Smithville

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Ohio (Wayne County), USA · coordinates 40.86, -81.86 (exact)

About

Home of the Oak Grove Amish Mennonite congregation; Ramseyer, Smiley, Conrad, Schrock farms.

Born here

• Alvin C. Ramseyer Jr. (1921–2008)
• Fanny H. Plank (1857–1942)
• Mary Conrad (1825–1912)
• Moses Schrock (1828–1909)

Died here

• John Smiley (1822–1879)
• Ruth S. Neuenschwander (1922–2017)

Married here

• Edmund G. Kaufman + Edna Ramseyer Kaufman (m. 1965)

Congregations

• Oak Grove Mennonite Church

Lived here

• 1825 — Daniel Jacob Conrad (1798–1882)
• 1830 — Michael Schrock (1782–1860)
• 1866 — John Smiley (1822–1879)
• 1866 — Rebecca Smiley (1856–1932)
• 1878 — Daniel Ramseyer (1856–1942)
• 1909 — Alvin C. Ramseyer Sr. (1880–1948)
• 1909 — Mary Ellen Schrock (1886–1972)
• 1910 — Edna Ramseyer Kaufman (1910–2001)
• 1921 — Alvin C. Ramseyer Jr. (1921–2008)
• 1945 — Ruth S. Neuenschwander (1922–2017)

Mennonite Encyclopedia IV: Oak Grove near Smithville is "probably the oldest Mennonite congregation of Amish background in Ohio": settlers about 1817, organized 1818, meetinghouses 1862 and 1905.

Narratives and research

• Congregations: Oak Grove Mennonite Church

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.