The Swiss Anabaptist Genealogical Association - is a group of over 200 genealogists who are working together to trace the descendants of early Anabaptists from Switzerland, Germany, France and other European countries. We have members from over 30 states, Canada, Switzerland, and elsewhere. Our largest membership groups come from Ohio (52), Indiana (43), Pennsylvania (20), Illinois (18) and Virginia (9) which is why the annual meetings have been located in these states.

By sharing their research with other members, they have been able to multiply their efforts. Currently we have a collection of over 100 databases containing over 3.3 million records. This includes most of the Amish & Mennonite settlements throughout the United States. The cost of hosting these databases is covered by the membership dues. A second (public) site containing less than half the databases was supported personally by a couple individuals. The time requirement of supporting the thousands of emails streaming in from non-members each year has prompted the decision to close the public site at this time.

We welcome you to our all-volunteer ranks of amateurs and scholars interested in researching the Swiss origins of our Anabaptist heritage. We do not have an office or any paid staff - all maintenance is done by volunteers in their spare time.
 
Membership enables you to
- post questions or inquiries, as well as participate in our on-line discussions.
- gain access to the genealogy databases of over 3 million individuals.
- permits the ability to contact the members who have submitted each database.
- participate in our Annual Meetings and programs.
- receive announcements of new books and publications as members become aware of them.
 
We hope you will make the most of your membership and share in our collective expertise and desire to preserve our Anabaptist heritage. 

The membership form can be printed from  - http://www.omii.org/memberform.htm

Background:
.. The Anabaptist movement started in 1521 in the city of Zurich, Switzerland by a group of Christians who rejected infant baptism as unbiblical.  They had come to believe that baptism should follow acceptance of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.  So they accepted a baptism upon their confession of faith and began an aggressive evangelistic movement.  The name Anabaptist (rebaptizers) was used by the State Reformed Church for those who united with this movement.
.. In The Netherlands, a Roman Catholic minister named Menno Simons, became a significant leader among those who accepted baptism upon their confession of faith.  They began to be known as Mennonites, which meant followers of Menno.  This name was accepted and widely used  in Europe and the United States.
.. In 1693, Jakob Amman, born in Switzerland but living in France, wanted the Anabaptists of Switzerland to practice a stricter form of discipline.  His request was rejected by most of the leaders in Switzerland.  Amman's followers in France and Switzerland became known at the Amish, a name that continues with a large group of Anabaptists today in the United States and Canada.

Dues:
- The membership dues are used to cover the cost of hosting the databases - printing and mailing newsletters - or to offset some of the costs of our meetings. Since our 2007 meeting, we have been pleased to welcome 205 new members to our group. (as of April 23, 2009) Memberships are for calendar years so it makes things easier for everyone if people join or renew for multiple years. Renewals or membership extensions can be done at any time.

Software:
- We moved the databases off Geneweb for three main reasons. 1) The databases went offline nearly every weekend due to the heavy usage. 2) People had to individually search each separate database. 3) The software option to hide information about living individuals never worked correctly. TNG on the other hand has handled the load without issue - searches all databases simultaneously - allows much more powerful search options such as date ranges and spouse surnames - and correctly hides information about living people.

Databases:
- "I have a small database, is it worth sending in?" A key advantage of using the TNG software is that ALL databases are searched - no matter how large - no matter how small. It is almost certain that your database will contain entries that no other database has.
- "I have a HUGE database, can you handle it?" The largest database currently in use is the Kidron database with 500,000 individuals. For several weeks we had included the GRANDMA 5 database (with their permission) which contains 941,465 individuals and the TNG software had no issues.

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Membership Form
-or click here-

Name: _______________________

Address: _______________________            City, State, Zip: _______________________

Email: _______________________                 Phone: _______________________

Research:
Anabaptist Surnames being researched: __________________________________________

Anabaptist Congregations being researched: __________________________________________

Geographic Areas being researched: __________________________________________

Genetic research project description: __________________________________________

Software:
Genealogy Software Used: __________________________________________

Number of individuals in your database: __________________________________________

Membership:
1 Year  (12/31/09)   $6.00 [__]
2 Years (12/31/10) $11.75 [__]
4 Years (12/31/12) $20.00 [__]

Members can extend their membership at any time by 1, 2 or 4 years.

users can send payments to: bob@gs-titanium.com

Checks should be made out to:
Robert Geiser

Please send this form with payment to:
G&S Titanium, Inc.
PO Box 1107
Wooster, OH 44691

SAGA Members must agree to abide by the Standards For Use Of Technology In Genealogical Research listed below.

Sign here to signify your agreement: _______________________

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Standards For Use Of Technology In Genealogical Research Recommended by the National Genealogical Society

©2000, 2001 by National Genealogical Society. Permission is granted to copy or publish this material provided it is reproduced in its entirety, including this notice.

Mindful that computers are tools, genealogists take full responsibility for their work, and therefore they--

· learn the capabilities and limits of their equipment and software, and use them only when they are the most appropriate tools for a purpose.
· do not accept uncritically the ability of software to format, number, import, modify, check, chart or report their data, and therefore carefully evaluate any resulting product.
· treat compiled information from on-line sources or digital databases like that from other published sources, useful primarily as a guide to locating original records, but not as evidence for a conclusion or assertion.
· accept digital images or enhancements of an original record as a satisfactory substitute for the original only when there is reasonable assurance that the image accurately reproduces the unaltered original.
· cite sources for data obtained on-line or from digital media with the same care that is appropriate for sources on paper and other traditional media, and enter data into a digital database only when its source can remain associated with it.
· always cite the sources for information or data posted on-line or sent to others, naming the author of a digital file as its immediate source, while crediting original sources cited within the file.
· preserve the integrity of their own databases by evaluating the reliability of downloaded data before incorporating it into their own files.
· provide, whenever they alter data received in digital form, a description of the change that will accompany the altered data whenever it is shared with others.
· actively oppose the proliferation of error, rumor and fraud by personally verifying or correcting information, or noting it as unverified, before passing it on to others.
· treat people on-line as courteously and civilly as they would treat them face-to-face, not separated by networks and anonymity.
· accept that technology has not changed the principles of genealogical research, only some of the procedures.

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Brothers Keeper - http://www.bkwin.net/ - Current version is 6.3.10 released 05-Mar-2009
Roots Magic - http://rootsmagic.com/ - Current version is 4 released 25-Mar-2009
Family Tree Maker - http://familytreemaker.com/Default.aspx  - Current version is 2009
Personal Ancestral File - http://www.familysearch.org/eng/paf/ - Current version is 5.2.18.0
Legacy Family Tree - http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/ - Current version is 7.0.0.55
The Master Genealogist - http://www.whollygenes.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc - Current Version 7.03

Reunion - http://www.leisterpro.com/ - Current version is 9 (for Mac OS X 10.3.9 or newer)
Mac Family Tree - http://www.synium.de/products/macfamilytree/index.html - New 3D version 5.2

GRAMPS - http://www.gramps-project.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page - Open Source for Linux