Using Passenger Manifests for a Genealogy Project - Tuchfeld part 11


So far, we have been using Galician vital records to connect the Tuchfelds of Rzeszow. Now we are moving on to use US vital records to connect the Tuchfelds that migrated to the US. If we can connect the US Tuchfelds, then maybe we can work backwards and connect more Tuchfelds in earlier Rzeszow records.

We started this stage of the project by searching for Tuchfeld passenger arrival manifests. We searched Ancestry for Tuchfelds arriving in NY from 1820 to 1957. The Tuchfelds range from 1880 to 1952.

Ancestry search for Tuchfelds NY arrivals
According to his 1880 NY arrival manifest, 22-year-old Samuel Tuchfeld from Austria was an upholsterer. Early manifests do not have a lot of information and can be challenging. Unlike manifests from the early 20th century, they usually do not list a specific town of origin, or name a relative the traveler is going to or leaving behind. Luckily, the Samuel Tuchfeld on the manifest has an unusual occupation for a Tuchfeld from Rzeszow.

1880 NY Manifest for Samuel Tuchfeld
In our previous Rzeszow research, we found a Samuel Tuchfeld born 1859 who listed his occupation as upholsterer on the birth and death records of his children. Based on the name, age and occupation, we believe that this is the same Samuel Tuchfeld. We researched further and found an 1893 US passport for a Samuel Tuchfeld who arrived in the US in 1880 on the same ship as the Samuel Tuchfeld manifest above. He lists his birthplace as Rzeszow and his occupation as upholsterer. More evidence that this is the same man.

Samuel Tuchfeld US Passport 1893
Did Samuel Tuchfeld interact with other Tuchfelds in the US? We began to research Samuel Tuchfeld in the NY City directories. We found him in five different directories from 1889 to 1910. In 1889 and 1891 Samuel Tuchfeld is one of three Tuchfelds in NY. All three Tuchfelds are listed as living withing a few blocks of each other. Three Tuchfelds all living so close. Is this a coincidence? Possibly. This suggests a relationship.

Samuel Tuchfeld NYC directory 1889
Jacobson and Jacobson Genealogy Researchers  http://www.bocafengshui.com/genealogy.html  specializing in Jewish Galician Genealogy Research.

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