Thomas Cadwallader Zimmerman (January 23, 1838 – November 13, 1914) was a

Pennsylvania German The Pennsylvania Dutch (), also referred to as Pennsylvania Germans, are an ethnic group in Pennsylvania in the United States, Ontario in Canada, and other regions of both nations. They largely originate from the Palatinate region of Germany ...

writer and translator, notable for his translations of English language classics into the Pennsylvania German dialect. He was also the editor of the ''Reading Times'' newspaper in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

Berks County Berks County (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Barricks Kaundi'') is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 428,849. The county seat is Reading, the fourth-most populous city in the state. The ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

Life and career

Zimmerman was born in

Lebanon County, Pennsylvania Lebanon County ( ; ) is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 143,257. Its county seat is the city of Lebanon. It lies 72 miles northwest of Philadelphia, which is the nearest m ...

in 1838.Rosenberger, p. 507. There he attended public school until he was thirteen years old, and was apprenticed as a printer with the ''Lebanon Courier''.''Biography'', p. 89. Upon completion of his apprenticeship, he went to Philadelphia to work at ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

''. In 1856, he became a journeyman printer with the ''Berks and Schuylkill Journal''. He relocated to Columbia,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

in 1859, and returned to the Reading area at the outset of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, where in 1863 he enlisted in Company C of the 42nd Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers.''Biography'', p. 90. Although he is sometimes referred to as "Colonel," he saw no active service during the war. On June 11, 1867 he married Tamsie T. Kauffman of Reading. By 1897, he was the president of the ''Reading Times'' Publishing Company and editor of the ''Reading Times'' newspaper. In 1903, a volume titled ''Olla Podrida'' was published of his translations. In 1904, he was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters degree from

Muhlenberg College Muhlenberg College is a private liberal arts college in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg College is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is named for Henry Muhlenberg, the German pat ...

Allentown Allentown may refer to: Places * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a city in four counties in Georgia * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Tazewell County * Allentown, New Jersey, a boroug ...

, Pennsylvania. Zimmerman retired from his newspaper career in October, 1908.''Proceedings'', p. 12. Zimmerman was quite active in public life. He was trustee of the Board of the State Asylum at Wernersville, director of the Reading Free Public Library, president of the Pennsylvania Association of Superintendents and Trustees of Insane Asylums and vice-president of the Pennsylvania Chautauqua Association.''Proceedings'', p. 14. He was one of the founders of the Pennsylvania German Society, and of the

Historical Society of Berks County Founded in 1869, the Historical Society of Berks County (HSBC) operates the Berks History Center as a museum and library located in Reading, Pennsylvania. The Society's mission, as described on its website, is "to focus attention on the unique l ...

. Zimmerman died in Reading, Pennsylvania in 1914.

Translations

Zimmerman specialized in the translation of German poetry into English and of English language classics into the Pennsylvania German dialect, which, during his lifetime, was spoken by a significant percentage of the population in the area where he lived and worked.''Biography'', p. 91. Because of his association with the ''Reading Times'', in which his translations were regularly published, he was able to reach a large number of readers in the

region. His most notable translations included Clement C. Moores' "

Twas the Night Before Christmas "A Visit from St. Nicholas", routinely referred to as "The Night Before Christmas" and "Twas the Night Before Christmas" from its first line, is a poem first published anonymously under the title "Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas" in 1823. A ...

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

's "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" ("

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" (originally written in German with the title "") is one of the best known hymns by the Protestant Reformers, Protestant Reformer Martin Luther, a prolific hymnwriter. Luther wrote the words and composed the hymn ...

)" and

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

's "Die Glocke" ("

Song of the Bell The "Song of the Bell" (German: "Das Lied von der Glocke", also translated as "The Lay of the Bell") is a poem that the German poet Friedrich Schiller published in 1798. It is one of the most famous poems of German literature and with 430 lines on ...

").

Publications

*''Olla Podrida'' (1903)

References

* * *

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zimmerman, Thomas C. 1838 births 1914 deaths American poets in Pennsylvania Dutch American writers in Pennsylvania Dutch People from Lebanon County, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania culture American male journalists Pennsylvania Dutch people People from Berks County, Pennsylvania American print editors Pennsylvania Dutch culture Pennsylvania Dutch language English–German translators American people of German descent 19th-century American translators 19th-century American male writers Journalists from Pennsylvania