‘Hershberger’ is an Amish family name particularly common in Midwestern communities. It is also found in other spelling variations, such as ‘Herschberger’ and occasionally ‘Harshberger’. The following is a short history of the name from Family Life: “This is a Swiss name and may have originally meant, “one who lives on Deer Mountain”. The Hershberger family first came into Anabaptist circles in the canton of…
Market stand businesses are particularly popular among Amish in Lancaster County. Amish owners are often able to earn enough during three days on-site, typically Thursday to Saturday, to make a decent living. Established Pennsylvania Dutch markets can be found within neighboring metropolitan areas such as Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, DC. Other markets have appeared in recent years in less-populated areas. The Markets at Shrewsbury, located…
Elam quit shaving today. Amos’ brother was married last autumn during the traditional wedding season in Lancaster. After spending much of the previous few months visiting relatives along with his new bride, today was finally the day to hang his hat under his own roof. Moving into one’s own home around here means that you start growing a beard. So it would actually be more…
Popped open a copy of USA Today in between flights yesterday, and what should I find but another full-page ad for the ‘Amish miracle heater’. I was hoping to avoid the heater issue as it’s been covered enough elsewhere, but looks like there is a lot of fresh reporting just out. Good Amish heater analysis at consumeraffairs.com as well as a Philly Fox News report…
In the previous two posts, SUNY Potsdam Professor Karen Johnson-Weiner answered questions on the Swartzentruber Amish and Amish settlements in New York state. Today she shares her knowledge of Old Order schools. Amish America: Your book Train Up a Child: Old Order Amish and Mennonite Schools examines parochial schooling among these related groups. In a recent interview for NPR you highlight the diversity within Amish…
In the previous post, SUNY Potsdam Professor Karen Johnson-Weiner answered questions on Amish settlements in New York state. Today she shares her knowledge of the Swartzentruber Amish. Amish America: Could you explain who exactly the term ‘Swartzentruber’ refers to? In what ways do the Swartzentruber Amish differ from ‘mainstream’ Amish? Professor Karen Johnson-Weiner: The Swartzentruber Amish, arguably the plainest of the “Plain People,” originated in…
Karen Johnson-Weiner is Chair of the Department of Anthropology at SUNY Potsdam, and has been studying the Amish for 25 years. Professor Johnson-Weiner’s areas of specialty include Old Order schools, language in Anabaptist communities, and the Swartzentruber Amish. In Part One of this three-part Q-and-A, she shares her insights on New York Amish. Amish America: Your upcoming book focuses on the Amish in New York. …
Dr. Michael Werner passes on a link to the Pennsylvania German website Hiwwe wie Driwwe (‘Over here as over there’). The site is coupled with a biannual newspaper of the same name, apparently the only regular Pennsylvania German language publication. A bit of background on the dialect, from the Hiwwe wie Driwwe site: In North America, one can still find a few speech islands, in…
Kevin over at the informative and fun Amish Cook blog has beaten me to the punch here, but I thought I’d bring to your attention an article in the New York Times on Amish business. It’s a pretty meat-and-potatoes look at Amish entrepreneurship but nice to see in a high-profile spot. Donald Kraybill contributes here, pointing out that in some settlements high majorities–even 90%–of households…
Thanks to substantial genealogical records, many Amish can trace their lineage back to the 1700’s and 1800’s, when significant waves of Amish immigration to North America occurred. One of the most common Amish names is Stoltzfus, found predominantly in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and its offshoot settlements. The short-version history of the Stoltzfus name, courtesy of Family Life: “On Oct. 18, 1766 Nicholas Stoltzfus with his…