Genealogy Story – Reinhold Louis Kowalske

As mentioned in the previous story, when Michael and Wilhelmina sailed from Prussia to the US in 1862, they had five children with them and Wilhelmina was pregnant.  Reinhold was born at sea on October 13, 1862 – three days before their ship docked in New York on the 16^th.  However, the “facts” behind his birth were very confusing as the family gave conflicting information to various census takers over the years.

Reinhold was not listed in the ship’s manifest when they docked in New York.  While the captain was careful to list anyone who had died during the voyage, he apparently did not list any births.  Part of the purpose of the manifest was to prove to the ship owners the basis for the amount of money he had collected as fare.  The manifest also listed the amount of luggage each passenger had with him/her as that needed to be paid for as well.  Since a newborn had not paid any fare, and had no luggage, it was apparently not necessary to list them on the manifest either.

The next record was the 1870 census – but here Reinhold’s mother listed him as having been born in Illinois.  This was certainly a point along the voyage from New York, where they docked, to Wisconsin.  Perhaps this was an attempt to have him treated as a US citizen?

In the 1880 census, information also given by Reinhold’s mother, he is listed as having been born in New York.  Why the inconsistency?  Who knows what was going through her mind at the time.

When Reinhold married in 1888, he gave his place of birth as “on the Atlantic Ocean, coming from Germany”.  He was also consistent in from that point on as giving his place of birth as “at sea,” although he would have had no personal recollection of it himself.

In a letter written in the mid-1980’s by his nephew, Lawrence Cincush, he wrote, “They finally got passage on a French Sailing vessel on the way to America there first child was born Lewis Kowlski.  The name Lewis was for the king of France at that time.  I seem to been quite a special ocacion to be born at sea.  One thing by being born at sea he was a born citizen of any Nation in the World.”  While there are several spelling and grammar errors in this statement, there are also factual errors.  Being born at sea does not make you a citizen of “any Nation in the World”.  Also, while it is true that Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte was the emperor of France in 1862, he was more likely given the middle name of Louis after the name of the ship on which he was born – the Louis Napoleon.

So, while there was much misinformation in the “facts,” including the ship manifest, the information in the census records given by Reinhold’s mother, and the much later letter by his nephew where he documented all the “family stories,” it does seem true that Reinhold was born at sea, three days before the ship carrying his family arrived in New York.