Use the above window to search all fields. Otherwise, search individual fields below.
Please note: In many of the bibliographic records, MKI has not used umlauts (ä, ö, ü) or the letter ß. Try searching both for umlauts and for ae, oe, or ue, and ss.
| Format | Journal Article |
|---|---|
| Author, Analytic | Stoakes, Sharon |
| Title, Analytic | Immigration Story Spotlight: Bathasar Best, First Businessman in Traer, Iowa |
| Journal Title | Infoblatt |
| Date of Publication | Summer 2022 |
| Volume ID | 37 |
| Issue ID | 2 |
| Location in Work | 5-6, ill. |
| Abstract | Balthasar Best was born at Darmstadt, Hesse, on March 17, 1838, the son of physician Jacob Best. The family immigrated to America in 1850. While crossing Lake Erie, their steamer, the G. P. Griffith, caught fire; Bathasar, at 12 years old, was the only member of his family to survive. In 1856, Balthasar moved to Prairie Du Chien, Wisconsin, and later to Winona, Minnesota. Balthasar enlisted in the army during the Civil War, and kept a diary in his native German language. After the war, he returned to Winona, and married Francisca Salentine, a German immigrant who was born in Cologne. In 1873, he was one of the founding individuals of Traer, Iowa, where he operated a restaurant and then built the Best House, a hotel which he managed for a quarter of a century. Both Balthasar and Francisca died in 1909 and are bured in Traer. |
| Notes | German American Heritage Center, Davenport, Iowa |
| MKI Annotation | The author is Collections Manager of the Traer [Iowa] Historical Museum. Balthasar's diary, covering the year 1863, was translated in 2000 by Ewald Hausdorf, Austrian military attache to the United States. |
| Call Number | MKI Periodicals |
| MKI Terms | Emigration and Immigration (Europe-US)/ Hesse/ German Americans -- Iowa/ Civil War, 1861-1865 -- German Americans/ Business & Industry |