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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5 Points from Donald Kraybill’s “Amish Riddle” Talk

ByErik Wesner
9 Comments

How do the Amish thrive in a hypermodern society? What life lessons has Donald Kraybill learned from them? Yesterday, Kraybill addressed these and other questions in his last major address before retirement. The talk, the keynote speech for Elizabethtown College’s “Scholarship and Creative Arts Days” (described here), was about “unpacking” Amish riddles both large and small. Lancaster Online’s Tim Stuhldreher was in attendance. Below are five points he picked up…

Amish Girl in Critical Condition After Accidental Shooting

Amish Girl in Critical Condition After Accidental Shooting

ByErik Wesner
15 Comments

A nine-year-old Amish girl was accidentally shot on her family’s Mercer County, Pennsylvania farm on Saturday. Firearms are common in Amish farm households. The father had been using the 12-gauge shotgun to shoot rodents, and set it down to fish on a pond on the property. According to PA State Trooper Joseph Morris, “there were several younger children that we believe caused the firearm to discharge.”…

Counting 1-10 in Pennsylvania Dutch (Video)

ByErik Wesner
7 Comments

How do you count to ten in Pennsylvania Dutch? In the video below by Virgil Schrock you can hear a variety of speakers doing just that, in different accents. The video also includes a little bit of 11-20. There is a cute segue about 2/3 through, with a young Amish boy doing his own counting, but not in PA Dutch. Listen to the end, where you’ll…

Pennsylvania German Fraktur Art

Pennsylvania German Fraktur Art

ByErik Wesner
4 Comments

In today’s post, Janneken Smucker discusses Fraktur, an art form once popular among the Pennsylvania German people. — Fraktur and Family Records Among the decorative items in some Amish homes—both today and in the past—have been ornamental family records, some stitched, some inked, some produced on painted glass (a unique genre that clearly deserves its own post!). These records mark marriages, births, and baptisms, and…

10 Common Amish Women’s Names (& 10 Rare Ones)

10 Common Amish Women’s Names (& 10 Rare Ones)

ByErik Wesner
79 Comments

Following up last week’s look at 10 popular Amish male names, we have the Amish female version as promised. As with the male names list, I’ve included five Biblical-origin names, and five non-Biblical ones, since Amish tap both sources. At the end, I’ve also included 10 uncommon female names. While last week I mainly relied on Raber’s Almanac to find male first names, that approach wouldn’t…

Lancaster County: From Snow to Thaw (44 Photos)

Lancaster County: From Snow to Thaw (44 Photos)

ByErik Wesner
23 Comments

For whatever reason, I barely pulled out my camera while in Lancaster County last month. But reader Ed C. also happened to be there, about a week before me, and has a beautiful set of photos to share with you today. As you’ll see below, his trip started off snowy, but that gave way to warmer weather. He includes nice shots of the Bart Township Fire Company…

Hutterite Education

ByErik Wesner
11 Comments

Do Hutterites go to high school? Who teaches in Hutterite classrooms? Is Hutterite schooling similar to Amish education? You asked Linda Maendel a number of questions on education on our Hutterite questions post. Linda, who happens to be a teacher in her Manitoba colony, addresses that topic today. — On Hutterite Learning Each colony has its own school and for most of these non-Hutterite teachers come in and teach the…

Amish Male Names: 10 Common & 10 Rare Ones

Amish Male Names: 10 Common & 10 Rare Ones

ByErik Wesner
69 Comments

What would you say are the most common Amish men’s names? As we saw in the Amish Name Game post, names repeat themselves among the Amish–not just surnames, but first names as well. Unsurprisingly, Biblical names are popular among the Amish, both from the Old and New Testament. Some given names, however, have little or no connection with the Bible. Below, you’ll find ten men’s and boys’ first names frequently…

Submission and Responsibility in Amish Marriage

Submission and Responsibility in Amish Marriage

ByErik Wesner
13 Comments

What are the benefits and pitfalls of a marriage based on Biblical concepts of submission? Jim Cates is back today with part 3 of his series on Amish women, with a look at submission in marriage. If you missed them, you can also catch up with part 1 and 2 of Jim’s posts on Amish women. Submission and Responsibility Stanley Milgram was an unassuming man whose studies…

In Meiner Jugend: A Devotional Reader in German and English

In Meiner Jugend: A Devotional Reader in German and English

ByErik Wesner
28 Comments

A few months ago we shared excerpts from 1001 Questions & Answers On The Christian Life, a small but broad book outlining Amish beliefs. I think many readers appreciated that look at Amish Christian thought and practice. For example, one reader commented on 1001 Questions that “These answers are not just for the Amish. Every Christian should read this book.” Another described it as “a wonderful book to help on…