One of the largest families to emigrate from Siegen (Trupbach, more exactly) was the Fischbach family, which appears to consist of:
The father, Philipp (52 years old),
The mother, Elsbeth,
A daughter, Anna Elisabeth (probably as the wife of Hans Jacob Richter),
A daughter, Maria Elisabeth (ca 26 years old),
A son, Johannes (b. 1691),
A son, Hermann (b. 1693), and
Another daughter, also named Maria Elisabeth (b. 1696).
The book " Ortsgeschichte Trupbach " [" Local History of Trupbach "], by Tröps and Bohn, says this about the above family:
"(1712) Philipp Fischbach mit Familie wandern nach Virginia aus." ["(1712) Philipp Fischbach, with his family, moved from here (Trupbach) to Virginia."]
Why they put the year at 1712 is not clear, because it seems that they left the area in 1713. This same book, in a list of occupations in the village, gives Philipp Fischbach, Hermann Fischbach, and Johann Fischbach as carpenters ("Zimmermänner"). I believe that most of these occupations were taken from the church books. Probably, the father would not have been entered as a carpenter unless he were a Master in the carpenter’s guild. Though the sons are given also as carpenters, I doubt that this information came from the church book. First, your name doesn’t get entered in the church book unless you are born, married, or dead (or a child married). So, it would seem there was no reason to find an appropriate entry for the sons. Second, Johannes was only 22 years old, and his brother Hermann was only 20 years old. This would have been too young to have the status and title of "Carpenter". They might have been journeyman carpenters. [The book also says the sons married in 1714, which is doubtful, though perhaps possible.]
So, we have a family, the Fischbachs, who left as a complete group. One daughter was already married to Hans Jacob Richter, and they came also. But it would seem more likely that the Richter family went because the Fischbach family was going than the other way around.
Though we have probably identified a key family in the emigration, it still does not tell us why they left. The only reason which looks valid is that the economic times were bad. The number of people that left in 1709 tells us as much. But the reason had to be compelling because, from our view, it seems the Fischbachs had a home and a job, at least the parents did.
Perhaps the parents were thinking of the sons and daughters. The oldest unmarried daughter was 26, the youngest was 17. The two sons were 22 and 20. It was probably the case that the parents were thinking more of the children than of themselves. Maybe the prospects for them were dim in Trupbach, and the parents envisioned a brighter future in Virginia. It is hard to say what their vision of Virginia was. The jobs they were expecting to find were in silver mining. It is doubtful that mining would be appealing to "carpenters", even though there is a need, to some degree, for carpenters in mining.
(04 Apr 01)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.