I'm sorry to be so ignorant as to have to ask this question, but here goes anyway. I know the Brethren were in Holland from the perioid of about 1720 to 1728. Did they stay together in one group and is this the location where they all were? Did all of the Brethren come to the US or did a remnant church (some might say a mother church) stay there in Holland? If they did all come, did they come at once or in waves? Did all of the Brethren who came to the States firt go to Holland or was there still a colony in either Schwarzenau? What I'm really trying to understand here is twofold. Where was my Michael Miller with his wife Susanna Berchtol during this time. I know he was born in Steinwenden Germany in 1692 and his wife in Ohmback Germany, and they died in Maryland, he in 1771. They were married in Crottelbach Germany in 1714. I'm trying to understand his migration pattern, where he was and what he was doing during different periods of his life. The second thing I'm trying to determine is whether or not my Ferverda family in Holland was Brethren before they arrived in the states, and if so, could they have been part of this earlier group who stayed. Bauke Hendrick Ferverda (also Ferveda, Ferwerda) was born in probably Leeuwarden in the Netherlands in 1830, received his discharge from the military in 1863 and immigrated directly from the Netherlands in 1863 to Elkhart County, Indiana. He bought land among the Brethren and joined the Brethren church there. I know the military service might indicate that he was not Brethren, but perhaps it was mandatory. I don't know. I have always found it odd that he would come to the middle of Northern Indiana and settle among the Brethren, his children marrying Brethren church members if he wasn't Brethren before coming. Is there any chruch history of a chruch in Leeuwarden or in Gronigan where his father was born in 1768? Thank you, Roberta Estes

Roberta, The Brethren who were already Brethren when they emigrated mostly came over in 1719 with Peter Becker and in 1729 with Alexander Mack. There were probably fewer of them than most of us think. Indeed, most of our Brethren ancestors probably did not become Brethren until after they immigrated. Many, while in the old country, were Swiss Mennonites, and Reformed and Lutheran. It is possible that your ancestors were typical, i.e., not Brethren back in Europe. The Brethren of Europe who stayed in Europe tended to die out according to Donald Durnbaugh who wrote extensively on this subject. Many of your questions can be answered in Durnbaugh's book, European Origins of the Brethren, Brethren Press, 1958. Although the earliest Brethren were European, the Brethren did not congregate in large numbers until after reaching our shores. I know, in my own case, that my ancestors emigrated from Europe as Swiss Mennonites. They didn't become Brethren until settling in Pennsylvania. Dwayne Wrightsman ----- Original Message ----- From: "Roberta J. Estes" <restes@comcast.net> To: <brethren@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, February 17, 2008 3:35 PM Subject: [BRE] Surhuisterveen and other Dutch locations > I'm sorry to be so ignorant as to have to ask this question, but here goes > anyway. I know the Brethren were in Holland from the perioid of about > 1720 > to 1728. Did they stay together in one group and is this the location > where > they all were? Did all of the Brethren come to the US or did a remnant > church (some might say a mother church) stay there in Holland? If they > did > all come, did they come at once or in waves? Did all of the Brethren who > came to the States firt go to Holland or was there still a colony in > either > Schwarzenau? > > What I'm really trying to understand here is twofold. Where was my > Michael > Miller with his wife Susanna Berchtol during this time. I know he was > born > in Steinwenden Germany in 1692 and his wife in Ohmback Germany, and they > died in Maryland, he in 1771. They were married in Crottelbach Germany in > 1714. I'm trying to understand his migration pattern, where he was and > what > he was doing during different periods of his life. > > The second thing I'm trying to determine is whether or not my Ferverda > family in Holland was Brethren before they arrived in the states, and if > so, > could they have been part of this earlier group who stayed. Bauke > Hendrick > Ferverda (also Ferveda, Ferwerda) was born in probably Leeuwarden in the > Netherlands in 1830, received his discharge from the military in 1863 and > immigrated directly from the Netherlands in 1863 to Elkhart County, > Indiana. > He bought land among the Brethren and joined the Brethren church there. I > know the military service might indicate that he was not Brethren, but > perhaps it was mandatory. I don't know. I have always found it odd that > he > would come to the middle of Northern Indiana and settle among the > Brethren, > his children marrying Brethren church members if he wasn't Brethren before > coming. > > Is there any chruch history of a chruch in Leeuwarden or in Gronigan where > his father was born in 1768? > > Thank you, > > Roberta Estes

At 3:35 PM -0500 2/17/08, Roberta J. Estes wrote: >[snip] >What I'm really trying to understand here is twofold. Where was my Michael >Miller with his wife Susanna Berchtol during this time. I know he was born >in Steinwenden Germany in 1692 and his wife in Ohmback Germany, and they >died in Maryland, he in 1771. They were married in Crottelbach Germany in >1714. I'm trying to understand his migration pattern, where he was and what >he was doing during different periods of his life. [snip] Quite a bit has been written about this Michael Miller (also known as Johann Michael Müller). He is my 6G grandfather. His father, Johann Michael Müller Sr, was born in Switzerland in 1655. He married about 1678 and moved to Germany about 1685, where he is listed as a member of the Steinwenden German Reformed Church. About 1693 he married a second time, and then in January 1695 he died, leaving his second wife with stepchild Johann Michael Jr, and perhaps other older siblings (for whom I have names but no birth/death information). Her second husband was Hans Jacob Stutzman, born about 1660. Through his own son's line, this man is my 8G grandfather. It does not appear that JMM was Brethren in Europe; in fact, there is a record of his baptism in the Reformed Church in Steinwenden on October 5, 1692. Godparents were Johann Michael Shoemaker, Hans Berchtol and wife. The oldest child of Johann Michael and his wife Susanna was baptized in the Reformed Church in 1715, indicating that at that time they were still adherents of the state church. I do not have records for any of the other children. Johann Michael Müller arrived in Philadelphia on October 2, 1727 on the ship Adventure Galley from Rotterdam, last from Plymouth, England, Capt. John Davies, accompanied by Jacob Berchtol, his wife's brother, Jacob Stutzman, his step-brother, and Hans Jacob Stutzman, his step-father. Johann Michael and his wife had seven children with them. Because some of the others are known Amish/Mennonites, and because some accounts include this statement, "They left Germany because of their opposition to military conscriptions of the times," it can be reasonably assumed that JMM had at least developed some anabaptist sympathies prior to arrival. JMM settled at Rapho Twp., Lancaster Co, PA. He moved to Hanover, York Co, PA 1744, to the Little Conewago Congregation, and lived in Washington Co, MD from 1745 until his death in 1771. At some point he became affiliated with the Brethren, perhaps prior to 1744 but I don't find a date for this. JMM's daughter Barbara, born in this country in 1733, married Johannes H. Garber in 1752. There is considerable information on Johann Michael Müller (Miller) and his descendants in an article by Wilbur Linder, published in Fellowship of Brethren Genealogists Newsletter, Vol. 20, No. 1, Spring, 1988. Also, see "Michael Miller of 1692" by Floyd R. Mason and Kathrin G. Mason, publ. 1986. Also, see the November 1997 issue of the Somerset Co, PA's "Laurel Messenger," p.334 for some Stutzman data. Most of my notes are from several years ago; I would be interested in what others have to contribute, or any corrections to the above. -- _________________ James Shuman jshuman@telis.org _________________