Thank you Dwayne. I'll see if I can order or find that book. Roberta -----Original Message----- From: brethren-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:brethren-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Dwayne Wrightsman Sent: Sunday, February 17, 2008 4:45 PM To: brethren@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [BRE] Surhuisterveen and other Dutch locations 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 ------------------------ Search the Archives at http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/index/BRETHREN ------------------------ Support Our Sponsoring Agency The Fellowship Of Brethren Genealogists (FOBG) For further information contact Ron McAdams mailto:McAdamsr@hotmail.com ------------------------ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to BRETHREN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message