New World View: Letters From a German Immigrant Family in Texas (1854-1885)

169 Pages·2014·2.156 MB·English

by  Bergmann, Christian Friedrich, Cape, Ruth I

CapeRuth_cb_cpi_Layout 1 9/18/2014 10:38 AM Page 1
7
New World View: Letters from a German Immigrant Family in Texas (1854–1885)is
a bilingual and annotated edition of a collection of letters written by a nineteenth-
century German immigrant family in Texas. Christian Friedrich Bergmann was born
in April 1817 in Ebersbach, a small village located in what was known as the King-
dom of Saxony. In August 1854, Bergmann together with his wife, Johanna Chris-
tiane Luise Bergmann, and their three sons, Friedrich, Karl, and Christoph, embarked
N
on an overseas journey to America and arrived in Texas in November 1854. The fam-
New World View
ily first resided in San Antonio before later settling on the Guadalupe River near
e
Boerne, where Bergmann bought 320 acres of land and he and his family became
w
farmers and ranchers, as well as active members of their community.

This letter collection spans a period of three decades, beginning with a detailed W LETTERS FROM A GERMAN IMMIGRANT FAMILY
description of the sea journey and presenting the reader with important insight into
IN TEXAS (1854–1885)
the process of German immigrant acculturation in Texas in the second half of the o
nineteenth century. It also details the numerous challenges many immigrants faced r
in their attempts to adapt to American culture and succeed in the New World. The l
d
book, which includes a historical and biographical introduction, is a valuable resource

for scholars and students in various disciplines, as well as readers with a general V
interest in the social history of German immigration to the United States and,
i
specifically, to Texas. e
w
Ruth I. Cape is Associate Professor of German at Austin College in Sherman, Texas.
She completed graduate work in history and Latin at the University of Münster in
C
Germany and the University of Arizona in Tucson. Cape earned her Ph.D. in
A
Germanic languages from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is the P
E
editor of two other bilingual and annotated editions, Youth at War: Feldpost ,

E
Letters of a German Boy to His Family, 1943–1945(2010) and The Jews’ Mirror [Der D
Juden Spiegel] by Johannes Pfefferkorn(2011). IT
O
R
P
E
T
E
R
L
A
N
G Ruth I. Cape
Edited by
NEW DIRECTIONS
www.peterlang.com IN GERMAN-AMERICAN STUDIES
CapeRuth_cb_cpi_Layout 1 9/18/2014 10:38 AM Page 1
7
New World View: Letters from a German Immigrant Family in Texas (1854–1885)is
a bilingual and annotated edition of a collection of letters written by a nineteenth-
century German immigrant family in Texas. Christian Friedrich Bergmann was born
in April 1817 in Ebersbach, a small village located in what was known as the King-
dom of Saxony. In August 1854, Bergmann together with his wife, Johanna Chris-
tiane Luise Bergmann, and their three sons, Friedrich, Karl, and Christoph, embarked
N
on an overseas journey to America and arrived in Texas in November 1854. The fam-
New World View
ily first resided in San Antonio before later settling on the Guadalupe River near
e
Boerne, where Bergmann bought 320 acres of land and he and his family became
w
farmers and ranchers, as well as active members of their community.

This letter collection spans a period of three decades, beginning with a detailed W LETTERS FROM A GERMAN IMMIGRANT FAMILY
description of the sea journey and presenting the reader with important insight into
IN TEXAS (1854–1885)
the process of German immigrant acculturation in Texas in the second half of the o
nineteenth century. It also details the numerous challenges many immigrants faced r
in their attempts to adapt to American culture and succeed in the New World. The l
d
book, which includes a historical and biographical introduction, is a valuable resource

for scholars and students in various disciplines, as well as readers with a general V
interest in the social history of German immigration to the United States and,
i
specifically, to Texas. e
w
Ruth I. Cape is Associate Professor of German at Austin College in Sherman, Texas.
She completed graduate work in history and Latin at the University of Münster in
C
Germany and the University of Arizona in Tucson. Cape earned her Ph.D. in
A
Germanic languages from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is the P
E
editor of two other bilingual and annotated editions, Youth at War: Feldpost ,

E
Letters of a German Boy to His Family, 1943–1945(2010) and The Jews’ Mirror [Der D
Juden Spiegel] by Johannes Pfefferkorn(2011). IT
O
R
P
E
T
E
R
L
A
N
G Ruth I. Cape
Edited by
NEW DIRECTIONS
www.peterlang.com IN GERMAN-AMERICAN STUDIES
New World View
New Directions in
German-American Studies

Werner Sollors
General Editor

Vol. 7

EDITORIAL BOARD

Dorothea Fischer-Hornung, Universität Heidelberg
Winfried Fluck, Freie Universität Berlin
Sander L. Gilman, Emory University
Deniz Göktürk, University of California, Berkeley
Frank Kelleter, Freie Universität Berlin
Christoph Lohmann, Indiana University
Frank Mehring, Radboud University, Nijmegen
Robert Moeller, University of California, Irvine
Heike Paul, Universität Erlangen
Lynne Tatlock, Washington University, St. Louis
Frank Trommler, University of Pennsylvania
Lorie Vanchena, Creighton University

This book is a volume in a Peter Lang monograph series.
Every volume is peer reviewed and meets
the highest quality standards for content and production.

PETER LANG
New York  Bern  Frankfurt  Berlin
Brussels  Vienna  Oxford  Warsaw
New World View

LETTERS FROM A GERMAN IMMIGRANT
FAMILY IN TEXAS (1854–1885)

Ruth I. Cape
Edited by

PETER LANG
New York  Bern  Frankfurt  Berlin
Brussels  Vienna  Oxford  Warsaw
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
New World view: letters from a German immigrant family
in Texas (1854–1885) / edited by Ruth I. Cape
pages cm. — (New directions in German-American studies; vol. 7)
Includes correspondence in German, translated into English.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Bergmann, Christian Friedrich, 1817–1888—Correspondence.
2. Bergmann, Christian Friedrich, 1817–1888—Family.
3. German Americans—Texas—Correspondence. 4. Immigrants—Texas—
Correspondence. 5. Farmers—Texas—Correspondence.
6. San Antonio (Tex.)—Biography. 7. San Antonio (Tex.)—
Social life and customs—19th century. 8. Guadalupe River Region (Tex.)—
Biography. 9. Farm life—Texas—Guadalupe River Region—History—
19th century. 10. Guadalupe River Region (Tex.)—Social life and
customs—19th century. I. Cape, Ruth I. II. Title.
F395.G3B45 305.83’107648860922—dc23 2014002277
ISBN 978-1-4331-2652-9 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4539-1328-4 (e-book)
ISSN 1524-7813

Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data are available
on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de/.

Cover design concept by Corinna Cape

© 2014 Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., New York
29 Broadway, 18th floor, New York, NY 10006
www.peterlang.com

All rights reserved.
Reprint or reproduction, even partially, in all forms such as microfilm,
xerography, microfiche, microcard, and offset strictly prohibited.
For
Helga Mittrach
Arlan Bergmann
and
Gene Steele

Contents
Acknowledgments .......................................................................................... ix
Preface............................................................................................................ xi
Part One: Introduction
1.German Immigrants to the United States .................................................... 3
2.German Immigration to Texas in the Nineteenth Century .......................... 3
3.State of Research ......................................................................................... 7
4.The C.F. Bergmann Family: Biographical Background ............................. 9
5.Importance of the Edition ......................................................................... 11
6.Limits of Written Communication ............................................................ 15
7.Message of the Letters .............................................................................. 16
8.Study Approaches to Immigrant Letters ................................................... 19
9.Principles of Transcription (cid:0)(cid:65)(cid:78)(cid:68)(cid:0)(cid:52)(cid:82)(cid:65)(cid:78)(cid:83)(cid:76)(cid:65)(cid:84)(cid:73)(cid:79)(cid:78)(cid:0)(cid:0).............................................. 20
Notes ............................................................................................................. 23
Part Two: The Bergmann Letters
1.The Sea Journey to America(cid:26) August to November 1854 ......................... 33
2.The First Years in San Antonio, Texas: 1854 to 1857 .............................. 38
3.Farm Life on the Guadalupe River(cid:26)(cid:0)1857 to 1888 (cid:14)(cid:14)(cid:14)(cid:14)(cid:14)(cid:14)(cid:14)(cid:14)(cid:14)(cid:14)(cid:14)(cid:14)(cid:14)(cid:14)(cid:14)..................... 46
Notes ............................................................................................................. 77
Plates ............................................................................................................. 91
Part Three: Die Bergmann-Briefe
1.Die Seereise nach Amerika: August bis November 1854 ......................... 99
2.Die ersten Jahre in San Antonio, Texas: 1854 bis 1857 ..(cid:14)...................... 104
3.Farmleben an der Guadalupe(cid:0)(cid:73)(cid:78)(cid:0)(cid:52)(cid:69)(cid:88)(cid:65)(cid:83)(cid:26)(cid:0)1857 bis 1888 .(cid:14)......................... 112
Bibliography ............................................................................................... 145
Index ........................................................................................................... 149