<T191, cont.> Mr. Christian Rüdy, Waseca, Waseca Co., Minn.
March 11, 1878.
Dear Sir! Your brother in Bangor, who has ordered seeds from me for several years, and from whom I got your address, has given me to believe that you might also want to try out my seeds, and that I might get still more customers in your region by your recommendation. I therefore take the liberty to send you herewith my small seed catalog, and I will try to do as well as I can if you will give me a small order.
Yours respectfully, F.A.M.
Mr. Fred Gluck, Brownsville, Minn.
April 15, 1878
I sent you by today’s mail a package of seeds containing:
…
Mr. Fred Gluck, Brownsville, Minn.
May 26, 1878
I would have answered your kind letter of March 17 already sooner if I had had some time. I will send you from Sparta by Express 100 asparagus plants for $2.00, and here are the instructions for planting them:
Make a ditch two feet wide and two feet deep. Fill it preferably with rotten dung and stamp it firmly. (Fresh horse dung is not good. It would become hot and burn the plants.) Then you make a second ditch close to it, so that you will have 12 inches of good topsoil to put on top of the dung in the first ditch and <T192> you can put the heavier soil from the bottom on the sides of the ditch. The ditch should be completely filled with good topsoil. You can make a third ditch and do the same, and keep making ditches until your bed is as big as you want it. Then you use the heavier soil from the first ditch to fill up the last ditch.
Now you plant the asparagus in rows with the plants five inches apart and 1-1/2 foot deep. [Diagram.] I separate the soil with a spade and stick the plant in so that the roots go straight down and the top is about four inches under the soil. Then I compact the soil firmly, from the sides, not from the top. I still have asparagus that I planted 20 years ago and is still good. You can cover it in the winter with a few inches of dung.
<Written in English.> Phoneta Jane Wilson, Castle Valley, Utah.
July 19, 1878.
<Written in English.> Mrs. Jane Crouse.
4 Dec 1878 [excerpt].
… Ernest … has left home for a warmer climate … I have heard from Ernest that you have become a grandma, and that Phoneta and her husband live with you again…
<Written in English.> To Ernest Meissner, Tyrone, Monroe Co., Iowa. Dec. 20, 1878.
<Written in English.> To Ernest Meissner, Tyrone, Monroe Co., Iowa. Jan. 8, 1879.
<Written in English.> 12 Jan 1879 [excerpt].
… When Ernest asked your advice about his intended movements, you would have told him, if you had been his true friend, to consult his Father and Mother instead of his Step brother [George Henry Meissner or Sennewald?—LPM] and not such nonsense as running after a conjugal partner …
<Written in English.> To Ernest Meissner, Tyrone, Monroe Co., Iowa. 27 Jan 1879.
<Written in English.> To Vernalia Crouse, Hot Spring, Utah
2 Feb 1879 [excerpt].
… My brother Ernest is on his way to Utah … your brothers can earn plenty of money … [Adolph is almost 18 years old, Vernalia is at least 13 and probably older.]
<Written in English.> To Ernest Meissner, Tyrone, Monroe Co., Iowa.
14 Feb 1879 [excerpt].
… I keep my pledge and shall give up using tobacco …
<Written in English.> Geo. A. Richardson, Sparta [state legislator?].
Aug 1879 [excerpt].
… My Adolph is 17 years old and has so far done pretty well but since we have two Saloons at Hazen’s Corner and one at Melvina we have lost all control over him.
<T192, cont.> Hague & Schmidt, Erfurt (Germany).
Sept. 18, 1879.
Please be so kind as to send me your seed catalog for this year, as the new one would arrive too late for me to order anything.
Peter Penand.
Oct 11, 1879.
Dear Sir! Mr. De Barr, the blacksmith of Kelliant’s mill, has authorized me to collect six Talers which you still owe him. If don’t want any expenses, you should pay this debt right away.
<Written in English.> John Langton, written by Adolph’s hand.
2 Dec 1879 [excerpt].
… [I have] met with an accident which confines me to my bed … Our post office at Mt. Pisgah is broken up … direct your letter to Melvina … [See Dec. 1881 letter to Karoline at <T194> for more details.]
<Written in English.> to H [Crouse?] (written by F.A.M.)
Hazen, Monroe Co., 12 Dec 1879 [excerpt].
… [On] Nov the 29th … a heavy stack of timber … dropped and its weight crushed me to the ground. Some bones in my shoulder are broken …
<T192, cont.> Hague & Schmidt, Erfurt (Germany).
Hazen, M.C., Wisc., N.A. Sept. 18, 1879.
I want to thank you very much for the seed catalog you sent me. I enclose a small list of seeds, which I ask you to send by mail as ‘Sample without value.’ For bigger packages that have to pass the Customs House, the N.Y. manager’s expenses are much too high. It pays only if one imports big quantities. You will find also a money order enclosed. …
<Written in English.> To Ernest Meissner, Whatsheire [What Cheer], Keokuk Co. [Iowa], c/o B.F. Baxter. Feb. 17, 1880.
<Written in English.> Mrs. Jane Crouse.
18 March 1880 [excerpt].
… How is Nicolaus Wilson and Phoneta getting along on their farm in Castle Valley? … My Ernest came home temporarily …
<T192, cont.> Fred Gluck, Brownsville, Minn..
April 4, 1880.
With pleasure I will send you today by mail …
Wishing a good arrival, I sign … F.A.M.
<Written in English.> to H Crouse?
1 July 1880 [excerpt].
… Our Post office has been baptized once again—first it was Mt. Pisgah, next Hazen, and now Cashton … [Hazen’s Corner still exists, 1/2 mile west of Cashton. The name was changed to Cashton when it became a railroad station: see <T199>—LPM]
<T193> Hague & Schmidt, Erfurt in Prussia.
Sept. 19, 1880.
The seeds that I ordered in spring all arrived here in good condition, but I did not receive the catalog for 1880 that you probably must have included, as you labeled and billed the seeds according to it. As a born German, I still have a preference for my old home country, which was also why I had seeds sent from there. However, my expectation of receiving good seeds and genuine varieties from there have quite often been deceived.
Old seeds that did not come up at all were: …
Old seeds from which only a few specimens came up were: …
In your flower catalog for this autumn, I find some seeds listed that I would like to have, and as I still have a little bit of money in my favor with you, I would like you to send me the following items by mail …
Please include a catalog for 1880. Respectfully, …
My cauliflower that I raised this year from your seeds was not nearly so nice as the ones I raised last year from seeds I got from Plant Seed Co. in St. Louis. I did not have a single white head; they were all yellow or pink. It might also have been caused by the weather.
Hague & Schmidt in Erfurt, Germany.
Cashton, M.C., Wis., N.A. Jan. 11 [1881].
Dear Sirs, I received your seeds and the terrifolia peonies last autumn. Everything was in good condition. I was especially happy with the latter. You will find enclosed a money order for $11, and below a small list of seeds. In case my order is too much for the money and you don’t want to wait for the balance until my next order, please cut off from the end of the list.
Very respectfully, … F.A.M.
<Written in English.> Ernest Meissner—Warren’s Mill, Wis.
16 Feb 1881 [excerpt].
We all were very glad to hear by your letter that you and Adolf [sic] had arrived safely at your destination, and that you have obtained employment. … Your Father, F.A.M.
<T193, cont.> Mr. Kamperschnör, Portland.
August 3, 1881.
Dear friend! Don’t you want to be so kind and come down and look at the damage your oxen and cows did to my fields? It could hardly be paid off with $20.
Your devoted … F.A.M.
<Written in English.> to H Crouse?
Dec 1881 [excerpt].
… I came to this town in the summer of 1856 … the country was nearly all wild then. I remember only one settler [on the road] about half ways of the 30 miles from here to La Cross.
<T194>To Mrs. Karoline Gerstenberg in Kummerfeld near Pinneberg near Hamburg, Germany.
Dec. 1881.
Dear Daughter! It is already 10 or 11 years that you gave me no sign from you, which proves how unimportant it is to you whether your father is still alive, healthy, or sick. I will be 77 years old in a few days, and I still enjoy good health. Two years ago in November, I was knocked down by a heavy piece of oak wood that I had on my right shoulder, and my shoulder bone broke into several pieces so that I had to lie on my back in my bed all winter long without turning or moving. I was very much afraid of being permanently crippled, as someone of my age could hardly expect the bone to grow together again. But God be thanked, I again have full use of my arm.
Parents should expect their children to support them when they get old, but here in America everything is entirely different. Everyone cares only for himself. Ernest, 22 years old, is now in Utah, 1,000 miles away from here; he works for a Mormon bishop, receives $30 (120 Reichsmark) per month and food. In spite of this, he does not think of sending me a single penny, and I would never think of asking him for it. Adolph, 20 years old, works near here and earns about $15 per month plus his food. Dora 18 years, Karl 17, and August 15, are at home; and with their help I manage my land and garden, and from the proceeds I live with my household and I am happy when the year rolls around if my expenses are not higher than my income. You are very much mistaken if you think that here in America "fried doves fly into one’s mouth."
My letters seem to have no value for you unless they contain money, and you answered my last one only after repeated inquiries. If you have bad times, you must realize that you and your husband are still young. Your children must be nearly grown now. I sure am puzzled that thousands and thousands of people have come over here from Germany in recent years, but none of you <T195> ever got the idea of trying your luck over here.
I would appreciate your answering this letter soon, and telling me the truth about your situation. I also would like to know whether my brother Karl is still alive, and how he is doing!
Your Father, F.A.M.
Karl Gottlieb Wünsche, Schönbach near Löbau in Saxony.
Dec. 1881.
Dear Sir! When winter comes and the farm work is a little bit less urgent than usual, I remember old friends and signs of friendship. I have your letter of Jan. 21, 1877 in front of me. I will be 77 years old this Christmas [Dec. 27], and I still enjoy good health. Two years ago in November, I was knocked down by a heavy piece of oak wood that I had on my right shoulder—my foreman dropped it, which broke my shoulder bone into several pieces. I was very much afraid that the bone would not grow together again on account of my advanced age, and that I would remain crippled. But God be thanked, I got back the full use of my arm.
As you don’t card about politics, I don’t want to bore you with it, and will rather tell you about our family life. According to the papers, thousands and thousands of immigrants are arriving in N.Y., but we hardly notice anything here. The country is so vast that nearly all of them disappear invisibly, and as the export of meat, flour, and wheat is so large, and also the payment for these things is in gold, there is a surplus of money, which in return is used again for building railways etc. Because of this, workers are in demand and are well paid; the normal wage is $1 including meals or $1.75 without meals [per day, apparently—LPM] (four Reichsmark or seven Reichsmark). However, immigrants who bring German money along cannot get more than 22 or 23 cts. for a Mk, as the rate of exchange is now so low.
Last summer was very unusual here. The temperature was very high, and it was so dry in some regions that forests, villages, cattle, and wheat burned down, and only with difficulty people escaped and saved their skins. Here at our place, after <T196> about three or four weeks of dry weather during which the crops were harvested, it started to rain at the beginning of August. This rainy weather continued till now—with hardly any interruption; we are now having a little frost and snow.
The rivers are swollen, bridges are washed out, railways are under water for miles. The Mississippi has broken its dykes and flooded whole villages. The greatest damage caused by the rain was that it flooded the stacks of wheat and hay. All the wheat here is put up in stacks on the fields and is threshed there. Also very few farmers have barns for their hay. They put it in stacks on the fields and meadows, and pick it up in winter with sleds. We produce all sorts of grain here, but wheat is the main crop, also corn that is plowed and furrowed somewhat like potatoes—in rows four feet apart. I have an ear of corn that has 40 grains in length and 32 around, that is 1280 grains for one ear; normal ears have 40 grains in length and 20 around, that is 800. We now cultivate a new plant here called Sorghum or sugar millet. It is treated about like corn, grows six to eight feet high, and gives a lot of good syrup.
When we work in our garden, we often find stone arrowheads, which the red Indians used many hundred years ago before they knew about iron. I will send you some as a curiosity. I will hereby end my long letter. I would be very happy to hear that these lines reached you and your family in good health.
Your Father, F.A.M.
Mr. Wilh. Rud. Jähring, M. in Schönbach.
Dec. 1881.
Dearest friend! I cannot complain that you left me for so long without any news about your well being, as I sinned in the same way before, but when I honestly confess I surely may hope to be forgiven.
I hope very much that when these lines reach you and your good wife you may be as well as I am feeling right now with my own family. My oldest son Ernest, who was always restless at home (he wanted to see the world), is now in Utah, 1,000 miles <T197> away from here; he is managing the farm of a Mormon bishop. The bishop is in the South at a mission where he tries to make converts. He has two wives who live in separate houses. One week Ernest has to eat at one wife’s table and the next week at the other wife’s. His monthly salary is $30 (120 Reichsmark). My wife’s brother lives with his family another 40 miles from there in a desert, through which a road leads to the mines in New Mexico [Must be Nevada -LPM]. He has an inn. The whole region is devoid of water, except that there are two hot springs at his house. He cools the water in big tanks and sells it to the drivers. He also provides water for 4,000 sheep that are owned by a company and graze in the desert.
The state of politics keeps getting worse. The worst people rise to the top by corruption. The people are cheated of millions by their officials. Highway robberies happen daily; laws no longer have any power; guilty and innocent people are lynched by mobs.
President Garfield, the most infamous scoundrel, is revered as a saint since his death. I have read in the papers that there were church services for him in Germany and England. I will enclose herewith some stories from the last election, from which you can recognize Garfield’s character.
I will now close, so as not to tire you.
I remain your devoted F.A.M.
Mr. Benary, seed merchant in Erfurt, Germany.
Jan. 20, 1882.
You will find enclosed a money order for eight Mk and 40 Pfennig for which I ask you to send the seeds listed below as ‘samples without value’.
List …
Send according to the list as far as the money reaches.
Two years ago I received from Thorbium in N.Y. a portion of your new red giant cabbage. The variety was very bad. Last year I tried again with seeds from Hague & Schmidt; the variety was still no better. I am especially interested in good cauliflower. F.A.M.
<T198> Karl Gottlieb Wünsche in Schönbach near Löbau in Saxony.
Febr. 4, 1882.
Your very kind letter of Dec. 21, 1881 was a true relaxation for me. The good memory that you carried over from my grandfather and my father to me also, pleases me even more because of the fact that I live in a country where most people remain strangers to each other; yes, where families do not even stay together.
The prices of all agricultural crops were very good last autumn, and are still very good this winter. (1 cent = 4 pfennig): for one lb. or fine wheat flour, four cts.; wheat, two cts.; rye, 1-3/4 cts.; corn, one ct.; potatoes, 5/6 ct.; pork, seven cts; beef, six cts.; mutton, six cts.; chicken, six cts.; butter, 20 cts; lard, 10 cts.; eggs, 12 to 20 cts. per dozen; oak fire wood $3 to $4 per cord (128 cu. ft.); 2,000 lb. meadow hay, $8; Timothy hay, $10; straw at the paper mill, $6; a little pig four weeks old, 50 cts. in autumn, $1 in spring; a cow in autumn $12 to $14, in spring with calf $20 to $30.
Where there is still government land, every citizen and every immigrant who promises to become a citizen can receive 1/4 section land = 160 acres (1 acre = 160 square Rute [rods]) as property if he pays the document and survey fees, which amount to about $10. But around here there is no more Government land. One acre of wild land costs $5. To have the trees and bushes cleared out costs $10; breaking the soil with a big, strong plow costs $5; burning the bushes and roots costs $2; so that an acre costs $20 by the time it is ready for sowing. The first crop is usually winter wheat, and the yield—if it is not a bad year—is about 20 bushels. The average price per bushel is $1; besides this, the work of sowing and reaping must be considered. Naturally, young strong people who can do all their own work don’t have to pay anything. Once the land is cultivated, with fertilization it will bear a crop of wheat, barley, or corn every year for 20 years or more. The soil is plowed in autumn, the wheat sowed in April and harrowed afterward, and is cut in late July or early August.
So far this winter we have continuing mild freezing weather, and only since <T199> about 14 days, four inches of snow. The sun rises at Christmas at 7: 40 and sets at 4: 21. On Johannis [midsummer] Day the sun rises at 4: 12 and sets at 7: 52.
Finally, I want to thank you very much for all your good wishes, and I want to return the same. Please give my regards also to your wife and to Minister Jähring who promised me also a letter in a postcard. My address is now Cashton, to which name M.P. has been changed, since it became a railroad station. Farewell; maybe I still have some years in front of me, maybe not; my children are now nearly all grown up—the youngest son is 15—so they will be able to get along without me. One after the other leaves the parents’ house. The only friend who stays with me is my wife. She will—so I hope—close my eyes; I feel tired sometimes, and sure would like to go to sleep. F.A.M.
Postscript: As I still have so much empty space left on the paper, I will try to find something else that might be of interest to you. The land here is all divided into regular squares and measured by Government officials according to the latitude and longitude degrees of the earth. A square six miles long and wide is called a town [or township—LPM]; a square one mile long and wide is called a section: 36 sections make a town. Each section is again divided into quarter sections and these again into quarters. A section contains 640 acres, 1/4 section is 160 acres, and 1/16 section is 40 acres. This is the way records are kept in the land offices and all land sales are made this way. Here is an example: …
<Written in English.> Henry Crouse, Termas via Minersville, Utah, Mar 4, 1882.
<T200> Karoline Gerstenberg, Kummerfeld near Pinneberg near Hamburg, Germany.
Febr. 4, 1882.
Dear Daughter. The same time I wrote to you, I also wrote to Schönbach, from where I already received an answer 14 days ago. I had almost completely given up hope of receiving an answer from you, when I got surprised today at the post office by a letter from you, and as I right now—before my seed trading begins—have still the best time, I will answer your letter right away.
It is very hard for me to imagine you as an old person [she is now 56—LPM]. You still live in my memory as a young, pretty girl like my Dora is now [Dora is 19, the same as Karoline’s age when F.A.M. left Germany—LPM]. You still have three children at home; so do we, except that ours are a few years older. Is your youngest child Friede a girl? Our Dora, who loves to write letters, would like very much to write to you some time, if you could only understand English.
Your motto, "Pray and work and God will always help," surely sounds nice; also the other one, "Stay in your own country and make an honest living," but many a person has nearly starved following these. The Frenchman says, "Help yourself so God will help you." I heard from Schönbach that a weaver working as hard as he can makes three Mk a week, from which he and his family have to live; while groceries are twice as expensive as they are here. In America, a common workman makes four Mk a day plus food, or seven Mk without food, and I am sure that people in Schönbach pray more than they do here. Is God not unjust to let the poor people there nearly starve! God has given us a brain; we have to use it. If you jump into the water, God will not pull you out, but your reason will warn you not to jump in.
I can remember only very few people in Kummerfeld, besides your two closest neighbors, John Heidorn and his fat wife, and Jochen Timm. But your garden is still before my eyes. Are the big apple trees still there next to the house? How big are the ones up at the ditch? Did the pear trees that I planted down toward Klopfenburg grow big? Is all the heath now cultivated? Are you still working with cows? If you don’t have any more gardening, I cannot understand how you can support a household alone from the yields of your land. Fruit trees don’t thrive around here, where we <T201> live. They die in a few years or freeze to death in winter, even prunes. But we have some very good kinds of wild plums and Siberian crab apples that can stand the winter. But in return, the soil is so much better for wheat. Cultivating is sure a very hard labor and costs $20 per acre if one is unable to do it himself. But the soil bears then a crop for 20 years or longer without any fertilizer, wheat, barley, corn, or clover. The fields are plowed only once—in autumn—and in April wheat or barley is sowed and furrowed in. In May it is plowed for corn and potatoes. What keeps the farmer down is the high wages. He has to pay at harvest time even $2 = eight Mk per day, and has to give the best food besides. Generally, life is more comfortable in Germany for the one who is not poor, but here a poor man has it much easier to make a living, even acquire a nice farm.
When you or your husband write to me again, I would be happy to hear more about your family. Farewell for today. We send our best regards. Your Father, F.A.M.
P.S. Heinrich [George Henry Meissner] is married, lives in this State, lost a foot in the war and receives a pension; he is doing fine.
Madelia, Wis.
March 15, 1882
Dear Sir! Although I do not print a catalog, I have on hand a complete assortment of good fresh seed. I sell all varieties for five cts. per paper and pay the postage. However, I have to ask 10 cts. per paper for sweet corn, peas, and beans if I send them by mail.
List …
Fred Gluck, Esq., Brownsville, Minn.
[1882].
Dear Sir! If you can use seeds this spring—I have here a complete assortment of good fresh garden and flower seeds, with which I want to recommend myself to you.
Very respectfully …
My post office address is Cashton, since we have the railroad.
<T202> Mr. Jacob Sternberger, Esq.
March 30 [1882].
I came home late last night. The road was good till Lion, but became then worse, so I finally had to stop my wagon. Last Sunday we had here a great flood for this season. I hereby send you the seeds you ordered, and greet you and your wife very heartily.
<Written in English.> Henry Crouse, Minersville, Utah, Mar 30, 1882.
<T202, cont.> Wm. R. Jähring, M. in Schönbach near Löbau in Saxony.
June 5, 1882.
Dearest friend! I received your card from Dec. 26, 1881, and I would have answered it already a long time ago if I had not kept waiting for the letter you promised. I was very happy that you could still answer my letter, but I am very sorry that your eye problem has not improved but got worse. Maybe the rest will help a bit, once you have exchanged the rough Schönbach for the friendly Dresden.
The millet did not want to thrive here. Corn replaces it completely, and surpasses it in yield as well as in taste. Since Mount Pisgah has become a railroad station, it changed its name to Cashton. We are having a wonderful spring, but it is late. Wheat is doing well, but a strong nightly frost has almost entirely ruined the apple and plum blossoms. I would hardly have had time today for letter writing, as springtime is so short and the work consequently so urgent, but a sprained foot has kept me in bed for the past two weeks.
With many greetings to your dear wife, I remain your devoted >F.A.M.
Mr. Karl Gottlieb Wünsche. Schönbach near Löbau in Saxony.
June 5, 1882.
On Febr. 4 I answered your very dear letter of Dec. 27, 1881, but I have not heard yet whether you received my long epistle. We have a wonderful spring, only it is late. . Wheat is doing well, but a strong nightly frost on May 23 greatly damaged the apple and plum blossoms. I have to mention it as something unheard of, that last winter potatoes and cabbage were imported here from Germany and England. Hoping to hear from you soon, I remain your …
Karoline Gerstenberg, Kummerfeld near P. near Hamburg.
[June 1882.]
Dear Daughter. I answered your letter of Jan. 11 right away, but never found out whether you received my answer. Also <T203> the letter Gerstenberg promised me never arrived. We have a wonderful but late spring, but a strong nightly frost about May 23 almost entirely ruined the apple and plum blossoms.
Wm. R. Jähring in Schönbach near Löbau in Saxony.
June 20, 1882.
Dearest friend! I received your very dear letter of June 6, on June 28. It seems that we thought of each other at the same time, because I wrote you a short letter on June 5, which is probably in your hands by now.
I see from your letter that even the faithful are not spared disease and bad luck. Naturally God sends these to test their faith and to prepare them for heaven. But you must not think that God or Providence—whichever you call it—has entirely forgotten about me. On May 20, a very harsh rainy day, my cows broke out of their pasture. I followed them—carrying my umbrella—to keep them from doing damage to my neighbors. Along the side of a steep slope, I started running to head off the cows, and I slipped and fell. When I tried to get up, my left foot hurt so much that I thought I had broken the joint. I hobbled home in terrible pain. The foot and the leg swelled so tremendously that I was unable to determine whether the joint was broken or sprained. For a whole week, I needed hot compresses day and night, which had to be changed at least every half hour, to soothe the pain a bit; the second week I needed cold compresses. At the end of the second week, the swelling was reduced enough so that I could have the foot examined by a doctor, and found out that the joint was neither broken nor sprained but was only bruised by a stone onto which I had fallen. I had to lie quiet in bed for four weeks. During the 5th week I could sit up a little, and now in the 6th week, where I am now, I try to hobble around a little. I don’t tell you all this so you will be sorry for me, but to show that the good Lord shows his mercy to the impious also—only to lead them back to the right way, of course.
But I have still more bad news. On Tuesday morning, June 27, for the first time after my five weeks of captivity, I visited my garden, which consists of about five acres (800 square Rute [rods]). My wife and children had planted it according to my instructions, <T204> which I had given to them from my bed. My heart jumped for joy: everything was excellent. We had a beautiful spring, always enough rain but never too much. I counted already in my mind that this autumn I could not only pay off my debts but also make some improvements. On the same day I went to the garden again in the afternoon—how did it look then? Everything, but really everything, was ruined.—Who had done this? Was it my neighbor’s horses, cows, oxen, and pigs? No! No! God had done it! Is this not a merciful God—a half year’s work, from which I expected to make a full year’s living for my wife and children, was ruined in a half hour.
At about noon a hard thunderstorm came up in the north and another one came from the south. Just above our heads they collided, lightning after lightning, thunder after thunder, followed by streams of water; storms and hail put the whole valley where my garden lies under water. Most of my best soil is washed away; other places are covered one or two feet deep by big stones that the flood dug out from the upper part of the valley, and everything, everything was hit by the angel. In another valley where I had planted five acres of corn, it is the same. These five acres would have brought at least 250 bushels or 15,000 lbs. of corn. These with the straw or stalks were planned as food for my pigs and to feed my horses, cows, sheep, gees, and chickens during the winter. On the high country where the hail hit, all wheat is ruined. In Cashton several houses are reduced to their basements.
But don’t dare to feel sorry for me. I must still be grateful to the dear Lord that he was so merciful to me. If he had wished, he could have killed me and my family in my house. I read in the paper that in Iowa 1,000 people lost their homes and more than 100 were killed by similar storms. What a merciful God! Or should everything be an accident—should God not govern the world? As long as you hold your office you surely have to defend the faith, but once you are in Dresden I hope that your spirit will be more free and that you will shake off the chains of the Faith habit. But if not, <T205> you will always remain my dear, my truest friend, if you find me worthy of your friendship in spite of my heretical ideas.
Now a little bit about politics: I cannot agree with you that the rich should take care of the poor. It is just unfortunate that there are rich and poor people. In Germany it is the standing military man who sucks out the citizens; here it is the military veterans who receive a pension. The House of Representatives has just passed again a law that raises the pensions for those who lost an arm, leg, hand, or foot during the last war, to $40 a month. In this way the Republican Party is trying to buy votes for the next election. Some years ago Congress made a law that everyone receiving a pension should get a raise, dating back to the time when they got their first pension. Another clause granted a pension to anyone who took part in the war whether he was wounded or not. By these laws millions have been paid. Many farmers, my neighbors who are wealthy and as healthy as anybody, receive pensions. And there are still so many laws not yet implemented that the Pension Bureau will still take many years to fight its way through.
Next to the pensions, the army of Government officials is second. Almost every Congress raises their salaries and creates new offices, so the last Congress made a law that several officials are to be appointed by the President, every one of them with a salary of 5,000 or 6,000 Talers, who are to supervise the elections in Utah, as another law takes away the right to vote from anyone with more than one wife. Congress could also make a law that only those who have so many thousand Talers have the right to vote.
We have three parties: the Republicans, who are running the Government right now; the Democrats, who would like very much to run it so they could give good jobs to their friends, and the Greenbackers, who want to bleed the rich. The last party should be the voice of the people, but it does not have enough influence, as it has no money to bribe the newspapers. There is no hope for improvement if the people don’t act like the Irish and French and slaughter the blood suckers—
<T206> The luxury of clothes is as big here as in Germany. A maids dresses well and sometimes even better than her mistress. She can easily do so, when she gets paid $2 to $5 per week, which is often hard for the employer to pay. I cannot entirely condemn their desire to have clothes as good as the noble ones. It is to some extent a sign of ambition. This is an emancipation of the lower classes, so long as we still have higher and lower classes. But the difference is not as pronounced as it is in Europe—it is only maintained by the immigrants, especially by the English. The true American eats at the same table with his servants, who in Germany would be called ‘Dienstboten.’ Our Constitution [actually, the Declaration of Independence—LPM] says that all men are born equal and all have the same right to [the pursuit of] happiness.
I was pleasantly surprised by the mention in your letter of your four daughters. Until now, I had believed that you had no children and sometimes I felt sorry for you.
To answer your questions, here are some copies of my marriage certificates:
==
Extract from the Population Protocol of the 2nd Rellinger Community 1827, No. 2
In the year 1826, on Dec. 2, were engaged, and on Febr. 2, 1827, married: Friedrich Adolph Meissner, Gardener in Thesdorf; The legitimate son (born Dec. 27, 1804) of the minister in Schönbach near Löbau, Ernst Friedrich Meissner, and Juliane Eleonore, born as Seidel from Dresden—
with Elise Henriette Sophie von Mithofen, the legitimate daughter (born Sept. 28, 1792) of the Captain and Heir of Tiekenschold in the Duchy Oldenburg Christian Friedrich von Mithofen and Sophie Charlotte, born as Knoth.
The bridegroom has sworn the oath of integrity; the bride has obtained the consent of her elders.
Composed by the 2nd Rellinger Community
Febr. 11, 1860 [Seal of Parish Rellinger] provesu estimatu sulfide pastoruli Mehstorff.
==
<T207> My brother Ernst died at the age of 18 in Dresden, where he had been an apprentice in the Court book printing press.
My brother Karl is (or was, at least, six months ago) still alive. He is a gardener and lives in Ütersen near Altona. He was married and had a son and daughter, who are both dead. He now lives as an eccentric in a little room next to his hothouse.
My mother died in Dresden one or two [or as many as five: see F.A.M. letter to Sallie Stafford 16 Aug 1857] years before my brother died.
It seems that I am the only descendant of the Meissner family [i.e., the only survivor named Meissner among the descendants of Christian Frederick Meissner?]. I had only one daughter by my first wife, who is still alive, is married, and has nine children—sons and daughters. By my second wife [Eva: note that Doris is not mentioned here—LPM] who emigrated as a girl of eight [or nine—LPM] years with her parents from Sachsen-Meiningen and came here, I have four sons and a daughter.
Now I think you will have no reason to complain about this letter’s shortness. I remain with my best wishes to your wife and daughters, your F.A.M.
Mrs. J. Schramm, Jr., Sparta, Wis.
July 30, 1882.
Madam Schramm: As I have no other choice, I will send already today the celery plants that you ordered. I am sure they will be worth the express charges. Respectfully, F.A.M.
Mr. Karl Gottlieb Wünsche in Schönbach near Löbau in Saxony.
July 30, 1882.
Your very dear letter of July 9, which I found yesterday at the post office, was a nice interruption. (It took only 20 days to cover the tremendous distance.) By the aid of ink, pen, railways, and steamers, we can converse with each other and exchange thoughts while being many thousand miles apart.
Your neighbor who emigrated to Texas is homesick—wait till next spring and he will think differently—it was the same with all of us when we first came over here, even if we did not go so far south. Ignoring the floods, hail showers, and storms, which keep hitting some regions periodically, we have had a very beautiful summer here so far, only a little bit cool; wheat, barley, oats, and rye do very well. The harvest of rye and winter wheat has started; summer wheat and oats are still green. Corn is very far behind because of the cool weather. You may have already heard from <T208> Minister Jähring how severely we were hit by bad weather. As my foot is so much better that I can wear a shoe, I have to try to make up for lost time. So please excuse me that I only respond to your letter with a few lines. I return your handshake and remain, with my best wishes, your friend, F.A.M.
Karoline Gerstenberg [b. Nov. 1859], Kaiserin Augusta Straße 59, Berlin, Germany.
Dec. 27, 1882.
Dear Karoline! Your name sounds nice to me, especially as it is also your dear mother’s name as well as the name of a cousin who was my dear playmate when I was young [Karoline Christine Moser, daughter of aunt Wilhelmine Fredericke Meißner].
After waiting for many years in vain for a letter from your mother, I fought my pride and wrote her a letter about a year ago, to which I received a very friendly answer. I have written again twice to your mother during the past year, but she seems to have relapsed into her former silence. I cannot understand it. Can you, dear Grandchild, not explain to me what the reason is, that your mother won’t spend an hour of her spare time writing to her father?
Your dear letter arrived here on Christmas Eve and compensated me a little bit for your mother’s silence. I want to thank you also for the picture of you and your brother. I think you look like your mother and your brother looks like his father. I sure would like to have a picture of your parents, but I don’t want to ask your mother for it, as I rarely receive a letter from her.
As you have been to England, you surely must be able to understand the English language. If so, then my daughter [Dora], your 19 year old aunt, will write to you some time. I am 78 years old today, and still enjoy pretty good health. I would like it very much if you would address me in your next letter with ‘du’ [the familiar address—M.C.]. Your brother Wilhelm is married and is working in a piano factory, and you are working as a cook, so your mother told me. How much do you earn per week or per year? Is your sister Emma not also in Berlin? I would be very happy if you would write to me again soon; and it might even be possible, if you don’t dislike America as much as your mother does, that we will yet meet in person. Greetings to you and your brother—your Grandfather.
HTML: 4A 1877- 1882
WELCOME page