Martin Tobolt Comes to America

Martin Tobolt first set foot in New York City in 1882, the first day of March. Fifteen days had passed since the Hamburg-American Line steam ship Silesia debarked its berth at the port of Hamburg on February 15. This time the family name was spelled "Tobol". But we know the Martin on the manifest was our Martin Tobolt because his wife, Auguste, and their children were with him. The children on the manifest were: Hulda, Mathilde, Bertha, Gustav, and Emma. Auguste was 36. Martin was 47.

Or, when he arrived in America, Martin was 28, 33, 41, 42, or 51 depending on whether you rely on the Hamburg ship manifest or the New York ship manifest; on the Minnesota census record for 1885 or for 1905; on the US census records for 1900, 1910, or 1920; on the Minnesota death record or on the numbers engraved on his headstone. Martin's birth date varied just like the spelling of his name.

Hulda was already 18, and Mathilde was 15, Bertha was 9. The ship manifest says Gustav was 3, but he turned 4 on February 7th while the family was traveling overland from Krummenflies to Hamburg to leave on their ocean voyage for this new life in America. Martin and Auguste should be forgiven if their young son's birthday was forgotten in the press of preparations to move a large family on a journey of confusing proportions. The baby, Emma, was not even a year old when the Tobolt family boarded the Silesia. Auguste must have been grateful her two oldest daughters had no romantic entanglements to hold them in Krummenflies. She was a woman in need of her helpers now more than ever before.

The Tobolts were a family of seven among a passenger load of 1,264. Enduring this ocean passage took equal rations of courage and desperation. The Tobolts were steerage passengers, counted among those who had the least amount of resources. They traveled in the lowest part of the ship, where cattle would have been transported, had the cargo been cattle instead of people. The freedom to roam with few barriers to block his way may have been pleasing to Gus, but Auguste and her daughters must have been distressed by the lack of privacy. Temporary partitions may have provided a modest amount of privacy, or not. Rough bunks sleeping three to five people may have been provided by the shipping line, or not. Families may have separated their living areas with their luggage or blankets. They would have packed food for the journey, enough food for the seven Tobolts for two weeks at sea. The difficulties the Tobolts faced were compounded by cold weather and the rough waters of a winter crossing of the North Atlantic Ocean in slow motion, and all the discomfort and sickness that entailed.

The children had the advantage of time and freedom for exploration and making their own play. If nine-year-old Bertha and four-year-old Gus wanted to play with other children aboard the Silesia, playmates were to be had among the 182 children aboard between the age of one and the age of ten. If Auguste wanted to talk to another mother, she could seek out one of the mothers attached to the 182 children aboard, 102 of these children being under the age of one.

Minnesota would be their final destination, for the time being at least. Martin and Auguste likely had family in Wisconsin who made the same trip from Prussia to New York in earlier years, more Tobolt, Witte, or Bestow kin. This would be a good reason to stop in Wisconsin on their way further west to Minnesota and to make return trips to Wisconsin to visit family, for them a little piece of Prussia on this vast North American continent.

Once Martin and Auguste settled in Minnesota, three more children were born, Edward Daniel Gottlieb in 1883, Leo Emil in 1884, and Otto Hellmuth in 1886. The Tobolts were busy.

Four of us started this place on the Internet for Tobolts to gather. Elaine Gordon Fleck is Bertha's granddaughter. Sharon Frizell is Bertha's great-granddaughter. Gloria Boldt Gifford is Leo's granddaughter, and I am Mathilda's great-granddaughter.

We know other Tobolt historians. Vicki Toble Carroll is Gus's granddaughter. Linda McCall Shelton is Gus's step-granddaughter. Debra Tompkins Gould is Emma's great-granddaughter. Lori Demars is researching for her son Blake who is the great-great-grandson of Emma. The Oden sisters, Kelly, Kimberly, Kris, and Kassandra, are believed to be Edward's great-granddaughters. Sisters Joanne Wicks Beam and Barbara Lynn Wicks Cantelon are Leo's granddaughters.

We are joined by Witte historians Correen Dalton Davis and Debra Witte Cruver. 

We grieve the death of our Tobolt history collaborators. Alice Burton Frizell (1928-2013) was Bertha's granddaughter, and Sharon Frizell's mother. Clayton Boldt (1923-2017) was Leo's son, and Gloria Boldt Gifford's father. Dorothy Byers McCall (1924-2024) was Gus's step-daughter, and Linda McCall Shelton's mother. Greg Tompkins (1975-2021) was Emma's great-great-grandson, and Debra Tompkins Gould's nephew. Christy VanderBoom (1927-2020) was my mother who knew my father's Tobolt family better than he did; she was my family history inspiration. May these family historians continue to solve Tobolt mysteries in The Great Reunion and somehow, somehow, lead our computer searches to the clues we need while we can still enjoy placing the last puzzle pieces.

We are Tobolts together at last. //Kate VanderBoom

Notes:

I originally wrote about the difficulties of two weeks on rough seas in winter as measured by the smells. You can be glad I deleted this before publishing. Your imagination is as good as mine and you should consider the conditions your ancestor suffered to get here. Your empathy will help you better understand them and their motivations in making this life changing move from all they ever knew, and knowing they would never return.