Devi provided me with some additional information on her grandfather, Josef Sarwetnik (Joseph Savitt) that she obtained from her cousin . The information was from her grandfather’s naturalization papers, which stated that Josef Sarwetnik arrived in New York on December 10, 1906 aboard the S.S. Kaiserin Auguste Victoria which departed from Hamburg . The naturalization papers also stated that he was born on December 10, 1869 in Shumsk, Russia and listed Josef’s wife Ida and children Morris, David, William, and Jacob . The Petition for Naturalization was dated June 17, 1918 and provided Joseph’s address as 1328 So. Reese Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Kaiserin Auguste Victoria
A search of Ellis Island Records produced no positive results . Likewise, using Stephen Morse‘s search tools for the Ellis Island Records produced no results . Since Devi knew the name of the ship and the date on which her grandfather arrived, IÂ searched the ships lists on Stephen Morse’s site.
I entered the name of the ship and the arrival date and was rewarded with a link to the first page of the Passenger Manifest for the Kaiserin Auguste Victoria for passengers arriving on December 10, 1906.
I searched the manifest, page by page, until I found the name Sarwetnik on one of the pages . Although a significant portion of the page was missing (including the first name of the passenger), I became confident that this manifest matched the information on Josef’s naturalization papers.
Passenger Manifest for Josef Sarwetnik (1906)
Click on the link for a PDF copy of of the Passenger Manifest for Josef Sarwetnik – 1906 . The manifest states that:
- (Josef) Sarwetnik was a 38 year old married male, listed on line 22 of the manifest
- He traveled on the S.S. Kaiserin Auguste Victoria, departed from Hamburg on November 23, 1906, and arrived in New York on December 10, 1906
- He was not able to read or write
- His nationality was Russian, his race was Hebrew, and his last residence was Shumsk
- Josef’s final destination was Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he had a ticket to his final destination, and he paid for the passage himself
- He had seven and a half dollars;Â he had not been in the United States before
- He was going to stay with his brother, Isaac Sarwetnik at 1254 [Psum] in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- He was 5 feet 6 inches tall, with light brown hair and grey eyes
- His place of birth was Shumsk
Since this manifest is torn, not all of the information is available . The first name is missing and we can only assume this is Josef . Â His occupation is missing, the date of arrival shows December 8, 1906 overwritten with December 10, 1906 . The actual date of arrival was December 10, 1906 . The information on his brother Isaac is actually written on the wrong line, but we can conclude this is the correct information for our passenger by counting down the entries on the page to arrive at line 22 . The street address for Isaac is hard to read.
Devi had also told me that her grandfather had a brother Isaac, so this is further evidence that this is the correct manifest.
I also found the World War I Draft Registration Card for Isaac Sarvetnik.
World War I Draft Registration for Isaac Sarvetnik
Click on the link for a PDF Copy of the WW1 Draft Card for Isaac Sarvetnik – 1918 . The Draft Card states that:
- Isaac Sarvetnick’s Serial Number was 1247 and his Order Number was 2325
- He lived at 1324 South Reese Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- He was 40 years old and was born on October 25, 1878
- He was white, a declared alien, and was a citizen of Russia
- He was employed as a shoemaker at J. Edwards and Company at 314 North 12th Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- His wife was Ida Sarwetnick who lived at 1324 South Reese Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- He was of medium height, medium build, with grey eyes and black hair
Note that Isaac’s address from his World War I Draft Card in 1918 is right next door to Joseph’s address from his Petition for Naturalization in 1918 . Note also that both Isaac and David Sarvetnick (see yesterday’s post) worked at the same shoe company . Both of these observations provide further evidence that Joseph, David, and Isaac are related.
All in all, the Passenger Manifest for Josef Sarwetnik appears to be the correct manifest . However, Josef arrived alone in 1906 but his son Jacob was born in Russia in 1908 . Furthermore, the family reported on the 1910 Census that they immigrated in 1909 . Did Josef return to Russia, sire a son, and return to Philadelphia in 1909? If so, there should be another Passenger Manifest to document the arrival of the family in 1909 . As yet, we have not found this manifest.
Copyright © 2006 by Stephen J. Danko
