Ulrich Kilchofer Stauffer (1680 - 1746)

Born 4 Apr 1680 in Signau, Bern, Switzerland

Ancestors

Husband of Lucia (Ramseyer) Stauffer — married [date unknown] in Signau, Bern, Switzerland

Descendants

Died 22 Jun 1746 at age 66 in Martic Township, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Jill Ryder [send private message], Jo Brenner [send private message], and Sariane Condon [send private message]

Biography

Ulrich was born before 1700.

Research Notes

• Oath of Allegiance to Province and State of Pennsylvania, 1727-1775, "Ulrich Stauffer", p. 278.

This Ulrich STAUFFER is not the first to become Anabaptist and emigrate: Another Ulrich STAUFFER was listed among 200 Mennonite refugees found in the upper Rhein area in 1672, camped between Bingen and Brehm, located near Valentine HUETWOL and a LICHTY. Also in the group: Christian, Daniel, Anna & Hans STAUFFER (Eshleman, p.119).

This Ulrich's daughter Magdalena was born in 1707 in Grosshöchstetten [his wife’s family’s village, in District Konolfingen, Kanton Bern], down-valley to the west from the village of Signau and Ulrich’s father’s farm. In the following year 1708, Ulrich and his brother Hans bought their father’s farm at Signau; Hans died in 1714, and Ulrich sold the farm in 1716.

In 1717 Ulrich fled to Mannheim, Germany, to avoid a court hearing for not attending services at the Reformed Church of Signau. His wife and 6 children stayed back with her family in Grosshöchstetten, while Ulrich’s brother Christian was guardian for the family.

Ten years later, on 4 March 1727, Lucia (given as his wife, nee RAMSEYER), resident of Grosshöchstetten, District of Konolfingen, petitioned the officials at Signau through her children’s guardian Christian STAUFFER for permission to leave Switzerland with her 6 children and to take their property, worth £1,900. The government granted their request after they paid the usual emigration tax, which in her case was 550 crowns. Faust says this record is to be found in R.M. III, 267-268, a communication from the Government to the Landvogt of Signau. They gave up their Mannrecht in Bern.

By 6 May 1727 Lucia and the children joined Ulrich in Mannheim. They received support also from the Dutch Mennonites.

The family arrived at Philadelphia 27 Sept 1727 on the ship James Goodwill, David Crocket, Master, sailing from Rotterdam but last from Falmouth, England, where the group received English permission to sail to the American colonies.

Ulrich STOUPHER / Uhlly STAUFER signed as they took the oath upon landing; 6 others in the party were not sworn in.

On the same immigrant ship was a possible relative of Ulrich's mother -- she was a KIRCHOFER, a name from the Trub area in Bern, and on ship with Uhlly was Christopher KIRCHOFER with 5 more in his party.

A STAUFFER family tradition is that the immigrant mother weighed 300 lbs. Her 4 sons made a wagon of wood and drew her to the Rhein R. Then, in Philadelphia, they put their mother Lucia RAMSEYER on the wagon and pulled her to Warwick Tp in Lancaster Co. (See Phebe Gibbons, p.101.)

If the family was immigrating with father plus 6 children, one of the daughters may have been the Magdalena STAUFFER who married Lame Peter JORDY / YORDY.

Uli STAFER was naturalized in Lancaster Co under the 14 Feb 1729/30 act passed by the Provincial Assembly, noted as a Mennonite.

Ulrich was granted 100 acres in Martic Tp, Lancaster Co PA, on 3 Feb 1732. This farm is located at 773 Marticville Rd., Pequea, PA and in 2006 is owned by John and Joann MARTIN.

A Christian STAUFFER got acreage in Manor Tp area before 1735, per Eshleman p. 256. Is this Ulrich’s brother?

Sources

• Aungst, Richard, “Will of Ulrich Stauffer,” http://www.pa-roots.org/, 29 Dec 1999.

• Eshleman, H. Frank, Historic Background and Annals of the Swiss and German Pioneer Settlers of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Lancaster PA 1917/Heritage Books 1998.

• Faust, Albert B. [Bern/Basel], & Gaius M. Brumbaugh, Lists of Swiss Emigrants in the 18th Century to the American Colonies, Washington DE: National Genealogical Society 1925, Vol. II: Bern 1706-1795, Basel 1734-1794, .pdf copy has both Vol. I: Zürich (pp. 1-131) & Vol. II: Bern/Basel (pp. 132-354), plus Index pp. 355-380, Archives of Switzerland / http://history.swissroots.org/uploads/media/emigrants_18th_cent_01.pdf.

• Siegrist, Joanne Hess, “Switzerland: Early Anabaptist Family Sites,” Mennonite Family History, Vol. XXV, No. 4, pp. 192-197, Oct 2006.

• Weir, Barbara L. & Laurie A. Rofina, Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine, “German Qualification for Naturalization in Pennsylvania, 1728,” Vol. 37, No. 4, pp. 367-368, pp. 367-371; in Egge: pp.33ff, 1992, Egge, Marion F., Pennsylvania Roots Across the Ocean, http://books.google.com/books?id=LDmFeLhrGAAC&pg=PA367&lpg=PA367&dq=“German+Qualification+for+Naturalization+in+Pennsylvania,+1728,”&source=web&ots=UgwERvRLJE&sig=tsvqjKtO9d5lKaCW83yQwpWh4aU&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result#PPA371,M1.
• Stauffer Family Research by Richard W. Davis from Mennosearch.com

• Stauffer-842 was created by Jill Ryder through the import of Jill Ryder family tree.ged on Aug 15, 2015.

• Stauffer-750 was created by Pat Shaffer through the import of NShell18.GED on Apr 6, 2015.