Amish Mennonites in

262 Pages·2016·2.83 MB·English

by  Joe Staker

Amish Mennonites
in Tazewell County, Illinois
(INCLUDING WOODFORD COUNTY)

GENEALOGY
Part One of Five
Completed January 2022 ▪ Compiled by Joseph Peter Staker
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
BELSLEY - ENGEL - OYER - ROGGY/ROCKE
ROPP - SCHERTZ - STAKER - VERCLER

Genealogy and history of 103 families that came to
Tazewell and Woodford Counties 1830-1856
Amish Mennonites in Tazewell County, Illinois

Above, a slip at Le Havre in 1856.

On the cover, clockwise from upper left: Tazewell County, Illinois; the flag of Steffisburg; the Groveland home of
Christian Staker and Magdalena Ropp circa 1916; the sign for the Evangelical Mennonite Church on the corner of
Springfield and East Queenwood Roads in Groveland; the Iutzi family piano on display at the restored Chrisholm
Homestead, as photographed by Jim Schrock of Dublin, Ohio during the Augspurger reunion in July 2003,
copyright © 2003 Jim Schrock; Christian Ropp Jr. & Sons advertisement for Ropp's New
Commercial Calculator, 1906; the seal of Lorraine; and the flag of Hilterfingen.

TAZEWELL COUNTY IN 1833 (BOLD OUTLINE) AND TODAY (GRAY)

https://tcghs.org/research-guides/amish-mennonites-in-tazewell-county/
courtesy of the Tazewell County Genealogical & Historical Society, Pekin.
Because this text is posted online in a format identical to hard copies,
page numbering starts from the cover (page 1).

Amish Mennonites in Tazewell County, Illinois
(including Woodford County)
Part One of Five
Text only copyright © January 2022. Permission is given to reproduce up to 50 lines
without a formal request. [email protected]

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Amish Mennonites in Tazewell County, Illinois

“Mennonite immigration came in three waves.
Persecution, improved ships, William Penn's invitation, and Quakers helped
bring the first one. Better conditions in Europe checked the flow between
1740 and 1815, when opposition to the new military draft brought the second
wave. Up to Napoleon's day armies consisted of hired soldiers, with
volunteers of plunderers, thieves, cutthroats, and every kind of worthless
human riff-raff, making it easier for decent men to stay out.
But now [following the Congress of Vienna in 1815] the restored kingdoms
copied Prussia's new draft, so Mennonites had to take it or go, with America
the best door. This included the Ropps, Litwillers, Berkys, Roths, Schlegels,
Farnis, Zehrs, Heisers, Strubhars, Sommers, Gerbers, Schertz, Stakers,
Stalters, Kaufmans, Engels, Waglers, Zimmermans, Richs, and Kinsingers.
Look over the Illinois list; they are almost all there.
Thousands went elsewhere; our state was new then.
The third wave began with the steamship and railroad."

⸻ Christian Ropp (1812-1896), from his 1892 recollections

“Despite their protestations, they were very afraid of death, but denied it.
They were very afraid of the opinions of others, but denied it. And they were
proud of their properties. In that way they were no different than you or I.
They just had different customs, all meant to express Demut und
Bescheidenheit [humility and modesty].”

⸻ Peter Hochstettler (1834-1924), Groveland Sunday school teacher, on the
differences between Amish Mennonites and Defenseless Mennonites

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Amish Mennonites in Tazewell County, Illinois
Preface

In the 1870s and '80s, residents in every county of Illinois were approached by flack
writers of commercial biographies, gazeteers, and atlases. Members of the older generation
were badgered for the recollections of early pioneers. Within a few months, families that
seemed receptive were approached again by a traveling salesman. For only a few dollars they
could purchase a flattering hardbound copy of their memories from a publisher in Chicago or St.
Louis.
These publications painted a picture of an idyllic past. Like Lake Wobegon, where 'every
child is above average,' it was proposed that every family had come to America seeking
religious freedom, and succeeded through industry and thrift while others fell behind. The
descriptions of well-to-do families - who subscribed for a number of copies - generally fared
better than those with less generous pockets. Over time, the flattering portrayals found in these
commercial publications were accepted as history.
In contrast, we have attempted to write this account from an objective historical
perspective. This may not be agreeable to all readers. Microfilm or online images of original
documents were consulted when they could clarify an event or timeline. Political and social
events were taken into account to show that 'push' was just as much a factor as 'pull' in the
process of emigration from Europe.
The resulting history is peppered with accounts of false starts, interrupted journeys, and
failed ventures. It also makes the point that our Amish Mennonite forebearers found it just as
difficult and impractical to practice idealistic 'avoidance' as we would find it today.
The positive characteristics that emerge in this picture of the early generations include
adherence to the established Mennonite values of simple lifestyle, principled non-aggression,
mutual cooperation, and contribution to the immediate community.
'Amish' can describe customs, clothing, dialect, or religious practices. In the title the word
is used in its original meaning: to describe the followers of Jacob Amman of Erlenbach, Canton
Bern and their descendants.
Four of the 16 national assemblies of Amish Mennonite ministers [Ger. Diener
Versammlungen] took place in Central Illinois: at Danvers, McLean County in 1866; at Gridley
Prairie, Livingston County in 1871; at Hittle, Tazewell County in 1875; and at Roanoke,
Woodford County in 1878.
We have occasionally been asked, “If there were Amish Mennonites in Tazewell County,
where are the old photographs of people wearing black?” The practice of wearing plain
clothing to express humility was somewhat different in the 19th century. The idea that males
should dress in black is a 20th-century notion formed in the Old Orders of Pennsylvania, Ohio,
and Indiana.
An argument can be made that the Old Order turning point into regression came at a
national assembly of ministers held in deacon John Strubhar's barn near the Rock Creek meeting
house at Danvers, McLean County May 20-23, 1866. Illinois and Iowa residents had been
heavily influenced by two events in 1854-55: an Asian Cholera epidemic that made them more
reliant on their ‘English’ neighbors, and the invention of the stainless steel self-cleaning plow.
The enhanced plow enabled farmers to move out of the riverbottom lands and cultivate the
hard-baked soils of the prairies, encouraging a wider distribution of large families. But
ministers representing the Old Orders of Pennsylvania objected to mingling with outsiders, and
wearied of arguments over concessions to current fashion - ‘pearls, lace, shellacked hair, and
bow ties.’ Even lightning rods on barns caused heated debate. They returned to their homes
and encouraged their own congregations to simplify.
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Amish Mennonites in Tazewell County, Illinois
In The Riddle of Amish Culture, author Donald Kraybill makes the point that what you
might see in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania today is more conservative than the clothing of a
century ago: "An elderly member noted that around 1910 men wore different colors of
corduroy trousers - brown, gray, and blue - and they rarely had a suit coat that matched their
pants. Gradually, male dress suits became a uniform black, and corduroy became taboo." In
Amish Society, John A. Hostetler also observed regression to an artificial concept of the past:
"Some of the aged Amish persons of very conservative groups have observed that the hair is
worn longer today than it was fifty years ago. The most conservative Old Order Amish groups
today may in fact be groups that have become more conservative by overconforming through
the years, just as other groups have become more progressive. There is a kind of aggressive
humility in seeing who can conform the most."
The first person we asked to proofread this text was born in Pennsylvania. She recalled
that her local historical society had been unable to find old tintypes of farm families in the now-
familiar black plain clothing. And now she was flatly amazed to find the explanation coming
out of the Midwest.
The choice of plain clothing focuses on the avoidance of specific bright colors. This has
provoked a variety of explanations from outside observers. Behavioralists point out that the
color red is associated with sexual excitation. Historians note that red is worn by the Catholic
clergy. And culturalists point out that Amish Mennonite communities are gerontocracies, where
norms are dictated by the elderly - and traditional European folk medicine held that wearing red
aggravated arthritis, bursitis, and inflammation. But light blue, gray, and purple have recently
found great favor for dresses, shawls, bonnets, and summer shirts.
Over the past century the Amish Mennonites of Tazewell County have disappeared. The
older generations passed on, and their children were largely absorbed into the Mennonite
Church or Protestant denominations. They no longer follow the archaic European customs of
simple dress and social isolation. This transition was entirely in step with the mainstream
population of Tazewell County. But the familiar surnames are still represented.
These family histories cross county lines, particularly into Woodford County. Tazewell
County was established in 1827 from a part of Sangamon County. The original boundaries
encompassed parts of present-day DeWitt, Livingston, Logan, Mason, McLean, and Woodford
Counties. The reduced present-day boundaries were set in 1841, when Woodford County was
created from parts of Tazewell and McLean Counties.
We have provided cultural background in the stories of the first three families:
Rŭpp/Ropp, Stücker/Staker, and König/King. All three could be found in the Protestant
Reformed Church congregation of Steffisburg, Canton Bern before the Amish division of 1693.
The descendants of Rŭpps have shared a common history with the descendants of the Stückers
for over 500 years. In the early 1500s they intermarried in the village of Hilterfingen. In the
1830s they worshipped with minister 'Apostle Peter' Naffziger in Butler County, Ohio. In the
1840s and 1850s they came together in the Dillon Creek meeting that became Pleasant Grove
Amish Mennonite Church.
The portion of text on the Rŭpp/Ropp family gives background on the principality of Salm
and Alsace; the Stücker/Staker portion touches on issues from Lorraine, military conscription,
and emigration; and the König/King portion provides background unique to the families that
first settled in Pennsylvania in the 18th century.
The selection of additional families simply followed the flow of historical events and
intermarriages. For example, Christian Roggy settled in a part of Tazewell County that later
became Woodford County, and had only daughters. There are few direct Roggy descendants to
press a case for inclusion. Yet he illustrates the life of those who came to America on a
forgotten ship, possibly under an assumed name. That is worth including.
The stories of these families are necessary to understand the forces that moved a population
from one continent to another.
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Amish Mennonites in Tazewell County, Illinois
There was never any question that these families knew each other before emigrating from
Europe. It became immediately obvious that our biggest problem would not be in making
connections, but in keeping track of the numerous cross-references and cross-matches. In many
instances this helped to point out contradictions and errors of fact in early records.
Jump ahead to the acknowlegements at the close of the Appendix for the names of the
many contributors who made this project possible.

This is not a census. We have not named all of the children in every family – often
only those relevant to the North America migration. Full sets are given when there
has been question or confusion in older sources. Phrases like “Two children were…”
or ‘One child was…” indicate that there were others, but their inclusion
would not draw interest or add value.

In modern France, place names are uniformly ‘dashed’ to meet requirements of the
postal system. Ste. Marie aux Mines is now written as Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines or
Ste.-Marie-aux-Mines. In this instance we have not been entirely consistent with
either style, using the popular form Ste. Marie-aux-Mines.

On Jan. 1, 2016 the French regions of Alsace, Lorraine, and Champagne-Ardenne
were administratively merged to form Grand-Est. To avoid confusion
we have not modified the text.

This text is not always consistent in writing format. The entirety might be thought
of as a collection of articles written over the period 2001-2021. Recognizing that it is
often difficult to follow descendant branches down through generations, we have
varied type sizes, capitalizations, and numbering in the interest of readability.

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Amish Mennonites in Tazewell County, Illinois
PART ONE OF FIVE

Bernese Anabaptists 8
Swiss Anabaptist Emigrants 13
The Amish Division 19
Jacob Amman of Erlenbach 22
Refuge in Alsace 24
Northern Migrations 25
The Second Wave of Immigration 27
The Packet Ships 30
Illinois 33
Woodford County 36
The Congregations 36
The Third Wave of Immigration 42
Lincoln, Slavery, and the Civil War 43
The Mennonite Transition 47
ROPP Rŭpp to Ropp 51
The Jean Rupp Branch 89
Ropp Background 95
More Rŭpps from Hilterfingen to Steffisburg 95
‘Other Rŭpps’ at Salm and Le Ban de la Roche 96
Rŭpp of Hochburg 100
The Unfortunate Rupp Family of Danvers 102
Rupp of Fulton County 104
STAKER Stücker to Staker 106
Barbarians 106
Along Lake Thun 108
Beyond Switzerland 120
Other Children of Joseph and Barbe 141
BELSLEY Belsley: Baltzli of Bolligen 155
SCHERTZ Schertz of Oberstinzel (Woodford/McLean Counties) 165
Schertz of Bühl (Blue Town/Fon du Lac) 173
Schertz of Reherrey (Hopedale) 180
Schertz of Bistroff (Washington) 186
Schertz of Sarralbe (Butler County) 190
ENGEL Engel of Bowil 193
Engle of Lancaster County 194
Engel of Woodford County 199
VERCLER Würgler of Hellocourt 218
ROGGY Rogi of Buchholterberg 225
Rocke of Ismannsdorf 231
OYER Eÿer of Riggisberg 235

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Amish Mennonites in Tazewell County, Illinois
Bernese Anabaptists

B efore 1353 Bern was not only a city, but the largest of several independent city-states. Its name was derived
from the dialect equivalent of 'bear,' the animal that appears on its crest.
Bern remained relatively detached from European squabbles. Instead of following the dictates of a foreign
prince, each city-state ran its own affairs. Citizens who were freemen were even allowed to voice their
interpretations of religious matters at public meetings, as long as their ideas fell relatively close to the mainstream.
In 1353, the city-state combined with other loose states to form the Swiss confederation of cantons (later called
the Old Swiss Confederacy) under the protection of the Holy Roman Empire.
By 1499, the stability of the confederation had allowed it to become relatively more prosperous than the rest of
Europe. It pulled away from the Holy Roman Empire, and its army occupied territory as far as Milan. However,
Swiss troops were badly routed when they went up against a combined French and Venetian force in 1513. This
prompted the confederation to pull back from expansionism and declare permanent neutrality.
It was inevitable that the Protestant Reformation in Europe would find a foothold in a place that already
provided a relative degree of security and religious tolerance. In 1518 Huldrych Zwingli (1484-1531) became a
public voice for citizens who resented the power of the Roman Catholic Church. Although he was the leading priest
in the Great Church of Zürich, he protested against the unique authority of Rome and the rituals that had evolved
there. Delivering sermons in the open, speaking the Swiss-German dialect [Ger. Schwyzerdütch] rather than Latin,
he proposed the new belief that life should be guided by the literal word of die heilige Schrift [the holy scriptures, or
Bibel].1
In March of 1522 Zwingli attended a dinner in the home of printer-engraver Christoffel Froschauer. It was
also attended by Froschauer's workers, who were celebrating the completion of an edition of The Epistles of Saint
Paul. Zwingli may not have eaten, because it was a week of Lenten fasting. But others did.
Froschauer was arrested for eating smoked sausages during Lent. Zwingli gave a sermon saying the sausages
were not prohibited by the Bible, and individual choice should be allowed. The bishop of Constanz responded by
issuing an edict prohibiting discussion of Reformation throughout Switzerland.
Zwingli's appeal to the public rested on two points. He felt that forgiveness of sins was possible without
money changing hands, through “salvation by grace through faith alone.” He also denounced the practice of hiring
out Swiss citizens as mercenary soldiers. He felt the soldiers would return to their homes disillusioned and
corrupted by outside influences. In 1522, foreign services and military pensions were forbidden in Zürich.
At first, Zwingli stated that it was important to baptize at an age sufficient to imply belief and consent - in
agreement with examples from Scripture. However, as he gained popular support, he backed away from positions
that favored Scripture over political realities. By the close of 1522 he had come full circle to endorse the baptism of
infants.
Some of his student followers saw his retreat on the issue of baptism as a concession to the politics of the
Zürich City Council. They felt that infant baptism – not mentioned in the Bible, but the invention of governments –
was simply a political tracking device that prevented residents from slipping past tax collectors.
In time, they also came to see Zwingli's ideas for a reformed church as a thinly veiled transfer of power - from
the Roman Catholic Church to the trade guilds of the growing upper middle class. The invention of a reformed
church would mean that revenues from taxation and produce would no longer end up in Rome, but with wealthy
families in the cities of Zurich and Bern, where presumably it might be re-invested. State church religious leaders
would be proxies for business interests. But it would come at a price for the common people: the distance between
the classes would grow deeper, and average citizens would no longer have the ability to question religious
interpretations or new laws.
A few of the students secretly broke away from Zwingli to form their own group. While Zwingli accepted the
Zürich City Council as a religious authority, the students believed in separating the theology of the New Testament
from politics. They tried to heed the Biblical admonition to “…Be ye not conformed to this world, but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good, and acceptable, and perfect will of
God.” (Romans 12:2). While state clerics debated church reform, Anabaptists met secretly.

1 Today about two-thirds of Switzerland's citizens speak the Schwyzerdütch or High Alemannic dialect of the German
language; others speak Italian or French.

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Amish Mennonites in Tazewell County, Illinois
Then the peasants of northern Germany revolted and demanded land reforms. The event is now known as the
Peasants' War of 1524-25. Unfortunately, many of the peasants stated Anabaptist beliefs before being
indiscriminately slaughtered. The uprising made Zürich and Bern authorities wary of Anabaptist practices.
On Jan. 21, 1525, Zurich dissenters secretly re-baptized each other.
Zwingli's reformed concepts were officially adopted by the Zürich City Council in 1526. The council skirted
the issue of infant-versus-adult baptism by prohibiting public discussion.

MICHAEL SATTLER
It was suspected that Zurich authorities played a behind-the-scenes role in an exceptionally infamous execution the
following year.
On Feb. 24, 1527 a former Benedictine prior named Michael Sattler convened a 'brotherly union' of Anabaptist
leaders at Schleitheim in Canton Schaffhausen (north of Zurich). The group drafted a simple statement of faith that was
widely circulated and became known as the Schleitheim Articles. The seventh and final article forbade the taking of oaths;
this was generally assumed to mean oaths of loyalty or service to governments.
After the assembly concluded Sattler went north for a second meeting at Strasbourg. When he eventually returned
home to Rottenburg, Württemberg, he was surprised to find the municipal secretary of Ensisheim (now in Upper Alsace)
waiting at his door with manacles.2 Ensisheim was the administrative center of the Hapsburg possessions in Alsace.
The judgement against him: "Governor of his Imperial Majesty versus Michael Sattler, judgment is passed, that
Michael Sattler shall be delivered to the executioner, who shall lead him to the place of execution, and cut out his tongue;
then throw him upon a wagon, and there tear his body twice with red hot tongs; and after he has been brought without the
gate, he shall be pinched five times in the same manner."
Martyrs Mirror: "After this had been done in the manner prescribed, Sattler was burned to ashes as a heretic. His
fellow brethren were executed with the sword, and the sisters drowned. His wife, also, after being subjected to many
entreaties, admonitions and threats, under which she remained very steadfast, was drowned a few days afterwards. Done
the 21st day of May, Anno Domini 1527."

In Bernese Anabaptists (1953), historian Delbert Gratz differentiated between the movement in the city of
Zurich, spurred by intellectual differences over the form of the coming Reformation (withdrawal from Catholic
influence), and the movement in rural Canton Bern. He felt that the Bernese who later became Amish Mennonites
were drawing on much older traditions. “…There were two strains of Anabaptism…the one located in the cities of
Bern, Biel, and Aarau and being nourished (and perhaps founded) by Anabaptists from other Swiss cities such as
Basel and Zurich, and the other movement of a much older origin in the more secluded areas in the state of Bern. It
was the latter strain that survived two centuries of persecution and has lived on to the present day.”
They became known as Wiedertäufer or Anabaptists. Anabaptismus means 'second baptism.' The Anabaptists
of the Old Swiss Confederacy and the Rhine Valley actually called themselves Brüder (brethren). Not only did they
believe that religious choice could be the informed decision of an adult, but more dangerously, they showed that
religious functions could be separated from the state.
On Aug. 14, 1527 the cities of Bern, St. Gall, and Zurich agreed to a Concordat forbidding Anabaptism. They
warned against outsiders coming into their cantons to make converts. If caught, they would be banished; if they
refused exile, they would be drowned. Ministers from abroad and those who had escaped prisons would also be
drowned.
One of Zwingli’s correspondents in Canton Bern was Berchtold Haller. In 1513 he had been appointed as a
speaker on behalf of the Catholic St. Vincent Münster [cathedral] in the city of Bern. This structure is now called
the Protestant Reformed Cathedral [Ger. Berner Münster, or Bern Minster]. In 1520 he was ordained as a priest.
By 1527 the movement for a reformation (withdrawal from Catholic influence) had grown in momentum to a point
where Haller could speak in its favor from the cathedral’s pulpit.
On Jan. 4, 1528, the Catholic Holy Roman Emperor Charles V issued a mandate to ruling princes, "...That each
and every Anabaptist and rebaptized person, man or woman of accountable age, shall be brought from natural life to
death with fire and sword and the like."
On Jan. 7, 1528 the Council of Bern prohibited Anabaptism throughout the canton. The announcement of the
mandate came only 15 days before a planned debate-disputation on religion in general in the city of Bern.
Anabaptists were to be given temporary amnesty to attend. But when eight arrived and were identified, they
were placed in confinement lest their comments detract from the appearance of a united front against Rome.

2 In geographical descriptions we have made two concessions for the convenience of the majority of our readers. The
French departments Haut-Rhin and Bas-Rhin are given in their English versions, as Upper Alsace and Lower Alsace. Upper
Alsace is in the south, and Lower Alsace in the north, bordered on the east by the Rhine River flowing south-north.
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Amish Mennonites in Tazewell County, Illinois
Though they were not allowed to speak publicly, they met privately with the mainstream clergy on Jan. 17 and 22.
There they were rebuked and threatened.
The main speakers of the debate-disputation were Haller, theologian Wolfgang Capito from Strasbourg, and
painter/engraver Niklaŭs Manuel. Together they cited the Vatican’s disregard for the city of Bern in 1526, a plague
year. This led approximately 450 attendees to support a reformation in the canton.
On Jan. 27 the Council of Bern decreed that throughout the city there would be no more Catholic masses. An
edict issued Feb. 7, 1528 further declared that in effect the Reformation had already been established throughout the
canton. This edict marked the establishment of the Protestant Reformed Church [Ger. Evangelish Reformierte
Kirche].
It could be argued that the religious upheaval was an emotional response to exert control, in the face of a
recurring threat of plague. The illnesses in the city of Bern in 1526 had only forshadowed the approach of a wave.
The plague had appeared in scattered seaports circa 1623, affected Great Britain in 1625, and reached central Europe
by 1625. It spread to southern Europe and throughout the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1628-29.3 It would have its
greatest impact on Italy in 1630. Whether or not it was anticipated, the Reformation may have saved many Swiss
lives by reducing the number of religious pilgrims traveling to and from Rome.
But the formation of a new church had bypassed the Anabaptists. Soon they were being beaten, imprisoned,
tortured, branded, exiled into slavery, or put to death by drowning. Others were forced from their homes and agreed
to leave the region under penalty of death (see the Appendix, LAWS OF CANTON BERN).
Former priest and freethinker theological historian Sebastian Franck wrote in Chronica, Zeitbuch und
Geschichtsbibel (1531): "...Their doctrines soon overspread the whole land and they obtained much following,
baptized thousands and drew many good hearts to them; for they taught, as it seemed, naught but love, faith, and
endurance, showing themselves in much tribulation patient and humble. They break bread with one another as a
sign of oneness and love, helped one another truly with precept, lending, borrowing, giving; taught that all things
should be in common, and called each other ‘Brother.’ They increased so suddenly that the world did fear a tumult
for reason of them. Though of this, as I hear, they have in all places been found innocent. They are persecuted in
many parts with great tyranny, cast into bonds and tormented, with burning, with sword, with fire, with water, and
with much imprisonment, so that in a few years in many places a multitude of them have been undone, as is reported
to the number of two thousand, who in diverse places have been killed.”
On July 31, 1831 another mandate issued by authorities in Cantons Bern, Zurich, and St. Gall required
mandatory attendance at Sunday services and communion.

THE MÜNSTER REBELLION
Because adherents were dispersed over a wide area with little communication, Anabaptism took a number of forms.
Melchior Hoffman was the leader of a 'praying community' at Strasbourg, Alsace. He was baptized as an adult there
in 1530. The following month he began travels through the Low Countries. There he encountered baker Jan Matthys, a
persuasive speaker with radical views.
Hoffman returned to Stasbourg. He later claimed to have had a vision that told him to return, because God would
destroy his opponents there. When his predictions failed to come true, he lost some of his followers. Those remaining
were known as Melchiorites and advocated pacifism.
In contrast, Matthys the baker became militant. He encouraged his followers to gather in the city of Münster in the
Duchy of Westphalia, to prepare a site for the 'New Jerusalem' and the second coming of Christ. They seized the town hall
in February of 1534. They practiced polygamy and forced their religious views on Catholics, threatening those who
refused to be re-baptized before a 'second coming' deadline.
In a rare show of unity, Catholics and Protestants cooperated to storm the city. Matthys was seized and beheaded
when he came outside the gates with only a small group. The Anabaptist extremists surrendered June 24, 1535. Some
were tortured with hot blacksmith’s tongs before being stabbed to death before an audience of Protestant Reformed clerics.
The encouragement of Hoffman had indirectly brought about Matthys' downfall. Hoffman died in a Strasbourg
prison in 1543.

It may be impossible to find an unbiased account that describes the events at Münster as they actually took
place. Contemporary official versions of the story exaggerated the actions of the Matthys group to show how the
two major religions had overcome an evil adversary. Those who sympathized with Anabaptism saw the events as a
political use of torture to enforce conformity.

3 The Thun Rathsmanuele (1628): "This year there was a great wave of plague-like illness that swept away over 3,000
people in our canton; in the neighboring village of Reŭtigen 53 people, here in Thun 237. At a place in Wimmis called
Elendgreth only four women named Margreth survived."
10