MWR : Ohio writer marks Lancaster tricentennial

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March 8, 2010 issue

Ohio writer marks Lancaster tricentennial

BRYAN, Ohio — Learning about her family’s history inspired an Ohio woman to write a book celebrating the 300th anniversary of the first European settlement in what became Lancaster County, Pa.

The Path to America: From Switzerland to Lancaster County, published by Masthof Press of Morgantown, Pa., celebrates the 1710 immigration story.

Myrna Grove, the author, is a member of Lockport Mennonite Church near Stryker. Studying her genealogy, she discovered she is descended from original Lancaster County immigrants.

The book is based on Grove’s research and visits to Switzerland and Germany, where the Anabaptists started their journey.

“My goal is to bring to life the religious struggles and personal sacrifices the Swiss-Germans experienced, both in Europe and in Pennsylvania,” Grove said.

Lancaster historian Henry Benner endorses the book as “of value to historians as well as children.”

Featured on the cover is “Spring at the Hans Herr House” by artist P. Buckley Moss. The inside text is illustrated with 30 pen-and-ink drawings by Peg Knueve, an elementary art instructor in Ohio.

The book’s first part, set in Europe, recounts the journey of patriarch Jacob Graf (1618-1683), whose 400-year-old homes still exist in Switzerland.

The second part is set in Lancaster County after the Mennonites’ arrival. Seven young families arranged to secure 10,000 acres of land in the new colony of Pennsylvania.

In 1717 three more shiploads arrived from Europe. By 1719 the Hans Herr House served as both a home and a meetinghouse. The house was restored in 1974 as an 18th-century interpretation of Mennonite life.

Seventy miles west of Philadelphia, the Mennonites carved out a settlement and gained the freedom to worship God in their chosen way. In 1729 Lancaster County was sectioned off from Chester County, and the Mennonites were granted citizenship.

The paperback book is avail-able on the author’s Web site, , for $16 plus shipping. It is also available from the publisher at masthof.com and from the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society.

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