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| Kurztitel |
Salute to German Pioneers |
| Autor |
Dale Moseman Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Veröffentlicht durch |
The Oakland Independent, 04 NOV 1993 |
| Quellen-Kennung |
S21118 |
| Text |
My great-great-grandparents, Johann Diedrich Moseman and Anna Behrens, got married in northern Germany in 1852, living at Elmeloh.
During the winter, he was a cabinet maker, but in the summer, he was a well-paid ship's carpenter. On a summer trip to Greenland, the ocean waters froze over before the crew could return, so they
waited until spring.
Eventually, they ran out of provisions, and he had to eat Eskimo food all winter long.
America-Bound In Germany, the young men were trained to be soldiers and were required to serve in the Prussian army.
The people had no voice in the government, so avoiding conscription was courageous.
The family decided to immigrate to "free land" of the American West.
Johann, Anna and their four sons--plus Anna's youngest sister, Lena--sailed across the Atlantic Ocean by ship to New York City.
They took a train to Buffalo and went slowly by boat and on to Newton, Iowa.
The trains averaged 20 mph, were smoky and sooty, and there were no sleeping or dining cars.
The Havekosts... One-and-a-half years earlier, Herman Havekost and his wife, Beta Behrens, and their two sons had come to Newton, Iowa. (Herman had also been a ship's carpenter in northern Germany, Beta was the younger Behrens sister.
After a three-week stay in Iowa, the Mosemans and the Havekosts bought teams and two covered wagons for their possessions.
They came west on the old Mormon "hand cart" trail, reaching the
Missouri River over a week later.
Then they ferried across the river to Florence in the new state of
Nebraska.
On the Oregon Trail to Fremont, they continued to cook and camp
along the wayside until arriving in the Logan Creek area north of
Hooper.
Renounced Old Country Johann and Anna settled in the Admah area in
Sheridan township of Washington County, near Little Bell Creek
stream.
Herman and Beta settled in Logan township in Dodge County.
Their prairie schooners served as dwellings until they could build
their "claim shacks".
On March 16, 1868, in Omaha, Johann Diedrich Moseman declared his
intent to become a U.S. citizen by renouncing the Grand Duke of
Oldenburg and his country.
The soldiers from Ft. Calhoun provided protection to the early
settlers of the territory. The Mosemans got their mail via a U.S.
Calvary horseback rider from the fort until Admah's post office
opened in 1874.
Built Claim Shack Johann Diedrich broke a little prairie sod and
built a small "claim shack" from trees growing along the Missouri
River.
This "sodbuster" plowed the tall grass prairie and cultivated 65
acres of land. The orchard was 4 1/2 acres of fruit and forest.
Mid-winter, on January 29, 1869, inside the "shack" on the
settlement near Admah, Anna's first birth was to a boy--the
namesake Johann.
During those cold winters, "cow chips", corn cobs, wood and even
corn stalks were burned to keep warm.
When the U.S. Congress passed the Homestead Act in 1862, it opened
up 40% of Nebraska's land to be claimed by homesteaders. On March
4, 1869, Johann Diedrich Moseman paid $14.00 for his homestead
application at the land office in Omaha.
$800 for 80 Acres On May 15, 1869, the family moved into a house
that Johann Diedrich had built.
It was a shingled one-story house, 13 X 18 feet, and it had 3 doors
and 5 windows. He also built a board frame stable that was larger,
22 X 40 feet.
The 1870 U.S. Census shows that the 80 acres of land was valued at
$800 and their personal property valued at $980.
Anna 37, kept house for Johann Diedrich, 48; Heinrich, 15; Herman,
12, Arndt, 9: Diedrich, 6; and Johann, 1.
The next children were born in the spring time; Bernard in 1870 and
Annie in 1871.
The community of Admah had a general store, a creamery, a
blacksmith shop and a barber shop by 1870.
5c/Dozen Eggs could be carried 1 1/2 miles to the store--getting 5
cents per dozen in trade.
When the post office opened in 1874, mail was brought in by
horseback from Herman, Nebraska.
Two pioneer physicians from Ft. Calhoun rode the area on horseback
with saddlebags carrying liquid bottled medicine that tasted
horrible.
Johann Diedrich was declared a U.S. citizen on May 25, 1874, giving
citizenship to his family and their descendants. He purchased 32
acres of private sod for $5 per acre and planted it to wheat.
The wheat was hauled 40 miles by team and wagon to the Renard flour
mill at Elkhorn City, Nebraska.
Grasshopper Attack Anna gave birth to a girl, Lena, in the fall of
1874.
On Saturday, August 11, 1875, the corn that had reached shoulder
high was eaten to the ground by grasshoppers in one day.
The slickened railroad tracks stopped trains, and farmers had to
pay 60% interest to procure new seed grain.
By 1876, the 46 school districts in Washington County employed 74
teachers and enrolled 2,323 students.
Brandert country school #34 had 21 pupils in attendance in 1873--
but no privies.
2-Year Mail In October of 1877 the "New Oldenburg" church records
the deaths of three children, Diedrich, Bernard and Annie.
In the winter of 1881, Johann Diedrich died of dropsy. He was laid
to rest in the Logan Cemetery near Winslow on a hill overlooking
the creek that had become his vision of America.
The 48-year-old widow, Anna, gave birth for the 12th time to a
girl, Mary Betty, one month after her husband's death.
The final homestead patent was received by mail in Admah on April
26, 1883--over two years after his death!
Hmmmm.."free land"? by Dale Moseman
To send an e-mail message to the author of this article, click on
his e-mail address.
dalemoseman@webtv.net
Moseman, J. D. |
| Verknüpft mit |
Behrens, Adelheid
Behrens, Anna
Behrens, Rebecka Margareta
Havekost, Hermann
Masemann = Moseman, Johann Diedrich |
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