Retracing Our Family Legacy

Atlantic Crossings Were Dangerous In the Early Years

arrowing were the experiences of people who risked their lives and property to cross the Atlantic Ocean from Europe to America during the Sixteenth to Eighteenth Centuries. The season for passage began in early May and ended in late October with each westerly voyage from England requiring at least seven to eight weeks with good tail winds, and often ten to twelve weeks if the winds were not favorable. A typical journey for refugees fleeing religious persecution in Europe or indentured servants contracting years of labor for the cost of passage would often begin in Rotterdam or Amsterdam and then proceed to England for supplies.

18th Century Sailing Ship

Accommodations were sparse. Personal living space was limited to just barely enough room for a person to lay down to sleeping. Most ships would dock in England for several days while cargo and provisions were loaded. Passengers would spend money or eat some of what little food they had brought for the journey, only to later discover on the open sea that those few morsels would have eased the hunger that will haunt them for most of the voyage. Far too many people did not realize, nor were they prepared for the actual degree of human misery that lay before them. Sailing vessels of this period were grossly unsanitary because of the accumulation of repeated vomitings, dysentery, sweat, mildew, and rot. The lower decks were usually filled with stench. People suffered from ill preserved food stores, constipation, headaches, infestations of lice, a multitude of maladies resulting from impure water, and of course the ubiquitous affliction of seasickness. Add to this the emotional fatigue of unrelenting weather conditions such as cold, dampness, heat, and storms that would rage for days. Passengers were repeatedly thrown against each other in step with the rhythmic pounding of each wave. Homesickness began to plague many because they remembered all too well the comfort of even the most humble dwelling. So bad did the conditions become after many weeks, that people longed to be home, if even to sleep in a barnyard. Psychological factors then begin to play through manifestations of impatience and unceasing frustration. Curses and threats of harm were frequently exchanged, and occasionally tensions escalated into brawls, even between members of the same family. They cursed and berated each other. Stole from one another. Constant anxiety for life and safety began to turn into hopelessness,

Death was a steadfast companion of both passengers and crew for many would perish. Burial at sea can be an especially difficult and trying experience. One does not have the expected proper time for remorse because the body must be cast overboard in a short period of time. The sea does not allow family members to return to an exact spot in order to grieve as is true of a land based cemetery where people can repeatedly return, where flowers can serve as a visible closure, and the certainty that graves usually remain unmolested. Death at sea can be a cruel experience. You cannot return. There is the haunting reality that the body will probably be eaten. Family members reproach each other for persuading them to make the journey. Wives reproached their husbands for children that were lost. Husbands lamented most piteously for convincing their family to make the journey. Children bemoaned parents for their helplessness. Witness accounts record unbelievable despair and misery. As more and more people die, it becomes almost impossible to console the relatives.

"Many hundred people necessarily die and perish in such misery, and must be cast into the sea, which drives their relatives or those that persuaded them to undertake the journey, to such despair that it is almost impossible to pacify or console them. In a word the sighing and crying and lamenting on board the ship continues day and night, so as to cause the hearts of even the most hardened to bleed when they hear it."
On the Misfortune of Indentured Servants, Gottlieb Mittelberger, 1754.

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	EDWARDS, Capt. Cader Born: 1705, Wales Sailed the seas for many years, making port in American at various times in his travels. Retired and immigrated to America in 1754. First stayed in Balitmore for a short period of time. Soon married and then moved to Virginia. Later moved to North Carolina. For much more on his life check out the Edwards Bookshelf in the Reference Library section on the Home Page. SOURCE: "The Edwards Family of Barren County, Kentucky - History and Tradition" by Cyrus Edwards, his great-grandson written 1924, page 10 refers to his coming to America.
	GRABILL, Peter Born: Abt. 1730, Palatinate, Germany One of the 3 Peters, who came to America in 1764, has now been identified as Family #11 in my PAF data. I now think that "Old" Peter was the Peter that came in 1764 on the Ship "Hero" on 27 Oct., 1764 or on the Ship "Jeneffer" on 5 Nov. 1764. SOURCE: Shell (Schell) Entries: 2235 Updated: Sun Feb 17 14:18:17 2002 Contact: Donna Shell dani5322@netzero.net AncestryPlus File
	HARDY, George "Capt." Born: 1633, England Immigrated to America with his brother Col. John Hardy before 1654, preceeding his parents. Sources:"Colonial Families of the Southern States of America", by Stella Pickett Hardy, "Magna Charta" by John S. Wurts, "THE ABRIDGED COMPENDIUM OF AMERICAN GENEALOGY...", by Frederick Virkus, "Hardy and Hardie, Past and Present", by H. Claude Hardy.
	HARDY, John,1st. Born: 1613, Bedfordshire, England John,1st. was born in Bedfordshire, England in the year 1613 He came to Isle of Wight County on June 17, 1647 as the Headright of Elizabeth Barcroft. SOURCES: Cavaliers and Pioneers Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants 1623 to 1666 On June 6th. 1666 John,1st. Patented 1150 acres in Isle of Wight County on Lawnes Creek. SOURCE: Cavaliers and Pioneers Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants 1623 to 1666
	HARDY, John,2nd. "Col." Born: 1637, Bedfordshire, England Immigrated to America with his brother Capt. George Hardy before 1654, preceeding his parents. Source: Magna Charta by John S. Wurts,
	KESSLER, Johann Leonhardt His name is found among the names on the list of 97 that were the signers of the Oath of Abjuration at the Court House at Philadelphia, November 30, 1750, having arrived on the Ship Sandwich, Captain Hazelwood, from Rotterdam and last from Cowes. SOURCE: Passenger Ships' Lists On the Trail of Our Ancestors
	KESSLER, Ulrich Born: 1716, Switzerland Ulrich Kessler, who came to America in 1716, landing in Philadelphia. He was born in Switzerland and with his parents and one sister stared for the new world, but the mother died on the voyage and was buried at sea. The father and his two children landed at Philadelphia, but he was very poor and they were sold on the auction block to pay their passage. Ulrich was then ten year old, and he served for eleven years in order to compensate the man who had paid his passage money. SOURCE: GENEALOGICAL INDEX OF MIAMI VALLEY PIONEERS, OHIO. GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD" p. 715
	LEATHERMAN, Hans Daniel, Born: November 06, 1718, Mattstall, Alsace, France Since his name does not appear on the ship passenger lists it is believed that he came to America as a member of a family group. SOURCE: 1. All Leatherman Kin History, E.V. Pub. House, 1940, p.27 & 29, Hans Debolt Ledermann / Leatherman and family, with the exception of eldest son Hans Peter, and the youngest (born PA) immigrated in 1727, arriving at Philadelphia, Penn aboard the ship 'James Goodwill' (master David Crocket) on September 27, 1727. He qualified Sept. 30, 1727, Philadelphia. 1. Academic Term Paper written by Ralph Hodgden, 1956, 2. AncestryPlus Message Board Submitter: Charles Harvey
	LEDERMANN "LEATHERMAN", Hans Debolt "Dewalt" Hans Debolt Ledermann / Leatherman and family, with the exception of eldest son Hans Peter, and the youngest (born PA) immigrated in 1727, arriving at Philadelphia, Penn aboard the ship 'James Goodwill' (master David Crocket) on September 27, 1727. He qualified Sept. 30, 1727, Philadelphia. SOURCE: 1. Academic Term Paper written by Ralph Hodgden, 1956, 2. AncestryPlus Message Board Submitter: Charles Harvey
	LEDERMANN/LEATHERMAN, Hans Peter, Born: September 16, 1711 in Mattstall, Alsace, France Immigrated to America in 1731 at the age of 18 SOURCE: 3 different sources for immigration record (see notes). It is not known why Hans Peter did not accompany the family on their immigration in 1727. Perhaps he was serving an apprenticeship, and was under an obligation to finish it. His age, and the length of time it took him to follow the family suggest that could be the case. Or, perhaps he was tending to family business, or tending an elderly relative. SOURCE: AncestryPlus Message Board Submitter: Charles Harvey
	PFAUTZ, Jacob Born: Abt. 1700, Rohrback, Sinheim Rhemish Palatinate, Germany Jacob, his wife and children, Anna Margareta and Michael, arrived in Pennsylvania c.1726, and are known to have settled in Skippack, a German village about 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia, (now Montgomery County), Pennsylvania. They remained in the Skippack area until 1840-41. SOURCE: 5 Generations of the Pfautz - Fouts Family, Compiled and Published by Audrey L Woodruff, C.G.R.S., 1987
	PFAUTZ, John Michael, Sr., Born: 1722, Rohrback, Sinheim Rhemish Palatinate, Germany Michael crossed the Atlantic while a babe in arms, along with his father, mother and older sister, Anna Margaretha. Their arrival in America took place prior to September 1727. They settled on the Hillside farm in or near the small German village of Skippack, Philadelphia (now Montgomery Co.), about 20 miles northwest of Philadelphia, where they remained for the next fourteen years.. SOURCE: 5 Generations of the Pfautz - Fouts Family, Compiled and Published by Audrey L Woodruff, C.G.R.S., 1987
	ROUSSELLOT, Firmin, Born: 1842, France Immigrated to America from France in 1854 according to 1910 Kansas Census Record.
	TREBLE, William, Jr. Born: 1630, Yorkshire, England THOMAS HARVEY, 950 acs. James City, Co., July 3, 1640 p. 723. To be doubled &c. Called Harveyes Necke, W. upon land of Bridges Freeman & Mr. Francis Fowler, N. upon Georg Grace unto a path leading to James Cittie from Chickahominy. For his per. adv. & for trans. of 18 pers: Mary, his wife, John Harvey, his son, Jane Little, William Treble, Sr., William Treble, Jr., Robert Phillipps, Orin Madrin, Hen. Willett, Tho. Buck, Robert Bradshaw, John Ireland, Tho. Cole, Peter Mudd, Barthol. Pelcock, Tho. Causey, (this name may be Jo. Causey) Jane his wife, Elizabeth Edwards, Robert Flake. SOURCE: NUGENT, NELL MARION. Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants, 1623-1666. Vol. 1. Richmond VA: Dietz Printing Co., 1934. 767p. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1983. TREBLE, Wm., Jr., 1640, by Thomas Harvey, James City Co. SOURCE: Greer, George Cabel. Early Virginia Immigrants 1623-1666. Richmond, VA: W. C. Hill Printing Co., 1912
	TREBLE, William, Sr. Born: 1610, Yorkshire, England THOMAS HARVEY, 950 acs. James City, Co., July 3, 1640 p. 723. To be doubled &c. Called Harveyes Necke, W. upon land of Bridges Freeman & Mr. Francis Fowler, N. upon Georg Grace unto a path leading to James Cittie from Chickahominy. For his per. adv. & for trans. of 18 pers: Mary, his wife, John Harvey, his son, Jane Little, William Treble, Sr., William Treble, Jr., Robert Phillipps, Orin Madrin, Hen. Willett, Tho. Buck, Robert Bradshaw, John Ireland, Tho. Cole, Peter Mudd, Barthol. Pelcock, Tho. Causey, (this name may be Jo. Causey) Jane his wife, Elizabeth Edwards, Robert Flake. SOURCE: NUGENT, NELL MARION. Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants, 1623-1666. Vol. 1. Richmond VA: Dietz Printing Co., 1934. 767p. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1983. TREBLE, Wm., Sr., 1640, by Thomas Harvey, James City Co. SOURCE: Greer, George Cabel. Early Virginia Immigrants 1623-1666. Richmond, VA: W. C. Hill Printing Co., 1912