The Expedition

In July 1711 Governor Hunter ran out of money and could no longer pay for the bread and beer which was being provided to the Palatine families in the Camps.  Also at this time the War of the Spanish Succession had come to North America.  Governor Hunter was required to send an expedition north to Montreal to assist in the British campaign to invade Canada, and three hundred Palatine men readily signed up.  They were part of a troop that also included 700 Indians, mostly Iroquois.  It was perhaps the first opportunity for the Palatines to develop a relationship with the Iroquois, whose land bordered Schoharie.  The expedition was short-lived.  It left Albany in early August, only to be turned back in late September due to a failed military campaign. 

Here is where things begin to get a bit murky for my family.  Our ancestors, Gerhardt and Anna Maria, after their long and arduous journey, were established at East Camp.  Family lore is that Gerhardt left on the expedition to Canada, but never returned.  Anna Maria and her two daughters were left to fend for themselves back at the Camp.  Since historians state that everyone from the expedition arrived safely back at the Camps, what became of Gerhardt? 

In “The Palatine Families of New York 1710” noted Palatine researcher, Henry Z. Jones Jr. wrote that Gerhardt eventually settled in Stone Arabia, 30 miles northwest of Schoharie.  Records show that he applied for a patent on land there in 1723.  How did he get there, and why?

The family Bible, now 315 years old, once held the family history.  That information has faded over the centuries, but one piece clearly remains, Gerhardt’s name, presumably in his own handwriting.  He left his home in Germany, taking his meager possessions with him.  One, not so meager, possession was that enormous Bible.  It must have been important to him.  Did he abandon his family……and his Bible?  I run my hands over the battered cover of that very same Bible and don’t want to believe that he did.

 

Reference:  “Becoming German” by Phillip Otterness

                      “The Palatine Families of New York 1710” by Henry Z. Jones, Jr.

The Process

The pine forests where the Palatine men were sent to work were approximately 6 miles from the camps, resulting in them being away for weeks at a time.  They were not fully aware of the laborious  process for making tar and pitch, and one can only imagine their reaction upon learning it.  First they would strip bark from sections of standing trees.   This would result in the trees oozing gum where the bark had been, and eventually sealing back over.  The trees would need to be stripped again and again over a two year period.  Those sections of the trees would eventually become saturated with gum, at which time the trees would be felled and cut.  The sections where the trees had been stripped would be slowly burned in an earthen kiln, with a barrel beneath to catch tar that gradually seeped out.   The tar could be used on ships ropes to keep them from rotting, and on ships hulls to protect from salt water corrosion.  Some of the tar would be boiled in large cauldrons until the liquid evaporated, making pitch.  This served as a caulk on ships hulls to keep them watertight.

Another much simpler and faster byproduct of the process was to use the gum soaked pine knots from fallen branches.  These could be used immediately, versus the two year stripping process.  The Palatine children soon followed the men into the forests to gather pine knots.  Within the first two weeks of the project, the men had stripped thousands of trees for the first step in the process.  The children, however, had gathered several wagon loads of pine knots and were apparently the only ones accomplishing something.  This did not set well with the already disgruntled Palatine men.  The women, who had been left behind in the camps, were unhappy with the responsibility of the livestock and fields to care for by themselves. 

Meanwhile, Governor Hunter was growing deeper in debt as he used his personal credit to continue providing for the Palatines.  No one, it seemed, was destined to come out ahead in this project.

 

 

Reference:  “Becoming German” by Phillip Otterness

Resistance

The long winter finally over, the naval stores project was ready to commence in May 1711.  However, the Palatines refused to work and threatened to strike out for Schoharie, which by now was being referred to as a Land of Cannan.   Their argument stemmed from the belief that the contract which had been read to them on the ships promised them each forty acres of land in Schoharie and seven years to repay their debt.  This would have allowed them to build up their farms while they produced tar and pitch for the British navy. 

To quell the unrest, Governor Hunter called a meeting of the Listmasters where he reminded them of the Queen’s benevolence which had saved the Palatines from starvation.  Since there was no copy of the contract, neither side could prove one way or another what had been promised.  Hunter sent the Listmasters away with orders that they remind the rest of the Palatines of their obligation.

While this meeting took place, several hundred of the Germans had gathered on a nearby hillside brandishing the rifles which Hunter had given them.  Concerned that their leaders may be held hostage, they were prepared to rescue them.  When Hunter heard about this show of force, he sent out sixty professional soldiers to confront them.   The Palatines immediately backed off.  Once safely out of the soldiers range, they shot their rifles into the air in a show of defiance. 

Over the next few days Governor Hunter sent troops into the camps and retrieved all of the firearms.  The Palatines had been in America for almost a year, and it was time they started working.

 

Reference:  “Becoming German” by Phillip Otterness

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