Taken from “A Brief History of The Tarwater Family”
Written by: Charles B. Tarwater, Knoxville, Tennessee 1957
The original form of the name TARWATER, was in German, THURWACHTER, the meaning of which was WATCHER OF THE TOWER. In the Dutch settlements in Pennsylvania, the name was TAUVATER, but later, about the time of the Revolutionary War, it became TARWATER. It would be interesting to know exactly how this name came into being.
It is difficult, but exceedingly interesting, to search te fields of the past for information for the present. It has been approximately 200 (now 250) years since our forefathers left their native lands (Holland and Germany) for America. Like most other emigrants, they came here to religious and political freedom, and with the hope of making a better living.
Jacob Tarwater, our immediate ancestor, was born in Germany (or Holland) about the year 1720. We are unable to find either his time or place of birth.
In the late summer of 1765, the ship Polly sailed from Rotterdam, Holland. On this ship with many other, was Jacob Thurwachter. After taking the oath of allegiance to the King of Great Britain and qualifying as a citizen of Pennsylvania, he settled in Cumberland Valley Township, Bedford County.
The very first mention of his name after he qualified as a citizen, is found upon the tax list of Brothers Valley, Bedford County, 1776, where he is listed as Jacob Tauvater, a resident, but having no property. The very next record shows him the owner of fifty acres of land, three horses and three cows, upon which he paid a state tax of 19s and 8d. On January 19, 1784, he applied for, and received, by warrant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 100 acres of land, located in Bedford County. This tract of land was called “Leavings.” The original paper, showing this transfer, is in the Department of Internal Affairs, Harrisburg, PA, in Survey Book D-13, page 131. In these entries his name appears as JACOB TARWATER.
He resided in Pennsylvania about twenty years. In September of 1787, he sold his property to one Luke DeVore. He does not appear as a householder on the census of 1790, so he apparently removed to Tennessee between the years 1785 and 1790. He settled at Neubert Springs, near Knoxville.
He married Modelena Wolford. We do not have a record of this marriage – but it is reasonable to assume that he married during his residence in Pennsylvania.
Jacob Tarwater was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. He was an Associate in the Bedford County Militia, and served with honor under Captain Paxton. How long he served, or what his rank was at the close of the war, we do not know.
After a long and interesting career, he died at his home near Neubert Springs in 1798. He is buried ina small country cemetery, situated on what was then part of his farm. Recently (note: this was written in 1957) the Daughters of the American Revolution, in recognition of his service to the Revolutionary War, placed an appropriate marker on his grave.


Taken from “Mountain Life”, a publication of The Mountain Press
From the Sunday, January 8, 2006, Section B, pages B1 and B4, Edition of The Mountain Press
Written by Theresa Williams, Genealogist with Sevier County Library Genealogy Annex
Jacob Thurwachter (Tauvater) sailed from the harbor at Rotterdam, Holland to begin his trip to the promised land. He had given up all hope of ever coming ahead in life, or being able to worship as he chose. He heard many wonderful things about the place called America.
Jacob boarded the ship name Polly in the summer of 1765. The Polly sailed via Cowes, a seaport on the Isle of Wight. Jacob found the island very interesting. His ships master, Robert Porter, informed him that the island was called Wight – not White.
The crossing of the Atlantic was long and boring. To amuse himself, Jacob walked around the deck chatting with his fellow passengers and the crew. At last land was sighted. The Polly came to shore at Philadelphia on August 25, 1765.
When Jacob arrived on the docks he had a choice to make. He could either take the oath of allegiance to the King of Great Britain, or he could return to the land of his birth. He chose to take the oath the same day he arrived and then settled in Cumberland Valley Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania. Jacob’s neighbors were English, Irish and German emigrants. Like his neighbors, he continued to eat the same food, practiced the same trade, and spoke the same language that he did in his native land. What united him and his neighbors were the joys and hardships of frontier life.
Jacob is listed on the tax list in Bedford County in 1776, as a resident, but having no property.
In order for Jacob to obtain land, he had to establish what was called a “Tomahawk Right.” The first necessity that drew a settler to land was to find a good spring. When the location was found, the settler deadened (taking a tomahawk and cutting the outside bark from the tree about a foot wide all the way around the tree) a few trees near the spring and cut his name or initials in the bark of the trees.
Other settlers knew this as an indication someone had the intentions to hold the land for settlement. Jacob was an industrious man, and by the next tax collection he had acquired 50 acres of land, 3 horses and 3 cows. For taxes, he paid five pounds per acre.
Unrest grew in the colonies, and war was unavoidable. Common goals and ideas led to the desire to become independent and to break with an unfeeling monarch who lived an ocean away. Neighbors gathered and chose to defend their homes. Jacob served as private in the Bedford County militia in Capt. Paxton’s company during the Revolutionary War.
After the war, Jacob met a young lady by the name of Maudlin (Modelena) Wolford and married her about 1788. He had five children: Jacob, Frederick, Tewalt, Katie and William. It was about this time that Jacob changed his name.
After living 20 years in Bedford County, Jacob decided to move. This journey was also a long one. This time it was not an ocean that was crossed, but a mountain range. Jacob decide to settle near Neubert Springs, Knox County, Tenn. He died at his home in 1798. Thus, Jacob Tarwater came to East Tennessee and became the monarch of the Tarwater family.
One wonders just why our ancestors came to these mountains and valleys. Perhaps it was a zest for adventure, need for good land, or a search for adventure. Perhaps the answer, my friend is, is just to look out your window and see the beauty before you. This is paradise.