Emigration Records from Germany

 From German Girls Genealogy (Teresa Steinkamp McMillin & Debra A. Hoffman):

[Written by Teresa]

When a person was leaving historical areas that became Germany, they were often legally obligated to get permission. This differed by time and place. Usually, nineteenth century migrants were under some obligation to register. The requirements generally ensured people paid their debts and men had fulfilled their military obligations. Not everyone abided by these laws. Good statistics are hard to find, but in my own experience, way less than half of emigrants went through this process. But when they did, records were created! I am going to show you an example today.

 

My great great grandmother, Katharina Ohnemus, received permission to emigrate in June 1854. She was leaving Schweighausen, Freiburg, Baden [today’s Schweighausen-Schuttertal in Baden-Württemberg]. Her emigration document [Auswanderungsakte] contains five pages and is full of good details.[1] She was nineteen years old, unmarried, and she planned to travel with her sister. Her parents were Protas Ohnemus and Franziska Offenburger.

 

She indicated that she had enough money for the trip. She intended to travel via France to New Orleans. Katharina and her parents’ signatures are all included.

 

I have never found her immigration record at New Orleans. Shortly after she arrived, she married Landolin Meyer who was also from Schweighausen.[2] I have not found his emigration record. 

 

Next week, I will show you how I found and ordered this record. 

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[1] Bezirksamt [district] Ettenheim, Baden, Auswanderungsakten [emigration records], Schweighausen, 1854, Katharina Ohnemus; Staatsarchiv [State Archive] Freiburg, Germany, B 701/1 Nr. 717. 

[2] St. Boniface Catholic Church (Quincy, Illinois), Marriages, Vol. 1, 1839–1857, p. 72, no. 14, Meyer-Ohnemus; church rectory. The church has since closed and these records are now on Ancestry.

How to Determine Which Town of Origin is the Right One?

From German Girls Genealogy (Teresa Steinkamp McMillin & Debra A. Hoffman):

 

As we noted in the last post, conducting research in Germany requires knowing the German town of origin. Unfortunately, sometimes when you find the name of the town, there are more than one town with the same name! How do we narrow the choices down to the correct one?

 

Researchers are lucky with this 1880 U.S. census enumeration for Baltimore City where the enumerator provided specific town names in Germany. For Catherine Benamon, aged 79, her birth place is listed as Wallein. Her father’s birthplace is given as Fishpach and her mother’s birthplace is given as Wallan. Wallein and Wallan may be the same place. All three spellings have the potential to be wrong. 

 

 

A search for “Wallein” and “Wallan” in Meyers Gazetteer, https://www.meyersgaz.org, returned no towns with either spelling. “Fishpach” also returned negative findings. The correct spelling of “Fishpach” is probably “Fischbach” in German. Meyers Gazetteer returned 41 hits for that spelling. That is a lot of choices to go through. A passenger list for Catherine and her first husband, Kaspar Weber, had provided another spelling … “Wahlen.” Searching with that spelling located five choices; two in Hessen and three in Rheinland.

 

A reasonable hypothesis would be that the two towns are located in close proximity to each other. By viewing the historical map on Meyers Gaz, the first entry, Wahlen, Kr. Alsfeld, OHessen, Hessen, as you can see below, Wahlen and Fischbach are located near each other.

 

Looking at the other entries, did not result in the same findings. This makes this Wahlen a priority for checking church records. 

 

Sources:

1.     1880 U.S. census, City of Baltimore, Maryland, population schedule, p. 6 (penned), enumeration district (ED) 160, dwelling 44, family 50, Catherine Benamon; digital images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 21 October 2021).

2.     “Baltimore, Passenger Lists, 1820–1964,” database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 August 2015), passenger list, Jupiter, 16 August 1834, penned page 1, line 34, Caspar Weber; citing NARA micropublication M255, roll 1.

Finding a German Town of Origin

From German Girls Genealogy (Teresa Steinkamp McMillin & Debra A. Hoffman):

Conducting research in Germany, requires knowing the German town of origin. Unfortunately, for many researchers that is the missing piece of information. Sometimes finding that critical piece of information can be easy. Other times, the search continues.

Debra found the town for her 4^th great grandmother, Sophia Philippina (Braun) Weaver, in Sophia’s obituary. It noted she was born in “Friedrichstahl, Germany.” However, sometimes the information is not entirely correct; spelling is always suspect. 

A search in MeyersGaz (https://www.meyersgaz.com) found no town of that spelling. You can use the wildcard feature in MeyersGaz to determine the correct spelling, which in this case is Friedrichstal; no h in the name. There are three findings for that name:

 

1.     Friedrichstal 1) Baden; D. (Village); Friedrichstal, Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Baden

2.     Friedrichstal 2); Wlr. (Farm or Small Village); Friedrichstal, Freudenstadt, Schwarzwaldkreis, Württemberg

3.     Friedrihstal 3); Ab. (Surface Mine); Friedrichstal, Marienwerder, Westpreussen, Preussen

That requires more work to determine which one is the right one. The third one, a surface mine, is probably not the right one, but one and two are both possible. 

 

In the next post, we will discuss what sources can help you identify the correct place when you have multiple choices.

IGHR Coming to a Close

From German Girls Genealogy (Teresa Steinkamp McMillin & Debra A. Hoffman):

 

Teresa and I finished our presentations this week in “Course One – Methods and Sources in Practice” coordinated by Rebecca Whitman Koford, CG^® and “Course Two – Intermediate Genealogy and Historical Studies” coordinated by Angela Packer McGhie, CG^®. These courses are hosted by the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR).

 

I am always amazed that while these courses can be intense, the benefits from attending them is inspiring. From the attendees and presenters that you meet to the wonderful information and sources that you learn about, it is a week well spent. I attended Amy Arner’s “Walking in Penn’s Woods: Pennsylvania Research” and had the joy of working on my Pennsylvania Germans for the whole week. I am excited to continue exploring new sources and learning more about my Biehl and Keefer lines. And yes, one thing I learned is that there are so many variant spellings, especially in early records!

 

If you have never had the opportunity to take an institute course, I hope that you will consider it for the future. It is time well spent!