Author: Erik Wesner

Erik Wesner is the creator of amishamerica.com, and author of Success Made Simple: An Inside Look At Why Amish Businesses Thrive. Erik began visiting Amish communities in 2004 – eventually meeting thousands of Amish families while selling books.

He began writing about the Amish on this website in 2006, and is often cited in national media, including USA Today, The New York Times, and others on a wide range of Amish topics. A native of North Carolina, Erik has visited dozens of Amish communities across the country, and loves spending time with Amish friends and discovering new Amish places.

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Police Seek Man Who Attempted To Lure Amish Children Into Car (New York)

Police Seek Man Who Attempted To Lure Amish Children Into Car (New York)

Via WHAM: (WHAM) – New York State Police are asking for help to find a man suspected of trying to lure children off of an Amish buggy in Seneca County. Investigators said they were contacted after a man driving down Dublin Road in Junius approached a buggy that was carrying several children. The man reportedly tried to lure the children into his car by offering…

Amish Driver Help Wanted Ad – Is It Worth It?

Amish Driver Help Wanted Ad – Is It Worth It?

How much can you make driving the Amish? The answer is going to vary based on a number of factors including location, whether or not you’re providing the vehicle, and so on. This ad posted to Craigslist (removed) gives us an idea of what you can expect in one sort of arrangement working as a driver for the Amish. Details are limited, but we get…

Amazing: State Trooper Saves Amish Toddler in Runaway Buggy

Amazing: State Trooper Saves Amish Toddler in Runaway Buggy

A little Amish girl is safe thanks to the quick response of a Pennsylvania state trooper. Via WTAE: MARIENVILLE, Pa. — A state police officer jumped into action to save a toddler in a runaway buggy. A 3-year-old Amish girl was alone in a buggy in Marienville, Forest County when the horse was spooked. The horse took off at full gallop and the buggy almost…

Should Amish Buggies Have A Yearly Safety Inspection?

An interesting letter just appeared at Lancaster Online. An excerpt: I have an idea for the state to make a chunk of change. Why not make the Amish register each of their buggies and have a yearly inspection and safety check, just like those of us with motor vehicles are required to do? I believe the buggies ruin our roads. When I asked a state…

Lancaster Amish Family Evening Singing At Home (Video)

Lancaster Amish Family Evening Singing At Home (Video)

I like this video (see bottom of post) not so much for the song itself, but for the feel of sitting around in an Amish home in the evening. You’ve got the soft glow of the propane light, the water pitcher at the ready, the utilitarian folding chairs. Dinner’s been eaten, and everyone’s circled around in the kitchen. The video description is “Understand by and…

A Visit With “Amish Woman”

A Visit With “Amish Woman”

Meet “Amish Woman“. She’s a mom of 12 and a recent settler in a young Missouri community. A reporter with a local paper spoke with her and managed to learn a good bit about her life and church. She actually shares a lot more detail than I’d expect from this sort of “our new neighbors the Amish” report. Not the actual “Amish Woman” Amish people…

Three Hundred And Ten Descendants

Three Hundred And Ten Descendants

This obituary tells of an Amishman named Jonas A. Nisley who passed away late last month in Ohio. Jonas had 310 living descendants. If you add his step-descendants, you get an additional 70 individuals, for a total of 380 souls. Here’s the tally of his family, in addition to his twelve children: 96 grandchildren; 11 step-grandchildren; 201 great-grandchildren; 57 step-great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; and two step-great-great-grandchildren….

Buggy Lanes Coming To Geauga County

After a buggy accident, people often ask “Why can’t there be buggy lanes for the Amish?” One big roadblock is cost. It’s generally judged too expensive to install buggy lanes in most of the hundreds of small communities where Amish live. So in reality it tends to happen primarily in the largest settlements. With that in mind, there is the good news that buggy lanes…

The 10 States With The Most Amish Communities

The 10 States With The Most Amish Communities

Which states have the most Amish communities? I should first note that this post is about individual communities, also known as settlements, not total Amish population. The two have some correlation, but are not the same thing. Scroll down or jump to list Amish Settlement Facts An Amish settlement is a distinct geographic location where Amish live. The roughly 400,000-strong Amish population is found in…

4AM – 8PM: A Day In The Life Of An Amish Family

4AM – 8PM: A Day In The Life Of An Amish Family

Lovina Eicher takes us through a typical day for her family in her latest Lovina’s Amish Kitchen column. It’s a nice look at some of the tasks and routines in an Amish household and family. A couple of things stand out to me. One is obviously the early start to the day. Amish families on average probably wake up earlier than 99% of Americans. That’s…