This is the life of E.G. Barr, known by his many friends
affectionately as Gus Barr and by his children, grandchildren and
great-grandchildren as Grandpa Barr.
This recording is being made this day Jan 29th, 1961 at the home of
his daughter, Evelyn in Racine Wisconsin. Now we will talk to Mr Bahr….We
understand Grandpa, that before you came
over to this county, your name was
pronounced Bear.
Ernest
Gustuv Bear
I at this time want to ask you these
questions…I want your mothers maiden name, your father’s name, something about,
what knowledge your have about their parents, what year you were born and what
town you was born in Germany.
I had a different line, but...I was going to say that….. my father married my
mother, see, that is the way I should start out, isn’t it, huh?
Go ahead.
I don’t know where I’m at…am I here or there?
You were in Germany….
In Germany now, oh, yes, that’s right, then, ok, let’s leave it that way….I was
born Germany.
What year were you
born Grandpa…
I was born in 1874
In some little village or town…..
In the village by the name of well, Strasberg,
How big a village was that?
It was a pretty fair sized village, it’s a town, not a village, really…..
Do you remember how large?
It was something like probably, oh a population of probably 1200 people I
think anyway, maybe more, then my father he…. , how do I start out now?
What was your mother’s maiden name?
Oh, yes, then my father, he lived in Strasberg, see..
Right in town.
Yeah, bothers my throat. (clears throat)……..
What was your father’s occupation?
He run the mill in Strasberg.
That’s the flour mill…..
Yes, when he….the mill burnt down and then he moved well, he was married in
Strasberg.
He was married.
Ya, he was married.
Did the mill burn down before you were
born?
Oh yes…
You don’t recall that….
No, I don’t recall that.
Can you tell me how many brothers or
sisters your father had?
I
think he had 7 brothers.
7 brothers, no sisters.
Not that I know of.
And your mother’s maiden name was what….
Mother’s maiden name was Heimann.
Your mothers’ maiden name was Heimann
and she was born around Strasberg. When we talk about Strasberg, we are talking
about Strasberg, Germany? Can you tell me where it is located?
Well, I don’t know just where, it is located in West Prussia, bedkreinen? in German.
Then you also said you was born in 1874,
was you the oldest?
No , my sister was, Elva, Elveena, Alvina .
How many children was born to your
parents while they still lived in Germany?
On my side, that would have been 3 and 4, 7 children.
That was born in Germany? Your brothers
and sisters?
Yes
You said your father was a miller, but
the mill burned down before you were born. What did he do after that?
After that, he bought some land along side my grandfather, my mothers, see,
he bought 10 acres of that, and he planted it into fruit trees and kept enough
out to raise a little grain for flour. See, that’s the way he got…. Then what…
Is that the only means he
had making of his livelihood?
At that time, yes I think, at that time…He dealt in cattle and stuff like that,
he used to, and down to the market, Hubbard, that’s another town, (that
wouldn’t have to be brought in). He didn’t do much of anything and we just
lived there.
Can you recall these many years ago
something about your early childhood, while you was still in Strassburg, about
the church or about the school?
Oh yes…. we use to go to
church, and my sister got confirmed there in Strasberg, that was the Lutheran Church, put that down,
Lutheran church.
Did you go to public school
in Strasberg or weren’t you old enough?
We had a
school a little closer, the name of that was Shincogo?, that’s where I went to
school about 2 years and my oldest sister.….
Now, in Strasberg, you said your father purchased a few acres…and fruit trees,
did you raise any grain?
Yes,
he raised rye, corn, wheat, or what ever it was, I don’t know, he had buildings
then, he could put grain in. He had to thrash it with a flail, that’s the way
they thrashed all grain at that time, with the flail.
How many acres would you say was the
average size farm in those days?
My grandfather had quite a chunk, about like a quarter here, cause he was
an old timer there, see, and that way, then …I had…. my mother had 3 brothers….
7 brothers I said. Do we have that down already?
I don’t recall, it is ok to repeat. How
many brothers?
6 or 7 brothers, some got killed during the war, in…I don’t know… I guess at
the time of Napoleon, you know, see…
Were there hard times that you recall in
those days in Germany? Were your parents hard up or were you satisfied?
No, we never was hard up, we always had plenty to eat, what do I want to
say…
Now, you said your mother had 6-7
brothers, do you recall any of those brothers while your were in Germany?
Yes, I remember the one, two…..one was oldest, August Hymen and Herman
Heimann, my mother’s name also Heimann, and then…..
How about on your father’s side, did you
know any of his brothers or sisters?
He had, I could remember 3 of them that come down there once in awhile to our
place to visit my father.
What occupation did they follow?
They
were farmers around there some wheres, I don’t remember where…..
Heimann’s were farmers too.
Yes, Heimann’s were farmers too.
Now as you look back, these 80 some
years ago, are there any incidence that you recall in Strasberg, Germany, before you left?.
Well, I don’t know what you call infalty (incidence)
I mean was there something outstanding
that happened that you remember those many years back?
Well,,,,,,,,I, the only thing.. they were always talking about the wars you
know, that had been, in Germany, they said there was hard times, must have been
long before we children were born. And they said that France, that was
Napoleon’s time, she, my mother said that everybody had to hide their children
so they wouldn’t kill them, see, that was in Napoleon’s war, see and then
they’d kill them, she said. And.,,,course, I don’t know.
Where would they hide them?
In cupboards, like that, where ever they thought it would be the best.
Now, just briefly going back, you said
there were 6-7 children born to your parents.
Seven
Did all those children live or were some
buried in Strasberg
Three were buried in Strasberg, Germany. There was Martha, Adolph and Emil.
Well, if we have covered whatever you
have recalled in Strasberg… didn’t about this time your father have the desire
to come to America?
No, he had no desire himself, the only way he got over here was my first
uncle, he was uncle by marriage, he married my mothers sister, his name was…..
That isn’t important….
She got married and her and her husband came to United States, their name was Zimmer, not Summer, Zimmer.
Then there was talk about coming to America, so then Uncle Zimmer, he wanted my
dad to go with him you know see, …. at that time, but then when he went with
him as far as Hamburg, and he looked at the water and so on.. and he (that’s
the way mother said it) said he didn’t think he should leave without the
family, then he turned back. Then he’d come along, my youngest aunt got
married, my mother’s sister got married, his name was Chris Byer, so then he
kept urging my dad to go along with them again, and finally he made up his mind
to go, see. Well, then he left us children all behind, see.
Do you recall what year that
was?
Along
between 1882-1883.
He came over to this country?
Him and my Uncle Byer, came over to New York and they stayed there in New
York.
How long did it take for them to cross
the ocean?
Oh I don’t, know how long, that would take about 2 weeks maybe, it was slow
going you know, and…
They landed in New York?
From New York, they stayed there a while and worked in the lumberyard there
for awhile. Then Uncle Byer got anxious to go work on towards the west to take
on some of the land you know, that was out in the west, and so they started out
and they got to Scranton, Penn, got to
Scranton, Penn and there they worked in the coal mine, for about… they came
up early in the spring you know, must have been oh about, well, the most of the
summer I guess they were there. Then Uncle Byer, he wanted to go west and they
worked in the coal mine, yes. So
one….then…. in the coal mine…..
What did you hear from your father, did
he wish you to come over to this county?
No ……..the way that was, it was, he figured on coming back and getting us, you
know see, because he hadn’t made no arrangements with us, but he was going to
stay to see if he liked it, something like that, I guess. Then in November, he
was about ready to come over and that was on my birthday that time, so he still
was working in the mines, and he got killed in the mines on my birthday, see.
They couldn’t find my uncle,…. he left, let’s see how was that……so he went on
and I don’t know, they lost the address.
So then the only way he got word after he got killed was that ….he had been
boarding, but he rented a room by himself for awhile and then after he got
killed of course, nobody knew the address, he had a letter from Aunt Zimmer,
see, from the old county, it took quite a little while before they found out
and I got the letter here…..
But your mother and the children were
still in Germany.
We were still in Germany all the time, you see.
What decided your mother and children to
come to the new county.
My throat bothers me….
Mother, Uncle Byer, he came west and he
stopped in Minnesota… I don’t know that town,
Madalyn? Minnesota….and he wrote from there for his wife to come, he
worked for a bachelor, my Uncle Byer did, he wrote for his wife to come, that
was my mother’s sister, see. My mother… my grandmother, she thought it would be
a good thing for them as my aunt was coming over to here Byer and she thought
it would be a good thing if she come along,
Your mother?
Yes, my mother, and then she wanted to keep Elva the oldest sister, she was
ready to get confirmed that year, and so she wanted her to stay and my youngest
sister that was still living then, to stay there with Grandma, see. Then they
bought this place that we had, see, this little place. August, that is Uncle Hymen, he took
possession of the farm, the home place and they bought this little
farm……..Then…… they moved in there and my 2 sisters, that is the young one and
oldest and Grandma Bahr she lived with….
Well, then your mother and your sisters
and you came to this country?
Well, then we came here….well, then the time come when they wanted to go and of
course, when, in about …. I can remember going off but that is about all.
Now, can you tell me the names of your
sister that were born in Strasbourg?
Hmm…We was all born in Strasbourg.
Yes, but what are their names
Mrs. Elvina Kiley (Elva/Elvina) would
that be right?
What was her maiden name?
Elva, we always called her Elvina in Germany you know.
Mary
Bertha
But Bertha and I and Momma, my mother, we come over with my Aunt Byer, see.
You used to tell interesting things
about what happened on that ship you came over on, when the waves were so
high….
I remember that
Tell us about that…Where did you leave
from? You left Strasbourg. Did you take your ship from Hamburg?
Yes, we took our ship from Hamburg.
I’ll
tell you how it was…We got to Hamburg and our ship that we was to take was
gone, we didn’t get there in time. And from there on, then we had to stay in
Hamburg a few days and wait for the ship to come in that was going out. Then we
was in the waiting room I can remember, there, and we had to wait till that ship
came in. Then while we were sitting and waiting, there was people crying, you
know, and they didn’t have quite money enough, and I was listening, they must
have been German because I can remember. And I said to myself, I wished I had
the money, I’d give them money to come over, I was always ready to help. I felt so sorry for them, you know. I was
sitting there with mother, and Elva, and Jeske’s wife, Hattie, she was only a
baby then.
And so then, finally we had the ship come in and it was an immigrant ship, it
was a freight ship, you know, that is taking horses and cows, bringing stuff
over here, so then we could use it. …so then……
Now, you took the ship and you came over to the US.
Well, we took the ship, I was going to tell about the voyage that we made.
Tell us about the voyage
Then, when we got on the ship it was windy
and rough but we went anyway and as we went on further, the worse it got, and
the ship got to swaying from one side, so my mother and my sister Bertha, we
slept……(continued on next side)
Now, you took the ship and you came over to the United States……
Well,
we took the ship and I was gonna tell you our voyage…
You want to tell us about your voyage….
When
we got on that ship it was awful rough right away on the start, it was windy
and rough but they went anyway. And as we went on further, the worse it got.
The ship got to playing from one side to the other and the waves kept a going
over the ship, see.
So my mother and my sister Bertha, we/they slept, and we had them, what do you
call them, berths, one down below and one above. We slept down below and aunt
had another one, her and the baby, her baby slept just right on the other side,
with little Lyle in between us. Then all at once it got so bad it threw me out
of bed and I fell down on the floor. Then the captain and I don’t know who they
all were, they was a workin’ fast to keep the water out, see. We had a close
call there, that time, but we got by there, that was across the English
Channel, you know, see. That’s rough you know, it’s rough and if it gets windy
then it’s worse. That was quite a storm.
Was there any other incidence that
happened on your voyage?
Not
much, once we got to going. Well, I and sister, we went up on deck and looked
around and down toward the fence.
Did you get seasick?
No,
I really didn’t get seasick at any time until I was up there one day and then I
got seasick and then I was sick all over. I don’t know, if it was the water
that I drank or what that made me sick.
Where did you land when you came to the
US?
Never
could find out, really, it must have been Liverpool, I think, ain’t it, no?
Liverpool is in England.
Is it? Liverpool? Ain’t that a watcha callit…..
You didn’t land in New York?
We wanted to go to New York….but our ship wasn’t dated for that, it was dated
that way, but they didn’t take us to New York.
You don’t recall what state you was in
first when you reached this county?
No, we never stopped till we got to Minnesota.
Well, you must have landed in a boat
someplace before….
We landed in, well no; it seems when we landed, that was a harbor.
What harbor?
I couldn’t exactly say……but it could have been, I don’t know many of them
harbors anymore…
You don’t know what state it was in?
Well, we was in America then, you know.
You didn’t stop in Pennsylvania or any
place.
No, we didn’t stop in Pennsylvania.
Did you stop to see Aunt
Zimmer
No, then we would have had to go by New York, she was in New York, see, but we
couldn’t stop there. I can remember when we got there, the harbor, they had an investigation
for all of them, to see what they had in their trunks and so on, we didn’t have
much, only a couple of feather beds and we had.…….
Well know, after you landed and got off
the boat, you went to Minnesota. How did you go to Minnesota, on the train?
On the train, from there on we got into a boxcar, and they had seats/planks
along each side and all the immigrants, they probably didn’t have enough
passenger cars to take us and we didn’t have that kind of ticket. We got in
there and sat on them seats until we got to…. I don’t remember stopping
anywhere, it seems as though we kept a going right along until we got to
Minnesota.
What time of the year was this? Fall,
summer?
Let’s see, we went over there…..in the fall.
In the fall, you arrived then in Minnesota;
did you stay in Minnesota for any length of time?
Oh, we stayed about….Uncle, he….there was a bachelor, he was working for a
bachelor, he kept us there for about a week, I guess. Uncle was awful itchy to
get some land and he wanted to start out. From there on…..I thought that was
Baraboo where my uncle worked before…is that, Minnesota?
Now you left Baraboo to go
to Sioux Falls. How did you go from
Baraboo to Sioux Falls.
In a
covered wagon.
Your uncle bought the covered wagon in Baraboo?
No, he bought that in Mitchell.
How did you get to Sioux Falls?
We got there by train.
You landed in Sioux Falls by train?
We got landed in Sioux Falls by
train and from there on we took the train to Mitchell, see.
How big was Sioux Falls in those days?
I couldn’t say very well, I don’t think it could have been very big because…..
Do you remember what year that was?
That was between 1884 and 1883.
How long did you stay in Sioux Falls?
Well, I don’t remember how long we stayed in Sioux Falls, on the train slow, we
had three trains, you see.
To Mitchell…..
To Mitchell.
You arrived in Mitchell, what developed
then?
In Mitchell, uncle, he rented a house and we all moved in there and then he
went with the “landseek crowd” to Roscoe
or Ipswich, whatever you might call it. He went with the landseeker and there
was a land man taking him up there. When he come back he got this wagon and
made a cover on it, just like they have in the pictures, and we started out
across the prairies.
Now you say we, did you mean
your mother and sister?
No, my mother and sister stayed in Mitchell. She could of come and took up
land, but she didn’t want to.
Did she stay with some friends?
Where?
In Mitchell?
Well, there were some Germans there. They had quite a lot of Germans there and
they got acquainted with those Germans and they had quite a lot to do, they got
a house and stuff like that. .
I assume that you or your sister, or
mother or uncle…. Did any of you speak English at that time?
No, we didn’t speak nothin English
So your uncle bought a wagon and team of
horses and what made you decide you was going to Roscoe?
Me? They took me-I was suppose to go. They said, Gustuv, you’re going along
with us. And, I didn’t say nothing.
Seems, I was willing to go. I
didn’t know what I was getting into ‘til I got to going across the prairies you
know, and it was just the wilderness, then, you know. Mitchell was small, there
was no other town until we got to Aberdeen, see.
How long about did it take you to go
from Mitchell to Roscoe?
Oh, it took us some….. I don’t know, how far it is, but we couldn’t make over
20 miles/day. How far is that from Mitchell to Aberdeen?
You spent approximately two weeks going
from Mitchell to Roscoe.
I don’t know how much it would took, but it had to be quite a while because it
was quite a ways. But we stopped in Aberdeen to water the horses. It was an
Artesian well, if I remember.
In those days was there any sod shanties
along the way?
There was some sod shanties and some with boards, but there didn’t seem to be
anyone living there, in those that we passed, they were empty, you know.
Where did you sleep?
Well, I slept in the same place as at home, in the back of the wagon.
Were you homesick very much?
Very much.
Did it make you sad because you had to
leave your mother?
Yes, I was lonesome a long time.
When we got to Aberdeen, Uncle, he bought a small raking plow and tied in on
the side of the wagon, you know how it is, tied it up on the little footstep,
there. Then,…. he bought a cow then too.
In Aberdeen?
In Aberdeen, and what he needed to go out there with, because then…. we started
out again. Then we came. I don’t remember when we landed there though, I can’t
remember, that seems to be blank to me, see. But we got there anyway….
When you say you got there, you got
through to the point where your uncle owned the land? Was there any buildings
on it?
No buildings.
Was there any neighbors or community?
Not at that time.
All you had was prairie. Yah.
What did you uncle and you do at that
time to make a place to live?
Well, I don’t know where he got the lumber, but he rounded up a little lumber
to build that shack and we had the breaking plow and the team and he broke up a
little to make sod and we sodded up the house, it had two windows in it, and we
sodded up the house.
Was this a one room sodded shanty?
Yes,
it was a one room
Was there a floor in it?
Yes, maybe not, I don’t know. Could have been a ground floor. Then we/he picked
out a place there on his gramson?, he picked out a place there he thought he
could get water there, it was a little pothole. I guess, Aunt hauled up the
dirt, got enough water to get a long with, but it got so it didn’t freeze
there. Then there this bachelor, had more than that but he had a shanty there,
and we used to go there to get a little water to help out.
Then aunt, she sent me to get some water and I had a pail, I don’t know what
kind of pail it was, but I couldn’t get nothing into the pail because the water
was low, you know, tip it down, couldn’t get enough in there. So, there was
some steps in the corner of that well, it was a square well, they made it
square. And so then I didn’t know how to get out, I tried to climb out, I tried
to get out but I couldn’t make it. Aunt could see me if she looked out, if she
looked out she could see me, it wasn’t so very far, it was just off the claim
and on the other fellow’s claim. So
finally she did, look out I guess, she come and she got me, there was a rope on
the pail of course and I got a hold of the rope and with her help she pulled me
up out of the well. That was one way of getting out! Should have left me in!
Your Uncle homesteaded this land, is
that not true?
Yes
How much land was it?
160 acres
Did you build a barn?
Yes,
we built a sod barn.
You had a team of horses and one cow.
Yes
What time of year did you arrive there?
Was it spring or in the summer?
It was summer yet, it was warm yet, see.
Were you able to put in any crop that
year?
No
What did you live on that winter, or did
your uncle have money?
They had a little money, I don’t know how much, but……
In those days too, what did you use for fuel during the winter?.
They burned hay and buffalo chips, we called them, they were real buffalo chips
though then, we could see the trails then, and people that had went through on
the wagon train. We/ I don’t know what we did, we didn’t have much to eat, we
had milk soup, as long as the cow lasted. She used to take and, we had bread,
she baked some bread, I think she did, seems like we must have had some bread.
Then from that time on she made this here soup, the same as you would have made
milk soup, you’d take flour like you do in the old country, but we used water instead of
milk, she had a little fat meat, she fry that meat just to get some …we didn’t
even have no potatoes, I don’t know how
we lived!.
I imagine you would have to
buy your meat, wouldn’t you, there was nothing to butcher?
There was
nothing to butcher, but we must have brought along fat, because she always
fried a little fat to strengthen the soup, see.
The first year you didn’t put in any
crops did you?
No.
What did you do
the 2nd year, did you break land?
We was busy all the time. I helped, and
aunt helped and when building the sod house, we all helped, sodden up the house
too. When we weren’t busy otherwise,
we’d take a team and go out and pick up buffalo chips, see, and pile them up for the winter. Then I don’t
know …who made some, I don’t know about
hay, was that the 2nd year? I guess we lived on cow chips until the
next year. Anyway, I would pick up buffalo bones, they were buying them there
in Ipswich. You could get 10 dollars a pound for a load of buffalo bones. We’d
get the horn, we used to save the horns off them, a lot of them would polish
the horns afterwards.
Did you put in any crops during the
second year?
Not
that I can remember.
How many years did you spend with your uncle in Ipswich
Two years.
During that time did you break up any
land?
Yes, I helped dig out the stone; he broke a little, maybe 5 acres. He couldn’t
do very much with the team he had anyway, only old horses.
You said you spent about two years with
your uncle in Ipswich.
Yes
After the 2 years where did you go?
Then,
the folks sent for me and I went/they took me to Aberdeen and I went to
Watertown and my step-father met me there and …….it was early in the morning
when we got there, we drove all night/a part of the night.
I
want to recall where we lived in Germany, where we had our home.
Sounds like Subnachisno- the village
Sounds like Griptoptobo, another
village
Sounds like Shinkobo
Sounds like Chengago
That is all, now I quit!
Sobierszysno (1877) and Szymkowo (1901), Kreis Strassburg
This is a copy of a
postcard that Gus gave to Zale Puhlman of the city of Strasburg and the
church they went to when they lived there. Zale visited this city, the
church still stands, but there was evidence of ruin and the last vestages
of Communism when he was there visiting.
