FERDINAND MESCH m Mary Margaret Duehr > PETER MESCH m (1) Catherine "Katie Heber" (2) Lavina Theresa Alexander > (2) JOSEPH R MESCH m Wilma Irene Helmrich > ARDELLA JEAN MESCH m Roger Linsey
THE LIFE OF FERDINAND MESCH
by Elgene Schmidt Mesch
During the early 1860's, most of Central Europe was in turmoil. The economy was very weak, jobs were scarce, people were suffering everywhere. Prussia, Austria, France, and the Federal Republic of Germany were all fighting over boundary lines, land, and control of certain provinces. The local populations in the border territories lived in poverty and in constant fear of war and disputes. Young men were being conscripted and forced to serve in their national armies.
One of those young men was Ferdinand Moesch (born Nov. 1845). He lived with his parents, Mary Theresa and Wilhelm Moesch, in the city of Baden-Baden, near the French border in Taubien Province in southwest Prussia (Germany). At age 17, Ferdinand was the oldest among several siblings and, like other young men his age, probably worried about being drafted into the Prussian army.
The unworldly Ferdinand was likely confused and frightened and, perhaps, unhappy with his current lot in life. He probably daydreamed about America. Ferdinand would have undoubtedly seen the posters being hung and handbills being distributed throughout Europe, telling of limitless opportunities and freedom in America. Settlers were needed to homestead America's vast Midwest. It was the "Land of Opportunity," in contrast to Europe. Eventually, he determined to go to America. Being enterprising and bold, he may have quietly planned his escape to America and told no one around him about his dream.
Two stories have emerged from among his descendants about the events which led to Ferdinand's departure for America. One story has Ferdinand already conscripted and serving in the Prussia Army, which he deserted through a daring escape to America. In the other version, he ignored the army's notice of conscription and planned his escape to flee prosecution for draft evasion.
Ferdinand may not have had the $15 to $20 passenger fare to cross the ocean. Even if he had the money, he would have been considered either a draft dodger or army deserter, and authorities watched the loading docks for those kinds of passengers. He knew he would have to steal aboard a ship as a stowaway. Exactly how he accomplished this feat isn't known. He certainly would have had to discard, disguise or hide his uniform. He was somehow able to secretly slip aboard a ship headed for America and hide among the cargo in the lower levels of the ship. Stowaways were not uncommon in those days. Many times, even if spotted by a ship's crewman after leaving port, they were often ignored or sometimes given menial tasks to do to earn food during the voyage.
Emigrating to America was an arduous test of human endurance. Crossing the Atlantic Ocean was still done by sailing vessel, which, depending on the winds, could take from one to three months. Third-class passengers were confined to the lower decks, which lacked fresh air and were over-crowded and unsanitary. Passengers had to provide their own food for the trip and shared communal stoves. Estimating how much food would be necessary was difficult and, on long voyages, hunger became a problem for many. Illness and disease could spread quickly.
Upon arrival in New York, all passengers would off-board and be herded into the Customs Office and Receiving Center, where their names would be recorded and they would be detained until sponsoring relatives or friends would come for them. In the chaos, noise, and confusion of the Customs Office, Immigration Officers recorded the name of each new arrival. Spelling errors regularly occurred, as officials, misunder-standing word pronunciations of the various European languages, would simply write the names like they sounded; possibly accounting for the several different spellings of Mesch (Moesch, Maesch, etc.).
In the Receiving Centers where they were detained, the new arrivals were able to buy milk and bread, wash in free hot water, and sleep on benches or the floor. They always had to be on-guard for thieves and pick-pockets or shysters attempting to dupe them of what little money or few possessions they had.
How long he was detained and who sponsored him are unknown, but once released from the Receiving Center, Ferdinand immediately set about locating the Peter Duehr family, who had been neighbors back in Baden-Baden. Peter and Caroline (Masen) Duehr had arrived in America a short time earlier, with their four small children, the oldest of whom was seven-year-old Margaret. The Duehr family had made their way to Iowa and settled at Balltown. Ferdinand followed them and found work with various farmers in the area.
During the next ten years, Ferdinand watched Margaret grow to become a capable, hard-working young woman. They married Oct. 21, 1873, at Sherill, Iowa, not far from Balltown, and began farming and raising a family in the area. Over the next fourteen years, Margaret gave birth to ten children.
In 1887, Ferdinand moved his family to Buncombe, near Zwingle, Iowa, where their son, Adolph, was born. Four years later they purchased a farm at nearby Sylvia. Ferdinand and Margaret had three more children here, and this farm was known as the Mesch Farm for the next 56 years.
As the Catholic population grew in the area around Sylvia, John J. Keane, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, granted permission for construction of a new church honoring the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which would be located less than one mile from the Mesch Farm. During 1895 and 1896, Ferdinand and his neighbors provided the necessary materials, donated their time, talents and energy, and worked together to build their new church, which was completed for a total of $750.00. The first Mass was celebrated Christmas Day, 1896, in their new church, which was still without pews. Margaret's younger brother, Albert Duehr, a parishioner, made the pews by hand during the next few months. The following summer, the parish held a week-long fund-raising celebration and even hired the Ruesso Orchestra out of Chicago. The congregation raised enough money to pay the entire remaining debt for the new church.
In addition to farming, Ferdinand traveled throughout the area with his breeding stallion, servicing the mares of many farmers. He was an outgoing man and, often during his travels, would stop at a country store or saloon along the way to enjoy refreshments and a gabfest with the locals. Ferdinand's refreshment of choice was likely an alcoholic beverage, and his frequent social stops contributed to his ongoing problem with alcohol. Ferdinand often arrived home after dark and, sometimes, quite inebriated. However, the horses needed only minimum guidance to find their way home, and one of his eight sons could always be counted on to open the gate for him and to unharness, feed and water the horses, and check them in the barn. Whatever his shortcomings, a silver lining to Ferdinand's enjoyment of alcohol was its impact on at least one of his sons. After observing his fathers' behavior, Adolph, at the young age of 10 or 12, vowed he would never drink alcohol. He kept his vow throughout his life.
Ferdinand and Margaret prospered on their farm during the next ten years. Four of their children married during that time. Their sons remained to help on the farm, except one. At age 17 or 18, Ferdinand, Jr., left home to seek his fortune in the West; he was never heard from again. Occasional rumors were heard. One had him joining the Texas Rangers in the early 1900's, another said he was living in Montana. Several years ago, a cousin of mine who is also interested in genealogy told me about her conversation with an elderly woman from Balltown who was related to or had known the Mesches. The woman remembered one of Ferdinand's boys had wanted to be a priest or monk and may have left home to join a monastery. Nonetheless, unlike his siblings who returned to visit mother and brothers and sisters, he never came back. Ferdinand, Jr.'s whereabouts have never been verified.
As time went on and no word arrived from his son, Ferdinand's mind must have often flashed on his own abrupt and wordless departure from his family and place of birth. Ferdinand had no known contact with his parents or siblings after he arrived in the United States. His status as a deserter from the army or draft evader may have forced his severing contact with them.
Suddenly, after suffering a short illness, Ferdinand died on Jan. 18, 1905. The kind, hard-working Margaret now had to raise her nine remaining children by herself. Daily chores included carrying water from a nearby spring for not only drinking and cooking, but also for canning, washing clothes and bodies, cleaning the house, watering livestock, etc. Years later, a well was drilled nearer to the house. Each summer, the Mesch family grew, harvested, canned, and dried fruits and vegetables. Potatoes were planted and cultivated, dug after the first frost, and then stored in a root cellar to be used during winter.
Margaret experienced the joys and sorrows of raising children. She endured the trials of living with an alcoholic husband and then losing him when her youngest child was just seven years old. She also carried the heartache of a child leaving home and never seeing him again.
Margaret managed the farm and the activities of her children on her own for seventeen years. Then, in January 1922, she sold the farm to her son, Adolph, and his wife Elizabeth (Zeiser). Margaret moved to Dubuque and lived on Lincoln Avenue with an unmarried daughter, Katherine. Margaret died on Oct. 21, 1929, at age 73. She was laid to rest with Ferdinand in the Assumption Church cemetery at Sylvia.
Adolph and Elizabeth raised their six children and lived on the family farm for nearly a quarter century. They endured the loss of one of their children, Vincent, who died at two years of age on Feb. 21, 1921, and was buried in the church cemetery at Sylvia.
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Ferdinand arrived 10 Oct 1871 on the Columbus.
*The couple had at least 14 children
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