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.

Andreas Ratzlaff family arrives in USA

In May, 1907, the Teddy Roosevelt era was drawing to a close in the United States.  Economic turmoil struck the New York Stock Exchange with the Panic of 1907 and Oklahoma was admitted as the 46^th State.  At midnight on the last day of the year, an electric ball was dropped in Times Square, New York City, for the first time.

Nearing Baltimore, Maryland, on May 25, 1907, the SS Weimar steamed between Cape Charles and Virginia Beach, Virginia, and headed north up the Chesapeake Bay.  Past the mouth of the Potomac River and the Maryland State border, several miles north of Annapolis, the ship finally reached its destination:

The immigrant pier was situated at Locust Point, just west of Fort McHenry, on the north side of a small peninsula jutting out from the southern edge of Baltimore:

By 1907, the rails of the Baltimore & Ohio Railway came right down to the pier and as immigrants were processed, they could board trains immediately.  Maria (Ratzlaff) Penner remembered lots of confusion at the immigrant processing station as travelers arrived with their baggage.  The Ratzlaffs, Wedels and Unruhs were confounded that no one spoke German.  Maria initially thought Baltimore was a very strange place.  She remembers that the family toured the Smithsonian Institute while they awaited their departing train, but this memory may not be accurate.  For more information regarding immigrant arrivals in Baltimore, see: http://www.gnatowski.org/Trees/baltimore/town/home.htm

and

http://mdk12.org/share/pdf/social_studies/HISTORY/PB_immigration_baltimore.pdf

and

http://www.history.umd.edu/HOH/grade11industrial/index.html

and

http://www.baltimoremd.com/charm/pointofentry.html

The Ratzlaffs, Wedels and Unruhs probably boarded a train very near the pier at Locust Point and travelled by train westward to Chicago, Illinois, where they would have needed to make a connection with their train bound for Kansas City, Missouri.  As the Ratzlaffs took their seats on the train in Kansas City, a bearded man sat down in the row behind Marie and Karoline.  Although she was told not to look at the man, Karoline indicated to her parents that the man kept staring at her and Marie.  Getting a better look, the stranger realized for sure who the party was, approached Andreas, and a joyful reunion ensued; it was Andreas’ younger brother Bernard!

SS Weimar health inspection cards

Maria (Ratzlaff) Penner was a child on the trip aboard the SS Weimar across the Atlantic.  She remembered many people being sea-sick on the ship.  Susanna Ratzlaff became ill too, and it fell to Maria to watch after the younger children.  Baby Susanna, not even a year old yet, had to be weaned from mother’s milk but managed to survive.

Karoline wandered hand in hand with Andreas as they explored the ship.  Maria remembered a tall chimney at one end of the SS Weimar.  She intended to climb the chimney in the event that the ship would begin to sink.  An announcer periodically made announcements over a loudspeaker, perhaps in German, to keep the passengers apprised of their progress.  As the ship passed through the English Channel, the announcement was made that the British Isles could be seen.  When an iceberg appeared in the north, the announcement was made that it could be seen off the right side of the ship.

The ship’s medical staff examined the passengers daily for illness.  Andreas and Susanna’s daily examination cards were punched every day when they passed the inspection.  The cards indicate that they were both vaccinated in Bremen, Germany, before the ocean voyage began and passengers were to keep the cards to avoid quarantine upon arrival in America.  Andreas and Susanna both received 14 punches; one for each day aboard the ship.

Andreas' inspection card, front and back:

Susanna's inspection card, front and back:

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: