Ulmer Ancestry

Early Ulmer Family American Colonists

   George Werner Ulmer immigrated to America from Neuffen, Germany (see references: #21) in 1749 in the ship "Griffin".  His family consisted of his wife, Anna, George Ludwig Ulmer (son of Ursula), and possibly others.  Werner petitioned and received 350 acres of land allotment to settle in the Saxe Gotha area of South Carolina.  The practice at the time was to give 50 acres of land, for each member of a family or extended family, to the head of the family, as inducement to settle inland, approximately 100 miles from the more settled coastal area of Charleston, South Carolina.  The objective was to provide a "buffer" area of protection from the almost constant threat of Indian attacks.  George Ludwig Ulmer was 12 years old when they started the journey to America.  Ursula (Pretzler) Ulmer,  mother of George Ludwig Ulmer, died in Aug of 1744 in Neuffen, Germany. George Werner in May of 1745 married Anna Maria Aichele in Neuffen. In the years that followed, after the family emigrated to South Carolina in 1749, George and Anna had three daughters born into their family. 

  In this time period, it was the German naming custom to sometimes use the parent's first name for the first name of their children.  It was also the custom, because of this first-name-custom, for people to go by their middle name in distinguishing who was who. Thus, these first Ulmer American Colonists of our Ulmer lineage having both being named "George", went by their middle names of Verner and Ludwig; which when translated into English, become Werner and Lewis.  (see references: #1, 2, 3, 4, 11)

  George Ludwig Ulmer, also known as Lewis Ulmer, came to America in 1749 on the ship "Griffin". He came with his father and stepmother, George Werner and Anna Maria (Aichele) Ulmer. Lewis's father was also known as Verner Ulmer. On the same voyage in 1749, of the Griffin, along with the Ulmers was a family named Majer. Elizabeth Majer, the daughter of that Majer family, is recorded as marrying and settling in South Carolina.  (see references: #1, 2, 3, 4, 11)

  They settled in the areas of South Carolina known as Orangeburgh Parish, Amelia, and Saxe Gotha.  From the various records of the time, it appears that these three names were sometimes used rather loosely to mean the same general area, where all three were located. These areas are all south and southeast of what is Columbia, South Carolina, today. (see references: #5, 11)

  Lewis's father remarried in 1750. He and his second wife, Anne Maria Aichele, had three daughters. This gave Lewis three younger half sisters, Eva Maria, Verena Maria, and Mary Catharina. (see reference: # 6)

  When Lewis was 18 or 19 years old, in 1754, his father died. Lewis's stepmother remarried within a year after Verner died. (ref #6) Not long after this, Lewis must have moved north to Virginia, in or near the Winchester area. We don't know if Lewis married before moving to Virginia or after he moved there. His wife's name may have been Elizabeth. In July of 1758 Lewis became a father himself. He named his son Jacob. (see references:  #10, 16, 20)

  Not long after Jacob was born, the French and Indian War started in the Virginia area. This war was also known as the "Cherokee Indian War" in South Carolina. Lewis, likely fearing for his family's safety, decided he needed to return to South Carolina. Many other settlers, some accounts indicate most settlers,  in the Shenandoah Valley also moved to safer areas. Lewis moved back to South Carolina, not only because of the Virginia War dangers, but also to help support his extended family in South Carolina who were also exposed to danger . The area, where his extended family lived in South Carolina was involved in the Cherokee Indian War that started as a result of the French encouraging the Cherokees to attack to keep the South Carolina Militia from aiding the northern Colonies in the French and Indian War. Lewis's aunts and uncles, as well as his half sisters and old neighbors were back in South Carolina, and he very likely felt his new family was safer with them. Together they could help keep each other safe. (see references: #5, 6, 7, 8)

  So late in 1758, or early in 1759, he moved his family to South Carolina. There he joined the Militia, which had been formed for protection from the Indians. The war quickly spread to the South Carolina area. (see reference: #7, 8, 14, 15)

  In late 1763 a Treaty was made with the Cherokee Indians, also the French surrendered that year, and the War was over.  Now that it was once again relatively safe, Lewis took his family back to Virginia sometime after the war ended, maybe as late as the spring of 1767.  He may have reclaimed land and other interests there. A year or two later, his son, Jacob, became an apprentice to a saddler at the age of 8 in Winchester, VA. (see reference: #17, 22)

  Years later, after the American Revolution started, Jacob was drafted and served under Captain Brown. (see references: #8, 9, 18) After the war, Jacob, himself, must have spent a short time in South Carolina. He may have married his wife there around 1786, and then moved to Kentucky. There Jacob's first son, William, was born in 1787, and their second son, George, was born in 1789. They later moved to Ohio. Many other Kentucky settlers moved to Ohio at, or about, this time due to disputes over title to the land where they had settled in Kentucky.  Then later, around 1813, Jacob moved to southern Indiana, near what is today the Scottsburg/Vienna area. (see references: #13, 19) In 1830/31 he moved to Fulton County, Illinois; there Jacob died in 1836. (see references: #12)

  In 1793 Lewis died. It is unknown for sure if Lewis died in the Winchester, Virginia area, or if his death was in the Winchester, Kentucky area. There is some evidence that appears to place his son, Jacob, and possibly George Lewis Ulmer in Winchester, Kentucky around the year 1793. He had received land grants and property in South Carolina; however, he spent the later part of his life in Virginia. (see references: #16)

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The article above is by Ron and Jack Ulmer.

References:

(1.) Source: The Adolf Gerber Lists , Emigrants from Wurttemberg, page 127.  Also Penn German Folklore Society Vol. 10 pp 132-237 .

(2.) Elizabeth Majer, listed on "Palatine Index: for year of 1749, http://feefhs.org/de/pal/gi/palidx/pali-m.html - see also; references #1, &  11

(3.) "Verner" in German is "Werner" in English. It was custom for German people to go by their middle name. (Search German naming customs)

(4.) For Verner Ulmer see, http://worldroots.com/misc/bg_misc/ship02.html -  also see,  http://www.tigges-lightsey-genealogy.com/shipgriffin.htm - For George Ludwig Ulmer see: http://66.218.71.231/language/translation/translatedPage.php?tt=url&text=http%3a//cefha.org/de/pal/palidx/pali-tz.html&lp=de_en&.intl=us&fr=FP-tab-web-t410

(5.) The History of Orangeburg County South Carolina, http://www.bryansite.com/bryan/pouorangeburg.htm

(6.) Orangeburgh Church Records of Rev. Giessendannerhttp, http://www.xs4all.nl/~sail/orange/m57m63.html

(7.) South Carolina Department of Archives and History (land grants etc.) http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/Archives/search/default.asp

(8.) References to do with The French and Indian War & The Cherokee Indian War; http://www.tolatsga.org/Cherokee1.htmlhttp://san.beck.org/11-9-VirginiaEtc1664-1744.html

(9.) Revolutionary Soldiers Buried in Illinois, http://genealogytrails.com/ill/revwar1.html

(10.) Request for Revolutionary War Pension, dated 27 Nov., 1835 (State of Illinois). This document states Jacob's birth, location, and service in the war.

(11.) German Settlers in Colonial South Carolina (see notes pertaining to Abraham Speidel), http://www.palmettoroots.org/Auswanderer.html

(12.) Jacob Ulmer is buried in Wolf Cemetery, Fulton Co., Illinois (Wolf Cemetery Records, Fulton Co. Illinois)

(13.) 1820 Census for Indiana, http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/7705/Census1820RZ.htm

(14.) List of Col. John Chevillette's Battalion of South Carolina Militia in the 1759 Cherokee Expedition, reported June 6, 1760.  see: http://content.ancestry.com/Browse/BookView.aspx?dbid=49108&pageno=909

(15.) Plat Record for Verner Ulmer, for 350 Acres in Orangeburgh Township, S.C.,  http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/Archives/search/details.asp?index=92134&table=AllArchivalData&tableLook=MainIndexPlat Record for Lewis Ulmer, for 100 Acres in Four Hole Swamp (Amelia, S.C.) http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/Archives/search/details.asp?index=93966&table=AllArchivalData&tableLook=MainIndex

(16.) James Family's Bible of Jacob Ulmer, and Will of George Ludwig Ulmer, dated 1792; also see below ref: #20

(17.) Ancestry. com - Virginia Apprentices, 1623 to 1800.  Source: Frederick Co. Orders 14, 1767-1770, 194, see: http://www.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=3111

(18.) 1783 Shenandoah County, Virginia Tax List; Jacob is on page #2,  http://www.rootsweb.com/~vashenan/1783pg2.html

(19.) Pioneer Life In Scott County, Indiana,  by Carl R. Bogardus, 1957, (see page 15) "Now I will give you the names of our neighbors...."

(20.)  Information provided by Richard Elliott James of Sioux City, Iowa, says Lewis Ulmer married a woman named Elizabeth and they had a son named, Jacob, born in Winchester, VA in 1758..  Rich said, in Emails, that his sources for this information were a Family Bible and Will.  At this point in time, we have not been able to get copies of these documents, but we are using the information to aid in finding further evidence that proves it is valid.

(21.)  Neuffen, is located about 20 miles southeast of Stuttgart, in the southern part of Germany. Not until the mid 1600s was a boarder recognized between Switzerland and Germany. To this day, people from there are still referred to as being "Swiss-German".

(22.) S.C. Archives & History Library, Plat Record information: # Item # 02, page: 00129, volume: 0010, series number: S213184. Land transfer record, pertaining to Lewis "Ulmore" Ulmer, dated 1767.