Unanswered Questions

There are many pieces to the story of my ancestors I would like to fill in. Here are the questions I would most like answers to.

  • Where was Johann G. Steffen born and who were his parents? His parents are my only great-great-great-grandparents whom I am missing. He almost certainly was born near the village of Tribsow where his wife was born. There were plenty of Steffens in the town of Cammin, so that seems like the right area. But I have not been able to find any document to pin it down. [Cammin church records list the birth of a Johann Gotlieb Steffen in 1816 (about 14 months after my ancestor); his marriage and childrens' births are also recorded--nothing matches my Johann G. Steffen.]

    Secondarily, when did he emigrate? And did he enter through New York (like most of my immigrant ancestors) or through New Orleans, as one cousin says she was told?

  • Who were the Christine and Gustav Bartelt listed on the Sidonia passenger list along with August Bartelt, his mother and uncle?

  • When, where, how exactly did the Zarlings arrive in America? Naturalization records indicate some of them arrived in 1857, but obviously Ernestine was in Milwaukee in 1856 when she married August Bartelt. Census records suggest she arrived in 1854. I would also like to find the immigration details for Margarethe Wirth and Wilhelmina Buth.



John Bartelt 2006-01-30