George Bancroft to Hamilton Fish, September 8, 1873

No. 505. Mr. Bancroft to Mr. Fish.

Sir: The main question on which you inquire in your instruction No. 599 has engaged my attention ever since I have resided in Germany as minister.

When measures were adopted for taking the census of the United German Empire, I requested that the officers employed in taking it might be instructed to make a special count of the Americans in Germany. The German government acceded to my request, and it appears from the returns that on the 1st day of December, 1871, the Americans present in Germany numbered 10,672. This census includes the American-born not less than the naturalized Germans; and travelers and sojourners as well as residents. But it was taken at a period of the year when the number of transient travelers is at a minimum.

As a help to a conjecture on the question how these are to be distributed as residents or sojourners, (and nothing more than a conjecture is possible,) I have made fresh inquiries at Bremen and at Hamburg, on the number of passengers which the two great lines of steamers annually bring to those ports. In the year from July 1, 1872, to July 1, 1873, the regular Hamburg steamers brought 9,594 passengers to Europe, of whom 9,000 may have been destined for Germany. Extra Hamburg steamers brought about 1,000 passengers more, so that we may set down the arrivals in Germany by that line of steamers at 10,000 a year, and of these 7,500 may be German-Americans. During the same period of twelve months the passengers in the Bremen line amounted to 3,910 first-class passengers and 7,216 steerage passengers; in all, 11, 126. Of these, I think 10,000 were American citizens, of whom perhaps 1,000 remain in Germany or some part of Europe for more than one season. These statistical accounts obtained from Hamburg and Bremen in my judgment go to show that the census return for December 1, 1871, fell short of rather than exceeded the true number of Americans then present in the German Empire. Your instruction to me is, if possible, to ascertain the numbers you inquire after. To that I must reply that to ascertain is impossible, but relying on the candor of the Department, and repeating that estimates, if made at all, must be made on mixed and imperfect data, I venture to give to your questions conjectural answers.

• Of Americans whose residence in Germany has been of long continuance, or seems to be indefinite in its intended duration, I estimate the number at 10,000, and that number rather on the increase.
• Of Americans annually arriving from the United States in the German Empire, I estimate the number at about 15,000, of whom about 13,000 return in the same season, leaving, perhaps, about 1,500 as sojourning or temporarily abiding in the country, and about 500 to be added to the class of those whose residence seems to be indefinite, thus doing a little more than making good the losses by death and otherwise in the resident class.
• It is not possible to state the number of children born in Germany of fathers who claim to be American citizens. But as the class of resident Americans is composed mainly of persons advanced in fife, or of families of whom the heads are advanced in life, the number of children born in Germany of American parents must be proportionally very much less than the number born among the same number of Germans.
• There is no record kept at the legation of children born of American parents in the German Empire. The only instances of a registry that have occurred in my time are those of children born in families of this legation. So far as I know, no such record is kept at any of the consulates. The Germans, however, are very particular in registering all births; but as these registers are kept by the clergy, so that a separate one is kept for each parish in the Empire, it would not be possible for the legation to ascertain how many have been registered as American citizens. In special cases the inquiry would be easy, for a claimant of American citizenship of this class might be called upon to produce an authenticated copy of his baptism.

I annex a translation in detail of the reports made to me from the census bureau of the Americans present in the German Empire on the first day of December, 1871, and copies of letters from the consulates at Hamburg and Bremen.

I remain, &c.

View of the Americans counted as present on the 1st December, 1871, in the states of the German Empire, Prussia and the principalities of Pyrmont and Waldeck excepted.

View of the Americans counted as present on the 1st December, 1871, in the Kingdom of Prussia and the principalities Waldeck and Pyrmont.