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Becoming German: The 1709 Palatine Migration to New York

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In 1709, thousands of Germans fled the hard times of Southwestern Germany and made their way down the Rhine to Rotterdam, where they were transported to London. There Queen Anne took pity on them and eventually provided transportation to New York, arriving in the winter of 1710/11, where they were supposed to work in a naval stores business making pine tar and pitch for use in British ships. They settled in the upper Hudson River Valley in East Camp and West Camp in Columbia and Ulster Counties, NY. Although some Germans have apparently been in North American from the very beginning, this was the first large scale migration of Germans to the New World (about 3000 people in 11 ships). Most with German names whose ancestry traces to 18th century New York prove to be part of this great Palatine migration.

Otterness is the third recounting of the Palatines' story. Others include Walter Alan Knittle, "The Early Eighteenth Century Palatine Emigration: A British Government Redemptioners Project to Manufacture Naval Stores," Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, MD, 1937, 1965 and Sanford H. Cobb, "The Story of the Palatines: An Episode in Colonial History," GP Putnam's Sons, NY, 1897. Reprinted by Heritage Books, Bowie, MD, 1988. Cobb is the original focusing on the stories told by the Palatines themselves. Knittle is the more professional treatment which compares the stories with the written records. Otterness now adds the extensive genealogical information obtained by Henry Z. Jones in the preparation of his three books (The Palatine Families of New York, 1985; More Palatine Families, 1991; and Even More Palatine Families, 2002). Jones researched the old church books of Germany where he was able to identify records of hundreds of Palatines who made the voyage to New York. Hence, Otterness is able to expand the story to include information on the distribution of the Germans.

The naval stores business soon failed. The Germans felt mistreated and wanted the better lands in the Schoharie Valley, they felt they had been promised. But they were held by contract to the Queen to work in the naval stores business in return for their transportation. After the failure of the business, they faced starvation once rations were cut off. Some scattered to New York City, to New Jersey, and to work for nearby farmers, but many settled in the Schoharie against the advice of Gov. Hunter. There they were unable to get clear title to their lands due to conflicting claims. Eventually some had to buy the land they had already cleared. Others scattered. This time some settled in Pennsylvania in Tupplehocken, in what later became the center of the Pennsylvania Dutch. Others settled in the Mohawk Valley, where they did very well, but they encountered Indian attacks.

Otterness retells the famous story from the Schoharie. In those sexist times, women were thought less responsible for their crimes due to their emotional state. Hence, they were not punished as severely when convicted. After repeated efforts to evict the squatters, the sheriff from Albany arrived to arrest leader Johann Weiser. The women of the settlement attacked him with their brooms. He was tied to a rail, dragged through the mud, and carried four miles to be tossed off a bridge. Then he was attacked with stakes breaking several ribs and poking out an eye. The women pissed in his face. He survived and made his way home, but his pride was damaged. This is typical of the mischief the Germans carried out to express their displeasure with broken promises and their circumstances.

Otterness covers the story in concise professional language, but seemingly only the parts of the story he personally has researched. This is not the comprehensive presentation it could have been. His language is almost terse. Numerous details are omitted. He does not explain his reasons for revisions from what was previously published. Hence, previously, Rev. Kocherthal, the Lutheran minister who accompanied the Palatines is identified as the leader of the group. Otterness hardly mentions Kocherthal. Instead he notes that Johann Friederich Haeger was the German Reformed minister who accompanied the largely protestant, mixed Lutheran and Reformed group. The Palatines were attracted by tracts, especially the "Golden Book" that circulated in the area advising that Queen Anne was offering free transportation and free land to settlers in the New World. Those claims were made more credible by reports of an earlier group of 43 pioneers led by Rev. Kocherthal to Newburg, NY, in 1708. They were given 40 acres of land, tools, and provisions until they could produce their own, plus a glebe (landgrant) to support a pastor. Otterness does not fully tell the story of this group. (The Germans found the soil inferior and relocated to Pennsylvania, after which their church and glebe became Anglican.) He references Knittle.

Otterness discounts the claim that the Palatines were refugees fleeing the repeated destruction of religious wars exacerbated by an especially cold, damaging winter. Instead, he feels this was window dressing applied to gain support for relocation funding in Parliament by Daniel Defoe, who was a Whig politician. Instead the Palatines were poor, who came looking for the better life promised in the Golden book.

The book does include details of the naval stores business and how those products were made. He completely omits earlier reports that the pine trees of New York are not of the correct species to make naval stores. Only Southern pines have been processed successfully. He includes better details of Tuplehocken in Pennsylvania, and relates part of the story of Ephrata, a religious commune that formed around a charismatic leader nearby. Apparently some Palatines were members of Ephrata. He does not tell the story of the collapse of Ephrata. (A costly bell was purchased for the bell tower without the approval of the membership causing many to leave the commune.)

He includes several nicely done maps that clarify where settlements were, but he provides little information on the Palatine colonies of New Jersey. Others have said that the poor treatment the Palatines received in New York contrasted sharply with their acceptance by the peace loving Quakers of Pennsylvania. Hence, after 1720, most Germans preferred to settle in Pennsylvania-building the Pennsylvania Dutch tradition. Some have said Germans would not even step foot off a ship in New York City on their way to Philadelphia. Otterness completely omits this aspect of the story. Otterness manages to project the "stubborn German" stereotype for the Palatines. They could be very unco-operative, and stubbornly stuck to their goals-good farm land-in spite of numerous adversities.

This is a useful addition to the body of knowledge of the Palatines. It is not comprehensive. Students will want to review all three books for details. Extensive references and end notes. Index (though somewhat meager). Maps. Illustrations.

Dr Otterness has done a wonderful job of tracing the exploits of Western European immigrants to the New World. I had a chance to meet the author at a book signing and was facinated by his detective work in German libraries, tracking down the details of the Palatine Migration. I am not the only one impressed by his work. In a recent television airing of "The History Detectives" I noticed Dr Otterness' name in the credits as having contributed facts on a Lutheran minister's role in leading colonials during the Revolutionary War. This book has filled some gaps in my family history. I recommend it.

Becoming German is a wonderfully written book that takes the reader on an incredible journey of people who lived in small villages in the southwest of what is now Germany (but certainly was not in the 1600-1700's) to the New World, in specific New York State.
The author opens the readers eyes as to what these migrants had to endure as they traveled in search of land to allow farming to make a better life for their families. Unfortunately, the history books I read as a child did not paint a realistic picture of what really took place. If you are interested in history in general, New York State History, or history of the Palantines who were considered to be from the southwest of present day Germany, you won't be able to put this book down. I know I could not stop reading it.

This book was well written and appears to be very well researched. It was extremely useful to me in confirming the migration pattern of my Palatine family in NY as the repetition of given names can be very confusing.

I have been searching all over the web for English information about the original immigrants from the German areas of Europe. This book certainly opened up a treasure of information on the mindset of these people and their determination to achieve their goal. I found this book VERY readable and appreciated the emotional aspects of this time and people as well. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has even a casual interest in history. It is EXCELLENT!

Having once been quite a student of the American Revolutionary War I had long been curious about the origins of the Germans of Central New York who had played a key role in the defense of the Mohawk Valley. "Becoming German" tells the fascinating story of the "Palatine" migration to New York in 1709, the largest single German immigration to America prior to 1800. This is one of the better histories I've come across; easy to read but extremely well-researched and well-documented. Otterness turns to the records of the Palatines' sponsors, the British authorities, for most of his information so the story of the migration comes mainly from their perspective. There is very little first-hand information from the immigrants themselves but the author does a more than commendable job with what he has to work with. At only 170 pages, you'll finish this delightful book in two sittings. By the way, the enigmatic title refers to the fact that the immigrants became collectively "German" only as a result of their journey. Prior to that they were inhabitants of very separate principalities scattered throughout southwest "Germany."

This book, Becoming German, is a well-researched study of the process by which provincial immigrants mixed with each other in the New World and developed a common identity as German-Americans (or probably more accurately for those who moved into the Tulpehocken area, Pennsylvania Dutch).

This book provides me with a very vital connection to my families roots. The research required for this work is mind boggling.

It could be better organized. Writing is boring. Anecdotes would help make it more interesting.