About us
It is believed that Henry Faust, a Swiss/German, was the immigrant ancestor of all Fausts originating in South Carolina. He arrived at Charles Town, SC on July 13, 1735 along with 250 other Swiss/Germans aboard the ship, "Samuel." A quote from South Carolina Gazette of July l9, l735, "On Sunday last arrived here Captain Hugh Percy in nine weeks from Rotterdam and six from Cowes, with 250 Switzers on board, who came to settle a township on the King's Land in this province." On July 26th, 220 "Switzers" (per newspaper account) headed up to their "promised land" in the Orangeburgh, SC area.
When the immigrant Johann Heinrich Faust came to Orangeburgh Township, he received a grant for 200 acres of land on September 17, 1736. This land was surveyed on 21 October 1735; Lot 49 + 200 acres. Normally, grants were 100 acres for husband and wife, and 50 acres for each additional member of the household. This has been interpreted as meaning there were four persons in the household at this time (perhaps sons Casper and Jacob). One source of research indicates that Henry did not marry wife, Anna Maria [Roth?] until about 1735 in South Carolina. While no proof has been found to either confirm or deny this, Henry could have been a widower upon arriving in America. He could have brought his children (perhaps the oldest three) with him (still meeting the qualification for his 1735 land grant), and the younger four children, Peter, Margaretha, Christian and Henry, may have been born in South Carolina to his new wife, Anna Maria.
There is no recorded connection between Caspar, Jacob, John, Peter and Margaretha (all thought to be possible children of Henry) and his documented children, Christian and Henry, born to Anna Maria. It is believed that John, Jacob and Peter were brothers (Jacob and Peter were proven brothers). However, these three could have been sons of either Henry or Caspar Faust. They all lived in the Orangeburg area prior to moving further north, and were also close neighbors in the Lexington/Saxe Gotha areas around Columbia. There really was only one documented Faust household in South Carolina available to them as parents--Henry and Anna Maria Faust. But perhaps the strongest supporting evidence of at least two of the four being sons was the 1736 land grant of 200 acres. As mentioned, this implied at least two children in addition to a wife. Documented sons, Christian and Henry were not yet born in 1736. Either Caspar, Jacob, John or Peter may have fit this scenario.
The objective of this DNA project is to try and sort out the various Faust lines as they expanded from their SC roots across the rest of the United States. Most is known about the Christian line which moved south into Barnwell and Bamberg Counties in SC. Much of Peter's family moved west into Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Descendants of John Faust went into Georgia and Alabama. It is safe to say that there are probably Fausts in all 50 states of the Union today. Let's see if we can't bring them back together!
For those of you interested in the way in which the surname is now distributed around the various countries of the world, here is a link to the FAUST surname distribution (this is not all that the site offers). For example, there are numerous tabs and hovering your mouse over the various countries will bring up more information http://forebears.io/surnames/faust#/%23resources
When the immigrant Johann Heinrich Faust came to Orangeburgh Township, he received a grant for 200 acres of land on September 17, 1736. This land was surveyed on 21 October 1735; Lot 49 + 200 acres. Normally, grants were 100 acres for husband and wife, and 50 acres for each additional member of the household. This has been interpreted as meaning there were four persons in the household at this time (perhaps sons Casper and Jacob). One source of research indicates that Henry did not marry wife, Anna Maria [Roth?] until about 1735 in South Carolina. While no proof has been found to either confirm or deny this, Henry could have been a widower upon arriving in America. He could have brought his children (perhaps the oldest three) with him (still meeting the qualification for his 1735 land grant), and the younger four children, Peter, Margaretha, Christian and Henry, may have been born in South Carolina to his new wife, Anna Maria.
There is no recorded connection between Caspar, Jacob, John, Peter and Margaretha (all thought to be possible children of Henry) and his documented children, Christian and Henry, born to Anna Maria. It is believed that John, Jacob and Peter were brothers (Jacob and Peter were proven brothers). However, these three could have been sons of either Henry or Caspar Faust. They all lived in the Orangeburg area prior to moving further north, and were also close neighbors in the Lexington/Saxe Gotha areas around Columbia. There really was only one documented Faust household in South Carolina available to them as parents--Henry and Anna Maria Faust. But perhaps the strongest supporting evidence of at least two of the four being sons was the 1736 land grant of 200 acres. As mentioned, this implied at least two children in addition to a wife. Documented sons, Christian and Henry were not yet born in 1736. Either Caspar, Jacob, John or Peter may have fit this scenario.
The objective of this DNA project is to try and sort out the various Faust lines as they expanded from their SC roots across the rest of the United States. Most is known about the Christian line which moved south into Barnwell and Bamberg Counties in SC. Much of Peter's family moved west into Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Descendants of John Faust went into Georgia and Alabama. It is safe to say that there are probably Fausts in all 50 states of the Union today. Let's see if we can't bring them back together!
For those of you interested in the way in which the surname is now distributed around the various countries of the world, here is a link to the FAUST surname distribution (this is not all that the site offers). For example, there are numerous tabs and hovering your mouse over the various countries will bring up more information http://forebears.io/surnames/faust#/%23resources