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Pennsylvania Dutch History
The history of the Pennsylvania Germans starts around the
year 1689 when a steady immigration of German and Swiss immigrants
began arriving in Pennsylvania. It is estimated that approximately 100,000
immigrants came in 1742; and 280,000, in 1763. These new immigrants
were the pioneer settlers of about two-thirds of the total land area of
the state. Most of this German-speaking population remained concentrated
in the eastern counties of PA, and this made it possible to preserve their
language and cultural traditions for many years, even to this day. There
is a unique mixture of both German and English influences in their culture
today, as evident in their language. Counties in Pennsylvania where
the PA Dutch language can be heard include Berks, Bucks, Lancaster,
Lebanon, Lehigh, and York. These pioneer settlers did not settle in large
numbers in the counties along the northern border of the state, but many
settlements can be found in Maryland, Western Virginia, Ohio and farther
west. There are also Pennsylvania Germans found in parts of western New
York, as well as Canada.
This group of German settlers is sometimes called the
Pennsylvania Germans and sometimes the Pennsylvania Dutch. The Oxford
dictionary explains that the word Dutch comes from the Old High German
word duitsch or diutisc meaning "popular, vulgar."
In Germany this adjective (diustisc) was used in the 9th century
as a rendering of Latin vulgaris, to distinguish the “vulgar
tongue” from the Latin of the church and the learned; hence it gradually
came to be the current denomination of the vernacular, applicable alike
to any particular dialect, and generally to German as a whole. From
the language, it was naturally rendered to those who spoke it, and
thus grew to be an ethnic or national adjective. In the 12th and 13th
centuries, the name of the country Diutishland arose, which is
now Deutschland (the standard name for Germany).
Like other languages, the dialect of German known as Pennsylvania
Dutch presents variation due to the limited intercourse of a widely-scattered
agricultural population, and to the several dialects brought from
abroad, chiefly from the region of the Upper Rhine, and the Neckar,
the latter furnishing the Suabian or Rhenish Bavarian element. The
language is therefore South German from Rhenish Bavaria, Baden, Alsace,
Würtemburg, German Switzerland and Darmstadt. Pennsylvania town
names such as Hanover, Heidelberg and Manheim indicate where some of
the early settlers may have come from.
The life of a pioneer was primitive, mostly out of necessity.
They faced not only financial hardships, but material ones as well, which
is one of the reasons for their immigration. This "comfortless life"
of toil which they had in their home countries prepared them in a way
for what was ahead of them as they set out for the "new world." Pennsylvania
Germans were mostly Amish and Mennonite families, some seeking relief from
the religious persecution that plagued Europe. These families tended
to value industry and thrift and even today, Amish and Mennonite families
are known as hard workers who can do a lot with a little. They are known
as exceptionally good farmers who work hard at cultivating their land and
being good stewards of what they have.
Below are some good resources for further study on the Pennsylvania
Germans:
Aus Pennsylfawnia: An Anthology of Translations into
the Pennsylvania German Dialect, edited by William S. Troxell “Pumpernickle
Bill”, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia. 1938.
Goschenhoppen Historians Inc.
- was founded in 1964 in order to preserve the folk culture of the PA
Germans.
Hiwwe wie Driwwe
- a dialect newspaper from Dr. Michael Werner, Ober-Olm, Germany.
Hans un Yarick (Max and Moritz), bilingual edition (PA Dutch/English),
edited by Walter Sauer. Delightful story about two mischievous boys. This
book is good for learning PA Dutch and is distributed by The Family Album,
At the Old Mill, 4887 Newport Rd., Kinzers, PA, 17535.
Pennadutch
- a website with tons of information about the PA Dutch including maps
and geneaology information.
Pennsylvania Dutch: A Dialect of South German with an Infusion of
English. S.S. Haldeman, Professor of Comparative Philosophy in the
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. Copyright 1872 in London
by Trübner & Co.
Pennsylvania German Cultural
Heritage Center at Kutztown University
- a place, a museum and a year-round program. The Kutztown Pennsylvania
German Festival is a 9-day celebration of PA Dutch life and lore and features
food, pageantry, crafts, quilting, seminars and children's activities. See
the events calendar.
Popular Home Remedies and Superstitions of the Pennsylvania Germans,
Lancaster, PA, no date.
Separate and Peculiar: Old Order Mennonite Life in Ontario (Bei sich
selwer un ungwehnlich: Alt Mennischde Weg vun Lewe in Ontario) by Isaac
R. Horst. Text in English and PA German. Herald Books, Waterloo, ON and
Scottdale, PA, 2001.
That Amazing Pennsylvania Dutch Language by J. William Frey. Lancaster,
PA, 1951.
The ABC Books of the Pennsylvania Germans by Walter Klinefelter, publication
of the Pennsylvania German Society, vol. VII, Breinigsville, PA, 1973.
The German American Corner
- a website with U.S. population statistics that looks at German ancestry
in the 1990 U.S. census.
The German Society of Pennsylvania
- Philadelphia, PA - courses in German and programs including film festivals
and flea markets.
The Pennsylvania German Dialect and the Life of an Old Order Mennonite
by Allan M. Buehler, Cambridge ON, 1977.
The Pennsylvania German Society
- Kutztown, PA - a nonprofit, educational organization devoted to the
study of the PA German people and their 300-year history in America.
The Pennsylvania Germans: Jesse Leonard Rosenberger's Sketch of Their
History and Life, edited by Don Heinrich Tolzmann, Heritage Books, Inc.,
1998.
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