Arrival of our family to the United States

The below information is from a search of the Ellis Island passenger databases. They show the arrival information for Gertrude Elsen (note the record only shows 3 letters of the name) ..and also shows the information for Herman vB. Please note also that the manifest shows the Elsens as living in Leeuwen-Cereden. It should be Beneden Leeuwen.  Cereden has no meaning and we have concluded that it is just a writing mistake.

 

 

First Name:

Eru...

Last Name:

Elsen

Ethnicity:

Dutch, Dutch

Last Place of Residence:

Leeuwen-Cereden, Dutch

Date of Arrival:

March 21, 1910

Age at Arrival: 18y 2m Gender: F Marital Status: S

Ship of Travel:

Lapland

Port of Departure:

Antwerp

Manifest Line Number:

0015

Manifest for Lapland                                                                           Sailing from Antwerp Name Gender Age Married Ethnicity Place of Residence     0010. Elsen, Nicolaus M 57y 2m M Dutch, Dutch Leeuwen-Cereden, Dutch           0011. Elsen, Marie F 50y M Dutch, Dutch Leeuwen-Cereden, Dutch                       0012. Elsen, Johon M 24y 3m S Dutch, Dutch Leeuwen-Cereden, Dutch                 0013. Elsen, Maria F 20y 5m S Dutch, Dutch Leeuwen-Cereden, Dutch                   0014. Elsen, Docus M 19y 8m S Dutch, Dutch Leeuwen-Cereden, Dutch               0015. Elsen, Eru... F 18y 2m S Dutch, Dutch Leeuwen-Cereden, Dutch                   0016. Elsen, Piet M 16y 3m S Dutch, Dutch Leeuwen-Cereden, Dutch                       0017. Elsen, Hein M 14y 8m S Dutch, Dutch Leeuwen-Cereden, Dutch                   0018. Elsen, Bernard M 11y 7m S Dutch, Dutch Leeuwen-Cereden, Dutch             0019. Elsen, Grada F 10y 8m S Dutch, Dutch Leeuwen-Cereden, Dutch                 0020. Elsen, Sisen F 8y 4m S Dutch, Dutch Leeuwen-Cereden, Dutch                     0021. Elsen, Gidia F 4y 8m S Dutch, Dutch Leeuwen-Cereden, Dutch                     0022. Elsen, Willem M 3y 7m S Dutch, Dutch Leeuwen-Cereden, Dutch

 

First Name:

Hermanus A.

Last Name:

van Beuzekom

Ethnicity:

Holland, Dutch

Last Place of Residence:

Achttienhoven, Holland

Date of Arrival:

May 04, 1909

Age at Arrival: 19y Gender: M Marital Status: S

Ship of Travel:

Potsdam

Port of Departure:

Rotterdam

Manifest Line Number:

0023

Manifest for Potsdam
Sailing from Rotterdam
Name Gender Age Married Ethnicity Place of Residence 0021. van Beuzekom, Hermanus M 51y M Holland, Dutch Achttienhoven, Holland       0022. van Beuzekom, Hermina A. F 22y S Holland, Dutch Achttienhoven, Holland     0023. van Beuzekom, Hermanus A. M 19y S Holland, Dutch Achttienhoven, Holland   0024. van Beuzekom, Jacobus A. M 17y S Holland, Dutch Achttienhoven, Holland     0025. van Beuzekom, Cornelis J. M 11y S Holland, Dutch Achttienhoven, Holland     0026. van Beuzekom, Maria A. F 8y S Holland, Dutch Achttienhoven, Holland           0027. van Beuzekom, Elisabeth M. F 7y S Holland, Dutch Achttienhoven, Holland       0028. van Beuzekom, Godfriedus J. M 4y S Holland, Dutch Achttienhoven, Holland   0029. van Beuzekom, Antonius M. M 2y S Holland, Dutch Achttienhoven, Holland     0030. van Beuzekom, Johanna M. F 1y S Holland, Dutch Achttienhoven, Holland,    0004. Beuzekom v., Elisabeth F 44y M Holland, Dutch Achtienhoven, Holland,         0005. Beuzekom v., Aletta F 15y S Holland, Dutch Achtienhoven, Holland,

 

 

As the immigrants arrived in the Ellis Island Great Hall, exhausted and overwhelmed from their long journey, they were herded through inspections. They knew that in order to gain entry to the United States, they needed to be disease-free and prove the ability to earn their way in their new home.                                                                                                            Inspectors examined them, looking for any sign of illness, and those with suspicious symptoms were marked and detained for further inspection. They were also asked a myriad of questions as to their origins, their past, how much money they had, where they were going, and their intentions in America.                                                                                                     Many were detained for various reasons, and some had to have relatives come to claim them. About two percent were turned back. In these heartbreaking cases, families were often forced to decide on the spot whether to split up or go back with those that were denied access.

 

Above is a photo of the Potsdam on which the van Beusekom family traveled from Holland to the U.S. in 1909.

Left is a photo of the ship Lapland on which the Elsen family traveled from Holland to the US in 1910.  For more info on the Lapland please click on this link:                     http://www.greatships.net/lapland.html                        

 

Above is one of the Potsdam's public rooms, done in a classic turn-of-the-century style

For a complete story of the Potsdam, please click on this link:              http://www.greatoceanliners.net/potsdam.html

To the right is a photo of immigrants waiting to register at Ellis Island, in New York harbor in 1909

For the full story on Ellis Island use this link.              ellisisland.org/genealogy/ellisislandhistory.asp

The brochure to the left is one of the brochures of John van der Hagen, (formerly of Loretto, MN and now of Texas), prepared for his company of van der Hagen Enterprises, a manufacturer of soaps and personal care products. His family were long time friends of the Van Beusekoms and Elsen’s.. John started a soap company many years ago incorporating his Dutch heritage into the name.This is an actual photo of the van der Hagen windmill at the turn of the century. For generations the van der Hagen’s tended a dairy farm in Lith, Holland and the windmill was used to process neighbor’s grains, as well as their own. Lith was quite close to Beneden Leeuwen where the Elsen’s lived. .Bernadus van der Hagen moved his wife and eleven children to America in 1905. It was the van der Hagen’s who were so helpful to the large Elsen family when the Elsen’s arrived in 1910 and settled in Loretto, MN.

Click here to have an interesting  tour www.waterlandvisitor.nl of the Netherlands..Note the areas on the left of the page.