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Book of
Record (1737-1761)
© Joop
Giesendanner, the Netherlands
Original information from Switzerland, which I had no reason to doubt, stated that this Verena married and died in Switzerland. Looking more closely to this situation, with the help of another Giessendanner researcher, Xana Hansen, who provided me with a land record, which suggested she, Verena Giessendanner, might be the wife of Henry Würtzer, much more 'circumstantial evidence' for her arrival in SC has come out. To begin with:
Now I received from Xana Hansen the following record:
On 14 July 1752, John Giessendanner was a witness to a land transfer between Henry Wurster, planter and Verena (her mark), his wife, to John Inderabnet, [which is how it was spelled in the record] both of Berkeley County, for £500, of 150 acres of land in Orangeburg Township. Verena is not a very common name, and perhaps this was his sister and her husband, whose land purchase John was witnessing.
Source: South Carolina Deed Abstracts, 1719-1772, Vol II - 1740-1755, Books V-PP, Abstracted by Clara A. Langley. (no publication date was available in the copy I used), p. 268.
I never really searched for her in
Orangeburgh, because of the Swiss info, which I took for granted.
Now I AM using my own judgement and records to do the
search using the Book of Record:
I did find the following entries in the Book of Record:
Henry Würtzer was close to the
Giessendanner family:
he sponsored Henry Giessendanner (24 Sep 1742)
witnessed the marriage of John William Leysaht x Ursula
Giessendanner (3 Oct 1752)
He must have been a prominent member of the Orangeburgh
Congregation, he was a sponsor or witness in numerous baptisms
and weddings
All this leads me to believe we
have a very strong point that Verena Würtzer is Verena
Giessendanner
According to his burial record Henry Würtzer was 55 in
1759, so he was born ca.1704.
They must have been married before 1 Feb 1747, because Verena
Würtzer is a sponsor at that date (see above, record 1).
Henry was 42 and Verena 16 years old at that time.
I would not be surprised if she was not his first wife, although
I have not found anything to substantiate that.
Any info on the matter very welcome.
Further info came from my trip to Switzerland in July 2000:
Is Verena Wurtzer identical to Verena Giezendanner (Giessendanner)?
1. The original suggestion came from this
message:
Xana Hansen:
On 14 July 1752, John Giessendanner was a witness to a land transfer between
Henry Wurster, planter and Verena (her mark), his wife, to John Inderabnet,
[which is how it was spelled in the record] both of Berkeley County, for £500,
of 150 acres of land in Orangeburg Township. Verena is not a very common name,
and perhaps this was his sister and her husband, whose land purchase John was
witnessing.
(Source: South Carolina Deed Abstracts, 1719-1772, Vol II - 1740-1755,
Books V-PP, Abstracted by Clara A. Langley.
( no publication date was available in the copy I used ), p. 268.)
Though in general true, there was
another one right there and available: Verena Friday (Frydig).
She is mentioned as a sponsor at the
baptism of Hans Henry Straumann (24 May 1741) and I have found no other tights
to anyone
2. There was no reason to assume that Georg G.'s family would have arrive incomplete, why would a 6 year old girl be left in Lichtensteig, while her whole family emigrated to the Carolina's.
3. The bond between the Wurtz(er) family and the G's seem to be extremely tight:
| Date | occasion | present |
| 25.07.1742 | bapt henry giessendanner | Heinrich Würtz |
| 01.02.1747 | bapt samuel davis | Fr. Verena Würtzer from this record we know that by this time she was already married |
| 02.10.1748 | bapt johann petri | Heinrich Wurtzer Barbara Giessendanner Agnes Giessendanner |
| 27.05.1749 | Petition SC asking John to become Rev in O'burg | Hen. Wurtzer |
| 14.7.1752 | see land purchase above | Henry Wurster Verena, wife of Henry Wurster John Giessendanner |
| 03.10.1752 |
mar john william leysaht x ursula giessendanner | Henry Wurtzer Ursula Giessendanner |
| 18.02.1753 | bapt catharina miller | Verena, wife of Henry
Wurtzer John Giessendanner |
| 17.02.1754 | bapt john christoph hannicke | Verena, wife of Henry
Wurtzer John Giessendanner |
| 23.05.1756 | bapt elizabeth koller | Henry & Verena Wurtzer Barbara, wife of Rev John Giessendanner |
| 20.06.1756 | bapt jacob suther | Henry Wurtzer Jacob Giessendanner Barbara, wife of Rev John Giessendanner |
| 26.11.1759 | bur henry wurtzer | Henry Wurtzer, buried at the age of 55 |
If Verena
Wurtzer is indeed Verena
Giessendanner, she would have had to marry around the age of 16 to Henry Wurtzer,
a native of Switzerland and a settler in Orangeburgh since 1735, who was, by
that time, at least 43 years of age.
Although not impossible, I find it hard to believe.
All the evidence is circumstantial,
nowhere did we find some hard proof these Verena's
are identical.
The Wurtzers socialized with many other families, as becomes clear from all
other entries in the Book of Record:
Guthieren; Sahli; Diedrich; York; Heym; Straumann; Shaumloffel; Inderabnet;
Negely; Wolf; Petri; Ebert; Amacher; Miller; Koonen; Tshudy; Leysaht; Hannicke;
Ott; Fichtner; Hertzog; Ulmer; Crummy; Anding; Brunner; Koller; Suther; Yutzy;
Volckart and no doubt a few others.
Against the fact that these Verena's are identical stand the following articles:
| Armin Müller: Geschichte von Lichtensteig | A.M.: History of Lichtensteig |
| Zinngiesser Joh. Conrad
Steiger, 1724 - 1792. Von seinen wackeren Arbeiten mit dem eindeutigen Schlagzeichen CS haben sich einige Kannen und Schlüsseln erhalten, in Lichtensteig und im Historischen Museum Bern. Sein Leben brachte ihm viel Ungemach. Seine Frau Verena Giezendanner, Tochter des Hutmachers Georg, der 1736 als Pietist nach Carolina ausgewandert war, brachte ihm zwar zehn Kinder; dedoch starben mindesten ihrer fünf; sie selber lag viele Jahre krank, bevor sie mit 48 Jahren starb. |
Tinman (Pewterer) Joh.
Conrad Steiger, 1724 - 1792. From his honorable work, with the unique impact character CS, some cans and keys were preserved, in Lichtensteig and in the historical museum Berne. His life brought him much suffering. His wife Verena Giezendanner, daughter of the hatter Georg, who, as a Pietist, had emigrated to Carolina in 1736, did bear him ten children; but at least five died; she herself was ill for many years, before she died at the age of 48 years. |
| Aus Ratsbuch Lichtensteig 13.2.1778 | From the Book of the Counsel L'steig 13 Feb 1778 |
| Messmer Steiger als nächster Verwandter verlangt vom Rat die 100 fl., die die beiden Ulrich und Jörg im Herbstmonat 1736 bei ihrer Auswanderung nach Carolina zur Sicherung des Bürgerrechts zurückgelassen haben. Im Protokoll nachgesehen: die beiden hatten nur 5 fl. wegen der Stadtsteuer zurückgelassen. | Messmer Steiger, next of
kin, demands from the council the 100 fl., that was left behind in Autumn month by the two, Ulrich and Georg, when they emigrated to the Carolinas, to secure their citizenship. Checked in the protocol: the two have only left 5 fl. for city taxes. |
There must have been a reason for Mr. Armin Müller,
the curator of Toggenburg Museum in Lichtensteig, to name George as the father
of Verena, maybe the marriage of Verena to Joh. Conrad Steiger mentions the name
of her parents?
If so, we have solid proof she stayed behind.
Maybe her health was a problem to undertake such a long and dangerous voyage,
when only 6 years old in 1736.
Anyway Verena Wurtzer = Verena
Giessendanner was an assumption, that is heavily under pressure now.
mail to: Joop any comment