[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Squareheads, blockheads, klotzköpfe

[lyduhett at sunflower.com]

The term squarehead or blockhead as applied to some immigrants
had nothing to with the shape of the head, and everything to do with the
the assumed content of that head.  Immigrants are considered to be
uneducated because they cannot express or show their knowledge due
to a lack in target language skills.  Back home, the older immigrants
were considered illiteratre, yet they could read their bibles, hymnals,
and German language newspapers, and at one time, carried on some
correspondence with relatives back home in the old country as long
as the political climate permitted.
The three-cornered hat refers to the style of hat worn during the latter
half of the 18th century until about 1830.  

LDH