USA > Pennsylvania > Philadelphia County > Philadelphia > The German immigration into Pennsylvania through the port of Philadelphia from 1700 to 1775 : part II: The Redemptioners > Part 13
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" During the voyage there is on board these ships terri- Me misery, stench, fumes, horror, vomiting, many kinds of sicknesses, fever, dysentery, headache, heat, constipa- tion, boils, scurvy, cuncer mouth-rot and the like, all of which come from old and sharply salted food and meat, also from very bad and foul water so that many die miserably.
" Add to this, want of provisions, hunger, thirst, cold, beat, dampness, anxiety, want. allfictions and lamentations, together with other terables such as Hen Nouch abound so plentifully, especially on sick people, that they can be scraped off the body. The misery reaches the climax when a gale rages for two or three days and nights, so that every one believes that the ship will go to the bottom with all the human beings on board.
" Among the healthy, impatience sometimes grows so great and cruel that one curses the other or himself, and the day of his birth, and sometimes come near killing each other. Misery and malice join each other, so that they cheat and rob one another. One always reproaches the
GERMAN IMMIGRAN
(A) PENNSYLVANIA-CE. MAN STOVE PLATE. HAROLD DIFFENDERFFER, PHOTO. (B) FAMILY BAKE-OVEN F SANGE PHOTO.
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Mittelberger's Narrative.
there in eight days or sooner. Every thing is examined at the custom house and the duties paid, and ships are sometimes detained eight, ten and fourteen days before their cargoes are completed. During this delay every one is compelled to spend his last money and to consume the little stock of provisions which had been reserved for the ocean voyage ; so that most passengers, finding themselves on the ocean where they are in still greater need of them, suffer greatly from hunger and want.
" When the ships have for the last time weighed their anchors at Cowes, the real misery begins, for from there the ships, unless they have good winds must often sail eight, nine, ten or twelve weeks before they reach Philadelphia. But with the best wind the voyage lasts seven weeks.
" During the voyage there is on board these ships terri- ble misery, stench, fumes, horror, vomiting, many kinds of sicknesses, fever, dysentery, headache, heat, constipa- tion, boils, scurvy, cancer mouth-rot and the like, all of which come from old and sharply salted food and meat, also from very bad and foul water so that many die miserably.
" Add to this, want of provisions, hunger, thirst, cold, heat, dampness, anxiety, want, afflictions and lamentations, together with other troubles such as lice which abound so plentifully, especially on sick people, that they can be scraped off the body. The misery reaches the climax when a gale rages for two or three days and nights, so that every one believes that the ship will go to the bottom with all the human beings on board.
" Among the healthy, impatience sometimes grows so great and cruel that one curses the other or himself, and the day of his birth, and sometimes come near killing each other. Misery and malice join each other, so that they cheat and rob one another. One always reproaches the
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The German Immigration into Pennsylvania.
other for persuading him to undertake the journey. Fre- quently children cry out against their parents, husbands against their wives and wives against their husbands, brothers and sisters, friends and acquaintances against each other. But most against the soul-traffickers,-(the New- landers).
" Many sigh and cry : ' Oh, that I were at home again, and if I had to lie in my pig sty !' Or they say : ' O God, if I only had a piece of good bread, or a good fresh drop of water.' Many people whimper, and sigh and cry piteously for their homes; most of them get homesick. Many hundred people necessarily die and perish in such misery, and must be cast into the sea, which drives their relatives, or those who persuaded them to undertake the journey, to such despair that it is almost impossible to pacify and console them. In a word, the sighing and cry- ing and lamenting on board the ship continues night and day, so as to cause the hearts even of the most hardened to bleed when they hear it.
" Children from one to seven years rarely survive the voyage; and many a time parents are compelled to see their children miserably suffer and die from hunger, thirst and sickness, and then see them cast into the water. I witnessed such misery in no less than thirty-two children in our ship, all of whom were thrown into the sea.
" Often a father is separated by death from his wife and children, or mothers from their little children, or even both parents from their children ; and sometimes entire families die in quick succession ; so that often many dead persons lie in the berths besides the living ones, especially when contagious diseases have broken out on the ship.
That most of the people get sick is not surprising, be- cause, in addition to all other trials and hardships, warm
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Mittelberger's Narrative.
food is served only three times a week, the rations being very poor and very small. These meals can hardly be eaten on account of being so unclean. The water which is served out on the ships is often very black, thick and full of worms, so that one cannot drink it without loathing, even with the greatest thirst. O surely, one would often give much money at sea for a piece of good bread, or a drink of good water, if it could only be had. I myself experienced that sufficiently, I am sorry to say. Toward the end we were compelled to eat the ship's biscuit which had been spoiled long ago; though in a whole biscuit there was scarcely a piece the size of a dollar that had not been full of red worms and spiders nests. Great hunger and thirst force us to eat and drink everything ; but many do so at the risk of their lives. *
" At length, when after a long and tedious voyage, the ships come in sight of land, so that the promontories can be seen, which the people were so eager and anxious to see, all creep from below to the deck to see the land from afar, and they weep for joy, and pray and sing, thanking and praising God. The sight of the land makes the people on board the ship, especially the sick and the half dead, alive again, so that their hearts leap within them ; they shout and rejoice, and are content to bear their misery in patience, in the hope that they may soon reach the land in safety. But alas !
" When the ships have landed at Philadelphia after their long voyage no one is permitted to leave them except those who pay for their passage or can give good security ; the others who cannot pay must remain on board the ships till they are purchased, and are released from the ships by their purchasers. The sick always fare the worst, for the healthy are naturally preferred and purchased first; and
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The German Immigration into Pennsylvania.
so the sick and wretched must often remain on board in front of the city for two or three weeks, and frequently die, whereas many a one if he could pay his debt and was permitted to leave the ship immediately, might recover.
" Before I describe how this traffic in human flesh is conducted, I must mention how much the journey to Penn- sylvania costs. A person over ten years pays for the pas- sage from Rotterdam to Philadelphia, £10. Children from five to ten years pay half price, £5. All children under five years are free. For these prices the passengers are conveyed to Philadelphia, and as long as they are at sea pro- vided with food, though with very poor food, as has been shown.
" But this is only the sea passage; the other costs on land, from home to Rotterdam, including the passage on the Rhine, are at least $35, no matter how economically one may live. No account is here made of extraordinary contingencies. I may safely assert that with the greatest economy, many passengers have spent $176 from home to Philadelphia.
" The sale of human beings in the market on board the ship is carried on thus : Every day Englishmen, Dutch- men and high German people come from the city of Phila- delphia and other places, some from a great distance, say sixty, ninety, and one hundred and twenty miles away, and go on board the newly arrived ship that has brought and offers for sale passengers from Europe, and select among the healthy persons such as they deem suitable for their business, and bargain with them how long they will serve for their passage money, for which most of them are still in debt. When they have come to an agreement, it happens that adult persons bind themselves in writing to serve three, four, five or six years for the amount due by
.
183
Mittelberger's Narrative.
them, according to their age and strength. But very young people, from ten to fifteen years, must serve until they are twenty-one years old.
" Many persons must sell and trade away their children like so many head of cattle; for if their children take the debt upon themselves, the parents can leave the ship free and unrestrained ; but as the parents often do not know where and to what people their children are going, it often happens that such parents and chil- dren, after leaving the ship do not see each other again for years, perhaps no more in all their lives.
STRAW BASKET FOR BAKING BREAD, AND SCRAPER. .
" When people arrive who cannot make them- selves free, but have children under five years of age, they cannot free themselves by them ; for such children must be given to somebody without compensation to be brought up, and they must serve for their bringing up till they are twenty- one years old. Children from five to ten years, who pay half price for their passage, must likewise serve for it until they are twenty-one years old; they cannot, therefore, re- deem their parents by taking the debt of the latter upon themselves. But children above ten years can take part of their parents' debts upon themselves.
" A woman must stand for her husband if he arrives sick, and in like manner a man for his sick wife, and take the debt upon herself or himself, and thus serve five or six years not alone for his or her own debt, but also for that of
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The German Immigration into Pennsylvania.
the sick husband or wife. But if both are sick, such persons are sent from the ship to the hospital, but not until it ap- pears probable that they will find no purchasers. As soon as they are well again they must serve for their passage, or pay if they have means.
" It often happens that whole families, husband, wife and children, are separated by being sold to different pur- chasers, especially when they have not paid any part of their passage money.
" When a husband or wife has died at sea, after the ship has completed more than half her trip, the survivor must pay or serve not only for himself or herself, but also for the deceased.114
" When both parents died after the voyage was more than half completed, their children, especially when they are young and have nothing to pawn or pay, must stand for their own and their parents' passage, and serve till they are twenty-one years old. When one has served his or her term, he or she is entitled to a new suit of clothes at part- ing and if it has been so stipulated, a man gets in addition a horse and a woman a cow.
" When a servant has an opportunity to marry in this country, he or she must pay for each year he or she would still have to serve, £5 or £6. But many a one who has thus purchased and paid for his bride, has subsequently repented of his bargain, so that he would gladly have re- turned his dear ware and lost his money in addition.
" If a servant in this country runs away from his master who has treated him harshly, he cannot get far. Good provision has been made for such cases so that a runaway is soon recovered. He who detains or returns a deserter receives a good reward.
114 Less than half the voyage having been made when a passenger died, there was no claim for passage money.
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Good Condition of Some Ships.
" If such a runaway has been away from his master a single day, he must serve an entire week for it; if absent a week, then a month, and for a month, half a year. But if the master does not care to keep the runaway when he gets him back, he may sell him for as many years as he has still to serve."
It must not be supposed that the scenes and events described in the foregoing quotations from Mittelberger were everyday occurrences, at least so far as the suffer- ings, sickness and deaths at sea are concerned. They did occur, but he takes especial pains to represent everything at its worst. Many a ship came over in good condition, with no unusual sickness on board, and under the charge of humane ship captains. But so far as the sale and dis- posal of the passengers upon their arrival was concerned, that was an unvarying affair. It was, however, just what many of these people were aware of, and may be said to have bargained for, before they stepped on shipboard to come here, and they had only themselves to blame for the after-misery it entailed. It is not to be doubted that by far the greater number of these people were misled and deceived by the' Newlanders, and were ill prepared for the voyage besides, so that only disappointment, with many of the miseries rehearsed by Mittelberger, were realized by them on the voyage and when they arrived.
The following passage from Löher is interesting : " The Germans, who for so many years were hired out to pay costs of transportation, are called 'Servants' (Knechte) or Redemptioners (Käuflinge). When they serve with English people, their language soon becomes one of mixed English and German. (A notable proof of this fact is supplied by Pastor Brunholtz, of the Lutheran
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The German Immigration into Pennsylvania.
Church, who recorded the following in his diary : " On March 25, 1745, a man called on me and requested me to go to Chester, and preach to the Germans there. On the morning of June 30 I went to Chester, which is about 16 miles from Philadelphia. The Germans here, who for the most part are 'servants,' as they are called, employed by English people, and so speaking a mixture of German and English."115) In the country they are usually well treated and cared for, especially when good for- tune so wills it that they become inmates of a German household. If one of the latter secures an entire family, the man is generally occupied in field labor, and also carries on his trade if he has one, sometimes on his own account and at others on that of his master. It was allowed him to have a few head of cattle. The wife was generally a housemaid and a caretaker of children, while her own little ones were assigned to all kinds of light work. The servitude finally came to an end when the boy reached the age of 21 and the girl that of 18 years. They might not get married without the consent of their masters. A runaway was compelled to serve an additional week for each day's absence and six months for each week's ab- sence, and could, what was otherwise unlawful, be sold to another person for the period of his unexpired service.
" When the term of service was over, a thrifty servant had saved quite a sum and secured a home for himself, for land was cheap.116 Perhaps more than one-third of the original German immigrants and their descendants who are so well-to-do now, began life in this humble way. Their sons were already notable persons at the time of the Revolution. An Act of Parliament passed in 1756,
115 MANN'S Hallische Nachrichten, Eng. Ed., p. 162.
116 He could take up fifty acres of land at a nominal rent.
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Franz Löher Quoted.
allowed servants, with the consent of their masters, to be- come soldiers. Many of these immigrants who brought considerable amounts of gold with them, hired themselves for a time until they should become acquainted with the country and people. The German and English-Irish Re- demptioners came mostly to Pennsylvania ; the English to Virginia, and the statistics of that State show that annually about 1,500 Redemptioners arrived there. In later times . the service of these people became still more liberal. I have spoken to many householders and schoolmasters who were told by their fathers how they had been persuaded to come to America, but who, after serving half a year of their time, ran away. It was difficult to find a runaway from the set- tlements in the depths of the forest." 117
117 LÖHER'S Die Deutschen in Amerika, p. 82.
Instala
CHAPTER IV.
THE NEWLANDERS OR SOUL-SELLERS .- MEN WHO MADE A BUSINESS OF SENDING REDEMPTIONERS TO PENNSYLVANIA. - HOW THEIR NEFARIOUS TRAFFIC WAS CARRIED ON IN THE FATHERLAND .- LETTERS FROM PASTOR MUHLEN- BERG AND OTHERS.
" Yet here sits peace ; and rest sits here. These wide-boughed oaks, they house wise men- The student and the sage austere ; And men of wondrous thought and ken.
Here men of God in holy guise Invoke the peace of Paradise."
MIA.GER
SEAL OF GERMANTOWN.
EFORE this influx of persons willing to sell their personal ser- vices to pay the expenses of their transportation had been long in operation, the possibilities of turning it to profitable account were considered by sea- faring and other men, but more especially by a class of sharpers who, having (188)
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· Practices of the Newlanders.
come to this country with a full knowledge of the desire of so many of their countrymen in Germany also to migrate, availed themselves of that fact, and of the circumstances surrounding it, to make money out of it.
These man-traffickers or Seelen-Hendler, as the elder Saur denominated them, were known to the Dutch as " Zeilverkoopers," that is, soul-sellers, but among the Germans themselves more generally as Newlanders. These pestiferous fellows associated and entered into agreements with sea captains, merchants and ship owners to handle this immigrant traffic. They were almost with- out exception persons who had left their country for their country's good, had come to Pennsylvania as mere adven- turers and, after taking in the situation thoroughly, adopted schemes of rascality whereby they might defraud their more honest and unsuspecting countrymen.
Of themselves they could not carry out their nefarious plans, but wherever such rogues are found still others will be ready to aid and abet them in their schemes. These base coparceners were found in ship masters, ship owners and commission merchants, on both sides of the Atlantic. The Newlanders went up and down the Rhine and the ad- jacent country, well dressed, pretending to be prosperous merchants in Philadelphia, and used all their powers of persuasion to induce the humble peasantry to dispose of their small belongings and embark for the land of promise. 118 They commonly received a commission of seven dollars per head for every immigrant they could bring to the ship owner for embarcation, and a free pas- sage for the Newlander himself besides. When two, three,
118 " Many Newlanders boast that they are rich merchants in Pennsylvania, that they sail in their own ships, and own houses in Germantown. Others are dressed in costly clothes, wearing wigs and ruffles to make an imposing appearance."-SAUR'S German paper, October 16, 1749.
4
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The German Immigration into Pennsylvania.
four and five hundred souls embarked on a single vessel, it will readily be seen what a profitable business it was that these scoundrels were engaged in. Being so lucra- tive, it is little wonder that so many followed it. We are told that in the year 1749 alone, upwards of one hundred and thirty were engaged in it.119 Sometimes, however, these precious scoundrels got their deserts. Here and there a German prince was to be found who was well acquainted with the nefarious character of these men, and the disrepu- table business they were engaged in. They retained an affection for their subjects even though the latter were leav- ing the Fatherland by hundreds and thousands. When, therefore, these Newlanders made themselves especially obnoxious some of them were seized, imprisoned and put to hauling dirt on the streets and other menial occupations. 120
HENRY MELCHOIR MUHLENBERG'S ACCOUNT.
Pastor H. M. Muhlenberg, who was ever solicitous for the well-being of his misguided and maltreated country- men, as was to be expected, also pays his respects to these Newlanders. In a letter written to a friend in Halle, in 1763, he says concerning them : " I cannot forbear mak- ing some remarks touching Newlanders, in order to caution our German countrymen. I do not speak of such as re- turn to Germany for their patrimony, or to collect money for others, who reside here, and who sometimes use the
119 Es sind dieses Jahr, 130 Neulaender drussen .- CHRISTOPHER SAUR'S Pennsylvania Berichte, September 16, 1749.
120 So haben verschiedene Herrn im Reiche beschlossen dass die boese Neu- laender, oder seelen-verkaeufer, anhalten und verhindern wollen dass ihre, unter thanen sollen aus ihren Reiche nicht gekauft werden von den Rotter- damer Kaufleuten. Zu dem ende haben die Herrn im Reiche etliche solcher Neulaender in Gefaengnisse gesetzt in schul-karren geschlossen und dreck fahren lassen .- SAUR'S Pennsylvania Berichte, December 1, 1754.
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ے
GERMAN IMMIGRATION INTO PENNSYLVANIA.
WITMER'S BRIDGE ACROSS THE CONESTOGA RIVER, BUILT 1800.
Pastor Muhlenberg's Narrative.
money collected Jo purchase merchandise, which they sell in our markeres. This is a lawful transaction. . .. speaking ofthe Nowianders I mean such as are not disposed to sopp @ lowwives honestly. I mean those who solicit power and Money to collect money in Germany for other they lotview more to collect for themselves-who are a - flw sosie hory In the service of others-urging upon Ger- Ps The mail upon them, by means fair or foul, 1 Imitks for Vatwlawd and immigrate to the New Mro The usual course pursued by them is, first to Anh &c Wequaintance of merchants in Holland, tr- Wie they receive free passage, also a stipulared sam ut wmobey, tor every family or unmarried person, they can prevail on to leave their homes for Holland. To accom- plish their mission successfully, they resort to various arti- fices. As a studied prelude to the tragedy, they appear gorgeously attired, make an imposing display with then watches, using every means to create the impression that they are persons of immense wealth.
" Thus the credulous are often deceived, buramr mua ious to emigrate and live in so prosperous auf N'a siesity · as Pennsylvania. By these plaitrole HiptorresAtion and glowing descriptions of Anosrica, (e impresion la made that in Pennsylvania the Flystan tlelds are to be fonud --- that every desirable vegetable grows spontaneously ; hills and mountains are pregnant with unalloyed gold and sil-
131 Witmer's Bridge, one of the oldest and most picturesque of the stone bridges in Pennsylvania, spans the Conestoga river a short distance beyond the tu limits of Lancaster city. A safe crossing over this stream was much to accommodate the great volume of traffic carried on between Phila- All the interior of the State. Its erection i due to the energy and en vele person of German descent Mr. Abraham Witmer, who vores welenunk the tek of construction in 1799, and com- The beddas In In a perfect state of preservation to-day and to y borgess traffic.
JERMAN IMMIGRATION INFO EMUSTLOAN A
44
WITMER'S BRIDGE ACROSS THE COMESICGA RIVER, BUILT 1800.
191
Pastor Muhlenberg's Narrative.
money collected to purchase merchandise, which they sell in our markets. This is a lawful transaction. * * * In speaking of the Newlanders I mean such as are not disposed to support themselves honestly. I mean those who solicit powers of attorney to collect money in Germany for others, they having none to collect for themselves-who are a the same time in the service of others-urging upon Ger- mans, till they prevail upon them, by means fair or foul, to forsake their Vaterland and immigrate to the New World. The usual course pursued by them is, first to seek the acquaintance of merchants in Holland, from whom they receive free passage, also a stipulated sum of money, for every family or unmarried person, they can prevail on to leave their homes for Holland. To accom- plish their mission successfully, they resort to various arti- fices. As a studied prelude to the tragedy, they appear gorgeously attired, make an imposing display with their watches, using every means to create the impression that they are persons of immense wealth.
" Thus the credulous are often deceived, become anx- ious to emigrate and live in so prosperous and rich a country as Pennsylvania. By these plausible representations and glowing descriptions of America, the impression is made that in Pennsylvania the Elysian fields are to be found- that every desirable vegetable grows spontaneously ; hills and mountains are pregnant with unalloyed gold and sil-
121 Witmer's Bridge, one of the oldest and most picturesque of the stone bridges in Pennsylvania, spans the Conestoga river a short distance beyond the eastern limits of Lancaster city. A safe crossing over this stream was much needed to accommodate the great volume of traffic carried on between Phila- delphia and the interior of the State. Its erection is due to the energy and en- terprise of a single person of German descent, Mr. Abraham Witmer, who with his own resources undertook the task of construction in 1799, and com- pleted it in 1800. The bridge is in a perfect state of preservation to-day and accommodates a heavy business traffic.
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