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BELGIANS IN AMERICA: Belgian settlements by State
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Belgians in the Civil War |
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Emigrants arrival | |
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BELGIANS IN AMERICA: Belgian settlements by State
Belgians Settlements in New York at the time of the Civil War
SHeldon, wyoming county
The Emigration Prior to 1840
In 1832, [ the inhabitants In Offen (Fouches) ]sent a certain Martin to evaluate the conditions for them. His report seemed favorable, and in 1833 two expeditions were readied and left the country. They consisted of 15 men from Offen (Fouches), one from Metzig (Messancy) and one from Selingen (Sélange). All were strong and willing to accept any kind of work. They knew how to plow and to wield a pick and shovel.
In 1834, seven men from Soes (Sampont) settled in Stark County, Ohio. Among them was J.B. Noel.
Many other emigrants left Offen in 1835 and 1836 and settled near Sheldon, Wyoming County, New York. Until the end of the forties, they were followed by other residents of Offen and by some from Soes. For their livelihood, the immigrants worked on the canals in New York State. At the time, they earned $13 per month plus board. Farmers paid their hands $8 to $10 per month.
In 1835, J.B. Noel had his family follow him from Europe and met them in Albany, N.Y. In 1838 he moved west and crossed the Mississippi. He was the first Luxembourger to settle permanently west of the great river, except, of course, for the Luxembourger missionaries who opened their missions in New Orleans in the preceding century. It seems, however, that in 1836, a resident in New Orleans who came from Nospelt, whose name could not be ascertained, had expressed his admiration for the Mississippi even before Noel. Noel settled a few miles south of Dubuque, where the family still (1889) resides. He was joined later by his two brothers, Franz, who farmed next to J.B. Noel's land, and Johann Franz, who, as captain of his own ship, later sailed up and down the great river. A ship's landing along the river now carries the name of J.F. Noel.
When New York City rose in prominence as the trade center of the country, it also became the port of entry for the immigrants. First Baltimore and then New Orleans lost their standing as the primary cities for new arrivals starting on their journey inland. The passage was quite expensive, costing more than 500 francs via New Orleans. Walloons did not emigrate in this decade. Also, the emigration from what after 1839 became the Grand Duchy was not considerable. The largest number of emigrants was from the Arlon region. We would not be too far off the actual figures if we estimated the emigration from the Grand Duchy to America during this decade to have numbered 200 people, with another 300 originating in the German-speaking part of the Belgian province of Luxembourg.
As was the case with all other pioneers in
the backwoods of America, Luxembourgers had a difficult start. The supplies
which they took with them were meager, their earnings small, and what they
produced had to be sold cheaply. Their settlements were far from market places
which, for a lack of roads, could be reached only by forest paths. The settlers
were happy when the Indians left them in peace, and when they were able to
purchase 80 acres as land came on the market. High interest rates were charged
for loans, and mort-gage costs forced some to lose house and farm. People
counted themselves truly lucky when they met with a priest who lifted their
spirits, encouraged them, consoled them and brought them the healing power of
faith, despite the almost total lack of structures in which to hold services.
Source: Nicholas Gonner; Luxembourgers in the New World
26 August 1833: Arrival of the Jean Nicholas Noel
family
August 26, 1833, New York
The British ship Samuel Cunard arrives in New York on this Monday, August 26, 1833 from Shields, England. There are 40 passengers on board identified as from Belgium. These include the family of Jean Nicholas NOEL, age 49 and spouse Catherine, née KLEIN, age 50; traveling with their sons Antony / Antoine, age 15; Francis / François, age 11; John / Jean, age 7; Joseph, age 20 and daughters Annette, age 25 and Catherine, age 18.
Their son, Jean Baptiste NOEL, listed as Jno Noel, had arrived in New York on September 2, 1832, aboard the ship Illinois from Le Havre, France, listed among nineteen passengers recorded as from Belgium. The other passengers listed as from Belgium bear the following names ANCIAUX, GAUCHE, SCHNELL, SCHOLTES and SIMON.
Jean Baptiste NOEL was born on February 8, 1811, in Sampont (Lëtzebuergesch: Soes), a hamlet belonging to the municipality of Hachy, now Kingdom of Belgium, formerly Luxembourg territory until 1839. He settled in Albany, New York and moved west three years later. In 1838, Jean/John Baptist NOEL is the first white settler south of Dubuque, Iowa, establishing himself in the Mosalem area.
In the spring of 1846 Peter GEHLEN and Charles HOFFMANN from Olm, Luxembourg, coming from New Orleans and St. Louis, unexpectedly meet the NOEL family. They settle close-by on the Tête des Morts River, founding the village of St. Donatus, Jackson County, Iowa.
Source: http://luxembourgensia.blogspot.be/2013/08/26-august-1833-arrival-of-jean-nicholas.html
Report made in 1855 by Mr. H. W Malli, Belgian Consul in New York, and addressed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, on emigration to the United States.
Sheldon is a rural township as a whole, established on land now almost entirely
cleared, in one of the most fertile regions of the Union, 10 leagues from
Buffalo, a town of 60,000 souls, on Lake Erie, which follows the same
progression than Chicago on Michigan.
The climate of Sheldon is about the same as that of Luxembourg.
The terrain is hilly: it flow of springs that provide very good water.
Part of the soil is gravelly, deep, excellent for cereals;
another is
clay and less good than the first.
Most of the land is in the state of natural grassland.
Cattle breeding is the main resource of the country.
The products are
sold at the Buffalo market.
The acre of land, sold 10 years ago, 2 to 3 dollars wooded and 7 cleared, is
worth now 15 to 20, and in 10 years will be worth 30 to 35. It want 30,
40 and 50 acres for establishing a farm.
I have not been able, despite repeated representations, to obtain precise information on Sheldon's population and its main elements. Here are some details that will give an idea. There are a hundred Belgian families, most Walloons; twenty French families, few Americans, and Germans in predominant numbers. There are 4 stores of all kinds of objects (which used to include in Europe grocery, haberdashery, hardware), which are coming from New York. There are establishec two butchers, both Germans; two German brewers whose industry is now held in check by the enactment of the Maine law, or the prohibitive law of the beverage trade; two wheelwrights, one Belgian, the other German; 2 Belgian blacksmiths; several carpenters doing good business; 5 shoemakers and 3 tailors, some Belgian, others German. All these artisans are also farmers.
There
is no baker, each his cooking for his needs;
each one also makes his soap, his candle, his cider, and his sugar or syrup;
the sugar is made with the juice that results from the incision of a kind of
mappletree, sugar maple.
The price of the pound of pork is currently 6 to 7 cents.
The roads are
good.
The only way the emigrants have hitherto taken is the railroad from New York to
Buffalo, which they leave at Attica or Darien, five or six leagues from their
destination;
but they complain of the mischief they encounter on this road, especially at
Albany.
It seems that if Canada's new direction for Green Bay is true, it would also
benefit some Ontario ports near Sheldon, such as Rochester.
The best season to settle there is, it is said, spring.
Belgians have a school well run by one of their compatriots of Luxembourg.
The fee is $ 5 per year per child.
The person who provided me with most of this information about Sheldon, is a Mr
Henrich, from Messancy, who appears to be the most prosperous Belgian farmer of
this locality.
It has been established there for 10 years, it owns 100 acres, a score of
cattle, 2 horses, 5 pigs, little poultry, makes 30 to 35 tons of fodder, and
employs for six weeks of the summer 2 day laborers for
1 dollar and food;
but they
must be strong workers.
Source:
Moniteur Belge of September 1, 1855
