YODER NEWSLETTER
Volume1, Number
2--------------------------------October, 1983
FURTHER INFORMATION ON ST. JODER
We have made previous reference to the fact that the name
YODER traces back to St. Theodore, the first bishop of Octodorus
in the Martigny-Valais district of southern
In the archives at Sion in
With many footnotes Dr. Gruber went into references to St.
Theodore found in various documents, especially records listing the donations
to his altars, the churches and chapels built to his honour,
and the brotherhoods established in his name. By the thirteenth century there
was more reference to his own remains, and by the fifteenth century emphasis centred more on the veneration of the saint himself. Not
only did the Theodore cult spread into neighbouring
dioceses, but the people of the Valais took it with
them when they migrated to other valleys. He was increasingly honoured in the French sectors, and chapels and churches
began to appear all along the
In later issues we hope to tell more stories about St. Joder and to describe some St. Joder
memorabilia. We wish here to mention only one item, one of several sent to us
by Karl Joder of Ludwigshafen,
West Germany, after receiving a copy of the YODER NEWSLETTER.
St. Theodul
Martin Joder of
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From the Editors--
Chris Yoder of
Indeed we are happy to present Issue #2 of the YNL. You have
shown faith and support in this venture. In order that our subscription roster
might expand, could we ask each of you to get one more subscription? You could
tell a friend or relative--even give a gift subscription.
We're sorry to be unable to publish only a part of the
material received. We appreciate your sharing with us! We hope future issues
will afford space for all. Keep it coming.
We will still send a FREE copy of Issue #1 to anyone who
sends a self-addressed business size envelope (SASE) to YODER NEWSLETTER, P. O.
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A policy statement is in order to inform you that this
newsletter is strictly non-profit. The editors have and are willing to
"stick our necks out" to keep things rolling and so far things are
looking OK. We want to give you all your moneys worth. You can help by
continuing to subscribe. Also why not consider sending in a gift subscription
to a friend or relative? It would insure the continued success of this venture.
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As this goes to press we have 29O paid subscriptions to the
YNL. Non-Yoder names run at around 42% of our subscribers' list.
Many of you have expressed a willingness to contribute news,
history, etc. towards the contests of the YNL. Encouraging notes and letters
have also spurred us to greater effort. All these gestures of good-will are
well taken and thank you much!
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Whenever one writes to anyone asking for information or some
favor it should be remembered that such a request should be accompanied by a
self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE). People in a position to help others
find overburdening postage bills and some don't bother to answer unless a SASE
is enclosed. Others grit their teeth and do This is
just to inform those who never thought of this before. Just a
friendly reminder.
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The first request for a free copy of the YNL was from Lamar
and Lois Ann Mast. They are the editors of the MENNONITE FAMILY HISTORY, F. O
Mrs. Esther E. Lamberson of
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When sending in a query be sure and
give both husband and wife's names, date of birth, parents and grandparents'
names. Of course, it is not always possible to furnish all of the above facts,
but give as much as possible. Be sure and give your name and address.
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Subscription for YODER NEWSLETTER is $3.00 for Issues #2 and
#3 (Spring '84).
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An explanation of the logos used at the heading of this
newsletter. Since all of our origins were rooted in
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Dear Fellow Subscribers:
Going over the questionnaires it shows many of you have
indicated a willingness to share genealogical information. We have discussed the
possibility of starting a repository for the many less-known Yoder lines. If we
could get as many individual family lines together, it is possible to form a
meaningful source of information for all who seek their ancestry.
A hearty "Thank You" to those who have already
made such contributions of their line!
The Editors.
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At this writing we're aware of the following family reunions
held this past summer. We hope readers will give full particulars of coming
reunions for 1984 so that we can inform everyone.
Conrad Yoder Reunion--
Mose H. Yoder "
Reuben Yoder " at Shipshewana IN in Aug.
Noah C. Yoder " in
Rev. Paul D. Yoder at
John T. Yoder Reunion at
David S. Yoder Reunion at Kalona (?)July
Moses H. Yoder Reunion at
Menno S. Yoder Reunion-Shipshewana in July,
We will accept brief notices of 1984 YODER reunions. Send
name of "Whose", date, and place and it will be announced in Issue
#3.
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We've received enthusiastic response from the Conrad Yoder
descendants in
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The same goes for the Oley Yoders, Yost and Hannes, pioneers, from
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????ANY YODER GENEALOGIES IN
PRINT??
There have been a number of Yoder genealogies printed over the
years and much Yoder data included in works on other families. Most of these
were assembled by folks for their immediate families and are now out of print.
We would like to publish reviews of new family works as they are produced, and
to identify genealogies still available. Please let us know of any you are
aware of.
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We must not forget women played a vital role in being proper
administrators and contributors in the struggles of all times in history. The following
anecdote is a good example of what a wise and brave woman did in the face of
danger during tumultuous times.
The full story was told, probably by one who we now would
call a news reporter and was graciously submitted by Karl Joder
of Ludwigsafen, Rep. of
Anna Barbara Joder (she must have
been a very beautiful woman), daughter of Yost Joder
and Catherine Gerber Yoder, born August, l750, in Oggersheim,
Germany, owned the Hotel Pfaltzer Hof.
During the French Revolution (1792-1796) when
the revolutionaries destroyed and burned the entire Pfalz
(
Anna Barbara offered him her hotel as his headquarters (see
picture), and he accepted.
When the French soldiers plundered the small
Later, when the soldiers left, she then returned the stolen
goods to the villagers.
The Hotel-Pfalzer
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Letters to the editor:
My mother was a Yoder and I was raised with my Yoder
grandparents on a farm immediately east of where the widow Barbara Yoder had
land in what is now Tilden Twp. (Berks Co.). I am a descendant of that branch.
As a youngster I spent much time in the old
What was my Grandfather's farm, in the 1940's he subdivided
and sold for building lots. The streets are named after his children, and he
turned the barn into ,apartments. The small community is known as "
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Yes I'm interested in Yoder history, now since becoming
involved with Christopher. Found it to be an undertaking, especially at my age.
Not as easy as it was one day. Seems we need to be reminded to reach out to
Jesus since by his spirit he reaches out to both you and me.
-- Olen Yoder,
(Quite a testimony from a 90 some year old saint. Olen is
the GGGGgrandson of 1742 Immigrant Christian Jotter.)
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Near
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After years of scrounging for so little information, I was a
little resigned. Your newsletter and personal letters were
an oasis in the long desert, a tremendous breakthrough to me. Excitement beyond
words!
--.H. Walter Yoder,
(The above letter from a satisfied
customer" of the newsletter. From the
information he submitted, we were able to add 15 members to his family tree who
had been previously unknown to him. Thus, one of the purposes of this
newsletter is beginning to be fulfilled.-- Editors)
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My husband and l have made up a genealogy book of the David
Y. Yoder family in 1975, he (David) was our great grandfather and a descendant
of widow Barbara Yoder. I have the heating and cook
stove of David's--over 200 years old. Picture is in our book.
-Sadie Brenneman,Salisbury.PA.
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As my father was married four times John D. was the only
child from the first wife so father married the second time and had five
children and when father married my mother, his third wife, by now John D. was
a grown boy so he married my Mother's sister. Later three of John's boys
married my first wife's sisters which makes them
cousins, nephews, and brothers-in-law. My mother then died when I was three
years old and Father was 45 when he was a widower for the third time. Five
years later he married a widow with nine children and together they had a son.
So there are four sets of Yoders, two sets of Mullets in one family connection
as stepmother's first husband had four children when he married her. This is
one of the most mixed up families I know of.
-- Ben D. Yoder - Stuarts Draft, VA.
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I really enjoyed receiving the first Yoder Newsletter
recently. The information on the first page was especially important to us
because we plan to spend several weeks in
-- Marc Yoder,
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Places Named Yoder Series
by David Luthy
(The following article, which originally appeared in the
July, 1973 issue of "Family Life", has been expanded and and updated by its author especially for the YODER
NEWSLETTER)
The origin of the name "
The town name "LaGrange" also does not originate
from
Last but not least is the town named "Yoder". It
does, indeed,have an Amish connection. It is about a
mile west of
Philip Yoder was born in 1836 at
In the fall of 1881, Philip and his oldest son, Benjamin F.
or "Frank" as he was called, went to
The Philip Yoder family settled in
During Philip Yoder's lifetime, no town named
"Yoder" had existed. In 1921 the Union Pacific railroad laid track
from
Real estate offices, measuring a mere 4 by 6 feet, sprang up
almost overnight at Yoder. Grocery, hardware, and dry goods stores were soon
constructed; also a bakery and a cream station. In 1922 a brick schoolhouse was
built and a weekly newspaper was started. That same year, electricity came to
town, including even electric street lamps. A rodeo was held that summer to
celebrate the founding of the town.
In four years' time, Yoder, Wyoming grew from nothing to a
town of between 500 and 600 people There were three drugstores, two barber
shops, three hardware stores, two cream stations, a hotel, a bank, several
churches, a bakery, a doctor's office, a community hall, three lumber yards, a
telephone office, a rooming house, and a livery stable--not to mention the many
residences. 5
The Yoder ranch was still owned in 1973 by a Yoder--Philip's
grandson, Oscar T. Yoder who had purchased it in 1931. His name is familiar to
footnotes:
1. Urbanek, Mae, "
2. a letter from Oscar T. Yoder, Lagrange, Wyo. dated Apr.2,
1973 to the author.
3. Yoder, Oscar T., a mimeographed, undated writing entitled "History of the Town of
4. Allen, Florence A. "Yoder in the 1920's",
Annals of Wyoming, Vol.39, No.2, 0ct.1967, pg.25
5. Ibid
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Update note:
We are grateful to the Hon. Oscar T Yoder of
"My current information is that the population of Yoder
has stabilized and has gained some after a modest decline. A new water tower
has been constructed and a sewer system was installed some two years ago. The
town sign indicates a population of 110, elevation 4245."
"My father was Frank Yoder (B.F.) He passed away in
1943 at the age of 80. He led a very active life, ranching in an extensive way
in the Bear Creek, LaGrange, and
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REVELATIONS FROM
BARBARA SHIRK'S WILL
By Rachel Kreider
Identifying
the early Amish Yoders in
As it turns out, someone had listed his siblings. On October
22, 1809, one Christian Yoder (Butcher Christ) wrote: "now I will write
down in what years my Father's brothers and sisters were (born)'':
Aunt Barbara Yoder Born in the year 1725
Aunt Mattie Yoder Born in the year 1726
Uncle Christian Yoder Born in the year 1728
Aunt Elizabeth Yoder Born in the year 1729
Uncle John Yoder Born in the year 1732
Father Yost Yoder Born in the year 1734
Aunt Franny Yoder Born in the year 1739
Uncle Jacob Yoder Born in the year 1740
Further along in the account, Jacob C. Yoder, his grandson,
who continued the genealogy and had descended from two different Yoder lines,
said that on his mother's side he was descended from Butcher Christian, son of
Yost, who was the son of Strong Jacob. That the above children belonged to
Strong Jacob was thus handed down in print from this source, an others, for
many years.
Research in the
As it often happens, the key to the puzzle turned up
unexpectedly while in pursuit of other interests. Paul V. Hostetler of
Connecticut, grandson of the Hostetler historian who helped Harvey Hostetler
compile the Descendants of Jacob Hochstetler (the famous Hostetler book of
1912), was trying to clear up some problems in connection with his own roots.
He was referred to Annette Burget of the Pennsylvania German Society. She responded
with a long letter, which confirmed that most of us had been on the wrong track
also in identifying the immigrant Jacob Hochstetler. When in the course of
their correspondence she found out that Paul was also researching Hartzlers and
pinpointing the location of the earliest Amish farms, she sent him a copy of
the will of one Barbara Shirk, which had a reference in it to a Hertzler. He
promptly and generously shared it with Dr. Gingerich and received a telephone
call from the latter that first night. Barbara Yoder, the second wife of John
Shirk, had named her brothers and sisters, outlining for us one of the first
two Amish families in
Quoting from the beginning and the end of the will, we find:
"I, Barbara Shirk of
Coupled with information gleaned elsewhere, Dr. Gingerich
could now construct a list like this (approximating the dates within several
years):
Catherine ca 1720 m. Isaac Kauffman
Christian ca 1722; d 1772 in
Jacob ca 1726; d. 1790 in Lancaster Co. m. Anna _ (This one
fits to be the real Strong Jacob)
Anna ca l728; d. in
Michael ca 1730; d. 1799 in Mifflin Co
John ca l 732; d. 1804 in
Barbara ca 1734; d. 1790 in
Veronica ca 1736; d. 1806 in Mifflin Co. m. John Hertzler
The mother of these children, according to persistent
tradition, was the famous "Widow Barbara". To this day there has not
been found any satisfactory documentation for this, nor has it been disproved.
There are nine children in the family, but not eight of them sons, as one story
has it. We are inclined to believe that this is indeed the family of Widow
Barbara and that the father therefore died at sea. There has been speculation
about his name, some even published as fact, but more evidence is needed. From
a study of land transfers we believe that the father of the other family was
Christian. A Bible record gives a death date for him of November, l775, the
autumn before Christian Der Schweiz, now believed to be his son, came over the
Alleghenies to
Finding this will was indeed a break through. Dr. Gingerich
could now account for all the Amish Yoder males in the first three generations
and could make intelligent speculations on the unnamed marriage partners, but
there was still work to do. Were the heads of the two family’s brothers? Does
it signify anything that the oldest son in each family was named Christian?
What was the correct separation of children in the two John-Anna families? What
is the most promising connecting link with the Anabaptist Joders of that time
in
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YODER INQUIRIES
- The Yoder Newsletter will publish Yoder-related ancestral
inquiries or exchanges from readers. Please limit to around 30 words plus your
mailing address. It would be appreciated if a copy of any helpful replies could
be sent to this newsletter so we may help others with this data in the future.
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Needed: PA birthplace and parents names of Andrew Klock
Yoder (19 Aug 1852- 6 Apr 1921), m. Malinda Salada (14 Feb 1852- 9 Mar 1917).
Oldest record 1875 in Point Twp.,Northumberland Co.,PA. Reply:H.S.Yoder Jr,
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-Wish to find parents and descendants of Johannes Jotter,
b.1763 d.10/26/1847 m.Phronica (Veronica) Emmerich, dau. of Herman & Hanna
Emmerich, b. 11/28/ 1767. d.9/19/1833. m. 12/23/1788. Johannes
lived in Rockland Twp.,Berks Co.,PA. Children: Hanna b.6/30/ 1789; Maria
b. 8/27/17'90;Jacob b. 6/27/1792 d.9/23/ 1861.m1
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Wanted: Info. on the location of the Yoder
research files of:Charles T. Yoder, Was.D.C. circa 1890; Lynn Yoder of
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Wanted: Ancestry of Elizabeth Yoder(s)
b.8/17/1803 d.10/1881 Washington Co.,
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Wanted: UnpublishedYoder
Bible records 1850 or Prior. Send data
to
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Wanted: Information on Alsatian Yoder lines--anyone doing
research or having early immigrant or
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HANS YODER (c1685-c1756) settled at Great Swamp,Bucks Co.,
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Wanted: Mother of Mary Yoder (1821-1892). Mary was dau. of
John Yoder of Centre Twp. Berks Co.,PA.Who was his
wife? Mary m.John Becker(1820-1
900), son of John and Rebecca (Zimmerman)
Becker. They were members
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Wanted: Information on
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Wanted: Information on the first wife of Conrad
Yoder (
any
information on Conrad's other wife and c hildren, as
many married Clines or their descendants. Reply: Pauline Reinhardt, 503 St.James
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Wanted: Name of ship,exact
arrival date. Maria
Yoder b. 1780 d"1868
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Seeking info. on William Henry Yotter, called "Henry". Married
Matilda Metzger (1837-1911). He died before 1900. They lived in Freemansburg, Northampton Co.,PA
where he owned canal boats running on the
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Who were the ancestors of Anna Yoder born about 1728,
married to Samuel Koenig(King), born 1724, died 1783 and immigrant with father
Jacob. Anna and Samuel had son Jacob King who married Barbara Zug (Zook). Respond to: Mabel
Brunk,
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Who were the ancestors of Jacob Eschboch
Yoder? Born l838, lived near
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Descendants of Bishop Christian C. Yoder (1790-1846),
Somerset Co. PA1!! His homestead graveyard has fallen into oblivion and is
being plowed over. If you are interested in restoring this site, several other
descendants could use your help. Contacts Chris Yoder,
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BOOK SECTION: This newsletter will identify Yoder-related
books currently available for purchase. If you know of any such books of interest to other readers,
please advise the editors:
Descendants of David Y. Yoder, by Eli Brenneman. Traces the descendants of David Y. Yoder (1820-1899) of Somerset Co.,PA. David was a son of Yost H.,a
son of Henry Y., a son of another Yost Yoder (all members of the Amish Yoder
line). Sadie Brenneman, widow of Eli, says she has
quite a few copies of this 218 page book left and would be glad to sell some $5
post paid . Order from: Sadie Brenneman, Rt. 1 ,
Descendants of Jacob Hochstetler, by Harvey
Hostetler. This reprint of the
1912 classic is not specifically a Yoder book. It does, however include data on
many of the primarily Amish Yoder lines. Its availability will be welcomed by
quite a few of our readers. This 1200 page volume may be ordered from: the
Gospel Bookstore
The Reuben Yoder Family and Its Ancestry, by Chris
Yoder,1983. Reuben Yoder was the son and grandson of two generations of Amish
Bishops of Somerset Co.,
Family Record of Eli Yoder,1973,by Dale E.Yoder. Eli Yoder was
born 4/1/1853 near Salisbury, PA the son of Yost Yoder and Elizabeth
Hochstetler.This 23 page booklet may be had from the author for $1. Limited
number are available, and the author warns that there are a number of errors
and unintentional omissions. Order from: Dale E. Yoder, RR,
JUST OFF THE PRESS-Familv Record of John T Yoder and
Anna Bontrager 1840-1983- .
Hardback 472 p. $8.50 + 86¢ postage. Order from Katie Borkholder
30580 CR56, Nappanee IN 46550.
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EUROPEAN YODER RESEARCH- by Lois Ann Mast
(This article has been reprinted with permission from the
April 1981 issue of "The Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage", the
quarterly magazine of the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, 2215 Millstream
Rd., Lancaster, PA 17602.)
Karl Joder, a researcher from Ludwigshafen/Rhein, Germany,
has researched the European Joder families for
many years. The following article is based on his many notes, brochures, and charts.
The surname of Yoder is derived from the Alemannic given
name "Theodor," derived from a Greek word
meaning "man of God." The first known bishop in
Already in the fourth and fifth centuries, the Joders are known to
have settled on the right shore of the
On a 1384 tax register
for the small
Ulli's and Elsi's only known son, Heini Joder, moved Wabout 1385 to Steffisburg,
Switzerland, in the southern part of the Emmental. The
Joders lived here for approximately eleven
generations before the Joders who joined the Wiedertaufer, or Anabaptist, movement were forced to leave
their homeland in search of religious
freedom.
The Steffisburg Joders, primarily farmers, were also involved in a variety
of trades and service in civil
administration
offices. In 1428 a Jost Joder
served as govemor at Laueren
near Thun. Accounts of Joders
involved in the Anabaptist movement include Heini Joder teacher and preacher, who was arrested and imprisoned
in