Ramseyer side: the short lines
Christopher asked (2026-10-31): the Ramseyer surname line goes back to c.1534 (and the name to 1343), but most other surnames on Alvin C. Ramseyer Jr.’s side stop around 1750–1800. These are the ends to push back.
Where each line stops now
| No. | Ancestor | Line | Stops at | Best next source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 98–99 | Jacob Reich (c.1795–1873) × Louise Eckinger (c.1797–1873) | Reich, Eckinger | c.1795, no record | US census 1850–70; Stark Co. Ohio records; immigration (Reich and Eckinger are not Amish names: Alsace?) |
| 100–101 | Nathan Smiley (1797–1872) × Anna Stutzman (fl. 1822) | Smiley, Stutzman | Ireland; Anna’s parents unknown | Stutzman genealogies (Descendants of Barbara Hochstedler and Christian Stutzman, 1938, read before) |
| 103 | Catherine M. Zook (1801–1875) | Zook | father John Zook “extensive landowner”, Mifflin Co., Pa. | Only a Twig (indexes “Catherine (Zook) 1801–1875” and Daniel Conrad 1798–1882); Zook genealogies |
| 104–105 | Michael Schrock (1782–1860) × Susanna Yoder (1791–1855) | Schrock, Yoder | Michael’s father only; Susanna’s parents unknown | Susanna is entry DBH 2,202 in Hochstetler (Descendants of Barbara Hochstedler / DBH, 2009), which also says “the 1828 marriage date is almost certainly wrong”. Michael was a brother of minister Peter Schrock (Oak Grove history; Hostetler 1912: brothers Peter of near Goshen and Michael of Berlin, Pa., sister m. Abraham Stutzman). |
| 107 | Christina Yoder (fl. 1832) | Yoder | no parents | Yoder genealogies |
| 109 | Veronica Fanny Kurtz (1811–1889) | Kurtz | no parents | Kurtz family; possibly related to the Miller side’s Veronica Kurtz (1800–1845) |
| 111 | Elizabeth Yoder (1799–1890) | Yoder | no parents | Her husband Christian Hostetler (1801–1875) is in the Mast and Zook histories; DBH |
| 193–195 | Anna Augsbourg (fl. 1780), Peter Kaufmann (d. 1803), Barbara Klopfenstein (fl. 1779) | Augsburger, Kaufmann, Klopfenstein | France (Doubs), c.1780 | French civil and Anabaptist records of Montbéliard; Neuchâtel lists |
| 204–206 | Jacob Conrad Sr. (1757–1829), Barbara Elisabeth Schmucker (1770–1825), John Zook (fl. 1820) | Conrad, Schmucker, Zook | 1757–1770 | Conrad b. “Bern” 1757: Bern registers; Schmucker genealogies |
| 208, 212–213, 217 | Casper Schrock (immigrant), Christian Gerig × Elizabeth Goldschmidt, Mary Yoder Plank | c.1800 | ||
| 264–265, 432–433, 441, 530, 882 | Mast, Holly, Plank, Blank | arrival 1750–1767 | ship lists (Pennsylvania German Pioneers); European origins |
Key books (most are lending-only on the Internet Archive, so snippets only)
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Beulah Hostetler et al., Hochstetler / DBH (2009): the modern Hochstetler descendants book with entry numbers.
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Hugh Gingerich & Rachel Kreider, Amish and Amish Mennonite Genealogies (1986): the standard reference for every 18th–19th-century Amish family. Best single source for these lines.
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Harvey Hostetler, Descendants of Jacob Hochstetler (1912): public domain, full text downloaded; noisy OCR.
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Only a Twig (Plank family): has Catherine (Zook) Conrad and the Planks.
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Creative Congregationalism (Oak Grove church, 1978): Schrock, Smiley, Plank, Conrad families.
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Christopher: Gingerich & Kreider (1986) is the shortcut for nearly every line here; library or used copy task/human
Progress 2026-10-31
- Yoder: Susanna Yoder (1791) ← John Yoder × Magdalena Stutzman ← Christian Stutzman × Barbara Hochstetler ← Jacob Hochstetler (1712–1776). Stutzman line back to Johann Jacob Stutzman, arrived 1727 on the Adventurer.
- Schrock: Casper Schrock (b. Switzerland c.1745) × Mary Stuckey, Berlin, Somerset Co.; Michael’s place in Casper’s family is uncertain.
- Gerig / Goldschmidt: Christian Gerig × Elizabeth Goldschmidt of Markirch, wealthy Anabaptist farmers in Alsace; the Gerigs came from Switzerland about 1750, the Goldschmidts from Richterswil.
- A. C. Ramseyer’s two wives were first cousins, both granddaughters of Moses Schrock.
- Still open: John Yoder’s parents; Christina Yoder (fl. 1832)‘s parents; Joseph Gerig’s exact place among Christian Gerig’s children.
Open questions, searched 2026-10-31
| Question | Result | Where the answer is |
|---|---|---|
| John Yoder (Somerset pioneer)‘s parents | Not online. The 1938 book gives none (“likely the John Yotter whose farm joined John Hochstetler’s”) | Gingerich & Kreider (1986); Somerset Co. deeds |
| Christina Yoder (wife of Joseph Gerig)‘s parents | Not online; no Gerig–Yoder marriage found in digitized books | Gingerich & Kreider; Wayne Co., Ohio marriage records c.1825–30 |
| Was Michael Schrock Casper’s son? | Unresolved. Casper and his brother John settled near Berlin in 1765 (Brethren history 1916); an Ulrich Schrock household was also there. One list of Casper’s children omits Michael | Brothersvalley Twp. tax lists 1796–1810; Somerset Co. probate for Casper |
Gingerich & Kreider, Amish and Amish Mennonite Genealogies (1986) answers all three. It is not online; a library loan or used copy is the fastest route.
Progress 2026-10-31 (second pass)
- Plank: 1900 reunion paper read. Melchior Plank, Swiss-born, indentured on arrival, Lancaster then Mifflin Co., d. c.1817; Jacob Plank (c.Nov 1767 – 10 Jan 1851) cabinet-maker and miller, the “Plank mill”; Jacob and his brothers Christian and John married three Yoder sisters (Mary Yoder, b. c.Feb 1771, d. 28 Mar 1850). Mary’s parents: still unknown.
- Zook: Catherine Zook’s dates (5 Aug 1801 – 15 Jul 1875). Tested Fanny Mast × John Zook (1796) as her parents: not supported.
- Mast: Bishop Jacob Mast’s line is already well covered (orphan of 1750; parents unknown in all sources).
- To find: Records of Descent from John Yoder, Jacob Zook, Daniel Conrad and Nathan Smiley (Scottdale): covers the Zook, Conrad and Smiley lines together.
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.