My father's family, originating on the South Shore of Nova Scotia (Lunenburg to be specific) and he (and the rest of the family) always claimed they were Dutch. Many others from this area also were referred to as Dutch. In reality, they were German. Many of them arrived in the 1750's. I was told they were called Dutch because of the two world wars with Germany. My father, who served in the Second World War, never admitted to be of German descent. It was something that wasn't even discussed. And I think all (at least most) of the 'Dutch' designation stems from wanting to separate themselves from the enemy. I have also heard of German Dutch which dilutes the facts. Being German couldn't have been easy with the neighbour's son, husband and/or father being killed on the battlefield in Europe. Diana Tibert Milford, NS d.mossfritch@comcast.net wrote: >Good Day Robert, > >While not "authoritative" perhaps I have an explaination for the "Dutch" designation. My ancestor (plus wife, two sons, and four daughters) settled in "Dutch Flats" near Norton in 1783/4 after arriving from New York City with the Spring Fleet. John Fritch and his family were German, also known as Deutsch. So Dutch Flats was probably actually Deutsch Flats and the designation about which you inquire "Dutch" is probablyDeutsch (or German). > >Best, > > Denise L. Moss-Fritch > >-------------- Original message -------------- >From: Robert Davis <bdavis@sympatico.ca> > > > >>Why were so many of the loyalists and their descendants' families >>designated "Dutch". I've never heard an authoritative explanation. >>Have you? >>bdavis@sympatico.ca >> >> > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NEWBRUNSWICK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > >

Just adding my two cents... Previous responses have mentioned a variety of reasons, which I hope to encapsulate here... First, "Dutch" COULD be literal, in the sense that the family was from the area now known as the Netherlands. There were many such families that were Loyalist, mostly from New York and Pennsylvania, with others from New Jersey, and as far "west" as Ohio. Many of the "Van" names found in the late 18th century and later are "Dutch" names by origin. Second, and I've found this to be the case in several of my own Loyalist connections, the term "Dutch" was often a confabulation of "Deutsch" as previously indicated. Rarely was the term "German" used, as the GERMAN for GERMAN is Deutsch. Third, indeed, after WWI and into WWII, "German" was not a term many wanted to have associated with them, so some opted to be called "Dutch" to negate the negative inferences of being called of "German" origins. This is similar to some who changed name spellings in order to NOT be associated with a given nationality or ethnic group. One such example is in my own family name, which, in the late 1700s in Bergen County, New Jersey, was HANSELPACKER. The NB line kept that spelling, and the NS line 'morphed' it to HANDLESPIKER and later to HANDSPIKER. The one brother who remained in New Jersey (near as we can figure) opted to remove the "Hansel" part of the name, as it did two things... First, removing it removed any "German" connotations (which would often lead neighbors to associate him with Hessians or other Loyalist groups). Secondly, it changed the name significantly enough to make it "PACKER", which removed any hint of the Loyalist HANSELPACKERS and as there were already Anglo PACKER families in the area, it allowed his own family to virtually "disappear" in genealogical terms. Interestingly enough, one doesn't often find names like "Conrad" associated with Anglo families, yet that given name remained in his "PACKER" family group for a few more generations! Other examples would include other "German" names that got altered to avoid association. The removal of "stein" from surname, for example. Or, the "softening" of the spelling variants. Whatever could be done to give them a more Anglo or "friendly European" feel. I once ran into a fellow researcher who INSISTED the Hanselpackers came from HOLLAND, and not from Germany. Their reasoning was that in two consecutive generations, the HoH listed his origins as "Dutch". It took several attempts and, eventually, bible and church records from Mannheim to change his mind. I just wish those records held the gems that would put my ancestors in a specific location in Germany, prior to their arrival in the Colonies back in the 1730s to 1740s! Well, perhaps a lengthy diatribe, but I've found this subject an interesting one and sometimes a difficult one to deal with over the past few decades! Cheers, Jared Firs > My father's family, originating on the South Shore of Nova Scotia > (Lunenburg to be specific) and he (and the rest of the family) always > claimed they were Dutch. Many others from this area also were referred > to as Dutch. > > In reality, they were German. Many of them arrived in the 1750's. > > I was told they were called Dutch because of the two world wars with > Germany. My father, who served in the Second World War, never admitted > to be of German descent. It was something that wasn't even discussed. > And I think all (at least most) of the 'Dutch' designation stems from > wanting to separate themselves from the enemy. > > I have also heard of German Dutch which dilutes the facts. Being German > couldn't have been easy with the neighbour's son, husband and/or father > being killed on the battlefield in Europe. > > Diana Tibert > Milford, NS > > > > d.mossfritch@comcast.net wrote: > >>Good Day Robert, >> >>While not "authoritative" perhaps I have an explaination for the "Dutch" >> designation. My ancestor (plus wife, two sons, and four daughters) >> settled in "Dutch Flats" near Norton in 1783/4 after arriving from New >> York City with the Spring Fleet. John Fritch and his family were German, >> also known as Deutsch. So Dutch Flats was probably actually Deutsch Flats >> and the designation about which you inquire "Dutch" is probablyDeutsch >> (or German). >> >>Best, >> >> Denise L. Moss-Fritch >> >>-------------- Original message -------------- >>From: Robert Davis <bdavis@sympatico.ca> >> >> >> >>>Why were so many of the loyalists and their descendants' families >>>designated "Dutch". I've never heard an authoritative explanation. >>>Have you? >>>bdavis@sympatico.ca >>> >>> >> >>------------------------------- >>To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >> NEWBRUNSWICK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the >> quotes in the subject and the body of the message >> >> >> > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > NEWBRUNSWICK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > ------------------------ Jared "Jed" Handspicker jedh@jedh.com

Diana, well put girl! My wife's family stems from Lunenburg as well and I have heard this from many an "old timer" especially from that area. Take care, Frank. Frank (Matchett) Springer "Tree Maker1" ----- Original Message ----- From: "Diana Lynn Tibert" <tibert@ns.sympatico.ca> To: <newbrunswick@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 1:46 PM Subject: Re: [ NB ] "Dutch" Loyalists > My father's family, originating on the South Shore of Nova Scotia > (Lunenburg to be specific) and he (and the rest of the family) always > claimed they were Dutch. Many others from this area also were referred > to as Dutch. > > In reality, they were German. Many of them arrived in the 1750's. > > I was told they were called Dutch because of the two world wars with > Germany. My father, who served in the Second World War, never admitted > to be of German descent. It was something that wasn't even discussed. > And I think all (at least most) of the 'Dutch' designation stems from > wanting to separate themselves from the enemy. > > I have also heard of German Dutch which dilutes the facts. Being German > couldn't have been easy with the neighbour's son, husband and/or father > being killed on the battlefield in Europe. > > Diana Tibert > Milford, NS > > > > d.mossfritch@comcast.net wrote: > >>Good Day Robert, >> >>While not "authoritative" perhaps I have an explaination for the "Dutch" >>designation. My ancestor (plus wife, two sons, and four daughters) settled >>in "Dutch Flats" near Norton in 1783/4 after arriving from New York City >>with the Spring Fleet. John Fritch and his family were German, also known >>as Deutsch. So Dutch Flats was probably actually Deutsch Flats and the >>designation about which you inquire "Dutch" is probablyDeutsch (or >>German). >> >>Best, >> >> Denise L. Moss-Fritch >> >>-------------- Original message -------------- >>From: Robert Davis <bdavis@sympatico.ca> >> >> >> >>>Why were so many of the loyalists and their descendants' families >>>designated "Dutch". I've never heard an authoritative explanation. >>>Have you? >>>bdavis@sympatico.ca >>> >>> >> >>------------------------------- >>To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >>NEWBRUNSWICK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the >>quotes in the subject and the body of the message >> >> >> > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > NEWBRUNSWICK-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > -- I am using the free version of SPAMfighter for private users. It has removed 2 spam emails to date. Paying users do not have this message in their emails. Get the free SPAMfighter here: http://www.spamfighter.com/len