Until now we had only four accounts of the 1854 migration written by individuals who were participants.
1. Pastor Johann Kilian left his collection of a diary, letters, and notes. (See the TWHS Newsletter of October 2012 “Death on the Irish Sea.“
2. A German, August Haak, also wrote an account of his experiences, which Dr. Joseph Wilson published in the Journal of the German-Texas Heritage Society and subsequently appeared in A Collection of Histories of St Paul Lutheran Church, Serbin, Texas in commemoration of the congregations 150th anniversary in 2003.
3. A third source of information was a letter written by Johann Sommer, also printed in the January 2002 issue of the TWHS Newsletter.
4. And the fouirth is a letter (Ein Brief) written by Johann Teinert many years after the actual voyage.
Now, thanks to the work of Marilyn Luce Miertschin Nickelsburg we have a fifth source – an account written by Johann Kieschnick.
Marilyn Nickelsburg traces her Wendish ties to the Kieschnick and Miertschin families, and has done extensive work on the Miertschin family. A fourth-generation Wend, she was born in Texas (Ft. Worth) but lived in other states – separated from Wendish connections. She married George W. Nickelsburg, a pastor who became professor of religious studies at the University of Iowa. They are now retired and reside in Washington.