I am searching for the birthplace of Georg Christoph Kohnlen or his brother Georg Stefan Kohnlen.
Christoph was born about 1723 and immigrated to South Carolina in 1752. He sailed from Rotterdam aboard the ship "Elizabeth" with his wife (her name is unknown) and two sons: Hans Mathias, born about 1743, and Hans Georg, born about 1745. They disembarked in Charleston, South Carolina in late January or February 1753.
Using the knowledge that many immigrants from Württemberg traveled in groups from the same area, I am looking at the known towns of other passengers on the "Elizabeth". Fritz Ziegler came from Steinheim am Albuch. Thomas Gickeleuthner came from Söhnsetten. Having these two towns as a point of reference, I used familysearch.org and auswanderer-bw.de to search for my surnames in the vicinity. I found the surname in several nearby towns during the 18th century: Kinlen in Dischingen, Kohnlen/Kohnlens in Geislingen, Kohnlen in Stubersheim, Kohnlen in Schalkstetten.
This leads me to believe I may be looking in the proper area for the ancestral village of my paternal male line. I would appreciate any assistance that can be provided to locate the correct town.
Thanks,
Keith Carnley
United States of America
