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in return for which they worked off their debt after they arrived in
America. The ship sailed to the mouth of the Delaware River and thence to
Philadelphia. Thus it was that Johannes (John) Heter and his seven sons
arrived, “we are told, in the year 1735.”
Thomas Marion Heter, in his “Genealogical Chart of Heter Family in America,
1735-1957,” identifies six of the seven sons of Johannes (John) Heter as
Johannes, Issac, Daniel, Jacob, Sebastian, and Adam. In the records of
colonial Pennsylvania, the name is variously spelled as Heter, Hieter, Heitter,
Hüter, or Hüeter (and, it is reported, Hieder, Hiiter, and even Header). In
Bavaria, the name is commonly spelled Hüter or Hüeter (not Heter or Hieter).
A posting on the web identifies the seventh son of Johannes (John) Heter as
George Peter Hieter. The same website gives the following information:
George Peter Hieter married Johanna Barbara Deischer, and died 1790 in
Rockland Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
Johannes (John) Hieter II married Anna Magdalena Krummerin.
Hans Adam Hieter married Elizabeth Milot, who died 9 October 1810. Hans
Adam Hieter died 1805 in Earl Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
Hans Adam Hieter and George (Jerg) Peter Hüter are on the passenger list for
the “St. Andrew Galley,” arriving in Philadelphia on 14 September 1751.
Source: http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~vgdeagan/heeter.htm
According to family tradition, Johannes Heter’s wife, Maria, died before the
overseas voyage took place. Hence the accounts say she died c. 1735. Johann
Hieter is said to have been born c. 1685 in Bavaria, and to have died c. 1760
in Berks County, Pennsylvania. Three of his sons are found on the 1772 tax
list, with the years of immigration listed: Georg Peter Hüter, 1751; Hans Adam
Hüter, 1751; and Jacob Heitter, 1752. (Source: http://www.ancestry.com)
Reason dictates that the sons all came to America together, and that Jacob’s
memory was imprecise some twenty years later.
The “St. Andrew Galley” made frequent voyages from Rotterdam to Philadelphia.
There are passenger lists posted online for arrivals on 12 September 1734,
26 September 1737, 27 October 1738, 2 October 1741, 7 October 1743,
9 September 1749, and 18 August 1750. The transcribed list for 14 Sep 1751
actually reads “Hans Adam Holter” and “Jerg Peter Hüter.” These names are
listed consecutively, as would be expected if they were brothers. The fact
that only two members of the Hieter family appear on the passenger list does
not mean that the family did not emigrate together. The passenger list is
incomplete. There were reportedly 165 passengers on the “St. Andrew Galley,”
but only 115 names appear on the list.
Altogether, 172 German passenger lists appear on the Palatine Project website,
covering the years 1683-1791. There is only one other listing for the surname
of Hieter or Hüter (by any spelling) – that of Christian Hütter, who traveled
on the “Loyal Judith,” arriving in Philadelphia on 3 September 1739. From this
we may conclude that the family actually traveled to America in 1751, not 1735.
Source: http://www.progenealogists.com/palproject/pa/1751sand.htm
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