DGS Newsletter, Volume 30, Number 2, February 2003 Page: 28
This periodical is part of the collection entitled: Rescuing Texas History, 2018 and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Dallas Genealogical Society.
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I
:GENERAL DGS NEWS
had a dream, a dream of a better life, and the
courage to pursue their dream.
I said, "it's possible," because we all know there are
many circumstances that brought our ancestors to
the shores of North America. Some came on the
King's business, and others, whether adventure or
escape was the motive, courage and endurance
was the necessary ingredient for surviving.
We have read history books, been to lectures, and
listened to our grandparents regale us with tales of
the past. However, none of that prepared me for
learning the conditions of my immigrant ancestor's
journey of hope to a new life.
Most of the early ships carrying immigrants were
bug infested. One had a shipboard newspaper
called the Cockroach. Water was rationed, often
becoming undrinkable, and passengers were
forced to catch rainwater.
They often had more water than they wanted. The
steerage areas *were frequently flooded when
waves broke over the ship; their belongings and
beds were continually wet.
There were two classes of passengers on these
early vessels: cabin and steerage. Although there
was an adequate amount of food, it was a better
quality in the cabins.
On very early voyages, emigrants cooked their own
food. Some vessels carried live pigs, sheep and
poultry for their cabin passengers while those in
steerage ate salted meat. Although it was often a
different menu and eaten separately, by 1855, most
meals were prepared in a central kitchen.
Steerage living space was divided into three parts.
Single women traveled in the rear of the ship,
married couples in the middle, and single men in
the forward section.
Sickness and disease were part of the journey.
Children were the most susceptible to the poor food
and living conditions: one in five under the age of
five didn't survive the voyage.
Cleanliness on the long voyages was more difficult
for women than men. Since fresh water was at a
premium, it wasn't available for bathing. Men could
go on deck and be hosed down by the crew, but
decorum denied female passengers the same
opportunity.The hospital facilities were far from adequate and
shipboard doctors were frequently ill-trained and
too fond of alcohol. Actually, "spirits" were often the
medicine of choice on these early voyages and a
large number of stomach ailments in the evening
seemed to be cured by gin.
The close confinement of the long voyages often
led to arguments and dissatisfaction among the
passengers. The monotony was occasionally
relieved by sightings of flying fish, whales, and
dolphins. Passing ships always created excitement.
They usually stopped and small boats went back
and forth carrying letters to be mailed home.
The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and the
Panama Canal in 1914 made the journey for those
going to New Zealand and Australia considerably
shorter.
With the advent of the steamship, the trips became
less difficult. Since these were often mail carriers
with many stops, the crossings weren't necessarily
shorter but easier to endure.
There are many Internet sites that provide shipping
records, passenger records, and catalog/periodical
databases. Remember, many of our ancestors from
central and parts of Eastern Europe came through
Hamburg and Bremen, not just the German emigre.
When I used Google and typed, immigrant ships to
United States in the address field, I got over two
million hits. Below are a few I checked and know
are still viable:
Hamburg GenWeb Page: www.rootsweb.com/
-deuham/index.htm#top
Federation of Eastern European Family History
Societies (Search index for Hamburg to see some
passenger lists and other related materials)
feefhs.org/
Bremen Online in German: www.bremen.de/
Germany GenWeb Page: www.rootsweb.com/
-wggerman/
Researching ALL German-Speaking Ancestry.
On-line Immigrant Ancestor Register available at
this site: German-Bohemian Heritage Society,
P.O. Box 822, New Ulm, MN 56073-0822.
genealogy.orq/-palam/Dalla Genalo icalSoc01/7F
brua 206 / VOrre mi/
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Dallas Genealogical Society. DGS Newsletter, Volume 30, Number 2, February 2003, periodical, February 2006; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1261586/m1/8/?rotate=90: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Dallas Genealogical Society.