Bremerhaven is the place from where most of the emigrants to the US sailed. We took the Autobahn to Bremen and then north on the Autobahn to Bremerhaven.
It was a museum so they had models of people standing on the dock waiting to board. You could almost hear them saying to one another, “Is this the right decision?” They had to leave their “homeland” where they had been raised. They had to travel many, many miles just to get to this place and they knew that when they went up that gangplank, they most likely would not see their homeland again.
The exhibit in the museum showed that most emigrants on these ships had nice bunks, they were fed three meals a day and they had storage for their baggage. The only negative was they were in a lower deck and the port windows had the sea water splashing on them. It would have been easy to get seasick.
Even though these pictures show a fabrication of what happened back in 1866 when my great grandparents set off on their journey, it has made a huge impression on me.
They arrived 29 May 1866 from Bremerhaven to New York.
They were on the ship Orpheus, the ship's captain was G. Wessels.
Menne & Engel were married in Uttum on April 18,1866.
They must have married just before they left Bremerhaven.
Just think of their determination, resilience, bravery, independence and strength!
I doubt if I could do it.
