Personal Life
Jakob Ammann was born on February 12, 1644 in Erlenbach im Simmental, Canton of Bern, Switzerland to Michael and Anna (née Rupp) Ammann. Erlenbach church records note the baptism of a Jacob Ammann on February 12, 1644, who likely was the Jakob Ammann from whom the Amish received their name. His grandfather has been identified as Ulrich Ammann. All three Ammanns were tailors. Jakob was third in a family of six children. He probably received limited formal education. On 37 official documents signed by Jakob, only his initials appear, with most of them having a nearby note that Jakob was not able to write, so he only "made his mark." However, on three documents his signature does appear, two times most likely done by someone else for him, and once with the same style of writing as his initials appear the poorly formed letters "J. AMME", which is assumed to be his own writing. Because he asked for letters to be read in one meeting, it is assumed he was not able to read, or possibly only poorly. He did well financially, compared to the average person of his time.
Jakob was married to Verena Stüdler, but very little is known of her beyond her name. They had at least one daughter and one son, Baltz.
Jakob's father and one of his sister's also joined the Anabaptist movement. His brother Ulli, 18 years his junior, was also an Anabaptist and is known for his moderating tone in the attempts at reconciliation between the Amish and Reist sides.
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