Port Royal standard and commercial. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1874-1876, 1876-08-03
The PENNSYLVANIA Menn0nites.

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correspondent, do not intermarry with
reople outside of their society. Par
ents pick husbands for their daughters,
and wives for their sons. Courtship is
very limited, and then only in the early
hours of the evening when parents are
present. The marriage is agreed upon
by the parents first, and the young folks
make the arrangement and set the time.
This privilege alone is extended tothem,
and their conclusions are respected if
the date suits all the parents interested.
The marriage ceremony is very simple,
and il devoid of all display. The min
lister, very plain, practical person of
not less than fifty years, rides to the
residence of the brides parents on horse
back. He finds his way into the house
and to the people as best he can. There
may be a dozen people present, COM
posed of the nearest of kin of both
parties. The Bible is read, prayer de-
ivered the couple, arrayed in the
plainest attire, walk across the uncarpet-
ed floor to the center of the room !; they
are baptized with water, they join hands,
and in the name of their God and their
families they are pronounced husband
and wife. There is less display or re-
joicing at Mennonite wedding than is
to be seen at the most straight laced Of
Quaker weddings.
Prior to the marriage, the fathers
agree upon settlement Of money on the
young folks. With thismoney, a house,
barn, outbuildings, and farm of about
fifty acres are purchased, which enables
the couple to go to housekeeping at
once. Thus the Mennonites maintain
their distinct society.
They are kind and generous to
fault, helping each other in distress and
alleviating each others wants. If
mans horse dies, the society will buy
him another. II his barn burns down,
they will contribute and rebuild it for
him. If thieves enter his premises they
will replace that which has been stolen.
If crop fails on one farm, portion of
each of his neighbors will be hauled to
him at the proper time. They all be-
long to one family; never marry out
side, and thus they flourish, and become
enormously wealthy; not by specula-
tion, but by farming and stock raising.
They have their own focks, fields, mills,
looms, gardens, and cattle, and pur-
chase very little at the village stores.
They do their own shoemaking, hair cut
ting, shaving, and weaving, and they
plait their own big straw hats for sum-
mer. The woman folks spin, sew and
attend to the household duties. Calico
is their principal article of dress. They
never wear either hoops or crinoline.
Few strangers would imagine young
woman in plain calico and gray woolen
jacket, riding to the village on spring
less wagon, to be the only daughter of a
man worth several hundred thousand
dollars; yet such thing can be seen
every day. A man is seen riding along
the road horseback on big, uncouth
looking horse. He is dressed In brown
overalls, and is barefooted. His black
hair streams out from under an old
slouched hat on one arm bangles q
tin kettle filed with molasses, his lower
limbs stick out at an angle of forty-6ve
degrees from the horses sides, and the
stranger is astonished upon learning
that that singular looking horseman is
worth at least $3.50, 600 in clean cash,
and has but one son in the world. If he
were worth million dollars he would
20 to the village store in the same man
ner, and would not change his style OF
living i'm the least.