Louise Hinz on the S.S. Weser

An old postcard depicts steerage on a Norddeutscher Lloyd steamship.

My cousin Mary Lee and I did a little research at the Germans from Russia Heritage Society in Bismarck, North Dakota this summer. There, in Volume 1 of a book called Migration from the Russian Empire (Ira A. Glazier, ed., Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc.), we found our great grandmother Louise Hinz and her firstborn daughter Alvina on a passenger list. The transcriptionist had misread her last name as Hing.

Louise, 22, and Alvina, 18 months old according to the passenger list, left their home in Russia and boarded the S.S. Weser, a the Norddeutscher Lloyd steamship, at Bremen on August 27, 1879. The Weser was built in 1867 and was 325' long and 40' wide. Louise and Alvina were steerage passengers until 9:00 a.m. on September 9, when they arrived at the Port of New York.

Mary was later able to obtain a copy of the passenger list at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

(click on documents for a larger view)

S.S. Weser (left) and S.S. Hohenstaufen

The Norway-Heritage website has a very interesting description of The Transatlantic Crossing here.