Church buildings of the family
The church buildings where Christopher’s ancestors were baptized, married, buried or worshipped, with a picture, the facts that matter for a building, and links. Christopher asked for this on 2026-11-07, as a companion to Ships and journeys of the immigrant ancestors.
Two kinds of church, two kinds of record.
- Swiss Reformed parish churches recorded the baptisms and marriages of every subject, including the Anabaptists’ ancestors before (and often after) they joined. Bern’s registers start in the 1500s and are the source for the register study.
- The Anabaptist congregations had no church buildings for a long time. They met secretly in homes and barns. The Amish still meet in homes. Mennonite meetinghouses appear in Prussia in the 1700s and in America in the 1800s.
About the facts.
- “Ancestors” lists the person notes linked to the parish. It is not a complete list.
- “Built” is the present building, with its forerunners where known.
- Pictures: linked from Wikimedia Commons, not saved in the vault, so they need an internet connection. Where none was found, the profile says so.
Swiss Reformed parish churches (canton Bern)
Eggiwil
| Tradition | Swiss Reformed (state church of Bern) |
| Built | 1631–32, consecrated December 1632 |
| Architect | Daniel Heinz, master builder of Bern Minster |
| Why built | a gift from Bern’s government, explicitly to stop the spread of the Anabaptist “error” in the upper Emme valley. Eggiwil became its own parish in 1648 (before that, part of Signau) |
| Status | in use |
| Ancestors | Christian Ramseyer (bapt. 1672), Ulrich Ramseyer (17th c.), Barbara Stauffer (17th c.) |
| Records | Bern State Archives, K Eggiwil (downloaded to the register archive) |
Links:
- 1631 Eggiwil church founded to combat Anabaptism
- Eggiwil (place note)
- Wikipedia (de): Eggiwil, history of the church
Signau
| Tradition | Swiss Reformed |
| Built | not yet found. The ISOS inventory map marks “Kirche, 1850”, which may be a rebuilding date; the parsonage is from 1739/40 |
| Parish | the mother parish of Eggiwil until 1648 |
| Ancestors | Hans Ramseyer (bapt. 1594) |
Links:
Trub
| Tradition | Swiss Reformed; before 1528, a Benedictine abbey church |
| Founded | abbey founded c.1125 by Thüring of Lützelflüh, with monks from St. Blasien in the Black Forest. Fires in 1414 and 1501; closed at the Bern Reformation (1528) |
| Built | present church 1641–45, reusing some walls of the abbey church |
| Ancestors | Ludwig Ramseyer (16th c.), Michael Troyer Sr. (d. 1807) |
Links:
Lauperswil
| Tradition | Swiss Reformed |
| Built | 1518, just before the Reformation; keeps its original stained-glass windows from that time |
| Family | the parish of the hamlet of Ramsei, from which the Ramseyer name comes. Its baptisms begin in 1528, among the earliest in the canton |
Links:
Langnau im Emmental
| Tradition | Swiss Reformed |
| Built | 1673–74, by Abraham Dünz. At least three earlier churches stood on the site; the first, St. Martin’s, was older than Trub Abbey (1125) |
| Why rebuilt | the sharp growth of the Anabaptists in the 1600s, and the aftermath of the Peasants’ War of 1653 |
| Interior | pine coffered ceiling, pulpit with the arms of the donor Samuel Frisching, and the font, all from the time of building |
| Family | the largest Emmental parish, next to Trub and Lauperswil; its registers (including a 1790s Anabaptist register) are in the register study. No ancestor event linked yet |
Links:
Sumiswald
| Picture | none found on Commons |
| Tradition | Swiss Reformed; before 1528, the church of the Teutonic Knights’ commandery |
| Built | 1510–12, by the Teutonic Order; distinctive saddle-roof tower |
| Ancestors | Elsbeth Grober (wife of Conrad Sprunger), of Sumiswald |
Links:
Wynigen
| Tradition | Swiss Reformed |
| Built | medieval core, renewed in 1671 by Abraham Dünz (the architect of Langnau). Parsonage of 1630 with late-Gothic painted windows |
| Of note | the writer Jeremias Gotthelf, who wrote about Emmental farm life, married here in 1833 |
| Heritage | Swiss inventory of cultural property (KGS 1360) |
| Ancestors | Casper Schrock (immigrant) |
Links:
Kirchberg
| Tradition | Swiss Reformed |
| Built | 1506. The village is named after an early medieval church on the Kirchhoger hill |
| Of note | late-Gothic stained glass; Commons has a photo of a “Tschachtlan” window, probably linked to the Bern chronicler Bendicht Tschachtlan (not checked) |
| Family | one person note links here; see Kirchberg (Bern) |
Links:
Rohrbach
| Tradition | Swiss Reformed |
| Built | not yet looked up |
| Family | three notes link to Rohrbach (Bern) |
Links:
Guggisberg
| Tradition | Swiss Reformed; dedicated to St. Maurice before the Reformation |
| First mentioned | 1148; built over a forerunner of the 8th–11th century |
| Built | present form 1453–1528; enlarged several times, last in 1823–24 |
| Patronage | Rüeggisberg priory → Bern’s St. Vincent foundation (1485) → the state of Bern (1528) |
| Of note | the Guggisberglied (“Vreneli”), a famous Swiss folk song first recorded in 1741; the Vreneli museum faces the church |
| Ancestors | Jacob Mast (1738–1808) |
Links:
- Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz: Guggisberg
- SRF “Glocken der Heimat”: Guggisberg church bells (radio)
Wahlern (Schwarzenburg)
| Tradition | Swiss Reformed; dedicated to St. James and St. Mary Magdalene before the Reformation |
| First mentioned | 1228 |
| Built | on a hill above Schwarzenburg, over a Romanesque church; late medieval building of the 15th–16th century, tower 1511 |
| Reformation | introduced by Bern in 1529, against the wishes of Fribourg, which shared rule of the district |
| Ancestors | Ulrich Mishler (b. 1688) |
Links:
Bolligen
| Tradition | Swiss Reformed |
| Built | origins in the 12th century (village historic centre) |
| Ancestors | Anna Zoss (fl. 1665) (her parents’ marriage, 23 Sep 1659, is in the Bolligen register), Jacob Gosteli (fl. 1665), Christina Gosteli |
Links:
Mühleberg
| Tradition | Swiss Reformed |
| Built | church, parsonage and barn burned in 1659 and were rebuilt at once. Restored 1975–76 |
| Ancestors | Christian Ramseyer (bapt. 1700) (his baptism page is a verified test page in the register study), Christina Gosteli |
Links:
Wohlen bei Bern
| Tradition | Swiss Reformed |
| Built | not yet looked up |
| Ancestors | Christina Gosteli |
Links:
Pieterlen
| Tradition | Swiss Reformed; St. Martin’s church |
| First mentioned | 1228, in a charter of the Bishop of Lausanne |
| Built | not yet looked up. A drawing of the village centre and church during the French invasion of 1798 is on Commons |
| Ancestors | Peter Sprunger (1757–1840), baptized here 20 Nov 1757; Conrad Sprunger (fl. 1757) |
Links:
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Tramelan (Bernese Jura)
| Tradition | Swiss Reformed (French-speaking: a temple) |
| Built | not yet looked up |
| Ancestors | Christian P. Neuenschwander (1812–1884), married at Tramelan in October 1844 |
Links:
- Tramelan (place note)
Mennonite churches in West Prussia
The Prussian Mennonites built plain meetinghouses from the 1700s, once the authorities allowed it. Most were removed or decayed after 1945; the cemeteries survive better.
Ladekopp
| Picture | none found |
| Tradition | Flemish Mennonite |
| Built | 1735 (Mennonite Encyclopedia) or 1768 (an 1852 German overview) |
| Status | removed (reported in 1989) |
| Ancestors | about 20 person notes, including Anton Fieguth (1772–1844), Johann Epp (1778–1852) and Maria Fieguth (1847–1890). Preachers Jakob and Abraham Wiebe are named in 1743 |
| Records | Ladekopp church books |
Links:
- Ladekopp Mennonite congregation
- Ladekopp baptisms 1782–1804 (mennonitegenealogy.com)
- Mennonite Historian, Dec 1989: surviving Mennonite sites in Poland (PDF)
Heubuden (Stogi)
| Picture | none of the church found; photos of the cemetery exist (see links) |
| Tradition | Flemish Mennonite; one of the largest Prussian congregations |
| Built | a church by the 1750s, enlarged in 1874 (secondary source) |
| Survives | the cemetery, laid out in 1768: the oldest and one of the largest Mennonite cemeteries in Poland |
| Ancestors | Abraham Busenitz (1739–1787), Maria Wiens (1788–1872), Aron Enz (b. 1797), Gertrude Toews (1850–1943) |
Links:
- Heubuden Mennonite congregation
- Lost in Stogi, Finding Heubuden (Mennotoba blog)
- Wikipedia: Stogi, Pomeranian Voivodeship
Mennonite churches in America
Oak Grove Mennonite Church (Smithville, Ohio)
| Tradition | Amish Mennonite, later Mennonite Church |
| Founded | settlers about 1817, organized 1818: “probably the oldest Mennonite congregation of Amish background in Ohio” |
| Buildings | meetinghouses of 1862 and 1905 |
| Ancestors | the home church of the Ramseyers, Smileys, Conrads, Schrocks and Planks: John Smiley (1822–1879) (a leading minister 1866–78), Michael Schrock (1782–1860), Fanny H. Plank (1857–1942), Alvin C. Ramseyer Sr. (1880–1948). Al and Ruth Ramseyer are buried in its cemetery |
Links:
Sonnenberg Mennonite Church (Kidron, Ohio)
| Tradition | Swiss Mennonite (from the Jura) |
| Founded | 1819, by Jura families, named after the Sonnenberg congregation near Tramelan |
| Buildings | first meetinghouse 1854 (sources differ: 1854 or 1861 for an early building); a third in 1907 ($5,591.36), billed as the largest Mennonite church in that part of Ohio; the present church, across the road, 1989 |
| Status | the 1907 church was moved to Sonnenberg Village, the Kidron Community Historical Society’s museum campus |
| Family | the mother settlement of the Swiss at Bluffton and of the Jura families in the tree |
Links:
- Sonnenberg Mennonite Church (Wayne County)
- Wayne County Public Library wiki: Sonnenberg Mennonite Church
- Old Sonnenberg Mennonite Church (Sonnenberg Station)
First Mennonite Church (Berne, Indiana)
The second church (1879), where the General Conference met in 1884.
| Tradition | Swiss Mennonite, General Conference |
| Founded | 1852, by the Münsterberg emigrants; first elder Peter S. Lehman |
| Buildings | second church dedicated 9 Nov 1879; enlarged 1886 and 1899, when it seated 1,500. The present sanctuary was dedicated 7 Apr 1912: cost $56,000, seats 2,175 |
| Of note | hosted the General Conference in 1884, 1902, 1926 and 1947; home of the Mennonite Book Concern 1884–1939 |
| Ancestors | its MRE Cemetery holds the Neuenschwander, Sprunger, Stauffer and Reusser ancestors |
Links:
- First Mennonite Church Berne
- First Mennonite Church: our story
- GAMEO: First Mennonite Church (Berne)
First Mennonite Church (Beatrice, Nebraska)
The 1908 General Conference meeting (Mennonite Church USA Archives photo; check whether the building shown is the Beatrice church).
| Tradition | West Prussian Mennonite, General Conference |
| Founded | November 1877, 138 charter members, immigrants from Prussia seeking exemption from military service |
| Buildings | first church dedicated November 1879, burned a month later; second church 1880; present building, built by members, dedicated Easter 1951 |
| Of note | a 1905 church meeting started the hospital that is now Beatrice Community Hospital |
| Family | the Wiebe line; six person notes link to Beatrice (Nebraska) |
Links:
- First Mennonite Church Beatrice
- First Mennonite Church Beatrice: history
- Western District Conference: congregation profile
Bluffton College chapel (Bluffton, Ohio)
| Picture | none found |
| Tradition | General Conference Mennonite college |
| Family | Alvin C. Ramseyer Sr. (1880–1948), a trustee 1927–48, paid for the chapel’s remodelling in 1940; it was later named after him |
Links:
Congregations with no church building
- Northkill Amish congregation (Berks County, 1740s): Amish worship in members’ homes, then and now.
- Beech Amish Mennonite Church (Stark County, c.1819): the Old Beech Cemetery survives. No early meetinghouse is documented in the vault.
- Markirch Anabaptist congregation (Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, Alsace): a refugee congregation that met in homes.
- The Bernese Anabaptists before 1800 met secretly in barns, forests and farmhouses. Some hiding places on Emmental farms are still shown.
- France (Montbéliard and Doubs): the Ramseyers’ births and marriages are in civil registers, not church ones.
Still to do
- Build dates for Signau, Rohrbach, Wohlen, Pieterlen and Tramelan, from the Bern cantonal heritage inventory (Bauinventar) or the Kunstführer durch die Schweiz task/ai
- Pictures of the Ladekopp and Heubuden churches before 1945 (Mennonite Library and Archives, Bethel College; Mennonite Heritage Archives, Winnipeg) task/human
- Check which building the Commons Beatrice photo shows task/ai
Record compiled 7 November 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.