Interesting. My hubby hails from Fort Madison. His family (grandparents) however, arrived on the boat from Germany. I’m a Kansas gal born and bred, family mostly from the south has been on American shores since before the Revolution. ( Budding genealogist here...... :) )
Read the book THE LAST FARMER by Howard Kohn. It describes and gives great details of the German farmers in Flyover country.
Kohn was an editor for Rolling Stone magazine. He returns to family farm after divorce First part of the book is rather slow. I kept thinking -— Oh that interesting SO .... But the impact it had on my life and appreciation of ancestors is unlimited
I’ve bought over a dozen copies. Loan it and it gets passed on to others and others.
One of the very best non fiction books ever !