History in the Landscape: Settlers from Mecklenburg in the Town of Middleton, Wisconsin

The Max Kade Institute is collaborating with Pope Farm Conservancy in Middleton, Wisconsin, on researching the history of immigration and settlement in the Town of Middleton, particularly the experience of settlers from the small German state of Mecklenburg.

Pope Farm Conservancy , a beautiful hundred-acre public park west of Middleton, features educational trails that interpret the site’s history and unique physical and cultural geography. One important group of visitors are fourth-grade students who study Wisconsin.

Recently, the footprint of a settler’s cabin was identified on Conservancy land that once belonged to Fritz Elver, a farmer from Mecklenburg. After 1867 the cabin was inhabited by another Mecklenburg immigrant family: Joachim Goth, along with his wife, son, and mother, and—over the years—nine more children. Joachim worked as a day laborer on the Elver farm. Following the typical chain migration pattern, Joachim had followed his uncle Jürgen Goth (immigrated in 1854) and his brother Carl (1857). Today, descendants of the Goth family and other Mecklenburgers still live in the area. One of them, Carl Goth’s granddaughter Mae Goth Hartwig provided us with invaluable information about her family, family documents such as original letters, and stories of what life was like in this German-American community.

Under the guidance of Mel Pope, three signs now have been posted where the cabin once stood. They inform visitors about the immigrant family that once lived there and the history of German immigration to the area in general. But this is only the beginning. As we continue to research the history of settlers from Mecklenburg in the Town of Middleton, we will also develop educational materials and post resources on the MKI Web site. And we invite you all to come and visit Pope Farm Conservancy and experience German-American history in the rural landscape!

Susan Kriegbaum-Hanks of Buffalo, New York, has combined her passion for the history of her city and region with her interest in German language and literature to post original German materials along with her translations online at <http://www.archivaria.com/>.

Included on this page is a translation of the history of Buffalo from a German perspective; the History of the Germans in Buffalo and Erie County; the autobiography of Charles Boller, Sunday School Superintendent of the First Church of the Evangelical Community; many materials on German Lutherans in North America and in Buffalo; articles from Buffalo newspapers and journals; and some photographs and images.

Also included are selections from Das Buch der Deutschen in Amerika (The Book of Germans in America), published in 1909 by Walter's Buchdruckerei in Philadelphia under the auspices of the National German-American Alliance (founded 1900). This massive tome provides a history of German immigrants from the 16th through the 19th centuries, with special emphasis on German contributions to the growth of this nation and to American culture. Kriegbaum-Hanks provides images and translations for the biographies of German-American poets (pp. 368 – 419), a brief history of Buffalo's German-language press, and the creation of National German-American Alliance, known as "The Bund," along with biographies of its founders and prominent members.

Importing German Birds to North America

This concise entry in the Was gibt's Neues? section of the May 1890 Das Evangelische Magazin (Cleveland, Ohio) leads modern readers into an interesting chapter in American history:



"Here's the most recent information about the importation of German songbirds birds into the area of Portland, Oregon: In the town of Milwaukie, about seven miles southeast of Portland on the Willamette River, a flock of approximately 16 young German larks has been observed; these are the first offspring of a group of larks brought to Portland by the German Songbird Society. German thrushes and blackbirds were found foraging in many of Portland's gardens over the winter, and they regularly nested in the Germania Gardens there. Soon the migratory birds will begin to return, and hopefully those German ones that left in the fall also won't forget to come back."

German-speaking immigrants missed the birds they had known from their childhood, and efforts were undertaken throughout the 19th century to introduce these species to North America. In his 1891 book Die Nordamerikanische Vogelwelt (Milwaukee, Wis.: Geo. Brumder), ornithologist and horticulturist Henry Nehrling describes reasons behind efforts to acclimatize foreign birds in this way: "With longing he [the German immigrant] thinks back to those times when the nightingale’s song permeated the grove, the exultant trilling of the lark rang down from the blue heaven, and the fluting tones of the blackbird, the love song of the blackcap, and the call of the chaffinch resounded from mountain and valley. This love for the old homeland and for the songbirds that brightened one’s younger days motivated the founding of so-called acclimatization societies [Einbürgerungsvereine] in several locales.”


Ignoring objections raised by prominent ornithologists, German songbirds were introduced in Cincinnati, St. Louis, Boston, and New York. Of the many birds released in these areas, Nehrling reports that only goldfinches in Boston and New York, and some larks in other places, were successfully domesticated. Most of the experiments ended in failure, because the severe winter weather of the eastern, northern, and central states annihilated the exotic birds there.

In 1889, an attempt to bring German songbirds to the mild climate of Portland, Oregon, fared much better. Mr. Pflüger, the Secretary of the “Verein zur Einführung nützlicher deutscher Singvögel in Oregon,” reports that 300 pairs of German songbirds were imported, including nightingales, blackcaps, blackbirds, larks, song thrushes, bullfinches, siskins, quail, crossbills, and various types of Sylvia. Many reproduced successfully and could within a few years be found all over the state, with many of them remaining through the winter rather than migrating. Mr. Pflüger writes that “in the spring of 1890 a little snow fell. One saw blackbirds flying around together with American robins. Many of the native Americans stared in astonishment at the black birds with yellow bills, which otherwise closely resembled robins; they had never seen anything like them before. . . . One also now hears the singing of song thrushes on a daily basis.” The imported nightingales probabhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifly became extinct, as few survived the long trip from Europe, and none have been seen since. But the success http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.giflhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifed the Society to import another large group of birds in March of 1891: Mr. Pflüger reported then that the Skylarks, Blackbirds, Goldfinches, Siskins, Linnets, and Greenfinches were doing especially well.


For more information on Henry Nehrling and Die Nordamerikanische Vogelwelt see the cover article of the Fall 2007 Friends of the MKI Newsletter: <http://mki.wisc.edu/Newsletter/MKI_Fall07.pdf>. And here is a Wikipedia entry on Frank Dekum, the German-born President of Portland's German Songbird Society <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Dekum>

The Spirit of the Revolution Lives On!

When the freedom-minded revolutionists of 1848 and 1849 failed to overthrow imperial governments in German-speaking Europe, many fled to America, with a surprising number of them settling in Watertown, Wisconsin. Twenty-three years later, this advertisement appeared in the October 12, 1872, issue of the Erzähler, a supplement to the Watertown Weltbürger. During difficult economic times in America, butcher R. E. Steinberg invokes a spirit of upheaval with his cry: "Down with high prices! Revolution in the Butscherei!" The term Butscherei is uniquely German-American, as is the spelling of Butschershaps. Steinberg also assures his honorable customers that the quality of his casings is very high, and will never bring anyone into embarrassment. His purpose is not to become rich quickly, but instead to grow his shop into one of renown equaling the Butschershaps of larger cities.

Finding Water in 19th-Century America

This question and answer comes from the "Mit Unserm Leser" (With Our Readers) section of Das Evangelische Magazin, vol. 22, no. 4, April 1890, published by Lauer und Mattill in Cleveland, Ohio, and edited by C. A. Thomas and R. Matt. We provide a translation here:

A reader, Kansas. 1. Is it really true that there are people who can run around the land with a rod in their hands, and then are able to say where to find water for a well? 2. Is it advisable or recommendable to employ such a person if one wants to dig a well?

Answer 1: Using a so-called "dowsing rod" to search for water, coal, oil, natural gas, and also minerals is quite an old practice, and is based upon completely natural principles. It does not involve any magic or witchcraft. Artificial dowsing rods have even been invented, which work as well as hazel rods. Everything depends, however, on the constitutional conditions of the individual person, since the hazel twig or dowsing rod is not effective in every person's hand. We do not have the space here to discuss cause and effect.

Answer 2: If we wanted to bore a well and could find a neighbor who knows how to carry the rod, then we would ask for his advice, and would cut the hazel rod to his own satisfaction, and also try it ourselves. Who knows, perhaps the rod would be effective in the hand of our inquirer. It is neither superstition, abuse of the name of God, nor hocus pocus, because it happens completely naturally.

"Deutsche Farmer, kommt nach Louisiana"

It's three degrees Fahrenheit today in Madison, and the snow is falling, which makes this advertisement from 1907 in "Bürger und Bauer," a magazine for German-American farmers, very appealing:

“German farmers, come to Louisiana! Are you inclined to leave the cold, freezing North? If so, and if you want to find a good homeland in the sunny South, then write us. Write in German. We will answer in German. This is a German settlement area. We would like to send you an illustrated brochure in German for free. We already provided a new homeland for many German farmers from the North. Here you will find an amazing opportunity to purchase excellent farmland for a low price, make a lot of money, and to enjoy the best climate in the world…. You do not need to stay in a place where you spend half of your life shoveling snow.”

NEH Challenge Grant Awarded to MKI

We are thrilled to announce that the MKI has been named the recipient of a prestigious NEH Challenge Grant to support the MKI Library Project. The award will go toward an endowment for a librarian/archivist position, the remodeling and renovation of the MKI’s new quarters in the University Club, and the purchase of some new acquisitions. The NEH Challenge Grant provides us with $300,000, which we must match over the next few years on a three-to-one basis. Thanks to the generous support of friends and associates, the Library Project Campaign is already well on its way. We are happy about the recognition this award is bringing to the Institute and are looking forward to meeting the next challenge.

In 1626, Peter Minuit — a native of the German town of Wesel am Rhein — purchased Manhattan Island for 60 guilders worth of trade goods. Since that purchase, German immigrants have been integral to the development of the city of New York. As the German community in New York exploded in size, it built churches, started businesses, founded hospitals, created clubs, propagated culture, erected monuments, and birthed dynasties in business and the arts. Over the years, however, the community assimilated and dispersed, but it left an indelible mark on the city. New York has been built up and torn down, both by design and by tragedy, but if you look closely, traces of the German immigrant experience can still be found hiding throughout the city’s corridors. German Traces NYC is a mobile, augmented reality experience designed to let learners explore German cultural heritage in New York City. The application makes use of archival documents, photographs, and multimedia narratives to bring to life to this significant thread of New York City and United States history.
German Traces NYC and GeoStoryteller are a joint project between the Goethe-Institut New York and Pratt Institute School of Information and Library Science.

MKI German Genealogy Workshops

The MKI is pleased to offer three German genealogy workshops in March 2012: "Genealogical Resources for German-American Ancestry, Online and Off" (March 3); "Tracing Your Jewish Roots from German-Speaking Europe" (March 18); and "Reading Old German Script" (March 24). More details and registration information is available on the MKI Web site "News & Events" page. (scroll down the page)

40-50% Off on Selected MKI Publications!

Just in time for the holidays and for a limited time only, the MKI drastically reduces the prices of some of its popular books, when ordered directly from the UW Press: click on the link below, add to cart, add promo code KADE11, click checkout and the new price will appear.

"Pickled Herring and Pumpkin Pie: A Nineteenth-Century Cookbook for German Immigrants to America," paper, now $14.95.

"German Jewish Identities in America," cloth, now $14.95.

"Land Without Nightingales: Music in the Making of German America," cloth with CD, now $19.95.

"Atlas of Pennsylvania German," cloth, now $19.95.

"Other Witnesses: An Anthology of Literature of the German Americans, 1850-1914," cloth, now $19.95.

Foremothers: Genealogy and Gender

In a lecture entitled “Foremothers: Genealogy and Gender,” presented on October 8, 2011, for the Dane County Area Genealogical Society, Cora Lee Kluge outlined—using as her example a family that lived in the latter part of the nineteenth century in Janesville, Wisconsin––special difficulties researchers encounter when looking into female ancestors. It is often difficult to find out about their backgrounds, since their names may be subsumed under those of their husbands. Furthermore, they lived their lives for the most part in the private rather than the public sphere, so that official documents and records relating to them may not exist at all. Even death notices, obituaries, and grave markers may be of no help, and the records they left—including diaries, letters, or autobiographical writings—tend to belittle their own contributions and achievements. Cora Lee pointed out that such problems confront all genealogists and researchers, but particularly those looking for immigrant forebears. After outlining resources and approaches that are easily overlooked, she asked whether information about these “anonymous” women would be of interest, concluding that without them, their perspectives, and their interactions with others, we are missing a large and equally valid part of the story.

The MKI Library Project Campaign

We are almost there! As many of you have heard, the Max Kade Institute is now moving to a much larger and more centrally located place on the UW–Madison campus: the University Club. We are using this opportunity to build a state-of-the-art library and archival facility for our unique collections of German-language materials published in North America, including an exhibit space and comfortable reading areas for our patrons. The renovation is budgeted at $1.1 million, and we are within reach of our goal. Please help us preserve this important part of American history and support our efforts to raise the final $200,000.

HELP US RAISE $200,000

Through the end of 2011 all donations will be matched dollar for dollar by the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

· Gifts can be made by check, made out to UW Foundation, with MKI Library Project in the memo line and mailed to: Max Kade Institute, 901 University Bay Dr., Madison, WI 53705

· or online through the MKI Web site: http://mki.wisc.edu (click on “MKI Library Campaign”).

All gifts to the MKI Library Project are fully tax deductible.

For additional information contact: Antje Petty at the Max Kade Institute (608-262-7546) or apetty@wisc.edu

When is a man a German American?

The above question-and-answer comes from the February 1889 issue of Das Evangelische Magazin, edited by C. A. Thomas and R. Matt and published in Cleveland, Ohio, by Lauer und Mattill. Such inquiries appear in the magazine’s “Mit unsern Lesern” section, and while the majority of them are of a religious nature, occasionally something more secular appears. Here a reader from Missouri asks if a man born in America to German parents is a German-American or something else. The editors proclaim that such a person would be as much an American as if his parents had come on the Mayflower with the Puritans. They offer the distinction that a German-American would be someone who was born in Germany, but either naturalized here or became a citizen through the citizenship of his father. The situation, they point out, would be the same for anyone from any other country; but if you are born in America you are simply an American, even if your father was an English lord or an Italian count.

An interesting emphasis on the democratization of America, though perhaps a bit disappointing for those of us today who wish to proudly identify our ethnic heritage, or perhaps even wish to bask in the glow of a presumed noble “von.”

A bit of research into the history of the magazine itself reveals it was published from 1869 through 1927 under several different editors and publishers (although the location of the publishers, despite name changes, was always given as 265-275 Woodland Avenue. This, we discovered was the home of the Publishing House of the Evangelical Association, which produced materials in both English and German). We were also able to discern that R. Matt was Robert Matt, but haven’t been able to yet learn much about him. We did find some information in the 1894 Congress of the Evangelical Association on C. A. Thomas: “Rev. C. A. Thomas, at the head of the publishing interests of the Evangelical Association, was born in Germany in 1840 and came to this country when a boy of fourteen. He entered the ministry in 1859, was elected Presiding Elder in the Spring of 1879, and in the Fall of the same year editor of Das Evanglische Magazin and German Sunday-School literature, Cleveland, Ohio, which office he still holds.” This image of C. A. Thomas was also provided:

We’d like to learn more about Thomas and Matt, and about the German-language activities of the Evangelical Association – if you have information you’d like to share, do contact us at the Max Kade Institute for German Studies in Madison, Wisconsin!