The German and Swiss Settlements of Colonial Pennsylvania: A Study of the So-Called Pennsylvania Dutch

by Oscar Kuhns

The Massachusetts Bay Company's claim on New England was preceded by those of two other joint stock companies. The first of these was the Dorchester Company, organized by the Anglican minister John White. When it went out of existence in 1626, the company's claim was transferred to a new organization, the New England Company, led by John Endecott. Endecott would ultimately found the town of Salem, Massachusetts in 1628. Endecott's shares and those of fifty-six other New England Company investors would soon be absorbed into those of the Massachusetts Bay Company in 1629. The author ably recounts the fortunes, intrigues, and shifting allegiances of these formative companies, listing members or investors wherever such information has survived. Of great interest to genealogists are the sketches of 125 Adventurers (investors) in Massachusetts Bay.

Genres: History

278 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Jenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry to say but this was intensely boring

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for anyone with Pennsylvania German/Swiss heritage. It details the lives and cultures of these people, their journey of immigration and their influence on the development of Pennsylvania. It's more of what I was looking for when I bought "An Introduction to Mennonite History" so I may abandon that now.

I was a little apprehensive about it because it was published in 1901 so I didn't know what the writing style would be like. But it's very readable and not too long. And since it's out of copyright, it's free on archive.org, so you have no excuse for not checking it out.