History of The Emigrants List

The Emigrants List was first published in 1990 in The County of Bentheim And Her Emigrants to North America, written by Swenna Harger and Loren Lemmen. With the help of many friends, the information was updated and published in a German edition in 1996.

In 2002, the List appeared in the German book, Aus der Grafschaft Bentheim in die Neue Welt 1640–2002: Geschichten und Daten von Auswanderern und ihren Nachkommen. (In English: From Grafschaft Bentheim to The New World 1640–2002: Stories and Data of The Emigrants and Their Descendants.)

In 2003, the Emigrants List was published online on the Bentheimers International Society’s earlier web page (no longer available). Already in the second Newsletter (Spring 2004), Society President Herb Kraker notes: “Just yesterday, the page on the website, which contains the list of emigrants, reached 1,102 hits year–to–date. That exceeds the quantity of just under 1,000 visits that the page received last year. So, in the first quarter the page has broken the record set in the first year.”

The online version of the Emigrants List has been “reproduced” on other websites countless times—meaning that errors and omissions have been repeated as well.

Finally, the List was published yet a fourth time in the 2013 English edition of The County of Bentheim and Her Emigrants to North America. For at least 30 years, the List has been building the collective story of Grafschafters in North America.

Book cover
Book cover
Book cover
Screen shot of the old Emigrants List

Since 1990, the Emigrants List has been published in many forms. Above left: the 1990 edition of The County of Bentheim And Her Emigrants to North America, written in English. Above center: Aus der Grafschaft Bentheim in die Neue Welt 1640–2002: Geschichten und Daten von Auswanderern und ihren Nachkommen, published in 2002 in German. Above right: The 2013 edition of The County of Bentheim And Her Emigrants to North America, in English.  Bottom: A screen shot of the Emigrants List from the Society’s first web page. Through all of its forms, the List has helped many people to trace their Grafschafter roots.

4 thoughts on “History of The Emigrants List”

  1. Is the book on Bentheim emigrants by Loren Lemon available for purchase? Also are there any books on the Lemmen family by Loren available for purchase?
    thanks
    Garry Kuipers

    Reply
  2. I am looking for a copy of the 2013 edition. Is it available anywhere? I like in NY and need to be able to have it shipped.
    Thank you.

    Reply

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