Johann Peter Klinger was born 3 November 1773 in Reading, Pennsylvania. His parents were Johann Philip Klinger (1723-1811) and Eva Elisabeth Beilstein (1730-ca. 1815). He married Catharina Steinbruch, daughter of Adam Steinbrecher and Anna Margaretha Hoffman, in about 1791 in Lykens Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. They had eleven children. Ancestors, descendants and relatives lived mainly in Germany, Pennsylvania and Indiana.

Today German Canadians are among Canada’s most assimilated citizens, often distinguishable from other Canadians by their name only. For centuries their pioneer farmers, economic developers, industrialists, professionals, musicians, artists, missionaries, fisherman, boat builders, and soldiers have acquired an acknowledged reputation as nation builders in Canada. Not too long ago, however, they were also associated with Canada’s enemy in two world wars, discriminated against, and subjected to infringements of their citizenship rights. Virtually overnight, Canadians of German-speaking background were recast into disloyal enemy aliens. Anti-German sentiments and stigmas, unknown in Canada before World War I, became firmly entrenched and have obliterated their legacy as nation builders. This book documents and illustrates how German Canadians have experienced Canada and how Canada has experienced German Canadians over the course of four centuries. It shows what influence Canada’s relations with Germany had on this development. This is the first comprehensive synopsis of the German experience in Canada.