![In June 1872 Rudolph Heer wrote a final letter to his mother. After that, the contact broke off. Illustration by Marco Heer.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/Titel-Rudolf-Heer-3-300x225.jpg)
Goodbye, and good luck!
In 1872 contact between San Francisco and Glarus stopped. It seems Rudolph Heer wanted to finally cut all ties to his old life…
![Photograph after the earthquake in 1868.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/erdbeben-kalifornien-300x180.jpg)
![Illustration of the earthquake in San Francisco in Harper’s Weekly, November 1868.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/erdbeben-1868-300x221.jpg)
![](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/Eintrag-1-300x135.jpg)
![](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/eintrag-2-300x171.jpg)
With the help of various entries in “Langley’s San Francisco Directory”, a name and trade register, it is possible to build a fairly accurate picture of Rudolph Heer’s career. Internet Archive
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.
![Being able to meet with his employer without removing his hat impressed Rudolph Heer.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/Zahltag-300x224.jpg)
![Goodbye, and good luck! The last lines from Rudolph to his mother. It appears to be a conscious farewell.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/Letzter-Gruss-300x144.jpg)