Another translation request for Oberle
Hello, my husbands family has what looks like passage documents for a family members immigration from Germany. From what I can see, passage was from Bremen to New York, then on to Pittsburgh, Pa. I have tried numerous translation apps but they cant get past the format. We think passage happened some time between March 1887 and April 1887 or a little bit later. We believe these passage docs belong to
Andrew Anton Oberle, October 1859 – 14 May 1925 • G3FK-V2P
According to the US Census of 1900, he immigrated in 1887.
And according to the birth record for his daughter Teresa Catharine Oberle, it identifies him as Anthony Oberle and that he's from Bayern (Bavaria), Germany.
Seen here https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HFF8-VWMM
I have absolutely nothin on Anton Oberle from prior to his immigration. I have these documents but have been unable to locate him coming in to New York. I perused Ellis Island records to no avail. And seeing as how he came out of Bremen, those records were destroyed in the great purge or due to war.
I apologize for the poor quality of the scans. These are copies made from over 20 years ago. Im not sure who in the family has the "original" documents these scans came from. Oberle is my mother-in-laws, now deceased, maiden name. My husband inherited these documents when his father was cleaning out his mothers things after her death.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Kommentare
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Hello Bridget,
this is a contract between the agent of the "Norddeutscher Lloyd" and Georg Anton Oberle for the passage from Bremen to New York and the travel on to Pittsburgh.
The basic information (on page 2) is:
Ship contract
for the crossing from Bremen to New York and Pittsburg
with the mail steamship "Aller" of Norddeutscher Lloyd
on May 18, 1887. (in steerage)
Gg. Ant. Oberle age, 27 year, residence Hösbach, Bavaria, 1 adult, passage price from Bremen 90 Marks
Passenger receives: 1 billet to Pittsburgh, Pa $ 7.10 = 30.20 Marks
total 120.20 Marks
My comments:
- Gg. Ant. is the shortened form of Georg Anton; obviously he changed Georg later for Andrew.
- Norddeutscher Lloyd (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norddeutscher_Lloyd) was one of the most important German shipping companies in the late 19th century and instrumental for the German immigration to America. Passenger lists are available on https://www.deutsche-auswanderer-datenbank.de/index.php?id=275&L=1. I found the entry for your ancestor (enter "Oberle" and the year "1887" in the search mask), see below. For a full pdf copy there is a fee of 15.00 Euro.
- The contract is signed by the agent H.G. Köhler in Aschaffenburg. The shipping companies had agents in many cities throughout Germany for those willing to emigrate.
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I must say you are fantastic and my hero for translating. 😄
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Thank you! I am glad I can help you in your research.
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I dont suppose these documents shows where the ship arrived in New York? Ellis Island? or somewhere else?
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This document says nothing about the immigration procedure, but my understanding is that all immigrants arriving at New York in this time period had to go through Ellis Island.
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I found an Ellis Island record for a person of the same name, age, ship name, from Germany, but the date of arrival is Jan 1 1882. I wonder if I misread the year as 1887, instead of 1881. Departure in May 1881 would allow for a few months of travel time. I just don't know how long it would it would take for a steamer to steam across the Atlantic.
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Actually first and second class passengers generally did not go through Ellis Island. See the following from the https://saveellisisland.org/ website:
"First and second class passengers who arrived in New York Harbor were not required to undergo the inspection process at Ellis Island. Instead, these passengers underwent a cursory inspection aboard ship, the theory being that if a person could afford to purchase a first or second class ticket, they were less likely to become a public charge in America due to medical or legal reasons. The Federal government felt that these more affluent passengers would not end up in institutions, hospitals or become a burden to the state. However, first and second class passengers were sent to Ellis Island for further inspection if they were sick or had legal problems. This scenario was far different for "steerage" or third class passengers. These immigrants traveled in crowded and often unsanitary conditions near the bottom of steamships with few amenities, often spending up to two weeks seasick in their bunks during rough Atlantic Ocean crossings. Upon arrival in New York City, ships would dock at the Hudson or East River piers. First and second class passengers would disembark, pass through Customs at the piers and were free to enter the United States. The steerage and third class passengers were transported from the pier by ferry or barge to Ellis Island where everyone would undergo a medical and legal inspection."
Case in point: My grandmother and her mother and grandmother arrived in New York from Graz, Austria in May 1907 as second class passengers and did not go through Ellis Island.
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Hi Robert,
Thank you so much for your insight. Unfortunately, our man came in via steerage.
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You're welcome, Bridget.
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From https://www.nps.gov/elis/faqs.htm
About Ellis Island...
What is Ellis Island? Ellis Island was the first and largest federal immigrant processing station, receiving over 12 million future Americans between 1892 and 1954, when it was abandoned. The site became part of the National Park System by Presidential Proclamation in 1965, and was reopened to the public in 1990 as the country's primary museum devoted entirely to immigration.
Where were immigrants processed before Ellis Island opened? Before Ellis Island opened, immigrants were required to be processed by the State, not the federal government. Castle Garden (originally and presently known as Castle Clinton) was a fort built for the War of 1812, located in Battery Park, NY. It served as the New York immigration processing station between 1855 and 1890.
When did Ellis Island open? Ellis Island officially opened as an immigration station on January 1, 1892. Seventeen-year-old Annie Moore, from County Cork, Ireland was the first immigrant to be processed at the new federal immigration depot.
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Hello Bridget,
in such a case it is always best to go to the original records; there may be transcription errors in indexes or other lists.
However, in this case I think the year immigation year 1887 is probably correct. It matches the age (27 years) of G A Oberle as his birth year (1859) is documented in his military record. Also, I found a webpage for the steamer "Aller" on which he crossed the Atlantic (http://www.schiffe-maxim.de/Aller.htm); her launch was on 18 February 1886. The crossing with such a ship took about 2-3 weeks.
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Thank you Ulrich and Greg. Having his home of record from his military papers and passage documents and the name of the ship
is helpful. It looks like Anton came in through Castle Garden. According to the Tenement Museum's blog entitled "Before Ellis Island", most of Castle Gardens’ records were lost in a fire at Ellis Island in 1897. However Castle Garden has a web page that I could search records. And I found him.
It has the date of his arrival. 😄
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