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Die Pommerschen Leute
(German-Pomeranian Newsletter)
- BACKGROUND -

© copyright 1996-2002 by IGS/PSIG and John Movius; all rights reserved
Latest Update: 13 October 2002

Founded and first published by Myron Gruenwald
"Die Pommerschen Leute" (the Pomeranian people) - called DPL -- was created in 1982 by Myron Gruenwald of Oshkosh Wisconsin for three reasons: In the process, he began to type into paragraph form the ancestral data of those he reached into a (now quarterly) newsletter. This would enable the members to find common surnames and place names within a specific area - with the possibility of receiving help. Since that time, the names (over 130,000 in November 2000) and the place names of origin (4,911 in April 1996) have been alphabetically indexed to the submitters' names and addresses.

Within a short time, because of their similar history and their identical migration pattern; the contiguous provinces of West Prussia, East Prussia, Posen, and eastern Brandenburg had been added to the scope of the society. (Webmaster's Note: Since 1 January 1998, DPL has referred record searchers for the nearby East German provinces to the appropriate FEEFHS Research List and FEEFHS had forwarded all Pommern queries to DPL).

The newsletter started as a result of the first booklet produced, Two Worlds for Our Chldren, an historical and geographical description of the Baltic Prussians lives in Europe and in America - keyed to their reasons for the migration. The newsletter was to serve the continued curiosity of the members for more detailed information about the history and characteristics of the people - now expanded to be defined as the Baltic Teutons.

From this grew eight more books; some centered on history of these so-called "Peristent Pioneers" before and during their migration into Pommern and another during their migration to the United States. Others of the books discussed the characteristics of these "Leute" (people) in comparison to their neighbors in Germany and the U.S. Others showed through essays their evolution as Christians of the northern climes (Protestants) compared to those of the southern climes (Catholics).

Throughout this time, the newsletter continues to be the binding force of each of these topics - revealing more detailed information as time went along. As the borders allowed more persons to visit into the former Prussian lands, which are now administered by Poland since the end of WWII in 1945, the newsletter followed the stories of the American travelers seeking sights of and feel for their ancestors' lands. With the fall of the Iron Curtain, the newsletter continues to share these travels vicariously for those of us who can not make the trip.

As the ancestral information was submitted to Myron, and he was typing their complete data into the "die Vorfahren" (the ancestors) pages of the newsletter, he began to build data on the Prussian Kreis (county) that each person emigrated from and the Wisconsin county or other states as wholes that the immigrants settled in.

He continued to study this pattern of chain migration that was going from a limited area of Prussia (defined above) - to a limited area in the U.S. - within a finite period of time. The time was from exactly 1837/1839/1843 when the Old Lutherans left the lands for religious reasons, up through a part of the 1880s as they later were leaving for economic and social reasons. In the U.S. they were settling in a fairly finite region.

The first two (1837/1839) flotillas of ships lead their people to Buffalo, New York. The purpose of this is that they were of identical glacial type geography and climate to that of the southern Baltic region of Europe - their former home. By 1843, the settlers moved on into Milwaukee Wisconsin and the Freistadt region. Over the succeding years, the persistent Baltic Teuton pioneers progressed systematically (enough so that it can be measured) into other sections of Wisconsin, thence to Minnesota and Iowa, thence on to North and South Dakota and Nebraska.

Because the people were first coming to Wisconsin by steamship through the Great Lakes, many settled in Canada and on the eastern bank of Lake Michigan - in Michigan, others went on to the Chicago area, and some few into northern Indiana from there. About the time that this migration came to an end in the 1880s, the Germans from Russia were arriving and continued the chain into the next tier of states to the west.

Myron was to learn, and share with his readers, that the U.S. was not the only site of the Baltic Teuton migration during this period. The people left as quickly as they could by whatever vessel was moving elsewhere. Thus a great number settled in Brazil, South America, forming entire permanent colonies. Others were taken by ship to southern Australia. A group was enrolled especially for the purpose of setting up several colonies in South Africa. Through the newsletter, books, and indexes "die Pommerschen Leute", bound together by Myron's works and newsletter, are being drawn closer together.

Because of these being highly definite and defined settlement areas, many of them still maintain the attributes and characteristics of the Baltic Teutons. Myron's last book is culled from articles in the newsletter plus additional essays. They are directed to the efforts and problems of assimilating persons of varying ethnicity into a common "American" one and yet maintaining the most positive of their genetic and environmental characteristics that once made each group a successful. prideful kind of people, like the other ethnics in America, in their own mores - and now involved in becoming that most difficultly defined people - "Americans".

BOOKS: There have been nine (9) paperback books written and published by the late Myron Gruenwald. They are now sold by his daughter Gayle Gruenwald O'Connell. She can be contacted at:

792 Windtree Way
Wellington, Florida 33414
U.S.A.
eMail address: kabraaoc@yaahoo.com

ANCESTRAL DATA: Part of each issue of DPL is devoted to items describing the complete, known "die Vorfahren" (the ancestors), data of the submitters. Each paragraph starts with the full names, dates, and places of the immigrant(s) with their when, what ship, which ports, and where settle information.

Each immigrant's name and dates is followed by where born and the known names of their direct line of ancestors (as far back as traced). A pedigree works best for this, but we accept your data in any form you have it.

Each person so named should have the first names of the known brothers and sisters, their birth and death years, and their spouses' born surnames. The first generation of the immigrants' children should have this same data. Both of these latter parts work best with family group sheets, but again can be accepted in most any written form.

Each set of data is indexed to the submitter's name and address. All correspondence regarding this data is then carried on between seeker and sought.

"Die Pommerschen Leute" is the name of the newsletter. Besides the pages containing ancestral data ("die Vorfahren") entries, the newsletter covers historical ("die Geschichte"), hints for further research, ("die Forschung"), and Pommern culture and history ("die Kulture und Gewohnheiten").

Myron died on 6 February 1998. His various projects dealing with Pommern / Pomeranian genealogy are being continued by the IGS Pommern SIG, the new editor/publisher of DPL.

POMERANIAN HISTORY: By Myron Grunewald

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