Kaigler family

King James IV of Scotland, a Stuart, inherited the British throne from Elizabeth I, a Tudor, in 1603. King James assumed the name James I and ruled England, Scotland and Ireland until his death in 1625. Charles I, the second son James inherited the throne in 1625. In 1629, Charles I claimed the American territory from latitude 360 N to latitude 310... N, a territory that stretched from Virginia to Daytona, Florida. Charles granted the territory to Sir Robert Heath. Heath failed to settle the territory, named Carolina after Charles I, and returned it to the crown. Like James, Charles I believed in the divine right of the monarchy and quarreled with Parliament until he was overthrown by the combined armies of the British and Scottish Parliaments and beheaded in 1649. England was ruled by Oliver Cromwell and Parliament from 1649 until 1660. The monarchy was restored in 1660 and Charles II succeeded his father as King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland. Charles II granted the Carolina Territory to eight noblemen known as the Lords Proprietors: the Earl of Clarendon, Duke of Albemarle, Lord Craven, Lord Berkeley, Lord Ashley, Sir George Carteret, William Berkeley and Sir John Colleton. The Carolina Territory was inhabited primarily by Native Americans including the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek and over 30 other tribes. The Lords Proprietors were unsuccessful in managing the territory and by 1719 the territory was returned to the control of the Crown. In 1729, South Carolina officially became a crown colony and the migration from Scotland and England began. European immigration was encouraged opening the area to settlement by the Germans and Swiss in the late 1730s through early 50s. In 1737, Herman Geiger and Conrad Kinsler, German/Swiss immigrants, were among the early settlers in the area around what would later become the Saxe-Gotha township. This was the frontier beyond which there were only Indians. Herman Geiger was a well-known Indian trader and acted as a go-between with the Indians and the Colonial ...Read More