First Families of Orangeburgh District, South Carolina
Staley (Stähli, Stähle, Stehely)
Stahl [steel], Upper German-Alemannic also Stäheli(n): usually an occupational name for smiths (steelsmiths) or steel merchants.1 Alemannic dialects, which developed in the southwestern part of the Germanic speech area, differ considerably in sound system and grammar from standard High German. These dialects are spoken in Switzerland, western Austria, Swabia, and Liechtenstein and in the Alsace region of France.2 Stähli and Stäheli are common Swiss surnames with citizenship in over 50 Swiss villages before 1799.3
The Hans Georg Steheli Family
First Generation
1. Hans George Steheli, one of the initial Orangeburgh settlers, was from Switzerland and probably arrived on the ship Samuel in July 1735 [note a].4 He married Maria Linder on 1 April 1728 in Leissigen, he being a nail maker from Brienz and she from Oberhofen.5 [note b]. He died in 1739 before the 25 Dec 1739 baptism of his son Johannes:
A(nn)o 1739
25th of December the following children have been baptized Johannes Steheli, late Mr H(an)s Georg Steheli and Mrs. Maria Linder in wedlock begotten and born (legitimate) child with sponsors Mr. Johannes am Acker (and) Johannes Diedrich Jun: and Miss Barbara Hug; which child was born at this daylight 27th of October 1939. [In this early baptism record Rev. Gissendanner was using the wife's maiden name as was Swiss custom.]6
On October 25, 1735 George Haig surveyed 200 acres of land and town lot 157 for Hans George Stakley. Neighbors were Peter Larry (Lourier [note c.]), Hans Heinrick Felder and Peter Moorer.7 The land grant indicates a family of four suggesting that Peter and Maria were the only children at arrival in South Carolina.
On 11 May 1739 George Stahley petitioned the South Carolina Council stating that his 200 acres of land had "proved bad" and asking that he might surrender that land and receive another 200 acres. His request was granted.8 On December 2, 1740 George Haig surveyed 200 acres of land for George Stakley.9 This land was located on Caw Caw Swamp Creek.10
Children of Hans George Steheli and Maria Linder were:
+2.i.Peter Stehely was born in Switzerland, probably between 1729 and 1734. There is a 1772 quit rent payment for Geo. Staley's estate on 200 acres that reads: by Peter his son; 9 yrs., 1 mo.; granted 13 February 1753 bounty.11
+3.ii.Maria (Mary) was born in Switzerland, probably between 1729 and 1734.
Child of Hans George Steheli and Maria Linder was:
+4.v.Johannes Steheli was born 27 October 1939 and baptized 25 December 1739.12 He married Ann Inabnet on 7 Sept 1773.13
Second Generation
2. Peter Stehely was born in Switzerland. He signed the Orangeburgh Citizens Petition in Behalf of Rev. John Giessendanner of 27 May 1749 in Orangeburgh, SC. This indicates that he was at least 14 in 1749 but not necessarily 21or older.14
On 20 September 1757 he, along with Lewis Golson, attended the baptism of his niece Maria Ott (Oth), daughter of Caspar and Mary Ott.15
Peter Stally petitioned for 200 acres of land on 5 May 1772.16
Peter Stately, Sen. received pay for 183 days service in the Orangeburgh Militia, Col. John Fisher's Regiment, Capt. Henry Giesendanner's Company, 14 June to 14 December 1780.17
Peter Stately, Jun. received pay for 183 days service in the Orangeburgh Militia, Col. John Fisher's Regiment, Capt. Henry Giesendanner's Company, 14 June to 14 December 1780.18
Peter Staley served for 80 days in the Orangeburgh District Independent Cavalry in Capt. Jacob Rumph's Company.19 (Could be Peter, Sr. or Peter, Jr.)
0n 25 Sept. 1787 George Strother certified 100 acres of land, originally surveyed for Phillip Lambright on 21 July 1767, for Peter Stalley.20 (Could be Peter, Sr. or Peter, Jr.)
Probable child of Peter Stehely and [unknown] is:
5.i.Peter Staley, Jr. (Based on name and Militia Service. Possibly son of Johannes instead.)
3. Maria (Mary) Stehely was born in Switzerland. She married Casper Ott21 in Orangeburgh on 19 December 1752.22
Children of Caspar Ott and Maria Stehely were:
6.i.Margaret Ott was born 29 September 1753 in Orangeburgh, South Carolina and baptized 11 December 1759 in the house of Mary Stehely her grandmother.23
7.ii.Hans George Ott was born 4 June 1755 and baptized 1 December 1755 in Orangeburgh, South Carolina.24
8.iii.Maria Ott was born 8 April 1757 and baptized 20 September 1757 in Orangeburgh, South Carolina. Lewis Golson and Peter Stehely were present.25
8.iv.Mary Elizabeth Ott was born 4 August 1759 and baptized 26 August 1759 in Orangeburgh, South Carolina.26
10.v.Caspar Ott, Jr.27
11.vi.Jacob Ott28
4. Johannes Steheli was born 27 October 1739 and baptized 25 December 1739 in Orangeburgh Township, South Carolina.29 He married Ann Inabnet on 7 Sept 1773.30
John Stakley petitioned for a Warrant of Survey for 150 acres of land in Orangeburgh Township on 3 February 1768.31 On 8 March 1768 George Strother surveyed 150 acres of land on Caw Caw Swamp for John Stalley32. John Staley received a Grant for 150 acres of land in Berkeley County on 4 October 1768.33
John Stately received pay for 183 days service in the Orangeburgh Militia, Col. John Fisher's Regiment, Capt. Henry Giesendanner's Company, 14 June to 14 December 1780.34
John Staley provided Beef for the militia in Dec 1785.35
Both John Staley, Sr, and John Staley, Jr. signed a 5 December 1798 petition to protect navigation on Caw Caw Creek.36
Children of John Steheli and Ann Inabinet were:
12. .i John Staley was born about 1769 and died in 1855. He married Margaret Barbara Funchess.37
13.ii.Lewis Staley was born abt. 1780. He married Elizabeth [unknown]38.
14.iii.Christian Staley was born in 1785 and died in 1835. He married Ann Hanahan. Christian and Ann had rice plantations on Edisto Island. In 1819 they bought a 236-acre plantation from Christopher Jenkins for $10,000.39 Ann Hanahan Staley is mentioned in her mother, Mary Rippon Hanahan's, will as "my daughter Ann Staley".
The Elizabeth Staley Family
First Generation
1. Elizabeth Stehely married Lewis Golsen in Orangeburgh on 19 December 1752.
On Tuesday Decembr. 19th In (Orang. Church) By ---- (Banns) / 33} Lewis Golsen To Elizabeth Stehely / 34} Caspar Oth To Mary Stehely / All of Orangeburgh Township, Being present: / Benedict Koller, Joseph Kryter, Henry Horger Junr.40
On 4 October 1737 George Haig surveyed 50 acres of land for Elizabeth Stakley.41
That Elizabeth and Mary were married on the same day suggests a relationship but what could it be? Do the marriage and land records even refer to the same person?
The Elizabeth with a grant of her own would have been at least 14 in 1737 and too old to be a child of Hans Georg and Maria. Maybe she is a sister of Hans Georg, traveled with the family, indented herself to pay for passage and thus qualified for her own grant once released. Maybe the relationship between Elizabeth and Mary is aunt and niece. Maybe there is no relationship to the Hans Georg family.
Maybe the Elizabeth who married Lewis Golsen is actually an unrecorded sister to Mary born in America 1736 to 1738 (14 to 16 years old at marriage). If so, it begs the question of why Hans Georg did not request another 50 acres of land when he petitioned to exchange his original 200 acres of land that "proved bad" for a new 200 acres in May 1739.
Because we just don't know we are keeping The Elizabeth Stehely Family (one or two) separate pending further research.
Children of Lewis Golsen and Elizabeth Stehely were:
2.i.John Caspar Golsen was born 11 February 1756 and baptized 2 March 1756 in Orangeburgh, South Carolina.42
3.ii.John Lewis Golsen was born 9 February 1759 and baptized 25 March 1759 in Orangeburgh, South Carolina.43
The Christopher Staley Family
First Generation
1. Christopher Stehely married Elizabeth [unknown], widow of Christian Schwartz in Orangeburgh on 23 February 1752.44 No other informaton has been found on Christopher or Elizabeth. Because of the unknowns are we are keeping him separate pending further research.
Research Notes
a. Two ships carrying immigrants arrived in Charleston in July 1735. The South Carolina Gazette notes that 220 of the 250 Switzers aboard the Samuel had paid their passage while most of the 200 Palatines aboard the Oliver were poor and had to indent themselves and their children for their passage.45 The three masted "ship:" Samuel was much larger than the two masted "billander" Oliver and likely provided better accommodation along with a higher cost of passage.
b. Leissigen, Brienz and Oberhoffen are villages on the shores of the twin lakes Thun and Brienz in the Interlaken-Oberhasli District in the Canton of Bern. Linder famalies had citizenship in Brienz and Stähli families had citizenship in both Brienz and Oberhoffen before 1799.46 There is no evidence that Maria was related to 1735 Palatine immigrant Ludwig Linder
c. The surname is possibly Löhrer from Canton St. Gallen.
References to this surname are found in OGSGS Newsletters: Vol. 1, pp. 18, 26, 28 ,98; Vol. 2, p. 129; Vol. 3, p. 9; Vol. 4, p. 18; Vol. 5, p. 144; Vol. 11, p. 91; Vol. 13, p. 51, Vol. 15, p. 65.
Information provided by Carol Mciver on 20 April 2020 with additions by Joel Hutto, Jim Rickenbacker and Margaret Waters 16 March 2021.
1 Hans Bahlow, translated by Edda Gentry, Dictionary of German Names, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Magison, WI, 1993, p. 536.
2 Encyclopedia Brittanica, "German Language", https://www.britannica.com/topic/German-language#ref109556.
3 Swiss Surnames prior to 1862, Based on Familiennamenbuch der Schweiz, Picton Press, Rockport, ME, 2003.
4 Margaret Waters, Colonial Landowners of Orangeburgh Township, SC 1733-1749, Savannah, GA, 2002, pp. 46, 53.
5 Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirche Leissigen (Bern), Church Records, 1578–1875, page 233, Family History Library microfilm 2005550, item 3.
6 Joop Giesendanner, "The Book of Record, Orangeburgh, SC, Baptisms 1739 - 1749", https://sail.home.xs4all.nl/orange/001bapt.html.
7 SC Archives, Colonial Plats, Stakley, Hans George, S213184, Volume 0021, Page 00078, Item:1
8 Brent Holcomb, Petitions for Land from the South Carolina Council Journals, Volume I: 1734/35-1748, p. 135,
9 SC Archives, Colonial Plats, Stokley, George, S213184 Volume: 0021 Page: 00076 Item: 01
10 Margaret Waters, Colonial Landowners of Orangeburgh Township, SC 1733-1749, Savannah, GA, 2002, p. 37.
11 Margaret Waters, Personal Communication on 14 March 2021.
12 Joop Giesendanner, "The Book of Record, Orangeburgh, SC", Baptisms 1739 - 1749", https://sail.home.xs4all.nl/orange/001bapt.html.
13 Georgie I.A. Lefvendahl, Some of the Inabnit,Inabnet,and Inabinett Families of Colleton, Charleston and Lower Orangeburg Districts and Counties, Privately published by the Author, 1970, pg 9
14 Robert W. Baird, "Bob's Genealogy Filing Cabinet, Articles: Legal Age", https://genfiles.com/articles/.
15 Joop Giesendanner, "The Book of Record, Orangeburgh, SC".
16 Brent Holcomb, Petitions for Land from the South Carolina Council Journals, Volume VII: 1771-1774, p. 103.
17 Murtie June Clark, Loyalists in the Southern Campaign, Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, MD, 2003, p.201.
18 Murtie June Clark, Loyalists in the Southern Campaign, Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, MD, 2003, p.201.
19 Bobby Gilmer Moss, Roster of South Carolina Patriots in the American Revolution, Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, MD, 2003, p. 889.
. S. Salley, Jr., The History of Orangeburg County, South Carolina, Originally Published: Orangeburg, SC, 1898, p. 473
Archives, Accounts Audited, Peter Staley, Series: S108092 Reel: 0139 Frame: 00490.
20 SC Archives, Colonial Plats, Peter Stalley, Series: S213190 Volume: 0020 Page: 00117 Item: 002.
21 Mark James, "First Families of Orangeburgh District, South Carolina, Ott", https://ogsgs.org/ffam/.
22 Joop Giesendanner, "The Book of Record, Orangeburgh, SC, Marriages 1750 - 1768". https://sail.home.xs4all.nl/orange/002mar.html.
23 Joop Giesendanner, "The Book of Record, Orangeburgh, SC, Baptisms 1750 - 1761", https://sail.home.xs4all.nl/orange/002bapt.html.
24 Joop Giesendanner, "The Book of Record, Orangeburgh, SC, Baptisms 1750 - 1761", https://sail.home.xs4all.nl/orange/002bapt.html.
25 Joop Giesendanner, "The Book of Record, Orangeburgh, SC, Baptisms 1750 - 1761", https://sail.home.xs4all.nl/orange/002bapt.html.
26 Joop Giesendanner, "The Book of Record, Orangeburgh, SC, Baptisms 1750 - 1761", https://sail.home.xs4all.nl/orange/002bapt.html.
27 Mark James, "First Families of Orangeburgh District, South Carolina, Ott", https://ogsgs.org/ffam/.
28 Mark James, "First Families of Orangeburgh District, South Carolina, Ott", https://ogsgs.org/ffam/.
James, "The Nine Jacob Otts of Orangeburgh, South Carolina", http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~tmark/OttJacobs.html.
29 Joop Giesendanner, "The Book of Record, Orangeburgh, SC, Baptisms 1739 - 1749", https://sail.home.xs4all.nl/orange/002bapt.html.
30 Georgie I.A. Lefvendahl, Some of the Inabnit,Inabnet,and Inabinett Families of Colleton, Charleston and Lower Orangeburg Districts and Counties, Privately published by the Author, 1970, pg 9
31 Brent Holcomb, Petitions for Land from the South Carolina Council Journals, Volume VI: 1766-1770, p. 157.
32 SC Archives, Colonial Plats, John Stalley, Series: S213184 Volume: 0010 Page: 00203 Item: 03.
33 SC Archives, Colonial Grants, Staley, John, Series: S213019 Volume: 0017 Page: 00013.
34 Murtie June Clark, Loyalists in the Southern Campaign, Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, MD, 2003, p.201.
35 SC Archives, Accounts Audited, John Staley, Series: S108092 Reel: 0139 Frame: 00483.
36 Orangeburgh German-Swiss Newsletter, Vol. 1, No. 20, p.98.
37 Gene Jeffries, "Old Family Files (Funchess, Stehley)", 1998.
38 US Federal Census, Year: 1850; Census Place: Between Santee and Edisto North of Belville Road, Orangeburg, South Carolina; Roll: 857; Page: 297b.
39 Charleston Co. Register of Mense Conveyance,Deed Book B9:255.
40 Joop Giesendanner, "The Book of Record, Orangeburgh, SC, Marriages 1750 - 1768". https://sail.home.xs4all.nl/orange/002mar.html.
41 www.achivesindex.sc.gov, Stakley, Elizabeth, S213184 Volume: 0004 Page: 00149 Item: 02.
42 Joop Giesendanner, "The Book of Record, Orangeburgh, SC, Baptisms 1750 - 1761", https://sail.home.xs4all.nl/orange/002bapt.html.
43 Joop Giesendanner, "The Book of Record, Orangeburgh, SC, Baptisms 1750 - 1761", https://sail.home.xs4all.nl/orange/002bapt.html.
44 Joop Giesendanner, "The Book of Record, Orangeburgh, SC, Marriages 1750 - 1768". https://sail.home.xs4all.nl/orange/002mar.html.
45 The South Carolina Gazette, July 19, 1735 and July 26, 1735.
46 SWISS SURNAMES Prior to 1862, Picton Press, Rockport, ME, 2003.