Byler (Beiler, Beyler) family
Byler (Beiler, Beyler) is an Amish family name of Swiss origin. The ancestor of most of the family in America was Jacob Beiler, born in Switzerland, who came to America on the Charming Polly in 1737. He with his family settled in the Oley Valley in Berks County, Pennsylvania, but later moved to Lebanon Valley, and finally settled in Lancaster County, where he died. A grandson, Hans Beiler, was the pioneer Amish bishop in the Kishacoquillas Valley, Pennsylvania. The family historian, C. Z. Mast, estimated in 1923 that there were 6,000 living descendants of Jacob Beiler in America. In 1951 these descendants lived principally in Ohio and Pennsylvania. In Ohio there were seven Byler Old Order Amish Mennonite ministers and in Pennsylvania eleven Beiler and ten Byler Old Order Amish Mennonite ordained men.
Among the better-known descendants of Jacob Beiler was his great-grandson Bishop David Beiler (1786-1871), Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, author of Das wahre Christentum (Lancaster, 1888). Another well-known Amish bishop was Solomon Beiler (1799-1888) of Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, whose advocacy of baptism in the water led to the separation of his congregation from the Old Order Amish Church. B. Frank Byler of West Liberty, Ohio, was a missionary (MC) in Argentina. Clayton Beyler was a minister and Bible teacher at Hesston College.
Bibliography
Mast, C. Z. "The Beiler Family." Christian Monitor (March 1923).
Umble, John. "Memoirs of an Amish Bishop [David Beiler]." Mennonite Quarterly Review 22: 2, 94.
Author(s) | Melvin Gingerich |
---|---|
Date Published | 1953 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Gingerich, Melvin. "Byler (Beiler, Beyler) family." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1953. Web. 7 Oct 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Byler_(Beiler,_Beyler)_family&oldid=143385.
APA style
Gingerich, Melvin. (1953). Byler (Beiler, Beyler) family. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 7 October 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Byler_(Beiler,_Beyler)_family&oldid=143385.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 488. All rights reserved.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.