Noah Troyer

Noah Troyer (February 18, 1831 - March 2, 1886), was an Amish Mennonite farmer and "sleeping preacher," who preached while in a state of trance.

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Noah Troyer was born in Ohio in 1831. He married Fannie Mast, a resident of Holmes County, Ohio, and they had six children together. In 1875, they moved to Johnson County, Iowa and bought a 160-acre farm there, three miles north of Kalona in Washington County, Iowa - which immediately adjoins Iowa County, where the Amana Colonies are situated.

At that time, the Amana Colonies were the main American settlement of the religious community of the Inspirationalists, also known as the "Community of True Inspiration," who had brought trance preaching to North America.[3]

In 1878 he started to preach at some length in an unconscious state at the Amish Church. He continued in this manner of preaching and became known as a "sleeping preacher."[4]

An article of the Herald of Truth reported on May 15, 1882, that he had preached with John D. Kauffman (1847-1913), another Amish "sleeping preacher." Troyer had spoken first, followed by Kauffman, and each spoke for about two hours.[5]

On the morning of March 2, 1886, Troyer died in a hunting accident.