What does it mean when we say our American ancestors were German? Our first thought would likely be that they came to America from the European nation of Germany. But, when our first German ancestors came to America in the 1840’s and 1850’s there was not a nation of Germany. Rather, there was a loosely joined union of independent states and principalities that had been formed into the German Confederation in 1815.

A German ancestry might be tied to the evidence that our ancestors spoke the German language as their native tongue. This could suggest that they came to America from a large area in central Europe, which includes today’s Germany, Austria, Switzerland and parts of Poland.

In ancient times a number of warlike tribal groups migrated from northern Europe into the area that is today’s Germany. These tribal groups included the Goths, Vandals, Germani and Franks. By the 100’s bc many lived around the Rhine and Danube rivers on the frontier of the Roman Empire and they were frequently referred to as Germani or Barbarians by the Romans. As the Roman Empire declined, around 400 ad, these tribal groups moved in and a “Barbarian” empire began to emerge. The earliest leaders of this empire came from the Frankish tribe, established in the area of today’s France. By the 800’s the King of the Franks, Charlemagne, had unified much of Western Europe, including today’s France, Germany, Austria and northern portions of Spain and Italy. Charlemagne was a Christian ruler and his capital at Aachen, in today’s northwestern Germany, became the chief center of learning and culture for Christian Europe. At his death his huge empire was divided into two areas, roughly defined as today’s France and Germany. Through a series of events the German area became independent of the French area and set itself up as a sort of monarchy, with an overlord or king ruling over an ever-changing group of duchies and principalities.

When Otto the Great came to the throne in 936 he had a vision of a new Roman Empire. In 952 he had the Pope in Rome crown him Emperor of the new Holy Roman Empire. The empire was neither holy, nor Roman, but it remained with this title, under this general system of organization, for almost one thousand years. During those thousand years the empire went back and forth in strength – from Europe’s most powerful and well-organized nation, to a weak and disorganized group of ‘states.’ It gained territory and lost territory. The dukes and princes fought ‘civil wars.’ The power of the noble classes became strong, then weak, then strong again. In 1273 the German Electors or Princes chose Rudolf the First of Hapsburg as their emperor. The Hapsburg dynasty (family) ruled for the next four hundred years. The trends of power, decline, unity and division continued.

From the time of Christ the Catholic Church was the only Christian church. In the 1500’s a German monk, Martin Luther, sparked a movement that changed the Christian church forever. The Protestant Reformation began in the Holy Roman Empire and spread to other European nations and to America. The Lutheran church became a stronghold in many of the German principalities and was soon joined by the more austere Reformed church of John Calvin. These religious changes, along with other factors, set up the Thirty Years War, which raged across the Holy Roman Empire from 1618 to 1648. At the close of the war the Empire lay in ruins. Important territory was lost to surrounding nations. The empire was weakened and divided into a patchwork of hundreds of states ruled by princes and nobles. This situation set the stage for the rise of Prussia.

The Hohenzollern family in the northern state of Brandenburg, ruled from their capital of Berlin. They made a concerted effort to strengthen their position by organized government, a strong military system and industrial growth. Gradually, through the 1600’s they came into possession of more territory on the northeastern boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire, including Pomerania and Prussia along the Baltic Sea. Their state became known as Prussia. During the 1700’s the Prussians snatched Silesia from the Austrian part of the empire and Posen from neighboring Poland. They also gained territories to the west of their original state of Brandenburg.

It is during these years of the sixteen and seventeen hundreds that we can begin to place our ancestral families in their German homeland.

The Rosenstiel and Gassman families were in the state of Thuringia (Thuringen) in the south central part of the empire. Through the centuries Thuringia experienced various divisions into small duchies and principalities. It shared much of its history with neighboring Saxony.

In the nineteenth century German farmers were usually members of the middle or lower-middle class. Most owned small landholdings of perhaps ten acres. The farm life allowed a family to be self-sufficient and each member of the family worked to ensure the best way of life their landholding could produce. Most farms had a small vineyard and families kept cattle and other animals for domestic use. Most of what was raised on the farm was used by the family.

If parents lived to old age, the farm was usually turned over to the younger generation and they became responsible for the care of their parents. All sons and unmarried daughters shared in inheritance. The oldest son most often took over the family’s primary landholding. Because farms were small and land was scarce it became difficult to provide for all family members as they reached adulthood. Many men took up a craft to provide income. The occupations that they practiced in the German states were often followed in America. Among Germans who came to America there were blacksmiths, stonemasons, watchmakers, surveyors, and tailors. Many were shopkeepers and tavern owners. Germans were noted for their beer and eventually operated most of America’s breweries.

The German diet was a heavy one, designed to provide energy for heavy labor. The main meal was served at noon and the primary meat was usually pork. Some of the foods that today are particularly associated with German cuisine were developed to prevent food spoilage. Sauerkraut was developed to preserve cabbage. To preserve beef, German cooks soaked the meat in vinegar and spices and created sauerbraten. They also preserved meats by making sausages such as bratwurst and frankfurters.

The social life of the German farmer often commenced in the local tavern or beer garden. Gathering for food, drink, music and dancing was open to the whole family. Polka music and dancing became popular in the 1830’s. The originators of this musical form are a matter of debate, but it has long been associated with Germans and other eastern European ethnic groups.