“Hanna and the children surprised him walking down the road when he got off of work.”
A piece of family lore.
Hanna was 32 years old, the mother of two toddlers and
pregnant with a third child when they boarded a ship for North America. She
carried her satchel in one hand and clasped Palmine’s little hand in the other.
She reminded Gustav to keep a tight hold of Palmine’s other hand. They must not
be separated as they merged with the throngs of people boarding the ship.
The Pedersen family, filled with feelings of excitement and
trepidation, bought tickets for steerage passage sharing quarters with hundreds
of others. The average fare to cross the
Atlantic was about $30 per person. The fare would have included food, but there
was not always enough. How would Hanna
have prepared for such a voyage? Did the children have room to take a small
toy? Was Palmine still in diapers? Multiply these scenarios by the number of
passengers and one can begin to imagine the environment they endured for the
duration of the crossing.
Gustav, at three
years old, was no doubt fascinated by the workings of the ship. Palmine was
two, and while perhaps shy of strangers, was interested in everything. Keeping
track of two inquisitive toddlers is a challenge for any parent. The children
would have had many watchful eyes as the travelers helped each other giving
mothers a moment’s break. Some parents resorted to tying the youngsters
together with rope to keep them from getting lost, or worse.
Some ships leaving from Norway sailed directly to North
America. Others sailed first to Germany
or England where travelers made connections to their destinations. These ships
were filled with passengers funneling in from many countries, all speaking
different languages. They no doubt
sought out people from their own country out of comfort, until a few words were
exchanged in each other’s languages and communication improved and connections
made. This was probably the first time
most had encountered people of other nationalities. Their lives were changing in ways they could
not have imagined.
The Pedersen family was headed for Wisconsin, to meet Johan.
Regardless of the excitement, trepidation, anticipation, or
anxiety they may have felt embarking on this voyage, enduring the challenges,
inconveniences and hardships on the ship, Hanna and Johan could not have begun
to imagine what lie ahead for Hanna and her family.
Hanna and the children landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, this page of manifest was not completed. But one can see Hanna, Gustav and Pauline listed at the bottom of the page.
A new
country, in a new language, Hanna had to navigate her way to the Midwest. She arrived
in Wisconsin in time to deliver her third child, Mina, on 27 September 1881 in
Menomonie, Wisconsin.
