Eva Jaeger was born on June 12, 1879 in Neuhaeusel the same town where my Grandmother was born. Along the way she met my Grandmother and they became friends. Around the age of 17 they were ready for an adventure and left their homeland for America. Why they both left their homeland at the same time is unknown. Perhaps they were looking for a new start in life. A chance to better their lives. They arrived on a Monday, October 14, 1895. The stormy weather made the trip difficult for the girls.
Previously Alsatian came for many reasons; “In 1815-16 Alsatians who wanted to emigrate had already had a path mapped out for them for over a century. This path led to an Eden of abundance and liberty which contrasted notably with the economic and psychological conditions in Alsace after the Napoleonic wars. It was not going to be easy because even if conditions were favorable across the ocean they first had to overcome enormous difficulties, maybe even face death. “https://amct.pagesperso-orange.fr/migrants_eg.htm
“The Franco-Prussian War, which started in July 1870, saw France defeated in May 1871 by the Kingdom of Prussia and other German states. The end of the war led to the unification of Germany. Otto von Bismarck annexed Alsace and northern Lorraine to the new German Empire in 1871. France ceded more than 90% of Alsace and one-fourth of Lorraine, as stipulated in the treaty of Frankfurt. Unlike other members states of the German federation, which had governments of their own, the new Imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine was under the sole authority of the Kaiser, administered directly by the imperial government in Berlin. Between 100,000 and 130,000 Alsatians (of a total population of about a million and a half) chose to remain French citizens and leave
Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen, many of them resettling in French Algeria as Pieds-Noirs. Only in 1911 was Alsace-Lorraine granted some measure of autonomy, which was manifested also in a flag and an anthem (Elsässisches Fahnenlied). In 1913, however, the Saverne Affair (French: Incident de Saverne) showed the limits of this new tolerance of the Alsatian identity.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alsace
Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen, many of them resettling in French Algeria as Pieds-Noirs. Only in 1911 was Alsace-Lorraine granted some measure of autonomy, which was manifested also in a flag and an anthem (Elsässisches Fahnenlied). In 1913, however, the Saverne Affair (French: Incident de Saverne) showed the limits of this new tolerance of the Alsatian identity.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alsace
“The Treaty of Frankfurt gave the residents of the region until October 1, 1872, to choose between emigrating to France or remaining in the region and having their nationality legally changed to German. About 161,000 people, or around 10.4% of the Alsace-Lorraine population, opted for French citizenship (the so-called Optanden); but, only about 50,000 actually emigrated, while the rest acquired German citizenship.[6] The sentiment of attachment to France stayed strong at least during the first 16 years of the annexation. During the Reichstag elections, the 15 deputies of 1874, 1881, 1884 (but one) and 1887 were called protester deputies (fr: députés protestataires) because they expressed to the Reichstag their opposition to the annexation by means of the 1874 motion in the French language: « May it please the Reichstag to decide that the populations of Alsace-Lorraine that were annexed, without having been consulted, to the German Reich by the treaty of Frankfurt have to come out particularly about this annexation. »[7] The Saverne Affair (usually known in English-language accounts as the Zabern Affair), in which abusive and oppressive behavior by the military towards the population of the town of Saverne led to protests not just in Alsace but in other regions, put a severe strain on the relationship between the people of Alsace-Lorraine and the rest of the German Empire.
Under the German Empire of 1871–1918, the annexed territory constituted the Reichsland or Imperial Territory of Elsaß-Lothringen (German for Alsace-Lorraine). The area was administered directly from Berlin, but was granted limited autonomy in 1911. This included its constitution and state assembly, its own flag, and the Elsässisches Fahnenlied ("Alsatian Flag Song") as its anthem.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alsace-Lorraine
It is not know if they were being met by anyone or if they had to make their own way finding a place to live as well as a job. The next record located is their marriage license. Eva was married to Gottfried Charles Buchert on May 14, 1898. In 1900 the family lived at 1702 2nd Avenue a part of the Yorkville Neighborhood. By 1910 Federal Census they were married twelve years and had two daughters Dora and Elsie. At that time they were living on 306 91st Street in Manhattan. Gottfried or Charlie for which he was known by his family and friends a was an upholsterer. The apartment building was in the Yorkville neighborhood located in the upper east side. The building that is there today was built in 1925.
“For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, Yorkville was a middle- to working-class neighborhood, inhabited by many people of Czech, Slovak, Irish, Polish, German, Hungarian, and Lebanese descent. The area was a mostly German enclave, though.[12] The neighborhood became more affluent.[13]
From 1880, Yorkville became a destination for German-born immigrants. However, by the 1900s, many German residents moved to Yorkville and other neighborhoods from "Kleindeutschland" (Little Germany) on the Lower East Side after the General Slocum disaster on June 15, 1904. The ship caught fire in the East River just off the shores of Yorkville, leading family members to move closer to the site of the incident.[14] Most of the passengers on the ship were German.[15][16] In addition, the general trend towards moving to the suburbs reduced the German population in Manhattan; by 1930, most German New Yorkers lived in Queens.
On 86th Street, in the central portion of Yorkville, there were many German shops, restaurants and bakeries. Yorkville became the melting pot of populations arriving from various regions of the Prussian-dominated German Empire and its colonies, where many cultures spoke German. In the 1930s, the neighborhood was the home base of Fritz Julius Kuhn's German American Bund, the most notorious pro-Nazi group in 1930s United States, which led to spontaneous protests by other residents.[17] Yorkville was a haven for refugees from fascist Germany in the 1940s, and from refugees from communist regimes in the 1950s and 1960s. The neighborhood is the site of the annual Steuben Parade, a large German-American celebration.[18]”
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