Palatine Immigration Ships

Voyage and Journey Duration

The table below was compiled to provide information on the duration of passages for Palatine immigration ships arriving at Philadelphia during the second quarter of the eighteenth century, specifically 1727 to 1742. The principal information for this table was derived from passenger lists enumerated in Pennsylvania German Pioneers (Strassberger and Hinke 1980 [Reprint]). Residence departure information was gleaned from the Kurpfälziche Auswander vom Unteren Neckar (Hacker 1983).

During this period, the vast majority of ships arriving in Philadelphia with Palatine passengers sailed from Rotterdam (80 of 96; 83.3%). As most of you undoubtedly know, ships from the continent bound for England's North American colonies at this time were required to visit an English port to register their cargo before crossing the Atlantic. Between 1728 and 1730, the date of departure from an English port was documented for six ships. Passage between England and Philadelphia ranged from a minimum of 58 days to a maximum of 89 days. The average voyage for these six ships was 71.83 days – 10 weeks and about 2 days. The arrival dates throughout this period suggest that most voyages likely ranged from 60 to 90 days out of England and probably averaged about 75 days.

The duration of the trip from the general area of the Palatinate to Philadelphia can also be guaged by examining the "emigration" dates cited in various sources. Such dates are listed in documents compiled in Kurpfälziche Auswander vom Unteren Neckar (Hacker 1983). This publication records the eighteenth century emigration of individuals from the lower Neckar region (an area that is approximately 70 km square and nearly centered on present-day Mosbach, Baden-Württemberg). These documents indicate a date when an individual is still present in his place of emigration, but may be used to determine roughly the individual's departure. This "residence departure" date effectively marks the earliest possible date of the emigrant's journey.

By examining the residence departure and ship arrival dates, the duration of the journey to Philadelphia can be estimated. As an example, Georg Christof Baader (see Hacker 1983:75) has an "emigration/residence departure" date of 22 May 1730. Baader sailed aboard the ship Thistle from Rotterdam to Philadelphia by way of Dover. The Thistle departed Dover on 19 July and arrived in Philadelphia on 29 August. Baader's journey from Reilingen to Philadephia took a total of no more than 99 days. The "residence departure" dates generally suggest that an emigrant's journey from the lower Neckar region probably took about 90 to 120 days or three to four months.