Records indicate that members from this family lived in Switzerland and near Heidelberg, Germany in the 18th century. Christian Schmucker emigrated from Switzerland to Berks County, Pa. in 1752. As of 1959, he was the ancestor of approximately 8,000 descendants living in Mennonite communities, chiefly in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. His grandson, also Christian Schmucker, was the first Smucker pioneer to push westward from Pennsylvania, settling in Wayne County, Ohio about 1819. In 1841, Isaac Schmucker, an Amish preacher, moved from Ohio to Elkhart County, IN, and conducted the first Amish Mennonite service in Indiana. In 1843 he was ordained as bishop. His son, Jonathan P. Schmucker, was ordained as bishop in 1878. The latter was active in promoting Sunday schools among the Amish Mennonites and was one of the originators of the Indiana-Michigan Amish Mennonite Conference. Four ministers were particularly well known in Mennonite circles: Ralph Smucker, a Mennonite Church (MC) missionary in India, George R. Smoker, a MC missionary to Africa, Don Smucker, a General Conference Mennonite (GCM) professor at Mennonite Biblical Seminary, and Jesse N. Smucker, president of the General Conference Mennonite Church and later the editor of The Mennonite.

Bibliography

Additional Information

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 553-554. 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: