In 1854, step-cousins F. William Minske, age 25, and Gottlieb F. Kanne, age 23, traveled from Prussia to search for a new home for the Kanne, Marzahn and Minske (KMM) families.

The following year, the extended family¾ related by marriages to the Kanne children, left their Prussian homes. They traveled to the port of Hamburg, where they boarded a 3-masted sailing ship, "The Elida." Their ship was similar to the "Tall Ships," which sail in New York Harbor every 4^th of July.  Sixteen adults and nine children survived this difficult 2-month ocean voyage.

Step-cousins, F. William and Gottlieb, met the families at Castle Gardens in New York Harbor. (Ellis Island did not exist at this time.) Traveling by train, they spent the winter in Wisconsin; then traveled by oxen and wagon to the MN Territory in 1856. Minnesota became a state in 1858.