EIF-B_Where We Come From

Where we
COME FROM
Eastern Iowa farmers began settling the land almost two centuries ago.
Today, their descendants are world-class producers. This is the story
of who came and how they got here.
Along the
Mississippi
Early settlers were drawn to
Eastern Iowa by the promise of
abundant land, proximity to the
river and railroads, and a spirit of
entrepreneurship. Whether arriving
from the eastern United States
or from Europe, they toiled
on their farms, erected churches
and established towns. They built
the foundation for who we are
today. Their stories tell the rich
history of where we come from.
BY NANCY MAYFIELD
EASTERN IOWA FARMER
It took 57 harrowing days for Jim Hahn’s great,
great grandparents, Wulff and Gretje Hahn, to
cross the ocean to a new life.
They set out from Hamburg, Germany, with
their 5-month-old daughter and about a dozen
other adventurous families on a wooden sailing vessel
named Henriette. It was April 12, 1847.
In a family history he researched and compiled, Jim
wrote:
“Crying babies, crowded conditions, homesickness
and fear of the unknown weren’t the only problems to
plague the travels. One member had lice, and what bedding
the Hahns brought with them had to be destroyed
or thoroughly disinfected. Finally on their way, they
left Hamburg sailing up the Elbe River and entered the
North Sea.
“For 57 long days and nights, the Henriette sailed the
high seas, sometimes storms tossed, other times, as was
especially true in the Gulf of Mexico, so becalmed that
there was scarcely a ruffle in any sail. Water became
dangerously scarce, and the hot Caribbean sun beat
down mercilessly on the small band of ocean voyagers.”
When they disembarked in New Orleans, the
Mexican-American War was in full swing in Texas,
and the newly arrived German men were approached to
join the war effort.
“They were escaping all that. They had no interest
in fighting or wars,” Hahn said. What they wanted was
a better life, the chance to own land, and the opportunity
to farm that land and provide for their families in
Eastern Iowa. From New Orleans, the travelers took
a riverboat up the Mississippi, settling in Davenport,
eifarmer.com SPRING 2024 | EASTERN IOWA FARMER 45