The literature on European
emigration of the eighteenth century is filled with horror stories
of sufferings and death. The lack of cleanliness and hygiene
adversely affected mass travel, though on the whole, the total
German and Swiss migration to North America during that century
reveals a rather successful operation in which more than one hundred
thousand souls reached America. This was in spite of the fact that
many of them did not have sufficient funds to pay for the ocean
passage.
The more spectacular instances of
loss of life were related to prolonged waiting periods in temporary
quarters on land and on board ships detained in ports. Three
projects of governments or officially sponsored colonization
companies were notable examples. The halfhearted attempt of the
English authorities to deal with the unexpected arrival of upwards
of twelve thousand Germans in 1709 is the best known example.
Crammed into hastily chartered ships, the people spent months
waiting for a departure which was delayed by the war conditions. An
epidemic swept over the passengers that did not abate until after
the first weeks in America. Perhaps some 3,700 of the sturdiest
emigrants were settled in New York and North Carolina. Most were
returned to Germany though a fraction were sent to Ireland. The
Mississippi settlement scheme of 1720, involving the Company of the
West and the French government, recruited more than 4,000 people in
southwest Germany, Alsace, and Switzerland with results equally bad
for the immigrants. An even higher percentage of loss of life
occurred in the Cayenne project of the French government in 1763
when almost all the emigrants perished from fevers at sea and after
arrival.
The blame for these calamities
could be laid on authorities inexperienced in handling such large
numbers of individuals and families who were already weakened from
spending weeks of traveling toward the ports of embarkation.
The situation in 1738 was quite
different and earned the reputation as the Year of the Destroying
Angels. The reference was to Psalm 78, verse 49, "He let loose on
them his fierce anger, wrath, indignation, and distress, a company
of destroying angels." Events were so horrible that the fatalist
mind needed a response.
The six thousand plus emigrants
for North America during that year were generally not part of a
colonization scheme of any government or proprietor. The would-be
emigrants were following a pattern that had evolved since 1717 which
had become the typical way of reaching English colonies in America.
The emigrants banded together in family and often in village groups
and set out for Rotterdam or Amsterdam where they expected to find
British ships to take them on to America. Every year a number of
British ships, returning with colonial staples, were available for
such transport on their way back to America. Passengers were taken
aboard after merely signing a contract to pay their fares within a
designated time after arrival. This redemptioner system had proven
satisfactory for all. Payment could be made by the passengers
themselves in cash, from the proceeds of the sale of goods brought
along for that purpose, or by relatives and friends already in
America, or, what was becoming increasingly common, by parties to
whom they indentured themselves to work off the cost of passage.
Preparation for the 1738
emigration season by the shippers was made in the preceding fall and
winter months. Germans and Swiss returning for home visits or for
purchasing goods needed in the new settlements were approached by
shipping firms and individual captains to serve as recruiters.
Handsome head premiums and the promise of free return passage for
themselves and their goods turned many an incidental traveler into
an emissary for shippers and land speculators. These people soon
became known as "newlanders."
The colonial destinations for
which the shippers could schedule their transports included Georgia,
Virginia, and New York. In the latter state, Governor George Clarke
had leaflets circulated in Germany which solicited emigrants by the
promise of free land. But the Rotterdam shippers turned their
attention for the 1738 season to the surest of all markets,
Pennsylvania. Despite the transports to other colonies, there had
been a steady rise of the number of Germans arriving in Philadelphia
as shown by 268 immigrants in 1735, 736 in 1736, and 1,528 in 1737.
Due to the increased solicitation, a higher figure for 1738 was
anticipated by the shipping merchants. All expectations were
shattered by the timing and number as groups of emigrants gathered
for departure earlier than in previous years and came in larger
numbers. Some emigrants set out in March and the first contingents
reached the Rotterdam area before ships were ready for loading and,
indeed, before some of the regular English emigrant vessels had even
arrived in port.
Pastors and other chroniclers
recorded the departure dates of several batches. According to the
Freudenberg parish register in Nassau-Siegen, fifty-three men,
women, and children left on March 13th. In Canton Basel the
authorities processed numerous departure petitions in March. While
some of these groups were well organized and financially able to
defray their travel costs, many emigrants, who began to arrive in
the Netherlands in April, were unable to pay for their ocean
transportation.
The transit of thousands of
"Palatines and Switzers" through the Netherlands had become a major
problem for the Dutch authorities ever since the mass migration of
1709 and the ensuing return of thousands from England which lasted
into late 1711. The main issue was destitute and sick people and
orphans who had to stay behind and thereby became wards of the
state.
When the first waves of Palatines
reached Dutch territory in April 1738, they had to go to a holding
area in the vicinity of the ruins of St. Elbrecht's chapel below
Kralingen. By law, the Palatines could not enter the city of
Rotterdam. No preparations had been made for the temporary sojourn
and subsequent embarkation of these early arrivals. On May 13th the
bailiff and court of Kralingen petitioned the States of Holland to
have the Palatines either sent back or speedily embarked for
America. While "these are already a great burden," the petition
hinted at more ominous trouble, namely the outbreak of an epidemic
when "in the case of the death of parents the children will be left
behind." The Kralingers also had been informed that "shortly a
thousand or more such impecunious persons from the same land are to
follow."
As the clusters proceeded toward
the Dutch border, the British shipping merchants of Rotterdam made
their preparations, summoning ships from English ports to augment
the regular fleet of emigrant ships. The major shipping firm of Hope
readied eight ships, some from their fleet, some chartered. Once the
ships became available, they had to be hastily fitted with
additional bedsteads.
"Everywhere there were double
bedsteads built, or even three on top of one another. Many
passengers had their chests broken up and stored their belongings
wherever they could (because captains and newlanders themselves had
so many chests and goods and there were simply too many people) or
they had to leave them behind to be sent later by other ships so
that many a garment and linen cloth became rotten or moth-eaten."
According to the Rotterdamse
Courant, five of the ships operated for the firm of the Hopes
were ready on June 22nd. They were the Queen Elizabeth, Thistle,
Oliver, Winter,
and Glasgow. The fleet proceeded to English ports for the
customs clearance required by the Navigation Acts. The captains of
the Queen Elizabeth and the
Winter Galley headed
for Deal, and the others sailed for Cowes on the Isle of Wight. A
violent storm played havoc with the heavily loaded ships. They spent
three to five weeks before reaching port in England. Captain William
Walker of the Oliver felt that his vessel was overloaded.
Rather than continue the voyage, he returned to Hellevoetsluis and
resigned his command. Captain William Wright was assigned as the new
commander by the owners. The Oliver left again early in July
and crossed in two days over to Cowes where she spent almost six
weeks, "Partly to have our ship inspected and found solid and
seaworthy, partly to unload and load anew, and to await favorable
winds in order to continue our voyage to Virginia." Soon after
leaving Cowes, the vessels incurred such heavy seas that the
Thistle and the Oliver took refuge in the harbor at
Plymouth.
In Rotterdam, additional merchant
ships were fitted for the overflow of emigrants. Even the departures
of John Stedman's St. Andrew and Charles Stedman's
Charming Nancy were delayed by these transformations. Passengers
said the two Stedmans had deliberately picked the healthiest and
sturdiest people. On July 19th, the 200 ton, thirteen year old
brigantine St. Andrew, a veteran in the Palatine business
since 1725 (previously known as the Pennsylvania Merchant),
was still in Rotterdam. The emigrants, many of them sickly by that
time, were at the mercy of the shippers, even as to the final
destination. Some Palatine redemptioners intending to go to
Philadelphia were assigned to fill up the Virginia-bound Oliver
which was chartered by the Helvetian Society. In turn, some 200
passengers were loaded on the small ship Adventure. Toward
the end of June, the Adventure stopped at s'Gravendeel and
then went to London where the people were disembarked. They were
again loaded on the 150 ton, North Carolina-built Two Brothers,
Captain William Thomson, The Princess Augusta, Captain
George Long, left Rotterdam with near 350 passengers in August. This
load was not much more than the 330 persons the same vessel had
landed safely in Philadelphia in September 1736.
The
Winter Galley arrived
first in Philadelphia on September 5. Captain Edward Paynter
submitted his account of 252 passengers. If the news of the dismal
situation in Kralingen had not yet reached Philadelphia, the
emigrants themselves now spread the story. As usual during the
arrival season, Germans, some even from remote settlements, crowded
the harbor to greet relatives, friends, or just people from their
old home place to hear news and maybe find mail.
Four days later, the ship
Glasgow and the snow Two Sisters arrived. The recently
installed new governor, George Thomas, attended the oath swearing
ceremonies to acquaint himself with the situation. He also was
present when the next three vessels arrived with Palatines, the
Robert & Alice, the Queen Elizabeth, and the
Thistle, Captain Walter Goodman of the Robert & Alice
sent a letter back to Germany on October 19th. Excerpts were
published in the Rotterdamse Courant.
Two
months later:
"On the 4th of July last I sailed
out of Dover in England and arrived here on this river on the 9th of
September with crew and passengers in good health but on the way I
had many sick people, yet, since not more than 18 died, we lost by
far the least of all the ships arrived to-date. We were the third
ship to arrive. I sailed in company with four of the skippers who
together had 425 deaths, one had 140, one 115, one 90, and one 80.
The two captains Stedman have not yet arrived and I do not doubt
that I shall be cleared for departure before they arrive since I
begin loading tomorrow. I have disposed of all my passengers except
for 20 families."
Another letter, dated October
18th, was sent by Christoph Sauer of Germantown to friends in
Wittgenstein who were eagerly awaiting news of several emigrants
from Elsoff. Sauer wrote:
"The Elsoffers have not yet
arrived. Everybody wonders where their ship is, and besides that
vessel, 3 to 4 ships with people are still expected. According to
all reports, they have been at sea now for a quarter of a year."
As to the vessels that had come
in, Sauer remarked:
"The throngs of people who let
themselves be seduced this year to come into the country are raising
much lament here. Besides, as so many hundreds died from sickness
aboard ships at sea, the survivors, if there is any left of a
family, must pay or go into service which causes so much indigence
and privation among a people which is hard to describe.
"This ship lost near 160 persons,
and another one that arrived the day before, more than 150, and on
one that came in the following day, only 13 healthy people are said
to remain. Still another one arrived meanwhile on which out of 300
freights only 50 are left. Most of them died from dysentery, head
sickness and violent fever, also some captains and many seamen.
Altogether of 15 passenger ships only 2 seem to have arrived with
the people tolerably healthy and well."
The author estimated about 1,600
people had died on the fifteen ships which had arrived so far. On
November 20th another letter from the people in Germantown to the
people in Wittgenstein was sent. The letter concludes with an upward
assessment of the total number of victims: "There has been a cruel,
destroying angel among the travelers this year for the number of
those who died so far on the voyage and here has reached about
2000."
Fifteen leading men of various
religious backgrounds from Philadelphia, Germantown and nearby
communities agreed to band together for whatever help they could
render and to compile a comprehensive account of the recent events.
But, they were also concerned about the general situation for
colonists in Pennsylvania, the solicitations by newlanders, and the
pitfalls which must be considered during travel to the seaport and
during the voyage. The arrival of Palatine ships throughout the
autumn of 1738 pervades every part of their Send-Schreiben.
And, the reader is assured that their description of the events was
carefully gathered from accounts of nearly 100 eyewitnesses. Their
comments were intended to be published as a guide and a warning to
prospective emigrants.
The content of this collective
missive, dealing with the situation in and around Rotterdam and at
sea, has been used in the material here. In the personal
recollections of the signers it was the first time that emigrant
transports of an entire season were affected by disease. They
recalled the singular case of the Love and Unity four
years earlier when two-thirds of the Palatine passengers died of
starvation during a voyage of nine months in which a lively trade in
rats and mice among survivors marked the last stage of the trip.
They also recalled a ship with English passengers that was wrecked
on the New England coast with more than one hundred people drowned.
For the current year, 1738, a special name was needed, the
Year of
the Destroying Angels.
"However, this year the sea has
held quite a different harvest, because by moderate reckoning, more
than 1800 died on the 14 ships arrived till now. While there are
still two missing, we have reasons to assume them lost for they have
been at sea for more than 24 weeks."
The Send-Schreiben noted
the bad situation on the shore, off the ships:
"Although several houses outside
the city were rented by captains for the care of the sick by order
of the authorities, as it happens, it is easy to see that the burden
falls mostly on those Germans who still have some love left for
their countrymen. There have been frequent collections taken, and
the charity was then distributed to these starving, miserable human
beings but it is shocking to witness the envy, the jealousy, and the
malice among the survivors."
The writers of the letter relate
how some ships were prevented from disembarking their human cargoes
and ordered to sail back below the city for fear of spreading
contagion:
"Those in town and in the country,
who look people into their homes, contracted the same disease and
several have suddenly died. It looks as if the sickness will spread
throughout the land. The stench alone is so horrible on the ships,
and with the people who came from them, that anyone who is easily
disgusted will feel sick right away. That has made the inhabitants
shy away from the diseased people."
The Pennsylvania Gazette,
which usually reported the arrival of emigrant ships, did not refer
to any untoward conditions until late in October. On September 7th
it carried the news of the landing of 360 passengers of the
Winter Galley
(Captain Paynter reported only 252 men, women and children on
September 5th). The issue of September 14th registered the Two
Sisters, Glasgow, and Robert & Alice with 1,003
people aboard (618 according to the statements of the three
captains). There is no ready explanation for the discrepancies in
numbers because the discharge of some 500 passengers along the river
or at the wharves would hardly have remained unnoticed. There was,
however, a tax of 40 shillings levied on every reported Palatine
passenger entering the province which might possibly explain the
under reporting by captains.
The authorities became aware of
the health hazard at an early stage. Dr. Thomas Graeme, official
health inspector of incoming ships for two decades, alerted the
governor after having examined passengers on four Palatine vessels.
Governor Thomas, in submitting Dr. Graeme's reports to the board an
September 14th, singled out the particularly grave situation on the
Nancy, Captain William Wallace, and the Friendship,
Captain Henry Beech. Both commanders had already permitted
passengers to go ashore. The governor further announced
"...as it might prove dangerous to
the health of the Inhabitants of this Province and City, It is
Ordered that the Masters of said Ships be taken into Custody for
their Contempt of the Governor's Order, signified to them by Thos.
Glenworth, pursuant to a Law of this Province to remove to the
Distance of one Mile from this City and that they shall remain in
Custody till they shall give security in the sum of Five Hundred
Pounds each, to obey the said Order, and not to land any of their
Passengers, Baggage, or Goods, till the Passengers shall have been
viewed and Examined, and until they shall receive Licence from the
Governor for doing."
Surprisingly, only six days later
eighty-seven men of the Friendship and forty-eight of the
Nancy were marched to the courthouse far the oath-taking
ceremony.
The snow Fox, Captain
Charles Ware, arrived from Rotterdam and Plymouth in the second
October week. According to the Gazette she carried 153
Palatines but the captain listed only 47 men, 23 women and 6
children. A mere thirty-one of the men took the oath at the
courthouse in the governor's presence.
Three Palatine transports are
known to have left from Amsterdam. The pink Amsterdam,
Captain Joseph Willson, arrived safely in New York on October 12th
with "upwards of 300 Palatines," many of whom were actually from
Wurttemberg. One day later Captain Christopher Ratsey came in with
his Andrew Galley. There is no indication of any unusual
health problems in the terse newspaper reports. Willson had carried
on regular runs to New York since 1734, Ratsey had brought 173
German passengers in 1737. In view of the assertion voiced by
several contemporary writers that the epidemic had its origin in the
camp sites at Kralingen, it is surprising that one of the hardest
hit vessels was to have come from Amsterdam. The sickness might well
have existed already on the Rhine boats.
The ship Davy qualified in
the port of Philadelphia on October 25th. The next day the
Gazette revealed the horrible story of this voyage. The captain,
both mates and 160 passengers died at sea. It was the ship's
carpenter, William Patton, who brought the ravaged vessel up the
Delaware. Patton listed 74 men, 47 women and no children as the
remaining passengers but only 40 of the men were well enough to come
to the courthouse. In this context, the Gazette commented for
the first time on the general situation, "Most of the Ships which
bring Dutch Passengers this Year have been visited with a Sickness
that has carried off great numbers."
Next appeared the long overdue
St. Andrew, commanded by the favorite ship captain of the
Germans, John Stedman. Several letters of passengers on some of his
previous five runs between Rotterdam and Philadelphia were full of
praise for him. This time, on a voyage that lasted twelve weeks,
almost 120 passengers had died before reaching port on October 29th.
The same day, Lloyd Zachary and Thomas Bond, two physicians
recruited by the authorities to tighten the inspection of the
incoming Palatine ships, presented this report to the colonial
council:
"We have carefully examined the
State of Health of the Mariners and Passengers on board the Ship
St. Andrew, Captain Steadman, from Rotterdam, and found a great
number labouring under a malignant, eruptive fever, and are of the
opinion, they cannot, for some time, be landed in town without the
danger of infecting the inhabitants."
It was the last emigrant transport
that John Stedman ever commanded. After his return to Europe, he
settled down in Rotterdam in the shipping business. There was
disbelief in the German community that such fate could have befallen
a ship led by a Stedman. The Send-Schreiben expressed the
reaction as follows:
"The two Stedmans, who had so far
been renowned for the transfer of Germans and wanted to keep this
reputation, also had to suffer the plight this time, one of them
lost near 120 before landfall, although he had a party of the Hope's
roughest and sturdiest folks, who had to succumb to sickness and
fear of death. And the other one lost probably five-sixths, of 300
hardly 60 were left. His mates and some of his sailors he lost and
he himself lay near death." to be continued
1. This article is derived from
the same material used in a longer article, "The Emigration Season
of 1738 – Year of the Destroying Angels," which appeared in The
Report, A Journal of German-American History, volume 40,
published by the Society of the History of the Germans in Maryland,
1986. The ninety-six references in that article are not given here.
2. P.O. Box 98, Edinburg, VA 22824.