Andreas Ratzlaff family train trip to Kansas

The last major leg of their journey took the Ratzlaffs, Wedels and Unruhs by train from Baltimore, Maryland, to Marion County, Kansas.  As stated earlier, the Baltimore and Ohio Railway (B&O) tracks ran right down to the immigrant pier at Locust Point, Baltimore.  Immigrants boarded trains after processing and began their journeys deeper into the United States.

The Ratzlaffs, Wedels and Unruhs were bound for Chicago, Illinois, via the B&O.  This map of B&O routes in the late 1890s shows how their trip would have looked.  From Baltimore, they would have passed through Hagerstown and Cumberland in Maryland, and then on to Grafton and Wheeling, West Virginia; Newark, Fostoria, and Defiance, Ohio; and finally into Chicago, Illinois:

In the early 1900s, the B&O was served by Grand Central Station in downtown Chicago which was situated on Van Buren Street.  Grand Central Station, Chicago:

The Ratzlaff party would have continued south of Chicago via the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, but the AT&SF was served by the Polk Street Station (or Dearborn Street Station), not Grand Central.  Polk Street Station, Chicago:

Polk Street Station lay about 2 blocks south and 2 blocks east of Grand Central.  On this map of downtown Chicago at the turn of the century, north is to the right.  Grand Central Station is marked with the green X and Polk Street Station is marked with the red X:

Once at Polk Street Station, the Ratzlaff party would have boarded the AT&SF train bound for Kansas City via Galesburg, Fort Madison, La Plata, Carrollton and Lexington:

Crossing south of the Missouri River at Sibley, the train would have then rolled west into Kansas City Union Depot:

The Union Depot once stood in downtown KC very near where the junction of I-70 and I-35 is situated today:  Union Depot, KC, at the turn of the century: 

Arriving at the Kansas City Union Depot, opened in 1878, may have been an eye-opening experience for the Eastern European Mennonites.  The Union Depot was situated in one of the worst areas of the city.  Saloons, pool halls and brothels populated the area that was also home to meat packing plants and cattle yards.  For more information regarding the KC Union Depot, see: http://www.kclibrary.org/blog/week-kansas-city-history/bottoms

South from the Union Depot, the AT&SF line ran first through Rosedale, KS, and then followed the Kansas River on to Lawrence and Topeka.  At Topeka, the line turned south to Osage City, and then on to Emporia and Strong City.  This map shows eastern Kansas in the year 1900:

Somewhere along the route south of KC, Andreas and Bernard Ratzlaff were reunited after 14 years apart.  Guided by Bernard, the Ratzlaffs, Wedels and Unruhs reached Florence, KS.  At Florence, they could have continued on to Newton but I feel it’s more likely they would have taken the AT&SF spur into Hillsboro.  The SS Weimar manifest indicates that the Wedels and Unruhs may have set their destination as Galva, in which case they would have continued west beyond Hillsboro through Lehigh and Canton.