BookStudyDigest

Monday, 27 February 2023

[New post] The Germans

Site logo image lauriekearney posted: " Examples of furniture built at the Everett Furniture Factory. (Norwood Historical Society Collection) Germans have been immigrating to the United States, long before it became an established country. In fact, German's are one of the largest ethnic gro" Norwood Historical Society

The Germans

lauriekearney

Feb 27

Examples of furniture built at the Everett Furniture Factory. (Norwood Historical Society Collection)

Germans have been immigrating to the United States, long before it became an established country. In fact, German's are one of the largest ethnic groups to have immigrated to the United States. Germans began arriving in South Dedham in the 1840s. This first wave of German immigrants who came to town, were skilled artisans hired by the Everett Furniture Factory. When the factory relocated to Boston, the majority of local Germans followed them. A second wave of Germans began to arrive in Norwood in the late 1800s, where they found jobs working as laborers in local factories. By the year 1900, the census shows that they were living in Swedeville, and on Walpole Street and in newly built homes on Wilson Street, which eventually became the nucleus of Germantown.

Lawrence Kuld (Norwood Historical Society collection)

Looking a the history of German immigration, may help to illustrate the reasons Germans chose to leave their homes in the late 1800s and start a new life here in Norwood. The reasons are three fold – political, economic and religious. In 1848 Germany experienced a series of revolutions, which failed to establish a democracy and replace the monarchy. It became apparent to the average person, that they may never gain any rights. Lawrence Kuld came to America and ultimately settled in Norwood as a result of the revolutions. He was one of over one million Germans who came to the United States in the 1850s. In 1872, German farmers, who had lived in Russia for decades, had their granted privileges revoked by the Tsarist government, causing thousands of the farmers to emigrate. Farmers in other parts of Germany struggled as the population of the country continued to grow, and land to farm became scarce and often too small to support a family. By 1870, German-born farmers made up one third of the agricultural industry in rural areas of the United States' East Coast.  In the 1880s, records show the greatest amount of Germans came to the United States during this decade. Another significant reason for Germans to emigrate was the religious persecution of the Confessional Lutherans, this resulted with entire congregations coming to America, in order to worship God without interference from the state. And the final reason for many young men to emigrate was forced conscription into the Army for up to five years. Thus, many emigrated illegally to escape this mandate.

A postcard from Johlingen, Baden, Germany

About a dozen families who lived in Norwood's Germantown actually came from Germany. By 1900, Lawrence Kuld was living on Walpole Street, and his son-in-law, Julius Balduf was around the corner on Wilson Street along with approximately ten other German families. One family, the Waldheims, came from Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) and the Herzog family was from Langenbielan (now a town in Poland). Those who came from what is today's Germany, came from the country's southern states – Bavaria, North Rhine–Westphalia, and the most came from Baden, specifically the town of Johlingen. There are some familial connections amongst those from Johlingen, but most appear to have been friends and neighbors in both their old country and their newly adopted country.

These German families who lived in the neighborhood were: Kuld, Balduf, Doderer, Koch, Abele, Eckhardt, Hauck, Groote, Schacht, Gleichauf, Gunthner and Schair. Most were nextdoor neighbors on Wilson but some lived on Bullard and Walpole Streets, and most of them worked in the Winslow Bros., & Smith Tannery.

This Day In Norwood History -- Obituary of Lawrence Kuld

Back to Norwood Neighborhoods Exhibit main page -->

Comment

Unsubscribe to no longer receive posts from Norwood Historical Society.
Change your email settings at manage subscriptions.

Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser:
https://norwoodhistoricalsociety.org/the-germans/

Powered by WordPress.com
Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play
at February 27, 2023
Email ThisBlogThis!Share to XShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest

No comments:

Post a Comment

Newer Post Older Post Home
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

The Consecrated Eminence: Reflections on the Objects Collection

...

  • PLDT Home honors mothers on their special day with a heartwarming video titled Backstage Moms
    Motherhood is definitely one of the hardest endeavors a woman can take in her li...
  • [New post] Mackintosh — Beyond the Swelkie (2021)
    peterson10 posted: "Mackintosh, Jim, and Paul S. Philippou, eds. Beyond the Swelkie: A Collection of Poems and Writings Cel...
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4HzWQvkVWY&list=PL3yuCT4HAt-cxd8mbfqU-9oN6bsd4YOzmhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4HzWQvkVWY&list=PL3yuCT4HAt-cxd8mbfqU-9oN6bsd4YOzm
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4HzWQvkVWY&list=PL3yuCT4HAt-cxd8mbfqU-9oN6b...

Search This Blog

  • Home

About Me

BookStudyDigest
View my complete profile

Report Abuse

Blog Archive

  • April 2025 (1)
  • September 2024 (859)
  • August 2024 (946)
  • July 2024 (879)
  • June 2024 (843)
  • May 2024 (875)
  • April 2024 (1018)
  • March 2024 (1239)
  • February 2024 (1135)
  • January 2024 (934)
  • December 2023 (923)
  • November 2023 (818)
  • October 2023 (743)
  • September 2023 (712)
  • August 2023 (722)
  • July 2023 (629)
  • June 2023 (566)
  • May 2023 (584)
  • April 2023 (629)
  • March 2023 (551)
  • February 2023 (399)
  • January 2023 (514)
  • December 2022 (511)
  • November 2022 (455)
  • October 2022 (530)
  • September 2022 (418)
  • August 2022 (412)
  • July 2022 (452)
  • June 2022 (467)
  • May 2022 (462)
  • April 2022 (516)
  • March 2022 (459)
  • February 2022 (341)
  • January 2022 (385)
  • December 2021 (596)
  • November 2021 (1210)
Powered by Blogger.