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The story of the Swiss Mennonites and the journey of many to Germany and then to America is a long and complex one. This essay will attempt, therefore, to cover only the highlights.
Two major developments have recently come forth with respect to the story of Joseph Flory and his wife, Mary: (1) strong evidence that when Joseph emigrated from Germany on the Hope in 1733 that he was part of a contingent of Mennonite refugees, at least some of whom were from Zweibruecken, a region near the source of the Saare River in the Duchy of Pfalz; and that many of these refugees, wherever they were living in 1733, were born in Switzerland; and (2) reasonable certainty that the full name of Joseph?s wife Mary, the subject of so much speculation, was Anna Maria Bugh (Buch or possibly Pugh). These developments were researched and published by Richard W. Davis on his subscription website, MennoSearch.com, and were first reported to me by Jon Shidler. Mr. Davis? site is devoted to research of the Mennonite families of Switzerland and Germany. It tracks them and their descendants who immigrated to America from the year 1709 to the early 1800?s. Mr. Davis has written 4 books on the subject, all of which are included on the site, and has done research for further studies. He is considered to be a leading authority in this area, and his hypotheses have to be considered seriously.
Before discussing the highlights of the Hope- Zweibruecken-Mennonite hypothesis, it might be helpful to give a brief outline of Swiss Mennonite history in the 17th and 18th centuries, focusing on their migrations and expulsions into Germany and then to America.
Mennonite/Anabaptist Activity in Switzerland in the 17th and Early 18th Centuries
The main cluster of Mennonite activity in Switzerland in the 17th century was in the Canton (or State) of Bern, with some significant spillover into Solothurn. During periods of Mennonite repression in Bern, some Anabaptists fled across the Alps into Solothurn into the towns of Baltsthal, Barschwil, Champoz, and Matzendorf. The parish of Matzendorf is particularly interesting as a number of individuals appear there in the period of 1650-1725 with the name "Joseph Fluri." The German counterpart of this name, "Joseph Flory," was unknown in Germany at this time. There was in the late 16th century and early 17th century Anabaptist activity involving people with the Fluri name in an area called Solterschwand in the Swiss Alps above the town of Aedermannsdorf, which was in the parish of Matzendorf. It is not known what connection, if any, these Fluri families had with Bern. Records involving various Fluris with Mennonite connections who were associated with the Solterschwand can be found in the second essay below.
While there were Anabaptist influences in various parts of the Canton of Bern, the heaviest concentration was in the Emmenthal Valley, including the towns of Sumiswald and Langnau.. The first three heads of families listed on the Hope ship list, Ulrich Wissler, Ulrich Reinhard, and Hans Crumbacher, all apparently were born in Sumiswald. All three may have been related. Another head of the first 13 families on the ship list was Ulrich Longnecker, who was born in Langnau. Hans Jacob Gerber (Garver, Kerwar, Tanner) who appears later on the list and who migrated to York County also seems to have had some associations with Sumiswald. There may have been others?we know too little at the moment about the origins of the majority of Hope passengers.
There seem to have been continuing links from the Emmenthal Valley across to the Canton of Solothurn. One of the Mennonite preachers from this era was Durst Aebi (Eby), who traveled throughout Mennonite strongholds in this region. His son later migrated to America. The Fluri-Hug report, which is partially included in the second essay below, indicates that a series of Anabaptist meetings was held as late as1732 in an area which extended from the Emmenthal Valley to Solterschwand in the Alps.
In response to the Mennonites, the authorities of Canton Bern established the Taufer Kammer, the Office of Anabaptist Affairs, to crack down on Mennonite activity. Because of various repressions and imprisonments of Mennonites by the Taufer Kammer throughout the Cantons of Zurich and Bern, many Anabaptists (I am using the terms "Mennonite" and "Anabaptist" interchangeably) continued to flee to the Emmenthal Valley, where sympathizers called Halb-Taufer (Halfway Anabaptists) attempted to protect them. At one time the entire village of Sumiswald was sentenced to pay authorities a heavy fine for hiding Mennonites in their homes. As a continuing result of the actions and decrees of the Taufer Kammer, the first mass migration, called "the first expulsion," of Mennonites from the Cantons of Bern and Solothurn into Germany took place in 1671. Swiss authorities enforced departure orders for Mennonites moving to Alsace, Baden, and the Pfalz. Authorities in these regions accepted the Mennonites with certain restrictions, including a prohibition on conversions and the right to own property. They also were forced to pay a yearly tax. Despite the efforts and hopes of the Taufer Kammer, Mennonite activity did not cease in Switzerland. In fact, in many ways it seems to have increased. Many of the state preachers in the Emmenthal (Emmental) region, for example, indicated that in some of their villages, the number of Halb-Taufer constituted the majority of the population. What resulted was another was another crack down on Mennonites and their sympathizers in the period from 1709 through 1717, called "the second expulsion."
Many Mennonites migrated to Alsace, which is in present day France. As you can see from the Hope "head of household" list below, several passengers seem to have had their family origins in Alsace, which may indicate that they were part of a Mennonite contingent that may have emigrated there during the second expulsion. Sainte-Marie-Aux-Mines (Markirch) in Alsace was where Jakob Ammann separated from the Mennonites to form the Amish. The situation in Alsace was complicated and interesting. After the THIRTY YEARS war between France and Germany, Alsace was ceded to France by the treaty of Westphalia on October 24, 1648, which insured religious freedom for its inhabitants. This was why it was an attractive area of refuge for fleeing Swiss Mennonites. However, the French king Louis XIV in 1712 was disturbed by the presence of the Anabaptists in the region, broke existing treaties, and ordered them expelled. Apparently part of Alsace was owned by the Duchy of Zweibruecken in the Palatinate in Germany, and some of the Mennonites were taken in there. Richard Davis believes that many if not most of the 27 Mennonite families living in Zweibruecken in 1732, may have come from Alsace during this period.
The Palatinate, however, was the first and not the second destination for most of the Mennonites fleeing Switzerland during the second expulsion. Most of the Mennonites who came to Lancaster County in the eighteenth century were from the Palatinate. There was a recorded Anabaptist presence there as early as the 1520's. During this period of the second expulsion, Karl Ludwig, the elector of the Palatinate, was in part responsible for opening up the way for Swiss Mennonites to occupy the territories under his control.. King Frederick I of Prussia on July 5, 1710 tried to intercede with the State government in Berne for the safety of the Swiss Mennonites, and he offered to receive "these good people" and to aid them to make a new life. Some Mennonites went to Baden, where many of their descendants can still be found today.Obviously, there were Mennonites in a variety of Swiss towns, villages, and cities. When they were expelled from Switzerland, they went to various areas in Germany, although the Palatinate appears to have been especially attractive to them. What the research done by Richard Davis may indicate, as we shall see below, was that some families fleeing from the Emmenthal Valley (especially Sumiswald) in the first expulsion emigrated to Alsace in 1671, and later, having been expelled by the French King, to Zweibrucken in 1712, and then to America in 1733 aboard the Hope. There were other ships that imported Mennonites with origins in either Sumiswald and/or Zweibruecken throughout the first half of the 18th century (including the Samuel and the Mortonhouse in 1733), but there is a possibility that the Hope was the principal carrier. Obviously, some of the Hope Mennonites were too young in 1733 to have been born in Sumiswald prior to the first expulsion in 1671, but their fathers and grandfathers may have come from there. It is unclear as to how both Joseph Flory fits into this pattern of Emmenthal to Alsace to Zweibruecken and how ubiquitous this pattern was among the Mennonite refugees aboard the Hope. Not all of them necessarily came from Sumiswald and the Emmenthal valley. At least, however, some did. Joseph Flory associated with a minimum of 4-5 Mennonite families to whom the pattern applies, and he is grouped with those families on the Hope ship lists. It is very likely that either Joseph or his father left Switzerland after the first or second expulsions in 1671 and 1709-1717. My guess is that they were part of the second expulsion, but this is only a guess.
This, then, was the basic situation in 1733 when Joseph Flory set sail with a group of Mennonites and Palatine Germans on the Hope. While we know little of Joseph, circumstantial evidence suggests that like many of his fellow travelers he was born in Switzerland and had been exiled to Germany, probably during the period of the second expulsion from 1709-1717. His wife's name, Anna Maria Bugh, appears to be German, suggesting that he married her in exile. His first four children were probably those that he had with another wife, presumably Swiss. The name of his second daughter, Anneli, a Swiss diminutive, indicates that this first hypothetical marriage may have taken place in Switzerland. While his exact hometown is not known, it may have been in the area from the Emmanthal Valley to Matzendorf Parish in the Canton of Solothurn. He may have been related to a Fluri Mennonite family in a mountain area called the Solterschwand in the Canton of Solothurn that goes back to an Arnold Fluri in the late 17th century (see second essay below). This family had lands confiscated and suffered imprisonment because of their steadfastness to their religious beliefs. Undoubtedly, Joseph had a fair idea in Germany where he was headed in America once he arrived here. He may have even purchased land before his journey. He probably had enough money to cover expenses himself, but he may have been aided by the contributions of Dutch Mennonites or by relatives over here. There is no evidence that he had necessarily settled in Zweibruecken in Germany after leaving Switzerland, but since at least four of his shipmates had come from that town, the possibility is there. And this is what we either know or can speculate about Joseph in Europe. Some of this speculation will undoubtedly be changed or altered as more facts become known.
Joseph brought his family from Philadelphia to Rapho Township in Lancaster County in Pennsylvania. The area was known for its Dunker activity, and several of Joseph?s own children were baptized at the Conestoga Congregation a short distance from his home. Rapho adjoins Hempfield Twp. which was originally settled in 1715 entirely by Mennonites, including the Neff family. Joseph Floriey, the Younger, was baptized at Conestoga in 1741 at the age of 27, his brother John in 1747 at 29, Jacob on May 1, 1748, and the previously unknown Barbara in 1754. For a list of those who were baptized by Elder Michael Frantz of Conestoga from 1739-1747, click Conestoga <http://www.cob-net.org/text/genbrm16.htm>. Sooner or later, anyone doing research into the history of Joseph and his descendants will want to know something about the Church of the Brethren (Dunkers). An excellent web site outlining the history and beliefs of that church can be found by clicking on Dunkers <http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/brethren.html>. This site links into other interesting sites on the Mennonites and Anabaptists, among others. You might also be interested in Huguenots <http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/8140/hist-hug.htm>.
It is interesting to speculate as to why Joseph, at the age of 51, decided to immigrate to America. He appears to have been relatively prosperous. He had money enough to pay for a minimum of six passages over here. Approximately half of the Germans who emigrated, incurred debts along the way, and were auctioned off in Philadelphia into a servitude that lasted from 3 ½ to 7 years. Mary had to post a bond of approximately 200 pounds on his death due to the extent of his goods. Because of Joseph?s age and because of his prosperity, many assume that he came here for religious reasons. He did settle in an area that was known for its non-orthodox religious fervor and was near an area that had been settled earlier by Mennonites. Family genealogists have speculated for a number of years that Joseph may have been an Anabaptist, fleeing from religious persecution. Recent evidence suggests that he came over here together with at least 14 other Mennonite families aboard the Hope, at least some of which were from Zweibrucken, near the source of the Saare River in the Duchy of Pfalz.
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1682 - 1741 (59 years)