Baccarat is a city of perhaps 10,000 pop., approximately 40 miles (65 km) southeast of Nancy in the Meurthe Valley of French-speaking Lorraine, known chiefly in the 1950s for its production of crystal and cut-glass. A congregation of Amish Mennonite derivation took its name from the city, where its meetings have been held since 1882, in a room rented on the property of one of the members in the hamlet of St. Christophe. Before that time meeetings were held in homes. The date of the organization of the congregation is unknown, but it was probably formed during the first half of the 19th century by members of the congregations of Salm and Hang in the Vosges and Bitsche and Zweibrücken in the Saar Valley. The common family names were Salzmann, Egli, Sommer, Haury, Kremer, Neuhauser, Ropp, Backer, Rüfenacht (written Riebenacht or Rouvenacht), and Schmoucker. The first known elder of the congregation, Pierre Sommer of Mignéville, died in 1880. The French language was introduced between 1875 and 1880 under the leadership of Jean Sommer, who was also responsible for a re-edition of the catechism booklet (translated from the Zweibrücken catechism) in 1898.

After its formation in 1907 a branch of this congregation, numbering originally 26, met quarterly in Gerbéviller for those members living farther west. The membership decreased steadily from 150 in 1888 to 75 in 1930; in 1952 there were approximately 40 members remaining, including children. Meetings were held monthly at St. Christophe, being served chiefly by the traveling ministers of the conference.

Bibliography

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 203. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

©1996-2008 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.

To cite this page: