Kreider-Groff-Aeschliman Europe 2022

  We visited several ancestral villages in the Bernese Oberland region today.  Each was beautiful, both in its outer life, its buildings, and in its unique setting.  Of these, I wish to introduce you to the Kirchgemeinde Diemtigen, a Reformed Church in the village of Diemtigen, which is part of the Canton Bern. The earliest signs of people living in this village go back to the Bronze Age, many centuries before King David.  Careful use of the soil has enabled people to continue cultivating crops on the relatively flat areas of the valley, while every inch of mountain slope that can grow grass is then used for hay or, if too steep for people or machinery, for grazing. We obviously haven`t a clue when the Stucki and other ancestral families showed up, let alone from which ancient immigration, but we do know that this area was a hotbed for early Täufer/Anabaptists in the 1520s and beyond, and that Peter Stucki (from nearby Wimmis) was martyred in 1538. Janice's and Sue'...

On our 57th wedding anniversary, we celebrated in an unusual way by visiting the farm where my (Janice's) ancestors were married 207 years ago on July 25, 1815. They were Peter Aeschliman and Catherine Gerig. The wedding took place at Schlatthof, a farm in the Basel canton of Switzerland. Johann Freyenberg, Vorsteher und Ältester of the Taeufer Gemeinde in the Canton of Basil, performed the wedding. Likely the couple was working on this large farm. The births of their first children were registered in the local village. In the 1820s they migrated to France with Catherine's parents, and after the parents passed away, they migrated to Ohio in the 1830s. Their descendants in northwest Ohio are many. On the farm there are two large houses, two large barns, plus smaller buildings. The barns have been rebuilt, but the houses may well have been there in 1815. The farm is high on a hill and not immediately visible from the narrow road. The other house may be older.  Note the interesti...

    In 1597, a certain Christen Aeschliman was fined 210 pounds (possibly something like $50,000.00) because 'his wife' was a Täuferin (Anabaptist).  Although they lived far from Zurich (no trains, poor rutted roads), news of the baptism/rebaptism of a handful of Zwingli's students traveled across mountain passes and up the valleys.  The Emmantal farmers seemed particularly prone to the freedoms this new type of religious faith offered to those who hated centralized authority generally.  Once persecution commenced in the Canton of Zurich, immigration began, often in waves which depended upon the ferocity of the Anabaptist hunting. Our ancestors in the Emmantal differed in that they resisted immigration for longer periods of time, sometimes fining refuge in the lower regions of the Jura mountains (then under the protection of Basel). We visited the Trachselwald Castle, which is close to Sumiswald, where we are staying.  This abandoned castle was recently 'so...

  The day was quite warm, but the abbey's stone walls offered a much welcomed cool shade.  This 12th-c. structure was constructed by the Cistercians during their earlier years, when ideals of austerity were still embraced.  The abbey's vast wealth would come later and challenge those ideals. The cloister area is remarkably well preserved on all sides, possibly one of the best preserved in the countryside.  Its wide walkway, its stone seating areas where one read your book aloud, all invite one to the world of contemplation.  The psalmist once wrote, "Wash me and I shall be clean".  Washing was important to monastic life.  Many monasteries had fountains where you could literally clean your hands before eating or symbolically wash them.     This fireplace in the refrectory (dining hall) offered heat at one end.  Monks sat in the same order as in chapel--in the order in which they took their vows.  The youngest would be farthest f...

We said goodbye to our friends, who had so graciously hosted us in their ancient house in Pézanas in southern France, and where we had a very enjoyable time. Each area of France has its own character, and Montbéliard was a big contrast from the south, different architecture, vegetation, and food. On the trip between these two areas, Evan bought a connection cord which has solved our tech problem. by Janice

We are staying at Hotel La Balance in Montbéliard. With some trepidation, I attended the annual meeting of the Association française d'histoire anabaptiste mennonite (AFHAM) on Saturday morning, held at l'Église de la Prairie. In addition there were special weekend events because they were inaugurating the opening of the Archives Anabaptistes Mennonites. Pictured below is the newest issue of the annual publication of AFHAM to which I subscribe and read because of its articles that lend light on the history of my ancestors in France. The French are quite interested in the Amish because the Amish/Mennonite split happened in the Alsace. There was an exhibit of Amish-related items. (This photo is especially for our friend HS.) Each September there is a special "patchwork" celebration at Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines in the Alsace where Anabaptists lived prior to being expelled by Louis XIV. by Janice