DIARY OF KORNELIUS UNRUH

Our father, Kornelius Unruh, was born in the village Alexanderwohl, South Russia. His father died when he was four years of age and when he was about five years his mother united in marriage the second time with Jacob Schmidt. In this home he stayed till he established his own home in America. He received his education in the village school of Alexanderwohl. On Pentecost, June 25, 1861, he was baptized upon the confession of his faith by Elder Peter Wedel and became a member of the Alexanderwohl Church. He kept his membership there as well as here till his end. When he was grown up he was quite tall, being six feet and two inches high and weighing about 180 pounds. He had brown eyes and dark hair. His hair stayed dark till he was in the sixties.

In 1874 he with his parents, brothers, and sisters joined the group of immigrants to America and left Russia on the Twentieth of July of that year. For a young man a trip like that had many interesting incidents of which he himself writes the following:

July 20, 5:45 A. M.--Left Halbstadt by rail

8:50 P. M.--Arrived at Alexandroffka, and stayed till 11:00 P.M.

July 21, 8:00 A. M.--Arrived at Liesawoge

9:00 A. M.--Left Liesawoge

7:00 P. M.--Arrived at Charkoff

9:30 P. M.--Left Charkoff, traveled all night July 22, 10:00 A. M.--Arrived at Kurska

2:00 P. M.--Left Kurska

8:30 P. M.--Arrived at Orell and remained over night. July 23, 10:00 A. M.--Left Orell

July 24, 8:00 A. M.--Arrived at Witepske

11:00 A. M.--Left Witepske

11:30 P. M.--Left Dineburg

July 25, 9:30 A. M.--L.eft Willan

7:30 P. M.--Left Weballen for Eitqunen

10:30 P. M.--Left Eitqunen

July 26, 4:30 A. M.--Arrived at Koenigsberg

5:00 A. M.--Left Koenigsberg

12:00 M --Left Berlin

3:00 P. M.--Passed through Beiern

July 27, 10:00 P. M.--Arrived at Hamburg. Here we bought two glasses of peppermint for 24 (silver) groshes and salve for 7 (silver) groshes.

July 31, 800 A. M.--Left Hamburg in a small boat, sailed for three hours and then embarked with 303 adults and 172 children in a large ship, Zimbra, which was to take us across the ocean. It was stormy from Wednesday at 5 oclock till Friday at about 4 P.M. During this time we did not eat but stayed in bed lest we had to vomit. The first night we were on deck most of the time.

Aug. 4--Nice weather and left France

5--Windy

6--Sunshine till noon, cloudy and windy in the afternoon.

7--We had rain and a violent storm in the afternoon. The ship was continuously tossed from side to side till late at night. No body went on deck. The utensils in the ship rolled from one side to the other. We did not care to take our afternoon luncheon.

8--Had a good voyage. The ocean was quiet and the wind favored our sail.

9--Had a good voyage, the weather was nice with a favorable breeze, which continued all night.

10--Fair weather, foggy at night.

11--Foggy till noon. In the afternoon a light wind.

12--Rain in the morning. We saw many fish in the afternoon.

13--A light wind; had a good voyage. At night, wind and rain.

14--A good voyage, the wind from the east.

15--The weather was nice and fair, and we came safely into the harbor of New York at 12 noon and stayed over night at Hoboken.

16--Arrived at Castle Garden and stayed there till Saturday.

17--We went on a boat to the depot and left there at 6:30 on a train.

19, 6:30--On Monday arrived at Elkhart, Indiana.

20, 6:00 P. M.--Left Elkhart, Indiana, and arrived at Chicago at 12 oclock.

21, 11:00--Left Chicago

Aug. 22--We all arrived at Plattsmouth, Nebraska. From here 21 families left for Dakota. We left for Lincoln, Nebraska. Arrived at Lincoln at night and remained standing in the cars all night. In the morning we went to a large rooming house. Here we stayed for 19 days, from the 23rd of August to the 11th of September.

Then the Kansas Railroad Association took us to Topeka, Kansas. We arrived there the same night and stayed 15 days, until the 26th of September. During this time two immigrant houses were built by the Railroad Company at their own expense. When we bought the land the railroad company gave the immigrants 2 sections of land. In Topeka we bought a cooking stove for $28.00. We left Topeka the 26th of September at 5:00 oclock and arrived at Peabody, Kansas, at night. The 27th of September at 3 oclock A. M. we came to the immigrant houses which were built 18 feet by 200 feet and were located in Marion County, Kansas, Menno Township, Section 33. Here we stayed 8 weeks, On November 22nd, 1814 we moved into our house in Marion County, West Branch Township, Section 9.

Our father bought some land which he knew was not of the best type, but he chose this because it was located near his parents. This was an 80 acre tract in West Branch Township, Marion County, Kansas, Section 3. He felt so discouraged about the land that before he was married he showed the whole piece of land to his bride-to-be, Katharine Reimer, and then asked her whether she would still like to be his bride. She consented. He then built a house, the wall from sod and covered the roof with reed grass. He made the same heating system as they used to have in Russia. For fuel he burned straw and cornstalks. He then united in marriage on the 11th of June 1878. This union lasted only till March 20, 1879. On August the 5th, 1879 he for the second time united in marriage with our mother, Anna Funk.

Later he bought some more land, 80 acres adjoining on the east end and still later 80 acres contiguous along the north side. In 1884 he bought a house which he moved with the help of his neighbors to his farm. Here our parents lived until their death. In this new country he found it quite difficult to work with the implements and machinery, especially on his unlevel and hilly land. Another difficulty on the place was the problem of securing water. Several wells were dug without success. Finally one was dug 60 feet deep and drilled to the depth of 112 feet. This well had ample water for the stock on the place.

When we were unable to attend church, he read the scripture, sang and prayed with us. A few of his favorite songs were: "Christi Blut und Gerechtigkeit" and "Pass me Not Oh Gentle Saviour." He was of a pious disposition, took life seriously, striving to live in peace with his fellowmen and in fellowship with God. He attended the Communion Services regularly and when he saw someone fail he felt it his duty to show him the right way. He read the Scriptures daily and found comfort in them. According to Exodus 20:4, he thought it unscriptural to have photographs taken, or to hang pictures and mottoes on the wall. He wore clothes mostly made by mother, because she made them in the

style that he liked. On Sundays he always wore a long coat and no necktie. In the year 1922 he felt that he was getting old and weak, so he disposed of his last two horses, and a year later also of the cows. During the last summer of his life he very often sat outside in the shade of a tree or lay there on a cot. Later in the summer he became still weaker and in October, he became altogether bedfast. The last time when he sat at the table with mother and Mary he recited from memory the verses Psalm 73:23-26, for his comfort and our consolation.

He often reminded us not to bury him in black clothes, for in Rev. 3:5, it reads, "He that overcometh the same shall be clothed in white raiment and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels."

As funeral text he gave to Rev. P. H. Unruh the passage Acts 7,54-60.

Funeral services were held in the Alexanderwohl church Jan. 1,1924, and burial took

place in the church cemetery.

Mrs. Isaac B. Fast, Goessel, Kans.