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To America
Heinrich Landwehr, like his older brother and sister before him, likely
chose to leave his home in Hannover because of the limited economic
opportunities open to him in the farming community where he was born
and grew up. By the time Heinrich was 18 years of age, his older brother
Johann in New Orleans was already married, had children, and was the prosperous
operator of a coffee house and grocery on Tchoupitoulas Street (corner
Philip Street). His older sister Maria was married to Henry Buck, who
had steady work as a drayman (wagon driver). Their success surely
gave encouragement to young Heinrich to join them.
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This small photograph (a carte-de-visite), taken at the studio of Wilhelm Gräf
in Quakenbrück
may be Heinrich Landwehr. If it is him, it likely was taken about
1865-1866, when he was 18-19 years old. This photo was among the
possessions of his future wife Caroline Feige Landwehr when she died.
A larger version of this photograph can be found here.
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| Heinrich
received permission to emigrate from the
Prussian authorities. A record in the Niedersachsen State Archives
[Niedersächsisches Staatsarchiv] shows that Johann Hermann
Heinrich Landwehr of Lechterke, born 3 January
1847, was allowed to leave on 19 April
1866. The record included this statement: "Ein älterer Bruder
wohnt in New Orleans,"
that is, an older brother lives in New Orleans. The reference at the
archives is: Rep 335, Nr. 797, Band 2, Blatt 286-288. The complete
record (in German) can be found in a PDF file here. After receiving permission to emigrate, Heinrich would have traveled to Bremen and then on to the port of Bremerhaven.
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At Bremerhaven, he boarded the ship Arracan for the passage across the Atlantic Ocean to New Orleans.
The Arracan (referred to in some records as a bark) was
built at the Grohner Schiffbauplatz for the Hamburg shipping company of August
Behn and was launched on 3 June 1856. Her length was about 150 feet, with a
beam [width] of about 32 feet.
| Deutsches Schiffahrtsmuseum, Bremerhaven |
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Before the ship Arracan
sailed from Bremerhaven, a list of its 228
passengers was prepared. Heinrich Landwehr traveled in the second cabin. The list said he was a "servant" from Hannover and that he was 20 years old (he was actually 19).
The entire first page can be found here.
The Arracan set sail on Wednesday, 5 September 1866.
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After a long passage (two months and twenty-two days), the Arracan, under the command of Jürgen Diedrich Stricker, Master, arrived in New Orleans.
The "Marine News" in the New Orleans Bee
of
Wednesday, 28 November 1866, reported that it docked at pier 42 in the 3rd District, that part of
the riverfront below Canal Street. The section
"Arrived Yesterday" included:
Ship Arracan, (Brem). Stricker, from Bremen Sept 5th,
with 228 passengers, to Silkenstadt & co.—— 3d dis-
trict 42
The entire page from the Bee can be found here.
Once in New Orleans, a Boarding Officer for the Collector of the
Customs verified the list of 228 passengers.
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Nineteen-year-old
Heinrich Landwehr had traveled from his parents' home in Hannover
across the Atlantic and up the Mississippi River to a pier at the foot
of Congress Street in downtown New Orleans. The final step would be
finding his brother and sister who lived uptown, but surely this would
be the shortest part of what had been a very long journey.
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Go to next section: Life in New Orleans
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Return
to Landwehr Family History Opening Page
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