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Helmstedt, April 24, 1850
Highly Esteemed Uncle,
God's greetings to you, my dear aunt and my dear two cousins!
This letter will come to you quite unexpectedly. Of course, I do not know whether God has still preserved all of you in this life. I would have written a long time ago but never had the right address. Finally, I happened to obtain it. Now I will take the liberty of writing to you.
I am my father's oldest son. I have three sons myself who are still young. I married late. I was already 31 years old and my wife 30 years. Our two oldest sons died. If they had lived I would have help. I have purchased my father's house and his blacksmith shop, but no fields. My father bought the place in 1809 for 700 (Crowns?). I had to give him 1,000 for it. My mother lived with me at the time. Then my father bought the blacksmith shop in Gifhorn (?) in February of 1837 ..(?). In July of 1837 my father moved in with my third brother and my sister and lived with them until 1846. In July of 1846 my father conveyed the house and the shop and the land to my third brother, Ludwig.
My youngest brother, Heinrich, died on October 31, 1846 from "nerve fever" (?). He had hoped to emigrate to America. Providence decided otherwise and his young life ended early. The dear Lord knows best. He had been apprenticed to a merchant but was not successful at it. So he learned to be a blacksmith. All four sons became blacksmiths. My second brother Heinrich Ruediger is an assistant to a blacksmith as he was unable to become a Master. He and his wife do not have children and his wife did not have a dowry. She is very hardworking, does the laundry for a noble family. ...? ...? ..? ..inclined to emigrate to America. My dear Uncle, if you feel like writing us, do us a favor, me and my brother. Tell us your honest opinion whether this is a good idea and what the cost of the journey might be. I pray you sincerely to write me everything in detail. How is everything there? Where do you live? What is your business? I have heard that you have two sons. What are their names and what line of work are they in? My brother Ruediger and my sister Lona live where I live. The latter has a master painter for a husband, they have two daughters and are well off. Ludwig in Gifhorn is the most prosperous of us children. He has several pieces of land and money. He has 5 daughters and 2 sons. My sister, Christine, lives in Gifhorn. She has only 1 son, Karl, 22 years old. She does not own anything either.
My dear uncle, I do not know whether my brother Ludwig ..?.. has written to you. I think he did. If he did not then it is my duty to advise you that my father died on December 11, 1849 at half past 11 o'clock . He was buried on the 14 th in the afternoon. He had made a will leaving everything to Ludwig. He is in charge of everything. He can give to his brothers and sisters whatever he wants. My two sisters and my brother, Christian, are very dissatisfied with my father's will. They feel they should at least get what was left by mother, but Ludwig does not want to give anybody anything. I have talked with my brother Ludwig and asked him to settle amicably with his brothers and sisters, but he refused. Now, let happen what may. If I were in his position, I surely would stay on good terms with my siblings. .? ..?
My dear Uncle, aunt and cousins, I conclude this letter in the hope that my letter finds you in good health. I wish this with all my heart. Many thousand greetings from me and all my family and from my brothers and sisters. I sincerely hope for your kind answer.
Your loving nephew
Carl Friedrich August Scheele
Auguste Dorothea Scheele, nee Lehrman
- My father Johann Fredrich was born October 21, 1772
- My uncle, in Altona, Jacob, was born October 6, 1777
- They had a sister, who died a long time ago. I don't know her name
- You, dear uncle, August Daniel, were born March 20, 1780
- I was born March 16, 1799
- My oldest son, Ludwig Friedrich Karl August was born December 26, 1835
- My second son, Friedrich Wilhelm Emil Eduard was born June 25, 1838
- My youngest son, Friedrich Wilhelm August was born April 29, 1841
- My wife was born January 21, 1800
Dear uncle and aunt, this letter was written by our oldest son, Carl. He is 14 years of age. I hope you and your dear family will live long and happily,
Dorothea Scheele
NOTES:
In 1998, Carolyn Scheele Fakadej received from Mary Lee Dante a copy of this letter from Carl Friedrich August Scheele to his uncle with heading Helmstedt and dated April 24, 1850. Accompanying the letter, written in beautiful High German (Hoch-Deutsch) was a translation in English. The name of the translator and date of translation are unknown.
Mary Lee Dante received the letter from her father, Lee Fischer Dante and Mary Lee assumed the letter was passed from his mother, Mabel Ardelia Scheele Dante. Ardelia was a sister of Carolyn's grandfather, George Augustus Scheele, Sr. Carolyn knew Ardelia as Aunt Dee.
The important Georgetown (Washington, DC) Scheele connection in this letter is found at the end where August Daniel's birth is listed as 1780. The name and date are in line with the 1968 genealogy report put together by Carolyn's brother, George Augustus Scheele III, who listed his great-great-grandfather as Daniel Augustus, born in 1780.
Even though the names are reversed and there can be questions about August vs. Augustus, the connection regarding the date is certainly of interest. George III was living in Georgetown in 1968 and recorded the Scheele family genealogy following conversations with his grandfather, George Augustus Scheele, Sr.
This letter underscores the following themes prevalent in earlier times:
- The constant economic difficulties that prevailed in earlier times.
- The inter-relationships of family connections.
- The symbol of America as a "land of hope".
- The ambivalence between remaining at home near the roots of the family and striking out for a new land and opportunity.
- "Family Favorites" and the inequality of inheritance.
- Differentiation in the roles of women and men, largely due to biological factors.
- The need to communicate with family members despite separations of time and distance.
- The respect given to family members and the "Providence of God".
- The importance of keeping records of births, deaths, children, occupations and status.
Life changed dramatically in the second half of the 20 th Century and it is hard for those living in the Third Millennium, to appreciate the extraordinary difficulties that individuals and families endured in "times gone by".
George Augustus Scheele, III, M.D.
August, 2005
La Jolla, CA
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