Passage to America, 1750 (Rougher than expected!)

Eyewitness To History ^ | c. 1750 | Gottleib Mittelberger

[silverleaf]

Worth pondering

[Textide]

Great account. Thanks for posting. It is remarkable to me that while by 1750, Atlantic crossings had been happening frequently for 200 years, the amount of risk was still through the roof.

One of my ancestors came from Germany in 1738 on the ship The Winter Galley. That year is referred to as 'The Year of Destroying Angels' due to the sheer amount of death.

http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:The_Ship_Winter_Galley

"For the current year, 1738, a special name was needed, the Year of the Destroying Angels.

However, this year the sea has held quite a different harvest, because by moderate reckoning, more than 1800 died on the 14 ships arrived till now. While there are still two missing, we have reasons to assume them lost for they have been at sea for more than 24 weeks."

...

"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, one had 140, one 115, one 90, and one 80. The two captains Stedman have not yet arrived and I do not doubt that I shall be cleared for departure before they arrive since I begin loading tomorrow. I have disposed of all my passengers except for 20 families."

[Moltke]

Will there be similar accounts 250 years hence, in the European califates, about how their ancestors took upon themselves the dangerous crossing of the Mediterranean?

[Jimmy Valentine]

My people arrived in Phildelphia in 1803 from the ship “Orange” he was fortunate enough to pay his passage and came alone. Still couldn’t have been a fun ride

[Cowman]

My people arrived in Phildelphia in 1803 from the ship “Orange”

Was John Boener's family on the same crossing?

[DFG]

bookmark

[DFG]

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[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Loud Mime.

[Jimmy Valentine]

No but the captain was Charlie Crist!

[Mr Radical]

Very interesting, thanks for posting.

[Chainmail]

Mine (Hans Michael Pfautz) came over in 1724 on the Wiilliam and Sarah.

[Guenevere]

Placemark

[4yearlurker]

Read Ben Franklin’s account of his ship journeys. He invented a sling on the end of a pole on a lever that one would sit in for a dip in the ocean for a quick bath. Franklin wrote that you had to be on the look out for sharks.

[rrrod]

Some of mine came across the border into the NM territories....they had been part of the French military /colonials of N Mexico. Bout 1900 or so.

[Southside_Chicago_Republican]

Bookmark

[gattaca]

ping

[DariusBane]

A horse a woman and a cow upon completion of servitude. Wow. Where does the woman come from? Essentially in servitude as well?

Man so much for the “good old days”.

[reed13k]

Who writes and edits this stuff a 6th grader?

“Add to this want of provisions, hunger, thirst, frost, heat, dampness, anxiety, want,...”

add to this want of provisions.... hunger?
add to this want....want...?

[ckilmer]

Most of my ancestors were german or german swiss arrived in pennsylvania in the period 1690-1750. The reports we have heard and read were that typically about 1/3 of the passengers died in the crossing.

These numbers track with the deaths in the slave ships making the crossing from africa in the 18th and 19th centuries.