The Joys and Sorrows of an Emigrant Family

The year was 1853, the crossing sickening, crowded, terrifying and almost unbearable, and yet this family of six survived forty miserable days and nights in the dark hold of the John Ruttle, a sailing ship built to haul freight, not passengers. One who has never had the experience of a voyage across the sea cannot imagine the outpouring of joy as object after object became more visible along the shore. In recalling the experience, author Joseph Ruff (1841-1921) wrote, You could not induce one out of ten who have once crossed in one of those sailing vessels to attempt it again even though they were allowed free passage. I don’t know whether I could be induced to try it again if they should offer me a whole German city.