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John Dahlem, brother to my great grandfather, came to America before 1880 from Germany, he sent a letter to his brother, Fredrick, offering to send money for a ticket to bring one of his nephews to America. Fredrick and wife discussed this and decided they did not want to part with any of their children. They wrote a letter to Uncle John telling him not to send the money. They gave to letter to their daughter, my grandmother, to mail. Her brother,Fred, offered to mail it for her, but instead he opened it and added a letter of his own, telling his uncle to send the money because the family was in dire straights and promising to take care of his folks. When the letter came from John, Fred's parents were furious and thrashed him. The letter was put on the mantel behind the clock. That night, after everyone was alseep, Fred crept in took the letter and made his way to the coast, where he boarded a ship bound for America. Once in America he made his way to his uncle John's in Gage, Nebraska. The two of them saved what they made until Fred was able to send money to bring his brother's, Karl & Henry over. The four men were then able to send for the rest of the family in 1889. This included my grandmother, Carloina.

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