Anton Braunger, 16 and his sister Ursula, 20, who were residents of Öpfingen, Germany, emigrated from Hamburg, Germany to the United States aboard the S.S. Wieland on Sunday, October 31, 1886.  Anton & Ursula arrived at the Castle Garden immigration station in the Port of New York on Saturday, November 13, 1886.  (Ellis Island would not open until 1892.)

The Statue of Liberty was dedicated by President Grover Cleveland on October 28, 1886, 16 days before their arrival. Once arriving in the port, the view of the Statue would have been off to the left as they traveled to Castle Garden (located at the tip of Manhattan). If they didn't see it from the ship, maybe they saw it from land. Anton & Ursula may have been fortunate enough to be some of the first immigrants to see the Statue of Liberty, prior to their journey to Nebraska.

With respect to the S.S. Wieland, this ship was part of the Hamburg America Line.  I was told by a professor in Hamburg that emigrants would wait on the Island of Veddle, just south of the Elbe River, and would be brought up to the ships by railroad or canal.  My great-aunt Marie Braunger recalled that my great-grandfather (Marie’s father) paid $35.00 for the voyage.