This collection contains translations of hundreds of letters documenting German immigration and settlement, family life in the nineteenth century, and the relationship between members of the family still in Europe and those who had settled in the United States. The correspondence is that of educated Germans and reflects both their activities and their views on the world around them. It concerns the courtship of Wilhelm and Dora; the life of a minister's family in Germany in the first quarter of the nineteenth century; German student life and politics in the 1820s; courtship in New York in the 1830s; higher education; an immigrant's view of New York, Pennsylvania, and the South; and settlement on the Wisconsin frontier in the 1840s. The collection documents family life in Germany and America; the strong economic ties between Germans in the Old World and those in the United States; politics in Wisconsin and Germany; the homefront during the Civil War, the Seven Weeks War, and the Franco Prussian War; liberal German attitudes about life, religion, and politics; and expressions of joy and sorrow.
It begins with courtship letters between Wilhelm Lehmann (1771-1824) and Demoiselle Dora Overhoff (1772-1825). In 1796 Dora (short for Theodora) Overhoff lived in Ostonnen and Wilhelm Lehmann was a young pastor in Werdhol. By 1800 Wilhelm and Dora have married. He then holds pastoral posts in Ronsahl and in Lennep, where he spends the rest of his career. Between 1800 and 1809 the collection consists simply of a letter announcing the birth of Friedrich Wilhelm Lehmann, son of Wilhelm and Dora (hereafter to be referred to as Wilhelm, Jr.) and announcements of Wilhelm, Sr.'s appointment to different pastorates in Germany. A brief letter, a birthday greeting from Wilhelm, Jr. to his father, and a letter apparently to Wilhelm, Sr. from his mother, Helena Walther in 1810, round out the correspondence from this early period.
The letters then jump to 1818, and a series primarily written by Wilhelm, Jr. to his parents and occasionally his sister Julia while he was studying theology in Lemgo, Bonn, and Tubingen. The letters during this time are full of family news and news of his studies. In 1822 an extended series of letters describes Wilhelm, Jr.'s tour of Italy, including Padua, Rome, Venice, and Milan. By April 1824, Wilhelm, Sr. has passed away after a long illness, and the letters reflect the family's grief. In the same month, Wilhelm, Jr. was arrested for radical student activities and was sentenced to ten years in prison. His letters between April 1824 and December 1825 reflect a none too harsh prison life while he studies for his examinations. By December 1825 he is in the fortress at Julich from whence he escapes and travels to London.
Between 1826 and 1845, the correspondence is almost exclusively between Wilhelm, Jr. and his sister, Julia, who is in Germany (Wilhelm, Jr.'s mother died in 1825 while he was in prison). The letters during this time period reflect his life in Albany, New York, Pittsfield, Pennsylvania, and Athens, Georgia. During this time he teaches French at a ladies academy in New York, becomes acquainted with the Van Vechten family and his wife-to-be Harriet Van Vechten, and by 1829 is teaching classical languages at a Pittsfield preparatory school. In 1831 he accepts a position as professor of classical languages at the University of Georgia in Athens. During the next fourteen years, Wilhelm, Jr. enjoys his life as a professor in Georgia. He travels through the south commenting on the region, likens Athens to a German spa town, and comments on Nat Turner's rebellion, the national cholera epidemic of the early 1830s, and the general abomination of slavery. In 1845 the University is in financial difficulties and Wilhelm Lehmann is laid off. He returns to Germany, having been pardoned in 1842, then returns to the United States in 1847. By 1848 Wilhelm, Jr. had purchased land in Hustisford and was ready to settle on the farming frontier of Wisconsin.
Correspondence between 1850 and 1881 is between Wilhelm, Jr., his wife Harriet, and their daughter Catherine, on the one hand and Wilhelm's sister, Julia Holterhoff, and her husband, Matthias. It is clear that Catherine Lehmann traveled to Germany as a young girl and developed a very warm and personal relationship with her Aunt Julia. The letters cover family affairs, politics, and the economy. The letters are particularly useful at documenting the long-term economic relationship between members of the family in Germany and members in the United States. The letters also discuss local conditions in Wisconsin, the plummeting of Plank Road stock in 1853 due to the development of the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad, a scarlet fever epidemic in 1854, and the coming of the Civil War. From the German side, letters reflect Matthias' hostility to Prussia and the German reaction to the Civil War.
During the Civil War, there are very few letters from Wisconsin. Most of the letters are written by Julius Lehmann, son of Wilhelm and Harriet; by Emil Mayer, a nephew of Wilhelm's in New York and Cincinnati; and by Catherine, Julia, and Matthias. Julius dies in 1864 and letters from Germany express condolences to the family. Emil also offers condolences on Julius' death and comments on the impact of guerrilla raids on the Union forces. One letter in March of 1865 from a J. D. Goodrich to Miss Lehmann comments “Many of the first families have had to leave their homes on account of the Negroes. They are behaving shamefully towards the ladies, even those who had always treated them kindly.” Goodrich was stationed at the time at Cambahee Ferry, South Carolina.
After the Civil War there are long stretches of time for which there are relatively few letters from Wisconsin. Letters written by Julia and Matthias not only discuss family affairs, but also German annexations after the Seven Weeks War, their reaction to the Franco Prussian War, and news of German-American support for the Franco Prussian War. Although Julia and Matthias are not in full sympathy with Bismarck, it is very clear that they take great pride in the unification of Germany and the development of the modern German nationstate. In addition, a letter from Julia to Wilhelm comments on news about the disastrous fires in Chicago and northeastern Wisconsin (Peshtigo).
Letters from Wisconsin during this time period focus on family affairs and the local economy. Of particular note are letters regarding a flood in Neosho where the family had a mill. In the late 1870s the collection documents the onset of old age amongst Wilhelm, Harriet, Julia, and Matthias. By the late 1870s, Harriet has suffered a stroke and dies in late May or early June of 1881. Less than a month later, Wilhelm Lehmann also passes away. In the final exchange of letters between Catherine and Julia, it is clear that Matthias also has died, and Julia is suffering from a variety of maladies of old age. Her final letter in 1881 provides an excellent view of attitudes about death. She reflects upon the death of Catherine's parents, the role of photographs in remembering relatives who have passed on, and her own reactions to the death of her husband Matthias.
