An Amish America Q-and-A with Professor Karen Johnson-Weiner: Part Two footnotes
i See R. Weaver, “Amish Ministers’ Meetings of 1865 and 1917,” 9. In his article, “Glimpses of the Amish church in Holmes County,” 9, Weaver asserted that Sam Yoder “discouraged his ministers from communing with the main group.”
ii Luthy, “The origin and growth of the Swartzentruber Amish.”
iii According to a member of the Jeck Jecky group, “When talking about our group here [Tennessee] we are referred to as Knox leut [leut means ‘people.’]. Or Jeck Jecky leut, yes some still call us Swartzentruber leut we don’t mind. Yes our group here in Knox and Minn. dien with Nebraska leut, Holmes-Wayne Co. Swartzentruber group has no connection with the Nebraska leut anymore since they helped Jeck Jecky group in Minn and here.” This man goes on to add that “There are 2 groups in Big Valley known as Nebraska leut that don’t dien with each other, but they have special arrangements with the young folks. They aren’t supposed to attend each other’s singings. If a young person’s magnetic field gets too strong and draws a young person from the other group, then the couple decides which group they want to be at home with. Then the ministers of that group will perform the Wedd[ing] Ceremony. Sam L. Hostetler is the Bishop that has been helping our group, they have 4 districts in Big Valley, 1 in Penns Valley, another district or settlement that just started at Andover, Ohio where the Geauga Amish moved out of they bought some of those farms 7 families. We have 2 districts here in Knox Co., 4 in Minn 1 district just started near LaCrosse Wisc.” Letter from E. S. to D. L., May 29, 1992, Heritage Historical Library, Aylmer, Ontario.
iv As one Amish man put it, “this min[ister …] was […] sure it was the first boy that did it, so they didn’t baptize the one nor take the other out of the Bann as some figured they were both telling an [sic] lie.” Letter from D. S. to D. L., July 27, 1993. Heritage Historical Library, Aylmer, Ontario. See also Stevick Growing Up Amish, 100.
v According to one Amish observer, “it was only a small handful who stuck up for this [minister], but enough to stall the works. The Holmes Co[unty] bishops came together to try and solve the problem and didn’t get any where so they called together the out of state bishops also.” Letter from D. S. to D. L., July 27, 1993. Heritage Historical Library, Aylmer, Ontario.
vi The Amish letter writer, D. S, noted in a letter written several months later, that “Yes, Lodi is going through a split right now. You know that a Bish. Eli Hershberger and Bish. Mose M. Miller have split away from the others in Holmes and Wayne Co. I don’t know if that split is done yet there, but it is in the process in Lodi. The way it looks now, Bish. Isaac Keim and […] maybe […] Bish. Andy Weaver are going with the Mose Miller group and about ¾ of the Lodi people are going with them. So […] It’s too bad.” Letter from D. S. to D.L., 4/15/94. Heritage Historical Library, Aylmer, Ontario.
