Sometimes My Tree: March 2011

Link: Margaret Alice Breeden McEntire (Martha Jane Conatser Breeden, Andrew Conatser, Jr., Andrew Conatser*, John Nicholus, Georg Christoph, Johann Balthasar, Killian)

Over the past ten years, I’ve spent as much time as possible in York, PA. I have traveled there to search for clues and records that tell me more about an ancestor, Johann Balthasar (Baldes, Baltzer, Balta) Knoertzer.* (see records for son Christoph - Rutherford County, NC). On each trip I learn something new about Knoertzer, about myself, and about this particular region of Pennsylvania.

I. Journey from Treschklingen

He let loose on them his fierce anger, wrath, indignation, and distress, a company of destroying angels. (Psalms 78:49)

Balthasar Knoertzer, son of Killian, was nearly forty years old when he prepared his wife, Dorothea, along with his children to emigrate from Germany to America, a trip that was to take over six months to complete. Research indicates that at least one child (and probably three) was left behind with relatives. The trip so grueling that only the stout were selected to embark and to survive.

Before leaving Germany, Balthasar sold off all of his family’s belongings. Researcher Michael Sheppard notes:

On 17 April 1738 an inventory of the property of Balthasar Knoertzer, including real estate, money, bedding, clothing, linens, tin articles, copper and bronze items, cabinets, barrels and kegs, farm equipment, wine, all kinds of kitchen equipment, cattle and other animals, and odds and ends, and debts, was made in Treschklingen in preparation for selling everything he could not take with him on his passage to America.

Most often, such a letting go of life’s possessions was a task to be completed in order to pay for the family’s passage aboard a ship where each person would be stacked like herrings in bedsteads scarcely two feet wide and six feet long.

For the Knoertzers, the first leg of the trip to Holland was probably the most costly and was estimated to have taken as long as six weeks due to mandatory stops at thirty-six different custom houses along theRhine River. In Holland, the family was likely detained another five or six weeks while the custom house examined stock and completed cargo before being allowed to sail. At Rotterdam, the Knoertzer family sailed to Cowes (on the Isle of Wight), which depending upon the wind was a trip that could take another three to four weeks, as well as deplete the remainder of a family’s funds. The Knoertzers left Cowes aboard the Charming Nancy, a vessel manned by Captain Charles Steadman and crew, designed to carry up to six hundred passengers. On the first day of the final embarking, the Knoertzers were most assuredly tired and financially spent.

Gottlieb Mittelberger, in his 1750 narrative, describes such a voyage in this manner:

During the voyage there is on board these ships terrible misery, stench, fumes, horror, vomiting, many kinds of sicknesses, fever, dysentery, headache, heat, constipation, boils, scurvy, cancer, mouth-rot and the like, all of which come from old and sharply salted food and meat, also from very bad and foul water so that many die miseraely (sic). Add to this want of provisions, hunger, thirst, cold, heat, dampness, anxiety, want, affliction, and lamentations, together viith other troubles such as lice which abound so plentifully, especially on sick people, that they can be scraped off the body, the misery reaches the climax when a gale rages for two or three days and nights so that everyone believes that the ship will go to the bottom with all the human beings on board.

Among the healthy, impatience sometimes grows so great and cruel that one curses the other or himself and the day of his birth and sometimes come near killing each other. Misery and Malice join each other so that they cheat and rob one another. One always reproaches the other for persuading him to undertake the journey. Frequently children cry out against their parents, husbands againt their wives and wives against their husbands, brothers, and sisters, friends and accuaintances (sic) against each other, but mostly against the soul-traffickers (the Newlanders.)

In 1738, the year that Balthasar led his family to the sea, more than 1800 passengers died while making the crossing aboard fourteen ships. The sailing conditions were so dire that the season became known as The Year of the Destroying Angels. These angels claimed Dorothea, the Knoertzer wife and mother who'd left a babe and other children behind in conditions of starvation in Germany. I've often imagined the crowded berths in darkness, the swelling sickness, the stillness of death, and Balthasar's knowledge that the wife beside him would now rest permanently in the waters of the Atlantic.

Part II: Arrival in York

Notes:

*Knoertzer, Knortzer, Knertzer, Knatzer, Connatser, Kanatzer, Conatser

(1) Michael Sheppard/database:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~shep/shep/I544.html

(2) Gottlieb Mittelberger's journey to Pennsylvania in the year 1750 and return to Germany in the year 1754: containing not only a description of the country according to its present condition, but also a detailed account ...

By Gottlieb Mittelberger, Carl Theodor Eben

Translated by Carl Theodor Eben

Published by Pri. print. for J. Y. Jeanes, 1898

Original from the University of Michigan

Digitized Jan 9, 2007

129 pages

Balthasar's will, August 17, 1767 York, PA (archives):

In the Name of God Amen; I Baltzar Knertzer of the Town of York in the County of York in the Province of Pennsylvania Yeoman, being well in Body, and of Perfect Mind and Memory, Thanks be to God for the same, but farr advanced in years and calling to Mind the uncertainty of this transitory Life, and that all Flesh must die and hereby revoking all former and other Will and Wills, Testament and Testaments heretofore by me made and declared, Do make, ordain, Publish and declare this my Last Will and Testament in manner and form following, that is to say, First and Principally being penitent and heartily Sorry for my Sins, I commit my soul into the Hands of Almighty God, in whom and by whose Mercy I trust and assuredly believe to be saved and my Body I commit to the Earth to be decently buried by and at the discretion of my Executors herein after named, and for the disposing of such Temporal Estate which it hath pleased God to bless me with, I give, devise and dispose of the of the same in manner and form following to wit

Imprimis. I give and bequeath to and for the Use of the Lutheran Church in York Town, of which Church and Congregation I am a Member, the Sum of Five Pounds lawful Money of Pennsylvania, to be paid within one year after my decease to the Elders or Wardens of the said Church, then, and for that time being.
Item. I give and bequeath unto my beloved Wife Catharina Knertzer All that House and lot of Ground locate on the East side of Beaver Street, being the same wherein I now dwell, with the appurtenances To hold to her during her Natural life, and to be kept in repair for her during the Term of her Natural Life aforesaid with Money to be raised out of my Estate, and from and after her decease I order my Executors to expose to sale the said House and Lot with the Heredidaments and Appurtenances for the best price that can be gotten for the same, And do hereby Impower and authorise my said Executors, or the Survivor of them, to grant, Convey and Assure the same House and Lot with the Appurtenances unto Such Person or Persons as shall Purchase the same, by such Deed or Deeds Devices and Conveyances in the Same whatsoever, to Vest and Estate in Fee, unto and in Such Purchasor or Purchasors thereof, And the Money therout arising to be divided with the Rest of my Estate, as I shall hereafter order and direct.
Item. I give and bequeath unto my said Wife Catharina Knertzer the Bed now Use with the Bolsters, Pillows and all other Furniture belonging thereto Also a large Brass Kettle, and the Washing Tubs, two Iron Potts a large one and a little one, a Brass Pann, a Frying Pann, two little Panns, one Skillet, two Pewter Basons, a large one and a small one, two Pewter Dishes, one Dozen of Pewter Plates and one Doz of Pewter Spoons, one Skimmer, two Ladles and a Flesh Fork, three Pails one Pair of Tongs, a Fire Shovel, one Pott Rack, two Pewter Tankerds , and one Pewter half Pint, one Watering Pott, Four Pieces of Linnen Cloth, two of which are of Flax, one of Hemp and the other of Tow, one Chest which she shall chuse, one Table and all the Chairs, Stools and Benches In the House and one Churn, Also the Cow I shall leave aty the Time of my decease, as long as she shall think Proper and convenient to keep her, and then to be returned to my Executors to be sold. And also two little Spinning Wheels, six Table Cloths, six hand Towels, a Dough Trough and six of the least of the Baggs one Barral, a small bagg, her Side Saddle and Bridle, and to keep all her Wearing Apparel, Also to have the Sum of five Pounds, at and immediately after my decease.
Item. I give and bequeath unto my said Wife Catharina Knertzer the Interest of four hundred Pounds, to be paid to her by my said Executors Yearly and every Year during her natural life, the first payment to be made within Six Months after my decease. All which afore-mentioned bequests to my said Wife Catharina are to be in full Satisfaction and Bar of her Dower and thirds, of and in all the Messages, Tenements, Lands, Hereditaments and Premises, whereof I shall devised. And it is my Will and I order that my said Wife Catharina shall not at any time after my decease, Sell, give, Will or bequeath any of the above mentioned and aforementioned Goods to her given as aforesaid, but Shall be and remain for her only Use during her Natural Life, and after her decease to be sold and the Money divided with the Rest of my Estate as I shall hereafter appoint and direct.
Item. I give and bequeath to my oldest Son George Christopher Knertzer one English Shilling Sterling Money of Great Britain, and no more, which is to be in full of his Share out of my whole Estate both Real and Personal.
Item. I give and bequeath unto Nicholas, Andreas, Baltzar, Margaret and Catharina Children of my said Son George Christopher Knertzer by his first Wife Margaret, the one fifth part of my Estate, the whole to be divided into five parts, to be equally divided amongst them share and share alike, first deducting out of the said fifth part the Sum of Sixty Pounds Proportionable to each ones share, Which said Sum Their father has heretofore received from me. And it is my Will and I do order that none of my said Grand Children shall have and receive their respective shares or Parts until they shall from time to time arrive to their respective Ages, and that their said Shares be put out to Interest for their respective Use and Uses, benifit and Advantage, And in case any of my said Grand Children shall happen to die under Age and without lawfull Issue then the Part and Share of him, her or them so Dying shall go and be divided among the Survivor or Survivors of them.
Item. I give and bequeath unto my Youngest Son Baltzar Knertzer one other fifth part of my Estate, the whole to be divided into five Parts, deducting thereout the Sum of Seventy Three Pounds eight Shillings and eight Pence being the Sum he already received of me.
Item. I give and bequeath unto my oldest Daughter Catherina Opp one other fifth part of my Estate, the whole to be divided into five parts, deducting out of her said Part of the Sum of Sixty Pounds and Sixteen shillings being the Sum she already received of me.
Item. I give and bequeath unto the Children of my Youngest Daughter Dorothea Miller, Wife of Andreas Miller, as well to those that are now Born as to them that may hereafter and after my Decease happen to be Born, one other fifth part of my Estate, the whole to be divided into five Parts, to be equally divided amongst them all Share and Share alike, deducting out of the said fifth part the Sum of Sixty pounds, Proportionable to each ones share, being the Sum which their mother already received of me (which said sum of Sixty Pounds I allow my said Daughter Dorothea and no more, and by being full of all her share). And it is my Will and I do order that none of the Children of my said Daughter Dorothea Shall have or receive their respecive shares or parts until they shall from time to time arrive to their respective Ages. And that the Same shares be put out to Interest for their respective Use and Uses benifit and Advantage. And in case any of my said Grand Children shall happen to die under Age and without lawfull Issue then the Part and Share of him, her or them so dying shall go to the Survivor or Survivors of them to be equally divided.
Item. I give and devise unto Andreas Grass, Son of my Stepson Andreas Grass deceased, One Certain Surveyed Tract of Land Situate lying and being in Newberry Township in the couty of York adjoining the Land of Darby Conrad Containing one hundred Acres; together with the Hereditments and Appurtenances thereunto belonging; together also with all Deeds evidences Warrants Draughts and Writings touching the Same, To have and to hold the said Tract of Land unto the said Andreas Grass his Heirs and Assigns To the only proper,--- and behalf of him the said Andreas Grass his Heirs and Assigns forever.
Item. I give and bequeath unto the said Andreas Grass the remaining fifth part of my Estate, deducting thereout the Sum of Sixty Pounds, which sum I have already paid to and for the Use of the said Andreas Grass.
Item. I give and bequeath unto my said Son Baltzar Knertzer One Still and all the Vessels belonging to the Same, Over and above his part to him before given.
LASTLY. I Nominate Constitute and Appoint my said Son Baltzer Knertzer and My Trusty and loving Friend George Kuntz Executors of this my Last Will and Testament in Trust for the Intent and Purpose in this my Last Will contained. IN WITNESS whereof I have hereunto Let my Hand and Seal the fifteenth Day of August in the Year of Our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Sixty seven.
Signed, Sealed, Published and declared by the said Baltzar Knertzer, the Testator as and for his last Will and Testament in the Presence of us, who have Subscribed our names as Witnesses thereto, in the presence and at the request of the said Testator and in the Presence of each other. (Note the information between the 8th and 9th lines from the Top was first made).
Signed Baltzer Knertzer. Witnesses signed: Adam Leightner, Jacob Probst and Jacob Billmeyer jun.
York County Ss-- Before me Samuel Johnston Esq Deputy Register for the Probate of Wills and granting Letters of Administration in the County Of York in the Province of Pennsylvania Personally appeared Adam Leightner Jacob Probst and Jacob Billmyer Junior the Three Subscribing Witnesses to the Within Instrument of Writing and on their Solemn Oath taken on the Holy Evangelists of Almight God Do Depose and say that they were Personally present and saw and heard the within named Baltzer Knertzer Sign Seal Publish and Declare the within Instrument of Writing as and for his last Will and Testament and that at the Time of Doing thereof the said Baltzer Knertzer was of Sound and Disposing Mind and Memory to the best of these Deponants Knowledge and belief and that they Subcribed their names and Witnesses to the same in the Presence of the said Testator and at his request. Sworn and Subscribed before me at York the 10th Day of September 1769. Signed Sam Johnston Dep Reg. Witnesses signed: Adam Leightner, Jacob Probst and Jacob Billmeyer jun.
Recorded 10 Sep 1769

Notes:
© Teresa Price, all rights reserved; also shared as "Scupper" post

from Beyond Germanna:

Volume 10, Number I, January 1998 "Beyond Germanna"
ISSN 1073-838X
The Year of the Destroying Angels -1738 (1)
Klaus Wust (2 )Part I

The literature on European emigration of the eighteenth century is filled with horror stories of sufferings and death. The lack of 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. Three projects of governments or officially sponsored colonization companies were notable examples. The halfhearted attempt of the English authorities to deal with the unexpected arrival of upwards of twelve thousand Germans in 1709 is the best known example. Crammed into hastily chartered ships, the people spent months waiting for a departure which was delayed by the war conditions. An epidemic swept over the passengers that did not abate until after the first weeks in America. Perhaps some 3,700 of the sturdiest emigrants were settled in New York and North Carolina. Most were returned to Germany though a fraction were sent to Ireland. The Mississippi settlement scheme of 1720, involving the Company of the West and the French government, recruited more than 4,000 people in southwest Germany, Alsace, and Switzerland with results equally bad for the immigrants. An even higher percentage of loss of life occurred in the Cayenne project of the French government in 1763 when almost all the emigrants perished from fevers at sea and after arrival.

The blame for these calamities could be laid on authorities inexperienced in handling such large numbers of individuals and families who were already weakened from spending weeks of traveling toward the ports of embarkation.

The situation in 1738 was quite different and earned the reputation as the Year of the Destroying Angels. The reference was to Psalm 78, verse 49, "He let loose on them his fierce anger, wrath, indignation, and distress, a company of destroying angels." Events were so horrible that the fatalist mind needed a response.

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 a number 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 the 1738 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.

Pastors and other chroniclers recorded the departure dates of several batches. According to the Freudenberg parish register in Nassau-Siegen, fifty-three men, women, and children left on March 13th. In Canton Basel the authorities processed numerous departure petitions in March. While some of these groups were well organized and financially able to defray their travel costs, many emigrants, who began to arrive in the Netherlands in April, were unable to pay for their ocean transportation.

The transit of thousands of "Palatines and Switzers" through the Netherlands had become a major problem for the Dutch authorities ever since the mass migration of 1709 and the ensuing return of thousands from England which lasted into late 1711. The main issue was destitute and sick people and orphans who had to stay behind and thereby became wards of the state.

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 the overflow 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 had landed safely in Philadelphia in September 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 dc 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. two months later: "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 SO 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 a comprehensive 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 a warning 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 &st 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 throughout 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 shillings levied 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 September 14th, 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 the Governor'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 far the oath-taking ceremony.

The snow Fox, Captain Charles Ware, arrived from Rotterdam and Plymouth in the second October week. According to the Gazette she 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 is surprising 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." to be continued

1. This article is derived from the same material used in a longer article, "The Emigration Season of 1738 Ð Year of the Destroying Angels," 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.

2. P.O. Box 98, Edinburg, VA 22824.

Gottlieb Mittelberger's 1750 description of the trip:

"This journey lasts from the beginning of May to the end of October, fully half a year, amid such hardships as no one is able to describe adequately with their misery. The cause is because the Rhine boats from Heilbronn to Holland have to pass by 26 custom houses, at all of which the ships are examined, which is done when it suits the convenience of the custom-house officials. In the meantime, the ships with the people are detained long, so that the passengers have to spend much money. The trip down the Rhine lasts therefore four, five, and even six weeks. When the ships come to Holland, they are detained there likewise five to six weeks. Because things are very dear there, the poor people have to spend nearly all they have during that time."
The second stage of the journey was from Rotterdam to one of the English ports. Most of the ships called at Cowes, on the Isle of Wight. This was the favorite stopping place, as 142 ships are recorded as having sailed from Rotterdam to Cowes. . .
In England there was another delay of one to two weeks, when the ships were waiting either to be passed through the custom house or waiting for favorable winds. When the ships had for the last time weighed their anchors at Cowes or some other port in England, then, writes Mittelberger, "the real misery begins with the long voyage. For from there the ships, unless they have good wind, must often sail eight, nine, ten to twelve weeks before they reach Philadelphia. But even with the best wind the voyage lasts seven weeks."
The third stage of the journey, or the ocean voyage proper, was marked by much suffering and hardship. The passengers being packed densely, like herrings, as Mittelberger describes it, without proper food and water, were soon subject to all sorts of diseases, such as dysentery, scurvy, typhoid and smallpox. Children were the first to be attacked and died in large numbers. Mittelberger reports the deaths of 32 children on his ship. Of the heartless cruelty practised he gives the following example: "One day, just as we had a heavy gale, a woman in our ship, who was to give birth and could not under the circumstances of the storm, was pushed through the porthole and dropped into the sea, because she was far in the rear of the ship and could not be brought forward."
The terrors of disease, brought about to a large extent by poor food and lack of good drinking water, were much aggravated by frequent storms through which ships and passengers had to pass. "The misery reaches the climax when a gale rages for two or three nights and days, so that every one believes that the ship will go to the bottom with all human beings on board. In such a visitation the people cry and pray most piteously. When in such a gale the sea rages and surges, so that the waves rise often like mountains one above the other, and often tumble over the ship, so that one fears to go down with the ship; when the ship is constantly tossed from side to side by the storm and waves, so that no one can either walk, or sit, or lie, and the closely packed people in the berths are thereby tumbled over each other, both the sick and the well ~ it will be readily understood that many of these people, none of whom had been prepared for hardships, suffer so terribly from them that they do not survive."
When at last the Delaware River was reached and the City of Brotherly Love hove in sight, where all their miseries were to end, another delay occurred. A health officer visited the ship and, if any persons with infectious diseases were discovered on the ship, it was ordered to remove one mile from the city. As early as 1718, Dr. Thomas Graeme was appointed to visit and report on all incoming vessels. But no reports from him are on record until the year 1738. On September 14, 1738, Governor George Thomas laid before the Board the reports of Dr. Graeme, "setting forth the condition of four ships lately arrived here from Rotterdam and Amsterdam; And it being observed from one of the said reports that were the Passengers on Board the ships Nancy and Friendship allowed to be immediately landed, 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 the Governour'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 untill they shall receive a Licence from the Governor for so doing."
The Governor urged at this time that a hospital be erected for sich passengers, but the Assembly refused to act until an epidemic broke out in the city of Philadelphia. Then the Assembly voted to buy Fisher Island, at the junction of the Schuylkill with the Delaware. The Island was bought in 1743 . . . The name of the island was changed to Province Island . . . the erection of an adequate hospital was, however, delayed until the year 1750. . .
A vivid account of the arrival of these passenger ships in the harbor of Philadelphia is given by the Rev. Henry M. Muehlenberg, in a report which he sent to Halle . . . "After much delay one ship after another arrives in the harbor of Philadelphia, when the rough and severe winter is before the door. One or more merchants receive the lists of the freights and the agreement which the emigrants have signed with their own hand in Holland, together with the bills for their travel down the Rhine and the advances of the 'newlanders' for provisions, which they received on the ships on account. . . Then he new arrivals are led in procession to the City Hall and there they must render the oath of allegiance to the king of Great Britain. After that they are brought back to the ship. Then announcements are printed in the newspapers, stating how many of the new arrivals are to be sold. Those who have money are released. Whoever has well-to-do friends seeks a loan from them to pay the passage, but there are only a few who succeed. The ship becomes a market-place. The buyers make their choice among the arrivals and bargain with them for a certain number of years and days. They then take them to the merchant, pay their passage and their other debts and receive from the government authorities a written document, which makes the newcomers their property for a definite period."

==========

Soon I'll write about Andrew Conatser. In the meantime, here is a glimpse.

Andrew Conatser (John Nicoluas, Georg Cristoph, Johann Balthasar) a Sketch:

Andrew Conatser, Minister in Tennessee:J. J. Burnett, "Sketches of Tennessee's Pioneer Baptist Preachers", Marshall and Bruce Co., Nashville 1919, pp 120-121:

Andrew Connatser was a preacher in Sevier County in the early half of the last century, noted in several ways, and particularly gifted in exhortation and prayer. He was of German descent, and could speak the German language, but was born in this country. He was ordained deacon of Bethel Church, Sevier County, "August, fourth Saturday, 1829," and was later ordained to the ministry by authority of the same church. For a number of years he was a messenger of Bethel Church to the Tennessee Association. He was pastor of Alder Branch and other churches.
In physical build he was rawboned, muscular and sinewy, a man of rare physical strength and endurance. Before his conversion, according to the custom of his day and neighborhood, he drank some and would "treat" his associates and receive "treats" in return, on special occasions. After his conversion, even after he had become a preacher and had "preached his third sermon", I was told, seven of his companions undertook to get him to drink with them and to "treat" in the old time way. To prove his hospitality and to show that he was not "stingy." he yielded to their solicitations and furnished the "treats". But they were not satisfied; thet wanted him to drink nolens volens, and undertook to force him. Thinking he had already gone far enough in the "two-mile" road with his persecuteors, or had taken enough of their abuse to satisfy the law of "non-resistance to evil." instead of turning the other cheek to the smiters, with his good fist he landed blows on the cheeks of about seven of his assailants, knocking them down as fast as they aproached him. After that they "let him alone", the argument of hard knocks proving effective where the gentle means of moral suasion had proved a failure.
For many years before his death, Andrew Connatser lived in pioneer style in an old house in Sevier County which had been used as a fort in fighting the Indians. It had holes in the sides, corresponding to the port-holes of a ship, through which the whites could poke their guns and fire in case it "was necessary to defend themselves from the Indians.
In 1851 he was Pastor of Tuckaleechee Church (Min. Tenn. Association). He was also Pastor of Bethel and Bethany churches. He married a Miss Mary Blevins. He and his wife both lived in Kentucky before coming to Tennessee."
========
Note - Letter mentions children of Georg Christoph Knertzer (Conatser) and Eve Smith: Jacob, Margaret and Chrisopher.

Letter from aunt Rebecca Taylor Howard in KY to nephew in TX:
Canby, Owen Co., Kentucky
December 2, 1882
Source: http://ourtexasfamily.com/Wilks-TaylorFam/Wilks_Fam.48-Taylor-Mings.html
Mr. F. S. Taylor Dear nephew:
Your kind letter came to hand yesterday to which I will now take pleasure in answering. We are all well except myself. I am very much affected with the rheumatics. We were glad to learn that you all are well pleased with your new home and glad to learn that Catherine is settled permanently in a good country and may you all do well is my happiest wish. You wish for information as to our family, as to our ancestry as far back as I can remember. I will commence with grandfather Taylor whose name was Thomas and lkived in Madison County where our nearest relatives resided. He had a sister, Grace, who married a Jones and lived near Mount Sterling in Montgomery County.
My grandmother on the paternal side was of a great family of people. Her maiden name was Hannah Bartison and a better woman than her never lived.
I will now give the names of some of my father’s uncles on paternal side. Uncle Groom the eldest, Father Benjamin Taylor and Uncle William, uncle Tarleton, and uncle Parker who was the youngest boy, besides there three aunts on paternal side to wit: Aunt Grace, Jennie, and Rebeccah who was the youngest child, all of whom I have named were noted especially as a peacable and quiet and energetic family; noted as strong Democrats, and all strong reformers except uncle Groom who was a Baptist. I must tell you that uncle William Taylor was so strong and uncompromising a Democrat that his faith and political principle was the only thing that he was ever known to fight for. Ay! he gave his all to the old Jeffersonian party firm and irreconciliable. Indeed all the Taylor family of whom I know anything about was loyal to that principle except old Uncle Zack “the hero of Buena Visa” who was elected president on the “Whig Platform” and who was a member of our family.
I will now give you some of the names of the first cousins of father, who live near Mount Sterling, Viz: Jesse, Frank, Augustine, and Thomas. In addition, I will now give you the names of some of my first cousins on father’s side: Uncle Groom’s children who are now living are all here in Owen ane Grant Counties. Cousin Hannah, married Wilburn Holbrook, Elizabeth married Benjamin Martin. Jane married Frank Stamper a merchant in Owenton. Rebecca married Judge Jesse Holbrook of Owenton, formerly county judge of Owen County and who is now one among the most wealthy in Owen County. Thomas, James, and Wesley, the boys, are neighbors to us, in good circumstances and among the most highly esteemed of our citizens.
Uncle William’s children are the following: Parker, Speed, Cassius, and Pendleton, and Owen who was named for Owen County for its unparalleled loyalty to the Democracy. They live in Madison County, except Speed, who lives in Washington County, Ky. All in good circumstances. Uncle Tarlton’s children are the following: Frank, who lives in Messamine County in the heart of the blue grass country and said to be the wealthiest man in Jessamine County is the oldest now living.
Bartson, the youngest, lives in Lexington, owns two farms in Madison County, also a lot and Hotel in Lexington. Cousin William Hendren was a preacher of the Christian faith.
Uncle Parker’s children living are the following: William Taylor lives in Grant County near Dock’s. Susan married Hiram Taylor, living now in Estil County. Maranda Taylor lives now in Missouri, and America married a Beasley living on the Kentucky River. One of the boys was named Green, one Fayette, and one Elijah. They all live in Tunnell County near the Kentucky River.
There is a second cousin of mine living near Warsaw in Galatin County, very wealthy and a good and enterprising citizen. His name is Tarlton. Aunt Grace Dunkin’s boys live near Danville in Boyle County. Willie Dunkin married Miss Wannie Goodnight near Danville. My youngest aunt Becah married Benjamin Kidwell in Madison County. Aunt Mary Taylor married James Howard in Madison County.
Young A. J. Taylor, formerly of Danville, now a noted Baptist Divine in Lexington, is a second cousin of mine. Grandmother Taylor’s sister, Jane Bartson, married Jacob Canetscer who was uncle to my mother. Christopher Canetscer was another uncle to my mother. My grandmother on Mother’s side was Margaret Canetscer. Her mother’s maiden name was Smith. My grandfather on maternal side was Joseph Mings who emigrated from England and was in the war of the Revolution and fought at Bunker’s Hill.
Hoping this will suffice for the present and as I cannot think of any more of our ancestry farther back I will close.
With much love to all the family and hoping to hear from you all soon I remain your affectionate aunt.
Rebecca J. Howard
P.S. Dock and Mary Jane send their love and respect to you all and wish you well. They all are well as common.
===

Sometimes My Tree

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Maggie and Fern

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Maternal Conatser Line: Knortzer, Johann Balthasar

Madison Co., KY, in the 1820 and 1830 census

Popular Posts

Total Pageviews

ClustrMap