Journey to New Switzerland facts for kids
Journey to New Switzerland is a fascinating book written by Joseph Suppiger, Salomon Koepfli, and Kaspar Koepfli. It tells the true story of two Swiss families, the Koepflis and the Suppigers, who traveled from Switzerland to America between 1831 and 1833. Their goal was to find a new home and start a community called New Switzerland. This new settlement was located near what is now Highland, Illinois, close to St. Louis.
The book is like a diary, mostly written by Joseph Suppiger, Jr. It describes their long journey, starting from their home in Sursee, Switzerland. They traveled to Le Havre, a port city in France, and then sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to New York. From New York, they continued their journey by river all the way to St. Louis.
Contents
Finding a New Home in America
Once they arrived, the families wrote letters back home to their relatives in Switzerland. These letters shared exciting details about the land and culture they discovered. They described the area they chose to settle as "heavenly." They bought a large farm, about 450-acre (1.8 km2) in size, mostly covered with woods. This farm was located about 27 miles east of St. Louis. They paid "the exceedingly low price of nineteen hundred dollars cash" for it, which was a great deal at the time!
Advice for New Settlers
The original book also gives helpful advice for other people who might want to move to America. It talks about the good and bad things about the area they chose. The authors also shared their thoughts on American culture. For example, they noticed that Americans were generally "liberal" and had a lot of "common sense." They also observed that Americans were polite but didn't always tip their hats. They found that men were especially respectful towards women, and fathers seemed to focus more on teaching their daughters than their sons. The book also included some negative comments about slavery, which was a big issue in America at that time.
Accessing the Story Today
The English version of Journey to New Switzerland includes extra information that helps readers understand the story even better. You can read the full English text of Journey to New Switzerland for free online. It's part of a digital collection called Swiss Settlers in SW Illinois.
Full Title of the Book
The complete title of the English translation is: Journey to New Switzerland: Travel Account of the Koepfli and Suppiger Family to St. Louis on the Mississippi and the Founding of New Switzerland in the State of Illinois. It was translated by Raymond J. Spahn and includes parts from Jennie Latzer Kaeser's translation of Salomon Koepfli's Die Geschichte der Ansiedlung von Highland. The book was edited by John C. Abbott, with a foreword by Joseph Blake Koepfli. It was published by Southern Illinois University Press in 1987. The ISBN is o-8o93-1313-8.
