Noah Webster Yoder
10 Oct 1837 ~ 9
Mar 1877
By Brenda Sue
Gaede
NOAH WEBSTER YODER
Noah Webster Yoder (YR233315) was the
oldest son of Yost Yoder and Nancy Hochstetler.
He was born and raised in
Dr Yoder married Catherine, daughter of
Martin Zincon on June 6, 1861 and in October of that year he was commissioned
Second Lieutenant, Co. G, 51st
Noah led his men in many skirmishes and
battles in
He lay in the hospital at
While still in the hospital he was
promoted to First Lieutenant but because of his injuries resigned his
commission. Being determined not to leave the service but unfit for field duty,
he served a short time in the Veteran Reserve Corps in the hospital at
On 9 March 1877, at the age of 39, Noah
lost his life by drowning. Noah set out
to visit a patient, with a companion, William Shie. Upon approaching the bridge over Sugar Creek
at Barr's Mill they observed that the road was covered with water but did not
realize the current was swifter than normal due to recent rainfall. Noah felt it imperative to see to his patient
and this was the only route available.
When attempting to cross, the front wheel of the buggy went over the
edge of the bridge, tipping the buggy and throwing the occupants out into the
creek. Due to Noah's physical
limitations, having use of only one leg and arm he was unable to swim against
the strong current to safety and was washed downstream where his body was caught in a fence. His friend was able to swim to shore without
much trouble.
If Dr Noah ever had an enemy, no one knew
of it. He was generous to the poor and
the rich alike and never refused his services when called upon. He was very much beloved by the entire
community. His memory will ever remain in the hearts of his family. The story
of the short tragic life of Dr Noah Webster Yoder will continue to be passed
down through the generations and he will never be forgotten.
CATHERINE
ZINCON YODER
Four years after the death of her husband
Catherine and their son Miltie lost their lives in a terrible accident. On New Years Eve the Knights of Pythias held
a festival at Henry Goelers Hall on the second floor of his store. Two to three hundred people had gathered for
a grand supper, to listen to the band and to purchase articles for sale. As the band finished playing there was a loud
crash. The floor began collapsing in the
center throwing people, tables, stove and all to the floor below, piling the
people into a space about four feet wide.
Many were able to scramble away to the outer edges of the room. When the floor collapsed the chandelier below
broke covering a number of persons with oil and immediately burst into flames
due to the embers from the stove. Miltie
was terribly burned and died in his mother’s arms within minutes. Catherine lingered for six days finally
succumbing to her burns. In all five
people were burned to death.
From the Scrapbook of his brother Samuel
Noah and Catherine were the parents of
three sons and four daughters. None of their sons survived to adulthood. Noah's
four daughters became orphaned and destitute when their mother died. The girls were separated and sent to various
institutions until they became of age.
After Noah left the army he received a military pension of $15.00 per
month. After his death Catherine was denied a widow's pension on grounds that
his death was not military related. Life became very difficult for the family
and the children had to work in order to survive. Noah’s brother Sam made every
effort to obtain benefits for the girls. It literally took an Act of Congress
and ten long years after Noah's death for his orphaned daughters to receive his
pension.
Minnie
Yoder Mildred Yoder
Mila
Yoder Virgirlia
Yoder
Ellsworth Yoder, born in 1864 lived only
one month. Minnie De Yoder married Osmon
E Allen and had five children. Mildred
Mary Yoder never married, became a school teacher living most of her life in
- - - - - - - -
Brenda
Gaede’s husband is the g-g-grandson of Dr. Noah Yoder. She writes “Even though
Noah's daughter Mila was only about seven when he died, she never forgot her
father and her son Max passed the story of Noah on to his grandchildren and
great grandchildren.” In previous issues of the YNL, we have presented features
on Dr. Noah’s brothers, Congressman S. S. Yoder (YNL 8) and Jocelyn Yoder (YNL
43). Brenda Sue can be reached at: brendasueg@aol.com
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JaCob AmmanN and the Steffisburg Joders
Robert Baecher, in the Jan and Apr 2004
issues of Mennonite Family History, presents a wonderful two-part article
entitled “From Steffisburg to Ste. Marie-aux-Mines: The Exodus of Those Who
Would Become Amish.” After more than fifteen years of researching the French
and Swiss Anabaptists he notes that “Steffisburg emerged as a reservoir that
nourished the group whose members became the first followers of Jacob
Ammann.” He outlines 48 individuals or
families with Steffisburg roots which appear in the early Jacob Ammann group at
Ste. Marie-aux-Mines.
Over the years, the YNL has outlined a
number of the records which connect members of the Steffisburg Yoder family to
the Anabaptists, and to association with Jacob Ammann, but Baecher provides
details which gives more evidence of this Steffisburg connection.
There was already a strong Anabaptist
community in Steffisburg which had gone back to the early days of the
Reformation, when in 1529 Konrad Eicher of
Steffisburg had been executed
for his beliefs. Soon thereafter,
Heini Joder, a teacher and
preacher, was arrested and imprisoned in
It is not known when Jacob Amman first came
in contact with the Steiffisburg Anabaptists, but Baecher reports that Michael
Ammann, father of Jacob, lived for a time at Steffisburg before his death at
Baldenheim in 1695. He does not find Jacob mentioned in the meeting minutes of
the Steffisburg Consistory, which would have been the case had he been active
as a local instigator. Jacob was living at Hilterfingen until he relocated in
early 1680, “probably to the
On
June 6, 1690, the wife of Jacob Engelmann of Thun (not far from Steffisburg)
was brought before the Consistory there to answer to having contact with “the
sect of Anabaptists”. She admitted that she and two other women had visited a
home in Steffisburg located opposite the inn which belonged to someone named
Joder. There she had talked with Jaggi (Jacob) Ammann, an Anabaptist, and
listened to what he had to say. One of the other women added that “Apart from
Jakob Ammann, she had not seen a single outsider.” The court tried to get the
women to name the owner of the house or identify other who were present, but
nothing more was learned.
Three months later, on 28 Sep 1690, the
Steffisburg records report that Casper
Joder was suspected of organizing gatherings of Anabaptists in his home, and it
seems certain that his is the home in which the June meeting with Jacob Ammann
was held. This Caspar Joder (for many
years said to have m. Verena Stauffer in 1681) seems certain to be Y6b above)
and is the proven ancestor of one of the Amish Yoder immigrants (Michael of
1834- YRB8)
Baecher writes: “The charisma of Jacob Amman – the power of his conviction, his ability
to motivate others, indeed his capacity to face difficult situations—may well
have combined to make him the principal architect of the emigration of the
group from Steffisburg.” “Although there is no documentation to this effect, it
is very easy to imagine him as the intermediary with Pastor Freudenrich (the
Steffisburg pastor) in search of a satisfactory compromise: the promise that
sectarians would leave
Why was Ste. Marie-aux-Mines selected as a
destination? Baecher writes that an Alsatian Anabaptist named Adolphe Schmidt
had a friendly relationship with the local Lords of Rappoltstein, and
facilitated the settlement of several Steffisburg Anabaptists before Ammann’s
group, Christian Gerber by 1671 and Ulrich Mueller (arrested in Steffisburg in
1674 as an “Anabaptist teacher”) who can be found in the Alsace by 1674.
A prime reference which Baecher uses is a
1703 listing of the people in Jacob Ammann’s group, which he believes was
recorded by Christian Joder (Y68 above). Many surnames recognizable in the
American Amish can be seen. Christian Joder is the only male Joder still in the
community at that time.
The chart above shows the believed children
of brothers Jost and Nicholas Joder of Steffisburg as spelled out in AAMG (with
exception that we have switched which Jost was the son of which brother, leave
Caspar’s wife name blank and show an alternate suggested wife for Nicholas’s
son Jost). One problem with all reputed delineations of these families is that
many of the relationships are assumptions. A Jacob Joder is born to a couple
and 24 years later a Jacob Joder is married. Assumptions are made that they are
the same person.
With reference to this chart, Baecher
reports the following:
Y64- Peter
Joder- in Ste. Marie-aux-Mines proper, a Peter Joder purchased a house at
Fertrupt in 1699, but is not shown afterward.
Y68- Christian
Joder- by 1698, is included on the 1703 list, and is the believed scribe of it.
He was a long-time lease-manager in Fertrupt from 1701 to 1712, at which time
he left for Montbeliard.
BAECHER
COMPARES THE EDUCATED YODER SIGNATURE TO THE SIMPLE ONE FOR JACOB AMMANN
Y6a- Jost
Joder who married Barbara Rupp- traces found in 1695 at Muntzenheim in Alsace,
probably went to the
Y6b- Caspar
Joder settled at Weiler near Wissembourg, where he and wife are shown in 1708 with 9
children, listed as “well to do” (This
Caspar seems certain to be the Anabaptist son of Jost Yoder, but NOT the Caspar
who married Verena Stauffer in Steffisburg in 1681. That fellow and his
children appear to have stayed in Steffisburg and records show he died there in
1735. The “Weiler Caspar” may be the Anabaptist Caspar Joder who, with his wife
Verena Hoffin (Hoffer), had a male child born Mar. 20, 1695 at Durrenentzen.
The child died unbaptized on May 31, 1695. We’ll have more to say more about
the new Caspar Joder – Verena Stauffer evidence in the April 2010 YNL).
Y6c- Catherin
Joder married to Hans Rupp- Hans appears on the list of 1703.
In 1712 there was a royal order of expulsion
from French territories which effected the Anabaptists at Ste. Marie-aux-Mines,
and many of the Ammann group moved elsewhere at that time.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Jan and
Apr issues of Mennonite Family History which contain Mr. Baecher’s articles can
be ordered from: Masthof Bookstore,
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How Rachel
Krieder “got into” Yoder Genealogy
--By Rachel
Kreider, YNL Co-Founder, age 100
You asked me to tell how I got into Yoder
genealogy. As I think back over the years, I believe Grandma Weaver “set the
stage.”
My father’s parents lived with us when I was
a little girl, and one of my earliest memories is of Grandma sitting at her
north window, poring over the Hochstetler book of 1912. At the dinner table she
often told us of the interesting stories and connections that she found there.
From her I first learned that she too had a grandma, who had a grandma, and so
on as far back as I could imagine. The idea was mind-boggling. As I heard her conversation with the adults I felt
the past must have been an interesting place, where people somehow connected to
me got up and had breakfast, did the chores, gathered in the crops, and drove
to church in horse-drawn vehicles same as we did!
I remember that at that time Uncle John
Weaver, studying at
In the same
way I was interested in hearing the grownups talk. I hung around them much of
the time, for I played alone. My brother was enough years older and my sister
so many years younger that I had to imagine playmates, which I did, especially
when playing outdoors. If I had had as many interesting things to go to and do
as my great-granddaughters, my memories of childhood would soon have been
crowded out, but this way, in my quiet life, my memories could sink deeper and
deeper into my mind. I’m told I was so interested in those conversations that
once when I was sent on an errand in the middle of one, I called back “Don’t
say anything until I get back!”
After Grandpas were gone and Uncle John
would call on us we could see how he was more interested in Yoders than ever.
He was taking down data about our families and even families of Yoders around
us that he thought were connected. By that time I knew that Grandma was the
child of second cousins, both of whom being Yoders. I found out that my parents
were also second cousins, but neither had the Yoder name. Their grandmothers
were Yoder sisters, born back in
LEONARD AND
RACHEL KREIDER
Years later, I was married and living in
I remember that in the 1940’s, when we
were living in
Years passed. By 1950 Uncle John and I
both lived in
I was a busy mother in those days, so
involved in family and church work as well as active in the community and
several peace organizations. I was also asked to write the history of the local
church, which led me into a study of the Mennonites of
In the midst of all this Uncle John gave
me a surprise visit. I was glad to see him; he was a special uncle. He had with
him a box about eighteen inches square, and not quite so high, which held his
Yoder papers. Although he was interested in the larger picture of Yoders, he
wisely decided to concentrate on only a small segment of it. He planned to get
out a booklet of Christian Yoder (Grandma’s grandfather-YR233) and his descendants
and asked whether I would help him with it. I wonder whether he felt a little
overwhelmed to have gathered around fifty or more Mary Miller names and perhaps
a dozen or more Jacob Yoders, with no number system or index.
At the time I knew which in the line of
Christian Yoders he was choosing as the progenitor for the outline. The project
was within reach and appealed to me. I knew I would enjoy working with Uncle
John, but I had to admit that I could not undertake any more just then. My health
was a little below par and the children, though growing up fast, still required
considerable attention. He assured me that he was in no hurry. As soon as I saw
my way clear I was to send him word. And
I put the box away.
Within a year or two word came that Uncle
John had died (Sep. 3., 1955). Living alone, he had a heart attack while
putting up screens and was not found for a day or two. I really grieved for him
and I felt I had let him down.
I got out the box and examined the
contents much more carefully. Grandma’s Uncle Reuben Yoder, a highly
intelligent and innovating Amish man, who had come from Somerset County to
LaGrange County in Indiana in 1851, had
compiled or received a list of fifteen children considered to be the first
family in our Yoder ancestry to be in America. I never knew how Uncle John got
this list but I knew he was greatly interested in it even though he knew so
little about most of the names. He knew that he was descended from the oldest
two sons and wanted to know everything he possibly could about Christian of
1758. He listed the children and yet I
doubt whether he intended his booklet to be that large. He had accumulated the
practice papers of his typing pupils, cut each page in half and one each
half-sheet outlined a family. When he had listed the families of a small clan
he folded a whole sheet over them to hold them together, and labeled it – all
in pencil! This time I did not put the box far away even though I could not
give it much time. I decided I would put the information in more permanent form
and I would probably leave it with Dr. Gratz.
I had seen enough of the data to notice
the great gaps of information, some of which I could fill myself on the back of
each. I also knew of sources easily within reach that I could draw on as I
carried out other duties, without going out of my way. However, in all my
years, I always gave my family and church priority. Thus when we were taking
trips as a family, I had to remember I was only one of five. I would feel so
frustrated when we would pass a cemetery or court house that could no doubt
yield good information but family fun had to come first. Occasionally I would
have some time to copy some of Uncle John’s papers in ink but progress was very
slow. I nevertheless already knew how much fun it could be to solve family
-history puzzles.
Fortunately for me, Leonard was elected to
the Board of Trustees at
Even before this I had come to a point
where I had jobs or connections that took me to meetings out of town or even
out-of-state. I could manage some of
these quite well, but I had two unfortunate train experiences and I was too timid
to drive into an unfamiliar city, struggle with urban traffic, and find some
address. I remember driving into
As the 1960’s progressed, the nest became
empty. Now when only two of us were making a trip, Leonard even volunteered to
help me copy if I made a pleasant discovery somewhere. He was not particularly
interested in my hobby any more that I was his, but we were cooperative. On his
own he provided better lighting for me and more files. I was never tempted to
use those extra hours in retirement in bridge, shopping, golf, or teas, which
so many women enjoyed but it did occur to me that my hobby was not helping the
worthy causes any more than theirs! I thought I had better just keep quiet
about it.
By the 1970’s I had multiplied Uncle
John’s papers “many many times over.” I
had found a number of other Yoder genealogists and my hobby was out in the
open. In the voluminous correspondence of the time I received one day a letter
from Chris Yoder, a young man who lived in
Chris was in the forefront of using
computers, which were not as common then as now. He had all the qualifications
to do extremely well with the Yoder history that interested so many of us. His
great-grandfather Reuben had supplied that seed-list and Uncle John had
nurtured seedlings. I was able to develop some branches. It was so right and
appropriate that Chris should take from that whatever he found of use and it
was plain to see that he would multiply the fruit “many, many times over.” In due time he would become the Yoder
historian and authority of the country and beyond. Congratulations to the editor of our YNL!
Cheers!!
- - - - - - -
Editor’s
Note- YNL Co-Founder celebrated her 100th birthday on May 28th,
2009 and we thought this was a good time to record how she became involved in
studying the Yoder line. She told this story at a reunion of the Reuben Yoder
(YR2337a) family in 1983, and we thank her for writing it down for us so we can
share it with our readers. Her invaluable contributions to Yoder and Amish
genealogy can be seen in the classic work Amish and Amish Mennonite
Genealogies ©1986, which she
co-authored with Dr. Hugh Gingerich, now reprinted and available from Masthof
Bookstore, 219 Mill Road, Morgantown, PA 19543
********************************************************
The Yoder Newsletter- Founded 1983 by
Ben F Yoder (1913-1992), Chris Yoder & Rachel
Kreider
Chris Yoder, Editor, Saugatuck, MI; John W. Yoder,
Circulation Manager, Middlebury, IN; Rachel Kreider, Senior Contributing
Editor, Goshen, IN; Esther E. Yoder, Mail Manager, Goshen, IN; Donald Kauffman,
YNL Webmaster, Edmonton, Alberta,
Canada. Other Contributors: Richard H. Yoder, Bechtelsville, PA; Dr. Don Yoder,
Devon, PA; Neal D. Wilfong, Cleveland, NC.
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YNL INCREASES
PRICE! After 25 years we have finally
decided to increase the subscription price for the Yoder Newsletter from $3 per
year to $5 per year. This price is effective with renewals beginning
with YNL50. Subscriptions already in effect will continue without adjustment.
Please continue your support of the YNL!
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SEND YNL CORRESPONDENCE:
- FOR
CIRCULATION ISSUES ONLY such as new or renewed subscriptions, changes of
address, orders for back issues to: Yoder Newsletter, P.O. Box 594, Goshen, IN
46527-0594.
- ALL OTHER
CORRESPONDENCE- Dealing with ancestral queries or contributions for future YNLs
or archives (such as reunion notices, Letters to the Editor, copies of Bible
records or other historical information) to: Chris Yoder, 551 S. Maple St.,
Saugatuck, MI 49453 or email at cyoder@tds.net
.
- YNL PRICE
INFORMATION
-Annual
YNL subscription (published Apr. and Oct.) for $5.
-BACK ISSUES of the YNL are $2 per issue.
Visit: http://www.yodernewsletter.org/subscrib.html
for mail-in subscription form.
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YODER DATA ON DISK- Includes back issues of YNL text,
census and county records, family group data and pictures and scanned images.
The price for our “Yoder Data on Disk” is $10 (postage included). Send to YNL
address in
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ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND - WHO WAS THIS YODER?
This
autographed note from Abraham Lincoln to “O. B. Yoder” was signed March 19,
1864 on
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
We’ve
received the interesting Yoder Newsletter for many years. We belong to the Oley, PA Yoder group. My husband is a
30 year regular Air Force officer, retired bomber pilot, age 93.
We have a grandson
(picture enclosed) named Hans Yoder. His
parents visited
Ardath Yoder,
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I am in
receipt of the April issue of the Yoder Newsletter and am very interested in
photo of the L. M. Yoder Home. It now is the Stroup-Alexander VFW Post Home
5935. We are in the process of making some
improvements to the exterior of the building and grounds. I am 2nd cousin of
Frank W. Yoder who sent me the Newsletter. The enclosed photo shows how the
building looked two years ago. --Donald F. Smith, Quartermaster VFW Post 5935
- - - - - - - -
Thanks to
Esther Strock for sharing her findings that the Joseph Yoder (YB1132)
(1814-1900) and Elizabeth Hiestand marriage was listed among the announcements
(Verheirateing) in a German newspaper called "Friedens Bote" dated 22
Sept 1831. They moved from their home in Lehigh County, PA to Medina Co., OH
where
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Harvey and
Laura Yoder Reunion
A Yoder
reunion was held in
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Hello from the Oley Yoder Heritage
Association!
Our
annual reunion was held on Saturday, July 18, in the Social Hall of the Oley
Fire Hall in Oley,
Once more we are asking for your help, as we
need more members to fill the ranks of our planning committee. We send best
wishes to our extended Yoder Family and hope you will be able to join us for a
future reunion. --- The Oley Yoders,
(Contact:
Martha Yoder, kayoder@netcarrier.com )
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HAVE YOU GIVEN YOUR FAVORITE YODERS GIFT
SUBSCRIPTIONS?
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Thanks to
those who have helped fund the additional DNA testing!
***************************Queries************************
The YNL will publish Yoder related inquiries or
exchanges at no charge. Send Queries to:
Chris Yoder,
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PHOTO WANTED
of Old Thessalonica Baptist Church, Catawba Co., NC - Contact Michael B Huffman,
PO Box 131, Hildebran, NC 28637, phone 828-874-3755
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“Find-A-Grave” - Document Your Own Yoder
Line on the Internet
The “Find-A-Grave” web site allows you to: post the
name and dates of your ancestor in the cemetery where he or she rests; to add
his or her photo; to add a photo of the gravestone; and to post a biographical
summary or obituary.
Visit the site
at: www.findagrave.com
. Already recorded are internments for: 3974 (an increase of +649 from Apr.)
–Yoder; 119 (+19) – Yother; 33 (+7) –
Yothers;- 69 (+7) – Yotter; 15 (+1) –
Yoter; 33 (+6) – Yoders;, 6 (+0) – Ioder; 16 (+2) – Joder; 6 (+0) - Jotter
family members. As a part of this total, we’ve just posted the records for
Samples of posted Gravestones are shown on this page.
Daniel Yoder (4/22/1748-8/21/1820) (OH111) Pleasantville
Union Cem., Berks Co., PA. m Margaret Oyster 1775, married for 47 yrs had 5
sons 4 daughters
Abraham C.
Jotter (1845-1912) Halstead Cemetery,
Halstead, Harvey Co., KS- (Abraham b 3/23/1845 Hemshofen, son of Jakob Jotter m
5/26/1827 Friesenheim to Maria Deutsch; son of Jacob Jotter m Elisabeth Rohrer
(1781-1/15/1856) d 10/21/1823 Eppstein; son of Jakob Jotter m Elise Gobel
(b.1727 Eppstein); Christian Joder b 3/20/1687 Steffisburg, Switzerland m his cousin Margarete Gerber (Son of
Christian Joder and Barbara Gerber) (NOTE: Before seeing this cemetery record,
we did not know where this fellow went!)
Col. George
M. Yoder (8/23/1826-3/12/1920) (Con141)
Grace Luth. Cem., Newton, Catawba Co., NC. At the time of his death, the
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OLEY YODER
FROM A VINTAGE
CARTOON BY GENSLER
This news
item was received from contributing editor – Dick Yoder,
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Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
Congenital Adrenal
Hyperplasia (CAH) is a rare genetic condition which causes a dysfunctional
adrenal gland and leads to developmental problems. Michael Penney believes he
has traced a gene defect for CAH to a
grandson of Conrad Yoder of
YODER
PASSINGS
-Royal
Francis Yoder (YR233748-) d. Dec. 16, 2007 in McPherson, KS, three days after
his 100th birthday. Farmed for most of his life on the same farm in
Hayes Twp., McPherson Co, KS where he was born and raised.
-Wm. Ray
Settlemyre of Glen Alpine, NC, d. Feb. 22, 2009, bro. of Michael Huffman,
former officer of NC Yoder Reunion
-A. Lois
Weaver, age 92,
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YR17 DNA
RESULTS
The first DNA test result of the YR17 (John
Yoder who married Anna [Berkey?]) line did not show the “Amish mutation” at
marker 19 (a value of “16” vs a value of “15” shared by the other immigrant
lines). Tests have been completed by
descendants of two other sons of YR17, and these DO match to the Amish profile.
It is apparent from this that John himself DID have the same “16” value as his
male siblings, and that the reversion to “15” occurred further down the
YR177 line. In all of the testing, another example of a reversion on this marker
can be seen in one of the YR25 lines.
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JOE YODER
RELISHES SANTA ROLE
-by Ron
Devlin, Reading Eagle
Christmas never ends for Joe Yoder. Wherever
he goes – seven days a week, 365 days a year – the 72-year-old retired cabinet
maker spreads Christmas cheer. His snow-white beard, rotund frame and jolly
demeanor give the
Being gawked at by children and fawned over
by little old ladies at the supermarket could become a little irritating to a
lesser person. Not Joe Yoder. Mollie
Yoder, aka Mrs. Claus, said her husband never tires of the role nature has
assigned him. “He always says “ho, ho, ho,” Mollie said. “He makes people feel
good, kids and grown-ups alike.”
… Once a
year… he dons the traditional red suit and black boots to hear Christmas wishes
from children in the Lower Alsace Fire Company.
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Thanks to the
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UNIQUE PROFILE FOR
CAPT. JOSEPH YODER (YA1)!
Capt. Joseph Yoder (YA1) was an Alsatian
Yoder immigrant of Amish-Mennonite background, with the distinction of having
served as a cavalry officer in the Army of Napoleon (see YNL 7). Test results
have been received from the lines of two of his sons, Joseph (YA11) and Andrew
(YA14). Each matches to the other, which gives us the profile of their common
ancestor (Capt. Joseph). This profile,
however, does not match to the other Yoder lines tested to date. This means
that if the Joder surname in this line originated in Steffisburg, that in the
ancestry at or before Capt. Joseph there was an event like an unrecorded
adoption.
Capt. Joseph was researched for many years
by the late Edith Joder of
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“BEE CHRIST” YODER (YA33) DESCENDANT MATCHES
AMISH
Christian J. Yoder, known as “Bee Christ”
because he kept bees for honey, was born in 1827 in
Our first DNA test from a descendant has
proven that “Bee Christ” and his male ancestors match to the Amish Yoder
profile (the value “16” at marker “19”). In this respect he is matches one of
the other handful of Alsatian Joder tests which was done on a descendant of
Jonathan Yoder (YA4). Jonathan was the son of Joseph Joder (1752-1825 Hirtzbach
,F) and Marie Stucky, who was the son of Jean
Joder (1714-1767) and Frena Zimmermann, who is believed the
son of a Jost Joder living in the Alsace. One researcher claims that the
parents of this Jost were Hans Joder who married Catherine Reusser/Risser, but
others have not found evidence of this.
So far, descendants of the Caspar Joder b.
1664 (Y6b- the fellow referenced in the Jacob Amman article) have also matched
to this marker, as have YR1, YR2, and YRB. This would appear to indicate a
common male ancestor for Caspar and these two families of Alsatian Joders as
the origin point for the mutation. We’ve discussed the problems with linking
these families as currently defined, and are still hoping for more tests from
European Joder representatives to help figure this out.