52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 1 - Start

Week 1 Prompt: Start

I started the 52 ancestors in 52 weeks challenge. Obviously I'm behind.. ;) Woops. I am working catching up though!

The Week 1 prompt is "Start"

My answer is the Gerling Start to America. 

Just as a disclaimer: While I tried to do my research as thoroughly as possible, I can't promise that everything is correct. A lot of this is conjecture since we don't know for sure certain things about their immigration experience. I did, however, try my best :) If you have any corrections or information to add, please let me know! This post may be updated as I learn or find more information.

With that being said -  my subject is Gerhard Antonius Gerling. Here is how we are related from Louis Gerling upward:

Gerhard Antonius Gerling was born December 28, 1792 to Wilhelm Gerling and Elisabeth Meyers in Osterath, Germany (which was at that time considered Prussia). Osterath is in Western Germany, further north (See map below). 

Map of Present Day Germany (From google maps):

Maps of Germany aka Prussia prior to and after 1834. (Source)

He was baptized in the Catholic faith on December 30, 1792. Most likely this was done at St. Nikolaus Catholic Church, as through my limited research seems to be the only Catholic church in Osterath. I have yet to find who his Godparents were. 

The church dates from the 11th century with Romanesque arches from that time. It was enlarged in 1538. In 1642, during the Thirty Years' War, Hessian troops burned the church which was restored in 1660. The three-nave Gothic brick church was built in 1855, behind the older tower. The nave is to the west of the tower, not east, because of space. Source

He married first: Anna Christina Wilms on October 23, 1821 and had the following children

1. Wilhelm Gerling b 1822
2. Heinrich Gerling b 1824
3. Catherina Gerling b 1830

Anna Christina passed away on June 19, 1833 and with 3 young children in the home, Gerhard remarried in October of that year on the 22nd to Maria Christina Kronen, the daughter of Herman Adam Kronen and Anna Gertrud Ivangs. She, too, was born in Osterath on February 19, 1800.

They had:
4. Joseph Herman Gerling b. 1834
5. Ludwig Gerling (our ancestor) b. 1836
6. Michael Gerling b. 1839

Between the years of 1820 to 1871 many Germans immigrated due to either hardships of economy such as unemployment and crop failures or to avoid wars and military service. 

Gerhard was a farmer, according to the passenger list, on another site, it stated he was a 'zimmerman' which, I think, is likened to being a carpenter. It may have been that he didn't own his own land, and merely worked as a farmer for someone else. Or perhaps the farm didn't yield enough to get by.  If this were the case, he may not have owned much more than the clothes on his back and a few farm animals (source).  The reason for immigration in the Gerling's case was probably due to the potential promise of their own land to farm in America with the promise of a higher yield in profit and livability. 

But why Missouri? 

It may have been due to the books that were circulating Germany stating that Missouri was a good place to live.  For example Gottfried Duden, a Prussian lawyer who visited and purchased land 50 miles west of St. Louis, wrote a book entitled "Report on a Journey to the Western States of North America" which was published in 1829 and encouraged immigration by his fellow countryman to Missouri.

"How often I have thought of the poor people of Germany. What abundance and success would the industry of a few hands bring to whole families, whose condition in their own country an American-born farmer cannot imagine to be possible. There is still room for millions of fine farms along the Missouri River, not to mention the other rivers.

The great fertility of the soil, its immense area, the mild climate, the splendid river connections, the completely unhindered communication in an area of several thousand miles, the perfect safety of person and property, together with very low taxes - all these must be considered as the real foundations for the fortunate situation of Americans.

In what other country is all this combined?

If one wanted to paint the picture more colorfully, it would suffice to call to mind the rich forests, the abundance of bituminous coal, salt, iron, lead, copper, saltpeter, and other minerals; the active interest of almost all inhabitants in cheerful industry, the utilization of the advantages of their location, and the thriving steamboat services that have already resulted from it; finally, the contrast to all European prejudice with regard to the rank in society of the tradesman and the respect in which physical activity is held...

Many times I have said to myself and to my traveling companion (whom I shall leave behind in the most fortunate situation): People in Europe will not and cannot believe how easy and how pleasant it can be to live in this country. It sounds too strange, too fabulous. Believing in similar places on this earth has too long been consigned to the fairy-tale world. The inhabitants of the Mississippi area, on the other hand, consider the reports of need in Europe exaggerated. The citizens of the state of Missouri, together with their slaves, doubt so much that there are so many white people in Europe who with the greatest exertion can enjoy scarcely as much meat in an entire year as is here thrown to the dogs in a few weeks. They cannot believe that some families would even starve or freeze to death in winter without the charity of others; they are accustomed to attribute such statements to the intention and desire to praise and flatter America. However, sometimes one hears a person say: "Yes, yes, my grandfather told us that life was very hard there." source

His was not the only book to be published expounding upon the advantages of German immigration to Missouri. 

It may have also been due to any family members, or friends with family members, who had written back home about the promises that their new homeland granted them.  Whatever the reason the planning began months in advance.

In order to immigrate they would have had to request and be granted permission to emigrate.  The following would have to occur according to this site: 

• a statement from the tax collector had to be obtained, which indicated that all the taxes were paid
•  secondly, a statement from the military commander was necessary, which showed his military status. 
• With these documents he appeared before the Landrath (district judge) and petitioned for a pass, which, after much delay, was granted to him provided everything was satisfactory. 

Oftentimes it was not just one family from the area that immigrated, it was a group of them.  According to a post about another Osterath immigrant, there were 31 within the group that immigrated to America with the Gerlings. (Source) This would certainly be a source of comfort, to have so many neighbors to bolster their confidence and soothe their homesickness. 

The Gerlings and those traveling alongside them received their consents to immigrate on August 8, 1840 (Remeil).

I can't imagine the courage it would take to pack your belongings and leave your homeland behind and know it was not in your means to visit it once you have left.  That even though others had been successful, you are hoping that you, too, will be met with success because you have a family to support.

In mid-september of 1840 they set off for Le Havre, France, their chosen part of departure.  

It was not only the voyage to America that the Gerlings and their neighbors would have to contend with, but the travel to Le Havre. I am unsure as to why they chose this port as there were certainly some some closer.   It may have been due to the fact that it was common for ships from Le Havre to travel to New Orleans which would provide easier access to Missouri, than landing in New York and traveling across land. 

As you can see below, in today's terms it would be a 112 hour walk to the port. Most likely they had wagons and such to help them transport their goods, but even so it would be a long trek of roughly 325 miles.  

Perhaps they did not walk, but instead boarded another smaller vessel on the coast closer to them that would take them to their departure port.  It is suggested in Robert Rameil's book "Auswandererbriefe aus Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska und Pensylvania/Emigrant Letters from Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Pensylvania" that they took their wagons to Uerdingen, Germany where they then took a boat on the Rhine River to Rotterdam, Netherlands, where they would then sail to Le Havre.  


By Walk:

By wagon to Uerdingen, up the river Rhine to Rotterdam, to Le Havre.

Below are prints I found of what Le Havre may have looked like in 1840 when the Gerlings arrived to board their ship to America:

Le Havre, France 1840 (source)


Joseph Morlent, Album du voyage au Havre et aux environs (1841) (source

Upon reaching Le Havre it wasn't guaranteed that they would board the ship right away, they may have waited on the docks for a while. 

I found a very good post that describes the port of Le Havre, here, and below is an excerpt from it.

"The accommodation of emigrants awaiting departure is a serious problem.  The less fortunate sleep in the street, on the floor, or up makeshift tents on the banks of the streets and sidewalks of St. Francis and Notre Dame. Others took refuge in shacks close to the fortifications or in the plain with their baggage.  In 1840, the "Revue du Havre" wrote that "the city is crowded with the poorest Bavarian immigrants...  The floating population began to camp out on the ramparts of the east. They takes shelter under the elms; excavations in the thickness of slope ditches serve as their home ... Those who have two francs a day, can find accommodation among innkeepers of St. Francis and Our Lady, who specialize in taking care of immigrants. 

Regardless of what accommodation they may have had beforehand, eventually the family boarded the Edmund Perkins. Below Gerard, Heinrich, Herman, Ludwig, and Michael are listed on the passenger list. I am not sure why it does not also list his wife Maria Christina or his son Wilhelm (Catherina passed away prior to their immigration, in 1834). Could it be that they immigrated at a different time? Or that this list, which is an excerpt, is not complete? It is known that they did immigrate.

I couldn't find much on the ship itself, except that it may have been built in 1838 in Biddeford, Maine, and was referenced in Merchant Sail.  Due to this I think it was a packet ship, meaning that it carried mail, cargo, immigrants, etc.  In 1839, at least, it moved 2019 bales of cotton from New Orleans to Liverpool (source).  It was most likely not steam powered, although these ships existed at this time, the first regular steamship crossings didn't begin until the 1840's and even then well into the 1850's poorer immigrants typically took sailing ships across.

Below is an example of a packet ship. I could not find a picture/drawing/etching of the Edmund Perkins, so this will have to suffice to give us some idea.

Built in 1840 The Shenandoah Capacity: about 290 passengers
(Source)

This is an example of an 1854 packet ship showing cargo below, 

"This cutaway reveals how travelers, immigrants, and cargo sailed together. Travelers with enough money purchased “cabin passage” and slept in private or semiprivate rooms. The vast majority of passengers, usually immigrants, bought bunks in steerage, also called the ’tween deck for its position between the cabins and the hold." - Source

These ships would deliver goods to the continent of Europe and then have space left over when returning back to the states with other trade goods. They would then fill that space up with immigrants.  

It is most likely that the Gerlings were in steerage (If I find that they were able to procure a cabin of some sort on board I will update this later.) In the event that they were steerage this might be what they would have endured if they could not have purchased a first or second class ticket.

Steerage on an emigration ship - 1847 wood engraving (Source)

• A voyage of at least 6 weeks, maybe longer if weather was unfavorable. However, as they left in mid september from Osterath, made their way to Le Havre, and then landed November 7, 1840 the voyage must have been one of the shorter ones. 
• The passage itself was not easy, and was often damp, dark, boring, not to mention foul smelling from lack of sanitation. 
• Sickness and possibly death due to such close quarters.
• Lack of privacy - As you can see above, living spaces could be cramped and people often slept and ate in the same areas, and with that many people and personalities there were probably some interesting times on board. 
• Boredom from the long weeks spent on board.
• Anxiety about the future once they arrived in America.
• Hope and planning for that same future.

On November 7, 1840 they reached the port of New Orleans. 

New Orleans
1841 color engraving

Photo by A. Mondelli and William J. Bennett

The historical average for weather on this date in New Orleans is a high of 76 and a low of 57 degrees.  Would this have been a shock to the Gerlings since the average temperature for Osterath is 43.7 degrees for the month of November?  In fact according to this site, the warmest it gets year round there is about 75 degrees and the coldest is 32.36. Comparing that to Missouri weather which can be an average of 88 degrees (and as we know, can be much higher!) and an average low of 24 (which can be much colder!) must have been an adjustment.

Whatever the weather may have been when the Gerlings landed in New Orleans, their journey was not over.   Most likely the family chose to board a riverboat to take them up the Mississippi river where they would land in St. Louis and then travel westward. 

"New-Orleans (Louisiana)". View of the Mississippi River front of New Orleans in the late 1840s by Henry Lewis (source)

In 1840 there were 400 steamboats traveling the Mississippi and New Orleans was the world's fourth busiest port (source). Among the hustle and bustle of so much commerce going on and other ships disembarking, and locating someone who spoke German, not to mention being exhausted from the voyage across the ocean itself,  I assume it was somewhat chaotic and stressful. 

But Gerhard had come with others, and had his family depending on him. I'm sure the small community from Osterath handled it in stride. If anyone had relatives in the group that immigrated before them, the may have been given some idea of what to expect or what to do from letters home.

I am going to end this post here as the Gerhard and family have now arrived in America. :)

If you have anything to add or corrections please feel free to let me know! As stated above, this is a lot of conjecture and guesstimation.