From the category archives:

Articles

Amos and Bertha: A Tribute by a Niece

February 13, 2010

by Ruth Hieser Oyer

Condensed and adapted by Donna Birkey from an unpublished
manuscript archived at East Bend Mennonite Church, Fisher, IL.
Originally published in the Spring 2008 issue (Vol. XXXV, No. 1)
Illinois Mennonite Heritage Quarterly  (http://www.imhgs.org)
(Used with permission of original publisher)

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After a four-year courtship, Amos Hieser and Bertha Birkey (shown at left years later [...]

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Ancestry and Ministry of the Bishop: Peter Zehr (1851-1922)

September 18, 2009

The Ancestry of the Bishop:
Peter Zehr (1851 – 1922)
by Donna Schrock Birkey
Originally published in the Winter 2008 (Vol. XXXV  •  No. 4)
Illinois Mennonite Heritage Quarterly (http://www.imhgs.org)
(Used with permission of original publisher)
“Recently I found indications that the Amish Zehr name may have roots in the very early Zehringen family. The House of Zahringen has roots [...]

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The History of the Family of Peter Yordy – 1815-1897

February 24, 2009

The article is made up of three parts:
Part 1
From Ancient History to Switzerland and France
Part 2
The History of the Family of Peter Yordy (1815-1897)
The Yordy Siblings of Central Illinois—Peter Yordy, Christian Yotty, and Jacobina (Philabena) Yordy
Part 3
Yordy Addendum
French Birth Records and Ancestry of Peter Yordy
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John and Mary Schrock – An Unlikely Couple

February 24, 2009

The Personal Story of an Illinois Amish Mennonite Family
by Donna Schrock Birkey
Originally published in the Spring 2006 issue (Vol. XXXIII, No. 1)
Illinois Mennonite Heritage Quarterly (http://www.imhgs.org)
This story is based on remembrances of a grandchild who shared their lives and knew this John and Mary intimately. AHD lived next door, down the road, [...]

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Immigrant Michael Salzman – 1779-1861

February 24, 2009

His Ancestors and His Descendants
by Donna Schrock Birkey
Originally published in the Winter 2004 issue (Vol. XXXI, No. 4)
Illinois Mennonite Heritage Quarterly (http://www.imhgs.org)
(Used with permission of original publisher)
A 1589 Swiss record of the surname (Trina) Salzman is shown below. Over the years some families added a “t,” others added an extra“ n, still [...]

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Barbara Birki Sampler

February 24, 2009

156 year-old Sampler Surfaces and Escapes Auction Oblivion
Co-authored by Donna Schrock Birkey and Donald D. Kauffman
Originally published in the Fall 2003 issue (Vol. XXX, No. 3)
Illinois Mennonite Heritage Quarterly (http://www.imhgs.org)
(Used with permission of original publisher)

1. Introduction, description, present owner
A 10″ x 10″ unframed piece of embroidered linen fabric almost disappeared into “auction oblivion” recently in [...]

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Immigrant Johannes Schrock, 1801-1875, of Illinois

February 24, 2009

by Donna Schrock Birkey
Originally published in the Winter 2002 issue (Vol. XXIX, No. 4)
Illinois Mennonite Heritage Quarterly (http://www.imhgs.org)
(Used with permission of original publisher)
(Additional information has been found about the Johannes Schrock family since this 2002 article and that information is reflected in other sections of the website.)
As I became interested in genealogy twenty-some years ago [...]

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