German Wooden Shoe, pre-1850

A wooden shoe from the Elsia Hillebrand family, mother of Maria Lavinia Rocklage. Presumably carved in Lengerich, Prussia prior to 1850. Note leather strips on bottom of shoe. The shoe remains in the Schake family. Most Germans of Prussia and Lippe walked to Bremen wearing wooden shoes on the first leg of their voyage to America. Many pulled two wheel carts to transport their possesions. Wooden shoes were commonly worn as late as the 1950s; some still prefer them for yard and garden work.


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