First Family

First Families of Orangeburgh District, South Carolina

Moorer (Mûrer, Maurer)

The Peter Moorer Family

First Generation

1. PETER MÛRER (Sr.), was born in early 1684 in Canton Bern, Switzerland and died 21 Dec 1758 aged almost 75 in Orangeburgh Township, South Carolina. Peter was from the "Simmental" (Simme Valley).1 [Resaerch Notes: a, b] Peter and his family took passage on the ship Samuel, leaving Rotterdam about 11 May 1735. After a stop in Cowes, they arrived in Charleston on 13 Jul 1735. They left Charleston on 24 Jul 1735 for Orangeburg.2

Hans Tanner, a fellow Orangeburgh immigrant, in his letter of 18 Sep 1735, notes that two of Peter Maurer’s children died on the voyage: ... of those from Sibenthal [Simmental] four children died, two of Peter Maurer's and two of Peter Aegger's.3

The Giessendanner Record notes that Peter Mûrer, Senior was a native of Canton Bern and almost 75 years old at his death:

89} 1758 Thursday Decembr 21st died after 15 Days Illness and on Friday Decr 22d. was enterred in the Plantation of Peter Murer in Orangeburgh Township, the Body of the said Peter Murer, Senior, a Native of Switzerland Canton Bern; Aged almost 75 years[3]. Note – the words “Canton Bern” are omitted in Salley’s transcription.4

Peter Mooree platted 150 acres of land and town lot #160 on 21 Oct 1735.5

Children of Peter Mûrer were:

+2.i.PETER MÛRER was born in Switzerland and died in 1790 in Orangeburgh District, South Carolina.6

3.ii.Unknown Child was born in Switzerland and died aboard ship.7

4.iii.Unknown Child was born in Switzerland and died aboard ship.8

5.iv.HANS (JOHN) MÛRER was born in Switzerland and died bef. 1754 in Orangeburgh District, South Carolina. [Research Note: c]

John Moore platted 50 acres of land on 5 Oct 1737.9

The 29 Jan 1754 petition of Peter Moorer for his brother’s 50 acre grant says in part:

The Petition of Peter Moorer humbly shewing That the Petitioner’s Brother had by virtue of a warrant the 7th of May 1737 surveyed for him a Tract of 50 acres of Land ... . The Petitioner’s Brother John Moorer being long since dead and having always lived on the said Land, the Petitioner prays that he may have a grant for the same;10

I certify that John Moorer by a warrant dated May the 7th 1737 had a Tract of 50 acres surveyed in Orangeburg by George Haig, Deputy Surveyor, on the 5th of October 1737, ...[5]

Second Generation

2. PETER MÛRER (Jr.) was born in Switzerland and died in 1790 in Orangeburgh District, SC]. Peter married (1)MARGARET LARRY abt. 1740 in Orangeburgh Township, South Carolina[3,4]. Peter married (2)DOROTHEA WETSTINE on 4 Mar 1749 in Orangeburgh Township, South Carolina[3], she died 24 Feb 1750 and was buried in the Orangeburgh Churchyard (Old Pioneer Graveyard)[3,4]. Peter married (3)MAGDALENE HORGER. on 2 Apr 1751 in Orangeburgh Township, South Carolina[3,4].

Peter Maurer served as Township Commissioner from Mar. 16, 1768 to the time of his death, about 1790. In his old age, he owned and operated the Orangeburg Inn, in the Town of Orangeburg. His body lies in "The old burying ground" in Orangeburg.11

Peter Moorer Jr. acquired at least ten land grants as his family grew.12

Children of Peter Mûrer and (1)Margaret Larry are:

7.i.Jacob Moorer was born in about 1746 and was the oldest son of Peter Moorer, Jr. He married Barbara ? He died before the first census in 1790.13

8.ii.Peter Moorer (III) was born before 1750.14 Lieutenant Peter Moorer, serving in Capt. Daniel Linder’s Company of the Orangeburgh Militia, was killed in 1781 and his wife, Ann Moorer, signed a receipt for his £15 pay on 5 Jan 1782.15

Children of Peter Mûrer and (3)Magdalena Horger are:

9.i.JOHN MÛRER was born 4 Aug 1754, baptized 26 Oct 1754 in Orangeburgh Township, SC16 and died 1806-1810 in St. George, SC.17

10.ii.JOHN HENRY MÛRER was born 26 Dec 1756, baptized 9 Mar 1757 in Orangeburgh Township,18 SC and died aft 1800 in Orangeburgh District, SC.19

11.iii.FREDERICK MÛRER was born 5 Apr 1759, baptized 4 Jun 1759 in Orangeburgh Township, SC.20 He may have died young. He is not the Frederick Peter Moorer sometimes identified as ancestor of Alabama Moorers.2122

12.iv.Samuel was born in about 1758 and died between 1810 and 1820.23

13.v.David was born in about 1768 and so was the youngest son of Peter Moorer, Jr. He married Anna Catherine Bowman.24

Research Notes

a. An earlier version of this biography documented a Peter Maurer family of Zweisimmen, BE, Switzerland as the Orangeburgh immigrants however further research has surfaced death records in Zweisimmen for both Peter Maurers (Jr. and Sr,). Thus this family cannot be the Orangeburg immigrants:

Peter Mûrer, bapt. 20 Jan 1684 in Zweisimmen, BE, Switzerland, d. 24 Jun 1755 in Zweisimmen, age 72. He married Madl Tanner, bapt. 15 Jan 1682 in Oberwil, BE, Switzerland, on 24 Oct 1713 in Zweisimmen. Their children were:

Peter Mûrer, bapt. 4 Nov 1714, buried 9 Jun 1726 age 12 in Zweisimmen; Magdalena Mûrer, bapt. 23 Aug 1716, d. 5 May 1731 in Zweisimmen; Magreth Mûrer, bapt. 18 Sep 1718 in Zweisimmen; Sara Mûrer, bapt. 12 May 1720 in Zweisimmen and Hans Mûrer, bapt. 1 July 1725 in Zweisimmen.

Peter Mûrer (Sr.) was designated "Weibel" (bailiff) at the birth of Sara in 1720 and "alt weibel" at the birth of Hans in 1725. The Peter Murer (Jr) 1726 burial record reads: "den 9 Junij Alt=Weibel Peter Mûrer Peterlij (little Peter) al[t] 12". The Peter Mûrer (Sr.) 1755 burial record reeds in part: "den 25 Ju worden begraben (was buried) Peter Mûrer alt Weibel ___ gestorben (died) den 24 dito morgen (morning)". It is clear that this family remained in Zweisimmen.

b. Some sources say Peter Mûrer, Sr. was baptized 4 Mar 1670 in Buchs, Zurich, Switzerland, the son of JACOB MAURER and ELSBETH STAHLMANN25 but this assertion does not match the known facts about Peter Mûrer, Sr. of Orangeburgh Township, as documented by the letter of Hans Tanner and his burial record in the "Book of Record".

c. It is not clear if John Moorer was the brother of Peter, Jr. or Peter, Sr. however he apparently left no descendants since Peter (either Jr. or Sr.) was able to claim his land.

Some sources say that Peter Mûrer’s brother John Murer married Elizabeth Ulmer and had four children between 1746 and 1768, but Peter declared that his brother John was “long since dead” in 1754 and petitioned for John’s 50 acres of land. Peter would not have been able to petition for the land if his brother had left a wife or children.

Other references to this surname are found in OGSGS Newsletters: Vol. 1 #3 p.16; Vol. #4 pp. 22, 28; Vol. 1 #12 pp. 57, 58; Vol. 1 #13 p. 62; Vol. 16-18 pp. 73, 83; Vol. 1, #19 pp. 85-88, 94, 95; Vol. 1 #20 p. 97; Vol. # 22 p.128; Vol 4 #2 p. 13; Vol. 4 #3 p. 19; Vol. 5 #2 pp. 28-30; Vol. 6 #5 p. 85.; Vol. 14 #7 pp. 91-99; Vol. 14 #8 pp. 108-115; Vol. 15 #1 pp. 5-13.

Information provided by Jim Rickenbacker 3/9/05, 6/23/16 and Lynn Shuler Teague on 6/8/12.

1 Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirche Oberwil im Simmental (Bern). "Kirchenbuch, 1580-1766". FHL INTL Film 20059627.

2 SC Archives, The South-Carolina Gazette, July 19, 1735 & July 26, 1735

3 Leo Schelbert, America Experienced; Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Accounts of Swiss Immigrants to the United States, Account of Hans Danner, pp. 32,33.

4 A. S. Salley, The History of Orangeburg County, South Carolina, pp 96, 164, 207, 215.

5 Peter Mooree plat, 21 Oct 1735, Colonial Plat Books (Copy Series), 1731–1775, Vol. 18 Pg. 516 Item. 02, Surveyor General’s Office Series S213184; South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Columbia.

6 Ernest Samuel Moorer, “The Moorers”, The Orangeburg Observer”, c.a. 1943.

Monroe Black, The Murray, Connor, and Moorer Families of South Carolina, Higginson Book Company, 1997.

7 Leo Schelbert, America Experienced; Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Accounts of Swiss Immigrants to the United States, Account of Hans Danner, pp. 32,33.

8 Leo Schelbert, America Experienced; Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Accounts of Swiss Immigrants to the United States, Account of Hans Danner, pp. 32,33.

9 John Mooror plat, 5 Oct 1737, Colonial Plat Books (Copy Series), 1731–1775, Vol. 4, Pg. 152 Item 02, S213184; digital image, South Carolina Department of Archives and History. http://archivesindex.sc.gov; accessed 5 Nov 2011.

10 Brent Holcomb, Petitions for land from the South Carolina Council Journals, Volume IV :1754-1756, 1998.

11 Ernest Samuel Moorer, “The Moorers”, The Orangeburg Observer”, c.a. 1943.

12 South Carolina, “Township Grants,” database, South Carolina Department of Archives and History (www.archivesindex.sc.gov/: accessed 15 Oct 2011), entry for Peter Mourer, 11 Feb 1756, citing series S213016, v.2F, p. 138.

South Carolina, “Colonial Land Grants (Copy Series),” database, South Carolina Department of Archives and History (www.archivesindex.sc.gov/: accessed 15 Oct 2011), entry for Peter Moorer, 8 Jul 1762, citing series S213019, v.10, p.239.

South Carolina, “Colonial Land Grants (Copy Series),” database, South Carolina Department of Archives and History (www.archivesindex.sc.gov/: accessed 15 Oct 2011), entry for Peter Moorer, 17 Feb 1767, citing series S213019, v.14, p.231.

13 Lynn Shuler Teague, The Early Moorers: Part I. Orangeburgh German-Swiss Newsletter, Fall 2011. Vol. 14 No. 7 pp. 94-95.

14 Lynn Shuler Teague, The Early Moorers: Part I. Orangeburgh German-Swiss Newsletter, Fall 2011. Vol. 14 No. 7 pp. 96-97.

15 Murtie June Clark, Loyalists in the Southern Campaign of the Revolutionary War, pp. 208, 209.

16 Joop Giesendanner, "The Book of Record, Orangeburgh, SC". http://www.xs4all.nl/~sail/.

A. S. Salley, The History of Orangeburg County, South Carolina, pp 96, 164, 207, 215.

17 John Ulmer and Samuel Moorer. Petition for Estate of John Moorer. 1819 Petitions. No. 41. South Carolina Department of Archives and History.

18 Joop Giesendanner, "The Book of Record, Orangeburgh, SC". http://www.xs4all.nl/~sail/.

A. S. Salley, The History of Orangeburg County, South Carolina, pp 96, 164, 207, 215.

19 1800 U.S. census, Orangeburgh District, South Carolina, Orange County, p. 549 [stamped], line 3, Henery Moorer; NARA microfilm publication M32, roll 49.

20 Joop Giesendanner, "The Book of Record, Orangeburgh, SC". http://www.xs4all.nl/~sail/.

A. S. Salley, The History of Orangeburg County, South Carolina, pp 96, 164, 207, 215.

21 Robert E. L. Key, “The Moorer Family of Lowndes,” Orangeburgh German-Swiss Newsletter Vol. I (Summer 1984): 57-58.

22 Lynn Shuler Teague, The Early Moorers: Part II. Orangeburgh German-Swiss Newsletter, Winter 2011. Vol. 14 No. 7 pp. 114-115.

23 Lynn Shuler Teague, The Early Moorers: Part I. Orangeburgh German-Swiss Newsletter, Fall 2011. Vol. 14 No. 7 p.98.

24 Monroe Black. Echoes in Time: The Murray, Connor, and Moorer Families of South Carolina. (Atlanta: Monroe Black, 1997), pp.363-364.

25 Ernest Samuel Moorer, “The Moorers”, The Orangeburg Observer”, c.a. 1943.