John Blankenbaker's Germanna History Notes

Note 1125

We have covered a lot of history in the last few notes.  Perhaps it is time to go back and look at some of the details in more depth.

First, why did the first group of Germans, who left Germany in 1713, leave?  What were their motivations?  They surely saw the potential for something better in America, but what did they see?  The answers are not clear.

We do know that a large number left from the region around Siegen in 1709, including the son of a couple who were to leave in 1713.  It had not been appreciated that so many had left then, until Hank Z. Jones did his monumental study of the 1710 Palatines to New York.  He and his research assistants found the homes of many of these people in Germany (and changed the face of research into German origins).  Many reasons have been advanced for the mass migration of 1709 from Germany, and most of them can be discarded; however, we should look at them, since many of these reasons continue to be given.

One of the most popular reasons proposed is religion .  Now, it is true there was a group of people for whom this was important, namely the Anabaptists who were living in Switzerland, Alsace, the Palatinate, Baden, and perhaps Württemberg.  They were severely hampered in the exercise of their religion, and in their daily living.  These people were a minority, and not very many came in the 1709 group.  The majority of these people could more typically be described as one individual was described ­ born a Catholic, married in the Reformed church, and an elder of the Lutheran church.  Descriptions of the emigrants in 1709 make it clear that they brought no religious books with them, in the form of Bibles, hymnals, or prayer books.  They had their religious principles, but these were minimized while they were in the process of getting to America.

A dispatch from Holland, in June of 1709, reported that the Palatines, both Protestants and Catholics, seemed to agree with each other very well, with many mixed marriages.  The report went on to say they were "fleeing not so much for religion" as for other reasons.

In later years, particularly in the last century, it became popular to say that one ancestor’s left for religious reasons.  This seemed like a noble purpose, which made the ancestors look better.  In fact, more of our German ancestors came because their fellow citizens didn't want them to stay, than came for religious reasons.  Town Councils, who were having to support families, saw emigration as a cheaper alternative.  The Town Councils paid the emigrants' way to America.

I did draw an exception to the Anabaptists earlier.  They were severely restricted in the practice of their religion.  They could not have a church building.  Not more than twenty could meet at one time.  They could not recruit new members.  Even as pacifists, they had to serve in the Army.  They could not own land.  They had to pay special taxes.  And, in Switzerland, they were in danger of being thrown in jail.  (It could be argued, justifiably, that there would not have been a Germanna had the Swiss not been putting the Anabaptists in jails and exporting them from Switzerland.)
(26 Mar 01)