Pennsylvania Dutch

The Pennsylvania Dutch (perhaps more strictly Pennsylvania Deitsch, Pennsylvania Germans or Pennsylvania Deutsch) are the descendants of German immigrants who came to Pennsylvania prior to 1800. According to Don Yoder, a Pennsylvania German expert and retired University of Pennsylvania professor, the word "Dutch" in this case owes its origin to an archaic meaning where the word "Dutch" designated groups that are today considered German and Dutch - prior to the Thirty Years' War, the Netherlands were part of the Holy Roman Empire and the Dutch were generally regarded as one of several German peoples. Although Yoder rejects other explanations, other sources, such as Hostetler (1993) give the origin of "Dutch" as a corruption or a "folk-rendering" of the term "Deitsch". It is worth noting that the adjective "German" is "Deutsch" in the German language and "Duits" in the Dutch language. Also some southern German dialects still pronounce "Deutsch" as "Deitsch" (Daɪt). The difficulty is enlarged by the fact that the oldest native term for the Dutch language happens to be Dietsch, a stem that also shows up in the derivation of Plautdietsch. Plautdietsch developed on a mixed Dutch / Low German substrate, according to the Dutch linguist Ad Welschen (2000), which is certainly not the case with Pennsylvania Deitsch. So Deitsch etymologically means 'German', while Dietsch means 'Dutch' .

Pennsylvania Dutch were historically speakers of the Pennsylvania German language. They are a people of various religious affiliations, most of them Lutheran or Reformed, but many Anabaptists as well. They live primarily in southeastern Pennsylvania in the area stretching in an arc from Bethlehem and Allentown through Reading, Lebanon, and Lancaster to York and Chambersburg. They can also be found down throughout the Shenandoah Valley (the modern Interstate 81 corridor) in the adjacent states of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina, and in the large Amish and Mennonite communities in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, in Ohio north and south of Youngstown and in Indiana around Elkhart. Their cultural traditions date back to the German immigrations to America in the 17th and 18th centuries. Only then did German immigration from various parts the southern Rhineland, Palatinate, the southern part of Hesse, Baden, Alsace and Switzerland gain momentum, and soon dominate the area. But the Pennsylvania Dutch language is ultimately a derivative of Palatinate German.

Pennsylvania Dutch from the Palatinate of the Rhine

Many Pennsylvania Dutch are descendants of refugees from the Palatinate of the German Rhine. For example, most Amish and Mennonite came to the Palatinate and surrounding areas from the German speaking part of Switzerland, where, as Anabaptists, they were persecuted, and so their stay in the Palatinate was of limited duration. However, for the majority of the Pennsylvania Dutch, their roots go much further back in the Palatinate. During the War of the Grand Alliance (1689-97), French troops, under King Louis XIV, pillaged the Palatinate, forcing many Germans to flee. The War of the Palatinate (as it was called in Germany), also called the War of Augsburg, began in 1688 as Louis took claim of the Palatinate, and all major cities of Cologne were devastated. By 1697 the war came to a close with the Treaty of Ryswick, and the Palatinate remained free of French control. However, by 1702, the War of the Spanish Succession began, lasting until 1713. French expansionism forced many Palatines to flee as refugees. The first major emigration of Germans to America resulted in the founding of the Borough of Germantown in northwest Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania in 1683-1685. Mass emigration of Palatines began out of Germany in the early 1700s. In the spring of 1709, Queen Anne had granted refuge to about 7,000 Palatines who had sailed the Rhine to Rotterdam. From here about 3,000 were sent to America either directly, or through England, bound for William Penn’s colony. The remaining refugees were sent to Ireland to strengthen the Protestant presence in the country. By 1710, large groups of Palatines had sailed from London, the last group of which was bound for New York. There were 3,200 Palatines on 12 ships that sailed for New York and approximately 470 died en route to America. In New York, under the new Governor, Robert Hunter, Palatines worked for British authorities and produced tar and pitch for the Royal Navy in return for their safe passage. They also served as a buffer between the French and Natives on the frontier and the English colonies. In 1723, some 33 Palatine families, dissatisfied under Governor Hunter’s rule, migrated from Schoharie, NY, to Tulpehocken, Berks County, PA, where other Palatines had settled. During the American Revolution most of the Pennsylvania Dutch were loyalists. They feared that their royal land grants would be in danger with a new republican form of government.

Pennsylvania Dutch identity

Recently due to loss of the Pennsylvania German language (among others)- in many communities, as well as to intermarriage and increased mobility, especially in the more secular communities, Pennsylvania Dutch ethnic consciousness is often very low, especially among younger Pennsylvania Dutch. Many young Pennsylvania Dutch consider themselves only descendants of Pennsylvania Dutch and it is not part of their personal identity. However many of those raised in the immediate area, or those who have close ties there, still hold those ties close even if their parents don't emphasize those ties. In some communities the Pennsylvania Dutch name is reserved only for members of the Amish and traditional Mennonite communities.

See also

• Marian exiles
• Amish
• Mennonite
• Hans Herr
• Schwenkfeldian
• Old German Baptist Brethren
• Rumspringa
• Pennsylvania German language
• Hex signs
• Pennsylvania Dutch Country
• Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine
• German American
• German Texan
• Germany Valley, West Virginia
• Helen Reimensnyder Martin
• Anna Balmer Myers
• Fraktur (Pennsylvania German folk art)

References

External links

• The Pennsylvania German Society
• Lancaster County tourism website
• Overview of Pennsylvania German Culture
• German-American Heritage Foundation of the USA in Washington, DC
• Irish Palatine Association
• Nolt, Steven, Foreigners in Their Own Land: Pennsylvania Germans in the Early American Republic, Penn State Press, 2002 ISBN 0-271-02199-3
• "Why the Pennsylvania German still prevails in the eastern section of the State", by George Mays, M.D.. Reading, Pa., Printed by Daniel Miller, 1904
• The Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center

In Pennsylvania German

• Deitscherei.org - Fer der Deitsch Wandel
• Hiwwe wie Driwwe - The Pennsylvania German Newspaper
• Pennsylvania German Encyclopedia