Excerpted with permission from an email from Carl Troyer dated 27 Nov 1998:
"I certainly agree that the research of the HAUGHT Family is far from over. I would encourage more research of all kinds of records to establish the best documentation that we can get our hands on.
I want to attempt in this writing to give you all the benefit of some of my research of the HAUGHT Family. I also would like to be informed of any thing in my research where I need to be corrected.
I have seen through the course of my research on the HAUGHT Family more undocumented information than any other family that I have researched. Too many researchers are taking as "gospel" what they find in books, etc.--information that does not provide a source. I have reviewed some of the World Family Trees that refer to the HAUGHT Family, and very few agree with the source information that I have gathered thus far.
I have had numerous contacts with at least 9 different HAUGHT Family researchers, some of whom have been researching the family for a number of years. Jim Winters quoted from WFT6, Tree 4185 that "Peter Haught I, b. abt 1720 in Rotterdam, Holland...". One of my contacts gave me the following information:
"I have had a professional genealogist check birth records in Rotterdam and there is NO record of birth for a Peter Haut (any spelling), NO marriage information and NO birth record of a daughter. A local German genealogist did a brief check on Peter HAUGHT, and based on IGI evidence thinks he was born about 1720 in Feil, a part of Alsace."
People get the impression that Peter HAUGHT, Sr. was born in Rotterdam just because he got on the ship there to come to America.
Also, a number of persons think that Peter Haught, Sr. had two wives. There isn't a single HAUGHT researcher that I have contacted that can prove that he had two wives.
Peter HAUGHT, Sr. is also referred to as Peter HAUGHT I, inasmuch as one of his sons is Peter HAUGHT II. I have found where some researchers have the families of Peter I and Peter II mixed up.
Documented Facts:
We know from review of land records that Peter HAUGHT I claimed land 26 Mar 1781 on which he made improvements before 1779.
We know that he died before 6 Apr 1785 when his land was surveyed for John Haut and Jacob Haut, heirs to the deceased Peter Haut. We also know that Peter HAUGHT I had a will, but the will was burned in the Monongalia Courthouse in 1796. The reason we know he had a will was that if he had NOT had a will, all of his land would have been the property of his eldest son, which was the Virginia Law at that time.
We also know that an Elizabeth Haut appears on the Fayette Co., PA tax list for the years 1785,1786 and 1787. Jacob HAUGHT also lived in Fayette Co., PA at that time.
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From my research I have found several differences with W. B. Haught in the first part of his book "The Haught Family". He does not have sources cited as to where he has come up with some of his conclusions. I think he got some of his info from Harvey Haught's manuscript written in 1936 which also I find to differ from some of my research.
I have many sources which show the name as "Haut". It looks like it was changed to "Haught" in the late 1700's.
Nicholas and Elisabetha Croushour had 3 daughters. Their daughter, Catherine, married John HAUGHT, Jacob's brother. The dates that I have for the daughters are: Catherine c1764 and d. after 1815; Magdalena b. c1767 and died before 1815; Mary b. c1769 and died after 1830. I also feel that their sons were John, Alexander and Christian all found on the 1800 and 1810 census's of Fayette, Co., PA.