Jon's grandfather was born and raised in southwestern Arkansas in Alleene, about 28 miles north of New Boston, Texas. Below is a link records of the Alleene Cemetery where many of my kinfolk are buried.

Alleene Cemetery

Below is a history of the Seastrunk name I found online:

Heinrich (Henry) Süsstrunk

• d. April 1762 - Orangeburg District, SC
• b. About 1714 - Humlicken, Canton Zurich, Switzerland
• m. Ursula Uly - About 1741 - Humlicken, Canton Zurich, Switzerland

• Children

  1. Hans Ulrich (John) - 1743
     Chose to spell name Seastrunk
  2. Henry II - 1744
     • d. after December 1784 -
     • b. ~1744 - Saxe-Gotha, Orangeburg District, SC
     • m. Anna Margaret ? -
  3. Elizabeth - 1747
     • d.
     • b. ~1747 - Saxe-Gotha, Orangeburg District, SC
     • m. Thomas Oliver - April 10, 1774
  4. Jasper (Gasper I) - 1749

Heinrich Süsstrunk 1744-1771

Heinrich Susstrunk, with his wife Ursula Uly, and their infant son came from Humlicken, Canton Zurich, in April 1744. Soon thereafter he was granted land on the Broad River opposite Saxe-Gotha, and 1748 finds Henry Seestrunk living with neighbors: Henry Filhard, Caspar Faust, and Felix Smith. Henry Filhard had been granted 300 acres in 1749 on the Congaree. Between 1763 and 1771 Jacob, Peter, Henry and Caspar Faust had been granted lands on Crain (Crane) Creek and Broad River.

Crane Creek very probably took its name from cranes found in the vicinity. John Lawson, who visited the neighborhood of Columbia in 1701, remarked on the number of cranes. On old plats the name appears 'crane', 'crain', and 'cane'.

In the Council Journal of May 30, 1748 is a resolution that an officer and 20 men be sent to erect a palisade fort at the Congarees with the aid of the inhabitants. It was completed May 21, 1749, and barracks were built. (See Green: History of Richland County). The settlement at the fort and surrounding region was called 'Congarees' until the Revolution. The Congaree District was renamed Saxe-Gotha in 1736. Pages 26 and 28 of Dr. Hazelhaus History of the American Lutheran Church states that the name originated in Queen Anne's time and that the early settlers came from the neighborhood of the Rhine, Baden, and Wurtemberg. The name Saxe-Gotha distinguished the future home for German immigrants. Urlesperger Reports, Vol. III, p. 1791 records:

"We have just received intelligence that such a township is laid out in South Carolina, 25 German miles (100 English miles) above Charlestown, on the Broad which passes through Orangeburg, and was settled by German people."

Hans Jacob Riemensperger brought over a number of Swiss settlers (Urlesperger, Vol. III, p. 1801). Vol. LV p. 72 Statutes of South Carolina shows where Henry Sistrunk (Serstrunk) was paid to maintain an Acadian refugee. After the English conquest of Acadia (Nova Scotia) in 1755, it will be remembered from Longfellow's Evangeline, the French Acadians were captured and cruelly carried off and distributed among the British colonies of the South. And South Carolina got a portion; some being settled in Saxe-Gotha. At this time Henry Serstrunk of Saxe-Gotha township was paid 12 pounds for maintaining them.

1744 April 1

Hamlicken, Andelfingen, Zurich, Switzerland
Departed the Parish of Andelfingen in 1743 without desiring a certificate from the Minister: Heinrich Susstrunck, shoemaker from Humlicken, aged 29 1/2. His wife Ursula Ulry, aged 25 Child: Hans Ulrich, 8 months. He also took with him his sister Barbara, aged 17 1/2, who has not yet received the communion.

REF:Faust Vol.I,pg.33 and NatGenSocQtr pg.39.

1746 Jul 31

Henry Sistrunk (Swiss) taken prisoner of Spanish and held in Cuba for two years. *Arrived South Carolina 31 July 1746 per Council Journal.

REF: Faust, Volume I, page 33. Nat. Gen. Soc. Qtr. (Leo Schelbert) Notes on Lists of Swiss Emigrants, pg. 39. REF: Oliver-Sistrunk Families by Georgie A. Lefvendahl, 1964. Ursula: Wife Ursula Uly, aged 25.

Reference:

Oliver-Sistrunk Families, Orangeburg Area, S.C. by Georgie A Lefvendahl

Family Chart by Robert E. Sistrunk, 1971