Early Lutheran Immigration to Wisconsin. 293 
spreading in Pomerania and many pastors and laymen were being perse¬ 
cuted. In 1837, Grabau was imprisoned and, at that time, there were 
said to be twenty pastors in prison or banished.* Laymen who refused 
to send their children to the United schools, or who availed themselves 
of the administration of Luthern pastors in baptism or marriage cere¬ 
monies, but especially those who refused to pay the taxes required for 
the support of a pastor of the United faith were imprisoned, fined or 
otherwise punished. 
At length Capt. von Rohr who had been deprived of his position as 
captain of the guards, for his refusal to conform, assisted Grabau to es¬ 
cape from prison where, it was claimed, he was illegally detained. They 
reached Seehof, on the cost of Pomerania in safety. Previous to this 
time, frequent calls had come to Grabau from the Pomeranian churches 
which had been deprived of their pastors, and he now visited and con¬ 
ducted services in the different societies. Already the question of emi¬ 
gration had been talked of here and letters were received from friends 
in Ohio. Grabau advised them to wait until it was definitely settled 
whether the Lutheran faith would be tolerated. Accordingly, letters 
were sent to the government asking, in case it should not be tolerated, 
for permission to emigrate. To the first question, the answer was “ The 
Lutheran church is within the United church and outside of it, the 
King will tolerate no Lutheran church in this land.” | Permission was 
given to emigrate, in case they proved to the satisfaction of the govern¬ 
ment that they had a pastor, but not otherwise. In consequence of this, 
many societies in Pomerania and the one at Magdeburg placed them¬ 
selves in communication with Grabau, asking him to become their 
pastor. Grabau, meanwhile, had been imprisoned a second time, but he 
Teceived permisssion to emigrate on strict conditions, namely, that he 
go directly to Hamburg where they were to embark, accompanied by 
police officers, lest he hold services on the way. 
This was in the spring of 1839 and with Magdeburg as a center, a large 
emigration was arranged for that year. Capt. von Rohr was chosen to 
engage passage for them and to go in advance to America and choose 
places for settlement. He chose Buffalo N. Y., and Milwaukee. Just why 
lie selected Wisconsin, it is impossible to say, but after travelling through 
New York, Ohio, Illinois and Wisconsin, in order to find the best possible 
location for a settlement, Wisconsin and New York seemed the most 
favorable. It is thought that the climate which resembles that of North 
Germany was one inducement. Another was the prospect of obtaining 
finely wooded lands, always highly prized by the Germans, at low prices. 
Capt. von Rohr was very fond of the hunt and the west doubtless at¬ 
tracted him strongly.J The position of Wisconsin too, as to the routes of 
*Lebenslauf des Ehrwurdigen J. A. A. Grabau von John A. Grabau (son), p, 26. 
d Life of Grabau. p. 35. 
t Letter from Rev. Philip von Rohr (his son). Winona, Minn. 
