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American Ghost by Hannah Nordhaus is a history of
the Jewish immigrant, a woman living in the 19th Century,
and a family intertwined with the paranormal. Along with the
exploration of her own German-Jewish roots the author tells
the story of how this Jewish family was instrumental in the
development of New Mexico.
Hannah Nordhaus traces the life, death, and unsettled afterlife
of her great-great-grandmother Julia, from her childhood in
Germany to her years in the American West. Julia was a mail
order bride, marrying Abraham Staab, who had her immigrate
to America. He had previously left Germany and traveled to
the US for economic and social opportunities. The author described
him as "charming, forceful, an incredible businessman,
personable, and scrappy, very much a man of his time. I think
I would have liked him had I met him."
But Julia was a troubled person. She suffered from depression
and never seemed to have her own identity. The author fascinatingly
delves into how women were treated in the 19th Century, especially
in the Old West. Nordhaus notes, "Julia's life was not
of her own making, basically being an accessory to her husband.
She was someone without a lot of choices, and never had any
power over her own destiny. For example, while doing the research
I never found her mentioned in any newspaper except as Mrs.
A. Staab."
Perhaps because Julia was placed into an environment that
was so dramatically opposite to what she was accustomed to
she became mentally ill with severe depression. The author
describes in the book the atmosphere of Santa Fe as it became
the outpost of the American frontier town: dusty, rough, with
only mud homes. There was constant gambling and shootings.
Yet, Abraham tried to help her by hiring a caregiver, allowing
her to frequently visit Germany, and building her a huge mansion.
Unfortunately, Julia never overcame her illness and died in
1896 at the age of fifty-two. Eventually, the mansion was
converted to a hotel. Ghost stories started after a janitor
at the La Posada Hotel, in the 1970's, reported seeing her
ghost. Although the author does discuss the history of ghost
hunters and psychics the most compelling parts of the book
are the chapters involving Julia's life intertwined with the
American Southwest. Nordhaus explained, "The ghost story
allowed me to speculate about Julia's feelings. She became
a legend in New Mexico only because of the ghost stories.
I needed to address the paranormal because Julia is remembered
through that portion of her afterlife." American Ghost
is a gripping account of frontier life from an immigrant Jewish
woman's perspective. It is the author's connection of the
past where she explores the story, trying to separate the
history and the myth.
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