After reading the tragic story of August and discovering that maybe, just maybe, he was born in Schwetzkow, Pommern (Pomerania), Prussia, I decided to do a little more digging.
I started with the family reunion notes. The Waldeck-Noffke family held regular family reunions, had officers, and kept notes. Imagine people doing that today!
The junction of the two families was the marriage between Gottfried Waldeck and Alwine Noffke, both of Prussia, my great-great-grandparents.
At the beginning of the notes is an attempt to sum up the “pioneers” of the family in the United States.
The first person who immigrated–or as I think of him, the canary in the coal mine–was August himself, the man who I wrote about last week, Alwine’s older brother. He was born in 1841 or 1842 and left Schwetzkow in 1869 at age 28.
INFO FROM PASSENGER LIST
August Noffke
Male
Age 28
Tischler (carpenter)
DOB abt 1841
Residence: Schwetzkov, Prussia (Germany)
Departure Date: 7 May 1869
Port of Departure: Hamburg
Port of Arrival: Hull (New York via Liverpool)
Ship: Roland
Captain: Paulsen
Shipping clerk: Louis Scharlach & Co.
Shipping line: H. J. Perlbach & Co.
Ship Type: Dampfschiff (steamboat)
Ship flag: Deutschland
Accomodation: ohne Angabe (without indication)
Volume: 373-71, VIII B 1 Band 015
Household members: August Noffke, age 28
Hull might be a port for “transmigrants” in England. I wish I knew what “Hull (New York via Liverpool)” really means.
The family notes say that his “parents and family” followed him “in about three years.”
The notes also say that August first went to Chicago, then resided in Caledonia township (Kent County, Michigan) with his parents, before returning to settle in Chicago. Also written is that the family doesn’t know when the pioneers (being August and his parents) died. So he was written off to Chicago.
There are records for an August Noffke in Chicago, but then there are quite a few August Noffkes. It apparently was not a rare name.
The Grand Rapids city directories show August living in Grand Rapids in 1872 (and throughout the 1880s), marrying Maria Mueller (Mary) of Big Rapids, Michigan, on 2 November 1875, and having children subsequently, all in Grand Rapids.
The passenger list shows that August was a tischler, which means carpenter. The article in the paper at the time of his death mentioned that he was a cabinet maker.
I do wonder why he left Prussia at age 28. Wouldn’t he have been married already? Why wait until that age?
More questions than answers, as usual!
Apparently, August was buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Grand Rapids. I’ve requested a photo of his headstone through Findagrave. Amberly at The Genealogy Girl suggested I look for the divorce filing since the newspaper article indicated that he had tried to file for divorce and then had stopped because of the children. I am awaiting news from the Western Michigan University archives on that matter.
As always, a remarkable story about a courageous journey. Imagine being so self-motivated at Age 28? A true pioneer. And I am continually amazed at your perseverance in locating relevant documents. The ship records are something else. Thank you so much, Luanne, for sharing your family’s odysseys.
I can’t even imagine what it was like to be the first person in his family to come all this way alone. And I am so thrilled that I have begun to break through the brick wall for my Prussian line. So exciting to find them in Pomerania, so close to the Baltic Sea!
I know….that is just incredible, Luanne!! My hat is off to you for these nuggets you uncover!!
Thanks, Sheila!
Hull is on the east coast of England. I guess it might have been cheaper (or faster maybe), to sail Hamburg-Hull and then put people on a train to Liverpool on the Atlantic coast for the journey to New York. Hull is more or less in a direct line from Hamburg, and it’s only about 130 miles from Liverpool. 🙂
Su, this is such helpful info so clearly explained. I think my husband had relatives come this way, too!
I’m glad to help in any way I can Luanne. 🙂
Great post! Hope you can get some answers for August. Excited to hear what you find out. see if you can get to this page via the link below. It should take you to the main page for
The Voyage
Migration from Northern Europe to America via the Port of Hull, 1848-1914
http://www.norwayheritage.com/articles/templates/voyages.asp?articleid=28&zoneid=6
When you say he was “written off” to Chicago, do you mean that the family was mistaken because he was really in Grand Rapids? Or did you mean that they wrote him off as in forgot about him? I do love those manifests for what they reveal. And yes, our pioneer ancestors had remarkable courage. Thank goodness for them all!
I kind of think that because there was so much trauma in that family that maybe other family stayed away from them and just passed on that he went to Chicago. Of course, I’m not sure about that. It never ceases to amaze me how much courage it all took.
I hope you find him. And yes, it’s amazing to me also. I don’t think I would have ever had that courage even in today’s world where we know what foreign countries look like and can learn so much about them before we get there.
You reminded me of a “game” we played in humanities class my senior year of high school. The whole class went to the blackboard. Then we had to sit down if we would have gone to the United States like our ancestors. There were 30 some students in class and everyone except 5 sat down. I was one of the five still standing, and the rest of the class looked at us as if we were selfish brats. The teacher then told the rest of them that they were lying to themselves LOL!
Great exercise!
[…] The family story in America may have started with Alwine’s older brother August. I wrote about him here: Pioneer of the Family […]
[…] Świecichowo (Polish) or Schwetzkow (German). This town is in Slupsk County. I explain this doc here. I felt confident enough to present this theory on this blog, but I’ve been busy so I […]