The Trip to America

Fortunately, a few immigrants kept detailed information about their journey which has survived to this day, and their descendants have made this information available to all of us. Thanks to the internet, this information can be shared relatively easily. This page provides links to web sites which contain information about various portions of the trip to America. We can assume that our Kienow ancestors had similar experiences. Of course, since the time when our various ancestors traveled varied from the 1850's to the 1880's, there will be differences as methods of travel changed during that period.

Modes of Travel and Dates
• Clipper Ships
  • These beautiful sailing ships  John Bertram had a rather short life. They were constructed rapidly in the late 1840's and early 1850's for the China trade and to transport people to the west coast quickly for the California Gold Rush (Forty-niners). They were no longer in demand at the end of the Gold Rush and unnecessary with the completion of the first transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. Transcontinental Railroad.

• Steam Ships
• "------ steamships were far superior vessels, to such a degree that by 1855 the last sailing ships were built. Sailing packets carried emigrants for another ten years but they steadily lost ground to steamers. The transition from sail to steam was radical. In less than twenty years figures were inverted. Reports of the New York Commissioners of Emigration show that in 1856, 96.4% of vessels arriving in New York were sailing ships. In 1873, there was an even higher percentage of steamships." From: The Atlantic Crossing.
• The Erie Canal
• Have you wondered why the town of Buffalo, New York, keeps appearing in family history? That is because it was the terminus of the Erie Canal, and the Erie Railroad. The Erie Canal, opened in 1825, made it possible to reach Dunkirk, on Lake Erie and near Buffalo, via river and canal from New York City. In a time when there were no roads, this was the preferred way to reach the interior of the United States from the east coast. See The Erie Canal.
• The Erie Railroad
• The importance of the canal diminished when the New York and Lake Erie Railroad was completed from the Hudson River to Lake Erie in 1851. See Erie Railroad. It is interesting that a ticket for 6 passengers was found on the body of Miss Johanna Schroeder in 1854. Think of it, only three years after the railroad was completed, a family of six ("five above twelve years and one under three") left Germany carrying a ticket for the interior of the United States. See The Wreck of the Powhattan.
• The Northern Pacific Railroad
• On August 23, 1883 the last spike was driven 59 miles from Helena, Montana. This was 1,198 miles west of Lake Superior and 847 miles east of Puget Sound. See The Northern Pacific Railroad.

As you study the migration of the Kienows, from Pommern to Oregon, you see that it is the story of the development of the transportation system in the United States, accompanied with the opening of the new lands.

This page last updated at 4/15/02.