Wordless Wednesday

Treasure Chest Thursday: Emma La Forêt's Emergency Passport

Last week I posted Emma la Forêt's application for an emergency passport to leave Europe in 1917.  This week we get to see the passport itself (yes, this is the real thing!).  It is a buff-colored 12" x 17 1/4" piece of paper, watermarked with the seal of the U.S. Department of State.  It has three impressed seals and one rubber-stamped seal of the American Embassy in Paris, France on the front.  On the back, there are, in succession, an impressed seal of the American Consulate in Algiers, Algeria; a rubber-stamped seal of the Département d'Alger Sûreté Départementale (Algeria Regional Police); an impressed seal of the American Consulate in Marseilles, France; a rubber-stamped seal from the Commissariat in Marseille, but I can't read most of it; and a rubber-stamped seal from the Ministère de l'Interieure (Minister of the Interior) in Bordeaux, France.  As usual, I have underlined the information that was entered onto the preprinted form.

-- >< -- >< -- >< -- >< --

Photo of Emma and Rosita                          This document expires Dec 14. 1917 unless
E. La Foret [signature]                                 renewed.  The holder has applied to the
[impressed Paris Embassy seal]                   Department of State for a regular passport

[rubber stamp of Paris Embassy seal]

Good only for

six months from date.

                                                                  The person to whom this passport is issued
                    printed Great Seal                 has declared under oath that he desires it for
                    of the United States              use in visiting the countries hereinafter named,
                                                                  for the following objects:
                                                                  Algeria  (name of country)    Residence (object of visit)
                                                                  France  (name of country)    en route (object of visit)
                                                                  ———  (name of country)    United (object of visit)
                                                                  ———  (name of country)     States (object of visit)

This passport is not valid for use in other countries

except for necessary transit to or from the countries

named, unless amended by an American

diplomatic or principal consular officer.

Embassy

of the

United States of America,

at

    Paris, France   

To all to whom these presents shall come, Greeting;

The undersigned Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

of the United States of America,

hereby request all whom it may concern to permit

— Emma La Forêt — ———

Description                                                  a Citizen of the United States accompanied
Age 50 Years ______                                   by her minor child Rosita safely
Stature 5 Feet 7 Inches Eng.                       and freely to pass and in case of need to give
Forehead   high                                             them all lawful Aid and Protection.
Eyes     blue grey   
Nose    regular                                                            Given under my hand and the
Mouth    medium                                                         Seal of the Embassy of the
Chin    round                              [impressed                        United States
Hair    dark brown                         Paris                       at   Paris, France    
Complexion    fair                       Embassy                   the  14th  day of September
Face    oval                                    seal]                       in the year 1917 and of the
                                                                                     Independence of the United States
                                                                                     the one hundred and forty second
Signature of the Bearer.
  Emma La Foret.   [signature]

CANCELED [rubber stamped diagonally]

No. 1704

Wm G. Sharp [signature]

-- >< -- >< -- >< -- >< --

CONSULATE OF THE UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA, AT ALGIERS, ALGERIA.
                     October 4, 1917.
 GOOD
~~~~~~            A. C. Frost [signature]
  BON           Consul of the United
                      States of America.
Service No. 214
(No fee)
[impressed           I hereby certify that
Algerian              the bearer of this
Consulate            passport is the wife
seal]                    of Jean L. La Forêt
                           Vice Consul of the
                            United States of
                            America at Algiers,
                            Algeria.
                                 A. C. Frost [signature]
                                 Consul of the
                    United States of America.


No 3454.
Vu à la PRÉFECTURE d'Alger
Bon pour se rendre = en Amérique
via Marseille - Bordeaux - New. York
Objet du voyage = rentre dans son pays.

Alger, le 4 Octobre 1917
POUR LE PRÉFET,
Le Chef de la Sûreté Départementale délégué.
[rubber-stamped
Algeria Regional Police                Imaranos(?) [signature]
seal]


BON  Consulat Général des États - Unis
          d'Amérique à Marseille, France.
          Vu le 9th of October 1917
          Le Consul Général des États- Unis
                         d'Amérique:
No fee
Service No. 838.                  John Q.(?) Moody(?) [signature]
[impressed
Marseille
Consulate
seal]


COMMISSARIAT SPECIAL DES PORTS
VU [illegible]
Marseille, le 9 [illegible] 1917.
Giraud(?) [signature]

COMMISSARIAT SPECIAL
[illegible] la Préfecture
                  VU au départ pour les
Marseille, le 9/10/17    Etats-Unis
[rubber-stamped      Pour le Préfet           via Bordeaux
Marseille                 et par délégation
Commissariat          Le Commissaire Spécial
seal]                              Morelli(?) [signature]


VU pour se rendre à New. York
Bordeaux, le 12/10/ 1917 .
P. LE PRÉFET DE LA GIRONDE,
La Commissaire Spécial délégué.
[illegible signature]
[rubber-stamped
Minister of the Interior
seal]

-- >< -- >< -- >< -- >< --

Wow!  I think this passport is very cool, and I am lucky to have it, even if it isn't for a member of my own family.  It's fairly straightforward; most of the information came directly from the passport application Emma submitted September 7.  It was processed very quickly, being dated September 14 in Paris.

The two sentences that were struck through on the front of the passport were probably for standard emergency passport procedures.  As Emma seemingly did not plan to travel again, they were not relevant for her.

The back of the passport has the same types of stamps that one might see in a passport today, and we can see Emma and Rosita's route from Algeria to Marseille to Bordeaux to New York.  I wish I could read the French signatures better, but c'est la vie!

My guess is that the "Canceled" stamp was put on the passport after Emma and Rosita arrived in New York.  As there is no date by the stamp, however, that is only a guess.

I have noticed that Emma consistently does not use the accent on Forêt.  (I wonder if that bothered Jean?)  As the passport was processed in Paris, I'm not surprised that they did include it.

When I received this gift of documents, the passport was folded and in the envelope in which it appears to have been sent:

This is pretty easy to read, so I won't transcribe it, but in the upper-right corner is a note in pencil:

Left Alger Oct 7/17

This was the only part of Emma and Rosita's trip not present on the passport.  So they left Algeria three weeks after the passport was dated.  There's no indication when they received it.

A second notation in the upper-right corner is "103" in pen.  This isn't the passport number, and no other number on the passport matches it.  It's a mystery what it refers to.

The other item that was in the envelope was Jean La Forêt's business card:

Jean L. La Forêt

Vice Consul Américain à Alger

6, Rue Henricet                 St. Eugène (Alger)

The reason it was included was because of the handwritten note on the back:

Passport

———

Emma La Foret

and minor child Rosita.

———

Issued by Embassy of

the United States at

Paris, France, on

Sept. 14-1917, for

three months, to go

from Algiers to New

York via France.

No. 1704.

——

Signed = Wm. G. Sharp

————

This writing looks similar to that of Emma's handwritten narrative, and the name of Wm. G. Sharp bears no resemblance to the signature on the passport.  So Emma wrote a short note describing the passport, even though all of the information she wrote was included on the passport itself.  I know documentation is good, but I don't understand the purpose of her note.  On the other hand, it's nice to have one of Jean La Forêt's Vice Consul business cards.

Treasure Chest Thursday: Emma La Forêt Applies for an Emergency Passport

This week's document in the life of Emma Schafer is a copy of her emergency passport application from 1917.  This is an original, marked "quadruplicate", so I believe it was her copy that she kept after sending the original to the consulate.  It is pale bluish-green, which scanned with no color; I guess copy machines still don't do blue well.  It is legal size, 8 1/2" x 14", two sided, and has four impressed seals of the American Consulate in Algiers at the bottom, only one of which kind of appears in the scans.  The paper is watermarked with the Great Seal of the United States.  In my transcription I have underlined the information that was entered onto the preprinted form.  I also have again put the descriptions of the fields in small type and placed them after the fields.

-- >< -- >< -- >< -- >< --

QUADRUPLICATE

NOTE.—This form is to be filled out in duplicate, one copy being retainedi n the files of the office by which the emergency passport is issued and the other forwarded to the Department.

Fee for Passport ............. $1.00

FORM No. 176B—CONSULAR.        Fee for administering oath and preparing   

(Corrected June, 1917.)                         passport application ................ 1.00

————————

EMERGENCY PASSPORT APPLICATION.

————————

NATIVE.

No. __________                                                   Issued ____________________ (Date.

I,   Emma La Forêt   , a NATIVE AND LOYAL CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES, hereby apply to the American   Embassy   , at   Paris   , for an emergency passport for myself, accompanied by my wife, __________ , and minor children as follows:   Rosita   , born at   Versoix,Switz.   , on the   4th   day of   Sept. 1909   (Month and year.); and __________ ; born at __________ ; on the _______ day of __________ (Month and year.); and ______________________________

I solemnly swear that I was born at   Welston   , in the State of   Missouri  . on   14 November 1866    (Date.) ;* that my {father husband}   Jean L. La Forêt   (Name.), was born in   Angevillers, Lorraine   and is now residing at   Algiers   , for the purpose of   health & Vice-Consul   ;† [that he emigrated to the United States from the port of   Southampton,Eng.   , on or about   May, 1884   (Date.) ; that he resided   25   years uninterruptedly, in the United States, from  1884  (Year.) to  1909  (Year.) , at   San Francisco, Calif   ; that he was naturalized as a citizen of the United States before the Superior   Court of   City & County of San Francisco,Cal.   at   San Francisco, California   on   March 22,1890,   as shown by the Certificate of Naturalization presented herewith];‡ that I am /   included in my husband's   the bearer of Passport No.   3343   , issued by Department of State   on   April 23, 1909   (Date.) ; that my legal domicile is in   San Francisco, California   , my permanent residence being at    San Francisco,Calif.   , and I last left the United States on   May  1909 .   arriving at   Algiers   (Town, province.) ,   Algeria   (Country.) , on   May 7, 1910   , where I am now residing for the purpose of   with husband   (Occupation.) , xxxxxxx ____________________ (Name, address, and nationality of firm, corporation, or other organization represented, if any.) ; that I have resided outside the United States at the following places for the following periods:§
   Algiers, Algeria             , from     1909        to   date      
           ---                          , from       --           to     --        
           ---                          , from       --           to     --         ;
and that I desire to remain a citizen of the United States and intend to return thereto permanently to reside and perform the duties of citizenship within   3    {months years} or when __________

I have not applied elsewhere for a United States passport or for consular registration and been refused.

I desire a passport for use in visiting the countries hereinafter named for the following purposes:
   Algeria       (Name of country.)      Residence              (Object of visit.)
   France       (Name of country.)      En route to U. S.    (Object of visit.)
   ----             (Name of country.)      -----                        (Object of visit.)

————————

OATH OF ALLEGIANCE.

Further, I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion:  So help me God.

  Emma La Foret   [signature] (Signature of applicant.)

American   Consulate   at   Algiers, Algeria.  

Sworn to before me this    7th    day of   September, 1917.   (Month and year.)

   A. C. Frost     [signature] (Name.)

[SEAL.]                                                          Consul of the United States of America.  (Title.)
Service Nos. 201-2

____________________
* A person born in the United States should submit a birth certificate with his application, or, if the birth was not officially recorded, affidavits from the attending physician, parents, or other persons having actual knowledge of the birth.
† If the applicant's father was born in this country, lines should be drawn through the blanks in brackets.
‡ It is desirable, but not absolutely necessary, that the certificate of naturalization of the father be submitted.
§ See circular instruction of July 26, 1910, entitled "Protection of Native Americans Residing Abroad."  1–91


[Stamped sideways in lower left corner:]
Fee $2 — U. S. Gold equal to Frs.
12—— paid by affixing stamps to
the original copy of this document

-- >< -- >< -- >< -- >< --

DESCRIPTION OF APPLICANT.

Age:   50   years.                                      Mouth:   medium  
Stature:   5   feet,   7   inches, Eng.         Chin:   round  
Forehead:   high                                      Hair:   dark brown  
Eyes:   blue-grey                                     Complexion:   fair  
Nose:   regular                                         Face:   oval  

IDENTIFICATION.

   September 7, 1917.    (Date.)

I,    Jean L. La Forêt    , solemnly swear that I am a {native naturalized} citizen of the United States; that I reside at    San Francisco, California  ; that I have known the above-named    Emma La Forêt    personally for   20   years and know {him her} to be a native citizen of the United States; and that the facts stated in {his her} affidavit are true to the best of my knowledge and belief.

   Jean L. La Forêt    [signature]

   Algiers, Algeria.    (Address of witness.)

American   Consulate   at   Algiers, Algeria.  

Sworn to before me this    7th    day of   September, 1917.   (Month and year.)

   A. C. Frost     [signature] (Name.)

[SEAL.]                                                         Consul of the United States of America.  (Title.)

Identifying documents submitted exhibited as follows: *    Passport No. 3343; Marriage Certificate; Birth Certificate of daughter, Rosita, etc. etc.   .
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________ 1–91
* See General Instruction No. 483, circular September 28, 1916, section 4.

A duplicate of the photograph to be attached hereto should be filed with the application retained in the office by which the emergency passport is issued.

[typed to left of above instructions regarding photograph]

AMERICAN CONSULATE,
A L G I E R S , A L G E R I A.
Sept. 24, 1917.
This document is a copy of
the application upon which
an American passport, No.
1704, was issued September
14, 1917, by the American
Embassy at Paris, France.
A. C. Frost [signature]
Consul of the United Stats
of America at Algiers, Algeria.

[Photograph of Emma La Forêt and Rosita covers middle of the following paragraph:]

One photo . . . [mu]st be pasted
in this space . . . [Co]nsular officer
who takes th– . . . of his office
must be imp– . . . so as partly
to cover one . . .

E. La Foret [signature on photograph]

-- >< -- >< -- >< -- >< --

The reason for the emergency passport request would seem to be due to World War I because of the timing, although the application was submitted three years after war had broken out in Europe following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.  While I can find references to Algerians fighting during the war and battles in other parts of North Africa, the primary actions in Algeria seem to be related to independence movements.  Whatever the specific cause, travel during this period would have been difficult, so the decision to go back to the United States at this time could not have been an easy one.

From the passport application we learn that Emma now has another daughter, Rosita, who was born in Switzerland in September 1909, when Emma was almost 43 years old.  Emma registered as an American citizen in Versoix in June 1909, so she was about six months along in her pregnancy when she arrived.  That must have been a fun cross-Atlantic voyage.

There are several discrepancies in the information given on this application as compared to what we have learned previously. Here Emma said that her husband Jean was born in Angevillers, Lorraine, whereas on her registration form in Versoix she said he was born in Nancy, France.  While both locations are in Lorraine, they're almost 60 miles apart.  Maybe Nancy is the largest city close to Angevillers, but that's a pretty significant difference.

The passport application also states that Jean had lived 25 years uninterruptedly in San Francisco.  He was a U.S. Marine for several of those years, and I doubt he lived uninterruptedly anywhere close to 25 years.  I realize that while in the military you can maintain a permanent residence that is different from where you are assigned, but I'm going to be surprised if I find that he claimed San Francisco that entire period.

Another conflict is within the information on the form itself.  Emma stated that her daughter Rosita was born in Versoix, Switzerland on September 4, 1909.  She also stated that she arrived in Algiers on May 7, 1910.  Yet she later said that she had resided outside the United States only in Algiers, from 1909 to the present date (September 7, 1917).  So when she was in Switzerland she wasn't actually residing there?  I guess the consulate and embassy didn't consider that to be a problem.

A minor discrepancy is that Emma's birthplace is spelled Welston here and Wellston on the registration of American citizen form.  As spelling is still fairly fluid at this time, that's not much of a surprise and is not significant.

Emma stated that her legal residence was San Francisco, California, although there's no evidence she ever had lived there.  I'm certain San Francisco was used because it was Jean's legal residence.

Jean and Emma are still on the same passport, #3343, as listed on the registration of an American citizen, even though it is eight years later.  I'm used to passports during this time being valid for shorter periods.  Maybe Department of State passports were valid longer or were open-ended.

We have a physical description of Emma on the second page of the application.  She was 5'7", fairly tall for a woman at this time.  At the age of 50 she still had dark brown hair (naturally?).  I noticed they didn't ask for weight, though.

An interesting piece of information is in the "Identification" section.  Jean said he had known Emma for 20 years, which would be from about 1897.  At that time Emma was still married to Emile and living in Vallejo.  From the documents I have, she seems to have lived in Vallejo until she went to Missouri.  How did these two people meet?  It does make sense that they knew each other in the San Francisco area, though, because otherwise they would have met in Missouri or Florida prior to their marriage, with a small window of time.

Just because I was curious, I looked up Mr. A. C. Frost.  Among what were probably other posts, he apparently was a Vice-Consul in Genoa in 1916, Consul in Algiers from at least 1917 to 1920, Consul in Guatemala from at least 1921–1923, a consul in Havana, Cuba in 1923, and Consul General in Zurich from 1938–1939.  So he appears to have been a career diplomat.  But I didn't find what the A. C. stood for.

Effort to Return Passports to Owners

The Central Zionist Archives and the World Zionist Organization have in their holdings original passports from several countries and continents.  They and the Jewish Agency for Israel are now trying to return those passports to the original owners or their descendants.  The site is in Hebrew. If you do not read Hebrew (like me!), you can use Google Translate to read it (here it is in English) and the lists of names, which are downloadable PDF files.

A Passport Goes Home

My sister, who works in a university library, contacted me several months ago about an original 1921 U.S. passport that had been in her office for several years.  It had come with some donated materials.  She didn't know what to do with the passport, but she thought it was cool and knew it shouldn't just be thrown away, so she asked me for suggestions.  I told her I would try to find a descendant to whom the passport could be returned as a family heirloom.

The passport was for a married couple.  They had gone to China because the husband had a job teaching.  They had filed for an extension, and the extension included their baby daughter who had been born abroad.  I found the family in the 1930 U.S. census and discovered the couple had had three daughters.  Of course, I had trouble finding the daughters because they had married and changed their names!  I did discover the family had moved to California and found death dates for both parents and one of the daughters, but then got stuck.

I looked for family trees online and found three that looked credible.  I contacted the owners of the trees and all three got back to me, which was a pleasant surprise.  What also surprised me is that the first two to respond were not related at all to the families whose trees they had posted.  Is it common for people to post family trees of people they're not connected to?

On Thanksgiving Day I received a message from the owner of the third tree, who actually is related to the family.  Amazingly enough, the young daughter shown on the passport is still alive, now 88 years old!  Apparently, this passport may be the only surviving documentation from the time showing that she was born in China.  I'm going to mail the passport to her next week.

It feels so good to be able to send a piece of a someone's history back to her!  I don't know how it ended up with papers donated to a university, but I hope it stays in the family now.