eiby

The most distant Leiby ancestor is Uli Lauppi.  Uli Lauppi married Rosina Furler in Bubendorf, Switzerland, on August 25, 1565. 

Immigrant Ancestors

Friedrick Leiby and his son Johann Jacob Leiby were both immigrant ancestors of Regis.  Friedrick Leiby arrived August 17, 1733 at Philadelphia on the Samuel.  With him were his wife, Maria Mettlina (Magdalena), and four children: Johann Jacob, age 13; George Michael, age 10; Hans Ulerich (Wolrich), age 4; and Anna Catharina, age 1.

Family History

The Leiby family has been traced back to the marriage of Uli Lauppi and Rosina Furler on August 25, 1565, in Bubendorf, Switzerland.  Their son Michael Leipe married Elisabeth Stohler, who was from the neighboring town of Muttenz, Switzerland.  Sometime between 1633 and 1635, Michael and Elisabeth moved from Bubendorf to Muttenz.  In 1639, Elisabeth Leipe died, and Michael Leipe remarried to a woman named Barbara Tschudin. 

Later the Leiby family moved to Steinsfurt, Germany.  Records at the Reformed Church in Steinsfurt indicate that the Leype (Leiby) family living there came from Muttenz, Switzerland.  Family tradition says that Friedrich Leiby and his family started from their native Switzerland with the intention of going to Brazil, but made changed their minds while en route down the Rhine.  According to the story, the wife of the Swiss emigrant became worried by tales of grave problems encountered by other emigrants to Brazil.

Eventually, of course, the family did leave Europe.  Family tradition mentions a stop in England.  Since all vessels from Holland had to stop in England before proceeding to the British colonies, most likely the Leiby family's stopover was brief.  Sometimes, however, families stayed for extended periods, for various reasons, before they were able to continue their journey.  Many immigrants had to bind themselves as indentured servants in order to pay their way.  Since Friedrich Leiby was a landowner soon after he arrived in America, he most likely paid his own way.

Name Origin

Nothing is known about the meaning or origin of the name.  The German word Leib refers the body, and it is used to refer to the body and to the stomach or belly in compound words, such as Leibbürge (hostage), and Leibbinde (abdominal bandage).