Jacob Engle, born Jacob Engel (1753–1833), was the most important leader of theRiver Brethren in the time of their emergence as a Christian denomination.

Engle was born inSwitzerland as the fourth son of Ulrich Engel and Anna née Brächbühl. As an infant he emigrated with his family from theCorgémont toPennsylvania to flee religious persecution. They sailed fromRotterdam and arrived inPhiladelphia on October 1, 1754. They established a homestead in northwestLancaster County, Pennsylvania.

In the 1770s, a religious awakening swept through the settlements ofMennonites of Swiss and South German origin along the Susquehanna River in Lancaster County, PA, that resulted in the forming of the River Brethren. Jacob Engle, assisted by his brother John, became the leader of the emerging River Brethren. In 1776 the River Brethren group was organized, and Jacob was made the first bishop. In the mid-1800s several groups split from the River Brethren, and the largest group took the nameBrethren in Christ.^[1]

• Morris M. Engle:History of the Engle Family in America 1754-1927, Hummelstown, PA, 1927.

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