Recently in 1700s Category

Welsh's Store in 1902 With Dollar Bible Sign.

I still don't understand why some people get upset when notices are published or signs posted in English and another language, usually Spanish nowadays. They seem to think that English is the only language all of us should use. If public notices hadn't been bilingual in Pennsylvania in the past, the ancestors of a great many of the people complaining wouldn't have known what was going on.

A few months ago I listed the publishers of York newspapers in 1837, with more German than English editions. Click here to read that post.

Below are a few more examples, illustrating the prevalence of the German language in York County for over 150 years.

I was asked, in response to my recent post about the Barnitz brewers of York, if they were related to brewer J. C. Barnitz of Harrisburg. Click here to read about the York brewers.

Good question, and the answer is Yes. It turns out that brewing was a traditional occupation in the Barnitz family during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Click here for the Library of Congress zoomable 1751 Fry-Jefferson map.

I recently wrote about York County residents being recruited to move to Virginia in the 1870s. Click here to read that post.

There were several paths, following very early roads, from South Central Pennsylvania to less populated lands.