Kelleys Island Ancestry

From the Vessel Log of the SS Nevada. Departure: Liverpool, England. Port of Arrival: New York, New York... Oct 25, 1869

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~maryross/ships/nevada18691025.html

Heinrich Ludwig Jordan, 2nd was born December 22, 1845 in Rödersheim,
[near Bad Dürkheim] Germany. He was a very short man and reportedly
blamed it on being born on the shortest day of the year! He died May
21, 1921 on Kelleys Island, Erie, Ohio, USA. He was the son of Heinrich Ludwig
Jordan, 1st and Barbara Allweser Jordan. The Jordan family can be
authenticated as residents in Rödersheim as far back as the early 1700's
and possibly earlier. This area was at one time under the rule of the
Roman Empire. Many Roman coins have been discovered there; one having
the likeness of Caesar Gordianus which may be the root of the surname
Jordan.
In 1871, while working in Sandusky he met and married Johanna Dordel,
a German immigrant from Koppalin, Kreis Lauenberg, Pomerania. They are
pictured together in this photo. In Germany, Heinrich was Catholic but in
America he took the German Reformed religion of his wife. Shortly after
their marriage, he and his wife moved to Kelleys Island, Erie, Ohio, USA where they raised
two children, William H. and Emma Emilia Jordan. Kelleys Island, Erie, Ohio, USA was their
life-long home.
Heinrich was an artisan; a master carpenter, knew Latin, wrote poetry
and had very many talents.

MY TRIP TO AMERICA IN THE NEW LAND TO SEEK MY HAPPINESS

In the year 1869 my trip was as follows: Wednesday, the 6th of October,
1869, I went to Neustadt in the morning at 8 o'clock and by 11:00
o'clock I was already in Wissembourg. There I stayed and went by
Böll and bought a ticket (A Kort) for 100 FE in Gold. At 2:00
o'clock in the afternoon I took the train from Wissembourg and Thursday
at 5 o'clock in the morning I was already in Strasbourg. 9 o'clock I
left from there and at 12 o'clock I was already in Paris. There I ate
lunch and also supper. This cost 7 Franks. A glass of beer 7 su or 12
Dri. One Frank has 7 Su. Thursday evening at 11 o'clock I went again to
continue my trip to Havre and on Friday at 8 o'clock in the morning I
finally arrived at Havre.

Now good luck for my trip on the water! On Friday the 8th of October
1869 at afternoon, 2 o'clock I got onboard the ship for my trip on the
water and for whatever else. As I got onto the ship everything was
foreign and I stood there feeling entirely forsaken and strange. I
thought back once again to my homeland and everybody there. The names
were now called out on the ship's tickets. There I heard a name
called out "Matheas Resch" and when I heard that name I thought I had to
know him. . . that he was from Forst! When you heard your name called
out, you had to go and get your straw sack and your mess kit, then I
saw Matheas Resch and I went to him and greeted him full of joy and the
two of us never left each other again! [Matheas Resch and Heinrich L.
Jordan had served in the German Army together.]

Now we are leaving for the trip to America. The ship has blown the
whistle for the 2nd time and it is supposed to go at 3:00 in the
afternoon. For the third and last time the whistle blew and we hoped we
were going to sail on. Then everybody screamed all at once as loud as
they could, "Adieu, Adieu, for the last time you Germans, Goodnight!"
Now it's going forth and on the 10th of October we have spent our Sunday
on the sea. Now we were on the voyage to Liverpool and on Tuesday, the
12th of October we had safely arrived in Liverpool.

Wednesday the 13th of October we went on the big ship NEVADA, and now
begins our final trip to America. But it was very bad. For 3 days long
we had a big storm. Then on the 25th of October, Monday at 2 o'clock
in the afternoon, we arrived happily and luckily in New York. We got
off and stayed by Georg Edler Gast Haus zum Baierischen Hof, No. 30
Rector Street. Tuesday, 26th of October, evening at 4 o'clock, I and
Matheas Resch left for our trip to Sandusky [Ohio]. Thursday evening at
8 o'clock we are again fortunate and we happily arrived at Joseph
Lesser's. The length of the trip was 3 weeks and 1 day; on the water
15 days. Saturday, the 30th of October, 1869, I have already started to
work in the Sanduskyer Wein Compani [Sandusky Wine Company]
-1869, Heinrich L. Jordan, 2nd, Sandusky, Ohio, USA

Translated from the German language and script by Ms. Ursula Abernathy of
Seneca Falls, NY and Germany.