John Philip Harless, Sr.

In 1738, my 6^th great grandparents John Philip Harless, Sr. and Anna Margarette Preisch Harless, along with her brothers (Johann) Michael, (William) Augustine, Henry and Daniel, immigrated to America. They sailed from Rotterdam at the mouth of the Rhine River in Holland to Philadelphia on a galley called Winter (often called the Winter Galley). On 5th September 1738 in Philadelphia, Philip made his oath of allegiance, a requirement of all male immigrants aged over 18 at that time.

The situation in 1738 was quite different and earned the reputation as the Year of the Destroying Angels. The reference was to Psalm 78, verse 49, "He let loose on them his fierce anger, wrath, indignation, and distress, a company of destroying angels." Events were so horrible that the fatalist mind needed a response.

The six thousand plus emigrants for North America during that year were generally not part of a colonization scheme of any government or proprietor. The would-be emigrants were following a pattern that had evolved since 1717 which had become the typical way of reaching English colonies in America. The emigrants banded together in family and often in village groups and set out for Rotterdam or Amsterdam where they expected to find British ships to take them on to America. Every year a number of British ships, returning with colonial staples, were available for such transport on their way back to America. Passengers were taken aboard after merely signing a contract to pay their fares within a designated time after arrival. This redemptioner system had proven satisfactory for all. Payment could be made by the passengers themselves in cash, from the proceeds of the sale of goods brought along for that purpose, or by relatives and friends already in America, or, what was becoming increasingly common, by parties to whom they indentured themselves to work off the cost of passage.

Preparation for the 1738 emigration season by the shippers was made in the preceding fall and winter months. Germans and Swiss returning for home visits or for purchasing goods needed in the new settlements were approached by shipping firms and individual captains to serve as recruiters. Handsome head premiums and the promise of free return passage for themselves and their goods turned many an incidental traveler into an emissary for shippers and land speculators. These people soon became known as "newlanders."

Read more about the immigration from Germany -- http://www.cjroots.com/52ancestors-john-philip-harless-1738-german-palatine-immigrant-to-america/

For additional information about John Philip Harless, Sr. and Anna Margarette Preisch Harless click on the link below --

John Philip Harless, 1738 German Palatine Immigrant to America