Samuel Eberhart KOPP

Eigenschaften

Ereignisse

Eltern

Ehepartner und Kinder

Notizen zu dieser Person

sailed Rotterdam - Cowes - Philadelphia, bilander Thistle, arr. 28 Oct 1738 or 3 Nov 1738
(bilander = a small 2-mast merchant sailing ship)
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Ship Thistle, 28 October 1738
[List 63 A] A List of Palatinate Passengers Names Ages on board the Billender Thistle of Philadelphia, George Houston, Commander, from Rotterdam. Philadelphia Nov. 3, 1738.
Samuell Overhard Coup 36 [Samuel Eberhard Kopp]
Kattarina Coup 40 [Anna Catharina Kopp]
Philip Cristopher Coup 10 [Philipp Christoph Kopp]
Mareline Coup 8 [Maria Magdalena Kopp]
Margrat Coup 8 [Margaret Kopp, unknown parents*]
Charlet Margretta Coup 6 [Charlotta Margaretha Kopp]
Loadwick Coup 4 [Ludwig Kopp, unknown parents*]
plus
Godfret Hardlaker 20 [Gottfried Harlacher]
Margareta Hardlaker 18 [Anna Margarethe Harlacher]
[Note: not children of Samuel Eberhard & Anna Catharina Kopp]
--
[List 63 B] Palatines imported in the Billender Thistle, George Houston, Commander, from Roterdam but last from Cowes in England. Qualified the 28th Octr 1738.
Samuebel Eberhart Kopp
Godfrett (H) Hardlaker
--
[List 63 C] At the Courthouse of Philadelphia Octr 28th 1738. Present: Anthony Morris, Esqr, Samuel Hasell Esqr. The Palatines whose Names are underwritten, imported in the Billender Thistle, George Houston, Commander, from Rotterdam but last from Cowes in England, did this day take & subscribe the Oaths to the Covernment, viz.,
Samuel Eberhart Kopp
Gottfried (H) Horrlacher

Extracted from German Pioneers, Vol. I, 1727-1775
http://lancastergenealogy.tripod.com/immigration/thistleoctober1738.htm
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Examples of Oaths of Fidelity
Published in Strassburger and Hinke, Pennsylvania German Pioneers: A Publication of the Original Lists of Arrivals in the Port of Philadelphia from 1727-1808, Norristown, PA German Society, 1934.

"I, ....., do solemnly & sincerely promise & declare that I will be true & faithful to King George the Second and do solemnly sincerely and truly Profess Testifie & Declare that I do from my Heart abhor, detest & renounce as impious & heretical that wicked Doctrine & Position that Princes Excommunicated or deprived by the Pope or any Authority of the See of Rome may be deposed or murthered by their Subjects or any other whatsoever. And I do declare that no Forreign Prince Person Prelate State or Potentate hath or ought to have any Power Jurisdiction Superiority Preeminence or Authority Ecclesiastical or Spiritual within the Realm of Great Britain or the Dominions thereunto belonging.

"I, ....., do solemnly sincerely and truly acknowledge profess testify & declare that King George the Second is lawful & rightful King of the Realm of Great Britain & of all others his Dominions & Countries thereunto belonging, And I do solemnly & sincerely declare that I do believe the Person pretending to be Prince of Wales during the Life of the late King James, and since his Decease pretending to be & taking upon himself the Stile & Title of King of England by the Name of James the third, or of Scotland by the Name of James the Eighth or the Stile & Title of King of Great Britain hath not any Right or Title whatsoever to the Crown of the Realm of Great Britain, nor any other the Dominions thereunto belonging. And I do renounce & refuse any Allegiance or obedience to him & do solemnly promise that I will be true and faithful, & bear true allegiance to King George the Second & to him will be faithful against all traitorous Conspiracies & attempts whatsoever which shall be made against his Person Crown & Dignity & I will do my best Endeavours to disclose & make known to King George the Second & his Successors all Treasons and traitorous Conspiracies which I shall Know to be made against him or any of them. And I will be true & faithful to the Succession of the Crown against him the said James & all other Persons whatsoever as the same is & stands settled by An Act Entituled An Act declaring the Rights & Liberties of the Subject & settling the Succession of the Crown to the late Queen Anne & the Heirs of her Body being Protestants, and as the same by one other Act Entituled An Act for the further Limitation of the Crown & better securing the Rights & Liberties of the subject is & stands settled & entailed after the Decease of the said late Queen, & for Default of Issue of the said late Queen, to the late Princess Sophia Electoress & Dutchess Dowager of Hannover & the Heirs of her Body being Protestants; and all these things I do plainly & sincerely acknowledge promise & declare according to these express Words by me spoken & according to the plain & common Sense and understanding of the same Words, without any Equivocation mental Evasion or secret Reservation whatsoever. And I do make this Recognition Acknowledgement Renunciation & Promise heartily willingly & truly."
http://www.docheritage.state.pa.us/documents/oathsfidelitytrans.asp
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Name: Samuel Eberhard Kopp
Year: 1738
Age: 36
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1702
Place: Pennsylvania
Family Members: Wife Katharina Anna Schiff; Child Philipp Christoph; Child Maria Magdalena; Child Charlotta Margretha
Source Publication Code: 1031.9
Primary Immigrant: Kopp, Samuel Eberhard
Annotation: Date and port of arrival or date and place of naturalization. Span indicates period between last mention of emigrant in country of origin and first mention of his residence in the New World. "Surname, ..." indicates a variation of a surname.
Source Bibliography: BURGERT, ANNETTE KUNSELMAN. Eighteenth Century Emigrants from German-Speaking Lands to North America. Publications of the Pennsylvania German Society, 16/19. Birdsboro, PA: The Pennsylvania German Society. Vol. 2: The Western Palatinate. 1985. 405p.
Page: 212
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Pennsylvania, Land Warrants, 1733-1987
Name
Samuel Everard Kop
Acreage
100
Warrant Date
10 Jan 1742
Warrant Location
Bucks
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Abstract of will :
375
KOPP, Samuel Eberhard Upper Milford potter 7-2-1757 - 26-2 1757
son Philip-Christopher KEUP
son in law Michael WOLFGEUCH
son in law Michael NIPSI (?)
ex. John KNOWES and Gabriel KOALER
wit Thomas OWENS, Johannes KOEHLER
Renunciation of executor witnessed by William PARSONS and Just VOLLERT
http://ftp.rootsweb.ancestry.com/pub/usgenweb/pa/northampton/wills/eyerabst02.txt
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Persons mentioned in will dated 7 Feb 1757 ( transcribed by Don Wolfgang) :
... my son in law Michael Wolfganch (sic)
... my son Philip Christofer Kopp
... my son in law Michael (surname illegible)
... my neighbours John Knows and Gabriel Kealer (Koehler)
... in the presence of Johanne Philip Knows, Johannes Kohler, Thomas Owens
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Monumental Inscription (from photograph) :

No. 23
S E KOPP
Nat. d. 8. jan
1700
Denat. d. 2.
Marz
1757
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Pennsylvania, Church and Town Records, 1708-1985 about Samuel Eberhard Kopp
Name: Samuel Eberhard Kopp
Birth Date: 18 Jan 1700
Event Type: Burial
Burial Date: 2 Feb 1757
Burial Place: Emmaus, Lehigh, Pennsylvania
Father Name: John Henry Kopp
Mother Name: Rosina Mayer Ruaschenberger Kopp
Spouse Name: Anna Catharine Harlacher
Organization Name: Old Moravian Cemetery
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Emmaus Moravian Church, burials
page 281, Grave 23

Anno 1757
D. 2. Maerz ist Sam: Eberhart Kopp, hier in Salzbury, ... heimgegangen,
seines Alters 57 Jahr, 7 Wochen und 4 Tage,
und auf unserem Gottes Acker d. A. hujus
von Bruder Gottfried Engel begraben worden.
Die uebrigen Umstaende seines Lebens siehe p. 35
(ancestry.com)

The 2nd March 1757 Samuel Eberhart Kopp, here in Salzbury, passed away,
his age 57 years, 7 weeks and 4 days, and was buried (the same day ?)
by Brother Gottfried Engel.
The other details about his life see page 35.
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A Personal Look at the Life of Samuel Eberhard Kopp

We should indeed have little information about the early settlers and the founders of our borough were it not for the faithful accounts entered into the Moravian Church records. All Moravian ministers, wherever they were, even in the remotest mission fields, were required to keep Diaries. In German script, some beautifully written, some barely legible; some radiating the human interests of the diarist; others weighed down heavily with prosaic accounts of the church services, they are nevertheless of inestimable value for us of today.

The material in the following pages we have drawn either directly from the two folio volumes of the church records, or from the many years of Diaries and Memorabilia preserved in the Moravian Archives in Emmaus. The diarist not only gives valuable biographical data but often reflects upon the character or spiritual status of the members of his flock. The narrative is often steeped in the sentimentality and the phrasing of eighteenth century Pietism. But this too is a part of the age and needs to be historically evaluated. In our translations we have endeavored to retain a similar atmosphere.

Of the 43 persons who were the charter members of the Congregation of the Moravian Brethren organized July 30, 1747, and which formed the nucleus for the future village to be known as Emmaus we are able to give information about the following.

Samuel Eberhard Kopp was born January 8, 1700 in Sindelfingen in Wuerttemberg, not far from Stuttgart, and baptized a Lutheran. His parents were Johann Henrich and Eva Rosina, nee Mayer, Kopp. In the last days of May 1725 he married the widow Anna Catharina Harlacher and came with her to America in 1738 and settled first in Skippack. He was a potter by trade.

Under his name and the bare facts of his life the minister wrote somewhat as follows:

"That God touches the heart of the sinner even in the midst of his sinful ways, while cursing, drinking and gambling, is shown in the life of Samuel Kopp, when it suddenly occurred to him: What a godless man I really am! How unconcerned about Heaven or hell! The thought haunted him, but he continued to play at the card table until two o'clock in the night, when he finally threw his cards aside and resolved not ever to play again. He went home, determined to turn to God. Externally he lived a pious life, but his heart remained restless and uncleansed. And so he came to Pennsylvania in the hopes that here he would find quiet and rest for his soul and thus improve his life. But the Lord took him in hand and brought him Grace through the passion and death of Jesus. He sought the Brethren in Bethlehem and at last in 1742 he was deemed worthy to become one of them and partake of the Holy Communion."

He and his wife were in that little group of nine admitted to the Moravian Brotherhood before the organization of the congregation in Maguntsche (Emmaus). He died in Salzbury (Emmaus) March 2, 1757.

Anna Catharina Kopp was born in Buschweiler in Lower Alsace near Strassburg February 23, 1693 and reared in the Lutheran faith. Her parents were Hans Berthold Schiff and his wife Catharina, nee Klein. On February 26, 1710 she married her first husband Conrad Harlacher, who died in 1722. In May, 1725 she married Samuel Eberhard Kopp, whom she bore three children. She died February 22, 1756. Neither lived to see the village laid out. Both are buried in the little God's Acre, she in grave No. 20 and he in No. 23.

DiWolfgang originally shared this to Diane Wolfgang family tree
20 Jan 2012 story

Found in the book They Came to Emmaus A History compiled by Preston A. Barba, Ph.D. Litt.D. Published by the Borough of Emmaus on the Occasion of its Centenary 1959
1742 Emmaus, Pennsylvania
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The church records of the Emmaus Moravian Congregation (Kirchen Buch des Gemeinlein in Salisbury 1754 den 1ten Decbr. angefangen), translated, arranged and typed from the original records in 1973 by Raymond E. Hollenbach, Royersford, PA, contain the following information about the Kopps:

A. "Familien Buch oder Register für das Gemeinlein Salzbury Township anno 1754 d 23 Septbr." , pg. 3:
SAMUEL EBERHARD KOPP, born in Sindelfingen near Stutgard in Würtemberg on January 8, 1700 and baptized there. His father was Johann Henrich Kopp and his mother Eva Rosina Mayer, both Lutherans. He was a potter (töpfer) by trade. He was married towards the end of May in the year 1725 to a widow Anna Catharina Harlacher. He and his wife came to Pennsylvania in 1738. They had three children, 1 son and 2 daughters - the son was - Philip Christoph Kopp, b. July 8, 1729. Samuel Eberhard Kopp died Mar. 2, 1757 and his wife died Feb. 26, 1756.
ANNA CATHARINA KOPP was born near Strasburg in Alsace on February 23, 1693. Her father's name was Hans Barthold Schiff and her mother was Catharina Kenin, both Lutherans. She was married, 1st to Conrad Harlacher on Feb. 26, 1710. He died in 1722. She married, 2nd, Samuel Eberhard Kopp on May 31, 1725. They came to Pennsylvania in 1738. With her first husband she had 5 children, 3 of whom are dead, one son lives in Germany and one daughter here in this land. With her 2nd husband she had 3 children, the son already named, and 2 daughters
Mara Magdalena Kopp, b. June 13, 1731
Charlotte Margaretha Kopp, b. Dec. 30, 1734

B. List of original members in 1747:
Sam. Eberhart Kopp
Cathrin Kopp

C. Admissions to communion - Nov. 9, 1748: Eberhart Kopp and Catharina Kopp
"Eberhart Kopp and w" also appear as communicants on Sept. 10, 1749; Feb. 19, 1750; Sept. 23, 1750;

D. Societaets Register, welche ihre Angang genommen 1754 d. 20ten Jan. und wer von Zeit zu Zeit hingethan worden: August 27, 1756, The following were taken in as members through brother Nathaniel - Anna Maria Kopp (now deceased).

E. Sterbe Register:
Anna Catharina Kopp, d. Feb. 22, 1756, age 63 years (Grave #20)
Anna Maria Kopp, d. Feb. 2, 1757, age 47 years (Grave #22)
Samuel Eberhart Kopp, d. Mar. 2, 1757, age 57 yr. 7 weeks and 4 days (Grave #23)

F. Old Moravian Cemetery, Compiled from Emmaus Moravian Church records and the genealogical records of Henry Koch Jarret, Emmaus, Pennsylvania 1939:
Grave #20: ANNA CATHARINA HARLACHER KOPP, w. of Conrad Harlacher, and of Samuel Eberhard Kopp, Feb. 23, 1693 - Feb. 22, 1756
Grave #22: ANNA MARIA KOPP, sister [2nd wife] of Samuel Eberhard Kopp, b. 1710, d. Feb. 2, 1757
Grave #23: SAMUEL EBERHARD KOPP, s. of John Henry & Eva Rosina Mayer Rauschenberger Kopp, 2nd husband of Anna Catharina Harlacher, Jan. 18, 1700 - Feb. 2, 1757

I did not find any evidence in the Moravian Church records to indicate that Samuel Kopp's children were ever members of this congregation. There were no baptismal or marriage records for any of his children. The Horlachers and Wolfgangs also do not appear in these records.
In the baptismal records of St. Paul's Union (aka. Blue) Church, Saucon (now Upper Saucon) Twp., Northampton (now Lehigh) Co., PA, I found the following entry:
Christophel Kopp and Anna Elisabeth
child - Johan Michael, b. 1 Mar 1750, bz'd. 13 Apr 1750
Sponsors - Johan Michael Keuper and Anna Maria Margaretha

This "Christophel" Kopp could have been Philip Christoph Kopp, son of Samuel. The Saucon/Upper Saucon Twp. area is adjacent to Salisbury Twp. where Emmaus is situated.
( email, Dale Berger 4/9/2008)
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Following Voyage and Journey information: derived from http://archaeolineages.com/rotnhofr/ships3w.htm. The principal background information was derived from passenger lists enumerated in Pennsylvania German Pioneers (Strassberger and Hinke 1980 [Reprint]). Residence departure information was gleaned from the Kurpfälziche Auswander vom Unteren Neckar (Hacker 1983).

During the period 1727-1742, the vast majority of ships arriving in Philadelphia with Palatine passengers sailed from Rotterdam (80 of 96; 83.3%). Ships from the continent bound for England's North American colonies at this time were required to visit an English port to register their cargo before crossing the Atlantic. Passage between England and Philadelphia ranged from a minimum of 58 days to a maximum of 89 days. The average voyage for these six ships was 71.83 days – 10 weeks and about 2 days. The arrival dates throughout this period suggest that most voyages likely ranged from 60 to 90 days out of England and probably averaged about 75 days.

The duration of the trip from the general area of the Palatinate to Philadelphia can also be guaged by examining the "emigration" dates cited in various sources.

By examining the residence departure and ship arrival dates, the duration of the journey to Philadelphia can be estimated. It suggest that an emigrant's journey from the lower Neckar region probably took about 90 to 120 days or three to four months.

Year of 1738 migration of German Palatines-Switzers to Pennsylvania was known as the year of the "Destroying Angels" because over 1/3 of emigrants died in transit to Pennsylvania due to bad weather and over crowding on ships. The German immigrants named it "The Year Of The Destroying Angels", after Psalms 78, verse 49: "He let loose on them his fierce anger, wrath, indignation, and distress; a company of destroying angels".

The following information is derived from the Klaus Wust article which appeared in The Report, A Journal of German-American History, volume 40, published by the Society of the History of the Germans in Maryland, 1986. The ninety-six references in that article are not given here.

Immigration to United States: The Year of the Destroying Angels- 1738

The literature on European emigration of the eighteenth century is filled with horror stories of sufferings and death. The lackof cleanliness and hygiene adversely affected mass travel,though on the whole, the total German and Swiss migration to North America during that century reveals a rather successful operation in which more than one hundred thousand souls reached America. This was in spite of the fact that many of them did not have sufficient funds to pay for the ocean passage.

The more spectacular instances of loss of life were related to prolonged waiting periods in temporary quarters on land and on board ships detained in ports.

The situation in 1738 earned the reputation as the Year of the Destroying Angels. The six thousand plus emigrants for North America during that year were generally not part of a colonization scheme of any government or proprietor. The would-be emigrants were following a pattern that had evolved since 1717 which had become the typical way of reaching English colonies in America. The emigrants banded together in family and often in village groups and set out for Rotterdam or Amsterdam where they expected to find British ships to take them on to America. Every year anumber of British ships, returning with colonial staples, were available for such transport on their way back to America. Passengers were taken aboard after merely signing a contract to pay their fares within a designated time after arrival. This redemptioner system had proven satisfactory for all.

Payment could be made by the passengers themselves in cash, from the proceeds of the sale of goods brought along for that purpose, or by relatives and friends already in America, or, what was becoming increasingly common, by parties to whom they indentured themselves to work off the cost of passage.

Preparation for the 1738 emigration season by the shippers was made in the preceding fall and winter months. Germans and Swiss returning for home visits or for purchasing goods needed in the new settlements were approached by shipping firms and individual captains to serve as recruiters. Handsome head premiums and the promise of free return passage for themselves and their goods turned many an incidental traveler into an emissary for shippers and land speculators. These people soon became known as "newlanders."

The colonial destinations for which the shippers could schedule their transports included Georgia, Virginia, and New York. In the latter state, Governor George Clarke had leaflets circulated in Germany which solicited emigrants by the promise of free land. But the Rotterdam shippers turned their attention for the1738 season to the surest of all markets, Pennsylvania. Despite the transports to other colonies, there had been a steady rise of the number of Germans arriving in Philadelphia as shown by 268 immigrants in 1735, 736 in 1736, and 1,528 in 1737. Due to the increased solicitation, a higher figure for 1738 was anticipated by the shipping merchants. All expectations were shattered by the timing and number as groups of emigrants gathered for departure earlier than in previous years and came in larger numbers. Some emigrants set out in March and the first contingents reached the Rotterdam area before ships were ready for loading and, indeed, before some of the regular English emigrant vessels had even arrived in port.

When the first waves of Palatines reached Dutch territory in April 1738, they had to go to a holding area in the vicinity of the ruins of St. Elbrecht's chapel below Kralingen. By law, the Palatines could not enter the city of Rotterdam. No preparations had been made for the temporary sojourn and subsequent embarkation of these early arrivals. On May 13th the bailiff and court of Kralingen petitioned the States of Holland to have the Palatines either sent back or speedily embarked for America. While "these are already a great burden," the petition hinted at more ominous trouble, namely the outbreak of an epidemic when "in the case of the death of parents the children will be left behind." The Kralingers also had been informed that "shortly a thousand or more such impecunious persons from the same land are to follow."
As the clusters proceeded toward the Dutch border, the British shipping merchants of Rotterdam made their preparations,summoning ships from English ports to augment the regular fleet of emigrant ships. The major shipping firm of Hope readied eight ships, some from their fleet, some chartered. Once the ships became available, they had to be hastily fitted with additional bedsteads.

"Everywhere there were double bedsteads built, or even three on top of one another. Many passengers had their chests broken up and stored their belongings wherever they could (because captains and newlanders themselves had so many chests and goods and there were simply too many people) or they had to leave them behind to be sent later by other ships so that many a garment and linen cloth became rotten or moth-eaten."

According to the Rotterdamse Courant, five of the ships operated for the firm of the Hopes were ready on June 22nd. They were the QUEEN ELIZABETH,THISTLE,OLIVER,WINTER and GLASGOW. The fleet proceeded to English ports for the customs clearance required by the Navigation Acts. The captains of the QUEEN ELIZABETH and the WINTER Galley headed for Deal, and the others sailed for Cowes on the Isle of Wight. A violent storm played havoc with the heavily loaded ships. They spent three to five weeks before reaching port in England. Captain William Walker of the OLIVER felt that his vessel was overloaded. Rather than continue the voyage, he returned to Hellevoetsluis and resigned his command. Captain William Wright was assigned as the new commander by the owners. The OLIVER left again early in July and crossed in two days over to Cowes where she spent almost six weeks, "Partly to have our ship inspected and found solid and seaworthy, partly to unload and load anew, and to await favorable winds in order to continue our voyage to Virginia." Soon after leaving Cowes, the vessels incurred such heavy seas that the THISTLE and the OLIVER took refuge in the harbor at Plymouth.

In Rotterdam, additional merchant ships were fitted for theover flow of emigrants. Even the departures of John Stedman's ST. ANDREW and Charles Stedman's CHARMING NANCY were delayed by these transformations. Passengers said the two Stedmans had deliberately picked the healthiest and sturdiest people. On July 19th, the 200 ton, thirteen year old brigantine ST. ANDREW, a veteran in the Palatine business since 1725 (previously known as the Pennsylvania Merchant), was still in Rotterdam. The emigrants, many of them sickly by that time, were at the mercy of the shippers, even as to the final destination. Some Palatine redemptioners intending to go to Philadelphia were assigned to fill up the Virginia-bound OLIVER which was chartered by the Helvetian Society. In turn, some 200 passengers were loaded on the small ship ADVENTURE. Toward the end of June, the ADVENTURE stopped at s'Gravendeel and then went to London where the people were disembarked. They were again loaded on the 150 ton, North Carolina-built TWO BROTHERS, Captain William Thomson, The PRINCESS AUGUSTA, Captain George Long, left Rotterdam with near 350 passengers in August. This load was not much more than the 330 persons the same vessel landed safely in Philadelphia inSeptember 1736.

The WINTER Galley arrived first in Philadelphia on September 5. Captain Edward Paynter submitted his account of 252 passengers. If the news of the dismal situation in Kralingen had not yet reached Philadelphia, the emigrants themselves now spread the story. As usual during the arrival season, Germans, some even from remote settlements, crowded the harbor to greet relatives,friends, or just people from their old home place to hear news and maybe find mail.

Four days later, the ship GLASGOW and the snow TWO SISTERS arrived. The recently installed new governor, George Thomas, attended the oath swearing ceremonies to acquaint himself with the situation. He also was present when the next three vessels arrived with Palatines, the ROBERT & ALICE, the QUEEN ELIZABETH, and the THISTLE. Captain Walter Goodman of the ROBERT & ALICE sent a letter back to Germany on October 19th. Excerpts were published in the Rotterdamse Courant.

"On the 4th of July last I sailed out of Dover in England and arrived here on this river on the 9th of September with crew and passengers in good health but on the way I had many sick people, yet, since not more than 18 died, we lost by far the least of all the ships arrived to-date. We were the third ship to arrive. I sailed in company with four of the skippers who together had 425 deaths, one had 140, one 115, one 90, and one 80. The two captains Stedman have not yet arrived and I do not doubt that I shall be cleared for departure before they arrive since I begin loading tomorrow. I have disposed of all my passengers except for 20 families."

Another letter, dated October 18th, was sent by Christoph Sauer of Germantown to friends in Wittgenstein who were eagerly awaiting news of several emigrants from Elsoff. Sauer wrote: "The Elsoffers have not yet arrived. Everybody wonders where their ship is, and besides that vessel, 3 to 4 ships with people are still expected. According to all reports, they have been at sea now for a quarter of a year."

As to the vessels that had come in, Sauer remarked: "The throngs of people who let themselves be seduced this year to come into the country are raising much lament here. Besides, as so many hundreds died from sickness aboard ships at sea, the survivors, if there is any left of a family, must pay or go into service which causes so much indigence and privation among a people which is hard to describe. "This ship lost near 160 persons, and another one that arrived the day before, more than 150, and on one that came in the following day, only 13 healthy people are said to remain. Still another one arrived meanwhile on which out of 300 freights only 50 are left. Most of them died from dysentery, head sickness and violent fever, also some captains and many seamen. Altogether of 15 passenger ships only 2 seem to have arrived with the people tolerably healthy and well."

The author estimated about 1,600 people had died on the fifteen ships which had arrived so far. On November 20th another letter from the people in Germantown to the people in Wittgenstein was sent. The letter concludes with an upward assessment of the total number of victims: "There has been a cruel, destroying angel among the travelers this year for the number of those who died so far on the voyage and here has reached about 2000."

Fifteen leading men of various religious backgrounds from Philadelphia, Germantown and nearby communities agreed to band together for whatever help they could render and to compile acomprehensive account of the recent events. But, they were also concerned about the general situation for colonists in Pennsylvania, the solicitations by newlanders, and the pitfalls which must be considered during travel to the seaport and during the voyage. The arrival of Palatine ships throughout the autumn of 1738 pervades every part of their Send-Schreiben. And, the reader is assured that their description of the events was carefully gathered from accounts of nearly 100 eyewitnesses.Their comments were intended to be published as a guide and awarning to prospective emigrants.

The content of this collective missive, dealing with the situation in and around Rotterdam and at sea, has been used in the material here. In the personal recollections of the signers it was the first time that emigrant transports of an entire season were affected by disease. They recalled the singular case of the LOVE and UNITY four years earlier when two-thirds of the Palatine passengers died of starvation during a voyage of nine months in which a lively trade in rats and mice among survivors marked the last stage of the trip. They also recalled a ship with English passengers that was wrecked on the New England coast with more than one hundred people drowned. For the current year, 1738, a special name was needed, the Year of the Destroying Angels.

"However, this year the sea has held quite a different harvest, because by moderate reckoning, more than 1800 died on the 14 ships arrived till now. While there are still two missing, we have reasons to assume them lost for they have been at sea for more than 24 weeks." The Send-Schreiben noted the bad situation on the shore, off the ships: "Although several houses outside the city were rented by captains for the care of the sick by order of the authorities, as it happens, it is easy to see that the burden falls mostly on those Germans who still have some love left for their countrymen. There have been frequent collections taken, and the charity was then distributed to these starving, miserable human beings but it is shocking to witness the envy, the jealousy, and the malice among the survivors."

The writers of the letter relate how some ships were prevented from disembarking their human cargoes and ordered to sail back below the city for fear of spreading contagion: "Those in town and in the country, who look people into their homes, contracted the same disease and several have suddenly died. It looks as if the sickness will spread through out the land. The stench alone is so horrible on the ships, and with the people who came from them, that anyone who is easily disgusted will feel sick right away. That has made the inhabitants shy away from the diseased people." The Pennsylvania Gazette, which usually reported the arrival of emigrant ships, did not refer to any untoward conditions until late in October. On September 7th it carried the news of the landing of 360 passengers of the WINTER Galley (Captain Paynter reported only 252 men, women and children on September 5th). The issue of September 14th registered the TWO SISTERS, GLASGOW, and ROBERT & ALICE with 1,003 people aboard (618 according to the statements of the three captains). There is no ready explanation for the discrepancies in numbers because the discharge of some 500 passengers along the river or at the wharves would hardly have remained unnoticed. There was, however, a tax of 40 shillingsl evied on every reported Palatine passenger entering the province which might possibly explain the under reporting by captains.

The authorities became aware of the health hazard at an early stage. Dr. Thomas Graeme, official health inspector of incoming ships for two decades, alerted the governor after having examined passengers on four Palatine vessels. Governor Thomas, in submitting Dr. Graeme's reports to the board an September14th, singled out the particularly grave situation on the NANCY, Captain William Wallace, and the FRIENDSHIP, Captain Henry Beech. Both commanders had already permitted passengers to go ashore. The governor further announced "...as it might prove dangerous to the health of the Inhabitants of this Province and City, It is Ordered that the Masters of said Ships be taken into Custody for their Contempt of theGovernor's Order, signified to them by Thos. Glenworth, pursuant to a Law of this Province to remove to the Distance of one Mile from this City and that they shall remain in Custody till they shall give security in the sum of Five Hundred Pounds each, to obey the said Order, and not to land any of their Passengers, Baggage, or Goods, till the Passengers shall have been viewed and Examined, and until they shall receive Licence from the Governor for doing." Surprisingly, only six days later eighty-seven men of the FRIENDSHIP and forty-eight of the NANCY were marched to the courthouse for the oath-taking ceremony.

The SNOW FOX, Captain Charles Ware, arrived from Rotterdam and Plymouth in the second October week. According to the Gazetteshe carried 153 Palatines but the captain listed only 47 men, 23 women and 6 children. A mere thirty-one of the men took the oath at the courthouse in the governor's presence. Three Palatine transports are known to have left from Amsterdam. The Pink AMSTERDAM, Captain Joseph Willson, arrived safely in New York on October 12th with "upwards of 300 Palatines," many of whom were actually from Wurttemberg. One day later Captain Christopher Ratsey came in with his ANDREW GALLEY. There is no indication of any unusual health problems in the terse newspaper reports. Willson had carried on regular runs to New York since 1734, Ratsey had brought 173 German passengers in 1737. In view of the assertion voiced by several contemporary writers that the epidemic had its origin in the camp sites at Kralingen, it issurprising that one of the hardest hit vessels was to have come from Amsterdam. The sickness might well have existed already on the Rhine boats.

The ship DAVY qualified in the port of Philadelphia on October 25th. The next day the Gazette revealed the horrible story of this voyage. The captain, both mates and 160 passengers died at sea. It was the ship's carpenter, William Patton, who brought the ravaged vessel up the Delaware. Patton listed 74 men, 47 women and no children as the remaining passengers but only 40 of the men were well enough to come to the courthouse. In this context, the Gazette commented for the first time on the general situation, "Most of the Ships which bring Dutch Passengers this Year have been visited with a Sickness that has carried off great numbers."

Next appeared the long overdue ST. ANDREW, commanded by the favorite ship captain of the Germans, John Stedman. Several letters of passengers on some of his previous five runs between Rotterdam and Philadelphia were full of praise for him. This time, on a voyage that lasted twelve weeks, almost 120 passengers had died before reaching port on October 29th. The same day, Lloyd Zachary and Thomas Bond, two physicians recruited by the authorities to tighten the inspection of the incoming Palatine ships, presented this report to the colonial council: "We have carefully examined the State of Health of the Mariners and Passengers on board the Ship ST. ANDREW, Captain Steadman, from Rotterdam, and found a great number labouring under a malignant, eruptive fever, and are of the opinion, they cannot, for some time, be landed in town without the danger of infecting the inhabitants."

It was the last emigrant transport that John Stedman ever commanded. After his return to Europe, he settled down in Rotterdam in the shipping business. There was disbelief in the German community that such fate could have befallen a ship led by a Stedman. The Send-Schreiben expressed the reaction as follows: "The two Stedmans, who had so far been renowned for the transfer of Germans and wanted to keep this reputation, also had to suffer the plight this time, one of them lost near 120 before landfall, although he had a party of the Hope's roughest and sturdiest folks, who had to succumb to sickness and fear of death. And the other one lost probably five-sixths, of 300 hardly 60 were left. His mates and some of his sailors he lost and he himself lay near death."

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Titel	Emigrants from Sindelfingen
Beschreibung
Hochgeladen	2019-04-27 14:49:38.0
Einsender	Karl Held
E-Mail	karl.held1@btinternet.com
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