South Carolina, German, Slave and Cherokee connections.
US History
South Carolina is key to where the White Speiginer's started. Richland County is south-southwest of Charlotte, and 97 miles southeast of Greenville. Northwest Richland County is historically white with the majority of the ancestors coming in or after 1753.
One of the starting points I researched yielded the following: John George Speigner, arrived on the ship "Elizabeth" at the Port of Charles Town, South Carolina, in January 1753, with his wife Mary and their six children from Austria. This particular Speigner was Anabaptist Christians or what is called Mennonite. Ship's record shows "Johann George Speigner". This reflects the name changes before, during and after the voyages.
They requested a land grant from King George II of England and the "official" Land Grant was dated: July 4, 1754. The name on the map of the original grant from King George II was John George Spaigner.
Calhoun County and Lexington County were mostly inhabited by German Lutherans. To increase the population, a bounty system was used 1751-1758. This system resulted in a duty tax on "imported African slaves" where that money was used to pay a bounty to the white Protestants that would move into the area. All of this occurred at the same time as the 1757 "Treaty of Saluda" where the Cherokee gave up their rich land in agreement with "New County Redistricting" and to become under US Government control....
The City of Spigener
The city of Spigener is located in Saluda County, SC and was first just German family Speigners. There is a reason why so many Spigener's are found in AL. Spigener SC's sister city is Speigner, Elmore County, AL. Some spell the name "Speigner".
South Carolina is key to where the White Speiginer's started. Richland County is south-southwest of Charlotte, and 97 miles southeast of Greenville. Northwest Richland County is historically white with the majority of the ancestors coming in or after 1753.
One of the starting points I researched yielded the following: John George Speigner, arrived on the ship "Elizabeth" at the Port of Charles Town, South Carolina, in January 1753, with his wife Mary and their six children from Austria. This particular Speigner was Anabaptist Christians or what is called Mennonite. Ship's record shows "Johann George Speigner". This reflects the name changes before, during and after the voyages.
They requested a land grant from King George II of England and the "official" Land Grant was dated: July 4, 1754. The name on the map of the original grant from King George II was John George Spaigner.
Calhoun County and Lexington County were mostly inhabited by German Lutherans. To increase the population, a bounty system was used 1751-1758. This system resulted in a duty tax on "imported African slaves" where that money was used to pay a bounty to the white Protestants that would move into the area. All of this occurred at the same time as the 1757 "Treaty of Saluda" where the Cherokee gave up their rich land in agreement with "New County Redistricting" and to become under US Government control....
The City of Spigener
The city of Spigener is located in Saluda County, SC and was first just German family Speigners. There is a reason why so many Spigener's are found in AL. Spigener SC's sister city is Speigner, Elmore County, AL. Some spell the name "Speigner".
Over the years, some extensive research has been performed on family Names & Crests. Click below to view a summary of the results.