The little substance that these poor wanderers had gathered for the voyage to America was dissipated by even a brief spell in or near the port. Some remained in Rotterdam, becoming a part of the varied population of that trading center but most of the Rhineland travelers, on their way to the promise of the New World, found it too commercial or too worldly. Germans found the surroundings strange yet congenial, although for most of them this was merely a stopping place on the way to America. Merchants and shippers looked upon them as living cargo, to be accommodated the same way any cargo was. The addition of thousands of Germans, fleeing from districts their families had inhabited for generations, placed a great strain on the city. Cluttered dock and shipping facilities and bustling street markets with crowded living quarters were an indication of its prosperous condition. In many ways, Rotterdam was the typical trading port of its time. Rotterdam was a sizable flourishing trade center, one of the two major shipping centers in the Low Countries. The Neckar River valley had been home for many of them. "Large numbers of prospective migrants to America met at Rotterdam, a site very suitable for travelers who had come down the Rhine from their towns and farms upstream. It is probable that these or similar conditions were experienced by Godfrey Shew Sr. Parsons is posted for its excellent discussion of conditions confronting early 18th century German immigrants on the voyage to America and upon arrival at the Port of Philadelphia. Immigration: He immigrated The following excerpt from " Pennsylvania Germans, A Persistent Minority" by William T.
Many sailed on to North America after that. It was common for the immigrants to 1st move down the Rhine River to Holland, and then on to England. It is possible that Godfrey may have been from Pfalz (Palatinate). There was a large immigration movement of Germans in the early 1700's as a result of constant conflict & displacement in the area. Germany at that time was a conglomeration of provinces, kingdoms, duchies & city-states, with northern Germany being predominantly protestant and southern Germany tending to be Catholic. "Godfrey Shew, the father of Jacob Shew, emigrated from Germany to this country, at the age of 19, and just before the French war".
Birth: Godfrey (John Godfrey) Shew Schuh Sr was born circa 1733 at Germany (or circa 1711 according to his great grandaughter Susannah Shew) This is an estimated date.
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