I notice that many immigrants sailed from LeHavre. Some arrived in New York and Philadelphia and made their way westward I understand that travelers could come up the Hudson from New York to Albany, then take the Erie Canal and enter the Great Lakes to get closer to their destination. Others entered at New Orleans and traveled by steam boat up the Mississippi and its tributaries. I'm not sure how much rail transportation there was in the U.S. in the 1840's and '50's. Overland travel was very slow and water travel was the easier mode. >From the Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, the passenger list of the Ship Carack and details of the voyage are given (October 1854). http://istg.rootsweb.com/v2/1800v2/carack18541028.html (Hope this works!) Mary Ann Balzer-Sharp relates the experiences of the family of Jakob Balzer. They went by boat from their home in Neuburg am Rhein, Germany, to Strasbourg, by rail to Paris, and then to Le Havre. They were there 8 days before sailing for New Orleans. They encountered a storm while on the 42 day trip. After arriving in New Orleans and remaining for 8 days, they steamed up the Mississippi to Quincy, IL arriving there on 10 November 1854. Total traveling time was 68 days. Nan Harvey ----- Original Message ----- From: <DmRice@aol.com> To: <PFALZ-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, April 11, 2000 3:04 PM Subject: Re: [PFALZ] 1836 Emigration from Pfalz > Havre > NY > I too would like to know why my ancestors from Pfalz and Rhennish Hessen > chose to embark at LeHavre. > It looks so much simpler just to go up the Rhine - Why didnt they? > > Barb Rice