Montgomery Old Order Amish Settlement (Daviess County, Indiana, USA)
1956 Article
The Daviess County (Indiana) Old Order Amish Mennonite Settlement, near Montgomery, began in 1868. Bishop Jacob Graber came from Allen County, Indiana and the families of Isaac Yoder and Daniel Gingerich came from Wayne County, Ohio. Deacon John Wagler, formerly from Germany, moved to Montgomery from Wellesley, Ontario and Jackson Knepp came from Hickory County, Missouri.
The first ministers in the church were Jacob Graber, bishop; John Graber, Peter Stoll, Joseph Gingerich, ministers; and John Wagler, deacon. Succeeding bishops who served were Joseph Wittmer, Peter Wagler, and Amos Yoder. The latter moved to Defiance County, Ohio, in 1943. In 1955 the settlement consisted of five church districts with two bishops serving, namely, Amos Wittmer and John L. Graber, and a membership of 400.
The Berea Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church), organized in 1921, largely of Amish, had 230 members in 1955. Amos Weldy, a Mennonite deacon of Nappanee, IN, was influential in organizing the congregation, and Edd Shrock served as elder. In 1948 a group of the Old Order Amish Mennonites organized the Odon congregation of the "Beachy Amish" type and built a meetinghouse. Their ministers were Jacob Gingerich, William Yoder, and Ben Wagler; the 1955 membership was 165. -- Joel Wagler
1990 Update
The Montgomery, Indiana, Old Order Amish Settlement is located in Daviess County in southern Indiana. First settlers came from the Allen County Amish community near Fort Wayne in 1868. Dominant names such as Graber, Stoll, Wagler, and Wittmer identify this community as settlers from Alsace who immigrated to America in the middle of the 19th century. The Berea Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church, later Conservative Mennonite Conference) was established in 1921 by Amish families in Daviess County Another group of Amish founded the Odon Beachy Amish Mennonite congregation in 1948. The settlement near Montgomery has experienced slow but steady growth so that in 1984 there were 10 church districts (congregations) serving approximately 1,500 people. -- Samuel L. Yoder
2011 Article
In 2011 the Daviess Settlement was estimated to have 26 church districts with an estimated population of 3,665.
Bibliography
"The Twelve Largest Amish Settlements (2011)." Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College. Web. 24 July 2011. http://www2.etown.edu/amishstudies/Largest_Settlements_2011.asp.
| Author(s) | Joel Wagler |
|---|---|
| Samuel L. Yoder | |
| Date Published | July 2011 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Wagler, Joel and Samuel L. Yoder. "Montgomery Old Order Amish Settlement (Daviess County, Indiana, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. July 2011. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Montgomery_Old_Order_Amish_Settlement_(Daviess_County,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=113531.
APA style
Wagler, Joel and Samuel L. Yoder. (July 2011). Montgomery Old Order Amish Settlement (Daviess County, Indiana, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Montgomery_Old_Order_Amish_Settlement_(Daviess_County,_Indiana,_USA)&oldid=113531.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, pp. 19-20; vol. 5, p. 602. All rights reserved.
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