Niklaus (my Great-Great Grandfather), Johannes, and Daniel Fankhauser came
to Monroe County in the early 1800's. I am presenting this for those who may be
descendants of the three brothers and have not had access to the letters. Note: Niklaus
and Daniel came to Monroe County in 1819, and Johannes arrived in 1824.
After Niklaus had settled into his new home he wrote a letter concerning
his voyage and journey to Ohio as well as his settling and the first year or so in his new
home. This letter was sent to Switzerland and later came into the hands of some of the
American descendants. This is the translation from the original letter by Rev. F. G.
Knauer of Nelson, Ne. This translation was first published in September, 1915 by Nicholas'
great-grandson F. A. Scherzinger, Editor of the Nelson Gazette and under the title
"Lest We Forget." The following is being copied from "The Fankhausers of
Monroe County Ohio" compiled By Miriam K. Fankhauser.
LEST WE FORGET
Mr. Nusperli of Aaru, who has returned from the United States of North
America to come after his parents and relatives, brought with him letters to several
persons in Bern and vicinity, from their emigrated friends and acquaintances. The letters
were written by Nicolaus Fankhauser, a carpenter of Trub, who with Mr. Steiger, left in
the year 1819 and settled afterwards in the commonwealth of Ohio. The most important parts
of these letters we will give to our readers. In May of that year, this company of our
emigrants embarked with many people of Wirtemberg, the latter being noted for their
poverty and lack of tidiness; also Prussians, Dutch and French 200 persons in number.
The ship was one of three masts and sailed from Antwerp and the journey
across the water was a happy one. When a few days after their departure, Mr. Fankhauser's
brother's wife gave birth to a baby boy, the captain and steersmen gave her many presents
of provisions and she got as good care as if she had been on land. When the ship came to
about the 46th parallel, it encountered much rain and snow. The waves went
pretty high, however not as high as some travelers in Switzerland had reported, like the
"Gurten" or "Niesen," yet they must have been twenty-five or
thirty-five feet. One washed across the deck and Mr. Fankhauser was thrown to the floor.
He acknowledged that he would not be a sailor for all the wealth in the world, although he
would rather cross the ocean twice than sail down the Rhine once. After the travelers had
been overtaken by several days of fog, one of them, Mr.Christian Martin of Limpach, on the
morning of the 20th of July, climbed up onto the middle mast and he saw land.
It seemed like a small hill that rose out of the sea. All present hurried now on deck in
order to see the new world. One hill after another rose out of the waves and at last they
could see trees and the lighthouse of New York. After a journey of sixty-six days, they
anchored there in the harbor. When the doctors came on board the next day and examined the
ship's company, they were much surprised to find that the register had increased by two
persons; also that no one was sick and many of them were lively and strong. Fankhauser and
his company went to Ambai, twenty miles (six hours) from New York, where a rich German
planter received them and furnished them with the necessities for the continuation of
their journey.
They bought four oxen and two wagons, upon one of which they loaded the
baggage and upon the other, the women and children. (They were altogether seven families
and had thirty-two children.) On the 6th of August they began their 600-mile
journey to the interior. They came through the states of Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia
and Ohio. In Jestown where there is a long bridge over the Delaware River, they found two
families of linen weavers (Perhaps one of these families were the Minemyer family?) from
Aargau who had hired out for two years and had still two months to serve. In
thePennsylvania city of Reading, Mr. Fankhauser met Jacob Antene at work on the street.
There were in this city also several other Swiss families who are making a good living. In
Bethlehem, our travelers were received in an extremely friendly and humane way. The good
people provided them with straw hats in order that they might better withstand the heat,
loaded their wagons with potatoes, bacon and ham, and presented the children with nick
nacks so that they did not want to eat any more bread. When Fankhauser came into a village
or city with the wagon full of children, he was stopped by the people that he could hardly
get away and always he had to be on the lookout whether all the little ones were there. It
is told that there are here many pople who have no children and when they adopt or buy
one, it is the law that boys must work for them until twenty years of age. They are,
however, sent to school and instructed in religion. At the completion of their time
service, the boys receive $100, one horse, one plow, two cows and four sheep. The girls
who have to serve until the 18th year, receive the same amount of money, some
stock, one bed, kitchen utensils, etc.
"I have," continues Mr. Fankhauser, "seen no beggar in this
land, except when I looked into the mirror." On the 19th of August we came
to Lebanon. Here I found a wealthy merchant formerly of Frutigen, by the name of Jacob
Rumpf. We camped a mile from the city beside a creek. The people brought us clothes and
provisions as if they had expected us. From here we went to Somerset, a nice city with
three churches, a Bible Society and two print shops. Here I found Mr. Krayenbuhl of Trub,
who is a brewer and gave me commission, when I would write, to greet the clerk of Langnau
and the honorable congregation of Trub, in his name. A few miles from here there live
certain Fankhausers who came from Trub, but who are a good deal richer now than their
entire village at home.
"Near the city of Strasberg we came to the Alleghany Mountains, a
triple chain of mountains which rise one after another, but are not very high. In Bedford,
a city something like Burgderf, we sold our wagons and oxen whose feet had become sore
from the long journey, and went to the Ohio, via Washington, where we took the boat.
Twenty miles down stream we found a river as large as the Emme, flowing into the Ohio, and
a well-improved valley, where we planned to spend the winter. We settled on Congress Land
(land which belongs to the Federal Government.) It was now the end of October and I built
myself a small shack that we might have a roof over us, but planned to build a larger one.
We were now three families on this land and the other four went into the valley, where
they soon found work. Myself, Jacob Tuscher and Bendicht Schneider also found work, but it
did not last long. We received per day, 100 pounds of flour and 10 pounds of bacon.
Christian Ruegsegger who had traveled by way of France, also arrived at this time. With
the beginning of winter, a neighboring landowner, Mr. Spraut, offered to give me twenty
acres upon which I could live for three years, if I would keep up the fences. Here I found
three old shacks and a small barn, almost tumbled down, which I built up again. There were
two acres of volunteer wheat which yielded twenty bushels. I planted potatoes, wheat and
hemp and kept enough in pasture so I could feed my cows.
Two days before Christmas, 1820, while I had gone to town in order to buy
a spinning wheel, I had the misfortune to lose my house with all belongings, through a
fire. But my good neighbors fitted me out liberally. I received whole dressed hogs, flour,
clothing and bedding, and inside of two days they had built me two small houses. Soon I
moved into my new home and worked as before. Put in four acres of wheat, six of corn and a
little hemp. But we had a dry summer. All the mills stood still. From the 6th
of June till the 15th of August there was not a drop of rain. Things matured
early, but there was not much yield. But we experienced no scarcity, for here everybody
has enough in store for reserve. The year 1822 was so blest that we had not room to store
the yield. I had 200 bushels of grain. In stock I now owned two horses, five cows and the
number of sheep I do not know, for they run in the woods. I and my son Nicolaus earned
this summer in three weeks, two cows by building chimneys. The cows are as large as those
in Switzerland and give just as much and as good milk. My brother Daniel and I have taken
a contract to open a tunnel through a hill in order to run a mill. The job is 80 feet long
and we are promised $180.00. We hope to finish it in two months. This labor is to be paid
in silver, most other work is paid for in cattle or provisions on account of the scarcity
of cash. Nearly all trade is done in exchange. Trading boats come up the rivers. Their
arrival is announced through messengers and they exchange various merchandise for grain,
meat, cheese, butter, feathers, wool, sugar and cloth. Among these boats are many steam
boats which are run by fire. I live a mile from the Ohio and see such boats pass most
every day.
The large grain dealers buy many thousands of bushels and go with it to
New Orleans. They pay everything in silver. Land here is so rich that it needs no
fertilizer. Trees grow very rapidly. Peach trees bear in the third year; apple trees the
fourth or fifth. The country is richly provided with fruit and there is much cider made.
Americans are lazy. Hunting and fishing is their most beloved occupation, and hunting wild
bees to rob them of their honey. The woods literally crawl with bees and I can detect no
difference between wild and tame honey. I have a great many sugar maple trees, but have
not yet made a pound of sugar from them. We live on milk, cereals and garden vegetables,
and are thereby extremely healthy and well. I have now nine children around me and rejoice
over them with all my heart. For here, you don't have to hear, "I cannot rent you my
dwelling, you have too many children." Nay rather, here, the more children, the
richer the man is considered. Land is here very cheap. An acre (45,000 ft.) for $1.25 for
Congress or Government land. But they will not sell less than a quarter or 80 acres.
Rental is also cheap at two dollars per acre. Or for the ninth bundle, or for the third,
in which case, however, the renter receives all stock, tools, etc., furnished. Whoever
does not want to rent, can settle on Congress land and rent out half of his quarter. He
needs but ot go to the officials, buy a patent which cost four dollars, and gets the land
for a term of eight or ten years, and then he is assured of his property. The Government
has arranged it so that the poorest man can obtain some property and so the land is being
settled. In the United States there is the same weight, measure and money. A bushel is two
measure, the pound is a little smaller than the Swiss pound, but the foot is half an inch
longer. A dollar contains 100 cents (Centimes or sous) 36 1\2 batzen Bern money. The means
of living are very cheap. Laborers are paid half in cash and half in provisions. But
artisans wages are high. A carpenter receives $1.50; so also a mason. A well digger
receives $2.25 a day, and board is always included in these wages. A shoemaker asks half a
dollar for a pair of shoes and a tailor charges from two to five dollars for a dress. Girl
spinners, knitters, and seamstresses are also well paid and can earn daily about half a
dollar. Work on the farm is not as hard as in Switzerland. Grain is tramped out with
horses on a threshing floor, then winnowed. No hoe is carried into the field. No rake is
used in haying, and what one does not get with the fork is left to rot. Hay and grain is
stacked in the field. Sunday is observed very quietly, although there are as yet no
churches. The ministers travel over the country and preach here and there in which they
are supported by their congregations. Once in six weeks one comes around who baptizes the
children, and these are then brought up in the Reformed Church. I think often of the times
when the church bells called me from all the steeples to divine service and gave them so
little heed. But now I see how Americans come twenty and thirty miles in order to hear the
work of God.
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