History of the Ohio Valley and its Capital City
Cincinnati in Particular
By
Emil Klauprecht
Translated by Dale V. Lally, Jr
Edited by Don Heinrich Tolzmann\par
Heritage Books, Inc
Chapter 29 The period from 1848 to 1860
Development and expansion of German culture in the Ohio Valley. - Its struggles and achievements
Through the efforts of its pioneers, the German life in Cincinnati already acquired had a firm basis, when the movements of 1848 and 49 brought a new era.
There was countless emigration which filled the areas of Switzerland, France and England. The unlucky ones came from all the provinces of Germany. Whoever had stood on the banicades in Vienna against the Black and Gold League and fought against the Szerencs of Jellachich, whoever from Prussia fled from Wrangel’s and Brandenburg’s soldiers; anyone in Dresden defending the Imperial constitution with arms, whoever took the field as a republican soldier in Baden against the combined army of princes - regardless of whether they were Liberal, Democrat, Republican or Socialist. Members of the most diverse political persuasions and interests were all united in the same exile and misery. But these immigrants were to receive a better welcome than the German pilgrims of the 20s and 30s. Rather than a simple marketplace passing itself off as a city, the newcomers found a thriving and rich capital city of commerce and industry, whose exports ran into 65 million dollars, where the German heart greeted the essence of the Fatherland in a thousand forms, and where the German ethic was presented with an opportunity for rapid advancement in the numerous business opportunities founded by it. The population of Cincinnati was then 111,435 souls, of whom 33,530 were Germans (that figure itself probably too conservative). If one includes the Germans living in the precincts, that number would probably increase to 50,000.
In London, Marx, Blind, and other refugees published a plea to the Germans in North America to support these hard pressed immigrants. Collections were taken up in Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Louisville and met with great success.
Just how much the property values increased is indicated in a note from W. B. Barr, on whose land many German citizens settled. In the year 1811, his father had paid $33.50 per acre. If calculated according to $30 a foot, this totals $9,304,000 and does not include the buildings.
Their increase continued according to the immigration. German immigration in 1821 was 2200 souls. Until 1830 there was only one year where that figure increased to 15,000 souls. In 1832 it rose to 24,000, and in 1837 to 34,000. However in 1843 it fell again to 23,000. Yet, after that, it grew swiftly. In 1844, Germany sent approximately 44,000 immigrants. In 1845, 67,000 and in the famine years of 1846 & 47 more than 106,000. In 1848,49 and 50, during the years of revolution and banishment, there were 80,000 to 90,000; and in 1851 more than 113,000. It has been estimated that the capital brought by these settlers totaled $80,000.
A large segment of these newcomers settled in the Ohio valley. On November 21, 1848, the first happily thriving Turner Club was founded.
On August 29, 1848, was founded the first lodge of the Special Brothers, the Germania Lodge, now with 700 members; on December 12 the first Lodge of the Order of Druids. The first German theater on the canal, built by the Wolf Brothers, opened in October of this year under the direction of Thielman, and is enjoying the greatest of popularity among the public. In September the Synagogue Bnei Ishurun was opened on Lodge Street with an appropriate ceremony. The speaker was Mr. Gettbeim. Among the political clubs, the National Reformers gained a lot of attention with lively meetings, parades and a wonderful banquet held in September in the Masonic Lodge to which were invited all the friends of humanity
In addition to the political refugees, there soon appeared members of different religious orders, including a group of 80 Trappist monks in 1848. They purchased 14,000 acres near Bardstown and in their frugal manner soon turned them into gardens and fields. In 1848/49, the Benedictines settled in the mountains of western Pennsylvania. In the Latrobe monastery (in Westmoorland County) there were 13 priests and 20 young people studying Philosophy and Theology, 8 younger students doing preliminary studies, and no fewer than 30 lay brothers. The monastery owned 3600 acres in four different communities. The lay brothers, students, and priests all worked at farming and manual labor. The German populations in the counties of Westmoorland, Indiana, Cambria, Blair, Clearfield, Elk and Warren, are under the spiritual guidance of these Benedictines. The Germans are mostly from Bavaria. Former King Ludwig, Bishop Ziegler of Linz, the Mission Society in Munich, and several abbots of the order in Bavaria were instrumental in the founding of this monastery.
In addition, the famous Einsiedeln Abbey founded a branch near St Ferdinand in southern Indiana.
In regards to the German settlements which arose about this time in St Joseph, Marshal and Wetzel counties in Virginia, the following was reported to the Deutsches Volksblatt
“This settlement lies in the pleasant, water-blessed valleys and slowly rising mountains of Marshal and Wetzelcounties, VA. Glorious and virgin forests cover the hills. Trees of 150’ height are common. Medicinal herbs of all types are found in great quantities. The larger waterways are Fish Creek, Lumenkamp and Wetstone, the latter of which drives three grinding and two saw mills in the immediate vicinity of the settlement. There 8 German farms, some of which have been given German names by their owners, e.g.: Einsiedeln, Franzburg, Sonnenhof, Dennhof, etc. The families living there are mostly from Wheeling and expect six more to arrive shortly. Many more have already purchased (land) there, and the number is estimated to be 37. This will soon be one of the most pleasant German settlements, since everything there is so suited to make it that way.”
In the Fall of 1848, the German singing clubs, the Liedertafel, the Workers Club, and the Swiss club decided to hold a festival, and invited all the then known German singing clubs in the Union. Several clubs accepted this invitation. Thus the first German singing festival in the west took place in June 1849 in Cincinnati to the satisfaction of all the participants, who approved this first attempt The main effect of that festival was a closer union of the representative clubs which formed the “German Singing Society (Sangerbund) of North America” and elected an executive (central) committee, which in the name of the society established contact with all the singing clubs in the Union. Since then, a national singing festival has taken place every Spring, in different communities. Of the various clubs, more and more joined the society so that there are now almost 20 (member clubs). The activity of the society slowly spread to Germany, where they established initial contact with the choir composers such as A. Zf6llner, F. Abt, Otto, and others.
Shortly after the first singing festival, which took place on June 3 in the Armory Hall, a cholera epidemic broke out in the west and in a period of several weeks claimed many victims in Cincinnati. The Central Watchmen saw fit to blame the pest on the large, unruly German singing festival on Baldhill, an opinion accepted by a lot of bigots.
In that year, February 9, 1849, the Kentucky Gazette ceased publication. It had been born 60 years prior to that time in Lexington, when Kentucky was still a part of Virginia. The housing for its press was carved from limestone by friends of the undertaking. At that time, it was the only paper in the entire region, where today at least 700 newspapers circulate. On the proud rivers, where formerly only immigrant flatboats and Indian canoes navigated, there are now 600 stately steamers. And that fruitful region, formerly traveled only by Indians and buffalo, now encompasses 12 to 13 states with a population of 8 to 9 million.
The popular German, Friedricb Hecker, arrived in New York with his family on September 15, 1849. During his stopover in Cincinnati, he was given a festive reception in the courthouse by the Germans. Mr. J. B. Stallo delivered the welcoming speech with warm words and in an eloquent manner.
In that year, the Cincinnati City Council voted to donate one million dollars towards the construction of the Cincinnati to St. Louis railroad. There were also funds earmarked for the construction of a bridge over the Ohio. The number of acres within a radius of 20 miles from Cincinnati dedicated to wine growing was 743. These were built by 264 German owners and tenants. The average yield in the good year of 1848 was 300 gallons per acre. In 1849, the worst year, the yield was 100 gallons (per acre). One two-acre vineyard’s of Johann Wenz produced 1300 gallons.
The pioneer of wine growing in the Ohio Valley, Johann Franz Dufour, died the next year, on June 3, 1850. In the Necrology of the Vevay Palladium, the following notes on his life appeared: “Mr. Dufour originated the cultivation of fine grapes in Kentucky. In 1803 he was sent on horseback to Washington with a bottle of wine from the first outstanding harvest in the Ohio Valley, to present to President Thomas Jefferson, a taste of the first wine harvested on this side of the Alleghenies.” By coincidence, at the same time of the arrival of the wine in Washington, there also arrived bottles of water from the headwaters of the Mississippi, sent by captains Lewis and Clark. The author of the Declaration of Independence drank the first wine produced in the great valley of the west mixed with the waters of the father of waters.
In October 1802, Mr. Dufour moved from Kentucky to Vevay, which at the time was still thick wilderness, and built the first blockhouse, which to this day can still be seen on Main Cross Street. In 1810 he caused the founding of a post office and was named the first postmaster, a position he held until 1835, a quarter of a century. After the organization of Switzerland county, he was named territorial governor’s clerk, and elected justice of the peace and surveyor. After the founding of the community government, the trust of his fellow citizens called him to numerous honorary as well as important posts. He was the county clerk, representative in the legislature, probate judge, and finally, in March 1849, Switzerland County judge. While busily carrying out his official duties, he died suddenly after a three week illness. His brother Daniel Dufour died a few years later on January 11, 1855.
In 1850, during the celebrations of the Hambach festival, on 27, 28 & 29 May, a large German marksmanship festival took place on Jackson hill. Carousels, target shooting, barrel rolling, gymnastics, music and dance, joyful parties and rounds of singing, all were enveloped in a cordiality, which released a natural spirit; the common dress and harmony which gripped all the festival participants fulfilled the high expectations of the founders of that festival and enjoyed the active participation and approval among the German community. Even the Americans felt sincerely moved by the spirit of the costumes and conviviality. The following report of the evening Times gave this impression:
“ The main theme of the entire festival was cordiality, an unspeakable depth of feeling, spread with magnetic swiftness from host to guest, from Germans to Americans and Americans to Germans. It was a pleasure to see the happy faces of the Germans. From each side of the hill, they could look down on the city and see that there was no area in whose improvement they were not participating, in effort and reward, in prospects and hopes-Americans all, the only exception being language and birth, living under the same laws, protected by, and protecting the banner, whose stripes and stars were as dear to their eyes as to those native-born. Let every future annual festival bring us all together and make us closer, and let “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity become for us a reality, and not just rhetoric as in France”.
A memorial to the festival was published by Eduard Buhler \ldblquote Dedicated to our brave countryman, August Moor”, who had been appointed by the Ohio legislature as Major General of the first militia division.
The Burnet House, a glorious hotel of the Queen of the West, celebrated its opening on May 1 of this year. Not only the power and elegance of Cincinnati, but representatives from Louisville, Dayton, Columbus, and other communities appeared, surrounded by protective cavaliers in the gaily decorated rooms, glowing in the richest and most colorful glamor of the latest fashion. Even the serious old-timers danced in the aisles, it was the comrades of the old pioneers, who had cut down the oaks around FL Washington and hunted elk and buffalo. What a magical change! Between the first bivouac of the original border settlers and the festive evenings in the Burnet palace lay a half century, during which bad arisen a capital city of a hundred thousand souls, whose luxury rivaled that of the old world. Mr. Karl Rumelin, already famous in Ohio law, who fought to give the Germans in Ohio recognition by causing official notices to be published in German, was elected to the convention which drew up Ohio’s constitution. Records of the discussions indicate that he was one of the most active and sharpest members of that body.
Along with an increasing population, the church life also increased. The registers of 12 Catholic churches show for the year 1173 marriages, 3397 baptisms, and 2742 deaths. In March the third German Methodist church was opened on Buckeye and Main streets. On July 21 the cornerstone of the Protestant orphanage on ML Auburn was laid, and it was opened in September of the following year. A fair to raise funds for this social institution raised nearly $5,000.
A Justice of the Peace election at the end of this year ended with the victory of Mr. F. H. Rowekamp, formerly a representative of the 9th ward. For the first time, Cincinnati had a German Justice of the Peace.
During the past few years, the German population around the city has increased. The Northern Freedoms, Covington, (KY), Newport. (KY), St. Bernard, Sedamsville, Lockland, Fairmount, Cumminsville grew and prospered under their hard-working hands. As the following report indicates, the value has risen enormously: in the year 1838, Mr. Donnersberger, a German, bought 2 1/2 acres on the west end of 8th street for $5,500. He sold the topsoil for several thousand dollars and the property itself to Judge Short for $52,000. The area where the hospital now stands was developed in 1818 for $3000. At that time, its distance from the city was just right for a pleasant trip. The value of that same property is now estimated at $400,000. It will shortly be in the midst of things, because the business world is pushing its boundaries ever outwards.
At the singing festival which took place in Louisville this year, the singing clubs “ Liedertafel” and the “Workers Singing Club” won prizes in the form of silver trophies.
On February 22 of this year, the first regularly scheduled trains ran to Columbus.
Unfortunately, cholera appeared again this summer. During a period of ? weeks, the Board of Health reported 2031 deaths.
As a result of the uprisings in the eastern cities, in 1850 there was much suffering among the working families. Their call for help was heard in Cincinnati by members of several German workers clubs and also by a temporarily defunct chapter of the National Reformers. They collected money for their hard-pressed brethren. This joining together in the public interest formed the basis for a German workers’ union which came into existence on November 19, 1850. Its purpose, the education and edification of its members, also had the purpose of achieving material profit through practical cooperation by forming a grocery co-op. Wilhelm Weitling’s paper, The Workers’ Republic , cast the first sparks of discord into the club, which for its own purposes purchased a small frame building in Walnut Street, where the spacious Workers’ Hall now stands. The fortunate choice of its executive leader, Gottlieb Braun, had given the club a solid foothold in the business community, and enabled the club to continue developing, in spite of the storms of the communist, socialist, and religious persuasions, represented by Weitling, Magnus Gross, Seidensticker, and the recently founded Freemen’s Club, led by Hassaureck, Dr. Steinmetz, Rittig, Rothacker and others. The club built a new hall, one of the most beautiful buildings in the German section of the city and sponsored a grocery business, which supplies its members’ families with necessary articles at cost, takes care of widows and orphans, offers dramatic plays on its stage, in addition to scientific and scholarly presentations in the winter, and a reading library which provides its members diverse means of education and entertainment.
The Freemen’s Club, whose primary goal was to oppose religious oppression in the United States, built a spacious hall at Vine and Mercer streets in 1850. Its mouthpiece soon became the Hochw'fcchter, originally founded by Hassaureck and Wacbsmuth, whose proselytising activity soon caused the establishment of similar clubs in all the major cities of the West.
In addition, the gymnastic clubs (American “Turners”) had gained numerous members and enjoyed a high degree of success in attracting the public to its laudable efforts in building mental and physical health. In November of this year, the gymnastics club built a splendid hall on Walnut Street and began the production of a monthly publication under the editorship of Heinrich Essman in January 1851.
On October 15 of this year, the German Catholic orphanage was destroyed by fire. In the ensuing excitement, three children unfortunately perished. Gottfried Kinkel, the popular German poet, arrived in Cincinnati on November 1 and was ceremoniously welcomed by Mayor Taylor. The purpose of this trip to America was to raise the sum of 2 million thaler to finance a new revolution in Germany. This effort was supposed to begin in London by Misters Kinkel, Willich, and Oscar Reichenbach. A segment of Cincinnati’s German population took it to heart and donated to this “German National Fund”. Unfortunately there soon arose a great deal of competition among other revolutionary organizations led by Amand Goegg, Sigel and others. It resulted in an end of the whole project. Even the Governor of Hungary, Ludwig Kossuth, at one time visited Cincinnati to promote his plan for freeing Hungary by selling shares. He met Kinkel in the Turner’s Hall, and spoke to the Germans in Paul’s Church. And the Hungarian bonds soon enjoyed as great a popularity among our people as did those of the German National Fund, which, according to an audit by its treasurer, Mr. Reyfuss, stood at $2663.08 on May 5, 1852.
Among the five cadets sent by Ohio to West Point in 1851, was one Gottfried Weitzel, the first student in the German-American Free schools, decorated in the War of Secession as a Brigadier General. In September, the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton railroad was opened. The railroad cuts through the entire area of Hamilton and Butler counties, the northwest corner of Warren county, and almost all of Montgomery county. The Miami and Erie canal joined them to Miami and Shelby counties. This entire region, the Miami Valley, known as one of the most fertile areas in the entire west, already has a population of 500,000 souls and boasts a population increase of 42 percent.
When the US Army under General Hull marched from Cincinnati to the Great Lakes in the year 1812, the keel boats which supplied the army with food and munitions, required two weeks to reach Dayton. The poor condition of the roads forced the choice of this mode of transportation over wagon transport Now one travels there in three hours and in six hours to Lake Erie. This wonderful progress of the Miami Valley took place within a single lifetime. In that year, the Germans were represented in the city council by ten representatives: Misters Goepper, Eichenlaub, Stolz, Diehl, Schulz, Gott, Bonte, Rothert, Klein and Van Seggern.
During this year’s world’s fair at the Crystal Palace in London, the Ohio wines of German vintners won European recognition. The royal commissioners awarded Misters Duhme and Schumann from Cincinnati a medal of merit for the Musk Catawba wine which they had entered.
The first German tribe of the Red Men, the Seneca Tribe #7, was founded on August 2,1852. The first Sachem (medicine man) of the German Red Men in Ohio was Lebmann Schloss.
The famous German jurist. Mr. J. B. Stallo, was appointed by Governor Wood in January 1853 to fill a vacancy as a Judge of the Common Pleas Court. During the popular elections which took place the following Autumn, he was returned to that position by a wide majority of the people. Mr. J. B. Schiff joined the Senate and Mr. Joseph E. Egly joined the state house of representatives. Misters Unzicker, Oehlmann, Wieser, Eichenlanb, and Scbiff sat in the Board of Education.
On May 29, 30, and 31 of this year, the large gymnastics festival for the west took place in Louisville. The speakers were Fenner of Fenneberg and Theodor Dietsch.
A German marksmanship festival as celebrated in Columbus in September.
In the Spring of this year, the hostile demonstration of the ultra radical Catholic Party against the state free school system generated a hostile feeling among the non-Catholic population of the West And the speeches of Fr. Gavazzi, who had come from Europe at the same time also generated a noticeably increased hostility. “War with the Papists, war with the Romans” was, according to Fr. Gavazzi, the only way to free the world. On October 17 of this year, he gave his inspiring talks at Smith and Nixon Hall in Cincinnati. The arrival of the Papal Nuncio in the following December, Cardinal Bedini, provided a suitable opportunity for numerous demonstrations against the activities of the hated Ultras. The Cardinal had been accused of having Garibaldi’s chaplain, Ugo Bassi, and others, brutally shot by Austrian Carabinieris.
Friedrich August Hobelniann, who in 1848 as a teacher and editor of the Spring Messengers and, as a fearful “Red Man”, had fled Bremen for participation in “death squads”, was at the time the editor of the Watchman (Hochw\'f6chter). The Cardinal had barely arrived on December 21, when Hobelmann published a gruesomely colored biographical sketch of Bedini, which ended with the threat “Here and no further!” This article set the blood of the Freemen to boiling. In order to appease the article a demonstration against the “bloodhound of Bologna” had to take place.
During an open-door meeting on Sunday, December 25, the Freemen community decided to stage that same evening a march on the archbishop’s palace, where Bedini was staying, and formally burn him in effigy to the accompaniment of grunts and cat meows.
After deciding on this inquisition, a straw man in a Cardinal’s vestments and a bishop’s crown on its head was hung on a gallows. Then signs were hastily made bearing the inscriptions: “Down with Bedini,” “No Papists”, “Freedom, Equality, and Fraternity”. Late in the evening the procession began on Vine Street with 800 to 1000 men and women. Going up Marshall, it came to the Turners’ Hall, where the gymnasts were to be invited to participate in the procession. The leaders of the Turners recognized that the hour and time selected for this undertaking were not right, and wisely refused to participate.
Bolstered by curious onlookers from both sides of the street, the procession moved to Walnut and 9th Streets and then wound to the right into Plum Street.
Naturally the police were well aware of this movement. The mayor was absent from the city. Rather than release the officers after reading the watch list, the new police captain, Luken, had kept all of his police on duty in city hall. With his squad of 75 well-armed policemen, Luken hit the procession from the side, just as it was calmly passing the corner of 9th and Plum and approaching the archbishop’s residence.
No talks went on between the leaders of the demonstration and Police Captain Luken; no warnings
were given to the demonstrators to honor the Sabbath laws and disperse.
Evidently the police sought to handle the demonstration as a dangerous riot. Rather than read the riot act, which would have called on the people to disperse, Luken gave the command to arrest all the demonstrators. The police carried out the order in a brutal manner. At the outset of the first attack a shot was fired, no one knows by which party, to be followed in an instant by several dozen more. Then those in the procession, some armed with swords and pistols, and who outnumbered the police ten to one, broke and scattered wildly, accompanied by the screams of women and children. The police, seized by their sudden victory, fell upon those fleeing and arrested them in droves, striking and hitting them with a savage fury while dragging them to the police station. Bedini, the gallows, the signs, and other articles fell into the bands of the police.
Several innocent bystanders, who happened to be passing by, for example ex-city councilman Stolz, clothier Wolf, a farmer from Indiana, and others were shamefully attacked with lead slings by the police, knocked down, and severely mistreated. Two of the policemen were wounded. James Carroll of the 2nd ward received a bullet in the leg and Lt. Huesmann had a thumb broken. Karl Eggerlin, a young German, received a gunshot in the lung and leg. He died shortly thereafter. Several police officers had blindly fired shotguns into the midst of the crowd.
While the charges of rioting against all the participants in the Bedini demonstration turned into a fiasco, the counter charges of the Freeman against the police for the murder of Eggerlin and mistreatment of their companions likewise ended without any result The only satisfaction for the leaders of the auto-da-fe against Bedini was that the straw effigy was eventually burned in front of the archbishop’s residence. Even the citizens of Covington joined together to burn Bedini in effigy. Captain Lukens even received a polite invitation for his police “to pitch in”.
The year 1854 witnessed a lively political life for the newcomers of “48. In Louisville, the Germans united on a platform created by Heinzen, Domschke, Burgeler and Wittig, which declared war against slavery and religious oppression. To this end, the representatives of 17 Ohio clubs assembled at the end of March in the Freemen’s Hall in Cincinnati, under the direction of a Mr. Muller from Cleveland. They developed a platform similar to the one in Louisville.
On September 18, Germans from the northern states convened a congress in Wheeling which presented to the political parties of the country a program of more progressive development, and (amazingly) called for the annexation of all of Europe to the United States while the surrounding robber states would be annexed by Europe.
In addition to some advanced ideas, many profane ones also came to light. According to repeated reports of the “Indianapolis Free Press”, there was a club founded with the very modest name of “The Dirty Dogs”. Its main regulations were the following: Each member had drop a sample of his dirty-dog nature. In particular, the Captain or Praeses had to do this, in order to be a colossal dirty dog. The club’s motto was the old saying which Goethe had taken from Lichtenberg: “We feel as cannibalistically comfortable as 500 sau’s.”
The railroad from Cincinnati to Louisville was opened in June of this year. In August a general German immigrants’ club came to life. At its very first meeting, the resolution was reached directing that the contributions to Kinkel’s fund for the revolution in Germany, should be turned over to the club to support the immigrants, rather than be used for some impractical scheme. Mr. Kinkel protested vigorously against that understandable request The money for the revolution in Germany is still in his hands.
In March, Captain Theodor Schrickel organized a German artillery company.
In the autumn elections, the so-called Know-Nothing (American Reform) Party battled to its first major victory. But the leaf turned when it became known that its hostility against the Catholic hierarchy was matched by its hatred of all things foreign. In the following year’s Spring election (April 2,1855), the Know-Nothing Mayoral Candidate in Cincinnati, Taylor, was soundly defeated. When the outcome became known that afternoon, a Know-Nothing mob, ready for anything, broke loose to murder and destroy anything foreign, taking the law into its own hands.
The Mayor and police were intimidated and carried out their duties only at the pleasure of the mob.
The main act of the mob would be played out in the 11th Ward on the evening of the election. Embittered at the plurality which was unrolling against them in that ward, the Know-Nothings started a rumor that masses of falsified ballots bad been cast there. Supposedly even small boys had been allowed to vote. The heightened mood of their “Bullys” was even further sharpened by the victory salvos, which were constantly being fired by Captain Salomon from Jackson Hill in honor of Jefferson’ s birthday. The Know-Nothings were not aware of the true purpose of the salvos and assumed they were a sarcastic expression of a victory celebration in honor of their anticipated defeat.
Meanwhile, the above-noted rumor spread throughout the lower sections of the city, and the lies became bigger and uglier with every block. The rage of the brutal band about their defeat suddenly exploded in every direction. In groups, the loafers and Know-Nothing rowdies, faces inflamed with whiskey, streamed on foot, on horseback and in buggies towards Hamilton Road, yelling like savages “Hurrah for Pap Taylor!”. Even before they arrived, there had already been a bloody fight between a Dr. William Brown, a Know-Nothing from the 3rd ward, and Mr. George Roder, a foreman at F. Link’s brewery. The former stabbed the latter with a knife in the abdomen and Roder fell mortally wounded. This act was the signal for general fighting. Brown was badly beaten up, arrested, and taken to the Bremen street stationhouse, only to be promptly freed by his numerous companions. No fewer than 30 persons were injured to varying degrees.
After these preliminaries, the army of Know-Nothings, around 500 strong, arrived in other sections of the city. The bullies split up. One group went up Jackson Hill and beat up Captain Salomon and his artillerymen. In spite of the fact that they had sidearms, the artillerymen stoically surrendered their cannon, flags and powder. The bullies dragged the equipment to the polls in the 11th Ward where (it was already 6 o’clock) a terrible fight had broken out. The few Germans who resisted the insults and taunts of the Know-Nothings were beaten.
Mayor Snellbaker rode up on a lame nag and watched the riot for a while in painful lethargy. A crowd of thousands of Germans, Americans, and Irish surrounded him and the voting place. Constantly passing wagons and horses raised a thick cloud of dust. Then a gang of about 30 Know-Nothing rowdies broke into the polling place and, encountering no resistance, grabbed the ballot box, smashed it to pieces to the shouts of “Hoorah for Pap Taylor”, and, with the Stars and Stripes waving, tossed the ballots into the air.
Mayor Snellbaker and city councilman Dale, who tried to stop this destruction, lost part of their clothes in this attempt. The latter was beaten with a chair leg and knocked down in front of the door. After spreading the shards of the voting urn, they went to the 9th ward where they expected to do the same damage. The doors of the voting place had already been locked up and the ballot box brought to safety. Enraged at this, they savagely attacked two German bystanders, Mr. Selker and the tailor Schuhmacher. Finally, they fired the cannon, loaded with stones, into the throngs of men, women and children who fled in all directions. They shot down a harmless worker and then, with a savage cry, and their Taylor flag waving, went through the streets to the office of the Enquirer. There they serenaded with grunts, threw stones and bricks through the windows, and continued on to the 13th ward to continue their mischief.
However, there they were met by a band of determined Irishmen. Firing shotgun blasts and throwing stones, the Irish attacked the cowardly band, which in turn fled in all directions, and recaptured the cannon originally taken from the Germans.
In order to further agitate the Germans, a crowd which had gathered in front of the fire station on Vine street near the canal, demanded that Captain Salomon return to them the cannon which he had gotten back from the Irish and for which his company had paid a bond of $1000. In order to ease the agitation and keep the mob from violence, Sheriff Brashears suggested that Captain Salomon compromise and turn the cannon over to General Moor. The Germans felt that such a disarmament would be a humiliation and decided to keep their cannon, a decision which the sheriff relayed to the crowd. In spite of the moderation urged of Mr. Spooner and others, it was decided to attack the Germans.
That evening, mobs assembled in the lower parts of the city and threatened to mob the Freemen’s and Turner Halls. At the central market, fanatics urged the mob to attack the Germans. Numerous handbills, printed on red paper, were distributed urging the mob to unite.
In the meantime, the Germans fortified themselves on Vine street as well as on Walnut street where it joins Mercer street. The Freemens’ and Turner Halls were filled with armed men, determined to repel any attack.
At 10 o’clock, the American mob, with a drummer and fifer in the lead, showed up at the Freemens’ Hall and began to load their weapons. The Germans fired from all sides and the crowd, which had not expected a determined resistance, fled like rabbits.
The shots had a bloody effect. One of tbe leaders, G. B. Monroe, a man from Indiana, who was staying in the Farlowe house, received a bullet in the head and fell dead. Wilhiam Grey, a barrelmaker, was hit by a ball in the abdomen. A third person by the name of Boggs was shot in the throat. John Coleman, Patrick Dorey from Covington, and others were also severely wounded. The mob then fled back to the Vine street bridge, which, during the day, it had chosen as its headquarters.
The news of the bloody reception of the Know-Nothing mob inflamed passions even further in the lower sections of the city. Mobs gathered at the central market. Many urged that the Americans should storm the canal en mass and take revenge for the blood which had been spilled. However, out of fear of a determined defense by the Germans, and following the urging of several speakers with good lungs, the move did not take place.
Even more horrible scenes were to occur during the elections in Louisville and principally against the Germans. The Know-Nothing Blacklegs and professional gamblers had wagered large sums of money on the election results. In order to ensure their wagers through trickery and force, hundreds of armed bullies were transported into the city. Their plans were forged in the Know-Nothing lodges and would be faithfully carried out during these terrible days. By 4 AM the 1st and 3rd wards, strongly Democratic, had already been occupied by the Know-Nothings. While a few former democratic friends would be allowed to vote, any German or Irishman who approached would be driven of by thrown rocks or by being threatened with bowie knives. Even Americans who did not know the secret signs and signals would be refused. By 10 o’clock, Louisville was under control of the mob, and neither life nor property was safe. The first serious fight broke out at 11 AM in the 1st ward at the corner of Shelby and Green Streets. Germans, Irish and Americans took part. The former were beaten back. Several of them, who had fled into a house, had to flee with broken bones and limbs. On Shelby Street, the rage of the Know-Nothing mob grew with every step, and as they reached Green Street, their thirst for blood was insatiable. There, while they were preparing for a fight, a shotgun blast greeted the Americans, and the mob exploded. After scattering the Germans, the mob started to destroy the coffee house of Christian Meier on the street corner. Windows and doors were broken, all the furniture in the building destroyed, and the people inside forced to flee. In a short time, this army of vandals had been continuously reinforced by armed citizens from throughout the city. The news of the beginning of the fight had spread everywhere. First the mob approached the house of Conrad Kitzler on the corner of Walnut and Shelby streets. Conrad was sitting calmly with a beer, puffing on a pipe. His neighborhood had never been the scene of any disturbance. But this meant nothing. All his possessions, for which he had worked the best years of his life, were destroyed and the life of his family threatened.
During this time another Know-Nothing gang began a fight on the street, in which a German living on the corner of Shelby and Madison streets was murdered. Mr. E. M. Saatkamp, a German baker who lived on Walnut Street, received several stab wounds in the head. In addition, several other Germans were injured. After completing the destruction of Kitzler\rquote s house, the mob turned on the German Catholic (St. Martin’s) church in Shelby Street had it not been for the intervention of Mayor Barbee, it would have been plundered and burned.
Calm had only partially returned to the area, when suddenly a wagon, escorted by 50 men armed with muskets and bayonets, rumbled menacingly up the street Under the leadership of Captain D.C. Stone, the mob went up Main street and then up Jefferson. The following terrible deeds were then carried out:
The large Armbruster brewery was set on fire and the workers injured. Armbruster was not in the city at the time. The pretense given for the destruction was that someone had fired out of a window at someone else chasing a German. Carl Heybach’s factory was leveled to the ground, and a man by the name of Fritz shot in the chest. Daniel Schmuck’s sugar bakery was attacked and the women inside driven to the floor, where they almost suffocated from the smoke from the burning brewery. The Becker house next door, was bombarded with stones and heavily damaged. Carl Becker’s bakery was totally destroyed.
During the attack on the brewery, the drover Saddler was seriously wounded and his poor wife forced across the bridge. In vain she sought refuge with friends, who had barred their doors against the savages. Burghold’s grocery was sacked. Joseph Hook’s shoe store received similar treatment. While the mob was satisfying its thirst for destruction, there occured the most terrible scenes. Unfortunate women, children in their arms, carrying costly momentos from the fatherland, fled in all directions. In vain did their men plead for mercy from the mob, over which waved the Stars and Stripes. At 12 midnight, a frame grocery on the corner of Madison and Shelby street was burned down. Between midnight and 1 AM, Garrety’s cooperage, on Main street, above Woodland Garden, was reduced to ashes. Garrety was bedridden for several days.
On Main street, Eduard Prim’s barrel repair shop was burned down. During the battles which developed in the afternoon, Johann Vogt, a German who lived on Clay street, near Madison Street, was shot dead. His wife received a stab wound in the chest, and his child was injured. A German by the name of Kaiser, who lived on Marshal street, was killed.
Walther Murphy, an Irishman, was chased by the bloodthirsty ruffians and shot down. He died of his wounds the next day.
Johann Feller and Georg Edgeton received similar stab wounds. A German ropemaker was beaten to death. The above shameful occurrences, of which an even greater number could be described, took place in the east end of the city. In the 5th ward Henry M. Smith was attacked by the murderous band. A couple of friends along with his weeping wife, who threw herself and her children between him and the murderers, were barely able to save him.
In the 6th ward, an Irishman peacefully going on his way was felled with slingshots, stabbed with a pitchfork, and then dragged to the jail. The monster with the pitchfork, from which the fresh blood still dropped, led the procession. The victim was tossed into the jail, while the murderers at their leisure carried out additional evil deeds.
In the lower parts of the city the disturbance began at the Corner of Chapel & Main. At 5 o’clock, a certain Rhoades chased an Irishman into a house. He (Rhoades) was shot down. At about the same time John Hudson was shot to death in the 8th Ward. William Graham, a foundry worker, attempted to help Rhoades and was shot in the back by an Irishman named Barrett. Barrett was seized, shot and hanged. He was then dragged off to jail where he died later that night.
At 8 o’ clock, a heavily armed mob surrounded a row of brick houses at 11th & Main. The junk shop of an Irishman named Long was fired on with the cannon and set afire. At the time his three sons were in the building. One ran out while the remaining two perished in the flames. The fire spread to the adjoining three-storied building, owned by the Irishman D. Riordan, which was used as a feed store. It was reduced to ashes along with Charles Kyan\rquote s boarding house and two empty houses. The next row house was occupied by the cigar maker McKinne. It suffered the same fate. Then came the brick building of Patrick Flinn, which was occupied by several families. Numerous other buildings were partially burned or destroyed. On 11th Street the fire destroyed two houses. In all, twelve of the buildings were the property of Patrick Quinn, who was the brother of an Irish Catholic priest who was living in one of those same rooms. The unfortunate (Quinn) was shot, beaten, and burned.
On the other side of Main street the houses of Jonathan Fitzgerald and Mrs. Trainer were burned down.
However, the fires themselves were nothing in comparison to the terrible acts which were being carried out at the same time.
The unfortunate ones who tried to escape the flames met death in other forms. As soon as one would appear on the doorstep, be would be shot down. Many were dragged away seriously wounded, others, bloodied and maimed, crawled back into the flaming houses to avoid falling into the bands of the savages. One man, trying to escape in woman’s clothes, was discovered and shot to death. Another seriously wounded man, wrapped in a blanket and supported by his wife, was pulled from her and shot dead in co1d blood as soon as he crossed the threshold.
It was impossible to flee from the houses without being killed. It is impossible to tell how many of these unfortunate people were trapped in their homes and burned alive. Two sons of Mr. Long, who had a feed store at 11th & Main, were shot to death. George Hubert, a harmless old German, who was returning from his business in Portland Avenue. was surrounded by the mob. They fell upon him yelling “Let’s beat the old dammed Dutchman to death!” Hubert pleaded for his life. One of the mob said cruelly, “you’ll have to die because it’s fun.” The unfortunate (Hubert) fell dead to the ground, shot through the breast. Another elderly German on Portland Avenue crawled under his bed at the outbreak of the disturbance. The murderers pulled him out and shot him through the heart. The reports of these bloody acts came from the Louisville newspapers.
Over 100 German families took their furniture and goods and moved to the northern states. Most of them went to Wisconsin.
It was the former spirit of barbarism, inherited from the border settlers, who, under Williamson, had reduced the German cities on the Muskingkum to ashes, which now precipitated the acts of murder and destruction against the foreigners. Louisville became deserted in the wake of these shameful acts. A curse seems to have hastened onto its future welfare; for the horror described above was carried out against the hardest working and most valuable segment of its population. Shortly before these bloody days, an interesting work appeared from the pen of the American A. M. Casseday, a history of the city of Louisville including statistics of its trade and commerce. A special segment was dedicated to the Germans, of which the following is a portion:
“Of the current population of Louisville, there are no fewer than 18,000 Germans. This number increases daily with newcomers from the fatherland. The least that can be said is that these foreigners belong to the best class of our population. They are a thoughtful, happy and hard working people, of a quiet, thoughtful and peaceful nature, the majority of whom are well-bred and professional. Every day this better class of the population gains in public esteem. And while in one respect they identify with the native-born citizens and are becoming Americanized, so too the influence of their philosophical spirit, their deep consciousness, their love of beauty in art and nature, are being incorporated into the social life of the city and each improves the other. In its higher development, the German character is developing many beautiful characteristics, which are lacking in more than one respect in our own native population. From the educated Germans we can learn to sincerely love and cherish the spiritual and beautiful in all its forms, which is ingrained in its character and gives pleasure to life. At the same time (the German character) can learn from us, that the basis of its philosophy must be practicality, and that without a certain mixture of that principle its theories are self-centered castles in the sky. Thus each class takes from the other that which it can use the most, and society reaps the fruit of this blending.” Thus an American described that segment of the population, which, during those August days, fell victim to the fury of the mob.
Even in Columbus, Ohio, on the 4th of July, there was a collision between a nativist mob and a group of Turners. Together with the Grenadiers and the Men’s Chorus, the Turners had held a celebration in Mauerer’s Wood. Upon their return they were attacked with stones by rowdies in front of the United States Hotel. Someone tried to take their flags. The Turners halted and fired on their attackers, three of whom were wounded. One of those was the leader of the band, Henry Forster, a blacksmith. He breathed his last soon after. On an earlier occasion, on May 25th of that same year, after an outing in the suburbs of the city, the Turners had been assailed by a massive crowd of rowdies, falling upon the peaceful Turners who had unloaded weapons. The mob tore up their flags and scattered the Turner ranks by throwing stones. The Turners were a bit more careful on the 4th of July and, with manly resistance, made their attackers pay on this second occurrence.
As with the Bedini uproar in Cincinnati, so too in this instance the police behaved poorly and openly took the side of the mob. The hostile atmosphere prevalent as a result of the bloody scenes during the year between the nativist mob and the foreigners, was underscored with many violent acts. Among the victims was Captain Ismael, who suffered a fatal gunshot wound on the evening of April 19, in front of the Telegraph Office. As a result of these incidents, German immigration was significantly reduced. The New York Immigration Commission reported a drop in immigration of 111,803 against the previous year. On August 22, 1856, only 90,450 had arrived as against 202,267 the previous year.
The bloody Know-Nothingism had a positive effect on the German population, in that the Germans drew together even more than before. But the seriousness of the time did not dampen their festive spirit The singing festival of the western singing clubs took place in Cleveland in that year with 250 singers participating. The following cities took part Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Columbus, Detroit, Milwaukee, Mount Easton, Pittsburg, Sandusky. There were also single or groups of delegates from other cities such as Chicago, Davenport, Iowa, Buffalo, and others.
And the third general Turner festival for all the clubs in North America from September 13 to the 20th, attracted Cincinnati’s German population. An air of the conviviality was turned towards Turner Hall and Ross Hill. There was a significant participation by clubs from afar. About 30 cities were represented including: New York, Brooklyn, and Rochester, New York; Williamsburg, Syracuse, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Wheeling, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Detroit, Chicago, Dayton, Madison, Indianapolis, Louisville, St. Louis, Circleville, Maysville, Kentucky; Portsmouth, Ohio; Columbus, Sidney Ohio; Terre Haute, Lafayette, Indiana; Memphis, Newport (Kentucky) and Covington (Kentucky).
There were even military and other clubs participating in the festival This included: the German military company under command of Major Franz Link; the Dragoons under LT. Oesterle; the Hunters under Captain Becker, the Lafayette Guard under Captain Muller, the Steuben Guard under Captain Amis; the Jackson Guard wider Captain Kuhnle; the Cincinnati Liberty Guard under LT. Thole; the Sharpshooters under Captain Salomon; the Hunters and Sharpshooters; the Liedertafel; the Singers Union; the Germania and the singing group of the Turners, the Workers Club and the Freemen’s Club.
The parade was one of the grandest ever seen here. The spirited marches of the six music bands, the waving flags, the shining uniforms, the ranks of strong young men in picturesque gymnastic garb, presented a picture of strength, which the German element could employ against the murderous nativist rowdies.
Mr. Wilhelm Rapp, Editor of the Turner newspaper, gave the moving keynote address in a manner attesting to the popularity of this hard-working man of letters. Gymnastics, now a part of the curriculum of the city schools, was introduced in August of that year by School board counselor Rowekamp into the schools of the First district.
The increase of the Germans in Cincinnati was also demonstrated by, among others, the arrest in July of that year of the Austrian officer Friedrich Posner. At the urging of the English Consul Rowecraft, Posner is said to have recruited German troops for the Crimean War.
The members of the German company were arrested at the railroad station of the Little Miami Railroad by a strong cordon of police, in order to be booked for violation of the neutrality laws.
At this year’s awards for the best American wines, which were tested in New York, Misters Q. & P. Bogen, M. Werk and Ludwig Rehfuss received medals. The latter gentleman died on July31 of this year. Having settled here in the beginning of the 30’s, he had always participated enthusiastically in all the German affairs. After retiring from the hectic business world, he had spent the last year living in the country, where he dedicated his extensive earlier experience to the improvement of wine growing and agriculture. He was suddenly taken by the sickness which tore him from the side of his grieving family in the prime of his years.
On Pentecost Monday of the following year (1856) there were numerous confrontations between the Turners and the mobs in Covington.
During their picnic on the field beneath Whitehall, the Turners were constantly plagued by a group of youths from 10 to 14 years old, who had followed them from Covington. Constantly offering insults, they (the youths) threw sticks and stones and finally, one of them ripped a glass of beer out of the hand of one of the Turners. The affected Turner hit the boy in the mouth, whereupon the boy pulled a pistol and the spectacle began. The boy ran to Covington and spread the rumor that the Turners meant to murder 9 to 10 young Covington boys. Naturally the Turners remained ignorant of the resultant excitement Between 5 and 6, with music playing and the Stars and Stripes waving, they began their way home.
Near Whitehall, bands of young people had gathered and began to attack the Turners with stones. As they came closer to Covington, one man stepped up, laid a hand on one of the Turners, and attempted to pull him out of the ranks. The Turner resisted and his companions came to his assistance. The man (who stepped out) was Marshal Butts of Covington. The Turners did not recognize the man or his office.
The procession continued; the crowd following with growing excitement. The marshal stayed close to his man and several times tried to apprehend him. Finally general fighting broke out, stones flew from both sides and pistols were fired. Marshal Butt’s arm was shattered, and Deputy Sheriff Harvey was seriously wounded in the arm. The Turners marched through Covington, followed on both sides by an agitated crowd. They crossed the Licking bridges and passed through Newport, making for the ferry landing, where they intended to cross over.
During this time, the Covington fire bells were ringing, which further increased the crowd. The Turners formed up in rows and columns on the east side of the landing, with their front facing west. The crowd stayed below York street, from where they began throwing stones at the Turners. In response to the attack, the Turners fired several shots in return. The shots increased the overall anger of the crowd, most of whom were from Covington. Many of these individuals appeared to be almost insane, calling on “Old Kentuck” to destroy “the Dutchmen”. Several rushed to the garrison and demanded assistance from the troops. Mayor Fearons later repeated that request however, the officers refused to participate in the fight without authorization from Washington. The Turners straightened up their rows. In their gray linen jackets and caps topped with greenery, they posed a striking contrast to the mob. Several had muskets armed with bayonets. They stood peacefully and quietly, strictly obeying the orders of their officers. Sheriff Stricker and Police Officer Miller earnestly tried to calm the mob and forestall a bloody fight. The Turners remained quiet and made no difficulty. At that point, the mayors of Covington and Newport arrived on the scene. The former, Mr. Foley, immediately demanded that the Turners surrender their weapons and place themselves at the disposition of the civil authorities. The mob supported this demand and indicated that it would not be appeased if the weapons were not surrendered.
At that moment, the ferryboat “Bee” of Captain Air’s Line approached the shore with a huge number of passengers from Cincinnati on board. Mayor Fearons would not let the boat land there. The passengers were disembarked onto a float, opposite the garrison. In response to the demand to surrender their weapons, Captain Muller, the Turner Commander, stated that his men would not hesitate to comply, if they could do so in safety; however, since that was not possible due to the presence of the hostile crowd, they would have to retain their weapons for self- protection. The police, however, would encounter no opposition in arresting those persons guilty of breaking the law.
The police moved through the ranks without encountering any opposition and arrested four Turners.
This did not appease the crowd, which demanded that the Turners lay down their aims. The officials again repeated this demand. The captain respectfully declined, but at the same time ordered the bayonets to be dismounted and sheathed.
That was a critical moment. The officials were powerless, the Turners quiet and determined, the crowd aroused to a frenzy. “Go and finish’ em! Where are you, Kentucky Fellows?” screamed several voices.
Finally the Turners decided to seek refuge in the Turner Hall Several stones flew against them; but not a word, not a curse came from the rows of Turners. They went up York Street Across from the courthouse and again at the comer of Orchard Street came the demand to the group in the name of the mayor to give up their weapons. The answer could be read in the faces of the Turners, who, to the astonishment of all who were following the events, reached their hall with every one of their men and without a wound.
Again Mayor Foley demanded that the Turners surrender their weapons. However, Judge Stallo replied that, since he (the mayor) could not defend the Turners against the mob, the Turners would have to do it themselves. On their part, the Turners guaranteed that no one would leave the hall and they would surrender the following morning to the authorities for disposition. Sheriff Stricker needlessly surrounded the hall with a cordon of Kentuckians, to prevent anyone from escaping. The crowd slowly dispersed.
After a long debate, it was decided that all of the prisoners would be given over to Kenton County authorities.
After deliberating for 7 days, the preliminary hearing, conducted by two Justices of the Peace, recommended to the Kenton County court in Covington that felony charges be brought against 31 Turners. Each one had to post $2000 bond, to ensure appearance before the court The entire bond of $62,000 was immediately put up in Newport (Kentucky) by two honored Germans, Misters Daniel Wolf and Peter Constanz.
The trial dragged through several sessions of the County court and ended with an acquittal for every defendant, whose defense was conducted in a masterly fashion by Judge Stallo.
On January 20 of that year, the Settlers’ Club of the Turners Union met for the first time in the Turner hall.
In March of the following year the state commission was elected which in turn would select the state and community (for future settlement). After an extensive exploratory trip through the west, the commission decided upon New Ulm, Minnesota, which bad already been founded by a German society. Very soon, numerous settlers, many of them Turner members, turned their steps to New Ulm. Since the town was to be renamed, in the interim it was called ‘Hutten’ (Jahnshausen not having yet been discovered). Nevertheless, there were as many names suggested as there were patrons. Here is the list Concordia, Thusnelda, Germania, Ulnchsham, Franklin, Sparta, Carthage, Constantinople(?!), New York, Nibelungen, Teutonia, Turnville, Humboldt City, Corinth, Wyandott, Cincinnati, Freiburg. Since a new name could not be agreed upon, it was decided to stick with the old one.
Simultaneously, the city of Buffalo in Buffalo county, WI, was founded by the “General Settlers Club” of Cincinnati with about 350 shareholders. That location currently has 350 to 400 souls and has a steam-driven corn and sawmill, which is associated with an incorporated furniture factory.
In 1857, another settler’s club from Cincinnati founded Tell City, Indiana, on the Ohio River. On April 3, 1859, the inhabitants exercised their sovereign rights for the first time. The number of voters in Tell City was 204. The Swiss colony of Highland also sent many settlers (to Tell City).
The first Singing festival of the German Singing Society of North America took place in Cincinnati on June 12, 1857. The following cities were represented Detroit. Sandusky, Ft. Wayne, Cleveland, Baltimore, Canton, Philadelphia, Dayton, Lafayette, Milwaukee, Tiffin, Wheeling, Columbus, Louisville, Pittsburg, Indianapolis and Erie. The high point was the festival on Ross Hill. The keynote address of Judge Stallo detailed in an eloquent manner the educational tasks of the Germans in America. Mr. Hans Balatka, a hard-working musician and composer from Milwaukee, received the prize for the best composition of the festival, an honorary cup, the work of art of a Baltimore goldsmith. One notable personality traveling the Ohio valley that year, was the famous Jewish emancipation fighter, Dr. Gabriel Riesser of Hamburg, former Vice President of the Frankfurt Parliament and Minister of Justice under the Imperial Administrator Johann.
The cornerstone for the new Free Mason Hall was laid on July 22, 1858. The first German Grand Master was Mr. B. F. Hanselmann, who was elected in 1841. The German Free Mason lodge Nr. 208, named after him, was founded on October 12 of that year and counted 80 members.
The Union of Special Brothers already had the following lodges: Germania Lodge 113 U.O.S.B. (Union der sonderbaren Brueder-Union of Special Brothers), founded on August 29, 1848, counted 577 members in 1860; Teutonia Lodge 177 U.O.S.B. founded on March 15, 1851, with 274 members in 1860. Hermann Lodge 208 U.O.S.B., founded on February 18, 1855, counted 242 members in 1860. Humboldt Lodge 274 U.O.S.B, founded May 18, 1855, counted 227 members in 1860. The William Tell Lodge 335 U.O.S.B., founded June 2, 1858, counted 85 members in 1860.
The autumn election of 1858 was accompanied with unusual excitement, to which a German worker, Karl Lucas, fell victim. He was murdered on the doorstep of his apartment by a brutal party lackey. Friends from both parties joined together to assist his family during that emergency.
In the following year, 1859, began the construction of the Catholic hall (Mozart Hall) on the north corner of Vine and Center streets, known as one of the most beautiful buildings in the city. Among the notable German festivals that year was the celebration in honor of Humboldt in the National Theater and the 100th birthday celebration of Schiller.
Let us examine the wonderful picture offered to us today by the combined effect of three periods of German immigration to Cincinnati, which covers barely 35 years. Mr. Rufus King, President of the Board of Education, states that it has been exactly 20 years since the founding of the German free schools in Cincinnati. Immediately following the passage of that law (1840) there were two schools equipped for that purpose. They had five teachers and 250 students. In this year (1860) the number has grown to 49 teachers and 4,788 students. Among the nine Catholic parish schools, there are a few (e.g., St. Mary’s Church) which has 6 to 7 hundred students. We estimate the total (of the Catholic students) to be only about 4,000. If one counts the 172 students of the Talmud Yelodim Institute, then the total number of German children in school went from 500 in 1837 to 10,000 in 1860.
In 1840 there were a total of 6340 voters in Cincinnati.
During the presidential election of 1860, the five German wards alone produced a third more votes, namely 9499. If the scattered German votes in the other wards and townships are counted, then the total of German votes in Hamilton county in 1860 are more than all the votes in the county in 1850, when only 14,782 ballots were counted.
The value of the real estate and personal property of Cincinnati’s Germans, which in 1830 was barely 100,000, had, in a conservative estimate increased and, due to a thousand-fold increase in their business activities, reached a height of 40 to 50 million dollars.
The German immigration engulfed not only the so-called Rheinland, but had also persevered in large businesses and banks in the midst of the economy and in German communities and in somewhat more than 30 churches, and had already spread to all major metropolitan areas.
As in the city of Cincinnati, so to did the German influence increase throughout the state. The following shows the country of birth of the foreign settlers who were naturalized in the year ending July 1,1860:
England, Scotland, Wales....2632
Ireland 4186
Germany 13210
other countries 2113
Germans 60%, Irish 20%, English, Scots and Welsh 12%.
The last original inhabitants of Ohio had long since been transferred out west The Delawares had left the state in 1830. In August 1831, the Shawnees, in conjunction with the Senecas, had ceded their last lands in Allen County to the United States, and in September of the following year were moved to the Indian areas on the Kansas River. The upper and lower Piqua had retained in their headquarters until they were driven out by the Kentuckians when they came to St. Mary\rquote s and Wapakonetta (OH). The latter, a village settled primarily by German settlers, was named after a club-footed sachem who led the migration to the west. The remaining Wyandotte, 700 in number, departed the state in July 1843, led by a giant of a chief named Jean Baptiste, a unique figure with a horrible face, which was capped by an enormous nose, blue as a potato, which shook like jelly whenever he laughed.
Piqua, in Shawnee, means a man formed from ashes.
Indiana entered the Union as a state in 1816, and on June 29 of that same year the constitution was created and proclaimed by 41 county representatives. In 1800 there were, not counting the Indians, only 4875 whites, in 1810 24,520. In contrast, in 1860 the state already had a population of 1350,428 souls. During the last decade, it increased 362,000, or more than 36% of its population of 1850.
The Illinois territory was founded in 1809 and by 1818 had sufficient population to be admitted to congress as a state. The name came from the large river which flows through it and also from the Indian language which meant something like a man thriving in his strength. Prior to 1803 the entire territory was occupied by the following tribes: the Kaskaskias Sacks and Foxes; the Piankeshaws; the Ottawas; the Chippewas; and the Pottawatamies, who gave up their last few territories to the Union in 1816. Illinois increased in population more than any other state in the Union. In 1800 the population was barely 600. In 1810 it was only 12,282, which included 11,501 whites, 168 slaves; and 613 freed blacks. In 1830 illinois counted 157,445; in 1840, 476,138; in 1850, 851,470; in 1860, 1,711,951. Thus, in the past decade, its population has increased 101.06%.
In conclusion, we will now look at the German population of the states touched upon by this chronicle.
The Ohio Valley, meaning the entire area of the Ohio River and its tributaries and adjoining land, includes West Virginia, West Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and encompasses an area of 233,000 square miles. According to the census of 1860, approximately 400,000 Germans lived there.
They are:
In the state of Ohio: 1317 Austrians; 17,117 Prussians; 26,206 Bavarians; 19,025 Badeners; 12,234 Hessians; 1,136 Nassauers; 14,511 Wurttembergers; 76,574 from unknown German countries; 11,078 Swiss. There are altogether 179,278 out of a total population of 2,339,511.
In the state of Indiana: 351 Austrians; 8610 Bavarians 5740 Badenem; 4298 Hessians; 738 Nassauers; 12,067 Prussians; 3956 Wurttembergers; 30,945 Germans from unknown countries; 3813 Swiss. A total of 70,518.
In the state of Illinois: 2,106 Austrians; 12,437 Bavarians 9508 Badeners; 10,184 Hessians; 1,585 Nassauers; 24,547 Pmussians; 5096 Wfiruzembergers; 65,341 from unknown countries; 5748 Swiss. A total of 136,552.
In the state of Kentucky: 116 Austrians; 3,973 Bavarians; 2,975 Badeners; 1,669 Hessians; 310 Nassauers; 2,964 Prussians; 1,480 Wurtzembergers; 13,740 from unknown countries; 735 Swiss. A total of 27,980.
In the state of Tennessee: 75 Austrians; 222 Bavarians; 269 Badeners; 131 Hessians; 13 Nassauers; 354 Prussians; 165 Wuirtzembergers; 2,640 from unknown countries; 566 Swiss. A totalof 4435.
Those from Alsace and Lorraine are not included in the above German census, but rather are counted in the French population.
The 1860 census gives the German population of the three largest cities of the Ohio valley as the following: Pittsburgh 6,094; Cincinnati 43,931; Louisville 13,374.
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