French Migrants in Colonial Pennsylvania

The French Migrants in Colonial Pennsylvania

The French migrant population in Pennsylvania were composed of two factions, the Protestant Huguenots and French Catholics. The Huguenots immigrated first but not mainly from France.

French Protestants endured miserable religious persecution under Louis XIV. Louis' Grandfather, Henry IV had granted the French Calvinistic Protestants certain rights. France was a Catholic Country but the Edict of Nantes(1598) granted French Protestants certain rights such as the freedom to practice their religion and to hold public offices.

However, the French Protestants also called the Huguenots were resented by the strong Catholic population. This resentment brought about an agitation which culminated in the nullification of the Edict of Nantes in 1685.

As a result thousands of Huguenots fled France and became refugees. A few did go to America but the vast majority went to other European countries. Some went to Holland, Ireland, or Switzerland but many went to Germany. When people from these countries immigrated to the America the Huguenots went with them

Pennsylvania was a perfect retreat for the Huguenots since the colony was founded on the notion of religious freedom. However, historians don't find large settlements of French settlers in Pennsylvania because the Huguenots tended to assimilate totally into the cultures they settled with.

Many came with the German settlers to Pennsylvania and had already assimilated into their culture and even changed their names. Even later French migrants changed their French surnames to better blend with their German neighbors. In the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania, John Jacob Michelet became Mickley and Daniel Tournet became Dorney. Both these names are common in the area to this day.

Later, many French Catholics immigrated to America, but their motive were different. Many Catholic immigrants were looking for political refuge after the French Revolution. Some were looking for a more prosperous life. Religious persecution was not a factor for them.

In 1755,a group of French colonists in Nova Scotia were expelled by the British Governor. It was during the French Revolution and the British wanted to secure lines of supply. These French colonists were neutral and would not swear allegiance to Britain. In 1755 seven thousand French Arcadian’s were expelled from Nova Scotia. Four hundred and fifty four of these were sent to Philadelphia. They were destitute, without any provisions and many died soon after arriving. Philadelphia voted to help these immigrants with money to meet their immediate needs. They were absorbed into the established community and their identity as a group was soon lost

Sources:

   Dunaway, Wayland Fuller. "The French Racial Strain in Colonial Pennsylvania." The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 53, no. 4 (1929): 322-342. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20086715 . (accessed October 21, 2011).

"Edict of Nantes." 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica - Free Online. http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Edict_of_Nantes (accessed October 31, 2011).

Slavery in Pennsylvania

The first slave ship in Pennsylvania was the “Isabella”. The Isabella carried 150 African slaves. Many were bought by Quakers, In fact William Penn owned slaves and it is reported that he thought slaves were better than white servants because they “worked for life”.  Quakers later began to feel slavery was contrary to their religion and in 1696 began to object to slavery.  But many merchants and craftsmen felt they had an investment in their slaves due to training and money spent in their keep and purchase. They felt they would suffer a substantial loss of property if they would let their slaves go.

However, in the 1730's the duties on slaves were lessened leading to an increase in the amount of slaves in the colony.

In 1700 a statute was passed concerning the punishment for slaveswho committed crimes. The acts of Murder, robbery and rape would be punished by death. For a black male who attempted to rape a white woman, the punishment would be castration.

In 1721 the colony prohibited the sale of alcohol to slaves in addition to prohibiting slaves from firing a gun.

In 1723 a petition was presented before the legislature concerning Interracial marriages. The Legislature then prohibited Interracial marriages.

In 1726 a Statute stated that children of free blacks could be taken from them and sold into indenture without their permission. The children would be indentured until males turned 24 and females turned 21.

1726 was the year that the Colony dealt with their concerns over the free blacks of the Colony. They decided to make freeing blacks very difficult. It  is called “Manumission” which is the act of freeing slaves or being freed from slavery. The colony decreed that a slave holder would have to post a 30 pound bond for each black slave he freed. Other laws passed included such items as free blacks could not own slaves, blacks could not travel more than 10 miles from home with out a written “pass”. Blacks could not congregate in groups of more than three. Blacks had a curfew of 9pm.

If a black man married a white woman he could be sold back into slavery.

In 1732 Philadelphia prohibited blacks from going to church, having parties or funerals on Sundays or in the courthouse square at night.

Pennsylvania used legislature to control blacks free or enslaved.  Later however, Pennsylvania did pass the “Gradual Abolition Act” in 1780 which preceded the country by  85 years.  It stated that  slave children born after the act were free, children born before the act would be freed when they turned 28. Sadly the Gradual Abolition Act was not strongly enforced. The 1840 Census revealed that Pennsylvania still held 64 Slaves.

Sources:

"Pennsylvania Slave Law Summary and Record ." SlaveryinAmerica . org.http://www.slaveryinamerica.org/geography/slave_laws_PA.htmhttp://www.slaveryinamerica.org/geography/slave_laws_PA.htm (accessed October 9, 2011).

The Paxton Pamphlet War

In the summer of 1763, Pennsylvania frontiersmen were fighting a war with the Indians. Predominantly Scots-Irish settlers had been encouraged to settle in western Pennsylvania but many simply scwatted on the land they chose without permission from the local Indians.

The frontiersmen were trying to rebuild their lives. They had lived through the seven years war which began in 1756. More than 500 settlers had lost their lives before the hostile Indians and their french ally’s had been pushed back from the frontier.

The hostile Indians didn't accept defeat at the hands of the Royal Government. In June of 1763 the Ottawa Indians commenced a series of attacks throughout the Ohio valley and into Pennsylvania's western frontier. The settlers there suffered even more than they had from the seven year's war.

More than 1400 terrified refugees moved east toward Shippensburg. They were given help from other settlers who housed them wherever they could, many times barns and stables. The Quaker Government gave no aid to the refugees or moved to assist them. However, they did use State funds to aid “anglicized” Indians.

In October of the same year the German settlers in the North east of Pennsylvania came under attack from the Delaware Indians. Here, the Indians were extremely cruel so as to make the settlers so fearful they would never return. Many bodies showed evidence of torture.

The frontiersmen and other settlers were very embittered and focused their anger on the Indians and the Quaker Government as well

On December 14^th about 50 frontiersmen bent on revenged rode to Conestoga were they killed six Indians, then to Lancaster where they killed 14 more. Having heard that some had escaped and were being sheltered in Philadelphia. The Vigilantes, now called the “Paxton Boys” marched toward Philadelphia. They stopped at Germantown when two government representatives came to meet them. It was agreed that most would return to their homes leaving two to air grievances to the government The Quaker Government which they mostly ignored.

Thus began the Paxton Pamphlet war. Both sides airing their grievances to the public in the form of printed pamphlets. The Paxtonians had two main issues; they believed that the Quakers only used religious pacifism as an excuse to leave the frontier undefended thereby saving money on defense. The second issue being that they felt they were not being adequately represented in legislature.

The Quakers on the other hand believed that because the Frontiersmen were not taxed, they did not contribute to the expense of a defensive force.

These Pamphlets became very popular and could be found in any place were people congregated, such as taverns and coffee shops. The paxtonians used satire well and struck a chord with the public. Both sides used cartoons, poems, mock epitaphs, prayers, mock sermons and speeches, both sides taking cheep shots at the other. In the end the pamphlet war resolved nothing,but it may be seen as less violent method to air grievances.

Sources:

Sam Huston State University. "The Paxton Boys and the Origins of the American Revolution." Studythepast.com. http://www.studythepast.com/history571/stevenfrank/index.htm (accessed October 9, 2011).

Olson, Alison. "The Pamphlet War over the Paxton Boys." The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 123 (1999), http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.fau.edu/stable/20093260?&Search=yes&searchText=boys&searchText=pamphlet&searchText=war&searchText=paxton&list=hide&searchUri=/action/doBasicSearch?Query=the+pamphlet+war+over+the+paxton+boys&acc=on&wc=on&prevSearch=&item=2&ttl(accessed October 9, 2011).

The Pennsylvania Colonial Reality Show

It's the 17^Th Century, No computers, cell phones, or microwaves, no microwaves There aren't even flush toilets.  Settlers had only the very crudest of possessions, much of which was homemade.

Here's the reality of living off the grid:

You wake up before dawn, haul water, milk the cow, collect eggs, feed the animals, gather vegetables from the garden, then make sure the fire is ready, all before you can prepare breakfast. When you were finished with breakfast you would have to think about dinner. Which was the main meal of the day served between 2 and 4 in the afternoon. Later you would have a light supper

but not before you finish the baking and washing all the clothes by hand. Spinning wool and making cloth, sewing the cloth by hand into clothes. churning butter, butchering meat, preserving the meat.. brewing beer, tending the garden, the children, the fire. and on and on.

Colonial homes had no bathrooms, one had to use a “necessary” a small shed outside a little away from the main house. At night, especially in the winter a settler would use a chamber pot that was emptied the next morning. Many people used corncobs as we would now use toilet tissue.

Many times floors were of dirt, windows were covered with paper soaked in linseed oil or animal skins.

Glass was costly, if a settler could afford it, they would take them down if they would be away from home for any length of time, lest they be stolen.

If a family could afford it they would use beeswax or bayberry candles. Bayberry is a tiny berry that has a thin coating of wax on it. To get enough wax for just an inch of candle you needed about a quart of berries. Most families saved these candles for special occasions. Usually, poorer families used candles mad of fat which they called tallow. But tallow candles smelled bad.

The water for drinking, cooking and washing would have to be hauled from a nearby creek or river.Yes, colonists would wash their faces and hands. However, immersing one's entire body in a tub was considered impure in colonial times.

Food production encompassed an enormous amount of time. Men were concerned with growing crops, hunting, trapping to obtain food. Men butchered dressed the meat, tanned the hides for use as leather. The woman butchered then preserved the meat in several ways: salting, smoking, pickling,sugar for fruits

beer was a popular drink, given even children. However, it was very watered down having an alcohol content of only ½ to 1%, even so this was enough to kill any bacteria in the water.

Alcohol was also used as a preservative for fruits, producing brandies. Apples were fermented into cider. They made cheese to preserve dairy. They used rendered fat in soap and candle production.

Cooking could be dangerous as many woman were seriously injured when long skirts caught fire.

Today we go to the supermarket to get our butter conveniently packaged. In the 17^Th century this is how they got butter:

As soon as you have milked, Strain your milk into a pot and stir it often for half an hour, then put it away in your pots or trays. When it's creamed, skim it exceedingly clean from the milk, and put your cream into an earthen pot, and it you do not churn immediately for butter, shift your cream once in twelve hours into another clean pot. When you have churned, wash your butter in three or four waters, then salt it as you will have it. And beat it well. Let it stand in a wedge if it be to pot, till the next morning,beat it again and make your layers the thickness of three fingers, and then throw a little salt on it. And so do until your pot is full.

Infant mortality rates were high and parents raised children with an expectation that some of their children would not make it to adulthood. Which resulted in emotionally distant relationships. When a child was able they were expected to help out as much as possible.

Hornbooks

Basic education was given at home, learning letters and numbers from a hornbook “which were sheets printed with letters, numbers and a few basic sentences protected behind sheets to flattened transparent horn bound in leather.” Reading skills were also enforced by reading the Bible or letters. Boys would learn more skills when apprenticed to learn a trade.

If you made it to eleven years of age you had a good chance of living to adulthood. Then, if you were a woman, you had to make it past childbearing years. In fact up to 50% of women died either from childbearing or the period immediately after called childbed disease.

Watch this video about how hard it was to live then

Family life in colonial Pennsylvania was difficult, and children were put to work as soon as they were able, but food was plentiful. Find out why families in colonial Pennsylvania needed to be large with help from an American history teacher in this free video on colonial life.
Expert: Judy Scott
Bio: Judy Scott is a retired, award-winning American history teacher in Ft. Worth, Texas. She was the AP history teacher at Boswell High School for three decades.
Filmmaker: Kevin Haberer

Mean while,

So How Did They Survive?

So How Did They Survive?

Today let us get to know the inhabitants of Pennsylvania Colony. We will travel back in time and hear from the settlers themselves. They will tell you a little about their life and where in the colony they live.

Hello, my name is Gita Schmidt.

My Father says that we live in the year 1686 in German town, In the colony of Pennsylvania. My family and I have a small farm, we have a cabin made of logs but it was not always so.

I was born in Krefeld in the country of Germany. In 1682,when I was ten years old my father told me and my brothers and sisters that we were to have a great adventure. It was a bad time in Germany, just the year before the Armies had come and ruined our farm, trampled the crops and burned our barn. We were all hungry, but Father and Mother had a little money for passage to the new world. Oh, It was a long time on board ship, nearly two months, my baby brother did not survive. It was a hard passage but we Prayed that God would give us strength. We are Quakers and their were other Quakers families on board the ship as well.

I remember the shipyard in Philadelphia where our ship finally docked. There were so many people there from so many different places. Father and other Men bought pack-horses to take us and the provisions we had brought to a settlement in the north.

Our first house was a cave that Papa fashioned from the earth. He and my big brothers dug a hole in the earth at least 4 feet deep on the high banks of the Delaware river, They then built up the walls using sod and earth. They used brush and bark for the roof. The chimney was built of cobblestone mortared with clay and grass. It was a hard way to live but it was warm in our home and we were together. We stayed there while Father and other Quaker men built houses. The People in our little German community, learned from the Swedish Settlers how to build log homes by placing the great logs horizontally. The German men found this to be an excellent way to make sturdy homes. It took many months to finish the homes but now we have a fine cabin and a small, pretty farm. At first my parents insisted that we all continue to speak German but as time went by I and my younger brothers and sisters began to speak English. This vexed my Parents very much. But I am sure we will always keep our German language at home.

Hello, my name is Ian Montgomery, I live in the Cumberland Valley of Pennsylvania colony. I'm a frontiersman and a settler here. In 1690 my family left the lowlands of Scotland and immigrated to Ireland but their were many droughts in Ireland that created famine in the land. Also the rent imposed by our English landlord became so high we couldn't live. So we came with other Scots-Irish immigrants. Many call us squatters but I don't like that word. We use the “Tomahawk Right” to claim Land. What we do is to deaden a few trees by a spring and carve the initials of the settler into one. Then everyone in the community will help the settler build a cabin. The settler will raise a crop of grain. This will give the family a legal right to 400 acres of land.

We frequently have problems with the Indians. They can be very hostile just as we can be. They have murdered many of our settlers. So we keep our rifle and axes close by at all times and warn each other when it is time to head for the fort for safety and defense. However, I and other Scots-Irish men have learned their language and act as middle men in trade negotiations. We hunt and trap for pelts but we also trade with the Indians. When we have many pelts we put them on pack horses and take them to Baltimore in the Maryland Colony to trade for salt and iron. I feel sure we will be able to live happily in this new land.

Hello, my name is Sarah Jenkins. I am 13 years old and I am an indentured servant. I live in Philadelphia in the colony of Pennsylvania. The year is 1740.

Philadelphia is a great and rich city. I have heard people say there may be 10,000 people living in this city. We have a market and people trade all manner of goods there. Many goods come on ships from all over the world.  Here in Philadelphia you will find many skilled workers. Silversmiths and Iron-smiths, carpenters and coopers. There is a free school that even I may attend if my work is done. There is even a paper mill here in Philadelphia and a newspaper called the American weekly.

However, I am not free to enjoy many of these wonderful things. My parents signed me into servitude to prepare me for life as a wife and mother. They are very poor and didn't have money to raise me properly.

My masters are good people and they treat me fairly though of course, not as well as their own children. I have learned from other servants that I am very fortunate. Many masters abuse their servants, beating and misusing them. It makes me very frightened to learn of these things.

I have many duties, I rise before the sun to start breakfast for the family, then I tend the children, work in the garden. I also sew clothes and make cloth. I manufacture candles, and soap for the family and for trade. In seven years my service will end and I will be given a new dress and I will be ready to marry.

Sources:

Earle, Alice M. 1974; 1898. Home life in colonial days. Stockbridge, Mass.: Berkshire Traveler Press.

Langdon, William C. 1937. Everyday things in american life.. New York; London: C. Scribner's sons; C. Scribner's sons, ltd.

Miller, Randall M., and William Pencak. 2002. Pennsylvania: A history of the commonwealth. University Park; Harrisburg, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press; Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

The Original People

The are several tribes of indigenous people that inhabited the area of land we now call Pennsylvania. These tribes include The Delaware, Erie, Honniasant, Iroquois, Saluda, Saponi, Shawnee, Susquehanna, Tuscarora, Tutelo and the Wenrohronon.

The Lenni-Lenape were part of the Delaware Tribe. Their name translates to "Common or original people" depending on your source.  They lived in eastern Pennsylvania along the Delaware, in the Pocono mountains, southern New York and New Jersey. Lenape called their land Lenapehoking, meaning Land of the Lenape.

Some Lenape lived in Villages with populations of as much as 2 to 3 hundred people. Some lived in small bands of 25 or 50 individuals. They built wigwams and longhouses as homes for families, They also erected structures called pimewakan, what we would call a sweat lodge. These structures would be used for treating illnesses, bathing and for ritual. upon entering water would be poured on heated rocks. This would create steam. The steam would sweat out the illness or "evil".  Afterward they would plunge into water in order to close their pores and then wrap themselves in blankets and rest.
The Lenape had rituals and ceremonies for almost everything.  One to honor good spirits another to scare away evil ones. One for the first harvest and one for a marriage.

There were three basic clans of the Lenni-Lenape people:
The wolf clan, also called the Munsee. They were known as the people of the stony country. They lived in northern Pennsylvania on the upper Delaware river at the Delaware water Gap.
The Turtle clan, also called the Unami were known as the people down the river. They lived in the area north of what is now known as Philadelphia.
The Turkey clan, also known as the unalachtigo were known as the people who lived near the ocean. They lived in what we know now as Wilmington Delaware.

William Penn, had his own impressions of the indigenous people of Pennsylvania. In 1683 he decided to take a tour of his colony and ventured into the interior of Pennsylvania. Later when he had returned, he sent a letter to "The Free Society of Traders" in which he related his impressions of the Pennsylvania Indians.

In appearance he felt they were of "singular proportion; they tread strong and clever, and mostly walk with a lofty chin."  Penn stated that their complexion was black, "but by design, as the gipsies in England. They grease themselves with Bear's fat clarified; and using no defence against the sun and wather, their skins must needs be swarthy."

He felt their Language was "Like short-hand in writing, one word serveth in the place of three."  He also said of their language "I must say that I know not a language spoken in Europe, that hath words of more sweetness or greatness, in accent and emphasis, than theirs."

However, being the Quaker that he was, Penn felt "These poor people were under a dark night in things relating to religion."  This was probably the one area that Penn felt their condition was unfortunate but in the letter he was very positive about most areas of their culture.

Sources:

James Quinn,"William Penn Visits The Indians" U.S.History.org, http://www.ushistory.org/penn/penn_journey.htm (accessed September 2011).

Lenape Lifeways Inc., "About The Lenapes" http://www.lenapelifeways.org/lenape1.htm (accessed September 2011).