The Matthias Daleiden family arrived in the port of New York, New York City, at Castle Island on the 7 December 1857. Shown above is the actual passenger list. The Daleidens are passenger numbers 90 to 94. The family members (note the absent of Matthia’s eldest son Michael Daleiden) on the ship manifest include: the father Matthias Daleiden (age 53), Christopher (age 20), Peter (age 17), Barbara (age 22) and Barbara (age 13). Matthias and Christopher mention to the port authority they are “farmers” from “Prussia”. Their destination is recorded as “Illinois”. Why two Barbaras? For the answer to that question go to my posting on German naming conventions. For the answer on where Michael is locateed at this time go to my posting regarding Michael’s arrival in America.

The family journeyed from the port of Antwerp in Belgium over a seven week period on the choppy waters of the north Atlantic Ocean on the sailing ship the E.C. Scranton. The ship according to records had three decks and three masts. The Scranton weighted 1,186 tons and had been crafted of white oak and cedar and was 180 feet in length the size of a football field and 37 feet in width.

The Daleidens place of origin noted on the passenger list was “Prussia”.

Several questions are now forming as I continue my research journey. Why had the Daleidens and the Schikc come to America? Did they know anyone already living in the United States and in the State of Illinois? What drove Matthias to bring his entire family on an arduous seven-week journey to America? The family would be traveling in all likelihood with people they did not know. Would they survive the seven weeks and not contract any illnesses or a disease? At this point in my research I do not have any concrete answers in writing contained in any letters nor diaries the family left behind. One option is to turn to the writings of other European and German historians in order to gain a general understanding and context of what others immigrants had experienced. I will attempt to answer some of these questions in future posts.