The South Carolina Palatines of 1764

   About seventy-five American families have ancestral roots among a group of over three hundred Germans who arrived in Charles Town, South Carolina, in December, 1764 and February, 1765.  The story of their travels from homes in the Palatinate, a region of southwest Germany, is one of extreme hardship, frustration, and despair as they found themselves left destitute in London by an unscrupulous recruiter.   We here present (below) three documents which describe in detail the saga of the Palatines, including their names, ages, and original places of settlement in the Back Country of the British Colony of South Carolina.

 
1.  Palatine Roots by Gordon A. Rampy, 1988

This book is of particular value for the genealogist as it lists the surnames and family structure of the emigrants. The author has used the lists compiled by Janie Revill from the original colonial records to develop the family structure, and analyzed copies of the original land plats to locate many of the Palatine land grants geographically.  Special emphasis is given to the origin of the Rampy/Rampey family.
2.  Emigration, Fraud, Humanitarianism and the Founding of Londonderry, South Carolina, 1763-1765
  by Dr. Robert Selig

Dr. Selig has exhaustively researched and documented this fascinating article dealing in part with the subject of 18th century emigration in Europe, but more particularly, detailing the circumstances surrounding the sojourn of the Palatines in London in 1764.  Biographical information concerning each of the relief committee members is included as well as numerous newspaper articles relating to the episode.
3.  Proceedings  of the Committee Appointed for the Relief of the Poor Germans who were brought to London and there left destitute in the month of August 1764

This report of a committee of twenty-one gentlemen details the humanitarian efforts put forth for the benefit, relief and relocation to South Carolina of the approximately four hundred refugees left stranded in London by the recruiter, John Henry Christian de Stumpel.
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