Texas Seaport Museum / Tall Ship ELISSA
“Texas’s Ellis Island.” That’s how some historians describe Galveston during the 19th century. But before these pilgrims could experience the freedom Texas offered, they had to survive up to 12 weeks on the Atlantic Ocean. Germans boarded ships in ports like Hamburg and Bremen, subjecting themselves to food rations, outbreaks of disease and, of course, seasickness. Between 1880 and 1886, the port of Bremen alone accounted for more than 8,000 Texas-bound immigrants, traveling on two sailing vessels and 15 steamships.
Learn more as you climb aboard the restored 1877 tall ship Elissa at the Texas Seaport Museum, an interactive experience that tells the story of the 133,000 immigrants who came through Galveston in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Or search for your immigrant ancestors on 19th century passenger lists using the museum’s state-of-the-art immigrant database.