Swartz (Schwartz) family
Swartz is a Mennonite family name found mostly in North America. The North American name originated from the Swiss Schwartz family. Felix Schwartz of Regensdorf, canton of Zürich, and Adelheyd Schwartz were both Anabaptists ca. 1527-1530. Mennonites of this name were found in the Emmental, Switzerland in the 17th century, and in Alsace in the early 18th century.
In America most Swartz families are descendants of Abraham Schwartz (Swartz), Mennonite Church (MC) bishop of the Deep Run Mennonite congregation in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Swartz arrived at Philadelphia on the Friendship on Oct. 16, 1727. He was ordained preacher in 1738 and bishop in 1756. In 1778 he and Bishop Andrew Ziegler of Skippack deposed Bishop Christian Funk for his favorable attitude toward the American Colonies who were in rebellion against England. Early in the 19th century Christian Swartz, the grandson of Abraham Swartz, moved to Waterloo County, ON, and became the head of a large family there. Other descendants of Abraham Swartz found their way to Virginia and Ohio and points farther west. One of the best-known members of the family was Freeman H. Swartz, a General Conference Mennonite pastor at Schwenksville, PA from 1921 until his death in 1957. The Schwartz families among the Amish of Adams County, IN are of a different lineage than the descendents of Abraham Swartz. In 1958 there were 5 ministers named Swartz in the Mennonite Church (MC). In the Old Order Amish group of 1958 there were 9 ministers named Schwartz, 3 of whom were bishops, almost all of whom lived in northern Indiana.
| Author(s) | John C Wenger |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1959 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Wenger, John C. "Swartz (Schwartz) family." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 18 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Swartz_(Schwartz)_family&oldid=61153.
APA style
Wenger, John C. (1959). Swartz (Schwartz) family. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Swartz_(Schwartz)_family&oldid=61153.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, pp. 666-667. All rights reserved.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.