When they left the Netherlands.

Reading about dutch emigrants in America almost always starts upon arrival
at New York, or any other port or the town they went to in America.
Sometimes a few sentences are spent on the Netherlands and the voyage to
America.

The same happens with the booklet about the story of the propeller Phoenix,
which, we all know, went down in Lake Michigan in 1847, after a fire,

In 1990 the town of Rotterdam-in the Netherlands-existed 650 years and due
to this fact many books and articles were published. Rotterdam is a very
important port, so in the books and articles many facts about the port are
mentioned, among other things emigrants leaving Europe via Rotterdam.
It all started with the departure of the Pilgrim Fathers in 1620 and ends
with the emigration in the second half of the 20th century e.g. warbrides
in 1945/46 and later on the emigrants to the U.S.A, Canada and Australia.

But we are interested in the emigration in the second half of the 19th
century (1840-1880), because in that time many dutchmen went to North
America from the dutch provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel.

The reasons are well known: religeous (the Seceeders) and economical
(growing population- high prices of bread-bad harvest-so many poor people).
The following table gives the number of emigrants leaving from Rotterdam:

years             persons
-----             -------
1840-1849         18,358            with extremes in  1847: 8,052 persons.
1850-1859         21,658                              1854: 4,810 p.
1860-1869         20,829                              1867: 4,751 p.
1870-1880         25,516                              1873: 5,529 p.

The emigration during the years 1845-1855 was very high, but during the
years 1857-1864 there was a very distinct decrease, due to the Civil War
and an economic crisis in North America. During the years 1865-1874 it all
rises again and in 1873-1878 again an econimic crisis starts.

The people emigrating from the provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel took
up their residence mainly in the Mid-West of North America and especially
around the southern shore of Lake Michigan.

Now about the journey in the Netherlands itself.
People left their homes and went to Arnhem, by horsed vehicles or via
Zutphen and Dieren by boat. From Arnhem they went by boat to Rotterdam and
arrived in that big town. Later on many emigrants arrived by rail in
Rotterdam.
Many of the emigrants had never left their home-towns before , so they were
very impressed by the ships on the river and in the harbours, the activity
on the quays and the large buildings.

View of Rotterdam
second half 19th century.


They immediately went on board or when the ship had not arrived yet, they
stayed in one of the boarding-houses behind the docks for a few days.
The sanitary conditions in these boarding-houses were very bad. An example:
in 1849 in the town of Rotterdam about 2000 people died due to cholera !

Town map of Rotterdam


On the old map of Rotterdam you can see where the ships left for North
America. It was along a quay called 'de Boompjes' (the Trees). All along
that quay were trees and so it got its name.

In the second half of the 19th century all ships were sailing ships: barks,
schooners, frigats and brigantines. The people who were on the Phoenix left
Rotterdam with the frigate France.

a frigate


When leaving Rotterdam for the sea, no direct way was available, due to the
silting up of the Brielsche Maas. When the ships left Rotterdam they had to
sail between the 2 islands Voorne and Hoeksche Waard to the Haringvliet and
from there on to the sea. A distance of about 95 km (about 59 miles).

From Rotterdam to the sea.
 

But in 1830 a canal was dug through the island of Voorne: the Voornsche
Kanaal. The ships could reach the sea more easily now by the town of
Hellevoetsluis. Later on, in 1866, the digging of the Nieuwe Waterweg
started and in 1872 the ships went directly from Rotterdam to the sea.


Ships passing through the Voornsche Kanaal were registered and so we know
that the France, an american frigate, went through that canal on the 26th
of august 1847, destination New York.

Arriving at Hellevoetsluis the sailing ships had to wait for a favourable
wind, before leaving Europe. The last silhouette the emigrants saw of their
home-land was the silhouette of the town of Hellevoetsluis. With it's
typical dutch mills on the walls, the Magazine of the dutch Navy and the
many masts of the ships in the harbour.

View of Hellevoetsluis


Depending on the weather conditions, the emigrants arrived after 4 to 8
weeks in New York.
For the sea-voyage one had to pay 60 guilders, for most emigrants a large
sum of money ! And the provision on board was sometimes very bad.
Only in 1861 a new law came into force about Emigration. It was stated that
e.g. everybody had to register in the town he was leaving. The emigrant got
also a minimum amount of space aboard and for every person/per week had to
be shipped: 1.5 kg of bread, 0.5 kg of salted meat, 0.5 kg of bacon, 0.12
kg of coffee, 0.75 kg of rice, 0.75 kg of groats, 0.5 kg of flour, 0.67 kg
of beans and peas and 2.5 kg of potatoes.

Arriving at New York meant disembarkation in Castle Garden - in the
southern part of Manhattan- a large building of the government for the
reception of emigrants. 
see www.castlegarden.org
Later, in 1892, the reception was on an island,
named Ellis Island, with a very large block of buildings.
see www.ellisisland.org

From New York the voyage went on, for some people, to Buffalo, where they
boarded the Phoenix on the 11th of november 1847.
About that journey, the disaster on the 21st of november 1847 and the
survivors, much has allready been published.
E.g. see www.phoenix1847.com

[ Hoofdpagina | Emigratie | Waarom emigratie | Langs welke weg? | Emigratie uit Overijssel |
Dagboekje van een reis |
Parenteel W. | Kws W. | Parentelen W's | Andere Parentelen | Gastenboek | e-mail ]