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The Ship of Horror (ref 2 and ref 12) The Langenholzhausen group made their way to the harbor at Bremen Germany and boarded the ship named Agnes. Their group comprised 112 people out of the 400 or so that boarded the ship to sail to America. The ship left Bremen Harbor for New York City on May 4 , 1847. The trip to America sounds like something out of a modern-day horror film. In his recollection of the trip, J. A. Arpke calls the trip more like one expected for Russian prisoners on their way to Siberia than German immigrants searching for a new life in America. The ship was overcrowded. Everyone was quartered in small narrow rooms. At night the travelers had to sleep so close to each other that one could not roll over unless the entire row of sleepers made room and also rolled over. Soon a system was set up where a signal was given for everyone to roll over at the same time. Sanitary conditions were non-existent, and fresh drinking water was scarce. Small parasites tormented the travelers. Fresh water was distributed by the swallow from a jug. Their food consisted of hardtack (a type of hard bread similar to crackers) and bean soup which was a solution of lukewarm saltwater and very few beans. As one might expect under these conditions, sickness and death occurred. Thirteen or fourteen people died in route to America, three of whom were from the Langenholzhausen group. Those who died while crossing the Atlantic Ocean were Helene Buker (age 4 and daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Herman Buker), Sophia Domeier (wife of Frederick Domeier), and a man only known as the widower Schmieding. The bodies were committed to the deep sea. The body of Sophia Domeier was reportedly committed to the sea near Newfoundland. Destination Quebec, Not New York City (ref 2 and ref 12) The captain of the Agnes of Bremen apparently had no more regard for signed contracts than he had for offering sanitary and safe passage on his ship. The contract that was signed by the Langenholzhausen group said that the destination was New York City. The ship actually docked in Quebec to the dismay of all the passengers on board. The reason for sailing to Quebec was that the ship was overloaded, and the captain was afraid of being fined if he continued to New York City. Certainly, the captain knew that he was going to Quebec instead of New York City before the ship even left Bremen Harbor. Agnes of Bremen |
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