Stephen Ulrich was born circa 1700 at
Germ/Switz.
The Ulrich lines in American probably began with several immigrants from both Germany and Switzerland who came to Pennsylvania in the early 1700s. One such record is that of Johannes Ullerich and Christopher Ulrik who arrived at Philadelphia on 2 Oct. 1727 in the ship “Adventure”.
1 Liebegott
2 reports that Levi L. Ulrich said there is a tradition that four Ulrich brothers came from Germany in the early 18th century and settled in Pennsylvania. Elsewhere, he reports that Stephen Ulrich was born about 1700 in Germany, moved to Switzerland when quite young and came to America about 1725 to avoid military service. There were Ulrich land grants in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, as early as 1738. Stephen Ulrich, Jr., is mentioned in 1742. The earliest Ulrich estate in Lancaster County is that of John, in 1758.
3 Stephen “Ulderey”, of Baltimore County, Maryland, a native of “High Germany”, was naturalized on 4 June 1738 along with his children Stephen, George, Daniel, John, Elizabeth, and Susanna.
4 “On 4 June 1738 Stephen Ulderey, a native of High Germany and now of Baltimore County MD was issued a patent in common with his children Stephen Jr., George, Daniel, John, Elizabeth and Susanna.”
5 "When Stephen Ulderey naturalized in June 1738, naming his six children, 6 other close neighbors, all German from high Germany, all Planters, all associated with Digges Choice, naturalized that same day. There is a pattern to their declarations. None of them named a wife. None of them as near as we can tell named any children 21 years or older. All of them appear to name first their sons in birth order then their daugthers in birth order. All of the men appear to have been in this country for at least 7 years. (One actually arrived in September 1731 so was a couple of months shy and Adam Farnery definitely arrived as early as 1722 and so had been in this country at least 16 years.) It appears that children born in this country after 1731, if by a German wife, were also naturalized, although if the couple had remarried in York they were not named. All of this leads me to believe that Stephen[']s four sons, Stephen, Jr., George, Daniel and John were named in birth order and that the four sons were born between 1718 and 1734 based on corroborating data. Stephen, Jr. between 1718 and 1720. George between 1719 and 1721. Daniel between 1725 and 1731. And John, the youngest, was born between 1729 and 1733. John Hale Stutzman has clearly proved through tracing land records that this John is the same as the one who died in Franktown, Pa. in 1804. I have been able to prove definitely (again through land transactions) that the Daniel is the same as the one who died in 1781 and who first bought land from his brother Stephen Ulrich Sr. in 1754 in Frederick County. The Stephen Ulrich Sr. is the same as the one who died in Washington county (changed from Frederick) in 1784 and John Hale Stutzman has again proved that this is the son of Stephen Uldery of Adams Co., Pa (the immigrant that naturalized in 1738)."
6 Stephen Ulrick of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, was naturalized 5 April 1741.
7 John Hale Stutesman felt that Stephen needed to be naturalized again in Pennsylvania because some of his land had fallen into Pennsylvania when the colony boundaries were redefined.
8 Naturalization of foreign Protestants required a previous residence of seven years in the British Colonies in America.
9,10 John Hale Stutesman of San Francisco
11, as a result of his research on his ancestor Jacob Stutzman, has shown a long term connection between the Ulrich and Stutzman families and has supplied much data on the early Ulrich line. He feels that both families were members of the Little Conewago Dunker Congregation which was formed near Hanover, Pennsylvania, about 1738 and mentioned that Morgan Edwards wrote, in 1770, that the congregation had been formed by “... Eldrick ... Stutsman” and others. This could be Ulrich and Stutzman.
12 This Stephen Ulrich is described by Jay C. Bisgard as born in 1680 in Mannheim, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany, and died 1749 Hanover, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and as marrying Elizabeth Wagoner, born in Germany ca. 1688.
13 He does not present his evidence.
STEPHEN ULRICH, SR., is the first identified member of the Ulrich line to be traced here. He was born about 1700, or earlier, probably in Germany or Switzerland, and was in probably in America by 1731, but no immigration record has been found. He is connected to our line by the fact that, when his son Stephen received land warrants in 1742, Stephen, Sr., was mentioned as his father.
14 The following six children were naturalized with their father in 1738. He left a will. Jim DeFigh mentions this document, saying "When Stephen wrote his will in March 1778 he named Jacob Shively as one of his excutors." This is a document I have not seen.
6 ToDo: Follow up on the reference to the March 1788 will of Stephen Ulrich.