The Trip to the New World
While we do not have any diaries, journals or first hand information documenting the Franz & Barbara Prokosch trip, I have included an interesting story of another family that made the trip, likely under similar conditions just a few months prior to the Prokosch trip….
Preparing to Leave
At last, we kids shouted, “Hooray, we are going to America!” We had no idea what lay ahead of us on the long journey. In the spring of 1878, we found a buyer who paid us 1600 Thaller for our house and land in Barkhausen, but left us the crop. We began our trip to America in August 1878. The last things we sold were the family dog and cat. The kitty brought 24 Groschen, or 48 cents.
At last, we kids shouted, “Hooray, we are going to America!” We had no idea what lay ahead of us on the long journey. In the spring of 1878, we found a buyer who paid us 1600 Thaller for our house and land in Barkhausen, but left us the crop. We began our trip to America in August 1878. The last things we sold were the family dog and cat. The kitty brought 24 Groschen, or 48 cents.
At that point we said, “I sadly cry, ‘Old house, good-bye!’ In fact, tears flowed freely. The farewell from the church made the family especially heavy-hearted. By the way, we didn’t go alone. Two other families from Barkhausen left with us, do we were together with good friends. Our [1878 traveling] family consisted of ten people.
Starting off to Bremerhaven
We began the trip to Bremerhaven with our chests and boxes in a big hay wagon. We were joined by other farm families, including some young guys who were a lot of fun. However, the children had to spend some very uncomfortable days sitting on the chests and in among the baggage, and we wished we were in Bremen where the beautiful ship waited for us. At least that is what they told us kids.
I had to sit on the edge of a chest with one leg stretched out and the other bent under me. What’s more, we suffered from terrible heat and burning thirst in the linen-covered wagon. The trip to America was already starting to look a little less bright to me. “Just be patient until we get to Bremen,” they told us. “Then we’ll get on the beautiful ship that will take us quickly over the ocean. That’s where all of our troubles will come to an end.”
On the evening of the third day, we were finally there. Hungry, tired, stiff and sore, we stood at the corner of the restaurant where our wagon was unhitched. Whimpering, we waited for dinner and bed.
Early the next morning after we had eaten a really good breakfast, our belongings were loaded on a barge which would go that afternoon to Bremerhaven. Meanwhile, we had time to see the town. We roamed around at random until we came to a beautiful, big church. Of all the sights we saw, we liked this best. We stayed there for a long time, for it was a Lutheran church, and we prayed hard for a good crossing. We also saw the giant, Roland. “Roland the Giant” is a statue, standing straight and stiff, by the town hall in Bremen. Somebody told us this phrase, and it stuck in our minds.
After we had lunch at our lodgings, we continued on the fourth day of our journey. We went on a barge that floated downstream on the Weser River. Oh, this was a lot better than being under the boxes and chests in the wagon. For a while we were happy-go-lucky, then suddenly we got stuck on a sand bar. It seemed like the river was draining away. This frightened us children very much. But the sailors calmed us down and said, “In two hours there will be enough water, then we can go on.” We hadn’t heard about high and low tides before. They were right; in two hours, more water came into the Weser from the ocean, and we sailed happily on. It seemed wonderful to me that water could flow uphill.
Arrival at Bremerhaven
The next afternoon we reached Bremerhaven, and our barge was brought to the side of a large two-master. At last, this was the nice big ship that would bring us into the land of Canaan. We children were delighted and pleased with the big monster, where there was a lot going on. But for the time being, only our belongings were loaded. We had to go back temporarily into the town. We went to the Emigration House, where for some, the high life continued.
Those of us who preferred to see something roamed around the harbor and looked at the many ships that lay there. Most interesting to us, of course, was our own ship, and we happily watched the way the sailors were stowing our belongings. They were also friendly to us children and could even speak low German, which pleased me very much. One said, “You guys better step aside if you like your legs.” I wouldn’t have said anything even if he had spoken to me in a different way and said, “Rascal, why are you standing here staring?” — or even if he had even given me a little kick in the backside.
Finally on the morning of the seventh day, with 182 [sic] passengers, we boarded the ship, and immediately afterward the sailors lifted anchor.
The quarters we had were not very nice, and did not come up to our expectations. They were made of rough lumber, nailed together to make compartments, each one holding four people. They were located directly below the upper deck, one compartment on top of another like in a barracks. In the upper compartment it was hardly possible to sit upright, while the lower ones were six to seven feet high. Here we had to live and sleep. These bunks were at the sides of the hold. In the middle were our boxes and chests and other luggage. In this “home” there were no windows. A steep ladder at each end led to the upper deck. There was only a little light coming through the stair hatches, and in the middle of the hold it was dark. So this was the “beautiful” boat we had dreamed about.
For a while we did not go below, but stayed on deck and watched the coast and the Fatherland slowly disappear. That’s when nearly everyone’s eyes became moist, and the women dabbed at their eyes with the corners of their aprons. We children and the young men were excited and in good spirits. I hoped the journey would last a long time, and when I asked my father how long the trip would be, he answered, “That’s up to God.”
Soon it was night and we crept into our bunks. But we didn’t go to sleep for a long time because the young folks played tricks and joked, and it was late before nature took over and everyone fell asleep.
However, before long that night, a storm came up. It made the joints of the ship creak, and tossed everything back and forth. It made a racket I shall never forget. Our cooking pots, kettles, cans, plates and cups (which were fortunately all made of tin) flew around in the room as if they were being thrown by someone. The trunks did not stay in one place, but slid back and forth. In addition, there was the noise of the sea, the whipping and howling of the wind, the running of sailors over our head, and the shouted commands of the captain.
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