#52 Ancestors in 52 weeks challenge - M.T. & Anna

I decided to accept the challenge thrown out to the genealogy community by Amy Johnson Crow from Ancestry.com. Once a week I will blog about an ancestor who has crossed my paper path.


My great-great grandmother M.T. immigrated from Germany in 1882.  She was 25 years old, single, traveling by herself, arriving in the large port of New York City.  


The family tale is that she had worked as a house maid in her home country and became pregnant by the son of her employers. At some point her employers sent their son to America and the plan was for M.T. to travel to America to join him. She delivered her baby, which she left in the care of her brother, and sailed to America. When she arrived in New York City the father was gone. He had sailed back home. Did he back out of the arrangement? Or was it simply a plan to get M.T. out of the picture to avoid the scandal of an illegitimate child? Was there ever a plan to send for the baby? I will never know the answers to those questions.


Truth be told I don't know how much of that passed- down tale is true. What I do know to be true is M.T. did leave behind a baby daughter named Anna in Germany.  M.T. remained in America, married, was mother to seven more children and died at the ripe old age of 89. Many years later M.T.'s second daughter traveled to Germany and met her older half-sister. I am grateful she did. I would hate to think that Anna lived her life feeling forgotten. Maybe she did. Maybe she didn't. Maybe there were letters from America. Maybe. But, I'm grateful one relative was able to make that trip and at least meet her face to face. And that black and white photograph of a grown Anna is one of my most prized genealogy treasures.