Immigrant Ships
Transcribers Guild
Ship Mathilde
Bremen, Germany to Baltimore, Maryland
21 September 1838
I, J. R. Rose, Master of the Ship Mathilde of Bremen, do solemnly,
sincerely & truly swear that the annexed subscribed with my Name contains
to the best of my Knowledge and belief a just and true account or Report of
all Passengers who have been taken on board the said Ship at Bremen or any
other foreign port or at Sea and brought in the said Vessel into any District
of the United States since her departure from the said Port of Bremen
(signed) J. R. Rose
Sworn to this 21 September 1838
Before me (signed) M. Gill Not(ary)?
100 Passengers $150.-
The microfilmed original passenger list (referred to as
"Manifest) (M255, Reel 2, 1838 Ship #54) is labeled a "City List." This
Manifest shows only the name of the head of the party/family, his or her place
of residence and trade, and columns showing the number of passengers in that
party/ family in various categories and the totals. The transcribed list below
is a "hybrid" list that uses the Quarterly Abstract (M596, Reel 3, 3rd Quarter
of 1838, pp. 53-56) to provide the names and ages of the additional passengers
in each party/family.
Although all passengers in each party/family are
likely from the same hometown as the head of the party/family, transcriber has
not added that information to the additional names garnered from the Quarterly
Abstracts, since all persons on the Quarterly Abstract are simply identified
as being from "Germany." Also, the Quarterly Abstract does not include periods
after name abbreviations, while the Manifest does so for the head of the
party/family as listed there. The result is that the hybrid list below has
periods after the abbreviations in the name of a head of party/family but not
in the names of other passengers. See the Transcriber's Notes below for more
information about differences between the Quarterly Abstract and the Manifest.
Columns (except as noted in parentheses) correspond to those on the
Manifest: Name (head of family/ party from the Manifest, with other names from
Quarterly Abstract), Age (from Quarterly Abstract), Sex (from Quarterly
Abstract), Place of residence, Trade, and separate columns showing number of
Men, Women, and Children ages 8-12, 4-8, 1-4, less than 1 year, and total
number of Persons in the family/party. If there is no passenger in a
particular category on the Manifest, transcriber added a zero in the relevant
column for clarity; no zeroes appear in the Manifest.
List of 114 Passengers onboard the Ship Mathilde, J. R. Rose
master, bound for Baltimore:
M W Children Total
1 Joh. Geiss 23 m Blankenbach Joiner 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
2* Andr. Harrick 23 m Blankenbach Joiner 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
3* Joh. Stenger 40 m Geisselbach Tailor 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
4* Conr. Hessler 60 m Schildkiepon Farmer 5 4 0 2 1 2 14
5* Johann Hessler 35 m
6* Johann Hessler 3 m
7* Anna M Hessler 54 f
8* Anna M Hessler 30 f
9* Mary Ann Hessler 20 f
10* Margreth Hessler 2 f
11* Margreth Schneider 28 f
12* Margreth Schneider 4 f
13* Joh Adam Schneider 38 m
14* Joh Adam Schneider 2 m
15* Conrod Hessler 23 m
16* Joh Schaefer 23 m
17* Eva Hessler 5 f
18* Conr. Wissner 19 m Schnepfenbach Farmer 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
19* Conr. Arensberg 51 m Martinshagen Musician 2 2 1 1 0 1 7
20 Maria C Arensberg 47 m
21 Anna Arensberg 24 f
22 Maria Arensberg 1 f
23 Dan^l W Arensberg 17 m
24 Maria Arensberg 12 f
25 Caroline Arensberg 9 f
26* Phil. Meier 34 m Dittelsheim Farmer 1 1 1 2 1 0 6
27* Jacobine Meier 35 f
28* Barbara Meier 8 f
29* Cather Meier 2 f
30* Wendel Meier 10 m
31* Christian Meier 5 m
32* Jac. Kern 34 m Rauslott Farmer 1 2 3 0 1 1 8
33 Jac Kern 1 m
34 Caroline Kern 22 f
35 Caroline Kern 3 f
36* Christina Passerting 54 f
37* Christina Passerting 14 f
38* Geo Adam Passerting 17 m
39 Michael Passerting 10 m
40 H. B. Schwabe 23 m Blumenthal Merchant 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
41* Conr. Raabe 31 m Cassel Farmer 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
42 G. W. Krug 25 m Hof Farmer 2 0 0 0 0 0 2
43 Joh A Krug 19 m
44* Anna Cath. Guthian 34 f Hof 0 1 0 0 0 0 1
45* M. E. Resser 38 m Dresden Joiner 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
46* M. G. T. Steigerwald 25 m Sonderkahl Farmer 1 1 0 0 0 0 2
47* Magdalena Steigerwald 26 f
48* Fr. Heinr. Wessel 17 m Ostercappeln Farmer 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
49 Weigand Hilss 49 m Babenhausen Smith 1 1 2 1 0 0 5
50 John R Hilss 15 m
51 Carl Hilss 10 m
52 C Margretha Hilss 42 f
53 L Hilss 5 f
54* Herm. Mahla 34 m Babenhausen Backer 1 1 0 0 1 0 3
55 C M Mahla 32 f
56 Fred^k Mahla 2 m
57 Wilh. Weber 36 m Babenhausen Smith 1 1 2 0 0 0 4
58 Elisi Weber 28 f
59 Ludwig Weber 8 m
60 Henrich Weber 5 m
61* Tobias Merz 41 m Babenhausen Backer 1 0 1 0 0 0 2
62* Philip Merz 12 m
63* Adam Roth 36 m Babenhausen Tailor 1 1 0 0 1 0 3
64 Martin Roth 2 m
65 Margreth Roth 32 f
66* Friedr. Roth 32 m Babenhausen Tailor 1 1 0 0 1 0 3
67 Wilh. Pilger 29 m Babenhausen Shoemacker 1 1 0 0 1 0 3
68 Barbara Pilger 33 f
69 S Maria Pilger 4 f
70 Mich. Roth 49 m Babenhausen Farmer 2 1 1 1 0 0 5
71 Ernst Roth 17 m
72 Dorothea Roth 45 f
73 Elisi Roth 10 f
74 Eva Roth 6 f
75* Friedr. Wirth 18 m Rauslott Farmer 1 1 1 0 0 0 3
76* R Soph Wirth 54 f
77* C W Wirth 14 m
78* Philip Hasskart 41 m Babenhausen Shoemacker 2 0 0 0 0 0 2
79* Johannes Hasskart 33 m
80 Ludw. Willmann 21 m Babenhausen Coachman 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
81 Joh. Mahla 38 m Babenhausen Farmer 1 1 0 0 1 0 3
82 Margreth Mahla 35 f
83 Maria Mahla 2 f
84 Joach. Opdenweier 36 m Willig Joiner 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
85* H. W. Ruppert 53 m NiederMittlau Farmer 1 3 0 0 1 0 5
86* Wilhelm Ruppert 3 m
87* Anna M Ruppert 45 f
88* Elisi Ruppert 14 f
89* Susan M Ruppert 65 f
90* Ludw. Holterman 48 m Ziegelbach Butcher 3 1 0 0 0 0 4
91* Wilhelm Holterman 25 m
92* Johann Holterman 39 m
93 Carl C Bad 34 m
94* Heinr. Schwarz 54 m Budingen Joiner 4 3 1 1 1 0 10
95 Joh H Schwarz 19 m
96 Carl Schwarz 11 m
97 Johan Schwarz 52 m
98 Anna M Schwarz 46 f
99 Cath H Schwarz 21 f
100* Louise Schwarz 14 f
101 Maria Schwarz 6 f
102 Cath Schaeffer 25 f
103 Margreth Schaeffer 2 f
104* Christ. Apel 29 m Budingen Joiner 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
105* Christ. Schiewitz 23 m Furfeld Tailor 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
106* Carl Strauch 25 m Budingen Shoemacker 1 1 0 0 0 0 2
107 Cath Strauch 25 f
108* Joh^s Theophils 19 m Breitenbach Backer 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
109* C. W. Thatjenhorst 36 m Wagenfeld Smith 1 1 0 0 0 0 2
110 M D Sophie Thatjenhorst 35 f
111* Jac. Brucker 48 m Kupferzell Shoemacker 1 1 0 0 0 0 2
112* Juliana Brucker 50 f ______________________
49 30 13 10 8 4 114
1 suckling with M. G. T. Steigerwald
1 suckling with Adam Roth Bremen July 20 - 1838
(signed) J. D. Wichelhausen
(signed) J. R. Rose
Transcriber's Notes
* An asterisk is used to call attention to additional information in the Passenger Notes.
^ Indicates that superscript was used for the subsequent letter or letters.
? Indicates a letter or number which could not be determined due to the
condition of the manifest or handwriting of the original recorder.
Using the Manifest and Quarterly Abstract together, transcriber has combined all
available details on the passengers aboard the Ship Mathilde in this hybrid list.
The Manifest shows a total of 114 passengers (not including the two sucklings),
but transcriber believes that this is overstated by 2 passengers. As explained
below (see note regarding passenger #66), there is apparently an error in the
number of passengers shown traveling with Fredr. Roth. Adam and Friedr. Roth
are both shown on the Manifest accompanied by a woman and a child age 1 to 4,
for a total of 6 passengers. But the Quarterly Abstract only includes two other
passengers named Roth, Margreth age 32, and Martin age 2. Transcriber believes
that Margreth was Adam’s wife and Martin his son, and that Friedr. \Roth was
traveling alone. Since there were only 4 Roths listed on the Quarterly Abstract
(not 6, as indicated by column totals on the Manifest), the 114 passengers
enumerated on the Manifest should, in fact, have been 112.
The Quarterly Abstract contains only 111 names (not 112) that transcriber has
identified as passengers on the Mathilde. These 111 names include 13 names of
passengers traveling with Conr. Hessler, but the Manifest shows a total of 14
persons in that party. By comparing the ages of the passengers listed on the
Quarterly Abstract to the age columns shown on the Manifest, it appears that
the 112th name is for a child (aged 4-8). Conrad Hessler was transcriber's
great-great-great grandfather, so he is able to supply the name of the missing
child, a daughter named Eva, who was born in June 1833 and thus was 5 years old
when the Mathilde arrived in Baltimore. Accordingly, transcriber has added
Eva's name as passenger #17, and the above hybrid list contains the names of
112 passengers.
Names were transcribed as written, with any comments on spelling included in
the Notes below. With regard to the head of a party/family, the spelling on
the Manifest has been retained, and a note contains a comment on significant
variations in spelling contained in the Quarterly Abstract. The following
Notes on Passenger Entries include transcriber's comments about spelling.
The numbering of passengers was supplied by the transcriber for reference purposes
and are obviously different than the numbers on the Manifest, which only counts the
37 heads of party/family, since they are the only named passengers on the Manifest.
2 - Transcriber believes name should probably be spelled "Hornick."
There is no "Harrick" entry in the current online German telephone
directory for Blankenbach or the surrounding area. However, there
is a "Hornick" in Blankenbach and ten others in the surrounding area
(Mombris, etc.).
3-5 - The hometown for passenger #3 should be spelled with one "s". With
regard to the trade of passengers #3-#5, the Qtr. Abs. shows (by ditto
marks) that they were joiners. Transcriber has used "farmer" for
passenger #3 and #4, as shown on the Manifest, and has left occupation
of Johann Hessler (#5) blank since his name and trade are not listed
on the Manifest. Based on transcriber's own family research, both
Conrad Hessler (#4) and his son Johann Hessler (#5) were farmers and
shoemakers, not joiners.
4-14 - The correct spelling of the town is Schollkrippen, with an umlaut over
the "o". Qtr. Abs. spells name as "Hesler", but the Manifest clearly
shows double "s" and that is how the name has been spelled both in
Germany and U.S. in transcriber's family. The Hesslers (except
"Conrod" Hessler, age 23) and the Schneiders settled near the small
town of Millhousen, Decatur County, Indiana, probably arriving there
in early 1839, after first stopping in Cincinnati area. Conrod
(Conrad) Hessler (age 23) settled in Mt. Healthy, Ohio, now part of
Cincinnati.
13 - Based on transcriber's other research, Johann Adam Schneider was
Conrad Hessler's son-in-law.
15 - First name should be "Conrad."
16 - Transcriber has no information about how Joh Schaefer is related to
the Hesslers, or why he is shown as member of the Conr. Hessler party.
Schaefer is a common name in the Kahlgrund area.
17 - The name of the 14th member of Conrad Hessler's party is not shown on
the Qtr. Abs; the above information on Eva Hessler (born in Germany
in June 1833; died in Millhousen, Indiana, in August 1849) has been
supplied from transcriber's family records. Note that Eva's actual
age is consistent with the age of the missing 14th member of the
Hessler party, i.e., age 4-8.
18 - The town name should be spelled "Schneppenbach." The surname is spelled
"Wissel" on the Qtr. Abs, and based on other research, transcriber
believes that "Wissel" may be the correct spelling. However, "Wiesner"
is also a German name, and there is a company called "Wissel & Wiesner GmbH"
in the current telephone directory in the nearby town of Sommerkahl.
19 - Transcriber could find no "Martinshagen" in Germany, but there is a
"Martinhagen" located in northern Hessen about 50 miles north of Büdingen,
and even further from the Kahlgrund or Babenhausen, where the hometowns
of most Mathilde emigrants were located.
26-31 - Surname is spelled "Meyer" on Qtr. Abs. "Dittelsheim" may really be
"Dudelsheim" (with an umlaut over the "u") about 3 miles west of Büdingen.
32 - "R" and "B" were sometimes difficult to distinguish on the Manifest.
Transcriber could locate no "Rauslott" in Germany. Transcriber believes
that the corrrect hometown may be "Rossbach" (located just north of the
Kahlgrund, near Biebergemund and the village of Cassel; there is 1 Wirth
and 3 Kerns still in that area); however, there are several other towns
named Rossbach in Germany. Alternatively, this town might be "Rappach" in
the Kahlgrund, an area which also has telephone listings for both Kern and
Wirth families. Finally, maybe this town is really "Bauschlott" in
Baden-Wurttemberg; the spelling of that town is really closer to the
Manifest's spelling; there is one Kern (but no Wirth) currently living
in the vicinity of Bauschlott.
32-39 - The names and ages shown on the Quarterly Abstract do not correspond
exactly to the ages given in the columns on the Manifest; the difference
can be resolved by assuming that the 3 children listed as being age 8-12
are the three Passerting children, even though two of them are over age 12
on the Quarterly Abstract (actually, 14 and 17).
36-38 - Using a people search computer program, the transcriber was unable to find
anyone named "Passerting" (or "Basserting") currently living in Germany or
in the U.s. However, thre are 5 "Basmangin" entries in the current
directory for the town of Babenhausen (Hessen), and transcriber believes
that is a real possibility, though a bit of a stretch. Interestingly,
there are only a total of 7 listings with the name "Basmangin" in all of
Germany and six are in Babenhausen. Transcriber recognizes that this name
does not sound German, and it may be a group of recent immigrants to
Germany from Turkey, Armenia or somewhere else; in any event, the identity
of 3 passengers listed as "Passerting" remains unclear to the transcriber.
41 - This Cassel may be the small village of Cassel (usually spelled "Kassel")
near Rossbach and Biebergemund in Hessen, just north of the border with
Bavaria. Of course, it could be the large city of Kassel in northern
Hessen about 75 miles north of the Kahlgrund.
44 - Surname is spelled "Gutthar" on Qtr. Abs. Using people finder software,
it appears that is no "Guthian" or "Gutthar" surname currently in Germany;
there are some "Guthan" and a few "Gutthan" entries; the likely spelling
of this name cannot be determined. There are many towns named "Hof" in
Germany.
45 - Hometown would seem to be the large city of Dresden in Saxony, as that is
the only "Dresden" on Map Quest. "R" and "B" are sometimes difficult to
distinguish on the Manifest; surname could be "Besser", but name is clearly
"Resser" on Qtr. Abs. Also see the note regarding passenger #48.
46-47 - Town name should be spelled "Sommerkahl." The Steigerwalds also had a
"suckling" (as indicated at the end of the list), apparently born on the
voyage. The Steigerwalds are listed on Quarterly Abstract immediately
after Conrad Wissner/Wissel/Wiesner (see passenger#18), perhaps because
they are from same Kahlgrund area. Mr. Steigerwald's initials are shown
as "G A" on Qtr. Abr.
48 - "Fr. Heinrich Wessel" is not shown on the Qtr. Abs. However, there is a
"John F" shown immediately after M. E. Resser, with what appears to be a
ditto mark to indicate he has the same last name as the preceding entry
(Resser). Since these two passengers are from different towns, it seems
likely that "Wessel" (not "Resser") is correct, so transcriber has
retained surname as on the Manifest. Note that this passenger is not
from the Kahlgrund area (where the "Wissel" name is common), so transcriber
has retained the spelling of this passenger’s surname as "Wessel."
Ostercappeln is in Niedersachsen about 10 miles northeast of Osnabruck
(with an umlaut over the "u"); this is over 100 miles from the Kahlgrund.
Moreover, Dresden (the hometown of M. E. Resser) is located in Saxony
(in former East Germany), over 200 miles east of Ostercappeln.
54 - Quarterly Abstract shows the first name as "Heinr." A Backer is a Baker.
61-62 - Name spelled "Marz" on Qtr. Abs. Backer = Baker.
63 - Adam Roth is shown as having a suckling; presumably, his wife gave birth
on the voyage.
66 - The transcriber believes that the headcount of 3 shown on the Manifest
for the Friedr Roth family is incorrect; the name "Fred^k Roth" appears
on Qtr. Abs immediately after Adam Roth and is then followed by Martin,
age 2, and Margreth age 32; the Qtr. Abs tends to group males and females
together (perhaps preferring the use of ditto marks to save time);
transcriber believes that Martin and Margreth were in Adam Roth's family
because the Manifest indicate a suckling with Adam Roth; of course, that
is speculative. Alternatively, it is possible that two Roth names were
omitted from the Quarterly Abstract.
75-77 - Surname seems to be "Wirthwen" on Quarterly Abstract, but transcriber
believes that "wen" is a misspelling of "Wwe" the abbreviation for widow.
The town is same as for #32--may really be "Rappach" or even "Rossbach".
78-79 - Manifest shows a single entry: "Phil. & Joh^s Hasskart". Transcriber
shows both entries as on the Quarterly Abstract: Philip, age 41, and
Johannes, age 33. The surname "Hasskart" is unknown in present day Germany;
at least there is no such listing in the online German telephone directory.
Transcriber believes that this surname should be spelled "Haschert."
85-89 - Qtr. Abs. shows name of #85 as "Heinr W". All family names are spelled
with one "p" (Rupert) on Qtr. Abs.
90-92 - Surname appears to be spelled "Hotterman" on the Quarterly Abstract.
The Manifest shows 3 males and 1 female; names on Qtr. Abs are all shown
as "male."
94,104,106 - There is an umlaut over the "u" in Budingen,
100 - "L" and "C" on Qtr. Abs are somewhat the same, but this passenger's first
name must be "Louise", not "Couise", even though the first letter looks
more like a "C" on the Quarterly Abstract.
105 - There are at least 2 towns named Furfeld in Germany.
108 - Qtr. Abs. entry reads "John T" with what looks like a ditto mark, which
would indicate his last name was "Strauch", based on the last preceding
surname. The name on the Manifest is Theophils, which sounds more like a
first or middle name than a surname; using a people finder computer
program, transcriber found no Theophils surname (and only one Theophil)
currently in Germany. Passenger #108 and passenger #106 are from different
hometowns, but that does not mean they could not have the same last name.
There is a Bleichenbach only about three miles northwest of Budingen, so
#106 and #108 may have been from neighboring villages. There are also
10 Breitenbachs shown on Map Quest in Germany, and one is about 10 miles
from Büdingen, so it is hard to say where the hometown of passenger #108
is actually located.
109 - The transcriber found only one Wagenfeld in Germany, a small town in
Baden-Wurttemberg, west of Heilbronn.
111-12 - Kupferzell is a small town in Baden-Wurttemberg, about 50 miles southeast
of the Kahlgrund. There is an umlaut over the "u" in Brucker. The Qtr.
Abs. shows first name of #111 as "Jacob."
Additional Transcriber Notes about Hometowns (Wohnorten) of the Mathilde's Passengers:
20 passengers (#1-18 & #46-47) were from towns in the "Kahlgrund" (the ground
drained by the Kahl River), in the extreme northwest corner of present-day Bavaria,
just north of the city of Aschaffenburg. The correct spelling of these towns is:
Blankenbach, Geiselbach, Schöllkrippen, Schneppenbach, and Sommerkahl.
13 passengers (#94-104, #106-7) were from Büdingen (a town about 15 miles northeast
of the Kahlgrund).
5 passengers (#85-89) were from NiederMittlau, a village in Hessen about midway
between Büdingen and the Kahlgrund.
32 passengers (#49-74, #78-83) were from Babenhausen, a town in Hessen about 15 miles
southwest of the Kahlgrund. This is not the only Babenhausen (or Bobenhausen) in
Germany, but the transcriber believes that this is likely the correct one.
Thus, in total, at least 70 passengers were from hometowns within a radius of about
15 miles of Schöllkrippen, where transcriber's Hessler ancestors lived. If Rauslott
= Rappach, then there are 11 more Kahlgrund emigrants on board the Mathilde. The
balance came from a variety of other locations in Germany. Transcriber has included
suggestions about the location of several of those towns in the above notes.
Additional comments from readers of this list are welcome. Please contact transcriber
by using the email link below.
National Archives and Records Administration, Film M255, Reel 2, List 54.
Quarterly Abstract M596, Reel 3, 3rd Quarter of 1838, pp. 53-56
Transcribed by Charlie Hessler for the
Immigrant Ships
Transcribers Guild
July 20, 2004
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