Kraft wip (1)

Dedicated to my children
Kraft Family Tree
copyright gkraft Sept 2010 (work in process) WIP

Scarf or
shield

Family Crest shows: Suspender of a Knight Commander; signifies Defense or Protection “Protect and Defend”.

Emma’s Bible was found marked at the start of Job.

And at the Lord’s Prayer

The map of the Kraft Family, most to Lancaster, Pa. then Ohio, with the Joss coming from Scotland.

Summary,
The Kraft Family tree is German, NordFrisian/Denmark, Swiss, French, Scottish (English), and Swedish or as my
dad used to say, AngloSaxon. The Anabaptists were peaceful nonresistant Christian Reformist Lutherans, and
needed a safe place to live. We were pacifists. But some (Kraft Lutherans) fought when no other choice. As
Pioneers of America they were primarily farmers and merchants. And the strong protected the weak, settlers had
no other choice.
The Mennonites and Amish are living a in a “plain” manner in their commitment to God for their lifestyle, and you
have to respect this. The Mennonites did not as a practice, marry outside of their Religious Faith beliefs. John
Henry Kraft was Hugh Kraft’s father and the next generation, Henry O Kraft were all Lutheran without question. I
have Emma J Kraft’s family Bible, King James version, she has a clear Anabaptist Mennonite bloodline from
Germany and Switzerland back to 1500. The Kraft’s and Stauffer’s are founding families of America dating 100
years before the War for Independence, our relative Adam Kraft was inspector of the churches in the 1500’s.
Since my research traveled back in time using the History Channel videos on iTunes, I realized the location of our
Family Tree members and our Bloodlines, religious beliefs, and my own interest in History, had common locations
of interest. We were Anabaptists, peaceful, and lived in locations that we could practice our religious beliefs and
would be safe. In-spite of all this, I feel Scottish...
History shows that the Anabaptists were favored as farm owners and renters in Scotland, England, Northern Europe
and across the Alps and Germany. They grew better, faster, and more, than the normal farmers of the era. And
paid more TAXES reliably. Religious persecution in Europe, cheap land, and the opportunity of Pennsylvania,
Ohio, Ottawa, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Gold of California, caused them to migrate across
America.

The Kraft Crest:

The Kraft family (the word kraft in German and Swedish means STRONG, STRENGTH, the FORCE of
GOD) The name therefore was used as the First Name of many of the Crusader Knights.
Es gibt keine Grenzen für Gottes Kraft
There are no limits to the power of God

Kraft is known to be American rooted in the Pennsylvania (Amish) Dutch and Mennonite culture family
background with our Grandmother Emma J Kraft coming from Emma J. Stauffer. Grandpa lived in a beautiful
home with expensive Amish quality furniture, nick naks, glass ware, dollies, and a enclosed sleeping porch with
crank open windows, he lived well, but not a bragger, like dad and I. Grandpa Hugh had wooden carpenter tools
with metal blades, and he was tall, very strong, and wiry, he could crush a single walnut in one hand. Grandfather
Hugh’s dad John Henry Kraft, he was a Civil War Hero fighting for Ohio 21st and 68th, was in most major battles
all the way to Atlanta with General’s Sherman and Grant.
The family members Jacob Johann Krafft of hard mountain to Frohberg from Blenheim on the Danube , City Clerk
Ehingen (Danube) († March 6, 1704) and Christopher Anton Krafft of hard mountain to Frohberg (* November 4, 1693 to
Ehingen (Germany), † August 5, 1765 same place) and their descendants, the brothers Johann Nepomuk von Krafft (*
1737, † 1805), high bailiff to Wiblingen , Privy Council and Burggraf of Augsburg and Carl Anton von Krafft (* 1743, †
1830), both called mention of hard mountain to Frohberg.

Henry O Kraft children,
Gordon Henry Kraft and spouse Nancy Kraft
Eric and Debbie:
YOU, are a combination of:
Grandma Mildred Otellie Kraft: Joss - 1908 America Scottish, Franks Lutheran/Methodist
Japsen - NordFrisian/(Danish/German)
Grandpa Henry Owen Kraft: Kraft - 1600/1700‘s America settler/Germany Lutheran/Mennonite
Stauffer - America settler/Germany/NordFrisian Mennonite
Mother Nancy E. Watt: Watt - English
Larsen- Swedish
Eric: this is why we named you Eric the Red. also, I liked the little cigar ad on tv those days... ;)
Debbie we named Debbie because we loved you, ask your mom.
Debbie Kutsch Anthony Kutsch - Kutsch family name comes from NordFriesland interestedly.
Eric Kraft Tahirih Kraft Tah White family is Mexican American and English. Brilliant family, highly educated,
aristocratic mother truly a patriarch, and father taught College here at Sierra College.

Probable/Possible family lineage:
Hesse, Germany: Adam Kraft, the noted preacher who had been professor of theology at the University of
Marburg since 1528, and who was also inspector of the churches and therefore had good opportunity to learn to
know the reasons why the Anabaptists stayed away from the church, expressed his opinion that the Anabaptists
would return to the state church as soon as the more offensive sins and vices of the members of the state church
should be done away with.
Krafft, Adam (1493-1553)
Adam Krafft, Hessian reformer, became acquainted with Luther at the Leipzig disputation (1519), became a
Lutheran preacher at Erfurt, returned to Fulda in 1521, then worked in Hersfeld, came in contact with Landgrave
Philip, who appointed him court preacher in 1525. As such he accompanied the prince to Speyer, where he
preached almost daily during the session of the diet (1526), participated in the Homburg Synod (20 October 1526),
and with Lambert von Avignon he drew up the Homburg liturgy (Kirchenordnung), became chief inspector of the
church in Hesse (1526-27), and was the spiritual counselor at the Hessian criminal court, where he also had to deal
with the Anabaptists. He took a lenient attitude on the Anabaptist question, and observed that "a conversion of the
Anabaptists can be expected when the vices of adultery and drunkenness and the like are removed." In 1527 he was
appointed professor of theology at Marburg, and continued to work for the promotion of the Lutheran Reformation

until his death. Adam Kraft was a early Martin Luther Reformation leader, part of the group, possibly involved in
the formation of the Mennonites...

Seneca County Mennonite Church (Mennonite Church), (now extinct), founded by Troxel families from Frederick
County, Maryland, and Stark County, Ohio, by Hunsicker families from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, and
by other land-hungry immigrants from eastern states and even from Germany ca. 1825-40, who erected a hewn log
meetinghouse at an early date on the farm of George Muckley 2½ miles east of Bloomville. Shortly before his
death in 1842, Muckley deeded the acre on which the church and cemetery stood to "Henry Troxel, Jacob Rothgabe
and Isaac Boren (Rohrer) and the Manomenist Congregation of Bloom Township." Early members of the
congregation bore the names Troxel, Legron, Brandt, Detweiler, Newcomer, Bachman, Rothegabe, Allderffer,
Muckley, Bowman (pronounced Bauman), Kroft (Kraft?), Zutavern, Behm, and Lehman. Bishops (nonresident)
were Henry Stemen followed by John M. Brenneman, the latter serving until the Wisler controversy arose in 1871;
ministers, David Martin and Isaac Rohrer. Even before Martin died and Rohrer followed his brother Abraham
Rohrer, of Medina County, into the Wisler branch, the congregation declined. Denied Sunday-school privileges the
young people united with the German Reformed or the Methodist Church. The last services were held in 1879
about the time that Isaac Rohrer and his wife moved to the Wisler congregation in Mahoning County, Ohio. The
church building was sold and razed in 1888. Many of the later burials in the cemetery were exhumed and reinterred
in the Woodlawn cemetery west of Bloomville. A few of the remaining members returned to the older Wisler
congregations in western Wayne, Medina, and Mahoning counties. Unlike other extinct Mennonite congregations
in Ohio, Seneca County supplied few if any accessions to Mennonite congregations in Indiana.
Kaufbeuren (Freistaat Bayern, Germany)

Kaufbeuren, a city (pop. 42,500 in 2003) in Swabia, southwest Bavaria, Germany, was once an imperial city, which
passed to Bavaria in 1803. It opened very slowly to the Reformation. Anabaptists soon came here from Augsburg;
among them Hans Kraft and Callus Fischer were influential. At first the Protestant pastors tried with partial success
as in other imperial cities to win them by friendly persuasion. Then the Swabian League in 1528 hunted down the
Anabaptists with a squadron of 400 horsemen. In Kaufbeuren 40 persons were seized, of whom five were beheaded
(13 May 1528) and seven had their cheeks burned through. These events intimidated the council, and Catholicism
won control for the next 15 years.
But Anabaptist ideas continued to influence the populace, and after 1535 Schwenckfelders and Zwinglians
obtained a firm footing. The progress of the various branches can no longer be traced. In any case, by 1543 the
council was apparently completely under Schwenckfeld influence. It is worth noting that Catholic services were at
this time in no way encroached upon. Religious developments in Kaufbeuren were discussed by the Protestant
estates at the Diet of Worms in 1545. Delegates from various cities were sent there, who with great difficulty
succeeded in pushing out these quiet "confessors of the glory of Christ." But in secret their influence continued.
During the Schwenckfeld period the council passed many measures against the Anabaptists, causing many to
emigrate. A letter written by Ferdinand I to the council of Kaufbeuren, dated 5 September 1545, contains the court
records of the trials of the Kaufbeuren Anabaptists, Hans Staudach (executed at Vienna in 1546), a baker of
Kaufbeuren, his wife Ursula, and his cousin Blasius Staudach (baker), Hans Hofmayr (weaver), Hans Feuerbach
(apparently a preacher), Anna Zacharias, the widow of a butcher, Katharina Losch, and Anna Stangel (Alt, 9-24).
Alt (37) prints the sincere letter of comfort and admonition written by a Kaufbeuren Anabaptist woman named
Katharina.

In the 17th century there were still some Anabaptists in Kaufbeuren; the court records repeatedly note that citizens
go to the Anabaptists in Moravia, stay a while, and return, or that they have given lodging to Anabaptists.
Clarenbach, Adolf (d. 1529)
Adolf Clarenbach was a widely celebrated Protestant martyr, who was burned at the stake in Cologne, Germany on
28 September 1529, with Peter Fliesteden. He was born at the close of the 15th century on the farm "zum Busche,"
which belonged to the ecclesiastical district of Lüttringhausen near Lennep. Until 1514 he studied in Münster,
probably in the school of the Brethren of the Common Life, in 1517 acquired the Master's degree at Cologne, and
then became a humanist teacher in Münster, but never a cleric. In 1524 he became second master of the city school
at Wesel, where he became a friend of Johann Klopreis. Expelled from Wesel because of his Protestant convictions
(11 September 1525), he betook himself to Osnabrück accompanied by a large number of students, took a position
as a Latin teacher in the house of a pious widow, and also lectured on several books of the New Testament.
Expelled again, he went to Lennep at Easter 1527. Here he wrote his most important book, in which he treated the
evangelical faith as a matter of faith, hope, and charity in contrast to law, and sharply exposed the errors of the
Catholic Church. But he could not stay here either. He turned to Büderich to his friend Klopreis, and when Klopreis
was summoned to Cologne the second time because of his heretical views, he accompanied him to defend and
encourage him. Both were arrested on 3 April 1528. Whereas Klopreis escaped on New Year's night, Clarenbach
remained in a prison cell with Peter Fliesteden. After unspeakable suffering, during which they comforted each
other, both suffered a martyr's death. Clarenbach was heard to cry from the flames, "Lord, into Thy hands I
commend my spirit." The third centennial of their death was publicly celebrated in 1829. On the elevation between
Lennep and Lüttringhausen a stone with an appropriate inscription was erected to the memory of Clarenbach.

Was Clarenbach a follower of Luther, an Anabaptist, or perhaps a member of the old-evangelical churches which
had their seat in the Rhine region until the Middle Ages? Keller, Rembert, and others thought the last was the case;
C. Kraft and G. Bossert claim him positively for the Lutheran Church. Johannes Hillmann and Eduard Bratke see
in him an independent personality. It is nevertheless very probable that he was influenced by Anabaptist ideas and
thoughts, which were strongly represented in the region of Cologne. His positive rejection of the oath, his relation
to the "brethren," such as Klopreis, Westerburg, etc., his concept of communion and baptism, which he calls a
dying of all carnal desires and a putting on of the new man, makes this clear. But with the scarcity of material on
the subject his Anabaptism can hardly be conclusively proved.

Mennonite settlement began in Waterloo County in the spring of 1800 when Joseph Schoerg and Samuel Betzner,
with their families, arrived on the banks of the Grand River in what was then Upper Canada, from Franklin County,
Pennsylvania. They were the first white settlers in this county. The settlement grew steadily until by 1828 there
were 1,000 Mennonite members and 2,000 hearers. The land was taken from the Beasley Tract, this being 94,012
acres of Six Nations Indians' lands in the Grand River Basin purchased from them by one Richard Beasley through
the government of Upper Canada which acted as trustee. In November 1803 an agreement was signed between the
German Company on the one hand, representing the Mennonites, and Beasley, on the other hand, for the purchase
of 60,000 acres of his land for the sum of 10,000 pounds. On this land there was a mortgage of $20,000. Precisely
when this fact was discovered is a matter of some doubt. Suffice it to say that Joseph Sherk and Samuel Bricker
went to Pennsylvania to procure this money. In April 1803 a joint stock company was organized in the home of
"Hannes" Eby in Lancaster County to raise the mortgage money. This was done within two years, for on 29 June
1805 the deed for the 60,000 acres was executed in the Registry at Berlin, Ontario. Mutual faith and co-operation
motivated this transaction. Most likely it was "Hannes" Eby who persuaded his brethren in Lancaster to aid their
brethren in Waterloo. Most of the early settlers came from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and some from the
Franconia area - Bucks, Montgomery, and (a few) Franklin counties.

Waterloo County, Ontario
Waterloo County (Ontario, Canada
In 1957 there were 18 active Mennonite Church (MC) congregations in the county with a membership of 2,899.
Dates given are those of the erection of church buildings, as closely as can be determined, although in many cases
services were held in homes prior to the building of a church. Names of congregations are listed as in the
Mennonite Yearbook, being both family and place names. The former are the survival of the pioneer custom of
naming a church after the family from whose land the property was secured, either by purchase or donation. These
congregations are First Mennonite, 1813; Snyder (Bloomingdale), 1826; Wanner (Hespeler), 1829; Detweiler
(Roseville), 1830; Geiger (New Hamburg), 1831; Cressman (Breslau), 1834; Latschar (Mannheim), 1839;

Blenheim (New Dundee), 1839; Weber (Strasburg), 1840; Shantz (Baden), 1840; Hagey, now called Preston, 1842;
St. Jacobs, 1844; Waterloo (David Eby), 1851; Biehn (New Hamburg), 1865; Floradale, 1896; Baden, 1913;
Elmira, 1924; Hawkesville, 1950. With the exception of Kitchener, which is 70 per cent urban and 30 per cent
rural, and Waterloo, which is 50 per cent of each, these are all rural congregations. Each of these churches, except
Hawkesville, has its own cemetery.
Following are some of the most typical family names in these congregations, although many of these have
disappeared from the rolls of active memberships: Betzner, Schoerg (Sherk), Reichert, Gingerich, Bechtel, Kinsey,
Rosenberger, Biehn, Clemens, Bear, Sararas, Shupe, Livergood, Wismer, Ringler, Correll, Saltzberger, Bricker,
Erb, Groh, Stauffer, Kraft, Hammacher, Bergey, Scheirich (Shiry), Bauman or Bowman, Eby, Schneider, Cress,
Brech, Bliehm, Shantz, Rotharmel, Strohm, Cressman, Bretz, Brubacher, Weber, Eckert, Pannebecker, Eschelman,
Springer, Herner, Bock, Martin, Burkholder, Good, Burkhard, Musselman, Shoemaker, Detweiler, Hallman, Huber,
Lichty, Schlichter, Wanner, Hagey, Risser, Clemmer, Groff, Shuh, Wenger, Hurst, Hoffman, Moyer, Bingeman,
Fried, Kolb, Gehman, Schiedel.
Three schisms resulted in the formation of other Mennonite groups. The first was that of the Mennonite Brethren in
Christ in the early 1870s. This was a division on the progressive side, the points at issue being mainly the
conducting of prayer and revival meetings and Sunday schools. In 1953 this group had 5 congregations in the
county with a total of 666 members. In 1948 they changed their name to United Missionary Church, thus
abandoning entirely the name Mennonite. In the late 1880s occurred the second division, this time on the
conservative side, when the Old Order (Wisler) Mennonites seceded. They are now subdivided into three groups,
namely, the original Old Order, the Waterloo-Markham conference, and the David Martin group. The difference in
these factions concerns the ownership and use of modern inventions, together with some points of attire. No points

of faith are involved since all adhere to the Dordrecht Confession of 1632. Of these three factions in the late 1950s,
the first had five congregations with a total of 1,061 members, the second five congregations and 630 members,
and the third three congregations with 116 members, a total of 1,807. None of these factions hold revival meetings.
Instead a public invitation is given each year from their pulpits. Those accepting the invitation are then instructed
in the Dordrecht Confession and in their own group discipline. The third division occurred in the First Mennonite
Church of Kitchener in 1924 and resulted in the formation of the Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church (General
Conference Mennonite [GCM]), which in 1957 had 476 members.
In the late 1950s the remaining Mennonite groups in the county were the Amish Mennonites, Reformed
Mennonites, and the "Russian" Mennonites. The Amish Mennonite settlement was located in Wilmot Township. It
was begun in 1824 by Christian Nafziger, who came from Bavaria to America and arranged with Governor
Maitland of Upper Canada for the purchase of lands in this township. In 1826 the Ropp family emigrated from
Alsace and settled in Wilmot Township. Thus the Amish Mennonites are of both Bavarian and Alsatian origin.
Reasons for emigration were desire for new land and exemption from military service. Typical family names
among them are Nafziger, Steinman, Bender, Ropp, Lichty, Jantzi, Schwarzendruber, Roth, Jutzi, Mayer, Schultz,
Wagler, Gascho, Miller, and Brenneman. In 1957 there were five congregations of this group in Waterloo County
and five just outside in Perth and Oxford, all those in Waterloo County being in the Ontario Amish Mennonite
(AM) Conference. The total membership in the county was 1,103. The main difference between them and the MC
group was in social customs. In addition to this main group of Amish Mennonites there was a small congregation
of Old Order Amish in the county with 140 members. They worshiped only in private homes. In 1956 a schismatic
group at Millbank under Valentine Nafziger withdrew from the Ontario AM conference to form the Bethel
Conservative Mennonite Church.

The Reformed Mennonites are a small, closely knit group with two meetinghouses (Hostetler's> near New
Hamburg, 1844, and Kingwood near Wellesley, 1850) and 77 members in the county.
Two Mennonite churches were formed in Waterloo County by emigrants from Russia in 1922-25, the Waterloo-
Kitchener United Mennonite Church (GCM) with 407 members, in the city of Waterloo, and the Kitchener
Mennonite Brethren Church, with 405 members, in Kitchener. In both, services were still conducted in German by
the late 1950s. The other emigration from Russia, that of the 1870s, left no churches in Waterloo County, but Jacob
Y. Shantz, then a leading member of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ, was the guiding spirit in settling these
people in the Red River Valley in Manitoba, and the whole movement received solid financial support from the
Mennonites of Waterloo County.
In the late 1950s the Mennonites had the following institutions in Waterloo County: Rockway Mennonite School
(MC, 1945) and Golden Rule Bookstore (MC, 1938), both in Kitchener, Fairview Mennonite Home (MC, 1943,
1956) in Preston, and the Mennonite Brethren Bible School in Kitchener (formerly Virgil Bible School). The
Mennonite Central Committee Canadian headquarters office had been in Waterloo since 1948 (1944-48 in
Kitchener). The United Missionary Church (UMC) established Emmanuel Bible College here in 1940.
In the late 1950s the Mennonites of Waterloo County were chiefly an agricultural people. There was, however, no
communal organization to aid in the purchase of land. Most Mennonites who came to the cities of Kitchener and
Waterloo were industrial workers. The percentage of business and professional people was small. The Mennonites
(MC) had a fire insurance organization called the Mennonite Aid Union, founded in 1867. Rates were low and
membership limited to adherents of this branch of Mennonites and their families. Waterloo County was the first
Mennonite community of any real size in Canada, and in the late 1950s contained more Mennonites than any other

county in the Dominion, 7,836 members (not counting the UMC), and has had and continues to exert a marked
influence on Mennonite religious and cultural life.
Deutsch-Wymysle (Poland)
In 1762 Mennonite emigrants from the West Prussian congregations of Przechovka near Schwetz and of Montau-
Gruppe near Graudenz made their way upstream into Poland and settled in the province of Warsaw, district
Gostynin, not far from the town of Gobin, and founded the Deutsch-Wymysle village and congregation. In 1764 a
second group arrived from Przechovka. In 1818-1820 and 1823-1824 a further considerable influx came from
Przechovka and the Brenkenhoflswalde-Franztal congregation. Those who came in these last five years all joined
the Deutsch-Wymysle congregation, although they settled for the most part in various villages in the adjacent
German Vistula region, such as Piaski, Sordy, Korzykov, Vionczemin, Novosiadlo, Sviniary, Leonor Lyck,
Piotrkovek, Lady, Arciechov, Januszev and Sladov. Family names found among these immigrants were Balzer,
Bartel, Block, Buller, Dirks, Dyck, Ediger, Ekkert, Frey, Funk, Geddert, Gerbrandt, Gertz, Görtz, Heier, Jantz,
Kasper, Kliewer, Kraft, Kühn, Luther, Lyhrmann, Nachtigall, Nehring, Nickel, Pauls, Penner, Ratzlaff, Schmidt,
Schröder, Unruh, Voth, Wedel and Wilms.
Hesse (Germany)
Hesse (Hessen) stands near the top among the German territories in which Anabaptism became widespread in the
very first years of its rise. The history of the movement in this territory, which at that time contained not only the
later Grand Duchy of Hesse but also the greater part of the modern Prussian Province of Hesse-Nassau, furnishes a
typical example of how theologians, princes, statesmen, and jurists united to combat a community which thought it
could not find the true primitive Christian life in the state church. Nevertheless Hesse has a special place in the
history of the Anabaptist movement since in this territory, in contrast to the other Protestant territories, death

sentences on account of faith were not passed on the Anabaptists. The clergy in Hesse were not able to put across
their viewpoint on the suppression of those who held to the baptism of faith on account of the position of
Landgrave Philip of Hesse. He preferred as more Biblical the method of free exchange of opinion. The results of
the discussions with the Anabaptists were of real importance not only for the Hessian state church, but also for
Protestantism at large.
Adam Kraft, the noted preacher who had been professor of theology at the University of Marburg since 1528, and
who was also inspector of the churches and therefore had good opportunity to learn to know the reasons why the
Anabaptists stayed away from the church, expressed his opinion that the Anabaptists would return to the state
church as soon as the more offensive sins and vices of the members of the state church should be done away with.

I have been unable to date, to identify the parents of John Jacob Kraft (1714) rooted in Lancaster, Pa. and moved to
Putnam, Ohio.

http://www.800padutch.com/amishhistory.shtml
History of the Amish & Mennonites
The Plain People trace their origin back to the Protestant Reformation in Europe, where there was an emphasis on
returning to the purity of the New Testament church. One group of reformers rejected the popular concept of infant
baptism, and became known as Anabaptists. The Anabaptists believed that only adults who had confessed their
faith should be baptized, and that they should remain separate from the larger society.
In 1536, a young Catholic priest from Holland named Menno Simons joined the Anabaptist movement. His
writings and leadership united many of the Anabaptist groups, who later became known as "Mennonites."
One of the teachings of the Amish faith is called the ban or shunning. This is based on the New Testament
command not to associate with a church member who does not repent of his sinful conduct. The purpose of this
discipline is to help the member realize the error of his ways and to encourage his repentance, after which he would
be restored to church fellowship.
This excommunication was at first only applied at the communion table. However, the followers of Jacob Amman
felt the unrepentant individual should be completely shunned or avoided by all church members. This belief, along
with other differences, led to Amman's split with the Mennonites in 1693. His followers were later called Amish.
These Anabaptist groups were severely persecuted throughout Europe. Thousands were put to death as heretics by
both Catholics and Protestants. To avoid this persecution many fled to the mountains of Switzerland and southern
Germany. Here began the Amish tradition of farming and holding their worship services in homes rather than
churches.

Many Amish and Mennonites accepted William Penn's offer of religious freedom as part of Penn's "holy
experiment" of religious tolerance. They settled in what later became known as Pennsylvania. The first sizable
group of Amish arrived in Lancaster County in the 1720's or 1730's.
Today, the Amish can be found in 23 states here and in one Canadian province. Their settlement in and around
Lancaster County is their second largest. Because of their large families, the total Amish population has more than
doubled since 1960 to over 85,000. Very few of their children leave the church.
The Amish and Mennonite churches still share the same beliefs concerning baptism, non-resistance, and basic
Bible doctrines. They differ in matters of dress, technology, language, form of worship, and interpretation of the
Bible.
The Mennonites hold many of the same beliefs as the Amish, although they tend to be less conservative than their
Amish neighbors. Worship services are held weekly in their meeting houses. Most Mennonites have relaxed dress
codes, and have gotten away from farm-related occupations. While Old Order Mennonites still drive their all-black
carriages, most Mennonite groups do permit the use of cars and electricity. However, some groups do require that
car bodies and trim be painted black.

According to dad :
We are German, English and Scottish (Anglo-Saxon’s he said a lot of times in normal speech):
Kraft’s as Saxons and Joss from same area of England and Scotland?

IF the Kraft’s (spelling probably changed) were early settlers of America, before 1776 we would not travel here,
because we were already here... as far back as Plymouth Rock... Nova Scotia, Canada, New York, Pennsylvania,
Ohio, Wisconsin, just look at the map of where our probable forefathers are from, based on their religion, and
where they went to in America based on Ancestory.com research, the fact that our family is scattered around the
map of trade locations used by the Dutch East India Fur Traders (Hudson Bay Company) based on Religion.
Kraft / Stauffer / Joss

Stauffer Lineage to 1600’s in Germany. Joss Lineage to 1795 Aberdeen Scotland poss. 1403 from France.The
Ancestry.com shows hundreds of Krafft’s coming from Germany during this timeframe, not counting the
possibility of “Craft” or “Kroft.”
Pennsylvania Dutch and Mennonite are a culture of peace...
And while we have been preaching Peace as the core of our family history beliefs,
We are at the same time warriors, begrudgingly ready and willing, we have historically served in the
military, with most becoming Sergeants in the written record.
John Henry Kraft
Is on the Civil War wall in Cleveland, he walked all the way to Atlanta with Grant.
John was in the Battle of Battle of Scareytown, Battle of Shiloh, Battle of Vicksburg, in which the bold Union plan
to split the Confederacy was now unstoppable, and the fate of Vicksburg was sealed.
The performance that day by Logan’s Third Division, of which John was a member, had been described by
one historian as “outstanding.” Another indicates that Logan “clearly was the hero of Champion Hill.” He
continued to march all the way to Atlanta and back to Ohio.
Samuel Hugh Kraft
Samuel Hugh Kraft was a master craftsman, expert with woodworking, played bare hand, hard ball baseball, had
knuckles that were two three times the size of normal ones. He was a carpenter and had wooden tools with metal
blades, chisels, etc. I believe that he fought in World War I.
Henry O Kraft

I know dad did not like World War II, he was all over the South Pacific and China, and all the years until his death,
all he would tell me is that he fixed mess kits! Near his death he did talk some, but no specifics, mom (showed me)
said that he moved Chiang Kai Shek and his family from Shanghai China to Formosa(Taiwan), and he received a
Bronze Star from Chiang Kai Shek for his valor? All I know is that he was a Tech Sergeant which is a specialist
rank?
Dad’s brother John, had a falling out with Grandpa and everyone, something serious happened almost like he was
outcast from the family, because I met with Uncle George Kraft several times when I was young and he was funny
as heck. So dad did communicate with George...
Mom and dad took care of Grandpa Hugh Kraft (he was an expert on the civil war because his father was in it,)
with us in Cincinnati, Ohio and on too Marion, Indiana, in his older years. I think dad was building the VA hospital
in Marion when grandpa died.
Uncle John Kraft was a Lt. Commander on the USS Forestal Aircraft carrier according dad who had a disconnected
relationship with his brother John, dad always called him the Admiral, I think dad meant it, maybe he was?
Uncle John retired in Aberdeen, Wa. because Nancy and I stopped there to see if he would talk to us so that I could
meet him, but his housekeeper said he was away...
Henry (Hank) Kraft had a huge ego and was well loved everywhere we went. He was a Civil Engineer with some
college from Ohio State and worked on several large construction projects, such as building Veteran Hospitals
(VA). Power Plants, and ICBM Missile sites in New Mexico, and South Dakota. Hank started Kraft Construction
Co. in Cheyenne, Wyoming but had a falling out with his partner over some land deal. He was the National
Program Director for the National Home Builders Association. A Expert Witness. He retired in Anderson, S.C.
Jeff O Kraft

Jeff, as I remember, you were going to skip to Canada avoid the Draft, and the next thing I hear is that you are in
the US Army Airborne! You went to Vietnam with a foot that did not move since you broke it badly during training
jumps and were sent to Vietnam with it immovable...
Eric E Kraft
My son, went with me in 1968, to see the new John Wayne movie Green Beret when we were visiting mom and
dad in Cleveland, Ohio. He tells me today, jeez dad, that is the reason I joined the Army, because he wanted to be
“Doc, the Green Beret Medic” in the movie... He has been virtually everything in the Army, from med Tech, to SF
Medic in Egypt, up to and including being a Drill Sergeant! Eric and Debbie Kraft’s mom, Nancy, is Scandinavian
from the English family Watt and the Swedish name Larsen.
Kraft’s were what the name implied, skilled craftsman. They were skilled in Woodworking (with artistic ability),
Stonecutters(Mason), Farmers, Merchants...

here are some thoughts:
Kraft/Stauffer-Stouffer are Mennonite Farmers and Kraft (Foods) and Stouffer (Foods) are the result, and
Swanson (Foods) is in the chain of family trees connected, as is the Myers... we are all a big group that came from
(Ridenour) Switzerland and Germany virtually together to Lancaster, Pa. and they came in in groups probably
because of their faith and religious persecution in Europe at that time.
I am blocked on John Jacob Kraft married to Catherine White in 1841 in Pa. no links found to their respective
parents, but Kraft is Kroft, and Krafft, Craft on Ship Docs... (looking at : Barthold Krafft in Germany as possible
link) so I am looking at the Krafft that came from Germany in large groups of Krafft's per ship lists from Bremen to
Baltimore, Md.
Most likely all are the same or close religion, but all Kraft's are Lutheran in my search, even thought mom and us
went to the Methodist Church growing up. Dad sat under a tree and prayed... His family and the Stauffer-Stouffer
are all bunched up in Lancaster, Pa. and then many move to mid Ohio around Defiance, Ohio area.
I remember going to Aunt Susie Stauffer's there and she still had a operational hand pump water pump in the
kitchen next to the sink...
2. Joss/Japsen are joined in Sandusky, Joss from Scotland, Japsen from Scotland but also earlier from
NordFriesland (Denmark/German/Viking, told you so...;)
Mom's Scot Ancestry Research Society says: Joss came from France to Scotland in 1403 and the name is a
derivative of Josse, and/or are connected to St. Josse also known as St. Judoc a 7th century Breton Nobel.

Wikipedia: Saint Josse
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Saint Josse (traditionally 600–668), to give him the French name by which he is most recognizable, or Saint
Judoc in Breton,[1] was a seventh-century Breton noble[2] who sought the protection of Aymon, a predecessor of
the counts of Ponthieu, to live as a hermit and renounce the crown of Brittany, in a place then called either Sidraga
or Schaderias or Runiacum,[3] located in the coastal forest near the mouth of the River Canche. He travelled to
Rome along the via Francigena, returning safely shortly before his death.
Saint Josse, never formally canonised, developed a local cultus. The Abbey of Saint-Josse, beginning as a small
monastery on the site of his retreat, was built in the eighth century at the place where Josse's shrine was kept. In
903, some monks of the abbey, fleeing the Norman raiders, took refuge in England, bearing his relics. The tradition
of the New Minster of Hyde at Winchester (founded 901), was that the relics were translated there, and the date
was commemorated annually, 9 January.[4]
From England, the veneration of Saint Josse spread, through the Low Countries, Germany and Scandinavia,
regions where variations of Josse, Joos, Joost, and the diminutive Jocelyn,[5] etc. became popular names and
chapels and churches were dedicated to him. The mal Saint Josse was the term for the ills resulting from snakebite,
against which the saint's name was invoked by the fifteenth-century French poet Eustache Deschamps in an
imprecatory ballade:[6] "...Du mau saint Leu, de l'esvertin, Du saint Josse et saint Matelin... soit maistre Mahieu
confondus!".[7] According to Alban Butler, the abbey was given by Charlemagne to Alcuin and functioned as a
hostel for those crossing the English Channel; it became a centre of pilgrimage, especially popular with Flemish
and Germans in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
La vie de Saint Josse was written in Old French verses by the learned and competent poet and translator Pierre de
Beauvais in the thirteenth century.[8]

The Suaire de St-Josse, the "Shroud of Saint Josse " that is now conserved in the Musée du Louvre is a rich silk
samite saddle cloth that was woven in northeastern Iran, some time before 961, which was used to wrap the bones
of Saint Josse when he was reinterred in 1134.[9]
The abbey was closed in 1772, sold and then dismantled in 1789, leaving no traces of the monumental buildings;
the abbey church became the parish church of the French commune of Saint-Josse.
Saint Josse has his feast-day on 13 December.

Mom’s Family Tree package that she gave each of us, for the Joss family, has a document from Scotland
Ancestry Research dated 1952:
William Joss went to Scotland around 1403, and William Joss was the Chaplain to Robert the Bruce III, at exactly
the same time as Braveheart and Robert III became the King of Scotland for 22 years afterwards... William
Wallace and Robert the Bruce knew each other very well...

However as to The Bruce and William Joss, I found significant Joss Stonecutter (Mason) hits in
Ancestory.com and an article of building a new Melrose Abbey around items dated 1043 , a renown Paris-an
Mason was requested to go to Scotland from France, and surely he took some help, Because the Joss family
worked and grew up in Scotland (and people didn’t commute) before going to America; Angus Joss went
from Aberdeen Scotland to Sandusky.
Summary
The Kraft family is based on Peace and God on both sides (Joss and Stauffer).
I clearly remember mom telling me that our great great great grandfather was the Priest/Chaplain? to Henry II/III?
or Henry XYZ the King of England, then recently I read the Scots Ancestry Research Report from 1952 that she
had done, in the files she gave me, and find out about Robert the Bruce, so maybe she was confused, but I never
ever knew her to be that! She could hear at over 50’+ away when we were talking low, she called us on it, in the
backyard that day at Lake Hartwell. Mom really was a saint, she was perfect in all ways, an artist, tough, prudish,
funny, warm, loving and also ice cold, and she was financially very Scottish. She told me that she wished she had
been nicer to dad. And she and her sister Annie went to Aberdeen to follow up on the Joss Family Tree, a few
years before our mom, Mildred O. Kraft passed away... We need to talk to Katie and Annie... and others in the
family. Plus ask your mom what grandma told her when she spent time with her in South Carolina a few years ago.
I have probably made some errors in my sense of where we came from. But, the overall flow of Reasonableness is
High. ie. confidence is high that the Kraft/Stauffer came together from Germany and settled America from before
the War for Independence. They came here to America because of Religious persecution, to spread their Religion,
and the lure of free or cheap land, they were skilled workers and hard workers.
Henry O Kraft married Mildred O. Joss. Gordon began Lutheran(?) and then moved with Jeff, and Dennis to the
Methodist Church with mom most Sundays, and bible school every summer. Dad did not attend church with us
when we got older, he was brought up with using the home as the church, Hank believed strongly in Jesus Christ

and our Lord. He was almost like Archie Bunker around other people sometimes. He referred to teutonic
determination now and then so do I, he cursed at work, but not in front of mom, and he could yell louder than
anyone and scare the crap out of you. He used to yell out of the car window if someone was not driving right
“move you damn sheep herder” when I was going to High School in Cheyenne, Wyo. he was a real character. No
body ever was cross with my dad, in fact many times I would met other older folks that saw me with him and they
always said what a wonderful father I have. Even in New Mexico, a Mexican co-worker that worked with my dad
in Wyoming ran into to dad and I at a Lonnies Quick Stop store in New Mexico, (JJ Molinar - reportedly a mexican
hero) and the man could not stop telling me how much my father was liked and respected at the job, Civil
Engineer at large construction projects, dad was Project Director for building the Atlas Missile sites in Roswell,
New Mexico and the Minuteman Sites in South Dakota, plus numerous Veterans Hospitals, Chevrolet Plants,
Power Plants, Budweiser Can Plant in Columbus was a something to see.
As a young boy I always wondered why people were so mean to each other. I was gentle and kind, why where
they not? As time progressed I moved to Cheyenne, Wyo. at the age of 14, starting Cheyenne High School at 15, I
was always younger than anyone else in my class. My dad played football for Ohio State back in the leather
helmut days without a face guard, so he recommended that I play HIgh School football on my first year as a
Sophomore, weighing 154lbs, and standing 5’6” tall. I had a line coach that weighed over 325 and he used to
throw me into the line to show me how to hit right. I ended up as a Defensive End, and the first time they swept
my end, I charged into them all and got knocked out. They called me Nighty Nite.
We had compulsory HIgh School ROTC with full wool Green Army uniform, M1 rifle, close order drill, boring
movies that we skipped out on, and O’Grady Drill Competition. I liked the ROTC Drill, but when we could, we
left class, and went to the DriveIn a few blocks away for breakfast, I did not like the wool uniform that we had to
wear all day on Thursdays because it itched terribly. And the girls did not think it was cool... I had a flat top
blonde hair, one of those skinny belts in white, and pegged blue jeans, and loafers and chuka boots. Of course they
wore cowboy boots, and jeans, and the girls were beautiful... but I was shy. The Wyoming folks were friendly,
open, and loved life, the kids drank 3.2 beer from the Colorado border about 13 miles away. You could drink in
Colorado at 18.

Hunting and fishing were real big in Wyoming, deer, antelope, duck, sage grouse, peasant, Elk. You were taught to
eat what you kill, and to not shoot a animal unless you planned on doing that. Pickups with 30-30 Winchesters and
Deer rifles were common, as was a fish rod hanging in the rear window. No one touched a unlocked car or truck.
I was very shy around girls. I ended up having a date that my mom asked for me for the Prom. But later the guys I
ran around with and I ended up playing basketball in our Prom clothes all night, ah Graduation Night was a blast.
When I graduated, I was 5’8” 174 lbs. and I started the University of Wyoming at 17, with an apartment off
campus. I enrolled in the Air Force ROTC program and Business Administration at the University, rarely went to
the same class more than once a week, because class attendance was optional, ended up getting Acute Rheumatic
Fever during Christmas and New Years break, had a bad Heart condition (murmur), and had to drop out. You were
not supposed to get Rheumatic Fever at that age (18). Dad drove from Roswell to Laramie to get me, I recovered
in Roswell. From 18-20 I grew 4” and weighed about 225.

The Kraft Family Religious Roots:
All content of the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia is copyright ©1996-2010. All rights reserved.
Acknowledgment of any short quotations or use of data is mandatory.
Stauffer, a Mennonite family name originally from the Aar River valley and from the Emmental, Switzerland,
probably means cupbearer, or steep hill. Early records name Christen Stauffer, an "obstinate" Anabaptist preacher
who was listed as being in prison at Bern in 1644. Around 1700 a Swiss Stauffer family settled in Alsace. In the
18th century another group of Stauffers were living in the Bernese Jura. Around 1670 Christian and Ulrich Stauffer
emigrated from Eggiswil, canton of Bern, to the Palatinate, Germany. Several Stauffers from the Palatinate served
as ministers. Christian Stauffer was either a deacon or a preacher at Gerolsheim ca. 1740. Daniel Stauffer of
Guntersblum served from 1739 to around 1767 as elder of the Altzheim congregation near Oppenheim. Heinrich
Stauffer was chosen as a preacher in 1758 and an elder in 1765, serving until 1805 at the Ibersheim congregation.
His relatives Johann Stauffer, a preacher in 1787, and Daniel Stauffer, who served until 1842, followed him in this
office.
Hans Stauffer was a Mennonite who, after being expelled from Switzerland, settled with his wife, Kingst Heistand-
Risser, in the Palatinate. On 9 November 1709, he and his family began their immigration to North America. He
was in London on 20 January 1710 with his wife and children - Jacob, Daniel, Henry, Elisabeth, who was the wife
of Paul Friedt, and Maria. Once in North America they settled at Colebrookdale, Berks County, PA. Their

descendents have included John Stauffer (1762-1822), a Mennonite Church (MC) preacher of the Franconia
Conference, and bishop John L. Stauffer of Virginia. Ulrich Stowpher and Uldrich Stoupher, probably father and
son, arrived in North America on September 18 and 30, 1727. Vincent Stauffer, probably also a son of Ulrich
Stowpher, settled in York County, Pennsylvania in the early 18th century. Vincent was the ancestor of the preachers
Daniel Stauffer (1807-31), Moses Stauffer (1842-1927), and bishop Frederick Stauffer (1813-84). Ulrich was the
father of Abraham Stauffer (1752-1826), a preacher in Fayette County. Jacob Stauffer (1713-68) arrived in
Philadelphia in 1732 and settled in Dauphin County, PA. Jacob Stofor (b. ca. 1712) arrived in America in 1732 with
his brother Daniel Stiffor. Christian and Johannes Stauffer, who arrived in America in 1744, were probably brothers
of the previously mentioned Ulrich and Vincent Stauffer. They settled in Donegal Township in Lancaster County.
Another Christian Stauffer arrived in America in 1749, settling in Lampeter in Lancaster County. He was the father
of preacher Johannes Stauffer (1737-1811).
Daniel Stauffer (b. ca. 1708) and his wife Magdalena Hess of the Pequea Colony, established a mill site on
Hammer Creek, four miles north of Lititz, Lancaster County Their descendents include preachers Noah Stauffer
(1842-1928) and Norman B. Stauffer (1871-1927), both of Canada. Christian and Johannes Stoupher, aged 28 and
20, arrived in North America in 1737. Christian, Daniel, Jacob and Johannes Stauffer were brothers, the sons of
Daniel Stauffer, who died in the Palatinate in 1735. Veronica, the widow of Daniel, came to North America with
Christian and John, traveling to northern Lancaster County, where the sons settled. Christian Stauffer was the

ancestor of Benjamin B. Stauffer (1855-1928), who was a preacher at the Kaufman church, Benjamin E. Stauffer
(1864-1918), the first superintendent of the Old People's Home at Maugansville, MD, and Bishop Elam W.
Stauffer, a Mennonite bishop who served in Africa. Johannes Stauffer was the ancestor of John H. Stauffer
(1818-92), a preacher who donated the ground for the Stauffer meetinghouse near Bachmanville. Matthias Stauffer,
an older son of Daniel and Veronica Stauffer came to America with his uncle, Hans Stauffer, in 1710, settling at
Caernarvon. He was the ancestor of Jacob W. Stauffer (1811-55), the founder of the Stauffer Mennonites.
A late arrival to North America was Johannes Stauffer (1791-1861) and his son Christian Stauffer (1823-87), both
of whom were preachers serving at Indiantown. Other ordained men in North America were bishop John Stauffer
(1746-1836) of Beaver Creek and Stouffer's church in Washington County, MD, bishop Michael Stauffer of
Augusta County, VA, and Joseph R. Stauffer (1852-1918) of Milford, NE. Abraham Stauffer (1752-1826) was a
pioneer Mennonite bishop in Fayette County, PA. He was the great-grandfather of Henry C. Frick and Abraham O.
Tinsman, who were prominent in the iron smelting industry in Western Pennsylvania.
Henry Stauffer (1781-1851) was an early leader in the Columbiana-Mahoning congregation in Ohio. Born near
Hagerstown, Maryland, he accompanied his parents to Fayette County, Pennsylvania in 1790. In 1801 he settled in
Mahoning County, Ohio where he served in the Columbiana County militia between 1806 and 1809. He was
ordained to the ministry soon after the arrival of bishop Jacob Nold in 1817. Upon the death of Nold in 1834,

Henry Stauffer became bishop. He was one of the signers of the minutes of a church conference held 1843-44 at
the Chester meetinghouse in Wayne County, Ohio.
Jacob Stauffer (1832-1899), an early Mennonite preacher from Ohio, was born in York County, PA and came to
Columbiana County, Ohio with his parents in 1834. He married a daughter of Deacon Jacob Nold and in 1882 was
ordained a minister. He had a concern for small congregations, occasionally preaching for the declining
congregations at North Georgetown, Columbiana County, Ohio, and Harmony, Butler County, PA, both of which
are now extinct. More recently, in the 20th century, Rudy L. Stauffer was a bishop at Wooster, Ohio, and J. B.
Stauffer served as a bishop at Tofield, Alberta.
A notable non-Mennonite descendant of this Stauffer family is Ethelbert Stauffer who was a professor of New
Testament at the University of Bonn, Germany.

WELCOME TO THE NE OHIO AMISH HOME PAGE
from Angelfire.com
CONTENTS
• The People
• Their Beliefs
• The Geauga-Trumbull Area of Ohio
• Author-Web Master
• Links
Thank you for visiting the Amish homepage at Angelfire. This site is not sponsored by any church or group. It is
not sponsored by any tourism bureau. This site is an educational-informational source of general information. It is
intended as an online resource to promote understanding. The site contains a researched article and does not
necessarily represent the opinions of any Amish person. It does not contain photographs, out of respect to Amish
beliefs......THE PEOPLE: The Amish and Mennonites are unique orthodox Christian separatists. Their churches
date back to the Reformation Period in Europe in the early 1500's. The Anabaptists were separate from the Catholic
and Protestant Churches concerning doctrine. The Anabaptists (as they were called) believed in adult baptism;
separation of church and state; nonresistance; Bible authority; and nonconformity. In time one major group of
Anabaptists became known as 'Mennonites'. Later, a conservative wing of Anabaptists broke away and became
known as 'Amish' (these labels derived from names of early leaders). Persecution was fierce and eventually
dispersed the Anabaptists across Europe, and eventually, to America. North America now holds the largest
concentration of the Amish. Diversity between and among the groups is rather broad today. The Amish are
composed of three major subgroups: Old Order, New Order and "Beachy". The Old Order are the most traditional
and conservative, wearing somber plain clothes, avoiding use of electricity, holding church biweekly in members
homes and using the horse and buggy. Mennonites are very diverse from conservative to contemporary. The

Mennonites are known for their worldwide mission and public service work......THE BELIEFS: Like all cultural
groups, religion and tradition interweave in the society of the Amish and the Mennonites. This phenomenon
prevails more in Amish society. It can cause frictions between and within different groups, and can appear
confusing to outside society. Also confusing to outsiders is the behavior of Amish youth, who in reality do not
formally join the church until adulthood and until then are not bound by its rules. The basic tenets of faith are the
same for both the Amish and Mennonites, and include: A Biblical Faith; Separation; Love; Nonconformity;
Nonresistance; Simplicity; and Witness. The interpretation and application of these beliefs as they relate to cultural
practice and identity are what make the differences between groups in Amish and Mennonite culture. It is true that
some leave the stricter churches, but the churches continue to grow. A German dialect, 'Pennsylvania German' is
the mother tongue of the Amish and many Mennonite groups. It is basically a spoken language. Most all Amish use
this language as their conversational tongue. Many Mennonites can also speak the dialect, but may not employ it as
a primary language. The Amish also use formal German as their liturgical language in their songbooks, Bibles and
prayerbooks. Amish children learn the old gothic text letters for reading German at Amish parochial school and at
home. Some Amish children attend public school but many more attend Amish schools, governed and taught by the
Amish themselves. The schools are unique to Amish beliefs and traditions. The Amish won the right via the courts
to govern their own schools. Amish teachers are Amish people that have shown aptitude but have no formal
training outside Amish society. Funding is done via tuition and donation. Amish children attend school either to age
sixteen, or through an eighth grade education, depending upon the state they live in. Mennonites may attend either
public or private school depending on the beliefs of the parents and their home church. There are many Mennonite
private schools and also Mennonite Christian colleges... When choosing reading materials on the Amish and
Mennonites, be careful to use the most reliable and recommended sources, and to research carefully. Many
publications are inaccurate or relate only to certain groups or geographic areas......THE GEAUGA-TRUMBULL
COUNTIES AREA: The Amish came to the area in the 1880's migrating from the Holmes County area. The
Holmes area is the world's largest Amish community, while the Geauga-Trumbull area is the fourth largest
(population over 10,000). The settlement also takes in parts of Ashtabula and Portage Counties. It is the second
largest Amish-Mennonite community in Ohio. The settlement is known for both agricultural and industrial
development. The Amish have contributed to both. The settlement contains numerous Old Order Amish churches,
some New Order Amish churches, and one Beachy Amish church. There are dozens of Amish parochial schools in
the area (grades 1-8). Mennonites first came to the area and built a church near Burton Station in 1947. Other

Mennonite churches are now in the area, as well as some splinter groups. The Beachy Amish and Conservative
Mennonites also have parochial schooling. Mennonites in the area range from conservative to contemporary. A
major challenge to the Amish and Mennonites in the settlement is dealing with the ever increasing industrial
development of Geauga County. The stability of the churches will depend on how well the groups balance tradition
with the pressing encroachment of outside society on their lifestyle and economy. Visitors to the area will find the
charm of Amish influence in such towns as Mesopotamia on SR 534, Middlefield on SR 87, and Burton on SR 87.
A particularly beautiful site is Mesopotamia Commons in Trumbull County on SR 534, with it's century old
commons park and general store. Dotted throughout the countryside are numerous Amish home businesses selling
all kinds of products and wares. When visiting Amish country always keep in mind that some Amish people wish
their privacy to be respected. Due to their beliefs it is a courtesy to ask before photographing Amish individuals.
When driving in Amish country remember that you will likely encounter horse drawn transportation. Adjust your
driving accordingly. There are two large cheese factories in the Middlefield area, one which was started by the
Amish (Middlefield Cheese on SR 608) and one now supported directly by the Amish (Original Swiss Cheese Co-
op on SR 87) These businesses are sure spots to stop and shop. Ridgeview Farm on SR 87 between Middlefield and
Mesopotamia offers many seasonal activities for the family, as well as educational tours and field trips.........THE
AUTHOR: This site is maintained by educator and author Dr. Thomas Newcomb. He is a retired public school
teacher and lay minister who worked among the NE Ohio Amish for 32 years. He authored many booklets, articles
and research projects on Amish culture and educational practices......His Homepage Link (for further information)
is in the links below......(c)2004-2009 Dr. Thomas L. Newcomb.

Aberdeen Old Machar, Scotland is the home of mom’s family.
Gordon H. Kraft
I have always beed filled with love and hope and high ideals, very optimistic, and believe that the warmth of Christ
is present. I am a Christian.
God Bless

On Sep 7, 2010, at 9:25 AM, Jeffrey Kraft wrote:
Great story. Dad told me about his ancestor who walked all the way to Atlanta
and beyond. His name is on a plaque in Cleveland honoring Civil War soldiers.
I am glad you are recapturing some of our history. I'll look for a folder form
Mom and see if I can add anything.
Hope all is well.
Jeff
------ Original Message ------
Received: Sun, 05 Sep 2010 07:39:50 PM PDT
From: Gordon Kraft <gkraft@mac.com>
To: Jeffrey Kraft <jokraft@usa.net>
Subject: Kraft family tree
Hi Jeff,
I have been working on the Kraft Family Tree with the stuff mom gave me, I
think she gave each of us a folder...
Anyways, some progress...
Love ya, send me info if you have any to add...
Gordon

---------------------------------------------
Attachment: John Henry Kraft - View media - Ancestry.com.pdf
MIME Type: application/pdf
---------------------------------------------
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Attachment: 600.jpeg
MIME Type: image/jpeg

---------------------------------------------

10/11/10 5:45 PMPrincipality of Orange - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Page 1 of 5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Orange
Principauté d'Orange
Principality of Orange
! 1163–1713 "
Coat of arms
Capital Orange, Vaucluse
Language(s) French
Government Principality
Prince of Orange
- 1171-1185 Bertrand I of Baux (first)
- 1650-1702 William III of England
(last)
History
- Principality status
granted
1163
- Treaty of Utrecht 1713
Principality of Orange
The Principality of Orange
(French: Principauté
d'Orange) was (from 1163 to
1713) a feudal state in
Provence, in the south of
modern-day France, on the left
bank of the River Rhone north
of the city of Avignon.
It was constituted in 1163,
when Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I elevated the
Burgundian County of
Orange (consisting of the city
of Orange and the land
surrounding it) to a sovereign
principality within the Empire.
The principality became part
of the scattered holdings of the
house of Orange-Nassau from
the time that William I "the
Silent" inherited the title of
Prince of Orange from his
cousin in 1544, until it was
finally ceded to France in
1713 under the Treaty of
Utrecht. Although permanently
lost to the Nassaus then, this
fief gave its name to the extant
Royal House of the

10/6/10 1:18 PMHesse (Germany) — GAMEO
Page 1 of 31http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/hesse_germany/?searchterm=kraft%20anabaptist
Hesse (Germany)
Hesse (Hessen) stands near the top among the German territories in
which Anabaptism became widespread in the very first years of its
rise. The history of the movement in this territory, which at that
time contained not only the later Grand Duchy of Hesse but also
the greater part of the modern Prussian Province of Hesse-Nassau,
furnishes a typical example of how theologians, princes, statesmen,
and jurists united to combat a community which thought it could
not find the true primitive Christian life in the state church.
Nevertheless Hesse has a special place in the history of the
Anabaptist movement since in this territory, in contrast to the other
Protestant territories, death sentences on account of faith were not
passed on the Anabaptists. The clergy in Hesse were not able to put
across their viewpoint on the suppression of those who held to the
baptism of faith on account of the position of Landgrave Philip of
Hesse. He preferred as more Biblical the method of free exchange
of opinion. The results of the discussions with the Anabaptists were
of real importance not only for the Hessian state church, but also
for Protestantism at large.
Landgrave Philip appreciated the religious sensibilities of his
subjects. To a certain extent he sympathized with the views of the
Anabaptists. For this reason on 20 February 1530 he wrote to his
sister: "I see more real Christianity among those who are called
fanatics than among those who are Lutheran." The Lutheran
theologians, as well as the authorities of Saxony, were aware of
Philip's attitude and this may have been one reason why Justus

10/6/10 1:38 PMFamilySearch.org - Family History and Genealogy Records
Page 1 of 2https://beta.familysearch.org/s/image/show#uri=http%3A%2F%2Fpil…04117777.004117777_00921&hash=MPAfKvgWGXfZ5STyuqUCQxOVNk8%253D
United States Census, 1900
Ohio
Paulding
0058 Washington Township
Image 34 of 44

10/8/10 11:06 AMGreenvilleOnline Obituary
Page 1 of 1http://news.greenvilleonline.com/obits/printobit.php?content=obittext&id=96257
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Millie Kraft
Starr
Mildred Joss Kraft, 89, of Starr, widow of Henry Owen Kraft, died
Tuesday, November 21, 2006, at the Hospice House.
Born August 3, 1917, in Sandusky, Ohio, she was the daughter of the
late Angus and Alma Japsen Joss. She was a retired real estate agent,
and was a member of Ruhamah United Methodist Church.
She is survived by three sons, Gordon Henry Kraft of Meadow Vista,
Calif., Jeffrey Owen Kraft and his wife Marian of Scotts Valley, Calif.,
and Dennis Christopher Kraft and his wife RoseMarie of Anderson; five
grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and two sisters, Annabella
Andres of Tacoma, Wash., and Katherine Capizzi of Sandusky, Ohio.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, December 16,
2006, at Ruhamah United Methodist Church, conducted by Rev. Amy
Dill. The family will be at 132 Peninsula Pointe Drive, Starr.
Sullivan-King Mortuary, Downtown Chapel, is in charge of
arrangements.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hospice of the Upstate,
1835 Rogers Road, Anderson, SC 29621.
Published in The Greenville News: 12-15-2006

10/6/10 1:15 PMStauffer Mennonite Church — GAMEO
Page 1 of 4http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/S72788ME.html
Stauffer Mennonite Church
Stauffer Mennonite Church, a small Mennonite branch, began in
1845 as a schism from the Lancaster Mennonite Conference on the
question of the treatment of an orphan child adopted by one of the
members. Bishop Jacob Brubaker of Juniata County, and Jacob W.
Stauffer and Jacob Weber, preachers of Groffdale, could not concur
in the decision of the bishops of the conference. Stauffer wrote a
book of 430 pages of small format in self-defense and as an attack
on the bishops of the conference. Its title is Eine Chronik oder Geschicht-
Büchlein von der sogenannten Mennonisten Gemeinde. Zum Dienst und Lehre
für alle Liebhaber der Wahrheit, durch die Gnade und Segen Gottes. Aus
Geschichten, Vorfällen, Begebenheiten oder Exempeln, und aus heiliger Schrift
zusammengezogen (Lancaster 1855, 1859, Scottdale 1922). Jacob
Stauffer and Jacob Weber became the leaders of the new group,
their membership being mostly in East and West Earl townships of
Lancaster County and in Snyder County, Pennsylvania. The Pike
meetinghouse (on the Lakes-to-Sea Highway, east of Hinkletown)
was granted to the new group. It was later enlarged and in the
1950s was their chief meetinghouse. Subsequently the following
bishops also served: Michael Brubaker, David Stauffer, and John
Stauffer, of Snyder County; Samuel Weaver, Moses B. Weaver,
Aaron Sensenig, Jesse Bowman, John A. Weaver, and Weaver
Zimmerman, the bishop in the 1950s, from the Pike congregation.
In the spring of 1887 a group from four different Stauffer
communities started a utopia near May City, Osceola County,
Iowa, with Jesse Bowman of Ontario. as the leader. This lasted

10/10/10 10:08 AMTHEOBALD MECHLING
Page 1 of 7http://showcase.netins.net/web/ourfam/theobald.html
THEOBALD MECHLING
(7th Great Grandpa)
Theobald Mechling and his brother, Jacob, arrived in Philadelphia on 11 Sept. 1728
aboard the ship, the "James Goodwill", David Crockett, master. Since they were
numbered among the 90 some Palatines aboard, it has widely been believed that the
Mechling brothers came from the Palatinate, which is the southwestern part of
Germany. A great-great-grandson gives credence to this theory, listing their home as
being in Rheinfels, Bavaria, which today is part of Baden-Wurtenberg, on the Rhine
River. However, since Dewalt, eldest son of Theobald, named two of his properties in
Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania "Mechlinburg" and "Strelitz" respectively, place
names in the province of Mecklenburg in the northeastern part of Germany, doubt has
been cast upon the Palatinate origin. Also the Palatinates were mostly Catholic, while
Mechlinburg was mostly Lutheran, the religion of the Mechlings. Only further
research will determine their correct origin.
The "James Goodwill" sailed from Rotterdam, Holland to Deal, England, where on 15
June 1728, it left for America. Aboard were 42 men above the age of 16, comprising
37 families. Theobald's name is spelled as Teobald Mekeling on the ship's manifest.
Upon arrival in Philadelphia, they went before the Provincial Council to declare their
intent to settle peacefully in this country. They then signed a declaration of allegiance
to King George II of England. Theobald signed his name with the letter "D", for
Deobald or Dewalt, the German spelling. Theobald and Jacob went to Germantown, at
that time separate city from Philadelphia, where they engaged in the tannery business
for a few years. It is quite likely that an older member of the family was already
living in Germantown then, as buried in Germantown is a Maria Mechlin, wife of
Samuel, who died 18 June 1759, aged 61 years, 2 months and 4 days. As there is no
record of a Samuel Mechlin in Germantown at that time, one can suppose that this
Samuel had preceded the Mechling brothers to Germantown, probably establishing
the tannery business, which may have attracted them to Germantown in the first place.
The name Samuel is carried down in the Mechling family. Nothing definite is known
about Theobald for the next few years, but apparently he married sometime during
that period to Anna Elizabeth Lauer, daughter of John Peter and Anna Margaret
Laurer. In 1731, his eldest son, Dewalt, was born, presumably in Germantown. In
1734, he obtained a grant of 125 acres in Bucks County, from Thomas and Richard
Penn, sons of William Penn, and proprietors of the province of Pennsylvania.

10/11/10 5:41 PMWilliam III of England - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Page 1 of 34http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_III_of_England
William III & II
William III by Sir Godfrey Kneller
Prince of Orange
Reign 14 November 1650 – 8 March 1702
Predecessor William II
Successor John William Friso
Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht,
Guelders, and Overijssel
Reign July 1672 – 8 March 1702
Predecessor William II
Successor William IV
King of England, Scotland and Ireland (more ...)
Reign 13 February 1689 – 8 March 1702
William III of England
William III (14 November 1650 – 8
March 1702)[1] (Dutch: Willem III)
was a sovereign Prince of Orange by
birth. From 1672 he governed as
Stadtholder William III of Orange
(Dutch: Willem III van Oranje) over
Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders,
and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic.
From 1689 he reigned as William III
over England and Ireland, and as
William II over Scotland.[2] He is
informally known in Northern Ireland
and Scotland as "King Billy".[3] A
member of the House of Orange-
Nassau, William won the English,
Scottish, and Irish crowns following
the Glorious Revolution, in which his
uncle and father-in-law, James II, was
deposed. In the British Isles, William
ruled jointly with his wife, Mary II,
until her death on 28 December 1694.
Popular histories usually refer to the
joint reign as that of "William and
Mary".
A Protestant, William participated in
several wars against the powerful
Catholic king of France, Louis XIV,
in coalition with Protestant and

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