One of the clues about my great-grandfather Henry Schreiner is that "he didn't speak a word of English" when he started school. I'm wondering if that supports or contradicts my hypothesis that he is linked to the SHREINER families who arrived in Elkhart County, IN by the 1850 census.

These SHREINER families came from Lancaster County, PA, where the immigrant Hans Adam Shreiner came to the US in the early 1700's, four generations before.

Was it common for families like that to speak German at home, even after a move to Elkhart County?