The Old Brethren German Baptists, also called Leedyites, are the most conservative group of

Schwarzenau Brethren The Schwarzenau Brethren, the German Baptist Brethren, Dunkers, Dunkards, Tunkers, or sometimes simply called the German Baptists, are an Anabaptist group that dissented from Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed European state churches during t ...

. They live in

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

and

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

History

Origins in Germany

The history of the Old Brethren German Baptists dates back to 1708, when the Schwarzenau Brethren were formed in Schwarzenau, now part of

Berleburg Bad Berleburg (, earlier also Berleburg) is a town, in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of Germany's largest towns by land area. It is located approximately northeast of Siegen and northwest of ...

under the leadership of

Alexander Mack Alexander Mack ( 27 July 1679 – 19 January 1735) was a German clergyman and the leader and first minister of the Schwarzenau Brethren (or German Baptists) in the Schwarzenau, Wittgenstein community of modern-day Bad Berleburg, North Rhi ...

. Soon they moved to

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

to escape religious persecution in Europe.

Early history

For the history of the Old Brethren German Baptist Brethren before the division see Old German Baptist Brethren: History.

The divisions of the early 1880s

In 1860s and '70s the traditionalists among the Brethren opposed the adoption of innovations such as revival meetings,

Sunday school A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

s, and foreign missionary work. Stressing church discipline, Annual Meetings, and the preservation of the "older order" of church ordinances, worship, and dress, they formed the

Old German Baptist Brethren The Old German Baptist Brethren (OGBB) is a conservative Plain church which emerged from a division among the German Baptist Brethren in 1881 being part of the Old Order Movement. Like the church it emerged from, it has roots both in Anabaptism ...

in 1881.

Old Order divisions

In 1913 conservative members of the Old German Baptist Brethren centered around Camden,

Carroll County, Indiana Carroll County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 20,155. The county seat is Delphi. Carroll County is part of the Lafayette, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area. Histor ...

(Deer Creek), withdrew from their church and formed the

Old Brethren The history of the Old Brethren Church dates back to Germany in 1708, when the Schwarzenau Brethren were formed in Berleburg under the leadership of Alexander Mack. Soon they moved to Pennsylvania to escape religious persecution in Europe. As th ...

. In 1915 the same happened among the Brethren centered around Salida,

Stanislaus County, California , image_skyline = , image_caption = Images, from top down, left to right: Modesto Arch, Knights Ferry's General Store, a view of the Tuolumne River from Waterford , image_flag = , i ...

. In 1921, the

Old Order German Baptist Brethren The Old Order German Baptist Brethren, also called Petitioners, are a small group of very conservative Schwarzenau Brethren. History The history of the Old Order German Baptist Brethren dates back to 1708, when the Schwarzenau Brethren were fo ...

, centered around

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

, broke with the Old German Baptist Brethren. Attempts in 1929 and 1930 to reunite the Old Brethren and the Old German Baptist Brethren were unsuccessful. The Old Brethren subsequently divided into two groups. The more conservative of the two groups, centered in Camden, Indiana, was organized in 1939 and took the name Old Brethren German Baptists. Some members of the

joined them. ''

Melton's Encyclopedia of American Religions ''Encyclopedia of American Religions'', renamed ''Melton's Encyclopedia of American Religions'' in the eighth edition, is a reference book by J. Gordon Melton first published in 1978, by Consortium Books, A McGrath publishing company. It is curren ...

'' describes the emergence of the Old Brethren German Baptists:Melton's Encyclopedia of American Religions: ''Old Brethren German Baptist Church''
/ref> The Old Brethren German Baptists are the result of three subsequent departures of conservatives among the

German Baptist The Schwarzenau Brethren, the German Baptist Brethren, Dunkers, Dunkards, Tunkers, or sometimes simply called the German Baptists, are an Anabaptist group that dissented from Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed European state churches during t ...

s between 1881 and 1939.

Beliefs and practices

Old Brethren German Baptists differ from their predecessor groups by stricter adherence to traditions, such as the use of horse and buggy, instead of automobiles, as a means of transportation. They also use neither electricity nor telephones. Production and use of tobacco, acceptance of pensions, and insurances on life and property are also ruled out. They are distinct from the

, another group with similar traditions that split off from the Old German Baptist Brethren in 1921. The Old Brethren German Baptists farm with horses, while the Old Order German Baptists use tractors and other motorized equipment in their farming. Many families are engaged in agriculture, growing

produce Produce is a generalized term for many farm-produced crops, including fruits and vegetables (grains, oats, etc. are also sometimes considered ''produce''). More specifically, the term ''produce'' often implies that the products are fresh and g ...

and producing sorghum syrup. Annual meetings are held at

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...

. In the past it was in a meetinghouse near Camden, Indiana.The Brethren Encyclopedia, Vol. II, Donald F. Durnbaugh, editor (1983) The Brethren Encyclopedia Inc. p. 965. As of 2016, annual meetings are alternating between Camden, Indiana, and the new settlement in Missouri. In spite of the name, Old Brethren German Baptists do not use the German language anymore, neither a German dialect in everyday life nor

Standard German Standard High German (SHG), less precisely Standard German or High German (not to be confused with High German dialects, more precisely Upper German dialects) (german: Standardhochdeutsch, , or, in Switzerland, ), is the standardized variety ...

for Bible and church as

Old Order Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite church ...

and many

Old Order Mennonite Old Order Mennonites (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania German: ) form a branch of the Mennonite tradition. Old Order Movement, Old Order are those Mennonite groups of Swiss people, Swiss German and south Germans, German heritage who pract ...

s do. Old Brethren German Baptists had already given up the use of the German language when the first split of conservatives from the main body occurred in the early 1880s.

Members and congregations

Around 1980, the Old Brethren German Baptists had three congregations and 45 members in 28 households. The largest congregation was at Camden, Indiana, followed by a congregation at

Goshen, Indiana Goshen ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. It is the smaller of the two principal cities of the Elkhart-Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the South Bend-Elkhart-Mishawaka ...

. The smallest congregation was at

Arcanum, Ohio Arcanum ( ) is a village in Darke County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,457 at the 2020 census. History Arcanum was laid out in 1849. The Greenville and Miami railroad arrived to Arcanum in 1852, connecting it to Dayton and much of t ...

. Around 2015, the group has grown to about 130 members. Camden, Indiana, is still the main settlement. The church at Arcanum, Ohio, does not exist anymore and the congregation at Goshen, Indiana, is down to two elderly members, but there is a new settlement between Trenton and Spickard, Missouri. This group has many members who came from the car-driving Old German Baptist Brethren and who withdrew over concerns about a perceived slide to modernity in their church.

Similar groups

Beyond the groups they divided from, there are some similarities between the Old Brethren German Baptists and

and also the horse and buggy groups among the

s. Besides horse and buggy transportation,

Plain dress Plain dress is a practice among some religious groups, primarily some Christian churches in which people dress in clothes of traditional modest design, sturdy fabric, and conservative cut. It is intended to show acceptance of traditional gender ...

and low technology, they share traditions stemming from their common Pennsylvania German heritage.

References

{{Reflist Anabaptism in Indiana Anabaptist denominations established in the 20th century Brethren denominations in North America Christian organizations established in 1939 Protestantism in Missouri