Loyal Judith

Loyal Judith
3 September 1742

This ship made several voyages between Rotterdam and Philadelphia, to bring emigrants out of Rotterdam to the "new World". Each trip was marked by a stop in an English port (usually Cowes on the Isle of Wight but sometimes other English ports) to obtain permission to import foreigners. The voyage ending in 1742 was neither its first nor its last.
The emigration from the Rhineland (then the Electoral Palatinate) began early in the 18th Century when Queen Anne became concerned for the plight of the protestant subjects of her cousin, the Elector. At first, the Palatines were brought to England, but this produced overcrowding and domestic disturbances. In 1709, a group then in England was transported to New York. Subsequently, Palatines were transported directly to the colonies, most often to Pennsylvania. This met the goals of settling the colonies & giving relief to those who wished to emigrate.

Demand was strong and a bustling trade in human cargo soon developed. Sometimes, recruiters would spread out through the Rhine Valley, selling passage on ships. If the prospective passengers hadn't the money, a contract for indentured servitude would be accepted. Sometimes, the emigrants made their way down the Rhine to (mostly) Rotterdam and contacted a ship's captain there.

Before the prospective emigrants could leave, they needed permission from their local government. Most often, a simple fee of 10-15 pfennigs and vote by the city council would obtain a "manumission permit". But, if the individual were subject to military subscription (draft) they wold not be allowed to leave. The journey down the Rhine River was the next hurdle; this could take weeks on boats or barges. Each time they stopped, the local authorities might exact another tax.

Yet none of this stemmed the flood of Palatines pouring out of Germany & into the "New Wrold". In 1727, Pennsylvanians became concerned enough about unregulated immigration of these "foreigners" (meaning non-British subjects), that they passed an act requiring registration & loyalty oaths.

From 1727 to 1776 (when the Revolutionary War interrupted immigration) each ship was required to submit a list of its debarkees, who were then required to take and sign (or have signed for them, then make their marks) loyalty oaths at City Hall. Three lists of each group of immigrants were made:

The "A" list was made by the ship's crew & submitted by the captain to the port authority. The varying origins of the lists introduce disparity in the type of information recorded; some lists include women & children, some do not. Some describe the passengers by age, religion, or place of origin; some don't.
The "B" list was comprised of the signatures of those taking the oath. Those that could not write their names had these written by a clerk & then made their marks.
The "C" list was similar to the "B" list, but kept in book form. Names of those who could not write may have been entered by fellow passengers instead of a clerk.
The passenger & oath lists are best recorded in Ralph Beaver Strassburger's "Pennsylvania German Pioneers", edited by Wiliam J. Hinke, & initially published in 1934. The 1934 edition is recommended because it contains "facsimiles" of the original handwriting. (Some later editions omitted the facismiles as of insufficient interest.) This voyage of the Loyal Judith is ship number 93 in Strassburger/Hinke. (It is #92 in Israel Daniel Rupp's "Thirty Thousand Names..". S-H found one ship Rupp had missed.)

Note that use of "A", "B", & "C" to distinguish among these lists was invented by I.D. Rupp and continued (with corrections to their meanings) by Sttrassburger & Hincke.

Not all of the passengers on the "A" list will appear on the "B" or "C" lists. They may have been ill, perhaps under quarantine. They were supposed to have taken the oaths when recovered, but this was less strongly enforced.
For more, see the Palatinate page
Last Updated: 18 Jun 2006

Per: https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~cale2cales/genealogy/loyal.htm