When Hans Ulrich Preisig was born on 5 August 1723, in Appenzell, Appenzell, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Switzerland, his father, Lorenz Preisig, was 34 and his mother, Anna Knellwolf, was 33. He married Maria Magdalena Schiess on 11 June 1750. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 5 daughters. He died on 16 January 1801, at the age of 77.