This is the story of the emigration of George Sham, my Great-Great
Grandfather on my mother’s side, who emigrated from Bavaria (present day
Germany) to the United States in 1850.
Background behind
German emigration in the 1850’s
In 1806, the Holy Roman Empire consisted of what is known
today as Germany, Belgium, Luxumbourg, Austria, a small part of the Netherlands
and a very small part of France. In that same year, Napoleon defeated the Holly
Roman Empire and it was dissolved
In 1812 Russia defeated Napoleon, restoring Austria and
Prussia (which was not part of the Holy Roman Empire) as the most powerful
countries in Europe. In 1815 the
Congress of Vienna (Austria) reunited all of the Holy Roman Empire as the
Confederation of Germany. A loose
confederation of 39 separate German speaking states. In reality this was an
effort by Austria to create a buffer zone between the two world powers of Austria
and Prussia
Over time this confederation failed due to two factors:
It was weak and lobbying between
confederation states lacked the ability to effectively compromise. Therefor no
common ground was ever found.
The German speaking population
longed for one country, consolidating all 39 states of the Confederation with Austria
and Prussia.
The 1830’s and 40’s saw a transition period in Europe. From agriculture
to an industrialized mindset tha moved towards
a market based Economy. A change that brought error prone and debit expensive
problems which were difficult to solve. Government tried to help, but had to
levy heavy taxes to do so.
The years of 1845 and 1846 were very poor harvest years,
stemming from all of the changes, combined with a potato blight in 1845 and a
hot and dry summer in 1846.
Areas of Europe were under famine conditions, causing food
prices to rise drastically. German’s had lost all of their cheap staple foods
and were struggling to feed their families. These problems set of a recession. Tensions
rose and food riots broke out, as people demanded that food items be sold under
market value.
By 1848 the food problems were starting to work themselves
out, however by this time, financial institutions were in serious trouble. In
February of 1848, people in Paris started to revolt demanding a government that
could straighten out the financial problems. This alerted the rest of Europe
that the financing industry was in serious trouble, which started a run on the
bank in Germany.
In March of 1848, universities throughout Germany and
Austria followed suit with Paris and started demonstrating, demanding drastic changes
in government as well.
Contrast that with America during the 1840’s. Harvests were great. American’s were eating
three hearty meals each day, with surpluses in grain and other food staples that
were exported to Europe at a big profit. California and Texas were added as
states while America expanded westward.
Land was plentiful and cheap.
Humanitarian efforts had started to take hold as Americans were debating
abolition of slavery and equal rights for women. Gold was discovered in
California. Many Europeans, started looking towards America as a way out of
their troubles.
During the mid-1800’s, the dream of many German’s, was to
own good farmland, which could be used to provide for themselves, eliminating dependency
on anyone else. They thought that, by caring for and maintaining their land,
they were in effect, protecting their family. The apex of that dream, was to
pass it down, thereby protecting all future families who resided there as well.
They would never find that in Germany. It was heavily
populated, farm land in many areas was scarce, and land was very expensive.
America provided a means for chasing the German dream.
George Sham’s
emigration story (restructured, rephrased and slightly enhanced, but based on a letter George sent back to his German brother-in-law in 1850, after he emigrated)
A few years ago, I had sent my son George and daughter
Elizabeth to Dover Ohio in America to live with relatives, in the hope that
they would have a better quality of life then we were seeing in current day
Bavaria.
Dover is in Tuscarawas County, which is mostly home to
ethnic German’s. The first non natives in Tuscarawas County were German
Moravian missionaries whose mission was to Christianize the local native
population. Tuscarawas County has good
fertile farmland, prompting German American’s in the early 1800’s, to start
migrating there, in large numbers, from Pennsylvania. These factors would
eventually attract future German immigrants as well.
In 1825 when the Tuscarawas River was incorporated with the
Ohio Canal system (connecting the Ohio River with Lake Erie and the Erie
canal), a tolling station was set up in
Dover. Thus all boats were required to
stop in Dover, making it an important port.
I had decided it was time for the rest of my family to pull
up roots and reunite with our children in America. Early in 1850, I started to
sell all of my worldly possessions and commenced planning for the transition. With everything sold, in April of 1850, I
purchased enough food to sustain us for our expected 45 day journey, consisting
of bags of dried peas, dried meat, white
flour, lentils (beans) and groats (whole grains with bran included). I paid the
Germany Departure Tax in full, which was 15% of my current net worth, and we
departed.
We boarded a train for Bingen Germany, where I purchased a
ticket for a boat ride up the Rhein river to the coastal town of Rotterdam,
Netherlands. That boat trip was an easy,
one and a half day journey, in which our food was included. I was thankful that God was making this an
easy experience for all of us.
In Rotterdam, I purchased a ticket to the port of Le Harve,
France where trans-Atlantic ships enter and depart. We departed Rotterdam very
early in the morning, reaching the North Sea by mid day. In the North Sea we
meet a storm that tossed and threw the ship about. So much so, that everyone onboard was overcome
with seasickness.
Two hours later, we had reached the English Channel, the
storm had subsided and I was thanking the Lord for the kindness he was
bestowing upon us, by letting the seas return to pleasant conditions. It had
taken about a day for this leg of our journey and food rations were looking
good, as nobody had consumed any, up to this point.
In Le Harve, I purchased tickets for the first sailing
vessel that was headed to New York. We
staying in Le Harve and enjoyed the Spring, as the ship was not departing for 4
days time. After a pleasant 4 days in Le Harve, we boarded a well built sailing
vessel that stood 6 meters (18 feet) above the water. The ships manifest was showing 308 personnel
in all. I was in great company, as 200 were from Bavaria like me, another 20
from Southern Germany, and most of the rest were from Baden (now South Western
Germany).
The first day was clear sailing and I continued thanking the
lord for his generosity in starting this long journey in such a pleasant
manner. Coffee was included in the fee
for the tickets and always made for the entire ship.
Starting on the second day and for the remainder of the
transatlantic trip we were in heavy seas that were similar to the North Sea
with intermittent storms. Where ever a storm or disagreeable situation arose,
everyone was wishing himself back in his old German home, and we would have
been completely satisfied with that. For
the first 8 days we didn’t eat much at all. Seventeen days in, we hit a storm
that lasted for 20 hours, but God was kind enough, to at least, keep us moving
forward the whole time.
The day we were to arrive in New York, which was the 25th
day of our transatlantic journey we hit a fierce 18 hour storm. The whole time,
water was pouring in overboard and the ship was tossing so hard that we had to
tie the chests fast to the ship, to keep them from being piled together.
Thoroughly exhausted, we reached New York harbor and dropped
anchor outside of New York Harbor, as no sailing vessels are allowed inside of
the Harbor. After which we waited for an American doctor to board the vessel
and inspect everybody’s health.
The doctor arrived the next day and I praised the lord that
nobody was sick. I didn’t even need to
inventory the food rations, as we didn’t eat much meat on the whole trip and
there were about 11 whole days during the journey that we didn’t eat much at
all.
Two days later we transferred to a steamboat which took us
to land in New York City within 30 minutes.
After going through customs I contracted for the remainder
of my trip to Port Washington (near Dover), Ohio for $8.63 ($260 in 2014) apiece.
The first leg was by steamboat, leaving New York City that evening and arriving
in Albany, New York the next morning where we boarded a train to Buffalo, New
York, arriving in Buffalo after two days on the train. In Buffalo, we boarded another steam ship which
took us across Lake Erie to Cleveland, Ohio.
In Cleveland we boarded a canal boat to get us to our final destination
of Port Washington, Ohio.
Canal boats are very slow. They’re pulled by a man walking a
mule, and often have to go through canal lock’s, which is time consuming. I quickly discovered that I could walk from
one canal stop to another faster than the boat could go. This gave me plenty of time to observe the
parts of Ohio that I was traversing.
Ohio is not attractive and one doesn’t see more California
Gold here, then one see’s in Germany. As much as I’ve seen of the state of Ohio
it is not wooded as in Germany. The trees are as high but not trimmed at all. However, there are good springs everywhere. Their
cattle always runs out (is always in a fenced in area next to the barn). Horses
are always stored in the field. When anyone hitches up, he goes to the field to
get the horses and when he unhitches, he returns them back to the field.
When we were about 11 miles from Dover Ohio, where my son
George and Daughter Elizabeth are staying, I went ahead of the canal boat on
foot, and had enough time to look up George.
George was very happy to see me. He and I and one of his
friends named Ritz went to the canal dock to wait on the boat to arrive.
George said he was very content in Dover. He is living and
apprenticing with a shoemaker. In two years time he will receive about $50
($1500 in 2014). Shoemakers receive 50 cents ($15 in 2014) for a pair of shoes
and from 75 cents to $2 ($22 to $60 in
2014) for a pair of boots depending on the quality.
I offered George the opportunity to stay with me and work on
our farm once I got settled. But George said that he doesn’t want to farm, and
he thinks that he can get along better choosing his own path.
When the canal boar arrived, we all boarded together, for
the remainder of the journey to Port Washington.
We reached Port Washington on day break of the 45th
day of our journey from Germany.
George and Ritz went ahead to arrange conveyances while we
unloaded all of our baggage onto the dock. A while later, Hans of Baumholder,
George Miller of Marnbegel, P. Goette,
and H. Tschug came to the dock welcoming us joyfully.
I stayed with Hans for the next ten days while I looked for
land to purchase.
In America the people live thus: morning, noon and evening; cheese,
butter, white bread, fried meat, cucumber
salad, red beets, dried peaches (these are better than the plums in Germany),
and still more!!! These are all served on the table together. They all live
alike.
I found a good stretch of farm land for sale, containing 52
acres, about 2 miles from Port Washington. Forty acres of cleared land and the
rest is forest. There are large horse runs (fenced in land for horses).
Oaks, Chestnuts and Sugar Maples as high as Oaks are in the
forest. In a field which was cleared in 1849 to 1850, 200 oak trees are still
standing, and so many are lying about that it will be difficult to get rid of
them. I will not need to cut anymore wood for a long, long time.
It comes with crops, stock and equipment.
There are 16 acres of wheat, 8 acres of field corn (one of
which is the kind grown in Germany but taller). Also pumpkins, potatoes, and lots of beans.
There is no meadow land, but a large place for a meadow
where I will be able to make 10 to 12 wagon loads of hay in two years.
A small brook which
runs through all the year (always has flowing water), crosses the farm, and the
land is moist.
There is a young orchard with 70 grafted apple trees, peach,
plum and sour cherry as well. There will be apples in 3 to 4 years, but some
already bear and I already have peaches, plums and cherries.
Two houses well built of hewn (felled and roughly shaped)
logs. The one that I will live in is 20
by 18 ft (7 by 6 m), one and one half stories high, well boarded below and
above and well roofed. The former
father-in-law lived there and the son-in-law occupied the other. Stoves are not
in use among the Americans and I have none. The fireplace is built of stone
into the gable as is done in Germany, in a smithy (by a handyman). My house is
surrounded by a yard, enclosed by a picket fence.
Near each house is a garden surrounded by a picket fence and
planted with every kind of vegetable there is in Germany and a lot besides not
familiar to me. The man selling the property was not able to name them to us
(he only knows the English names.)
Furniture includes two bedsteads, one table, six chairs, one
clock, one kettle, and fifteen casks for storage of meat and flour.
Also on the land is a good smoke house and 5 more buildings
besides, which are of no use whatsoever at present.
Animals included are; three horses, two cows, two yearling
calves, one spring calf, nine hogs, one year-old brood sow (female hog), eight good
shoats (young weaned pig) and twenty-two chickens.
Equipment included are two big plows, two shovel plows, one
manure fork, one shovel, two hay forks, three garden hoes, one grindstone, two
scythes (for cutting wheat), one sickle, two iron wedges (for splitting wood),
one chain, two drags for bringing the crops to the house, one churn, three
augers (fence hole drill), two mattocks (used for digging and chopping), one
wagon, and one wind mill.
All for the sum of $645 ($19,350 in 2014).
Deciding that this was the find of a lifetime, I rode with
Han’s eldest son Fredrick, 16 miles to New Philadelphia, to examine the
mortgage records. That cost 12 cents.
Satisfied with the records, on the next day, we rode with
the seller, three miles to have the deed made at the Justice. His office covers
the notary, justice of the peace, and burgomaster (mayor). The seller had to
pay $1 to meet the cost of the deed transfer.
I am now quite content and God’s angel has clothed us
hitherto just as he did the young Tobias on the journey, and God the Lord, has
given his blessing, and I hope it will not be withdrawn.
However, I have before me, a great deal of work, and not
much help. I will write my brother-in-law back in Bavaria of my good fortune,
and offer if he wants to send his son, Peter, let him come to us. It is alright
for young fellows to come to America, as there is lots of opportunity here.