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June 24, 2020

I is For Immigrant

Olive Tree Genealogy is continuing a new Alphabet Genealogy series of blog posts. I'm not following the usual way of going A-Z surnames. Instead I will create a one word "tag". Then I will share an ancestor (mine, my husband's, an inlaw's or one of my children's) who fits the tag

Today's letter is I for Immigrant. Who was your first immigrant to arrive in N. America or your country of residence? My first to arrive in Canada, where I live, was Jacques Hertel.

Jacques was one of Samuel de Champlain (The Father of Canda)'s interpretors, brought to New France (Quebec) in 1613

Jacques' daughter Ots-Toch, a half French half Mohawk woman, married the Dutchman Cornelis Van Slyke in New Netherland.

My most recent immigrant ancestors were my maternal grandparents who came from England to Canada in 1913. That is 300 years of dozens of my ancestors coming to North America from their home countries!

Here's a few of my ancestors who arrived in that 300 year time span. I'm sure most of us have similar multiple immigrant arrivals.

  1. Cornelis Van Slyke from Holland to New Netherland (New York) in 1634
  2. Albert Andriessen de Noorman (Bradt family) from Norway to New Netherland (New York) in 1637
  3. Leendert de Grauw from Holland  to New Netherland (New York) in 1637
  4. Cornelis Van Schaik  to New Netherland (New York) in1640
  5. Jan Snediker from Germany to New Netherland (New York) in 1641
  6. Lambert Van Valkenburg from Holland  to New Netherland (New York) in 1643
  7. Adriaen Crijnen Post from Brazil  to New Netherland (New York) in 1650
  8. Christian Van Horn from ?  to New Netherland (New York) in 1653
  9. Jan Van Alystyne from Holland to New Netherland (New York) in 1655
  10. Willem Pieterse Van Slyke from Holland to New Netherland (New York) in 1655
  11. Herman Coerts from Holland  to New Netherland (New York) in 1659
  12. Simon de Ruine  to New Netherland (New York) in 1659
  13. David Usille from Calais to New Netherland in 1660
  14. Soert Olferts (Shuart family) from Holland to New Netherland (New York) in 1663
  15. Georg Wilhelm Kehl from Germany to New York 1709
  16. Johann Frederich Marical from Germany to New York 1710
  17. Harmanus Hommel from Germany to New York 1710 
  18. Nicholas Bieri from Germany to Holland then New York 1727
  19. Hartmann Hunsaker from Switzerland to Pennsylvania in 1731
  20. Ulrich Gingerich from Alsace to Pennsylvania in 1747
  21. Jacob Burkholder from Switzerland to Pennsylvania in 1765 
  22. Sophia de Roche from France to Pennsylvania in 1765
  23. Thomas King from England to Canada 1831 
  24. Betty Bell (nee Higginson) from England to Canada 1831
  25. Joseph McGinnis & Fanny Downey from Ireland to Canada in 1846
 So there you have just a few of my many immigrant ancestors to North America in that 300 years between 1613 and 1913. Who were your immigrant ancestors? Who was your earliest?

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I assume you define Immigrant as one who came and set up residence. Where would you include those who visited for a lengthy time, but returned to their home country. Sir George Calvert visited his colony in Newfoundland for months before he returned to England via Virginia, where he stayed only a short time, since he was unwelcome as a Catholic. There was also the Oath of Supremacy, which George refused to take. AS far as the Calverts are concerned the immigrant would be George's son, Leonard who came and then died here. It is assumed he married on a trip to England and his two children were born in England.

I once took a course on How to Write YOur Family History and one assignment asked for a two page story on one ancestor. Most of the folks had no trouble picking out a family member. My dilemma was which one; there were far too many.

Olive Tree Genealogy said...

That's an interesting question. For me I define an immigrant as one who came from Country A to Country B and set up home there. Perhaps the immigrant only stayed 10 or 20 or x number of years in B and then moved on to become an immigrant to County C where he/she lived the rest of his/her life. For me that individual was an immigrant to 2 different countries. I don't consider it cut and dried. Just my opinion