Advice to German Emigrants, 1749

ADVICE TO GERMAN EMIGRANTS, 1749 BY HANNAH BENNER ROACH, F.G.S.P., F.A.S.G. In the Archives of Ludwigsburg, just north of Stuttgart in BadenWurttemberg, Germany, Dr. Friedrich Krebs, archivist at Speyer, found a German pamphlet which had originated in Philadelphia in 1749. Bear ing the title Wohlmeynende Nachricht, wie sich die Teutsche, die mach Pensilvanien reisen auollen, zu verhalten haben, and written 19 October 1749 by "L. M.," this tract of "Well-Meant Information as to How the Qrmans, Who Wish to Travel to Pennsylvania, Should Conduct Themselves," had remained unnoticed until 1959. That year a brief mention of the pamphlet was made by Eva Schuenzel in her dissertation, "Die deutsche Auswanderung nach Nordamerika im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert," for the University of Wiirzburg.' In 1961 Dr. Krebs sent photostats of the original pamphlet to Dr. Albert H. Gerberich, the well-known genealogist and historian of Pennsylvania-German families. His translation of the pamphlet is published hereinafter. The statements made in the pamphlet, upon examination prove to have been only too true. The year 1749, when it was written, was the year at least twenty-four ships, according to surviving records, arrived at the port of Philadelphia with nearly 7000 Palatinates on board.' Not since 1738, when sixteen ships had arrived with less than half that number of passengers, had so many vessels with German immigrants aboard, dropped anchor in the Delaware. Many of the passengers, that year of 1749, crowded on an average of more than three hundred to a ship, were dying when the vessels came to anchor, or were so weakened by the rigors of the voyages, that the city 1 Wurzburg Dissertations, 1959, 140 . She noted that in 1700 Karl Eugen, Duke of Wiirttemburg, issued a directive to his officials to post the pamphlet, which depicted "in the darkest colors" the fate of emigrants, in the town halls of the duchy. The second part of the tract, entitled turner Bericht, sok et einigen 7'6,1,1st-hen ergangen, die dieses 174900e Jahr, rash Pensilvanien konmen sind. or "Brief Report on How Germans Have Fared Who Have Come to Pennsylvania in th's Year 1749," describes in detail the hardships suffered by the emigrants. 2 See William 3. Hinke, ed., Pennsylvania German Prancers (Norristown, Pa., 1954), I, xxx, 409. In the introduction to this work, Rev. Hinke discounts the number of arrivah 'n 1749, which Robert Proud in his History of Pennsylvania in North America (Philadelphia, 1798), 11, 273 - 274, gives as 25. Plink, claims only 22 ships arrived, and prints only 22 ship lists for the year. But at least two noon,,,, known to have arrived, the Francis and Elisabeth and the Rachel, which he himself notes on page 409, but for which there are no surviving lists. Inasmuch as it seems possible that some lists are no longer extant for some arrivals, as might be suggested by the blank pages Eft in the original bound volumes of signature lists preserved in the State Archives, possibly Proud. nearer in time as he was to the arrivals and the records, was correct when he gave the number of ships as 25 for that year. 226 Advice to German Emigrants, 1749 227 officials were seriously alarmed. As early as 11 September, one such ship, the Francis and Elizabeth, had already arrived "in the Cove below the City." Inspected on Governor Hamilton's order by the health officers, Doctors Thomas Graeme and Thomas Bond, they reported that she was "an unhealthy Vessel, several of the Passengers labouring under an eruptive fever which they were of the opinion was infectious." The Governor thereupon ordered the trustees of the Province Island, where the Pest House was located, to see that suitable apartments were prepared for the accommodation of the infected, instructed the ship's captain to remove his vessel to the mouth of the Schuylkill "as near the Pest House as he cou'd conveniently lye, to send there all the Sick & to keep the well on board, and not to suffer any Persons to goe near them except the Doctors, Necessary Nurses, & Servants." Formerly known as Fisher's Island, the tract at the mouth of the Schuylkill had been purchased by the Province from the estate of John Fisher following an epidemic of yellow fever, and vested in 1743 in trustees responsible for the superintendence and establishment of a quarantine station and pest house.' Unfortunately, however, in 1749 "the Place was in great Disorder, & that for want of room, Household Furniture, & suitable Apartments, the Sick cou'd be but indifferently taken care of" in the few buildings on the island. "Some slight out Houses that might serve the present Occasion" would have to be built to accommodate the large number of immigrants now arriving.' As a result, the passengers of both the Francis and Elizabeth, and the Ship Rachel, which arrived a short time after, were kept on board, the "Foreigners" being "so sickly that it was thought dangerous to land all together, whereupon the Sick was ordered to be separated from the well & such as recovered with the well" were to be landed only when danger of infection was passed.' By the end of November, the situation of the immigrants had become so serious, and so many deaths among them had occurred, that a number of indignant citizens petitioned the Assembly for action to alleviate their miseries. The practice of those merchants who, "for the sake of Lucre," Id7nu0es of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania (Harrisburg, Pa., 1851), V, 410, hereinafter cited as Colonial Records. o Ibid. See Colonial Records, IV, 306-307, 568-569, for early references to Fisher's Island and its acquisition by the Province . noted in "Votes and Proceedings of the House of Representatives of the Province of Pennsylvan via," Pennsylvania Archives, 8th Series, IV, 2856-2866, hereinafter cited as Votes of Assembly. Colonial Records, IV, 410. Pennsylvania Germ. Pioneers, cited in N5785. 2 above, 4595 228 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine were responsible for the crowding into their ships of "a much greater Number" of Germans and other foreign passengers "than could be fitly accommodated" therein, should be stopped, the petitioners said. Epidemic diseases which had broken out on board the ships caused such "great Mortality" that one vessel had lost "some Hundreds," with the result that the surviving relations in many cases had been forced to defray, by their own labor, "the Freight (or Passage-Money) of the Dead." In addition, the petitioners pointed out that because of overcrowding, many passengers had of necessity left their "Chests, Cloathes and other Furniture behind them" to come on later ships, "to their great Perplexity afterwards, if not their entire Loss of them." Furthermore, because of the want of suitable buildings and other conveniences for the accommodation of these poor souls and their sick, as well as the difficulty of finding "faithful Persons to take the necessary Care of them," those who had been lodged elsewhere, wandered away from their appointed places, going "from one Place to another, to the manifest Danger of the Inhabitants" of the city, spreading their distempers over both Pennsylvania and the neighboring provinces, "and perhaps occasioned the Death of many" by so doing. In view of these problems, the petitioners hoped the House would "make such provisions for the Prevention of such Practices, [for] the Relief of those Strangers, and the Safety of the Inhabitants, as to their Wisdom shall seem meet." Always deliberate in reaching decisions, the Assembly failed to take any action until the following January of 1750. It was not until the end of the month that the House finally directed the trustees of Province Island to build new pest houses "for the convenient reception of sick Strangers into this Province," and passed an act "prohibiting the Importation of Germans or other Passengers in too great Numbers in any one Vessel." In the meantime, "L. M." composed his pamphlet and sent it back to Germany for distribution. Warning those who contemplated undertaking the journey to the New World of the hazards of the trip, he advised them of the precautions they should employ to avoid the complications they might very well encounter. His identity is not known, but it is suggested that he was LEONARD MELCHIOR, a well-known German shop- and tavernkeeper in pre-Revolutionary Philadelphia. Born about 24 August 1714, he probably arrived in Philadelphia 17 October 1732, on the ship John and William, Votes of Assembly, IV, 3287-328B. 9 151d., IV, 3312, 3313, 33,6. Advice to German Emigrants, 1749 229 Constable Tymperton, commander." Naturalized about 25 Sepember 1740, as Leonard Me/ihar, he married before 1745 ANNA MARIA KLEIN, daughter of John Isaac Klein of Lower Salford Township, Philadelphia (now Montgomery) County." In 1743, when he was listed as being "of Skippack," he had acted as co-administrator and one of the chief creditors of the estate of Stephen Chest, deceased." By 1745, when their first child was born, the Melchiors had removed to Philadelphia where he kept shop for a time on the west side of Second Street a few doors north of Arch Street, next door to Anthony Morris." Then in 1748, Melchior purchased the house and lot at the northeast corner of Second Street and Elfreth's Alley—still between Arch and Race Streets—where by 1754 he was conducting a tavern,' in conjunction with a shop supplying German settlers and immigrants with commodities unobtainable in the country. Being so close to the river, the tavern was a favorite resort for newly arrived German immigrants; over the years, through his country connections, he often furnished surety for, or acted as administrator or executor of the estates of his deceased countrymen." As a member of the German Reformed Church in Philadelphia, he was a supporter of the Reverend John Conrad Steiner who arrived in 1749, and with John Stillwagon acted as trustee in the purchase in 1751 of the house on the north side of Race Street where Steiner preached.' Two years later he was one of the managers of the lottery to raise funds for building a schoolhouse and assisting the schoolmaster and children of the congregation. Pennsylvania German Pioneers, cited in Note 2 above, I, 101-103, List 28-A. Here the names of the family are given as Philip Melehionar, sick; Ludwick Melehionar; and under "Women and Child... Luodwick Melchionar. Neither of the moo adults took the prescribed oaths, hence no signatures are available for comparison. It is interesting to note that o this ship carrying 169 men, women and children, 11 men were sick at the time of arrival; of tIte 71 men listed by name in the "A" list, only 60 took the prescribed oath. Pennsylvania Archives, 2nd Series, II (1890), 296. He had received the Sacrament 22 Sept. 1740. "Philadelphla County Administration Book E, 14, #761743, mum of Stephen Chest. All wills, administrations, deeds, etc., cited heremafter, are Philadelphia County records unless otherw se noted. ■ "For his residence as a tenant next door to Anthony Morris, see recital in Deed Book H-7, 457: Ii Feb. 1755, William Branson to Joseph Watkins and also Pennsylvania Gazette, 15 Aug. 1754. 01 Deed Book G-11, 221 , 17 March 1747/8, Isaac Zane to Lenhard Meleher, shopkeeper; Loose Surveys, Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire, policy 221, microfilm roll #4, Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP). 18 For example, he was executor of the will of Mary Utrce, Will Book K, 156, #100:1716; surety for the administration bond of Deovaldt Spies' mtate, Administration Book F, 148, #80 , 1750; an administrator of the estate of Anna Weiss, widow of George Michael Weiss, Administration Book H, 1, #89:1761; surety for the administration bond of William Clampffer, Administration Book H, 45, #29.1767. 00 Deed Book H-1, 531: 7 May 1751. Daniel Button 00 Leonard Melchior and John Stillwagon. 230 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine During the French and Indian Wars, Melchior acted as one of the quartermasters of the city's Independent Troop of Horse, which included a large number of Germans, and such other citizens as Lynford Lardner, Alexander Barclay, David Franks, Thomas Gordon, John Kearsley, Jr., Edward Shippen, Jr., and Alexander Stedman. In 1763, after the wars were over, his tavern was the Philadelphia terminus for Jacob Coleman's Germantown stage In fact, his tavern became so well known among the German population that it was frequently used as an identifying landmark when they advertised: "near Lenert Melcher in Second Street." He was an original member of the German Charitable Society, established in 1764, officiating as an overseer of it in 1766 and 1767, and again from 1773 until his death in 1777. Two of his sons, and two sons-in-law also joined the Society during the early years of the Revolution. In 1760, before the Society was established, Melchior purchased the property across Elfreth's Alley at the southeast corner of Second Street, moving his store to the new quarters. Then about 1768 he erected a new building on the property, in the third floor of which he installed "folding wainscot Partitions to open the whole in one room on occasion," possibly for the use of the Society's meetings!' Two years later, in 1770, Melchior bought from Andrew Allen a house and lot," almost directly across Second Street from the old tavern property, to which he moved, thereafter renting the tavern to tenants. When he died in the new house on the west side of Second Street in 1777, aged 62 years, 6 months," his burial record, dated 24 February 1777, and in which he was listed as Ludwig Melchior, noted that he was alms collector of the Reformed Church in Philadelphia. He had also been an elder of the church. Leonard Melchior and his wife Anna Maria Klein had the following children, as noted in the records of the German Reformed Church in Philadelphia: i. ANNA MARIA MELCHIOR, b. 29 October, bapt. 3 December 1745; bur. 29 April 1748, aged 2 years, 6 months. Pennsylvania Archives, Sod Se4es, 11 (1890), 448. Pennsylvania Gazette, 8 Sept. 1763. At least four times sheriff's sales of properties in the neighborhood were held at Melchior', tavern: see ibid., 11 Oct. 1763 for Edward Mathews' sale, 2 Feb. 1764 for Richard Hall's sale, 14 Apr. 1768 for Rev. Wm. Sturgeon's sale, 14 Aug. 1771 for William Clifton's sale. 29 The property was insured by the Philadelphia Contributionship 7 8m 1770, as per their Survey Book 2, 38, polices 1416, 1417, microfilm roll #6, HSP. Deed Book H711, 297: 13 Oct. 1760. Thomas Patterson to Lmnard Melchior. to Recited in Deed Book 0-14, 251: II Oct. 1785, Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania so Isaac Melchior. 10 For his will, no Philadelphia Will Book R, 19, #6:I777. Advice to German Emigrants, 1749 231 ANNA MARGARETHA MELCHIOR, b. 28 July 1747; bur. 30 July 1748, aged 1 year, 3 days. 1. ISAAC MELCHIOR, b. 5 May, bapt. 18 May 1749; bur. 8 July 1790, aged 41 years. iv. MARIA MELCHIOR, b. ca. 1751; m. 22 November 1772, FRANCIS CASPAR HASENCLEVER, bur. 9 October 1780. v. ELIZABETH MELCHIOR, he ca. 1753; d. 1818; m. 22 September 1771, JACOB SHALLUS, b. 1750; d. 18 April 1796, son of Valentine Shallus. vs. ADAM MELCHIOR, b. ca. 1755; hying in 1790 in Horsham Township, Montgomery County?' vii. ESTHER MELCHIOR, hope. 2 December 1759; bur. 11 April 1787; m. Christ Church, Philadelphia, 8 June 1780, JOHN VANDEREN, JR. vui. ANNA MELCHIOR, possibly a twin of Esther, bur. 1 February 1763, aged 4 years. ix. JACOB MELCHIOR, b. 14 November, hope. 25 November 1764; living in 1785 in Easton Township, Northampton County-. In view of Leonard Melchior's long interest and participation in the military, civic and charitable organizations in Philadelphia, it does not seem too unreasonable to suppose that he might have been the author of the following pamphlet. WELL MEANT INFORMATION As To How THE GERMANS, WHO WISH To TRAVEL TO PENNSYLVANIA, SHOULD CONDUCT THEMSELVES WRITTEN 19 OCT. 1749 BY L. M. [TRANSLATED BY ALBERT H. GERBERICNI When an illness is not to be cured, the physician is accustomed to prescribe only such medicine as will serve the patients to alleviate their misery. Since the desire to go to Pennsylvania is so deeply rooted in the people of Germany, it can no longer be dug out; although many weighty reasons may be adduced to cure them of it, only a relief measure can be suggested, that is to say: how they can avoid, on the desperate journey they plan for themselves, the greatest hardships and privations; for one assumes that at least a few honest letters have been sent out from here this year which will have given a general Idea of the sorrow and misery which Adam's brother Isaac MeIchSor had acquired the mortgage on 200 acres of Graeme Park whSch Governor John Penn had originally taken from Henry Hugh Fergusson, husband of Elizabeth Graeme. Isaac Melchior was living on the property when he made his will in 17118. Philadelphia Will Book U, 542, #212:1790, will of Isaac Melchior. Two years later the ShaBuses conveyed their one-quarter right, as legatees under Isaac s Will, in the 200 acres to Adam Melchior. Montgomery County Deed Book 7, 377: 14 Nov. 1792, Jacob Shallus to Adam Melcher. Deed Book D-14. 472. 17 Nov. 1785, Jacob Melcher to Thomas Mifflin and Mary Hasenclever. 232 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine most of the travelers on this voyage have suffered this year and that several such letters will have the good fortune to convince some people and cause them to take great care if they are planning to come over here in spite of all. It is hoped that our warning and advice herein will be believed, for anyone can clearly see that we have no selfish interest in doing this, but rather trouble and expense, but our profit shall be our clean conscience for doing our duty in warning others against harm and in coming to their aid. Know, then, that this year about 2000 people were cast into the sea, many hundreds were tricked by "New Land" agents out of their property, and that many this very minute are dying miserably in boats lying off this city from hunger, thirst and cold, since they must remain in the harbor because they have not paid their transportation and no one comes to release them. A whole book could be printed on their distress and lamentations. But we return to our purpose, to those who have the good fortune to give credit to our warning, to give into their hands the best means and plans for preventing these and other misfortunes. There are, among those persons traveling to Pennsylvania, some persons who have sufficient funds, so that it is easier to help them and advise them; these do not need to deal, as do most of those who depart, with the well-known boatmen of Bingen, who cook a salty brew indeed, but they sail down the Rhine as there is opportunity and not in multitudes, for they do not need this or that Rotterdam merchant to be security at the border for their departure from Holland. (This has been imposed on the aforesaid Rhine ships by command of the Lords of the States-General, because they will not have the poor German people struck down in Holland or wandering around like vagabonds there; for which reason it happens that the travelers fall into the hands of the merchants, and the latter, even though the people are penniless and cannot pay their sea-transportation in Rotterdam, must nevertheless ship them out, whether they want to or not.) The trip from Germany must be arranged so that the traveler reaches Rotterdam at the time of year to take one of the sloops that sails for London every 14 days and with a good wind, between April 1 and June 1, will bring him there in 8 to 12 days, at which time ships sail from England for Pennsylvania and other colonies. On such occasions they will not pack the people on boats like herrings, but will give them greater comfort, better provisions and good fresh water for the whole journeY Advice to German Emigrants, 1749 233 than the ships that sail from Rotterdam provide. The travel costs may of course run somewhat higher, as may be seen from the following: For one person provided with bed, clothing, cooking utensils and provisions, in addition to which one should carry nothing with him out of Germany, for such things will not be permitted to go through the customs in England. For transportation down the Rhine, if one provides himself with necessary food 6 florins Transportation from Rotterdam to London by sloop (10 shillings sterling) • • 5 florins Sea-transportation from London, with board on ship 64 florins Expenses in London, if one has to wait there 2 or 3 weeks .... 9 florins 84 florins But on the other hand, one can purchase in England and take along with him without danger woolen material, stuff, coarse and fine linen, iron, copper, tin utensils, spices and other things, on which one can make a sufficient profit to lighten markedly the expenses of the voyage, and this procedure is both safe and legal. Also people in these circumstances can, while traveling through, send some one to Amsterdam and inquire there on the Bourse if a ship is shortly to sail from there to New York, and go from there in that case, for the New York colony is only 40 German miles from Philadelphia, and this route is to be recommended over that through Rotterdam, but one must make sure that good water is stored aboard the ship. Those who wish to travel to Pennsylvania by the Rhine boats, or who are compelled to do so, should act as follows: 1. Have nothing to do with any Newlander [immigration agent], but 2. Keep in a group, and appoint three or four of your number to contract for the Rhine transportation, which you in this case will obtain at a notably lower cost, because the boatmen will not have to fill the Newlander's purse. 3. When you come to the customs at the border and must engage a merchant, according to custom, you must make sure that the merchant will take charge of your affairs as cheaply as another would, and will provide you with victuals at his own cost so long as you have to wait in Rotterdam. 4. When you arrive at Rotterdam (where the merchants must ship you out whether you pay the passage in advance or not, as stated above) you must assure yourself when you contract for the transportation (a) first of all, that the water is kept in good casks, which must be specially provided for that purpose (for the merchants often use wine barrels, beer barrels, and the like, to save expenses). If this is not done, the water will acquire a stench and become the cause of much sickness. 234 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine and cause the death of passengers at sea, which unfortunately happens quite often; (b) that the merchant in Rotterdam or Amsterdam supplies good provisions, such as bread, butter, cheese, flour, peas, rice, and the like, as well as a third part in lightly salted meat and bacon, or instead of this, more flour, oats, peas, and the like; (c) that he does not send the chests and baggage of the travelers in another ship, but in the same one in which they sail. These articles must be written into the contract with a special penalty for violation, such as a statement that if the promise is not kept, the passengers concerned need not pay for the transportation. The merchant in Holland must be compelled to give this surety. (d) The passengers must not only depend on the ship's food but also provide themselves with dried meat, chipped beef, prunes, spices, vinegar, and medicine to prevent scurvy, purgatives, and preventitives of dysentery and fever. Whoever can take wine or brandy along will doubtless find it stands him in good stead, but if he does not keep it with him in his berth and well guarded, he will find that it dries up without his knowing how, for it seems that the commandment "Thou shalt not covet" is harder to obey on sea than on land. (e) Every father of a family or passenger should make an inventory and will beforehand, so that in case of death the nearest person does not become the chief heir, as often happens, and so that the nearest friends and orphans are not robbed of what they should receive; such inventories should usually be written down and declared before witnesses. (f) The occupants of every three or four berths should come to an understanding together at sea, first, that in the case of death they will serve as executors or guardians for one another; second, that they will be quick to assist each other in case of sickness; third, that they will alternately keep watch for certain birds of prey (which abound at sea as well as on land) and will treat each other like brothers; fourth, that they will conduct themselves toward the captain in a discreet and friendly manner, set forth their complaints modestly, and not become rebellious in words and deeds, for a sea captain has great powers. Much is related of angry captains, but none can be called so angry as the one who has been provoked to wrath, for his honor, reputation and profit demand that he treat his passengers well. The stories of kidnapping people and taking them to foreign shores are nothing but figments of the imagination of ignorant people, and arise from the fact that often a ship is driven by contrary winds to a place to which it was not intended to go. Whoever doubts Advice to German Emigrants, 1749 235 this can nevertheless enter a clause on this point in his contract at Rotterdam. And now we come, last of all, to those who do not have the courage to travel alone and use the services of a guide or a Newlander. Now these should know first of all, that the activities of the Newlander have not only fallen into suspicion abroad, but right here in Pennsylvania he is held in the utmost contempt, because people are aware that so many scoundrels have deceived the immigrants astoundingly, have even stolen all their property, and that there are very few honorable people among these fellows, as our experience daily testifies. We must not be expected, however, to give the names of the few that are good, among the many that are evil, and recommend them, for that would place us under suspicion of partiality or self-interest. While our capacity to clear up this very subtle point is insufficient, we truly believe, dear fellow-countrymen, that you are even less clever than we are in culling the evil from the good. When you draw a loss in this hurtful lottery, as it is to be suspected you will do, that is, when you get an evil Newlander, we want to give you the means at hand to help you out of your trouble, and our advice is contained in the following prescription, which can cure the New'ander. evil, if not on the way here, at least after you,get here, for all the ingredients to do this are available here in Pennsylvania. But the preceding precautions must be taken abroad, as follows. Prescription: Take one or two, three, or even four—the fewer the better—of the Newlanders who are active abroad, whether good or evil, praised or blamed, whether provided with letters of recommendation or not, if he can but purchase much goods abroad and his purse is well-lined, whether he borrowed the money here, on the voyage abroad, or gained it through that useful trait of his—take him before a sworn notary and make a contract with him that he will truly keep all the promises he makes you, pledging to you as security the goods he has with him both at that time or later, and agreeing that they shall not be delivered to him from the ship until he can produce a note from you that you are satisfied that he has kept his word. This has been tried (successfully). All other agreements and arrangements you may make with the Newlanders must be in writing and with the foregoing conditions. Should you lend them money or buy anything with them on a fifty-fifty basis, have it put down in writing and have their goods, wares, etc., pledged to you until the things are unloaded, until they find bail for you in Philadelphia, in order that no one can steal both you and your effects away, as has often happened. And because those poor people who arrive here are sick, or for other 236 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine reasons do not suit the persons who redeem them from the ships, as often happens, or because no one likes to be burdened with whole families, therefore these people remain confined many days and even weeks on the ships, must endure hunger and cold, and their chests are stolen on the ship because to our knowledge sufficient precautions are not taken on board, which is most astonishing. Without doubt special advice is most necessary on this point, which, though it is easy to give, is hard to put into practice. This much can be said for the consolation of these poor people, that their misery will not last forever, because the ships in which they come must sail forth again and they cannot be carried elsewhere from here. So we will leave the avoidance of this evil to their own reflection. But whoever does not come here at all, but remains at home, he is the wisest, yet this land is, when one studies it earnestly, a door opened of old to those who suffer for their conscience' sake, to find the freedom they long for. Whoever comes here with this motive will still find what he is seeking. But all other purposes will fail or be difficult to attain, for our motto here, too, is "Labor is Prayer" or "In the sweat of thy forehead shalt thou eat thy bread." BRIEF REPORT ON How CERTAIN GERMANS HAVE FARED, WHO HAVE COME To PENNSYLVANIA IN THIS YEAR 1749 First of all, several ships have come in here with many hundred sick, miserable and even half-dead persons aboard, who have not been permitted to come ashore (for it is feared they have a contagious disease), but the ships have been taken to an island 4 miles from the city, and there they lay at anchor, where those who were well became sick. Husband and wife have not been permitted to see each other, nor to attend on each other, though one of them had died or was still lying sick. Nor were they permitted to cook anything warm. They had no warm room, nor could they even cook, wash, etc. At the same time their food was bad, so that medicines could have no effect in the face of such lack of nourishment. As a result such a person, though he might have been helped, was left to die before he had gotten adjusted to the land and the climate. If they get well again, they do not know how their chests have fared on board the ship, for the chests of some have been forced open, and linen, clothing, and the like, stolen, so that even if such a one does recover, he has no clothes, for everything has been taken from him. The children whose parents have died have been distributed here and there; if there was anything left for them. many times a person has taken part of Advice to German Emigrants, 1749 237 it, has promised to care for the cliddren like a father, and afterward sold them for the sake of gain, so that our gracious authorities would not have interested themselves in the cause of these poor orphans if the sight of their misery had not been intolerable. Many times a New!ander has borrowed money from the children's parents, and has been forced to declare under oath here, before witnesses, whether he has paid it back or not. Some have come here whose chests have not arrived. They have their best clothes in them and sometimes goods for sale which they might have sold and freed themselves, had their baggage been with them. So they must be reconciled to wait, and they do not know, moreover, whether the ship carrying their chests will ever land them safely, or whether the chests, when they arrive, will not be half empty or entirely empty and pilfered. Since this happens on ships where the owners themselves are traveling with their effects, it is more to be feard that this will happen on a ship where the chests are unaccompanied. Some poor people have come here who have lent the little money they have left to Newlanders, or even have paid them in Germany for the passage in advance, and these people, who have believed the Newlander and expected to come into the country free of charge, must now do service, for the Newlander has remained behind with the money. The strangest thing is, and this will open your eyes, that the Newlanders deceive one another: from one of them a chest full of porcelain is stolen, from another something else is missing, so that one does not know whom to trust, or how far, or when. Indeed, although the Germans have been coming in for many years, no year has been so bad as this. The poor Alsatians have been so tricked by their Newlander, V.D.W., that even today they do not know if they will receive one heller of their money that they had to earn in Germany by bitter labor. N.B. This might have been completely forgotten. When the people come to Pennsylvania and the vessel lies in the harbor, they must still have a kreuzer left over to pay for bringing the chests and other possessions on land. Many a person has had to pay this year a dollar for bringing one chest ashore—the distance they bring it from the boat is half a musketshot. N.B. Note this also, and have it placed in the contract, that the merchant previously mentioned promises to deliver your goods free on land in Philadelphia. And whoever thinks it is fair can always give the ship company a shilling for tts trouble.