Favorite Find

 The theme for this week's blog post is "Favorite Find." When I first started researching my family, there was one piece of paper I was more excited to find than any other. That was the ship's passenger log containing the names of my Great, great, great grandparents Carl and Wilhelmine Strandt. Seeing their names on the passenger list of the ship coming into New York City on November 17, 1871 gave me such a thrill. That is when their life in Germany ended and their new life in America began. It was when the Strandt's came to America. They were real people. It listed the entire family, ages, and year of birth. I also discovered that William had 1 brother and 2 sisters born in Germany. 

Carl Strandt and family is listed at the very bottom.

Soon after I found the passenger list from when they sailed from Hamburg, Germany to England.

Carl Strandt and family is listed at the top.

This record contained where the family lived in Germany, Carl's occupation, and how they traveled. Also, final destination.

I've also been able to find the travel papers for my Great, great, great grandparents  Carl and Ulrika Anderson. Malvina Anderson's parents.

Carl and Ulrika are near the bottom. 

This tells us where they lived prior to coming to America, and their ages. Place of final destination, and the name of the ship, which was the "Orlando." 

I was also able to find the passenger list of the ship coming into New York City that carried Sven G. H. Johansson. AKA George S. Henrickson. He traveled through Copenhagen after leaving Sweden to come to America. He was 17 years old, a worker, and carried 1 piece of baggage. 

Sven is #384.

I also found Sven G. H. on the Swedish register of immigrants. He left from Malmo, lived in Moheda, and his ticket was bought and paid for him. This ticket would pay for his entire journey from Sweden through to New York City. 

Sven G. H. is #846.

There are a lot of other exciting finds I've made, but I'm always thrilled when I can find the names of ancestors on passenger lists. It took so much courage to leave everything they knew behind them and come start a new life in a new country, with a new language and new ways of doing things. Often times they were leaving family and friends behind. They all traveled in steerage with other immigrants also hoping for a new and better life. It was a hard and treacherous journey, but they were courageous. Without them taking the chance, none of us would be here.