Wartburg (Tenn.) Collection
The Wartburg (Tenn.) Collection, 1864-1925 (bulk 1864-1896), contains numerous letters to residents of Wartburg, Tenn. (Morgan County). All of these documents except for the single letter from 1925 are written in German. The majority of the letters are from writers in Nashville. Some of the topics covered include Civil War-era Chattanooga (letter dated March 29, 1864), the Southern Express Company of Knoxville (November 6, 1868), and alcohol production and prices (many of the letters from the 1880s and 1890s). Correspondents include Jos. Lewis Lane, John Mathis, Leonhard and Mary Kreis, and Dave and Dora Kuhn. Many of the letters were written to John Kreis of Wartburg.
Dates
- 1864-1925 (bulk 1864-1896)
Conditions Governing Access
Collections are stored offsite and must be requested in advance. See www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Conditions Governing Use
The UT Libraries claims only physical ownership of most material in the collections. Persons wishing to broadcast or publish this material must assume all responsibility for identifying and satisfying any claimants on www.special.lib.utk.edu for detailed information. Collections must be requested through a registered Special Collections research account.
Extent
0.3 Linear Feet
Abstract
The Wartburg (Tenn.) Collection, 1864-1925 (bulk 1864-1896), contains numerous letters to residents of or regarding life in Wartburg, Tenn. (Morgan County). All of these documents except for the single letter from 1925 are written in German. Some of the topics covered include Civil War-era Chattanooga (letter dated March 29, 1864), the Southern Express Company of Knoxville (November 6, 1868), and alcohol production and prices (many of the letters from the 1880s and 1890s).
Biographical/Historical Note
In 1844, George F. Gerding, a New York businessman, along with Theodore de Cock of Antwerp created the East Tennessee Colonization Company. The two purchased 170,000 acres of land in Morgan, Cumberland, White, Fentress, and Scott Counties in an effort to attract German and Swiss settlers to the area. The first fifty settlers arrived in East Tennessee from Mainz in 1845, followed by two more groups in 1846. Many of these immigrants in Wartburg were professionals, including an architect, a university-trained musician, eight physicians, and a German nobleman. Conflicts over the price of land and the lack of development, religious disputes between the Reformed Church and the Lutheran Church, and the lingering effects of the Civil War combined to produce the decline of the community in the 1860s and 1870s. By 1870, only fifty-seven German- and forty-one Swiss-born residents remained throughout Morgan County.
The town of Wartburg derived its name from the Warburg Castle in Eisenach, Germany. It was at Wartburg Castle that Martin Luther translated the New Testament bible into modern German.
Arrangement
Collection consists of three folders.
Acquisition Note
This collection was presented to Special Collections by George E. Webb in July 1993.
Repository Details
Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository