My great grandfather, Ferdinand Maier, was born in Germany around 1863. I believe it was in the village Neuhausen, near Stuttgart. His father's name might have been, Michael. When he emmigrated to NY he lived the rest of his life in NYC and the Bronx. He married twice (Caroline 1st, and Dorothy (2nd). He was a mason (bricklayer) and had four children: Dora, Ferdinand Jr., Henry and Joseph. He died in 1937 and Dorothy was still living in 1940. I am trying to find out more about his life in Germany before he left around 1881. He would have been around 18. Did he have brothers/ sisters? Did he travel alone? Apparently, the passenger list burned at Castle Garden. Any help/ direction would be appreciated. As an adult he did travel on two different occasions to visit Germany, but always returned to NY. My father and grandfather never talked about him. I wonder why?
