I
think I am probably my own Madness Monday entry because I drive myself
crazy with an approach-and-avoid response to German records. And since I
have Austrian, Prussian and Pomeranian ancestors, I had to buck myself up before I tried these records.
Lately I've had some great luck using the Hamburger Passagierlisten, 1850-1934 aka the Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934
at Ancestry. This is a departure (emigration) database, rather than the arrival database for New York. In typical fashion, the Germans were more thorough about
completing forms, so I have found more of the all-important information
about hometowns / birthplaces in these emigration records than I've
found in the corresponding immigration arrival records in New York.
Ancestry
helpfully notes that since the records are in German, it helps to
search in German, and only the years 1877-1914 have been indexed at this
point. They also suggest browsing the Handwritten Indexes, 1855-1934 if your ancestors have not yet been included in the index.
I find it helpful to get translations for the categories in foreign records, so I know what kind of information to expect.
Here are the headers for those fields in the Hamburger Passagierlisten.
And a German-speaking friend supplies the English translation:
1. Surname (family members are grouped together using brackets)
2. Forename
3. Age
4. Previous residence (may or may not be birthplace)
5. State or Province
6. Occupation
7. Destination
8. Number of people
9. Children under 10
10. Children over 10
11. Children under 1 year
Using my Surname Saturday Kirschstein family, I was able to find a Residence for Bruno in the Hamburger Passagierlisten that wasn't noted in the New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957.
Have you had better luck with Hamburg or New York records in your German research?
For passengers from Hamburg to Australia (and also to New Zealand ports), a superb resource (in English, fully indexed) is Emigrants from Hamburg to Australia 1850-1879, from the departure lists that shipping companies submitted to the authorities in Hamburg.
ReplyDeleteJudy, that's great information. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI blogged about finding a Russian Jewish ancestor family of my husband's coming through Hamburg on their way to America at A Jewish Genealogy Journey.
ReplyDeleteI used the Hamburg lists to find my great grandfather because I was unable to find him in the New York records. Once I found Conrad Amend leaving, I was able to find him by searching through the correct New York arrival list.
ReplyDeleteExactly, Janice! Much more fruitful working in that direction.
ReplyDelete