In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I wanted to share a remarkable discovery from deep in the ancestry archives that feels particularly fitting for this day of gratitude and gathering.
After years of searching, I’ve finally broken through a wall in my father’s family line, and it led me to an unexpected place: the Rhine Valley of the old Empire of Hesse. There, my ancestors were farmers and vinedressers, tending vines in what is now Rheinhessen, Germany’s largest wine region.
Their surname tells the story of borders and belonging: Loúrens on the French side of the Rhine, Lorentz on the German side, and eventually Lowrance on American shores. Though their genetic footprint has faded from our DNA over the generations, their story remains.
What moves me most isn’t just discovering these wine-growing roots (though as someone pursuing my WSET Diploma, that connection feels profound). It’s what happened when these Palatine Germans arrived in New York’s Mohawk Valley in the early 1700s.
The Mohawks, Keepers of the Eastern Door, taught these newcomers which wild foods could sustain them - pointing out berries, wild potatoes, and more. They provided corn for planting. In return, the German farmers shared their own knowledge and goods. Together, they created something remarkable: a neighborhood where both peoples lived side by side, many farmers learning to speak Mohawk, their children playing together, their lives intertwined through daily commerce and mutual aid. As historian David L. Preston documents, “They were never sent off empty-handed when they needed food.”
From Rhine Valley vineyards to Mohawk River farmland, my ancestors found the America they’d hoped for precisely because they embraced the wisdom and friendship of those who were here first.
In that same spirit of generosity - the way the Mohawks shared their corn and knowledge with my ancestors, sending them home with food when needed - I’m opening my recipe archives today to share two treasures with you.
These aren’t just recipes; they’re edible heirlooms from my family’s collection, each one tested across generations of Thanksgivings. Consider them my gift to your table - something to carry home to your family, just as neighbors have always done when times were good, and harvests were meant to be shared.
May these recipes travel from my family’s table to yours, adding another layer to your own Thanksgiving traditions. After all, the best recipes, like the best of America, have always been about bringing together what each of us carries forward.
Happy Thanksgiving, Jen
Historical details about the Palatine-Mohawk relationship drawn from David L. Preston’s “The Texture of Contact: European and Indian Settler Communities on the Iroquoian Borderlands, 1720-1780,” Ginny Rogers’ “The Palatine Germans in Search of a Land to Call Home” (Little Falls Historical Society, 2022), and various genealogical sources documenting the Canajoharie settlement.