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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Three Amish Columnists You Might Enjoy

Three Amish Columnists You Might Enjoy

How about a glimpse of Amish life through the eyes of someone living it every day? There are currently at least three Amish women writing columns published in newspapers across the nation. They are: Gloria Yoder Lovina Eicher Millie Otto These three columns follow a similar model, with reports from daily life running an Amish household, being a mother, and handling all the tasks and…

Amish PAC Returns For 2018; Study Suggests Minimal Impact In Last Election

Amish PAC Returns For 2018; Study Suggests Minimal Impact In Last Election

Will Amish vote in 2018? You might recall the Amish PAC which was created in 2016 to promote voting among Amish in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Lancaster Online reports that the Amish PAC has returned in 2018 to promote Amish getting to the polls for the midterm elections in November: Two years after it aimed to “unlock the Amish vote” for Donald Trump, the Washington-based Amish…

A Midwife In Amish Country: Author Kim Osterholzer Answers Your Questions (Plus Book Giveaway)

Do Amish parents have celebrations for new babies? Who is present at the birth? What does it take to be a good midwife? What if you get to the birth late? Do Amish have children out of wedlock? Thanks to everyone who submitted questions for A Midwife in Amish Country author Kim Osterholzer. I chose a selection of these which Kim has answered, plus a…

5 Amish Stories You Might Have Missed (Plus Standout Reader Comments)

Amish pop up in the news all the time, but we can’t always do full posts on every story. So today we’ll briefly cover 5 of them. I’ve also shared some of my favorite recent reader comments at the end of this post. So here’s a new type of post to get you caught up. Hope you enjoy, and if you like this, we’ll keep doing…

Meet Amish EMT Sisters Miriam & Karen Schlabach

Meet Amish EMT Sisters Miriam & Karen Schlabach

Amish typically do not become doctors and nurses, but they do help save lives in other ways. For one, there is the Amish involvement in fire companies, particularly in Lancaster County, but not only there. Amish also work as Emergency Medical Technicians. Sisters Miriam and Karen Schlabach of Baltic, Ohio, are doing just that. From the Sugarcreek Budget (no longer online): Miriam’s journey to EMT…

The Top 15 States By Amish Population

Which states are home to the most Amish? Here are the top 15 states ordered by how many Amish people live in each. Numbers are based on the 2018 figures from the Young Center. I’ve grouped the states into 3 tiers below. You’ll also find a brief description of each state’s Amish population. The three figures in parentheses are: Number of settlements as of June 2018 Total number…

Amish Couple Sues Federal Goverment Over Photo Citizenship Requirement

From the Associated Press: INDIANAPOLIS — An Amish couple with 13 children sued the federal government on Wednesday, accusing officials of violating their constitutional rights by insisting that they provide photographs of themselves before the Canadian wife’s request to become a permanent U.S. resident can be approved. The Indiana couple won’t allow themselves to be photographed “for any reason,” in keeping with their Old Order…

A Visit To The Amish Of Lagrange County, Indiana (16 Photos)

A Visit To The Amish Of Lagrange County, Indiana (16 Photos)

Reader Jim Halverson shares photos today from the northern Indiana Amish settlement. Taken on more than one occasion throughout the year, these are some nice shots showing buggy traffic and other activities going on in the settlement. I’ll let Jim take it from here to describe what we’re seeing in this visit to the world’s third largest Amish community. I have recently been making a…

5 Things I Like About Being Amish, According To Amish Cook Gloria Yoder

5 Things I Like About Being Amish, According To Amish Cook Gloria Yoder

Gloria Yoder is an Amish mother from Illinois who writes the Amish Cook column (previously penned by Lovina Eicher). Gloria was recently asked by a reader “What five things do you enjoy the most about the Amish way of life?”, and in this week’s column, she answers. Gloria starts with a couple of important disclaimers: First, I will insert that there really are more different…

Amish Midwives Given Probation, Must Stop Practicing

Indiana Amish midwives Sylvia C. Eicher and Lydiann S. Schwartz avoided jail time at their sentencing Friday. The women were instead given 2 years’ probation and ordered to stop practicing midwifery and medicine. The prosecutor had asked for 6 months’ imprisonment. From WANE: In court Friday, Prosecutor Jeremy Brown asked for 6 months in jail due to the severity of the cases. Brown argued the…