The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-10-20
TIE German immigration Into Penns,i-
,ania.

Nania.
We are Indebted 10 Mr. FRANK RiED
DfTFENDEKFFER, eN-pra@ident 81 the Penn
sylvnnia German Society. for the book
81 which he IL both the author aud tho pub
lishcr. The Germdn Immigration into Penn
syirdniu Through he Port 81 P~hiddoiphid,
iUO-l775 II T. only within recent years
that the Importance 81 tho German lmmi-
grafton into Pennsylvania In the seven
teenth and eighteenth centuries has been
recognized, but within the last decade n
number Of books on tho subject have been
issued. II Is extremely difficult, however.
to find authentic data for tho period he-
tween les3 and i727. When the first Ger
man ~settlerr came TO Pennsylvania, IN a
hunters and under what circumstances.
aro questions more easily asked than
answered. There l. reason To b"li"vc tha
the Sett lements planted by Gus'avus
Adolphus and his illu-tnous Minister.
Oxenstiernn. ON the delaware In lG3s and
later, contained n large infusion 81 Cor
mana The second Govrruur of the Swedish
colony. johannes PRINT. was a hol~tein"r.
and brought with him a considerable NUM-
her Of Poinrranian families ThcS' facts
surlc, 10 cs'ablish tho presence 81 German
settlers on pcuusylvaria soil long before
PaStorus led his colony 81 Crr'elder- 20
Germantown. The story ~ the first
sinc, German settlement IN Pennsylvania.
that al Germantown, has lately l-'eu told
once for all bv Judge samuel W Penny
packer In Vol IN 80 the Proceedings
81 the observation-disclosures Society =
Touching the theme 81 that book, We only
need recall the fact that IN i0s3 the elder
Pastorius, acting ns agent for a number OF
German friends. bought from William Penn
500 acres Of land near Philadelphia, and
on thee Get was soou after located.
The settlement 81 Germantown was fol
lowed by other emigration from Germany
In 1924. 1895, 100. i7o9 and i7ii. Tn" ~
ports sent home by these em!grants Induced
many Of their compatriots 10 follow them
in iTi7 and subsequent wears. In 1919
Jonathan Dickinson wrote. W are daily
expecting ships from London which
bring over Palatines, IN number 81 about
six or seven thousand We had n parcel
who came out about five wears ago, who
purchased land about sixty miles wrs, Of
Philadelphia and proved quic' and indus
trious
Our author thinks tina the colony named
bv Dickinson in the last sentence quoted
was the little land of Mcuuonites, ~. per
haps, one should rather Say, Swiss Hugu"-
nots. who came over IN i5os or l1". and
located Themselves in the P"Qu"a Valley,
Lancaster county, forming IN" first nu-
cleus Of Europeans within that county
II was one of the most substantial and
sIcses~ful settlement. ever made In Penn
sylvania. Just how many Germans landed
at the port Of Philadelphia previously 10
tho passage Of the Registry law Of i72i
il unknown. but Mr. Difcndcrner II con
WINGED that tho numt"r was large, II ~
certain that a. early as i57 the volume OF
German inning ration not only attracted
the attention. hut excited the alarm, Of
the Provincial Government. II was III"
apprehension then aroused, and sub~e-
uu-ntlv intensified, which caused the
Provincial Assembly 80 requirn the rcsistrp-
ton 81 all German and other Immigrants.
When Registered. they were compelled
10 declare allegiance 20 tho King Of Great
Britain and fidelity 10 tho Proprietary
Of the Province. II has been computed
that, from the first settlement Of Penn
svlvania until about the wear l116, th"
total number Of German immigrants was
about 5000. During tho years imme-
idately following the Close Of the kevo-
h,ionary War therr was but little German
immigration. The British Consul AT Phila-
delphia put the number Of arrivals betNecn
i7sS and 1859 at i,sas. or only about 9iS
each wear IN an average. We may here
note that, previously To i7ti. all the Ger
mans who came 10 Pennsylvania wcse called
pala,incs on the sh,plist. irresIs'Cttyely
Of tho place Of thoir nativity, Sub-"-
auently to that time. the term '~forcigncrS.
or inhabitants OF IN" Palaunate and
places adjacent was applied 10 them.
Even after lis, the German principalitics
from which they came an no, specified
The German immigrants had large fani-
lies, and soon constituted an important
elemen, Of the population OF the province.
Gov. Thomas eSpr,s-sSi th" opinion mat
In Iii7 the PROVING" had 10000 inhabitants.
of which thrcc-hfths. or 71.oO, were
Germans. In i75C pr. Franklin credited
IN. province with Ien,coo colonist- Of whom
one.third. or 5000. were Germans, one
third Quakers and the rest of other nation
sH,i,s. Other authorities give different
figures for the population 81 f"HnsvlNah'a
a, tho outset Of the Revolutionary Wa.
hut they agree IN thinking that ia" German
c-on,rhu,,-d a third or more. II "" a~rIt
thai ra,io. Ne must a-~um" that 'h'F"
u.. ards 81 i.l.op Germans IN h"fu-
-,lvansa Ia i.yo. hcCAuso th" census taken
In ,ha, wear attnbutel a population 81
a.. Ma TO the State. II 10 IA. h%li"f u the
author of this book. ha-~i ca a careful
.raly-s 81 all the cVid~ncr, that i1'f"
yer. from s.op Ia icooco Germans iu 10"
nravincs whsn th" Revolutionary Wal
t.roke cat. n L. noteworthy that, mott
ulth-,anding the great ndch'm'rt -
Pennsylvania 60 German Immigrants, u
-as not until iT-p than IA ~ No pas--i
~ their nafuTahsaiiun
IL 10 ~-i ano~n thai B-nJ amin lranl.'
f.rp~t az vnfAvorAl,le "Tanion 90 thr
C-rnan -ttl<r VA Psrn.,lNAuiA H. mu--
warr-tros th.n. and u~ authsF - tils
l.,a rlnt~nd. thai tis-r- ~ no sHrl-
81 SO misunder-ssndias Franklin wss
va tis s.sa vbcn ths Sr,.i CsgmaA iH.I.a.