John Birmelin
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John Birmelin
John Birmelin (October 31, 1873 – September 3, 1950) has been called the Poet Laureate of the Pennsylvania Dutch and is one of the most popular poets and playwrights in the Pennsylvania German language. Early life Birmelin was born in Longswamp Township, Pennsylvania to a Pennsylvania German mother and a German father, who was a native of Baden, Germany. He studied music at a young age. By the age of 11, he was an organist in the local church where his father was a member of the choir. Career In 1896, he moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania. In 1901, he accepted a job as the organist and choirmaster of Allentown's Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, a position he held until his retirement only weeks before his death in 1950. His successor as organist and choirmaster at Sacred Heart was Karl Buesgen, Birmelin's student and noted Pennsylvania impressionist landscape painter. Birmelin was also the first music teacher at Allentown Central Catholic High School, a position he held from 192 ...
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Longswamp Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania
Longswamp Township is a township in Berks County, Pennsylvania. The population was 5,551 at the 2020 census. History The Long-Hawerter Mill and Mary Ann Furnace Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Demographics As of the 2000 census, of 2000, there were 5,608 people, 2,029 households, and 1,529 families residing in the township. The population density was 246.1 people per square mile (95.0/km). There were 2,097 housing units at an average density of 92.0/sq mi (35.5/km). The racial makeup of the township was 98.95% White, 0.32% African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.12% from other races, and 0.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.84% of the population. There were 2,029 households, out of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.5% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.6% were non-families. 19.2% of all ...
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French And Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the start of the war, the French colonies had a population of roughly 60,000 settlers, compared with 2 million in the British colonies. The outnumbered French particularly depended on their native allies. Two years into the French and Indian War, in 1756, Great Britain declared war on France, beginning the worldwide Seven Years' War. Many view the French and Indian War as being merely the American theater of this conflict; however, in the United States the French and Indian War is viewed as a singular conflict which was not associated with any European war. French Canadians call it the ('War of the Conquest').: 1756–1763 The British colonists were supported at various times by the Iroquois, Catawba, and Cherokee tribes, and the French ...
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Pennsylvania Dutch People
The Pennsylvania Dutch (Pennsylvania Dutch: ), also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are a cultural group formed by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They emigrated primarily from German-speaking territories of Europe, mainly from the Palatinate, also from Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, and Rhineland in Germany as well as the Netherlands, Switzerland, and France's Alsace-Lorraine region. Pennsylvania's German settlers described themselves as ''Deutsch'' or ''Hoch Deutsch'', which in contemporary English translated to "Dutch" or "High Dutch" ("Dutch" historically referred to all Germanic dialect speakers in English). They spoke several south German dialects, though Palatine German was the dominant language; their mixing contributed to a hybrid dialect, known as Pennsylvania Dutch, or Pennsylvania German, that has been preserved through the current day. The Pennsylvania Dutch maintained numerous religious affiliations; the grea ...
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German-American History
German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the United States Census Bureau in its American Community Survey. German Americans account for about one third of the total population of people of German ancestry in the world. Very few of the German states had colonies in the new world. In the 1670s, the first significant groups of German immigrants arrived in the British colonies, settling primarily in Pennsylvania, New York and Virginia. The Mississippi Company of France moved thousands of Germans from Europe to Louisiana and to the German Coast, Orleans Territory between 1718 and 1750. Immigration ramped up sharply during the 19th century. There is a "German belt" that extends all the way across the United States, from eastern Pennsylvania to the Oregon coast. Pennsylvania, with 3.5 milli ...
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1950 Deaths
Year 195 ( CXCV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Scrapula and Clemens (or, less frequently, year 948 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 195 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire * Emperor Septimius Severus has the Roman Senate deify the previous emperor Commodus, in an attempt to gain favor with the family of Marcus Aurelius. * King Vologases V and other eastern princes support the claims of Pescennius Niger. The Roman province of Mesopotamia rises in revolt with Parthian support. Severus marches to Mesopotamia to battle the Parthians. * The Roman province of Syria is divided and the role of Antioch is diminished. The Romans annexed the Syrian cities of Edessa and Nisibis. Severus re-establish his he ...
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1873 Births
Events January–March * January 1 ** Japan adopts the Gregorian calendar. ** The California Penal Code goes into effect. * January 17 – American Indian Wars: Modoc War: First Battle of the Stronghold – Modoc Indians defeat the United States Army. * February 11 – The Spanish Cortes deposes King Amadeus I, and proclaims the First Spanish Republic. * February 12 ** Emilio Castelar, the former foreign minister, becomes prime minister of the new Spanish Republic. ** The Coinage Act of 1873 in the United States is signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant; coming into effect on April 1, it ends bimetallism in the U.S., and places the country on the gold standard. * February 20 ** The University of California opens its first medical school in San Francisco. ** British naval officer John Moresby discovers the site of Port Moresby, and claims the land for Britain. * March 3 – Censorship: The United States Congress enacts the Comstock Law, making it ...
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Pennsylvania German Society
The Pennsylvania German Society is a non-profit, educational organization dedicated to studying the Pennsylvania German people and their 330-year history in the United States and Canada. The Society works to preserve and promote the history, culture, religion, and dialect of the Pennsylvania Germans (also commonly known as the "Pennsylvania Dutch"). It was founded in 1891 and became a founding member of the Pennsylvania Federation of Historical Societies. Regular efforts and activities of the Society include: * ''Der Reggeboge'' (“The Rainbow”), the biannual journal published by the Society. * ''Es Elbedritsch'' (“The Elbedritsch”), the biannual newsletter of the Society. * A special hard-cover annual volume. * An annual meeting in which speakers present on all aspects of Pennsylvania Dutch history, culture, religion, dialect, etc. Foundation of the Pennsylvania German Society The Pennsylvania German Society was organized in a series of four meetings from February to Ap ...
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A Child's Garden Of Verses
''A Child's Garden of Verses'' is an 1885 volume of 64 poems for children by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It has been reprinted many times, often in illustrated versions, and is considered to be one of the most influential children's works of the 19th century. The poems, which have been widely imitated, are written from the point of view of a child. Stevenson dedicated the collection to his childhood nurse, Alison Cunningham. Contents A Child's Garden of Verses * "Bed in Summer" * "A Thought" * "At the Sea-side" * "Young Night Thought" * "Whole Duty of Children" * "Rain" * "Pirate Story" * "Foreign Lands" * "Windy Nights" * "Travelling" * "Singing" * "Looking Forward" * "A Good Play" * "Where Go the Boats?" * "Auntie's Skirts" * "The Land of Counterpane" * "The Land of Nod" * " My Shadow" * "System" * "A Good Boy" * "Escape at Bedtime" * "Marching Song" * "The Cow" * "Happy Thought" * "The Wind" * "Keepsake Mill" * "Good and Bad Children" * "Foreign Children" * ...
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Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'', '' Kidnapped'' and ''A Child's Garden of Verses''. Born and educated in Edinburgh, Stevenson suffered from serious bronchial trouble for much of his life, but continued to write prolifically and travel widely in defiance of his poor health. As a young man, he mixed in London literary circles, receiving encouragement from Andrew Lang, Edmund Gosse, Leslie Stephen and W. E. Henley, the last of whom may have provided the model for Long John Silver in ''Treasure Island''. In 1890, he settled in Samoa where, alarmed at increasing European and American influence in the South Sea islands, his writing turned away from romance and adventure fiction toward a darker realism. He died of a stroke in his island home in 1894 at ...
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My Country, 'Tis Of Thee
"America (My Country, 'Tis of Thee)" is an American patriotic song, the lyrics of which were written by Samuel Francis Smith. The song served as one of the ''de facto'' national anthems of the United States (along with songs like "Hail, Columbia") before the adoption of "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the official U.S. national anthem in 1931. The melody used is the same as that of the national anthem of the United Kingdom, "God Save the King". History Samuel Francis Smith wrote the lyrics to "America" in 1831 while a student at the Andover Theological Seminary in Andover, Massachusetts. The use of the same melody as the British royal anthem can be described as a contrafactum which reworks this symbol of British monarchy to make a statement about American democracy. Well-known composer Lowell Mason had requested that Smith translate or provide new lyrics for a collection of German songs, among them one written to this melody. Smith gave Mason the lyrics he had written, and the ...
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Fersommling
A Fersommling (plural, Fersommlinge) (also spelled 'Versammling'' or Fersammling) is a Pennsylvania Dutch The Pennsylvania Dutch ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ), also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are a cultural group formed by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They emigrated primarily from German-spe ... social event in which food is served, speeches are made, and one or more ''g'spiel'' (plays or skits) are performed for entertainment. "A high degree of theatricality and ceremony is involved, especially in the groundhog lodges: pledging loyalty to the lodge and the groundhog, listening to a weather report, singing patriotic songs in Pennsylvania German language, Deitsch, and ending every meeting by asking God to allow them to keep their way of life and their merriment." as described by William W. Donner. Among these traditions is the singing of the German folk song "Schnitzelbank" and the patriotic "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", ...
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America (My Country, 'Tis Of Thee)
"America (My Country, 'Tis of Thee)" is an American patriotic song, the lyrics of which were written by Samuel Francis Smith. The song served as one of the ''de facto'' national anthems of the United States (along with songs like "Hail, Columbia") before the adoption of "The Star-Spangled Banner" as the official U.S. national anthem in 1931. The melody used is the same as that of the national anthem of the United Kingdom, "God Save the King". History Samuel Francis Smith wrote the lyrics to "America" in 1831 while a student at the Andover Theological Seminary in Andover, Massachusetts. The use of the same melody as the British royal anthem can be described as a contrafactum which reworks this symbol of British monarchy to make a statement about American democracy. Well-known composer Lowell Mason had requested that Smith translate or provide new lyrics for a collection of German songs, among them one written to this melody. Smith gave Mason the lyrics he had written, and the ...
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