This book is based on a series of lectures delivered by the historian H.A. (Heinrich Armin) Rattermann and published in German in "Der Deutsche Pionier," which Rattermann edited. The topics covered by Rattermann himself in this work include Dayton's beginnings and various township histories, daily life and traditions among the German pioneers, Montgomery County's small businesses, musical life of the early Germans, social clubs and singing societies, and a number of immigrant stories. Equal in importance to the lectures are the nearly fifty pages of annotations provided by Professor Dona, which, among other things, identify the parentage, geographical origins, and even dwelling houses of Rattermann's subjects. With a Foreword by Don Heinrich Tolzmann.