I. PIONEERS & SETTLERS

“No one leaves his home for an uncertain life in remote lands

except in the hope of being able to better himself.”

Peoples & Empires

By: Anthony Pagden

Among the North German people caught up in the vision of the New World’s promises of land, prosperity, freedom, and status were four families who settled in Southeastern Wisconsin with the names of Niemann, Lüders, Fromm, and Brüss. (See Appendix Chart I) The Niemanns and Lüders pioneered their land in Cedarburg Township, Brüss bought a small holding near Kirchayn by Jackson, and the Fromms settled in the Township of Barton, northwest of West Bend. Their destinies in Wisconsin were to be intertwined in Cedarburg through their descendants.

Niemann

The Niemanns were foresters on a great estate[1] near Spornitz in Mecklenburg- Schwerin (see Map 6 & Map 7). The family emigrated in 1852 and consisted of Johann I, a widower, age 60, his only surviving child[2] Joachim, 34, Joachim's wife Dorothea Marie[3](known as Marie) 30, and their young children: Johann II, 10, Marie Dorothea, 8, Dorothea Maria, 5, Johann Joachim, 2, and infant Carl, born April 20, 1852. Six weeks later in early June they left for the New World.

Joachim had been active in opposition politics and was politically discontented. In 1848, Joachim, a Social Democrat, was not on the winning side of the political turmoil. Although probably not the primary reason for his decision to leave Germany, it must have been a contributing factor. Additionally, the year preceding emigration had been a grievous one for the Niemanns. Joachim’s mother[4]died March 5, 1851 and five weeks later on April 14, his one year old baby boy died.

Parting from Spornitz must have been very painful; most family members did not leave Germany. Marie's father died 27 years later (1879) at age 85, and her mother died 18 years (1870), at 72. Marie's maternal grandmother[5] lived until the age of 90 in 1856.

The family took an oxcart from Milwaukee to Germantown where Joachim had a friend. From there they began looking for a homestead. The region available to them was vast. How did the family pick a homestead to pioneer? As foresters, the Niemanns understood that the type of tree growing naturally in an area was a sure indication of the character of soil underneath. They selected their land by the trees that were on it – hardwoods, beech, and maple. The homestead was on Pioneer Road, at the present site of Nieman's orchards. The family built a house on Pigeon Creek (see Figure 24), which exemplified classic German rural architecture. There the brood expanded with Joachim II (called Joe) in 1854, Alvina, in 1861, and Herman, in 1864. Unfortunately, they lost a child in 1864, who was also called Joachim.[6] (See Appendix Chart 2)

Figure 1 About 1870-71 L-R: Marie (nee Kogerup), Herman (age 6?), Alvina (Age 10?), and Joachim Niemann.

They were an ambitious family. By 1865, the farm on Pioneer Road was well established. The Civil War was over, Joachim's father Johann I died (age 73) and Joachim and Marie (now 47 and 43 years old) decided to head north to Hamburg, a township in Marathon County, to pioneer additional farms for their other children, leaving behind Johann II with a fine farm and orchard.

In Hamburg they provided farms for Alvina who married Fritz Fromm, for Carl, for Maria (who married a Helmke) and for Dorothea (who married Herman Roehl Sr. and later a man named Beckman when Roehl died). Joachim II, aka Joe, married Betty Elizabeth Fields, and settled in Chicago.

This photo was taken a few years after their move to Hamburg.[7]

Figure 2. 1890s The Photo Shows Marie Seated and Daughter Alvina Standing. Alvina Married Fred Fromm, Son of Johann and Johanna Fromm.

Figure 3 Late 1880s – Early 1890s Joachim is Shown with His Grandson, John Nieman, (Spelled with One “n”) the Son of Johann Niemann

Figure 4 1880s?? Joachim and Marie’s Home in/near Hamburg in North Central Wisconsin near Merrill.

Figure 5 Early Part Of 20th Century Joachim’s Last Farm home, Pioneered near Lockwood, Missouri.

During or after 1889, Joachim moved again with his son, Herman, to establish another farm in Lockwood, Missouri. Marie refused to go along, not wishing to leave her children and grandchildren in Hamburg. There, Joachim's restless soul finally found eternal peace in 1899. He is buried in Lockwood. Marie died at Merrill in Northern Wisconsin in 1908 and is buried near Merrill in Hamburg in her church cemetery. Both of the cemeteries are Lutheran.

Lüders

The Lüders were also from Spornitz, Mecklenburg-Schwerin (see Map 6 & Map 7). They emigrated in 1854. The immigrant party consisted of Johann Lüders Sr. age 51; his wife Eva Dorothea nee Leitz, 55; their eldest son Johann Jr., 27; and his wife Wilhelmina (nee Jaap) 21; their second son Joachim; 25, and his wife Henrietta Marie (nee Mencke) 24. There were no children in the family, although Henrietta was pregnant with her first child at the time of their departure from Spornitz. The trip was a honeymoon for Johann and Wilhelmina (Minna), who married Tuesday, August 29, 1854, and sailed for America on the following Friday, September 1. Except for Joachim, who was a tailor, the manner in which the family made their living is not known. (See Appendix Chart 3)

The immigrants were at sea for six weeks. While the voyage and prospect of America must have been exciting to the newlyweds, the rough autumn seas on the North Atlantic and the extremely cramped quarters could not have been very romantic. They arrived at their farm on Wednesday, November 1, 1854. It was entirely wooded and had to be cleared. On Thursday, February 15, 1855, baby Johann Friederich was born to Henrietta and Joachim. On Sunday, April 8, 1855, they joined Immanuel Lutheran church, and on Friday, December 21, 1855, they became citizens of the US.

By 1860, the family was still together and well settled. The census shows:

· Johann Sr., age 57, farmer and Eva Dorothea, age 61

· Assets $1800 - real estate and $500, personal property

· Johann Jr., age 33, farm laborer Minna age 27 Assets $100 - real estate and $100, personal worth, children Minna, age 4 Carl, age 2

· Joachim, age 30, farm laborer, Henrietta age 30, Assets $100 - real estate and $100, personal worth, children John, age 5 Augusta, age 3 Maria, age 1

Figure 6. Joachim and Albertina Lüders - About 1879

Left to right: (children) Martha, William, Albert, and Otto. Parents are Albertina (nee Brüss), and Joachim. (See Appendix Chart 3)

The family prospered and was expanding, so much so that on November 10, 1860 Johann Sr. bought another farm located on Bridge Road. Joachim, and Henrietta and their family moved there. The 1873 map (see Map 1) shows the Lüders to have combined holdings of 260 acres, probably the largest in the township at the time.

Unfortunately the tide of good fortune turned, and the 1860s and 70s brought catastrophe. On Sept 16, 1863, Henrietta died of tuberculosis at 33 years of age. It was said that she died of homesickness, regardless of what the medical cause may have been. Joachim needed immediate help with his three small children; he married Albertina Brüss on December 22, 1863. Henrietta's two littlest children died soon thereafter, and in 1870 the remaining child, Johann Friederich, died at age 15.

Joachim and Albertina had five children: Albert, in 1866; Otto, in 1868; William, in 1871; Martha, in 1874; a baby girl, Albertina, in October of 1864, died at the age of 21 months. As adults, all of the children lived on farms in Cedarburg.

Joachim was a pillar of the church. He was a church trustee for 18 years, council chairman for a number of years, he led the choir, and he was chairman of the committee of four members assigned the responsibility of raising money to build the new Immanuel Lutheran church, completed in 1883 when he was 54. He was a respected, gregarious, and well-liked person.

Joachim died on December 15, 1899, at age 70 shortly after his son William's marriage to Augusta Nieman on November 5, 1899. The wedding day was very cold; Joachim became ill after the wedding and never recovered. The official cause of his death is given as cancer. Perhaps he had been weakened by the cancer and exposure at the wedding was more than his system could bear. Albertina, Joachim’s wife, was described as a "very difficult person" and blamed Joachim's death on her son William and his new wife, Augusta because of the cold wedding day. William and Augusta lived on Joachim's farm and Albertina stayed with them until her death in 1906.[8]

Figure 7. Photo, Johann Jr. and Wilhelmina (Minna) Lüders - 1875

L-R, Back: Maria Dorothea (md. Engelbert Krohn), Carl, Wilhelmina (md. Ferdinand Mintzlaff, Augusta (md. Henry Wilhelmy) Front: Johann II, John III, Emma (md. Andrew Fromm) Minna, Bertha (the baby, md. Willie Hartwig - blacksmith at Horns Corners). (See Appendix Chart 3)

Baby Bertha was born in March of 1874. The picture probably dates to 1875.

Johann Jr. and Minna had ten children, three of whom died as infants. On March 5, 1877, Johann Jr.died at age 50 leaving Minna to raise their seven children. Johann Sr., Minna's father-in-law, the family patriarch, also died that year on November 2, at age 74. Eva Dorothea, Johann Sr.'s wife, lived another five years until April 29, 1882.

Minna's older son, Carl, would have been about 19 years old at the time of his father's and grandfather's deaths. With his sisters' help he was able to do the labor necessary to successful farming.

Minna had a hard life. Both of her parents died around the time of her confirmation at age 14 in the Lutheran church in Spornitz in 1848. She lived with an aunt for the next 6 1/2 years until she married. As she had experienced tragedy and hardship as an orphan, immigrant, pioneer and finally as a young widow it is not surprising that it was said that she was very concerned that her children's prospective spouses should have money. Minna died on September 1, 1909, at the age of 75 years. Her two sons as well as her five daughters survived her.

Figure 8 Deed – Joachim Buys a Farm from His Parents

Figure 9. Johann and Dorothea Sell a Farm to Son, Joachim, and to Albertina

October 5, 1869 was a noteworthy day for Joachim and Albertina. They purchased the farm, on which they were living and working, from Johann and Dorothea. Estimating value of a 132-year-old transaction in today’s currency is haphazard, but the sale price of $1,500 may have been the equivalent of $150,000 in today’s dollars. While it certainly helped matters that the seller was his father, it is clear that Joachim had worked hard to earn his farm.

It is interesting to note that Joachim had anglicized his last name to Lueders. His father retained the German spelling, Lüders. His mother never learned to write, and signed the deed with X, her mark. Although she was illiterate, through joint efforts with her husband she had moved her family to a new world across an ocean and half a continent, and, in the short space of eight years had become the co-owner of the largest farm in the township. The woman who signed X must have been a formidable character with high energy, and not a simple person at all. It is unfortunate that no known photo of Dorothea and Johann exists.

Figure 10, The New World: Immanuel Lutheran of Cedarburg, Wisconsin – The First New World Church for the Niemanns and Lüders (Photo by Charlie Nieman, 1890s)

It is difficult to grasp the contrast between the settled nature of the homeland (heimat)[9] and the raw new world awaiting the immigrants. A comparison of this photo with photos of the Spornitz church and sanctuary in the Appendix (see Figure 140 & 141) hints at the disparity in civilized amenities enveloping the families in the New World vs. their “Heimat.” Joachim Lüders and his family were one of the earliest families to join Immanuel Lutheran. This first church of theirs was built with logs and was only 28 ft. long and 18 ft. in width. A place to congregate and share in worship services was a high priority.

The church was located on Western Avenue, less than a block from Washington Avenue. The boardwalk in this 1890s photo was a distinct improvement in accommodations for the community. In the 1850s there would have been only a lane and field in front of the church door. During the initial period of pioneering, crude churches such as this were outposts, virtually missions. The congregation could not afford a full-time pastor and was served on an intermittent basis.

The congregation outgrew the log church and on January 3, 1859 a second, larger church, 48 ft. X 22 ft., was purchased for $450. It had been the church for the Dutch Evangelical Lutheran Society or “Freikirche” which disbanded in 1858. The church was across the street from the little log church. There are no known photos of the “Freikirche” edifice.

In 1880 the congregation decided to build a large modern church. The beautiful limestone Immanuel Lutheran Church, which now stands as an historical landmark in Cedarburg, was dedicated on Sunday, March 18, 1883. Joachim Lüders was the chairman of a committee of four men charged with the burden of raising the funds required to give substance to the congregation’s vision. The final cost was $7,745. In 1891 a new 3,050 lb. bell was purchased with a gift from the Ladies Aid Society of $618. The bell has Joachim’s name and the names of two other trustees scratched into it. Also, In 1883 the second church was deconsecrated and was used by the congregation as their parochial school for many years.

The bell has rung its melodious tones over generations of Joachim’s descendants and fellow congregants from their baptisms through their lives of worship to their funerals, pealing joy and tolling sorrow. The ringing of the bell with his name on it is a fitting symbolic capstone to his life. He left a lovely sanctuary in his homeland, he joined a tiny rough log church in the New World, he helped to buy a larger church, and finally he was a fundamental figure in the creation of a beautiful house of worship that with good fortune will last for centuries. At the end of his life as he cast back through memories of his remarkable journey the old choir leader, council chairman and fund raiser surely savored the thought of his bell, his church, and the role it would play for generations to come.

Figure 11 Cedarburg, Main Street (Washington Avenue), 1865

Courtesy of Edw. Rappold

This raw frontier urban environment in rural Wisconsin in 1865 was the municipal setting in which the Niemanns and Lüders conducted their business.

At this time Joachim Niemann packed up his family for more pioneering in the Hamburg area of Northern Wisconsin in the vicinity of Wausau. His father had died that year, his son was well established on the Cedarburg farm, and he headed for less civilized surroundings.

The fences within the town are indicative of the extensive presence of livestock in the heart of the community. Each family of reasonably modest means had a horse, many had a cow and often another animal or two.

This scene and Figure 10 of the first Immanuel Lutheran Church may explain why it was said of young Joachim Lüders’ wife, Henrietta, that she died of homesickness. The accoutrements of an advanced community of the mid 1800s were lacking. Crude dwellings, roads, churches, and commercial establishments were the rule. It was the beginning; most prospered and grew, some suffered and died.

Figure 12 Grist Mill in Cedarburg – 1872

Courtesy of Edw. Rappold

Prior to the construction of the dam and the water-powered mill on Cedar Creek, this windmill provided the motive power for the grinding of corn and grain for feeding livestock and for grinding wheat into flour for baking.

Wind power was unpredictable. A farmer might drive his team for several miles with a wagonload of grain to the mill and then wait for hours for the wind to come up. The water-powered mill was a considerable technological improvement.

The cemetery in the background has numerous headstones. It is an indication that by 1872 the community was old enough and sufficiently populated that a substantial graveyard had come into being. This small cemetery exists today and contains the graves of many pioneers including Lüders and Niemanns.

The following maps show Niemanns and Lüders land holdings as of 1873. Achieving ownership of such quantities of land would have been unthinkable in the homeland for people of their means.

II. TAKING ROOT

The 1880s and 1890s in particular were a time when the dreams of many immigrants were fully realized in the well-established, profitable farms of their children and grandchildren. In Europe land denoted status, and in America they had acquired land. Through hard, frugal work, they won an independence and prosperity that would have been exceedingly difficult to achieve in the Old World. Life was generally good.

This section owes special thanks to Charlie Nieman, (1869-1957), who was a first class shutterbug in the 1890s in his spare time. His photos are abundant in quantity and are marvels of clarity and composition. They are also special because Charlie loved life, loved people, and experienced the world as broadly as he could. This is evident in his photos.

A. Families and Homes

The homes and standards of living in the years immediately after immigration were modest in quality. Even though land was comparatively cheap, farming required great expense for buildings, implements, horses, cattle, and other livestock. Money was invested in the farm, and it took many years before there was enough profit to enhance life with amenities and to even consider building a modern house.

Joachim Niemann, the immigrant, used his profits to pioneer numerous farms. His eldest son, Johann, stayed put on Pioneer Road in Cedarburg and invested his profits in improvements, creating a particularly lovely farmstead. Johann Lüders Sr., the immigrant, put his profits into expansion of his holdings in Cedarburg Township, and by 1873 owned 260 acres, perhaps the largest estate in the township at the time. Family disasters that hit the Lüders sapped that aggressive optimism. Although Joachim was a pillar of the community and church, his ambition seems to have been understandably quenched by the deaths over seven years of his first wife and each of their three children. Expansion of Joachim's farm had to wait until his youngest son, William, took over.

Figure 17. Johann Nieman - About 1864-65

Johann had a friend and neighbor named Arndt who was very fond of Sophie Fromm. The distance by horse and buggy from Johann’s Cedarburg farm to Sophie’s home in West Bend was considerable so he asked Johann to come along. Johann said he would and took a bushel of his best apples. He and Sophie hit it off and the friend lost out. "All is fair in love and war," and those of us who are descended from Johann and Sophie are quite grateful for this turn of events. Arndt's reaction and whether or not they remained friends is not recorded!

Figure 18. Sophie Fromm and A Friend (Sophie on the Right) - About 1864-65

The 22-mile trip to West Bend could easily take six to seven hours or more. It would have been very difficult for Johann, a farmer, to make frequent trips to see Sophie. Very likely, this and the preceding photo of Johann were taken and exchanged at a point when they had become very fond of each other. The original photos are daguerreotypes, a primitive, complex, and expensive but beautiful process with wonderful rendering of subtle details. The photos would not have been taken as a casual matter. Date - maybe 1864-5; they were married on September 16, 1866.

Figure 19. "Fritz" (Fred) Fromm and Alvina Nieman - 1880s

Fritz was Sophie Nieman's younger (by 10 years) brother, and Alvina was Johann Nieman's younger (by 19 years) sister. Children of the two couples interacted in later years in business. Johann and Sophie's eldest son, John, was a thriving, wealthy middle-age businessman at a time when Fritz and Alvina's children, the "Fromm Brothers," were getting started in their silver fox business. They invited him to join them. John, who was more than 20 years older than his young Fromm first cousins, saw a sound entrepreneurial opportunity, backed it and both parties made a large fortune in fur as the principal providers of silver fox pelts in North America.

The photo is probably Fritz and Alvina's wedding portrait from 1883. White wedding gowns came into fashion in later years. (Note: Alvina was sometimes spelled Alwina - the "w" in German is pronounced as a "v.")

Figure 20. Johann, and Sophie Nieman, and Their Children - Late 1890s (See Appendix Chart 5)

The children, left to right are Alvina (b 1877)[13], Augusta (b 1874), Charles (b 1869), and John (b 1868).

Figure 21. Alvina Nieman, and Big and Little 'Gusta (Augusta) Nieman - Mid 1890s

Grote (Big) 'Gusta (b 1876), center, was a first cousin to sisters Alvina and Klein (Little) 'Gusta. Joachim Lueders' son, Otto, had been dating Klein Gusta for some time when Grote Gusta came down to Cedarburg from Hamburg to visit her cousins. Otto was smitten, and abandoned Klein Gusta in pursuit of Grote Gusta. In the meantime, Otto's little brother William, who had a particular liking for Klein Gusta, spotted his chance and promptly displaced Otto in Klein Gusta's affection. Grote 'Gusta spurned Otto and he was left empty-handed.

Figure 22. Augusta Nieman - Mid 1890s

The Niemans were very aesthetically aware people. Note Joachim's tasteful attire in photo # 1, and Johann's careful attention to appearance. Sophia seems to have shared in this as well. It is also manifest in this portrait of young Augusta. She was an accomplished, trained seamstress, and almost certainly made the elegant clothes that she was wearing. In later years, Augusta made her children's clothing, and items that have been saved are very attractive.

Figure 23. Alvina, Grandmother Johanna Fromm, and Augusta - Mid 1890s

A photo of a far-away loved one was especially important when telephones were not in wide use and sole communication was by mail. No doubt this image was treasured by Grandma Fromm in West Bend, the girls, and their proud mother, Sophie. They lived 22 long miles by horse and buggy from Grandma.

Figure 24. The House on Pigeon Creek - Mid 1890s

This was home to Johann and Sophia Nieman until 1885. The photo shows Alvina (left) and Augusta (right) as young women with the house having been converted to a chicken coop downstairs and a granary upstairs.[14] Given the very Germanic character of the architecture, it is probable that Joachim and Marie and Joachim’s father, Johann I, built it after they acquired and cleared the land.

Pigeon Creek was probably so named due to the abundance of Passenger Pigeons at the time of immigration and settlement. The numbers of these now extinct birds defy our comprehension; their population was so great that they darkened the sky when migrating. Southern Wisconsin was a favored nesting ground.

Figure 25. Nieman's New Home - Built 1885, Photo From Mid 1890s

By 1885, Johann I and Sophia were in their 40's, had established a family of four, and were prospering. They completed their new home that year at a cost of $1680.53. Included in this figure were the following items: lumber $844.85, carpenter $225.00, mason $175.00, and painter $145.00, which together accounted for $1,389.85 of the total!

This lovely, carefully composed winter photo clearly shows great and justifiable pride in the beauty of their new home. Alvina, Charles, and Augusta are in the sleigh, and Johann and Sophia are at the fence. Since then, the house has been only moderately modified and remains in the Nieman family.

Figure 26. William Lueder - About 1890

Figure 27. Otto Lueders - About 1890

Otto and William, Joachim and Albertina's younger sons, both dated Augusta Nieman (see Figure 22). Although brothers, they spelled their last names differently. Otto continued to use the “s” at the end of the name as his ancestors had.

William was very high spirited and inclined to mischief when he was young. Otto was easier going.

Figure 28. The Old Lueder Home - About 1903

L-R: William Lueder and little Edgar, Augusta Lueder, Otto Lueders and his baby Linda, Otto's wife Anna Lueders, Minnie Mintzlaff Nieman, and in the background, Tom "the Irishman" Mitchell (neighbor immediately to the west – William & Augusta purchased his land from him – 40 acres).

Both Anna and Minnie were expecting at the time. Little Edgar, and later his sisters Renata and Elda, were told that "Old Doc" Hurth brought the baby in his satchel. Edgar was also told that cows got their calves by scratching in the straw by the cow stanchions, and that chickens had a hole under their wing where the eggs came out.

Tom Mitchell and William Lueder were best of friends and sometimes travelled together to town to relieve the boredom. Going three miles to Cedarburg with a team of horses and wagon could be tedious, taking an hour each way. Tom and William often shared a wagon and had a good time. Tom would arrive at Lueder's farm greeting William with "Hey you damned Dutchman" which would be met with a grin and "Hey you damned Irishman." William, smoking a pipe, and Tom, chewing tobacco, climbed into a wagon and drove off puffing, spitting, and laughing.

Christ Burns, an Irishman, originally purchased the land from the U.S. Government in 1850, then sold it to a man named Eichstadt in 1854, who in turn sold it to Johann Lüders Sr., on November 10, 1860. It has remained in the family since that time. Very likely the stone portion of the cottage was originally Irish, built by Burns. Johann Lüders Sr. bought the farm for his son Joachim. Joachim lived here with Henrietta and their family of three until she died in 1863. He then married Albertina Brüss. Sadly, Henrietta’s three children died young. Joachim and Albertina had four children and raised their family of four in this home. The wooden Victorian section seems to have been added in later years.

It was a frequent practice to acquire land, clear it, build a farmstead, and then sell it for the improved value. This was a form of intelligent real estate speculation meeting the demand for farms created by the large numbers of immigrants coming to the Midwest.

Figure 29. William and Augusta's New Home - Built 1903, Photo From 1927

William and Augusta Lueder were married in 1899. Four years later in 1903, they completed construction of this lovely home at a cost of approximately $3,000. Augusta's fine aesthetic touch is very evident.

As with most Victorian farm homes it was not insulated. The upstairs north side center room served as a convenient refrigerator in the winter for storage of smoked meats and perishables.

It is interesting to note that these young people, only in their late 20's and with only 80 acres of land for a small dairy farm, could afford such a home at the time. This was not uncommon. Construction material (mostly wood) was abundant, and the forests of Northern Wisconsin were still yielding timber in vast quantities. Land was so plentiful relative to population that fathers often bought farms for their sons.

The old house survives in the new. The core of the right side of the house is composed of the wooden section of the old house (see Figure 28).

B. Daily Life

Labor was manual, horse powered, wind powered, or sometimes steam powered. At this time electricity and telephones were virtually nonexistent, and gasoline engines were primitive curiosities. Steam traction engines were commonplace, but usually so large and expensive that they were purchased by entrepreneurs and employed for community wide use, e.g. threshing. One engine would be utilized to power threshing machines for numerous farms, and large crews would gather to quickly dispatch the harvest labor at each farm. Time was short; the grain could not be left in the field long or it would spoil. Local communications were by letter, postcard, and word of mouth.

Figure 30. Charlie Niemann’

Figure 31. Farm Accounts of the Golden Harvest Grain and Dairy Farm - January 1910

Charlie Nieman was meticulous. Using a most elegant penmanship, he accounted for every penny spent and received. It is fascinating and amusing to note the accounts and the amounts paid in a very different world, nearly 100 years ago, e.g., saloon, $0.35; church, $0.01.

Figure 32. Charlie Nieman Seeding Peas - 1909

Some tasks did not involve heavy exertion, but did require walking behind the horses all day long. Horses are very intelligent, have a great deal of individuality, and have working lives of as much as 15-20 years. After spending thousands of hours working together, the bond between man and beast often became very close. Hence we abhor the thought of eating horsemeat as we abominate the idea of eating dogs. The horse on the left is Dan; the one in the middle is Bill. The one on the right was so modest and unassuming that he remained anonymous and in spite of his years of arduous service to humanity his identity is lost to history.

Note Charlie’s clothing as he worked behind the horses!

Figure 33. Portable Sawmill, North Side of Nieman's Farm - Spring 1904

Prior to the existence of the incredible transportation network that we now enjoy, most communities were self sufficient out of necessity with basic but unsophisticated industry. Local sawmills, metal foundries, brickyards, quarries, and textile mills, were commonplace. If a farmer needed lumber or wanted to sell some, he felled selected trees and arranged for the sawmill entrepreneur to reduce the logs to boards.

Figure 34. Threshing Time at Nieman's Farm - 1899

The steam engine greatly eased the heavy and urgent work of threshing. The windmill atop the barn was a commonplace source of power for various tasks such as grinding corn and grain. A separate windmill was used for pumping water; the outline is faintly seen against and above the home in the background.

Threshing with all of its dust, chaff, and hard sweaty labor was a singularly laborious and dirty job. However, it had both a pleasurable social side to it and considerable excitement as numerous men and women gathered at each farm to do the work. Feeding a threshing crew huge dinners (the noon meal on a farm) prepared on wood-burning stoves, with no refrigeration in the July and August heat was also a major task. It was laborious for the women, but the gathering produced the pleasures of company and sharing.

Figure 35. Barn Fire – 1890s

Charlie recorded the evidence of a neighbor’s catastrophe.

The consequences of the blazing destruction of the barn reached far beyond the loss of the building. In the course of a barn fire, cows and horses were often trapped. Horses, led from a burning barn, frightened by the chaos around them would head for the safest place they knew, back to their stalls in the barn, only to die in the flames. The anguish for the farmer, hearing his animals screaming, was unbearable and unforgettable.

Depending on the time of year, a season’s crops could be lost. Shelter for animals and a place to milk cows was gone. Not only was the costly barn gone, but current income was lost as well. Neighbors helped as much as they could, boarding livestock until a barn could be raised again to replace the loss.

Fire could be caused by carelessness with tobacco, matches, lanterns, engines, etc. However, one frequent cause of barn fires was storage of hay or straw in the haymow that had not been fully cured, and still contained some moisture in the stems. As decay occurred, heat was generated and trapped by the insulating nature of the large piles of material until a temperature sufficient for combustion was reached.

Figure 36. Cedarburg Township Board - 1900

Charlie Nieman was a very social and gregarious individual as well an able and responsible person. He was elected to and served on the town board and is pictured at-the upper left at Schullenberg Hall at Horn's Corners, where, presumably, the mundane business of the township was made more enjoyable by meeting in a local pub and having a beer or two.

Figure 37. Mary Lueders (Nee Beckman)

Mary, a kind person, had a hard life. She married Joachim and Albertina's eldest son Albert Lueders, and they had three fine daughters, Hulda, Erna and Anita. Unfortunately, Albert preferred beer to farming. "Tante" Mary made "cooked cheese,"[15] carted it to town with horse and wagon, and sold it to stores, barely making ends meet. Tante Mary and the girls also did the farm chores. Not surprisingly, Erna and Anita never married. Hulda died in 1905 at the age of 14.

Figure 38. Otto Lueders at The Horse-Barn - Mid 1890s

Horses were not only utterly essential but also subjects of great pride. Our love of and pride in modern automotive chrome and steel does not compare to the magic of a relationship with a large, intelligent, high-spirited animal. Clearly, Otto was proud of this mare and foal.

Figure 39. Elevating Lueder's Barn - 1899

This was an inexpensive way to add an entire floor to a barn. It was jacked up and a wall was placed underneath. Simultaneously at a signal, ten men turned jackscrews mounted on platforms to raise the structure evenly.

Figure 40. Beginnings of a Fortune - Buch and Nieman - About 1899

John Nieman made a substantial fortune. Excepting Kiekhafer (Mercury Outboards), he has probably been Cedarburg's most successful businessman. He started as a schoolteacher. After the early death of his first wife, Annie Thesfeldt (see Figure 59), he moved to Hermansville, Michigan where he opened a general store with his brother-in-law, William Buch, to serve the needs of the lumber camps. He was intensely competitive. Buch also opened a lumber camp. John is the mustachioed figure by the store doorway.

Figure 41. Lumbering Operations - About 1899

John Nieman is the figure right of center with a mustache and a cap, leaning against the logs. Lumbering in Northern Wisconsin was a huge business involving large numbers of people and large quantities of equipment. It was a gold rush of sorts, with vast fortunes being made. John's fortune started there.

Figure 42. Road Leading Out of Hermansville, Michigan - About 1899

While great fortunes were made, the ecological cost was also huge. There are virtually no stands of virgin timber in Wisconsin. It is interesting to note that Wisconsin in its’ primeval condition never experienced floods on the Wisconsin River. Nature had endowed the state with abundant forest and undergrowth which was sufficient to absorb rainfall.

Figure 43. Farm Machinery Junkyard at the Heart Of Cedarburg - 1907

John Nieman returned to Cedarburg in 1906. He continued to apply his business skills successfully by building and operating a canning factory, a bank, a savings and loan, and a fur farm. The remnants of the canning factory lie by the railroad tracks in the east-central part of town. John must have inherited a large dose of his entrepreneurial Grandfather Joachim Niemann’s genes – Joachim pioneered six farms.

John built a large, fine home immediately across Washington Ave. from, St. Francis Catholic Church. At the time that he purchased the land for his new home an agricultural junkyard occupied the site, with remnant buildings from a defunct farm that had been swallowed by the expanding town. John's granddaughter, Carol Neuer, and her husband Herb now occupy the home. Carol loves gardening, and still frequently turns up bits and pieces of junk.

Figure 44. Downtown Cedarburg – 1910

Courtesy of Edw. Rappold

Figure 45. Cedarburg Traffic Jam – Cattle Fair Day

Courtesy of Edw. Rappold

Horse and carriage we expect to see. Storefronts remain familiar. But mud? The village streets were usually unpaved mud, ruts, dirt and dust. The sidewalks were boardwalks at best. Horses were present on the streets in large numbers, and were stabled next to and behind storefronts and houses throughout downtown Cedarburg. A single horse left behind 20-25 lbs. per day of solid evidence of its existence, together with copious quantities of urine. Trucks did not exist and consequently livestock headed to the Cedarburg butcher were either led or driven. A small herd of pigs would occasionally be observed moving down the main street, Washington Avenue. Such streets could not be readily cleaned and their smell would have been reminiscent of a barnyard. Boot scrapers were a common sight embedded in the concrete by steps leading into buildings.

Understandably, sidewalk cafes were not a prominent feature in Midwestern small towns.

C. Social Life

The German-American community was gregarious, musical, fun loving, and resourceful. Every community had its public park with bandstand in the center, and numerous people played a musical instrument of some sort. It was common to gather together to make music. Visiting friends and relatives ten or fifteen miles distant was a major undertaking. Conveyance was by horse and buggy or wagon, and over such a long distance, the horse’s pace was a walk. Fifteen miles could easily be a five-hour journey. Churches, schools, and taverns functioned as major social centers.

Electricity was not commonly available, and TV, radio, telephone, automobile, stereo, CD players, etc. were non-existent having not yet been invented..

Figure 46. Mr. Beckman, Charlie Nieman, and William Lueder – Late 1890’s

Friends. This trio has an air of fun and mischief. Beckman was the town cop, Charlie had a great sense of humor, and William loved a practical joke. William married Charlie’s sister, Augusta.

A creamery (see Figure 135) operated a quarter-mile from William's farm at the northwest corner of Bridge St. and Granville Rd. Somehow he managed to place a 50-gallon drum over the creamery chimney without being seen. The next morning, the operator became monumentally frustrated when he found it impossible to light the fire in the creamery boiler.

On Halloween, William played on the profound superstition of a neighbor named Mitchell, who was happily sitting in front of his fireplace, when, thanks to William, a goose came down the chimney and erupted into the room. Mitchell flew out the door frightened out of his wits.

William also enjoyed deflating a braggart. He had a neighbor who incessantly prattled about the superiority of one of his fruit trees, how much better it was than anything that anyone else had. On a night when the fruit had ripened to perfection, William and an accomplice who was equally offended by the bragging spread blankets under the tree, shook off all of the fruit, and carted it away. William mellowed as the years passed and he is remembered as "an awfully nice man."

Typical of Charlie’s dry humor was his observation on humanity: "There are all kinds of people in the world but none that are completely round."

Figure 47. Fromms Visit Cedarburg for a Wedding

Figure 48. Augusta Pouring Lemonade for Her Fromm Uncle

Figure 47 & 48. Ten Fromms Travel in a Carriage to Cedarburg to Visit Sister Sophie, Her Husband, Johann Nieman, and Family for a Wedding - Mid 1890s

Augusta is pouring a drink for her Uncle William. Aunt Anna is holding the baby and Grandmother Johanna Fromm is in the carriage with another little one. Judging from the heavy clothing it must have been a spring or autumn day and the formality of the clothes is appropriate for the wedding they attended. The Fromm homestead on Glacier Drive northwest of West Bend is about 22 miles by road from the Nieman home. That was a long, long journey behind a walking team of horses in a crowded carriage. Such a trip would have been made very infrequently - perhaps once a year or less. In time consumed, it would be comparable to a 300-400 mile journey by car today. The occasion may have been the wedding of Johann and Sophie’s daughter, Alvina (see Figure 62)

Trousers were never pressed.

Figure 49. Herman Roehl, Jr., and His Wife Visit the Cedarburg Niemans - Mid 1890s

Herman was the son of Dorothy (Dora), Johann Niemann’s younger sister. His first cousin, Johann’s daughter, Alvina, is kneeling on the grass.

Roehls lived in the Hamburg area of Marathon County where the immigrant Joachim Niemann’s prodigious efforts succeeded in pioneering farms for his children Maria, Carl, Alvina (aunt to the Alvina in this picture), and Dora. Dora grew up on the Cedarburg farm, arriving there in 1852 as a five-year old pioneer, and leaving in 1865 when she was eighteen.

The journey from Hamburg to Cedarburg would have been most extraordinary for her son, Herman. The distance was great and the trip was almost certainly accomplished by train. Perhaps Herman wanted to touch his roots – to see where Grandfather (Joachim) had first established himself in America, to indulge in personal nostalgia, and to see his Uncle Johann, Tante Sophie, and his cousins.

Herman drowned in the Wisconsin River in 1913 attempting to save the lives of others from an overturned boat.

Figure 50. "Flashlight” Party - 1899

Charlie Nieman is the man in the lower right with the girl on his lap. The balding man in the upper right is a Beckman, who at some point was also the town cop.

It doesn't seem that law and order were matters of great difficulty in 1890s German-America. They are certainly having a good time, and in the event of excessive drinking, the horse often knew the way home. Collisions at the speed of a walking horse seldom had nasty consequences. Few farmers could afford the luxury of a saddle or carriage horse so the plow horse did double duty pulling the buggy.

Figure 51. At Mintzlaffs for John Mintzlaff's 21st Birthday - 1896

L-R, front: Martha Lueders on Willie Mueller's lap, "Old Man" Ferdinand Mintzlaff on the floor, Paulina Mintzlaff on Albert Pipkorn’s lap, Augusta Nieman on William Lueder's lap, back row: John Mintzlaff, 3^rd from left Minnie Mintzlaff, 6^th from left Otto Lueders, Mrs. Wilhelmina Mintzlaff.

The Mintzlaffs and the Lueders were cousins. Both families were very good friends with and married into the Nieman family. Martha Lueders and Willie Mueller married, Augusta Nieman and William Lueder married, and Minnie Mintzlaff married Charlie Nieman who probably took the photo. Mrs. Mintzlaff was one of Johann and Minna Lüders ' daughters (see Figure 7).

Figure 52. Music Circle at Nieman's - Summer 1901

A concertina, a violin, plenty of sheet music, and numerous voices constitute this musical group. The pale foreheads and sunburnt cheeks of the young men are indications of the long hours of fieldwork that farming demanded in the summer. This was surely a very welcome, hard-earned party bringing relief from labor and great enjoyment. Judging from the two previous pictures, it is likely that the quality of the music was enhanced (or degraded!) by liquid refreshment.

Figure 53. Alvina Nieman (or Paulina Mintzlaff) Playing the Piano at Mintzlaff's Home Mid to Late 1890s

What a lovely scene. Times, and environments change but human nature alters little even though people adapt outwardly to cope with their surroundings. Photos of loved ones surround the piano, music enriches the life, and love and romance are a central theme (strong magnification of original photo shows that the sheet music on the piano is "Sweethearts True").

Figure 54. Milwaukee Carnival Street Scene - Summer, 1899

Figure 55. Milwaukee Carnival, Waterfront at Juneau Park - Summer, 1899

Although downtown Milwaukee was 20 miles from Nieman's home, it was easy to get there either via the electric trolley running through Cedarburg or the frequent passenger trains. Then, as now, Milwaukee loved a good time. There is a familiar sense about the street scene, but the waterfront at Juneau Park has changed so radically as to be altogether strange.

D. Religion and Rites of Passage

Church was central to the lives of most people for sanctifying rites of passage, comforting sorrow, and worship. For the typical dairy farming family working seven days a week, Sunday at church was a morning of rest and joy, meeting extended family and lifelong friends. German Lutherans were a very musical people, and the Church provided the finest music available, except for the occasional performance of the local band. The large pipe organ, the choir, and the congregation indulged in a variety of religious work anchored by the great German hymns, which included masterpieces sifted through the centuries from composers such as Bach and Handel.

Figure 56. Pastor Ernst Gottlieb Strassburger (1850 – 1926), and His Wife, Freda Marie (1859 – 1935).

Reverend Strassburger was pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church for forty-six years, arriving in 1873 and eventually retiring in 1919. He buried most of the immigrants and baptized many of their great grandchildren. The German Lutheran church was the root of morality and religion for its members. It was an authoritarian entity, requiring people to obey God's law, which was enforced by the preaching of hellfire and damnation and by the profound disapproval by the congregation when accepted religious precepts were publicly violated, e.g. illegitimate birth.[16] William and Augusta Lueder's children feared the pastor. He also preached forgiveness, compassion and the love of God. He provided comfort to those who suffered and sanctified the rites of passage of the congregation.

The photo depicts a formidable, stern visage. Who was he?

This good man was born in Bichburg, Saxony, on February 6, 1850, the youngest of eight children. His father was an officer in the king’s mines. He planned to become a minister, but his studies were interrupted by rumors of impending war. On Christmas Day, 1869, he fled to America, his destination being Wartburg Lutheran Seminary in St. Sebold, Iowa. In 1870 his name was indeed on the draft list for the Franco-Prussian War. In America he was destitute, to the extent that he was reduced at one point to begging on the streets of St. Sebold. He regarded his three years at the seminary as the happiest of his life.

He was called from the seminary to the ministry at Immanuel Lutheran in Cedarburg as an assistant pastor and was ordained there. The congregation’s current principal pastor, Reverend Habel, had fallen out of a carriage, was severely injured, and needed help in performing his duties. Reverend Habel never recovered, and Reverend Strassburger soon assumed full pastoral responsibilities.

He married and had a son; unfortunately his first wife died in 1877. He remarried (Freda Marie in the photo) and had a daughter. Reverend Strassburger was highly regarded by his colleagues and was elected treasurer of the Synod. Later he was President (today, Bishop) for eight years of the Wisconsin District of the Iowa Synod of the Lutheran Church.

Reverend Strassburger passed away at noon on July 29, 1926 never having gained advantage in material goods, but with the knowledge that he had justly earned the love, affection, and respect of hundreds if not thousands of people in a lifetime of selfless service.

Figure 57. Chicken Feed

The card is from Reverend. Strassburger to William Lueder: "My chickens are starving, where is the grain you promised me?" William was a kind man and generous with what little he had. The grain clearly had been forgotten. The card is dated in the 1920s, at which time Rev. Strassburger was retired, and virtually without income even though he had devoted his entire professional lifetime to his congregation. This was normal.

Pastors with such deep commitment to God and congregation were frequently to be found in the service of the German Lutheran community.

Prior to refrigeration and high-speed transport of fresh foods, it was commonplace in farm communities for a minister to keep a few chickens, a cow and a horse. These were necessary for fresh eggs, meat, milk, and transportation. The pastors’ salaries were miniscule and they depended on the Congregations for frequent donations of necessities to have a bearable life.

This was not a problem. Many members gave a small portion of their produce frequently and willingly to help the family on whom they so depended for steadfast spiritual guidance in an uncertain world. Such gifts were a gift to the church, a gift to God, and an expression of thanks to the minister.

Figure 58. Confirmation of Augusta Nieman - March 25, 1888

The Lutheran Church required its children to become knowledgeable about the fundamentals of their faith and to affirm that creed in Confirmation. This not only celebrated the religious commitment of the youth, but also implicitly provided a formal, solemn recognition of puberty with its incipient adulthood, responsibilities, and commitments.

Note fourteen-year-old Augusta's diminutive size - the back of the sedan chair is well above her waist. A curious genetic quirk frequently pops up among the descendants of Johann and Johanna Fromm. The rapid growth associated with early teen years is delayed by as much as two years. Ultimate growth is very normal, e.g. the writer has a nephew who weighed 90 lbs. at his Confirmation, the smallest of about 30 Confirmands, including girls. He finally began growing in his junior year in high school and is now 5' 11" tall and weighs 180 lbs.

Figure 59. The Wedding of John Nieman and Annie Thesfeldt - November 22, 1891

Attendants, L-R: ?, Otto Lueders, Martha Thesfeldt, Charles Nieman, Augusta Nieman, and Charles Thierman.

John and Annie were very much in love and were married on November 22, 1891 when Annie was 21 and John was 23. Tragedy struck soon after when Annie became ill and died on January 15, 1892. Her young sister-in-law, Augusta Nieman, took care of her and also became ill, but survived. It is thought that Annie was a victim of typhoid or perhaps scarlet fever.

John started out life as a schoolteacher. He became a tycoon. Had Annie lived, what would his life have been like? One suspects that a very young, happily married family man would have been likely to take a more prosaic course in life than John ultimately did. Perhaps he first went up to the lumber camps (in 1894, sometime before February) to bury his anguish in work.

On June 7, 1897, John married Martha Thesfeldt, Annie's younger sister (member of the wedding party in Figure 59). Their minister refused to conduct the wedding, holding that it was immoral for John to marry his deceased wife's sister.[17]

Martha had a wonderful sense of humor, making jokes at her own expense; she was a favorite among her Lueder nephews and nieces.

She was also modestly eccentric. She had been a farm girl and loved it. By the time they reached middle age, John had accumulated a considerable fortune, but Martha insisted on keeping chickens in back of the house in Cedarburg and carrying extra eggs to the store to sell. For a time, she even kept a cow, but that was a bit too much for John and the cow wound up at the Lueders, was named Nieman, and was assigned to Cordelia to milk.[18]

Martha's health was a bit touchy so John had a concrete tunnel built to the concrete and brick chicken coop so that she would not be exposed to inclement weather. One can imagine John, the brilliant, astute businessman, shaking his head at the profit and loss associated with the sale of those eggs.

Martha's modest eccentricity was probably due to her love of her friends. Purchasing feed and selling eggs and milk would have given her an ongoing reason to regularly meet and talk with people whom she had been dealing with all of her life. The activity also gave her life some meaning separate from her family and from John's extraordinary achievements.

Figure 60. Wedding Of William Lueder and Augusta Nieman - November 5, 1899

Attendants, left to right are: Martha Lueder, Alvina Nieman, Albert Pipkorn, Minnie Mintzlaff, Charlie Nieman, and Willie Mueller.

What a lovely wedding portrait! Unfortunately, the beauty of the day was marred that evening by a curse that plagued William all his adult life. After five years of courtship, the poor man came down with a migraine on the evening of his marriage. (Not tonight dear, I have a headache.)

Figure 61. Death Notice of William’s Father, Joachim Lueders - December 15, 1899

William and Augusta's memory of their wedding day was marred by the death of William’s father, Joachim, five weeks later. Joachim was weakened by cancer and is thought to have become ill as a result of exposure at the November wedding. William's mother, Albertina, (who was described as a very difficult person) implied that William and Augusta were to blame for Joachim's death. They lived on the home farm with Albertina, which must have been emotionally very tough to deal with. The other children had left home; Albert and Otto had their own farms, and Martha had married Willie Mueller. William is remembered as a man who was quick, had a great sense of humor, was moody, and was a “heckuva nice guy.”

It is interesting to note that the memorial card is in English. Joachim had long before anglicized his name. Perhaps the avoidance of German on the card was to honor his philosophy of adapting to the new country. German services continued in his church for decades after he died, and his children spoke German and English.

Figure 62. Wedding of Alvina Nieman and Albert Pipkorn - October 6, 1901

Judging from this series of pictures, Johann and Sophie Nieman threw a considerable blowout for their youngest child.

Figure 63. Home from the Wedding Ceremony - Albert and Alvina

The photo shows a matched pair of white horses, elegant closed coach, and a driver up front - the wedding limousine of 1901.

Figure 64. The Cooks, Albert and Alvina's Wedding Reception

The tall woman in the white blouse standing just to the right of center is Emma Fromm (nee Lueders), an aunt to the bride, Alvina. Emma's sister, Mrs. Wilhelmina Mintzlaff, is seated second from left. Wilhelmina's daughter, Minnie, eventually married Charlie Nieman, an older brother of the bride (see Figure 65) and the photographer for many of the photos in this section. Family ties and intermarriages were extensive.

Figure 65. The Bartenders; Albert and Alvina's Wedding Reception

Charlie Nieman, in the center, is clearly having a great time at his little sister’s wedding. What shape were these bartenders in by the end of the day?

Figure 66. The Waitresses; Albert And Alvina's Wedding Reception

Second from the left, standing is Minnie Mintzlaff. A year later, on June 23, 1902, she married Charlie Nieman after seven years of courtship. Charlie wanted to know why she was in such an all-fired hurry to get married! Then, after the long wait, their wedding night was disrupted by a call at night to come and be baptismal sponsors for niece Renata, born prematurely to Charlie’s sister Augusta and William Lueder. It was thought the infant might die, and hence baptism with godparents present was requested in haste.

Figure 67. Wedding Party and Guests at the Nieman Home; Albert And Alvina's Wedding Reception

Upon examination, this turns out to be a rather strange picture. Where are all the women? Although some are to be seen, the sea of felt hats and suits behind the wedding couple swamps them. The writer raised this question with his aunts and was informed without a moment’s hesitation that the women, as usual, were in the house doing all the work.

In 1904, Albert and Alvina moved to Powers, Michigan, near Hermansville. The move occurred because Albert and Alvina came from different sects of the

Lutheran church. One sect thought the other was heathen, and that imputation was naturally resented. This did not make for domestic tranquility with the in- laws, so they left the area.

Albert operated a store in Hermansville. It was not particularly successful so Alvina eventually provided room and board first to teachers, and later to workers at the nearby Hiawatha Fur Farms (owned by her brother, John Nieman) during the winter pelting season when many temporary employees came to the area. Alvina is remembered as having put in incredibly long hours cooking and washing for her boarders.

Albert, unfortunately, developed a serious alcohol problem. On one occasion, Alvina had hidden some schnapps to use in assuaging her pain during an impending childbirth. When the time came to deliver, the schnapps was missing and she learned that Albert had found and drunk it. On another occasion he chased her around the house with a butcher knife while intoxicated. At some point the problem must have come under control because he lived to an old age.

Understandably, Alvina was profoundly homesick for Cedarburg for many years, and would write to Augusta begging for word of Cedarburg and home.

III EARLY 20TH CENTURY

III. EARLY 20TH CENTURY

The children who blessed the marriages at the turn of the century were born into an era of the most profound change. At the time of their births and early childhood, the way of life differed little from that of their grandparents.

For William and Augusta Lueder, farm and house work were labor intensive, cooking was done on a wood stove, there was no plumbing, laundry was done by hand, and rooms were lit by kerosene and gas lanterns. News and entertainment came with the German daily paper, The Milwaukee Herald. The Wisconsin Agriculturalist, a weekly, published a chapter per issue from exciting pulp novels. Two well remembered are "Wolf Hunters" (about the gold rush in Alaska), and "North of Fifty Three (about a school teacher north of the Brooks Range in Alaska) both by James Oliver Curwood. The romantic imagery and drama sent children’s' pulses racing.

Toys were homemade. Edgar built his own out of wood and scrap metal. These were often miniature farm implements that he powered by building a six-foot windmill. When mother wasn't home and aware of what he was up to, he powered them with her sewing machine treadle.

By the time William and Augusta's children were young adults, gasoline engines and electricity were commonplace, creating relief from arduous hand labor, providing rapid personal transportation, speeding communications, and expanding entertainment. The Lueders obtained a phone in 1912, an "Overland" car in 1915, a tractor in 1922, and electricity in 1928. Along with electricity came lighting, an electric oven, and radio. With radio William became addicted to the Milwaukee Brewers, an early AAA class baseball club.

The scope of change was so radical that even though the German-American community north of Milwaukee was very large, its demise as a separate, distinct culture was inevitable, particularly after two world wars during which Germany was the enemy. The language chosen for church services provides an indication of the decline. German services were often held four Sundays per month with one English service per month during the 1930s. During the 1940s, the reverse was true, and only the elderly attended the German services, taking comfort in liturgy, hymns, sacraments, and sermons provided in the language of their youth. Today, church services in German are non-existent.

A. Joy And Sorrow

Having children was much more hazardous than it is now. Both Augusta Lueder and her sister, Alvina Pipkorn, had fine families, but childhood illnesses were still a mortal threat and mothers sometimes died giving birth. William and Augusta had nine children of which seven reached maturity. Augusta had a miscarriage in 1906 but no childbirth problems. For this the couple was profoundly grateful.

Figure 68. William and Augusta Lueder’s Joy - 1909

L - R: Renata, Edgar, and Elda, Children of William and Augusta Lueder.

Viola (Ollie), born in 1908, was to have been included in the photo, but objected violently to having her picture taken and in a state of tears remained off camera. What a solemn and formal occasion!

Augusta, a skilled seamstress, made the children's clothes. Shoes and underwear came from Sears, whose catalogue was an invaluable resource for all rural people. Commuting to and from town with horse and wagon was such a slow process that casual shopping was impractical. Anything ordered from Sears either came by mail or, if large and cumbersome, was delivered by horse and wagon to the purchaser's farm.

William’s brother Otto was helping William add a structure to a chicken coop and this congenial joint effort was helped along by a pail of hard cider. Little Edgar observed the elders, drank from the cider pail, and soon couldn't walk, but announced "Ich kann aber noch ganz gut sehen!" (but I can still see straight!)

Figure 69. The William and Augusta Lueder Family - October 20, 1927

Left to right: Augusta, age 53, William, 56, Edgar, 27, Renata, 25, Elda, 23, Viola, 18, Cordelia, 17, Gerald, 15, and Harold, 11. (See Appendix Chart 6)

Augusta had planned to have two children! The photo was taken on Renata's wedding day.

Figure 70 Family Picture from October 20^th, 1927

Standing Left to Right, Viola, Renata, Edgar, Elda, Cordelia. Seated, William and Augusta. Kneeling, Harold and Gerald. Taken on Renata’s wedding day.

Figure 71. William and His Eldest Son, Edgar, 1919 on Weidman’s Hill

Figure 72. Alvina Announces the Birth of Lester Pipkorn - October, 1907

Telephones were not yet available in rural Cedarburg and Hermansville. Even if phones were in use in Alvina's home, long distance calls at that time were very expensive and were rarely made by people with limited means. Telegrams were also expensive and neither Alvina nor Augusta could spare the money. As a result, Alvina sent a postcard to her sister.

It is interesting to see all the languages used for the word “postcard” – probably symptomatic of all the immigrants in the U.S. Note – no Asian, and no Spanish, languages that are common today in the U.S. It is also of interest to look closely at the postmarks and see that it took only one day (Oct. 17 – Oct. 18) for the card to be mailed in Michigan and arrive in the Cedarburg post office.

Figure 73. Postcard from Alvina Congratulating Augusta On The Birth Of A Daughter, Cordelia - January 1910

Augusta did not get a phone until 1912. Somehow, Alvina quickly received word of Augusta's new baby and promptly sent congratulations. Alvina missed her Cedarburg family a great deal, and the longing lasted for decades. "There isn't a place on the old homestead that my mind does not ponder."

Figure 74. Lester Pipkorn - October 1911

Alvina's Lester died of spinal meningitis at the age of four. She brought him home to Cedarburg where he lay in state in the home of her brother, John Nieman. It was commonplace for the body to lie in state in the family home. This was the case with Lester's first cousin, Hortensia Lueder (see Figure 75) as well. The custom prevailed into the 1940s among some families.

Figure 75. Hortensia Lueder - November 1911

Hortensia (b. April 29, 1911, d. November 7, 1911) died of whooping cough.

Augusta and William and family went to a party at brother Otto Lueders, and Baby Hortensia was placed on a bed to nap. Another woman arrived with her child, sick with whooping cough, and placed it next to Hortensia, who caught the disease and died. When the time came for the funeral and burial, William and Augusta were driven in a carriage to Cedarburg, holding the tiny casket on their laps.

Many years, later, Augusta told her daughters that the hardest thing she had ever experienced was looking into her baby's eyes which were pleading for help--which she was utterly unable to give.

William and Augusta almost lost Renata when she was born prematurely on June 23, 1902. Charlie Nieman and Minnie Mintzlaff were rushed to the Lueders on their wedding night to act as baptismal sponsors (Godparents) for Renata since it was thought that she would not live.

A few years later the Lueders almost lost Viola (b. 1908) as an infant to diphtheria. "Old Doc" (Oscar J.) Hurth said that he had one medicine left, and if that didn't work, the baby would die. Viola (Ollie) lived to the age of 99 and became a great-great grandmother twice.

Figure 76. Death Notice, Raymond Lueder – March 10, 1914

A precious one from us is gone,

A voice we loved is stilled:

A place is vacant in our home.

Which never can be filled.

God in His wisdom has recalled,

The boon his love had given,

And though the body slumbers here

The soul is safe in Heaven.

Baby Raymond (b. November 6, 1913, d. March 10, 1914) starved to death. He apparently had a malformed esophagus and could not take in enough food to live. The anesthesia, antibiotics, and surgical skills necessary to alleviate the malformation did not exist. Infant mortality was brutally high. Even so, the records at this time were much improved over a century earlier, when Augusta's grandfather Joachim Niemann, born in 1818, was the sole child of five to survive to adulthood.

Figure 77. Our Little Barefoot Boy

The photo is from a postcard sent by Augusta to her sister Alvina in 1918. “This is our little barefoot boy, the pet of the family. This was taken last fall threshing time Harold then being 21 months of age.”

Seven of William and Augusta’s nine children survived childhood hazards.

Photo postcards of a family snapshot were available from the film processors and were in frequent use.

B. The Automobile And Social Life

In the 1890s the Fromms in West Bend visited Nieman's 22 miles away in Cedarburg for a wedding (see Figure 47 & 48). The trip in a crowded carriage took most of a day. William and Augusta and their family visited West Bend after they had purchased an Overland touring car. The 22-mile trip might have taken the Overland somewhat more than an hour. The distance had ceased to be formidable.

It became practical for young people to frequently attend parties or dances ten miles distant, and to see and date someone living that far away. As cars and roads improved, adventurous souls undertook trips that were unthinkable to their parents when they were the same age.

While the auto was immensely popular, it was in a stage of rapid engineering evolution, and cars were not very safe. Also, many problems existed that often unfortunately manifested themselves on the road in a break-down of some sort.

Figure 78. Gerald Lueder at the Wheel of the Overland - About 1923-24

L-R: Harold, Cordelia, and Elda Lueder, Lila Fromm, and Evelyn Fromm, with Mrs. Ella (Walter) Fromm, and Augusta Lueder in the back seat and Helen Fromm standing. The others are unknown.

If the telephone, radio, electric light and electrically powered appliances were revolutionary in their impact, the auto was cataclysmic. The Lueder’s first vehicle, the Overland touring car purchased in 1915, was large enough to hold the entire family. The children had to get out and push if a hill was too steep, e.g. Holy Hill. During inclement weather, the top would be raised and side curtains would be attached. The side curtains were windows that were typically made from transparent isinglass, a soft, rollable plastic-like material.

Figure 79. Overland, Chrysler, and Whippet at Lueder's Farm - Late 1920s

The period of late World War I and the early 20s was a prosperous one for farmers in the U.S. In 1926, a Chrysler supplemented the Overland and in 1929, William bought a Whippet coupe for his eldest son, Edgar. The Overland at 25 mph was "moving right along." It required low gear when facing a good stiff west wind heading home from Cedarburg with Pa, Ma, and seven kids. By contrast, the Chrysler was a powerful modern machine with a cruising speed of 35 mph, and the Whippet, emulating its speedy namesake, would tear along at 40 mph!

Gerald loved cars and used Edgar's Whippet so much and so hard that he soon wore it out. By 1934, the piston rings on the Whippet were in bad shape. Edgar, Gerald, and their brother-in-law, Erwin Graese, packed into the Whippet for a visit to the World's Fair in Chicago.. After stopping and idling for a bit at the Bridge St. and Granville Rd. creamery, (a quarter-mile from Lueder's farm), they accelerated and continued their trip. Such a cloud of smoke ensued that the vehicle was entirely hidden from view by family watching the car in the distance from the farm.

The Whippet consumed nearly two gallons of drain oil on the round trip to Chicago. The addition of oil was so frequent that Gerald ran a filler pipe through a hole he cut in the hood for convenience. At one stop sign in Chicago, another motorist frantically tried to tell them that their car was on fire!

Figure 80. The 1933 Chicago World’s Fair – “100 Years of Progress”

Edgar and Gerald Lueder, and their brother-in-law, Erwin Graese, had a great time at the World’s Fair. They were there for two days. To save money, they slept in the car - three men in a two-door coupe - by removing the rear car seat and barrier to the trunk, and then sleeping with the length of their bodies stretched from the trunk through the passenger area. During the night, the trunk lid came down on Erwin's head, which did nothing for his humor nor for his enjoyment of the fair.

To imagine a World’s Fair, think of Disney World on a smaller scale, with exhibits from many different countries and varying industries. It was high entertainment and a destination for millions of people.

Figure 81. John and Charlie Nieman Visit Uncle Carl Nieman And Cousin Grote 'Gusta in Santa Cruz, California - 1919 or 1922

L-R: Theodore Ebert (seated), his wife, Augusta Nieman Ebert (Grote 'Gusta, see Figure 21), John (seated), Uncle Carl Nieman, and Charlie.

John loved to travel but his wife, Martha, did not. He would often invite brother Charlie to join him. John and Charlie made trips to California in 1919 and 1922, visiting their Uncle Carl and cousin Augusta and enjoying the sights along the way, driving a big Buick touring (convertible) car. Theodore and Augusta Ebert and their family had moved from Hamburg, Wisconsin to Santa Cruz in 1914.

Theo and Augusta told Augusta's parents, who were still living in Northern Wisconsin, about the congenial climate, and in January of 1916, ages 63 and 59, Carl and Emelia Nieman were enticed to join the Eberts. They left behind the farm, children, grandchildren, and Fromm, Helmcke, Roehl/Beckman sisters and children. California was lightly populated at that time and land was cheap, so Carl and Emelia, newly retired, bought the equivalent of a city block in Santa Cruz and continued to enjoy farming on a very small scale in town with fruit trees, goats, and pigs. Carl lived until 1939, and Emelia until 1947.

Figure 82. Tending to Business - Early 1920s

John Nieman's business interests were extensive and required frequent attention. Then as now, a great deal could be accomplished by phone. How did he ever find such a curious installation? He must have been uncommonly anxious to get in touch with someone!

Figure 83. Wet Ignition at The Barn Raising, June 8, 1923

Early vehicles were often cantankerous. William Lueder’s cousins, Charlie Fromm and Edward Lueders (L-R), were helping with the barn raising for William and Augusta on a rainy day. The Model T's ignition system did not like the moisture and the car refused to start.

Figure 84. Stuck On a Date – February 1925

Renata Lueder and her fiancé, Erich Heckendorf, were on an outing. The roads were often in terrible condition since they had not been designed to take the pounding that cars gave. The scene portrayed was a common one, especially during the spring when frost and rain joined forces to weaken and soften the roads, turning them to mud. A team of horses usually rescued the unfortunates.

Another constant and expected hazard was the ever-present flat tire. The writer's father noted in his diary in the mid 1920s that his friends had had a great day. They had driven a hundred miles and only had ten flat tires. Tires were high pressure (70-80 psi) similar to a bike tire and were more susceptible to sharp rocks and debris.

Figure 85. Flapper Cousins - 1927

L-R: Viola, Erna, Elda, Anita, and Cordelia Lueder. All set to party in the 20's!

Erna and Anita Lueder, children of Albert Lueder, were cousins of the sisters Viola, Elda, and Cordelia. (see Figure 6 & Figure 37)

Figure 86. The Overland--A Hot Rod? – July, 1932

Gerald had fun chopping the body off the Overland and then driving his friends around. DOT regulations and Ralph Nader were decades in the future.

Figure 87. After The Fox Farm Party - June 24, 1936

Bill Wendt left an excellent party at the Nieman Fox Farm in an advanced state of relaxation. His Chrysler had steering knuckles held together with baling wire (this was long before state inspections were required). He walked away from this unscathed. Incredible!

Cordelia Lueder, as a little child, overheard a phone conversation in German that her mother Augusta was having with Cordelia's Tante Anna Lueder: "35 mph he drove! No wonder he's dead!"

Figure 88. Gerald Lueder's Trip to Florida - 1936

By 1936, Gerald had a DeSoto Coupe, a well-built, well-engineered car, made by Chrysler Corporation and suitable for long journeys, cruising at 50 mph (top speed was 55 mph) on greatly improved roads. It was second hand, had been owned by a woman librarian in Milwaukee, had only 10,000 miles on the odometer, and cost $325, which he financed. Two months later he borrowed $200 from his friend, Werner Kasten, and repaid the financing company, which charged him $48 for the use of $325 for the two months! He repaid Werner very shortly. He and his neighbor and good friend, Oscar Weichert, took a trip to Florida that winter after earning some income pelting foxes at Nieman's Hiawatha Fur Farms in Northern Michigan.

Figure 89. The DeSoto on Daytona Beach in Florida at 55 Mph

Daytona Beach is very broad, nearly level and has very hard-packed sand. Auto speed records were regularly being set on this natural speedway, before the Salt Flats in Utah became accessible and popular for that purpose.

Oscar Weichert was driving through shallow water at 55 mph, with Gerald photographing the fun. -Two days later the car wouldn't run due to salt-induced corrosion and contamination of the electrical system

Figure 90. Laundry

L-R: Robert Steger, Oscar Wiechert, Steger's partner, and Gerald Lueder.

Two Cedarburg area bachelor farmers had a 40-acre orange grove at Haines City,

Florida, and put the young travelers up for a few nights. The men are shown doing their laundry. The structure on the right with the washtub on top was the shower. Accommodations were rough but the price was right - free. The entire trip was an extended, improvised camp-out with most food (e.g. large quantities of potatoes) packed wherever space could be found. The driver’s side running board was a storehouse, and all exits and entries had to be accomplished through the passenger side.

Figure 91. Bathing Beauties - 1936

Pearl Strege (L) and Lila Fromm (R) were grandchildren of Andrew and Emma Fromm, Gerald's second cousins, and his good friends. Gerald and Oscar met with them in Florida.

Figure 92. Meanwhile Back In Cedarburg – February, 1936

The winter of 1936 was memorable. The snow overwhelmed the graders and blowers, and roads remained unplowed for an extended period. The traffic shown consists of farmers hauling their milk to the dairy over an unplowed road, either Bridge Street or Western Avenue. Most farmers still used horses as well as tractors.

Cows were milked every evening and again every morning. Under normal circumstances, milk was picked up daily in the morning from the dairy farms around Cedarburg. Lack of trucking due to the storm meant milk spoilage, which meant lost income to the hard-working farmers, and shortages to the city folk.

Figure 93. Augusta Lueder (R) Visits Sister Alvina Pipkorn (L) In Hermansville, Mi. – 1927

The sisters Alvina and Augusta almost never had a chance to visit during the first quarter century after their marriages. The advent of reliable autos and good roads enabled trips in 1927, '29, and '34. Later in the 30s Gerald drove his mother up to see Tante Alvina at 70 mph on the gravel roads. When her nerves settled down, Augusta had her usual grand time with her dear sister, but she did not repeat her trip anytime soon.

C. Making a Living

Technological advance was a Godsend to the farmer for improving his quality of life. Low-cost machines reduced arduous labor and greatly increased productivity. Although steam power had been widely available for over a generation, the mass-produced internal combustion engine was far more suitable for the average farmer in affordability, instant operation (no warm-up period), size, flexibility, and ease of fueling.

Change was gradual. Horses remained in common use for decades after the popular adoption of gasoline-powered machinery, and the gathering of farmers to share a major task such as threshing ceased only with radical innovations such as the "combine."

Figure 94. Binding Grain - 1929

Edgar Lueder is shown undertaking the first step in harvesting grain (usually oats or wheat, occasionally barley and flax) which was to cut and tie the grain into bundles with twine using a horse-drawn "binder." All of the bundles were then picked up and stacked in "shocks" of grain as shown in the foreground.

The binder enabled Edgar to cut the grain at the peak of ripeness and food value. The shocks protected the grain against rain until neighbors, and Theo (known as Tim) Dobberpuhl with his steam engine could come for an intense day of threshing.

Although individual Wisconsin farmers could afford a binder few could justify the purchase of a steam engine and thresher for their sole use. Tim, who lived just west of Wauwautosa Rd on Western Ave., served the threshing needs of many farmers in the area with his machinery.

Figure 95. Loading Grain Bundles – The Last Load of Oats, July 30, 1931

Elda Lueder is on the wagon, her brother Edgar is on the ground at left.

The farm was an equal opportunity employer; when necessary, women joined the men to do field work and both received the same pay - nothing.

One of the benefits of having experienced horses (vs. a tractor) was that they knew their job, and responded to simple oral commands to move the wagon ahead to the next group of shocks.

Figure 96. Threshing at Lueder’s Barn, August 30, 1927

Little that we do is more important than growing and harvesting grain, and few sights in nature are more beautiful than a bountiful ripe, golden, grain field.

Threshing was a time of excitement and tension. Neighbors gathered to speed the harvest before bad weather might ruin it. The work was intense, hard, and dusty, but it was shared by willing comrades and, therefore, was also fun. The excitement began with Tim Dobberpuhl blowing his steamer's whistle a quarter mile away at Granville Rd as he approached the farm with his chuffing iron monster, towing the threshing machine behind.

Fire was a great danger to the barn. The coal-fired steam engine was parked a good distance from the barn, the threshing machine was in the barn, and power was transferred by means of a long, wide, flat belt. It was very effective, and an enormous improvement over their grandparents harvesting tools, which were hand and horse powered. Their great grandfathers' generation used a hand held scythe to cut grain and flails to separate the kernels.

Figure 97. Straw Stack, September 3, 1928

The threshing machine separated the straw and chaff from the hard kernel of grain, and blew the straw and chaff onto a pile. Creating the straw stack was not a random act. It needed to be built up into a shape that would minimize water damage and rot over a period of many months as it was consumed. The inside of the barn was reserved for hay. The grain fields were infested with a multitude of weeds. Ragweed and goldenrod, in particular, made threshing miserable or impossible for a hay fever sufferer.

Figure 98. Blowing the Harvested Grain into the Granary

Grain flowed from the threshing machine into a small hopper wagon. This was pulled alongside the opening to the granary on the second story of the barn. The wagon was emptied into a blower powered by a belt and pulley from Lueder’s Samson tractor, which then blasted the grain upstairs into bins.

Grain flows readily, and having a granary on the second floor was a labor saver. As the grain was needed, a spout running from the second story to the ground floor was opened into whatever container or bag was being used. The container was filled with minimal labor.

Figure 99. The Cooks, August 30, 1927

Adults L-R: Sisters Elda, Cordelia, and Viola Lueder with their very dear friend and cousin-in-law Ann Nieman (Ann married the Lueder sister’s Uncle Charlie Nieman's son Arnold). The child is Eleanore Lueders (Eleanore was the youngest daughter of the sisters Uncle Otto Lueders).

Appetites generated by the heavy labor were huge, so wives and daughters got together and made suitably huge meals, having lots of fun in the process. The entire affair had a social and celebratory sense to it. The abundant harvest was safely home, and a granary full of the golden, life-giving treasure gave great joy and comfort.

Figure 100. Herding Cows on Bridge St

Traffic was limited, and Bridge Street was just a country lane. For quite a few years, the Lueders used a pasture that required herding the cows along the street each morning and evening. The photo is from the 1940s but could easily have been the 1920s. The boy is Cordelia's son, Ronald Pfohl.

Figure 101. Laying Drain Tile to Recover Arable Land, About 1920

This stereograph from Wisconsin shows a machine that dug a narrow ditch and then placed drainage tiles into the ground. Lueders contracted for such work to be done on the north side of their barn in October of 1922. The tiles formed a long, porous tube leading to a swamp 200 yards north of the barn. The water from the saturated soil seeped into the tube, and land which was often too wet for equipment and crops became arable. William’s effort to increase his acreage had disastrous consequences (see Figure 102)

Figure 102. The Lueder's Barn Burns to The Ground - Wednesday, October 24, 1922. Remnants Shown in Photo From the Silos, About 1928.

Viola, Cordelia and Gerald were at school and had seen a great deal of smoke on the skyline all afternoon but had no idea what was happening. Gerald, age 10, and his cousin Arnold Lueders, 13, were sent by the teacher to a neighboring farm for some tools to use at school and they returned in a panic with Gerald yelling "Unser scheun ist apgebrannt!" (Our barn is burnt down). The children and teacher dropped everything and ran across the fields to the inferno.

An engine started the fire. Near the barn, drainage tiles were being placed in a ditch to create arable land, and sparks from the ditching machine 4 cylinder gas engine found tinder at the barn, which soon was blazing. Neighbors helped by wetting the roofs of nearby buildings to prevent them from burning. Edgar Lueder recalled a man climbing a ladder while carrying a milk can full of water in each hand, a feat of extraordinary strength. The barn, filled with an entire season's harvest of bone-dry hay, was impossible to save; it was a complete loss. That evening William came into the house and said to the family in Low German, "I guess we don't pray enough." The granary had been part of the barn, and the grain smoldered and burned for weeks, an ugly reminder of the disaster. Adding insult to William's gloom and misery, some people had the gall to suggest that he had lit the fire for the insurance.

William's livestock were distributed among relatives and neighbors for the winter except for 12 cows, which he was able to keep in his horse barn.

Figure 103. Barn Raising – View from the South Side

Figure 104. Barn Raising View From the West Side - June 8, 1923 [19]

Fortunately, Lueder's old barn was insured. The first order of business the next spring, weather permitting, was to build a new one. Young Robert Krause, a highly skilled carpenter, was trying to start his own business and wanted to bid for the construction contract. William didn’t want to take a risk on hiring a man without an established track record of successful business for the largest investment he would make in his lifetime. He wanted a veteran and turned Robert down. Robert was unsuccessful in trying to start and independent business as a builder and had to go back to work for a contractor to make a living. The contractor turned out to be the man that William retained to build his new barn. To William’s surprise and chagrin, Robert superintended the project.

The barn construction resulted in marriages for the Lueders. Robert was married to Frieda Heckendorf, and his brother-in-law, Erich Heckendorf, was on the carpenter crew. As a direct result of the barn construction, but at a much later time, Erich married Renata Lueder and Edgar Lueder married Erich's sister Alice Heckendorf.

Raising the framework comprising the trusses, joists and rafters required the help of numerous men, laboring under the direction of skilled carpenters. Neighbors would gather together to help on such an occasion, and it was turned into a festive event.

When the barn was completed, relatives, friends, and neighbors were invited to celebrate with a dance. The wooden floor of the haymow upstairs was washed and waxed, the trusses were decorated with green boughs, and at one truss, a wreath and wine bottle were hung. The whole event was similar to the christening of a ship, and at the moment of "dedication" the bottle was smashed. The dance was restricted to invitees only, with Harvey Groth screening the arrivals and bouncing any party crashers. Ro Nieman and Erwin Mueller provided concertina music. Refreshments were abundant. Walter Keup and Henry Retzlaff tended bar but served only lemonade, no beer! At midnight Augusta and her eldest daughter, Renata served a delicious meal. It was a grand party. The burning, rebuilding, and "dedication" were among the most memorable events in the lives of the Lueder siblings.

William no doubt hoped that the new barn would serve for generations to come, and perhaps even centuries, as many barns in Europe have. With the very recent invention of the huge round bales of hay and straw that one sees in fields everywhere, a haymow is not needed and therefore the historic design of barns is now outmoded and fated to disappear. Today the tightly wound hay and straw of the round bales act as thatching, and shed water; the bales form their own shelter.

The barn, now more than 80 years old, is in good condition but is underutilized. It is interesting to inspect the wooden structural workmanship; it is a marvel. Robert Krause was a master craftsman.

Figure 105. Edgar, Rover, and the Samson - May 13, 1923

Lueder's first tractor, a Samson, was purchased in Cedarburg on April 24, 1922. It was a great labor saver. The invoice from G. W. Wirth was:

New Samson Tractor (including 2 – 14” bottom plow) $632.50

New three section spring tooth $32.50

Spring hitch for tractor for disengaging clutch on tractor when hitting rock $18.00

Subtotal $683.00

Credit for horse drawn spring tooth ($10.00)

Total $673.00

This Samson tractor was a primitive beast. All gasoline-powered vehicles at that time were hand cranked. This writer had the miserable experience of trying to start a Samson in the 1950s. This can be envisioned by imagining a stubborn, hard-starting lawnmower engine with several cylinders and high compression, plus the ability to backfire and break a wrist or an arm. The Lueder family kept a team of horses for another twenty years, partially out of habit and affection, but also because of the real utility of a team.

Figure 106. Edgar Lueder Sends the Samson to the Junkyard

The Samson wore out and was consigned to the junk pile.

Horses in old age continued to burn very large quantities of hay and oats without returning much for their upkeep. This was a luxury that most farmers could not afford, and after as many as 15-20 years of mutual labor and affection, the horse wound up at the knackers, which, locally, was the fox farm. This caused a degree of emotional misery not experienced in junking a tractor. The horses probably had a low opinion of the situation as well.

Edgar loved animals, and to him the tractor was not only a great labor saver, but was also a Godsend because it reduced the abuse of beasts of burden. Returning from Sherman School one evening, Cordelia and Viola witnessed the Bridge St and Granville Rd creamery (see Figure 135) owner working in his garden with his horse, screaming curses at the animal and whipping it unmercifully. Going to school the next morning, the girls passed the poor beast dead in the garden, still in its harness. Had the owner been abusing a tractor, he would have paid for the repairs in cash at the local mechanics shop. Edgar liked the fact that abuse of machinery only hurt the owner.

The creamery attracted three diverse operators when William and Augusta were raising their family nearby: one abused his horses, another and his family were practicing nudists (at the creamery), and a third made moonshine during Prohibition.

Figure 107. The Two-Story Horse Barn Becomes a One-Story Shed - 1927

Lueder's new barn was large enough to shelter the horses. A chicken coop and tractor/machinery shed were needed, so the second story of the horse barn was lifted, moved north, and set directly alongside the stone walls to form an elongated one-story building. It was practical, easily done, and comparatively inexpensive.

Figure 108. Shingling the Roof on the Machinery Shed - 1927

L-R: Viola Lueder, Erich Heckendorf, Elda, Cordelia, & Edgar Lueder

Figure 109. Shingling, 1927

L-R Edgar, Cordelia, & Elda Lueder and Erich Heckendorf

It is interesting to note again that, on a farm, women participated in a broad range of labor. They were needed everywhere; if work in the house was completed, they helped outdoors.

Figure 110. At Lueder's Barn: Herziger’s Meat Market Gets a Bull – April 13, 1928

Edgar Lueder is shown after loading his bull onto Herziger’s Dodge truck. Trucking was a particularly desirable convenience when dealing with something as dangerous as a Holstein bull, an animal that is huge, unpredictable, and sometimes violent. In earlier years, prior to availability of trucking, a rope would have been passed through the large ring in the bull’s nose, tied to the back of a wagon and led to town with a team of horses pulling the wagon, or alternatively, the bull would have been butchered at home.

Bulls were a necessary hazard for a dairy farm. Cows are mammals, and in order to give milk, they must periodically have a calf; hence the indispensable bull. The ring in the bull’s nose was capable of causing incapacitating pain, but was a necessity for safe handling of the animal. It had everything to do with preservation of life and limb of the farmer and nothing to do with abuse. When neighbor George Weidman's bull escaped into the fields, the situation was regarded as sufficiently dangerous that his neighbors arrived mounted on their farm horses with shotguns loaded with salt to help get the bull back into its pen. After a bit of salt, the bull headed back for the barn voluntarily.

Figure 111. Carrots – October 18th – 21st 1932

L-R: William Lueder, Erwin Graese, Edgar Lueder, Alice Heckendorf Lueder, Cordelia Lueder Pfohl, Elda Lueder, "Oma" Graese, and Viola Lueder Graese.

Carrots were planted on one acre as a contract cash crop for two years during the Great Depression. The farm was barely making interest payments on the mortgage, and carrots helped to provide badly needed cash. The labor required was disproportionate to the meager profit realized, and carrot farming was soon abandoned.

Potatoes, however, were planted and harvested for many years.

Figure 112. Feeding Foxes at Cedarburg - 1934

The fox farms continued to operate during the Great Depression and created some badly needed employment for a number of people around Cedarburg, including Gerald Lueder. For a time, pay was down to seventy-five cents a day! Not many people were buying luxurious fox furs during such economic hardship. It is surprising the fox farms survived during the Depression.

Figure 113. Snookums and Cordelia Lueder - 1926

Cordelia loved animals. Snookums was a runt lamb and couldn't compete with its twin for milk. Sixteen-year-old Cordelia bottle-fed him, and he became quite attached to her, running across the pasture when she called. Snookums eventually grew up and was butchered. Cordelia hated mutton.

The Lueders kept four or five sheep for wool and mutton, butchering one each fall. Lueder's woolen quilts from the 1920s, with new coverings, are now going through their third and fourth generation of use and remain wonderfully comfortable.

Geese and ducks were also very useful, providing both food and down. The entire household slept in down feather beds. For Cordelia one incident with ducks was particularly traumatic: she lifted a heavy stone with a stick as a crowbar in order to let a duckling eat the worms and insects beneath, when the rock slipped off the stick and killed the duckling. In addition to feeling terrible about the duckling, she now had a major problem: "How could I explain this to Mama?"

Some of the dietary knowledge that we now have was missing back then. The fat had to be eaten along with the lean. Cordelia and Viola hated fat and, as small children managed to hide the scraps on a little shelf protruding underneath the dining table. This was practiced successfully for a time until William and Augusta had a party, decided to expand the table, opened it and there were all of the scraps!

Figure 114. Lueder's Chickens - 1932

Renata’s two-year-old daughter, Glenrose Heckendorf, is with the chickens. Chickens were a permanent fixture on the farm and filled the kitchen pot for three to four dinners per week. Dinner was the largest meal of the day, held at noon to provide sufficient fuel for the afternoon labor.

There is an altogether superior taste to a free-ranging chicken, fed on grain versus chicken coming from the mass-produced enclaves that now supply most of the fowl that we consume. Elda's chicken dinner was worth a special trip to Lueders.

Figure 115. Silage – Fall, 1927

L-R: Oscar Weichert, William Lueder, Harold Lueder, Pipkorn's hired man Tony, Erich Heckendorf, Viola Lueder.

A silo is simply a large pickle jar with the pickled item usually being green corn stalks and cobs, and less often, peas and pea vines. The pickling makes fodder out of the stalks that would otherwise be wasted, and provides, together with hay, a balanced diet for the cows.

The corn was collected into bundles called shocks that were heavy and hard to handle. A chopper and blower minced the stalks and blew them into the silo. The whole affair was hard work, and in the interests of comradeship and shared labor, neighbors often worked together to complete the task. Unlike threshing, this process did not have the urgency associated with the potential spoilage of grain standing in the fields during rain.

D. Education

The one room school was a fixture in rural American education for well over a century. Although technological advances provided electric lighting, radio, and occasional transport by car, the basic mode of operation changed little if at all, until the vast national wave of school consolidation eliminated the country school altogether in the 1950s and 60s.

Figure 116. Sherman School – About 1908-1910

Edgar Lueder is the boy seated on the ground second from the left and Renata Lueder is the small girl in the dark checked dress standing second from the right.

Figure 117. Sherman School

Renata Lueder is the 4th from the left, sitting. Elda is the little girl in the dark dress kneeling in the front row to the left of the boy with the white shirt and tie. Edgar Lueder is the 2nd from the right, kneeling in a white shirt next to the seated lady. Elda Lueder is the little girl in the center of the front row in the dark dress.

Sherman School (which still stands as a private residence on Western Ave.) is an example of that American classic that served so well for many decades -- the one-room country school. It was radically different from today's large elementary schools and had its own virtues, despite the fact that resources were quite modest.

The educational system was essentially a tutorial one with perhaps a dozen children (ages 6 to 13) and usually a woman as the teacher. Younger children were encouraged to seek assistance in their studies from older children and all played together at recess and lunchtime. Classes were so small that slow or fast students could often progress at a rate consistent with their skills without disturbing the progress of classmates.

Children also participated in chores for the school such as cleaning the blackboard, sweeping the floor after school, carrying drinking water from the pump, ringing the bell, raking leaves in autumn, and cleaning the schoolyard in spring. The chores created a proprietary sense among the children; it was their school. They kept it neat and tidy, and they took pride in it.

E. Religion And Rites Of Passage

The use of the automobile made it easier to attend church, but it also created easier access to leisure activities as an alternative. Although nearby family members could gather more readily for baptisms, confirmations, marriages, and funerals, automotive mobility also resulted in a diaspora, as children upon reaching maturity worked and lived in very distant places.

The quality of life of the minister and his ability to tend to the needs of his flock were certainly improved. Rapid transportation by truck and refrigeration for perishable goods meant that the pastor no longer had to keep livestock. Furthermore, use of an automobile enabled him to visit all of his parishioners and most especially to minister quickly to the sick and bedridden in their time of need.

Figure 120. Rev. Walter Behrens, DD - About 1920

In 1919, after 46 years in the service of Immanuel Lutheran, Rev. Strassburger finally retired. Dr. Walter Behrens succeeded him. Dr. Behrens was an exceedingly able man who eventually became President (now called Bishop) of the regional synod of American Lutheran Church. He earned the respect and affection of his congregation, and was the central religious figure for this generation of Lueders as they were confirmed and married.

Figure 121. Going to Church

L-R Harold, Gerald, Cordelia, Edgar, Mother Augusta, Father William, Renata, and Renata’s husband, Erich Heckendorf.

All dressed up for church! Men seldom owned more than one suit. There was no need whatsoever for a suit other than for the most formal occasions which nearly always involved church.

They were very proud of their Chrysler automobile.

Figure 122. Christmas in Lueder's Parlor - 1920s

The tree lights were small candles. Tiny, tin candleholders with spring clamps were placed all about the tree and the candles were lit on Christmas Eve with Christmas hymns being sung. Money for Christmas presents was scarce, and the children had virtually none to spend. After the Christmas Pageant at church, the church gave each Sunday school child a gift of a bag of candy and peanuts. William loved peanuts, and little Cordelia, being without the means to buy her father a birthday present, would carefully save her Christmas peanuts for Papa's February birthday.

The stove that is shown in the photo was connected to the chimney with an uncommonly long horizontal stovepipe. It gradually became loaded with soot and condensed water, collapsed, and the whole room was a blackened mess.

Figure 123. Cordelia and Viola Lueder, Confirmation - October 22, 1922

Cordelia is 2nd from the left kneeling in the front; Viola is at the extreme left in the third row.

Seventy years after immigration, German was still the primary language of the church. German confirmation classes were celebrated on the pre-eminent confirmation day, Palm Sunday. Cordelia and Viola were members of only the second class ever confirmed in English at Immanuel Lutheran Church and as a result their confirmation day was relegated to autumn. The other (German language) class was confirmed on Palm Sunday. The children were taught by Pastor Behrens and had a deep-seated reverence for him.

This confirmation day was always associated by the family with a farming disaster. The following Wednesday their barn burned to the ground (see Figure 102).

Figure 124. Renata Lueder's Wedding to Erich Heckendorf – Thursday, October 20, 1927

L-R: Edgar Lueder, Alice Heckendorf (later married Edgar), Hugo Heckendorf, Elda Lueder, Erich Heckendorf, Renata Lueder.

This was the first marriage among William and Augusta's children. Erich was a farm boy from Jackson who became a carpenter and met Renata when he was part of the crew building Lueder's new barn in 1923.

The wedding was a grand event. A portable generator was rented and genuine, honest to God electric lighting was imported for the occasion - one bare bulb per room; what luxury! A bridal suite was prepared upstairs, pictures were taken in the afternoon, (see Figure 69 & Figure 70 taken on the afternoon of the wedding), and the wedding took place at 7:00 that evening.

After the wedding, the guests returned to Lueders for a feast and festivities: concertina music by Renata's cousins Erwin Mueller and Roland Nieman, dancing, beer, and cider until the wee hours.

The wedding dress came from Sears, and a bed for the bridal suite had been ordered from Sears, but on the morning of the wedding the bed still had not been delivered. The household, in a state of consternation, improvised with a bed from elsewhere. That afternoon, Sears delivered the bed, and frantic activity ensued to put the new bed in place of the old one.

Adding to the bridal suite's problems, Renata's little eleven-year-old brother Harold had crossed paths with a skunk and left his shoes upstairs by the bridal suite door.

Cows do not care whether or not humans have a wedding. They have to be milked and fed, and since the older children were in the wedding party, Viola and Cordelia, at ages 19 and 17, did the evening chores.

Figure 125. The Next Day – at Lueder’s

L-R: Cordelia and Elda Lueder, the newlyweds, Erich and Renata Heckendorf, and Erwin Mueller.

Figure 126. The Next Day – at Lueder’s

L-R: Erich Heckendorf, Cordelia, Viola, and Elda Lueder, Erwin Mueller.

First cousin Erwin Mueller, a concertina player at the wedding, stopped by to relive the preceding night’s activities and taste a "hair of the dog that bit him." For many years, Erwin was the only employee of the Town of Cedarburg aside from teachers.

The truck was probably the Township's single biggest capital investment, aside from schools.

F. A Country Love Story, Edgar Lueder And Alice Heckendorf

Falling in love with someone a considerable distance from home, e.g., ten miles, was helped greatly by the development of the primitive automobile. Use of the telephone for long distance calls (e.g., ten miles!) was prohibitively expensive, so young lovers were seldom able to spend much time on the phone. Then as now, couples met in an infinite variety of ways. Then, however, mobility and communication were much more difficult.

Figure 127. A Country Love Story #1: Edgar Lueder and Alice Heckendorf – Sunday, July 26, 1931

Edgar and Alice first met during the barn raising at Lueder’s farm following the disastrous barn fire in 1922 (see Figure 102). Erich Heckendorf, a carpenter on the crew, married Edgar’s sister, Renata. The head of the crew was married to Erich’s sister Frieda, and in the process, Edgar and Alice met. He was not quite 23, and she was 19. The courtship of Edgar and Alice went on for eight years and had a most peculiar facet. On every single date in that eight-year period, Alice’s brother, Arthur, accompanied them. The photo was taken on the day of Edgar’s sister’s (Viola) wedding shower.

Figure 128 Letter, Alice to Her Sweetheart, Edgar – Page 1

Figure 128 Letter, Alice to Her Sweetheart, Edgar – Page 2

Figure 128. A Country Love Story #2: Alice Heckendorf – Letter to Her Sweetheart Edgar Lueder

Alice’s father, Albert, died in 1922 leaving his wife Mathilda to tend to their farm and thirteen children. They were an exceptionally fine family with very high values and exacting standards for their work and their conduct.

However, life in the country was not idyllic. Brother Arthur objected violently to Alice dating Edgar. The occasion Alice writes of in her letter thoroughly unnerved her. Brother Erich, a carpenter, quipped that he must have dropped a hammer on Arthur's head when Arthur was little.

Alice and Edgar were married in Heckendorf’s church in the township of Jackson on Saturday, September 19, 1931. Only three weeks previously on August 26, sister Viola Lueder married Erwin Graese. Sister Cordelia had married Rev. John Pfohl the preceding year on October 15. All of these family nuptials in the Great Depression must have given William and Augusta's Lueder’s meager bank account a considerable beating.

Arthur had to be restrained by his brothers at home during the wedding ceremony. Thereafter, he never troubled Edgar and Alice again and lived the balance of his life as a fine member of his community.

Alice’s German phrase toward the end of the letter says: “I have never been so afraid in my life.” Her closing “Schatze” is German for sweetheart.

Figure 129 Letter, Edgar to His Sister Cordelia – Page 1

Figure 129 Letter, Edgar to His Sister Cordelia – Page 2

Figure 129. A Country Love Story # 3: February 22, 1935 - Letter, Edgar Lueder to His Sister Cordelia

On Monday evening, February 19, 1935, at 10:00 Alice went into labor, with their firstborn. She expected to give birth at home with the assistance of a nurse or midwife. At 9:00 on Tuesday evening, the pains became severe and Edgar called for their nurse. On Wednesday morning at 10:00 there was still no baby. The nurse called the family’s Cedarburg physician, Dr. Hurth, and he sent them to the hospital, Milwaukee General.

She was in severe pain all night and at 10:30 the next morning, on Thursday, Dr. Hurth concluded that he needed help. He consulted with 70-year-old Dr. Hipke who said that a “Kaiserschnitt” (caesarian) was needed immediately. Just before 12:00 noon the baby was delivered.

Poor Alice had been in labor for sixty hours without giving birth. Edgar was traumatized, immensely relieved at the success of the operation, and excited at the birth of his baby girl. Alice was resting, feeling fine, and free of pain. After all of that, she must have been overjoyed to hold her infant.

Edgar reported the ordeal to his 25-year-old sister, Cordelia, living in Sauk County, married to a minister. He asked her to be the baptismal sponsor (Godmother) to the baby girl.

While Edgar dealt daily with the business of farming, he almost never wrote letters. It is likely that years passed without written communication from his hand. The idiosyncrasies of this letter reflect this. He was in fact an unusually intelligent and meditative man who loved to read. The length of Edgar’s letter reflects his trauma over the agony experienced by his loved one. One could be around Edgar for days and not have a conversation equal in length to this letter.

Figure 130 Letter, Cordelia to Her Brother, Edgar – Page 1

Figure 130 Letter, Cordelia to Her Brother, Edgar – Page 2

Figure 130 Letter, Cordelia to Her Brother, Edgar – Page 3

Figure 130. A Country Love Story #4: February 24, 1935 - Letter, Cordelia to Her Brother Edgar

Edgar’s younger sister, Cordelia, loved children, had a two-year-old of her own, and was very excited by the new arrival. She wrote back to him promptly with enthusiastic congratulations, and in the upper left corner sent birthday congratulations to her father, William, whose 64^th birthday was the next day, and her brother-in-law, Erwin Graese, whose 27^th birthday was on the 24^th. William was not well. The arrival of the first-born child to his own first-born child and son was particularly satisfying.

Figure 131. A Country Love Story #5: Sunday, March 3, 1935: Telegram – Cordelia and John To Her Brother Edgar

Peritonitis! Alice was dying.

When Edgar and Alice left for the hospital, twelve long days before, Alice stopped, went back into the house, walked into their room to look around, and then left. Edgar felt that Alice had a premonition. Dr. Hipke, who had recommended the caesarian, told Edgar he was called in for consultation too late.

Edgar had come home from the hospital for supper earlier on this Sunday evening. Alice’s mother, Mathilda, came over to the Lueder farmhouse and insisted that he return to the hospital. So his brother Gerald drove him back, and his sister Elda went along. At home brother, Harold, and sister, Viola, sat in the bedroom with their parents, William and Augusta. None were able to sleep.

Alice received several blood transfusions from her brothers and from a sister.

She died while receiving a blood transfusion from her brother Erich. Her last words were “I’m full, I can’t take anymore.” Reflecting on this in later years, Erich always feared that his blood might have been the wrong type. After bringing new life into the world, Alice died of peritonitis. She was 31. It was a rainy, foggy Monday, March 4, not long after midnight, and fifteen days after her agony had commenced.

Edgar, Gerald and Elda came home from the hospital. Edgar threw Alice's clothes on the table said, "This is all I have left," went into his bedroom, closed the door and said nothing else. When William heard the news, he broke down and wept. It was the only time the Lueder children had ever seen their Dad cry.

Long distance (100 miles) phone calls were very expensive and difficult. They involved the assistance of numerous operators to make the various electronic connections and took quite a long time to place.

In this instance, Edgar was at a large hospital, which had a central switchboard. It would have been a rare luxury for a room to have its own telephone, and while the caller was waiting and paying for the time on hold, a search would have to be made for Edgar.

Cordelia and John had very little money to spare and the phone call to Milwaukee General was over 100 miles from their home in Sauk County, a very expensive call to make. Brother Gerald had telephoned them and told them that Alice’s heart was giving out and she was dying. A telegram was their surest way within their limited means of reaching Edgar quickly to express their love and concern.

Figure 132. Cordelia’s Diary

Figure 132. Country Love Story #6: Cordelia’s Diary – March 6th and 7th 1935

Alice died on Monday. Her wake was in the Lueder home on Wednesday, and the funeral was in Immanuel Lutheran Church in Cedarburg the next day.

* * * * *

Alice’s tragic fate mirrored the hazard of childbirth for all women of her time. This was especially true prior to the mid 1800s when the bacterial nature of infection was first discovered. Women died as a direct result of attending physicians/midwives not bothering to sterilize their hands prior to examination. Although the need for sterile procedures was well understood by Alice’s time, infection was a far more terrible threat than it is today since the discovery of penicillin and other antibiotics.

Figure 133. Poor Alice, the End of the Country Love Story in Lueder’s Parlor

(Common practice was for viewing to take place in the family home)

For Alice and Edgar, courtship was uncommonly difficult, followed by three wonderful years of love and companionship and then, tragedy.

Excerpts from her obituary, which was read at her funeral service:

“O Lord do Thou not leave me,

When I this world must leave,

But Thy support do give me,

When my last sigh I heave;

When soul and body languish

In death’s last agony,

Then take away mine anguish

By thine on Calvary.

Thus prayed the departed with believing heart as two weeks ago she underwent a dangerous operation…the operation had saved her life and also that of her baby girl and with happy hearts we could include them the following Sunday in a Thanksgiving prayer during the church service for mother and child…Truly none of us would have thought that we would so soon stand before the coffin of our sister in Christ…Now rest in peace until we meet again. Amen.”

Edgar never remarried.

In the years that followed, his sister Viola never heard Edgar mention Alice’s name. In 1988 he died in his lifelong home lying in his bed last shared with his beloved wife more than half a century before. Surrounded by loved ones, he lingered through a long evening, into the dark morning hours. As he made his way into eternity, the last word heard from him was… “Alice.”

* * * * *

Viola Graese, Edgar’s sister, translated the German obituary in 1994. She noted the circumstances in the farm home after the funeral: “…Even now I wonder how Elda and I kept our heads on straight. After Alice was gone, we had a very ill father, a crippled mother, 3 unmarried brothers, a motherless baby, Erwin and Sylvia to take care of. Unless you have gone thru something like that you can’t imagine it. But Elda and I managed to work together like a well-matched team. Perhaps it may have been that she was the boss. But we worked things out…”

To read the birth and death statistics of long ago is dry, lifeless stuff. Perhaps these few letters and pictures dealing with the love of Alice and Edgar can resurrect a fraction of the human emotion desiccated by time into mere dates on a tombstone, family tree, or in a church record.

EPILOGUE

Figure 134. William Lueder Died Two Months After Alice.

Two months later on May 4th William died, worn out by a lifelong brutal combination of migraine headaches and the unyielding demands of hard labor on a dairy farm.

The Depression was a severe trial for Augusta and her family. They barely made the interest payments on the farm mortgage. The stress was sufficient to give Edgar an ulcer. Erwin Graese and Viola moved back home to the Lueders and lived there with their two daughters. Elda, Gerald and Harold lived at home unmarried, and toward the beginning of World War II, Erich Heckendorf, Renata, and daughter Glenrose also moved in.

Edgar never remarried; Renata died on September 29, 1943, a victim of breast cancer; Elda, who was one of the funniest people this writer has ever known, never married. She became a mother to Alice's Marcella, cared for Augusta in her old age, and kept house for Edgar as well as Gerald and Harold while they were still bachelors.

Viola and her family bought the creamery a quarter mile east from the Lueders at Granville Rd and Bridge St. They demolished it with dynamite in the early 1940s and built a home there (see Figure 135 & Figure 136 – next page) Viola loved the Lueder homestead, and that was as far away as she wanted to go.

Figure 135 The Creamery at the Corner of Bridge St. and Granville Road – 1890s?

Figure 136 Dynamiting the Creamery to Make Way for the Construction of Viola & Erwin’s New Home.

Cordelia's husband, John Pfohl, was a Lutheran pastor; they lived in the tiny village of Leland near the Natural Bridge State Park in Sauk County for nearly twenty-two years. Gerald became a salesman of and mechanic for John Deere farm implements with G.W. Wirth in Cedarburg and married Irene Rozalewski. Harold married Marion Bremer, who was a great-granddaughter of Johann and Minna Lueders, Jr. Augusta, age 76, died on September 13, 1950, terribly crippled by rheumatoid arthritis and blinded by cataracts.

Edgar and Harold were partners on the farm. After the anxiety and fear of the Depression was past, life was enjoyable and comfortable for many years.

Harold developed Parkinson's disease and died at age 59 in 1976. Edgar passed away in 1988 at 88 years of age. Elda died at the age of 91 in 1995 cared for in her old age by the woman she had cared for as an infant, Marcella. Elda suffered a nasty almost fatal fall three years before she died and was cracking jokes on what might have been her deathbed! Cordelia became a widow at the age of 49, built a small house a hundred yards from the farm she grew up on, never remarried, and died at the age of 84 in 1994. Gerald died at age 92 in 2004. Viola lived to the end of 2007, dying a month after her 99^th birthday.

Even though the lives of William and Augusta's family contained many difficulties and sorrows, the most enduring impression of these people is of their ever-present love of a funny story, lively conversation, and enthusiastic, broad interest in life.

Figure 137. Alice’s Baby – Marcella Lueder At The Age Of Two, August 8, 1937

Marcella was well cared for and did not lack for love. Growing up on the farm was a great experience for her. She lives there today, retired from a career in surgical nursing.

Figure 138. Augusta Lueder And Her Grandchildren – Christmas, 1939

Left to right: Glenrose Heckendorf, Ruth Pfohl, Sylvia Graese, Marcella Lueder, Ronald Pfohl, and Vivian Graese with Augusta in her wheelchair in the back ground.

Figure 139. Augusta At The Barn Door By The Cow yard – Spring, 1941

Augusta suffered from crippling rheumatoid arthritis. As she grew older, she began to use a cane; in 1935, age 61, she began walking with crutches. In 1940 she began using a wheelchair that Gerald made for her. She also suffered from cataracts and was blind in her last years.

appendix

FAMILY TIES – CHARTS

CHART 1 - THE EMIGRANTS & DESCENDANTS – FAMILY TIES

(Return to Section I Pioneers & Settlers)

NIEMANN: Emigrated 1852. Patriarch Johann’s wife Marie, nee Helmke, died the previous year. Joachim and Marie’s children at the time of emigration were: Johann, age 10: Marie, age 8; Dorothea, age 5; and Carl, a newborn. Joachim and Marie’s baby son Johann Joachim, born in 1850, died in 1851. They settled near Cedarburg (Return to Section I: Niemann)

FROMM: Emigrated 1851. Johann & Johanna’s children at the time of emigration were: Sophia, age 6; John, age 4; Caroline, age nearly 3; and Charles, age 1. Little Caroline died on the voyage across the Atlantic. They settled in Barton Township near West Bend. (Return to Section I: Fromm(

LÜDERS: Emigrated 1854. Johann and Eva’s children at the time of emigration were: Johann Jr., age 27and his wife Freidericka Jaape, age 21 ; Joachim, age 25 and his wife, Henriette Mencke, age 23. Johann Jr. and Freidericka were married August 29, 1854 and the family group left for America three days later. They settled near Cedarburg. Joachim’s wife Henriette died and he remarried to Albertina Brüss. (Return to Section I: Lüders)

BRÜSS: Albertina emigrated with her brother(s) and their families in 1859. They settled near Jackson. The parents, Daniel & Helene were not a part of the emigration. Why Daniel and Helene did not accompany the children is not known. (Ret. to Sect I: Brüss)

CHART 2 THE NIEMANN FAMILY AFTER IMMIGRATION

(Return to Section I.Niemann)

Johann Niemann I (1792-1865) Born in Spornitz, Germany Died near Cedarburg, Wis.

Marie Helmke (1789-1851) Born & died in Spornitz, Germany

Johann’s wife, Marie, died the year before he left with his son Joachim for America. Johann and Marie had five children. The only one who lived beyond small childhood was Joachim. Johann died not long after the Civil War ended.

Johann I & Marie’s Son & Daughter-in-Law

Joachim Niemann (1818-1899)

Born in Spornitz, Germany

Died near Lockwood, Mo.

Dorothea Maria (aka Marie) Kogerup (1822-1908)

Born in Spornitz, Germany

Died near Merrill, Wis.

Joachim and Marie were aggressive. They pioneered five farms; one in Cedarburg, Wis., three near Hamburg (barely a hamlet), Wis., and finally with youngest son, Herman, in Lockwood, Missouri. Marie did not go along to Lockwood.

Joachim & Marie’s family
Johann Niemann II (1842-1922) Born in Spornitz, Germany Died near Cedarburg, Wis. Sophia Fromm (1845-1919) Born in Goldenbow, Germany Died near Cedarburg, Wis.	Johann II stayed on the pioneer farm in Cedarburg. Grandfather Johann I died in the fall of 1865, the Civil War had ended, and Joachim and Marie went north to pioneer more land.

Marie Niemann (1844-1887) John Helmke	Lived near Hamburg, Wis.

Dorothea Niemann (1847-1907) 1) Herman Roehl (d. 1881) 2) Beckman (1856-1938)	Lived near Hamburg, Wis.

Johann Joachim Niemann (1850-1851)	Died the year before the emigration.

Carl Niemann (1852-1939) Emelia Krause (1856-1947)	Carl and Emelia lived near Hamburg. Their daughter, Augusta, married Theodore Ebert and moved to Santa Cruz, Calif. Carl and Emelia eventually retired there, buying a city block with enough land for a small orchard, and a few farm animals.

Joachim Niemann (1854-1864)	Joachim is buried with his Grandfather, Johann I in a small pioneer cemetery in Cedarburg.

Alvina (Alwina) Niemann (1861-1928) Fred Fromm (1855-1934)	Alvina and Fred lived in the Hamburg area. Their sons became the largest silver fox farmers in the world, and at one point owned 100,000 acres in Northern Wis., for running foxes in the winter to develop prime pelts.

Herman Niemann (1864-1948) Helen Juedes	Joachim went with his youngest son, Herman, to pioneer yet another farm in his old age in Lockwood, Mo.

CHART 3 THE LÜDERS FAMILY AFTER IMMIGRATION

(Return to Section I Lüders)

Johann Lüders I. (1803-1877) Born in Spornitz, Germany, died near Cedarburg, Wis. Eva Dorothea Leitz (1799-1822) Born Amt. Neuhall, Germany, died near Cedarburg, Wis.

Johann I. & Eva’s Eldest Son & Daughter-in-Law

Johann Lüders II. (1827-1877) Born in Spornitz, Germany, died near Cedarburg, Wis. Freidericka Jaape (1833-1909) Born in Spornitz, Germany, died near Cedarburg, Wis.	Note that Johann I and Johann II died in the same year. Joachim had a farm of his own by then (purchased from his parents).

Johann II. & Freidericka’s Family

Wilhelmina Lüders (1855-1915) & Friedrich Mintzlaff

Johann Carl Lüders (1858-1926) & Eva Dietrich

Maria Lüders (1862-?) & Englebert Krohn

Augusta Lüders (1864-?) & Heinrich Wilhelmy

Johann Lüders (1866-1917) & Amanda Steffen

Emma Lüders (1869-1955) & Andrew Fromm

Bertha Lüders (1874-?) & Wilhelm Hartwig

Johann I & Eva’s Second Son & Daughters-in-Law

Joachim Lüders (1829-1899) Born in Spornitz, Germany Died near Cedarburg, Wis. & Henriette Mencke (1831-1863) Born in Spornitz (?) Germany Died near Cedarburg, Wis. Then Second Wife Albertina Brüss (1833-1906) Born in Trieglaff, near Greifenberg, Pomerania Died near Cedarburg, Wis.

Joachim & Henriette’s Family	Henriette died in 1863. All of their children were born on their farm near Cedarburg, Wis.

Johann Lüders (1855-1870)

Augusta Lüders (1857-1864)

Maria Lüders (1859-abt. 1864)

Joachim & Albertina’s Family	All of their children were born on their farm near Cedarburg, Wis.

Albertina Lüders (1864-1866)	.

Albert Lüders (1866-1929) & Mary Beckman

Otto Lüders (later Lueders) (1868-1945) & Anna Basemen

Wilhelm Lüders (later Lueder) (1871-1935) & Augusta Niemann (1874-1950)

Martha Lüders (1874-?) & Willie Mueller

CHART 4 THE FROMM FAMILY AFTER IMMIGRATION

(Return to Section I.Fromm)

Johann Fromm (1815-1892) Born in Goldenbow, Germany Died near West Bend, Wis. & Johanna Kludt (1817-1846) Born near Friederischsruhe, Germany Died near West Bend, Wis.	Johann & Johanna left Germany in their mid-30s with four little children, Sophia, John, Caroline, and Charles.

Johann & Johanna’s Family

Sophia Fromm (1845-1919) Born near Goldenbow, Germany, Died near Cedarburg, Wis. & Johann Niemann II (1842-1922) Born near Spornitz, Germany Died near Cedarburg, Wis.

John Fromm (1847-?) Born in Goldenbow, Germany Died in Iowa	John and Charles together farmed about 900 acres in Iowa.

Caroline Fromm (1848-1852) Born in Goldenbow, Germany Died at sea in the emigration voyage.

Charles Fromm (1850-?) Born in Goldenbow, Germany Died in Iowa

Henry Fromm (1853-?) Born near West Bend, Wis. Died probably in Milwaukee, Wis.	Henry married a Catholic girl and was shunned by his family.

Fred Fromm (1855-1934) Born near West Bend, Wis. Died near Hamburg, Wis. & Alvina (Alwina) Niemann (1861-1928) Born near Cedarburg, Wis. Died near Hamburg, Wis.	Fred and Alvina had very lively children. Their sons grew up to become fox farmers on a large scale.

William Fromm (1857-?) Born and Died near West Bend, Wis.	William took over his parents farm.

Andrew Fromm (1859-1946) Born near West Bend, Wis. Died near Cedarburg, Wis. & Emma Lüders (1869-1955) Born and Died near Cedarburg, Wis.	Andrew and Emma lived very near his sister, Sophia, and her husband, Johann Niemann.

CHART 5 JOHANN & SOPHIA NIEMANN FAMILY

(Return to Figure 20)

Johann & Sophia’s Family

John Nieman (1868-1945) 1) Anna Thesfeldt (1870-1892) 2) Martha Thesfeldt (1877-1947)	Anna died seven weeks after the wedding. John made a fortune beginning with a store and logging camp in the Wisconsin north woods lumbering, then canning factories in Cedarburg and Thiensville, Wis., banking, and fox farms with his Fromm cousins.

Charles Nieman (1869-1957) & Minnie Mintzlaff (1877-1958)	Charles and Minnie farmed on the pioneer farm that Grandfather Joachim and Grandmother Marie founded upon immigrating to America. Minnie was a granddaughter of Johann Lüders II.

Augusta Nieman (1874-1950) & William Lueder (1871-1935)	Augusta and William farmed on land purchased by William’s immigrant grandparents, Johann & Eva Lüders, which they sold to their younger son, Joachim, William’s father.

Alvina Nieman (1877-1961) & Albert Pipkorn	Alvina moved with her husband, Albert, to Hermansville, Michigan. Life was not easy for them.

CHART 6 WILLIAM & AUGUSTA LUEDER’S FAMILY

(Return to Figure 69)

HEIMAT – HOMELAND

Heimat (Homeland) for Niemann, Luders, & Fromm Families

The land in Mecklenburg bore a similarity to Cedarburg and to Northern Wisconsin: low, rolling, glaciated and arable land, many lakes, and a northern climate. All three families lived in Mecklenburg-Schwerin, near the sizeable city of Schwerin.

Spornitz, home of the Niemanns, was a tiny farm village. As was the custom, small farmers from the surrounding countryside chose to live in the village, rather than on their land. As a result, villages such as Spornitz were numerous and in close proximity to one another in order to give farmers ready access to their fields. A genealogical chart prepared by the Mormons shows broad and deep roots in Spornitz with many different maternal names clearly it had been a homeland for centuries. Spornitz was in the Grand Duchy (ruled by a Grand Duke) of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and the nearest (19 miles) large town was Schwerin, the capital of the Grand Duchy.

* * * * *

A description of Schwerin as it existed in 1905 is excerpted below:

Schwerin, a town of Germany, the capital of the grand duchy of Mecklenburg Schwerin, prettily situated at the S.W. corner of the lake of Schwerin (14 m. long and 3 1/2 m. broad), 129 m. by rail N.W. of Berlin, and 20 m. S. of the Baltic. Pop. (1905) 41,638. The town is closely surrounded and hemmed in by a by a number of lakelets, with high and well-wooded banks, and the hilly environs are occupied by meadows, woods and pretty villas.

The old and new towns of Schwerin were only united as one city in 1832; and since that date the suburb of St. Paul and another outer suburb known as the Vorstadt, have grown up.

Though Schwerin is the oldest town in Mecklenburg, its aspect is comparatively modern, a fact due to destructive fires, which have swept away most of the ancient houses. The most conspicuous of the many fine buildings is the ducal palace, a huge irregularly pentagonal structure with numerous towers, built in 1844 -1857 in the French Renaissance style. It stands on a small round island between Castle Lake and the lake of Schwerin, formerly the site of a Wendish fortress and of a later medieval castle, portions of which have been skillfully incorporated with the present building. The older and much simpler palace; the opera house, rebuilt after a fire in 1882; the government buildings, erected in 18251834 and restored in 1865 after a fire and the museum, in the Greek style, finished in 1882, comprising a fine collection of paintings of the 17th century Dutch school; all stand in the "old garden," an open space at the end of the bridge leading to the new palace.

Among the other secular buildings are the palace of the heir-apparent, built in 1779 and restored in 1878, the large arsenal, the ducal mews, the ducal library containing 180,000 volumes, the town hall, the artillery barracks and the military hospital. The cathedral was originally consecrated in 1248 though the present building a brick structure in the Baltic Gothic style, with an unfinished tower dates for the most part from the 15th century. Among other religious edifices are St. Paul's church, a Roman Catholic Church and a synagogue.

Schwerin is rich in educational institutions, which include a classical school, a veterinary college and a technical school. Since 1837 Schwerin has been once more the residence of the grand duke, and the seat of government, a fact, which has had considerable influence on the character of the town and the tone of its society. The chief industry is the making of furniture, and there are also some manufactures of dyes and soap.

Schwerin is mentioned as a Wendish stronghold in 1018, its name (Zwarin or Swarin) being a Slavonic word equivalent to "game-preserve." The Obotrite prince Niclot, whose statue is placed above the portal of the palace as the ancestor of the present reigning family, had his residence here. The town, found in 1161 by Henry the Lion in opposition to this pagan fortress, received civic rights in 1166. From 1170 to 1624 it gave name to a bishopric; and it was also the capital of the duchy of Schwerin, which forms the western part of the grand duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Destructive fires, the hardships of the Thirty-Years' War, and the removal of the court to Ludwigslust in 1756 seriously depressed the town. It owes its revival and many of its chief buildings to the grand duke Paul Frederick to whom a statue by Rauch was erected in 1859.

See Fromm, Chronik der Haupt und Residenzstadt Schwerin (Schwerin, 1863, revised and continued by G. Quade, 1892); G. Quade, Vaterlandskunde (Wismar, 1894); and Worl, Fuhrer durch Schwerin (1905).

Fromms

Johann’s and Johanna’s roots were also in the vicinity of Schwerin in several different villages. He and Johanna emigrated from Goldenbow. As with Spornitz, the terrain around Goldenbow strongly resembles the countryside around West Bend and around Cedarburg. No church remains in Goldenbow and none exists in nearby Friedrichsruhe, the home of Johanna Kludt who became Johanna Fromm.

Johann’s ancestral name was Danish – Frahm.

Map 5. Germany at the Time of Emigration: A Region, Not A Country - 1815 To 1866

During the emigration to Wisconsin in the 1850s, Germany was not a unified country. Indeed, from 1815 to 1866 German-speaking people lived in 39 different independent political entities having separate laws and governments. They included 5 kingdoms, 7 grand duchies, 10 duchies, 4 free cities, and various other bits and pieces.

Map 6. Mecklenburg and Part of Pommerania, 1815 – 1866, Enlargement of Map 5.

Schwerin (Lüders, Niemanns & Fromms) is just above the “C” in Mecklenburg. On the right side of the map, Trieglaff (Brüss) is not shown. It is roughly half way between Stettin on the Oder River (just below the first “M” in Pommerania) and Colberg on the coast.

Map 7 . Spornitz – Home of Lǘders & Niemanns, & Goldenbow, Home of Fromms

Figure 140 Heimat – Spornitz Home Church for the Lüders and Niemanns

The core of the church building is ancient; it was the setting for life’s great milestones for many generations. A roster on the wall honors those who died in the war against Napoleonic tyranny. Here, Niemanns’ and Lüders’ primeval course of life flows into the mists of German history.

Figure 141. Spornitz Church Sanctuary

The gentle light streaming into this humble hallowed sanctuary graced many family occasions. Here Minna Jaap was confirmed. Here she heard words of solace and sang ancient hymns of mourning during the funeral of both of her parents at a time near to her confirmation. In this same church she and Johann Lüders pledged their marriage vows on Tuesday, August 29, 1854, three days before sailing for America. Here in 1851 Johann Niemann grieved through funeral services for his wife and soon after, his infant grandson.

In this sturdy little church, and on the grounds around it in 1852 and again in 1854, the departing families would have been feted and bemoaned by their friends, neighbors and loved ones as they embarked on their formidable journey. The parting was forever.

Heimat For The Brüss Siblings

The Brüss siblings came from Trieglaff near Griefenberg in Pomerania. Pomerania was a political division of Prussia. It was not as rich agriculturally as Mecklenburg, had fewer small farms, and more great estates. The government was authoritarian, requiring universal military service and universal education. Unlike many other European countries at the time, commoners with ability could become senior officers in the military as well as senior civil servants.

Pomerania no longer exists. In 1945, near the end of World War II, the Russians conquered it and most of it was given to Poland as partial compensation for an equally huge territory the Russians took from Poland during the initial period of the war when they split Poland with Germany. Subsequent to the conclusion of World War II the German people within that region were forcibly removed from their homes and land, fleeing westward to what was later known as East Germany.

The small village of Trieglaff (now Tryzglow) near Griefenberg (now Gryfice) is similar to the little villages of Spornitz (Niemann & Lüders) and Goldenbow (Fromm) which lie far to the west except that Trieglaff is dominated by a palace - clearly the home of a Junker (Prussian aristocracy) family with enormous land holdings. The stables adjoining the palace are about three times the length of the early-mid 20^th Century dairy barns commonly seen in the Midwest. The mansion is much larger than any in existence in the Metropolitan Milwaukee region, and much larger than most antebellum plantation homes in the American South.

It is probable that the ancestors of the Brüss family were serfs not slaves, but not free either prior to the change in Prussian law regarding such matters around beginning of the 19th century. It can be reasonably inferred the free laborers on the estate were very poor. We do not know whether or not the parents, Daniel and Helene, were alive at the time of the emigration. It is likely that Daniel and Helene strained every conceivable resource to the limit in order to enable their adult children to emigrate to the New World where they, too, could own land.

Figure 142 Photo – Homes in Trieglaff - Modern Photo Showing the Small Cottages/Homes in the Village.

Figure 143 – Tiny Chapel in Trieglaff Modern Photo – One of the Smallest Churches this Writer has Seen – and Quite Neglected.

Figure 144 Palatial Manor House in the Trieglaff Hamlet.

* * * * *

Brief notes on Pomerania and Griefenberg, as of 1905 are provided below:

Pommerania (German, Pommern) , a territory of Germany and a maritime province of Prussia, bounded on the north by the Baltic, on the west by Mecklenburg, on the south by Brandenburg, and on the east by West Prussia. Its area is 11,630 square miles in the population in 1905 was 1,684,125 showing a density of 145 inhabitants to the square mile.

The province is officially divided into the three districts of Stralsund, Stettin, and Koslin but more historical interest attaches to the names of Vorpommern and Hinterpommern or Hither and Farther Pomerania, the former being applied to territory to the West and the latter to that to the east of the Oder. Pomerania is one of the flattest parts of Germany and although east of the Oder it is traversed by range of low hills, and there are also a few isolated eminencies to the West. Off the West Coast, which is very irregular, lie the islands of Rugin, Usedom, and Wollin; the coast of farther Pomerania is smooth in outline and is bordered with dunes, or sand banks.

Besides the Oder and its affluents, the chief of which are the Peene, the Ucker, and the Ihna, there are several smaller rivers flowing in the Baltic; a few these are navigable for ships but the greater number only carry rafts. Many of them in small lakes, which are separated from the sea by narrow strips of land, through which the water escapes by one or more outlets. The interior of the province is also thickly sprinkled with lakes, the combined surface of which is equal to about one twentieth of the entire surface.

The soil of Pomerania is for the most part thin and sandy, but patches of good land are found here and there. About 55 percent of the whole is under tillage, while 16 percent consists of meadow and pasture, and 21 percent is covered by forests.

The principal crops or potatoes, rye and oats, but wheat and barley are grown in the more fertile districts; tobacco, flax, hops, and beetroot are also cultivated. Agriculture is still carried on in a somewhat primitive fashion, and as a rule livestock is of an inferior quality, though the breed of horses, of a heavy build and mostly used in agriculture, is held in high esteem. Large flocks of sheep are kept, both for their flesh and their wool, and there are in the province large numbers of horned cattle and pigs. Geese and goose feathers formed lucrative articles of export. Owing to the long line of coast and the numerous lakes, fishing forms an important industry, and large quantities of herrings, eels and lampreys are sent from Pomerania to other parts of Germany.

With the exception of almost inexhaustible layers of peat, the mineral wealth of the province is insignificant. Its industrial activity is not great, but there are manufactures of machinery, chemicals, paper, tobacco and sugar; these are made chiefly in or near the large towns, while the linen weaving is practiced as a domestic industry. Shipbuilding is carried on at Stettin and at several places along the coast. The commerce of Pomerania is in a flourishing condition, its principal ports being Stettin, Stralsund, and Swinemunde.

Education is provided for by a university at Greifswald and by numerous schools. The province sends 14 members to the German Reichstag and 26 to the Prussian House of Representatives. The heir to the Prussian Crown bears the title of Governor of Pomerania.

Greifenberg, the town of Germany, in the Prussian province of Pomerania, on the Rega, 45 miles northeast of Stettin on the railway to Kolberg. Population (1905) 7,208. It has two evangelical churches (among them that of Saint Mary, dating from the 13th century), two ancient gateways, a powder tower, and a gymnasium. The manufacture of machines, stoves, and bricks are the principal industries. Greifenberg possessed municipal rights as early as 1262, and in the 14th and 15 centuries had a considerable shipping trade, but it lost much of its prosperity during the Thirty Years War. .

Map 8. Trieglaff

The Brǘss family was from the very small village of Treiglaff near Griefenberg in the Prussian province of Pomerania 70 miles northeast of the Oder River port of Stettin. On the map Griefenberg is shown as "Gryfice" and appears just above the circle identifying the location of Trieglaff. As a result of World War II, Trieglaff is now a part of Poland.

Map 9. Trieglaff is Now Trzyglow & Griefenberg is now Gryfice (Part of Poland Since WW II)

AUTHOR

Text Box: Harold W. Pfohl is the second son of Cordelia Lueder and Reverend John Pfohl, born in 1942. He spent many happy boyhood hours on the William Lueder farm with his uncles and aunts. He has a lifelong passion for photography and history. In the 1970s he began to take notes of tales told around the dinner table in the Lueder farmhouse – the gathering place for the Lueder siblings. These tales were usually raucous and almost invariably funny but also contained a great deal of oral history. He began to copy old photos as well. As word got out that he was interested in pictures that had long been gathering dust in various attics, relatives became interested and produced many images from long ago that were of great interest.

Some selected photos were used for two exhibitions in the 1990s plus Wisconsin’s Sesquicentennial Celebration. Dr. Robert Teske, Director of the Milwaukee County Historical Society suggested showing the work to Dr. Joseph Salmons, then head of the Max Kade Institute of the University of Wisconsin. Both men suggested that the work should be put in book format. This tome is the result.

Writing illustrated books on historical matters is not the author’s forte and he makes no pretense that it is anything other than the labor of an amateur which is done for the love of it. He obtained a BS in Chemical Engineering at the U of Wis., and an MBA from Dartmouth. He has spent most of his post MBA career engaged in commercial real estate transactions in the Washington DC region. He is now retired.

INDEX

Alvina Niemann................................. 4

Arndt............................................... 34

Arthur Dauss.................................. 154

Automobile

Hot-rod....................................... 119

Automobile problems

electrical - salt water................... 122

stuck.......................................... 117

wet ignition................................ 116

wreck.......................................... 120

Automobile travel

Cost - travelling cheap................. 121

Barn fire

remnants.................................... 136

Barn Fire

1890s............................................ 55

frightened animals........................ 55

Barn raising

barn dance.................................. 139

Bathing Beauties............................ 124

beer and church................................ 51

Behrens, Rev. Walter...................... 158

Birth

Cordelia Lueder........................... 105

Lester Pipkorn............................. 104

Brüss............................................... 20

Bull to the butcher......................... 144

Carnival - Milwaukee.................. 76, 77

Carrots........................................... 145

Cedarburg

appearance - 1865......................... 17

Cedarburg Traffic Jam................. 64, 65

change

early 20th Cent............................. 97

CHART 1 - THE EMIGRANTS & DESCENDANTS ii

CHART 2 THE NIEMANN FAMILY AFTER IMMIGRATION iii

CHART 3 THE LÜDERS FAMILY AFTER IMMIGRATION v

CHART 4 THE FROMM FAMILY AFTER IMMIGRATION viii

CHART 5 JOHANN & SOPHIA NIEMANN FAMILY x

CHART 6 WILLIAM & AUGUSTA LUEDER’S FAMILY xi

Chicago World’s Fair...................... 113

Chickens

Glenrose Heckendorf with a flock 149

Childbirth....................................... 173

Christmas....................................... 160

Chrysler......................................... 112

Church

Sunday best................................ 159

Confirmation

Cordelia & Viola Lueder.............. 161

cooked cheese

alcoholic husband......................... 57

Cordelia Lueder

Peanuts for Pa............................. 160

Cows - herding............................... 134

Death

Hortensia Lueder......................... 107

Lester Pipkorn............................. 106

Raymond Lueder......................... 108

deforestation

lumbering - northern Wis.............. 62

Dorothea Marie Niemann................... 5

Dorothea Marie Niemann nee Kogerup 4

Drain Tile....................................... 135

Equal opportunity

women shingling........................ 143

Flappers.......................................... 118

fox farm......................................... 146

Fromm

Indian troubles & fear................... 25

marraiges...................................... 25

the hated well............................... 25

Fromm Brothers

Silver fox fur farms....................... 37

Fromm Family

excluding Henry........................... 24

Fromm, Alvina nee Niemann.............. 5

Fromm, Andrew

shotgun marraige.......................... 26

Fromm, Fred (Fritz).......................... 25

Fromm, Johanna

Nieman grandaughters.................. 41

Fromm, John

civil war....................................... 26

Fromm, Sophie

courtship...................................... 34

Fromms visit Niemanns

wedding - Alvina & Albert Pipkorn? 70

Goldenbow....................................... 25

Grain

binding....................................... 128

blowing grain into the granery..... 132

Cooks for threshing crews........... 133

Loading bundles.......................... 129

Straw stack - 1928....................... 131

Threshing - 1927......................... 130

Griefenberg...................................... 20

Grist Mill

wind powered - 1872..................... 18

headache

Not tonight, dear.......................... 86

Heckendorf..................................... 138

Heckendorf, Arthur

chaperon..................................... 170

Heimat (Homeland) for Niemann, Luders, & Fromm Families xiii

Heimat For The Brüss Siblings xx

Herman Niemann............................... 4

high school..................................... 155

Horse

Otto Lueders................................. 58

Immanuel Lutheran church

first church................................... 15

Immanuel Lutheran Church

new church - cost......................... 16

Jaap, Wilhelmina................................ 9

Joachim Niemann.............................. 4

Junkyard

John Nieman goes home............... 63

Kirchhayn........................................ 20

Lamb

Cordelia's runt, Snookums........... 148

Landholding

Bruss............................................ 22

Fromm pioneer farm..................... 30

Niemann & Luders....................... 19

Niemann, Luders, Bruss - modern map 23

limousine

1901............................................. 90

Lockwood, Missouri........................... 8

Luders, Albert.................................. 10

Luders, Albertina nee Bruss.............. 10

Luders, Eva Dorothea nee Leitz

death............................................ 12

Luders, Henrietta Marie nee Mencke... 9

Luders, Henrietta nee Mencke

death............................................ 11

Luders, Joachim................................. 9

death............................................ 11

Luders, Joachim,

Joachim's farm Deed..................... 13

Luders, Joachim, Immanuel Lutheran church

fund raising.................................. 11

Luders, Johann Jr......................... 9, 12

Luders, Johann Sr.

death............................................ 12

Lüders, Johann, Sr............................. 9

Luders, Otto

(aka Lueders)................................ 10

Luders, Wilhelmina nee Jaap............ 12

Luders, William

(aka Lueder)................................. 10

Lueder home

Irish stone work............................ 46

Lueder, Augusta

grandchildren - 1939................... 189

Lueder, Edgar and Alice Heckendorf 167

Lueder, Elda

Immanuel Lutheran School......... 154

Lueder, Marcella

Alice's baby................................. 188

Lueder, William

death.......................................... 185

Lueder, William and Augusta

children...................................... 100

Lueders,Joachim

death notice............................ 87, 88

Mecklenburg. 3, 9, xiii, xiv, xvi, xx, xxii

Miller, Martha nee Luders................. 10

Music Circle..................................... 74

Nieman

Alvina, Big Gusta, Little Gusta..... 39

Nieman, Alvina

wedding to Alberrt Pipkorn........... 89

Nieman, Augusta

confirmation........................... 82, 83

seamstress.................................... 40

Nieman, Carl

John & Charlie visit.................... 114

Nieman, Charlie

photography................................. 32

Nieman, Charlie

Farm Accounts............................. 51

Nieman, Johann

courtship...................................... 34

Nieman, Johann, and Sophie

family........................................... 38

Nieman, John..................................... 6

financial beginnings...................... 60

lumbering..................................... 61

Niemann Home

pioneer structure........................... 42

Niemann, Dorothea Marie.................. 3

death.............................................. 8

Niemann, Herman.............................. 8

Niemann, Joachim.......................... 3, 6

death.............................................. 8

Niemann, Johann I............................. 3

Niemann, Johann II............................ 3

Oder River........................................ 20

Old Lutherans.................................. 20

Overland................................. 111, 112

Party

1896 - John Mintzlaff's birthday.... 73

1899............................................. 72

peritonitis....................................... 179

Piano............................................... 75

Poland.............................................. 20

Pomerania........................................ 20

religious dispute

Bruss............................................ 20

Henry Fromm - catholic convert.... 28

Robert Krause................................. 138

Roehl, Herman Jr............................. 71

Samson tractor............................... 140

junkyard..................................... 141

Sawmill............................................ 53

School

Immanuel Lutheran.................... 156

Schwerin.............. 3, 9, 24, xiii, xiv, xvi

Seeding Peas

horsemeat..................................... 52

Sherman School............................. 152

Silage............................................. 150

Snowstorm

1936........................................... 125

Spornitz 3, 9, 12, 15, xiii, xiv, xvii, xviii, xix, xx

Stettin.............................................. 20

stovepipe

collapse....................................... 160

Strassburger

Chicken Feed................................ 81

Rev. Ernst & wife Freda.......... 79, 80

Teacher salary................................. 154

Thesfeldt, Annie

typhoid......................................... 84

Threshing

1899............................................. 54

Township Board

Cedarburg - 1900.......................... 56

Travel

doing laundry.............................. 123

Treiglaff........................................... 20

Wedding - Renata Lueder

cows........................................... 162

electric generator......................... 162

Morning after.............................. 165

Sears - Wedding bed.................... 162

Sears - Wedding dress.................. 162

skunk......................................... 162

Whippet......................................... 112

whooping cough............................. 107

[1] A large national forest exists in the immediate vicinity of Spornitz. This is likely the same forest referred to above and may have been owned/controlled by the Herzog (Duke) von

A wISCONSIN
CHRONICLE

A COUNTRY TALE OF gERMAN-AMERICA

FROM THE 1850s TO THE 1930s

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & SOURCES

LIST OF MAPS

LIST OF FAMILY TIES – CHARTS

PREFACE

PROLOGUE - EMIGRATION FROM GERMANY

I. PIONEERS & SETTLERS

Niemann

Lüders

Brüss

Fromm

II. TAKING ROOT

II. TAKING ROOT

A. Families and Homes

B. Daily Life

C. Social Life

D. Religion and Rites of Passage

III EARLY 20TH CENTURY

III. EARLY 20TH CENTURY

A. Joy And Sorrow

B. The Automobile And Social Life

C. Making a Living

D. Education

E. Religion And Rites Of Passage

F. A Country Love Story, Edgar Lueder And Alice Heckendorf

EPILOGUE

appendix

FAMILY TIES – CHARTS

HEIMAT – HOMELAND

Heimat (Homeland) for Niemann, Luders, & Fromm Families

Heimat For The Brüss Siblings

AUTHOR

INDEX

FERTIG DA MIT

A wISCONSIN CHRONICLE

FROM THE 1850s TO THE 1930s

PROLOGUE - EMIGRATION FROM GERMANY

Brüss

Heimat For The Brüss Siblings

FERTIG DA MIT

A wISCONSIN
CHRONICLE