German genealogy sources

I have hit a dead end and would love some help.

Edward Sittel "Ed"
b. May 5, 1841 - Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany
d. 1926 - McAlester, OK

Lena Sittel
b. May 22, 1842
d. February 7, 1929 - McAlester, OK

These are my third great grandparents, and I have no idea who they were before they moved to the US. There is a long narrative on Ed's page that is an interview with their daughter Lena, my third great aunt. I know this is a long shot due to the loss of data that occured in the early 20th century, but do any of you know of any resources I could use to find them?

Hi Erin, Have you tried obtaining passenger log info. from the US government? I stumbled upon it on google when I was researching my father's side of the family. I don't know the web address, sorry. Do you know what year your 3rd. great-grandparents came to OK? The state should have census information too. Hope that helps! Good Luck :)

I found them in the 1900 us census. It list their immigration year as 1865. It might be worth looking for them on the Ellis island database too.

I took a quick look with www.Google.com at the internet for "Ellis Island German immigrants". And found these net adresses: http://beta.familysearch.org ("Mormon archive in Utah) and http://www.ellisislandimmigrants.org/index.htm (Ellis Island Archive).

Hi Erin
I think you "overthere" have a problem on German geografi ctr. historie because it's very difficult!!

Preussia is not Germany

Loweer Saxony first exist as a area after WW2 in 1841-42 it was most likely the kingdom of Hannover

Thus in order to find anything at all one must be very specific - I have tried myself with no result so far!!

On Ancestry.com I find

Edward Sittel, merchant, town of Toulumne, California, Republican
Reinhart Sittel, tallyman, town of Toulumne, California, Republican
These are from California Voter Registrations 1900 - 1968

Also found thisin 1920 census:
Edward Sittel
Home in 1920: McAlester Ward 2, Pittsburg, Oklahoma
Age: 79
Estimated birth year: abt 1841
Birthplace: Germany
Relation to Head of House: Self (Head)
[Head]
Spouse's name: Lena Sittel
Father's Birth Place: Germany
Mother's Birth Place: Germany
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Sex: Male
Home owned: Own
Year of Immigration: 1863
[1869]
Able to read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Edward Sittel 79
Lena Sittel 78


Lena Sittel
Home in 1920: McAlester Ward 2, Pittsburg, Oklahoma
Age: 78
Estimated birth year: abt 1842
Birthplace: Germany
Relation to Head of House: Wife
Spouse's name: Edward Sittel
Father's Birth Place: Germany
Mother's Birth Place: Germany
Marital Status: Married
Race: White
Sex: Female
Year of Immigration: 1863
Able to read: Yes
Able to Write: Yes
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Edward Sittel 79
Lena Sittel 78

and from 1900 census:
Edward Sittel
Home in 1900: McAlester, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory
Age: 59
Birthplace: Germany
Race: White
Gender: Male
Immigration Year: 1865
Relationship to Head of House: Head
Spouse's name: Lena Sittel
Occupation: View on Image
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members: Name Age
Edward Sittel 59
Lena Sittel 57
Otto Sittel 14
Lena Sittel 16

and from another family tree on Ancestry:
Spouse
Lena Tronier
Born: 22 May 1842 in Germany
Died: 7 Feb 1929 in Mc Alester, Oklahoma, USA
Marriage:
Children Sex Birth
Lena Sittel F
Fritz Sittel M 25 Jan 1863 in Hanover, Germany
Otto Sittel M Feb 1886

and from another tree:
Edward SittelBirth

Death

Save this person to your tree Comment on thisShow immediate family Hide immediate family
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Parents & Siblings
No Father No Mother

No SiblingsSpouse & Children
Lena Tronier (1842-1929) Fritz Sittel (1863-1949)

I hope this helps... let me know if I can look anything more up for you...

Erin, thru your regular email account I sent the following:

the website for the book,
www.packrat-pro.com / Ships coming to America.
www.findagrave.com / Additional listing of children and
monument pictures of the cemetery in Oklahoma.

Hope this is helpful.
Candice

Hi Erin

Have you tried any of these:
www.ongen.de
geneanet.org
www.genealogylinks.net/europe/germany/
ahnenforschung.net
genealogienetz.de/reg/regio-d.htm

Detlev

Thanks, I tried that ellisislandimmigrants site, but it takes you to Ancestry, and I don't have a paid account there. I have deduced that they immigrated sometime between 1863 and 1873, because only one child came with them from Germany -- the rest were born here. I have see Zittel as an alternate spelling of this surname, and my grandfather spelled it Sittle, but he was the first to use that spelling.

http://search.geneanet.org/result.php?name=ZITTEL&country=DEU&a...

Erin did they become US citizens? My g-grandfather's naturalization papers mention when and where he entered the country, even the name of the ship.

I don't know, and I don't know where to look to find out.

I found this:

Fritz SITTEL, born 25 Jan 1863 in Germany, immigrated with his parents, Edward and Lena Tronnier Sittel.
Ed, Lena, and son Fritz came by sea on a ship named America. It sailed from Bremen, Germany and arrived in New York on 7 Nov 1864. They traveled from New York to Baltimore, Maryland and stayed with friends.
From there, Ed traveled to Indian Territory in 1870 leaving Lena and Fritz in Baltimore. Edward Sitttel had the job of "official hunter; he brought in meat..."* to feed the railroad work crews. Upon completion of the railroad, he sent for Lena and his son Fritz. Lena and Fritz "arrived in McAlester, Indian Territory, 10 o'clock Monday, Sept. 7, 1871"*. She is known as the "First White Woman" to live in McAlester.

Here is his entry on the ship manifest:
http://castlegarden.org/quick_search_detail.php?p_id=698107

It says he was a butcher from WESTHAUSEN. There are also some hits on google books:
http://books.google.com/books?id=5HpLmevAz3YC&lpg=PA104&dq=...