A Young Alien in Kansas, 1918

Paul Wiechmann, 1918

In 1918, a teenager from Germany, named Paul Wiechmann, registered for a permit in Wichita, Kansas, to move freely through the area due to work. The document, which is available on the FamilySearch website, provides an interesting look at Paul's life and provides a glimpse of how aliens were scrutinized during World War I. Here's part of the document (words in bold were typed onto the application):

   "I, Paul Wiechmann, a native, citizen, denizen, or subject of a country at war with the United States, being male and fourteen years of age or over, residing at 618 Madison, Wichiata [sic], Kansas, hereby apply to the United States Marshal for the [blank] district of Kansas for a permit to pass through an area within one-half mile radius from all zones for the purpose of performing duties as messenger.
   I solemnly swear that I was born at Parum, Wittenburg, Mecklenburg, Scherin, Germany on or about the 29th day of October 1902; that I have resided 11 years in the United States from October 15, 1902 [sic], to Sept. 6, 1918, at the places and been employed since July 1, 1914, in the occupation and by the employers hereinafter stated:
   Wichita, Broom labeling, Southwest Broom Co.
   Wichita, Messenger, Western Union Tel. Co."

Paul probably didn't even remember his time in Germany because he was only 5 when his parents brought him to the U.S., but that didn't matter. He still needed to comply and complete the required paperwork. Even Wichita farmer Henry Lohkamp, who had been in the U.S. for 52 years, was required to apply for a permit, and his application and photo can also be viewed online.

This FamilySearch collection, "Records of the U.S. Attorneys and Marshals: alien application for permit, 1917-1918 (Kansas)," isn't indexed but can be browsed. Similar alien permit applications are available for Kentucky and Missouri as well.

Do you have an ancestor who was required to register as an alien or apply for a permit to move around an area of the United States?

Immigrant Ancestors and the Elusive Town of Origin

I have 17 direct ancestors who were immigrants in the United States. The earliest arrival appears to be my Rüttger branch in 1846, which is very different from those of you whose families have been in the U.S. since colonial times! My immigrant ancestors include great-grandparents (4), 2nd great-grandparents (7), and 3rd great-grandparents (6). Most of my immigrant ancestors (12) came from Germany, three from Canada (though two were born in the U.K.), and two from France.

I have A LOT to learn about them, with the most important unknown being that often elusive town of origin. The only towns that I'm sure of are Artolshiem and Dambach-la-Ville in France, Pirmasens and Miesenheim in Germany, and Seneca Township in Ontario, Canada. That's not good. I have 10 direct ancestors where my research is stuck in the U.S. unless I determine the German towns where these ancestors used to live.

From the 1890 U.S. Passport Application for my 
2nd great-grandfather who arrived in the U.S. on 1 May 1854

Online trees from sites like Geneanet.org, index-only records on FamilySearch, and sibling church records have given me a place to start, but there's more work to do before concluding that these are definitely the towns. These places in Germany include Bettingen, Großkarlbach (2), Lambsheim, and Wiesbach (2). And then there are the 4 German ancestors who have given me zero clues pointing to where they came from. Sigh.

A recent birthday gift has given me renewed inspiration to continue the search for these towns. I've just read a few chapters of James Beidler's Trace Your German Roots Online, which was released at the end of April, but it's pushed me to revisit these immigrant ancestors. I'll definitely post any progress I make.

If you have any success stories about locating the towns of your German immigrant ancestors, please share them with me!

Lost Sisters

I have a great-grandmother on each side of my family who is somewhat of a mystery. Kunigunda Boser Stenglein arrived in the U.S. with her husband in 1891, and Alice Laubersheimer Huber arrived in 1899. I still haven't identified the parents for either woman.

In both cases, I was hoping that a sister connection would lead me to the information I was missing. Research siblings to learn more about their parents, right? In theory that should work, but it turns out that the sisters are lost in the records somewhere.

Kunigunda had a sister, Kathryn, who arrived in the U.S. eight years later and appeared in the 1900 census as a member of Kunigunda's household in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Because I can't find her after that, I'm assuming she got married...but I haven't located a marriage record. She could have died before the next census, but I haven't found a death record. Kathryn Boser might be spelled numerous ways, which could be a reason I'm not finding her in vital and census records.

Alice arrived in the U.S. with two women, Bertha & Marie, whom I'm assuming were her sisters. They were close in age, had the same surname, and all were going to meet an uncle in Pittsburgh. While Alice was in the 1900 census as a servant in a physician's household, I haven't found any signs of her sisters yet. Did they marry, or die, or even return to Germany?

These sisters of my two great-grandmothers are lost for the moment, but I'm sure they will be found. Until then, the search continues for them as well as their parents. Do you have any similar stories of unknown parents and vanishing siblings?

Timing Is Everything

Even in genealogy, timing can make a huge difference. The level of detail on certain documents produced a decade or two apart is astonishing.

A passenger list from the 1870s provides just the basic information such as name, age, gender, occupation, country departed, and country intended to inhabit. The 1899 immigration record for my great-grandmother, Elise (Alice) Laubersheimer, provides so much more. I can see that her last residence was Pirmasens, Germany; her final destination was Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and that she was going to join her uncle Fred Waldschmidt on Federal Street in Allegheny, Pennsylvania.

My husband's great-grandfather, Caspar Kaufman, arrived in the U.S. in 1876. He submitted his petition for naturalization in 1911. That document is such a treasure! Unlike earlier naturalization records, it contains the birth details for his entire immediate family, showing that the family moved around Washington and Allegheny counties in Pennsylvania, until settling in the town of McDonald:

• Casper - 25 Jul 1858, Breitenbach, Germany
• Gertrude - no birth date given, Valrodt (perhaps Wallrode?), Germany
• Elizabeth - 19 Apr 1884, Bulger, Pa.
• Mary - 14 Nov 1887, Oakdale, Pa.
• Edward - 24 Jan 1890, Oakdale, Pa.
• Margaret - 18 Dec 1891, Sturgeon, Pa.
• George - 1 Mar 1896, Midway, Pa.
• Anna - 23 Jun 1900, Midway, Pa.
• William - 6 Feb 1903, Midway, Pa.
• Freda - 5 Jul 1905, Venice, Pa.

An additional bonus is that it's typed, so it's easy to read. I'm very glad that Casper waited almost 40 years to finalize his U.S. citizenship!

Petition for Naturalization, Casper Kaufmann, 1911
(CLICK TO VIEW LARGER)

Family Immigration: Peter Klein in 1854

On this day in 1854, my German 3rd great-grandfather, Peter Klein, arrived in the United States. He was traveling with the woman he would later marry, Barbara Steimer, and her two brothers, John & Andrew. All of them would eventually make their way to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The couple raised seven children, including a steelworker, a grocer, and a Sister of St. Francis. Peter first made a living as a coal miner and later as an engineer for the Freedom Oil Company. He eventually owned a dozen lots in the Lower St. Clair area of Pittsburgh, and lived in the house shown here at 2900 Arlington Avenue (courtesy of Google Maps).

Probate records show that Peter died at the age of 67 on April 14, 1892, presumably from injuries received on the job six months earlier from a boiler explosion in Freedom, Beaver County. The Pittsburgh Dispatch reported that he "was standing in front of the boiler when it exploded and was blown to an adjoining field, a distance of 80 feet."

I still have a lot to learn about Peter & Barbara Klein. I don't know the names of their parents and have no idea where in Germany they lived before coming to America. My genealogy research continues...

5 Genealogy Assumptions That Could Be Wrong

While doing genealogy research, we all make assumptions. As we find pieces of an ancestor's past, formulating hypotheses is part of the process. But you should keep digging to find the facts that either back up your thinking or that lead you in another direction.

Although there are dozens I could list, here are just a few examples of some assumptions that could be mistakenly made as you look for your ancestors:

Assumption #1: When a spouse is no longer in a household, he or she must have died. Even though you may be looking at censuses from a century or more ago, couples did separate and divorce so keep digging for your ancestor in another home. My maternal 2nd great-grandparents appear to have been living separately for up to 20 years and died in different states.

Assumption #2: When an elderly ancestor can't be located in a census, he or she must have died.  Even though life expectancy was lower in the 1900s, an ancestor who was in his 60s in one census and then can't be found in the next census doesn't necessarily mean that he/she died. I located my 3rd great-uncle James Baker in the 1920 census but am still looking for him in the 1930 and 1940 censuses. His Pennsylvania death certificate indicates that he didn't die until 1944, so an assumption that he died between 1920 and 1930 would have been wrong.

Assumption #3: An immigrant ancestor would not have returned to the old country.  We've heard how difficult the trip across the Atlantic was for immigrants, so it would be easy to assume they never left North America after their arrival. My paternal 2nd great-grandfather returned to Germany in 1890, more than 35 years after leaving. On the PBS genealogy show, Finding Your Roots, one of Chef Tom Colicchio's ancestors made the trip back to Italy at least three times.

Assumption #4: A couple living together with children are the parents of those children.  There used to be at least one Ancestry member tree that showed my 2nd great-aunt Christina Belsterling as the mother of my grandfather and his two siblings. She was their aunt, and they went to live with her after their mother died. Christina also was not the mother of the other children in the house; she was their stepmother.

Assumption #5: Your city laborer ancestor couldn't have owned several pieces of property.  My 3rd great-grandfather Peter Klein was a coal miner. When I searched probate records, I really didn't expect to find a will for him. It seemed to be a trend in my family: no photos, no wills, no headstones. I just assumed my family was full of hardworking, but poor, laborers. But Peter did have a will, and it surprised me to read about his plan of 12 lots that he left to his wife and children. A map from 1896 shows it clearly marked as the "P. Klein Plan."

So remember, preliminary assumptions in genealogy research are ok as long as you look for the facts to determine if those assumptions are accurate.

Immigration: Leaving Children Behind

We've all heard the stories where a father went to America and left his wife and children behind until he could start a new life and save money for them to join him. But I'm not sure how common it was for both parents to come to the U.S. without their children.

Fifteen-year-old Annie Moore, the first person to enter through Ellis Island when it opened in 1892, traveled with her younger brothers to join her parents who had come to America three years earlier. So it definitely happened. As a mother myself, it's hard to imagine leaving my son and not knowing when, or if, I'd ever see him again. It had to be a difficult decision for both parents to leave behind a child.

In 1864, my 2nd great-grandparents, Ignace and Caroline Huber, were married in Paris, France, and worked as a tailor and dressmaker. Their first son, Alphonse, was born that same year. I'm not sure when the couple left France but, by 1868, city directories show they were in Allegheny City, which is now part of Pittsburgh, PA. The 1870 census shows that Alphonse--6 years old by this time--wasn't with them. He didn't see his parents again until 1871 when he arrived in the U.S. with his uncle, Emil Wey. Alphonse was separated from his parents for at least 3 years.

During your research, have you found a similar immigration story of both parents leaving their children to come to America?