Immigrant Ancestors Meme: Anna Kuhn

There is a lot of discussion about immigration in America right now. Tempers have flared, and different groups hold various strong opinions. There is also Brexit, where immigration was a large focus of the recent vote which resulted in the U.K. leaving the E.U.

I've been following this for several months and it occurs to me that those of us in Canada, America, and Australia have immigrant ancestors. Have you researched yours? Do you know who they were, why they came to your country and when? Do you know how they fared once settled in their new land? Were they welcomed? Were they shunned? Was their discrimination based on their religion or ethnic origin? These are all questions that are important, and interesting to discover. With that in mind, I'm the dedicating Saturdays (as many as needed) as the day to join me in discussing your immigrant ancestors.

You will be able to read any you are interested in by using the keyword Immigrant Ancestors. I'm going to share each week what I know of my immigrant ancestors to North America (whether that is USA or Canada)

Anna Kuhn (ca 1658 Huttengesab, Germany - pre 1716 New York) was my 8th great-grandmother. In 1674, at the age of 15, she was married to Jorg Bruning at Huttengesas, Germany. Jorg Bruning was an older man, and the marriage was a most unhappy one for Anna . While living at Huttengesas with her husband, she fell in love with Nicholaus Bellinger, son of Hans Bellinger. No divorce was secured, but she  ran away with Nicholaus Bellinger and had a son, Marcus  Bellinger, in 1682. Nicholaus Bellinger and Anna Maria finally  received church permission to marry, and were wed on 25  November 1685.

This is what the minister wrote in the church books "Nicolaus Bellinger and Anna, daughter of Hans Kuhn, were married 25 Nov. 1685 as per the order of the noble government. She had married some years ago Jorg Bruning at Huttengesab, but she was not compatable with him, so Bruning went from her and she from him. She went away with this Nicolaus Bellinger and had an illegitimate child - a little son, [note: this is Marcus, my next direct] so that the aforementioned Jorg Bruning has contracted another marriage. After all this however, the above mentioned Bellinger has remained as a stranger. She sent a request to the honourable government to let them stay in the country, and this finally has been permitted by the aforementioned honourable government which ordered me to marry them with prior published penitence and to avoid further trouble and also to legitimize the rearing of this blameless child"

 Anna, with her husband and their family, was one of the impoverished Palatines who fled Germany for New York in 1710. Nicolaus made his first appearance on the Hunter Lists in August 1710 with 6 persons over 10 years of age.

 The Palatinate or German Pfalz was subject to invasion by the armies of Britain, France, and Germany. As well as the devastating effects of war, the Palatines were subjected to the winter of 1708 and 1709, the harshest in 100 years.

The scene was set for a mass migration. At the invitation of Queen Anne in the spring of 1709, about 7 000 harassed Palatines sailed down the Rhine to Rotterdam. From there, about 3000 were dispatched to America, either directly or via England, under the auspices of William Penn. The remaining 4 000 were sent via England to Ireland to strengthen the protestant interest.

In 1710, three large groups of Palatines sailed from London. The first went to Ireland, the second to Carolina and the third to New York with the new Governor, Robert Hunter. There were 3 000 Palatines on 10 ships that sailed for New York and approximately 470 died on the voyage or shortly after their arrival. 

In 1716, Nicolaus Bellinger, widower with one child was at new-Ansberg. Read more about Anna at 52 Ancestors: Anna Kuhn Bellinger, Naughty Girl!