Back in the 1960's, when I was in college in Jefferson County, IA, there were so many German-speaking farmers in the area that the local stores and banks all made certain they had at least one German-speaking clerk. I was young and not inquisitive about the locals, so I don't know what faith(s) these people followed -- to me it seemed an aberration in "modern America." The German influence was so strong that the local congressional candidates were Mr. Schwengels and Mr. Schmidhauser (each won once while I was there). Only later, when I took up genealogy, did I learn I had relatives there (the ones I now know of weren't Brethren or German). Duncan Morrow -----Original Message----- From: brethren-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:brethren-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Melanie Rice Sent: Thursday, February 13, 2014 8:11 AM To: brethren@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [BRE] German Baptist marriage record questions Thank you, Bill. If I understand correctly, it is possible that Brethren church members may have spoken both English and German, but the church may have used German in the early 1800s? WOULD a Brethren minister have married a couple who were not of that faith? For example, in more remote areas where there were not nearby churches - if a minister passed through the area, would he have been likely to marry couples wishing to marry, regardless of their faith? I'm trying to understand if a marriage by a Brethren minister is a strong indicator that the couple were both from Brethren families. Thanks! On Wed, Feb 12, 2014 at 8:04 PM, Bill Thomas <wbtst2@atlanticbb.net> wrote: > There are exceptions to every rule, but a history of the Sandy Creek > Congregation in present day West Virginia that was written in an 1876 > issue of the 'Primitive Christian' states that they spoke German in > the Sandy Creek church services until 1824. In the early days they > also used a German Bible and sang German Hymns. In the 18th and early > 19th Century, one could be disowned for being married out side the > German Baptist church. But neither of these are absolutes. Speaking > English is not a guarantee they would preach in English. For example, > the Amish in 2014 preach in German, have a German Bible and sing in > German, even though they all speak English. > > Bill Thomas > > -----Original Message----- > From: Melanie Rice > Sent: Wednesday, February 12, 2014 8:55 PM > To: BRETHREN@rootsweb.com > Subject: [BRE] German Baptist marriage record questions > > If a couple was married by a German Baptist minister in 1827, > PrebleCounty, OH - *may I presume that one or both of their families > were brethren?* > > During that time period, in relatively newly settled Ohio, would a > German Baptist minister have married couples who were not part of their church? > > The specific marriage record is for a Caty Sharow to a Daniel Brucker, > on May 17, 1827, Preble County, OH. > > Also, if other couples I am researching in the same vicinity and time > period were NOT married by a minister of the gospel, *may I presume > the couple was not religious?* Would there be legitimate reasons that > church members would be married by a JOP? > > I am working on a difficult family line that seems to have ties in > Miami, Montgomery and Preble counties, OH, from about 1810 - 1840+. > > Do I understand correctly that* the designation "German Baptist" is > synonymous with Dunker Brethren in the early 1800s, Ohio?* > > Lastly, *would the German Baptist churches in the Miami Valley have > spoken ONLY German at that time? Could the churches have been > bilingual? What about the members?* The family I'm working on > (Sherow, etc.), came from a Scot-Irish settlement in Augusta County, > VA, and appears to have been assimilated. My research so far > indicates they likely spoke English by the time they arrived in the Miami Valley, about 1810. > > Thank you! > > Melanie Rice > Denver, Colo. > > ------------------------ Search the > Archives at http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/BRETHREN > ------------------------ > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > BRETHREN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > ------------------------ Search the > Archives at http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/BRETHREN > ------------------------ > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > BRETHREN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > ------------------------ Search the Archives at http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/BRETHREN ------------------------ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to BRETHREN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message