The passing of the great race; or, The racial basis of European historyGrant, Madison
History
The passing of the great race; or, The racial basis of European history
Grant, Madison
Ethnology -- Europe
Doctor Jordan, of the Pennsylvania Historical Society, furnished Doctor
Noble with some data concerning them. That there were some Alpine
elements among them will appear from what follows. Doctor Jordan agreed
that the present day Pennsylvania Germans are almost exclusively brunet,
with stocky bodies of moderate height. Existing portraits of various
leaders among them when they arrived in Pennsylvania showed the same
types. Furthermore, Doctor Jordan’s extensive reading of early documents
relating to them tends to confirm the belief that the present day
descendants represent the original types. Tall blonds are very rare
among them.
Doctor Noble knows some individuals with Nordic traits, but these were
acquired by intermarriage with Anglo-Saxons. Most of these groups came
from southern Germany, from Silesia on the east to the Palatinate on the
west.
The following are Doctor Jordan’s notes:
Moravians. They were located in Pennsylvania, at first in Bethlehem and
later in Nazareth. The land in Nazareth was purchased of Whitfield, the
predestinarian Methodist.
The Moravian immigration was carefully supervised. The church either
owned or chartered the vessels which brought over the immigrants.
Frequently it was definitely arranged as to how many artisans of each
trade should come over so that they would prosper on arrival.
The Moravian immigration was small—about 500 up to 1750. Until about
1840 the Moravian settlements were closed towns—no non-Moravians could
buy property.
Not one quarter of the present Moravians are descendants of the early
settlers. The rest are converts or descendants of converts. A connection
exists between the Moravians, Huss and his Protestant followers, and the
Waldenses. A short résumé of this will be found in the _Encyclopædia
Britannica_—under Huss and Moravians—from the world standpoint.
Moravians migrated from Bohemia to Saxony and were protected by Count
Zinzendorf—a liberal Lutheran—and lived on his estates. He assisted in
their migration to Pennsylvania. Some went to Georgia and later to
Pennsylvania.
Schwenkfelders. These were the followers of Kaspar Schwenkenfeld
(1490–1561). See the _Encyclopædia Britannica_ for a short account. They
formed a sect in Silesia which has persisted. In 1720 a commission of
Jesuits was sent to convert them by force. Most of them fled into Saxony
and were protected by Count Zinzendorf. From thence they migrated to
Holland, England and Pennsylvania. Frederick the Great, when he seized
Silesia, protected those remaining there.
Ursinus College, Collegeville, is Schwenkfelder. The sect is not large
and was located in or around Montgomery County. Their migration to
Saxony and also to Pennsylvania antedated that of the Moravians.
Generally speaking, they have been much more aggressive and vigorous
than the Moravians.
The Dunkards, Mennonites, Amish, and Seventh Day Baptists (Wissahickon
and Ephrata, Pennsylvania), came from south Germany and the Palatinate.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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