Hamburg is a city on a river, the Elbe. But it is also a large seaport and in the 1850s was becoming, with Bremen, one of Germany's major emigration points. To reach the sea ships had to navigate the wide reaches of this mighty river … Continue reading Ice on the Elbe
Tag: hamburg
Leaving Hamburg
Gottfried and Viktoria Fischer with their four children departed Hamburg on the Caesar in November 1854. Johann departed from the same dock on the Steinwärder in November two years later. It is cold in November in Northern Germany, and the morning that the Fischers departed … Continue reading Leaving Hamburg
Hamburg to Sydney in the 1850s
Johann Holtorf, a 28 year old farmer from Bramstedt, Holstein, sailed in November 1856 from Hamburg to Sydney on the sailing ship, Steinwärder, as I have mentioned in a previous blog. Two years earlier another German family, the Fischers of Harheim in Hessen, near Frankfurt, had … Continue reading Hamburg to Sydney in the 1850s
Imagining stories for Claus and Jürgen
I wondered in my last entry if Claus (aged 32) and Jürgen Holtorf (age 8) may have sailed together from Hamburg to New York in April 1852. Further research shows that the ship they sailed on, the Rhein, arrived in New York on April 29, … Continue reading Imagining stories for Claus and Jürgen
Joh. Oldorf, Hamburg passenger lists, 1856
The passenger lists for ships sailing out of Hamburg in the 1800s are available online. Johann Holtorf sailed with a ship called the Steinwärder, which sailed on 3 November 1856. The following is an excerpt from Steinwärder's passenger list. Johann's name is listed as Joh. … Continue reading Joh. Oldorf, Hamburg passenger lists, 1856