OntarioMennonite

History

THT

NEWSLETTER

OFTHE

MENNONITE

HISTORICAL

SOCIETY OF ONTARIO

VOLUME XXIIINUMBER 3

a

SPRING 20O6a

rssN 1192-5515

Mennonites featured atGerman Pioneers Day

In 1999, the govcrnment of OntariodeclareJ the day alier Thanl'gir ingto be German Pioneers Day. The day

is cclcbrated each year in Kitcherreras part ol the Oktoberfestccleblations. lrr 2u05. rhc orgrnizelsof German Pioneer-s Day in Kitchenerworked with the Mentronitc HistoricalSociety of Ontar-io to f'eature theMennonites.

During the afternoon ofTuesday, October I l. 2005, visitors toKitchener City Hall could see

clisplays set up by Mennonite CentlalConrrrittec .rnd other Vennonrlcor ganizations. There u'ere alsoMennon ite-related films shown in theCouncil Chamber.

The official program began at

5:00 p.rr. uith ntlny locrl Politicr.rrtsin attcndancc. David T. Martin. u"ho

onll begrn hir role as FrecutireMin ister of Mennonite ClhurchEastcrn Canada that week. led theinvocation. Marlene Epp gave a briefovervierv of the diversity olMennonites in Waterloo Region byhighlighting the stories of fiveMennonile lvor.ncn. As wcll as somc

early pioneer families. specialrecognition was given to the SixNations people whose Iand waspurt ha.eel b1 tlre early Venrrorrilepioneers. ln rcsponsc, Paul Williamsof the Six Natiors lnade sonecomrnents about his peoples' historyand their r elationship to theMennonites.

The event also included"Sunclay Af'ternoon at theBrubachers." thc short drama firstpresented al lhe hiiloricdl .ociel)spring meeting. The program closedwith thc Conrad Grebel Chapel ChoirIed by Tim Corlis. There u'as a

slightly awkward moment as theorganizers expected the choir to lead

the crowd in singing the nationalantheln, a song that is not in theirregular repetoire.

The Mennonite H istorica I

Socicty u''as solneu'hat ambivalentabout this event. but decided that itira: irrrpoltrrrt to takc thc opportrrnityto give the conmunity a balancedpictr.rre of Mennonites and theirhistory.

N,la ene Epp presents P,rul willia s with .r plaquc colnnrcnroraring thc rolc the Six Nalion,i piayed in the

cslrblishnrcnr ol a N4cnnoni!c co nnunit) iIl \itcrloo Region. Also tictrred are Gerhard Criebenowcoordi ator of CLrrnan Pioll!'crs l)av and Lchman Gibson from the Si\ Nations.

Prtg. 2

Who are Mennonite German Pioneers?bY Xlarlene EPP

A talk given at German Pioneers Day, Kitchener City Hall,

ln 2005- the Mcn noniteH i'toricrl Socierl .rl OrttlriolltlHSOl rvr' inr ited tu prlticiprtcin thc pJanning of GertnanPioneers Day, an annual evcntcelebrating the contributions ofCermln itntttigrattl. lo L)lllali,'and Canada. Fo llor,ving tJrerrpractice of clcsigning the eventaround a particular theme each

1'ear, the otganizers rvanted tofocus on 'T he Mcnnonites' in2005. I ancl olhers in the MHSOaskcd the question tnore thart

once hou do Mcttttonitcs lit irrt,'

r cele brltiort ol Licrman iJcrrtit;in \\Jtcrloo regrorr :rrt.l in Ottlrrriogencrally'? Mennonites. as a strailChristian denornirratior-r lcss than

I % of the Canaclian populatiottarc not primalily identified bycthnic or natiOnal identity. lt is

religious chirracteristics likepacifisrn, mutual aicl. andco rnr.nuuity that defincMennonites rttorc tltrrtt etlrnicity.lndeed. I lrc ir Ilistori$cpttatiotlf}om thc state and oppression bygovern ents mean that even toclay

s o 1'11 e Mennonites mostparticularly conscrvative group s

such as the Old Order rvould feel

very urrcorrr foItrble irr settirrgsu.'ith natronal flags ar,d nationalanthems.

Though historically. most

Mennonitcs rnaintained cultu ralcustoms, particularly lan guage,

culinary. ancl arrtistic traditiorrs that

were Gerr.nanic in origin, toclayVennonrte. irr Waterloo Region.in Canada, ancl indeed around the

r'rorld. rcpresertt a riclr dircrsit5.There are a\ rttrlty rt:.10 Ji:linctMennonitc grottps in tlris regiottllone. Sornetinres Me nronites

\1irrl.n. !.fp

explain this by describingthensclves as a cluilt u'ith manlpicccs or a tree rvith manybranches.

\larr1 Vertttoniles inW:rlrrlorr reg iott ltrrc Gcrtnrttiebackgrounds especiallythosewho can tracc their ancestry to tltefirst Europcan settlers of 200years aco. But many othersidentify with other cthnic andnationaI backgr-ounds S cottish.Flench. Hispar.ric. English,Chinese. L aotiar.r, lor instance.Alound the rrot ld. lltrt r.lir ersitl rs

even lrorc colourfll. For instancc.

todry llrerc rTe nlore Vennottitcsin Congo than in Canaclar.

q leu pcrsorla I lrorllJil'might help give a scnse ol rvl.ro the

Mennonite pionccrs in Watcrlooregion really are.

Susannah Erb Brub ac h er\vzrs one ol tl.rc original. ancl the

only fernale larrd-holder, amongllre vrorrp ol cr.t,.rtJcd Vcttnottilcfamilies from Pennsylvania who

cornpleted the first land purchase

in this area. Although she never

settled permarrently in Waterioo

October 11. 2005

herself. Susannah made s everalextcrrJeJ risits to lrer chrldr.n in

Canada, and gainecl sot.ne of her

notoriety fbr killing a rattlesnakeon one o1' her jounreys. In 1851

hcr grandsou. John E. Brubacher,together u'ith his u'it-e. Magdalena,

ancl some of the 1,1 children they

rvouid have togethcr-, built thcIJrubacher-FIousc that is nor'v a

n'l us eum on University olWatcrloo property north ofColumbia Road. Susan;rah.togcthei witl.r her t elatives, rvas a

pioneer in vcnturing northwardir.rto Canada. irr search of moreland fbr her children ancl qreater

protection of her religious beliel'.s.

Barbara Schultz Oesch was

an Arrish Mennonite pioneer. She

was only 16 u,hen she ntarriedJohn Oesch in Bavaria in 1820.

Three ycars later shc had threcchildren ancl rvas ptcparirtg toimmigrate to Upper Canada.Barbara and .John. rvith sotne oftheir cxtended lamily, leit thcirhonre in .lune ol 1824. arrived inNew York two montlts latet. ancl

then tr;rrcllc.l norlhrrald to j.rirrjust 4 other An'rish larnilics rvho

u erc (realing;t cotnmttttitl inWilmot torvnship, just west olKitchc rrer-\\hterloo. In thc years

follou'irTg, in the midst of the

hardships ol carly settlement and

rvhile supporting the n'rinistry olhcr lrusband who rvas ordained as

a bishop to the Amish" Barbaragave birth to 18 childrcn. She was

a pioneer amongst thc Arnish whoventurecl to unknown landsthousancls of kilomctres across the

AtlanLic ,rcerrt. itt trrder to ltrc in

peace and plosperity.

- r',,tIrttt, J ,rr tr:e t -

- Cjnt l ed [ft,lt Pdst 2 -

Agr.res Goerzen* wasMennonite, Gerrnan-speaking, and

a pioneer, but her story was verydifferent from that of Susannah orBarbara. Agnes, the youngest ofthrec girls. was born in 1929 in e

Mennonite village in present-daysouthern Ukraine. She was born at

the outset of a decade olrepression by Stalin's regime thatcaused immense suffering forSoviet citizerTs generally andbrought about the neardisintegration of Mennonitechurches and communities in theSoviet Union. Like manyMennonite men, Agnes's fatherwas arrested by the Soviet secretpolice in 1937 and never heardfrom again. Surviving near-starvation and the horrors of war,Agnes, with her mother andsisters, fled therr homes dr:ring the

Second World War and arrived inKitchener-Waterloo as displacedpersons in 1948. Like manyrefugees in Waterloo region today,

Agnes found security and stabilityin Canada. She and her familywere pioneers in dernonstratingthe wonderful contribution thatrefugee newcomers could, and are,

making to this comrnunity.Gloria Gonzalez*, another

Kitchener-Waterloo Mennonite"also came to Canada as a refugee,

lecr ing her home rn El Salrador in

1 989. Raised in a poor family with11 children, and abused by heralcoholic father, Gloria becameinvolved in subversive political

activities that opposed theoppressive dictatorship in hercountry. Alter spending time inprison, she feared for her lile and

that of her husband and daughteland so immrgrated to Kitchener-Waterloo where she found a

religious community in the localMennonite church. Like otherHi span ic Mennonites in theregion as well as Laotian andHrnong Cloria ua" a pioneer in

creating new understandings ofMennonite ethnic identity.

Susie Reddekopp s storl i'perhaps a blend of all ol theprevious ones. Her ancestors were

among those German-speakingMennonites who made so uthRussia their home, but migrated tothe Canadian prairies in the 19th

century. Her grandparents werepart of an ultra-conservative group

called the 'Old Co lony'Mennonites who left Canada en

masse for Mexico in the 1920s.concerned about public s cho oleducation and militarism thatchallenged their religious beliefs.In the 1990s. Susie and herhusband left Mexico and moved toCanada in search of a life thatwould provide better opportunitiesfor their two daughters. Theysettled just north of Waterloo and

worked for other Mennonites as

farm labourers.The life stories of all these

women and their families are verydiflerent yet remarkably the same.

Some of them share a Germanheritage in their cultural traditions,

Fiee 3

and even speak German today. Inall ca:es. their Certnan culture is

blended with other national andlocal traditions. The earliestpioneers, Susannah and Barbara,brought the Pennsylvania Germanand Amish Bavarian cultures toWaterloo region respectively.Agnes, from Ukraine, ate foodsthat were a blend of Dutch,Ukrainian and German. Susie fedher family both Russian borschtand Mexican tortillas, whilespeaking a north German dialectcalled Lou Cerrnan. GloriaGonzalez, the only Mennonite ofthrs group wirhout a Gertnanicinlluence in her background,nevertheless found her churc h

horne on the site wherc Mennoniteleader Benjamin Eby establishedthe first Mennonite church in the

area in I 806.

Like the residents olWaterloo region today, theseMennonite women representdiversity in culture, language, and

personal history. For all of these

women. their decisions toimmigrate to Canada and settle inthis region, arose in significantways from their desire to leavenational environments thatthreatened or compromised theirbeliefs in peace.

This past spring markedthe 200th anniversary of thecompletion of the purchase of60,000 acres of land by theGerman Compa ny. an associationof sonre l5 extended Mennon ite

- t,a tn .J ,at NE. .l -

Ontaria Mmnonite History is published semi-annually by the Memonite Histodcal Society of Ontario,Conrad Crebel College, Warerloo, Ontario N2L lG6.'and di"tributed to all members of the Societ5.

It is disrributed frei of charge to public libraries and school libraries in Ontario, upon request.

Editor: Barb DraperEditorial Committe€: Linda Huebert Hecht, Lorraine Roth, Maurice Martin, Marion Roes, Larry Rittenhouse

Financial assistance from the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Culture is gratefully acknowledged.

Inquiries. articles, book notices or news items should be directed to the Editor, Mennonite Historical Society of Ontario- c/o Conrad Crebel College. Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G6 TEL. (519) 885-0220, FAX (519) 885-0014

Page 4

- Contnued frcm Pdqe 3 -

families from Pennsylvania whowanted to settle on larms along the

Grand River in present-dayWaterloo Region. In June, wemarked that anniversary bydedicating a Black Walnut treegarden at Conrad GrebelUniversity College. In the 20 years

after 1805, a steady stream olfamilies with names like Erb, Eby,

Schneider, Brubacher, and Weber,

made the arduous 100O-kilometrejourney north to settle on landalong the Grand River in present-

day Cambridge, Kitchener andWaterloo.

Those first Mennonitesettlers brought with them a

Pennsylvania-German culture thatincluded a particular GermanIanguage dialect. as r,rell as artistictraditions such as flraktur, healingtraditions such as charming, andculinary customs that includedscrapple, shoofly pie, and applebutter. The early settlers alsobrought with them knowledge ofhow to work with the land so thatthe region soon yielded a richvariety of crops and the landscape

was painted with beautiful well-kept homesteads. As time went on,

and the descendants of thepioneers interacted withcontinental Germans, the Britishand other immigrants, theyexchanged culture with theirneighbours, so that quilting andpie-making became a 'Mennonite'thing. even though Mennoniteshad not pioneered these customs at

all.But in the 200 year> since

Mennonites first settled thisregion, they have contributed a

great deal more than this.Mennonites brought a love ofmusic. particularly choral music.present today in the activity of

many Mennonite communitychoirs. Mennonites brought a

trad:ition of mutual aid-peoplehelping people that is evident in

the barn-raisings of the O1d OrderMennonites and Amrsh, the annual

Mennonite Central Com m itteerelief sale in New Hamburg thatraises funds for relief anddevelopment around the world,and in the readiness of volunteersto help out when disaster hitscommunities like 'Barrie 20 years

ago and New Orleans last month.Though a quiet and reservedpeople, Mennonites also broughtzeal and ingenuity, one of the best

examp les being regular wastereduction drives introduced byleaders at Mennonite CentralCommittee, that were theprecursor to the blue box program

we now take for granted.

Most ol all I'd like tothink the pioneers brought withthem a historic belief in non-riolence that has at timesantagonized this community butalso been an example ol what can

be accomplished if p eacefu I

solutions are chosen over violenceand vengefulness. During theworld wars of the 20th century,Mennonites demonstrated that one

could offer productive service to

country and to war sulferersinstead of taking up arms. Morerecently, they pion eeredphilosophies and techniques ofcon fl ict resolution that bringvictims and offenders together towork towards restitution andreconciliation. Local Mennoniteshave been central to downtownpeace walks and vigils, haveadvocated to government forpeacelul approache' to solr ingworld conflict, and have gone toconflicrridden parts of the worldwith Christian Peacemaker Teams.

to show that 'there is a better way.'

It is these things we need toremember and emphasize when we

think of Mennonites as Germanpioneers.

* Not her real name

AMATETJRHISTORIANSWANTEI)

We are interested in historicalinformat ion about Mennonitecongregations and communities inOntario. If anyone in yourcongregation is writing an essay,

encourage them to submit it to the

J. Winlield Fretz awards. Shorterarticles (pictures welcon, e) should

be sent drrectll to: The Editor.Ontario Mennonite History, 3 8

Queen St., Elmira, ON N3B 2T3.

BRI.,tsACIIER HOUSED\D RELEASED

In the fall of 2005, the new DVDfor the Brubacher House Museumr,ras released by the MennonileHistorical Society of Ontario. This15-minute DVD provides a shorthistorical background of theBrubacher family and descri bes

Mennonite life in the late 1800s.The DVD is shown to visitors tothis museum which is on theUniversity of Waterloo property.Copies are available lor $20.00.

RESEARCHREQUEST

I am a professor of Sociology,currently st udy ing connectionsand relationships betweenMennonites and Blacks in Ontario.I har e a particular interest inMennonite involvement in theunderground railroad,and inMennonite Black connections inrural areas of Ontario. I would be

most grateful il anyone could- CoIti|u,Lr on PLtg. 5 -

l'rge a

- (. ti tk'd lt.n Pur( 1-

ass i st me in th is research bysending any information thcy n'ray

have on this topic, rnch-rding briefreferences or anecdotes. Myrnailing address is: Timothy Epp,23 Watson's Lane. Unit 21,Dundas, Ontario, L9H 5 G9.My e-rlail addrcss is:t epp (ralrede e me r. on. c a.

VINEL{NDANNII'ERSARIESby Larry Rittenhouse

A nunrber ol significant histolicalanniversaries will be c e lebratedthis year in Vinelar.rcl. The to'"vn's

first library u'as founded 120years ago by nativc son andbenef'actor" Moses F. Rittenhouse.It was originally locatc.l in the OldStone Schoolhor-rse and lour yearslater incorporated into thc newRittenhou se School. Thc latestlibrary opened in 1996 was nan.red

in honour 01' Moses F.

Rittenhouse.

The Vine land HorticulturalRe.,earch Strtion will celebrate itsl00th anniversary this year. Anumbet of spccial events arepllrtned tu cclcbrate the occrsion,including a colnmemorative book.The research larm was rnadepossible whcu Moses F.

Rrttenhouse donated 90 acres oflarmland to thc provinc i algovernnent in 1 906.

This year also marks 220 yearssince the arnval of the lirstMennonite sett le rs to UpperCanada. A monument was ercctcdncx t lo The Iirst Venn,:nireChr.rrch in 1986.

JOE NGHSWANDERBy: Joanna Reesor-McDorvcll

Several hundred people gatheredrt Rouge Valle) VcrrnonitcClrrrrch in Marklrrrrr. Ontaritr orrJanuary Il, 2006 to grieve thcsudden death ol.loe Nighswander.He passed away at the age of 82.

Dulrrrg tlre funer l \cr\ iecpastor Pieter N iemeyer rcflectedthat the people of Rouge VallcyVcnnonite Clrurclr'r,r ill uriss "hi'r.r'isdon and insights....loe was anraD ol'deef perso JI (on\ ictionsand prophetic vision, yet I.re

carried those aspects with deepItrrrnilitl rrnd he rulrrcJ commurritydiscernrnent."

.loe Nighswandcr u'as rve 1l-known in the Markl.rarn-Stoufivillecommunity as the administrator o1'

Parkvicw Hor.ne for the A-sed,( latcr Parkvieu' Services forSeniors) over a 20-year periodbeginning in 1971. The decision tob ccor.ne the adrninistlator atParkr ier'r rcpreserrted a maj')rcareer change afler 22 years offarming, but he had felt a clcarcalling fiom God at thc agc of 43to bc tn,rre ar.tire in lcrtlcrslrip irr

the church and community.

In 1 964, Joe ancl his wife, E,lsie.

theMarkham-WaterlooMennonites andlormed theSteeleS Avenue .roe Nighsu.rndc,

Mennonite Church. In 1986. Joeand Elsie becanre charter mcrnberso I' Rotrgc Vrllcl McnnoniteChurch, a new congrcgation tliatamalgamatecl the Ceclar Grove andSteelcs Ar crrrrc MennoniteChurches.

.loe was active in thc broaderchurcir, sen ing as lnoderator ofthe Mennonite Confcrence olOntario and Qucbcc for the yearsof I 982- 1984, ar.rd president of theMennonitc Missior.r Board ofOntario between 1977- 1980 aswell als numerous olhercommittees thror:gh the years.

Joe was buried in the cenreteryat the hisroric A llona V cnnr)l iteChurch. a short distance from thcfam where he had been born andraised. and only a nrile or so fromthe horle he shared with his rvifeElsie. He toucJred many lives andwill be deeply missed by hisfuntily. t lrurt h arrd cornnrunity.

u'ere part of agroup of younglamilies rvho1e ft

STMMERREUNIONS

Thc Christian R. Shantz farnilyis cc lc bra t ins 200 )cars inWaterloo County at the NewHalnburg Arena and Fair Groundson Jr:ly 14 to 16, 2006. Therc rvillbe a service of'thanksgiving onSunday .Iuly I 6 at 10:00 a.rn. Visitwwr.v.clrristianrshantz.ca lormore information or call(5 r9) 63.1-8629.

The Schiirch l-rrnrly As:ociationis hosting its l3'n bi-annualrcuniorr ;rl Sunnl Crest Home rn

Morgantown, Pennsylvania onAugust 4-5" 2006. Thcrc arcseminars ancl bus tours on Fridayand reunion atten.lees arc invitedto attend the Shirktown Threshersheld at the fatn of Bob and PaulaShirk on Saturday. Some Schiirchsfr.rrrr Swilzcrlrnd rvill be r isrtingand Saturday's semina r willprovide an overvierv of theSchrirch hornelou rr. inSu itzerlarrd. For rnore inlorrnltioncontact Sally Shirk at17l1) 464-1611 or r isitimashirh(f voicenet. com.

Paqe 6

Althoughmany bookshave beenwritten aboutthe O1dOrderMennonites,few havebeen writtenfrom insidetheir circle s.

In this respect, Old Orderll4ennonires of Onturio;Gelassenheit, DisciPleshiP,Brotherhood is unique because theconservative Mennonite grouPsare described and analyzed frominside. To those of us within thesegroups, this book resonates withour own reality. To those outside,its accuracy and authenticity willbe appreciated.

Alter a brief look at AnabaPtist

and Pennsylvania Mennonitehistory, Martin delves intotheology, explaining howAnabaptist teachings created abackdrop for what eventuallYbecame the O1d Order. In the1600s pietism was beginning tomake inroads in EuroPe andspread to North America. allectingthe Mennonite churches. But theAnabaptists had left a teachingthat Martin labels as Gelassenheit(a Ge rman word meaning

T]NRT]H FAMILY BOOK2004

The Llnruh Ten Family Book 2004contains the genealogy and storie"about the children ol Heinrich B.Unruh ( 1847- 1883), itinerantpreacher and aeltester of theKarassan Church in Crimea. Onhis death at age 36, his sPouse,Maria (Kunkel), was unable tocope, and gave uP the children torelatives. Best known to the older

BOOKREVIEWMartin,, Donald . old oriler Mennonites of ontario: Gelassenheit, Discipleship, Brotherhood.

Pandora Press, Kitchener, 2003.

by Amsey Martin

yieldedness) with a central theme

of group-centredness. Thisconflicted subtly, yet strongly, withthe individualistic emphasis foundin pietism. Martin argues that thistheme of pietism versu s

Gelassenheit permeates all historyof the Old Order.

Mennonite history is then tracedfrom Pennsylvania to UPPerCanada and the reader is shownhow the various communities ofOntario were established. In the1800s the Great Awakening sPread

evangelistic influences over thechurches ol \orlh America.Revivalism, accomP anied bY

social changes andindustrialization seemed to be athreat to those who wished to holdto the more traditionalGelassenheit theme. Again andagain the conflict between Peitismand Gelassenheit broke out indisagreements belween Mennonitebrothers.

The reader is led through manY

dissensions and church sPlits, butthe author deals gently with thediscord. He resists being overlYjudgmental of either side, and Yetpresents the facts. Most of thebook concentrates on the historYof lhe r arious Old Order grouPs inOnlario, with the theme of Pietismversus Gelassenheit portrayed all

through that story.Old Order Mennonites ctf

Ontario is well researched, welldocumented and contains anextensive bibliograPhY. The onlYlapse in documentation is thefrequency with which the notesrefer to "private conversation."The author shows sensitivitY bY

retaining the privacY of hiscontacts.

In his Acknowledgements, theauthor states that his aim was toshare his "special birthright-Anabaptism-and how itsunderlying theme, Gelassenheit,shaped the Old Order Mennonitecommunities of Ontario." I believehe has accomplished that well.Martin has put into words what the

Old Order have alwaYs lelt abouttheir heritage. The Old Orders are

portrayed, not so much as a PeoPlewho stubbornly resisted new and

exciting improvements, but PeoPlewho were clinging to what theY

believed were biblical andAnabaptist teachings. This book isa glimpse not just into the historY,

but into the heart of the Old OrderMennonites.

The writer is an Old OrderMennonite Deacon andschoolteacher.

generation of Mennonites weremissionaries Heinrich (1 868- 1 9 12)

and Cornelius (1873-1941),theologians Abraham (1 878-l 96 1)

and Benjamin ( 1881- 195 9). Lesserknown were Gerhard (1870- 1934),M ana ( 1312-1942). Katharina(1875- 1938) Elizabeth (1 876-1972), Anna (1880-1915) andPeter (1882-1887).

The stories are lrom the tensiblings, their children andgrandchildren; the genealogYsection includes al1 descendants.

Compilers and editors are AlYceHiebert, Waterloo, PeggY UnruhRegehr, Winnipeg, and NicholasDick, Toronto.

The books are out of Printexcept lor a few coPies lor directdescenda nts and librariesHowerer a CD version i:available. Inquiries should bedirected to Nicholas Dick, UnruhTen Family Book, 511-1093Kingston Road, Toronto, ON,M1N 4E2, 416-699-8351,nwhad@rogers.com.

Lucille M arrtraccs thecomplexhistory ofMennoniteCentralClomnritteeOntariothrough itsearly days as

the Non-Resistant Relief Organization, rtsyears as the Canadian branch ofMCC and finally as a provincialorganization under MCC Canada.The book provides a wealth of detailof horv Orrtario Vcrrnonitesresponded to r.vorld events and tonced: r'rithin lheir co tn ttt ttn it ie'.Marr pays carcful attention to thedifTerences of opinron as MCCleaders in Ontario creatcd andevaluatcd po lic ie s and programs.

Prtgc ?

BOOKREVIEWMarr, Lucille. The Transfornting Power oJ tt Century: Mennonite Cental Commiftee and its Erolution in Onturio.

Pandora Press (Kitchener) and Herald Press, 2003, 407 pages, $40.00.by Barb Draper

She describes their disappointmcntas the Kitchener office lost its closeties with MCC headquarters in the1960s with the creation MCCCanada's office in Winnipeg.

This book also emphasizes thcimportant contribution of womenvolunteers, from tlie sewing circlesuho pror iJcd reliel- supplies durirrgWorld War II to the incrediblesupport they give year after year tothe relief sale. Marr notes in dctailthe developmcnt of femaleleadership to positions of power.

As well as interesting black andwhite photos, the book includes a

list of boards of directors frorn1964 to 2001. A second appendixlists voluntary scn'ice workers fromla6a 1p l0aO a rerl inrples''irclist. Throu-qhout the book there arelit t lc s idebr r 5l orics lh,ll gi\ewonderful glimpses into the lives of

know what to do with familytreasurcs are invited to contact thelrchir ists rnd crrralors lc'r adr ice.Their names, phone numbers ande-mail addresses are included.

locations. This short overvlewprovicles good context forundcrstlnding lhc Rtts:iattMennonite story. lt includes rnanyphotographs.

U rrl', James. Mennonites,, Politicsa n I Pcopl clrootl : Eu rope-R rt ssia -Canada, 1525 to 1980. Universityof Manitoba Press, 2006, 492pages, $24.95.

Urry has surveycd the span ofMennonite history to show thatrather than being the "quiet il theland," Mennonites have a longhistory of involvement in politics.Urry, who teaches anthropology at

Victoria University in New Zealandis a ucll-knou rr scholrr ol' RtLssian

Mennonite studies.

individuals who are part of theMCC Ontario story.

The Transfbrnting Power o.f a('entury is very well researchedwith many references to annualreports and minutes. There are nralrydirect quotes from letters andmeetings.

Onc pa rt of rhe VCC On ta riostory which could have receivedmore emphasis is the way in whichthis organization brings together thenrJny Anabaptrst Venttottitedenominations. It is through MCCthat the wide variety of Mennonitesin Ontario (including Old Orders,Anrish and Old Colony) can worktogethe r. The MCC Ontrriourn brc lla includes very differentclrurclre.. rncludirrg thc Bretlrren in( hri:t. tlris book will long lemairran important resource for thehistory of Mennonites in Ontario.

WAIERLOOHISTORICAL SOCIETY

2005

Waterloo Historical Society's annualvolume No.93 (2005) is nowavailable. It includes an in-dcpthhistory ol flax by JoshuaMa cfaclyen, PhD candidate,Unive rsity of Guelph, entitled"Rulal Adaptatrons: The Perine Flaxand Lumber Mills in Ontario I 85zl -1871" uitlr pictures florn( onesrogo. Doon an.l Krlchener.

There are rnany history andheritagc organizations in the regi.-,n

which appreciate donations ofartifacts, documents or picturesincluding Mennonite HistoricalSociety of Ontario. In the"Donations and Acquis itions "section of th is vo lum e theseorganizations are listed along withnoteu'orthy items they leceived inthc past year. People who don't

NEW BOOKSFriesen, Abraham. In Delense ofPrivilege: Russian Mennonites antltlte State Before and During VltorhlWar I. Kiwlred Productions, 2006,536 pages, $39.99.

The Mennonites living in Russialost their privileged status by WorldWar I. Fr-iesen expJains why thishappened and what theconsequences were. Friesen taughthistory at the Uuiversity ofCalifbrnia.

Kroeker, Wally. An Introduttion tothe Russian Mennonites, GoodBook, 2005, 1 14 pages. $7.45 US.

In thrs little book. Kroekerdcscribet M en non ite rcsclllenlent intlre Ukrairtc. the Norlh AtnericattMidwest. the Chaco and other

Page 8

New genealogy website carries onwork of Ezra Eby

In 1895-1896, Ezra E. Ebypublished a 2-volume set entitledA Biographical History o.f

Waterloo Township, containing the

genealogies of around 140 earlyfamilies in Waterloo County. TheEby books or Freundschaft Books,as they are sometimes referred to,

have been the starting point forfamily historians doing researchever since.

The lamilies found in theEbybook are mostly of Mennoniteor Pennsylvania Dutch origin. Thefamilies are inter-woven as oftenyoung persons married into otherlamilies found on the pages of the

Ebybook.After downloading a family tree

program lrom the internet, I began

entering my family and thepreceding generations. Of course,

I lound much of my inlormation in

the Ebybooks. However, it wasn'tEby's original 2-volume 5et I was

consulting. In 191 l, Eldon D.Weber republished the Ebybook as

a single volume and included a

name index (and other usefulinformation) which has made itmuch easier to use.

My goal was to trace my rootsback to Rudolph & Anna (Wanner)

Dettweiler who arrived in Canada

from Pennsylvania in 1810. I was

trying to find as many of theirdescendants as possible belore a

Dettweiler Reunion in 2010 whichwill celebrate the 20 Oth

anniversary of Rudolph andAnna's coming to Canada. Thisfa m ily nou has descenda nts inVrchigan. lndiana. Virginia.Saskatchewan-in lact scattered

by Allan Dettweiler

throughout Canada and the UnitedStates. As my research continued Iencountered parts of the family lorwhich I could find no furtherinformation. I had no idea whetherthey had moved elsewhere, or ifthere uere no heirs to conlinuethat part of the family.

The idea came to me thatsomewhere, among thedescendants of all the familiesfound within the Ebybook, therewas someone else doing familyresearch who had some of theinforrnation I was seeking. If onlythere was some way to link all the

research done by various persons.

Then it occurred to me that whatwas needed was for someone tocontinue on where Ezra Eby leftolf and create a databasecontaining the descendants of the

Ebybook families.It seemed like a daunting task,

however I had seen otherdatabases of Ohio Mennonites thatcontained almost 500.000 names.

And so I began to enter all thepersons lound in the Ebybook. Icurrently have over 16,000 names

from the Ebybook on my database.

There are still a significantnumber more to be added.

I have entered names fromdozens ol family histories alongwith names found in numerousobrtuaries. Along with the familiesfound in church directoriespublished by the Old Order,Waterloo- M ark ham and variousConservative Mennonite branches.

the database has expanded to over80,000 names.

This datebase can now be lound

on a website at www.eT,raeby.com.

Anyone can view the database,h owever descendants of theEbybook farnilies can register toreceire access to dale5 lor livingindividuals along with thethousands of noles and obiluariesfound therein. There is no cost forregi5l ra t io n. fhe registrationprocess is there to address therssue of privacy concerns.

The website makes it possiblefor persons to view their ancestors

on a Pedigree Chart which shows

the person, their parents,grandparents, great-grandparentsand so on back to the pioneers.Another feature can find thedescendants ol an individual.There are limitations in thedescendants feature in that il one

were trying to view thedescendants of anyone lurthe rback than a great-g randp arent,there is a risk of freezing up yourcomputer il the farrily is a largeone.

Relationships between any twoindividuals can be calculatedusing rhis program. The rariousnotes and obituaries can be

searched for those conlaining a

certain word or name which makes

the database very useful as a

research tool.All Ebybook descendants are

invited to be part of this project by

submitting their family data to be

included. A database such as thisone makes it possible, unlikepublished genealogies, to have an

up{o-date family tree at all times.Any questions can be addressed

to me at allan@ezraeby.com.