Educational Resources
History of the Amish
Religious freedom was the catalyst that brought the Amish to our shores. Unlike the Pilgrims and the Puritans, though, the Amish have retained the ways of the past. They continue to follow their unwritten set of rules, called the Ordnung. These rules govern how they dress, how they use their machinery and many other facets of their daily life.
In 16th-century Europe, a sect called the Anabaptist was looked upon as a radical group. (Anabaptists got their name because they rejected the concept of infant baptism.)
Minno Simons became such a powerful leader that many Anabaptists became known as Mennonites. The Amish sect is derived from the Mennonites. Joseph Amman, a bishop, believed that the Mennonites were becoming too worldly. They didn't adhere strictly enough to principles of excommunication or shunning. They also wanted to meet more than once per year as was the Mennonite custom. In 1525, he and his followers split from the sect and founded the Amish.
As a result of persecution, between 50 and 100 Amish families immigrated to North America between 1727 and 1770. More followed. They settled in Pennsylvania and spread into Ohio. In 1809, Jonas Stutzman built the first Amish home in Holmes County.
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