Authors: Don and Ed Guenther

Written: 2021

Eimer Ancestral Tree by Donald S. Guenther

Eimer Migration by Don Guenther

Bocholt, Germany, 19th Century

The word Bocholt means “beechwood”, the surrounding area being forested in beech trees. Its main economy was farming, with additional income from textiles, the production of cloth and clothes. Around 1849 the population was about 4000. It is located in the northwestern section of Germany, near the border of the Netherlands. The small river Aa runs through it on its way to the Rhine. Still standing today is the famous Dutch Renaissance town hall building built in 1618. The Eimers would have walked the halls of this building for one thing or another. After all, it was the town hall for hundreds of years. By 1849 Bocholt had come under the rule of Protestant Prussia, a German state that was destined to rule all of Germany and under the Kaiser start World War I.

Frederick the Great began all of this in the 18th century. “In his youth, Frederick was more interested in music and philosophy than the art of war. He defied his authoritarian father, Frederick William I, and sought to run away with his best friend Hans Hermann von Katte. They were caught at the border and King Frederick William I nearly executed his son for ‘desertion’. After being pardoned, he was forced to watch the official beheading of Hans″(Wikipedia). Not a good start for the modern nation of Germany to be sure, and it was downhill from there. Catholics were being squeezed out in the Prussian way of doing things.

Aside from political upheaval, the small farmers were being pushed out by the Industrial Revolution with its machinery. Small farms were disappearing in favor of corporate farms and big business marketing techniques. The old ways were going up in smoke. The Eimers were peasants at best. For them it was either work for the big business in the factory combine or get out. Service in the Prussian military was not optional either, another strike against the growing German empire. 

Also, cotton was beginning to replace linen, a main staple in the economy of Bocholt up to 1846. The side business of textiles was changing, favoring the factory. Grain harvests were not doing well in the late 1840s either, not to mention the potato blight that affected so much of Europe and especially Ireland.

In 1848 an uprising, a revolution really, failed to unseat powerful Prussia with its ill bent ways. The Eimers wanted out in the worst way. They needed a new start. This Germany was no place to raise children.

Joannes Wilhelm Eimers(1793-1882)

Joannes Wilhelm Eimers(1793-1882) married Eva Lensing(1794-1864) on August 29, 1818 in Bocholt, Westfalen, Preuben, Germany. Joannes was 23 years old when he married 24 year old Eva. He was the son of Heinrich Wilhelm Eimers(1757-  ) and Dorthia Adethaide Neeling(1757-  ).

It appears they already had a daughter, Aleida, born in 1816. Aleida was baptized in St. George’s Catholic Church in 1824, by which it might be inferred that they became Catholics at that time, since the rest of their children were baptized as infants, which is the Catholic way. 

Wilhelm and Eva Eimers lived in Bocholt, Westfalen, a small village near Ascheberg. They spoke the native dialect of Low German, High German was something that you had to learn in school and the language at home was Low German. According to tradition, the Eimers family had originally come from an area in Bavaria near the modern Czech border called the Bavarian Woods (Bayerischer Wald). That had been a couple of generations back.

The situation in Bavaria was not easy. It is a very Catholic area and always has been, so they did not leave Bavaria for religious reasons, but presumably for financial reasons.

But the family could not make it in Bocholt and so they decided to immigrate to the United States. Many Germans had gone before them, and many of them settled in the state of Wisconsin.  They were part of the second wave of three great German immigrations in the 19th century.

Bernardina Born, 1831

Bernardina was born in Bocholt on March 9, 1831, just miles from where her future husband Johann Delsman was born. 

She was baptized in St. George Catholic Church that same year. Her name 

was Bernhardine and became Bernardina and then Dina. Dina grew up in Bocholt. Her marriage prospects were not good, in part at least because the family was poor. Everybody seemed to want to marry ‘up’. What did love have to do with it?

Girls growing up in the 1800’s were less likely to have a future of working outside the home than some previous centuries. The girls were taught household skills such as sewing, cooking, taking care of children, being exposed to childbirth, and generally keeping a home up in every aspect, in many cases this included guarding the finances.

Many of the girls of the 19th century were illiterate and could not read or write. Not so with Dina. Her family made sure she could handle whatever life threw at her.

Immigration, 1849

The Atlantic Crossing was the big leg of the trip. The harbor was bustling with ships from all over the world. It was a magnificent sight! Eva probably was grateful that she had delayed the crossing so that she had no babies. Of their eight children it looks like at least Dina came with them, age 19 and unmarried, Wilhelm age 15, and Johanna age 11. Dina’s older brother Henry found his own way over as a sailor and Fred came in 1847, two years before, no doubt sending word back about the prospects in America.

Somehow Joannes had arranged everything and it all fell together. They endured the health inspection and were declared fit to immigrate. 

They had their spot in the hold and were issued a chamber pot. Everyone took care of their own pot, dumping it overboard when necessary. Dina likely had this dubious job.

The ship was full of Germans so they would have felt a camaraderie. 

Friendships were established on this momentous voyage, sometimes marriages, births, miseries, it was all there. They knew the risk of the crossing. There was possible disease on board, possible death in the sea. Many died on the crossing in the 19th century before stricter laws forbid such harsh conditions.  The younger children seemed to fare the best, and women better than the men. The men seemed to fight the anguish, the women endured it.

Sea Sickness and Boredom

Sea sickness was beyond anything they had ever imagined, but the boredom of the monotony of the two month voyage was perhaps most unbearable. The itching of the lice never ceased. The stench of the hold was suffocating. Dark and damp, and the smells were stifling. They looked for opportunities to go topside during the day, but at night… at night… each night became an endurance test. The darkness. Candles were restricted due to fire dangers. The creaking and rocking. Human sounds. Human miseries. Did they ever really sleep or just lay still? It would end. This was their great hope, and their great test, but it would end. America was waiting. Land and jobs. Prosperity. A future for the children. Religious freedom. Eva believed this. She and Joannes would make a new start for their progeny. Not like Germany, where opportunities were but a vapor to be grasped at. In America they would get hold of the real thing! They would have a farm in America. And in a German Catholic community they would not be persecuted.

When the sea was calm and the breeze gentle they could see to the horizon line, the sky was huge. They had never seen anything like this before. When the sea was rough, you couldn’t see past the chamber pot. The ship’s bow stared into a mountain of water.The Germans became appreciative of the American captains as they faced daunting seas and brought them through.

New York Harbor, 1849

New York Harbor, 1849
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The Statue of Liberty was finished in 1885 and set up in 1886. It did not grace the shores of America when the Eimer family came into New York Harbor in 1849. 

The harbor was awesome, nonetheless. Ships coming and going, scam artists of every sort on the docks, peddling everything from a place to stay to jobs to land purchase. All bogus. They were wasting their time on the Eimers. These people were nobody’s fool. They held their life savings close to hand. They knew that it was hard work that brought success and wealth, not trickery or gambling.

From New York, which in itself was a shockingly busy sight, they probably went by rail to Buffalo, and then by steamer to Milwaukie. It was the age of the steamboat. It took about ten days to get to Milwaukie, Wisconsin. The steamboats also had their share of shysters on board. No problem for the Eimers.

Burlington, Wisconsin

They came to rest in Burlington, Wisconsin. Many Germans had settled here. Son Fred, who had immigrated in 1847, two years prior, was there to welcome his parents to America.

The Eimers a Supportive Family

Wilhelm Eimers brought his wife and family to America when he was 66 years old. He lived here 13 years before he died. He lived a couple of years in Burlington, Wisconsin and then down to Festina, Iowa, where he and his wife lived with their son Fred and his wife until they died. He is listed as a farmer throughout his life. His family transitioned to merchants. His children were educated to work off the farm. The Eimers’ children were very supportive of the family.

Dina’s Brother Fred(1820- 1906)

Dina’s brother Fred came with his wife Anna Belting(1819- 1842) to America in 1847. He was born in Bocholt, Germany, in 1820. He married in 1842 but it appears his wife and baby died as she was giving birth in the same year. He then married a second time to Anna Marie Tekippe(1816- 1882) in 1846 and she also had a child the same year. In 1847 he and his wife and one year old child came across the Atlantic to Milwaukee. He came over the same year as Bernard Delsman. They were Catholics and it is thought that Fred introduced Bernard to his sister Dina.

Fred took in his parents in Festina following Dina’s marriage in the early 1850s. In Festina, Fred owned 200 acres just north of the town. He worked as a farmer until he raised his family. He is listed then as a broker and collection agent. He had sold his farm. His wife Marie Eimers died in 1882. He then married Francis(1835- 1922). He lived in nearby Ft. Atkinson in his old age. He died in 1906 and is buried behind the Catholic church in Festina. He shares his headstone with his third wife. His headstone is titled ‘Father’ and Francis’ headstone ‘Mother’. Marie Eimers (Ann Marie Tekippe) is buried a few graves down.

Church Life in Festina

Festina is pronounced with a long “i” and is Latin, meaning to hurry. JB met Clara at Our Lady of Seven Dolors Catholic Church. Festina was not your typical high profile western frontier town. Instead, it has beautiful rolling hills blanketed with farms. It was and still is a German Catholic community. People came to Festina looking for peace. They wanted a place to freely practice their beliefs.

Our Lady of Seven Dolors was the first church in Winneshiek County. Twice around 1850 it was burned, suspected to be arson. Perhaps it was due to the church’s  close connection and friendliness to the Winnebago Indians, or maybe it was started by an anti-Catholic faction, it cannot be known. Nonetheless, they rebuilt and rebuilt. German Catholics were a faithful group. The Eimers were deeply religious.

After church services in Germany the families would sit around and drink beer in the beer gardens, children included. It was no different in Festina. A good brew was the order of the day. Outright drunkenness was not tolerated… much. If it was a German settlement, a brewery was not far away.

Wilhelm and Eva lived with Fred until their death, Eva in 1864 and Wilhelm in 1882.

Wilhelm and Eva Eimers, Graves in Festina

Many relatives are buried in the Festina church graveyard. There is Wilhelm and Eva.  Wilhelm died a year after Eva, but chose not to be buried by her. Any cemetery director will tell you that this is not a good sign. Not a good sign at all.

Gerhard Heitkemper, Clara’s father, is buried here. He has his name in bold print at the Festina graveyard as the first person buried here. Important man.

Bernardina’s Marriage to Johann, 1851

Dina was 20 years old when a German fellow at the Burlington Church caught her eye, a big handsome guy by the name of Johann Bernard Delsman. Johann had immigrated from Germany in 1847, leaving the family farm behind. With lovely Berardina in Bernard’s future now, what was the old farm in Germany anyway? Having secured his living, Bernard married Bernardina Francisca Eimers (1830 – 1915) in that glorious year of 1851 in newly built St. Mary’s Church. It was June 24, 1851, and a glorious day in Milwaukee, Wisconsin!

The church had been built in the late 1840’s for $578.84. It was not fancy as Catholic churches go, but to Bernardina it might as well have been a great cathedral as she committed her life to be with Bernard. Her life was invested in people, not buildings.

Francis Creek(Kossuth), Wisconsin, 1852

In 1852 Johann and Bernardina made their mark in Francis Creek, Wisconsin. Dina was born in Bocholt, Germany, in 1831 and now had come home to America. America was where she made her family. America was where she would stay. Many went back over the ocean, but Dina stayed, her family stayed.

Dina’s Children

It was on the farm in Francis Creek where Dina gave birth to all of her children. There was Johann Bernard first in 1852, then Gertrude in 1854, Anna Maria in 1856, Frederick William in 1858; Elisbeth in 1860 who died when she was 13, possibly from diphtheria or maybe typhoid; Louis William in 1863; Rose, in 1867, who died at birth, possibly from unsanitary conditions, so common in that day; Heinrich in 1868, who also died at birth; Albert in 1869, born May 5 and died December 19; Frank Xavier in 1871, finally a live child after three dead babies in a row, named after a missionary, the name meaning “a new house”; and finally, Anna was born  in 1874. Eleven in all and 7 made it to adulthood, considered pretty good for the day. Don’t think that Dina did not suffer over the deaths of her little ones, but she was also thankful for what she got.

German Ways Die Hard

Dina and her family were German, they spoke German, they lived German. When Johann died in 1894, Dina published his obituary in German. His gravestone is German. It may have been difficult for Dina to watch her children growing up and becoming American, learning English, acting American. Her oldest son JB did not want the farm. This was not the German way. The oldest son should take on the farm, become the anchor stone in the family. What was wrong with kids these days? A parent works their fingers to the bone for her children, and then the kids go their own way. The old ways die hard, usually not dying at all until the bearer of the ways dies. Johann and Bernardina were taking German to the grave. This is the only way they knew. It was such a way in Germany for hundreds of years, was it not?

Francis Creek House, 1870

With the coming of sawmills came the building of bigger houses from lumber rather then logs. The little log houses started becoming big farm houses with many small rooms to accommodate the large families. Brick was available in Wisconsin.

The farmhouses were oftentimes accompanied by silos. Horses played a big role in farming. Being able to select a good plow horse was a valuable talent. People loved and cared for their animals. In Germany your milk cow lived in the house with you, the house being an extension of the barn. Only hanging blankets separated the two areas. In Francis Creek, in 1888, from January 7- 11, it got so cold, temperatures between -20 to -40 degrees, people brought their cows into their houses to keep the milk from freezing in the utters. This cold was followed by the Great Blizzard of 1888. 

It was unpredicted and deadly. The day started on January 12, 1888 as a warm day, then the blizzard hit. Many children were in school. People died.

Bernardina’s Signature, 1912

After Bernard Delsman died Dina moved in with her youngest daughter Anna in Two Rivers. Anna had married a Stadler boy. 

Death of Dina and Bernard

Dina died there in 1915 and was buried beside Bernard. Johann Bernard and Dina are buried in Two Rivers, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. They are buried side by side.

Dina’s Brother Henry(1819- 1906)

Dina’s brother Henry seems to have found his own way to America, as a sailor on a ship. There is no indication that he was shanghaied. However, there was this little incident of Henry “jumping ship” at the New York Harbor. Jumping ship means that he simply did not get back on board  when they sailed. Likely they owed him money anyway so they weren’t going to waste time running him down. 

This probably is not a black mark on the family, just a little indiscretion. Henry was likely the best sailor on the ship anyway so he had earned his travel. On the other hand, the captain may have been happy to be shut of Henry. Either way, it’s a win-win.

Henry’s wife, Fredericke Nitz, was a big woman and you better believe she didn’t give him the option of jumping ship on her family. You can be sure that Henry towed the line. 

Dina’s Brother William Apprentices JB Delsman

Now Dina’s brother William had moved to Festina, Iowa. This is where Dina’s son Johann was sent in 1870 to be trained in William’s mercantile. It was clear that JB was not farm material. He hated it. The handwriting was on the  wall. Bernard and Dina had to accept the fact.

So here was JB in Festina, being trained to be responsible, a man ready to take on family responsibilities. As fate would have it, the Heitkempers also had come to Festina, in 1859, and they had a daughter by the name of Clara.  JB’s eyes were popping from the get go. He had found his other rib all right, and Clara was not arguing. William died in Los Angeles, California in 1917.

Johann Delsman  and Dina Eimers had Johann Bernard(JB) in 1877 in Francis Creek, Wisconsin.  

Johann Bernard(JB) Delsman(1876-1904)

JB Delsman(1876-1904) married Clara Heitkemper(1855-1925) in 1875. They had Joseph Bernard in 1887.

Joseph Bernard Delsman(1887- 1940)

Joe Delsman(1887- 1940) married Wilda Ruth Wiley(1891- 1960). They had Geraldine Clara in 1916.

Geraldine Clara Delsman(1916- 2012)

Geraldine Clara Delsman(1916- 2012) married John Emil Guenther(1912- 1991). They had the 14.

Bibliography

Alexander, W. E.; History of Winneshiek and Allamakee Counties, Iowa: 

Bocholt, Germany: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bocholt,_Germany

Zeitlin, Richard H., Frederick the Great History: Germans in Wisconsin, copyright 2000