Biography of Johann Adam Rausch - Father of Nine Sons Who Served

Johann Adam Rausch was born in Darmstadt, Germany in the year 1711. He was a son of Johann Nicholas Rausch. He arrived in America on Oct. 19, 1736 on the ship Perthamboy, entering the port of Philadelphia in the colony of Pennsylvania. He is listed in court records as taking the oath of Faith and Fidelity in Pennsylvania on that date.

Shortly thereafter, he married Susannah Sehler in 1739 in Cheshire, PA and with his new bride, left for the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Upon arriving in what was then Frederick County, he settled the banks of Mill Creek. Johann was a farmer, a mill owner and a tanner.

He and his wife Susannah had a large family of nine sons and three daughters, the first of these children, Phillip being born in 1741 and the last, Jonas in 1763. Johann and his wife were devout Lutherans and likely attended services at the oldest known church in the area, the Rude's Hill Church said to date to 1745.

Later, the church was moved west to a hollow south of Rinkerton. The baptism records for the Peindt Kirche (Old Pine Church) and Solomon's Lutheran Church list Johann and Susannah's sponsorship for many of their kin and also local residents. The earliest communicants list of the Old Pine Church is dated April 8th, 1787 and the first entry reads "Johannes Rausch and his wife". In the last year of his life, Johann and his wife Susannah are listed as the sponsors for the baptism of Ambrose Henkel, son of the famous local Reverend Paul Henkel.

In 1773, Johann received a land grant from Thomas, the 6th Lord Fairfax, owner of the Scotland Proprietary of the Northern Neck of Virginia. The Land grant was for 400 acres on the "drains of mill creek."

At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, Johann Adam Rausch was 65 years old. Being too old to fight, he contributed in other ways. His nine sons and three son-in-laws have been cited for their war service. He sent flour from his grist mill for the relief of Boston, the harbor being blockaded by the British as punishment for the Boston Tea Party. The Shenandoah County Publick Claims show his contributions of beef and other supplies to the Continental Army.

Shortly after the war, his sons left to settle the newly discovered Ohio River Valley. Johann died in 1786 at the age of 75 and was laid to rest in the cemetery of the Old Pine Church. It is the oldest known grave in the cemetery. Having no sons in the area to take possession of his property, he left it to his son-in-law Lewis Zirkle. It is believed that his wife Susannah was laid by his side in 1796.

Johann Adam Rausch has been recognized by the Sons of the American Revolution and the Daughters of the American Revolution for his public service to the cause of Freedom in America.