Kathryn Baraniak was the second child of Joseph Baraniak and Sofia Dembska Baraniak. The Baraniak family resided in Sebastiano, Poland, near Charlub, and most likely were good friends of the Constantin Jankowski family in Poland. Both families immigrated to the U.S. around the same time, and both ended up in Rolling, Wisconsin, near Antigo. Joseph Baraniak had emigrated from Poland in March of 1888, no doubt with the intention of earning enough money to bring the rest of his family to America. Sofia and the children began their journey to a new life in early October of 1888. In time, Kathryn would grow up to become the 18 year old bride of then 35 year old Albert Jankowski, son of Constantin.

The S.S. Hermann arrived in Baltimore on October 24, 1888, after sailing from Bremen, Germany. Above is the cover page from the passenger manifest, click on it for a larger version. Normal sailing time was about 2 weeks, so most likely the Hermann departed Bremen on or around October 10th. Before taking the ocean voyage, Sofia Baraniak and her children would have had to travel overland from Sebastiano, Poland to Bremen, a distance of 687 kilometers. Most likely this was done via rail.

Above is the page from the passenger manifest listing the Baraniak family (click to enlarge). At the time of this journey, Sofia was 27 years old. Onboard the Hermann with her were their 4 children: daughter Agnes - age 7, daughter Kathryn - age 4, son Valentin - age 3, and daughter Stanislawa - age 6 months. Imagine the courage it took for Sofia to undertake a journey such as this with 4 young children and no one to help her! It's possible their were friends onboard with her, but I have not found any recognizable names on the manifest.

Above is the summation page from the passenger manifest (click to enlarge). The Hermann carried a total of 677 passengers, 671 of which were steerage passengers. The Hermann was built to carry 700 passengers, but their was only accommodation for 500 in steerage. After arriving Baltimore, Sofia and the children would have taken a lengthy train journey across the country to Antigo, Wisconsin, a distance of nearly 1,000 miles! Only after all this, could Sofia and children be reunited with husband and father, Joseph Baraniak.