EFFINGHAM COUNTY, GA - BIOS - Hans Ulrich Gyger (Geiger) (Gyger/Gieger/Giger/Geiger/Kega - other spellings) Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: "Gerald Gieger" Table of Contents page: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/effingham.htm Georgia Table of Contents: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm Hans Ulrich Gyger, (b1729Switz) the emigrant child of Abraham and Cathrina (Schellig) Gyger, arrived with his parents at Charles town, SC harbor on 1 Feb 1737. He achieved manhood in Saxe-Gotha, SC, and before October 1760, married an Apollonia (surname unproven). who bore him six children. Some have suggested that she and Anna Maria Magdalena Geiger named in an Effingham County Deed dated 25 May 1788 are one-and-the-same. In 1766, Ulrich made application for a Colonial GA Land Grant. On 2 June 1767, King George III (signed by Governor James A. Wright), granted 315 acres on the South-side of the Great Ogeechee River, beginning at the Flat Ford and proceeding up the river. This land is described in a Bulloch County deed made by his children/heirs and is dated 16 Jan 1815. His name is spelt “Ulric Kegar” in the original Grant, and Gieger/Geiger/Giger/Gigger in other records. This seems to be a result of the harsh guttural Switzerdeutsch sound that was not familiar to the deaf ear of Colonial British Scribes. Huxford’s PIONEERS OF THE WIREGRASS, Vol II, p115 asserts that Ulrich was a Revolutionary Soldier, and his death on 12 Jun 1777 as recorded in the Felix Geiger, Jr. Bible plus the family tradition that he died of ‘battle wounds’ seem to give credence to this claim. Attempts to locate Continental Army or Militia Rosters/records supporting his American Revolutionary War Service have not surfaced, however it is hoped that someone will come forward with this information. These areas were once part of colonial St. Phillip’s Parish, and some are inside Ft. Stewart Military Reservation, however no marker for Ulrich is known to exist in any of the 50+ Pioneer Cemeteries that have been located, and are maintained by the US Army.