New York Amish: Life in the Plain Communities of the Empire State

237 Pages·2010·3.12 MB·English

by  Karen M. Johnson-Weiner

New York Amish

Karen M. Johnson-Weiner
New York Amish
Life in the Plain Communities
of the Empire State
Cornell University Press
Ithaca and London
Copyright © 2010 by Cornell University
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review,
this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any
form without permission in writing from the publisher. For
information, address Cornell University Press, Sage House,
512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.
First published 2010 by Cornell University Press
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Johnson-Weiner, Karen.
New York Amish : life in the plain communities of the
Empire State / Karen M. Johnson-Weiner.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8014-4518-7 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Amish—New York (State) I. Title.
F130.M45J64 2010
289.7'3—dc22 2009050339
Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally re-
sponsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent pos-
sible in the publishing of its books. Such materials include
vegetable-based, low-VOC inks and acid-free papers that
are recycled, totally chlorine-free, or partly composed of
nonwood fibers. For further information, visit our website
at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu.
Cloth printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Preface vii
1 Who Are the Amish? 1
2 Cattaraugus and Chautauqua Counties: Twentieth-Century
Amish Pioneers in Western New York 30
3 St. Lawrence County’s Swartzentruber Amish:
The Plainest of the Plain People 52
4 From Lancaster County to Lowville: Moving North
to Keep the Old Ways 78
5 The Mohawk Valley Amish: Old Order Diversity in
Central New York 100
6 In Search of Consensus and Fellowship:
New York’s Swiss Amish 122
7 On Franklin County’s Western Border:
New Settlements in the North Country 141
8 The Challenge of Amish Settlement 162
9 Amish Settlement in New York: For the Future 178
Appendix A Existing Old Order Amish Settlements in New York 185
Appendix B Extinct Old Order Amish Settlements in New York 187
Appendix C Amish Divisions 188
Appendix D Amish Migration to and from New York 189
Notes 191
Bibliography 211
Acknowledgments 219
Index 221
v

Preface
When I first visited an Amish home more than twenty years ago, I
did not know quite what to expect. I worried about what to wear. I had
a vague notion that I would meet a stern, biblical-looking patriarch who
would address me in archaic English while his neat but silent wife stood
behind him. I assumed that the children would be seen but not heard. I
looked forward to a people whose lifestyle was somehow slower, more
natural, more satisfying, and less hypocritical than my own. I expected
religious paragons, a people closer to their faith—“a little house on the
prairie” come to life.
The reality was not at all what I had imagined, but I have not been
disappointed. Although I heard no “thees” and “thous” and discovered
that Amish children could be every bit as naughty as my own, I did find
a people committed to a way of life that makes them seem like “strangers
and pilgrims” (1 Peter 2:11), in the world, but not of the world. In their at-
tempt to establish and maintain “redemptive communities,” the Amish
cherish tradition and family, are wary of progress, and interact with each
other in unique ways to create a culture very different from that of their
non-Amish neighbors.
In the twenty-five years since that first visit, I have continued to be
fascinated by the Amish and their ability to maintain distinct cultural,
religious, and linguistic practices despite strong pressure to assimilate.
My own German-speaking ancestors were English-speaking within a
generation after their arrival, yet Amish children today continue to learn
German as their first language. Dressed in archaic fashion and carefully
choosing the technology they will use, members of Amish communities
interact with the modern world and hold their own. From small roadside
stands in rural St. Lawrence County, to Amish goat farms in the Finger
vii
preface
Lakes region, to the “Amish Market” in downtown Manhattan, today’s
Amish are changing the face of the Empire State.
Although the first Amish settlers came to the state in the early nine-
teenth century, it took over one hundred years for the next group of
Amish to arrive, and twenty-five more years for a third settlement to
begin. Since 1975, however, the Amish population in New York State
has grown rapidly, and there are now more than twenty-five New York
Amish settlements. Twelve of these are less than ten years old. Writing
from Poland, New York, to the Lancaster County, Pennsylvania-based
Amish publication the Diary, one Amish woman noted with surprise that
the “migration list” revealed that seventy Amish families had moved to
New York in the previous year. “There are new areas filling up all around
us,” she asserted.1
Many New Yorkers do not understand their new Amish neighbors.
For example, I am often asked whether the Amish are Christian. Others
ask whether they are “some kind of cult” and whether they are related in
some way to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormon
Church). Many see the Amish as quaint, without realizing the depth of
their commitment to living their faith.
My intention in this book is to introduce the Amish to their non-
Amish neighbors and to highlight the diversity of Amish settlement in
New York State and the contribution of New York’s Amish to the state’s
rich cultural heritage. So that readers can better understand where the
Amish come from and their relationship to other Christian groups, the
first chapter explores the origins of the Amish in the religious confronta-
tion and political upheaval of the Protestant Reformation and discusses
contemporary Amish lifestyle and practices. Chapter 2 begins the discus-
sion of Amish settlement in New York by looking at the oldest surviving
New York Amish community, the settlement in the Conewango Valley,
which began in 1949. Each subsequent chapter explores the history of
different Amish groups that have come to New York, looking to the
past to help explain why they have chosen to settle in the Empire State.
Although the need for farmland is a common denominator, each group
provides a lens through which to explore issues that have helped shape
the Amish world. The Lowville Amish, for example, are descendants of
Lancaster County Amish who left Pennsylvania rather than submit to
new state laws regarding education. The Ohio Amish who have settled
in the Mohawk Valley have been shaped by internal struggles over the
behavior of young people, while the Troyer Amish of the Conewango
viii
preface
Valley evolved in response to internal disagreements over excommuni-
cation and shunning.
In describing life in different Amish settlements, this book also illus-
trates the diversity of the Amish world. We tend to talk about the Old
Order Amish as if they were all the same when, in fact, there are many
different kinds of Amish. Frolics (work parties), weddings, dress, and
buggy styles vary from community to community. Even within New
York State, one Amish group may know little about the others and be
surprised at their practices. Each chapter provides a snapshot of life in
particular Amish settlements.
I focus on different regions of Amish settlement across the state, begin-
ning with the Amish churches in Chautauqua and Cattaraugus Counties
in the west, and then looking at the diverse settlements of the Mohawk
Valley in the east and the St. Lawrence River Valley in the North Country.
The different congregations in these regions range from the most con-
servative to the most progressive. In looking at the interaction of Amish
communities in particular geographic settings, we can see how the differ-
ent ways in which the Amish realize core values shape their adjustment
in new environments. We can also see how these differences in Amish
practice affect the interaction between Amish groups and between Amish
settlements and their non-Amish neighbors.
Two Amish groups have established multiple settlements in differ-
ent regions of New York. Chapter 3 looks at the Swartzentruber Amish,
perhaps the most conservative of all Amish groups. Since the first
Swartzentruber Amish arrived over thirty years ago, they have estab-
lished settlements in several regions of the state. Chapter 6 explores New
York’s Swiss Amish, who are historically and culturally different from
other Amish groups. There are now three related Swiss settlements. As
Amish settlers from one church group move into different regions, we
can see the impact of place on religious practice.
Doing research within Old Order communities is not always easy. I
have found that the Amish are suspicious of questionnaires and surveys
and generally decline to take part. They favor personal interaction, but
they generally do not permit themselves to be photographed, recorded,
or videotaped because they believe that these technologies violate the
commandment against the making of graven images.2 While I took most
of the photographs in this book, most of the pictures of Amish children
or adults were taken by others who have a different relationship with the
Amish than I do.
ix