'Description of My Emigration'- April 11, 1893
English Translation of a Letter Written by Heinrich Vogel
'Description of My Emigration'
Written April 11, 1893 - H.Vogel
On June 10, 1855, early 4 o'clock, in God's name, my family and I left, per train,
from our beloved hometown (or city) Hof[ab?] to Plauen. Arrival:
3/4 5 o'clock
to Reichenbach: 6 o'clock, 20 min.
Altenburg: 8 o'clock
Leipzig: 9 1/2 o'clock
At 12 noon we started from Leipzig to Halle, Kothen, Magdeburg [arriving at] 3 1/4 o'clock
evening. Halberstadt, Scheppenstett, Wolfembuttel Braunschweig, where 7 1/4 o'clock we
arrived in the evening, staying overnight.
June 11, early 9 1/2 o'clock, from Braunschweig to Perte Celle, where we arrived at
11 o'clock. On to Luneburg, 2 3/4 o'clock afternoon, passing Barlig to [?] where it was 4
o'clock. In Harburg we lodged from June 11, evening, till the 16th, early, in a
'costhouse'inn by Wettimer.
Early 16th, on a boat, we traveled to Hamburg where we arrived at 10 o'clock,
boarding a 3 mast sailing ship, "Rudolph", whose captain's name was Dickmann. That
afternoon we left the ship into town to buy what we needed; Lebensomittel [food]. By
evening we returned on board our ship.
On the 17th, early, at 3 1/2 o'clock, the anchors were lifted; the ship by a
Schlosz (?) castle slowly taken in fog, after which we traveled until 10 o'clock. [page
break #1] At that hour a strong westwind forced us to pull in the sails and we had to
remain here until the 19th, early. We were at Gluckstadt, Freiburg across from Kiezbiafur
(?).
Early, on June 19th, the sails were spread. Around 9 o'clock, in Kuzhafen, we
passed, on the left, by a small island. In the evening, at ? o'clock, we passed Helgoland,
the island remaining on the right of us.
On the 20th the ship sailed very fast. I became seasick; on the following
afternoon it was over. Weather conditions were always cold, with strong wind.
On the 21st, as planned, we came near the English shore, which enabled us to see
plainly some of the town's landscapes, and lighthouses. That shore is Kreidefelsen.
On the 22nd, fair weather; on the 23rd, a little windy. In the afternoon we left
the canal, steering into the open ocean. The 24th was a beautiful day! On the 25th, the
sea was very calm. The sun burned. In the forenoon [on the 25th] the ship lay almost
completely quiet, in the afternoon, it moved fast. On the 26th the breezes were helpful,
in the sailing strong until the morning of the 27th. Then quiet sea took its turn until
the morning of the 29th, when progress again was made with Eastwind. In the evening of the
29th it became dreary, rainy, and somewhat stormy. The following day, 30th, it was foggy
and the vessel moved slowly. [page break #2]
Ships from America came toward us daily, sometimes as many as 6. In the night a
baby was stillborn on the ship. On July 1 it was lowered into the sea. In the forenoon of
that day our ship lay quiet; in the afternoon it made good time. That night the waves
were high. On July 2, between 11 and 12 noon, a sailor from the center mast fell out into
the water and was lost in spite of the fact that rope and rings were thrown near him, and a
boat lowered, the sea was going quite high. But although the course of the sea was not
good, the ship went fast. The ship went well on July 3rd. In the night, between 3 and 4
o'clock, a storm arose, causing the sea to be rough, and this storming continued until 6.
On July 7 and 8 all went well, calm and mild. Between the 10th and the 12th
beautiful days, however, unfavorable headway.
On the 12th at noon an English ship met us. It had come from East Indies and was
returning to Quebec. The 2 captains talked with each other without a loud speaker. It was
a 2 1/2 mast ship.
On the 13th one again saw several ships coming toward us. On the 14th and 15th,
fair weather and headway, northeast wind, several ships in view. From the 19th to the
20th, a bit stormy. 22nd to the 23rd, good headway, northeast wind. On the 24th, ship
stood still. One could see, in the distance, a few ships.
On the 25th, we passed along the south coast of Long Island. On the 26th strong
wind. On the 27th a Lotse came on board, the boat bore the No. 14.
On the morning of the 28th we saw land [page break #3] and at noon sailed into New
York harbor, where one sees, to the right and to the left, islands and buildings with
impressively beautiful houses, such as: Governor's Island, Jersey City, Atlantic Rocks,
Brooklyn. Having arrived in the harbor, our anchors were dropped.
On the 29th, at noon, it being Sunday, we let ourselves be transferred from the
ship, via boat, to shore, and walked through town to Schwarzen Lenuken.
On the morning of the 30th, my brother Georg and I returned on board of our ship,
where in the meantime, the ship had been brought, and got our boxes and effects, also sight
seeing a part of the city.
On the 13th of August, at noon, 1 pm, we sailed on a steamer to station of the
Pennsylvania Railroad to Philadelphia, where we arrived at 9 pm, staying there overnight.
On the 14th, at noon, the train left for Lancaster (?) where we arrived at 5:30, to
Columbia, and rode through the whole night to Altoona, where train rested, from 10 am until
1 pm. From Altoona we traveled through a pretty long tunnel, the area being a romantic
wilderness. From here our train went over, and into the Allegheny Mts., where passing over
'mountain backs', up and up, passing frightening abysses, through a mile long tunnel,
through the night, and at 5 am, on the 16th we arrived in Pittsburgh, where, per omnibus,
we were transferred to a different railroad station. [pagebreak #4]
At 8 o'clock we continued, per train, to Alliance, arriving there at 12:30 noon;
then, on to Cleveland, Ohio, 3 pm; at 6 pm to Gration(?); and, at 10 pm we arrived in
Toledo, where we remained for the night.
On the 17th, 6:30 pm, on again to Chicago, where we arrived at 8 pm, on the 18th.
We had to remain here until the 20th, 4 pm. We started for Freeport, Galena Dunlith,
where, on the 21st, early, 2 am, we awaited the daylight in our coaches.
After daybreak at 7 am, we boarded the Ferry Boat to Dubuque, under rain, over the
Mississippi, and went into a hotel, by the name of Wilhelm Tell; next to the Inspector
Grossmann, who met and received us very kindly. He provided a room on Eagle Point by a Mr.
Mumsilbar or Steinsilbar (?) into which we moved on the 22nd.
God had kept us in good health and safety thus far, for which we thanked and
praised Him; and we appreciated the fact that we could make it look a little like home,
also feeling refreshed. Soon our boxes arrived, which we had addressed here, per Erie
Railroad, from New York. On the 23rd, noon, my brother and I went to F. Burk (?), to
Menaminie.
On August 27th my brother and I, with Mr. Fritschel and others made a trip to
Sebald in Claeton Co., and in the evening we traveled from Dubuque with the [pagebreak #5]
Missionhorse, Prinz, which resulted in a very adventurous evening. The night was spent on
the prairie with crisscross roads, not far from the 21 millehouse (?), arriving early on
the 28th at New Heine; on to the garden prairie, to Strawberry Point and Sebald.
Since this area did not please us, we again returned to Dubuque, arriving on the
31st.
On September 7, noon, we traveled with Mr. Grossmann into the German settlement on
Sherrills and Mount, to Preacher A. Frowein where we bought his farm, 80 acres - my brother
and I, 40 acres and Mr. Grossmann, 40 acres.
On September 18 I became very ill with the "cold fever", which was extremely hard
on me for a number of weeks.
On September 29, my brother's youngest daughter, B[L?]abetta, died at 4am. Early on
the 30th, she received a Christian burial.
On October 5th, in God's name, my wife and 2 children and I moved into the farm,
where, after hard, difficult times, through the grace of God and His mercy, we still live
today. [pagebreak #6]
On October 14, Pastor Dunslau (?) installed Pastor Grossmann as our faithful
Seelsorger (pastor).
On December 9, Pastor Grossmann preached for the first time on the Farm.
On October 22, a school was opened by Mr. (?) in the blockbarn, which is still
standing to this day.
Deo Solo Gloria!
Gott allein die Ehre!
Written on the 11th of April, 1893.
-H. Vogel