The History of Northeast Ohio Amish
By John Gingerich, board member Geauga Amish Historical Library
A great resource is Elizabethtown College’s Amish Studies Dept:
https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/
The Amish in America are descendants of the Anabaptists from 16th-century Europe. Not to be confused with the term “anti-Baptist,” these Anabaptist Christians challenged the reforms of Martin Luther and others during the Protestant Reformation, rejecting infant baptism in favor of adult baptism or re-baptism (hence the term ‘Anabaptist,’ Latin for “Re-baptizer”). They also advocated for the separation of church and state, an idea that was radical at the time.
The Amish are the spiritual, and often physical, descendants of a Reformation-era Swiss group known as the Swiss Brethren. They felt that the early reformers such as Luther, Zwingli and Calvin had not gone far enough in reforming the church. Therefore, they began their own, independent movement. On January 21, 1525, this band of religious separatists gathered in Zürich, Switzerland, prayer to God for guidance, and decided to baptize one another as adults. This Anabaptist movement spread rapidly throughout Switzerland and areas of Europe.
Another Anabaptist group was forming at the same time in Holland. One of the early leaders was a former Catholic priest named Menno Simons. Menno was so influential among the Dutch group that they became known as “Mennonites.”
The Swiss Brethren were harshly persecuted in their homeland, with many imprisoned, tortured, exiled, sold to Italy as galley slaves, and some were executed.
The Dutch Mennonites often came to their aid, assisting them financially when they were exiled from Switzerland, pleading with the Swiss authorities for their release from prison, and even ransoming them from the galley ships.
Thus, the two groups formed a close affinity over the years, to the point where the Swiss Brethren adopted the Dutch Mennonite Articles of Faith, which the Amish use to this day.
The Amish movement began in the 1690s, when a young bishop named Jakob Amman felt that many of the Swiss Brethren were becoming too friendly with the outside world and were not being strict enough in their observance of their doctrines.
This led to a dispute among the Swiss Brethren, with Ammann’s group separating themselves, and his followers becoming known as the “Amish.”
The Amish share many beliefs with their Mennonite cousins, the main distinction largely being in their interpretation of being separate from the world and reflected by their styles of dress, methods of transportation and lifestyles.
Amish Settlements in America
The first sizeable group of Amish arrived in America during the 1730s and first settled in Berks County, Pennsylvania due to William Penn’s “holy experiment” in religious tolerance (Penn died in 1718) The Pennsylvania Amish are the largest group in the U.S., with Ohio running a close second. (Ref: https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/population-2024/?doing_wp_cron=1730996240.1409399509429931640625).
Population. The estimated population of the Amish of North America (adults and children) as of June 2024 is 400,910. This is an increase of approximately 16,620 since 2023.
States and Provinces. North American Amish communities are in 32 states and three Canadian provinces. Approximately 61 percent of the North American population lives in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana.
(Ref: https://groups.etown.edu/amishstudies/amish-population-profile-2024/)
Amish Baptism
The Amish practice adult baptism, believing that only adults can make informed decisions about their faith and commitment to the church. “Rumspringa,” a period of exploration for youth who are not yet baptized, has been widely publicized. Most families discourage” wild” behavior during this time; therefore, the majority of Amish youth do not participate in such activities because of parental and church expectations, as well as their own personal convictions.
