On the ship and after landing

Getting across the Atlantic was only part of the journey. The details below describe common conditions of the time; individual experiences varied.

Read the story: arriving in New Orleans and New York.

For many emigrants, the cheapest passage meant a bunk in steerage below deck. People slept, ate and spent time together in the same shared quarters, bringing their own bedding. Conditions varied, but crowding, dampness and poor ventilation were common. Food might be supplied without anyone to cook it for them. The Smithsonian’s account of life aboard a packet ship describes passengers sharing a small cooking space. Rough weather could interrupt hot meals and keep people from getting fresh air on deck.

Reaching land was often only the next stage. New Orleans had an established German-speaking community, and the German Society helped newcomers settle or continue elsewhere. Many German arrivals traveled up the Mississippi toward the Midwest. The Historic New Orleans Collection describes this immigrant network. River travel is a possibility for our families, but their particular boats, wharves and inland connections have not been identified.

In New York, Castle Garden’s immigrant depot opened in 1855, decades before Ellis Island. It offered help exchanging money, buying onward railroad tickets and contacting relatives, along with a place to rest. These were services available to newcomers, not a record of Anna Budde’s movements after arrival.

• Agnes, 1848: The published transcription (NARA M259, reel 29) records Bremen to New Orleans, November 27, with Captain H. Kruse and 195 passengers. Joh. Heinr. Bickel of Langula remains a candidate for our Henry, not a proved match. Back to this port lead.
• Walter family, 1854: The original manifest sequence has a handwritten vessel name now read as John Curtis (abbreviated “Jno Curtis”), master M. Hogan, arriving January 15, 1854 from Havre at New Orleans. The Daily True Delta, January 17, 1854, page 3 (select page 3) corroborates John Curtis, Hogan, Havre and 292 steerage passengers. Correction: Our earlier “St. Nicholas” attribution was a reading error, now corrected—not a conflict in the records. Franz, Cecilia and eight children strongly match the family in Cecilia’s 1895 obituary; Rosa’s listed age of 10 remains a discrepancy. Back to this port lead.
• Ottilie, 1860: The published transcription (NARA M237, reel 201, list 441) lists the Bremen bark at New York on June 11, master N. Dannemann, with a recorded burthen of 640 tons. Anna Budde, 21 years 3 months, remains a possible family match. Back to this port lead.

  The 1860 Bremen ship list, page 328, records Ottilie as a bark under N. Dannemann, rated at 430 Lasten, and names F. J. Wichelhausen & Co. as owner or correspondent. A register-derived index from Die MAUS points to a Bremerhaven build in 1857 under Nicolaus Dannemann. That construction detail remains an index-based lead; the original entry has not been checked.

  About the Appel siblings in the linked reader comment: This note was written by another researcher about her husband’s family. No relationship between the Appel siblings and our family has been established. They appear on the same 1860 passenger list as the Anna Budde candidate; shared passage does not establish kinship.

The Agnes and Ottilie passenger details come from transcriptions, not our inspection of their full original manifests. Their departure dates and later histories remain unestablished. Agnes’s build date is unknown; Ottilie’s 1857 build date is an index-based lead.