Book Synopsis
This is an account of Michael Wagner and Kunigunda Kraus and their four month journey while emigrating from Bavaria to Illinois. There were eight adults and four children in this group of simple peasant farmers who risked everything they had when they departed their beloved village to travel over 6,500 miles between June and October of 1845.
Every attempt was made to be historically faithful regarding this story, including dates, names, landmarks, even the weather. All of the characters mentioned by name actually existed, including the “hermit” in Hausen and “Captain Siefert Geerken” commanding the sailing ship. Occasionally, I took the liberty of using diaries of other Bavarians who immigrated during the same time period to fill in gaps. When ‘dialog’ is used in the narrative, the expressions used are typical sayings a Hausener would say in authentic Franconian dialect.