View source for Mosimann (Mosiman, Mosemann, Moseman) family

Mosimann (Mosiman, Mosemann, Moseman), a Swiss Mennonite family. Between Signau and Lauperswil in the [[Emmental (Switzerland)|Emmental]] in the [[Bern (Switzerland)|canton of Bern]], Switzerland, there is a hill called Moosegg, meaning Moss Ridge, where the first traces of the Mosimann family appear. The first appearance of the family in the records as [[Anabaptism|Anabaptists]] is in 1633, when Madlena and Elsbeth Mosemann were taken before the Bernese authorities for belonging to this forbidden sect. From that time until 1670 the Bernese records report nine similar cases against members of the Mosimann family. This is one of the few families that had members who remained in the Emmental region during the times of severe persecution; it is still found in the congregation. Until 1952 Fritz Mosimann was an elder in the [[Langnau im Emmental (Kanton Bern, Switzerland)|Langnau]] congregation. Others moved to [[Alsace (France)|Alsace]] and Montbéliard in the first years of the 18th century. Fritz Mosimann of the Pfastatt-Mulhouse congregation (1954) was a popular painter of Alsatian landscapes.

From Alsace (and Switzerland) several families came to America and others moved to Germany. Several Mosimann families established their homes in America during the 19th century, locating in [[Lancaster County (Pennsylvania, USA)|Lancaster County]], Pennsylvania, [[Butler County (Ohio, USA)|Butler County]], Ohio, and central Illlinois. Among the outstanding Mosimann personalities have been Jakob Mosemann (1795-1876), who emigrated from the [[Trappstadt (Freistaat Bayern, Germany)|Trappstadt]] congregation, Germany, settling near [[Bowmansville Mennonite Church (East Earl, Pennsylvania, USA)|Bowmansville]], Lancaster County. He was ordained preacher (1822) and bishop (1825) in Germany and continued as bishop in the [[LMC: A Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches|Lancaster Conference]], where he was an outstanding preacher and teacher. His grandson [[Mosemann, John Heer (1877-1938)|John H. Mosemann (1877-1938)]] was also an outstanding bishop (preacher 1904, bishop 1926) in the Lancaster Conference. The latter's son [[Mosemann, John H. (1907-1989)|John H. Mosemann]] was in 1956 a professor in the [[Goshen Biblical Seminary (Goshen, Indiana, USA)|Goshen College Biblical Seminary]] and bishop of the Goshen College congregation. Another grandson of Jakob was David H. Mosemann, long a minister in the [[East Chestnut Street Mennonite Church (Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA)|East Chestnut St. (MC) congregation]] in Lancaster. [[Mosiman, Samuel K. (1867-1940)|Samuel K. Mosiman (1867-1940)]] was president of [[Bluffton University (Bluffton, Ohio, USA)|Bluffton College]] in 1908-1935, and a leader in the [[General Conference Mennonite Church (GCM)|General Conference Mennonite Church]]. Michael Mosimann, born ca. 1820 in Lorraine, came to the [[United States of America|United States]] in 1831, became a leading bishop in central Illinois, later joining the [[Fellowship of Evangelical Churches|Defenseless Mennonite Church]].
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[[Category:Family Names]]