Officials Detain the Wife of California Physician Because She Cannot Prove She was born in America.
Floriston. Cal., March 14.— Mrs. Emma Guckesberger, the wife of Doctor John Guckesberger, a young physician, who came here recently, is being detained in Hamburg, Germany, by the German Government because she cannot prove that she is an American by birth. She was born in the village of Freedom, Outagamie County, Wis. She has been refused permission to embark, and is making strenuous efforts to prove her nationality, and has written to her husband, but he is unable to forward her the proof demanded by the German officials. Mrs. Guckesberger wrote first to the Register of Deeds of Outagamie County for a certificate of birth, but her birth was not recorded, owing to negligence in complying with the registry laws of thirty years ago. The Register of Deeds turned her appeal over to the Catholic priest and the Lutheran minister in the village of Freedom in hope that record of her birth may be found in the records of one of the village churches, but so far the search has been unsuccessful.
Mrs. Guckesberger was born Emma Bamberg, about thirty-five years ago on a farm in Freedom, where her mother still lives. Several years ago she married Doctor John Gucksberger, a young physician, and they went to Germany, where the doctor studied in one of the German universities and practiced in the hospitals. About two years ago he returned to America, and recently located in Floriston, leaving his wife with friends in Germany until he should send for her. Some months ago, when she attempted to sail for America from Hamburg, she was detained for want of a passport, she not being eligible for Immigration as a German citizen under the immigration laws of that country. In vain she protested her American citizenship. The German authorities were obdurate and persisted in regarding her as a German subject unless she could produce a certificate of American birth and citizenship. The search for the record of her birth in the Wisconsin church records will be continued, and if unsuccessful, affidavits will be collected, certified by county officials and forwarded in lieu of a birth certificate in hope of thus securing Mrs. Guckesberger's liberty to return to her native country. In the meantime the woman is detained at Hamburg, where she is held under police surveillance, and is virtually a prisoner.
["The St. Louis Republic". (St. Louis, Mo.), March 15, 1903 - Sub. by K.T.]