Our Immigrant Heritage: Gehman

Written by Forrest Moyer on January 19, 2018
Mennonite Heritage Center, Harleysville

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.

Bernese roots

Gehman is a name common among Mennonites of eastern Pennsylvania and Lancaster and the Bible Fellowship Church (formerly Mennonite Brethren in Christ). It is not, however, common among Swiss and German Mennonites

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Rare Bible and early family registers professionally conserved

Written by Joel Alderfer on December 19, 2017
Mennonite Heritage Center, Harleysville

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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New acquisition: Hall-Horning family register

Written by Forrest Moyer on December 8, 2017

In November, the MHC acquired a beautiful fraktur family register that tells the story of a unique and interesting family who bridged the Mennonite-Funkite-Brethren divide of the early 19th century.

The register (2017.65.1) is for the family of John and Elizabeth Hall Horning of Skippack Township, Montgomery County. It was made about 1785 and appears to be the work of schoolmaster Henry Brachtheiser, who made other pieces in the 1780s at Skippack and Salford.

The pages were originally longer, but were

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Our Immigrant Heritage: Bechtel

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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Our Immigrant Heritage: Longacre

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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Our Immigrant Heritage: Derstine

Written by Forrest Moyer on October 23, 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.

European background

The Derstine family of eastern Pennsylvania (one branch uses the spelling Derstein) is descended from Michael Dierstein (1712-1777), an immigrant who came to Philadelphia with a group of Mennonites on the ship

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New acquisition: Bower family tree

Written by Forrest Moyer on October 5, 2017
Mennonite Heritage Center, Harleysville

Zach Bower, a social studies teacher at Dock Mennonite Academy, recently donated an unusual family heirloom to the Mennonite Heritage Center — a hand-drawn family tree compiled by his great-great-grandfather, Henry Stauffer Bower (1836-1909).

Gift of Zachary Aaron Bower (2017.30.1)

The tree, signed and dated 1897, traces many branches of the descendants of Mennonite immigrant Hans Bauer, a native of Switzerland who settled in Hereford Township, Berks County in 1734.

This chart was made in combination with a genealogy that Henry

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These Are the People In Your Neighborhood

Written by Steve Diehl on September 28, 2017

 

During this year of exploring the legacy of the 18th century immigration of Mennonites to Pennsylvania, we are working to become of place of informed and civil discourse on current issues.  That has led us to new relationships with majority immigrant Mennonite churches and their members.  But it has also led us to ask who are the more recent immigrants living in right our midst, in the Indian Valley, and how are they faring?  The following stories are three of

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Our Immigrant Heritage: Rosenberger

Written by Forrest Moyer on September 15, 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.

Henry the immigrant

The Mennonite Rosenberger family is descended from Henry Rosenberger who came to Pennsylvania with wife (name unknown) and sons Daniel and Benjamin in 1717. He settled, probably the following year, on

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A New Chapter of the Pennsylvania Mennonite Story

Written by Steve Diehl on September 5, 2017

For three years, Beny Krisbianto faced the fierce opposition of close-knit, deeply entrenched neighbors, difficulties with four contractors, and the intransigence of City Hall.  One contractor told him to stop trying to build his church for recently arrived Indonesians in South Philly.  Now people ask him in amazement, “How is it that you have a relationship with the mayor?”  Mayor Kenney recently visited, and the city council held a meeting in the new church.  Neighbors who once opposed him invited

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