A JOURNAL OF
GERMAN-AMERICAN HISTORY Cover: All drawings by H. C. Forman. Courtsey of the Estate of H. C. Forman.
VOLUME XLIII 1996
A JOURNAL OF GERMAN-AMERICAN HISTORY
PUBLISHED BY THE
SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF THE GERMANS IN MARYLAND
RANDALL DONALDSON EDITOR
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND COPYRIGHT 1996 THE SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF THE GERMANS IN MARYLAND P.O. Box 22585
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND 21203 ISSN: 0148-7787
PARTIAL FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR THIS VOLUME WAS PROVIDED BY THE GERMAN SOCIETY OF MARYLAND IN MEMORY OF WILLIAM H. MCCLAIN.
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE EDITORIAL BOARD ...... 4
MEMBERS AND OFFICERS ...... 5 OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY, 1886-1990 ...... 8
IN MEMORIAM, WILLIAM H. MCCLAIN, 1917-1994 ...... 11
INVITATION ...... 13
GERMAN-AMERICAN ENTERPRISES AND INSTITUTIONS OF BALTIMORE: PART III BY WILLIAM H. MCCLAIN ...... 15 TYPES OF GERMAN SURNAME CHANGES IN AMERICA By JÜRGEN EICHHOFF ...... 23
WHO WERE THE FIRST GLASSMAKERS IN ENGLISH AMERICA? BY GARY C. GRASSL ...... 37
THE APPRENTICE YEARS OF JACOB GROSS, SUPERINTENDENT OF THE STIEFF PIANO COMPANY, AS RECORDED IN His AUTOBIOGRAPHY BY WILLIAM H. McCLAIN AND HELEN PERRY SMITH ...... 43
ROBERT REITZEL (1849-1898), LUTHERAN MINISTER, FREETHINKER, AND LIBERAL FIREBRAND BY RANDALL DONALDSON ...... 57 CARL VON MARK: POETIC REALIST BY PETER C. MERRILL ...... 67
JOHN GOTTLIEB MORRIS (1803-1895): FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF THE GERMANS IN MARYLAND BY MICHAEL J. KURTZ ...... 7S
HESSIAN PARTICIPATION IN THE ATTACK ON FORT WASHINGTON, 1776 AND THE OCCUPATION OF NORTHERN NEW JERSEY, 1777 BY GEORGE FENWICK JONES ...... 81 GERMAN COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE IN FREDERICK COUNTY: THE MILL POND HOUSE — DEARBOUGHT — THE HESSIAN BARRACKS BY BRIGITTE VOELKEL FESSENDEN ...... 91
BOOK REVIEWS ...... 101 CONTRIBUTORS ...... 103
-3- EDITORIAL BOARD
RANDALL P. DONALDSON LEROY T. HOPKINS G. KENNETH HORVATH GEORGE FENWICK JONES LLESELOTTE E. KURTH ARMIN MRUCK FREDERICK S. WEISER DANIEL F. WHITEFORD ROSEMARY WITTSTADT KLAUS WUST
Editorial Policy: The Society far the History of the Germans in Maryland is dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of materials pertaining to the history of the Germans in North America, particularly the state of Maryland and the mid-Atlantic region. The Report provides a forum for the discussion of scholarly issues which are central to the Society's pur- pose and invites articles which deal with any aspect of the history and culture of the Ger- man element in North America, from materials which support genealogical research (the Society itself does not undertake such research) to studies which examine the sociological, historical, or literary aspects of the German-American experience. Articles which focus on the Germans in Maryland are especially welcome. Manuscripts are accepted at any time and should be directed to the editor at the address listed below. All submissions should be made in triplicate and should contain no information which identifies the author or would other- wise prevent an anonymous review of the manuscript by members of the editorial board. Authors should include a single separate sheet identifying themselves and providing other relevant information. All submissions will be read by at least two members of the editorial board. Authors will normally receive notice of the outcome of the review process within six weeks of receipt. Accepted articles will be published in the next issue, and authors can ex- pect to see their work in print within eighteen months of the original submission. Manu- scripts should be in English and follow the form suggested by the Modern Language Associ- ation. Non-English quotations should be accompanied by an English translation.
Manuscripts should be directed to:
Randall Donaldson, Editor, The Report Modern Languages and Literatures Loyola College in Maryland Baltimore, MD 21210-2699
-4- MEMBERS AND OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF THE GERMANS IN MARYLAND 1992-1995
CHARLES T. ALBERT RANDALL P. DONALDSON KATHERINE ALBRECHT DONALD F. DURNBAUGH ALBERT M. AMMANN THOMAS O. EDICK RICHARD G. ANDERSON RAYMOND A. EHRLE AMUEL NDRUSKO S M. A JÜRGEN EICHHOFF JOHN J. APPEL, JR. BARBARA EISEMAN MERLE E. ARP CLEMENT D. ERHARDT, JR. JANE K. AWALT LILA M. ERHARDT ROBERT F. AWALT JOHN C. EXTER, JR. BETTY BANDEL DORIS L. EXTER ROBERT BAUMANN JOHN F. FADER II C. RICHARD BEAM KATHRYN K. FADER GEORGE J. BEICHL BRIGITTE VOELKEL FESSENDEN ISABEL M. BEICHL NICHOLAS B. FESSENDEN DAVID BENSELER DELORIS M. FISCHER BARBARA M. BEYER ERNEST J. FISCHER O.JOHN BEYER JOHN FLAHERTY LlESELOTTE H. BlEBER RITA FLAHERTY EGON BINKERT WILLIAM A. FOGLE, JR. IRMGARD BINKERT ALLEN E. FORD RUDOLF W. BIRNBACH M. IRENE FORD CHARLES BIRNSTIEL ELFRIEDE G. FOWLER GARY BLOUGH RICHARD N. FOWLER JEAN KOLB BRANDAU WILLY W. FRÜH LAURA J. BRICKER WILLIAM T. S. BRICKER JAMES A. GEDE MARY LOUISE BROADBECK HANNA GELDRICH-LEFFMAN LORRAINE J. BROCKMEYER GERMAN GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA R. ROLAND BROCKMEYER MID-ATLANTIC GERMANIC SOCIETY BRIAN W. BROOKE MARGOT C. GIUFFRE D. WILLIAM BROOKE K, PETER GLAUBER DANDRIDGE BROOKE KENNETH RALPH GLAUBER ISOLDE BROOKE MARILYN R. GLAUBER CHARLES E. BROOKS GERTRUDE K. GOEDEKE LLOYD R. BRUCK M. THOMAS GOEDEKE SAUNA D. BRUCK CONCETTA C. GOETZINGER RICHARD N. GOETZINGER RAYMOND N. CALVERT FRANZ X. GROLL JANICE M. CARPER BETTYJ. GRUEL WILLIAM F. CASEY HARRY D. GRUEL BETTY L. CASEY KLAUS HAIN ROBERT E. CAZDEN JANE ADAMS CLARKE MARGERY W. HARRISS SHEILA D. COLE ILSE MOELLER HARROP DWIGHT COLLMUS CHARLOTTE R. HARTMEYER SERENE Q. COLLMUS CHARLOTTE F. HASSLINGER JEROME FRANCIS CONNELL, HARRY E. HASSLINGER SR. ELWOOD DOUGLAS HEISLER EDWARD F. COOLEY JOHN CHARLES HEISLER ALBERT J. CRAEMER MAUREEN M. HELINSKI WILLIAM M. HESSON, JR. DAVID A. DENISCH ROBERT HEYSSEL HARLEYD. DESHLER ORMOND D. HIGGINS C. LYNN DEWITT DAVID P. HIVELY EMILY NORDHOFF DICICCO GINA M. HOMER ROBERT A. DICICCO KENNETH H. HOMER, JR. CLAYTON A. DIETRICH LEROY T. HOPKINS MARGARET A. DIETRICH
-5- G. KENNETH HORVATH THOMAS J. MURPHY III MICHAEL R. HUBER GARY E. MYER M. LOIs HUFFINES MARGARET E. MYERS THOMAS B. INSLEY, SR. MARLENE E. NAEGELE RICHARD NAEGELE KAREN M.JOHNSON-WIENER LARRY M.NEFF GEORGE FENWICK JONES ELISABETH JORDAN MARY OBBINK PETER F. JORDAN* ALFRED OBERNBERGER GEORGE B. JUNGHANS DOROTHY E. OTTER HERBERT G. OTTER, SR. DONALD G. KAMMERER H. J. SIEGFRIED OTTO JANICE KAMMERER A. BARBEL OTTO BARBARA W. KINGSTON WILLIAM JAMES KINGSTON GERD H. PETRICH ELIZABETH D. KINSLEY JOHN W. PFEIFER REUBEN CLARK KINSLEY WALTRAUD S. PFEIFER HARRY W. KLASMEIER PHILIP E. PFEIFFER, JR. FREDERICK P. KLAUS JOHN POTTHAST SUE ANN NORDHOFF KLAUS CONSTANCE F. POTTHAST THOMAS E. KLUG THEODORE J. POTTHAST, JR. INGEBORG B. KNIGHT THEODORE J. POTTHAST, SR. CALVIN KERN KOBSA JAMES W. POULTNEY* NICHOLAS J. KOHLERMAN HERMINE E. PRAHL JUNE KOHLMAN FRANCIS W. PRAMSCHUFER Louis H. KOHLMAN M. ELLEN PRAMSCHUFER DAVID Koss DAVID J. PRELLER, JR. HERTHA KROTKOFF DAVID J. PRELLER, SR. LlESELOTTE E. KURTH WILLIAM RAMSEUR MICHAEL J. KURTZ HELEN L. RANGEL LANCASTER Co. HISTORICAL SOCIETY LIBRARY THOMAS REIMER DENNIS C. LANDIS GUENTER E. REINSBERG JOSEPH LANG MARION L. REINSBERG NORMAN W. LAUENSTEIN WALTER A. REITER.JR. JACQUELINE R. LESSER WILLIAM F. RENNER RICHARD LINDENBERG VERBRAUNIA RHODES HAROLD S. LINK LAVERNJ. RIPPLEY MARY Jo A. LINK JOHN A. ROBINSON ROBERT J. LITTLE LEWIS B. ROHRBACH E. ELIZABETH LITZINGER R. GARY ROOP ALBERT L. LONG JOEL ROPPELT PAUL A. LUDTKE* MAY ROSWELL ROBERT H. RUPPRECHT ANGELA D. MAENNER* C. PAUL MAENNER GEORGE F. SANDER, JR. IRVINJ. MARLEY WILLIAM DONALD SCHAEFER MAUREEN O. MARTELLO PAUL SCHAFER ARTHUR R. MASON DIETRICH SCHAUPP MARYG. MASON MARIE A. SCHEFFEL ANN HARDIGG MATHEWS VERNON L. SCHEFFEL L. BRENT MATHEWS LEO SCHELBERT WILLIAM H. MCCLAIN REGINA M. SCHEYDT ELLEN C. MERRILL AUSTIN F. SCHILDWACHTER ELFRIEDE M. METZLER VOLKER K. SCHMEISSNER RANDALL M. MILLER ERNESTINE SCHMIDT ANNE F. MOELLER C. EUGENE SCHMIDT KARL E. MOELLER JOHN GORDON SCHMIDT CHARLOTTE M. MONAGHAN Louis E. SCHMIDT CATHERINE G. MOTZ WILLIAM D. SCHMIDT, SR. JOHN E. MOTZ JOHANNES J. SCHMITZ ARMIN MRUCK ROSWITHA E. J. SCHMITZ
-6- ROSE C. SCHOENEMANN LEO R. WASTLER WILLIAM M. SCHOENEMANN PHYLLIS WASTLER DORIS B. SCHOLTHOLT ADAM WEBER WILLIAM T. SCHOLTHOLT GLORIA WEBER ADOLF E. SCHROEDER FREDERICK S. WEISER M. EVE SCHULTHEISS MARIE E. WELLER LESTER W.J.SEIFERT RALPH L. WELLER, JR. DOROTHEA SELETZKY EDWIN O. WENCK MARGARET D. SHERMAN PATRICIA K. WENCK MARIE A. SKOWRONEK JOHN R. WESKE RICHARD SKOWRONEK PAUL WEYKAMP A. RUSSELL SLAGLE CHRISTINE H. WHITE ROBERT LEE SLINGLUFF WILLIAM N. WHITE J. ELIZABETH SMITH DANIEL F. WHITEFORD WILLIAM A. SMITH III DOROTHY K. WHITEFORD JAMES E. STAUDENHEIMER LINGARD I. WHITEFORD ANN F. STEIN MARGARET WIEGAND CHARLES F. STEIN III SHIRLEYJ. WIESAND JEAN R. STEIN VERNON H. WIESAND CLAIRE V. M. STIEFF ROBERT LEE WILHELM GABRIELE STRAUCH PETER A. WINKEL JOSEPH G. STREAMER CARL H. WINKLER JUNE A. STREAMER GEORGE WITTSTADT EMILY I. WITTSTADT LOWELL S. THOMPSON GERARD WM. WITTSTADT DONALD E. TILLMAN GLENN L. WITTSTADT, JR. IRMA G. TILLMAN GLENN L. WITTSTADT, SR. DON HEINRICH TOLZMANN KLAUS WITTSTADT GEORGE E. TROUT LYNNE M. WITTSTADT RUTHE TROUT MARK H. WITTSTADT JOHN N. TRUDELL ROSEMARY H. WITTSTADT H. EDWARD VINCENT HERBERT E. WITZ WILLIAM A. VOGEL KLAUS WUST SONJA O. VOGEL JOHN E. YOUNG, SR. ANNA K. VON SCHWERDTNER EDITH VON ZEMENSZKY JOSEPH ZEBLEY GEORGE H. VON PARIS, SR. NANCY ZEIGENFUSE MARY M. VON PARIS KENNETH EDWIN ZIMMERMANN KLAUS ZURHEIDE CHARLES L. WAECHTER H. RANDALL WARD *deceased JOANNE G. WASSON
-7- OFFICERS
HON. GERARD WM. WITTSTADT...... President DR. HANNA GELDRICH-LEFFMAN ...... First Vice-President MR. CLEMENT D. ERHARDT, JR ...... Second Vice-President Miss ANNA K. VON SCHWERDTNER ...... Secretary DR. RANDALL P. DONALDSON ...... Treasurer
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
DR. RANDALL DONALDSON DR. HANNA GELDRICH-LEFFMAN DR. G. KENNETH HORVATH DR. GEORGE FENWICK JONES REV. H. J. SIEGFRIED OTTO MR. THEODORE POTTHAST, JR. MR. CHARLES F. STEIN, III REV. FREDERICK S. WEISER WILLIAM N. WHITE HON. GERARD WM. WITTSTADT MR. KLAUS WUST
OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF THE GERMANS IN MARYLAND, 1886-1990
PRESIDENTS DR ERNEST SCHWIEBERT REV. JOHN GOTTLIEB MORRIS ...... 1886-1895 . G...... 1956-1958 PROF VON SCHWERDTNER REV. BENJAMIN SADTLER ...... 1896-1900 . E. O...... 1958-1962 PROF PRAHL Louis P. HENNIGHAUSEN ...... 1901-1906 . A. J...... 1962-1967 PROF HAROLD JANTZ DR. ERNEST J. BECKER ...... 1907-1911 ...... 1967-1975 RUSSELL SLAGLE Louis P. HENNIGHAUSEN ...... 1912-1917 A...... 1975-1983 VERNON WIESAND GEORGE PRECHTEL ...... 1918-1929 ...... 1983-1987 PROF. HANNA GELDRICH-LEFFMAN ...... 1987- THOMAS FOLEY HISKY ...... 1930-1936 PROF. WILLIAM KURRELMEYER ...... 1937-1951 ROBERT LEE SLINGLUFF, JR ...... 1951-1956 PROF. A. E. ZUCKER ...... 1956-1962 SECOND VICE-PRESIDENTS OTTO H. FRANKE ...... 1962-1967 CHARLES WEBER JR PROF. A. J. PRAHL ...... 1967-1970 , ...... 1886-1887 CHARLES F. STEIN, JR...... 1971-1975 PHILIP AUGUST ALBRECHT ...... 1888-1889 PROF. HAROLD JANTZ ...... 1975-1978 PROF. OTTO FUCHS ...... 1889-1890 PROF. CARRIE-MAY KURRELMEYER ZINTL . . . 1978-1987 REV. HENRY SCHEIB ...... 1891-1895 VERNON WIESAND ...... 1987-1988 Louis P. HENNIGHAUSEN ...... 1896-1897 EDWARD LEYH HON. GERARD WM. WITTSTADT ...... 1988- F. . ………………………….. 1897-1901 PROF. OTTO FUCHS ...... 1902-1905 PROF. HENRYWOOD ...... 1906-1907 REV. FR. PH. HENNIGHAUSEN ...... 1907-1911 FIRST VICE-PRESIDENTS GEORGE PRECHTEL ...... 1912-1917 Louis P. HENNIGHAUSEN ...... 1886-1895 LOUIS C. SCHNEIDEREITH ...... 1918-1922 REV. HENRYSCHEIB ...... 1896-1897 C. OTTO SCHOENRICH ...... 1923-1929 Louis P. HENNIGHAUSEN ...... 1897-1900 THEODORE G. KRUG ...... 1930-1937 GEORGE W. GAIL ...... 1901-1905 LEWIS KURTZ ...... 1938-1951 PROF. OTTO FUCHS ...... 1906-1907 PROF. ARNO C. SCHIROKAUER ...... 1951-1954 PROF. HENRYWOOD ...... 1907-1918 REV. FRITZ O. EVERS ...... 1955-1959 GEORGE PRECHTEL ...... 1912-1917 REV. EDWARD F. ENGELBERT ...... 1959-1965 DR. ERNEST J. BECKER ...... 1911-1917 PROF. HAROLD JANTZ ...... 1965-1967 HENRY G. HILKEN ...... 1918-1937 CHARLES F. STEIN, JR ...... 1967-1971 J. GEORGE MOHLENRICH ...... 1938-1940 A. RUSSELL SLAGLE ...... 1971-1975 PROF. A. E. ZUCKER ...... 1940-1956 VERNON H. WIESAND ...... 1976-1983 PROF. WILLIAM H. McCLAIN ...... 1983-1987
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TREASURERS EDWARD NIEMANN ...... 1886-1888 ANDREW H. METTEE ...... 1926-1929 ROBERT M. ROTHER ...... 1889-1929 J. GEORGE MOHLHENRICH ...... 1926-1938 CONRAD C. RABBE ...... 1930-1937 LEWIS KURTZ ...... 1926-1938 CHARLES F. STEIN, JR ...... 1938-1967 DR. HANS FROELICHER ...... 1929-1930 DR. MORGAN H. PRITCHETT ...... 1967-1971 CHARLES F. STEIN, JR ...... 1936-1938 GORDON M. F. STICK, SR ...... 1971-1978 PROF. JOHN C. HEMMETER ...... 1930-1931 DANDRIDGE BROOKE ...... 1978-1983 CARL W. PRIOR ...... 1937-1939 ELIZABETH LITZINGER ...... 1983-1987 REV. JOHN G. HACKER, S. J ...... 1938-1946 PROF. RANDALL P. DONALDSON ...... 1987- DR. ERNEST J. BECKER ...... 1939-1949
R. LEE SLINGLUFF, JR ...... 1939-1951 REV. FRITZ O. EVANS ...... 1942-1955 WALTER E. BEUCHELT ...... 1944-1951 SECRETARIES HERBERT W. SCHAEFER ...... 1949-1951 REV. FR. PH. HENNIGHAUSEN ...... 1886-1905 REV. EDWARD F. ENGELBERT ...... 1949-1953 J. LEONARD HOFFMAN ...... 1905-1911 PROF. AUGUSTUS J. PRAHL ...... 1951-1956 J. CONRAD UHLIG ...... 1911-1913 WILLIAM T. SNYDER, JR ...... 1951-1981 DR. JOHANNES MATTERN ...... 1913-1917 HERBERT F. KUENNE ...... 1953-1958 ANDREW H. METTEE ...... 1918-1933 PROF. WILLIAM H. MCCLAIN ...... 1955-1988 CHARLES H. MIEGEL ...... 1934-1944 KARL F. STEINMANN ...... 1956-1958 PROF. DIETER CUNZ ...... 1944-1956 PROF. O. E. VON SCHWERDTNER ...... 1956-1957 PROF. AUGUSTUS J. PRAHL ...... 1956-1962 KARL W. SCHLITZ ...... 1957-1958 DR. MORGAN H. PRITCHETT ...... 1962-1983 PROF. HAROLD JANTZ ...... 1958-1987 DR. WILLIAM BURDEN ...... 1983-1988 A. RUSSELL SLAGLE ...... 1958-1971 ANNA K. VON SCHWERDTNER ...... 1988- KLAUS G. WUST ...... 1958- ALBERT P. BACKHAUS ...... 1962-1975 PROF. CHRISTOPH A. HERING ...... 1962-1967 HENRY R. HERGENROEDER ...... 1965-1970 CHAIRMEN OF THE EXECUTI VE OTTO H. FRANKE ...... 1967-1977 COMMITTEE PROF. WALTER KNOCHE ...... 1970-1975 DR. LEWIS H. STEINER ...... 1886-1891 WALTER G. LOHR, SR ...... 1970-1982 EDWARD F. LEYH ...... 1892-1893 DANDRIDGE BROOKE ...... 1975-1978 CHARLES F. RADDATZ ...... 1893-1901 VERNON H. WIESAND ...... 1975-1988 REV. EDWARD HUBER ...... 1901-1906 DR. KENNETH G. HORVATH ...... 1976- Louis P. HENNIGHAUSEN ...... 1907-1911 PROF. CARRIE-MAY K. ZINTL ...... 1977-1992 KARL A. M. SCHOLTZ ...... 1912-1941 FREDERICK WEHRENBERG ...... 1980-1987 CARL L. NITZE ...... 1942-1949 DR. WILLIAM BURDEN ...... 1981-1988 R. LEE SLINGLUFF, JR ...... 1949-1951 GARY E. MYER ...... 1981-1992 LEWIS KURTZ ...... 1951-1954 DR. GEORGE F.JONES ...... 1981- OTTO H. FRANKE ...... 1954-1962 REV. FREDERICK S. WEISER ...... 1981- PROF. HAROLD JANTZ ...... 1962-1965 DR. HOLDER K. HOMANN ...... 1982-1985 WILLIAM T. SNYDER, JR ...... 1965-1981 DR. HANNA GELDRICH-LEFFMAN ...... 1982- PROF. CARRIE-MAY K. ZINTL ...... 1981-1988 THEODORE POTTHAST, JR ...... 1983- HON. GERARD WM. WITTSTADT ...... 1988- ELIZABETH LITZINGER ...... 1983-1987 DR. ELKE BURDEN ...... 1985-1988 DR. PETER JORDAN ...... 1986-1992 MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIV E PROF. RANDALL DONALDSON ...... 1987- COMMITTEE 1925-1990 REV. H.J. SIEGFRIED OTTO ...... 1987- MR WILLIAM N. WHITE ...... 1992- C. WILLIAM SCHNEIDEREITH ...... 1925-1926 HON. GERARD WM. WITTSTADT ...... 1988- PROF. WILLIAM KURRELMEYER ...... 1926-1937 MR. CHARLES F. STEIN, III ...... 1989-
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Photo: Courtesy of Ferdinand Hamburger, Jr. Archives of the Johns Hopkins University.
-10- IN MEMORIAM WILLIAM H. McCLAIN 1917 -1994
his issue, the forty-third, of The Report is 65th birthday, one of the students who wrote a Tdedicated to the memory of Professor doctoral thesis with him expressed his grati- William H. McClain, who lost his life under tude by saying that one of the best things he tragic circumstances, the victim of a criminal had received from Bill and which he sought to attack, on May 16,1994. emulate in his own work, was "a style of teach- During his long and successful career as a ing and scholarship that actively elicits partici- scholar and teacher, Bill McClain always gener- pation of students in real discussions and treats ously shared his profound knowledge of Ger- literature as a thing of deep human interest— man literature, culture and history with his col- not merely as 'material' to be categorized, cata- leagues, friends and countless students, and he logued and transported to the consumer or as dedicated much of his time to serving pro- mere exemplification of more important philo- fessional organizations. sophical ideas or structural schemes." In 1939 Bill began his studies of German at Bill McClain's excellence as a teacher Case Western Reserve University in his native earned him numerous awards, among them a Cleveland. He did his graduate work at the special citation from the Hopkins administra- University of Wisconsin, where he received his tion, the Lindback award for distinguished doctorate in 1943. His first post was as an in- teaching, and the student council's Gilman structor in German in the Army Specialized Award. An honor of a different kind was the Training Program at Wisconsin. In the spring Distinguished Alumnus Award from his alma of 1945, he was assigned to the staff of Robert mater in 1967; and, in 1981, the Johns Hopkins Murphy, the U.S. political advisor to General Alumni Association honored him with its Her- Eisenhower, and was afterwards attached to the itage Award for exceptional service to the Uni- Consular Office in Frankfurt am Main. After versity. his service abroad he began his academic As a scholar widely known and respected in teaching career at Harvard University (1946- his field, Bill McClain has enriched German- 1952). He then taught from 1953 to 1982 at istic studies with important contributions of the Johns Hopkins University, where for seven lasting value to Romanticism, Realism and years he served as the chairman of the Depart- contemporary literature. He treated the writ- ment of German. ings of Goethe, Kleist, E. T. A. Hoffmann, Otto As a teacher of German, Bill devoted part of Ludwig, Gerhart Hauptmann, and Thomas his time to the instruction of undergraduates. Mann, in each case expanding our knowledge His classes were extraordinarily popular, at- of the author and the works he discussed. tracting students from various fields, many of He also made significant contributions to whom would perhaps not have studied this sub- the study of German-American literary rela- ject, an elective for most of them, if it had not tions, revealing and delineating far-reaching been for the contagious enthusiasm with which crosscurrents. He co-edited the letters of Ger- Bill taught the masterworks of German litera- stàcker, Bodenstedt, and Mûhlbach and pub- ture. His graduate seminars were also well at- lished articles on the importance of their tended, inspiring and highly informative, and, works for the American audience and on the as an advisor of doctoral candidates, Bill reception of their American novels and Reise- guided nearly thirty dissertations. Most of his berichte among German readers, whose image students are still following his excellent exam- of the United States was profoundly influenced ple, teaching German language and literature by these writings. to young Americans, thus keeping the tradi- Bill McClain wrote many reviews for the Bal- tion very much alive. In a letter of appre- timore Sun concerned with the works of promi- ciation, presented on the occasion of Bill's nent German writers, among them Kleist,
-11- Heine, Mann, Kafka, Frisch, Dürrenmatt, and Company, is in many ways characteristic of Nelly Sachs, addressing the general public, Bill's versatility. He was, of course, consistently conveying stimulating information which may interested in the academic study of great Ger- well have encouraged many a reader to acquire man writers and the elucidation of their fa- these books. mous works, but he also treated more mun- Active as an officer in several professional or- dane matters for the enlightenment of the ganizations, Bill founded the Maryland Chap- general reader. He enjoyed working with oth- ter of the American Association of Teachers of ers and in the process continued to make new German and was for many years (1954-1972) friends with whom he then collaborated, con- faculty advisor of Delta Phi Alpha, the national genially and effectively, on these projects. German honor society, of which he established Bill McClain's sudden death has saddened a chapter at Johns Hopkins. For a number of many. He is mourned here and abroad with years he served as President of the American deep sorrow. His friends will miss his kind and Goethe Society, which at its monthly meetings gentle ways and the eagerness with which he introduced many national and international shared his interesting experiences with them, scholars to the Baltimore community. often with a wonderful sense of humor; his The Society for the History of the Germans graduate students have lost a fatherly friend to in Maryland owes Bill McClain an immeasur- whom they could always turn for advice and able debt. From 1955 to the present he served encouragement; the many undergraduates he on the Executive Committee, from 1983-1987 taught and counseled long into his retirement as Second Vice President. A member and, most will fondly remember him because of his gen- recently, chairman of the Editorial Committee uine concern for their welfare and develop- ment; and our Society has lost an active and ar- of the The Report, he was substantially involved dent supporter. All of us will often think of Bill in the planning and preparation of various is- with appreciation for his friendship and loyalty, sues of our journal. The articles he published with great esteem for his excellent scholarly in The Report are evidence of his fascination work and with gratitude for his dedicated with the history of German-American relations participation in our continuing contribution in Maryland. His series of "Salutes" to the Ger- to the study of German-American relations. man-American business enterprises of Balti- more, beginning in 1990, is being concluded — Lieselotte E. Kurth in the present issue. His very last article, on The Johns Hopkins University Jacob Gross, superintendent of the Stieff Piano
-12- AN INVITATION
What we are today, we owe in part to our ancestors. Pride of ancestry is commendable in people wherever found. It is this feeling of pride that holds people together, that causes them to cherish and record the deeds of valor and the achievements of their kin. Indeed, it was a desire to share the glory and the past greatness of one's own people which led to the formation of The Society for the History of Germans in Maryland in 1886, a society which has distinguished itself in becoming the only group of its kind to reach the hundred-year milestone. The Society's purpose is to collect and preserve material which documents the history of the influence of the German element in the growth and development of the United States of America, with particular reference to the State of Maryland. In pursuance of these pur- poses, the Society has published, over the years, forty-three (43) volumes of its journal enti- tled, The Report: Ajournai of German-American History. Plans now call for the regular publica- tion of the Society's journal in January of every second year. In the belief that those who receive and read this volume are interested in preserving and perpetuating the knowledge of the meritorious role that those of German heritage have played in the making of our nation and of the State of Maryland, we take the liberty of invit- ing your cooperation by becoming a member of the Society and/or by making a contribu- tion to it. Once a year, the members of the Society gather for a dinner meeting. At this meeting, various activities of the Society are reported, and an outstanding historian presents a lec- ture on an aspect of the history of German-Americans. The annual dues are a modest fif- teen ($15.00) dollars per year (for either an individual or a couple) which entitles each member to a copy of the journal when it is published (a single issue is mailed to each ad- dress) . The Society is exempt from both federal and state taxes because of its purposes, and contributions made to the Society are tax deductible. So please remember the Society in your will. The following bequest form is suggested: "I bequest to The Society of the History of the Germans in Maryland, the sum of ______dollars ($ ) to be used by said corporation for the purpose for which it is incorporated." Trusting that we may have the pleasure of a favorable response to our invitation, we are, Very respectfully,
The Executive Committee
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GERMAN-AMERICAN ENTERPRISES AND INSTITUTIONS OF BALTIMORE: PART III n this issue of the Report the Society for the was succeeded in that year by his son, Carl. I History of the Germans in Maryland salutes After Carl's death in 1964 his twin sisters, the Schmidt Baking Company, the Potthast Katherine and Ernestine, and his widow took furniture Company, the engineering firm of over the duties of managing the company. In Edward Renneburg and Sons, the J. Furst the centennial year, 1986, Katharine's sons, printing company, the Baltimore Correspondent, Bernard "Roddy" Smith, Jr. and Peter Smith, the Stein family, and the Greisenheim, the Ger- were respectively president and vice-president man home for the aged which eventually be- of operations, while two of Ernestine's sons, came the retirement community we now know Tom Bowyer and Charles Bowyer, held the of- as Edenwald. fices of vice-president for administration and vice-president for sales. The Schmidt Baking Company In March 1984, two years before the cen- The history of this venerable institution be- tennial, the Schmidt Baking Company com- gan in 1886 when Elizabeth and Peter Schmidt, pleted construction of a forty-eight thousand recent German immigrants, began to operate a square foot plant in Baltimore County. The small bread bakery in their Baltimore home. production capacity of this new plant in 1986 Elizabeth Schmidt, whose maiden name was was one hundred and forty-five thousand Mimms, had arrived in this country in 1867, at loaves of bread and seventy thousand packages age seventeen, and had settled in Baltimore, of rolls daily. where she met and later married Peter Schmidt In a speech during the centennial year in Emmanuel Reformed Church on Schroeder Roddy Smith, while expressing pride in his Street on April 5, 1874. Even before her mar- company's impressive growth during its first riage she had come to enjoy local renown, hundred years, also pointed out that its success thanks to the savory loaves of home-baked as a business enterprise was due not only to ex- bread with which she expressed her ap- pert management, but also to its having pre- preciation for her neighbors' kindnesses. It was served and refined the baking skills which had her neighbors' compliments that eventually in- made people eager to buy his great-grand- spired her and her husband to experiment mother's bread in the early days: "Great-grand- with a small bread baking operation in their mother Schmidt," he recalled, "was known for home with Elizabeth baking the bread and the skill she put into her home-made bread. Al- Peter delivering it. The venture was a success, though we've grown beyond her wildest but during the early years the Schmidts could dreams, one thing hasn't changed. We still care not have imagined, of course, that out of such about the quality of our products, and each modest beginnings in 1886 one of the top fif- day we try to measure up to the standards of teen bakeries in the nation would ultimately that dear German-American baker, Elizabeth. develop. By the time the Schmidt Baking Com- We'd like her to know that our customers still pany celebrated its centennial, in 1986, it had value a good loaf of Schmidt's bread." become the largest independent premium line wholesale bakery in the mid-Atlantic region, The Potthast Furniture Company employing approximately fourteen hundred Technical skills and craftmanship of a high people and with seventeen distribution centers. order also assured the success of Baltimore's In spite of its great size, however, the com- nationally known furniture firm, Potthast pany was still a family enterprise, for it was Brothers, Inc., founded in 1892 by William A. managed at that time by the sons of Peter and and Vincent Potthast who had received their Elizabeth, Ernest and Charles Schmidt, who training as master cabinetmakers in their na- had both entered the business as young men. tive Germany. William and Vincent were later Charles Schmidt, who was president until 1929, joined by their brothers, John and Theodore,
-15- German-American Enterprises and Institutions
who had also mastered the art of cabinetmak- here is just like magic;bidding is always brisk ing in the famed cabinetmaking shops of for Potthast pieces." This is still true today. Borgholzhausen. The Potthast brothers opened their first cab- Edward Renneburg and Sons, Co. inetmaking shop at the intersection of Howard Edward Renneburg, the founder of this engi- and Lexington Streets, then moved, in 1913, to neering and steel fabricating firm, came to Bal- a larger location at 507 North Howard Street. timore from Hamburg, Germany while still in The beauty of the brothers' hand-made repro- his teens and soon found an opportunity to ply ductions and their expert restorations of an- his trade in a hardware store in southeast Bald- tique furniture soon brought them renown as more. In time, his sons came to work with him, fine craftsmen, and orders began to pour in. In Philip helping with designing and Henry assist- 1921 Potthast Brothers, Inc. acquired a large ing with other aspects of the business. In the factory at 1438 Wicomoco Street and also early years of the twentieth century the Ren- opened showrooms at 702 North Howard neburgs moved to larger quarters on Aliceanna Street. Two years later salesrooms and offices Street and began to produce machinery for were added at 924 North Charles Street. Even- canning, oyster-processing, and fruit-packing. tually, the firm opened showrooms in New York When additional space again became necessary City, Washington, D. C., and San Francisco. the Renneberg purchased in 1912 a building One of the firm's early important commis- previously owned by the Chipman Chair Fac- sions was furnishing the Maryland House at tory at the intersection of Boston and Lake- the Jamestown Exposition in 1907. In an in- wood avenues in Canton. In these more spa- terview with Fred Judd of the "Evening Sun" in cious quarters the firm was not only able to 1987 Theodore J. Potthast recalled that the build a more efficient steel fabricating shop, firm had also made a dining room set for Presi- but also to outfit a wharf for the maintenance dent Wilson when ne left the White House, and repair of harbor craft and fishing steamers. chairs for Hollywood film producer Cecil B. At this time the Chesapeake menhaden fish- Demille, a dining set for the State House in An- ing industry was fast developing, and to capital- napolis in addition to pieces for Elsie DeWolfe ize on the possibilities offered by this expand- Hopper and for Tiffany in New York. ing industry the Renneburgs began to design When the Potthast Company closed its doors and manufacture cookers, presses, and dryers in 1975 it had 35 employees. At that point, for converting menhaden and other small fish however, Theodore J. Potthast had no one to into fertilizers, also extracting from them in carry on the business, as he explained to Mr. the process oils for use in manufacturing Judd, and he also faced ever rising costs and a paints and varnishes and for tempering steel. growing scarcity of qualified craftsmen. Hap- Under the able management of Philip, who pily we have a well documented record of succeeded his father as president, the firm's much of the firm's work, for the copying reputation continued to grow, and soon orders books, as Theodore Potthast told Mr. Judd, "in- were coming in from Iceland, Japan, Russia clude sketches of all kinds of furniture" and and other foreign countries for renneburg ma- "the State of Maryland has a record, on micro- chines. During World War I the company film, of correspondence and sketches through- helped the war effort by extracting potash out the years." from kelp for munitions manufacturing. The When the Potthast firm closed, Richard H. war years brought yet another opportunity to Randall, Jr., the director of the Walters Art expand operations. Growing scarcity of grain- Gallery at the time, recalled that "literally hun- feed, with resultant higher prices, was causing dreds of Baltimore homes" had Potthast furni- numerous cattlemen to turn to fishmeal as an ture in dining rooms and hallways." Sam W. alternative, and the Renneburg Company was Rea, auctioneer at Sam W. Pattison and Com- easily able to help meet the ever-increasing de- pany, commented that "the Potthast name mand by producing fishmeal.
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When John N. Renneburg succeeded his fa- to reopen after the fire the Furst brothers ther, Philip, as president in 1946 orders were started their own printing business in a small coming in for Renneburg machinery from warehouse on Light Street and began by print- plants in the United States, Canada, India, Ko- ing publications formerly brought out by the rea, Iran, and Jordan. By then, too, the firm's John Murphy Company. The business pros- recently developed machinery for processing pered, and soon the Fursts were obliged to animal bones for photographic gelatines move to larger quarters on Hanover Street. where also in use in Sweden, Belgium, and From that address they moved to the Engel Germany. Building on Hopkins Place, where they re- In 1985 the Canton area was rezoned from mained for several years, and from there to the heavy industrial to light commercial and resi- Candler Building on Market Place, which was dential use. The Renneburg Company was thus their headquarters until the Candler Building compelled to move to a different location, if it was converted into offices. wished to continue production. Its historic A notable commission of the Furst Compa- headquarters, built shortly after the Civil War, ny's early years was the private printing in 1907 were acquired by Historic Developers, Inc. of of The Education of Henry Adams in a limited Philadelphia. Since the U. S. Government was edition of 100 copies. Another important early then considering eliminating the tax credit al- commission was the printing of American Mar- lowed for preserving and restoring buildings of itime Cases from 1924 on. As years passed the historic value, the Renneburg Company was firm acquired a special reputation for its ability forced to vacate its headquarters within three to print copy in a number of ancient and mod- months. To meet this deadline the company ern languages. Thanks to this skill, the firm has sold its machinery to the Industrial Plants Cor- able to attract as clients several institutions of poration of New York City, which sold the ma- higher learning, among which were The chinery at auction. By 1986 the Renneburg Catholic University of America, Harvard, Company had become a division of Heyl and Princeton, Yale, the University of North Car- Patterson, Inc., Engineers and Constructors of olina, and the Johns Hopkins University. By the Pittsburgh, which had acquired what had re- time the four co-founders had reached retire- mained of the company after the sale of its ma- ment age Frederick's sons, Victor J., Frederick chinery. For a few years after that the Renneb- V., and William W., and his daughter, urg Company maintained an engineering and Gertrude, were already members of the firm sale office in Baltimore which was its last con- and eventually assumed full responsibility for nection with the city in which it had been carrying on the firm's work. The present presi- founded. dent, in the firm's new headquarters at 238 South Eden Street, is Francis Furst. His son, The J. H. Furst Printing Company John entered the business two years ago; his After their arrival in this country from Ger- wife does proofreading; and John's wife assists many in the 1840's John, Adam., and Joseph with sales and other aspects of the business. In Furst settled in three different cities, John in recent years changes of various kinds have New York, Adam in Cincinnati, and Joseph in been made because of advances in electronic Baltimore, where he found a good situation as printing, but the firm continues to do letter- a house-builder. In 1850 Joseph married press, off-set, and type-setting, and also some Sophia Grace Helmling of York, Pennsylvania. binding, as in the past. Four of their seven sons, J. Harry, Jacob H., As the Furst Company approaches its cen- Frederick V., and Joseph A., Jr., became print- tennial year it can look back with justifiable ers and were employed by the John Murphy pride over a long history of satisfied clients. Printing Company until that establishment was Over the years authors and editors have repeat- destroyed in the great Baltimore fire of 1904. edly praised its uncompromising standards of When the John Murphy Company decided not workmanship, diligence, and painstaking care
-17- German-American Enterprises and Institutions in executing orders. The high level of crafts- that while focusing on local matters of practi- manship consistently maintained by the firm, cal concern it also carried articles about Ger- the close working relations between employers mans living in other parts of the country. and employees, and the firm's many contribu- Other papers attempted to compete with it tions to the education and training of mem- from time to time, but none had enough ap- bers of younger printing firms have even peal to displace it. Until America entered prompted some of its admirers to liken it, quite World War I it was the leading German publi- aptly, to a medieval guild. cation in Baltimore. Like German-language The account of the J. H. Furst family submit- newspapers in other American cities, it lost ted in 1986 by Mary Furst, Honorary Treasurer, readers during the war. After the war circula- also mentions another distinguished member tion figures continued to decline, for by then of the Furst family, William Wallace Furst, English had become the household language whose accomplishments as a composer helped in many German families. to bring renown to Baltimore as a musical cen- The final chapter in the history of "Der ter in the nineteenth century. Born in Balti- deutsche Correspondent" began in 1929 when more in 1852, William Furst studied music and the paper, whose readership had by then de- composition and was for a time organist and clined considerably, was acquired by Valentine choirmaster of Immaculate Conception J. Peter of the Tribune Publishing Company in Church. He also wrote music and first gained Omaha, Nebraska. Under Peter's able man- recognition for his work as a composer when agement the paper, with a new title, "Baltimore he was invited to join the staff of the Tivoli Correspondent," flourished. To assure its fi- Opera House in San Francisco. On that stage nancial solvency Peter, together with several his first and only grand opera, Theodora, was Baltimore businessmen, formed a corporation produced. From San Francisco Furst went to in 1935 which eventually purchased from the New York, where he soon acquired a reputation Tribune Publishing Company both the news- as a composer of incidental music. He also paper and the printing facility which had been composed light operas. One of these, The Elec- producing it as a sixteen-page paper. The cor- tric Light, commemorates a Baltimore first: the poration generated additional income by installation of arc lights at Marsh Market in printing advertising brochures and newspaper 1881. Princess Nicotine premiered in 1892 with supplements for local department stores and Lillian Russell as the lead. Two years later, Delia also several weekly and monthly newspapers Fox starred in The Little Trouper, also a comic and trade journals owned by other companies. opera. The most popular of Furst's light operas When Valentine Peter died in 1960 his sons, was doubtless The Isle Champagne which had a Theodore Valentine and Bernard George, be- run of six years. Furst also composed incidental came managers of the corporation and editors music for several successful theatrical produc- of the paper. When Theodore resigned from tions, including The Girl of the Golden West in the corporation and paper in 1967 Bernard be 1905, starring Blanche Bates and Frank Ken- took over the reins until declining readership nan, and James M. Barry's The Little Minister in and resultant decline in advertising revenue 1907 with Maude Adams and Robert Edison. necessitated liquidating both the corporation The Baltimore Correspondent During the first and the paper in 1960. In the summer of that four decades of the nineteenth century only year the corporation was dissolved. For the fol- Germanlanguage newspapers published in lowing three years the "Baltimore Correspon- other cities were available to Baltimore Ger- dent" was again printed in Omaha with mans. The first successful effort to provide a Bernard Peter continuing as manager. In De- local German-language paper was Friedrich cember, 1971, Peter sold the paper to the New Raine's "Der deutsche Correspondent," which York Staatszeitung, which incorporated the title began appearing as a weekly in February, 1841. into its masthead until December, 1975, at Two main reasons for its success were doubtless which time it ceased to exist.
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During its 134 years the "Baltimore Corre- and Stein and also specialized in wills and es- spondent" was always primarily a commercial tates and real estate law. His continuing in his- enterprise, but it also contributed in important tory interest in history is evident in his mono- ways to the cultural life of its readers, as those graph on the ground rent system in Maryland, who remember it can attest. his brief history of the German battalion in the American Revolution, his account of the Battle The Stein Family of Baltimore, his two books on the history of Among the Steins of Baltimore the study of Calvert and Howard counties, and, as some the law; has become, it would seem, a kind of readers of the Report will remember, his papers family tradition. Franz Leopold von Stein had at meetings of the Society for the history of the a law degree from, the University of Heidel- Germans in Maryland, of which he was presi- berg when he came to America in 1833, but dent from 1971-1975. He was also active in did not practice in this country. His son, Attila other American-American societies until his Edward, became a physician, but each genera- death in 1978. tion after him produced a lawyer. The first of Charles Francis Stein, III was graduated these, Charles Francis Stein, born in 1866, from Princeton University in 1955 and re- studied law at the University of Maryland and ceived his J. D. from the University of Virginia was admitted to the Bar in 1889. He became a School of Law in 1960, where he was on the law member of the firm of Louis Hennighausen. review. Before going into practice with his fa- Like Hennighausen, who devoted considerable ther in the firm of Stein and Jett he was the time and energy to helping; newly-arrived Ger- law mans, Charles Francis also became involved clerk of Judge William L. Henderson of the from early on in assisting newcomers and was Court of Appeals of Maryland. His specialty, active in German-American organizations. In like his father's, is real property and estate his last case as trial advocate he became a par- planning. Since January, 1993, he has been of ticipant in an important moment in Maryland counsel for the Towson law firm of Royston, history, for the case concerned the dissolution, Mueller, McLean and Reid. To some people, in 1921, of the American Colonization Society he says, "of counsel" may mean that a lawyer in Maryland which had been founded in 1816 has retired, but not in his case, for he still prac- to promote the emancipation of slaves and to tices every day with the new firm and enjoys it. enable blacks wishing to do so to return to He is married to Anne Farinholt, whose father, Africa. In that same year Governor Ritchie ap- L. Whiting Farinholt, Jr., taught for many years pointed him to the Supreme Bench of Balti- at the University of Maryland School of Law. more City, on which he sat until his retirement She is a physical therapist whose specialty is in 1936. After his retirement from the Bench treating mentally and physically handicapped he continued to practice law with the firm of children in the public school system. The Louis Hennighausen and Stein, specializing in Steins have two children, a daughter, Laura, real estate and litigation. He also continued to who is presently working with autistic young be active in German-American organizations. adults, and a son, Charles F. Stein, IV, who is Until his death in 1939 he was also a member majoring in biology and minoring in geology of the board of director of the General Ger- at Dickinson College. Charles Francis Stein's man Aged People's Home, still popularly sister, Jean Alexandra, is married to William known in those days as the Greisenheim. Kouvenhoven and also resides in Baltimore. Charles Francis Stein, Jr. was born in Bal- Like his grandfather and father, Charles Fran- timore in 1900, received his B. P. in history cis Stein, III is an active member of the Ger- from the Johns Hopkins University and was man Society of Maryland, the Society for the graduated from the University of Maryland history of the Germans in Maryland and the School of Law in 1923. Like his father before General German Aged People's Home of Balti- him, he joined the law firm of Hennighausen more. As a board member and attorney for General German, he was instrumental in the
-19- German-American Enterprises and Institutions planning for the creation of the life-care cen- of General J. E. Steuart at the northeast corner ter, Edenwald and, considers this work one of of Baltimore and Payson Streets. Initial capital the most significant accomplishments of his of $42,000.00 was contributed by the German legal career. community of Baltimore, and the new struc- ture rose apace. The dedication ceremonies The General German Aged People's Home of were held in May, 1885. Since the total capital Baltimore and Edenwald outlay for grounds, building, furnishings, and In April, 1881, at the suggestion of the equipment had amounted to more than Allgemeine Arbeiter-Kranken-Unterstutzungsve-rein $100,000.00, a large debt had to be serviced. [Workmen's Sick Benefits Alliance], a group of By 1888, however, energetic fund-raising ef- Baltimoreans of German extraction met in the forts, especially those sponsored by the Ladies' 1 old Mechanics Hall on Fayette Street to discuss Aid Society of the Greisenheim, had brought the possibility of founding a home where aged in enough money to pay off the debt. Germans could spend their declining years in In its comfortable larger quarters the comfort and security. The sense of the meeting Greisenheim, renamed in later years the Gen- was that such an institution was indeed eral German Aged People's Home, served a needed. An organizational plan was adopted, a steadily growing number of elderly residents of charter was drafted, committees were ap- different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, in pointed, and a Board of Directors was chosen. accordance with the constitution and by-laws of On June 8, 1881, the Directors, Carl Yeber, the Corporation, which stipulated that the Hermann Graue, Frederick Wehr, Joel Gut- home should "never be managed in any partic- man, Ernst Hoen, Ernst Knabe, Nicholas ular national, religious, political, or social ten- Burkhardt, Jacob Pfister, Adolph Aichter, John dency, but shall have as principal object that of Fellmann, Christoph Bartell, and Louis Hen- making the later years of the residents and or nighausen, filed a certificate of incorporation patients of the facilities as pleasant, quiet, and for the projected home, which they designated free of worry or care as possible...." as Allgemeines Deutsches Greisenheim von Baltimore By 1934 a still larger building had become [General German Home for the Aged of Balti- necessary to accommodate the growing num- more]. The first officers of the corporation ber of applicants for admission. A bequest of were also elected, Carl Weber as President, more than $150,000.00 in the will of Anton Frederick Wehr as Vice-Président, Hermann Textor made it possible to plan for larger quar- Graue as Treasurer, John Fellmann as Secre- ters. The site acquired was the estate of Louis tary, and Louis Hennighausen as Financial Muller in Irvington known as "Sorrento," and Secretary. on September 25, 1935 ground was broken. By The Board's first official action was to early November, 1936, the new building was launch a fund-raising and membership drive, ready for occupancy. Generous gifts from the which brought in $7,106.00 and increased the Ladies' Aid Society and other donors helped to corporation membership to 428. A rented finance the infirmary wing added in 1957. building on the northwest corner of Lombard Two major changes, in 1979 and 1980, were and Penn Streets was the first location of the the abolition of the requirement that appli- Greisenheim. The building was dedicated on cants surrender their total assets in order to April 12, 1882, and the first resident was qualify for admission to the home and the Friedrich Gude. Eight months later the num- merger with the Silver Cross Home at 1464 ber of residents had increased to 18. Soon the Greenwich Street. By then, too, it had become number of applicants exceeded the capacity of evident that more space was needed and that the rented building, and the Board began to the facilities should be modernized. The cen- draw up plans for a larger facility. The site cho- tennial year, 1981, thus found the directors sen, which the Board acquired for $12,813.75, busily discussing plans for a completely mod- was he land known as Steuart's Hill, the estate ern building.
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Edenwald, the new facility that resulted from sent directors they would surely also feel proud the directors' thoughtful planning, has two sec- to hear of the American Association of Homes tions, an attractive eighteen-story high-rise for the Aged warm commendation of Eden- with 241 comfortable apartments of varying wald following its accreditation by the Continu- size for independent living and an up-to-the- ing Care Commission in 1992. This piece of in- minute 115-bed Health Care Center. In the formation would certainly convince them, if Health Center are forty-four tastefully fur- they had any doubts, that Edenwald ranks high nished domiciliary rooms with private baths in comparison with top quality retirement and access to medical and dental care, and, for communities in the greater Baltimore area. those requiring long-term care, the Compre- — William H. McClain hensive Care Unit of seventy-one beds. Edenwald's location at 800 Southerly Road is almost ideal from the standpoint of the resi- dents' comfort and convenience. Directly NOTES across Fairmount Avenue is Towsontown Cen- 'The Ladies' Aid Society was formed on February 3, ter; the Baltimore Beltway is nearby; several 1882, several months before the first Greisenheim began ad- bus lines are within walking distance; and a few mitting residents. The organizers were: Louise Hen- nighausen, Auguste Mathes, Catherine Pfeil, Marie Plantz, blocks away are churches, hospitals, senior cen- Elizabeth Tripr, and Johanna Wehr. The first officers were: ters, restaurants, grocery stores and other President, Mrs. Louise Hennigrhausen; Vice-President, stores, and a post office. The proximity of Mrs. Catherine Just: Secretary, Mrs. Elsie Fellman; Finan- Goucher College's large wooded campus also cial Secretary, Mrs. Sophie Szold; Treasurer, Mrs. Rosina Sinsz. offers Edenwald residents some of the plea- sures of country living. If the members of the first board of directors and some of The earlier residents of the Gen- eral German Aged People's Home could see Edenwald's elegant lobby, its commodious apartments, its tastefully appointed lounges and meeting rooms, and its three fine dining rooms, they would doubtless gape in amaze- ment. While visiting Edenwald's other fine amenities, its auditorium, store, and well- stocked library, they would also be delighted to find in the new building some of the pieces which once embellished old General German, as for example, the handsomely carved side- boards throughout the building or the magnif- icent Stieff roller-piano which is a unique ex- ample of the craftmanship of the once renowned Baltimore piano-building firm. In speaking with present residents our visitors from the past would be happy to learn that the liberal admission policy adopted by the first board of directors in 1881 is still in force: that no applicant be refused admission on grounds of ethnic or national background or religious affiliation. They would also hear warm expres- sions of appreciation of the many activities available to the residents. In talking with pre-
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TYPES OF GERMAN SURNAME CHANGES IN AMERICA
ur names are very much part of what de- bilized. The move to the new linguistic envi- Ofines us as a person.1 The given name ronment brings with it adaptations and, in identifies us as individuals within the group in some cases, drastic changes. which we live and function. Normally, we are As a nation of immigrants, the United States the only person identified by that particular has become home to millions of families whose name within the group. Most of us have given surnames were no longer in harmony with the names that our parents liked for some reason prevailing language or its orthographic rules. or other, selected in a rather accidental fashion. This is certainly the reason for a laissez-faire atti- Our surname is, of course, anything but acci- tude towards name changes as observed by dental. A person's surname, also called the Howard F. Barker: family name, is the reference point which de- Changes of name have never been prohibited fines our relationship to society at large. It in this country and are rarely questioned by links us to the generations of our family which the law. Indeed, slight modifications are not came before us as well as to our living relatives recognized as changes, provided the same beyond the immediate family. The family name sound is retained. Given the considerable amount of illiteracy, especially in colonial opens up vistas of ancestry, family history, na- times, and a continual pressure on foreign tional origin, religious background. names to make them more American, numer- Originally all names, whether given or fam- ous alterations have ensued.3 ily, were based on meaningful words and were The overview which follows establishes a formed or bestowed on the basis of what they classification system for alterations to German meant. Over time, changes in the language names which occurred after the bearers of have frequently obscured the original mean- those names immigrated to America.4 ings. This is particularly true of given names. In his book German-American Names, George In a surname the original meaning often re- F. Jones articulates the popular notion that the mains obvious as long as the name stays within name changes originated with the captains of the language of its origin, e.g., names such as the immigrant ships: Carpenter and Weaver in English or Zimmermann and Weber in German tell us that the ancestor When the immigrants boarded their ships at with whom the name originated was a carpen- Rotterdam, the English captains had difficulty ter or a weaver respectively. Even with less in writing their manifests or ships [sic] lists. Knowing no German, and unfamiliar with Ger- transparent names, a lingering knowledge man dialects, the scribes wrote down the about the meaning of the family name is names as they heard them, sometime in the handed down from generation to generation form of the English names most resembling the sound. In this way, Theiss, Weiss, and Weid- in most families. 5 Given that one's name is so much a part of mann became Dice, Wise and Whiteman [. . .] what defines us as a person, most people would Although it is true that the ship lists fre- consider meddling with their names as the quently show the kind of spelling changes equivalent of an assault upon their personality. Jones describes, immigrants were under no At least this would be the case in European obligation to use their names in the shape they countries.2 But when a person moves from the had been spelled by the captain or his clerks country and language in which his or her after their arrival on American shores.6 Until name originated to a different linguistic envi- the immigration process was formalized by ronment, as is the case upon emigration, what channelling all immigrants through Ellis Is- is left of a name's semantic transparency is lost. land, which was not until 1892, immigrants did Also lost is the link to the standard orthogra- not receive an official immigration document. phy in the original language. As a consequence As to the misspellings, it is unlikely that the im- the written manifestation of the name is desta- migrants even remembered in what shape
-23- German Surnames their names had been taken down—if they the correct wording only in cases of outright could read at all. As H. L. Mencken7 observed, translation. "[t]he early German immigrants had no very The following overview of changes that were definite ideas about the spelling of their own most common uses the system and terminol- names." Of equally little long-term conse- ogy designed by Einar Haugen11 in his discus- quence, as far as name spellings were con- sion of Norwegian surnames in America. Modi- cerned, was the act of putting one's signature fications and additions accommodate the under the oath of allegiance or signing the developments that specifically concern sur- document abjuring the Church of Rome, as names that are of German origin. Examples was required by law.8 are taken from the author's files collected over An official act of somewhat more con- a period of almost two decades, verified and sequence was the registration of land pur- augmented by checks on the PhoneDisc12 sys- chases in the local courts. Here again, German tem. Particularly illustrative examples are also surnames appear in all kinds of shapes, either taken from existing studies. perfectly German or totally Americanized, or Haugen distinguished retention from revision in between. The American bureaucracy solved and substitution. In the case of retention, the the problem by establishing the principle of original spelling is preserved but pronuncia- idem sonans, that is, if different name spellings tion shows the influence of the English-speak- "sounded the same," a claim of an unbroken ing environment. Revision includes respelling, line of ownership was acknowledged. elimination of unfamiliar letter combinations, Today, most scholars are in agreement that and abbreviating. In the case of substitution, in the majority of cases name changes are no trace of the name's original orthographic likely to have occurred gradually rather than manifestation is preserved. Haugen noted that through an official act.9 Immigrants pro- "in practice these alternatives might overlap, nounced their names in much the same ways since the orthographic revision could make a they had pronounced them in the Old Coun- name coincide with a previously existing Eng- try. Their English-speaking neighbors picked lish name."13 Still, such cases do not invalidate up the names as sounds, possibly making a the basic distinctions, which prove useful in mental picture of a spelling according to the bringing some order into what H. L. Mencken rules of the English language. When it came to called "a dreadful mess."14 writing the names, those mental pictures were put onto paper. As long as the bearers of the I. RETENTION OF THE GERMAN names still knew German and understood the SPELLING spelling of their name, they would either cor- Not all German names changed or were rect the misspellings or just disregard them. changed. In the areas of the country that were But the time would come when the German settled when general literacy had already es- language was lost within the family and the feel tablished a predominance of the written over for what was correct in German spelling no the spoken medium, many names that are com- longer prevailed. Sooner or later many would plicated even by German standards have re- get tired of the constant need to correct. As a tained their spellings. For the city of Milwaukee result, the world around them would settle on this includes, according to the city telephone spellings that would be easy to write and re- directory, Bauernfeind, Eineichner, Eisenhauer, member for a person used to hearing and writ- Friedrichsohn, Harnischfeger, Heinzelmann, Neuen- ing the English language.10 In most cases, and schwander, Pfannenstiel, Schumacher, Schwarzkopf, certainly in most cases where the Anglicized Schwerdtfeger, Seidensticker, Sichlassenfallen, Stadt- spelling produced a resemblance of the sound mueller, Uihlein and many others. of the German original, it is therefore more ap- propriate to say that the names "changed" With Persistence of German Pronunciation rather than "were changed." "Were changed" is Names may retain their spelling but will
-24- German Surnames most likely be affected in their pronunciation. German origin. Some names may get by with The relationship between symbol and sound is minor changes, such as Fischer, Frick, Keller. language-specific; German names transferred Others become unrecognizable to a German into an English-speaking environment will be ear, such as Ueberroth ['jub∂, raθ]. pronounced according to the rules of English. Spelling pronunciation takes care of the two There are very few German names which German consonant sounds not found in Eng- would be pronounced the same in both En- lish, [ç] and [x] are both represented by
-25- German Surnames
fellow citizens the name Schantz sounded more by -26- German Surnames Upon immigration, it was common to to reflect the "German" sound (see Silencing change the <ß> spelling to -27- German Surnames Klein>Kline or Cline, also Clyne, Kaiser>Kizer, such as Bodey, Goethie, Kadey and Kadie, Langey Bäumeler> Bimeler26 Neuhäuser>Nihizer. The re- and Langie. Names with more than a single let- spel-ling in the latter examples is certainly due ter between the stem vowel and the final e re- to the fact the [oi] became [aI] in the German tain their bi-syllabic structure more easily but dialects that predominated among the early will often add a y just to make the pronuncia- immigrants. In many other cases the spelling tion quite clear, or because an -ey or -y ending -28- German Surnames the sound [k] is not widespread. Hence, the teristics of the dental sound [1]) even if the let- pronunciation tends to lead to the more famil- ter t is dropped entirely and the names spelled iar spelling -29- German Surnames The "superfluous" letter most routinely the German name is closer in sound to the re- dropped is one n from -mann as the base el- spective English equivalent, e.g., in the case of ement in compounds: Bachman, Haldeman. Apfelbaum, Apfel is more similar to apple than The process is, of course, supported by the fact Baum is to tree. Mann is closer to man than any that it results in the English translation of the other German-English corresponding pair and German word. Equally "superfluous" is one of hence the element first and most frequently the word-final ss that were ß in German in changed. Along these lines it is possible to es- names such as Ziegenfuss, that will become tablish an hierarchical order and predict, in a Ziegenfus. given example, which one of the elements is likely to be changed and which one is not. Clipping German surnames tend to be longer than III. SUBSTITUTION English ones. This easily leads to clipping part Substitution results in surname forms that of the name off in everyday life. There may look completely English. Nothing in their also have been a desire on the part of the im- spelling suggests their German origin. Yet an migrant to shorten the German name, es- important difference presents itself when these pecially if it is burdened with difficult spelling. names are seen side by side with the German Clipping affects the first part of a name more names they replaced. Some are quite different commonly than the second part: in their spelling but their "meaning" is the 36 Lautenbergef>Lauten, Lebenschweiler> Swiler , same. These are the names that were con- Rosenbaum Ross(!), Schrecken-berger>Berger, Sei- sciously translated. Others also are, technically, 37 38 den-spinner>Seidens , Swartzenbaugh> Swartz , the translations of their German counterparts. Veitenheimer> Veit, Wildschuetz> Wild. But they look quite similar to their German counterparts and in fact, simple respelling Partial Respelling/ Translation played the major role in their reshaping. Most A large number of German surnames are of the latter changes result in linguistic cog- compound names, consisting of a base word nates. (often a name in its own right) and a deter- mining element. In America, both of these can Substitution by Meaning: Translation undergo changes but typically, only one of the New names resulting from translation have elements is affected, e.g. in Eisenhower (Ger- only their meaning in common with the Ger- man Eisenhauer), the base word is respelled man names they replaced. Their spellings are whereas the equally un-American determiner completely different. To bring about the remains unchanged. In this case, the respelling change, a conscious act was required, either an is just that, i.e., hower is not an English word, act of power on the part of an outside agent or but in most cases respelling actually results in agency, or an act of will on the part of the an English word which tends to be the transla- name bearer. tion of the changed element. Changes imposed by outside agents seem to Examples for changes of the first element have taken place at the time of early German are, Applebaum (German Apfelbaum), Brownstein immigration. It is reported that "[w]henever (German Braunstein), Good-weiler (German William Penn could translate a German name Gutweiler), Newmeyer (German Neumeyer). The into a corresponding English one, he did so in second element is changed in Baumgarden issuing patents for land in Pennsylvania; thus (German Baum-garten), Messersmith (German the respectable Carpenter family in Lancaster Messer-schmidt), Steinway (German Steinweg), are the descendants of a Zimmermann."39 and Haudenshield (German Haudenschild, a so- In many situations and at various times in called "imperative" surname). Whether the American history, German immigrants or their first or the last element changes seems to be descendants found it desirable to hide the con- determined solely by which of the elements in nections to the ancestral homeland which their -30- German Surnames surnames betrayed, by having their names offi- dividual family will discover that the change oc- cially changed. Many such changes were en- curred. But also again, there are exceptions. acted in response to anti-German sentiments The name Wag(g)oner, although it looks very during World War I. In general, however, trans- English, clearly indicates German ancestry be- lation was not very widespread and actually un- cause the word waggon (wagon in American usual in the wake of the German mass immi- English) was not borrowed into English from gration during the 19th century.40 Barker the Dutch until the 16th century, far too late to observed that "translation is an active factor for become productive in forming surnames in change only when little change in sound is nec- Great Britain.43 All Wag(g)oners therefore have a essary,"41 i.e., primarily in the cases of "conver- Wagner as an immigrant ancestor. sion" discussed in the following section. Only the history of the individual family can Beyond Respelling: Groping for Meaning determine whether a Carpenter or a Taylor fam- Names are often respelled in order to pro- ily descended from immigrant ancestors vide a suitable English spelling for a German named Zimmermann or Schneider. In a few cases, sound. So the name Böhm (or Boehm), pro- however, a translated name may not exist as a nounced so as to rhyme with came in Pennsylva- family name in the English-speaking world. For nia German and also in the English rendering example, the names Silknitter, Ironcutter and of the German umlaut sound) frequently be- Turnipseed, are not listed in the Dictionary of came to be spelled Bame in this country. But English Surnames by Reaney and Wilson and the process is likely to continue beyond the can safely be considered translations of the simple act of respelling. Although Bame looks German names Seidenstricker, Eisenhauer and English enough, to be comfortable people like Rübsam(en), respectively, on the basis of this evi- a name to have "meaning." The sound of Bame dence alone. will quickly bring to mind the phonetically One of the reasons behind translating is the close word beam. Indeed, there are many Penn- desire to gain a name that causes no stumbling sylvania German families by the name of Beam or offense in an English-speaking environ- that trace their ancestry back to an immigrant ment. It may, however, also lead to a name that named Böhm. According to PhoneDisc, the is not all that attractive, as the name Turnipseed name Beam holds a commanding lead in the from the German Rübsamen shows. U.S. over Bame.44 Interestingly, there are vari- ants that still retain the German h: Bahme and Substitution by Sound: Conversion even Beahm. As the discussion of Translation Pro- The importance of the factor "meaning" in nunciation (above) indicated, there is a strong the adaptation of German names to the Ameri- tendency to change the pronunciation of Ger- can environment is obvious when the history man surnames to similar sounding English of the name Böhm/Beam is compared to that of ones, a process known as "conversion."42 The Göbel/Gable. In both cases, the same vowel name Müller changed to Miller by the thou- sound is the source. In the case of Gable, the sands because it already sounded very much product of simple respelling was a meaningful like Miller. Similarly, the name Schild(t) word, so no further development took place. changed to Shield, Weber to Wea-ver, etc. Often In the case of Bame, the change of the vowel the similar sounding names are cognates, as had to be pushed a little further to arrive at a they are in these cases, but they do not have to meaningful product, hence Beam. be, as the examples Graf to Grove and of To what extremes the groping for meaning Margaret Mitchell (born Margaret Moeschl) principle can be carried is evident in the indicate. name Birckenbeuel (meaning 'hill of birch Again, in cases like these it is no longer pos- trees') which went through the stages Perka- sible to use the surname as an indication of peal, Pirkeypile and Porcabile until ending up as German ancestry; only research on the in- Porcupine.45 -31- German Surnames Folk Etymology tial letter or letters as the abandoned German The preceding example is a simple example one. In his desire to adopt an appealing stage of folk etymology, defined in Webster's Third as name, John Deutschendorf changed his name to "the transformation of words so as to give them John Denver, and George Birnbaum reappeard as an apparent relationship to other better- George Burns. Closer to his original name was known or better-understood words." Most the choice of Charles Zwick who had his name products of folk etymology are compounds. officially changed to Charles Z. Wick, known to The German name Rübsam (also Rübsamen) many as the director of the U.S. Information means 'seed of the turnip' and is originally Agency under President Reagan. A more so- a nickname for a farmer growing turnips. phisticated example is that of Charles Cist, Most occurrences in this country, according Henry Miller's partner in the printing of the to PhoneDisc, are in the forms Rubsam and German version of the Declaration of Indepen- Ruebsam. The latter allows the pronunciation dence whose birth name was Karl Jakob Sigis- [ribsαm] which is close to the German original mund Thiel. He composed his new surname from the initials of the original names, with the and will immediately bring up the concept of a 50 name composed of the elements reap and some. first one of the given names anglicized. Indeed in parts of Pennsylvania, the name IV. OTHER CHANGES Reapsome does exist.46 Mencken reports on the Todenackers in Pennsylvania who live on as the German surnames underwent a number of other changes triggered by the new linguistic Toothatchers.47 Another Pennsylvania name is environment that they encountered on the Pennypacker. This is not originally someone who American continent. That new linguistic envi- packs pennies but, as the German original ronment was not always an English-speaking Pfannebecker indicates, a maker of roof tiles. one. Germans were among the early settlers in Kirchthaler is a Palatinate name, meaning 'per- Louisiana when the predominant language was son from the village of Kirchthal' or 'person still French. Gallicised names found on the from the valley with the church.' In the Penn- "German Coast" include Chance (German sylvania German dialect, this is pronounced Schantz), Chauffe (German Schaf), Leche and ['karIç,dαl∂r] suggesting, with a shot of folk et- Laiche (German Lesch), Oubre and Ouvre (Ger- ymology added, Cashdollar — a name found man Huber) and others.51 231 times in U.S. telephone directories, ac- 48 By the same token, hiberization occurred in cording to PhoneDisc. areas predominantly Irish. Where names be- Substitution by an Unrelated Name ginning with O' or M(a)c were common, some German names lent themselves easily to Haugen reports for Norwegian immigrants change. Hence, we find O'Dekoven (from Ger- that simply abandoning an Old World name man Ödekoven) ,52 McAfoos (from German Muck- and adopting a completely unrelated English enfuss), McEnheimer (German Mückenheimer). 49 one is "not particularly common." Nor was it A common phenomenon in Colonial sur- for German immigrants. Examples are not eas- names, including English ones, is the ex- ily available for the very reason that the change crescent -s, e.g., Ames (from Oehm)53, Myers, Sny- was made: The intention was to become unrec- ders. One may think of Dutch influence where ognizable. adding the patronymic s to names is common, e.g., Meyers. Barker used the term "ornamenta- A New Name with a Link to the Old One tion" for lack of a better one.54 He applied the Those who made a drastic change often tried same label to the spreading fad of doubling to at least preserve a token of allegiance to the the final l in names such as Russell -32- German Surnames stricted to those of East Coast Jews, e.g., Engell, the conscripts rounded up for that war had Handell, Himmell, Kreidell, Markell, Vogell. Often only the vaguest idea of the spelling of their names, and not a few were uncertain as to what the stress is switched in speech without a corre- their names were, but by the time they were sponding change in the spelling, e.g., Glickel, discharged every man had a name that was Markel may be stressed on the second syllable. imbedded firmly in the official records, and he had to stick to it in order to enjoy any of the V. CONCLUSION benefits and usufructs of a veteran. On the heels of this came the general spread of life in- Name changes still take place but they are surance, a powerful stabilizing force. [...] Then minor ones. The son of a recent Swiss immi- came the automobile registration. Automobiles grant by the name of Grüter who spelled his not only changed the face of the American name Grueter in America, has decided to just landscape; they also went a long way toward use Gruter, without difficulties so far. But it is stopping changes of family names. Automobile titles soon constituted a formidable body of no longer advisable to be unconcerned about property records. [...] Every million cars meant the consequences of a name change. As another million families named for good. After Howard F. Barker put it, paraphrased and some years came Social Security. [. . .] By 1940 quoted by Mencken: American nomenclature was vastly more stable than it had been in 1910, or even in 1920."55 "[t]he surnames of the American people have been greatly stabilized by the wholesale regi- —Jürgen Eichhoff mentation introduced by World War I. Many of The Pennsylvania State University Sources Barker, Howard F. "How the American Hanks, Patrick, and Flavia Hodges. A Dictio- Changes His Name." The American Mercury nary of Surnames. Oxford, New York: Oxford 36 (1935), 101-03. U Press, 1988. Baumann, Elda Ottilie. German Surnames in Po- Haugen, Einar. The Norwegian Language in tosi. Ph.D. thesis, University of Wisconsin, America. A Study in Bilingual Behavior. 1938. [Typescript] Bloomington and London: Indiana Univer- Deiler, J. Hanno. The Settlement of the German sity Press, 1969. Coast of Louisiana and the Creoles of German Hilbig, Frederick Walter. Americanization of Ger- Descent. Philadelphia: Americana Germanica man Surnames And the Related Process of Press, 1909. Changes in Europe. M.A. thesis, University of Dictionary of American Biography. Ed. Allen Utah, 1958. [Typescript.] Johnson [et al.]. Vols. 1-22. New York: Scrib- Jones, George F. German-American Names. Balti- ner, 1928-40. more: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1990. Gerber, David A. The Making of an American Kenyon, John Samuel, and Thomas Albert Pluralism. Buffalo, New York, 1825-60. Ur- Knott. A Pronouncing Dictionary of American bana: U of Illinois Press, 1989. English. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam, 1953. Glazier, Ira A., and P. William Filby. Germans to Kuhns, Oscar. "Studies in Pennsylvania Ger- America. List of Passengers Arriving at U.S. man Family Names." Americana Germanica 4 Ports. Vol. 1- (42 so far). Wilmington: Schol- (1902): 299-341. arly Resources, 1988-. Leighly, John. German Family Names in Kentucky Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. Goethe's Autobi- Place Names. New York: American Name So- ography. Poetry and Truth From My Own Life. ciety, 1983. [American Name Society Mono- Translated by R.O. Moon. Washington, graph No.2.] D.C.: Public Affairs Press, 1949. Mencken, H. L. The American Language. An in- Green, M. Margaret. from trail dust to star dust. quiry into the development of English in the The Story of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a City Re- United States. Fourth ed., corrected, en- sulting from Its Environment. Johnstown, PA: larged and rewritten. New York: Knopf, Greer 1960. 1936. -33- German Surnames Mencken, H. L. The American Language. An in- Rupp, Israel Daniel. General Remarks on the Ori- quiry into the development of English in the gin of Surnames; Interpretation of Baptismal United States. Supplement II. New York: Knopf, Names, Which Occur in the Collection of Thirty 1948. Thousand Names of German, Swiss and Other Metcalf, George J. "Translation Pronunciation: Immigrants [...] Harrisburg: Scheffer, 1856. A Note on Adaption of Foreign Surnames in Webster's Third New International Dictionary the United States." Names 33 (1985): 268-70. of the English Language. Unabridged. Palatine Patter. The Newsletter of Palatines to Amer- Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1961. ica. Columbus, OH. Yoder, Donald H. "Dutchified Surnames." Al- PhoneDisc USA. Discs 1 (Residential East) and 2 lentown Morning Call Sept. 21, 1946. (Here (Residential West). Bethesda, MD: Digital cited after Mencken, The American Language. Directory Assistance, Winter 1994. [Regu- Supplement II, 410-11.) larly updated versions available.] Zoar. An Ohio Experiment in Communalism. Reaney, P. H., and R. M. Wilson. A Dictionary of Columbus: Ohio Historical Society, 1952. English Surnames. 3rd ed. London and New York: Routledge, 1991. NOTES 1This overview is based on an extensive yet possibly still though written with a different goal in mind, an over- incomplete collection of name changes compiled by the whelming record of name change possibilities is available author. A "dinner talk" version was presented at the An- in John Leighly's German Family Names in Kentucky Place nual Meeting of the Society for the History of Germans in Names. Maryland on April 18, 1995; a full-fledged book version is 5Jones, German-American Names, 53. scheduled for the near future. We use phonetic transcrip- 6Actually, we do not even know when and by whom the tions (in square brackets, [ ]) for the benefit of our readers lists were written. Glazier and Filby (Germans to America, in Germany who may not be able to guess the pronuncia- vol. 42, X; also in the preface to the other volumes) claim tion of a name in the U.S. Pointed brackets (< >) are used that "[although the manifests provide significant infor- for actual orthographic features, otherwise, letters are sim- mation about nineteenth-century immigration, we know ply printed in italics. Those readers who are not familiar little about the compilation of these lists; we do not know with these conventions may safely ignore them; care was who made the lists originally, or if there was any uniform taken to explain all pronunciations and technical terms. standard applied in collecting the data at the various 2Goethe expressed it this way: "A man's name is not a ports. Some evidence suggests that the lists were compiled cloak that merely hangs about him, and which, perchance, first by shipping agents at the port of embarkation and ini- one may safely twitch and tear, but a perfectly fitting gar- tially contained the names of all prepaid passengers; the ment, grown over and over him like his skin, which one names of additional passengers were added on board, cannot scratch and scrape without wounding the man after which clerks copied the lists before depositing them himself." Goethe's Autobiography. Poetry and Truth From My with U.S. authorities at the port of debarkation." Own Life, 356 (Part II, Book 10). 7Mencken, The American Language, 483. 3Barker, "How the American Changes His Name," 101. 8Mencken, The American Language, 482. 4The many and often curious changes which German 9So already Oscar Kuhns, "Studies in Pennsylvania Ger- surnames underwent in this country have repeatedly at- man Family Names," 320 ("sometimes"); see also Donald tracted the attention of scholars as well as laypersons. Yoder, "Dutchified Surnames" (cited after Mencken, The Oscar Kuhns calls his study of 1902 "the first treatise of the American Language, Supplement II, 410): "the immigrants kind in America," but only five pages are actually devoted and their descendants simply learned to spell their sur- to the discussion of German surname changes in America. names as they themselves pronounced them." H.L. Mencken, in his cursory but fascinating manner, pro- 10Yoder, however, suggests that it was actually the immi- vides a wealth of material especially on 479-85, 4th edition grants and their descendants themselves who brought the of The American Language, and 407-13 of Supplement II. In- respelling about. See preceding note. valuable are two unpublished academic theses which are 11Haugen, The Norwegian Language in America, 201-05. the only systematic treatments so far of German surnames 12Installed in a computer with CD-ROM drive, the two in the American environment. One is the doctoral disserta- discs list the names, addresses and telephone numbers of tion of 1938 by Elda O. Baumann on the German sur- (it is claimed) 80 to 90 percent of all residences in the names in the small Wisconsin city of Potosi, the other a U.S. The actual percentage is probably lower, and the list 1958 masters thesis by Frederick W. Hilbig which discusses contains many errors in the spelling of the names, but the Americanization of German surnames on the basis of it is nevertheless an invaluable tool for the study of evidence lifted from city directories across the country. Al- names. -34- German Surnames 13Haugen, The Norwegian Language in America, 202. in Review," makes the extra effort pronouncing his name 14The American Language, Supplement II, 407. [boυdi] while others use [boυd]. 15The Norwegian Language in America, 202. 31Mencken, The American Language, Supplement II, 412. 16The American Language, Supplement II, 409-10. 32"Dutchified Surnames," see Mencken, The American 17Metcalf, "Translation Pronunciation [. . .]," 268. Language: Supplement II, 410. Bernard J. Freitag, President of the German Society of 33Clark Gable's ancestors were indeed immigrants by the Pennsylvania in Philadelphia assures me that whereas many name of Göbel. There was no English evidence except the people including some families related to him pronounce American name for the entry Gable in Hanks and Hodges' the name [fritag], to his knowledge no one has pro- Dictionary of Surnames (personal communication by the au- nounced the name like the English name for the weekday. thor). 18German Surnames in Potosi, p.100. The pronunciation 34General John J. Pershing's ancestor Friedrich Pfoer- may have started as an American rendering of the German sching immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1749. See Mencken, umlaut [y] but its continued existence, in spite of the The American Language, 480. spelling, is remarkable nevertheless. 35In English, the name formation process just like in 19Metcalf, "Translation Pronunciation [. . .]," 268-70. German resulted in situations where a first element ending 20The city gained a place in the national consciousness in an h would be linked to a second beginning with the through the flood that swept it away in 1889 after the break same letter, as in church and hill. However, English nomen- of the Conemaugh dam. clature will not easily allow a double h. Hence, the name 21Green, from trail dust to star dust, 20-22. Churchill There are exceptions, though. In addition to 22Baumann, German Surnames in Potosi, 97. 4,794 Churchills, PhoneDisc lists thirty-six Churchhills in the 23As happened to the German parliamentarian Franz- United States. Josef Strauß who during a visit of New York was robbed of, 36Mencken, The American Language, 485. among other things, his passport by three prostitutes. For a 37Barker, "How the American Changes His Name," 102. while, the New York Police Department was unable to re- 38Gerber, The Making of an American Pluralism, 201. turn the passport to his rightful owner because the Ger- 39Mencken, The American Language: Supplement II, 411 man Consulate General did not recognize the name read (Mencken's source could not be verified.) as "Straub" as being that of the visiting dignitary. See Der 40The same observation is made by Haugen: "translation Spiegel 13/1971,25. was not a common practice among the Norwegians." The 24The umlauts are treated here as requiring respelling Norwegian Language in America, 204. because of their graphic representation and because all 41"How the American Changes His Name," 102. three umlauts, <ä>, <ö> and <ü> can then be discussed to- 42"Conversion [. . .] amounts to the adopting of a more gether. Of course, their German acoustic value is absent in familiar, similar-sounding designation." Howard F. Barker, the English language and thus requires adaptation, which "How the American Changes His Name," 101. may result in respelling also. 43Hanks and Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames, s.v. Wag- 25Many may still be familiar with the name Larry Biit- ner. tner, a player for the Chicago Cubs. (I owe this first exam- 44Beam does exist as a surname in England, according to ple to my former Madison colleague, Donald A. Becker.) Reaney and Wilson. However, it is rare and not likely to Reimschiissel was reported by F.W. Hilbig, Americanization of have provided the "pull" that changed Bame into Beam in German Surnames [...], 41. Now, examples can be found eas- the eastern U.S. ily by checking PhoneDisc for German surnames with <ü>, 45PalatinePattern (1995), 6. replacing the <ü> with -35- WHO WERE THE FIRST GLASSMAKERS IN ENGLISH AMERICA? amestown, Virginia, has been called the language would have facilitated communica- J "birthplace" of America, because it is the site tion among the glassmakers as they went about of the first permanent English settlement in their difficult craft. In Europe a glasshouse was America. While England organized this key set- run by a master and several helpers; it is proba- tlement and supplied most of its colonists, a ble that a particular master traveled to America number of Continental Europeans also made with his own helpers. their contributions as artisans and specialists. It is difficult to determine how many glass- We know that among these specialists were sev- makers actually came to Jamestown. If three eral Continental glassmakers, but their specific Poles are to be counted among the eight crafts- country of origin is still in question. When men who arrived in 1608, only two unnamed Captain John Smith, the governor of the first glassmakers, a master and an assistant, remain permanent English colony, recorded the ar- unaccounted for. Yet two men seem too few to rival of glassmakers at Jamestown, Virginia, in operate the three ovens and the kiln which 1608, he lumped them together with other were excavated near Jamestown. J. C. Harring- craftsmen from Germany and Poland. ton, the archeologist who excavated the ovens, Recently I visited the Colonial National His- wrote, "The crew that actually made the glass torical Park, which includes the site of articles would probably have consisted of two Jamestown. I wanted to see if I could discover or, at the most, three experienced glass work- any clues to the identity of these important ers with one or two helpers. In addition, there American pioneers. would have been a number of other helpers, or A leaflet in the Jamestown Visitors Center run 'boys,' who did the unskilled work or per- by the National Park Service urges guests to formed more particular jobs under the super- "visit the GLASSHOUSE where craftsmen vision of the glass workers. There may have demonstrate the art of 17th century glass-blow- been as many as five of these helpers. . . ."5 It is ing, one of Virginia's first industries, established worth noting in this regard that when the Eng- in 1608."1 There is no mention of the nationality lish made a second attempt to manufacture of the glassmakers. A German translation of the glass at Jamestown in 1621, they brought over same leaflet is equally silent on this subject. six glassmakers plus their families, which pre- In his Generall Historie of Virginia, John Smith sumably included apprentices.6 stated that in October 1608 about seventy set- The American historian Conway Whittle tlers arrived, including "eight Dutchmen and Sams resolves the difficulty by interpreting Cap- Poles."2 He indicated that the men were hired tain Smith's phrase "eight Dutchmen and Poles" to make pitch, tar, glass, clapboard and soap to mean eight Dutchmen plus Poles.7 The Ja- ashes.3 Elsewhere he identifies the "Dutch- cobeans apparently had no expression equiva- men" as Germans.4 The eight craftsmen in- lent to the modern "plus"; they had to content cluded three German carpenters, Adam, Franz themselves with the word "and" to convey both and Samuel, as well as some glassmakers. meanings. In speech it would, of course, have Among the new arrivals were also several Pol- been readily apparent which use of "and" was ish makers of soap ashes and potashes, pitch, meant; less so in written form. Sams' inter- and tar. Three of the Poles are known by name, pretation would leave five glassmakers, a suf- Robert, Molasco, and Matthew. ficient number to have run the operation. The glassmakers who came to Jamestown in The craftsmen set to work presently to build 1608 were probably all of the same nationality a glasshouse. Councilor William Strachey de- because it is unlikely that the Virginia Com- scribed it as "a goodly house . .. with all offices pany of London, which organized the colony, and furnaces thereto belonging." The would have sent to Poland for one set of glass- glasshouse included three furnaces: a fritting makers and to Germany for another. A single furnace for preheating the glass ingredients; a -37- First Glassmakers in English America working furnace for melting the glass and for making because they were troublemakers. keeping it at a working temperature; and an However, the records show that of the Ger- annealing furnace for slowly cooling the fin- mans only the three carpenters allegedly gave ished pieces. There was also a kiln to fire pots trouble to Captain Smith, who was in the habit used in melting the glass. The glass house was of finding fault with almost all of his associates. built on the mainland about a mile from James It is certainly possible that J. C. Harrington, the Fort, which stood on a peninsula. The author of the booklet, draws unwarranted in- glasshouse was convenient to the James River, ferences about all the Germans from the al- the beaches of which supplied the sand for leged deficiencies of some of them. Har- glassmaking. The foundations of the furnaces rington surmises that the Poles were the and the kiln have been uncovered. An histori- glassmakers because they came to Smith's help cal marker at the entrance to the enclosure "near the glasshouse." Yet Smith's account re- which protects the remains of the glassmaking veals that he was attacked by the chief of the furnaces reads: Paspahegh somewhere on the mile-long road from the glasshouse to James Fort.9 The fact GLASSMAKING -1608 that Poles came to Smith's assistance some- HERE ON GLASSHOUSE POINT THE JAMESTOWN where in the general vicinity of the glasshouse SETTLERS, IN 1608, BUILT FURNACES, MADE does not seem sufficient reason for identifying GLASS, AND SHIPPED A "TRIAL" OF IT TO ENG- the Poles as the glassmakers. LAND. THIS MARKED THE BEGINNING OF OUR Harrington is alone among historians in as- AMERICAN GLASS MANUFACTURE, ONE OF THE suming that all the glassmakers were Poles. NATION'S FIRST "INDUSTRIAL" ENTERPRISES. THE JAMESTOWN GLASSHOUSE FOUNDATION, The National Park Service as well as the Com- INC., IN COOPERATION WITH THE UNITED monwealth of Virginia and the eminent British STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR HAS archeologist-historian Ivor Noël Hume count , 10 MADE THIS EXHIBIT POSSIBLE. IT INCLUDES THE Germans among the glassmakers. The ques- ORIGINAL FURNACE REMAINS AND A PERIOD tion, then, is not whether some of the glass- TYPE GLASSHOUSE. FROM SUCH HUMBLE BEGIN- makers were German, but whether all the glass- NINGS AMERICA'S GREAT GLASS INDUSTRY HAS makers were German? GROWN. IN RECOGNITION OF THIS GREAT The American historian Philip L. Barbour ACHIEVEMENT THIS PLAQUE IS PRESENTED. answers the question in the affirmative. He writes: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE . .. the postulation that the Poles were hired to make glass is based on evidence that is flimsy A booklet on sale in the replica glasshouse, indeed. Here is all that is known about the mat- which is under the jurisdiction of the National ter: Captain Smith was "returning but from the Park Service, states: glasse-house alone" when he encountered the Werowance of Paspahegh, who first attempted The Dutchmen appear to have given trouble to shoot Smith, but Smith grappled with him. from the first, and it is doubtful if they ever The latter, however, prevented Smith from contributed much to the glassmaking effort, drawing his falchion, and the two fell into the beyond possibly assisting in the initial construc- river. "Long they struggled in the water, from where tion of the glasshouse. We know that some of the king [chief] perceiving two of the Poles upon the them were carpenters, for they were sent to sandes, would have fled: but the President [Smith] Chief Powhatan's village to build houses for held him by the haire and throat til the Poles came the Indians. It appears more likely that the in." The two quoted passages which I have put Poles were the glassmakers, for Smith, in his ac- in italics are the sole surviving evidence that count of the fight with an Indian near the the Poles were glass experts. Indeed, my re- glasshouse, says that the Indian attempted to 8 search into the history of glassmaking in flee upon 'perceiving two of the Poles.' Poland tends to hint that the Poles were hired The booklet claims that the Dutchmen (ac- for pitch and tar work, and the Germans for the glass, despite the vagueness of John Smith's tually Germans) contributed little to the glass- account. There is no evidence that Poland had -38- First Glassmakers in English America a glass industry of any great consequence in mineral men to Jamestown as well as French 11 the days of Zygmund III (1587-1632).... experts in viniculture. In their second attempt to start a glass industry at Jamestown, the Eng- In all the books available at the Library of lish in 1621 brought over Italian glassmakers, Congress on the general history of glassmak- who were even more skilled than the Germans, ing, there is no reference to Polish glassmak- because they could produce clear glass. At no ing. The German glassmaking industry of the time do we see the English looking for practi- sixteenth- and seventeenth-centuries is, on the tioners of a particular industry in a country other hand, described at length.12 The German where that enterprise was not at a high level. glass industry was not only much older than It seems highly probable that the Virginia the Polish one but far more extensive and so- Company of London would have been more phisticated. Indeed, a "Glass Map of Europe" inclined in 1608 to fetch glassmakers from a depicting areas of glass production during the country with sophisticated glassmaking tech- sixteenth- and seventeenth-centuries shows no niques, such as Germany, than from a country production in Poland while showing three with a relative paucity of glassmakers who were areas of concentration of German glass- comparatively less skilled. While Polish glass- making, the Spessart, the Thuringian forest makers might have come cheaper, the Com- and the Iser and Riesen mountain ranges.13 pany could have been far more certain that Ada Polak states in Glass: Its Makers and Its Germans would be able to produce glass in the Public, "Within the German-speaking areas, Virginia wilderness that was readily salable on the forest glassmaking regions ran from the the English market. northern and central areas of Holstein and The high skill of the Germans is evident Hanover, by way of Thuringia, Franconia and from the fact that they were welcome in other Saxony to Bohemia and Silesia."14 The type of countries. For example, in 1510, German glass- glass produced at Jamestown in 1608-09 was makers worked in the Italian cities of Perugia, identified as green glass or Waldglas by J. C. Florence, Bologna and Arezzo.17 The early Harrington, the archeologist who described glassmakers of Jutland, Denmark, were mainly the ruins of the glasshouse.15 "The name, for- of German origin.18 Glassmaking was intro- est glass (waldglas) which is generally given to duced into Sweden by German glassmakers.19 the common glass made at many places in Ger- In 1569, a London merchant named Anthony many in the Middle Ages is derived from the Becku tried unsuccessfully to bring German use of potash in the form of beech or other glassmakers to England.20 While the German wood ash as an alkali...."16 industry was relatively highly developed at the To advance particular commercial ventures end of the sixteenth century, Poland had com- in the New World, the English made some ef- paratively little industry. Imports to England fort to bring over foreign specialists from coun- from Poland consisted mainly of "raw materials tries noted for these commercial enterprises. and semi-manufactures."21 For example, when Sir Humphrey Gilbert set Although little glass was exported from out in 1583 to prospect for precious metals Poland to England,22 Poland did export large under his patent from Queen Elizabeth, he quantities of pitch, tar and soap ashes.23 For conveyed along the mineral specialist Master this reason, one of the men who planned the Daniel the Saxon. During the Elizabethan era, English colony urged that "Men skilfull in Germany led in metallurgy, and the English burning of Sope ashes, and in making of Pitch, mineral industry at that time was to a major ex- and Tarre, and Rozen" should be brought to tent created by German skill. Sir Walter Virginia "out of Prussia and Poland, which are Raleigh likewise brought along a German-Jew- thence to be had for small wages, being there ish mineral expert, Joachim Gans of Prague, in the manner of slaves."24 What was called when he attempted a settlement in 1585. The Prussia then was part of Poland and would be Virginia Company of London fetched German known later as East Prussia. This advice was in- -39- First Glassmakers in English America deed followed, as the records of the Virginia The glassmakers at Jamestown went to work Company show, and Poles were brought to so rapidly after their arrival in October 1608 Jamestown in 1608 to make soap ashes as well that samples of their product were sent to Eng- as pitch and tar. land in December and arrived there 23 Jan- Eleanor S. Godfrey believes that the uary 1609. More glass was produced in the Jamestown glasshouse was established to sup- spring of 1609, but there is no record of glass ply window glass for the London market: production after the "Starving Time" during At a time when the scarcity of window glass in the winter of 1609-1610, when the population London was most acute, there was a daring at- shrank from 500 to about sixty. tempt to supply the market from a new source. The production of pitch and tar, as well as of London merchants in the newly formed Vir- potashes and soap ashes apparently continued, ginia Company decided to establish a because Poles are referred to as makers of glasshouse in the struggling settlement at Jamestown Virginia....25 these products as late as 1619 and 1620. In 1619, the Company ordered that "some young In the year 1567 window glass was imported men" shall be apprenticed to "the Polonians into England from Normandy, Lorraine, and resident in Virginia," so that "their skill in mak- Hesse.26 The province of Hesse included the ing pitch and tar and soapashes shall not die Spessart Mountains, which were a center of with them. . . ."29 While I found no document German glassmaking as indicated by Polack which establishes conclusively that all the glass- and other writers.27 Since Hesse was the Ger- makers at Jamestown were German, there is man glassmaking region nearest to England every likelihood that this was the case. I believe and easily accessible via the Rhine, it could that the glassmakers at Jamestown were the very well have been the place of origin of the forerunners of those later German glassmak- glassmakers at Jamestown. We do know that ers, such as Kaspar Wistar, Heinrich Wilhelm glassmakers from Hesse were inclined to mi- Stiegel and Johann Friederich Amelung who grate. There is documentation of a Hessian established the first successful glass factories in glassmaker in the Duchy of Holstein in 1574 this country.30 and in Sweden in 1591; later we find Hessian names appearing again and again in Dessau, — Gary C. Grassl Brandenburg and even in Bohemia.28 Washington, B.C. NOTES 1 The Jamestown Story (Colonial National Historical Park, 5J. C. Harrington, A Tryal of Glasse: The Story of Glassmak- National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior), ing at Jamestown. (Richmond, VA: Eastern National Park & no date. Monument Association, 1972), 40. 2John Smith, The Generall Histarie of Virginia, New-Eng- 6Harrington, 11. land, and the Summer Isles with the names of the Adventurers, 7Conway Whittle Sams, The Conquest of Virginia: The Sec- Planters, and Governours from their first beginning An: 1584 to ond Attempt (Norfolk, VA: Keyser-Doherty Printing Co., the present 1624 (London: Michael Sparkes, 1624), Libro 3, 1929), 628. 73. 8Harrington, 10. 3Smith stated, "As for the hyring of the Poles and 9Smith says that upon "returning from the Dutch-men, to make Pitch, Tar, Glasse, Milles, and Sope Glasse-house alone ... he incountered the King of Paspa- ashes when the Country is replenished with people, and hegh, a most strong stout Salvage ..." (Historie, 84). necessaries, would have done well, but to send them and 10At the Jamestown Settlement Museum (Jamestown seauentie more without victualls to worke, was not so well Gallery, Jamestown Economic Experiments) run by the aduised nor considered of, as it should have beene" (His- Commonwealth of Virginia, visitors may read, "Because torie, 66). Virginia possessed the natural ingredients for glass—sand, 4Smith identified the "Dutchmen" as Germans when he wood ashes, and lime—the [Virginia] Company [of Lon- stated, "to send into Germany or Poleand for glassemen & don] hoped that glass production in Virginia would help the rest" while the colony was not yet on its feet was not a meet the growing demand for the commodity in England. good idea (Historie, 72). In 1608, the Company sent Polish and German craftsmen -40- First Glassmakers in English America to Jamestown to operate a glasshouse." twenty cases of glass from Elbing" [Königsberg and Elbing At the entrance to the enclosure protecting the furnace were Polish ports.] (Zins, 273). ruins, an introductory tape by the National Park Service 23"In 1588 Baltic countries met 41 per cent of London's informs the visitor that "Polish and German glassmakers" requirements in pitch and tar ... almost the whole of Eng- built the glassmaking furnaces. land's imports of Baltic pitch and tar came from Danzig Noel Hume refers to "Glassmakers, German" in the and Elbing. . . ." [Danzig, like Elbing, was a Polish port.] index to his book The Virginia Adventure: Roanoke to James (Zins, 246). Towne: An Archeological and Historical Odyssey (New York: Al- 24Richard Hakluyt (lawyer), "Inducements to the liking fred A. Knopf, 1994). On page 216, he writes, "The [glass- of the voyage intended towards Virginia" written in 1585 making] operation was manned by some of the Dutchmen and first published as an appendix to John Brereton's A (really Germans—i.e., Deutschmänner) and Poles brought Brief and true Relation . . . London, 1602. over with the Second Supply, and by 1610 they had set up 25Godfrey, 58. what was then described as a 'goodlie howse .. . with all of- 26Godfrey, 13, estimates that about 400 cases of window fices and furnaces thereto belonging" and situated 'a little glass were imported in 1567 from Normandy, Lorraine and without the Island where James towne standes.'" Hesse. 11"The Identity of the First Poles in America" in William England imported not only window glass from Germany & Mary Quarterly, 3rd series, XXI (January 1964), 90. but also chemical glass. English port records show that in 12For example, in A History of Technology: Volume III From 1587-1588, 100 glass stills were imported from Dortmund the Renaissance to the Industrial Revolution c. 1500 - c. 1750 and 200 "stilling glasses" from Emden. A 1621 petition (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1957) there is extensive de- against the English glass monopolist Sir Robert Mansell scription of German glassmaking but not a word on Polish. claimed that "chimicall glasses, as retorte heades and bod- The Encyclopedia Americana (International Edition, Dan- ies, boulte heades and other like used for extractions distil- bury, Conn.: Grolier, 1994), 798, discusses sixteenth-cen- lacion and other Chimicall and Physical uses" had been tury glassmaking in various German states under "Glass imported from Germany before James I granted Mansell and Glassware" but is silent on Poland. Historical German his monopoly and that they were better and cheaper [Ivor glassmaking techniques are discussed in The New Ency- Noel Hume, First and Lost: In Search of America's First English clopaedia Britannica, Micropaedia, Vol. 5, "Glass," 296-297, Settlement (Manteo, NC: National Park Service, Fort but again there is no mention of Poland. Raleigh National Historic Site, 1995), 120-121.] The author asked Dr. Gerhard E. Sollbach, member of 27Robert Schmidt, Das Glas (Berlin: Verlag Georg the faculty of the Historical Institute of the University of Reimer, 1912), 131-133, writes that in the sixteenth-cen- Dortmund, to help with identification of the glassmakers tury Hesse along with its adjoining forest regions was one at Jamestown. He, in turn, asked a Polish colleague,who of the two top glass-producing regions of Germany. As "when he went to Poland for a research visit (University of early as 1406 all glassmakers around the Spessart Moun- Oppeln) this summer, checked the literature (so far as his tains organized themselves into a union. In 1557, more time allowed him to do it) for any information on glass- than 200 glassmakers gathered at the annual session of the making in Poland around 1600—but without any success. court in the town of Almerode in Hesse. The glass houses As he told me, this seems to have been no subject for Pol- in Hesse appear to have conducted a significant export es- ish historians" (personal communication of 15 November pecially along the Rhine. 1995). 28Schmidt, 133. 13Ada Polak, Glass: Its Makers and Its Public (London: 29The records of the Virginia Company of 21 July 1619 Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1975). state: 14 Polak, 44-45. Upon some dispute of the Polonians resident in Vir- 15Harrington, 31-33. 16 ginia, it was now agreed (notwithstanding any former Reginald G. Haggar, Glass and Glassmakers (New York: order to the contrary) that they shall be enfran- Roy Publishers, 1961), 28. 17 chised, and made as free as any inhabitant there Otto Stöber, Wundersames Glas (Linz: Landverlag, whatsoever: and because their skill in making pitch 1947), 32. 18 and tar and soapashes shall not die with them, it is Polak, 40. agreed that some young men shall be put unto them 19Stöber, 41. 20 to learn their skill and knowledge therein for the Eleanor S. Godfrey, The Development of English Glass- benefit of the country hereafter [Susan Myra Kings- making, 1560-1640 (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North bury, Records of the Virginia Company of London (Wash- Carolina Press, 1975), 25. 21 ington, DC.: U.S. Government Printing Office, Henryk Zins, England and the Baltic in the Elizabethan 1935), Vol. I, 251]. Era (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1972), 217. 22 Poles are also referred to as makers of pitch and tar as "The surviving port books reveal only small quantities well as soap ashes and potashes under entries of 17 May of glass exported from Poland to England. In 1588 the 1620 and 22 June 1620. merchant John Knapp imported one barrel of glass from 30Jane Shadel Spillman, Glassmaking: America's First In- Königsberg, and in 1599 English merchants collected dustry. (Corning, NY: The Corning Museum of Glass, -41- First Glassmakers in English America 1976), 8, states: "The first successful glass manufactory in the colonies was that of Caspar Wistar, a Philadelphia brass-button manufacturer, who had immigrated from Ger- many. He imported German glassblowers in 1739 to staff the factory he established in southern New Jersey. . . . The second successful entrepreneur in glass was also a German. Henry William Stiegel built three glasshouses at Elizabeth Furnace and Manheim, Pennsylvania, between 1763 and 1774, and attempted to produce fine tableware as well as bottles and window glass." A few pages later Spillman con- tinues: 'John Frederick Amelung arrived in the new re- public in 1784 with men and equipment to develop a large glass factory complex for the manufacture of all types of glass. He came from a glassmaking family in Germany and was backed by a group of merchants in Bremen. Amelung's factory was established in Maryland, at a site [near Frederick] he named New Bremen and was, for a time, successful. He produced the most sophisticated glass which had been made in America up to that time. . ." (Spillman, 11). -42- THE APPRENTICE YEARS OF JACOB GROSS, SUPERINTENDENT OF THE STIEFF PIANO COMPANY, AS RECORDED IN HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY tudents of history always find unpublished document should pass to George Jacob be- Smaterials exciting, even when they illumi- cause he had seven grandsons to carry on the nate only small aspects of the past. We were family name of Gross. George Jacob's state- accordingly delighted when Mrs. George Jacob ment also contains the information that the Gross agreed to share with us an unpublished manuscript was translated into English by a autobiographical account of the apprentice- friend of his brother Robert's wife about the ship and early journeyman experience of her year 1953, in Boston.1 late husband's grandfather, Jacob Gross, who A reference to Bern late in the narrative in- in later years gained widespread renown as dicates that the inspiration to record the vicissi- superintendent of the Charles M. Stieff Piano tudes of his early years came to Jacob at a time Company of Baltimore. when he was already confident of realizing his The autobiography is a touching account of ambition to become a master piano builder. At young Gross's often trying and, at times, that point in his development, as he explains at deeply disappointing experiences as an ap- the beginning of his account, he felt that it prentice from the time he left home in 1833, might be useful to pinpoint moments and as a lad of fourteen, to learn the art of piano events which in retrospect could be identified building, to 1838, the point at which he had as important milestones in his progress toward begun to acquire abroad the knowledge and mastery of his craft and in his intellectual and expertise which enabled him to achieve success moral development. "Let it be a mirror," he later in America and especially in Baltimore. says there of his narrative, "in which I can see While absorbing as a straightforward, at times the things I have done wrong and the progress naive account of frustrations and hardships, I have made." young Gross's reminiscences have larger In the section following his preamble Jacob significance as a historical document, for re- provides a brief summary of the history of Un- ferences he makes about the journeyman tergröningen, the town in which he was born experiences of his co-workers indicate that the on July 26,1819, and a short description of the vicissitudes Gross endured were likely typical geographical features of the area of Württem- for many who received their early training in berg in which it is located: Germany and who then traveled as journey- men to complete it. The Kocher River coming from Aalen passes a Gross recorded his recollections and impres- mountain slope in a very picturesque district. sions in a firm clear hand in a booklet measur- On the slope is the great castle of Gröningen. ing approximately four and one-half by seven Partly above the castle and partly at the foot of inches. Attached to the volume are two state- the slope is the town of Gröningen. ments. The first, written by Jacob's son, Charles Jacob's father, Johann Georg Gross, had Jacob, explains that the reminiscences are a eventually inherited the family-owned brewery partial history of his father's early life. Charles and inn Zum Adler [At the Sign of the Eagle], Jacob notes that his mother gave him the man- which his father had built in 1800. As brewer uscript on April 20, 1896, and concludes with and innkeeper, Jacob recalls, his father had to the wish that it pass to his sons after his death. work hard, for he had also inherited debts. For As it turned out, Charles Jacob predeceased his years his only help came from his wife Creszen- mother, and, according to the second ap- cia, née Maier, the daughter of a burgher pended statement, written by Jacob's grandson farmer, and a few hired hands. George Jacob Gross and dated April 20, 1979, In his early years Jacob, youngest of twelve the executors of her estate decided that the children, was frail, and since his only brother, -43- The Apprentice Years of Jacob Gross Anton, wished to study for the ministry, a voca- who, in exchange for a fee, offered instruction, tion which his parents encouraged, Johann shelter, food, sometimes also clothing, and Georg "had little hope of leaving the inn and medical care in case of illness. The apprentice brewery to one of us boys," as Jacob puts it, and was expected to bind himself to the master for decided to make his daughter Marian and her a specified period of service. The terms of the husband his heirs. Having reached this decision, agreement were set forth in written form in a Johann Georg drew up an agreement with contract. At the end of the specified training Marian and her husband providing that for the period the apprentice could present himself duration of his life he retain "for himself and his to a guild member for a practical examination, remaining children one room which could be which entailed completing an assigned project. heated, a chamber, and a kitchen." The agree- After having passed the practical examination ment also assured Johann Georg a yearly the apprentice had to stand an oral examina- allowance, which he received, Jacob recalls, tion. By successfully absolving these two "mostly in fruit, meat and eggs, and daily drink" requirements the candidate obtained a certifi- in addition to a small cash sum. cate authorizing him to seek further ex- After the wedding, Jacob reports, his father perience as a traveling journeyman and to and mother stayed on in the inn and contin- work for wages. The additional experience ac- ued, moreover, "to work as hard as before for quired as traveling journeyman was considered the good of the young people." Jacob also had to qualify young craftsmen to set themselves up chores, helping in the brewery and inn during as masters. the winter and taking cows to and from pasture As will be seen from Jacob's experience over in the summer. Concerning his school experi- the next four years, his training was lacking in ence Jacob says rather little beyond lamenting the standards considered characteristic of a the fact that frequently changing teachers German apprenticeship. His account gives re- caused lacunae in his education. He learned to vealing details of his experience with his first read and to write, to be sure, and he also ac- master: quired some knowledge of mathematics, he Mr. Wilhelm, who was still a young man, was says, but he had no chance to study a foreign very good to me at first; the food also was good. language, instruction in history was erratic, Regular hours for meals and work helped very and he heard next to nothing in school about much to improve my health and I was always in art or other cultural subjects. good physical condition. I was soon used to being there and fortunately I was not home- From early childhood on it was Jacob's wish, sick. Once a week I had to visit a drawing and later also his parents' wish, that he learn a school and Sundays I went to a school for reli- trade. An opportunity unexpectedly presented gious education and a professional school for itself early in 1833 when a distant relative, an apprentices. In accordance with an agreement organ builder named Wilhelm who lived in my brother-in-law had made with Mr. Wilhelm I had to serve three years as an apprentice. nearby Gmünd and had come to Untergrönin- Board and room was included. My mother did gen to repair the organ in the chapel of Unter- my washing and kept my clothes in order. My gröningen Castle, offered to accept Jacob as an brother-in-law had to pay 60 guilders2 for my apprentice, with the proviso that he first "learn apprenticeship fee besides 1 Thaler extra to a little about music." Jacob and his parents Mrs. Wilhelm. Half of the apprenticeship fee quickly seized the opportunity, and on May 1, had to be paid at the beginning and the other half at the end of the three years. 1833, Jacob took his first piano lesson. Five months later, having learned at least the rudi- Mr. Wilhelm promised to make a good organ ments of piano technique, he left home, at age builder out of me; he could not keep this promise, since he had not much knowledge of fourteen, and traveled on foot to Gmünd to organ building himself and he was only rarely begin his apprenticeship, on October 24,1833. busy working on organs. Once in a while he At that time young people wishing to learn a had some repair work or a refinishing or a tun- trade were apprenticed to a master craftsman, ing job. Thus I had to be satisfied with the things I saw and heard. -44- The Apprentice Years of Jacob Gross A Page from Jacob's Memoirs I worked in Marbach until May 30, 1837. Very few important things happened here. There were five other fellows working at his place. The master was a man about fifty years old, but he would have fitted much better in a position as pastor or lawyer than a carpenter. He did like his glass of wine and spent most of his money for wine. He had an only daughter of about 13 years. The meals were mea- ger and so was the pay. I had 1 guilder, 12 kreuzer. From here I visited my friend Gottfried Knödler, a printer. He was destined to become a soldier and he was at that time stationed with the 3rd Infantry Regiment at Ludwigsburg. It was only a distance of two hours from Marbach and I therefore visited him frequently. My friend, well acquainted with me, suggested that I see Mr. Walker, a well-known organ builder in Ludwigsburg. Knödler called on Mr. Walker and told him about me and Mr. Walker wanted to see a letter of recommendation about me regarding my experience and character, etc. Un- fortunately I did not possess a single letter of recommendation, and some means of subterfuge had to be found. A co-worker Wilhelm Maas wrote one for me in the name of the earlier mentioned Mr. Berger. This mentioned my experience in organ building, in fact, it flattered me not a little. I had it delivered to my friend Knödler, who in turn brought it to Mr. Walker .... -45- The Apprentice Years of Jacob Gross Jacob could also not help noticing that the evening, however, Jacob had doubts, he says, work done in the shop was poorly paid. The sit- about following Mr. Keim's advice and accord- uation worsened when Mr. Wilhelm fell ill. ingly left Kirchheim the following day without From this time on he no longer "bothered too reporting back to him as he had promised. He much" about his two apprentices. During this soon realized, he writes, that this impulsive de- time of illness and adversity it also emerged that cision had been a serious mistake which af- he was the kind of man who, as Jacob puts it, fected his entire future. "thought that he could cure his troubles with In Mrs. Wilhelm's shop conditions continued wine, which did him more harm than good." to deteriorate and for several days Jacob was un- Since Gmünd was not far from his parents' certain what his next move should be. Again he home, Jacob could visit his family on his free offers rather revealing insights into practices of days. On one of these visits, in late October, apprenticeship which do not conform to our 1834, a year after he had begun his apprentice- perhaps idealized concept of apprenticeship: ship, he arrived at home to find his mother quite ill and was deeply saddened when the Someone advised me to take my examination as a full-fledged carpenter and then try to ob- news came the following day that she had died. tain work somewhere else. For my examination Shortly before Christmas that same year I had to make a pine bedstead. I tried hard to he also lost his paternal grandmother, the do the best I could. In a week my work was fin- other member of the family to whom he was ished and it was quite satisfactory. Now I had to especially devoted. undergo a verbal examination, to which my brother-in-law was invited. The two of us went On May 4, 1835, Mr. Wilhelm died, and, as to see the man in charge of the examination. Jacob writes, "things in the shop became criti- We reached his house a little late, and he was cal." For some time, he explains, Wilhelm had just ready to leave for the town hall, where he been running his business with three helpers had some work to do. He said, "Why didn't you and two apprentices, and for quite a while Mrs. come earlier? I have to leave now." Wilhelm had been "secretly living with the old- My brother-in-law was a smart man; he had a lit- est helper." After her husband's death, Jacob tle talk with this man's wife and casually he continues, Mrs. Wilhelm's first plan was to managed to slip her some money, which manage the business herself with the help of worked like a charm. The man soon returned her lover, whom Jacob describes as an able car- in a very pleasant mood. I did not even have to be examined any more. My apprenticeship was penter. The hitch was that the latter was also declared finished and a paper to that effect was "going steady with another girl." made out. The fee was not so very high: for the The changes and uncertainties resulting chief master 1 guilder, also for the guildmaster from Wilhelm's untimely death prompted and the man in charge of the examination, Jacob's family at this point to discuss his future plus a little extra for the papers. After that the paper had to be sealed at the town hall. with one of his former teachers. Following his advice, the Grosses decided that Jacob should The date was August 5, 1835, and Jacob had leave Mrs. Wilhelm's shop and continue his ap- just turned sixteen. While his certificate, im- prenticeship elsewhere. His teacher recom- properly obtained though it was, officially con- mended a piano builder in Kirchheim named firmed that he had completed his apprentice- Keim, and a few days later Jacob set out on foot ship, technically he had not fulfilled the terms for Kirchheim, carrying with him a letter of in- of his contract with the Wilhelms, which pro- troduction. Arriving in the early evening, after vided for three years of service. Once again his a seven-hour hike, he went at once to see Mr. brother-in-law, acting on his behalf, demon- Keim, who received him cordially but told him strated his shrewdness in negotiating Jacob's that he could not take him on at that time. He release with Mrs. Wilhelm. suggested that Jacob see an organ builder That matter settled, Jacob and his brother- named Walker in Ludwigsburg and even of- in-law returned to Untergröningen, where fered to accompany him there. Later that Jacob did some painting and carpentry work in -46- The Apprentice Years of Jacob Gross the Eagle and visited with his family until his lock up his belongings. One day half of the Wanderbuch arrived.3 money he had left in his knapsack ("about 7 With his Wanderbuch, and "fully equipped guilders") disappeared. Although he strongly with a new knapsack, clothes, and 12 guilders," suspected Mrs. Wilhelm herself, for she was al- Jacob set out from Untergröningen on Sep- ways in financial straits, he said nothing. tember 7, 1835 to begin the next phase of his Shortly after this unhappy episode, Mrs. Wil- training, and here he depicts in rather moving helm rented a house where she could carry on words his fond relationship with his father and her business more expeditiously; soon after the the caring advice he took on his way: move the organ builder, whose name was Carl . . . My father accompanied me to Holzhausen, von Berger, did indeed arrive from Bamberg. about an hour's walk from Gröningen. I did Because von Berger was still unknown in not want to have my old father walk any farther Gmünd, his arrival had no effect on the busi- with me. He handed me my knapsack and gave ness. To make himself known he decided to me also much advice. He said, "Look here, demonstrate his skill by building a piano. With Jacob, I cannot give you any money; you know what our conditions are at home. Believe in Mrs. Wilhelm's approval he proceeded to carry God, do the right things in life, always try to be out this plan with the assistance of Jacob and ambitious to learn something. Take care that Mrs. Wilhelm's other helper. Work progressed you do not spend your money foolishly and very slowly, Jacob recalls, because everything lead a decent life; try to keep good company. "had to be made." The piano was finally fin- Do not forget to pray, and God will not leave ished in March, 1836, but there was no buyer you; think also about your mother and me, wherever you may be." and the beautiful piano went to the pawn shop for 60 guilders, so that some of the money My father wept when he left and I could hardly spent on materials could be recouped. control my emotions. I was thus left to myself. Everything I owned was in my knapsack; the At this point in the shop's declining fortunes wide world was in front of me. Mrs. Wilhelm laid off her third employee, and Jacob decided to leave with him. "A few Walking some fifteen kilometers, he reached things went to the pawn broker and 2 guilders Gmünd, where Mrs. Wilhelm tried to tempt were obtained in this manner. This was my him to return to her shop by telling him that total capital." an organ builder would soon be coming to Two days later they reached Aalen, where work for her. Jacob had already decided, how- they collected 18 kreuzer from the head mas- ever, to try his luck in Ulm, where his sister ter of the carpenters' guild. In Ellwangen they Katherine lived. This required another walk, found work as carpenters, but the work was this time of about sixty kilometers. In Ulm he hard, as Jacob describes it: quickly found work, but was dismayed when after a few days his employer told him that he My hands were often swollen My new employer still lacked experience and offered to keep him liked his drink and went evenings to a local on as an apprentice for a small fee. inn, and he slept mornings till 10 or 11 o'clock to get rid of his hangover. . . . Thus I returned Unwilling to accept such an offer after hav- to Gmünd. ... I longed for an employer where ing successfully passed the examinations which I could see and learn things, but the fulfillment qualified him to work for wages, Jacob re- of this wish was a long time off yet. turned to Gmünd, where Mrs. Wilhelm was still willing to hire him for a modest wage. But he Shortly after this von Berger left to report soon found that he was working only from time for military service. These developments made to time, for business was sporadic. An addi- it evident to Jacob that his future in the shop tional disadvantage was that in the quarters as- was in jeopardy. The wisest course, he decided, signed to him in her parents' home, where she would be to leave before being laid off, and on was then living and to which she had relocated January 26, 1837 he and Sachsenmeier, the her shop, he had no privacy and was unable to co-worker whom Mrs. Wilhelm had just dis- -47- The Apprentice Years of Jacob Gross charged, set out together for Switzerland, hop- In St. Gallen they had the good fortune to ing to find work there. be offered a three-hour ride, and then, joined The sortie into Switzerland proved to be less by a soap maker from the Kingdom of Sar- a work experience than a youthful adventure. dinia, continued on foot toward Wiel: Jacob had only two guilders in his pocket. He Our soap maker told us that there were two describes his financial plight: monasteries here and that they always served I wish to remark here that Mr. von Berger in some food to passing journeymen. This paying me off cheated me out of 20 kreuzer on sounded mighty good to us and soon we rang my weekly pay. Instead of receiving 1 guilder the bell at the first place. We received some and 20 kreuzer, I got only 1 guilder. I had noth- soup after the soap maker told the Capucine ing in writing and no witnesses. For the time I monk a hard luck story. The soup looked worked previous to making an arrangement rather dubious and the spoon hanging on a for an increase in pay he wanted to pay noth- chain near the gate looked awful rusty. I lost all ing at all. I went to see the Stadtschultheiss—a my appetite and we soon started out for the man whose duty it is to settle debts. I received a other place, a cloister for nuns. Here we each few guilders for this time but I lost out on my received a good piece of bread, which I pre- 20 kreuzer weekly extra pay. ferred to the Capucine soup. On February 3 they reached Friedrichs- In the account which Jacob kept of his ex- hafen and were much impressed by their first penses during this winter trip it appears that sight of the Bodensee (Lake Constance). As shelter and food were much costlier in the larger towns than in the villages, a fact of life they left the steamboat at Rorschach, they were for which he may have been unprepared. able to show the travel money required for Hurrying to reach their goal, Winterthur, passport inspection only after a restaurant they found that there was little work for car- owner lent Jacob two thalers on his watch. Expenses during my trip to Switzerland for my travel companion and myself: At Donzdorf 5 kreuzer 297 kreuzer Geiseingen 30 " St. Gallen 10 " Schuserhaus 5 " Village 3 hrs. Ulm 39 " from St. Gallen Dorf 48 " Stayed night 45 " Biberach 5 " Wyl 4 " Otterswang 25 " Village 10 " Aulendorf 4 " Winterthur 16 schilling Dorf 2 " Zurich 10 " Ravensburg 10 " Village 8 " Friedrichshafen 41 " " 4 " Across Lake Eglisau 10 " Constance 48 " Rheinau 10 " Roschach 34 " 410 kr 297 kreuzer and 52 schilling (Baden) Elderdingen 10 kreuzer Engin 10 " Small village 6 " Duttlingen 42 " 68 " = total 7 guilders 18 kreuzer and the schillings = 1 guilder 48 kreuzer = 9 guilders 6 kreuzer -48- The Apprentice Years of Jacob Gross penters in cold weather. Nor was Zürich more tions as an employee of Mr. Malsch, he sug- hospitable: gested that he get in touch with Mr. Walker, the ... We did not know what to do; our money was Ludwigsburg organ builder whom Mr. Keim running low and so far we had not been able to had urged him to see during his brief interview find any work and I did not want to leave my with Jacob in Kirchheim two years earlier. friend, since he owed me some money. There- Knödler even offered to serve as intermediary. fore our journey turned back to Germany. It When Knödler called on Mr. Walker he was on Feb. 5 when we left Zurich. We had two found him very much inclined toward hiring traveling companions, a carpenter and a cop- Jacob but not willing to do so before having persmith. One of the fellows had traveled seen a letter of recommendation attesting to around quite a bit and called our attention to Jacob's character, previous training, and expe- the monastery at Rheinau near Schaffhausen. Thus we marched, four men strong, into rience. Unfortunately Jacob had no letters of Rheinau, where a carnival was being celebrated recommendation, but, eager as he was to work with music, dancing etc. We went to the with Mr. Walker, resorted, as he confesses, to monastery and each of us received a loaf of "subterfuge" by having a fellow worker com- fresh white bread which we took to the inn and pose a letter of recommendation and sign it enjoyed later in the evening. with Mr. von Berger's name. The stratagem Their search for employment in Switzerland worked. Favorably impressed by the letter, having proved fruitless, the two found work in which praised Jacob in glowing terms, Mr. Tuttlingen. Jacob would have been willing to Walker told Jacob he could start work at once. remain there, but allowed Sachsenmeier to On May 30, 1837, two months before his eigh- persuade him to move on to Tübingen where teenth birthday, he took leave of Mr. Malsch Sachsenmeier's mother was living. In Tübin- and his co-workers and went to Ludwigsburg. gen the two were arrested for soliciting work When he began work in Mr. Walker's shop from door to door and had to spend a night in two days later, Jacob felt uneasy, he says, be- jail. Jacob was released the following morning, cause he realized that his meager experience in but Sachsenmeier was detained until noon be- working with organs would doubtless be quickly cause his Wanderbuch indicated that he had detected and that he "would not last long." been previously arrested for the same offense. . . .but things turned out all right. On the sec- Sachsenmeier asked Jacob to wait for him, but ond day I was severely reprimanded for some after his night in jail Jacob was anxious to leave work I had not done right. It was nothing out of the ordinary and I deserved it. There were and was soon headed toward Stuttgart. 15-20 men working at this place in several After an overnight stay in Stuttgart Jacob rooms. In one section they manufactured traveled on to Marbach, where in an inn he pipes, in another wind chests, etc. At first I met a master carpenter named Malsch who ex- worked in a room together with an elderly mar- amined him and offered him a job as helper. ried man. After awhile I worked with another man, by the name of Hofer, who made registers Although glad to be employed again, Jacob and wind chests. He received 3 guilders per soon realized that his new job would be neither register and 5 guilders per wind chest, includ- lucrative nor of value as a learning experience. ing air valve installation. The helper was paid Both the pay and the meals were meager, he by Hofer himself, since he had his work on notes, and Mr. Malsch, a man about fifty, would contract. Board and room for the helper was furnished by Mr. Walker. Thus I now made have made in Jacob's opinion "a better pastor wind chests with Hofer; it was work which re- or lawyer than a carpenter." He also "liked his quired a lot of strength. wine" and "spent most of his money for it." During the fall there was a considerable Since Marbach was not far from Ludwigs- amount of rush work; an organ with 13 regis- burg, Jacob was easily able to visit from time to ters for Offenbach had to be built and I had to time an old friend, Gottfried Knödler, who was assist with the manufacturing of the mecha- fulfilling there his military service obligation. nism. At this time the son of an organ builder When Knödler heard about Jacob's frustra- from Freiburg in Breisgau (Baden) started to -49- The Apprentice Years of Jacob Gross Jacob's Travels On Foot To Find Work: ------Jacob's Travels to Find Work: Jan. 26-Feb. 18,1837 ______Jacob's Travels to Find Work: Jan. 2-10,1838 -50- The Apprentice Years of Jacob Gross work for Mr. Walker and we became close While assembling in Untergröningen the data friends since we worked together. Mr. Walker required for obtaining his passbook, Jacob had a large workshop where he could erect the stayed with his sister and brother-in-law, who large organs. The organs were completely fin- ished and properly tuned, then demounted had meanwhile relocated their business to and packed and finally shipped. Bühlertann. He also visited his father, who had moved to Bühlertann with them, regretfully, Jacob admits that his attitudes toward his fel- the Eagle having been sold. low-workers were not always pleasant and that With his passbook in hand Jacob returned he made enemies. "Mr. Walker always liked to Waiblingen on January 2, 1838. Two days me," he writes, "but my enemies soon brought later, with another of Mr. Fetzer's helpers who about my downfall." The situation which re- had just left his shop, he set out for Stuttgart, sulted in his "downfall" arose when a senior which the two reached that same day. After a employee named Binder reported Jacob and night in Stuttgart they walked to Tübingen, a an apprentice named Carl Pfeiffelmann for distance of more than 50 kilometers, where having entered a workshop after hours, which Jacob looked up Knödler, who owed him was forbidden, and for having taken there a money. Knödler put him up for the night, board on which Pfeiffelmann had made Jacob writes, and also bought him a meal the sketches for a harmonica which he wished to following day, but made no move to repay the make. For this infraction, which Binder had re- money he owed. ported simply as "tomfoolery," Pfeiffelmann In nearby Rottenburg Jacob stopped long and Jacob were both reprimanded. Resenting enough to visit briefly with his brother Anton, this, Jacob overreacted by sending the errand- who was just completing his theological stud- boy to Mr. Binder to thank him ironically in ies. Although Anton, the only brother, Jacob the presence of other workers for having re- had ever known, had disgraced his family re- ported his and Pfeiffelmann's misconduct. peatedly with his sloth, drunkenness and irre- From his later more mature perspective as a sponsible conduct, they had continued to pay craftsman who was beginning to gain recogni- his debts and to support the prodigal in his ef- tion for his work in Bern he realized that it forts at reinstatement in the seminary, and would have been better to remain silent, for Jacob visited him whenever he could: "the other fellows kept teasing Binder until he went once again to Mr. Walker to report what I often recall the day I visited Anton. There I saw him at the end of his long years of study. had happened," with the result that Jacob was He had been the hope of my dear parents, but laid off. how many tears and sorrows he had caused! The day after Mr. Walker had fired him, on The black cassock looked good on him, but he December 5,1837, Jacob walked from Ludwigs- was not to wear it long. burg to Cannstadt, where two of his friends On January 8, Jacob and his traveling com- were working for an organ builder. The older panion reached Obendorf, where the latter of the two advised him to apply for a job at the found work. The following day, in bitter cold, shop of an instrument maker named Fetzer in Jacob started out for Freiburg. He describes in Waiblingen, which Jacob did and was promptly detail his lonely, arduous journey over the hired. Like some of his earlier employers, how- Black Forest Mountains, through the difficult ever, Fetzer "had hardly any orders and terrain with which journeymen so often had to no money," and he proved also to be "a real contend in mountainous southern Germany: bum, spending most of his time drinking." Three weeks in Fetzer's shop were all Jacob The villages were rather far apart here and soon I had to travel a road branching off from could endure. the main road. This road was entirely snowed From Waiblingen Jacob returned home to in and sometimes hard to see. Occasionally I apply for a "passbook" which would authorize was afraid I would lose my direction or meet a him to apply for work in Bavaria and Prussia.4 wolf. Finally I crossed the top ridge of the -51- The Apprentice Years of Jacob Gross Black Forest Mountains. It was possible to rec- warmer room, where he worked on organ ognize the road now and then again, but just parts. He also lacked friends, because his the same it was still very tiresome hiking in the co-workers were all older and they kept largely high snow. Soon I left the surrounding forest behind me and crossed a plateau where the to themselves. road led along a mountain ridge. On the other In the spring of 1838, Merklin asked his son side was a deep valley; a farm house showed to come home and also hired two additional here and there through the snow. skilled workers to assist in building an organ for It was around noontime when I arrived in the the Protestant church of Freiburg. With the ar- valley, and I felt full of joy in spite of a bitter rival of these new co-workers, all of whom were cold wind which chilled to the bone. I was younger men, Jacob had "plenty of friends," but proud of my accomplishment, and no matter soon noticed, to his growing annoyance, that how poor I was I felt happier than I do now here in Bern where I am writing these lines Mr. Merklin was giving them all of the impor- and where I have all comforts life can afford. tant work. When at this juncture an offer ar- How often have I thought in later years of the rived from an organ builder named Haas in time when I stood with my possessions in my Murg, he accordingly decided to move on. knapsack in the Black Forest Mountains. At this point Jacob's narrative suddenly Continuing my march into the Brecht Valley I breaks off. From later newspaper articles and soon met a man carrying a load, and the sight family accounts, however, we know that after of a human being was something joyful to be- having left Mr. Merklin's shop he eventually hold. Soon I reached a pretty village; it was al- most in the evening, but I could not afford to traveled abroad and worked under several mas- stay overnight here and kept on till late in the ter piano builders in Switzerland, Spain and evening. When I came to a small village I asked France and acquired in their shops the techni- at a farm if they could let me stay overnight. cal knowledge and construction skills which he They were very nice people and gave me a brought with him to America. good meal. Later the mother and the daugh- Accounts differ as to whether Jacob emi- ters sat down and spun yarns. grated to the United States in 1848 or 1850, In Freiburg Jacob applied for work in the and they also do not tell us where he first set- shop of an organ builder named Merklin tled. In the early 1850's he was living in Troy, whose son he had come to know in Ludwigs- New York and building pianos there with an as- burg. At first, he writes, Mr. Merklin seemed sociate named Hulskamp. By 1857 he had rather distant and not inclined to hire him, but moved to Baltimore at the invitation of Charles as soon as he spoke to the master of his son, M. Stieff to supervise piano construction in Sti- "things changed like magic. Everyone was effs newly established piano factory. He happy, wine and bread were placed before me, brought with him to Baltimore one of the pi- and I was hired." The date, he recalls, was Janu- anos he had built with Hulskamp. For years the ary 10, 1838. As required, he reported at once instrument was on display in the Stieff factory, to the police and deposited his passbook in ex- but was eventually moved to the home of change for a work permit. In order to pay the Jacob's son Charles Jacob. Many years later, fee for the permit he had to pawn his watch when the piano had outlived its usefulness as a [once again]. musical instrument, some of the mahogany Although he was pleased to be working in panels were incorporated into various pieces of the shop of a well-known organ builder, his furniture. Thus it happened that the piano's salary was low, and working conditions seem to fallboard, embellished with the names of Gross have been almost austere. In the underheated and Hulskamp, became a backboard for an at- room in which he first worked, for example, he tractive marble-topped washstand, in the home soon developed frostbitten feet and hands of his grandson, George Jacob. as well as rheumatic pains in his arms that Like Jacob Gross, the founder of the Charles kept him awake nights. After he had seen a M. Stieff Piano Company was also a native of physician, he writes, he was assigned to a Württemberg, where he was born on July 19, -52- The Apprentice Years of Jacob Gross 1805, and christened Karl Maximilian. A later the Stieffs' youngest son, George, joined memorial speech delivered by his son Freder- the firm. During all of these changes and re- ick Paul in July, 1892, mentions that he re- structurings the company name remained un- ceived "a formal classical education" in changed; and under the sons' able manage- Stuttgart, taught music there for a time in the ment the business continued to flourish.7 Württemberg School of Music, and married During the years before and after World War Katherine Regina Rosch in 1830. The follow- I, its period of greatest prosperity, the Stieff ing year the young couple emigrated to the Piano Company made grand pianos, square United States, arriving in the spring of 1831 grands, smaller square pianos, and uprights, after a long and arduous crossing by sailing and, from the 1870's on, the "baby" grand in- ship. They first took up residence in Lebanon troduced by Charles and Frederick Paul. The County, Pennsylvania, but soon moved to latter instrument, though smaller than the Wrightsville in York County, where Stieff standard grand, had a rich tone, and was much taught music and science in a local school. less expensive. The popularity of the upright In 1837 he received an offer to direct the and the baby grand led the Stieff brothers to choir and teach music and languages at the predict as early as the 1880's that those two in- Haspert School in Baltimore. After school and struments would be the pianos of the future on weekends he also gave private music lessons and would entirely supersede the square and in 1842 began to import pianos for his stu- piano, the former because it required less dents and other interested clients. To house space and the latter because its three strings to these instruments he rented a storage facility at each note and its longer bass strings gave it a 7 Eutaw Street in 1843. The demand for pianos more powerful and resonant sound than the proved to be lively, and Stieff s business grew square piano was able to produce. apace. Soon he had to relocate to larger quar- In the circulars describing their pianos the ters at 7 Liberty Street. Until 1855 he contin- Stieffs emphasized that in building all of their ued to import pianos, and by studying the fea- pianos they employed only the finest, thor- tures that made some superior to others he oughly seasoned grain woods and also noted gradually became very knowledgeable about that every instrument was strung with the best piano building. By 1852 he had already con- "Pohlmann German steel wires on iron ceived the idea of building his own pianos and frames." They also pointed out the special at- traveled to Europe that year to visit leading tention devoted to balance of tone so that the piano factories. In 1856 he opened a factory upper and lower registers were as sweet and as on Sharp Street and invited Jacob Gross to join powerful as the middle register and also had him in his new enterprise as factory superin- the same "bell-like clarity." tendent.5 On December 19, 1857 fire destroyed At the Paris Exposition of 1878 the Stieff the Sharp Street factory, and production was Piano Company won international recognition resumed at a new location on Baltimore Street when the jury of awards selected Stieff pianos near Greene Street. These quarters became for the coveted Médaille d'Argent and the cramped as sales increased, and Stieff moved Diplôme d'Honneur. The jury of awards also ac- his factory to Nos. 84 and 86 on Camden Street corded to Jacob Gross an honorable mention near Howard Street. for his role in supervising the construction of Not long after the move to Camden Street the prize-winning instruments. Charles M. Stieff died, on January 1, 1862, and In 1880 a Stieff piano won first premium at his widow and three of their sons, John Louis, the California state fair at Sacramento and at Charles, and Frederick Paul, took over the the national fair in Washington, D. C. The fol- management of the company. When Katherine low-ing year the company's entries were also Stieff retired in December, 1867, her three awarded first prizes in Boston; at the state fair sons became co-owners. John Louis left the in Worcester, Massachusetts; at the North Car- company in December 1876,6 but two years olina state fair in Raleigh; and at state fairs in -53- The Apprentice Years of Jacob Gross cities and the Paris Exposition, and had also spent time with relatives in Bremen. A personal notice imparts the information that a Mr. D. G. Pfeiffer had dedicated to Miss Nellie Gross his recently published composition entitled "Cra- dle Song." From the later announcement of her marriage we learn that she eventually mar- ried the gentleman who had dedicated his song to her. The marriage of Carrie Gross to Charles C. Boyd, a prominent tobacco mer- chant, also had extensive coverage, including a description of the bridal gown, the wedding gifts, and a list of the invited guests. The au- thor of the article also notes that at the close of the ceremony, which was held in the Gross resi- dence at 143 Camden Street, an uncle of the Jacob Gross bride, Professor Michael Stieff, played Mendelssohn's Wedding March on "one of Sti- Richmond, Virginia and in Martinsburg, West eff s instruments." Virginia. The high regard in which Jacob Gross was Two years later, on July 26, 1883, Jacob held by his fellow citizens is evident in the obit- Gross's sixty-fourth birthday and the twenty- uary notices in The Sun, The Baltimore American, fifth anniversary of his superintendency, his co- The Morning Herald, and Der Deutsche Correspon- workers expressed their esteem and affection dent announcing his death on October 16, by presenting to him a beautiful armchair. 1887 in the sixty-ninth year of his age. A later Deeply touched, he invited all of them to be article in Der Deutsche Correspondent reports that his guests for what Der Deutsche Correspondent on October 19, the day of the funeral, both described as "a few hours of happy sociability," Pastor Burkhart of St. John's Church on Biddle in the course of which "many glasses were emp- Street and Pastor Studebaker of First English tied to his continuing good health" and the Lutheran Church on Lanvale and Fremont "wish was expressed that he might enjoy many Streets had "come to the house of mourning to more years as superintendent." bring words of comfort to the stricken family" In 1860 Jacob had married Katherine and also notes that "a great number of mourn- ("Katie") Stieff, daughter of Charles M. and ers" had come to "accompany the deceased to Katherine (Rosch) Stieff. Baltimore newspa- his place of final rest and to pay him their lov- pers frequently reported happenings involving ing respect." Among the mourners were all the members of their family. These clearly indicate employees of the Stieff Piano Company. The the family's social position and also reflect a family had requested no flowers, but so many level of affluence and a style of living that con- were sent, the article continues, "that two wag- trast markedly with those of Jacob's parents ons completely covered with flowers followed and brother and sisters as he describes them in the coffin." Among the outstanding floral his reminiscences. One article announces, for arrangements mentioned in the article were "a example, that Jacob's son, Charles Jacob, then piano made entirely of flowers" from Jacob's a recent graduate of Baltimore City College, co-workers, a "pillow of flowers" from Mrs. had ranked ninth among two hundred and Charles M. Stieff, and "a magnificent flower forty applicants and had been admitted to the harp" which Charles Jacob and his two sisters United States Naval Academy. Another reports laid on their father's coffin. that Charles Jacob's sisters, the Misses Nellie The spontaneous outpouring of affection at and Clara Gross, had been traveling in Europe Jacob Gross's funeral and the words spoken by for three months, and had visited the principal -54- The Apprentice Years of Jacob Gross friends and colleagues in praise of his accom- plishments demonstrate beyond all doubt that in the eyes of those who had worked with him he had in the fullest sense realized the ambi- tion that had started him on his quest for ex- cellence. Although modest and never prone to boast of his accomplishments, he must have felt at the close of his life some measure of the special satisfaction that comes from knowing one has done one's best. It must also have been comforting during the last days of his illness to know that his son would succeed him as super- intendent and carry on his fine work.8 — William H. McClain and Helen Perry Smith NOTES 'The English translation is written on the blank pages 'John Louis Stieff s son Charles Clinton became the of the notebook in which Jacob recorded his reminis- founder of the Baltimore Silver Company, which was later cences. Members of the George J. Gross family, Jean Rath- incorporated as the Stieff Silver Company. The firm was bone, and Helen Perry Smith have typewritten copies of known by this name until it merged with the Kirk Silver this translation. Company to form the corporation known as the Kirk Sti- 2The guilder in circulation in 1850 contained 9.55 eff Company. Among the holdings of the library of the grams of gold and would have approximated the buying Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a power of 40 cents of the American gold dollar. It was brief history of the early years of the company: The Stieff worth 65 kreuzer, the other coins most often mentioned Company: Planned and Produced by the Barton-Gillet Company by Jacob. (Baltimore, 1930). 3Wanderbuch: a document by which traveling journey- 7See: Alfred Dolge, Pianos and their Makers: A Comprehen- men could prove their identity and work experience. The sive History of the Development of the Piano (New York: Dover Wanderbuch was also required for admission to craftsmen's Publications, 1972), pp. 291-292. A fine example of the guilds, and in it were recorded all infractions. workmanship for which the Stieff Piano Company was 4During Jacob's early years what historians call "The noted is a magnificent nine-foot concert grand originally German Confederation" was a loose union of several sov- donated to the General German Aged Peoples' Home of ereign states and free cities governed by a central diet or Baltimore in memory of Corella Lynn Seeger; it is now at assembly in Frankfurt am Main which had little authority Edenwald in Towson. Its special significance is that it is over the individual member states. Each state, for exam- one of the few Stieff concert grands that can also be ple, could send its own representatives abroad and con- played automatically by means of perforated paper rolls. duct foreign relations more or less as it pleased. If one "We were delighted to discover, while writing our account wished to work in a state other than the one in which one of Jacob Gross, that some of his descendants live in legally resided, it was necessary to apply, as Jacob did, for a Baltimore. One of them, Mrs. Jean Pontius Rathbone, is a passport authorizing one to take up temporary resi- granddaughter of Charles Jacob Gross, and hence a great- dence and to seek work in the state. granddaughter of Jacob Gross, Her mother, Ellen Gross, 5Three years earlier the piano builder who was to be- married Paul Pontius. In September, 1993, during a come his most important competitor, Henry Engelhard reunion of the Pontius family, Mrs. Rathbone visited Steinway, had opened his factory in New York City, four Untergröningen and several other locales mentioned by years after his arrival in the United States. her great-grandfather in his reminiscences. -55- ROBERT REITZEL (1849-1898) LUTHERAN MINISTER, FREETHINKER, AND LIBERAL FIREBRAND obert Reitzel's name surfaces only occa- Reitzel's university years are equally cloudy. Rsionally in scholarly works even within the Mrs. Doris Severance notes that her mother, relatively narrow confines of German-Ameri- Reitzel's daughter Pauline, had duelling can studies. Yet in the late nineteenth century swords which she believed to have been her fa- he was well known to many in German-Amer- ther's during his university days. Moreover, Re- ica and beyond. Robert was born 27 January itzel himself frequently related adventures 1849 in Weitenau near Schopfheim in Baden which took place among a lively student popu- as the only child of Reinhard and Katharina lation in Heidelberg. However, because Reitzel Uehlin Reitzel.1 Although Reitzel's childhood left the lyceums at Karlsruhe and Constance years hardly augured any achievements of without an Abitur he could not have pursued substantial significance for the young man, it his education further at the university level. might be noted here that Reitzel's credentials Rudolf Rieder's work on Reitzel clarifies the as a freethinker and potential revolutionary matter considerably.4 On the authority of Dr. were impeccable from the point of view of his Leo Müller in Karlsruhe, a childhood friend of family heritage. He was named after Robert Reitzel, Rieder states that Reitzel never studied Blum, hero of the Baden revolution, and his in Heidelberg although he was anxiously uncle, Georg Uehlin, earned a reputation for awaited as an Alemanenfuchs by many of his himself during the Baden revolution as well. friends who were already at the university. Pre- Reitzel writes: sent archival material, which is more detailed than in Rieder's day, confirms this assumption. In the gorgeous countryside of Alemania my uncle George Uehlin was born to the family of As Rieder notes, Reitzel's role in the perpetua- the tanning master of the city of Schopfheim. tion of this one myth at least was at most a pas- One can't be certain whether it was the influ- sive one, for nowhere does Reitzel say tht he ence of the air of nearby free Switzerland or studied in Heidelberg; he simply fails to cor- something inherited from that notorious rect a false assumption.5 It is, in any case, clear thief [Blum], who nonetheless managed to be- come mayor of Schopfheim, but no matter that Robert Reitzel did not continue his studies what the reason George turned into a fine at the lyceum in Constance. Indeed, on 4 revolutionary.2 February 1870, Reinhard Reitzel made appli- cation to the proper authorities for a visa Young Reitzel passed his first ten years in which would permit his son to emigrate to the Weitenau until he was sent to school in United States. In March 1870 Robert Reitzel Mannheim, where he subsequently began a was issued a passport and by the late spring he rather hapless series of attempts at preparing was on his way to America and his first home himself for the university. In the course of time there, in Baltimore. he attended the Gymnasien in Mannheim, Karl- Within a year of his arrival in Maryland Re- sruhe, and Constance successively, but was itzel took and successfully passed the exami- graduated from none of them. Robert started nation administered by the local Lutheran his university preparation at the Gymnasium in synod for admission to the clergy. He wrote his Mannheim. He then moved to Karlsruhe, parents:6 where he was expelled in the spring of 1869 for failing to obey the rules of the institution con- Dear Parents! cerning proper decorum. He seems to have at- I left the wine shop at the beginning of the new tempted to complete his pre-university training year in order to once again devote myself to by enrolling at Constance the following fall as a the study of theology. Now I'm staying with Pas- tor Pister and will leave for Washington yet this member of the graduating class, but for rea- week. I gave a sample sermon there yesterday sons which remain unclear he never continued which was greeted with enthusiasm. In fact, I beyond the winter semester.3 am now the pastor of the First Reformed Con- -57- Robert Reitzel gregation of Washington D.C., elected unani- blocks from the Lutheran church they had left. mously from among three candidates. My fel- Here Reitzel was free to preach in street low candidates were both older and more ex- clothes if he desired and question the infallibil- perienced ministers, and consequently it was no simple matter for me to carry the day. My ity of revealed religion when he wanted. Yet salary will be the equivalent of about 1600 even this arrangement soon proved inade- gulden initially. In addition there are the fees quate. Although the rather bohemian pastor for funeral services and the tuition money for continued to be generally admired and re- tutoring. I believe that I have outstripped all spected by those to whom he preached, in- my schoolmates in Germany and you won't be- lieve what a fine picture of preacher I will pre- evitably Reitzel seems to have become em- sent in the pulpit. broiled in situations which certainly did not enhance his standing, especially among those In the matter of Reitzel's years as a preacher already disinclined to accept his increasingly there is again a certain degree of uncertainty as liberal views. Apparently Reitzel himself gradu- to the exact sequence of events. Reitzel himself ally began to realize the distance which sepa- mentions three stages: the period between rated his own opinions from the beliefs and April 1871 and March 1872, when his congrega- dogma of established religion. On 20 October tion at the corner of 6th and N Streets in Wash- 1873 he delivered a farewell sermon to his ington, D. C. was fully affiliated with the synod; Washington congregation and within a month the period between March 1872 and October he was the acknowledged leader and speaker 1873, when essentially the same congregation for an active group of Washington-area free re- established itself independently, severing its ties ligionists. to the synod; and finally, in late 1873, Reitzel's In 1874 the Association of Independent complete break from the church, which was oc- Congregations held a convention in Sauk City, casioned primarily by his increasingly liberal Iowa. Robert Reitzel attended as a represen- views, but most likely hastened by a number of tative for the Washington affiliate and while negative comments from parishioners who there he met and became friends with Eduard were concerned about the pastor's apparent Schroeter, the organization's founder. disinterest in orthodox practices. Schroeter was quite impressed by the young The three phases Reitzel distinguishes mark man and urged him to offer his services as a a relatively quick transformation from lecturer on the speaking tour being arranged Lutheran minister to liberal firebrand. In April by the association. Reitzel agreed, and for ten 1871 Reitzel was offered his first position as years thereafter he travelled almost full time, pastor of a Lutheran congregation in Washing- expounding the principles of free thought be- ton, D.C., but slightly less than eleven months fore assemblages of liberal-minded Germans later he was asked to resign. Reitzel's popu- around the country. By the time Reitzel moved larity with the majority of his parishioners was his wife and family permanently to Detroit in undeniable, but his unconventional dress and early 1882, he had in fact thoroughly estab- increasingly unorthodox views had caused con- lished his reputation as a captivating and effec- siderable consternation among the more con- tive speaker, whose sharp wit, keen mind, and ventional individuals in the congregation as sincere dedication to his ideals seemed to well as within the hierarchy of the synod itself. strike a sympathetic chord in the hearts of his The Reverend Mr. Reitzel was finally removed listeners. from his post by order of a synodical commis- A number of individuals remark upon Re- sion; however, his appeal among his pastorate itzel's talents as a speaker, among them Martin carried the day, for as he departed a large ma- Drescher and Emma Goldmann. However, the jority of the church's members followed him. comments of Fernande Richter, who wrote Reitzel and his companions ultimately estab- under the pseudonym Edna Fern, as related to lished themselves as an independent Protes- Paul Werckshagen,7 seem best to indicate the tant denomination in a building only a few effect Reitzel might have had initially on a -58- Robert Reitzel group which was not necessarily predisposed to From December 1884 until illness confined being enthusiastic. Mrs. Richter had read Re- him to bed, Reitzel could be seen each week as itzel's travel letters in his weekly journal, the he sat in the storefront where his paper was Arme Teufel, while he was in Europe, and upon printed and occupied himself energetically hearing that he was to speak in her hometown with his writing. He had a habit of thrusting of St. Louis, she was quite anxious to see the out both lips slightly and sniffing the air occa- man whose writing had so impressed her. Her sionally as he worked, thus adding a singularly reactions she reports as follows: curious idiosyncrasy to an already distinctive The disappointment! There on the small mien. Customarily, he would settle in his shirt podium stood a small, rather rotund man with sleeves at an old desk situated amidst the para- disheveled hair and a leathery face. He fum- phernalia of his occupation— bundles of old bled around in his pockets and finally found a papers and stacks of complimentary issues scrunched-up manuscript. He held the paper from friendly competitors. Here he would sit directly in front of his near-sighted eyes and began to read in a voice which was so hoarse by the hour, puffing on his long pipe with the you could hardly understand him. After a few huge, round bowl and writing rapidly. He minutes, however, he looked up from the seemed always to be wearing a clean white shirt paper, cleared his voice and spoke freely: words but was otherwise inclined to be negligent in so full of conviction, of beauty, and of power, his dress. A casual viewer would likely remem- that your heart sang. The audience outdid it- ber him from his large head with its luxuriant self in its applause. Disappointment in the man Reitzel turned later into admiration as a small growth of curly, black hair, aptly accented with group sat together over wine in a cozy little bar. a long, bushy mustache. In most other respects There his humor bubbled forth. The words fly he struck one as normal enough. He was a back and forth full of enthusiasm but also full 8 man of medium build, inclined to be stout, a of great sadness. description that might well fit any number of Many of Reitzel admirers echoed Richter's men his age in the primarily German commu- ultimate sentiments. Even the move to Detroit nity immediately surrounding his home and itself was motivated in great part by friends in office. Yet even as he took up his position as ed- Detroit who pleaded that Reitzel consent to a itor of Der arme Teufel, Robert Reitzel did not series of weekly lectures in the local Turnhalle. conform to a predictable mold. During the first years of his Detroit journal, Der Even in its infancy the new journal was likely arme Teufel, Reitzel continued to speak weekly to offer in each issue something to pique the in the Turnhalle. Moreover, he reprinted a num- interest of many readers and irritate the sensi- ber of his speeches from the period before the bilities of still others. The Arme Teufel was very advent of the paper in a column entitled Aus much the personal vehicle of Robert Reitzel meinen Vorträgen. That these lectures were and his renown was practically the stuff of leg- successful and ultimately popular seems obvi- end. Many knew or had heard of him; others ous from the fact that a group of Detroit friends spoke of him frequently if only to curse him. belonging to the number which had initially in- He acknowledged no party affiliation and wel- vited Reitzel to Detroit also advanced him the comed any and all points of view; but his own money required to begin publication of his pe- opinions—at least as they appeared in print— riodical. Thus Robert Reitzel was no stranger in were often bizarre, and the brutal frankness of many quarters of Detroit by the time he de- his acerbic wit frequently caused his comments cided to make his home there, and during his to be perceived as even more severe than origi- more than fifteen years of residence, he was nally intended. His reputation as a maverick eventually to become quite a well known spread quickly and by the first anniversary of personality, whose characteristic appearance his modest-sized weekly with the odd name, his was nearly as familiar to the local German- credentials as a dissenter were unassailable. American citizenry as his general notoriety was In 1893 a brief illness revealed the first signs to the German-American populace at large. of a tubercular infection which was ultimately -59- Robert Reitzel to kill Reitzel. From 1893 until his death five able. What seems even more remarkable is that years later Reitzel was to be afflicted with se- the death of such a celebrated radical thinker vere pain and periodic complete paralysis of as Robert Reitzel should have occasioned the lower limbs. Moreover, he ultimately markedly positive, unabashedly laudatory press passed his last three years as a complete in- coverage in the pages of a large number of valid, never leaving his sickroom. Even the conservative German-American journals. It medical guidance and counsel of Dr. Carl would seem likely that an individual who had Beck, Professor of Surgery at the New York identified himself so completely with liberal, School of Medicine, could do little more than and even radical, doctrines would not be alleviate the suffering to a small degree. De- highly esteemed in a society such as that of the spite his disability, however, Reitzel continued Germans in America. Yet the Detroit Abendpost, to oversee the publication of his paper as well an acknowledged spokesman for the solidly as to contribute the majority of the material conservative values of most German-Ameri- printed each week. The tenth anniversary issue cans, praised Robert Reitzel as doubtless one of Der arme Teufel, which appeared in Novem- of the greatest, if not the greatest German ber of 1893, gives little indication of its editor's writer in America.9 Similar commentary ap- affliction or of any abatement in his customary peared elsewhere as well, not only in most of pugnaciousness. His activities, in fact, contin- the Detroit papers, but in a substantial number ued with no appreciable diminution Reitzel's of journals throughout the country. Yet none well-known reserves of strength until the day of of the many highly favorable critical assess- his death, 31 March 1898. ments of Reitzel's career, particularly his tal- ents as a journalist, seems to have been moti- vated primarily by a misplaced sense of respect for the dead. No doubt there was some polarization of atti- tudes toward Reitzel. Reitzel devotees occa- sionally bordered on the fanatic in their im- passioned enthusiasm. One gentleman in St. Louis who found himself lacking a specific number of the Arme Teufel which was already out of print borrowed the issue from a friend and transcribed it in its entirety in order that his own set might be complete.10 There were others, however, who were categorically op- posed to Robert Reitzel and everything he un- dertook. These people were appalled by his outlandish tactics, dismayed by his extreme stance on many issues, and generally disgusted by his irreverent attitude towards many of the things they held dear. Yet on the whole Reitzel seems to have had a pervasive influence on a much broader spectrum of individual opinion in the German-American community than the rather meager subscription figures for his con- troversial weekly would indicate. The material Arme Teufel which supports such an assumption is relatively intangible, being most often the cumulative Reitzel's tenacity, his perseverance in the impression of a great deal of reading in a wide pursuit of his editorial duties despite adversity, range of German-American publications and is perhaps admirable; certainly it is remark- -60- Robert Reitzel seldom anything in the manner of hard fact. tions for improvement of the land; and manda- Yet one finds words of praise for the infamous tory and free public education.11 editor not only from the traditionalist Abend- Some organizations, however, did call for post in Detroit, but also from numerous per- changes which might be considered suspi- sons of widely divergent backgrounds, from ciously socialistic even today. 'The Platform of the professional revolutionary Johann Most in the Radicals,"12 which was drawn up at a meet- Boston to Dr. Carl Beck, a respected surgeon ing of radical thinkers in Philadelphia in 1876, in New York City. included many of the demands made by the The relative high regard which an extremist North American Gymnastic Union, but it in- firebrand like Robert Reitzel enjoyed among a corporated as well calls for the elimination of very conventionally-minded populace is per- all indirect taxes, the dismantling of all mo- haps not as enigmatic as it initially appears, for nopolies, and the introduction of progressive closer inspection shows that there was not, in income and inheritance taxes with no taxes on fact, an irreconcilable disparity between the income at or below a level necessary for ade- more moderate views of the majority of the quate support of a family. Yet even in the first German-American public and the liberal ten- flush of enthusiasm prior to 1860 the goals of dencies of a decidedly smaller segment of the many groups which styled themselves socialis- population. Undeniably, a very vocal and tic, communistic, or atheistic frequently re- highly visible radical or lunatic fringe did exist. vealed nothing more dangerous or radical Indeed the actions of a few short-sighted, po- than a deep belief and trust in man and nature tential world reformers at the Chicago Hay- and the characteristic freedom inherent in market bombing and subsequent riot in 1886 both. did much to politicize and finally discredit the Socialism seems in any case to have meant activities of progressive thinkers of all persua- different things to different people. In prac- sions, but the predominant majority of those tice, the various groups frequently stood for German-Americans who called themselves whatever ideas were thought to be progressive free-thinkers or even socialists rarely espoused at a given time, and there was confusion in the principles more radical than the three-part minds of many as to the principles for which motto of the French Revolution: liberty; equal- each faction stood. Indeed, the ideals espoused ity; and brotherhood. by one organization usually overlapped with Organizations, such as the North American those defended by yet another, resulting in a Turner Union, which were founded directly af- confusing array of goals and aims, the majority ter the abortive revolutions of 1848 by expa- of which were shared by all. The confusion was triates who were anxious to realize the aims of exacerbated by the constant attempts of the those European uprisings on American soil did leaders of many factions to vie for the support profess ideals which might be considered of the members of other factions. Wilhelm vaguely socialistic even today. They oppose, for Weitling, whose own brand of Handwerkerkom- example, the extreme concentration of wealth, munismus never held much appeal for men like and political power in the hands of a few, the Karl Heinzen who were more aristocratically exploitation of labor by capital, and they de- and theoretically inclined, gives a most incisive fend the rights of the individual. Of course, and memorable description of the situation as there were other ideas considered progressive it existed in 1850: or even radical at the time which are all but Everyone wants to publish a newsletter, ev- self-understood today. Among the demands for eryone wants to be the head of an organiza- change championed by the North American tion, everyone wants to found an immigrant Turner Union were: an eight-hour day; govern- aid society, everyone wants singlehandedly to be the spokesperson for a current popular en- mental inspection of factories; child-labor laws; thusiasm. This person mixes decentralization no more sales of public lands to individuals or with socialism, that one atheism with rational- corporations, except under very special condi- ism, the next person is a socialistic gymnast, -61- Robert Reitzel the one after that is working for marked ad- pose it was to educate the assembly spiritually vances. The first person wants to introduce the and intellectually with an edifying talk on the spirit into club meetings, the next person latest scientific discoveries, taxing the rich, the mankind, the third the people, the fourth the workers, this person the singers, yet another moral character of a life patterned after nature the tailors, the gymnasts, the refugees, etc. And rather than religion, or perhaps the beauty of hundreds of others want the same thing but literature and the arts. The primary concern of 13 with a slight variation. any speaker's audience was, however, more From about 1860 on much of the ardor likely to be the liquid and solid refreshments which had been born of the dream of actualiz- which were scheduled to conclude the ing freedom from oppression in Europe was evening's festivities rather than the speech it- channelled into more directly American con- self. Many of the buildings in which such meet- cerns, such as homesteading and naturaliza- ings took place were mortgaged to brewery tion. The majority of immigrants tended to em- owners who extracted the privilege of main- phasize these and other specifically American taining a public house on the premises. concerns even more during the period follow- The frequent complaints of the more serious ing the Civil War, and socialistic rhetoric re- adherents of liberal philosophies lead one to ceded into the background. Many of the mem- conclude that for many the appeal of an bers of organizations which called themselves evening at the Turnverein or Free Thought So- liberal were small businessmen, more con- ciety was more of a social than of a scholarly cerned about making productive business con- nature. The scattered comments of various tacts than refashioning the political system. At speakers, reviewers, and historians dealing with one point Reitzel himself warns: "Naturally freethought and other liberally-oriented anyone who comes to us to find a forum for his groups indicate that the membership was not personal vanity, anyone who comes to us to always made up of persons whose primary in- find material advantage for his business, any- terest was the serious pursuit of the ideas pro- one who comes to us just to socialize, will de- fessed at such meetings. In fact, the lack of seri- part very quickly."14 Although expressed nega- ousness on the part of some supporters is tively, as that which is undesirable, the frequently cited as the reason for the limited 16 sentiment makes it obvious that there were at success of such groups. least sufficient numbers drawn to free religion Thus even organizations which bore the for precisely such reasons that Reitzel found it word socialistic in their name, as well as many necessary to mention the problem. One's sus- other German-American groups dubbed lib- picions are confirmed upon reading Heinrich eral by the public at large, probably served a Hoehn's remarks in Der Nordamerikanische much more broadly cultural function than has Turnerbund und seine Stellung zur Arbeiter-Bewe- usually been assumed. Hermann Schlüter dis- gung about those members who are "products cusses the confusion within the Gymnastic of our capitalistic system" (1). He explains: "I Union concerning the meaning or significance mean those people, who join a dozen clubs or of the word sozialistisch, which appeared in 17 small groups in the hopes of gaining customers early versions of the group's name: or some other advantage for their little busi- The socialism of the American Gymnastic nesses" (1).15 Movement was more a name than a representa- Other sources, too, reveal the problem in tion of truly socialistic principles. The group was never a proletraian organization and the maintaining truly socialistic principles which socialism which was expressed among its mem- resulted from the increasingly large propor- bers was a mix of bourgoise radicalism and tion of members who were businessmen and vague socialistic leanings, which had their ori- professionals and whose ardor for socialistic gin more in sympathic feelings than in actual 18 and communistic ideals had cooled consider- understanding or philosophical conviction. ably. The groups would meet, usually on a It was very difficult to maintain support over weekly basis, to listen to a lecturer whose pur- an extended period for controversial theories -62- Robert Reitzel which heralded the freedom of the individual ology, captivated by the quality and persua- in a country where the matter was already siveness of his written German, and finally won largely an accomplished fact. Freethought or- over by the sincerity of his unshakable faith in ganizations faced chronic difficulties in at- what he believed. Johannes Gaulke speaks of tempting to maintain the interest of their Reitzel's written style with positive descriptions members in the professed ideals of the organi- such as the "daringness of his formulations" zations. With the passage of time most Ger- and the "power of his language,"20 but Herbert man-American organizations that had debated Eulenberg pays Reitzel perhaps the highest the burning intellectual issues of contempo- compliment in saying that Reitzel's writing as rary Europe altered their predominantly politi- he knows it is conceived "in a impecable, beau- cal stance and shifted their attention to cul- tifully flowing German which could serve as a tural concerns. model for many newspaper people who re- Robert Reitzel, too, although he never really mained in the homeland of our mother lost interest in the social and political issues of tongue."21 the day, became increasingly concerned with In effect, the readership of Der arme Teufel cultural, and specifically literary, matters. His constituted a family with Reitzel as its spiritual appeal and the appeal of Der arme Teufel cer- and intellectual counselor. Reitzel's ability to tainly extended far beyond the circle of wild- establish an almost personal relationship with eyed radicals with whom he is usually associ- his reader is constantly cited by those who read ated. He was able not only to introduce the his journal as well as those who later read notorious Emma Goldmann to the latest in Eu- about it. Johannes Gaulke is even charmed by ropean literature but also to induce a busy sur- the originality of the advertisement section of geon like Carl Beck to take time from his prac- Der arme Teufel. In all, it would seem that many tice to read an article on economics. The key persons who read and admired Robert Reitzel to Reitzel's ability to attract readers from all were attracted to the Arme Teufel in part at least walks of life and from both ends of the political because of the degree to which Reitzel was able spectrum seems to have been the charm of his to bind his readers together as a large family or unique personality. During his days as a travel- an intimate circle of friends—even over great ing speaker he was well-known for his striking distances. This feeling was probably enchanced appearance, spirited delivery, and rhetorical by Reitzel's agents, who traveled through the eloquence. Emma Goldman also gives testi- United States collecting subscription money mony to the effectiveness of Reitzel's oratory. and winning new friends for the Arme Teufel. as In her autobiography, Living My Life,19 Gold- well as by Reitzel's occasional visits and lectures man first points out Reitzel's great gift for com- outside of Detroit. The measure of cohesive- ical recital (I, 215) and then pays tribute to ness which such a union of individuals pro- him in recalling an evening spent in his home: vided was probably more than anything else re- It was particularly on my last visit to him that I sponsible for the breadth of Reitzel's appeal, came fully to appreciate his true greatness, the for like the church against whose dictates and heights to which he could rise. A thinker and a dogmas he struggled and the middle-class lay poet, he was not content merely to fashion organizations he generally supported, Robert beautiful words; he wanted them to be living Reitzel too became a sort of German-American realities, to help in awakening the masses to the possibilities of an earth freed from the cultural phenomenon, providing a sense of shackles the privileged few had forged. His identity and a source of companionship amidst dream was of things radiant, of love and free- the rather unsettling struggle every immigrant dom, of life and joy. He had lived and fought endured in his attempt to preserve a sem- for that dream with all the passion of his soul blance of the life he had left behind as he es- (I, 222). tablished himself in his adopted homeland. In his journal he molded out of these char- — Randall Donaldson acteristics a distinctive style. His admirers were Loyola College in Maryland titillated by the outlandishness of his phrase- -63- Robert Reitzel NOTES 1The presentation which follows in the text attempts the Augen und begann zu lesen mit einer Stimme, so heiser, best possible coherent chronology of Reitzel's life in view daß man kaum ein Wort verstehen konnte. Das dauerte so of presently available documentation. It has always been ein Weilchen, dann ließ er das Papier sinken, seine Stimme difficult to construct an accurate picture of the events be- klarte sich, und er sprach frei: Worte voll Überzeugung, cause of the scarcity of supportive evidence. voll Schönheit, voll Kraft, daß einem das Herz aufging. Die 2Im wunderschönen Alemannenland ... wurde mein Zuhörer tobten in ihrem Beifall. Die Enttauschung uber Onkel Georg Uehlin als der Sohn eines ehrsamen Gerber- den Menschen Reitzel ging nachher in Bewunderung meisters der Stadt Schopfheim geboren. Ob nun die Luft uber, als eine kleine Gesellschaft in einem gemütlichen der nahen freien Schweiz dazu mehr beigetragen haben Kneipzimmer beim Wein zusammen saß. Da sprühte sein mag oder die sagenhafte Abstammung von jenem Räu- Humor, da flogen Worte hin und her voll Begeisterung, bergenossen, der es nachmalen in allen Ehren bis zum aber auch voll großer Traurigkeit. So habe ich Reitzel zum Stadthalter von Schopfheim brachte, kurz, dieser Georg ersten male [sic] gesehen. 9 entwickelte sich zu einem echten und gerechten Revolu- Detroit Abend-Post, 1 April 1898, as quoted in Detroit tionär (AT, 15.8.1885). Free Press, 2 April 1898 (no further information available; Translations of this and all other German quotations in extant copy in Burton Scrapbooks of Burton Historical the text are my own. The German originals will be in- Collection, the Detroit Public Library, and no other copies cluded in the notes for those who wish to read them. are known to still exist. 10 3The Badisches Generallandesarchiv has in its posses- Edna Fern, "Robert Reitzel, ein deutsch-amerikanis- sion (Auswanderungsakte unter der Signatur 375/Zug. cher Heine," Der deutsche Vorkämpfer, 2, No. 5 (May 1908), 1932 Nr. 11 Heft 330) documents which record Robert 25-26, mentions that her own, virtually complete file of Der Reitzel's presence as a student at the Lyzeum in Karlsruhe arme Teufel was lacking issues of the first volume, but that a during the years 1866-1869. In a visa application dated 4 certain Ferdinand Welb had such copies because he had February 1870 Robert is listed as an Obersextaner, the obtained originals years before in Detroit and copied them equivalent at the time for today's Oberprimaner or member off by hand. 11 of the graduating class. However, because he left the G. A. Hoehn, Der Nordamerikanische Turnerbund und lyceums at Karlsruhe and Constance without an Abitur he seine Stellung zur Arbeiter -Bewegung (St. Louis, Missouri: could not have pursued his education further at the 1892) ,4. 12 university level. discussed by C[arl] F[riedrich] Huch in "Die Konven- 4Rieder, R[udolf] T[heodor], Ein Bild Robert Reitzels tionen der Freigesinnten im Jahre 1876," Mitteilungen des und des Armen Teufel aus seinem Verhältnis zur Litteratur, diss. Deutschen Pioneer-Vereins von Philadelphia, 23 (1911), 9 ff. 13 University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1918. Jeder will ein Blättchen herausgeben, jeder will einen 5...nirgends im A.T. wird ausgesagt, daß Reitzel in Hei- Verein leiten, jeder eine Kasse grunden, jeder allein auf delberg studiert hatte, er unterliess nur die Berichtigung seine Faust für irgend eine Phrase Volkslehrer sein. Da einer irrigen Annahme (Rev. of Robert Reitzel by Adolf mischt der Eine Decentralisation mit Socialismus, der An- Zucker, Monatshefte 18 (September 1917), 218). dere Atheismus mit Vernunft, der Dritte turnt socialistisch, 6Liebe Eltern! Das Weinetablissememt verließ ich mit Be- der Vierte wirkt für den entschiedenen Fortschritt. Der ginn des neuen Jahres, um mich dem Studium der Theolo- Eine will den Geist, der Andere die Menschheit, der Dritte gie wieder zu widmen. Jetzt bin ich bei Herrn Pastor Pister die Völker, der Vierte die Arbeiter, der die Sänger, ein An- und werde diese Woche noch nach Washington abgehen. derer die Schneider, die Turner, die Flüchtlinge u.s.w. in Hielt gestern daselbst Probepredigt, welche mit Begeis- Vereine bringen. Und hunderte Andere wollen dies Alles terung aufgenommen wurde, und bin jetzt von drei Kandi- auch, aber mit einer kleinen Veränderung (Republik der Ar- daten der einstimmig erwählte Pfarrer der ersten re- beiter, 1850, 180 ff., as quoted by Friedrich Kamman, Social- formierten Gemeinde in Washington D.C. Meine ism in German-American Literature (Philadelphia: Americana Mitbewerber waren schon bejahrte und erfahrene Pfarrer, Germanica Press, 1917), 20). 14 und wo wurde mir der Sieg gar nicht leicht gemacht. Mein In his keynote address at the Philadelphia convention Gehalt wird sich von Anfang auf ca. 1600 Gulden belaufen, of free congregations Reitzel says: "Natürlich, wer zu uns und dazu kommen die Leichengebühren etc. und das kommt, urn einen Tummelplatz seiner persönlichen Eit- Schulgeld. Ich denke, ich habe meine Studiengenossen in elkeit zu finden, wer zu uns kommt, um materielle Deutschland alle überflügelt. Ihr solltet einmal sehen, Vortheile für sein Geschäft dabei zu finden, wer zu uns welch würdiges Predigerbild ich auf der Kanzel gebe. kommt um des gesellschaftlichen Vergnügens willen, der 7"Robert Reitzel, seine Personlichkeit und seine Weltan- wird auch bald wieder gehen." [Geschichtliche Mittheilungen schauung," Master's Thesis University of Illinois, 1908, 20- über die deutschen Freien Gemeinden von Nordamerika 21. (Philadelphia: Im Jahre 102 der nordamerikanischen Re- 8Die Enttäuschung! Auf dem kleinen Podium stand ein publik [1877]), 97]. 15 nicht sehr großer, ziemlich dicker Mann mit wirrem Haar Ich meine jene Leute, welche sich nur einem Dutzend und einem verschwiemelten Gesicht. Er fummelte in Vereinen oder Vereinchen anschließen in der Hoffnung, seinen Taschen herum, bis er ein zerknittertes Manuskript sich dabei Kunden zu erwerben resp. einen Vortheil für hervorgezogen hatte, hielt es dicht vor seine kurzsichtigen ihr Geschäftchen zu erringen. -64- Robert Reitzel 16That similar arrangements were common in other 18Der Sozialismus des amerikanischen Turnerbundes German-American cultural endeavors seems confirmed by war mehr ein Name, als eine Vertretung wirklich sozialistis- the fact that Karl Knortz finds it necessary to include in his cher Prinzipien. Eine proletarische Organisation ist diese very accurate summary of the decline of the Turnvereine to- Vereinigung nie gewesen, und was in ihr als Sozialismus ward the end of the last century ("Das Deutschtum in den zum Ausdruck kam, war ein Gemisch von bürgerlichem Vereinigten Staaten," in Sammlung gemeinverständlicher wis- Radikalismus und unklarem sozialistischem Streben, das senschaftlicher Vorträge, ed. Rudolf Virchow, NS 12, Hfte. mehr im Gefühl, als in Einsicht und Erkenntnis seinen Ur- 281/2, 58) the complaint that: ...dazu kam noch der sprung hatte. Uebelstand, daß die meisten Vereine in ihren Hallen per- 192nd ed. (1933; rpt. New York: Dover, 1970) manente Wirthschaften eingerichtet hatten, und da diesel- 20Johannes Gaulke, Das litterarische Echo, 4, No. 4 (No- ben ihre Haupteinnahmequelle bildeten, dem Betriebe vember 1901), 231. "Kühnheit der Sentenzen" und "Kraft derselben häufig ihre Hauptthätigkeit widmeten. Dies der Sprache" führte dazu, daß bald reiche Bierbauer die auf Aktien er- 21"R. R., Der arme Teufel (Ein Vergessener)," NeueFreie bauten Hallen in ihren Besitz brachten und dann natür- Presse, Morgenblatt, 16 December 1923, p. 2, col. 3: "in lich die Turnvereine nach ihrer Pfeife tanzen ließen. einem tadellosen, herrlich hinfließenden Deutsch, das vie- 17Die Anfänge der deutschen Arbeiterbewegung in Amerika len Zeitungsmännern, die zeitlebens im Mutterland un- (Stuttgart:]. H. N. Dietz Nachfolger, 1907), 214. serer Sprache geblieben sind, ein strahlendes Vorbild sein -65- Old Man with an Umbrella (n.d.). Oil on canvas, 34x26in. This genre portrait, possibly done when Carl von Marr was anart student in Munich, recalls the work of the Munich realist Wilhelm Leibl. Photo courtesy of West Bend Gallery of Fine Arts, West Bend, Wisconsin. CARL VON MARK: POETIC REALIST arl von Marr (1858-1936) was an Ameri- painter Karl Gussow. Marr also received in- Ccan-born artist who settled in Munich and struction in Berlin from Anton Alexander von became the director of the Munich Academy. Werner, a popular painter of historical can- His name was originally Carl Marr, the aristo- vasses. In 1877 Marr went on to the Munich cratic von being added after his election to the Academy where his first teacher was Otto Seitz, nobility in 1909. In his early work Marr strove an artist known for his genre portraits and to emulate the dramatic historical painting of drawings. From the Seitz class Marr graduated the academic tradition in which he was to the composition class taught by Gabriel trained, but he soon began to turn toward the Max, a painter of portraits and figure studies genre realism of such Munich painters as Wil- who was also an illustrator. The faculty at the helm Leibl. In the end, Marr became a master Munich Academy was favorably impressed with in the portrayal of warmly intimate domestic Marr's work and in 1874 he was awarded a sil- scenes. While his success as an academic ver medal, the first of many such awards he was painter was initially based on the recognition to receive in the course of a brilliant career as accorded his early historical canvasses, it is the an academically sound artist. thesis of the present article that Marr's real Marr returned to Milwaukee in 1880 and achievement is best exemplified by the poetic soon opened a studio there. His presence in realism of his later works.1 the city was warmly acknowledged by the local Marr was the oldest of the four children of press, but though his work was viewed with in- John Marr, a German-born engraver who had terest and respect by the local public, they did settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1855. Marr not buy. By early 1882 Marr gave up trying to was educated in Milwaukee at the German-Eng- make a living in Milwaukee. He exhibited his lish Academy, a liberal private school. His artis- work in Detroit at the end of January and then tic talent was soon noticed, and from the age of went on to Boston and New York, where he nine he received private instruction from found temporary work as an illustrator. Later Henry Vianden, a German immigrant artist that year he returned to Munich, which he who was a pioneer art teacher in Wisconsin. now made his permanent home. As the result of a childhood illness, Marr suf- In Munich Marr briefly continued his stud- fered from impaired hearing throughout his life. ies at the academy, this time under Wilhelm His deafness caused difficulties in school, where Lindenschmidt, a painter of genre and histori- he was a shy, insecure boy. He left school at the cal subjects who was also known for his land- age of fifteen and became an apprentice in his scapes in the Barbizon manner. Marr soon father's engraving business. In the meantime, opened his own studio, however, where he pro- Vianden sent some of Marr's sketches to the vided instruction to classes of women, who at Weimar Art School, where they were favorably that time were not yet admitted to the academy received. It was then that Marr's father resolved for study. He also soon received a teaching post to send his talented son to Germany for study. at the academy. In 1875 Marr went to Weimar. He was only Marr made frequent trips back to Milwaukee seventeen and because of his youth and inex- to visit his relatives there and often stayed for perience was required to take private lessons the summer. When he returned for the sum- before being regularly admitted to the Weimar mer of 1887 members of the local German- Art School. His tutor during this period was American community held a banquet in his Karl Gehrts, a young artist who was only five honor at Schlitz Park with more than a hun- years older than Marr himself. In due course dred guests in attendance. The press in Mil- Marr was accepted by the art school and placed waukee regarded him with reverence and his in the class of Ferdinand Schauss, where he fol- visits to the city were always an occasion for lowed the usual first-year program of drawing press coverage. While in Milwaukee he often from plaster casts. The following year Marr painted at the studio of Francesco Spicuzza, went on to Berlin, enrolling in the Berlin Acad- working mostly on portraits of relatives and emy as a student of the genre and portrait prominent local citizens. -67- Carl von Marr: Poetic Realist The Flagellants (1889). Oil on canvas, 13'10" x 25'8". This large canvas, which depicts a scene from Italian history, took Carl von Marr several years to complete. Although it is his undisputed masterpiece, it is perhaps less in tune with today's taste than the less dramatic scenes which he turned to in his later career. Photo courtesy of West Bend Gallery of Fine Arts, West Bend, Wisconsin. Marr's training in Munich had inculcated a delegate of the Society of Munich Artists and respect for historical painting, the artists he exhibited The Flagellants at the fair. The paint- most admired being Adolph von Menzel ing was subsequently purchased by Louise (1815-1905) and Ernest Meissonier (1815- Schandein, wife of the Milwaukee brewer Emil 1891). During the first years after his return to Schandein, and presented as a gift to the city of Munich in 1892 Marr was much absorbed by Milwaukee. It was at first hung in the Milwau- this kind of painting. His most important work kee Public Library and was later displayed for from this period is The Flagellants (1889), an many years in the Milwaukee Auditorium immense painting with more than a hundred Building. In 1975 the painting was thoroughly figures. Based on an incident which occurred restored and installed in its present location at in 1348, the subject matter for the painting was the West Bend Art Museum in West Bend, Wis- drawn from a history of Rome in the Middle consin. Ages by the German historian Ferdinand Gre- The Flagellants is the only important work gorovius. Marr made the first sketch for the from Marr's historical period which is now in painting in 1884 and by 1887 had completed the United States. In 1890 Marr won a Gold the preliminary research, which included two Medal at the International Exhibition in Berlin trips to Italy. He painted the picture in his Mu- for the painting Germany in 1806. The painting, nich studio during the next two years and won which depicts a scene from the time of the a gold medal when it was exhibited in Munich Napoleonic Wars, shows a dimly lit room in in 1889. The painting won another gold medal which a group of French officers is playing when it was exhibited at the International Ex- cards while suffering German women and chil- hibition in Berlin the following year. In 1893 dren are seen in the background. The Children Marr attended the Chicago World's Fair as a of Bunzlau (1885), which was awarded a silver -68- Carl von Marr: Poetic Realist medal by the Munich Academy, is another found himself cast in the role of a cultural con- scene from the period of the Napoleonic Wars. servative by the generation of modernists The large painting depicts an incident which which emerged just before World War I. He happened in 1813. A group of hungry French was even forced to flee from Munich when the prisoners were being held captive by Cossack city was briefly taken over by left-wing insur- guards who refused to let the women of the gents in 1919. He was confused by German ex- town of Bunzlau bring food to the prisoners. pressionist painting, which he could neither When the women then sent their children with understand nor appreciate. baskets of provisions, the Cossack guards al- lowed the children to pass. The painting was at one time owned by a museum in East Prussia, but its present whereabouts is uncertain. By the turn of the century public taste for dramatic historical painting was waning, and Marr moved on to other types of expression. Sometimes he produced paintings based on motifs from classical mythology such as The Hesperides and The Fall of Icarus, but more fre- quently he turned to biblical subjects. The Widow's Son depicts the miracle related in Luke 7:11-16 in which Christ, while visiting the town of Nain, restores to life a widow's only son. Even before the turn of the century Marr Summer Afternoon (1892). Oil on canvas, 52-3/4 x 81-1/2 in. had begun to paint interior scenes of notable A poetic realist, Carl von Marr was able to bring matchless skill warmth and intimacy. Paintings such as Sum- to the depiction of intimate scenes such as the one shown here. mer Afternoon (1892) and The Red Chair (c. Photo courtesy of West Bend Gallery of Fine Arts, West Bend, Wisconsin. 1895) bring the same sort of warmth to scenes of domestic life in an exterior setting. Wind The school of late nineteenth-century poetic and Waves (c. 1925) is a late work which ap- realism which Marr's best work exemplifies has pears to reflect the influence of the Swiss neo- long been out of fashion, though there are cur- romantic painter Arnold Böcklin. rently signs of a sympathetic reappraisal. Marr occasionally did murals. At Schloss Nonetheless, the technical skill and inherent Stein, a castle near Nürnberg, he did a series of good taste of his painting distinguish him as an murals depicting the Seven Ages of Man on the artist who deserves to be taken seriously de- four walls of a banquet hall. He is also reported spite changes in what is deemed fashionable. to have done a ceiling painting at a church in Despite his inability to come to grips with mod- Burgheim, Bavaria, northwest of Munich. ernism, his work exhibits growth and evolu- Marr's work contains many portraits, a num- tion, the stiff formalism of his early period giv- ber of which can be seen at the West Bend Art ing way to a mature style characterized by Museuma. These paintings are illuminated by warmth and fluidity. the same poetic vision which is apparent in his Marr probably began teaching at the Mu- domestic scenes. Of particular interest is Por- nich Academy during the 1880s, though he was trait of the Artist's Father (1891), which shows the not promoted to professor until 1893. He did engraver John Marr in his shop surrounded by not marry until 1916, by which time he was al- the implements if his trade. The work recalls ready in his late fifties. His wife, Elsie Fellerer the type of genre portrait which was a specialty Messerschmidt, was the widow of the Munich artist Pius Ferdinand Messerschmidt, who had of the Munich artist Wilhelm Leibl.2 been Marr's colleague and close friend. Marr Like many artists who reached the peak of had no children of his own but adopted his their powers at the turn of the century, Marr wife's two daughters by her previous marriage. -69- Carl von Marr: Poetic Realist Marr kept up his American citizenship for several years, but lost it after accepting a posi- tion as professor at the academy. When he died in 1936 there was a secular service in Munich followed by burial at the village cemetery in Solln, where his wife is also buried. There was a memorial exhibition of his work at the Milwau- kee Art Institute in November 1936, which brought together thirty-four of his paintings, all from Milwaukee collections. — Peter C. Merrill Florida Atlantic University John Marr - Father (1891). Oil on canvas, 50 '½ x 50 ½ in. Carl von Marr's skill as a portrait artist is displayed to full effect in this study of the artist's father. John Marr (1831-1921) was a metal engraver and sculptor who is shown here among the tools of his trade. Photo courtesy of West Bend Gallery of Fine Arts, West Bend, Wisconsin. Although Marr's studio was near the academy in Munich, he lived with his family in a country house at Solln, a village on the outskirts of town which has now become a residential neighborhood within the city. Marr's wife died only three years after they were married. Marr in his sixties was a fair complexioned man with blue eyes, thinning blond hair, and a pointed beard. He was short, solidly built, and Silent Devotion (1896). Oil on canvas, 46x57 in. By the agile. Quiet and dignified in manner, he 1890s Carl von Marr had turned away from the historical painting of his early period in favor of intimate domestic scenes nonetheless was possessed of a sense of humor such as the one shown here. Photo courtesy of West Bend Gallery which sometimes showed through his sedate of Fine Arts, West Bend, Wisconsin. manner. Among his students in Munich were the Wisconsin-born artists Alexander Mueller and Adam Emory Albright. Marr remained a professor at the academy until retiring in 1923, after which he had his own private school of painting in Munich for several years. From 1919 to 1923 he was director of the Munich Academy. In addition to the numerous decora- tions which he received in the course of a dis- tinguished career he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Wisconsin in 1929. -70- Carl von Marr: Poetic Realist Wind and Waves (c. 1925). Oil on canvas, 27x39 in. This painting, from Carl von Marr's late period, reflects the influence of the Swiss painter Arnold Böcklin (1827-1901). Photo courtesy of West Bend Gallery of Fine Arts, West Bend, Wisconsin. NOTES 1The list of published sources on Carl von Marr and his 2Many of the paintings discussed in this article may be work is too extensive to be given here. One recent source found at the West Bend Art Museum in West Bend, Wis- which must be mentioned, however, is Thomas Lidtke's consin, which has the most comprehensive collection of color-illustrated book, Carl von Marr: American-German Carl von Marr's works to be found anywhere in the world. I Painter (West Bend, Wisconsin: West Bend Gallery of Fine am much indebted to Thomas Lidtke, the executive direc- Arts, 1986). For the biographical information on von Marr tor of the museum, for providing the illustrations used in contained in the present article I have drawn particularly this article. on the many articles about him which appeared during his lifetime in such Milwaukee newspapers as the Milwaukee Journal and the Milwaukee Sentinel An index of the latter is available at the Milwaukee Public Library. -71- JOHN GOTTLIEB MORRIS (1803-1895): FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF THE GERMANS IN MARYLAND A merica went through a profound social, timore County, Maryland and a life-long economic, and cultural transformation Lutheran, as was her husband. Though the el- during the course of the nineteenth century. der Morris died when the boy was only five The demands of nation-building brought to years old, John Gottlieb received an excellent the fore innovators and leaders of every variety. education for his era, in large part because of Among these leaders, John Gottlieb Morris of his father's substantial estate, and because of Baltimore played a major role in the arena of the great interest his mother and oldest cultural transition. Though little known today, brother, Charles, took in his development. the Baltimore pastor and civic leader collabo- John Gottlieb's mother and his oldest rated intimately in changing the nature of brother were the dominant influences of his Lutheranism in America, creating several early years and long after. Charles Morris, who major cultural institutions, including the Soci- served briefly as a Lutheran minister and ety for the History of Germans in Maryland, founded a successful pharmaceutical company and materially aiding the rise of professional in York, was the young John Gottlieb's science. guardian. Under Charles's direction, John Got- John G. Morris' long, productive life (1803- tlieb studied at York Academy and attended 1895) and diverse intellectual interests in- college, first at Princeton and then graduating volved him in numerous battles which con- from Dickinson in 1823. Intellectually gifted, tributed to the shaping of American cultural with a strong aptitude for foreign languages, identity. From the relationship between geol- Morris mastered German, Greek, Latin, He- ogy and biblical revelation to the need for brew, and French. He loved books and plays American leadership in American science, he and read voraciously. In addition to his fought for principles that he believed ad- intellectual skills, Morris' potential for success vanced knowledge, culture, and morality. was bolstered by his "companionable" nature, a Among Morris' achievements which had the trait he later noted in his autobiography, Life most long-term significance was his role in Reminiscences of an Old Lutheran Minister? founding and leading the Society for the His- In deciding on a career, the twenty-year-old tory of Germans in Maryland. Though he be- graduate was strongly influenced by his family's gan this venture late in life (in 1886 when he Lutheran roots, particularly by his mother's was 82 years old), the Society has flourished for piety and the ardent desire of Charles Morris 109 years along the lines which Morris and his that he become a minister. But Morris' descrip- colleagues laid out. To understand Morris' pio- tion in Life Reminiscences of his decision to go neering efforts in founding the Society, we into the ministry is a far cry from the intensely must first begin with a biographical sketch of emotional "conversion" experiences typical of this strong-willed and determined man. American Protestant evangelicalism in the 1 1820s: Biographical Sketch The Lutheran church, Morris noted, "had John G. Morris, born in York, Pennsylvania less than 300 ministers at that time, and her on 14 November 1803, was the last child and sphere of activity was constantly enlarging, third surviving son born to John Samuel Got- whilst the ministry was not multiplying in pro- tlieb Morris and Barbara Myers Morris. Morris' portion. Providence had cast my lot within her father had come to America as a German im- sphere, and I concluded that this was the field migrant to fight for the Revolution and later for me to work in, and I entered .... The settled in York as a successful physician. Mor- church needed my services. I thought, and I ris' mother, Barbara Myers, was a native of Bal- cheerfully offered them. I regarded her need -73- John Gottlieb Morris as equivalent to a call from her, and hence I two Lutheran institutions at Gettysburg, the concluded it was the divine will."3 Seminary and Pennsylvania College (today Morris' decision was rational, though un- known as Gettysburg College). He remained doubtedly sincere, and was marked by emo- closely identified with the cause of Lutheran tional restraint and intellectual balance, quali- education throughout his career. Morris ties which became hallmarks of his life and played a prominent role in the "new measures" career. controversy and in the bitter struggle over the Because the Lutheran church did not have a nature of "American Lutheranism," eventually seminary, Morris' theological training was leading the moderate conservatives in the Gen- eclectic and spotty, an experience typical for eral Synod to victory over revivalists in the many clergymen of the period. For two years, confessional battle. he studied in New Market, Virginia with John G. Morris' civic and intellectual pur- Samuel Simon Schmucker, perhaps the best suits reflected his multi-faceted talents and in- educated Lutheran clergyman of the day. He terests. An early member of the Maryland His- next studied briefly with the Moravians in torical Society, he established the Society's Pennsylvania and then spent seven months at library and extensive natural history collec- the Presbyterian church's Princeton Seminary. tion. Morris served as the first librarian of He spent a brief time in the fall of 1826 at the George Peabody's new philanthropic institute new Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettys- in Baltimore and, within six years, he created a burg before he received a call from a recently 25,000-volume research library which com- organized, struggling church in Baltimore, bined the best European and American works. First English Lutheran Church. With a personal library of over 300 volumes, Within a year after coming to Baltimore, Morris kept apprised of the latest devel- Morris married Eliza Hay, daughter of a promi- opments in German theology, science and cul- nent York family. Devoted to his family, the ture. His wide-ranging intellect and curiosity Morrises had ten children, of whom four manifested themselves in the hundreds of daughters survived to adulthood. Eliza Hay books, pamphlets and articles, which he wrote Morris died in 1875 at the age of sixty-eight. on a number of topics. The topics included Referred to as the "Nestor" of progressive, Luther, the Reformation era, German English-speaking Lutheranism in Baltimore, contributions to western civilization, Maryland Morris was primarily responsible for the trans- history, and that recurrent nineteenth-century formation of the church's image in the eyes of debate, science and religion. Baltimoreans. In his thirty-three years of ser- Let us turn now to those activities of cultural vice at First English (1827-1860), Morris in- leadership which culminated in Morris' found- creased the congregation from a few dozen to ing of the Society for the History of the Ger- an average of 260 communicants. He helped mans in Maryland. found two other English-speaking churches be- fore the Civil War (Second and Third English). Culture's Builder In the decades after he left First English, Mor- As urban life in America steadily developed ris continued active parish work with part-time and expanded throughout the nineteenth cen- calls to Third English and to St. Paul's in tury, one major aspect of this maturation was Lutherville, which he had helped organize in the establishment and growth of important cul- 1856. tural and educational institutions. Throughout During his sixty-nine-year career as a clergy- the decades of his active church work, John G. man, John G. Morris was elected president of Morris carried out a significant role in local, the Maryland Synod seven times and twice cho- regional, and national cultural life. As a civic sen head of the first national Lutheran church leader, collector, and author, Morris became body, the General Synod. Morris also served al- intimately involved with educational institu- most fifty years on the governing boards of the tions (the Seminary and College at Gettys- -74- John Gottlieb Morris burg), historical societies (the Lutheran His- Morris' quest to understand the natural torical Society, Maryland Historical Society, So- world included creating his own sizable collec- ciety for the History of the Germans in Mary- tion through gathering, purchasing and ex- land), and research institutions (Peabody changing specimens. He collected shells, fish Institute, Smithsonian Institution). and bird specimens, and many insects, particu- John G. Morris' avid interest in natural his- larly his beloved butterflies (lepidoptera). tory, particularly in the entomological study of Morris attributed his stamina and good health butterflies, formed much of the basis of his to "my frequent ramblings in the fields and work at the Seminary and College at Gettys- woods" in search of specimens.7 In addition to burg. Between 1844 and 1848, Morris taught at his own efforts, Morris received substantial as- the College as a part-time zoology instructor. sistance from another Lutheran clergyman He worked to obtain the scientific apparatus and scientist, John Bachman of Charleston, and specimens he needed for his lectures. He South Carolina. When the General Synod met wrote to Spencer F. Baird, his friend and, at at Charleston in April 1850, Bachman gave that time, professor of natural history at Dick- Morris all his folio volumes of botanical speci- inson College, about his efforts and the reason mens.8 By the end of his life, Morris' collection for them. "I arrived here [Gettysburg] last had grown to over 7,000 items — a rich source Monday," Morris informed Baird, "and have of scientific knowledge. ever since been laboriously engaged in arrang- Morris also led students from the College ing minerals, shells, and diversairia of the cabi- and Seminary in forming the Linnaean Asso- net. ... I lecture one hour each day in zoology ciation, one of the first college natural history and have succeeded thus far in interesting the societies in the country. Under Morris' leader- youngsters very much."4 ship, the Association enjoyed a decade and a Morris' commitment to awakening student half of achievement before the Civil War dis- interest in natural science never faltered. He rupted its activities.9 A major accomplishment delivered numerous natural history lectures at involved construction of a building on the Col- the College during the 1860s and 1870s, and lege's campus devoted to the study of natural for over a quarter of a century, he gave the history. As Morris noted, the first such building Seminary students a yearly series of lectures on "conceived, designed, erected, and completed "The Relations between Physical Science and through the agency of the students."10 Morris' Revealed Religion."5 Morris' efforts to inte- other achievements while directing the Associ- grate natural science into the curriculum of ation included editing an outstanding journal, the College and the Seminary reflected a na- The Literary Record and Journal, which provided tional trend, which sought to make this branch a forum for getting scientific articles before ed- of science a basic component in the liberal arts ucated segments of the American public; and education provided by medium- and small- creating a collection of natural history speci- sized colleges. Morris and other like-minded mens, that Morris used in teaching and in fur- educators hoped this would eventually stimu- thering his own understanding of comparative late interest in science throughout the nation. anatomy. In creating Pennsylvania College's natural his- Morris' election in 1851 to membership in tory collection, John G. Morris devoted count- the Maryland Historical Society marked the be- less hours to acquiring and classifying numer- ginning of a long and fruitful relationship and ous specimens. Within a year of commencing signified recognition of his position as a civic his efforts, Morris had acquired sixty-five bird leader. He held numerous positions and was specimens, ninety-two reptiles, ninety-seven fish elected president in 1895. Morris spoke for and crustacea, 900 shells and 1100 insects.6 other men of his class when he expressed his Working on the collection expanded his knowl- belief that the proper role of an historical soci- edge of invertebrate animal anatomy and pro- ety was to "verify doubtful facts, develop and vided excellent illustrations for his lectures. record unwritten events, correct popular er- -75- John Gottlieb Morris rors, authenticate disputed dates . . . delineate cation schemes in organizing his material, the character and deeds of illustrious men."11 carefully listed the authority for each item Morris' principal service at the Maryland under review, and noted any reference work Historical Society was to expand and improve which described the item. The Catalogue and the Society's library and natural science collec- the Synopsis listed several thousand species pre- tion. For decades, Morris and his colleagues on viously described in a myriad of sources, and the library committee worked assiduously to proved tremendously valuable reference tools." increase the holdings through a merger with Morris' peers in the scientific community ac- the Library Company of Baltimore, purchases, claimed his compilations for their scholarly ac- and donations. By 1885, the library had grown curacy and practical usefulness. A fellow pi- to an impressive collection of over 20,000 vol- oneer entomologist, William Henry Edwards, umes and pamphlets.12 A valuable collection believed that "this [Morris' works] gave a start to open to the 500 members of the society and to American collectors and the work of describing interested Baltimoreans in general. new species went on brisker. " Herbert Osborn, While working to build the library, Morris professor of natural history and president of the led the effort to create a natural history collec- Entomological Society of America, recognized tion. He directed the Society's efforts to docu- the Catalogue as the only work of its era available ment the state's flora and fauna by acquiring to American students. Osborn expressed his animal, plant, and mineral specimens. Morris' debt to Morris when he wrote, "For many years work aided scientists in studying the state's ge- it was the only work by which I could attempt to ologic history and exploring the interaction identify species after the few that were figured between native plants and animals. or described in popular works were covered."- From the 1850's onward, John G. Morris be- Augustus R. Crote, a later expert on the lepi- came involved with yet another emerging cul- doptera, credited Morris' work with first ac- tural institution, the Smithsonian Institution in quainting him with the principles of taxonomy." Washington, D.C. In addition to periodic lec- These two works constituted John G. Morris' tures, Morris began publishing his major scien- greatest scientific achievement. tific works through the Smithsonian. His most Over the many active years of his career, valuable scientific publications, The Catalogue John G. Morris received numerous marks of re- of the Described Lepidoptera of North America and a spect for his work as a scientist. Chosen as a subsequent Synopsis describing lepidoptera ac- founding member of the American Association tive during the daytime and twilight hours, re- for the Advancement of Science in 1848, he flected Morris' abiding fascination with butter- served for many years as the head of the Asso- flies and his keen sense of the need for ciation's Entomology Section. Numerous sci- American scientists to study their country's entific societies in American and Europe hon- natural history. These two works, published by ored him with election as a member. The most the Smithsonian Institution in 1860 and 1862 prestigious included the American Philosophi- respectively, show Morris' scholarly abilities at cal Society, the Society of Natural History in their best. Morris supplemented information, Nuremberg, Germany, the Society of Northern gleaned from studying and classifying his own Antiquarians in Stockholm, and the Royal His- specimens and from research in European and torical Society of London. American reference works, with data his fellow During the tumultuous Civil War period, entomologists shared with him. From these John G. Morris remained a staunch Union sup- sources, he pulled together all the information porter. During the difficult years of the 1860's, then known about species of the North Ameri- he embarked on another venture, which he can lepidoptera. hoped wound strengthen cultural bonds in the As Morris divided the order of lepidoptera city and state. In July 1860, he left his pastorate into its various families, genera and species, he at First English and became the first librarian followed commonly accepted scientific classifi- of the newly established Peabody Institute. -76- John Gottlieb Morris An avid supporter of George Peabody's American society. He tried to foster this by dream of creating a major cultural center in showing German contributions to history in Baltimore, Morris labored for years to build a general and American society in particular. premier research collection. When the library For example, Morris read a paper before the formally opened to the public in 1866, it had Maryland Historical Society on the contri- over 25,000 books and thousands of pam- butions of the Nuremberg astronomer, Martin phlets. Through his diligence and skill, Morris Behaim, in the Age of Discovery. Morris' most ensured the success of a major component of original historical piece was on "The Young George Peabody's temple of culture. The li- and German Luther," which appeared in the brary, operating in accordance with Morris' di- Lutheran Quarterly. From the traditional Protes- rectives on cataloguing and preserving books, tant perspective, Morris saw Luther's work as was on its way to becoming a major research an act of Providence, a "predestinated" fact, facility. conceived and controlled by God. At the same In the decade following the Civil War, Morris time, he showed an understanding of historical devoted much of his energy to two historical causation and human psychology reflective of societies which meant a great deal to him. As new trends in historical scholarship by tracing an ardent Lutheran, who hoped to see the the political, intellectual, and religious dissatis- badly divided church eventually reunite, John faction widespread in Europe on the eve of the G. Morris put great store in the power of his- Reformation. Morris understood the detesta- torical memory to serve as a unifying force. A tion sixteenth-century Germans felt for Italian founding member of the Lutheran Historical and papal control of the church. As historians Society in 1843, he served as president from do today, he analyzed the patronizing attitude 1874 until his death in 1895. of the Italians toward the Germans and the re- With few resources at hand, Morris suc- sentment that resulted.18 cessfully encouraged the many synods and na- In the article, Morris expressed an interest- tional church bodies to send copies of minutes, ing psychological perspective: "Most great reports, and other church papers to Gettys- events in Church, state, literature, art and sci- burg for safekeeping by the Lutheran Histori- ence, etc., have been conceived and advanced cal Society. He scoured newspapers and jour- by young men." His point was that, if Luther nals looking for publications by Lutheran had been twenty years older, he might have re- ministers suitable for the Society's collection. canted or at least not continued the fight; By 1895, the collection had grown to over breaking away from the heavy emotional in- 1,998 bound volumes (books, sermons, ad- vestment of Luther's increasingly prominent dresses, ecclesiastical document,) and 1,000 role in the Augustinian Order might have unbound pamphlets, manuscripts, and letter 17 caused him too much stress.19 With the assistance of his nephew, Seminary To further the cause of integrating Germans professor Charles A. Hay, Morris had created into American society, Morris did what had be- the best collection of Lutheran documentary come second nature to him, he began a new materials in America. cultural venture. On the evening of January 5, 1886, Morris helped create a vehicle to further Founding of the Society for the History of the this cause. Meeting in the rooms of the Mary- Germans in Maryland land Historical Society, Morris discussed with In the last decade of his life, the indefati- other prominent Baltimore German-Ameri- gable John G. Morris' most notable venture re- cans, such as Louis P. Hennighausen, Edward flected another of his life-long concerns. From F. Leyh, and Charles F. Raddak, the feasibility his beginnings in a German-American family of establishing a new historical society. After through his long involvement with the German some debate, the men decided to draft a language issue in the Lutheran church, Morris constitution for an organization "to collect and always cared about German acceptance into preserve material for the history... of the Ger- -77- John Gottlieb Morris mans in the growth and development of the rialized for his "intense patriotism" and "love American, Nation, especially in Maryland."20 of historical detail."25 Whether in secular or A month later on February 16, twenty-three religious arenas, he fought to raise the level of men gathered, approved the draft constitution, public appreciation for American science, and elected John G. Morris as the first presi- American history, and the American experi- dent of the Society for the History of Germans ence in general. Essentially a man of the ante- in Maryland. Despite his devotion to his Ger- bellum era, Morris believed that gentlemen of man heritage, Morris' primary identification as education and means had a responsibility to an American came through when he success- combat social disorder and elevate the charac- fully argued for recording the minutes of Soci- ter of public discourse. ety meetings in English.21 Within a year, mem- John G. Morris, like others of his class, bership grew to seventy-two. Until his death, sought to counteract the economic, social, and the old scholar presided at the Society's nine political pressures tearing city, state, and na- monthly meetings each year and "discharged tion apart. Cultural institutions were the prin- his duties faithfully."22 ciple vehicles in the struggle to achieve na- President Morris stimulated interest in the tional identity and cohesiveness. What John G. Society through a stream of papers he read at Morris built as a cultural leader endures. An the monthly meetings. In one noteworthy pa- English-speaking Lutheranism rooted in Amer- per, on the Egyptologist Gustavus Seyffarth ica is a reality. The collections of the Maryland Morris explained to members that the Society Historical Society and the Peabody Institute also had a duty to "exhibit the career of Ger- represent major steps in making knowledge man individuals who have distinguished them- and culture more accessible to society at large. selves in any department of human effort." The Society for the History of the Germans in With obvious pride, Morris observed that he Maryland continues to recognize and honor had entertained the eminent scientist in his German cultural contributions to the nation. home.23 John G. Morris shone in that tier of talented As he did in all his scholarly ventures, Morris and ambitious men who created the research prepared a compilation—this one a list of all collections and built the scientific and histori- printed descriptions of America published by cal societies. His life work contributed signifi- German settlers and visitors prepared from cantly to the cultural journey of nineteenth- 1673 onward. Morris also donated books on century America and in no small measure German-American topics to build up the Soci- molded the era that followed. It was an endur- ety's fledgling collection. In the years remain- ing legacy left by the first president of the ing to him, Morris continued to use the Society Society for the History of the Germans in to build bridges with other Americans. In the Maryland. many papers he presented, Morris returned — Michael J. Kurtz over and over to the theme of German cultural The National Archives and patriotic contributions to the nation. He made his points in biographical essays on the Muhlenbergs, Conrad Weiser, and Baltimore pastor John Ulhorn, among others. He ex- plored for his listeners the treatment of black slaves by Germans, the German experience in Baltimore, along with translations of numerous articles and essays.24 Evaluation Active to within three weeks of his death on October 10, 1895, John G. Morris was memo- -78- John Gottlieb Morris NOTES 1Michael J. Kurtz, "Being a Renaissance Man in 13John G. Morris, Catalogue of the Described Lepidoptera of Nineteenth Century Baltimore: John Gottlieb Morris," North America (Washington, B.C., Smithsonian Institution, Maryland Historical Magazine, Vol. 89 (Summer 1994): 156- 1860); John G. Morris, Synopsis of the Described Lepidoptera of 158; Michael J. Kurtz, "John G. Morris: The Scientist North American, Part 1: Diurnal and Crepuscular Lepidoptera Informed by Faith," Lutheran Theological Seminary Bulletin, (Washington, DC, Smithsonian Institution, 1862). Vol.71 (Fall 1991): 51-52. 14"Entomological Reminiscences of William H. 2John G. Morris, Life Reminiscences of an Old Lutheran Edwards," Journal of the New York Entomological Society, LIX Minister (Philadelphia: Lutheran Publication Society, (June 1951): 135-136. 1896), 26, 28. 15Herbert Osborn, Fragments of Entomological History, 3Morris, Life Reminiscences, 47. Including Some Personal Recollections of Men and Events 4John G. Morris to Spencer F. Baird, 18 July 1844, (Columbus, OH: The Author, 1937), 167-168. Papers of John G. Morris, Lutheran Theological Seminary, 16Arnold Mallis, American Entomologists (New Gettysburg, PA. Brunswick, 5Abdel Ross Wentz, History of Gettysburg Theological NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1971), 304-308. Seminary, 1826-1926 (Philadelphia: United Lutheran 17Proceedings of the General Synod of the Evangelical Publication House, 1926), 245. Lutheran Church in the United States, 5-13June 1895, 203. 6John G. Morris, "Cabinet of the Linnaean Association," 18John G. Morris, "The Young and German Luther," The Literary Record and Journal of the Linnaean Association of Lutheran Quarterly (January 1882), 7-12. Pennsylvania College, 1 (November 1844): 3-52. 19Morris, "The Young and German Luther." 7Morris, Life Reminiscences, 166-167. 20First Annual Report of the Secretary of the Society for the 8Raymond M. Host, 'John Bachman, Man of Faith, Man History of the Germans in Maryland (Baltimore: Isaac of Science," Lutheran Quarterly 2 (Summer 1988): 218. Friedenwald, Printer, 1887), 15. 9Charles H. Glatfelter, A Salutary Influence: Gettysburg 21Report of the Secretary, 16-17. College, 1832-1985 (Gettysburg: Gettysburg College, 1987), 22The Second Annual Report of the Secretary of the Society for pp. 103-111. the History of the Germans in Maryland (Baltimore: Theo. 10John G. Morris, An Address Delivered Before the Linnaean Kroh and Sons, Printers, 1888), 9. Association of Pennsylvania College, September 14, 1847 23The Third Annual Report of the Secretary of the Society for (Gettysburg: H. C. Neinstedt, 1847), 3. the History of the Germans in Maryland (Baltimore: Theo. 11Annual Reports of the Society for the History of the Germans Kroh and Sons, Printers, 1889), 17-20. in Maryland, 1894-1896 (Baltimore: C. W. Schneidereith 24The Fifth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Annual and Sons, 1896), 4. Reports of the Secretary of the Society for the History of the 12Annual Report of the Officers and Committees of the Germans in Maryland (Baltimore: C. W. Schneidereith and Maryland Historical Society for 1884-1885 (Baltimore: John Sons, 1891, 1893, 1896), 4, 3-4, 11-19. Murphy and Company, 1885), 8-10. 25Maryland Historical Society, Minutes of Society Meetings, 11 November 1895. -79- HESSIAN PARTICIPATION IN THE ATTACK ON FORT WASHINGTON, 1776 AND THE OCCUPATION OF NORTHERN NEW JERSEY, 1777 he following excerpts are taken from the Delaware River and New York. After we had fi- T journal of a Hessian battalion in British nally raised the sails with great effort and service during the American Revolution from through the help of the soldiers, we steered 1776 to 1784.1 The author, Quartermaster Carl northward toward Long Island. However, be- Bauer, was a keen observer and gave a thor- cause of contrary winds we could not sail into ough account of the organization and training the harbor of New York but were compelled, to of the unit in Hessia and of its unpleasant voy- our general displeasure, to cast anchor at age to England and across the Atlantic to about twelve o'clock noon at Sandy Hook. North America. During the assault on Fort (The 18th) Sandy Hook is a small unoc- Washington, and later during the occupation cupied sandy island on which stands a light- of New Jersey, Bauer was serving in the house toward which the ships going to New Grenadier Battalion von Köhler, which was re- York must head. A river separates this island designated two years later, upon a change of from New Jersey. command, as the Grenadier Battalion von This morning (the 19th) at six o'clock we Graff, and four years later as von Platte, the weighed anchor and sailed into the channel name of the battalion at the time that Bauer between Long Island and Staten Island that completed his journal. leads to New York. On Staten Island we saw a Bauer gives the date of each event in a col- Hessian encampment. On both islands we saw umn along the left margin of the page, yet pleasant farms. We dropped anchor in North sometimes the date is incorporated into the River off New York at about seven o'clock in grammar of the sentence. For the convenience the evening in the dark of the night. Because of the type-setter of this translation, all dates the wind today was not the best for sailing into will be embodied in the text. the harbor, the largest part of the fleet had to §§§ remain at Sandy Hook, which is thirty English October miles from New York. At nine o'clock on October the 16th the Today (the 20th) everyone was on deck very commodore and various transport ships raised early, and instead of a beautiful city we saw flags indicating, to our general joy, that they nothing but the ruins of beautiful buildings. had sighted land. At about one o'clock in the We were lying off the west end of the city, afternoon we saw various promontories to the where the Rebels had burned down thirteen north of us. I greatly doubt that Columbus hundred houses after the city had fallen into could have had greater joy than we at his first our hands. At noon today the remainder of our view of the New World and at the discovery he fleet came to us with the flood tide. Despite our had made. Everyone seemed to revive again. long journey, we had good reason to consider The sick had themselves brought up from be- ourselves lucky that we had never had to suffer tween decks to convince themselves of this dis- a violent and lasting storm and that the entire covery. Another sailor died.2 fleet, which consisted of sixty-three sails, had (The 17th) Because of the calm we could arrived here without having lost a single one. not sail far today. However, we were already so (The 20th) In this harbor we found more close to land that we cast anchor this evening. than four hundred large ships and a multitude (The 18th) Because of the scurvy raging of small ones that were anchored here. New among the sailors we could hardly raise the York is a large city that is said to have had five sails today even with the greatest effort. The thousand houses before the fire. Some of the land that lay so close to us last night to the west streets are regular, others are irregular. It is was the province of New Jersey,3 between the very convenient for trade. Merchant ships can come close to the wharves and unload their -81- Hessian Participation wares easily. It lies on an island that is called with the warship Experiment with fifty canons. York Island,4 to wit, on the point to the south, Today we sailed some fourteen English miles where the North and the East Rivers flow to- and had to drop anchor toward evening, which gether.5 On this point near the water lies a fort would not have been necessary if we had not called Fort George. run up on sandbanks twice because of the un- (The 20th) The Rebels had dug trenches certainty of the master of our schooner. and thrown up earthworks everywhere, which, Today, the 23rd, we weighed anchor at break however, were of no use to them since our of day and were disembarked on dry land at army made its attack on this island in their about ten o'clock at New Rochelle about three rear. With regard to population, the island was miles from where General Howe was camped.6 waste and empty, for most of its inhabitants Here we met all the troops of the Second Divi- had fled through fear and the houses in entire sion who had come with us from Europe and streets stood empty. Most of these were con- who had been disembarked on flatboats and verted into barracks. New York has eighteen had come ashore before us. We had to leave churches and meeting-houses, of these St. our baggage behind us on the ships and could Paul's and George's Chapel were the most take nothing with us but the tents. After all the splendid. Two of these eighteen had been vic- troops had landed and four two-span wagons tims of the flames during the fire. There was had been supplied to each regiment for the also a beautiful college there which, however, transport of the tents (for, indeed, no more has now been converted into a hospital for the could be loaded on them), we set out on our army. There is a royal shipyard here; however, march toward New Rochelle. This actually be- no new ships can be built but only old ones re- gins where the church stands. After we had paired. The area around New York is very marched for several miles we had to march pleasant. Two more grenadiers died today. past His Excellency Lieutenant General von On the 21st we lay quietly at anchor. Today, Heister.7 Although we had marched for only the 22nd, the so eagerly awaited moment fi- three English miles, a large number of ex- nally arrived when, after a sojourn of a hun- hausted men remained behind. dred and forty-two days, we left the dwelling in Near the New Rochelle church we made which we had suffered so much fear, worry, camp in the army line. This place is a colony of and sad hours. We were loaded aboard a French who were settled here under British schooner; and for a while everyone in it sovereignty. The entire colony is divided into seemed as melancholy as if we were once again farms that lie scattered about. It belongs to the remembering all the dangers from which we province of New York. This evening the Yeager had been so fortunately released. Company8 that disembarked with us today has We sailed up the East River between Long Is- already had an engagement with the Rebels, in land and York Island until we finally reached which Lieutenant [Karl]9 von Rau was severely an eddy where there are great rocks. The route wounded in his leg. Most of the area around between these rocks is very narrow and dan- here has been laid waste by the Rebels. gerous and is called Hell's Gate. Here one sees On the 24th we remained quietly in our the remains of many wrecked ships. The pas- camp. sage is so narrow that one can throw an object At daybreak on the 25th we received orders from the ship to the land on either side. Never- to break camp and to be ready to march. The theless, transport ships and frigates can go entire army marched away from us. However, through it safely with a good wind. The master at about midday the Second Division under the of our schooner told us that a boat with British command of Lieutenant General von grenadiers and artillery had sunk here during Knyphausen10 returned to the old camp, but to the landing of our troops. deceive the enemy the tents were pitched in Pro nota. Subsequently, Sir James Wallace two lines, for which reason our front extended passed through Hell's Gate in the year 1778 twice as far as yesterday. This evening, because -82- Hessian Participation of a heavy cannonade from the army on our cherry trees, whose fruit grows like a bunch of right, we had to withdraw; but nothing else grapes and is black and the size of a pea, grow occurred. here in great quantities. Its wood is said to be On the 26th we were still standing in our for- very good for working by cabinet makers, and mer position, and we received provisions for it is especially good for gun stocks. the second time. A man receives daily one On the 28th the Corps under the command pound of Zwieback or wheat flour, a pound of of Lieutenant General von Knyphausen fresh beef or three quarters of a pound of marched to Mile Square.14 It consisted of 1) the salted pork, and one and one third gills of Grenadier Battalion Köhler, 2) the von Wut- rum, which is as much as one and one third ginau Regiment, 3) von Stein, 4) von Wis- quarts or one twelfth measure. For this, two senbach, 5) von Huyn, 6) von Bünau, and 7) and a half pence are deducted from his pay. Regiment Waldeck from New Rochelle.15 The On the 27th we had a rest day. The region march was about six English miles. The way was appears rather fertile. Cattle raising is still in a very bad and stony. All the houses we passed right good condition now even though a great were empty and wasted. We came to the rear of many cattle were taken away. The inhabitants, the army of Lieutenant General Howe. of whom one finds few in their dwellings, all The 29th. Day of rest in Mile Square. It is a appear to have lived in a happy condition. The hilly region which forced us to pitch our camp houses are beautiful and regular, not built in on various hills. Yesterday evening, the 30th, at the way our peasant houses are. In all the aban- nine o'clock, First Lieutenant [Wilhelm Lud- doned houses we found fine furniture, which wig] von Romrodt of the von Wutginau Regi- was ruined and from which one can conclude ment was commanded to march from the that the occupants were above the taste of camp at midnight with three hundred men of German peasants. the said regiment. After midnight at about The crops we found around here were three o'clock the entire Corps, under the com- wheat, oats, Indian corn, potatoes, flax, and mand of Lieutenant General Knyphausen, buckwheat. Rye could also be found, but not broke camp and arrived an hour after daybreak much of it. We found whole fields of squash. at a knoll on the eastern side of Kingsbridge. The other European garden plants had already En route we saw several burned down huts been harvested by our predecessors, yet we still that were built in the form of a barracks. We found traces of them proving that they had also found the remains of ruined magazines. grown here. Fruits of all sorts, with the ex- On the above-mentioned height, ndhl??16 First ception of Zwetzschen,11 were found here in Lieutenant von Romrodt and his command great quantities, but especially very many had taken possession of a fort named Indepen- peach trees. The wild trees were various kinds dence, which the enemy left last night. It was of oaks, walnuts, leafnut trees,12 cedars, acacia, rather large. For its defense at least nine hun- tulip trees, beeches, white beeches, alders, wil- dred or a thousand men would have been re- lows, and a quantity of ???.13 There are also quired. The enemy had left the cannons and many chestnut trees, the ripe fruit of which we ammunition behind. The fort has several small could gather in the morning in our camp. redoubts, past which we marched this morning A multitude of shrubs and bushes were en- on either side. Fort Independence covers the tirely unknown to us. The inhabitants' knowl- entire region and is especially situated to cover edge of botany was very limited, for often they the passage over the King's Bridge from the could not give us any names for the trees with land side. which we were not familiar. Birches and lin- At a distance of about three quarters of an dens were to be found individually here and English mile and between the hills and cliffs there, and we found a kind of mulberry here there is a creek that unites the North or Hud- that looked like a linden with respect to trunk son River with the East River.17 By means of this and leaves but bore a black mulberry. Wild creek both rivers form an island which is called -83- Hessian Participation York Island and on which stands New York City. abandon it and to withdraw into their abatises The mainland and this island are connected by closer to Fort Washington. Our battalion's a little wooden bridge called Kingsbridge, from tents remained standing. The von Wutginau which the area around here gets its name of and von Stein regiments also crossed Kings- Kingsbridge. bridge. When the von Stein regiment wished to The enemy are now occupied with tearing pitch camp on a plain before our camp, the down the bridge to deny us passage to York Is- enemy began to cannonade the regiment vio- land. They are also bringing the magazines lently from Fort Washington, and because of that are still standing on both sides of the this it was forced to leave the place chosen for bridge further towards their camp below Fort a camp and to withdraw behind a height next Washington. This fort lies, reckoned in a to the von Wutginau regiment. straight line, about an hour in front of us on Today, the 5th, the Wissenbach regiment oc- the highest summit, one might well say cliff, of cupied the camp of the grenadier battalion York Island. It is surrounded on all sides by Kohler. At eight o'clock in the evening the grenadier battalion was detached from all the thick forests and marshes and high cliffs. Na- 18 ture has contributed far more than skill to its other regiments by a meliertes command, and fortification. The enemy consider it invincible. it occupied the camp on the right wing of the However, since it appears that our sojourn regiments von Wutginau and von Stein. Today here was coined for the capture of this fort, it is we again had several severely wounded. On the 6th we remained quiet. The outposts were en- questionable how long they will be able to gaged constantly. maintain this adjective. (The 16th) From the 6th until now nothing On the 31st we are lying camped quietly on has occurred except that we have suffered the height of Fort Independence. King's wounded and dead on the outposts. The entire Bridge, which was ruined by the Rebels, was re- army, under the command of General Howe, paired again last night; and Captain [Jo- came from White Plains and pitched camp hannes] Neumann of our battalion crossed across King's Bridge on a high ground behind Harlem Creek this morning with a hundred Fort Independence. A battery for heavy ar- men by means of this bridge and drove back tillery was erected on this high ground oppo- the enemy outposts into the forests below Fort site Fort Washington. At daybreak today the Washington and took firm possession of a following regiments under the command of height across the bridge with his command. Lieutenant General von Knyphausen marched The unit that crossed Harlem Creek today has into the forest lying on North River to the right sent back several lightly wounded. of our camp: 1) One unit of yeagers under the 19 November command of Capt. Loreis, 2) Grenadier Bat- On the 1st we were still lying quietly in our talion Köhler, 3) Regiment von Wutginau, 4) Regiment von Losberg, 5) Regiment Rall,20 camp. We had to have supplies sent up from 21 New Rochelle. Regiment von Huine, 8) Regiment von Bü- This morning, the 2nd, our battalion nau, and 9) Regiment Waldeck. Regiment von marched over Kingsbridge and pitched camp Stein occupied a redoubt on a plain to the left. on a height, On the 3rd the Kohler Grenadier At about seven o'clock the previously men- Battalion's outposts were engaged almost all tioned nine regiments, battalion, and corps formed the main attack from the forest against day with the enemy's patrols and had seven Fort Washington. However, the many and wounded. strong abatises and marshes forced them to On the 4th three more men from Köhler's stand still until about ten o'clock until they outposts were wounded. Today the entire bat- could clear away enough area to get through. talion advanced into a forest lying to the right At ten o'clock the main attack began against a front of the camp, which the enemy had still large and tree-covered cliff, which they had to held until now, but they were compelled to -84- Hessian Participation occupy before they could attack the fort. By 2) Block, and 3) Minnigerode, as well as the eleven o'clock they were masters of this cliff. Be- two yeager companies crossed with him. (The tween this and Fort Washington nature had 21st) According to today's general orders, Fort formed an entrenchment, or rather a breast- Washington will henceforth be called Fort work, of rocks, which the Rebels had occupied Knyphausen. with cannons without Avetten.22 This breastwork was seized at the same time, but not without December (The 19th) Since the previous date the regi- great loss on our side, which the Wutginau Regi- ments 1) von Stein and 2) von Wissenbach and ment felt especially severely. This was because it, 3) the grenadier battalion Köhler remained in like the largest part of the left wing of this corps, was flanked by the cannons with grape shot that camp near Fort Knyphausen. During this time were placed on the cliffs. We halted as soon as work was done continuously on the barracks this entrenchment, called the Stone Entrench- that are to be built for those by the fort. How- 23 ever, today the grenadier battalion received or- ment, was in our hands. In addition to Lieu- ders to march tomorrow from here to New tenant General von Knyphausen's corps, the York. All other regiments, battalions, and corps fort was bombarded by various frigates on North River from the direction of New York. It was also were moved into winter quarters or into can- attacked by an English division that crossed tonment quarters. Harlem Creek in flatboats and made an assault On the 20th the grenadier battalion Köhler was relieved by the von Trümbach regiment, below Laurel Hill. which came from New York.26 The former oc- The fire from all sides was very heavy until cupied the quarters left by the above-men- the capture of the Stone Entrenchment, at which time it entirely stopped. The troops tioned regiment. This evening we received or- there halted and began surrendering. In the ders to stand ready for embarkation tomorrow. afternoon the fort capitulated and the garrison §§§ surrendered as prisoners of war. The number is said to amount to more than three thousand. Hessian Operations in New Jersey The losses on our side from the crossing of Dec. 21,1776-July 6,1777 Kingsbridge to the surrender of the fort are After reporting the capture of Fort Wash- said to amount to nearly four hundred dead ington, Bauer tells what disposition was made and wounded. The grenadier battalion Kohler of the various Hessian units. On December 19, had in all thirty-eight men dead and wounded. 1776, he reports that the Grenadier Battalion On the 17th the prisoners were transported Kohler has received orders to prepare for em- to New York and the wounded to Harlem, barkation the next day. He then continues: where a Hessian sick bay was established. On On the 21st the aforesaid grenadier battal- the 18th the grenadier battalion Kohler and ion was embarked, to wit: 1) the staff on the the von Stein and Wissenbach regiments transport ship Aeolus, 2) Capt. [Friedrich Wil- pitched camp at Fort Washington. Several Eng- helm] Boden's and Capt. [Heinrich Christian] lish regiments, likewise 1) the von Wutginau Hessenmüller's companies on the ship Symme- regiment, 2) the von Ditfurth, 3) the Leip try,27 Capt. [Johannes] Neumann's and Capt. Regiment,24 4) the Prince Karl25 5) the von [Georg] Hohenstein's companies on the ship Huyne, and 6) the von Bünau marched to New Royal Exchange. York and pitched camp near the city and re- At 8 o'clock this morning, the 22nd, our ceived orders to submit embarktion lists. ships set sail. We took our course toward Perth On the 18th we received orders to submit Amboy but dropped anchor in Prince's Bay off embarkation lists. Staten Island. Until today, the 27th, we re- On the 19th Lord Cornwallis went with a mained on our ships in Prince's Bay. During all corps across North River. Of the Hessians, the these days we had to put up with a great deal. three grenadier battalions and 1) von Linsing, The weather was so very cold and frightfully -85- Hessian Participation stormy that we were forced to drop three an- 31st we made cantonment quarters in the chors to keep the ship from being anchorless. houses on the eastern side of Mill River. The Second Day of Christmas was the saddest January 1, 1777. Instead of occupying the of all for us since we thought at every moment cantonment quarters as we expected, we re- that the storm would carry the ship away. ceived orders last night to break camp at once. Our suffering was greatly intensified because At two past midnight the three English regi- we had no foodstuffs with us. In New York we ments and our grenadier battalion inarched to had been told that we would be disembarked Princeton. The baggage remained behind in on the 23rd or the 24th and did not need to Hillsborough. These three English regiments take any provisions along because they would remained under the command of Col. Maw- have to be left behind when debarking. Having hood in Princeton. The Grenadier Battalion relied on this, we had nothing more with us Köhler joined Col. [Carl Emil Ulrich] von but what was necessary for our subsistence Donop's brigade in Trenton. until the 23rd at the longest. Unfortunately, On the 3rd General Washington marched to the ships had no provisions either, and we had Princeton and attacked Col. Mawhood, who to get along as best we could in these most piti- lost very many men from the three regiments ful circumstances until today, when the storm he had with him.31 Today, from the Battalion abated and we received fresh provisions from Köhler, one grenadier was shot dead and one Perth Amboy. man was wounded. Here in Amboy28 we received news that Col. On the 4th the corps under Lord Cornwallis Rail's brigade in Trenton was captured on the marched from Trenton back to New Brunswick 26th of this month. Here in Amboy we in- on the Raritan. The entire corps consisted of quired concerning our horses that had been sixteen battalions and regiments and two com- sent from New York with four grooms in a sepa- panies of yeagers.32 All these troops established rate sloop, but no one could give us any winter quarters in and around Brunswick33 on information about them. both sides of the Raritan in a line of about one The battalion was debarked at South Amboy and a half hours. In view of the many men, in Jersey today, the 28th. No troops from the these quarters had to be bad. All the officers of army had come into this region. We marched the Grenadier Battalion Kohler received two almost all day in nothing but forest. The region rooms. Small redoubts were established all is scarcely cultivated and, with the exception of around Brunswick. a few houses, we found nothing but some mis- Brunswick is an open place, built in a erable shacks that were built on newly cleared square; and it is pleasingly situated with many fields. In the evening we arrived at a little vil- lovely houses. All in all, the number of houses lage named Spottswood, where we were quar- amounts to about one hundred and fifty. Two- tered. Here there was a handsome forge. masted and one-masted ships can come close Today, the 29th, we marched in a region just to the wharves when the tide is high. A sloop of as distressing as yesterday from Spottswood to twenty guns came close to the city. About one New Brunswick on the Raritan River.29 Al- English mile up the Raritan River lies Raritan though we thought that we would be quartered Landing, where a wooden bridge spans the here according to our orders, we learned the river. The tide goes up to this bridge. Here at contrary here and had to inarch ten English Brunswick are copper mines, which are not miles farther to Hillsborough.30 Here we joined being operated at present. They are the prop- three English regiments, which were part of erty of a local family named French. The Rebel Col. [Charles} Mawhood's brigade. Because army had encircled us so that our outposts they had already taken possession of all houses could be alarmed constantly from all sides, and in the village, our battalion had to make do all too often they were. with two barns. General Washington had his headquarters in The 30th, rest day in Hillsborough. On the Morristown. This town lies very much in the -86- Hessian Participation mountains and was strongly entrenched on all held the outposts before Bound Brook and sides. We had no other outpost in Jersey but Quibbletown. At about five o'clock today, in Perth Amboy, which is on the point at the the direction of Piscataway on the road to mouth of the Raritan River. It is approximately Perth Amboy, we heard a heavy cannonade sixteen or eighteen miles from Brunswick. and small arms fire, which not only was very vi- However, we had no other contact with the olent but also lasted a long time. The 42nd reg- corps there but what could be made on several iment of Scots had intended to attack the occasions by strong detachments that had to enemy in their quarters, but they were driven consist of closed regiments. The only com- back with a loss of fifty men dead and munication between New York and Amboy was wounded. In the meanwhile this regiment had maintained by way of the river, yet it too was thirty-six men dead, captured, and wounded, sometimes very unsafe because of the hostile among the latter the major. patrols on land, from which the ships were On May 11 the garrison of Bound Brook and often attacked. surrounding places made an attack against the With the exception of two fruitless expedi- yeager companies and the English guards, but tions to, or rather attacks against, Bound they, likewise, had to retreat with loss. From Brook,34 we remained on the defensive all win- captives and deserters we now learned that ter except when we foraged. For this, often five there was a misunderstanding in yesterday's at- or six regiments had to be taken in order to tack. According to their report, the enemy had dislodge the enemy first. The service was ex- firmly determined to launch a general attack tremely difficult and very strenuous for the against Brunswick at four o'clock this morning. men. Everyone who served had to lie in the Because we had occupied the side toward open air. The snow fell very often and deep. It Princeton most strongly, the main attack was to seemed to us that the weather here is generally be made from this direction and, in their colder than in Europe. expectation of achieving their goal, their The men were unable to buy anything to forces were to be detached to the other side to- supplement the provisions supplied us, which ward Amboy, which was our weakest. This they at first were not of the best. If one also adds the were going to do in hopes of destroying the poor and miserable quarters, it is easy to con- troops there completely or at least of causing clude that sickness could not stay away. This our side to withdraw, whereby we would natu- had a particularly bad effect on the Grenadier rally have to suffer frightfully many losses as Battalion Köhler, which consisted of young well as being forced into a corner. people who were still full of scurvy from the On the 16th of May the garrison in and ships.35 Because of the cold, the scurvy dimin- around Brunswick on both sides of the Raritan ished and changed itself into sicknesses. Natu- pitched camp on the heights. From then on rally, for those who were still healthy the ser- hardly a day passed that our outposts were not vice became heavier and heavier because of attacked by the rebels. We were now more shut the sick who were increasing daily and because in than in the winter, we could not venture out of the additional circumstance that those who any more than in winter; and to this the forests were convalescing in the hospital in New York and fields, which had become green, con- often had to remain there for a month before tributed much. finding an opportunity to return to the battal- On the 5th of June we received orders to ion. As a result of this, the healthy decreased hold ourselves ready for an impending em- daily until finally the battalion was no longer in barkation. The place where this will occur still a condition to perform like the other three remains undetermined. Every battalion is to grenadier battalions. take no more than seven riding horses and five May 10. So far, nothing has changed except wagons without horses. On the 6th we were that we have been alarmed and disquieted, es- told the names of the transport ships that will pecially the two Hessian yeager companies that hold each of our battalions. The Grenadier -87- Hessian Participation Battalion Köhler is getting one called Bird of without having undertaken anything against 277 tons and Twiet of 162 tons. the enemy. On the 20th, in compliance with Today a rebel captain, who has been in the orders we received yesterday, our battalion Brunswick as a spy for some time and has been had to break camp today with Maj. Gen. practicing merchandizing, was hanged on a [John] Vaughn and escort the flatboats on the tree near our camp. A letter that he had written wagons to Perth Amboy. Here we encountered to General Washington promised to ignite all two yeager companies that had just come from the magazines in Brunswick on His Royal Hessia, also two regiments from Anspach and Majesty's birthday. He had given it for for- the Waldeck regiment.38 warding to an English grenadier who had of- On the 22nd the entire army also came here fered to desert for a promised number of from New Brunswick and pitched camp on the guineas. However, the said grenadier brought it heights before us. The English light infantry to Lord Cornwallis. The plan had been made suffered more than forty dead and wounded in for General Washington to be ready on that day their rear guard. The region between to attack as soon as the fires were set. This spy's Brunswick and Amboy is an uninterrupted for- enthusiasm was so great that, when he came to est and very suitable for the rebel's manner of the ladder, he climbed it very calmly and, as he fighting. Between the two places there is a pulled the white mask over his eyes, he said to small and pleasant village named Bonham- those standing around, "I die for liberty."36 town. Six English regiments and Maj. Gen. von On June the 9th the first recruits from Lt. Stirn's brigade embarked today and went to [Friedrich Adam Julius] von Wangenheim's Staten Island, from where they went aboard transport came to us here in Brunswick. On their transport ships. Today in Amboy39 Lt. the 12th arrived in Brunswick the command- Gen. von Heister received their call back to ing general-in-chief Sir William Howe and also Hessia and they had themselves ferried at once Lt. Gen. [Philip] von Heister with many Eng- to Staten Island in order to go to New York. lish regiments and Maj. Gen. [Johann Daniel] On June the 25th six embarked English regi- von Stirn's brigade, consisting of the Prince's ments and Stirn's brigade arrived at Amboy on Own Regiment, the regiments of von Donop their transport ships and were debarked here and von Mirbach, and also the Combined Bat- already this evening. On the 26th the army talion.37 As soon as the regiments had reached broke camp again and marched to Brunswick the camp, large redoubts were thrown up on in several columns in order to fall upon the both sides of the Raritan. rebels, who had moved out of their entrenched On June the 13th many flatboats from New camp. With a loss of sixty prisoners and many York came up the Raritan River. In every flat- dead and three metal40 cannons they returned boat was a wagon which could be launched in to their mountains. Many of our men lay dead the water with little effort and on which the from the heat.41 boat could be loaded very quickly. In a short With regard to our crossing the Hudson, time we saw the boats that had come by water when one calculates the advantages that this proceed further on land. With the coming of last expedition has brought us, the losses on night the army set out in two columns on their both sides seem to balance out. Several of the march to Princeton. They stopped, however, regiments that returned from the expedition on Mills River in the vicinity of Hillsborough were embarked today. The Grenadier Battalion and Middlebush. The rebels have moved into von Minnigerode captured two of the three the mountains across the Mills River and forti- previously mentioned metal cannons. fied themselves. Various English regiments, the Today, the 26th, a large part of the army's Grenadier Battalion Kohler, and the Com- baggage was ferried over to Staten Island. On bined Battalion remained in Brunswick under the 28th Gen. Howe returned from the expedi- the command of Gen. [Edward] Matthew. tion with his army.42 Several English regiments, On June the 19th the army came back here the Regiment von Mirbach, and the Prince's -88- Hessian Participation Own Regiment were immediately embarked march on it. This road is seventeen English on the transports assigned to them. Some Eng- miles long and is the same length as Staten Is- lish regiments and the Grenadier Regiments land. We pitched camp at Cole's Ferry, just op- von Linsing, von Lengercke, and von Min- posite New York. This area is also called "the nigerode were ferried over to Staten Island watering place" because ships are accus-tomed today. to take on water here. On June the 29th six English regiments, the On July the 6th Lt. Gen. [Henry] Clinton ar- two Anspach regiments, the Waldeck regiment, rived from England on a frigate, which had and the Grenadier Battalion Kohler were fer- eight transport ships under its protection. On ried over to Staten Island and pitched camp the 7th to the 9th the troops assigned to the ex- near the ferry. At three o'clock in the after- pedition43 were embarked on the fleet that was noon today, the 30th, our Light Infantry, and lying here. With warships and all other vessels the Hessian Jägers, who formed the rear guard, the fleet had a strength of three to four hun- crossed the Hudson River. With these we were dred ships, the strongest fleet that any of the aban-doning New Jersey, which had brought us inhabitants here had ever seen. Staten Island is little profit and had cost us many men. Perhaps rather well cultivated and has many hills and it would have been better if we had not in- fresh water springs. On the 14th the Grenadier vaded it or else had held on to it. The enemy's Battalion Köhler and two English regiments light cavalry was already in Perth Amboy be- marched to Cole's Ferry and were ferried to fore the last boats shoved off. New York. It is ten miles from Cole's Ferry to New Jersey is undeniably one of the most fer- New York. Two miles behind New York we tile and pleasing provinces in North America. pitched camp at Greenwich Road. One finds there many beautiful, splendid, and pleasant farms that supply an excess of ev- §§§ erything needed for human subsistence. How- The Hessians' morale had been badly ever, this province does not yet have nearly shaken by the surrender of Gen. Burgoyne at enough people to cultivate it. It could nourish Saratoga, and it suffered another blow when at least four times as many people as it actually Gen. Johann Gottlieb Rail's crack Hessian regi- has. There are still considerable large and un- ment was captured at Trenton just five days cultivated regions where one sees only forests after the Kohler Battalion arrived in New Jer- and where one finds no other trace of culture sey. Bauer probably reflected the general Hess- than what nature provides. Perth Amboy has ian sentiment when he concluded that the en- some beautiful houses. tire expedition to New Jersey had been useless. The location of the city is exceptionally After more than two years spent, mostly in- pleasant because it lies on a gradually sloping actively, in the area of New York City, the von mountain and gives a very glorious view of all Kohler Battalian had the opportunity to prove parts of the city. It lies on a spit of land that is itself in the siege of Charleston, South Car- made by an arm of the Hudson River, the Kills, olina, which capitulated on May 11, 1780. and the Raritan River. Toward the south one Bauer's account of the campaign is very infor- sees the open sea across a large bay in the di- 44 mative. rection of Sandy Hook. Up to now there are still few houses, but the streets are laid out reg- — George Fenwick Jones ularly. It is convenient for commerce because University of Maryland merchant and transport ships can come up close to the wharves. On July 2 the army on Staten Island marched out. The march went very slowly be- cause on Staten Island only one road goes from southwest to northeast and we had to -89- Hessian Participation NOTES 'Journal vom Hochfürstlich-Hessischen Grenadier-Bat- 18The common meaning of meliert is "mixed," but its talion Platte vom 16then Februar: 1776 bis den 24then May meaning in this context is unclear. 1784, geführt durch den Regiments-Quartier Meister Carl 19This would appear to have been Capt. Friedrich Hein- Bauer (Hessisches Staatsarchiv, Marburg, Signatur I B a 16) rich Lohrey of the Courier Corps (Feldjäger-Korps). The sailors, even more than the soldiers, were suffering 20This was the Hessian regiment captured by Washington from scurvy. at Trenton. In 1777 the remnants and returned prisoners 3Bauer writes "New yersey." were reorganized as the Wöllwarth Regiment, which was re- 4Manhattan Island. designated a year later as the von Trumbach Regiment. 21 5By North River, Bauer meant the Hudson. Instead of The von Huyn Garrison Regiment was redesignated in "East River" he writes "Edisto." 1780 as the von Benning Regiment. 22 6General Sir William Howe, commander of British Mounted sentinels. 23 troops in New York. "Steinschantze." 24 7Lieutenant General Philip von Heister, senior Hessian Leib-Infanterie-Regiment (the Prince's Own In-fantry officer in the New World. Regiment). 25 8The Jager (called "yeagers" by the Americans) were Regiment Printz Karl. 26 chasseurs, or light infantry recruited among foresters and Von Trumbach. 27 gamekeepers, who were therefore good marksmen and fa- Bauer, who tended to write phonetically, wrote "Cymetry." miliar with the forest. The most famous of these was Capt. 28 Johann Ewald, best known for his trail-blazing military ac- Bauer sometimes writes Perth Amboy and sometimes count of his experiences in the War of Independence just Amboy, just as he writes both New Brunswick and just (trans, and ed. by Joseph P. Tustin as Diary of the American Brunswick. 29Bauer consistently writes Rarington. War, New Haven, 1979). 30 9Names in brackets have been added. The first names of Bauer writes Hillsboury. 31This was the Battle of Princeton. the Hessians can be found in Hetrina, Hessische Truppen im 32 amerikanischm Unabhängig-keitskrieg (Marburg 1974). The Jager were recruited among foresters and game- 10Lt. Gen. Wilhelm von Knyphausen, honorary com- keepers and were therefore good shots and familiar with the woods. The Americans usually called them "yeagers." mander of the Fuselier Regiment. 33 11A kind of plum. Bauer fluctuates between Brunswick and New 12 Brunswick, as he does between Amboy and Perth Amboy. "Blatnussbäume," unidentified. 34 13 Bauer consistently writes "Baumbrouck." The text appears to read "hier," but the context calls 35 for a kind of fruit tree. Bauer had previously mentioned the scurvy among his 14 troops, which had been even more severe among the seamen. Bauer consistently writes Knyphausen. 36 15 Considerable inquiry has failed to reveal the name of 1) Bauer fails to note that this was his own bat this hero, who should be remembered along with Nathan talion, which later became Grenadier Battalion von Hale. Platte (See note 1). 37Gen. Leopold von Heister was the commander-in-chief 2) Usually called the Regiment Landgraf. Freder- of the Hessians serving in North America. Gen. Johann ick II, the Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, was the hon- Daniel Stirn's brigade consisted of the Leib-Infanterie-Reg- orary commander, but Lt. Gen. Henrich Wilhelm iment, the regiments of Wilhelm Henrich August von Wutginau actually led it. Donop and Werner von Mirbach, and the Combinierte 3) Garnisons Regiment von Stein, honorary com- Battalion under the command of Capt. Eman Anselm von mander Lt. Gen. Johann Ludwig Ferdinand von Wilmovsky. Stein, but actually commanded by Franz Erdmann 38 The auxilliary troops from Anspach and Waldeck were Carl von Seitz. 4) Garnisons Regiment Wissenbach, honorary not actually Hessians, being from independent states, yet commander Lt. Gen. Christoph Moritz von Wis- they are usually included in the term "Hessian." 39See note 33. senbach, but actually commanded by Lt. Cols. 40 Friedrich von Porbeck and Carl von Kitzel. "Metal" must have meant "brass," as opposed to iron. 41 5) Garnisons Regiment von Huyn. The name ap- Almost exactly a year later at the Battle of Monmouth pears mostly as 'Von Huyn" or 'Von Huyne," Bauer Courthouse, Maria Ludwig (Molly Pitcher) took over her writes von Hine. Honorary commander Johann husband's cannon when he was prostrated by the heat. Christoph von Huyne, actually commanded by Lt. 42This would appear to be Howe's unsuccessful attempt Col. Hubert Frantz Kurtz. to come to the aid of Gen. Burgoyne. 6) Garnisons Regiment von Bunau, honorary 43At this time Bauer does not seem to know the destina- commander Col. Rudolph von Bunau, actually com- tion of the impending expedition. Since Howe's expedi- manded by Lt. Col. Johann Adam Scheffer. tion up the Hudson has failed, he must be referring to the 7) The Waldeckers were not Hessians. The princi- impending campaign against Charleston. pality of Waldeck had its own Prince Friedrich. 44See The 1780 Siege of Charleston as Experienced by 16"ndhl" is not explained. a Hessian Officer," South Carolina Historical Magazine, 88 "Later identified as Harlem Creek. (1987), 23-33, 63-75. -90- GERMAN COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE IN FREDERICK COUNTY: THE MILL POND HOUSE — DEARBOUGHT — THE HESSIAN BARRACKS History leaves behind many records; they buildings and their sites — Mill Pond House, can be in writing, illustrations and pho- Dearbought Farm, and the Hessian Barracks tographs, artifacts, or buildings. This survey — are of special interest to the author for their will focus on examples of colonial architecture architectural as well as historical qualities; left behind by German settlers in Frederick many more examples throughout the county County. are waiting to be discovered and admired. Frederick County is the only region in Mary- All three buildings exist today in their origi- land which abounds in German colonial (and nal location: Mill Pond House, located be- German colonial style) architecture. Three tween between Frederick and Walkersville on a tract of land called "Broadview Acres" near Harmony Grove along the Monocacy River, unfortunately has been allowed to deteriorte and is in ruins. Nearby Dearbought Farm, the fate of which is uncertain, is in need of immediate restoration and protec- tion. The Hessian Barracks represent historical preservation at its best and are listed on the National Register of Historical Places. The buildings, lo- cated in the southeastern part of Frederick, are in excellent condition. They have been used by the Mary- land School for the Deaf for many years and are well maintained. Historical Overview Daniel Nead writes, that "... it was not until the coming of the German settlers, who by their thrift and indus- try showed the possibilities of the fer- tile fields, that the colony began to make rapid strides forward..." (The Pennsylvania German). The major im- petus for German immigration to Frederick County came in 1732, when Lord Baltimore offered two hundred free acres to prospective set- tlers at a rent of one percent per year, starting after three years. German The Mill Pond House.Photo courtesy of Bridgitte Voelkel Fessenden. families from southeastern Pennsylva- nia moved into the area along the Monocacy to cultivate the land that was offered to them. Many Germans also left Pennsylvani- -91- German Colonial Architecture in Frederick County a's back counties because they provided little MILL POND HOUSE protection from Indian attacks. Pennsylvania's legislature, with a Quaker majority, refused to This house no longer exists as a recognizable provide defense funds. structure and is physically only evidenced by One of the first recorded German settle- fragmented ruins and its cellar, but it was nev- ments in Maryland was called Village of Mono- ertheless the only known surviving Maryland cacy . It was settled in 1729 in the area which example of half-timber, wattle-and-daub con- would later become Frederick. Houses were struction, popular in German countries and constructed from logs, as was a small church England from the middle ages up to the nine- which is considered to be the mother church teenth century. The land called the "Mill of the Lutheran and German Reform Pond" was conveyed by Daniel Dulaney to the denominations in Maryland (replaced by a miller Jacob Stoner (Steiner) in 1746, and it brick building in 1834). Families sometimes can be assumed that the house was built shortly lived one or two decades in such simple log thereafter. A mill which had probably been dwellings before they had accumulated constructed in the 1730's was already operat- enough wealth to construct the "mansion" of ing nearby. The house fronted on the old their dreams. Two distinctive types of building Annapolis road which once connected the methods and materials were used by Maryland- Frederick-Woodsboro Turnpike and the Fred- Germans in the construction of their homes: erick-Emmitsburg Turnpike. medieval half-timber work with wattles (Mill H. Chandlee Forman describes the Mill Pond House) and solid stone (Dearbought, Pond House in his book In Tidewater Maryland Hessian Barracks). Although Mill Pond House complete with detailed plans. His drawings was the only known medieval house to survive show a structure measuring approximately 30 into the twentieth century, several stone feet by 40 feet, two and one-half stories in houses from the colonial period, including height, with a four-bay facade on the south Dearbought and the Hessian Barracks, are still side. The first floor and the foundation were standing in Frederick County. It is the stone built of native stone, the second floor and the houses built by the second generation of Mary- east- and west-end gables above the second land-Germans which are generally referred to floor of the house were of half-timbered con- as "German Colonial" and which radiate struction with a wattle-and-daub filling (a type strength and permanence, simplicity, sincerity of basketwork made up of evenly spaced and, above all, prosperity of their owners who saplings interwoven on both sides with split had fully assimilated "im neuen Land" (in the branches, over which are daubed layers of mud New World) and intended to stay. mixed with chopped straw to hold the mud to- The major characteristics of both building gether) Early on this part was covered on the styles are: large, vaulted cellars (generally lo- exterior with clapboards in order to protect cated directly below the kitchen and accessible the plaster from the elements. A central chim- from there); four-room arrangements with a ney served one large cooking fireplace in the central hall [Hausflur], the stair (located on kitchen and the master chamber directly one side of the hall near the front door), the above; a second chimney was added later in the kitchen [Küche], and a small chamber [Kam- southwest corner of the house. The roofing, mer] for sleeping or storage purposes directly probably originally wooden shingles, had been behind it. The rest of the chambers are situ- replaced with slate. ated to the rear of the house and upstairs. Mill Pond House's interior followed the Chimneys are massive and in the center of the so-called "Quaker Plan," which featured a house; the fireplace services the kitchen. High good sized Kueche (main or keeping room) pitched roofs frame spacious, vented attics cov- with a large fireplace and a partition with a ered with thatched roofs at first, later with shin- door near the center of the house, leading to gles and then tin. two rooms beyond: a Stube (parlor) and a Kam- -92- German Colonial Architecture in Frederick County Drawings by H. C. Forman. Courtesy of the Estate ofH. C. Forman -93- German Colonial Architecture in Frederick County Drawings by H. C. Forman. Courtesy of the Estate ofH. C. Forman -94- German Colonial Architecture in Frederick County mer (bedroom) the Stube being the larger room DEARBOUGHT FARM of the two. The size of the Kueche was 22 feet, 6 Situated on over 300 acres near Ceresville, inches by 27 feet, 6 inches, and represented just south of the former Frederick-Woodsboro one of the largest residential rooms in Mary- Turnpike (the present-day Maryland Route land (before the addition of wattle-and-daub 26), on a tract of land that was part of the Du- partitions which divided the spaces into four laney Lands and bought by Sebastian Derr, a sections). Five additional bedrooms were lo- barrel maker, in 1755. A house of log and cated on the second floor and could be stone was built during the same year and repre- reached by a circular staircase which wound sents one of the oldest houses in the county. A around a pole made of one piece of wood ap- second house for one of Sebastian's sons was proximately 23 feet tall. Wide floor joists had built in 1775, as well as several smaller struc- layers of clay and straw between them, and tures, including a cooper's house, serving vari- large summer beams 6 1/2 inches by 9 inches ous purposes. Passing from one generation to ran longitudinally from one end of the house the next, the property is still owned by the to the other on both floors. A vaulted cellar 14 same family and run as a dairy farm, although feet wide located under the eastern end of the the original houses have not been occupied for building and accessible by an outside cellarway quite some time and are in poor condition. with stone steps as well as from the inside via a The Dearbought Farm houses are another stepladder, was used for storing perishable fine example of German colonial architecture. goods. The two and one-half story first house, which While it is unfortunate that Mill Pond House was built by Sebastian Derr in 1755, is con- was allowed to deteriorate, Mr. Forman's re- structed out of log and stone with clapboard search and drawings are unique and offer de- siding added later to all but the western wall. tailed, clear information on the half-timbered Different quality stone was used, with the front building technique which marks the transition facade receiving better treatment. Two two- from all-timber to masonry construction and story, same-height additions feature some brick which was practiced by early German settlers in in the gable section on the south wall. These Maryland. Dearbought Farm, 1755, West Side. Photos courtsey of Brigitte Voelkel Fessenden. -95- German Colonial Architecture in Frederick County additions are attached to the main house on its Dearbought's original interior layout prob- south wall and cover only a little bit more than ably consisted of a "Küche" which took up half of its depth. about half the space on the first floor and a Measuring approximately 40 feet by 40 feet, central chimney serving the kitchen and the the main house has a three-bay facade, with the room above the kitchen, similar to the layout main entry door to the side, and two windows in the Mill Pond House. Two rooms behind the with a semi-circular brick arch topping the win- "Küche," partitioned off by a wattle-and-daub dow openings on the first floor. The front wall, functioned as parlor and chamber. It is porch, a nineteenth-century addition, possible that the location of the staircase was stretches from the center of the west wall different from the present; the access area to across the north wall and along the east wall. A the cellar might provide clues as to the original Dearbought Farm, 1755, NorthSide. Photos courtsey ofBrigitte VoelkelFessenden. back door on the eastern side of the house location. The second floor most likely con- is located exactly opposite the main entry tained four chambers. door on the west wall, as are the windows on While the first addition to the original build- the second floor directly above those doors. ing could be accessed from the older main The roofs original wooden shingles were house on both the first- and the second-floor replaced with tin; its steep pitch and the level, the second addition was accessible from delicately carved brackets under the roof the first-floor level only. Both additions con- overhang in the north wall and around two sisted of one room on the first and second small gable windows contribute to the Ger- floor and have an eastern orientation; further manic character of the house. The original research is needed to determine their func- central chimney has been replaced by two tion and purpose. chimneys, one each on the north and south Dearbought Farm is unique in that all of the walls, built probably during the middle of additions and accessory buildings have sur- the nineteenth century. Both additions vived the current day and are still owned by have their chimneys in the original location the same family. One can only hope that a on the south wall. faithful restoration will take place in the near future. -96- German Colonial Architecture in Frederick County DearboughtFarm, 1755, West. Photos courtsey of Brigitte Voetkel Fessenden. Dearbought Second House, 1755. Photos courtsey ofBrigitte Voelkel Fessenden. -97- German Colonial Architecture in Frederick County Hessian Barracks, 1777. Photos courtsey of Brigitte Voelkel Fessenden. THE HESSIAN BARRACKS Landgraf of Hessen-Kassel to help subdue the revolution in the American colonies. Some Built in 1777 as a military post, the Hessian sources insist that the Hessian prisoners built Barracks (also called 'The Old Revolutionary the barracks, but the official version credits Barracks") consisted of two "L"-shaped, two- Abraham Faw, a local builder, with contracting story, stone buildings with the short arms of and building the Barracks. Records show that the "L's" facing each other. Situated on an emi- he received 1500 pounds currency in June of nence at the south end of Frederick, the bar- 1777 and 1000 pounds in November of the racks were first occupied by a large number of same year. It is most likely that local labor was Germans captured as prisoners of war at Ben- used first and that the prisoners helped with nington and Saratoga. The prisoners had been the construction and the completion of the rented out to George III of England by the project after their arrival in May of 1777. Maryland-German regi- ments under Captain Brown were ordered to act as the Hessian's guards, which surely must have caused some conflict among those Germans. The Barracks were used to house English and Hessian prison- ers from 1777 to 1783 and French prisoners during the undeclared naval war with France in 1799. After that time the buildings func- tioned as a public arsenal, being the main arms depository in west- Hessian Barracks, 1777. Photos courtsey ofBrigitte Voelkel ern Maryland, and as an army in- -98- German Colonial Architecture in Frederick County specter's office. During the Civil War, the Bar- racks were used by both armies as a hospital. Since 1867 the Barracks have been home to the Maryland School for the Deaf. The West Barracks Building was torn down in 1874 to make room for a new large main building, with the remaining Barracks being put to various uses, such as storage and living quarters for employees of the School. An ex- tensive renovation took place in 1971, which restored the building to its colonial character. Today the Barracks are in excellent condition and are used as a museum, depicting the his- tory of the Hessian Barracks from 1777 until 1868. The Hessian Barracks represent another good example of German Colonial architec- ture and are probably the only non-residential colonial building left in Maryland. Despite the removal of one of the two twin structures, the historic atmosphere of the site has been re- tained and serves its educational purpose. Nearly one hundred years of American history can be learned by studying the history of the Hessian Barracks. — Brigitte Voelkel Fessenden Baltimore, Maryland Hessian Barracks, 1777. Photos courtsey of Brigitte Voelkel Fessenden. Hessian Barracks, 1777. Photos courtsey of Brigitte Voelkel Fessenden. -99- German Colonial Architecture in Frederick County REFERENCES Nead, Daniel Wunderlich. The Pennsylvania Cunz, Dieter. The Maryland Germans: A History. German in the Settlement of Maryland. Lan- Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, caster, PA: Pennsylvania German Society, 1948. 1914. Kessel, Elizabeth. The Social World of Frederick Dörnach, Rudolf. Süddeutsche Bauernhäuser. County. Maryland Germans. Paper presented Frankfurt am Main: Umschau Verlag, 1987. at the 41st Conference in Early American Forman, H. Chandlee. In Tidewater Maryland. History of the Institute of Early American Cambridge, MD: Tidewater Publishers, 1968. History and Culture, April 30 - May 2,1981 McCanner, Hazel. The Hessian Barracks: A Wit- ness to History. Frederick, MD: Maryland School for the Deaf, 1976. -100- BOOK REVIEWS Froeschle, Hartmut. Americana Germanica: 3-130), and that the U.S. actually is the lengthi- Bibliographic zur deutschen Sprache und est section (pp. 47-130). deutschsprachigen Literatur in Nord- und The section dealing with the U.S. is subdi- Lateinamerika. Auslandsdeutsche Literatur vided into six sections dealing with: 1. Bibli- der Gegenwart, Vol. 15. Hildesheim: Olms, ographien; Forschungsberichte; Liter- 1991. 233 pp. DM 49.80 aturgeschichte; 2. Arbeiten zur Geschichte, Since the 1970s, Hartmut Froeschle has pub- Kulturgeschichte und Geistesgeschichte; 3. Ar- lished widely in the field of German-American beiten zur deutschen Sprache; 4. Arbeiten zur Studies (see my reviews in Journal of German- deutschsprachigen Literatur; 5. Anthologien American Studies, 15:3-4, 1980, 95-97, Yearbook of und Publikationen in Reihen; and 6. Zeitun- German-American Studies, 24, 1989, 163-65, and gen und Zeitschriften. Prof. Donaldson has ac- 27, 1992, 175-76). Although he has dealt with complished an outstanding contribution to the German-American topics, his primary focus field of German-American Studies by means of has been on the German-Canadians and the his chapter on the U.S. It will serve as a basic Latin American Germans. Indeed, one of his and essential tool for students and scholars. major accomplishments has been to contribute In each section, the arrangement is not al- to the definition of the field which includes the phabetical by author, but rather chronological entire hemisphere, from north to south. by date of publication, which is useful for view- As Froeschle notes in Americana Germanica, ing the historical development of the field in "Bibliographische Arbeit ist sehr zeitraubend specific categories and countries. The mere (und zumeist undankbar, da die Benutzer der compilation of this work is a major achieve- gedruckten Resultate nicht selten eher die un- ment, and is without question of exceptional vermeidlichen Schwächen und Lücken einer value, as it will be a basic source for anyone in- Bibliographic sehen, als die zähen, hinge- terested in the German elements and their lan- bungsvolle Tätigkeit, die hinter bib- guage and literature in the Americas. liographischen Veröffentlichungen steht" (v.). In my own research, which often deals with At the same time, Froeschle correctly has rec- the wide-ranging interrelationships and cross- ognized that the growth and development of cultural relations between the German ele- the field rests on bibliographical foundations. ments in the America, I have already found Americana Germanica aims to provide biblio- that this work is one of my favorite reference graphical coverage of German language and works. It is my hope that this work will lead to literature of the German elements in North further comparative studies between the Ger- and South America. It aims to provide cover- man elements in the Americas, as the possi- age for the fifty-five years since the appearance bilities are manifold. This work is one which all of Karl Kurt Klein, Literaturgeschichte des libraries, scholars, and students interested in Deutschtums im Ausland (1939). This half cen- German-American Studies should obtain. tury is important, as it witnessed the Second — Don Heinrich Tolzmann World War together with the related anti-Ger- University of Cincinnati man hysteria, and the eventual postwar up- swing and ethnic revival. Since the 1970s, there Miller, Randall M., editor. States of Progress: has been a veritable avalanche of publications Germans and Blacks in America over 300 dealing with the topic, as is reflected in this Years. Ephrata, Pennsylvania: Science Press, work. 1989. xiii & 101 pp. $12.00 The volume contains bibliographical sec- States of Progress: Germans and Blacks in Amer- tions on Canada, the U.S., and the various ica over 300 Years commemorates the 300th an- Latin American countries, each of which car- niversary of the first formal protest against slav- ries the name of the scholar responsible for ery (1688). This volume has five of the original that particular section. Of particular interest to six lectures given in Philadelphia during the readers of The Report: A Journal of German-Amer- 1988 celebration and a lengthy introduction. ican History are the sections dealing with the The documented participation of German- "U.S.A." by Randall Donaldson, editor of this American Quakers in this momentous protest journal. It should be noted that roughly half provides the stimulus for the exploration of the work deals with Canada and the U.S. (pp. German- and African-American interaction in -101- Book Reviews America. The essays, following a chronological looks at the strategy of "entanglement," which order, focus on Black-German perceptions, re- the abolition movement employed with Eu- lationships, or conflicts in the eighteenth and rope with varying degrees of success. antebellum nineteenth century. While it is difficult to speak of one German- Randall M. Miller's introduction offers an in- American response to the various issues in mid- formative and fairly comprehensive overview nineteenth century American society, James M. of 300 years of Black-German interaction. His Bergquist convincingly argues that German- essay also sets the stage for critical inquiry and Americans nonetheless became an important thought-provoking discussion. Like the other political force for the Democratic and Republi- authors of essays he is committed to debunking can Parties. This phenomenon had a number popular myths about German-American atti- of causes, most notably the role of the Forty- tude toward and participation in the anti-slav- eighters who were vehemently opposed to slav- ery movement. Therefore, while Germans did ery and who exerted a disproportionate indeed participate in this historic protest, he amount of influence in the Republican Party. argues persuasively that their involvement was Leroy T. Hopkins examines the Black-Ger- more the result of their religious belief than man interaction in antebellum Lancaster their ethnic background. One significant and County (PA). Although Blacks and Germans recurring fact is that no one German-American had been there almost from the earliest settle- viewpoint emerged on any single issue—in- ment, race caused their relations to be uneasy. cluding slavery. In short, German-American at- Economic competition between whites and titude toward slavery and slaves varied accord- blacks fueled racism and discrimination. Thus, ing to local conditions. the Columbia race riots of 1834 and 1835 can Gary B. Nash traces and documents the anti- be attributed to the fears of the white working slavery movement in Pennsylvania in light of class that Black economic power could lead to the paradox between the establishment of Black social equality. Pennsylvania as a "holy experiment" and the Finally, Terry G. Jordan debunks the popular relatively effortless acceptance of slavery by myth of the Texas Unionist Germans. While Quakers. It is worth noting that the anti-slavery some Texas Germans, especially the liberal intel- movement was able to be successful only after lectuals, supported the abolitionist movement, it shifted its focus to the moral implications of others were pro-slavery. For the most part, Ger- slavery. In other words, the movement became mans tended to be indifferent to the institution successful when it concerned itself with the of slavery or "careless of its existence" (95). harmful effects of slavery on the slaveowners, In addition to a reprint of the Germantown rather than on the slaves. Finally, he examines Protest Against Slavery text, the illustrations, the actual ramifications of the Gradual Aboli- historical documents and photographs inter- tion Act of 1780 which, initially at least, did not spersed throughout the book add to the rele- inconvenience the slaveowners all that much. vancy of this topic. Excellent documentation is Nonetheless, this law is important in American provided at the end of each essay for further history since Pennsylvania was the first aboli- reference. The German Society of Pennsylva- tion state. nia and the contributors of this volume are to Black-German interaction is deftly explored be commended for beginning dialogue about by Richard Blackett against the three turbulent the interaction between Blacks and Germans and interdependent forces of Colonization, in America. Readable and thought-provoking, Abolition, and Immigration. The issue of States of Progress: Germans and Blacks in American Americanism, that is, "who is American?," con- over 300 Years is a welcome and important con- fronted both German- and African-Ameri- tribution to German-American and multicul- cans—but along racial lines. The growing na- tural studies and should generate much discus- tivist movement prompted German-Americans sion. One can only hope that more such at times to assume a stance which was in con- volumes will follow. flict with the interests of free African-Ameri- — Susann Samples cans who were struggling for acceptance as Mount Saint Mary's College contributing American citizens. This essay also -102- CONTRIBUTORS Randall P. Donaldson (Ph.D., The Johns Hop- George Fenwick Jones (Ph.D., Columbia Uni- kins University) is Assistant Professor of Ger- versity) is Professor Emeritus of German and man at Loyola College in Maryland. He has Comparative Literature at the University of done extensive work on Robert Reitzel, the Maryland, College Park. Before retirement he radical editor of the German-American period- specialized in Medieval German Literature; ical, Der arme Teufel. His book on Reitzel will since then he has devoted himself to the his- appear in early 1997. tory of the Germans in the American colonies. He was been awarded the Cross of Literature Jurgen Eichhoff (Dr. phil., Marburg) is Profes- and Science by the Republic of Austria and the sor of German Linguistics at the Pennsylvania Order of Merit by the Federal Republic of State University and director of Penn State's Germany. German-American Research Institute. His publications include the Wortatlas der deutschen Lieselotte E. Kurth (Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins Umgangssprachen (Linguistic Atlas of Spoken University) is Professor Emerita at the Johns German, three volumes thus far). At present Hopkins University. She taught at Hopkins for he is working on the German section of the more than twenty-five years and served as chair Dictionary of American Family Names (to be pub- of the Department of German for seven years. lished by Oxford University Press), a Dictio- She is the author of Die zweite Wirklichkeit, Stu- nary of German Place Names in Pennsylvania, and dien zum Roman des achtzehnten Jahrhunderts and a Dictionary of German Loan Words in American Perspectives and Points of View: The Early Works of English. Wieland. She has co-edited several collections of letters, written chapters for Deutsche Brigitte Voelkel Fessenden is an historical Literatur—Fine Sozialgeschichte and Studies in Eu- preservation planner with the Commission for ropean Romanticism, and published numerous Historical and Architectural Preservation of articles on Grimmelshausen, Lessing, Wieland, the City of Baltimore. She has a Masters De- Goethe, Schiller, Kleist, Fontane, and Thomas gree in Community Planning and Historic Mann, among them several which address the Preservation from the University of Maryland reception of German literature in the United and a B.F.A. from the Maryland Institute. She States. is currently president of the Maryland Chap- ter of the American Goethe Society and is ac- Michael J. Kurtz (Ph.D., Georgetown Univer- tive in a number of civic and professional asso- sity) currently serves as the Assistant Archivist ciations. for the Office of the National Archives. He joined the National Archives in 1974 and has Gary L. Grassl was born in Omaha, Nebraska, worked in various archival and staff positions but grew up in Germany during World War II. in the office of the Federal Records Centers, After receiving a bachelor of arts degree from the Office of Management and Administra- the Catholic University of America, he worked tion, and the Office of the National Archives. for the Wall Street Journal. He was a writer-editor He is also an adjunct professor at the Univer- with the U.S. Department of the Interior and sity of Maryland's College of Library and Infor- the U.S. Department of Education for more mation Science, where he teaches a course in than twenty-five years. He has published arti- managing cultural institutions. Dr. Kurtz has cles in the American-German Review, the Na- had several publications in the areas of archival tional Park Service's Trends in Parks and Recre- management, the American civil war and the ation, Review of the Society for the History of World War II. Czechoslovak Jews, Bureau of National Affairs, The American Rationalist, and Hadassah Magazine. William H. McClain (Ph.D., University of Wis- He is currently vice president of the German consin) was Professor Emeritus of German at Heritage Society of Greater Washington, D.C. the Johns Hopkins University. His long list of -103- Contributors publications gives evidence of his abiding in- Romance and Gender, ed. Friedrich Wolfzettel terest in the German literature of the nine- (Amsterdam & Atlanta: Rodopi, 1995). Among teenth century. His monograph on German Re- other forthcoming articles are two of particu- alism, Between Real and Ideal: the Course of Otto lar interest to readers of the Report. "Afro-Ger- Ludwig's Development as a Narrative Writer is one mans in the Third Reich" and 'The Afro-Ger- of the standards in the field. mans: The Invisible-Visible Germans." Peter C. Merrill (Ph.D., Columbia University) Helen Perry Smith is a retired teacher of sec- was born near Chicago but now lives in Boca ondary school English now living at Edenwald Raton, Florida. He is Associate Professor of in Towson, Maryland. She has written books on Languages and Linguistics at Florida Atlantic family history. Her B.A. is from Middlebury University, where he teaches a course on Ger- College and her M.A. is from the University of man immigrant culture in America. Dr. Mer- the State of New York at Albany. rrill has published more than thirty articles dealing with such topics as German-American Don Heinrich Tolzmann (Ph.D., University of literature, German immigrant artists in the Cincinnati), Curator of the German-Ameri- United States, and the German-language stage cana Collection and Director of the German- in America. His book German-American Artists American Studies Program at the University of in Milwaukee: A Biographical Dictionary will be Cincinnati, serves as president of the Society published next year. for German-American Studies and is also a member of the planning committee of the Susann Samples (Ph.D., Yale University) is As- Auswanderermuseum in Bremerhaven. Most re- sociate Professor of Modern Languages at cently, he has edited a multi-volume work, Ger- Mount Saint Mary's College. Her research in- man-Americans in the World Wars: A Documentary terests include medieval German Arthurian ro- History (Munchen: K. G. Saur, 1995-96). He mances, medieval German literature, and Afro- also edits a monographic series, "New German- Germans. In the last year she published an American Studies," published by Peter Lang article on "The Rape of Ginover in Heinrich Publishing Company. von dem Türlin's Diu Crône" in Arthurian -104- sequence as rep- Preserving the Original Pronunciation, below) resenting the sound [θ] as found initially in are not taken. thin. In names such as Schultheis(s), the t and II. REVISION OF THE GERMAN NAME the h are divided by the syllable boundary in German but combined as [θ] in English, also Respelling Necessitated by German resulting in re-syllabification. Orthographic Symbols not Found in English The Letter ß. The German letter ß (pro- With Simplification of German Sound nounced es-tset, German for "s-z", the letters from Clusters which it was originally composed) stands for the The clusters consisting of the sound [J] (the "sharp" s and is found in medial and word-final initial sound in English "shore," represented position. Americans normally did not recognize the letter or mistake it for a capital B.23 is found: Donald Herbert Yoder used the term "Dutchi- Siebold>Ziebold, Kaiser>Kaizer or Kizer, fied"32 to characterize the dialect-based Neuhäuser>Nihizer. Others, such as