My dad's side is all PA Dutch. They came over in the 1720's and settled first in Berks then not too long after ended up Schuylkill County. Dad was born in Valley View in 1919 ( I was his late in life baby born in '73) He and siblings spoke it fluently but he never taught me more than a few phrases because as he put it, " who are ya going to talk to, the Amish?" Lol, nevermind that he frequently talked to, haggled with and drove for the Amish himself. Anyway, he and my mum moved down to Cumberland County after he got a job doing road construction. My mum's side...I know her dad was PA Dutch and her mum was a mix of French, Portuguese, and Polynesian but I never got to meet any of my mum's family. Surnames on my dad's side that I remember are Ney, Wolfgang, Wenrich, Kessler, and Dissinger
I am not PA Dutch. I just love the diversity of this beautiful country. I also have the honor of living in Chautauqua County WNY with Amish populations to the west and the east of me. I have also on occasion worked side by side with some Amish in a cheese factory, they are fantastic people for sure. Love the channel!
Love this! As a fellow 100% Pennsylvania Dutch woman. Mother’s side was Amish/Mennonite in Ohio with Wengerds, Wengers, Lehmans, Yoders, Neuenscwander; And only my father’s side were Lutheran in Allentown, PA. Mengels, Mengeles (yes and that’s my maiden name and my dad is a doctor.) Beibelheimer too. But both sides were here in the 1700’s. Everyone spoke it around it but no one taught it to me. I so wish they did! My father spoke PA Dutch until he had to go to school.
3/4 Grandparents have PA Dutch names. My Bentz line was in Lancaster County by 1733. Had arrived in Philly 1728. Moved west to Cumberland County in the 1850’s.
My grandmother was Jennie Elizabeth Royer..from her my ancestry is Royer, Kline, Myers, Graybill , Englehart, Breinessen, Eichenberg and 2 Landis sisters
I’m almost a purebred - 15/16 PA Dutch. I recently found out my maternal grandmother’s paternal grandmother was a Kennedy - but her mother was a Hildebrand, so maybe it’s 31/32? Most recent names Derstine, Gehman, Brenneman, Weaver
John Jacob Dreibelbiss immigrated to North America in 1732 from Holderbank, Germany. He paid his passage, and that if his wife and son, by 10 years indentured servitude. Once completed he was paid a cash settlement and awarded land just outside Fleetwood. I'm 9th generation American Dreibelbis. My father and mother were born 1920 & 1921 in Hamburg and Fleetwood respectively. My father grew up speaking PA Dutch and learned English when he went to school. My mother was a Quillman. She could understand PA Dutch but didn't speak it. Growing up in the 60's and 70's we couldn't go anywhere that my Dad didn't run into someone here knew that spoke PA Dutch. I could get the idea of the conversation but I don't speak it. Machs gut!
Doug, I am the only female line left in the great Balthaser family of Hamburg, Jacob who ran the big store on state street is my great grandfather, my grandfather owned the tree farm on Lester's Mill Road.I have the French Huguenot blood in me on my father's side but I consider that pure blood. My mother is only 1/4 pa Dutch her mothers mother was a Schneider from Berks originally.
Awesome wideo guys I love these my grandparents were from Towanda PA grandfather was a Van Orden and Grandma was Tutle I live in Bradenton/Sarasota Florida and there are quite alot of dutch speakers around and I always love to hear it spoken always reminds me of my grandparents
All four of my grandparents were PA Dutch from Lehigh, Berks and Northampton counties, although my paternal grandmother's great-grandfather was a "Forty-Eighter" who came to America from the Black Forest region after the Revolutionary turmoil in Europe in 1848. All the others lines go back before the American Revolution. The earliest documented arrival I have for my ancestors is 1727 and the latest (except for the 1848er I mentioned) is 1764. The original ancestral Hunsicker and Handwerk homesteads in Heidelberg Township, Lehigh County are still in the family. Many great memories hearing my paternal grandparents speaking Pennsylvania Dutch around the house, particularly when playing cards with their friends on a Saturday evening. Unfortunately I never really learned more than a few stock phrases growing up, but tried to compensate a bit by studying German throughout high school. PA Dutch was the secret language my grandparents used when they didn't want us grandkids to know what they were planning!
Gristien GÜM arrived on the Loyal Judith from Rotterdam in Sept. 1732 at 32 years of age. No other GÜM came with him. He "walked north until he found good land with good water" on a settlement now covered by a slate quarry in Northampton County. My dad and father-in-law first spoke Pa. Dutch. They were punished in school for speaking it so they learned English and learned not to teach their children their language. Family names are Gum, Itterly, Rasley, Werkeiser, Ackerman, Fisher, on one side and Meixsell, Silfies, Newhard, on the other. Ackerman's have their own, extensive, genealogy book. And by the way, apparently the Amish and Mennonites make up only 10% of those who are Pa. Dutch.
My pa dutch roots mainly came from my mom's side. Her maiden name was Hartzell, and her mom's maiden name was Meyers, her mom's maiden name was Cressman, her mom's maiden name was Dreisbach. My family settled in northern Northampton county (Plainfield twp.), or Nazareth, Easton area (Meyers)
My dad's parents the Kemp side lived on top of the hill near Huffs church/ Alburtis. Plus my moms dad out of the reading area. They spoke the language but I never learned it.
Both my parents are PA Dutch. On my dads side Dreibelbis, Hefner, Leiby, Miller. My moms side Miller, Snyder, Keiffer, Reppert. There was some Irish or English on my maternal grandmothers side. Both my parents spoke the language. My dads family still owns some of the land that was settled by the original immigrant
@@davidb.3786 nice what are some of the first names. We could be related. On my dads did there is Jacob U Leiby, Oscar Miller, Simon Dreibelbis, Andreas Hefner. On my moms side there is Daniel Snyder, John Jacob Reppert, Anna Katherine Keiffer
@@donnabeard9344 hi, on my dad's side his one great gm was Sarah Leiby daughter of George Washington Lieby. Have a Jacob from 5th great father Frederick from Bercks county. Mom's side are John Dietrich her grandmother. John married Mary Alice Synder Montantogo Valley, Pa.
@@davidb.3786 I will have to look more closely but sounds like we are cousins of some sort. All of my dads family were from Berks county. I will get back to you.
interesting backgrounds. I'm the same. my family names are Moyer, Herr, Frederick, and Bullock... Moyer and Bullock were big families in their region, Coatesville and Lehigh Valley. Both branches found documents way back to 1700s. Agree about PA dutch not spoken as much when I was growing up or the fact my grandmother only prefer veges like sweet corn from amish pickings or carpentry house work is contracted through amish communities. My family have pride in their heritage.
My wife was PA Dutch on her mother's side. Her mom was a Breiner, other names in her lineage are Freeh, Seitz, Stehlin, Frick and Fleck. They had settled in an area of Upper Bucks known as The Swamp, and had spread out from there. My wife had said that she remembered that her grammy knew PA Dutch. As far as I know, it was not passed down (they had relocated to western NJ), certainly my wife's generation was raised strictly on English.
Henry Clay was my jr high science teacher at Tulpehocken. I believe he lived in front of Farr's Nursery in Womelsdorf. My mom's father's whole side left VA and MD to settle KY with Daniel Boone and were English and Irish. Her mom was a Bamberger with ancestors in Berks, Lebanon, and Lancaster counties and were originally Mennonite. My dad's whole family is Oley Valley native. His mother was a Ziegenfuss. The Kaufmans arrived on the Samuel in 1733 and acquired the first land in Oley from the Penns in the 1740s. The original farm still exists intact and is considered the most complete example of early German American architecture as all 20 some structures remain as they were built 275 years ago. I am also a distant nephew of ironmmaster John Glass Kaufman, who partially or wholly owned many succesful iron works in northern Berks and southern Schuylkill counties. He owned Leesport Iron Works as well as literally half the town. I don't doubt that if Doug and I compared family trees we'd find we're cousins a few times removed.
I got Ziegenfuss on my dad side. It's a name that got chopped up over time. Sigafoos was one the latest Americanized version of German names I crossed in family research. Traced that name back to Bucks county atm.
@@Blufuzzyhat yeah, Pat Garrett, the guy that has the sheepskin shop in Straustown, his real last name is Sickafoos. I can only assume that's also a butchered version. One can only hope our ancestors got the name goat foot from a klan pendant or insignia and not because of a generic abnormality or a result of being the spawn of satan.
In fifth grade I was describing our sledding hill to my class and teacher, and how it had a very good blutz at the bottom. My teacher told me that blutz was not a word which was pretty funny b/c she had a very PA German accent but I suspect she didn't want to identify so much with the culture. She could have said that blutz was a PA German word which was very descriptive and she could have said an English word for that would be "bump". I was half confused half ashamed because she just admonished me that it wasn't a "real" word.
Well, in Kutztown if you walked down the street you might hear SOMEONE speaking PA Dutch or just shouting out a phrase real loud to another townsperson. My home town. I am Gerhart on my Mom's side and Guldin on the other.
Born and raised in Berks County. Traced my mother's side back to the 1700s. Mostly around the Oley and Fleetwood areas, some names like Schlegel, Guinther, Moyer, and Kercher could be found in the area for just as long.
I must tell you it was the same for me when I first ate processed food. I was also blessed with "farm food" most of my life and processed food didn't go too well.
I went to Kutztown State starting in 1970. I remember that the campus was always spotless. I would wake to janitors conversing in Pa Dutch. 19u0 was the last year that the cafeteria was run by local women. I was introduced to excellent food that year. I never learned the language but could follow conversation by the time I graduated. Love your site. I remember a joke about catching flies... would love to hear it again, by you guys
I was talking with a some friends in Darmstadt/Haubstadt Indiana and we all came to the same conclusion about our ancestral heritage. Our parents didn’t pass on the language 😕
My Pennsylvania friend told me that "Pennsylvania Dutch started with Willem Penn and his followers who were actually Dutch citizens. What we now call "Pennsylvania Dutch" today came from "Pennsylvanische Deutch" the Swiss German of the Amish and Mennonites who immigrated from Switzerland! During WWI and WW2 when ignorant Americans were prejudiced against ANYTHING even remotely German, anyone with a Germanic last name told people they were Dutch and Amish and Mennonite changed the Swiss word Deutch to "Deitch" to escape the prejudice.
We have exchanged a few emails. I said that I had never met a person who spoke PA Dutch who was not Mennonite or Amish. I am still curious if you have a Mennonite or Amish background. You said you grew up Presbyterian or was it Lutheran, I cannot remember. Is there a group of PA speaking people today with no Amish or Mennonite background? As you know I grew up in the Netherlands and my siblings and all other close relatives are all still in the Netherlands. My church background is orthodox reformed, which on the one hand has a lot in common with conservative Mennonites and Amish but on the other hand has very distinct doctrinal differences. I would love to meet you some day and learn more about your background and share my background.
Those of us who are not Amish or Mennonite, were never either of those. They only make up a portion of the PA Dutch people. The rest of us are a mix of various christian groups: Lutheran, Reformed, Brethren, Moravian, Catholic, etc.
Many "gay" PA German people (that is, PA German but not "plain" like Mennonites or Amish) speak PA German. My grandparents on my mother's side were Gerharts. Their faith was Reformed. Mine is Lutheran. The first Gerhart arrived with wife and several children at Germantown near Philly in 1764. One of them fought in the Revolutionary War. They probably came up the Oley valley which is very rich with early history and they settled in Wernersville. Some of my cousins still own land up near Cushion Peak, and another cousin owns the Grandview Farm which once provided the turn of the century health spas of Grandview and Bel Alto with fresh milk. Their barn is the longest barn in Berks County. It's outside of Wernersville in the hills up there. Both grandfather and grandmother spoke PA German as the language they learned at home, and then they also learned English. They would speak PA German together and often lapse into it from English when they wanted to talk about gossip or Christmas presents they did not want the kids to know about. I grew up hearing it spoken but never learned it except for phrases and single words like grumbiere or roat reeva. As my grandmother grew older and older, her knowledge of English dimmed but she still remembered the PA German of her childhood home. My best memory was when we'd have a big family dinner and my grandfather would say The Lord's Prayer in his deep voice in PA German. That provoked awe in my young consciousness.
I have an Irish last name it runs father to so I'm really 17/18 pure Dutch street cred:) it amazes me the my grand mother abd grand father (born late 1800) were born in USA and i think their parents were born in USA. The family tree lived in reading, lenhartsville and fleet wood but none knew a lick of English till my mom i got hard wired to hearing Dutch so you k actually get around Germany. But how can it be gendra6tions born in America for generations didnt speak english??? I just don't get it? Tim
Tim Conlon that was very common among the PA Dutch in southeastern PA. My family tree for example, we’ve been here since the early 1700s yet it was my grandparents generation (born in the 1910s and 1920s) were the first full dual lingual generation! We were a language island of PD with little contact with the English only speaking peoples.
@@PADutch101 Exactly right. My grandparents (b. 1880 and 1882) grew up in a totally PA German culture (not Amish or Mennonite). At home and often at work they spoke PA German with other PA Germans -- EVERYONE was PA German in the area by ancestry and knew enough PA German to conduct business, chat, etc. I am not sure if their Reformed church conducted worship in PA German but it certainly could have if the minister were conversant. That said, they were also probably the first generation in their families to also speak English. So if ppl came to my grandfather's butchers stand at the Reading market, he could speak either one to the folks who came to buy things.
I was in a diner called the deutch essen I had a girlfriend ask the waitress and make a bet: is pa dutch a language or just a funny accent? Safe bet? No the waitress at the deutch essen said "no its chust a funneee way of talkin" lord bless us and keep up what does a dumb Dutchman say to that? I'd call the Mgr but he might have said it chust a funeee way 'a talkin toooo":)
My dad's side is all PA Dutch.
They came over in the 1720's and settled first in Berks then not too long after ended up Schuylkill County. Dad was born in Valley View in 1919 ( I was his late in life baby born in '73)
He and siblings spoke it fluently but he never taught me more than a few phrases because as he put it, " who are ya going to talk to, the Amish?"
Lol, nevermind that he frequently talked to, haggled with and drove for the Amish himself.
Anyway, he and my mum moved down to Cumberland County after he got a job doing road construction.
My mum's side...I know her dad was PA Dutch and her mum was a mix of French, Portuguese, and Polynesian but I never got to meet any of my mum's family.
Surnames on my dad's side that I remember are Ney, Wolfgang, Wenrich, Kessler, and Dissinger
I am not PA Dutch. I just love the diversity of this beautiful country. I also have the honor of living in Chautauqua County WNY with Amish populations to the west and the east of me. I have also on occasion worked side by side with some Amish in a cheese factory, they are fantastic people for sure. Love the channel!
Love this! As a fellow 100% Pennsylvania Dutch woman. Mother’s side was Amish/Mennonite in Ohio with Wengerds, Wengers, Lehmans, Yoders, Neuenscwander; And only my father’s side were Lutheran in Allentown, PA. Mengels, Mengeles (yes and that’s my maiden name and my dad is a doctor.) Beibelheimer too. But both sides were here in the 1700’s. Everyone spoke it around it but no one taught it to me. I so wish they did! My father spoke PA Dutch until he had to go to school.
3/4 Grandparents have PA Dutch names. My Bentz line was in Lancaster County by 1733. Had arrived in Philly 1728. Moved west to Cumberland County in the 1850’s.
My grandmother was Jennie Elizabeth Royer..from her my ancestry is Royer, Kline, Myers, Graybill , Englehart, Breinessen, Eichenberg and 2 Landis sisters
I’m almost a purebred - 15/16 PA Dutch. I recently found out my maternal grandmother’s paternal grandmother was a Kennedy - but her mother was a Hildebrand, so maybe it’s 31/32?
Most recent names Derstine, Gehman, Brenneman, Weaver
Interessante Geschichten, ich könnte euch stundenlang zuhören!
Grüße aus Deutschland 🇩🇪
John Jacob Dreibelbiss immigrated to North America in 1732 from Holderbank, Germany. He paid his passage, and that if his wife and son, by 10 years indentured servitude. Once completed he was paid a cash settlement and awarded land just outside Fleetwood. I'm 9th generation American Dreibelbis. My father and mother were born 1920 & 1921 in Hamburg and Fleetwood respectively. My father grew up speaking PA Dutch and learned English when he went to school. My mother was a Quillman. She could understand PA Dutch but didn't speak it. Growing up in the 60's and 70's we couldn't go anywhere that my Dad didn't run into someone here knew that spoke PA Dutch. I could get the idea of the conversation but I don't speak it. Machs gut!
Immigrated from Holderbank, Switzerland to Hassloch, Germany then to Philadelphia, PA.
Doug,
I am the only female line left in the great Balthaser family of Hamburg, Jacob who ran the big store on state street is my great grandfather, my grandfather owned the tree farm on Lester's Mill Road.I have the French Huguenot blood in me on my father's side but I consider that pure blood.
My mother is only 1/4 pa Dutch her mothers mother was a Schneider from Berks originally.
Awesome wideo guys I love these my grandparents were from Towanda PA grandfather was a Van Orden and Grandma was Tutle I live in Bradenton/Sarasota Florida and there are quite alot of dutch speakers around and I always love to hear it spoken always reminds me of my grandparents
All four of my grandparents were PA Dutch from Lehigh, Berks and Northampton counties, although my paternal grandmother's great-grandfather was a "Forty-Eighter" who came to America from the Black Forest region after the Revolutionary turmoil in Europe in 1848. All the others lines go back before the American Revolution. The earliest documented arrival I have for my ancestors is 1727 and the latest (except for the 1848er I mentioned) is 1764. The original ancestral Hunsicker and Handwerk homesteads in Heidelberg Township, Lehigh County are still in the family. Many great memories hearing my paternal grandparents speaking Pennsylvania Dutch around the house, particularly when playing cards with their friends on a Saturday evening. Unfortunately I never really learned more than a few stock phrases growing up, but tried to compensate a bit by studying German throughout high school. PA Dutch was the secret language my grandparents used when they didn't want us grandkids to know what they were planning!
Gristien GÜM arrived on the Loyal Judith from Rotterdam in Sept. 1732 at 32 years of age. No other GÜM came with him. He "walked north until he found good land with good water" on a settlement now covered by a slate quarry in Northampton County. My dad and father-in-law first spoke Pa. Dutch. They were punished in school for speaking it so they learned English and learned not to teach their children their language. Family names are Gum, Itterly, Rasley, Werkeiser, Ackerman, Fisher, on one side and Meixsell, Silfies, Newhard, on the other. Ackerman's have their own, extensive, genealogy book. And by the way, apparently the Amish and Mennonites make up only 10% of those who are Pa. Dutch.
My pa dutch roots mainly came from my mom's side. Her maiden name was Hartzell, and her mom's maiden name was Meyers, her mom's maiden name was Cressman, her mom's maiden name was Dreisbach. My family settled in northern Northampton county (Plainfield twp.), or Nazareth, Easton area (Meyers)
I grew up in Plainfield Township as well!
My dad's parents the Kemp side lived on top of the hill near Huffs church/ Alburtis. Plus my moms dad out of the reading area. They spoke the language but I never learned it.
Both my parents are PA Dutch. On my dads side Dreibelbis, Hefner, Leiby, Miller. My moms side Miller, Snyder, Keiffer, Reppert. There was some Irish or English on my maternal grandmothers side. Both my parents spoke the language. My dads family still owns some of the land that was settled by the original immigrant
Hello -I have Leiby, and Snyder in my family as well.
@@davidb.3786 nice what are some of the first names. We could be related. On my dads did there is Jacob U Leiby, Oscar Miller, Simon Dreibelbis, Andreas Hefner. On my moms side there is Daniel Snyder, John Jacob Reppert, Anna Katherine Keiffer
@@donnabeard9344 hi, on my dad's side his one great gm was Sarah Leiby daughter of George Washington Lieby. Have a Jacob from 5th great father Frederick from Bercks county. Mom's side are John Dietrich her grandmother. John married Mary Alice Synder Montantogo Valley, Pa.
@@davidb.3786 I will have to look more closely but sounds like we are cousins of some sort. All of my dads family were from Berks county. I will get back to you.
@@donnabeard9344 All my data is on ancestry - feel free to go look at my tree.
interesting backgrounds. I'm the same. my family names are Moyer, Herr, Frederick, and Bullock... Moyer and Bullock were big families in their region, Coatesville and Lehigh Valley. Both branches found documents way back to 1700s. Agree about PA dutch not spoken as much when I was growing up or the fact my grandmother only prefer veges like sweet corn from amish pickings or carpentry house work is contracted through amish communities. My family have pride in their heritage.
My wife was PA Dutch on her mother's side. Her mom was a Breiner, other names in her lineage are Freeh, Seitz, Stehlin, Frick and Fleck. They had settled in an area of Upper Bucks known as The Swamp, and had spread out from there. My wife had said that she remembered that her grammy knew PA Dutch. As far as I know, it was not passed down (they had relocated to western NJ), certainly my wife's generation was raised strictly on English.
Henry Clay was my jr high science teacher at Tulpehocken. I believe he lived in front of Farr's Nursery in Womelsdorf.
My mom's father's whole side left VA and MD to settle KY with Daniel Boone and were English and Irish. Her mom was a Bamberger with ancestors in Berks, Lebanon, and Lancaster counties and were originally Mennonite.
My dad's whole family is Oley Valley native. His mother was a Ziegenfuss. The Kaufmans arrived on the Samuel in 1733 and acquired the first land in Oley from the Penns in the 1740s. The original farm still exists intact and is considered the most complete example of early German American architecture as all 20 some structures remain as they were built 275 years ago. I am also a distant nephew of ironmmaster John Glass Kaufman, who partially or wholly owned many succesful iron works in northern Berks and southern Schuylkill counties. He owned Leesport Iron Works as well as literally half the town.
I don't doubt that if Doug and I compared family trees we'd find we're cousins a few times removed.
I got Ziegenfuss on my dad side. It's a name that got chopped up over time. Sigafoos was one the latest Americanized version of German names I crossed in family research. Traced that name back to Bucks county atm.
@@Blufuzzyhat yeah, Pat Garrett, the guy that has the sheepskin shop in Straustown, his real last name is Sickafoos. I can only assume that's also a butchered version.
One can only hope our ancestors got the name goat foot from a klan pendant or insignia and not because of a generic abnormality or a result of being the spawn of satan.
In fifth grade I was describing our sledding hill to my class and teacher, and how it had a very good blutz at the bottom. My teacher told me that blutz was not a word which was pretty funny b/c she had a very PA German accent but I suspect she didn't want to identify so much with the culture. She could have said that blutz was a PA German word which was very descriptive and she could have said an English word for that would be "bump". I was half confused half ashamed because she just admonished me that it wasn't a "real" word.
Well, in Kutztown if you walked down the street you might hear SOMEONE speaking PA Dutch or just shouting out a phrase real loud to another townsperson. My home town. I am Gerhart on my Mom's side and Guldin on the other.
Born and raised in Berks County. Traced my mother's side back to the 1700s. Mostly around the Oley and Fleetwood areas, some names like Schlegel, Guinther, Moyer, and Kercher could be found in the area for just as long.
I must tell you it was the same for me when I first ate processed food. I was also blessed with "farm food" most of my life and processed food didn't go too well.
I went to Kutztown State starting in 1970. I remember that the campus was always spotless. I would wake to janitors conversing in Pa Dutch. 19u0 was the last year that the cafeteria was run by local women. I was introduced to excellent food that year. I never learned the language but could follow conversation by the time I graduated. Love your site. I remember a joke about catching flies... would love to hear it again, by you guys
I want to get back to a less urban more peaceful mostly homegrown eats lifestyle, in my own home this time.
I was talking with a some friends in Darmstadt/Haubstadt Indiana and we all came to the same conclusion about our ancestral heritage. Our parents didn’t pass on the language 😕
Yeah outside of Native American grandfather....his story could be my story. Really a common story
My Pennsylvania friend told me that "Pennsylvania Dutch started with Willem Penn and his followers who were actually Dutch citizens. What we now call "Pennsylvania Dutch" today came from "Pennsylvanische Deutch" the Swiss German of the Amish and Mennonites who immigrated from Switzerland! During WWI and WW2 when ignorant Americans were prejudiced against ANYTHING even remotely German, anyone with a Germanic last name told people they were Dutch and Amish and Mennonite changed the Swiss word Deutch to "Deitch" to escape the prejudice.
Some of what you wrote is accurate, some isn't. Check out this video to learn more: th-cam.com/video/PKhqLgsJEgw/w-d-xo.html
Also this: th-cam.com/video/4A1vXAKQ_04/w-d-xo.html
Er kommt aus Woeblerstaedtel
Ya, un er wuhnt aa datt!
We have exchanged a few emails. I said that I had never met a person who spoke PA Dutch who was not Mennonite or Amish. I am still curious if you have a Mennonite or Amish background. You said you grew up Presbyterian or was it Lutheran, I cannot remember. Is there a group of PA speaking people today with no Amish or Mennonite background? As you know I grew up in the Netherlands and my siblings and all other close relatives are all still in the Netherlands. My church background is orthodox reformed, which on the one hand has a lot in common with conservative Mennonites and Amish but on the other hand has very distinct doctrinal differences. I would love to meet you some day and learn more about your background and share my background.
Those of us who are not Amish or Mennonite, were never either of those. They only make up a portion of the PA Dutch people. The rest of us are a mix of various christian groups: Lutheran, Reformed, Brethren, Moravian, Catholic, etc.
Many "gay" PA German people (that is, PA German but not "plain" like Mennonites or Amish) speak PA German. My grandparents on my mother's side were Gerharts. Their faith was Reformed. Mine is Lutheran. The first Gerhart arrived with wife and several children at Germantown near Philly in 1764. One of them fought in the Revolutionary War. They probably came up the Oley valley which is very rich with early history and they settled in Wernersville. Some of my cousins still own land up near Cushion Peak, and another cousin owns the Grandview Farm which once provided the turn of the century health spas of Grandview and Bel Alto with fresh milk. Their barn is the longest barn in Berks County. It's outside of Wernersville in the hills up there. Both grandfather and grandmother spoke PA German as the language they learned at home, and then they also learned English. They would speak PA German together and often lapse into it from English when they wanted to talk about gossip or Christmas presents they did not want the kids to know about. I grew up hearing it spoken but never learned it except for phrases and single words like grumbiere or roat reeva. As my grandmother grew older and older, her knowledge of English dimmed but she still remembered the PA German of her childhood home. My best memory was when we'd have a big family dinner and my grandfather would say The Lord's Prayer in his deep voice in PA German. That provoked awe in my young consciousness.
I have an Irish last name it runs father to so I'm really 17/18 pure Dutch street cred:) it amazes me the my grand mother abd grand father (born late 1800) were born in USA and i think their parents were born in USA.
The family tree lived in reading, lenhartsville and fleet wood but none knew a lick of English till my mom i got hard wired to hearing Dutch so you k actually get around Germany. But how can it be gendra6tions born in America for generations didnt speak english??? I just don't get it? Tim
Tim Conlon that was very common among the PA Dutch in southeastern PA. My family tree for example, we’ve been here since the early 1700s yet it was my grandparents generation (born in the 1910s and 1920s) were the first full dual lingual generation! We were a language island of PD with little contact with the English only speaking peoples.
@@PADutch101 Exactly right. My grandparents (b. 1880 and 1882) grew up in a totally PA German culture (not Amish or Mennonite). At home and often at work they spoke PA German with other PA Germans -- EVERYONE was PA German in the area by ancestry and knew enough PA German to conduct business, chat, etc. I am not sure if their Reformed church conducted worship in PA German but it certainly could have if the minister were conversant. That said, they were also probably the first generation in their families to also speak English. So if ppl came to my grandfather's butchers stand at the Reading market, he could speak either one to the folks who came to buy things.
I was in a diner called the deutch essen I had a girlfriend ask the waitress and make a bet: is pa dutch a language or just a funny accent? Safe bet? No the waitress at the deutch essen said "no its chust a funneee way of talkin" lord bless us and keep up what does a dumb Dutchman say to that? I'd call the Mgr but he might have said it chust a funeee way 'a talkin toooo":)