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Who were the ancestors of Heinrich Furrer and Russena? To date, I have not
found a definitive primary source document that answers this question. Over
the years there has been much speculation.
In his book, History of the Widenhouse, Furr, Dry, Stallings, Teeter, and
Tucker Families (Greensboro, North Carolina: privately published, 1950),
Rev. William Thomas Albright writes about Heinrich Furrer's origins but does
not speculate on or identify Heinrich's ancestors. He writes:
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According to the best information I can obtain, Henry
Furr, who came from Germany
to America
about 1758, was the first or one of the first of the name to come to this
country. I believe he was the first, as all the Furrs I have found trace back
to him.
He was born in Germany
about the year 1717, married there, and landed at Charleston, South Carolina,
about 1758, after a tedious voyage of several years. Soon after with his
wife and infant son whose birth occurred during the voyage, he made his way
by wagon to Cabarrus County,
North Carolina, becoming one
of the earliest pioneers. The History of North Carolina Biography says he
secured a tract of land on Cold Water Creek, six miles southeast of the
present site of Concord,
where he spent the remainder of his life. But there is a family tradition
that the later years of his life were spent about a mile up Dutch Buffalo
Creek from Georgeville. Here he died and is buried in a family graveyard
near Dutch Buffalo Creek on the north side, close to the Teeter bridge.
This is only a few miles from Cold Water Creek, and is well authenticated
as his burial place. His grave is marked with a natural flat granite stone
about three feet long, on which has been scratched the date
"1777" or "1779." It is difficult to tell whether the
last figure is a seven or nine. I believe this is the date of his death,
and if it is, he lived to be only about sixty or sixty-two. I have no
information about his wife, whom he married in Germany.
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Subsequent
to the publication of this book, Rev. Albright and others continued
researching the origins of Heinrich Furrer. One of the documents they found
was the book, Lists of Swiss Emigrants in the Eighteenth Century to the
American Colonies, compiled and edited by Albert B. Faust and Gaius M.
Brumbaugh, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1968 (reprint of the
1920 edition). This book includes the following:
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No. 91. FROM THE PARISH WETZIKON THERE
LEFT FOR CAROLINA
IN MAY 1743
Heinrich Furrer, from
Stagen, who really belongs to the Gossau district, born November 13, 1691.
He has with him his wife Susan Baumann, born January 24, 1692 and the
following children:
Felix, April 1, 1720.
Hans Jacob, October 4, 1722.
Susanna, December 31, 1724.
Hans Felix, July 12, 1729.
Anna Maria, October 8, 1731.
Barbara, May 15, 1735.
A son Hans, born October 10, 1717, is in the Dutch service, the father
wrote to him from Rotterdam
that he should also make the journey with them, but he did not go.
No. 98. FROM THE PARISH ZELL, AGAINST ALL WARNINGS AND ADMONITIONS,
THERE LEFT FOR THE PURPOSE OF GOING TO PENNSYLVANIA,
CAROLINA,
ETC., THE FOLLOWING PERSONS:
August 29, 1734
Bernhardt Furer, September 19, 1697.
Babelj Zuppinger, August 8, 1697.
Children:
Heinrich, July 6, 1631 [sic].
Hans Rudolff, January 27, 1737.
May 13, 1743
Ulrich Furer, Ulrich Furrer's son, baptized on August 18, 1720.
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Based
on this information, Rev. Albright concludes the following in his second
book, Supplement to the History of the Widenhouse, Furr, Dry, Stallings,
Teeter, and Tucker Families (Greensboro, North Carolina: privately
published, 1956). Note: Rev. Albright wrote that Bernhardt Furer and his wife
left Switzerland
on August 29, 1743, but the source document for his information (Lists of
Swiss Emigrants in the Eighteenth Century to the American Colonies) shows
this date as August 29, 1734.
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There is no very definite hint or lead as to which one
(if either) of the above might be our Henry I. However, since these are the
only Furrers who are on record as coming into our country through
Charleston, and since by a wide-spread tradition two or three brothers came
over about the same time by way of Charleston, it would seem that the three
Furrers above (Heinrich, born Nov. 13, 1691; Ulrich, baptised Aug. 18,
1720; Bernhardt, born Sept. 19, 1697) were either three brothers, or two
brothers and a nephew. If they were all brothers, their father's name was
Ulrich but if Heinrich and Bernhardt were brothers and Ulrich a nephew,
Ulrich's father (Ulrich) was a brother to Heinrich and Bernhardt.
I believe that Heinrich Furrer, born Nov. 13, 1691, is our Henry I and the
ancestor of the Carolina Furr families. (At this time North and South Carolina were
together.) The tradition has it that sometimes two and sometimes three
brothers came over; and it is most likely that Heinrich, born November 13,
1691, and Bernhardt, born Sept. 19, 1697, were brothers, and that Ulrich,
baptized Aug. 18, 1720, was their nephew.
If this Henry, born Nov. 13, 1691, is our Henry, he would be nearly 78
years old in 1769 when he made his will, a good age for that day and for
doing the things he had done.
The other Henry (son of Bernhardt), born July 6, 1731, would be only 38
years old in 1769 when Henry's will was made; and since John and Paul both
seem to have been of age when the will was made, that would make this Henry
only about 15-16 years old when married. Therefore, it seems Henry, born
1691, is our Henry and the ancestor of the Carolina Furrs.
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After discussing Heinrich
Furrer's children, Rev. Albright continues to speculate:
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It will be noted that the family of six children and the
wife Susan Baumann are not the same as the family I have named above. My
theory is that the first wife died soon after they reached Carolina in
1743; and the children had either died or were of age and perhaps married
and left to settle elsewhere by the time Henry I reached Cabarrus County in
North Carolina in 1758 (according to tradition). The youngest child of the
first family (Barbara) would be 23 years old in 1758. In the meantime,
Henry Furr married the second wife (Russena), who was the mother of the
family I have named. I have no information on Russena except what he said
in his will when he named her as one of the executors as "my loving
wife Russena." This explanation fist in with the fact that the second
wife Russena seems to have been several years younger than Henry, as he
named her with Valentine Weaver as executors of his will in 1769. Also she
mothered Henry II in 1762; and I think there were one or two other children
after Henry II but I have no proof of this.
Carolina had been extensively advertised in Switzerland by a Mr. J. P. Purry, and the
emigrant "fever" had caused several hundred colonists to settle
about 28 miles north of Savannah,
Ga., in 1732. The settlement,
called Purrysburg, was found to be unhealthy and many of the colonists died
and others moved away; and the town was abandoned after some 5o or 60
years. Henry Furrer was not one of Purry's colonists; but since Purry sent
over about 600 Swiss colonists by 1739, no doubt Henry Furr knew of the
colony. My opinion is that Henry Furr lived at Purrysburg a while, during
which time his family got away from him as stated above. At the site of
Purryburg [sic], there is a large cemetery with many unmarked graves, some
of which could be Furr graves. It is possible that Henry Furr might have
lived a while in or near the German settlement of Orangeburg, S. C., before
going to North Carolina; or he might have been among those immigrants who
settled in the Congaree and Wateree area in South Carolina between 1740 and
1755.
The above is my conclusion after thorough study of all facts available up
to this time; but notice it is only a "conclusion" and could be
wrong.
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As
indicated in the last paragraph, Rev. Albright recognized that his conclusion
was not based on definitive, primary source material that would
"prove" his conclusion. As subsequent information will show, this
was a wise statement since some of the "facts" he relied on later
proved to be incorrect. Rev. Albright's conclusion was based primarily on the
age of the two Heinrich Furrers in question. According to a letter from the
Swiss Record Office of the County of
Zurich, dated December 23, 1987, to
Mary Ann Plumeri of Las Vegas,
Nevada, the Heinrich Furrer
born July 6, 1731 (according to Faust and Brumbaugh) was actually baptized on
July 6, 1727. The letter states that Faust and Brumbaugh's lists are
"very incorrect" and provides additional details concerning this
family (translated from the German).
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RECORD OFFICE OF THE COUNTY OF ZURICH
ZURICH, On December 23, 1987
Heinrich Furrer, allegedly baptized on July 6, 1731, descended from Oberlangenhard
(District Zell) in the County of Zurich. He emigrated in 1738 with is
parents and siblings to America.
The family Furrer is entered in the lists of Emigrants to America, which was set in 1744,
(compare Albert B. Faust, List of Swiss Emigrants in the Eighteenth Century
to the American Colonies, vol. I, Washington
DC 1920, p. 100). The edition
of these lists is unfortunately very incorrect. Heinrich Furrer was
actually baptized on July 6, 1727 and his father's name was Leonhard not
Bernhard! Since the family Furrer did not live in Switzerland since 1738,
information about the children of Heinrich Furrer is not available.
Furrer, Leonhard of Oberlangenhard-Zell
Zell 9/19/1697
(E: Hans Jakob Furrer, of 0., Zell 11/2/1687 Magdalena
Schickli of ?)
Barbara Zuppinger, of Oberlangenhard-Zell
Zell
8/8/1697
(E: Jakob Zuppinger, of 0., (vor 7/31/1692) Barbara Wettstein, of ?)
- Heinrich, Zell 7/6/1727
- Hans Konrad, Zell 12/26/1728, + Oberlangenhard 3/19/1729
- Anna, Zell 3/14/1730, + Zurich (Hospital) 11/21/1734
- Hans Rudolf, Zell 12/14/1732, + Oberlangenhard 3/19/1735
- Hans Rudolf, Zell 1/27/1737
Emigrated to America. Arrival on the ship Jamacia Galley in Philadelphia and sworn
in on 2/7/1739 (PGP I 252-253; Faust 100, with incorrect Information: Father
"Bernhard" instead of Leonhard; Year of Birth of Heinrich
"1731" instead of 1727).
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From the above it appears
only two of Leonhard Furrer's children (Heinrich and Hans Rudolf) lived for
very long (I assume the second date is the date of death). I'm not sure
exactly what some of this information means (e.g., the E: and the von 0.).
This letter also call into question Rev. Albright's speculation concerning
the relationship between the various Furrers who came to this country (e.g.,
brothers, nephews, etc.) which was based on "wide-spread tradition two
or three brothers came over about the same time by way of Charleston." As indicated this latter
family arrived via Philadelphia.
Rev. Albright and other
sources list the following other early Furrs and Furrers:
1. William Furr who lived in Northampton
County, Virginia,
in 1655.
2. Henry Furr who was transported to Virginia
in 1658.
3. Lenhart Furer who landed in Philadelphia
1738/1739.
4. Jacob Furrer who sailed September 17, 1750 on the brigantine, Sally, from
 London bound for Pennsylvania.
5. Christian Furrer who sailed November 3, 1750 on the ship, Brotherhood,
from Rotterdam with 300 passengers bound for Pennsylvania.
6. Henry Furrer who left Germany
around 1782 and had a wife named Rachel.
Other facts concerning our ancestor Heinrich Furrer (Henry Furr) are:
1. June 24, 1762 -- purchased 301 acres in Anson
County (later Mecklenburg,
now
Cabarrus) just south of the Rowan
County line.
2. September 22, 1763 -- took the Oath of Allegiance (was naturalized) in
Salisbury, Rowan
County, North Carolina.
3. September 27, 1769 -- prepared his will naming two sons (John and Paul).
4. Since only two of Heinrich Furrer's children (John and Paul) were named in
his will, it
is likely they were the only one "of age" at the time. Their dates
of
birth have
been given as between 1747 and 1754 by various genealogy
researchers.
As Rev. Albright clearly pointed out, identifying the ancestor of our
Heinrich Furrer is a matter of speculation not fact, given the limited
provable information available. Even the clarifying information that has come
to light since Rev. Albright wrote his books has not helped rule out either
of the prime candidates. The known facts about these individuals are
summarized below:
Heinrich Furrer
Born 11/13/1691
Came to America about 1743 (about age 52)
Had to lose entire first family
Between 56 and 63 years old when first child of second family was born
About age 77 when will was written
Heinrich Furrer
Born 7/6/1727
Came to America about 1738/9 (about age 11) via Philadelphia
Between 20 and 27 years old when first child was born
About age 42 when will was written
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