53. Early Swiss migration to the U.S. - 1710, North Carolina

In days long before Texas was imagined or the United States was established, in 1710 a group of Swiss people made a voyage across the ocean and colonized themselves in [present-day] North Carolina.   The city where they settled, still in existence today, is New Bern.   An Internet website dedicated to recording the efforts of these first colonists is called "The Colonial Records Project," of the Historical Publications Section in Raleigh, NC.

The Colonial Records Project

Jan-Michael Poff, Editor 

Historical Publications Section 

4622 Mail Service Center

Raleigh, NC 27699-4622 

The original settlers -- the successful ones -- wrote letters back home in the following year, 1711.   These letters, translated by The Colonial Records Project from German into English, are in a collection called, "Christoph von Graffenried's Account of the Founding of New Bern," edited by Vincent H. Todd, Ph.D., "Copies of Various Letters from North Carolina."   The website is at

http://www.ncpublications.com/colonial/Bookshelf/Graff/Letters.htm

A detailed reading of these letters (12 pages single-spaced) written by various people, reveals quite a few interesting circumstances concerning this settlement dating to 1711.   I have extracted from the entirety of the letters concise instructions to Swiss people for a move to the colonies.
   

1)  Make arrangements with Mr. Ritter of Bern, to sail to the colonies.
   "Those who intend to go must call upon Mr. Ritter, so that when the other people wish to go they may travel together."

2)  Upon arrival in the colony, plan to lease/purchase land, a venture overseen by the Governor, Christoph von Graffenried, "citizen of Bern, formerly mayor, now landgrave in Carolina."    Von Graffenried distributed lands to the tenants/settlers under certain conditions. 

3)  The conditions were as follows:

Our Count von Graffenried will supply them with good land; after this he will give them a four-year lease, supply them with stock and furniture, so that they can thenceforth be well supplied their life long, if they have luck.

This intriguing notation in a certain booklet printed before this time, about 1709 (or earlier?) in Frankfurt, Germany, advertised a colony.    "With regard to the rearing of cattle.  It costs almost nothing for the raising, as the booklet printed at Frankfurt says, for all stock pastures in the winter as well as in the summer.   And I know of nothing to find fault with in the booklet mentioned regarding these two items, although it writes of South Carolina."  

With such promises, about a hundred persons spoke to Mr. Ritter, made arrangements to travel, departed Bern on March 8, 1710, made their way across to the coast of England and set sail on the 24th of July for Virginia.   They cast anchor in Virginia on September 10th.

Not all of the colonial letter writers stated where in Switzerland they were from.   I was especially interested in two references to "Zweysimmen."   Remember, Zweisimmen is the Heimat of the Treuthardts.