Friedrich Münch (born June 25, 1799, Niedergemünden,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

– died in 1881,

Dutzow, Missouri Dutzow is an unincorporated community in southeastern Warren County, Missouri, United States. It is located on Route 94, approximately three miles north of Washington. Located near the Missouri River, it is one of the oldest German communities in t ...

) was a

German-American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

rationalist,

winemaker A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to deter ...

Missouri State Senator The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 174,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two yea ...

, and prolific author for German emigrants, beginning in the 1830s. at ''Missouri Germans Consortium''

Biography

He studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

at the

University of Gießen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (german: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is named after its most famous faculty member, Justus von L ...

, Germany, from 1816 to 1819. There he met the brothers Follen (

August August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars, and the fifth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. Its zodiac sign is Leo and was originally named ''Sextilis'' in Latin because it was the 6th month in ...

Karl Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austria ...

and

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

, who founded a democratic and republican students movement, soon to be outlawed. He befriended the youngest brother,

Paul Follen Paul Follenius (May 5, 1799 – October 3, 1844) was a German-American attorney and farmer, who had founded the Gießener Auswanderungsgesellschaft (''Gießen Emigration Society''). Early life He was born at Gießen, in Hesse-Darmstadt, Ger ...

, who in 1825 married his sister Maria. Author

Gottfried Duden Gottfried Duden (May 19, 1789 – October 29, 1856) was a German emigration writer of the early 19th century. His famous book ''Bericht über eine Reise nach den westlichen Staaten Nordamerikas und einen mehrjährigen Aufenthalt am Missouri in d ...

, a German attorney, settled on the north side of the Missouri River along Lake Creek in 1824. He was investigating the possibilities of settlement in the area by his countrymen. In 1827 he returned to Germany, which he believed was overpopulated. There he first published a glowing ''Bericht über eine Reise nach den westlichen Staaten Nordamerikas'' ("A Journey to the Western States of North America") in 1829. The romantic description of the free life in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

motivated the

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

minister Friedrich Muench and the attorney

to found in 1833 the Gießener Auswanderungsgesellschaft ("Gießen Emigration Society"). Both had participated in student movements in Germany. As they felt there was no immediate hope for success, they intended to establish a "new and free German State in the great North American Republic" to serve as a model for a future German republic. In the spring and summer of 1834 they led 500 German settlers into Missouri. They soon realized that the plan for a separate federal state would remain a

utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', describing a fictional ...

. They settled in the German-populated town Dutzow in

Warren County, Missouri Warren County is a county located in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2010 census, the population was 32,513. The county is located on the north side of the Missouri River. Its county seat is Warrenton. The count ...

, on the north side of the Missouri River, not far from the former farm of Gottfried Duden. This helped attract German immigrants to the area, which along both sides of the river became known as the

Missouri Rhineland The Missouri Rhineland is a geographical area of Missouri that extends from west of St. Louis to slightly east of Jefferson City, located mostly in the Missouri River Valley on both sides of the river. Dutzow, the first permanent German settle ...

. The German settlers were known as "

Dreißiger The term Dreissiger (German ''Dreißiger'') (Thirtiers) refers to liberal intellectuals who left Germany and came to the United States in the 1830s to escape political repression. In a broader sense, it refers to immigrants from across Germany, a ...

", or "Thirtiers", as opposed to the later " Forty Eighters" who migrated after the failed European

revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...

. Muench was retained by the railroads to write pamphlets urging Germans to settle in the area. They were published in 1859 and 1866. The Bremen Auswander Zeitung called him "Father Muench," the pioneer of German immigration into Missouri. Muench played a notable role in Missouri politics, where he was a fierce opponent of

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. He campaigned together with

Friedrich Hecker Friedrich Franz Karl Hecker (September 28, 1811 – March 24, 1881) was a German lawyer, politician and revolutionary. He was one of the most popular speakers and agitators of the 1848 Revolution. After moving to the United States, he served as ...

, a former German revolutionist who had immigrated to the US after the failure of the 1848/9 democratic movement in Germany. Muench was elected to Missouri’s legislature, where he served during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Friedrich's brother Georg Muench moved from Lake Creek to

Augusta, Missouri Augusta is a city in St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 253 at the 2010 census. The city boasts wineries, antique shops, restaurants, B&B's, a wood shop, a glass studio, massage therapy, a historic museum and The Aug ...

, where he founded

Mount Pleasant Winery Mount Pleasant Estates is a winery in Augusta, Missouri, United States, on the north side of the Missouri River in what is called the Missouri Rhineland. History Mount Pleasant Winery was founded in 1859 by immigrant Georg Muench (1801–1879) ...

in 1859. Münch was influential in the creation of the Missouri wine industry, which became the second largest in the nation before

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

. Friedrich Münch wrote books on

viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

, theology, and the State of Missouri. He also wrote articles on winemaking, agriculture and emigration to Missouri for the United States and German press, under his pen name ''Far West''. On December 14, 1881 Friedrich Münch died on the same farm he first purchased upon arrival in 1834, the only farm he ever lived on and owned in the United States. His children had called him for supper, and discovered him with pruning shears in hand in his vineyard. He is buried with his family, on the same farm, overlooking the Lake Creek valley he loved. His many descendants were held in high esteem in the St. Louis region. One of his sons was among the first volunteers in the Civil War and died in the

Battle of Wilson's Creek The Battle of Wilson's Creek, also known as the Battle of Oak Hills, was the first major battle of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. It was fought on August 10, 1861, near Springfield, Missouri, Springfield, Missou ...

under the command of

Franz Sigel Franz Sigel (November 18, 1824 – August 21, 1902) was a German American military officer, revolutionary and immigrant to the United States who was a teacher, newspaperman, politician, and served as a Union major general in the American Civil ...

, a former officer of the German 1848 revolution. One of his daughters, Emilie, married Dr. William Follenius, the son of his old friend Paul Follen.

Bibliography

* Paul Follen und Friedrich Münch: ''Aufforderung und Erklärung in Betreff einer Auswanderung im Großen aus Teutschland in die nordamerikanischen Freistaaten'' (Invitation and Declaration Regarding a Mass Emigration from Germany to the North American Free States), Gießen: Ricker, 1833. * ''A Treatise on Religion and Christianity, Orthodoxy and Rationalism'' * ''Der Staat Missouri, geschildert mit besonderer Rücksicht auf teutsche Einwanderung'' (The State of Missouri, Described with Special Regard for the German Immigrant), 1859 * ''American Grape Culture'', 1859 * ''School for American grape culture: brief but thorough and practical guide to the laying out of vineyards, the treatment of vines, and the production of wine and North America.'', St. Louis 1865 * ''Amerikanische Weinbauschule'' (American Wine School), St. Louis: 1877 * ''Geisteslehre für die heranreisende Jugend zum Gebrauche für Lehrer höhere Lehranstalten : ein Buch für Lehrer und Schüler und alle Freunde des freien Denkens (Spiritual heranreisende Lesson for the Youth, for the Use of Teachers Colleges: a Book for Teachers and Students and All Friends of Free Thought'', St. Louis: 1872 * Friedrich Münch (Hg.): ''Erinnerungen aus Deutschlands trübster Zeit, dargestellt in den Lebensbildern von Karl Follen, Paul Follen und Friedrich Münch'' (Memories of Germany's Gloomiest Period, Depicted in the Lives of Karl Follen, Paul Follen and Friedrich Münch), St. Louis (Missouri) and Neustadt: Haardt, 1873. * Friedrich Münch: ''Gesammelte Schriften'' (Collected Works), St. Louis: 1902

External links

Muench Family Association

References

1799 births 1881 deaths University of Giessen alumni Government ministers of Germany German emigrants to the United States Missouri wine German-American culture in St. Louis {{Authority control

Biography

Bibliography

Further reading

See also

External links

References