First Families of Orangeburgh District, South Carolina

Ulmer (Ulmore, Olmer, Wolmer, etc.)

The Georg Werner Ulmer Family

First Generation

1. GEORG WERNER ULMER, son of JOHAN GEORG ULMER and MARIA ___, was born 24 Sep 1700 in Neuffen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany1 and died bef. 18 Feb 1755 in Orangeburgh Township, South Carolina.2 He married (1)ANNA BARBARA WALTZ, daughter of JOSEPH WALTZ and URSULA ___, on 12 Nov 1727 in Neuffen.3 She was born 28 Feb 1699 in Neuffen4 and died 14 Sep 1731 in Neuffen.5 He married (2)ANNA MARIA KIRCHNER, daughter of VALENTIN KIRCHNER of Balzholz, on 11 May 1732 in Neuffen.6 She was born Aug 1707 (from death record) and died 7 Nov 1734 in Neuffen, aged 27 years, 3 months.7 He married (3)URSULA PRETZEL, daughter of GEORG FRIEDERICH PRETZEL, on 19 Jul 1735 in Neuffen.8 She was born abt. 1715 (from death record) and died 31 Aug 1744 in Neuffen, aged 29 years.9 He married (4)ANNA MARIA AICHELE, daughter of JOHAN FRIEDERICH AICHELE and MARIA MAGDALINA ___, on 11 May 1745 in Neuffen.10 She was born 26 Dec 1717 in Neuffen11 and died in South Carolina.

In the spring of 1749, Georg Werner and Anna Maria joined a group of around 600 persons recruited for Carolina by professional emigration-agent (Neulander) Hans Jacob Riemensperger, a native of Toggenburg, Switzerland, and 1737 immigrant to Saxegotha Township, Orangeburgh Precinct SC. (See Note a)

Werner Ulmer petitioned the SC Council on 19 October 1749, requested “350 acres of Land in or near Saxa Gotha Township and that Mr. Commissary do pay the charges and the bounty for 5”12. The 350 acres indicates a family of seven. The six known family members, Georg Werner, wife Anna Maria and children Johan Friedrich, Georg Ludwig, Johannes and Maria Barbara account for all 5 bounties so the remaining child must have been under 2 years of age. One year old Georg Friedrich must have been the seventh family member. Three year old Georg Werner likely died on the journey as there is no death record for him in Neuffen. (See Note b)

Virtually every passenger on the ship Griffin mentioned the location “in or around Saxa Gotha” as their destination, and virtually all of them got land on Crim's Creek of the Broad River in the Dutch Fork, or on nearby creeks on either side of the Broad River. Two of them (Gottlieb Ebert and Johannes Scholler/Schuler) specified “between Four Holes & Orangeburgh” at their initial petition, implying that they had family-connections already resident near Orangeburgh. By the time that Verner Ulmer had his land surveyed on 18 July 1750, he had changed his mind and decided to settle in Orangeburgh Township.13 That plat identifies the location only as “Berkley Co.” The adjoining plat for Jacob Strouber (also Stauber, Strober, etc.) on 3 November 1750 narrows the location to “Orangeburgh Township”.14 When Stouber/Strouber sold it in 1760, the location was specified as Bull Swamp of Four Holes Swamp, Orangeburgh Township. Werner Ulmer did not process his survey into a grant.

Werner and Anna Maria Ulmer had three daughters in SC between December 1750 and January 1754, after which Werner Ulmer died intestate. On 18 February 1755, Barnard Hartzog married “Anne Mary, late widow of Warner Ulmer”.15

Children of Georg Werner Ulmer and (1)Anna Barbara Waltz were:

2.i.JOHANN JACOB ULMER, born 7 Nov 1728 in Neuffen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany,16 died 18 Mar 1729 in Neuffen, Aged 4 mos 1 week and 4 days.17

+3.ii.JOHANN FRIEDRICH ULMER, born 3 Mar 1730 in Neuffen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.18

4.iii.URSULA BARBARA ULMER, born 31 Aug 1731 in Neuffen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany,19 died 13 Sep 1731 in Neuffen.20

Child of Georg Werner Ulmer and (2)Anna Maria Kirchner is:

5.iv.MARIA URSULA ULMER, born 18 Jan 1733 in Neuffen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany,21 died 11 Aug 1734 in Neuffen.22

Children of Georg Werner Ulmer and (3)Ursula Pretzel are:

6.v.GEORG LUDWIG ULMER born 8 Jun 1736 in Neuffen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany,23 conf. 3 Apr 1749 in Neuffen.24

Prior to the voyage, 14-year-old Elizabeth Majer and 13-year-old Georg Ludwig Ulmer, b. 2 August 1736 in Neuffen, son of Georg Werner Ulmer and wife Ursula, received hurried confirmation and special communion in the sacristy on April 3, 1749. The pastor added the following blessing to their record: "The Lord accompany both with the Holy Spirit, to America, their intended country, for which account this dispensation is granted".25

Georg Ludwig used the name Lewis, as did other Ludwigs in SC. He petitioned for 100 acres of land (as a single head-of-household) on 5 December 1758, specifying “near four hole Swamp.26” A grant and Memorial were not recorded. In the fall of 1759, Lewis Ulmar was drafted as a private in the Cherokee Expedition in the company of Capt. John Morrison, Col. John Chevillette's Battalion. Capt. Morrison's company included men resident in or very near Amelia Township, while Capt. Golsan's company included mostly men resident in Orangeburgh Township. After the paylist of Col. Chevillette was reported on 6 June 1760,27 there is no further reference in SC records to indicate that Lewis Ulmer was alive and/or resident in SC.

On 4 February 1767, Daniel Scholar [sic: Schuler/Shuler] petitioned for 100 acres of land previously surveyed for Lewis Ulmer, meaning that he believed the land to be unoccupied at the time.28 No action was taken in response to the petition. Daniel Shuler petitioned again for 100 acres on 7 April 1767.29 The tract was surveyed on 20 April 1767 on property “adjacent to” land that had been “granted to” Lewis Ulmore.30 Daniel Shuler could not have been unaware of the continuing presence or absence of Lewis Ulmer, given that Daniel's sister Barbara Shuler had married Lewis Ulmer's brother Frederick. In addition, Daniel Shuler's wife Barbara was “probably” Barbara Ulmer (see below). Lewis Ulmer had presumably died following the Cherokee Expedition, perhaps as a consequence of it. Very few SC militiamen were killed or wounded by Cherokees in that campaign, but the smallpox epidemic among the troops was a major cause of death.

7.vi.JOHANNES ULMER born 9 May 1738, in Neuffen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany,31 died 23 Aug 1782 (possibly 1780) in South Carolina.

John Ulmer (John Wilmer in reference) petitioned for 200 acres of land on 6 March 1764.32 The land was surveyed 12 March 1764 on Four Holes Swamp, south of Pope Springs Creek and slightly west of the southwestern corner of Amelia Township.33 A grant was not recorded, but one was probably issued. At any rate, he was a landowner (i.e., taxpayer) by 1778 when listed as a Petit Juryman for St. Matthews.

Like most Orangeburgh residents, he continued his (mandatory) participation in the local militia company under Capt. Lect Stromer after June 1780, when the Orangeburgh militia was placed under the command of Loyalist Colonel John Fisher. A substantial number of Orangeburgh militiamen (including Capt. Jacob Rumph) deserted to the Whig side after the British abandoned their last backcountry outpost in July 1781, and marched the weary refugee families through Orangeburgh en route to Charlestown.

John Ulmer was killed on 23 August 1782, probably a clerical error for 1780 (See Note i). His back pay was received by “Elizabeth Ulmer, daughter, for decedent's widow”.34 The estate of John Ulmer of Orangeburgh was reimbursed £12.16.8 by the state of SC for the provision of supplies to the (Whig) militia.35 (See Note f)

The Elizabeth Ulmer who headed a household of 3 females and 2 slaves in the 1790 Orangeburg census was likely the widow or daughter of John Ulmer.

 

vii.MARIA BARBARA ULMER born 5 Nov 1740 in Neuffen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany,36 confirmed Easter Sunday, 26 March 1758 in Orangeburgh, South Carolina.37

The new communicants were identified as children (Kinder) in the Orangeburgh Book of Record, so Barbara was evidently not 25-year-old matron Mary Barbara Schuler, wife of Frederick Ulmer.

Family traditions say that Barbara Ulmer married Daniel Shuler (bapt. 14 May 1735 in Waldmohr, brother of the Anna Barbara Shuler who had married Frederick Ulmer), and the available documentary evidence supports the hypothesis. Daniel Shuler and his wife Mary Barbara were sponsors on 17 February 1760 for the baptism of Daniel Yutzy. The records of marriages in the Church of Orangeburgh were not preserved after February 1756. Siblings frequently married siblings in the frontier regions of all colonies. Daniel Shuler marked his Orangeburgh will on 13 January 1774. He left the house to his wife Barbara during her widowhood, his estate to be distributed to the four minor sons David, John, Daniel, and Luey (Ludwig/Lewis), and a possible unborn child. Executors were his widow Barbara and John Ulmer.38 A brother-in-law was often selected as executor of colonial wills, since he could be depended upon to handle the estate in the best interests of the widow and children—all of them blood relatives. In addition, he would not promptly marry the widow and take full control of the estate, as unrelated executors did with surprising frequency. The marriage of Barbara Ulmer and Daniel Shuler was not documented, but is considerably more likely than not.

9.viiI.URSULA CATHARINA ULMER born 23 Oct 1743 in Neuffen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany,39 died 15 Sep 1744 in Neuffen.40

Children of Georg Werner Ulmer and (4)Anna Maria Aichele are:

10.ix.GEORG WERNER ULMER born 21 May 1746, in Neuffen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany,41 probably died on the journey to South Carolina.

There is no death record for Georg Werner Ulmer in Neuffen and no supporting evidence for his presence in South Carolina.

11.x.JOHAN BERNHARDT ULMER born 14 May 1747 in Neuffen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany,42 died 25 Jan 1748 in Neuffen, aged 3/4 year.43

12.xi.GEORG FRIEDERICH ULMER born 23 Jun 1748 in Neuffen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany,44 probably died sometime after arriving in South Carolina.

Georg Friederich's presence in South Carolina is inferred from the land and bounty petition of his father. (See Note b)

13.xii.EVA MARIA ULMER born 28 Dec 1750 in Orangeburgh Township, South Carolina.45

Her baptismal sponsors were Hans Georg Shuler, Senr., Anna Maria (widow of Nicholas Dirr I), wife of John Shaumlöfel, and Esther Ott.

14.xii.VERENA MARIA ULMER born 29 Aug 1752 in Orangeburgh Township, South Carolina.46

Her baptismal sponsors were John Friday Junr., Verena (Hogg/Hugg), wife of Nicholas Shuler, and Anna-Maria, wife of Nicholas Durr (II).

15.xiii.MARY CATHARINA ULMER born 9 Jan 1754 in Orangeburgh Township, South Carolina.47

Her baptismal sponsors were George Hessy, Mary, wife of Nicholas Dirr, and Catherine Barrin (born 1731 in Dossenheim to Georg Bär/Behr).

Second Generation

3. JOHANN FRIEDRICH (John Frederick) ULMER was born 3 Mar 1730 in Neuffen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.48 On 26 September 1752, he married MARIA BARBARA SHULER,49 born 25 January 1733 in Waldmohr, Kreis (district) Kusel, in the Rheinpfalz/Zweibrücken region of Germany, to Hans Joerg (George) and Anna Margretha Schuler.50

Frederick was drafted in the fall of 1759 for service as a private in the militia company of Capt. Lewis Golsan in Col. John Chevillette's Battalion of the (Orangeburgh) SC militia for the Cherokee Expedition.51 On 2 June 1767, he petitioned for 100 acres of land in “St. Mathews Parish, formerly Orangeburgh Township, notwithstanding a former Survey for his Father.”52 The 100 acres was for himself as a head-of-household, and was located on Bull Swamp.53 His wife and 7 other dependents were included in his second petition for 400 acres of land on 29 September 1772,54 which was surveyed on “waters of Four Holes” in Berkly County with vacant land on all sides. The plat shows Bay Branch running across a corner of the survey.55

Children of Johan Friedrich Ulmer and Maria Barbara Shuler were:

16.i.GEORGE ADAM ULMER, b. 20 March 1754.56

An SC Accounts Audited file #7989 was compiled under the name Adam Ulmer. The A.A. files included multiple records for people of the same name. An Adam Ulmer supplied beef for the militia, an Adam Ulmer drove cattle for Gen. Greene in 1780, and an Adam Ulmer reported militia service under Col. John Griffith, also served in Marion's Brigade. The SC war records do not include a Col. John Griffith, although a Capt. John Griffin served in Marion's Brigade. Those accounts are identifiable as being those of (Geo.) Adam Ulmer, b. 1754 to Frederick and Barbara Ulmer of Orangeburgh.

The Stub Indent Entry for No 16, Book W, states “Issued the 29 of July 1785 to Mr. Adam Ulmer (of four Holes) for Eight Pounds Eighteen Shillings and Six Pence three farthings Sterling for 125 days duty in the Militia as pr. Two Accounts Audited—Principal--£8--18--6 ¾; Annual Interest—0—12--5.” In addition to the explicit statement that the payment was made to Adam Ulmer “of four Holes”, the following entry, No. 17, Book W, was made for the militia service of his brother Jacob for 30 days duty as a Serjeant (see entries under Jacob Ulmer in Family 3 below). The other Stub Indent entry for Adam Ulmer is No. 250, Liber Q: “Issued the 13th of May 1785, to Mr. Adam Ulmer, for Fourteen Pounds, 19s/10d Stlg for a Beef supplied militia in 1780, also for driving 45 head of Cattle, for Genl. Green's Army in 1782, pr Account audited. Principl £25,,19,,10-- Annual Interest—1,,0,,11.” That statement too was adjacent to No. 251, Liber Q, for payment to his brother Jacob Ulmer for militia service (a different 30-day period as a private). The three account entries were settled via two payments, all to Adam Ulmer “of the Four Holes”. Adam Ulmer of Prince William Parish, son of Henrich Ulmer, did not have a documented Whig service record, which does not indicate that no services were provided.

17.ii.MARY MAGDALENE ULMER, b. 25 April 1756.57

18.III.JOHN JACOB ULMER, b. 3 July 1758.58

(see service records below under the Michael Ulmer family).

Johan Friedrich and Maria Barbara undoubtedly had additional children after the 1761 death of the Rev. John Giessendanner, given the presence of seven children (or other dependents) in the household by September 1772. Frederick Ulmer was a Petit Juror in 1778 for the Orangeburgh (Township) district. The Frederick Ulmer listed on the Orangeburgh census in 1790 and/or 1800 was possibly, but not necessarily, the oldest Frederick. A plat on Bay Branch for a Frederick Ulmer on 9 June 1803 includes separate mention of Frederick Ulmer, Frederick Ulmer Sr., and Frederick Ulmer Jr..59 However, a person named as an adjacent landowner need not have been living at the time of the survey.

The Michael Ulmer Family

First Generation

1. MICHAEL ULMER arrived in Charlestown in January 1753 on the ship Elizabeth, Capt. Thomas Ross, with his wife and two children (none named).

He petitioned for 150 acres of land on 23 March 1753 under the name Michael Olemer.60 He was mistaken about the acreage to which he was entitled, which was 200 acres. The land warrant expired before he had a survey done, so he petitioned for an extension of the 150-acre warrant on 3 January 1758, as Michael Olmer.61 The error was corrected before the survey for 200 acres was completed on High Hill Creek, Amelia Township, on 29 May 1758.62 The location was on the east side of the downstream end of the creek, near the Congaree River. Michael Ulmer died intestate at some point between September 1762 (he filed the land Memorial for 200 acres) and May 1777 (son Jacob Ulmer sold the inherited land).

The passengers on the ship Elizabeth complained to the SC Council on 3 March 1753 about a breach of their sailing contract with Rotterdam ship-merchant Nicholas Oursell.63 The ship was badly overcrowded and in poor shape for a trans-Atlantic voyage. The passengers were required to “pump both night and day and to Lash the Vessel round with Ropes to keep her together and to keep her from sinking.” Perhaps worse, since mentioned first, the contract specified that each “freight” (i.e., one full-fare passenger aged 14 and upwards, or two half-fare passengers from 4 to 14) was to receive two quarts of water and one quart of beer daily. Instead, they said that they were issued one pint of water daily and no beer at all. The voyage was not a pleasant one.

The ship Elizabeth arrived with 319 passengers, divided across 86 land petitions. Of these household groups—some of them single persons—the origins of 1/3 have been documented. All were from the same southwestern districts of Baden-Württemberg, near the Neckar River, as the passengers on the ship Griffin in 1749, which included the family of Werner Ulmer. (See Note g) No relationship between the Ulmer families is implied, because virtually all of the German immigrants to SC in 1735-60 came from the same small geographic region, and the immediately adjacent regions of the Rheinpfalz and Elsass/Alsace on the west side of the Rhein River.

Child of Michael Ulmer and <Unknown> is:

     2.        1. JACOB ULMER

On 5 April 1757, a Jacob Olmer petitioned for 100 acres of land and Bounty for himself.64 The SC land laws changed, effective August 1756, to allow 100 acres for a single head-of-household, rather than 50 acres per person, as in the earlier years of the headright grant program. The plat, indexed as Jacob Abner, was surveyed on 15 July 1757,65 followed by a 1759 grant and 1761 Memorial for Jacob Olmer. The location was Halfway Swamp, Amelia Township. Adjacent lands were vacant at the time of the survey, and remained vacant. The location is non-specific, because Halfway Swamp and its tributaries drained the watershed of the great majority of Amelia Township from St. Matthews near the western headwaters through the mouth of the creek on the Santee River (the part now Lake Marion). The Jacob Olmer plat of 1757 was not near the Michael Olmer land on High Hill Creek near the Congaree River, and it was not referenced in later plats or deeds.

On 6 February 1770, Jacob Ulmer (identifiable as the oldest son of 1753 immigrant Michael Olemer) petitioned for 150 acres in Amelia Township.66 The land was surveyed 25 July 1770 on High Hill Creek, Amelia Township, adjacent to the land of his father Michael Ulmer.67 The grant and Memorial (both in 1774) state that the land included 150 acres. However, Jacob Ulmer sold the tract as one of 250 acres, in addition to the 200 acres inherited from Michael Ulmer, in 1777:

SC Deed Book Z-5, 539-542:

Lease and release, 17 & 18 Nov 1777, George Barsh of Amelia Township, planter, & Catharine his wife, to A. Henry Muller of Charleston, for £2000 SC money, 200 acres originally granted to Michael Ulmer on the Bounty in the upper part of Amelia Township on a Creek called High Hill Creek and also a tract of 250 acres granted to Jacob Ulmer in Amelia Township on High Hill Creek adj. land of Edward Jackson, Michael Ulmer, George Christopher Greenland (also Guenlain, Kenline, Karnlain, etc.), and whereas Michael Ulmer died intestate the tract of 200 acres became the sole property of Jacob Ulmer as heir at law to Michael Ulmer his said father, and said Jacob Ulmer did convey the said two tracts to George Barsh 1 & 2 May last past. George Barsh (LS), Catherine Barsh (X) (LS), Wit: Frederick Stivender, Malcom Clark. Proved in Orangeburgh District 25 November 1777 before Richd Brown, J.P., by the oath of Frederick Stivender. Recorded 21 October 1788.

If two different Jacob Ulmers owned land in Amelia township, then one of them requested land on Halfway Swamp as a single man in 1757, then disappeared from the region, while the second one (son of Michael Ulmer) requested 150 acres in 1770 for himself and one dependent (usually a wife) prior to disappearing from the region after 1777. If only the one Jacob Ulmer, then the 1770 petition referred to 3 dependents (usually a wife and two children) and his own headright was covered by the first grant. One Jacob Ulmer witnessed the 3 February 1781 Charlestown District will of James Lennox, a (wealthy) planter resident in St. James Parish, Goose Creek.

After the 1777 sale of the Amelia Township lands, there is no firm evidence of Jacob Ulmer's presence, or that of his family, in Amelia or Orangeburgh Townships or elsewhere in SC. The generally-complete listing of male taxpayers of St. Matthews Parish on the 1778 Orangeburgh Jury List did not include a Jacob Ulmer, nor did other SC jury lists of 1778-79.

One Jacob Ulmer was a Loyalist refugee in Charlestown, as of a paylist dated 17 September 1782.68 The SC Accounts Audited file #7991 contains five separate account statements under the name Jacob Ulmer, which could refer to several different Jacob Ulmers, excluding the one who was a Loyalist refugee in 1782. Stub Indent Entry No. 251, Liber Q, states “Issued the 13th of May 1785, to Mr. Jacob Ulmer, for Two pounds, 2s/10d ¼ (one farthing) Stlg. for 30 days Militia Duty, per Account audited. Principal £2,,2,,10 ¼. This account, for service as a private, was supported by a statement from Capt. Jacob Rumph, dated 31 May 1784, that Jacob Ulmer had served the 30 days in his company. These are explicit references to the fact that the service was done by (John) Jacob Ulmer, b. 1758 to Frederick and Barbara Ulmer of Four Holes, Orangeburgh. The other period of militia duty was noted in Stub Indent No. 17, Book W: “Issued the 29 of July 1785 to Mr. Jacob Ulmer for Two Pounds thirteen Shillings and Six Pence three farthings Sterling for 30 Days duty in the Militia as Serjeant as pr. Account Audited—Principal--£2..13..6 ¾ –Annual Interest £0_3_8_. This particular payment was paid in “Orangeburgh District” for service in “Marion's Brigade”.69 The statement was filed adjacent to No. 16 for “Mr. Adam Ulmer (of four Holes).” This service was also done by (John) Jacob Ulmer, b. 1758. Three other accounts in the Jacob Ulmer A.A. File #7991 refer to the provision of supplies for militia use, the largest of them being a payment of £23.0.5 ½ for 1,794 lbs. of beef used by the militia in 1781, payment dated 8 December 1784. There seems little reason to doubt that this beef payment was made to (John) Jacob Ulmer of the Four Holes, Orangeburgh, rather than to the Jacob Ulmer who had sold all of his High Hill Creek, Amelia, property in 1777. However, beef and other militia provisions could have been requisitioned from anywhere in SC, and may refer to a different Jacob Ulmer. The Jacob Ulmer(s) of Amelia Township may possibly have been resident somewhere in the state after the war, there is merely no evidence regarding that possibility. The SC state government did not find it necessary to make a distinction about “which Jacob Ulmer” when approving war-related reimbursements, as it had done in regard to those for Adam Ulmer. The Ulmer-surnamed descendants of 1753 immigrant Michael Ulmer were probably either deceased or resident elsewhere.

The Henrich Ulmer Family (not an Orangeburgh family)

First Generation

1. Henrich Ulmer was from Ursenbach, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. He married Christina Tiel (See Note d) on 4 May 1740 in Schriesheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.70 Heinrich, along with his wife and 5 children (Hacker notes only 4 children), left Schriesheim in 1752.71

The marriage record reads: "Johann Henrich Ullmer von [from] Ursenbach, angehend Bürger dahier [new citizen here] und Christina Tielin".72 Ursenbach is a much smaller village about 5 kilometers East of Schriesheim. Both villages are about 8 kilometers North of Heidelberg.

This Ulmer family sailed to Charlestown on the ship John and Mary and arrived in late December 1752.

Henrich Ulmer petitioned for 350 acres of land on 7 February 1753.73 His land was surveyed on 30 March 1753 on Saltcatcher Swamp in Granville County.74 The location was in Prince William Parish, Beaufort District. While this family did not live in Orangeburgh District, it is included in this family biography in order to differentiate among the various Ulmers of 18th century SC. (See Note e)

Children of Henrich Ulmer and Christina Tiel are:

2.i.Philip Ulmer, born 19 Feb 1740, bapt. 24 Feb 1740 in Schriesheim.75

3.ii.Johan Adam Ulmer, born 19 Sep 1743, bapt. 21 Sep 1743 in Schriesheim.76

Adam Ulmer signed his St. Bartholomew's Parish will on 7 September 1794, proven 20 April 1799.77 He named his wife Ann and oldest son Henry as executors, specified that the estate was to be distributed when youngest daughter Catherine reached age 14. His other children were not named in the will.

4.iii.Anna Maria Ulmer, born 13 Aug 1747, bapt. 15 Aug 1747 in Schriesheim.78

5.iv.Peter Ulmer, born 12 Nov 1749, bapt. 14 Nov 1749 in Schriesheim.79

6.v.Henrick Ulmer, born 19 Mar 1752, bapt. 22 Mar 1752 in Schriesheim.80

Philip, Adam and Peter Ulmer acquired lands on both the Saltcatcher and Coosawhatchie Rivers. Philip and Peter Ulmer were Petit Jurors in Beaufort District, Prince William Parish, in 1778; Philip and Adam Ulmer were Grand Jurors (i.e., they owned enough real and/or personal property to owe taxes of at least £5 SC money). In 1779, Peter Ulmer enlisted in the company of Captain Levi Youmans of the SC Royalists, but changed his mind later. Phillip Ulmer enlisted on 28 October 1775 in the (Whig) Volunteer Company of Dragoons of Prince William Parish, Beaufort District. His brother Peter (the former Loyalist) was reimbursed for driving cattle for the Whig militia (location not specified). In 1790, the census for St. Bartholomew's Parish, Charleston District, included adjacent listings for Adam Wolmor, Henery Wolmer, and the “Estate of petter Wolmer”. (The censustaker for St. Barts in 1790 was no better with the spelling of common English names.)

Research Notes

    a.   Riemensperger, in his second—and final—recruiting trip, visited the towns and nearby districts along the Neckar River from Rottweil in the south through Mannheim where the Neckar River joins the Rhine. He did not recruit in Switzerland on the second business venture, because he was a known Neulander—a capital crime in some cantons—and there were open warrants for his arrest. The boat trip down the Rhine was lengthy and expensive, followed by delays in Rotterdam while Riemensperger returned to London and sought assistance in transporting his group to London and then to Charlestown. The majority of the group chose not to remain as homeless beggars in the outskirts of Rotterdam until the group-leader's return, but made their own arrangements to sail from Rotterdam to Philadelphia. Riemensperger was dismayed, and complained about their actions both to the British Board of Trade and to the SC Council. That meant that he did not receive commissions for them and other payoffs from the shipowners, then rewards from the Province of SC for bringing in settlers to defend the frontier. Nevertheless, slightly more than 200 people sailed from London in the early fall of 1749 on the ship Griffin, commanded by Capt. Arthur, and landed at the port of Charlestown in early October.

    b.   Until 1756, land in SC was granted at the rate of 50 acres per headright, meaning a family member who might be a head of household, wife, child, servant, slave, relative or an unrelated person resident with the household. The Bounty was initially a year's supply of staple goods, farming tools, and perhaps a domestic animal. By the early 1750's, it had been replaced by a cash payment of £30 SC money (just over £4 pounds Sterling). The bounty was allocated as a full-bounty for household members aged 12 and above, half-bounty for those aged 2 under 12, nothing for children under 2.

    c.   Dates for church events are those from the Orangeburgh Book of Record, as transcribed/translated by Joop Giesendanner.81 Traditional family histories were usually compiled from the version published in 1898 in A.S. Salley, Jr., in History of Orangeburg County, South Carolina. That version can be unreliable, because the translators—like Salley and other English-speaking writers of the 19th and 20th centuries—were unfamiliar with the German language, script, and name-usage. In particular, a double name given to a child born to German-origin parents in the 18th century might include two parts, the first part being a “saint's-name” rarely used except for formal religious occasions. The second name was the call-name (rufnom) used for everyday purposes. A man christened Hans/Johann Heinrich was called Henry (or one of its nicknames) in the Colonies. The only way a man would normally be called “John” was to be baptized with the single-name Johannes. Exceptions to this practice however did occur, especially in documents produced by English speakers. The Rev. Johann Ulrich Giessendanner II identified himself (properly) as Ulrich before he sought Anglican ordination in London in 1749 (see, e.g., the baptism of his son Henry Giessendanner on 25 June 1742). The Anglican ministry never understood that his name was not “John”. He (therefore?) used that name himself in London and after returning to SC.

    d.   No baptism record for Christina Tiel could be found in the Schriesheim Church Book.

    e.   There is no apparent relation ship between the Georg Werner Ulmer family of Four Holes, Orangeburgh and the Henrick Ulmer family. Their homes in Germany were distant from one another, and they had no residences documents, or neighbors in common in SC. A large number of unrelated families adopted the Ulmer surname from ancestral residence in the free Imperial City of Ulm.

    f.   A request for supplies by a military unit, whether Whig or Loyalist, was not optional. If the supplies were handed over, the resident was issued a receipt with a promise of later reimbursement, if that side should win the war. If the request was denied, the military unit would take the supplies anyway, along with the rest of the household goods.

    g.   See www.palmettoroots.org/Auswanderer.html for a partial listing of the origins of German settlers in SC. Search on <Elizabeth> as ship-of-arrival for the origins of some of Michael Ulmer's shipmates. For a partial listing of immigrants by ship of arrival in 1751-2, 1754-6, see www.palmettoroots.org/ShipsList.html. The 1753 arrivals were inadvertently omitted from the listing. Note that the spelling of the names on the German parish records, the names recorded by the English clerks for the land petition, and the names used by the immigrants in SC may have little in common with one another.

    h.   Copies of SC colonial plats may be viewed, along with index entries for other documents, at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History site at http://scdah.sc.gov/. There is a clickable link to the On-Line Records Indexes. Alternatively, the search page may be found at http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/.

    i.    Pay Abstract Nr 40, Colonel John Fisher's Regiment, Orangeburgh Militia, Captain Lect Stromer's Company, Soldiers' Certification, 183-days pay, 14 June – 13 December 1780, to be paid 18 December 1782 [sic], British Public Records Office T50, Vol. 1. Note: the date of death for John Ulmer may be a clerical error for 23 August 1780 or 1781, since the pay abstract was supposed to be for service during the second half of 1780. Each of the other Orangeburgh Loyalist militia companies under Col. John Fisher was scheduled for payment for June – December 1780 on 18 December 1781, not 1782.82

References to this surname are found in OGSGS Newsletters: Vol. 1 pp. 1, 2, 7, 17, 22, 23, 24, 51, 55, 57, 66, 76, 77, 78, 93, 107, 128, 131; Vol. 2 pp. 23, 35, 73, 89, 111, 150, 152, 153; Vol. 3 pp. 1, 8, 9, 10, 49; Vol. 4 pp. 15, 16, 71; Vol. 5 pp. 1, 4, 8, 9, 23, 32, 39, 40, 88, 89, 90, 114, 116, 147; Vol. 6 pp. 53, 72, 107, 112, 144, 147, 151, 152, 154; Vol. 7 pp. 2, 6, 7, 24, 27, 28, 31, 33, 44, 50, 55, 74, 79, 84, 90, 95, 101, 102, 114, 146, 151, 162, 165, 172; Vol. 8 pp. 14, 15, 22, 53, 56, 60; Vol. 9 pp. 18, 32, 37-39, Vol. 10 pp. 86, 90, 106, 111; Vol. 11 pp. 5, 124.

Information provided by Harriet Imrey and Jim Rickenbacker Aug/Sep 2009 (Reformatted Jun 2010)


1 Evangelishche Kirche Neuffen (OA. Nürtingen), "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056838 [baptisms].

2 A. S. Salley Jr., The History of Orangeburg County, South Carolina: From Its First Settlement to the Close of the Revolutionary War (1898; reprint, Greenville SC: Southern Historical Press, 1994), 119.

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

3 Evangelishche Kirche Neuffen (OA. Nürtingen), "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056839 [marriages].

4 Ev. Kirche Neuffen, "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056838 [baptisms].

5 Evangelishche Kirche Neuffen (OA. Nürtingen), "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056840 [confirmations, deaths].

6 Ev. Kirche Neuffen, "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056839 [marriages].

7 Ev. Kirche Neuffen, "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056840 [confirmations, deaths].

8 Ev. Kirche Neuffen, "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056839 [marriages].

9 Ev. Kirche Neuffen, "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056840 [confirmations, deaths].

10 Ev. Kirche Neuffen, "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056839 [marriages].

11 Ev. Kirche Neuffen, "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056838 [baptisms].

12 Brent H. Holcomb, Petitions for Land from the South Carolina Council Journals, Vol. II: 1748-1752 (Columbia SC: SCMAR, 1997), 83.

13 SC Archives, Colonial Plats, "Ulmer, Vermer, Plat for 350 Acres in Berkley County", Ser. S213184, Vol. 0005, Pg. 00415, Itm. 01.

14 SC Archives, Colonial Plats, "Strouber, Jacob, Plat for 100 Acres in Orangeburgh Township", Ser. S213184, Vol. 0005, Pg. 00256, Itm. 02.

15 Salley, The History of Orangeburg County, 119.

 Giesendanner, "The Book of Record". <http://www.xs4all.nl/~sail/>.

16 Ev. Kirche Neuffen, "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056838 [baptisms].

17 Ev. Kirche Neuffen, "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056840 [confirmations, deaths].

18 Ev. Kirche Neuffen, "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056838 [baptisms].

19 Ev. Kirche Neuffen, "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056838 [baptisms].

20 Ev. Kirche Neuffen, "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056840 [confirmations, deaths].

21 Ev. Kirche Neuffen, "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056838 [baptisms].

22 Ev. Kirche Neuffen, "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056840 [confirmations, deaths].

23 Ev. Kirche Neuffen, "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056838 [baptisms].

24 Ev. Kirche Neuffen, "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056840 [confirmations, deaths].

25 Don Yoder (Ed.), Pennsylvania German Immigrants, 1709-1786: Lists Consolidated from Yearbooks of the Pennsylvania German Folklore Society, Reprint (Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1980), 127.

26 Brent H. Holcomb, Petitions for Land from the South Carolina Council Journals, Vol. V: 1757-1765 (Columbia SC: SCMAR, 1998).

27 Murtie June Clark, Colonial Soldiers of the South, 1732-1774. Baltimore MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 1986, 909.

28 Brent H. Holcomb, Petitions for Land from the South Carolina Council Journals, Vol. VI: 1766-1770 (Columbia SC: SCMAR, 1999), 59.

29 Holcomb, Petitions for Land, Vol. VI, 71.

30 SC Archives, Colonial Plats, "Shuler, Daniel, Plat for 100 Acres on Four Hole Creek", Ser. S213184, Vol. 0010, Pg. 00129, It. 02.

31 Ev. Kirche Neuffen, "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056838 [baptisms].

32 Brent H. Holcomb, Petitions for Land from the South Carolina Council Journals, Vol. V: 1757-1765 (Columbia SC: SCMAR, 1998).

33 SC Archives, Colonial Plats, "Ulmer, John, Plat for 200 Acres in Berkley County", Ser. S213184, Vol. 0008, Pg. 00413, Itm. 01.

34 Murtie June Clark, Loyalists in the Southern Campaign of the Revolutionary War. Baltimore MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 1981, 206.

35 John Lennell Andrews Jr., "South Carolina Revolutionary Indents: A Schedule". Columbia SC: SCMAR, 2001, 78.

36 Ev. Kirche Neuffen, "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056838 [baptisms].

37 Salley, The History of Orangeburg County, 215.

 Giesendanner, "The Book of Record". <http://www.xs4all.nl/~sail/>.

38 South Carolina Will Book TT, 42.

39 Ev. Kirche Neuffen, "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056838 [baptisms].

40 Ev. Kirche Neuffen, "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056840 [confirmations, deaths].

41 Ev. Kirche Neuffen, "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056838 [baptisms].

42 Ev. Kirche Neuffen, "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056838 [baptisms].

43 Ev. Kirche Neuffen, "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056840 [confirmations, deaths].

44 Ev. Kirche Neuffen, "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056838 [baptisms].

45 Salley, The History of Orangeburg County, 127.

 Giesendanner, "The Book of Record". <http://www.xs4all.nl/~sail/>.

46 Salley, The History of Orangeburg County, 133.

 Giesendanner, "The Book of Record". <http://www.xs4all.nl/~sail/>.

47 Salley, The History of Orangeburg County, 144.

 Giesendanner, "The Book of Record". <http://www.xs4all.nl/~sail/>.

48 Ev. Kirche Neuffen, "Kirchenbuch, 1634-1956", FHL INTL Film 1056838 [baptisms].

49 Salley, The History of Orangeburg County, 115.

 Giesendanner, "The Book of Record". <http://www.xs4all.nl/~sail/>.

50 OGSGS, The First Families of Orangeburgh District, South Carolina: Shuler (Schuler).

51 Clark, Colonial Soldiers of the South, 907.

52 Holcomb, Petitions for Land, Vol. VI, 82.

53 SC Archives, Colonial Plats, "Ulmer, Frederick, Plat for 100 Acres in St. Matthews Parish", Ser. S213184, Vol. 0010, g. 00005, Itm. 03.

54 Brent H. Holcomb, Petitions for Land from the South Carolina Council Journals, Vol. VII: 1771-1774 (Columbia SC: SCMAR, 1999), 148.

55 SC Archives, Colonial Plats, "Ulmer, Frederick, Plat for 400 Acres in Berkly County", Ser. S213184, Vol. 0020, Pg. 00451, Itm. 01.

56 Salley, The History of Orangeburg County, 146.

 Giesendanner, "The Book of Record". <http://www.xs4all.nl/~sail/>.

57 Salley, The History of Orangeburg County, 162.

 Giesendanner, "The Book of Record". <http://www.xs4all.nl/~sail/>.

58 Salley, The History of Orangeburg County, 178.

 Giesendanner, "The Book of Record". <http://www.xs4all.nl/~sail/>.

59 SC Archives, State Plats (Columbia Series), "Ulmer, Frederick, Plat for 172 Acres on Bay Branch, Orangeburgh District", Ser, S213192, Vo. 0040, g. 00073, Itm. 002.

60 Brent H. Holcomb, Petitions for Land from the South Carolina Council Journals, Vol. III: 1752-1753 (Columbia SC: SCMAR, 1997), p.210.

61 Holcomb, Petitions for Land, Vol. V, 19.

62 SC Archives, Colonial Plats, "Oilmer, Michael, Plat for 200 Acres in Amelia Township", Ser. S213184, Vol. 0006, Pg. 00388, Itm. 04.

63 Holcomb, Petitions for Land, Vol. III, 191-193.

64 Holcomb, Petitions for Land, Vol. V, 7.

65 SC Archives, Colonial Plats, "Abner, Jacob, Plat for 100 Acres in Amelia Township", Ser. S213184, Vol. 0006, Pg.: 00275, Itm. 04.

66 Holcomb, Petitions for Land, Vol. VI, 265.

67 SC Archives, Colonial Plats, "Ulmer, Jacob, Plat for 150 Acres in Amelia Township", Ser. S213184, Vol. 0020, Pg. 00450, Itm. 02.

68 Clark, Loyalists in the Southern Campaign, 525.

69 John Lennell Andrews Jr., "South Carolina Revolutionary Indents: A Schedule". Columbia SC: SCMAR, 2001, 44.

70 Evangelische Kirche Schriesheim (A. Mannheim), "Kirchenbuch, 1650-1962", FHL INTL Film 1192205.

71 Werner Hacker (Ed.), Eighteenth Century Register of Emigrants from Southwest Germany (to America and other countries) (Apollo PA: Closson Press, 1994).

72 Ev. Kirche Schriesheim, "Kirchenbuch, 1650-1962", FHL INTL Film 1192205.

73 Holcomb, Petitions for Land, Vol. III, 178.

74 SC Archives, Colonial Plats, "Ulmer, Henry, Plat for 350 Acres in Granville County" Ser.: S213184, Vol. 0005, Pg. 00323, Itm. 02.

75 Ev. Kirche Schriesheim, "Kirchenbuch, 1650-1962", FHL INTL Film 1192205.

76 Ev. Kirche Schriesheim, "Kirchenbuch, 1650-1962", FHL INTL Film 1192205.

77 Charleston District Will Book C, 570

78 Ev. Kirche Schriesheim, "Kirchenbuch, 1650-1962", FHL INTL Film 1192205.

79 Ev. Kirche Schriesheim, "Kirchenbuch, 1650-1962", FHL INTL Film 1192205.

80 Ev. Kirche Schriesheim, "Kirchenbuch, 1650-1962", FHL INTL Film 1192205.

81 Giesendanner, "The Book of Record ". <http://www.xs4all.nl/~sail/>.

82 Clark, Loyalists in the Southern Campaign.