52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 41

Week 41:

The theme for Week 41 is “Water.” They say that water is life, so it’s no surprise that water features prominently in our family trees. Whether it's because of occupation, transportation, or recreation, it’s hard to find an ancestor who wasn’t somehow impacted by water.


Hans Michael Sphar 

Birth:18 October 1703 Ostalbkreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany


Death: 23 May 1778 Dover, York County, Pennsylvania, United States of America


7th great-grandfather 


Ostalbkreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Located in the eastern Swabian Jura mountains, with rivers like the Rems, Jagst, and Kocher.


Hans Michael Sphar and his wife Maria Barbara traveled to America by sea. They arrived on the ship Robert and Alice. Their official date of arrival in the New World is September 24, 1742.


Take a moment to think about the journey that they were on. Today you can fly to Germany from in as little as eleven hours. 


Distance by flying: 


The distance from Pennsylvania to Ostalbkreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, is approximately 4,200 to 4,300 miles (6,700 to 6,900 km) 


Distance by boat:


The travel distance by boat from Pennsylvania to Ostalbkreis, Germany, is over 3,900 nautical miles across the Atlantic Ocean, plus the distance to reach a navigable waterway from Ostalbkreis. The journey involves traveling from a port on the East Coast of the United States to a port in Germany, then potentially traveling up rivers like the Rhine or Danube to reach the Ostalbkreis region. 


Hans Michael and his wife did not have that luxury. They had to travel by land to the closest port city. Then they had to traverse the Atlantic Ocean to arrive in Philadelphia, only to make an overland trip to York County, Pennsylvania.


Theirs was not an eleven hour journey. It wasn't even an eleven day journey. They crossed mountains, rivers, and oceans to ultimately settle in Dover, York County, Pennsylvania. All of this took place before the Revolutionary War and America winning her independence. 


Water is responsible for my 7th great-grandparents making it to the New World and settling in Dover, York County. The Atlantic Ocean enabled them to be passengers aboard the Robert and Alice, and to start a new life in a new land. 






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