LANTZ GENEALOGY


     that document the Lieutenant Governor, Botatrout, a
     Frenchman, spelled the name Lance, which is a French name
     and was natural for him to do so.
          This completely settles the question of the origin and
     meaning of our name, in both forms, Lantz (which is pure
     German) and Lance (pure French) either is correct, but
     being of German descent we prefer the German name.
       We shall ever be greatly indebted to Prof.  Otto Mauker
     for giving to us the splendid origin of our name.
          The German emigration to this country started about
     1682, and by the year 1702 there were about two hundred
     families in America.  This is considered by historians to be
     the first period of their emigration, they practically all set-
     tled at Germantown, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
          The years 1702 to 1727 are known as the second great
     period of the German emigration, in which there came to
     this country about forty or fifty thousand.  England greatly
     built up her population in her American colonies by urging
     the Germans to locate themselves in America.  Many of the
     colonies greatly feared this great emigration to America of
     the Germans, they thought they might establish a colony
     here like the Saxons did in Britton in the fifth century.
          Scarcely has the Mennonites of Pennsylvania made
     their land ready for crops, when they sent a commissioner,
     Martin Kendig, to Germany and Switzerland to induce
     others to come to Pennsylvania.  He was successful and
     there were large accessions to this new colony in the years
     of 1711 and 1717.  A few years later so great was the influx
     of German and Swiss emigrants that the public officials
     took notice.  Governor Keith said to the board, that great
     numbers of foreigners from Germany, strangers to our
     language and constitution, having lately been imported into
     this providence daily dispersed themselves, immediately
     after landing without producing certificate from whence
     they came or who they are and as they seem to have first
     landed in Britton, and afterwards to have left without any
     license from the Government, in the same manner they have
     behaved here without making the least application to the
     governor or any of the officials.
          That as this practice might be of very dangerous con-
     sequences, since by the same method any number of for-
     eigners from any nation whatever, enemies as well as
     friends, might throw themselves upon us.  This was in the
     year 1717.

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