a barrel of iron and 1 bar of iron." Many animals were listed. Some included were cows, calf's, hefers and several bulls. One list read '4 geese,' Other things of interest were guns, rifles, hoes, plows, and many items too numerous to mention."

--Tim Cox

Maria Barbary (Barbara) ECKARD (5) was born between 1725 and 1730. She died about 10 Sep 1793 in (date of will). She was buried in Lincoln Co., NC (present day Catawba Co., NC). Christian TREFFENSTÄTT and Maria Barbary (Barbara) ECKARD had the following children:

child+2 i. Catherine "Katie" TREFFENSTÄTT.
child+3 ii. Elizabeth TREFFENSTÄTT.
child+4 iii. Frederick TREFFENSTÄTT.
child+5 iv. Barbara TREFFENSTÄTT.
child+6 v. Sarah TREFFENSTÄTT.
child+7 vi. Catherine [Christine] TREFFENSTÄTT.
child+8 vii. Peter TREFFENSTAT Sr..
child9 viii. John TREFFENSTÄTT(5) was born in 1766 in Rowan Co., NC.(6) He died between 1840 and 1849 in Allen Co., KY.
child10 ix. Christopher TREBENSTADT(7) (8) was born on 15 Oct 1769. He was baptized on 22 Oct 1769. Michael H. Travis associated Christopher as a son of Christian Treffenstätt, but I am not sure that this is the same Christopher that is son of Christian, but the date and place matches. (Refer to source notes)
child+11 x. William (Travelstreet) TREFFENSTÄTT.
child12 xi. Christian TREFFENSTÄTT(5) was born in 1772 in Burke/Lincoln Co., NC. He died before 1800. (9) W.H. Fritts material states that he was never married and that he was handicapped in some way.

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