Introduction

Since 1940, when the first Andrew Auman Family Reunion was held, the Auman family of central North Carolina has been trying to discover its roots. Family tradition held that their Auman ancestors emigrated from Germany to Pennsylvania in the 1700s, and moved to Randolph County, North Carolina, around 1800. The earliest know ancestor was Andrew Auman, who was believed to have been born in Germany. Andrew had a wife, Barbara, and two sons, Jacob and George. Today, North Carolina Aumans trace their lineage back to either Jacob or George.

In recent decades, new information on the origins and history of the Andrew Auman family has been uncovered. The purpose of this primer is to highlight the most important of these discoveries. Genealogical research is complex, and the evidence often is meager, difficult to interpret, or missing. Therefore, many of the conclusions below are tentative and subject to revision on the discovery of new or contrary data.

Michael and Andrew Auman: Father and Son

Andreas Aman (Auman)

Information from the records of the Lower Bermudian Church, Adams County (part of York County before 1800), Pennsylvania, states that one Andreas Aman (Auman), son of Michael and Anna Margretha Aman (Auman), was born on April 28, 1762. This is likely the birth record of our Andrew Auman (1762-ca 1839).

Michael Auman

By 1940, Michael Auman, who died in 1818, had been forgotten by his descendants. But proof of his existence is found in the Randolph County Courthouse will and deed books.

In 1796, Michael Auman received a land grant from the state of North Carolina for 350 acres on Barnes Creek in Randolph County.

In 1818, Michael Orman (Auman) mentioned the following persons in his will: Margaret, his wife; Margaret Slack, Mary Strider, and Elizabeth Luther, his daughters; Andrew and Mary (Cagle) Orman (Auman), his son and daughter-in-law; and Jacob and George Orman (Auman), his grandsons.

In his 1796 land grant, Michael’s last name was spelled Auman. In his 1818 will, it was spelled Orman, a common phonetically derived spelling of the Auman name (others were Arman, Ormund, Ormand, Ahman, Aman, Aorman, Ammon, Awman, and even Homman).

The Aumans in Pennsylvania

Now the question arises: when and where was Michael Auman born, and who were his parents? The question cannot be answered with certainty, but the best evidence uncovered so far points to one Jacob Awman.

Jacob Awman

In his 1780 will, Jacob Awman (Auman)—a landowner and farmer in Manheim Township, York County, Pennsylvania--mentioned four children (then grown) by his first wife: George Jacob, Markret (Margaret), John, and Michael. Perhaps the latter is our Michael Auman (Orman) who died in 1818 in Randolph County, North Carolina. No further certain evidence about the origins of Jacob Awman has been uncovered.

Jacob Aumann

In 1735, in Oley Township, Philadelphia County, Colony of Pennsylvania, one Elizabeth Aumann, daughter of Jacob Aumann, was baptized by a Reverent Casper Stover, a Lutheran minister.

In 1737, one Jacob Auman was granted a warrant for 100 acres of land by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania adjoining land he already owned in Philadelphia County.

Later, in 1752, the Oley Township of Philadelphia County (the area in which Daniel Boone was born and raised) became part of Berks County. The Jacob Aumann name does not appear in the land or estate records of Berks County.

So what happened to Jacob and Elizabeth Aumann? So far, the records are silent. Perhaps a further search of the land records of Philadelphia County will reveal something.

One intriguing possibility is that Jacob sold his land in Philadelphia County and moved west to the new County of York that opened to settlement in the 1730s. Perhaps his first wife died (Elizabeth’s mother—could Elizabeth have been Michael Auman’s sister?) and he married a woman from York County, and decided to move there.

Conclusions

So, it is possible that the Jacob Awman who died in York County in 1780 was the same person as the Jacob Aumann who fathered Elizabeth Aumann in 1735 and who received a warrant for land in Philadelphia County in 1737. Jacob Auman/Awman may well have been the father of our Michael Auman.

It will take further research to prove whether or not this is the case.

Jacob Ammon

When did a Jacob Aumann/Auman/Awman first arrive in the colony of Pennsylvania? A search of the passenger lists of German immigrants arriving at the port of Philadelphia prior to 1735 (when Elizabeth Aumann was born), should provide an answer.

A possible candidate would be one Jacob Ammon who arrived in Philadelphia in 1730 on the ship Thistle, which had embarked from Rotterdam, Holland, with a shipload of German emigrants. Unfortunately, the ship’s passenger list did not mention the towns of origin of the wayfarers; so Jacob’s hometown in Germany remains a mystery.

There is not a Jacob Aumann or Auman per se on any of the port of Philadelphia ship passenger lists.

The Aumans in Maryland

Soon after 1762, Michael Auman moved from York County, Pennsylvania, to Frederick County, Maryland. It is unknown where he lived in Frederick County, or how he made a living.

In 1768, Maria Margaretha Ahman (Auman), daughter of Michael and Margaretha Ahman (Auman), was born in May, and baptized in September, at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Frederick, Maryland

In March, 1778, in Frederick County, Maryland, Michael Awmon (Auman) took an oath of fidelity to the new United States of America. Andrew Auman, George Luther, and other members of the Luther family, served in the Maryland Militia during the Revolutionary War. In June, 1779, George Luther married Elizabeth Auman, daughter of Michael Auman, at the Evangelical Reformed Church in Frederick, Maryland. Andrew Auman, then on duty in the Maryland Militia, got leave to attend the wedding. George Luther’s family moved to America in the 1750s from Strasburg, Germany In March, 1783, Andrew Auman and George Luther each bought 100 acre tracts of land near New Market, Maryland. In March, 1785, Andrew Auman married George’s sister, Barbara Luther, at the Evangelical Reformed Church in Frederick. In September, 1789, Maria Margaret Aurman (Auman) married John Slack at the Evangelical Reformed Church in Frederick. Sergeant John Slack had served over six years in the Maryland Continental Line during the Revolutionary War, including a three year tour of duty in the south under General Nathanial Green. In the 1790 Federal Census of Frederick County, Maryland, Andrew and Michael “Orinand” (Auman) were listed as heads of household. In October, 1791, Andrew Auman sold his land in Frederick County, Maryland, and moved his family to Randolph County, North Carolina.

The Aumans in North Carolina

In the last two decades of the eighteenth century, related members of the Auman, Luther, and Slack families moved from Frederick County, Maryland, to south-central Randolph County, North Carolina.

In 1788, Michael Luther purchased 150 acres on the Bumpass Fork (the stream the Covered Bridge straddles) of the Little River.

In 1790, Christian Luther purchased 150 acres of land on the waters of the Little River from John Latham; the land bordered property owned by John Strider. In 1792, Christian received a land grant for 200 acres on Rock Creek that drained into the Little River.

In 1814, Jacob Auman bought this land.

In 1791, John Slack bought 100 acres on the waters of the Little River. His deed called for the Luther line.

In 1792, George Luther bought 200 acres on the waters of Barnes Creek.

In 1792, Andrew and Barbara Auman settled on 150 acres on the Big Branch of the Little River (southwest of Ulah).

In 1796, Michael and Margaret Auman settled on 350 acres drained by the waters of Barnes Creek. This land is located about one mile west of the Pisgah Covered Bridge in the neighborhood of the Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church.

In 1802, Jacob Luther purchased land on Rock Creek near where Christian Luther lived.

In 1803, Jacob Strider, husband of Mary Auman (daughter of Michael Auman), bought 175 acres from Michael Auman. This would have been one-half of Michael Auman’s 1796 land grant of 350 acres. Mary and Jacob Strider’s marked graves are on this land today; perhaps Margaret and Michael Auman’s graves are nearby, but unmarked.

The 1800 Federal Census, Randolph County, North Carolina

Andrew Orman (Auman) is listed as head of a family with a wife and three children under the age of 17. Two of the children would have been Jacob and George. The other was a girl.

Michael Orman (Auman) is head of a household composed of himself and his wife.

The 1810 Federal Census, North Carolina

Michael Orman (Auman) and wife are in the 1810 Randolph County census, just as in 1800.

Andrew Orman (Auman) is not in the Randolph County 1810 census; rather, he appears in the Moore County 1810 census as Andrew Auman with a wife and eight sons and three girls! According to the 1800 Randolph County census, Andrew had two sons and one daughter. Between 1800 and 1810, Andrew Auman had moved from Randolph County to Moore County and had an additional six sons and two daughters—the existence of whom were unknown to the founders of the Andrew Auman Family Reunion in 1940. It had always been believed that Andrew Auman and Barbara Luther had only two children—Jacob and George. What had happened to the eight children that his wife had given birth to between 1800 and 1810? Where are their descendants today?

Apparently, Andrew’s first wife, Barbara Luther, died between about 1798 and 1800. Andrew soon remarried. His new wife was Mary Cagle, daughter of Henry Cagle, who resided in northwest Moore County near the intersection of Moore, Montgomery, and Randolph counties. The best evidence we have that Mary Cagle was Andrew Auman’s wife is found in the 1802 will of Henry Cagle in which he leaves property to his daughter Mary Auman. This is likely the same person as the Mary Orman mentioned in Michael Orman’s (Auman’s) 1818 will. Meanwhile, Jacob and George Auman grow up, get married, and settle down. In 1814, Jacob buys Christian Luther’s farm on Rock Creek in Randolph County, where he raises a large family. Christian and his brother (or his son) Jacob Luther move west to Clay County, Indiana. George settles down in northeastern Montgomery County and founds the community that will become known as Auman’s Hill (present-day Asbury).

The 1820 and 1830 Federal Censuses

An Andrew Auman/Orman is not listed in the 1820 Federal Census of Moore County. The 1820 Montgomery and Randolph County censuses have been lost. An Andrew Ormon is listed in the 1830 Moore County census living with one female, age 40-50. Could this be Andrew and Mary Cagle Auman? If it is, where are the nine children, other than Jacob and George that they listed in the 1810 census? Some of the younger ones should be living with them; some of the older ones should be married and heads of household. But none of them are to be found anywhere around.

The Mary Orman Enigma and the Ormans in Tennessee and Indiana

Evidence suggests that Mary Auman migrated with her children to Blount County, Tennessee, around 1820. Either she got a divorce or separated from Andrew before leaving, or Andrew went with them, but returned to North Carolina before 1830. In Tennessee, she and her children used the Orman spelling instead of Auman.

The 1830 census, land, and marriage records of Blount County, Tennessee, indicate that Mary Orman lived there with her sons David (b. 1800), Henry (b. 1804), Andrew (b. 1808), and Martin (b. 1809). Several of her daughters were married there in the 1820s. By 1840, Mary Orman and her sons were living in Clay County, Indiana, where their name was spelled Aorman in the Federal Census. In the 1850 Clay County census, it was spelled Orman, and has been ever since by their descendants. The older Ormans in the 1850 Clay County census gave North Carolina as their birthplace.

When the Ormans arrived in Clay County, Indiana, Jacob Luther, Henry Cagle, Peter Cagle, William Slack, and other North Carolina relatives were already living there. Henry and Peter Cagle were born in North Carolina in the first decade of the nineteenth century; they were probably nephews of Mary Orman (Auman). William Slack was the son of John Slack (d. 1826 in NC) and Margaret Auman. He had been born in Randolph County, North Carolina, and had moved to Indiana around 1830. (William had a son, Ira Slack, who was killed in the Battle of Resaca (Georgia) in May, 1864. Ira served in Sherman’s army in Company I, 85th Regiment Indiana Infantry. Several of the Ormans also served in the Union Army.)

DNA to the Rescue!

The Ormans in Indiana have long held the belief that their name had been spelled another way in the past, and that their family had originated in North Carolina. Those who did serious genealogical research, such as Mary Gardner, who was raised an Orman in Vigo County (adjacent to Clay County), Indiana, came to believe that the preponderance of the evidence available to them suggested that Andrew Auman and Mary Cagle of the Randolph/Moore county area of North Carolina were their direct ancestors. There was plenty of circumstantial evidence that suggested such was the case, but proof positive was lacking.

Mary Gardner and some other Orman family members decided to try DNA testing to prove their lineage to Andrew Auman. If a descendant of Andrew Auman from the Randolph County area of North Carolina had Y-Chromosome “markers” identical to those of an Indiana Orman who was a direct descendant of one of the Orman brothers who arrived in Indiana in the 1830s, then proof of a direct blood relationship to a common ancestor—in this case, Andrew Auman (d. 1839)—would be established. That happened when William Thomas Auman, a native of Randolph County, North Carolina, and a direct descendant of Andrew Auman (1762-1839), and Kenneth Wayne Orman, a native of Terre Haute, Indiana, and a direct descendant of Andrew Orman (b. 1808 in North Carolina), produced identical markers in a 25 marker DNA test.

Kenneth Wayne Orman, brother of Mary Gardner, was born November 27, 1938, in Terre Haute, Indiana. He is the son of Harvey Orman, (1910-1984) who was born in Clay City, Clay County, Indiana; grandson of William Orman (1888-1975); g-grandson of Jasper Orman (1849-1901); gg-grandson of Andrew Orman (1808-1879); ggg-grandson of Andrew Auman (1762-1839); gggg-grandson of Michael Auman (ca 1740-1818).

William Thomas Auman was born March 21, 1942, in Asheboro, Randolph County, North Carolina. He is the son of Howard Auman, (1911-1998) who was born at Auman’s Crossroads, Randolph County, North Carolina; grandson of Frank Auman (1883-1941), g-grandson of Franklin Auman (1826-1911), gg-grandson of Jacob Auman (1787-1873), ggg-grandson of Andrew Auman (1762-1839), and gggg-grandson of Michael Auman (ca 1740-1818).