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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Coroner: 6-Week-Old Amish Girl Died From Measles. First Confirmed US Measles Death Of 2026

Coroner: 6-Week-Old Amish Girl Died From Measles. First Confirmed US Measles Death Of 2026

ByErik Wesner
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Earlier today, Lancaster County Coroner Dr. Stephen Diamantoni confirmed that a 6-week-old Amish girl died due to measles. As Anne Garber of LNP | LancasterOnline notes, this is the first confirmed measles death in the US this year, and the first in Pennsylvania since 1991. Diamantoni told LNP | LancasterOnline that the girl was born with a genetic condition called Amish lethal microcephaly. The microcephaly…

Amish Woman Killed, Toddler And Teen Airlifted After Pickup Rear-Ends Buggy On Ohio Highway

Amish Woman Killed, Toddler And Teen Airlifted After Pickup Rear-Ends Buggy On Ohio Highway

ByErik Wesner
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An Amish woman was killed and two passengers in her buggy were flown to a Cincinnati hospital after a pickup truck struck the buggy from behind in Highland County, Ohio on Thursday morning. The crash occurred just after 8:30 AM on U.S. Route 50 in Paint Township. From the Wilmington News Journal: According to a preliminary investigation, a horse-drawn carriage operated by Melinda Coblentz, 49,…

8 Amish Parenting Habits That Raise Grounded, Hardworking Children

8 Amish Parenting Habits That Raise Grounded, Hardworking Children

ByErik Wesner
5 Comments

To generalize for a moment: Amish children tend to leave a positive impression. Visitors come away remarking how well-behaved they are, how respectful they are when around adults, even how they can seem older than they actually are. The explanation you often hear is strictness. There’s something to that. Amish parents use traditional forms of discipline. But that’s not the whole story. There are other…

This New York Amish Home Has A Five-Figure Price Tag — And Not A Single Bathroom (21 Photos)

This New York Amish Home Has A Five-Figure Price Tag — And Not A Single Bathroom (21 Photos)

ByErik Wesner
4 Comments

This Amish home in Conewango Valley, New York was listed in mid-August at $120,000. Two weeks later, the price has dropped into the five figures (current price revealed at the end – as is our custom on these home posts 🙂 ). If that sounds inexpensive, be aware we’re looking at one of the plainest of all Amish groups. That means very basic amenities –…

New Order Amish Youth Sing “Wonderful Grace Of Jesus”

New Order Amish Youth Sing “Wonderful Grace Of Jesus”

ByErik Wesner
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Here’s another song from the same 2023 New Order Amish youth singing that gave us “When All of God’s Singers Get Home”. This time it’s “Wonderful Grace of Jesus”. The video is by P. Thomas, who has an extensive collection of live recorded music on his channel, both from Amish and other Christian groups. Like in the previous video, the vantage point is from one…

The Amish Now Live In Mexico: 5 Takeaways From The 2026 Amish Population Numbers

The Amish Now Live In Mexico: 5 Takeaways From The 2026 Amish Population Numbers

ByErik Wesner
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The new Amish population figures are just out from the Young Center, and as we always do, let’s have a look at what’s new in the data. I pulled out 5 noteworthy findings from the new info which we’ll take a look at one-by-one below. But first, just to set the table: the Young Center puts this data out once per year, relying on a…

Is Measles Spreading In Amish Communities? Nobody Will Officially Say, But Stories Suggest “Yes” (Updated)

Is Measles Spreading In Amish Communities? Nobody Will Officially Say, But Stories Suggest “Yes” (Updated)

ByErik Wesner
5 Comments

Stories about measles in places where the Amish live keep popping up on my news feed, at a seemingly increasing pace. They’re showing up in different regions of the country – the East coast, Northeast, Midwest. Some stories have sections suggesting or leaving readers to draw the conclusion that an outbreak may be happening in or around “Amish Country”, but nothing really directly saying “the Amish…

Lawyers Say Amish Will Leave New York If They Lose School Vaccine Mandate Case

Lawyers Say Amish Will Leave New York If They Lose School Vaccine Mandate Case

ByErik Wesner
6 Comments

Lawyers for the Amish plaintiffs in New York’s school vaccine mandate case say their clients will petition the Supreme Court next month – and that if they lose there, the families intend to leave the state. That comes from the New York Post, which reported from the Fort Plain and Canajoharie area this week. Both points answer questions left open when we covered the Second…

Driver Had Cruise Control At 60 MPH When He Rear-Ended An Amish Buggy

Driver Had Cruise Control At 60 MPH When He Rear-Ended An Amish Buggy

ByErik Wesner

This Amish buggy wreck involves something you don’t often hear of in these crashes – cruise control. The rear-end wreck sent an Amish man to hospital. This happened last week – on August 21 – but is just being reported today. A note on the photo above. The image used in the article linked below is rather graphic, showing blood and also a horse lying…

Lovina Zook Describes Bed Courtship In One Of The Plainest Amish Groups

Lovina Zook Describes Bed Courtship In One Of The Plainest Amish Groups

ByErik Wesner
3 Comments

Last week we got to know more about Lovina Zook, a young Amish-raised woman who makes popular recipe videos. Since then, a reader brought to my attention a short video clip (at bottom) by CBS News, with Lovina describing dating practices in her community. The reader was understandably concerned about people getting the wrong idea on what “Amish dating” actually is, based on this clip….