Boarding receipt for the voyage to New York, 1872
Wilhelm Wrampelmeyer was presumably born in 1850 in Vorwalde, Lower Saxony. The young man later worked there as a carpenter’s assistant, but the demand for work was low and the earnings were meager. Thus, the 22-year-old bachelor decided in 1872 to seek his fortune in the USA. With a down payment of 20 thalers, he acquired a boarding receipt for the voyage to New York from an agent of the Norddeutscher Lloyd, securing a place in the intermediate deck of the steamship ‘Rhein’. In December 1872, Wilhelm traveled to Bremen, where, after paying the remaining fare of 25 thalers, he received his passage ticket. He then continued by train to Bremerhaven, where he boarded the ‘Rhein’ on December 14. His arrival in New York was registered on December 31, after which he disappeared without a trace. It remains uncertain how Wilhelm fared in the new homeland and whether he was able to realize his dream of ‘big money’.
