Germany Emigration and Immigration: Difference between revisions

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<br>'''Passenger Departure Lists'''  

<br>Bremen <br>Bremen is similar to its rival port of Hamburg in a number of ways: it was founded in the ninth century; it was an important member of the Hansa and is an independent city-state today; it served as the embarkation point for millions of emigrants from central and eastern Europe bound for America; and it's on the banks of a large river that flows into the North Sea. The city is on the banks of the Weser river, some sixty miles southwest of Hamburg and about thirty miles south of its daughter city, the port of Bremerhaven at the mouth of the Weser. As silt on the bed of the Weser began to reduce access to Bremen's docks, the mayor and senate of Bremen purchased land near the mouth of the river from the King of Hannover in 1825 for a new port for Bremen's ships and merchants. By 1830 the newly constructed harbor, Bremerhaven ("Bremen's harbor"), was ready to receive its first customer, the American schooner Draper. <br>Embarkation for America <br>Bremerhaven soon became the embarkation point for most emigrants leaving Germany through Bremen. Although a massive re-routing of the Weser above Bremerhaven eventually solved the problem of accumulating silt, Bremerhaven remained the busiest emigrant port in Germany. The ports of Bremen and Bremerhaven today are much smaller than the port of Hamburg, with a combined population of 683,096 (as of 1993), and carry much less traffic than the port on the Elbe. In past years, however, Bremen and Bremerhaven consistently outperformed Hamburg as emigrant embarkation ports. A survey of several volumes (1, 13, 24, and 35) of Germans to America (Ira Glazier and P. William Filby, eds., Wilmington, Del.: Scholarly Resources, 1988-) for the years 1850-51, 1859-60, 1870, and 1880 shows thirty-eight percent of the emigrant ships arriving at Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports of North America were from Bremen/Bremerhaven. Hamburg accounted for only about seventeen percent of ships' arrivals, nearly the same as Liverpool (sixteen percent), and was only six percent ahead of the French port of Le Havre (eleven percent). Over eighty percent of the ships arriving with German immigrants on board during the years surveyed came from these four ports. Peter Marschalck, author of an inventory of emigration records in Bremen archives, concluded that during the past two centuries, over seven million individuals emigrated through the ports of Bremen/Bremerhaven, about ninety percent of them to homes in the United States (Peter Marschalck, Inventar der Quellen zur Geschichte der Wanderungen, Besonders der Auswanderung, in Bremer Archiven, Bremen: Selbstverlag des Staatsarchivs der freien und Hansestadt Bremen, 1986, pp. 15, 49). The same author's charts show that about fifty percent of these emigrants-3.5 million-were from German states that in 1871 became united as the German Empire. According to the Dictionary of American Immigration History (Francesco Cordasco, ed., Methuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1990, p. 242), "Between 1820 and 1980 . . . nearly seven million Germans have immigrated to the United States (fifteen percent of all U.S. immigrants during the period), more than from any other country." Dr. Marschalk's figures cover only the period 1832-1958 (Inventar, pp. 47, 51), and yet it is clear from these figures and Cordesco's statement that probably half of the German emigrants to America embarked from Bremen/Bremerhaven. <br>Passenger Lists <br>The city council of Bremen passed ordinances in 1832 that required companies transporting emigrants to file a list of all passengers with the city's emigration department. These contained emigrants' names, ages, occupations, and places of origin. Between 1875 and 1909, the passenger lists dating from 1832 were destroyed by city archivists for lack of storage space, and the lists covering emigration during the years 1910-1920 were destroyed during Allied bombing raids on Bremen during the Second World War (Inventar p. 10). Passenger lists for 1921-1939 are available at the Handelskammer Archiv in Bremen (Haus Schutting, Am Markt 13, 28195 Bremen). They are not indexed, but archives staff will search them upon request. Other records can be used as substitutes for the missing passenger lists. Some Bremen/Bremerhaven ships turned in copies of the detailed lists prepared for officials in Bremen to U.S. officials at the port of debarkation. Gary Zimmerman and Marion Wolfert have indexed Bremen/Bremerhaven passenger lists turned in at New York in their four-volume work Lists of Passengers Bound from Bremen to New York, 1847-67, with Places of Origin (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1985-88). Germans to America also provides places of origin as they are listed in passenger lists filed at Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports. Near the end of the nineteenth century, the number of Germans emigrating through Bremen/Bremerhaven declined and the number of Russians, Poles, and other Slavic groups increased. Among them were the so-called "Germans from Russia," descendants of German emigrants who founded ethnic German colonies along the lower Volga and northern shores of the Black Sea, initially at the invitation of Empress Catherine the Great (herself a German). Many of these emigrants will be found in the new series from Ira Glazier, Migration from the Russian Empire: Lists of Passengers Arriving at the Port of New York (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1995-). <br>Other Record Sources <br>The city archives of both Bremen and Bremerhaven house records that help fill the gap created by the loss of the passenger lists. Unfortunately, the Family History Library has few of these records. Family historians can write to archives in Bremen and Bremerhaven to obtain copies of records about their ancestors. If researchers have found ancestors recorded in passenger lists registered at U.S. ports, for example, the date of arrival and the name of the ship will help them find more facts about their ancestors and the nature of their voyages in records available in Bremen and Bremerhaven. The Bremen State Archives—Staatsarchiv der freien Hansestadt Bremen (Am Staatsarchiv 1, 28203 Bremen, Germany)—has duplicates of passenger lists from several ships involved in court cases. A researcher could supply the name of the ship and the date of its arrival to the archives' staff with the request that a search of the archives' inventory be made to determine if a passenger list for a desired ship still exists. Providing the same information to the Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum (Hans-Scharoun-Platz 1, 27568 Bremerhaven, Germany) may turn up the ship's log for the voyage that brought ancestors to America. This maritime museum depicts and preserves the history of German shipping from the Middle Ages to the present. Among its collections are ships' logs, photographs, and plans of German emigrant ships. <br>If ancestors were born or died on board an emigrant ship, the Bremen Seemannsamt maintained records which may be helpful-they recorded births and deaths aboard Bremen ships. These manuscripts are preserved in the Bremen State Archives; entries often list the place of origin of children's parents or of deceased persons: Archives' Register Number 4,24-D.5 contains births for the years 1868-1883 and 1903-1911; Register Number 4,24-D.6 covers certificates of birth and death received from 1875-1935 and 1936-1941 (but only for names beginning with H, K, and V); Register Number 4,24-D.7 contains deaths for 1845-1875; Register Number 4,24-D.8 has deaths for 1834-1937; after 1850 these volumes are the index to the death protocols found in 4,24-D.9 (1850-1937) and death entries from ships' logs found in 4,24-D.12 (1876-1941). If ancestors worked their way to America as crew members, the Seemannsamt should be checked as well—they also maintained copies of crew lists for Bremen ships that often include a person's place of birth. Researchers writing to the city archives for information about births, deaths, or service as crew members should provide the names of persons sought and the dates of birth or death or service, if they are known. <br>Another important collection of records in the city archives of Bremen is Entlassungen von Bewohnern des Landgebiets aus dem bremischen Staatsverband wegen Auswanderung 1854-1906 (Register Number 4, 17-33.D.8). These are records releasing inhabitants of the Bremen region from citizenship and granting them permission to emigrate. Among them are the actual applications for release from citizenship. These files may contain information about applicants' places of origin and the names and ages of other family members. These are only examples of the many records that recorded emigrants who passed through Bremen or lived and worked there for a time before leaving for the United States. The best means of learning about all of these records is to study Dr. Marschalck's Inventar der Quellen zur Geschichte der Wanderungen, besonders der Auswanderung, in Bremer Archiven. The book is still in print and is available from the Staatsarchiv Bremen. <br>The Bremerhaven City Archives—Seestadt Bremerhaven Stadtarchiv (Postfach 21 03 60, 27524 Bremerhaven, Germany)—also preserves records that may identify ancestors who emigrated from Bremen/Bremerhaven. Perhaps the most important are records listed in the archives' inventory under the heading Meldewesen. Many of them are indexed and were begun in the decade 1850-1860 and recorded persons living in the area as late as 1920-1930. These are records of persons moving into or away from Bremerhaven and its environs. If ancestors stayed in the Bremerhaven area to earn money toward their passage, or to wait an extended time for space to become available on a ship, they may have been registered. Archives' staff will search the indexes for names of ancestors who may have emigrated through Bremen/Bremerhaven. Researchers should supply the emigrant ancestor's name and approximate date of departure. If more information is known—family members, occupation, etc.—these facts should also be included in the request for a search of the archives' indexes". <br>________________________________________<br>Raymond S. Wright III is a professor at Brigham Young University, where he teaches genealogical research methods, European family history, and German and Latin paleography. He writes regularly for a variety of genealogy publications and gives conference lectures. Professor Wright is the author of The Genealogist's Handbook (Chicago: American Library Association, 1995).  

Only a few Germans emigrated from other European ports. Southern and western Germans tended to emigrate through the ports of Bremen or Le Havre. Northern and eastern Germans tended to leave through Hamburg.  

'''Copenhagen'''. The library has the passenger lists of emigrants from Copenhagen [København], Denmark, from 1868 to 1940. Only a few Germans appear on these lists, which are alphabetical for intervals of one to five years. The film numbers are in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under:  

== Passports  ==

Passports became important in Germany during the 19th century as a control measure. Before that a passport was a form of recommendation. A letter given to the traveler made his passage within and outside of German territories easier, depending on the influence the issuer had. Passports were both status symbol for uninterrupted travel and legal documentation for members belonging to fringe groups. Mandatory passports were required only in times of crises, when there were epidemics and political or military conflicts. Such documents were restricted to time and space.  

In German territories, the influx of refugees from revolutionary France, lead to stiffer measures. The foreign office watched emigrants much more closely and placed them in designated areas. During the Napoleonic occupation identification laws were worked out and assimilated to the French model. If someone wanted to move more than 8 miles away from his home, he needed identification on his person at all times. Students who identified themselves by their matriculation papers were no longer to do so since 1820. Documents issued by guilds were only valuable in connection with an official passport until “Wanderbücher” were issued, similar to the French “livret d’ouvrier” in which travel routes and work related certificates were documented. Members of the police would overlook the identification process. After 1830 “Wanderbücher” became the norm of identification for journeymen who were part of the German Bund. People of other German territories as well as other non-Germans had no right to entry or stay. Disregard for guidelines were prosecuted. The affected could find themselves in prison or could plead their case at the next higher administration level.  

The measures for issuance of identification and control had somewhat shifted from former intentions in as much that now crime and movements of fringe groups came under closer scrutiny. Beggars, vagabonds, out of work servants, quacks, peddlers etc. were not permitted entry into German territories. This law coincided with the long held convictions by officials against “das fahrende Volk” (migrants). <br>Before each travel which would entail departure from immediate surroundings a passport had to be issued by the local mayor or the judge of the regional administration. Such papers were valid for the length of the journey or for one year. Identification had to be shown to each official who wanted to see them. Document controls could occur in the street, the next big town or at the first overnight stay.  

<br>Each state or city had its own laws regarding passports. In many cases, the applications for passports and the supporting documentation have been preserved. These records often give information such as the emigrant's name, birth date or age, birthplace, occupation, last residence, verification of identity, and physical description.  

Schenk, Trudy, and Ruth Froelke. ''The Wuerttemberg Emigration Index.'' Salt Lake City, Utah, USA: Ancestry, 1986-. (FHL book Ref 943.47 W22st.) Available on: http://www.germanroots.com/emigration.html.  

For Westfalen in the Minden area there is available at the Family History Library a book called "Beiträge zur Westfälischen Familienforschung."&nbsp; Call number 943.56 D2b v. 38-39.  

For Bayern&nbsp; there is a periodical entitled Blätter des Bayrischen Landesvereines für Familienkunde.&nbsp; The call number is 943.3 B2b.&nbsp; The volumes which deal with emigration are V. 1, page 19 and 48, V. 2, page 103, V. 3, pages 9, 39, 73, 87, 102&nbsp; V. 6-7, V. 9 pages 157, 417.  

Burgert, Annette Kunselman. ''Eighteenth Century Emigrants from the Northern Alsace to America.'' Camden, Maine, USA: Picton Press, 1992. (FHL book 974.8 B4pgp v. 26)  

See also: [http://wiki-en.genealogy.net/Lorraine#Emigration_Records http://wiki-en.genealogy.net/Lorraine#Emigration_Records]  

{{Place|Germany}}  

*[[Germany, Bremen Name Card Index to Passenger Lists (FamilySearch Historical Records)|Germany, Bremen Name Card Index to Passenger Lists (FamilySearch Historical Records)]]