I found my great-grandfather's passenger manifests yesterday, and had a few questions I was hoping someone could answer.

 

His name was Israel Moishe Wasserzier, and he came through the port of Boston in 1914. Family lore has it that he was detained for medical reasons and sent back (his naturalization papers do indeed say that he returned on a different ship under an alias in 1915).

 

He is on line 26 under the name Israel Wasserzier. A left hand column annotation on the first page appears to read "SI X." That indicates he was held for a special inquiry, correct?

 

I'm particularly curious about what's written across columns 20-24 on the second page. It appears to say "Med [followed by a word I'm having trouble deciphering] 1st Class. I was wondering if a) Anyone could decipher that second word, and B) if anyone knows what that annotation might mean.

 

I’ve now also located his HIAS Special Inquiry card, and want to make sure I’m understanding those notations correctly. Does Dr’s Cert. mean “Doctor’s Certificate”? “Doctor’s Certification?” Does it indicate only that he saw a doctor or that he passed some sort of inspection by the doctor? Under remarks it says “Held by Doctor” and then “Deb.” Does anyone know what “Deb.” means?

 

Thank you so much for your assistance!

--
Raishel Wasserman
Thousand Oaks, CA
Researching: Beidner, Wasserzier, Meleczinski, Lipsky, Cohen, Cwejbak, Markowitz, Slutzky

Israel was the subject of a Board of Special Inquiry hearing.  He had a medical condition, not defined in these records. He  was examined by a doctor at the immigration station and was held up while awaiting the doctor's certificate to clear him for admission.  Apparently, the doctor did not certify him to be admissable. The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society in Boston helped him plead his case, thus the HIAS card.  The Board of Special Inquiry records themselves were not preserved.  I believe the notation on the HIAS card "Deb." means he was debarred and had to return to Europe.  His medical condition, whatever it was, must have cleared up in time and he made it through in 1915.  As for the faint writing on page 2 of the manifest- I can't see it any better than you, sorry.

I am the person who compiled the HIAS Boston Arrival Card Database and have examined every card. You did well to locate the card image. Did you wade through film images at  FamilySearch? or did you go through the Wyner Jewish Heritage Center at American Ancestors?.   

David Rosen
Boston, MA

Oh wow--thank you both for your work in compiling the cards and for your reply here!

The story goes that he actually entered the country illegally the second time to avoid the possibility of being sent back again. Thank you so much for explaining everything on the card to me; it really helps. 

I did indeed wade through the film images at FamilySearch. I actually found a different one first, with a particularly strange misspelling of his surname, and almost stopped there, but the read somewhere that there were sometimes multiple cards under different names. Glad I kept looking. :)


--
Raishel Wasserman
Thousand Oaks, CA
Researching: Beidner, Wasserzier, Meleczinski, Lipsky, Cohen, Cwejbak, Markowitz, Slutzky

"Med Certif", i.e. medical certification

Regards,
David Oseas
Thousand Oaks, CA

Raishel,

I think it reads:
(med. certif. 1st ????)

I'm not certain that the word after 1st is "class."  At first I thought it read "claim."

There is someone on image 612, line 5, with the same notation though, and the last word is hard to read there also.  If you read through more pages of the manifest perhaps you'll find the same notation written more clearly.

Best regards,

Sherri Bobish

How might he have returned to the US "under an alias," i.e. changing his first name from Moishe to Israel?  I know that INS was worried about spies and anarchists, especially during World War I.  Didn't INS require a foreign passport and/or birth record?  An immigrant couldn't just say, "Hello, my name is Israel Wasserzier, I've no documents." could he?  I would think he couldn't have even boarded a ship without documents.  I know I can't board a plane without my passport.  I would think the INS would tell immigrants who have no documents, "Go home and get documents from your government."

If it wasn't so, any number of people could enter the US under false names and commit crimes without any way to find them. 

Contrariwise, if he DID somehow obtain documents from his old country saying (falsly) that his name was Israel, shouldn't those documents or at least notes about them be in his immigration or alien registration files?  If there's anything in those files at all, I would think that they would have this all-important information, i.e., the very basis of his identity.  No medical data can measure up to identification data, for if he DOES turn out to be a spy, anarchist, or criminal, it is imperative to have full identification data (town of birth, parents, etc.) 

So cannot Mr. Wasserzier's old country identification documents be obtained from the US government?
--James Hannum

On Tue, Feb 7, 2023 at 09:51 AM, <raishelwasserman@...> wrote:

You say, "he was detained for medical reasons and sent back (his naturalization papers do indeed say that he returned on a different ship under an alias in 1915).

"What alias did he use?  That's quite a feat, entering a country with no papers or false papers.  Any idea how he did it? 
I and many other researchers have the problem of how to deal with ancestors who changed their names.  There should be some record of when and how they changed.
--James Hannum

I have one thing more to add to this thread:  I assume an actual record of a 1915 arrival has net been found.   With WWI raging in Europe all borders were tightly sealed.  Passenger ship were commandeered for military use,  travel from Europe across the Atlantic was down to a trickle. Submarines were a danger, naval blockades were in effect.  Your family story of a return to the US under a pseudonym in that period may be just a story.

David Rosen
Boston, MA

His given name was Israel Moishe Wasserzier (I do have documentation of that from his marriage papers in Poland). That wasn't his alias. His alias was Antonio Batti, and (at least according to the family story), he joined the ship as crew rather than as a passenger. I have no idea if he had false documentation or not.

I am hoping that I can obtain further documentation from the US government. Unfortunately, it's currently about a two year process to get access to his Registry File (if one exists), and I only sent in a request for it a few months ago.

--
Raishel Wasserman
Thousand Oaks, CA
Researching: Beidner, Wasserzier, Meleczinski, Lipsky, Cohen, Cwejbak, Markowitz, Slutzky

I would love to find more of a paper trail for his return journey to confirm (or rebut) the story. So far, I haven't had much luck; the ship he claims to have been on (the Steano Romano) did indeed arrive in Philadelphia on January 13, 1915. It came from Bremen, but I haven't had any luck finding an outgoing manifest from Bremen (I gather the manifests in Bremen from around that time may no longer exist?).

The story is that he posed as an Italian cook named Antonio Batti and joined the ship as crew, then "jumped ship" in Philadelphia. Now, whether this was meant in a literal sense or he found a different way to evade the port authorities, I have no idea.

His naturalization papers read:

"I emigrated to the United States of America from Bremen, Germany
my lawful entry for permanent residence in the United States was at Philadelphia, Penn
under the name of Antonio Batti alias Morris Wasserman or Wasserzier 
Jan 15, 1915
on the vessel SS. Stefano Romano"

I'm waiting to see if the Department of Homeland Security has an old Registry File on him (I was told that there might be one). I'm hoping that if it exists, there will be more answers in there.



--
Raishel Wasserman
Thousand Oaks, CA
Researching: Beidner, Wasserzier, Meleczinski, Lipsky, Cohen, Cwejbak, Markowitz, Slutzky

It wasn't much of a feat.  It happened a lot prior to ca. 1918 when no papers were required.  There can be records of it all being sorted out later IF they wanted to naturalize (if they arrived after 6/29/1906).  Below a sample card from the INS Subject Index (now on Ancestry) under the subject "Arrived under Assumed Name," referencing Bureau of Naturalization correspondence in such cases.  



Note the card above is the 14th card.  There are over 370 such cards in this index of people who were trying to naturalize between ca. 1930 and 1943.

Marian Smith

I have something to add.    I now see that the Antonia Batti story has a lot more behind it. The Steano Romano was a Romanian tanker, not a passenger ship. There would not be a passenger manifest.   Romania was neutral until 1916 and would not have been blockaded by the British in 1914-15.  It left Bremerhaven on the North Sea Coast of Germany in late December 1914, arriving in Philadelphia on Jan 13, 1915. Two crew members left the ship and asked to be allowed in to the U.S. as immigrants. One of them had what appears to be an alias.  Both were admitted.  The records can be found on Ancestry.Com.  Morris Wasserzier would have been reluctant to go the straightforward route and ask for admission because of his history.  He probably walked off the ship and did not report back. 
The attached article describing the sale of the ship to an American company appeared in the Philadelphia Evening Ledger of Jan 26, 1915 

David Rosen
Boston, MA

Thank you so much! I had found the admittance record you were talking about for those two other people, but was having difficulty finding any information on the ship itself. It's really interesting to know it's a possibility that, since it wasn't a passenger ship, he might have circumvented immigration by simply going AWOL. And I really appreciate the article with the information about the ship.
--
Raishel Wasserman
Thousand Oaks, CA
Researching: Beidner, Wasserzier, Meleczinski, Lipsky, Cohen, Cwejbak, Markowitz, Slutzky

Two final notes (I promise):

First, as David noted, Morris/Israel "probably walked off the ship and did not report back."  I just want to mention that the two crewman who did go back, and so appear on that manifest page, went back three months later!  That manifest says they were examined April 8, 1915.  It is yet another example of where the "date admitted" may be different from the "date arrived."  
 
Second, there is at least a chance of a record of Morris/Israel/Antonio going AWOL at Philadelphia in 1915, if it was reported:  
Marian Smith

Thank you Marian. 

We are indeed fortunate to have Marian Smith contributing to this discussion group.  There is no greater authority on Immigration and Naturalization history than she.  A brief bio accompanied her talk to the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston in September 2020.:
"Marian Smith retired in 2018 after thirty years as an Historian for the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), later US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). She now speaks to groups on US immigration and nationality records and leads the I&N Records Fortnightly study group."

She is the author of "A Guide to Interpreting Passenger List Annotations" that can be found here:
https://www.jewishgen.org/InfoFiles/Manifests/

David Rosen
Boston, MA

You do not need to defend his actions, there always is grave danger to Jews even if they are citizens in time of war as history has proven before your ancestors escape from Europe and afterward even in Ukraine today where Jews were threatened to be targets of certain subgroups making the rabbi of Kiev decide to leave with some of his congregants( personal communication). The Jews who had an exception in Zvolen and forgot that they were Jewish as well as citizens, dug the trenches ordered by the town to protect against the bombings of the SS in the occupation of Slovakia after the uprising in 1944. Only trenches didn't protect from the Ukrainian 14tu all volunteer division of the Waffen SS that along with the Hlinka and others hunted down every Jew long after the bombings to shoot them into mass graves. Your ancestors needed asylum which is not so easy historically for Jews to get. I am grateful he was smart and found his way in or he would most likely have been killed in Hitler's inferno a few decades later. Baruch Hashem. Feigie Teichman

Marion, Thank you for continuing to share your expertise.  I looked through the INS subject index you mentioned.  Do you know if there was a change in procedure around 9-21-37? On card 339 there is a notation about ending the card per verbal instructions from Miss Ford.  Up to that point there are volumes of notations. After that point there seems to be a change in types of records noted. Almost nothing for 1938, nothing for 1939, a very few for 1940 and on. The relatives I am researching traveled under the name Rochkes  (zeidel and blume) and cert of analysis type of notations on the manifest have dates in 1939 and 1941.  Did they start recording those traveling under an assumed name in a different way around 1937?
You have helped me and so many others, thank you

Bobbi Kraftchick Hoyt
Houston Texas
KRAFTCHICK, KRAWCZYK,  LIDSKY, ROCHKES, REINAH, YOHAI, COHEN, TELVI, BERNARDETTE 

Thank you, Marian! I'm really grateful to have your expertise on this. :)

I will email them and ask.

Out of curiosity, do you know what the annotation "Med Certificate 1st Class" would indicate? I now understand the basics of the medical certificate, but I'm still curious about the second part of the annotation (1st Class). One suggestion I was given in my immigration class group was that it might have indicated he was isolated in a first class cabin before being sent back. Could this have been the case? Or was it simply a type of classification for the medical certificate?

Any insight you could offer would be very much appreciated.


--
Raishel Wasserman
Thousand Oaks, CA
Researching: Beidner, Wasserzier, Meleczinski, Lipsky, Cohen, Cwejbak, Markowitz, Slutzky

Good catch, Bobbi!  

I’m not entirely sure what Miss Ford was acting on in 1937, as I can find no legislation from that time nor any regulatory change on this topic.  I gleaned a little from the index but the answer will require research at Archives 1.

 

The “Assumed Name” subject cards begin with one as early as 1908, with DC ordering that the original record must stand and cannot be “corrected” or “changed” on the manifest.  That first card dates to about 1911, then the next (also numbered “1”) jumps to Feb 1932 and begins the 300+ cards listing so many cases under this subject.

 

On card 34 under the same subject I see instructions were sent to Ellis Island in Oct 1934 regarding “aliens arrived under assumed name,” citing INS file 55875/710.  Under another subject, Verification of Arrival (card dated 1/3/1938) says Circular Number 205 dated 12/1/37 covered “Discontinuance of amendment of records to correct discrepancies.  Procedure under cases involving records of entry where arrival occurred under an assumed name and in cases involving error in recording, Circ. Of April 23, 1935 cancelled.”  This entry also points to INS file 55875/710.

 

I went to the subject “Circulars by number” and found a card dated January 1938 noting that Circular 205 changed a procedure in place since 1935, also stating the circular purpose as  “Discontinuance of amendment of records to correct discrepancies.  Procedure in cases involving records of entry where arrival occurred under an assumed name and in cases involving errors in recording.  Circular dated April 23, 1935 cancelled (55875/710).”

 

All this suggests there was a procedure in place from at least April 1935 that was officially cancelled or changed in December 1937.  Perhaps Miss Ford was already aware of the change coming and was trying to close that subject—which she likely understood as a procedure.  Thereafter, people who arrived 1906-1924 and whose names did not match their declaration/petition probably still got worked out/documented within the regular verification for naturalization procedure, and still got indexed in either the Subject Index OR more likely the Name Index to Bureau of Naturalization Correspondence Files.

 

I’m sure the details can all be made clear with review of file 55875/710 at NARA

·      Archives I (DC), RG 85, Entry 9, NAID 559947, file 55875/710.  Certificate of Arrival, instructions re procedure in applications for where alien entered under an assumed name, Jan 1935 to May 1943   

 

As for the Rochkes (zeidel and blume), I’m assuming I found their record arriving at New York Dec 21, 1912 on the BULOW.  There I see Blume’s record verified in August 1941, resulting in a “505” being sent.  In reading about all the above this morning I did see mentions of changes to procedure for married women whose maiden names were mangled on their original manifest.  It MAY be, if she was married by 1941, that the change allowed the District Director to issue a certificate of arrival after receiving the 505.  Did she naturalize?  If so, and you have the petition number, someday it may be possible to obtain her INS naturalization P-file, which would have all the details.

 

As to Zeidel listed right next to her on the manifest, it says “no c/a” was issued when they checked his record in (looks like) 1939.  Then at left is another annotation citing “E.I. Reg 47162 [or 47962], 11/21/1941.”  So he applied for Registry and a Registry File would have been created.  Whether the Registry File survives separately today, or whether it was consolidated into his C-file, all depends on whether he naturalized before or after 1944 (and even then there’s an element of chance).  If he naturalized before early 1950, he too would have a P-file.

 

Since you likely know the names they used in the US, and Blume’s married name, I’d suggest searching the Name Index to Bureau of Naturalization Correspondence Files to see if you can find any references.

 

Hope that helps, and thanks for the kind words,

 

Marian Smith

Hi Raishel,

“1st class” describes the certificate itself.  The rules from very early on talk a lot about the “discretion of board of special inquiry under Section 10,” which is all about when the board can make a decision on a medical certificate alone, versus upon the certificate plus other considerations.  Often this distinction depends on the nature of the condition or disability being certified.  So it is all very complicated and not surprising that they would come up with a lingo or jargon to classify the medical certificates along these lines. 

 

Remember the PHS doctor examines the arriving immigrants first, and issues medical certificates to “hold” those exhibiting conditions that might exclude them.  The certificate is enough to bring the case before the Board of Special Inquiry (BSI), where the Board must consider their options depending on the complicated situation I refer to above.

 

A “1^st class” medical certificate MIGHT be certification for a condition for which there is no appeal allowed (like Tuberculosis).  Or maybe 1^st class means a certificate upon which the BSI can base it’s decision entirely.  We’d have to dig into it more.  I don’t think it tells you much about the immigrant’s experience.

 
Marian Smith