Hello Claire, During the 19th century the dress and lifestyle was similar to the Amish. The Brethren website will tell you when the German Baptists broke off into different groups, some embracing modern conveniences but maintaining simple lifestyles and others rejecting modern conveniences while maintaining simple lives. My Darke Co ancestors, Paul Deal/Dale and his wife Mary, very likely moved over from Miami Co to get more land. They had growing families with many sons. The German Baptist Brethren were largely farmers, although some were merchants. They didn't participate in government, and their ministers were lay people. One of these, my ancestor Philip Younce, preached in both Miami and Darke Cos, at least. His home base was Miami Co, but he had his own little circuit of churches, including one or two in Darke. Greenville Creek was one of these, I believe. He preached to both German/Swiss folks and to African American congregations, as he could preach both in German and English. This was written up by a Miami Co man who had known him as a child. I recommend those of you with Miami/Darke roots check the Brethren list Archives to see if your surnames are mentioned. You may be surprised to find you have Brethren roots too, and not just those with German sounding names. Sharon At 10:12 AM 4/24/2003 -0400, you wrote: >Sharon thank you for the links. I never heard of the "Brethren" term before >so this is very enlightening. Was the dress and lifestyle similar to the >Pennsylvania Dutch -- no electricity, only man and animal powered tools and >conveyances? > >Do you by any chance know how or why Darke Cty became a site for these >immigrants and settlers? Was it a farming area? >Thanks again. >Claire > >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Sharon Mills" <mills@reliable-net.net> >To: <OHDARKE-L@rootsweb.com> >Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2003 9:33 PM >Subject: [OHDARKE] Anabaptists in Darke Co > > >For more information about Anabaptists in Darke Co, check out the archives >of the BRETHREN-L@rootsweb.com for the surnames. Or join and ask >questions. There were one or two German Baptist congregations in Darke Co, >don't know about Mennonite. > >Often German-speaking settlers searched out an existing church that was >German-speaking. There was a lot of movement between the Anabaptist groups. > >Sharon Mills > > >At 11:40 AM 4/23/2003 -0600, Sharon Butsch Freeland wrote: > > > >Claire, > > > >Geneva and Berne are located in Adams County, Indiana, just inside the > >Indiana-Ohio state line. Geneva and Berne are about 40 miles > >north/northwest of Greenville, Ohio ( the county seat of Darke County ). > > > >Goshen is located in Elkhart County, Indiana, in the very northern part of > >the state ( almost to the Michigan border ). Goshen is about 130 miles > >northwest of Greenville, Ohio. > > > >Someone else on the DCO List will have to help you with your other question > >about the Mennonite and Anabaptist settlers in Darke County. My Darke > >County ancestors were Methodist and EUB. > > > > > >Sharon Butsch Freeland > >Superior, Boulder County, Colorado > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >. > > > > > > > > > >==== OHDARKE Mailing List ==== > >Contact the OHDARKE List administrator at OHDARKE-admin@rootsweb.com > >http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/usa/OH/darke.html > >Subscribe, unsubscribe, view list archives, etc. > > > >============================== > >To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, > >go to: > >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > > > >==== OHDARKE Mailing List ==== >Visit the OHDARKE List Information page at >http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/usa/OH/darke.html >Subscribe, unsubscribe, view list archives, etc. > >============================== >To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go >to: >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237