The First Meetings: Johann Wilhelm Gausman and John Baptist Bauer
John Baptist Bauer and Johan Wilhelm Gausman met in St Mary’s in either 1850 or 1851. This is the first of many to come. Travel to this isolated area in the mid 1800s is coming soon.
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There will be a story on each of the other three settlers, told through the eyes of Baptist. In 1850, there was a lot of work that needed to be done if Marianstadt (St Marys) was to survive, let alone thrive. Many of the things we take for granted simply didn’t exist. If these pioneers didn’t work together, St Mary’s could be a ghost town instead of a small city like today.
I used AI to help with images and research, however every word I write is my own. I have a voice and AI won’t drown it out.
As stated in the last article I wrote, both of these men came to America by coffin ship. You can read about coffin ships and the trip across the Atlantic in my article
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John Baptist Bauer: Coming to America. Baptist came through New York harbor, but Wilhelm came through the port of Philadelphia. The customs officials on the ships collected the manifests with passenger name, occupation, gender and where they resided before they left for America. I have found manifests for both of them. They both traveled in steerage. American customs officials handled all the immigration processing.
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Philadelphia was Wilhelm’s home for about five years before he arrived in St Marys in 1848. At that time he had a wife named Maria Anna Dickman. Maria was her Baptismal name, she was called Anna. They had a toddler son with them named John Heinrich Gausman. John is his baptismal name, so he was called Heinrich or Henry. This is traditional German naming traditions. German naming traditions are a large complex topic for another time. St Marys had an additional benefit to both men, because they were able to retain their German traditions without persecution. If you ever have the chance to travel to St Marys in Elk County, there are certain peculiarities that reflect the early German traditions.
Baptist and Wilhelm had much in common. They both came from the Western German kingdoms, which were frequently invaded during wars, had religious uprisings, and practiced partition. You can read about this in my John Baptist Bauer:Why Leave Germany article. They were both born in 1819. Forbach in Baden was not very far from Hagen in Hanover. Baptist had to pass through Hanover to get to Emden, the port he left from. Bremen is in Hanover, so Wilhelm didn’t have to travel very far.
Both men definitely needed to save and earn as much money as possible so they could attain their German dream, their own farm land and a home of their own. As part of the partition in the inheritance in Western German countries, many families even had to split their houses between different families. Imagine your house or apartment split right down the middle with your brother or sister or cousin's family living on the other side. There could be twenty or more people shoved into what we would call a small family house today.
They were Roman Catholics. In the 1840s and 1850s Roman Catholics were persecuted in the major cities of the east coast, including Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston. Both men were familiar with this persecution both in America, and the German kingdoms of Baden and Hanover. The Know-Nothing party in the United States was anti Catholic, and were the instigators of most of the riots and vandalism.
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Wilhelm connected with the German Catholic Brotherhood of Philadelphia and Baltimore. I speculate he bought his land from Matthias Benzinger, himself, through his land agent, Ignacious Garner. Matthias Benzinger offered each of the early settlers 25 acres of farmland and one town lot. (I plan to write more about Matthias Benzinger later. He played a small role in each of their lives) Wilhelm bought 100 or more acres of land on Benzinger road for his farm and a town lot on the corner of Church Street and St Markus Street, now called Maurus Street. (Eventually he would own 300 acres of farmland)
In the early days all the streets were named after Catholic saints. The creation of the town lots and farm lots were how the disputes between the pioneers were settled. Instead of a religious commune, Father Alexander and Matthias Benzinger restructured the community so each family was responsible for feeding themselves. When each family had their own property to care for it enabled them to work together.
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Wilhelm was born on October 4, 1819 in Hagen in Hanover. Hanover changed hands many times. It was once even part of the British Empire because of King John of England,also Elector of Hanover. The kingdom was overtaken by Prussia and was again invaded by the Napoleonic forces from France. By the 1930s, his sons and grandsons ran the Gausman brothers’ farm on Benzinger road. They became prosperous on their farm. They had over three hundred acres, filled with all types of produce. They had animals and produced milk and eggs. They sold beef, pork, chicken and other meat products. By that time, not everyone had a farm like in the early days, and the Gausman’s farm was one the few places selling farm fresh food. Wilhelm’s son, Gerhard, was one of the key founders of Summit Grange. They were serious advocates of farmers and small merchants, even major stockholders in the former Farmers and Merchants Bank in St Marys. Wilhelm died on May 9th, 1898 at his house on the corner of Church and Maurus streets. He divided his wealth among his living children. Furthermore, he made a substantial contribution to the St Marys Gerhard had the farm because unlike Heinrich he had a family. Heinrich became a carpenter. Both of these men lived a very long time. Heinrich lived to be one hundred and three, born in 1847 and dying in 1950.
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Everyone played their part. That is how a community works. It is the normal, everyday people who keep a community running. The area was so isolated and there was danger all around, no medical help. In the earliest decades before the railroad arrived, travel was difficult and getting supplies could take weeks. The forest was thick with foliage and animal life.
Even though everyone had their own land, nothing was built or maintained without the help of the other community members. Today we have lost that and as a result we are in a poor state because of it. When a crisis returns, the people you need the most are right there in your own community, so if the opportunity arises for you to make amends or build bridges, I recommend doing so.
If there is problem between yourself and another community, go directly to them. Don’t imclude a third party. When you do, you give others a reason to talk about you in a bad light. If you are looking for a Biblical reason to do it this way, Consult Matthew 5:23-24.
There is one more thing I need to add. There is so much unrest in American society today that you do need to be on your guard. However, you need to either build or strengthen your community so you have a group of allies that will stand by you when attacks are made. Build bridges, don't burn them. I am willing to stand and build a strong community against a chaotic world.
St Marys, right now, is still relatively isolated and we have a great respect for those who practice the Christian faith, whether you are Protestant, Catholic, or Orthodox. I belong to a non-denominational church that embraces the traditions of all Christian faiths. There are isolated places in the United States that offer a home base or a place or refuge for practicing Christians and those of other faiths. Practicing means putting the scriptures and traditions that are central to your faith into the way you live your everyday life. The apostle Paul compared it to an athlete. Why do athletes practice their sport and how does that correlate to your faith?
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The Berwind Park series is next and AI has some opinions about the Flying Dutchmen baseball team. Keep reading, the history of St Mary’s is vast and I have more information than time.
Fascinating history of these two men! My own family immigrated from Germany. Many names in our family tree are redundant, and I always wondered the reason why? My uncle tried to explain to me the peculiarities of the German naming process.
Very interesting stuff here.