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PIONEER DAYS IN AMERICA

As Experienced by LEOPOLD STEIN, Anno 1833

CHARLES F. STEIN, J®.

Among the papers left by my great-

grandfather, Leopold Stein, who came

to this country in 1833, there was found

a diary which he had kept during the

period of his travels, from the time he

left Germany until he arrived in Balti-

more. This diary, with letters found

among his effects, is the basis of the

account of his experiences which I am

about to narrate. It is not my purpose

to dwell upon matters of family inter-

est, but to confine myself to such mat-

ters as are perhaps typical of the ex-

periences of many other persons who

left the Fatherland for that unknown

country, America, in the early days of

the nineteenth century. Only such ex-

tracts from the family letters as give a

picture of conditions in this country in

those times are here included.

The letters and the diary were written

in German script, and in the minute-

ly fine handwriting of that period; their

translation was a slow and tedious task.

Although written with a goose-quill pen,

so fine is the closely written handwrit-

ing, that it was often necessary to use

a magnifying glass in order to decipher

the script.

My great-grandfather, whose full

name was Franz Leopold Stein, was

born in the year 1806, in Schwetzingen,

in the old Grand-Duchy of Baden, the

son of a physician, Dr. Anton Stein.

His mother was born Crescentia Wil-

liard, of Ettlingen, a town not far from

Karlsruhe. The family of Dr. Stein

consisted of three sons and two daugh-

ters, my great-grandfather, called Leo-

pold by the family, being the youngest

of the sons.

This Dr. Stein had an appointment as

physician to the Grand Duke at the

courts at Schwetzingen and at Rastadt,

and accordingly resided during a por-

tion of the year in each of these towns.

After the death of Dr. Stein, the family

remained in Rastadt. This seemingly

quiet and secure existence, however, was

repeatedly disturbed by the invasions

of the French armies, during the long

course of the Napoleonic Wars, which

continued until 1815.

When my great-grandfather grew up

he was sent to the University of Heidel-

berg to be trained for a civil position

in the government service. As was the

custom, he became a member of one of

the student duelling corps, for which

the University is so well known. The

Constitution and Duelling Regulations

of this corps were among the papers

which he brought to this country.

After the War of Liberation, the stu-

dents were fired with the ideal of a

United German People, and the student

corps assumed a patriotic and political

aspect. In short, they engaged in pol-

itics, and were soon regarded as rad-

icals inimical to the pig-tailed traditions

of the governing class. Laws were

passed suppressing their activities, and

imposing severe penalties upon offend-

ers. Nevertheless student agitation for

German unity and reform continued,

but secretly; offenders, when detected,

either fled the country, or paid the pen-

alty for their patriotism, which ofttimes

was death.

After completing his course at Hei-

delberg, my ancestor studied jurispru-

dence at the University of Freiburg, and

was engaged in his studies there when

events occurred which forced him to be-

come an exile from the land of his

birth. In 1832 it was discovered that

the students at that university were

plotting to bring about certain demo-

cratic reforms. The leaders of the

movement were seized and thrown into

prison—-save those who were fortunate

enough to find safety in flight. Among

these was Leopold Stein, who was visit-

ing his relatives at Rastadt, when the

news of the discovery of the plot and

[24]

arrest of some of its leaders was re-

vealed. Knowing that his own arrest

and imprisonment, or perhaps an even

worse fate would follow if he remained

in Germany, he made a hasty departure

and found a temporary refuge across

the Rhein, in French territory. As

there was no hope of a return to his

land, he determined to seek a new home

in America, where one of his friends,

a certain Dr. Frank of Rastadt, had

already gone.

Among the papers which I found

accompanying my ancestor's diary

were several letters of this Dr. Frank.

These contain an interesting account of

conditions in the United States, and

urged Leopold Stein, as well as other

members of his family, to join him in

the New World. Dr. Frank, writing

from Germantown, Ohio, after being in

the United States some six months, and

having traveled extensively, advises his

friend Leopold to avoid New England,

as being cold and inhospitable, the

people unfriendly and inclined to reli-

gious bigotry. Of the West, in the Mis-

souri territory, the inhabitants were

crude and lacking in the qualities of

civilization; hence that part of the coun-

try was not to be recommended. As to

the Eastern States, he writes that due

to the already dense population, there

was little opportunity for a newcomer

to prosper. The best prospects for ad-

vancement, as well as the most beautiful

lands, said Dr. Frank, may be found in

the valleys of the Ohio River, and its

tributaries. There the lands are beau-

tiful, like the shores of the Rhein, and

well suited to the cultivation of the

grape. Such lands are now no longer

cheap, but may be purchased for from

$15.00 to $40.00 per acre. A fine farm

is worth from $6000. to $10,000. ac-

cording to size and location. If this

represents too large a sum for his friend

to invest, he recommends the purchase

of a more modest abode in one of the

growing towns, where various kinds of

profitable employment may be found.

He says "Ein hübsches Haus und Gar-

tenplatz mögen Sie für $150-$200.

kaufen, und ein Haus für $400-$600.

erbauen lassen." For example, a cer-

tain Herr Stein (no relative of ours)

who has recently come to America from

the Rheinland, has received a Congres-

sional appointment as chief engineer

with a salary of $5000. If Karl would

come over and try his luck he might

do equally as well. (Karl Stein, the

oldest brother of my great-grandfather

was then a military engineer in the

service of the Grand Duke of Baden;

having a good position at home, wisely

ignored this advice, and remained in

Germany.) "I am sure that all of your

family, if they applied themselves with

diligence, would find excellent oppor-

tunities for profitable employment in

this country. Though you would be

leaving much that is good at home, and

should give careful consideration be-

fore making a decision, I feel confident

that you would find it to the ultimate

advantage of all of you to come to

America."

Another letter of Dr. Frank, also

from Germantown, Ohio, is dated De-

cember 24, 1832. The writer begins by

apologizing for not having written

sooner, but sends additional informa-

tion about conditions in America, prom-

ised in his previous letter. He explains

that he has been overcome by a spell

of homesickness. It is difficult to pros-

per in America, he writes, unless one

is acquainted with the English language;

he recommends that his friend Leopold

read the works of Cooper and of Lord

Byron, and to study English grammar.

"Without a knowledge of English, it is

difficult to have any success among these

Yankees, who think of nothing but mak-

ing money. They are adept in the arts

of lying and deception. In these re-

spects they exceed even the most ava-

ricious Jews of Europe. These Yan-

kees know nothing of music, indeed have

little culture whatsoever. Nevertheless,

all that is really needed for success is

sound health and determination. The

experiences of others have proven this.

While learning English, I have been

making my living by teaching, but as

soon as I have mastered the language, I

shall resume the practice of Medicine.

"The wisest course for you, friend

Leopold, would be to purchase some

[25]

land. In this country land constantly

rises in value. In the past six years,

the price of land has doubled! Farm

products are in good demand, and bring

high prices—flour $6.00 the barrel;

corn meal, which is used for baking, 3c

to 4c the pound; pork 2c to 2½c the

pound; potatoes 25c the bushel; apples

and the like $2. the barrel. It would

be still better to grow products of which

there is as yet none here, such as cauli-

flower, sugar beets, red cabbage, and

lettuce. Seeds for these should be

brought with you, as they cannot be pur-

chased here.

"There is no need to bring more than

one gun, as game is already scarce—

'Die Jagd ist nichts mehr.' There are

still plenty of wild pigeons, rabbits, and

squirrels. For deer, one must go 100

miles from the city, and of buffalo there

are none at all. Fishing was formerly

good but has been ruined by the build-

ing of dams.

"It is needless to bring furniture, as

the necessary articles can be purchased

here cheaply. A good table for $6.; a

set of six Windsor chairs for the same

price, a sideboard or cabinet for $5;

soap and candles must be made in the

household. The paper here is good

enough for writing purposes, but there

is no good paper for drawing and

sketching. Knives, forks, scissors, and

other small instruments should be

brought with you; the finer articles can-

not be purchased here. It would be an

excellent thing to bring the necessary

equipment for a Liquörenfabrik or

Stillerei. An excellent demand would

be found for good liquors, such as our

own Kirschwasser and brandy. Even

the Cherokee Indians would appreciate

them!

"If the ladies should accompany you

to America, a Putzmacher-geschäft (Mil-

linery store) would do well. Stylish

hats are in great demand by the Amer-

ican ladies, but very few are available.

For this purpose the finer materials

should be purchased in Germany and

brought along. Materials such as fine

silks, laces, trimmings, fine feathers, and

embroideries cannot be obtained here.

Little children's silk hats, such as we

have at home, would take well. In addi-

tion a good profit could be made by

selling face powders, perfumes, and all

sorts of articles of luxury for ladies.

Except in the Atlantic coast provinces,

such articles are not obtainable, and

even there are very expensive. Good

silk costs $1.50 the yard, linen 25c the

yard. Recipes for dyeing you should

also bring along with you. All these

articles would be in good demand in

Cincinnati. It would be well also to

bring recipes for making fine chocolates,

cakes, und alle Art Confituren.

"Success in this country requires only

energy and resolution, and possessed of

these you cannot fail to be fortunate."

On the whole, this account of Amer-

ican conditions does not seem an es-

pecially favorable one; nevertheless it

apparently made a good impression

upon its recipients. Leopold Stein, of

course, had little choice; he had either

to leave Germany, or to stand the con-

sequences of the political events in

which he had participated; but when he

left for America, strangely enough, his

mother, two sisters and brother Eduard

decided to accompany him. Only the

oldest brother, Karl, remained in Ger-

many. The other members of the fam-

ily joined Leopold in Strassburg, where

they sold the possessions which they had

brought along and converted them into

gold. With this they planned to pur-

chase a home, in whatever part of Amer-

ica might please them best. They took

with them a number of household ar-

ticles, family portraits, and other per-

sonal effects, some of which have been

preserved to the present day. Leopold

apparently mistrusted his friend's judg-

ment as to the lack of need for weapons

in America, for he brought with him, in

addition to the rifle which Dr. Frank had

recommended, two duelling pistols, a

small pocket pistol, a Heidelberg duel-

ling sword, a dagger, and a sword cane.

On several occasions, he found the last

named weapon to be of good service, for

Baltimore, in the first half of the nine-

teenth century, was by no means the law-

abiding place that it has since become.

[26]

The details of the journey to America

are fully set forth in the diary of Leo-

pold Stein. From Strassburg, he and

his family journeyed across France to

Havre, where they embarked on the

sailing ship "Lexington," of Boston,

bound for New Orleans.

At Havre, they purchased supplies for

the sea voyage, it being necessary in

those days for the passengers to supply

their own food while on shipboard. The

list of these supplies is set forth in the

diary, and is as follows:

360 Pf. Biscuit

12 Littres de

130 Pf. Viande de

l'eau de vie

conserve

1 quintal de

40 Pf. de Riz

sucre

40 Littres pois 20 Pf. de café

et haricots

5 Pf. de Chocolat

30 Pf. de beurre 10 Pf. Mehl

sale

20 Flaschenessence

½ barrique de

d'oranges

vin

12 Bousseau de

60 Littres do

Pommes de

vinaigre

terre

Setting sail on April 21, 1833, the

travelers departed for the New World.

The voyage was uneventful, and seven

weeks later they arrived off the mouth

of the Mississippi River, where a pilot

boarded the ship, and conducted them to

the port of New Orleans. The shores

of the new land offered a welcome sight

to the voyagers, clouded somewhat by

the thought that slavery still prevailed

there.

"Am 6tn Juni, Morgens sehen wir

vom Schiff aus die Stadt New Orleans

von der Morgensonne beleuchtet, sie

scheint sehr gross, und in einem halb-

Kreise am Ufer des Mississippi erbaut."

Here the diary is interrupted. The

travelers had intended to land at New

Orleans, and had tentative plans to make

this town their permanent home, if they

found it, and the surrounding country,

to their liking. As a notation in the

diary indicates, before leaving Europe

they had engaged hotel rooms in New

Orleans in the inn of a certain Herr

Bauer in Lewis Street. When the ship

arrived at New Orleans, however, it

was found that a cholera epidemic was

raging, and the passengers were advised

that it was not safe for them to land.

They therefore transferred to the river

steamer "Walk-in-the-Water" and con-

tinued up the Mississippi, with the in-

tention of joining Dr. Frank in Ohio.

They had not proceeded far from New

Orleans, however, when the cholera

broke out among the crew and passen-

gers on board their ship. Among these

was Frau Stein, who soon became very

ill, and died on shipboard, shortly be-

fore the steamer reached the little town

of New Madrid in the State of Missouri.

This sad event is recorded by the follow-

ing entry in the diary:

"Abends 4 Uhr am 19tn Juni 1833—

starb unsere Mutter auf dem Dampfboot

"Walk-in-the-Water" an der Cholera;

am 20tn Juni, 1833, Morgens gegen 10

Uhr wurde sie zu New Madrid im Staat

Missouri hart am Ufer des Mississippi

begraben."

A pressed rose bud is found between

the pages of the diary containing this

entry. Overcome by their grief the

travelers failed to keep a close watch

upon their valuables, and upon their

return from the burial of their mother,

they discovered, to their horror, that the

trunk containing the gold which they

had brought with them to purchase a

home, had been stolen, and that they

were now left almost penniless in a

strange land. With only a small sum

of money in their pockets, they con-

tinued up the river, eventually reaching

Cincinnati, in the latter part of June,

1833. There they met their friend, Dr.

Frank, but did not linger long. Whether

they did not find Cincinnati to their

liking, or whether, being unable to pur-

chase a home or farm due to the loss

of their money, they were impelled to

leave, is not revealed.

On the advice of a friend, whom they

had met in Cincinnati, they determined

to go east and settle in Baltimore; and

accordingly, departed from Cincinnati

on the evening of July 15, 1833, by the

river steamer "Mount Vernon."

At this point, entries in the diary are

very brief and bear evidence of the

pessimism and depression from which

the travelers suffered, by reason of their

[27]

double misfortune. The notations con-

sist chiefly of the names of the various

towns which the steamer passed in its

journey up the Ohio River. They

stopped for a day or two in Pittsburgh,

(which is spelled "Pizebourg" in the

diary) and proceeded from there, by

gradual stages, to Baltimore, which they

reached on July 24, 1833. With their

arrival in Baltimore the diary comes to

a close; the final entry is—"Baltimore,

July 25th, 1833—Temperature 110°

Fahrenheit."

Then followed the difficult period of

becoming adjusted to a new life in a

strange land. It was doubly difficult be-

cause the long period of American pros-

perity so enthusiastically described by

Dr. Frank in

his letters, when "land

doubled in price every few years, and

employment was easy to be had" was

drawing to a close; the hard times,

which reached a crisis in the panic of

1837, were not far off. Eduard, the

older brother, was the first to obtain

employment. He gave lessons in Ger-

man and French, and thus supported the

family. His brother Leopold worked at

various jobs, eventually becoming a

clerk in the hat shop of Craft and Cole

in Clerkenwell Street. The two sisters

did fancy embroidering and similar

work. In 1836, they received word that

their friend Dr. Frank had died in New

Orleans of the yellow fever. This event

is perpetuated in the diary by a picture

of his grave, with a tombstone set at the

foot of a weeping willow tree, evidently

painted by one of the sisters. The same

year the older sister married Juan Ca-

seres, a Spanish sea-captain, and the

following year Leopold Stein married

a Miss Young, of a Southern Maryland

family.

By this time the two brothers had ac-

cumulated a little capital out of their

earnings, and they determined to estab-

lish a business of their own. Leopold

Stein, having learned something of the

hat trade, thought that the manufacture

of hats would be profitable. It was the

fashion for men, at this time, to wear

tall "beaver" hats made of dyed fur.

There was an available supply of fur,

for this purpose, but the brothers did

not know how to cure and dye it, nor

was the art known in Baltimore. Ac-

cordingly, sometime in the year 1836,

Leopold Stein wrote to his brother Karl,

in Germany, asking him to obtain and

send the formula for curing and dyeing

fur, as done in the fur centers of Ger-

many. Karl Stein was, at this time, dis-

trict engineer (Bezirksingenieur) in

Heidelberg. A long and interesting let-

ter from Karl, sent in response to this

request, is among the letters preserved

by Leopold Stein.

This letter is dated Heidelberg, March

25, 1837. In it, Karl Stein says that he

has found it very difficult to obtain the

desired information concerning the

"Pelzfärberei," although he has made

several trips to Manheim for that pur-

pose. The older workmen who know

the craft well are very suspicious and

will not talk freely, and the younger

men no longer take the trouble to learn

their trade properly, hence their advice

is not to be relied upon. However, he

has finally found an old and experienced

fur dyer, from whom he has purchased

a formula for the best method of curing

and dyeing fur for hats. This formula

he sets forth in detail. The letter closes

with news of various relatives and

friends in Germany, and a request that

the brothers send him some Indian relics

and natural history specimens.

Supplied with this information from

Germany, the two brothers opened a fur

dyeing and hat making establishment,

which soon flourished sufficiently to

provide them with a good livelihood.

But, succeeding the panic of 1837, busi-

ness conditions became very bad, and in

the long period of hard times which

followed, and lasted for several years

thereafter, the hat business was not suf-

ficient to support both families. The

elder brother temporarily withdrew

from the partnership and sought other

employment, since his brother Leopold,

who by that time had a wife and child,

had greater needs than he. It would be

difficult to find a more vivid picture of

the condition of the business world dur-

ing the hard times which followed the

panic of 1837, than that contained in a

letter written February 24, 1839, by

[28]

Eduard Stein to his sister Amanda. This

letter was written at New Orleans, where

Eduard had gone in the hope of selling

some merchandise.

"Ich habe dir zwar bei meiner Abreise

gesagt, dass wenn meine Geschäfte hier

schlecht gehen, so würde ich gar nicht

schreiben; diesmal aber muss ich mein

Vorhaben brechen. Nicht nur sind die

Geschäfte schlecht, so wieder alles ist

schlecht. Ich habe also diese langen 3

Wochen keine Hoffnung etwas zu ver-

kaufen bekommen, und selbst mein

Geld in kurzer Zeit zu Ende gehen wird.

Ich habe in diesen Tagen die Preisse der

Waaren erkundigt, und bemerkte ich, zu

meinem grossen Schrecken, dass ich

nicht nur gar keinen Nutzen machen,

sondern selbst nicht um den halben Kost-

preiss verkaufen kann. Alles will nur

verkaufen, und niemand einkaufen, und

man bot mir hier dieselben Waaren um

die halben Preisse was Hubbard in

Baltimore bezahlte—wie kann ich ver-

kaufen? Die Stadt ist voll von Sachen

aller Art, und niemand kann verkaufen.

Zwei dritteile der Schiffe die hier liegen

müssen ohne Fracht wieder weggehen.

Ich bin im Marine Hotel und zahle $9.00

die Woche. Dies ist das billigste was

ich finden konnte. Dies ist ein Unglück

für mich, unter solche Verhältnisse mein

Haus in Baltimore zu verlassen, und

wenn ich nicht nach 3 Wochen mehr

meine Waaren verkaufen kann, muss ich

solche versteigern um meine Rechnung

zu zahlen, ehe ich weg kann. Wenn die

Verhältnisse sich nicht bald ändern, so

weiss ich nicht was aus mir werden soll.

Ich will inzwischen die Hoffnung noch

nicht ganz aufgeben, und wenn ich

keine Stelle hier bekommen kann, so

werde ich meine Waaren so schnell wie

möglich versteigern, und zu Geheim nach

Baltimore zu kommen, und von da nach

Europa, was meinst du?

dein dich liebender Bruder,

EDUARD."

If it

were not for the ancient ink and

paper, one might readily believe that

this letter had been written, not in 1839,

but in 1939.

It seems to have been typical of the

experiences of many families which

came to America that contacts with

friends and relatives who remained in

Germany were soon broken. It is note-

worthy, in this connection, that the let-

ters received by the Steins in America

from their brother in Germany frequent-

ly mention delays in receiving commu-

nications from America, or a failure to

have received a response to a letter pre-

viously written. Once the chain of cor-

respondence was broken by either of the

parties moving to another locality, the

chances of resuming contact between the

two branches of a family were rather

slim. This is well illustrated by a let-

ter written by Karl Stein to his brothers

in America, in the year 1842, which was

the last communication ever received by

the Steins from their brother in Ger-

many.

Sometime in the year 1838, the sisters

and brothers collected a large number

of Indian relics, some specimens of nat-

ural history and minerals. These they

packed in a large box and shipped to

their brother in Germany, in accordance

with the request which he had made of

them. They waited for a long time, but

received no acknowledgment of its re-

ceipt. Letters were written, and still no

reply was received. Finally, after four

years had passed, they received a letter

from Waldshut, Baden, in which their

brother Karl said as follows:

"So long a time had passed without

receiving any news from you, that I had

finally given up all hope of ever hear-

ing again from my brothers and sisters

in America. I had written several let-

ters without receiving any reply, and

finally in moving here, lost your ad-

dress; I had, indeed, supposed that you

had moved away from Baltimore. Last

month, however, I received a letter from

a certain Captain Beermann of Bremen,

saying that he had in his possession a

large box shipped by a Stein family of

Baltimore, but that during the sea voy-

age, the rats had eaten away the address,

so that he did not know for whom the

box was intended. Recently he had been

informed of a certain Herr Stein, in

Baden, who had relatives in Baltimore,

and he inquired whether I was the per-

son for whom the box was intended. Ac-

[29]

cordingly, I wrote him that I was indeed

the proper party, and he sent me the

box, which I have received today, after

so long a delay. Needless to say, I was

delighted to hear once again from my

dear sisters and brothers, and to receive

the beautiful embroideries made by the

dear Amanda, as well as the Indian rel-

ics and natural history specimens. The

accompanying letter from Amanda is

dated April 2, 1838. At that time I

had left Heidelberg and was then sta-

tioned in Bruchsal; I was thereafter

transferred to Mannheim, and I am now

stationed in Waldshut, where I am

Bezirksingenieur. I am indeed over-

joyed to receive news of you once more,

but it was to my great surprise that I

learned that my brother Leopold had

actually married an American woman,

"hoffentlich doch keine Schwartze."

Then follows news of various persons in

Germany, and an account of his own

marriage and of the birth of a son

named Adolf.

With these quotations of this last let-

ter of Karl Stein, I bring this account

of the experiences of the Stein family

to a close. The events narrated are in

themselves of little importance, but the

accompanying picture and comments on

American life of more than one hundred

years ago are, I believe, worth record-

ing.

[30]