The following came from an e-mail from Barbara Kessler of Illinois.  You can e-mail her at kessler@dave-world.net
Her great-grandmother was Franziska Heil

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The following letters were written in German by my great grandmother who came to America in 1881 to live with relative in Marathon, WI.  Her sister Rose, in Mittelkalbach, Germany, saved the letters.  In 1982, Rose's granddaughter found the letters, translated them into English and sent copies to Franziska's granddaughter in Wausau, WI who send a copy of the translation to me.

Franziska Heil (1861-1948) wrote the following letter shortly before her marriage to Herman Anton Seliger on August 30, 1882.


Dearest Father and brothers and sisters! Praised be Jesus Christ!

I take the pen to write you, dear father and brothers and sisters, because we had no time, otherwise I would have written long ago, and help carry the cross of our brother.  He wrote to me twice and I have answered him to come to me, but someone told him that in St. Louis, it was better.  And it is the worst, say my father-in-law and my husband, because they have been there for twenty-four years and they know it.  

He is still not here and it is going to take a long while until he comes to us.  And Klemens, why doesn't he want to come to the United States?  He does not have to worry, when someone is here like Friedolin and Klemens, they can work and buy a piece of land in a short.  They are still young and don't have to work so hard.  We sleep during the biggest work period until six of six-thirty in the morning and in the evening we go to bed at eight or eight-thirty.  It is not like Mittelkalbach where one has to be up at two a.m. in the morning and finally goes to bed at eleven in the evening.  So, dear brother, in American it is quite different than in Germany.  Dearest Father, the cows are just like the ones at home, the harvest is now over.  We have threshed 142 bushels of wheat, 475 bushels of oats, 52 bushels of peas.  The bushel is as much as 1 1/2 maas (a German measure).  We harvested the grain with the cradle, that is something similar to your Habergestell (a smaller cradle used for harvesting oats in Germany), and with that we harvested rye, wheat, eats, everything.  The days are the same here as with you, when we have spring, you have it too.  It is the same with the other seasons.  The days are long in the summer and short in the winter.  When you have evening, we have midday, there is a difference of seven hours which we are later than you.  So I wish you a happy harvest and much health and I wish I could press you to my heart again.  I think of you every day and hope that my father is still healthy.  My husband always says I wish I knew my father-in-law and if you want to, please have a picture taken and send it to us, because my husband would like to see you, and my heart desires to be with you.  I will end this letter and remain with my best greeting.  

							Your loving daughter and sister,

							Franziska Heil

October 15, 1882

Dear Father,

I am married since August 30th and wanted to write to you every day.  One time there is no paper; one time there is no time.  Therefore, please don't be angry with me.  My wedding dress cost 56 Mark or 14 dollar and my wedding wreath 7 Mark or one dollar and seventy-five cents.  My bride's ring also 7 Mark and a white veil was 2 Mark or 1/2 dollar.  I have more than 250 Mark worth of clothing already.  I will close my letter.  My husband, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law all greet you. 

I remain your daughter,

							Franziska Seliger



From a letter written in 1937

Dear Sister,

...I have raised ten children and now I am living with my daughter, there I have it good.  Is has been thirteen years since my husband went into eternity.  How long will it be before we have to go the same way?....