USA > Pennsylvania > Pennsylvania: The German influence in its settlement and development, Pat VII > Part 15
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IRISH REDEMPTIONERS.
Almost every writer who has dealt with the Provincial period of our history has had something to say about this servant slavery among the German immigrants, and yet it is rare to find allusions to the Irish servants who either came voluntarily or were sent over, who were also disposed of in precisely the same way, and who were as eminently deserving of the name of " Redemptioners " as any pas- sengers that ever came from the Rhine country. The only distinction I have been able to find between the Ger- man and Irish trade is that those who came from the Ger- man provinces, while for the most part poor and needy, were nevertheless honest peasants and handicraftsmen, who were not expatriated for any crimes, but who volun- tarily forsook their homes to better themselves in Pennsyl- vania ; while, on the other hand, those who came from Ireland did but rarely come of their own free will, were not honorable and industrious members of the body politic, but on the contrary, were largely composed of the criminal classes whom it was deemed desirable to get out of the country, and who were hurried on ship-board by any and every expedient that would accomplish that purpose.
The fact that they were called " Servants " by those who shipped them here, and by those who purchased or hired them, instead of " Redemptioners," as in the case of the Germans, has no significance whatever. The process in both cases was precisely alike. The further fact that fewer of these "Servants" came from Ireland than Ger-
131 Duke of York's Book of Laws, 1676-1682, pp. 37-38.
Why coll
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many, and the additional one that they were already citizens of Great Britain and, therefore, not so likely to attract attention, has apparently kept their coming and their conditional servitude out of general sight.
This sending of jailbirds and promiscuous malefactors was not a new idea when put into practice in Pennsylvania.
Irish indentured servants had the reputation of being incorrigible runaways. 132 Franklin's Pennsylvania Ga- zette in almost every issue for many years contained ad- vertisements about runaway servants.
REDEMPTIONERS IN VIRGINIA.
" Conditional servitude under indentures or covenants, had from the first existed in Virginia. The servant stood to his master in the relation of a debtor, bound to discharge the costs of emigration by the entire employment of his . powers for the benefit of his creditor. Oppression early ensued : men who had been transported into Virginia at an expense of eight or ten pounds, were sometimes sold for forty, fifty, or even threescore pounds. The supply of white servants became a regular business ; and a class of men, nic-named ' spirits,' used to delude young persons, servants and idlers, into embarking for America, as to a land of spontaneous plenty. White servants came to be a usual article of traffic. They were sold in England to be transported, and in Virginia were resold to the highest bidder ; like negroes, they were to be purchased on ship- board, as men buy horses at a fair. In 1672, the average price in the colonies, where five years of service were due, was about ten pounds ; while a negro was worth twenty or twenty-five pounds. So usual was this manner of dealing in Englishmen, that not the Scots only, who were taken
132 JOHN RUSSELL YOUNG'S Memorial History of Philadelphia.
225
Redemptioners Enlisted as Soldiers.
on the battlefield of Dunbar, were sent into involuntary servitude in New England, but the royalist prisoners of the battle of Worcester; and the leaders in the insurrec- tion of Penruddoc, in spite of the remonstrances of Ha- selrig and Henry Vane, were shipped to America. At the corresponding period, in Ireland the crowded exporta- tion of Irish Catholics was a frequent event, and was attended by aggravations hardly inferior to the atrocities of the African slave trade. In 1685, when nearly a thou- sand of the prisoners, condemned for participating in the insurrection of Monmouth, were sentenced to transporta- tion, men of influence at court, with rival importunity, scrambled for the convicted insurgents as a merchantable commodity." 133
It is a curious fact that during the administration of Governor Thomas, 1740-1747, the enlisting of indentured or bought servants-Redemptioners-as soldiers, was per- mitted to be put into execution, England being then at war with Spain. It was an innovation and injurious to many. John Wright, an old and most worthy Lancaster county magistrate and member of the Assembly having denounced the practice, was dismissed from his office. Proud says : " The number of bought and indentured servants who were thus taken from their masters, as appears by the printed votes in the Assembly, were about 276, whose masters were compensated by the Assembly for their loss sus- tained thereby, to the amount of about £2,588." 134
IN IRELAND ALSO.
While it appears there were agents in England and Ire- land engaged in the business of hunting up immigrants for
133 BANCROFT'S History of the United States. Boston Ed., 10 vols. Vol. I., pp. 175-176.
134 PROUD'S History of Pennsylvania, Vol. II., p. 220.
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sale and service in Pennsylvania, and that these dealers in human poverty were as base and unscrupulous as the New- landers who zigzagged across Germany on the same mis- sion, it is nevertheless an established fact that it was an authorized business, recognized by law as well as sanc- tioned by custom, and that a number of honorable men, of excellent standing in their respective communities on both sides of the water were engaged in this servant traffic, for servants these people were called and not redemptioners.
THE
SAAL.
F
ONE OF THE CLOISTER BUILDINGS AT EPHRATA.
Mr. Benjamin Marshall was a Philadelphia merchant, shipper and importer. His father was the celebrated diarist Chistopher Marshall, of Revolutionary memory, a born Irishman, but a true and unswerving supporter of the patriot cause. I present several letters written by Benja- min Marshall to his business correspondents in Ireland, which throw much light on this part of my subject and are of genuine historical value. The first one is as follows :
L
" Philadelphia, November 9, 1765.
" To Barney Egan :
" Should thee have a mind (to send) a Vessel this Way, about 100 Men and Boys Servants with as many passengers as could be got, so as to be here by the Middle
227
No Women Redemptioners Wanted.
or Latter end of May, I think might answer well. Stout, · able Laboring men & Tradesmen out of the Country with Young Boys & Lads answers best. Women are so troublesome (that) it would be best to send few or none, as .there is often so many Drawbacks on them. This I men- tion should thee have any intention of sending a Vessel this way for any thing."
Mr. Marshall was seemingly desirous that a ship-load of Irish Servants should be consigned to his house in the spring of 1766; so to make sure of it he wrote another letter on the same day to another Irish correspondent as follows :
" Philadelphia, November 9, 1765.
"To Thomas Murphy :
" The chief articles that answer here from Ireland which can be brought are Linnens, (which ought to go to Liverpool to receive the Bounty) Beef, Butter, Men, Women & Boys Servants the less Women the better as they are very troublesome, and the best time for Servants is about the month of May."
A year later Mr. Marshall again writes to the correspon- dent first named, the following letter :
" Philadelphia, June 7th, 1766. "To Barney Egan, Esq. :
" Irish servants will be very dull such numbers have already arrived from Different parts & many more expected, that I believe it will be over done, especially as several Dutch vessels are expected here, which will always com- mand the Market. Captain Power I believe has near sold all his, he being pretty early." 135
185 Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. XX., pp. 210- 212.
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The fact is, this traffic was profitable all around. We have seen how the agent made it pay in securing the im- migrants ; how the ship masters coined money out of it in a number of ways, most of which were disreputable, and, finally, how even respectable merchants on this side of the water were prompt to take a hand in disposing of these cargoes of human beings for the money that was in the business : for when has money failed to carry the day?
I have found in a very long letter written in October, 1725, by Robert Parke, from Chester township in Dela- ware county, to Mary Valentine, in Ireland, the following interesting passage, which throws much light on the sub- ject of indentured servants : the writer recommended that his old friend might indenture some of his children if he had not sufficient means to pay all the passage money.
" I desire thee may tell my old friend Samuel Thornton that he could give so much Credit to my words & find no Iffs nor ands in my Letter that in Plain terms he could not do better than Come here, for both his & his wife's trade are very good here, the best way for him to do is to pay what money he Can Conveniently Spare at that Side & Engage himself to Pay the rest at this side & when he Comes here if he Can get no friend to lay down the money for him, when it Comes to the worst, he may hire out 2 or 3 Children & I wod have him Cloath his family as well as his Small Ability will allow, thee may tell him what things are proper to bring with him both for his Sea Store & for his Use in this Country. I wod have him Procure 3 or 4 Lusty Servants & Agree to pay their passage at this Side he might sell 2 & pay the others passage with the money. ." 136
136 Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. V., p. 357.
1
THE PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN SOCIETY.
DOMESTIC UTENSILS.
ROCKING MEAT CHOPPER. SHEEP SHEARS, ETC.
A KITCHEN OUTFIT.
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The Business Pronounced Lucrative.
The following letters from the then British Consul in Philadelphia, are of exceeding interest. They show not only that this traffic was still active at the time they were written, but give actual figures indicating that while the ar- rival of German Redemptioners had greatly declined, those from Ireland were pouring in more numerously than ever.
" Philadelphia, September 22, 1789. " To the Duke of Leeds :
«* * Few indentured servants have arrived since the Peace 'till the present year,-In the course of which many hundreds have arrived in the Delaware from Ireland alone and more are expected. Some have been imported into Maryland but not in so great a proportion as into Penn- sylvania. The trade is a lucrative one and will be pursued eagerly unless proper obstacles are thrown in the way which I humbly presume may be done upon principles perfectly consistent with the (English) constitution ; hav- ing in view so humane a purpose as the providing for the convenience and comfort of the unwary emigrants so often seduced from their country by the force of artful and false suggestions. * They pass the term of their servitude and when that expires they for the most part continue laborers for years in the neighborhood where they have served, having no immediate means to enable them to set- tle lands137 or to enable them to migrate to a distant coun- try ; the mere temporary loss of labor of this description of people is an object of great consequence to any country, but when it is considered that few of them ever return to their native land, the importance of their loss is immensely aggravated.
"P. Bond."
137 This is a mistake; they could take up fifty acres of land, as has al- ready been stated, at a rent of one cent per acre, annually, if they so desired.
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The Pennsylvania-German Society.
" Philadelphia, November 10, 1789.
" To the Duke of Leeds : «* The migration hither since the Peace, my Lord, have been much greater from Ireland than from all other parts of Europe. Of 25,716 passengers (Redemp- tioners and Servants) imported into Pennsylvania since the Peace, 1,893 only were Germans, the rest consisting of Irish and some few Scotch. Of these (2, 176) imported dur- ing the present year, 114 only were Germans. An almost total stop has been lately put to the migration hither from the Palatinate and other parts of Germany, so that the few who now come hither from that country, get into Holland by stealth and embark at Amsterdam and Rotterdam,
and these are very ordinary people. *
* As to the con- dition and treatment of these people, many were crowded into small vessels destitute of proper room and accommo- dations, and abridged of the proper allowance of food. They suffered greatly and contagious diseases were often introduced into the Province by them. The terms, too, of paying the passage money were frequently departed from : passengers who embarked as Redemptioners were hurried from on ship board before the limited time for their re- demption was expired, and before their friends could have notice of their arrival to interpose their relief and rescue them from servitude." 138
Phenias Bond was the British Consul at Philadelphia during 1787-1788 and 1789. He was born in Philadel- phia in 1749 and was the son of Dr. Phineas Bond and Wilhelmina Moore, and a nephew of the distinguished Dr. Thomas Bond, of the University of Pennsylvania. His royalistic tendencies during the Revolution resulted in his
13% Annual Report of the American Historical Association, 1896, Vol. I., pp. 619-620.
231
Secretary Logan Gives His Views.
arrest as a public enemy, but he was subsequently released on parole. From his private and public stations he was certainly acquainted with the situation.139
James Logan did not look with a kindly eye on the arrival of any nationality save Englishmen. This dislike seems to have extended to the Irish, albeit he himself was JEHOVA ALTARIA Irish born. In the Logan M NIDU MSS are found frequent al- O(INI lusions expressive of this TUA frame of mind. In 1725 he says : " There are so many as T one hundred thousand acres 7 INVENI 84 of land, possessed by per- sons, (including Germans), DELICIA EPHRATENSES who resolutely set down and improved it without any right MYSTIC SEAL OF THE EPHRATA BRETHREN. to it," and he is much at a loss to determine how to dispossess them. In 1729 he expresses himself as glad to find that Parliament is about to take measures to prevent the too free immigration to this coun- try. In that year the twenty-shilling tax on every servant arriving was laid but even that was evaded by the captain of a ship arriving from Dublin, who landed one hun- dred convicts and papists at Burlington, thus escaping the tax. It looks, he says, as if Ireland is to send all her in- habitants hither, for last week not less than six ships ar- rived, and every day two or three arrive also. The com- mon fear is, that if they continue to come, they will make themselves proprietors of the province. It is strange, he says, that they thus crowd where they are not wanted.
139 I am indebted to S. M. Sener, Esq., for having drawn my attention to the above valuable letters.
Primi
De & In
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But, besides, convicts are imported thither.140 The Indians themselves were alarmed at the swarms of strangers, and he was afraid of a breach between them, for the Irish were very rough to them.
In 1730 he returns to the same subject and complains of the Scotch-Irish, " who were acting in a very disorderly manner and possessing themselves of Conestoga Manor, fifteen thousand acres, being the best land in Lancaster county. In doing this by force, they alleged that it was against the laws of God and nature, that so much land should be idle, while so many Christians wanted it to labor on, and to raise their bread." 141
There can be no doubt that some of these German and Irish immigrants gave the Proprietary a great deal of trou- ble. They availed themselves of all the advantages they were able to secure and very often concerned themselves very little whether they complied with the laws of the Province or not. Secretary Logan more than once refers to this matter in his correspondence. In a letter to John Penn, dated November 25, 1727, he says :
" We have many thousands of foreigners, mostly Pala- tinates, so called, already in ye Countrey, of whom nearly 1,500 came in this last summer; many of them are a sur- ley people, divers Papists amongst them, & ye men gen- erally well arm'd. We have from the North of Ireland, great numbers yearly, 8 or 9 Ships this last ffall dis- charged at Newcastle. Both these sorts sitt frequently down on any spott of vacant Land they can find, without asking questions; the last Palatines say there will be
140 One Augustus Gun, of Cork, advertised in the Philadelphia papers that he had powers from the Mayor of Cork, for many years to procure servants for America. (RUPP'S History of Berks and Lebanon Counties, p. 115.)
141 Quoted by RUPP in his History of Berks and Lebanon Counties, pp. 114-115.
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Germans Pushed to the Frontiers.
twice the number next year, & ye Irish say ye same of their People; last week one of these latter (yº Irish) ap- plied to me, in the name of 400, as he said, who depended all on me, for directions where they should settle. They say the Proprietor invited People to come & settle his Countrey, that they are come for that end, & must live; both they and the Palatines pretend they would buy, but not one in twenty has anything to pay with." 14
In 1729, John, Thomas and Richard Penn wrote to Logan as follows concerning this vexed question :
"As to the Palatines, you have often taken notice of to us, wee apprehend have Lately arrived in greater Quan- tities than may be consistent with the welfare of the Coun- try, and therefore, applied ourselves to our Councill to find a proper way to prevent it, the result of which was, that an act of assembly should be got or endeavoured at, and sent us over immediately, when we would take sufficient Care to get it approved by the King.143 With this resolution we acquainted the Govenour, by Cap: String- fellow, to Maryland, the 25th Feb", a Duplicate of which we have since sent by another shipp, both wch times we also enclos'd Letters for thee ; but as to any other people coming over who are the subjects of the British Crown, we can't Conceive it anyways practicable to prohibit it: but supposing they are natives of Ireland & Roman Cath- olicks, they ought not to settle till they have taken the proper Oaths to the King, & Promis'd Obedience to the Laws of the Country, and, indeed, we Can't Conceive it unreasonable that if they are Inclinable to settle, THEY SHOULD BE OBLIG'D TO SETTLE, EITHER BACKWARDS TO
142 Pennsylvania Archives : Second Series, Vol. VII., pp. 96-97.
143 All laws passed by the Provincial Assembly were subject to the approval of the Crown. Frequently action on them was delayed for long periods, and sometimes they were not acted on at all.
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The Pennsylvania-German Society.
This INDENTURE Witneffeth that John Palmar a harmatos
doth Voluntarily put him felt Servant to Hugh tyle Master of the Ship Harmony
to ferve the faid Hugh Style
and his Affigns, for and during the full Space, Time and Term of three/2 Years from the first Day of the faid John's.
arrival in Baltimore in the United States of AMERICA, during which Time or Term the faid Mafter or his Affigns fhall and will find and Supply the faid Johns with fufficient
Meat, Drink, Apparel, Lodging and all other necellaties befitting fuch a Servant, and at the end and expiration of faid Term, the laid to be made. Free, and receive
according to the Cuftom of the Country. Provided neverthelefs, and thefe Prefents are on this Condition, that if the faid he
fhall pay the faid gogh tyle
or his Artigos ta Bounds Kritik in twenty one! Days after his arrival Le thall be Free, and the above Indenture and every Claufe therein, ablolutely Void and of no Effect. In Witneis whereof the faid Parties have hereunto interchangeably put their Hands and Seals the 16h Day of Fate in the
Year of our Lord, One Thoufand Seven Hundred and Eighty
Worshipful Richard Hetet Lgf" Mayor of the City of Cork your in the Prefence of the Right
his
A REDEMPTIONER'S CERTIFICATE.
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Prices Paid for Indentured Servants.
SASQUEHANNAH OR NORTH IN Y' COUNTRY BEYOND THE OTHER settlements, as we had mentioned before in rela- tion to the Palatines; but we must desire Care may be taken that they are not suffered to settle towards Mary- land, on any account." 144
Just as the Ubii, a German tribe was moved to the banks of the Rhine by the Romans, that they might serve as a guard and outpost against invaders,145 so did the Govern- ment of Penn also try to settle them on the frontiers as a guard against the incursions of the Red men.
Further light is thrown on this interesting question by an original manuscript in the collection of the Historical So- ciety of Pennsylvania. It is " A List of Serv's Indented on Board the Pennsylvania Packet Capt. Peter Osborne for Philadelphia the 15th day of March, 1775. Coming from a British port, it is of course not mentioned by Rupp nor in Volume XVII. of the second series of State Archives. It gives a list of thirty-seven names of tradesmen, evidently all English, Scotch or Irish, with the amount due the ship owner and the sums for which they were sold, as well as the names of the buyers. This list is too long to be given here, but we will quote a few items :
Benj. Boswell, Baker,
Due £21.4
Sold for £18.
John Haynes, Hair Dresser,
66
22.4
66
66 20.
John Thomas, Smith,
26.4
66
66
20.
William Avery, Taylor,
21.4
20.
W" Edwards, Painter,
66
36.4
66 20.
W: Chase, Cordwainer,
66
23.4
66 66
19.
James Vanlone, Watchfinisher,
66
17.5
21.
W= Longwood, Groom,
23.4
66
20.
Geo. Warren, Labourer,
14.7
66
66
19.
W= Mitchell, Stone Mason,
66
21.4
66
66
20.
14+ Pennsylvania Archives : Second Series, Vol. VII., pp. 131-132.
145 TACITUS, Germania, C. 28.
24.
John Longan, Husbandman,
19.5
V
Ware
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We here get a glimpse at the sums these servants were sold for, and find that in a majority of cases the amount was less than the cost incurred by their passage across the ocean. Just how this traffic was profitable to the ship- master or the broker, is not evident from the meager revelations fur- nished by the paper it- self. The explanation probably is that there was a large profit on the extra charges always set against each immi- grant, and that a reduc- tion of a few pounds could well be made on each one sold and still leave a handsome sur- plus on the investment. From other sources we learn that when a pas- RAZOR CASE, RAZOR AND LANCET. senger died, leaving no relative behind to look after his possessions, his chest-and a great oaken chest was the almost invariable accompani- ment of the German immigrant-was seized by the ship- master and all its contents appropriated. Even when young children were left by the deceased, their rights were often ignored and whatever of value there may have been was confiscated in the rough, sailor-like fashion of the times, without the slightest regard for the rights of these unprotected and helpless ones. The heart often sinks at the recital of these inhuman proceedings practiced because there were none to protest or defend.
=
237
Prosperity of Some Redemptioners.
It deserves to be stated that many who came here and were well to do, bringing their servants along, often lost the standing in the community they at first held. They were unable to maintain their old social standing against the democratic spirit which even then prevailed, and in many instances their humble servitors, the Redemptioners, taught to labor in the stern school of adversity, prospered, and in the second and third generations, by their thrift and industry, took the places once held by their old masters.
G
R
ARMS OF CITY OF LONDON. !
!
STREET SCENE IN OLD GERMANTOWN.
CHAPTER VII.
CHRISTOPHER SAUR'S NOTABLE LETTERS TO GOVERNOR MORRIS, PLEADING FOR LEGISLATION LOOKING TO THE BETTER PROTECTION OF GERMAN IMMIGRANTS IN GENERAL AND THE GERMAN REDEMPTIONERS IN PARTICULAR.
" They, wandering here, made barren forests bloom, And the new soil a happier robe assume : They planned no schemes that virtue disapproves. They robbed no Indian of his native groves, But, just to all, beheld their tribes increase, Did what they could to bind the world in peace, And, far retreating from a selfish band, Bade Freedom flourish in this foreign land."
SEAL OF WILLIAM PENN.
HRISTOPHER SAUR did not confine his efforts for rendering aid to his coun- trymen to the columns of his wide-awake newspaper. Nor did he confine his energy and activity to words alone. He went among the newly arrived Redemptioners and rendered whatever material assistance was in his power. In certain cases he gave money to relieve their necessities ; in others he ( 238 )
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Saur's First Letter to Gov. Morris.
saw that they were cared for when such care was required, and in still others, the sick and starving wretches were taken to his own home and those of his friends to be cared for and nursed back to health there. If they died, he saw that they received Christian burial.
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