In deciding what to take along to America, the decision would have been influenced by many factors. Did they have any recommendations? What did they possess that they could take?
For the First Colony, there may have been recommendations from Johann Justus Albrecht, the "head miner". We are not sure just what he had in the way of experience in Trans-Atlantic travel. People who had lived abroad were the best source of information. We know that Henry Haeger's son Friederich was already in New York. Had he sent recommendations home? We know that he was in communication with his father. We also know, from the words of Christopher von Graffenried, that the Germans in London were expecting him to be responsible for them past London. Did the failure of Graffenried to provide support leave them in the lurch? Graffenried's partner, Michel, had traveled to America twice, and he certainly had recommendations. Was he able to communicate his ideas to the Siegen people?
It would appear that the First Colony brought along the mining tools that Albrecht had had made in the Siegen area. Did they get a separate crate for these? Or, were they distributed among the goods of the people who comprised the group?
It would seem that the Second Colony received very few recommendations about making the trip. There were some people from the area in which they lived who had made the journey in 1709. But were there any communications about the trip back to Germany and to the Second Colony members? (Remember that many other Germans left in 1717, besides the Second Colony, and these people may have had the benefit of information from abroad.)
In general, all of these early immigrants did not have a "do-it-yourself" book, telling how to prepare for, and how to make, the journey. Due to their ignorance, they probably made many bad decisions. And perhaps, due to their lack of financial resources, they may not have been able to implement their desires.
Probably the Germans had not long left their homes before they started wishing they had made some different choices. How do you prepare for an ocean voyage when you know no one who had made a journey on the ocean?
With some faith, they launched themselves down the Rhine River toward Rotterdam. They probably knew in advance they would have to get to England, and there they would have to find a ship to take them to America. They may have had some rough ideas about how much the trip would cost them. (The Hans Herr party in 1710, found they did not have enough money when they got to Rotterdam. They were aided by fellow Mennonites in Rotterdam so they could continue their trip.)
(07 Oct 03)
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.