Dear Reader,

This scene is set in 1896. By this time the children of Georg Nickel Moschel and Maria Elisabetha Agne are dead. Or at least we think so. The children of Georg and Maria who emigrated to the U.S. did so as adults and with children. The one exception was Charlotte, the youngest child, who came to the U.S. after her leaving her husband and son in Webenheim. In 1896 Charlotte would have been 79 and at this writing in the spring of 2002 we do not know if she was alive in 1896. If she was, she outlived her sister and brothers, who immigrated and others who remained in Webenheim.

By 1896 the generation taking center stage in America consists of first generation Germans. Their parents, by and large, are in their 50's and 60's and if they have not become grandparents, that is soon to happen. The parents immigrated to America as young people and adjusted to a new land, new culture, new language, new work patterns, new politics, and new neighbors.

In Germany, one older Moschel is still alive, and that is Louise, the widow of Philipp Moschel. She is 81 in 1896. Louise lived with much tragedy. Three sons died in or near infancy. Her only living son lived in Peoria, Illinois, and was 60 years old. Two daughters emigrated to America, Jacobina died in childbirth in 1869. The second daughter, Catherine, married Jacobina's widower, and then was placed in an insane asylum. It is unknown at this point if Catherine was alive in 1896. Two daughters of Philipp and Louise Moschel remained in Webenheim. Daughter Louisa was unmarried, and daughter Caroline was married and had five children ranging in age from 14 to 23 in 1896.

Before looking further at the families, it should be instructive to view briefly the histories of the U.S., Illinois, Nebraska, and Germany in 1896. Then we look briefly at the history of Chenoa, Illinois; Beatrice, Nebraska; and Webenheim, Germany respectively in the same time period.

In the U.S.

The rapidity of the change makes it difficult to briefly summarize the U.S. from 1876 to 1896. Two sources that help immensely in understanding this period are A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn and a Vassar College website created by Rebecca Edwards and Sarah DeFeo (http://iberia.vassar.edu/1896).

What strikes one when reading about this time in history are the extremes. A popular orator of the day, Mary Ellen Lease, said, "There are thirty men in the United States whose aggregate wealth is over one and one-half billion dollars. There are half a million looking for work." It was an era when the names J. P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie were paramount. Coexistent with extreme wealth, were appalling conditions for thousands. This disparity made for social unrest. Zinn, subtitled this part of his history, "Robber Barons and Rebels." The rebels took the form of workers eager to unionize and strike, and farmers organizing into alliances and cooperatives. Strikes were a social economic tool used by workers. In 1886 there were over 1400 strikes a year involving 500,000 workers. Among the most important strikes of the period were the Homestead Strike in Pennsylvania, the Haymarket Affair in Chicago, and the Pullman strike also in Chicago. The latter two will be mentioned in the Illinois history.

The U.S. economy was once again in dire straits in 1896. There had been a depression in 1873 and there was one again in 1893. The 1893 depression started in the South and Plains in the late 1880's, but hit the urban areas in 1893. Unemployment was as high as 25 percent. In 1895 the president of the United States, Grover Cleveland, asked J.P. Morgan to save the U.S. gold reserves. The country was on the gold standard and the reserves were disappearing. Morgan bought the bonds from the U.S. and made a profit by doing so.

African-Americans, woman, and Native Americans were not doing that well in several regards in 1896. The number of black lynchings reached a peak of 230 in 1892.The worst blow, though, was yet to come on May 18, 1896, with the decision of the Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson. By that landmark ruling most historians agree the civil rights of African-Americans were set back for decades. The ruling was that railroad companies could exclude African-Americans from riding in first-class. This set back three decades of struggle for public spaces being integrated. The court, by this decision, started the ‘separate but equal' segregation, which was never equal.

Women in 1896 could only vote in three states: Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah. Native Americans were driven off the plains. In 1890 at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, the U.S. Army killed 300 Native American men, women, and children. It was the last official battle of the Indian Wars, and the Native American way of life was altered forever.

William McKinley

One of the main issues of the 1896 U.S. election was the contest between "free silver" and "sound money." Those who believed in sound money or the gold standard thought that a free silver would not allow lenders to make what they considered sufficient profit. Both sides of the issue contended that their monetary policy would have a benefit to the economy, which in 1896, was still in a depression. William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic candidate of 1896, made free silver his crusade. Bryan's Republican opponent was William McKinley. The men ran two very different campaigns. McKinley ran a front-porch campaign, common for the day, of speaking to any and all reporters and people who came to see him at his home. William Jennings Bryan, on the other hand, went to the people in the first ever strategy of traveling by railcar and speaking to voters. Readers might recall our relative, Jacob Klein of Nebraska, was a friend of William Jennings Bryan.

It was a surprise to many that William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska won the Democratic nomination in 1896. It was clearly Bryan's oratory at the convention and his speech for free silver that cinched the nomination for him. Some Democrats left the party to form the Gold Democrats and for the first time in history corporations infused a great deal of money into the Republican National Committee to support McKinley winning. It worked.

Outside of politics, scientific and mechanical inventions were making dramatic changes in the lives of the people. Thomas Edison invented the electric light and in 1882 the Edison Electric Light Company illuminated the J. P. Morgan headquarters. Other inventions that changed the day were the telephone, typewriters, sewing machines, and new agricultural equipment. One of the most popular inventions was redesigned bicycles. By 1896 there were 150 bicycle factories in the U.S. making over 1000 different models of bicycles.

In Illinois

The 1890 census reported 3,826,352 residents in Illinois, an increase of 25% from the 1880 census. Chicago was the second largest city in the nation. In 1876 Shelby Cullom, our relative (first cousin, three times removed), was governor of the state. In 1896 Shelby Cullom was in the midst of his 30-year career as U.S. Senator from Illinois, serving from 1883-1911, the longest term in office of a Illinois senator. Cullom had a number of memorable accomplishments in office, but it is one sentence in his autobiography describing 50 years of public service that is charming, "I entered the Senate at a very uninteresting period in our history."

Uninteresting is not the term we would use for Illinois and Chicago during this era. The labor movement was moving steadily forward and Chicago was seen as a militant labor center. Labor was attempting to achieve an 8-hour work day and in 1886 more than 1000 labor strikes occurred in Illinois. The McCormick harvester plant had a number of complaints which eventually involved 50,000 workers. Two persons were shot and killed at the reaper plant. A protest meeting for these shootings was held at Haymarket Square in downtown Chicago. This ballooned into a bomb being thrown and police killed. A sensational trial lasted for two months and brought international attention to the incident. Seven men were sentenced to death and 15 incarcerated in the highly disputed verdict. The Haymarket martyrs politicized a number of new radicals to the cause of labor.

John P. Altgeld

In 1892 John P. Altgeld was the first foreign born governor to be elected in llinois. He was also a Democrat following four decades of Republican control in the state. Altgeld was born in the German village of Nieder Selters in 1847 and came to America with his parents when he was 3 months old. Liberals loved Altgeld because he pardoned the three Haymarket anarchists still in prison. Altgeld's story is one of rags to riches, starting on an Ohio farm and coming to Chicago as an adult still not fluent in English. He studied law, invested in real estate, and became wealthy. One year after being elected governor, already famous for his pardon of Haymarket prisoners, another strike, the Pullman Railroad strike, brought him to national attention.

Between Haymarket and the Pullman Strike Chicago had a moment of international glory in the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. By 1880 people were looking for a way to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus discovering America. Many cities wanted the privilege of being the city to host an exposition, but Senator Shelby Cullom was successful in passing legislation signed by President William Harrison that designated Chicago for that honor. Chicago businesses raised millions of dollars for the event. Chicago's population in 1893 was 1,550,000, with one third being foreign born. The economy boomed from 1870-1890 with the meat packing industry growing 900% during that time. With the boom came overcrowded schools and crime. The total fair's attendance in 1893 was 27 ½ million. The fair introduced the first Ferris Wheel, Cracker Jacks, the hamburger came to America, and carnivals started. Much building occurred for the fair and the 21-story Masonic Temple became the first skyscraper which made a permanent mark on American city architecture.

After that glorious year, Chicago sustained another crisis in the Pullman Strike which started in May 1894. To understand the strike one needs to understand that George Pullman was trying to build an ideal community where he would house his workers and build his Pullman railroad cars. He started building the factory/housing community in the 1880's near of Chicago. Pullman rented houses to his workers and initially all went well until the depression of 1893 when Pullman lowered the wages of his workers but not the rents on his houses. A strike ensued. When the strike started, the German born Governor Altgeld refused to call in the Illinois militia to stop the strike. The U.S. President intervened and called in Federal troops. Violence then broke out in Chicago and Governor Altgeld brought in state militia and eventually the strike collapsed with 14,000 troops present. George Pullman started his factory again but the town was sold off and given up as an experiment in housing workers.

One other important person in this period is Jane Addams who started Hull House in Chicago. She moved into the slums of Chicago in 1889 and dedicated herself to helping the poor and particularly the immigrant families. Her first book published in 1895 described the slum living conditions of 19 nationalities who lived in one ward. Hull House represents the start of innovative social services needed particularly by immigrants and doing great humanitarian service in a city setting.

In Nebraska

Population statistics provide a picture of the change in Nebraska from 1880 to 1900. From 1880 to 1890 Nebraska went from 452,402 to 1,058,910. Those were boom years. The next decade shows quite a different picture. In 1900 the population of the state was 1,066,300, only a negligible increase from the previous decade. What happened? For Nebraska, it is always the story of what happens on the land, as farming was the primary way of life in Nebraska at this time. Prosperity reigned for the farmers in the early 1880's with good farm prices and ability to produce high yields using improved farm machinery. The farmers in the 1890's, though, were worse off than the farmers in the 1870's. The two main causes for the decline were prolonged drought conditions and a new low in farm prices.

Urban Nebraska grew in the 1880's. The main cities included Omaha, Lincoln, and smaller towns such as Beatrice. Omaha's population in 1880 was 30,000, and by 1887 it was 120,000. It thrived as a meat-packing industry site. Lincoln, the state's capitol, was 20,000 in 1885 and doubled two years later. City planners dreamed of 100,000 residents by the year 1890 and planned for such by laying out new additions to the city. Even Beatrice thought it would grow to 50,000 and extended its city limits in anticipation of becoming a city.

Life was much different on the prairie. Even though "modern" conveniences were appearing in towns and cities, life on the land needed two things which were in short supply, water and wood. Because of the lack of wood, houses on the prairie were made of sod, or what some called Nebraska Marble. A description in History of Nebraska by James Olson gives a visual picture of this. "Sod houses varied from dugouts that were little more than caves to rather pretentious, two- story affairs, although the average sod house was a simple one-room, frame-supported structure. The most prosperous pioneers shingled their roofs or covered them with tar paper, but most sod houses were roofed with earth or sod. The hard-packed earth usually served as the floor. Occasionally the inside walls were whitewashed or covered with old newspapers, and a cloth was stretched across the top to provide a ceiling. Although far from ideal place in which to live--the problem of keeping it clean was particularly burdensome--the sod house was fairly cool in summer and warm in winter."

The last characteristic is very important because Nebraska is a land of temperature extremes. In the summer is hot, dry, and windy; and in the winter it is cold with blizzards that sweep the plains. One of the most severe blizzards was on January 12, 1888. It killed large numbers of people and livestock. Beyond the extremes of temperatures and shortage of water and wood to be used for structures or heating or fencing, there was the omnipresent feeling on the prairie of loneliness. This was just endured.

By the close of the 1880's the story of farmers was one of low grain prices and farm foreclosures. A couple of examples demonstrate this. Wheat was 75 cents a bushel in 1880, declining to 52 cents a bushel in 1890. Similar declines were true of corn, oats, barley, rye, potatoes, and hay. Farmers could not pay their land purchase debts. The farmers started to fight back by starting The Farmer's Alliance. Initially, they stated the group was for educational purposes, but politics soon entered in. An early instance was reported on January 15, 1890, in the Omaha Bee, "The remarkable growth of the State Farmers' Alliance during the last year is a gratifying evidence of an awakening among the producers....Organization among farmers has become an urgent necessity, Confronted on every side by combines and trusts, they are forced to unite to protect themselves from the grasping greed of corporations." One saying of a frequent speaker of the day was farmers should raise more hell and less corn.

William Jennings Bryan

With that attitude you can imagine that The Farmer's Alliance gave way to politics, finally joining with the Populist Party and beating the Republicans in elections in Nebraska for the first time since the state had been established. Into this fray came William Jennings Bryan, who was in the Democratic party, but who took on the call of the farmers who believed that the only way to get out the economic mess they were in was for the country to go off the gold standard and issue free silver. Free Silver then became Congressman William Jennings Bryan cry and he allegedly once said, "the people of Nebraska are for free silver, so I am for free silver. I will look up the arguments later." Bryan's parlayed that sentiment into a national cause and with his superior oratory ability received the Democratic nomination for president in 1896. A Nebraska boy makes the big time--except for losing the election to Republican William McKinley.

In Germany

Perhaps the clearest way to understand German history from 1876-1896 is through the actions and personalties of three dominant men of that era--Bismarck, Wilhelm I, and Wilhelm II.

Otto Bismarck

Otto Von Bismarck Bismarck left office in 1890. By 1890 he had been prime minister of Prussia for 28 years and chancellor of the German Empire for 19 years. He, more than anyone else, changed the history of Germany at this time. When he entered office in 1862 Germany, which had been a patchwork of different kingdoms and Duchies for centuries, was considered the weakest of the European powers. When he was forced to leave office in 1890, German had become a powerful military and economic power on the Continent. What happened? In the 1860's Bismark was the leader in three wars, the last of which united the German Empire in 1871. Wilhelm I was Emperor of the German Empire, but Bismarck was Chancellor, answerable only to Wilhelm and through that position he created the new Germany.

Two of Bismarck's most important achievements were the alliances he created with other nations and internal social reforms. Looking at the system of alliances Bismarck built with other nations is like looking at a chess game and predicting the next moves. As one timelines website wrote regarding the countdown to World War I, "in order to understand exactly what went wrong back in the summer of 1914 we will examine the key alliances that occurred between 1879 and 1914. These interlocking defense treaties, once tripped, would bring the mighty armies together on a collision course that no one could stop."

Bismarck started this course. He knew Germany needed a time of peace to built internally. He saw that Germany, being in a central position in Europe, between the powers of England, France, Austria, and Russia had to balance between these other four nations. His strategy of alliance, as he put it to a Russian ambassador in 1880 was, "to try to be one of three as long as the world is governed by an unstable equilibrium of five powers." His system of alliances demonstrate this strategy. First, was the Dual Alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1879; second the Three Emperor's Alliance in 1881 of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia; and third The Triple Alliance of Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Italy in 1882. Bismarck, by making these and other alliances, was seen as the leading statesman of Europe. When he left office in 1890, Germany was still linked to Austria and Italy and but a more tenuous relationship with Russia was in place than the one established in 1881. It had been an era of peace for Germany.

On the domestic scene Bismarck started what was at the time the most advanced welfare state in the world. Even though Bismarck was motivated to initiate these programs as a means of preventing more radical alternatives from starting, by the time he left office a system of retirement and disability benefits was in place. These programs were mandatory and funded by contributions from employees, employer, and the government. The program also added workmen's compensation and sickness insurance before Bismarck left office.

Kasier Wilhelm I

Wilhelm I Wilhelm I was born in 1797. He became King of Prussia in 1857 when his brother died and retained that title until he died in 1888. In addition to being King of Prussia, Wilhelm I became Emperor in Germany after 1871 and retained that title until he died. Even though he was the official Emperor in Germany (note the title is not Emperor of Germany, an important distinction which Bismarck insisted Wilhelm use), he was clearly outshone and bullied by his chancellor Bismarck. Wilhelm fought in the Battle of Waterloo. His life-long interests were the Army (and retelling tales of Waterloo) and hunting.

To understand Wilhelm I's impact, it is necessary to understand the political structure of the time. Germany had been created in 1871 out of many small states. The government's democratic structure after 1871 was the Reichstag which had 397 members elected by all males over the age of 25 in Germany. The Emperor, however, had full control of the military and diplomatic affairs and he had responsibility to nominate the Chancellor. There were 25 states in the new Empire which kept their existing constitutions even after 1871. These 25 states made their political will known through the Bundesrat, or Upper House of the Imperial Parliament which had 58 members. Prussia had the largest number of seats in the Bundesrat (17) and thus could control the Bundesrat. Even though the Reichstag was not powerless (having control over the Imperial budget and Imperial legislation) it did not have authority over the Chancellor who was appointed by the Emperor and only answerable to him. The Chancellor presided over the Bundesrat and it was the Bundesrat that could make treaties and declare war. Thus, Bismarck had license to make all the alliances listed above through the Bundesrat which was really a vote of the Prussia heavily-weighed political body.

Kaiser Wilhelm II

Wilhelm II This troika of personalities is completed with Wilhelm II who was born in 1859 and was the grandson of Wilhelm I. Wilhelm II's mother was Victoria, daughter of Queen Victoria, which made Wilhelm II grandson to Queen Victoria, and nephew to the future King Edward. Wilhelm II was born with a withered, useless left arm. Most accounts of his personality use such words used as vain, insensitive, bombastic, and others much worse. His parents tried to raise him in a liberal, pro-British tradition, but he was more drawn to his grandfather, Wilhelm I, and thoughts of military, religious mysticism, and conservatism. When Wilhelm II's grandfather, Wilhelm I, died in 1888. Frederick, Wilhelm I's son, took the crown for a mere 99 days and died of throat cancer. Wilhelm II became Emperor after his father died. Even though Wilhelm II had never fought in the military, he took great pride in the wearing of uniforms.

Wilhelm II turned Bismarck out of his office of Chancellor. The men disagreed on a number of issues and Wilhelm II had the authority to select his own Chancellor without approval of any other political body. Wilhelm II replaced Bismarck with General Leo Caprivia who was a professional soldier. Caprivia lasted four years and then was replaced by Prince Chodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst. In both cases it was clear who was now in charge, the Emperor, not the Chancellor.

It is really Wilhelm II's love-hate relationship with England that many would say caused the most trouble. Germany began to challenge the naval superiority of England with the Tirpitz Plan of 1900 which was to build a naval fleet to rival England. England reacted predicably by patching up differences with first France and then Russia, which we will discuss in the next scene. Wilhelm II is often called a saber rattler in both his politics and personality.

Outside of these three men, a comment on a some other issues relevant for the times. The first women's suffrage association of Germany was not started until 1902. In 1851 Prussian law forbid women from joining political parties or even attending meetings where politics were discussed.

By 1880 Berlin alone had 45,000 Jews. This was at a time when the total Jewish population in England was 46,000 and 51,000 in France. The beginnings of hate are evident in the writings of the time. Ever since the bank crash of 1873 there were voices that blamed Jews for the ills of the day.

The first automobile, a Mercedes-Benz, was built in 1885 by Carl Benz in Mannheim/Palatinate. The first trip found Carl's wife, Berta, behind the wheel. There being no gas stations, they had to buy gas at a pharmacy. Werner von Siemens, invented the dynamo in 1867 and in the 1870's experimented with electric traction. From 1873-1914 Germany changed from an mostly rural economy to a country that was second only to the U.S. in manufacturing. The outcomes of such growth was Germany becoming a place where there is a move from the country to the city; where there is market for production instead of local consumption; and a growing division between those who provide the capital and those that provide the labor.

The largest tide of Germans left from 1880 to 1893, with about 1.8 million coming to the U.S. As the economy improved in Germany in the mid 1890's the bigger migrations were from country to town. As the century turned, Germany was second only to the U.S. in importing foreign labor.

With this background we can now look at the specific locations where we find the Moschels in 1896 which are Chenoa, Illinois; Beatrice, Nebraska; and Webenheim, Germany.

Chenoa, Illinois

Chenoa Fire 1894

By 1896 Moschels had lived in the Chenoa area for 26 years. Some Moschels moved to Beatrice, Nebraska. Others lived out their lives in Chenoa. Chenoa in 1896 was 42 years old and had a population of 2500. In addition to farming, three industries employed people. These were a drain tile factory (touted to be the second largest in the U.S.), coal mine, and canning factory. Drain tile was a necessity for farmers. The crop failure of 1876 made farmers aware of the need to drain their fields. Locally produced tile made that feasible, and that's how farmers improved their lands for several years after 1876. Chenoa seemed destined for big things at this time even though it had experienced a series of devastating fires, the largest occurring in 1894. On July 24, 1894, the Chicago and Alton train traveled through town at noon. Two hours later the entire business district was in ruins except for five buildings. One speculation is that fire started from a spark from the track which caught a pile of debris on fire.

Matthew Scott, the major landowner in the area since its inception, saw the value in laying drain tile on his fields. He was able to increase the rents. His tenants paid him as much as 40 percent of corn sales, 33 percent of other grains, and $4 per acre for pasture. Scott's records show that 1887 was the worst corn crop in 20 years, after several good years.

Adlai E. Stevenson, lived in Bloomington near Chenoa, and was to become Vice President of the U.S. in 1893. In 1887 he said to the farmers about their homeland of McLean Co., "Its history stretching over but little more than half a century savors more of romance than reality. I know of no people who have greater cause for gratitude to the Dispenser of all good than those I now address." In 1880 McLean Co. was the most prosperous agricultural county in the state and one of the top in the whole nation. Adlai Stevenson was right historically, but Matthew Scott's records were beginning to tell a different story. Change was coming. Between 1880 and 1890 the number of farms decreased by 10 percent as small farms were less able to support a family. This was a trend that would continue.

M. M. Klein

The families we are following in Illinois were all farmers. They include Margaret Moschel Klein and her husband, John Klein. In 1896 they had 7 children who ranged in age from 31 to 15. The two oldest children were married and have families and farms of their own. Margaret's two brothers, Frederick and Jacob who emigrated with her from Webenheim, also lived in Chenoa, married and had families and farms of their own. Margaret's first cousin, Jacobina Moschel Sandmeyer, lived in the Chenoa area and her oldest child was married and lived and farmed in Chenoa.

Our storyteller in Chenoa is Margaret Moschel Klein. She is 55. What is it like for Margaret to be living in Chenoa at this time? Does she keep in contact with only sister in Beatrice and her two brothers in Beatrice? She is the oldest in the immediate Moschel family since her mother's death in 1886, does she act like the matriarch of the family?

Beatrice, Nebraska

In the Spring of 1888 the Express, Beatrice's newspaper, printed a description of their city. It started by saying, "With a feeling of pride and pleasure that is no doubt pardonable, we lay before our readers this, our first illustrated edition of the Express. It has become the custom of enterprising journals to issue, at least once a year, resumes of the transactions of the past year and a prediction of what is probable for the ensuing year. The Express realizes a pleasant duty in congratulating the citizens of Beatrice upon the almost remarkable achievements of the past year." The purpose of the edition was to lure Eastern and other investors to be a part of the future of Beatrice.

It is clear that the Express believed Beatrice to be a place to be, if one desired to become prosperous. Agricultural data and projections were printed to support this belief. The population of Beatrice in 1888 was 12,000, almost half of those residents having arrived between 1883 and 1888. The Express projects it will double shortly. The issue promotes Beatrice's beautiful homes, good schools, 12 churches, and most importantly, their manufacturing companies and railway system that connect to Eastern markets. Even though there is no more "free" government land available, unimproved land is available for $10 and improved land for $20-$75, according to the Express.

Klein's New York Racket Company in Beatrice

By 1886, Moschels and Kleins have lived in the Beatrice area for 14 years. The families we are following were employed as farmers and merchants. Catherine Moschel Klein and her husband, Jacob have been very successful in the store which was started in 1873 with two partners, brother Charles Moschel and Emil Lang. The partnership was dissolved in 1887. Charles Moschel died in 1892. Jacob Klein moved and enlarged his store twice by 1896. The name of the store in 1896 was Klein's New York Racket Company. Catherine and Jacob Klein had five children in 1896. The two older sons already worked in the store. The other Moschel families in the area were Catherine's brothers, Louis and Daniel, who were farmers. Catherine's half sister, Louise Moschel Miller, also lived in Beatrice.

C. M. Klein

Our storyteller in Beatrice is Catherine Moschel Klein who is 47 in 1896. What is it like for Catherine to be the wife and mother of prominent businessmen in a bustling, growing town? Is she a part of town society? Does she keep contact with her Illinois siblings? Does she keep contact with her Beatrice siblings? Does she keep contact with her Webenheim relatives with whom she stayed after her family left in 1861?

 

Webenheim, Germany

On December 1, 1892, the peasants of Webenheim tallied their livestock. The results were: 121 horses, 809 ox/cows, 2 sheep, 72 pigs, 16 goats, and 31 bee hives. The peasants, evidently, were not counted. On December 1, 1900, the peasants were counted and numbered 846. The livestock population had grown a bit in the 8 years. There were 158 horses, 847 ox/cows, 300 pigs, and 14 goats. The bees must have buzzed away. The 1900 records stated there were 166 buildings. In June of 1899 the 150 farmers of Webenheim worked on 2184 acres, which averages to 14½ acres per farmer. They grew the following: 934 acres of grass and clover to feed cattle, 407 acres for potatoes, 383 acres of rye, 314 acres of oats, and 50 acres of barley.

1897 Choral Group of Webenheim Veterans

The primary occupation overwhelmingly in Webenheim was farmer. A 1893 record showed the following occupation tally: 1 iron worker, 1 railroad worker, 2 tailors, 5 blacksmith, 9 shoemakers, 2 wagon makers, 2 bakers, 2 weavers, 1 beermaster, 1 bricklayer, 1 grocer, 1 cigarmaker, 1 police deputy, 2 rangers, 1 stone-mason, 4 pub owners, and the rest were farmers. Farmers started an agricultural cooperative in 1891, based on the ideas of similar cooperatives begun in Prussia at the same time. Of the four pubs in Webenheim one was owned by Friedrich Klein, great uncle of Otto Klein. In addition to pub it served as a grocery.

Signs of social progress in 1884 in Webenheim were the first apartments for poor residents, street lights came to the village in 1886, and a larger cemetery in 1887.

The primary family we are following in Webenheim is Philipp Moschel and his wife, Louise Golzer. Philipp Moschel died in 1888, but his wife, Louise, was alive in 1896 at age 81. Louise's living son, Christian, resided in Peoria, Illinois, and Louise had grandchildren and great grandchildren by him. It is doubtful she saw any of them as we have not verified trips back to Webenheim by Christian. As described in the last scene, Louise's daughter, Jacobina died in Illinois in 1869, and then her sister Catherine married Jacobina's widower, Herman Gerbing. It is unknown whether Catherine was alive in 1896 and, if so, whether she remained in an institution for the insane. We know the children of Jacobina and Catherine were alive, and their mutual husband, Herman Gerbing was alive and lived in Portland, Oregon, in the U.S. in 1896. All of his children moved West by this time.

The Moschels living in Webenheim in 1896 were 81-year-old Louise Golzer Moschel and her maiden daughter, Louisa, 52. Daughter Caroline Moschel Schmidt lived in Webenheim, married, and had five children ranging in age from 14 to 23, none married.

The second family we are following in Webenheim is the child of Charlotte Moschel Scherer, the woman who left Webenheim in the 1860's for the U.S., leaving her son and husband behind. Her son, Jacob, 53 in 1896, was married, and had five children. It is unknown whether Charlotte Moschel Scherer was still living in 1896.

Our storyteller in Webenheim is Caroline Moschel Schmid who is 45 in 1896. Does her 81-year- old mother, Louise live with them? Does she keep contact with her brother, nieces, nephews, and first cousins in the U.S.? What is her life like in 1896 in contrast with her U.S. relatives?