Description
Book SynopsisIn a book that highlights the existence and diversity of Amish communities in New York State, Karen M. Johnson-Weiner draws on twenty-five years of observation, participation, interviews, and archival research to emphasize the contribution of the Amish to the state''s rich cultural heritage.While the Amish settlements in Pennsylvania and Ohio are internationally known, the Amish population in New York, the result of internal migration from those more established settlements, is more fragmentary and less visible to all but their nearest non-Amish neighbors. All of the Amish currently living in New York are postWorld War II migrants from points to the south and west. Many came seeking cheap land, others as a result of schism in their home communities.The Old Order Amish of New York are relative newcomers who, while representing an old or plain way of life, are bringing change to the state. So that readers can better understand where the Amish come from and their relationship to other
Trade Review
After reading Johnson-Weiner's book I felt I’d been given an enthusiastic guided tour of the New York State Amish community.
* North Country Public Radio *
This is a fascinating and much-needed book on the New York Amish. New York is the 'go-to' state for the Amish today, and Johnson-Weiner's book could not have been better timed for publication.
* Pennsylvania History *
Table of Contents1. Who Are the Amish? Meeting Our Plain Neighbors2. Cattaraugus and Chautauqua Counties: Amish Pioneers in Western New York3. St. Lawrence County's Swartzentruber Amish: The Plainest of the Plain People4. From Lancaster County to Lowville: Moving North to Keep the Old Ways5. The Mohawk Valley Amish: Old Order Diversity in Central New York6. In Search of Consensus and Fellowship: New York’s Swiss Amish7. On Franklin County’s Western Border: New Settlements in the North Country8. Challenges to Amish Settlement: Maintaining Community and Identity9. Challenging the Non-Amish Neighbors: Uneasy Integration10. The Future of New York’s Amish: Two Worlds, Side by Side
