Note: To view the Adobe Acrobat files, you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. This can be downloaded free from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Fogleman Translation  (Adobe Acrobat document. 49.3 KB. 15 Jan 2004)

Möckmühl - Bild Einer Stadt Translation  (Adobe Acrobat document. 201.KB 07 Jul 2004)

Carl Sebastian Kayser - Ancestor Pedigree Charts & Family Group Sheets NEW  (Adobe Acrobat documents) NEW

I received the map of the Möckmühl area from Mr. Wollmershaeuser yesterday. It is too big to send the whole area surronding Möckmühl, so I cropped the image to just include the area of Möckmühl. The image is in 600 dpi so you can zoom in on the map and not lose anything.

The main river that makes a horse shoe past Möckmühl is the Jagst and the river that empties into the Jagst at Möckmühl on the left is the Seckach

Mark

01 December 2003 (correction 08 Dec 2003)

I just received a book I ordered from Mr. Wollmershäuser, "Möckmühl, Das Bild ener Stadt". It's an overall history book, 372 pages with pictures and data.  I'm attaching a picture from the book, a picture of the town drawn in 1643.  You may have to resize it to fit your page when you print it out. If you have problems, let me know and I'll resize it and save it and send it again.

Kilian Kaiser (Kayser), Carl's great-grandfather, is mentioned 5 times in the book. I'm assuming its the same person, he's in the right time frame in the book. I'm going to have those references in the book interpreted for me and I'll forward what I find out to you all.
1. Carl Kayser
2. Andreas Kayser
3. Johan Caspar Kayser
4. Kilian Kayser
 

Mark

1.  Artty E. Hardymon         $55
2.  Bill O. Kiser                    $50
3.  Jack H. Keyser               $50
4.  Ron Kiser                        $50
5.  Chris Cockey                  $50
6.  Owen Kiser                     $50
7.  Anne E. Broaddus           $50
8.  Mark Kiser                     $50
9. Julie Voyles                     $50
10. Larry Price                     $50
11. Phillip Jones                   $50
12.  Randy Crouse, Huntsville, AL $50
13.  Shandra Oliver, Aurora, CO $50
14.  Steve Staruch, Somerset, NJ $50
 

Mark Kiser

Subj:Fwd: Emigrant Carl Kayser
Date:7/29/2002 1:37:46 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From:MRKiser

I received this e-mail from Mr. Wollmershäuser this morning. I would like to propose that we post his proposal on our Kiser website and have a sign up list available for those who would be willing to chip in on the cost of having Mr. Wollmershäuser continue the research in Germany for the origin of our Carl Kayser. I would suggest that we divide the $600 evenly among those who sign up. If we don't get enough to sign up to bring the cost down considerably per person, then we will not follow through with it.  Look forward to hearing from you guys.

Mark Kiser

Oberdischingen, 29th July 2002

Dear Mr. Kiser,

Thank you for your fax of 16th July 2002.

It was never mentioned before that Carl Kayser has been a butcher. When knowing this, I went through my index of the 1734/1744 Württemberg census and found a clan of butchers by the name Kaiser in the Schorndorf area, but no Carl or Sebastian among them. This does not exclude him from being a member of this clan, as he may not have been of age at the time when the census was taken or may have been abroad at that time.

The only other hint is the uncertain notation that Carl was married to Elisabeth Groseclose. If this name is identical with Grossklauss, we might limit the origins to a small area in southern Baden.

I am usually accepting such orders at a fee based upon success. There will be no fee if I am unable to find the origin of the wanted man, and the fee in case of success ranges between Euro 300 and Euro 600 (the same amount in US$ at this time). As the Carl Kayser case is very hard to solve, I am offering to continue research if you guarantee a fee of Euro 600 in case I can find his place of origin and prove that the man is the same as the emigrant.

Please think about this offer and let me know about your decision.

Sincerely yours, Friedrich R. Wollmershäuser

Subj: Carl Kayser Research
Date: 6/17/2003 8:03:18 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From: MRKiser
To: JVoyles105, etalbott@grundynet.net, johnparrot@cox.net, randy165@webtv.net, okiser@yesconnect.net, res04wat@gte.net, hchancey@fmtc.net, Bill.CTR.Kiser@faa.gov, ron92647@insightbb.com, dawelsh@ivyplanet.com, ofreedom47@comcast.net, motherof42@mchsi.com, hkiser@mindspring.com, arteree@zoominternet.net

Hello to all!

I received a e-mail from Ron Kiser today.  He had been in contact with our researcher in Germany, Friedrich R. Wollmershäuser, and Mr. Wollmershäuser responded back to him with the following:

-----Original Message-----
From:     wollgen@t-online.de [mailto:wollgen@t-online.de]
Sent:    Sunday, June 15, 2003 4:07 AM
To:    Ron
Subject:    Re: Karl Keyser

Oberdischingen, 14th June 2003
Dear Mr. Kiser,

It is hard to believe, but I have really found the origin of Carl Kayser.
Carl Sebastian was born on 16 Jan. 1726, a son of Andreas Keyser (Kayser),
butcher, and his wife Catharina.
The identity is proven by the following facts:
1.    The combination of Carl and Sebastian as first names was rare and is
therefore significant.
2.    The father was a butcher.
3.    Carl named one of his sons Andreas after his father.
4.    Carl Sebastian did not die as a child in his home town.
5.    Another man, close to Carl Kayser in the passenger list, came from the
same town.

My initial report will consist of 6 abstracts from the local parish
registers, showing the birth of Carl Sebastian, several entries about his
father, and one about the other emigrant.
The agreed fee of 600 Euro is currently $702 (the Euro has gained about 25
per cent within a year, so it is somewhat more expensive for you than
originally quoted). I will forward the documents as soon as your check is
here, and a map with the town somewhat later as a printed matter.
The parish registers of this town go back beyond 1600, and there are Kaysers
in the early 1600s, presumably ancestors of Carl Sebastian. Further research
will show how far back one can get.
This is all for the moment. I am now looking forward to your response.
Sincerely yours, Friedrich R. Wollmershäuser"

To date, we have 14 people who have agreed to contribute to this research.  That brings the price per person right at $50.00.  If you are still comfortable with this, you may send me the money, and once I have all the money in I will deposit it into my account and write out a check to Mr. Wollmershäuser.  As soon as I receive the reports from him, I will make copies for all those who contributed and mail them immediately.

For some reference on Mr. Wollmershäuser, here is a link to some articles he's produced HGS: 18th-Century Emigrants from Germany.  Once at this website, if you go to the Home site, you will notice it is hosted by a Gary T. Horlacher.  I contacted Gary sometime ago and informed him of Mr. Wollmershäuser conducting research for us and he stated that Mr. Wollmerhäuser was a good friend of his and that he would do a good job for us. Friedrich R. Wollmershaeuser: Genealogical Research in Southwest Germany (Baden  This is a link to his website.  Here's another site titled, "German and American Sources for German Emigration to America" by Michael P. Palmer in which Mr. Wollmershäuser is mentioned: www.genealogienetz.de/misc/emig/emigrati.html.

One contributor suggest that maybe we ask Mr. Wollmershäuser for a partial report to verify the content.  Let me know how everyone feels and I'll go with the majority.

Look forward to hearing from everyone.

Mark R. Kiser
St. Albans, WV
 

Subj: Reply from Mr. Horlacher
Date: 6/17/2003 8:05:36 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From: MRKiser
To: JVoyles105, etalbott@grundynet.net, johnparrot@cox.net, randy165@webtv.net, okiser@yesconnect.net, res04wat@gte.net, hchancey@fmtc.net, Bill.CTR.Kiser@faa.gov, ron92647@insightbb.com, dawelsh@ivyplanet.com, ofreedom47@comcast.net, motherof42@mchsi.com, hkiser@mindspring.com, arteree@zoominternet.net

I asked Gary T. Horlacher to comment on Mr. Wollmershäuser and here is his response:

Mark,
I have met Friedrich Wollmershauser a few times both here in Salt Lake City
and in Germany. I know he has been asked to give several lectures for
credible genealogical organizations. I know he specializes in 18th Century
German origins and knows a great deal about finding original sources in
German archives, especially in sources that are not easily available to US
German researchers (i.e. sources other than church books). I am quite
certain that he knows what he is talking about in German research and is
well known not only among US but also German researchers.

As far as his personal client reports and business practices, I have not had
as much knowledge. Each genealogist has their own style for presenting their
findings. If you want to send me a copy of his correspondence (research
reports) and the information he had to begin with, I would be happy to give
you an independent appraisal of whether I concur with his conclusions about
the hometown of this family. I have also done extensive research on 18th
century German emigrants and should be able to fairly easily see how he drew
his conclusions and tell whether I agree. It is usually a fairly straight
forward logic that is used in these matters. If you want to do that, I would
be happy to take a look. I can't say anything specific about this particular
research project without all the details, but I can assure you that
Friedrich Wollmershäuser is not an amatur in these matters. I hope this
helps.

Best wishes,
Gary Horlacher

Subj: My Address
Date: 6/18/2003 8:36:08 AM Eastern Daylight Time
From: MRKiser
To: JVoyles105, etalbott@grundynet.net, johnparrot@cox.net, randy165@webtv.net, okiser@yesconnect.net, res04wat@gte.net, hchancey@fmtc.net, Bill.CTR.Kiser@faa.gov, ron92647@insightbb.com, awelsh@ivyplanet.com, ofreedom47@comcast.net, Dmelarag1, motherof42@mchsi.com, hkiser@mindspring.com, arteree@zoominternet.net, cscockey@comcast.net
 

Sorry, I forgot to let you know where to send the money.

Mark R. Kiser
38 Pinewood Circle
St. Albans, WV  25177

Phone: 304-722-9264

Just a note that todate, I've received money from the following:

1. Artty E. Hardymon, Greenup, KY
2. Bill Kiser, Arlington, VA
3. Jack Keyser, Pomona, CA

I propose that we post on our website, the contributors to this project. Once I receive the amount to cover the $702, including my part, I'll let everyone know.

I've received a couple of emails with questions regarding the Carl Kayser research todate, so sometime this week I'll work on a paper that will bring everyone up to speed.

Thanks everyone!

Mark R. Kiser

     In July of 2002, a group of Charles Keyser, Sr. researchers contributed to hiring a German researcher, Mr. Friedrich R. Wollmershäuser, who specializes in genealogical research in Southwest Germany, to find the origin of our immigrant ancestor.  This June, Mr. Wollmershäuser contacted us with the news that he was successful in this endeavor.

     A few of our contributors were curious about some of the recent findings on Carl so I thought I would take this opportunity to bring everyone up to speed and analyze the research up to date.

    We begin with some of the earliest research on our Keyser/Kiser family from the book, “Mead Relations” compiled by A.M. Prichard in 1933.  Isaac C. Dovel, a great grandson of Charles Keyser, Sr., compiled some records of the family in 1876.  Most are aware of his record, so I’ll just layout the facts as he knew them:
1. Charles Keyser, Sr. was born in Germany in the year 1702.
2. He was a butcher by trade.
3. Married a lady in Philadelphia by the name of Shelly.
4. He died in 1774 at the age of 72.

More was copied from his notes:
5. He was a native of Wurttemberg, near Stuttgart, Germany.
6. His wife was Elizabeth Grossgloss, also a native of Germany.
7. Immigrated to America in 1751 or 1752.
8. He was a soldier in Braddock’s campaign in 1755.

     The source of his information is not stated, but Prichard speculates that it most likely came from the descendants of Charles Keyser, Jr., who, as eldest son, inherited the paternal homestead and possibly the two “Large Dutch Bibles” mentioned in his father’s inventory.  Prichard states that these Bibles may have gone to Ohio with the sons of Charles Keyser, Jr.

     Pritchard then refers to a book published in 1889 by a Charles S. Keyser, a Philadelphia lawyer, titled “The Keyser Family”.  On page 153 it states, “Johannes Keyser married Barbara Funk (circa 1744)” and had a son: “Charles, m. _________Shelly, Philadelphia, moved from Germ. To Page Co., Va., prior to the Revolution.”  The records of St. Michael’s and Zion churches in Philadelphia, Pa., record the marriage on 20 April 1747.  We know that our Charles Keyser Jr., was born in 1752 according to his tombstone inscription.  Our Charles Keyser Sr. therefore could not be a son of this Johannes & Barbara Keyser.

     In 1892, Adam Strickler, a step-grandson of Charles Keyser, Sr., wrote a letter to Ephraim Keyser, a great-grandson of Charles Keyser, Sr. Here are the facts he presents as he knew them:
1. Charles Keyser Sr. came to America from Germany as a hired soldier in the service of Great Britain to fight against the French and Indians.
2. He was a butcher in Braddock’s army.
3. He married a Miss Shelly, in Philadelphia, Pa.
4. Settled in the Shenandoah Valley on Mill Creek.
5. Andrew, son of Charles Keyser Sr., was born in 1758
6. Charles Keyser Sr., bought property near the mouth of Hawksbill.
7. The house was built in about the year 1765.
8. Could not give account of age at death, but was an old man and died in about 1777.
9. List children as: Charles, Andrew, John, David, Joseph, Anna Koontz, Mary Kelley, Mrs. Austin and Kate.
10. Charles Keyser Sr. was buried in the old Keyser graveyard.

     Pritchard quotes from Kercheval’s, “History of the Valley” 4th Ed., page 37 which relates an incident in which Major Andrew Keyser informed the author that an Indian once visited his father’s home in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

     He then gives the only doubt he has in Adam Strickler’s letter, that being Charles Keyser, Sr. came to America “as a hired soldier in the service of Great Britain to fight against the French and Indians”.  He points out that the war began in 1754. There is no record of any hired soldiers being imported for the service of Braddock’s campaign in 1755.  He does not however, impeach the idea or family tradition that he served with Braddock in some capacity.  As is noted on our website, I believe Charles could have served as a waggoneer/butcher for the army.  In Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography, he is asked by Gen. Edward Braddock to secure him more wagons to haul supplies for the armies march to Ft. Duquesne. One of the places he solicits from is Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  It is very plausible that Charles volunteered his service in this way.

     He also makes known that Charles Keyser, Jr. was born in 1752 and assumes that Charles Keyser, Sr. would have married some three or four years before the French and Indian War began.  I believe the marriage to have taken place sometime in 1751 in Lancaster County and I’ll explain more on this later.

     A record is then shown that a deed recorded in Frederick County, Virginia on 6 April 1765, deed book No. 10, page 248, Lewis Rhinehart and Mathias Rhinehart of Frederick County, Va., conveyed unto Charles Keyser, of the same place, a parcel of land on the South Fork of the Shenandoah.  This deed is transcribed on our website.

     Judge E. J. Sutherland submitted a record to Pritchard of the appraisement of Charles Keyser, Sr. estate dated 28 May 1778 in Shenandoah County, Virginia. It is stated that there were 10 children.

     The book goes on and deals with the family of each child.  Being that we’re focusing on Charles Keyser, Sr., I see no need to elaborate any further on the children.  For those interested in this, they can visit our website.

     Back in March of 2002, I visited the Palatines to America library in Columbus, Ohio. One source I checked was, “The Earliest Records of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity, Lancaster, Pennsylvania Vol. 2” translated by Frederick S. Weiser. It had the following two interesting entries on page 347-349 & 370:
 1. “From January 1, 1750 on, the following announced themselves for Holy    Communion: #55 Carl Sebastian Kayser, recently arrived. Servant of    Jacob Eichholtz.”
 2. “Those who have announced themselves to go to Holy Communion on    Estomihi Sunday, February 17, 1751: # 21 Carl Sebastian Kayser, with    Jacob Eicholtz.”

     Those were the only two entries for Carl.  Jacob Eichholtz was mentioned several times, birth of children and his death on 25 July 1760.  One interesting note on the above information is the “recently arrived” statement recorded in January 1750.  Our Carl arrived in September 1749, not quite 4 months before this entry.

     Further researcher on Jacob Eichholtz revealed that he was born Johan Jacob Eichholtz on 26 March 1712 in Bischoffsheim, Germany, as recorded on his tombstone. He arrived at the port of Philadelphia on 30 August 1737 aboard the ship “Samuel”. He soon purchased land in the Lancaster Township of Lancaster Co., Pa., on 14 January 1740. He became an innkeeper and butcher in Lancaster.  The minutes of the Lancaster Boro Corp. under entry of 15 Oct 1757, included his name in the list of eleven butchers who held stalls in the public market at that time.  He held stall #3 for which he paid rent of one pound seven shillings per year.  This is interesting information for us due to the fact that Carl is reported to have been a butcher as well.  Although Carl’s name is not mentioned in the eleven, he possibly was still serving under Jacob Eichholtz.

     It is here that I believe Carl married Mary Shelly about 1751.  He was at this time, a servant of Jacob Eichholtz, living in the Lancaster Township and Mary’s family, Christian and Magdalen Shelly were living in the Manheim Township of Lancaster County as well.  We know that Carl and Mary’s first child, Charles Jr., was born in 1752 as recorded on his tombstone.

     One question arises, how long was Carl a servant of Jacob’s?  I haven’t researched the usual servitude time, so this could be followed up on.

     The next records found concerning this family, are the Christian Shelly to Jacob Shelly Deed, Deed Book FF, Volume 2, page 164-168, Lancaster Co., Pa., dated 15 May 1759 in which Christian and Magdalen convey 78 acres to their oldest son Jacob.

     The next record is the Will of Christian Shelly dated 22 April 1760, Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania.  In it he mentions his wife Magdalen, children: Jacob; Catharina (and son-in-law John Gingry); Mary; Anna; Margret; Elizabeth; Ester; Frena; Susanna; and Christian.  Then on 6 June 1761 we have the most interesting deed of Charles Kyser to Elizabeth Shelly.  Here it states that Charles Cayser and Mary his wife, late Mary Schelly, Margaret Haldiman, widow, late wife of John Haldiman deceased and formerly Margaret Shelly, Samuel Huber and Esther his wife, late Esther Shelly, John Reisar and Catharine his wife, late Catharine Schelly and Susanna Shelly all of the County of Lancaster inherited the 78 acres of Jacob Shelly because he had died intestate and unmarried.  They in turn sold their parts to Elizabeth Shelly.  Charles signed the deed “Carl Kayser” and I compared the signature to the ship passenger list and they are strikingly similar.  These deeds can be found on our Kayser/Keyser/Kiser website.

     We know as far as the timeline goes, by 1765 Charles is in Frederick County, Virginia and he dies in 1778 on the same property that later became Page County, Virginia.

Information From Germany

     The new information from the German researcher, Friedrich R. Wollmershäuser reveals that our Carl Sebastian Kayser was born 16 January 1726 around 1 o’clock AM in Möckmühl, the son of Andreas and Catharina Kayser.  Möckmühl is about 13 miles north of the town of Heilbronn and about 38 miles north of Stuttgart in Württemberg.  It is noted in his birth record that Andreas was a butcher.

     Andreas first marriage occurred 27 May 1710 in Möckmühl to Catharina Schreibeisen, daughter of the late Sir Johann Jacob Schreibeisen, formerly a member of the municipal law-court and shoemaker in Möckmühl.  Andreas is listed as a butcher and a son of Johann Caspar Kayser, also a butcher in Möckmühl.

     Catharina Elizabetha, 1st wife of Andreas, died on 3 March 1721 in Möckmühl, aged 34 years, 1 month and 14 days.  This would make her birth in February 1687.

     The second marriage of Andreas occurred 21 April 1721 in Möckmühl, to Anna Catharina Ruffnacher, daughter of the late Johannes Ruffnacher, a farmer in Brettach. This would be the mother of our Carl.  Catharina died on 24 August 1755 in Möckmühl at the age of 58 years, 4 months and 1 day.  If my calculations are correct, this would make her birth on 23 April 1697.

     The other bit of interesting information from Mr. Wollmershäuser is the marriage record of Heinrich Magasch.  He was right next to our Carl on the ship passenger list.  He states that Johann Heinrich Magatsch, born in Okarben, a village in the dominion of Burg Friedberg, a son of the late soldier Johann Jacob Magatsch, married Maria Barbara Kayser, daughter of Sir Johann Conrad Kayser, member of the municipal council and butcher in Möckmühl, on 16 August 1712 in Möckmühl.  There is no doubt that Maria was a cousin to our Carl.

     With this new information we know that Carl was 23 years old when he landed at Philadelphia in September of 1749.  This makes more sense then the previous thought of him being 47, starting a new family, and performing all the other activities previously mentioned.  We also now know that his family was butchers and this helps confirm the tradition that Carl was a butcher.  He was 52 years old at his death in 1778, still an old man for his time.  In 1774, the average lifespan was 35!

     It is also interesting to note the names of Charles and Mary’s children: Charles, John, Andrew, Joseph, David, Michael, Anna, Mary, Esther, and Kate.  Andrew was obviously named after his grandfather; Anna could have been named after Charles’s mother or after Mary’s sister; Mary after her mother; Esther after Mary’s sister; and Kate could have been after Charles’s mother or Mary’s sister.

     What about Elizabeth Grossclose?  That remains a mystery.  According to Clark Groseclose (www.groseclose.com), the first of that name to arrive in the colonies was Johan Peter Grossclose.  He immigrated to Philadelphia on board the ship Royal Union on 15 August 1750.  Peter originally settled in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and married Mary Magdalena Ott.  Her family had immigrated from Switzerland in 1743.  Peter and Mary had seven children, all born in Lancaster County: Peter Jr. (1757-1805); Adam (1759-1804); Margaret (1760-1838); Elizabeth (1763-after 1803); Jacob (1765-1833); Barbara (1767-before 1803); and Henry (1771-1836).  After the Revolutionary War, they all moved to Southwest Virginia, settling in what is now Bland County.  This Elizabeth was born much too late to be the wife of our Charles.  At this point, I’m not sure how her name came to be in the notes of Isaac C. Dovel.  But, I believe he did get it right with his wife’s maiden name being Shelly.

     I hope that this helps out those who were a little foggy about the recent findings. I feel we have made the right connections, but please realize these are my opinions.  I know there will be some who may disagree.  I hope that more research in the Lancaster County area may reveal more in the future.  For one, Christian Shelly was a Mennonite according to some sources.  I have not confirmed this yet, but maybe searching some of the Mennonite records may reveal an entry for the marriage of Mary and Carl.  This may have been the reason Carl was only mentioned twice in the Trinity Lutheran church records.  Upon marrying Mary they may have begun attending with the Mennonites. Just a thought.  I know that Jacob Eichholtz was meeting with the Moravians first before he showed up in the Trinity Lutheran records.

     I hope the research continues to fill in some of the missing gaps.  We’ve come along way and I appreciate everyone’s involvement and contributions.  It really does take all of us to make these things happen.

Mark R. Kiser

Hello to all,

I sent an email to a genealogical society in Württemberg, trying to possibly locate a society actually in Möckmühl that may help us locate someone in the area that has already worked on our Kayser family. I gave them a brief outline of our tree starting with Carl Sebastian Kayser. I received a response from them today and here is what they sent:

1.    Kilian Kayser (not our direct line), butcher in Moeckmuehl from the year 1717 on, landlord (Innkeeper "Ochsen") from 1739 on, Gerichtsverwandter (judge) official citizenship from 6 August 1707 on; born Moeckmuehl 18 Oct 1682; died Moeckmuehl 5 February 1746, 63 years, 3 months, 16 days; married 1707 in Ernsbach to Anna Rosina Hammel.

He was the son of Hans Konrad Kayser, butcher and innkeeper of the "Lamm" (1707), and counsil 1708 to 1721 in Moeckmuehl; born Moeckmuehl 20 Oct 1654; died Moeckmuehl 8 December 1721, 67 years; married 1st Moeckmuehl on 30 January 1677 to Ursula Hornig; married 2nd in Widdern on 25 September 1708 to Anna Maria Metz (mother of Kilian above), born in Widdern on 6 June 1683 and died in Moeckmuehl on 28 December 1738, 55 years, 7 months.
 

My notes:
Hans Konrad Kayser is at the same age to possibly be a brother to our Johan Caspar Kayser, born 19 December 1658, son of Kilian Kayser born 15 September 1626. Larry Price may be able to shed some light on this from his research at the Mormon Research Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. Larry, can you check your research and see if you have anything on this Hans Konrad Kayser?

Later,

Mark

   Patrick Visser - Apr 30, 2004
    Patrick Here's the basic outline of latest findings:

1.   Hans Kayser, born late 1500's
2.   Hans Kayser
3.   Kilian Kayser, born 15 Sept 1626
4.   Johan Caspar Kayser, born 19 Dec 1658
5.   Andreas Kayser, born 18 Dec 1686
6.   Carl Sebastian Kayser (Charles Keyser), born 12 Jan 1726; died 1778 Shenandoah Co., VA (now Page Co., VA)

According to a book I have on Möckmühl, the village they were all from, there were 2 Keyser's that were first recorded on the 1545 census, no first names given. The 1496 listed no Keyser's/Kayser's. So, sometime between 1496 & 1545 they first settled in the village of Möckmühl, Württemberg, Germany. I have a suspicion that came from the south, possibly around Stuttgart.

I'm in the works of having some more of the book translated. A Dr. Eckard Rademann from the University of Cincinnati German Dept. has agreed to help me.   I've faxed over to the Table of Contents. Once I have that, I'll forward the information to everyone, and we'll decide what chapters we'd like translated. It will provide us more information on the culture and circumstances in which they lived.

Mark Kiser