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New Glarus, About 1895. Swiss Reformed Church, Destroyed
in 1899.
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(From The Immigrant Experience in Wisconsin by La Vern J. Rippley)
Though Madison "was never known as an immigrant stronghold," throughout the 19th century, 10 to 15 percent of residents were German born, and 6 to 13 percent, Irish born (12). Most German and Irish immigrants, however, left the city for the farm. By 1845, the Germans had reportedly bought up a quarter-million acres of farmland. They came to Wisconsin, "by way of the Erie Canal and the Great Lakes, sweeping into eastern Wisconsin counties," including Jefferson and Dane (5). The Irish settled in Iowa and Green counties, where there was lead mining, and in Dane, Jefferson, Dodge, and Columbia counties (3).
Two other prominent groups were the Norwegians and the Swiss. The largest Norwegian settlement in early Wisconsin was Koshkonong in Dane County. Indeed, it became the "parent colony for Norwegian settlements throughout the United States" (6-7). German-speaking Swiss primarily settled in New Glarus and Monroe in Green County. In 1845, as a solution to the problem of overpopulation, the Canton of Glarus in Switzerland, offered to paying emigrants' passage and to buy them land in New Glarus (6).
One man who made this passage was Joshua Wild (1813-1879). Selections and summaries, from Wild's The Life Story of Myself follow.
From Glarus. . .
In his early childhood, Wild 's father, a butcher, and mother,
a dressmaker, "earned money enough so that we did not have
to suffer any." This soon changed for young Joshua, when
his father passed away in 1923. His father's "two brothers
helped clothe him for burial but had no words of comfort. All
they said was, 'Now you are left a poor boy' . . . Praise God,
their wish was not granted. God watched over me and heard my prayers."
In 1832, his mother, sick with tuberculosis, called Wild to her
bedside. "She soon told me I should leave here and get among
good people and I would surely prosper. She reminded me of God
and His care, and gave me her blessing." Wild began work
in a spinning factory, struggling, but scraping by. In 1838, he
married, having "found a maiden that promised to be true
to me in storm as well as in sunshine."
Wild saw a ray of promise in immigration. "When I was yet a young man I made the acquaintance of a man twice my age (Joe Hefty), Basie Baties Gotti, ninety years old. He possessed many good books and had experienced a great deal. We became close friends. He taught me geography, which he enjoyed as well as I. . . We discussed and planned immigration to America." His friend died at age ninety-five, passing on the dream of immigration to Wild.
Wild reports that "The question of immigration was becoming serious. Some talked favorably of it and others could see no advantages. One thing they agreed, there would be hardships to go into a new country, new languages, and new customs. I would have loved to migrate but dared not say anything at home; my wife's parents did not agree with me on that question. I also did not like to disappoint my bosses, where I was getting pretty good pay." In 1842, however, his wife's parents passed away. In 1843, against his boss's wishes, Wild took the day off and went to the nearby town of Glarus for a Swiss celebration. This cost him his job, but had a part in leading him to a new life; indeed to New Glarus.
Wild observes that in 1844 and 1845, "the project of immigration developed. The government encouraged it by giving twenty acres of land gratis, this settlement was to be named New Glarus. Two experts were sent out to explore the land and buy it from the government for the immigrants. . . They started in March, 1845, during which time papers were circulated and many decided to immigrate. . . The journey was anything but pleasant, they endured many almost unbearable hardships."
"I was very interested in the progress of this project of immigration and considered it an opportunity for myself and therefore did not want to miss it. In August and September, being quite favorable months in which to travel, I decided to take my wife and six and a half year old daughter with me."
To New Glarus. . . .
After a long journey, overland to Havre, France, followed by twenty-eight
days at sea, the Wilds arrived in New York City. They moved to
Syracuse, where for five years Wild worked hard and the family
got by. One day, Wild's stepfather and family, newly arrived in
America, stopped to visit before moving on to New Glarus, Wisconsin,
where land was said to be cheap. "After that," says
Wild, " I became dissatisfied with Syracuse, so in the spring
of 1850 we found sale for our house and decided to move west."
At his first sight of New Glarus, however, Wild was "sadly disappointed at the size of the village." Indeed, Wild and a friend went on to Monroe, where they opened a lathe shop. But business was rough, and so Wild sold his share of the shop and moved to New Glarus "where I was interested in buying a saw mill but I was compelled to buy 80 acres with it for the dam." Wild also bought "lots of wood and 40 acres of Congress land. . . [and] soon I was running low of funds. . . "
Life in New Glarus brought both storm and sunshine to the Wild family. Wild quickly became part of the community, as he was "appointed by the colonists to help them obtain land fairly" and soon after, chosen as postmaster. In 1851, Wild was able to build the sawmill and also a house. But "we could not move into the house until spring, during which time we had to live in a very poor house. The winter was severely cold . . . Then the terrible epidemic of scarlet fever covered the entire country. Our dear little Maria also was a victim of the terrible disease. Before that time she was a very healthy child. We were very sad but when we had to see her suffer with convulsions for 2 days we gladly gave her into the arms of the Lord." In the end, too, "the saw mill did not work as I had expected. The iron material I had to get in Milwaukee so I had to walk there after it, as the only means of travel was oxen and roll wagon."
Still, the sun was stubborn against the heavy clouds. In 1853, "thirty-one citizens went to Monroe afoot to get their citizenship. Everybody was happy. The county clerk poured a bushel of apples on a sheet. All the men grabbed them because they had not had apples for years. Some men took home the seeds and planted them and when the trees grew up they were called the citizenship trees."
Bibliography
Rippley, La Vern J. The Immigrant Experience in Wisconsin. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1985.
Wild, Joshua. Autobiography, undated. State Historical Society of Wisconsin Archives.
For Further Reading
Fapso, Richard J. Norwegians in Wisconsin. Madison: The State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1977.
Hoelscher, Steven D. Heritage on Stage: the Invention of Ethnic Place in America's Little Switzerland. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1998.
Kinney, Thomas P. Irish Settlers of Fitchburg, Wisconsin 1840-1860. Fitchburg Historical Society, 1993.
Schelbert, Leo, ed. New Glarus 1845-1970. The Making of a Swiss American Town. Glarus: Komm. Tschudi, 1970.
Zeitlin, Richard H. Germans in Wisconsin. Madison:
The State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1977.
This page was originally created by Julie Gutmanis for The Wisconsin Mosaic as part of LIS 839: Special Collections: In the Digital Environment, Spring 2000.