[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 1, Ed. 1, Tree #4092, Date of Import: Mar 26, 2001]
The book The Crouse Family of North Carolina, indicates that the book Pennsylvania German Pioneers by Ralph Beaver Strassburg, indicates that Melchior Kraus was from the Palatinates in Germany. In the 16th century the Palatinates were two small countries in the old German Empire. The Upper Palatinate is now a part of Bavaria, and the Lower Palatinate is part of the Rhineland Palatinate. There is no evidence available to indicate which area Melchior came from, but he would have had to board his ship "Friendship" at one of the 26 ports on the Rhine River. The journey down the Rhine River to Rotterdam, Holland was not easy. Ships were required to stop at each port to be examined, usually at the convenience of the custom-house officials, and it took five or six week to make the journey. Therefore, passengers had to spend extra money for food and other necessities; money they had planned to use to pay their passage upon arriving in the new world. Ships were delayed again in Holland, sometimes for six weeks or more. Finally they were allowed to leave Holland and sailed for one of the several ports in England. In England there was another delay of one or two weeks, while ships were waiting to pass through customs or for favorable winds. One man wrote that when the ships weighed anchor at England, "the real miser began." Under the best of conditions it took seven weeks to make the voyage to Philadelphia, and often took ten to twelve weeks. The ocean voyage was marked by great suffering and hardships. The ships were usually packed, and without the proper food and water, passengers were soon ill with all sorts of diseases, such as scurvy, typhoid, smallpox and dysentery. With illness, plus storms that sometimes lasted for days, it is nothing short of a miracle that as many passengers survived as did. Finally, when the City of Brotherly Love was in sight, and folks thought their misery was over, there was another delay. Health Officials from Philadelphia boarded the ship and if someone was found with an infectious disease, the ship was ordered to move one mile from the city. When allowed to land, the passengers were taken to the City Hall where they were required to take an oath of allegiance to the King of England. The passengers were then taken back to the ship, and those who had money to pay for their passage were released. Others were sold as indentured servants for a certain amount of time, usually seven years. The cost of a single passage was from six to ten louis d'ors or $27.30 to $45.00. On the ship that Melchior came over on, there were 58 male passengers, no women or children. When Melchior tool the oath of allegiance, he signed with an M. If he could have written, he would have signed his entire name. It was 3 September 1739, and Melchior gave his age as 30 years, thus his birth year was about 1709. Melchior would have had to pay his expenses to the colony because he was married and his son Johann Wendel Krauss was born 23 October 1740, only 13 monthos after his father arrived in the new world. Soon after his arrival, Melchior associated himself with a Lutheran Church in what is now Lancaster County, PA. In present day Bavaria, flks are busy rebuilding the old historic homes and villages for sightseers who vist their country, and it is not unusual to see a home with a prival chapel built in the house. Did Melchior come from such a home? We'll probably never know, but isn't it wonderful that we've found him and can speculate about his early life.
More About Melchior Kraus and Eva Margretha ?: Marriage: 1740, Pennsylvania.611, 612
Children of Melchior Kraus and Eva Margretha ? are:
Melchior Kraus (b. Abt. 1709, d. Bef. 1751)
Notes for Melchior Kraus: