Schwaantje (Reiners) Tjaden and her family’s trip to America

Heiche [Heike] Tjaden (1788-1843) and his wife Schwaantje (1799-1889) lived near the city of Aurich, Ostfriesland, Germany. Their home was located west of Aurich in the village of Extum. Together they had ten children. Heike was, at one time, a servant ("Dienstbote"). It has been noted that Heike spent a couple of years in the German Army. In 1857, about fourteen years after Heike’s death, Schwaantje along with three sons and three daughters left their home in Germany for America. They sailed from Bremen, the nearest port city, for the ten-week voyage to New Orleans, Louisiana.

During the voyage, two-year-old Ludwig died and was buried at sea. After passing immigration; Jacob, his wife and family, Ludwig, and Reinhard found passage up the Mississippi river to Saint Louis, Missouri and then the Illinois river to Peoria where they spent the winter. Jacob and Meene’s one-year-old son Reinhard died, and is buried there. In the spring of 1858 they moved to Linn Township, Woodford County, Illinois to rent land and, take-up the vocation of farming.

The girls; Theda, Mary, Catherina, and their mother moved to the state of Mississippi where they lived the rest of their lives. Schwaantje died in 1889 at the home of one of her daughters. She was aged ninety years.

The column to the right has a list of the immigrating family members and their ages at the time of the trip.

Schwaantje............. 58
-Jacob Heikes &........ 40
 Meene Janssen (Heyen). 37
  Heike Jacob ......... 14
  Johann Jacobs ....... 11
  Meenke Jacobs ........ 9
  Heinrich Arnold ...... 7
  Ludwig Jacob ......... 2
  Reinhard ............. 1
-Theda Ulricka ........ 31
-Maria ................ 28
-Reinhard Heiken ...... 24
-Ludwig Heiken ........ 23
-Catherina Volina ..... 15