From the History of Herkimer County (published in 1893):
Permanent settlement of the town of Schuyler, Herkimer County, New York began in the eastern part of town in about the year 1764, when Peter Hasenclever, an enterprising and wealthy German from Wurtemberg, came to the colony and established an iron works on the Hudson River near West Point. He also established trading posts further west, and obtained a site for settlement at what is now East Schuyler.
While in Wurtemberg, Germany on a visit, Hasenclever pictured to the German peasants the wonders of the new world in such glowing colors that a number of them consented to emigrate. Hassenclever provided them with a means for their passage to his settlement, and agreed to supply them and their families with subsistence for three years in return for their service. [Michael Widrig, his wife and several children (and perhaps a couple of nephews) came to the US under Hasenclever's sponsorship.]
He built an ashery, probably the first frame building, and the first manufactory of any kind within the present bounds of Schuyler. He also had a store (the first in Herkimer county), which was situated on land now occupied by the widow of D. I. Bridenbecker. Potash and other products were shipped by Hasenclever down the Mohawk in flat boats, and merchandise and provisions returned in the same manner.
He also began to build a saw-mill on a small stream flowing into the Mohawk. This settlement he named "New Petersberg." Over thirty log cabins were built for the people employed by Hasenclever, among whom were families named Bridenbecker, Staring, Bargy (formerly written Birchi), Clemens, Widrig, Oyer (formerly written Aiyer and Irer), Finster, Keller, Steinway, and others. Descendants of several of these families still occupy land on which their ancestors first settled.
The Revolutionary War was the cause of the destruction and abandonment of New Petersberg. The business of the ashery and the trading was broken up and Hasenclever left the country for good. The ashery stood on ground now owned by Luther P. Staring.
Early in the struggle for independence the settlers in Schuyler, realizing their exposed situation, adopted measures for protection. A piece of ground was enclosed by high pickets and and was known as a "fort." Within this enclosure three or four log houses were built, into which the families retired at night, while during the day they worked on nearby lands.
found and contributed by Dean R. Widrig
George Widrig- an early political leader.
Passenger records of ships sailing in the 1700's only listed the name of the head of household and did not list names of children, wives, ages or other pertinent facts. Therefore it is hard to establish when Widrig's arrived in the US with certainty. Also there were many different spellings as few early settlers knew how to read or write. I have done the following research and come up with the following possibilities:
On 8/30/1737, Geo Weyrigg (also spelled Jorg and Gorg with umlauts) age 34 arrived in Philadelpia on the ship Samuel, captained by Hugh Percy. The ship came from Rotterdam. Geo may be related to all or some of us.
On 8/20/1744, Adonius Weyrich arrived in Philadelphia on the ship Phoenix captained by William Wilson. The ship sailed from Rotterdam. Adonius may be related to all or some of us.
According to the Passenger Ship Search and Attestation from the MacDaud Memorial Library, which Jean Marie Arnold (1928) provided to me and my search of ship records- a Christoff Widerich came to the US on the ship Phoenix and arrived in Philadelphia, PA on September 1, 1754. The ship came from Rotterdam with stopovers . See Strassburger's Pennsylvania German Pioneers book 1, page 629.
On 9/26/1765, Michael Widerich arrived in Philadelphia on the ship Polly captained by Robert Porter. The ship came from Rotterdam. This is probably the original Michael Widrig who resided in New York, as this information relates to the above story of Peter Hassenclever convincing residents of Wurtemburg to come to this country.
On 8/11/1804, G.F. Weyrick, a 26 year old 5.6 foot tall sockmaker arrived in Philadelphia on the ship Newton captained by John Riley. The ship came from Rotterdam. G.F. may be related to all or some of us.
Postscript:
According to the records of the Tochickton Luthern Church in Bedminster, Bucks, PA, a Michael and a Magdalena Widrig had a child named Mary Barbara Widrig in PA on 5/5/1751. They also had several more children in PA between the years 1751 and 1760. It appears that they are another Michael Widrig family.