In a message dated 99-01-31 12:41:53 EST, you write: > 1. "You can be fairly sure that if you come across a German surname > that has been converted to an English spelling, that's a tip-off that > the family has been in this country since the 1700's. Later emigrants, > 1850 up have their German names spelled as would be found in Germany > today." Same idea would apply for Swiss. > Therefore SCWARTZ became BLACK, WEISS became WHITE, SCHNEIDER became > SNYDER, SCHAEFFER became SHAFER, STAUFFER became STAFFORD, WERI became > WEARY, etc, etc., etc. Ann, I will start off with these--just my opinion but comes from a lot of research on Germanic surnames as you can imagine. I would agree to a point with #1--but not completely. I wouldn't use 1850 as my cut-off point either. In the 1890s and for about 30 years after that names were likely to be changed permanently by papers established at Ellis Island. It really isn't until Social Security and other permanent records were kept that attempts to standardize surname spellings came into being. The formal changes in names made for immigrants coming through Ellis Island was a far more lasting change than the gradual evolution of names that occurred for earlier immgrants. Yes, many earlier German immigrants saw their names changed by gradual evolution of spelling and even translation, but not usually through any determined effort to do so--but more by chance. I have also noted some evolution of Germanic surname even within Europe! I have found in America that Colonial era immigrants experienced name changes far more frequently if they left the PA Dutch counties and spread out to other areas--that is where you see most changes occurring. > > 2. "It's more difficult to trace the 1700's German emigrants because > they often were "pioneers" in the formation of newer PA counties - > did not have access to schooling and were, therefore, often illiterate, > not showing up in early histories to the extent of 1850 + emigrants > from Germany whose families in Europe had the advantage of earlier > schooling". So the later immigrants would have been more motivated > to higher education - especially if they had arrived in Phila. ???? Oh--I would strongly disagree with this one. Wherever did they get THAT I wonder? Although the early immigrants did leave the cities most often and spread out to outlying areas for farmland and other economic and religious reasons, I think the earlier immigrants are easier to follow than the ones who arrived after the termination of the ship lists. Even if the immigrants themselves were uneducated it didn't mean they didn't show up in church and other records such as deeds and wills. Many records from the 18th Century are in book form which make the search easier in my opinion. > > 3. "Because land closer to settled areas around the three original > counties, Chester, Phila., and Montgomery being already occupied, the > later German settlers had to establish themselves in "newly received > formerly Indian areas". > Also, "some settlers wanted more space and were eager to move into > these areas and petition the government for the establishment of new > counties". Well, maybe. BUT I tend to see the later arriving Germans (1850s on up) settling in cities and working in manufacturing jobs and not being farmers in the outlying areas as the earlier settlers were. The later ones also tended to be from different areas in Germany than the earlier ones were and were more often Catholic unlike the earlier mainly Protestant immigrants. > > 4. "There was much preference shown in early records to documenting > the Quaker English and other British families - the Germans being > somewhat "second-class citizens" causing them to want to be assimilated > into the prevailing culture. There came to be much interrmarriage > between the Germans and English". To a certain extent yes--but I think the assimilation came about gradually and not by any predetermined course of action in most cases. I would disagree with the final sentence though--I don't see much intermarriage between the Germans and English--not for several generations in this country at least. They tended to be pretty much a community unto themselves for quite some time--with the exception of those who migrated to areas in which the Germans were in a distinct minority. The ones who moved into Western PA for example very often intermarried with the Scotch-Irish in that area--but these were not first generation Germans for the most part either. > > 5. "Because of the political climate at the time of the Revolution, > many German families assumed "alias" names". (Sure would like to have > documented which book that was - it had examples of names common in > Berks Co. records). > I have NEVER seen this--not to my knowledge--I too would like to know the source for that. By and large the German immigrants supported the Revolutionarey cause--so why would they find a need for aliases? > 6. "German naming patterns were in several types, the most common > being that the first son was named for the paternal grandfather, then > the next son for the maternal grandfather, the boys would alternate > back and forth - the first daughter would be named for the maternal > grandmother, the second girl for the paternal grandmother, then the > girls would alternate." "This naming pattern seemed to pass out of > favor about the time of the Civil War." I have read this many, many times and have seen it used in some families. However, I have found the most common naming pattern is for the child to be named for his sponsor of the same sex at baptism. > > Do others have any "clues" they've come across to help in this German > research???? Or, thoughts on the suggestions listed above ????? > The best "aid" I can think of in researching the early Germans is to pay attention to allied families and follow them if you can't find your own ancestors--where their allied families went they are sure to be found also. Often these alliances can also lead you back to the ancestral European roots as well. Joan