First Amish Settlement at Northkill, PA

First Amish Mennonite Settlement at Northkill, PA

Northkill, Pennsylvania visiting the site where the first organized Amish Mennonite congregation in America was located.

NORTHKILL AMISH: The first organized Amish Mennonite congregation in America. Established by 1740. Disbanded following Indian attack, September 29, 1757, in which a Provincial soldier and three members of the Jacob Hochstetler family were killed near this point.

As I continued the quest to uncover my American ancestry, I found myself in Northkill, Pennsylvania, tracing my Swiss 7^th Great-Grandfather.

Jacob Hochstetler (Hostetler) was a Pennsylvania Pioneer who arrived in the area in 1736. By 1738, Jacob had purchased many acres of land on the edge of the frontier and founded the first Amish Settlement set in a notch of the Blue Mountains called Northkill (“kill” meaning “creek” in Old Dutch) in Bern Township, Berks County. This became the first organized Amish congregation in the United States.

Jacob is considered a faith hero in the Amish and Mennonite community for refusing to use guns to defend his family during the French and Indian War when Indians attacked his log cabin home in 1757. In strict accord with his religious beliefs, and as a true pacifist, Jacob would not allow his sons to shoot at the Indians, even at the risk of their own death.

Numerous books and stories have been told of how Jacob’s wife, daughter, and one son were killed and how he and his sons Joseph and Christian (my 6th Great Grandfather) were held captive by the Lenape and Shawnee Indians for up to seven years. Legend has it that the two boys became so accustomed to the Indian lifestyle that they were reluctant to return to their communities once the war was over.

Thanks to digital records easily accessible online, I can now begin to piece together my Pioneer and Patriot ancestors’ lives. It is because of them that life exists for me. It is apparent now that I have been shaped unknowingly throughout my life to be a peace-loving and non-violent person through the inspiration of the many Hostetler men (and women, of course) who were clergy in the Dunkard Church and who held fast to their religious beliefs.

Learning such things about my lineage in middle age is certainly eye-opening. I certainly hope my newfound findings will encourage my children to teach their offspring about their genealogy earlier in their lives. Not only do my children have the unique experience of having American and European lineages, but they have Japanese and native Taiwanese, too. Somehow, I managed to provide them with a heritage that encompasses most of the world. Lucky them!

I believe that if children are given information about their family roots while still young, they will grow up with a sense of belonging and with the confidence of being well-grounded in the world.

It is never too late to discover something new about yourself or your ancestors. And never underestimate the power of being grateful for those who forged the path before you. It is why you are living and breathing here today. Remember to pause every now and then to give a nod of sincere thanks to those who came before you and whom you will never have the opportunity to meet.