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Advertisement for Auf der Flucht vor der Schande by Johannes Glaesser (1914). Milwaukee, Wis.: German American Directory Publishing Co. 2 pp., ill.
Advertisement [Anzeigen] from the Deutsche-Amerikanisches Vereins-Adressbuch fuer das Jahr 1914-15 (copyright 1914).
Includes reviews from the N. Y. Morgen-Journal (“. . . Es ist einer der in neuer Zeit beliebt gewordenen Detektiv-Romane. Er beginnt in Deutschland, findet aber auf amerikanischem Boden seine Fortsetzung. . . . Für deutsch-amerikanische Leser gewinnt er erhöhtes Interesse, da er sich zum grössten Teil in deutsch ameikanischen Kreisen bewegt. . . “), Rochester Abendpost, N. Y. Herold (“. . . Den Liebhabern einer lebhaften Unterhaltungslektüre sei das Buch des amerikanischen Karl May bestens empfohlen.”), and Brooklyn Freie Presse (“. . . “Ob nun der Leser in die höheren und niederen Gesellschaftskreise der schönen Sachsenhauptstadt oder auf den eleganten Ozeandampfer des Lloyd geführt wird, überall umwogt ihn das wirkliche Leben in packender Anschaulichkeit. Und erst die Schilderungen aus dem amerikanischen Volksleben! Wer selbst ‘mal als ‘Greenhorn’ in New York im betäbenden Lärm der Grossstadt oder einen kurzen Ausflug nach dem ‘Wilden Westen’ unternommen hat, wird beim Lesen des Buches ausrufen: ‘Ja, genau so ist es, ohne alle Uebertreibung und Beschönigung!’ Wer aber keine Gelegenheit hat, unser Land der ‘unbegrenzten Möglichkeiten’ zu bereisen, der braucht nur dieses Buch zu lesen, und er wird es mit all’ seinen Vorzügen und Schwächen kenne lernen.”
Festschrift zum Hundertfünfzigjährigen Jubiläum der gerechten und vollkommenen St. Johannis Freimaurer Loge Aurora No. 30 F. & A. M. im Orient Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA nebst Mitgliederverzeichnis für das Jahr 2000. [Milwaukee, Wis.: the lodge, 2000]. 32 pp., ill.
On cover: 1850-2000, Einhundertfuenzigaehriges Jubilaeum. Inside front cover: portrait of Anton Casper Cron, Founder and First Master Aurora Lodge No. 30, F. & A. M., Milwaukee, Wisconsin, born at Elberfeld, Duchy of Berg, Germany, Sept. 23, 1806, died at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 2, 1880.
In German and English. Contents: Geschichtliches Vorwort/Historical Foreword by Br. Erich Franzen — Die Gründung unserer Bauhütte im Jahre 1850: Auszüge aus der Aurora Loge Jubiläums-Festschrift von 1900/The Founding of Our Lodge in 1850: Excerpts from the Aurora Lodge Anniversary Publication of 1900 — Die Jahre 1875-1900: Auszüge aus dem Aufsatz von Br. Ludwig Kopp-Koppee/The Years 1875-1900: Excerpts from the Essay by Br. Ludwig Kopp-Koppee — Die Jahre 1900-1925: Auszüge aus dem Aufsatz von Br. Walter H. Braun/The Years 1900-1925: Excerpts from the Essay by Br. Walther H. Braun — Die Jahre 1926-1950: Auszüge aus dem Aufsatz von Br. Altmeister Eugene E. Rall/The Years 1926-1950: Excerpts from the Essay by Br. Past Master Eugene E. Rall — Ausgewählte Jahresberichte aus den Jahren 1951-1973/Selected Annual Reports from the Years 1951-1973 by Br. Erich Franzen — Die Jahre 1975 bis 2000/The Years 1975 to 2000 — Die Altmeister der Aurora Loge/Past Masters of the Aurora Lodge — Mitgliederliste für das Jahr 2000/List of Members for the Year 2000.
Donated by Bob Luening.
Glaesser, Johannes. “Was wir Deutsch-Amerikaner wollen und sollen!” Deutsch-Amerikanisches Vereins-Adressbuch für das Jahr 1914-15. Milwaukee, Wis.: Deutsch-American Directory Publ. Co., 1914, pp. 7-11.
Lists the goals and plans set forth by Dr. C. J. Hexamer at the recent convention of the Deutsch-Amerikanische Nationalbund in St. Louis, and argues that German Americans need to struggle for “persönliche und bürgerliche Freiheit” and not only the right to drink beer.
Russell, Thomas H. Rasende Fluten und Tobende Stürme. Die gewaltigen Kräfte der Natur. (Story of the Great Flood and Cyclone Disasters). Chicago: Laird & Lee, 1913. 246 pp., ill.
On title page: “von Thomas H. Russel [sic], A. M., LL.D. Verfasser von ‘Das Ende der Titanic.’ Ins Deutsche übersetzt von Max Heber. . . . Eine Geschichte von schreckensvollen Tatsachen, die, weil wahrheitsgemäss geschildert, in ihrer Entsetzlichkeit ergreifender wirkt, als eine Tragödie der Phantasie, die sich auf Theaterbrettern abspielt. Fesselnde Beschreibung des grossen Tornado zu Omaha und der Hochfluten in Ohio und Indiana — Wie der Wirbelsturm entstand — Einzelne Vorgänge beim Sturm — Flammen erhöhen und vermehren die Gefahren —Herzergreifende Erzählungen von schrecklichen Szenen, bezeugt durch fliehende Menschen und Lebensretter — Flüsse verwandeln sich in rasende, unwiderstehliche Fluten — Feste Dämme krachen und bersten auseinander, und ganze Städte, Farmen und Städtchen werden von wirbelnden Wassern überflutet — Hunderte kommen plötzlich oder nach langen Angststunden um und viele Tausende werden obdachlos — Gouvernör von Ohio appellirt an das Volk — Die Nation antwortet mit prompter Hilfe — Präsident Wilson lässt einen Aufruf um Hilfe ergehen — Proviantzüge werden schnell abgesandt — Stadt und Land opfert schnell und gerne zur Hebung des Elends — Todtenliste der durch die Wirbelstürme und die Hochfluten Umgekommenen. Lebensgetreue Illustrationen.”
Missing original cover. Donated by Walter Uphoff.
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Vierzig Singrädlein. Ithaca, N.Y.: Thrift Press, n.d. 16 pp.
Two, three, and four voice canons.
Donated by Christel Haeck, Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary Library, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
Click here to view the song “Kaffee.”
“Alexander Schem, 1826-1881.” Society for German-American Studies Newsletter, vol. 32, no. 1, Mar. 2011, pp. 11-14, ill.
Provides a biographical sketch of Schem, and describes several entries in the Deutsch-amerikanisches Conversations-Lexicon, which Schem edited between 1869 and 1874, with particular attention paid to the Turner gymnastic societies, slavery, Carl Schurz, and Franz Sigel.
Basler, Konrad. “The Dorlikon Emigrants. Swiss Settlers and Cultural Founders in the United States: A Personal Report.” Swiss American Historical Society Review, vol. 46, no. 3, Nov. 2010, pp. 1-90, ill.
Laura Villiger, translator. Max Hilfiker, editor of the expanded edition. Originally published in Switzerland with the title Dorliker Auswanderer.
In the years 1738 through 1743 five families emigrated from the author’s village of Dorlikon (today Thalheim an der Thur) in northern Switzerland, heading for Carolina, as the records say. No news of their fate returned. This work describes the author’s search for the stories of these families (Nüssli, Basler, Weidmann, Muller, and Epprecht), who ended up in Pennsylvania, as well as for the story of Julia Beringer Huber, who had been sent to Milwaukee with her illegimate child around 1875.
Bode, Dan. “St. Paul’s United Church of Christ — Gerald, McLennan County, Texas.” The Journal (German-Texan Heritage Society), vol. 33, no. 1, Spring 2011, pp. 23-31, ill.
Provides a history of the church, which was constructed and dedicated in 1903. Includes a listing of pastors and information on the founding families.
Bode, Daniel. “The Family of John & Ella (Wernecke) Spreen.” The Journal (German-Texan Heritage Society), vol. 32, no. 4, Winter 2010, pp. 271-274, ill.
The Spreen family emigrated from Wehdem, Westphalia for Washington, County, Texas, in 1866. The Wernecke family came from Boberow, Prussia.
Boock, Darcy. “Early German Settlement: Colfax Colony, Colorado, Located in Wet Mountain Valley, Colorado Territory — Settled by the German Colonization Company of Chicago in 1870.” Germanic Genealogy Journal, vol. 13, no. 4, Winter 2010, pp. 5-10, ill.
In searching for a lost member of the Oelrich family—traced back to Elpersbüttel, Holstein—the author discovered that Paul Christian Oelrich was part of a group of Germans led from Chicago by Carl Wulstein / Wulsten who had settled in Fremont County (now Custer County), Colorado, in 1870. This article describes Wulsten’s efforts to found the German Colonization Company, the migration of the members (numbering between 228 and 337 individuals, according to various reports), and the failure of the colony ten months after its founding. Also provides a listing of possible settlers of Colfax Colony, derived from several sources, along with place of birth, where known.
Bosshard-Kälin, Susann. Westwärts. Begegnungen mit Amerika-Schweizerinnen. Bern, Wettingen: eFeF, 2009. 311 pp., ill. (some col.) + 2 CDs.
Mit zwei historischen Beiträgen von Professor Dr. Leo Schelbert. Includes bibliographical references (pp. 304-305).
Contents: 15 Porträts. Ellen Carney-Ernst; Margot Ammann Durrer; Rosa Schupbach-Lechner; Linda Geiser; Marion Schlapfer-Brandes; Lillet Lee-von Schallen; Marie-Simone Pavlovich-Ludwig; Margrit Meier-Sidler; Martha Bernet-Zumstein; Marianne Burkhard; Elsbeth Bollier-Büche; Nelly Schleicher; Margrit Mondavi Biever Kellenberger; Anna Conti-Tonini; Luise Bürgler-Bruhin by Susann Bosshard-Kälin — Sie gingen vorher. Lebensskizzen aus dem 18. und 19. Jh. Esther Werndli Götschi; Anna Thommen Wister; Elisabeth Haberstich Bigler; Louise Guillermin Dupertuis by Leo Schelbert — Essay. Frauen in den USA des 20. Jahrhunderts by Leo Schelbert.
Donated by the Swiss American Historical Society, with thanks to Dr. Leo Schelbert.
———. Westward: Encounters with Swiss American Women. Swiss American Historical Society Publication, No. 29. Washington, D.C.: Swiss American Historical Society, 2010. 291 pp., ill. (some col.).
Postscript by Leo Schelbert. Includes bibliographical references (pp. 286-287). Translation of: Westwärts: Begegnungen mit Amerika-Schweizerinnen. From back cover: 15 portraits of Swiss women who immigrated to the United States in the 20th century. They hailed from different Swiss cantons, came from varied familial and occupational backgrounds, and are living in different states of the USA, while two have returned to Switzerland. They tell of their varied experiences at home and abroad, of joys and crises, of the possibilities and limitations of life, of desires, homesickness, and new bonds.
Contents: 15 Portraits. Ellen Carney-Ernst; Margot Ammann Durrer; Rosa Schupbach-Lechner; Linda Geiser; Marion Schlapfer-Brandes; Lillet Lee-von Schallen; Marie-Simone Pavlovich-Ludwig; Margrit Meier-Sidler; Martha Bernet-Zumstein; Marianne Burkhard; Elsbeth Bollier-Büche; Nelly Schleicher; Margrit Mondavi Biever Kellenberger; Anna Conti-Tonini; Luise Bürgler-Bruhin by Susann Bosshard-Kälin — They Went Before. Four Historical Portraits. Esther Werndli Götschi; Anna Thommen Wister; Elisabeth Haberstich Bigler; Louise Guillermin Dupertuis by Leo Schelbert — Essay. Women in 20th Century America by Leo Schelbert.
Donated by the Swiss American Historical Society, with thanks to Dr. Leo Schelbert.
Bungert, Heike. “Der Deutsch-Französische Krieg im Spiegel der Wohltätigkeitsbazare und Feiern deutscher und französischer Migranten in den USA, 1870/71.” Deutschland — Frankreich — Nordamerika: Transfers, Imaginationen, Beziehungen. Chantal Metzger Metzger and Hartmut Kaelble, eds. [Stuttgart]: F. Steiner, 2006, pp. 152-170.
Includes bibliographical references.
Der Artikel beschäftigt sich mit den Dreiecksbeziehungen zwischen den circa hunderttausend Frankoamerikanern, den 1,7 Millionen Deutschamerikanern und der Bevölkerungsmehrheit der Angloamerikaner während des Deutsch-Französischen Krieges 1870/1871. Für die deutschen Migranten war der Deutsch-Französische Krieg mit der anschließenden Gründung des Deutschen Reiches der wichtigste Wendepunkt in der Geschichte der Schaffung einer deutschamerikanischen Identität. Sie sammelten Geld für ihre Landsleute in Europa, organisierten Wohltätigkeitsveranstaltungen und feierten große Friedensfeste, in denen sie sich ihrer gemeinsamen Herkunft bewusst wurden. Auch die Frankoamerikaner organisierten Benefizfeste, Sammlungen und Proteste gegen den Frankfurter Frieden. Beide ethnischen Gruppen hatten Werte, Sympathien und gegenseitige Vorurteile in die USA transferiert, mussten in ihren Sympathiebekundungen für ihre Ursprungsländer jedoch Rücksicht aufeinander und auf ihr Gastland nehmen. Somit ergab sich ein kompliziertes Beziehungsdreieck, in dem mit Ausnahme der Belagerung von Paris die Deutschamerikaner die amerikanischen Sympathien auf ihre Seite ziehen konnten.
Donated by Heike Bungert.
———. “Deutschamerikanische Ethnizitätsbildungsprozesse in San Antonio und San Francisco, 1848-1914.” Die deutsche Praesenz in den USA = The German Presence in the U.S.A. Josef Raab and Jan Wirrer, eds. Berlin: Lit, 2008, pp. 57-94.
Includes bibliographical notes and references.
Nicht nur in den “typischen” deutsch besiedelten Städten wie New York oder Milwaukee versuchten deutsche Migranten, eine deutschamerikanische Ethnizität zu schaffen. Auch in weniger bekannten deutschen Siedlungsorten wie San Antonio und San Francisco trugen Feste als Grundform des kollektiven kulturellen Gedächtnisses und als “invented traditions” zur Konstruktion und Bewahrung einer deutschamerikanischen Identität bei. Der Vortrag wird nach einer kurzen theoretischen Einführung die Ethnizitätsbildungsprozesse in der kalifornischen und der texanischen Stadt schildern. Hierbei wird zuerst die jeweilige Ausgangssituation beschrieben, bevor die wichtigsten Festarten analysiert werden. Dabei liegt der Schwerpunkt der Untersuchung auf der Rolle der Feste bei der deutschamerikanischen Ethnizitätsbildung und auf ihrer flexiblen Adaptierung zur Erhaltung der deutschamerikanischen Identität.
Donated by Heike Bungert.
———. “Deutschamerikanische Sängerfeste und Lieder als Medium der Ethnizitätsbildung, 1849-1914.” Lied und Populäre Kultur / Song and Popular Culture, vol. 55, 2010, pp. 41-76.
Jahrbuch des Deutschen Volksliedarchiv Freiburg. Includes bibliographical notes.
Describes the origins, evolution, and purposes of German-American singing festivals; their musical repertoires and increasing focus on Volkslieder; and German, German-American, and Anglo-American aspects of these singing festivals.
Donated by Heike Bungert.
———. “‘Feast of Fools’: German-American Carnival as a Medium of Identity Formation, 1854-1914.” Amerikastudien / American Studies, vol. 48, no. 3, Winter 2003, pp. 325-344.
Sonderdruck. Includes bibliographical notes.
German-American clubs and socities introduced distinctly German forms of Karneval in the mid-nineteenth century. These festivals were marked by masking, dancing, the joint singing of songs, promenades, and the presentation of satirical speeches or plays, and they helped to foster a sense of community and ethnic identity. Themes of carnival events increasingly revolved around life in the United States and often alluded to political or economic situations, either in a humorous or patriotic vein. Bungert provides a theoretical introduction on the concepts of festivals and carnival, describes various masked balls and carnival sessions, examines the role of money and prestige, describes how German-American carnival grew in attendance and complexity beginning in the 1880s, and reveals how the German-American press viewed the events.
Donated by Heike Bungert.
———. “From Celebrating the Old to Celebrating the New: The Formation of a German-American Identity, 1859-1914.” Sites of Memory in American Literatures and Cultures. Udo J. Hebel, ed. Heidelberg: C. Winter, 2003, pp. 193-212, ill.
Sonderdruck. Includes bibliographical notes and references.
“In early nationwide German-American festivals, the site of memory was Germany. During the course of the nineteenth century, the German immigrants shifted this site to the other side of the Atlantic. They changed the focus from building their identity on German peculiarities to basing their ethnicity on concrete events in the history of German America. At the same time, they increasingly participated in indigenous U.S. festivities emphasizing the American aspect of their identity.” Donated by Heike Bungert.
———. “Memory and Migration Studies.” The Merits of Memory: Concepts, Contexts, Debates. Hans-Jürgen Grabbe and Sabine Schindler, eds. Heidelberg: C. Winter, 2008, pp. 197-219, ill.
Sonderdruck. Includes bibliographical notes.
The festivals of German immigrants and their descendants provide insights into ethnic memory. “German migrants shaped a common memory of their country of origin and later of their history in the country of migration via their festivals. . . which they adapted according to the needs of the second and third generations. Their cultural memory remained alive until at least 1914 because of continuing migration and because of increased travels back to Germany, which created a transnational space and which allowed a dialogue not only with Anglo-American festivals but also with festivals and traditions in Germany.”
Donated by Heike Bungert.
———. “Regional Diversity in Celebrating Regional Origin: German-American Volksfeste, 1870-1920.” Regionalism in the Age of Globalism, Volume 2: Forms of Regionalism. Madison, Wis.: Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2005, pp. 93-115, ill.
Includes bibliographical notes.
“During the 1870s German Americans began celebrations reflecting their regional origins, the so-called Volksfeste or popular festivals. Volksfeste were adopted from Germany and Switzerland where they were celebrated as manifestations of the spirit of the common people and were designed to maintain rural traditions and to strengthen national feelings. . . . Volksfest organizers equally blended regional, German, American, and German-American themes in a by-and-large successful attempt to create a genuine, regionally colored but still completely German-American ethnicity. . . . Volksfeste and the memories experienced in them helped German Americans face life in a modern, industrialized, American environment. . . ; created identity and were used at the same time to establish distinction. . . ; offered an opportunity to depict the regional varieties of the German nation. . . ; serve[d] as a model for the establishment of a composite, strong American nation. . . ; [allowed] the immigrants to relax and rejuvenate. . . ; [injected] German values like honesty and hard work. . .into American life to counterbalance what was considered excessive American materialsism and bigoted Puritanism. . . ; served charitable goals. . . ; [and] offered Germans the opportunity to meet and organize.” While Volksfeste allowed Germans from the same regions with shared dialects to gather and share memories, they also attracted different regional groups and fostered intermingling and the sharing of traditions.
Croner, Vera F. The Odyssey of a German Jew: Growing Up During the Dark Days. Madison, Wis.: The Estate of Vera F. Croner, 2010. 11 pp., ill.
“The correspondence, documents, photographs and other materials of Vera Croner and her family (c. 1860-2009) are being preserved at the Wisconsin Historical Society.”
Vera Fannie Croner was born November 8, 1920 in Stettin, Pomerania, Germany to Max Marcus and Hedwig Griep Croner. This account covers her early life in Germany, from 1920 to 1947, with a summary of her subsequent years in Norway and Madison, Wisconsin.
Cutkomp, Kent. “Translating a German Language Obituary.” Germanic Genealogy Journal, vol. 13, no. 4, Winter 2010, pp. 14-17, ill.
Using an obituary for Carolina Frederich from the August 2, 1924, issue of Watertown, Wisconsin’s Weltbürger [World Citizen] newspaper, this article illustrates the wealth of information a researcher may discover. Includes advice for transliterating and translating the text, provides cautions regarding automated translation programs, and discusses steps for further research based on information that may be found in an obituary.
de Leeuw, Esther. “New Research: What Happens to German Language After Emigration?” German-Canadian Studies Newsletter, vol. 15, no. 1, Nov. 2010, pp. 2.
The author’s research involved two experiments which investigated whether the domain of phonetics can undergo first language (L1) attrition, or be lost, when a second language (L2) is acquired in adulthood in a migrant context. Experiment I investigated the native speech of 57 German migrants to Anglophone Canada and the Dutch Netherlands. The bilingual migrants had grown up in a monolingual German environment and moved abroad in adolescence or adulthood. Their semispontaneous German speech was globally assessed for foreign accent by native German speakers in Germany. It was revealed that 14 bilingual migrants were perceived to be non-native speakers of German. Age of arrival to Canada or the Netherlands and contact with one’s native language played the most significant roles in determining whether the German speech of the migrants was assessed to be foreign accented. Crucially, it was not only the amount of contact, but also the type of contact which influenced foreign accented native speech. Monolingual settings, in which little language mixing was assumed to occur, were most conducive to maintaining non-foreign accented native German speech. These findings prompted Experiment II, in which the speech of 10 German migrants to Anglophone Canada was examined in fine phonetic detail. The participants in this experiment had similarly grown up in a German speaking environment and migrated to Canada in late adolescence or adulthood. Segmental and prosodic elements of speech, which generally differ between German and English, were selected for acoustic analyses. Taken together, these findings challenge the traditional concept of native speech by revealing that indeed native speakers diverge from the norms of native (monolingual) speech.
Duden, Gottfried. “Die nordamerikanische Demokratie und das v[on] Tocqueville’sche Werk und Duden’s Selbst-Anklage wegen seines amerikanischen Reiseberichtes von 1837.” Yearbook of German-American Studies, vol. 44, 2009, pp. 125-229.
Transcribed by Steven Rowan, University of Missouri-St. Louis. Includes bibliographical note.
———. “North American Democracy and the Work of de Tocqueville, and Duden’s Confession on Account of His American Travel Report of 1837.” Yearbook of German-American Studies, vol. 44, 2009, pp. 23-123.
Translated by Steven Rowan, University of Missouri-St. Louis. Includes bibliographical notes.
Elspass, Stephan. “‘Everyday Language’ in Emigrant Letters and Its Implications for Language Historiography: The German Case.” Multilingua, vol. 26, no. 2/3, 2007, pp. 149-163.
Special Issue: Lower Class Language Use in the 19th Century. Includes bibliographical notes and references.
“The mass literacy drives of the 19th century have proved to be a landmark in German language history, as for the first time the majority of the people in the German-speaking countries were able to participate in the culture of writing. The full impact of the spread of writing among the lower social classes on language variation and change has, however, not yet been recognized in language historiography. With examples from grammar and spelling in private emigrant letters, the present article strongly argues for an alternative approach to language historiography, using such texts as a starting-point for a ‘language history from below.’ The analysis of ‘everyday language’ in the private letters of ordinary people can not only provide us with an insight into the language use of the vast majority of the population, but also carries valuable information on linguistic developments which have gone unnoticed in language historiography and in the research on present-day German grammar. They have demonstrated that ordinary people’s writing remained relatively unaffected by official standards that were set up in school grammars and by the language norm debates of the 19th century. The emigrants’ writings rather show clear traces of norms of usage, which partly date back to the 18th century or even older writing conventions and which can partly be linked to language use in spoken vernaculars that have gradually emerged as new variants of present-day German.”
Feuge, Robert Lamar. “[Adolph] von Wedemeyer’s Ferry across the Guadalupe River.” The Journal (German-Texan Heritage Society), vol. 32, no. 4, Winter 2010, pp. 262-263.
Includes bibliographical references and notes.
A founding member of New Braunfels, Texas, Adolph von Wedemeyer determined to create a ferry across the Guadalupe River in 1845, “a sophisticated solution to a thorny problem in an untamed and primitive environment.”
Gardini, Fausto. “Industrious Luxembourgers in the United States of America, Part 2.” Luxembourg American Gazette, vol. 5, no. 3, Fall 2010, pp. 10-11, ill.
Provides information on the Kass family of Remsen, Iowa; the Hentges family of LeMars, Iowa; the Speltz family of Winona, Minnesota; and the Hendel family of St. Louis, Missouri.
———. “Infamous Luxembourgers in the United States of America.” Luxembourg American Gazette, vol. 6, no. 1, Winter 2011, pp. 9-11, ill.
Includes bibliographical notes.
The Rettinger family emigrated to America soon after 19-year-old Peter Rettinger murdered and robbed a priest in the Luxembourg parish of Hostert; Heinrich Muller, journeying aboard the S. S. Kroonland to visit his brother in Chicago, committed suicide by jumping overboard, Oct. 11, 1908, after fighting another man over a girl; Emiline Cigrand of Lafayette, Indiana (the cousin of Bernard John Cigrand, known as the “Father of Flag Day”), was murdered by serial killer Herman Webster Mudgett in Chicago; photographer and music dealer Frank (Francois) Xavier Gonner is reported to have committed suicide in 1912 in Durango, Colorado; and Nicholas Salor (born Nicholas Sales) died as a member of the “ill-fated 1881 Lady Franklin BayNorth Pole expedition . . . in which 18 out of 25 members perished.”
Goedert, Christopher. “Settlement Spotlight: Adams County, Nebraska — Early Luxembourger Settlement in Adams County.” Luxembourg American Gazette, vol. 6, no. 1, Winter 2011, pp. 6-8, ill.
“Among the people who settled in Adams County [Nebraska] by 1886 were John and Margaret Busch (or Bausch), John and Eva Diederich, Nikolas (Nicholas) and Elise (Elizabeth) Konen, Peter (Pierre) and Johanna Heuertz, and John and Susanna Mangers. Each of these families originated in Luxembourg, lived for a time in Illinois or Iowa (where some of their relatives remained), and settled on farms Assumption. They kept their Catholic faith and embraced their common Luxembourger ancestry as they struggled to make a living in a new place.”
———. “Settlement Spotlight: Sheldon Township, Wyoming County, New York.” Luxembourg American Gazette, vol. 5, no. 3, Fall 2010, pp. 12-13, 15, ill.
Includes bibliographical notes.
The first Luxembourg immigrants are listed as arriving in Sheldon Township in 1833; they came from various regions of Luxembourg, including Redange, Clervaux, and the German-speaking villages around Arlon.
Gold, Teresa. “Bazaar Aided German Citizens.” The Journal (German-Texan Heritage Society), vol. 33, no. 1, Spring 2011, pp. 22-23, ill.
From the San Antonio Express News, Dec. 19, 2010.
Describes the Deutsch-Texanischer Bazar / German-Texan Bazaar, held from October 11th to the 15th, 1916, in Beethoven Hall, San Antonio. The event raised more than $9,000 for the benefit of “those distressed by war in Germany, Austria and their allies.” Includes an image of a postcard promoting the Bazaar.
———. “Something about Fritz Goldbeck.” The Journal (German-Texan Heritage Society), vol. 33, no. 1, Spring 2011, pp. 39-40, ill.
Friedrich Wilhelm Ferdinand (Fritz) Goldbeck came to America with the Bremer family in 1844. Provides information about his life and deeds, including the publication of two volumes of poetry. Includes a translation of a poem, “The Sufferings of the First Emigrants.”
“The Golden Age of the American Cigar: How German Americans Puffed Along.” Infoblatt, vol. 16, no. 2, Spring 2011, pp. 6-8, ill.
“In 1885 Iowa ranked 14th in cigar production and . . . Davenport boasted 32 factories, up from a mere three registered in the City Directory of 1861. . . . The largest factory in Iowa was owned by the German immigrant Nicholas Kuhnen and was located at Perry and Second streets in Davenport.” Other German immigrants who produced cigars in Davenport include Ferdinand Haak and Peter N. Jacobsen.
“Historic St. Nicholas Church, Dacada, Wisconsin, Celebrates Its 100th Birthday in 2011.” Luxembourg American Gazette, vol. 6, no. 1, Winter 2011, pp. 14-15, ill.
The church houses “what many consider the most precious artifact of Luxembourg heritage in America—a statue of Our Lady of Luxembourg” brought to America from Luxembourg by the Deppiesse family in 1849.
Jepson, Judy. “Let the Diaries Speak.” Exclusively Yours, vol. 62, no. 2, Dec. 2008, pp. 10-12, 14, 27, ill.
During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was a center for the production of panorama paintings. Today, the diaries of painter Friedrich Wilhelm Heine are being transcribed and translated to provide a glimpse into what life was like for artists in the city once known as the “German Athens.” The diaries offer many challenges, as they are written in an old script that few can read today, with Heine writing his letters quite small, employing both archaic 19-century words as well as numerous abbreviations of his own devising, and often omitting punctuation. Yet his diaries yield interesting information on the process of researching and creating panoramic paintings (for example, Heine worked on Civil War depictions such as the Battle of Atlanta and the Battle of Missionary Ridge) as well as daily life in Milwaukee, such as visiting taverns and meeting with other prominent figures of the time.
Knopp, Kenn. “How Fredericksburg (Friedrichsburg) Was Named.” The Journal (German-Texan Heritage Society), vol. 33, no. 1, Spring 2011, pp. 32-37, ill.
“The acknowledged founder and the namer of Fredericksburg was John O. Meusebach who succeeded Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels as director of the Adelsverein activities in Texas in 1845. Meusebach named the town after Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig von Hohenzollern von Preussen, nephew of the king. The prince’s castle, Burg Rheinstein ueber Rhein, was not far from Mainz, the headquarters of the Adelsverein. . . . Prince Friedrich was the largest stockholder in the Adelsverein. . . . The official spelling of the town was Friedrichsburg until the mid 1880s when the US Post Office complained of confusion about the usage of both the German and the English spellings.” Provides detailed information on the activities of the Adelsverein, which was organized by the aristocracy in 1842 to recruit “troublemaking” liberals for a German colony in Texas.
Latta, C. J. “Idioms and Expressions in the German of Fredericksburg, Texas.” The Journal (German-Texan Heritage Society), vol. 32, no. 4, Winter 2010, pp. 246-248.
Presented at the 2010 Pioneer Ball in Dallas.
Amusing examples chosen from the author’s collection.
Leary, James P. “Herr Louis, the Weasel, and the Hungry Five: German-American Performers on Midwestern Radio.” Lied und populäre Kultur / Song and Popular Culture, vol. 55, 2010, pp. 101-134, ill.
Jahrbuch des Deutschen Volksliedarchiv Freiburg. Includes notes and bibliographical references.
“The establishment of radio stations in the 1920s contributed importantly to the 20th century sustenance of German American culture in the Upper Midwest, particularly through the efforts of influential entertainers whose broadcasts combined dialect comedy with familiar folk songs and tunes, and who live appearances in communities throughout the region spawned local imitators. Foremost among them was Henry Moeller (1894-1946) who assumed the persona of ‘Herr Louie,’ while his radio partner, Harold J. Gilles, became the ‘Weasel.’ In the late 1920s, the duo joined with the ‘Hungry Five’—a Little German Band whose specific members remain unknown—to reach audiences via Chicago radio stations WGN and WCFL. . . . Their remarkable yet scarcely examined careers are critical to our understanding of the complex continuous presence of German folk music and song in America’s Upper Midwest.”
Preprint copy and postcards donated by James Leary.
Click here to view another postcard advertising Herr Louis, the Weasel, and the Hungry Five at Eitel’s Old Heidelberg Inn Rathskeller in Chicago.
Logemann, Jan, Andreas Joch, Corinne Ludwig, Ashley Narayan, and Barbara Reiterer. “Transatlantic Perspectives: Europe in the Eyes of European Immigrants to the United States, 1930-1980.” Bulletin of the German Historical Institute, no. 48, Spring 2011, pp. 85-99, ill.
Describes a research project that will examine, among other things, the roles played by 20th-century European migrants in shaping American perceptions of Europe; the patterns of perception among migrants regarding specific aspects of European society, such as the European city, economy, and consumption; and the impact “professional migrants” had upon developments in Europe as they “reached back to their native countries in various ways.”
Lucht, Felecia A. “Language Variation in a German-American Community: A Diachronic Study of the Spectrum of Language Use in Lebanon, Wisconsin .” University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2007. viii, 127 pp., ill.
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (German). Includes bibliographical references.
To date, there has been limited research on linguistic variation and language shift in North American German-speaking communities. In both academic and popular literature, statements regarding varieties in these communities are often overgeneralized, inaccurate, and unsubstantiated by empirical data. Following the direction suggested by Mattheier (1993), this dissertation examines a fuller range of language variation in one such community by presenting a case study of the linguistic varieties that existed, and in some cases, continue to exist in one Wisconsin German-American community. Language shift is a multidimensional, complex and uneven process. Examining the key areas of language shift as specified by Fishman (1991), three types of data have been collected. Documentation from church records, school records, municipal records and data from print and radio media provide information on institutional language use in the community. Self-reported data from recorded interviews with speakers allow insight into speakers’ perceptions of these varieties. The content of these interviews, complemented by data obtained from personal letters, creates the basis to build speech biographies of the participants and offers a personal perspective on community language use. Finally, a structural analysis of the interviews, translation and storytelling activities allow investigation of language change within the varieties used by speakers today. The data is then examined in the context of theories of larger social change, developed specifically for North American communities by Warren (1987), and applied to Wisconsin German communities by Salmons (2005). As detailed by Warren, there has been a shift in local community focus to vertical structures, resulting in less local autonomy. As seen in the data, this process of ‘verticalization’ has had a profound influence on language use in this community. But what is also shown by the results of this study is that the language shift in these communities has been considerable, but is not complete. While the future of German varieties in these communities is uncertain, they have not disappeared without a trace.
Nagel, Daniel. “Von republikanischen Deutschen zu deutsch-amerikanischen Republikanern. Ein Beitrag zum Identitätswandel der deutschen Achtundvierziger in den Vereinigten Staaten, 1850-1861.” Universität Mannheim, 2010. 488 pp.
Inauguraldissertation zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades eines Doktors der Philosophie der Universität Mannheim.
Includes bibliographical notes and references.
Contents: Einleitung (Der demokratische Republikanismus und die Achtundvierziger; Ethnische Identität und Öffentlichkeit; Methode, Quellen und Historiographie) — Die Achtundvierziger in der Fremde (Die Achtundvierziger als Exilanten und Auswanderer, Die Achtundvierziger und ihre Begegnung mit Amerika) — Die Achtundvierziger und Europa (Das Scheitern der Revolutionären transatlantischen Exilpolitik 1850/52; Europäische Interventions- und Revolutionshoffnungen 1853-1860) — Die Konfrontation mit der amerikanischen Politik (Das “Sklavenjagd-Gesetz”; Die Landreform und die demokratisch-republikanischen Achtundvierziger; Die Kolonisationspläne Wilhelm Weitlings, ein Alternative zur Landreform? Die Pläne der Reform zur Landreform; Wilhelm Weitling und die nordamerikanische Republik) — Die Konstruktion einer deutsch-amerikanischen Identität (Karl Heinzen und die “Platform der teutschen Sozialisten”; Karl Heinzens Forderungen als Rückgriff auf Franz Löher; Der Konflikt zwischen Grauen und Grünen; Der Konflikt zwischen Grauen und Grünen im Rückblick; Die Präsidentschaftswahl von 1852; Die Präsidentschaft von Franklin Pierce; Die Deutschen “Plattformen” des Jahres 1854) — Die Achtundvierziger und die Sklaverei (Das Kansas-Nebraska-Gesetz; Die Reaktion der Deutsch-Amerikaner auf das Kansas-Nebraska-Gesetz; Die Menschenrechte als Ausgangspunkt der Kritik an der Sklaverei; Die Auswirkungen der Sklaverei auf die Gesellschaft der Sklavenstaaten; Die politischen Auswirkung der Sklaverei; Die ökonomischen Auswirkungen der Sklaverei; Sklaverei und Korruption; Die Abschaffung der Sklaverei; Die kulturhistorische Mission der Deutsch-Amerikaner; Die Kolonisation befreiter Sklaven; Die Rassenproblematik) — Die nativistische Herausforderung (Die Temperenzbewegung und die Neuformierung der amerikanischen Parteien; Der Temperenzdiskurs der Achtundvierziger in den frühen 1850er Jahren; Die Know-Nothings und die Achtundvierziger; Der Wandel des Temperenzdiskurses; Die Eskalation nativistischer Gewalt; Die Gründung eines deutschen Staates als Reaktion auf den Nativismus? Die Suche nach neuen politischen Allianzen; Der Niedergang der Temperenzbewegung seit der Mitte der 1850er Jahre; Die Sonntagsgesetze; Der deutsche Sonntag und die Frage der Amerikanisierung; Deutsche Ethnizität und amerikanische Nationalität) — Die Republikanische Partei und die Achtundvierziger 1856-1861 (Die Ideologie der Republikanische Partei; Die Achtundvierziger und das Problem des Nativisimus; Die Achtundvierziger im Präsidentschaftswahlkampf von 1856; Die Republikaner und die deutsche Partei im Jahr 1856; Das Massachusetts-Amendment; Die Sklavereifrage im Vorfeld des Bürgerkriegs; John Brown und der “Irrepressible Conflict”; Die Präsidentschaftswahl von 1860; Die Sezession und die Aufgabe der Deutsch-Amerikaner) — Zusammenfassung und Schluss (Die Konstruktion einer deutsch-amerikanischen Identität; Republikanismus und der Parteienwandel der 1850er Jahre) — Verzeichnis wichtiger Personen und Zeitungen — Bibliographie.
Ortlepp, Anke. “The Formation of Regional Identity: The Case of German-American Women in the Midwest.” Regionalism in the Age of Globalism, Volume 2: Forms of Regionalism. Madison, Wis.: Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2005, pp. 117-131.
Includes bibliographical notes.
Examines the wide range of activities engaged in by German-American women in Milwaukee and Chicago between the years 1850 and 1910, showing that a regional sense of belonging informed these activities and how this sense of belonging shaped ways of female identity formation.
Quinn, Tony. “The Ticino Swiss Immigration to California.” Swiss American Historical Society Review, vol. 47, no. 1, Feb. 2011, pp. 23-26, ill.
Immigration from Ticino began in the middle 1850s; it is estimated that some 30,000 people, mainly men, were part of this migration. Ticino Swiss settled almost exclusively in California, and predominantly in rural parts of the state, pursuing work as dairy farmers or in vineyards.
Rowan, Steven. “Gottfried Duden’s Critique of Alexis de Tocqueville, Michel Chevalier and Himself in 1837.” Yearbook of German-American Studies, vol. 44, 2009, pp. 1-21.
Includes bibliographical notes.
Introductory essay to Rowan’s translation and transliteration of Duden’s critique of Tocqueville’s Democracy in America (which includes Duden’s views on the controversial issue of slavery) and his response to critics and disappointed immigrants who felt misled by Duden’s Report on a Journey.
Salmons, Joseph. “Community, Region, and Language Shift in German-Speaking Wisconsin.” Regionalism in the Age of Globalism, Volume 2: Forms of Regionalism. Madison, Wis.: Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2005, pp. 133-144.
Includes bibliographical notes.
Examines how a transition in central institutions of Wisconsin-German community structure—including the spheres of politics, economics, religion, and education—eroded the foundation for maintenance of the German language.
———. “The Role of Community and Regional Structure in Language Shift.” Regionalism in the Age of Globalism, Volume 1: Concepts of Regionalism. Madison, Wis.: Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2005, pp. 129-138.
Includes bibliographical notes.
Argues that a basic restructuring of community and regional life during the late nineteenth century undermined the maintenance of the German language in Wisconsin. The premise is that “horizontally structured communities will typically maintain a minority language, while verticalization will lead to shift to the majority language.”
Smart, Terry L. “Past and Present Places in Texas with German Names.” The Journal (German-Texan Heritage Society), vol. 32, no. 4, Winter 2010, pp. 249-253.
From The German Legacy in Texas, c2010.
Lists some of the many towns, communities, and counties throughout the state of Texas with names that reflect a German origin.
Stolz, Gerd. Emil Geisler aus Lunden. Ein erfolgreicher Unternehmer in den USA, 1828-1910, zugleich ein Beitrag zur schleswig-holsteinischen Amerika-Auswanderung im 19. Jahrhundert. Lunden: Verein für Heimatgeschichte des Kirchspiels Lunden, 2010. 56 pp., ill.
Gesler was born in Lunden, in the Duchy of Holstein, and migrated to America in 1852. He settled in Davenport, Iowa, and was influential in the Upper Mississippi River Valley as a proponent of education. Includes several of Geisler’s poems.
Donated by Gerd Stolz.
Tolzmann, Don Heinrich. “Baron von Steuben: From Prussian Soldier of Fortune to Inspector General.” The Palatine Immigrant, vol. 36, no. 1, Dec. 2010, pp. 26-32, ill.
Presented at the Steuben Monument Centennial in Washington, D.C., 4 December 2010, sponsored by the Steuben Society of America. Includes bibliographical notes.
Draws upon biographical works of Steuben, beginning with the first by Friedrich Kapp, to examine how “packaging and marketing” helped this Prussian soldier of fortune to assume a position “which served to carry out into practice the projects which [General George] Washington conceived.”
———. “The German Heritage of Southern Illinois and Missouri.” The Palatine Immigrant, vol. 36, no. 2, Mar. 2011, pp. 14-23, ill.
Presented at a meeting of the German Special Interest Group in St. Louis, Missouri, co-sponsored by the German-American Heritage Society of St. Louis, 7 November 2010. Includes bibliographical notes.
Wegner, Gregory Paul. “The Anna Ruedy Diary: A Young Girl’s Life among the ‘Bangor Swiss,’ 1874-1884.” Wisconsin Magazine of History, vol. 94, no. 1, Autumn 2010, pp. 40-53, ill.
Born to a family of Swiss Germans who had originally settled in Honey Creek in Sauk County, Anna Ruedy belonged to one of Bangor, Wisconsin’s wealthiest and most influential families (her father owned a 170-acre farm and a woolen mill on Dutch Creek). Her diary, began when she was 12 years old and written between 1874 and 1884, contains a wealth of information about immigrant history, the agrarian culture of western Wisconsin in general, and life in Bangor specifically during this period. The Ruedy family, like many immigrants in the area, was multilingual, and about half of Anna’s diary is in Swiss German and High German, switching to English as she grew older and fluent in that language. Her entries reflect a variety of cultural activities and farming practices of the time, mentioning how she drove a new Marsh Harvester reaping machine in 1874 at age 14, the flood of 1899, concerts and plays at Concordia Hall, English and German language classes, a literary society, gymnastics programs, and public lectures. She also noted births and deaths among the town’s residents and occasionally mentioned young men who were either the object of her affection or who sought her attention. In an effort to keep such relationships secret, Anna made some entries in Morse code. Anna lived into her 80s, dying in Glendale, Calif., during World War II.
Wellauer-Lenius, Maralyn A. Swiss in Greater Milwaukee. Images of America. [Charleston, SC]: Arcadia, 2010. 127 pp., ill.
Contents: Casting off from distant shores — Transforming Milwaukee — Religious leaders in the community — Politics, education, and the arts — Family dynasties — Populating Waukesha County — Swiss in Washington and Ozaukee Counties — Swiss societies — Carrying the torch into the 21st Century.
Donated by Maralyn A. Wellauer-Lenius.
Winkler, Albert. “The Swiss at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, 1876.” Swiss American Historical Society Review, vol. 47, no. 1, Feb. 2011, pp. 1-22, ill.
Twelve men born in Switzerland were assigned to Custer’s Seventh Cavalry in the early summer of 1876; of these seven took part in the Battle of the Little Bighorn. This paper examines these men, assessing their motives in joining the calvary, and appraising their experiences in battle. The twelve men are Frederick Lehman and Frank Braun (both born in Bern), Robert Senn and John Lattman (both born in Zurich), Joseph Kneubuhler and Vincent Charley (both born in Luzern), Ludwig Borter, John Rauter, Francis Pittet, Edmond Burlis, and John King. Of the seven who took part in the Battle of Little Bighorn, five were killed in action or died later of wounds, and only two—Robert Senn and John Lattman—survived.
Faulkner, Michael J. Meine Lebensgeschichte. 112 pp. and 1 compact disc.
In German.
Edited transcription of audio interviews with Michael J. Faulkner, who was born in 1920 in Glogau, Lower Silesia. Contents: Kindheit und Jugend — Krieg — Flucht — England — [Aboard] Die Dunera — Australien — Royal Navy — Normandie — Der Nachkrieg — Esslingen — AIU (American Insurance Union) — Irene — New York (1949) — München — Columbia University — Europa (1960) — DDR — Eltern — Schweiz (1976) — Japan — Schweiz (1980) — Dunera Skandal wieder — Tod vom Freund Gary Barrack — Irenes Krankheit — Michaels Krankheit — Zum Schluss — Überbleibsel.
Meyer, Barbara Joan, and Connelly Sally Meyer. The Lineage of George Leo Nicholas Meyer, Jr. (1924-2001) of Milwaukee, Wisconsin (George Leo Nicholas Meyer, Sr., George John Meyer of Milwaukee, Nicholas Meyer of Green Bay, Mathias Meyer of Germany and Cleveland) m. Mary Lee Gary (1929-1976): Descent from Mathias and Gertrude Meyer Who Died of Cholera in Cleveland in 1854. [2001]. unpaginated [102] pp., ill.
On title page: “Allied Familes: O’Connell, Lucy, Hackett, Eichstadt / Eichsteadt / Eicksteadt, Barkow, Trossen and Zuerner of Wisconsin.”
Generation 1: Mathias Meyer (1807-1854) and Gertrude (1810-1854) emigrate to America in 1846, most likely coming from Baden. They both died in the cholera epidemic of 1854 in Cleveland. Generation 2: Nicholas Meyer (1849-1924) was orphaned and adopted into the family of Frank Schwartz of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, possibly as an “indentured child.” by 1867 Nicholas was married to Anna Trossen and had settled in Green Bay, and by 1881 he had founded the Green Bay Soap Company. Generation 3: George John Meyer (1871-1945) and Catherine Agnes “Kitty” O’Connell. George John Meyer founded the George J. Meyer Manufacturing Company in Milwaukee and was called one of “Wisconsin’s Wealthiest Men.” Generation 4: George Leo Nicholas Meyer, Sr. (1895-1972) and Edna Alice Zuerner. George Sr. was president of the George J. Meyer Manufacturing Company and an inventor. Generation 5: George Leo Nicholas Meyer, Jr. (1924-2001) and Mary Lee Gary (1929-1976). George Jr. was a historical preservationist, president of the George J. Meyer Company, and veteran of World War II. He began the movement to restore Milwaukee’s “Third Ward.”
Donated by Sally Connelly.
Goedsche, C. R., Eloise Neuse, and Elizabeth H. Zorb. Kleinstadt in Amerika. Cultural Graded Readers. German Series, V (Elementary). New York: American Book Company, 1955. vi, 64 pp., ill.
From title page: C. R. Goedsche, Northwestern University. Eloise Neuse, Middlebury College. Elizabeth H. Zorb, Vassar College. Illustrated by Eunice Gruner, Watertown, Wisconsin. Includes exercises and vocabulary.
“The Cultural Graded Readers (Elementary German Series) offer to students of German important and useful information regarding the significant participation of the German element in the making of the United States. . . . [This] book . . . centers on Watertown, Wisconsin, which is representative of similar small American communities settled by Germans in the middle of the last century. . . . [It] describes the development of Watertown as reflected in achievements of German immigrants and points out some of their customs which have left a permanent trace in the life and language of America.”
Donated by Bob Luening.