Le Harve 1850's
On August 11, 1857 Katherine (Sindlinger) Hiller arrived at Castle Garden, Port of New York with her 5 children; Elizabeth 15 years, Christian 12, Leonard 11, Barbara 7 and Wilhelm 5 and three wooden trunks holding all their possessions. Their journey began in Kehl, Germany with stops in Strasbourg, Paris and eventually boarding the "Chase" in Le Havre, France. Katherine's husband, Johann Leonard Hiller, died in Germany prior to to their voyage, however details are still unknown. Katherine must have been a brave and courageous woman to make the decision to travel with 5 children and join her brothers, Jacob & Christian Sindlinger, in Sebewa, Ionia County, Michigan who immigrated in 1855.
The "3rd trunk" given to me by Christian's great granddaughter.
Family Lore
In the 1980's, I was given a copy of a letter written to my grandparents, Don and Anne Hiller, from his cousin Connie. She states that the Hiller's arrived "with all their possessions in three trunks. Dottie (Christian's great granddaughter) has one and Oda (Christian's granddaughter) has the other. No one seems to know what happened to the 3rd trunk". My curiosity was peeked and I have wondered, investigated and researched to find that trunk for years. Last year, 2013, I found the 3rd trunk. It ends up Connie was wrong, someone did know where it was all along. Dottie had two trunks and she lived about an hour from my home in Michigan!
I have Ancestry.com to thank for finding Dot. I have been a member, with a public tree, for many years but last year Dot decided to join and make her tree public as well. She messaged me about a name correction, we shared email addresses and agreed to meet in Lansing. The meeting was remarkable; we talked and exchanged family photos for 3 hours. I gave her a copy of the letter from Connie (who was her aunt) and we talked about the missing 3rd trunk and that's when she dropped the bombshell that she had two and was giving one to me! The trunk has a home in my family room and I am reminded daily of the sacrifices my ancestors made to immigrate to this great country. Last May, and again this year, Dot and I met at Lakeside Cemetery in Lake Odessa to plant flowers on our common ancestor's grave - Christian Gottlieb Hiller - my 2nd great grandfather.
Citations
"Gustave Le Gray: The Imperial Yacht La Reine Hortense, Le Havre"(2005.100.273). In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000-.http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/2005.100.273. (October 2006)
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