The SS Weimar

The Ratzlaffs boarded the SS Weimar along with many other immigrants.  The ship was bound for Baltimore, Maryland.  Built in 1891, the Weimar (http://fortunecity.com/littleitaly/amalfi/13/shipuz.htm) was a passenger steamship with a capacity of 49 first class passengers, 38 second class, and 1900 in steerage.  The ship maintained a crew of 105. 

A portion of the list of passengers aboard the May 1907 voyage can be seen here: http://www.angelfire.com/ks/gerrus/ShipsBaltJun1907.html.  This list of 195 passengers shows only those who originated in Russia and identified themselves as German.  Among the list are the Ratzlaffs, Wedels and Unruhs:

Pg-Line	Name	Given Name	Age	Sex	M/S	Calling	Country	Race	Destination	Prev. Residence
20-4	Wedel	Peter	59	m	m	farmer	Russia	German	Galva, KS	Ostrog, Russia
20-5	Wedel	Katarina	60	f	m	none	Russia	German	Galva, KS	Ostrog, Russia
20-6	Wedel *	Maria	6	f	s	none	Russia	German	Galva, KS	Ostrog, Russia
20-7	Wedel *	Heinrich	4	m	s	none	Russia	German	Galva, KS	Ostrog, Russia
20-8	Unrich	Benjamin	44	m	m	farmer	Russia	German	Galva, KS	Ostrog, Russia
20-9	Unrich	Eva	30	f	m	none	Russia	German	Galva, KS	Ostrog, Russia
20-10	Unrich *	Jakob	17	m	s	none	Russia	German	Galva, KS	Ostrog, Russia
20-11	Unrich *	Helen	11	f	s	none	Russia	German	Galva, KS	Ostrog, Russia
20-12	Unrich	Andreas	8	m	s	none	Russia	German	Galva, KS	Ostrog, Russia
20-13	Unrich	Bernerd	7	m	s	none	Russia	German	Galva, KS	Ostrog, Russia
20-14	Unrich	Karoline	5	f	s	none	Russia	German	Galva, KS	Ostrog, Russia
20-15	Unrich	Friedrich	2	m	s	none	Russia	German	Galva, KS	Ostrog, Russia
20-16	Unrich	Johann	1 mon	m	s	none	Russia	German	Galva, KS	Ostrog, Russia
56-7	Ratzlaff	Andreas	37	m	m	farm laborer	Russia	German	Hillsboro, KS	Lebwa, Russia
56-8	Ratzlaff	Susanna	33	f	m	none	Russia	German	Hillsboro, KS	Lebwa, Russia
56-9	Ratzlaff	Marianna	9	f	s	none	Russia	German	Hillsboro, KS	Lebwa, Russia
56-10	Ratzlaff	Karolina	7	f	s	none	Russia	German	Hillsboro, KS	Lebwa, Russia
56-11	Ratzlaff	Katarina	5	f	s	none	Russia	German	Hillsboro, KS	Lebwa, Russia
56-12	Ratzlaff	Johannes	4	m	s	none	Russia	German	Hillsboro, KS	Lebwa, Russia
56-13	Ratzlaff	Florentine	2	f	s	none	Russia	German	Hillsboro, KS	Lebwa, Russia
56-14	Ratzlaff	Susanna	9 mon	f	s	none	Russia	German	Hillsboro, KS	Lebwa, Russia
56-15	Wedel	Maria	19	f	s	none	Russia	German	Hillsboro, KS	Lebwa, Russia
56-16	Wedel	Karolina	12	f	s	none	Russia	German	Hillsboro, KS	Lebwa, Russia

Some notes regarding how these passengers are listed:

1)      Maria and Karolina Wedel, who are both listed with the Ratzlaffs, are Susanna (Wedel) Ratzlaff’s 2 youngest sisters.  They’re listed with the Ratzlaffs instead of with their parents, Peter and Katarina Wedel

2)      2 Wedel children, Maria and Heinrich, are listed with Peter and Katarina Wedel.  Maria (Ratzlaff) Penner tells us these are two children of one of Susanna (Wedel) Ratzlaff’s sisters.  The mother had died and the father was away completing Forestry Service, so the children travelled with their grandparents, Peter and Katarina Wedel.  According to GRANDMA, none of Susanna’s sisters fits this bill, so I’m not sure who these children’s mother was.

3)      Jakob and Helen Unrich (Unruh) were apparently on the original ship manifest but were crossed off.  These were the 2 Unruh children who stayed behind in Bremen due to health issues.

4)      While all of these Ratzlaffs, Wedels and Unruhs were actually from Leeleva (spelled “Lebwa” on this manifest), the Wedels and Unruhs are listed as being from Ostrog.

Here’s a scan of a portion of the page of the manifest that shows the Ratzlaff family.  Andreas is number 7 on this list.

This map shows the route the SS Weimar took across the north Atlantic.  The route took the ship through the English Chanel before approaching the Atlantic: