07 December 2014

Wen the Adens are Found

It is easy to see how this was indexed as "Habbe Wen" on Ancestry.com.

It's also easy to see how it can be read as Habbe Aden as well--which is what it actually is.

The Hermann arrived in New York City on 15 March 1869--apparently with several Ostfriesian individuals on board.

Habbe wasn't really the person of interest on this manifest--Johann Ufkes was as he's an actual ancestor. Ufkes and Aden's family were some of the immigrants on the Hermann who indicated a "last residence" of Holtrop, Germany.

Aden and his family and Ufkes settled originally in Hancock County, Illinois. They then headed to different counties in Nebraska in the early 1870s as evidenced by their homestead records. It's important to keep in mind that immigrants might have landed for a short time in one place, only to permanently settle elsewhere. Declarations of intention and naturalization records in the homestead applications of Ufkes and Aden document their short term stay in Illinois.

Ufkes abandoned his claim and returned to Illinois.  Aden didn't.

It always pays to search the entire manifest for other names and if you can't find the person of actual interest in a manifest, consider searching for some of their fellow immigrants. People didn't immigrate in a vacuum.

And that way you aren't searching for Habbe Wen.