John Blankenbaker's Germanna History Notes

Note 1854

[I did not get called for jury duty today.]

There are many misconceptions about why the First Colony immigrants left the Nassau-Siegen area.  Willis Kemper wrote that they (the First Colony) were not a part of the large emigration of 1709.  While it was true that they did not leave in 1709, they were a continuation of the emigration that did occur in 1709.  In Beyond Germanna , on page 36, evidence is presented to show that this is a more correct story for the First Colony.  It was based on Hank Z. Jones’ book, The Palatine Families of New York 1710 .

The names given below, who are heads of families, are spelled as taken from Jones so they might be more easily found there.  The spelling in other records may vary.

The villages mentioned are located with respect to Siegen:

Oberfischbach, 5 mi. W;
Netphen, 4 mi. NE;
Wilnsdorf, 5 mi. SE;
Zeppenfeld, 7 mi. S;
Salchendorf, 6 mi. S;
Oberholzklau, 6 mi . NW;
Anzhausen, 5 mi. E.

Emigrants from the Siegen area in 1709 and immigrants to New York in 1710 include:

• Jacob Bähr of Oberfischbach .  When he was baptized 17 Nov 1678, his sponsor was Jacob Cuntz at Oberfischbach.
• Peter Giesler of Oberfischbach .  Within his family there are mentions of Peter and Johann Fischbach, and of Oberholzklau.  Peter Giesler married Anna Lucia, d/o Hermann Hoffman.
• Johann Friderich Häger , b. in Netphen as s/o Johann Henrich Häger.
• Johann Henrich Häger of Anzhausen (see Maria Hagerin in Jones).  (A cousin of the previous)
• Catharina Heyl of Wilnsdorf .
• Hermann Hoffman of Oberfischbach .
• Johann Eberhard Jung (Jones: "The association of names on lists suggests this man may have been a Siegen family".)
• Henrich Ohrendorff of Oberfischbach .
• Henrich Schramm of Wilnsdorf .
• Hieronimus Weller of Zeppenfeld .  There are mentions of the family at Oberfischbach.  A sponsor of Weller's sister was Agnes Holtzklau at Salchendorf.  Hieronimus Weller married Anna Julian, d/o Jacob Cuntz.
• Johannes Zeller who married, at Siegen, Anna Catharina Herber.

This is not the complete set of evidence, but it is sufficient to show that emigration commenced in 1709, and that the 1713 emigration was a continuation.  There was also a similar set of economic reasons between the two departures.
(22 Mar 04)