Historic Family Letters Tell the Story of Moving from England to Wisconsin

NEENAH, Wis. - Jan. 26, 2026 - PRLog -- Wisconsin-based genealogical researcher Joan Naomi Steiner, PhD, has turned a rare collection of nineteenth-century letters into a treat for history buffs in a two-volume book series entitled The Pipe Family Letter Collection: The Promise of America in Their Own Words. The letters provide firsthand accounts into the challenges that they, and many European immigrants to the United States, experienced during the mid- to late 1800s.

Dr. Steiner has known the Pipe family descendants for most of her life. Recently, her son invited her to visit his cousins, who inherited the Pipe family portraits and letter collection. Her research uncovered not only records, but also family history told by ancestors in their own words.

The set includes 105 letters, along with historic photos and maps that span 63 years and four generations as the family transitioned from southwest England to mostly rural Wisconsin. Historians on both sides of the Atlantic will appreciate the level of detail provided by these determined individuals.

Featuring images of family members and the actual letters paired with easy-to-read transcriptions, the Pipe family comes to life through a story told through their own pens and in their own words. They share life events as they happened and express their doubts and fears about the future. Readers will feel the joys, celebrations and tragedies they endured while developing a personal relationship with individual family members.

Volume 1 takes the family through 1863, just fifteen years after Wisconsin's statehood and with an economy that had barely progressed beyond frontier status in rural areas. Volume 2 follows the family from late 1864 and the end of the Civil War through the early 1900s. The Pipe family has developed strong roots in Wisconsin, but the connection to family in England remains.

The series is available in paperback and digital formats on Amazon at https://amzn.to/4rhm1dO. It also is available for purchase through the IngramSpark platform.

About the Author

Dr. Joan Naomi Steiner was born and raised on her grandfather's farm in Calumet County, Wisconsin. She earned her doctorate at New York University and her Master of Science in Teaching English and Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Her professional career includes teaching high school students for twenty-five years and administrating in school districts for seventeen years. She has also taught at the university level and worked as a consultant for more than forty school districts in Wisconsin.

Dr. Steiner has also written A German Bohemian Immigration: The Population Shift from Western Bohemia to Calumet County, Wisconsin. It has been translated into German and Czech languages, all of which are available on Amazon.