German Immigration

Like many immigrant families my German ancestors moved to the United States with the goal to give a better life to future generations. They wanted their children to live comfortably in a reliable place, which promoted freedom, private property, and success. In order to receive this they were willing to uproot their lives in Germany and start their lives over in a strange place. It is this brave move that has made my family the hard working individuals they are. German immigration to America in the 1800’s typically happened because of economic and political turmoil in their homeland. Germany at this time was facing an undergoing change from an agricultural society to a more industrialized way of life. This change forced many rural families to move into more urbanized areas in search
In fact, nearly 37% of all immigrants coming to America in 1850 were German (Huber). The Sonneck family, which included the brothers Philip, Albert, Andrew, and Joseph, originally were from Trembatschau, Posen, Germany and had a family tailor business. They also were farmers who owned 13 acres of land in this village. When these brothers arrived in the United States the “c” in their name was dropped and was simply Sonnek. They settled in Wisconsin and started to farm until they moved to Minnesota by ox in 1859. When they arrived in Minnesota they settled in the area that is now known as Minnesota Lake. It was here that they created their homestead, raised families, and farmed, which was their major source of income. This area of Minnesota also had a very strong population of Native Americans who lived there due to the Maple River running through it. The Native Americans and the European settlers got along with each other and often the settlers would give the indians food in order to help them through hard times. This homestead is still in our family today and is the land that my childhood home was