Have you ever found an ancestor in an unexpected location and wondered what the heck he/she was doing there? The other day, I was reviewing two December 1910 passenger ship lists on which my great-grandmother, Sophie Krupa, is listed - a German departure passenger list from Hamburg and a New York arrival list. On both forms, her last place of residence is listed as 'Gravenstein, Germany.' Sophie was born in Skrudzina, a small village in ethnically Polish Galicia, that was, at the time of her birth in 1888, part of Austria-Hungary. So, obviously, I was wondering what she was doing in northern Germany before she sailed for America.
Gravenstein today is no longer in Germany, and, in fact, it is no longer known by that name. The town that used to be called Gravenstein is currently in southern Denmark, and is now known as Gråsten. As you can see on the map below, Gråsten is quite a journey away from Sophie's hometown, so I started searching for why she may have lived there, at least temporarily.
Gravenstein today is no longer in Germany, and, in fact, it is no longer known by that name. The town that used to be called Gravenstein is currently in southern Denmark, and is now known as Gråsten. As you can see on the map below, Gråsten is quite a journey away from Sophie's hometown, so I started searching for why she may have lived there, at least temporarily.
Journey from Skrudzina, Poland to Gråsten, Denmark
As I wrote about in this post, Sophie was an illegitimate child born into one of the poorest regions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. I do not know anything specific about her early life, but I think it is safe to say that it must have been a hard one. On the U.S. 1940 Census, she (Sophie Bodziony) lists her highest level of education as only 2nd grade. As soon as she was old enough, she likely went to work.
While scouring the Internet, I came upon this website from the Danish Immigration Museum. The page gives a nice, concise history of Polish immigrants in Denmark during the late 19th and early 20th century - right at the same time Sophie was there. The one paragraph on this webpage that *really* caught my attention was this one:
"The Poles were recruited by organized German-speaking agents - the so-called “Aufsehere”, who usually travelled around Galicia in the winter and signed contracts with young workers. Some were also sent to Denmark through the so-called import associations that supplied workers to Danish and German employers."
So, there were recruiters around Galicia? Interesting. Sophie's occupation on the Hamburg list is shown as 'Dienstmädchen,' which translates quite literally to 'servant girl.' Was Sophie intending to stay and work in Gravenstein permanently, or was she just saving up money for the trip across the ocean? Was she there in Gravenstein by herself, or did she have close friends or extended family there also? Always left with more questions than answers after these investigations, but I wouldn't have it any other way! :-)
©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder
While scouring the Internet, I came upon this website from the Danish Immigration Museum. The page gives a nice, concise history of Polish immigrants in Denmark during the late 19th and early 20th century - right at the same time Sophie was there. The one paragraph on this webpage that *really* caught my attention was this one:
"The Poles were recruited by organized German-speaking agents - the so-called “Aufsehere”, who usually travelled around Galicia in the winter and signed contracts with young workers. Some were also sent to Denmark through the so-called import associations that supplied workers to Danish and German employers."
So, there were recruiters around Galicia? Interesting. Sophie's occupation on the Hamburg list is shown as 'Dienstmädchen,' which translates quite literally to 'servant girl.' Was Sophie intending to stay and work in Gravenstein permanently, or was she just saving up money for the trip across the ocean? Was she there in Gravenstein by herself, or did she have close friends or extended family there also? Always left with more questions than answers after these investigations, but I wouldn't have it any other way! :-)
©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder
