A New World

Franz Hillenbrand was one of many emigrants making their passage across the Atlantic. A contemporary newspaper reports that, "Upwards of 6000 German Emigrants have, within the last fortnight, passed through Cologne, on their way to Bremen, Havre, and Antwerp, where they will take their departure for America. The greater part of them seemed to be rather well off. The town of Minken was lately so full of emigrants that it resembled the camp of a wandering tribe; the streets were literally crammed with baggage, and the people waiting for the steamers. It is calculated that 120,000 Germans will emigrate this year. The desire to emigrate has extended to districts in Germany where it was never before left, and, among others, to the rich and fertile Saxon Province of Prussia."

As the barque "Emigrant" sailed into Baltimore Harbor on Monday, May 24, 1847, Franz Hillenbrand collected his meager belongings and reported in a long line of fellow emigrants on the top deck of the ship. He gave his name, age, occupation and city of origin to Captain Anderson for his manifest, before making his way to the gangway. He set foot on American soil at Fells Point, Maryland, with a moderate temperature of 63 degrees awaiting his first breath. Fells Point was founded in 1730 by William Fell, who was attracted by its beautiful, deep water and proximity to agriculture and thick forests, the town became a shipbuilding and commercial center. A growth industry in Fell's Point was immigration, and it became a major point of entry into the United States. Since jobs were plentiful in shipbuilding and in the warehouses and factories, many of the immigrants stayed in Fell's Point. This added to the multicultural fabric of the area, but also caused the more affluent to move into other parts of the city.

Getting assimulated to dry land, Franz made his way to Baltimore & Ohio's Mount Clare Station to board a train to Pottsville, Pennsylvania. The train pulled out of the station and proceeded northward towards the city of Philadelphia. From there, Franz boarded another train on the Philadelphia & Reading line towards the borough of Pottsville, Schuylkill County. Finding himself among a similar emigrant population from Germany, he checked into local hostel, probably with the help of a local German-American society. He would eventually become a member of the German Catholic Church of St. John the Baptist Church. This church was founded in 1841, mostly by German immigrants from the town of Grossenlueder (which is 8 miles north of Franz's hometown of Hosenfeld) and was originally located at Fourth and Howard Streets in Pottsville. Soon, Franz would be employed as a train engineer at the Bull's Head colliery, where he worked for the next five years.

Next installment: Franz meets Magdalena Zernhelt