The Amish Life
June 16, 2008
“Chosen people of God”, that is what the Amish refer to themselves. Old Amish arrived on American shores in colonial time from Europe. They have survived in the modern world, and live in small communities still to this day.
Lancaster Pennsylvania
In this paper, we will be focusing on the Amish of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. There are other communities in Ohio and Indiana, but we will focus on Pennsylvania. The Amish family has authority over the individual not only during childhood but also during adolescence and later life. The size of the church district is based on the number of family’s not baptized persons. The family’s take turns having the preaching services. The Amish consider themselves accountable to god for the spiritual welfare of their children.
The Amish arrived from Europe to Philadelphia on October 2, 1727. The ship “Adventure” had on its passenger listed several typical Amish names. Ten years later on October 2 1737, the ship “Charming Nancy” who brought numerous families whose heritage could be tracked back to Amish. The first ship brought enough Amish to make an assembly or congregation possible. During the colonial period Amish people formed several settlements in Berks, Chester and Lancaster counties. Although little is, know about the journey of the Amish to America, because few eighteenth century diaries have been preserved. (Josiah Royce, Race Questions, Provincialism, and Other American Problems n.p., 1908, p62.)
The Amish survived in the New World, emerging as distinctive small and self-governing communities. The Amish’s live very simple lives, they do not power there homes with electricity, telephones or washing machines no luxuries of life. They belong to god and the earth. Most Amish men are farmers or carpenters. Amish woman do all the household chores, cooking, cleaning, hand washing and hanging clothes, and make all there own clothes, and there children’s. They take...