German Palatines

The German Palatines are natives of the Electoral Palatinate region of Germany, although a few have come to Germany from Switzerland, the Alsace, and probably other parts of Europe.

Towards the end of the 17th century and into the 18th, the wealthy region is repeatedly invaded by French troops, which results in continuous military requisitions, widespread devastation and famine.

The "Poor Palatines" are some 13,000 Germans who come to England between May and November 1709.

Their arrival in England, and the inability of the British Government to integrate them, causes a highly politicized debate over the merits of immigration.

The English try to settle them in England, Ireland, and the Colonies.

The English transport nearly 3,000 in ten ships to New York in 1710.

Many of them first are assigned to work camps along the Hudson River to work off their passage.

Close to 850 families settle in the Hudson River Valley, primarily in what are now Germantown and Saugerties, New York.

In 1723, 100 heads of families from the work camps are the first Europeans to acquire land west of Little Falls, New York, in present-day Herkimer County on both the north and south sides along the Mohawk River.

Later, additional Palatine Germans settle along the Mohawk River for several miles, founding towns such as Palatine Bridge, and in the Schoharie Valley.

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