Boshaars

Fort Klock Historic Restoration
The Book of Names
Especially Relating to The Early Palatines and the First Settlers in the
Mohawk Valley
Compiled and Arranged by Lou D. MacWethy
Published by The Enterprise and News
St. Johnsville, NY., 1933

Palatine Heads of Families
From
Governor Hunter's Ration Lists
June, 1710 to September, 1714
Compiled from the records in London and Presented to the descendants of the Palatines by
BOYD EHLE. C. E.

Historians in general and descendants of the Palatines in particular have long felt a desire for a more complete list of those Palatine emigrants who settled in New York and along the Hudson under the patronage of Queen Anne of 1710. Documentary History of New York, Vol. III gives a census of those in New York, also those in West Camp but no mention is made of those in East Camp although it is known that there were unlisted settlement on the east side.

During the summer of 1931 Mr. Boyd Ehle through his London agents caused a search of the records there with the result that the ledger accounts of Governor Hunter were consulted and all the names of heads of families drawing rations were copied. Mr. Ehle has arranged them in alphabetical order and indicated their place of residence by the symbols to be found following the name in case where residence is known as follows:

E---East Camp. Soldiers in Canadian Exposition of 1711.

W---West Camp.

N. New York City.

These locations are from the census reports in Doc. Hist., Vol 3. Those not designated are presumed to have been residents of east Camp. No census of this camp has been discovered, but by eliminating those of known location the balance must belong to East Camp.

This kindly service on the part of Mr. Ehle is duly acknowledged by the Enterprise and News on behalf of the descendants of the Palatinate. Surely no kindlier service can be imagined and not only those living today but those who will follow will find reason to be grateful for the thoughtfulness of Mr. Ehle in preserving the precious knowledge for the descendants.

London Letter

The letter accompanying the Ration Lists fromt he London compilers will be of interest and is here given:

Colonial Office Class 5

Vols. 1230-1231.

(Badly classified--1731 is first int he point of order).

These two folio volumes, clearly written and bound in undressed calf are the statement of Gov. Hunter's account against the Government for the subsistence to the Palatines 1710-1713 each having the certificates and the seal of New York in red wax, as noted in Dr. Andrew's Guide." The first is the Journal or account book, No. 1231, the other (1230) is the ledger, each name being posted up in alphabetical order. Both these show the number drawn for by the heads of families or the recipient thus:--2 adults 2 young (i.e. under 10 years): 3 adults 1 young; 1 adults, as the case may be.

Vol. 1231

This journal, as it is called is divided under the following headings:

p. 1. "New York 30 June 1719.

"The Palatines hereafter named for themselves and their families Subsistence, Debtors to the Queen's most Sacred Majesty . . . . . for 4 days subsistance distributed. . . from 27 June to this day at the rate of 6d for persons above 10 years of age and 4d per diem for children under 10 years. . .

(Then follows names and sums of money to cash).

p. 4 New York 1st July 1710. Similar heading for 4 days 28 june to this day.

p. 10 New York 4th July 1710. Similar heading 4 days 1st July to this day.

p. 14 New York 4th August 1710. Sililar heading 25 days 10th July to this day.

p. 29 New York 4 October 1710. Sililar heading. 61 days 5th August to this day.

p. 45. Mannor of Livingston 31 December 1710. The Platines hereafter named for themselves and their families subsistance debtors to the Queens most Sacred Majesty for Subsistance distributed to the said Palatines from the time of their several arrivals at this place and ye other side Hudson River (the first being ye 6 October) to this day make 89 days.

p. 55 Mannor of Lobingston 25 March 1711. . . . for 84 days from 1 January 1711.

p. 66 Mannor of Livingston 24 June 1711. . . .91 days from 26 March.

p. 78 Mannor of Livingston 29 September 1711. . . .97 days from 25 June abating 14 days during which time they had little or no provision.

p. 91. Mannor of Livingston 24 December 1711. . . . .86 days from 30 September.

p. 103. New York 24 December 1711. . . .from 5th October 1710 at New York to 5 October last . . . .N. B. Those families charged with small sums were sent up to the Settlement last fall, others with large sums were subsisted at New York in the spring following and not sent up till April and May. And the remainder being Widows and Orphans have been sussisted to this time.

p. 117. Mannor of Livinsgton 25 March 1712. . . . for 92 days from 25 October 1711 to this time.

p. 129 New York 25 March 1712. . . 172 days from 6 October 1711 to this day.

p. 130 Mannor of Livinsgton 24 June 1712. . . . .91 days from 26 March.

p. 143 Mannor of Lisvingston 13 September 1712. . . .81 days from 25 June.

A few names added under heading "New York."

P. 155 (no place given) 23 September 1713 for unequal time subsistance from 13 September 1712 to this day.

p. 156 The book is then apparently made up 27 August 1714 and certified and sealed 2 September 1714.

Palatine Heads of Families
Location (N), New York city.
(E) East Camps, Columbia Co., N. Y.
(W), West Camps, Ulster Co., N. Y.

By Harold H. Miller , updated 29 May, 2001

Then in the winter of 1708, yet another catastrophe befell those who had not fled. An almost unprecedented cold spell across Northern Europe killed the few remaining cattle and ruined the vineyards and fruit trees that had survived the devastation of the wars. Farmers by the thousands sold what little they had and crowded their families into riverboats for the long journey down the Rhine to the Netherlands port of Rotterdam. There they camped on the outskirts of the city in crude, reed-covered shelters.

England decided it was time to take positive measures to encourage the population of its colonies in the new world. Ships bringing troops from England to the Low Countries to fight the French were instructed to transport the Palatine refugees to England on their return trip.

In England the Palatines were placed in a series of squalid refugee camps in and about London. At first the refugees were pitied and helped, but as the summer passed and more kept arriving, Londoners turned on them. On one occasion, feeling threatened by the influx of low-cost competition, London laborers armed with scythes, axes, and hammers attacked the Palatine immigrants in the overcrowded camps. Responding to this social unrest, as well as fearing the spread of disease and pestilence, some refugees, including all of the Catholics, were sent back to Holland to be returned to Germany. Later that year a few were settled elsewhere in England; others were sent to Ireland and Carolina.

In 1709 most of the pine resin used to make tar for waterproofing ships came from Sweden. Since it was important to the British Navy to have its own supply, it was proposed to ship the Palatines to New York to establish a British tar industry on land along the Mohawk or Hudson Rivers. As an added benefit, any settlement in the Mohawk area would provide a buffer between existing settlements in eastern New York and the French in Canada, as well as the hostile natives in western New York.

The refugees were promised forty acres and farm tools. In return they had to work the land and pay back the costs of their transportation and subsistence. Their contracts were in English, and a German translation was read to them. What the British commitments actually were would later be the subject of much dispute.

Toward the end of December 1709, about 3300 Palatines were packed into the holds of eleven small ships in crowded and unsanitary conditions. Incredibly, it was not until April 1710 when they finally set sail! During the ensuing two-month voyage, hundreds died of typhus.

The ships arrived in the harbor of New York in June, six months after the initial shipboard confinement of the helpless passengers. For fear that they would spread contagious diseases, the sick and half-starved refugees were kept in isolation in temporary tent camps set up on what is now Governor’s Island in the Hudson River just off New York City. There, many more became ill and died of typhus. Records of refugee marriages performed in 1710 show that about half were between widows and widowers. Orphans were made indentured servants to the Dutch colonists.

New York Governor Hunter, who the British put in charge of the refugees and the tar project, kept careful lists of the families provided subsistence, so the government could be repaid. To save money, families considered to have too many young children for the government to support, had the “excess” taken from them forcibly and given to Dutch families as indentured servants.

(Palatine Families of New York, by Henry Z Jones, Jr., is a genealogical compendium of the ancestors and descendants of the Palatines on Governor Hunter’s subsistence lists; among them were the following early Helderberg families: Ball, Becker, Bellinger, Bouck, Cassleman, Coons, Chrysler, Ecker, Enders, Kniskern, Loucks, Mann, Miller, Schafer, Schanz, Sternberger, Warner, and Young.)

Governor Hunter sent a survey team to the Schoharie Valley area to see if it was suitable for his tar project. A Mohawk “chief, when made aware of Hunter’s proposed use of the land, gave it to the Queen for “Christian settlements.” Nevertheless, although he accepted the land, Hunter later rejected its use for his tar project since it had no suitable pines.

The Governor then purchased about 6,000 acres from Robert Livingston, a Dutch Patroon with extensive land holdings on the east bank of the Hudson River. The British Crown already had possession of the land opposite it on the west side of the river. About 1,200 of the Palatines were settled in several camps on both sides of the Hudson near the juncture of present day Columbia, Green, Dutchess, and Ulster Counties. They were given small tracts of worthless land upon which to build a shelter, and set to work stripping the bark from pine trees for the tar project.

By the spring of 1711 the Palatines were extremely dissatisfied with their bleak prospects, and were on the verge of rebellion. They demanded the lands in Schoharie Valley that they believed had been given to the Queen for their settlement. Hunter replied that they could have 40 acres only after repaying with their labor the Government outlay for their transportation and subsistence; and he would decide where the land would be located. The enraged refugees’ rifles were confiscated, and they were forced to remain at the work camps under increased military surveillance.

The Palatines’ food was initially paid for by a grant from the British. When a new British administration withdrew support for the project, funds ran out and rations were reduced to a third of a loaf of bread and a quart of low-alcohol beer daily for each adult.

In vain hope of additional funding, Hunter advanced his own money to buy food, thus keeping the pitch tar project from collapsing. Finally, in the middle of September 1712, his credit ran out and the Palatines were unexpectedly told they would have to fend for themselves. So that they could be contacted if funds became available to restart the project, they were told they must obtain permission to leave. Many remained in the area; others received permission to go to New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

About a quarter of the Palatines chose to go to Schoharie without asking permission. They sent their leaders on ahead to negotiate with the natives for a place to settle. The Indians readily agreed, since they had given the land to Queen Anne for that purpose. About 150 families immediately relocated to a temporary camp near Schenectady while they cleared a fifteen-mile path to Schoharie.

With winter imminent, a third of the families then moved into the Schoharie Valley. At times that winter they were reduced to eating roots and herbs found with the help of their helpful Indian neighbors.

The Palatines were fully aware that to obtain legal right to land one first had to buy it from the native owners, and then apply to the Governor for a grant and pay the necessary fees. Believing the Schoharie land had been given to the Queen for their use, the Palatines simply “squatted” rather than applying for a grant. When Governor Hunter heard about the Schoharie settlement, he was furious and ordered them out. With no likelihood of subsisting elsewhere, and believing they were on their “promised” land, they indignantly refused to go.

In March 1713, the families who had wintered near Schenectady loaded what little they had on crude sledges and dragged them to Schoharie to join their comrades. Following the custom back home on the Rhine, the Palatine farmers initially lived in small villages and had their fields on the outskirts. Each village along the Schoharie River consisted of small huts built of logs and earth. Certainly the first year or so they worked communally to clear the land and prepare it for crops.

In 1714, in an effort to force the squatters from Schoharie, Governor Hunter granted the flat bottomland along the Schoharie River on which they had settled to Martin Schuyler and other Dutch aristocrats. That same year an adjoining tract was granted to Adam Vrooman, a well-to-do Dutch trader from Schenectady, who had purchased it from the Indians in 1711. Schuyler tried for many years to either sell his land to the German “squatters,” sign them up on long-term leases, or evict them. In 1718, after a number of brouhahas and arrests, three of the Palatines went to England to petition for their right to remain on the Schoharie land.

By that time, deep in debt himself, Hunter had returned home to London to try to recoup his fortune. There he falsely reported that the Palatines had settled on land already granted to others. Actually the land on which they had settled in 1712 was not sold to Schuyler and his partners until 1714. While Vrooman bought the adjoining land from the Indians in 1711, the British did not grant it to him until 1714. Even so, the Palatines lost their appeal; at Hunter’s suggestion the Palatines were to be offered land elsewhere on the frontier.

As a result, in 1721 Governor Burnet gave the Palatines permission to purchase land from the Mohawks in the Mohawk Valley. Over the next few years the majority of the Palatine families in Schoharie moved to Montgomery and Herkimer Counties; others went to Pennsylvania and Canada

Those that remained in Schoharie had to lease their farms from Schuyler and his partners. Finally, in 1729, seven Palatine families bought the land they were farming, including that upon which the village of Schoharie is now located. At the time of the sale it was ostensibly to be divided into seven homesteads. However, there is evidence to suggest that, following the custom of their homeland, they continued to live close to one another rather than on separate farms. If so, they probably worked their own assigned plots on the surrounding communally held land. It was not until 1753 that they divided this large tract into individual homesteads for each family.

Because of the land troubles, it is possible that some of the early Schoharie settlers who wanted to remain in the area near friends and family, but either could not or would not pay rent, decided to move just a few miles east to what are now the Towns of Berne and Knox, in Albany County. At that time, the wilderness land there could be had for the taking. As long as they entered by the back door, so to speak, i.e. from the west, Van Rensselaer would not know they were there. Certainly, some of the new Palatine German, Swiss, and Dutch immigrants who arrived about that time with plans to settle in the Schoharie Valley, instead squatted on the “free” lands in nearby Rensselaerwyck, since they had no money to rent or buy land.

The Mercury