Ohio History Journal

DOWN THE RHINE TO THE OHIO

The Travel Diary of Christoph Jacob Munk

April 21-August 17, 1832

by AUGUST C. MAHR

Professor of German, Ohio State University

 

The diary* published in the following pages in the original

German, with an English translation, merits attention for two prin-

cipal reasons: (1) it gives a complete, almost day-by-day account

of its writer's emigration with his family from Germany to Ohio;

and (2) it covers their entire journey, that is, not only the ocean

voyage and their trek by wagon to their new home in this country,

but also their lengthy trip by river barge on German inland water-

ways to their port of embarkation, Amsterdam, Holland.

This travel record is contained in a notebook, size 41/4 x 63/4

inches, and 5/8 of an inch thick. Obviously it had not been bought

for the purpose, but seems to have served previously as the order

book of a bookseller. Many of its pages are headed by names

entered in ink of men in various German cities, some of them names

of book dealers' firms (for instance, Mohr and also Jaeger, in

Frankfurt am Main), and underneath titles of books and pamphlets

of a diversified nature. The first pages, about ten, were torn or

cut out; on the present first page somebody failed three times, and

succeeded the fourth time, in writing in ink the word Baltimore

in its correct spelling. It is clearly the same hand that wrote on

top of the page "Herr Brede in Offenbach"-apparently that of

 

* The editor is greatly indebted to Mr. and Mrs. E. A. Munk, 1322 Oak Street,

Columbus, Ohio, for their permission to publish in these pages the original notebook

and diary left by their ancestor Christoph Jacob Munk. This manuscript volume has

been donated to the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society by Mr. and

Mrs. Munk.

Thanks are due also to Mr. J. E. Heacock, 1493 Larchmont Avenue, Lakewood,

Ohio, grandson of Christoph Jacob Munk, who furnished the genealogical material

concerning the first two generations of his grandfather's family in this country; to

Professors John W. Price (Zoology), Edgar N. Transeau (Botany), Guy H. Smith

(Geography), and Eugene Van Cleef (Geography), all of the Ohio State University,

who gave assistance in their special fields; and to J. Richard Lawwill, landscape

architect of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, who drew the maps

that illustrate this article.

266

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DIARY OF CHRISTOPH MUNK               267

 

the bookdealer who discussed with the prospective emigrant the

itinerary of the voyage and gave him the old order book to keep

as a notebook. On the following page there starts the diary, written

in German script with pencil. In places it is so hard to decipher

because of the faded and worn-off graphite that it had to be read

with a magnifying glass from the grooves the pencil had left in the

paper. From page two on there are 38 pages of continuous diary

entries, occasionally reinforced at a later date with ink. Toward

the end of the notebook there appears a second set of travel notes,

apparently written at a later date in the peace of the new homestead.

They are reproduced in an appendix. The leaves of the notebook

between the diary proper and the travel notes are filled with various

items, mainly pertaining to current farm and household business,

but interspersed with a few notes of a personal character. They add

a number of detailed features to the picture of the man who wrote

the diary and the travel notes. They show him as an industrious

and thrifty German farmer and householder, equally conscientious

as a creditor and a debtor, and as a ready helper to his neighbors.

Other such detached items are recipes for the making of beverages

and household medicines for man and beast; others are hymns and

prayers; and finally, there are a few of those semi-Christian pow-

wow spells for the stopping of blood and the curing of various ail-

ments, such as were, and still are, current among the farming popu-

lations of practically all countries. The group believes in them,

and the individual, no matter how truly and deeply religious, applies

them without conscientious scruples. For the purpose of editing

the diary these sporadic entries furnished occasional clues to family

relations of persons mentioned in the diary which otherwise would

have remained obscure.

The man who undertook this journey and left us the diary

was Christoph Jacob Munk. According to his traveling passport

he was by trade a vintner far from destitute, for he carried on his

person the sum of 1,500 thalers; in 1832, the year of his departure

from home, he was a man of 38 years; was accompanied by his

wife, Regina, eight years younger than her husband; and by his four

children: Christoph Adam, eight years old; Barbara, seven; Jacob,

five; and the baby, Christiana, nine months. From the personal

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description in the passsport he must have been a handsome fellow,

a little over 5 feet, 8 inches tall, well proportioned and straight-

legged, with a healthy brunette complexion, a good set of teeth,

and a thin-cheeked face.

His character is clearly revealed in his diary. He was in the

habit of making his own decisions and carrying them out. To have

taken this chance, no doubt well considered, of burning his bridges

behind him and setting out for new horizons with his wife and little

children bears witness to that. Toward the end of his travel notes

he writes these words: "Only people who combine a strong character

and courage with a childlike submission to the will of God, and who

trust him confidently in all dangers, may venture it [the journey]

with the help of God." These lines are a self-portrait sketch of the

man who wrote them. It appears from several entries in the diary

that occasionally he had to enforce his decisions over the head of

his wife who clearly was not in favor of the family's emigration.

Even before the departure from Unterturkheim, where they had

embarked on the river barge, she made a scene and wanted to go

back home. Every once in a while during the trip she appears to

have nagged him about the hardships imposed upon herself and

the children.

What were the reasons for the family's emigration?  The

diary never so much as hints at them. Only secondarily, if at all,

can there have been an economic motive. Christoph Jacob Munk

was definitely well-to-do. Had they been poor his wife certainly

would not have been so strongly opposed to the venture as she was.

Hence, Munk's reasons must have sprung from a different kind of

discontent, from one that was specifically masculine and, therefore,

of little if any import from a woman's point of view.

Considering the general situation of Germany and that of

Munk's home country, Wurttemberg, in particular, it is safe to

assume that Munk's decision to emigrate was prompted by his

disgust with the political conditions of Wurttemberg. During the

Napoleonic era the ruler of this South German state had thrown

in his lot with the French emperor. Wurttemberg contingents, led

by their own officers, had fought in most of Napoleon's campaigns

as units of the imperial armies, and the former duke had been



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DIARY OF CHRISTOPH MUNK               269

 

rewarded for his services with a kingly crown. Not even after the

Corsican's defeat and subsequent liquidation did the king of

Wurttemberg, in agreement with the other princely satellites of

Napoleon, renounce his malodorous promotion in rank. On the

contrary he sought to strengthen his absolute power by wallowing,

with his cabinet, in the quagmire of Metternich's reactionary

politics. Since very much the same thing happened in all German

states, the young men who had been promised well-deserved civil

liberties for their part in the Wars of Liberation were embittered

when their princes not only broke these promises but brutally

suppressed any attempts at democratic reforms. Local rebellions

flared up but came to nought; the ringleaders, if not jailed, fled

abroad, most of them never to return. In the early 1830's and

again in 1848 the bitter frustration that followed the two nation-

wide attempts at winning democratic liberty drove thousands of

Germans out of their country and gave the United States some of its

best citizens.

It is hardly doubtful that the group of eighty men, women,

and children in which the Munk family traveled across the Atlantic

left their homeland because they saw no chance for themselves and

their children to live their lives as free citizens of a democratic

state. How, then, is it to be explained that Munk, in his diary, gives

no indication whatsoever of his motives, political or otherwise, for

emigrating?

The last words of the diary read (in translation): "I wrote

this to my people at home, on December the 15th, 1832." Hence,

the diary, from the very outset, may have been kept for this particu-

lar purpose; and with this purpose in mind, what would have been

the use of writing about things these people at home knew only

too well, at the risk, moreover, of having the letter read by the

censor and thus getting them into trouble?

There may have been another reason why Munk withheld the

motives for his emigration: The diary shows throughout that he

professed that positive and emotional kind of Christianity known

as Pietism which, since the Wars of Liberation, had been revived

and become widespread in German Protestant circles as a form

of active objection to the irreligious rationalism of the period of

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270   OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

Enlightenment. In Wurttemberg it had been, and still is, especially

popular. Although the Pietists had been tending toward the form-

ing of conventicles, they lacked the organized unity of the Moravian

Brothers (Herrnhuter-Gemeine) with whom, otherwise, they shared

their emotionalism as well as their uncompromising adherence to

the evangelical teachings of Christ. Here may be sought the key

to the question why Munk never mentioned in his diary his reasons

for emigrating: Christ had taught to "render unto Caesar the

things that are Caesar's"; Munk, therefore, may have regarded it

as sinful to murmur against the divinely established authority of

worldly government and its laws, and, by doing so in a letter to

foment rebellion. "So long as I live in a country, I am bound to

obey. If, for some reason, I find it impossible to do so any longer,

it is better to leave than to obey grudgingly with a rebellious

mind"-such may have been Munk's argument for both his emi-

gration and his withholding of the reasons from the diary.

Yet there occurs in Munk's travel notes one term which makes

it clear that the motive for his emigration had sprung from political

idealism: he calls America "das Land meiner Sehnsucht." The

German language has several words expressing wishfulness:

"Begierde" (craving), "Verlangen" (desire), "Wunsch" (wish),

"Hunger" (hunger), "Durst" (thirst), etc.; but when a German

says "Sehnsucht" he means a longing that pervades the inmost

recesses of his soul; here, no doubt, a longing for civil liberty

denied him at home.

It would be utterly unfair to call Christoph Jacob Munk's

religious attitude an affectation. Like countless other mystics in

times past and at present he was striving forever to be close to God

in prayer, meditation, praise, and thanksgiving. In this awareness

of being constantly in the Divine Presence he was aided by devo-

tional books that offered for each day of the calendar a scriptural

passage, a meditation thereon, and an appropriate hymn. Two of

such are mentioned by Munk in his diary as his spiritual diet:

Hiller's Liederkastlein (see note 33) and Loskiel's Etwas firs Herz

(see note 36). The author of the former may have been a

Moravian; the author of the latter was prominent in the Moravian

Church both in Europe and later in America. The Pietist (if not

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DIARY OF CHRISTOPH MUNK                271

 

Moravian) coloring of Munk's Christianity is unmistakable, not

only from the stream of prayer that runs through the pages of

his diary but especially from his choice of words in these prayers.

There is, for example, his frequent use of "Abba," an Aramaic word

used by Jesus himself when, in his extreme distress, he invokes the

Father in the garden of Gethsemane (see note 3). Or take the word

"Augenleitung" (see note 4) which can be directly traced to Hiller's

book mentioned above. Or, when he implores God to give his wife

"ein neues Herz." Each of these instances alone would prove Munk

a Pietist.

The Sunday services on board the Geo. Nolgen (see note 23),

possibly conducted by Munk himself, with the reading of a sermon

and meditations, and with the singing of hymns, indicate that there

were other Pietists among the crowd of eighty passengers. The

drunken carousals, however, at Mainz, the refusal to attend the

Sunday service, the open hostility of Seybold, and, finally, the

crude selfishness of the latter and of Merz show clearly that there

were also quite a number of very un-Christian people on board. It

is even likely that these were in the majority.

The passport of the Munk family, issued by the royal govern-

ment of Wurttemberg on April 12, 1832, at Stuttgart, the capital,

provides for traveling through "the grand duchies of Baden and

Hesse-Darmstadt and the kingdom of the Netherlands, to North

America with the purpose of emigrating." The passport is visaed

on the reverse only by the Dutch ambassador to the crown of

Wurttemberg; that indicates that Holland was the only sovereign

state which at the time required such visa for transient travelers

by boat on the River Rhine to a Dutch seaport. Moreover, the

magistrates of the river harbors of Mannheim (Baden), Koblenz,

and Emmerich (Prussia) attested to the satisfactory health condition

of their cities in compliance with another regulation of the Dutch

authorities. Two of these harbors were in the Rheinprovinz of

Prussia; yet, this state, which borders a greater stretch of the

Rhine than either Hesse-Darmstadt or Baden, is not even mentioned

among the sovereign states through which the travelers had to pass.

Two years before there also would have been a customs inspection

at Mannheim, by Baden; at Mainz, by Hesse-Darmstadt; and at

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272   OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

Koblenz, by Prussia. Since 1831, however, travel on the Rhine was

customs free. It was the long-awaited result of negotiations between

the Rhine states that had been dragging along since the Congress

of Vienna in 1815. Yet it was not until 1868 that the last customs

barriers were let down, at least between the German states. The

Netherlands government had made certain reservations in the agree-

ment of 1831, a very few of which were upheld even in 1868. This

explains why the travelers had to undergo the customs inspection

at Lobith, the Dutch border town, although nothing is said about

a payment of duties. The United States at that time required

neither a passport nor an immigration permit, but only a health

inspection by a quarantine officer.

The very fact that no one had died during the ocean voyage

nor that anybody was found diseased by the inspecting doctor upon

the ship's arrival in the port of Baltimore indicates that the sani-

tary conditions on board the Geo. Nolgen cannot have been too bad.

Munk's remarks about deficient cooking facilities, the evil odor

and taste of the monotonous fare, and the putrid drinking water

must be taken with a grain of salt. As late as the ¹⁸⁷0's the pas-

sengers on transoceanic vessels had to bring their own victuals and

prepare their own meals. Munk's comments on the digestive

disturbances common among passengers at the beginning of an

ocean voyage apply even to the present day. Apparently they have

little if anything to do with the condition of the fare on shipboard,

but rather with the fear and nervous tension that beset the inex-

perienced ocean traveler upon his first encounter with the unfamiliar

antics of waves and wind. Naturally these Swabian landlubbers

who had never even seen the sea called it a storm whenever the

wind blew. The fact is that they must have had a comparatively

smooth passage since Munk reported only once "that the waves

struck the deck."

Freshly arrived in the port of Baltimore, the immigrants were

met by German fellow countrymen who obviously made it their pri-

mary business to lend the greenhorns from the Old Country a help-

ing hand in the pursuit of their inland travel. There also existed at

the time an organized and well-scheduled passenger and mail service

on the main highways leading west through Pennsylvania into Ohio

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DIARY OF CHRISTOPH MUNK                273

 

and beyond. It seems, however, that the transportation of entire

families of immigrants with their household furnishings was handled

more economically and efficiently by private contractors-wagoners,

as they were currently called. For a lump sum based on the total

weight to be carried they took the immigrants and their belongings

all the way to a certain point of destination; in the Munks' case

it was Wheeling, West Virginia. If upon arrival they wished to

travel farther a new contract had to be made with the wagoner.

When they reached Wheeling the Munk family decided to go on to

Columbiana, Ohio. The rate of transportation beyond Wheeling,

however, was very much higher than it had been, even with the same

wagoner, from Baltimore to Wheeling. The reason probably was

the increased risk incurred on the abominable roads both along the

east bank of the Ohio River and from Steubenville north to

Columbiana by way of Wellsville and Lisbon.

It is noteworthy that on their 25-day journey by river barge

down the Neckar and Rhine to Holland they covered 485 miles, that

is, 133 miles in excess of the 352 miles of their 26-day overland

journey by wagon from Baltimore to Columbiana. Between their

travel on the two continents there lay the 61-day sea voyage of about

4,660 statute miles from Muiden, in Holland, to the port of Balti-

more, Maryland. Muiden, which is on the Zuider Zee, served at

the time as the harbor for Amsterdam, which was named in the pass-

port of the Munk family as their port of embarkation. Not until

the Noord Zee Kanaal was built (1865-76) did Amsterdam have a

direct westward outlet to the North Sea. All ocean-going vessels,

therefore, bound for or leaving Amsterdam had to sail around the

north point of Noord Holland, marked by the town of De Helder.

Christoph Jacob Munk's entries in his diary primarily reflect

his concern with the safety and welfare of himself and his family,

as well as that of the emigrant party as a whole. Although he never

fails to pray for protection or to give praise and thanks for help

received, yet quite frequently he appears a little cranky about the

inconveniences of the lengthy trek with his wife and little children.

It seems, however, that the four little Munks must have behaved

quite well during the entire trip for the only complaint he has

against them is that "the children . . . grow entirely unmanageable."

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274   OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

In his later notes he traces it "to the contact with other children"

on shipboard, and adds, "they have torn more clothes than at

home." It is obvious that some of the entries were made under

temporary spells of depression. On the other hand, what he writes

about some of his less balanced fellow passengers' conduct clearly

points to considerable self-control and patience on his part.

Observations of plant and animal life on land and sea occasion-

ally appear in the diary. It is pardonable that he mistakes por-

poises for fishes and claims to have heard rattlesnakes in the trees

along the road across the Allegheny Mountains. He compares

whales to "tree trunks traveling along the water" and to "oak-logs

that sprayed water from their noses up into the air." His descrip-

tion of the Gulf Stream is not bad; his observation that its "water

was quite thick with something like seeds" reveals a discriminating

eye for what is typical. All of it was new and amazing to him.

He described what he saw, although he knew little about natural

science. But whenever he judges as a tiller of the land, who for

his harvests depends on soil and climate, he hits the nail on the

head. From the oats, still green, and the linden trees, still in bloom,

on the third of August, he tells that the climate of that region, the

Allegheny Mountains, is no improvement over that of the Swabian

mountains near his home town. It was this practical knowledge

that stood him in good stead in the choice of his new homestead in

Ohio.

The language of the diary shows no distinct characteristics of

the dialect of the Swabian Neckarkreis (Neckar District) where

Munk was born and spent 38 years of his life. He uses the standard

German of his day, colored by commonly Swabian dialect usage, as

for instance, when he writes, "das ich nimmer laufen konnte" for

"dass ich nicht mehr gehen konnte" ("that I could no longer

walk"); or "Most" for "Apfelwein" (cider); or "der Jakoble"

for "das Jakobchen"; or "Bauch Gramen" for "Bauchgrimmen"

(stomach ache); or "das thut wie ein Kinderklapperle" for "das

klingt wie eine Kinderrassel [or -klapper]" ("that sounds like a

baby's rattle"); or "mit der Doritzlen" for "mit [dem] Dortchen"

("with Dolly").

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DIARY OF CHRISTOPH MUNK                 275

 

In general Munk writes the way he must have spoken when

discussing matters of import with other men of a similar mental-

ity, that is, primarily, fellow Pietists. No doubt he was well read

in the literature of Pietism whose specific coloring determined his

idiomatic usage throughout. He has an ample vocabulary for

matters of human behavior in general and of religion in particular.

Within this area his spelling is consistent and essentially correct.

Beyond it he spells phonetically. It is then that the dialect comes

to the fore. In matters of geography, plant and animal life, etc.,

he shows his lack of literary contacts with these areas, although

one would do him injustice in calling him entirely untutored. His

definition of the Gulf Stream, for instance, is basically correct; his

description of its appearance, excellent. He writes "Heufisch" for

"Haifisch" (shark) and "Seemehfen" for "Seemoven" (sea gulls)

because neither the thing nor the term was familiar to him; here

we have plain dialect spellings. His spelling, Heufisch, as well as

Mayen, for the Dutch place-name Muiden, can be explained

from Swabian phonology in which ei (ey, ai, ay) and eu represent

the same sound, oy. In the local Holland dialect, Muiden is pro-

nounced moye, with the d and final n not sounded. Most of his

spellings of American place-names are likewise phonetical:

"Philadelfia"       and  "Philadelpfiea"  for  Philadelphia;                           "Wiel-

ing"  and             "Wiehling"   for Wheeling;       "Gettesburg"                   and

"Schimmbersburg" for Gettysburg and Chambersburg; "Mikorles-

thon and "Bethford" for McConnells Town (McConnellsburg) and

Bedford;  "Allhegahn,"   "Sommersett,"  "Mangplassing,"  and

"Rabsthon" for Alleghany, Somerset, Mount Pleasant, and Robs-

town (West Newton); "Glasswill," "Pensylphanien," "Columbi-

anna" or "Columbi," "Welsburg," "Stubenwill," and "Welswill"

for Claysville, Pennsylvania, Columbiana, Wellsburg, Steubenville,

and Wellsville; and "Neulissabon" for New Lisbon (Lisbon).

It is surprising to find a dialect spelling for the name of his

native country of Wurttemberg, which he spells "Worteberg," while

all the other names of German places are spelled correctly.

The irresistible influence of the new American environment is

noticeable in the sporadic entries in the notebook which have to do

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with household and farm business. There occur a number of English

words that were used even in German-speaking communities as

universally current terms, especially in buying and selling. Munk, as

well as his neighbors, adapted them to their German phonology, as

follows: "Buschel" (bushel), "Barrel" (barrel), "Peint" (pint),

"Dispepse"  (dyspepsy), "Galone"   (gallon), "Sent"  (cent),

"gesetelt" (settled), "Glattbord" (clapboard), "Jart" (yard), etc.

How the language of the younger generation definitely changed

to English is illustrated by an entry made by one of the children,

Annie (Anna Elizabeth, third child of the second marriage, born in

1846), probably between 1855 and 1860; it is in English, written in

ink in a fluent feminine hand, and reads as follows: "This book

belongs to Jacob Moonk and [?] Annie Moonk." Here she spelled

her family name in such a way as to assure its traditional German

pronunciation. In no other instance does this spelling of the name

occur; nor has its German pronunciation survived. Today it is

homophonous with "monk."

Shortly after his arrival in Columbiana, Christoph Jacob Munk

bought a farm near Salem, Ohio, founded in 1801 by Quakers

from Salem, New Jersey. About two or three years later the family

moved to another farm about four miles southeast of what today is

Alliance, Ohio. At the time there were four villages in that neigh-

borhood, the oldest of which was another Quaker settlement, of 1805.

In 1854 they were united under the name of Alliance. Here his

wife Regina Schultes Munk bore him two more children: a son,

George (April 23, 1834), and a daughter, Pauline Wilmina (Febru-

ary 27, 1840). Regina Munk was the sister of Jacob Schultes (one

of the "two Jacobs" of the diary). In one of the casual entries in

the notebook Munk writes: "Mein Schwager Jakob Schultes ist

gestorben d: 20 Octb: 1833." ("My brother-in-law, Jacob Schultes,

died October 20, 1833.") Regina Schultes Munk did not long sur-

vive her youngest child; she died some time in 1841, probably ex-

hausted from the accumulative strain of childbirth, child care,

household duties, and farm chores, after she had made three homes

for her husband and family, two of which after a few years she

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DIARY OF CHRISTOPH MUNK                277

 

saw broken up again. Poor soul, her main trouble may have been

a broken heart! How many of her kind may be resting in our

American soil!

On August 17, 1842, Christoph Jacob Munk took for his second

wife Marie Rosenberger, who was born in 1812 in Montgomery

County, Pennsylvania. With her he had seven more children: Sarah,

born in 1843; Maria Anna, born in 1844; Anna Elizabeth, born in

1846; Joseph, born in 1847; Ephraim, born in 1849; Edward, born

in 1851; and William C., born in 1856.

According to several entries in the notebook recording minor

business transactions with two men of the name of Rosenberger

(John and David), Marie Rosenberger, Munk's second wife, must

have been a relative of these two neighbors of his. Since Marie was

born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, in 1812, the Rosen-

bergers apparently had not come to Ohio directly from Germany

but had previously settled in Pennsylvania.

Apart from these casual lights on the vital statistics of the

Munk family, the entries of the notebook reveal a great deal about

Christoph Jacob Munk as a householder and farmer. Most of what

was left of the 1,500 thalers brought from home he may have

invested in tillable acreage; hence the current expenses had to be

met by way of barter in farm products or by labor done by himself

and his sons as they grew up. The first to appear as a contributor

of labor is Christoph (born, 1824); a little later there appears

Jacob (born, 1827); and finally, George (American-born, 1834).

They are mentioned as "helping in hay-making," "helping at the

threshing-machine," "helping with the plowing," or doing paid jobs

for one of the neighbors, sometimes working off a small debt of

their father's when he had to borrow ready cash. There are also

recorded sales to and purchases from the neighbors; the sales though

almost from the beginning far exceeded the purchases in both

frequency and volume. The products sold and bought are invariably

named in German: "Welschkorn" (maize), "Roggen" (rye),

"Weitzen" (wheat), "Gerste" (barley), "Heu" (hay), "Rindfleisch"

(beef), "Kalbfleisch" (veal), "Schmalz" (lard), "Talg" (tallow),

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278   OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

"Mehl" (flour), "Grundbiern" (local South German for "Kar-

toffeln," potatoes), "Schandel" (Swabian dialect for "Schindel,"

shingles). He also must have been quite successful with his orchard,

for he records not only the sale of "Apfel" (apples) by the

"Buschel" (bushel), but also of "Apfelbaume" (apple trees), to his

neighbors. He also sold "Baksteine" (bricks), and "Tuch" (cloth)

by the "Jart" (yard), although it is not sure whether these articles

had been produced on the premises or previously bought.

The notebook also informs us that at least temporarily he paid

rent for his house ("Hausszins"), and that he did so a year in

advance, in January 1841. He was a subscriber to the Cantoner

Zeitung, which cost him 121/2 cents a quarter, and to the Kirchen-

Zeitung.

Thus we can piece together from these casual entries quite a

clear picture of a resourceful and thrifty farmer and businessman.

Some time in the 1850's Christoph Jacob Munk sold his

farms-according to Mr. Heacock he had two-and bought another

in or near Mount Union (one of the four towns later incorporated

into Alliance), "for the purpose of being close to Mount Union

College where most of the second set of children were educated."

A glance at the meager data presented above shows the results of

their father's family policy: the four sons of the second marriage

(to whom he could give the kind of education which he

obviously could not yet afford for the three sons of the first

marriage) availed themselves of their opportunity, and they all be-

came professional men. Moreover, they were financially successful.

According to Mr. Heacock, Joseph Munk, M. D., in his earlier years

had gone into partnership with his younger brothers, Edward and

William, on a cattle ranch in Arizona. When Joseph died in 1927

at the age of eighty, he was sole owner of the ranch and left it to an

heir who still operates it. Joseph also made a reputation for himself

as the author of a number of books on Arizona, published under

the name of Joseph Amasa Munk; he was regarded as an authority

on the history of Arizona. Both he and Edward lived and died at Los

• 13
 

DIARY OF CIRISTOPII MUNK               279

 

Angeles. In 1908 Joseph donated to the Southwest Museum of that

city the notable Munk Library of Arizoniana.

Christoph Jacob Munk, who rooted and perpetuated his fine

German stock in the good American earth, must have gratefully

realized long before his death in 1870 that "his dear Father in

Heaven" had heard the simple little prayer addressed to him at the

very beginning of the family's migration to the land of his long-

ing": "Dear Abba, if it be Thy fatherly will, let my dim hopes be

fulfilled, and let me not come to nought."

• 14
 

280    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

CHRISTOPH JACOB MUNKS REISETAGEBUCH

21. April-17. August 1832

 

[April 21. Heumaden-Unterturkheim: 3 miles.] Den 21 ten Aprill [.]

Der erste Tag unserer Reise von Hauss war fur mich ein triiber und dunkler

Tag, den[n] schon in der ersten Stunde bekam ich eine starke Mahnung,

indem ich in Unterturkheim1 den Fuss ubertrat, dass ich nimmer laufen

konnte, und regnete auch fast den ganzen Tag, der Abend und die Nacht

gieng auch nicht ohne Sorgen ab.

Den 22ten am Ostersonntag blieben wir im Schiff wo es sehr unruhig

zugieng und man sich fast nicht fassen konnte, der Herr wolle sich doch in

Gnaden unserer annehmen.

Den 23ten war es wie am vorigen Tag und den ganzen Tag kamen

Auswanderer an, den 24ten das Namliche, den 25ten hiess es werden wir

abreissen, wurde aber nichts.

[April 26. Unterturkheim-Hassmersheim: 46 miles.] Den 26ten am

Donnerstag gieng es um   Mittag nach 2 Uhr ab, und fuhren noch nach

Hassmersheim² wo wir anlegten und ubernachteten.

[April 27. Hassmersheim-Hirschhorn: 23 miles.] Den 27ten Morgens

da mein Weib sich eben durchaus nicht schiken wollte, gab es Verdruss,

und machte mir keine geringe Vorwiirfe und wollte wieder nach Hauss;

lieber Aba,³ schenke ihr doch ein neues Herz, dass dir vertraut, und in

Gedullt sich in deinen Willen schikt, schenke auch mir lieber Vater Geduld

und Glauben biss an mein Ende, und nimm und behalte doch mich mein

Weib und meine Kinder unter deiner vaterlichen Augenleitung⁴ und Schuz

Amen.

[April 28. Hirschhorn-Heidelberg: 14 miles.] Den 28ten fuhren wir

von Hirschhorn5 ab und kamen zu Mittag in Heidelberg6 an und uber-

nachteten am heutigen Tag hatten wir eine heiterere Aussicht von aussen;

und auch etwas von innen. Der liebe Vater im Himmel will ja das glimmende

Tocht nicht gar ausloschen.

[April 29. Heidelberg-Mannheim-Worms: 43.3 miles.]     Den 29ten

fuhren wir von Mannheim⁷ um 2 1/2 Uhr ab Nachmittags, wir hatten heiteres

Wetter es ist eine schone Stadt, der Herr erquikte unsere Seele, indem ich

durch Lesung des Worts Gottes erbaut wurde, lieber Aba,⁸ lass meine dunkle

Ahndungen wenn es dein vaterlicher Wille ist in Erfullung gehen, und lass

mich nicht zu schanden werden.

[April 30. Worms-Mainz: 34.2 miles.]    D: 30ten fuhren wir von

Worms9 biss Mainz¹⁰ eine halbe Stunde vor dieser Stadt hatten wir widrigen

Wind, dass wir ankern mussten, doch kamen wir nach 2 Uhr mit Gottes

Hiilfe in dieser Stadt an wo wir ubernachteten, aber mit vieler Unruh,

weil die Leute sich betrunken hatten und fluchten und tobten ach Herr

hilf, ach Herr lass wohl gelingen.

• 15
 

DIARY OF CHRISTOPH MUNK                     281

 

THE TRAVEL DIARY OF CHRISTOPH JACOB MUNK

April 21-August 17, 1832

 

[April 21. Heumaden-Untertiirkheim: 3 miles.] April 21. The first

day of our journey from home was a cloudy and gloomy day for me, for

even in the very first hour I received a strong warning, as at Unterturkheim1

I sprained my ankle so badly that I could no longer walk; moreover, it

rained almost the entire day, nor were the evening and the night without

sorrow.

The 22d, Easter Sunday, we stayed on the boat, where there was

much commotion so that one could hardly bear it. May the Lord graciously

help us.

On the 23d, it was as on the day before, and all through the day

emigrants arrived; the same on the 24th. On the 25th there was a rumor that

we were going to leave, but nothing came of it.

[April 26. Unterturkheim-Hassmersheim: 46 miles.] On Thursday,

the 26th, at 2 in the afternoon, we departed. That day we went as far as

Hassmersheim,² where we tied up and spent the night.

[April 27. Hassmersheim-Hirschhorn: 23 miles.] In the morning of

the 27th, since my wife would in no way acquiesce [to the situation], we

had a quarrel; she upbraided me not a little and wanted to go back home.

Dear Abba,³ give unto her a new heart so that she will trust thee and in

patience submit herself to thy will; also give unto me, dear Father, patience

and faith until my end and, pray, receive and keep me, my wife, and my

children under thy fatherly guidance4 and protection, Amen.

[April 28. Hirschhorn-Heidelberg: 14 miles.] On the 28th we left

Hirschhorn,⁵ arrived at Heidelberg6 at noon and spent the night there.

Today the outer aspect was brighter, and also the inner one. Our dear

Father in heaven indeed does not wish to snuff out the glimmering wick

altogether.

[April 29. Heidelberg-Worms: 43.3 miles.] On the 29th we departed

from Mannheim⁷ at 2:30 in the afternoon; we had fair weather. This is a

beautiful city. The Lord enlivened our souls in that I was edified by the

reading of God's word. Dear Abba,⁸ if it be thy fatherly will, let my dim

hopes be fulfilled, and let me not come to nought.

[April 30. Worms-Mainz: 34.2 miles.] On the 30th we traveled

from Worms9 to Mainz.10 Half an hour upstream from this city we had

adverse wind so that we had to anchor. Yet, after 2 o'clock, with God's

help we arrived in this city where we spent the night-with much unrest,

however, since the people had become drunk and swore and raved. Oh, Lord,

help us; oh, Lord, let us prevail.

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282    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

[May 1-May 2. Mainz-Koblenz: 57 miles.] Den Iten May mussten

wir in Mainz verweilen biss Nachmittag 4 Uhr wo wir dann abfuhren und

mit der Nacht dann auf dem Reihn [sic] Anker warfen und iibernachteten,

diesen Tag bekam unser kleines Kind Zahnfieber, welches uns Sorge

verursachte(n) ach lieber Vater steh unserem Kind und uns alien in

Gnaden bey. . . . aber unser Jacob ward heute Abend krank.

Den 2ten May legten wir in Coblenz11 an und ubernachteten daselbst,

diesen Tag gieng die Fahrt gut.

[May 3-May 4. Koblenz-Koln: 59.5 miles.] Den 3ten giengen wir

von Coblenz Morgens 5 Uhr ab, und unsere Kinder waren doch gottlob

wieder besser, o lieber Vater wie bin ich doch verpflicht, dir ein dankbar

Herz zu bringen, lass mich doch niemals von dir weichen, sondern stets auf

dich und deine gnadige Fiihrung vertrauen, diesen Tag kamen wir etliche

Stunden oberhalb Coln12 an, wo wir anlegten und ubernachteten.

D: 4ten kamen wir in Coln Morgens 8 Uhr an, und mussten biss auf

den Abend da verweilen, wo wir dann eine Streke unterhalbs Coln anlegten,

und ubernachteten; durch den engen Raum auf dem Schiffe gab es manche

Unannehmlichkeiten und Verdruss lieber Heiland schenke uns Geduld, und

eine baldige Erlossung.

[May 5-May 7. Koln-Wesel-Emmerich: 101 miles.] D. 5ten hatten

wir heiteres Wetter und eine gute Fahrt, am Abend aber trennte sich unser

Schiff vom Steuermann und als wir landen wollten stiess unser Schiff

auf einen Sandbank, dass wir es nimmer von der Stelle brachten, und mussten

so in grosser Sorge und Angst ubernachten, da es vollends die ganze Nacht

sturmte, und regnete, und auch nicht wussten ob das Schiff beschadiget

worden ist.

D. 6ten als am 2 Sontag nach Ostern des Morgens friih, gluckte es

doch den Schiffleuten, das Schiff wieder loss zu machen, und da wir in der

Nahe von der Stadt Wesel13 waren so holten unser Schiffer einen Steuer-

mann, um uns vollends nach der Stadt zu geleiten, welches auch gottlob

geschah aber mit sehr vieler Miihe und Gefahr, well es ein sehr gefahrlicher

Ort war und starken Gegenwind hatten, wir mussten auch desswegen bey

der Stadt anlegen und den ganzen Tag liegen bleiben weil es die Witterung

nicht erlaubte abzufahren, Dank sey es aber dem lieben Vater im Himmel,

dass er uns aus dieser Gefahr gnadiglich errettet hat, stehe uns auch ferner

lieber Abba3 in jeder Noth und Gefahr gnadig bey.

D: 7ten May fuhren wir von Wesel biss Emmerich,14 wo wir Morgens

8 Uhr anlegten und auch den ganzen Tag da verweilen mussten, wo es zu

meiner grossten Betrubniss mit dem  Seybold Verdruss gab, ach lieber

Heiland beschiize mich und alle die dich lieben und dir vertrauen, und

vergib auch meinen Feinden.

Den 8ten mussten wir auch den ganzen Tag auf der nemlichen Stelle

bleiben, well wir sturmisches Wetter hatten und die Schiffer ihre Sachen

• 17
 



• 18
 

284    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

nicht fertig hatten, meinem Weib wurde es unwohl, und auch ich spurte

etwas Bauch Gramen unserer Bebelel⁵ war auch schon einige Tage

unpasslich.

D: 9ten mussten wir abermal liegen bleiben, wegen sturmischer

Witterung welches uns viel lange Weile verursachte, der liebe Vater im

Himmel schenke doch uns auch wieder giinstige Witterung.

D: 10ten mussten wir abermahl liegen bleiben, indem die stiirmische

Witterung anhielt, was uns viel lange Weile und Verdruss verursachte.

[May 11-May 13.     Emmerich-Lobith-Arnheim: 22 miles.]      Den

11ten fuhren wir Morgens von Emmerich ab, biss nach Lokwik,l⁶ wo wir

ohngefahr 2 St visitiert wurden, es ist dies die Granze von Holland, wir

haben heute wieder stiirmische Witterung. O Jesu gebiete Du Sturm und

Wellen, dann sind wir unter Deinem Schirm und Schild sicher.

Den 12ten fuhren wir wieder von Lokwik ab und mussten bald wieder

anlegen wo wir wieder ubernachteten.

[May 13. Arnheim-Wijk: 37 miles.] D: 13ten am 3ten Sontag nach

unserer Abfahrt fuhren wir des Morgens nach Arnheim,l⁷ wo wir wieder

visitiert wurden und fuhren Nachmittags wieder ab, und legten oberhalbs

vor dem Kanal¹⁸ nach Utrecht an, wo wir ubernachteten.

[May 14. Wijk-Utrecht: 31 miles.]    D: 14ten Nachmittags kamen

wir in Utrecht¹⁹ an, wo wir auf dem Kanal20 ubernachteten.

[May 15. Utrecht-Muiden: 30 miles.] D:15ten setzten wir unsere

Reise fort bis Mayen21 wo wir ubernachteten, und den 16ten mussten wir

unsere Sachen umladen in andere Schiffe,22 und den 17ten fuhren wir in die

See, wo es gerade sturmisch war, dass sich fast alles erbrechen musste

schrieb auch diesen Tag d. 17 einen Brief nach Hauss.

[May 17. Beginning of the sea voyage.]

D: ¹⁸ten segelten wir weiter, und geriethen gegen 4 Uhr auf eine

Sandbank wo wir nach 6 Uhr wieder flott wurden und ein wenig weiter

fuhren, ankerten und ubernachteten.

Den 19ten fuhren wir Morgens wieder weiter wo wir bald wieder Anker

werfen mussten wegen widrigen Wind, langten aber gegen Mittag beym

grossen Seeschiff23 an, wo wir sogleich drauf ubergiengen und unsere Sachen

drauf brachten.

D: 20ten fuhren wir von der Incel ab und kamen den nemlichen Tag

in die Nordsee24 wo es uns den ganzen Tag sehr ubel war und meistens

liegen mussten, der Jakoble blieb am bessten.

D: 21ten hatten wir wieder besseren Wind, auch uns wurde es gottlob

wieder besser.

Den 22ten hatten wir wieder Gegenwind wo es wieder recht ibel

wurde, und alle sich erbrechen mussten.

• 19
 

DIARY OF CHRISTOPH MUNK                      285

 

ready. My wife felt sick, and I likewise had a stomach ache. Our little

Barbara [Bebele],15 too, had not been quite right for several days.

Again, on the 9th, we had to lie by because of stormy weather, and it

bored us not a little. May the dear heavenly Father grant us favorable

weather again.

On the 10th we again had to lie by since the stormy weather persisted;

it bored and irked us a great deal.

[May 11-May 13. Emmerich-Lobith-Arnheim: 22 miles.] In the

morning of the 11th we sailed from Emmerich as far as Lokwik,¹⁶ where we

had two hours of [customs] inspection since this is the Dutch border [town].

Today again we have stormy weather. Oh, Jesus, command thou the storm

and the waves so we shall be safe under thy shelter and shield.

On the 12th we sailed from Lokwik, and soon again we had to tie

up for the night.

[May 13. Arnheim--Wijk: 37 miles.] On the 13th, the 3d Sunday

after our departure from home, we sailed to Arnheim17 in the morning,

where again we were inspected. In the afternoon we left again and tied

up a little upstream from the canal18to Utrecht and spent the night.

[May 14. Wijk-Utrecht: 31 miles.] In the afternoon of the 14th we

arrived at Utrecht¹⁹ where we spent the night on the canal.20

[May 15. Utrecht-Muiden: 30 miles.] On the 15th we continued our

journey as far as Muiden21 where we spent the night; on the 16th we had

to take our belongings to other vessels ;22 and on the 17th we went out to

sea where it happened to be stormy so that nearly everybody had to vomit.

This same day, the 17th, I wrote a letter home.

[May 17. Beginning of the sea voyage.] On the 18th we continued

sailing, but about 4 o'clock we struck a sand bank; a little after 6 o'clock,

however, we were afloat again, proceeded a little farther and then anchored

and spent the night.

In the morning of the 19th we sailed on, but because of unfavorable

wind we had soon to cast anchor again; yet, about noon we arrived at

the big ocean vessel23 to which we were at once transferred, together with

our belongings.

On the 20th we departed from the island and, on this very day, reached

the North Sea,24 where during the entire day we were very sick and had to

lie down most of the time; our little [son] Jacob [see Passport, Fig.  ]

stood it better than anybody else.

On the 21st we had better wind, and we also felt better again.

 

On the 22d we had head wind again and felt very sick again, and

everybody had to vomit.

• 20
 

 

• 21
 

DIARY OF CHRISTOPH MUNK                     287

 

On the 23d the sea was calm, and we sailed through the straits

between England and France, where for several hours England was in

sight, but of France we saw very little ;25 we had a beautiful day today.

On the 24th we had fog and adverse wind.

In the morning of the 25th we sighted land again;26 because of little

wind we made poor progress until we reached the high seas.

On the 26th also we proceeded slowly; on this day, too, we sighted

land.27

On the 27th, the 5th Sunday after our departure from home, we had

the right kind of wind and a clear sky. For the first time on our journey we

had divine service in the morning. May the dear Savior bless the hearts of

all of us.

Until the afternoon of the 28th we had no wind, and we began to sus-

pect that a storm was brewing, and indeed, in the evening, a heavy wind

came up, and the entire night continued to be stormy. Hence, most of the

people again had to vomit and became sick; this went on throughout the 29th

and 30th.

On the 31st, the day of our dear Savior's Ascension, there was an

hour of clear weather in the morning. Once again we sang a hymn and read

a meditation,28 but because of the stormy weather and the people's indispo-

sition there was but little edification. May the dear Savior from his heavenly

throne graciously and clemently bless our hearts and not forsake us in our

troublesome journey.

On June 1st, 2d, and 3d, the storm persisted. In the night from the

2d to the 3d [Interlineation: "On the 3d, the 6th Sunday, we could not

have divine service."], we had an especially severe storm. Yet, praises be,

it too blew over without damage, except that the terrible rolling and pitching

of the ship threw everything on a heap, and one could neither stand nor

sit. The cooking, too, was in a bad way since everything had to be cooked

in one mess [Appendix, p. 303]. During these stormy days, the two Jacobs29

and especially cousin Stephan29 were considerably ill and could hardly be on

their feet at all; my wife, my children, and I got very sore eyes. Since I

was better off than the rest I had to work very hard. Oh, dear Savior, to thee

I commend our distress and need; mayest thou, as our only helper and

rescuer, lend us thy succor and, if it be thy fatherly will, give us more favor-

able weather for the sake of thy great compassion. Amen.

On the 4th it was still stormy, nor was it much better on the 5th. On

the 4th our Jacob, Jacob Schultes,30 was seasick in the worst way; on the

5th, however, praises be, he was much better again, while Stephan29 was

still very weak; and [not continued].

• 22
 

288    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

Den 6ten und 7ten bekamen wir besseren Wind, und die See ward

ruhiger, was uns sehr erwuscht war, indem die kranken Leute sich auch

erhohlen konnten meine Kinder und Weib sind noch immer mit den bosen

Augen geplagt, besonders das Nanele,31 ach lieber Aba32 lass Deine Gnade

nicht von uns weichen und lass Deine Guite und Treue uns allerwegen

begegnen.

D: 8ten bekamen wir guten Wind aber auch starken Regen, dass man

nicht aufs Verdeck konnte, was iiberhaupt seit 14 Tagen wegen stUrmischer

Witterung auch wenig benuzt werden konnte.

D: 1Oten am Pfingstfest in der vergangenen Nacht bekammen wir

wieder Sturm, und dauerte den ganzen Tag dass wir garnicht kochen

konnten, als am Abend noch eine Suppe anrichten auch war man nicht im

Stand eine Predigt zu lesen.

D: 11ten am Pfingst Montag bekammen wir Gottsey Dank wieder

besser Wetter und Wind, dass wir am Abend noch ein Lied sangen, und

eine Betrachtung lasen auf dem Verdeck.

D: 12ten hatten wir wenig Wind, aber heiter Wetter, was uns nach

sturmischer Witterung sehr wohl that.

D: 13ten Morgens kam das Gesanglein mir vor, in Hillers Schatz-

kastlein, Glauben und ein gut Gewissen,33 welches mir meine liebe Geschwister

mit auf die Reiss mitgaben, welches mir im lieben Angedenken wieder

Thranen aus den Augen presste, wir hatten auch wieder gutes Wetter und

ordentlichen Wind wir sangen auf den Morgen das Lied, Wach auf mein

Herz und singe,34 bosse Augen hatten wir immer noch, vergangnen Abend

gab der Capitain meinem Weib Pillen, und Rosenwasser35 zu den Augen,

welches auch gut war.

In der Nacht vom 13ten auf den 14ten bekammen wir wieder Sturm,

und blieb auch den ganzen Tag iiber sturmisch was uns immer viel Sorge

und Angst verursachte.

D: 15ten hatten wir wieder sturmische Witterung, dass die Wellen

ofter aufs Verdeck schlugen.

D: 16ten Morgens wieder sturmisch, dann Windstille und Regen,

diesen Morgen fand ich auch mit Betrubniss dass uns von unsern Zwetschen

entwendet worden waren.

D: 17ten am 7ten Sontag nach unserer Abreise war uns von dem

lieben Vater im Himmel, ein schoner Tag vergonnt, dass wir Vormitags

wieder Gottesdienst halten konnten und am Abend auch noch ein Lied

singen, und eine Betrachtung lesen, von Loskiel (was) etwas furs Herz.36

Schon 2 Tag hatten wir aber beynah garkeinen Wind.

D: 18ten bekammen wir wieder Wind, und Regen, und Nachmittags

3 Uhr auch ein Gewitter, das aber doch gottlob ohne Gefahr vorubergieng.

Ach Herr erbarme Dich unser.

• 23
 

DIARY OF CHRISTOPH MUNK                     289

 

The 6th and 7th brought us better wind, and the sea was calmer; that

was very desirable since the sick people could recuperate; my wife and

children, though, are still suffering from their sore eyes, especially [our]

little Nana.31 Oh, dear Abba,32 let not thy grace depart from us, but let us

meet always with thy clemency and trust.

On the 8th we had good wind but also heavy rains so that one could

not go on deck, where one had not been able to stay much anyway during

the last fortnight.

In the night before the 10th, Whitsunday, we had a storm again, which

lasted throughout the whole day so that we were not able to cook at all,

save to make a soup in the evening; nor was there a chance to read a sermon.

On the 11th, Monday after Pentecost, both weather and wind were

better again, praises be, so that in the evening we could sing a hymn and

read a meditation on deck.

On the 12th we had little wind but clear weather, which after these

stormy days did us very much good.

In the morning of the 13th I chanced to hit upon the little hymn,

"Glauben und ein gut Gewissen," in Hiller's Schatzkastlein,33 which my

dear brothers and sisters had given me as a parting gift on my journey. The

loving reminiscence brought tears to my eyes. We had fine weather again

and favorable wind. In the morning we sang the hymn, "Wach auf, mein

Herz, und singe."³⁴ We still had sore eyes; the previous night the captain

had given pills to my wife and rosewater³⁵ for our eye trouble, which

really helped.

In the night from the 13th to the 14th we again had a storm. It lasted

all through the day and caused us much worry and anxiety.

On the 15th, too, we had such stormy weather that the waves often

struck the deck.

The morning of the 16th was stormy again, then came a lull with rain.

The same morning I discovered to my grief that some of our prunes had been

pilfered.

On the 17th, the 7th Sunday after our departure from home, a beau-

tiful day was granted us by our dear Father in heaven, so that once again

we could have divine service in the morning and in the evening could sing

a hymn and read a meditation from Loskiel's Etwas furs Herz.36 For two

successive days, however, we had not had any wind to speak of.

On the 18th there was some wind again, with rain, and at 3 o'clock

in the afternoon there also came a thunderstorm, which, however, praises be,

passed without doing damage. Oh Lord, have mercy on us.

• 24
 

290    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

D: 19ten hatten wir auch wieder ordentlichen Wind und (und) heiter

Wetter, welches uns sehr wunschenswerth war, in dem unsere Sehnsucht

wieder ans Land zu kommen sich stark regte.

D: 20ten hatten wir wieder einen schonen heitren Tag nur schwachen

Wind, vergangenen Tag Abends sahen wir eine Partie Fische in der Grosse

wie Schwein37 und hiipften fiber das Wasser worauf gutes Wetter erfolgte.

D: 21ten hatten wir wieder schones heitres Wetter nur schwachen

Wind.

Den 22ten hatten wir wieder sch6nes Wetter, und ordentlichen Wind,

der liebe Heiland wolle uns doch nach seiner grossen Barmherzigkeit,

gliicklich ans Land bringen.

D: 23ten wieder guten Wind und schones Wetter dafiir dem lieben

Vater im Himmel tausendfach Dank gesagt sey.

D: 24ten am ersten Sontag nach Trinit. hatten wir wieder guten

Wind und heiteres Wetter, im Angedenken an die Heumader Kirchweyhe38

bakten wir an diesem Tage ein frisches Brod was wir seit fiinf Wochen

vermissten. Heute hatten wir keinen gemeinschaftlichen Gottesdienst, weil

die Leute ungeordnet, und zum Theil auch sehr roh und gottloss waren, so

herrschte nichts als Uneinigkeit und Verdruss, was uns den Auffenthalt auch

sehr unangenehm und verdrisslich machte,39 Herr verstoss uns nicht von

Deinem Angesicht.

D: 25ten bekammen wir wieder Gegenwind, und sturmisch, was den

meisten Leuten jedesmahl unwohl machte, und zum Theil sich erbrechen

musste (n).

D: 26ten hatten wir wieder guten Wind und schones Wetter, welches

uns Hoffnung machte bald ans Land zu kommen.

D: 27ten hatten wir wieder schones Wetter und ordentlichen Wind.

D: 28ten da wir 6 Wochen auf der See sind, hatten wir guten Wind

und schones Wetter. Heute Abend bekam Seybold einen Krankheitsanfall,

und mich rufen liess, und einige Erleichterung suchte, ob er schon auf der

Reisse im Verdruss mich als einen Pietisten40 schinpfte, so hatte er doch

vor allen, ein Zutrauen zu mir.

D: 29ten bekammen wir wieder Regen und schwachen Wind, was uns

doch noch lieber war, als Sturm, es war Petri und Pauli Geddchtnistag.

Unser Jacob lag auch wieder einige Tage, weil sein Fluss ihm in Schenkel

gezogen.

D: 30ten hatten wir ordentlichen Wind und schones Wetter, am

heutigen Tag wollten uns die Matrossen einen Spass machen wegen dem

Trinkgeld, welches aber doch unterblieb.

D: Iten Julii hatten wir gutes Wetter aber wenig Wind, es war der

lOte Sontag nach unserer Abreisse von Hauss wir glaubten freilich um

diese Zeit in Amerika zu seyn.

• 25
 

DIARY OF CHRISTOPH MUNK           291

 

On the 19th we again had good wind and clear weather, which gave us

it satisfaction since our desire to be on land again became very lively.

The 20th was another beautiful, clear day, only there was very little

1. On the previous evening we had seen a shoal of fish the size of pigs,37

skipped out of the water, after which fair weather followed.

On the 21st we again had fine, clear weather, only little wind.

 

The 22d was another beautiful day, with the right sort of wind. May

dear Savior, according to his great compassion, carry us safely to shore.

 

On the 23d again good wind and fine weather, for which the dear

her in heaven be thanked a thousand times.

On the 24th, the first Sunday after Trinity Sunday, we again had good

d and clear weather. In remembrance of the Heumaden parish fair38 we

ed fresh bread this day, which we had been missing these last five weeks.

lay we had no community worship. Because the people were unprincipled

some of them even very crude and godless, there prevailed nothing but

ord and quarreling, which made life very unpleasant and troublesome.39

Lord, cast us not off from thy countenance.

On the 25th we again had head wind and a storm, which each time

le most of the people sick, and caused some of them to vomit.

On the 26th good wind and fair weather returned, which gave us some

e that we might land soon.

The 27th was another beautiful day with good wind.

On the 28th we had been on sea for 6 weeks; we had good wind and

weather. This evening Seybold became suddenly ill and had me called

giving him some relief; although in the course of our voyage he had, in

angry mood, cursed me for being a Pietist,⁴⁰ yet he had more confidence

ne than in others.

On the 29th we again had rain and a little wind, which, however, we

th preferred to storm; it was the feast of Peter and Paul. Our Jacob

been in bed for a few days since he had rheumatism in his thigh.

On the 30th the crew wanted to put on a stunt for tips, but nothing

me of it.

On July the 1st we had fair weather but little wind; it was the

1 Sunday after our departure from home, and we had indeed hoped to be

America by this time.

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292    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

D: 2ten hatten wir etwas bessern Wind und ordentliches Wetter, auch

wurden die Masstbaume erhoht welches ein Zeichen war nun bald ans Land

zu kommen.

D: 3ten hatten wir Gegenwind, und kamen nicht weit es begegnete

uns auch ein Englisches Schiff das vor 5 Tagen von Philadelpfia kam und

unser Steuermann zu ihnen auf Schiff gieng.

D: 4ten hatten wir in der Nacht um 2 Uhr ein starkes Donnerwetter,

das aber doch, Gott sey Dank, ohne Schaden vorubergieng, die See blieb

aber unruhig und behielten den ganzen Tag Gegenwind am heutigen Tag

feyerte der Capitain seines Pflegvatter's Geburtstag wo die Erwachsene

Mannsleute, wer Lust hatte, ein Glasgen Schnaps bekam.

D: 5ten bekamen wir guten Wind nur etwas schwach aber einen

heissen Tag [Interlineation: wir sahen auch einen Heufisch41 von Mans

Grosse], hatte(n) was uns sehr beschwerlichen Schlaf verursachte weil es zu

heiss und dumpf wurde, fast zum Erstiken am heutigen Tag passirte auch

wieder ein Amerikanisches Schiff an uns vorbey, von Philadelpfia kommend,

nach Hammburg auch sahen wir um Mittags Zeit eine Menge grosser Fische,

die wie Baumkloze daher wallten.⁴²

D: 6ten hatten wir wieder guten Wind und schones Wetter.

D: ⁷ten hatten wir fast gar keinen Wind, aber einen sehr schwulen

Tag, wir passirten heute den Golf oder die Stromung die ohngefahr 50 bis

60 Stund vom Land im Meer, langs dem Land sich hinzieht.⁴3 Das Wasser

war ganz dik wie wenn es lauter Samereyen⁴⁴ waren, wir sahen auch heute

wieder eine ungeheure Menge Fische die fiber das Wasser hupfen.⁴⁵

D: 8ten hatten wir ordentlichen Wind und schones Wetter, wir sahen

des Morgens fruh wieder einige Fische die wie Eichbaume sich sehen liesen

und aus ihrer Nasen in die Hohe Wasser spruhten,⁴⁶ wir sahen auch ein

Schiff.

D: 9ten hatten wir wieder schones Wetter, auch Wind nur war es

Gegenwind wir sahen auch heute wieder einige Amerikanische Schiffe auch

eine Heerd Fische. Nachmittags bekamen wir ein starkes Donnerwetter,

welches aber doch zum Preis unsers Gottes ohne Gefahr und Schaden

vorubergieng.

D: 10ten Morgens erblickten wir Land⁴⁷ um 12 Uhr kam ein Lotsen

Schiff, wo wir dann einen Begleiter nach Baltimore bekamen und dem zum

innigsten Dank (genahrt gegen den lieben Vater im Himmel) um 1 Uhr

auch das langstersehnte Land. Vergiss nicht meines Gottes o Seele, vergiss

nicht was er Dir Guts gethan verehr und halte seine Befehle und bet ihn

in Gehorsam an. Nah um 4 Uhr bekamen wir ein schweres Gewitter, und

uns Verderben drohte, doch aber zum herzlichsten Dank gegen den lieben

Vater im Himmel, auch ohne Schaden vorubergieng wir hatten heute guten

Wind, biss nach dem Gewitter Windstille eintrat, wir sind um 2 Uhr in

die Bay48 eingelaufen und um 7 Uhr stieg noch einmabl ein Donnerwetter

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DIARY OF CHRISTOPH MUNK                     293

 

The 2d brought us better wind and fine weather; besides, the masts

were heightened, supposedly an indication that we were soon to reach land.

On the 3d we had head wind and did not get very far; we met an

English vessel, which five days ago had left Philadelphia; our helmsman

visited with them on their ship.

On the 4th, during the night, we had a severe thunderstorm, which,

however, passed, praises be, without doing damage; there remained heavy

seas, though, and head wind throughout the entire day. Today the captain

celebrated his foster father's birthday, and all grown men, if they wished,

received a little glass of liquor.

On the 5th the wind was favorable but slightly weak. We had a hot

day, however, as for the last two weeks the weather had been persistently

warm. [Interlineation: "We also saw a man-size shark."41] We were hard

put to find sleep since it was hot and stuffy [in the ship], almost to the point

of suffocation. On the present day another American ship from Philadelphia

passed us bound for Hamburg; about noon, moreover, we saw quite a

number of huge fish that traveled along like tree trunks.⁴²

On the 6th we again had good winds and clear weather.

On the 7th, though, we had almost no wind at all and very sultry

weather; today we passed through the Gulf Stream, an ocean current moving

along the shore line, in the sea, at a distance of 50 to 60 hours from the

land.43 The water was quite thick with something like seeds,44 and we also

saw again an immense number of those fish that skip above the surface.45

On the 8th we had a fine wind and fair weather; early in the morning

we again saw a few fish that looked like oak logs and sprayed water from

their noses up into the air ;46 we also saw another ship.

On the 9th we again had clear weather, and wind, too, only it was

head wind; we also saw a few more American ships and another herd of

fish. In the afternoon we had a severe thunderstorm, which, however

(praises be to our God!), passed without danger or damage.

In the morning of the 10th we sighted land.⁴⁷ At 12 o'clock there came

a pilot boat. Now we had a convoy to Baltimore and, with deep-felt thanks

to him (and most of all, to the dear Father in heaven), at 1 o'clock the long

desired land came into full view. Forget not thy God, oh my soul, forget not

the good he has done thee. Worship him and keep his commandments, and

adore him in obedience. About 4 o'clock we had a severe thunderstorm,

which threatened to destroy us but (hearty thanks be to the dear Father in

heaven) passed without damage. Today we had good winds until, after the

thunderstorm, a lull set in. We had entered the bay48 at 2 o'clock, and at

7 o'clock another thunderstorm came up and descended upon us with such

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294    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

auf, und auch mit einem starken Sturm uber uns kam, dass man die Segel

einziehen, und Anker werfen musste, und sturmte dann be(y)nah die ganze

Nacht denn der Wind war uns entgegen, dass wir auch des Morgens nicht

sobald abfahren konnten, wir waren von Herzen froh dass uns der liebe

Gott so weit geholfen hatte dass wir Anker werfen konnten und nicht den

Wellen Preis gegeben wurden.

D: 11ten mussten wir wegen widrigem Wind in der Bay vor Anker

liegen bleiben, was uns bey schonem Wetter lange Weile machte.

D: 12ten Julii bekamen wir wieder bessern Wind, und behielten ihn

auch den ganzen Tag was uns sehr erfreute.

D: 13ten wurde der Wind schwacher, und da wir in den Canal gegen

Baltimore einfahren wollten hatten wir Gegenwind, und seichten Grund,

dass es dann durch das viele Wenden des Schiffes sehr langsam gieng, am

vorigen Abend wurde unser Schiff von einem Amerikanischen visitiert, auch

heute Abend bekamen wir wieder Sturm, dass wir wieder Anker werfen

mussten ehe wir vollends einlaufen konnten.

Den 14ten Morgens wurde wieder die Anker gelichtet, und fuhren biss

an den Eingang des Hafens, wo wir wieder Anker werfen mussten und

von der Polizey und vom Doctor visitirt wurden, es war aber kein einziges

krank auf dem Schiffe, und auch keines gestorben,⁴⁹ wofur wir fur solche

Gnade gegen den lieben Vater im Himmel zum innigsten Dank verpflichtet

sind. Es war ein ruhrender Anblik fur mich als ich Amerika erblikte,

es ist eine herrliche Ansicht und schones Land.

D: 15ten, am 12 Sontag nach unserer Abreisse mussten wir in der

Quarteine (sic) liegen bleiben und der Doctor wieder kam und alles gut

fand so wurden wir lossgesprochen, weil es aber Sonntag war so durften

wir nicht in Hafen einlaufen.

D: 16, um Mittag kam der Doctor wieder und durften dann in den

Haafen einlaufen, wo wir dann gegen 4 Uhr ans Land aussteigen durften,

was uns sehr erfreute.

D: 17ten Julii Nachmittags wurde das Schiff ausgeladen und unser

Sachen ans Land gebracht, es wurde ein wenig visitirt, und so brachten wir

dan unsere Sachen in ein Hauss wo wir sodann biss zu unsrer weitern

Reisse verblieben.

D: 18 giengen die zwey Jacob nach Philadelpfiea auf dem Dampfboot.

Den 19ten blieben sie dort und d: 20ten kamen sie zuruck und Regina

mit Ihnen am 19ten in der Nacht kam die Margarethe in Kindbett.50

D: 21ten blieb die Regina bey uns und d: 22ten Morgens gieng sie

auf dem Damp[f]boot wieder nach Philadelpfia zuruck.

[July 23-July 26. Baltimore-Gettysburg: 53 miles.]     Den 23ten

Morgens [Interlineation: d. 13ten war Sonntag 50a] accordirten wir mit

einem Fuhrmann nach Wieling auszufuihren, d. Centner vor 2% Thaler, und

• 29
 

DIARY OF CHRISTOPH MUNK                     295

 

of wind that the sails had to be taken in and the anchor to be cast

torm went on almost through the entire night, and since it was head

we could not proceed at once in the morning, but we were glad in our

that the good God had helped us toward casting anchor instead of

g us at the mercy of the waves.

Because of adverse winds we had to spend the 11th at anchor; since

eather was beautiful we were not a little bored.

On July the 12th we had more favorable wind, and it persisted

,hout the day to our intense joy.

Dn the 13th the wind grew weaker, and as we were trying to enter

nal toward Baltimore we had head wind and shallow water. Due to

any turns the ship had to take our progress was very slow. The

us. night we had been inspected by an American ship. This evening we

nother storm so that once more we had to cast anchor before we

ely reached the harbor.

n the morning of the 14th we weighed anchor and proceeded toward

rbor entrance where again we had to cast anchor and were inspected

police and by a doctor, but there was no sick person on board, nor

lyone died.49 For such grace we owe profound thanks to the dear

* in heaven. It was a deeply moving experience for me when I saw

ca; it is a magnificent view and a beautiful country.

)n the 15th, the 12th Sunday after our departure from home, we

pass quarantine; the doctor came again and found everything all right,

received permission to land, but since it was Sunday we were not to

he harbor.

On the 16th, at noon, the doctor came back, and we were now at

to enter the harbor where, about 4 o'clock, we were allowed to leave

p for the land, to our great joy.

On the 17th of July, in the afternoon, the ship was unloaded, and our

ngs were carried ashore; there was a brief inspection, and then

k our things into a house where we stayed until we continued our

 

n the 18th the two Jacobs went to Philadelphia by steamboat.

hey stayed there through the 19th and returned on the 20th in the

y of Regina. On the 19th, at night, Margarethe was brought to bed.50

:gina spent the 21st with us; in the morning of the 22d she re-

to Philadelphia by steamboat.

uly 23-July 26. Baltimore-Gettysburg: 53 miles.] On the 23d,

aorning [Interlineation: "The 13th was a Sunday"],50a we contracted

vagoner to take us to Wheeling at 234 dollars per hundredweight and

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296    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

giengen dann des Nachmittags noch von Baltimore ab,51 wo wir des Abends

in einem Wirthshauss an der Strasse ubernachteten⁵² aber nicht einmahl

Milch bekommen konnten.

D: 24 fuhren wir weiter und da wir wenig Brod bey uns hatten, so

mussten wir viel Muhe haben, biss wir etwas uberkamen.

D: 25 kamen wir in ein Stadtle (. . . )53 und ubernachteten daselbst,

wo ich fur meine Familli fur das Nachtessen 3/4 Thaler bezahlte.

Den ²6ten giengen wir weiter und ubernachteten in einem Wirthshauss

6 Meilen vor Gettesburgm wo ich fur 3 Porschonen Nachtessen 3/3 Thal(er)

bezahlen musste. Diesen Morgen gab es Verdrusslichkeit mit der Doritzlen55

indem sie schon langere Zeit sehr murrisch war.     ,          ,

[July 27. Gettysburg-Chambersburg: 25 miles.] D: 27ten fuhren

wir weiter und              ubernachteten in  einem  Wirthshauss 6  Meilen  vor

Schimmbersburg,56     unsere Landreisse ist sehr beschwerlich, wir konnten

auf dem Wagen fast nicht sitzen, und mit dem Essen und Trinken hatten

wir auch nicht viel gutes, und des Tages war eine driikende Hize, lang-

weilig war die Reisse, nicht weil auf der ganzen Strasse immer Hausser

kammen, aber mit unsaglich viel Beschwerlichkeit und Verdrusslichkeit

hatte man zu kampfen besonders mit Weib und Kindern.

[July 28: Chambersburg-St. Thomas (?): 9 miles.]       Den 28ten

ubernachteten wir in Gehrs Stadtle.⁵⁷

[July 29. St. Thomas-McConnells Town: 13 miles.] D: 29ten konnten

wir wieder kein Brod uberkommen biss wir ubernachteten im Stadtle

Mikorlesthon.58

[July 30. McConnells Town-Juniatta Crossing (?): 20 miles.] D:30

am 14ten Sonntag nach unserer Abreise,50a fuhren wir wieder weiter und

fuhren uber ein hohes Gebirge59 wo des Nachmittags ein schweres Donner-

wetter uber uns hinzog, und bey zwey Stunden anhielt, auch hatte uns konnen

ein Ungluck begegnen, da bey einem schweren Donnerschlag die Pferde

scheu wurden, doch behutete uns da die machtige Hand Gottes, o erkenne es

meine Seele was der Herr Taglich an dir thut, diesen Abend gab es wieder

mit meinem Weib Verdruss, was auf der ganzen Reisse ofters geschah denn

die Weiber sind die Ungedult selber, deswegen es sehr schwer ist mit Weib

und Kinder zu reisen denn auch die Kinder verwildern beynah ganz.

[July 31. Juniatta Crossing-Bedford: 15 miles.] D: 31ten Julii kamen

wir nach Bethford wo wir ausserhalb der Stadt ubernacht blieben auch

heute Mittag hatten wir wieder ein Donnerwetter, da wir gerade Feuer

gemacht hatten zum kochen, es ist sehr beschwerlich zu reissen da es einem

an aller Bequemlichkeit fehlt, da man bey den Leuten und im Wirthshauss

nicht haben kann was man verlangt und das Geldt will man sparen meistens

kauften wir Milch und assen Brod dazu, das Land hat noch mehr Gebirg

als Worteberg (sic) desswegen eben in den Thalern und Ebenen Feld ange-

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DIARY OF CHRISTOPH MUNK                  297

 

left Baltimore that very same afternoon ;51 in the evening we stopped for the

night at an inn by the wayside52 but could not even get milk there.

On the 24th we traveled on, and since we had little bread with us we

had a hard time getting some.

On the 25th we came to a little town named ( . . . )53 and spent the

night there, where I paid 3/4 of a dollar for an evening meal for my

family.

On the 26th we traveled on and spent the night in an inn 6 miles out

of Gettysburg⁵⁴ [to the south], where I had to pay 3/4 of a dollar for three

servings of dinner. This morning there was some trouble with Doritzle,⁵⁵

who had been rather grumpy for quite some time.

[July 27. Gettysburg-Chambersburg: 25 miles.] On the 27th we drove

on and turned in for the night at an inn 6 miles out of Chambersburg.⁵⁶ Our

journey by land is very troublesome, we could hardly sit on the wagon,

nor can much good be said about our eating and drinking; during the day,

the heat was oppressive, the travel itself was boring, not so much because

there were houses all along the road but because one had to put up with

countless inconveniences and annoyances, especially with my wife and

children.

[July 28. Chambersburg-St. Thomas (?): 9 miles.] On the 28th we

spent the night at a little place called Gehrs Town.⁵⁷

[July 29. St. Thomas-McConnells Town: 13 miles.] On the 29th

again no bread could be had until we turned in for the night at the little

town of McConnells Town.⁵⁸

[July 30. McConnells Town-Juniatta Crossing (?): 20 miles.] On

the 30th, the 14th Sunday after our departure from home,50a we traveled

on again and drove over a high mountain59 where, in the afternoon, a severe

thunderstorm hung above us and lasted almost 2 hours. We almost met with

an accident as the horses shied at a heavy clap of thunder. However, God's

mighty hand shielded us. Behold, oh my soul, what, days on end, the Lord

does for thee. This evening again I had trouble with my wife; this happened

frequently throughout the journey, for woman is impatience personified;

therefore, it is very troublesome to travel with wife and children, for the

children, too, grow almost entirely unmanageable.

[July 31. Juniatta Crossing-Bedford: 15 miles.] On July the 31st

we reached Bedford where we spent the night outside the city limits. This

afternoon we had another thunderstorm just after we had lit a fire for

cooking. Traveling is very troublesome since one has to do without all

comforts in that one cannot get from the people [along the road] or at the

inns anything one asks for; and, moreover, one wishes to save money. Most

of the time we bought milk and ate bread with it. The country is more

mountainous than even Wurttemberg; for that reason the cultivated fields

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298    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

baut ist, bey jedem Hauss ist ein Weitzen und Haber, und ein Welschkorn

und Erdbieren Feld Wald und Viehweide.

[August 1. Bedford-Election House(?): 19 miles.]        Den Iten

August kamen wir durch Bethford welches ein nettes Stadtchen ist hier

kauften wir das erstemahl frisches Fleisch und kochten, auch bekammen

wir nach dem Essen, Most⁶⁰ das Zweytemahl so lange wir in diesem Lande

sind woran wir uns sehr erquikten heute hatten wir auch gutes Wetter.

[August 2-August 3. Election House-Somerset: 18 miles.] D: 2

Aug(us)t fuhren wir weiter von unserer Nachtherberge,⁶¹ war aber heute

wieder ein sehr heisser Tag und auf den Mittag bekammen wir wieder ein

Donnerwetter, eben als wir kochten, Heute Vormittag wurden wir durch

Gottes gnadigen Schutz und Schirm vor Unglick behuttet da ein Pferd auf

die Seite lief, und der Wagen umfallen wollte, was ein grosses Wunder war

dass es nicht geschah dafur wir Gott vielen Dank abermahl schuldig sind.

Heute fuhren wir uber das Allhegahn Gebirge, da lief auch eine Klapper-

Schlange fiber die Strasse, welche wir todschlug(en) sie war gegen 4

Schuh lang, wir horten auch mehrere an der Strasse auf den Baumen⁶² in

der Spitze des Schwanzes haben sie eine Hulse, das thut wie ein Kinder-

klapperle.

Den 3ten kamen wir uber das Stadtle Sommersett; von Bethford biss

hier ist spates Land der Haaber war noch ganz grun. Da trug man uns ein

Landgut an, worauf ein Hauss und Scheuer stund und einige Aker Land

an 300 Aker an(ge)baut war, es gefiel uns aber nicht denn die Gegend ist

nicht besser als auf der Alb, denn es bluhten noch die Lindenbaume.63  Die

300 Ak(er) hatte man vor 500 Thaler gekauft es ist eine Viertelstunde

von der Strasse ab, die nach Wieling fuhrt. Wir ubernachteten wieder in

einem einzelstehenden Wirthshausse.

[August 4-August 5. Somerset-Mount Pleasant: 25 miles.]     D: 5

Morgens als wir abfahren wollten, bekammen wir starken Regen, konnten

aber doch biss gegen 11 Uhr abfahren wir kamen heute fiber das Stadtchen

Mangplassing.

[August 6. Mount Pleasant-Robstown: 14 miles.] D: 6ten August

am 15 Sonntag nach unserer Abreisse^50a fuhren wir weiter und kamen des

Mittags fiber Rabsthon⁶⁴ wo wir Mittag hielten(;) es fliesst ein Wasser

daran vorbey und ist eine schone Gegend, wir hatten heute auch wieder ein

Donnerwetter wir waren vergangene Nacht in (in) einem     Wirthshauss,

wo von unsern Landsleuten waren und da arbeiteten(.)

[August 7. Robstown-Williamsport: 10 miles.] D: 7ten kamen wir

gegen Mittag nach Williamsport65  welches auch ein Stadtchen ist.

[August 8. Williamsport-Washington: 20 miles.] D: 8ten kamen

wir fiber das Stadtchen Washington,66 wo wir, ehe wir dorthin gelangten

einen starken anhaltenden Regen bekammen und des Nachts wie gewohnlich

in einem einzeln stehenden Wirthshauss wieder ubernacht waren.

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DIARY OF CHRISTOPH MUNK                     299

 

are in the valleys and plains. Near each house they have fields of wheat,

oats, maize, and strawberries, and forest and pasture.

[August 1. Bedford-Election House (?): 19 miles.] On August 1st

we passed through Bedford, a neat little town. Here, for the first time, we

bought fresh meat and cooked it; and after our meal we had hard cider,60

the second time since we had been in this country, and it did us much good;

we also had fine weather today.

[August 2-August 3. Election House-Somerset: 18 miles.] On the

2d of August we drove on from our night quarters.⁶¹ It was another hot day,

and in the afternoon we again had a thunderstorm, just when we were cook-

ing. This morning, through God's gracious protection, we were saved

from disaster when one of the horses sidestepped and the wagon threatened

to turn over. It was quite a miracle that it did not happen, for which we

again owe God much gratitude. When today we crossed the Alleghany

Mountain a rattlesnake ran across the road, and we killed it. It was about 4

feet long. We heard others in the trees by the roadside [ !].62 At the tip of

their tail they have a sort of capsule which makes a noise like a baby's rattle.

On the 3d we reached the little town of Somerset. Between here and

Bedford the crops are far behind: the oats were still green. They offered

us a farm including house and barn and some acreage (about 300 acres)

under cultivation. It did not suit us, however, since the land is no improve-

ment over the [Swabian] Alb, for the linden trees were still in bloom.⁶³

Those 300 acres could have been bought for 500 dollars. The farm is about

15 minutes off the road to Wheeling. Again we spent the night at an isolated

inn.

[August 4-August 5. Somerset-Mount Pleasant: 25 miles.] On the

5th, when in the morning we were about to leave, there was a heavy rain;

yet we got started about 11 o'clock; we passed today through the little town

of Mount Pleasant.

[August 6. Mount Pleasant-Robstown: 14 miles.] On the 6th of

August, the 15th Sunday after our departure from home,50a we drove on to

Robstown⁶4 where we ate our noonday meal; there is a creek flowing past,

and it is beautiful country; we also had another thunderstorm today. We

spent last night at an inn where a few of our fellow countrymen stayed as

workers.

[August 7. Robstown-Williamsport: 10 miles.] On the 7th, about

noon, we reached Williamsport,⁶⁵ another little town.

[August 8. Williamsport-Washington: 20 miles.] On the 8th we

passed through the little town of Washington ;66 shortly before we arrived

there a heavy and persistent rain started; at night, as usual, we slept at an

isolated inn.

• 34
 

300    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

[August 9. Washington-Claysville: 11 miles.] Den 9ten kamen wir

tiber das Stadtchen Glaswill⁶⁷ und hatten nach Mittag wieder einen starken

Regen, und Donnerwetter wir kamen heute uber die Granze Pensylphanien.68

[August 10. Claysville-Wheeling, W. Va.: 25 miles.] D: lOten

kamen wir Nachmittags in Wiehling an, wo wir noch von unsern Lands-

leuten antrafen namentlich auch Haller von Hemmingen,⁶⁹ welcher eine

Schwester in Columbiana70 hatte, wir mietheten wieder ein Hauss wohin

wir auch unsere Sachen brachten hier wurden auch unsere Sachen abge-

wogen, und musste dan dem Fuhrman 28 Thaler71 bezahlen.

D: 11ten Morgens kam Haller mit seinem Schwager von Columbi⁷²

mit einem Fuhrwerk, welcher uns auch rieth dorthin zu gehen weil es ein

deutsches Fettland sey und Giter feil seyen, wir akordirten desswegen

wieder mit unserm Fuhrman uns biss dorthin zu fihren welches ohngefahr

70 Meil war und mussten ihm abermahl 50 Thaler mit einander bezahlen.73

[August 12. Wheeling-Wellsburg: 16 miles.] D: 12ten fuhren wir

ab von Wiehling und fuhren an Ohio Fluss hinauf hiss Welsburg74 wo wir

ubernacht blieben wir trafen hier auch Teutsche von der Harmonie,75 hier

ist das Land gut, aber schlechten und gefahrlichen Weg hatten wir76 diese

Leute waren von Poppenweiler⁷⁷ und der eine hiess Wolf.

[August 13. Wellsburg-Steubenville: 8 miles.] D: 13 fruhstukten

wir bey den teutschen Leuten ich war wieder zu Hauss, und war mir recht

wohl Heute fuhren wir wieder am Ohio hinauf, und bey Stubenwill⁷⁸ liesen

wir uns fiber den Fluss fuhren wo beym ausfahren der Wagen wieder

umfallen wollte was aber doch durch Gottes vaterlichen Schuz wieder

verhutet wurde, Heute am 16 Sonntag nach unserer Abreisse50a  waren (wir)

in einem Baurenhausse ubernacht und trafen gute Leute an.

[August 14. Steubenville-Wellsville: 29 miles.] D: 14ten fuhren wir

biss Welswill79 wo wir wieder ubernacht blieben, heute hatten wir wieder

viel schlechten Weg und einen sehr heissen Tag wir kamen wieder an den

Ohio Fluss.

[August 15. Wellsville-Lisbon: 12 miles.] D: 15 fuhren wir wieder

weiter, und wie wir abfuhren, so trafen wir des Leuchts seine Frau und

Kinder in Welswill, wo sie im Dampfbott hieher gekommen waren, und

erfuhren von Ihr das Ihnen ihr Geldt auf dem Schiff gestohlen worden

sey. Wir kamen heute nach Neulissabon wo wir ubernacht blieben80 ich

aber gieng den Mittag voraus nach Columbiana,⁸¹ welches ich aber wegen

einbrechender Nacht nicht mehr erreichte ich blieb an der Strasse bey

Bauerleuten ubernacht die mich unengeldtlich beherbergten.

[August 16-August 17. Lisbon-Columbiana: 10 miles.] D: 17 gieng

ich Morgens nach Columbiana und dan zu Schaa[ ?]renberger welcher mich

freundschaftlich empfieng, und uns fur eine Logie sorgte um 4 Uhr kam

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DIARY OF CHRISTOPH MUNK                     301

 

[August 9. Washington--Claysville: 11 miles.] On the 9th we drove

through the little town of Claysville,⁶⁷ and in the afternoon we had another

heavy rainfall, with thunder and lightning; today we crossed the border of

Pennsylvania.68

[August 10. Claysville--Wheeling, W. Va.: 25 miles.] In the after-

noon of the 10th we arrived at Wheeling where we met some of our fellow

countrymen. One of them, Haller by name, of Hemmingen,⁶⁹ had a sister at

Columbiana.⁷⁰ As once before, we rented a house where we took our belong-

ings. It was here, too, that our things were weighed, and I had to pay

the wagoner 28 dollars.71

In the morning of the 11th, Haller, with his brother-in-law, came from

Columbi[ana]⁷² with a vehicle. He advised us to go to that place because,

as he said, it was a German-settled, fertile land, and farms were for sale

there. Hence we again contracted with our wagoner to take us there. It was

a trip of about 70 miles, and we had to pay him another 50 dollars for all

of us.⁷3

[August 12. Wheeling--Wellsburg: 16 miles.] On the 12th we left

Wheeling and drove on the road up the Ohio River to Wellsburg74 where

we stayed overnight. Here we met with Germans of the Harmonie.⁷⁵ There is

good soil here, but our road was bad and dangerous.76 These people were

from Poppenweiler;77 there was one of them of the name of Wolf.

[August 13. Wellsburg--Steubenville: 8 miles.] On the 13th we had

breakfast with these German people; I was at home again and very much

at ease. Today we proceeded up the Ohio River road again. At Steubenville78

we had ourselves ferried across the river. On driving off the ferry the

wagon again threatened to turn over, but again it was prevented by God's

fatherly protection. Today, on the 16th Sunday after our departure from

home,50a we stayed at a farmhouse for the night and met with good people.

[August 14. Steubenville--Wellsville: 29 miles.] On the 14th we drove

as far as Wellsville⁷⁹ where we spent the night; today we again had much

bad road and a very hot day. We came again to the Ohio River.

[August 15. Wellsville--Lisbon: 12 miles.] On the 15th we traveled

on, and just as we were about to leave we met Leucht's wife and children

at Wellsville, who had come here by steamboat, and we learned from them

that on board the ship their money had been stolen. Today we arrived at

New Lisbon where we spent the night.80 I, however, about noon, set out

ahead of the others toward Columbiana,81 which I did not reach though

because of nightfall. I stayed for the night with a farmer and his family

just off the road, and they took me in without charging me anything.

[August 16--August 17. Lisbon--Columbiana: 10 miles.] In the

morning of the 17th I arrived at Columbiana and went to see Schaa[?]ren-

berger, who received me like a friend and found us a place to stay. At 4

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302    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

unser Fuhrman, wo wir sodan unsere Sachen ins Hauss brachten und zum

Dank und Preiss unseres himmlischen Vaters [der uns] biss hieher gesund

und wohl gebracht hat, ach danke dem Herrn meine Seele und vergiss

nicht was der taglich an Dir thut Diese Nacht regnete es sehr stark, und

wie froh war ich dass wir und unsere Sachen unter Obdach waren, den auf

dem Wagen ware vollends alles verdorben in Columbiana trafen wir auch

gute teutsche Leute ein Sattler Namens Schwarz welche uns auch guts

thaten und als wir in unser Hauss kammen brachte unsere Hauss wirthen

einen Laib Brod und Milch, was uns sehr erfreute. [In faded ink:]

geschrieben d. 15 Dmbr 1832 nach Hauss.⁸²

 

APPENDIX

[In the back of the book there are a number of pages containing notes

and remarks about the voyage and land journey of the writer; the fact

that the pages immediately preceding them are missing makes it appear

possible that what is left is the end of a longer treatise which is lost. Most

of it is written in ink, and the generally more reflective tone indicates that

it was composed in the peace of the new home.]

nachdem wir 61 Tag auf der See gefahren sind83 als wir aussteigen

durfte(n), kamen mehre Deutsche ans Schiff uns so giengen wir mit einem

von Hessen Darmstadt84

... aber durch den Umgang mit so viel ander Kindern, ganz verwildert

Kleider haben sie mehr zerrissen als zu Hauss dass man glaubte es seyen

lauter Leute aus der Turkey, Seybold von Heslach zeichnete sich vorzuglich

aus mit Merz hatten wir wenig Umgang mehr, den da er auf dem Schiff

die Leute Comandiren wollte so machte er sich allen verhasst auch ich

hatte ofters Gelegenheit gehabt mit ihm zu brechen, aber das Wort unseres

Heilandes im Angedenken, ihr aber nicht also, hielte immer und suchte auch

sonst bey Zwistigkeiten soviel als moglich zum Frieden zu rathen unter

solchen Umstanden wurde uns freilich die Zeit zuletzt lange, weil wir hofften

wir wurden auch in 5 oder 6 Wochen hinuber kommen, da war Gedult

nothig, und unser Wunsch wurde doch nach und nach erfullt, dass uns der

liebe Gott mochte nicht in Ungluck kommen lassen und gesund erhalten, in

den lezten 5, Wochen hatten wir fast immer gut Wetter und zulezt auch

recht heiss dass einigemal Donnerwetter fiber uns hinzogen und nicht geringe

Sorge (machten).   Seybold war auch unser Koch, weil die gegen 80

Personnen zusammen kochen musste⁸⁵ das war eine schwierige Sache

besonders fur Kinder. Des Morgens um 9 Uhr bekam mann ein wenig

Wasser Suppe die konnte man fast nicht essen, und wenn mann es hohlte,

so flucht und schimpfte der Schiffskoch dass man hatte lieber gar nicht

gessen, es war aber auch fast nicht zu Essen denn alles bekam den widrigen

Seegeru(c)h das einen alles entleidet wurde Reiss und Gerste, durfte man

bald gar nicht mehr kochen, das wollte niemand mehr essen Bohnen, Erbsen

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DIARY OF CHRISTOPH MUNK                     303

 

o'clock our wagoner arrived, and at once we took our belongings to the

house, giving praise to our heavenly Father who had brought us here hale

and hearty. Oh, thank the Lord, my soul, and forget not what every day he

does for thee. This night a heavy rain fell, and, oh, how glad I was that

we and our belongings were safely sheltered; for on the wagon everything

would have been hopelessly spoiled. In Columbiana we met good German

people (among them a harness-maker of the name of Schwarz) who showed

us much kindness, and when we came to our house our landlady brought

us a loaf of bread and milk, which delighted us greatly.

[Postscript, in faded ink:] [I] wrote [this] [to my people at] home

on the 15th of December 1832.82

 

APPENDIX

[In the back of the little volume there are a number of pages containing

notes and remarks about the voyage and land journey, doubtless written by

the author of the diary. The fact that the immediately preceding pages are

missing indicates that the extant remainder is the end of a longer treatise,

now lost. Most of it is written in ink, and the generally more reflective

tone suggests that it was composed in the peace of the new   home at

Columbiana.]

When, after a sea voyage of 61 days,83 we were at liberty to go ashore,

several Germans came to the ship, and so we went with one from Hesse-

Darmstadt . . . 84 but, due to the contact with so many other children,

grown entirely unmanageable. They have torn more clothes than at home

so that one might believe that they were people from Turkey; Seybold

from  Heslach [?] outshone all others. With Merz we had not much

contact any longer; since he tried to order around the people on board, he

was universally hated. I, too, had frequent occasion to break with him, but,

remindful of the word of our Savior, "but not ye in like manner," held on

to myself, and on other occasions, too, tried to counsel for peace as much

as possible. Under such conditions, of course, time finally seemed endless,

especially since we had hoped that we should travel across in 5 or 6 weeks.

It took a lot of patience, and indeed, our wish was gradually fulfilled too

that the good God let us not come to grief but keep us in good health. In

the last five weeks we had fine weather most of the time, and toward the

end it grew really hot so that several times thunderstorms passed over our

heads, giving us not a little worry. Seybold was also our cook since our

crowd of almost 80 people had to do collective cooking.⁸5 That was a

difficult matter, especially for the children. At 9 o'clock in the morning

we received a little watery soup which was almost unfit to be eaten, and

when we went to get it the ship's cook cursed and swore so that one

did not feel like eating at all; and it really was almost unfit to eat; every-

thing assumed that nauseating sea odor which spoiled everything for us.

Rice and barley soon could no longer be served; nobody wanted to eat it

any more; beans, peas, lentils, sour dumplings, were served successively

• 38
 

304    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

Linsen saure Spatzen diss kochte man nacheinander und das wurde auch

am liebsten noch gegessen deswegen auch Esig das vorzuglichste ist weil

man auch das Fleisch mit Esig essen musste, zu etwas saurem behalt man

mehr Appetit, nach 4 Uhr konnten wir zu Mittag essen, weil die Kuche

klein war und der Schiffskoch fur den Kapitan und Mattrossen die Kuche

fast den ganzen (Tag) brauchte und auch den ganzen Tag fortfluhte und

wen mann des Abends oder des Mittags Wasser zu einen Supple fur ein

Kind wollte, so konnte man es fast nicht uberkommen well man nicht selber

heiss Wasser machen durfte.

[The next passage seems to be an entry made on the high seas. In

a prayerlike meditation, immediately preceding it, there appear as the final

words: d: 19ten Junii.]

. . . viel Durst, und dann hat man schlechtes stinkendes Wasser das

man fast nicht trinken kann und mag desswegen Wein vorzuglich gut ist

was uns sehr weh taht well wir keinen hatten ich kaufte vom Capitain 1

Schopen Wein fur ein 1 f. (Gulden)⁸⁶ da uns allen so unwohl war auf der

ganzen Reisse und mitten im Meer sah man Seeschwalben87 und eine Art

Enten auch einige wie Raben, es sind sogenante Seemehfen88  Meergras

zeigte sich immer auch (;) [es] (wir) sahen auch einige fliegende Fische89

auch einen Heufisch90 sahen wir in Mansgrosse der eigentliche Menschen-

fresser.

[The same applies to the following passage:]

. . . abgeschnitten von aller menschlichen Hulfe wenn der liebe Gott

einen fallen liesse was einem Christlich gesinnten Herzen gar kein Wunder

ware, wenn man auf einem  Schiff bey so vielen Gottsvergessnen und

Ruchlossen Leuten ein solche Reisse machen muss auf dem  Meer hat

man keine grosse Aussicht man sieht keine 3 biss 4 Stunden weit, und

das Hochland kann man auf 15 biss 20 Stunden sehen(;) wenn es

sturmisch ist, so fahrt man wie in einem     Thal: wenn sturmische

Witterung ist, so gereut es fast jedermann dass sie die Reisse unternommen,

wenn es aber wieder gut Wetter ist, dann ist alles wieder zufrieden(;) wenn

man zur See kommt, leidet alles an Verstopfung, und kann 14 T biss 3

Wochen bedeutent seyn, manche bekommen aber auch Leibweh, am

gerauchert Fleisch bekommt bey uns alles Ekel, und erwekt . . . . Nun

bin ich Gott sey Dank, in dem Land meiner Sehnsucht gesund und wohlbe-

halten angekommen, o wie bin ich dem lieben Vater im Himmel verbunden

mein Leben lang dankbar zu seyn, vergiss nicht Gottes o Seele, vergiss

nicht was er dir Guths gethan, alien Leuten ist fast die Reisse nicht

anzurathen, denn man hat viel mehr Schwierigkeiten durchzumachen als

dass man in der Vorstellung hat, ebenso fur unentschlossene Leute [,](;)

Leute die einen festen Carakter und Muth (haben,) mit einem kindlichen

Willen in die Schikungen Gottes, und vertrauen zuversichtlich in Gefahren,

die konnen es mit der Hulfe Gottes wagen; wie man schon sagen wollte es

ware mehr beschwerlich als gefahrlich, so ist man eben ....

[Here the diary ends. The last pages of the notebook have been

torn or cut out.]

• 39
 

DIARY OF CHRISTOPH MUNK                      305

 

and were relatively popular. Vinegar is most important since even the

meat had to be eaten with vinegar. Something sour stimulates a person's

appetite more than anything else. After 4 o'clock we could have our dinner

since the kitchen was small and the ship's cook used it almost the entire

day for the captain and the crew and also went on swearing and cursing

through the entire day; hence if in the evening or at noon one wished to

have water for a little soup for a child, it was almost impossible to get it

because you were not allowed to heat up water yourself.

[The following passage seems to be an entry made on the high seas.

The final words of a prayer-like meditation, immediately preceding it, read

"the 19th of June."]

. . . much thirst and, moreover, bad, stinking water, which one is hardly

able or willing to drink; wine, therefore, is especially good, and it grieved

us very much that we had none. I once bought a pint of wine from the

captain for 1 gilder since all of us were so sick throughout the entire

voyage. In the middle of the ocean we saw sea swallows87 and a sort of

ducks and some like crows. They are called sea gulls,88 and we also saw

seaweed all the time. We also saw a few flying fish.⁸⁹  Also a shark90

we saw, the size of a man, the real man-eater.

[What was said above, also applies to the following passage:]

. . . cut off from all human help, if the good God would forsake us, which

no truly Christian heart would consider amazing when one is compelled

to travel on a ship with so many godless and reckless people. On the high

seas one cannot see very far, the view extends not quite 3 or 4 hours, while

one can see the mountains as far as 15 to 20 hours. When there is a storm

one travels as in a valley. When there is stormy weather, almost every-

body regrets to have undertaken the trip, but as soon as the weather is fine

again everybody is satisfied again. When first on board a ship everybody

has constipation, and that may last for two or three weeks; some people

get a stomach ache; all of us are sick of smoked meat; it brings about . . . .

Now, God be praised, I have arrived hale and hearty in the land of my

longing. Oh, how much obliged I am to be grateful all through my life to

the dear Father in heaven. Forget not, oh soul, thy God; forget not what

good he has done to thee. Not all people are to be advised to undertake

such a voyage, since there are many more hardships to be encountered than

can be imagined. People that cannot make decisions are likewise to be

dissuaded. Only people who combine a strong character and courage with

a childlike submission to the will of God and who trust him confidently

in all dangers may venture it with the help of God; although one might

safely say that it is more troublesome than dangerous, yet one is . . . .

[Here the diary ends; the last pages of the little volume have been

torn or cut out.]

• 40
 

306      OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

NOTES

1 Unterturkheim: a village on the right side of the river Neckar about 3 miles

east of the center of Stuttgart, the capital city of Wurttemberg. From 1806 to 1918

this South German state was a kingdom.

2 Hassmersheim: a village on the left side of the Neckar about 47 miles down-

stream from Unterturkheim, that is, about 15 miles north of Heilbronn, which lies 32

miles north of Stuttgart.

3 Abba: an Aramaic word meaning "father" used by Jesus (Mark 14:36) as

well as by Greek-speaking Jews of his time. The frequent use of this term in this

diary, more than anything else, marks its author as a Pietist. See also note 40.

4 Augenleitung: another Pietist term, based on Ephesians 1:18, "having the eyes

of your heart enlightened, that ye may know, . . . ."  Hiller (see note 33), after

quoting this passage (Liederkastlein, Part II, p. 533), adds the following remark: "Let

us pray for such eyes."

5 Hirschhorn: a little town on the right bank of the Neckar about 14 miles

above Heidelberg.

6 Heidelberg: the famous university town. Here the Neckar leaves the moun-

tains and enters the wide bottom plains of the Rhine Valley.

7 Mannheim: here the Neckar flows into the Rhine.       Due to this favorable

position Mannheim, after 1802, attained a steadily growing importance as an inland

trading center for the exchange of goods by water freight between the lower Rhine and

South Germany and Austria.

8 See Note 3.

9 Worms: an ancient German cathedral city on the river Rhine 11.3 miles

downstream from Mannheim and 34.2 miles south of Mainz.

10 Mainz: at the confluence of the river Main and the Rhine. Here the Rhine

enters for 18.3 miles upon an east-west course, at the end of which, at Bingen, it

resumes its course toward the North Sea.

11 Koblenz: at the confluence of the rivers Mosel (left) and Lahn (right) and

the Rhine.

12 Koln: in 1832, when these emigrants passed the city, the famous cathedral

was still to be seen in the fragmentary condition in which its construction had been

abandoned toward the end of the fifteenth century.  It was resumed in 1841 and

completed in 1880.

13 Wesel: on the right side of the Rhine on the point where the river Lippe

comes in. The debris unloaded at the river's mouth accounts for the difficulties in

navigation encountered here by the emigrants' barge.

14 Emmerich: 101 miles north of Koln on the right bank of the Rhine, the last

German town before entering Holland.

15 Bebele is the Munks' second child, Barbara, age seven.

16 Munk writes "Lokwik," although what he says here obviously applies to

Lobith, which even today is the Dutch customs station for watercraft from Germany

into the kingdom of the Netherlands.

17 After having turned off to the right into the Pannerden Canal the emigrants'

barge reached the arm of the Rhine called De Neder Rijn. Arnheim lies on its right

bank about 22 miles northwest of Emmerich.

18 What is here called the "canal to Utrecht" probably is De Kromme Rijn,

a rather inconspicuous arm of the Rhine which branches off to the right from the

Neder Rijn at Wijk, 37 miles west of Arnheim.

19 Utrecht: one of the larger cities of Holland, seat of a famous university.

20 The waterway which connects Utrecht with the Zuider Zee is called Vecht.

21 Muiden: a small town at the mouth of the Vecht at the Zuider Zee about

30 miles north of Utrecht.    It lies on the south shore of the funnel-shaped bay

called Het Ij Meer on the small (western) end of which the city of Amsterdam is

located.

22 The emigrants were taken to the big ocean-going vessel by small sailboats

which also carried their belongings.

23 According to the Marine List (Port of Baltimore, July 16, 1832), published

identically in both the Baltimore Gazette and Daily Advertiser and the American &

Commercial Daily Advertiser, this ship was the "Dutch ship, Geonolgen [perhaps

Geo. Nolgen], Zimmermann [captain's name], from Amsterdam, gin and passengers,

to Karthaus, Kurtz & Co." Where it was anchored at the time of the emigrants'

embarkment it is impossible to ascertain. Enkhuizen or Medemblik in the northern

half of the Noord Holland east coast of the Ijssel Meer are the most likely places.

Munk mistook the place for an island (Insel; in his spelling: Incel).

24 They left the Ijssel Meer for the North Sea by sailing in the current called

the Texelstroom around the north point of Noord Holland through the straits between

the town of De Helder and the small island of Onrust slightly northwest of it.

• 41
 

DIARY OF CHRISTOPH MUNK                                307

 

25 Following a southwest course they successively saw Dover, Folkestone, Dunge

Ness, Newhaven, and possibly, Beachy Head; the "very little" they saw of France

must have been the Cape Gris-Nez, southwest of Calais.

26 Capes Start Point and Bolt Head, Devonshire.

27 Cape Lizard Head, Cornwall, the southernmost point of the British Isles

slightly south of the 50th parallel, 5^° 15' west of Greenwich.

28 See note 36.

29 There were two men in the party of the name of Jacob, whom Munk repeat-

edly calls "the two Jacobs."  One of them was Jacob Schultes, a brother of Munk's

wife, Regina Schultes Munk, while the family name of the other is never mentioned.

See also note 50. Nothing is known about "cousin Stephan." It is not even certain

whether Stephan here is a first name or a family name.

30 See preceding note.

31 Nanele (little Nana) is the Munks' baby daughter, Christiana, nine months old.

32 See Note 3.

33 Hiller's Schatzkastlein: the book of daily devotions here mentioned is really

entitled Geistliches Liederkastlein zum Lobe Gottes (2 vols. in one, Stuttgart, 1792,

and later editions). The second volume bears the title Betrachtung des Lodes, der

Zukunft Christi, und der Ewigkeit auf alle Tage des Jahres: oder geistliches Lieder-

kastlein zweiter Theil. The copy used by the writer of the diary is extant; the title page

of the first part is missing. The incorrect title given in the diary may derive from

the book's preface (p. iii), where the author states that he had been requested to

write something in the general vein of "Bogatzky's Schatzkastlein," a devotional

book popular in Hiller's time. Philipp Friedrich Hiller (1699-1769) was a minister

of the gospel, well known in his days as the writer of hymns. The hymn here

mentioned, "Glauben und ein gut Gewissen [ist ein unzertrennlich Paar]," appears

in Munk's copy (part II, p. 546) under the date of the entry: June 13th. See also

note 4.

34 A famous hymn by Paul Gerhardt (1606-76).

35 Rosenwasser (rose water): a distillate from rose petals steeped in water, long

a household remedy against "sore eyes."

36 Loskiel, Etwas furs Herz: This is the title of a devotional book, which reads

in full: Etwas furs Herz auf dem Wege zur Ewigkeit (366 Betrachtungen) ["Some-

thing for the Heart on Its Way to Eternity (366 Meditations)"], first published at

Bautzen in 1801, and later at Leipzig and Basel. An especially fine edition, Basel,

1806, was reprinted in 1822 and 1825, and possibly later. The author, Georg

Heinrich Loskiel, born in Kurland in 1740, held several positions as a Moravian

minister. In 1801 he appears as president of the Pennsylvania group of Moravian

congregations. From 1802 until his death at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 1814, he

was the bishop of the Moravians in the United States.

37 These supposed fish were porpoises, gregarious mammals of the whale family.

The fact that "porpoise" really means "pigfish" shows that Munk was not the first

observer to be struck by their resemblance to pigs. The two commonest species to be

met with between Europe and North America are, Phocaena phocaena Linnaeus, and

Phocaena communis Lesson, the former, however, more likely to be found in coastal

waters.

38 The parish fair of Heumaden, the home village of the Munks, about 3 miles

southeast of Stuttgart, took place on this particular Sunday.

39 Apparently not all of the emigrants on board were Pietists. See the following

note.

40 Pietist: according to F. Kluge's Etymologisches Worterbuch (Strassburg, 1910),

the word originated at the University of Leipzig about 1690 as a derogatory term for

the student followers of the famous theologian, Philipp Jacob Spener (1635-1705),

who stressed religious feeling rather than dogma. As a symptom of the times the same

tendency appeared in the Anglo-Saxon world in the religious attitudes of William

Penn and his Friends and of the great American philanthropist, Cotton Mather. Since

about 1725 the term "Pietist" had been in derogatory use in Germany, with the

connotation of "pious hypocrite"; in the course of time, however, the word lost much

of its contemptuous meaning.

41 Heufisch: the correct spelling is "Haifisch"; Munk's spelling is phonetic. In his

native dialect, ai ei and eu sound alike. Due to this fact he phonetically spelled

Mayen for the Dutch place-name Muiden, the local dialect pronunciation of which is

moie, with the d and final n not sounded.

42 Whales.

43 Munk's remarks about the Gulf Stream are essentially correct, although it is

not quite clear what distance corresponds to "⁵⁰ to 60 hours."

44 The presence in its indigo-blue water of vast quantities of floating yellow

seaweed is one of the most striking characteristics of the Gulf Stream, especially neal

the American coast.

45 See note 37.

• 42
 

308      OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

46 See note 42.

47 The coast near Chesapeake Bay possibly Cape Charles.

48 Chesapeake Bay: from Cape Charles and Cape Henry, flanking the bay,

it is another 170 miles to the harbor of Baltimore.

49 After the long and stormy crossing of 61 days, under rather trying sanitary and

feeding conditions on board (for greater detail, see Appendix, p. 303), this health

record is truly surprising.

50 The "two Jacobs" (see note 29) seem to have had female relatives in Philadel-

phia who had preceded them to America and whom they immediately sought.

50a Munk apparently meant to state that it was the 13th Sunday since their de-

parture from home. This Sunday had been on the day before: the 22d of July. He

thought that the 23d was a Sunday since, later, he writes, under July 30, that this day

is "the 14th Sunday after our departure" while really the 29th was a Sunday. See

likewise under August 6 and 13 which were really Mondays.

51 Here begins the overland trek by wagon from Baltimore to Columbiana, Ohio.

According to advertisements of July 16, 1832, in both the Baltimore and Daily Adver-

tiser and the American Commercial Daily Advertiser, two of the leading Baltimore trans-

portation firms were: Stockton, Stokes & Co., carrying passengers from Baltimore to

Wheeling in 3 1/4 days; and Neil, Moore & Co., who covered the same distance, "via

Rail-Road [i.e., horse-drawn coaches, on rails] and National Road in 48 hours." The

railroad here mentioned bears the name Baltimore & Ohio Railroad even in these early

days; it ran 60 miles from Baltimore to Frederick, Maryland, where a transfer to

stagecoaches was made. The wagoner with whom the Munk family traveled probably

was unaffiliated with any company but worked at his own risk.

52 Probably near or at Pikesville, Maryland, 8 miles from Baltimore.

53 Place for name left blank in the diary. It may have been Westminster, 37

miles south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

54 Present name: Two Taverns, 6 miles south of Gettysburg.

55 Doritzle: probably a female relative or maid servant traveling with the Munks.

56 Between Chambersburg and Fayetteville.

57 This Gehrs Town could not be identified; it cannot have been far from St.

Thomas, where there was the Franklin Inn kept by a Mr. von der Smith. This inn is

mentioned and praised for quality and reasonable rates by a clergyman of the name

of Cranz from Mergentheim in Wurttemberg, who, according to his travel diary (MS

in Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society Library, Columbus), traveled the

same road from Baltimore to Wheeling, West Virginia, in 1834.

58 Mikorlesthon: McConnells Town, today named McConnellsburg.

59 Little Scrub Ridge Summit (1,455 ft.). Sideling Hill Summit (2,196 ft.),

and Rays Hill Summit (1,957 ft.). They probably spent the night of July 30 at

Juniatta Crossing, 15 miles east of Bedford.

60 Most: in the usage of Wurttemberg, "hard cider," while in general German

usage it means "unfermented grape juice."

61 Probably near, or at, Election House (Somerset County, Alleghany Township),

about halfway between Bedford and Somerset, Pennsylvania.

62 A slight mistake; no rattlesnake ever climbs a tree.

63 The Swabian Jura (or Swabian Alb) in the central part of Swabia is an

undulating limestone plateau about 130 miles long and 10 to 25 miles broad. Its

boundaries are, on the west, the Black Forest; on the north, the valley of the Neckar

(before it takes its bend to the north); and on the south the valley of the Danube.

The climate of the Swabian Alb is rather raw, especially in the central part, which for

this reason is called Rauhe Alb. Munk's remark on the linden trees still being in

bloom at the beginning of August is very much to the point since, in warmer regions of

both Germany and North America, that bloom occurs about the middle of June.

Although the common German linden tree (Tilia parvifolia Ehrh. [ulmifolia Scop.])

and that of Pennsylvania (Tilia americana L.) represent different species, their seasonal

behavior is essentially the same.

64 Rabsthon: Robstown, an ancient settlement "at the foot of a hill on the

Youghiogheny's [tributary of the Monongahela] east bank." Destroyed in an Indian

attack and massacre in 1763, it was called West New Town when rebuilt to differentiate

it from Greensburg, then known as New Town. The name Robstown, however, still

occurs in an immigrants' guide book of 1832 in a list of stagecoach stations; while

the modern road maps carry the name of West Newton, the old name, Robstown, is

still occasionally heard.

65 Williamsport: obsolete name of the city of Monongahela. The settlement, an

important river crossing, was laid out in 1792 by Joseph Parkinson who named it

Williamsport, but until its incorporation in 1833 it was commonly called Parkinson's

Ferry (Encyclopaedia Brittanica, 14th ed., XV, 729).

66 Washington, Pennsylvania: laid out in 1781 at the site of a Delaware Indian

village. Incorporated as a borough in 1810, it was chartered as a city in 1924.

67 Glaswill: Claysville, a crossroads village named for Henry Clay.

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DIARY OF CHRISTOPH MUNK                              309

 

68 The boundary line between the states of Pennsylvania and West Virginia is

crossed by the road 16 miles northeast of Wheeling, West Virginia.

69 Hemmingen: village in Wurttemberg (Neckarkreis), west-north-west of Stutt-

gart.

70 Columbianna: Columbiana, a town in Ohio in the county of the same name,

12 miles south of Youngstown; a few lines farther down Munk writes Columbi.

71 Although Munk's handwriting here is unmistakably legible there is some incon-

gruity between the rates of the wagoner for the long stretch from Baltimore to

Wheeling and those for the 70 miles from Wheeling to Columbiana.

72 Columbi; see note 70.

73 See note 71.

77 Welsburg: they drove north on the east bank of the Ohio River in the so-called

"panhandle" of the present state of West Virginia. The most important town along

that road was Wellsburg. Possessed of an excellent river landing, the town then was

famous for its shipyards and its trade in flour and liquor down to New Orleans and

overseas and, since 1813, for its glass plant, the first in the state, founded by Issac Duval.

75 Harmonie: clearly the name of a German singing club such as were founded

in practically all German-settled American communities for the purpose of choral

singing. They were, and in some places still are, important as social centers.

76 The "bad and dangerous road" may be an explanation of the high rate of

transportation charged by the wagoner. See note 71.

77 Poppenweiler: village on the Neckar between Marbach and Ludwigsburg.

78 Stubenwill: Steubenville, like all the river towns of the region, experienced

a boom due to the increase of river traffic with the coming of steamboats between 1811

and 1830. As early as 1814 Steubenville, always an industrial town, had besides

pottery, copperas, and iron works, a wool-cloth plant employing 200 workers. By 1830,

when the first glass factory was started, Steubenville was the third city in size in the

state of Ohio, with a population of 2,937.

79 Wellswill: Wellsville; "Since its founding by William Wells in 1797, the

city has been successively a stagecoach stop on the Cleveland-Ohio River route, a busy

shipping mart during the steamboat era, and an important clay-products center."

80 Neulissabon: New Lisbon; today: Lisbon, Ohio.

81 Columbiana: "first called Dixonville for its founder, Joshua Dixon, Columbiana

was laid out in 1805. During the early decades of the nineteenth century the Pittsburgh-

Wooster stagecoach line passed through the town and taverns flourished along Main

Street." Columbiana was the Munk family's final destination.

82 As evident from   this concluding passage an important motive for Jacob

Munk's diary--if not the primary one--was the desire to give his relatives in Germany

an authentic account of the journey. The letter was mailed almost exactly four months

after his arrival at Columbiana.

83 61 days at sea: from May 17 to July 16, 1832.

84 These Germans, coming to the ship immediately upon its docking, made it their

business to procure lodgings and overland transportation by wagon for the greenhorn

immigrants from the old country. In the diary of the Rev. Mr. Cranz, from Mergen-

theim (see note 57), who in 1834 likewise traveled from Baltimore to Wheeling, the

following entry occurs: "St. Thomas (wo mir der ehrliche Darmstadter olim Theersieder

nunc Bartscherer ein Glas Brandy & Water aufwichste)" [transl.: "St. Thomas (where

the worthy fellow from Darmstadt--once a tar boiler, now a barber-treated me to a

glass of brandy-and-water)"]. It is not out of the question that this is the same

fellow who may have made his living as a touter and, occasionally, even may have

joined a traveling party to make sure that the travelers stopped at the "right" inns,

especially when, as in the case of the Rev. Mr. Cranz, they had some money to spend.

85 Here we learn that there were eighty people in the party. Board was not in-

cluded in the price of passage; they brought their own victuals and even had to at-

tend to their own cooking. The shipping contract provided nothing beyond the use of the

kitchen, but even this was grudgingly granted.

86 Munk, according to his passport formerly a vintner, naturally must have felt

particularly peeved by the absence from his diet of the customary wine. The price

of 1 fl. (gilder; about a half dollar) he had to pay the ship's captain for 1 Schoppen

(about 1 pint) certainly was exorbitant.

87 Seeschwalben: sea swallows, gull-like birds, mostly of the genus Sterna, typified

by Sterna hirundo (the common tern) on both sides of the Atlantic.

88 Seemehfen: dialect spelling for "Seemoven," sea gulls; most of the species

common on the Northern Atlantic are of the genus Larus.

89 The flying fish encountered by the good ship Geo. Nolgen may have been

any of the following species: Exocoetus volitans L.; Exonautes exsiliens Muller, E.

condeletti Cuvier and Valenciennes, E. vinciguerrae Jordan and Meek, E. rubenscens

Rafinesque; Parexocoetus mesogaster Bloch. All of them belong to the Family

Exocoetidae, comprising 5 genera; 65 species, with 20 species in American waters;

carnivorous and herbivorous; they inhabit warm seas and are mostly pelagic.

90 Heufisch: see note 41.

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310    OHIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

 

REFERENCES

Germany and Holland

Baedeker, K., The Rhine From Rotterdam To Constance (London and Leipzig,

1929). Detailed maps; dependable data on distances, etc.

Southern Germany (London and Leipzig, 1929). Maps, general data,

distances, etc.

Beyerhaus, E., Der Rhein von Strassburg bis zur hollandischen Grenze in

technischer und wirtschaftlicher Beziehung (Koblenz, 1902).

van der Borght, R., Die wirtschaftliche Bedeutung der Rheinschiffahrt (Koln,

1892).

Clapp, E. J., The Navigable Rhine (Boston and New York, 1901).

Eckert, C. L. M., Die Rheinschiffahrt im 19. Jahrhundert (Leipzig, 1900).

Muirhead, F. & L. R., Holland and the Rhine (London, 1933). Atlas of

excellent maps appended.

Springer, 0., A German Conscript With Napoleon. Jakob Walter's Recollec-

tions of the Campaigns of 1806-1807, 1809, and 1812-1813. According

to a manuscript found at Lecompton, Kansas (Lawrence, Kansas,

1938).

United States

American Guide Series [Illustrated], Writers' Program of WPA (New York):

Maryland, A Guide to the Old Line State (1940)

Pennsylvania, A Guide to the Keystone State (1940)

The Ohio Guide (1940)

West Virginia, A Guide to the Mountain State (1941)

Note: All statements marked as quotations in the notes to this article

derive from these Guides, each of which also contains an excellent

bibliography on the respective state.

Guide-Books For Immigrants (1832, 1834, and later), containing useful road

maps and stagecoach schedules, with distances; in the possession of

the library of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society,

Columbus.

Walling, H. F. & Gray, O. W., New Topographical Atlas of the State of

Pennsylvania, . . . (Philadelphia, 1872). Valuable for now obsolete

place names.

General Information

Konversationslexikon (Brockhaus; Meyer)

Encyclopaedia Brittannica

Winkler-Prins, Allgemeene Encyclopaedie

Geographischer Handatlas (Stieler; Andre)

Maps of the United States Geological Survey; Maps of the German General

Staff (Generalstabskarten), etc.

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