This website is dedicated to the Swiss Mennonite and German Palatine immigrants who settled southeastern Pennsylvania and became referred to as the "Pensilfaanisch Deitsch", or Pennsylvania Dutch, as well as to the Quakers and Scotch-Irish with whom they intermarried.
The primary focus of this site is the history, culture, and genealogy of Lancaster county and the broader area including the Tulpehocken region as well as Brecknock and Caernarvon township areas of Berks county.
A great deal of local history can be found here, nearly all of which contains many names of early settler families. The primary American history timeframe is approximately 1683-1865. European history from the Reformation and other factors leading to the emigration of Swiss and Germans to America is also well represented.
The menu to the left will access primary pages, each having a different list of contents. The menu to the left is threaded. Visitors can use the "EVERY page" clickbox below. It will take you directly to a particular page. Selections that are not hyperlinked are "coming soon." Also below are items that are "New This Week"
Overview
Pennadutch
The People
Pages describing the primary component religious and ethnic groups.
Culture
General-pages containing everything from local recipes and traditions to anecdotes and sayings
History
Pages detailing Life in Europe through immigration and settlement in America as well as township, village and church histories. Also included are famous disagreements and historical persons of note that have contributed greatly to the existence and character of the Pennsylvania Dutch.
Lancaster County
History, Maps, Postcards, Old photos, and Ephemera to provide a museum view of this county.
*Towns
These towns merit pages of their own.
*Ephrata
All about this historic township and town.
*Berks County
*York County
*Genealogy
Pages of descendant charts and other family information. The author/researcher family tree has been intensively researched and traces through many of the Mennonite and Palatine families of Lancaster and Berks county.
*Graveyards
The researcher is currently involved in restoring four historic graveyards in Lancaster county. Pennsylvania state statute, caretaker organization information and photos and narratives of works in progress comprise these pages.
*Old Trades
Descriptions and detail of trades that have pretty much disappeared.
CD Available March 31, 2005!
Beers Biographical Annals of Lancaster County, a 1542 page compilation completed in 1903 contains hundreds of sketches of residents of the county. Each sketch frequently details generations of the subjects family.
This CD contains over 50,000 people gleaned from this volume, in family groups, all in the form of a gedcom file(.ged, can be used by any genealogy software). Additionally there are significant portions of Herr, Groff, Reese and other old families of the county contained in the database. Over 65,000 people.
This is a unique gedcom that required years to compile. It is not a "dump" of names or unrelated individuals. the family groups from the Beers volume have been reconstructed using professional genealogy software. In addition where available all birth, death, marriage and immigration dates have been included.
This is the perfect database for any person with Lancaster county and Pennsylvania Dutch roots to graft their own research.
A sketch from Beers can be seen at Sample.
The CD will be available May 1, 2005 and for a limited time orders will be taken for $39.95 plus shipping and handling.
