Palatine German Immigration to Ireland and U.S., Hank Z Jones collection, 1654-1878

About the Palatine German Immigration to Ireland and U.S.

General collection information

This collection contains the family trees of immigrants from the Palatinate region (part of present-day Germany) of the Holy Roman Empire between 1654 and 1878. Supplemental information, notably photographs of areas where the immigrants settled, is also included. Author Henry "Hank" Z Jones, Jr. began the project by documenting individual families involved in the Palatine migration. All records are typed in English.

Using the collection

Records in the collection may include the following information:

When researching your family, it is useful to remember that the names of locations are likely to have changed over time. If you think you found your family member, but the location name seems wrong, consider checking the location against old maps.

While using this collection, you may encounter some abbreviated words. Please see the following list of common abbreviations:

If you encounter the term "HJ" it is an abbreviation of the author's initials. He uses this to signify genealogical links that he believes are correct.

Collection in context

The Palatines (Pfälzer in German) were refugees who fled the Palatinate region of the Holy Roman Empire (known today as Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany) starting in 1709, due to religious persecution and economic hardships. Thousands of Palatines sought to travel to America, but first traveled to England to seek aid from Queen Anne.

While in England almost 3,000 Palatines decided to settle in Ireland as part of a plan by the Landlords of Irish estates to increase the Protestant population. The Palatine Germans who immigrated to Ireland primarily settled in the counties of Cork, Limerick, and Wexford. Queen Anne sent the remaining immigrants to the American colonies. Most settled in New York and Pennsylvania, but expanded to other states as more Palatines immigrated to the colonies.

Palatine immigrants were known for their agricultural work. Many of their descendants actively kept their culture and language and are part of the cultural group known today as the "Pennsylvania Dutch."

In early America the term "Palatine" sometimes became a generic description of anyone who spoke German. So besides documenting those 18th century immigrants who actually originated within the borders of today’s Palatine region itself, this collection also includes families who came from other areas nearby in southern Germany, such as Isenburg, the Kraichgau, Hessen, the Westerwald, Baden, Württemberg, and Siegen.

Sponsors of baptisms are not indexed at this time, but their names do appear in indexes of the volumes in the "Every Name" section. Researchers are encouraged to check this section as sponsors were often family members.

One important change to note in the original document contact lists for German cities: since the original publication of the books in the collection, in July 1993 all German postal routing numbers (“Postleitzahlen”) were changed to five digits (e.g., 6348 Herborn, so-noted as an ancestral town, is now 35745 Herborn). Please consult updated postal guides when requesting original materials.

Bibliography

Irish Palatine Association. "History." Last Modified August 5, 2017. https://www.irishpalatines.org/about/history.html.

National Park Service. "The Palatine Germans." Last Modified October 8, 2022. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/the-palatine-germans.htm.

Hank Z Jones. "7 Genealogical Lessons for Researching Your Palatine Ancestors." https://www.hankjones.com/pdfs/HankJonesblog.pdf.