Written by Forrest Moyer on March 5, 2018
This series of posts highlights families descended from 18th-century Mennonite immigrants to eastern Pennsylvania, in connection with the MHC’s exhibit Opportunity & Conscience: Mennonite Immigration to Pennsylvania, on display through March 31, 2018. The stories reflect the enrichment brought to communities over centuries by the descendants of immigrants.
E-I-E-I-?
Old Abe Landis had a farm, E-I-E-I-O. How should he spell his name, with an “e” or an “i”?
The most common spelling of the name today is Landis, but not so in years
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Written by Forrest Moyer on February 19, 2018
This series of posts highlights families descended from 18th-century Mennonite immigrants to eastern Pennsylvania, in connection with the MHC’s exhibit Opportunity & Conscience: Mennonite Immigration to Pennsylvania, on display through March 31, 2018. The stories reflect the enrichment brought to communities over centuries by the descendants of immigrants.
Immigrant brothers Jacob and Samuel
Most people with the surname Musselman in eastern Pennsylvania are descended from Jacob Musselman, an immigrant who settled in Milford Township, Bucks County circa 1730. His brother Samuel also
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Written by Joel Alderfer on December 19, 2017
From late 2016 through summer of 2017, a rare 1536 Froschauer Bible and two early fraktur-lettered and decorated family registers from the Mennonite Heritage Center Collection were conserved by professional staff at the Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts (CCAHA), Philadelphia. The months-long project was funded by a significant grant (MA-31-16-0539-16) from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency. Through this project, our oldest Bible and two of our earliest and rarest family registers have finally
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Written by Forrest Moyer on December 1, 2017
This series of posts highlights families descended from 18th-century Mennonite immigrants to eastern Pennsylvania, in connection with the MHC’s exhibit Opportunity & Conscience: Mennonite Immigration to Pennsylvania, on display through March 31, 2018. The stories reflect the enrichment brought to communities over centuries by the descendants of immigrants.
Hans Jacob, Hans George, and Abraham
A number of immigrants with the Swiss name Bechtel came to Pennsylvania in the colonial era. Two of these, Hans Jacob Bechtel (d. 1739) and Hans George Bechtel
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Written by Forrest Moyer on November 10, 2017
This series of posts highlights families descended from 18th-century Mennonite immigrants to eastern Pennsylvania, in connection with the MHC’s exhibit Opportunity & Conscience: Mennonite Immigration to Pennsylvania, on display through March 31, 2018. The stories reflect the enrichment brought to communities over centuries by the descendants of immigrants.
Early settlers on the Schuylkill
The roots of the Longacre family, and origin of their name, lie in the town of Langnau in Emmental, Bern, Switzerland. Originally Langenegger, many descendants in America spell the
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Written by Forrest Moyer on August 30, 2017
This series of posts highlights families descended from 18th-century Mennonite immigrants to eastern Pennsylvania, in connection with the MHC’s exhibit Opportunity & Conscience: Mennonite Immigration to Pennsylvania, on display through March 31, 2018. The stories reflect the enrichment brought to communities over centuries by the descendants of immigrants.
Hunsberger roots of Franconia and Souderton
Brothers Ulrich, Jacob, and John (Hans) Hunsberger were some of the first settlers in the area that became Franconia Township. They each at one time owned parts of
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