Sometimes relatives of members inquire as to why they cannot simply send a copy of their birth certificates to prove who they are and join the Society.  The short answer is that all lineages have to be documented and that many present and past members were admitted without documentation, or without adding copies of documentation to their files.  While looking into a lineage for a potential member, I found a file which piqued my interest.  I re-examined the information in it and did a little research to see if anything new had turned up which would prove, or disprove, the lineage. The long answer to that question follows.

The lineage in question is in the files of two former members who joined the Society using Isaac LeGrand and Elizabeth Dieu as their ancestors.   The files show the lineage as going from them through their son Isaac LeGrand II and his wife Anne Françoise Bruneau (adopted by Jacques and Anne Françoise LeGrand) and then through their daughter Margaret who is shown as having married Adam Ulmer about 1766 in St. Bartholomew’s Parish, Colleton County, SC.  Adam Ulmer was noted as having been born c. 1750 and dying c. 1790.[1]

A 1749 deed recites the heirs of Isaac LeGrand II according to his will dated 23 Feb 1739/40 as his wife Anne Françoise LeGrand and their children Isaac, Anne and Margaret.  In 1746 his estate was divided between his three children, his wife having died.  When their daughter Margaret Legrand died intestate and without issue, her share descended to her brother Isaac LeGrand.[2]  This rules out Margaret LeGrand, granddaughter of the immigrant as the wife of Adam Ulmer.  

The question remains, of course, as to who Adam Ulmer’s wife was and why or how the name LeGrand occurs in the Ulmer family.  According to one family story, Heinrich von Ulm (Ulmer) married a Guerry whose brother was named LeGrand – the problem with this is that the story continues by stating that Heinrich Philip von Ulm (Ulmer) was born in Germany in the early 1700s and had to leave for religious and political reasons (no indication given as to what those reasons were and no documentation cited).  He went to England and from there to the Beaufort District.  His three sons, Philip, Henry and Adam were with him (no indication as to where they were born) and Adam’s wife “was said to have been Mary Ann Fletcher.”[3]  The will of Adam Ulmer of St. Bartholomew’s Parish gives his wife’s name as Ann and names his sons.  She could have been a second wife, of course, or could have been named Mary Ann or Margaret Ann.  (Some of the family stories simply gave Margaret LeGrand the middle name of Ann.)  The surname Ulmer was not found in the records of the French churches in London.

Another family story is that Philip Ulmer was the immigrant and that he was a “wealthy and influential German politician whose property was confiscated after he rebelled against the government.  He was recommended to Gov. Burr of South Carolina and he brought his family, his wife and three sons Philip, Jr., Peter and Adam, to South Carolina.”  One relatively minor problem with this is that there was no Gov. Burr of SC, although William Bull was Acting Governor times during the period from 1760 to 1775.[4]  How much of this is fact and how much is not will have to be researched.

Another piece of the puzzle, or something which may confuse the matter further, is the will of Susannah Winborn of Wadmalaw Island, January/15 Feb 1778 (written) / 23 Dec 1780 (proved).   In it, she makes a bequest to “my Grand Daughter Ann Ulmer.”[5]  Another line to look into to determine who Ann Ulmer, grand-daughter of Susannah Winborn was.

[1] Liste #86; SCHMag. #39: 78.  Moore - Wills I: 121.Ulmer wrote his will 7 Sept 1794 and it was proved 20 Apr 1799, so his death occurred between those dates. Wills IV: 414-5.

[2] Langley Deeds II: 222. Holcomb. SC Council Journals III:  254-5.  SCHM 39: 78.

[3] Cemeteries of Upper Colleton County, SC 368 – no documentation is given for this, but when he wrote his will Adam Ulmer identified his wife as Ann.  Moore-Wills IV: 414-5..

[4] SCI-way – list of SC Governors by date.

[5] CCPL Wills (Microfilm) Book 19: 64-5