Immigration Records
25
Family Lore
According to grandmother Kirmse, Barbara Kraus entered the USA via the Port of New Orleans. She then traveled up the Mississippi River by riverboat to Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Also, Barbara supposedly came to the USA at the same time as one of her sisters.
Barbara (Kraus) Kirmse Census Records
US Census records were examined for Barbara’s reported immigration dates (See Chapter: Census Records – Julius and Barbara (Kraus) Kirmse) .
1900 US Census
From the 1900 US Census, Barbara’s year of entry to the USA was 1862.
1910 US Census
As noted in the 1910 US Census records for Julius and Barbara (Kraus) Kirmse, the census taker made multiple errors in completing the enumeration report. And, the listing of Barbara’s immigration year as 1854 is highly suspect.
1920 US Census
1920 US Census was taken in January, 1920 and Barbara died February 20, 1920. Probably someone other than Barbara gave the census taker information about Barbara. Besides being almost completely deaf, Barbara spoke only German. Hence the reported immigration year of 1865 may be suspect.
Barbara’s Sisters traveled separately from Barbara
Barbara’s sister, Margaretha and family were found in chapter George and Margaretha (Kraus) Schuetz Immigration to have arrived on the “Bremen, Barque Fortuna” at New York Harbor on 1 Oct 1862. There was no Barbara Kraus on the passenger manifest of this ship.
Barbara’s sister, Renada and family were found in chapter George and Renada (Kraus) Krauss Immigration to have arrived at New York Harbor on 11 Jun 1867. There is no passenger named Barbara Kraus on the passenger manifest of this ship.
Hence, Barbara did not travel on the same ship as either of her sisters but may have immigrated about the same time as one of her sisters. The unknown is – around which time period 1862 or 1867 did Barbara immigrate to the USA? Or, was the family lore about Barbara immigrating about the same time as one of her sisters false?
Timeline Events
There are also several timeline events that need to be considered.
American Civil War (1861-1866)
One of the richest and largest cities in 19th-century America, New Orleans was also an important port of entry. It is through New Orleans that Barbara supposedly entered the USA.
The exact date of Barbara’s entry is not known. However, some phase of the American Civil War was probably occurring when Barbara arrived. Louisiana voted to secede from the Union on January 22, 1861. And, Civil War hostilities began on April 12, 1861 when Confederate forces fired upon Fort Sumter.
Being located near the mouth of the Mississippi River, New Orleans became an important and early target of the Union Army. April 25, 1862 Forts Jackson and St. Philip, were bombarded by mortar boats, and surrendered on April 28. On May 1, 1862, the Union army occupied the city of New Orleans without resistance.
Soon New Orleans was subjected to a rigorous martial law for the remainder of the war. April 9, 1865 Grant accept the surrender of the Confederate Army from Lee at Appomattox, Virginia. And, President Andrew Johnson formally declared the end of the war on August 20, 1866.
Julius Kirmse was a Soldier (1862-1865)
Julius Kirmse immigrated to New York in 1853 and had migrated to Perry County, Missouri by 1855. In the summer of 1862, Julius enlisted in the 64th Regiment of Enrolled Missouri Militia. He served in this and other units until March 12, 1865 when the entire Enrolled Missouri’ Militia was vacated.
Barbara Kraus Married Julius Kirmse (1866)
Barbara married Julius Kirmse on November 20, 1866 in Perry County, Missouri.
Baptism of Barbara’s First Child
Barbara’s first child, Maria Kirmse, was baptized on February 24, 1868 in Farrar, Perry County, Missouri, USA. The Salem Lutheran Church records
list Maria’s godparents as Barbara’s sisters and their respective husbands.
Discussion
- If Barbara arrived through New Orleans at about the same time as her sister Margaretha immigrated in 1862, she would have had to arrived before New Orleans was occupied by the Union forces in the spring of 1862.
- Barbara would not have immigrated at the same time as her sister Renada. Barbara married 6 months before the arrival of sister Renada and family in New York on June 11, 1867.
- Both of Barbara’s sisters, Margaretha and Renada, had immigrated to the USA before the baptism of Barbara’s first child on February 24, 1868 in Farrar, Perry County, Missouri, USA.
Immigration Records
A search of the available databases compiled from passenger manifests of vessels coming to the USA from foreign ports was made and no candidate entries were located for a Barbara Kraus among the passenger names. These collections do have gaps and are not comprehensive of all foreign ships.
The two available New Orleans passenger manifest databases on Ancestry.com had no entries for the years 1862 through 1865. This is consistent with the following table of Passages with Destination New Orleans from Bremerhaven which does not show any passages to New Orleans after 4 Aug 1861 until 3 Sep 1865.
Passages with destination “New Orleans”
| date | vessel’s name | Agency / shipping company | captain | destination | Number of passengers |
| 07/02/1861 | Richard | Blanchett Meyer | New Orleans | 3 | ||||||||||
| 03/13/1861 | Johanne Wilhelmine | Thiernau | New Orleans | 75 | ||||||||||
| 03/19/1861 | Georg | Hohorst | New Orleans | 320 | ||||||||||
| 03/20/1861 | Eberhard | Wiegmeyer | New Orleans | 116 | ||||||||||
| 08/04/1861 | Bremen | Meyer | New Orleans | 216 | ||||||||||
| 09/03/1865 | Constantia | HH Meier & Co. | Harde, de | New Orleans | 321 | |||||||||
| 17/10/1865 | Germania | Louis F. Kalkmann & Co. | Hohorst | New Orleans | 161 | |||||||||
| 20/10/1865 | Isabella | HH Meier & Co. | Wall | New Orleans | 139 | |||||||||
| 03/11/1865 | Weser | CL Brewer & Son | Schnibbe | New Orleans | 21 | |||||||||
| 03/11/1865 | Europe | DH Wätjen & Co. | Hagen, from | New Orleans | 51 |
Information Source
DIE MAUS Departures of passages with destination “New Orleans”. Downloaded 28 Feb 2019 from: http://212.227.236.244/auswanderung/abfahrtsdaten/passagen.php?s=z&v=New+Orleans&lang=de
Discussion
- No immigration records have been found for Barbara Kraus either nationally or at the New Orleans Port.
- Barbara’s arrival occuring in the spring of 1862 or earlier appears to be the most probable from all considerations.
- The 1920 US Census date of 1865 is also plausible as ships were again departing for New Orleans from Bremerhaven beginning in late 1865.
- Possibly the family lore of Barbara entering the USA via New Orleans is false.