4.  THE VOYAGE ACROSS THE ATLANTIC

Spelled "Fusz" on the ship list were Fritz Fust, 34, a farmer; his wife Maria, 31; and their children Wilhelm, 7, and Frieda, 3; along with Maria's brother, Johann Bunger, 25.  They set sail from Hamburg on November 1, 1882, on the German "S. S. Gellert" of the Hamburg American Line.

They were numbered 96 -- 100 on the ship manifest.  All five were listed as coming from Mecklenburg with the destination of Wisconsin.  Johann Bunger was in Cabin A with one piece of baggage.  Fritz was in Cabin BB C, while Maria and the children were in Cabin B.  At the end of Frieda's line, there are the numbers 23 and 20 noted in the columns for the Date and Cause of Death, but I am sure that a mistake was made. Probably the recorder meant those notes for the 18-year-old girl from Hungary who was listed on the next line as the one who died, because we all know that Grandpa's sister Frieda Fust grew up to marry John Piepgras.

Of the 972 passengers on this steamship, five babies were born at sea, 15 passengers died, 152 were cabin passengers, and the other 820 were in steerage. Most of these immigrants were poor but somehow managed to scrape together enough money to pay for their passage to America, mostly as steerage passengers who paid the lowest fare. 

The Fust family and Johann Bunger had it better than those in steerage.  The steerage lay deep down in the hold of the ship, and people were piled into dark, foul-smelling compartments.  They slept in narrow bunks stacked three high.  They had no showers, no lounges, and no dining rooms.  Food served from huge kettles was dished into dinner pails provided by the steamship company.  There was hardly enough food for everyone, especially toward the end of their journey.  Because steerage conditions were crowded, uncomfortable, and stinking, passengers spent as much time as possible up on deck.  The voyage was an ordeal, but it was worth it.  They were on their way to America!

After 32 days at sea, the "S. S. Gellert" finally pulled into New York Harbor on December 2, 1882.  Did they see the State of Liberty to welcome them?  What were their first experiences in America?