I recently went to the MN historically society library and looked at microfilms of my great grand father John Henry Peters. And was able to find his death certificate, petition of citizenship and petition for naturalization. Whith this information I was able to confirm what his parents names were, his date of immigration, the ship he was on, the age of his brother, and where he departed from and where he arrived.
I then was able to look on http://www.ellisisland.org and search for passenger list for the ship he was on. However the ship manifest is really hard to read and I cant make out any names. I searched for the town he was from an I don't think it exist any longer. When I search for Tinivbula Russia. But nothing comes up, its either called something else or has been merged into another city. So I searched for the Port he departed from and found info that the passenger lists were destroyed.
COPING WITH DESTRUCTION of Bremen Passenger Lists
The port of Bremen, Germany, was a major point of embarkation for emigrants during the 19th and 20th centuries. This was true not only for German nationals but also for millions of inhabitants of Austria, Hungary, and other Central European nations seeking opportunities or refuge in the New World. Moreover, twice as many passengers departed from Bremen as from Germany's second busiest port for emigration, Hamburg.
One of the great losses in genealogical history, therefore, is the nearly complete destruction of the Bremen passenger records. From 1832, Bremen port officials kept meticulous records on their ships' passengers. Then, in 1874, the authorities, citing a lack of space, destroyed all Bremen passenger records except for those of the current year and the two previous years. This practice was followed until 1909, when customs officials resumed the earlier pattern of preserving the original copies of all emigration lists. Unfortunately, the original lists for 1909 and beyond were destroyed in an Allied bombing raid on October 6, 1944. Except for the discovery of transcripts of Bremen lists for the years 1907-1908 and 1913-1914 at the German State Archives in Koblentz, no copies of the Bremen passenger lists have ever come to light.
Given the loss of the Bremen departure lists, researchers in search of embarkees from that port must fall back on arrival lists. In the case of emigrants to the U.S., that next-best source is the U.S. Customs Passenger Lists.
http://wiki-en.genealogy.net/Bremen_Passenger_Lists
I then was able to look on http://www.ellisisland.org and search for passenger list for the ship he was on. However the ship manifest is really hard to read and I cant make out any names. I searched for the town he was from an I don't think it exist any longer. When I search for Tinivbula Russia. But nothing comes up, its either called something else or has been merged into another city. So I searched for the Port he departed from and found info that the passenger lists were destroyed.
COPING WITH DESTRUCTION of Bremen Passenger Lists
The port of Bremen, Germany, was a major point of embarkation for emigrants during the 19th and 20th centuries. This was true not only for German nationals but also for millions of inhabitants of Austria, Hungary, and other Central European nations seeking opportunities or refuge in the New World. Moreover, twice as many passengers departed from Bremen as from Germany's second busiest port for emigration, Hamburg.
One of the great losses in genealogical history, therefore, is the nearly complete destruction of the Bremen passenger records. From 1832, Bremen port officials kept meticulous records on their ships' passengers. Then, in 1874, the authorities, citing a lack of space, destroyed all Bremen passenger records except for those of the current year and the two previous years. This practice was followed until 1909, when customs officials resumed the earlier pattern of preserving the original copies of all emigration lists. Unfortunately, the original lists for 1909 and beyond were destroyed in an Allied bombing raid on October 6, 1944. Except for the discovery of transcripts of Bremen lists for the years 1907-1908 and 1913-1914 at the German State Archives in Koblentz, no copies of the Bremen passenger lists have ever come to light.
Given the loss of the Bremen departure lists, researchers in search of embarkees from that port must fall back on arrival lists. In the case of emigrants to the U.S., that next-best source is the U.S. Customs Passenger Lists.
http://wiki-en.genealogy.net/Bremen_Passenger_Lists
