Emigration from Lippe to the USA
Naturwissenschaftlicher und Historischer Verein für das Land Lippe e.V.
Most of the many thousands of emigrants from the principality LIPPE to the USA in 19th century were registered and published in 2 books by Fritz Verdenhalven.
This is to show by which ships the emigration has happened. In the middle of the 19th century the emigrants from LIPPE often have travelled in big groups – family associations and rustic neighbarhood.
Those single people from LIPPE who had come the the USA before the “wave”, had been making excursions for the bigger groups. They joined the groups from Westfalia or travelled individual. Even those who had come on advise of their relatives and friends didn’t depend on travelling in groups.
The main targets of the first “wave” have been the east part of Missouri near by St. Louis, the north of Illinois at Freeport, the area north of Milwaukee in Wisconsin and the southwest of Indiana.
New Orleans as port has been choosen to get in the areas of St. Louis. So Herman in Missouri could be reached from Bremerhaven by only switching two times.
Having their entire property in huge woodboxes other ways of travelling and the hereby necessary change of transportation was very hard. To come to the north of the USA the way across New York and the big lakes has been very much appreciated.
Later on when the railroad system had come more and more westward the journey by railway, from the ports New York and Baltimore landwards was the quickest way.
The original shipping lists were often hard to read and the microfiches made out of them aggravated the problem – so by writing off the names (even two times) a lot of mistakes might have occured.
I appologize for this and would be happy about any correction / completion.
Lage, January 2005
[Translation by Harald Deppe who would appreciate any correction in grammar and vocabulary]