repair@tikal.UUCP (Repair and Return) (12/15/85)
My great-grandfather, Albert BANSEMER, was born in Germany on Oct 21,1859 and came to the U.S.A. in 1881 (according to the 1900 census). There are no indexes for arrivals in 1881. Anyone know how to obtain arrival information, short of going to WA D.C. and reading every listing for 1881 arrivals? My grandfather, Chris SIEGENTHALER, was born in Berne, Switzerland on June 14, 1879 (according to Selective Service, Social Security, etc.) Problem: His arrival information and citizenship papers show Nov. 1870 as his birth. These citizenship papers were obtained from Dept. of Immigration by working backwards from the Naturalization Certificate that he always carried. Arrival info shows immigration in 1892. If he was born in 1879, then he was only 13 years. As he came across alone, could he have fabricated the 1870 birth date to gain entry to the U.S. Any help in this problem would be much appreciated. Ron Bansemer Teltone Corp., Kirkland, WA uw-beaver!tikal!repair