What it is and what it says
About 60 pages, printed locally in Wooster, Ohio, plastic-grip binding, evidently written by Mary Ellen Schrock Ramseyer’s children for the centennial of her birth (1886–1986). Contains:
- the illustrated tree “Ramseyer, July 1986” (see Illustrated family tree (Ramseyer, July 1986));
- “Tour of Historical Foreparents Homes and Farms, August 15, 1986” (p. 6);
- autobiographical pages by each child’s family (Al’s is p. 38 — living details not transcribed);
- “History Relating to the Foreparents of Mary Ellen Schrock and Alvin C. Ramseyer” (pp. 46–51).
Key passages (photos in Attachments/srs-*):
- p. 46: “Our foreparents came basically from Switzerland, one exception was Nathan Smiley who was an Irish orphan.”
- p. 49–50: “David, the third son of Moses and Christina Gerig Schrock, married Fanny Plank…”; David “died at night during wheat harvest on August 10, 1903.”
- p. 50: Daniel Conrad “son of minister, Jacob Conrad of Beech Church… came with his parents from France in 1819… married Catherine Zook, daughter of John Zook, the extensive land owner.”
- p. 51: Nathan Smiley “a red headed Irish orphan deserted by his mother after immigrating… An Amish family by the name of Troyer took him into their home… married first Anna Stutzman and second Margaret ?”
- pp. 50–51: Eggiwil as “ancestral home territory”; Peter married “Barbara Reich, daughter of Jacob Reich and Louise Eckinger”.
- pp. 47–48: John Melchior Plank and Margaret, married Rotterdam 1767; the ship legend; Jacob Plank to Wayne County 1821.
Reliability: family compilation — strong family evidence, not proof. Merges the two Jacob Hochstetlers (1704/Harle vs 1712/Charming Nancy).
Cited on
- Anna Stutzman (fl. 1822)
- Barbara Reich (1826–1894)
- Casper Schrock (immigrant)
- Catherine M. Zook (1801–1875)
- Christian Gerig (fl. 1800)
- Christian Hostetler (1801–1875)
- Christina Gerig (1832–1909)
- Christina Yoder (fl. 1832)
- Daniel Jacob Conrad (1798–1882)
- David Schrock (1858–1903)
- Elizabeth Goldschmidt (fl. 1800)
- Elizabeth Yoder (1799–1890)
- Jacob Conrad Sr. (1757–1829)
- Jacob Plank (1768–1851)
- Jacob Reich (c.1795–1873)
- Jeptha Plank (1803–1846)
- Johannes Ramseyer (1780–1853)
- John Melchior Plank (m. 1767)
- John Zook (fl. 1820)
- Joseph Gerig (fl. 1841)
- Joseph Plank (1834–1914)
- Margaret Plank (m. 1767)
- Mary Ellen Schrock (1886–1972)
- Mary Yoder Plank (d. 1850)
- Michael Schrock (1782–1860)
- Moses Schrock (1828–1909)
- Nancy Hostetler (1836–1860)
- Nathan Smiley (1797–1872)
- Peter Ramseyer (1822–1880)
Reliability
Default evidence level for facts taken from this source: family compilation. See Evidence levels.
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.