When Stefania Chmielewska arrived in New York in 1901, she was detained, rather than immediately admitted to the United States . Various notations, such as an “X”, “D”, or “held” between columns 1 and 2, or in the name column on the passenger manifest, indicate that a passenger was detained . The manifest may also include other notations to indicate that a passenger was held for a Board of Special Inquiry, that a Certificate of Arrival was issued, that a Warrant of Arrest was issued, or a number of other events occurred . See the post on A New Look at Immigrant Passenger Manifests for more details.
Frederick Barbarossa
In Stefania’s case, the actual manifest page shows that quite a few other passengers on the Barbarossa were detained as well, and many of these passengers had something in common – they were unaccompanied minors.
Record of Detained Alien Passengers for Stefania Chmielewska – 1901
Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Record of Detained Alien Passengers for Stefania Chmielewska – 1901 . This records show that:
- Stefania Chmielewska was detained passenger number 175, listed on the manifest in Group A, Number 9
- Stefania was traveling alone and the Cause of Detention was “to be tagged”
- Stefania’s disposition was “to R.R. jrny to” [to railroad journey to] her brother Joseph, 18 Lafayette St., Worcester, Mass.
- She was discharged by inspector [Lr.] at 15:30 [3:30 PM] on May 22
- She was not detained long enough to receive any meals at Ellis Island
The meaning of “to be tagged” is not explained, but I assume it meant that the officials at Ellis Island tagged her so that she would reach her brother’s house safely . I assume that Stefania could not speak English, and probably traveled alone on the railroad to Worcester . All in all, the voyage from Lithuania to Bremen, from Bremen to New York, and then New York to Worcester must have been quite an exciting and frightening adventure for a 14 year old girl traveling alone, and was probably the first time in her life she had ever traveled any significant distance from home.
Copyright © 2006 by Stephen J. Danko
membersHowcan I find the list of the crew?
Thank you.