There is a story in the family that cannot be proved or disproved.

Story is Peter Youts (last name could have changed) from Switzerland (don't know what Canton/area) sold his store/shop for an undetermined amount of gold. Shortly there after he boarded a ship (unknown) for the United States. However, he never disembarked. So the family story is that he was robbed and killed (thrown overboard). He was never heard from again. A while later his widow and 3 children immigrated to the US and resided in St Joseph, Indiana.

There are many holes to that story, I know - but can anyone help me out?

~Anna

ADMIN NOTE:

Please provide some dates, even if approximate.

HI
If you could get dates or where departure was from to immigration where in US, no ports in Indiana, would probably have come into NY, by train to other places.

Ship manifest should list if he died at sea if u can find the ship. Back trace wife....how did she get to Indiana? Census check federal and state.

Some family left out of other countries, example, I have relatives from Netherlands but did not emmigrate from Rotterdam, they left from Liverpool England. There are websites with ship manifests if you know when approximately and from where. Good luck.

It is unknown when the family immigrated; on a 1920 census the immigration year is listed as 1853 and Naturalization in 1860. I've searched ISTG and Castle Garden records for for 1853 and cannot find Youts or any variation.

I'm figuring the 1853 date is a guess (as some of the information throughout the census' found have incorrect data).

The first census I find Mary (mother) and kids on is 1860 in St Joseph, Indiana with husband John Kelly.

No dates or departure points have been found or are known at this point by any of the family. There are a few Youts lines in America; one Youts family settled in Beaver, Pennsylvania - that line is not connected (at this point).

Any ideas how to find information?

HI

Try to determine what Youts would have meant as a surname in Swiss. Usually if changed it still has a derivative of the original, ie: Van Den Elzen Van=From Den=The Elzen=mountains in Netherlands, so their lastname reflected where they came from.

I will try to do some searching this week and get back to you. See what I come up with. No promises. Good luck in the meant time. L

On another census it states immigration year as 1850