MANY NAMES WITH ONE HERITAGE -- ALL LOW DUTCH A colony of Dutch settlers – 50 families in all – first came to Mercer County KY in 1781 from Conewago Colony in Pennsylvania. Many of our Ancestors were in that group who took the long hard trail, bringing along their family, their animals and field seeds, while fighting off Indian attacks along the way. WHY LOW DUTCH? Most Kentucky publications refer to Germans as Dutch. Our Conewago colonists adopted the term “Low Dutch” to distinguish themselves as being from the low countries of Holland and Europe instead. Vincent Akers, in his book, History of the Low Dutch, copyright 1981, says our ancestors were always very careful to refer to themselves as Low Dutch. FAMILY STORIES We are proud to claim many well-known family researchers in our group, and all are happy to share their knowledge as well as being delighted to collect anecdotes and family legends from others. At this meeting you will hear many of these stories which have been handed down through generations of Dutch descent; some will tickle your funnybone while others touch the heartstrings, and all make you proud of your heritage. None of our family speakers are paid, but simply come to share the lore and love of our history. A GATHERING OF DUTCH COUSINS (from Holland ancestry) Fri-Sat-Sun Sept 23-25, 2005, Westerfield, Cozine, Banta, Demaree, Monfort, Smock, VanArsdale, Voris, Brewer .... are all Low Dutch surnames. If you have very early connections to Mercer County, you are probably one of our DUTCH COUSINS! For more information, send query to CarolynLeonard@mac.com Hugs, Carolyn Remember you have a friend in Oklahoma -- endlessly sorting out dead relatives! Researching COZINE in Kentucky, Kansas, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New Amsterdam (New York) and the Netherlands.