Ursula, Your surprise at the immigrant not knowing the exact time he/she arrived made me think about a possible answer. As I see it, there was a period at departure where everything was in flux since there were so many regulations to follow, and there was the bureaucracy to satisfy. Then they probably did not sail immediately after boarding ship. Then there were the many days at sea where one has great difficulty keeping track of the day of the week, not only the day, month, and year. Upon arrival at the port of destination, there was no guarantee that they would debark the same day as they arrived. Upon debarkation they would face in reverse all that they had gone through when leaving, dealing with another bureaucracy. Finally they would be free to travel to their final destination, where they might or might not have someone waiting for them to help them with the problems of settling in where the language was different, the customs were different, and even size and extent of the land was different. Which day would be the "official" day of arrival? When I think about it, it amazes me that they could come close to the correct day, month, and year. I came home from a period of duty in the service in Germany, but I would not be able to remember just when that was. But I was immediately discharged from the medical corps, and that day I have no difficulty remembering. I believe that for many of our ancestors, arriving at a place that would not change the next day was so satisfying that they would just breathe a deep sigh of relief and try to get on with the problems of day to day living. They probably did not realize that one day one of their descendants would try to pin the date down to the exact moment to fit into a genealogy program. I was lucky with my maternal grandparents. They arrived in Canada, and then crossed over into the United States at Detroit. This was their official date of arrival in the USA. But the exact date of arrival in Canada depends on ship lists that each have their own rules for entering the date. Add to all this the other things you mentioned, and an "about" date is really a terrific find! And after all, the year is really only a number! Thanks for making me think about what my ancestors endured just to make a better life for themselves and their descendants. I really need to count my blessings more frequently. Gene Eugene M. Wiese 838 Linlawn Drive Wabash, IN 46992-3903 [email protected] (260) 846-0516 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ursula" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: 04 January, 2010 4:34 AM Subject: Re: [G-P-L] Lucht Immigration > > James, > > You must understand that immigrants as a whole were not all that concerned > when it came to accuracy of the information they provided to officials. > Many immigrants were suspicious of anyone wanting to obtain personal > information from them. On the other hand it continues to surprise me why > they would not only remember the year, but the also the month and exact > date that they arrived in the US as this must have been a major milestone > in their life. Yet, it happens more often than not. Regarding the > immigration dates given on censuses, there was often a misunderstanding > about the question being asked [language problem]or - in later years - > they confused the immigration year with the year of naturalization. Hence, > the different dates. Often the information was provided by one of the > children when the parents were not at home when the census taker called.