Find Your Palatine Ancestors

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.

Spotlight On Palatine Genealogy Palatine Denizations (Naturalizations) 1708

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.

Palatine Immigrants to New York Search for Palatine ancestors in Palatine Ships Lists to New York or Palatine Child Apprentices 1710-1714

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.

Pennsylvania Palatine Ancestors Start with Palatine Ships to Pennsylvania 1727 to 1808

Over the next 100 years, impoverished Palatines fled from Germany to America - many arriving in Pennsylvania. Olive Tree Genealogy has a Pennsylvania German Pioneers Project which includes the list of ships carrying Palatines from Germany to Philadelphia from 1727 to 1808 as well as names of passengers, Oaths of Allegiance and Ships Passenger Lists.

Finding Palatine Ancestors

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.

Palatine Immigrants to New York

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.

Pennsylvania Palatine Ancestors

Over the next 100 years, impoverished Palatines fled from Germany to America - many arriving in Pennsylvania. Olive Tree Genealogy has a Pennsylvania German Pioneers Project which includes the list of ships carrying Palatines from Germany to Philadelphia from 1727 to 1808 as well as names of passengers, Oaths of Allegiance and Ships Passenger Lists.

I have many Palatine ancestors who came to New York in 1709 and 1710. If you are looking for your Palatine immigrants, here are some links that may be helpful

Palatine Ships Lists to New York
 
Palatine Child Apprentices 1710-1714

Palatine Ships to Pennsylvania 1727-1808

Palatine Denizations (Naturalizations) 1708

These are two books you should have in your Library for Palatine research

* The Palatine Families of New York: A Study of the German Immigrants Who Arrived in Colonial New York in 1710 by Henry Z. Jones, Jr.

* More Palatine Families : Some Immigrants to the Middle Colonies 1717-1776 and Their European Origins Plus New Discoveries on German Families Who arriv by Henry Z. Jones, Jr. 

Here are my Palatine ancestral families:

BELLINGER a Palatine German pioneer family to New York

DECKMANN aka DEGMAN a Palatine German pioneer family to New York

WARNER aka WERNER a Palatine German pioneer family to New York

HOMMEL a Palatine German pioneer family to New York

SCHNEIDER aka SNIDER a Palatine German pioneer family to New York

KEHL a Palatine German pioneer family to New York

MERCKEL aka MERKLEY aka MARICAL a Palatine German pioneer family to New York

MULLER a Palatine German pioneer family to New York

WUEST aka WUST a Palatine German pioneer family to New York

Find Ancestors in Naturalization Records Online

December was a busy month for Olive Tree Genealogy but I spent some time updating my Naturalization site. l love immigration and naturalization records! There is so much genealogy information there for the taking, and it feels like my ancestors have come back to life when I read their stories.

On NaturalizationRecords.com I have links to many online naturalization records databases. Some are free, others are pay to view. It's pretty
 comprehensive although if you know of a site I haven't linked to, please let me know!

AMERICAN NATURALIZATION RECORDS

Flowers Charles USA Naturalization 1871

If you are looking for naturalization or passport records in the USA, go to my USA section. I have some records online on my site, others are links. There are passport records, alien registrations, oaths of allegiance, almshouse records and more in the American section.

CANADIAN NATURALIZATION RECORDS

If you want Canadian records, go to the Canada section 

I suggest doing a quick read of what is available for Canada and then choosing what fits your search time period.

UNITED KINGDOM NATURALIZATION RECORDS

UK Naturalization Record 1865

  United Kingdom records start here. Be aware that the British spell it Naturalisation and sometimes call them Denization records.

19th century immigrants' records released online

Do you have ancestors who lived in England? Did they arrive there from another country, such as France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Spain, Russia, Poland,  or Sweden?  According to National Archives UK:

"The records of thousands of 19th century immigrants to Britain are now available to search and download online. The collection, which covers the period 1801 to 1871, includes records relating to more than 7,000 people who applied to become British citizens under the 1844 Naturalisation Act, as well as a small number of papers relating to denization, a form of British citizenship that conferred some but not all the rights of a British subject. 

Applicants were required under the act to present a memorial to the Secretary of State at the Home Office stating their age, trade and duration of residence. These papers are now available online for the first time."

I'm off to see if I can find my son's German ancestor Georg Heinrich Christian Schulze who settled in Yorkshire England ca 1867-1868. Wish me luck!

Palatine (German Palatinate) History

PALATINE HISTORY
by Lorine McGinnis Schulze
Olive Tree Genealogy http://olivetreegenealogy.com/
Copyright © 1996

Excerpt:

"The Palatinate or German PFALZ, was, in German history, the land of the Count Palatine, a title held by a leading secular prince of the Holy Roman Empire. Geographically, the Palatinate was divided between two small territorial clusters: the Rhenish, or Lower Palatinate, and the Upper Palatinate.

While the land of the Palatinate was good for its inhabitants, many of whom were farmers, vineyard operators etc., its location was unfortunately subject to invasion by the armies of Britain, France, and Germany. Mother Nature also played a role in what happened, for the winter of 1708 was particularly severe and many of the vineyards perished. So, as well as the devastating effects of war, the Palatines were subjected to the winter of 1708-09, 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....."

Read the complete article History of the Palatines or start your search for Palatine ancestors in

Palatine Ships' Lists to PA

Palatine Ships' Lists to NY

Palatine Child Apprentices 1710-1714

Family Names

Palatine Denizations (Naturalizations) 1708

[The full article has been published, with my permission as Irish Palatine Story on the Internet in Irish Palatine Association Journal, No. 7 December 1996]