Immigrant Ships
Transcribers Guild

Brig Aliguash

There was no captain's sworn statement with this list.

Copy of Report and List of the Passengers taken on board the Brig Aliguash of Bangor whereof L. B. Pratt is Master, burthen 109 tons and (not filled in)/95ths of a ton, bound from the Port of St. Michael’s for Boston.

Columns represent: name, age, sex, occupation, country to which they belong, country which they intend to inhabit. All except the last passenger were recorded as being from Germany, and all were intending to become inhabitants of the United States, so those columns will be eliminated here.

    
  1  John            Bergman         40  male    joiner       Germany   U. States
  2  Catharine       Bergman         42  female
  3  Susannah        Bergman         19  female
  4  Peter           Bergman         17  male
  5  Catharine       Bergman         15  female
  6  Anna Maria      Bergman         14  female
  7  John            Bergman         11  male
  8  Marianna        Bergman          6  female
  9  Michael         Bergman          4  male
 10  Christian       Naurtz          42  male    farmer
 11  Elizabeth       Naurtz          43  female
 12  Susan           Naurtz          19  female
 13  Jacob           Naurtz          18  male
 14  John            Naurtz          17  male
 15  Malio           Naurtz          15  male
 16  Nicholas        Naurtz          13  male
 17  Christian       Naurtz          11  male
 18  Michael         Naurtz           7  male
 19* Catharine       Naurtz           4  male             
 20  Pietro          Naurtz           1  male
 21* Nicolas         S?oister        27  male    tailor
 22  Andre           Vitzenbaker     24  male    mason
 23* Elina           Vitzenbaker     24  male
 24  Michael         Vitzenbaker    3mo  male
 25  Susan           Jacob           20  female
 26  Barbara         Jacob           19  female
 27  John            Rott            29  male    farmer
 28  Anna            Rott            28  female
 29  Maria           Rott             5  female
 30  John            Rott             3  male
 31  Fandlin         Rott           2mo  male
 32  Fauldine        Crumos          30  male    mason
 33  Sebastian       Fraco           28  male    paperhanger
 34  Chaterine       Fraco           32  female
 35  Alvino          Fraco            8  female
 36  Agustino        Pouli           37  male    joiner
 37* Maria           Segan?          64  female
 38  Pietro          Segan?          10  male
 39* Mati?           Segan?           6  male
 40* Barbara         Segan?           4  male
 41* Anna Maria      Segan?           1  male
 42  John            Pouli           27  male    farmer
 43  Antonio         Fazer           49  male    turner      
 44  Angela          Fazer           42  female
 45  Pietro          Fazer           13  male
 46  Mati?           Fazer           11  male
 47  Susana          Fazer            9  female
 48  Michael         Fazer            6  male
 49  Margarete       Fazer            4  female
 50  Joseph          Fazer            2  male
 51  Christian       Offman          23  male    baker
 52  Sarah           Cotittibe       22  female
 53* Amal??          Fogel           24  female
 54  Geo             Major           25  male    slater
 55  Maria           Major           27  female
 56  Antonio         Major            2  male
 57  Margaret        Major           20  female              
 58  Joseph          Starick         24  male    farmer
 59  Ferdinand       Hertz           27  male    tailor
 60  Poulo           Baker           27  male    baker
 61  Nicholas        Bernardo        27  male    farmer
 62  Sebould         Stone           27  male    shoemaker
 63* John            Raiff           28  male    miller           
 64  John            Hertz           26  male    cooper
 65  Nicholas        Faldino         23  male    farmer
 66  Joseph          Faldino         18  male    farmer
 67  Jacob           Holtzar         28  male    binder
 68* Barbara         Holtzar         26  male    binder 
 69  Henrico         Feres           22  male    tailor
 70  Faldine         Dresser         24  male    tailor
 71  David           Holm            20  male    tailor
 72  Adam            Seghinger       23  male    tinman
 73  John            Hertz           47  male    binder
 74  Margaret        Hertz           22  male
 75  Jacob           Hertz           19  male
 76  Joseph          Hertz           16  male
 77  Maria Francis   Hertz            6  female
 78  Christopher     Hertz            4  male
 79  Susano          Hertz            3  female
 80  Amatia          Hertz          6mo  male
 81  John            Petrof          39  male    weaver
 82  Anna            Petrof          49  female
 83  Barbara         Petrof          12  female
 84  John            Petrof          10  male
 85  Catharine       Petrof           6  female
 86  Adam            Petrof           4  male
 87  Jacob           Petrof           2  male
 88  Peter           Petrof         6mo  male
 89  George          Serude          43  male    mason
 90  Dorothy         Serude          36  female
 91  Maria           Serude          17  female
 92* Frederic?       Serude          15  male  
 93  Dorothy         Serude          10  female
 94  George          Serude           6  male
 95  Christian       Serude           3  male
 96  Phillip         Moure           43  male    farmer
 97  Christine       Moure           44  female
 98  Barbara         Moure           12  female
 99* John            B??ckfling      48  male    farmer
100  Malio           Magner          33  male    shoemaker
101  Angelica        Magner          25  female
102  Wilheman        Crever          41  male    cooper
103  Angelica        Crever          33  female
104  Maria           Crever          12  female
105  Ferdinand       Crever          10  male
106  Elizabeth       Crever           8  female
107  Frederic        Crever           6  male
108  Joseph          Crever           4  male
109  John            Crever           2  male
110  Nicolas         Crea            44  male
111  Cristina        Crea            18  female
112  Margarete       Crea            16  female
113* Ca?hari         Crea            13  male  
114  Maria           Crea            11  female
115  Eva             Crea             7  female
116  J.              Hoffensburg     27  male    baker
117  John            Hoffensburg     27  male
118* Thos. H.        Anglier                                   St. Michaels  

Transcriber's Notes:  

 #19 marked with ditto for male, but female first name.
 #21 surname looks like Sroister.
 #23 marked with ditto for male, but female first name.
 #33-35 surname could be spelled Fraco or Frace.
 #37-41 surname may be spelled Segan or Segane or Segano.
 #39 first name could be spelled Matia or Matie.
 #40-41 marked with ditto for male, but female first names.
 #53 first name seems to be spelled Amalco, but is probably meant 
     to be Amalia or Emilie.
 #63 see above for information on Johann Peter Reiff.  On the manifest, 
     his names were reversed, with surname listed in first name column.
 #68 ditto marks for male gender, but female first name.
 #92 first name looks like it could be spelled Frederico or 
     Frederice or Frederica.
 #99 surname could be spelled Buckfling or Brickfling.
#113 first name looks like it is spelled Calhari or Colhari.
#118 no information for this passenger other than he was coming 
     from St. Michael's.

* This list has been generously contributed to the ISTG by the efforts of Susan Schlosser, a volunteer for the Manitowoc County, Wisconsin website, http://members.xoom.com/_XMCM/2manitowoc/index.html and Michael Ritter in Germany, who is working on a project tracing the emigrants who left some of the villages southwest of Koblenz, Germany.

The passengers aboard the Aliguash had left Europe on a different ship, out of Liverpool bound for New Orleans. The first ship had been wrecked near the Azores, where the passengers were found and remained for 17 weeks, when they were rescued by a Portuguese fishing crew and then were eventually transported to the United States on the brig Aliguash.

#63 Johann Peter Reiff or Reif was born 9 Feb 1818 in the small village of Morz, Rhein-Hunsruck, southwest of Koblenz, Germany. (He was a brother-in-law of this transcriber's great-grandfather, Peter Joseph Koelzer, who was from the neighboring village of Mittelstrimmig in Germany. The story of Peter Reiff walking from the eastern U.S. all the way to Wisconsin in the winter of 1846, is probably true, as 2 versions have come down in 2 separate branches of the family: one that he walked from N.Y., the other all the way from Boston! He must have been a remarkable person to survive first a shipwreck, then an ocean voyage, and then a winter journey of such a great distance.

The following story of Peter Reiff has been typed as written by hand. The author is presently unknown; it was possibly written by one of Peter's descendants. It was acquired on 27 October 1999 and submitted by Susan Schlosser to the Manitowoc Co., Wisconsin website.

"His father Nickolas Reif owned a flour mill and an oil press on a small river near the village of Moertz (Morz). Peter, being the second son, early in life learned the Millwright trade, which included making Waterwheels and other wooden machinery for Water power Mills.

"Spent much time and money in books. Not having a good paying job, took a government job with a Government Surveyor for three years. From books he learned about America and the states, having saved enough to buy a ticket to cross the Atlantic Ocean, said good bye to home and friends and on March 25, 1846 started on his trip from Liverpool England to New Orleans on board the ship.

"Less than a week into the voyage, a terrific storm ruined the ship's masts and sails and left them all at the mercy of the wind and storm and rocks which struck a heavy leak at the bottom of the ship. All men who were able had to take turns at the pumping to save the lives for all on board.

"Forty-eight hours of work and the Captain found they were near an Island and small boats were sent to bring all on board the ill-fated ship to a small island of St. Michael, one of the group of the Azores Islands where they were then on the island. The inhabitants were a kind, friendly, and happy people who shared their corn bread with the strangers, although they could not speak except the Portugese language. All worked for one man who they called the governor. They lived chiefly on corn bread, fish, oranges, and wine, and grapes. They were made welcomed by the inhabitants for seventeen weeks until a ship loaded with lumber (this was the Aliguash) bound for Portuguese (sic) promised to give their way back to take them to Boston, Mass. and they kept their word.

"When they got to Boston, no work to be found, the city sent them by canal to Albany, NY where they scattered to different parts of the country. Peter Reif having read about Green Bay, Wisconsin planned his trip through the state of New York, walking, and on Dec 30, 1846 came to Rapids, Manitowoc Co. (Wisconsin) and not finding work, next day Dec. 31 started to walk to Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Green Bay road had been cut years before but the trees laid where they fell.

"Only Indian trails where the mail carrier carried or on horse back took the mail from south to north on his way from Rapids, Manitowoc to Green Bay. He found no settler except at Francis Creek. A French man lived near the creek and a few more at Cooperstown. When he got to Green Bay he was offered a job to work by a farmer at six dollars per month and board, and room and was glad to take the job.

"The following summer he came back to Rapids, and got a job in the mill. Later he followed the river up stream then called Center River, now called Branch River until he came to what is now known as Reif Mills. Finding conditions favorable for making a dam across the river as there was sufficient falls to have water power, he built 2 water wheels, one for a small saw mill to cut lumber and another to grind flour for the incoming new settlers which were slowly but surely moving into the then thick forest. Also his four brothers came to America about 1853, Nickolas, John, and Mat. settled in the Town of Kossuth, Joseph Reif a shoemaker was one of the early settlers of the city of Manitowoc. His mother Anna Maria (Sabel) Reif lived a few years in this country and died, and was buried in Rapids Catholic Cemetery."

"Peter Reif was a kind and generous man always ready to help the then many poor fellow men, and neighbors. He died Jan. 15th, 1882. But his name will live on for years to come. Reif Mills!"

(All above quotes from the unidentified writer of this history of Peter Reif. Peter Reif and Susanna Koelzer from Mittelstrimmig, Germany, were married in 1853, and at least 5 children are known to have been born to them. Peter's parents also emigrated and died in the early 1850's in Wisconsin. Further information about them is available at the LDS Family Search site.)

I found my Starck family arriving on the Brig Shamrock 10 August 1846 at New York. Now that Shamrock was found, one long-standing mystery remained, that being the identity of the first ship that wrecked and where in "Portugal" were they landed, according to that Starck history.

Meanwhile, my friend Louis Galet, found the manifest of Brig Aliguash on ISTG and noticed the similarity of the passengers having survived a similar shipwreck, this one being at the Azores (also Portugal). We learned from more research that the passengers on Aliguash had survived the demise of the Ship Franklin, Antwerp to New Orleans, which put into St. Michael, Azores in a sinking condition due to leaking of its hull.

Our hunch became that the 35 passengers on Shamrock had also been aboard Ship Franklin with the 116 passengers of Aliguash.

Last week I learned from Mystic Seaport Museum that the passengers from Shamrock had in fact been aboard the Ship Franklin, this proven by a description in the 10 August 1846 edition of the New York Herald. So at long last, the mystery vessel is confirmed to be the Ship Franklin! Mystic Seaport also provided a September 1846 listing from New York confirming the Aliguash arriving with passengers of Franklin at Boston 22 September 1846. PJStarck

National Archives and Records Administration, Film M277, Reel 22.