East Camp and West Camp

By November 1710, the Palatines had been moved north from New York City to East Camp and West Camp along the Hudson River.  Each family was given a 40’ by 50’ plot of land upon which they built huts and cleared an area for spring planting.  Robert Livingston, from whom Governor Hunter had purchased the land, had been given a contract to supply the Palatines with bread and beer.  Each family was also to receive beef or pork three times a week, and fish, cheese, flour or peas on the other four days.   Governor Hunter acquired additional funds to provide them with one dairy cow per family, and collectively three hundred horses, six hundred pigs, farm implements, and six hundred guns.   All of this cost more than what the British government had agreed to pay, so Hunter took out personal loans to cover it.  He strongly believed that the tar and pitch project would be so profitable that the government would gladly reimburse him.  Meanwhile the Listmasters kept accounts of how much each family received.  As the tar and pitch project couldn’t begin until spring, the Palatines were growing deeper and deeper in debt.

The inactivity of the long winter of 1710 - 1711 bred discontent among the Palatines.  They were aware of the original plan to settle on fertile land in Schoharie, and felt betrayed.  Described in a letter to Governor Hunter, the following conversation which occurred around a fire one evening, gives indication as to their restlessness.

“We came to America to establish our families – to secure lands for our children, on which they will be able to support themselves after we die.  That we cannot do here.” said one man in disgust.

“What is to be done in that case, but to have patience?” replied one of his companions.

“Patience and Hope make fools of those who fill their bellies with them.”  responded the first man, quoting a familiar German saying.

 

Reference:  “Becoming German” by Phillip Otterness

Fertile Land

In the camps on Nutten Island, the Palatines began the process of reestablishing their families, as well as their churches.  They were grouped together by the ships they had arrived on, so that the Listmasters, who kept records of the provisions each family received during the voyage, could continue this work on land. 

Governor Hunter had been advised by the Board of Trade in England to look into land along the Schoharie River for the project.  This land belonged to the Mohawk Indians, but they had previously offered it to the Queen.  Her Majesty’s surveyor general was sent to assess the land, and he reported back to Governor Hunter that the land was too fertile.  The tar and pitch project required pine forests which grew on poor and rocky soil.  So instead, Hunter purchased 6,000 acres of land along the Hudson River from Robert Livingston, as well as another 6,300 acres across the river.

Land “too fertile” is an oxymoron to a farmer, and the Palatines were not pleased when they heard it.  Forgetting the need to pay back 18 months of support, they balked at the notion that their labors were better suited in pine forests. 

Today the Schoharie Valley remains an amazingly fertile land.  Nothing compares to this area in early summer when the crops are growing in the fields.  Farm stands overflow with abundance.  We eat vegetables until we can’t eat any more, and then we start canning.  The Palatines were absolutely right, fertile land is good land.  However, they had a debt to repay.

 

Reference:  “Becoming German” by Phillip Otterness

New York City

After a 4 month delay off the coast of England, the voyage across the ocean took another 2 months.  Finally the first ship, the Lyon of Leith, reached New York with 350 Palatines on board.  A total of 10 ships had left England and 8 of them arrived at their destination by the end of June.  The other 2 ships encountered problems along the way, arriving in July and August.  A doctor aboard the Lyon of Leith reported that all of its passengers had been sick during the voyage.  There are no records of how many Palatines died during the voyage, but it is estimated that upward of 500 people who boarded the ships in December did not survive.

In 1710 New York City had a population of 6,000.  As was the situation in Rotterdam and again in London, the sudden influx of 3,000 immigrants was more than the city was capable of supporting.  Because of this, it was decided that the Palatines would be settled on Nutten Island in army tents.  Governor Hunter reported that they were in a “deplorable sickly condition.”

There were many widows and orphans by the time the Palatines reached America.  Because the men would be the laborers for the Tar and Pitch project, anyone without a man in the family was considered useless.   Many widows remarried quickly to solidify their future in this new land.  However, orphaned children, as well as children of widows were apprenticed to the residents of New York City.  This created the first of many problems between Governor Hunter and the people he was supposed to be helping.

 

Reference:  “Becoming German” by Phillip Otterness

The Contract

During the last week of December 3,000 Palatines were allowed to board the ships that would carry them, at long last, to America.  Their perseverance had paid off.  Once on board the ships, however, all they did was wait; again.

Governor Hunter, in an effort to protect his own interests in this venture, felt it was necessary to have a contract that clearly spelled out the conditions of this arrangement.  He wanted to be sure that the Palatines had no doubt about their responsibility to pay back the British Government for their transportation and support.  The Board of Trade drafted a contract that was eventually approved by the Attorney General.  The Palatines were not invited to participate in this process.

The overcrowded ships sat off the southern coast of England as winter eventually gave way to spring.  After four months of intolerable living conditions aboard the ships, the Palatines heard the terms of their contract as it was read to them.  As this was one more step in moving forward, they didn’t question the contract.  They also didn’t sign it.

In the middle of April 1710, fourteen months after many of the Palatines had walked away from their homes, they finally set sail for America.

Reference:  “Becoming German” by Phillip Otterness

Tar and Pitch

Governor Hunter of New York saw the Palatine situation as something other than the burden it actually was; an opportunity.  He proposed a German settlement in the forests of New York to produce naval stores of tar and pitch.   There, the Palatines would also serve as a human barrier against the French and their Indian allies.

The primary producer of tar and pitch in the early 18^th century was Sweden.  Tar was used on a ship’s ropes to prevent rotting, and pitch was used to caulk the hulls.  As it was a necessary commodity for the British Navy, they had long been searching for a way to produce it for themselves. 

In early December, Hunter’s proposal was accepted by the British Board of Trade.  The money that the Palatines earned by the production of the naval stores would be used to pay off the cost of their settlement and subsidies.  After their debt was paid, each person would be granted forty acres of land. 

At last a plan that made sense; at least for the British.  As farmers, the Palatines were ill-suited to work in pine forests, nor did they want to.  However, regardless of how the Germans felt, ships were chartered to send 3,000 Palatines to New York.  They were finally on their way.  Almost….

 

Reference:  “Becoming German” by Phillip Otterness

Resettlement

The Palatine situation was getting out of control, and the British government had to take action.  They attempted to move small groups of Palatines to villages and towns throughout the country by offering to subsidize their settlement.  However, it had little effect.  The British citizens were not sympathetic to the Germans, and instead were concerned about diseases that the Palatines might spread from the squalor in which they lived.  Not in my backyard was the general consensus.  By mid-summer the government, out of desperation, came up with three new plans which involved other British holdings.

As they were working to strengthen the Protestant interest in Ireland, the British government offered the Palatines a small subsidy to settle there.  Over 3,000 of them took the offer and sailed for Dublin, but soon realized that it was no better than the situation they had left in Germany – they were tenant farmers again.  Just over a year after they left England, two-thirds of them had made their way back; once again looking to the British government to assume their care.

Another plan, North Carolina, was much more appealing.  Each family was offered 250 acres of land to settle.  The government carefully selected 600 young, strong and healthy Palatines to make the trip.  Unfortunately, it ended in disaster.  They suffered a voyage of over 3 months at sea in squalid conditions.  Half of the Palatines didn’t survive the trip, and more died in conflicts with the native Tuscarora Indians.

Jamaica, too, was an option, with a plan to send 1,000 immigrants to increase the British stronghold on the island.  The proposal, however, never got off the ground due to its complexities. 

The Palatines had made their way from Germany to Holland to England with each leg of the journey becoming more onerous.  The possibility of a free life and land was dashed each step of the way.  What was to become of them? 

Grateful to reside in beautiful Schoharie County, I wonder as I look back at the Palatines’ journey how close I came to being a citizen of England, Ireland, or even Jamaica?  What providence kept my ancestors, Gerhardt and Maria, from being chosen for one of those destinations? 

The British government had one more option that was beginning to take hold – the New York territory.  (YAY!)

 

Reference:  “Becoming German” by Phillip Otterness

 

London.

Once the first group of Palatines reached London in early May, the hardships only increased.  They were housed in warehouses and barns.  Their numbers were far greater than the space allotted to them.  Many had arrived in London very ill.  Many more became ill soon thereafter.  They were at the mercy, and extreme generosity, of the British government for their food, shelter and general wellbeing. 

By mid-June 6,000 more Palatines were shipped from Rotterdam to London.  More space was needed to house them, so the government established camps and provided them with thousands of army tents.  Their care was more of a burden than the British government could handle so the queen authorized a nationwide charity drive, with everyone, including servants, expected to donate.  This did not set well with the Londoners, many of whom were living in poverty themselves.

To ensure the proper distribution of food and supplies, the authorities selected certain Palatine men to act as camp supervisors.  Among their duties was to keep a record of what each family received.  These men were chosen because of their ability to read and write, and were thereafter referred to as the Listmasters.  They would play an important role in the future of the Palatines.

“Let us recollect it was liberty, the hope of liberty, for themselves and us and ours, which conquered all discouragements, dangers and trials.”  John Adams, in reference to America’s forefathers.  As we, today, wonder what could drive a person to embark on a journey of unbearable tribulations, “liberty” is the term best used.  The Palatines were not to be deterred, by circumstance nor adversity.

Reference:  “Becoming German” by Phillip Otterness

 

More Palatines

In April 1709 Johann and Rebecca Iffland left Tann Germany in search of a better life.  We know that they were among the first group of Palatines to actually make it to America.

Did they know Gerhardt and Maria Schaeffer?  Presumably not. 

Did their paths cross at some point during this journey?  Possibly so. 

Does it matter?  For Toby Semprevivo and me it does.

Travelling from Michigan, Toby and her husband, Phillip, visited the Palatine House last weekend and we spent an hour or more swapping stories about our Palatine heritage.  This is not uncommon.  We are often visited by people studying their family history.  They’ve spent years doing research and the Palatine House becomes another piece of the puzzle for them.  Not because they have a direct connection to it, but because it helps them to pull all those pieces together into a picture that’s been developing in their minds.   In many cases the Palatine House gives them the feeling of ancestral home.  We love to watch that happen. 

During our discussion, I learned that Toby is a member of several historical societies including the DAR and the Colonial Dames of America. (I love that name!)  It’s wonderful that our past is preserved by organizations like those and small town historical societies, such as the Schoharie Colonial Heritage Association.  We owe an enormous thank you to the altruistic volunteers of these organizations for keeping history in the forefront of our minds.  

Johann and Rebecca, Gerhardt and Maria; their actions set a course that 306 years later brought Toby and I to meet on a sunny day in Schoharie.   This story continues to be amazing!

Next post…..back to the journey.

The First Leg of the Journey

Most of the Palatine emigrants began their journey by boat down the Rhine River, some leaving as early as late February when it was sufficiently clear of ice to permit travel.  By mid-March the earliest emigrants had arrived in Rotterdam, with no idea of how to continue their journey.  They camped pathetically on top of dikes, perched precariously above flood waters caused by melting snow and spring rains.  By this time, they were starving.

Rotterdam officials, as well as some private groups, couldn’t bear to witness this level of suffering so they raised funds to help support the Palatines.  To ease the burden on their city, they even paid for the passage of the first 800 emigrants to move on to London.  But as those 800 left, thousands more took their place.

Meanwhile, back in Germany, the principalities were becoming worried about this mass exodus.  In June many of them issued decrees that prohibited any more of their citizens from leaving.  Yet, still they went.

My mind continually goes back to Gerhardt and Maria Schaeffer.   Records indicate that they had two young adult children with them.  They left Germany in early May, but how were they travelling and what did they take with them?   As with all of the Palatines, they would have had to choose among their few possessions.  This probably meant the clothes on their backs and perhaps a few extras; sturdy walking shoes, if they had them; and a few loaves of bread.  In the case of Gerhardt and Maria, however, they also chose to bring their Bible.  That doesn’t seem like an odd choice, until you realize that the Bible was 9” wide x 14” long x 4” high, and weighed several pounds. 

“What to pack?” takes on new meaning when you also have to ask “How are we going to carry it?”  Carrying that enormous Bible was undoubtedly a hardship, but one they endured.  Sitting on the table next to me as I write this, is that very same Bible.  And I have come to revere it.

 

Reference:  “Becoming German” by Phillip Otterness

The Journey Begins

We know that a book penned by Lutheran Pastor, Joshua Kocherthal, was being spread across the German Southwest; but since many of the German peasants were illiterate, how could this one book have such a strong impact on so many people?  They certainly weren’t able to buy the book and spend a relaxing evening at home reading.  Instead the book had been read to them, possibly at the local tavern, or as they gathered in churchyards.  In this way much of what they were hearing was influenced by the orator.  Presumably there was some conjecture added to what was already a book full of misguided declarations about a rich life in America.  It sounded too good to be true.  And it was.

Migration was carefully regulated by the government.  Taxes had to be paid, both on the property that they took with them, as well as a departure tax.  And still that wasn’t enough.  They had to get permission from their principality to leave.  Some even had to renounce their right to ever return to their homeland.  They also lost the respect of the friends and neighbors who considered them to be opportunists, defying common sense and the will of God.

But still they went.   Among them were Gerhardt and Anna Maria Schaeffer; my great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandparents.  On May 26, 1709 a “Recommend” was issued by the Mayor and all the Court of Hilgert Dorf, Hesse-Nassau, Germany giving them permission to set out on this journey.  I get chills just thinking about it.

Reference:  “Becoming German” by Phillip Otterness

Who were the Palatines?

 

As with so many things in history, the term “Palatine” is a misnomer.  The Palatines were German farmer emigrants, some of whom originated from the Palatinate region of Germany.  Many of whom did not. 

The winter of 1708 – 1709 was an extremely harsh one in Germany.  All mills were brought to a standstill because of frozen waterways.  Many cattle, wild animals, and even humans froze to death.   Some said that birds froze in mid-air.  The region had also been under siege by France, with farms and villages being destroyed countless times.

These people lived under a feudalistic type of government and were, therefore, living in extreme poverty.  That was a typical reason for emigration, however, there was another reason for the Palatines to leave – propaganda.  In 1709 a book penned by Joshua Kocherthal, a Lutheran pastor, was being spread across the German Southwest.  The book hinted that Britain’s Queen Anne might give free land in America, and might provide them with transportation to get there.  That was all they needed to hear.  Over 15,000 farmers packed up what little they had and set out for the great unknown.

I find myself wondering if any of us today could be that brave.  Have that doggedness.  The perseverance.   I’m glad I don’t have to, and I’m grateful that they did. 

Stay tuned to for the journey to the “Promised Land” -  Schoharie, NY!

Reference:  “Becoming German” by Phillip Otterness

What we’re all about.

Most visitors comment about the passion they hear in our voices when Brian, Alyson, or I show them around the Palatine House.  So what makes us so passionate? 

For me it’s my heritage.  I am descended from some of the first Palatine immigrants who settled in Schoharie.  I know their names, I know the names of their children, I am the keeper of their 305 year old Bible and I am proud of my ancestry.  As I type this, I look up at the portraits that hang in my living room of my great, great, grandparents, and realize that they were the sixth generation of Schaeffers in Schoharie.  Two generations before them my great, great, great, great grandfather, Hendrich, was involved in the building of what was then the Lutheran Parsonage, and is now the museum that I direct.  It was meant to be.

I won’t try to speak directly for Brian or Alyson about their passion.  You’ll have to stop by and let them tell you themselves.

Combined, I know that our passion also comes from the cold, snowy days this past Spring when we dove into this project without any clear direction on where we were headed.  We’re finding our way now, and that way is constantly evolving.  I intend to write a mission statement (on the ever growing to-do list), but I think we need this first summer to clearly define our goals.  In the meantime we’re having fun and working hard on everything from programming, to fence building, to creating our own Palatine House tongue twisters that are used to engage our younger visitors.

Stay tuned….”Who were the Palatines?” comes next!

 

Where we  are.

Tucked away behind the County Courthouse, up a hill and at the far corner of the Lutheran cemetery, is the Old Lutheran Parsonage, aka the 1743 Palatine House Museum.  As a village with no stop lights, Schoharie could be considered off the beaten path, and the Palatine House is off from that.  Is that problematic?  Not at all.

We love our remoteness, it embodies all that we stand for.  When you leave your car and meander down the path, you will cross a foot bridge over a spring that bubbles from the rock ledge and winds into a creek.   You can enjoy a stroll through the herb gardens, stare in awe at the hops cascading from their 20’ tall poles and visit with scarecrow, Nicholas, as he stands guard in the vegetable garden.   Centuries old pine trees provide peaceful shade while you enjoy a picnic, and the peaceful atmosphere engulfs you. 

Yet there is more……history!

Who we are.

A recent Facebook post inquiring where exactly the Palatine House was, gave me pause to contemplate what we have been posting about (our fun and sometimes arduous activities) and what we haven’t (our history, mission, location, etc.).  So I’ve created this blog to provide more information, while Alyson continues with the fun stuff!

Let’s start with a brief explanation of who we are, and go backward from there.  The Palatine House is operated by an amazing group of altruistic volunteers at Schoharie Colonial Heritage Assoc.   This past January they appointed me, Sue deBruijn, as the new Director of the 1743 Palatine House Museum.  My husband, Brian, immediately jumped on board as a volunteer (we’re a package deal), and Alyson was hired as our Docent.  Puppy, Cora, tags along and we now have “Team Palatine.”  On a cold, snowy day in March we all walked through the front door together and began what has truly become a journey of discovery. 

More to follow……