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You've got questions about discovering, preserving and celebrating your family history; our experts have the answers.
By Any Other Name
A: You can look at microfilm of the actual records on National
Archives film series M237, roll 72, which is the same as Family History
Library microfilm number 0002318. It covers May 9-31, 1848. If the
person listed has the correct age, occupation, origin, destination, etc.,
and the right given name, and if traveling with other family members, if
those identifiers are also correct, then it very likely is your person.
Don't be overly concerned with the way a name was spelled or misspelled
by officials. If the surname you are looking for is Hendsch, be aware
that Hentsch occurs 375 times in the online phone book for all of
Germany, but Hendsch just once. Thus a clerk is very likely to have spelled
the name Hentsch, which is spelled like the spelling of most standard
German words, regardless of how you and your family spell it.
—Ernest Thode
Ernest Thode is co-author of A Genealogist's Guide to Discovering Your Germanic Ancestors. He also wrote Address Book for Germanic Genealogy and eight other books.
Pose your questions to our family history experts.
Q. Where can I get verifiable information about an ancestor
arriving in the Port of New York, May 21, 1848, on the Barque Atlantis from
Bremen? I have a lead from the National Archives, but my ancestor's name is
misspelled. I haven't found any help in German sources.
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