Johann Friederich Heinrich GRONOW (1810 - 1897) Coming to America

Jessica Scofield, has kindly allowed me to share her excellent Blog post about part of her Gronow family from Germany.

Johan and Johannah's marriage record. "Gronow" and "Fischer" are underlined.
From microfilm #0069316, page 384, at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah

     In the 1840s, about 100,000 German emigrants arrived in America each year. In 1848, “when it seemed that Germany might be at last a place worth living in,” that number was cut in half. But hopes were dashed, and emigration swelled. Throughout the 1850s, more than 250,000 Germans arrived annually on US shores.¹ “By 1900, almost one third of people born in Mecklenburg lived outside of the state.”² “These emigrants were the best of their race – the adventurous, the independent, the men who might have made Germany a free and civilized county. They brought to the United States a contribution on inestimable value, but they were lost to Germany.”³

Among the waves of immigrants came several of my ancestors, including Johann Friederich Heinrich Gronow, his wife, Johannah Maria (Fischer) Gronow, and some of their children. But why emigrate?

 To read the full post please visit her Blog and enjoy the rest of this fascinating story Johann Friederich Heinrich Gronow