“It will soon be fifty years since I took my family to the United States. It happened in the year 1924; today we write 1969. On the 2nd of October, was my 84th birthday. I lived in Germany 38 years.

My children and grandchildren are interested in the history of my life, how we became Americans and where our forefathers lived.

Of our forefathers, I have some items from record, some from my own memory and various others must be told from hearing and saying (hearsay).

Now I will endeavor to write memories out of my life and also what I still remember of my forefathers.

For my descendants, such a project would later be very difficult.” Carl H.F. Hesse



This is the story of a family. The Carl Heinrich Friedrich & Anna Schmidt Hesse family. Our Opa’s family. Read along and visit old Germany. See the pictures of our ancestors.



Walk beside Opa as he describes his childhood, his experiences during World War I and the devastation that was felt in Germany after the war. Find out what prompted him to leave the homeland of his youth to set out on the adventure of a lifetime in a new land.



This is the story of hard work, adventure, misfortune and celebration.



This is the story of our family.

The Hesse Family.



This book is the second edition of a work in progress and also a long time in the making. It starts, of course, with the life of our grandfather, Opa, and the stories that he told about his life experiences. These stories are verified by the oral histories from our parents, uncles and aunts who each shared in the life of our Opa. In addition to the gratitude that we owe to Opa and Oma, for bringing this Hesse family to a new land of opportunity and strange language, we readers continue to be impressed by the clarity in which this German leather craftsman, soldier and farmer expresses his memories.



We hope that you enjoy this history book and that you are stimulated to write your own history for the enjoyment of your extended families.