Amish Roots: A Treasury of History, Wisdom, and Lore

by John A. Hostetler (Editor)

It isn't the way of the Amish to write about themselves. But John A. Hostetler, author of the best- selling Amish Society, has put together a delightful anthology in which they do just that. More than 150 rare and unusual letters and journal entries, poems and stories, riddles, legends, and bits of family lore offer a uniquely authentic view of Amish life from colonial times to the present. Illustrated with 25 pages of full-color illustrations, this is the Amish story as told by the Amish themselves, by their friends and neighbors, and by others who understand Amish ways. Hans Nussbaum, a nineteenth-century Swiss immigrant, writes to friends of a rough Atlantic crossing and a hard life in the Ohio Valley, suggesting that his "sleepy and lazy" cousins stay home in Europe. Virgil Detweiler tells of an ancestor's arrival at the port of colonial Philadelphia with personal baggage that included 5 copper stills, 30 stoves, 596 scythes, and 8 flutes. (He lost it all to King George's alert customs men.) In 1863 Amish bishop Daniel Beachy faces down a company of Confederate cavalry who try to steal his horse on a muddy Maryland highway. And an Amish teen- ager writes of life in a Pennsylvania prison after refusing military service during World War II. But Amish Roots is more than an anthology of Amish history. Here Amish men and women speak out. On America. The decline of the family. Health and home remedies. Farming. They offer three centuries' wisdom on issues ranging from raising a barn to raising children, from getting along with neighbors to breaking in a team of mules. They tell what's wrong with public schools and share strategies for coping with government officials, aggressive reporters, and tourists. Converts to the faith tell their story. Those who leave the faith describe life among the "English." Throughout, the Amish deal with the modern world in ways that often temper outright rejection with quiet compromise. In 1850, newly arrived Amish immigrants are astonished at the sight of the Mississippi sidewheeler that will take them from New Orleans to their new home in Illinois. More than a century later, an Amish tourist in Europe offers a first-hand account of crossing the English Channel by Hovercraft.

Genres: Amish, History, Nonfiction, Religion

360 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1989

About the author

Dr. John Andrew Hostetler, Ph.D. (Pennsylvania State University, 1953) was a scholar of Amish and Hutterite societies, a Fulbright scholar, and occasional film consultant and expert witness. He retired from the faculty of Temple University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) in 1985, and served the next five years as Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence at the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College, where his wife Beulah also held a teaching appointment.

Reviews

[Jonathan Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've mentioned elsewhere that, being a minister in a very (and increasingly!) Amish community, I want to devote time to getting a better perspective on the Amish. And this book is essential for that, because it functions as a diverse sourcebook, organized by subject (e.g., "Agriculture and Everyday Life," "Amish Schools," "Legends," etc.) - some of the entries are from outside observers, neighbors, historians, etc. (and there's even an all-too-brief chapter for critics), but many of the pieces are from Amish authors. (There not being that many of them, expect names like Gideon L. Fisher and Uria R. Byler to recur constantly.)

Anyone with any interest in the Amish should pick up this book, with all sorts of material curated by John A. Hostetler. Perhaps my favorite entry was by Eli Stoltzfus in 1969, who was caretaker of an Amish tourist attraction, on some of the "stupid and laughable questions" he got asked ("One time I was driving in a nail with a short piece of pipe, because I didn't have a hammer handy. Then a lady asked me if it was against our religion to use a hammer. One time I was hitching up three mules and one horse together. Then a man asked me why I hitched up three mules and one horse together. I told him, 'To make four.' ... Somebody asked me whether our goat was a baby horse. ... A man asked me what we do for entertainment. I just say, 'We farm'").

But there's material of all kinds: conversion stories, letters, brief essays, excerpts from books, poetry, images, even part of the Supreme Court decision in Wisconsin v. Yoder.

Don't miss it!

[Jess Schira]

Amish Roots was my selection for the 2020 PopSugar Reading Challenge prompt "An Anthology." While interesting, I honestly don't see this book remaining on my keeper shelf. My biggest issue is that while the essays did provide a nice peek into the Amish culture, it felt like they'd been heavily edited. I would have preferred to read them in their original tone, even if it meant slogging through grammatical and syntax errors. The way they read in the anthology makes me wonder how much of the actual content was changed.

[Anthony Cleveland · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and informative read. The book is a collection of papers, letters, etc. written by the Amish regarding their history, culture and faith.

[Shirley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because my family and I used to travel to Lancaster, PA from our former home in upstate New York at least twice a year for several years, I developed a keen interest in learning more about the Amish. This book is chock full of information. Not only is it an historical account, the book covers everything from their beliefs to their customs, to the issues they sometimes have faced. Because it was written in 1989 I feel certain some things have changed, but for a well-written book about the Amish, I would rate this very high. The author is formerly Amish, so he obviously knows what he is talking about.

[Brendalyn Blanco · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this not because I am Amish or want to be....but because I was interested in learning more about the culture. It was an interesting read. Not my favorite book, but interesting. I learned stuff. :)