Behalt is a pictorial history of the Anabaptists from the time of European beginnings through their existence in America. Not only is it educational, it has been dubbed “the most exciting cyclorama in America”. Having only visited one cyclorama in America (the other–of the Battle of Raclawice in Poland being non-American and of a decidedly non-pacifist nature) I can’t say if the tagline is true or…
Since 2020, a small Amish presence has been found in New Mexico, not far from the Colorado border, at Ortiz in Santa Fe County. And as to Amish in the Land of Enchantment, there is also one interesting nugget from Amish history worth mentioning. Kevin at the Amish Cook blog points to an article about Amish and Mennonites visiting the site of an old Amish…
‘Hershberger’ is an Amish family name particularly common in Midwestern communities. It is also found in other spelling variations, such as ‘Herschberger’ and occasionally ‘Harshberger’. The following is a short history of the name from Family Life: “This is a Swiss name and may have originally meant, “one who lives on Deer Mountain”. The Hershberger family first came into Anabaptist circles in the canton of…
Any work that discusses bundling in ‘the good old-fashioned way’ has got to be a heady read. And so it goes with Little Known Facts About the Amish and the Mennonites, a tourist booklet first printed in 1938. The seeds of Amish tourism were planted in the early 20th century, with the enterprise really getting a proper start in the 1930’s and 40’s. Amish-themed postcards,…
With an average of around seven children, Amish families are hefty by modern standards. Farm families tend to be the biggest. A dozen or more children is not rare. But the largest Amish family ever? Read on to learn about one possibility: John Troyer, who lived near Kokomo, Indiana, had an unusually large family, perhaps the largest of all time among the Amish or Mennonites. …
The latest issue of Family Life includes an article by David Luthy entitled Amish Settlements Across America: 2008. It’s a comprehensive listing of Amish settlements along with some commentary and analysis. Last time Luthy did one of these was in 2003. Interesting facts: Some settlements are very old, yet due to various factors, are very small today. Hicksville in Ohio was founded in 1914, yet comprises just one…
It looks like Anita and Jakub, the ‘Amish in Poland’, are back in the news again. The Pennsylvania/Indiana-transplant couple, who settled in a village not far from Warsaw 14 years ago, appeared on the national talk show ‘Rozmowy w Toku’ (roughly, ‘Conversations in Progress’) tonight. Kind of an odd place to find an Amish family, but again, we’re not sure exactly what their particular brand…
I’ll be away from the blog for a day or two, so if anyone reads this regularly (listen up, you three), I’ve put up a few links to some of my favorite posts. So if you like, you can: read how Amish forefathers chose to die, or about the controversy among the Amish surrounding assurance of salvation, or how some clever Iowa Amish got the…
‘In 1847, nine families, all Bylers, moved to Lawrence, PA, they were: Solomon, Christian, Yost, Daniel, Noah, John, Reuben, Rudy, and Eli, and were among the first Amish in that section. In year 1880 bishop Crist (Christian) Byler walked from Lawrence County to the Valley. He traveled a distance of 250 miles in 4 days at the age of 68. He also made the trip…
Sitting on the lawn around the firepit last week with some Amish friends, talk turned to ‘White’ Jonas Stutzman, who once lived just a few miles away. Stutzman was one of the first Amish settlers in Holmes County. He was also one of the oddest. photo: behalt.com ‘White’ Jonas is portrayed in a local attraction, Behalt–a huge cycloramic painting of Anabaptist history, done about fifteen…