The Held Homeland
Bechtolsheim is a small village in Rheinhessen, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Nestled among rolling vineyards and wheat fields roughly 20 km southwest of Mainz, it was a quiet farming community where families had tilled the same land for generations. The name "Held" means hero in German — a name carried across an ocean and planted in Iowa soil.
Why did the Helds leave? In the mid-19th century, Rhineland families faced severe hardship — poor harvests, overpopulation, political unrest following the failed 1848 revolutions, and rising land rents. American land agents painted a picture of boundless, affordable land in the Midwest. For the Helds, Iowa was a dream worth risking everything for.
The Decision to Leave
The Held family emigrated likely in the 1860s–1870s, departing from Bremen or Hamburg on steamships bound for Baltimore, New York, or New Orleans.
What to Bring. Emigrants carried only what fit in a single trunk — tools, seeds, a family bible, and whatever currency they could gather. They left behind graves, land, and neighbors.
The Atlantic Crossing
The crossing from Germany to America took 2 to 6 weeks. Most immigrants traveled in steerage class — the lowest deck, where hundreds were packed into dark, poorly ventilated quarters. Seasickness was nearly universal. Food was hard bread, salt pork, and dried beans. Disease spread quickly. Children were especially vulnerable.
Medical inspection, name registration. Then into the teeming city streets, often for the first time.
Rail travel west through Appalachian forests, Ohio farmland, and the flat Indiana plains.
The Illinois Central and Chicago & North Western railroads connected Chicago to western Iowa.
The final leg by wagon or on foot across open tallgrass prairie — vast, treeless, and full of possibility.
Arriving on the Prairie
Plymouth County in the 1860s–70s was open tallgrass prairie. Under the Homestead Act of 1862, 160 acres were free to any head of household willing to farm it for five years. For a family that had worked rented land in Germany for generations, owning 160 acres was almost incomprehensible. They broke the sod, built a shanty, planted their first crops, and became Iowan.
The Held Community
Plymouth County sits in the far northwest corner of Iowa. The county seat is Le Mars. In the late 19th century it was being rapidly settled by German, Dutch, and Scandinavian immigrants. The Held family joined a tight-knit German-speaking community, worshipping in German-language churches and farming the rich, dark Iowa soil.
📋 Fill in the Blanks — Key records to search: Iowa State Census records, Plymouth County deed records, Lutheran/Reformed church registers, Find-a-Grave for Plymouth County cemeteries, and FamilySearch.org German emigration indexes.
Benjamin Franklin Held was born approximately 1878 in Plymouth County. Named after America's founding genius — a thoroughly American name chosen by immigrant parents who had fully embraced their new country — Benjamin grew up working the family farm and built his own farming legacy in northwest Iowa.
The Farm Operation
Benjamin grew corn, oats, and hay as primary crops. Hogs and cattle were raised for family use and sale at Le Mars. Every family member had daily chores. Spring: planting. Summer: cultivating and haying. Fall: the great corn harvest. Winter: feeding livestock and repairing equipment.
Sports in Rural Iowa
Rural Iowa communities were passionate about baseball, with nearly every small town fielding a community team. Basketball became popular in schools. Add details here about Held family members who participated in sports, school athletics, or county fair competitions.
4-H in Plymouth County
4-H became a cornerstone of rural Iowa youth life. Plymouth County's program gave Held family children the chance to raise and show livestock at the Plymouth County Fair in Le Mars. Raising a show animal taught responsibility, patience, and animal husbandry. Blue ribbons and grand champion awards brought real prestige to a farm family.