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Notes for Ferdinand Gustav Schrader:
The German ancestry of Ferdinand is not known by this author, his ship passenger lists only list him as from Prussia, and some of his census records as well, but his death certificate does not list any parents, and both the IGI, and Ancestral file have no listing of this man. The Schrader surname is an old and distinguished German name. The name itself has been written in many forms; the most prominent of which has been found as Schrader, Schraeder, Scradere, Schraders, Schroder, Schroeder, Schrotter, Schroader, Schrade, and Schradere. The surname itself is very numerous, especially in Germany, Holland, and in the United States. Most likely there were numerous persons with this surname in old Germany, no doubt a common origin for all of this surname is very unlikely. The known origin of the name is vocational in nature. It means to cut, or saw in pieces, to rough-hew, or to round-grind. The first Germans to bear this name in the late 1100's were cutters of fabric, fabric merchants, and others were sawyers of wood, and foresters. Many became tailors, and fabric merchants especially in the Hanover area of Prussia. It is this area where our family stories place as the origin of our Ferdinand, and his family, but without any proof at this time. This family unit always went under the name of Schrader, but as seen in some records, the name was also written as Schraeder, and Schroader. The Schrader family of Germany seems to have originated early on in German history in the Brunswick, and Hanover areas. Many with this surname lived in the towns of Hameln, Hagen, Celle, Braunschweig, Hildesheim, Helmstedt, Bag-Gandersheim, Gosler, Einbeck, Esebeck, Northeim, Osterode, and Gottingen, all towns in the Hanover area of Prussia. It is known that Ferdinand's wife's family, the Ritter's originated in the town of Osterode, in the Hanover area. Thusly, the names of the parents of our German-American original is not known by this author, or members of this family. Based on all the known evidence our Ferdinand Gustav Schrader was born before October, 1823 in Prussia, Germany. Based on old family interviews conducted between 1970-1985 by this author, our Ferdinand was the son of a German Socialist, and that he was opposed to Bismarck's advance upon Saxony, Germany. Family lore has it that his father was a Burgomeister of Hanover, which this author has proven to be incorrect (Based on correspondence with Historians of Hanover, Germany). The archives in Hanover does not list any man with the surname of Schrader, or any of its variants, as a mayor of this city, or any of the towns near this city. The stories tell us that Ferdinand as a young man had to hide, with his father, and his wife, Matilda Reitter, in the basement of a friends home in Hanover, and in the dead of night fled to Holland, and then to the coast where they made their way to London, England. After arriving in England, they then set sail for New York City. It is not known what happened to Ferdinand's parents whether they went to England with young Ferdinand or not is not known. But they did not come to New York. On 05 March, 1849 Ferdinand Schrader came to New York on the ship "American Eagle". With him was his wife Matilda, a daughter Anna Wilhelmina, a son named Gurlas (who was really Gustav), and a sister named Maria Wilke Schrader. The ship actually left Hamburg, Germany, and not England, but it did stop first in England, and then set sail for NYC.. The passenger lists state that he was from Prussia, and that he was a Cigar maker by profession. Based on old family stories, he came to NYC because of his families involvement in the German Socialist Revolution of 1848. In 1848 Ferdinand was a Socialist, and he opposed Bismarck, who was then successfully taking over the Hanover area with his Prussian army. When Bismarck's army captured the city of Hanover, and the Saxony army was routed, Ferdinand, along with his unknown father, were forced to hide out in the cellar of a friend in the city of Hanover. Ferdinand was of the Lutheran faith, as was his wife. On first arriving in Manhattan his family lived at 62 Avenue B, from 1849-1851. In the 1850 NYC census he was listed as Gustavis Schrodor, born ca. 1824 in Germany, a cigar maker, and he lived in the 17th ward. His wife, and children Ann, Gustav, Ferdinand, and his sister Mary Wilke Schrader lived with him. From 1852-1854 he was listed as Gustavius F. Schrader in the New York City directories, and he was living at 304 2nd avenue. From 1854-1855 he lived at 228 Sheriff street. From 1856-1858 he lived at 272 4th street. After arriving in New York city he continued to work as a Cigar maker, and his son took this vocation as well. In the 1860 NYC census he lived in the West Farms area of the Bronx, on page 430. He still worked as a cigarmaker at this time. On 02 Oct., 1868 he filed his Naturalization papers with the New York City Superior court, and it listed him as a subject of Prussia. The witness to his Naturalization was a friend named Charles Kruman, and Ferdinand was living at 272 4th street in Manhattan, and he was still working as a Cigar maker. He worked for P. Lorillard and company, Tobacco manufacturers, and the plant was located in the Bronx Botanical Gardens, in the Snuff Mill, a building which this author worked in from 1962-1963 during the summers. From 1870-1874 he lived at 495 10th avenue, and in the 1880 census he lived at 423 E. 82nd street. In 1875 he lived at 148th street, and 3rd avenue in the Bronx. In 1890 he lived at 59th street, and he died on 29 October, 1890 while living at this address, he was 67 when he died. He was a widower when he died, and he was listed now as living on Ward's Island, a cigar maker, and his previous address was an Alms house, which meant he was very poor when he died.
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