Jessica's Tales

Bremen

“Eile! Hurry! Henriette, we must go now or we shall miss our ship!” Mami scolded Henriette this morning.

John, Christine, and I were waiting patiently in the neighbors’ wagon, waiting to be taken to the docks, as Papa and Mama made certain we had all we needed for our trip.  Baby Marie was sleeping safely in John’s lap.  Mami almost never scolded us.  She was always warm and forever smiling and singing as papa played his shiny violin. Today, however; was a day where spirits soared though stress was high.

It is a rather warm day in late July and today we will be boarding a very large ship, the New York, to begin our journey to America.  Other families around us have gone and father’s brother, and his wife and children, have gone too.  They have set up a farm for us in the village of Willing in a place called New York.  I can’t wait to get there! Großvater, Papa’s father, has told him that we are in for a long journey towards a new life.  Just how long a journey I don’t know, I hope we get there before dark! I hate the dark.

He told us Uncle mentioned rough seas and many dangers along the way.  Vati prays constantly as he always does when times are hard.  He is worried.  I think Mami is too.  Once we get there we will get to ride a train!  Imagine, they have trains in America, too!  I am looking forward to America.  Henriette, though, seems reluctant to leave our rented room here in Bremen.

“Meine Rote Kleidung! My red dress!  I can’t go to America in rags! I must wear my red dress!  Please, Mami, where is my red dress?”

Mama knelt next to Henriette on the floor.  “Süßes kind, sweet child, your dress is packed and on the wagon. You may wear your dress when we reach America. The journey will be long and you will not wish to ruin it.”

“Mami, I must look good for America! What if I fall asleep and I don’t see her, the statue Uncle writes about, what if she sees me in my rags?  What will America think of me if I arrive messy and dirty! I must wear my new red dress!”

“Nein. No,” Mama said quietly pulling Henriette to her. “Please, Henriette, get into the wagon with your brother and sister. Your dress is packed into the dresser, I promise. You can wear it when we arrive in America.”

Reluctantly, my sister climbed up into the wagon next to John and I.

“Befürchten Sie nicht.  Do not worry. Am I not your older brother? Is it not my job to care for you?  You will look good for America, you will see.”

John has always been good as comforting us. As the oldest, he has always tried to be strong and protect us; even if it means he gets into trouble for our mischief.

With everyone finally in the wagon, we set out for Bremen Port. With us we are bringing a large white dresser Mami has had in her family for a long time, Vati’s violin, John’s new boots, my doll, Marie’s baby things, and Henriette’s red dress.

Why that dress is so important to Henriette I don’t know.  It could be that it was given to her by someone special, or that it was trimmed with fine white lace. It must have been special seeing as it was given to her.  Usually, Mama makes all of our clothes. We are never in need though, not with Papa being a captain in the army.  That is why we are leaving Giffon.  Papa did not wish to re-enlist in the army despite Mama’s pleading.  Though, why he won’t remain a captain, I never learned. We were going and that was that.

We were allowed to bring so much and so much only! We all chose our best and prepared to leave the rest to friends.  Henriette would not give up that dress.  Perhaps Henriette thought that the dress was a reflection of her.  No matter the reason, she would soon be glad for not wearing the dress on the New York.

The Ship

The men at the ship were all dressed in uniforms of blue and white.  They took our tickets and directed us onto a lower level of the big ship.  Mama says this is where we will ride to America.  It is a bit dirty and not as nice as the other parts of the ship.  The other people on board are dressed as we; in farm or merchants street clothes, but everyone is as neat and clean as possible.  It seemed that everyone wanted to look their best for America.  Maybe Mami and Vati should have let Henriette wear her lovely red dress.

It is crowded, but not so crowded that is unbearable.  One of the stewards told me that nearly 500 passengers will be boarding the ship today.  John told us before we left that his friends in American have written of ships where you could not move to breathe without bumping someone near you.  I am glad we don’t have that problem.  There are many of us, but there is also plenty of space.  We have bunk beds for each of us.  Mami and Vati had one set, Henriette and I another, and John has his own that he shares with a boy called Herman. Baby Marie will sleep with Mama.

We are all excited about going to America!  I can’t wait to meet Uncle’s new baby!  John wants to play with our cousins again.  I don’t think the reality of just how long this trip is going to be has hit any of yet. We definitely won’t make it America before dark.  I hope I can find a candle…

Friends

It has been nearly a month since we left Bremen Port and our hopes have begun to dwindle only a bit.  Sometimes I find myself thinking, perhaps the ship has gotten lost or America only is a dream.  Maybe the ship is really a vessel carrying us to the Heavens to be with our maker and is simply waiting for the right time to deliver us to the pearly gates.

Things have been pretty calm and uneventful.  We have made plenty of friends and most people aboard the ship speak German! John and Herman play a game with the marbles that Herman brought with him every chance they get.  I have never seen the game before but it looks like fun.

Henriette spends much of her day talking with Bertha, a German girl only a few bunks from ours.  Henriette tried to sneak to the cargo room to show her the red dress the other day.  One of the ship hands caught her and brought the two back by the ears to Mami and Dorette’s mother, Rosine. Neither was too pleased with the girls.

Christine and I have been running around with several children; Joseph, Bertha, Adele, Otto, Ilona, and Lisette.  We try to help some of the older girls with the babies.  Anna, one of the girls who takes the babies so mothers can rest, tries to shoo us away.  She thinks we are a nuisance.  The boys don’t mind.  If we can’t help with the babies we all go up on deck and play tag as well as possible with all the other people around.

At night, Vati takes out his fiddle and we dance.  Everyone around us comes and dances with their families and friends.  Vati plays all sorts of things on his violin and Mami sometimes sings. We dance fast at first and then Papa slows it down.  Eventually we all get so tired that we just climb into our bunks and watch until we fall asleep.  I love watching Papa play and hearing Mama sing.  The last thing I see before I fall asleep at night is Mama’s beautiful smile.

The Fire

One night, during all the dancing and singing, Georg Neff, one of the older boys on the ship, came running into the room we all share.  He was sweating and covered in soot. A mechanic back in Germany, he spent much of his time with the crew in the engine rooms so it wasn’t too unusual, except for his hand.  He was holding it oddly at his side, careful not to let it touch anything. I looked closer, it was red and bloody and skin was missing. I was about to ask him what had happened but he stepped up onto the crate Papa stood on when he played.

“Feuer! Fire!” he panted. “There is a fire in the engine room.  Everyone needs to get up on deck. Get out of here. The engines are below us and the fire near the cargo.  You are not safe here.”

Everyone looked at each other.  Some began to panic as mothers ran about gathering up families.  Mami scooped Marie and me up into her arms and Vati snagged Henriette and Christine into his as John clasped Vati’s shit tails. “Let’s go!” he commanded.  No one wanted to get separated.

As we left the hold I looked back.  I could see where families were panicking to find lost little ones who were no doubt hiding out of fear. Older children scooped up younger ones and rushed them to frightful parents. Many who had come alone pushed anyone and everyone out as quick as possible saying that families could reunite above where it would be safer.  Papa and Mama rushed us up the stairs and into the star filled, mid-August night.

We all sat down on the deck clutching each other to keep warm.  Henriette started

to cry.  John reached over and patted her arm, “Befürchten Sie nicht.  Do not worry.  It’ll be ok,” he reassured her. “Everyone will get out. We’ll be just fine.”

Henriette cried harder, “Meine Rote Kleidung! My dress! My pretty red dress!”

John looked puzzled, “What are you talking about Henriette?  There are people down there right now trying to put the fire out and you are worried about a dress!? Mami can make you a whole set of new clothes when we get to America!”

“Sohn, son,” Vati said gently, “She is smaller than you and does understand the adult like views you hold though you are so young. She will be alright.”  John nodded.

I stared in wonder at my brother.  He was only two years older than Henriette, but understood so much more.  He had always cared deeply about other people.  Even people he had never met before.  It saddened him that Henriette was more concerned about her dress than the people risking their lives to save ours.  Abruptly, he stood and began to walk away.

“Where are you going Sohn?” Vati asked.

John faced him and smiled sadly, “To find Reverend Hesoum. Like you say when things get tough, Vati, it is time to pray.”  With that, he turned and walked towards the other side of the ship.

I thought for sure Mami would object, but she didn’t.  She just looked at my father and smiled. “What a bright sohn we have, schatz.”  I love it when Mama calls Papa her schatz, her treasure.

“Yes, sonnenuntergang, sunset. He takes after his mother.”  Papa smoothed at Mama’s hair as it framed her face, resting his hand a moment on her cheek.  They both smiled and held each others eyes.

Marie slept soundly in Mama’s arms and Christine’s head lay across Papa’s lap.  Henriette still cried, though quietly now.  And I sat, watching God’s stars, as smoke wafting towards the heavens slowly became the ship in my dreams.

Miss Liberty

After the fire, everyone on the ship was much quieter and stuck much closer to their families than they had at the beginning.  A few families lost all of their belongings, and everyone was thankful they hadn’t lost their lives.  Henriette’s dress, just as the rest of our things, was fine.

Families that could manage to found way to help those families that lost everything.  I gave Lisette one of my extra dresses since she lost all of hers.  Even the older children helped by fashioning dolls out of scraps of cloth and rope found about the ship and giving young children toys they had made or brought with them.  Thankfully, only Georg was injured.  The captain told him that he will have to stay at a hospital when we dock until he is well enough to be admitted to America.  Georg wasn’t worried.  He told the captain he had come alone and that no one was waiting for his arrival.  How sad! To have no family waiting for you in America! I am glad to know there is someone waiting for me!

All the worries of the past few weeks were being drowned out today though.  There was much excitement on board the ship no matter where you went.  Today we would be getting to America!  We will see the statue today! Today! Everyone has been busy cleaning themselves up and helping each other and preparing themselves to say goodbye to new friends and hello to old ones. This is the first time since we boarded the ship that everyone has been smiling no matter the situation around them.

Henriette has stopped asking about her dress.  Vati made it clear that she would be permitted to put it on today once the statue had been sighted.  She and Bertha have been sitting up on deck all day waiting for the man in the crows nest to shout.  Christine and I are waiting at the top of the steps.  We want to be the first ones to tell the others of her beauty.  Some say she is large and holds fire.  Others have said she is an angel.  I can’t wait to find out for myself.

There She Is!

Just as dusk was setting in Henriette came to the top of the steps smiling wide and calling at the top of her lungs with Bertha at her heals, “I see her! I see her!”

Christine and I dashed down the stairs, “Kommen sie! Kommen sie! Come! Come!

She has been seen! Miss Liberty has been seen!”

People stirred in their bunks and laughter filled the compartment.  Finally! America!  There was a mad dash towards the stairs where Christine and I were scooped up and hugged and kissed for bringing such wonderful news.  Even those who were too ill from the trip to walk were being carried up the stairs to see the wonderful statute.

Miss Liberty meant freedom.  She meant a better life, a place where you would be accepted and loved and be able to begin again.  She was beautiful and such a wonderfully welcome sight. Vati lifted me to his shoulders and held Christine on his hip.  Mami stood with John in front of her and little Marie in her arms.  Henriette clung to Mami’s skirts.

Mami looked to Vati who nodded.  She handed Marie to John and reached into the deep pockets of her apron.  In her hands she held Henriette’s beautiful red dress.  Mami smiled at her.

“America,” she whispered, slipping the dress onto Henriette as she wriggled out of her farm clothes, “must have a princess.”  She smiled like the stars, “A little princess in a red dress.”

This story is mostly true.  John, 7, Henriette, 5, Johanna, 3 (whose eyes this story is told through), Christine, 2, and Marie Heinemann, 6 months, really did cross the ocean on the New York. John and Henriette were named after their parents who brought them to America.  Young Henriette really did have a red dress she was concerned about taking to America and there really was a fire aboard the ship.  All of the names and people in this story are real as are any occupations mentioned.  They arrived in America on September 27, 1865.  They reached what is now Ellis Island and were sent on to Castle Gardens where they were granted entry.  The Heinemann family, my ancestors, probably did travel by train to Wellsville, New York where our family still resides. There few other stories that survive, most dealing with life in America regarding the other children Henriette and John gave birth to as American citizens.  My family can be traced through Johanna, my great, great, great grandmother. Please note the major historical fallacy – The statue of liberty was not built yet!