German Palatines

Through much of the 17th century and into the 18th, the Rhineland-Palatinate region was embroiled in constant warfare among various factions, which resulted in famine and widespread devastation. At least 13,000 residents left in 1709 for Holland and London. The English sent many of them on to America where close to 850 families settled in the Hudson River Valley, primarily in what are now Germantown and Saugerties New York.

ee also

* Pennsylvania Dutch
* German Texan

Palatines to New York 1708-1710

Germans had trickled into America since its earliest days. The first mass migration, however, began in 1708. Official correspondence in British records shows a total of 13,146 traveled down the Rhine and from Amsterdam to England in the summer of 1709. [1] More than 3500 of these were returned from England either because they were Roman Catholic or at their own request. [2] Jones, who has devoted nearly a lifetime to study of the Palatines, quotes an entry in a churchbook by the Pastor of Dreieichenhain that states a total of 15,313 Germans left their villages in 1709 “for the so-called New America and, of course, Carolina.” [3] The flood of immigration overwhelmed English resources and resulted in major disruptions, overcrowding, famine, disease and the death of a thousand or more Palatines. It appeared the entire Palatinate would be emptied before a halt could be called to emigration. [4] Many reasons have been given to explain why so many families left their homes for an unknown land. Knittle summarizes them: “(1) war devastation, (2) heavy taxation, (3) an extraordinary severe winter, (4) religious quarrels, but not persecutions, (5) land hunger on the part of the elderly and desire for adventure on the part of the young, (6) liberal advertising by colonial proprietors, and finally (7) the benevolent and active cooperation of the British government.” [5]

And probably they all contributed in some degree. No doubt the biggest impetus – the last straw if you will – was the incredibly cold winter that preceded their departure. Birds froze in mid-air, casks of wine, livestock, whole vineyards were destroyed by the unremitting cold. [6] With what little was left of their possessions, they made their way down the Rhine to Amsterdam where they remained until the English government decided what to do about them. Boats were finally dispatched, and they arrived in London where they waited some more while the British government considered its options. A few were settled in England, a few more may have been sent to Jamaica and Nassau, but the greatest numbers were sent to Ireland, Carolina and, especially, New York.

The Reverend Joshua Kocherthal paved the way in 1709 with a small group of fifty who settled in Newburgh, NY, on the banks of the Hudson River. “In the summer of 1710, a colony numbering 2,227 arrived in New York and were [later] located in five villages on either side of the Hudson, those upon the east side being designated as East Camp, and those upon the west, as West Camp.” [7] A census of these villages on May 1, 1711 showed 1194 on the east side and 583 on the west side. The total number of families was 342 and 185, respectively. [8] About 350 Palatines had remained in New York City. Settlement on the east side (East Camp) of the Hudson River was accomplished as a result of Gvernor Hunter's negotiations with Robert Livingston, who owned Livingston Manor (in Clermont, Columbia County, NY, not the town now known as Livingston Manor on the west side of the Hudson River). Livingston was a shrewd businessman who was anxious to have his lands developed. The Livingstons benefited for many years from the revenues they received as a result of this business venture. West Camp, on the other hand, was located on land the Crown had recently "repossessed" as an "extravagant grant."

The British Crown was persuaded that the Palatines could make themselves “useful to this kingdom, particularly in the production of naval stores, and as a frontier against the French and their Indians.” [9] Naval stores, in this case, meant hemp, tar and pitch, poor choices for the climate and the variety of pine trees in New York State. On September 6, 1712, work was halted. “The last day of the government subsistence for most of the Palatines was September 12th.” [10] “Within the next five years, many Palatines moved elsewhere. Several went to Pennsylvania, others to New Jersey, settling at Hackensack, still others pushed a few miles south to Rhinebeck, New York, and some returned to New York City, while quite a few established themselves on Livingston Manor [where they had originally been settled] . . . Some forty or fifty families went immediately to Schoharie. [11] A report in 1718 places 224 families of 1,021 persons along the Hudson River while 170 families of 580 persons were in Schoharie. [12]

An interesting development was that the term "Palatine" became associated with "German," and we learn that "Until the American War of Independence 'Palatine' henceforth was used indiscriminately for all 'emigrants of German tongue.'" [13]

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[1] Early Eighteenth Century Palatine Emigration, by Walter Allen Knittle, Ph.D., Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., p. 65

[2] Ibid. p. 66

[3] The Palatine Families of New York 1710, by Henry Z. Jones, Jr., Universal City, CA 1985, p. viii

[4] Early Eighteenth Century Palatine Emigration, by Walter Allen Knittle, Ph.D., Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., p.67 [5] Ibid p. 31

[6] Ibid. p.4

[7] History of Dutchess County, New York, ,by James H. Smith, Heart of the Lakes Publishing, Interlaken, NY, p. 57

[8] Documentary History of New York., III, 668.

[9] Early Eigtheenth Century Palatine Emigration, by Walter Allen Knittle, Ph.D., Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, p. 38

[10] Public Record Office, London., C. O. 5/1085, p. 67

[11] Early Eighteenth Century Palatine Emigration, by Walter Allen Knittle, Ph.D., Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, p. 189

[12] Ibid. p. 195

[13] Pfalzer in Amerika, by herausgegeben von Roland Paul und Karl Scherer, Institut for pfalzzische Geschichte unde Volkskunde Kaiserslautern, 1995, p. 48

External links

* [http://www.palam.org/ Palatines to America]
* [http://www.sunnetworks.net/~ggarman/palatine.html Palatine History]
* [http://www.worldfamilies.net/surnames/p/palatine Palatine DNA Project]