According to the information in "The Lutherans in North America" Three principal impulses contributed to the emigration of the Palatines. (note: although palatine was a region in Germany the English and American colonists often applied this name to all Germans). One was the end of a Century of recurring wars starting with the thirty year war and ending with the French plundering Southwestern Germany in 1707. Two was the severe winter of 1708-09 when the weather was so severe wine was said to have frozen in the cask. Three: The ruler determined the religion of his subjects. When a Roman Catholic became electorate the Lutherans started to become harassed and property was confiscated. I have to add that further down the page the book states that the persecution may have been exaggerated in order to gain sympathy from other Protestants. It states that there where many Roman Catholics in the migration. Another strong influence was the promise of William Penn for a better life in the New World. I am not Lutheran and am not here to discuss Religion except for how it influenced my ancestors decision to leave Germany. I have both Catholic and Lutheran German Ancestors and yes my Catholic ancestors came from the Saarland. I am sure that there are others like myself who are looking over all of Germany and any extra straw might get them over that wall that they have ran into. Keith _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com