Captive
The Hochstetler family who was attacked by
Indians while living on the frontier in Berks County, Pennsylvania.This happened early on the morning of
September 20 or 21, 1757. The Indians
killed Mrs. Hochstetler, one son, and a daughter, and took the husband and
father, Jacob, and two sons, Joseph and Christian, captive.In addition, the Hochstetlers had a son and
daughter, […]
Loving Our Enemies
Heinz Gaugel, the man who painted Behalt, did much of his
research in the Martyr’s Mirror. In his
reading, he came across an account that he felt deserved a prominent place on
the canvas, and in the story of our people. In fact, he requested, that this story is one that we never leave out
when people take a […]
The Big Book: Martyr’s Mirror, A look into the Past
Persecution is often viewed as a hindrance to the growth and
development of the church. Not one of us
desires to be persecuted, but when it does happen, God has faithfully supplied
the grace and courage to face those hard times. It is often in times of persecution that the greatest acts of faith are
seen.It is also true […]
Galley Slaves and Moving
By the middle of the sixteen hundreds, the public execution
of Anabaptists had come to a complete stop, but there was still
persecution. Certain areas would
attempt to deal with their “Anabaptist problem” by pressures other than killing
them. The goal of ridding their area of
these subversive heretics would rise and ebb depending on other concerns. If you were […]
A Renewal Movement, Halb-taufer and the Anabaptist Church
In the years following the migration of Swiss Anabaptists
north into the Rhine valley, they settled on farms and estates where they lived
in a quiet but sometimes uneasy alliance with their neighbors and the noblemen
who owned the estates. Forbidden to own
land or build their own church houses, they met in small groups in their houses
and barns. […]
A New Land, A New Life
In the last
article, we met William Penn, the Quaker leader, whose influence and faith led
him to found a colony where religious freedom was instrumental in the
Mennonites and Amish coming to America. For the Amish in Europe, land ownership was most often not an option,
and there was the ever-present fear of persecution. Imagine the excitement that […]
A New Continent | Hope for a future
Last month we
introduced the Charming Nancy, the ship that brought a group of eleven Amish
families to America. Hans Jacob Kaufman,
who historians believe was an Amish Bishop, kept a small calendar journal that
was discovered in the 1970s. In a few
short paragraphs, he records when they left German soil and when they arrived
in America. But what is […]
Settling New Lands
Here in America, the Amish and Mennonites settled on lands
they could finally own themselves. Here
they could raise their families and their crops and finally find some peace
from the oppression that they and their ancestors had suffered under. Here they could finally find the peace that
they had so desperately sought to worship in ways that they […]
Death on the Frontier
As a small boy growing up in our community, I often heard
stories about the past. One of the most
frequently told stories was about an incident that happened in 1757. As a boy, I supposed that the story had
occurred in the woods behind our house. Such is the case with stories from the past. They often […]
Tom Lyons: Legends and Stories
When the first Amish settlers moved into the Sugarcreek and Walnut Creek Valleys of
Tuscarawas and Holmes Counties, Ohio, they soon had a knock on their remote
cabin doors. Upon opening the door they found an old Indian greeting them,
looking to trade venison for corn meal. In appearance, he was tall, lean, and
very ugly looking. By
some accounts […]