In May 1879 they [Peter D and family] moved to the United States of America, arriving here in the latter part of June. … They left Kleefeld, Russia, by wagon to Hochstadt, from there by train across Germany to Antwerpen, Belgium, then on the ship Vaterland of the Red Star Line. They went along the Schelde River to the North Sea, then through the English Channel and across the Atlantic Ocean and landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from there on train to York, Nebraska.
In fact, the ship was the SS Vaderland (Dutch spelling, not German), well known for its transport of passengers of all types across the Atlantic from 1872 until it sank off the coast of Nova Scotia in 1889. It should not be confused with a second ship also named the Vaderland, which was not built until 1900.
The SS prefix tells us that the Vaderland was a screw steamer, that is, a steam-powered ship that was propelled by a screw propeller (as opposed to a PS, or paddle steamer). But as one can see in the picture of the Vaderland below, the steam engine was not the ship’s only means of propulsion. Three sails also were available, if the engine happened to fail or the propeller became inoperable. Thus, the Vaderland can also be classified as a steam auxiliary ship (the sails being the auxiliary part).
The ship was roughly 300 feet long and 38.5 feet wide and could travel at a speed of 13 knots (15 mph). According to N. R. P. Bonsor, the placement of the engine and funnel aft (toward the rear of the ship) was unusual for this time (Bonsor 1975–1980, 2:849–50).
Originally designed to transport petroleum and passengers, the Vaderland was soon modified to serve as a regular freighter and passenger ship. The Vaderland could accommodate thirty (later seventy) first-class passengers and roughly eight hundred third-class (or steerage) passengers. In all likelihood, Peter D, Sarah, and their six kids traveled in the steerage class. According to available information, the 3,700-mile trip from Antwerp to Philadelphia took slightly less than two weeks.
As Sarah and Maria indicate, the Vaderland was part of the Red Star Line out of Antwerp, Belgium. Interestingly, the Pennsylvania Railroad Company provided funding for the Red Star Line to build four ocean liners (including the Vaderland), in order that freight and passengers could be delivered directly to Philadelphia rather than by way of New York City. According to the National Archives at Philadelphia website, “Passengers on an arriving steamship could disembark, go through customs and board a westbound train within an hour” (see here; for more on the Red Star Line and its U.S. connections, see here).
Sadly, neither Clarence Hiebert (1974) nor the Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild (see here) list the manifest for our family’s 1879 voyage (but see here for an 1882 Vaderland manifest). However, if anyone happens to know how to receive microfilmed records from the National Archives, that information could presumably be found in roll 97 (Jan. 9–June 25, 1879; 1–49) of the Records of the Bureau of Customs, Record Group 36 (see further here).
Sources
Bonsor, N. R. P. 1975–1980. North Atlantic Seaway: An illustrated History of the Passenger Services Linking the Old World with the New. Rev. ed. 5 vols. Newton Abbot: David & Charles.
Hiebert, Clarence, ed. 1974. Brothers in Deed to Brothers in Need: A Scrapbook about Mennonite Immigrants from Russia 1870–1885. Newton, KS: Faith and Life.
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