My great grandmother's journey to USA

My mother's mother, maiden name Helen Hansen, was born in chicago, but her mom immigrated from Germany (Prussia at the time). I remember my grandmother telling me about the ocean voyage (as told to her by her mother). Her mom was deep inside the ship, was sick most of the time, but once looked out a port hole and saw a whale surfacing! She slept most of the time, but was awakened when the ship made the New York port - to see the Statue of Liberty. So my great grandmother was sick most of the ocean voyage, saw a whale once, but really only remembers arriving, and seeing Lady Liberty. I wish my grandmother had told me more. When they arrived in chicago her dad had a job in the stock yards, slaughering steers. She used to bring him his lunch (that her mom made). Later in his life he worked for the city as a parks laborer. They lived on the south side (near the slaughter houses) in a wooden flat with no grass - I remember a picture of her as a child, standing in front of her house, with high buttoned shoes, and no grass in the yard. Poor times. I think she was the youngest - her parents died and the childless couple across the street took her in. Later the couple died and left her their inheritance, enough for a small bungalow house on the far south west side, at the end of the trolley line, which is where i grew up.