Musselman (Musselmann, Moselmann) family
A Mennonite family name, probably Swiss in origin, Musselman is still found in both Europe and America. Several Mennonite cultural and religious leaders have been members of the Musselman family. Jacob Musselman emigrated from Europe in 1743 and settled in Bucks County, Pa. He bought some land which included the first Swamp Mennonite Church (MC) meetinghouse (near the location of the West Swamp General Conference Mennonite Church), but for which no deed had been granted. His son Michael Musselman was ordained preacher in the Swamp district before 1773. Michael's son Samuel Musselman (1764-1842) became a bishop (MC) in the Swamp district.
The name Musselman is also found in Lancaster County, PA. One of the members of the Lancaster County Musselman family was the promising John S. Musselman (1881-1913), superintendent of the Welsh Mountain Industrial Mission and a volunteer for the India Mission field, who died of typhoid fever before leaving home. Prominent fruit canners of Adams County, PA, were C. H. Musselman and Ivan Z. Musselman. Samuel H. Musselman (1855-1929), the father of Ivan Z. Musselman, was an important lay leader in Lancaster County (MC), the treasurer of the district mission board, and fellow commissioner with S. C. Yoder in the visit to the South American mission field, 1919-20. Peter Musselman moved from Pennsylvania to Ontario in c1803 where he served as a Mennonite (MC) preacher. A minister in Jo Daviess County, IL, during the 19th century, Michael Musselman, was a member of the Bavarian settlement that made its way to this county ca. 1840. Johannes Musselmann (1881-1955) of the Heilbronn congregation in Württemberg was ordained preacher in 1924 and elder in 1937.
One of the more prominent General Conference Mennonite preachers of this name was Samuel M. Musselman (1875-1938) of Bucks County, PA, who served pastorates in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa, and Kansas. Representatives of the family have also been well represented in the ministry of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ Church (now Evangelical Missionary Church), in the Pennsylvania Conference, including: Harvey B. Musselman, ordained in 1893, his son, B. Bryan Musselman, ordained in 1916, and William B. Musselman, ordained in 1886.
| Author(s) | John C Wenger |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1957 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Wenger, John C. "Musselman (Musselmann, Moselmann) family." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Musselman_(Musselmann,_Moselmann)_family&oldid=119898.
APA style
Wenger, John C. (1957). Musselman (Musselmann, Moselmann) family. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Musselman_(Musselmann,_Moselmann)_family&oldid=119898.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 795. All rights reserved.
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