OrzellWorld

Here is a document I found at the West Rutland Town Hall. It is the marriage record of my grandfather John "Eagle" Orzell.

Visit the Genealogy page, the link is in the top navigation menu. It has all of the data and source references to the data I collected over the years.

You can register for a user account which will allow you to add/edit information you found to be not correct. But, remember, most of the info I have is from public records found in Town Halls, State Libraries, or National Archives. These are the official source records, and I believe if anyone doing genealogical research should use the information found in these records as it is recorded.

Every thing happens for a reason. The mass immigration from Europe to America is no exception.

The Timeline of Polish History on the PolandGenWeb site mentions in the 1890's of the mass emigration of Pole to the US due to poverty.

Poland experiences mass emigration due to poverty. Approximately 4 million out of 22 million Poles emigrate to the United States prior to World War I.

After reading a chapter from The Polish Peasant in Europe and America; Monograph of an Immigrant Group by William Isaac Thomas, Florian Znaniecki, I feel many of the Poles that came to America were looking for a better their life than what was there for them in Poland.

The conditions the Kingdom of Poland were bleak for the average family earning only enough to barely live on. Farms were small and produced just enough food. Work in the industrialized cities was very competitive employing only 30% of the men. Without many options available, either through brokers or by borrowing money from relatives they came to America.

Here's some information on the Steam ship my Grandfather John Orzell sailed on to the US.

The "Oldenburg" was a 5,006 gross ton ship built by Fairfield Co Ltd, Glasgow in 1890 for Norddeutscher Lloyd [North German Lloyd] of Bremen. Her details were - length 415ft x beam 48ft, straight stem, one funnel, two masts, single screw and a speed of 13 knots. There was accommodation for 49-1st, 38-2nd and 1,901-3rd class passengers. Launched on 13/12/1890, she sailed from Bremen on her maiden voyage to Montevideo and Buenos Aires on 11/2/1891. On 11/6/1891 she commenced her first voyage from Bremen to Baltimore, 18/2/1892 her first from Bremen to New York, 22/6/1892 her first from Bremen via Suez to the Far East, and on 26/10/1892 her first from Bremen via Suez to Australia. On 3/3/1904 she started her last Bremen - Far East voyage (8 Round Voyages), 19/1/1905 her last Bremen - Baltimore voyage, and 18/4/1906 her last Bremen to Australia (18 round voyages). She resumed Bremen - South America sailings on 25/8/1906 and on 10/4/1910 commenced her last Bremen - New York crossing (24 round voyages on the North Atlantic). She commenced her final Bremen - S.America voyage on 12/11/1910 and in 1911 was sold to Turkish owners and renamed "Ak-Deniz". She was scrapped in 1923. [<em>North Atlantic Seaway</em> by N.R.P.Bonsor, vol.2,p.556] - [Posted to The ShipsList by Ted Finch - 29 January 1998]