I have found my husband's Swiss Schaad relatives on the ship Challenge that arrived in NYC on 5/1/1854 by going page by page for that listing on the NYC passenger lists. No image/info exists in the Ancestry database for passenger ships about the Challenge. An 80+ cousin recalled that the folks who came over had told him ages ago that the ship was "half sail/half steam." By checking the historical New York Times, May 11, 1854, Marine Intelligence column, I have determined that this ship is the famous clipper ship the Challenge. According the the NYT listing the crossing from LeHarve France was harrowing for it and many other vessels.

A good link to the Challenge's history can be found on:

http://www.eraoftheclipperships.com/eraweb.html

I have several other sources that demonstrate that this ship is the Challenge, including ship registers listed on the Mystic Seaport page.

I just wanted to let folks know if their kin happened to be on that ship, as Ancestry has no info listed.

Marianne

Is this the family? I think the "Jr." should have been indexed as "Joh."

http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=ny...

Name: Ulrich Schrad Jr.
Arrival Date: 1 May 1854
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1822
Age: 32
Gender: Male
Port of Departure: Le Havre, France
Destination: United States of America
Place of Origin: Switzerland
Ethnicity/Race-
/Nationality: Swiss
Ship Name: Challenge
Port of Arrival: New York
Line: 25
Microfilm Serial: M237
Microfilm Roll: M237_138
List Number: 399
Port Arrival State: New York
Port Arrival Country: United States

Source Citation: Year: 1854; Arrival: New York , United States; Microfilm serial: M237; Microfilm roll: M237_138; Line: 25; List number: 399.

Source Information:
Ancestry.com. New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006.

Yes, That is the one. It is for Johann Ulrich who is buried in Greenlawn in Columbus, Ohio with his family. They are from Oberbipp, Switzerland according to the CD Rom of Pasports issued Canton/Bern/Switzerland :)

Marianne

I see the surname was also misentered. It is Schaad. the family was:

Johann Ulrich Schaad
Elizabeth Schaad (wife)
Elizabeth Schaad (daughter)
Oswald Schaad (son)
Johann Schadd (son)
Frederick Schaad (son)

They wound up in Columbus Ohio in the German Village. :)

Marianne

Hi Marianne,

Obviously, the surnames were misentered as well.

We all have to pitch in and get those names corrected... :)

I liked the clipping you attached onto your initial post. Thought that was quite interesting.

Take Care!

You might find this info on the Challenge interesting too:

http://www.eraoftheclipperships.com/page23web3.html

This web page details her whole history.

Marianne

I'm more than a year late with this reply but just found my great-grandfather's immigrant arrival on May 1, 1854 on the ship CHALLANGE from Baden through LeHavre, France. His name is Christian BECHT. Thank you for all your research on the CHALLENGE, I've added it to Christian's file. Maybe your ancestor and mine met on the ship!

Thanks for the note. :) It really is a small word isn't it. The Challenge story is quite an interesting one :) I just keep wondering what the folks on board that ship thought during the storms.

MGP

Just a little added to the story...Christian left home in Germany when he was 14 years old and traveled the world, but finally decided to go 'to America' and settle. He met his future wife on the CHALLENGE, married in Philadelphia, and then made it all the way to Berrien county, Michigan on foot pushing a little cart with their few possessions in it. I don't think storms bothered him much as he crewed on ships, but his poor future wife must have wondered what she had let herself in for! Thanks again for your knowledge.

My relative, Marquard Bohl was also on that sailing on page 8. It lists him as a farmer but he was actually a tailor and was born in Guttingen near Lake Konstanz. He was baptized at St. Stephen's in Konstanz. In 1861, he joined the Sigel Rifles (52nd NY Infantry) at age 43, and eventually was medically discharged from the Civil War in 1862. I wish we could find details about their particular sailing but I am thrilled with what I've read thanks to your efforts.