Who are the Salzburgers? They are a group of approximately 20,000 Protestants who were expelled from the country of Salzburg (part of Austria today) as the result of Archbishop Leopold von Firmian’s October 31, 1731, Edict of Expulsion. Around 16,000 of these refugees set out to settle in East Prussia on the Baltic Sea after King Frederick William I of Prussia gave his blessing to do so. This exodus in winter was very difficult and as many as 4,000 died on the journey. Some of the remaining 4,000 were extended an invitation from British King George II to settle in their colony of Georgia. It is this group of refugees that’s the focus of this project. The reasons for starting this project are to connect the people who descend from the original Salzburgers; discover distant grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins; and to explore the ethnic, cultural and geographic roots of those forced to come on their arduous journeys to Ebenezer, Georgia in order to practice their Lutheran faith. Were they predominately Germanic as most of the surnames suggest? Had some assumed Germanic and Lutheran identities out of necessity? Were some of Jewish ancestry? Are there other stories? As I explored my dna makeup through familytreedna and GEDMatch, I was surprised to discover that I am about 3% of Eastern Middle Eastern descent and also have numerous ‘ancestor origin’ matches that raise the possibility of some level of Ashkenazi history. So personally, I hope to learn if other descendants of The Salzburgers also share hints of Jewish or Arab threads in their makeups. Additionally, I have tested my dna with Ancestry.com and these results reflect that I have 6% dna origins from the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal). Could this suggest an earlier exodus from Spain and Portugal for some? Is this also common in a portion of the Salzburgers’ descendants? What I envision with this project is a place where ‘members’ (those who can identify ancestors who settled in Ebenezer, Georgia in and shortly after 1734 and who can match their family surnames to the various ships’ passenger manifests that transported the ‘Salzsburgers’ from the region of Salzsburg, Austria) can compare their dna with other members, their trees, their stories and research. It may be possible to discover cousins who settled in East Prussia or who remained in Austria. I believe that persons who have tested their y-dna, mtdna, and/or the family finder test will gain the most from this project. However, even if you have not tested, everyone who is a descendant from the ‘Salzsburgers of Ebenezer, GA’ is welcome. It may encourage you to do some testing. I would also hope that some of you will upload their raw results to GEDMatch to compare chromosomes, segments, etc. and compare ethnic origins via the various analysis protocols available there. I would also hope that one or two of the members (who are particularly adept at dna analysis, comparison and genealogy, who are interested in this subject and may have ideas and expertise that can make this project as beneficial as it can be) would consider becoming Co-Administrators. I’m still learning my way around all this. Below you will find a general compilation of the surnames from the 4 primary transport ships’ manifests that brought the earliest Salzburgers to Georgia. There are other ships that came later with other Salzburgers, family and friends of Salzburgers, etc. So, if you know or believe that you are a descendant of one or more of the Salzburgers, check the manifests of the ships - or provide other information establishing a connection to the ‘Salzburgers’. Please follow the links provided (with permission) at the beginning of each surname list to find the passengers’ full names and the other info provided there. (Please note and read the copyright info at the site.) It also seems that if one has the ability, one might be able to volunteer with the group transcribing these manifests. If I’ve made a mistake, please let me know. My Salzburger family surnames are: Gruber, Amoser, Kroehr, Rohrmoser, Kalcher, Gunther, Guner, Reiser, Bacher, Zugseisen, Schweiger, and Gugel. Salzburgers of Ebenezer GA Surnames 1st Salzburg Transport, Arrival - 12 March 1734, Ship Name Purysburg, Captain Tobis Fry, Surnames – Boltzius, Braunberger, Fleiss, Gronau, Gruber, Gschwandl, Hertzog, Hierl, Hofer, Huber, Kroehr, Lackner, Leimberger, Mittersteiner, Mosshamer, Ortmann, Piedler, Rottenberger, Rauner, Rauschgott, Reiter, Rohrmoser, Roth, Oswald, Schweiger, Pindlinger, Schweighoffer, Riedelsperger, Schweikert, Steiner, Zwiffler 2nd Salzburg Transport, Arrival - 28 December 1734, Ship Name - Prince Of Wales - Captain George Dunbar, Surnames – Bach, Bacher, Schweiger Rieser, Brandner, Herlin, Schubdrein, Bruckner, Burgsteiner, Eischperger, Ruprecht, Felser, Glantz, Sebastian, Hessler, Kalcher, Gunther, Kogler, Landfelder, Lemmenhofer, Madreiter, Maurer, Muggitzer, Ott, Pichler, Resch, Riedelsperger, Riser, Rottenberger, Sanftleben, Schartner, Schoppacher, Landfelder, Schwab, Steiner, Reiter, Zimmerebner, Zittrauer 3rd Salzburg Transport, Arrival - 17 February 1736 Ship Name - London Merchant - Captain John Thomas Arnsdorff, Bauer, Cornberger, Johann, Einecker, Krause, Ernst, Scheffler , Flerl, Grimmiger, Haberfehner, Herrnberger, Holtzer, Hopflinger, Krause, Lackner, Leitner, Maurer, Muller, Ossenecker, Pletter, Reiter, Reiser, Schmidt, Spielbiegler 4th Salzburg Transport, Arrival - 2 December 1741 Ship Name - Loyal Judith - Captain John Lemon Bacher, Bruckl, Eigel, Eischberger, Glaner, Glocker, Graniwetter, Haberer, Haussler, Kocher, Kohleisen, Kreder, Kunlin, Lackner, Lechner, Maurer, Meyer, Piltz, Rieser, Roner, Meyer, Scheffler, Scheraus, Schrempf, Steinbacher, Vigera