Sketch of the Life of Michael Shuck 1866 to 1875

      Sketch of the Life of Michael Shuck 1866 to 1875

(Dr. Michael Shuck, Lebanon Ky. son of John Shuck and Mary B.
  Shuck)

    The Shucks were from Germany's Rhine Valley.  They settled
in Lancaster Co., and Bucks County.  Emigrated to Ky. from Bucks
County December 1799 by way of the Ohio River by flatboat.

    The flatboat became snagged three miles below Pittsburgh
and landed on shore still in Pennsylvania and remained there
for repairs until the river froze over on the 15th of Dec.
They moved with the water until they reached the Falls of the
Ohio at Louisville and then to Marion Ohio,  "We could scarcely
go half mile from out house through the woods without seeing
flocks of 2 to 12 deer.  Turkeys were abundant, also squirrels
and rabbit.  Wolves would howl most hideously."
                         ***

            The Journey from Germany

    The Journey to Pennsylvania fell into three parts.  The
first part of the journey, and by no means the easiest, was the
trip down the Rhine to Rotterdam.  This lasted from the
beginning of May to the end of October amid such hardships as
could not be adequately described with their misery.  The
Rhine boats passed 26 custom houses from Heilbronn to Holland
at all of which the ships were examined.  The trip down the
Rhine lasts from 4 to 6 weeks.  When they arrive in Holland
they waited from 5 to 6 weeks for a ship.  In the meantime they
had spent nearly all they had.  The next stop was Cowes on the
Isle of Wight.  Here there was another delay of 2 weeks to
either be passed through the custom house or to wait for
favorable winds.  When the ships had for the last time weighed
their anchors at Cowes or Dover, the real misery began with the
long ocean voyage which lasted seven weeks.  Passengers were
packed like herrings wothout proper food or water.  Diseases such
as dysentery, scurvy, typhoid and small pox were common.
Children died in large numbers.  One ship reported the death of
32 children.  Gales raged for 2 or 3 nights and days and during
this the people would cry and pray piteously.
    When the Delaware River was reached and the City of Brotherly
Love came in sight another delay occurred.  A health officer
visited the ship for inspection.  Then the new arrivals were
led in a procession to the City Hall where they must render
the Oath of Allegiance to the King of Great Britian.
    The majority of the ships arrived in the fall when the
hardships of winter were staring newcomers in the face.  The
wonder is not that so many succumbed but that so many faced the
hardships uncomplainingly and after a few years emerged from all
difficulties as successful farmers.  They came with 2 documents.
One a certificate of health from their home district and the
other a letter of recommendation issued by the pastor of their
home church.

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The above copied from an unattributed typed manuscript.  This might
be from T. E. Register of the Kentucky Historical Society p. 101,
Vol. 44, 1946.

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