Camp Springs, Kentucky - Part 1.1
    Historical Insights by Donald A. Baumann

    Last issue, I talked about the Unification of Germany.

    Germany was made up of several kingdoms, some of which were not more than a Ruler’s castle and the surrounding area of peasant farmers. Many of these castles remain today while others have fallen into ruins.

    In 1815 at the beginning of the Unification period, the congress of Vienna Confederation was established. It was intended to provide security against the dangers of external attack and internal revolution. The thirty-eight independent states were to become a sort of “United Nations”.

    After 1834 when the Zollverein, or Customs Union, came into existence most of the states joined the confederation.

    The States as shown on this map joined the “Union” as follows:

    Click here to see a more detailed version of this map.

    Bavaria – 1834,
    Saxony – 1834,
    Wurttenberg – 1834,
    Hanover - 1851-54,
    Baden – 1836,
    Hesse Kassel – 1831,
    Hesse Darmstadt – 1828,
    Thuringian States – 1834,
    Oldenburg – 1854,
    Bremen – 1888,
    Hamburg – 1888,
    Schweswig – 1867,
    Holstein – 1867,
    Lubeck – 1867,
    Mecklenburg – 1867,
    Brunswick – 1842,
    Anhalt – 1828,
    Lippe – 1842,
    Waldeck – 1838,
    Nassau – 1836,
    Frankfurt – 1838,
    Palantinate – 1834,
    Luxembourg – 1842,
    Alsace Lorraine – 1871.

    Prussia and Austria were the largest of States to become part of the Union.

    In 1840 Fredrick William IV declared, by the will of God, he should be King of Prussia. Through a famine and a revolution, he was overthrown. Backed by his army, he reclaimed control after 1848.

    During this period between 1840 and 1848, many of our ancestors left Prussia for America. They came from the Saar region of what was then south-west Prussia.

    The close proximity of the Saar region to Alsace Lorraine has been reported by many as the place of origin of our family roots. Some of our ancestors may have associated more with Alsace to the French / German side rather than Prussia. That is not to say that your family is not an emigrant from the other side of the Saar River in Alsace. A village name will confirm your family’s place of origin.

    When they arrived in America, they found their way to Cincinnati, a settlement well known to German immigrants.

    If your ancestors may have come from other areas of Germany, perhaps this will assist you to understand why they left Germany and in what year they emigrated.

    They’re coming to America.

    A ship’s company ad similar to the sign seen here advertised for the passengers to America from the port of Bremen with stops at Havre, Havana, New Orleans and Galveston.

    Ships with three masts left spring through fall. The cost per person was 150 Gulden for a cabin, 110 Gulden- below ship and 70 Gulden on deck. While I saw these signs in Germany, I am also told by my German cousins that the rate was charged at a fixed price per family. The Gulden was minted until 1857.

    How that currency relates to a day’s labor in 1840, I do not know. In my research, I did find that in 1782, a laborer earned 100 Kreuzer per month. One Gulden was equal to 60 Kreuzer. Adjust that for “inflation” to 1840.

    The ship’s passage did not include food. It was recommended that a family provide for one potato, per person, per day. They virtually lived on potato soup for their voyage to America.

    Their accommodations above deck as shown in this undated photo may give you some insight as to how they may have traveled for their quest to find a better life for their families – and for us.

    I still continue to acknowledge our German family who stayed in Germany and with sacrifices, financially helped other family members to travel to America.

    When we write about our family ancestry we will find that many of the Camp Springs - “Four Mile” immigrants came from the villages of Losheim, Hausbach, Bachem, Britten, Bergen, Waldholzbach, Brotdorf, Mettlach, all near the city of Merzig in southwest Germany.

    We will explore the church records of the Family Books in these villages to research these families back to records of three hundred years of our family history.

    I have recently acquired copies of a map of this area which is dated 1820.

    It clearly shows not only the location of the villages but also a topography description of the hilly forested area around the farmlands. To my knowledge this may be the only map of this area available here in the U.S. I have acquired this map by special order at a rare map store in Germany.


    I hope my first writings about German history may have helped you to understand what prompted your ancestors to leave their homeland in hope of finding new opportunities in America. I will continue to expand on the history of our family in Germany and here in Camp Springs.

    If you have an interest, please let others know about this website and leave a comment in the guest book.

    Don

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