Pre-1900 German-Canadian Ethnic Minority Writing

The Objective of the Study

1. In this study, I introduce the corpus of pre-1900 German-Canadian writing into Canadian literature. While the problematics of ethnicity and the question surrounding multiculturalism is a matter of debate world wide, Canadian ethnic minority writing has been paid attention to, although in itself in a limited fashion, in some ways with more success than in scholarship elsewhere (see, for example, Padolsky; Simon and Leahy; Pivato; Tötösy). The present introduction of German-speaking Canadians' early writings is to add to the corpus of Canadian ethnic minority writing. The underlying reasoning for the adding of the corpus is to dialogue with the still generally accepted notion in Canadian literary studies that Canadian literature consists of English-Canadian and French-Canadian and Québécois-Canadian literature.

Toward a Definition of Canadian Ethnic Minority Writing

2. The terms "ethnic literature" or "ethnic minority writing" are terms faute de mieux and arguably so. From the varied and many definitions of these terms and concepts, the following definitions may be particularly useful: 1) Milan V. Dimic's notion in his "Preface" to a special issue of the Canadian Review of Comparative Literature / Revue Canadienne de Littérature Comparée where Dimic defines the concept via the alternate term "literatures of lesser diffusion / les littératures de moindre diffusion" (555-64), 2) in the wider context of comparative Canadian literature, E.D. Blodgett's notion of Canadian literatures (literatures in the plural), comprising of English-Canadian, French-Canadian, Native, and immigrant (ethnic) writing is useful (1988), and 3) for German-Canadian "ethnic literature" in particular, Michael S. Batts's definition is useful. Batts suggests that "by ethnic writers per se I mean those writers who ... (a) reside in Canada or resided in Canada for a considerable time and published during that time, and (b) are of German (etc.) origin in the sense that they were born in a German-speaking environment and/or of parents of German origin whether abroad or in Canada, and/or (c) write in German or, if not in German, then against a background of German ethnicity, or feel that their ethnicity is "German" (97-98). This definition is, for the purposes of a biblographical data base, "intentionally broad ... to include what may subsequently be rejected by the user rather than omit what might be eligible, but the eligibility of which cannot be judged by the user if s/he is unaware of its existence" (98). The broadness of the definition should not cause problems, particularly in view of the further demarcations provided by the term "Canadian ethnic minority writing." With this term and concept the definition by Batts is widened to the proposition that "literariness" does not necessarily mean belles lettres only. Thus, genres and types of texts which are often not viewed as belonging to literature proper, such as travel literature or anecdotes may be viewed as pertinent texts belonging to the wider perspective delineated by the term "Canadian ethnic minority writing." For example, German-Canadian literature of a clearly belletristic nature in the traditional sense is thought to have begun with Johann Gottfried Seume (see Wieden 70; Froeschle 1984). Although Seume's classification as a German-Canadian writer is at least problematic, his case is paradigmatic for the whole of German-Canadian literature of the pre-1900 period while his inclusion into the corpus Canadian ethnic minority writing, in the sense of the above introduced definition, becomes possible, even necessary. Thus my argument is that texts like Seume's are good examples for the argument that German-Canadian literature should be widened to German-Canadian writing as a sub-group of Canadian ethnic minority writing. First, texts of travel literature, for instance, are peripheral if one insists on the concept of German-Canadian literature because such texts are typologically not belletristic. Second, the authors were "seasonal" German Canadians at best, especially if Batts's definition of an author who "reside[s] in Canada or resided in Canada for a considerable time" is taken too strictly (97). And a question arises when "considerable time" has to be defined. In many cases, "considerable time" has been arbitrarly defined and, admittedly, in the case of Seume this is so too.

3. It is difficult to delineate German-Canadian literature because the definition of Canadian literature is problematic per se (see, e.g., Blodgett). However, both examples, Seume and travel literature, follow the definition provided by Batts and its subsequent wider scope expressed by the notion of "ethnic minority writing." The following example will illustrate the definition of ethnic minority writing not only with reference to German-Canadian writing but also with reference to main-stream Canadian writing:  Brian Moore is often perceived as a Canadian writer; he was born and raised in Ireland and as an adult spent about ten years in Canada; now he lives in the United States. John Robert Colombo classifies him cautiously: "Though he lives in the United States, he retains his Canadian citizenship and many Canadian references and attitudes remain in his novels" (348). In sum, the fact that Moore lived in Canada and his novels contain descriptions of his Canadian experiences and perceptions makes him, apparently, a Canadian author. In is thus that to me Colombo's definition and canonization of Moore as a Canadian author confirms the definition of Canadian ethnic minority writing postulated in this study and it can be, in turn, applied to Seume. Consequently, his two years of (involuntary) residence in Canada places him into the classification of German-Canadian writing and thus also within the parameters of Canadian ethnic minority writing (see Tötösy 1990, 45-46).

4. Without wanting to re-define the concept of national literature, which is, for instance as Wilhelm E. Mühlmann convincingly discusses in his book Pfade in die Weltliteratur, a questionable concept of literary history (17-31), some criteria can be designated for a definition of German-Canadian writing. First of all, it is understood that the category of German-Canadian writing cannot be decisively delineated because its borders are fluid and often indistinct. The decisive elements for the classification of German-Canadian writing are linguistic, thematic, geographical, and biographical (see Batts 99-101). The text can be written in German or English (or French). Thematically the text may or may not be "Canadian," that is, the text may or may not contain explicit or implicit references to Canadian matters. Of course, the Canadian element would reduce the classification to a kind of regionalism, which excludes the possibility of a universal perspective of the text. This is not the intention here. The text's thematic orientation as "Canadian" originates in the general observation that this is the case in most German-Canadian literary texts: this factor is the most easily detectable and it decisively facilitates a classification of German-Canadian writing. There are German-Canadian literary texts which are universal thematically and consequently lose their implicitly "ethnic" character -- that is, if "ethnic" is understood in a relationship with main-stream literature(s) -- which in itself has a negative connotation in literary scholarship.

5. The second factor of the category German-Canadian literary text is geographical. The text should have been composed in Canada. This element is to be understood in relation to the other two elements, the linguistic and thematic and the biographical because there are cases in Canadian writing where the geographical element in this sense is absent, yet the author is clearly classified as a Canadian author. Mavis Gallant and Anne Hebert, both of whom are perceived and categorized as Canadian authors yet both of whom live(d) outside of Canada for extended periods of time, may serve as examples. In the case of authors of German-Canadian literary texts, because the rule is that these authors are immigrants to Canada and were not born in Canada, the geographical element becomes a postulate for their classification as German-Canadian authors. This geographical element understood as a geo-spatial requirement in relation to the text is grounded in a biographical component of the classification process of German-Canadian writing. Implicitly, the biographical component is a most decisive element. The cases of Gallant and Hebert illustrate this: these authors were born and educated in Canada, consequently the fact that they write in Paris does not negate their classification as Canadian writers. Yet, in the case of Seume the fact that he was born and educated in Germany but lived and wrote for two years in Canada makes his classification as a German-Canadian writer complicated. Would a French literary historian consider Gallant as a French author? Seume, along with the du Roy brothers, Charlotte von Riedesel, and the anonymous authors in Schlözer's Briefwechsel are "secondary" German-Canadian authors, I propose. That is, I am proposing that there is a hierarchy of rank in the categories of German-Canadian writing. In the above cases, with the exception of Seume, this hierarchy is set not only with respect to the three elements of classification as German-Canadian authors, but also with respect to the genre of the texts, i.e., travel literature. However, this hierarchy is, similar to the elements of the classification and the process of the classification per se, not unequivocally definable. In many cases the classification of a text as a German-Canadian text happens not because the text or its author is clearly German Canadian, but because it cannot be classified as anything else. Seume is considered as the debutant of German-Canadian writing because the texts he created are Canadian in their theme and because he wrote these texts in Canada. The third element of his classification as a German-Canadian author is obvious, namely the fact that the texts were composed in German. In sum, while the factors of demarcation are necassary to "claim" a text as Canadian ethnic minority writing, these factors should be invoked on a sliding scale. In other words, one factor may be more pertinent in the "claim," while another may be weaker but all factors together generate the classification "Canadian ethnic minority writing."

The Corpus of Early German-Canadian Writing

6. The corpus of pre-1900 Canadian ethnic minority writing is limited (for work on early German-Canadian literature and German-Canadian literature in general, see, for example, Froeschle 1976, 1978, 1981, 1984; Riedel 1983). However, if one considers this writing in proportion to the corpus of the mainstream Canadian literatures, i.e., the literatures of English and French Canada, ethnic minority writing is relatively large. Generally speaking, in the Canadian literatures of the pre-1900 period the corpus of ethnic minority writing consists almost exclusively of German-Canadian texts. It should be mentioned, however, that in addition to German-Canadian writing, there are other ethnic minority texts such as those of Italian-Canadian texts by Bressani, Gallenga, Nobile, or Ukrainian, Hungarian, etc., texts. The reasons of a quantitative prominence of German-Canadian writing are historically determined, as immigration to Canada on a larger scale of non-English and non-French speakers occured mostly from Germany, or -- in the case of Hutterites and Mennonites -- from countries with a sizable German-speaking population. Following the above introduced definition of ethnic minority authors and writing, in this study German-Canadian ethnic minority writing consists not only of texts written in German, but also of texts written in English (for a selected bibliography of German-language Canadian texts, primary and secondary, see Tötösy 1989). Further, in the present paper focus is on the introduction of pre-1900 texts while an evaluation of this writing remains to follow in subsequent studies.

7. The history of distinctively belletristic literature written in German in Canada until the end of the nineteenth century is negligible. Especially from the eighteenth century there is almost nothing known, although there was a substantial German population living in the then British colony. For example, the German population of the Halifax and the area known as Lunenburg amounted to over three thousand persons (Blue). The larger portion of this population consisted of soldiers participating in the American War of Independence on the side of the British forces (see Teuscher). Evidently, the living conditions and the presence of war did not allow for artistic expression. On the other hand, some of these soldiers and officers wrote diaries and which, in many instances, had been published in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as travel literature or as texts of information about the Dominion of Canada (see Zimmermann 17-31). Although this kind of informative and utilitarian writing that intrinsically does not aim at creative literary expression was not written by native Canadians -- we know that most authors of the above genre have returned to Germany -- the writing itself occurred in Canada and was mostly about Canada. Because some of this travel and information literature about Canadian nature, the Canadian landscape, Canadian peoples and customs, and various towns and cities does contain belletristic features such as creative style and poeticizing language and expressions, it deems pertinent to include such texts and their authors into a history of Canadian ethnic minority writing. This opinion is congruent with that of most scholars of German-Canadian writing (see, e.g., Wieden 70).

8. Perhaps the earliest of such informative travel descriptions in German were the diaries of the two du Roy brothers, Anton Adolf and August Wilhelm. Anton Adolf du Roy describes the city of Québec in 1776 and his sea voyage there from Germany. His brother's diaries contain similar descriptions, mainly about the Québécois-Canadian landscape. Although other German travel texts appeared before the du Roy brothers' diaries, for example H. Ellis's Reise nach Hudsons Meerbusen in 1750, these have no German-Canadian context in the definition introduced for this study (see Gürttler 1976, 31-47). What places the diaries of the du Roy brothers into a German-Canadian literary context is the fact that they were officers in a German army in the service of the British Monarchy stationed in Canada for a period of time and that the contents of the diaries concern Canada. In addition, the genre of the texts, that of the diary, places them into a literary context. The editor and translator of Anton Adolf du Roy's diaries observed that "The author's occasional comments about the untamed beauty of maritime nature are an indication of his above-mentioned poetic flair" (Teuscher 25). The following excerpt illustrates this observation:

"Den 6. Sept.  Zum erstenmale in meinem Leben Amerikanischen festen Boden betreten, da ich nebst einigen meiner Cameraden ans Land fuhr. Wir konnten nur mit vieler Beschwerlichkeit landen, weil das Ufer mit Felsen besetzt war, und nachdem wir dieses erstiegen hatten, fanden wir oben am Lande eine Menge alter Bäume, Holzstuken, ueberreste von Tonnen und Brettern, die vom Meere ans Land geworfen waren. So weit das Auge reichen konnte, war alles ein Wald, welcher so dicht war, dass man beynahe nicht einbrechen konnte; viele Stämme fielen vor Alter um, sobald man sie berührte, und die, so bereits lagen, waren größtentheils so faul, daß man durchfiel, wenn man auf sie trat. An dem Eingange einer schönen Bay fanden wir vier Hütten, die erst kürzlich von den Wilden verlassen waren, weil Körbe und Trinkgeschirre von Birkenrinde künstlich gemacht vorhanden da lagen, die wir nicht mitzunehmen uns der Seltenheit wegen nicht überwinden konnten. Die Hütten waren mit Rinden bedeckt, und diese unter einander mit Holzfasern fest genehet. In eben dieser Bay trafen wir einen Wasserfall an, der sehr gutes Wasser von einem Berge herabführte, woran wir uns labten. Gegen die Nacht giengen wir ans Schiff zurück. Es kamen heute 9 Schiffe von Quebec an uns vorbey, die nach England giengen und einige Briefe mitnahmen." (du Roy, Anton Adolf 87-88)

"September 6. Going on land with several of my comrades, I set foot on American soil for the first time in my life. We were able to land only with much difficulty since the shore was lined with rocks, and after having climbed ashore we discovered up on land a large number of old trees, chunks of wood, and what was left of barrels and boards thrown on land by the sea. As far as one could see, it was all forest so dense that one could hardly enter it. Many tree-trunks fell over with age as soon as one touched them, and those that were already lying there were for the most part so rotten that on stepping on them, one broke through. At the entrance to a beautiful bay we found four huts which (we assumed) had only recently been vacated by the savages, as there were lying about baskets and drinking vessels, skilfully made of birch bark, which we could not bring ourselves not to take along, on account of their scarcity. The huts were covered with pieces of bark, sewn together with fibres of wood. In this same bay we came across a waterfall carrying very good water from a mountain, and we refreshed ourselves. Towards nighttime we returned to the ship. Today 9 ships passed us from Quebec, which were on their way to England and took along several letters." (du Roy, Anton Adolf 138; G. Teuscher, trans.)

9. Similar travel literature can be found in Aus Hrn. Prof. Schlözers Briefwechsel in 1777 and 1778. August Ludwig Schlözer, professor at the University of Göttingen and one of the most significant political publicist of the German Enlightenment (Zimmermann 17) published in his periodical Briefwechsel meist historischen und politischen Inhalts (1776-1782) descriptions of political, social, and historical events of Canada. His sources, in the form of letters, were German officers, chaplains, and physicians serving in Canada (Zimmermann 22). The following excerpt is an example from these letters:

"Den 28 Decmb a.p. für der Hr.Gen. Brigadier Specht mit mir von St. Anne ab, um den Hrn. Gen. Carleton sowohl in Quebeck seine Cour zu machen, als daselbst einer Fête beizuwohnen, zu der wir solemnissime invitirt waren. Wir blieben die Nacht zu Cap Sante bei dem Hrn. OLieut. von Ehrenkrook. — Den 29 furen wir vollends nach Quebec. Den 30 machten wie des Morgens S. Excellence unsre Cour, und speißten Mittag bei demselben. Abends soupirten wir bei dem Hrn. Lieut.Gouverneur Cramahe. Den 31 war das große Fest, als an welchem Tage die Befreiung der Stadt Quebeck vom 31sten vorigen Jars gefeiert wurde, wo die Rebellen auch ihren großen Anfürer, den General Montgomery, verloren haben. Um 9 Uhr morgens wurde in der KathedralKirche ein Dankfest gehalten, und Monseigneur (der Bischof) hielten selbst das hohe Amt: 8 malheureux Canadiens, die den Rebellen beigestanden hatten, mußten mit Stricken um den Hals öffentliche Kirchenbuße, und Gott der Kirche und dem Könige Abbitte, tun. Um 10 Uhr versammelten sich alle Civil- und MilitärPersonen, und alle fremde auch einheimische Gentlemens, sowol Canadiens als Engländer, im GouvernementHause. Alle in Quebeck eingeseßne Gentlemens trugen, als Officiere de Milice, grüne Montirung mit Paille-Aufschlügen, Westen und Beinkleidern, und silberne Epaulets auf den Schultern." (Zimmermann 50-51)

"On the 28th of December departed Brigadier Specht with me from St. Anne both to pay our respects to General Carleton in Québec and to take part in a celebration, to which we had been cordially invited. We spent the night at 1st Lieutenant von Ehrenkrook's in Cap Sante. On the 29th we travelled to Quebec. On the 30th in the morning we presented ourselves to his Excellency and we had lunch with him. In the evening we had dinner with Lieutenant-Governor Cramahe. On the 31st there was the great celebration of the city of Québec's liberation on the 31st last year, when the rebels lost their great leader General Montgomery. At 9 a.m. a Te Deum was offered in the cathedral and the bishop himself gave the mass. Eight unfortunate Canadiens who aided the rebels had to do public penitence in the church to God, the church, and King with a rope around their necks. At 10 o'clock all civilian and military personnel, foreign and local gentlemen, Canadians and British, congregated in the government house. All local gentlemen from Québec wore, as officers of the militia, green with gold lapels, vestes, and knickers, and silver epaulettes." (S. Tötösy, trans.)

10. The most well-known text of travel literature of German-Canadian content is that of Friederike Charlotte Luise von Riedesel's from 1776 to 1783. The letters of General Riedesel's spouse are essential for students of the period of the American Revolution in America and in Canada. Anna K. Hess points out the personal, as well as literary context of von Riedesel's correspondance: "In vivid and detailed descriptions they tell us about the natural conditions of the country, and the habits and customs of the inhabitants of the land they came to love so well that to a daughter born here they gave the name of "Canada" (131).

11. Another travel text, related to the military, of some interest is Friedrich von Graffenried's Sechs Jahre in Canada 1813-1819. Aus dem Tagebuche und den Reiseerinnerungen des Lieutenants Friedrich von Graffenried, published in 1819. Graffenried's German text is appended by an English text written by a fellow officer, Lieutenant Fauche (138-43). The piece is entitled "Account of the Transactions at Fort William on Lake Superior, in August 1816, by Mr. Fauche, late Lieutenant of the Regiment de Meuron, who accompanied the Earl of Selkirk to settle at the Red River Colony in North America" (138). Fauche, similar to Graffenried, was Swiss.

12. For the early history of German missionaries in Canada, the second volume of Friedrich Ludwig Kölbing's Die Missionen der evangelischen Brüder in Grönland und Labrador (1831) contains anthropological observations, travel descriptions, as well as brief histories of German settlements in Labrador. When travel literature became a popular form of reading by the mid-nineteenth century, Canadian travel literature has also become a sought-after genre. In this period, of interest are German-Canadian travel books such as Heinrich W. Klutschak's Als Eskimo unter den Eskimos. Eine Schilderung der Erlebnisse der Schwatka'schen Franklin-Aufsuchungs-Expedition in den Jahren 1878-80, Otto Hahn's Canada: Meine Reise an den Nipissing (Ontario) und die Schweizercolonie (1878), and Hermann Zschokke's descriptions of his travels from Vienna Nach Nordamerika und Canada. Schilderungen von Land und Leuten (1881), to name the most well-known ones. Descriptions containing travel, geographical, historical, agricultural, and economical descriptions in relation to immigration is contained in Wilhelm Wagner's Einwanderung nach Manitoba. Bericht des Regierungs-Landmessers W. Wagner an die Deutsche Gesellschaft zu Montreal (1872?).

13. German-Canadian newspapers are important for the history of German- Canadian writing because they were organs of literary dissemination as well as carriers of literary texts some of which were written in Canada. This is evident particularly in the nineteenth century (see Jakobsh). In the eighteenth century there existed in Canada one German-Canadian newspaper, or rather an Almanach that in its function acted as one, the Neu-Schottländische Calender, from 1788 until 1801. The Calender was published in Halifax, Nova Scotia, by Anthon Heinrich (Henrich) or, as he was called under his Anglicized name, Anthony Henry. He is credited with being the first German-Canadian printer in Canada (see Kalbfleisch 13-14; Froeschle 1983, 73-96; Lochhead; Taubert). Belletristic texts were varied and frequent in the Calender. According to Harmut Froeschle's classification, in poetry published in the Calender there were religious poems and maximes, didactic poems, moralizing-sentimental poems, anacreontic poems, political poems, lyrical satyre, humoristic poems, and one longer poem with ballad-like features (1983, 83-85). Prose texts were given more prominence in the Calender, although in this case then a larger variety of genres was the result. What can be considered strictly belletristic texts appear in subsequent years and are thematically arranged. In 1789 humoristic narratives dominated, in 1793 the gothic narrative, in 1798 the didactic narrative, in 1801 moralizing-sentimental narratives. In the 1790 and 1800 editions the historical report dominated. These being of a more factual and journalistic nature, should not be considered belletristic in comparison with the other genres (see Froeschle 1983, 85-87). The origin and authorship of these belletristic texts, poetry, and prose has not yet been established. It can be suspected, however, that the majority of the texts are borrowings from European German material. At the same time it is more than likely that a number of these texts originated from German-American and German-Canadian authors. The proposition that most texts were of European German authorship is substantiated by two observations. Firstly, as Froeschle points out, the Calender's structure and belletristic contents remained throughout in the German (European) tradition (1983, 80). This underpins the second observation, namely that there is only one Canadian theme which occurs among the literary texts of the Calender, that of the "Indian" (1983, 87). To the genres listed by Froeschle, one other frequently occurring genre should be added -- that of the anecdote. In almost all issues of the publication one finds one or two anecdotes. As in the case of the longer prose texts, here too the themes are European or of a general nature and never of a Canadian or even North-American content. This of course is an indication of the readerships' and the publishers' "old-world" orientation. The following short anecdote from the 1798 issue is a good example of the majority of anecdotes occurring in the Calender.

"Ein Zahlmeister läßt sich aus Scherz erschießen. Im März 1753 lag ein englisches Kriegschiff zu Gibraltar vor Anker. Der Lieutenant dieses Schifs ging ans Land, um wilde gänse zu schießen. Er kam zurück, hatte aber keinen dergleichen Braten mitgebracht. Der Zahlmeister des Schifs lachte ihn aus, und sagte zu demselben er müßte gar ein schlechter Schütze seyn. Dies verdroß den Lieutenant gewaltig. Er ließ es sich nicht merken. Er gab blos zur Antwort, daß er es mit einem jedem in der Schifsbesatzung im Schissen und Treffen aufzunehmen sich getrauete. Der Zahlmeister versezte: Ich wette, daß er mich 40 Ellen weit mit einer einzigen Kugel nicht treffen soll. Gut! sagt der Lieutenant, wir wollen den Versuch machen. Sie giengen darauf ans Land und begaben sich auf den Schifsschauplatz. Der Lieutenant selbst maß die Weite ab, nam aber statt 40 nur 23 Ellen, und beyde stellten sich an ihre angemessene Plätze. Der Lieutenant legte seine Büchse auf, und zielte nach dem Zahlmeister. Die Schildwache fragte ihn: was er vor hätte. Er antwortete: nichts sonderliches; "ich will nur einen alten Zahlmeister erschiessen, der seines Lebens überdrüssig ist. Der Schildwache glaubte, es sey bloßer Scherz. Darauf rufte der Lieutenant dem Zahlmeister zu, ob er fertig sey? Als dieser nun mit ja antwortete, so schoß der Lieutenant, und zerschmetterte des Zahlmeisters Schenckel: so daß der Chirurgus das Bein ablösen muste. Es entstand aber an dem beschädigten Theile der kalte Brandt, so, das der alte Mann den dritten Tage seinen Geist aufgab." (Dezember 1798)

"A paymaster gets himself shot as a result of a practical joke. In March 1753 an English man-of-war anchored at Gibraltar. The First Mate of this ship went on land to hunt for wild geese. However, when he came back he brought back nothing of the sort. The paymaster laughed at him and remarked that he was quite a bad marksman. This upset the First Mate considerably. He retorted only that he is confident to stand his man as a marksman with anybody on ship. To this the paymaster remarked that he would bet he could not hit him with a single shot from the distance of 40 yards. Good, said the First Mate, we shall let it come to a trial. They went on land and stayed on the dockyard. The First Mate measured the distance, but he measured 23 yards instead of 40. Then both positioned themselves. The First Mate took aim with his rifle but the sentry asked him what he in fact was planning to do. He answered that he had had nothing exceptional in mind,he only wanted to shoot an old paymaster who is tired of living. The sentry thought that all this was but a joke. Now the First Mate asked the paymaster whether he was ready. When this answered with a yes, the First Mate fired and hit the paymaster's thigh so badly that the surgeon had to amputate his leg. It became infected and after three days the old man passed away." (December 1798. S. Tötösy, trans.)

14. Another example of a literary text in the Calender is the following poem from the 1790 issue. This poem, similar to the previous anecdote, has no author cited. Because it is a text with specific references to Canada, i.e., Nova Scotia, it is safe to assume that it was written by a local German resident, if not by Anton Henrich himself.

 Zum Anfang des Jahrs 1790.

 Auf, Sterbliche! begrüßt den ersten Strahl der Sonne
 Der unsre neue Bahn im goldnen Glanz erhelt;
 Sein mildes Licht entfloß dem Urquell aller Wonne
 Zur Segnung einer ganzen Welt!

 Ja, Brüder betet an! Der Unnennbare Große,
 Der Vater der Natur erscheint in seiner Kraft;
 Er wälzet unsren Ball, daß uns aus seinem Schooße
 Die Sonne neue Freuden schafft.

 Auf, faßt zum Leben Muth! Ersteigt des Altars Stufen,
 Und blickt mit kindlichem Vertraun zu seinem Thron.
 Wird doch zum Frohseyn selbst der Wurm hervorgerasen,
 Was zagst denn Du, o Erdensohn?

 Wenn noch der Frühling lacht, wen segensvoll und labend
 Des Lebens Kelch getränkt am blühenden Gestad,
 Der wind am Morgen sich ... Kränze für den Abend,
 Und wandle fröhlich seinen Pfad.

 Mit Zuversicht zu Ihm, der seinen Frühling schätze,
 Beginn mit Männermuth der Mann die neue Bahn;
 Er kennt im Sonnenblick, er kennt auch, wenn es blitzte,
 Des Weltregierers weisen Plan.

 Wen schon im spätern Herbst mit seinem holden Strahle
 Der Vater heut begrüßt -- er segne seinen Gruß;
 Sie steht gereift die Saat zu einem vollen Mahle,
 Und winkt ihn dankbar zum Genuß!

 Ja Brüder: nah und fern, in hütten und ... Thronen,
 In ihrem schwarzen Flor schreck uns die Zukunft nicht;
 Er, der der Sonne ruft, er streut in allen Zonen
 Auf unsre dunklen Pfade Licht!

 Er merkt des Frohen Gang, und sichert seine Schritte;
 Er sieht des Biedern Fleiß, und ladt ihn mit Gedeyhn;
 Ihn rührt des Kummers Flehn, Er eilt in seine hütte,
 Und salbt sein Haupt mit Oel und Wein!

 Den Stöhrern unsrer Ruh, die nur nach Ehre dürsten,
 Raubt Er das Mörderschwerdt durch unsers Georges Muth,
 Schafft, daß Britannien im Schutze seines Fürsten
 Wie unter Seinem Flügel ruht.

 Durch unsrer Väter Rath läßt er, zu Seinem Ruhme,
 Den Flor Neuschottlandes in seinen Bürgern blühn;
 Durch seiner Bothen Licht in seinem heiligthum...
 heißer des Unmuths Nächte fliehn!

 Ist noch ein leiser Wunsch, den unsre Seele nähret
 Für unsre Lieblinge, für Brüder nah und fern,
 Laßt uns dem herrn vertraun, er kennt ihn, und gewähret
 Des ernsten Beters Wünsche gern! —

 To the New year of 1790

 Rise, mortals, and hail the first rays of the sun
 which illuminate with golden shine our new path!
 Its soft light came from the source of all bliss
 to bless a whole world!

Yes, brethren, pray! The One whose name is unutterable,
the father of nature appears in all his might;
He turns our planet and from his bosom the sun forges new joy.

Rise and take courage to live! Climb the steps to the altar
and look to him with trust.
When to be happy even the worm crawls in a hurry,
Why are you faint-hearted, o son of the earth?

After all, the spring is gay, when full of bliss and
comfort at the blooming beach it fills life's cup,
When the wind in the morning his garlands spinns for the evening,
Then walk merrily this path.

With faith in Him, who protects his spring,
With courage shall man step on this path and
In the rays of the sun and even when there is
lightening he will recognize the wise plan of the world's ruler.

When in late Autumn with his golden rays the Father greets —
He will bless his greeting;
The crop stands ready for full repast and waves to him
thankful to enjoy.

Yes Brethren, near and afar, in huts and on thrones,
The future shall us not scare in its barren earth,
He, who rules the sun, sends its rays on our dark paths.

He will note the way of the gay, and secures his step.
He the industry of the upright, and secures his prosper.
He will respond to the prayers of the sorrowful,
and hastens in his abode to anoint him with chrism and wine.

The disturbers of of our peace, who only seek praise
He will take the sword of murder by the courage of our
Saint George.
He cares that Britain by the safeguard of its princes
is sheltered under his wings.

He allows Nova Scotia's earth to flourish by the advice of its citizens —
for His glory;
By the rays of His Messenger in his sanctuary
the nights of unhappiness flee.

It is a gentle wish that nourishes our souls —
For the benefit of our beloved, our brethren near and afar,
Let us have faith in our Lord, He is known to grant
the wishes of the ardent devotee, bloom for its citizens for His glory. (S. Tötösy, trans.)

15. As the above example shows, the poetry of German-speaking Canadians was similar to much of nineteenth-century English-Canadian and French-Canadian poetry in that much contained a religious undertone or even explicit religious message. This was also the case of most poetry of the Lutheran pastors' sizable publications in Ontario (see Friesen). The collection of this poetry in Gerhard Friesen's Hier laßt uns Hütten Bauen. Deutsche Gedichte lutherischer Pfarrer in Ontario 1869-1930 (1984) contains fourteen authors out of which eight published before 1900. The eight pre-1900 authors are represented with forty-six poems. Several of these authors, it should be noted, lived for often an equally substantial period of time in the United States. However, the poems published in Friesen are all products which appeared or were written in Canada. Although most poems are of a religious nature, there also several of other types, e.g., historical such as "Zur Erinnerung an die Übergabe der 'Augsburgischen Confession', den 25. Juni 1530" (6), "Auf den Todestag eines Blutzeugen des fünfzehnten Jahrhunderts, des Johann Huß" (7), und "Weltgeschichte" (88-89) or humorous such as "Der Amerikaner und die deutsche Frau (Von einem Knaben zu deklamieren" (17) and "Cromwells Schädel" (58). Interestingly, love poetry also occurs, for example "Amselruf" (75). There are also several occasional poems such as "Hochzeitsgedicht für Herrn Wilhelm van der Smissen in Toronto. In perpetuam rei memoriam" (11), "Neujahrsgruß an die Leser des 'Kirchenblattes'" (12), "Zur Ecksteinlegung an der evang. luth. St. Johanniskirche zu Waterloo, am 6. August, Nachmittags 2 Uhr" (13), "Meinem hochverehrten Amtsbruder dem Pastor Ch.F. Spring zum Amtsjubiläum" (30, 32), "Zum neuen Jahr" (31), "Zum 31. Oktober" (37), "Sturm" (9), "Es regnet -- Gott segnet" (80), "Heimkehr" (81), "Monica" (82), "An Hermann Weigand" (85), "Heldentum" (84), and "Zur Ecksteinlegung in Listowel, 20. Mai 1882" (25). Poems with references to the heimat occur also, for instance "Ein neuer Schwabenstreich. (Von einem Knaben zu deklamieren)" (19) and "Heimat" (73). Specific references to Canada appear in "Bachand, der heldenmütige Lebensretter. (Von einem Knaben zu deklamieren" (18) or in "Dem Missionar Pastor E. Neudörffer zum Abschied" (33). An interesting poem is "Schändigung der deutschen Sprache" (8), in which the "massacring" of the German language by Canadian Germans is lamented. The remaining poems are of the religious type, many of which have no title, e.g., pages 2, 4, 9, 14, 21, and poems such as "So deinen Feind hungert, so speise ihn. Römer 12 20" (10), "Passionslied" (15), "Nachklang vom Osterfest" (6), "Wachet" (23), "Christus stillt den Sturm" (4), "Das erste Weihnachtsfest" (27), "Bußlied in der Fastenzeit" (28), "'Es ist aber noch Raum da'" (29), "Der Herr ist in Zion" (35), "Pfingstfrühling" (38), "Die Wittenberger Nachtigall" (39), "Seliges Müssen" (40), "Sommermorgen" (74), "Das Waldkirchlein" (76), "Kampf" (77), "Lobe den Herrn" (78), "Sturm" (79), "Im Traumland" (86), "Kämpfer" (87), and "Hammer und Amboss" (83).

16. Here, I introduce some poems in both German and in translation. For example, here is Weigand's humorous poem "Cromwells Schädel" (p.58):

Im Museum zu London sind Dinge zu sehn,
Daß den Leuten die Nas' und der Mund offen stehn.
Da gibt es aus den verschiedensten Ländern und Zeiten
So viel interessante Merkwürdigkeiten.

Doch was einen am meisten interessiert,
Ist der Beamte, der dort die Besucher führt:
John Bull, von Herzen ehrlich und im Leben Brav,
Doch im Denken ein ganz verlorenes Schaf.

So stellt er einst einem Besucherchor
Einen Schädel mit den Worten vor:
"Meine Herrschaften, sehn Sie sich das gründlich an,
Das war einst Cromwell, Englands größter Mann."

Drauf platz einer los: "Wie kann das sein?
Dieser Schädel ist ja viel zu klein!"
"Das stimmt," sagt John Bull, "und darum ist das klar
Sein Schädel, als er noch ein Knabe war." (8)

In the Museum of London there are so many things to see
For people's eyes to pop.
From many countries and times so many rarities
That people's curiosity never drop.

Yet what most intrigues the visitor
Is the museum guide,
John Bull, honest and brave
But whose mind is of an infinite small size.

Once he showed a bunch of visitors
A skull with these words:
"Ladies and gentlemen, inspect this closely,
As this was once Cromwell's, England's greatest hero."

Upon this, one bursts out: "How can that be?
The skull is much too tiny!"
"That is correct," says John Bull, "and hence, clearly,
This was his head when in puberty." (S. Tötösy, trans.)

17. An example of occasional poetry of the reflective type is Weigand's "Monica" (82), composed presumably in honour of his mother:

 In wilder Fahrt ging einst mein Lebensschiff,
 Denn Junker Leichtsinn saß am Steuer,
 Flog hart vorbei an manchem Felsenriff,
 Ließ weit zurück, was mir einst teuer;
 Die Segel straff vom Sturmwind aufgebläht,
 Dem Glücke nach, dem bunten Scheine.
 Doch ach! Wohin das Auge auch gespäht,
 Ich fand es nicht, nur mich alleine!

 Nun fuhr zum Hafen ich, und manches Heil
 Ward über Bitten mir beschieden.
 Fröhlicher Glaube wurde mir zu teil
 Und meinem Herzen stiller Frieden.
 Doch daß ich nicht versank im Leeren Schein
 Und daß mein Heil nicht ward zertreten,
 Ich weiß es wohl: mein liebes Mütterlein,
 Das hat getreu für mich gebeten.

 I sailed through life with carelessness at the rudder,
 Barely passed at some sharp cliff
 And left behind much love;
 The sails full of the winds of storm
 To reach that false happiness.
 But wherever my gaze fell
 I found naught, only my old-self again!

 Now I arrived at harbour after much
 Goodness I received over pleading
 Joyous devotion I was given
 And my heart's tranquil peace
 Yet that I did not drown in empty appearance
 And that my belief remained
 Their reason I now know well: my beloved mother
 Who prayed so much for me. (S. Tötösy, trans.)

18. Weigand's love poem "Amselruf" ("The Call of the Blackbird") (75), is a thematic exception in German-Canadian poetry because of its implicit erotic thematic:

Du junge Maid im dunkeln Tann,
Wie hab' ich dich lieb, wie hab' ich dich lieb!
O süße Zeit, da ich dich gewann,
Du Herzensdieb, du Herzensdieb.

Am Abend unter'm Tannenbaum,
Da grüßt' ich dich, da grüßt' ich dich,
Da träumten wir den Liebestraum
So inniglich, so inniglich.

Da küßt' ich deinen frischen Mund
Voller Seligkeit, voller Seligkeit,
Da schlossen wir den trauten Bund
Für die Ewigkeit, für die Ewigkeit

Du junge Maid im dunkeln Tann,
Wie hab' ich dich lieb, wie hab' ich dich lieb!
O süße Zeit, da ich dich gewann,
Du Herzensdieb, du Herzensdieb.

My sweet girl of the twilight forest
How I love you, how I love you!
Those times of promise, when you became mine,
You thief of my heart, you thief of my heart.

The evening under that tree,
Where I greeted you, where I greeted you,
Where we dreamed of love
So deeply, so deeply.

There I kissed your sweet mouth
So full of happiness, so full of happiness
There we found our bond of love
For eternity, for eternity

My sweet girl of the twilight forest,
How I love you, how I love you!
Those times of promise, when you became mine,
You thief of my heart, you thief of my heart. (S. Tötösy, trans.)

19. An example of occasional poetry with Canadian references is Genzmer's "Dem Missionar Pastor E. Neudörffer zum Abschied":

Aus unsrer Canadasynode
Gehst Du als erster Missionar
Von unsers Herrn Versöhnungstode
Zu pred'gen Indiens Heidenschar.
Gott laß in Gnaden Dir gelingen,
In dunkle Nacht, an Deinem Theil,
Das Licht des Christentums zu bringen
Und damit vielen Seelen Heil.
Wohin Dein Fuß auch immer trete
In Indien, bald hier, bald da,
Stets steigen aufwärts die Gebete
Zu Gott für Dich in Canada.
Und im Gebet sind wir verbunden
Mit Dir, seist Du auch noch so fern,
In Freuden- wie in Trübsalsstunden
Mögst unser Du gedenken gern.
So ziehe denn, Du junger Bruder,
Aus Deinem Heimatskreise fort,
Der Herr führt Deines Lebens Ruder,
Er bringt Dich sicher in den Port.
Vergiß nie: was Dir auch begegnet,
Es kommt aus Seiner Gnadenhand,
Er ist es, der Dich dadurch segnet,
Dich an Sich knüpft mit neuem Band.
Er sucht nicht mehr an Seinem Knechte
Denn daß er treu erfunden wird,
Drum bete stets, daß Dich die rechte
Heilstraße führ' der treue Hirst.
Sprich nur mit David im Vertrauen
Aud Deinen Herrn, der Alles schafft:
"Vor wem sollt' in der Welt mir grauen?
Der Herr ist meines Lebens Kraft!" (33)

Now you leave this our Synod in Canada
As our first missionary
By our Saviour's forgiving death
To bring the gospel to the Indians' pagan throngs.
May God let you succeed
In the night's dark, your share,
Of offering the Christian's light
To save many of souls.
Wherever you go
In the Indians' lands, here or far away
Always our prayers in Canada
Will rise to God for you.
And in our prayers we are with you
Might you be ever so far,
In your times of joy or pain
In your thoughts to us tightly bind.
Go then, joung Brother of ours
From our home
Our Lord will lead you
And bring you safely to port.
Never forget: what you ever face
Comes from His forgiving hands,
He is who blesses you
And binds you with new ties.
He does not seek more from His servant
Than what He deems true.
Pray, then, that always the true sheppard
Takes you on the road to redemption.
Speak in confidence with David only, through him
To your Lord, who is creator of All:
"Who could harm me in this world?
The Lord is my life's strength!" (S. Tötösy, trans.)

20. In the corpus of autobiographical writing, the Memoirs of Reverend J. Samuel Schwerdtfeger, although it would be an example of early autobiographical German-Canadian texts, has a misleading title as the book does not contain the memoirs of the reverend (1734-1803), written by himself. Rather, it contains his descendant's, the author's (Hazel Mae Schwerdtfeger) biographical account of the reverend's life in Germany, Canada, and the U.S.A. However, the work's relevance to ethnic minority writing lies in the author's closing poem. Entitled "The Schwerdfegers," it contains many references to the immigrant experience not only in the retrospective to the reverend but also in the emotional perspective of his descendant, Hazel Mae Schwerdtfeger (81-84). In comparison, Vincent Philip Mayerhoffer's autobiography Twelve Years a Roman Catholic Priest... (1861) is of some interest. Much of this text is of a theleological nature but about one hundred pages are devoted to his autobiography. Of this autobiography six pages contain the account of his Canadian years. While much of what he says -- particularly about his Hungarian background -- should be read with some caution, his description of his Canadian years is an interesting account both for local Canadian and for Canadian church history.

21. A striking example of autobiographical writing is Charlotte Führer's The Mysteries of Montreal; Being Recollections of a Female Physician (1881). The author was born in Germany and after marriage at 17 to a merchant in Hamburg emigrated with him to New York. Soon after she returned to Germany to obtain a degree in midwifery from the University of Hamburg, after which she again returned to the USA. Within a few months of her return, both she and her husband immigrated to Montréal, where she began her carrier as a midwife. Führer's Mysteries contains decriptions of her many experiences as a midwife some of which are of a medical, some of a personal nature. Several of the episodes she describes are tales reflecting the society of Montréal's Protestant English-Canadian and Catholic French-Canadian society.

22. In German-American literature, Dorothea Stuecher's Twice Removed: The Experience of German-American Women Writers in the 19th Century (1990) is a study of three German-American women novelists (Therese Robinson, Mathilde Anneke, Kathinka Sutro-Schücking) and the cultural, historical, and societal environment in which they lived and wrote. Stuecher appended her book with a list of nineteenth-century German-American women writers, numbering thirty-two and representing all genres. In comparison, owing to the smaller numbers of German-speaking immigrants arriving in nineteenth-century Canada, no German-Canadian novels written in German are known. However, the category of ethnic minority writing in English has some examples, such as Henrietta Skelton's novel Grace Morton (1873) and her temperance novel A Man Trap, and Fatal Inheritance: Two Temperance Tales (1876). In her preface to Grace Morton, Skelton writes to her readers asking them to be "lenient in their criticisms, and kindly remember that I am a native of Germany" and in the preface to Fatal Inheritance she speaks of the good example of the German Kaffeehäuser, where workers would drink other beverages than alcoholic ones.

23. Similarly to the situation of novels, there is one example of German-background dramatic works, a humorous play by William and Louisa Schubart, Ludwig, the Emigrant: A Comedy in Three Acts, to Which Are Added Casts of the Characters, Entrances and Exits, Position of the Performers on the Stage, and the Whole of the Stage Business (1896). In the text of the play, Ludwig, the "Emigrant," speaks with a German accent and this is typographically represented in the text.

24. Of lasting literary value are John Adam Rittinger's "Joe Klotzkopp" letters (see Tötösy). Rittinger (1855-1915) was educated at Berlin's (Kitchener) St. Jerome's College. After graduation he apprenticed in his father's publishing firm, followed by journeyman's training in the newspaper and publishing business in Guelph, Toronto, Buffalo, New York, and Chicago. After the completion of his education in 1875, he acquired shares in the journal Ontario Glocke, published in Walkerton, Ontario, and published the journal there until its amalgamation with the Berliner Journal in 1904. In 1904 he moved to Berlin (Kitchener) to become partner in his father's firm, Rittinger & Motz, and published the Berliner Journal until his death in 1915. Rittinger was one of a long list of editors of nineteenth-century Canadian German-language journals and newspapers, such as Henry W. Peterson, Benjamin Burkholder, Heinrich, Peter, and Elias Eby, Joachim Kalbfleisch, Otto Pressprich, Hans Sikorski, Jakob Teuscher, Daniel and Jakob Ritz, John and William J. Motz, and Friedrich Rittinger (see Kalbfleisch 1957, 1968). As editor, Rittinger was keenly interested and involved in public affairs. He propagated that fervent Canadian patriotism and the maintenance and promotion of the German language and culture are not only compatible but desirable. From among his many journalistic and public affairs writings, Rittinger's writing proved to have lasting literary value in his "Briefe vun Joe Klotzkopp, Esq." These letters, which he wrote and published from 1890 until his death in 1915, total 120 letters, all published in the Ontario Glocke and the Berliner Journal (see Kalbfleisch 1957). The letters were composed in the Pennsylvania-German dialect, a German dialect common among Germans of nineteenth-century Ontario. The publishing of texts in the Pennsylvania-German dialect in German-language newspapers was a tradition at the time and under various noms de plume, letters were published in almost all German-language newspapers. In a very short time, Rittinger's Joe Klotzkopp became the most favoured among the large number of these writings. Although Rittinger was not of Pennsylvania-German descent and acquired the dialect later, he wrote in the dialect with admirable competency. The hallmark of Rittinger's letters was their humour similar to that Thomas Chandler Haliburton and Stephen Leacock, both in quality and impact (Kalbfleisch 1957). For the most part, the letters deal with matters of public concern of contemporary Ontario and Canada. Less often, Rittinger wrote letters and poems of an occasional type, such as a description of his son's birthday party. Despite the thematic restriction the letters were submitted to, their literary value consists of their linguistic and stylistic treatment of the themes and of their humoristic mode of narration. Although Herbert K. Kalbfleisch translated and published a few of Rittinger's Joe Klotzkopp letters, most of them remain inaccesible. Also, readers not knowing the Pennsylvania-German dialect, these texts remain at best a curiosity. However, a good translation of the letters, as outstanding examples of a literary genre and as testimonials of nineteenth-century Ontario-German thinking and affairs, are valuable texts for the study of Canadian ethnic minority writing.

25. In sum, it is evident that pre-1900 German-Canadian writing produced a variety of genres including several genres expressly literary. These are the anecdote, poetry, humorous letters, the novel, and drama. German-Canadian writing also produced interesting autobiographical texts, although these were -- for the most part -- written in English. In volume, travel writing proves to be the most prominent genre.

Works Cited

Batts, M.S. "'Pilot' Bibliographies of Canadian Ethnic Literature: (German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Spanish)." Canadian Ethnic Studies / Études Ethniques au Canada 23.1 (1991): 97-103.
Blodgett, E.D. "Canadian Literature is Comparative Literature." College English 50.8 (December 1988): 904-11.
Blue, Charles S. "The German Legion in Canada." The Canadian Magazine of Politics, Science, Art and Literature 44 (1914-15): 210-29.
Boeschenstein, Hermann. "Preface." Heiteres und Satirisches aus der deutsch-kanadischen Literatur: John Adam Rittinger, Walter Roome, Ernst Loeb, Rolf Max Kully. Ed. Hermann Boeschenstein. Toronto: German-Canadian Historical Association, 1980. 13-20.
Bressani, Francesco Giuseppe. Breve relatione d'alcune missioni. Macerata, 1653. Rpt. Reuben Gold Thwaites, ed. The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents. Cleveland: Burrow Brothers, 1899.
Colombo, John Robert. Colombo's Canadian References. Toronto: Oxford UP, 1976.
Debor, Herbert W. "German Regiments in Canada, 1776-1783." German-Canadian Yearbook / Deutschkanadisches Jahrbuch. Toronto: Historical Society of Mecklenburg Upper Canada, 1975. 34-49.
Debor, Herbert. W. "German Soldiers of the American War of Independence as Settlers in Canada." German-Canadian Yearbook / Deutschkanadisches Jahrbuch. Toronto: Historical Society of Mecklenburg Upper Canada, 1976. 71-93.
Debor, Herbert. W. "Early German Immigration in Nova Scotia." German-Canadian Yearbook / Deutschkanadisches Jahrbuch. Toronto: Historical Society of Mecklenburg Upper Canada, 1973. 67-70.
Dimic, Milan V. "Preface." Literatures of Lesser Diffusion/Les Littératures de moindre diffusion. Ed. Joseph Pivato, Steven Tötösy de Zepetnek, and Milan V. Dimic. Thematic issue of the Canadian Review of Comparative Literature / Revue Canadienne de Littérature Comparée 16.3-4 (1989): 555-64.
Elking, Max von. Leben und Wirken des herzoglich braunschweig'schen General-lieutenants Friedrich Adolph Riedesel.... Leipzig: O. Wiegand, 1856.
Friesen, Gerhard. "Introduction." Hier laßt uns Hütten Bauen. Deutsche Gedichte lutherischer Pfarrer in Ontario 1869-1930. Ed. Gerhard Friesen. Toronto: German-Canadian Historical Association, 1984. xxix-xlix.
Friesen, Gerhard, ed. Hier laßt uns Hütten Bauen. Deutsche Gedichte lutherischer Pfarrer in Ontario 1869-1930. Toronto: German-Canadian Historical Association, 1984.
Froeschle, Hartmut. "Der Neuschottländische Calender (Halifax, 1788-1801)." Annalen/Annals/Annales 4 Deutschkanadische Studien / German Canadian Studies / Études Allemandes Canadiennes. Ed. Michael S. Batts, Walter Riedel, and Rodney Symington. Vancouver: CAUTG, 1983. 73-96.
Froeschle, Hartmut. "Two German Recorders of Canadian Pioneer Life." German-Canadian Yearbook / Deutschkanadisches Jahrbuch. Toronto: Historical Society of Mecklenburg Upper Canada, 1973. 161-66.
Froeschle, Hartmut, ed. Drei frühe deutschkanadische Dichter (Eugen Funcken, Heinrich Rembe, Emil Querner). Toronto: German-Canadian Historical Association, 1978.
Froeschle, Harmut. "Gibt es eine deutschkanadische Literatur?" Deutschkanadisches Jahrbuch / German-Canadian Yearbook. Toronto: U of Toronto P, 1976. 174-87.
Froeschle, Harmut, ed. "Die deutschkanadische Literatur. Umfang und Problemstellungen." Nachrichten aus Ontario. Deutschsprachige Literatur in Kanada. Ed. Hartmut Froeschle. Hildesheim: Olms, 1981. 1-12.
Froeschle, Hartmut. Die deutschsprachige Literatur in Kanada. Ein Überblick. Canadiana Germanica 7 (1984).
Führer, Charlotte H. The Mysteries of Montreal; Being Recollections of a Female Physician. Montreal: Printed for the Author by John Lovell & Son, 1881.
Gallenga, Antonio. Episodes of My Second Life. London: Chapman and Hall, 1884.
Graffenried, Friedrich von. Sechs Jahre in Canada 1813-1819. Aus dem Tagebuche und den Reiseerinnerungen des Lieutenants Friedrich von Graffenried. Bern: 1819.
Gürttler, Karin. "Das Kanadabild in der deutschen Reiseliteratur des 18. Jahrhunderts." Annalen/Annals/Annales 1 Deutschkanadische Studien / German Canadian Studies / Études Allemandes Canadiennes. Montréal: U de Montréal, 1976. 31-47.
Gürttler, Karin. Geschichte der Deutschen Gesellschaft zu Montreal 1835-1985. Montreal: Deutsche Gesellschaft zu Montreal, 1985.
Hahn, Otto. Canada: Meine Reise an den Nipissing (Ontario) und die Schweizercolonie. Reutlingen: Carl Rupp, 1878.
Hess, Anna K. "A Voyage of Duty: the Riedesels in America." German-Canadian Yearbook / Deutschkanadisches Jahrbuch. Toronto: Historical Society of Mecklenburg Upper Canada, 1973. 131-39.
Jakobsh, Frank K. "German and German-Canadian Literature as Contained in the Berliner Journal." German-Canadian Yearbook / Deutsch-kanadisches Jahrbuch. Toronto: Historical Society of Mecklenburg Upper Canada, 1979. 108-20.
Kalbfleisch, Herbert Karl. The History of the Pioneer German Language Press of Ontario, 1835-1918. Toronto: U of Toronto P, 1968.
Kalbfleisch, Herbert Karl. "A Word About Joe Klotzkopp." German-Canadian Review 10.1 (1957): 2-5; 11.1 (1958): 2-7.
Klutschak, Heinrich W. Als Eskimo unter den Eskimos. Eine Schilderung der Erlebnisse der Schwatka'schen Franklin-Aufsuchungs-Expedition in den Jahren 1878-80. Wien Pest Leipzig: A. Hartleben, 1881.
Kölbing, Friedrich Ludwig. Die Missionen der evangelischen Brüder in Grönland und Labrador. Gnadau: Hans Franz Burkhard, 1831.
 Lehmann, Heinz. Das Deutschtum in Westkanada. Berlin: Junker und Dünnhaupt, 1939.
Lochhead, Douglas G. "Henry, Anthony (also Anton Heinrich or Henrich)." Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Toronto: U of Toronto P, 1979. Vol. 4, 342-43.
Mayerhoffer, V.P. Twelve Years a Roman Catholic Priest, or, the Autobiography of the Rev. V.P. Mayerhoffer, M.A., Late Military Chaplain to the Austrian Army, and Grand Chaplain of the Orders of Freemasons and Orangemen, in Canada, B.N.A., Containing an Account of His Career as Military Chaplain, Monk of the Order of St. Francis, and Clergyman of the Church of England in Vaughan, Markham and Whitby, C.W.. Toronto: Rowsell & Ellis, 1861.
Middleton, Jesse Edgar and Fred Landon. "John Adam Rittinger." The Province of Ontario: A History. Ed. Jesse Edgar Middleton and Fred Landon. Toronto: The Dominion Publishing Company, 1927-28. Vol. 4, 438-39.
Mühlmann, Wilhelm E. Pfade in die Weltliteratur. Königstein: Athenäum, 1984.
Nobile, A.A. An Anonymous Letter / Una lettera anonima. Buffalo: Baker, Jones & Co., 1885.
Padolsky, Enoch. "Canadian Ethnic Minority Literature in English." Ethnicity and Culture in Canada: The Research Landscape. Ed. J.W. Berry and J.A. Laponce. Toronto: U of Toronto P, 1994. 361-86.
Pivato, Joseph, Steven Tötösy de Zepetnek and Milan V. Dimic, eds. Literatures of Lesser Diffusion / Les littératures de moindre diffusion. Thematic issue of the Canadian Review of Comparative Literature / Revue Canadienne de Littérature Comparée 16.3-4 (1989).
Riedel, Walter E. "The Study of the Literature of German-Speaking Canadians: A Thematic Approach." Annalen / Annals / Annales Deutschkanadische Studien / German Canadian Studies / Études Allemandes Canadiennes. Montréal: Études allemandes, Département d'études anciennes et modernes, U de Montréal, 1983. 254-63.
Riedesel, Generalin von [Frederike Charlotte Luise von Massow]. Die Berufs-Reise Nach America. Briefe der Generalin von Riedesel aus dieser Reise und während ihres sechsjährigen Aufenthalts in America zur Zeit des dortigen Krieges in den Jahren 1776 bis 1783 nach Deutschland geschrieben [1800]. 2nd ed. Berlin: Haude & Spener, 1801.
Riedesel, Generalin von [Frederike Charlotte Luise von Massow]. Letters and Journals Relating to the War of the American Revolution, and the Capture of the German Troops at Saratoga. [1827] Ed. and Trans. William L. Stone. Albany: J. Munsell, 1867.
Rittinger, John Adam. "Ausgewählte 'Briefe vun Joe Klotzkopp'." Heiteres und Satirisches aus der deutschkanadischen Literatur: John Adam Rittinger, Walter Roome, Ernst Loeb, Rolf Max Kully. Ed. Hermann Boeschenstein. Toronto: German-Canadian Historical Association, 1980. 21-73.
Roi, August Wilhelm du. Journal of du Roi the Elder, Lieutenant and Adjutant in the Service of the Duke of Brunswick, 1776-1778. Trans. Charlotte S.J. Epping. Americana Germanica 15 (1911).
Roy, Anton Adolf du. Tagebuch der Seereise von Stade nach Quebec in Amerika 1776. Ed. Gerhart Teuscher. Toronto: German-Canadian Historical Association, 1983.
Schubart, Wm. and Louisa. Ludwig, the Emigrant: A Comedy in Three Acts. Toronto: Douglas Ford, 1896.
Schwerdtfeger, Hazel Mae. Memoirs of Reverend J. Samuel Schwerdtfeger: "The Saint of the St. Lawrence Seaway," First Pastor of Upper Canada's First Protestant Church, U.E. Loyalist and Lutheran Patriarch of America. New York: Carlton P, 1961.
Seume, Johann Gottfried. "Mein Aufenthalt in Kanada." German-Canadian Yearbook / Deutschkanadisches Jahrbuch. Toronto: Historical Society of Mecklenburg Upper Canada, 1973. 167-81.
Seume, Johann Gottfried. "The Savage." Trans. Walter Roome. German-Canadian Yearbook / Deutschkanadisches Jahrbuch. Toronto:  Historical Society of Mecklenburg Upper Canada, 1973. 187-90.
Seume, Johann Gottfried. "Der Wilde." German-Canadian Yearbook / Deutsch-kanadisches Jahrbuch. Toronto: Historical Society of Mecklenburg Upper Canada, 1973. 183-85.
Simon, Sherry, and David Leahy. "La Recherche au Québec portant sur l'écriture ethnique." Ethnicity and Culture in Canada: The Research Landscape. Ed. J.W. Berry and J.A. Laponce. Toronto: U of Toronto P, 1994. 387-409.
Skelton, H. Mrs. [Henrietta]. A Man Trap, and Fatal Inheritance: Two Temperance Tales. Toronto: J.B. Magurn, 1876.
Skelton, H. Mrs. [Henrietta]. Grace Morton. Toronto: A.S. Irving, 1873.
Stuecher, Dorothea Diver. Twice Removed: The Experience of German-American Women Writers in the 19th Century. Bern: Peter Lang, 1990.
Taubert, Siegfried. "Die frühesten deutschen Drucker in Canada." Börsenblatt für den deutschen Buchhandel 12.38a (1956). Rpt. "The First German Printers in Canada." Trans. Daniel A. Rinck. German-Canadian Yearbook / Deutschkanadisches Jahrbuch. Toronto: Historical Society of Mecklenburg Upper Canada, 1973. 71-75.
Teuscher, Gerhart. "Introduction." Roy, Anton Adolf du, Tagebuch der Seereise von Stade nach Quebec in Amerika 1776. Ed. Gerhart Teuscher. Toronto: German-Canadian Historical Association, 1983. 21-39.
Tötösy de Zepetnek, Steven. "Literary Works by German-Speaking Canadians and Their Critical Appraisal: A Selected and Annotated Bibliography with an Introduction." Literatures of Lesser Diffusion/Les littératures de moindre diffusion. Ed. Joseph Pivato, Steven Tötösy de Zepetnek and Milan V. Dimic. Thematic issue of the Canadian Review of Comparative Literature / Revue Canadienne de Littérature Comparée 16.3-4 (1989): 669-86.
Tötösy de Zepetnek, Steven. "Nineteenth-Century Canadian Novel Prefaces: Corpus and Literary System." Prefaces and Manifestoes / Préfaces et manifestes littéraires. Ed. E.D. Blodgett, A.G. Purdy, and Steven Tötösy de Zepetnek. Edmonton: Research Institute for Comparative Literature, U of Alberta, 1990. 43-55.
Tötösy de Zepetnek, Steven. The Social Dimensions of Fiction: On the Rhetoric and Function of Prefacing Novels in the Nineteenth-Century Canadas. Braunschweig: Westdeutscher (Friedr. Vieweg & Sohn), 1993.
Tötösy de Zepetnek, Steven. "John Adam Rittinger." Dictionary of Canadian Biography 1911-1920. Toronto: U of Toronto P,  1998. Vol 14, 875-76.
Tötösy de Zepetnek, Steven. "Die Literatur deutschsprachiger Kanadier. Liturgische Texte, Romane, Kurzgeschichten." Auf der Reservebank? Die Kulturbeziehungen zwischen Deutschland und Kanada. Ed. Hartmut Fröschle and Susanne Sporrer. Thematic issue of ZfK: Zeitschrift für Kulturaustausch 45.2 (1995): 295-98.
Wagner, Wilhelm. Einwanderung nach Manitoba. Bericht des Regierungs-Landmessers W. Wagner an die Deutsche Gesellschaft zu Montreal. Montréal, 1872.
Weissenborn, Georg K. "John Adam Rittinger: The 'Glockemann' (1855-1915)." German-Canadian Yearbook / Deutschkanadisches Jahrbuch. Toronto: Historical Society Mecklenburg Upper Canada, 1984. 221-24.
Wieden, Fritz. "Deutschkanadische Literatur. Ein Überblick." Deutsch als Muttersprache in Kanada. Ed. L. Auburger und H. Kloss, Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner, 1977. 69-76.
Zimmermann, Lothar. "Introduction." Vertrauliche Briefe aus Kanada und Neuengland vom J. 1777 und 1778 aus Hrn. Prof. Schlözers Briefwechsel. Ed. Lothar Zimmermann. Toronto: German-Canadian Historical Association, 1981. 17-31.
Zimmermann, Lothar, ed. Vertrauliche Briefe aus Kanada und Neuengland vom J. 1777 und 1778 aus Hrn. Prof. Schlözers Briefwechsel. Toronto: German-Canadian Historical Association, 1981.
Zschokke, Hermann. Nach Nordamerika und Canada. Schilderungen von Land und Leuten. Würzburg: Leo Woerl, [1881].

Note: An earlier version of this text appeared as "Early German-Canadian Ethnic Minority Writing" in Canadian Ethnic Studies / Études ethniques au Canada 27.1 (1995): 99-122.