Now this is the way I spent my time until I had passed my 19th year of age, working on my fathers farm and taking all pleasures of the village. I had not seen the world yet, (of what I had read a great deal) and the only cities I seen so far were only those little cities of Frankenberg County (or Kreis) of which Frankenberg is the most important, and she has only 4000 inhabitants.

The law of the Country provides that at the age of twenty years, every young man has to appear on a certain day for examination, and when found able bodied and tall enough, he will be enrolled in the Army to serve three years as a soldier. Now the time was approaching for me so I reminded my parents on their promise to let me go to America, which desire I got already when I went to Frankenberg in school. There I learned of America so much that I selected that country as my future home, only my parents said that boys should not emigrate, its too dangerous! You first must be somewhat of a man. They finally consented, but not very easy, as they remembered very plain the going of my brother Christopher.

And now I prepare myself to emigrate, and on the 26th of April 1857 on a Sunday morning, in company with three other lads, I left my native home.

Up to this time I had not paid much attention to the world in general, I was like most young folks who studied when I had to, done the work that I was told, and lived up for whatever pleasure life offered to me. There was a war broke out in Prussia at the city of Sebastopal in the year 1854 between Russia on one side and Turkey with the Seaport of France and England on the other side [Seaport = sea powers - ed.?].

I read about that in the papers but took little interest in it, so what did I care for such warfare or what the world done, or why? At home was peace and harmony all around and the son shown bright everywhere, and my little home village was in fact a paradise.

The people there were not wealthy by any means but they all lived happy, as it looked to me, and the hill country around the village gave me any amount of sport, so why should I leave from here?

Now I will tell you the exact reason. My father had only one farm of 66 acres of land and that he intended to give to my brother John, and he was to keep our parents for as long as they would live in all necessaries of life. And he had to give the rest of us children 200 Thaler and an outfit of some stock and chattel, which was mentioned in an agreement between my parents and my brother John. So now my pleasant time would have to come to a crisis.

Next winter the Prince of Hessia would have taken me into his Army for three years, and why should I have to serve three years for him! At the end of which, most likely I would have to make a change somehow! So with youthful resolution I intended to go to the country that was a Republick and had more land than people.

And with great prospect in my mind, made the change at once.