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 den Jahren 1824 bis 1827 ("Report of a journey to the western states of North America and a multi-year sojourn in the years 1824 through 1827") gave romantic and glowing descriptions of the Missouri River valley between St. Louis and Hermann, Missouri. He established a farm near what is now Dutzow, Missouri along the Missouri River near Washington, Missouri. His book on the region, comparing the Missouri River to the Rhine in Germany, and his positive remarks concerning the climate, culture and soils in Missouri led to untold tens of thousands of German immigrants to the area beginning in the 1830s.

Gottfried Duden was born in Remscheid, Duchy of Berg. The middle child of Leonhard and Maria (née Hartcop) Duden. He was educated in law, and after serving as a justice for several years decided to investigate the U.S. as a possible place for emigration. Germany was suffering from overpopulation, high crime and famine, and following the Napoleonic Wars there were several emigration books suggesting emigration to Russia, South America and England as well. Duden had studied these, but felt that none that were written on the U.S. had actually been visited by the author.

He purchased land in what was Montgomery County (later Warren County) about 50 miles west of St. Louis. He arrived in Missouri in 1824, with a professional farmer by the name of Ludwig Eversmann and a female cook named Gertrude Obladen. For three years he lived with a nearby farmer named Jacob Haun, while Eversmann married and settled nearby on land they had purchased. He had a house built on his land just south of Haun and Eversmann. As a researcher he spent his days idyllically visiting the lead mines, duck hunting with Nathan Boone, and observing nature. His letters home covered a myriad of topics from slavery and Indians to farming methods and weather. His time spent in the U.S., 1824-1827 was during a period that experienced mild weather, and he failed to give an accurate depiction of the winters.

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