John Blankenbaker's Germanna History Notes

Note 1858

A couple of notes ago, I wrote about the emigration of the First Colony being a continuation of the departure of many Germans in 1709.  I presented names which Hank Jones had traced back from New York to the Siegen area.  In this note, I will present some more names of people who departed in 1709 which suggests that even more people left in 1709 from the Siegen area than Jones had named.  These names come from the sixth party to leave Rotterdam for London.  The Dutch made a list of the names.  Unfortunately, no surviving copy of the arrivals at London is known.

Remember that these names are written by the Dutch using their phonetics.

Some of the names are:

• Johann Henrig Arendorff (Ohrendorf), with wife and child
• Anonius Lueck, single person
• Sneider (Schneider), with wife and six children
• Prints (Prinz)
• Kolb
• Fischbäg (Fischbach)
• Hoffman, with wife and two children
• Johann Bast (Sebastian?) Fischbag
• Weischgerterin (Weissgerber)

• Peter Heidee, with wife and child.  The Dutch actually wrote this name with an umlauted “ y ” in place of the “ i ” but I didn’t think that it would come through too well.  (I can generate it as ÿ so you can test whether it comes through ok. Heÿdee )  This substitution is to be understood as equivalent.  Changing the double “ ee ” into the typical single “ e ” of German, the name that we have is Peter Heide.

I believe that Peter Heide left the Siegen area in 1709.  After that his trail becomes murky and subject to debate.  I believe it to be very probable that this is the Peter Heite, son of Jacob Heite of Rehbach, who married Maria Liessbeth, daughter of Johann Henrich Freudenberg of Ferndorf.  This wedding took place in 1707.  By 1709, one child as called for in the list would be natural.

Names surrounding Peter Heide on the Rotterdam list are Johann Deischkirch, Mattis Jossen, Hans Henrig Becker, Jacob Niesch, and Hans Tiedberger.  Again these are Dutch spellings.
(27 Mar 04)