was he visiting? is there a way to find out?

[neko]

I find my great grandfather, Carl aka Charles J. Wagner, a mariner by trade, arriving in the U.S. as a U.S. citizen at least once.

Jun 1883 arrived in New York from Liverpool, England on the ship Ethiopia

was he visiting family in England? how would I find out? I can't find him or his parents in the census, and don't know his sibling's names.

a vague memory comes to mind, of someone telling me of checking embassy's? or some such...I can't recall. it's been quite a year to say the least, and I lost track of the conversation and don't recall the details.

thanks for reserecting my recollection, and any additional information is appreciated.

[josie7644]

Hello Neko,

The only (relevant) Charles J I can find on Freebmd is this one.

He was born in West Ham in the Jun quarter of 1865.

WAGNER Charles John vol 4a page 47

However if his birth is registered just as Charles Wagner, then there are many options available!

Not very hopeful!

Josie

[benny1982]

Hi Neko

Is 1883 when he first arrived in the US or was that afterwards? When was Charles born?

Ben

[neko]

1883 was a return, perhaps from a shift on a ship he chose to leave for some reason. I have found The Seaman's Friend, and it states a sailor could request wages at any port, and leave the ship, take a commercial ship home and the Captain or Master had to pay his ticket home. this is entirely possible for this instance. he may even have done it on several occasions, he did not like many of the Captains or Masters he worked under, or so it seems from the handful of letters my grandfather saved from his stepfather's housecleaning after my great grandmother's death. but this is the only immigration I have found for him so far. there must be an earlier one, but it's never shown up online. as I no longer have access to Ancestry, if he shows up in a new update it may be difficult to find out.

[neko]

Charles was born 1855-1857 in Congress Poland, as far as I can find. I don't have much in the way of primary records for him. just his marriage record and his son's birth record. everything else is city directories, medical and work records. he does not appear on any extant census record.