Coming to America 1853

As a young girl, I heard tell of family members who died coming to the US in the olden days. Here follows one such story I have been able to fill out with supporting documents. 

My double great grandparents, by the name of Lux, began their journey with their many children from Silesia in 1853. The next leg of their trip was to be from Liverpool, England to New York City. As they waited there in the harbor for the arrival of other passengers and the loading of cargo, cholera broke out on their ship. Sadly, Double Great Grandma along with one of the boys aged 13 contracted the dread disease and quickly died. They were buried in a graveyard nearby, and the rest of the family had no choice but to continue on their way west in grief and mourning. 

From what I can discover Double Great Grandpa might never have gotten over the shock of losing his wife and son in such a cruel way. Without the steadying influence of Double Great Grandma it seems the remaining children scattered when they got to Michigan, each making his or her own way from then on as best as they were able. If their initial dream for life in the New World was that they would all work together to found a large family farm or business, that worthy ambition died along with their two loved ones in Liverpool Harbor on that sad October day, 1853. 

In the beginning all I knew was Double Great Grandma Lux died on the way to America. That was about all anybody could tell me. Over a number of years, digging around in online data bases, digitized books, and records, I was able to learn some of the family members' names and dates. 

Using that information I was able to look through many long and hard to read passenger lists until one happy day I found them, the name of the ship they traveled on, and the place of departure. I got a vintage Liverpool map and looked for churches close to the harbor. Using those names I searched for online church records including burials. At last I found what I was looking for, the noting of the deaths and burials of Double Great Grandma and surprisingly, her young son. I cried that day for those ancestors, so long ago buried in a strange place, with no one ever again able to visit or dress their graves. 

Sometime later I took a closer look at the death and burial list I had. I saw that others had also died of cholera on the same ship. I wondered if there might have been some mention of this in the shipping news columns of local newspapers at that time. So began my search of Liverpool newspaper archives. As good fortune would have it, one day I came upon a tiny reference to the fact that cholera was spreading in the city, and a number of deaths had occurred on a certain ship in the harbor which was waiting to depart for the US. Amazingly, it was the very ship the Lux family embarked on and the dates matched. 

A final piece of the puzzle came only recently as I was reading about pandemics, previous to the one we are experiencing now. There posted as one of the photos accompanying the article, was this poster/handbill warning against the scourge of cholera. Upon closer inspection, I could hardly believe my eyes. This handbill was published in England, November 1853, only a few weeks after the passing of our dear ones from this awful ailment.  

I share this story, not because our family is so unique, but because every family has such stories out there just waiting to be discovered and brought to light. I encourage you to start your own genealogy journey. If I can be of any help to you, I would be more than pleased to give you a hand. Bon Voyage!