Nancy-Lou Patterson, Fine Arts Department,University of Waterloo .

(Photo by Maurice Green)

The making of wooden models "to show howthings used to be" (as a model-maker recentlyexplained his work to the author) is a com-mon element in 20th century "people's art."Most of these items are the work of in-dividuals . In the Southern Ontario Mennonitecommunity (shown by works in the exhibi-tion "The Language of Paradise: Folk Artfrom Mennonite and other Anabaptist Com-munities of Ontario," at the London RegionalGallery, London, Ontario, September 14 - Oc-tober 23, 1985) these include barn models,models of farm equipment, fine furniture, andeven windmills. A very remarkable work inthe same exhibition was the result of groupactivity, but had its source in a single extraor-dinary mind-that of Samuel Frederick Coff-man (1872-1954) .This work is a model of the Tabernacle of

Israel, made by the students of S .F . Coffmanat the Ontario Mennonite Bible School, pro-bably before World War I . Readers who havepondered the words of God to Moses in Ex-odus 25, its account of the building of theTabernacle, and the account of its use inLeviticus, will take delight in noting howcarefully the Coffman model follows thebiblical accounts, insofar as the understandingof teacher and makers allowed.The structure was created in a multitude of

small parts, cunningly designed to fit intocarefully-made storage boxes . When assembl-

In Thy Holy Place :A model of the

Tabernacle of Israelby Nancy-Lou Patterson

ed, the many parts of the Tabernacle createa wooden and textile unit, reproducing theTabernacle (Photo, page 11), its special fur-nishings, draperies, coverings, and surroundingCourt (Photo,page 10) . The biblical Tabernaclewas a large ceremonial tent with a court form-, d by a draped fence . This could be carriedthrough the wilderness by a travelling people,and then assembled and erected when the peo-ple stopped to make camp, just as they erectedtheir ordinary dwellings. The use of portablesanctuaries among nomadic and herdingpeoples is a traditional part of world culture .The Tabernacle ofIsrael is distinguished by

its extraordinary longevity as an idea-a sym-bolic structure in the mind . Thousands ofyears after it ceased to exist as a physical ob-ject, the Tabernacle has remained intensely realin the meditations of readers of the Torah, thefirst five books of the Bible. It has existenceas a psychological or conceptual, indeed as aspiritual, reality .

It was as such a symbol that it recommend-ed itself to S.F . Coffman. The creation of themodel was the result of his long meditationupon the meaning of the Tabernacle . This hadalready produced a beautiful hymn, "in ThyHoly Place."' As a work of visual art, theTabernacle model was produced by a groupof young people. The young men reportedlycreated the wooden portions, some includingwire and metallic paints . The textile portionswere reportedly made by the young women,who took the pieces of cloth home to em-broider them . The completed structure in-cludes appropriate hangings and veils, em-broidered with ornamental forms and executedin red, purple, and blue .The generation of students who made the

model enjoyed a unique experience as with thework of their hands they created this refinedlabour of devotion . Succeeding generations ofstudents must have carried out the rathersolemn process of opening the storage boxes,taking out the many small units, and careful-ly assembling them to bring the image of theTabernacle into being. People who participatein the making and in the reassembling of such

S.F. Coffman, Creator of Tabernacle model.(Photo from Ontario Mennonite Bible SchoolCollection, Conrad Grebe] College) .

a structure will not easily forget the experience .There is a sense of personal identification inthese actions, as if one became in even a smallway part of the original process of creating aplace for God to dwell in the midst of His peo-ple . Theman whoconceived this pedagogicaldevice was very evidently a remarkableteacher .Samuel Frederick Coffman, whose inventive

and imaginative mind inspired this work, wasborn in Rockingham County, Virginia onJune 11, 1872 . His family found the rocky landtoo difficult, and in 1879 travelled by train toElkhart, Indiana. He was baptized May 26,1888, to the delight of his father, evangelistJohn S. Coffman. During his high school yearshe worked at the bindery of the John F. FunkPublishing Company. He continued thereafter graduation in 1890 until he moved toChicago where he was ordained in 1894 . Thisbegan a period of wide travel, including toursof Canada . S.F . married Ella Mann in 1901,and was ordained a bishop in 1903 . The cou-ple settled into a pastor's life in Vineland, On-tario at the Moyer Mennonite Church, whereBishop Coffman remained for some 50 years,a remarkable longevity, though his wife'sdeath in 1935 was a great loss .Coffman's youthful experiences as a student

at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, andhis participation in a series of yearly Bible con-ferences in Ontario, caused him to become aprime mover in the development of the On-

tario Mennonite Bible School . At the CanadaConference of 1906 at the Moyer Church he"showed his deep conviction for a Bible studyprogram ."z The purpose, in his own words,was "to instruct Christians to appreciate theBible, to know the will of God, understandthe Christian life, and then give faithfultestimony both in life and service.'Aformal motion was presented at this con-

ference to establish a Bible School in Berlin ;the first classes were held in 1907 and the firstboard appointed in 1909 . S.F . Coffman waswith few exceptions the sole teacher of the

J. B. Martin lecturing on the Tabernacle.(Photo from OMBS Collection, ConradGrebe] College)

Bible Study class until 1919, a period of twelveyears. The model of the Tabernacle waspresumably created sometime early in thisperiod .Much is conveyed by the fact that his

students called him "Daddy Coffman." Hisbiographer, Urie Bender, calls him "a kind ofsaint-scholar combination. -4 He made a signifi-cant contribution to the quality and longevi-ty of a capella singing in the Ontario Men-nonite Conference, and as a member of thecommittee for the Mennonite Church Hym-nal his influence even more widespread. Hisbeloved hymn, "In This Holy Place," grewout of study and meditation on the Bible.When travelling in Alberta in 1901 he conceiv-ed the idea for its organization-the threeverses are devoted to the three ceremonial ob-jects placed in the forechamber of the Taber-nacle : the altar of incense, the goldencandlestick, and the table of the shewbread.In describing this meditative work, Coffmanwrote:

The title, "In Thy Holy Place," suggeststhe fact that all believers live in that ho-ly place of spiritual relationship withGod. We are not in the Most Highplace, for that is in the presence of God,where Christ is entered for us and fromwhen He shall come to receive us untoHimself. But our daily life now is in thatplace of communion and prayer, andguidance and life by the Word . . . [W]ewant to abide in His presence and ourhope is that in due time we shall enterthe realm of God's glory which isbeyond the veil of our flesh .'

The Tabernacle of Israel enclosed in its draped fenced court, with the large water vessel for ritual cleansing and the horned grilled altar whereanimal sacrifices were burned .

(Photo : Robert McNair, courtesy London Regional Art Gallery, London, Ontario)

One must assume that Coffman's intentionfor his Tabernacle model insofar as it servedas a symbol, as well as a teaching aid in OldTestament history, was the same . The effectof the model is dignified and compelling . Thedegree of refinement is sufficient to be sug-gestive rather than scale-perfect, as befits aform which is intended to direct the viewertoward the concept it embodies rather thandrawing awed attention to itself . On the otherhand it is manifestly not a toy. It is a workof instructive art, intended to offer instructionand to inspire meditation . In both intentionsit is a success . In aesthetic terms, the complexinner box with its intricate form and contents,contrasted with the geometric simplicity of itsproportionate enclosure, creates a three-dimensional structural field of remarkable in-tensity . The credit for this must go to the

Mennogesprdch is published by theMennonite Historical Society of Ontario,Conrad Grebel College,Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G6

Editor : Sam SteinerEditorial Committee: Margaret Jutzi

Margaret GoodAlfred Hecht

Mennogeprach is received by all membersof the Society . See membership form for cur-rent rates . All correspondence should bedirected to the editor.Assistance received from the OntarioMinistry of Culture &Citizenship is grateful-Iv acknowledged .ISSN 0824-5673

designer whose identity is indicated in Exodus .But S.F. Coffman and his students brought thisparticular structure into physical being, andtheir work, carefully preserved at ConradGrebel Archives, is an artifact of signifance,even delight .

Notes'The text and music can be found as #167 in

Church hymnal (Scottdale : Mennonite PublishingHouse, 1927).

2Mission completed: history of the OntarioMennonite Bible School and Ontario MennoniteBible Institute (N.p . : St . Jacobs Printery [ca. 19691),

2.P.'Ibid., p. 3.4Urie A. Bender, Four earthen vessels (Kitchener :

Herald Press, 1982), p. 147.'Mission completed, pp . 5-6.

For information on the Tabernacle, see Paul M.Zehr, God dwells with His people (Scottdale :Herald Press, 1981).

A Small MennonitePublisherby Sam Steiner

Many persons are not aware of an Old OrderMennonite publisher in the Mt . Forest, On-tario area .

Isaac R. Horst, an active member of the OldOrder community, has written and publish-ed cookbooks, childrens' books and Men-nonite history books. Probably his bestknown book is Up the Conestogo, a historyof the Woolwich Mennonites published in1979 .Horst has also translated into English a

number of German materials, and publishedthem in limited mimeographed form .Although the translations are quite literal, andretain the endless German-style sentences withcountless phrases and clauses, Horst has madeimportant source material available to theEnglish researcher .Among items of this nature translated by

Isaac R. Horst are : Discussions ofthepreachersand deacons ofthe Mennonite parishes in theCounty of Waterloo, containing the resolu-tions passed at the semi-annual conferences,n.d . This volume translates the earliest extantminute books of the Mennonites in Ontario,beginning in 1842 .

Similar titles include Disclosure of thepersecutions against Daniel Hoch, preacher ofthe Mennonite church in Upper Canada, n.d .(Translated from the 1853 publication by JohnH . Oberholtzer) and A ship directed againstthe wind by Jacob Martin, 1984 (from the 1883edition) .Currently available publications from Isaac

R. Horst include the following, all by Isaacunless otherwise noted:

The Tabernacle ofIsrael, shown here with itsthree outer layers removed, contains, in theinnermost chamber, the Ark of the Covenantwith its confronted Cherubim, and in theoutermost chamber, the Altar ofIncense, theGolden Lampstand, and the Table of theShewbread. The veil between the chambersdepicts two Cherubim . (Photo: RobertMcNair, courtesy London Regional ArtGallery, London, Ontario)

Up the Conestogo, 460 pages, hard cover,illustrated . $6.45 . A comprehensive historyofWoolwich Township and the Old OrderMennonites . Genealogies, history of towns,schools and churches, as well as pioneer lifein Ontario.

Separate and peculiar, paperback. $2 .95 .Abooklet on the customs and traditions ofOld Order Mennonites .

Page 1 1

High, healthy and happy: 3-H Mennonitecook book, 275 pages. $6 .95 (Coming soon).A collection of Swiss Canadian recipes witha brief history of the Swiss Canadianheritage .

Wildlife vittles, 120 pages. $3 .95 . The naturelover's cook book . Recipes for game, fish,edible greens, trail cookery, plus otherrelated information .

Thou art Peter, paperback. $1 .95 . A bio-graphy of the Woolwich pioneer, PeterMartin . Most of the Woolwich Mennonitesdescend from him.

The man who could do anything, children'sbook. $1 .95 . Stories from pioneer days re-lated by Simeon Bowman, a local non-agenarian.

The little mother's cook book, $3 .95 . 50 easy-to-follow recipes for the little miss withillustrations and poems.

Life is a poem by Esther Horst, 120 pages, il-lustrated. $5 .95 . Inspirational poetry .

Why grossdaudy? $2 .95 . Asequel to Separateand peculiar, giving the scriptural reasonsbehind many of the customs and traditions .(Coming soon) .

Potato potential . $2 .50 (Coming soon). Acollection of fifty potato recipes .Any of these books can be purchased from

Isaac R. Horst, R.R . 2, Mount Forest, OntarioNOG 21-0 or from Provident Bookstores inOntario.

Page 12

Wilderness, Warand Gemeinschaftby J. Winfield Fretz

(This is a condensation of the first of threepresentations by Dr. J. Winfield Fretz, foun-ding President of the Mennonite HistoricalSociety of Ontario. The presentation were onthe occasion of the Society's 20th anniversaryon May 10-11, 1985 . We are pleased to presentthis to our readers.)

The three terms in the title may appear at firstnot to have connection whatsoever . Thejustification in my own mind for using thesethree seemingly disparate terms will soonbecome clear. Each concept denotes a phaseof early Waterloo Mennonite social historywhich may provide a glimpse into understan-ding the sociological character of contem-porary Waterloo-area Mennonites .Throughout this address I refer to Waterloo

Mennonites not only as all branches of Men-nonites and Amish in Waterloo County, butalso all those Amish and Mennonites in thesurrounding counties of Penh, Wellington andOxford counties where church membershipscross county lines . The Mennonite populationin this area is something in excess of 16,000 .It refers to men, women and children ratherthan to formal church membership only .Throughout my discussion I will refer to sec-

tors of this community as "conservative,""moderate" and/or "progressive" Men-nonites. This general classification is for thesake of simplicity and clarity, and to avoid theconstant need to refer to specific conferencegroups . The distinction between each of thethree classifications is based on relative degreesof resistance or accommodation to social andcultural change . In my forthcoming book Icover fourteen separately organized groups .The largest group is the Ontario and QuebecConference with 21 congregations, and thesmallest are single congregations such as theReformed, the Elam Martin group, theEvangelical Mennonite Mission Church andthe Old Colony Mennonites .Among the Waterloo Mennonites there are

three ethnic strands : the Swiss-PennsylvaniaMennonites, the Swiss-South German Amishwho came directly from Alsace (France), andthe Dutch-Prussian-Russian Mennonites . Eachof these three strands has one or more con-gregations in each of the conservative,moderate or progressive categories .

Waterloo Mennonites and wildernessA wilderness is best defined as an

uninhabited geographical area . An un-cultivated region or even a wasteland is alsoreferred to as a wilderness . Waterloo Countyin the beginning of the 19th century was partof the Grand River basin area and was indeedstill an uninhabited wilderness . The NeutralIndians are reported to have settled along thebanks of the Grand River as early as 1627 inscattered small groups . Although they grew afew vegetables, they never had a serious im-

J. Winfield Fretz

pact on the development of the region .The wilderness character of this area must

have seemed very real to the Sam Betzner andJoe Sherk families and the other dozen familieswho followed them in the 1800's across theeighty or ninety miles west from Vineland bywagon and on foot . At that time every addi-tional mile toward their Waterloo Countydestination was one mile farther away fromcontact with the first Mennonite settlers inCanada and from relatives and friends back inPennsylvania . We have all experienced howmuch longer and more difficult a journey in-to a new and unknown territory is than overan old familiar route .What these first Waterloo Mennonite settlers

were doing in fact repeated what they or theirparents and grandparents had done a genera-tion or two before in Pennsylvania and whattheir earlier ancestors had done in Europe . Anillustration will make my point.

In Switzerland Mennonites were driven outof the cities from the very beginning of theAnabaptist movement, so they had to findplaces and ways to earn their living as best asthey could. One such place was on a 3,000 footelevation on a plateau in the Jura Mountainsin northeastern Switzerland . In 1700 they fledthere from the more fertile lands in the Em-mental Valley . The Jura plateau was indeed awilderness for them . The land was stony andinfertile . Water resources were limited .Naturally, they were far from markets andtravelling to them had to be over mountaintrails .Nevertheless the experienced Mennonite

farmers succeeded under extremely difficultcircumstances to make virtues out ofnecessities . They developed new methods offertilizing through the conservation and useof animal manure and also to use run-off waterto irrigate their meadowlands. Because of thepoor farming land they devoted themselves en-tirely to dairying and cattle breeding. Theysucceeded in developing an exceptionally fineflavored cheese, called "Jura" cheese, whichfound a good market .

In the course of 200 years (1700-1900), theyalso found a way of utilizing the long winterdays by engaging in weaving. Their half-linenclothes and bed linens provided their own con-sumption needs of these items as well as somefor sale . Samuel Geiser points out that no Men-nonite in Switzerland was able to own his ownfarm before 1890 .' This is a commentary onthe severity and persistance of persecution anddiscrimination against the Mennonites in thatso-called freedom-loving country.

I cannot avoid the conclusion that thesedeeply impressive social and economic ex-periences for almost four centuries had alasting effect upon the world view of Men-nonites as they migrated first to the Palatinate,then to Pennsylvania and finally to WaterlooCounty . It could not have been accidental thatwith the exception of Germantown, all of thePennsylvania Mennonite immigrants werefarmers . Certainly the first settlers in all of Up-per Canada followed this occupationreligiously .The first Mennonite settlers in Waterloo

found themselves in a wilderness in the early1800's, but within a decade after they arrivedthat wilderness began steadily, almost rapid-ly, to be transformed into ever largeragricultural tracts, and finally to independentfamily farms. At the center of practically everycluster of farms were one or two communitybuildings-the meeting house and the schoolhouse. Almost always one building served twopurposes during the first years of a new set-tlement. The Waterloo pioneers emulated theirindustrious and illustrious ancestors by con-verting a wilderness into a place of humanhabitation, the foundation for subsequentChristian communities .

War and the Mennonite social experienceThere is a sense in which Mennonites, withmany other Christians who hold the two-kingdom view of human society, are constant-ly in spiritual or social warfare. They havestayed aloof from political and general socialparticipation. The warfare was carried on insilence by means of a kind of conscious separa-tion and avoidance of all but necessary socialinteraction . When Mennonites and their adver-saries were reasonably satisfied with this ar-rangement, the silent warfare system workedfor extended periods of time . When such ar-rangements were not mutually agreeable,strain, strife and even discriminatory treatmentand persecution were the consequence .

In their four and a half centuries Mennoniteshave never been known to start a war, but theywere many times the victims of wars . Severalillustrations of direct and disastrous impactsof war on Mennonites could be mentioned.As fate would have it, a severe renewal of

persecution in Switzerland at the close of theThirty Years' War (1618-1648) drove largenumbers of Mennonites out of Switzerlandand across the border into Alsace, thePalatinate and wherever else they found refuge .Because of the devastation of the land andbuildings, and the depopulation of the war-torn areas, the land-owning princes eagerly ac-cepted the Swiss Mennonite refugees . Theywelcomed them only because the princesthemselves were desperate for help, not

because they harbored sympathy for Men-nonite religious views.The Swiss refugees found conditions ex-

tremely difficult and their hardships bitter . Itwas precisely from these harassed and ex-ploited refugees in the Palatinate in the earlyand mid 18th century that large numbersemigrated to Pennsylvania and settled inBucks, Montgomery, Berks and Lancastercounties . It was the stock from which the Men-nonite and Amish Swiss in Waterloo Countydescended. That we may appreciate the livinghell through which some of our ancestors pass-ed in their struggle for survival, let me quotepart of a letter from Jacob Everling of Ober-suelzheim in the Palatinate to friends inAmsterdam . A letter dated April 7, 1671described Mennonites in Bern, Switzerlandthusly :

They are daily hunted with constables,and as many as they can get takenprisoners to Bern, so that about fourweeks ago about forty men and womenwere in confinement here . They alsoscourged a minister of the word andthen conducted him out of the countryinto Burgundy, where when they arriv-ed there, they first branded him and lethim go among the Walloons . However,as he could talk with no one he had togo about three days with his burnt bodybefore his wounds were dressed, and heobtained some refreshment ; being insuch condition that when they undress-ed him for the purpose of binding uphis wounds the matter ran down hisback, as a brother who helped dress thewound told me himself. This friend ar-rived in Alsace together with twowomen and a man who had also beenscourged and banished. Hence they pro-ceed very severely, and as it seems willnot desist from their purpose until theyshall have utterly banished from theircountry and exterminated this harmlesspeople .'

It is not unrealistic for us to imagine thatthe names of some of these hapless victimsmight well have been Tshantz, Frei, Schneider,Bauman, Brubacher, Burckhart, Weber orWiedemann. It was such constant economicinsecurity and threat of persecution in Europeon the one hand and the advertising offavorable living conditions in Pennsylvania onthe other, that caused large numbers of Men-nonite (and non-Mennonite) Palatines to seekrefuge from their insecurity in the new world.Since most of them were quite poor, it wasnot an easy matter to secure necessary passagemoney.

In addition to whatever meager personalresources were available in each family werethree other possible ways of getting transpor-tation to America. First was the mutual aidfrom the more fortunate relatives, friends andneighbors . Second was the generous assistancefrom the Dutch Mennonite Committee forForeign Needs.' The third source of help wasthe system of indenturing oneself and familyto a ship captain who then sold that indenture

contract to an American employer . Thenumber of indentured Mennonites seeminglywas small .C . Henry Smith, one of my highly admired

teachers, states in his excellent Mennonite im-migration to Pennsylvania that 1709 markedthe beginning of Mennonite emigration fromthe Palatinate . These first immigrants afterGermantown settled largely in Bucks andMontgomery Counties, from which the firstMennonites later came to Lincoln County inUpper Canada . The flow of immigrants fromthe Palatinate to Pennsylvania continuedthroughout the rest of the 18th century. In1717, 300 Mennonites arrived in Philadelphiaalong with a large influx of other Germans.Smith estimated that 2,500 Mennonites had

immigrated to Pennsylvania by mid-century(1754) . Smaller groups continued to come tillshortly before the Revolutionary War. Thismeans that many of the Mennonites who leftthe Palatinate for Pennsylvania as young peo-ple in their twenties would still have been alivein the 1770' when the War of Rebellion brokeout. A few of the later arrivals like Sam Betz-ner, one of the first Mennonite settlers inWaterloo County, lived in three countries inhis lifetime . He came as a boy of 17 from Not-tenburg, Germany in 1755 and for 45 years liv-ed in Franklin County, Pennsylvania . In 1800at the age of 62 he migrated to Canada wherehe died in 1813 .The outbreak of the Revolutionary War

must have been a truly disappointing event inthe eyes of the Mennonites who had come tothis new land of religious freedom hoping toleave war and all its calamities behind them .They had lived longer than ever beforethrough a period of peace, prosperity and per-sonal freedom. Early in the century the Men-nonites had pledged loyalty to the BritishCrown when they became British citizens .They, along with most rural colonists, werenot as agitated about the various taxes leviedby King George as were the Atlantic Coastcommercial interests, since they were not asdirectly affected by them . Furthermore theycould not bring themselves to renounce theiropposition to war and violence by assisting tooverthrow a legitimate government . As thewar went on their attempt to maintain aneutral position became almost impossible .The British expected those who professedloyalty to show it . The colonial patriots, onthe other hand, found it hard to tolerateneighbors and fellow citizens who refused tojoin them in defeating the enemy.Despite their efforts to maintain a neutral

position, it is clear that the majority of Men-nonites were sympathetic to the British . MostCanadian Mennonites who have expressedthemselves on this point have consistentlymaintained this was the primary reason for theemigration to Upper Canada . Americanobservers tended to soft-peddle that argumentand stressed rather the hard economic condi-tions brought on by the war, and the highprice and scarcity of farm land in Pennsylvaniawhich they desired for the children, the prox-imity of Upper Canada to Pennsylvania andthe easier access north than to settlements westof the Alleghenies . Pro-British sympathies dur-ing the war might not have been sufficiently

Page 13

strong to induce the emigration, but two othercauses related to the war made the decisionsto emigrate easier .One of these causes included the harassment

and pressure to support the revolutionarycause with money and military service ; harass-ment enforced with confiscation of property,arrest, imprisonment and physical abuse. Il-lustrations of pro-British sympathies arerelated in the Fretz family genealogy publish-ed in 1890 .^One account reports that during the early

days of the war, soldiers went from house tohouse collecting guns for the Colonial Army .On coming to the home of John Fretz, asecond generation family in America, thesoldier asked for Fretz' gun. John took the gunfrom its accustomed place and said to thesoldier, "Yes, you can have my gun, but I'llkeep hold of the butt end of it ." Whether heactually kept the gun is not told, but the anec-dote has been interpreted to indicate his pro-British sympathies . John Fretz was born in1730, and at the age of 70 migrated to UpperCanada. He was the first deacon of the MoyerChurch in Vineland, and died at the age of 96in 1826 .John Ruth reports yet another unusual anec-

dote which reflects pro-British behavior on thepart of a Bucks County Mennonite during andafter the War. Abraham Overholt lived alongthe Delaware River fairly close to the area con-trolled for a time by the British Army . Outrag-ed by the confiscation of family property bythe American authorities, Abraham is said tohave joined Butler's Rangers who made raidson American positions. At any rate, after thewar he applied for a free land grant in UpperCanada along with other Empire Loyalists . Hiscousins had received 2,000 acres along Twen-ty Mile Creek, and had moved there in 1786 .Abraham was at first denied his request on theground that he had a record of horse stealing.He admitted this, but claimed it was stealingin behalf of the British cause . He later receiv-ed a land grant.'

I don't want to imply these anecdotes arerepresentative of all Pennsylvania Mennoniteattitudes during the war. They were the at-titudes of the first Mennonites to emigrate toCanada . It is possible, and even likely, thatlater emigrants decided to emigrate because ofeconomic or other reasons. This was certain-ly likely after the formation of the GermanLand Company.The second cause was the political instabili-

ty in the last decades of the 18th century.When the first pro-British group left Penn-sylvania in 1786 the political situation was stillpretty chaotic. It was three years after the warand three more before the constitution wasadopted. The legal conditions for Christianpacifists were still unknown. By the turn ofthe century those questions were answered,and political conditions had stabilizedsomewhat .

GetneinschaftThis brings us to the third concept, Ge-

meinschaft. It is a German term that has beenfound hard to translate. Sociologists have longspoken of the "Great Dichotomy" to describethe sharp contrast between two characteristic

(continued on page 16)

Genealogical Resources:Census Recordsby Lorraine RothCensus records are useful for those of us whohave ancestry in Ontario before 1880 . Theserecords are not open to the public for 100years; so the latest census to which we haveaccess is 1881 . Detailed census were not takenuntil 1851, but for each decade between 1851and 1881, they are a valuable tool for thehistorian and genealogist .These census records have been put on

microfilm and any library with a microfilmreader can order them from Ottawa for ourviewing. The library should have a catalogueshowing the number of the reel on which thevarious townships appear . A fee is chargedwhen a film needs to be ordered. The Kit-chener Public Library has copies of all thefilms for Waterloo County and even a fewfrom adjacent counties . These can be viewedwithout charge . The Mennonite Archives ofOntario has microfilm of the 1851, 1861 and1871 census records for most areas in Ontariowith a significant Mennonite population, in-cluding the Waterloo, Niagara and Markhamareas. These also can be viewed withoutcharge .There were some census or assessment

records made prior to 1851, but these containonly the name of the head of the family andthe number of males and females in certain agebrackets in the household. Most of these sur-viving records are found in the Provincial Ar-chives in Toronto. Some of the old Berlinrecords are in the Kitchener Library.What information does the genealogist glean

from census records? Frequently, they supp-ly us with a family list . However, they giveonly ages at the time the census was taken, andthey list only the children who are at homeat that time . They do not list children, whethermarried or unmarried, who are livingsomewhere else, and, of course, they do notlist children born after the census was taken.Sometimes one needs a series of census yearsto complete the total family picture .The census cannot compete with the records

one finds in family Bibles, but where thesewere never made or where they have been lost,the census is probably the next best thing.Although they do not give date of birth anddeath, one can establish an estimated year ofbirth, and deaths can be assertained less close-ly by the disappearance of a name from thecensus . Occasionally the enumerator listed thedeaths during the previous year on his finalpage .The census record lists everyone in the

household including servants ; so children whoare not at home can frequently be found inanother home . However, one needs to knowto which family they belonged from a previouscensus or from another source .The other most important item of informa-

tion gained from the census record is the loca-tion of the family . Very seldom is the lot andconcession given in the family listing, but inthe agricultural census usually accompanyingthe general census, the exact location is given .

PEIiY)NAL CENSUS�ESCMERAT10\ 111s'f1t1IT, tio.l .

---

SBF

Vmkwo. T"yi.

Orc+p~ia

PI.-d Birth.

19Jja

One page from the 1851 census for Enumeration district 2 of Waterloo Township . Note theChristian "Snider" and Henry "Snider" families .

Again, the census cannot compete with theland records in giving precise dates of purchaseand sale of the property . However, the valueof the census supercedes the land records incases where people are tenants . The censuscovers everyone, the land records only thosewho own property .

Besides the information on family lists andlocation, the census records provide us witha variety of interesting and useful tidbits .Besides the age of each person, sex, maritalstatus, the country of birth, occupation (in caseof head of house and servants), and religionis also given. Usually it indicates whichchildren were attending school . The 1851 and1861 records gave the type of house the fami-ly was living in and sometimes the date it wasbuilt . In Wilmot the 1861 record gave the yearof marriage in many cases. In 1871 the Euro-pean nationality of those born in Canada isusually given. Other items which could bechecked were "blind," "deaf and dumb,""lunatic," etc .These census records were also accompanied

by a detailed agricultural census . These gavethe lot and concession for each household. The1871 census of South Easthope Township, forexample, covered the following categories :number of acres-total, cultivated, pasture,garden, wheat, hay; number of animals-horses, colts, milk cows, other cattle, sheep,swine; slaughtered animals during the previousyear-cattle, sheep, swine ; number ofimplements-carriages, wagons, plughs, reapers& mowers, one-horse rakes, threshingmachines, fanning mills. Unfortunately, eitherthe agricultural census was not always carriedout or they have not survived . A number ofthem are missing . For South Easthope, thetotal 1851 census is missing.Although the pre-1851 census are not as

helpful for family listings, they are better thannothing, if the other alternative is "nothing!"They do give the number of males and females,over and under 16 . They also give the loca-tion of the family . The 1838 Wilmot censusincluded the following categories: land (no. ofacres)-uncultivated, cultivated, lot number ;persons-males over 16, males under 16,females over 16, females under 16, dumb &deaf, insane, total; dwelling-hewn of 1Storey, frame of 1 storey, hewn of 2 stories,frame of 2 stories-animals-horses, oxen,milch cows, horned cattle ; total value-pounds, shillings. It is interesting to note thesimplicity of the 1838 census compared to thatof 1871 .Some of the enumerators were better writers

and more accurate than others . They wereusually English speaking, and when they triedto record the German names of the Men-nonites and Amish, they had a great deal ofdifficulty with the spellings . Thus one needsa fairly good imagination when trying todecipher these records today. In the 1851 EastZorra census, for example, the followingnames appear-Road, Swatsanrover and Arp.A Pennsylvania Dutchman will recognizethese without much difficulty . In Amish circlesa fairly popular name was Jacobena, shorten-ed to "Bena." In more than one case theenumerator gave her the name "Phillipina."Frequently "Machtalana" appeared forMagdalena . Only occasonally did theenumerators distinguish between Mennoniteand Amish . One even called them allMethodist. Some were careful in recordingcountry of origin, others simply called allGerman-speaking people "German."The United States, of course, also has its cen-

sus records, and those whose ancestors livedin Pennsylvania before coming here will find

them useful . However, the type of censustaken in Pennsylvania before the migrationwill be the type where only the head of thefamily is named and the result are counted asmales and females in various age categories .Anumber of census indexes have been made,

and these are also very helpful . HughLaurence, commissioned by the MennoniteHistorical Society, prepared a listing and in-dex of all Mennonite and Amish families inWilmot and Wellesley townships for the1851-1881 census records as well as the 1881Mornington census . The latter is not index-ed . He also made a summary of how the cen-sus is set up including the various idiosyn-cracies, some of which are mentioned above.The Kitchener Public Library has indexed afew of the census records, and it may save timeto check these indexes first before going to themicrofilm.

In spite of inconsistencies and weaknesses inthe census records, they are still a useful toolfor the genealogist . The fact that there are aseries of them if helpful, because one can fre-quently detect where the errors lie by com-paring several lists .

Coming Events . . .Genealogy WorkshopNovember 8 Friday Evening7:00 p.m . Registration ($5) at entrance of Con-

rad Grebel College, Great Hall withLois & Lemar Mast .

7:30 p.m."Finding

Your

MennoniteAncestors"

8 :15 p.m . Intermission8 :30 p.m."Lancaster Mennonite Historical

Library Resources"9:00 p.m . "Preserving Your Research"

Historical WorkshopNovember 9 Saturday Morning9 :00 a.m . Historians Workshop at Conrad

Grebel College chaired by SamSteiner- Registration & Coffee $6 .- Reports from congregational

historians- Intermission

Address: "The Value of Family History inRecording Church History" Lois &Lemar Mast

12 Noon Lunch by reservation in college din-ing room

Society Fall MeetingNovember 9 Saturday Afternoon2:00

Fall Meeting of Mennonite His-p.m .

torical Society of Ontarioin Congrad Grebel College GreatHall- Announcements & Reports

Illustrated Lecture: "Genealogical Research inEurope" Lois Ann & Lemar Mast .Collection for expenses .Everyone is welcome to attend all sessions .

Recent genealogical additionsto Conrad Grebel College Libraryby Sam Steiner

The following supplements the list publishedin the September, 1984 issue of Men-nogesprach . We are also always interested indonations of Mennonite genealogies not cur-rently in the collection .

The Cober genealogy of Pennsylvania, Iowaand Canada by Alvin Alonzo Cober, 1933 .

The Dettweiler family record: the genealogyand history of the Dettwiler family ofSwissorigin, 1556-1958 by Hilma Drotts-Detwiler,1958 .

Dick reunion and thanksgiving service, 1984 .Erbs by Winston J . Martin, 1984 .Hoffman-Family history of Daniel B.Hoffman, 1837-1979 by Elizabeth D.Wideman, 1979 .

Hoffman - The descendants of Samuel B.Hoffman; 1839-1904, George B. Hoffman,1842-1927; Joseph B. Hoffman, 1845-1938,1982 .

The King family (2 vols .) by H. HaroldHartzler, 1984

Martin -Christian (1669-1754) & Elizabeth;David and Maria Martin and their des-cendants by Winston J . Martin, 1983 .

Martin -Manasseh Martin family history.1974 .

Mullet - A near complete genalogical comp-ilation of the Mollat immigrants of 1833and 1851 by Nadine M. Getz, 1950 .

Ratzlaff -Familienregister by Erich L. Ratz-laff, 1971 .

Reist -Peter Reist of Lancaster County,Pennsylvania and some of his descendantsby Henry G. Reist, 1977 reprint .

Reist -Family record ofJacob B. Reist byMary Rohrer and Mrs. Roy Sauder, 1979 .

Roth -Descendants ofMary Egli (1848-1918)and Joseph Roth (1838-1910) by SadieRoth, 1982 .

Sauder - The Jacob N. Sauder genealogy,1973 .

Schaus - The history of the Schaus family inCanada, 1846-1979 by Lloyd Schaus, 1979 .

Scheel family, compiled in 1983 .Shantz -Schantz's by Winston J . Martin,

1984.Sherk record book by J.H . Sherk, n.d .Sherk- Family history ofPeter Shirk, 1984 .Snyder -Schneiders, Sniders & Snyders byWinston J. Martin, 1984 .

Stoltzfus - The genealogical history of theStoltzfus family in America, 1717 to 1972by Wilmer D. Swope, 1972 .

Troyer family history by Hilda Troyer, 1984 .

Multipple family genealogiesMartin, Winston . Webers, Horsts & Goods,

1984 .Rommel, Hazel Hathaway . My mother'speople : A history of the related families ofthe Bingamans, Betzners, Bowmans, Cle-mens and Sniders of Pennsylvania, Ontarioand Michigan, 1985 .

Page 15

BooksAitken, Barbara B. Local histories of Ontariomunicipalities, 1951-1977. a bibliography,1978 (Ref Z1392.05A37).

Baxter, Angus. In search of your Europeanroots, 1985 (CS402.B38 1985) .

Genealogicalguide to German ancestors fromEast Germany and Eastern Europe, 1984(CS683.G413) .

Guide to genealogical research in the NationalArchives [United States], 1982Ref Z5313.U5U54).

Jonasson, Eric . Untanglish the tree : organiza-tional systems for the family historian, 1983(CS16.J65) .

Ontario Genealogical Society library holdings,1984 ed . (Ref Z5305.C3058 1985) .

Filby, William, ed . Passenger and immigrationlists index, 1981-

This index, published in 1981 with sup-plements every year since, lists over 1,000,000immigrants to North America whocame priorto 1900. The references were culled from manypublished works, and is a good starting pointfor persons not sure when their ancestor cameto these shores . It is not an index to unpublish-ed materials .

Two recent booksCassel Mennonite Church, 1935-1985 byVernon Zehr and Leona Bender (Tavistock :Cassel Mennonite Church, 1985) . 40 p. $5 .00 .This attractively presented little volume

combines a brief narrative history by Zehr,brief reminiscences by members, useful appen-dices with statistical information, andphotographs .The style is descriptive, not analytical, and

the narrative focuses on the leadership of thecongregation .One wishes the reminiscences could have

been worked into a longer narrative, perhapsproviding a larger overview of thecongregation .

Memories: Sixty years of Mennonite life inEssex and Kent Counties, 1925-1985 (Leam-ington, 1985). 78 p.

In 1984 Russian Mennonites in the NiagaraPenninsula published a regional history book,Memoirs of the Virgil-Niagara Mennonites:History of the Mennonite settlement inNiagara-on-the-Lake, 1934-84.

This more modest effort is another commen-dable move in the direction of regionalhistories . Short historical summaries of the 9sponsoring congregations, supplemented bymemories of life in Russia and the early daysin Canada, round out the book .An introductory overview on the history of

the Mennonites in the area would havestrengthened the volume ; this is a good start .

Page 16

Wilderness, war and Gemeinschaft(continued from page 13)

life styles or cultures found in societies-ruraland urban. The rural is referred to as Ge-meinschaft and the urban as Gesellschaft .Gemeinschaft is characterized by a small

face-to-face society organized on the basis ofshared values and common interests . Membersin such communities tend to be born intothem rather than to have chosen them . Rela-tionships between community members tendto be intimate; social and cultural changes fewand gradual. Joys and sorrows re the concernof everyone . Life in the Gemeinschaft societiesrevolves around people rather than aroundtechnologies . In short, Gemeinschaft societiesare human communities .By contrast, Gesellschaft societies are

characterized by a predominance of individualself-interest, relationships tend to be imper-sonal, and there is less agreement or concen-sus as to what constitutes "right and wrong."Commitment to the common good and totraditional values tends to be weak . Decisionsare based much more on reason than emotion,and efficiency is likely to be the criteria forsocial change rather than what is customary,traditional or sentimental .There is no question into which category the

Waterloo Mennonite community or com-munities have fit from thee beginning. Men-nonites have demonstrated four and a half cen-turies of Gemeinschaft communities . Only inthe large cities of Holland have Mennonitesdemonstrated Gesellschaft characteristics . Eventoday the Mennonite congregations in thecities of Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton,Saskatoon and Vancouver, while existing inGesellschaft societies and gradually taking onthe characteristics of their environment, arestill predominantly ethnic and Gemeinschaftin character-but noticably accommodating inthe direction of their Gesellschaftenvironment .Of the congregations now in the Ontario

and Quebec Conference, the first ten were allknown by Mennonite family names: BenjaminEby, David Eby, Hagey, Snyder, Wanner,Shantz, Geiger, Latschar, Cressman and Weber

I would like to become a member of the Mennonite Historical Society of Ontario. I will be informedof all Society events, will be eligible to serve on the various committees of the Society, and will receiveMennogesprich as part of my membership .

NAME

ADDRESS

CITY

POSTAL CODE

SPECIAL INTERESTS

in that chronological order. In addition therewere a number of congregations and preachingplaces that are now extinct, such as Detweder,Hallman, Bechtel, Clemens, Reist and Stauf-fer. The Western Ontario Conference has onlyone family-named church-Steinmann, but theBeachy Amish have two congregations withfamily names: Lichty and Nafziger . Amongthe Old Order Mennonites are the Martin,the David Martin and the Elam Martin con-gregations . Interestingly the congregations thathave retained their family names are all rural .

If nothing else this illustrates the greaterpressure to accommodate and to change in ur-ban than rural areas.

In my study of the Waterloo Mennonitecommunity I am greatly concerned about whatis happening to the Gemeinschaft aspect ofMennonite culture . While I am not ready atthis point to state my conclusions, I can saywithout hesitation that I see present footprintsthat head in a direction away from Ge-meinschaft characteristics and all that it impliessociologically . One of these disturbing signsis the manifestation of excessive individualismin decision-making within the progressive seg-ment of the Waterloo Mennonites . There ishardly any aspect of conduct or belief wherethe individual will is subordinate to that of thebody of believers. In matters of morals andethics the individual is his/her own master . Ifnorms in these areas are discussed at all it isnot with the intention of arriving at consen-sus . This is in sharp contrast to Anabaptistviews of the Believers' Church as a disciplinedbody of disciples who mutually admonish,teach, share and pray about common mattersof life, faith and conduct.

In retrospect I have been impressed with theway in which the Waterloo church com-munities have maintained themselves withoutproselytizing at the expense of otherdenominations . The churches have maintain-ed themselves, and even expanded, by the pro-cess of natural growth .

1 think I am safe in saying that every oneof the sixty-one churches under considerationin my study has always been, and still is, anethnic congregation . This means thatanywhere from fifty to one hundred percent

Memberships :

Student - $5 .00

Mail to :Regular - $10 .00Additional membershipsat same address(one mailing) - $5 .00Sustaining - $15.00

PHONE

of the members have either one or two parentswho were Mennonites . This does notnecessarily mean the congregations continueto have the characteristics of a Christian Ge-meinschaft or what I would call a wholisticChristian community.

Notes'Samuel Geiser, "Farming among the Mennonitesin Switzerland," Mennonite Encycolopedia, 11

(Scottdale: Mennonite Publishing House, 1956), pp .310-311 .

,Quoted in C. Henry Smith, The Mennonite im-migration to Pennsylvania in the Eighteenth Cen-tury (Norristown : Pennsylvania German Society,1929), p. 32 .'For further information see N. van der Zijpp,

"Fonds voor Buitenlandsche Nooden" (Dutch ReliefFund for Foreign Needs), Mennonite Encyclopedia,11, pp . 344-346 .4A .J . Fret,, A brief history of John and Chris-

tian Fretz and a complete genealogical familyregister (Elkhart : Mennonite Publishing Co ., 1890) .See p. 22 .

'John L . Ruth, Maintaining the right fellowship(Scottdale: Herald Press, 1984), .

Secretary, Mennonite Historical Society of Ontarioc/o Conrad Grebel CollegeWaterloo, Ontario N2L 3G6