Fouts Genealogy - PA, MD, NC

Marty and Karla Grant

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Welcome to my Fouts genealogy pages. I am interested in the Fouts surname primarily in North Carolina, but also in MD and PA where they lived before NC.

Fouts is the English spelling of the German surname Fautz or Phautz. It is also spelled Phouts on some records. While similar, there is no known connection to the surnames Faust, though there may be a connection to Fout.

Neither Fouts or any of it’s variants were in in the top 1000 most common surnames in the United States in 2000 or 2010. In 1990, it ranked 4,040^th most common in the US, so not common at all.

My most recent Fouts ancestor is my 4 times Great Grandmother, Rebecca Fouts (1822-1900/10). She was born in Ashe Co., NC and married in Macon Co., NC, in 1838 to Michael J. Waters. He died ca 1846. She married, 2^nd, to Reuben Evans in 1849. Rebecca and her first husband had two children. She had seven with Mr. Evans. She is a proven child of Jacob and Mary Margaret (Baker) Fouts.

Jacob Fouts (c1786-1852) was born in Rowan Co., NC. He moved to Ashe Co., NC with his parents where he married Mary Margaret Baker ca 1805. They resided there awhile, then moved briefly to neighboring Wilkes Co., NC, then back to Ashe where they remained until the 1830s when they moved to Macon Co., NC where both died. Jacob is said by earlier researchers to be a son of John Leonard and Catherine (Shearer) Fouts.

John Leonard Fouts (c1755-c1799) was likely born in PA or MD. He came to Rowan Co., NC with his parents in the 1760s. He married Catherine Shearer (1750/55-1840s) ca 1776. They remained in Rowan until the 1780s when they moved to Wilkes (now Ashe) Co., NC where he died ca 1799. Catherine remained in Ashe until the 1830s when she moved to Macon Co., NC with some of her children. She died there in the 1840s. John is said by earlier researchers to be a son of Theobold Dewald “David” Fouts and wife Catherine Ann Spengel.

Theobold Dewald Fouts (“David”) (1722-c1785) was born somewhere in what is now Germany. He came to Pennsylvania in 1738. He married Catherine Ann Spengel in 1743 in York Co., PA. They remained in the PA/MD area until moving to what is now Randolph Co., NC ca 1760s where both died, he ca late 1780s, and her, date unknown.

I don’t know who Theobold’s parents were. The answer to that probably is in German records.

Revised: July 16, 2026

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