Johann Jacob Teutsch was born August 10, 1821, in Edenkoben, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany, to Johann Wilhem Teutsch and Maria Philippina Bleystein Teutsch.
The family relocated the following year to the town of Oberrad, Hesse near Frankfurt am Main. When Jacob was about ten years old, his family was granted permission to emigrate to the United States. At the time of their departure from the port of Bremen in 1831, Jacob was the fourth of six sons accompanying Wilhelm and Philippina to America.
Jacob and his family arrived in Old Economy, Pennsylvania, in 1831 as followers of Bernhard Muller, aka religious leader Count Leon. The group first attempted to integrate into the communal Harmony Society, but left a short time later and established The New Philadelphia Society in nearby Phillipburg (now Monaca, Beaver County, Pennsylvania). Count Leon's group then sold this location in 1833 and set out to yet again establish a new colony. 12-year old Jacob found himself aboard a flat boat venturing down the Ohio River as the group set out to establish the new site in far-away Louisiana.
Jacob survived a yellow fever epidemic that took the life of Count Leon and decimated the colony in the summer of 1834 on the banks of the Red River at Grand Ecore, Louisiana. His father, Wilhelm, also perished there--reportedly while attempting to find food and assistance for the ailing group. With bloodied clothing as the only evidence, it was presumed the elder Teutsch was mauled by wild animals on his journey to get help.
Philippina Teutsch kept Jacob and his siblings with the group as Count Leon's widow led them to yet another new location near Minden, Louisiana. There in 1835 they became pioneers in establishing Germantown, a new communal operation that set about taming its small portion of the thickly-forested North Louisiana hill country.
Writing about the family in his 1930 book, Thoughts Visions and Sketches of North Louisiana, Dr. Luther Longino states that the Teutsch boys at Germantown "became excellent rifle shots, and many have been the fine turkeys that fell to them because of their unerring shots...in those memorable turkey shooting contests. A few of the descendants of that old family now are around Sikes' Ferry." Rita Krouse's 1962 book, Fragments of a Dream, noted Jacob's role in the construction of the Germantown community. "The logs were notched , not in the conventional manner, but with three-angled notches so that every corner was dove-tailed securely against whatever wind might blow. Jacob Teutsch is considered to have been the man who notched the logs."
Although Germantown remained in operation until 1871, it appears that the Teutsch family left the commune much earlier. The 1850 federal census documents Jacob, 29, living in the household of his mother Philippina along with his brother August and sister Lanie. They were not listed among the "Dutch" community, but rather in Township 20, Ward 3 of Claiborne Parish. Phillipina Teutsch had obtained a patent for 40 acres of land north of Minden in June 1850.
Jacob Teutsch was wed on July 31, 1851, to Mary Catherine Wittle, a daughter of German immigrants. In January 1860 he was issued a patent for a 78.9 acre parcel of land located just over one mile east of the land obtained by his mother. The federal census later that year identified Jacob as a farmer.
Leaving Mary with four young children and expecting another, Jacob mustered out at age 40 in March 1862 to serve as a private in The Minden Blues, Company G, 8th Infantry of the Confederate States Army. Only six months later he was taken prisoner in the Battle of Antietam on September 17th. Just over a month later he was moved from Fort McHenry, Massachusetts to Fort Monroe, Virginia. There he was paroled and released for exchange at Aikens Landing on November 10, 1862.
In the 1870 census Jacob was again documented as farming in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana. He and Mary had nine children over a span of 22 years from 1852 to 1874. They suffered the loss of their fourth child, daughter Lana, who died at about age 10 in 1869. The following year they also lost their firstborn, George, who died at age 18.
Webster Parish was formed from portions of Claiborne, Bossier and Bienville parishes in 1871. Jacob passed away there September 22, 1874. He was reportedly buried in the Phillips-Wallis Cemetery in a rural area south of Sikes' Ferry between Leton and Cotton Valley. The cemetery is located in an open pasture, has no markers, and is designated now only by a cluster of crepe myrtle trees. A cenotaph commemorating Jacob's life and his Confederate service was placed at the nearby Union Springs Cemetery beside the grave of his wife Mary.
The family relocated the following year to the town of Oberrad, Hesse near Frankfurt am Main. When Jacob was about ten years old, his family was granted permission to emigrate to the United States. At the time of their departure from the port of Bremen in 1831, Jacob was the fourth of six sons accompanying Wilhelm and Philippina to America.
Jacob and his family arrived in Old Economy, Pennsylvania, in 1831 as followers of Bernhard Muller, aka religious leader Count Leon. The group first attempted to integrate into the communal Harmony Society, but left a short time later and established The New Philadelphia Society in nearby Phillipburg (now Monaca, Beaver County, Pennsylvania). Count Leon's group then sold this location in 1833 and set out to yet again establish a new colony. 12-year old Jacob found himself aboard a flat boat venturing down the Ohio River as the group set out to establish the new site in far-away Louisiana.
Jacob survived a yellow fever epidemic that took the life of Count Leon and decimated the colony in the summer of 1834 on the banks of the Red River at Grand Ecore, Louisiana. His father, Wilhelm, also perished there--reportedly while attempting to find food and assistance for the ailing group. With bloodied clothing as the only evidence, it was presumed the elder Teutsch was mauled by wild animals on his journey to get help.
Philippina Teutsch kept Jacob and his siblings with the group as Count Leon's widow led them to yet another new location near Minden, Louisiana. There in 1835 they became pioneers in establishing Germantown, a new communal operation that set about taming its small portion of the thickly-forested North Louisiana hill country.
Writing about the family in his 1930 book, Thoughts Visions and Sketches of North Louisiana, Dr. Luther Longino states that the Teutsch boys at Germantown "became excellent rifle shots, and many have been the fine turkeys that fell to them because of their unerring shots...in those memorable turkey shooting contests. A few of the descendants of that old family now are around Sikes' Ferry." Rita Krouse's 1962 book, Fragments of a Dream, noted Jacob's role in the construction of the Germantown community. "The logs were notched , not in the conventional manner, but with three-angled notches so that every corner was dove-tailed securely against whatever wind might blow. Jacob Teutsch is considered to have been the man who notched the logs."
Although Germantown remained in operation until 1871, it appears that the Teutsch family left the commune much earlier. The 1850 federal census documents Jacob, 29, living in the household of his mother Philippina along with his brother August and sister Lanie. They were not listed among the "Dutch" community, but rather in Township 20, Ward 3 of Claiborne Parish. Phillipina Teutsch had obtained a patent for 40 acres of land north of Minden in June 1850.
Jacob Teutsch was wed on July 31, 1851, to Mary Catherine Wittle, a daughter of German immigrants. In January 1860 he was issued a patent for a 78.9 acre parcel of land located just over one mile east of the land obtained by his mother. The federal census later that year identified Jacob as a farmer.
Leaving Mary with four young children and expecting another, Jacob mustered out at age 40 in March 1862 to serve as a private in The Minden Blues, Company G, 8th Infantry of the Confederate States Army. Only six months later he was taken prisoner in the Battle of Antietam on September 17th. Just over a month later he was moved from Fort McHenry, Massachusetts to Fort Monroe, Virginia. There he was paroled and released for exchange at Aikens Landing on November 10, 1862.
In the 1870 census Jacob was again documented as farming in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana. He and Mary had nine children over a span of 22 years from 1852 to 1874. They suffered the loss of their fourth child, daughter Lana, who died at about age 10 in 1869. The following year they also lost their firstborn, George, who died at age 18.
Webster Parish was formed from portions of Claiborne, Bossier and Bienville parishes in 1871. Jacob passed away there September 22, 1874. He was reportedly buried in the Phillips-Wallis Cemetery in a rural area south of Sikes' Ferry between Leton and Cotton Valley. The cemetery is located in an open pasture, has no markers, and is designated now only by a cluster of crepe myrtle trees. A cenotaph commemorating Jacob's life and his Confederate service was placed at the nearby Union Springs Cemetery beside the grave of his wife Mary.
Johann Jacob Teutsch was born August 10, 1821, in Edenkoben, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany, to Johann Wilhem Teutsch and Maria Philippina Bleystein Teutsch.
The family relocated the following year to the town of Oberrad, Hesse near Frankfurt am Main. When Jacob was about ten years old, his family was granted permission to emigrate to the United States. At the time of their departure from the port of Bremen in 1831, Jacob was the fourth of six sons accompanying Wilhelm and Philippina to America.
Jacob and his family arrived in Old Economy, Pennsylvania, in 1831 as followers of Bernhard Muller, aka religious leader Count Leon. The group first attempted to integrate into the communal Harmony Society, but left a short time later and established The New Philadelphia Society in nearby Phillipburg (now Monaca, Beaver County, Pennsylvania). Count Leon's group then sold this location in 1833 and set out to yet again establish a new colony. 12-year old Jacob found himself aboard a flat boat venturing down the Ohio River as the group set out to establish the new site in far-away Louisiana.
Jacob survived a yellow fever epidemic that took the life of Count Leon and decimated the colony in the summer of 1834 on the banks of the Red River at Grand Ecore, Louisiana. His father, Wilhelm, also perished there--reportedly while attempting to find food and assistance for the ailing group. With bloodied clothing as the only evidence, it was presumed the elder Teutsch was mauled by wild animals on his journey to get help.
Philippina Teutsch kept Jacob and his siblings with the group as Count Leon's widow led them to yet another new location near Minden, Louisiana. There in 1835 they became pioneers in establishing Germantown, a new communal operation that set about taming its small portion of the thickly-forested North Louisiana hill country.
Writing about the family in his 1930 book, Thoughts Visions and Sketches of North Louisiana, Dr. Luther Longino states that the Teutsch boys at Germantown "became excellent rifle shots, and many have been the fine turkeys that fell to them because of their unerring shots...in those memorable turkey shooting contests. A few of the descendants of that old family now are around Sikes' Ferry." Rita Krouse's 1962 book, Fragments of a Dream, noted Jacob's role in the construction of the Germantown community. "The logs were notched , not in the conventional manner, but with three-angled notches so that every corner was dove-tailed securely against whatever wind might blow. Jacob Teutsch is considered to have been the man who notched the logs."
Although Germantown remained in operation until 1871, it appears that the Teutsch family left the commune much earlier. The 1850 federal census documents Jacob, 29, living in the household of his mother Philippina along with his brother August and sister Lanie. They were not listed among the "Dutch" community, but rather in Township 20, Ward 3 of Claiborne Parish. Phillipina Teutsch had obtained a patent for 40 acres of land north of Minden in June 1850.
Jacob Teutsch was wed on July 31, 1851, to Mary Catherine Wittle, a daughter of German immigrants. In January 1860 he was issued a patent for a 78.9 acre parcel of land located just over one mile east of the land obtained by his mother. The federal census later that year identified Jacob as a farmer.
Leaving Mary with four young children and expecting another, Jacob mustered out at age 40 in March 1862 to serve as a private in The Minden Blues, Company G, 8th Infantry of the Confederate States Army. Only six months later he was taken prisoner in the Battle of Antietam on September 17th. Just over a month later he was moved from Fort McHenry, Massachusetts to Fort Monroe, Virginia. There he was paroled and released for exchange at Aikens Landing on November 10, 1862.
In the 1870 census Jacob was again documented as farming in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana. He and Mary had nine children over a span of 22 years from 1852 to 1874. They suffered the loss of their fourth child, daughter Lana, who died at about age 10 in 1869. The following year they also lost their firstborn, George, who died at age 18.
Webster Parish was formed from portions of Claiborne, Bossier and Bienville parishes in 1871. Jacob passed away there September 22, 1874. He was reportedly buried in the Phillips-Wallis Cemetery in a rural area south of Sikes' Ferry between Leton and Cotton Valley. The cemetery is located in an open pasture, has no markers, and is designated now only by a cluster of crepe myrtle trees. A cenotaph commemorating Jacob's life and his Confederate service was placed at the nearby Union Springs Cemetery beside the grave of his wife Mary.
The family relocated the following year to the town of Oberrad, Hesse near Frankfurt am Main. When Jacob was about ten years old, his family was granted permission to emigrate to the United States. At the time of their departure from the port of Bremen in 1831, Jacob was the fourth of six sons accompanying Wilhelm and Philippina to America.
Jacob and his family arrived in Old Economy, Pennsylvania, in 1831 as followers of Bernhard Muller, aka religious leader Count Leon. The group first attempted to integrate into the communal Harmony Society, but left a short time later and established The New Philadelphia Society in nearby Phillipburg (now Monaca, Beaver County, Pennsylvania). Count Leon's group then sold this location in 1833 and set out to yet again establish a new colony. 12-year old Jacob found himself aboard a flat boat venturing down the Ohio River as the group set out to establish the new site in far-away Louisiana.
Jacob survived a yellow fever epidemic that took the life of Count Leon and decimated the colony in the summer of 1834 on the banks of the Red River at Grand Ecore, Louisiana. His father, Wilhelm, also perished there--reportedly while attempting to find food and assistance for the ailing group. With bloodied clothing as the only evidence, it was presumed the elder Teutsch was mauled by wild animals on his journey to get help.
Philippina Teutsch kept Jacob and his siblings with the group as Count Leon's widow led them to yet another new location near Minden, Louisiana. There in 1835 they became pioneers in establishing Germantown, a new communal operation that set about taming its small portion of the thickly-forested North Louisiana hill country.
Writing about the family in his 1930 book, Thoughts Visions and Sketches of North Louisiana, Dr. Luther Longino states that the Teutsch boys at Germantown "became excellent rifle shots, and many have been the fine turkeys that fell to them because of their unerring shots...in those memorable turkey shooting contests. A few of the descendants of that old family now are around Sikes' Ferry." Rita Krouse's 1962 book, Fragments of a Dream, noted Jacob's role in the construction of the Germantown community. "The logs were notched , not in the conventional manner, but with three-angled notches so that every corner was dove-tailed securely against whatever wind might blow. Jacob Teutsch is considered to have been the man who notched the logs."
Although Germantown remained in operation until 1871, it appears that the Teutsch family left the commune much earlier. The 1850 federal census documents Jacob, 29, living in the household of his mother Philippina along with his brother August and sister Lanie. They were not listed among the "Dutch" community, but rather in Township 20, Ward 3 of Claiborne Parish. Phillipina Teutsch had obtained a patent for 40 acres of land north of Minden in June 1850.
Jacob Teutsch was wed on July 31, 1851, to Mary Catherine Wittle, a daughter of German immigrants. In January 1860 he was issued a patent for a 78.9 acre parcel of land located just over one mile east of the land obtained by his mother. The federal census later that year identified Jacob as a farmer.
Leaving Mary with four young children and expecting another, Jacob mustered out at age 40 in March 1862 to serve as a private in The Minden Blues, Company G, 8th Infantry of the Confederate States Army. Only six months later he was taken prisoner in the Battle of Antietam on September 17th. Just over a month later he was moved from Fort McHenry, Massachusetts to Fort Monroe, Virginia. There he was paroled and released for exchange at Aikens Landing on November 10, 1862.
In the 1870 census Jacob was again documented as farming in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana. He and Mary had nine children over a span of 22 years from 1852 to 1874. They suffered the loss of their fourth child, daughter Lana, who died at about age 10 in 1869. The following year they also lost their firstborn, George, who died at age 18.
Webster Parish was formed from portions of Claiborne, Bossier and Bienville parishes in 1871. Jacob passed away there September 22, 1874. He was reportedly buried in the Phillips-Wallis Cemetery in a rural area south of Sikes' Ferry between Leton and Cotton Valley. The cemetery is located in an open pasture, has no markers, and is designated now only by a cluster of crepe myrtle trees. A cenotaph commemorating Jacob's life and his Confederate service was placed at the nearby Union Springs Cemetery beside the grave of his wife Mary.
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