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| Format | Manuscript |
|---|---|
| Creator | Schlichting, Merlin |
| Title, Manuscript | Schlichting Letters Collection |
| Notes | The Max Kade Institute houses the Schlichting Letters Collection in digital format. To request access to the collection, contact the MKI Librarian/Archivist at mki.wisc.edu |
| Abstract | This digital collection contains scans of original letters saved by members of the Schlichting family who lived on the family’s farm in Sherwood, Oregon. The original letters were written in German, in the writing style called Kurrent, between family members in America and by relatives who remained in Germany. These letters were transcribed, translated, and organized by Merlin Schlichting. The letters are ordered chronologically by year, starting with the first entry in 1867, to the last, written in 1914. Each letter has its own file name and includes an English translation, a typed transcription of the original German—word for word and line by line—and a photo or scan of the original letter. Family members include: Johann (I) Schlichting (b. 1810) and his wife Elisabeth (Blank) Schlichting (b. 1814), who lived on a small farm in Neuland in an area known as the Ostedeich (Oste Dike) along the Oste River; their children, Hinrich (b. 1837), Claus (b. 1840), Johann II (b. 1844), Rebecka (b. 1853), and Anton (b. 1854); and Anton Blank (b. 1828), Elisabeth's younger brother. The emigration of the family to America took place between 1866 and 1869. Hinrich left for America in June 1866, just weeks following his mother Elisabeth’s death. Then his brother Johann (II) left—in a hurry, to escape being drafted into the Prussian army—in November. His perilous crossing of the Atlantic is recounted in his journal covering roughly the years 1850-1881. Claus made the voyage late in 1866, arriving in America in February 1867. Father Johann I, along with his two youngest children, Rebecka and Anton, arrived in the U.S. in June of 1869, accompanied by a cousin, Johann Jungclaus. Hinrich had sailed back to Germany to get his father and siblings. His father Johann had sold the Neuland farm. The proceeds helped considerably when later that same year the family sought land to farm in southeastern Minnesota. |
| Call Number | Digital files (Box) |