HISTORICAL GENEALOGY PRESENTATIONS Sailing to America and Castle Garden Immigration Center
Now you can get a presentation package to view and enjoy whenever and wherever you want. Bring history
to life while seated in your own home.
Using slides, and photographs Professor Brenner describes the political, economic, technological, social,
and religious conditions that caused hundreds of thousands of Germans, Irish,
and others to abandon their homelands in the Old World and seek better lives in America.
He also explains how technology directly influenced the lives of Europeans in the 1800s.
Learn about the affect of railroads, factories, mass production, the steam engine, and even asphalt roads
on life in Europe. Learn how much it cost to travel to America in the mid 1800s, how much typical laborers
earned, and how much they paid for rent. Learn what food costs in Europe and in America and how much it costs
and how long it took to get to their destinations in the New World. Learn what innovations supported the
rapid growth of American and European industries.
Learn how long travel took by sailing ship and by steam propulsion. And see how ships actually navigated from
Europe and England to the east coast of North America. Learn the immigration process and follow ancestors
from their homes and villages to the actual seaports. Visually ride with them as they endured the difficult
conditions and rough seas to finally arrive in America.
Then follow along as they entered New York harbor and processed through the Castle Garden Immigration
Center, a facility organized and operated by former immigrants for new arrivals in America. Follow
the immigrant process from first stepping ashore to legal acceptance as Americans and on their way to their final
destination within a single day. See how they communicated with family in
the Old World or here in America. Learn how they traveled from Castle Garden to towns and cities all across
the United States. See how much it cost and how long it took to travel by coach, inland waterway, or train. Learn more
about your own roots with a historical genealogy presentation package from Brenner Information Group.
HERE'S WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID
"I really, really enjoyed the discussion. I found all of the details were really fascinating...since all of my relatives
came from Germany ...and quite a few came through Castle Garden . It really meant a lot to hear about what their experiences
were like. " — Diane Walters, San Marcos, CA
"Thank you for presenting your 'Sailing to America' program at the St. Clair Museum. We received many compliments to pass along
to you. The audience found the program interesting, informative, and inspiring. The Museum was proud to host your presentation." — JoAn Kindsvater, St. Clair Historical Museum, St. Clair, MI
"... enjoyed your wonderful time line. It is nice to take a 'class' from an organized engineer. " — Betty Baak, San Diego, CA
"Your presentation was very helpful to me to better understand the history and phases of the immigration process, and how my
own ancestors came to the USA." — Peter Pensel, San Diego, CA
"This past weekend my wife and I attended presentations on “Sailing to America” and “Castle Garden
1855-1890”. We went fully expecting to witness another bit of history in a vacuum. We could not have
been more wrong.
As we sat waiting for the presentation to start we were given a history timeline to familiarize ourselves
with what was going on in the world for the 60 year period of 1830 to 1890. This summary consisted of 8
pages of single spaced type! We only got through about half the material before the presentation started. As
Professor Brenner began, we expected it would take a couple of slides before he would get into the swing of
things. We had never encountered any of his presentations until this occasion. He hit the ground running
and the next thing we knew we were taking a break an hour into the presentation. That break gave
us just enough time to review the last half of the history timeline handout. The second half of the
presentation moved by just as quickly as the first half. He kept us and the rest of the group totally
engrossed the entire time.
My wife and I love history; not the history from text books, but rather the cause and effect history you
encounter through extensive research. Professor Brenner did the research and kept the entire audience
captivated as he explained immigration to America during the 19th Century. He explained the “whys” and even
the “hows” of coming to America. We spent time with those aboard ships crowded 5 deep to a rack in steerage,
learned what food they ate, the costs they incurred and even the sailing tools and equipment used for the
crossing. We spent time with the immigrants as they went through the process of becoming Americans and saw
how they traveled from the port of arrival to destinations throughout America of the 1800s.
His wealth of knowledge, extensive research and ease of delivery made for a truly enjoyable experience,
too soon ended. It was not history in a vacuum. You felt like you really understood why so many made that
perilous journey knowing they would most likely never see their homes in the Old Country again. If you get
a chance to catch one of his presentations, don’t hesitate." — Harry and Janne Majewski, San Diego, California
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Robert Brenner is an experienced professional speaker and historical genealogist who has appeared at numerous
local and national events around the country. He has been a historical genealogist for over 11 years. He
found his own roots and actually visited the ancestoral homesteads on both sides of his family (mother and
father). He's walked on the same streets that his great grandfather used back in 1870. He stood on the
original log cabin floor where his grandfather played as a child. He learned what his ancestors put up with
and what conditions pushed them into leaving their siblings, parents, and grandparents to seek a new life in
America. He understands the historical events and conditions that pushed his own ancestors and millons of
other people to leave their families and emigrate to America. And now he's sharing his research knowledge
with you.
PRESENTATION PACKAGES
Each package contains the actual slides used during a live presentation in both PowerPoint and PDF formats.
Included are research notes (in RTF and PDF) describing each slide in the presentation. The presentation, research
notes, and a timeline of historical events (1830-1890) can be mailed to you on a CD or sent as individual email
attachments for faster delivery.
*** Each Presentation cost $19.95 USD ***
"Sailing to America"
- "Castle Garden Immigration Center (1855-1890)"
