Hi Guys! For years I've heard the story of how my great grandfather came to the U.S. I found his immigration records in the Montgomery County Probate Courts, but that still didn't tell me everything I wanted to know. Family lore always said that his Aunt and Uncle Weiffenbach had returned for a visit to Alsfeld, Germany and told great stories about Dayton, and the U.S. My great grandfather was still under 16, but he dream was to one day come to Dayton and settle down. His parents discouraged this, and told him he was too young to come here, but if he was still determined when he was 16 he could come. The Weiffenbachs returned to Germany in 1887, and did everything within their power to dissuade young Konrad from coming back with them, but it was all in vain. They traveled first class and put Konrad (now Carl Conrad) in steerage. He was going to have a six week journey to the U.S. with no contact with his aunt and uncle, since the two classes couldn't mingle. After arriving in the U.S. the Weiffenbachs continued to discourage Carl from staying, so he joined the German Evangelical Church which offered two services each week, one in German and the other in English. Konrad attended both services making friends and brushing up on his English. I had searched for the ship he came on but with no success. I started to think that perhaps steerage passengers just weren't recorded. Then one day.... I got ancestry.com and found their "U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925." I knew that Carl had returned home for some visits and thought what the heck. I just put in Mueller and Dayton, and up came Carl Conrad -- it gave so many details including his full name, where and when he was born, his father's name, where his father was born and where his father was living (in this case deceased), that he immigrated from Antwerp Belgium on Oct. 1, 1887 and resided 34 years uninterrupted in the US from 1887 to 1922 in Dayton. It told where his naturalization papers could be found (probate court Montgomery County, Dayton), and the date of naturalization, and his occupation at the time, grocer. With this info I went back and looked at ships leaving Antwerp, Belgium and arriving Oct. 12, 1887 and found the Noordland. On board were the Weiffenbachs, and a few pages later I found O.C. Mueller age 16 male Alsfeld, and looking at the actual record I discovered that it wasn't O.C. it was C.C.! And not only that but ancestry.com had a picture of that particular boat! The previous October the beloved lady of the immigrants was errected in the harbor at New York, and when he came Carl Mueller saw the Statue of Liberty. How cool is that, when one can verify oral history after 30 years of searching in vain! And to think I didn't think I'd find anything in the passport applications, but what the heck! New stuff is always coming to surface and we must never give up! Linda Trent lindatrent@zoomnet.net