250 HISTORY OP SOUTHEAST MISSOURI George H. Cramer, who was the son of Will- iam Cramer, lived in Cape Girardeau for a number of j^ears and was a very highly re- spected citizen, holding the office of mayor on several occasions. Hon. Wilson Cramer of Jackson, is a son of George H. Cramer. Of the family of Otto Buehrman there are still descendants living within the county and until within a few years one of his grandsons M'as a merchant in Cape GirardeaM. In 1835 William Bierwirth, with his family, Daniel Bertling, Henry Friese and Chris Schatte came to Cape Girardeau eotmty from Ger- many and since that time there has been a stream of German immigration. The settle- ment in the neighborhood of Dutchtown was made about 1835-36 by families from Switz- erland. It was among these families that the German Evangelical church was organized in 1838. Growth of Towns We have said that the period was prin- cipally one in which the population of the coimtry increased and farms were opened, but there was also a growth of the towns. With the coming of larger numbers of people, trade increased and therefore the trading centers grew rapidly in population. More and more men became interested in buying and selling goods, in the establishment of banks, and in a few eases, the establishment of factories of various kinds. These things were concen- trated in the towns of the section and, accord- ingly, we find all of these towns having a prosperous histor,y, and the new towns con- stantly springing up in every part of the dis- trict. We have previously referred to the his- tory of more important towns in the section, and it will be the purpose in this to continue the stor3' of these towns, and to trace the founding, and history of those whose story begins within the period we are now dis- cussing.
