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This collection of biographical and genealogical essays is the second volume in L. A. Fritsche's two-volume history of Brown County, Minnesota. Brown County, and, in particular, the city of New Ulm, was an important focal point of German-American migration west of Cincinnati, Chicago, or St. Louis during the second half of the 19th century. New Ulm was founded in 1854 by the Chicago Landverein, or Land Society, and Dr. L. A. Fritsche was the son of some of the area's earliest settlers. Dr. Fritsche, a highly respected physician and the first elected mayor of New Ulm, was a prominent German-American community leader in the state of Minnesota. As evidenced in Don Heinrich Tolzmann's substantial Introduction focusing on the author's life and career, Dr. Fritsche's extensive education and his connections in the German-American and professional and political circles of southern Minnesota made him uniquely qualified to write a book on his native county.

The second volume of Dr. Fritsche's history, which is reprinted here almost in its entirety, consists of sketches of about 200 pioneers of New Ulm, or Brown County, and their families. Each essay fleshes out the childhood, education, career, and civic or professional affiliations of the principal subject. In most instances, perhaps half of the sketch is genealogical in nature, with coverage given to the subject's parentage and siblings, the name of the spouse, the date and circumstances of marriage, and the names of all children resulting from the union. Following is a list of main families featured in Dr. Fritsche's compendium, which constitutes a core collection of German-American founding families west of the Mississippi.

Albrecht, Alwin, Amann, Amundson, Aufderheide, Backer, Baer, Bakke, Behnke, Bell, Benham, Bentzin, Berg, Berkner, Berndt, Bertrand, Beussmann, Bingham, Bobleter, Boock, Brandt, Brust, Buenger, Casperson, Christiansen, Crone, Dahl, Dehn, Dittbenner, Doehne, Durbahn, Eggensperger, Eibner, Erickson, Essig, Flor, Forster, Foster, Frank, Frederickson, Fritsche, Furth, Gaetke, Gareis, Gastler, Goblirsch, Graff, Griebel, Gronau, Guggisberg, Gulbrandson, Hackbarth, Halvorson, Hamann, Hammermeister, Hanson, Hauenstein, Heimann, Held, Hellmann, Henle, Herzog, Hofmeister, Hohn, Holm, Huevelman, Humphrey, Ives, Jensen, Johnson, Jones, Julius, Juni, Kaiser, Kiesling, Klein, Klossner, Knees, Koch, Koehler, Koester, Krause, Krook, Lambrecht, Landskron, Lange, Lebert, Lehrer, Liesch, Lilleodden, McPhee, Manderfeld, Marti, Mauch, Mayer, Mecklenburg, Melzer, Meyer, Mickelson, Mikaelson, Miller, Minium, Mo, Moe, Mohr, Moll, Mueller, Mullen, Neumann, Niemann, Norman, Ochs, Olstad, Oswald, Ouren, Palmer, Peterson, Pfaender, Pfisterer, Pickle, Rasmussen, Raymond, Retzlaff, Roland, Rowland, Ruemke, Saffert, Schilling, Schlinkert, Schlumpberger, Schnobrich, Schrader, Schreyer, Schropfer, Schubert, Schultz, Schweiger, Schwendinger, Seifert, Siegel, Skinner, Spelbrink, Spellbrink, Sperl, Sprenger, Stegeman, Stolz, Stone, Strickler, Tappe, Thordson, Vetter, Vogel, Vogtel, Weilandt, Weiser, Wheeler, Wiebel, Winkelmann, Zieske, and Zschunke.