The Journey

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Most Zeelanders sailed from Rotterdam or Antwerp due to the close proximity to their place of residence. However, for cost reasons, some sailed by way of England. Dutch emigrants sailed to Hull on the English coast. From Hull, they could catch a train to Liverpool. This added roughly a week to the journey. Ships bound for New York sailed regularly from Liverpool.

Most simply left from their original family residence and went directly to their port of choice. Ship captains routinely let passengers stay on board ship for free until the ship sailed. Boarding houses were also available in close proximity to the docks.

By the 1850s, the Atlantic crossing was uneventful, or at worst a boring routine sandwiched between the emotional departure and the exciting first glimpse of America. New regulations made ship owners responsible for providing food supplies and preparing meals. Conditions aboard ship were normally quite good as a result.

In the 1860s, steamer ships began to replace sailing vessels. Europeans travelers increasingly took passage on vessels specially designed to transport immigrants. Although these ships were few in numbers, they followed regular schedules across the Atlantic.

Although much has been made of deaths at sea from disease and accidents, very few Dutch died during the journey. Most of these were infants. Of the 55,000 Dutch crossing between 1820 and 1880, only 507 died, two thirds of these were infants under one year old.

Note: I think the number of Dutch immigrating and the number of dead was under-reported. If my limited research experience is any indication, many Dutch were mis-classified as German on ships' manifests.

Most Dutch were healthy when they left. They tended to travel between April and June, before the epidemic prone summer months, and after winter storm season in the North Atlantic. Jobs, particularly in agriculture, were also more plentiful in the summer immediately after their arrival.

The average length of crossing was two weeks for steamships in the 1860s. The vast majority of emigrants traveled in steerage (3rd class).  The cost of a steerage class ticket was $30 per person.

Between 1850 and 1880, almost 95% of registered Dutch immigrants passed through the Castle Garden reception facility in New York City.  Castle Garden was so well run and protective of new arrivals that its fame spread throughout Europe. Dutch immigrant aid societies welcomed the newcomers, usually meeting each ship from Holland as it arrived at the docks and directing them to one of several Dutch proprietor-run rooming houses in the city.

Under normal circumstances, the Van Doorns, having left in mid-April, should have arrived in New York in mid-May. 

However, the trip was anything but normal. The following description of their sad tale was originally told by Martin Van Doorn and then more recently re-told by Jeannette Isenga.

Adriaan Van Doorn had wanted to leave The Netherlands many years prior to 1866. However, his wife Jannetje did not want to go. Once she finally consented, the trip had to be delayed because Jannetje gave birth to twin girls in March of 1864. Several months later, one of the twins died. Adriaan continued to express his desire to emigrate to the United States. However, Jannetje again refused to go. She felt the child was too young to travel. Finally, in 1865 Jannetje agreed to go in the spring of 1866. Adriaan Van Doorn and his family left the village of Oud-Vossemeer on April 19, 1866.

About one week later, the family arrived in Liverpool, purchased the tickets, and waited in a nearby boarding house for the ship to sail. While waiting, Jannetje and another woman became ill with cholera. A doctor was called. The doctor examined Jannetje and placed her in isolation. The Van Doorns were told that Jannetje would not recover from her illness. Shortly thereafter, the ship’s passengers were herded on the ship “like cattle.” Adriaan and his four children sailed from Liverpool for New York on the SS Helvetia on May 2, 1866 leaving his wife behind. On May 13th, 1866, an Oud-Vossemeer area newspaper reported her death, along with 3 others, among the 47 that had departed Oud-Vossemeer in April.

The SS Helvetia was a 3,318 gross ton ship, built in 1864 by Palmer Bros & Co, Jarrow-on-Tyne for the National Steamship Line of Liverpool. Her details were - length 371.5ft x beam 41.2ft, clipper stem, one funnel, three masts (rigged for sail), iron construction, single screw and a speed of 10 knots. 

After only one day at sea, cholera broke out. The ship was refused docking privileges at Queenstown, Ireland. The Captain decided to turn the ship around and sailed back to Liverpool. After arriving in Liverpool, the passengers were separated into two groups: English and “Germans.” Anyone from Northern Europe was routinely referred to as “German.”

Both groups were placed in quarantine on hospital ships, the “Germans” on the Jesse Munn and the English on the War Cloud, until the cholera abated. The healthy “German” passengers were subsequently moved to the German Emigration depot at Birkenhead where they remained under strict medical supervision. The sick remained on the Jesse Munn. 

The crew of the SS Helvetia was forced to remain aboard ship. They petitioned local officials to allow them to come ashore. On the morning of May 12th, the crew seized a tug, which had come alongside, and went ashore. They were immediately taken into custody by police. By the afternoon, the crew agreed to return to the ship and local officials agreed to find them quarters on shore. 

Once the quarantine period of three weeks had been satisfied with no new cases of cholera, the passengers were eligible to resume their journey. The S S Helvetia, having been disinfected (usually this involved smoking out the insides from stem to stern), set sail once again for New York in late May. The hospital ships were dismantled and burned.

The SS Helvetia, with Adriaan Van Doorn and his children on board, arrived in the port of New York on June 11, 1866. 

Upon their arrival, the family boarded a train bound for Rochester, New York. Rochester was the home of John Van Doorn, Adriaan’s brother. Adriaan carried a paper with instructions on how to reach his brother. At every stop along the way, Adriaan would show the conductor the paper and the conductor would say, “Not yet.” Finally, the conductor indicated they had one more stop to make. The train stopped on the outskirts of Rochester so more wood could be loaded aboard. While the train was stopped, Adriaan got off with his daughter Dina and son Martin. Jane stayed onboard with Magdalena. Suddenly the train started moving forward. Adriaan instructed Dina and Martin to remain sitting by the tracks until he got back. He ran after the train all the way to the next stop, which was the Rochester depot. He retrieved Jane and Magdalena from the train and they walked all the way back to pick up Dina and Martin. The whole family then walked back to the Rochester Depot.

Once they arrived back at the Rochester Depot, Adriaan began showing people his paper with instructions on how to contact his brother, John Van Doorn. People were on their way to work and showed little interest. Eventually someone said yes they knew the Van Doorns, and led the family to the John Van Doorn residence. John’s wife, Maatje, then accompanied the family back to the depot to collect their belongings. 

So to recap: Adriaan Van Doorn was forced to leave his wife at the docks of Liverpool, effectively making him a widower with four children. He boarded a ship that was turned around at sea due to an outbreak of cholera and was placed in quarantine for three weeks. He resumed the journey to America, and then watched in horror as two of his children were carried away on a train just as they were to reach their final destination. He chased down the train, retrieved his other children, walked back to the depot, and begged for assistance in finding his brother in a large city, with no knowledge of the English language.

His faith surely tested, lesser men would have failed.