Growing Older and Other Blessings

My grandmother on my father's side was Viola Amanda Amick. Viola and Amanda are each beautiful names but they called my grandmother "Ole," pronounced "O Lee." I never could quite understand why they turned pretty names into something so harsh sounding. I just called her "Grandma".

As a child, my parents often told me I took after her. It's probably true. With a German name like Amick, I think Grandma was pretty stubborn. Me? Well, let's just leave it at that.

I have her pug nose, round face, and thick hair. Like Grandma, I always have to be busy. She liked to quilt, make rugs, and the best darned sweet pickles I have ever tasted. She liked to go places and for a farmer's wife, she trotted about as often as possible. Grandma also liked stuff such as collections. Her library table was laden with beautiful ceramic birds. She enjoyed fishing trips to Canada and each time she went she would bring each of her five granddaughters an English china cup and saucer. I treasure mine and keep them on display in my china closet. There is a lot of Grandma running through my veins.

Viola Amanda was very proud of her Amick name and consequently named her three sons, Joe Amick, Roy Amick, and Guy Amick. Her brothers fought in WW I and her son Guy was killed while getting ready to return from Japan at the end of WW II. I did not know a lot about the Amick ancestry until very recently.

A surprise

One Sunday morning, I arrived at church a bit early and had a chance to sit down beside Donna Amick Miller. I've known Donna for a long time as she is the daughter of Don Amick of Amick's Orchards fame. I asked how her dad is doing and she said he is 99, as independent as possible, and doing well for his age.

"Well," I said, "Amicks are notorious for living a long time. I had one Amick ancestor who lived to be 107. Donna looked at me somewhat puzzled. She had no idea I had Amick blood. She has been working on the Amick ancestry and is helping to plan a big Amick reunion on July 27 at the Bedford Elks Club. We exchanged information regarding our grandparents and before the day's end, I found that Donna's great-great-great grandfather and my great-great grandfather was the same person.

I have a pretty reliable copy of my ancestry on all sides but with the Amick's, it stopped about the fourth generation back. The reason why, Donna discovered, was because the name had changed to Amick from Emich and there is where the story began.

An immigrant tale

In 1732, a passenger ship known as "The Pink John and William" set sail from Rotterdam, Holland, and sailed to Dover, England. It then began a horrendous journey across the ocean that took 17 grueling weeks.

On the passenger list was an Emich with his wife and several children. This was my ancestor. As I read the story of their coming to America, I am truly amazed they made it and that I am who I am. It only takes the absence of one person in your gene pool to make you an entirely different person.

When they finally arrived in Philadelphia, it was none other than Benjamin Franklin who wrote their unbelievable story. The majority of the refugees were Protestant and descended from Germanic families in Switzerland, making them German-Swiss.

Here is the story in a nutshell: "Sunday last arrived here Capt. Tymberton, in 17 weeks from Rotterdam with 20 Palatines, 44 died in Passage. About three weeks ago, the Passengers, dissatisfied with the length of the voyage, were so imprudent as to make a Mutiny, and being the stronger party have ever since had the Government of the Vessel, giving orders from among themselves to the Captain and Sailors, who were threatened with Death in case of disobedience. Thus having sight of land, they carried the vessel twice backwards and forwards between our capes and Virginia, looking for a place to go ashore but they knew not where."

The mutineers knew they would be arrested when they landed and so got off the ship and allowed the other passengers to sail into Philadelphia. As soon as the mutineers arrived, they were arrested.

Prior to the beginning of the journey at Rotterdam, my ancestors had to travel the river Rhine and it took up to six weeks for just this first leg of the journey.

It is believed that the "John and William" was built in Holland and had only one main sail and was under 70 feet in length with a gross tonnage of possibly 110. On board this small sailing vessel were 220 refugees. It is believed to have been one of the smallest boats to carry immigrants to Colonial Pennsylvania.

The trip would have involved pitiful signs of distress including smells, fumes, horrors, vomiting, various kinds of sea sickness, fever, dysentery, headaches, heat, constipation, boils, scurvy, cancer, mouth-rot, and similar afflictions. Food and water were barely fit to eat or drink.

So, if you descended from John Amick, you can thank the Emichs who somehow managed to survive that nightmare trip across the ocean to settle in Philadelphia and eventually in the Morrisons Cove area.

My grandmother was born in Clearville. Her father was Himes Amick and he was married to Rachel Cooper. They eventually moved to Morrisons Cove to farm.

Amazing what you can learn from just sitting down to chat with a third cousin once removed. And, yes, I plan to be at the reunion.