Travel Documents for German Citizens in the 1800's

hannover-l
1

Hello!

My great, great grandfather immigrated to Cincinnati, Ohio, from Dinklage,
Germany in the mid 1840's. I know that he went back to his hometown in
1860 (to bring his father and brother to Cincinnati) and 1891. From what
I've been able to discover, he never became a US citizen.

Would he have had to have any documents (a type of passport) to travel to
Germany once he moved to the US? If so, would these documents have expired
at some point and would he have had to renew them in order to travel?

Danke!

Marti Kerkhoff Wallace

2

Hello Marti

I am living in the Bundesland Baden-Wurttemberg, in the deep south west
of the FRG.
Until to 1945 there were the States of Baden, Wurttemberg and the
"Hohenzollern
Territories" the latter one were part of the Kingdom of Prussia since
1850.

I would say it was different in the different German States.
Between 1804 and 1871 there did not exist a country "Germany"
but a lot of German speaking countries.
I learned about of some of such passports were issued just
for the emigration and for the travel to America and expired
after the arrival.

Even if your ancestor never became a U.S. citizen couldn't have got
a passport to carry out to leave the U.S.A. and return again, as well
as from the side of the U.S. he had no passport to enter and to leave
the States of the German Confederation in those days.

If your ancestor decided to return to "Germany" to bring his father and
his
father to Cincinnati he must have got documents of dismission from the
nationality
and military service - in the other case he would have sentenced for
desertion.

I know of a family that immigrated to the U.S. in 1854 but without of
documents of
dismission. The head of household said they would just to have a
"travel" to America
and would not emigrate from the country forever. But indeed they did not
return.
Therefore he asked for and received just a passport for the travel, for
himself,
his wife and the four of his younger children, two sons and two
daughters (the older children, a son and a daughter
immigrated in the year before) However, because there were not issued
documents of dismission, there remains the
duty of military service in the Prussian Army for the two younger sons,
therefore, when they did not follow to the
call to appear for mustering, they were sentenced for desertion and had
to pay a fine of 50 Taler, or to go in jail for a month.
Well, against to her father, this sons became U.S. citizens and thought
never to return for military service in the Prussian Army.
I learned the younger son came to Germany for a visit, but just to the
origin country of his wife in the north of Germany.
Meanwhile he had changed his first name from Wendelin (Wendell) to
William perhaps for better pronounciation by his
english speaking fellow citizens,

Even I learned of an immigrant which emigration passport lists only
himself, his wife and the daughter
that was not married at this time. Therefore the other children that
were married must have got special passports.

Please excuse my lousy knowledge of English.

Heinz E. Hennige
th

"M Wallace" <mwallace767@gmail.com> schrieb:

3

I know my ancestor from Bremen was running from the Prussian Army's draft around 1866 when he came to the USA, so probably he didn't have any papers that permitted him to leave, and perhaps that is why he doesn't seem to have applied for citizenship in America.

He lived within a 12-block area from the day he arrived as a teenager -- but I cannot find any record of his passage or a naturalization in the US --- although there is a passage record for a man named Rudolph (not Johann Heinrich Friedrich) who came 15-20 years earlier. Many of his family seem to have gone to the Canary Islands. -- Maureen

Researching: Costello (Galway and Mayo), Cotter, Durcan/Durkin, Higgins, Kelly, Lynch, McCarthy, Raftree/Raftery (Galway), Shannon, Sullivan, Welsh, Amacher, Baur, Bove, Cremer, Ehlen, Fischer, Gansberg (Bremen), Giefer, Hamacher, Hense/Henseler, Hofmann/Hoeffeler, Jackler/Jackelen, Jaegers, Koch, Kratz, Krebs, Morlot/Morlo/Morloh, Mueller/Meller, Mertes, Pick, Reetz, Rheinges, Reichardt/Reichert, Rick, Schmieden, Seitz/Zeidt, vonAlleman/Vollerman, vonMeer, Weiskopf, Zens, Albright, Compton, Corselius (PA>IA), Clemens/Clements(OH>MO), Daly/Daily (Galway), Derrick (Roscommon), Desponit/Dispennett, Early, Fallon (Galway), Greene (Waterford), Callaghan (Cork), Fitzgerald, McCarthy, McGrath (Waterford), McSweeney (Galway/Roscommon), Moss, Mullenix/Mullinax, Prichard, Reilly/O'Reilly (Galway, Roscommon), Shelly (PA), Shook (PA), Tye.