The Arrival of Caspar Biele to America

For many years it has been unknown how and when Caspar Biele came to America.  Earlier research discovered that Caspar Biele was born in Hovestadt Germany in 1823, later moved to Barmen German where he married his wife Wilhelmine in 1852.
 

Undated Photo of Caspar Biele 

Records from Ellis Island show that Wilhelmine and the four children born in Barmen arrived in New York City from Bremen on the S.S. America on Dec 19, 1865, but no records list when Caspar arrived.  The first record of him in the US is in the Trow's 1868 directory where he is listed as a cabinet maker and living at 71 Ridge in lower Manhattan in New York City.  A previously discovered index card of Caspar's naturalization record is blank concerning his arrival port and date of arrival.

A new discovery provides some further clues.  A copy of the actual court record of his naturalization states that in "September or October 1864 he made a public declaration in the County Court at Philadelphia PA being a Court Record therein, that is was, bona fide, his intention to become a citizen of the United States and renounce forever all allegiance to the King of Prussia"  It further states that the original record of that declaration has been destroyed or lost.

This seems to imply that Caspar came to the United States from Germany through the port of Philadelphia in 1864.  Or it could be that he entered through a different port and just made his declaration there.  Or perhaps he never made a declaration there and that was just a convenient statement made when he applied for citizenship in 1868.

More digging is needed to definitively determine when and where Caspar Biele came to the United States.