In those days, steerage class (which was later called 3rd class) travel was very profitable for the steamship company, but rugged, to say the least, for the passengers.  The name "steerage" came from the fact that the control strings of the rudder ran on this level of the ship.  Steerage passengers had to endure extremely cramped accommodations on the lowest desks, limited toilet use, no privacy, poor food and foul air.  They must have felt like cattle penned up in compartments of 300 or more people.  These compartments were usually divided according to three different categories: single men, married couples with families and single women.  Because there was no separate dining area, the inadequate meals were usually served on long tables in the center of each compartment and often there were not enough seats for everyone.  The average cost of feeding each passenger was only about 60 cents of day.

          Their living space consisted of iron framework sleeping berths that were 2 feet wide by 6 feet long and separated by 2 1/2 feet from the next bunk above them.  On their berths, they had  to sleep and keep their baggage and clothes.   Sweeping was the only cleaning done during the voyage.  Medical care, if available at all, was minimal.  For many immigrants, the experience on the ship was a nightmare.

          Upon arriving in New York, the Grenzes were not welcomed by the now famous Statue of Liberty, since that was not given to the U. S. by France until 1886.  They would have passed through Castle Garden, an old fort on the lower tip of Manhattan in New York, now known as Battery Park.  Ellis Island did not open for immigration services until 1890.  Castle Garden was built in 1811 to protect the New York harbor.  In 1855 it was designated an immigrant station under state supervision.  The fort is made of sandstone with a "D" shape, with the circular part facing the Hudson River.  It was fenced off from the rest of the battery which made it possible for the bewildered immigrants to be protected from the unsavory characters who roamed the open wharves at will to take advantage of gullible newcomers.

          Upon disembarking ship, the immigrants proceeded together up a corridor into the interior of the building, their boxes and baggage being removed to the luggage warehouses, and here they took seats.  In front of them, and in the center of the building, which is lit by a glass dome, stand about a dozen men.  Each immigrant had to appear before the registrar and give his name and destination which was compared to the official ship's manifest.  Here advice and information about routes and tickets for railway and steamer to take them to their final destination could be obtained.  They also learned about the availability of boarding houses for those who required lodging.  Needed medical attention and an honest currency exchange were provided as well as advice on obtaining employment.  Today this old fort is known as Castle Clinton and is a national monument, a visitor center for the national parks in Manhattan and the ticket center for visits to the Statue of Liberty.

        Samuel's son-in-law, Gottlieb Zeller, gives us some information on how the trip into America continued.  The first stop for the Grenz family was Marion, South Dakota.  Here they stayed only 2 weeks, while Samuel bought household supplies, two yoke of oxen, two cows, two wagons, and farm machinery.  He leased an Emigrant Railroad Car and loaded his newly purchased possessions.  They came by rail to Ipswich, the end of the track in what is now Edmunds County, South Dakota.  Back then it was Dakota Territory, for the Dakotas did not become states and join the union until 1889.