Piecing together the family of Martin Treish hasn’t been easy. For one thing, this surname appears as Treich, Thras, Tresh, Tearce, Thrush, Tash, Threysh, Tresch, Triesch, Trösch, Trosch and, just for good measure, as Dreusch.
Add to the fact that he was born c1720 reportedly in the Palatinate and died by 1762, not a lot is known about the life of Martin Treish.
What is known is that Martin Treich arrived in Philadelphia on the ship Brothers and took the Oath on 24 September 1750. He signed his own name. Four names above his we find J[ohan?] Jacob (X) Treysh, who has been said to be Martin’s brother.
It has been “said” that these passengers were Palatine Germans, but the passenger list doesn’t identify them as such and the European origins of “Martin Treich” have not been proved.
Martin’s next appearance in government records is in Baltimore County, Maryland where he bought land called Bottle Hill, 200 acres, on 25 March 1757.
Sadly, Martin’s life was cut short. He wrote his will on 29 October 1761, in German in his own handwriting:
His will is found in Baltimore County, Maryland – DD 1/Book 31, folio 609 in the original German and on folio 916 with the English translation:
Martin Treish’s will interestingly only names his “younger son Martin,” who is to take ownership of his real estate by paying £10 per year for 6 years, for a total payment of £60 pounds. His wife is called “the woman,” who is to remain with the children “on the place” until the youngest, Anna Barbara, comes of age.
“The woman” is to have, yearly, eight bushels of corn, five bushels of wheat, 1/3 part of the kitchen garden and a third part of the orchard and maintain on “the place” a cow and “fatt hog.” She will also receive 60 or 70 pounds of flax seed and 50 eggs for her maintenance.”
It’s an unusual will in that it doesn’t name his wife or his other children, who were all under the age of 21 at the time, including two other sons , one of whom had to be older than Martin. I would love to know the back story. Did Martin discuss his plans with his sons and ask who was most interested in the land? By the early 1770s, both Jacob and Valentine showed adventurous spirits as they headed south the North Carolina. Perhaps Martin was interested in remaining in Maryland? That’s probably an answer we will never know.
By 2 February 1763, widow Elizabeth (MNU) Treish married (2) Phillip Emmice, probably in Baltimore County, Maryland. She and Phillip were handling Martin’s estate:
Here is an enlargement of the signatures of the two largest creditors, Caspar Starr and Wendel Bright, in addition to two who signed as the nearest relatives, Juid Kinegze (this name makes no sense) and Catherine (X) Trosh, his 21 year old daughter.
By 19 March 1764, the estate was settled with a list of the six surviving heirs and their ages. Notice that although Martin Treish Jr. was to receive land, he is not one of the six children named in 1764. He appears to have died soon after his father.
Children of Martin and Elizabeth (MNU) Treish:
- Catherine, born c1740, Germany; died after 1830, probably Wayne County, Indiana; married Caspar Starr, c1763, probably Baltimore County, Maryland
- Jacob, born c1742, Germany; died between 18 May 1815, date of his will-11 July 1815, date of his estate appraisal, Putnam County, Georgia; married Catherine (MNU), c1766, probably Baltimore county, Maryland
- Martin, born c1744; probably died by 1764
- Eve, born c1747, Germany
- Valentine, born 1749, Germany [per his Rev War pension application]; died before 22 April 1835 [date his will was proved in court], Buncombe County, North Carolina; married (1) Unknown, c1770 (2) Barbara Yountz, c1799, probably North Carolina
- Elizabeth, born c1752, Maryland
- Anna Barbara, born c1755, Maryland
There is nothing found online accounting for the Treish daughters after this date, with the exception of Anna Barbara, with one linked record that doesn’t prove the Barbara in the record is Anna Barbara Treish.
I have become quite convinced that Catherine Trush, who signed as a close relative to the deceased Martin in 1761 went on to marry Caspar Starr before the 19 March 1764 settlement.
What became of Martin’s widow, Elizabeth (MNU) Treish Emmice is unknown. Neither Catherine nor her second husband, Phillip Emmice, are found in any other records. By the way, Emmice doesn’t make much sense as a surname either. I can’t find any name even similar to it.
Jacob and “Felty” “Trash” sold 173 acres of Bottle Hill on 16 August 1770 to Francis Fresh [Froesch?] plus another nine acres called Martin’s Hope on the same day to the same man. These sales total 182 acres, which leaves 18 acres of the 1757 patent unaccounted for.
Martin must certainly have died in the 1760s as he isn’t mentioned in this deed, but nor are his mother Elizabeth or any of his sisters.
However, I wonder if the unsourced maiden name of ‘Felty’ for Elizabeth might have come from someone who saw the land sale by Jacob and Felty, not understanding that Felty/Velty is a nickname for Valentine? They then jumped to the conclusion that this man was given his mother’s maiden name, not that he was being called by a nickname.
The brothers and perhaps some family members then headed south in search of new lives.
Besides obviously being in each other’s FAN club, Jacob Thrash, as he and his descendants chose to spell their surname, pointed the way to where Caspar Starr went when he left Maryland at the start of the Revolutionary War.
Yes, that is only circumstantial evidence – but DNA doesn’t lie. My husband has matches to TWO of Jacob Thrash’s descendants. Those DNA matches, in addition to the FAN club, are enough to convince me that I have uncovered Catherine Starr’s maiden name.
Next up will be family sketches of Martin’s sons, Jacob and Valentine.
