Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-09-28
TRANCE PREACHING.
Great Excitement Among the Amlsh Mem
nonitefs Dunkards ana Others.

oon1eefs Dunkards ana Others.
For more than . week past there has
been great interest felt and not a little as.
tonishment and excitement manifested
among the Amish Mennonites and other
German religious sects of this county by
reason Of the wonderful preaching of Noah
Troyer, a plain uneducated farmer, whose
home is about Is miles southwest Of Iowa
City, in the state of Iowa, and who for
more than four years past has been amaz-
ing the people of the West by preaching.
His fame as q preacher, and sOme ac-
count Of tho peculiar physical phenomena
accompanying his religious ministratiOns,
having reached his brethren in this coun-
ty. arrangements were made to have him
come East and preach series Of sermons
in different sections Of the county. On
Monday and Tuesday evenings Of last
week lie preached to large congregations
at the residence Of G. L. Kaufman, near
the Gap. On Wednesday evening he
preached at Mr.. Mast's. near the Com
pass, in Salisbury township, Chester cOun-
ty OH Thursday evening ut Bishop
John P. Mast's ut MOrgantown, just
over the Berks county line; ON
Friday evening at Hershey's meet
ing house, Pequea Valley. whero his
congregation numbered fully 1,4OO per-
sons; on Saturday evening at Joseph
Shertz's, in the Conestoga Valley on Sun
day evening at the Mennonite church, near
ChurchtOwn, and last night Mt the resi-
dence of Jacob X. ZOOk, at tho fOur-mile
stone, near Binkley's bridge, ON the New
Holland pike. The number present at
each Of these meetings was fully 200, and
at somo Of them / 800. Tho meeting at
Mr.. looks was very large. tho house and
the grounds adjacent being crowded,
while hundreds of teams lined tho
roadsides and were hitched at every
convenient place in the vicinity.
There were brethren present from all
parts Of the ccInty-frOm Ephrata Oh the
north, Safe HarbOr on the south, tho Gap
on the cast and Mount Joy and Elizabeth
town on the west, and some from even
more distant points.
a recital Of tho peculiar physical mani
festatiOns affecting the preacher before
and during the meeting ut MIR. looks
will serve for all the other meetings, for
they were alike in all Of them. During tho
greater part of the day, say from 4 o'clock
in the morning until o'clock in the after
noon, Mr.. Troyer behaves in the most IA
tional and matter-Of- fact way, and any ono
would take him to bo 4 plain common
sense farmer. as indeed he is. He con-
verses with ordinary intelligence on mat
tcrs of everyday life, and no one would for
4 moment suspect him Of being either an
orator, hypOcrite or Ounce. About 4
o'clock in the afternoon he begins to
show signs of dullncss, and cOnverses
with difficulty, while there arc slight
twitchings and cOnvulsive movements of
his arms and legs. These increase in in
tensity until it becomes necessary for his
attendants to take charge Of him and lay
him on 4 lounge. Here he remains in ap-
parent Inconsistencies until about q
o'clock, when his attendants, from long ac-
quaintance with him, know that no is about
to commence his religious ministratiOns.
He is raiscA from the lounge and falls
upon his knees, and with eyes closed and
hands Outspread he offers up a most fervent
prayer (gcneral!y in both German and
English), and cOuched in language that
would do credit to tho most accomplished
pulpit orator. The prayer ended, he gives
out Il hymn, and this being sung, and he
supported on his feet by his attendants
Conc Of whom is his uncle, Stephen
YOder, and the other his sOn-in-law,
J. p king), he takes n text, and
Will Aio cyco IC"'sihiHS CLooc", PiC"CucS
scrmon-seldOm speaking less than
two hours and sometimes three. His
text last evening was "Blcssed arc the
pure in heart, for they shall see God" He
spoke for about two hours and quarter,
part of the time in English and part in
German. His language was not only we'll
chosen but his thoughts well arranged and
his argument logical.
A leading thought with him appeared to
bc the necessity of uniting all the different
religious sects into 4 homogeneous brother
hood. lie commenced his discourse in the
room in which was the lounge on which
he had been lying, but he was
gradually moved by his attend
ants to the front porch, so that
the great multitude outside might the bet
ter hear him. Closing his discourse in Il
becoming manner, he called upon ministers
of the gospel, if any were present. to bear
witness that he had preached nothing but
the word Of God. There happened to he
four ministers of tho Old Mennonite churcl,
present, one Of whom had come from
Canada to hear him, and they testified not
only to the orthodoxy of the sermon, but
to the wonderfully clear and impassiOned
manner in which the truth had been pre-
scnted. At the close Of the sermon Mr..
Troyer hpsed into apparent unconscious
ness, and remained in that condition until
4 o'clock this morning, when awOke and
assumed his normal condition of q country
farmer, and prOfessed to bo utterly OBJ
liviOus of anything he said OF did while
in state of trance.
Mr.. Troycr is y man Of about 80 years Of
age, a native Of Miiflin county, this state,
but for several years past u resident OF
Iowa. About seven years ago he first ex-
pcrienced the nervous twitchings and con-
tOrtiOns and seasons of uncOnsciOusness
which have ever since affected him, and
about four years ago he commenced his
preaching. At first he suffer-
ell much pain, but lattesly suffers little.
though; his nervous paroxysms arc painful
to behold.
We met him this morning i'll tho PENN
sylvania railroad depot. lie was accom-
panied by his wife and ono Of his four
besides his uncle and brOthcr-in-
law mentioned above, and was surrounded
by dozen OF more Mennonite friends. He
started West, it being the intention Of
those who accompany him to stop at vari-
GUS points in Ohio and Indiana and have
him preach. Last year he preached 13:;
sermons OH rs many consecutive days.
Mr.. J. X. ZOOk requests us to thank, in
his name, the people who attended the
meeting last evening, for their very orderly
behavior. We are also requested to say
that the meeting was to have been held at
Mr.. Lapp's 1T Scalp Level, but that owing
to misunderstanding the use of the place
was refused aud Mr.. looks place was
selected instead. This explanation is due
to those persons who failed to hear the
gre at preacher by reason Of their going to
Mr., Lapps instead of Mr. looks.