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Julia Elizabeth <I>Nieder</I> Germann

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Julia Elizabeth Nieder Germann

Birth
Munich, Stadtkreis München, Bavaria, Germany
Death
25 May 1927 (aged 80)
Lutesville, Bollinger County, Missouri, USA
Burial
Ellis, Ellis County, Kansas, USA Add to Map
Memorial ID
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JULIA NIEDER GERMANN

Julia Nieder, an immigrant from Bavaria. Julia was born in Buechelberg, Pfalz, Bavaria in 1846, the daughter of Vincent Niederer (1815-1867) and Maria Elizabeth Niederer (1817-1890). The Niederer family lived in Buechelberg, Bavaria, ten miles from the French border, and were faithful Catholics. Relatives sent letters to them from America, praising the new land. When Julia was about seven years old, Vincent Niederer and his family de­cided to emigrate.

According to world history, the famine of 1848 brought European farmers to their knees, especially in Ireland and Germany. A second famine occurred in 1851, which cost farmers their lands, animals, livelihoods and hopes. People suffered be­cause of the instability of the times.

During the 1850s, an estimated 2,600,000 Europeans immigrated to America. Because so many people left their homeland, historians term the 1850s as the pe­riod of the Great Migration.

Why did thousands and thousands of Germans like the Niederers uproot their families and leave? Because of despair and hunger in Europe and hope in America. While discouraging conditions in Germany "pushed" people out, golden stories about America's endless opportunities "pulled" people across the Atlantic.

In her family research, Christine Tanner Reese compiled information, "Nieder­ers Leave Germany: It explains the difficult conditions of their journey across the Atlantic and inspires compassion for these immigrant families:

Our family left Germany in the fall of 1853 and traveled to Le Havre, France to board a sailing ship. Travel conditions were hard. Even in the very best of ships it was unusual for the captain to venture down into the steerage, thus leaving the emigrants to the mercy of the ship's mates and crew for their well-being. Sailors by reputation often were riff-raff, convicts and foreigners.

The steerage, dark and crowded, served as home for 5-7 motion-­filled weeks. Passengers endured days and weeks away from land, tossing about in a wooden ship. To cross 3,000 miles, to sail, was like leaving one planet and going to another. One could rarely hope to ever return.

Fire needed to light the dark steerage and to cook food posed great danger. Lack of refrigeration meant that only flour, grains and dried foods could survive weeks at sea without spoiling. Passengers brought their own food, bedding and personal items with them.

Next to fire, disease ranked as the #2 enemy of the passengers. Smallpox, measles or other diseases often went rampant in the confined quarters of immigrant ships. Closed hatches during stormy days produced breathing air that was damp and stinking. On sunny days, passengers tried to take their bedding up on deck to give it a good airing out. Since the Niederers left in the fall, they must have endured a good portion of miserable weather with all hatches closed.

The family tradition of a daughter dying at sea was borne out by the ship's passenger list. Maria Agathe [an infant] did not survive the voyage. Elizabeth Niederer kept her little ones death a secret so that when they arrived in port a few days later, she could have her buried in the church cemetery.

The sailing ship, SS Rome, departed from Le Havre, France late in 1853 and arrived at New Orleans, Louisiana on January 25, 1854. The immigration passenger list verifies that Vincent and Elizabeth Niederer arrived with five children, including Julia who was seven years old. Almost all of the voyagers were listed as farmers, and the family stated that they were "French."

Afrer arriving in the New World, the Niederer family Americanized their name to Neider and settled in Iowa City, Iowa, where relatives lived. Two more children joined the family.

Vincent's occupation in Iowa was a river runner, transporting merchandise by boat. One day, there was very bad weather, he got a severe cold from the exposure, which resulted in pneumonia and death in 1867. The family struggled.

Young Julia worked as a maid to help support her family after her father died. She had a fine singing voice and sang as she went about her work. She loved little children and was in demand to tend children. When the Shipley family moved from Iowa to Belleville, Illinois, they offered to have her move with them and be a nanny for their children.

While living in Belleville, Julia Neider met tall, handsome, blue-eyed Alfred Christian Germann, who often participated in parades with other soldiers. He was dressed in his blue Army uniform with shiny brass buttons. On each one was en­graved the letters G.A.R, which stood for the Grand Army of the Republic.

Julia Neider and Alfred Christian Germann were married in 1869 in Belleville. Since she was Catholic, and he was Lutheran, her widowed mother opposed the marriage and cut off commurlication with her daughter.

Julia and Alfred Germann had a large family; including Ida May (1871), Lew­is Edward (1872), Alfred Christopher (1875), Magdalene (1877), Walter John (1879), James Garfield (1881), Dollie Evelyn (1884) and Bessie Sophia Germann (1886).

Alfred C. Germann is an example of an honorable citizen-farmer. After serv­ing his country; he worked for a living. When the family went west, they struggled to make a success of the farm and worked 14 or 16 hours a day. At one point, he petitioned the government for a war pension because of his war injuries, and his petition was granted in 1889.

According to their daughter, Dollie Germann Glass, both parents loved farm life. For several years, they rented a farm in Illinois. In 1892, they bought a farm of their own in Dent County, Missouri.

It was a picturesque place, nestled in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. Two things stand out in my memory; a wonderful spring that furnished the clearest, coldest water I had ever drunk, and a cave up in the side of the mountain about 80 rods east of our cottage.

In summer, we used the cave as a refrigerator (a BIG one). We kept our milk and butter there, and it was wonderful for cooling the luscious water and musk melons we always raised in abundance. It was a man-sized job to carry those melons up the hill to the cave, but it was worth the effort, when, on hot afrernoons, we cut and ate those cold, delicious melons. Oh, yes! Those were good old days filled with lots of hard work, but rest always came at the end of the day and I for one always met the new day with a song.

Our home library was a small one, but two books I recall we had were Pilgrims Progress and Robinson Crusoe. I read them over and over. We also had a large book entitled The Beautiful Story, which contained Bible stories and many beautiful colored pictures. We also had a family Bible. I still have a very vivid picture of my mother as she sat in her favorite chair, reading from that precious book on Sunday afrernoons.

As I think back across the years, I often shed tears because of the many trials and heartaches my parents endured to raise their family. I know their trust was in God.

In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act, which made it attractive for Americans to stake a claim in open territory; improve the land for five years and eventually own the property. This free homestead law took effect in 1863 and has been called the most important act for the welfare of the people ever passed in the United States.

After the end of the Civil War in 1865, thousands of Americans and for­eigners moved into the Great Plains and into the Intermountain West. From 1870-1900, they settled 430,000,000 acres and cultivated 225,000,000 acres of virgin land.

The Story of My Life, by Oliver Germann
Supplemented by Virginia and Deborah Tanner
JULIA NIEDER GERMANN

Julia Nieder, an immigrant from Bavaria. Julia was born in Buechelberg, Pfalz, Bavaria in 1846, the daughter of Vincent Niederer (1815-1867) and Maria Elizabeth Niederer (1817-1890). The Niederer family lived in Buechelberg, Bavaria, ten miles from the French border, and were faithful Catholics. Relatives sent letters to them from America, praising the new land. When Julia was about seven years old, Vincent Niederer and his family de­cided to emigrate.

According to world history, the famine of 1848 brought European farmers to their knees, especially in Ireland and Germany. A second famine occurred in 1851, which cost farmers their lands, animals, livelihoods and hopes. People suffered be­cause of the instability of the times.

During the 1850s, an estimated 2,600,000 Europeans immigrated to America. Because so many people left their homeland, historians term the 1850s as the pe­riod of the Great Migration.

Why did thousands and thousands of Germans like the Niederers uproot their families and leave? Because of despair and hunger in Europe and hope in America. While discouraging conditions in Germany "pushed" people out, golden stories about America's endless opportunities "pulled" people across the Atlantic.

In her family research, Christine Tanner Reese compiled information, "Nieder­ers Leave Germany: It explains the difficult conditions of their journey across the Atlantic and inspires compassion for these immigrant families:

Our family left Germany in the fall of 1853 and traveled to Le Havre, France to board a sailing ship. Travel conditions were hard. Even in the very best of ships it was unusual for the captain to venture down into the steerage, thus leaving the emigrants to the mercy of the ship's mates and crew for their well-being. Sailors by reputation often were riff-raff, convicts and foreigners.

The steerage, dark and crowded, served as home for 5-7 motion-­filled weeks. Passengers endured days and weeks away from land, tossing about in a wooden ship. To cross 3,000 miles, to sail, was like leaving one planet and going to another. One could rarely hope to ever return.

Fire needed to light the dark steerage and to cook food posed great danger. Lack of refrigeration meant that only flour, grains and dried foods could survive weeks at sea without spoiling. Passengers brought their own food, bedding and personal items with them.

Next to fire, disease ranked as the #2 enemy of the passengers. Smallpox, measles or other diseases often went rampant in the confined quarters of immigrant ships. Closed hatches during stormy days produced breathing air that was damp and stinking. On sunny days, passengers tried to take their bedding up on deck to give it a good airing out. Since the Niederers left in the fall, they must have endured a good portion of miserable weather with all hatches closed.

The family tradition of a daughter dying at sea was borne out by the ship's passenger list. Maria Agathe [an infant] did not survive the voyage. Elizabeth Niederer kept her little ones death a secret so that when they arrived in port a few days later, she could have her buried in the church cemetery.

The sailing ship, SS Rome, departed from Le Havre, France late in 1853 and arrived at New Orleans, Louisiana on January 25, 1854. The immigration passenger list verifies that Vincent and Elizabeth Niederer arrived with five children, including Julia who was seven years old. Almost all of the voyagers were listed as farmers, and the family stated that they were "French."

Afrer arriving in the New World, the Niederer family Americanized their name to Neider and settled in Iowa City, Iowa, where relatives lived. Two more children joined the family.

Vincent's occupation in Iowa was a river runner, transporting merchandise by boat. One day, there was very bad weather, he got a severe cold from the exposure, which resulted in pneumonia and death in 1867. The family struggled.

Young Julia worked as a maid to help support her family after her father died. She had a fine singing voice and sang as she went about her work. She loved little children and was in demand to tend children. When the Shipley family moved from Iowa to Belleville, Illinois, they offered to have her move with them and be a nanny for their children.

While living in Belleville, Julia Neider met tall, handsome, blue-eyed Alfred Christian Germann, who often participated in parades with other soldiers. He was dressed in his blue Army uniform with shiny brass buttons. On each one was en­graved the letters G.A.R, which stood for the Grand Army of the Republic.

Julia Neider and Alfred Christian Germann were married in 1869 in Belleville. Since she was Catholic, and he was Lutheran, her widowed mother opposed the marriage and cut off commurlication with her daughter.

Julia and Alfred Germann had a large family; including Ida May (1871), Lew­is Edward (1872), Alfred Christopher (1875), Magdalene (1877), Walter John (1879), James Garfield (1881), Dollie Evelyn (1884) and Bessie Sophia Germann (1886).

Alfred C. Germann is an example of an honorable citizen-farmer. After serv­ing his country; he worked for a living. When the family went west, they struggled to make a success of the farm and worked 14 or 16 hours a day. At one point, he petitioned the government for a war pension because of his war injuries, and his petition was granted in 1889.

According to their daughter, Dollie Germann Glass, both parents loved farm life. For several years, they rented a farm in Illinois. In 1892, they bought a farm of their own in Dent County, Missouri.

It was a picturesque place, nestled in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. Two things stand out in my memory; a wonderful spring that furnished the clearest, coldest water I had ever drunk, and a cave up in the side of the mountain about 80 rods east of our cottage.

In summer, we used the cave as a refrigerator (a BIG one). We kept our milk and butter there, and it was wonderful for cooling the luscious water and musk melons we always raised in abundance. It was a man-sized job to carry those melons up the hill to the cave, but it was worth the effort, when, on hot afrernoons, we cut and ate those cold, delicious melons. Oh, yes! Those were good old days filled with lots of hard work, but rest always came at the end of the day and I for one always met the new day with a song.

Our home library was a small one, but two books I recall we had were Pilgrims Progress and Robinson Crusoe. I read them over and over. We also had a large book entitled The Beautiful Story, which contained Bible stories and many beautiful colored pictures. We also had a family Bible. I still have a very vivid picture of my mother as she sat in her favorite chair, reading from that precious book on Sunday afrernoons.

As I think back across the years, I often shed tears because of the many trials and heartaches my parents endured to raise their family. I know their trust was in God.

In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act, which made it attractive for Americans to stake a claim in open territory; improve the land for five years and eventually own the property. This free homestead law took effect in 1863 and has been called the most important act for the welfare of the people ever passed in the United States.

After the end of the Civil War in 1865, thousands of Americans and for­eigners moved into the Great Plains and into the Intermountain West. From 1870-1900, they settled 430,000,000 acres and cultivated 225,000,000 acres of virgin land.

The Story of My Life, by Oliver Germann
Supplemented by Virginia and Deborah Tanner


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