By Staci Norton
The Story... As far back as I know, begins in Deutschland.
Philip Bout was born on July 11th, 1816 during a time of extreme political struggle. The Napoleonic Wars had just ended and the German Confederation was attempting to unify the country yet again. Since the war was over, it was also becoming a time of economic struggle. Many families lost their farms and businesses and found themselves with nowhere to go. Many countries were imposing tariffs upon German products and British goods were flooding into Germany at much lower prices. Many began to talk of moving to the Americas to make a better life for their families.
By 1840, talk of a revolution scared many people into leaving the country. Philip and his family were lucky enough to get out of Germany before the revolution happened.
On March 20th of 1848, people began to riot in the streets in protest of their new leader, Maximillian II. Many were killed and on March 21st, 1848, plans were started to make Prussia a part of the German state.
Philip met his wife, Catherine Wilhelmina Hagemeyer, in Germany and they were married in 1847. I am unsure of the exact date of Phillip and Catherine’s immigration to the United States, but it was somewhere between January and March of 1848. Between the time that they were leaving Germany and arriving in the United States, Catherine gave birth to their first son, John.
They traveled to Ohio by river boat and landed in Pine Grove Furnace in Lawrence County, Ohio. They built a log cabin here and a year later, Catherine gave birth to Phillip Jr. Two years later Frederick was born and in 1854, their first daughter, Mary, was born. Then, in 1857, my great great grandfather, William Bouts was born.
In 1858, they bought a farm on Pine Creek Road in Bloom Township, Scioto County, Ohio. A log cabin, which was bigger than the last, was built for them to accommodate all of their children. While in this house, seven more children were born to them. Henry was born in 1859, Margaret in 1861, Caroline in 1863, Jacob in 1868, Elmina in 1878, and an infant that died within a few days of being born. The family lived on the farm until Philip died in 1895. When Philip died, Wilhelmina moved to South Webster to live with her son Frederick and stayed there until her death.
Frederick married a woman named Sarah and they had six children. Two of the children, Crete and Cretia, were twins. When their parents passed away, the twins decided to stay on the farm and live their lives as single women. The farm is still there today and owned by the family. Most of the family is buried in South Webster Cemetery.
Staci Norton is a freelance writer from Lockland, Ohio. She has a great deal of experience in writing, researching, and discussing family history.
Staci is fluent in English and Portuguese and Spanish.
Published U.S. Legacies March 2006
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