In the 1840s, 400,000 Germans emigrated to the U.S. Among them were Anna and William Petersen, who owned the Tenth Street home where President Lincoln died.

The Petersen had been in the country 24 years by the time of the assassination. They arrived on June 23, 1841 aboard the steamship Europa, which docked in Baltimore. William Petersen applied for citizenship in 1844. At that time, a wife’s citizenship was derived from her husbands.