• Catherine Furst from Aschaffenburg in Bavaria immigrated circa 1850.
• Julius Lindemann from the duchy of Braunschweig (Brunswick) immigtrated circa 1850
• The Blancks and related families were from Lehe (now part of Bremerhaven) and surrounding villages in Norther Germany. Henry Blanck immigrated to the USA circa 1870
• The Erxmeyers from Walsrode, Honover immigrated in the 1870s.
• Peter Goehle from Worms in Hessen-Darmstadt immigrated in 1873
• Johann Bernard Petermann and Sophie Steuer Petermann from the Duchy of Oldenburg in northern Germany immigrated to the USA circa 1880

Types of houses and furnishings depended on country or town location and on regional variation.

Julius Lindemann, Henry Blanck, the Erxmeyers and the Petermanns were all from the part of Germany known as Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen)

Until the 19th and even into the 20th century German farm houses in Lower Saxony were mostly of the hall variety. One end of the large hall was used as barn with a work floor in the middle and stalls for the animals on the sides. The other end was used as the living quarters for the farmer and his family.

This small house serves as an example of the type of arrangement of the hall house. The photo was taken from the barn end of the dwelling. The pigs are in the stalls to the left of the picture. The woman spinning is just in front of the hearth. The girl is just outside one of the small rooms used as part of the family dwelling. A "dutch" door on the right keeps animals from wandering into that room. The ladder leads to the loft above.

Farming families remained very traditional and the better off farmers simply had larger versions of the same dwellings. Even the local townspeople took their example from the wealthy farmers rather than the city residents.

The open hearth provided a place to cook in addition to light and warmth.

The flames from the hearth are visible to the right of the man in the red shirt. Hams and sausages are hanging from the ceiling. The whole atmosphere is quite smokey.

At the living end of the house there were several small partitioned rooms with windows called "stube". The stube contained a ceramic stove heated from the back of the hearth which allowed a smokeless warmth. The ceilings were low and the small size of the rooms contributed to the coziness. The rooms were sparsely furnished and lighted by oil lamps.

Ceramic stove.

As mentioned above, houses in villages were similar to farm houses. There must have been differences. However, I have not been able to obtain much information on the village houses.

Town houses were multi-storied.

Furnishings were more opulent. Ceramic stoves where also used in town houses but the designs were more fanciful and ornate.

This beautiful tiled kitchen with its many shiny brass pots illustrates the level of difference between the farm house and the city house.