Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Germantown NY Palatine weekend October 1-3, 2010

The Germantown website is up and running for the 2010 Celebration of the Palatine Migration.
Their new website is:
http://www.germantownnyhistory.org
The schedule for Friday October 1, 2010 includes talks by both Henry Z. Jones and David Jay Webber, Philip Otterness. All three of these gentlemen are the primary researchers and writers of the Palatine Migration and New York Colonial period.

The Schedule for Saturday October 2, 2010 include: Seminars by all of the above speakers 11:00 am- 3:00 pm. From 3:00-6:00 pm additional Historians will be available to discuss genealogy with seminar particpants.
This is part of a week long celebration by Germantown NY. culminating on the weekend of October 8-9, 2010 when a community Octoberfest and Harvest festival take place. See the above website for more information.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

2010 is the 300th Anniversary of the arrival of Palatines to NY Colony

The PALAM Society via the New York Chapter will be holding a Genealogy conference on June 18-19, 2010 in Fishkill NY. This two day conference will include guest Speakers and workshops covering not only Palatine families of 1710, but all German speaking immigrants that arrived later to America.
The Town of Germantown NY will also be hosting one event on October 1-3, 2010
to honor the Palatines arrival in East and West Camps with Guest speakers, workshops and imformation on this historic immigration.
The Palatines were primarily a group of German speaking immigrants that arrived from the Rhine Palatinate (present day Germany) to New York colony in 1710. Some 847 families comprising over 2700 people arrived in this one group. Their arrival in NY city in June-July of 1710 created a panic. The entire population of the city at that time was only about 3000 people.
These immigrants were quarentined on Nutten Island where an additional 250 more died of illness and disease. Finally in the fall of 1710 they were moved to one of two camps on the Hudson river to be settled. West Camp was located in present day Ultser county near Saugerties. East Camp was located originally in Dutchess county near present day Germantown NY which is now part of Columbia county NY.
This immigration was huge for its time. It was in fact the largest single immigration of German speaking people all ariving in a group of 847 families.
There are two good books to read about these immigrants

The first is" The Palatine families of New York 1710" pub: by Picton Press of Rockland,Me. written by Henry Z. Jones jr. FASG. This two volume comprehensive genealogy is the standard research source for all Palatine families.

The second book is a general history of the Palatine Migration " Becoming German the 1709 Palatine Migration to New York" written by Philip Otterness. Pub by: Cornell University Press
This book deals with the migration to North America and the onward migration of some of these Palatines into other areas of New York in colonial times, but it does not address the migration of the majority of other Palatines who chose not to go to Schoharie county or settle along the Mohawk river in any detail It is and excellent background and overview of the migration and early settements of these Germans.