Lutheran church, Zweibrücken, 1708
In his teenage years, Nicholas found employment on the farms of Anabaptists in the Palatinate and in what is now the Alsace region of France (borders back then were not necessarily where they are now). One farmer had a daughter that caught his eye, but marriages between a Lutheran boy and an Amish girl were not allowed. His first attempt to approach the authorities was refused, so at age 25 he wrote a letter to the Duke appealing the decision and explaining that he had been "received into their religious group by my own choice" (proselytizing was strictly forbidden). Permission was refused again, with the suggestion that he leave the duchy if he wanted to marry a non-Lutheran. Apparently they got married anyway.
Pfälzisches Oberlandesgericht Zweibrücken, 1720
The Amish church in this area was the last one to survive in Europe. They merged with the local Mennonite congregation in 1937.
Mennonitengemeinde Zweibrücken, current meetinghouse
In 1766, Nicholas and his family came to America and in 1771 purchased land in Berks County, PA, now on the northwest edge of Reading. The house on this property was threatened with demolition in the 1990s, but efforts to save it were effective and major restoration was done in 2001-2002, with additional work ongoing.
Further information:
German Lutherans to Pennsylvania Amish: The Stoltzfus Family Story
Nicholas Stoltzfus Homestead on Facebook
