Such an exciting time. Moma has given me a diary and suggested that I write up everything about our trip, so I will start right now. We are moving to America. I cannot believe it. Of course, it is not just us, but half of the village are going.

Pa has said that the diary should be mostly facts and impressions of our journey - not gossip and stories about my friends. He wants it to be something we can send back to my Aunt Susanna (for whom I was named) as she hopes to be going to America is a year or two as well.

It all started about ten years ago, in 1858, when the Bautch brothers and two of their sisters and their husbands left from our village, Poppeleau and the neighboring town, Schalkowitz and emigrated to the States. They had intended going to Texas, where they heard that land was free. But somehow things got mixed up and they ended up in Wisconsin and are now settled in a township called Arcadia. They have pretty much created the town, and have invited us from our part of Silesia to come there too. They say that it is a very good place to go. Then, three years ago Pa’s nephew, Simon Woychik and his wife Katrina and their children, also immigrated to Arcadia Wisconsin, and they are very encouraging for us to go too. His brother Lewis, who is 20, is coming with us on our same ship.

Our little village, Poppeleau is on the edge of the Oder Valley. Two and a half miles to the southwest is the great Oder River, which regularly floods in the spring and yet is too unruly for navigation south from the only major city in Silesia, Breslau, which is 35 miles to the northwest. To cross the Oder in the vicinity of our town, the only way is by ferry, unless one goes 12 miles downstream to the town of Brieg, or 13 miles upstream to Oppein. Oppein is the headquarters of this district’s administration and our currant official address is Poppeleau kreise Oppein, Oberseliesien. Soon it will be Arcadia, Trempealeau, Wisconsin, USA.

It was not an easy decision for my parents. There are five children, of which I am the eldest. If we stay here, Pa, who owns a small farm, would not be able to offer any sort of farm work other than laboring for my brothers. And there is also the problem of three to four years compulsory service for boys in the Prussian army under Baron Von Bismarck. War is certainly likely to happen here soon. He certainly does not want my brothers John and Thomas to be called up.

And the German authorities are putting great pressure on our Catholic Church here. They want us all to become Lutherans. They have persecuted our priests and many of them have gone to America. Mr Bautch has written that if we come to his town of Arcadia, there will be a Catholic Polish community there, and it will be just like being at home, except we will be richer.

Pa borrowed a book which was written by one of those people who had emigrated a few years ago. It mentions all sorts of pitfalls and things to be wary of. It tells what to take with you, and when it is best to go. And although my parents argued about it long into the night for many weeks, we have now decided. We, the Woychiks, with Uncle Simon Woychik and his family, will be going to America, along with the Skroches, the Sygullas, the Gamroths, the Gemzas, the Kukas, Robert Sylla, and our cousin Peter Woychik and his family. There will be 34 of us from our village on the same ship.

I know a few of the children who will be going - but most of the girls are either older, like Sophie Sygulla or younger, like my cousin Julia Woychik and Mary Skroch.. But as Moma says, I will not have time to play while we are on the journey. I will have to help her look after my brothers. She says it is very important for us to learn as much English as we can, and the long time en route will be a very good time for us to have lessons. I have an English-Polish dictionary, and intend to quiz my brothers each day.

I have finished with my schooling, which was all in German rather than Polish, so I know both languages well. I was told that I was quite clever for a girl. I asked Pa if I could read that book which he obtained about what to look forward to. At first he thought it was none of my business, but then knowing that I have a better chance of understanding than the others, he let me. Also, his education was not very thorough and he knows that I can read better than either he or my mother.

The book is called. The Emigrant’s Handbook and Guide to Wisconsin, by Samuel Freeman, printed in 1851. Mr. Freeman talks about why he chose to emigrate - and all the problems he had. We shall be going from Hamburg to New York, and then on a train to Chicago, and then to La Crosse, Wisconsin. From there, the trains don’t go, so we shall have to go by steamer up to Trempealeau and then by cart the rest of the way. The voyage should take about three weeks. We could have gone by sailing boat, but that would have taken at least six weeks, and even though it would be much cheaper, we were advised against it.

In his book, Mr. Freeman spends a long time talking about the constitution of the United States and how it works. Mostly I skipped over that bit. But then he talks about the rights of citizens. If we go there, but do not become naturalized, we will have virtually no rights at all. We will not be able to own land, and the other children couldn’t attend school.

Then he goes on to talk about Wisconsin. It is about 415 miles from east to west, and 449 from north to south, and is considered quite a big state. Pa showed me a map and pointed out the area where we will be going. I asked him how that compared in size to Silesia, and he said he thought Wisconsin was bigger. There are no mountains, but there are hills leading down to the rivers, lakes and waterfalls, which are sufficient for creating water power. There is the one big lake - Lake Superior, on the north, not near where we are going and many small and very beautiful lakes. The great Mississippi River forms the western boundary. Steamboats travel on the Mississippi. It is not at all far from where we shall be living.

Then the book talks about farming, and as that is what Pa does, and will do, he was most interested in that. It says that most farms are owned by the farmers, but that salaries paid for those who work on farms is vastly higher than those in Europe.

Mr. Freeman talks a lot about buying land. The smallest parcel of land one can buy is 40 acres. He says it costs 5 shillings sterling per acres (he is an Englishman and writing in terms of English money). Then there were all sorts of advertisements for land agents and such. All in all, rather a boring book. Here is one of the advertisements that we found for our ship.

"The passengers from the day of embarkation to the day of disembarkation at the port of destination receive free board on the scale usual on seagoing ships. This consists of sustaining and nutritious food such as salt beef, salt pork, herrings, peas, beans, pearl barley, oats, rice, sauerkraut, butter, plums, pastries, pudding, etc., all in sufficient quantity and of the best quality. Coffee is served in the mornings, and in the evenings tea and ship's bread with butter. In accordance with the decree of the local authority, the ships are provisioned for 30 days so that the passengers will not lack for anything on the longest voyage."
It makes it all sound very pleasant, but I’m sure it will be not all as good as they let on.

Pa said that there was another book, being passed around amongst the families, that was more practical. I hope he will manage to get that one for me to read.