Wisler Mennonites: Indiana and Ohio beginnings

Jacob Wisler served as a Mennonite bishop at Yellow Creek in Elkhart County, Indiana. Disagreements over Sunday schools and other changes in church life persisted despite attempts at reconciliation. In 1872 Wisler and his followers began separate worship, and like-minded congregations in Ohio joined them. These beginnings formed part of the wider Old Order Mennonite fellowship.

The name continued through later changes. In 1907 the Ohio and Indiana fellowship divided over questions including telephone use and preaching in English. The group allowing these practices retained the Wisler name and became known more formally as the Ohio-Indiana Mennonite Conference. Thus a reference to Wisler Mennonites may concern either the original nineteenth-century movement or this particular later conference; the date and location help identify the intended community.