Jacob Ott I was born 1725 in Switzerland and at the age of ten arrived in South Carolina with his parents. They lived in the Orangeburg District. Circa 1749 he signed a petition in support of Rev. John Geissendonner.[i]His name is in the records for the district in 1751[ii]and 1752[iii]when he witnessed marriages. He married Margaret Fichtner on 3 December 1754.[iv], [v]Margaret was “a daughter of Theodore Fichtner, who was surveyed 450 acres of land on Cow Castle Swamp, Orangeburgh, on 30 November 1752. This may have been the same man as ‘Theodosius Tichner’ who arrived in Charleston with a wife and seven children on the Cunliffe, in September 1752.”[vi]
Jacob made a home for himself and his wife.
Settled in a place called Cow Castle about 20 miles Southeast of Orangeburg Court House where he had obtained a very large body of land by grant from King Charles.[vii]
On 14 August 1755 their son, Jacob Ott II, was born. The baby was baptized on 21 December 1755. In 1758 a daughter was born to the couple. Due to the deterioration of the records the baby’s name is unreadable. We know Jacob remained in the area due to the records of other land owners whose land adjoined with his. For example, in April 1771 Lewis Golson purchased 400 acres of land which shared a boundary with the land of Jacob Ott. [viii]In 1780 Jacob Ott “Senior” was included on a special jury list in Orangeburg, South Carolina.[ix]
No death record has been discovered but it is generally assumed that Jacob died in 1786, when his son sold his land.
It is presumed that this Jacob inherited the 350 acres of land that Melchior obtained in 1735, because his son disposed of the same land in 1786.[x]
The final resting place of Jacob and Margaret is unknown.
[i]South Carolina Historical Society, Petitions of Citizens of Orangeburgh Township in Behalf of Rev. John Geissendonner, 1749; South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Vol. 14, Jan-Apr 1923; digital image, Genealogy Gophers (gengophers.com: accessed February 2019) 48-51.
[ii]Salley, Jr., Alexander S. The History of Orangeburg County South Carolina(Baltimore, MD: Regional Publishing Company, 1969) 113.
[iii]Salley, Jr., Alexander S. The History of Orangeburg County South Carolina(Baltimore, MD: Regional Publishing Company, 1969) 115.
[iv]Holcomb, Brent H. South Carolina Marriages; 1688 – 1799(Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983)189.
[v]Montgomery, C. W. North and South Carolina Marriage Records; From the Earliest Colonial Days to the Civil War(Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 2002).
[vi]James, T. Mark. The Nine Jacob Otts of Orangeburgh, South Carolina; digital image, Roots Web (freepages.rootsweb.com: accessed February 2019).
[vii]Ott, Leo E. Us Otts, The Search for our Family(Yuba City, CA, 1999).
[viii]South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Colonial Plat Books; Series S213184, Volume 16, Page 132, Item 1; digital image (scdah.sc.gov: accessed March 2019) Jacob Ott, 1771, Orangeburgh District.
[ix]U. S. Census Reconstructed Records, 1660 – 1820; digital image, Ancestry (ancestry.com: accessed February 2019) Jacob Ott Sr., Orangeburg Dist., SC.
[x]James, T. Mark. The Nine Jacob Otts of Orangeburgh, South Carolina; digital image, Roots Web (freepages.rootsweb.com: accessed February 2019).
1 Jacob Ott I b: 1725 in Switzerland, d: 1786
…… + Margaret Fichtner
…………2 Jacob Ott II b: 14 august 1755 in Orangeburg, South Carolina, d: 1816
………………3 Jacob Ott III b: 1774 in Orangeburg, South Carolina, d: 1836 in Mount Hermon, Washington, Louisiana
……………… + Margaret Jackson
……………… + Ott
Selected Sources:
- Holcomb, Brent H. South Carolina Marriages; 1688 – 1799. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1983
- Salley, Jr., Alexander S. The History of Orangeburgh County South Carolina. Baltimore, MD: Regional Publishing Company, 1969. FHL 975.779