The Family Picnics At The Farm of Joseph A. Jesmer in 1890’s.
The family picnics at the farm of the Joseph A. Jesmer in the 1890’s.
Link to Joseph A. and Mary Ann Jesmer
Link to Jesmer family history page
Joseph and Maryann Jesmer was very generous, He opened up his farm for family gatherings. Before the church was built on land that he donated, he allowed Catholic Mass in his own home. He had dances, where 34 people bought tickets for $1 each to raise money for a new church to be built. There were picnics held. Here is one account of the picnics. I wish I had a time machine to go back to one of those farm picnics.
“According to a letter written by Janet Evers the people associated with the Jesmers were either relatives or friends. “They were like a clan and didn’t like outsiders like the Minnesota Swedes”. She remembers going to her grandparent’s farm and seeing all of the French people by themselves on the lawn speaking French. She stated that the New York French stuck together for so many years, marrying back and forth. She stated that the first two generations that came to Minnesota did the same thing.”
The painting is a picture at the Naper Settlement in Naperville Illinois. The picture is a Jesmer picnic with Joseph A. and his brother Nelson E. Jesmer in the front right. Joseph is standing with a vest and a hat.
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