Missouri Germans Consortium

In September of 1833, two former students of the University of Giessen, Paul Follenius and Friedrich Muench would issue a Call for Emigration to find fellow Germans wanting to establish a colony in Missouri. Thousands would apply to join the newly formed Giessen Emigration Society that would depart the next year. Those chosen came from all walks of life, all over Germany and were of many different faiths. But they all had one thing in common, to settle in the Land where the Sun of Freedom Shines.

Five hundred would come to America the summer of 1834. Those on the ship the Olbers, included many German Catholics from the area of Belecke, would suffer tremendous loss when typhoid overtook the passengers before even passing the British Isles. Amazingly, those that survived, arrived in June in New Orleans, and made their way up the Mississippi River only to encounter a Cholera epidemic raging across the State. Those coming with Friedrich Muench would find theirselves trapped on Harriersand Island waiting, when the ship they had booked failed to appear. They spent weeks waiting, before finally booking the ship the Medora, which arrived in August at Baltimore.

The perseverance and determination of these Germans to reach Missouri, would aid them to overcome many odds those first years. Letters home to their families and friends would bring thousands more making Missouri a German State in America. Years later, it would be these same German immigrants that would most truly understand the plight of the enslaved people, and work the hardest to make them free, as all Americans should be. They changed an entire state, and the course of history.

In November of 2014, Missouri History Museum‘s exhibit Utopia – A German State in America, brought to life the Traveling Summer Republic‘s and Missouri Germans Consortium‘s exhibit, allowing thousands to regain their pride in being German Americans. Funded by Germany, this International Traveling Exhibition told the story of these five hundred intrepid souls. The stories of these families is common to the thousands and thousands of Germans that call Missouri home.

These families are invited to share an evening, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on August 28, 2021 at the most awarded of All-Missouri wineries, Blumenhof Winery in Dutzow, Missouri. Directions see: https://www.blumenhof.com/ Come home to where it all began. For more information and to make your reservations, contact us by using the form below.