Some progress has been made this month on expanding the known timeline of Caspar Stoehr/Starr’s life and a hint as to his wife Catherine’s family.

The big break came using FamilySearch full-text Search for Caspar/Gaspar/Jasper Starr in the 1700s. His name came up in an estate administration for Martin Thrash/Trush/Treisch/Treish, who died in Baltimore County, Maryland in 1761. The account was dated 1764.

The estate paid £7.10.0 to Caspar for a debt owed to him. The inventory of his estate was completed on 10 November 1762 and, interestingly, this might be a clue to the maiden name of Catherine, wife of Caspar Starr!

The inventory list isn’t the important part of this document. Look below at the right side, under the totals, where consent was given to the list. Caspar Starr signed and one of the two “greatest creditors” followed by signatures of two of the nearest kin with the widow then listed as executrix.

The “greatest creditors” signed in German with the clerk helpfully translating. My guess for the creditor who signed below Caspar Star is “Vandol Bright” aka Wendel Bright.

Now look at the two nearest kin who also approved the appraisal. I have no idea what the first name says unless it is Juid (Jude, like Judith?) [Kinig??], but then “Cathorine Trosh” makes her mark.

This appraisal is dated November 1762 and I’ve estimated that Caspar married his wife, Catherine, c1763.

Notice, too, that on 2 February 1763, “Elizabeth Thrush Executrix of Martin Thrush” stated the inventory was a true list of Martin’s estate.

Next, by March 1764, Phillip Emmice and Elizabeth his wife Executrix of Martin Trush . . . ” proves that widow Elizabeth Trush married (2) Phillip Emmice sometime during those 13 months. I don’t find the Emmice surname anywhere, but could this be Emmich?

What else is known about Martin “Thrash” and various spellings of his surname. Well, on 24 August 1750 the ship Brothers arrived and two of the passengers were J. Jacob (X) Treysh and Martin Treich.

Although Elizabeth is called “executrix”, I have found no record of an actual will, just estate administration records.

He owned land in Baltimore County by 1757:

His children are Catherine, born c1740, Jacob, 1742-1815, Eve, born 1745, Valentine, 1748- died Buncombe County, North Carolina, before 22 April 1835 when his will was entered into court records, Elizabeth, born 1752 and Barbara, 1755-1808. Although an unsourced transcription of Martin’s 1761 will includes a bequest to “younger son Martin,” Martin Jr. is not named as one of the six children in the final settlement of Martin Sr.’s estate and no records have been found for Martin in the 1700’s or 1800’s. He may have died soon after his father.

In spite of online trees including a Martin Jr. among the children, the settlement of Martin Trush’s estate in 1764 not only states that there were six children, but names them and gives their current ages, which correspond to the birth years above.

Given the dearth of marriage records, I find no primary documents identifying who any of his daughters might have married.

However, I believe that oldest child, Catherine, born c1740 became the wife of Caspar Starr, in Baltimore County, Maryland, sometime shortly after the November 1762 inventory agreement.

Support for my theory is found in a Caswell County, North Carolina land deed filed by Jacob Trash on 12 May 1783:

The deed is on the right, but here is the important part:

“Between Jacob Thrash of the County of Rowan & State of North Carolina of the one part and Edward Upton of Caswell County and State of North Carolina . . .

This puts the Thrash family – and Jacob Thrash, brother of Catherine Thrash, in particular – once again in the Starr FAN club, as Caspar Starr’s first land purchase in Rowan County is dated in 1785.

This is a theory built on preponderance of evidence, but Catherine Thrash is exactly the right age to marry in the early 1760s, she and Caspar Starr clearly knew each other and her brothers also left Maryland for the Southern parts with Jacob Thrash residing in Rowan County, North Carolina at the same time that Caspar Starr is documented there. He eventually moved on to Wilkes County and then Putnam County, Georgia. Martin Thrash Jr. also purportedly died in Georgia. Valentine Thrash died in Buncombe County, but that county was formed in 1791 from parts of Burke and Rutherford Counties, which sit to the west of Rowan County.

Tomorrow, we will look at the documents and clues tying John and Caspar Starr of Baltimore County, Maryland to Adam Starr of Guilford County, North Carolina.