Immigration from Mecklenburg to Middleton, Wisconsin Antje Petty

Volume 21 No 2 • Spring 2012

Traces in the Landscape: Immigration from Mecklenburg to Middleton, Wisconsin Antje Petty

Map by Mark Livingood

raveling west on Old Sauk prairie are a reminder of the pre- Road from Madison through settlement landscape. Traces of an INSIDE Middleton, about a mile past old Indian trail hint at the history of Ta little white country church sur- Native Americans in the area. Several • Annual Meeting rounded by an old cemetery, one acres planted in rotation with twelve • Genealogy Workshop finds among rolling hills a public agricultural crops, a European and a • German Lutheran Church park called Pope Farm Conservancy. Native American vegetable garden, (Middleton, Wisconsin) Consisting of about a hundred acres, and old rock walls—fences made • Lecture Report: Diaspora and the conservancy is a microcosm of of the rocks found in the field—all Nationalism the physical and human geography represent two centuries of agricul- • Lecture Report: A Global of South Central Wisconsin. Inter- tural cultivation. A concrete spillway Approach to the Civil War pretative trails and educational signs is evidence of work undertaken in • Book Review: Putting Down guide the visitor through a terrain 1938 by the Civilian Conservation Roots shaped by glaciers. Woodlands, old • Book Review: The Great Heart oak savannah, and different types of Continued on page 8 of the Republic: St. Louis DIRECTORS’ CORNER

Greetings, Friends Challenge Grant in the amount of special thanks to Ed Langer, who was $300,000, most of which is to help in charge of the local arrangements. and Readers! establish a partial endowment for the Now we wish you a good summer— MKI librarian/archivist position. We come to see us at German Fest in e are delighted to an- are very pleased, of course, but the Milwaukee if you get a chance. Work nounce that the long- key word here is challenge. The three- hard, be successful, and do stay in planned renovations to-one match to which we have been touch! Wto the fourth floor of the University challenged by the NEH means that —Cora Lee and Mark Club are to begin late this summer. fundraising efforts will continue: over When we settle into our new home the next four years, we must raise the there—probably not before the end final $300,000. of the year—students and colleagues Meanwhile, despite our success will find us more easily accessible, with fundraising, we face the realities and we will have both more space for of state budget cuts, as we announced our activities and also better contact in February, which force us to make with other main libraries on campus. adjustments in our staffing and We are grateful to our many sup- programming. While we hope to find porters who have made this work: long-term solutions to the problem above all, the Max Kade Founda- of how to support our very able, en- tion, whose gift of $500,000 was ergetic, and dedicated staff members, announced late in the year 2010 and we are for the moment exploring whose assistance became the corner- sharing them with other campus stone of our efforts. We are indebted units. This will unavoidably mean to the University of Wisconsin for that we will have to cut back on some its willingness to cover design and of what we do. contingency costs, and also to match, It has been a good spring, full of dollar-for-dollar, the funds we could activities and events that you can raise from outside sources by the end read about in the current issue of of the year 2011. And we appreci- our Newsletter. Our final event was ate more than words can express the the Annual Meeting of the Friends very generous response of our many in Watertown, which took place Friends and supporters. Through early in May, and for which we owe your contributions you have become partners to our undertaking, and we thank you and congratulate you on Board of Directors, Friends of the Max Kade Institute your success. Hans Bernet Monroe The purpose of the MKI Library Gary Gisselman Wausau Elizabeth Greene Treasurer, Madison Project was not only to renovate new Charles James Vice President, Madison quarters, but also to provide finan- James Kleinschmidt President, Fitchburg cial support for our library’s staff; Cora Lee Kluge ex officio, Madison and with this in mind, we applied Edward Langer Greenfield Mark Louden ex officio, Sun Prairie for one of the prestigious Challenge Antje Petty ex officio, Madison Grants from the National Endow- John Pustejovsky Secretary, Whitefish Bay ment for the Humanities. At the end Karyl Rommelfanger Manitowoc of last year, we were informed that Johannes Strohschänk Eau Claire Luanne von Schneidemesser Madison we had been named a recipient of a Pamela Tesch Oconomowoc

2 Annual Meeting of the Friends of the Max Kade Institute in Watertown, Wisconsin Antje Petty

n Saturday, May 5, 114 marry his sweetheart Eliza Forbes. Society’s grounds. Here, Margarethe members of the Friends Eliza, however, was not keen on the Meyer Schurz, a recent immigrant of the Max Kade Institute pioneer life. So Richards convinced from Hamburg, Germany, and wife Ocame together in Watertown, Wis- her to accompany him into the Wis- of the prominent German-American consin, for the annual meeting. The consin wilderness by promising her politician and journalist Carl Schurz, day began with a tour of Watertown’s the finest house in the Territory. He taught the first American kindergar- famous Octagon House and the first kept his promise. In 1854, after years ten class in 1856. Mrs. Schurz’s first kindergarten building in America, of planning and construction, the students were her own two daugh- expertly guided by volunteers from Richards moved into a three-story ters, their cousins, and another child the Watertown Historical Society. octagon-shaped house built high on from the neighborhood. While in Eu- As the Octagon House story goes, a bluff on the west side of the Rock rope, Margarethe Schurz had become John Richards, a young man from River. It is presumed to be the largest familiar with the methods of Fried- Massachusetts, arrived in the Wis- pre–Civil War single-family dwelling rich Fröbel—an early-childhood consin Territory in 1837 looking for in Wisconsin. education pioneer—and wanted her land and opportunity. He found the From the Octagon House, the children and other youngsters in Wa- perfect place on the east bank of the Friends went to the Kindergarten, tertown to benefit from his insights. Rock River in what is now Water- a small building that was moved in Today the interior of the house has town and built himself a log cabin. 1956 from its original place in the In 1840 Richards returned east to center of Watertown to the Historical Continued on page 14

Genealogy Workshop The Max Kade Institute is pleased to offer another German genealogy workshop in collaboration with the Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS). Tracing Your German-American Roots: Resources Here and There This four-hour hands-on computer workshop (offered twice, on two different dates) will introduce materials and research techniques that address the unique challenges faced by genealogists looking for their ancestors from German-speaking Europe. The first half of the workshop will provide a general overview of resources—online and off—on this side of the Atlantic; and the second half will focus on records available in historic German-American communities and in Europe. Instructors: Lori Bessler and Antje Petty

Saturday, October 20 or 27, 9am–1pm UW–Madison Memorial Library, Room 231 Fee: $35 for members of Friends of MKI and WHS; $40 for non-members Registration begins after August 1, 2012. Please contact Lori Bessler at the Wisconsin Historical Society: [email protected] or 608-264-6519.

3 The History of the First German Evangelical-Lutheran Congregation in the Town of Middleton, Dane County, Wisconsin Antje Petty

n September 1902, on the occa- to pay their minister $65 a year.” bundles, wife and children, and then sion of the 50th anniversary of The following are excerpts from the little family went over hill and the founding of the First German Pastor Scherbel’s church history. dale until it reached Madison several IEvangelical Lutheran Congregation As immigration increased in the days later. Madison back then was still by immigrants from Mecklenburg 1840s and 1850s, many Europeans— a small country town. The beautiful in the Town of Middleton, Pastor E. especially Germans—decided to build meadows of Dane County were such a F. Scherbel published a little booklet a home in the far West, especially joyful sight to our German immigrants in German about the history of his in Wisconsin, which had just been that they did not travel further. A few church and the early immigrant com- opened for settlement. The city of Mil- homesteads owned by Americans from munity. Pastor Scherbel had served waukee, which was not bigger than a the East were already scattered across the community—which also included German village, could not accommo- the area, but there was still plenty of the Lutheran churches of the Towns date all the new arrivals; our compa- room for the Germans. of Berry, Roxbury, Cross Plains, and triots longed to farm, which meant go- [The first thing the new settlers did Martinsville—since 1884. In 1924, ing further west. After enduring weeks was lay claim to a piece of land.] Then the Madison Capital Times honored and months on sailing ships crossing they built a log cabin with the help of the Pastor with an article, stating that the ocean and more travel on boats neighbors. It had one room—which “to have served through 40 springs, and occasionally by train (there were served as a house for the whole family, winters, summers, and falls, in a ter- not many of those back then!), they as a guest room for visitors, as a din- ritory that required nearly 60 miles were happy finally to have reached ing room, and as a bedroom, too. The of riding each Sunday to serve each Milwaukee, the last outpost of civiliza- cabin was made from hand-hewn tree congregation, must require love of tion. Now they had to figure out how logs and had only a very basic floor. A fellow men, especially when the pio- to move on. One or two wagons were ladder led upwards to the attic, which neers of the region could only afford rented, loaded with trunks, boxes, and was a very small place. The furni- ture was very minimal and usually consisted of a home-made table, a few benches cut from wooden blocks, and the trunk which had made the long journey across the sea, which held the family’s possessions. Now it served as closet, desk, and cupboard, and as a place where all valuables were kept. The first task was to cultivate the virgin land to receive God’s reward from the rich soil. Under the powerful ax of the farmer, the trees fell to the ground. His wife and child collected branches and twigs and burned them, so that the plough (pulled by between six and twelve oxen) could do its work. It took two to three strong men to get the stubborn horned beasts moving

The first church, built Spring 1854

4 and to keep the plough […] in the was resolved that each family should furrow. The men were screaming “Shi” contribute one short and one long log. and “Ha,” and were all hoarse in the Mr. Niebuhr donated one acre of land evening. However, bacon and potatoes for the church and a cemetery. Then and a pipe filled with home-grown the day came when the members of tobacco cleared their throats quickly. the congregation all arrived with their […] With great effort, crowned with horse-drawn wagons, each bring- God’s blessings, the jungle was soon ing two logs. Everybody put the logs cleared and the wilderness turned into together to build the walls. Mr. Voß, a small paradise. who was an expert wagon maker and […] Gradually, more settlers ar- owned a hammer, a saw, and other rived, especially from Mecklenburg. useful tools, was asked to build the One person followed another. Among door and the window. Shingles for First German Evangelical Lutheran Church today the first few, a need was soon felt for the roof had to be bought, and it took a spiritual life. People had brought a while to raise the necessary funds. were assigned in the cemetery. […] Bibles and songbooks from the home- Meanwhile the interior of the church In the fall of 1884 [after Pastor Scher- land and now wanted to share them in was not furnished at all. Thus it was bel had begun to lead the congrega- their new community. Thus, one Sun- decided that every family had to bring tion] the church was extended by forty day in 1852, one of the oldest settlers, its own bench, and since there was feet; a new and better-looking bell Gustav Polkow, invited his neighbors no plan, the benches all looked very tower was built; and the old bell was to his house and delighted them with a different. sold, and a new and bigger one was in- sermon, which also included beautiful [For several years, the congregation stalled. Private donations made it pos- songs from the songbooks. Mr. Polkow was led by its own members and the sible to purchase an organ. By now the then offered Sunday services regularly, occasional traveling priest. In 1856, congregation also had two choirs—a which were held either in his log cabin it finally managed to hire a teacher mixed choir and a men’s choir—which or in the log cabin of his neighbor from Germany, Wilhelm Elver, who greatly improved services and funeral Friedrich Niebuhr. Occasionally a not only taught the children, but also ceremonies. Beneath the new addition, preacher by the name of Schnaker took over pastoral duties.] In 1859, a new school room was constructed, came from Cottage Grove and held a Wilhelm Elver was replaced by Pastor because the old school house by now sermon. T. Schenck, who had had a pedagogi- was collapsing. In 1891, the interior of However, people couldn’t warm up cal education in Germany and who the church was finally refurbished and to [Preacher Schnaker’s] Methodist had moved from Mecklenburg to the beautifully painted, too. […] leanings; they preferred the old service Town of Berry with some friends in Now our congregation looks back on under Polkow’s direction, and soon 1853. […] Pastor Schenck established [five decades] of happy gatherings, but fourteen men officially established a regular school lessons, and held a millions of tears have also been shed. new congregation. [They were] Gustav service every two weeks. As ever more Of the original founding members only Polkow, John Elver, John Prien, Henry people arrived in the community, a four are still with us. […] Our elders, Prien, John Niebuhr, Carl Böck, John bigger church building became neces- those who brought us here, now rest in Voß, Fritz Mühlenbruch, Friedrich sary. […] In May 1866, a new church eternal peace, relieved from their toil. Niebuhr, Joachim Benn, Joachim was opened which measured 52X32 Do we live up to their example? We Harloff, John Lübcke, Carl Pierstorff and had a tower with a little bell. shall honor and remember them and and Christian Pierstorff. […] After The old building was used as a school shall preserve the Word of God as it is more settlers arrived in the following house. 31 families contributed to the spoken in our dear Lutheran Church: years, the decision was made to build new church building. […] All families in the language of our ancestors and a little church, even if it had to be very had to help transport materials from the language of Luther—in German. simple and small. Early in 1854, it Madison and contribute $82. Lots

5 LECTURE REPORT

The German Diaspora and Nationalism before World War I Kevin Kurdylo

tefan Manz (Aston University, German-speaking Europe those Birmingham, UK) began his who left were referred to as Auswan- presentation on April 26th derer (emigrants). After unification, Sby describing the 1911 inaugural however, the discourse changed and celebration at a Kaiser Wilhelm now concerned a worldwide mperial Schule where all the students “German community,” and individu- received commemorative pictures als and groups outside of the Empire of Germany’s imperial couple. The were referred to as Auslandsdeutsche school had been founded “to implant (German citizens living abroad). in all children a proud awareness A latecomer to nationhood, that they belonged to a powerful Germany was anxious to ensure its fatherland whose cultural achieve- position and establish its “place in ments compare well with those of the sun” on the global scene. By 1914, Stefan Manz any other folk,” but it was not located when Germans had established com- in Cologne or Hanover—this school munities in nearly all regions of the for this difference were not the topic was established for the offspring of world, there developed a number of of Manz’s lecture, though they are an the German population in Shanghai, transnationally operating organiza- exciting part of his ongoing research. China. This example set the stage for tions that shifted the concept of im- German Protestant congregations an examination of the connections migration from one of settlement and organized in immigrant communi- between diaspora and national- assimilation to a network of global ties in other countries often became ism for German-speaking immi- interactions promoting commitment formally attached to one of the grants around the globe. Dr. Manz’s to the maintenance, restoration, and state churches in the homeland, the research portrays these far-flung prosperity of the homeland. Manz Mother Church assuming responsi- communities as “active participants focuses on three groups involved: bility for her scattered flock. Manz within a transnationally conducted Protestant churches, German Navy reports that the number of con- and multi-directional discourse” that Clubs (Flottenvereine), and German gregations with connections to the sought both to disseminate a sup- schools abroad. Prussian State Church, for example, posedly “superior” Germanic culture Intriguingly, immigrant commu- rose from 21 in 1861 to about 200 in among “inferior” host societies and nities in the United States were the 1914. In addition to certain financial to legitimize territorial claims for exception. The German-American benefits, these affiliations brought Imperial Germany. Lutherans did not maintain close pastors from Germany to serve the Until recently, most migration connections to churches in Ger- congregations abroad. Educated and scholars have found German im- man lands, perhaps because they ordained in Germany and steeped in migrant communities to be pre- had established their synods early. Reich-affirming ideas, these pastors dominately heterogeneous and Likewise, German Navy Clubs encouraged the preservation of Ger- dispersed, with no strong bonds or were not organized in this country, manness and fought against a sense connectedness. Certainly before the and German schools were neither of homelessness, as well as the loss of unification of the German nation in financially supported nor otherwise the mother tongue. Manz points out 1871, the reference point for emi- directly associated with organiza- that celebrating the Kaiser’s birthday grants was a region or religion, rather tions in the homeland. The situation was a significant event in congrega- than a German nation, and within in the United States and the reasons tions in many regions, from Glasgow

6 to Cairo to Tokyo. In these areas, reported on the activities of Naval lack of formal attachment among where the Protestant churches were Clubs throughout the world. German Americans to these transna- actively promoting nationalistic ties, Manz identifies as his final net- tional organizations does not remove problems sometimes developed. In working group the German schools, them from the connections between Brazil, for example, the older immi- whose goal was to preserve the nationalism and diaspora. German grants worried that the Pan-German German language among Germans Americans were still committed agitation of newer Reichsimmigranten abroad as a marker of transnational to the prosperity of their former would disrupt relations with the host belonging. The idea that a common homeland, with particular displays of society. While some felt it was best to language expresses the essence of a enthusiasm in evidence at the time of come under “proper Prussian com- people’s soul and is intrinsic to ethnic Germany’s unification and again at mand,” others feared the militaristic identity has its origins in German the outbreak of war in 1914. image of the Prussian spiked helmet. Romanticism. The preservation of Germans across the world—from German Navy Clubs to support language was therefore crucial both Shanghai to Glasgow, from Santiago a stronger naval force in Germany in terms of nationalistic goals and for de Chile to Melbourne—were in- were also promoting the new nation’s perpetuating a transnational com- volved in a process of developing global influence and dominance: munity. School associations abroad, “a common set of metaphors and By 1912 nearly 180 clubs with some such as the one founded in 1899 in symbols to describe their diasporic 9,500 members had been formed Victoria, Australia, were applauded identity.” The networking groups worldwide. They were most active in in Germany as a sign that “our coun- Manz examines were integral in European countries where German trymen […] are leading a brave fight this endeavor and led to feelings communities had been established, for the preservation of the German of patriotism and nationalism that such as Spain; in Central and South mother tongue,” thus lifting up the were at times quite pronounced, America; and in Asia and Africa. spirit of Germanness and displaying and at other times tempered by In addition to collecting dues to Germany’s cultural achievements on pragmatic concerns. Manz notes help finance German naval projects, distant shores. that ideas of imperial ideologists the clubs shared news through a Some 5,000 German schools were found fertile ground—especially in German-language journal, Die Flotte, founded abroad to prevent the “de- German communities in South and and held exuberant celebrations Germanization” and assimilation of Central America, and in countries when German warships called at lo- the young in German immigrant and such as Spain, France, and Britain. cal ports. Such visits were a show of colonial communities. Many of these The situation in European nations solidarity on the part of the father- were supported by the German state is particularly in need of additional land with its citizens living abroad, with direct financial contributions, scholarly attention and promises to emphasizing feelings of unity and pedagogical assistance, and school yield rewarding results. nationalism. As Manz indicates, Ger- books. By 1914, of the 2,600 Ger- man merchants usually felt greater man instructors teaching in schools connections with other German abroad, about 700 had been sent out merchants across the globe than with by the German Foreign Office. Like compatriots living in their own com- the networks of Protestantism and munities. Even though Navy Clubs the Navy Clubs, schools provided were not organized in the United a transnational flow of information States, Manz notes evidence that among Germans scattered across the German merchants in San Francisco globe. Again, Germans in America voiced support for a strong impe- proved the exception, training their rial navy. And German-American own teachers and establishing few newspapers—such as one published formal contacts with Germany. in Appleton, Wisconsin—often However, Manz believes that the

7 Continued from page 1 for early Wisconsin, but whose details have all but been forgotten. Corps to prevent soil erosion. And As was the case all over Southern the footprint of an old settler cabin Wisconsin, the first Europeans who ties the land to German immigrants purchased land and built homesteads who inhabited the area in the mid- in what would become the Town of nineteenth century. Middleton were Yankees from the For the last six months the Max Northeastern United States and im- Kade Institute has worked with the migrants from the British Isles who Conservancy to find out more about arrived in the 1840s. According to the early German settlers. Mel Pope, U.S. Census data, only 233 people whose family owned the land before lived in the township in 1850. Of it became a public park, had already these only one family (three individ- learned from local residents that uals) came from “Germany.” By 1860, the family of a farm laborer from the town’s population had more than Mecklenburg named Joachim Goth quintupled to about 1,300 residents. Left to right: Carl Goth, his wife Sophia, Joachim lived on the site in the late 1860s and That year, the Census lists 321 people Goth, Hanne Sophie Goth (mother of Carl and 1870s. A grandniece of Joachim, Mae as born in the Northeastern States, Joachim) Goth Hartwig, who still lives in the 158 born in the British Isles and Town of Middleton, has shared the Ireland, and 382 born in Wisconsin land, France, and Canada), most of story of her family as well as historic (almost all young children). But new whom seem to have had family ties documents, including letters writ- as a category are 188 persons born with the immigrants from Mecklen- ten by Joachim. Using this material, in Mecklenburg and another 121 burg and the other German states. census data, and other records, we born in other German states (mostly Furthermore, the “dwelling numbers” were able to put together some of the Prussia and “Germany”). Only 19 reveal that Mecklenburgers and other history of this Mecklenburg-German individuals were born in other coun- German-speakers lived close together settlement, a history that is typical tries (Denmark, Norway, Switzer- within the township. The Census offers more intriguing information about this new German-speaking community. Many of the Mecklenburgers had arrived between 1852 and 1855, almost all coming as young couples and families, many of which were related. Only four different occupations are listed for the heads of households (all male): 44 were farmers who owned land valued between $400 and $3,000 dollars; 16 were day laborers, who lived independently with their families (one-third owned land valued between $100 and $600); nine were farm laborers (young men who lived and worked on someone else’s Carl and Sophia Goth, posing in front of the log cabin that in earlier years was their first farm—none of which were owned by home in the Town of Middleton (photo ca. 1890) Mecklenburgers); and two men were

8 self-employed blacksmiths. But why did these families leave their homeland and choose to settle in Middleton? Letters from the Goth family and other documents fill in some of the picture. We do not know when exactly the very first Mecklen- burger arrived, but we know that by 1852 several families had gathered to establish the First Evangelical Lu- theran Congregation of Middleton. They had left their homeland for economic reasons and chose to settle in Wisconsin because of the affordable, An envelope addressed to Carl Goth from relatives in Mecklenburg: An Carl Goth, Stade Wieskon- quality land available there. Once sien, Madison, Middeltaun, Nord Amerika the first person had chosen a specific Mecklenburg, Fritz Elver, living with Where did the German-speaking location, others from his hometown his family in a small cabin on land children go to school? What clubs followed to purchase land nearby, owned by Elver—the land that today and organizations existed in the and several wrote letters back home is Pope Farm Conservancy. community? How many descendants to encourage family and friends to In April of this year, three edu- of the early settlers still live in the join them. The Goth family is an cational signs were installed where area? And what other stories and example of this chain migration. the cabin once stood. Created with documents are yet to be found? Vivid In 1855, “Uncle” Jürgen (John) elementary school students in mind, descriptions of the early years in the Goth from the village of Picher in who at the fourth-grade level in community can be found in the “His- Mecklenburg-Schwerin purchased Wisconsin study state history, the tory of the First German Evangelical land in the Township of Middleton. signs give an overview of German Lutheran Congregation in the Town Two years later, his nephew Carl immigration to America, depict an of Middleton,” written in German in (Charles) Goth and a young woman early settlement log cabin, and de- 1902 on the occasion of the church’s from a neighboring village, Ma- scribe what life may have been like at fiftieth anniversary (see page 4). If ria Grandt, arrived. Their journey this location in the second half of the you are in the vicinity, visit Pope was financed by Jürgen’s brother, a nineteenth century. A map lays out Farm Conservancy and experience a well-to-do farmer in Mecklenburg. the journey of two to three months taste of German-American history in Shortly after that, Maria married from Mecklenburg to Middleton, and the landscape. Jürgen, and Carl began working the names of early settlers are listed, on the farm of another immigrant many of which can still be found in from Picher: August Stolte. In 1859, the community today. August Stolte died, and Carl married The Max Kade Institute will work his widow, Sophia. Meanwhile, Carl’s with elementary school teachers brother Joachim and other relatives to create additional classroom and and friends from Mecklenburg wrote outreach materials. We know that a to him and voiced their interest in strong German-speaking community coming to America, too. Finally, in was sustained in the Town of Middle- 1867, Joachim (James) made the ton for a number of decades, but journey with his wife and son and many questions remain: Who was the his mother. He worked as a day very first settler from Mecklenburg? laborer for another immigrant from

9 LECTURE REPORT

The American Civil War As a Transatlantic Event Kevin Kurdylo

ndrew Zimmerman’s March dissatisfied with the ensuing status 21st presentation concern- quo left for America in search of ing the American Civil War freedom. Those who ended up in the Aand its aftermath expands our hori- American Midwest may initially have zons beyond our borders and casts a felt cut off from pressing political transnational light upon the subject. issues, but it was exactly there—par- His multi-disciplinary approach—us- ticularly where free states bordered ing political, economic, social, and slave states—that the simmering is- anthropological ideas—shows the sue of slavery came to a scalding boil. global interplay of revolution and The passing of the Fugitive Slave Act counterrevolution, modernization, in 1850 was especially galling, as it and imperialism, as he strives to required these idealistic immigrants comprehend developments of the to support what they believed to be late-nineteenth and early-twentieth an unjust system. centuries. German immigrants joined the Distilling a large and complex Union Army in droves, and a num- amount of information into one ber of the leading Forty-Eighters Andrew Zimmerman lecture, Zimmerman spoke of a were given positions of military world of this era where events taking authority. The veterans from Europe and Europeans took a variety of posi- place on both sides of the Atlantic, had learned that moderation was tions vis-à-vis the issues here. The specifically in the United States, the disastrous to the success of a revolu- majority of the citizens in Prussia German Empire, and West Africa, tion, and they knew that abolition enthusiastically supported the Union also crisscrossed the Atlantic, involv- had to be an aim of the war. There- cause, while the nobility and army ing revolutionaries and workers, fore, they energetically promoted the officers were adverse to revolution- enslaved and free, white and black. use of revolutionary strategies such ary movements; Napoleon III sought These encounters could be stimulat- as emancipating and arming Blacks, common cause with the Confedera- ing or incendiary, with outcomes and began to do so without the of- cy; and Karl Marx, now living in exile that were liberating or oppressive for ficial sanction of other political and in Britain, praised Lincoln as the entire peoples. military leaders in the North. This anti-Napoleon and hero of the work- As Zimmerman points out, the role form of war by means of popular ingman. But as the war itself came to played by German-speaking “Forty- uprising proved successful: Leaders an end, debates over Reconstruction Eighters” in the American Civil in the field knew that emancipated and universal rights continued within War has been the subject of much slaves would fight to maintain their the United States, and, surprisingly, investigation and is well known. In freedom; and, as an added advantage, some of the Forty-Eighters them- Europe, the revolutions of 1848– former slaves who worked aban- selves began to take more conserva- 1849—though unsuccessful—led to doned plantations along the rivers tive and even reactionary positions, an awakening of political awareness denied Confederate guerillas the op- including Carl Schurz. among the bourgeoisie and prole- portunity to assault Union ships. Zimmerman reveals similar and tariat; and not only the revolutions’ Throughout the world, America’s related changes in Africa as he shifts refugees, but also many who were Civil War attracted much attention, Continued on page 15

10 BOOK REVIEW

Nourishing the Heritage: Immigrant Gardens in Wisconsin Marilyn Herman

European countries read advertise- and kohlrabi), alliums (onion, garlic, ments or got information from pub- and leek), greens (corn salad, endive, lished reports and personal accounts lettuce, or spinach), legumes (such as sent back home; and they put faith beans and peas), and herbs (caraway, in their own ability, stamina, health, dill, parsley, summer savory, marjo- and hard work, believing that it ram, and thyme). A German garden would be worthwhile to leave family could easily be identified by its cu- and friends behind. cumber vines for fresh and pickled German immigrants from the treats to spice up family meals. 1840s to mid-1860s came mainly Marcia Carmichael is a historical from southern Germany; from the gardener on the staff of Old World mid-1860s to late 1870s from north- Wisconsin, a living history museum ern Germany; and in the final wave, encompassing more than 500 acres, Putting Down Roots: Gardening In- from the late 1870s to 1890, from which is operated by the Wisconsin sights from Wisconsin’s Early Settlers. northeastern Germany. Among Wis- Historical Society. In this work, she By Marcia Carmichael. Madison: consin’s nineteenth-century immi- provides real-life stories and photos Wisconsin Historical Society Press, grants, the group from German lands of settler homes and gardens, draw- 2011. was largest; and they were known ing the reader into each chapter with for their sense of order, practicality, glimpses into the family life, the ardens today are as much and aesthetic sense. Early garden values, and the homes built in this a living testimony to our beds allowed for efficient hoeing, and country by various ethnic groups, as hopes, way of life, and fam- sawdust walkways held down the well as their occupations, the roles of Gily values as they were for Wisconsin’s weeds. Unlike farmland in Germany, men, women, and children, and their early settlers, who could also honor which had been at a premium, land beloved gardens. Book chapters fo- their heritage and build a connection holdings in Wisconsin were large, cus on Yankee, German, Norwegian, to their past by planting vegetables, and they had to be cleared of trees, Irish, Danish, Polish, and Finnish herbs, and fruits from their home- stumps, and rocks. Intensive and settler gardens. Each group had a land. Newcomers felt pride and con- rotational cropping, composting, unique approach to gardening, dif- fidence as they made for themselves a animal and pest control, and food ferent planting techniques, and dif- successful life in Wisconsin, feeding storage techniques like root cellar- ferent varieties of vegetables grown, hardworking family members, stor- ing were embraced by German im- fruits cultivated, herbs for flavoring, ing fresh produce in root cellars, or migrants. Equipment advancements and medicinal plants and flowers preparing jams and jellies, honey like hand cultivators transformed to lift the spirits. Each chapter also and maple syrup for their table. And the earlier bed gardens to row gar- includes hearty recipes that highlight plants and flowers, both familiar and dens for efficiency. German gardens the tastes and cooking talents of the new, brought a touch of color and boasted a wider variety of plants than industrious people who made Wis- fragrance to many settlers’ gardens. most other immigrant gardens, in- consin so special. The decision to seek a better eco- cluding root vegetables (beet, carrot, Marilyn Herman is the Family Living nomic, social, or civic life in another celeriac, horseradish, potato, summer Educator at UW–Extension in Wau- country could not have been an easy or winter radish, and turnips), cole paca County. She learned to garden one. Potential immigrants in many crops (red and green cabbage, kale, with her German grandmothers.

11 BOOK REVIEW

Spotlight on St. Louis in the Civil War Era Cora Lee Kluge

The Great Heart of the Republic: St. West, whose territories had recently institution of national significance, Louis and the Cultural Civil War. By been augmented by the vast lands and the magnificent Court House Adam Arenson. Cambridge, Mass., of the Mexican Cession. Thus in the was completed-and remodeled. and London: Harvard University aftermath of the massive city fire of After the end of the Civil War, some Press, 2011. 1849, which destroyed large portions even promoted a plan to have St. of the original French settlement Louis replace Washington, D.C., as ocusing on the city of St. Lou- along the Mississippi River, it saw an the capital of the United States; and is, Arenson presents a study opportunity to reorient itself from with the creation of Forest Park, of mid-nineteenth-century “the world of the Caribbean and its whose size and elegance was to rival FAmerica, which is both impressive, slave society” to a new position as New York’s Central Park, the city’s sound scholarship and also enjoyable “Gateway to the West.” It attempted image was enhanced still further. reading for broad audiences. The city to attract and develop and hoped to Arenson narrates the story of St. lay at the intersection between the profit from the most important rail- Louis in this period of growth and North and the South—as students road lines connecting the East with grandiose plans and dreams. The of the period know. But the author the West, and it took steps to become two main figures, both advocates of adds another dimension, as St. Louis a major cultural center: Washington a central role for St. Louis within was also aware of the central role it University was established, the St. the nation, are Thomas Hart Benton, could play vis-à-vis the developing Louis Mercantile Library became an long-time senator from Missouri and champion of westward expan- sion, and William Greenleaf Eliot, educator, Unitarian minister, and civic leader in St. Louis. But there are other important participants, too, including Frank Preston Blair, Jr., and Charles Drake, and events such as the Dred Scott case, which attracted the attention of the nation. Because the spotlight is on St. Louis, national political figures such as Abraham Lincoln, and even the Civil War itself, remain more in the background; and yet this urban and cultural history of a city succeeds in weaving its story together with regional and national events. In the central chapter entitled “Germans and the Power of Wartime Logan Reavis, right, promoted a plan to move the U.S. capital to St. Louis. Missouri’s two U.S. senators, Carl Schurz, left, and Charles Drake, center, seem here to take different points of Union,” Arenson highlights the key view. This cartoon by Austrian-American artist Joseph Ferdinand Keppler appeared on May 21, 1870, in Die Vehme, a humorous weekly published in St. Louis. part played by the St. Louis German Americans in keeping the city firmly under Union control. He sorts out the

12 there are immigrants and immigrant groups too often forgotten because they communicated in a foreign tongue. St. Louis did not became the nation’s railroad center: Its hopes were dashed with the collapse of the bridge over the Gasconade River in November of 1855, which plunged dignitaries on the first train trip from St. Louis to Jefferson City to their deaths. The Civil War also took its toll on the city’s successful develop- ment: Washington University was nearly closed, the Mercantile Library struggled with financial problems, and in the aftermath of the Chicago fire of 1871, investment shifted to the rebuilding of that city. But Arenson’s In this cartoon, insurance salesmen offer travel policies to potential clients, reminding them work is not the narrowly conceived of the Gasconade railroad bridge disaster of 1855. Cartoon by Joseph Ferdinand Keppler, Die Vehme, June 18, 1880. story of the rise and fall of St. Louis. Instead, it succeeds in contributing to stance they took toward the presi- And after the end of the Civil War, our understanding of the evolution of dential candidates in the election of the influential (if short-lived) Liberal the country as a whole in the thirty 1860, as well as the importance of Republican Party began in St. Louis years following the great St. Louis Carl Schurz and Gustav Körner in under the leadership of Carl Schurz, fire. campaigning for Lincoln. The rift making the area again the focus of Arenson’s innovative monograph within the state became apparent American political power. is the well-deserved winner of a with the election results: Missouri Arenson’s monograph is a first- Charles Redd Center Book Award. was the only state won by Douglas, class example of how much richer Its lengthy notes and Archival Bib- while St. Louis became the larg- American history can be when it liography point the scholar toward est city in a slave state to vote for takes into account the German- a wealth of materials, including Lincoln. Arenson narrates the events American point of view. The author government documents and records of May 1861, when the struggle for includes six German-language of businesses, churches, and histori- control of the U.S. Arsenal in St. publications among the newspapers cal societies; and it will inspire new Louis ended in the surrender of the and magazines listed in his Archival approaches and further research for state militia at Camp Jackson and Bibliography, and not only a number years to come. At the same time, it is skirmishes that resulted in fatalities. of the well-known German-Amer- to be recommended as a fascinating, Governor Claiborne Jackson and his ican individuals, such as Heinrich even suspenseful text, beautifully followers traveled to Jefferson City, Börnstein, Emanuel Leutze, Joseph written, and an excellent book for burning railroad bridges along the Pulitzer, and Carl Schurz, as well summertime reading. way to impede pursuing Unionist as many less familiar ones, but also troops—as was, incidentally, de- the German Americans as a group scribed in Otto Ruppius’s short story figure prominently in his narrative. entitled Bill Hammer. (See the MKI Among the important contributors Friends Newsletter, Winter 2009.) to America’s history, as we know,

13 Continued from page 3 about Pam see the summer 2010 Newsletter. The Friends thanked outgoing members Peter Monkmeyer and Sandy Casterline for their dedicated service on the Board and to the MKI. For many years, as assistant to the Treasurer, Peter has dealt with the Friends’ nitty-gritty business details; and Sandy most recently has been the Board’s Secretary. Max Gaebler, originally from Watertown, former Following the annual meeting, the Board member and lifetime Friend new Board elected officers for the 2012–2013 term. They are: James there. Because many in the audience Kleinschmidt (President), Charles have their own personal connections James (Vice President), Elizabeth to Watertown, the unique history of Greene (Treasurer), and John Puste- what once was Wisconsin’s second jovsky (Secretary). largest city was a welcome part of our Ed Langer in front of the Octogon House The evening concluded with a gathering. We thank Ed Langer for presentation by Professor Jeffrey organizing this great event and look been restored and decorated to show Wallman, whose father Charles Wall- forward to the Friends’ next annual a mid-nineteenth century kinder- man wrote the MKI publication The meeting in May 2013 in Eau Claire, garten class in progress. Also on German-speaking 48ers of Water- Wisconsin. display are the age-appropriate toys town, Wisconsin. Professor Wallman developed by Fröbel (“Fröbel’s gifts”) not only recounted the fascinating that were revolutionary at the time, history of those German-speaking variations of which can now be found immigrants who settled Watertown in many a child’s toy box. after the failed European revolutions The afternoon continued at Lind- of 1848, but also told stories about berg’s on the River restaurant with his father and his own upbringing the annual business meeting. Jim Kleinschmidt and Gary Gisselman were elected for a second term on the Board of Directors, and Pamela Tesch (Oconomowoc) and Hans Bernet (Monroe) joined as new members. Hans, now retired from the Swiss Colony in Monroe, has served as a Board member once before, from 2005 until 2011. There is more information about Hans in the Fall 2005 Friends Newsletter. Pam, who holds a Ph.D. in German Literature from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, A full house at Lindberg’s on the River has been a Friend of the Institute for a long time. For more information

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Continued from page 10 Andrew Zimmerman’s work is both intriguing and thought-provoking, our attention to the situation in as was shown by the lively discussion Togo. After the worldwide decline that followed his lecture. Through his of the slave trade, the Ewe people of original approach, he has opened up the region had developed an au- new and exciting ways to understand tonomous and democratic political history-within a global context. economy where women were not dependent upon men. Their liberal, classless society came to an end when Togo became a German colony, and in 1901 the colonial administra- tors brought a delegation of African Americans from Alabama’s Tuskegee Institute to introduce American The Newsletter of the Friends of the Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies is methods for growing cotton. This published three times a year at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Submissions are invited imposed the unequal social model of and should be sent to: the New South on West Africa, and is an example of how the United States’ Kevin Kurdylo Friends of the Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies revolution and counterrevolution on 901 University Bay Drive, Madison, WI 53705 its own continent played a role on Phone: (608) 262-7546 the other side of the Atlantic. Zim- Fax: (608) 265-4640 merman is extending his research [email protected] into additional regions, such as the mki.wisc.edu southern Atlantic. maxkade.blogspot.com

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