52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 43 Prompt - Transportion

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 43

Prompt – Transportation

Our immigrant ancestors sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to get to The Americas. Using the passenger lists available on Ancestry I have been able to establish the ships that they sailed on to get here. The internet provides so much information such as the postcard type photos of their ships.  It is one more thing that allows me to visualize my ancestors and their journey to Canada and United States. 

My Paternal Great Grandparents, David and Katharina (Nee Mueller) and their 7 children left Hamburg, Germany aboard the S.S. Canadian. They left July 2, 1875 from Hamburg. They were among many of their fellow Mennonites from South Russia.

They went via Liverpool to their destination of Hull, Quebec, Canada landing July 19, 1875.

S.S. Canadian

 This is what a transcription of their Passenger Lists looks like on Ancestry.  

I don't know why it says the ship name is Hansa when every other document I have lists their ship as  the S.S. Canadian.  I have noted that ships are traded often between the shipping companies and when this happens their name is changed.

My Maternal Great Grandparents, Andreas and Maria (Nee Kraft) Krikau and their 5 children left Libau, maybe Russia or Latvia,  and landed at Ellis Island in New York City, United States on October 17, 1911. 

Maria and Andreas Krikau on Unknown Date.

They traveled on a ship called Birma. My grandmother, Maria Krikau was one of their 5 children aboard the ship. 

S.S. Birma

Ellis Island has done a great job of putting their immigration information on line and selling it!  I could order a certificate from Ellis Island that would look like the one above for my grandmother Maria Krikau or any of the other Krikau family on that voyage.  It is my plan to visit New York and Ellis Island one day.

Bill's Paternal Great Grandparents, Jacob and Eva (Nee Ereth) Hoffart along with 7 of their children came to Canada May 20, 1913 via Antwerp, Belgium and landing Quebec, Canada.

Gravestone of Jacob and Eva Hoffart.

They traveled on the S.S. Montreal.

S. S. Montreal in 1910.

Their son, Bill's Paternal Grandfather, 24 year old, Rochus Hoffart came alone the following year.  He left January 31, 1914 aboard the S.S. Cassandra.  He traveled from Glasgow, Scotland to St John, New Brunswick on February 11, 1914. He traveled by train to Estevan, Saskatchewan to meet up with his family.

S.S. Cassandra

1939 -  Rochus and Marion (Nee Gross) Hoffart

Less than a month after, Rochus' bride to be, Marion Gross arrived in Canada aboard the ship Dwinsk.  The ship left the port of Libau and arrived on April 7, 1914 in Halifax. She came alone and according to the passenger list she came as a "domestic".  Rochus and Marion got married July 22, 1914.  I do not know if this was a pre arranged marriage. 

Dwinsk. 

 I have included the following interesting story of the ship Dwinsk which happened during WWI just a mere 4 years after Marion traveled across the Atlantic in it. I know it extends beyond the edge of my blog but I wanted you to read it without having to re type it for you. 

Bill's Maternal Great Grandparents, Johann and Emelia (Nee Hein) Jahnke and their son Leonhardt departed Antwerp, Belgium and arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 9, 1891. They traveled aboard The Belgenland. 

 Johann and Emelia traveled with his brother, Leonhardt and his wife, Amelia (the twin sister of Emelia).  Remember the brothers marrying twin sisters! 

April 20, 1890 Johann and Emelia Wedding Picture from Bromberg, Prussia.

Johann and his family along with Leonhardt and his family went on to Winthrop, Minnesota where Bill's Paternal Grandfather, Arthur Jahnke was born to Johann and Emelia Jahnke. 

Our ancestors spent weeks aboard ships to get from their home land to their new land with hopes and promises for a better life.  In all cases they made the right decision to leave when they did.  Two world wars, a Russian revolution, Communist brutality, displacement to Siberia and famine was the demise of their parents, grand parents, cousins, aunts, uncles and friends.

Wendy

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 42 Prompt - Adventure

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 42

Prompt – Adventure

Andreas and Maria Krikau - My Great Grandparents

I think that it would be easy to say that all my immigrant ancestors had a sense of adventure. However I believe the adventure was more a by - product of the necessity of sustaining a quality of life in difficult times.

Andreas (1879 - 1946) and Maria (1879 - 1953) Krikau, my maternal great grandparents came to Canada in October of 1911. Their daughter (Mary McLaughlin nee Krikau – my grandmother) explained the reason for coming to Canada as this.

I suspect my great grandparents' immigration to Canada was more about the rising political unrest and the beginnings of a revolution in Russia at that time. Food shortages were starting to affect everyone. All those things that brought them to Russia just a little over a hundred years before were slowly going away. My great grandfather probably read the proverbial writing on the wall. He read, with hope, the letters of his cousins about the opportunities in Canada, the free land and freedoms.

As I understand it, he was the only one of his siblings, half siblings and his parents who left Warenburg, Russia. What made him decide to emigrate and not other family members? I think it would be incredible difficult to leave your family especially with a very young family of your own to start all over again in an unknown inhospitable land. He hoped that his family would have a better life in the new country. His decision was based only on the words of friends and cousins. Did he weigh the pros and cons? Was there a discussion?

I would think that a daring sense of adventure would never be the driving force for him to leave Russia. Adventure is risky and I think one doesn't risk their family for the sense of adventure.

None the less once the decision to emigrate was made and the sad farewells given; there was a world of adventure for him and his family to experience.

Their adventure began leaving Warenburg, Russia to Libau Port on the Baltic Sea which was over 2000 kilometers 

It was probably farther than any of them had ever traveled. I assume they made their way by train. Once at Libau there would have been a waiting period at immigration sheds sometimes for days or weeks until paperwork, examinations, inoculations and just waiting for the next ship to arrive. I can imagine my 8 year old grandmother (Mary)  trying to pass the time with all the other children on a similar adventure to a new homeland.

The Krikaus  boarded the ship Birma on October 3, 1911 and were in steerage until it landed in New York City, Ellis Island on October 17, 1911. It was not much of an adventure in the overcrowded below the deck passage. I have blogged before about the Ellis Island ordeal. I guess that my great grandparents and their children made it through the same day they arrived as the inspection card of my grandmother - Mary McLaughlin nee Krikau shows the Canadian Railway Stamp for October 17, 1911.

 I do not know how long their train ride to Rosthern, Saskatchewan was. I do not know if they had to take a wagon for part of the trip into Rosthern.  I do know that they lived only a few years in Rosthern before my great grandfather decided that farming  was not for him. Although he did build a few homes while he lived in Rosthern.  

On August 29, 1913 Andreas and family attempted entry to the US with the intended destination of Sangar, California where they were joining a friend, Jacob Smith.  The family was denied entry by the American authorities upon examination in Winnipeg.  Documentation show that while tickets to Sangar had been paid for by Smith, Andreas did not have sufficient cash to satisfy US requirements.  My grandmother, Mary McLaughlin explained it this way in her oral history. 

The family remained in Winnipeg. The 1916 Canada Census shows the family as residing in Winnipeg at 107 Eaton Street. Andreas' occupation was listed as "laborer". 

In May 1924 my great grandparents - Andreas (Andrew) and Mary, their children Eliza, Georg, John and Henry left Canada for Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  Their last permanent address was given as Elmwood, Manitoba which is a suburb of Winnipeg.  They were going to join an aunt - Mrs. Adam Grasmick at 792 Pearl Street, Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  They intended to return to Canada.  The immigration entry notes their intent to remain in the US for six months and claimed they had no intention of becoming US citizens.  Andreas and son Georg Friedrich received Canadian Naturalization on February 29, 1924.  I am not sure why they became citizens of Canada just before leaving for United States.  Andreas and family resided in Oshkosh until 1926 when they moved to Riverdale in Cook County, Illinois.   

Their eldest son Andreas Krikau preceded them, entering the US in April of 1924.  Daughter, Maria (my grandmother) was married by this point and living in Saskatoon with her husband.  My grandmother was the only member of Andreas and Maria's family to remain in Canada.  Georg Friedrich remained in Canada for a few years beyond 1924 but ended up in the US applying for permanent residency in 1946.  

My great grandfather, Andreas received US Naturalization on September 26, 1934 in Chicago.  His wife, my great grandmother, Maria received her US Naturalization in 1941.  

Andreas lived out his life in Cook County, Illinois.  He died December 29, 1946 in Chicago.  Maria remarried. She married a Phillip Hartwig.  Maria died July 21, 1953 in Scott's Bluff, Nebraska.  However she was buried in Cook County, Illinois. 

My great grandparents lives began in Warenburg, Samara, Russia and ended in Cook County, USA.  The time between their beginning and end was their adventure.

Wendy

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 41 Prompt - Context

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 41

Prompt – Context

My maternal second great grandfather is Johan Andreas Krikau. He was born July 31, 1837 in Warenburg, Samara, Volga Valley, Russia. He married twice. His first wife was Katharina Margaretha Kramer. Johan and Katharina had 5 children together. Katharina died in 1875 and Johan remarried Elisabeth Barbara Doering. Elisabeth Doering is my biological second great grandmother. Johan and Elisabeth had 3 children together of which my great grandfather was Andreas Krikau. Johan Andreas Krikau died in 1895 in Warenburg, Russia. I realized that his first wife was only 38 when she died and he was only 55 years old when he died. In my opinion that seemed young.

I know that my maternal great grandmother, Elisabeth Doering remarried after Johan Andreas Krikau died but I do not know when and where she died. I am working on that.
I have unsubstantiated information that Elisabeth Doering had 11 siblings as follows:

The thing that struck me is that of those siblings that I have data for that they all died young and between the years of 1863 and 1883. Most of them died in their teens or early adult years. The last two siblings died when they were about 4 years old.

These statistics seem unusual even for the late 1800's. It makes me wonder if these deaths are caused by something else.

I recall from one of my genealogy classes that we discussed the cholera outbreak in the late 1800s that stopped immigrants from coming directly into Canada. They were stopped at Gosse Isle, Quebec and quarantined together until healthy. However in a story for another time, the close confines caused more to die. My next step is to look for what endemic or pandemic diseases might influence the death rate in this area of the world.

I found the following article.

And the first paragraph.

Although typhus was a concern in the time period I am looking at, I continue to look for other pandemics in the region. Cholera!

Between 1816 and 1923 - 6 pandemic outbreaks of cholera occurred. Cholera is a particularly nasty infection of the intestine caused by a bacteria not discovered until the late 19^th century. One is infected usually by the oral – fecal route Meaning that the bacterium exists in contaminated water and food by infected feces. It can take hours to 5 days for the symptoms to appear. They include extreme diarrhea leading to dehydration, electrolyte imbalance and kidney failure to death very quickly.

The first pandemic occurred from 1817 to 1824 and started in India and spread to Asia and Africa.

The second pandemic occurred from 1829 to 1837. Again originating in India, it spread to Russia, Hungary, France, England and by way of immigrants over the sea to North America and then Brazil. During this time they did not know how it spread. In France doctors believed it was associated by poverty and poorer communities. Russians believed it was contagious and the English believed it was brought on by divine intervention.

The third pandemic occurred between 1846 and 1860. This is the pandemic of cholera that affected Russia the most and it is believed that nearly a million persons died. It did travel over most of the new world, South America, Indonesia, Japan, China, It was during this time that a physician by the name Doctor John Snow determined that the infection was spread by contaminated water. However it was not widely believed as correct.

The fourth pandemic was from 1863 to 1875. It began in the Bengal region and spread out due to the Muslim pilgrims to mecca. From here it spread out to Russia, Europe and much of the same route but it was noted that it originated from port cities.

The fifth pandemic occurred between 1881 to 1896. It claimed over a quarter of a million persons in Russia alone. It was however the last major outbreak in Europe due to the improved water and sanitation systems.

The sixth pandemic occurred from 1899 to 1923. Western Europe was not as affected as the Russian and Ottoman Empires. It is estimated that over 500,000 persons died in Russia between 1900 and 1925. The cholera outbreak was blamed on the social disruption (revolution), famine and war.

Although I can't prove it by death certificates it seems likely to me that the pandemic spread of Typhus and the more likely cholera pandemic is responsible for the early deaths in the Doering's family.

In the context of the ongoing pandemics of that time period, I believe that I can come closer to the reason for this one family's early deaths.

Wendy

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 40 Prompt - Harvest

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 40

Prompt – Harvest. 

 Bill's maternal grandparents are Art & Ida Jahnke.

This story and the photographs are taken from an oral history of Art Jahnke taken by Bill's sister (Elaine) in 1976.

In the year of 1914 when Arthur was 20 years old he took a 3 month course in book keeping at The Federal Business College in Regina. At that time Art's parents were in Hatton, Saskatchewan where they built and ran the local general store. Art was likely preparing to be part of the general store business.

In the spring of 1918, Art bought out his cousin, Julius Jahnke's portion of the store. He ran the store until its demise in January of 1920 when a fire that started in the business next to the store demolished their store. It wiped them out financially. Arthur decided not to restart the general store and decided to go back to Killaly where his wife's family was residing.  He bought two half sections which were two miles apart. It was unbroken land. While he started to break in the soil and plant a crop, Ida's father built them a a 14 by 24 foot frame house which was only two rooms – kitchen and bedroom.  Art, Ida and their oldest child, Elsie moved into the home in October of the same year.

 

 

Art Jahnke's first tractor that aided in the breaking of his homestead. 

Elaine wrote about their first years on their homestead.

 "That first winter they had 1 cow, 16 horses, 21 chickens, plus 21 hogs in spring.  They bought 2 more cows for over the winter of 21 - 22, and a new threshing machine in spring.  Grandpa, his hired men, and 4 neighbors, all pitched in and did each other's threshing with most of Grandpa's equipment and horse - teams. "

1922 farming photos of Art and Ida's homestead. 

Circa 1922 - Haying on Killaly Farm

Circa 1922 - Titan Tractor Threshing

As the crop prices dropped he was glad of his registered jersey herd.

In 1933, Art decided to rent out the Killaly farm and join his brother in Yakima, Washington who had orchards. He tried his hand at for about 3 years. Elaine explains Art's reasons for returning to the homestead this way.

Art and his family made it back to Killaly, Saskatchewan in the summer of 1936. They helped the renter's with the fall harvest and then moved back into the farm. I guess their had been a contract for how they divided up the herds etc. In 1937 the crop was almost non existent due to the dryness of the land. He did have enough to harvest for seed the next year and feed for their horses.

The crops of 1937 and 1938 were awful and according to Elaine's history report, Art said that he would have been in more financial trouble had it not been for the Jerseys. Their “cream” cheques and Ida's faithful milking kept the farm afloat.

Art and Ida farmed until their retirement which I figure must be in the early 1950's. This detailed description of their life during the 1920s to the end of the dirty thirties would have been forgotten or possibly not known had it not been for the oral history that Elaine did. It still is a precious piece of the Jahnke family history.

Wendy

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Week 39 Prompt - Map it Out

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Week 39

Prompt – Map it Out

Does anyone use a map anymore? Bill and I still keep our maps in the car door side pocket. When I pull them out to check something I noticed how self conscious I feel. I unfold the map on my lap out of sight. Why? Maybe I didn't want to be judged by those in cars passing by using their phones!

This got me thinking of my ancestors in genealogy (and truly what doesn't ?) and their travels to Canada from Russia. It occurred to me that they would not have had maps to guide them. In the case of my Mennonite ancestors, they left en masse from the same colony. They had leaders or agents every step of the way to direct them on their travels. It is estimated that in the 1870's, 7,000 Mennonites emigrated to Canada. And among them was my great grandparents and their children.

The Mennonites in general left from the port of Hamburg, German39y. I have no information on how they got there from the Chortitza Colony. My guess is possibly train. In Hamburg they were met by a Canadian Immigration Agent, an Ontario Mennonite named Jacob Klotz who helped them exchange their money and get them onto their next ports which were Hull, England and then Liverpool, England. It was from Liverpool, England that the ships carrying Russian Mennonites left for Quebec City.

I know that my great grandparents, David and Katharina Peters and their 7 children left Hamburg, Germany on July 2, 1875 aboard the S.S. Canadian. And that they arrived in Quebec City on July 19, 1875. This is the transcription from the Hamburg Passenger List for David, Katherina and family. A passenger list is just that. It accounts for every “soul” on board of their ship.

 Ancestry's Description Of Passenger List
This database contains passenger lists of ships that departed from the port of Hamburg, Germany from 1850-1934 (with a gap from 1915-1919 due to World War I). The database includes images of the passenger lists digitized from microfilm in partnership with the Hamburg State Archive, available here for the first time online. It also includes a complete index for the years 1850-1914 (up to the start of World War I) and 1920-1926. 
 

The diary of Reverend Johann Wiebe who arrived a few weeks earlier than David Peters and family describes in great detail that portion of the trip from Quebec City to their landing in their new homes of East or West Reserve of Manitoba. I believe that grandfather and family probably had a similar experience. 

 “After we thanked and praised God, we had breakfast. Hence, we had floated on the ocean from 5.00 pm. June 19 to the early morning of July 1, or a total of twelve days. We entrained at 7 p.m., July 1, and arrived in Montreal at 6 a.m. the next morning. Here we had a breakfast of cold tea, fried potatoes, and beef. At 11.00 a.m. we departed for Toronto where we arrived at 6.00 a.m. the following morning, and remained until 10.00 a.m. Friday, July 4. Then we departed for Berlin (Kitchener, Ontario) and Aexanis (Sarnia?), where we em-barked at 9 p.m. From here we were told it was a distance of 818 miles by boat to Duluth. Now the weather was very nice. At 7 p.m. Tuesday night, July 8, we disembarked at Duluth and after spending the night were entrained and continued our journey at 2 p.m., Wednesday, July 9. We were advised that 253 miles to the west lay Moorhead, Minnesota, where we arrived at 4 a.m., Thursday morning, and 10 p.m. we boarded a steamer which was to take us another 150 miles north on the Red River to Manitoba. However, praise God, early Monday morning (July 14) we reached the immigration sheds at Dufferin a few miles north of the International Boundary. Here we already met many of our brethren and sisters in Christ who came to greet us and who had departed from Russia one week and two weeks before we left. ...”

Written in: 

Reserve (1875-1876)
by Lawrence Klippenstein
Manitoba Pageant, Autumn 1975, Volume 21, Number 1
This article was published originally in Manitoba Pageant by the
Manitoba Historical Society on the above date. We make it
available here as a free, public service.

The migration map looks like this map below.

David and family settled in the colony of Ebenfeld, Manitoba known as The West Reserve.  West Reserve was the second tract of land set aside by the government for the immigrating Mennonites.
The first Canadian born child to David and Katharina was my grandfather, Franz Peters.  His place of birth is Plum Coulee, Manitoba.  Ebenfeld no longer exists but it was very close to this village. And thus probably the closest place to register his birth.  As more immigrants came from Russia the Mennonite land ran out.  At some point in the 1890's David and his family moved onto Saskatchewan for more free land. 

They settled in Hague. David and Katharina lived out the rest of their lives in this area.  My grandfather Franz Peters married Elisabeth Dueck in 1902.

A Section of Frank and Elisabeth Marriage Registration

 At the time of their marriage Franz was from Blumenthal and Elisabeth was from Schoenthal.

Rosthern Reserve (Hague - Osler), Saskatchewan, Canada

With the help of the available resources on hand I was able to follow the path that my great grandparents, David Peters, Katharina Mueller and family had taken. 
I think that this gives me and hopefully you a much bigger picture than just saying they immigrated from South Russia to Canada.

Wendy