Miersch Family Emigration from Pomerania to Chicago

The surname Miersch is of Slavic extraction and quite common in Pomerania, Saxony and Brandenburg/Lausitz. The name is also found as Mierke and Miercke all of which are descendent from Mirek which in turn comes from the Slavic "miru" for fame (i.e., someone in the past did something wonderful). The Encyclopedia Britannica says "the original vocabulary of general terms common to Baltic and Slavic is still retained in most of the Slavic languages. In prehistoric times Proto-Slavic borrowed a number of important social and religious terms from Iranian (e.g., bogu ‘god,' miru ‘peace'). Later, special terms were borrowed by East Slavic and South Slavic from eastern languages (especially Turkish)."

However, the derivation link to "Ruhm" or "Fame" is correct according to Hans Bahlow, Deutsches Namenlexicon: Familien- und Vornamen Nach Ursprang und Sinn Erklärt (German Name Lexicon: Surnames and First Names, Where They Came From and What They Mean), München: Keyerche Verlags Buchhandlung, 1907), p. 342: "Mier(c)ke: ost.-slaw. KF. Mirck zu Miro-slav (miru >Ruhm<). Dazu Mirusch: Miersch (Mirisch 1483 Meissen). Vgl. ON, Mirikau/Böhmen." On p. 343: "Mirsch, Mirek s. Miersch, Mierke! - Mirow: ON./Meckl. (2 mal)."
KF= Kurzform (Koseform) short form
ON= Ortsname/place name
s.= siehe/see also
Meckl. = Mecklenburg
ost.-slaw = East Slavic
Ruhm = Fame
mal = times
Dazu = In addition

The family name of Fuchs comes from the Middle High German vuhs meaning "fox". Originally Fuchs was a nickname for a person with red hair. According to Hans Bahlow's name lexicon cited above, p. 151: "Fuchs, Füchsel, ndd. Voss: teils >>schlau wie ein Fuchs<<, teils >>rothaarig<< teils auch Hausname (Nikol. Vulpes de domo Zem Fuchse 1269). Ndrhein. Vössgen, Vossen; patr. Vössing. Fuchsschwanz meint mit unter wie Fuchszangel den Kürschner, vgl. Hannos vochsczal pellifex 1367 Brsl."
ndd. = niederdeutsch
ndrhein = niederheinisch
patr. = pattronym
Brsl. = Breslau

The city of Bublitz was a rather small place (population just 6,094 before WWII), but had a rail link. We are uncertain, but earlier generations of the Mierschs may have come to Bublitz from Dresden.

European mass immigration to North America began in earnest only after the end of the Napoleonic wars in 1815, at a time when unimpeded transatlantic commercial shipping resumed. During the nineteenth century approximately five million Germans emigrated to the United States. Despite the founding of the "Second German Empire" in 1871 following the Franco-Prussian War, and the boom this created in the unified Germany, mass emigration increased.

Why so much dislocation? In the nineteenth century emigration was closely related to economic conditions in both Europe and the United States. Because of technological improvements in transportation and agriculture, Germany had become a wheat-importing country by 1875 as other nations successfully competed for the German market. This development had devastating consequences for German farmers and the village shopkeepers and craftsmen who depended upon their patronage. The result was a flood of emigration to America of unprecedented proportions in the 1880s, especially from the northern and eastern lands of Mecklenburg, Pommerania, and East Prussia. A million and a half departed from the Empire for America -- more than in any other decade before or after. The peak year was 1882, when a record 250,600 Germans immigrated to the U.S. In the 1890s, however, emigration was sharply reduced to an average of only 30,000 per year, as German industrial development and Bismark's innovative social legislation provided employment for displaced farmers and agricultural workers.

By the end of the nineteenth century there were about 8,000,000, first and second generation Germans in the United States, roughly 10% of the entire population. Two-thirds lived in urban communities of 2,500 or more persons, the remainder on farms or in villages. The Midwest, particularly Chicago, was a magnate for many. In their occupations, German-Americans were numerous in the merchant and professional categories. Inevitably, Germans were underrepresented in occupations that required a good command of the English language. Most significantly, however, the Germans were as diverse as American society itself, with its rich and poor, educated and uneducated, urban and rural populations, and its varieties of religious belief. In this respect the Germans had a distinct advantage over other ethnic groups more clearly concentrated in lower occupational and income groups.

Our Miersch ancestors were among those willing to relocate. Ehrgott Miersch (also spelled Ehregott and Ehregatt, later anglicized to Eduard and Edward) and his wife Hulda Fuchs traveled with four other family members from their home in Bublitz, Pommern (Pomerania), Deutschland (Germany) in June 1885.

Our intrepid Miersch emigrants voyaged aboard the steamer the SS Rhein from the port of Bremen in Germany, via Southampton in England, to New York. Conditions on the ships via Bremerhaven had earlier taken on a new dimension when "Norddeutscher Lloyd" (North German Lloyd) was founded on 20th February 1857 by the Bremen merchant Hermann Heinrich Meier (1809-1898). Norddeutscher Lloyd grew to become not only one of the largest and most successful shipping companies in the world, but also the biggest employer in Bremerhaven. Thousands of employees worked at the quays, in the offices, workshops and docks.

The Norddeutscher Lloyd actively advertised emigration in several European countries. This recruitment of emigrants and the modern emigration legislation by the Bremer authorities brought about that most emigrants took their way to North America via Bremen/Bremerhaven. Norddeutscher Lloyd had gained a reputation for fast -- if not especially comfortable -- passenger crossings.

    #     Name                  Age Sex    work nationality space bags                                          City
524 Hulda Miersch        19      f     none     Germany     A      3 intend protracted sojourn Bublitz
525 Ehrgott Miersch      52     m   farmer  Germany     A                   int. prot. sojourn        Bublitz
526 Hulda Miersch        45    f     wife      Germany     A                   int. prot. sojourn        Bublitz
527 Ida Miersch             25      f     none     Germany     A                   int. prot. sojourn        Bublitz
528 Ernst Miersch           8     m    child     Germany     A                   int. prot. sojourn        Bublitz
529 Anna Miersch           5      f     child     Germany     A                   int. prot. sojourn        Bublitz
530 Carl Diedrich         17     m   farmer   Germany     C                   int. prot. sojourn        Bublitz
531 Mathilde Diedrich 15       f     none    Germany     B      2          int. prot. sojourn        Bublitz

Page 2 of 3 (online copy of record at http://immigrantships.net/v4/1800v4/rhein18850619_02.html)
National Archives and Records Administration, Film M237, Reel 487, List 744
Latter-day Saints Family History Center (LDS FHC) Film # 1027355

Manifest ID Number: 15871

See also:

Emil Miersch

Age: 27

Country of Origin: Germany

Arrival Date: March 13, 1882

Final Destination: USA

Ship's Name: Oder

Occupation: Coach Maker

Purpose for Travel: Staying in USA, but not a citizen of USA

Mode of Travel: Steerage

Manifest ID Number: 36478

County of Origin: Prussia

Arrival Date: July 14, 1881

Final Destination: Illinois

Ship's Name: Braunschweig

Occupation: Unknown

Gender: Female

Manifest ID Number: 15871

Manifest ID Number: 37460

Gustav Miersch

Age: 17

Country of Origin: Germany

Arrival Date: September 4, 1882

Final Destination: USA

Ship's Name: Rhein

Embarkation Port: Bremerhaven

Gender: Male

Gustav Miersch

Age: 19

Country of Origin: Germany

Arrival Date: July 30, 1880

Final Destination: USA

Embarkation Port: Barre

Ship's Name: Main

Occupation: Laborer

Gender: Male

Purpose for Travel: Staying in USA, but not a citizen of USA

Mode of Travel: Steerage

Manifest ID Number: 35740

SS Rhein - Norddeutscher Lloyd Line (North German Lloyd). Years of service 1868-1886. Built at Clyde Caird shipyard, headliner of class of ships known as 'Rhein series,' 3100 tons, 348 x 40 ft. 1funnel, 2 masts iron hull, 13 1/2 knots. Sistership to SS Main, SS Donau, SS Mosel, i.e., nearly identical. 1873-1874 season New-York to Southampton in 9d 10h. Sold in 1891 and scrapped in 1893. (Posted to "The Ships List" by Paul Petersen - 27 November 1997)

The SS Rhein is listed among the following 14 sister-ships:
Hermann 1865, 2873 tons, 318ft x 40ft.
Deutschland 1866, 2800 tons, 325ft x 40ft.
Union 1867, 2800 tons, 325ft x 40 ft.
Weser 1867, 2870 tons, 325ft x 40ft.
Baltimore 1868, 2321 tons, 285ft x 39ft.
Berlin 1868, 2333 tons, 285ft x 39ft.
Rhein 1868, 2901 tons, 332ft x 40ft.
Main 1868, 3087 tons, 332ft x 40ft.
Donau 1869, 2896 tons, 332ft x 40ft.
Ohio 1869, 2394 tons, 290.2ft x 39ft.
Leipzig 1869, 2388 tons, 290.2ft x 39ft.
Hannover 1870, 2571 tons, 300ft x 39ft.
Frankfurt 1870, 2582 tons, 300ft x 39ft.
Koln 1871, 2555 tons, 300ft x 39ft.

The steamship RHEIN was built by Caird & Co, Greenock, Scotland, for Norddeutscher Lloyd and launched in August 1868. She had been laid down as the ODER, but was delivered as the RHEIN, to replace the vessel originally laid down as the RHEIN, but sold on the stocks to the Royal Mail Steamship Co, and launched in February 1868 as the NEVA. 2902 tons; 106,4 x 12,22 meters (length x breadth); clipper bow, 1 funnel, 2 masts; iron construction, screw propulsion, service speed 12 knots; accommodation for 70 1st-, 100 2nd-, and 604 steerage-class passengers; crew of 100+ [117]. 3 October 1868, maiden voyage, Bremen-Southampton-New York. 1878, engines compounded and new boilers by builders; service speed 13 knots. [1889-18 September 1890, Bremen-Baltimore service.] 18 September 1890, last voyage, Bremen-Baltimore. 1891, sold to Gray, Liverpool. 1892, resold to A. Rimner [& Co.], Liverpool (register shows Caird's as owner); 1893, sold to Jaeger Brothers, Liverpool. June 1894, broken up in Barrow-in-Furness. (Sources: Edwin Drechsel, Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen, 1857-1970: History, Fleet, Ship Mails, vol. 1. Vancouver: Cordillera Pub. Co., 1994, p. 48, with picture; Noel Reginald Pixell Bonsor, North Atlantic Seaway; An Illustrated History of the Passenger Services Linking the Old World with the New, vol. 2. 2nd ed. Jersey, Channel Islands: Brookside Publications, 1978, p. 546. Posted to the "Emigration-Ships Mailing List" by Michael Palmer, 8 January 1998). Note: See also Arnold Kludas, Die Seeschiffe des Norddeutschen Lloyd, Bd. 1: 1857 bis 1919. Herford: Koehler, 1991, pp. 14-15; and Mr. Palmer's website at http://www.geocities.com/mppraetorius/com-rh.htm.

Ad from the New York Times on 7 August 1885 - less than a month after the majority of the Miersch family arrived in New York, advertising passage on the SS Rhein for the return trip the following week.

They arrived at Castle Garden Immigration Center in New York on June 19th, 1885 (the Ellis Island terminal would not be built for another 7 years, in 1892). Following is a list of immigrant processing stations at the Port of New York:

1624 - 31 July 1855: no receiving station
1 August 1855 - 18 April 1890: Castle Garden
19 April 1890 - 31 December 1891: Barge Office

1 January 1892 - 14 June 1897: Ellis Island
15 June 1897 - 16 December 1900: Barge Office
17 December 1900 - 1924: Ellis Island

State Emigrant Landing Depot, Castle Garden, New York. Note the signs marking the Arbeiter Bureau (Labor Exchange) and the entrance to the Ward's Island Department. Source: Immigration and the Commissioners of Emigration, by Fredrich Kapp (New York: Arno Press and the New York Times, 1969 [originals ca. early 1880's]).

Just one day prior to the arrival of Ehrgott Miersch, on June 18, 1885, the French Ship Isere had arrived in New York with the dismantled Statue of Liberty in her hold. The Miersch family would have seen the huge pedestal for the statue under construction on Bedloe's Island in the harbor. The Statue would be completed the following year in October 1886.

Source: "Pedestal for Bartholdi's Statue of Liberty on Bedloe's Island, New York Harbor. Drawn by W. P. Snyder" from Harper's Weekly, Volume XXIX, No. 1485, 6 June 1885, page 356.

Although designated as a farmer on the passenger list to New York, by profession Ehrgott was a carpenter and wheel maker. Ehrgott was listed on almost all of the baptismal records for his children as a Stellmachermeister, literally a "master wheelwright". To become a "meister", he had to apprentice for three years, then be a journeyman for seven before he could be a master. Also, masters were the only ones in their respective trades who could teach their craft.

Their ultimate destination was Chicago. The city was a magnate for those seeking a better life. Between 1850 and 1875, largely due to the flood of westward migration, the population of Chicago leapt from 28,000 to 400,000.

Ethnic groups tended to cluster in neighborhoods. The largest ethnic group in the city, the Germans, predominated on the north side. Rudolf A. Hofmeister in his book, The Germans of Chicago (Champaign, IL: Stipes Publishing Co., 1976) tells us that by 1870 some 60,000 German-born citizens constituted almost 20% of the city's total population; further, the percentage of all of German-Americans was, of course, appreciably higher. There were, at that time, 16 wards in the city, with each having two aldermen. Of the 32 aldermen, fully one third were of German extraction.

German-speaking individuals who came to the U.S. in one of the large immigration waves of the nineteenth century would typically not have identified themselves as primarily German, but rather as Hessian, Bavarian, Pomeranian, etc., depending on which region of Central Europe they came from. Their dialects, customs and religions were often very different, and they did not see very much in common among themselves (at least not until after 1871, the creation of the modern German state in Europe).

Despite their cultural differences, there were many commonalities among German immigrant groups in areas such as agriculture (they kept their land in the family for generations), city life (Germans tended to own and work in mills, breweries and tanneries) and socially and politically. They belonged to a great variety of social clubs (Vereine) that often had political leanings but were fragmented along religious lines. Any given Verein would have either Catholic or Lutheran members but rarely both.

Here is the record of our Miersch family from some of Chicago's commercial directories:

Reuben H. Donnelly, compiler, The Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1887. Chicago: The Chicago Directory Company, 1887. (popularly known as "The Chicago City Directory, 1887"). Page 1080 reports: "Miersch Emil, wagonmaker, h. 658 W. 19th"

Reuben H. Donnelly, compiler, The Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1889. Chicago: The Chicago Directory Company, 1889. (popularly known as "The Chicago City Directory, 1889"). Page 1236 reports: "Miersch Edward, carp.. h. 128 Johnson" and "Miersch, Gustave, wagonmaker. h. 250 Maxwell"

Reuben H. Donnelly, compiler, The Lakeside Annual Directory of the City of Chicago, 1891. Chicago: The Chicago Directory Company, 1891. (popularly known as "The Chicago City Directory, 1891"). Page 1585 reports: "Miersch Emil, wagonmaker. h. 677 W. 19th" and "Miersch, Gustav, wagonmaker. h. 57, 18th av."

Ehregatt Miersch received his "Final Certificate of Naturalization" as a USA citizen from Hon. Frank Scales, Judge and Henry Wulf, Clerk in the County Court of Cook County, Illinois on 16 March 1891 after renouncing "all allegiance and fidelity to every foreign Prince, Potentate and Sovereignty whatever, and more particularly to the Emperor of Germany whereof he was heretofore a subject." This notes that "said applicant has resided within the limits and under the jurisdiction of the United States for at least five years last past, and at least one year last past within the state of Illinois...and two years and upwards having elapsed since the said applicant reported himself and filed his declaration of his intention as aforesaid..."

Wife Hulda died first. See "Deaths.," Chicago Record-Herald, Saturday, 19 March 1904, p. 13, column 4. "MIERSCH--HULDA, March 17, at 4:30 a.m., beloved wife of Edward Miersch, mother of Emil, Gustave, Ernest, Laura, Hulda, Anna. Funeral from her son's residence, Ernest Miersch, 1767 Eighty-ninth place, Sunday, March 20, at 11 a.m., to Zion Church, Union-av. and Fourteenth-st., thence by carriages to Waldheim." See also the Illinois Statewide Death Index, Pre–1916:
Name of Deceased Date City Age Sex Vol. Page Certificate No. County
MIERSCH, HULDA 03/17/1904 CHICAGO 68 YR U 00010403 COOK

"Burial Permits.," Chicago Record-Herald, Saturday, 19 March 1904, p. 13, column 5. "Miersch, Hulda, age 68, 1767 89th place; March 17."

Record of Interments for Waldheim Cemetery, "situated 3-1/2 miles west of City on Desplaines Avenue, between Madison and Twelfth Streets, Oak Park, Illinois" lists Hulda Miersch as being buried on 20 March 1904, age 68 years, --mos., --days.

The record of burial costs survives: An itemized bill from Chas. F. Bilger, Successor to Watkins, Undertaker, Professional Embalming, Established 1877, 5133 Lake Avenue, Chicago, Telephone Oakland 714, dated 21 March 1904, sent to Edward Miersch, 1767 E 89th Place lists the following--
Casket & Trimmings 75.00
Box 5.00
Embalming & Services 15.00
Shroud 8.00
B (can't read) to Waldheim 11.00
7 Crgrs To Waldheim two Returned 72.00
Gloves & Door Crape (can't read) 3.00
2 Death Notices Abend Post 2.00
1 Death News .50
Telegram Green Bay .25
_____
Received Pay net 3/29/04 191.75

The pastor of the Evang. Zions Church (Deutsche V. Evang. Lutheran Zions Kirche) in Chicago from 1893-1911 was Paul Foerster. The 1904 address of Zion Church is listed as Union Avenue and Fourteenth Street in Chicago. The Miersch family were members for at least 10 years.

The English translation for Waldheim is Forest Home. Since is was originally German, and all early deeds and records are in that language, it was called Waldheim for many years. Later the name was changed to the Americanized Forest Home. Jewish Waldheim is another cemetery across the street. It is made up of the burial grounds for many Jewish Synagogues. Both are located in Forest Park, IL

The Record of Interments for Waldheim Cemetery lists Edw Miersch as being buried on 7 December 1913, age 82 years, 2 mos., 18 days. See also the Illinois Statewide Death Index, Pre-1916:

Name of Deceased Date City Age Sex Vol. Page Certificate No. County
MIERSCH, EDWARD 12/05/1913 CHICAGO 82 YR U 00017064 COOK

Eduard, Hulda and grandson Ernie (1904-1906) share a common headstone. See also the Warranty Deed from the Waldheim Cemetery Company of Chicago to Ernst C. Miersch, 1767 - 89th Place, Deed of Lot 691, Block Letter B, Recorded in Block Book B, Page 171, purchased 8 July 1904 for Seventy ($70) Dollars. Regulations written in German. Letter from Jacob Schwab, Treasurer of The Waldheim Cemetery Co. to Mr. Ernest C. Miersch, 730 E. 89th Place, Chicago, Ill., dated 11 December 1913: "Dear Sir:- At the time of the burial of your father the Deed was left at this office, regarding the filing of an Affidavit. We were under the impression that the lot was under your father's name, Edward Miersch; but by looking over our records we see that the lot was put in your name at the time your mother was buried. This being the case, and you being the sole owner of the lot, no Affidavit is required."

In later years, some of the family members would change the spelling of their name to Mirsch, Mearsch and other variations.

Included below are links to images of U.S. Census, city directory, and World War I military draft registration records for specific Miersch family members:

	1870	1880
Total population	298,977	503,185
Germans	89,600	140,800
Irish	65,700	80,500
Swedes	25,900	45,300
Bohemians	11,900	20,100
Total ethnic population	193,100	286,700
Only groups which comprised more than two percent of the population in Chicago have been listed, otherwise the ethnic total would be much larger.