Luxembourg: The Green Heart of Europe
Luxembourg: The Grand Duchy (2005) large pdf file
Luxembourg, the small European country of 999 square miles that is surrounded by Belgium, France, and Germany, has been one of my major research interests for many years. Most of my maternal and paternal ancestors emigrated from Luxembourg to the United States during the mid-nineteenth century, and I have been fortunate to visit this wonderful country many times.
For more than twenty-five years, I have been doing research on Luxembourg's history, its religious and cultural traditions, and its patterns of immigration to sites in the United States. I visit the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg nearly every year. My essay, which is the result of my ongoing research, has been published in the Bulletin Linguistique et Ethnologique de l'Institut Grand-Ducal, edited by Jean Ensch (Fascicule 29, 1999. 12-31). To read this essay in its entirety, click on Reflections of Luxembourg in the Rural Midwestern United States Excerpts are printed below. Also, you can scroll down to view photographs I've taken in Luxembourg as well as messages from others doing research there.
Excerpts from essay cited above:
Several factors influenced Luxembourger immigration. Nicholas Gonner cites the primary factor as the "progressive and permanent impoverishment of the population in general," involving "not so much a lack of money as a decline in the quality of life" (30). Specifically, Gonner cites an increase in population, a decrease in infant mortality, excessive partitioning of available land, poor harvests, high taxes, the uncertain political situation, and increasing industrialization (35). Luxembourgers also emigrated to avoid being forced into military service in the Dutch, Belgian, and Prussian armies. The possibility of finding land to farm in the United States, especially following the removal of American Indian tribes to reservations and the passage of the 1862 Homestead Act, influenced many Luxembourgers' decisions to emigrate.
Immigrants already in America wrote letters to their relatives and friends still in Luxembourg, enticing them to emigrate. Individuals already settled in the United States often bought tickets so family members could join them. The desire to gain political freedom or to avoid punishment for crimes or lesser offenses also contributed to some emigrants' decision to leave Luxembourg, although Gonner discovered few instances in which an individual migrated "because of a serious crime committed in Europe" (29).
Source: Ensch, Jean, and Jean-Claude Muller. Luxembourgers in the New World. Luxembourg City: Editions-Reliures Schortgen, 1989. Re-edition of Gonner, Nicholas. Luxemburger in der neuen Welt. Dubuque, IA: Luxemburger Gazette, 1889.
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Marie-Berthe Frieders-Kuntziger analyzes the adaptation of Luxembourgish immigrants to American life. She notes that, given most immigrants' village origins, they tended to settle down as farmers. In 1870, only 3% of Luxembourgish immigrants lived in large American cities; and by 1880, the urban percentage of Luxembourgish immigrants had risen only to 9% (31). Frieders-Kuntziger explains that many immigrants were drawn to farm life in the United States because of the availability of land; in contrast to the "2.5 acres per Luxembourger in the old country, "immigrants could hope to farm from 80 to 320 acres in the Midwestern United States (33).
Source: Frieders-Kuntziger, Marie-Berthe. Luxembourger Immigration to the United States of America. Master's Thesis. Paris: Universite de Paris, 1978.
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Advice for Women: Many Luxembourgers emigrated with husbands, wives, children, and/or siblings. Nicholas Gonner's advice to prospective immigrants, provided in the first chapter of Die Luxemburger in der Neuen Welt, offers specific admonitions for young women who emigrated: “Emigration is more dangerous for single girls. They face greater perils than young men, but they more easily find work in service and have good prospects of marrying soon. But they should not go to America alone. They should if possible make the trip with acquaintances or relatives and remain for a time under the supervision of responsible persons who will see them get settled. The danger for girls is the greater because they seldom get jobs in service in the country, but most come as housemaids to the cities” ("Crossing," 2).
Source: "Immigration in Stearns County: Part I." Excerpts from Gonner's Luxembourgers in the New World. Trans. Bob Lommel. Crossings: Stearns County Historical Society 12.3 (June/July 1987): 1-3.
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Advice for Homesteaders: In 1870, the Iowa Board of Immigration published Iowa: the Home for Immigrants, a guidebook that advised prospective homesteaders on procedures to be followed in the pre-emption of government land, of which over a quarter million acres remained, primarily in northwestern Iowa counties (e.g., Osceola, Lyon, Sioux, and Plymouth): "The right of pre-emption extends to one hundred and sixty areas. As nearly all the lands remaining in Iowa subject to pre-emption are situated within the limits of railroad land grants, the price to be paid at the time of 'proving up' is $2.50 per acre. For lands outside of those limits the price is $1.25 per acre" (58). The homestead privilege entitled any person who was the head of a family or who had reached twenty-one years of age and who was a U. S. citizen to file a declaration of intent to homestead on surveyed government land not previously disposed of (58).
Source: Iowa Board of Immigration. Iowa: The Home for Immigrants, Being a Treatise on the Resources of Iowa, and Giving Useful information with Regard to the State, for the Benefit of Immigrants and Others. Des Moines: Mills and Co., 1870.
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Feulen homepage Commune of Feulen website At the left is a view of the countryside surrounding the Klein and Simmerl/Hottua ancestral village of Niederfeulen, Luxembourg, not far from Ettelbruck. (photograph taken by Suzanne Bunkers) |
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From: Nathalie Piron
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Congratulations, very good information on emigration. Good pictures. Looking around for my ancestors, Haupert Peter, born 1814 and family. Emigration 1846.
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From: Mike Schumacher
Hi Suzanne,
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The message below was sent by Marlies (Marnach) Niehues on 1 May 2006: Liebe Luxemburger Freunde, liebe enge oder weitläufige Verwandte!
Dear friends in Luxemburg, dear
close or distant Marnach cousins! |
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Examples of Luxembourg architecture in the capital city
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Overlooking Luxembourg City's Grund
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Above: Some years ago, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg commissioned a sculpture to be installed outside the United Nations Building in New York City. The purpose of the sculpture is to promote world peace. In January, 1994, Suzanne and Rachel Bunkers visited the United Nations and were proud to have their photograph taken next to the "No War" sculpture sent to the U.N. by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. (Photograph by Verna M. Bunkers) |
From: Thomas Jacob Sent: Thursday, July 08, 2004 8:46 AM To: Bunkers, Suzanne Subject: Luxembourg Hi Suzanne, I just wanted to send you a quick e-mail to say thank you. While we don't know each other I read your essay on Luxembourg with great interest and pleasure. I, like many Luxembourgers, come from a very mixed background. My mother is from New York and my father is from Uckange which is a tiny village 20 mins south of Luxembourg. I grew up in Luxembourg (until I was 18) before migrating to NY where I currently work; however, my parents and many friends still reside in Luxembourg. Anyway, enough about me. I just wanted to let you know that I am thankful to have learned through your site that there were such links between the the western US states and Luxembourg. I never imagined that there were events such as a Luxembourg Oktoberfest or a Luxembourg News of America paper... Thanks again for gathering all this information as it is truly unbelievable. I will most surely visit some of the places you highlight...and who knows I might be able to eat my first Thuringer in a few years. Thomas Jacob, 201 W.21st, #3B, New York, NY 10011 TeL: 646-489-5127 |
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Rachel and Suzanne Bunkers: riding the aerial tram above the valley in Vianden, Luxembourg, en route to the restored Castle of Vianden. Photo: 1993.
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From: Cheryl Hoffman Doing some research for the start of my personal web page, I came across your web page and the information on my hometown where several of my immediate family still live......and a wonderful place for me to return to monthly to "get away" and relax. Thank you for the history lesson!
Cheryl A. Hoffman, RN, MSN
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Luxembourg City memorial commemorating Luxembourgers who gave their lives in war.
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11 September 2005
Dear Dr. Bunkers:
[message is continued
at right--->] |
I especially enjoyed your
photos of
On my last trip to the Dubuque
area |
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From: Serres, William
Suzanne,
We now have a clan which draws about 500 members to reunions we have every 10 years or so. We have continued close contacts with our relatives in Luxembourg and occasional contact with our Chicago relatives. I visited Luxembourg and our family in 1959, 1995, and 1998. My favorite area is the vicinity of my grandfather's village, Tadler, in west central Luxembourg and Vianden a bit east on the German border. Our relatives still maintain the family farm and Serres house in Tadler which reminds me of the house that was restored in Minnesota mentioned in your article. [message is continued at right--->] |
My grandmother was from Wilverdange near Troisvieges in the North, and we also have contact with our relatives there. We are related to the Leider family (from Luxembourg) which still operates greenhouses etc in the north Chicago suburbs. Your article on Luxembourg is especially informative. It helps to answer many questions about our background. While I grew up living next to my grandmother, my grandfather was gone before my time and he was was the force behind the establishment of the family in Oregon. I plan to study it more carefully and hope to contact you in the future about the history of the Luxembourger immigration. I have been into our family genealogy which I have been able to trace back to about 1750. I have my grandparents siblings and their descendants and the direct line of forebears back to 1750 but very few more distant relatives (great uncles aunts and descendents). I have had some contact with a Serres family group in southwestern South Dakota which is probably related to us but have not been able to find the direct tie. If you have any suggestions for tracking down Luxembourg genealogy information please send them to me. I am saving your website in my favorites for future contact. If you have any questions about our settlement in the Northwest please contact me. Thanks again for your great web site. Bill Serres |
