Chapters: THE OLD COUNTRY - homeland,Germans from Russia // GOING TO AMERICA - the decision to leave, leaving home, the voyage // PORTS OF ENTRY - Germans in colonial America, landing, finding a place to live, first impressions // A NEW LIFE - farming and homesteading, adventures in the west, artisans and laborers, factories and mines, women's work, the union movement // PUTTING DOWN ROOTS - communities, family, religion, schools, the world wars // PART OF AMERICA - German americans today, preserving the heritage, the Mair family // GERMAN AMERICAN TIMELINE
Summary
The German American Family Album traces the growth of that community from the first German to reach the New World in the year 1000 (his name was Tyrker and he was a companion of the Scandinavian seafarer Leif Eriksson) to the 7 million German Americans in this country today. In their own words--from diary entries, letters, interviews, and personal reflections--and with photographs and clippings culled from family archives and the press of the day, we learn of their life in the old country, of the decision to leave home, the often wretched trip to America, and the new life they found once they got here. Their three-centuries-long history of achievement in the United States is a moving and inspirational story. To see it and hear it through the eyes of the immigrant is an experience that makes history personal and immediate. [from Amazon.com]
