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New York Amish , livre ebook

Cornell University Press - M. Johnson-Weiner Karen

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279 pages

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In a book that highlights the existence and diversity of Amish communities in New York State, Karen M. Johnson-Weiner draws on twenty-five years of observation, participation, interviews, and archival research to emphasize the contribution of the Amish to the state's rich cultural heritage. While the Amish settlements in Pennsylvania and Ohio are internationally known, the Amish population in New York, the result of internal migration from those more established settlements, is more fragmentary and less visible to all but their nearest non-Amish neighbors. All of the Amish currently living in New York are post-World War II migrants from points to the south and west. Many came seeking cheap land, others as a result of schism in their home communities. The Old Order Amish of New York are relative newcomers who, while representing an old or plain way of life, are bringing change to the state. So that readers can better understand where the Amish come from and their relationship to other Christian groups, New York Amish traces the origins of the Amish in the religious confrontation and political upheaval of the Protestant Reformation and describes contemporary Amish lifestyles and religious practices. Johnson-Weiner welcomes readers into the lives of Amish families in different regions of New York State, including the oldest New York Amish community, the settlement in the Conewango Valley, and the diverse settlements of the Mohawk Valley and the St. Lawrence River Valley. The congregations in these regions range from the most conservative to the most progressive. Johnson-Weiner reveals how the Amish in particular regions of New York realize their core values in different ways; these variations shape not only their adjustment to new environments but also the ways in which townships and counties accommodate-and often benefit from-the presence of these thriving faith communities.

Sujets

Philosophie et théologie

Nueva York

Local history

Social group

History of the Americas

New York

Informations

Publié par	Cornell University Press
Date de parution	02 mai 2017
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781501708145
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	4 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,7500€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

NEW YORK AMISH

Karen JohnsonWeiner

NEW YORK AMISH

Life in the Plain Communities of the Empire State

Second Edition

Cornell University Press Ithaca and London

this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any

form without permission in writing from the publisher. For

information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House,

512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.

First published 2017 by Cornell University Press

First printing, Cornell Paperbacks, 2017

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Names: JohnsonWeiner, Karen, author.

Title: New York Amish : life in the plain communities of the Empire State / Karen JohnsonWeiner. Description: Second edition. | Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identiﬁers: LCCN 2016047311 (print) | LCCN 2016048250 (ebook) | ISBN 9781501707605 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781501708138 (epub/mobi) | ISBN 9781501708145 (pdf) Subjects: LCSH: Amish—New York (State)

Classiﬁcation: LCC F130.M45 J64 2017 (print) | LCC F130.

M45 (ebook) | DDC 289.7092/2—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016047311

Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publishing of its books. Such materials include vegetablebased, lowVOC inks and acidfree papers that are recycled, totally chlorinefree, or partly composed of nonwood ﬁbers. For further information, visit our website at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu.

Cover฀photograph฀by฀Robert฀Olejniczak/RKO฀Images.

Contents

Preface

1Are the Amish?: Meeting Our Plain Neighbors Who 2and Chautauqua Counties: Amish Cattaraugus Pioneers in Western New York 3 St. Lawrence County’s Swartzentruber Amish: The Plainest of the Plain People 4 From Lancaster County to Lowville: Moving North to Keep the Old Ways 5Mohawk Valley Amish: Old Order Diversity in The Central New York 6 In Search of Consensus and Fellowship: New York’s Swiss Amish 7 On Franklin County’s Western Border: New Settlements in the North Country 8 Challenges to Amish Settlement: Maintaining Community and Identity 9 Challenging the NonAmish Neighbors: Uneasy Integration 10Future of New York’s Amish: Two Worlds, The Side by Side

Acknowledgments Appendix A.Existing Old Order Amish Settlements in New York (as of December 2015)

vii

107

133

154

178

190

206

215

217

Appendix B.Extinct Old Order Amish Settlements in New YorkAppendix C.Amish Migration and Population in New York State, 1983–2013Appendix D.Amish DivisionsNotes Bibliography Index

contents

221

222 224 225 253 263

Preface

Although the ﬁrst Amish settlers came to New York State in the early nineteenth century, it took more than one hundred years for the next group of Amish to arrive, and twentyﬁve more years for a third settlement to begin. Yet by the second decade of the twentyﬁrst century, New York claimed the fastestgrowing Amish population in the United States. Indeed, the ﬁrst edition ofNew York Amish was already out of date when it hit bookstores in 2010. In the short time between sending the manuscript off to Cornell University Press and getting it in print, ten new Amish settlements were started. There are now ﬁftytwo Amish settlements in the state. In addition, New York’s Amish population is becoming much more diverse than it was when the ﬁrst edition appeared. Now, in many parts of the state, different kinds of black buggies mix with brown buggies and gray ones. In Steuben County, a new settlement of Nebraska Amish has even added white buggies to the mix. Buggies are only the tip of the iceberg. While different groups have moved to the state, others already here have fragmented, giving rise to new ways of being Amish in communities that were homogeneous only a few years ago. The twentyﬁrstcentury New York Amish world now embraces communities who may be as different from each other as any of them are from their nonAmish neighbors. Quite frankly, it’s hard to keep up with it all. In fact, even as this work goes to press, I am learning of plans for new settlement in the state. In revising New York Amish, I have attempted to do two things. First, I have tried to bring each chapter up to date. My goal has been to show how the different communities have grown (or not), whether there has been new settlement to the region, and whether there have been events that have altered the status quo or have particularly challenged the

vii

preface

Amish and those who interact with them. In doing so, I have relied heav ily on publications for and by the Amish: theBudget,Die Botschaft, and theDiary. TheBudgetandDie Botschaftare weekly newspapers, and offer their readers news from Old Order communities across North America (and even beyond) in the form of letters from community scribes. The Diarycomes out monthly and offers, in addition to community news, up dates about migrations, new settlements, births, deaths, and ordinations. My second goal has been to help nonAmish New Yorkers better un derstand their Amish neighbors. For example, I am often asked whether the Amish are Christian. Others ask whether they are “some kind of cult” and whether they are related in some way to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints (the Mormon Church). Many see the Amish as quaint, without realizing the depth of their commitment to living their faith. In this second edition, as it was in the ﬁrst, my intention is to intro duce the Amish to their nonAmish neighbors and to highlight the di versity of Amish settlement in New York State and the contribution of New York’s Amish to the state’s rich cultural heritage. So that readers can better understand where the Amish come from and their relation ship to other Christian groups, the ﬁrst chapter explores the origins of the Amish in the religious confrontation and political upheaval of the Protestant Reformation and discusses contemporary Amish lifestyle and practices. Chapter 2 begins the discussion of Amish settlement in New York by looking at the oldest surviving New York Amish community, the settlement in the Conewango Valley, which began in 1949. Each subse quent chapter explores the history of different Amish groups that have come to New York, looking to the past to help explain why they have chosen to settle in the Empire State. Although the need for farmland is a common denominator, each group provides a lens through which to explore issues that have helped shape the Amish world. The Lowville Amish, for example, are descendants of Lancaster County Amish who left Pennsylvania rather than submit to new state laws regarding educa tion. The Ohio Amish who have settled in the Mohawk Valley have been shaped by internal struggles over the behavior of young people, while the Troyer Amish of the Conewango Valley evolved in response to inter nal disagreements over excommunication and shunning. My examina tion of each of these different settlement areas has been updated to ac knowledge new communities and to demonstrate the impact of growth, schism, and migration on existing settlements. In describing life in different Amish settlements, this book also illus trates the diversity of the Amish world. We tend to talk about the Old

viii

preface

Order Amish as if they were all the same when, in fact, there are many different kinds of Amish. Frolics (work parties), weddings, dress, and buggy styles vary from community to community. Even within New York State, one Amish group may know little about the others and be surprised at their practices. Each chapter provides a snapshot of life in particular Amish settlements. I focus on different regions of Amish settlement across the state, begin ning with the Amish churches in Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties in the west, and then looking at the diverse settlements of the Mohawk Valley in the east and the St. Lawrence River Valley in the North Country. The different congregations in these regions range from the most con servative to the most progressive. In looking at the interaction of Amish communities in particular geographic settings, we can see how the different ways in which the Amish realize core values shape their ad justment in new environments. We can also see how these differences in Amish practice affect the interaction between Amish groups and be tween Amish settlements and their nonAmish neighbors. Several Amish groups have established multiple settlements in differ ent regions of New York. For example, chapter 2, which explores settle ment in Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties, introduces the Byler Amish, who, since ﬁrst arriving in New York in 1976, have established settlements in the Mohawk Valley and in Franklin County. Chapter 3 looks at the Swartzentruber Amish, perhaps the most conservative of all Amish groups. Since the ﬁrst Swartzentruber Amish arrived more than thirty years ago, they have established communities in several regions of the state. Even as this book goes to press, several Swartzentruber fami lies are in the process of starting a new settlement in Westport, in Essex County. Chapter 6 explores New York’s Swiss Amish, who are histori cally and culturally different from other Amish groups. There are now ﬁve related Swiss settlements, two of them new since the ﬁrst edition of this work. As Amish settlers from one church group move into different regions, we can see the impact of place on religious practice. Finally, I have expanded chapter 8, which treats external and internal challenges to Amish settlement, and chapter 9, which looks indepth at the challenges Amish settlement poses to neighboring nonAmish com munities. Chapter 10 is new and looks to the future of New York’s Amish. In revising these three chapters, I have paid particular attention to the impact of expanding Amish populations, changing laws, and the grow ing divide between the Amish way of life and that of their “English,” or nonAmish, neighbors.

preface

Doing research within Old Order communities is not always easy. I have found that the Amish are suspicious of questionnaires and surveys and generally decline to take part. They favor personal interaction, but they generally do not permit themselves to be photographed, recorded, or videotaped because they believe that these technologies violate the 1 commandment against the making of graven images. While I took most of the photographs in this book, the pictures of Amish children or adults were taken by others who have a different relationship with the Amish than I do. In writing this book, I drew on personal connections in Old Order Amish communities across New York and in other states, including Pennsylvania, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Missouri. My approach to the study of Amish culture is called “participant observation,” which means that I supplement my constant questioning by joining in diverse ordinary activities such as canning peaches, butchering, correcting spelling papers, and going to church. I have stayed in Old Order Amish homes, eaten meals with Old Order Amish families, and accompanied them on shopping trips. I learned much while drinking coffee and peeling vegetables. When I go into an Amish home, I take a notebook with me. I ask permission before I write down what people are saying and rephrase what they have said in followup conversations to ensure that I have understood what they have told me. Letters from Amish friends tell me much about community activities, providing a window through which to view daily life in Amish homes. Amish friends in different settlements have read and commented on these chapters, and I am grateful for all they have taught me. In addition to participant observation, interviews, and correspon dence, I did research for the ﬁrst edition ofNew York Amishthe in Heritage Historical Library in Aylmer, Ontario, and in the archives of the Association Française d’Histoire Anabaptiste Mennonite in Belfort, France. Both collections provided invaluable access to historical docu ments and correspondence. In making revisions for the second edition, I returned to the Heritage Historical Library. I also took advantage of the resources of the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. Interviews with nonAmish members of the different settlement regions provided addi tional insight into the integration of Amish settlers in New York society. New York has a rich Amish heritage. Tracing Amish settlement from the nineteenth century to the twentyﬁrst, I hope to demonstrate the myriad ways in which, as fellow New Yorkers, the Old Order Amish contribute to the diversity and vitality of the Empire State.