The Adventures of Nick Hoffman: Voyage to America by Paul T Zimmerschied

“The Adventures of Nick Hoffman, Voyage to America,” is a thrilling novel about the story of a young boy who migrates with his family from Europe to America in 1845. Jacob Hoffman, Nick’s father a Cobbler in St Gallen Switzerland hears the exciting stories from a customer, a world traveler, of the wonders of America. He becomes obsessed about migrating and shares the story with his son Nick who finds adventure anywhere, but St Gallen worth experiencing.

Jacob and his wife Margret are believers in God and seek His will in their lives in every important matter. When events start happening that make it possible for the family to migrate to America they find God’s favor is for them to pursue Jacob and Nicks's dream.

Margaret Hoffman is a lace and embroidery maker for the queen of Switzerland. When Jacob and Margaret and their children, Francis, Jacob Jr., John, Nick, and Anna decide to go to America, Margret is torn emotionally when she has to tell her queen she is leaving for America.

The Hoffmans sell their cottage and all their belongings and board a coach to Bremen Germany and never look back for America is their future.

The journey by coach is plagued with incidences of swollen rivers, washed-out bridges, encounters with wild animals, and highway robbers.

God brings new acquaintances into their lives along the journey. Mr. Bieri an old coach driver whose coach carries the Hoffmans from St Gallen to Stuttgart Germany, becomes fond of Nick and the Hoffman family. From Stuttgart to Bremen Germany Abelard Achter is the coach driver, a young handsome blond-haired man who falls in love with Francis Hoffman the 16 years old daughter of Jacob and Margaret. He realizes to court Francis, he too must sail to America.

The Hoffmans reach Bremen Germany and board the Grace Brown an American ship carrying other immigrants in the Great Immigration bound for America.

The long voyage across the Atlantic Ocean brings hardship, sickness, and death to some aboard. The Hoffmans are forced to deal with ghosts, storms, and great prejudice from the crew.
The Grace Brown is blown off course by a bad storm and with all on board running short of food all seems lost. Then In the morning’s dim light land is spotted and the entrance to a great river is revealed. The ship moves up the River with the morning tide and docks in New Orleans.

The Hoffmans stood on the pier with their few possessions, ready to embark on a journey to somewhere in this great land. Nick Hoffman would go on to wander the North American Continent most of his life, searching for adventure.
“Up the Mississippi River” to be published in 2024.