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| Families often took photos before a trip |
In 1912, the rumors of war in Europe were less a rumor and slowly becoming more a reality, but it didn't deter people from traveling. The only transportation from Europe to the United States and Canada was by ship.
Before and After Photos
It was common for families to pose for portraits before leaving home and then have their portraits taken again shortly after they arrived in the United States.
Sometimes in the arrival photograph, there were family members missing from portrait because they died during the voyage. And sometimes there were more members due to a new birth during the voyage or shortly after arrival.
Saving Up The Money
Often more than one generation lived in the same house. Getting the funds to move a large extended family all at one time wasn't easy. Every shilling was saved in a jar of some kind and all family members were expected to contribute to the jar. Christmas presents were downsized, or done away with altogether. Fathers worked several jobs to bring home extra money. Children forfeited their treats and mothers took in laundry. Everyone scraped and saved, cut corners wherever possible and did without personal items.
When enough money had been saved to pay for one ticket, many families had to decide whether to send one family member or to keep saving.
For those send ahead, it wasn't easy if they didn't have someone there to help them with housing, jobs and food. Many didn't and had to depend on churches and other benevolent societies for aid. By trial and error, they had to get the lay of the land so they could pave the way for the rest of the family when they arrived. When they were solvent enough to send money home, sometimes it was only enough money to pay for one person. In each case, the same process was repeated for each new arrival.
Traveling by ship was still scary in the early 1900's but for large families wanting to emigrate, the cheapest accommodations they could afford was steerage, known as third-class. The word "steerage" conjures up visions of deplorable conditions reminiscent of slave ships but it really wasn't that bad because ships had stepped up their hospitality so more people would choose their ship to book their passage. To steerage passengers, it didn't matter what the name of the ship was. What mattered was to be able to afford to pay for as many family members as possible to travel at one time. Steerage was often a step above the living conditions they left behind. Many had a bed to themselves for the first time in their lives.
Ticket Prices
Here's a break-down of the prices:
-- The first class tickets ranged enormously in price, depending on who you bought your tickets from and what amenities you wanted in the stateroom. There were several levels of luxury in first class. The following prices were converted from British Pounds.
- Costs were from $150 (about $3700 today) for a simple berth, up to $4350 (today about $108,204.31) for one of the two parlour suites.
--Second class tickets were $60 (today around $1500).
--Third class (steerage) passengers paid between $15 and $40 (today from $375 - $995).
People traveling steerage were housed in the lowest decks of the ship. Sleeping arrangements sometimes crowded seven people into areas originally meant for only four. Regarding complaints about cramped traveling conditions, many a parent would remark: "How bad can it be for a week if it means starting a new life in America?"
Sale Prices
Word of mouth about bargain-priced tickets for sale came from the least likely places. Not all of them were authentic tickets because even back then, there were shysters selling counterfeit tickets to take advantage of people.
- A father was buying one ticket for his son at the shipping agent's office. Nearby he was approached by a man offering cheap tickets for the whole family to travel together. Thankful for his good fortune, he bought the extra tickets but upon boarding the ship, the son's ticket was authentic and the rest of the family was turned away because their tickets were fake, a common swindle during that era.
- A mother shopping at market would overhear that "an agent from the ship" was selling very cheap tickets because of cancelled bookings.
- Young boys who ran errands for upper-class matrons would hear news about ships by eavesdropping on conversations and pass it along to their parents.
Traveling Expenses
Everything was high in cost and making connections from city to city was not easy. It didn't help that there were very few direct routes so several connections had to be made before arriving at the dock.
There were so many hurdles that immigrants had to conquer before they could begin their journey of making a new life. Disease was prevalent, especially consumption and tuberculosis, times were hard, and some just didn't have the stamina to survive the trip.
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