 Foose
Family Genealogy > Documents
Some
Thoughts & Questions
About Our History - Foose Family
 The Foos
Family seems to have origin-nated in the long disputed Alsace area
of southwestern Germany in the present state of Rheinland Palz.
The region is called Saarland, marked by the larger towns of Saarbrucken
and Zweibrucken. In 1609, in the village of Nohfelden, there were 21
houseowners including one Jacob Foos (Fuss?). The record shows that
living with Jacob were his wife Eva, two brothers -- Nickel a linen
weaver, and Thomas -- and two sons and a servant. Nohfelden is located
about seven miles south of Birkenfeld. In the 17th century this area
belong to the Duchy of Zweibrucken.1
Correspondence between members of the Ohio Branch of the American
Foos Family and other Foos's in Germany in 1906 -- particularly a
Louis
Foos who then lived in Bad Durkheim – suggested that around
1738 a father of one of the Foos families came into discord with
his three
sons. The consequence of this discord was that one of the sons migrated
from Alsace to Germany proper, while another of the son immigrated
to America. The name of the son who immigrated was not made clear,
nor whether this was actually the family element ultimately involved
in the immigration. The dates are inconsistent with the arrival at
Philadelphia of Johan Nicholaus from which we currently trace our
origins.
Other towns close to Zweibrucken mentioned in this series of correspondences
as birthplaces or residences for Foos Family members include Wachenheim,
Riedselz, and Schaidt (2.5 km ESE of Bad Bergzabern on Rt. L546).
These towns are within a 95 km radius of Zweibrucken.
Questions That Remain About Nicholas:
Where
was Johan Nicholas Fuss born? Nohfelden? Bad Durkheim?
Wachenheim? Riedselz? Shaidt? Other?
Who
was his father, mother, etc.?
What
German-based lineage can be defined?
What
can be learned about the wife who traveled with
Nicholas to America? Children?
Early status and movement in colony (PA).
Foose
Family and Simon Kenton
Somewhere in their migration from Pennsylvania to Ohio,
members of the Foose family came in contact with
Simon Kenton, a frontiersman
and Indian fighter less famous than Daniel Boone
but similar in many ways. Allan Eckert’s book “The Frontiersman,” traces
the life of Kenton, and mentions (p. 473) Griffith Foos working
with Kenton to layout the town of Springfield, Ohio and being the
co-founder. Other books in Echert’s series provide more
insights to the role of the Foose family in settling what
was then called the Northwest Territory. Ohio was
a key part of this area.
Where
did the Foose family first encounter Kenton? Kentucky?
Tennessee? Virginia? Ohio?
What
was the extent of their relationship with Kenton?
What
role did Kenton play with the Fooses in Franklin (now Columbus)
and elsewhere?
1 The Robert H. Foose family lived in Zweibrucken from 1973-1975
while
serving with the U.S. Armed Forces in NATO.
The family actually visited Nohfelden and Birkenfeld
during their residence in Zweibrucken, but did not
know at the time this might
have been the origin of the family since the tradition
in our branch of the family was southern Germany or
closer to Bavaria.
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