Welcome to the Dreisbach Emigration Research Report, the DERR. Conceived and written by Ardis Dreisbach Grosjean with the help of others, including our German cousins, Heinrich Imhoff, who is an expert in emigration from Wittgenstein, Germany, and Andreas Sassmanshausen, who has provided much valuable information.
The DERR focuses on the emigration aspects of the known Dreisbachs who arrived in North America in the mid-eighteenth century. We would like to know why they left, what contacts they may already have had in the colony of Pennsylvania before leaving, how they got to the New World, and more. We promise no answers, but are more than pleased to share our findings and our attempts at interpretation.
The life and times of Simon Dreisbach will continue to occupy us, as he has left by far the greatest amount of recorded information. Whenever possible, attention will also be given to Simon's third cousin, Martin, and to Simon's presumed nephew, 1754 emigrant Henrich.
We also hope that the DERR will transmit information of at least some general historical interest, as well as more specific information relevant to Wittgenstein and adjacent territories. In the eighteenth century, arrivals in North America from German-speaking areas were given the amorphous label of 'Palatines'. Wittgensteiners, in our view, deserve to be recognized for what they were, a people from a well-defined area, having a long and at times difficult history, shared customs, a shared religion, a myriad of related dialects and the ability to survive in unfavorable physical and political circumstances.
The DERR is our means of portioning out Dreisbach information in digestible chunks to persons who have asked to receive it. The DERR format will allow us to insert new items as they appear, and to make revisions to old ones as needed.
Currently the DERR is distributed by Bcc email. If you are interested in being on the mailing list, send an email to grosjean-dreisbach@comhem.se
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