Migration

 The prompt for this week is "Migration." Our ancestors all migrated here from somewhere else. I thought I'd take a look at some of them this week.

Prior to 1875, when the Supreme Court ruled that it was the responsibility of the Federal Government to make and enforce immigration laws, there was no overriding immigration policy. Some states had their own laws regarding immigrants but the United States as a whole had no policy. Anyone, from anywhere, arriving on a boat could immigrate to America.

On August 22, 1833, William Mabbs,Jr and his parents, William and Hannah Mabbs arrived in New York City on the ship "Amity." They had departed London, England and sailed in steerage to America. William and Hannah came with their 7 children ranging in age from 12 to 1 year old. We don't know why they decided to sail to America. William had a business selling soap in London and was a Methodist. He may have felt he could be more prosperous in America, or perhaps he felt he could practice his faith more openly. Either way, he decided to make the journey across the sea, leaving his parents and siblings in England.

After getting off the ship they lived in New York City for a time until William lost his money in a bank failure. He then brought his family to Michigan to start anew as a farmer. William Mabbs, Jr, was the grandfather to Elnora Truman Bellinger.

On May 13,1870, Carl Johan Anderson and his wife, Ulrika, left Sweden to immigrate to America. We know that Carl had been a farmer in Sweden and Sweden had had 2 bad famines in 1868 and 1869. The area where Carl and Ulrika lived had a very large number of people leaving in 1869 and 1870. The famine almost definitely played a part in their decision to leave Sweden for America. Especially since they were newly married and trying to start a family. They sailed on the ship "Orlando" from Goteborg, Sweden to Hull, England. From Hull they took a train to Liverpool where they would sail on a ship to New York City. The manifest lists New York as their final destination. I'm not sure how long they stayed in New York, but they quickly came to LaPorte, Indiana and then onto Allegan, Michigan. Looking at the manifest most of the other immigrants are going to the Midwest. Some of the destinations listed are Chicago, Kalamazoo, and Cleveland.

On October 27, 1871, Carl Friedrich Theodor Standt and his wife, Wilhelmine, along with their three children, departed from Hamburg, Germany on the ship "Hansa" to sail to Hull, England. From Hull they would also continue by train to Liverpool where they would sail to America. They arrived in New York City on the ship "Minnesota" on November 17, 1871. From New York they made their way to Chicago, where apparently other family members were already living. Their youngest child, William, would be born in Chicago in 1876. According to the Strand family Bible, there were already Strandt family members living in Chicago. That would be one reason for immigration. Also, the Franco-Prussian War had just been fought from July 19, 1870 to May 10, 1871. Prussian Prime Minister Otto Von Bismark successfully unified all the German states into the German Empire on January 18, 1871. Needless to say, all the wars fought between Germany and other countries took a toll on the people. I'm sure that also played a part in the Strandt family decision to come to America. Wilhelmine had a sister who lived in Allegan, Michigan. William traveled to Allegan and at some point met and married Mary Pulsipher, where they started their family. 

On November 29, 1892, Sven Goren Henrich Johansson left from Malmo, Sweden and sailed to Copenhagen, Denmark on the ship "Kopenhamn". From Copenhagen he sailed directly to America on the ship "Hekla" arriving on December 19, 1892. He was 17 years old. From the manifest we know that his ticket was paid for by someone else. We know he already had several family members living in the United States. He had aunts and uncles and cousins. It is most likely that one of his uncles paid for his ticket to America. What is slightly unusual for Sven, who later changed his name to George Henrickson, is that he left from Malmo and sailed to Copenhagen, instead of leaving from Goteborg and sailing to Hull, train to Liverpool, and then ship to America. I learned that it was cheaper to go from Malmo to Copenhagen and then sail to America. George also lived in southern Sweden so Malmo may have been easier to travel to then Goteborg on the west coast. 

Ellis Island opened on January 1, 1892, so George would have passed through here. He would have seen the Statue of Liberty as he sailed into New York harbor and then waited for a ferry boat to take him to Ellis Island to be processed. He would have been asked identifying questions, given a physical, and then released to be on his way. We know he probably went to extended family first in Indiana and Illinois. He eventually made his way to Allegan, Michigan where he married Malvina Anderson, daughter of Carl and Ulrika Anderson. 

On December 11, 1912, our last ancestor came to America. Ingrid Fahna, the mother of George Henrickson, left Goteborg, Sweden and sailed to Grimsby, England on the ship "Salmo." She took a train to Liverpool where she sailed on the "Lusitania". She arrived at Ellis Island on December 21, 1912. She passed her physical and had $25 with her. She stood 5'2" and had gray hair and blue eyes. She listed a cousin as a contact in the "old country" and George Fahnstrom as her contact in America. George was listed as her brother-in-law but was really her son-in-law. While Ingrid sailed third class on the Lusitania her experience was far better than anyone else's. She had her own bedroom and was able to eat at a table and walk around on a nice ship. Much better than steerage in the 1800's. 

That's just a brief history of our immigrant family. As a reminder, NO NAMES were changed at Ellis Island. The inspectors checked the passengers' names against the manifest from the departing country. If any names were changed, they were changed by the immigrants themselves. Sven Goren Henrick Johansson decided to change his name to George Henrickson when he became a naturalized citizen. It was his choice to change it.