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Two hundred eight persons of the Schwenkfelder faith immigrated to Pennsylvania in the 1730s in search of religious liberty for themselves and their families.
They believed in religious tolerance and the conscious as their, and every person's, guide. As they came to Pennsylvania for a common reason with common beliefs
it was not unusual for them to live in the same area and to intermarry.
I am a descendant of twelve of those immigrants. In time two books were published concerning their collective family history. The first was published in 1879
and was edited by the Rev. Reuben Kriebel; the second, longer (1,752 pages) and more complete, was published in 1923 and edited by
Samuel Kriebel Brecht. The first of these books is in the public domain, the later is under copyright protection.
On the following pages is the text of the 1879 edition of The Genealogical Record. I did not transcribe the first 205 pages. Those from page 206 on, I did. The differences, mainly in formatting, between these web-pages, and the book, are listed here. |
I have provided internal links within the text. Please let me know if any of these
links do not work correctly. They should be easy to navigate, however you should be
aware that if a person was married more than once the links provided might be a bit confusing.
They should be going to the correct person but the links might go to a marriage you did
not expect. But you should be able to find your way back to where you want to go.
There are also occasional Notes throughout the text. These are mine, and they are not
part of the book by Kriebel. They are there to explain inconsitancies, correct errors,
or to provide further biographical or family history information. Also, when you see a
phase such as BERGEY BOOK with a link, it will take you to that family history where that
person, or family, is mentioned. You might find more genealogical information there.
If you use this in your research please cite it properly. If you have any questions concerning the correct manner of citation please consult
Evidence!
Citation and Analysis for the Family Historian
by Elizabeth Shown Mills (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997). It is excellent and deserves
to be in the library of every genealogist.
A word of caution concerning the 1879 book is in order. I have been reliably informed that there are many errors in this book. The 1923 edition was begun as an attempt
to correct the known errors, and they began that project in the 1880s. If you have access to the 1923 edition it might be best to use that work. It is preserved on microfilm
and can be obtained from any Family History Center (FHL film 1266718). That work also has known errors or discrepancies, but they are fewer and sources are provided. The 1923 book was re-published
in 2004, and is available for sale at the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center. For information [email protected]. The 1879 book has been occasionally
reprinted, and is also on microfilm (FHL film 823729, item 3). Both the 1879 and 1923 books have been digitized and are available on-line at HeritageQuest
Online, which also provides the U.S. census and many other records. You can find more about HeritageQuest, and how you can gain access to it, here. As to the errors in this book, no, I do not know what the known errors are. Those errors I do know have been explained
in notes. I can say that the the Rev. Mr. Kriebel should have had a better proofreader. He was inconsistent in the use of given names, and although he referenced the previous page
number for persons as they appear later in the book, he sometimes got the page numbers wrong. This is one of,
if not the first of several works that explored the history of the Schwenkfelders, especially in what became the United States of America. Numerous works on the history and culture
followed including an article in the
National Genealogical Society Quarterly
(vol. XXXIX, no. 2, June 1951, pages 33-37).
So please enjoy a classic work and introduction to the people called Schwenkfelders.
For those who are interested, here's my Schwenkfelder ancestry. And here is a somewhat more detailed genealogical representation of some Schwenkfelder descendants I created in Second Site.
Here's an earlier version of the same site.
There is a Rootsweb Mail-list for the discussion of all things concerning the Schwenkfelders. To subscribe, unsubscribe, and for information concerning the
mail-list please
see that web-page.
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