The voyage from England to New York was a terrible one for the Palatines. For six months, the emigrants were packed into the bodies of the ships with no fresh air or daylight. Foul body odor, vermin and lack of healthy food attributed to the spread of typhus which spread throughout the ships, taking the younger children in great numbers.⁷⁰

On June 14, 1710, the first ship to arrive on the shores of New York was the Lyon, Governor Hunter’s ship, and several others arrived the next day.⁷¹ One ship, the Herbert was wrecked on the eastern coast of Long Island, and the last ship did not arrive until August 2^nd.⁷² The New York City Council refused to let the Palatines set foot in their city with fear contagious diseases would spread among the New York City population. The Palatines were ordered to land on Nutten Island, now known as Governor’s Island, and set camp there.⁷³ Nutten Island apparently preceded Ellis Island as an immigrant station or "gateway to America".⁷⁴

Three doctors, Dr. Law, Dr. Moore and Dr. Garran, were ordered by the New York City Council to go aboard the ships to report on the health of the Palatines before they encamped on the island. Two carpenters, Johannes Hebon and Peter Willemse Romers, were then ordered to go to Nutten Island and begin building huts for the Palatines to live in while they were under quarantine on the island.⁷⁵ In a letter dated July 24, 1710, Governor Hunter informed London that out of 2,814 Palatines that had boarded the ships in England, about 470 had died during the voyage.⁷⁶ During the summer on the island, about 250 more Palatines died.⁷⁷ However, thirty babies had been born during the voyage, making up for some of the loss.⁷⁸ A lot of children had been left orphans with nobody to take care of them or were not strong enough to do heavy labor in the naval stores industry. Hunter solved this problem by apprenticing 74 children and sent them off to other towns in New York and nearby states such as Connecticut and Massachusetts. Unfortunately, as a result some families were separated. One of these children who was apprenticed was John Peter Zenger, who became well-known in American history for his fight for freedom of the press.⁷⁹

John Bridger had arrived at New York on July 10^th, four days before the Palatines landed, and was ready to begin his new job as instructor and assist Governor Hunter in finding a proper tract of land to settle the Palatines and begin producing naval stores.⁸⁰ While the Palatines were encamped on Nutten’s Island, slowly recovering from typhus, Governor Hunter and John Bridger set out to check the land among the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. The land along the Mohawk River in Schoharie was deemed unsatisfactory since the land was devoid of pine trees, 20 miles away from the river and town of Schenectady, exposed to danger from the French and the Indians, and a 600-foot waterfall.⁸¹ However, the land was suitable for farming, but it was important to find land more appropriate for the production of naval stores.⁸²

However, the Hudson River region was more promising.⁸³ Governor Hunter found a tract of 6,300 acres on the west side of the Hudson River. This land was the former Evans tract and was about 92 miles from New York City. However the tract was not big enough for the entire Palatine settlement, but it would be used for an experiment in producing naval stores. On September 29^th, Hunter purchased 6,000 acres from Robert Livingston, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, who had made an offer to part with some of his land. The tract was located on the opposite side of the Hudson River. Hunter purchased one more tract, about 800 acres, from Thomas Fullerton.⁸⁴

Early in October, the Palatines were allowed to leave the island and travel along the Hudson River to their new homes. The land had already been surveyed and five towns marked out, two on the west side of the river and three on the east. By the next spring of 1711, seven settlements had appeared along the Hudson River—four on the east side and three on the west.⁸⁵ The region on the east side was known as "East Camp", containing the towns of Hunterstown, in honor of Governor Hunter; Annsbury, after Queen Anne; Queensbury, also after Queen Anne; and Haysbury, after Lady Hay, who was wife of Governor Hunter. The region on the opposite side of the river was called "West Camp" with towns named Elizabeth Town, George Town, and New Town.⁸⁶

When the Palatines arrived at Livingston Manor, the lord of the Manor, Robert Livingston, provided the Palatines with food, tools, tent-poles and other necessities, while making a note of what the Palatines owed him. He then allotted the Palatines with small plots of land, about forty feet in front and fifty feet in depth, on which they were to build their huts on. The Palatines were allowed to build the huts, out of rough logs with mud plastered between the cracks, to their own specifications. When the last group of Palatines was sent to be settled on Fullerton’s Tract, Livingston was ordered to lay out the lots somewhat wider than the others but to make it not too apparent.⁸⁷

A listmaster was appointed for each village to keep the rolls of their villages and aid the tar instructor in handling the Palatine labor. These men were John Peter Kneskern (Hunterstown), John Conrad Weiser (Queensbury), Hartman Windecker (Annsbury), John Christopher Fuchs (Haysbury), John Christopher Gerlach (Elizabeth Town), Jacob Manck (George Town) and Philip Peter Grauberger (New Town).⁸⁸

After the Palatines were settled into their homes, they began to realize that New York was not all it promised to be. They did not like being treated as slave labor.⁸⁹

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