USA > Pennsylvania > Lancaster County > Report of committee appointed to conduct celebration of 200th anniversary of first permanent white settlement in Lancaster County > Part 3
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Prof Kuhns' address in full was as follows:
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It is strange how little the Penn- sylvania Germans know about their own origin. They know, in general, that for about two hundred years they and their ancestors have lived in America, that they have taken their share in the development of the country, have shed their blood during the Revolution and the Civil War, and that in every respect they are true born Americans, in blood, in spirit and in truth. Yet the only thing they know about their ances- tors is that they came from Germany and Switzerland. This is not so with the other ethnical elements of the American people. The English have practically monopolized the whole field, and we hear Americans called on general terms Angio-Saxons. This term designates exactly the racial antecedents of the English people, and refers to those two branches of the great Teutonic race that, fifteen hundred years ago, overran and con- quered Great Britain, the Angles and the Saxons. So, too, the expression "Dutch of New York" suggests at once the Holland people, who are the descendants of another Low German race, or, rather, mixture, for the Hol- landers are racially a mingling of Low Frankish with Saxon and Fris- ian elements.
It is not our place here to speak of the other elements of the American nation, the Scotch-Irish and the French Huguenots. It is of interest, however, to inquire into the question, just what racial elements the Penn- sylvania German belongs to. To dis- cuss this fully we must go back to the beginning of things.
The Pennsylvania Germans belong to the great Aryan or Indo-European race. This race was once supposed to have its original seat in India, and to have gradually spread east and west; although it is not certain now
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where the original seat was. The race included, however, the Persians and Hindus in the east, and in the west, or Europe, the various branches of Greeks and Romans, Celts, Slavs and Germans. The Germans were di- vided originally into the following groups: The East German group (in- cluding Goths, Burgundians and Van- dals); the North German group (in- cluding Danes, Swedes and Norwegi- ans); the West German group (in- cluding the Belgians, Frisians and Franks). In addition to these there were two other groups, one having its seat about the mouth of the Elbe, and consisting largely of Saxons, An- gles and Cimbri. The last group, and the one of the most importance for us, is the Central or Swabian group. In this are included the Sem- nones, the Alemanni and the Suevi, and their various subdivisions. One of these subdivisions is that of the Marcomanni, who having settled in the territory once occupied by the Boii, a Slavic race, have since been called Bavarian. Another subdivi- sion is that of the Lombards, who set- tled south of the Alps, and from whom have come the inhabitants of Italian Switzerland and Northern Italy (Lombardy).
Everybody knows how the modern nations have come into existence; how the Roman Empire gradually fell before the repeated assaults of the Northern Barbarians, as the old Germans were called by the Romans; how early in the fifth century after Christ the frontiers of the empire were broken down; how the Visigoths and Suevi conquered Spain and form- ed the basis of the Spanish and Por- tuguese of to-day; how the Franks overran the Roman province of Gaul, and formed the French nation of to- day; how the Angles and Saxons con- quered Great Britain and formed the
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English nation; how the Scandina- vians laid the foundation of Sweden, Denmark and Norway; how the Sax- ons grew to a great people, now the kingdom of Saxony. Thus the great territory of Germany, as we have seen, was composed of a number of these ethnical elements, the Saxons, the Swabians, the Bavarians, the Prussians (a later term), the Hes- sians, and to the west the Frisians and Holland Dutch.
It is time now for us to investi- gate the question, which of these ele- ments have formed the origin of the Pennsylvania Germans?
If we read the story of the early German immigration to Pennsylvania, we shall see at once that almost en- tirely they came from South Ger- many, especially from the banks of the Rhine and from Switzerland. Hardy any of the north German peo- ple came over then. This is due to historical causes which we have not time to discuss here. Enough to say that the Pennsylvania Germans came almost entirely from South Germany and Switzerland. The largest num- ber came from the so-called Palatin- ate, lying on the banks of the Rhine; so that, indeed,the generic name of the German immigrants in the early eight- eenth century was "Palatines." Hence, if we are to trace the ethnical origin of the Pennsylvania Germans back to the sources we must find out what races founded the Palatinate in Swit- zeriand. This a very simple matter, for it is a well-known fact that the German-Swiss are of the purest Ale- mannic blood,1 while the Palatines are a mixture of Alemannic and Frank- ish blood. Whence, then, were the Ale- manni, and who were the Franks?
'The natives of French Switzerland are of Burgundian origin; those of Italian Switzerland are of Lombard
origin.
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We have already seen that the Ale- manni belonged to the group of the Suevi. The name Alemanni? is given to a number of lesser tribes which gathered around the Semnones, and thus formed a new and important na- tion. Their earliest seat was near the middle region of the river Elbe. From here they spread south and west, broke through the Roman limes (wall), and took possession of the fine lands between the Upper Rhine and the Danube. As early as the third century after Christ, we hear of their wars with the Romans In 357 A. D., the Emperor Julian fought a terrible battle against them, near Strasbourg. From 260 to 369 A. D., the Emperor Valen- tinian I. carried on war against them. The result of these wars, as we have seen, was the final victory of the Ale- manni and their possession of the lands across the Rhine. This brings us to the fifth century, and to the epoch-making contest between the Franks and the Alemanni.
As we have seen, the Franks be- longed to the West German group. The name is of later origin, and indi- cates that they were "free-men." They spread over France, and form the basic element of the French peo- ple of to-day. But they were not con- tent to remain on the banks of the Lower Rhine and in France, but
sought for universal conquest. Spreading along the banks of the Upper Rhine, they came in conflict with the Alemanni, and a world-shak- ing contest for supremacy arose be- tween these two mighty peoples. At that time Clovis was king of the Franks. His wife was a Christian, but he was not. He made an oath that if the God of his wife would give him the victory over the Alemanni,
2Some say "Alemanni" means men of holiness.
·
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he would become a Christian. A ter- rible battle took place at Tolbiac, near Cologne, in 496, in which Clovis came off victor. He was baptized on Christmas Day at Rheims, and from that time on the Franks were Chris- tions.
The result was the swallowing up of the Alemanni by the Franks. Those who would not yield retired beyond the Alps and formed the modern Swiss nation. Those who remained on the Rhine were under Frankish rule, and gradually the two people mingled together, the places left by the Alemanni who fled to Switzer- land being taken by Frankish colo- nists.
Thus we see that the two elements that make up the Pennsylvania Ger- mans belong to the most famous branches of the Teutonic race; and we have as much reason to be proud of our Frankish-Alemannic blood as the English of their much-boasted Anglo-Saxon blood. We are told that the ancient Alemanni were inde- pendent, and insisted on being no man's underling; and the motto of the whole race might have been that of the Swiss physician Paracelsus (whom Browning made the subject of one of his nobiest poems) :
Eines andern Knecht soll niemand sein, Der für sich selbst kann bleiben allein.
We are told that the Alemanni held their women and the family life far higher than their neighbors; that they loved their homes, and yet at the same time were wanderlustig; that they had a deep inner life, and were intensely religious-a fact that ex- plains the number of sects, not only in Switzerland, but in Pennsylvania itself, and has brought it about that it was among the modern Alemanni that Pietism had its root, whence came the recently-formed denomina-
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tions of the Methodists and the United Brethren.
And yet, at the same time, the Ale- manni have always had a tendency to cheerful company, and were mark- ed by native wit and a tendency to gentle humor. The Franks added to this an element of quickness, readi- ness, skill in art, and all those quali- ties which mark the French to-day.
Both Franks and Alemanni were industrious and hard-working. The task before them fifteen hundred years ago was not unlike that of our ancestors two hundred years ago. They entered into a wild, unbroken wilder- ness. They had to root out great forests, make the ground fruitful, and to this day place or family names ending in Ruti, Brand and Schwand (i. e., land cleared by fire) show the work they had to do. It was the Franks, however, that possessed the greatest skill and talent in agricul- ture, as can be seen when we com- pare Switzerland with the Palatinate (or, indeed, France) in this respect. They have made the Palatinate the Garden of Germany. As Riehl says: "The Franks have made the ground on the banks of the Middle and Lower Rhine and in the Palatinate more fruitful than any other German soil."
There is a strange resemblance in this respect between the farmers of Lancaster county and the Palatinate. Both have made their farms the finest in their respective countries; both are rich and flourishing; both grow even the same crops, for tobacco is to-day the chief element of wealth in the Palatinate as well as in Lan- caster county. Nay, both are alike in that the richest farms belong to the Mennonites; as Riehl says of the Pal- atinate, so we can say of Pennsyl- vania, "Wo der Pflug durch Goldene Auen geht, da schlägt auch der Men- nonite sein Bethaus auf." So much
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for the ethnical elements of the Penn- sylvania Germans in general. And now a closing word concerning that branch of them who first came to Lancaster county.
We have met to-day to celebrate the coming of our ancestors from Switzerland to this country, two hun- dred years ago. Let every man who is descended from these ancient Swiss be proud of his ancestral fatherland. What more beautiful country can you find in the world than this land of freedom and of beauty, with its snow- covered Alps piercing the blue sky; with its rivers of ice and its vast fields of snow?
Where the white mists forever Are spread an'd upfurled, In the stir of the forces Whence issued the world.
What lover of freedom is there whose heart does not thrill at the name of Arnold Winkelried and William Tell? They are long since dead, but their memory remains a treasure and an inspiration in the hearts of their countrymen to-day. As the poet sings:
The patriot Three that met of yore Beneath the midnight sky,
And leagued their hearts on the Grütli shore, In the name of liberty!
How silently they sleep Amidst the hills they freed. But their rest is only deep, Till their country's hour of need, For the Kühreihen's notes must never sound In a land that wears the chain, And the vines on Freedom's holy ground
Untrampled must remain!
And the yellow harvests wave For no stranger's hand to reap,
While within their silent cave The men of Grütli sleep.
And shall we not keep in like grate- ful remembrance those lovers of re- ligious liberty, who rather than give up their freedom of conscience left the hills and valleys of their native Switzerland, and, crossing the ocean,
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settled in this place two hundred years ago? What sternness of con- science, what courage and strength it required to do this, is hard for us to understand. To leave the lovely valley of the Emmenthal, with ItS green fields and flourishing hamlets, or the shores of Lake Zurich, stretch- ing like a continuous garden on both sides of the lake, to go to an unknown land, a wilderness unbroken, whose only inhabitants were the savage red men; what can you and I know of such courage as this? Many a time as I have walked through the Emmen- thal, or sailed along the shores of Lake Zurich, I have thought to my- self, "how could these ancestors of mine leave these wonderful scenes for the dangers and uncertainties of the new world!"
Yes, let us glory in our ancestral fatherland; let us glory in such men as Tell and Winkelried; but let us still more glory in our ancestors, the Herrs, the Kendigs, the Groffs and all the rest, who gave up all for free- dom to serve God in their own way, and according to their own con- science.
Not as the conqueror comes, They, the true-hearted, came; Not with the roll of stirring drums, And the trumpet that sings of fame;
Not as the flying come, In silence, and in fear; They shook the depth of the desert gloom
With hymns of lofty cheer.
Amidst the storm they sang; Till the stars heard, and the sea; And the sounding aisles of the dim woods rang To the anthem of the free.
There were men with hoary hair Amidst that pilgrim band; Why had they come to wither there, Away from childhood's land?
There was woman's fearless eye, Lit by her deep love's truth; There was manhood's brow serenely high, And the fiery heart of youth.
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What sought they thus afar? Bright jewels of the mine? The wealth of seas? The spoils of war? No-'twas a faith's pure shrine. Yes, call that holy ground, Which first their brave feet trod! They left unstained what here they found,- Freedom to worship God.
At the conclusion of Prof. Kuhns' address Dr. Apple pronounced the benediction and the audience dis- persed.
After adjournment of the meeting in the Court House many of the vis- itors and the committee on the cele- bration and other invited guests were entertained at the Hamilton Club by Mr. Hensel.
MEMORIAL VERSES.
Among the most interesting of the exercises of the day were the poems of Lloyd Mifflin and Mrs. Mary N. Robinson. They are as follows:
THE PIONEER OF PEACE.
THE MENNONITE FARMER, LAN- CASTER COUNTY, PA., 1710-1910.
Like some grave Patriarch of old he stands
Among the sheaves-far from the town's embroil-
Bearded and gray, true sovereign of the soil;
A later Boaz, at whose wise commands The harvest turns to gold. Lord of wide lands-
Mellowed by cycles of unending moil- He typifies the dignity of toil,
As earth attests the power of his hands.
Driven by persecution to our shore,* A man of peace and Christian toler-
*"They were in good spirits, even in their sorrow, although all their posses- sions had been taken from them. There were among them one preacher and two teachers. They were a very sturdy people by nature, who could endure hardships, with long, untrimmed beards, with plain clothes and heavy shoes shod with heavy iron and large nails. They were very zealous in serving God with prayer, reading and in other ways. They were very simple in their bearing, like lambs and doves." -Mueller's description of the carly Palatinate Exiles, citing the Dutch Mennonite Minister, Hendrick Laurens, in 1710.
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Nor door;
ance rare, With tranquil faith he thro' life's tumult goes, turns the needy from his While thro' the years of patient work and prayer He the valleys blossom as the rose. -Lloyd Mifflin.
Norwood August, 1910.
THE PEQUEA PILGRIMS.
"They have hitherto behaved them- selves well and have generally so good a character for Honesty and Industry as to deserve the esteem of this Gov- ernment and a mark of its regard for them."-Gov. Gordon's Message to the As- sembly, 1729.
Pursued, despised : nd rejected, Tormented, harassed by men, To every trial subjected
They fled to this land of Penn! Some had died in the scorching fire- The sword and the ax had known; For the mercy they showed to others
Was never unto them shown.
Afar from their homes and their
kindred
They came from their native soil, For the sake of religious freedom These sturdy sons of toil!
They risked their lives on the ocean; They feared neither storm nor wave; For they knew that the God of their fathers
Was mighty and strong to save.
Where the waters of Pequea murmur 'Neath shade of the wild grape vine Safe from all persecution
They came here, each Palatine! They built each an humble dwelling, They planted these fertile fields, And the land to them, responding, Its noblest harvest yields.
Not only the freedom of worship They found 'neath our Western skies; Not only the homes of their people They saw through their labors rise! But "the garden spot" of our country Through them on this tract had birth! And our County sprang into being The fairest land on the earth!
They "builde'd better than they knew"-
These pioneers of yore,
Who brought with their stern father's thrift
The simple garb they wore. So-on this spot where once they stood We place this stone, to show, Where dwelt the men who settled here Two centuries ago!
-Mary N. Robinson.
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The Souvenir Programme.
Very elaborate and interesting sou- venir programmes were printed for the occasion. They contain the let- ter of the emigrant Mennonites to their brethren in Europe, memorial verses on "The Pequea Pilgrims," by Mrs. Mary N. Robinson; "The Pio- neer of Peace," an ode written for the day by Lloyd Mifflin; a map of the original tract; the Declaration of the Mennonites against slavery; the chro- nology of the first settlement and cuts of the ancient houses. The pro- gramme is printed in yellow and white, the Pennsylvania-German colors, and the very attractive cover was designed and drawn by Miss Martha M. Bowman, of this city.
LETTERS OF REGRET.
To the hundreds of invitations sent by the Bi-Centennary Committee to distinguished citizens in other places and to sons of Lancaster who have risen to fame since leaving their na- tive heath came many replies, ex- pressing the deepest regret and ex- tending congratulations to the His- torical Society and to Lancaster county on its notable celebration. Be- low are reproduced several letters in full and brief abstracts from others:
From W. D. Howells, Dean of Ameri- can Letters.
"Grosvenor Hotel, "London, S. W., Aug. 9, 1910. "Dear Sir: I thank you for your letter and its interesting enclosures . . My mother's mother was of
pure Pennsylvania German stock- the Docks, of Harrisburg, well-known through the Biglers, and through Miss Maria Dock, the forestress, and Dr. George Dock, lately of Ann Arbor .... I wish I could come to your celebra-
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tion, but I can only thank you for your proffered hospitality.
"Yours sincerely, "W. D. HOWELLS. "W. U. Hensel, Esq."
Hon. James M. Beck, the distin- guished lawyer of New York, and a grandson of the venerable John Beck, the famous schoolmaster of Lititz, wrote to the committee expressing his regrets that professional engage- ments prevented him from attending the celebration.
Professor John L. Shroy, a native of Strasburg, who has written consid- erable verse associated with the fa- mous "tract," and who is now a pro- fessor in the public schools of Phila- delphia, expressed his great regret at being unable to attend. His great- great-grandmother was a daughter of Kuendig, one of the original settlers.
Rev. Dr. Henry C. McCook, of the famous "fighting McCook" family, a noted Presbyterian divine and Presi- dent of the Presbyterian Historical Society, wrote that only advanced years and uncertain health prevented him from attending in person. He extended the congratulations of his society and its wide constituency, and in his letter said: "Lancaster county has been a fertile seed, and of some of the most worthy influences and in- dividuals that have helped to benefit and ennoble our State and country. I met these and learned to value and love them in my boyhood home in Eastern Ohio. The Mennonites es- pecially have been a savory and wholesome element in our communi- ties, wherever they have gone. All good citizens, of whatever faith or creed, have reason to join in congrat- ulations that such a strong and mor- ally healthful influence has survived the stress and changes of two hun-
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dred years in this strenuous age and land."
On behalf of the American Jewish Historical Society, from its offices in New York, Secretary Albert M.
Friedenberg writes: "We send you greetings on the auspicious event. None of our officers may be present; but it is our earnest hope that your commemoration will be all that you have planned in this direction."
James D. Law, the Scotch poet, writes from Clovernook, Roxboro: "Fortunate, indeed, are the native- born to an earthly Paradise like Pennsylvania's County Palatine-the capstone of the Keystone State-and good sense do the strangers show that tarry within your gates."
Hon. Alton B. Parker, Democratic nominee for President in 1904, ex- pressed great reget that an engage- ment to make some speeches in Maine this week prevented him from coming.
Hon. George F. Baer, President of the Philadelphia and Reading Rail- way Company, and of the Board of Trustees of Franklin and Marshall College, sent his friendly greetings.
Professor C. Henry Smith, histo- rian of the Mennonites in America, and professor in Goshen College, In- diana, wrote: "I am very glad to hear of the celebration. The Histor- ical Society deserves great credit for the movement."
Hon. George F. Parker, ex-United States Consul to Birmingham, Eng- land, wrote that thirty years' asso- ciation with the people and endear- ment for the scenes of Lancaster county impel him to break serious business engagements to participate.
Harry S. McCartney, a prominent lawyer of Chicago, formerly a resi-
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dent of Strasburg, wrote to the com- mittee as follows:
"I am exceedingly sorry that I can- not be present. These occasions of home-coming and celebrations of old settlements, etc., are especially at- tractive to me. I often played in the oldest edifice in the county when a boy, and my uncle David Huber's farm partly surrounds the church- yard in which the old grave of Hans Herr is located."
The newly-organized Susquehanna County Historical Society sent greet- ings from Dimock, Pa., through its President, Francis R. Cope.
Dr. S. B. Hartman, the millionaire farmer, and maker of "Peruna," sent his regrets and good wishes from Co- lumbus, Ohio.
E. K. Martin, now of Yonkers, N. Y., formerly of Lancaster, and who, it will be remembered, was one of the earliest of the later-day writers and orators to exploit the virtues of the Mennonite population, wrote to the Chairman of the Committee on Invi- tation as follows:
"Your kind letter inviting me to take part in perpetuating the work of the founders of Lancaster county, and the makers of its early history, has appealed to me as nothing else has in the years that I have been out of its borders. For when we were young men together, as you well know, these were some of the many thoughts that waked our patriotic en- thusiasm. But I am here on serious business, my own health, and a good physician has passed a severe sen- tence. Will you give all my friends in old Lancaster my kind greeting and tell them how sorry I am not to be with you."
Hon. G. A. Endlich, President Judge of the Berks County Court, wrote that only the obligation to
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hear an argument list of over seventy cases prevented him from attending; "how much to my eternal regret I need not tell you."
FINANCIAL REPORT.
A sub-committee of your commit- tee, appointed to finance the celebra- tion, assumed the responsibility of preparing and printing souvenir pro- grammes without expense to the So- ciety, and succeeded in disposing of sufficient numbers of it to pay the costs of an edition of fifteen hundred, so that that item is balanced in the report of the committee. Their re- ceipts and expenditures were as fol- lows:
EXPENDITURES:
Miss Clark, postage .. $ 8.41
The New Era Printing Company,
printing circular letters, etc. . 13.00
L. B. Herr, postal cards. .75
Huber and Lollar, police. 6.00
Aldus Zittle, stone. 12.00
D. F. Magee, postage 4.68
John H. Myers, lifting, trans-
porting, placing stone, etc ... 90.97 Conestoga Paper Company, en- velopes 8.25
Traveling expenses of invited guests 30.00
Freight on plate
1.32
Hood for stone
Postage stamps
9.50
The New Era Printing Company, printing plates of tablet .... .. 3.25
Conestoga Traction Company,
hauling stone 10.00
Memorial Bronze Company,
memorial tablet 40.00
Printing of souvenir pro-
grammes, plates, etc. 75.00
Total
$413.89
RECEIPTS.
From sale of programmes $ 75.00
Voluntary contributions. 338 14
Total $413.14
CONTRIBUTORS.
The following persons contributed to the expenses of the celebration:
George Steinman, H. Frank Eshle-
2.00
W. Y. Haldy, work on stone ...
98.76
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man, W. U. Hensel, R. M. Reilly, F. R. Diffenderffer, A. B. Hassler, S. D. Bausman, E T. Fraim, A. K. Hostet- ter, George Hoffman, J. Hay Brown, W. W. Griest, Charles I. Landis, J. G. Homsher, E. G. Smith, William Rid- dle, L. B. Herr, S. Clay Miller, J. W. B. Bausman, B. C. Atlee, J. P. Brene- man, Paul Heine, I. H. Weaver, George Crane, C. R. Herr, John A. Coyle, J. Aldus Herr, A. F. Hostetter, W. Y. Haldy, John E. Snyder, D. H. Landis, J. W. Meminger.
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