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Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

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Introduction Remarks, Heinz K. Meier

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

1) The core of the current issue of the SAHS Newsletter consists of a long article on Abraham Blumer, Swiss Reformed clergyman in the Lehigh Valley during the period of the American Revolution. Professor William T. Parsons, the author, writes "Blumer and his contemporary Swiss and German church leaders" are "universally overlooked" even in specialized words on the independence era. The article thus opens a window into a little known aspect of Swiss emigration to this country. Blumer was a man of many qualities with a wide variety of interests. The reader wishes he would learn even more about him …

Book Review: Die Eigenart Der Zurcher Auswanderer Nach Amerika 1734-1744, Walter D. Kamphoefner

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

This book, a Swiss doctoral dissertation which owes much to the guidance of Prof. Leo Schelbert, is a model case-study of emigration in a restricted area and time-period. Taking the Canton Zurich during the decade of heaviest emigration in the 18th century, it attempts to reconstruct the social, economic, and religious milieu from which the emigrants came, and seeks to determine the characteristics which set them apart from those who remained behind.

"Der Glarner": Abraham Blumer Of Zion Reformed Church, Allentown, Professor William T. Parsons

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

Up in the Lechadaal Pennsylvania Dutch Country, people tend to credit origins and you will often hear them say of virtues and of foibles, "he came by it honestly." They mean that children inherit characteristics, or that a new generation often mirrors the traits of its predecessor. So it was, surely, with Abraham Blumer, Ministre du Sancte Evangile, heir to family traditions of leadership in local church, business and civic affairs.

Quo Vadis?, Alice H. Finckh

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

Is the time approaching when members of the SAHS might wish to modify its charter of its purpose? The question has arisen in conversations and at meetings, and the next two or three years might provide an opportunity to make a decision. Shall we continue to concentrate on Swiss-American history and related fields, or shall we try to broaden our purpose (and possibly change our name) to include other disciplines, and other activities beyond the publication of three Newsletters a year, occasional grants-in-aid, and regional and annual meetings?

Full Issue

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Book Review: "Nathaniel Hawthorne Meets Swiss Immigrants: A Research Note"

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

Walter L. Robbins , "Nathaniel Hawthorne Meets W Immigrants: A Research Note."

Randall Stewart reports in his work Nathaniel Hawthorne. A Biography (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1948), p . 42, that Hawthorne had undertaken during the "solitary years" 1825 to 1837 various journeys, in 1833 or 1834 possibly to Niagara and Detroit. He published his apparently firsthand descriptions in the New England Magazine Volume XI (December 1835), 398-409, which contains a report entitled "The Canal-Boat." In that sketch Hawthorne tells of his encounter with a Swiss immigrant group. It is quoted here after the following edition: Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mosses …

The Thirteenth Annual Meeting Of The Swiss American Historical Society, Bruno Gujer, Leo Schelbert

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

The thirteenth annual meeting of the reactivated SAHA was held on Saturday, October 30, 1976, at the Embassy of Switzerland, 2900 Cathedral Avenue, N.W., in Washington, D.C.

Book Review: "Americans From Germany: A Study In Cultural Diversity", Leo Schelbert

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

Robert H. Billigmeier, Americans from Germany : A Study in Cultural Diversity. Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Co., 1974. 189 pp. $5.00.

Historians interested in immigration to the territory of the United States or in the ethnic dimension of American social history will welcome this synthesis of the story of immigrants from German-speaking lands. It describes "in both general and specific terms the complex social experience of one of America's most significant cultural and population components" (Preface).

Contents

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Book Review: "A Guide To Foreign Genealogical Research", M. A. W.

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

Maralyn A. Wellauer, A Guide to Foreign Genealogical Research. A Selected Bibliography of Printed Material with Addresses.

This is a reference guide for genealogists who want to extend a pedigree line beyond the Immigrant Ancestor without engaging the services of a professional genealogist.

Introductory Remarks, Heinz K. Meier

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

This issue of the SAHA news letter is late due to the fact that it was more difficult than usual to get the materials together. We still plan to publish three letters in 1977 as we have become accustomed during the past five years.

Book Review: "The Postage Stamps Of Switzerland 1843-1862", H. K. Meier

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

Paul Mirabaud and Alex de Reuterskiold, The Postage Stamps o f Switzerland 1843-1862, Paris, 1899 . Reprint by Quarterman Publications, Inc., 5 South Union Street, Lawrence, Massachusetts 01843, 1975. $35.00.

Quarterman Publications provides the following description: "The Postage Stamps of Switzerland was originally published in 1899 in a limited edition of which only 150 copies were in English. Chapters on the various Cantonal issues, the transitional Hayone [sic: should be Rayons), and the seated Helvetias are among those Mirabaud, and his colleague Baron Alex de Reuterskiold, assembled from information obtained from the existing literature a well as the records and …

Book Review: "Ein Lesebuch, Choix De Textes, Raccolta Di Testi, Collecziun De Texts", Lukas Burckhardt

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

Herausgegben vom Schweizerischen Bundesrat. Ein Lesebuch, Choix de textes, Raccolta di testi, Collecziun de texts. Schweizerische Bundeskanzlei, Bern, 1975, 684 Seiten, Fr. 25 .--.

The Swiss Federal Constitution of 1848 was totally amended in 1874. The Swiss government wanted to commemorate these two 28 basic dates in an appropriate way, by publishing a textbook which presents statements by politically and culturally active Swiss of all walks 0f life and beliefs in the past hundred years.

Book Review: "Einführung In Die Schweizerische Auswanderungsgeschichte Der Neuzeit", Heinz K. Meier

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

Leo Schelbert, Einführung in die Schweizerische Auswanderungsgeschichte der Neuzeit. Zurich: Verlag Leemann, 1976. 443 pp. S. Fr. 50. Printed as Beiheft 16 of the Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Geschichte.

Leo Schelbert's "Introduction to the history of the Swiss emigration in modern times" is a massive work of more than 400 pages of relatively small print. The work is divided into four parts, titled "Theoretical Foundation," "Historical Survey," Selected Documents," and "Historiographical Introduction." Each of the four parts is almost self contained and covers the subject of Swiss emigration from a different angle. As a consequence there are certain repetitions and overlappings. …

Pierre-Frederic Droz: The 'American': The Story Of An Itinerant Watchmaker, Leo Schelbert

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

Most immigrants, especially those who came to stay in a certain country for only a short while, belonged to the "inarticulate," that is to those whose experiences, joys and trials went largely unrecorded. A few of them, however, did leave rich and vivid accounts of their journeys and adventures. To them belongs Pierre-Frederic Droz, known to his countrymen as the "American" who remained for a good part of his life a man on the move.

Full Issue

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

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Mccarthyism In Utah, Richard Swanson

Theses and Dissertations

The exaggerated anti-Communist crusade of Senator Joseph McCarthy allegedly gained the support of a majority of Americans during the early 1950's. It is historically important and interesting to question that supposition by considering the character of McCarthy's following in each state. This study shows that in Utah sympathy for the second Red Scare abounded and evidences of McCarthyism were readily apparent.

Three indicators illustrate Utah's support for the Wisconsin senator. The defeat of Elbert Thomas in 1950 dramatically epitomizes the successful use of incriminating allegations effectively employed by McCarthy. The election, or re-election, of McCarthy supporters and the defeat of …

George Q. Cannon's Views On Church And State, Lyndon W. Cook Sr.

Theses and Dissertations

Writers of nineteenth century Utah generally recognize George Q. Cannon's religious and political influence as second only to that of Brigham Young. Having occupied several positions of importance in the political arena as well as in the Mormon Church, Cannon is a major figure in Utah history whose life and thought merit careful examination.

This treatise is a study of George Q. Cannon's views on the institutions of church and state. After presenting a biographical sketch of Cannon's life, it examines his beliefs regarding the religious clauses in the First Amendment, and the place of revelation, positive law, and majority …

In Search Of Zion: A Description Of Early Mormon Millennial Utopianism As Revealed Through The Life Of Edward Partridge, D. Brent Collette

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is the biography of Edward Partridge (1793-1840), the first bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As one of the first members of the Latter-day Saint faith, his life is a representation of the struggles, persecutions and sacrifices of early Mormon history. As a leader, he was the subject of many of the instructions and pronouncements of the Doctrine and Covenants, a volume of "revelations" cannonized by Mormondom. And as the first Bishop of the Church, he was specifically designated to administer the Mormon scheme for utopia, known as the Law of Consecration and …

Joseph Smith Iii: Moderate Mormon, Robert Duane Hutchins

Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the history of the Mormon movement, certain members or groups of members, have exercised free agency in the form of dissent against the direction which the prophet of that church chose to lead his movement. The form of this dissent varied but the theme was usually quite consistant: a demand for moderation. For many of these dissenters the extremes of Mormon doctrine seemed to take them out of touch with prevailing American values.

Joseph Smith III, a son of the Mormon founder, proved to be one of these moderates. He ultimately rejected all of his father's more radical theology …

Recent Swiss Immigration Into Nebraska: An Empirical Study, W. Ernst Study

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

In the Bicentennial Year it appears fitting that social scientists, especially those with a historical bent and with ties to the fount of immigration into the Western Hemisphere, address themselves to the role played by non-American ethnic minorities in the United States today.

Kaspar Schnetzler: Der Fall Bruder. Neues Aus New Hampshire: Book Review, Marianne Burkhard

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

In his first novel the young Swiss author Kaspar Schnetzler demonstrates a quite remarkable talent. Choosing the framework of a detective story--the search for a disappeared student named Gordon Schuster--Schnetzler ably leads the reader into the dark and complex area of Germany's Nazi past, her "unbewaltigte Vergangenheit." As a matter of fact, his story illustrates how hard, even impossible it is for some Germans to cope with their experiences of the Third Reich.

Letter From The President, Leo Schelbert

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

The Annual Meeting of the Swiss American Historical Society will be held this year at the Embassy of Switzerland in Washington, D.C. Ambassador and Mrs. Dr. Raymond Probst have moreover most generously invited the participants to a luncheon at their residence. May I kindly urge you to attend this meeting which will enable you not only to shape the affairs of the Society, but also to meet with Ambassador and Mrs. Probst at their residence and to renew many personal contacts.

Piero Bianconi, Albero Genealogico (Cronaca Di Emigranti): Book Review, Lukas F. Burckhardt

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

"C'e piu distanza effettiva tra l'infanzia e la vechiaia di mia madre che tra lei bambina e gli uomini delle caverne" (There is more real distance between the childhood and the old age of my mother than between her as a little girl and man in the stone age), the author exclaims, as he observes from the new power dam, which has been constructed in his native Verzasca valley in the canton of Ticino, how a great part of the rural world of his ancestors is being submerged for ever. In such surroundings his mother had not been allowed by …

Full Issue

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Postal "Helvetica" In The United States: Non-Historic Observations Of A Stamp Collector, Felix Ganz

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

A ~ew weeks after arrivi ng in this country, thirty years ago, fr iends drove me to a place called LAKE GENEVA, Wisconsin, and on t he way back we passed a town called LAKE ZURICH Illinois. Neither of these two towns seemed to have direct 1 ties to Switzerland; but a few months later, in NEW GLARUS Wisconsin, l earned much about that town's being founded by' Swiss immigrants--a story well known to all members of the Swiss American Historical Society.

The American Revolution: A Lesson In Dissent. The Case Of John Joachim Zubly, Leo Schelbert

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

On September 3, 1775, John Joachim Zubly, pastor of the Independent Presbyterian Church in Savannah, Georgia, and at that date a delegate of that province to the Second Continental Congress of the Thirteen Colonies assembled in Philadelphia, put the final touch to a manuscript which soon thereafter went to press . It was entitled The Law of Liberty. A Sermon on American Affairs Preached at the Opening of the Provincial Congress of Georgia. The manifesto consisted of three parts: The first was an introductory address "To the Right Honourable William Henry, Earl of Dartmouth" (3/III),** which presented an incisive view …

Banziger, Hans, Zwischen Protest Und Traditionsbewusstsein: Arbeiten Zum Werk Und Zur Gesellschaftlichen Stellun Max Frischs: Book Review, John Holley

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

Lest the reader be frightened away by the author's promise to recount in the service of information those minor details which seldom find a place in "broad attempts at interpretation," it should be mentioned at the outset that this book has more to recommend it than such a pedantic statement of intent might lead one to believe. Indeed, Hans Banziger, appropriately for a peripatetic review of Frisch's work, takes us through a knowledgeable discussion of the major tenets that have long informed the thinking and writing of this most interesting, engaging, and thought provoking contemporary, reminding us of Frisch's abiding …

A Farewell And A Welcome, Heinz K. Meier

Swiss American Historical Society Newsletter

According to the Constitution of the Swiss American Historical Society the Ambassador of Switzerland to the United States is an honorary member of the society. For the last nine years (1966 to 1975) this post was held by Ambassador Felix Schnyder.