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Don
Fehlings aus Renton (Washington, USA bei Seattle),
dessen Urgroßvater noch am Niederrhein in Till wohnte
schrieb mir am 06.02.2002:
Greetings,
Cousins:
I have previously mentioned to you the concentration of
Niederrheinlanders who immigrated from America to
Missouri (USA) during the era from about 1840 to 1861,
the outbreak of the American Civil War, when European
immigration slowed.
Many
of these Niederrheinlanders were Roman Catholic and some
migrated to Montgomery, Gasconade, and Osage counties,
Missouri - an area along the Missouri River west of the
City of St. Louis. This was an area of heavy
German settlement.
This
area has some similarities to the Niederrhein - a major
river, very rich soil, rain, warm summers and cold
winters. There have been German settlements in
this area since the 1830s, and St. Louis had a large
German population.
The
small town of Rhineland, in Montgomery County, was
founded by German Rheinland immigrants in 1846.
The nearby village of Starkenburg was the site of a new
Catholic church, St. Martin's, erected in about 1850 by
these same immigrants at the site of a fairly new German
Roman Catholic cemetery. The nearby area is a
township named Luttre. There was a steady influx
of German immigrants into this township. Many of
them were from the German Rheinland Districts of Kleve,
Rees, and Bocholt, and from the Dutch provinces of
Gelderland and Limburg.
This
was called "chain immigration," where the
early immigrants assisted their families, neighbors and
friends to immigrate and settle. This coincided with a
long lasting economic depression, agricultural crop
failures, and food shortages in the Niederrhein and the
Netherlands. It was also the beginning of social
disruptions caused by the "industrial revolution"
in Germany.
You
will note on the attached list of surnames that not all
of them are Niederrheinlanders. But most of them are.
There are also some Dutchmen. This is not a
complete list. Some of the surnames were spelled
several ways. The St. Martin's death register sometimes
listed the place of birth of the deceased. Many of
these places of birth are Niederrhein towns and villages
such as Kleve, Kalkar, Wesel, Emmerich, Praest, Rees,
Bocholt, Millingen, Keeken, Warbeyan, Huisberden,
Wissel, Grieth, Till, Moyland, Hasselt, Neil,
Niedermormter, Appeldorn, Goch, and others which are
familiar to you.
There
was both a "push" and a "pull" to
this emigration/immigration. We have information on the
"pull" of America/Missouri, but not very much
on the "push" that caused these people to
leave their ancestral homes. However, for most of
them there was probably a large economic motivation to
emigrate.
The
Prussian Civil Auswanderung records at Dusseldorf
provide some very useful information on the emigrants.
However, these records are quite incomplete. We
know that it took time and money to obtain Prussian
government authority to emigrate. Emigration must
have been planned by most emigrants over a lengthy
period of time. The immigrants to America brought
tools, books, some records, and money to buy land with
them. The immigrants
were skilled and productive. Their family and
religious bonds were strong, and most men had the
ability to read and write. They traveled in family
or affinity groups. It cost the equivalent of one
years disposable income for a working man to pay for
ship passage to America, for each adult passenger.
When
they arrived in America they tended to settle where
other German/Dutch settlers were already located.
They quickly built churches and schools. Their
communities were prosperous and orderly. They were
among the best and most adaptable immigrants that
America ever received. Their migration was
completely different from the famine Irish, Southern and
Eastern European immigration. They were not
unskilled, ignorant and destitute.
When
the American Civil War began in 1861, the Missouri
German communities were strongly pro Unionist, loyal to
the United States, and very opposed to slavery.
Many volunteered for military service in the Union Army
where they performed with dedication and valor.
They had an excellent record of exemplary citizenship.
You
are welcome to share this information with whomever you
may choose.
This
is rather lengthy. But I don't know how to cover
so much history more briefly.
Regards and best wishes,
Don Fehlings
Renton, WA
425-255-8588
Dfehlings@aol.com
ABSTRACT
OF SURNAMES FROM RECORDS OF ST. MARTINS CATHOLIC CHURCH,
STARKENBURG, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MISSOURI FROM ABOUT 1849
UNTIL ABOUT 1901.
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