Person:Christian Yoder (3)

Watchers
  1. Christian "Schweitzer" Yoder1728 - 1815
  1. Barbara Yoder
  2. Solomon Yoder1776 - 1868
Facts and Events
Name[1] Christian "Schweitzer" Yoder
Alt Name Schweitzer _____
Gender Male
Birth? 1728 Steffisburg, Berne Canton, Switzerland
Marriage to Barbara "Bavi" Hooley _____
Death? 20 Nov 1815 Stony Creek Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania, USA

One of the most dynamic figures to inhabit any family tree, Christian (nicknamed Schweitzer) Yoder was born in Steffisburg, Switzerland in the year 1728. A suprisingly high amount of information is known about him since he is the ancestor of so many American Yoders that have taken a lot of time to research him.

Schweitzer was, from the evidence, an extremely dynamic person.

22:36, 7 September 2007 (EDT)~

There were three wives listed for Schweitzer, but only one had a name: Barbara Hooley. The first four children were listed under the name "First Wife". However, all other listed children were listed under entry for Barbara Hooley.

22:36, 7 September 2007 (EDT)~

A small paragraph by Schweitzer:

"Our brother Menno Simons died in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ 1561 on the 31st of

January in Westenfelde and is buried there. So it is from that - time to the present 1809, the 31st

of January, 248 years. But according to the old time, I think."

It is obvious that "Schweitzer Christian" was a leader of his communities, both in East and West Pennsylvania. Having been born in Europe in the early part of the 18th century, he was certain to have been well steeped in the traditions of his Anabaptist heritage. This heritage was particularly meaningful because of the persecutions and ill treatment which was accorded to many Anababtists in Europe of those times.

Leroy Beachy, however, finds the wording of this brief paragraph a highly revealing reflection of the attitudes of the early Amish church leaders. " I Liked the expression 'our brother Menno' by Schweitzer Yoder... For an Amishman to regard Menno as a brother reinforces the fact that the Amish regarded themselves as 'being Mennonites' rather than as so many Mennonite historians have 'erroneously told us had 'torn away from the Mennonites'.

You can see a picture of the original hand written copy here: http://www.yodernewsletter.org/gif/yr23script.jpeg

A lot has been determined about Schweitzer from his style of writting.

From the bit of information on the paper, these things were determined about Schweitzer by an expert in hand writting:

EMOTIONS: The writer of this specimen is a person who is inclined to be very impulsive, but all indications point toward him keeping his emotions well under control most of the time. He drives himself extremely hard and may tire before the day ends because he uses so much energy on every project. He likes good times, excitement, travel, and all good things that pertains to his social life which I would not mention. There are indications that this person likes rich food that is highly seasoned and may be a little ale to put in his tank in case he or she might run into a virus.

FEELINGS: His feelings are deep and enduring and life experiences are written upon his personality.

MENTAL: In dealing with this writer's mental capacity I find him to be sharp as a tack. He is very analytical and has the capacity of sifting facts and selecting essentials. (I do not know what sex I am dealing with...since we cannot tell from the writing...so in this case I assume this is a man). He has a good memory and pays close attention to small details. His writing points to an inquiring mind, along with an interest in new things. His thinking appears to be careful and he has the capacity to change from one thought to another with ease and rapidity. His mind works like a smooth transmission in a new automobile. With fluidity in speech and deed he has the ability to adjust to a group or situation.

IMAGINATION: In the abstract fields of imagination (Philosophical, Theoretical and spiritual fields) this author appears to have roamed these hills in search for many of his answers. In the material field he searched, but according to his writing he did not bring much to reality.

FORCES TO ACHIEVE: From what I can see, this writer set his goals rather high. He enjoyed and planned for distant things, feeling thatwhat he wished for in life was worth working and waiting for. His will power was rather strong and enduring. In all likelihood, it would take many obstacles to discourage him once he made up his mind. His determination was a ladder to success, and he felt when you stop climbing your only way was down. This writer was very aggressive and with his persistent nature he indicated he wanted to go on repeating his effort to gain his objective.

FEARS: In dealing with his fears I feel he had a desire for attention, or a flair for doing things in a manner that focuses attention to himself. Another fear this writer had was a fear of being left out, and this may be a need to excel over others or a fear of being rejected. We definitely know he was jealous. And there is repression. Repression is when we have rejected from your conscious mind unhappy incidents, thoughts, memories and feelings, thereby curbing our ability to be freely self-expressive. This writer had a fear of expressing his undesired feelings and they were buried in his unconscious mind, fear of expressing them caused him to repress them.

DEFENSE: In his defenses this writer had the ability to communicate with ease and this helps him swing others to his point of view. Objections would seem to melt before his smooth flow of well-chosen phrases. Also, this writer had a little temper that tended to sputter and that drives people away. A poor defense since it exposes a prime weakness.

NTEGRITY: This writer has many characteristics that display his integrity. He is very zealous and determined in whatever he undertakes to do. He has a straight forward approach to matters that concern him and generous toward others in a controlled way. He is very stable and this is supported by his dignity and poise. There are indications of his understandings and appreciations in fine arts of life and this is a contributing force to his social life.

COMMENTS: There is no doubt that this person had much going for himself. He had strong determination, goals set rather high, very persistent, rhythm stable, will power strong and with that high powered emotional engine to drive him, success was bound to have been his destination.

References
  1. brown2.FTW.

    Date of Import: 8 Jan 2002