My grandfather came to the United States when he was 15. (I have the ticket/boarding pass from the 'Kaiser Wilhelm II' dated 22 November 1904). He lived in Brooklyn and Queens in New York City and started a delicatessen business; first partners with other people, then his own business.
Around 1924-25, (when he was 35), my grandfather travelled back to Germany to bring back a wife. (I have his passport and he lists a local address in Bremerhaven - possibly her address?) My father was born in 1928, and was an only child. His father died in 1937 when he (my father) was only 8 years old and his mother died in 1950; both before I was born. I remember going through a box of their belongings with my father (he died in 1990), but he only knew bits and pieces of the story. And, he didn't know of any relatives back in Germany.
So I'm not even certain of what town my grandfather came from. The information that he came from Osterbruch was provided by one of my father's "cousins" in California. I suspect she's not around any longer either, since as my mother says, she was probably in her 50's back in the early 1960's, which was the last time they saw her.
I do have quite a few letters written by my grandfather and grandmother (from the US to Germany and back), but they're all in German, and I'm not sure if he talked of where he was from in them. I believe they're mostly "love letters" from their courting days.
If anyone can help unravel some of the mystery surrounding my grandfather's origins, it would be very much appreciated.
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