Northkill

Drawn into the savage clashes of the French and Indian War, Jakob Hochstetler faces an impossible choice-and the irreversible consequences.

In 1738 Jakob Hochstetler and his family arrived in America, seeking sanctuary from religious persecution in Europe and the freedom to live and worship according to their Anabaptist beliefs. Along with other members of their church, they settled in the Northkill Amish Mennonite community on the Pennsylvania frontier between civilization and wilderness and built a home near Northkill Creek. For eighteen years the community lived at peace. Then, with the French and Indian War raging, the Hochstetlers' way of life was brutally shattered.

Early on the morning of September 20, 1757, their home was attacked by a party of Delaware and Shawnee warriors allied with the French. Facing certain death with his wife and children, Jakob made a wrenching choice that tore apart his family and changed all of their lives forever. Northkill is closely based on an inspiring true story well-known among the Amish and Mennonites. It has been documented in many publications and in contemporary accounts preserved in the Pennsylvania State Archives and in private collections.