When all is not what it seems - the Reubers emigrate to N. America

"Who wants to know all that shit?"

This line sums up many of our ancestor's thoughts on the past and moving on from hard times. Anyone who was lucky enough to know Grandpa Reuber (Henry) will smile when they learn this line is attributed to him. I can just hear him saying it.

Finding information about our family history is difficult. Relatives may never have spoken about the "old days" or were reluctant to do so. As young people, we're busy with the here and now and it's a big reach to consider people from 50 or a hundred years ago. Others who may have been interested didn't begin asking about it until the older folks (and any records in their belongings) were long gone.

Over the centuries, our families moved from one location to another, sometimes because of wars or economic difficulty. There are few actual documents in circulation and no paper trail that is easily accessed, leaving guesswork and puzzles to solve. And necessary assumptions. Like when you find a record that documents the family and all the names and dates seem to match - but then learn that all is not as it seems.

When all is not what it seems - the Reubers emigrate to N. America

Esther Reuber Schlachter (my mom) passed down information that the Reuber family emigrated from Russia, to the German port of Bremen and on to North America via the ship S.S. Professor Woermann in 1907. Final destination: Russell, Kansas. The voyage was about 25 days long.

I thought I had a solid start here. My online records search pulled up this list but also included some other sailing lists that showed Reubers, with a couple of the same first names, emigrating in a similar time period. Where did these people fit? Other branches of the family?

A ship's passenger list for emigration to North America is one of the first, and easiest, documents to find for our ancestors. There is usually a lot of information about the passengers, including their ages, where they were born, where their final destination will be, even physical characteristics. These passenger lists are often copied in typewritten formats to allow electronic searches and make it easier to read.

The typewritten passenger list for the S.S. Professor Woermann contained the information that Esther had. After getting access to the original handwritten copies of the passenger lists, however, here is what I figured out:

#1: April 10, 1907 - S.S. Professor Woermann (Bremen, Germany - Galveston, US)

The Reuber family travel from the German colony of Hussenbach, Russia and arrive at the port of Galveston. The following family members are on the passenger list:

• Michel and Elizabeth Reuber (Esther's great grandparents) and their children:
• Son - Michel Jr. (24), his wife Amalie (22) (Esther's grandparents) and 9 month old baby Pauline (Esther's aunt)
• Son - Alexander (15)
• Son - Jacob (26)
• Son - August (12)
• Daughter - Pauline (20).

But... you will see there is a stamp in the row beside Alexander (15 yo) and August (12 yo) that says, "DEBARRED" and a handwritten note further over in a medical column reads, "Dr. Cert. Trachoma". Trachoma is an eye infection that was not uncommon to get on the ships, with crowded and often unsanitary conditions. It turns out that these two boys were turned away at Galveston because they had red under their eyelids. And they were sent back to Bremen, Germany! Amazing that they would send two minors alone back across the ocean. Perhaps there were others going back as well, maybe from the same village or newfound ship friends, and they offered to escort them? We don't know.

#2: June 13, 1907 - S.S. Breslau (Bremen, Germany - NY - Baltimore, US)

The Reuber boys are listed to depart to the US again. Listed are:

• Alexander (now listed as 18 - needed to be legal age to travel alone?)
• August (13)

But again, there is a note beside their names: "...full" (overbooked?)

#3: June 21, 1907 - S.S. Frankfurt (Bremen, Germany - NY - Baltimore, US)

The Reuber boys try again. Listed are:

• Alexander (18)
• August (13)

Yep, another note beside their names: "Not on board". No explanation.

#4: July 18, 1907 - S.S. Rhein (Bremen, Germany - NY - Baltimore, US)

Listed are:

• Alexander (18)
• August (13)

Looks like the fourth time is the charm! Although, really, I don't have any documentation to confirm this was the final ship for them. However, later records in the US for Alexander and August indicate they arrived in the US in 1907 so hopefully this was it.

Name Game

As an aside, it seems every generation of the Reuber family AND every branch of the tree, used the same first names. So many Alexanders and Augusts.... it makes my head hurt trying to keep who-is-who straight in my mind. The Reubers were not alone in this. Wait till you see the endless Katerinas, Elizabeths, Johanns and Antons in the other family lists...