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Home , Baden, German Palatines, Herzog, Kurpfalz (region), Palatinate (region), Palatine

~~. ---,. ~-~,.,,}.',, ,, ,., ,. ~...... ~ ... --. ·-~ ~\.,---~- - . ~.- -~ ;-~~ ------~~------~...... -- . .------. . Ethnic Research · What's a , Anyvvay?

James M. Beidler examines the , 's emigrant hotbed for centuries.

THE PALATINATE, which is now 'Comis Pala tinus ' to 'Pfalzgraf' today as the Palatinate. Less than part of the German state The original of these courtiers 300 years later, a member of the -Palatinate, began sup­ in was comis palatinus (liter­ Wittlesbach family became plying a steady stream of immi­ ally, "companion of the "). Pfalzgraf as well as Herzog () grants to America in the late 1n English, this title was of . From this date in the 1600s and contributed to the for­ palatine while in German the 1200s until the early 1800s, there mation of the was a relationship between the rulers of German culture and Bavaria and of the dialect among Palatinate - culmi­ German ethnics in nating with the ruler the New World. of the Palatinak So many of the inheriting Bavaria who left for in 1777. America in the 18th In the l 300s, the century were from Pfalzgraf became one the Palatinate that of the members of the the word "Palatine" Electoral College that became synonymous was responsible for with "German". This choosing the Holy is especially borne Roman . As a out in the case of the result, the area ship captains who became known as the transported these Electora I Pa la tinate, immigrants (primari­ or in ly from Rotterdam to German. Philadelphia) and The Reformed were required to file religion of John lists with the Calvin and Ulrich Pennsylvania author­ Zwingli swept 11,e Palatitrate as depicted in William Blaeu's 1645 atlas Theatrum ities beginning in Orbis Terrarum. through the Palatinate 1727. The captains' in the 1500s, but later lists - as well as the lists show­ word was Pfalzgraf rulers installed and a ing Oaths of Allegiance - typi­ used these palatine to Roman Catholic dynasty inherited cally mention the number of administer lands, and these the area in 1685. The Thirty Years' " imported". lands became known as palatinata War (1618-48) reduced the While this is indicative of the (Latin), palatinate (English) and Palatinate to ruin, and little more fact many immigrants came from Pfalz (German). than a generation later, in 1688, this area of Germany, it also has After Charlemagne, the Holy the armies of the French left a legacy of confusion since and its emperor Louis XIV destroyed cities and 18th-century immigrants also were acknowledged as overlords villages. came from other states in south­ of Germany more in the breach After the Palatinate was again west Germany such as , than in the observance. As a result, occupied by during the Wuertemberg and . there were fewer of the "crown Napoleonic era in the early 1800s, The Palatinate is a lands" to which Charlemagne had most of the Palatinate was divided named neither for a characteristic originally sent counts palatine to between , Baden and Bavaria. of its area nor a geographic fea­ supervise. This is how the terms Since WWil, it has been part of the ture. In fact, the region of "Palatinate" and "Pfalz" became state Rhineland-Palatinate (or Germany known in the English attached as names to just a few Rheinland-Pfalz to Germans). language as the Palatinate (Pfalz of Germany. In addition to Pfalz and in German), was named for the Otto the Great, the next pow­ Kurpfalz, this area is also some­ title of a courtier or official in erful after times called Rheinpfalz (Rhenish the court of Charlemagne, who Charlemagne, ruled in the mid- Palatinate in English) or ruled from 768 to 814AD and 900s. It was he who appointed a Niederpfalz (Lower Palatinate). became the first Holy Roman noble as Pfalzgraf for the area of Just for confusion's sake, it should Emperor in 800. the Valley that is known be acknowledged that there is also

40 Familv Chronicle • Tulv / Aueust 2004 a region of Bavaria known as the SAUCO NY CREEK bei Oberpfalz () or Woh•or1 ·· ·ez«-.Kuiztown Prootn: l'a, looo USA Bavarian Palatinate. This is the 011: r •,, ,,. .. ~ ' M' 0 area around and north of and borders the Republic. Unfortunately, Czech __ -- hr111lsc ld

Palatine Emigrants by the ,rstei nw-erdt/Pfa1 z" l\bhmm11-sa'31'1 ttrr h'l'IIIFSte111wend en(lji_!...LJl~-A The wars of the 1600s Schi!f 11Two Brothers" Palatinate devastated and depopu­ W tl)l),rivfi __ __ -· _ ····--.- Taufpnten: Michael Korb von Weisenbs ch, lated. Many German-speaking 111 ~t{~t,_~:fc,'PJ'eir'f~~oa~g'ii'° §'~,j'!f/'z~~~r'f :~io< u•}A ppOJ.6n1A ··Thewa·ta-;"EhEf!rau ""11 lf B "Heffner 11 Swiss moved down from the E.ff.~nbach . mountains into the Palatinate after the Thirty Years' War and French 011cUcn"i:cll~ lo1 .. QA F... .C hr .ia.:tmann.. --···· ·····-········M• -···· ·-·-·····- --·· ·~·--·------·-·--·-----·--- (expelled from France A copy of a card from tlte Palatine emigrant card file. beginning in 1685 when the edict guaranteeing them toleration was Researchers are fortunate that Where the work of Jones revoked) also became part of the Henry Z "Hank" Jones Jr. began stops, the canon of Annette Palatinate population. The invasion studying these 847 "Palatine" fam­ Burgert begins. Burgert became by Louis XIV coincided with visits ilies nearly 40 years ago. During widely known in the 1980s with from agents of William Penn who that time he has - in conjunction the publication of her two-volume were seeking colonists for with German researchers - set for the Pennsylvania German Pennsylvania - Pen.n's "Holy tracked down the immigrant ori­ Society, Eighteenth Century Experiment" of religious toleration. gins of hundreds of these families. Emigrants, one volume of which The first families from the Beginning with a two-volume dealt with the . Palatinate area landed in work titled Tl1e Palatine Families of Since then, Burgert has put out Pennsylvania in 1683 and estab­ - 1710, which was pub­ books on 18th-century emigration lished Germantown, now part of lished two decades ago, Jones has from a number of towns and areas Philadelphia but originally out in put these origins into print. He of Germany including another the country. A trickling of immi­ continued with The Palatine major volume dealing specifically gration to Pennsylvania continued Families of , More Palatine with the Palatinate - Palatine through the rest of the 1600s and Families, and, most recently, three Origins of Some Pennsylvania early years of the before volumes of Even More Palatine Pioneers. This latter work focuses mass migration to America began. Families: lBt/r Century Immigrants to on towns in the eastern Palatine In the winter of 1708-9, the American Colonies and Their on the west side of the Rhine experienced one of its worst win­ German, Swiss, and Austrian River. ters on record. (Among other Origins (co-authored with Lewis While Jones' research is "time things, the Baltic Sea froze so Bunker Rohrbach). specific" - he is the expert on the solidly that the King of Sweden Jones' research has gone 1710 Palatines - Burgert's is was able to transport his army through many twists and turns. Ln "geographic specific" - she across it to begin the Great the Even More Palatine set, the delves deeply into the German Northern War with Russia.) immigrant origins of the impor­ church and other records of select­ In the Palatinate, this winter tant (in terms of number of ed villages and often finds the ties spurred thousands of people to descendants) Batdorf family in between Old World and New. As find their way up the Rhine River. Pennsylvania were established with many other immigrant They spent time in before after years of false starts. This was groups, the Palatines often trav­ being sent off to upstate New one of the families that moved eled in packs. It is common to find York in 1710 as colonists. After from to the more than one family from the further adventures, some families Tulpehocken region, and the key same Palatine village on the same stayed in New York while others to cracking the case turned out to ship bound for America. migrated in the 1720s to the be that the family name was really And the Palatines did come to Tulpehocken Creek area of Bardorf, even through a slim America - by the thousands. Pennsylvania (modem-day west­ minority of early American Even when they did not travel ern Berks County and eastern records about the family included with others from same village, Lebanon County). the "r". they were often responding to the Family Chronicle • July/ August 2004 41

immigrants' actual signatures. Cultural Heritage Center at Websites How helpful these lists are for Kutztown University in • German Genealogy: researchers is difficult to play Pennsylvania. Rheinland-Pfalz down. ln addition to the fact that (www.genealogienetz.de/reg few colonial-era passenger lists Primary Source Records of the IRHE-PFNrhein-p.html) have survived from other ports, Palatinate • Genealogy in Pfalz even the Philadelphia sltips with The most helpful group of records (www.krebs-onl.de/pfalz/) immigrants from the British Isles for researchers with Palatine ances­ • Frequently Asked Questions: were not required to keep lists tors is the church register books, German-Rheinpfalz since those people were already wltich usually contain baptisms, (http://thorin.adnc.com/-lynnd subjects of the British crown and marriages and burials. Some of /gfaql.html) therefore not required to pledge an these church registers begin in the oath of allegiance as was mandat­ era of the Thirty Years' War, but in Organizations ed for the German Palatines. a fair number of cases the registers • German-Pennsylvanian were destroyed during the French Association (known by Emigration Continued into Later invasion of the 1680s and the German initials, DPAK) Centuries extant records only begin around Website: www.pennsylvanien.de While not ail 18th-century emi­ 1700. • Institut filr Pfiilzische grants from Germany were from Fortunately for researchers, Geschichte und Volkskunde, the Palatinate, the majority did nearly ail of the surviving church Benzinoring 6, D-67657, come from tltis area, and as a records from the Palatinate have e­ Kaiserslautem, Germany; result they left a firm stamp on been microfilmed by the mail: [email protected] the cultural group known as the Genealogical Society of Utah and • Mid-Atlantic Germanic Pennsylvania Germans. are in the Family History Library Society, P.O. Box 2642 1n addition to crafts and folk system. It is important to note that 20891-2642 Kensington, MD art, the so-called Pfaelzisch dialect the Family History Library Catalog 611 • Palatines to America, of German spoken in the lists towns under the state they Columbus, East Weber Road, Palatinate influenced the dialect belonged to at the time of the {614) OH 43211-1097; phone: still spoken by some in parts of (1871), so towns of fax: (614) 267-4888; 267-4700; Pennsylvania and other states - the Palatinate can be found under e-mail: [email protected] known today variously as Hessen (the German spelling of • Pennsylvania German "Pennsilfaanisch Deitsch", Hesse), Bayem (German version of Center, PO Cultural Heritage "" or Bavaria) and Baden. University, Box 306, Kutztown "Pennsylvania German". Civil registration of births, 19530; phone: Kutztown, PA There are many contrasts marriages and deaths became uni­ (610) 683-1330; e-mail: between the 18th-century emi­ form throughout the German [email protected] grants and those of the 19th and Empire in 1876, but there are regis­ • The Pennsylvania German 20th centuries. Members of the trations from some areas before 244, Society, P.O. Box "second wave" of immigrants after this date. Between 1792 and 1798, ; Kutztown, PA 19530-0244 the 1700s are frequently called when France occupied the area phone: (610) 894-9551; German-Americans. More of them west of the Rhine River, the gov­ fax: (610) 894-9808; came from the German states in ernment began civil registration in e-mail: [email protected] the north, east and southeast. parts of the Palatinate. These However, there were still many records are usually written in call of a friend or family member emigrants from the Palatinate who French and exist through the over­ who had already settled in joined in the later voyages to throw of in 1814, when America (Pennsylvania, most of America. civil registration was suspended. the time) - someone writing back A great source for document­ Many of these records have been home to tell everyone stories ing the Palatine immigrants of all microfilmed. about the abundant land and centuries is the emigrant card file The late German historian other opportunities awaiting them kept in the city of Kaiserslautem Werner Hacker compiled listings across the Atlantic. Records of by lnstitut fur Pfalzische of thousands of emigrants from most of these immigrants are pub­ Gescltichte und Volkskunde Germany in the 1700s. One of his lished in the three-volume work (Institute for Palatine History and works focuses exclusively on the Pennsylvania German Pioneers, Folk Culture, previously known Palatinate and Saarland. This wltich are the ships lists counting as the Heimatstelle Pfalz). These book, while written in German, "Palatines imported" that were cards attempt to link information has a format that is accessible to referred to earlier in tltis article. on immigrants both before and English language researchers, Most of the lists contain the names after they left Germany. 1n coop­ including an introduction in of every male passenger aboard eration with the institute, this English. the ship who was age 16 and over, card file is also now accessible at There are also tax lists and some of the lists show the the Pennsylvania German (Schatzungregister in German) from

42 Familv Chronicle • lulv / Au21.1st 2004

some Palatine tow-ns that are in the Family History Library system. They date mostly from the ] 760s, too late for the bulk of the 18th-century immigration but can be helpful for later immigrants.

Organizations that Help There are organizations on both sides of the Atlantic that can help researchers find Palatine ancestry. The previously mentio ned Institute for Palatine History is the top German re•source; in addition to its card file, the institute investigates all aspects of Palatine history and publishes its findings. The institute's beginnings date to 1953. The number one American group devoted to study of the area's immigrants is Palatines to America. This organization was begun in 1975, and while its mission embraces research about any German-speak­ ing immigrants, the name "Palatines to America" does show its emphasis on the 18th-century immigrants from the Palatinate. PalAm has chapters in a number of states. Among the projects that the group coordi­ nates is the "Immigrant Ancestor Register" in which researchers share what they know about immigrant ancestors including many from the Palatinate. In some cases, the register helps people share their own knowl­ edge, while in other cases new researchers are able to add to the s ubmitter's information.

Further Reading • Burgert, Annette K. Master Index to the Emigrants Documented in the Published Works of Annette Kunselman Burgert. 2nd edition (Myerstown, PA: AKB Publications, 2000). • Burgert, Annette K. Palatine Origins of Some Pennsylvania Pioneers (Myerstown, PA: AKB Publications, 2000). • Hacker, Werner. Eiglzteenth Century Register of Emigrants from Southwest Germany to America and Other Countries (Apollo, PA: Closson Press, 1994). • Jones, Henry Z Jr. The Palatine Families of New York: A Study of the German Immigrants Who Arrived in Colonial New York .in 1710. 2 vols. (Universal City, CA: H.Z. Jones, 1985). • Owen, Ralph Dornfeld. "Palatine and Palatinate" in Pennsylvania German Roots Across tlze Ocean (Philadelphia, PA: Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, 2001). • Strassburger, Ralph B. and William J. Hinke. Pennsylvania German Pioneers, 3 vol. (Camden, ME: Picton Press, 1992). • Yoder, . " Problems and Resources in Pennsylvania Gennan Genealogical Research" in Pennsylvania German Roots Across the Ocean (Philadelphia, PA: Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, 2001).

James M. Beidler writes a regular magazine column for German Life as well as a weekly newspaper column called "Roots & Branches". He edits the Mid-Atlantic Germanic Society's newsletter Der Kurier and currently is first vice president of the Pennsylvania Chapter, Palatines to America. (El

Reprinted with permission of copyright holder James M. Beidler and consent of Family Chronicle magazine.