The Frau Erica Texts
An index of biographies, memoirs, histories, recipes, and oddments The Frau Erica Project has lots of text files — long and short, English and German — all of them linked from the appropriate family pages. That means, however, that some readers might not discover things of interest that are available elsewhere on the site. This index gathers most of those text files, sorts them by genre, and provides links (usually a name). Style point: The Frau Erica archive tries to use birth names for everyone. Authors are listed here by birth name, sometimes with married name appended after a slash. Adelheid Nickel, for example, is alphabetized under ”Mueller/Nickel, Adelheid.” Frau Erica herself, mother of many Muellers, appears under the Rickmeyer name. There are 93 of these text files in the archives. To narrow your search, select: Biography | Memoir | History | Literary Work | Letters | Recipes | Oddments || All Files
Journals and Memoirs
Bigelow, Alida Wood Lyman A Bigelow family memoir with notes on Lymans and Woods
Alida Lyman married “Charlie” — C.H. Bigelow to everyone else — October 5, 1859, in Madison, Ohio. Emma, their eldest child, insisted that her mother write a memoir, so Alida produced this. Alida and Charlie lost all paper records and most other possessions in the Troy, N.Y., fire of 1862. Bigelow McMillan, Molly Opened Doors – Walking Through: My Life and Its Times
Fifteen short chapters on topics ranging from her parents, to childhood, to marriage and children, to ordination and to the years alone after Dick’s death. Bosenbüttel A Visit to Bosenbüttel
In July 2015, the 150th anniversary year of Fritz’s sale of Bosenbüttel and departure for America, Mark Nickel and Allison McMillan drove through Bremerhaven, Dorum, Midlum, and Hamburg and stopped for a serendipitous encounter with the current owners of Bosenbüttel. Chan, Kam Kwai A Fighting Determination to Survive
Kam Kwai Chan, Joyce Leung’s mother, wrote the short article, above, for a newspaper in Chicago’s Chinatown, where the family first settled. An English translation of her original, prepared for the family by Chin Gin Kwei, follows here. Crawley, Daniel A grandson interviews Nana
As a high school freshman, Dan Crawley was assigned to interview a family member and prepare an essay. He decided on Nana almost immediately. de Haas, Carl <em>Winke für Auswanderer</em>
Carl de Haas, great- and great-great-grandfather to the McMillans of White Bear Lake, arrived on the Wisconsin frontier in 1847. <em>Winke für Auswanderer,</em> his booklet of advice for people considering emigration, was widely available in Germany. Knief, Ludwig The Autobiography of Pastor Ludwig Ernst Knief
An eight-chapter <em>Lebenslauf</em>, of immigration, Muellers, and Missouri Synod — in German with English translation. McKibbin, Kevin Obituary: Kevin McKibbin
Kevin grew up sharing his mother’s love of the Southwest. He became a ranger with the National Park Service and served for nearly 25 years. Mueller, Ernie and Charlotte Healthy and very happy in Eagle Lake
A long reminiscence of life in Freedom Township, Minnesota Mueller, Ernst and Helen (Opa and Oma) Life in the Bakerhouse, 1911 – 1948
Six short reminiscences by Adelheid Mueller Nickel of life in Freedom Township, including WWI, the 1918 influenza, winters, food. Mueller, Friedrich (Fritz) Fritz Mueller’s Journal of the Voyage to America
An extensive seven-chapter emigration memoir, written mostly aboard ship and completed after a train trip to a new home in Indiana. The Muellers arrived in New York about six months after Lee surrendered at Appomattox. Mueller, Gerhard A Road Trip Through Gerhard Country
Between leaving the Kansas City Star and signing in at Brown University, the archivist had time for a car trip through northern Minnesota — Tenstrike, Lake George, Frazee, Height of Land, Park Rapids, Bemidji — interviewing people who knew Gerhard and picking up bits and pieces of the historical record. Handwritten notes from that trip surfaced nearly 40 years later and are transcribed here. Mueller, Gerhard “Immer eine Freude in Height of Land zu predigen”
Gerhard Mueller’s last Christmas letter to the California aunts, written December 20, 1969, and transcribed by his sister Frieda. Mueller/Feiertag, Frieda Tante Fieks: Bright and Dark Days
A biographical essay by Frieda Katharine Magdalena Caroline Mueller Feiertag (a.k.a., Tante Fieks), Opa Mueller’s sister. Mueller/Nickel, Adelheid A visit from Mutter Grube
There were no lights on the Minnesota prairie in 1910. Moonless nights could be scary. Adelheid Mueller Nickel recounts one frightening night visit when she was about four years old. Mueller/Nickel, Adelheid Life in Kendallville
A number of small anecdotes Adelheid had heard from her father growing up. Nickel, Joel Reflections on 40 Years of Ministry
In August 2005, Joel wrote the following reminiscence of his years in ministry, anticipating his retirement on January 15, 2006. Nickel, Joel The Chicago Memoirs: Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, 1967-1972
A six-part memoir of a turbulent time in the world, the nation, and the city of Chicago. Scarritt/McKibbin, Dorothy Visiting Dorothy McKibbin
Anne McMillan, Dorothy McKibbin’s grand-niece, grew up in St. Paul and attended Pomona College in Claremont, California. Traveling to Pomona by car brought her within reach of Santa Fe; she visited Dorothy three times. Waldschmidt, Henry Henry (Poppy) Waldschmidt writes his history
Like the Muellers, the Waldschmidts emigrated to the American Midwest shortly after the Civil War, motivated partly by the threat of military conscription. Henry’s essay contains family history and a bit about his own childhood, up to his first meeting with Anna Wolter. Wolter/Waldschmidt, Anna Anna Wolter writes her history
Anna Wolter – “Dear” to Henry’s “Poppy” — wrote this-two part family history. In 1900, when she first noticed Henry, she understood his name to be “Jake.” | 
