Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter
Keywords
book review, Swiss American Historical Society, Swiss immigrants, Swiss emigration, Swiss settlements
Abstract
In 1848 two settlers from Switzerland, Victor Probst and John Waecker, on their way upstream from Galena, Illinois, arrived at a site then called Three Mile Bluff, on the Mississippi in Western Wisconsin. They decided to stay, and soon made a living by cutting firewood for the steamboats. In subsequent years other Swiss immigrants were to follow, principally from the Grisons and the Canton of Berne, but also from the native village of one of the first settlers, namely Biberist in the Canton of Solothurn. So the early census lists contain numerous familiar Swoss names like Berni, Ganz, Marti, Neukomm, Urfer, Walser, and Wenger. Some gained a name for themselves by holding important offices: John Buehler became the first sheriff of Buffalo County, and Martin Polin was the first mayor when Alma became a city in 1885.
Recommended Citation
Menolfi, Ernest
(1987)
"Book Review: Alma on the Mississippi 1848-1932,"
Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter: Vol. 23:
Iss.
2, Article 13.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/sahs_newsletter/vol23/iss2/13