The name Moser is noted to mean "Meadow Dweller", which indicates that agriculture was the occupation of the first bearers of the name. An early known member was one Ulrick von Seedorf (who used a surname of Moser or Mosarius), knight, who lived in Canton Bern, Switzerland in a locale called Moosseedorf in 1242. That number of Mosers resided in Switzerland is verified by existing descriptions of medieval coats of arms. Likewise, there are coats of arms for Mosers of Prussia, France, and the Palatinate. So, the Mosers were probably descendants of the German Teutonic tribes that (pressured by the Huns pouring down from the steppes of Asia) overcame the Roman legions in about 375-400 A.D., and took control of most of what is now Europe.

The family name in the present European countries of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and France, has been spelled as Moser for centuries. This seems to be the predominant spelling of the name in other countries also. However, in the American colonies, it was not uncommon to find the name spelled as Mosier, Moshier, Messer, Musser, Mosser, Mozier, Musier, Mouser, Mosar, Mouse, Mozer, Mosir, etc. That such a simple name could be spelled incorrectly in so many ways in the colonies may be attributed to the inability of the English speaking authorities to correlate the German pronunciation with the spelling of the name. Thus, they may have, and probably did, spell the name as it sounded phonetically.

Fortunately, most of the many variants of the name have vanished from the scene with the passage of time. Today, the more common variations of the name seem to be Mosier, Musser, and Mosser. Even so, I believe that most of the users of these name variants are aware that Moser is the correct spelling. There is more than one example of a son being known as Mosier, while his parents and siblings bear the name of Moser. There are even examples where some Mosier's corrected their name to Moser upon moving to a new part of the country.

Emigrant ships to the American colonies departed from such English ports as London, Crew, and Deal, after loading German speaking passengers at the continental ports of Amsterdam and Rotterdam. All such ships paused at English ports to obtain the sailing orders, which allowed them to proceed to the colonies. It will be remembered that England, who controlled all trade and communications with them, owned these colonies.

Beginning early in the 18th century, many of our Moser forebears landed at the Port of Philadelphia from whence point they spread out to the frontier areas. It is known, for example, that there were Mosers (or variants thereof) who settled in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania as early as 1706. There is little doubt but that many others joined them, before the colonial authorities made the first serious attempt to document their arrival in Pennsylvania.

At this point, it should be noted that even earlier Mosers emigrated from Switzerland to Maryland before 1670. Others were known to have been in Massachusetts by 1632.

Many of these immigrants to the new world were fugitives from the religious persecution in the former German provinces of Alsace and Lorraine which resulted from the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by King Louis XIV in 1685. This famous royal decree issued in 1598 by Henry IV of France (himself a former Protestant), allowed freedom of worship by the Protestants. Its revocation led to the savage persecution of the Protestants, in an effort to compel them to change their religious views. Property was confiscated; churches were closed; belongings were pillaged; citizens were murdered; etc. in the name of God. The ravished survivors fled to Holland, Switzerland, and the Rhineland to escape further persecution. Mass migrations of these Huguenots (perhaps as many as 300,000) drained this area of France of many of its most industrious and skillful citizens.

Subsequent intervention by Queen Anne of England in offering the fugitives a haven in England and the American

Colonies led to their immigration in the early 1700's to the provinces of New York and Pennsylvania. William Penn (or his agents) attracted others to Pennsylvania as a result of visits to the German principalities to recruit colonists for his vast domain of Pennsylvania. Penn, a Quaker, promised full religious liberty and a popular assembly with control of taxation. These promises appealed to the exiles, and the initial trickle of immigrants became a flood.

The wave of German speaking immigrants into Pennsylvania in the early 1700's led to concern on the part of English speaking officials about the potentially overwhelming numbers of foreigners. This concern was reflected in regulations and procedures which were established about 1727 to require the captains of immigrant ships to provide a passenger list or manifest of all immigrant adult males who were well (not sick) and sixteen years of age or older. Still another requirement was that adult males must renounce their allegiance to any other government or ruler.

Not all ship captains complied with the Philadelphia port regulations. As a result, records of their passengers are scant to non-existent. One who did was the captain of the Adventure, which arrived in Philadelphia in 1732. The three documents concerning the passengers of this ship have survived and are preserved in the Pennsylvania archives, along with partial documentation from other ships. The Adventure passenger manifest is exceptional, in that it includes the name and age (with a few exceptions) of all of the emigrant men, women, and children who were aboard. Among these passengers were eighteen Mosers of various ages and of both sexes.

Partial documentation has also survived for the following ships. The Molley with three Mosers (1727); the James Goodwill with two Moser (1728); the Queen Elizabeth with one Moser (1738); the Robert and Alice with one Moser (1738); the St. Andrew with one Moser (1738); the Loyal Judith with one Moser (1743); the Muscliffe Galley with one Moser (1744); the Restauration with two Mosers (1747); the Speedwell with one Moser (1749); the Christian with one Moser (1749); the Lydia with two Mosers (1749); the Osgood with one Moser (1750); and the St. Andrew with one Moser (1750).

As noted above, only the Adventure (1732) included the names and ages of women and children on the passenger manifest. Hence, it seems logical that women and children passengers were aboard some of the above ships, but were excluded from the passenger lists. It is known that Martin Moser, for example, whom immigrated on the James Goodwill in 1728, brought his family with him. It is also known that Adam Moser, who arrived on the James Goodwill with Martin, returned to Europe at some point in the early 1740's, and was the Moser included on the Loyal Judith manifest in 1743/

As could be expected, the flood of German immigrants into Pennsylvania soon exceeded the supply of cheap land in the civilized (settled) sectors of the colony. Hence, many newcomers moved south into the colonies of Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia. (It will be remembered that West Virginia was a part of Virginia, and did not exist as a state until 1863.)

North Carolina was particularly attractive due to the existence of 12 tracts of 100,000 acres each, which were granted to Henry McCulloh by King George II in 1737. Homesteads on these lands were offered to the new colonists at attractive prices. Part of these lands lay within the Granville District (roughly the northern half of the colony), granted by the King to Lord Granville in 1744. Until an agreement was reached between McCulloh and Lord Granville in 1755, McCulloh could not give clear title to lands sold within the tracts that lay within the Granville District. Only then, could the settlers obtain a legal title to their lands. Even then, the Cherokee War delayed things until March of 1761. So, many settlers, including some of our Moser ancestors, owned parcels of North Carolina land for years before they secured title to them.

It should be noted that Moser movement to North Carolina prior to the Revolutionary War is traceable to only three immigrants. Adam Moser (of the James Goodwill-1728) settled in Orange County (now Alamance County) in about 1762/63. Frederick Moser (son of Martin Moser of the James Goodwill-1728) settled in Orange County about 1762. Leonard Moser (of the Adventure-1732) moved from Maryland to Surrey County in 1778.

Other Mosers settled in the Blue Ridge region of western Maryland. It was here that Leonard Moser owned land, now the site of the presidential retreat, before moving to North Carolina. Still others settled among the Scotch-Irish of West Augusta County in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Several of these Mosers lost their lives during the French and Indian War of the late 1750's.

Wallace Hampton MOSER (b. Aug. 14, 1856, d. Apr. 5, 1921) married Cathryn HOLLENBERRY (b. Jan.15, 1859, d. Sept. 28, 1948). Both are buried in Emmitsburg. Their children were:

 Maurice (Tuck) (b. Dec. 19, 1890, Emmitsburg, MD, d. 2 Apr 1993 Good Samaritan Hospital, Baltimore, MD) Burial Place: Keysville Union Cemetery, Keysville, MD. Was married to Cora Elizabeth NULL who died Apr. 27, 1973.
Was a charter member of Toms Creek United Methodist Church, a charter member of the American Legion, Francis X. Elder Post 121 of Emmitsburg, MD and a charter member of the VFW Post 6658 of Emmitsburg, MD. He served in the U.S. Army during World War I.

John Herbert (b. Mar 1, 1893, d. Nov 8, 1985) Burial Place: Keysville Union Cemetery, Keysville, MD
Daisy Kathryn (b. Apr 12, 1897, d. Jan. 1, 1994) m. Harry Dinterman
Maude Ethel (b. Oct. 18, 1902, d. Oct. 16, 1982) m. Charles Raymond Eyler
Russell W. (b. Feb. 11, 1887, d. Apr 24, 1983)

John Herbert married Elizabeth A.? ?. Children were:

Donald E. (b. Oct. 25, 1919)
Claude Herbert (b. Dec. 4, 1923, d. Mar. 11, 1986) m. Mary T.?
J. Roger

Donald married Emily Marguerite Reed (b. Sep 6, 1914, d. June 30, 1989). Donald’s occupation was a Farmer. Children were: