IMMIGRANT. Hans (Johannes) Gerbrich arrived on the ship Phoenix on 2 Nov 1752. The Gerberich book says that accompanying him they believe were his wife and other children including youngest son Johannes (born 1740) but his other son Andreas stayed behind until 1754. Johannes’ son Peter had come earlier with his Uncle Michael, Johannes’ brother. The Gerberichs settled upon their arrival in America in the Tulpehocken area of Berks County. An Indian uprising there in 1755 took the life of Johannes Gerberich.

German immigrants who came through the port of Philadelphia were very well documented. Throughout most of the 1700’s, very detailed records were kept and the names, at least of the adult males, were recorded in several ways and have been published widely. So for most of Dad’s ancestors, I can document their arrival in this country. This is not the case for most of Mom’s ancestors as there were not any ship’s passenger records for that period and for arrivals in various places in the Chesapeake Bay. But the Gerberichs were among Mom’s German immigrant ancestors who immigrated through Philadelphia and settled first typically (like Dad’s ancestors) in Berks or some other eastern Pennsylvania county.