In this article the author gives a presentation of the Prekmurian Protestant emigrants in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, who are gathered in their faith in the Slovene Evangelical Church of Saint John. After immigrating in the first decade of this century they organized themselves into an independent parish as early as 1910. They created a strong material base and had an active religious and (to a certain extent) community life, well organized cultural activities and societies, and variegated literary activities under the leadership of pastors William Lambert, Dr Ernest Stiegler and Dr Frank Flisser, all of whom spoke the Prekmurian dialect. Through their activities they succeeded in uniting their Prekmurian compatriots in the United States and in maintaining close ties with their old homes and the homeland of their ancestors.

In this article the author gives a presentation of the Prekmurian Protestant emigrants in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, who are gathered in their faith in the Slovene Evangelical Church of Saint John. After immigrating in the first decade of this century they organized themselves into an independent parish as early as 1910. They created a strong material base and had an active religious and (to a certain extent) community life, well organized cultural activities and societies, and variegated literary activities under the leadership of pastors William Lambert, Dr Ernest Stiegler and Dr Frank Flisser, all of whom spoke the Prekmurian dialect. Through their activities they succeeded in uniting their Prekmurian compatriots in the United States and in maintaining close ties with their old homes and the homeland of their ancestors.

The study gives initially a statistical analysis of Slovene emigration to the United States in the second half of the 19th century. The author gives an analysis of the social situation and political affiliations of Slovene immigrants as revealed by the Slovene fraternal organizations they began to form in the States. Since the 70’s we can also register the first books published specially for the needs of Slovene emigrants in the United States, giving information about the English language, American institutions and economic conditions.

The study gives initially a statistical analysis of Slovene emigration to the United States in the second half of the 19th century. The author gives an analysis of the social situation and political affiliations of Slovene immigrants as revealed by the Slovene fraternal organizations they began to form in the States. Since the 70’s we can also register the first books published specially for the needs of Slovene emigrants in the United States, giving information about the English language, American institutions and economic conditions.

The paper discusses the settling of 6,000 Slovene post-war emigrants in Argentina, mostly in Buenos Aires, their first struggles to obtain employment and housing, their slow integration into the new environment, economic consolidation, the establishing of school lessons for almost 1,000 children and the building of nine Slovene Homes for church, school and educational activities, and recreation.

The paper discusses the settling of 6,000 Slovene post-war emigrants in Argentina, mostly in Buenos Aires, their first struggles to obtain employment and housing, their slow integration into the new environment, economic consolidation, the establishing of school lessons for almost 1,000 children and the building of nine Slovene Homes for church, school and educational activities, and recreation.

Slovene emigration to Argentina represents a unique peculiarity in dealing with processes of acculturation, especially with regard to the organization, solidarity and intellectual ability of the emigrants, and the emotional, ideological and religious motivations for their survival as a people. Their offspring, born in Argentina, receive their primary socialization only in Slovene, and are later exposed to secondary, “double” socialisation (both from their Slovene parents and the wider Argentinean environment). However, with the increase in the number of mixed marriages and with the “generational” distance from the time of the first settlement and the physical distance from the true Slovene social environment, the concept of language as a proof of one’s nationality and in some sense even of one’s political identity is diminishing.

Slovene emigration to Argentina represents a unique peculiarity in dealing with processes of acculturation, especially with regard to the organization, solidarity and intellectual ability of the emigrants, and the emotional, ideological and religious motivations for their survival as a people. Their offspring, born in Argentina, receive their primary socialization only in Slovene, and are later exposed to secondary, “double” socialisation (both from their Slovene parents and the wider Argentinean environment). However, with the increase in the number of mixed marriages and with the “generational” distance from the time of the first settlement and the physical distance from the true Slovene social environment, the concept of language as a proof of one’s nationality and in some sense even of one’s political identity is diminishing.

After the introduction, dedicated to the characteristics and possibilities of using passenger records as a source for studying transoceanic emigration processes, the author presents ship emigration records produced by the port authorities of the Austrian national emigration port of Trieste during the years 1912-1914. They include a historical overview and a critical discussion of the source and the content, especially from the perspective of structural and other research on Slovene emigration processes, which are limited by the lack and/or inadequacy of official statistics.

After the introduction, dedicated to the characteristics and possibilities of using passenger records as a source for studying transoceanic emigration processes, the author presents ship emigration records produced by the port authorities of the Austrian national emigration port of Trieste during the years 1912-1914. They include a historical overview and a critical discussion of the source and the content, especially from the perspective of structural and other research on Slovene emigration processes, which are limited by the lack and/or inadequacy of official statistics.