There is no longer any reason to believe that either Nicholas or Hans Peter Umbstatt were from or were ever even in Krefeld, short of perhaps a customs stop en route from Kriegsheim to Rotterdam. See Nicholas Original Records, Hans Peter's KRIEGSHEIM Passport and ROTTERDAM Deed. There are still a few loose ends that might suggest SOME sort of earlier connection with several towns in the Krefeld area, which I am investigating. Now that it has been determined without a doubt that the UMs were in Kriegsheim, we still need to see whether they were "always" there, or whether they came there from somewhere else, prior to 1661, if that information even exists.

Unfortunately, due to the many authors who have quoted as fact Governor Pennypacker's assumption that Hans Peter and family were from Krefeld, we need to get the word out that it's not true!!!!! It would be appreciated if readers of this material who live near major genealogical libraries or historical societies would copy and distribute the material found under Nicholas Original Documents, Hans Peter's Passport Requests, and Rotterdam deed.

But ... WHY did Governor S W Pennypacker think Hans Peter Umstat came from Krefeld????

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS and BITS AND PIECES

Krefeld is/was NOT in the Palatinate (Pfalz). It is currently in the German state of Nordrhein-Westfalen, quite a distance from the Palatinate(Pfalz). See Worms (Kriegsheim is not shown, but is near Worms) on the Rhine Map.

According to Armin Roether, German church archivist, Krefeld was first mentioned in 1105. It belonged to the Earls of Moers, who gave Krefeld the rights of a town in 1373. Since 1600 Krefeld belonged to the Netherlands, and in 1702 it came to Prussia. Till 1945 it belonged to the Prussian province "Rheinland". After the Second World War the northern part of Rheinland (including Krefeld) was joined together with Westfalen to the new state Nordrhein-Westfalen (capital Düsseldorf). The southern part of the Rheinland was occupied by the French troups and came to Rheinland-Pfalz.

Note, then, that the "Original 13" Krefeld immigrants of 1683 would have presumably have been DUTCH, not German. Their names are much more Dutch than German as well.

"Krefeld Immigtants" Vol 12, #2, page 48, quotes Haller's ACROSS THE ATLANTIC AND BEYOND (1993 Haller): "Among this group of missionaries, William Ames first went to Krisheim (then called Griesheim)[near Krefeld*] in 1657, returned in 1661. They helped with the harvest and converted some seven or eight families of the local Mennonite community to Quakerism, a number of whom were later inspired by William Penn to migrate to Pennsylvania."

Haller does not show [near Krefeld], that appears to have been added in the "Krefeld Immigrants" quote.

The Krisheim mentioned in the above is presumably KRIEGSHEIM, which is not near Krefeld. I have seen Kriegsheim called Krisheim elsewhere. The only other Kriegsheim I can find in a modern European atlas is in France. There is no Griesheim anywhere near Krefeld.

Various Griesheims are located (today):
Just north of Offenburg, Germany, in the state of Baden-Würtemberg.
In France, called Griesheim-pres-Molsheim, just south of Strasbourg.
In France, called Griesheim-sur-Souffle.
Just south of Frankfurt, Germany, in the state of Hessen.
Just south of Darmstadt, Germany, in the state of Hessen.
In the former East Germany, south of Erfurt between Arnstadt and Rudolstadt, in the state of Thüringen.

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1 March 2003