An Amish Patchwork

by MEYERS, THOMAS J.; Nolt, Steven M.

• ISBN13: 9780253345387
• ISBN10: 0253345383
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-02-01
• Publisher: Quarry Books

Summary

Indiana is home to the world's third-largest Amish population. Indiana's 19Old Order Amish and two Old Order Mennonite communities show asurprising diversity despite all that unites them as a distinct culture. Thiscontemporary portrait of Indiana's Amish is the first book-length overview ofAmish in the state. Thomas J. Meyers and Steven M. Nolt present an overviewof the beliefs and values of the Amish, their migration history, and thedifferences between the state's two major Amish ethnic groups (PennsylvaniaDutch and Swiss). They also talk about Indiana's Old Order Mennonites, agroup too often confused with the Amish. Meyers and Nolt situate the Amishin their Indiana context, noting an involvement with Indiana's industrialeconomy that may surprise some. They also treat Amish interaction with stategovernment over private schooling and other matters, and the relationship ofthe Amish to their neighbors and the tourist industry. This valuableintroduction to the Indiana Amish deserves a place on every Hoosier'sbookshelf.Thomas J. Meyers, Professor of Sociology and Director of InternationalEducation at Goshen College, is author of numerous articles on the IndianaAmish and has conducted extensive field research among LaGrange andElkhart Amish groups. He lives in Goshen, Indiana.Steven M. Nolt, Associate Professor of History at Goshen College, is author ofAmish Enterprise: From Plows to Profits (with Donald Kraybill); A History ofthe Amish; Foreigners in Their Own Land: Pennsylvania Germans in the EarlyRepublic; and other publications on the Amish and Old Order groups. He livesin Goshen, Indiana.

Author Biography

Thomas J. Meyers, Professor of Sociology and Director of International Education at Goshen College, is author of numerous articles on the Indiana Amish and has conducted extensive field research among LaGrange and Elkhart Amish groups. He lives in Goshen, Indiana.

Steven M. Nolt, Associate Professor of History at Goshen College, is author of Amish Enterprise: From Plows to Profits (with Donald Kraybill); A History of the Amish; Foreigners in Their Own Land: Pennsylvania Germans in the Early Republic; and other publications on the Amish and Old Order groups. He lives in Goshen, Indiana.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	ix
Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction: Who Are These People?	1	(3)
The Old Orders: In the World but Not of It	4	(19)
Moving to Indiana	23	(17)
Maintaining the Old Order	40	(17)
Amish Ethnicity: Pennsylvania Dutch and Swiss	57	(14)
Community and Family Life	71	(18)
Amish Schools	89	(17)
Amish Work: Farm, Factory, Carpentry, and Cottage Industry	106	(17)
The Amish and Their Neighbors	123	(19)
A Different Part of the Patchwork: Indiana's Old Order Mennonites	142	(19)
Afterword: The Patchwork in the Modern World	161	(4)
Notes	165	(18)
For Further Reading	183	(2)
Index	185