Immigrant Folklore Stories: Departure, Travel, and Arrival
Hannah Pinkerton, the Pinkerton Brothers, and the Scharfen family embark on journeys from Europe to the United States, facing challenges and adventures along the way. From Scotland to Germany, their stories of departure, travel, and arrival highlight the resilience and determination of immigrants seeking a new life in America amidst adversity and uncertainty.
Download Presentation
Please find below an Image/Link to download the presentation.
The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author. Download presentation by click this link. If you encounter any issues during the download, it is possible that the publisher has removed the file from their server.
E N D
Presentation Transcript
European-American Immigrant Folklore HANNAH PINKERTON
Departure Travel Arrival
Departure Stories Pinkerton Brothers Leave Scotland Informant: Lester Pinkerton The three Pinkerton brothers, John, Allan, and Robert, were working to promote organized labor in their homeland of Scotland. Their work soon earned them the unfortunate attention of the English government, and they were forced with a choice: they could stay and likely be executed if caught, or flee the country and attempt to start over in the United States. They are going to sack our heads if we stay , said one brother. John and Robert were ready to leave Scotland, but Allan had met and fallen in love with a singer named Joan Carfrae. He would not leave without her, so Allan and Joan were wed secretly near the port that contained the ship that would take the three brothers to the United States and safety. As the wedding was concluding, a messenger arrived, informing Allan and his brothers that English soldiers had learned where they were and were coming to arrest them. The warning gave them just enough of a head start to make it to the ship and have the captain take off before the soldiers arrived at the dock. The three brothers stood on the deck of the ship, taking one last look at their homeland and the line of English soldiers that they had narrowly escaped.
Travel Stories Scharfen s Leave Germany Informant: Theresa Theurer Half the town of Haaron showed up to send off Gertrude Scharfen and her four youngest children, Caspar, Frank, Sophia, and Anton. Caspar was coughing and Gertrude was worried about his health, but there wasn t much they could do except hope for the best. The family traveled to Hamburg, where they got on the ship that would take them to New Orleans. Their cabin was tiny, but all of them were used to small quarters from their house in Germany. One night, Anton, the youngest, couldn t sleep, so he decided to explore the ship a bit. He eventually popped out on the ship s deck and wandered over to the railing. He could see little lights in the ocean, reminding him of fire flies. He was so amazed that he ran back to his cabin to wake up his brother, Frank. The two boys went back to the deck and marveled at the lights. Two more trips below deck and they got Caspar and Sophia to join them. The four children were so wrapped up in the lights that they did notice the first mate of the ship walking up to them until he told them he would tell them what the lights were, but only if they promised never to come above decks by themselves at night again. They agreed, and he explained that the lights were caused by phosphorus in the ocean. The lights were one of their favorite parts of the journey. Unfortunately, Caspar s illness got worse and the ship encountered more than its fair share of rough storms, making the ride miserable for many members of the Scharfen family. When the boat finally docked in New Orleans, it had been delayed for several weeks because of its rough sailing and Caspar was so sick that the family wasn t immediately cleared for medical release. But, the Scharfen s had finally reached the United States and were ready for the next part of the journey.
Arrival Stories A Very Long Visit Informant: Sarah Rote 18 Joseph and Julia Toth came to the US sometime during the 1910s. They re my great grandparents from Hungary, and they ended up settling in Pittsburgh when it was an industrial city driven by coal. They were coming to visit Julia s father who already lived in the United States. Julia always insisted it was just for a visit, even years after the fact, but World War I broke out. Relations with Hungary were bad enough that it was virtually impossible for the Toth s to return.
Arrival Stories Fudge Informant: Karen Pinkerton It was during early winter, if I remember. Their parents had left for some sort of event in town, leaving the four older children in charge of the youngest, who had been put to bed. One of the older kids wanted fudge, and since there was no adult there to tell them not to make fudge late at night, one of the sisters, Catherine, started making a batch. Paul, the youngest of the oldest (I think he was about 12) was put in charge of watching for their parents they figured they d probably get in trouble if they were caught making the fudge. By the time Catherine finished mixing everything and was just waiting for it to set, the other two were all watching the pot with very hungry eyes. But then Paul called to others to say their parents were coming back. Naturally, they decided the best place to hide the fudge was outside in the snow. So the parents came back to a clean kitchen and a few suspicious looking children, but decided not to question it. Until, that is, the father noticed the dog attacking something outside with rather too much joy to be ignored. Catherine, seeing what her father was staring at, told him that it was only some grease she had thrown out after supper. Now, her father had a look that could pin a fly to wall, but Catherine was used to it. She stared right back until her father decided it was too late to investigate. Unfortunately for the kids, the truth came out the next morning when their mother got up only to discover a very sick dog in the kitchen.
