The Flying Dutchman

 ”Actor and Singer Carl Gunther in the Role of the Flying Hollander,“ Lithograph 1843, from the collection of The Museum of the History of Riga and Navigation, Riga Latvia

Our ancestor, Johann Karl Ludwig Maddaus, arrived in Riga in 1840 at the age of 20 and established a 38 year career of teaching art and drafting and producing various portraits and other works of art.  One of his earliest works was the lithograph of Carl Gunther in the role of The Flying Dutchman in the Wagner opera of the same name.

Wagner himself had moved to Riga (then part of the Russian Empire) in 1837 amidst serious financial and romantic difficulties.  Although reunited with his love Minna, his troubles continued in Riga and they departed for London in 1839 to avoid creditors.   As the story goes, the sea voyage to London served as inspiration for Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman).   Whether this is true was cast in doubt when Wagner acknowledged he had taken the story from a Heinrich Henne work.  The work is regarded as the beginning of the mature canon of the composer.

Wagner premiered the opera in Dresden,  in January 1843 and later that same year, Johann Karl Ludwig Maddaus completed the lithograph  to coincide with a Riga performance.   Maddaus and Wagner shared a connection in that they both came to Riga after some time in Magdeburg and indeed, Maddaus's move to Riga followed Wagner and many others.

Our family connection with the opera was continued with the naming of Johann's granddaughter Senta, after the herione of the opera.  

Jānis Rātminders

Jānis Rātminders—Teacher, Poet, Translator

(December 8, 1812—October 8, 1880)

My friends, if these songs of mine

Should meet with your approval,

Then I’ll dare to go on singing,

And tell more of Juris:

What a man he’s become

And what good he’s done.

Then I’ll write down a second chapter,

Which will be superior to this.

In my spare time I’ll happily seek

To gather more verses and sing even better.

This my mind is set on night and day,

To give my brothers what they need.

God, let me experience

From my countrymen this joy:

That, both near and far,

Their liking for book-reading should increase.

Then the people’s ignorance will end,

And whoever writes will rejoice.

                       

Stāstu dziemas  (Story Songs)

Riga, 1850

For Janis Ratminders, there was no greater joy than sharing his faith in God and love of learning with his fellow Latvians and his poetry exuded both of those qualities.   But he was the product of three worlds and his daughter Augusta—our great grandmother—would depart for yet another when she left her family for a new life in America.

Janis was brought up on the Zeikari farmstead just north of the village of Vecpiebalga, some 130 kilometers east of Riga.  The farmstead sits on the windward side of a knoll that is the height of land to the west of Alauksts Lake.  A short walk on the driveway down to the main road (P30) from Vecpiebalga to Cesis to the north, affords a panoramic view of the lake with the iconic white birch rimming its shore.   To the west, the rivelet which becomes the Gauja River—the longest entirely in Latvia—winds through the fields from its source in Kaive, then north and east and again north and finally west on its meandering route to the Baltic Sea. 

The 19^th century Latvian landscape Janis was born into was not yet Latvia, but a part of the Russian Empire since the end of the Northern War which relinquished Swedish control of the eastern Baltic littoral in the 1720s.  And yet the countryside was populated by Latvians and Germans.   As the Latvian novelist Matiss Kaudzites once noted, in these days the terms Latvian and German were equivalent to peasant and landowner, as the dominance of the latter established centuries before continued through the 19^th century.   At times the German presence was oppressive, but the influence of Swedish kings and Moravian brethren, along with the German Lutheran church, resulted in an increase in the literacy rate among Latvians.  Literacy and refined culture were the domains of Germans and most education was conducted in German.

Janis Ratminders (Johann Rathminder in the German-language church records) was the third of four sons of Andzs and Marie Rathminder to reach adulthood—one sister did as well—and the second so named after an older sibling who died in infancy.   The family lost  2 infant daughters, as well.   Janis and Andzs were popular names in the Vidzeme countryside—Janis’s paternal grandfather was also Janis and his oldest brother was Andzs.   Though he was influenced by all his family, it was his brother Andzs who has the most lasting and profound impact on his life.  Andzs, 7 years older than Janis, was intelligent and multi-talented and when a teaching position became available at the local parish school, Andzs was chosen at the age of 18.  He would become a legend in Latvian education as he continued in the role for 63 years, one the longest and far-reaching in history.  So it would be Andzs who would teach his younger brother Janis and mentor him in his own teaching career for years to come.

After completing his training under his brother’s tutelage, Janis sought further experience in Riga, the commercial and cultural center of the eastern Baltic region.  Before long he secured a position teaching in the manor of Sasumuižā (Zasulauks) on the Pardaugava area of Riga across the Daugava River from the city center.  By 1837, he secured a position at the St. John’s parish in the old city, and he would continue there until the year of his death—over 42 years.  Longevity was but one of his accomplishments as he took a prominent role in the literary movement in the Latvian language and what became known as the "National Awakening,” which brought Latvian language, culture and literature onto firm footing alongside German and Russian influences.  To say Janis was a member of the Latvian intelligentsia of the mid-19^th century would be accurate, but fall short of describing his overall contribution to the national movement.

His literary connections most certainly were enhanced by his association with Pastor Hermans Treijs, the St. John’s parish leader, who himself was a prolific writer.  Treijs had began in 1832 to publish a weekly newspaper "Tas Latviesu Lauzu Draugs” (Friend of the Latvian People) and continued its publication to at least 1846.  Once Janis began work in the parish school, he also became a regular contributor to the publication with stories and poetry written under his own byline and with pseudonyms of JR and 49.  Examples of his work dating back to 1840 are on file in the National Library of Latvia, including “Good work, bad salary” and “Christmas message to students” in 1842, collaborations with Ansis Leitans on “Songs for Ludwig Schulz” and Pastor Hermans Treijs's “Christmas Greetings” in 1844 and “Poems for Karl Hieronymus Schirren” in 1847.   This collaboration would represent the beginning of a life-long friendship with Leitans which would further his writing career.

A collection of his pieces written for “Tas Latviesu Lauzu Draugs,”  including “Pretzels from Father” and “Grandfather’s Life,” became the basis for his publication in 1850 of “Stāstu dziesmas”(Story Songs), a book of poetic stories centered on a young Latvian lad named Juris.   The stories take the form of parables which emphasize the virtues of hard work, education and faith, leading to an honorable life. While some historians mark the date of the first Latvian-language publication of poetry by a Latvian as that of Juris Alunans’ “Dziesminas” (Poetry) in 1856 but Janis was clearly 6 years ahead of Alunans.  Between 1850 and 1870 the percentage of such publications in the region went from single digits to 50 percent as the new generation of educated Latvians followed the lead of Ratminders and Alunans.   A biography of Janis Ratminders after his death by J. R. Kalniuks suggests that “Stāstu dziesmas” was widely read and admired, though it has been largely forgotten today.

The publication of Alunans’ work and the establishment of the Latvian language newspaper “Mājas Viesis” (The House-Guest) by Janis Ratminders’ good friend and collaborator Ansis Leitans in 1856 marked the beginning of the first Latvian National Awakening which extended into the 1880s.  Janis was a significant contributor to Mājas Viesis, along with fellow teachers Juris Caunitis, Mikelis Ciritis and Janis Katkins. Mājas Viesis was authorized by the new Tsar of Russia, Alexander II and became the first Latvian newspaper founded by Latvians and edited by Latvians.  It evoked a sense of pride and excitement in the Latvian identity.

Soon after the founding of Mājas Viesis, a succeeding generation of “New Latvians” came on the scene, having all been educated at Dorpat (Tartu) University and given the opportunity to publish their writings in the new weekly paper.  Now legendary figures such as Krisjanis Valdemars, Juris Alunans, Krisjanis Barons and Atis Kronwalds met regularly to discuss political, cultural and literary issues that were of interest to ethnic Latvians.  This group was a reflection of an earlier regular gathering of intelligentsia including Janis Ratminders, Ansis Leitans and others, often at Janis’s home, in the late 1830s and into the 1840s.  While this early group met often, its progress was blunted by Tsar Nicholas I who felt threatened by a number of national movements in the Empire and directed local representatives to limit its meetings.   Over the long term these intrepid Latvians influenced the next wave of the national movement. 

The name Latvia (Latvija) became commonly used by 1862 and in the late 1860s the seeds of a new organization which became known as the Riga Latvian Association were sown.  Janis, though not as active as in his younger days, was involved in the formation of this organization and wrote lyrics for a song, "Kas mūsu spēks, / Kas mūsu pūles" (In our power, In our efforts), with music by Juliujs Purats, which was dedicated to the Association at its founding in 1868.  By 1873, with the first National Song Festival, the Association was a well established body in support of Latvian Nationalism.

In September 1846, Janis married Maria Louise Jacobsohn, daughter of Adam and Maria Magdalena Jacobsohn who were long-time members of the St. John’s parish.  Janis and Maria had 10 children over a period of 16 years.  Our great, grandmother Augusta Dorothea Rathminder was the third and was named for a descendent of Gotthard Friedrich Stender, an 18^th century Latvian grammarian and lexicographer.  Although Janis was active among Latvian language intellectuals, he also shared the trait of many of those, in that he was immersed in German language and culture of the day as well.  Augusta was more influenced by the German side of the house, as evidenced by her love of German romance novels, chiefly among them “Ingo” by Gustav Freytag, the source of our grandfather’s given name as well as that of his sister Freida.  To his death my father always referred to her as his ‘German’ grandmother.

Janis kept in close contact with his brother Andzs until his death in 1880.  An interesting anecdote surrounding their relationship revolved around the hiring of the great Latvian nationalist orator Atis Kronwalds as a teacher in Vecpiebalga.  Andzs knew of Kronvalds stature in the national movement, but wanted to be assured that this great young voice of Latvia was a well-rounded individual, versed in history, philosophy, the arts and religion, so he consulted with his best resource in Riga, his brother Janis.  On Janis’s recommendation Kronvalds was hired and served in the Vecpiebalga parish school until his untimely death at the relatively young age of 37 in 1875.

Janis retired to new home on Slokas iela (Woodcock Street) in Agenkalns area, not far from Zasulauks manor where he first worked on his arrival in Riga.  He is buried in the Martina Cemetary across the street from his home.  He never returned to live in Vecpiebalga, and some speculation surrounds the possibility that his heart was broken by a childhood sweetheart.  Still he expressed his fondness for home in one of his best-known poems,  Rītu nebūšu vairs mājās  (Tomorrow, I’ll Be Home No Longer):

Tomorrow I’ll be home no longer

The moment of parting is near.

My legs already walk the path

My thoughts remain right here.

Climbing the hill over yonder

I’ll gaze back into the dale.

I’ll look down upon the place

Where my joy once set sail.

Then with my heart saddened

I’ll continue to walk the line.

My beloved, though not beside me,

I’ll hold forever in my mind.

But when the cold winter ends

A wondrous spring will be revived.

Then I can go forth again

And my legs will gladly oblige.

Then I’ll happily return

To where love sings its song.

I’ll begin a joyous new life,

And my sorrows will be gone.

And then on Midsummer’s Eve

I’ll adorn your door with birch leaves.

I’ll pick flowers for you, my beloved

Through all the hills and valleys.

Jāņi and Other Reasons to Celebrate Latvia

Beth and I recently enjoyed a two week vacation in Latvia, Estonia and Finland last month, featuring some entirely new experiences for both of us including celebration of Jani deina, the Latvian midsummer festival. Learning the traditions of my ancestors was fascinating and fun.

Our trip was highlighted by a number of occasions to spend time with my Latvian relatives, many whom I had never met. While Estonia and Finland were great fun and worthy of return visits, the Latvian stage of our trip was transformational.

This was my 5th trip to Latvia over a six year period (Beth's second) and continued my research of our ancestors, Oscar Wilhelm Maddaus and Augusta Dorothea Rathminder Maddaus, who emigrated from Riga in 1883 and settled in Brooklyn, NY. The research has uncovered some of the extensive portfolio of art produced by Oscar Wilhelm's father, Johann Karl Ludwig Maddaus--11 works are extant that I have been able to document. His paintings and lithographs are held in 4 art museums, three in Latvia and one in Estonia, and serve as alter-pieces in 4 Lutheran churches. While not considered an important 18th-century artist, even by Latvian standards, his work is well-represented.

More complex, and no less extensive, have been the results of the research on Augusta's family. Born to a Latvian father and German mother, Augusta's family name is Rathminder in German, Ratminders in Latvian. Her father, Janis Ratminders, grew up in Zeikari, a hamlet overlooking Alauksts Lake in Vecpiebalga, in the Vidzeme highlands. For some unknown reason, Augusta mis-identified her father as Andzs Ratminders (Janis' brother) and only within the past three years have I been able to discover his true identity. But then, as they say, the fun began, as layer upon layer of Ratminders history and ancestry unfolded. Not only was Janis an interesting figure in his own right--teacher, poet, translator, journalist--his family included some fascinating individuals.

Andzs, his brother, was headmaster for 63 years at the school in Vecpiebalga and taught or hired a number of significant Latvians over the term of his duty.

Lize, his neice, had many suitors, including Andrejs Pumpers, the author of the epic Latvian poem, Lacplesis (The Bearslayer). Eventually, in her 40s, she married Matiss Kaudzites, co-author of the first Latvian language novel, Mernieku Laiki (Time of the Land Surveyors), still a classic. Matiss and his brother Reinis, fashioned characters from those in their community, most notably the heroine, Liene, based on Lize.

Other members of the Ratminders family left another legacy, the resilience to survive the World Wars and foreign occupations in the 20th century which ravaged Latvia until it's 2nd and current period of independence, beginning in 1991. Notably, it is the progeny of Jekabs Ratminders who survive today. The Ratminders name is history--the descendants are Ozola, Avens, Zarina, Snips and Neimane--and over the past year I've been introduced to many of these 4th and 5th cousins through the serendipitious acquaintance with a Latvian school teacher named Mirdza Zommere.

Not only has Mirdza introduced me to her school in Vecpiebalga, but she introduced me to her long-time friend, Anda, a descendant of Jekabs Ratminders and my 4th cousin, and since the first introduction many more. The history of my ancestry and the knowledge of Latvian traditions have enriched my life, but learning of the existence of and getting to know Ratminders relatives has been an unexpected, and treasured experience.

Apkārt Alaukstam

First held in 1984, the Apkārt Alaukstam (around Alaukst) is a 15 kilometer ski race circling Alaukst Lake in the central Vidzeme parish of Vecpiebalga. It has grown to one of Latvia's biggest races with nearly 1,200 skiers participating in 2010.


Unfortunately, I was 10 days or so late to ski in the race, but not too late to ski the loop. Prior to my visit to Vecpiebalga, I indicated a desire to ski while I was there and my contact at the school made the arrangements. Maris, the physical education teacher, was enlisted to take me out skiing and we hit the trail within a couple hours of my arrival. He seemed delighted as a matter of fact but, the more I thought about it, I would gladly give up my afternoon duties to go for a ski, too.


We circled the lake from the south end in a counter-clockwise direction with Ilgars, Maris's friend leading the way. They quickly established their superior conditioning (considering the great snow conditions they had all winter and the marginal skiing in Maine, I was happy to concede) and after learning I was 10 years older, they gave me alot of slack. We met year 10 student Matiss about a kilometer out and he stayed with me most of the rest of the loop. I took it as a sign of respect that he escorted me around, but found later that he had done 2 laps the day before!

The terrain undulated gently through most of the first 12k but just past an area I later found was my ancestral home (Zeikari), a formible hill rose up before us. Ilgars, Maris, and Matiss skied, seemingly effortless, up the long climb, while I dragged along to the rear, but they waited at the top to share the sweeping downhill toward the finish.







Later, after a shower and a hot cup of tea with honey, I slept soundly, waking the next day with slight soreness in my legs and shoulders, and well adjusted to the new time zone.

Latvia--August 2009

Our trip to Latvia last summer is now 3 months into history and so far I've intended, but not followed through with, posting blog entries to document it. I have the picture above set as background on my laptop desktop as a reminder. It was taken from the observation tower of St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Old Riga, looking north toward the mouth of the Daugava River in the Baltic Sea.



The week-long stay was my second to Latvia (my first was in 2005) and Beth's first and once again I was determined to search for more details of my ancestors' lives there in the 19th century. In 2005, the search concentrated on my Great Great Grandfather Johann Karl Ludwig Maddaus, an artist and art teacher in Riga. I was also looking for a connection to Andzs Rathminder of Vecpiebalga, presumed to be my Great Grandmother's father, but nothing could document their relationship.



Fortunately, in spite of Russification, two World Wars, German repatriation, the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact between Stalin and Hitler, Nazi Invasion and near 50 year Soviet occupation, Latvia has been independent. Even more miraculously, a fair amount of historical information is available and my ancestors had profiles that warranted modest recording.



A recent breakthrough was the internet access to Raduraksti which consists of digitized records from many of the churches that were active in Latvia in the 19th century. Thanks to some hunches I followed in my search, I was able to find my Great Grandmother's baptism record and her parents names: Johann and Marie Rathminder. Johann's name in Latvian is Janis Ratminders, and he was the younger brother of Andzs Ratminders. Why my Great Grandmother mis-represented her parentage is unknown, but the clarification has opened up new insights to her up-bringing.



Our visit included viewing 9 of Johann Maddaus's paintings in a variety of locations including The National Art Museum in Riga, an exhibit at Rundale Palace, and churches in Garkalnes and Tirza, and a church in neighboring Paistu Estonia. We were taken to the site of Johann's burial plot at the Great Cemetery (Lielie Kapi) in Riga and to another church in Carnikava that once had an altar painting he painted. Both were obliterated during Soviet times, but were among those restoration projects which have been prevalent in Latvia over the past 18 years.



We visited Bauska, Baltezer's, Garkalnes, Carnikava, Vecpiebalga, Gaizinkalns, and Tirza, and met some of the most wonderful people, many of whom I had contacted by email prior to our arrival. We were treated with tremendous hospitality everywhere we went, and at times felt that it was as deeply moving for our hosts to have a great-great grandson of Johann Maddaus to visit his work as it was for me to see it. In many ways the circle had been closed with our meeting.

The Artist

A month after returning from a much needed vacation in Latvia (and Sweden), I 'm still processing the new information uncovered regarding my paternal ancestors who lived in Latvia in the 19th century. The search began at my older brother John's initiative in the early 1990's, in interviewing our father Ingo and documenting as much family history as possible in preparation for a Maddaus family reunion in 1995.

I'd always been interested in the connection with Latvia, since the word Riga rolled off Aunt Frieda's tongue during a family vacation she shared with us in Wells Beach, Maine in the early 60s. Technically a great aunt, she was born there in 1881, as were 5 of her 6 siblings. Riga was part of the Russian Empire at the time and the family patriarch, Johann Karl Ludwig Maddaus, had been one of a number of Germans who settled there. Born in Hamburg, he was an art teacher and artist, specializing in portraits and religious art.

Brother John discovered, with the help of University Southern Maine Professor Juris Ubans, that 2 of Johann Maddaus's paintings were in the collection of the Latvian National Museum of Art, including a self-portrait. The latter is the only image we have of our great great grandfather, but to date it's one of 9 paintings I've had the opportunity to see in Latvia and Estonia during my travels there in 2005 and 2009.

The breakup of the Soviet Union and end of its occupation of Latvia, as well as the advent of the internet, has led to the web publication of a tremendous store of Latvian history in the past 15 years. I've been able to identify members of Johann's family in addition to our Great Grandfather Oscar Wilhelm Maddaus (who emigrated to the US in the latter part of the 19th century) and locate the family burial site in Lielie Kapi (The Great Cemetery) in Riga.

Another revelation was the identity of Oscar's in-laws, the family of Augusta Dorothea Rathminder, the details of whom had been lost sometime after their move to the USA.

There's quite a bit of research to digest, but I'm hoping to record more of it here and in a family history at some future date.

The Crossing

The only heirloom that remains to document my father’s paternal grandmother is a Lincoln rocker which sits in our living room. Dad gave it to me shortly after my first marriage. I don’t remember whether I asked for it or he offered it but the conversation certainly began with his recollection of his two grandmothers, both named Augusta. “I had the best grandmothers,” he recalled with great affection. Augusta Dorothea, his German grandmother, was the owner of the rocker, and a profound influence on her grandson in spite of her limited English and his limited German.

The rocker is an un-upholstered version of the chair Lincoln popularized during his Presidency and which flourished in the 1860s and 1870s. Rocking chairs were especially popular in the latter part of the 19th century in America and this caned model was Augusta’s favorite point of repose. Mahogany-colored and lacking the decorative arm-loops or engraved headboards, Augusta’s was utilitarian, if not ornate.

This heirloom, an artifact really, is the only one that documents the long and satisfying life of Augusta Dorothea Rathminder Maddaus. That we have so little to remember her by seems, in itself, incongruous. Dad loved to talk about her, to the exclusion of his parents and most other relatives. He had an abiding reverence for her and the life she led. His passing three years ago erased the memory, and we’re left with the chair, two photos and a few details that enable us to reconstruct her life.

Augusta was born in Riga, the capital of the modern-day Baltic Republic of Latvia, on September 12, 1850. Riga was part of the Russian Empire at the time of her birth, ruled by Tsar Nicholas I and later Tsar Alexander II, during the time of the Latvian national movement. Augusta’s Riga, though ruled by Russia and inhabited by Latvians, was an enclave of German merchants and she spoke German all her life and immersed herself in German culture. Her selection of names of two of her children, Ingo and Freida, trace directly to her love of the historical romance novels of Gustav Freytag.

Augusta’s parentage remains somewhat of a mystery. In a short manuscript written in Latvian, it is suggested her father was Andzs Rathminder, who for over 60 years was teacher in the Latvian village of Vecpiebalga, 100 kilometers east of Riga. A school teacher of high regard, longevity and influence in Latvian culture, Andzs is included in the Latvian Encyclopedia, published by Arveds Svabe in the 1950s. In the Kaudzitis museum in the rolling hills above Vecpiebalga, dedicated to the writers of the first Latvian-language novel in the mid-19th century, Rathminder is revered as a teacher of the Brothers Kaudzitis, and father of Lize Rathmindere Kaudzitis, wife of Matiss. Records there indicate 4 Rathminder daughters, but none with the name of Augusta. Could she be the daughter of Andzs’s brother Janis, who was a poet and teacher in Riga most of his life, or at the very least the granddaughter of Andzs Rathminder, (father of the revered schoolteacher) or the adopted daughter of Andzs himself? Her birthplace in Riga and German tongue cast doubt on her parentage.

It is known that she left Riga in the mid-1870s and traveled to New York City (more specifically Brooklyn) to marry Oscar Wilhelm Maddaus, the son of respected Riga portrait artist and art teacher Johann Karl Ludwig Maddaus. Oscar's emigration to the US preceeded Augusta by a number of years and his marriage to her was his second. His first wife Margaret, and three children Adelaide, Clara and Oscar were apparently victims of an influenza epidemic late in 1872 into 1873. All four were interred in the Green Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn in August of 1873, in what would become the family plot.

Documentation of Augusta’s initial arrival in America is not extant but it is clear she traveled from Riga with the express intent to marry Oscar, and by May of 1877 their first of seven children, Elsa, was born. Oscar worked at the time as a woodcut artist and had contracts with a number of companies including The India Rubber Comb Company in College Point NY and Remington Sewing Machine Company and Reed & Barton Flatware Company. In fact, his work for Reed & Barton may have been pivotal, as their discontent with his turn-around times and his lack of ability to produce human figures for work on their 1877 catolog, suggests a difficult period for his business. Whether it was his work or his father’s health (Johann retired his teaching position in July 1877) or both, they returned to Riga and by May of 1878 their second child and first son Oscar was born in Riga. Oscar W. was in Riga on his father’s death on August 1, 1878.

Four children followed, Ingo, Freida, Senta and Harold, nearly one a year through 1883 and, while is unclear as to when, Oscar returned to his work in Brooklyn ahead of his family. What followed had to be at once, a typical event in terms of trans-Atlantic immigration, and yet a heroic effort on the part of Augusta Dorothea Rathminder Maddaus.

Armed with a US Entry Visa in her name, dated October 22/Nov 3, 1882 and executed in the Russian capital of St. Petersburg, and with her six children’s names and birthdates listed (Harold added after his birth in 1883), Augusta traveled with her children and no other family members via Hamburg Germany and Le Harve France to New York City. All are included in the passenger list of the steamship Lessing, of the Hamburg-America Line. Built in 1874, the Lessing made frequent trips between New York and Hamburg from 1875 to 1888.

On October 16, 1883, Augusta arrived with her 6 children, infant to age 6, at Castle Garden at The Battery, the very southern tip of Manhattan, the receiving point for over 10 million immigrants between 1830 and the opening of Ellis Island in 1892. Her determination and fortitude in crossing the Atlantic with 6 children in tow is a testament to the reverence our family holds for her. She settled in Brooklyn, surrounded by her family whom she lived with through Oscar’s death in 1896 and until her own passing in 1937.

Augusta’s Lincoln Rocker will forever memorialize her crossing and one family’s foothold in America.