Hilke was born in Rysum Ostfriesland near Emden, now in the German state of Niedersaechsen (Lower Saxony). She and husband Henry emigrated to the Illinois prairie in 1868, most likely fleeing the Prussians who, under Otto von Bismarck, were absorbing small states like Ostfriesland to form the (2nd) German Reich in 1870. Half of Friesland lies across the Netherlands border, and people in both regions speak a language which is neither German nor Dutch. Hilke's maiden name "Alberts" (daughter of Albert) is a clue to the kinship of Frisian to Scandinavian languages.
Hilke was born in Rysum Ostfriesland near Emden, now in the German state of Niedersaechsen (Lower Saxony). She and husband Henry emigrated to the Illinois prairie in 1868, most likely fleeing the Prussians who, under Otto von Bismarck, were absorbing small states like Ostfriesland to form the (2nd) German Reich in 1870. Half of Friesland lies across the Netherlands border, and people in both regions speak a language which is neither German nor Dutch. Hilke's maiden name "Alberts" (daughter of Albert) is a clue to the kinship of Frisian to Scandinavian languages.
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