Key Facts

Snapshot:	born in what's now Switzerland; immigrated to South Carolina
Parents:	2560Hans Gÿger 2561Anna Ferrin
Baptized:	9 March 1687 in or near Haslach, Vogtei Rheintal, Old Swiss Confederacy
Died:	7 May 1766 maybe Saxe-Gotha Township, South Carolina
Buried:	unknown

1280Abraham Geiger was probably born on 4 March 1687. A contemporary church record shows that he was baptized on 9 March 1687 in the Evangelish-Reformierte Kirche in Berneck, Vogtei Rheintal, Old Swiss Confederacy1—yet a (much, much later) family Bible record alleges that he was born on 4 March 1690.2 Since the Bible record was written many decades after 1280Abraham's birth, it seems likely that the year (1690) is simply erroneous.

In any case, his baptism record shows that his parents are 2560Hans Gÿger and 2561Anna Ferrin, and that 1280Abraham was from Haslach, a neighborhood about two kilometers northeast of Berneck's center.

1280Abraham's entry in the family Bible of his great-grandson Felix Geiger, Jr.2

1687: 1280Abraham is baptized in Berneck. Full page.1

Modern Haslach is a quiet cluster of houses at the bottom of a hill that overlooks Berneck in northeastern Switzerland, just a few kilometers from the Austrian border. A panorama is below. For more information about the Evangelish-Reformierte Kirche in Berneck, see the description in 640Hans Ulrich Geiger's profile since that information won't be repeated here.

1280Abraham's father 2560Hans died in 1710.3 A census taken shortly thereafter shows 1280Abraham with his siblings and their widowed mother 2561Anna still in Haslach. The census shows that 1280Abraham and his siblings were in full communion with their church.4

1710: 1280Abraham's family in Haslach. Full page.4

1280Abraham married 1281Cathrina Schellig in Berneck on 25 February 1716.5

1716: 1280Abraham marries 1281Cathrina Schellig in Berneck. Full page.5

A 1725 census shows 1280Abraham, his wife 1281Cathrina, and their four children still in Haslach. The census also shows each family member's baptism date, and shows that 1280Abraham and 1281Cathrina were in full communion with their church.6

1725: 1280Abraham's family still in Haslach. Full page.6

Immigration

As will be explained below, 1280Abraham, along with hundreds of other Swiss led by a man named John Tobler, immigrated to South Carolina in late 1737/8.

In a letter written in "Carlestown" (Charleston, South Carolina) on 18 March 1737, Tobler wrote that his party had sailed from Falmouth (a harbor town in Cornwall, England) on 5 December and had landed in Carolina on 1 February. He further noted that his party consisted of more than two hundred people, and only four had died during the voyage.7 A Charleston newspaper article seems to mention their arrival:8

Using the newspaper's descriptions, I made an educated guess about Tobler's route, illustrated in the map below. His probable route is marked with red dots, and explicitly named towns/areas are labeled in brown. For convenience, the country borders shown are modern-day.

Although the Charleston newspaper article describes the Toggenburg as a "canton," it wasn't a true canton (although was once a county protectorate) but more so a region, governed by various entities at various times. Haslach, the neighborhood mentioned in 1280Abraham's baptism record, lies roughly 43 kilometers northeast of the Toggenburg.

In South Carolina

Despite the optimism expressed in the Charleston newspaper article, 1280Abraham Geiger and a few other dissidents refused to settle where the Governor wanted them to. On Tuesday, 15 February 1737, Tobler wrote in his diary (translated), "Those persons who were not willing to agree to these things [but chose] to go elsewhere are Mr. Giezetanner, Hans Jacob Giger and his sons, as also [1280]Abraham Giger." The next day he wrote, "the Gouverneur was unwilling to let those go who did not want to remain with the company, because [he said] this place was one of the best and chosen 'expresse' for us; consequently it was not advisable to choose something else at great cost and loss of much time, especially since it was already late to plant. In the meantime Mr. Giezedanner and his adherents, however, began a great uproar and asserted they were betrayed because they were not permitted to go where they wished, and [said] if they cultivated the land, they would have to go away again, and told more lies; and although they railed at the pastor and not at me, yet it is not right to spread such lies. [...] In the evening many determined that they did not want to dwell near Mr. Giezedanner and his adherent[s], because they had already caused so much strife on the journey, and nothing else [was] to be expected than that they would continue it; therefore they would rather live without him and in peace. [...] Besides we knew what a useless man Herman Giger was, how he swore and cursed. They can also do without his father and cousin." 7

1280Abraham settled in Saxe-Gotha Township and seems to have liked living there. In 1740, four years after his arrival, he signed a pamphlet that touted life in South Carolina. Copies of the pamphlet were secretly distributed around Switzerland to encourage people to emigrate, even though emigration was considered an act of treason and outlawed.9 You can read a transcription here.

1740: The title page of a pamphlet encouraging immigration to South Carolina, and 1280Abraham's signature page. His name is the fifth down the list.9

A 1742 petition mentions "[1280]Abram Giger & family," who had "arrived & settled in his Majesty's Township of SaxGotha ever since the year 1737." 10 His petition for land was successful, since on 5 June 1742 he was granted 300 acres in Saxe-Gotha Township on the southwest side of the Santee River11 plus a 0.5-acre town lot. A copy of the plats is below.12

The plats for 1280Abraham's property in Saxe-Gotha Township, South Carolina. Bigger copy.12

Using a a map overlay by David Brinkman, one can determine the approximate location of 1280Abraham's 0.5-acre town tract, which is now in a heavily wooded area near the banks of the Congaree River about 5 kilometers south of the center of Columbia; I've plotted it on the master map. I was unable to locate the 300-acre tract.

On 31 March 1761 a man named John Geiger—probably 1280Abraham's son Johannes Geiger, who was baptized 21 January 1721,13 although this identification isn't entirely certain—was sentenced to death for participating in the brutal, cult-like murder of two men,14 an episode often described as the "Weberite heresy." Further description of the events would be far beyond the scope of this article, but interested readers may find transcriptions of original, relevant documents at <https://web.archive.org/web/20131208085611/http://www.weberiteheresy.com/>.

1280Abraham died on 7 May 1766.2 I have no other details about his final years, his estate, etc.

Sources Cited:

1: Baptismal entry for [1280]Abraham of Haslach, who was baptized 9 March 1687, son of [2560]Hans Gÿger and [2561]Anna Feerin. Kirchenbuch 1550-1931, Evangelish-Reformierte Kirche Berneck. FamilySearch (microfilm 939185, image 164 of 883), accessed 18 April 2018. FamilySearch restricts access to this image, so you can see a copy here.

2: Abraham Geiger's entry in the family Bible of Felix Geiger, Jr. The Bible itself (Holy Bible, ... with a Perpetual Genealogical Family Register) was published by the Southern Methodist Publishing House in Nashville in 1859. On 27 April 2000, Amy Frydrych posted selected portions of the family register online at <http://boards.ancestry.com/thread.aspx?mv=flat&m=633&p=surnames.geiger>, accessed 11 September 2011. The Bible's alleged provenance is: (1) Felix Geiger, Jr, (2) John F. Geiger, (3) Claude F. Geiger, (4) Lawton Delany Geiger, (5) Richard Geiger.

3: Evangelish-Reformierte Kirche Berneck. Kirchenbuch 1550-1931, death entry for [2560]Hans Gÿger, who died 27 August 1710. FamilySearch (microfilm 939185, images 210 and 211 of 883), accessed 18 April 2018. FamilySearch restricts access to these images, so see copies here: 210, 211.

4: Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirche, Synode Zürich. Bevölkerungsverzeichnisse entries for the year 1710, section for Berneck, subsection for Haslach, page 649, entry #16 for An̄a Feerin widow of Hans Gÿger. FamilySearch (FHL microfilm 1185172, image 20 of 794). FamilySearch restricts access to this image, so see a copy here.

5: Marriage entry for 1280Abrah. Gÿger and Cath. Schellig, who married 25 February 1716. Kirchenbuch 1550-1931, Evangelish-Reformierte Kirche Berneck. FamilySearch (microfilm 939185, image 225 of 883), accessed 18 April 2018. FamilySearch restricts access to this image, so you can see a copy here.

6: Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirche, Synode Zürich. Bevölkerungsverzeichnisse entries for the year 1725, section for Berneck, subsection for Haslach, page 1165, entry #11 for Abraham Gÿger and Catharina Schellig. FamilySearch (FHL microfilm 1185178, image 606 of 781). FamilySearch restricts access to this image, so see a copy here.

7: John Tobler, edited by Charles G. Cordle, "The John Tobler Manuscripts: An Account of German-Swiss Emigrants in South Carolina, 1737," The Journal of Southern History 5.1 (February 1939), pages 83-97.

8: "Charles-Town, Febr. 5," The South-Carolina Gazette (Charleston, South Carolina), 29 January to 5 February 1737, page 2.

9: Wahrhafftige und Ganz Zuverlasse Gute Zeitung von den Königlich Englischen Provinz Carolina [True and Fully Dependable Good News from the Royal English Province Carolina] (pamphlet). Photostat copy from the Lee R. Gandee manuscript files (OCLC #690108252), South Caroliniana Graniteville Room, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina.

10: South Carolina Council Journal 1741/2-1742/3, pages 68-69. Transcribed in: Brent H. Holcomb, Petitions for Land from the South Carolina Council Journals, Volume I: 1734/5-1748 (SCMAR, Columbia, South Carolina, 1996), page 151.

11: South Carolina Royal Grant Book 42, page 134. Cited in: Brent H. Holcomb, South Carolina's Royal Grants, Volume Seven: Grant Books 42, 43, and Other Grants, 1711-1775 (SCMAR, Columbia, South Carolina, 2012), page 11. Holcomb's entry reads, "[Book] 42, [Page] 134: Abraham, Gyger, 300 acres in Saxegotha Township on the south west side of Santee River in Berkley County, adj. John Shillig, Herman Gyger, and lot number 83, 5 June 1742. Plat certified 12 Sept 1737."

12: South Carolina Colonial Plat Books (Copy Series), Volume 9, page 472. The record detail page is <http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/onlinearchives/RecordDetail.aspx?RecordId=101719>, and the image page is <http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/onlinearchives/Thumbnails.aspx?recordId=101719>.

13: Evangelish-Reformierte Kirche Berneck. Kirchenbuch 1550-1931, baptismal entry for Johannes Gÿger of Hardt, baptized 21 January 1721, son of [1280]Abrah: Gÿger and [1281]Catrin: Schelligin. FamilySearch (microfilm 939185, image 237 of 883), accessed 18 April 2018.

14: The South Carolina Gazette (Charleston, South Carolina), 25 April 1761, page 2, column 2.