"Were there newspapers in 1860s? Few people could read in those days." Time out for a little history lesson. Gutenberg invented movable type for the Western world (it existed in China and Korea prior to Gutenberg) and published his Bible in 1455. Prior to the printing press, books were expensive and not readily available outside of the clergy and aristocracy. With its invention, the costs were cut and information via the printed word became available to the common people. The impact of this was that literacy grew rapidly. It was very much an information age. Newspapers have been around in one or another form since the invention of the printing press, but the earlier forms were pamphlets and broadsides. Here in the United States, "Der wöchentliche pennsylvanische Staatsbote," a German newspaper published by Heinrich Miller, was the first (July 5, 1776) to publish notice of the Declaration of Independence. Here is the full text that appeared: Philadelphia, den 5 July. Gestern hat der Achtbare Cong- ress dieses Vesten Landes die Vereinigten Colonien Freye und Unabhaengige Staaten erklaeret. Die Declaration in Englisch ist jetzt in der Presse: sie ist datiert, den 4ten July, 1776, und wird heut oder morgen im druck erscheinen. The full text appeared the next day, in English, in the Philadelphia Evening Post. My gggg grandfather, Frederick Miller, was one of those people who read the first article in German and enlisted to serve on July 5, 1776 and was in Easton for the one of the three first public readings of the entire text. He was just a German pioneer working the land. Then, as now, people devoured information. All of Frederick's children were literate. They attended a church school. Reading of the Bible and the newspaper was very important to pioneering families. As a special note to the Americans on the list, our Revolutionary forefathers required that the Declaration be published in German (possibly French too - I can't recall) as well as English, taking into account the German immigrants. For our friends in France, I point this out because there is a controversy here in the US about illegal immigration. There is a growing movement that English should be the official language and government publications should only be in English. My point is that we have always taken into account the languages of our immigrant populations. Pamphleteering and the publication of newspapers were part and parcel of the revolutionary wars here and in Europe. By the 1860's newspapers were ubiquitous. There is a famous Currier & Ives print from that period showing pioneers taking a break, sitting on a felled tree, reading and discussing the newspaper. Newspapers were very much a part of the culture. I collect 18th and 19th century books. By the 1860's mass publication of books was coming into play and the quality of the paper they were printed on and the bindings was declining because of mass production. The masses could read. Then, as now, there was illiteracy, but most homes had a Bible and someone who could read, but for the most impoverished. Scans and the text of 18th, 19th and early 20th century newspapers are becoming available online. Like Google Books, there's a rush to make this all available. Genealogybank.com has many newspapers from colonial times forward. In colonial era newspapers, I've read about property transactions, businesses, criminal matters, apprenticeships, deaths, estates, local gossip, etc. Newspapers are always valuable resources for genealogical research. Best wishes, Lynda Jones Bloomsburg, PA USA _____ . Weberstedt, Thüringen, Germany – home of the Uttrodts Family names: Brong, Freitag, von Freitag, Miller, Prang, Savino, Schueller, Uetterodt, von Uetterodt, Utterodt, Uttenrodt, von Uttenrodt, Uttrodt, Ottrott, Van Etten, Van Horn Collateral lines: Dwyer, Eltus, LaFrance, Prentice, Smith . without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Outside the scope of this group, but in Britain in the 1600s most ordinary people were literate, could read and write, they were taught in parish church-run schools, or at a school set up by some local nobleman. It was important that they be able to read their Bibles, and broadsides, pamphlets, and official documents nailed to the church or courthouse door were read as well. Nancy ------- I was never lost, but I was bewildered once for three days. --Daniel Boone On Jan 13, 2008, at 9:35 PM, Lynda L. Jones wrote: > "Were there newspapers in 1860s? Few people could read in those days." > > Time out for a little history lesson. Gutenberg invented movable > type for > the Western world (it existed in China and Korea prior to > Gutenberg) and > published his Bible in 1455. Prior to the printing press, books were > expensive and not readily available outside of the clergy and > aristocracy. > With its invention, the costs were cut and information via the > printed word > became available to the common people. The impact of this was that > literacy > grew rapidly. It was very much an information age. > > Newspapers have been around in one or another form since the > invention of > the printing press, but the earlier forms were pamphlets and > broadsides. > Here in the United States, "Der wöchentliche pennsylvanische > Staatsbote," a > German newspaper published by Heinrich Miller, was the first (July > 5, 1776) > to publish notice of the Declaration of Independence. Here is the > full text > that appeared: > > Philadelphia, den 5 July. > Gestern hat der Achtbare Cong- > ress dieses Vesten Landes die > Vereinigten Colonien Freye > und Unabhaengige Staaten erklaeret. > Die Declaration in Englisch ist jetzt in der > Presse: sie ist datiert, den 4ten July, 1776, und > wird heut oder morgen im druck erscheinen. > > The full text appeared the next day, in English, in the > Philadelphia Evening > Post. My gggg grandfather, Frederick Miller, was one of those > people who > read the first article in German and enlisted to serve on July 5, > 1776 and > was in Easton for the one of the three first public readings of the > entire > text. He was just a German pioneer working the land. Then, as > now, people > devoured information. All of Frederick's children were literate. > They > attended a church school. Reading of the Bible and the newspaper > was very > important to pioneering families. > > As a special note to the Americans on the list, our Revolutionary > forefathers required that the Declaration be published in German > (possibly > French too - I can't recall) as well as English, taking into > account the > German immigrants. For our friends in France, I point this out > because > there is a controversy here in the US about illegal immigration. > There is a > growing movement that English should be the official language and > government > publications should only be in English. My point is that we have > always > taken into account the languages of our immigrant populations. > > Pamphleteering and the publication of newspapers were part and > parcel of the > revolutionary wars here and in Europe. > > By the 1860's newspapers were ubiquitous. There is a famous > Currier & Ives > print from that period showing pioneers taking a break, sitting on > a felled > tree, reading and discussing the newspaper. Newspapers were very > much a > part of the culture. I collect 18th and 19th century books. By > the 1860's > mass publication of books was coming into play and the quality of > the paper > they were printed on and the bindings was declining because of mass > production. The masses could read. Then, as now, there was > illiteracy, but > most homes had a Bible and someone who could read, but for the most > impoverished. > > Scans and the text of 18th, 19th and early 20th century newspapers are > becoming available online. Like Google Books, there's a rush to > make this > all available. Genealogybank.com has many newspapers from colonial > times > forward. In colonial era newspapers, I've read about property > transactions, > businesses, criminal matters, apprenticeships, deaths, estates, local > gossip, etc. Newspapers are always valuable resources for > genealogical > research. > > Best wishes, > Lynda Jones > Bloomsburg, PA USA > > > _____ > > > . > Weberstedt, Thüringen, Germany – home of the Uttrodts > Family names: Brong, Freitag, von Freitag, Miller, Prang, Savino, > Schueller, Uetterodt, von Uetterodt, Utterodt, Uttenrodt, von > Uttenrodt, > Uttrodt, Ottrott, Van Etten, Van Horn > Collateral lines: Dwyer, Eltus, LaFrance, Prentice, Smith > . > > > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > -- > Resources for Alsace-Lorraine list members: > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~valorie/Alsace-Lorraine-L.htm > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ALSACE- > LORRAINE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Absolutely. Thank you, Nancy. You said quickly what I had to run on about! The same was true in France and Germany. I gave the details of colonial America as an example and the sources that are now available to us in the US. I'm sure there are similar examples in Europe and an effort to get these early papers onto the Internet. And some kind soul will tell us sooner or later how to access these in Europe. Best wishes, Lynda Jones Bloomsburg, PA USA _____ . Weberstedt, Thüringen, Germany – home of the Uttrodts Family names: Brong, Freitag, von Freitag, Miller, Prang, Savino, Schueller, Uetterodt, von Uetterodt, Utterodt, Uttenrodt, von Uttenrodt, Uttrodt, Ottrott, Van Etten, Van Horn Collateral lines: Dwyer, Eltus, LaFrance, Prentice, Smith . -----Original Message----- From: Sunshine49 [mailto:shengirl@verizon.net] Sent: Sunday, January 13, 2008 9:58 PM To: lynda@houseofwaterdancer.com; alsace-lorraine@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [A-L] Newspapers, Literacy and Genealogical Research Outside the scope of this group, but in Britain in the 1600s most ordinary people were literate, could read and write, they were taught in parish church-run schools, or at a school set up by some local nobleman. It was important that they be able to read their Bibles, and broadsides, pamphlets, and official documents nailed to the church or courthouse door were read as well. Nancy ------- I was never lost, but I was bewildered once for three days. --Daniel Boone On Jan 13, 2008, at 9:35 PM, Lynda L. Jones wrote: > "Were there newspapers in 1860s? Few people could read in those days." > > Time out for a little history lesson. Gutenberg invented movable > type for > the Western world (it existed in China and Korea prior to > Gutenberg) and > published his Bible in 1455. Prior to the printing press, books were > expensive and not readily available outside of the clergy and > aristocracy. > With its invention, the costs were cut and information via the > printed word > became available to the common people. The impact of this was that > literacy > grew rapidly. It was very much an information age. > > Newspapers have been around in one or another form since the > invention of > the printing press, but the earlier forms were pamphlets and > broadsides. > Here in the United States, "Der wöchentliche pennsylvanische > Staatsbote," a > German newspaper published by Heinrich Miller, was the first (July > 5, 1776) > to publish notice of the Declaration of Independence. Here is the > full text > that appeared: > > Philadelphia, den 5 July. > Gestern hat der Achtbare Cong- > ress dieses Vesten Landes die > Vereinigten Colonien Freye > und Unabhaengige Staaten erklaeret. > Die Declaration in Englisch ist jetzt in der > Presse: sie ist datiert, den 4ten July, 1776, und > wird heut oder morgen im druck erscheinen. > > The full text appeared the next day, in English, in the > Philadelphia Evening > Post. My gggg grandfather, Frederick Miller, was one of those > people who > read the first article in German and enlisted to serve on July 5, > 1776 and > was in Easton for the one of the three first public readings of the > entire > text. He was just a German pioneer working the land. Then, as > now, people > devoured information. All of Frederick's children were literate. > They > attended a church school. Reading of the Bible and the newspaper > was very > important to pioneering families. > > As a special note to the Americans on the list, our Revolutionary > forefathers required that the Declaration be published in German > (possibly > French too - I can't recall) as well as English, taking into > account the > German immigrants. For our friends in France, I point this out > because > there is a controversy here in the US about illegal immigration. > There is a > growing movement that English should be the official language and > government > publications should only be in English. My point is that we have > always > taken into account the languages of our immigrant populations. > > Pamphleteering and the publication of newspapers were part and > parcel of the > revolutionary wars here and in Europe. > > By the 1860's newspapers were ubiquitous. There is a famous > Currier & Ives > print from that period showing pioneers taking a break, sitting on > a felled > tree, reading and discussing the newspaper. Newspapers were very > much a > part of the culture. I collect 18th and 19th century books. By > the 1860's > mass publication of books was coming into play and the quality of > the paper > they were printed on and the bindings was declining because of mass > production. The masses could read. Then, as now, there was > illiteracy, but > most homes had a Bible and someone who could read, but for the most > impoverished. > > Scans and the text of 18th, 19th and early 20th century newspapers are > becoming available online. Like Google Books, there's a rush to > make this > all available. Genealogybank.com has many newspapers from colonial > times > forward. In colonial era newspapers, I've read about property > transactions, > businesses, criminal matters, apprenticeships, deaths, estates, local > gossip, etc. Newspapers are always valuable resources for > genealogical > research. > > Best wishes, > Lynda Jones > Bloomsburg, PA USA > > > _____ > > > . > Weberstedt, Thüringen, Germany – home of the Uttrodts > Family names: Brong, Freitag, von Freitag, Miller, Prang, Savino, > Schueller, Uetterodt, von Uetterodt, Utterodt, Uttenrodt, von > Uttenrodt, > Uttrodt, Ottrott, Van Etten, Van Horn > Collateral lines: Dwyer, Eltus, LaFrance, Prentice, Smith > . > > > without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > -- > Resources for Alsace-Lorraine list members: > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~valorie/Alsace-Lorraine-L.htm > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ALSACE- > LORRAINE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Lynda, On Jan 13, 2008, at 9:35 PM, Lynda L. Jones wrote: "...our Revolutionary forefathers required that the Declaration be published in German..." I intrigued by your statement that "our Revolutionary forefathers *required* that the Declaration be published in German..." Do you have a source that states they specified German or was the intent that the news be published in all newspapers in the colonies? It's not a big deal but I'm struck by the suggestion that German was specified given the overwhelming English --- and then French --- influence/heritage in the colonies in the 1770's. My understanding was that the first published notice of the Declaration of Independence appeared in a German-language newspaper due to happenstance and not planning. I'm not suggesting that there were not German settlers, but only that their presence & influence was very limited. "My point is that we have always taken into account the languages..." And, unfortunately, one of the ways in which we (the United States) have taken languages into account is to suppress them. Japanese language newspapers were put out business in the 1940's and the 'Indian schools' of the the latter half of the 1800's forbade the teaching/learning of Native American languages. Until, of course, we needed the Navajo code talkers of WW II. Richard

there were a lot of early German settlers, many moved west and down the Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountains, many settled in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, or in central and western Pa., many were used as a buffer between the English eastern settlements and the Indians and French along the frontiers. Gov. Alexander Spotswood of Virginia in the early 1700s [around 1714] settled Germans in the area now known as Germanna, they were mostly iron workers he brought over; there are organizations of descendants of these Germanna settlers today. Nancy [in Va.] ------- I was never lost, but I was bewildered once for three days. --Daniel Boone On Jan 13, 2008, at 10:43 PM, RAM wrote: > Lynda, > > > On Jan 13, 2008, at 9:35 PM, Lynda L. Jones wrote: > > "...our Revolutionary forefathers required that the Declaration be > published in German..." > > I intrigued by your statement that "our Revolutionary forefathers > *required* that the Declaration be published in German..." > Do you have a source that states they specified German or was the > intent that the news be published in all newspapers in > the colonies? It's not a big deal but I'm struck by the suggestion > that German was specified given the overwhelming English --- and then > French --- influence/heritage in the colonies in the 1770's. My > understanding was that the first published notice of the Declaration > of Independence appeared in a German-language newspaper due to > happenstance and not planning. I'm not suggesting that there were > not German settlers, but only that their presence & influence was > very limited. > > "My point is that we have always taken into account the languages..." > > And, unfortunately, one of the ways in which we (the United States) > have taken languages into account is to suppress them. Japanese > language newspapers were put out business in the 1940's and the > 'Indian schools' of the the latter half of the 1800's forbade the > teaching/learning of Native American languages. Until, of course, we > needed the Navajo code talkers of WW II. > > > Richard > > > > -- > Resources for Alsace-Lorraine list members: > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~valorie/Alsace-Lorraine-L.htm > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ALSACE- > LORRAINE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

I was not surprised that the Declaration of Independence was printed in German. If the established language of this country was established at the time it should have been I ren=member hearing that iy would have been "German." People forget that The Dutch were early settlers to this country. Maria -----Original Message----- From: RAM <mcadict@comcast.net> To: lynda@houseofwaterdancer.com; alsace-lorraine@rootsweb.com Sent: Sun, 13 Jan 2008 10:43 pm Subject: Re: [A-L] Newspapers, Literacy and Genealogical Research Lynda, On Jan 13, 2008, at 9:35 PM, Lynda L. Jones wrote: "...our Revolutionary forefathers required that the Declaration be published in German..." I intrigued by your statement that "our Revolutionary forefathers *required* that the Declaration be published in German..." Do you have a source that states they specified German or was the intent that the news be published in all newspapers in the colonies? It's not a big deal but I'm struck by the suggestion that German was specified given the overwhelming English --- and then French --- influence/heritage in the colonies in the 1770's. My understanding was that the first published notice of the Declaration of Independence appeared in a German-language newspaper due to happenstance and not planning. I'm not suggesting that there were not German settlers, but only that their presence & influence was very limited. "My point is that we have always taken into account the languages..." And, unfortunately, one of the ways in which we (the United States) have taken languages into account is to suppress them. Japanese language newspapers were put out business in the 1940's and the 'Indian schools' of the the latter half of the 1800's forbade the teaching/learning of Native American languages. Until, of course, we needed the Navajo code talkers of WW II. Richard -- Resources for Alsace-Lorraine list members: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~valorie/Alsace-Lorraine-L.htm ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ALSACE-LORRAINE-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ________________________________________________________________________ More new features than ever. Check out the new AOL Mail ! - http://webmail.aol.com

On Jan 13, 2008, at 9:35 PM, Lynda L. Jones wrote: "...our Revolutionary forefathers required that the Declaration be published in German..." Do you have a source that states that this was *required* this? "My point is that we have always taken into account the languages..." Suppression is one of the ways we (the U. S.) have taken languages into account. Japanese language newspapers were put out business in the 1940's and the 'Indian schools' of the the latter half of the 1800's forbade the teaching/learning of Native American languages. Until, of course, we needed the Navajo code talkers of WW II. Richard