John Blankenbaker's Germanna History Notes

Note 1129

Hank Z. Jones tracked down more than 500 of the 847 families that came to New York in 1710 from Germany.  Using his index of geographical names, I looked up the ones that had "Siegen" in the name.  Apparently, the smaller villages were cross-referenced, or co-referenced, with Siegen.  These are the people that I found:

1. Jacob Bähr of Oberfischbach.  When he was baptized, 17 Nov 1678, his sponsor was Jacob Cuntz at Oberfischbach.
2. Peter Giesler of Oberfischbach.  Within his family there are mentions of Peter and Johann Fischbach, and of Oberholtzklau.  Peter Giesler married Anna Lucia, d/o Hermann Hoffman.
3. Johann Friedrich Häger, b. in Nepthen, as s/o Johann Henrich Häger.
4. Johann Heinrich Haeger of Anzhausen (see Maria Hagerin in Jones).
5. Catharina Heyl of Wilnsdorf.
6. Hermann Hoffman of Oberfischbach.
7. Johann Eberhard Jung (Jones: "The association of names on lists suggests this may have been a Siegen family.").
8. Henrich Ohrendorff of Oberfischbach.
9. Henrich Schramm of Wilnsdorf.
10. Hyeronimus Weller of Zeppenfeld.  There are mentions of this family at Oberfischbach.  A sponsor of Weller’s sister was Agnes Holtzklau at Salchendorf.  Hyeronimus Weller married Anna Julian, d/o Jacob Cuntz.
11. Johannes Zeller who married at Siegen Anna Catharina Herber.

Also, 107 people emigrated from the Nassau-Dillenburg region in 1709, about 15 miles southeast of Siegen.  There are several mentions of Burbach, a village 10 miles south of Siegen, as the home of 1709 emigrants.

There are many Germanna names and localities in the above list.  [Oberfischbach is shown on the oberfischbach.html"> German Photo/Oberfischbach page .]  One of the people listed is actually the son of a couple who arrived in Virginia in 1714.  This is Johann Friderich Häger, who like his father, was a Reformed minister.  The other Haeger/Häger above is a cousin of Johann Friderich.

These were the first people from the area around Siegen to go to America.  Everyone in the whole district was aware of the migration.  Imagine the conversations that resulted from this.  "Did you hear...?"   "I wonder how Jacob Bähr is doing."   "Have you had any news?"   "Why do you think they went?"

Let’s try to answer that last question ourselves.  They went because they thought they would have a better future in America than they would have by staying home.  I have read, but I have not studied it in detail, that the economic life was depressed.  Jobs were scarce.  It had been a hard winter.  This was a chance to get a first or a new start.
(30 Mar 01)