Port of Bremerhaven, Germany to Port of Baltimore, Maryland, United States: 4584 nautical miles
(Google, Maryland Historical Society)
| Frances Kampa’s parents and grandparents boarded the SS Nürnberg at Bremerhaven, Germany, April 28, 1875, leaving their home, Polish Neudorf, Prussia. The scenes below depict what they may have experienced: |
| Franz and Maria Kampa, in the company of Nicolaus and Maria Kampa and other family members, made the voyage to the United States. Nicolaus is described as a “gardner.” Franz and Thomas Kampa are described as farmers on the passenger manifest. The SS Nürnberg arrived at Locust Point Pier, Baltimore, Maryland, May 16, 1875. Kampa family members then boarded a train west. Below is an excerpt from the passenger manifest for that voyage, followed by images of the SS Nürnberg and Locust Point Pier. |
| Source: The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Records of the US Customs Service, RG36; NAI Number: 2655153; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; Record Group Number: 85; Ancestry.com. Baltimore, Passenger Lists, 1820-1964 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006 and Encyclopedia Britannica, accessed at https://www.britannica.com/event/Franco-German-War, 04 Nov 2017. |
| Source: Thomas Golinski, accessed http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rydzkowski/thomasgolinski.htm. [Note: although the image above is dated 1873, it may be an image of the SS Nürnberg after her 1886 rebuild for the Reichspostdienst (Reich postal service) Source: Palmer List of Merchant Vessels accessed at http://www.oocities.org/mppraetorius/com-nu.htm] |
| Sources: Maryland Historical Society, accessed at http://www.mdhs.org/digitalimage/pier-locust-point-baltimore-maryland and The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection, The New York Public Library. "Locust Point Depot and Bremen Steamer. Locust Point, Balto." The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1870. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e0-67ea-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99. |
| A Martin Kampa migrated to America before Nicolaus. Martin settled in St. George, Benton County, Minnesota, in 1870. His family arrived in the United States at Baltimore, Maryland, July 16, 1870, aboard the SS Berlin. Excerpts from SS Berlin’s passenger manifest are provided below. |
| Source: The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Records of the US Customs Service, RG36; NAI Number: 2655153; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; Record Group Number: 85; Ancestry.com. Baltimore, Passenger Lists, 1820-1964 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. |
| The Franco-Prussian War, July 19, 1870–May 10, 1871, and the smallpox pandemic, 1870–1874, may have prompted the Kampa’s immigration to the United States. |
| French cuirassiers charging Prussian infantrymen at the Battle of Wörth © Photos.com/Jupiterimages |
“When France declared war on Prussia on 19 July 1870, the former was suffering from an epidemic of a particularly virulent type of smallpox that caused very high death rates, haemorrhagic smallpox. Poor quality vaccines only immunised some of the army, so that the mobilisation and concentration of hundreds of thousands of men drove the epidemic even faster. France lost more men than the German Confederation during this war. The deportation of French soldiers to prisoner-of-war camps in Germany, or their flight to Belgium, Switzerland and Italy, contaminated the local populations and thence the entire world. The smallpox pandemic lasted until 1874, reaching Asia via America, and causing at least 500,000 deaths. Wars are not only won by the General Staff, but also through advice on hygiene.” |
| Sources: Encyclopedia Britannica, accessed at https://www.britannica.com/event/Franco-German-War and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_smallpox and Jorland Gérard, « La variole et la guerre de 1870 », Les Tribunes de la santé, 2011/4 (No 33), p. 25-30. DOI : 10.3917/seve.033.0025. URL : https://www.cairn.info/revue-les-tribunes-de-la-sante-2011-4-page-25.htm and Encyclopedia Britannica, accessed at https://www.britannica.com/place/Prussia. |
| Port of Bremerhaven, Germany to Port of Baltimore, Maryland, United States: 4584 nautical miles (Google) |
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