Jakob Ammann
Swiss Anabaptist leader and namesake of the Amish.
He is the namesake of the Amish religious movement.[1] His death date and place are unknown, though his daughter stated in 1730 that he had died.[2]
Quick Facts
- Religion
- Anabaptist
- Denomination
- Amish
- Church
- Swiss Brethren, Amish
- Born
- 12 February 1644
- Birthplace
- Erlenbach im Simmental, Canton of Bern, Switzerland
- Died
- Between October 1712 and 12 April 1730 (aged between 68–86)
- Spouse
- Verena (nee Stüdler)
- Post
- Bishop
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
He worked as a tailor, as did his father and grandfather.[3] By June 1680, government correspondence identified him as an Anabaptist, indicating his conversion occurred between 1671 and 1680.[1] Ammann moved from Switzerland to Heidolsheim, Alsace, and later to La Petite Lièpvre near Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines.[4] In 1693, he initiated a schism among the Swiss Brethren by sending a letter asking about shunning, excommunication of liars, and salvation for sympathizers.[5]
He excommunicated Hans Reist and six other ministers after they disagreed with his views on social avoidance.[6] The two sides never reached agreement on social shunning.[7] Of six children in his family, Jakob was the third-born, and he likely had little formal schooling.[3] Verena Stüdler became his wife; the couple had a son named Baltz and at least one daughter.[8]
Acknowledging they had acted too hastily and "grievously erred," Ammann and his fellow ministers in February 1700 lifted the ban from the Swiss ministers and placed the ban on themselves.[5]
What the cited sources add
A 2010 encyclopedia published by Johns Hopkins University Press notes that Ammann opposed long hair on men, shaved beards, and prideful clothing.[9][10] The same source states that liars were to be excommunicated and that Ammann himself wore a mustache, which is largely forbidden among Amish today.[9][10]
References
- Wikipedia, "Jakob Ammann" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Jakob Ammann", Goshen College (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Jakob Ammann" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: There is no record that the requested baptism took place. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Jakob Ammann" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Beachy, "Unser Leit ... The Story of the Amish", Goodly Heritage Books, 2011 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Jakob Ammann" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Baecher, "The "Patriarche" of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines", The Mennonite Quarterly Review, 2000, p. 145–158 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Jakob Ammann" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Roth, "Letters of the Amish Division: A Sourcebook", Mennonite Historical Society, 1993 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Jakob Ammann" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Beachy, "Unser Leit ... The Story of the Amish", Goodly Heritage Books, 2011; Roth, "Letters of the Amish Division: A Sourcebook", Mennonite Historical Society, 1993 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Jakob Ammann" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Beachy, "Unser Leit ... The Story of the Amish", Goodly Heritage Books, 2011; "Amish Studies", Elizabethtown College (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Jakob Ammann" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Baecher, "The "Patriarche" of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines", The Mennonite Quarterly Review, 2000, p. 145–158; Gratz, "The Home of Jacob Amman", The Mennonite Quarterly Review, 1951, p. 137–139 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Open Library record, ISBN 9780801896576 ("Concise encyclopedia of Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org
- Wikipedia, "Jakob Ammann" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Roth, "Letters of the Amish Division: A Sourcebook", Mennonite Historical Society, 1993; Kraybill, "Concise Encyclopedia of Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites", The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010, p. 24 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Jakob Ammann (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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