Donald B. Kraybill Collection | Earl H. and Anita F. Hess Archives and Special Collections

By Gillian Engelbrecht '18, Emily Wieder '19, and Emily Erdlen '23

Printer-friendly |

Collection Overview

Title: Donald B. Kraybill Collection

ID: MSS/MSS-0007

Primary Creator: Kraybill, Donald B.

Extent: 91.65 Linear Feet

Date Acquired: 00/00/2014. More info below under Accruals.

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The Donald B. Kraybill Collection contains materials from 1690-2021 and spans 83 boxes donated by Kraybill between 2014 and 2022. The collection contains newspaper clippings, correspondence, primary source materials, meeting minutes, interview transcripts, and survey data. The majority of materials in this collection relate to Amish and Mennonite groups within Pennsylvania, with a focus on Lancaster County. The collection includes materials from Kraybill’s extensive research on Amish groups, including materials used in his published works. Some topics covered include legal issues, women’s health, forgiveness, and background information on many different Amish, Mennonite, and Brethren groups.

Collection Historical Note

Donald B. Kraybill, PhD was born in Mount Joy, PA in 1945, where he lived until the age of 8, when he moved to a dairy farm two miles southeast of Lancaster city. When he was sixteen, he moved to another dairy farm near the border of Berks and Chester Counties. Kraybill was raised Mennonite, although later in life he joined the Elizabethtown Church of the Brethren congregation in 1980. He graduated from Lancaster Mennonite High School in 1963. He attended Millersville University for two years and then received his BA from Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, VA in 1967. After serving with Mennonite Voluntary Service as a conscientious objector, he then received his MA and PhD in sociology from Temple University in 1971 and 1976 respectively. While still in graduate school, Kraybill accepted a full-time position teaching sociology at Elizabethtown College in 1971. Kraybill worked at Elizabethtown College until 1996 eventually becoming sociology department chair until 1989, and then director of the newly opened Young Center. In 1996, Kraybill became the provost at Messiah College, but returned to Elizabethtown College in 2002, where he served as senior fellow in the Young Center until his retirement in 2016. Throughout his career, Kraybill has written dozens of professional articles, and as of 2017, he has written, co-written, or edited 29 books, 15 of which concentrate on Plain sect communities. His works have been translated into at least eight languages. Kraybill was the academic advisor to a two-hour documentary The Amish produced by the American Experience, which aired on PBS. He also served as the expert witness for the prosecution in the 2012 Federal Hate Crimes Trial involving beard-cutting attacks in Bergholtz, OH. He is the founding series editor of Young Center books in Anabaptist and Pietist studies (2006-2016) with thirty scholarly books published by Johns Hopkins University press. He has received several grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Administrative Information

Repository: Earl H. and Anita F. Hess Archives and Special Collections

Accruals: Additional materials added in 2016, 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Access Restrictions: Sub-Series A and B under Series 7: Publications, Sub-Series 33 restricted until January 1, 2025.

Use Restrictions: All researchers must complete a privacy agreement provided by the Archivist.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Amish Mennonite Brethren (AMB) in Lancaster, 1868-2010 (1980-1995)],
[Series 2: Amish, 1882-2021 (1950-2021)],
[Series 3: Lancaster County, 1880-2011 (1970-2000)],
[Series 4: Mennonite, 1864-2016 (1970-2000)],
[Series 5: Other Groups, 1881-2011 (1970s-2009)],
[Series 6: People, 1890-2016 (1970-2014)],
[Series 7: Publications, 1690-2018 (1990-2009)],
[Series 8: Young Center Office Files, 1976-2015 (1990-2010)],
[Series 9: Surveys, 1986-2009],
[All]

Series 9: Surveys, 1986-2009

This series spans 4 boxes and contains materials from 8 surveys conducted between 1986 and 2009. The materials in this series include completed surveys, overviews of the studies, and compiled data. These surveys primarily focus on either Ohio or Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Subject matter includes ex-Amish people, Amish women’s health, three surveys on Amish groups in different Lancaster County districts, Mennonite congregations, and Brethren congregations.

Sub-Series 1: Ex-Amish Surveys, 2006,2009

Box 79

Folder 66: Ohio Questionnaire- Responses 1-23, 2006
Folder 67: Ohio Questionnaire- Responses 24-47, 2006
Folder 68: Ohio Questionnaire- Data Collection, 2006
Folder 69: Lancaster County Study, 2009

Sub-Series 2: Amish Women's Health and Welfare, 2007

Box 79

Folder 70: Data- Amish Women
Folder 71: Data- Non-Amish Women
Folder 72: Overview and Publication

Sub-Series 3: Lancaster Amish Data Sets, 1986, 2000, 2009

Box 79

Folder 73: 1986 Sample- Districts, Bird-in-Hand
Folder 74: 1986 Sample- Districts, Buena Vista
Folder 75: 1986 Sample- Districts, Centerville
Folder 76: 1986 Sample- Districts, Conestoga
Folder 77: 1986 Sample- Districts, Fry
Folder 78: 1986 Sample- Districts, Groffdale (NE)
Folder 79: 1986 Sample- Districts, Groffdale (SW)
Folder 80: 1986 Sample- Districts, Hammercreek
Folder 81: 1986 Sample- Districts, Honeybrook
Folder 82: 1986 Sample- Districts, Intercourse
Folder 83: 1986 Sample- Districts, Limeville
Folder 84: 1986 Sample- Districts, Mechanicsberg
Folder 85: 1986 Sample- Districts, Millwood
Folder 86: 1986 Sample- Districts, New Providence
Folder 87: 1986 Sample- Districts, Quarryville
Folder 88: 1986 Sample- Districts, Ronks

Box 80

Folder 1: 1986 Sample- Districts, Smoketown
Folder 2: 1986 Sample- Districts, Smyrna
Folder 3: 1986 Sample- Districts, Spring Garden
Folder 4: 1986 Sample- Districts, Wakefield
Folder 5: 1986 Sample- Methods and Data
Folder 6: 2000 Sample- Coding File
Folder 7: 2000 Sample- Districts, Cattail
Folder 8: 2000 Sample- Districts, Centerville (East)
Folder 9: 2000 Sample- Districts, Conestoga
Folder 10: 2000 Sample- Districts, Cooperville
Folder 11: 2000 Sample- Districts, Greentree
Folder 12: 2000 Sample- Districts, Groffdale (NE)
Folder 13: 2000 Sample- Districts, Lower Pequea
Folder 14: 2000 Sample- Districts, Mechanics Grove
Folder 15: 2000 Sample- Districts, Smoketown
Folder 16: 2000 Sample- Districts, Soudersberg
Folder 17: 2000 Sample- Statistics A
Folder 18: 2000 Sample- Statistics B
Folder 19: 2000 Sample- Summary
Folder 20: 2009 Sample- Data
Folder 21: 2009 Sample- District Overviews
Folder 22: 2009 Sample- District 1
Folder 23: 2009 Sample- District 2
Folder 24: 2009 Sample- District 3
Folder 25: 2009 Sample- District 4
Folder 26: 2009 Sample- District 5
Folder 27: 2009 Sample- District 6
Folder 28: 2009 Sample- District 7
Folder 29: 2009 Sample- District 8
Folder 30: 2009 Sample- District 9
Folder 31: 2009 Sample- District 10
Folder 32: 2009 Sample- District 11
Folder 33: 2009 Sample- District 12
Folder 34: 2009 Sample- District 13
Folder 35: 2009 Sample- District 14
Folder 36: 2009 Sample- District 15
Folder 37: 2009 Sample- District 16

Box 81

Folder 1: 2009 Sample- District 17
Folder 2: 2009 Sample- District 18
Folder 3: 2009 Sample- Maps
Folder 4: 2009 Sample- Materials

Box 82

Folder 1: 1986 Sample- Compiled Data

Sub-Series 4: Congregational Profile Surveys, 1986

Box 81

Folder 5: Brethren- Blank Form and Letters
Folder 6: Brethren- Responses 301-310
Folder 7: Brethren- Reponses 311-321
Folder 8: Brethren- Swatara Hill Response
Folder 9: Mennonite- Blank Survey
Folder 10: Mennonite- Responses 201-210
Folder 11: Mennonite- Responses 211-220
Folder 12: Mennonite- Responses 221-230
Folder 13: Mennonite- Responses 221-230
Folder 14: Mennonite- Responses 231-240
Folder 15: Mennonite- Responses 251-260
Folder 16: Mennonite- Responses 261-270
Folder 17: Mennonite- Responses 271-280
Folder 18: Mennonite- Responses 281-285

Box 82

Folder 2: Brethren- Frequencies
Folder 3: Mennonite- Frequencies