Port of Quebec, Grosse Île

The Batkes entered the Port of Québec on July 28, 1912.  The receiving station for the Port of Québec was Grosse Île at the time.  An excerpt about Grosse Île follows:

"The quarantine station on Grosse Île, an island located in the middle of the St. Lawrence river, 48 km downstream from Québec, was established by colonial authorities in 1832, in response to reports that new immigrants had various contagious diseases. With cholera outbreaks in 1832 and 1834, and a deadly typhus epidemic in 1847-1848, thousands of new immigrants were quarantined on the island, with thousands eventually perishing. The victims of the latter epidemic were mainly Irish immigrants fleeing the potato famine. This period of virulent epidemics came to an end only after another outbreak of cholera in 1854.

"At the time of Confederation in 1867, the Canadian government formulated a comprehensive policy on immigration and settlement, requiring the establishment of a reliable, efficient quarantine station. Dr. Frederick Montizambert was in charge of establishing modern facilities at the Grosse Île quarantine station, where he acted as medical superintendent from 1869 to 1899.  As fewer people immigrated to Canada as a result of the First World War (1914-1918) and the Great Depression (1930s), and knowledge of microbiology and the treatment of contagious diseases was advanced, the hospital on Grosse Île was reduced to treating minor childhood infections such as diphtheria, chicken pox and measles. New international health agreements stated that people infected with these diseases no longer had to be quarantined and serious infections such as cholera, typhus and smallpox could be successfully treated at the Parc Savard Hospital in Quebec, founded in 1907. The quarantine station on Grosse Île was closed in 1937."

Quarantine And Public Health: The Changing Role of Grosse Île, by André Sévigny, Historian, September 1995.

Pallanza Manifest, 1912

This is the first of three pages of the Pallanza Manifest which is the steamer the Batkes sailed on from Bremen, Germany to Quebec, Canada, July 14 - July 28, 1912. The Pallanza left Hamburg, Germany on July 13, stopping at Bremen on July 14 where the Batkes embarked on the ship. The last stop of the Pallanza in Europe was at Rotterdam, The Netherlands, on July 15 before sailing across the ocean and arriving 13 days later in Quebec, Canada. Including the Batkes, there were 378 adults and 104 children who made the trip across the ocean. In Quebec, steerage medical inspection occurred at 9:00 a.m. and was completed at 11:00 a.m on July 28. Only three individuals were detained. The manifest notes that there was a "special" Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) train which left at Noon. Supposedly, the Batkes were on that train.

Pallanza Manifest, page 15

On page 15 of the Pallanza passenger list it shows Batkes on lines 27 - 29.
Line 27: $580(?) in cash, Batke, Johan, age 35
Line 28: Batke, Anna, age 65
Line 29: Batke, Anna, age 11
The Batkes state they can read and write; their country of birth is Russia and their race is German. Their destination is Ernfold, Saskatchewan. Johan states he was a farmer in Russia and plans to be a farmer in Canada. They say they plan to "always" stay in Canada and declare their religion as Evangelical.  They note they will be traveling inland on the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR).

Pallanza Manifest, page 16

 

Listed on page 16 of the Pallanza manifest for July 13-28, 1912 are several more of the Batke family.

Line 1: $160 in cash; Batke, Heinrich, age 34

Line 2: Batke, Catarina, age 22

Line 3: Batke, Catarina, age 2/12

Line 4: $50 in cash; Batke, Karl, age 29

Line 5: Batke, Frederika, age 24

Line 6: Batke, Anna, age 2

The information for these Batkes is the same as for those on page 15.  The adults state they can read and write and plan to stay in Canada permanently.  They declare their country of birth as Russia, race as German and their destination as Ernfold, Saskatchewan.  The male adults say they were farmers in Russia and that they plan to be farmers in Canada.  They also state their religious denomination as Evangelical.  And, they plan to travel, once they land, on the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR).

Batke Inspection card, 1912

 

This card was given to Catarina Batke at the time the Batkes left Bremen on their voyage to Quebec sailing on the Pallanza. Note besides being stamped upon arrival in Quebec, it is also stamped on August 13, 1912 in Winnipeg, Canada. Image courtesy: Don Fredrick

Pallanza/Chancellor 1891

The ship the Batkes traveled on from Bremen to Quebec in 1912 was the Pallanza. The following description of the ship is provided on The Ships List.

"4,606 gross tons, length 398.6 ft x beam 47.1 ft, one funnel, three masts, single screw and a speed of 12 knots. There was accomodation for 850-3rd class passengers. Built by C. S. Swan & Hunter, Wallsend-on-Tyne, she was launched as the Chancellor for T. & J. Harrison of Liverpool on 11th of May 1891. Sold to Sloman Line of Hamburg in 1901, she was renamed Pallanza and started her first Hamburg - New York voyage on 25th Jul. 1902. Chartered by the Hamburg-American Line in May 1903, she was purchased by this company on 9th Jan. 1907. On 16th Jan. 1907 she started her first Hamburg - Philadelphia sailing and on 17th May 1912 commenced her first Hamburg - Quebec - Montreal sailing. Her last voyage on this service stared on 12th June 1914 and she arrived back at Hamburg on 21st Jul. 1914. Used as a German Naval Auxiliary, she was sunk by a mine near Borkum on 11th Nov. 1915. Source: North Atlantic Seaway by N. R. P. Bonsor, vol. 1, p.409"

From the Batke Pallanza passenger list, it notes the ship had 378 adults and 104 children, or 482 individuals, on their July, 1912 voyage. It states the voyage started in Hamburg on July 13, departed Bremen on July 14 and finally departed Rotterdam on July 15. Its last port of call was Quebec, arriving on July 28, 1912.

The trip from Bremen, the port from which the Batkes departed, to Quebec was 14 days in all.