Swiss Amish

Amish coming directly from Switzerland, neighboring Alsace and the Montbéliard region, first came to the Midwest in the 1830s.

Originally these Amish came from Bern and the French-speaking region of the Jura Mountains, where two villages, Mont-Tramelan and Rebévelier, had been settled by German-speaking Mennonites (who partly became Amish after the Amish-Mennonite division) in the early 17th century, thus forming German-speaking language islands there.

Characteristic for the Swiss Amish is the use of open buggies only and the marking of graves with plain wooden stakes bearing only the initials of the deceased.

These names include: Schwartz, Hilty, Lengacher, Graber, Wittmer, Shetler, Christner, Eicher, Girod, Wengerd and Wickey.

[13][14] A large Swiss Amish settlement was founded in 1968 near Seymour, Missouri.