The Schwartzel Family’s Immigration to America
I don’t know exactly where the Schwartzel family came from. I have hunches, clues, and even theories, but I haven’t found the missing link to prove where they came from, so for now we’ll stick to the facts.
I do know they were German and they started their journey to Philadelphia in Amsterdam, Netherlands and stopped in Gosport, England. They arrived on Wednesday October 23, 1754 on the Palatine Ship Snow Good Intent. The ship’s manifest, Oath of Allegiance, and Oath of abjuration are the first records we have in America of Johann Henrich, Johan Teis, and Johan Jost Schwartzel.
Documents
I have not found an original or copy of the ship’s manifest, often referred to as List A, only a transcription. But these three documents together provide lots of valuable information. The first item to note is the ship’s captain, John Lasly, was Dutch. The ship’s manifest would be written by him or a crew member and translated to however they would write the name in their language.
Strassburger, Ralph Beaver and Hinke, William John.
Pennsylvania German Pioneers. vol. 2, 1934 , pp. 745-748.
The second and third documents (Lists B and C) were "Oaths of Allegiance and Abjuration" required by Pennsylvania law and signed the same day as List A, but they were signed at the courthouse in Philadelphia. Read more about these oaths here. These provide us with different spellings of the names and our first encounter with trying to read some old handwriting for ourselves.
In List A we find:
- Henry Schwertzel
- Johan Teis Schwertzel
- Johan Jost Schwertzel
In List B:
- Johan Henrich Schwärtzel
- John Teis Schwertzel
- John Jost Schwertzel
And List C:
- Johan Henrich Swörtzal
- Johan Teitz
- Johan Teitz wortzel Junior
All three lists show the same people in the same order but with variations in their names. These are the first of many variations we will find.
The order may imply age, as it usually does in most census records. There are also some interesting characters in these that may provide some clues. The handwriting for Johann Henrich is completely different from Teis and Jost. In List B there is a bracket looking squiggle between Teis, Jost and Schwertzel. There are 2 plus signs ‘+’ in Jost’s name on List C. I haven’t found any guide or references for these annotations.
Just as interesting is what is missing from these documents. Anyone under the age of 16 was not required to be listed on the three ship’s lists. There are also no female names, only male.
Analysis and working assumptions
Based on the little information found in these three documents I have made the following assumptions that I will use going forward with my research. Like any assumptions, these are to be tested and either proven or disproved.
- Johan Henrich also goes by Henry
- Henrich was literate
Or, at the very least could sign his name. I will share in another post additional documents I have for Henry with his signature.
- The Dutch captain listed Johan Mathias as Teis
Teis is a Dutch diminutive for Mathias and Mathias was likely younger (under 20) leading to a more kid friendly name at the time. Similar to a Robert being called Bobby.
Bruce L. Botkin was the first reference I’ve found to this theory and credit is due to him for pointing me on this path.
- Teis and Jost were sons of Johan Henrich with Teis being the eldest.
Henry is always listed first and Teis always second. While exact age and relationship cannot be confirmed through this document I do assume Henry is the father. This assumption will be tested as we continue to hunt for family records from Germany later on. At the very least, they are all three closely related.
- All three were born prior to October 1739 (1754 - 15)
There may be additional family members on board who were not yet 16 or were female.
- None of the three commonly went by Johan or John
We will see in future posts that there are very few records of a Johan or John Schwartzel in the area for the next 30 - 40 years. Most records point to Henry, Mathias, or Jost.
Comments
Post a Comment