Family History

Christian Kappus was born in Baden, 1838, now a part of Germany, and came to North America in the year 1848 with his parents and 6 siblings. By 1849 the last of his siblings, Charles, was born in Eden, Erie County, New York where the family had settled into farming. Much of this family generation remained in Erie County, New York for the rest of their lives. Christian homesteaded land and was raising a family in Peshtigo, Oconto County, Wisconsin (now Marinette County since 1880) at the time of the 1871 Peshtigo Firestorm. The entire family history is still being researched. Below is what has been pieced together so far.
(Note: Christian Kappus came with his father Frederick Carlton Kappus in 1848 (not 1845). He was a weaver by trade. He owned his own shop and employed several workmen. He sold his business and came to America because he was opposed to mandatory military service for his 3 sons. He settled on Shadigee Road to farm in Eden, N.Y. My uncle (Frederick Carlton Kappus IV) (age 93) said that it is ironic that Frederick Kappus I came here to avoid having his sons in the military service in that he (Fred IV) believes that Frederick Carlton Kappus II and Christian actually paid someone to fight in the Civil War for them {this practice is known as conscription}. Darlene Pritchard Baker)

Life in Europe

Although there had been Germanic born people in the Americas for generations by the time this Kappus family had arrived, they were among the first large migration of these people to come from Europe in the 1840's. What is now the country of Germany, since 1871, was once composed of over 300 independent small states and city states, each with it's own ruling system and laws.

By the 1840's the number of such states and cities had been reduced to 38 during the occupation of the French under Napoleon in the early 1800's. Prussia, one of these states, was rapidly gaining strength and power while the others struggled with 2 centuries of very poor weather leading to crop failure, named the "Little Ice Age" in Europe; residual death, epidemic disease, unemployment and poor governments resulting from bloody religious wars dating back to the 1500's; very limited access and ability to foreign markets by sea; servitude of most people to the rulers of each state, next to no educational and health care opportunities; rapid changes in local government and borders due to small local power struggles; and the severe hindering of commerce within the region because those traveling to markets with goods and service had complicated passage paperwork and taxes for each individual state that they had to cross, driving the prices of goods and services beyond what most could afford in the depressed times.

At the time of this immigration there was a rising unrest among the people, who had no say in any form of government and no relief from joblessness, mandatory, lengthy military duty with little or no pay and increasing widespread poverty. The restlessness turned to descent in the forms of rebellion against taxes, revolt and even riots against the small, locally run governing bodies, especially by students, educators, land and shop owners. The put down of the descenders was fast and furious.

All of Europe was also in economic straights, meaning that the traditional European migration destinations, such as Russia, the Slavic nations and Hungry, were no longer available and once welcomed displaced Germanic people were now being forced from those countries as unwanted "foreigners." These people, after generations spent in other countries, were no longer welcomed back in distressed Germanic states either.

The willingness to work hard was never an issue. Pressure was now just to survive for many. Opportunity for success beyond that was nonexistent for them. Other than the kindness and care of neighboring family and friends, who found themselves "in the same boat" with little to share, there was no place to turn for help. Gathering what little was available and left for a new start on other continents was the best option for those who could manage to escape the continuing chaos.

To America

Somehow, the farming family of Kappus managed to come together to the "New World" where they were able to own land and work to meet their own needs. The voyage must have been a serious and dangerous venture in itself. The sailing ships were wood, small and leaky in 1840's. People, including children, were crowded without privacy and had to bring all their own food without any way to avoid spoilage and infestation, as well as possessions needed in their new home. Storage space was limited and there was no protection against violence or food and possessions being stolen. The water on board was often contaminated, so passengers had to arrange other sources of fluid intake to avoid dehydration, which many were not aware of before starting the trip. There was no water for bathing or washing clothes or eating utensils other than in the salty ocean. The fast trips took three weeks, the slow ones took more that three months at sea. There was no place to stop for supplies once underway and not enough room for even minimal amount of food and drinking fluids needed for each person for three months, if most had the funds to purchase that.

Winter travel was the least expensive and all that many could afford, so they experienced slow, unheated, dangerous, stormy crossings. The scant records that were kept indicate a large loss of life due to communicable diseases; dehydration from chronic illness including dyahhrea and vomiting, sea sickness, poor sanitation (toilets were pots or trips to "hang over the side") and malnutrition. No one will ever know how many bodies were thrown overboard due to death, swept into the sea during storms; how many fell overboard because they were too weak and dizzy during calm weather (the ships did not go back to look for them); how many children and women with newborn babies died or how many ships went down with all aboard. Leaving the European Continent by sea was not a decision taken lightly for most passengers in that time. It was easy to confuse and deceive people when they could not speak or understand the language used by the travel providers. Organized groups, such as those backed by villages, a religious congregation or realty and manufacturing companies recruiting immigrants as settlers and workers, had the best chance of successful crossings.

The Next Generation

Having settle into farming in Eden, Erie County, New York, Frederick Sr. and wife Mary had one child in America, named Charles, who died at about age 10 years and was described on the 1860 census as being unable to speak. Sons Fred Jr. and Charles traveled to Peshtigo, Oconto County, Wisconsin in the 1860's where they worked and purchased land. Fred, who was single, returned to farm in New York, where he married and raised a family (see more below). Christian was married and had 5 children in Peshtigo by the time of the fire storm October 8, 1871. He lost his wife and 2 children in the fire. He returned to his land to rebuild and was said to have died when hit by a falling tree in 1871. His three surviving children, all born in Wisconsin, continued separate lives. (see more below)

.KAPPUS.

also Koppes, Koppis, Koppos, Kappis, Kappes and Cappus

of Peshtigo, Oconto County, Wisconsin