Arthur Andris and Victorine Dorval

Crossing the Atlantic Ocean

(update 9/30/05) The ship to the right is the Zeeland. I now have good reason to believe that both Arthur Louis Nicolas Andris and Victorine Dorval (my paternal grandfather and grandmother) came to the U.S.A. on this ship, but at separate times. Searching at www.ellisisland.org I found the records for five of the six children first, because their surname was spelled "Andris." Then I found the mother's name, spelled "Andrics." Just recently, I found the father's name, spelled "Andries."

According to the online records, an Arthur Andries of Belgian -- French ethnicity, from Binche, Bouvines, Belgium, arrived on the Zeeland at Ellis Island on November 27, 1908 after having departed from Antwerp. He is registered as 34 years of age and married. The manifest line number is 0026. For some reason, no manifest image is available, or I would be able to report the departure date, too. The only discrepancy is that his age should be 35, but otherwise, this record is completely consistent with all that we know. Should there be any question, the manifest could be consulted for further details such as height, hair and eye color, literacy and destination in the U.S.A., if those are available as they were on Victorine Andris' record.

Several years ago, I verified the exact date of Torinne's arrival at Ellis Island through the website www.ellisislandrecords.org. A Victorine Andrics (note spelling) made a 10 day crossing with her two children Louis and Alphons (sic). They disembarked from Antwerp on Feb. 27, 1909 on the Zeeland and arrived on March 9. The ship manifest includes the following information: she is 33, 5' 3" tall, with brown hair and eyes, can read and write, and is from Binche, Belgium. Leon Dorval is listed as her father, living at "Carlomag." I checked on Mapquest, and there is a Rue Carlo-Many just a block from the city center. The manifest also lists South Charleston, WV as her point of destination, and that she will join her husband there. There are other numbers written on her record, but it is not clear to me what they signify. Finally, Louis is listed as being six years old, and Alphonse is listed as being 10 months old. If this is true, it would mean that Alphonse was born in June of 1908, not 1907 as reported in his obituary. However, this age for Louis checks out with the birth date given in his obituary. I also infer that they were travelling second class from the fact that "second cabin passengers" is written at the top of the manifest. The Zeeland could carry 342 first class, 194 second class, and 626 third class passengers

The details of Torinne's arrival in America have been the subject of family legend. According to my mother, she brought her daughter, Julia, with her, who would have been about 13 years old. The Ellis Island records, however, do not substantiate that Victorine travelled with Julia. In fact, there is another entry that shows a Julia Andris departing from Antwerp and arriving on June 11, 1911. She is listed as 14 with occupation, servant. Leon Dorval is listed as her grandfather, and her destination is Clarksburg, WV. This time "rue Carlomag" shows up very plainly. The ship she arrived on, the Lapland, was built just two years before and was faster and had nearly twice the capacity of the Zeeland with a capacity of 2,536 passengers (394 first class, 352 second class, 1,790 third class). Unfortunately, no image of the manifest is available online for this record, so we cannot determine many of the facts we did for Mrs. Andris.

The Ellis Island website also lists the two brothers Arthur and Aimé as departing from Antwerp on Feb. 26, 1910 and arriving on March 8, 1910. Arthur is listed as 13 years and six months, and Aimé is listed as 12 years and six months. It states that their passage was paid by their parents, and that their final destination was "parents, Arthur Andris, Clarksburg, WV." According to the manifest they had no money in their possession, and they travelled in steerage. Just as with the others, their grandfather, Leon Dorval, is listed as "The name and complete address of the nearest relative or friend in country whence alien came." Over the number of the ship's manifest preceding each of their records is stamped "ADMITTED." Under occupation is scribbled "Cu" or "Ch" which could stand for child. Once again, their destination is listed as Clarksburg, WV. The ship on which they travelled was much closer to the size of the Zeeland. This ship was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine in 1917.

Aimé as a young man.

My mother tells the story that when Victorine arrived in the USA, she had only a nickel with her, and she had to point at beans and fatback in the grocery because she didn't know the right words. She worked as a cleaning lady and saved her money. On the Zeeland's manifest, we are clearly told that she is coming to the U.S.A. to join her husband, Arthur Andris, Box 54, Charleston WV. The manifest states that she has not been to the U.S.A. before, that she has $30 in her possession, that she paid her own passage, and that she does not have a ticket to her final destination. So, considering that she may have had to buy lodging and transportation for her and her children to Charleston, WV, she may very well have had only a small amount of money to spare for food in New York.