Treasure Chest Thursday–Goodbye Trinidad, Hello New York City - My Webster Family: Coming Full Circle - From The U.S.A. to Brazil and Back Again - Part 6

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family.

Today’s post finds Debs Webster and his family leaving Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and sailing toward their final destination of The United States of America.  They still have 1,942 miles to go on the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

As the photo below shows, the crew of the S.S. Brazil did a fantastic job keeping the kids entertained.

For more photos of the kids at play, see my previous post Children's Games on Board the S.S. Brazil.




Welcome to America!

Imagine the excitement Debs and his family felt as they finally approached the shores of the United States.  I love that my Grandpa Debs took this photo of The Statue of Liberty while on board the S.S. Brazil.



The Statue of Liberty – July 1952
Click to Enlarge

Hello New York City!

Debs and his family arrived in New York City on July 22, 1952 and stayed there until the end of the month.

They had just left winter in Brazil and arrived during summer here in America.
Following their arrival in New York City, Debs and his family stayed at the Hotel Greystone.

My mom recalls that they stayed on one of the upper floors of the hotel and that there was no air conditioning.  She said it was so hot!

Originally built as a stately hotel in 1923, the Hotel Greystone is now an apartment building.  Here is their current website - Hotel Greystone.







This vintage postcard of the William Sloane House YMCA sits next to the Hotel Greystone postcard in my Grandfather Debs’ photo album.  I asked my mom if they stayed there too, but she said no.  She thinks my Grandfather bought the postcard because he and his dad, The Traveling Dentist, may have stayed there on one of their trips to the U.S.






 
Well, my Webster family has finally arrived in The United States of America, so that is the end of this series of posts.

But it’s not the end of their adventures.  They still have a trip across the United States to make to reach their final destination in Southern California.

So stay tuned for more stories, photos and vintage postcards from across the United States.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Treasure Chest Thursday–Goodbye Rio, Hello Trinidad - My Webster Family: Coming Full Circle - From The U.S.A. to Brazil and Back Again - Part 5

When we last left Debs Webster and his family, they had just boarded the S.S. Brazil in Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil.  Today’s post finds my Webster family sailing from Santos, Brazil to Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, with a port of call in Rio de Janiero.

(If you'd like to catch up to the rest of us, you can view the previous post here.   Oh, and for those of you who enjoy vintage postcards, there's one of those in the previous post too.)

I have prepared a photo and vintage postcard travelogue of this part of their adventure.  So there will just be a few words of explanation scattered throughout.

(Note:  To enlarge the photos and postcards, just click on the images.)

Enjoy the journey!

The map below shows the S.S. Brazil’s ports of call on their way from Santos to New York City.

S.S. Brazil's Ports of Call from Santos, Brazil
to New York City July 1952

Goodbye Rio!   If you look closely at the top of the photograph, you can see my Grandfather Debs’ writing in pencil saying goodbye to Rio.

Goodbye Rio

My mom told me that her stepmomother watched her kids like a hawk on the ship.  Here are my uncles playing in the pool.  In a previous post I shared a couple photos of some kids playing games and enjoying fun activities on board the S.S. Brazil.

My uncles on the S.S. Brazil – July 1952

Lifeboat drill time!

Lifeboat Drills on the S.S. Brazil – July 1952

The S.S. Brazil held a “Line-Crossing Ceremony” marking the time they crossed the equator. My mom remembers the ceremony was by the pool and the crew members were dressed in costume. According to this website, in the 1940’s this was referred to as King Neptune's Celebration. I’m assuming it was called the same thing in 1952 as well.

CBurnett at WikiMedia Commons

Time to disembark!  Destination?  Port-of-Spain, Trinidad.

Webster Family in Trinidad July 1952
(I don’t know who the man to the left is)

Trinidad July 1952

Trinidad July 1952

Trinidad July 1952

My Mom and her family at Trinidad July 1952
(I don't know who the other people are)

Trinidad July 1952

Some postcards from Trinidad -














Hope you've enjoyed this photograph and vintage postcard travelogue of my Grandpa Debs Webster's family.

Next stop...New York City.

Thanks for reading!


Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Sepia Saturday 131–Children's Games on board The S.S. Brazil

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family.

Sepia Saturday provides an opportunity for genealogy bloggers to share their family history through photographs.

The S.S. Brazil - July 1952

On Board the S.S. Brazil July 1952

This week’s Sepia Saturday theme suggests amusement or fun.

So I thought I’d share these photos of children having fun on board the S.S. Brazil.  I don’t know if this was someone’s birthday party or just one of the activities planned for the kids on board the ship.

I imagine a two-weeks or so voyage in the confines of an ocean liner would require a certain degree of creativity on the part of the ship’s employees as they tried to keep the kids entertained and happy.  This is 1952 after all.  There were no hand-held video games, ipods, ipads, laptops, wii or X-box game systems.  Simpler times, right?

These photos are part of a collection of vintage postcards and photographs belonging to my grandfather, Debs Webster.  If you've been following along with my Webster family's story, you may remember that this branch of the Webster family tree came from America to Brazil and then returned to America again.

In my previous installment of this story we found my Grandpa Debs and his family boarding the ship the S.S. Brazil bound for New York City.  Also in this previous post I included a vintage postcard of the S.S. Brazil.  You can read the post here.

For more Sepia Saturday posts click here.

Thanks for reading!



Copyright © Jana Last 2012

Treasure Chest Thursday–The S.S. Brazil - My Webster Family: Coming Full Circle - From The U.S.A. to Brazil and Back Again - Part 4

This is part of a series of posts dedicated to the immigration story of Debs Webster and his family.





This is the ship that carried Debs Webster and his family to a new life, a new country, a new language, a new culture.  They packed their trunks, said their goodbyes to their family, friends and homeland and set off on their new adventure.

What would life be like in America?  There were many things to think about:  new friends, new schools, new employment, new language.  And how quickly would they master this new language?  Debs could speak English.  Actually, he could speak three languages – Portuguese, Spanish and English.  Just one of the perks of being the son of the The Traveling Dentist.  The rest of the family hadn’t set foot outside of Brazil, so Portuguese was what they knew.  Ultimately, the children were able to master the English language, but it was more of a struggle for Debs’ wife and mother-in-law.

I remember my grandmother being able to understand English, but she was more comfortable speaking Portuguese.  So guess what?  I grew up hearing Portuguese spoken around me when we visited with my grandparents.  It was great!  Did I ever learn it?  No.  I really wish I had.

Were these emigrants scared, nervous, apprehensive or excited about their new adventure?  Perhaps it was a mixture of all of these emotions.

Whether scared or not, the decision was made and they were on their way.

So, on July 7, 1952, Debs and Willis Webster and their three children (my mom included) boarded the ship The S.S. Brazil at the port in Santos, Brazil.  Also joining them on their adventure was Willis’ 66-year old mother Helena.  She decided to emigrate with them.

The Webster Family on Board The S.S. Brazil July 1952

The S.S. Brazil made two ports of call on it’s way to New York – Rio and Trinidad.  This brochure from 1949 shows the S.S. Brazil's travel route.

In the next installment of this story, I will be sharing more vintage postcards and fun photos from these ports of call.

What about you?  Have you ever moved far away?  How did you feel?  Were you scared, nervous, excited?

Bonus Info:

While doing research for this blog post I found some very interesting information about the S.S. Brazil.  Did you know that in 1942 the S.S. Brazil became a United States Army Transport Ship (USAT)?  After the war, it returned to “civilian life.”  You can read about that and other facts here.

Thanks for reading!

Copyright © Jana Last 2012