Emigration despite Warnings

Many warning were given of emigration to the New World. They were not unfounded, as many emigrants got heavily in debt for paying the crossing. This often meant years of drudgery for earning enough to pay off the debts. Gottlieb Mittelberger, a teacher from Enzweihingen, who had lived in Pennsylvania for some years, described the emigrants' misery in his travelbook published in Stuttgart in 1756.

Gottlieb Mittelberger
* 11.2.1715 Eberdingen near Vaihingen / Enz
† after 1758 in Württemberg
1750-1754 in America, as teacher and organist in the district New-Providence / Philadelphia