The last notes (now several days old) pertained to the 1709 emigration of Germans. I used, as a source, Walter Knittle's " Early Eighteenth Century Palatine Emigration ", which was published in 1937, but is still available. Knittle attempted to bring together, in published form, as much information as he could concerning the actual names of individual emigrants. In London, in the Public Record Office (PRO), he discovered, but not as the first to do so, a series of lists pertaining to this first large-scale movement of Germans who intended to go to American shores. This is a major work of extreme importance.
There is no complete listing of all of the emigrants in 1709, so students should be alert for any additions to the known information.
After their journey down the Rhine River (to the north), these Germans assembled at Rotterdam, awaiting transportation to Queen Anne's London. They moved to London in a series of sailings which began in early May 1709. By the end of July, at least six such departures had occurred. Embarkation Lists, except for the first sailing, have been preserved in the Public Record Office. So, these lists omit anyone who left in the first departure, perhaps almost a thousand people, or anyone who left after July 1709. They would also omit anyone who paid their own way or went by private charity (the Hans Herr party of this year paid their own way and are not included, for example). The five Lists from Holland refer to 10,017 individuals, of whom 2,861 are named. The difference in these numbers is that wives and children are not named. For example, in the Sixth Departure List, there are Peter Heydee, wife and one child, among many Nassau names.
These Germans tarried near London for nearly eight months while the English government formulated plans. Early in this period, two German pastors, John Tribbeko and George Andrew Ruperti, compiled a list for the Board of Trade of the names of Germans, showing also their ages, occupations, and family composition, including the sex and ages of their children.
There were four of these London Lists and none were made after June 15, 1709. Therefore, they include the missing first shipment from Rotterdam, but none of the people in the last three Holland Lists are given, nor are any of the people who left Holland after 28 July 1709. These London Lists are also in the Public Record Office. These London Lists were published in the "
New York Genealogical and Biographical Record
" on the 200th anniversary of their original compilation. Then, Lou D. MacWethy published these names in an alphabetical form, with some inaccuracies, in 1933. These London Lists detail 6,520 persons, of whom 1,770 are named.
(07 Jul 04)
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.