How did Gt Grandfather get to the UK ( 1880's)

[suecapon]

Hi,
My Great Grandfather Gotthardt Max Nauer was born in Germany 1855.

He married my Gt Gran in London in 1885, so obviously arrived sometime before 1885.

I have searched all immigration indexes, but cannot find him anywhere..he came over with his brother Karl Theodore Nauer ( b.1859 ) , but can't find any entry details for him either.

Wondered if anyone had an ideas of how to find their records regarding entry into the UK ?

Many thanks,
Susie

[LizzieL]

Gotthardt is on 1881 census as hotel waiter. It says pob is Wurtemburg, not clear if this means state of Baden- Wurttemberg or town of Wardenburg. If the latter there might be a connection between him and Johann Braun, husband of Isaline Braun, second witness on marriage. Johann was also a waiter b Wardenburg and married to Isaline (nee Pause) in London in  1877. That pushes back date of arrival a bit

[Rena]

I doubt you'll find anything because it was usual to destroy passenger lists after ten years.   The only ones to survive would be documents that had been filed incorrectly and which surfaced many years later.

If he was still alive in 1939 he would have had a registration card and noted as an "Alien".  Aliens who married British women were not necessarily sent to internment camps but were allowed to stay and work locally but had to report daily to the local police station.  and you may be lucky to find him in their records,  which include date of arrival in the UK   

[louisa maud]

Records being destroyed after 10 years has answered a nagging question possibly,    my grandfather came to England from Sweden prior to 1871, no passengers lists did I ever find, according  to my grandmother " he sailed the seas" not really sure what she meant but he was on every census from 1871 till his death

Louisa Maud

[KGarrad]

Possibly, his Naturalisation papers still exists?
At The National Archives, I believe.

[LizzieL]

He died in 1892 in Surrey, on probate index. Maybe not naturalised

[suecapon]

Thanks for all your answers. Was just curious, as there are many immigrant detailed lists on Ancestry..just nothing for him.
Such a shame..would have loved to solve the puzzle.
Appreciated - thanks.

[davidgp]

I'm in an almost identical situation with my great grandfather Frederic PRAKEL who was born in Germany about 1850. There are no naturalisation papers for him, nada. I think he tried making a living as a pot boy in the London dock area before doing much the same 10 years later in Swansea where he met and married a widow who ran a public house. Once married and with children he was naturalised and had a beer license - double result. I've always suspected he worked as a ship carpenter (his father was a shipwright) to get away from the possibility of national service in German. Any parallels here?
David

[Rena]

I'm in an almost identical situation with my great grandfather Frederic PRAKEL who was born in Germany about 1850. There are no naturalisation papers for him, nada. I think he tried making a living as a pot boy in the London dock area before doing much the same 10 years later in Swansea where he met and married a widow who ran a public house. Once married and with children he was naturalised and had a beer license - double result. I've always suspected he worked as a ship carpenter (his father was a shipwright) to get away from the possibility of national service in German. Any parallels here?
David

I have the same situation.  Every year the local vicar had to send to the district naval militia a list of the names of all males who would reach their 20th birthday.

My ancestor was brought here in the 1860s one day after his tenth birthday by one of his mother's brothers who himself was a naval draft dodger.

Basically, in the 1860s there was unrest rumbling amongst the little Germanic states with the Prussian leader who wanted them all to unite as a democratic republic.

In the 1980s my son-in-law worked for two years near Munich in the Bavarian town of Ingolstadt.   During my visit, I took my youngest son to play in the deserted local park.  We hadn't been there long when an old man made his way through the far gate and walked towards us.  He made a tremedous effort to impress on me that he was sorry for the war and that it was all the fault of those darned Prussians - "they are always causing wars".   How on earth he knew I was English I have no idea.