John Slabaugh (1806–1861)

25 Apr 1806 – 24 Aug 1861, died at Berlin (Holmes County)

Christopher’s 3rd great-grandfather · ancestor no. 38 · generation 6
Evidence: identity compiled lead · link to parents compiled lead

Family

• Parents: John Slabaugh (elder, immigrant)
• Spouse: Susanna Nisly (1816–1885)
• Family notes: John Slabaugh + Susanna Nisly (m. unknown)
• Children in this vault: Magdalena Slabaugh (1847–1925)

Life and evidence

Died at Berlin, Ohio (1912 genealogy).

In their lifetime

• 1833 — 1833 First Swiss Mennonite settler in Putnam County, Ohio
• 1835 — 1835 The Ramseyers sail on the Richmond
• 1852 — 1852 Swiss Mennonites found Berne, Indiana

Pedigree

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Sources

• Descendants of Jacob Hochstetler (1912)

The Diary (Old Order Amish monthly), 1977, Nissley family article no. 156

“Susanna Nissley … of Kalona, Iowa, married to John Slabaugh, born in 1806 in Germany, who was the only son of John Slabaugh who came from Germany to Somerset County, Pennsylvania, at twenty-three years of age with his mother, who was a Yoder, and a sister.” Children: Fannie (m. John Strahle, killed 1870 while working in a well), Catherine (m. Christian Brenneman), Barbara (m. Leonard Kuhns), Sarah (m. Samuel Fisher), John (m. Elizabeth Schrock), Susanna (m. Jerry Troyer).
The sentence is ambiguous: it may mean the elder John came at 23 with his widowed mother (a Yoder) and sister, bringing his young son, or that the younger John (b. 1806) came at 23 (about 1829). Either way the family was German, not Swiss, and the elder John’s mother was née Yoder.

Hessian Amish (Byler, Amish Immigrants of Waldeck and Hesse, 1993)

Byler includes this family as Amish immigrants from Waldeck/Hesse, Germany: “F1 John Slabaugh, b. Apr. 25, 1806, Ger.; d. Aug. 24, 1861, Berlin, O.”, under the family heading “Schlabach, John, and Catherine Yoder” (p. 134); the family “went to Som. Co., Pa.” The 1912 genealogy: “the only son of John, came from Germany when about 18 years of age, with his mother and sister… His mother’s maiden name was Yoder.” So John’s mother was Catherine Yoder, and she apparently emigrated as a widow with John and his sister (about 1824). The exact Hessian village is in Byler’s book, which is only available for borrowing; read pp. 62 and 134.

Background: Hessian Amish (Waldeck and Hesse). The Mennonite Encyclopedia says "another John Slabaugh who settled near Johnstown, Pa., has descendants in Howard County, Ind.", probably this family.

Narratives and research

• History: 1833 First Swiss Mennonite settler in Putnam County, Ohio, 1835 The Ramseyers sail on the Richmond, 1852 Swiss Mennonites found Berne, Indiana, Hessian Amish (Waldeck and Hesse)
• Sources: Descendants of Jacob Hochstetler (1912)

Record compiled 31 October 2026.

About this research

Supporting documentation is linked throughout. This project is an exercise in AI-assisted research and development, and I haven’t manually verified every link or conclusion. All transcriptions and translations of Swiss parish records were made with AI, and their accuracy should be treated accordingly.