The German Migrations

In the 1700s, Germans migrated to Holland and then to Philadelphia. When land got scarce in that area around 1770, they moved south on the Great Wagon Trail.

The File family is in my tree through my mother (née Revis), Grandmother (née Oswald), and Great Grandmother (née File).

BEFORE HENRY OLIVER FILE

Henry Oliver File (born on the fourth of July 1776), changed his surname from Feile to File. Henry was one of the original settlers of Bond county, Illinois and was very well known. He settled in that county in the early 1800s.

Henry was born in Cabarrus County, North Carolina. Henry was married there in St. John's Lutheran Church, keeping the faith of his fathers.

But I digress! He has his own Tale. Take a look if you haven't already!

RESEARCH ON ANCESTORS BEFORE HENRY

Henry Oliver File’s father was Georg Friederich Pheil.

Georg was baptized in Frankfurt on 18 Jun 1737. Of all the old churches in Frankfurt,

St. Katherine's Church has the highest probability for the location of his baptism.

Data from inscription:

Georg Friederich Pfeil, male (mannlich), baptism (taufe), 18 Jun 1737 at the Evangelische Kirche Frankfurt/Main, father Joh Peter Pfeil, mother Elisabetha Pfeil

Georg’s father was Johannes Pieter Pfeil, born in Germany c.1717

The family came from the Palatinate area of Germany.

They would have spoken in the Pfälzisch German dialect.

I have searched ship logs and oaths of allegiance from 1727-1775 and I believe that I have found Johannes Pieter Pfeil arriving in Philadelphia in 1738 on the ship “Robert and Alice”. I do not know when the rest of the family came over, but it would have been before 1761 when they show up in North Carolina. List of passengers.

The crossings that year were so difficult that it was coined, "The year of the destroying angels".

The following text is from Beyond Germanna, "The Year of the Destroying Angels-1738,"  Volume 10, Number 1, January 1998 by Klaus Wust.

"German emigration to America was marked by considerable deprivation, sickness and death. The situation in 1738 was even worse than usual and earned the reputation as the Year of the Destroying Angels, a reference to Psalm 78, verse 49. 

At that time unofficial family or village groups set out for Holland to find British ships to take them to America. Passengers signed a contract to pay their fares within a designated time. In 1738 there were greater numbers of emigrants than ever. When the Palatines reached Dutch territory in April, 1738, they were not permitted to enter the city of Rotterdam. They went to a holding area where no preparations had been made. On May 13th Kralingen officals petitioned to have the Palatines sent back or speedily embarked. The emigrants, many of them sickly by that time, were at the mercy of the shippers, even as to the final destination. Many died on the voyage and those arriving were sick and starving.

Captain Walter Goodman of the Robert & Alice sent a letter to Germany on October 19th:

On the 4th of July last I sailed out of Dover in England and arrived here on this river on the 9th of September with crew and passengers in good health but on the way I had many sick people, yet, since not more than 18 died, we lost by far the least of all the ships arrived to-date. We were the third ship to arrive. I sailed in company with four of the skippers who together had 425 deaths..."

Johannes Pieter’s father was Heinrich Pfeil 1698-1736; mother Katharina Elisabeth Hite/Hartt 1702-1761. His parents remained in Germany, in a town approximately 60 miles NNW of Frankfurt.

I have found a will for Peter Pfeil* in Lancaster, Pa 1761.

I believe it to be Johannes Pieter’s will, but I

*Old German naming traditions would give a “church” name as the first, followed by a middle name used for everyday, then the surname. See this link for a more thorough explanation.

https://familytreemagazine.com/names/first-names/german-naming-traditions/

The family landed in Philadelphia, then moved to the Lancaster PA area, then Peter’s sons George and Jacob moved to NC. George and his son Henry Oliver then moved to Bond County, Illinois.

The migration of Germans from Pennsylvania to North Carolina in the 1700s and 1800s, using the Great Wagon Road, is well documented. Map is from the United States National Parks Service.

File family movement:

• Before 1698 Frankfurt/Palatinate Germany

• 1738 Philadelphia, PA

• 1739-1761 Lancaster, PA

• 1761-1770 Carrubus and Mecklenburg Counties, NC

• Before 1815 Bond County, IL

I welcome any new documentation that would add to any part of our family stories!

My goal in all of the Dead Family Tales is to present stories that would have been told around a kitchen table or campfire during family gatherings.

A new Dead Family Tale is posted every Monday.

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Do you have more tales of our Koprek, Haupt, Revis, or Oswald lines?

Please contact me or add it in the comment section at the bottom of this page.

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