1909 Passage to New York

The 616 feet long steamer President Grant set sail from Hamburg on April 3, 1909, arriving in New York on April 16. The President Grant was able to carry over 3,300 third class passengers in addition to several hundred in the first and second classes.

1909 ship passenger list for voyage from Hamburg to New York in 1909.

A scanned image of the full two pages from the original passenger list showing the Sikora passengers is linked as a PDF at the bottom of this page. Note that the lines for passenger entries in the record book appear to have run across from the left page to the right page, and there are additional columns of information on the right hand page. Since the names are not repeated on the right hand page, the reader has to use the line numbers on that side.

Listed on lines 23 through 27 are Bronislawa, Franciszek (Frank), Stefania (Stella), Sabina (Sylvia), and Walerian (Val). The entries state the following:

• • Bronislawa was age 26 and could read and write.

  • “Nationality” Austrian, “Race or People” Polish.

  • Last permanent residence country Austria, town Czernichow.

  • “Name and complete address of nearest relative or friend in country whence alien came”: (mostly illegible, but includes the words “uncle” and “Czernichow”).

  • Final destination was Chicago, Ill. and they had a ticket to that destination.

  • Amount of money in possession $45.

  • Person going to meet: husband and father Walenty Sikora, Chicago, Ill., (more illegible writing).

  • Bronislawa’s height 5’ 4”, hair color fair, eyes brown. Frank’s eyes gray, Stella’s eyes brown.

  • Place of birth: Austria, town Czernichow.

Like "Galacia" on the 1904 ship passenger list, the appearance of "Austria" and "Austrian" in various places can be expected since the part of Poland they were leaving was still under Austrian rule (ending during World War I).

More about the ship:

The 6 mast, 4 deck President Grant was two years beyond its maiden voyage at the time of the 1909 trip.  It saw mostly Hamburg or Bremen to New York service while commissioned as a private vessel, including in at least two separate periods. It survived troop ship duty in two World Wars and was scrapped in 1952.