From what I've been told, my ancestor that "hopped the pond", Johan Adam Stader, came to America to avoid the persecution from being involved in the Antibaptist movement... I guess that would be enough incentive to overcome any fear of crossing the ocean blue... David Sandra Jones Hall wrote: >One thing I have often wondered about all my ancestors is: what got them >on the boats to America? I put myself in their place and believe I would >have been scared. In the case of our Statler emigrants, they were to get >on a ship owned and run by Englishmen who to them were foreigners. >The farmers and tradesmen of the Rhineland probably never met and Englishman. >They must of heard from previous emigrants that the voyage could be very difficult. >As bad as life can get, the prospect of going to an unknown place takes >some courage. Obviously they overcame their fear. > >My efforts trace the paths of these people are mostly to satisfy my own >curiosity but partly to honor their courage. I plan to use conventional >genealogy as well as DNA to find the origins of these people. >No one is obliged to help who doesnt wish to. >I do thank those who have volunteered their DNA, as of today >I have six volunteers and results will start coming in soon. >Ill let you know when I get my web site up. > >Sandy > > > > >============================== >To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > > > >