During the course of the nineteenth century, millions of our ancestors left Germany and embarked on a new life in America. Whether the reason was the failed 1848 uprisings, the effects of the Industrial Revolution, or simply seeking an opportunity for a better life, the end result was the same – our ancestors bravely left behind everything they knew and moved to a foreign land halfway around the world.
Fast forward two hundred years. If we genealogists want to discover the stories of these emigrant ancestors who so bravely left their homeland, passenger lists, emigration documents, and other records may provide the only clues available. But for some lucky genealogists, there is more: personal letters, letters written in the very hands of their ancestors, letters that detail their journey across the ocean and the beginnings of their new life in America.
Susan Hennefield is one such person who was lucky enough to find such a letter among her father’s belongings. I recently had the pleasure of translating this 1853 letter, and she has kindly agreed to let me share it with you here to showcase what an emigration experience was like in the mid-nineteenth century. My own ancestor, Gerhard Wolken, sailed from Bremen in 1854, so I like to think that he might have had a similar journey to Susan’s ancestor Wilhelm below! Perhaps your ancestors did too?
Background Info:
Wilhelm Friedrich Riecker was twenty-two years old when he left Germany for a new life in America. He was the second son of at least twelve children, and his father was a soapmaker in Kürnbach, Karlsruhe. Read on below to see his first letter to his parents after arriving in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York after a 57-day sea journey…
Williamsburg, Sept. 10, 1853
Dear parents and siblings,
After arriving in my new homeland on August 13 after a 57-day sea journey, I am now picking up the pen to write. I hope that this letter finds you all still happy and healthy, as you were at the time of my departure. We left Mannheim on June 12 at 5:00 in the morning, arrived in Cologne at 7:30 in the evening, and, since there were no more tickets being issued then, had to spend the night in Cologne. We then left for Bremen the following day. They checked all our passports in Preußisch-Minden, on the Hanoverian border. Those who didn’t have the proper documents (which the authorities were not happy about) had to go back.
We stayed in Bremen the 14th and 15th. On the afternoon of the 16th, we left Bremen on a small barge and headed towards Bremerhaven. We didn’t arrive there until the 18th. In Bremen I had to pay half of a Prussian thaler for board, and then had to buy tinware for 1 thaler and a mattress for ½ a thaler. I didn’t buy a pillow or woolen carpet so that I could save my money.
In the passenger building in Bremerhaven, there were people who had already been there fourteen days or even four weeks because they were dealing with cases against the Bremen shipping clerks. It could have easily been the case that I would also have had to wait 14 days at the port because when I was in Bremen, I received a ticket without the name of the captain or the ship that I was supposed to go on. But I went straight to the office and said, “Please be so good and fill in these two spots for me.” They replied, “You won’t receive that information until you are in Bremerhaven.” But I went back in the afternoon and asked him again, and then he did as I asked. As we were arriving in Bremerhaven, they took us straight to the ocean-bound ship and said, “Whoever has a ticket for the ship Orion led by Captain Schwartz, bring your things on board.” It was only me and a locksmith from Saxony who did so. The barge then made its way to land and everyone went into the passenger building. There they received food like on the ship, just a little bit better. Everyone had to sleep on their own mattress.
So on June 18, we departed from the port. It was a Saturday afternoon with nice, warm weather, and the ship steadily made its way out of the port. The next day we had a good strong wind, we flew like an arrow. If that wind had stayed, we would have made it to New York in 24 days. We sailed on the North Sea for 10 days. It was shortly after 3:00 in the afternoon when we would have gone through the Channel, but we had bad wind and could have been stuck there for 14 days. So we therefore sailed between England and Scotland, which was dangerous – when we woke up in the morning we were heading towards both of the islands, but then the ship was turned about again so that we were being pushed away from the islands instead of going towards them. That same day looked stormy. At the beginning of our trip it was so cold that you almost couldn’t stand being out on the deck. Later it was warm. We didn’t have very favorable winds, so we always had to veer quickly off course, to the right or to the left, which caused it to be a long journey. There were often storms. One time there was a thunderstorm at 3:00 in the morning. The storm appeared within ten minutes, and all the sailors, except for those who were on watch, were still sleeping. Then there was a scream, and all the boxes slid down. The sailors couldn’t reach the ropes to shorten sail, and then they were completely blinded by fire and lightning and then the darkness. But after the sailors had shortened sail, the storm was over.
Births that took place: 2 Deaths: 2
Things went well on my trip to Bremen, but I can’t say anything good about the sea: in the morning, we received black coffee, or if someone wanted to have hot water and had their own coffee or wanted to make soup, then they could. Throughout the week, lunch consisted of: peas, beans, rice, barley, sauerkraut, and salted bacon, beef, potatoes. In the evenings, tea or water, ¼ butter for the entire week, zwieback, almost so small that you all would have thrown it to the chickens, 4 small little cakes of white zwieback per week, and 3 half liters of sweet water a day for four people.
Aug. 12. On Friday afternoon at 2:00, we saw land, but we couldn’t tell at first if it actually was land or just a cloud. We anchored at 8:00 and stayed there for two hours. At 10:00 we continued on again, and in the morning we were in front of the fort. Then a doctor came and asked if there were any sick people on board. Then we were taken, with the boxes, into the harbor on a tugboat. That was 3:00 on Saturday afternoon, and I was then in New York until Sunday morning. Then I went over to Brooklyn. I found Joseph after about forty minutes, without wandering aimlessly around Brooklyn too much before. The first week, I boarded at a German innkeeper’s, then I stayed with Joseph at H. Vollmer’s at the bakery until we found work for me. I am now working in Williamsburg at a comb and whalebone factory for an American. I earn six thalers a week for every dozen, and from that I need 2 ½ thalers for room and board. I am actually boarding at Christiana Billett’s place. She says to tell you all hello, and hello to her relatives as well. They are all healthy, as are Gottlieb Veit and his wife and Sophie Schaaf. They live an entire hour away from Joseph. G. Veit came to the bakery a few days after my arrival without even knowing that I was here. We then drove out to his home. When we got there, Sophie Schaaf was sitting in front of the house with G. Veit’s girl. I didn’t recognize her then. Elisabetha was not feeling well that evening of my first visit. They were all excited about my arrival and our reunion. Gottlieb Pfeifer, Wilh. Müller, we all get together every Sunday. Weißert will have told you that Joh. Pfeiffer has gone to California.
Furthermore: Joseph didn’t receive the letter that I myself took to the post office in Kalrsruhe right before my departure. Write again soon about what Gottfried is up to in Karlsruhe. Joseph didn’t even know that Gottfried had left Kürnbach.
I would very much like to know how things turned out this year with the recruits. I would also advise everyone that they should not travel via Bremen, but via Haven instead. I think that is the shortest way. Going through Bremen always takes longer and the highly-praised food on the ship that people talk about is not how it actually is.
Joseph and I send you all our affectionate regards, as well as regards to all of our cousins Karl Pfeifer, Ch. Scharpf, J. Riecker, our cousins Susanna and both Johanna’s, and especially to our esteemed uncle in Ellwangen, our Gother Kärcher, J. Hamman, W. Brand, and their children, cousin Baumwirth, Mayor Drechsel, and our neighbor Joh. Pfeifer, and my friends whom I visited the last few days I was there, as well as to Georg Schaaf and Engelhard Müller.
Don’t worry about either of us.
Your
loyal son,
W.F. Riecker
Also say hello to the recruiting leader and his wife. If both of her brothers want to come to America, cobblers can make good money here.
Did your ancestor come over from Germany in the 19th century? How have you found information about their journey? Let us know in the comments!
More Info: German Immigrants: List of Passengers Bound from Germany to New York, 1847-1854
53 Responses
This is such an amazing letter and it does give wonderful insight on what the journey must have been like. I listened to a webinar that talked about how the passengers had to bring their own mattresses, blankets, and pillows. The speaker said that on the steam boats, people had to stay under the deck and they were allowed to come on the deck for about an hour a day. The smoke was pillowing and the deck was packed. Thank you Susan Hennefield for sharing such a precious letter and Katherine for the translation and the post.
Glad you enjoyed it, Donna! I didn’t know people had to stay under the deck – that sounds horrible!
My 2nd great grand parents travelled from Germany in 1887 & 1888. I’ve researched some information about Pauline ILG. I don’t know about her specific experience, but tried to understand through others. Here is what I wrote about her: http://auntiejenstrees.blogspot.com/2020/03/pauline-ilg-brave-courageous-part-1.html
Thanks for sharing Jen!
My German ancestor left his village in today’s Baden-Württemberg to travel across the sea on the Ship Samuel in 1732. He landed at Philadelphia, accompanied by his new wife and at least one sister, maybe two. Back home he left two young daughters, and I always thought that was a cruel thing to do …. until I read about the mortality rate of children on those early 18th century voyages. In Pennsylvania, he had two sons who produced large families. From later passage lists, he may have had grandchildren who came to America, but he never knew. He died in 1754. My dream is to connect the family today with the ones he left behind.
Wow, 1732! I hope you can find the family back in Germany some day!
Very interesting, as my ancestor John Freidrich Lubke/Luebke came to America about this time. He married Lisette Salter and first settled in St. Louis, then went to the gold fields of California for about 7 years, then settled in Olive Twp., Madison Co., IL.
I wonder if he had a similar journey? My ancestors also settled in St. Louis, but didn’t make it out to California!
Georg and Sofie Schaaf are my ancestors! So interesting to see their names in this letter. I was able to get church and birth records from about that time. And it’s quite a challenge to translate them.
Wow really??? That’s so amazing! I love when things like this happen!
That is incredible that our ancestors knew each other in the 1850s and that you would find their names in this letter that was tucked away, forgotten, and left untranslated up until recently. For years I thought Wilhelm Riecker was the only one of his siblings to come to America. I didn’t even know his older brother, Joseph, had come before him until a few months ago. I often thought Wilhelm came across the Atlantic to a land where he knew no one. I felt comforted in a way to learn that he was greeted by a number of close friends and family when he arrived in his new homeland. You may have a new perspective, as I do, on not only what the sea journey was like, but how friends and neighbors in Karlsruhe and likely other towns followed the same path to America and met up with one another once they got here. I’m glad you discovered your ancestors in this letter and learned a little more what it was like for them.
Such an amazingly detailed letter – thanks so much for for sharing! I have 6 separate ancestral sailings (1855-1887) from Hamburg to Australia (5 to Moreton Bay, Queensland) and am always in awe of the decision of these people to venture such a distance on the high seas to a very different and unfamiliar world. Of course their voyages took a minimum of 3 months (and usually much longer) and controversy surrounded some of the agents and shipping lines. And, as today, at every step along the way there were some who tried to take advantage of those inexperienced travellers.
Wow, Hamburg to Australia is a long journey! It is very impressive how brave they were!
A very informative and interesting letter. A great starting point to start a new chapter of a family history in a new country.
My paternal ancestors originated in Ditzingen, Baden Württemberg. Later my immediate branch relocated to Löwenstein near Heilbronn. In 1863 my newly married great grandparents Johann Christian Siegele and Christine Magdalena nee Kettner emigrated to Australia. They sailed on the barque San Francisco leaving Hamburg on 9th August arriving Moreton Bay Queensland on 27th November. Johann Christian was a miller by trade as were many of his forebears.
Their first child Johann Carl was born in August 1864. Later 1864/1865 the family relocated to the Barossa Valley near Adelaide in South Australia. It is yet to be discovered how the family made this rather long trip, whether by sea or land. The history of the Siegele family has been researched and published in two books with the beginning going back to 1530 and ending in 2023.
I would be interested to learn whether any of Bronwyn Klimach’s ancestors who sailed to Australia arriving at Moreton Bay Queensland travelled on the San Francico with the Siegeles in 1863 and what has happened to them since.
I loved reading this! Thank you so much for sharing. My German ancestor arrived 11 August 1853 into New York and went on to Utica. He, too, sailed from Bremen. What a choice letter to have!
Glad you enjoyed it, Carrie! Your ancestor sailed right around the same time – I was hoping that would happen for some people!
Thanks for sharing! My Nothnagel ancestors came aboard the Chimborazo, a steamer, in 1852 from the small town of Griesheim, just west of Darmstadt. This gives me a better idea of what their journey may have been like and just how much connectedness there was to people who had already immigrated.
Glad you enjoyed it, Lisa! I was also surprised how many people he knew already in New York.
I have two relatives that left Festenberg, Prussia in the summer of 1851 on the ship “Anna”. My third ggf Adolph Puerschell and his brother in law Julius Emmner. Although I have no letters regarding their voyage I have three letters sent home to Prussia starting in April of 1852. The letters describe their early lives in Baltimore and Washington, DC trying to find work and get themselves settled before sending for their families some several years later. One of the letters talks about the political climate in Washington before the Civil War.
The earliest letter I have is from 1847 written by my third gg Uncle to my third ggf James Lodge. James was in Pontypool, Wales and his brother Joseph was in Morrisania, West Chester, N. Harlem , New York. Joseph originally left Bristol, England in 1828 on the ship “Cosmo” and returned with his family in 1832.
All the letters have such rich descriptions of their lives and the America they came to.
Wow, what great keepsakes to have, John! I love getting to read letters like that.
Wow! That is definitely an example of determination! To be subjected to all these not exactly luxury conditions and being for what must have seemed like an eternity cooped up below decks for weeks on end, and the thunderstorms and people throwing up all around you … . You’ve got to feel for them!
I am reminded, when I read about emigrants like this, of the letter of Wilhelm Stille*, a German immigrant to the US who wrote home in 1834 with the request “Write and tell me when I was born …”. That really touched me and stayed with me!
His letter is one of those translated and reproduced in “News from the Land of Freedom: German immigrants write home” / edited by Walter D. Kamphoefner, Wolfgang Helbich and Ulrike Sommer (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1991 ISBN 0-8014-2523-9) in “News from the Land of Freedom: German immigrants write home” / edited by Walter D. Kamphoefner, Wolfgang Helbich and Ulrike Sommer (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1991 ISBN 0-8014-2523-9)
Wow, to not know when you were born – that really is a different world. Thanks for sharing the letter info, Angus!
Thank you for sharing the letter. Many of the thoughts shared here are the same that go through my head as I research my own ancestors from Germany and Prussia. As I sit and look for clues my mind drifts to “what were they thinking?” or “what were they giving up?” or “who did they leave behind?” I am fascinated by this effort to escape or look for something new, not to mention the arduous journey they undertook. I have no letters of my own so letters like the above help me form my own ideas as to the ordeal, the decision making involved and rationale as to why they came to the US and left behind so much. I like to think their decision was one of great under taking, that they left behind many memories and family who cared for them, that they left with great remorse knowing they would never see family and friends ever again
My family came to Chicago from Jarmen, Demmin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. I only learned this two years ago after 25 years of trying to find some connection to where we came from. My last name is WOLLWAGE. Growing up I never understood why no one else besides family has this name. Now, I know how rare it really is. There are two groups of Wollwage family in the US, mine and another. I am convinced both are related as some facts are shared.
thank you for sharing. -Troy
I also like to think of that, Troy – what must it have been like for them? I think this letter gives such great insight into the journey! And wow, only two groups of Wollwages in the US – hopefully that makes your research easier and not harder!
My Sievert family left Hamburg in 1852 on board the Joanna Elise. I really appreciate reading this letter and getting a better understanding of their journey. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it, Lisa! Your family was right at the same time – how exciting!
I know this post is from last year, but I thought I’d comment anyway. 🙂
I have a copy and translation of a letter to my great grandmother, who left Germany, from her nephew who remained in Deutchland, bringing her news of what happened to her brother’s family. It was harrowing, because it was the late 1800s into the 1900s when her nephews became soldiers in WWI. But the family news up to then was heart breaking, with the oldest daughter who was wild, got pregnant, begged to come home, along with her partner stole from the family, etc etc. She was NOT a good person. Then there was his father who after he lost his pub due to the daughter ran a cinema tent in the town, which required a license. The mayor was jealous and fit him up over the license and got the local judge to send him to prison, leaving his wife and five younger children destitute (this is the group with the stealing daughter). The father died in jail. This led to the wayward daughter coming back and demanding her share of what was left. It was after this that two of the sons were conscripted into the army and both were injured, the writer almost dying.
As someone else mentioned in their letter, I learnt that a sibling came to America earlier than my great grandmother (I have her wedding China!), and also names of others in the family to extend my research. These stories bring our relatives to life, in both good and not so good ways, but definitely human ways.
Wow, that sounds like a movie! What a great letter to find!
I was intrigued in the translation that Wilhelm and his ship sailed between “England and Scotland.” Clearly that is geographically impossible, and I suspect that the ship sailed through the Irish Sea, between England and Ireland. The actual letter is too hard to read, could you check the translation, or was Wilhelm confused?
Interesting thought! I just checked, and it does say “zwischen England und Schottland”. Not sure what he was thinking there!
I found and downloaded this book.
“Gottlieb Mittelberger’s Journey to Pennsylvania in the Year 1750 and Return to Germany in the Year 1754” containing not only a description of the country according to its present condition, but also a detailed account of the sad and unfortunate circumstances of most of the Germans that have emigrated or are emigrating to that country. (Translated from the German by Carl Theo. Eben, member of the German Society of Pennsylvania)
One of my ancestors arrived at Philadelphia in August of 1750 and settled in the same area as Mittelberger.
That sounds like a fascinating book – thank you for sharing!
My three times great grandfather, Johann Schehl, and wife Barbara, born Zwick, came to America in 1832. They were from the small village of Erfweiler in the Pfalz region and they emigrated from the port of LeHavre, France. The interesting thing about their emigration was that they came into contact with the famous American author, Washington Irving. Johann’s 12-year-old son actually went with Irving to New York City where he was a house servant for a couple of years before going with his family to settle in Quincy, Illinois. My first inclination was to be very skeptical of this story, but I found the son mentioned in Irving’s autobiography. I also found the passenger list with Irving listed and there is a person with the same name as the son but with an age that is not correct. I also found a land purchase by Irving in Quincy in 1835; I then found the exact same parcel sold to Johann Jr. in 1846. This evidence proves there was a relationship between my ancestors and Washington Irving all coming about because of their emigration.
That’s an amazing story Steve – would you ever want to write a guest blog post about your process with this for the newsletter? I bet people would love to hear about it! Send me an e-mail if so!
I would love to do that for you! I would see that in return for all the great help I have gotten from your webinars and book on German handwriting!
My GGF, Franz Lukas Goetzenberger, and his wife, Maria Anna Schmitt, both from the Duttemberg vicinity in Neckarsulm, Wuerttemburg, traveled from Hamburg to New York in the Spring (April to June) of 1853 with their 2 year old daughter, Augustina Margaretta. Maria Anna also went from five to seven months pregnant on the trip. The Castle Garden immigation record does not give an exact arrival date or the ship name.
Family lore has it that Franz Lukas had been conscripted into the army and successfully faked being deaf to get out of that obligation. They left just a day or two after he was released. The child became ill on the trip and was given some medicine that apparently caused her to be permanently paralyzed, and she died when she was ten.
They initially settled in Utica, New York, and by 1856 they had moved to Otisco, Waseca County, Minnesota to have a farm. At that time Indians were still attacking settlers not much further West in Minnesota.
Their youngest child, Augusta, was born in 1867 and became my grandmother.
Wow, another 1853 story – how cool! That all sounds like something you would see in a movie – what great family history. Although very sad to hear about the medicine causing paralysis 🙁
Wow! I love the details in this letter. What a find! I have a story written by my great grandfather about their journey out of Austria to Wisconsin in the later 1800’s, but not nearly as detailed as this! Thanks for sharing this!!
That sounds like an amazing story too! Would love to hear/see it!
Great storied and information! Does anyone have a connection to Johann Georg Nicol was born on 26 September 1799, in Neidhardswinden, Emskirchen, Neustadt an der Aisch-Bad Windsheim, Bavaria, Germany, his father, Georg Peter Nicol, was 40 and his mother, Anna Maragaretha Ebner, was 38. He married Agathe Huber on 5 August 1821? Trying to determine when his family left Germeny for the US. Thank you!!
So glad to find this letter as my direct ancestors traveled just 2 months after this gentleman in the letter so it gives me a realistic view of what it was like. It also took my ancestors 57 days on the ship, Johannes, departing Bremen 26 Aug 1853, arriving Baltimore, Maryland 22 Oct 1853.
Thanks so much for this; it lends color to my ancestor’s story from three years later.
My great-great-grandfather Johann Heinrich Schwalenberg 1833-1909 grew up in Gross Lafferde. His half-brothers Wilhelm and Karl had gone to NYC ~1848. The last of his immediate family died in 1854. He departed Bremen on the bark Wursata with 239 passengers on 16 April 1856, and arrived in NYC on 2 June 1856, or 47 days later. That’s a rough voyage! I am grateful to the purser who wrote “Grosslapfert” as the country of origin, rather than something vague like “Hannover”.
Now if I could only find similar details for his wife Maria Hoesli b. 17 Oct 1839, who immigrated to NYC from Glarus, Switzerland as a girl of 8-13 or so. I can find no Swiss records for her, nor any emigration or immigration records.
We have a copy of a letter of passage for an ancestor on my Mom’s side who came over in 1853. When I received the copy of the letter, the person who published it also published a translation of the letter. It took several years and a bunch of research to get the translation corrected. I worked with a lady who was German, and fortunately that woman’s mother had taught her how to read and write Old German Script. Prior to showing the letter to this co-worker, my brother tried to help with identifying what town/region this family was from. The person who translated the document originally called the town “Cum Logan” in “Württemberg”. My brother immediately had noted that something was wrong with that, and there was no such town or place. Fast forward a few years and this co-worker immediately was able to tell me that the town was actually “Cumlosen” in the area of “Wittenberge”. Whereas “Württemberg” is in the South of Germany, “Wittenberge” and “Cumlosen” are in the North of Germany.
These ancestors came over and settled in Michigan. The letter states that their family name was “Grabenstein”, but that this person Georg went by the name “Theek” or “Theeck”, which I am told means “handyman”. Had this letter never existed we would not have known of that “Grabenstein” name, as my Mom’s grandmother’s maiden name was spelled “Theeck”.
This family were pioneer settlers of what is considered the “Downriver” area of Detroit, MI, Ecorse Township. Their sons arrived just before the Civil War in the U.S. but served their new country proudly.
These type of letters are so valuable, yet I think most people don’t pass them down. What a great glimpse into their lives!
What a treasure it is to have a letter like this! I was able to imagine my own ancestor’s journey while reading it. Katherine translated church records for my ancestors Stephan Eifler, his wife Johanna Bauer and their children Gustave and Magdalena. They arrived in Boston in 1850 on seperate ships. Her people were poor Catholic landless people from a “cleared” Baden village , Rineck (Elztal) and his people were Protestant farmers in nearby Dallau. They were not able to marry in Baden, but did so as soon as they arrived in Boston. He converted to her religion, had 12 more children, and within 10 yrs or so he owned his own house and cooper shop. Talk about grit and determination! I’m so proud of them.
My ancestors Johan Jacob STAUDT, his wife Luisa PALMER, and 4 children arrived at NY in Sep 1865 on the ship Dr Barth from Hamburg. The Staudts were from a village in Wurttemburg called Hebsack where Jacob was a weingartner. They ended up in Philadelphia where Jacob was a basketmaker. The trip took almost 2 months! My grandmother Maria was only 4 at the time and her younger brother Christian was 2. It was exciting to find the ship record (after many false finds) and even more exciting to find the Hamburg departure list that gave their village! An amazing lady at the Family HIstory Library in Salt Lake City was able to find Hebsack and find the familybooks for the town and eureka! I had so much information that I never thought I would ever find or know. The search was challenging because in the US the family used the last name STOUT and they NEVER talked about the old country (to anyone I could find)!
My 2nd GG, Franz Schlagetter, arrived in NY July 25, 1851, on the Brig Estafette from Bremen as is recorded on page two of the manifest. To my surprise, I believe I found his wife, Magdalena Meyer and her brother Friederich Meyer (originated from Esslingen) on page one of the same manifest!
Interesting reading the translation of Susan’s letter as it must have been a similar experience for my three relatives.
Franz and Magdalena were married in October 1851 in Cincinnati (or reported their marriage) and had their first child in Feb 1852, so was Magdalena pregnant and unmarried on the ship? We may never know 🙂
My question regarding Susan’s letter is does anyone have more information on the role of the recruiter?
Franz, who originated from Hodschag now Odzaci in Serbia, then fought for the Hapsburgs was imprisoned in Karlsruhe for switching sides (!) was then freed from prison only if he emigrated (I think based on what happened to the leader of his unit), became a tanner’s apprentice in northern Kentucky when he arrived.
Sadly, Magdalena died in 1856 and one of the three surviving children they had is my Great Grandfather.
What courage they all had!!!
Before I began researching my family history, I’d been told that my father’s great grandfather came to Boston from Germany as a stowaway on a cattle boat. During a trip to the FamilySearch Library several years ago I discovered a passenger list showing that, in 1854, my then 19-year-old ancestor Lorenz Schneider traveled with other young men from Branuau to Bremen, boarded the ship Julius in early May and arrived in Baltimore on June 28. So, no Boston, no stowaway, and no cattle boat! Other records show he was living in Iowa by 1856, but his whereabouts during the two years following his arrival in America are a mystery. I’ve combed through various records in Baltimore (and Boston, where he may have lived before moving to the midwest), along with other records in Iowa but so far am unable to determine where he spent those two years.
Reading the letter you translated helped me envision what my ancestor’s passage to America might have been like. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you Susan for sharing the letter from your ancestor Wilhelm Riecker. My ggf Kaspar Heilmann also emigrated to America in 1853 aboard the ship Rhein. He came with his wife and 5 children ages 2 to 11 and eventually settled in Pittsburgh, PA. My ggf’s birthplace was listed as Zahlbach, Bayern. They landed in New York on 15 September 1853. Your letter gives me a window into what the voyage might have been like for my ancestor, although he sailed from Hamburg and not Bremen. He arrived in New York 5 days after the date of the letter from Wilhelm Riecker. Thanks again for sharing.
My ancestor, Johann Kludt, is listed with his sister’s family on the November 7, 1851 passenger list from Mecklenburg, Schwerin at the age of 19 as a working man. sailed on the Hamburg Ship Leibnitz. Listed as a passenger Between Decks. He had 1 box. Interesting was the fact that the sister’s family was heading to Milwaukee and he stated “New York”. He actually did end up in Barton, Washington County, Wisconsin with his sister’s family.
His wife, Dorothea Ahrendt, arrived with her family on the ship Neumuhlen in August 1854. This passenger list only gives the name, age, sex, and occupation. Everybody is from “Germany” and everybody is going to “United States”. They arrived in New York. However, I just found the related Hamburg Passenger list that says they departed May 31, 1854 from Hamburg to New York. Birthplace of her father is Masslow, Mecklenburg. Occupation: Landmann. Accomodation: ohne Angabe. This family also settled near Barton.
To read the above story is so great. I’m sure my ancestors’ stories are very similar.
Loved reading this. Thank you for sharing.
I remember my grandmother telling me her father sailed around the world 5 times. Her father was from Plauen Germany. He was born Alfred Paul Hoenig in 1874. I recently located a few passenger lists with his name on them. Some leaving Hamburg? June 18, 1908 on a ship appropriately named Amerika (where I live) for the one in 1908 his occupation is listed as Kellner (which I have no idea what that might be). I found another passenger list with his name on it, departing Rotterdam and arriving in NY on Mary 16, 1898 on a ship named Obdam. A third record I found has him arriving again in NY from Belgium on a ship called Pennland that arrived July 3, 1893. A fourth record and arriving back in NY August 19, 1904 (which is the same year he married my great Grandmother). He became a carpenter and one of the homes he built is still standing in Baltimore. I also discovered some letters that he wrote in broken English to my grandmother which she held onto in a cookie tin, which are very well preserved. Some letters dating back to 1931. I love reading them from time to time to remind me at how different life was in that era.
Thank you for posting. My German ancestor came over in 1853, too, so how neat to read an account probably similar to what he would have experienced.
That is so awesome to have something that has survived that long. My own 2nd ggf, Franz Jacob Eicher, reported coming over 1st in 1854, this is seen in the census records. He went back a few times and at one point brought back my 2nd ggm and children. I’ve not found their marriage rec, only what is in the census records. They traveled extensively. I know this because of where their children were born. Their oldest, my ggf, Philip Jacob was born in Louisville, KY – where most of the entire family is still today. When their 2nd son passed at a very young age they returned to Germany for a time. They had 2 more children in Rothselberg before returning to the US but this time in San Joaquin CA where 2 more children would be born. Finally, they returned to Louisville to their older children to live out their days.
Because of a ‘cousin-by-marriage’ and you Katherine Schober, I can now read German church records! So, I’m compiling records of Louisville Eichers in an attempt to build their tree. Eicher is uncommon even in Germany! I’m so thankful for being able to find records that have brickwalls to me for many years.
Hi Deana – Franz Jacob Eicher is also my 2 ggf, and I grew up in Louisville! I’d love to hear any additional information you might have on him or the family. I am actually going to be in Germany next week for work, and I’m planning to travel to Rothselberg to see it.