Peter Luginbill

Peter Luginbill (February 1, 1818 – October 18, 1886) (early spelling of Luginbuhl)[2] was a Swiss-American politician, farmer, and carpenter. Luginbill was one of the first settlers and founders of Berne, Indiana.[3][4]

Peter Luginbill
Personal details
Born(1818-02-01)February 1, 1818[1]
Florimont (Blumenbergewald), Franche-Comté
DiedOctober 18, 1886(1886-10-18) (aged 68)
Berne, Indiana, US
NationalitySwiss American
Spouse(s)Barbara Steiner
OccupationFarmer, politician

Biography

Luginbill was born in a Swiss Settlement in Florimont (Blumenbergewald), Franche-Comté in 1818. In 1824, Luginbill and his family (who were Swiss Mennonites) fled from the Emmenthal to the Jura and to Alsace-Lorraine because of religious persecution. During the French occupation, Luginbill's family had retained his Swiss citizenship by concealing family records. Luginbill spoke both French and Swiss.

Luginbill and his family emigrated to the United States and settled near Orrville, Ohio. Later, in September 1847, they moved to the area that would become Berne, where they were early settlers and where Peter was a founder. The community was named after the capital of Switzerland.[5] As a city father, Luginbill often performed the functions of teacher, preacher and judge. He was also an early town trustee and treasurer.[6][7][8]

A skilled carpenter, Luginbill (as the name had come to be spelled) purchased 80 acres of land and built a log barn and a frame farmhouse in 1855. The home was insulated by using straw and mud between the logs. Luginbill also built the first Swiss Mennonite Church in Indiana during the same year.[9]

Family

Luginbill was the eldest son of Johannes Luginbuhl and Anna Bosiger. Johannes lived from 1778–1838 and his wife from 1777–1838.[10] Luginbill married Barbara Steiner on December 1, 1838. She died in 1897. They had ten children.

Death and legacy
Photograph of the Luginbill House and garden at the Swiss Heritage Museum in Berne, Indiana.

Luginbill died in 1886. Luginbill and his wife are buried at Mennonite Reformed Evangelical Cemetery near Berne. Their marker reads "Swiss Mennonite Pioneers."[11][12] Luginbill's farmhouse was donated to the Swiss Heritage Museum and moved to the property in 1987.[13] The Luginbill House and heirloom garden is now available for public tours, and receives tourists from around the country and world on Swiss Days.[14][15][16]

In 2010, Silvertowne of Winchester, Indiana, minted one-ounce commemorative silver coins honoring the Luginbill family and their contributions to Indiana.[17]

The Luginbill Family records and lineage are maintained by the Berne Public Library.[18]

Notes
  1. http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=kaspar01&id=I1368
  2. U.S. Census, 1850
  3. "Founders of Berne, Indiana" http://hof.x10host.com/Founders.html
  4. http://hof.x10host.com/Lehmann.html
  5. Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. 1997. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-87779-546-9.
  6. Liechty, Ed. The Roots of Bernie Indiana. Berne: Economy Printing Concern, Inc., 1977. p. 35
  7. Snow's history of Adams County, Indiana, pg. 138, 279
  8. Smith, C. Henry (1920). The Mennonites; a brief history of their origin and later development in both Europe and America. Berne, Indiana: Mennonite Book Concern. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  9. "The Hirschy Newsletter No. 14". www.hirschy.net. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  10. Indiana, Wills and Probate Records, 1789-1999
  11. Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana
  12. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&GRid=43808009&CRid=201352& Find-A-Grave
  13. http://www.berneclocktower.org/pages/news/CT_Program2010.pdf
  14. The Luginbill House http://www.swissheritage.org/house.html
  15. http://www.swissheritage.org/tours.html
  16. https://www.gogobot.com/berne-in/things-to-do
  17. http://www.swissheritage.org/images/links/newsletters/summer10.pdf Swiss Heritage Society Messenger, June 2010 Volume 10 - Number 1
  18. "Family Histories".

Further reading
  • Snow, J. F. "Snow's history of Adams County, Indiana." B. F. Bowen & Co., 1907.
  • Liechty, Ed. The Roots of Bernie Indiana. Berne: Economy Printing Concern, Inc., 1977.
  • Lehman, Naomi. "Pilgrimage of a Congregation." Faith and Life Press., 1982.
  • Regan-Dinius, Jeannie. "Preserving the Past for the Future: Indiana's Statewide Cemetery Registry." 2001.
  • Dorrel, Ruth. "The Hoosier Genealogist, Volume 41." Indiana Historical Society Press., 2005
  • Eicher, John. "Our Christian Duty": Piety, Politics, and Temperance in Berne, Indiana, 1886-1907." Indiana Magazine of History., 2011
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