Anton and Barbara

Anton Meissner was born in 1866 in Germany. He traveled aboard the ship Eider which left the port of Bremen, Germany, stopped at the port of  Southhampton, England and arrived in the United States on February  21, 1888 at the port of New York. His manifest ID was 40328. His  immigration, was processed at Castlegarden which was the  entryway for persons coming through New York before Ellis Island became  the gateway.

Barbara Donhauser was born in Bavaria, Germany in 1871 in an area listed as Garsdorf,  Oberpfalz, Bayern. (Bavaria is in southeast Germany.)  What ship she came on or what year she arrived in unclear, but  Anton and  Barbara were married May 13, 1888, in  Allegheny, PA, just three months after Anton disembarked in the US. Their wedding announcement is shown at left.

Were  they aboard the Eider together? Did they meet aboard ship or did they already know each other?  Could they have been married by the ship's Captain? If anyone has more information, please provide it.