Swiss Americans

File:Swiss diaspora in the USA 1890.jpg.]]

The first Swiss person in what is now the territory of the United States was Theobald (Diebold) von Erlach (1541–1565).{{cite web|url=http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Sr-Z/Swiss-Americans.html|title=Swiss Americans – History, Modern era, Swiss in British North America|website=Everyculture.com|access-date=March 17, 2015}}

The history of the Amish church began with a schism in Switzerland within a group of Swiss and Alsatian Anabaptists in 1693 led by Jakob Ammann, a native of Erlenbach im Simmental.

In spite of Swiss settlements like Highland (Illinois), New Glarus (Wisconsin), New Bern (North Carolina), Gruetli (Tennessee) and Bernstadt (Kentucky) were emerging fast, most Swiss preferred rural villages of the Midwest and the Pacific Coast where especially the Italian Swiss were taking part in California's winegrowing culture, or then took up residence in more industrial and urban regions such as New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago, St. Louis, Denver or San Francisco. As the lifestyle and political institutions of the United States were compliant with those of their homeland most Swiss had no problems starting a new life in their part of the New World and became attached to both countries.{{cite web |url=http://www.swissroots.org/swissroots/en/stories/heritage/Swiss%20Emigration%20to%20the%20USA/Swiss%20Settlers.html |title=Swiss Settlers |access-date=June 26, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090801230552/http://www.swissroots.org/swissroots/en/stories/heritage/Swiss%20Emigration%20to%20the%20USA/Swiss%20Settlers.html |archive-date=August 1, 2009 }}

Of Swiss immigrant involvement in the Civil War, David Vogelsanger writes, "More Swiss participated in the American Civil War than in any other foreign conflict except the Battle of Marignano in 1515 and Napoleon's Russian Campaign of 1812."Vogelsanger, David. "Foreword: A Forgotten Chapter of Our Military History." Swiss American Historical Society Review 51, no. 2 (2015): 5–8. The whole issue is dedicated to the Swiss in the Civil War.

Swiss immigration diminished after 1930 because of the depression and World War II, but 23,700 more Swiss had arrived by 1960, followed by 29,100 more between 1961 and 1990, many of whom were professionals or employees in American branches of Swiss companies who later returned to Switzerland.{{cite web|url=http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Sr-Z/Swiss-Americans.html|title=Swiss Americans – History, Modern era, Swiss in British North America|website=Everyculture.com|access-date=August 28, 2017}}

File:Swiss ancestry us.gif of Swiss Americans according to the 2000 Census]]

• Beech Island Historical Society, a historical society in South Carolina dedicated to the preservation of Historic Beech Island, including the early Swiss settlement led by John Tobler.{{cite web |url=http://www.beech-islandhistory.org/history.htm |title=Beech Island |access-date=September 6, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060903060546/http://www.beech-islandhistory.org/history.htm |archive-date=September 3, 2006 }}
• Grundy County Swiss Historical Society, a historical society in Grundy County, Tennessee, site of former Swiss colony of Gruetli.{{cite web|url=http://www.swisshistoricalsociety.org|title=Swiss Historical Society|website=Swisshistoricalsociety.org|access-date=March 17, 2015}}
• Highland Historical Society, a historical society centered in Highland, Illinois, site of one of the oldest Swiss settlements in the United States. It was founded in 1831 by Swiss pioneers from Sursee, Switzerland.{{cite web|url=http://www.highlandilhistory.org|title=Highland Historical Society|website=Highlandilhistory.org|access-date=March 17, 2015}}
• Orangeburgh German-Swiss Genealogical Society, a genealogical society focused on the early Swiss and German settlers of Orangeburg, South Carolina.{{cite web|url=http://www.ogsgs.org|title=OGSGS Main|website=Ogsgs.com|access-date=March 17, 2015}}
• Santa Clara Utah Historical Society, a historical Society dedicated to the preservation of an early Swiss Settlement in Utah.[http://www.santaclarautahhistoricalsociety.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120203181813/http://www.santaclarautahhistoricalsociety.com/|date=February 3, 2012}}
• Swiss American Historical Society – focuses on the involvement of the Swiss and their descendants in American life, aspects of Swiss American relations, and Swiss history.{{cite web|url=http://www.swissamericanhistoricalsociety.org/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120914232105/http://swissamericanhistoricalsociety.org/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=September 14, 2012|title=Swiss American Historical Society|access-date=March 17, 2015}}
• Swiss Heritage Village & Museum – begun in 1985, it is currently the largest outdoor museum in northern Indiana. It is located in Berne, Indiana.{{cite web|url=http://www.swissheritage.org/SHV/Wilkommen.html|title=Willkommen|website=Swissheritage.org|access-date=March 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218154735/http://www.swissheritage.org/SHV/Wilkommen.html|archive-date=February 18, 2012|url-status=dead}}
• Swiss Mennonite Cultural and Historical Association – consists of descendants of the Mennonites who immigrated to the U.S. from Ukraine in the 1870s.{{cite web|url=http://www.swissmennonite.org|title=Index Page SMCHA|website=Swissmennonite.org|access-date=August 28, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011110114034/http://www.swissmennonite.org/|archive-date=November 10, 2001}}
• The Swiss Center of North America includes an extensive list of Swiss clubs.
• [https://www.dss1798.org/home The Descendants of Swiss Settlers], founded in 2019, honors the legacy and achievements of Swiss men and women who settled in North America prior to March 5, 1798, which marks the end of the Old Swiss Confederacy.{{Cite web |title=Descendants of Swiss Settlers |url=https://www.dss1798.org/home |access-date=2022-05-29 |website= |language=en}}

{{main list|List of Swiss Americans}}

{{Portal|Switzerland|United States}}

• Switzerland–United States relations
• Swiss people
• Swiss abroad
• Swiss Argentines
• Swiss Brazilians
• Swiss Canadians
• Swiss Chileans
• Swiss Mexicans
• European Americans
• Swiss American Historical Society

{{Reflist}}

• Pochmann, Henry A. German Culture in America: Philosophical and Literary Influences 1600–1900 (1957). 890pp; comprehensive review of German influence on Americans esp 19th century. [https://archive.org/details/germancultureina00poch online]
• Pochmann, Henry A. and Arthur R. Schult. Bibliography of German Culture in America to 1940 (2nd ed 1982); massive listing, but no annotations.
• Schelbert, Leo. "Swiss Americans." Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 4, Gale, 2014), pp. 319–329. [https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3273300173/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=GPS&xid=d063c3a3 Online]
• Schelbert, Leo, ed. American Letters: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Accounts of Swiss Immigrants (Camden, ME: Picton Press, 1995).
• Tritt, D. G., ed. Swiss Festivals in North America: A Resource Guide (Masthof Press, 1999).

• [http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Sr-Z/Swiss-Americans.html Swiss Americans]
• [https://swiss-american-historical-society.org/ Swiss American Historical Society]
• [https://theswisscenter.org/ The Swiss Center of North America]
• [http://www.ti.ch/oltreconfiniti OltreconfiniTi, the official website dedicated to Ticinese emigration]
• [http://www.riponswissclub.com/index.htm San Joaquin Valley Swiss Club (California, USA)]

• Hacken, Richard (2020). [https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1262&context=sahs_review "A History of the Swiss in California,"] Swiss American Historical Society Review, vol.56 (2020), no. 1, pp. 115–162.
• The [http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~usgenweb/mn/hennepin/schwanden/newschwanden.html History of New Schwanden Swiss community Hennepin County, Minnesota] is the story of a former Swiss colony in Minnesota written by Wayne C. Blesi.
• {{citation |first= Douglas F. |last= Tobler |author-link= Douglas F. Tobler |url= http://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/s/SWISS_IN_UTAH.html |contribution= The Swiss in Utah |editor-last= Powell |editor-first= Allan Kent |year= 1994 |title= Utah History Encyclopedia |location= Salt Lake City, Utah |publisher= University of Utah Press |isbn= 0874804256 |oclc= 30473917 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131010231358/http://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/s/SWISS_IN_UTAH.html |archive-date= October 10, 2013 }}
• [http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Sr-Z/Swiss-Americans.html Swiss Americans] Article by University of Illinois – Chicago emeritus professor Dr. Leo Schelbert about Swiss Americans.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080605201350/http://bernehistory.org/local/settling_berne.htm Settling Berne] Article by Harold Miller about Berne, NY.

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120503194047/http://www2.byui.edu/SPC/manuscripts/manuscriptpdfs/MSSI_21_Register_of_the_Keith_Zollinger_Collection_of_Swiss_Manuscripts.pdf Keith Zollinger Collection of Swiss Manuscripts] Brigham Young University-Idaho Special Collections at the David O. McKay Library.
• [https://www.letempsarchives.ch The Archives of Le Temps] Archival collection of every Journal de Genève, Gazette de Lausanne and Nouveau Quotidien.
• The [http://www2.hsp.org/collections/Balch%20manuscript_guide/html/swiss_amhistsoc.html Swiss American Historical Society Records 1927–1985], including correspondence, reports, minutes and other materials, are available for research use at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
• [https://www.swiss-american-historical-society.org/sahs-review The Swiss American Historical Society Review]. Articles and reviews featuring Swiss American history and life.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100629012153/http://dlc.lib.utk.edu/f/fa/fulltext/0017.html Swiss Colonies in Tennessee and Kentucky Collection, 1830–1938] University of Tennessee Special Collections Library, Knoxville, TN.
• [http://luna.library.cmu.edu/luna/servlet/CMUccm~3~3 Swiss Posters Collection] The Swiss Poster Collection at Carnegie Mellon University.
• [http://www.uic.edu/depts/lib/specialcoll/services/rjd/findingaids/SBSf.html Swiss Benevolent Society of Chicago] Housed at the University of Illinois at Chicago in the Richard J. Daley Library's Special Collections Department.
• [http://specialcollections.tulane.edu/archon/?p=collections/controlcard&id=43 Swiss Society of New Orleans records, 1855–2010] Housed at Tulane University as part of the Louisiana Research Collection, at the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library.
• [http://www.uic.edu/depts/lib/specialcoll/services/rjd/findingaids/SwissSingingf.html Swiss Singing Society of Chicago] Housed at the University of Illinois at Chicago in the Richard J. Daley Library's Special Collections Department.
• [http://library.princeton.edu/libraries/firestone/rbsc/aids/gc095.html Swiss Prints Collection] Graphic Arts Collection in the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections at Princeton University Library.
• [http://www.utoledo.edu/library/canaday/HTML_findingaids/MSS-148.html Holden Rightmyer/American Swiss Company Papers 1933–1946] The Ward M. Canaday Center for Special Collections at The University of Toledo.
• [http://archives.lib.byu.edu/repositories/14/resources/2739 Richard Bird missionary notebook from the Swiss/Austrian mission] Housed at the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University.
• [http://archives.lib.byu.edu/repositories/14/archival_objects/58594 Swiss and German Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] Housed at the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120425140148/http://libxml1a.unl.edu/cocoon/archives/keiner.rg12-07-16.unl.html Walter Kiener, Papers] Housed in the Archives & Special Collections at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120331110735/http://ead.library.jhu.edu/ms140.xml Bluntschli (Johann Casper) 1808–1881 Collection 1750–1884] Housed at the Special Collections of the Milton S. Eisenhower Library at The Johns Hopkins University.
• [http://www.lib.auburn.edu/archive/find-aid/101/eddie.htm Eddie Rickenbacker Papers] Housed at Auburn University Special Collections and Archives.
• [http://www.lib.odu.edu/specialcollections/manuscripts/whitewarren.htm The Papers of J. Warren White] Housed at the Patricia W. and J. Douglas Perry Library, Old Dominion University.
• [http://findingaids.stanford.edu/xtf/view?docId=ead/mss/m1446.xml;chunk.id=headerlink;brand=default Herbert Matter Papers] Housed in Special Collections Green Library Stanford University.
• [http://library.vicu.utoronto.ca/collections/special_collections/f34_l_riese/index.html The Rièse collection] Housed at The Victoria University Library of the University of Toronto.
• [http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/deptserv/french/spotlight4.html Swiss imprints in French] Housed in University of Cambridge.
• [http://content.lib.utah.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/UU_EAD&CISOPTR=478 The John Lyman Ballif Papers] Housed at the J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah.
• [http://www.dodis.ch/en/home Diplomatic Documents of Switzerland ]
• [http://www.library.ucsb.edu/node/1820 Robert Billigmeier Collection ] Hosted by University of California, Santa Barbara.
• [http://specialcollections.tulane.edu/archon/index.php?p=collections/controlcard&id=404 Hoehn and Müller families papers, 1828-1980s] Housed at Tulane University as part of the Louisiana Research Collection, at the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120404062847/http://www.lib.utk.edu/spcoll/manuscripts/1026.html German and Swiss Colonization in Morgan County, Tennessee, 1925] Housed at University of Tennessee Libraries, Knoxville, Special Collections.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20111118215636/http://www.bluffton.edu/library/coll/mhc/ Mennonite Historical Collections] Very extensive Collection of Swiss and Swiss-American Mennonite information hosted in the Archives and Special Collections Librarian at Musselman Library, Bluffton University.
• [http://collections.carli.illinois.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/sie_swiss Swiss Settlers in SW Illinois]—searchable English translations of 19th-century works by Swiss settlers in southwestern Illinois.

{{European Americans}}

{{Swiss diaspora}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:American people of Swiss descent

Category:European diaspora in the United States

American