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

Jacob Myers

Jacob Myers was born on February 10, 1827, in Stoddard, Missouri, to Peter Henry Myers, age 28. Jacob married Susan Tankersly in Stoddard, Missouri, in 1845 when he was 18 years old. When he was 19 years old his son John W. Myers was born in 1846 in Stoddard, Missouri. At the age of 21 his son James Peter Myers was born in 1848 in Dallas, Missouri. In 1850, when he was 23 years old, Jacob lived in  District 26, Dallas, Missouri.

When Jacob was 24 years old, his daughter Hannah M. Myers was born on December 25, 1851, in Dallas, Missouri. At age 27, his son Abraham Jacob Myers was born on March 17, 1854, in Dallas, Missouri. The same years his wife Susan Tankersly Myers passed away in 1854 in Dallas, Missouri, at the age of 25. They had been married 9 years.

When he was 28 years old  he  married Deborah Deby Bly in Dallas, Missouri, in 1855 when he was 28 years old. At age 29 his daughter Paralea Sarah Myers was born in 1856 in Missouri. When he was 31 his child Elizabeth Myers was born in 1858 in Missouri. At age 32 his daughter Rachel Myers was born in 1859 in Missouri. When Jacob Myers was 33 years old he lived in 1860 in Jasper, Dallas, Missouri.

When he was 40 years old his daughter Sarah C. Myers was born in 1867 in Missouri. At age 43 he lived in 1870 in Richwoods, Miller, Missouri. When Jacob was 44 years old his father Peter Henry Myers passed away in 1871 in Dallas, Missouri, at the age of 72. At age 46 his daughter Barbara M. Myers was born in 1873 in Missouri. When he was 47 years old his son George Melvin was born on February 14, 1874, in Springfield, Missouri.

In 1880, when he was 53 years old, Jacob Myers lived in Hamilton, Texas. The same year his son James Peter Myers passed away in Dallas, Missouri, at the age of 32. Jacob Myers lived in Texas during the Apache Wars, when white settlers and native Apache battled for control of the area. In 1886 when he was 59 years old his son John W. Myers passed away in 1886 in Bosque, Texas, at the age of 40. Jacob Myers died on March 30, 1886, in Texas when he was 59 years old. He was buried at Evant, Hamilton County, Texas