The Schabert's

Preserving your family history can be a rewarding experiance for you and your family. Photos alone tell only part of a story. Records and census documents can enhance and bring life to your family history. Below you'll find a story of our family based on the information we have gathered through photographs, documents and the census. After you have read our story you will see how just a few photos and documents can make a little family information go a long way. When your ready to start yours Ancestory.com can help.

Click on the highlighted links to view the actual documents and photos.

Part 1 - "On May 22, 1857, Theodore and Catherine Schabert boarded the E. C. Scratten from Luxembourg, Germany with their five children; along with Theodore's brother Franz and his pregnant wife Margaret. The family's destination was Minnesota U. S. A. Catherine however, never made it. She died either on board the ship or en route to Minnesota, there have been no *records found on her death. Although no census documents were yet found between 1860 and 1870 we know Theodore arrived in Minnesota with his family prior to 1868. A Declaration of Intentions, which was signed by Theodore on June 6, 1857 was filed in Nicollet County Minnesota on February 7, 1868. In 1880, at the age of 69 Theodore and his sons worked as farmers. Theodore resided with one of his four sons Mathias, and next door was another son, Michael all in Nicollet County, Minnesota."

Genealogist used to spend years researching family history, now with advanced technology through the use of the Internet, this information can be brought to you without spending large amounts of money and vast's amount of time.

All the census documents were located at Ancestory.com. The passenger list and the 1900 and 1910 photos came from a distant relative that was found when responding to a message board at Ancestory.com. Other documentation was found through family members in Minnesota. The information above was located within four months of starting the research. Knowing where to look and who to contact is what helped to gather the information in the shortest amount of time.

Note: *There are several possibilities why some records can not be found. Between 1820 and 1860 four million immigrants entered the United States, the largest percentage were Irish and German. Between August 1, 1855 and April 18, 1890 Castle Garden was the main entrance to the U. S. for immigrants, there was no actual processing center. Immigrants were accounted for on a passenger list as they boarded the ship, but were not accounted for when they reached the ports. Records are difficult to find for immigrants that died on board ship.

Births, marriages and deaths at sea between 1854 and 1890 may sometimes be traced in the records of the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen.The Board of Trade (BT) registers did not start until 1854. 
BT334 - Registers and Indexes of Births, Marriages and Deaths of Passengers and Seamen
BT158 - registers of births, deaths and marriages at sea, and are a broad compilation of the records for the years 1854-1890.

Sources: Castle Garden & Burials at Sea