New Acquisitions Spring 2007

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Published in North America

Bericht über die Dreizehnte Versammlung des Westlichen Distrikts der Evangelisch-Lutherischen Synode von Iowa und anderen Staaten gehalten in der St. Paulus-Kirche zu Helena, Johnson Co., Neb., vom 25. bis 29. August 1898. Waverly, Iowa: Wartburg, 1898. 35 pp.

Festgesänge zum Einundzwanzigsten Sängerfest in Milwaukee, Wis., am 28., 29., 30. und 31. Juli 1904. Tenor I. Milwaukee, Wis.: Kaun & Bluemel Music Co., [1904]. [24] pp.
Inhalt: Sängerlust, C. Attenhofer — Frühlingszeit, Theo. Kelbe — Der zaubrische Spielmann (Chor mit Orchester), Fr. A. Kern — Blau Äugelein, J. Wirt — Sandmännchen, Volkslied — Der Studenten Nachtgesang, C. Fischer — Soldatenchor aus ‘Faust’ (Chor mit Orchester), C. Gounod — Das erste Lied, W. Handwerg — Der Jäger Abschied, F. Mendelsohn — O komm zu mir (Volkslied), Hugo Jüngst — Eislein von Caub (Rheinisches Volkslied), J. F. Möhring — Zum Walde musst du wandern geh’n, A. Billeter — Abschiedschor, Cyrill Kistner — An die Kunst (Chor mit Orchester), Richard Wagner — [Gebet während der Schlacht, F. H. Himmel]
Donated by Ed Langer.

[Albrecht, M.] Leichenrede, gehalten am 1. August 1913 bei der Beerdigung des Herrn Heinrich Kolloge über Col. 3, 3-4, von Direktor M. Albrecht. Sowie Text der Gesänge, welche während der Begräbnissfeierlichkeit gesungen wurden. Milwaukee: Germania, 1913. 12 pp.
Funeral service program for Heinrich Kolloge, 1843-1913.
Donated by Dean Roepke, 2007.

Kurtz, Johann Heinrich. Bibel und Astronomie, nebst Zugaben verwandten Inhaltes. Eine Darstellung der biblischen Kosmologie und ihrer Beziehungen zu den Naturwissenschaften. (The Bible and Astronomy. An Exposition of the Biblical Cosmology and Its Relations to Natural Science ). Dritte Auflage. New York, N.Y.: J. A. Wohlgemuth, 1853. viii, 568 pp.
Second copy donated by Tim Hughes, 2006.

Lessing, Otto E. “Problem der Deutsch-Amerikaner.” New Yorker Staats-Zeitung und Herold, 17 1937.
German-American author: Lessing, Otto Eduard (Peter Landgraf), b. 9-28-1875 in Keimshein, Württemberg. Instructor in Michigan in 1896 and in Wisconsin in 1900, prof. in Illinois in 1913 and at Williams College in Williamstown in 1922.
“Es kann sich also niemals darum handeln, dass Reichsdeutsche ihre amerikanischen Blutsbrüder der politischen Verfassung und Regierung ihres neuen Vaterlandes abspenstig machen, sondern nur darum, dass sie ihnen das neuen Deutschland verständlich zu machen versuchen.”

Reu, Johann Michael. Katechetik oder die Lehrer vom kirchlichen Unterricht in den Grundzügen. Waverly, Iowa: Wartburg, 1915. 444 pp.
Embossed with the name Roland C. Schlueter.
Donated by Tim Hughes, 2006

Walther, Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm. Amerikanisch-lutherische Pastoraltheologie. 5. Auflage. St. Louis, Mo.: Concordia, 1906. iv, 441 pp.
German-American author; “C. F. W. Walther, Professor der Theologie am Concordia-Seminar zu St. Louis, Mo., und Pfarrer der ev.-luth. Gemeinde daselbst.”
Donated by Tim Hughes, 2006.

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Subject Collection

“Book Reviews. Edited by Timothy J. Holian.” Yearbook of German-American Studies, vol. 40, 2005, pp. 161-201.
Includes reviews of ‘The German Migration to Missouri,’ by Paul C. Nagel (reviewed by Robert W. Frizzell); ‘The Ritchi Boys: A Film,’ by Christian Bauer and ‘Die Ritchie Boys: Deutsche Emigranten beim US-Geheimdienst’ (reviewed by Jerry Glenn); ‘Illinois’ German Heritage,’ ed. by Don Heinrich Tolzmann (reviewed by William D. Keel); ‘Zwischen Kute und Maske: Das geheimnisvolle Leben des Charles Sealsfield,’ by Ernst Grabovszki (reviewed by Jerry Schuchalter); ‘Going Dutch — Gone American: Germans Settling North America,’ by Christian Gellinek (reviewed by J. Gregory Redding); ‘Karl/Charles Follen: Deutsch-Amerikanischer Freiheitskämpfer,’ by Frank Mehring (reviewed by Gerhard Weiss); ‘Memories of New Ulm: My Experiences During the Indian Uprising in Minnesota,’ by Rudolf Leonhart and translated and edited by Don Heinrich Tolzmann (reviewed by Timothy J. Holian); ‘Becoming German: The 1709 Palatine Migration to New York,’ by Philip Otterness (reviewed by J. Gregory Redding); ‘Michael Zimmer’s Diary: Ein deutsches Tagebuch aus dem Amerikanischen Bürgerkrieg,’ ed. by Jürgen Macha and Andrea Wolf (reviewed by William D. Keel); ‘The Americanization Process in the Second Generation: The German Lutheran Mathia Loy (1828-1915) Caught Between Adaptation and Repristinization,’ by C. George Fry and Joel R. Kurz (reviewed by Tom R. Schultz); ‘Francis Lieber and the Culture of the Mind,’ ed. by Charles R. Mack and Henry H. Lesesne (reviewed by Randall P. Donaldson); ‘Before Memories Fade,’ by Pearl Fichman (reviewed by Jerry Glenn); ‘German Heritage Guide to the State of Ohio,’ by Don Heinrich Tolzmann (reviewed by J. Gregory Redding); ‘Americanization and Anti-Americanism: The German Encounter with American Culture After 1945,’ edited by Alexander Stephan (reviewed by Jörg Meindl); ‘The Day Book/Account Book of Alexander Mack, Jr. (1712-1803): Weaver, Brethren Elder, Apologist, and Chronicler in Early America,’ edited by Donald F. Durnbaugh and Edward E. Quinter (reviewed by Karen M. Johnson-Weiner); ‘The Comprehensive Pennsylvania German Dictionary,’ ed. by C. Richard Beam, Joshua R. Brown, and Jennifer L. Trout (reviewed by William D. Keel); ‘The Amish Schools of Indiana: Faith in Education,’ by Stephen Bowers Harroff (reviewed by Gabriele Lunte); ‘To the Latest Posterity: Pennsylvania-German Family Registers in the Fraktur Tradition,’ by Corinne and Russell Earnest (reviewed by Bethany M. Usher); ‘German-Jewish Identities in America,’ ed. by Christoph Mauch and Joseph Salmons (reviewed by G. Scott Seeger); ‘One of the 999 About to Be Forgotten: The Memoirs of Carl Barus 1865-1935,’ ed. by Axel W.-O. Schmidt (reviewed by Timothy J. Holian); ‘Germans and Indians: Fantasies, Encounters, Projections,’ ed. by Colin G. Calloway, Gerd Gemünden, and Susanne Zantop (reviewed by Heiko Mühr); ‘German-American Immigration and Ethnicity in Comparative Perspective,’ ed. by Wolfgang Helbich and Walter D. Kamphoefner (reviewed by William D. Keel); ‘Albert Bloch: Caricaturist, Social Critic, and Translator of Karl Kraus,’ by Werner Mohr (reviewed by Randall P. Donaldson); ‘A Lost American Dream: Civil War Letters (1862/63) of Immigrant Theodor Heinrich Brandes in Historical Contexts,’ by Antonius Holtzmann and translated by Eberhard Reichmann (reviewed by Tom R. Schulz).

“‘By Hook or by Crook’: How Wondrous, How Inventive Were the Schemes Devised to Take Advantage of Naive Entering Immigrants.” Der Blumenbaum ( Sacramento German Genealogy Society), vol. 24, no. 3, Jan./Feb./Mar. 2007, pp. 110-113, ill.
Examines: “solicitation of female immigrants,” “dirty tricks at the money exchange,” “making a killing on transportation scams,” and “avaricious food concessioners.”

“German Naming Patterns and Naming Oddities through the Centuries.” Der Blumenbaum ( Sacramento German Genealogy Society), vol. 24, no. 3, Jan./Feb./Mar. 2007, pp. 118-22.

Materials on the Painted Forest in Valton, Wisconsin.
Contents: Nash, Dolores Henderson. “The Saga of The Painted Forest.” Photocopy, n.d., 4 pp.; Rhodes, David. “The Painted Forest: M.W.A. Camp # 6190.” Photocopy, n.d., 2 pp.; Rhodes, David. “Wood Hall.” Photocopy, 1981, 11 pp.; Stone, Lisa. “The Painted Forest,” in Personal Places: Perspectives on Informal Art Environments. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press [Photocopy], 1984, 7 pp.; Stone, Lisa, “The Painted Forest,” The Clarion, Winter 1985, pp. 54-63; “Description of the Restoration,” [S.l., s.n., n.d.], 3 pp.; “The M.W.A. Ritual Positions in Relation to the Painted Forest Mural,” 1 pp.; floor plan of the lodge, 1 p.; script for guided tour of the mural, 3 pp.; “The Painted Forest: The Arts Learning Center, Valton, WI” brochure, 2 sides; “Brief History of Modern Woodmen,” 5 pp.; and “The Painted Forest: Edgewood College Art Studio & Study Center,” 4 pp.
Donated by Robert Tarrell, 2006.

“A Timeline for Americans of German Descent.” Der Blumenbaum ( Sacramento German Genealogy Society), vol. 24, no. 3, Jan./Feb./Mar. 2007, pp. 130-137.
Timeline from the year 100 to the year 2008 to help genealogists understand the events and circumstances under which their German ancestors lived. “Readers are encouraged to darken the vertical rules beside their German ancestors’ lifespans, to highlight their respective eras.”

Baron, Frank. “German Republicans and Radicals in the Struggle for a Slave-Free Kansas: Charles F. Kob and August Bondi.” Yearbook of German-American Studies, vol. 40, no. 3-26, 2005, pp. 1-26.
Includes bibliographical references.
“Upon arrival in the United States, leading German revolutionaries, defeated and exiled in their fight for greater freedoms in 1848 and 1849, discovered a conflict with comparable implications. In the early 1850s these immigrants confronted a rapidly transforming political landscape. . . . The opening of the Kansas Territories to a vote on slavery in 1854, seen in the North as a blatant violation of the Missouri compromise of 1820, became a direct cause for the realignment of the existing party system. . . . The German revolutionaries quickly embraced the challenge and opportunity to revive their frustrated idealism. The fight for freedom in Europe became the struggle against slavery and slavery’s extension. Charles F. Kob and August Bondi were not prominent political figures, but through their associations and actions they demonstrate how the exiled “Forty-eighters” contributed to the new political conditions in their adopted country.”

Bawden, Timothy. “A Geographical Perspective on Nineteenth-Century German Immigration to Wisconsin.” Wisconsin German Land and Life. Heike Bungert, Cora Lee Kluge, and Robert C. Ostergren, eds. Madison, Wis.: Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies, 2006, pp. 79-91.
“Provides a broad background of German immigration to Wisconsin, identifying and discussing several regions where the general German-speaking population settled, and illustrating how the settlement of German immigrants from the Rhineland fits into the larger geography of German settlement.”

Biesele, Rudolph L. The History of the German Settlements in Texas, 1831-1861. 2nd printing. [ Austin, TX: Press of Von Boeckmann-Jones Co.], 1964. viii, 259 pp., ill., maps.
Bibliography (p. 228-237); includes index.
Portrays the interest of both German and non-German groups in German colonization in Texas from 1812 to 1840. Covers the actual founding and history of many German settlements and towns in Texas prior to the American Civil War.
Donated by Glenn Gilbert, 2007.

Bondi, August. “Excerpts from the Autobiography of August Bondi (1833-1907).” Yearbook of German-American Studies, vol. 40, 2005, pp. 87-159.
Includes bibliographical notes and index.
Selected sections of the text originally published in 1910. Includes: Origin of the Name, Ancestors, Change of Name, My Father’s Early History, Children of Herz Emanuel Mendel Bondy, My Mother’s Early History, Early Personal History, Geburtszeugnisz, St. Louis Politics, The Journey to Southeastern Kansas, Roughing It, First Meeting with John Brown Sr., [Theo.] Wiener’s Story, Biography Continued, and Border War.

Bungert, Heike, Cora Lee Kluge, and Robert C. Ostergren, eds. Wisconsin German Land and Life. Madison, Wis.: Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies, 2006. xxv, 260 pp., ill., maps.
The result of a cooperative project by a group of German and American scholars, this volume represents an innovative approach to immigration research. The focus is on migrants from farming communities along the Rhine who relocated to Wisconsin in the nineteenth century: from the Westerwald to Reeseville; from the Cologne area to Cross Plains; from the Eifel to the so-called Holyland in Fond du Lac and Calumet counties; and from Rhine Hesse to Washington and Sheboygan counties. The authors of each essay take unique approaches to reveal the migrants’ relationship to the land, utilizing official records on both sides of the Atlantic, such as census and family records, land registers, plat maps, and land surveys. The broad picture presented here includes the migrants’ situation in their original home, the migration process itself, and their experience in Wisconsin. The final section is “A Transcontinental Regional Perspective on Migration: A Concluding work,” by Cora Lee Kluge and Joseph C. Salmons.

Edwards, Lois Hemmeter. “John Schweisel, Civil War Soldier.” Germanic Genealogy Journal, vol. 9, no. 4, Winter 2006, pp. 11.
John Schweisel, born 22 March 1846 in Rhineland, Prussia. Served as a private in Company A, Tenth Regiment, U.S. Infantry. Died 31 May 1925 in North Olmsted, Ohio.

Gaard, Tom. “Discovering Our Ancestors’ Homes in Lippe-Detmold.” Germanic Genealogy Journal, vol. 9, no. 4, Winter 2006, pp. 12-17, ill.
Describes a genealogical research trip to Germany to find the homes of the Bauerkämper, Obergoeke, Sandermann, and Hager (Heger) families. These were found near Schlangen, Brüntrup, Almena, and Rafeld.

Gilbert, Glenn G. “Origin and Present-Day Location of German Speakers in Texas.” Problems in Applied Educational Sociolinguistics: Readings on Language and Culture Problems of U.S. Ethnic Groups. Glenn G. Gilbert and Jacob Ornstein, eds. The Hague: Mouton, 1978, pp. 119-129, map.
“The areas in Texas shown in [Terry G.] Jordan’s map of 1970 to be predominantly ethnic German were found independently by means of demographic and linguistic studies to still contain considerable numbers of German speakers, some representing the fifth and sixth generations in Texas. Based on the United States Censuses of Population for 1850, 1860, and 1870, tabulations of the immigrants’ origins within Germany indicated a strong preponderance of North and Middle Germany over South Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.”
Donated by Glenn Gilbert, 2007.

Glotzbach, George L. “My Great-Grandfather Glotzbach, Civil War Veteran.” Germanic Genealogy Journal, vol. 9, no. 4, Winter 2006, pp. 11.
John (Johann) G. Glotbach, born 17 January 1832 in Buttlar, Germany. Served as a private with Company H, Sixth Regiment, Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery (212). Died 19 February 1892 in Springfield, Minnesota.

Gommermann, Andreas. “Oberhessische Siedlungsmundart in Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA. Tochtermundart einer in Mucsi (Ungarn) gesprochenen fuldischen Siedlungsmundart.” Ph.D dissertation, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1975. ix, 224 pp., maps.

Hoyt, Dolores, and Giles R. Hoyt. “Annual Bibliography of German-Americana: Articles, Books, Selected Media, and Dissertations.” Yearbook of German-American Studies, vol. 40, 2005, pp. 203-77.

Huber, Leslie Albrecht. “Understanding German Parish Birth Records.” Germanic Genealogy Journal, vol. 9, no. 4, Winter 2006, pp. 5-10, ill.
“Understanding the historical background of German parish records can help you focus your search and give the recorded events more meaning. Knowing what to expect in the records can enable you to find and understand all of the information in your ancestors’ entries.” Topics include: fertility and family size, illegitimacy, utilizing the information, and content of the records (name of child and parents, dates of birth and baptism, place of birth, occupation of father, marital status of parents, witnesses, other information).

Humair, Cedric. “Economic Complementarity and Political Solidarity: Concerning the Sources of the First Treaty of 1850 between Switzerland and the United States.” Swiss American Historical Society Review, vol. 42, no. 3, Nov. 2006, pp. 3-72.
Sections include: The Enigma of the Treaty of 1850: The Large Number of American Concessions to a Small Alpine Country — The Export of Labor, Merchandise and Capital to the United States: The Keystone of Swiss Economic Activity — The European Policy of the United States: Tobacco Diplomacy and Springtime of the Peoples — Saving the Last Liberal Bastion: Switzerland as a Political and Economic Trojan Horse in Europe — The Question of the Establishment of American Jews in Switzerland: Federalist Impediments to the Conclusion of a Treaty — The Doctrine of ‘States’ Rights’ and the Question of the Inheritance of Real Estate — Epilogue: From the Golden Age to the Decline of Swiss-American Relations.

Jung, Josef J. G. “Auswanderungen aus Lindenholzhausen im 19. Jahrhundert.” Lindenholzhausen. Beiträge zur Geschichte des Dorfes und der Wüstungen Rübsangen und Vele. 2nd ed., ed. Egon Eichhorn, Hellmuth Gensicke, and Josef J. G. Jung Limburg-Lindenholzhausen: Verschönerungsverein Lindenholzhausen, 1993, pp. 271-279, ill.
More than 100 people emigrated from the Lindenholzhausen/Limburg an der Lahn area in Hessen to America during the 19th century. This article includes a listing of emigrants’ names.
Donated by Josef J. G. Jung, 2007.

— — — . “Mit 16 Jahren alleine ausgewandert: Der Lindenholzhäuser Engelbert Born machte in Amerika sein Glück.” Jahrbuch für den Kreis Limburg-Weilburg, 1996, pp. 167-69, ill.
Born in 1833, Engelbert Born emigrated from Lindenholzhausen in 1849. For seven weeks he and his family sailed on the ship Fides from Antwerp to New Orleans, then on a steam ship up the Mississippi to Chicago. He later settled in Allegan, Michigan, establishing his own business manufacturing wagons. He died in 1909.
Donated by Josef J. G. Jung, 2007.

Kazal, Russell A. Becoming Old Stock: The Paradox of German-American Identity. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2004. xvii, 383 pp., ill., maps.
More Americans trace their ancestry to Germany than to any other country, yet German Americans have a remarkably low profile today, reflecting a dramatic, twentieth-century retreat from German-American identity. In this age of multiculturalism, why have German Americans gone into ethnic eclipse–and where have they ended up? Becoming Old Stock represents the first in-depth exploration of that question.
The book describes how German Philadelphians reinvented themselves in the early twentieth century, especially after World War I brought a nationwide anti-German backlash. Using quantitative methods, oral history, and a cultural analysis of written sources, Kazal explores how, by the 1920s, many middle-class and Lutheran residents had redefined themselves in “old-stock” terms–as “American” in opposition to southeastern European “new immigrants.” It also examines working-class and Catholic Germans, who came to share a common identity with other European immigrants, but not with newly arrived black Southerners.
Becoming Old Stock sheds light on the way German Americans used race, American nationalism, and mass culture to fashion new identities in place of ethnic ones, presenting a case for historians to rethink the phenomenon of ethnic assimilation and to explore its complex relationship to American pluralism.
Donated by the Friends of the Max Kade Institute.

Kob, Karl Friedrich. “Excerpts from Wegweiser für Ansiedler im Territorium Kansas (1857) (Guide for Settlers in Kansas Territory ).” Yearbook of German-American Studies, vol. 40, 2005, pp. 75-85.
Includes bibliographical notes.
Translation of selected sections of the text originally published in German in 1857. Kob’s text emphasizes the important political role German settlers could play in the struggle against slavery. Includes Foreword, Present State of Population and Settlement in the Territory, and Some Advice and Contacts for Immigrants.

— — — . “Wegweiser für Ansiedler im Territorium Kansas. Mit vorausgeschickter Erklärung der bestehenden Gesetze und Verordnungen über Besiedelung öffentlicher Staats-Laendereien in den Ver. Staaten von Nord-Amerika.” Yearbook of German-American Studies, vol. 40, no. 28-74, ill., 2005, pp. 1-26.
Includes bibliographical references.
Reprint of the text originally published in 1857, this document was modeled on Information for Kansas Immigrants written by Thomas Webb. Kob’s text emphasizes the important political role German settlers could play in the struggle against slavery.

Langer, Ute. “Using Archival Resources in Germany for Research Focused on Emigration from the Rhineland in the Nineteenth Century.” Wisconsin German Land and Life. Heike Bungert, Cora Lee Kluge, and Robert C. Ostergren, eds. Madison, Wis.: Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies, 2006, pp. 57-79, ill.
“Using German dismissal papers, parish registers, and civil registers, one can put together extensive information on the lives of individual emigrants that document their circumstances and trace their roots before the left Germany. Land registers and land plats, in particular, can render German emigrants’ attitudes toward the land more visible.”

Moranda, Scott A. “The Story of German Settlement in the Forests and on the Prairies of Wisconsin.” Wisconsin German Land and Life. Heike Bungert, Cora Lee Kluge, and Robert C. Ostergren, eds. Madison, Wis.: Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies, 2006, pp. 123-144.
“This essay first provides an abbreviated account of forest practices in German-speaking Europe in the nineteenth century before and after the commencement of emigration to Wisconsin and establishes the importance of forestlands for German collective identities, both local and national. Many of the examples pertain exclusively to the practices of the Bildungsbürgertum, or the educated middle classes, rather than to the peasants who made the journey to the United States. Nevertheless, they provide some context for discussing the importance of forests for Wisconsin Germans. Then follows an evaluation of some important texts by historians, immigrants, and land speculators that suggest a German preference for woodlands. Finally, the case of Cross Plains in Dane County is discussed briefly. Here, specific examples of settlement and land choice are provided and compared with what is presumed to be typical for immigrants. I argue that while a German notion of identities rooted in the landscape might have influence some Wisconsin settlers, the explanation for settlement patterns most likely lies in economic considerations.”

Neuberger, Kevin. “‘Farm, so heisst in Amerika ein Gut’: Land and Agriculture in a Westerwald Settlement in Wisconsin.” Wisconsin German Land and Life. Heike Bungert, Cora Lee Kluge, and Robert C. Ostergren, eds. Madison, Wis.: Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies, 2006, pp. 163-188, ill.
This essay promotes the argument that “given the harsh realities of rural life in the Westerwald, people moved to Wisconsin in the mid-nineteenth century to improve their economic circumstances and to avoid falling into the ranks of the desperate poor.” Examines the German immigrant community whose center was the village of Reeseville in Dodge County, Wisconsin, during the period from 1845 to 1880.

Nikesch, Ethel-Maria. ” Muttersprache and Fatherland: A Study of Nineteenth-Century German-American Schools and Textbooks with Reference to Pedagogical Application at the ‘Realschul’ Level.” Pädagogische Hochschule Karlsruhe, 2006. 155 pp., ill.
This paper focuses on the Lutheran schools and the German-English Academy in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, examining and comparing their schoolbooks in terms of educational approaches. The first part addresses immigration to the United States, specifically to Wisconsin and Milwaukee, and describes the atmosphere in 19th-century immigrant Milwaukee. The second part examines specific educational theories of the parochial schools, presenting their goals, curriculum, and textbooks. The next section focuses on the German-English Academy, its history, goals, and curriculum, followed by an analysis of four textbooks published by the Academy. The textbooks for both schools are examined in terms of method, content, values, and importance of German as mother tongue. The final chapter presents ideas for utilizing these primary sources in today’s classrooms in a unit on German immigration to the U.S.
Donated by Ethel-Maria Nikesch.

Ortlepp, Anke. “‘Aus dem Wiedischen Land’: Emigration from the Westerwald to Wisconsin.” Wisconsin German Land and Life. Heike Bungert, Cora Lee Kluge, and Robert C. Ostergren, eds. Madison, Wis.: Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies, 2006, pp. 3-36, ill.
“This essay focuses on emigrants from the Westerwald who settled in the Dodge County communities of Reeseville and Lowell, exploring the lives they had led before their emigration. It investigates the living conditions they had left behind, taking into consideration such variables as community structure, economic situation as reflected in landholdings, land use and farming practices, geography and climate, division of labor on farms, and farm architecture. I argue that, given the harsh realities of making a living on a farm in their German homeland, people left the Westerwald mostly for economic reasons and carried with them the hope that they would improve their lot once they had resettled in Wisconsin.”

Peltner, Arndt. “Wealth with Wurst: Oscar Mayer Lived the American Dream.” The Atlantic Times, January 2007, Life, pp. 20, ill.

Richter, August. “The Ocean Voyage on the Sailboat ‘Herschel’.” Infoblatt ( German American Heritage Center, Davenport, Iowa ), vol. 12, no. 1, Winter 2007, pp. 6-7.
Relates the story of Christoph H. Ficke and his voyage from Germany to America. Begins: “Among the papers left behind by the German pioneer Christoph H. Ficke, which are still in the possession of his son, former Davenport Mayor Charles August Ficke, there are a couple of letters from the years 1851 and 1852.” His correspondent was Wilhelm Fischer, in Mecklenburg.

Sänger, Ulrich. “Before Cross Plains: The Immigrants from Cologne Bay.” Wisconsin German Land and Life. Heike Bungert, Cora Lee Kluge, and Robert C. Ostergren, eds. Madison, Wis.: Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies, 2006, pp. 37-55, ill.
Examines the situation of farmers in the Cologne Bay (Kölner Bucht) before their emigration to Cross Plains, Wisconsin, looking at geographic and climatic conditions, the ways and means of farming, and the size of landholdings. “In order to provide a more detailed view, a typical village is portrayed, and the landholdings of individual families there are analyzed.”

Schlemper, M. Beth. “The Borders of the Holyland of East-Central Wisconsin.” Wisconsin German Land and Life. Heike Bungert, Cora Lee Kluge, and Robert C. Ostergren, eds. Madison, Wis.: Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies, 2006, pp. 189-205, ill.
“Among the most distinctive of. . .large clustered German settlements in Wisconsin is one that has been known at least since 1898 as the ‘Holyland.” This district, which is located primarily in Fond du Lac County and partially in Calumet County, comprises several rural German Catholic communities that are connected by religion and place of origin. With place names such as Johnsburg, Mount Calvary, Marytown, St. Peter, St. Cloud, St. Anna, St. Joe, Calvary, and Jericho, there is little mystery on the surface about why the district bears the nickname ‘Holyland’. . . . While the name implies that religious beliefs and practices are key to the region’s identity, this is only one of many factors, which include a wide range of social, cultural, political, and even economic elements.”

Schmahl, Helmut. “Truthful Letters and Irresistible Wanderlust: The Emigration from Rhenish Hesse to Wisconsin.” Wisconsin German Land and Life. Heike Bungert, Cora Lee Kluge, and Robert C. Ostergren, eds. Madison, Wis.: Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies, 2006, pp. 145-159.
“This essay concerns the migration and settlement process of some two thousand people from the southwestern German province of Rhenish Hesse who established group settlements in several counties in eastern Wisconsin in the mid-1800s. After an introduction to the social and economic situation in Rhenish Hesse at that time, the focus shifts to the question of how Wisconsin, a territory scarcely known in Germany, came to the attention of Rhenish Hessians as early as 1840, and how a chain migration tradition developed that lasted until the outbreak of the Civil War. Next, the study takes a closer look at Rhenish Hessian settlement patterns in Washington and Sheboygan Counties, where the immigrants clustered in areas known as the Darmstädter Settlements. The final part deals with the agricultural experiences of Rhenish Hessian and other German settlers in the study area up to the end of the nineteenth century.”

Schnucker, George. The East Friesens in America: An Illustrated History of Their Colonies to the Present Time. (Die Ostfriesen in Amerika. Eine illustrierte Geschichte ihrer Kolonien bis zur Gegenwart) Kenneth De Wall, trans. Bethalto, Ill.: Ostfriesen Ancestral Research Association, 1986. 280 pp., ill.
Originally published in German by Central Publishing House, Cleveland, Ohio, 1917. Translation of the first historical work about the East Frisians in America.
Examines the “Mother Colony by German Valley — Stephenson County, Illinois” (1850-1916); the later developing colonies in Illinois, Iowa, South Dakota, and Minnesota; and the intellectual, religious, educational, and cultural life of the American East Frisians.
Donated by Philip Webber, 2007.

Siemon-Netto, Uwe. “In Missouri, a Phoenix Named Hermann: Devastated by the Prohibition, a Wine-Growing German Town in the Midwest Is Again Thriving.” The Atlantic Times, January 2007, Life, pp. 22, ill.
“In 1837. . .settlers from Germany created a ‘New Fatherland’ on the banks of the Missouri River, which resembles the Rhine. They built a little town and named it Hermann, after a first-century Germanic chieftain. Soon literature, poetry, and music flourished. Within decades, wines from the hills surrounding Hermann won world acclaim. Rootstocks from these vineyards are even credited with having the Old World ‘s viticulture from destruction by the Phylloxera plague in the 1870s.”

Strohschänk, Johannes, and William G. Thiel. “The Wisconsin Commissioner of Emigration 1853-1855: An Experiment in Social and Economic Engineering and Its Impact on German Immigration to Wisconsin.” Wisconsin German Land and Life. Heike Bungert, Cora Lee Kluge, and Robert C. Ostergren, eds. Madison, Wis.: Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies, 2006, pp. 93-121, ill.
Wisconsin created the Office of State Commissioner of Emigration in 1852. This study traces the history of this agency during the years 1852-1855 (it was reinstated in 1867 under a slightly different name), examines its legal and political background, and discusses the three major functions of the office: 1) providing information concerning the state of Wisconsin, 2) giving advice concerning travel to Wisconsin, and 3) protecting the emigrant against fraud and deception.

Townley, Suzanne. “Agriculture in the New World: A Comparative Analysis of Rhenish Prussians and Other Immigrant Groups in Cross Plains, Wisconsin.” Wisconsin German Land and Life. Heike Bungert, Cora Lee Kluge, and Robert C. Ostergren, eds. Madison, Wis.: Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies, 2006, pp. 207-235, ill.
Paper explores how well immigrants fared in the enterprise of acquiring good farmland and building a new life for themselves and their families by comparing the agricultural success of the Rhenish Prussians with that of other immigrant groups who settled in Cross Plains, Wisconsin.

Vanchena, Lorie A. “Interview with Armin Hadamer.” German-American and German-Canadian Studies Discussion Network, H-GAGCS@h-net.msu.edu, Mar. 8, 2007, pp. 5.
Interview with Hadamer about his dissertation, “Mimetischer Zauber: Die englischsprachige Rezeption deutscher Lieder in den USA, 1830-1880″ (Ph.D. Diss., University of Maryland, College Park, 2005).

— — — .”Prince Maximilian and Karl Bodmer in German America.” German-American and German-Canadian Studies Discussion Network, H-GAGCS@h-net.msu.edu, Mar. 10, 2007, pp. 2.
Notes to generate discussion “about explorers, scientists, artists, and writers from the German-speaking regions of Europe who visited North America in the first decades of the nineteenth century. . . . Prince Maximilian of Wied (1782-1867). . .conducted an expedition from 1832 to 1834 to study the flora, fauna, and native cultures along the upper Missouri frontier. He hired Swiss artist Karl Bodmer (1809-1893) to accompany him and create a visual record of the subjects he planned to study.”

Wagner, Marion. “Bayerische Volksfestkultur in der Neuen Welt. Das Oktoberfest in den USA im Kontext deutsch-amerikanischer Kulturkontakte. Diplomarbeit.” Diplomarbeit, Universität Passau, 2007. 106 pp., ill.
“Zielsetzung: Im Folgenden werden die räumliche Verbreitung von Oktoberfesten in den USA, die Gründe für deren Entstehen und der Zusammenhang zwischen Ausprägungen, Veranstalter und Authentizität genauer untersucht. Wo und seit wann gibt es Oktoberfeste in den USA? Inwieweit hängt deren Entstehung mit der deutsch-amerikanischen Vergangenheit zusammen? Wer sind die Veranstalter und was ist deren Intention? Ist es möglich und ist es den amerikanischen Veranstaltern gelungen, das ‘echte’ Oktoberfest authentisch zu kopieren? Am Ende soll die Frage beantwortet werden, ob und in wie weit durch die zahlreichen Oktoberfeste in den USA die bayerische Kultur vermittelt wird und welche Auswirkungen das in den USA hat. Betroffen sind dabei Tourismus und Wirtschaft, das vorhandene deutsche Kulturgut und nicht zuletzt die Beziehung zwischen Deutschland und den Vereinigten Staaten, genauer genommen das Bild, das der US-Amerikaner von den Deutschen hat.”
Donated by Marion Wagner.

Webber, Philip E. Pella Dutch: The Portrait of a Language and Its Use in One of Iowa ‘s Ethnic Communities. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press, 1988. ix, 163 pp., ill. Bibliography: p. 153-158.
“In 1847, the visionary Reverend Hendrik Pieter Scholte founded a colony of Dutch immigrants at Pella in the heart of Iowa, arguably the most pervasively–though seldom the most visibly–Dutch state in the Union . . . . Pella Dutch explores the cultural links between present-day Pella and Scholte’s nineteenth-century immigrant settlement. Through personal contacts and interviews, author Philip E. Webber has used the methods of language research to examine the evolving social milieu in which Dutch is spoken in Pella and surrounding communities. Professor Webber’s sociolinguistic investigation of contemporary Pella enables him to trace the vestiges of Dutch heritage left on the English spoken by local residents; to explain attitudes toward language and ethnicity that have emerged over the course of the present century; and to document the vocabulary, linguistic forms, humor, and conversational patterns that characterize Pella Dutch.”
Donated by Glenn Gilbert, 2007.

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Family Histories and Archives  

Documents and photographs related to the Schlaraffia Milwaukia.
Contains: An undated invitation to two festivities: 1. Inauguration of the new “Burg” at 1808 Chambers Street, with lodging in the Hotel Schroeder (” Ecke Wisconsin Ave. und 5. Str.”) and 2. “Grossursippenfeier unseres R. Markstein”; four black-and-white photographs of events presumed to be of Schlaraffia proceedings; a postcard that may show the inside of a Schlaraffia Reych; a hand-made illustrated birthday card that seems to be for “Olle Anna” on her sixty-fifth birthday (“An Aepfelchen zum 8. Windmond anno Uhu.i 87”); a poem dedicated “Dem Siebziger Aepfelchen”); and a brochure of 1994-1995 events for the Schlaraffia Milwaukia located at 500 E. Marquette Avenue in Milwaukee.
Donated by Bob Luening.

Brock, Thomas D. The Fromm Family in Meiningen, Germany and Cincinnati and Chillicothe, Ohio. Madison, Wis.: the author, 2006. 31 pp., ill.
Johann Balthasas Fromm was born to a family of hand weavers in Sachsen-Meiningen in 1818. He married and started a family, and immigrated with them to the United States in 1851. He settled in Cincinnati, and later in Chillicothe, Ohio, where he and his family published a German-language newspaper, Unserer Zeit.
Donated by Thomas D. Brock, 2007.

Mohs, Bruce Baldwin. ‘The Amazing Mr. Mohs’: Titled as the Movie of the Same Name. Madison, WI: Mohs Seaplane Corporation, 1984. 255 pp., ill. (some col.).
Donated by Bruce Baldwin Mohs, 2007.

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Textbooks

Freytag, Gustav. Aus dem Staat Friedrichs des Grossen. Edited with notes by Herman Hager. Heath’s Modern Language Series. Boston: Heath, 1906. viii, 115 pp., ill.
Inscribed, “Katharine R. Bissell, Vassar College, 1910.”
Donated by Dennis Bergren, 2006.

Heine, Heinrich. Die Harzreise, with Selections from Heine’s Prose and Verse. Edited with introduction, notes, exercises and vocabulary by Robert Porter Keep. Boston, New York, Chicago: Allyn and Bacon, 1916. xix, 95 pp, ill.
Donated by Dennis Bergren, 2006.

Lewisohn, Ludwig. German Style: An Introduction to the Study of German Prose. New York: Henry Holt, 1910. xxix, 215 pp.
Inscribed, “Professor A. R. Hohlfeld with the cordial regards of Ludwig Lewisohn. Madison, Wis., December, 1910.”
Donated by Dennis Bergren, 2006

Schrakamp, Josefka. Deutsche Heimat. New York, Cincinnati, Chicago: American Book Company, 1912. 403 pp., ill. Inscribed, “Howard B. Christensen, Wausau, Wisconsin, 29. December 1968.”
Donated by Dennis Bergren, 2006.

Stern, Menco. Geschichten vom Rhein. New York, Cincinnati, Chicago: American Book Company, 1899. 318 pp., ill.
Donated by Dennis Bergren, 2006

Tombo, Rudolf Sr., and Rudolf Jr. Tombo, eds. Deutsche Reden. Speeches by Bebel, Bennigsen, Bismarck, Blum, Bülow, Dahlmann, Moltke, Richter, Schurz, William II. Selected and edited with notes. Heath’s Modern Language Series. Boston: D. C. Heath, 1905. vii, 290 pp., ill.
Inscribed “Aline Merz, University of Wisconsin, 1906.”
Donated by Dennis Bergren, 2006.

Zweig, Stefan. Brennendes Geheimnis. Mit Vorwort, Erläuterungen, und Wortschatz herausgegeben von Eva C. Wunderlich. New York: Farrar & Rinehart, 1938. xxi, 143 pp.
Donated by Dennis Bergren, 2006.

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