The signature of Johan Paulus Vogt

Friday, November 19, 2010

Johan Paulus Vogt

The man, the myth, the legend. I suppose it's fair to start the story at the beginning. For many of the thousands of Vaught's across the country, the beginning of our story is one man. Johan Paulus Vogt, born sometime in or around 1680 in or near Frankfurt, Germany.

For any of you who've been at this quest for a while, you know the story: Johan Paulus Vogt brings his family (his wife, Maria Catherina, his two sons, Johan Andreas and Johan Gasper, and his two daughters, Catherina Margaret and Maria Catherina) across the Atlantic and arrives in Philidelphia in October, 1733.

The first solid proof that this man and his family even existed at all is the ship's passenger list from October 11, 1733, showing the family among the other 50-odd German immigrants. This passenger list, printed in numerous books and available readily on the internet, is invaluable.

How can a simple document that just shows names on a ship be such a treasure trove? Well, this document shows us all kinds of information:
  • The ship's name was the Charming Betty, captained by John Ball.
  • The ship arrived from London (so we know they were at least in England for a bit)
  • 62 passengers, split up into 15 families arrived on the Charming Betty
  • The ship arrived in port on the 11th, but the passengers were officially imported on the 12th of October, 1733---from this we can deduce that the ship arrived late in the day, after the time when the captain could have arranged paperwork with the local courthouse.
  • The ship was likely small---most ships of the time that deposited Germans in Philadelphia carried over a hundred, some as many as three hundred passengers.
  • On the 12th, the heads of the families of the Charming Betty were taken before the local court, where in the presence of the Lieutenant Governor and other magistrates, the oath of loyalty to the Crown was administered and they became British subjects.
  • We know the ages of the passengers, which gives us the birth years as well (Johan Paulus 53, Maria Catherina 46, Johan Andreas 12, Johan Gasper 8, Catherina Margaret 18, Maria Catherina 16)
  • From the arrival date in October, we can figure at least 2 months at sea, up to possibly 4 or even 6 months. Ocean transit was fairly commonplace but highly unpredictable in the 18th century. Most voyages seemed to average a couple months at the minimum.

So it's fairly easy to imagine Johan Paulus Vogt and his family staggering off the ship they had been cooped up in for weeks and weeks, finally walking on dry land and thanking God for dilvering them safely across the Atlantic. And with those first footsteps off the ship onto American soil, our family is born.

1 comment:

  1. Hi, I'm a descendent of Johan Paulus Vogt. My name is Edwinia Vaught Hoffman.

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