52 Ancestors - Week 6 - Heinrich Ramacher - So Far Away

Amy Johnson Crow at No Story Too Small has a weekly challenge to write the stories of your ancestors. This is week #6  and the suggested theme is SO FAR AWAY. My ancestor this week is HEINRICH RAMACHER (1800-1862).

My interest in genealogy began at a young age when I discovered a three-ring binder at my grandmother’s house full of family information that had been put together by a relative.  My grandmother had received letters full of updates for that book which had just been stuffed in the front pocket. My grandmother was not inclined to keep it up to date. So I took that duty on, even though I only visited my grandmother once a year on summer vacation.  But I was hooked.  That book was made in the 60’s and it had been typed and then photocopied, and it had photos, newspaper clippings, and great stories.  That book was put together by my second cousin twice removed, Esther (Ramacher) Hand.  I was only 12, but I spent hours looking through those pages and marveled that someone I had never met and who lived SO FAR AWAY in California, had collected so much information on my relatives in Indiana.

 

I want to share the story that started Esther on her journey of finding and documenting her family. Because the story starts SO FAR AWAY in Germany.

   “Heinrich Ramacher was a tall man of erect stature and careful of details.  For many months his family had been preparing for their voyage to America.  The family consisted of himself, his wife Maria, and six children from ages 10 to 26.  The two boys were the eldest and the youngest with the four girls between.  Most of their belonging were sent ahead and, at last, the day came for them to board the river packet for their trip down the Rhine River to Rotterdam, the first stop on their long journey.  It must have been sometime during February in 1854.

   The home they were leaving in Repelen in the Rhine Provinces of Prussia was about five miles west of the Rhine River and slightly north of their probably point of departure at Duisburg.  The river packet was not a large boat, but was wide and flat and though the weather was cold and rainy, they had a nice pleasant ride to the ocean at Rotterdam in Holland.  I believe the older boy, John, had gone earlier with the belongings, which included a cow and some sheep, maybe some chickens, things which needed care all along the way.

    While in the port at Rotterdam they could not locate their belongings, but were told all would be in Havre-de-Grass [now Le Havre] by the time they were.  I believe it was in this place where their permits to travel, etc. were issued.  They had hoped to find John before leaving Rotterdam to learn if he had his clearances for travel, but they missed him.  Their trip in an ocean-going vessel from Rotterdam to the French port was rough and quite uncomfortable.  The channel is always rough, but as our ancestors traveled it that wintery day in 1854 there was a storm brewing.  It had not, as yet, amounted to much of a storm, but had made the already choppy trip one of uneasiness and wonder about how much worse it would be before they would land in France. After they reached the port of Havre-de-Grass they had quite a wait before their belongings arrived.  It was only a day or two but seemed an eternity.  The cargo ship had run into the heart of the storm and had trouble.  All their belongings were finally recovered except one box.  It was either lost or the storm and seawater had ruined the contents.  I don't recall that detail of their stories.  John had been on that boat and gave a very vivid description of the ordeals of the animals and the shifting of the boxed cargo from the onslaught of wind and ocean waves.  I believe one man was washed overboard into the angry turmoil and could not be rescued.  Heinrich had made special stalls for their cow and other animals and John said that these stalls were the only reason their animals came safely through the channel storm.   Several other animals had fallen and broken bones and had to be killed, or else were washed overboard.  I have no idea of the construction of the stalls, but it points up the fact of Heinrich's attention to details and practicality.

   There was a long wait at the French port of Havre-de-Gras, now known as Le Havre, before their ship "Ocean Home" could be on her way across the Atlantic Ocean,.  Dad repeated to me stories told him about the impatience of his father (aged 10 years) to have to wait around while others boarded the ship and "settled in".   It seems there was some question about something, but grandpa's father had purchased first class passage for his family as they were given preference.  Their ship must have been quite a large one to store each family's supply of food, clothing, water to drink for themselves and their animals. Grandpa told of their quarters as being a box-like apartment section on one of the decks above the water-line.  Their animals were housed in the hold of the ship and they had to feed and care for them.  My uncle told of his father's wish that they had goats like some of the other families.  Goats didn't require so much cleaning-up-after as a cow.  Their cow supplied milk, butter, and cheese.  Their chickens and sheep gave them eggs and meat.  I remember something about potatoes being stored in the hold.  I can remember no stories of any bad storms while crossing the ocean.  The crossing took seven weeks - almost two months - and was not as hazardous as some reports of other ships.  In fact, I remember grandpa saying that he enjoyed the Atlantic crossing, except it took a long time. Their ship docked at the United States southern port of New Orleans on May 17, 1854.

   I remember no stories connected with New Orleans so I believe they quickly boarded a river boat for the next leg of their long journey, which was up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers to the river port of Evansville, Indiana.  From Evansville they rode the train to the town of Vincennes.  Since no train went to Linton in those days I have no idea how they covered their last thirty miles, nor how fast they covered it.  The way grandpa related the venture, I believe his father investigated several possibilities before deciding to settle in Linton.

   One report had their trip to America as taking three months.  By the time they broke-up housekeeping and boarded the river packet, changed boats and secured their travel permits at Rotterdam, changed boats again at Havre-de-Grass with a two week or longer lay-over, sailed the Atlantic Ocean for seven weeks, debarked at New Orleans, boarded another boat for the trip up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers to Evansville in Indiana and took a train to Vincennes, then somehow arrived in Linton, I suppose that would take all of three months.  .   I do not know why Heinrich decided to settle in Linton, whether it was agricultural prospects or friendships is hard to guess.  Perhaps it was most of the former and little of the latter.  Cornelius Gossen, whom Elizabeth married, came from Prussia and his step-father died in Linton in 1850, so they were in Linton before the Ramachers. I do not know if they were from the same part of Prussia or not, or if they were acquainted before coming here, but I believe they were.”

 So Heinrich Ramacher was Esther’s great grandfather and my third great grandfather. The Ramacher family made a seven thousand mile journey to a new land. My direct ancestors stayed in the Linton, Indiana area, but the story continues for Esther side of the family with another long journey for another one of Heinrich’s sons.

  "Heinrich's daughters remained near Linton with the exception of Agnes whose husband took her to the western edge of Iowa at Council Bluffs where she died of typhoid fever in 1880 at the age of 43.
  Henry Ramacher and his brother-in-law, John Palmer, had planned to move to California together, but as time passed their goals became divergent, so in 1881 John Palmer and his wife Catherine Fainot Palmer, and family of seven children left for Oregon.  They went by train to San Francisco where they boarded another train that took them to west central Oregon, to a town named Hubbard.  About three years later, Henry Ramacher and his wife Mary Ann Fainot Ramacher and their three children boarded the overland train for the central valley of California, landing in Fresno May 10, 1884. 

  At the time Heinrich came he said he was the only Ramacher to come to this country.  Since Heinrich had only two sons, and the older of the two had no children, our family was the only Ramachers in the USA.  For many years we never heard of any others with similar spellings, but since World War I and especially after World War II we have found others.  In checking where we can, they were not here as early as our Heinrich.

This article was written because several members of our "greater family" had never heard any of the stories associated with our ancestor's trip from Germany to America and were eager to learn.  I decided to put on paper all the incidents I can remember having been told and do welcome any further contributions from anyone.  Maybe someday we will have a better "Ramacher story".  When I have been told conflicting stories I have hunted clues for the correct situation."               

                          Most sincerely

                                  Esther Ramacher Hand

Heinrich Ramacher and His Four Daughters
From the Moehlmann Family Collection

This is the family history that Heinrich Ramacher wrote in German script.  It gives information back to his grandfather who was born in 1753. It was one of the items that started Esther on her search.

From the "Ramacher Story" by Olive Esther (Ramacher) Hand

In 1978 Esther made the trip so far away, to Germany to see the homeland of her ancestors.