German immigrant 1800's - STEGMANN

[Kiowa]

Looking for help,inspiration,anything!!! I'm researching a male German immigrant supposedly born in 1857 in Germany, rather than a dependency. He first appears as a single person in the 1891 census in London aged 43,an electrical engineer, born in Germany, British Subject.I have more info, since 1891, but the period 1857----1891 is blank, I don't know who his parents were or how & when he arrived here, to make matters worse, although he retained  his surname, his first names are swopped about:----Max Emil George, //  George Max Emil, //George Maxamil. I have a suspicion that he paid  a visit to Germany before 1914, but as yet I 've not found anything out. Any help would be most appreciated.Many thanks Kiowa.

[tressle]

Is he still alive in 1911 when the census may give a more detailed place of birth (well you can hope).

Can you give a last name or a reference for the 1891 census? not to worry if you cannot.  I thought it might be worth checking outgoing passenger lists.   

Tressle

[apwright]

Not sure this helps much, but Max Emil Georg [sic] STEGMANN (Electrician, age 35) married Clara Alexandra STANFORD at St Mark's, Battersea, on 18 Feb 1892. His address is the same as that on the 1891 census (66 St John's Rd, Battersea) and his father is given as Carl STEGMANN (deceased), Gentleman. (London marriage records on Ancestry)

Clara died in Wandsworth district in Q4 1894 and Max Emil G [sic] then married either Mary Ann C KNIGHT or Mary Ann RICHARDSON in Kingston district in Q1 1897.
They are still together in 1911, but unfortunately none of the censuses, 1891, 1901 or 1911, give his exact place of birth.

Can't find any immigration/naturalisation papers, or any Georg/Emil/Max STEGMANN on familysearch.

Adria

[Kiowa]

I sent a reply but I don't know what's happened to it. Many thanks to Apwright for some info I did'nt have. He married Mary Ann C Knight, but I had'nt found Clara, so now I'm wondering how he got into the country, could he have anything to do with embassy staff?My thanks also to Tressle

[jorose]

Shipping records were not kept for incoming ships from Europe in the UK, so you are unlikely to find him in the incoming lists (the same goes for the outgoing lists, unless he went to the US or Australia or somewhere).

There is in fact a naturalisation record, possibly not for Max but for his wife: a Mary Ann Charlotte Stegmann, in 1915, resident London.
It is marked as "re-admission" - e.g. a naturalisation record for a woman who was born British but had "lost" her citizenship upon marriage.

http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/29177/pages/5232
 - this gives her address.
http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/27295/pages/1982
 -  is this him as "George Stegmann", electrical engineer, in Clapham (bankrupt?)

The actual naturalisation record might actually give info on Max/Emil/George? I haven't seen a readmission record before.

www.historicaldirectories.org has several Stegmann hits in London; the LMA would have perhaps some directories for the late 1880s, so you could check when he first appears in those.

[Peonie]

England Alien Arrival show  Stegmann, no Christian name, Merchant from Altona, date 1845.


George Maxamil. could actually be George Maximilian.

Regards Peonie

[Kiowa]

Sorry for the delay in my reply. Many thanks to both , "Jorose" & "Peonie" for their valuable contributions,& also to "Apwright" for finding his father. I Googled Altona & it's an urban borough of Hamburg, so that may well have been the point of departure.

I did wonder whether, when he gave his name ,possibly with an accent & slight hesitation in the middle of the name MAXAMIL, it would sound like MAX EMIL.

I'm sure that he is the bankrupt, it's too much of a coincidence to be otherwise.Wandsworth Common , North Side where they lived, runs parallel to St John's Hill Clapham Junction where the firm was & they are only a short street apart.

If anyone can come up with more info then I'll be most grateful,this has been doing my head no good at all
Once again, my thanks to all contributors,we're lucky to have your help.
Kiowa

[Peonie]

There is another C. Stegmann, Merchant, arriving in England from Hamburg in 1845, but he states his Country of Origin was "Odeuse" . I wonder if it should be Odense a town in Denmark.

On the IGI you'll find Stegmann from just about every country.

Regards Peonie

[jorose]

Given that there's no trace of M.E.G. in censuses earlier than 1891, I don't think it's likely that his father is one of the ones who arrived in the 1840s.  Probably he came to the UK for work and unaccompanied by family members, and probably he arrived in the 1880s sometime (which the alien arrival records don't cover, I believe).

You might have more luck looking for him leaving Europe (e.g. Hamburg Passenger lists) although records only survive for some ports.

I'd suggest getting copies of the naturalisation records for Mary, to see if there's any reference to where her husband came from in Germany.  You can order copies via the National Archives website if you're unable to visit in person.