John T. Humphrey wrote a note in Beyond Germanna on rural life in Pennsylvania for eighteenth century German immigrants. I will use a few comments from it.
Land was the big lure drawing people to Pennsylvania. Most of the immigrants were farmers who had little land in Germany, and often that was subject to the whims of the landowner. Even those Germans who had a trade often wanted land for the freedom and permanency that it gave them. There was little hope in Germany of acquiring more land, as all of the land was occupied. In buying land in America, a major factor in the cost was whether there were improvements on the land. These often cost more than the land itself. Thus many Germans settled on forest land which required lots of work to turn it into a productive asset. In Germany, seldom did a farmer ever deal with virgin land. In America, seldom did an immigrant farmer have an improved farm.
The standard scene in the early eighteenth century settlements was a forest. The Lutheran divine, Muhlenberg, noted that when one travels on the roads, one is constantly in bush or forest. Houses were seldom seen from the road. These roads were not usually improved, and rivers and streams had to be forded. The sounds of the forest unnerved people who were not use to the howl of a wolf or the flushing of a grouse. The lack of the sun was depressing to many people. An Anglican minister reported to England, "The whole country is one continuous woods." He complained that he could not send a proper report for he had no idea how many parishioners he had there in the forest. Whenever he went out to find them, he generally got lost.
The land in America tended to be very productive and might yield 40 to 50 bushels of wheat per acre. This level of yields was unheard of in Germany. The advantage in America was due to the accumulation of centuries of humus in the soil. Clearing land in America, which was a requirement, was not necessary in Germany as the land had already been cleared. Generally the Germans cut the trees down, burning most of the wood, and then followed up with the uprooting the stumps. This left a clear field for plowing.
Some of the prime concerns of the new farmers, who were often on the frontier, were the Indians and the lack of tools, equipment, horses, and cattle. Salt and gunpowder were necessary, but seldom were they cheap.
By the middle of the eighteenth century, the average land holding in Pennsylvania was about 130 acres. This would be about one-half mile by one-half mile. If one lived in the middle of the tract, then it would be a quarter mile to the edge of the land and another quarter mile to the neighbor's house. If the husband was away on business, the wife was left to tend the family and the livestock. If help was needed, it was not easy to obtain. There was a feeling of isolation, which was not typical of Germany, where the rural people lived in villages.
(28 Nov 01)
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