![In 1868 Rudolf Heer, his wife, Rosina, and their daughters, Barbara and Maria, emigrated from Glarus to America. Illustration by Marco Heer.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/titel-variante-300x225.jpg)
Easy come, easy go
In 1868, Rudolf Heer and his family emigrated to America. In five letters home to his mother he described his life in the New World, allowing us a glimpse into the life of an emigrant.
![The “Stampf” after the devastating Glarus fire.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/2022-01-25-18-00-25-stellungskrieg-und-stacheldraht-gehoren-zusammen-adobe-acrobat-pro-dc-32-bit-300x220.png)
Letters from the New World
Rudolf Heer emigrated to America from Glarus in the 19th century. Between 1868 and 1872 he sent a total of five letters back to his old homeland. The letters are now in the archives of the Heer family, along with a number of other documents. This article is based on those letters and on research carried out by Fred Heer, a descendant of the Heers who stayed in Glarus.
![In July 1868 the Heer family left Glarus forever. Their new life led them to America via Zurich, Basel, Paris and Le Havre.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/illu-bahnhof-300x221.jpg)
![The first letter from Rudolf Heer to his mother, written in November 1868.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/brief-heer-1-236x300.jpg)
![Life in steerage was hard. Rosina Heer was seasick and the days and nights spent amongst luggage items and arguing people would have felt like an eternity.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/illu-zwischendeck-300x229.jpg)