We ask you Holy Father, to show your grace and mercy to us all, throughout the whole wide world. Graciously draw us together with your blessing, care, and protection. Do not let division and disunity come among us.
-Excerpt from Die Ernsthafte Christienpflicht (Prayer Book for Earnest Christians), translated by Leonard Gross
Theodorus “Durst” eby
Durst Eby sat in prayerful contemplation. The year was 1704 and he was mourning the recent death of his lovely wife, Margaret. A peaceful man, Durst’s only desire was to live in harmony with his neighbors without sacrificing his own strongly held beliefs. His father Jacob had been a Bishop in the Mennonite church so he was accustomed to intolerance from other religions. Recently the hatred had escalated, leading to the difficult decision to leave his beloved home in Zurich, in hopes of giving his nine children a more stable future.
(Cover photo is a representation of Zurich in the 1800’s.)
why the persecution?
What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
-Ecclesiastes 1:9
Much as we see intolerance throughout America today for differing beliefs, the Mennonites were heavily persecuted during the 16th century and into the 17th century, as they were deemed too radical and a danger to religious stability.
What was this radical viewpoint which was hated by both Catholic and Protestant governments? The Mennonites held the Anabaptist notion that a person should wait to be baptized until old enough to make the choice for themselves, rather than being baptized in infancy.
Menno Simons was one of the early adopters of the Anabaptist ideas. When religious persecution resulted in the death of his brother whose only “crime” was to be rebaptized, Menno left the Catholic church and joined the Anabaptist movement in 1536. His group of believers eventually came to be called Mennonites. They were a pacifist group who preferred to relocate rather than resort to violence to defend their beliefs. Until his death 25 years later, Menno traveled across Europe as a hunted man, preaching nonviolence, adult baptism, and faithfulness to the Bible.
the Eby family searches for a more peaceful life
In 1704 Theodorus “Durst” Eby moved his family to the Palatinate region of southwest Germany, where they lived until 1715. Here Durst married Barbara Dysli, with whom he had four more children. In 1715, the Eby’s joined many other Mennonites, accepting the invitation from William Penn to join his settlement in America. Durst resettled his family near what is now Mill Creek, Pennsylvania (his house pictured left). Here the family found the peaceful community they sought. Durst died here in 1727.
christian eby, son of durst
Durst’s sixth son, Christian, (who we are descended from) was only six years old when the family left Switzerland. In 1730 he married Elizabeth Mayer and they settled north of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Christian and Elizabeth had ten children. Like the other men in his family, Christian learned carpentry at a young age. In 1754, he built the house pictured below. (Click on the photo to see a Google street view and “walk around”.)
The datestone, on the front of the house, is inscribed “Christian Ebi, Elisabetha, 1754.”
Christian passed away in Pennsylvania in 1756, followed by his wife in 1787.
peaceful times never last
Decades later when the American colonies were torn between loyalty to the crown and declaring their freedom, a rift developed between the “Old Mennonite Settlers”, who were Tory loyalists, and the more progressive Mennonite separatists. Looking once again for peace, many of the Mennonite loyalists moved to Waterloo, Canada, including two of our ancestral lines. As was common within social and ethnic groups during colonization, endogamy (marriage between distant cousins) was practiced within Mennonite settlements, rather than marry outsiders. The two Eby lines from which we are descended are outlined below. (Click to see the family lines on our Ancestry tree.) It wasn’t until the early 1900’s when the Eby descendants returned to the US. Barbara Bergey was born in Idaho in 1936.
additional sources
Swiss Mennonite Cultural and Historical Association
From Pennsylvania to Waterloo: A Biographical History of Waterloo Township
Leslie Barkley
May 7, 2018Hi – Great site…!!
Hoping with your resources, maybe you can help me connect a dot…
Trying to verify a note I found that immigrant Benjamin Witmer (Sr) 1634 – 1727 from Switzerland (maybe with a stop over in Pfalz, Germany) came to Lancaster Co (then Chester Co) PA in or about 1717. Note says his WIFE is Barbara EBY. I have searched many sites, but can not find any confirming info. My BELIEF…without ‘hard evidence’ is that she is directly related to Theodorus Eby (immigrant) and his brother Bishop Jacob Johannes Eby or another very close family (cousin maybe)???
Any help you can provide in confirming her lineage is appreciated.
Michelle
May 17, 2018Hello Leslie, Thank you for taking the time to look around. I will check my information and get in touch.
George Simpson
January 8, 2019Hi Michelle,
My 5th grandfather is Jonas Aby (1783-1849) from Winchester, VA. He is related to the Theodorus Durst Eby or Aebi of Lancaster, PA. My question is why did this family move to the Shenandoah Valley in the 1770s (right during the Revolutionary War)?
Michelle
January 11, 2019Hi George,
Thanks for stopping in and commenting. I am not familiar with Jonas’ family line specifically, but I found this article about the Mennonite presence in The Shenandoah Valley, which may be helpful:
http://sites.jmu.edu/shenandoahlivingarchive/faith-through-history/
Another thought is that the Mennonites were opposed to war as a solution for disagreements. As I mentioned in this story a rift developed between the “Old Mennonite Settlers”, who were Tory loyalists, and the more progressive Mennonite separatists. Even though they disagreed on the future of the country, as Mennonites they would not have wanted to participate in the battles. Like my husband’s family line of Old Mennonites who moved to Waterloo to avoid conflict, your family may have been progressive separatists who agreed with separation from England and wanted to move further away from proximity to the conflicts while remaining in the land that would become the US?
We never can fully understand someone else’s motives, so this is conjecture based upon an understanding of events at the time and would require more research into Jonas’ family to corroborate.
George Simpson
January 11, 2019Thank you Michelle. The Aby family converted to Protestants ( I think Methodists) in Virginia. A current relative of Jonas’ took the YDNA test and matched with a current Eby family member. Both converge on the same SNP (I-1994). That would point them to the same common ancestor 8 generations ago (most likely Theodorus Dorst Eby/Aeby).
Michelle
January 11, 2019Interesting…I wasn’t familiar with the Virginia portion of the family, but I certainly appreciate how DNA can help fill in the gaps where paper records do not. I have a few brick walls lines where I would love to find a male descendant to take the Y-test. Thanks for connecting!
Michelle
Shane Evy
July 25, 2022My family the Evy family also moved to Shenandoah Co Virginia around that time.
Shane Evy
July 25, 2022My family the Evy family also moved to Shenandoah Co Virginia around that time. I would also like to take the y test to see.
Michelle
February 18, 2023Yes, a Y-DNA test might be helpful for researching your Eby/Evy lineage.
Best of luck with your research!
Michelle
Jana Eby Richards
December 31, 2019Thank you so much for posting this blog on the Ebys. I too come thru Theodorus’s grandson George. Our line also went to Canada until about 1889 when they came back to the US. Because I grew up in California there just weren’t many Eby’s around, most of them being in the Pennsylvania area. I never knew a single Eby except for my grandparents and siblings. I didn’t have any first cousins that were Eby’s. I’ve been doing lots of research on Eby’s by using FamilySearch.org and Findagrave.com It’s nice to meet another family member!!
-Jana Eby Richards
Michelle
January 2, 2020I am so glad you enjoyed the story, Jana. Thanks for saying hello!
Norma Eby
June 7, 2021Jana, I am a direct descendant of George Eby who was one of the very first settlers that went to Canada from Pennsylvania. I have a lot of information about our family when they lived in Canada, My grandfather (Cyrus) was a great-grandson of George Eby ll, George ‘s son Potter Sam Eby ( My great-great grandfather) was the first white baby born on lot 1 of the German Company Tract in ONtario Canada, William K. Eby his son was also a potter. My cousin wrote a geneology book of all the descendants of William K, Eby, It is a huge book. Long before this book was written my father’s cousin who lived to be 95 was one of the famiy Geneologists. I remember him talking about a Henry Eby who ( would have been a brother to my grandfather Cyrus)that moved to California and he wondered what ever happened to him. When I looked in the Genology of William K. Eby’s descendants there is a Henry Eby born on August 27 1864 and died on Maarch 25 1947 and burried in Huntinton Beach California. His wife is listed as Nancy L. Shrock . They were married on December 23 1896. His children are listed as Ruth Joy Eby born on April 30, 1890, Paul Victor born January 14 1903 and Eldon Lewis born January 20, 1908 and died August 24 1992(that was the year that both my parents died) So wish I could have found him while my parents were still alive.
I don’t know where my cousin got this information but I will check with her and find out if she knows anything more, So any of these names ring a bell? Let me know, it would really be cool if we could make contact if in fact you are a descendant of Henry Eby, There are hundreds and hundreds of Eby’s who are your realtives,
Marianne Marshall
April 19, 2021Michelle, My great grandfather was Fredrick Eby, PhD born in Ontario Canada, dying in Austin Texas at 93, husbandof ELizabeth Newman, father of 5,professorBaylorU&University of Texas.writer,BaptistDeacon. His father was Aaron Eby MD Sebrigville, Ontario who was uncle of Mabel Dunham Kitchener Ontorio author of Kristli’sTrees(memmonite boy);Trail of the Contestoga; TrailOf the King’sMen; Aaron’s parents: John Eby&Rebecca Bricker; John’s father Deacon Samuel Eby;as best we can tell the line continues<Michael Eby<Christian Goff Eby< TheodorusEby;<JacobEby<BarthisAeby;HansAebi of Bern Switzerland b 1550d1592. I fondly remember Grandpa Eby reading Kristli's Trees to us. If you get a chance I believe you will enjoy Mabel DUnham's historical novels which include the eby family.
Michelle
April 25, 2021Hi Marianne,
Thank you for saying hello and sharing your connection. I will look into the novels. Thank you for the recommendation.
Shirley Robinson
August 13, 2021Hi Michelle So happy to have discovered your site. Durst Eby was my seventh great grand father. I am descended from his son Peter. This third generation of this branch of the family moved west to the Carlisle, Pa. area. and then the fourth generation moved to Charles Town, Va, now W. Wa. They were no longer Mennonite at that time, I believe. It is very confusing to follow the generations because the siblings used the same names for the children so one generation could have have several Christians, or Peters. I had never before read why some family members moved to Canada.
Caroline
August 26, 2021I am so grateful I’ve come across your blog while attempting to find more information on the parents of my Great Grandfather Ralph Wanner Eby and his wife Caroline Shelley Eby who I was named after by my father, Christopher Shelley Eby, only son of Milton Eby and Carolyn Banta of Lancaster County. I am also am only child. I and a few other family members have some of the Garden Spot Seed Packets and Ralph’s artwork as well. I am quite introverted, but every cousin I’ve had the privilege of meeting are kind, intelligent and it always felt that we were a family far or apart.
It is am absolute honor and with much appreciation to have the opportunity to become more connected with my family.
Btw, I reside in Paradise, Lancaster County, PA
Judy Eby Schulz Cochran
March 21, 2022Michelle – Durst is my 6th Great Grandfather. Samuel (Saddler Sam) was my 3rd Great Grandfather and the first of my line to move from Pennsylvania to Ontario. I am 4th generation in Michigan, but I still have distant cousins in Ontario.
I found a great book that helped me find my family line through this huge family. It is “A Biographical History of the Eby Family” by Ezra E. Eby first published in 1889. It is on Amazon in Hard Cover for about $30 and you can order through Walmart in paperback for under $20. It has times, dates and locations starting with Durst. Hope this helps you continue your search. I just contacted someone tonight about a huge book that was recently updated that takes our family all the way back to Italy even before Switzerland. I knew that was where Aebi’s came from, but have not found names and dates yet. Aebi’s (Durst was born “Aebi” and changed to “Eby” when they came to the US) started out as Celtics in the Mountains of Northern Italy. They left their heathen ways when the Vaudois (Waldenses) brought the New Testament to the area. The Berean Beacon has a great 79 page article on this history. It’s like reading about the wars in the Bible. That is what moved them to Switzerland I think I recall in the 1500’s where they stayed until 1704. They were threatened to death by drowning in Switzerland, so they then migrated to the Phaltz area of Germany where they still risked their lives. An American Mennonite offered them free land if they came to Pennsylvania.
Michelle
March 26, 2022Hi Judy,
Thank you for all of the great information. I have heard of the Eby book but don’t have a copy. I will definitely look into it.
Michelle
March 26, 2022It turns out that I did have a digital copy of the book. In case anyone is interested you can download a free pdf copy of Ezra Eby’s book on google. Here is a link: https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Biographical_History_of_the_Eby_Family/-tAUAAAAYAAJ?hl=en