Rites of Passage

This map shows a specific grouping of Fraktur which document the Pennsylvania Dutch’s rites of passage, such as birth, baptism, confirmation, marriage, and death. Each type of Fraktur is represented by a specific color and each instance of Fraktur is represented by a dot in the location of its creation.

My observations:

This is probably the most interesting map for me, based on the previous scholarly work I have completed on the subject using traditional research methods. My previous research looked specially at Bucks, Berks, Lancaster and Montgomery counties in southeastern Pennsylvania during the eighteenth century. It made distinctions between religious sects by looking at what types of certificates were created. My research found that many children born in Lancaster Country, a largely Mennonite area, had Geburtsschein or birth-only certificates produced for them. This suggests that these individuals belonged to the Anabaptist tradition which did not believe in infant baptism. Conversely, individuals belonging to the Lutheran and German Reformed faiths (who were centered in Berks County) normally have Geburts und Taufschein, birth and baptism certificates that indicated a birth date and baptism date fairly soon after (normally around 2 weeks).

This map shows a great amount of Geburts und Taufschein (Birth and Baptism Certificates) and hardly any Geburtsschein (Birth Certificates). The few Geburtsschein (Birth Certificates) and Bookplate with Birth Record examples that do show up, are right where I would expect them to be: in Lancaster County, where the Anabaptist were centered. Also the relation of the number of Birth and Baptism Certificates to Birth Certificates is about right. Only about 10% of German immigrants were Anabaptists. The remaining 90% likely belonged to faith traditions that celebrated infant baptism. This would explain why the Birth and Baptism Certificates far outnumber the Birth-only certificates and bookplates.