The migration of the Pennsylvania-Germans into Maryland began in the mid-18th century, and this basic work deals with their settlements, activities, and contributions to the growth of the state. There was apparently no marked movement of Germans into Maryland until the 1740s, when Joseph Hite moved from Pennsylvania with a colony of approximately sixteen families. The Pennsylvania-Germans, including a sizable colony of Moravians, soon dominated events in Western Maryland and began distinguishing themselves in virtually every aspect of colonial life. At intervals throughout the text, thousands of these early settlers are named from church rosters and lists of redemptioners, militiamen in the French and Indian War, members of the Committees of Observation, and soldiers of the Frederick County Flying Camp and the German Regiment.