1H8 DM
YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

THE LIBRARY OF THE
DIVINITY SCHOOL

THE MENNONITES

A Brief History of Their Origin and Later Develop
ment in Both Europe and America.

C. HENRY SMITH, Ph. D.
Professor of History in Bluffton College.

MENNONITE BOOK CONCERN,
Berne, Indiana.

To My Wife
LAURA IODER SMITH
This Book
Is
Affectionately Dedicated

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page
EUROPE
I. The Anabaptists  13
II. Menno Simons  44
III. The Netherlands  61
IV. Switzerland  83
V. Germany  ;  103
1. Prussia  103
a. West Prussia  103
b. East Prussia  108
2. North Germany  113
a. East Friesland  113
b. Lower German Rhine  114
c. The Lower Elbe  118
d. Holstein  '.  121
3. South Germany  124
VI. Austria-Hungary  137
1. Moravia  I  137
2. Galicia  145
VII. Russia  147
VIII. France, Alsace-Lorraine  186
AMERICA
IX. Early Settlements  193
X. 'The Swiss and German Palatines  201
XI. Expansion of the Pequea Settlement  211
XII. The Amish  214
XIII. During the Revolutionary War  226
XIV. Ontario  ,  229
XV. The Nineteenth Century  :  234
1. The Westward Expansion of the Pennsylvania and
Virginia Mennonites  234
2. A New Immigrant Tide  236
3. Church Divisions  241
XVI. The Immigration from Russia  253
XVII. The General Conference of Mennonites  271
XVIII. Church and State  282
XIX. Schools and Missions  299
XX. Literature and Hymnology  310
XXI. Doctrine and Practise  320
XXII. Statistics  333
XXIII. Bibliography  335

TABLE OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Page
Thielman van Bracht  26
Menno Simons -  44
Dirck Philip  58
Mennonite Church, Sneek, Holland  64
Dutch Mennonite Mission Church in Java  76
Ulrich Steiner  82
Old Amman Homestead  '.  88
Combined Parsonage and Meeting House, Langnau, Switzerland 96
Johann Kipfer  100
Mennonite Church, Montau, Prussia  104
Jacob Mannhardt  114
Berend Carl Roosen  124
Ulrich Hege  .'.  132
Mennonite Church at Ohrloff, Russia  178
Girls' School at Halbstadt, Russia  178
Mennonite Church, Belfast, France  ,  186
Mennonite Church, Carlock, 111  216
Two Old Amish Brethren of Lancaster County, Pa  220
Orphans Home, Flanagan, 111  222
Mennonite Church, Berne, Ind  238
The Origin of Mennonite Divisions in America  242
Members The General Conference of the Mennonite Brethren
in Christ  249
Distribution of All Branches of Mennonites in U. S. and Canada 250
David Goerz  252
The Bethel Deaconess Hospital, Newton, Kan  256
Gretna Normal School, Manitoba  260
John H. Oberholzer  270
General Conference Group, Beatrice, Neb  276
General Conference Group, Eigenheim, Sask  280
Administration Building, Bluffton College  286
Ropp Hall, Bluffton College  286
Group of Young American Mennonites in Reconstruction Work,
France  294
Clermont Hill, Meuse, France  294
Old Wadsworth School  298
Bethel College  302
German-English Academy, Rosthern, Sask  305
Standing Elk or Chief Vohocass and Daughter  306
Old Mennonite Mission, India  308
John F. Funk  312
Goshen College  3 1 S
Mennonite Publishing House, Scottdale, Pa  318
Daniel Brenneman  324
Joseph Stuckey  _  -  324
John C. Coffman  _  324
Group of Students of the Old Elkhart Institute  328

PREFACE
This brief sketch of the Mennonites has been written at
the request of the Educational Committee of the General Con
ference of Mennonites of North America. Although the field
of Mennonite History is already covered by a number of ex
cellent treatises yet these are written for the most part in the
German language, and such as appear in English cover only
a special or limited field of the subject. The recent war also
not only added a new chapter to Mennonitism, but aroused a
greater interest than ever among the public at large in Men
nonite principles and practices. Such is the excuse for this
book. The aim of the writer has been to tell the entire
story briefly and impartially, and in as readable a form as
possible. It is hoped that the book may serve as a convenient
text book in Mennonite Colleges and schools and that it may
also be found useful as a brief compendium of Mennonite his
tory for the general reader. The writer is indebted among
others to the following men for various courtesies, such as the
use of books, reading the manuscript, important information
and helpful suggestions:. H. H. Ewert, Gretna, Manitoba;
H. D. Penner, Newton, Kansas ; J. J. Balzer, Mountain Lake,
Minnesota ; H. P. Krehbiel, Newton, Kansas ; C. H. A. van
der Smissen, Berne, Indiana ; John F. Funk, Elkhart, Indiana ;
J. G. Evert, Hillsboro, Kansas ; S. F. Coffman, Vineland, On
tario, D. E. Harder, Hillsboro, Kansas; J. S. Hartzler, Go
shen, Indiana; John Horsch, Scottdale, Pennsylvania; Peter
Jansen, Beatrice, Nebraska ; D. H. Richert, Newton, Kansas ;
Silas M. Grubb, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ; S. K. Mosiman,
Bluffton, Ohio; J. H. Langenwalter, Bluffton, Ohio; J. K.
Penner,* Beatrice, Nebraska; J. A. Huffman, Bluffton, Ohio,
and J. R. Thierstein, Bluffton, Ohio.
C. HENRY SMITH,
Bluffton, Ohio,
April 25, 1919.

EUROPE

CHAPTER I
THE ANABAPTISTS
From 1525 to 1535.
The Anabaptists were a religious sect which emerged in
Middle Europe from the Zwinglian and Lutheran revolution
in the early days of that movement. Both Zwingli and Luther
at first seemed to favor a more radical departure from the
fundamentals of the Catholic system and one more in accord
with the literal teaching of the New Testament than that1
which they finally adopted. When it became evident during
the course of the Reformation that both the great leaders
favored the retention of certain of the essential principles of
the old church, those who favored a more radical and thorough
change began to withdraw from the new movement.
The chief demand of the radicals was that the new church
should be an independent, voluntary organization composed
of men and women who, constrained by the love of God within
their hearts, of their own volition banded themselves together
for religious worship. Force, neither political nor ecclesiastic
al, could be used to bring about conformity of religious belief
and practise. In other words, they demanded separation of
Church and State, and religious toleration — an ideal so far
ahead of the times that it is small wonder that those in author
ity soon did all in their power to check its further development.
This opposition first developed as a radical tail of the
Zwinglian movement in Zurich. As early as 1521 there was
some dissatisfaction with the views of Zwingli among his fol
lowers. In the second disputation of 1523 between Zwingli
and his Catholic opponents, Simon Stumpf, pastor of Hongg

14 THE MENNONITES
/ '
and one of the radicals, insisted in a dispute between the Cath
olics and Zwinglians as to what authority should decide re
ligious questions, that the spirit of God as revealed to the
individual must decide, and that each one must interpret the
Bible for himself. Here we have the central truth of later
Anabaptist teaching, and the germ of religious toleration.
In the meantime, during the following year as Zwingli
gave evidence of leaning more and more toward the ideal of
a state church, several of the leaders of the radicals frequent
ly engaged him in argument both privately and publicly in
favor of an independent church and religious toleration. Dur
ing the same time, too, it became increasingly clear to these
leaders that infant baptism was the logical sign of initiation
into the universal church, and that admission into the volun
tary, independent church must be by baptism upon confes
sion of faith only. Perhaps soon after 1523 a group of radicals,
dissatisfied with the half-way measures of Zwingli, met reg
ularly in private homes for worship and Bible study with a
view to establishing an independent church according to New
Testament principles. Among the leaders of the new move
ment were Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, William Reublin, and
George Blaurock.
Conrad Grebel was the son of a patrician and member of
the Zurich Council. Conrad was not a clergyman, but was
well educated in the Universities of Vienna and Paris. Up to
about 1523 he was a warm supporter and loyal friend of Zwing-
li's, and the latter spoke of him as a "candid and learned
youth". But after that the two drifted apart in their views.
Grebel objected to a state church, and denied the validity and
necessity of infant baptism. The Bible, he said, must be the
final authority on all questions of religion, while the church
must be organized upon the basis of the early Apostolic model.
Zwingli accused Grebel of leading the opposition for personal
and selfish reasons, but the latter's unswerving loyalty to his
convictions and the sacrifices he made for the new cause prove
the charge to be false.

THE ANABAPTISTS 15
Felix Manz, native of Zurich, a thorough scholar, was also
a staunch friend of Zwingli's at first, but with Grebel began to
question the Scriptural grounds for infant baptism and a state
church. He was associated with Grebel in nearly all the early
events of the movement. Failing to agree with Zwingli after
1523, he preached in his mother's house and in the fields. He
became one of the charter members of the new organization
in 1525, and the first martyr of the new faith.
George Blaurock had been a monk at Chur, but before
1523 he had renounced the Roman church and had come to
Zurich to seek light on the religious question from Zwingli.
Failing to find a satisfactory answer to his religious doubts
from this source, he cast his lot with the radical party, and
was the first to be baptized into the new church which came
into existence by virtue of that act in 1525.
William Reublin had been a priest at Basel, but a serious
student of the Bible and preacher of evangelical truth. Be
cause of advanced opinions he was later driven to Wyttekon,
near Zurich where as pastor he publicly declared himself
against the baptism of infants. As a result many of his par
ishioners withheld their children, and were fined and imprison
ed with Reublin for the offence. Here he also came into con
tact with Grebel, Manz, and Blaurock, by whom he was
greatly influenced. He was the first of the Zurich priests
to marry after discarding the Roman traditions. He became
one of the original members of the radical organization and
for a long time one of its most zealous promoters.
These four men were the most conspicuous leaders in the
formative events of the new movement. Among others who
made valuable contributions to the cause were Hans Brodli,
pastor at Zollikon, Simon Stumpf, pastor at Honng and one of
the first in 1523 to insist on the rights of the individual con
science, Andreas Castelberg, sometimes called Andrew on
Crutches, for he was a cripple, and Ludwig Hetzer.
As stated above, by 1525 the central subject of dispute
between the Zwinglians and the radicals was infant baptism.

16 THE MENNONITES
The Zurich Council in the interests of harmony ordered a
final disputation on January 17, 1525, with the hope of settling
the question. In behalf of the radicals appeared all the above
mentioned leaders who maintained that baptism should not be
administered to infants, but upon confession of faith bnly.
Zwingli, having the support of the civil authorities, was de
clared victorious in the debate. Despairing, however, of con
vincing the radicals of the truth of his views by argument, he
was determined finally to try force. He accordingly persuaded
the Council to pass a decree on the following day ordering all
the leaders to leave Zurich, and demanding that all children
should be baptized within eight days. The latter demand
not being observed, it was again decreed on February 1, that
the disobedient be arrested and all infants be baptized as
soon as born.
About this time, too, whether directly before or after the
January disputation is not quite certain, occurred the final
event which completely severed the new party from the Zwing
lian movement and branded them with a name which for a
long time remained odious to them. This event was the intro
duction of adult baptism upon confession of faith. At a private
home at which were gathered Grebel, Blaurock, Brodli, Manz,
Hottinger, Thoman and a number of others, Grebel taking the
initiative first baptized Blaurock, who in turn baptized a num
ber of others. This event is significant in that it formally
launched the new independent church, admission into which
was secured through adult baptism upon confession of faith.
The Zwinglians soon spoke of the new party derisively as
"Wiedertaufer". The latter resented the name, however, and
spoke of themselves as "Brethren." Later on they were also
sometimes called "Taufer" (Baptizers)' or in Northern Ger
many "Taufgesinnte" (Baptist-minded). German writers used
these, terms wherever the Brethren appeared in Middle Eu
rope. In the Netherlands the term "Doopsgezinde" became
common. English writers spoke of them as "Anabaptists" and
that is the name that shall be used in this treatise.

THE ANABAPTISTS 17
Rejection of infant baptism and the introduction of be
lievers' baptism, however, was merely the outward distinguish
ing mark of Anabaptist doctrine. Baptism was a mere sym
bol of initiation into an organization. Back of this practise
and beyond it lay a whole system of religious principles. The
Zurich Brethren had met for sometime in private homes for
Bible study and worship. To them the Bible, especially the
New Testament, became the sole source of the faith and prac
tise of the new organization. The Sermon on the Mount liter
ally interpreted formed the basis of their system. Love was
the ruling force in all their relations one to another. The church
was to be a voluntary organization. Political force could not
dictate in matters of religious faith. The church was to be kept
pure by means of the Ban through which fellowship was denied
to the unfaithful. Since under the state system the magistracy
used force both to take life and to maintain the state church,
no Christian could hold office. Tithes and church taxes were
inconsistent with the voluntary .church principle and could
not be paid. The New Testament taught them to love even
their enemies and so it was wrong to take life, not only as an
individual but even by military force and judicial process.
Jesus said, "Swear not at all", and so it is forbidden the Chris
tian to take an oath. As in the days of the Apostles there was
perhaps at first a tendency toward communism, and a rather
general belief in the early return of the Lord.
At first these views may not have been clearly formulated,
and slight differences may have existed among the various
leaders, but by 1527 the Anabaptists of Northern Switzerland
and Southern Germany met at Schleitheim, near Schaff-
hausen, and drew up the first fundamental doctrines of the
new movement. In seven articles they declared that, —
1 Baptism must be administered to believers only; 2. the
unfaithful shall be excluded from the fellowship of their
brethren by means of the Ban ; 3. the Lord's Supper is to be
¦ regarded merely as a token in remembrance of the suffering
and death of Jesus ; 4. the Christian must live a life separated

18 THE MENNONITES
from the world; 5. ministers shall be of good report, shall
teach, and help members in their spiritual life, and shall be
aided by the congregation when in need; 6. the Christian
cannot use the sword and shall have no part in civil govern
ment; 7. all swearing of oaths is forbidden the follower of
Christ. In the meantime a radical movement had also broken
out in Saxony among the Germans. In some respects this
movement was similar to the one in Switzerland just dis
cussed, but in others radically different. The latter was pure
ly religious while the former was largely political and social.
The two were regarded as identical, however, by the state
churches, and the participants of the episode in Saxony were
also called Anabaptists, to the great harm of the reputation of
the Swiss Brethren. The leaders of the German radicals were
Thomas Miinzer, Lutheran pastor at Zwickau, Saxony, and
Nicholas Storch, a weaver of the same town. About 1522
these men with others led an opposition party to. the Lutheran
state church and demanded an independent organization.
They attacked the corruption of both the Catholic and Luth
eran churches. They also rejected infant baptism, but Miin
zer was never rebaptized, nor did he administer the rite to
any of his followers. In his earlier years Storch rejected
the oath, magistracy and warfare, but later evidently changed
his views. Both laid great stress upon inner revelations and
considered themselves prophets sent of God to right the times,
for which reason they were called the "Zwickau Prophets".
Like many of the enthusiasts of that day they pretended
to make the primitive church and especially certain portions
of the Old Testament and Revelation the basis of their new
system. Miinzer attacked the foundations of- the State as
well as the Church and taught revolutionary doctrines dan
gerous to both. Because the princes stand against the "true
faith and natural rights of man, they must be strangled as
dogs" he said. He traveled extensively through South Ger
many and sympathized strongly with the peasants in their

THE ANABAPTISTS 19
struggle for greater social and economic freedom. When
the Peasants' Revolt broke out he became one of the leaders
of that movement. He was captured at the battle of Franken-
hausen in 1525 and was shortly afterwards executed.
What was the relation of the Zwickau to the Zurich
movement? Both were called Anabaptist, and the opponents
of the Swiss Brethren took little trouble to differentiate be
tween them. It is true that in the early stages of the Zwickau
development before Miinzer had entered upon his radical
program of political reform, Grebel and other Swiss leaders
had written him a sympathetic letter, hoping to find him
a kindred spirit. But when Miinzer attempted to secure re
form by means of force, -they repudiated all connection with
him. The two movements were entirely different in spirit
and method, and essential aims. They should not be confused.
But to return to Zurich. Zwingli, as we saw, determined
to force all into his state system, and to this end he persuaded
the Zurich Council to give the Anabaptists little quarter.
"Devils in the guise of angels of light", he called them. The
Council lent a willing ear to his mad tirades, and passed
mandate after mandate each more severe than the preceding
with the view of utterly crushing out the movement, which
they considered dangerous to the permanency of the estab
lished institution. Citizens within the Canton of Zurich who
were baptized were to be punished by a fine, while those
from outside the Canton were to be ordered out. March 7,
1526, it was ordered that those who insisted on disobeying
the mandates of the Council were to be imprisoned for life
on a bread-and-water diet "until they rot". No one was to
give shelter or food to the Anabaptists. Grebel and Manz
declared that they would rather die than give up their faith,
a declaration which they soon were able to put to the test.
All over Zurich and in other Cantons as well as other coun
tries to which the Anabaptist doctrine had been carried large
numbers were imprisoned. Finally the death penalty was
decreed in Zurich for those who would not give up their

20 THE MENNONITES
faith. Felix Manz was the first martyr. After spending two
years in various parts of Switzerland, preaching and estab
lishing new congregations he was finally apprehended and at
Zurich in January, 1527, was condemned to death by drown
ing. The decree was immediately executed. As Manz with
his hands tied over his knees, a stick inserted in between,
was rowed down the Limmat by his executioner, and accom
panied by a Reformed clergyman who to the last attempted
to secure his recantation, his mother and brother standing on
the banks nearby shouted words of encouragement to him.
Just where the Limmat broadens into beautiful Lake Zurich
reflecting the deep blue sky above, and the green hills on the
border, Manz uttering his last prayer "Father, into Thy
hands I commit my soul" was thrown overboard and dis
appeared beneath the waves — the first of a long line of mar
tyrs who would rather die than give up their faith. From
now on for over a century Anabaptists wherever they were
found were condemned to a martyr's grave by the hundreds.
As a result of the Zurich persecutions the movement
spread very rapidly throughout Northern Switzerland and
Southern Germany. The simple message of the Brethren ap
pealed to the masses. The cause was also aided by the in
efficiency and immorality of the state Church clergy. When
driven out of Zurich Grebel went to Schaffhausen, Brodli to
Hallau, and Reublin to Waldshut, where he baptized Hub-
meir and his entire congregation. Soon churches were estab
lished also in Zollikon, Griiningen, Appenzell, St. Gall, Ber.i,
Argau and other places. In St. Gall twelve hundred were
baptized within a few weeks. Because of the presence of so
many Anabaptists the little town was called the "Little Jer
usalem". Three churches were established in Appenzell. By
1527 there were thirty-eight congregations in the Canton of
Zurich alone and nearly as many more in Bern. So large
had the movement grown that on August 13, of the same
year, a confederated Council of Bern, Basel, Schaffhausen,
Appenzell, St. Gall and Chur was called to discuss measures

. THE ANABAPTISTS 21
for checking its further growth. By 1530 all Northern Switz
erland was overrun by the new faith. But by this time, too,
the movement had nearly run its course in Switzerland. Re
lentless persecution had killed off all the leaders and driven
the weaker ones back into the Reformed church, and thou
sands into exile, while hundreds had died in prison. By 1535
the congregations were few.
Simultaneously with the growth in Switzerland new Ana
baptist centers sprang up in South Germany. The most im
portant of these was Augsburg, which for a few years offered
an asylum to religious refugees. A church was established
here as early as 1526 which in the course of a year grew to
a membership of eleven hundred. It was here that Hans
Denck, one of the greatest leaders, was won to the faith, who
in turn baptized Hans Hut, an influential though not par
ticularly creditable addition to the cause. A number
of the influential leaders of Anabaptism labored at some
time or other at this center. In addition to the two
just mentioned may be added the names of Jacob Gross,
Eitel Hans Langenmantel, Ludwig Hetzer, one of ;the
founders of the church, and Balthasar Hubmeir. Here was
held also August 20, 1527, a conference of all the Anabaptist
leaders of South Germany, Moravia and Switzerland for the
purpose of formulating and unifying all the various differ
entiating views that were appearing among the various lead
ers at this time. The meeting was presided" over by Hans
Denck and was called the Martyrs' Synod, because within a
few years most of the attendants had been called to a mar
tyr's death. From Augsburg churches were established at
Munich, Regensburg, Passau and Salzburg. By 1530 the
Augsburg congregation had reached its climax.
Another important center was Strasburg, a church be
ing established here also in 1526. Among the leaders who
worked out from here were Pilgrim Marbeck, Michael Sattler
and Melchior Hoffman. For a time the city authorities were
tolerant toward the Anabaptists, partly perhaps because it

22 THE MENNONITES
was the home for a few years (1538 — 1541) of John Calvin
' whose wife had been the widow of an Anabaptist. It also
became the scene of events connected with the work of Hoff
man. At Worms Jacob Kautz, the Lutheran preacher, be
came the leader of an Anabaptist congregation. A number
of cities south of Worms in the Palatinate and Baden also
contained flourishing congregations.
From these and other centers congregations were estab
lished in many places in Bavaria, Wurtemberg, Baden, Hesse,
and the Palatinate during the few years immediately following
the Zurich movement.
Sebastian Franck, an old chronicler of that day, but not
an Anabaptist, speaks of the rapid spread of the Anabaptist
cause throughout Germany as follows : "The Anabaptist move
ment developed so rapidly that their teaching was soon spread
throughout the land, and they soon gained a large following
and baptized thousands and drew to themselves many worthy
souls. For they taught nothing but love, faith, and forbear
ance. They showed themselves patient under much suffer
ing, humble and brake bread with one another as an evidence
of unity and love. They helped one another in all their
tribulations and taught to have all things in common and
called one another brethren. They increased so rapidly that
the world feared an uprising, which as I hear had no justifica
tion whatever. They were attacked in many places with
great tyranny, being imprisoned, branded, tortured and ex
ecuted with fire, water and the sword. In a few years large
numbers were put to death. The names of over two thou
sand are posted at different places most of whom were killed.
They died as martyrs, patiently and humbly, enduring all
these persecutions."
During the first years so rapid was the spread of the
movement that in many places it seemed in a fair way to
dispute with other reform religions for the mastery. In
Netherlands Anabaptists and Mennonites were the prevailing
evangelical set for a brief period. The prevalence of Anabap-

THE ANABAPTISTS 23
tist doctrines and the fear that the state churches had of its
spread is shown by the fact that almost every Confession of
Faith drawn up in the sixteenth century in England and the
Continent denounces them and their distinctive doctrines.
Anabaptist exiles from Switzerland soon found their
way also to Catholic Austria. As early as 1525 a congrega
tion was found in Steyer in Upper Austria. Churches were
also soon established in Linz and Freistadt. In 1527 a num
ber of Anabaptists were imprisoned in the castle of Passau
where they composed a number of hymns later collected in
the "Ausbund", the song book which became popular in
South Germany and Switzerland for many years. . In the
same year Hans Hut made Upper Austria the scene of his
activities for a while.
In Tyrol also churches were founded equally as early.
In 1527 a number of Anabaptists were apprehended at Kitz-
buhl, sixty-eight of whom were executed. In spite of persecu
tion, however, the movement spread rapidly for a few years.
Congregations sprang up at Brixon, Klausen and Bozen along
the Adige, and in a number of places in the Inn valley. In
1529 Blaurock came from Switzerland. Relentless persecu
tion on the part of the Catholic authorities, however, succeed
ed in completely rooting out the faith in Tyrol. Most of
those who escaped the death sentence found their way to
Moravia. Moravia for a number of years served as an asylum for
the persecuted of other lands, and refugees from Switzer
land, Tyrol, South Germany, and Upper Austria came here in
large numbers during the first years of Anabaptist develop
ment. It had been the scene of early evangelical movements,
and many of the nobility were tolerant toward well-behaved,
industrious immigrants. Moravia had just come under the
Hapsburg rule, and the emperor did not dare to interfere
too early with the rights of his newly acquired subjects. John
and Leonhard Liechtenstein were among the most influential
and tolerant of these nobles. These gladly received Hub-

24 THE MENNONITES
meir, the first of the Anabaptist apostles, in 1526, when a large
church was established at Nicholsburg. Under the influence
of Hubmeir's zeal from six to twelve thousand, it is said,
submitted to believers' baptism within the first year, including
the two npblemen themselves. Congregations were establish-
, ed at Brunn, Znaim, Auspitz Austerlitz and other centers. Un
fortunately while the Moravian Anabaptists enjoyed toleration
from the outside they fell to quarreling among themselves.
Under the leadership of strong-minded men who had held
marked views of their own on many questions, such men as
Hubmeir, Hut, Weideman, Spittlemeir, Reublin and Huter,
a number of divisions occurred. By about 1533, however, Ja
cob Huter attained the leadership of the largest element,,.
whom he organized into a communistic body later called after
him Huterites. It is said by some authorities that during the
period of their greatest prosperity near the close of the six
teenth century, they numbered some seventy thousand, a num
ber undoubtedly greatly exaggerated. Another estimate of
twenty thousand is undoubtedly much nearer the truth. Of
the history of the Huterites after 1535 more is told elsewhere.
In Northwestern Germany, Julich-Cleve and Westphalia
became the centers of Anabaptist activity. A congregation of
seven hundred was soon established at Cologne, and soon al
most every city along the Lower Rhine had an Anabaptist
congregation. Who the first members of the faith were in
this region it is not possible to tell, but from 1530 to 1533
Melchior Hoffman became the leading spirit throughout North
western Germany and the Netherlands. Among those whom
he ordained to help him was Jan Matthys who with John of
Leyden became responsible for the Miinster affair. Dirck and
Obbe Philip, and David Joris also became leaders of a health
ier type of Anabaptism than that preached by Hoffman
and his immediate followers.
Meanwhile persecutions continued apace. State govern
ments and established churches-Zwinglian, Lutheran and Ro
man Catholic put forth their best efforts to completely de-

THE ANABAPTISTS 25
r
stroy the new doctrine. The Peasant s Revolt made the state
Governments suspicious of any people's movement, and the
refusal of the Anabaptists to take an oath and enter military
service was interpreted as an act hostile to the Government.
An independent church on the other hand did not promise
any fat jobs to a ruling ecclesiastical hierarchy. During the
first ten years of the history of Anabaptism thousands of
men, women and children were drowned, burned or put to the
sword. Sebastian Franck estimates that six hundred perish
ed at Ensisheim, the seat of government of Southwestern
Austria. Another authority declares that from 1525 to 1530
over one thousand were slain in Tyrol alone. In Linz seven
ty-three were executed within six weeks. In the Palatinate
at least three hundred and fifty were accounted for. During
the first five years it is estimated that in all at least two
thousand went to a martyr's death.
Germany consisted at this time of over three hundred' in
dependent, self-governing political units held together by a
weak imperial government which could advise but not com
mand. Consequently it frequently happened that while Ana
baptists were being driven out of one country they were tol
erated in another. This accounts for much of their wander
ing during the early years. Hesse, Moravia and Strasburg
were especially tolerant during the early years of these per
secutions. By 1531 after thousands had been executed in
almost every land where Anabaptists were found, the Duke
of Hesse could boast that not a single person had as yet
lost his life in his dominion, although all the princes of the
Empire had been ordered by the ImperialDiet of Speyer in
1529 to kill with fire, water and sword all Anabaptists — men,
women and children.
The common people often sympathized with the per
secuted so that the authorities were forced to penalize the
feeding and sheltering of Anabaptists and to offer rewards
for their betrayal, high rewards being promised especially for
the leaders. The passions of the people were appealed to

25 THE MENNONITES
by false accusations. At Salzburg it was said that they had
plotted the assassination of all the clergy. The defence of
non-resistance made by one of the Anabaptist leaders even
in the case of the expected Turkish invasion was twisted into
a threat that the Anabaptists would join the Turks against
their own countrymen.
The usual method of execution was burning at the stake,
though drowning was also common, especially in the case
of women,, and many were also executed by the sword. One
chronicler tells of the case of a beautiful young girl of sixteen
whose youth and innocence had excited the compassion of
those who witnessed her trial. She refused to recant where
upon the executioner fastened her hands to her side and
held her head under the water in a horse trough, keeping her
in that position until she was suffocated. Her body was then
taken away to be burned. In Swabia in 1528 four hundred
horsemen scoured the country literally chasing the Anabap
tists out of the land. The liihit of cold-blooded cruelty was
perhaps reached in the order of Duke William of Bavaria to
behead those who recanted, and to burn those who remain
ed steadfast. This relentless persecution resulted in rooting out the
movement in many countries within a few years. Cornelius,
a reliable Catholic historian, pays these martyrs this tribute:
"The blood of these poor people flowed like water. But
hundreds of them of all ages and both sexes suffered the
pangs of torture without a murmur, refusing to redeem their
lives by recanting, and went to the place of execution with
joy and singing psalms."
Of course it is not to be expected that a movement which
spread so rapidly and which was subject to so many local
modifying influences would always be able to keep itself pure
from objectionable doctrines and practises. Anabaptism was
above all extremely individualistic, and in the course of its
brief period of rapid expansion it manifested a variety of
tendencies in keeping with the spirit and opinions of its

Thielman van Bracht, Compiler of Martyrs' Mirror.

THE ANABAPTISTS 27
chief leaders. It is impossible to name all these leaders here,
but in addition to the Swiss pioneers already mentioned the
following were most responsible for the various tendencies
of the movement outside of Switzerland: Michael Sattler,
Ludwig Hetzer, William Reublin, Balthasar Hubmeir, Hans
Denck, Hans Hut, and Melchior Hoffman. Each of these
stamped his own personality upon that part of the movement
which came under his special influence, and each modified the
interpretations of its chief doctrines to suit his own particular
point of view. Upon fundamentals, however, most of them
agreed. Michael Sattler, an ex-monk, was one of the original
Zurich Anabaptists. Driven from that city in 1525 he became
one of the leaders of a church at Strasburg, where he soon
became an associate of Hetzer and Denck. The next year
also he labored with Reublin in Moravia. While engaged in
missionary activity he was apprehended at Horb, and tried
at Rotenburg where he was ordered to be executed. The
court decreed that "he shall be delivered to the executioner
who shall lead him to the place of execution and cut out his
tongue, and then throw him upon a wagon and then tear his
body twice with red-hot tongs, and after he has been brought
within the gate, he shall be pinched five times in the same
manner". This order was literally carried out May 21, 1527,
after which he was burned at the stake as a heretic. The
charges made against Sattler were that he opposed belief in
the real presence, infant baptism, worship of Mary and the
saints, oath, warfare, extreme unction, communion of one
kind, and finally that he "had left the order and married a
wife". As the chief author of the Schleitheim Confession his
views on fundamental doctrines can be learned from that doc
ument. The Martyrs' Mirror gives a vivid account of his
trial and execution, while the Ausbund contains a hymn de
scribing the same event. He was one of the most amiable and
pious of the early leaders. Even his chief opponent spoke
of him as "a dear friend of God, though an Anabaptist".

28 ¦ THE MENNONITES
Ludwig Hetzer was also banished in 1525 as one of the
original Zurich Brethren. In Worms, Strasburg and Augs
burg he labored for the cause with Sattler and Denck. He
was a good Hebrew scholar and aided Denck in a translation
of the Prophetic books of the Bible. In 1525 he wrote "Evan
gelical Cups", one of the first pleas for prohibition on record.
After several years spent in the interest of the Anabaptist
cause, he was beheaded at Constance in 1529 on the charge of
immorality, which, however, was undoubtedly merely a cloak
to cover the real charge, that of Anabaptism.
William Reublin, as we saw, was also one of the charter
members at Zurich. In 1525 we find him at Waldshut, just
across the Swiss border, where he won Hubmeir to the faith.
For the next few years he traveled throughout South Ger
many and Switzerland where he met most of the other in
fluential leaders. At Strasburg he was imprisoned but again
released. In 1529 he found his way to Moravia where he soon
began the unliappy end of whathad promised earlier a very use
ful career. Arriving at Austerlitz he opposed the communis
tic ideas of Jacob Huter, and soon led one hundred and fifty of
the latter's followers to Auspitz to found a new congregation,
which endured many hardships for a time. Huter, however,
gave Reublin little rest in his new home. He trumped up
the charge that Reublin, in a time of illness, Ananias like,
had secreted forty florins of his own money from the common
fund. He suceeded in deposing him and installing another
leader of the Auspitz group. Reublin now completely drops
out of Anabaptist history so far as the records go. He was
one of the very few of the early influential Anabaptists to es
cape a martyr's death. Some say that late in life, in 1560, he
re-entered the Catholic church.
Balthasar Hubmeir, born 1480, near Augsburg, was one
of the most learned and influential of the early Anabaptists.
A University graduate, he at one time served as a professor
in the University of Ingoldstadt. He later entered the priest
hood and at the time of the first break with the Catholic

THE ANABAPTISTS - 29
church became one of Zwingli's earliest supporters, being
present at the 1523 disputation to take part in the debate
against the Catholic clergy. But coming into contact with
the Swiss Brethren soon after, he cast his lot with that move
ment, being baptized by Reublin on Easter day, 1525, at
Waldshut, the town where he had held his pastorate. He
immediately baptized sixty of his parishioners out of a milk
pail, brought in by one of the peasants. Soon driven from
Waldshut he visited most of the South German Anabaptist
centers, especially Augsburg where, in 1526, he baptized Hans
Denck, and Moravia where in Nicholsburg he baptized the
noblemen Hans and Leonhard Liechtenstein. He was a vol
uminous writer, and while at Nicholsburg had many of his
pamphlets published upon the press of Froschauer, a Zurich
refugee. In July, 1527, Hubmeir was captured by the Aus
trian officials and sent to Vienna where eight months later he
suffered martyrdom at the stake March 10, 1528. Three days
later his devoted wife was cast into the Danube. Hubmeir
was one of the most moderate of the Anabaptists. Unlike
some of the radicals he opposed communism. He differed
from the majority of Anabaptists in his views regarding the
magistracy and the use of force. A Christian could hold of
fice he maintained and might even use force though not for
the purpose of enforcing religious beliefs. Although he was
not an immersionist, the modern Baptists regard him as the
only early leader who represents most nearly the system of
doctrines and practises of the Baptists of today.
Hans Denck who was next to Hubmeir perhaps the lead
ing Anabaptist of his time, was born in Bavaria in 1495. By
one Lutheran theologian he was called "The Anabaptist
Pope", by another "The Anabaptist Apollo". A fine classical
scholar, he served for a time as rector of a school at Nurem
berg. Banished because of radical thinking, he found his
way to St. Gall, where he was greatly influenced by the Swiss
Brethren, although he did not formally cast his lot with them
until 1526, when he was baptized at Augsburg. Here he be-

30 THE MENNONITES
came one of the organizers of the movement, and attracted
many influential citizens to the church. Banished from here
he went to Strasburg and later to Worms, where with Hetzer,
he devoted some time to the translation from the Hebrew of
the Prophetic books of the Bible. Pie was forced to leave
here also. After presiding at the Martyr's Synod in 1527 at
Augsburg he became ill and being discouraged he beggedx per
mission from his old friend and teacher, Oecolampadius, to
come to Basel. Seeing that his days were numbered, the
latter granted his request. Denck died before the end of
the year, at the age of 32.
Denck was an extensive writer and exerted wide influence
through his literary work. Early in life he had come under
the influence of Tauler, the mystic, whose spirit exercised a.
dominating control over his thinking. He did not always
agree with his fellow Anabaptists in fundamental views. Be
ing a mystic he was not a strict ceremonialist, even doubting
at times the necessity of re-baptism. It is said that in his
latter days he regretted having baptized anyone. His en
emies later made much of the report and called it a recanta
tion. So completely was he dominated by the idea of the
love and mercy of God that he at one time doubted whether God
would doom anyone to eternal punishment. He was also
sometimes accused of anti-trinitarianism, but there is little in
his writings that could be interpreted so as to substantiate
the claim. Partly as a result of the severe persecutions through
which the Anabaptists were passing, but more because of the
teaching of certain fanatics there appeared by 1527, in South
ern Germany, the first signs of those chiliastic and apocalyp
tic tendencies which within a few years spread throughout
Northwest Germany, resulting in the disgraceful affair at
Miinster. This chiliastic spirit first manifested itself in the
preaching of Hans Hut.
Hut was a book-binder by trade and a native of Franconia.
He was an early admirer of Miinzer's and was one of the

THE ANABAPTISTS 31
captives at the battle of Frankenhausen, but was released
on the plea that he accompanied the army merely as a book
seller and not as a fighter. He early manifested radical ten
dencies, being driven from his home community in 1524 for
refusing to have his child baptized. He did not join the
Anabaptists, however, until 1526, when he was baptized by
Hans Denck at Augsburg. Possessing a strong personality
and being an enthusiastic worker he gained many converts
on his preaching tours through South Germany and Moravia.
At this time, 1527, the Council of Nuremberg describes him
interestingly as follows ; "The highest and most eminent per
son of the Baptists is Johannes Hut, a well-informed and
clever fellow of tolerably good physical proportions and a
boorish person with light brown cropped hair and with a pale
yellow little beard. His dress is gray and sometimes a black
riding coat, a broad-brimmed hat and gray stockings."
Hut, undoubtedly greatly influenced by the radical ideas
of Miinzer, was the first of the Anabaptists to avowedly
preach an aggressive millenarianism. Christ would soon
come, he said, and turn His kingdom over to the elect. Hut
was to be His special prophet. When that time came tem
poral rulers and priests would all be put to the sword by
the invading Turks to whom the work of vengeance was
committed. The Christian himself might use the sword to
help usher in the new kingdom when the time came, but he
must bide his time. In 1527 Hut actually gathered together
a number of followers for the purpose of leading them to
Switzerland or Muhlhausen to await the Turks. Whitsuntide,
1528, was the date set for the advent of Christ. But before
that time arrived, he had been imprisoned at Augsburg and
perished in an attempt to escape. In most points of belief
Hut agreed with the large body of Anabaptists but his chilias
tic doctrines and his near justification of the use of force to
establish the Millennium were doctrines full of dangerous
possibilities in those trying times.
In the teaching of Melchior Hoffman we have the doc-

32 THE MENNONITES
trines of Hut pushed one step farther toward the ushering in
of the Millennium. Hoffman was a Swabian leather-dresser,
uneducated but well-versed in the contents of the Bible, espe
cially the Prophetic books. As early as 1523 we find him
travelling as an agitator of advanced Lutheran views through
out North Germany and later in Denmark, Netherlands and
Sweden, touring the latter country in 1524 with Melchior
Rinck, a disciple of Thomas Miinzer. Being an adept at an
allegorical interpretation of the Bible, he succeeded in aston
ishing the unlearned masses with his supposed insight into
divine mysteries. He is thought to have embraced Anabap
tism about 1530, either at Strasburg or Emden, which latter
place became the headquarters for much of his later effort. For
the three years following he became an enthusiastic preacher
of Anabaptist doctrines as he understood them, together with
a number of personal views, foreign to the large body of these
people. His principal field of effort was in North Germany
and Netherlands, where he wielded large influence among
the masses. He was imprisoned in 1533 in Strasburg as a
preacher of dangerous doctrines, where he died ten years later.
In doctrine Hoffman agreed in the main with the
large body of peaceful Anabaptists, but like Hut differed
radically from them on several fundamental points. His views
on the incarnation were all his own, but similar to Menno
Simon's later. His attitude toward civil government and his
doctrines regarding the Millennium differed widely from those
held by the soundly Biblical Swiss and South German Breth
ren. By a process of computation all his own, Hoffman had
calculated that the end would come in 1533, and that Stras
burg would be the New Jerusalem. He himself was to be
the Elijah, who at the proper time was to crown the new king.
Upon the arrival and passing of the day when the prophecies
were to be fulfilled he patiently postponed the time of ful
fillment to successive dates as occasion demanded. In the
meantime he had been cast into prison, an event which he had
prophesied, and which for that reason greatly enhanced his

THE ANABAPTISTS 33
reputation as a prophet among the masses. With the failure
of Strasburg to materialize as the home of the elect, the be
lief began to take root among his followers that Munster in
Westphalia was to be the New Jerusalem. Just what part
the elect were to play in bringing about the new kingdom,
Hoffman did not explain. He did not make an appeal for an
armed uprising as did his successors. Yet, he taught that
all non-believers must necessarily be destroyed by the sword.
This was dangerous teaching and undoubtedly helped to pave
the way for the disaster which followed at Munster a few
years later.
Before his imprisonment, Hoffman had appointed Jan
Matthys, a Harlem baker, as leader of his people in East
Friesland. Matthys soon displayed a spirit of fanaticism and
vindictiveness against the upper classes, altogether absent in
the teaching of Hoffman. Whereas the latter had merely
taught a passive interest in the actual erection of the kingdom
of the elect which according to Hut would be accomplished
by an invasion of the Turks, the former on the other hand
preached that his followers must themselves take up the
sword and put the godless to death. Matthys was' the Enoch
foretold by Hoffman. He now sent out emissaries through
out Westphalia and Netherlands scattering broadcast his views
and inviting all to come to Munster where the kingdom of
the elect was to be established, and where there would be a
community of goods, brotherly love, no rents, and no mag
istracy. Due to the violent persecutions which the Anabap
tists were undergoing everywhere the times were propitious
for the acceptance of anything that promised a haven of rest.
Numerous recruits were won also by the eloquence of these
apostles. Among those who were baptized wereDirck andObbe
Philip at Leuwarden and David Joris of Delft, none of whom,
however, took part in the orgies at Munster. On the con
trary they strove hard both now and later to guard the
original Anabaptists from these millenarian fanatics.
Among large numbers this new movement spread rapid-
2

s

34 THE MENNONITES
ly. One error followed another in quick succession until Jan
Matthys and his followers had nothing in common with the
Anabaptists elsewhere, except the practise of rebaptism,
which now meant nothing more to him than a separation and
revolt from the established order. The movement became
social and political, as well as religious. January 13, 1534,
Matthys appointed John of Leyden to assist him in estab
lishing the kingdom. Measures were now taken to make
Munster the New Jerusalem in fact. A theocratical govern
ment was soon inaugurated, of which John of Leyden was
set up as king. The Old Testament was taken as a model of
the new social and religious order. Communism and polygamy
were introduced. The original Anabaptists in the city were
either converted to the new order or driven out. All others,
too, had to consent to rebaptism or exile. In this way the
whole city came under the sway of the new king.
In the meantime the Bishop of Munster had led an army
against the city. Early in 1534 Matthys, in an attempt to
raise the siege with a small army, was killed. For a whole
year now John of Leyden and his subordinates maintained
control of the city by a system of terrible cruelty and amid
great suffering. All those who dared protest against the ex
isting order were summarily cut down. Hundreds of men
and women were slain in cold blood. Finally in 1535 the city
fell, and many of those who survived the swords of their
own bloody rulers were now massacred by the victorious
besiegers. These massacres were extended throughout all
the sections of the country affected by the late nightmare.
In this brief sketch of Anabaptism the term has been
used in its widest application. Every tendency of the move
ment has been included. As has already been indicated, the
peaceful Swiss Brethren, the Zwickau Prophets, and John of
Leyden and his fanatical followers had little affinity for one
another, and yet, in any discussion of Anabaptism, all must at
least be given some consideration, if for no other reason than
that they were hopelessly confused by the civil and ecclesias-

THE ANABAPTISTS 35
tical authorities of that day. They were all separatists and
may have minimized the validity of infant baptism, but in
the fundamental doctrines of a voluntary church membership
made up of regenerated men and women admitted by believ
ers' baptism, religious toleration, and non-resistance, — all
fundamental doctrines of the Swiss Brethren and other Ana
baptists who later became Mennonites, they were essentially
different. The dispute as to whether all shall be called Ana
baptists is merely a quarrel as to terminology after all.
Neither must it be supposed for a moment that the Mun
ster teachings and extravagances were approved by all those
who bore the name of Anabaptists. Those of Switzerland,
South Germany and Moravia were unsparing in their con
demnation of the Munsterites. Neither were all of the Neth
erlands and Northwest Germany swept into the recent mael
strom. Many retained their peaceful, non-resistant faith, and
wherever possible bitterly denounced the fanaticism of the
Munster leaders. Among the prominent leaders of the non-re
sistant Anabaptists in these regions were Obbe and Dirck
Philip, brothers from Leuwarden, and later from Emden, who
strove earnestly to stem the tide toward fanaticism. Menno
Simons, also, who soon after this cast his lot with the Ana
baptists and assumed the leadership of those who remained
true to the principles of the faith as taught and practised by
the Swiss Brethren, said some years later with reference
to the Munsterites, "I can fearlessly challenge anybody, that
under the broad canopy of Heaven can show and prove
that I ever agreed with the Munsterites in regard to the afore
mentioned articles ; for from the beginning to the present mo
ment I have opposed them with diligence and earnestness both
privately and publicly, verbally and in writing, for over
seventeen years." .
A small remnant of the fanatics survived the catastrophe,
however. These were now led by John Batenburg, former
Burgomaster of Steenwijk, and became known as Batenburg-
ers. There were, also, at least, two other well-defined groups

36 THE MENNONITES
of Anabaptists in these regions at this time, — the Obbenites,
or peaceful Anabaptists, so-called after Obbe Philip, their
most influential representative, and the Melchiorites, followers
of Melchior Hoffman. It now occurred to one, David Joris, a
wise plan to bring all these elements together. To this end a
so-called synod was held at Bocholt, near Munster, in August,
1536, for the purpose of discussing means toward this end.
Neither Batenburg nor Obbe were present, though it is likely
that representatives of all the groups attended. The Baten-
burgers still advocated the use of the sword to bring about
the immediate inauguration of the kingdom of the saints.
These were opposed by the advocates of peaceful meas
ures. Joris tried the role of a compromiser, and agreed with
Batenburg that the sword should be legitimately used, but
that the time was not yet at hand for the Millennium. He
pleaded so eloquently for his views that many of the Baten-
burgers were won to his side. These formed a new group
and were called "Joristen" also "Davidians". The synod had
no other result.
The peaceful Anabaptists nearly all of whom later be
came known as Mennonites suffered great harm and injustice
as a result of the Munster episode. Political and ecclesiastical
authorities after this took little trouble to distinguish between
the unobtrusive, industrious, law-abiding and sober followers
of Grebel, Sattler, Hubmeir, Obbe Philip and Menno Simons,
and the revolutionary, chiliastic and fanatical disciples of
Matthys and John of Leyden. Because they agreed in re
jecting the validity of infant baptism, and although on other
fundamentals they differed as radically as the poles, they
were usually classed together as Anabaptists and both equally
denounced. It will thus be observed that when speaking of Anabap
tists one must keep in mind that there were a variety of sects
and parties all lumped together under one name, which had
some things in common, but also many differences. The
peaceful group of evangelical Christians with whom we shall

THE ANABAPTISTS 37
be chiefly concerned must not be confused with the unsound
and revolutionary elements of the movement known as
Anabaptism. Bullinger, a bitter antagonist of Anabaptists of all kinds,
but. perhaps a reliable witness, nevertheless, on this point
names forty different sects in his day under the name of Ana
baptists. Among these are : 1. The Apostolic, who read their
Bibles literally, travel about without staff and shoes, and
carry no money. Some preach from the housetops after the
literal Scriptural injunction, and imitate children to enter the
kingdom of Heaven. 2. Those excluded from the World.
These have nothing in commpn with the world. They have
hard and fast rules for eating, drinking and sleeping. They
discard everything common to the rest of the world, for they
must be a peculiar people. 3., The Holy, Sinless Baptists.
These could commit no sin, and omitted "Forgive our sins"
from the Lord's Prayer. 4. The Silent Brethren. According
to this group, preaching is of no avail, and it is not necessary
for the world to hear the Gospel. When asked respecting
their faith, they remain silent, refusing to commit themselves.
5. The Enthusiasts are filled with the spirit of prophecy, see
visions and dream dreams, and believe in an early return of
the Lord. 6. The Free Brethren make the spiritual freedom
a freedom of the flesh. They pay no taxes and are opposed
to slavery. They indulge in all sorts of immorality and are
shunned by all other groups. 7. Munsterites. All others de
spised everything high and exalted,, but these aimed at power.
And so on throughout a list of forty.
It is evident that this list includes practically all the
sects of the time that opposed the state church system, and
that all such were likely called Anabaptists. While it is true
that these groups differed among themselves on many points,
and perhaps very seldom claimed spiritual kinship among
one another, yet they were similar, too, in certain character
istics, perhaps similar enough to justify treating them under
one heading. They at least were all separatists and inde-

38 THE MENNONITES
pendents. As separatists they agreed in such fundamental
doctrines as adult baptism, separation of Church and State
(not the Munsterites), a certain seclusion from the rest of the
"world", use of the Ban, and other points. Even their differ
ences resulted from the common attempt to follow closely the
teaching of the Bible as each group understood it. These
classes, too, may be regarded as the result of over-emphasis
of certain points of view common more or less to all. Per
haps we might even say that in most cases they were not
classes at all, but rather over-emphasis here and there of be
liefs and practises potentially present in all.
It is difficult to say how many belonged to one group
and how many to another, but it is fair to presume that the
large body, as has already been suggested, were of the peace
able, non-resistant type. At any rate, soon after 1535 prac
tically all these other groups and tendencies disappeared, and
on the Continent only the non-resistants survived. These all
became known later as Mennonites.
These differences were to be expected. The times were
out of joint. The masses were adrift, awaiting leadership.
No wonder that ambitious leaders were able to impress their
own peculiar views upon the movement. We have already
seen how such men as Denck, Hut, Hoffman and Hubmeir,
to say nothing of John of Leyden, each had their own follow
ing. Persecution made secrecy necessary and a common or
ganization dangerous. Each small group was thus left to
follow the bent of its own Biblical interpretation or fanatical
impulse. Neither was organization consistent with the move
ment. The people had just freed themselves from authority
and tyranny, separating State and Church in their religious
life. Individual freedom to choose their own religious faith
was the very thing they were contending for.
Amid all this diversity of belief and practise, however,
the movement known as Anabaptism, with the exception of
the Munsterites, especially in their later stage, rests upon
certain common fundamental propositions.

THE ANABAPTISTS 39
, 1. The Church is an independent, voluntary group of be
lievers banded together for the purpose of worship. Separa
tion of Church and State, and religious toleration are logical
corollaries of the independent Church.
2. Infant baptism, the sign of initiation into the universal
state church, has no place in the voluntary institution. Adult
baptism administered to believers must be the initiatory
symbol. 3. The Bible is the only guide of faith and practise. The
majority of the Anabaptists preferred the New Testament to
the Old as a source of authority. The primitive Church espe
cially became the model for all the practises of the new
Church; the Sermon on the Mount quite literally interpreted
furnished the program. Among some with more fanatical
tendencies the Old Testament, especially the Prophetic books,
were prized above the New, and the inner light or direct reve
lation from God played a conspicious part as a source of re
ligious faith and knowledge.
4. The office of magistrate, cannot be filled by the Chris
tian. Government is a divine institution ordained to protect
the righteous and punish the wicked. It is made necessary
because of the existence of the unrighteous and can be exer
cised only by them. In other words it is a sort of a necessary
evil. The Christian must be obedient to his rulers, pray for
them and pay taxes to support the Government. Not all
held quite this theory, however. Hubmeir contended that a
Christian might be a magistrate, but could not use his office in
the interest of religious persecution.
5. The Christian cannot take up the sword. Love must
be the ruling force in all social relations. It is wrong to kill
as an individual, or by either judicial process or military force.
Hubmeir, however, taught that it was permissible to use the
sword though not to enforce religious belief. Hut came
near teaching the necessity of force to inaugurate the king
dom of the elect.
6. Most of the Anabaptist groups regarded themselves

40 THE MENNONITES
as rather a select people and were inclined to live a life se
cluded from the outside world.
7. Church discipline is to be secured through the Ban,
used to exclude the disobedient from the rights and privileges
of membership. 8. The Lord's Supper is to be regarded merely as a
memorial of the death and suffering of Christ, and not as
containing the Real Presence.
9. It is wrong to take an oath. Christ taught His dis
ciples to say, "Yea, yea ; nay, nay."
In addition to these principles which the large body of
Anabaptists held more or less in common, there were other
certain well-defined tendencies which in spirit at least were
more or less potentially present in all, but upon which there
was a greater divergence of opinion and practise than upon
the articles above mentioned. On the question of community
of goods there was much difference in teaching and practise.
Traces of a communistic leaning were common. The ex
ample of the Apostolic church, together with the poverty of the
poorer classes composing the Anabaptist body, and persecu-
tions,-all these conditions naturally strengthened the tendency
toward a sharing of each other's possessions. The Huter
ites were out and out communists; others, including Hub
meir and Grebel declared that communism was not essential,
but that the brethren should be willing to help one another
in case of need.
Among all there was more or less of a belief in the early
return of Christ. Among the earlier Anabaptists the hope
did not take definite' form as to time and may have been lit
tle more than a pious opinion, but in the case of Hut and Hoff
man the time was actually set, while John of Leyden de
clared that the time had arrived, and that he was to be the
king of the new dispensation. The common objection to in
terest, tithes and sometimes war taxes, was occasionally ex
tended on the part of the more radical to all taxes, both
church and state.

THE ANABAPTISTS 41
As we have already seen, Anabaptist doctrines sprang up
almost simultaneously and spontaneously in Switzerland,
South Germany, Moravia and the Lower Rhine country, show
ing thereby that the times for such a movement were ripe.
Among the causes for this rapid growth were:
1. A general interest among the common people in the
reading of the Bible. For a long time the Bible had been the
sole property of the priesthood and a sealed book to the laity,
both because of its rarity and because of the unknown tongue
in which it was written. The printing press, the most epoch-
making discovery of all time, made the Bible accessible to the
common man, who could find out now for himself what its
contents were. Between 1456 and 1518 there were printed no
less than fourteen editions of the complete Book in the Ger
man language and four in the Dutch, besides .numerous edi
tions of selected portions. Between 1523 and 1531 in Neth
erlands alone twenty-five editions of Luther's translation
were rendered into the language of the people. Both leaders
and laity among the Anabaptists were well-versed in the con
tents of the Bible as is shown in their disputations and in
their public trials. They were usually more familiar with
its contents than the Lutheran and Catholic clergymen, who
persecuted them. It is not at all strange that these common
people, unlettered as many of them were, coming upon this
hitherto sealed Book, and finding that it gave no sanction
for many of the practises of the state churches, should attempt
to interpret it literally, and reconstruct their religious and so
cial world upon the Apostolic church as a model. Under the
impetus of the reform forces set free by Luther and Zwingli
a people's evangelical movement made much more rapid prog
ress than was possible in earlier similar movements before the
sixteenth century.
2. The times were favorable for the movement. The
masses were oppressed by landlords and church dignitaries.
Taxes and tithes and Feudal dues were extremely burden
some, especially since they were exacted by the powerful to

42 THE MENNONITES
maintain a political and ecclesiastical system, in which the
common people had little faith. These were denied many
rights and privileges to which nature entitled them. In the
example of the early primitive church they saw a remedy for
all their burdens, social and industrial as well as religious.
It is not at all strange that the religious issue should becdme
complicated with political and 'social questions. At any rate,
the hard lot of the common man strengthened the appeal
which the new faith made to him.
3. The soil was perhaps partly prepared by earlier evan
gelical movements. Waldenses and other sects more or less
similar had existed in many of the centers where Anabaptism
now flourished. These sects held many doctrines and prac
tises in common with the later Anabaptists, and it is alto
gether likely that they made some contribution to the later
movement. Just what relation these earlier sects bore to the Ana
baptists is a disputed question. There are some writers, who,
permitting their pious wishes to get the better of their his
torical judgments, would trace the Mennonites back through
Anabaptists, Waldenses and various Medieval and Ancient
evangelical bodies to the Apostolic church itself. To the
present writer it does not seem that even the Waldensian
connection is as firmly established as the supporters of the
theory maintain. While it is true that they had many things
in common, they also differed in certain essentials. The fact
that certain Anabaptist centers had also been Waldensian
centers does not necessarily prove that the Anabaptists were
merely made-over Waldensians. The strongest argument
against the theory is the fact that nearly all the leaders of
Anabaptism came out of the Catholic church directly or in
directly. Such Waldensian organizations as survived at the
breaking out of the Reformation either maintained their iden
tity or united with the new state Church. Few were fused
with the Anabaptist organizations. The myth of Waldensian
origin, although it was held by a number of contemporary

THE ANABAPTISTS 43
writers of the Reformation period, received its greatest im
petus at the hands of later Anabaptists who hit upon it as the
best reply to the state Church leaders who insisted that all
Anabaptists were Munsterites.
While it is altogether probable, of course, that the ear
lier movement had some influence upon the latter, just how
much is uncertain, yet, it is equally certain that there would
have been an Anabaptist faith, even though there never had
been any Waldensians or other more or less evangelical sects.
All these bodies sprang more or less independently from the
same source, namely, an intensive study by the common man
of an accessible Bible. To this common source one must look
for an explanation of these often striking similarities in faith
and practise, rather than to any supposed contributions that
various bodies may have made to one another.

44 THE MENNONITES

CHAPTER II

MENNO SIMONS

As we have just seen, Anabaptists of the peaceful , type
were not wanting throughout the Netherlands and North
west Germany during the time mentioned in the preceding
chapter. Being a quiet, unobtrusive people they did not attract
much attention, however. Their leading men were Obbe and
Dirck Philip, Leonhard Bouwens and Menno Simons.
The exact year of the birth' of Menno Simons is still a
matter of conjecture, but most recent authorities are inclined
to accept the year of 1496. His birthplace was Witmarsum,
a small village near the west coast of Friesland, one of the
provinces of the Netherlands. Of his parentage and early life we
know very little, except that he was educated for the priesthood,
and assumed the duties of his office at the age of twenty-eight
in the village of Pinjum, near his birthplace. Like many of the
priests of his day he knew little of the Bible, and his religious
duties sat rather lightly upon him. Being endowed with an
open mind, however, and an earnest desire to know the truth
he could not long remain entirely oblivious to the revolution-"
ary religious doctrines that were shaking the countries of
Middle Europe even to the remotest corners. We know that
copies of Luther's writings had fallen into his hands at this
time. His enlightenment began one day in the third year
of his priesthood. While perfunctorily going through the cere
monies of the mass the thought suddenly struck him that
the bread and wine he was handling could not be the real
flesh and blood of Christ. Like Luther before him, he attrib
uted this suggestion to the devil, and prayed and confessed,
but the conviction would not leave him. He now turned

MENNO SIMO'NS, 1496-1561.

MENNO SIMON 45
to the New Testament for light, and the more he read the
more he realized that the suggestion did not come from the
evil one.
Once led to doubt the truth of the prevailing system, his
progress toward the light was rapid. He now began an earn
est study of both the Bible and the writings of Luther and
other reformers. In March, 1531, at Leuwarden, the capital
city of Friesland, occurred an incident, too, that led to still
further doubts and that turned his mind toward the Anabap
tists. Sikke Frerichs, a tailor, was beheaded for having been
rebaptized at Leuwarden. This incident led Menno to in
vestigate the question of infant baptism. After comparing
the views on this question of the Catholics and also of Luther,
Zwingli, Bullinger and others with the New Testament teach
ing, he came to the conclusion that all were in error. Menno
must have come in contact with the Anabaptists of this re
gion soon after this, but he did not cast his lot with them
for several years. Having been promoted in the meantime to
a higher charge in his native village, he was unwilling as
yet to break with the easy life that seemed to await him.
His conscience evidently was accusing him, however, of play
ing the part of a hypocrite ; for when in April, 1535, a group
of several hundred Anabaptists, who had been tinged very
largely with Miinsterite ideas, and who had taken refuge in
an old cloister near his home, were killed in a siege and the
survivors executed, Menno was greatly disturbed by this
event. He was greatly moved by the zeal and earnestness of
these people, he said, as contrasted with his own selfish life,
but on the other hand he was also concerned about the errors
into which they had been led by false teachers. The fact that
his own brother was among those that had fallen, undoubted
ly strengthened the impression this event had made upon his
mind. It was not until nearly a year had passed, however,
that he had the courage to take the final step. In January,
1536, at the age of forty, he publicly renounced the Cath
olic Church.

46 THE MENNONITES
To come to this decision required no small degree of
physical and moral courage. Unlike Luther, Zwingli and
Calvin, all of whom gained positions of great power, comfort
and influence through their separation from Romanism, Men-
no by espousing the cause of the common people and religious
freedom entered upon a career that promised nothing but
humiliation, poverty and persecution.
Almost immediately Menno left his home town and cross
ed over to the neighboring province of Groningen, where late
in 1536 or early in 1537, he formally cast his lot with the
peaceful Anabaptists, being baptized by Obbe Philip, the
leading man in that body in these regions at that time. Rec
ognizing his ability as an organizer, and in view of his early
training and also in view of the need for leadership, a group
of Anabaptists soon came to Menno urging him to assume
some responsibility in building up the Anabaptist cause in
Northern Germany and the Netherlands. Again he hesitated
knowing full well the dangers of the work, and because, as he
says, "of my limited talents, great lack of knowledge, weak
ness of my nature, the timidity of my flesh, the very great
wickedness, wantonness, perversity and tyranny of the
world, the mighty sects, the subtlety of many men, and the
indescribably heavy cross."
He was persuaded, however, and was ordained a minister
by the same Obbe Philip. For twenty-five years now he
worked amid many trials and with very little remuneration,
preaching the Gospel, organizing new churches or reviving
old ones and writing in defence of his faith.
For the first seven years Menno's chief field of labor was
Groningen with occasional visits made under difficulties to
other Dutch provinces where Anabaptist congregations were
found, especially West Friesland and Holland. His most
difficult work during these years was the fight against what
he calls the "corrupt sects", by which he means undoubtedly
the various groups of the more or less fanatical Anabaptists
— Munsterites, Batenburgers, Melchiorites, and Davidians —

MENNO SIMONS 47
all of which still exerted some influence and especially en
dangered the purity of the peaceful group, at this tithe called
Obbenites after Obbe Philip, their leader.
Immediately upon his renunciation of Rome, Menno be
came subject to the rigorous decrees then in force against
the Anabaptists. But soon, also, he was marked for special
attention. So important a leader had he become by 1542 that
the Emperor Charles V. in December of that year issued an
imperial decree effective in Friesland offering a reward of
"one hundred golden Karolus gulden", and all expenses and
full pardon in case the betrayer were an Anabaptist, for the
arrest of "Minne Symons". Everyone also was cautioned on
penalty of death not to give him shelter, food or drink, or
have in their possession any of his books.
In most of the decrees against Anabaptists during these
times rewards and pardons were offered to those who, be
cause of intimate association with the intended victims, were
in a position to deliver them to the authorities. These in
ducements occasionally uncovered a Judas. Somewhat la
ter according to the story told by Menno's daughter, an at
tendant at one of Menno's meetings agreed with the author
ities to betray him for a sum of money. Soon after, the be
trayer with an officer unexpectedly met Menno passing by
in a boat, but the would-be traitor remained silent until
Menno had passed, and then exclaimed, "The bird has es
caped." Upon being questioned by the officer why he had
permitted the escape, he replied that his tongue was bound.
According to the tradition the would-be betrayer was him
self beheaded for this act.
Menno, who in the meantime had been married, was now
forced to leave Friesland. He escaped across the border into
East Friesland where under the tolerant Countess Anne a
number of exiled sects had already found an asylum. Here
while John a'Lasco, an earlier Polish reformer, was working
out with the Countess the problem of an established church,
the separatists were granted a spell of toleration. A thriving

48 THE MENNONITES
community of Anabaptists under Obbe and Dirck Philip had
been established at Emden, and soon other congregations
were located at Leer, Norden and other places. Menno evi
dently sOon played a leading role in the Emden church, for
John a'Lasco engaged him in a public disputation within
a short time. But the publicity caused by this debate made
it necessary that an earlier imperial decree against the Ana
baptists be now carried out. Both a'Lasco and the Countess,
however, recognized a vital difference between the peace
ful followers of Menno and his co-laborers and the fanatical
Batenburgers, Davidians and other similar groups. In dis
criminating in favor of the former the Countess referred to
them for the first time now in history, in 1544, as Menists,
who were to be tolerated, while the fanatical sects were or
dered to leave. Menno, however, also thought it advisable
that he should leave. <
Throughout his evangelistic career up to the last days of
his life Menno was forced to carry on his work amid great
difficulties and the constant dread of a martyr's stake ; for by
imperial decree a price was resting upon his1 head. He es
caped only by seeking refuge among those princes and rulers
of the three hundred or more independent governments into
which the Empire was then divided, who had not yet decided
upon the form of a state church for their lands, or, who were
more tolerant than the spirit of their times. And so Menno
now fled, in 1543, to a group of his co-believers in Cologne,
where Elector Herman van Wied at the time was transforming
the former Archbishopric into a Lutheran principality. But a
few years later, in 1546, when the Catholics regained Cologne,
Menno was again compelled to find a new refuge for his sick
wife and children. He went to Holstein and we soon find
him in Wismar in Mecklenburg, where he is secretly tolera
ted by the Lutheran magistrates of the city until 1555, when
the Hanseatic league of which Wismar was a member, is
sued a stringent order against Anabaptists, and Menno was
compelled to find another hiding place — his last.

MENNO SIMONS 49
There was a small church at Wismar made up principal
ly of refugees, who were tolerated, but were obliged to carry
on their worship very quietly. From here Menno travelled
extensively along the East Sea region reaching Livonia and
Gothland in his tours . He also had a printing press here,
on which he printed a number of his controversial pamphlets.
Although Menno and his followers were often tolerated by
the municipal and state authorities, the theologians hated
them heartily. At Wismar it is said one Lutheran preacher
denounced Menno so vehemently one day in the pulpit that
he dropped over from apoplexy. Another well-known theo
logian said he ''would rather have a hat full of Menno's
blood than a hat full of gold".
Menno Simons' last refuge was at Wuestenfelde in the
county of Fresenburg between Lubeck and Hamburg, ruled
by the nobleman Bartholomew von ^ Ahlefeld, who protected
Menno for the remaining, six years of his life. Here he spent
his declining years, writing and publishing his treatises on
his own printing press, and travelling to the very end in
the interests of the cause he loved so well.
Not only was a price fixed on his head by imperial de
cree, but it was ordered that no one under penalty of death
was to give him aid in any form. During the first year of
his ministry, in 1536, two men were arrested in Friesland for
giving him shelter, but escaped the death penalty, which
was the punishment for such an act of hospitality, perhaps
because it turned out that Menno had not been baptized at
the time. In 1539, however, a man was tortured and executed
for a like offence.
In matters of doctrine Menno agreed in the main with
the teachings of the Swiss Brethren and other peaceful Ana
baptists. The true church, he insisted, must be composed
of those of a regenerated heart. In his treatise, "The New
Birth", he says:
"Behold,, worthy reader, all those who are born of God
with Christ who thus conform their weak life to the Gospel,

50 THE MENNONITES
are thus converted, and follow the example of Christ, hear
and believe His holy Word, follow His commands which He
in plain words commanded us in the Holy Scriptures, for the
Holy Christian Church which has the promise."
Infant baptism, he says, "is a self-begotten rite and
human righteousness ; for in all the New Testament there
is not a word or command about baptizing infants, by Christ
nor by the Apostles."
In speaking of the true Christians, "the regenerated who
have a spiritual king over them", he continues,
"They are the children of peace, who have beaten
their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning
hooks, and know no war."
The Lord's Supper
"They celebrate in rememberance of the favors and
death of their Lord, and in reminding one another of true
and brotherly love." , .
The Ban
"extends to all the proud scorners great and small,
rich and poor, without any respect to person, who heard and
obeyed the Word for a season but have fallen off again, and
i» the house of the Lord teach or live offensively, till they
again sincerely repent."
On civil government he writes,
"We now publicly confess that the office of the
Magistrate is ordained of God as we have ever confessed,
since we serve according to our small talent the Word of
the Lord, and in the meantime we have ever obeyed them
when not contrary to the Word of God and we intend to do
so all our lives, for we are not so stupid as not to know what
the Lord's Word commands in this respect. We 'render unto
Caesar the things which are Caesar's' as Christ teaches (Matt.
22:21). We pray for the imperial majesty, kings, lords, princes
and all in authority, honor and obey them."
Menno's views on such other fundamental Anabaptist

MENNO SIMONS 51
doctrines as rebaptism, non-resistance, religious toleration,
separation of Church and State, opposition to capital punish
ment and war, objection to the holding of office and the oath,
the Ban as a method of church discipline — in all of these
he agreed with the large body of peaceful Anabaptists.
On two points, however, he held individual views which
proved to be the cause of much debate and misunderstand
ing between himself and his brethren. One of these was his
view of the use of the Ban which will be discussed in a later
chapter; and the other was his doctrine of the incarnation
which he perhaps inherited from Melchior Hoffman. With
Hoffman he seemed to minimize the human properties which
Christ received from Mary. The charge against him, how
ever, of anti-trinitarianism is misleading. He denied neither
the divinity nor the humanity of Christ, although his ex
planation as to how his humanity was begotten may have
differed from that of other religious thinkers.
Like most Anabaptist leaders, Menno, when he was
not being driven into hiding, was constantly being challenged
to a defence of his views by his state Church enemies. A
popular method among theologians and religious leaders of
airing their differences was through open disputations. Two
of these in which Menno engaged were of special importance.
The first was a debate at Emden in January, 1544, with John
a'Lasoo, the Zwinglian reformer of East Friesland. This
discussion which lasted for several days was held in the
presence of a number of ministers. The questions involved
were incarnation, baptism, original sin, sanctification, the
two natures, and the calling of the minister. Of course, neith
er side was convinced by the' arguments of the other. Menno's
argument against infant baptism and his contention that the
ministry should be self-supporting or be supported by vol
untary contributions, involving as it did a rejection of the
ecclesiastical tithes was especially objectionable to the state
Church party. Although Menno was requested to put his
arguments into printed form and was permitted to depart in

52 THE MENNONITES
peace, within a few months he was compelled to leave East
Friesland. The other debate was held at Wismar in January and
February, 1554, with Martin Micronius, a Reformed minister
from Norden, in East Friesland. Much the same subject
matter was discussed, — baptism, incarnation, oath, divorce,
calling of ministers and civil authorities. The last session
which was continued for eleven hours without intermission,
ended with evident good-feeling and a common meal. This
apparent toleration on the part of the state Church party
was due to the fact that although the disputants were Ana
baptists and Reformed respectively, the debate was held in
a Lutheran town, where neither of the two parties were
technically tolerated. For that reason there was not the
usual publicity about this disputation.
The circumstances leading up to this Wismar meeting
are not without interest. A party of fugitives, followers of John
a'Lasco, formerly of East Friesland, who had just been driven
out of England by Bloody Mary, had been shipwrecked in
the ice near Wismar on their return to the continent. The
Lutherans of Wismar offered no aid to the shipwrecked
Zwinglians, but the Mennonites took food and drink to the
ship and brought the fugitives to their own homes. Among ^
the ice-bound passengers were the children of a'Lasco, under
the care of a tutor. When one of the Mennonite brethren
kindly offered to take the children to his home and care for
them until they could be taken to their destination, the tutor
protested on the ground that a'Lasoo, who was accustomed
to deal with people of high social standing, could not afford
to have his children cared for by an ordinary peasant. Upon
hearing of this incident, Menno exclaimed, "Very plainly
we have not found in them the true humble followers of
Christ." Even in their distress the ardor of the Zwinglians for
spreading their faith did not seem to abate. For they soon
prevailed upon Menno to enter upon a debate with them.

MENNO SIMONS 53
Menno who was practically in hiding' in Wismar, although
he was known to the Wismar magistrates and was not molest
ed, knew that he could be tolerated only as long as he avoided
publicity. For that reason he made secrecy a condition of the
disputation to which the Reformed party agreed. Micronius la
ter, however, disregarded the agreement and published the
proceedings. The Zwinglians who remained in Wismar only
temporarily had little to lose by publicity, but Menno was
again forced to seek a new asylum.
Menno Simons was also a voluminous writer in defence
of his views. Most of his literary work consisted of fuller
statements of arguments presented in such disputations as
those spoken of above, in short treatises on various doctrines,
and in replies to attacks made against him by the theologians
of the day. He frequently found it difficult to get printers
to publish his treatises, since in many places to print his
books was made a criminal offence punishable by death. Dur
ing his latter years at Wuestenfelde he owned his own press,
from which were issued a number of his pamphlets. Among
his most important writings are his "Renunciation of Rome",
in which he gives his reasons for leaving the Catholic church ;
"Testimony Against Jan van Leyden", in which he clears
himself of being a Munsterite; and the "Foundation Book",
written in 1555, rather late in life, which gives the most com
plete and mature statements of his religious principles.
Menno Simons was not a great philosopher, but his argu
ments are soundly Biblical, and well buttressed with copious
Scriptural references. He is more interested too in practical
living than in doctrinal discussions. If his writings give evi
dence occasionally of a spirit of irritability it must be re
membered that he was forced under trying circumstances to
defend his faith against willful and malicious misrepresenta
tions by his opponents. And compared with the language of
the latter, Menno's speech is decidedly mild for that age of
plain talk and forceful utterances.
Unfortunately Menno and his brethren not only were

54 THE MENNONITES
forced to defend their views against enemies from without,
but sometimes there was not complete harmony within. The
two most troublesome questions on which they disagreed
were the Incarnation and Ban, principally the latter. As
early as 1547 Menno met Dirck Philip, Gillis of Aachen, Leon-
hard Bouwens and Henry Vremen, leading evangelists of
the North Sea coast regions to discipline two brethren who
had drifted from the fundamentals — Adam Pastor, accused
of anti-trinitarianism ; and Francis Cuyper, charged with pro-
Catholic views. These two men were excommunicated and a
general discussion ensued among the leaders on the place of
the Ban in church discipline. It was agreed that rigid dis
cipline was necessary to maintain the purity of the church,
Menno especially contending that even the marital relations
be suspended in case either husband or wife were excom
municated. These rigid views were distasteful to many of
the churches, and later when attempts were made to put them
into practise, no end of confusion followed.
In 1554 these same elders with several others from North
Germany and Netherlands met again at Wismar, where they
formulated nine rules of discipline to be followed by the
churches. These forbade marriage outside of the church,
and demanded that in case husband or wife lead an evil life,
separation and remarriage be permitted under certain con
ditions. Marital avoidance was to be observed where the
Ban was applied to the husband or wife. Business relations
should be carried on with apostates only under extreme neces
sity. Children were advised not to marry without the consent
of their parents. Just debts might be collected but no unjust
measures were to be used in forcing payment. Bearing arms
for military service was strictly prohibited-. No one was to
preach unless ordained by the church authorities.
The attempt to enforce some of these rules in the North
met with vigorous opposition. Bouwens, who perhaps was a
stricter disciplinarian than either Menno or Dirck Philip,
insisted upon applying them to the letter in the territory

MENNO SIMONS 55
within his immediate jurisdiction, as did also Gillis of Aachen.
The strict party carried the practise of marital avoidance to
such lengths that many churches were thrown into great
confusion. The Franeker congregation was rent in two by
the controversy. The South German and Swiss churches were pronounced
in their opposition to the strict use of the Ban. Perhaps
there was more need in the Northwest for its rigid applica
tion, for it was here that the "corrupt sects", — the Baten-
burgers, Munsterites and other survivors of the tragedy of
1535, were continually threatening the corruption of the
church at large. Menno himself declared that without a
strict application of the Ban he would have been unable to
keep his own churches clear from the Munsterite errors. At
any rate, the southern brethren were so strenuously opposed
to the Wismar rules that they called several conferences to
discuss this and other questions at Strasburg in 1555 and
1557. The doctrine of Incarnation on which there was dif
ference of opinion was the chief issue in the 1555 con
ference, and after declaring that
"The confusion of tongues has come upon the breth
ren in this matter because they would know more than it was
intended they should know," they urged that more attention
be paid to keeping God's commands than prying into such
mysteries. They should be satisfied with the statement, "The
Word became flesh and tabernacled among us" — good advice
which, if taken, would have profited many of the theologians
of that day.
The conference of 1557 was attended by over fifty rep
resentatives of the churches of Suabia, Moravia, Switzerland,
the Palatinate, Wurtemberg, and Alsace. The chief purpose
was to discuss the Wismar rules. It was decided that the
regulations laid down by the northern brethren,' especially
regarding the application of the Ban to domestic relations,
were too strict. Extenuating circumstances should be con
sidered, they declared. The conference appealed to Menno

56 THE MENNONITES
at Wismar for milder measures. As a proof of their right to
speak in behalf of the churches, the delegates who signed the
appeal stated that many of them still bore on their persons
the marks of persecution. One was present, who, thirty
years before, had entertained Michael Sattler in his own
home. A committee of three qualified men was appointed
to carry to Menno the greetings of the conference and also
the results of the Strasburg meeting. This committee was
to come to an understanding with him on the disputed points
and report back to the churches in Germany and the Nether
lands. These men, however, failed so utterly both in their
interview with the leader at Wismar and in the report they
later gave of their visit that the situation became more con
fused than ever. An actual division resulted in some of the
northern churches.
Menno was greatly disturbed by these events in his de
clining years, and travelled' extensively for the purpose of
healing the breach, but to little avail.^
His latter days were spent at Wuestenfelde in rather
straitened circumstances. He evidently received some sort
of income from Friesland, for in a letter to his brother-in-law
he asks for sixty gulden, which are due him "for", says he,
"butchering time is here and I have nothing with which to
buy." He died January 13, 1561, and was buried in his own
garden. The exact place of his burial is unknown now, for
during the Thirty Years' War Wuestenfelde was one of the
villages that fell prey to the spirit of devastation which char
acterized that period.
Menno Simons deserves a higher rank among the great
reformers than has thus far been accorded him by writers of
church history. Although he did not play as conspicuous a
role as did his contemporaries, — Luther, Zwingli and Cal
vin, his real greatness cannot be measured by the humble part
he seemed to play upon the religious arena of his time. His
task was in many respects a much more difficult one than
that of the founders of the state churches. They relied upon

MENNO SIMONS 57
a union of State and Church and upon the support of the
strong arm of the temporal powers to maintain their system.
Menno on the' other hand appealed to the force of love and
the simple truth of the Gospel as vital enough to secure the
permanency of the true church. Menno and his co-workers
were centuries ahead of their day on many of the great fun
damentals of religious and civil liberty which today in Ameri-
' ca and the more enlightened portions of Europe are taken for
granted, such as religious toleration, separation of Church
and State, and the desirability at least of universal peace. As
the world grows into a realization of these great fundamental
truths, Menno Simons' place as a pioneer will become more
and more secure.
It is thus observed that Merino Sirnons was not the
founder of a new church but merely one of the early leaders,
perhaps the most influential among them in the early forma
tive period. It was not uncommon for new movements to be
named after conspicuous leaders. Thus the peaceful Ana
baptists of Netherlands and East Friesland before Menno's
time were called Obbenites after Obbe Philip. The followers
of Melchior Hoffman were called the Melchiorites. In some
sections of Germany where Dirck Philip's influence was
strong they were locally termed Dirkites. The term Menist
as we saw was first used in 1544, by Countess Anna of East
Friesland, as a distinguishing title. Soon after this in both
North and South Germany they were often glad to assume
this name because under that name they were better able to
escape the consequences of the decree against the Anabap
tists. And so the name Menist was likely assumed by the
followers of Menno themselves.
After the granting of religious toleration in the Nether
lands by William, the name Menist might have fallen out of
use in the Netherlands had it now not again been revived as a
party name. During the controversy over the question of the
Ban and Avoidance, the Flemish and the Frisians who ac
cepted Menno's strict views in these matters again became

58 THE MENNONITES
known as Menists, while the Waterlanders, High Germans
and Young Frisians who accepted liberal views in these mat
ters repudiated the name of the author of the strict views
but preferred the older name of "Doopsgezinde". As party
strife died out during the early nineteenth century, and- as the
Dutch churches all became more liberal, "Doopsgezinde" be
gan to prevail over the other title and that is the official name
of the church in Netherlands today.
In Switzerland during the periods of heavy persecution,
the Swiss, while they were under heavy obligations to the
Dutch, they were inclined to assume the name Menist also,
but at other times "Alt-Evangelische Taufer" was more com
mon. One recent writer calls attention to the fact that the
name Mennonite was used especially in those countries in
which the imperial decrees against Anabaptists were effective
— in Germany and the Netherlands for a time, not in France
and in Switzerland. Under whatever name these descend
ants of the peaceful Anabaptists went, however, they were all
essentially Mennonite and in this treatise they shall all be
called such.
Mention has already been made of Menno's faithful co-
laborers, who in some respects may have done equally as
much in the extension of the non-resistant faith, but who did
not leave their names as a heritage to the movement. These
men should at least be given brief mention here.
Obbe Philip was the leading spirit among the peaceful
Anabaptists of Netherlands and East Friesland during the
troublesome times of the Munster affair, and did more than
any other leader in keeping large numbers out of that move
ment. He baptized and ordained Menno Simons, and for a
few years faithfully labored with him at Emden in the in
terests of the cause. In the early forties he withdrew from
the brotherhood, for a cause not known. Tradition says he
later re-entered the Catholic church, but how true the tradi
tion is we do not know.
Dirck Philip, a native of Leuwarden, and brother of

DIRCK PHILIP

MENNO SIMONS 59
Obbe, was also baptized and ordained by his brother and
closely associated with him during his period of service. Dirck
later became the most intimate associate of Menno's, and
after him the most influential exponent of Anabaptist doc
trines. He made Danzig the center of his activities through
out Northeastern Germany during the last twenty years of
his life. He wrote several books, the principal one being
"Enchiridion", still read extensively by the Old Order Amish
because Dirck is one of the few old authors who advocates a
rigid observance of the practise of Avoidance, a practice still
common to the Amish.
Leonhard Bouwens was perhaps the most eloquent and
successful evangelist of the entire group of northern leaders.
He was ordained as elder in 1551, and given Northeastern
Netherlands as his special field of labor. His eloquence and
zeal won many converts. In a few years he baptized over
ten thousand people. His period of labor came at a time
when persecution ran high, and he took many risks in his
public ministry. He was a strict disciplinarian and was per
haps largely responsible for the division of 1557.
Another of Menno's co-laborers was Gillis of Aachen,
born in 1500, in Holland, and ordained an elder by Menno in
1542. He travelled extensively in Holland and Northern
Germany and baptized many converts. He baptized more
martyrs than any other elder whose name appears in the Mar
tyrs' Mirror. He evidently was of a somewhat vacillating char
acter, however, for in 1552 he was placed under the Ban by Men-
no because of a moral lapse, but later again reinstated. He was
captured in 1557 at Antwerp, and under torture recanted, for
which reason van Bracht refused to include him in his list of
martyrs, even though his recantation availed him nothing,
for his right arm and head were cut off and his body thrown
into the flames to be burned. His son of the same name later
became a minister of Amsterdam, as did also his grandson,
the well-known Dr. Galenus Abrahams deHaan.
As a result of the heroic efforts. of these and other men

60 THE MENNONITES
not named, the Anabaptist faith was greatly extended
throughout the Netherlands and Northern Germany, kept free
from the unsound doctrines of the "corrupt sects", and given
i a definite organization, which carried it safely through the
trying times that were still to follow.

THE NETHERLANDS 61

CHAPTER III
THE NETHERLANDS
Anabaptists appeared in Northwestern Germany and in
the Netherlands early in the history of the movement. Who
the first of the faith were in these regions it is not possible to
tell, but as early as 1530, Jan Trypmaker, a follower of Mel
chior Hoffman, founded a group here, and Hoffman himself
played an important role in the spread of the movement.
Every variety of the Anabaptists seemed represented, but of
the peaceful type, as we have already seen, Dirck Philip and
his brother Obbe, Leonhard Bouwens, and Menno Simons
became the chief leaders. In spite of persecutions the move
ment seems to have made more progress here than in any
other region. Up to the middle of the sixteenth century, the
Anabaptists were the predominant evangelical party in Neth
erlands and for a time seemed destined to win the entire land
to their faith. At one time one-fourth of the population of
Friesland was of the Anabaptist persuasion. Lutherans never
gained much foothold and the Reformed faith did not develop
much influence until the latter half of the century. The move
ment was confined largely to the northern, provinces — Hol
land, Zealand, Overyssel, Friesland, and Groningen, with
some settlements in Flanders and Brabant where it was
stamped out quite early, however.
It was in the Netherlands, too, that persecutions raged
fiercest. Those provinces at this time constituted a part of
the Spanish dominion. Both Charles V. and his successor,
Philip IL, were devout Catholics, and did their utm,ost to
root out every vestige of the anti-Catholic sentiment from
their possessions. For three-quarters of a century, men, wo-

62 THE MENNONITES
men and children were condemned to the most cruel forms of
torture and death because they asked for the right to wor
ship God in the way that seemed right to them. Just how
many suffered a martyr's death is not possible to tell, but the
number must have been large. In Amsterdam alone in one
year, 1535, thirty were executed. During Duke Alva's rule
of a few years one hundred and eleven were sent to their
death in two provinces — Holland and Zealand. The Martyrs' -
Mirror contains hundreds of names of martyrs, most of whom
were from the Netherlands. It is perhaps not too extrava
gant to say that from 1531 to 1594, the dates of the first and
the last executions, between fifteen hundred and two thou
sand Anabaptists and Mennonites were sent to a martyr's
grave. An edict of 1569 issued by Philip II. to take an inventory ¦
of all Mennonite property with a view to confiscation lends
plausibility to the charge that greed for the possessions of
well-to-do tradesmen may have had a great deal to do with
this wholesale slaughter of innocent men and women. No
one on pain of a heavy fine and in some cases death was per
mitted to shelter a Mennonite refugee, while inducements to
betray them were made by a promise of one-third of the
property of the victim.
These persecutions continued until William of Orange
became Stadtholder of the northern provinces, who in 1578
granted the Mennonites a limited toleration. There were a
few isolated cases after this where men were killed for their
faith, but the day when men were called upon to die for their
religion practically passed in the Netherlands with the close
of the century.
The methods of execution were as cruel as fanatical in
genuity could devise. Burning at the stake, sometimes with
a slow fire, was a common method. Occasionally a bag of
powder would be tied about the neck or placed in the hat
of the victim, which would hasten his death when it caught
fire and exploded. Women were frequently tied in a bag, and

THE NETHERLANDS 63
thrown into rivers and lakes. Occasionally victims were
buried alive. Men and women were stretched on the rack
until their bones cracked and blood flowed ; had their tongues
and limbs pierced by screws, or pinched in vises for the pur
pose of forcing them to betray the whereabouts of their fel
low-believers. But seldom even under the greatest pain could
they be induced to implicate others.
In the cross-questioning process to which they were sub
jected for the purpose of getting information regarding oth
ers they were frequently compelled to give evasive answers.
In 1556 Claes de Praet was apprehended at Ghent, and among
other questions the following dialogue took place between the
prisoner and his captor.
Bailiff: "Where was it that you received baptism?"
Claes: "At Antwerp."
Bailiff: "In what home?"
Claes : "In a small new home."
Bailiff: "What trade was carried on in it?"
Claes: "I saw no trade carried on in it."
Bailiff: "What kind of a man was he who baptized you?"
Claes : "He appeared to be a blameless man."
Continuing his own story, Claes says further on in the rec
ord, "The clerk asked me what persons from Ghent I had left at
Emden. I gave him no answer, for it was none of his busi
ness to ask."
The above incident is typical of hundreds found recorded
in van Bracht's Martyrs' Mirror. From the study of these
cases we observe that the doctrinal matters of chief concern
to the inquisitors were baptism, the Roman church, the
Lord's Supper, and the incarnation. Mennonites were identi
fied by their views on these points. The question of the oath
and the refusal to bear arms was of more concern to the tem
poral authorities. On the incarnation the theories of Mel
chior Hoffman and Menno Simons seemed to be quite preva
lent. This view was especially objectionable to the Catholic
theologians, for the reason that if Mary contributed no hu-

64 THE MENNONITES
man properties to Christ, the proof that she was the mother of
God would be considerably weakened. These examinations,
also, disclose the fact that these quiet, inoffensive Menno
nites were quite commonly confused with the Munsterites
by the Catholic theologians, a charge which the accused vig
orously denied, but of no avail. Either ignorantly or deliber
ately their persecutors insisted on maintaining the charge.
Priests were often sent into the cells of doomed men
for the purpose of securing a recantation. Van Bracht re
cords the discussion, in 1569, between a Mennonite prisoner,
Jacob de Roore by name, and a Franciscan friar, Corneliz.
After sounding his victim on many of the fundamental
doctrines, the friar found him so well-versed in the Scriptures
that he exclaimed, "You Anabaptists are certainly fine fel
lows to understand the Holy Scriptures ; for before you are
baptized you can't tell A from B, but as soon as you are
baptized you can read and write. If the devil and his mother
do not have a hand in this I do not understand anything
about you people." Upon asking Jacob what he thought of
the sacrament of the confession, and upon being referred to a
quotation from James, "Confess your faults to one another,"
the exasperated friar broke forth, "You accursed Anabaptist
that you are. You seek nothing but to tangle up everything
that is advanced against you — the devil wags your tongue."
After suffering several hours of abuse, similar to the
above, Jacob ventured to suggest:
"I am heartily sorry that you always get so incensed and
excited about my answers, and that you do not consider that
Paul says to Titus that a teacher must not be snappish, angry
or contentious." Finding this Mennonite weaver more than a match for
him in the Scriptures, friar Corneliz concluded the interview:
"Well, I have no desire to dispute any longer with you.
I shall go my way and let the executioner dispute with you,
with a burning fagot and afterward the devil in hell with
a burning pitch, brimstone and tar, see!"

Mennonite Church, Sneek, Holland.

THE NETHERLANDS 65
Jacob: "No; for Paul writes, If our earthly house of
this tabernacle were dissolved we have a building of God,
a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."
Corneliz : "Bah, in hell, in hell, expect nothing else than
to go through this temporal fire into the eternal. Hell yawns
and gasps for your soul, you accursed, damned Anabaptist
that you are, see!"
As a result of these persecutions thousands of those who
escaped death at the stake or in prison were forced back into
the state Church, or escaping across the borders founded new
communities in other lands. Many churches along the Low
er Rhine in Germany, in East Friesland and West Prussia
were founded by Dutch refugees. Some also found their way
to England. In return for William's edict of toleration, in 1578, the
Waterlander Mennonites supplied the Stadtholder with large
contributions of money and supplies gathered from the con
gregations; for the Mennonites here and in other lands took
the rather inconsistent stand of refusing to bear arms but
willing to furnish money with which to supply the means of
war. In 1575, when there was a call for universal service in
the northern provinces the Mennonites were requested to
come with spades for non-combatant service instead of guns.
Maurice, William's successor, followed his father's lenient
policy toward the Mennonites, as did also later successors.
After Calvinism replaced Catholicism in the Nether
lands, the Reformed state Church attempted the role of per
secutor; for the Mennonite doctrine of the separation of State
and Church and the voluntary congregational church organi
zation was as distasteful to the Reformed as it had been to
the Catholics, since these principles, if adopted, would put
an end to all established churches. In most of the provinces
the Church appealed to the temporal authorities to limit their
privileges. In West Friesland where Calvinism was espe
cially strong, a synod at Dordrecht, in 1574, requested the
Provincial Estates to force all Mennonites to take the oath
3

66 THE MENNONITES
on pain of exile, to have their children baptized, and to grant
the Reformed permission to attend meetings of Mennonites
for the purpose of converting them. This latter privilege was
granted, but with what result is not known. A later synod
demanded that Mennonite bishops be denied the right to
baptize. In 1604, the ordaining of young ministers was to
be forbidden. The next year a synod attempted to prevent
the building of church houses. And so on for nearly the en
tire seventeenth century the Reformed Church tried to crush
the Mennonite faith. Its failure to do so was due to the
tolerant policy of the Stadtholders and of the States General.
It must not be supposed, however, that the toleration of
1578 and later included absolute religious freedom as we
think of that term today. Toleration was limited to the right
to worship without fear of suffering the death penalty. In some
of the Dutch provinces the Established Church still succeed
ed through magistrates and provincial estates to greatly
hamper the religious freedom of the Mennonites. Thus in
1602 the magistrate of Sneek forbade them to worship in
public. In Leuwarden they were denied the right to car
ry on business, and three ministers were ordered to leave
the city within three days. Everywhere Mennonites were
still compelled to pay taxes for the support of the state
Church, to have their marriages confirmed by them, and were
denied the right of full-fledged citizenship. It was not until
the close of the century that Mennonites were placed upon
the same footing with the Reformed in religious matters and
civil rights.
In spite of these oppressions from without the Dutch
Mennonites found time to quarrel among themselves over
questions of doctrine and practise. The tendency toward di
vision has been characteristic of Mennonite history from its
earliest beginnings. Among other reasons the following may
be suggested: 1. Mennonitism is the essence of individual
ism. The individual is to interpret the Bible for himself;
he is to worship as he pleases and to obey only his own

THE NETHERLANDS 67
conscience in all matters of religious faith. Persecution in
the early days made. secrecy necessary, and common organi
zation impossible. Each congregation was a self-governing
unit. 2. A spirit of exclusiveness, as we have already seen,
characterized the early Anabaptist movement as well as the
later Mennonites. This feeling was engendered by the con
ception that the true Christian must live a life separated from
the world, and was reenforced by the fierce persecutions
through which they passed. 3. Coupled with this spirit of
exclusiveness there was the provincialism or sectionalism
which would lead each group to look with suspicion upon
the opinions and practises of other groups, if they differed
from their own.
The question which aroused most discussion and caused
most of the divisions was that of church discipline, especially
the use of the Ban and the practise of shunning those who
were excommunicated. Attention has already been called to
the divisions which arose in Menno's day as a result of the
strict application of this practise to marital avoidance. Two
other troublesome questions were the incarnation and mode
of baptism. Space does not permit here a detailed discussion of the
various party divisions existing during the latter half of the
sixteenth century. A brief enumeration, however, may not
be out of place.
The Flemish were refugees who had come originally
from Flanders into Friesland. Many of them were skilled
weavers and had been well-to-do citizens in their homeland.
They possessed more culture than did the Frisians and
were inclined to be more liberal in their religious think
ing and practise. There was an extremely conservative
wing among them, however, known as the Old Flemish. These
Old Flemings were exceedingly strict disciplinarians and were
similar in many respects to the Old Order Amish in America
today. They made free use of the Ban and shunned all those
excommunicated, carrying marital avoidance to extreme

68 THE MENNONITES
length. The practise of shunning, advocated by Dietrich
Philip and also Menno Simons to a less extent, it will be re
membered, demanded that all intercourse, social and business
relations as well as religious fellowship, be severed with one
who was excommunicated, and among the stricter sects this
was extended to the marital relations as well. The Old Flem
ish practised feetwashing, but only among elders when visit
ing from a distance. They wore hooks and eyes on their
clothes, and shoestrings instead of buckles. They wore long
beards and insisted upon peculiar cuts of clothing. Some
practised immersion and were called "dompelaars". Silent
prayer was customary. They were quite literal in their in
terpretation of the Bible, some insisting on observing the
Lord's Supper in the evening.
At the liberal end were the Waterlanders, so-called be
cause originally they came from the southern end of Holland,
a region called Waterland. These were exceedingly sparing
in their use of the Ban, insisted on no set Confession of Faith,
and had few set rules regulating their belief and practise.
Leonhard Bouwens called them "dung wagons" perhaps be
cause their liberal discipline permitted some to remain in the
church who were not worthy.
Between these two extremes were the Frisians and Up
per Germans. The former as the name implies were the
churches of Friesland, who refused at first to fellowship with
the Flemish immigrants. There were two wings of these also.
The "Young" pr "Loose" Frisians approached the Waterland
ers in their religious policy. The Upper Germans had come
into Netherlands as refugees from Upper Germany.
For many years these parties maintained their separate
indentity, refusing to fellowship with one another. They
used the Ban freely against one another, forbade intermar
riage, and admitted members from one party to another only
by rebaptism. These party divisions were not confined to the
Dutch churches but were carried across the border through
out the congregations of Northern Germany, many of which

THE NETHERLANDS 69
had been founded originally by Dutch refugees. The strict
elements were often called "Fine Mennonites", while the lib
erals were sometimes known as "Loose" or "Coarse".
But by the middle of the century attempts were made
to unify those parties that had most in common. In 1560 a
group of Frisian and Flemish churches attempted to work
together in raising money to help some refugees and also to
unite on a common platform of doctrine. The plan did not
succeed, however. During the first half of the seventeenth
century a number of unions were formed, and several leagues
of congregations of the same division. In 1639 seventy-four
churches of the Frisian, Upper German and Flemish united
in drawing up certain rules of practise. In 1647 forty-one
Waterlander churches formed a league, and in 1649 thirty-
two Flemish and Upper German congregations united. By
the middle of the century the Old Flemish, 'and the Old
Frisian alone refused to enter into a union with others for
practical or doctrinal purposes. The movement toward a
complete union again of all the churches was well under
way when the wave of Socinianism, which was sweeping over
the Netherlands, affected the Mennonites also, and again
divided the whole church into two broad divisions, i
It was these attempts to unite on a common platform
that called forth the first Confessions of Faith. One of the
earliest of these confessions was the one drawn up by Lub-
bert Gerrits, and Hans de Ries, a Waterlander, in the early
part of the seventeenth century. In 1630 the Olive Branch
Confession served as a basis of union of some Upper German
and Frisian congregations. In 1632 the well-known Dord
recht articles were drawn up at a "peace" convention. These
latter were accepted also, in course of time in South Ger
many, Switzerland and America. In 1639 a set of practical
rules, not a statement of doctrines, was drawn up under the
guidance of Pieter Jans Twisk, for the churches of West
Friesland. These rules ar'e interesting as" showing some of
the social and religious problems of the day. They proyided

70 THE MENNONITES
that in case of second marriage the inheritance of the children
should be provided for so as to avoid all cause of discord.
Young people should not mingle too freely and should not
marry without the consent of their parents. Costly weddings
are discouraged. Moderation after the example of Tobias is
to be emulated. In business transactions the taverns are to
be avoided. Honesty in business is to be the rule. Shipown
ers are not to arm their ships with weapons. The use of to
bacco is discouraged. Houses, ships, and clothing should be
without unnecessary adornment. When moving from one
place to another members should carry with them letters of
recommendation. Socinianism was an anti-Calvinistic, anti-pedobaptist,
anti-trinitarian movement which arose in Poland during the
latter half of the sixteenth century, and spread over the
Netherlands during the seventeenth. The Reformed Church,
being strongly Calvinistic, bitterly opposed the growth of
Socinianism. The movement exerted considerable influence
among the Mennonite ministers, a number of whom were
fined and forbidden to preach during the century because of
their Socinian views.
Out of Socinianism there emerged another movement at
Rhynsburgs, Holland, in 1619, whose adherents became
known as Collegiants. They did not form a distinct organi
zation but were composed of interdenominational groups
which met for religious worship. They repudiated all de
nominational connections. They evaded all controversies
and tolerated all opinions not directly condemned by the Bi
ble. Like Mennonites they opposed oaths and war, but ad
ministered baptism by immersion. Like the later Quakers they
abolished the office of teacher, giving all an opportunity to
teach and prophesy. All spiritually-minded Christians were
admitted to the communion table.
Since the Mennonites at this time had no special school
for training ministers many of them took advantage of these
Collegiant prayer meetings to exercise their gifts and develop

THE NETHERLANDS 71
their talents. In this way Collegiants who were made up of
various denominations exerted considerable influence upon
the Mennonites. The door was thus thrown open to the
introduction by these liberal preachers of a considerable ele
ment of non-Mennonite teaching.
This practise resulted in 1664 in starting a breach in the
Flemish church at Amsterdam, which spread through the
congregations of the entire land, checking the rapid move
ment toward unification then under way, and dividing the en
tire church once more into two great divisions.
The breach began, as just said, in Amsterdam. In this
church there were at that time two able preachers, both of
them practising physicians, Dr. Galenus Abrahams de Haan,
and Dr. Samuel Apostool. De Haan had utilized the Col
legiant meetings to prepare himself for his ministerial
work and was a man of liberal Socinian views. He believed
that baptism might be administered by unordained men, and
objected to set creeds and formulated Confessions of Faith.
He would also permit non-members to participate in the
Lord's Supper. These views were bitterly opposed by the
conservative members of his congregation. In 1664, Dr. Sam
uel Apostool and seven hundred members of the congrega
tion withdrew and set up a separate organization. These
proposed to stand upon the Confession of Faith drawn up
by Hans de Ries early in the century, and also repudiated the
Collegiant influences. The meeting place of this congregation
was a house that bore the sign of the sun and so this party be
came known as the "Sonnists" (the church of the sign of the
sun). The original house was distinguished by the sign of the
lamb, and for that reason those who remained with de Haan in
the original house became known as the "Lammists" (the
church of the sign of the lamb). This division into Sonnists and
Lammists, liberal and conservative, Socinian and anti- Socin
ian, free and strict disciplinarians, spread throughout the
Netherlands and over into Northern Germany. For over
one hundred years these parties together with such others as

72 THE MENNONITES
had not yet been united kept the church divided and her
forces scattered.
In the course of time, however, each of the two divisions
brought within their organizations many of the scattered
churches. Throughout the eigtheenth century the healing
process continued. At first united effort was secured for car
rying on practical benevolent work, or for providing training
schools for ministers. By 1773 a number of congregations
of different parties had agreed upon the statement of doctrines
as drawn up in the Cornells Ris Confession of 1776. Since this
confession like those of the previous century was an attempt
to bring together the different parties it is interesting to no
tice how it>straddled the controverted points in order to satis
fy all concerned. Concerning baptism
"We understand it to be an immersing of the whole body
in water, or a liberal sprinkling with water (which we in
these northern latitudes consider more generally appropriate
since the same blessings are signified by it)."
On the question of the church Ban moderation is ad
vised. As a final resort the unfaithful
"must finally by decision of the whole congregation be
excluded from membership and denied all church fellowship
till he is truly converted and gives evident proof thereof.
However, all must be done with due regard to position and
circumstances, yet without respect of person."
In 1811 was organized the General Mennonite Society
for the purpose of training ministers and supporting poor
churches. Most of the churches now belong to this Society.
Socinianism with its objection to formal creeds and its
encouragement of liberal thought on matters of doctrine con
tinued to handicap the church far into the eighteenth century.
It was the cause of continued oppression by the Reformed
Church, and did much to pave the way for the spirit of ra
tionalism of the nineteenth century.
The Reformed to the very last continued their efforts to
destroy Mennonitism, and during these times they made use ( ,

THE NETHERLANDS 73
of isolated cases of Socinianistic views to bring the whole
church into trouble with the temporal authorities. Thus in
1719 they secured the suspension of all Mennonite preaching
for a short time. Later they demanded that all Mennonite
ministers submit to an investigation conducted by the Re
formed clergy on the questions of the trinity; whether the
children who died in infancy should be eternally blessed;
whether the godless must suffer eternal punishment; whether
the punishment after death would be inflicted upon the same
earthly body as a new one. In 1738, thirty-eight churches
sent delegates to a conference which under the presidency of
John von Stinstra, minister at Haarlem, appealed to the West
Friesland government for relief from this sort of persecution.
The appeal was granted, although von Stinstra, because of
some of his writings which were objectionable to the Reformed
clergy, was denied the right to preach for several years. In
1795, as we saw, complete religious toleration was granted
and Mennonites were placed on an equal footing with the
prevailing church.
Although continually hampered in their work by the
state clergy the Mennonites were on good terms with the
temporal authorities. As we saw, they were liberal in their
contributions to the provincial and national governments even
for carrying on war. In the war with England the Water-
land Mennonites of Friesland alone raised 500,000 gulden to
equip a part of the fleet of Admiral deRuyter. A little later they
raised another 400,000 for the war against France. So great
was their influence with the States General that in 1709, they
were able to persuade that body to intercede with the Bernese
government in behalf of the persecuted Swiss Mennonites.
In view of their liberal contributions to the Dutch gov
ernment the Mennonites were able to enjoy military exemp
tion up to the Napoleonic era. When Netherlands was incor
porated into the French Empire in 1810, Napoleon brought
to an end their special privileges which they had enjoyed
for over two centuries. In the meantime many of them had

74 THE MENNONITES
already grown lukewarm in their opposition to military serv
ice, and after the war no special effort was made to regain
their former privileges. From that time the Mennonites of
Netherlands ceased to be non-resistant. In 1853 a small group
of people still opposed to militarism, under the leadership of
R. I. Smit and R. I. Symensma, emigrated to the United
States locating in Elkhart County, Indiana, where they are
now a part of the Old Mennonite Salem congregation.
During all this period (up to the eighteenth century) the
Mennonites had become prosperous and in many cases
wealthy. They counted among their membership some of
the wealthiest merchants and most learned professional men
of the cities. They were industrious, conscientious and
thorough in all they undertook. So great was their passion
for honest genuineness that "Mennisten infijn" (Mennonite
fine through and through) became synonymous for the best
grade of any kind of material. In their dress, however, they
were not extravagant. Unnecessary ornaments were discard
ed, even buckles and buttons among the Old Flemish being
taken off.
Their worship, like their daily living, was simple. Their
meeting houses were plain both outside and in, and contained
no church organs. The ministers were of three classes,
bishops, ministers and deacons. They were all "Liefde-
preeker", serving without pay, and without special training
for their work until the latter half of the seventeenth century.
The Ban was used as a means of church discipline although
the Waterlanders used it sparingly. In some of the divisions
feetwashing was practised. They refused to take an oath
and go to war. Merchants were not permitted to arm their
ships. Controversies were settled within the church and no
recourse was permitted to the courts of law. Neither did
they have need for courts of law. In 1772 the Chief of Police
of Amsterdam who had filled that office for fifty years stated
that during all that time not a single serious charge had
been registered against a Mennonite.

THE NETHERLANDS 75
Mennonites were among the most liberal contributors to
every worthy cause. Throughout the ¦ seventeenth century
they sent provisions and money to their persecuted brethren
in Moravia, Switzerland and the Palatinate. 1709 they organ
ized the "Committee for Foreign Needs" which sent large
sums of money to the Swiss and helped many to find their
way to America. They did not confine their gifts to those of
their own faith, but even helped the Huguenots, who were
of the same faith as their oppressors in the Netherlands.
During the eighteenth century, however, the Mennonites
lost heavily in membership, from an estimated number of
nearly 200,000 in the beginning of the century to about 40,000
at the close. A recent writer attributes this loss to the fol
lowing causes: 1. Riches led to many outside family alli
ances. 2. The liberal spirit of the age bred a contempt for
the faith of the fathers. 3. The numerous divisions scattered
the energies of the church. 4. Positions of trust in political
life closed to Mennonites caused many to go over into the
State Church. 5. The chief cause was the inefficient leader
ship, especially lack of an educated ministry.
It was for the purpose of remedying the last cause that
a movement for founding a Theological seminary was in
augurated in the beginning of the eighteenth century. Up to
the latter part of the seventeenth century ministers were un
paid and not specially prepared for their work, but selected
from the congregation. Professional men, especially physi
cians, were frequently selected in the cities. For a while the
meetings of the Collegiants were utilized as training schools
for prospective and actual ministers. Realizing the need of a
trained ministry, Galenus Abrahams de Haan, physician-min
ister at Amsterdam, instructed a group of young men after
the manner of the Collegiants in 1680. The Amsterdam con
gregations tried to interest other churches in helping to es
tablish a training school, but it was not until 1735 that the
Seminary was established, but supported solely by the one
church. The General Society of Mennonites founded in 1811

76 THE MENNONITES
took over the Seminary which is now affiliated with the
University of Amsterdam.
Since 1847 the Dutch churches also have their own mis
sionary society with headquarters at* Amsterdam. The work
of this society has also been supported by the churches in
Germany and Russia. In 1851 P. Jantz began mission work
in Java and in 1869 Missionary Henry Dircks from South
Russia began his labors in Sumatra. Mennonite churches
are found now in both islands.
The Dutch Mennonite church produced a long list of able
men who exerted great influence upon the church of then-
day. A few of these at least deserve mention here.
Hans de Ries was born in 1553, of Catholic parents in
Antwerp. He joined the Reformed Church but soon after
cast his lot with the Anabaptists among whom he was early
ordained to the ministry in the Waterlander church. After
suffering imprisonment and enduring persecution in many
cities he preached for over forty years at Alkmar, where he
died in 1638. De Ries was active in fostering a closer union
among the divided Mennonite churches of the Netherlands.
To this end, he, together with Lubbert Gerrits, drew up at the
request of a conference held in 1581 an important early Con
fession of Faith which was not published until 1610. He also
published several books, and was the editor, in 1604, of the
first hymnbook of the Dutch Mennonites. In 1617 he was
one of the compilers of the list of martyrs which later devel
oped into the Martyrs' Mirror.
Lubbert Gerrits, co-author with de Ries of a Confession
of Faith, was born in 1535, and was a minister for many years
at Hoorn. At first a member of the Old Flemish, he later
joined the more liberal Frisian Mennonites. He also was
greatly interested in the cause of unification.
Samuel Apostool, born in 1638, and who died in 1699,
was a well-known physician and minister in the church at
Amsterdam. He is known principally as the leader of the
Sonnist faction in the quarrel with a fellow physician-preach-

Dutch Mennonite Mission Church at KedungpendjaUn, Java.

THE NETHERLANDS 77
er in the Amsterdam church, Dr. Galenus Abrahams de Haan.
In the controversy Dr. Apostool maintained the doctrines of
the eternal Godhead of Christ, complete justification and a
visible church on earth.
Galenus Abrahams de Haan was elected a preacher of
the Flemish Amsterdam church in 1645. He was a great-
grandson of the co-laborer of Menno Simons, Gillis van
Aachen. De Haan was said to be an eloquent preacher, a
sympathetic disciplinarian, and a fearless expounder of the
truth. He travelled extensively in the interests of his wing of
the church and was largely personally responsible for the
spreading of the Lammist faction into other regions.
Johannes Deknatel was born at Norden, East Friesland, in
1698. He was of poor parents but secured a good education.
In 1720 he was appointed minister of the Lammist Church at
Amsterdam, one of the earliest to receive a salary. He took a
deep interest in the cause of educating the ministry, and was
the founder of a fund for poor students, out of which grew
the present Theological seminary. He wrote a number of
books and translated a number of others from the Dutch into
the German. These together with his printed sermons had a
wide circulation both in Holland and among German speak
ing Mennonites to a late day. He died in 1759.
Thielman van Bracht, a Mennonite preacher at Haarlem,
is best known as the compiler in 1660 of the "Het Bloedig
Toneel der Doopsgezinde en Wereloose Christenen". The
Martyrs' Mirror has been translated into both German and
English, and is perhaps the best known among all Mennonite
books. Tobias Govertsz van den Wyngaert was born at Amster
dam in 1587. He served the Flemish church in his native
city as minister for over fifty years. He was the author of
numerous widely read works on theology, and represented
his church at Dordrecht at the convention which drew up the
Dordrecht Confession of Faith of 1632.

78 THE MENNONITES
Cornelis Ris, Mennonite minister at Hoorn, is best known
as the author of a well-known Confession of Faith drawn
up in 1766 at the request of both wings of the Mennonite
church in his home city.
Hermanus Schyn, born in Amsterdam in 1662, died in
1727. He was an influential minister in Amsterdam and also
a physician. He wrote an important Mennonite history and
took great interest in the emigration to Germantown in the
latter part of the seventeenth century.
Johann von Stinstra, an able minister at Haarlem, was at
tacked by the Reformed clergy in 'Friesland on the charge of
Socinianism. He was finally deposed for a time by the Dutch
Government, but in 1757 he was restored again. He was
an eloquent preacher and an interesting writer. His death
occurred in 1800.
Among the prominent men in the church during recent
times only a few can be mentioned. Dr. de Hoop Scheffer,
who died in 1893, was a professor in the Theological Sem
inary at Amsterdam and a Mennonite historian of note. Ten
Gate was also an author of a well-known Mennonite history.
S. Kramer, theologian and professor, was connected with the
Seminary and the University of Amsterdam until recent years.
Upon the course of general church history the Mennonites
exerted no mean influence. They were pioneers in the history of
the doctrines of religious toleration, separation of Church and
State, and congregational church government.. These ideas first
saw the light of day in Switzerland and Netherlands, but found
their way to Southeastern England. During the Spanish per
secutions in the Netherlands thousands of 'Dutch refugees fled
across the Channel to England. During this time also as well
as later many of the wealthy Dutch merchants carried on com
mercial intercourse with the English. And so these distinctive
doctrines were carried across the Channel. That Anabaptist doc
trines were making headway in England during the sixteenth
and early seventeenth century is shown by the fact that all
the English Confessions of Faith in all the churches existing

THE NETHERLANDS 79
during that period found it necessary to specifically repudiate
the distinctive teachings of the Anabaptists.
Norwich, whose population was made up largely of Dutch
refugees and artisans, was the center of the separatist move
ment which was making headway in Southeastern England
during the last two decades of the sixteenth century. In 1580
Robert Brown had established an independent congregation
here. But he and his congregation were eventually forced to
flee to Middleberg, Zeeland, where they came in close touch
with the Mennonite congregation at that place. Within a few
years several other independent congregations developed near
Norwich. These, too, were broken up and many of the mem
bers were forced to flee to Holland where they were united
at Amsterdam. In 1602 John Smythe organized a congrega
tion at Gainsboro. This congregation contained several mem
bers, who later became famous in both English and Ariierican
history, — John Robinson, the pastor of the little flock of ref
ugees who later became the "Pilgrim fathers", and William
Brewster, deacon of the church ; William Bradford, early gov
ernor of the Plymouth colony ; and Smythe and Helwys, who
became the founders of the English Baptist Church.
, In 1606 Smythe and his congregation fled to Amsterdam
where they soon came into contact with the large Mennonite
church at that place. Up to this time the English refugees
were separatists, but none as yet advocated adult baptism.
Smythe was the first to reject infant baptism and put into
practise adult baptism. Not finding anyone, however, whom
he considered worthy to perform the rite, he baptized himself
sometime in 1609, and then Helwys and a number of his mem
bers. Helwys and Merton and the larger part of the con
gregation soon fell out with Smythe and withdrew from him,
whereupon the latter, together with thirty-one members, ap
plied for membership into the Mennonite church. The Men
nonites hesitated to accept him immediately, however, and
vSmythe soon after died without being formally received into
the church. But the rest of his followers worshipped in a house

80 THE MENNONITES
belonging to a Mennonite and continued in the most friendly
relations with the Mennonites during their stay in Amsterdam.
In 1612 Merton returned to England and soon several
congregations of Baptists were established in and near Lon
don. For several years these kept up a correspondence with
the Mennonites at Amsterdam asking for a union with them.
Although they had developed some differences in the mean
time with reference to the oath, magistracy and military serv
ice, yet they were willing to compromise' on these matters for
the sake of union. The Mennonites, however, who were now
strong and influential in their own country, refused to com
promise and so the two anti-pedobaptist parties, English and
Continental, each went their own way.
Not all of the separatists, however, of Southeastern Eng
land became Baptists. Another wing went no further than
to merely demand independent and congregational church
government. This party later developed into the Congrega
tional church. While the contact of this group with the
Dutch Mennonites was not as close as was that of the Bap
tists, yet it owes its beginning to the same Anabaptist in
fluence. Quakerism, too, must have drawn largely upon Men
nonite sources for its faith. It arose in the same section of
Southeastern England which saw the rise of Baptism and
Congregationalism, and it incorporated many of the tenets of
Continental Anabaptism, such as the rejection of the oath
and war. All the other distinctive features of Quakerism
were found among some of the Anabaptist and Mennonite
parties on the Continent. George Fox, William Penn, Robert
Barclay, and other organizers of Quakerism, in 1677 and la
ter, made a missionary tour among the Mennonites of the
Netherlands and Northwestern Germany where they suc
ceeded in securing a number of proselytes. Robert Barclay,
a Quaker authority on this subject, in speaking of the sim
ilarity of the two denominations, says :
"So closely do these views correspond with those of

THE NETHERLANDS 81
George Fox, that we are compelled to view him as the un
conscious exponent of the doctrine, practise and discipline
of the ancient and strict party of the Dutch Mennonites, at a
period when under pressure of the times some deviation took
place among the General Baptists from their original prin
ciples." It may not be out of place here to refer also to the rela
tion of the Mennonites to the Dunkards, although that phase
of the subject concerns the German rather than the Dutch Men
nonites. The Dunkards adopted practically all of the Anabaptist
doctrines. The movement was founded in 1708 in Germany by
Alexander Mack, a Reformed minister. After leaving the Re
formed church he travelled widely throughout Germany, es
pecially among Mennonites looking for some church with
which he might unite. Not finding one, however, exactly to
his liking, he formed a new one, which had so much in com
mon with those among whom he was looking for a church
home that one cannot escape the conviction that perhaps un
consciously much of the faith and practise must have been
. drawn from Mennonite sources.
The present number of Mennonites in the Netherlands
is about 65,000 souls distributed throughout about one hun
dred and thirty congregations. European statistics usually
include unbaptized children as well as members, since in all
state churches children, being baptized in infancy, are in
cluded in the membership. The actual baptized membership
is perhaps not much over 40,000, of whom 6,547 are actual
members of the large congregation at Amsterdam. It will
thus be seen that the membership has barely held its own
during the last hundred years.
In doctrine the Dutch Mennonites have discarded some of
the fundamental teachings of Menno Simons and the earlier
Anabaptists. They still believe in absolute separation of
Church and State, and reject the oath. They also remain
congregationalists and anti-pedobaptists. Church discipline
they exercise sparingly. Non-resistance and non-participa-

82 THE MENNONITES
tion in civil government is no longer a part of their creed or
practise. Authors of nearly all the leading Confessions of
Faith still in use in the Mennonite Church in the remaining
countries of Europe and America, they themselves tolerate
none, but profess to let the Bible suffice as a rule of faith and
conduct, All kinds of doctrinal views are tolerated. Many
are charged with unitarianism. The large majority is liber
al in its religious thinking, while the conservative minority
professes a "Biblical orthodoxy".
Due to the fact that the Dutch Mennonites live largely
in the cities and have engaged for years in business and pro
fessional life, unlike their brethren in South Germany, Russia
and America who have been largely a rural people, many of
them have attained places of influence in public life. Some
time ago, of the twenty-eight members of the Supreme Court,
four were Mennonites. Three out of twenty-seven members
of the Council of State were Mennonites. The president of
the Bank of Netherlands was of the same faith. From one
hundred members of the Academy of Science they had eleven,
although they had only one-hundredth of the total popula
tion. The Dutch Mennonites do not live in closed communi
ties as do their brethren in some parts of Europe und in
many places in America. This, too, helps to explain their
liberalism. With the exception of their Seminary which is
affiliated with and dominated by the University of Amster
dam, they do not have their own schools as do the Russians,
nor do they bury their dead in their own cemeteries. As just
seen, the Dutch Mennonites have furnished much of the lit
erature of the church, including most of the Confessions of
Faith, the earliest writers of importance, and the first prom
inent historians. Among the periodicals now published are a
church paper, "de Zondagsbode", and a year-book, "de Doops^
gezinde Bijdragen", full of valuable historical writings. The
church at Amsterdam contains a valuable collection of Men
nonite literature and has recently issued a catalog of the
library.

¦mmi

ULRICH STEINER
Mennonite Elder, Switzerland. Died 1877.

SWITZERLAND 83

CHAPTER IV
* SWITZERLAND
Switzerland, as we saw, was the original home of the Ana
baptist movement. The term "Mennonite" has never been in
common use among the Swiss Taufer or Taufgesinnte. Al
though they call themselves Alt-Evangelische Taufgesinnte,
they recognize themselves as a part of the Mennonite body
and in this sketch we shall use the name Mennonite. Since
the middle of the sixteenth century the center of their in
fluence has been confined to several of the north central Can
tons — Bern, Zurich, Basel and Solothurn. By about 1800,
however, persecution had practically annihilated the faith
everywhere else except in two settlements in the Canton of
Bern. The story of the persecution of the Mennonites in the
land of their origin, the Swiss Republic, supposedly the home
of religious toleration, was the most bitter and the most dis
graceful in all the annals of Europe. They were relentless
ly attacked by both State and Church for nearly three hun
dred years. The death penalty was inflicted until well with
in the seventeenth century; they were condemned to serve
as galley slaves as late as the eighteenth century; and were
left to rot in filthy prisons, and banished to foreign lands up
to the beginning of the nineteenth century.
Mandate after mandate was passed throughout the six
teenth century by the Councils of Bern, Zurich and several
other neighboring Cantons, forbidding Mennonites under
penalty of severe punishment to practise their own forms of
worship, and demanding attendance at the state churches.

84 THE MENNONITES
They were ordered to recant and to have their children bap-.
tized. Rewards were offered for information leading to their
arrest. In case they refused to comply with the above orders
they were fined, imprisoned, exiled and their property confis
cated. In case exiles returned, as many of them did, they
were tortured and executed, or sold to the French and Vene
tians as galley slaves, although at the same time Swiss were
buying the freedom of French Huguenots condemned to the
same service. Any one shielding Mennonites in any way,
or attending their meetings became subject to a heavy fine
and temporary exile.
As a result of these measures many escaped to South
Germany, Alsace, and especially Moravia which early had be
come an asylum for persecuted Anabaptists. But as op
pression also set in intermittently in the latter country, some
of the Swiss returned to their native land. Near the close.
of the century both Bern and Zurich forbade emigration to
Moravia on the ground that many of the Swiss Mennonites
who had gone to Moravia rich had returned empty-handed.
Scores of devoted men and women during the first cen
tury went to the executioner's block rather than deny their
faith. Only two of these martyrs can be mentioned here.
The death of Hans Haslibach of Sumiswald, Bern, in 1571,
is briefly recorded in the Martyrs' Mirror. Hymn 140 in the
Ausbund also describes in detail the story of this martyr — his
imprisonment, torture, attempt of the clergy to secure a re
cantation ; the sturdy faith of the old man, <
"This body you may put to death,
I'll give my head, but not my faith",
he said; his vision and the prophecy that at his death three
signs would prove his innocence — namely, when his head
would be severed from his body it would leap into his hat,
the sun would turn red, and the town well would flow crim
son; the fulfillment of the prophecy, and the effect upon the
executioner and attendants who were convinced now that
they had shed innocent blood. This Haslibacher hymn of

SWITZERLAND 85
thirty-two long stanzas, sung entire, held a conspicuous place
in the worship of the Swiss for hundreds of years, and is still
sung today in America by the Old Order Amish.
The last Swiss Mennonite martyr, according to the
Martyrs' Mirror, was Hans Landis of Zurich, who was be
headed in 1614. Landis was an influential minister who
carried on his preaching and other ministerial duties
contrary to a decree of the Zurich Council. He
was arrested, imprisoned and finally condemned to
the Venetian galleys. But filing his chains with an in
strument smuggled in to him by a friend at the time of his
departure, he escaped. Returning to his native land he was
again taken into custody. Upon being ordered into exile,
he replied that God gave him the same right to the land as to
the others, and the earth was the Lord's. Ait any rate, he
preferred to live in his native land, neither did he know where
to go. Besides he was now old and no longer feared death.
As a result of this refusal to leave, he was condemned to
death by the Great Council. The Martyrs' Mirror describes
Landis as "a tall and stately person with a long grey and
black beard and a powerful voice".
Although Landis was the last of the Mennonites to suf
fer the death penalty, persecution continued unabated for the
next two hundred years. Especially severe were the , meas
ures passed by the Councils of Bern and Zurich during the
middle of the seventeenth and the first part of the eighteenth
centuries. Beginning with 1640, mandates were repeatedly
renewed ordering the imprisonment of Mennonites. The
prisoners were to be visited by the Reformed clergymen with
a view to winning them back to the State Church. Failure to
comply was punishable by exile. In case of return they were
to be whipped, branded with a hot iron and again exiled.
Prisoners were fed for months on a bread-and-water diet.
Prison cells were usually damp and foul, and full of disease
germs causing the premature death of many of the inmates.
The property of those who were arrested and condemned was

86 THE MENNONITES
frequently confiscated and given to the nearest relative of the
Reformed faith, or turned over to the State Church itself.
A letter written by the Swiss in 1643 to the elder of the
Mennonite congregation at Amsterdam states that up to that
time $80,000 had been confiscated, and that on Easter day of
that year thirty men and women were lying in filthy prisons.
The letter further stated that the charges of the Bernese
state authorities were that the Mennonites preached and bap
tized without consent of the State, brought up their children
in their own discipline contrary to public law, and never went
to the State Church on Sundays and holidays. Another charge
was that they refused to bear arms and take an oath.
The Dutch Mennonite churches greatly stirred by these
reports sent a special commission to Bern to investigate the
situation of their brethren, and to offer them financial aid.
The Bernese, however, did not permit the money to be dis
tributed. The Dutch then succeeded in enlisting the inter
est of both their States General and the Burgomaster of
Amsterdam in behalf of the Swiss. In a letter to the Bernese
Government asking that the Mennonites be permitted to leave
Switzerland unmolested with their families and property, the
States General speaks favorably of the Dutch Mennonites:
"They are a highly respected and peaceful people, will
ing at all times to perform all their civil duties, and giving
liberally to all worthy causes, even contributing to the ben
evolence of the Reformed Church itself."
The Swiss authorities, however, determined to extermin
ate Mennonitism without any financial loss to themselves,
could not be turned from their course even by the Dutch
States General. Oppression became so severe that finally
large numbers were forced to leave their native . land, most
of them empty-handed. A Relief Society founded and sup
ported by the Dutch churches, did excellent service in ren
dering help to the Swiss who were in need in their own land
as well as to those who had been driven from their homes
into the South German states. In 1671 over seven hundred

SWITZERLAND 87
persons, men, women and children, including some old men,
eighty and ninety years of age, crossed, the border into the
Palatinate and surrounding regions, carrying practically all
their possessions on their backs. Here these exiles endured
great hardships for a number of years because of their pover
ty, in spite of the financial aid given them by their Dutch
brethren and the welcome accorded them to their new home
by Karl Ludwig, Count Palatine, who had invited them be
cause of their reputation for industry to settle the waste
lands in his territory made so by the ravages of the Thirty
Years' War.
Not all the Mennonites left Switzerland, however, dur
ing this period. The exodus of large numbers of those most
firm in their convictions during the sixties and seventies un
doubtedly relieved the pressure for a few years, but soon new
mandates were passed in Bern against those who had re
mained. In 1688 the War Council suggested that militia
musters be frequently held, that all men be required to wear
swords in public places, and that oaths of allegiance be taken
every six years. Mennonites, by refusing to comply with
these demands, could then be easily identified. In 1690 the
Cantonal Council ordered that all children of Mennonite par
entage be disinherited unless they conform to the State
Church. In 1695 the fundamental law was laid down that
one's usual civil obligations could not be evaded because of
religious views.
Unfortunately the same strong spirit of individualism
which inspired these men and women to face death rather
than violate their religious convictions also frequently led
them to hair-splitting arguments over unimportant questions
of faith and practise. One of these quarrels, in 1693, in the
Emmenthal resulted in the founding of what is known as the
Amish branch of the church. Jacob Amman, a minister in
the Emmenthal congregation, conceived the notion that the
church in his day was too liberal in its discipline. The quar
rel seemed to concern itself largely with the practise of

88 THE MENNONITES
"Avoidance" or "Shunning", a question that was the source
of much misunderstanding even in Menno's day, and the
cause of a number of divisions in the Netherlands and Ger
many. Church discipline was maintained at this time through
the use of the Ban by means of which an unfaithful member
was denied the right to participate in the communion service.
Amman .would add another disciplinary practise, that of
"Avoidance". The Pauline injunction, "not to eat" with a
disciplined brother, was interpreted as applying not only to
religious fellowship, but to all social, business and even do
mestic relationships as well. Even husband and wife, if one
was placed under the Ban, were not to eat at the same table
nor sleep in the same bed. This, it will be observed, was
not a new practise, but was defended by Dietrich Philips and
Menno Simons, and was included in the Dordrecht Confes
sion of Faith which had been adopted by the Mennonites of
Alsace in _ 1660, and which has since become the recognized
statement of doctrines of the Amish and Old Mennonites of
America. Amman visited the various congregations in the Em
menthal and in the Jura regions, trying to impress his views
upon other ministers wherever he went. He soon came to
regard a belief in "Shunning" such an essential part of one's
religious faith that he placed under the Ban all those who
disagreed with him in the matter. The result was that two
factions developed throughout the Swiss congregations es
pecially in the Jura Oberland, one called the "Ammansch"
and the other the "Reist" party after one Hans Reist, the
leader of the more liberal group. Quite early also in the
controversy, the Amish introduced the practise of feet-
washing i in connection with the communion service, a prac
tise not common in the Swiss churches at that time. The
whole movement was one toward a strict observance of the
older customs, a sort of worship of the past, and of suspicion
of all innovations in the affairs of every-day living as well as

Old Amman Homestead near Bowil, Switzerland, where Jacob Amman once lived.

.?.-".#

SWITZERLAND 89
in forms of church worship. This spirit did not grow mellow
with time. The old was seldom discarded for the new, not
even in styles of dress as they changed among other peo
ple from time to time. And so hooks and eyes were retained
instead of buttons, and shoe-strings instead of buckles long
after these customary articles of dress were discarded by
their more progressive brethren. Beards and long hair, once
a convenient custom, came to have a religious significance.
Some of these customs have been perpetuated to the present
day among certain groups in America.
The feeling between the two parties grew quite bitter.
In 1711, while Runkel, the emissary of the Dutch Govern
ment, was directing the proposed emigration to Holland but
few of the Rejst party could be persuaded to accompany the
expedition, refusing to go on the same boats with the Amish.
Such as did start on the voyage escaped before the expedi
tion reached its destination. The division also spread across
the "borders into Alsace, the Palatinate and from thence to
America. Today there are no Amish churches in Switzer
land but there are several small groups in France and Alsace.
Near the close of the century Amman and his followers tried
to become reconciled with the Reist party, but the latter- re
fused to accept the offer and so the breach has remained to
this day.
In the meantime, beginning with 1709, another period of
persecution, the most severe for many years, set in. By this
time all the other Cantons, except Zurich, where there were
still a few scattered settlements up to 1800, had practically
exterminated the Mennonite faith. Now the Bernese authori
ties also, both State and Church, determined to drive out the
Mennonites, root and branch. The measures adopted thus
far had not proven successful. No matter with what punish
ment the exiles were threatened, they repeatedly returned to
be with their families or end their days in their beloved
though cruel native land. Finally both the Bernese Govern-'
ment and the Baptist Council, a special committee created to

90 THE MENNONITES
dispose of all Mennonite problems, determined upon a whole
sale deportation of the prisoners to America from whence
return would be quite unlikely.
Arrangements were made with a certain Mr. Ritter, a
colonization agent, to deport one hundred prisoners for which
he was to receive the sum of $500.00, and 45.00 in addition for
each Mennonite actually landed in North Carolina where
a Swiss settlement, though not Mennonite, had already been
begun. St. Saphorin, the Swiss ambassador to the Dutch Gov
ernment, was requested to secure free passage down the
Rhine for the ship-load of exiles.
Meanwhile the Dutch Mennonites, continuing their ef
forts in behalf of their Swiss co-believers, again secured the
active co-operation of the Dutch States General in demand
ing a more tolerant treatment from the Government at Bern.
After hearing a report on the conditions in Switzerland made
by a group of Palatine Swiss, composed of Benedict Birecht-
buhl, Hans Burchi and Melchior Zahler, the States General
addressed a letter to Bern in which they again spoke highly
of the Dutch Mennonites, and refused the right of free passage
through their country for the proposed deportation. As to
trie charges made by the Bernese against the Mennonites that
the latter denied government to be a divinely ordained insti
tution and that they refused to take the oath and bear arms,
these were answered by the Swiss representatives themselves
before the Dutch authorities. Their affirmation, these said,
was as binding as an oath and they were willing to support
their government loyally; and in war were willing to help
build defensive fortifications but not to bear arms.
But anticipating the consent to a free passage down the
Rhine, Bern had already sent a group of fifty-seven exiles
toward the sea board. Twenty-seven of these, weak and sick,
had been left at Manheim where they scattered out to find
refuge among their kinsmen in those regions, while the re
maining thirty disembarked at Nimwegen, the first stop with
in the Dutch border where they were cordially received and

SWITZERLAND 91
cared for by the Mennonite congregation in that city. A con
temporary writer describes these Swiss peasants as a "sturdy
people by nature who could endure hardship, with long un-
trimmed beards, with plain clothes, and heavy shoes shod
with heavy iron and large nails. They were zealous in serv
ing God with prayer, reading and in other ways. They were
simple in their bearing, like lambs and doves, and asked me
how the church here was conducted. We could speak with
them only with difficulty, for they had lived in the mountains
of Switzerland far from villages and towns and had little
communication with other people."
Many of them as soon as they had regained their liberty,
set out for the Palatinate in search of their relatives and scat
tered members of their families. Some returned for the same
purpose to Switzerland where later they were again forced to
repeat their experiences.
Why were these people so insistent upon returning to
their former homes ? Why did they not take this opportunity
to escape from their persecutors? As has just been suggest
ed, wives and children sometimes of the Reformed faith,
were left behind. Neither could any property be taken out
of the land by the exiles. Some of the more zealous, too,
were concerned that the faith might not die out in the land
of its beginning.
Finally, after a number of letters had been written back
and forth between the Bern authorities and the Dutch States
General, the former agreed in a mandate of February, 1711,
to permit the Mennonites to leave Switzerland with their
families for either Holland or Prussia on condition that they
would agree never to return. They were given several months
in which to dispose of their property, the proceeds of which
they might take with them without paying the usual emigra
tion tax. Those in prison, about fifty in number, were prom
ised their freedom on bail. Those desiring to take advantage
of these terms were to report to the authorities their names
and an inventory of their_property.

92 THE MENNONITES
Johann Runkel was appointed as the representative of
the Dutch Government to take charge of the proposed migra
tion. To his surprise Runkel found considerable difficulty
in enlisting the cooperation of the Mennonites in the move
ment. Their experience with their Government in the past
had been such that they were suspicious of the motives back
of this changed attitude. The Reist party especially because
of the strained relations with the Amish refused to cooperate
with them. Some of them declared that Switzerland was
their fatherland and no one had a right to drive them out.
And so, most of the 1711 exiles were of the Amish faction.
Finally, on July 17, 1711, about three hundred and forty
exiles left Basel for Amsterdam in four ships that had been
especially constructed for the purpose. The passengers were
not to leave the ships until they had reached the end of the
voyage, but all along the Rhine individuals dropped off to
cast their lot with their brethren in the Palatinate, or even
to brave the hazards of a return to their native hills in Switz
erland. Those who remained with the expedition reached
Amsterdam on August 3, where they were cordially received
by their brethren and where ample provision had been made
for their temporary needs.
But what was to be their permanent home? During the
negotiations of the past year, three possibilities had been
suggested: America, Prussia and Holland. America at this
time was given little consideration by this group although a
number of their Palatine brethren had already formed a set
tlement in Pennsylvania, and a few years later, some of the
former, too, found their way to the same place. Prussia was
considered more seriously. The king of Prussia had taken a
kindly interest in the Swiss Mennonites for several years.
Realizing the valuable contribution the Dutch Mennonites
had made toward the development of the Vistula swamps
one hundred years earlier, he visited the Swiss refugees at
Amsterdam and invited them to locate in East Prussia in a
section which had been largely depopulated several years be-

SWITZERLAND 93
fore by a pestilence. In return Benedict Brechtbuhl was sent
by the Swiss to interview the king at Berlin and investigate
the lands in question. After completing his mission and vis
iting the Mennonites at Danzig and Elbing, he returned to
report that sixty farms of thirty acres were available for set
tlement. He returned too late, however, for the Swiss had
already departed from Amsterdam for other parts of the
Netherlands, and at any rate they were not enthusiastic
about locating in a pest-ridden waste. Consequently nearly
all of them remained in Holland, locating in several congre
gations near Groningen. Brechtbuhl finally induced a small
number to try East Prussia but these remained only a short
time. For a number of years the Swiss congregations in Hol
land retained their identity as a separate group, using their
own language and maintaining their own provincial customs,
and were a source of curious interest to their more modern
Dutch neighbors. At first the curiosity bf the Dutch was
so great that often the police had to keep the crowds from the
doors of their meeting places during the hours of worship.
But the 1711 emigration did not end the story of Menno
nite persecution in Bern. As already suggested, some of the
exiles returned while those that had remained were threaten
ed with dire results if they did not leave. There were still
about one hundred families left who refused either to con
form or be driven out. Upon these now the Bernese Gov
ernment turned with renewed bitterness. All Mennonites
were again ordered to be cast into prison. Rewards were of
fered for their arrest, fifteen crowns for a woman, thirty for
a man, and one hundred for a minister. Secret meetings
were prohibited and no one was permitted to give Menno
nites any assistance. One man was fined $300 for shielding
his own wife. Reformed parents must disinherit Mennonite
children. The installation of a minister was punishable
with a heavy fine. Returned exiles were threatened
with a galley sentence. In 1715 and again in 1718 several

94 THE MENNONITES
men were condemned to that fate, but due to protests from
the Dutch States General and even the Reformed clergy, the
sentence was never carried out. At one time there were over
forty Mennonites in prison. And so on all through the cen
tury, Mennonites were more or less oppressed by State and
Church. In 1734, the "Baptist Council" appointed special
agents to scour the country for Mennonites. It was not until
the close of the century when the liberalizing influences set
in motion by the French Revolution made themselves felt
throughout Europe that democratic Switzerland reached the
state of religious toleration attained by the Dutch two hun
dred years earlier.
In 1799 the Helvetian Republic passed an act of tolera
tion granting religious liberty to every faith, and permitting
those who had been banished for the sake of their religious
belief to return. But even this act of toleration, while it end
ed active persecution, yet it did not place the Mennonite
faith on an equal footing with the State Church. Baptism
and marriage were still regarded as civil rites to be adminis
tered by a state Church. In 1810 the Emmenthal congrega
tion requested that their own baptismal and marriage cere
monies be recognized as valid and sufficient. But the author
ities refused the request, and the next year all Mennonite
children who remained unbaptized since 1798, twenty-seven
in all, were ordered to be baptized by the State Church. The
Mennonites could rebaptize them if they desired, the authori
ties said, and they might also repeat their marriage cere
monies according to their own customs. The spirit of the
times was growing too liberal, however, for enforcing such
regulations. When the Mennonites refused to bring their
children to the Reformed churches for baptism, they were
led unwillingly to the baptismal font by the police. Even the
state clergy soon came to recognize this procedure as a
travesty upon religion and objected to its continuation.
Finally, in 1815, after a long and bitter struggle of nearly
three hundred years, the Mennonites in the Canton of Bern

SWITZERLAND 95
were granted complete religious toleration with full rights of
citizenship. Instead of the oath a handclasp was substituted.
In lieu of military service they were granted the right of
furnishing money for a substitute. The price they paid for
these privileges, however, was a heavy one. During the cen
turies of oppression they were driven into out-of-the-way
nooks and corners of the uplands and hill regions where the
soil was so poor that their was little demand for it, while the
years of humiliation through which they passed engendered
within themselves a spirit of submissive self-depreciation from
which they never fully recovered.
Just about the time the Swiss were granted full religious
toleration many of them decided to emigrate of their own free
choice to that land of opportunity to which their ancestors
refused to be deported one hundred years earlier. This- emi
gration to America during the early part of the last century,
not only of the Swiss, but also of the French and South Ger
man Mennonites was the result of several causes.
Most important was the spirit of militarism which pre
vailed throughout Europe during the Napoleonic wars, and
the feeling of unrest following the wars, which the Menno
nites feared would break out in further conflicts and ulti
mately make it impossible for them to maintain their non-
resistant principles. In some cases equally as strong a fac
tor was the economic pressure. The Swiss especially were
decidedly poor. As just suggested they usually lived on
the barren and shady sides of the hills and gulleys in the
uplands. Most of them were small farmers, those in the
Jura regions being tenants on long term leases, because when
invited to settle here by the Bishop of Basel they were not
permitted to buy land. Many were not even able to own a
horse, but performed their field labor by hand, sometimes as
sisted by the family cow. A goodly number were forced to
practise some sort of avocation such as weaving, shoemaking
or cabinet making in addition to their regular farming in
order to make a living. Families were large. Just at this

96 THE MENNONITES
time, from 1815 to 1820, times were especially hard. sAs a re
sult of the long war prices were high. Rents were increasing.
Black bread and potatoes had been the only food for many.
Meat could be had only on special occasions. Even butter
and eggs were rare, but now a few crop failures reduced many
of the poorer people to actual want. One of the early emi
grants to America, somewhat of ,a rhymester, wrote a bit of
verse describing the poverty of the Swiss, one stanza of
which reads : "Hier in dem Schweizerland,
Wie Allen ist bekannt,
Hoert man viel Klagen;
Weil so viel arme Luet,
Die z' keine Zuete nuet
Heu z' saeme tragen."
These were the conditions that made the Swiss at this time
turn their eyes toward America, the land of promise.
The Swiss pioneer who led the way to America was
one Benedict Schrag who in 1817, settled in Wayne county,
Ohio. He was followed before 1860 by many others from
Bern who located in several large colonies in Wayne, Put
nam and Allen counties, Ohio, and in Adams county, Indiana.
It was during the time of this emigration, too, that an
other church quarrel arose resulting in the creation of a new
sect known as the "Neu-Taufer". This sect was organized
by a Samuel Froehlich between 1832 and 1835 in the Canton
of Argau and in the Emmenthal. Froehlich had been a theo
logical 'student, but being cast out of the State Church in
1832, he began to organize a church of his own. It was while
he was engaged in this work that he visited the Emmenthal
congregation in the interests of his enterprise, where he met
with some encouragement from two men who had been fost
ering a quarrel in their own church — Samuel Gerber and
Christian Baumgartner. Gerber, especially, who had recent
ly been installed as minister of the Emmenthal congregation
by the elders of the Jura church, was ambitious to play an im-

Combined Parsonage and Meeting House, Langnau, Switzerland.

SWITZERLAND 97
portant role in his circle. Accusing his fellow ministers
of a lack of religious zeal and an absence of spiritual
life, he introduced a series of innovations in his charge con
trary to the rules of the church. Thus the soil was well pre
pared for a division. Froehlich,' who had a small following
of State Church members in Argau was soon compelled to
leave the Emmenthal due to pressure from the police offi
cials. He soon sent a representative, however, in the person
of a disciple of his, George Steiger by name. Steiger took
advantage of the local quarrel and invited the disaffected to
join the Froehlich following. Gerber, Baumgartner and oth
ers who had already been celebrating the communion serv
ice among themselves every Sunday, hesitated to accept the
invitation, because Steiger now declared their old faith to be
a dead faith, and consequently all who joined the new move
ment would need to submit to rebaptism by immersion. This
was rather humiliating to men who had all along assumed a
superior piety among their fellows. They finally submitted,
however, and in the course of a few months Steiger won over
about sixty members frorh the Emmenthal church including
several Amish, and about an equal number from the State
Church. The new sect early developed an air of superior sanctity
and a spirit of seclusiveness. Salvation was possible only
through the avenues of their church. All others belonged to
the "world" with whom there was to be no religious fellow
ship whatever. At first meetings were held every night after
supposedly apostolic example. Communion was administer
ed every Sabbath morning, while religious services were held
in the afternoon. To the government they owed no allegi
ance except to pay their taxes and naturally they could hold
no civil office. This was evidently the Mennonite contribu
tion to the new body. "Salute no man by the way," was
observed literally, especially when they met members of the
church from which they had withdrawn. They bitterly de
nounced the old church and ridiculed the preachers as "Bab-
4

98 THE MENNONITES
lers, Preachers of a dead faith," etc., and the members were
all "spiritually dead".
Apostles of the new sect carried the division to America
among their relatives and acquaintances there. In 1846 sev
eral came to Ohio where they established a small group of
"Neu-Taufer", and later they appeared in New York and
Illinois among the Amish where they are now locally known
as "New Amish".
As a result of these long years of persecution which
drove many of the Swiss Mennonites into exile, and numbers
back into the state Church ; the emigration to America in the
early part of the century; and the defection of the new
sect, the Swiss Mennonites were greatly reduced in number.
The total Mennonite population in Switzerland is about fifteen
hundred, mostly in the Canton of Bern in two settlements, — the
Emmenthal and a group of congregations in the Jura district,'
west of Biel. The largest congregations are those of the Em
menthal, near Langnau, embracing three hundred souls, and
of the Sonnenberg in the Jura with about four hundred in
habitants. There is a small congregation near Basel, and
another across the Bernese boundaries in the Canton of
Neufchatel. This remnant of a faithful people is today hardly more
than holding its own in the land where their faith had its be
ginning. The Swiss Mennonites are still mostly small farm
ers, not wealthy, living for the most part on land held by a
long lease in the backlands to which they had been driven
years ago. Until within recent years, they had no meeting
houses, and even now meetings are frequqently held in private
houses. Living far apart they often walk many miles to
church, and for this reason the member in whose home the
meeting is held invites all present to remain for dinner after
the meeting. This custom of serving dinner after a meet
ing is retained even in places where they have houses of wor
ship. Living isolated and secluded lives, the Swiss Menno-

SWITZERLAND 99
nites until quite recently were exceedingly conservative in
matters of dress and other customs.
Having no meeting houses at the time of the American
emigration they held religious services throughout the circuits
in the large barns which were built close to the house, or
in the open air when the season and weather permitted. Sing
ing was "ein-stimmig", and the Ausbund with its thirty-
stanza hymns was still the accepted song book. Conservative
customs and old styles of dress were still in vogue. Men
wore short coats, knee breeches, hooks and eyes, and long
beards, but mustaches were not permitted, perhaps because
of their military appearance and significance. The women
vied with the men in the simplicity of their clothes. No
adornments of any sort were permitted. All worldly vanities
were discouraged, even looking glasses being tabooed. But
according to a writer of the time, the fair young mountain
maidens lost none of their charm by substituting for forbid
den silk ribbons and flowers and feathers, ingeniously woven
straw figures in the straw hats which they set jauntily upon
their heads. The same writer, a well known German author,
after a visit through the Mennonite communities pays these
people a high tribute. He speaks of them as "a strong, sturdy
race, true-hearted, peace-loving, conscientious and be
nevolent, loved by all their neighbors, Catholics and Protes
tants alike. They live a life of such patriarchial simplicity
that one must love them. Among them are found no drunk
ards, no gamblers, no loafers, no liars, no jealous neighbors.
If. perchance strife should arise among them, it is amicably
settled by their elder. They help each other in busy seasons,
generally without pay. Their temperate, moderate habits,
assure them good health and long lives. Their conduct seems
to be prompted by the one thought, 'Keep God continually
"before your eyes.' "
Many of these conservative customs of three quarters of a
century ago have since been discarded. But in the funda
mentals the Swiss Mennonites have not changed during re-

100 THE MENNONITES
cent years. They still lead rather an isolated life and may be
said to be decidedly conservative in spirit. They are still
nonresistant and are permitted by the Swiss Government to
perform non-combatant service. They wear the uniform when
in training and a small sword as a sign of their profession,
but do not carry a gun. They do not practise feet-washing
as a church ordinance, a practise confined to the Amish who
have since all left the land.
Of organized institutional life there is very little. They
have no schools for training their ministers, being too few
in number to maintain such an institution. Ministers are
still selected by lot and require no special training for their
service. Although they have no missions of their own, they
support other societies and have furnished some men and
women for active work. The churches meet annually in a
separate conference. Their church paper, the "Zions-Pilger",
was founded in 1882, by two enterprising young men, —
Samuel Baehler and Johann Kipfer. It was a small four-page
weekly and in recent years did not seem to have much dis
tinctive Mennonite moulding influence. It has recently lost
such Mennonite character as it once had by merging with an
Evangelical publication, and it is now called "Der Freie Zeu-
ge," and is published at Langnau by Meili and Cuyper. In
fact there are those who feel that in course of time, due to
the small numbers, lack of leadership and institutional Hfe,
the Mennonites will entirely lose their identity and will be
swallowed up by the Evangelicals who already exercise con
siderable influence among them.
A man of strong influence among the Swiss Mennonites
during the last century was Ulrich Steiner, affectionately
referred to as "Steiner Uli" in approved Swiss fashion. He
was born in 1806 in Trachselwald, and in 1830 as a young
man was elected to the ministry by lot. Five years later he
was ordained as an elder. For many years he was the spirit
ual adviser of the scattered members, traveling extensively in
the interests of the church. His work was especially arduous

JOHANN KIPFER, Langnau, Switzerland.
Editor "Freie Zeuge," formerly "Zions Pilger."

SWITZERLAND 101
during the "Neu-Taufer" controversy. He is the author of a
small booklet, at one time frequently seen on the book-shelves
of the American Swiss Mennonites, "Angenehme Stunden in
Zion". He died in 1877, seventy years old.
Switzerland was the source both directly and indirectly
of many of the Mennonite and Amish settlements in Ameri
ca. The early settlers in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in
the early eighteenth century, by way of the Palatinate ; the
Amish in Illinois, Ohio, New York and Canada in the nine
teenth century by way of Alsace, Lorraine and South Ger
many, as well as the Swiss who came directly from the father
land to Ohio and Indiana during the same period were all of
Swiss origin. The following family names wherever found to
day in America in Amish and Mennonite communities are all
Swiss, mainly originally from Bern and Zurich, though sev
eral other Cantons are also represented. In the following list
no attempt is made to maintain the original Swiss spelling,
but rather to give their names as they now appear in America.
The early Pennsylvania names of course appear considerably
Anglisized as do also many of the Illinois Amish. The later
immigrants to Ohio and Indiana from Switzerland direct are
more likely to retain their original spelling. Where different
American spellings occur for the same name only one is given
here. The list follows : Allebach, Althaus, Amstutz, Augs-
burger, Albrecht, Ackerman, Bachman, Brubaker, Bertsche,
Bowman, Bomberger, Baer, Brenneman, Bixel, Bechler,
Baumgartner, Basinger, Burcky, Brand, Becker, Biery, Beid-
ler, Blaser, Boshart, Burghalter, Bucher, Brackbill, Christen-
en, Dirstein, Detweiler, Diller, Eby, Ebersole, Eiman, Ellen-
berger, Egly, Engel, Eschbach, Eicher, Eschleman, Fnnck,
Fahrney, Flickinger, Frey, Fellman, Gehman, Gerber, Gun-
ther, Gnaegi, Guth, Graber, Geiger, Guengrich, Hess, Horn
ing, Haldeman, Hiestand, Habegger, Huber, Hostetler, Hart-
man, Hodel, Hauri, Herr, Hauter, Hirschler, Hilty, Hirschy,
Hunsinger, Imhoff, Ioder, Ingold, Kendig, Krehbil, Kennel,
Kaufman, Landis, Longenecker, Luginbill, Leatherman, Leh-

102 THE MENNONITES
man, Litwiller, Lichty, Meili, Metzler, Maurer, Moser, Mosi-
man, Musselman, Newcommer, Neuenschwander, Nussbaum,
Neuhauser, Neff, Oberholtzer, Oberli, Oesch, Plank, Risser,
Rich, Reist, Reber, Rohrer, Roetlisberger, Rupp, Roth,
Roeschli, Ramseir, Schlegel, Shenk, Strickler, Schope, Schrag,
Schneck, Steiner, Stutzman, Sprunger, Speicher, Shallenber-
ger, Steinman, Stucki, Sommer, Stalter, Schertz, Schantz,
Schlatter, Stoll, Sweitzer, Suter, Stauffer, Schmutz, Snavely,
Streit, Schlabach, Showalter, Schoenauer, Troyer, Thierstein,
Thut, Verckler, Welty, Wenger, Wisler, Whitmer, Wuthrich,
Yordy, Zuercher, Zeiset, Zook.

GERMANY 103

CHAPTER V
GERMANY I. Prussia.
West Prussia. Modern Prussia as a political entity was
not in existence in the sixteenth century. What was then
known as Prussia was a small duchy east of the Vistula,
now the province of East Prussia. What is now the province
of West Prussia west of the Vistula, and including the delta
of that river was then a part of the kingdom of Poland. The
duke of East Prussia had turned Lutheran in 1525, but the
kings of Poland remained Catholic throughout the century.
They remained tolerant, however, toward religious dissent
ers, and Polish Prussia early became an asylum for religious
refugees. Dutch and Moravian Anabaptists had found shel
ter near Danzig as early as 1530. In the years immediately
following, and especially as a result of the fierce persecutions
in the Netherlands during the middle of the century, Menno
nites came in large numbers by way of the East Sea coast.
and settled by permission of the Polish king and upon the
invitation of owners of waste and swamp lands along the
lowlands of the Vistula and the Nogat rivers, in the vicinity
of Danzig and Elbing. The Dutch Mennonites were experts
in the art of reclaiming swamp lands by means of dikes and
canals, and so because of their economic worth they were giv
en a hearty welcome where otherwise they might have expect
ed only serious religious persecution. The first colonies located
upon the ecclesiastical estates of Schottland and Schidlitz
near Danzig and at Elbing. Among the noblemen owning es-

104 THE MENNONITES
tates along the lowlands were two brothers, Hans and Simon
von Loysen. Upon their estates at Tiegenhof they settled a
number of Dutch Mennonite families, who in course of time
converted these hitherto useless swamps into the most produc
tive fields of all Poland. These estates were leased to the Men
nonites by successive owners for thirty and forty year periods
until finally the latter came into complete possession of them.
Groups of Mennonites also located farthfer up the river in
the region of Marienwerder, Graudenz, Schwetz, Culm and
Thorn. While the lowland congregations were composed
largely of Dutch refugees, among the inland colonies there
was a more liberal sprinkling of German, Moravian and Swiss
elements. The churches in these regions as well as those in East
Prussia were frequently visited and served by Menno Simons
himself, who when he was forced to leave Cologne in 1549
made Wismar in Holstein the headquarters for his extensive
labors throughout the East Sea region. In 1549 he wrote a
letter to "the church in Prussia". His closest friend, Dirck
Philip, was one of the first resident elders in Danzig, re
maining there until he left for his former home in Emden
in 1570. Both factions, Frisian and Flemish, were represented
among the Dutch Mennonite colonists. The Frisians being
mostly farmers, settled in the open country, while the Flem
ish more often located in the towns.
These refugees were guaranteed among other privileges
religious toleration as one of the conditions of their settle
ment along the Vistula. At first, living in isolated groups on
lands hitherto but sparsely populated, they were able to live
a quiet and unmolested life. But in time as they grew in
numbers and became prosperous, both in the country and in
town, native citizens became jealous of the prosperity of
these thrifty and sober Dutch farmers and artisans, speaking
a foreign tongue and practising a proscribed religion. They
were no longer being burned at the stake nor even imprison-

Mennonite Church, Montau, Prussia.

GERMANY 105
ed, to be sure, as was being done in other states, but they
were frequently hampered in the free exercise of their reli
gion, and were not immediately granted full rights of citizen
ship. As early as 1550, citizens of Elbing complained to the
Polish king that "these Anabaptists are taking the bread out
of our mouths", whereupon the king hastily concluded to
order them out of town within fourteen days. A few of them
left, but the town council interfering in their behalf, the
order was never rigidly carried out. A little later the clergy,
too, added their voice of protest, and the order for exile was
repeated, but again delayed. After postponing the time for
its execution a number of times, it was finally forgotten. In
Danzig, the Mennonites had a similar experience. In 1572
the king was induced to sign an order requesting them to
leave the land, but the Catholic bishop whose estates they
had brought to a high state of development interfered in
their behalf and the order was not carried out.
In 1676, after the settlements at Tiegenhof and the delta
region had suffered heavy losses from broken dikes, the Prince
of Pomerellen accused the Mennonites in the Marienburg
Landtag of being the cause of the catastrophe. God was
punishing Danzig, "the nest of the Mennonite sect," he said
for tolerating them within her jurisdiction. He brought a
number of noblemen to his way of thinking, who attempted
to force through an order for exile. The Marienburg delegate,
however, realizing the value of Mennonite farmers to the
country, appeared in their behalf. "One can easily tell," he
said, "whether a lazy, drunken farmer tills the soil or a sober,
industrious Mennonite. Rather invite more of them than to
drive out those already here." Far into the eighteenth cen
tury attempts were often made by jealous neighbors and
fanatical clergymen to harry the Mennonites out of the land.
But city councils, knowing the worth of industrious Flemish
artisans, and both secular and ecclesiastical noblemen whose
lands had been brought to a high state of productivity by
skilled Frisian tenant farmers usually succeeded in thwart-

106 THE MENNONITES
ing those demanding exile. And so, while the Mennonites
of West Prussia lived continually under the fear of banish
ment, the threat was never rigidly carried out.
One of the results of the experience at the Marienburg
Landtag was a special letter of protection issued by the king,
John Sobieski III., in 1678. The Polish kings in the main,
unless pressed by special interests, maintained the promises
at first made to the original settlers, and guarded their priv
ileges. These privileges were frequently confirmed by suc
cessive kings. A typical confirmation is that in the charter
granted in 1732 by August II. This charter renews the guar
antees given by former kings in 1650, 1660, 1694, and 1699,
and promises the Mennonites all the rights they had been
granted in the beginning, including the right to worship in
their public houses, to have their own schools and teachers,
to baptize and bury their dead in their own cemeteries.
Occasionally Mennonites, like Jews, were threatened
with oppression by government officials for the purpose of
exacting money from them. In 1642 Willibald von Haxberg,
minister of King Wladislaw IV, convinced the king that the
Mennonites had been the cause of great financial loss to the
merchants of Danzig and Elbing, and for that reason their
property should be confiscated. The king authorized Hax
berg to seize the property. Despairing perhaps of securing
the entire possessions of the Mennonites, the wily minister
promised to leave them undisturbed in the former privileges
upon payment of certain ransom money. The Mennonites
vainly appealed to their former charters. Threatened by mil
itary force, they yielded. Haxberg received about $50,000
from the country churches and a smaller amount from those
in Danzig and Elbing. The Provincial Estates appealed to
the king in their behalf, whereupon the king gave them a new
charter of privileges, reconfirming their old rights, but
whether the money was returned is not certain. As late as
1750, the merchants of Danzig secured an order from the
king demanding that the Mennonites close their shops

GERMANY 107
and places of business. On the side, however, they were giv
en to understand that they might avoid the calamity upon the
payment of a certain sum of money to the needy and greedy
king. Upon being told by the Mennonites that they were
not able to bear any further financial burden because of re
cent heavy war contributions, the king suggested that they
might receive help from their prosperous brethren in the
Netherlands. The suggestion was taken, but the help re
ceived from the Dutch was not exactly the kind expected.
Both the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce and the States
General where the Dutch Mennonites had great influence, in
terceded in behalf of the Danzig church for fair play, but
refused to be blackmailed by the king. The king was ob
stinate, however, and it was only by the financial aid of their
German brethren that the Danzig Mennonites were able to
make up the heavy contribution, and thus were again per
mitted to open up their places of business.
These various charters of privileges did not all specific
ally mention exemption from military service as one of the
early privileges, ' but it undoubtedly was one of the condi
tions of the first settlements. In fact,, military exemption
was not confined to Mennonites, but frequently rulers would
offer it as an inducement to any industrious foreigners whom
they wished to occupy their unsettled lands. Mennonites
were not forced into the army in West Prussia, but were
sometimes asked to substitute non-combatant service. At the
siege of Danzig, in 1734, they were set the task of guarding
the town against the firebrands sent into it by the besiegers,
a task they performed successfully. Frequently, too, Men
nonites were compelled to furnish and pay for substitutes.
Sometimes exemption money was demanded. In 1749 in
Danzig, the sum was set at 5,000 gulden for the churches in
that region.
In 1772, West Prussia was united with East Prussia un
der Frederick the Great, and from that time the Mennonites

108 THE MFNNONITES
had a common history in. these two provinces as regards their
relation to the State.
East Prussia. In East Prussia, too, Anabaptists were
found early in the sixteenth century, before Menno Simons
appeared in these regions. As early as 1535, edicts were pub
lished against them. The earliest colonies were found near
Konigsberg. In 1579 Mennonites asked permission of Duke
George Frederick to locate within the city, but refusing to
conform to the doctrines and practises of the established
Lutheran church they were denied the request, and it was
not until early in the eighteenth century that they established
a congregation within the city proper. These came principal
ly from Danzig with which city Konigsberg had considerable
commercial intercourse. The Mennonites of these regions
were never very numerous as compared with those of West
Prussia. When the duchy became a kingdom in 1701, the first
king, Frederick I., was desirous of finding settlers for the re
gion along the Niemen river in Lithuania where a recent
pestilence had swept off nearly one-half of the Lithuanian
population. It was at this time, in 1711, that the Swiss Menno
nites were being driven out of Bern. To these, the king sent a
special invitation and offered special inducements to settle in
his kingdom. Although a committee of Swiss had reported un
favorably upon the lands, a small group located near Tilsit.
These the king furnished with necessary farm equipment and
also granted them religious toleration including military ex
emption. In 1713 a small group also came from Danzig to
whom the same privileges were granted.
These promises were sometimes forgotten by later kings.
When, in 1723, the recruiting agents of Frederick William I.
seized five likely young Mennonites for service in his famous
I'otsdam guards, the Mennonites in the Tilsit settlement in
formed the king that if their privileges were revoked they
would be obliged to leave the land. The king was so dis
pleased with this reminder that he forthwith ordered them

GERMANY 109
banished. A number , found refuge for a time with their
brethren in Polish Prussia, but later were able to return. In
1732 the clergy again secured an edict banishing about one
hundred families on the charge of Socinianism. These found
their way to the Netherlands. Upon the intercession of the
Dutch Government and important icommercial interests in
Prussia, the order was recalled, and the Mennonites were
permitted to remain on condition that they would establish
woolen mills in their settlement, since they were reputed to
be especially skilled weavers. Most of the Tilsit colonists,
however, about six hundred in all, had already left their homes
for Polish Prussia. With the accession of the tolerant and
liberal Frederick the Great in 1740, religious oppression for
the time being ceased, and Mennonites were permitted to re
side anywhere within his dominion without molestation.
As already stated, the Mennonites of the two Prussias
came principally from the Netherlands. Social and religious
intercourse was kept up with the mother church for many
years, and Dutch remained the language in which religious
services were conducted until near the close of the eighteenth
century. Shut out from outside influences by locating in isola
ted colonies, they departed little from their early prac
tises and customs. The city churches made more progress,
of course, than those in the country. In the former, minis
ters in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries
were frequently imported from the Netherlands and had some
training for their calling, but in the country they were selected
by lot from among their own number without reference to
special qualifications other than that they were usually cho
sen from among the more prosperous members since they
were given no financial support by the membership at large.
Ministers were of three classes — elders, preachers and
deacons. The elders differed from the mere preacher in pow
er in that he only could administer the rites of baptism and
the Lord's Supper, and perform marriage ceremonies. Both
Flemish and Frisian wings of the church were represented,

110 THE MENNONITES
to which were added also, in 1711, a few Amish in Lithuania.
Frisian and Flemish now did not always refer to original, na
tional or provincial differences, but rather to strict and loose
interpretations of church discipline. In church government,
the Mennonites were strict congregationalists, although the
elders frequently held conferences for deciding weighty mat
ters of common interest.
The first meetings were held in private homes with lit
tle ceremony. The congregation at Montau erected the first
building for worship in 1586, while in Elbing one was built in
1590. In point of numbers the church in the old Prussias
never grew large. In 1774 it numbered about 13,500 souls
occupying about 80,000 acres of land. About 1,000 of these
lived in East Prussia. From that time to this, there has been
a slight decline. - Emigration, intermarriage with other de
nominations, lack of the missionary spirit, and of education
al institutions has brought the present number to scarcely
11,000 souls, less than the number one hundred years ago.
Had the Mennonite population in Prussia kept pace dur
ing the last one hundred and' fifty years with the natural
increase of the rest of the German people, the Mennonite
church in Prussia today ought to number over 100,000. Many
were lost to the church but little new blood was added. A
recent statistician shows that in all about three hundred and
sixty nine family names are represented, but of these scarce
ly more than a score or two include the large majority of the
Mennonite population. Among the most common family
names are the following in the order of their frequency:
Penner (527), Dyk or Dick, Wiens, Wiebe, Claasen, Entz,
Janz, Janzen, Freese, Harder, Ewert, Pauls, Neufeld, Fast,
Franz, Friesen, Reimer, Epp, Klaasen, Regehr, Regier, Frei-
guth, Albrecht, Nickel, Peters (107), etc. Many of these are
of Dutch origin, some of German and Swiss, and there are
also a few of Swedish, but not in the above list. These it will
be observed are also the most common names among the
Russians and the Russian Americans.

GERMANY 111
When Polish or West Prussia fell under the control of
Frederick the Great, in 1772, the Mennonites of that province
were pleased; for Frederick had shown himself tolerant to
ward religious dissent, and had already granted the Menno
nites of East Friesland, which province he had inherited, ex
emption from military service. In order to win the king's
favor and to show their loyalty, the Mennonites in the vicini
ty of Marienburg, when a celebration was held in that city
for proclaiming the oath of allegiance to the king, presented
him with a sample of the products of their farms: twenty
oxen, four hundred pounds of butter, twenty cakes of cheese,
fifty chickens, and fifty ducks. At the same time, too, they
reminded him of the privileges the Polish kings had granted
them and asked Frederick to confirm these. The next year the
new king promised them: 1. Freedom of worship according
to their custom. 2. The right to erect new church edifices.
3. Permission to establish their own schools. 4. Freedom
from military service. 5. The privilege of substituting an
affirmation for the oath. 6. The right to enter any line of
industry open to others. 7. The right to bury their dead in
their cemeteries.
These privileges lasted for but a brief period, however.
The growing spirit of Prussian militarism boded no good
for the peace-loving Mennonites. The war office, fearing
that the growth of the Mennonite settlements would weaken
the military power of the State, since military service rested
upon land-ownership, influenced the royal council to issue
an order forbidding the Mennonites to buy any more land
unless the original owner should keep enough to retain the
military obligations. The king later modified this order
somewhat, permitting exceptions in case his special permis
sion was secured. A census taken at the time showed that
the Mennonites owned over 80,000 acres of land. Special ex
emptions were now also to be paid for. On June 20, 1774,
an order was issued compelling Mennonite congregations to
pay annually in lieu of military service the sum of $5,000 for

112 THE MENNONITES
the support of the military academy at Culm. Fearful of
further burdens and limitations, the Mennonites^now desired
thart all former promises be confirmed and stated in the form
of a written Charter of Privileges. They finally succeeded
in 1780 in securing the coveted document signed by the king,
guaranteeing practically all the promises of 1773 with the
later limitations. The Lutheran state church in the mean
time continued to insist that Mennonite privileges be curtail
ed. By the spread of the latter the material income of the
former was materially reduced. Upon the accession of the
new king, Frederick William II. , in 1789, they persuaded him
to issue an edict in accordance with which Mennonite owners
of landed property formerly belonging to Lutherans were
forced to support the Lutheran parish churches, schools and
parish houses. The children of mixed marriages were to be
brought up in the faith of the non-Mennonite parent. No
more Mennonites were to be permitted to purchase homes in
Prussia. But, if a proposed settler possessed property to the
value of $2,000, he might locate in certain restricted regions
with the previous consent of the king. He and all his male
descendants from the age of twenty to forty-five were to" pay
a special tax annually of one dollar.
It was evident now that both Church and State were de
termined to prevent the further growth of Mennonitisni.
Hampered by heavy taxes, unable to secure new homes for
their growing young people, and fearful of the future, the
Prussian Mennonites looked about for a new home where
they might be free to live up to their convictions without
governmental restraint. After considering several possibili
ties, including America, they decided to accept the invitation
which fortunately had been extended to them just a few
years before, in 1786, by Catherine II., of Russia. Hundreds
of families left during the years immediately following to
start life over again in the fertile, though desolate steppes
along the lower Dnieper.

GERMANY 113
II. North Germany.
The churches now in northwestern modern Prussia,
usually spoken of as North Germany by Mennonite writers,
at the time of their early history in the sixteenth and later
centuries were located within the boundaries of independent
states each with a distinct religious policy of its own. And
so while many were composed of Dutch refugees, they by
no means had a common history.
Roughly speaking, the settlements may be classed into
four groups: 1. The group in East Friesland with the leading
congregations at Emden, Leer, and Norden; 2. the churches
along the lower Elbe with the Hamburg-Altona congrega
tion as a center; 3. a small group in and about Friedrichstadt
in Schleswig along the lower Eider ; and 4. a number of church
es along the lower Rhine from Cologne to Emmerich in the
duchies of Cleves, Julich, and Berg, the Bishopric of Munster,
and the Archbishopric of Cologne. The leading congrega
tions here were those at Crefeld, Emmerich, Cologne, Goch,
etc. These settlements just outside of the borders of the
Netherlands are even older than those of the old Prussias, and
many of them are also the result of Dutch persecution of the
middle sixteenth century.
East Friesland. In this province the principal congrega
tion is the one in Emden which is also the oldest Mennonite
church in modern Germany. Anabaptist refugees from the
Netherlands, and Switzerland were found here as early as
1528. In 1530 Melchior Hoffman made this the center of an
extensive field of labor. In one year he baptized over three
hundred persons. This church also became the home at dif
ferent times of Menno Simons, Dirck and Obbe Philip, Leon
hard Bouwens and Hans de Ries. We have already seen that
under the liberal rule of Countess Anne, Mennonites were
first distinguished here from other sects in 1544. As every
where, so here, too, Mennonites passed through varied ex
periences, enjoying greater toleration under some rulers than
others, but never being entirely suppressed nor severely per-

114 THE MENNONITES
secuted. Up to the middle of the century, they were granted
considerable liberty, but later they were tolerated only on
condition that they lead a quiet life and carry on their wor
ship without public demonstration. They were not permit
ted the use of church bells, which was not a hardship evidently,
for at one time we find the Reformed clergy at Norden com
plain that "the impudent Mennonites go to church to the
sound of our own bells." But the most popular method of
oppression was that of placing some limitations upon their
freedom of worship, or ordering their exile merely as an ex
cuse for extortion. In 1626 Count Rudolf Christian per
mitted secret worship upon the annual payment of a fine of
six dollars for each family. This polic}^ of blackmail was fol
lowed by the rulers until far toward the close of the seven
teenth century. Gradually more toleration was granted them.
In 1739 Mennonite ministers were permitted to marry their
own members. In 1744 East Friesland came under the con
trol of the king of Prussia by inheritance, and from that time
the Mennonites of the province enjoyed the same liberties as
did those of the Prussian kingdom. As in Prussia, the Dutch
language and Dutch customs were common here until well
into the nineteenth century.
Among recent well known members of the Emden con
gregation was Anna Brons, author of a comprehensive and
authentic history of the Mennonites, whose husband, Isaac
Brons, was a member of the Frankfort Diet during the middle
of the last century.
The lower German Rhine region was early a center of
Anabaptist activity. As already suggested, a flourishing con
gregation was formed early at Cologne. For a short period
Herman von Wied, the Elector, by converting the electorate
from a Catholic archbishopric to a Lutheran principality, se
cured a brief spell of religious toleration. It was during this
time (1544 to 1546) that Menno Simons made his home here.
By 1562 the church at this place still had a membership of
one hundred. Gladbach nearby contained a Mennonite colony

JACOB MAN'NHARDT
Founder of Mennonitische Blatter, 1854.

GERMANY 115
of five hundred souls. The duchy of Julich, one chronicler says,
''was full of Anabaptists". Churches were found in Aachen,
Soest, Bocholt, and throughout the contiguous regions of
Julich-Cleve, Berg, Cologne, and Munster. Most of these
early churches were destroyed through persecution. Some
survived and others sprang up later. Persecutions were more
severe here than in any other part of Germany, partly be
cause of the fact that Munster, the seat of the Munster dis
aster, was not far away, and there were still a number of
these fanatics to be found in these regions. Since the quiet,
peaceful Anabaptists were confused with the "corrupt sects,"
the innocent had to suffer with the guilty. Throughout the
sixteenth century Mennonites were still sent to the rack and
to the stake by the Archbishops of Cologne and rulers of
neighboring states. In 1565, the Duke of Julich issued a
stringent decree ordering them to leave his territory. No
one was to shelter or feed them, nor were they to take any of
their property out of the land. Many left for Holstein and
Prussia. In 1558 among the victims at Cologne was Thomas von
Imbroich, a young printer of twenty-five. While undergoing
the most painful torture, inflicted by his accusers for the pur
pose of forcing from him a recantation, he was encouraged
by his wife who was a witness of his suffering to remain
steadfast. Refusing to deny his faith, he was beheaded. The
Martyrs' Mirror which gives an extended account of the trial
and execution of this man of heroic mold says, that the "Count
would gladly have set him free, but he feared the imperial de
cree, and the displeasure of the bishop." It will be remem
bered here that during a large part of the century all the
provinces of the empire were under obligations by imperial
decree, no matter what their own preferences may have been,
to exterminate the Anabaptists. Imbroich was an extensive
writer. His tract on baptism was well known throughout
Germany for a long time and is still found printed in the ap
pendix to the old hymn-book — the Ausbund.

116 THE MENNONITES
In 1565 fifty-six members of this church were apprehend
ed and cast into prison, including their minister, Matthias
Servaes. The Martyrs' Mirror also gives an extended account
of the execution of this man. He was a minister of consider
able ability and influence, and was especially active in an at
tempt to bring about a union of the North and South Ger
man churches which had developed certain differences on
questions of church discipline. This task did not succeed at
this time, but the union was brought about in 1591 on the
basis of the Concept of Cologne, one of the early Confessions
of Faith. Just before he was beheaded, Servaes, turning to
the local ruler who was present, said, "You know well, sir
Count, how you have treated me ; but I have forgiven you all.
It is all out of my heart." A decree issued by the city coun
cil of Cologne in 1578 placing all Mennonites under the death
penalty practically annihilated the church at this place.
By the close of the sixteenth century, executions had
about ceased throughout the lower Rhine country. A more
profitable method of persecution, that of extortion, had been
discovered. And so this became the popular means here also
of oppression. One of the last attempts of this kind was car
ried out as late as 1694 at Rheydt. Elector Johann Wilhelm
was especially bitter against the Mennonites, and frequently
demanded sums of money from them. Many of the land
owners whose estates they were farming, entreated the elect
or in their behalf, but to no avail. Suddenly, on July 16, 1694,
a company of soldiers appeared at the castle of Rheydt, where
there was a small band of Mennonites, and seizing thirty of
them and tying them to ropes hastened them out of their
homes. After compelling them to march until they were
nearly exhausted, the soldiers agreed to release them on pay
ment of twelve thousand gulden. Being poor, however,
the Mennonites could raise only eight thousand. Robbed of all
their property, they were forced to turn to their brethren at
Crefeld and Amsterdam for help. As usual in cases of such
appeals, the influential Mennonites of the Netherlands as well

GERMANY 117
as the Dutch Government and even the King of England, the
recent Dutch Stadtholder, interceded for the refugees. King
William even wrote to Emperor Leopold in their behalf. The
Emperor, strange to say, took up their case with the result
that the Elector reinstated the exiles, although the plunder
was not returned.
Of the churches still existing in these regions Crefeld is
the most important. This church was founded in the latter
part of the sixteenth century. In 1604, the town fell to the lot
of Maurice of Nassau who inaugurated a reign of religious
toleration at a time when all the surrounding states were still
persecuting the non-state organizations. Although the ec
clesiastical authorities opposed, a number of Mennonites came
here during this time. In 1655 the Reformed clergy com
plained that within a short time seventy families had arrived.
In 1696 the first public house was built in a back alley, where
the present church still stands. Worship was to be conducted
quietly. A special tax was paid in lieu of- military service.
Among the early settlers were many skilled in the weaving
industry. In 1665 the Mennonite family of von der Leyen came
here from Flanders and first established the silk industry.
From this beginning Crefeld has developed into one of the
three greatest silk centers in Europe.
In 1702 Crefeld fell to Prussia, whose king, Frederick
William I, in 1721, granted the Mennonites certain privileges,
including military exemption upon the payment of $500 re
cruiting money. The' Reformed clergy considered these privi
leges too liberal and brought their complaints before the king,
who replied, "The Mennonites should not be persecuted but
should be tolerated both for reasons of state and on religious
grounds since they are good Chritians, living peaceably ac
cording to the rules of their faith." The congregation still em
braces nearly twelve hundred souls including children. From
this congregation have come a number of men prominent in
business and political life in Northwestern Germany, including
during the past century Herman von Beckerath, who was at

118 THE MENNONITES
one time a member of the Frankfort Diet and Imperial
Minister of Finance. It was from here too that the first Amer
ican Mennonite colony at Germantown came in 1683.
Another important congregation was that founded at Em
merich, in the middle of the sixteenth century, which survived
through the trials of all those years, and continued until
within recent times, but is now extinct. The Neuwied con
gregation of seventy souls was founded during the rule of
Count Frederick III von Wied in the seventeenth century.
The church at Goch with thirty souls dates back to 1550.
The Lower Elbe. A few Dutch Mennonite refugees
located along the Elbe in Holstein as early as 1530. The
principal settlement was made, however, during the middle of
the century in the cities of Hamburg and Altona. This formed
one congregation really, although under two political juris
dictions. Hamburg was a free city while Altona was at that
time within the county of Pinneberg ruled by the Schauen-
berg line of counts. These pioneers were mostly Flemish,
though some Frisians and Germans were also found among
them. At the end of the Thirty Years' War, the entire con
gregation at Wuestenfelde, one of Menno Simons' hiding
places, migrated to Altona after their town and community
had been laid bare by that long and destructive struggle.
The Mennonites here were given the usual reception by
the Lutheran authorities, and were severely restricted in their
freedom of worship, although no longer burned at the stake
or tortured on the rack for non-conformity. In 1601 Count
Ernst van Schauenberg granted the Altona Mennonites per
mission to carry on their worship in private, bury their dead
in their own cemeteries, and enter any kind of business upon
the payment of one dollar annually for each head of a family.
In 1641 upon the extinction of the line of Schauenburg counts,
King Christian IV of Denmark, who succeeded to the
SchaUenberg title, confirmed these privileges and slightly
extended them.
The history of the Hamburg-Altona congregation, which

GERMANY 119
contained a large number of Dutch refugees, is organically
closely related to the church in the Netherlands. In 1678
Galenus Abraham de Haan of Amsterdam, founder of the
"Galenist" or "Lammist" faction in the Netherlands visited
the Altona church, hoping to preach for them. The local
congregation, however, which had taken sides with the op
posing faction, the "Sonnists" decided to test the orthodoxy of
Galenus before permitting him to preach. After submitting a
list of questions for his consideration they finally considered
him safe on such points as the necessity for water baptism,
for church membership and for participation in the com
munion service, the equality of the Son with the Father, and
the necessity of a written Confession of Faith. These questions
throw some light on the issues which lay back of the doctrinal
quarrel which was agitating the Dutch churches at that
time. Galenus was permitted to preach but was warned not to
advocate any practises contrary to those of the Hamburg-
Altona congregation, among others that of observing silent
prayer. Through the efforts of Gerrit Roosen the well
known minister at this time, what might have developed into
a serious division was avoided.
Roosen served the Altona church as deacon and. minister
for over fifty years during the most critical period of its
history. In addition to guiding the church safely through the
crisis just mentioned, he also was responsible for saving the
membership from the proselyting zeal of the Quakers, who
during these years were carrying on an effective propaganda
among the Mennonites of Northwestern Germany. As it was,
the congregation lost ten of its members. In 1648 he also took
a leading part against a movement which threatened for a
time to reach serious proportions. During that year, seventeen
applicants for baptism had been induced by some outside in
fluence to demand several innovations including baptism by
immersion, feet-washing before communion, and the use of
unleavened bread. Not succeeding in converting Roosen and
the other leaders to their views, these immersionists or

120 THE MENNONITES
"dompelaars" withdrew and established a separate organiza
tion. One of their leaders later was Jacob Denner who died in
1746, and who was the author of a book of sermons much read
and used in Germany, Switzerland and America in the days
when the reading of sermons by untrained preachers was a
common practice among the Mennonites. Before Denner's
death, the "dompelaars" had again become reconciled with the
body from which they had withdrawn.
Roosen was born in Hamburg in 1612, and lived to be
nearly one hundred years old. In 1638, he established the first
manufactory of hosiery in the city, founding an industry which
made him wealthy. He was elected a minister of the congre
gation in 1660, serving without recompense until his death in
1711. He traveled extensively throughout Northern Germany
in the interests of the church. He also wrote several books
including a catechism in 1702, which was in use for one
hundred and fifty years in both Europe and America. It was
to him that the Germantown Mennonites wrote for advice
with reference to the installation of the first minister in Amer
ica. He died in 1711 from injuries while cutting wood, being
ninety-nine years and eight and one-half months old.
Like the city churches in the Netherlands, the Hamburg-
Altona congregation included a number of men of wealth.
Weaving and the whale fisheries were among the important
industries in which the members engaged. Gerrit Roosen was
the leading shipowner in the city in his day. In 1713, when
the Swedish troops set fire to Hamburg, H. van der Smissen,
whose father had come to Altona in 1682, lost two breweries
and eighteen houses in the conflagration. In 1674, when a
new church building was to be erected, those engaged in the
whale fisheries promised to contribute five per cent, of the net
profits of the season's catch toward the proposed church
building. A catch of six hundred whales in northern seas
more than met the needs.
The Mennonites of these city churches were active in all
attempts to help their persecuted brethren in other lands.

GERMANY 121
Together with the churches in the Netherlands, they con
tributed large sums to aid the Bernese Mennonites in reach
ing America and the Netherlands during the early eighteenth
century. Holstein. Friedrichstadt on the Eider in Holstein became
the center of several small groups of Mennonites in the early
seventeenth century. In 1623, the town was founded by the
tolerant Remonstrants, who opened the gates wide to all re
ligious refugees. Most of the first Mennonite immigranLs
came from the Netherlands. By means of dikes and dams,
they transformed the low swamp lands about Friedrichstadt
into a most prosperous agricultural community. By 1703, the
congregation here numbered one hundred and seventy-eight
members. One hundred years later, as a result of wars, pesti
lence, and clinging too long to outgrown customs, the number
had dwindled down to thirty. The Year Book of the South
German Conference for 1909 gives the membership as seven
ty-two souls from eight different villages. C. J. van der
Smissen, well known in America, was the pastor at Friedrich
stadt at the time of his call to the Wadsworth school.
The greatest problem confronting the Mennonites of
North Germany during the nineteenth century was the prob
lem of maintaining the doctrine and practise of non-participa
tion in war. The growing spirit of militarism engendered by
the Napoleonic wars made it increasingly difficult for those of
the non-resistant faith to live up to their convictions. In some
parts of Germany, too, these convictions were weakening.
The churches along the Dutch border, composed largely
of business men living in cities and for that reason pos
sessing more liberal views of life than were held by Men
nonites from country districts, and influenced by the Dutch
churches in all their beliefs and practises, were inclined to
follow their Dutch brethren in the matter of the war question.
The Dutch had already practically discarded the doctrine of
non-resistance as it applied to war, and so during the nine
teenth century the churches of Northwestern Germany made'

122 THE MENNONITES
only a feeble attempt to maintain the principle of military
exemption. Although the elders of East Friesland and the
Rhine provinces tried to hold on to the old principles and
tried to furnish both substitutes and exemption money as
before, yet when Napoleon in 1806, at the formation of the
Rhine Confederation ordered all young men to serve in the
army, no serious nor successful resistance was made to the
order. After this Mennonite young men in North Germany
were found with others in the army.
Among the more conservative Prussians, however, for
reasons just intimated the struggle was kept up for another
half century. As we saw, at the opening of the century, these
were till granted military exemption upon the payment of
$5,000 to the military academy at Culm. But the growing
military spirit and the constant menace of a French invasion
threatened their privileges. In order to show their loyalty to
their country, they frequently made special contributions in
times of special need. In 1806, while the Prussian King and
Queen were stopping at Graudenz on their way to , the
eastern frontier, the Mennonite churches of that region had
collected $30,000 and had delegated a farmer by the name of
Nickel and his wife to present the gift to the king, which
they did. The wife, in addition, gave the queen a basket of
fresh butter, naively remarking that she had heard the queen
was in sore need of such a luxury. Both gifts were greatly
appreciated by the royal pair.
During the so-called War of Liberation in 1813, the
Prussians were especially hard pressed by the extraordinary
drain made upon their resources. The Mennonites of East
Prussia were requested in lieu of their special privileges. to
furnish five hundred horses, and $20,000 above their regular
taxes. This, proving too serious a burden, however, the
amount was somewhat reduced.
During this war .universal service was inaugurated from
which Mennonites at first were not exempted. The elders in
appealing to the king for the restoration of their former

GERMANY 123
status declared they would rather pay the extraordinary taxes,
and what was even worse, "bear the mockery and ill-will of
their neighbors" than to take up arms contrary to their re
ligious convictions. As a result of this appeal, they were ex
empted upon the payment of special taxes.
Although the War of Liberation was followed by a half
century of peace, the military spirit throughout Prussia ,and
all Germany ran high, and when in 1848, the new Prussian
constitution declared that every Prussian is subject to mili
tary service, a number of Mennonites, fearing for their non-
resistant faith, left for other lands, principally America and
Russia. Between 1853 and 1859, two hundred families " mi
grated to the latter country. Later on a number of these
Prussians came to America settling for the most part near
Beatrice, Nebraska, and Newton, Emaus and Bruderthal,
Kansas. A considerable element, tiring of the struggle for
military exemption, was ready to follow the example of their
brethren in the Netherlands and in the German regions near
by who had already discarded the principle of non-resistance.
The end came in 1867, when the North German Diet at
Frankfort passed a law abolishing all exemptions, thus ending
the privileges which Mennonites had enjoyed in Germany for
over three hundred years. This law was modified by the
King of Prussia the following year by a Cabinet order making
it possible to substitute for active service, non-combatant
service in the hospitals and the Commissary and Quarter
master departments. The effect of this order as just stated,
was to send a few of the more conscientious, who had not
already gone to Russia or America. Of those who remained,
about half entered the non-combatant service, and the remain
der entered the regular service. In the War of 1870, a number
of the Prussian Mennonites performed full military duty. In
the recent war there were perhaps few who demanded non-
combatant service. Non-resistance is no longer a cardinal
doctrine in the faith of the German Mennonites.
The Prussian Mennonites have not made much

124 THE MENNONITES
growth during recent years. Several important move
ments, however, need to be mentioned. The churches
have always been strongly individualistic, but the West Prus
sian congregations have now organized a conference. In
1886, at Berlin also was launched the Union of Mennonites of
the German Empire, the purpose of which is to unify the Men
nonites of all Germany. Of special value was the founding
of the first German church periodical in 1854, the "Men
nonitische Blaetter" by Jacob Mannhardt, pastor at Danzig.
Mannhardt who was called to the Danzig church in 1835 at a
salary of $600 was the second minister in the church to receive
a salary. He died in 1885. Two other recent leading men of
the church in what is now Prussia are C. J. van der Smissen
from1 Friedrichstadt, and B. C. Roosen from Hamburg-
Altona, author of a life of Menno Simons and of a history of
the Hamburg-Altona church.
The entire Mennonite population of present Prussia be
fore the recent war was about 14,000, of which about 10,000
were found in the province of West Prussia, 1,000 in East
Prussia, and the remainder in the western provinces.
III. South Germany.
As indicated elsewhere, the native German Anabaptist
communities were quite thoroughly rooted out in the six
teenth century. Many of the present Mennonite settlements
were founded by exiles from neighboring countries. Those
in North Germany and the Prussias, it was seen came largely
from Holland, and remained in close touch with the home
base for several centuries. Those of South Germany on the
other hand, many of them, were founded by Swiss refugees
and always remained more or less closely affiliated with the
church in Switzerland. As we saw in chapter I, many of the
Swiss leaders in the early history of the Anabaptist move
ment were driven into southern Germany where large
congregations were organized in the first third of the six
teenth century in the regions of Augsburg, Strasburg, Worms

BEREND CARL ROOSEN

GERMANY 125
and other cities and villages in Bavaria, Baden, Hesse, Nassau,
Wurtemburg, and the Palatinate. Most of these early con
gregations were broken up by persecutions, however, before
the middle of the century. Only isolated churches survived
to which were added others later on. The largest of these
surviving settlements augmented by later additions, were
found in the Palatinate and Hesse in the region of Heidelberg
and Mannheim, along the Rhine and the Neckar, although
small groups were also found early and have survived to the
present in all of the above named states.
In Catholic Bavaria ^.persecutions were most severe.
Van Bracht, the martyrologist speaks of seventy martyrs who
died for their faith between 1535 and 1605 in Bavaria and
other South German regions. The last execution in South
Germany was that of a Huterite woman who was put to death
in 1618. In the Palatinate and in the Rhine regions, the
persecutions were not so severe as in Bavaria. Occasionally
there was even a period of limited toleration.
Persecution usually was instigated by the clergy. Re
formed and Lutheran as well as Catholic, while the temporal
authorities, especially the nobility upon whose lands Men
nonites lived as tenants, often took the part of the latter.
Many of these noble estates had originally been monastic
lands, and being "hofs" gave names to many of the Mennonite
congregations such as Weirhof, Buechselhof, Ekerhof, etc.
In order to convince the public of the errors of Menno
nite dectrine, public disputations were still occasionally held
late in the century. The best known and best advertised of
these discussions was held at Frankenthal in 1571, under the
auspices of Elector Frederick III of the Palatinate. This
meeting was widely advertised throughout South Germany
among the Mennonites who were offered safe conduct and
freedom from religious interference during the debate. But
only fifteen Mennonites responded to the invitation, coming
principally from Moravia, Austria and several of the south
German cities outside of the Palatinate.

126 THE MENNONITES
The debate lasted for twenty-two days, and thirty-seven
sessions were held. The spokesmen for the Mennonite cause
were Diebold Winter from the imperial city of Weisenberg,
and Hans Buechsel from Austria, author of a number of songs
in the Ausbund, Peter Walpot from Nicholsburg, Claus Sim-
merer from the Palatinate and others, all courageous and con
scientious but unlearned leaders of the church. The State
Church on the other hand put forth its best known theologians,
well versed in the intricacies of the theologies of the day. The
Mennonites showed themselves much the better versed in the
Bible but the theologians were more at home in the philoso-,
phies of the day. The latter, of course, were declared the
victors in the debate by the state authorities. The questions
discussed were those which marked the distinctive teachings of
the Mennonites, such as the trinity, incarnation, origin of sin,
ban, separation of husband and wife, community of goods,
magistracy, qath, infant baptism, and the Lord's Supper. The
question on the community of goods i was inserted for the
benefit of the Moravian delegates present who represented the
Huterites, at that time communists.
The result of this debate was the usual one. Each side
was strengthened in its position, and the condition of the Men
nonites was not improved. In 1573, a synod under the presi
dency of the Elector, declared the Mennonites to be "Zauber-
er und Menschen so Vieh und Leute segnen und dem Teufel
huldigen." They were given time to repent and if not, they
were threatened with expulsion. During the remainder of that
century their lot became so burdensome and uncomfortable
that by 1600, most of the congregations had emigrated to
Moravia. The Thirty Years' War also devastated this land
and even further scattered the isolated communities that had
survived the oppression of the previous century.
It was about this time, too, that several conferences were
held of the South German, Swiss and Moravian Mennonites,
the proceedings of which i throw some interesting side lights
upon the religious practises of that day. In 1568 was held an

, GERMANY 127
important meeting at Strasburg at which a number of recom
mendations were made relating to the everyday life of the
Mennonite people. Widows and Orphans were to be cared for
by the church. The congregations, too, were to help support
ministers who were called away in the interests of church
matters. No brother was to enter mercantile life without the
consent of the church and the elders. Money was to be loaned
perferably to fellow members, rather than to- the "world."
Interest could be taken, but no force was to be used in collect-
ing money when due. The Ban was to be applied to all who
"slander the truth of the gospel and the church." If a broth
er was to be appointed to do police duty in the town forests,
he was not to carry a weapon nor do violence to any one.
Public drinking and smoking, being an offence to many, was
forbidden. Believing servants were to enter the service of
church members preferably. Tailors and seamstresses were
to make their clothing according to the simple customs of
the times and not to cater to the vain and proud fashions of
the day. Brethren were to greet one another with the kiss
of peace. Vain arguing about the mysteries of the incarna
tion was declared to be profitless. In the breaking of bread,
all were to kneel. No one was to leave the services before
the close, even though such services may last for six hours.
In 1557 was held at Strasburg also the well known con
ference of South German Mennonites to discuss the points of
difference which separated them from their brethren in the
North and in the Netherlands, especially the Wismar rules
of 1554 dealing with church discipline. After these impor
tant meetings, there was little intercourse between the North
' and South German churches for several centuries. ^
At the close of the Thirty Years' War, however, there
opened up a new chapter in the history of the South Ger
mans and the Palatinate especially. That war had greatly
devastated these regions and at its close greatly reduced the
population. There was again a large demand for industrious
and skilled farmers to build up the desolated regions made

128 THE MENNONITES
so by the war. At this time the Swiss Mennonites were un
dergoing severe persecution in Bern, and in them the Elector
saw good material for prospective colonists. Accordingly the
Count Palatine, Carl Ludwig, sent them an invitation to set
tle on his estates offering them a limited religious toleration
and the abrogation of the old oppressive laws. A few came
as early as 1658 from Moravia and started a colony near
Mannheim, which again became the center of immigrant c6l-
onies. In 1664 permission was granted to worship publicly
to such as had settled there. The large immigration came
from Bern, however, in 1671 during which year seven hun
dred arrived in the Palatinate, settling in the regions between
Kaiserlautern,, Mannheim, and Heidelberg. A few came la
ter. About one hundred at this time located in Alsace. Theil-
man van Bracht, visiting these Swiss refugees in 1672, report
ed that there was great suffering among the Swiss both here
and in Switzerland at this time. The Elector promised them
protection and toleration, but they were not to carry on act
ive propaganda to spread their faith.
The Swiss refugees enjoyed but a brief respite, however,
in the Palatinate. In 1688 began the so-called war of the Pal
atinate in which the command of Louis XIV to "burn up the
Palatinate" was almost literally carried out by the lieutenants
of the French monarch. McCauley speaking Of this general
devastation says, "The flames went up from every market
place, every parish church, every country seat within the de
voted province. The fields where the corn had been sown
were plowed up. The orchards were hewn down. No prom
ise of a harvest was left on the fertile plains of what had been
Frankenthal. Not a vine, not an almond tree was to be seen
on the slopes of the sunny hills around what had once been
Heidelberg." The Mennonites of course were not spared. Two hun
dred and forty families had to flee. These sought refuge in
the regions down the Rhine, and would not have been able
to eke out an existence had not their brethren in Holland and

GERMANY 129
Northwest Germany come to their help with substantial gifts
of both money and clothing. Many found their way as exiles
to the churches at Crefeld, Neuweid, Amsterdam and other
communities. Others returned to the Palatinate to start life
over again.
Blut here, too, they found only a temporary asylum after
the war. After the Palatinate had again recovered from its
losses, and people again became plentiful there was no longer
any need of being kind to the Mennonites. These were
consequently constantly hampered both in their worship
and in their every-day life during the eighteenth cen
tury. As late as 1726, the Elector who had again become
a Catholic by, this time, said that Mennonites at that time were
merely tolerated in his land. They were not allowed to buy
land and hence must become tenants or laborers. In the at
tempt on the part of the Government to keep their number
down to two hundred families, a special head tax of from six
to twelve gulden was levied upon them annually. In their
worship, too, they were limited, and could not bury their dead
in the church graveyards. The kings of England as well as
the authorities in Holland frequently interceded in behalf of
the Mennonites in the Palatinate during these times, but to
no avail. Because of these limitations, the Mennonites in
these regions were kept poor. Benedict Brechtbuhl in 1714
who distributed money collected in Holland for the poor Pal
atines reported that their condition at that time was one of
great destitution. Many returned to Switzerland, and others
crossed over to Alsace.
It was during this period that large numbers of Palatines
and Swiss Mennonites emigrated to America. The churches
of Holland organized a "Society for Foreign Relief" for the
purpose of helping their oppressed brethren to find homes
across the Atlantic. The demands for help became so numer
ous that before 1740, the Society had to suspend operations.
By 1732, over three thousand had arrived at Rotterdam from
the Palatinate asking for transportation. These were perhaps
5

130 THE MENNONITES
not quite all Mennonites nor were all who asked given aid.
But then too, others found their way across without help from
the Dutch. These emigrants, Mennonites, and others by the
thousands settled in Pennsylvania, New York and in North
Carolina. The period of emigration extended from 1710 to
the French and Indian war.
Not all Mennonites left South Germany, however. Sta
tistics compiled in 1730 show that about Mannheim there were
still some twenty-seven churches with six hundred and eigh
teen families. By the middle of the century also, they were
granted greater civil liberties, while many of the restrictions
under which they had been living were removed. By 1823,
there were still over 3300 Mennonites in the Palatinate.
In the early part of the nineteenth century, a number of
Palatines accepted the invitation of King Maximilian to settle
in Bavaria. Two congregations were established, one in 1802
at Maxweiler, and another in 1818 at Eichstock. The latter
emigrated almost bodily to America in the early fifties. At the
same time, too, a number of Arriish emigrated from Baden to
Bjavaria. During the second quarter also of the, nineteenth
century, from 1820 to 1860, large numbers of Mennonites and
Amish emigrated from all the South German states including
the settlements in Alsace, Loraine, and also France, to Amer
ica partly for economic reasons, but largely also to escape miU
itary service.
During the Napoleonic wars, the South German Menno
nites were impressed into military service by the French con
queror, although the churches still clung to their non-resist
ant doctrine. In 1806 .many young men were forced to serve.
After 1815 and up to 1866 in Bavaria, Baden and Wurtem-
burg substitutes could be furnished by the young men, a priv
ilege accorded non-Mennonites also, but since many were not
able to buy a substitute nothing was left but actual service
or emigration. At first, the entire church collected money to
buy substitutes for all its young men, but finally those having
no sons liable to service objected to this method, and after

GERMANY 131
that each family had to look out for itself. ThisVas the cause
during these years of much of the emigration from South Ger
many to America. By the time of the war of 1870 such as had
not yet emigrated had lost their non-resistant principles and
most of them entered active service.
The elders, however, had endeavored to retain the old
principles. In 1803, some twenty churches from South Ger
many were represented in a conference at Ibersheim near
Worms at which resolutions were drawn up opposing military
^service, and threatening all who accepted service, voluntarily,
with excommunication.
This conference occupies an important place in the his
tory of the South German Mennonites, and the resolutions
adopted throw an interesting side light upon the church prac
tise of that day. Among the men responsible for the meet
ing were Valentine Dahlem, the talented elder from Weisbad-
en, and Elder Peter Weber from Neuwied, both of whom felt
the need of a closer union among the churches during those
trying times. In addition to the resolutions respecting mil
itary service, the conference decreed that ministers must still
be selected by lot, and any one refusing to accept the call was
to be excommunicated. Ministers also must live sober and
exemplary lives. Excessive use of liquor was punishable by
loss of office and excommunication from the church. Among
the members dancing, gambling, attending theatres, and play
ing cards was forbidden. Marriage outside of the fold was
punishable by excommunication, and restoration could be se
cured only upon confession of wrong doing. Use of unneces
sary adornment was made a matter of church discipline.
Women must not appear at the communion table with un
covered heads.
Some of these rules were more easily made than enforced,
however. It was difficult to excommunicate the young men
whom Napoleon forced intd his armies, and in spite of regu
lations to the contrary, men unqualified for the ministry re
fused to serve when struck by the lot. As a result, there was

132 THE MENNONITES
i.
frequently a lack of efficient leadership among many of the
churches, and in order to escape military service, many of the
young men came to America. There were a few men, how
ever, who served as good leaders. Elder Dahlem from the
Palatinate has already been mentioned. At the Ibersheim con
ference, he was commissioned to draw up a ministers' manual
with formulas for various functions of the church. This man
ual was adopted by the churches and printed at Neuweid in
1807. It was in use in South Germany for a good many years,
and was revised in 1852. In 1832, there was published also a
new hymn book for the Palatine churches, entitled "Christ-
liches Gesangbuch," and another at Weisbaden in 1843.
Among other leaders during the first half of the century must
be mentioned Michael Lowenberg of Weirhof, founder in 1867
of the well known Mennonite school; Johannes Molenaar, of
Dutch birth but educated in the German universities and pas
tor at Mannheim, composer of a song book; Jacob Ellen-
berger, liberal minded pastor of several congregations respec
tively in Hesse, Bavaria and the Palatinate, and author of
"Bilder aus der Pilger Leben." The latter was the organizer
of the first Mennonite school at Friedelsheim where he was
pastor of the largest Mennonite church in the Palatinate, and
as early as 1820 tried to enlist the interest of the church in for
eign missions.
Of special interest is the "Real Schule" at Weierhof,
which was first organized as a boy's school in 1867 by a school
association. The purpose of the promoters was to develop it
into a seminary for training ministers, but the project did not
prosper. At the time of the death of the founder, Lowenberg,
in 1874, there were only thirty students, with a heavy debt.
During the next ten years, the school struggled through sev
eral different changes until in 1884, it was transferred under
Dr. Goebel into a first class "Real Schule" recognized by the
state authorities. Religious instruction is in charge of a Men
nonite minister. For some time, the well known Christian
Neff served in that capacity. The school draws most of its

ULRICH HEGE
Late Editor Gemeindeblatt.

GERMANY 133
students from the local communities, but a number of Rus
sian Mennonites have attended in recent years as ,have also a
few from the Prussian and other churches.
Among other important literary ventures was the found
ing of "Das Gemeinde Blatt" in 1869. The first edition ap
peared the next year under the editorship of Ulrich Hege of
Reihen, Baden, who remained editor until his death in 1897.
In 1892 appeared the first annual copy of the Christliche Ge
meinde Kalender issued now by the South German Confer
ence. The recent beginning of a comprehensive Mennonite
Lexicon by Christian Neff of Weierhof and Christian Hege
promises to be of greatest historical value and it is to be hoped
that now since the war is over that the work may be com
pleted in due time.
For some years two conferences have existed among the
South Germans, one composed of the churches from the Pal
atinate, and Hesse, and the other of those from- Baden, Wur-
temburg and Bavaria. Since 1889, both of these have held
annual meetings. In 1903, the Conference of the South German
Mennonites was organized which included all the congrega
tions except those of Alsace.
The Mennonite population of South Germany in 1914 was
near five thousand, divided into thirty-nine congregations ex
clusive of those in Alsace of which there are eleven. Wurtem-
burg has three congregations; Baden, ten; Bavaria, seven;
Palatinate, fourteen; and Hesse has five.

* It will thus be seen that the entire Mennonite population
including unbaptized members of the present German Em
pire before the war was approximately twenty thousand, less
than it was one hundred years ago. One of the chief causes
of this loss was the emigration to America and Russia dur
ing the first half of the century to escape military service and
to better their economic situation. Another weakness of the
church was the lack of unifying forces. They had no schools
of their own. Their young men went to state church schools

134 THE MENNONITES
and thus were trained away from their own faith. Strict rules,
excommunicating members marrying outside of the fold also
lost many to the church. In recent years there has been a
growing interest in missionary work. Most of the congrega
tions support the missionary society controlled by the Dutch
Mennonites. In Prussia many of the churches have hospitals
and homes for the aged. The two papers, "Mennonitische
Blaetter" and "Das Gemeinde Blatt," the school at Weierhof,
and the organization of .conferences, especially the General
Conference of the Mennonites of the German Empire which
in 1914 represented two-thirds of the German Mennonites, —
all these agencies during the last fifty years have done some
thing to unify the German churches, but none exert the same
moulding influence over the membership at large as do sim
ilar institutions in America.
The German Mennonites especially in the city churches
in the north have departed in certain fundamentals from the
paths of the fathers. Practically all as already indicated
have given up their non-resistance. In 1870, as was seen,
many of the North German Mennonites with the exception
of the churches along the Dutch border in East Friesland
and along the Rhine took advantage of the Cabinet order of
1868, but the South Germans who did not come under the
order of 1868 entered for the most part active service. By
1914, however, all had ceased to be non-resistant. Several
causes for this change are given by the Germans them
selves. First, the Cabinet order of 1868 permitting non-
combatant service was limited to the descendants of the old
Mennonites only, and such as entered the church since, who
were not of the old families did not have this advantage ;
neither did it apply to children of those marrying outside the
Mennonite church ; universal military training in times of
peace paved the way for an easy transition to universal
service in time of war; finally, too, the opinion prevailed that
their patriotism demanded that they serve the fatherland.
For some time, the church has had a special commission to

GERMANY 135
look after the spiritual interests of the Mennonite young men
in the training barracks.
From the files of the Mennonitishe Blaetter, we learn
that evidently very few in this recent war attempted to take
advantage of the old Cabinet order of 1868, if indeed that
order is still effective. At the opening of the war, for the
purpose of discouraging any pacifist tendencies among the
population, the Municipal theatre of Berlin placed upon the
stage Wildenbruch's "Der Mennonit" written in 1882. The
principal character in this drama is a Mennonite living in the
year 1809, whom the dramatist brings to a tragic end after
renouncing his faith on the alleged grounds that it was not
consistent with his patriotism. The Mennonite population in
Berlin and elsewhere insisted that the play did not do them
justice, and anyway they were no longer opposed to military
service. Whereupon the play was taken off the stage by
order of the authorities. At the close of the first year of the
war, August 1915, it was estimated that 2,000 young men
were in the service, one-fourth of them officers. Since the
Mennonite population is only about 20,000, that means that
one out of every ten of the Mennonite population was in the
war during that first year. During1 the same time, too, we
learn from the September, 1915, issue that of these one
hundred and fifteen had already been killed in battle, ninety-
five had been wounded, and twenty-three had been taken
prisoner or were missing. Ninety had received the iron cross.
During the remaining three years of the war the losses were
equally heavy and finally became so painful that their
publication in the "Mennonitische Blaetter" was forbidden
by the authorities.
The Mennonite communities in the battle zones in Alsace
and in Galicia, of course, suffered severely, and for these
special collections were made throughout the remaining
churches. Toward their Russian brethren the German Men
nonites maintained a brotherly regard. A special effort was
made to alleviate the burdens of such Russian Mennonite

136 THE MENNONITES
prisoners as were held in the prison camps. Before this
book comes from the press, communication with Germany
and Russia will undoubtedly be opened and many facts on
the experiences of the Mennonites in this war will be
available.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 137

CHAPTER VI.
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY Moravia.
As we saw in Chapter I, persecuted Anabaptists quite
early in the history of the movement found their way from
Switzerland and south Germany into Tyrol, Austria, Styria,
Carinthia and into Moravia, where in the latter country
they found a refuge on the estates of the tolerant noblemen,
John and Leonhard Liechtenstein. In course of time, the
movement was exterminated throughout the Hapsburg pos
sessions, but it held on longest in Moravia. The surviving
Moravian Anabaptists all came to adopt the communism of
Jacob Huter, a Tyrolean hatter, and were called after him
Huterites. Huter himself spent his time between Tyrol and
Moravia, and was executed at Innsbruck in 1536, after being
subjected to the most cruel torture in an attempt to secure his
recantation. The Huterite communities were found in the
extreme southern portion of Moravia in the valleys of the
March and Thaya rivers. Here except for a short period in
1535 and 1536, they lived comparatively unmolested until
1547, and during that time they received many refugees of
their faith from other less tolerant lands near by.
Beginning with 1547, however, and lasting unjtil 1554, a
period of bitter persecution set in. Both King Ferdinand
and Emperor Charles were determined to completely ex
terminate Anabaptists not only within Moravia, but
throughout the Hapsburg possessions. In spite of the
tolerance of the Liechte,nsteins and other noblemen, they
were driven from their homes, and for seven years they

138 THE MENNONITES
were compelled to wander about in the forests and waste
places, and hide in caves and seek a shelter amid the rocks,
finding food wherever they could. "Gladly," says a
chronicler of the time, "would they have shared a roof with
the cattle and swine, but even that was denied them." No one
dared under severe penalty give them relief, sell them food or
clothing, nor engage them to work. They were declared
outlaws, which gave robbers and ruffians a right to attack
them with impunity, an opportunity which the latter were by
no means slow to take advantage of.
Better days were ahead, however. In 1554 began an era
of comparative peace and prosperity which lasted nearly
throughout the century, and which was called by the Huterite
chroniclers "The Golden Age." During this time the church
became prosperous, and added a number of recruits. Some
writers estimate that at the time of greatest prosperity, the
Huterite population was as high as 70,000 ; others put the num
ber at 15,000. The latter estimate is undoubtedly more nearly
correct than the former. Many refugees came from Swit
zerland and Germany. During this period, too, many mis
sionaries were sent out to preach the Gospel and invite the
persecuted in other lands to come to Moravia, the Promised
Land. This was a dangerous undertaking on the part of the
missionaries, for Anabaptist teachers were still outlawed
throughout the empire. The records of the time are full of
the names of these missionaries who suffered a cruel death
for the sake of their faith in Switzerland and Germany.
In 1558, Hans Raiffer, a smith by trade and a minister,
was apprehended on his way to the Netherlands. After
being put through the most cruel torture on the rack in the
hope of turning him from his faith, he was tied to a stake with
a rope about his neck, and a chain about his limbs and
burned. The executioners said they were reluctant to carry
out these orders, but if they did not the king or the new em
peror would punish them. In 1566 a minister was drowned at
Venice, and another was executed with the sword at Inns-

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 139
bruck. In 1571, Wolf Binder was arrested in Bavaria and
stretched on the rack until it seemed "the sun would shine
through him." After singing a song of his own composition
he was beheaded. As late as 1618 the chroniclers record the
imprisonment, torture and execution in Tyrol of Jost Wil
helm, a well-to-do Moravian missionary. By 1581 it was
estimated by one authority that over two thousand Moravians
had been executed in other lands while engaged in their
missionary endeavors. How reliable these figures are we have
no way of knowing.
As has already been suggested, the Huterites agreed with
the Anabaptists elsewhere known as Mennonites in all the
essential Anabaptist doctrines, such as adult baptism, oath,
magistracy, non-resistance, and the Lord's Supper. They
also refused to pay war taxes. For a long time, they were in
rather close touch with the Mennonites in Switzerland and
South Germany. They usually attended important general
conferences, being represented at the Strasburg meeting
of 1557 where Menno Simons' Wismar rules were discussed.
In times of distress they called upon their Dutch Mennonite
brethren for help. Although they did not bear the name
Mennonite, they must be included in any history of that body
of believers. In one important matter, however, they differed from the
other Anabaptists known as Mennonites. They were com
munists, working together for a common fund and eating at
common tables. When a new member joined their company,
he turned over all his property into the common treasury, and
if for any cause, he later left the group he could not reclaim
his contribution. They were divided into communities called
"Bruderhofs," (Households) consisting of from four hundred
to one thousand people. Their religious officials were bishops.
in charge of an entire settlement; "ministers of the Word,"
preachers chosen by lot for each household ; and "ministers of
need" who looked after the temporal needs of the group.
These officials had almost unlimited power in the administra-

140 THE MENNONITES
tion of affairs. Children were brought up in communal
nurseries until they were six years of age, and after that in
communal schools, where the course of study consisted almost
entirely of religion and the useful arts, until they were old
enough to take their place in the communal scheme of active
workers. Members were baptized upon confession of faith
only, and supposedly only upon their own request, but since
religious instruction became a part of the daily discipline,
almost from the cradle children were baptized very early,
often as young as five years. Widows and orphans were care
fully looked after, and in normal times pauperism was un
known. No one dared do business for himself, but all worked
for the common good.
Because of their industry and skill, the Huterite com
munities became wealthy. Their households were spoken of
as Bee Hives. They excelled in farming, stock raising and
mechanical arts. From their stables came the finest horses and
the best stock in the land, while their cutlery, woolens and
linens could not be surpassed in quality anywhere. Their
public baths were famous and were frequented by the nobility.
Their doctors were among the most skilled. A chronicle of
1581 says, "In this year, Emperor Rudolf at Prague sent for
our doctor George Zobel. Through the grace of God, he was
again restored to health." The noblemen came to regard the
Huterites as necessary to the economic welfare of the
country. In 1567 when Emperor Maximilian attempted to
renew the decrees against them, the nobility in the Moravian
Landtag, by convincing the emperor that if the Huterites
were banished, the country would lose its most efficient
farmers and its most skilled mechanics, secured a postpone
ment of the proposed measures and finally its annulment. A
detailed statement of the faith and practises of the Huterite
brethren is found in the "Account of our Religion and Faith"
written in 1543 by Peter Riedeman, a well-known minister.
This Confession has recently been published for the first time
in America by the South Dakota Huterites.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 141
The most common charge against communism is that it
encourages idleness. The records show that the Huterite
Households were not an exception to the common rule. In
1640 it was agreed in the Levar community in a meeting of
the officials, that since there were so many holidays to be
observed during the week, laborers should work "all day on
Saturday. For with too much idleness, they said, it would
not be possible to support their wives, children, the old and
the weak. Again at a great meeting at Sabotisch ten years
later, it was deemed necessary to warn the farmers that in
harvest and threshing time they should be more industrious,
and should not take from three to four days to do what ought
to be accomplished in one or two. The laborers in the vine
yards are told that even the neighbors complain "how our
people waste so much time in going to work, and those in the
lead even sit down to wait for those in the rear to catch up."
When lunch is carried to them' in the fields and vineyards,
"they do little before they eat and then they sit another hour
before they begin work." The workers are urged to do their
work well so that the church may not lose its good name.
Trading and working for oneself was strictly forbidden
the individual. No one was even to possess his own hen or
dove. That it was not always easy to enforce this rule is
shown by a complaint made in the Dechtitz community | in
1641, that many of the tradesmen kept some of the money
which every two weeks should be turned over to the commu
nity treasurer. One cutler was found with one hundred knives
in his possession.
Discipline extended into the minutest details of everyday
living and thinking. In a meeting with the elders at the above
place, the sisters were warned not to be so proud and not to
violate the rules of the church by secretly making such fine
knives for themselves with green knobs and pearl handles, for
one act of pride, the ministers said, leads to another. Even
the young men tried to imitate all the newest fashions, parting
their hair like the soldiers, and buying from the Jews all the

142 THE MENNONITES
latest cuts of clothing. All these are requested to buy only
from the community stores after this.
The "Golden Age" closed with the renewal of persecution
in 1592. From now on through the entire seventeenth and
the first half of the eighteenth centuries the history of the
Huterites is one continued story of ruin and devastation, first
because of the Thirty Years' War, later because of the
Turkish invasions, and finally because of persecution at the
hands of the Jesuit clergy.
In the Thirty Years' War, a system of plundering was in
augurated by both armies which completely ravished the
lands through which the wandering bands of soldiers
marched. The Huterite Households because of their fine
horses, fat cattle and well-filled granaries, were singled out as
especially desirable prizes. In 1619 twelve Households were
completely burned to the ground ; seventeen others greatly
damaged ; forty men and women were cut down in cold blood,
and two hundred horses and all their cattle, swine and sheep
were driven away. "Many dear people," the chronicler says,
"were cut down so cruelly and tortured so unmercifully as to
cause such distress and misery as no man can conceive." The
next year the community at Pribitz was attacked by fifteen
hundred troops and completely destroyed. In three hours
fifty-two of the men were killed, and seventeen men and wom
en so badly mutilated that they died within a few days.
Every sort of cruel and inhuman punishment was resorted to
by the marauders. For the purpose of securing money, the>r
"burned them with hot irons and flaming torches, poured hot
grease over their bare bodies, cut deep wounds into their
flesh, which they then filled with powder and ignited il-,
jerked off their fingers, slashed into them with their swords as
if they were cabbage heads. One brother's head they twisted
completely around so that he faced straight backward."
On top of these terrible sufferings from the fortunes of
war, came the imperial order in September, 1622, that within
four weeks they must all leave the land on penalty of severe

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 143
punishment. The tolerant Liechtensteins on whose estates
they had settled one hundred years earlier, had in the mean
time been succeeded by the bigoted family of Deitrichstein
and it was through the influence of Cardinal van Deitrichstein
that the imperial order was issued. The poor people plead
that they might at least be given until the next spring to leave,
but all in vain. In the midst of a cold winter they were chased,
some twenty thousand of them, empty-handed across the bor
der to search for new homes. Some of them located in Hun
gary, where a group of their brethren had started a community
at Sabotisch as early as 1546. Others upon invitation from the
prince founded a settlement at Alwintz, in the principality of
Siebenbergen. But even here they fared little better than before. Their
communities were overrun at first by imperial troops
throughout the Thirty Years' War, and after 1648 by Turks
and Tartars who made occasional raids ¦ into these regions,
throughout the latter half of the century. Many of the men
were killed, and many of the women and children were car
ried away by the Turks as captives often to meet a fate worse
than death. So great became the misery and poverty of the
Huterites finally that in 1639, they were compelled to seek aid
from the Dutch Mennonites. In 1667, too, because of severe
trials they were forced to give up their communism, and each
family had to shift for itself.
With 1674 also began an aggressive campaign on the part
of the Jesuit clergy to force the Huterites back into the
Catholic church. Despairing of converting the adults, they
hoped to destroy the faith by gaining control of the youth. In
1688 children were ordered to be baptized, orders which were
repeatedly disobeyed and renewed during the next half cen
tury, and which led to many imprisonments. In course of
time, too, the Huterites were forbidden to hold meetings of
their own, and ordered to attend those of the Jesuits. Their
members had to be married by the officials of the state church.
Their own schools were put under the ban. Books dealing

144 THE MENNONITES
with their own faith were confiscated while those of the
Catholic faith were supplied.
As a result of these measures, a number of the brethren
were won back into the church, but were permitted to retain
certain features of their faith including non-resistance and a
somewhat separate organization. These were popularly
known as "Habaner," but were spoken of as "Step-brothers"
by the Huterite chronicler. Others left for Prussia and
Holland. The number of the faithful as a result of all these
measures was greatly reduced in Hungary. By 1750 in
Sabotisch and Levar, the leading settlements, there were left
only four hundred members, and these were unable to hold
out much longer against the persistent oppression of the
Jesuits. Finally by 1767 nearly all left Hungary and Sieben-
gergen for Wallachia where they hoped to begin life anew.
But here, too, they were unfortunate. The Russian-Turkish
war reduced them to great misery. They finally came under
the notice of the Russian Field Marshal, Count Romanizov,
who in 1770, invited them to settle on his own estates in the
province of Tschernigof, at Wischenka, near Baturin on the
Desna river, where they again organized their communism.
Here they remained for some time until after the death of
Romanizov in 1796. The count's successor attempted to re
duce the Huterites to serfdom, whereupon they left their
homes again and settled upon Crown lands at Radichew. In
the meantime at the latter place a division occurred among
them. About half of their number following the lead of Jacob -
Walter left the community and settled upon homes of their
own. The remnant finally in 1842 removed to Crown lands in
the Molotschna where they first founded the community of
Huterthal. Ten years later another community was
organized at Johannesruh, and several years later two more
groups were formed. Finally in 1874, upon the introduction
of universal military service in Russia these people emi-

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 145
grated bodily to America, settling in several localities in the
James river valley in South Dakota.
Galicia.
The only Mennonites left in modern Austria-Hungary to
day are to be found in Galicia in the region of Lemberg.
These have no historical connection with the Huterites, but
are the descendants of the Swiss and German immigrants in
the latter part of the eighteenth century. Emperor Joseph in
1781, like the Empress of Russia a few years later, issued a
patent inviting industrious German settlers to locate on his
poorly cultivated estates in Galicia, which had been his share
of the booty in the recent partitioning of Poland. Large num
bers of Germans accepted the invitation settling in all some
one hundred and fifty colonies. Among these in 1784 were
twenty-eight Mennonite families from Hesse and Switzerland,
all originally of Swiss descent. Xhey formed three small
colonies at Einsidel, Falkenstein and Rosenberg.
The terms offered by the Emperor were exceedingly
liberal. The Mennonites were granted religious toleration
and military exemption. Each family was granted a farm of
thirty to forty acres, including buildings and sufficient money
for equipment, besides tax exemption for ten years. Un
fortunately these twenty odd families could not stand prosper
ity, for they soon fell to quarreling among themselves. Some
of them may have been of the Amish or conservative Men
nonite persuasion, for they were divided into the "hookers"
and the "buttoners." As a result ten families left in the begin
ning of the last century for Russia.
During the next three quarters of a century, however,
the small colonies maintained a steady growth. During the
middle years three new colonies were established nearby, —
Neuhof, Horozona, and Kiernica. During the early eighties
desire to better their material condition, spurred on by ir
responsible agents of the big steamship companies induced
about fifty families, about half of the entire population, to

146 THE MENNONITES
emigrate to America. These settled in Butterfield, Minnesota,
but later some went to Kansas. The entire Mennonite popu
lation at this time was about seven hundred. The remaining
members became still more widely scattered. The same
economic pressure led others to leave their small farms and
venture to buy large estates, while those who could not pur
chase estates entered upon them as tenants. In this way the
original compact colonies have become widely scattered. In
1912, the total Mennonite population in Galicia was five
hundred and ninety-one, of whom three hundred and ninety-
six were baptized members, living in one hundred and one
hamlets and villages, in the general region of Lemberg.
Services were held alternately in nine different localities with
in a distance of from twenty to one hundred miles from the
capital city. In 1911 a church was erected in Lemberg which
is the most accessible for the largest number of the scattered
members. Practically the only church" institution is a fund for
supporting educated ministers established by Peter Kintzi
in 1905. In 1912 the bishop was Heinrich Pauls, educated at
the missionary school at Basel and at the university at Halle.
In 1913 Pauls sent out invitations to all the leading Menno
nites of the world for a world conference to be held at Lem
berg, but the response was not sufficiently favorable to justify
the calling of the conference.
, During the recent war, the Galician Mennonite settle
ments were in the very center of the battle zone in 1915 and
1916, and the community suffered serious loss, while a num
ber of their men either fell in battle or were carried away by
the Russians.

RUSSIA 147

CHAPTER VII.
RUSSIA.
To the student of Mennonite affairs the history of the,
Russian Mennonites furnishes a pleasing contrast to that of
their brethren in the other countries already mentioned.
Instead of persecution and repression they meet here in the
land of the most arbitrary ruler of Europe the greatest en
couragement to expand their settlements and the greatest
liberty to practise their beliefs according to their convictions.
They furnish an interesting example, too, of the course Men
nonitism would take where it is free to apply its principles,
economic and political as well as religious to every-day life.
The Mennonites of Russia are Germans, and the first
settlements were made during the reign of Catherine the
Great, who became ruler of all the Russias in 1763.
Catherine, although unprincipled and cruel, was a woman of
remarkable ability and political foresight, and did much for
the political and industrial development of her empire. During
her reign she extended the confines of her empire to the
Black and Caspian seas at the expense of Turkey with whom
she carried on several wars. These regions were inhabited
by half-wild, nomadic bands of Turks and Tartars, and much
of the conquered territory became Crown land, which she
wished to develop to its fullest extent. Being herself a Ger
man, she naturally turned to overcrowded Germany, appeal
ing especially to oppressed people for model colonists for. her
territories on the broad steppes in Southern Russia. In an
invitation of 1763 especially liberal terms were offered all
German colonists. All emigrants were promised free trans
portation ; religious toleration with the right to establish their

148 THE MENNONITES
own schools, churches and forms of local government; ' loans
to establish factories and other industries, and military exemp
tion. As a result of these inviting terms thousands of Germans,
mostly Prussians, of every faith found their way into South
Russia, during the next forty years. Especially attractive,
however, was the offer to those religious sects who were more
or less restricted in their religious and civil liberties under
Prussian rule. One of the first of these groups was a colony
of Moravian brethren who established a colony for missionary
purposes along the Mohammedan frontier near Saratov in
1763. The Huterites, too, as we saw, left Moravia in 1767,
settling in Wallachia near Bucharest. But falling prey to the
robber bands, which followed in the wake of the Turkish wars,
they fled from their brief resting place, and after wandering
about for a short time they finally found an asylum in Russia
on the estates of a nobleman, Count Romanizov, at Wishenka,
in the province of Tscheringov. Here they prospered and re
mained until 1800, when in order to escape serfdom at the
hands of the successor to their benefactor, they moved upon
Crown lands some few miles north where they organizer! a
colony of five Bruderhpfs. They finally fell to quarreling
among themselves and one part emigrated to the Chortitz
colony, while the remainder, in 1842, emigrated to Melitopol
in Taurien where they founded Huterthal near the Molots
chna colony. In 1853 Johannesberg was established nearby,
and a few years later in 1857, Hutersdorf and New Hutersth?.l
respectively. These groups emigrated to America in 1874.
A special invitation was extended to the Mennonites of
West Prussia in 1786. Just a few years preceding, Catherine
had wrested additional territory from Turkey about the
Azov sea — present Crimea and Taurien. In Taurien alone
500,000 acres became Crown lands. Upon these she desired
to place industrious farmers whose farms might serve as
models for the surrounding nomadic tribes. She had perhaps
learned of the industrious Mennonites and how they had de-

RUSSIA 149
veloped the lowlands of the Vistula through her generals who
had spent several winters in West Prussia during the Seven
Years' War. At any rate in the above mentioned year a
special invitation was given by Catherine to the Mennonites
of the Vistula, through her consul at Danzig to settle on her
Crown lands in South Russia. Coming just when it did, at a
time when their religious liberties were being restricted by
their own Government, the West Prussian churches regarded
this offer as an act of Providence. Two deputies, Jacob
Hoeppner and Johann Bartch, were immediately sent, though
only semiofficially because of opposition from the Prussian
Government, to investigate the new locality. Accompanied
by George van Trappe, the Russian agent, these men left im
mediately in the fall of 1786, and returned one year later after
thoroughly investigating various sites along the lower
Dnieper, and meeting the Empress and the Crown Prince
Paul, as well as Prince Potempkin the governor of New
Russia. Liberal terms were promised at St. Petersburg to all
Mennonites who should desire to emigrate, such as religious
toleration including military exemption, sixty-five dessiatines
(175 acres) of land for each family, use of the Crown forests,
tax exemption for ten years, and no Crown dues after that,
but an annual fee of fifteen kopeks (seven and one-half cents)
per dessiatine, a monopoly of the distilleries and breweries
within any settlement (belonging otherwise to the nobility
only), free transportation to their new homes, a loan of five
hundred rubles ($250.00) to each family, and support for each
family at the rate of ten kopeks per day for each person until
the first harvest.
Through the efforts of the returned deputies, and es
pecially the Russian agent, van Trappe, great interest was
aroused in the proposed emigration throughout the Vistuli
churches. The Prussian Government, however, while ham
pering the further growth of the Mennonites, yet was not
willing to lose such prosperous and industrious farmers.
Passports were consequently withheld from those who had

150 THE MENNONITES
property, and so the first Russian colony was made up entire
ly of the poorer people. By the fall of 1788 over two hundred
families had begun the long journey by way of the Baltic to
Riga and then overland to the Dnieper, down that stream to
the site selected for them on the Chortitz, a small branch
joining the Dnieper about fifty miles below the town of
Ekaterinoslav in the province of the same name.
The first winter they were forced to spend enroute at
Dubrowna, because of threatened dangers of Turkish raids
upon their frontier settlements, since war was being waged
against Turkey at this time. While here their number was
increased to two hundred and twenty-eight families, all of
whom were supported by the Russian Government until
they reached their home on the Chortitz in the summer of
1789. Later colonists came directly overland from Danzig by
way of Brest-Litovsk, Ostrog and Ekaterinoslav, the journey
lasting about twenty days. In 1797 one hundred and eighteen'
more families came, and by 1800 the colony numbered over
four hundred families. Chortitz
The Chortitz region was hilly with a rather barren, rock'y
soil without any trees, but heavily covered with grass and
well-adapted to stock-raising. Being poor and inexperienced
in the best methods of cultivating their new farms, these first
colonies suffered the usual hardships of pioneers. Eight
villages were laid out. The first houses were made of mud
walls with thatched roofs. A long rainy spell during the first
August did not add to their comfort. Their food was poor,
consisting largely of a mush made from a mouldy rye flour
secured from distant Russian supply granaries. A number
died of dysentery in the early period. Government support
now that they had reached their destination was meager.
During the first winter, however, many families had to be
cared for by the Government in the nearby fort of Alexan-
drowsk. The usual frontier lawlessness also added to their
hardships. The country abounded in vagabonds and lawless

RUSSIA 151
characters. The baggage of the settlers such as reached them
at all either was spoiled by the rains or pillaged by thieves.
These conditions prevailed for several years. A contempor
ary writer calls them "blut arm an Leib und Seele." At their
first communion in 1790, their elder, Penner, felt sorely
grieved at the necessity of officiating without proper foot
wear, owning nothing at the time but a pair of "Bastel schue"
the usual footwear in the days of poverty. Several of the
slightly more prosperous members finally by dint of con
siderable effort gathered together a pair of boots for him for
the occasion. Loud were the sobs, it is said, that were heard
throughout the audience as the participants at this first com
munion were reminded in their present miserable condition
of the happy homes they had left behind in Prussia. In 1803,
their distress was relieved somewhat by material aid fur
nished them' by wealthier colonists who remained with them
for a short time on their way to a new settlement on the Mol
otschna. Many of the first settlers had expected to become rich
within a few years. In their disappointment they naturally
turned against the leaders of the whole movement, Hoeppner
and Bartsch, as the cause of their distress. Hoeppner with
more means than most of the others had secured for himself
a choice bit of land on the wooded island in the Chortitz, on
which he built a house more substantial than others could
afford. The discontented element conspired against him,
charging him with using his position in the colony in his own
interest. They finally secured the expulsion of both Hoep
pner and Bartsch from the church, and brought about the
arrest of Hoeppner who was sent to prison for one year at
Ostrog, after which he was released by the order of Emperor
Alexander I. After his release he refused to rejoin the
colony, but became a citizen of the nearby town of Alexan-
drowsk. He spent the last years of his life with his son and
before his death asked to be buried on his own estate, and
not in the common cemetery by the side of those who had

152 THE MENNONITES
caused him so much trouble in his early career. But time
heals all wounds. In 1889 on the one-hundreth anniversary of
the founding of the colony, the grandchildren of the men who
drove Hoeppner to prison erected a monument to his memory
on the spot of his burial.
In 1796 Catherine died and was succeeded by her son
Paul I. The colonists fearing that their special privileges
might not be respected by the new ruler sent their elder, David
Epp, and Gerhard Willems to St. Petersburg to secure a writ
ten confirmation of the promises made by Catherine. After
a two years' stay at the capital, these men finally secured from
Paul in 1800 a written charter confirming in perpetuity all
their privileges. This document preserved for many years in
a fire-proof building at Chortitz is now to be found in the
town hall.
This guarantee again revived the interest among the
West Prussian churches in emigration. In 1803, a new colony
was founded farther down the Dnieper along the Molotschna,
which empties into the former a short distance north of the
Sea of Azov, in the province of Taurien. During the first
year three hundred and forty-two families came from Prussia
and grouped themselves into eighteen villages. Some of the
Chortitz settlers also removed to the new colony. By 1840
there were eleven hundred and fifty families embracing about
six thousand people, in the Molotschna settlement. In that
year the special inducements offered to immigrants ceased,
and only small numbers came after that. The Chortitz settle
ment is now frequently referred to as the Old Colony.
The Molotschna Colony.
The Molotschna region, too, was a level, treeless steppe
with a fertile soil, and was well toward the outskirts of
civilization. Just to the south were still to be found bands of
half-wild, nomadic Tartars who hated the frontier settlers as
our Indians did the American pioneers. They frequently made
raids upon the Mennonite settlements and drove off their
cattle. At one time they murdered four men, after which the

RUSSIA 153
Government forbade them to carry their weapons which con
sisted of long poles, spiked and weighted at the ends, a
weapon used by them in the hunt.
The Molotschnaites, unlike their brethren of the Old
Colony, were from the wealthier class in Prussia, and
prospered from the beginning. Many of them brought with
them in their covered wagons, drawn by five or seven
horses, costly furniture and household goods. Some had dis
posed of valuable estates before they left and after paying
the ten per cent, erriigration fee required of the emigrants still
had large sums of money for which they found a ready de
mand among their more needy brethren. Out of three
hundred and twenty-two farhilies only sixty-three accepted
the aid offered them by the Russian authorities. Taganrog
was the principal market for their dairy products until Ber-
diansk was founded on the Azov in 1833.
In addition to these two large colonies several smaller
independent Mennonite groups had been established in other
parts of Russia in the meantime. One of the first of these was
a colony of Swiss Palatines, who had been the first to accept
the liberal terms of Catherine a few years even before the
settlement at Chortitz. These Palatines had come to
Galicia in the seventies of the eighteenth century, and about
1785 had settled at Wymischle in Poland. Later a number
removed to Volhynia, near Ostrog, from which place they
emigrated to America in 1874. A small group of Prussians,
too, had remained in the same region in Poland in 1788 from
whence they emigrated to Volhynia in 1802. These also
joined the exodus to America later.
All these colonists took their religion with them wher
ever they went. The Chortitz band left Prussia without a
preacher among them, however, for the reason that since
preachers received no support at that time they were usually
chosen from among the well-to-do. But in 1788 the Prussian
Government refused passports to all but the poor. During
their enforced stop-over at Dubrowna, however, in the

154- THE MENNONITES
winter of 1788, they sent an urgent request to the home
church for ministers and elders in order that they might carry
on regular religious services, and especially the communion
service. The fact, too, that ten couples were anxiously waiting
to be married may have added urgency to the request. A
meeting was called of the home churches in Prussia, but
since none of the elders cared to undertake the long journey,
they advised the emigrants to select from among their num
ber several men qualified to carry on their worship from
whom ministers might later be selected.
But the demand for an elder being persistent, at a large
meeting of the Prussian churches the elders suggested that
the colonists send in sixteen names from which four ministers
and two deacons would be^appointed. Out of twenty names
thus sent in, that of Bernhard Penner, was selected as the
first minister at Chortitz. According to the established cus
tom, an elder could not be thus selected, and consequently
Peter Epp, elder of the Danzig church, decided to make the
journey to Russia, contrary to the wishes of his own congre
gation. Epp died, however, without fulfilling his mission,
whereupon the Prussian elders decided to waive for once the
established custom, and declared Penner an elder by written
authority. Penner, however, soon died, but before his death
he had ordained Jacob Wiebe. Wiebe, however, claiming him
self unqualified for the position induced David Epp to assume
the responsibility, meanwhile ordaining him. This round
about method of securing an elder caused a great deal of dis
satisfaction among the Russians, many of whom refused to
recognize Epp. In the interests of harmony two men, Jacob
Wiebe and Jacob van Bargen, were sent to Prussia to secure
an elder regularly ordained.
The Prussian churches sent Elder Cornelius Regier and
minister Cornelius Warkentin back to Chortitz to administer
to all the religious needs of the community and settle all their
differences. These men arrived at Chortitz in the spring of
1794, and were cordially received by all parties. They inter-

RUSSIA 155
viewed Hoeppner and Bartsch against whom various charges
had been lodged, patched up a number of quarrels, visited all
villages, and baptized thirteen applicants in the Frisian church
and thirty-one in the Flemish. In the meantime Regier died,
but before his death he had ordained Warkentin as elder, who
remained for sometime longer, and who did much to reconcile
the colonists to their new home. Before he returned to
Prussia he ordained two elders, David Epp and Johann Wiebe.
And thus the organized religious life of the community was
placed upon a safe basis. That Warkentin's work was ap
preciated by the Russian Government is shown by the fact
that in 1804 he was awarded a gold medal by the Emperor
Alexander through the Russian consul at Danzig for his
services to the young colony at a critical period of its history.
The colonists adopted such a type of settlement as best
suited their needs on the vast treeless plains. Most of them
grouped themselves into small villages of from thirty to fifty
families. The houses were at first built on both sides of a
long wide street, quite a distance back. From the first, trees
of all sorts, especially fruit trees, were planted in great num
bers about the houses and throughout the villages. The
houses at Chortitz were built at first of mud walls, but later
of wood and brick. Surrounding the village were the farms
of one hundred and seventy-five acres each, and frequently
common pasture land where community sheep were herded or
common woodland which later was converted into farm areas
as the village population grew. The principal occupation dur
ing the early years was . stock-raising and especially sheep-
breeding, dairying and farming. The silk industry for a time
was quite important and a large number of mulberry trees
were planted. Bee culture too was given some attention. Later
with the advent of the railroad and good markets on the
Black Sea, farming and especially wheat raising became the
leading industry.
Industrial life was not strongly developed, although in
1820 at Halbstadt there was a cloth and also other manufac-

156 THE MENNONITES
turies, and in both colonies there was considerable of hand
labor manufacturing for such as did not carry on agriculture
exclusively. The statistics for Chortitz in 1819, show that in
a population of two thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight,
distributed through eighteen villages, there were two clock-
makers, nine turners, two coopers, eighty-eight joiners, twen
ty-six carpenters, sixteen smiths, forty-nine weavers, one dyer,
twenty-five tailors, twenty shoemakers, besides several
millers, brewers and others. Of buildings there were in the
Old Colony at the same time four hundred and seventy-six
dwelling houses, two churches, twenty-two windmills, one
water mill, three gristmills, two distilleries and one brewery
Both colonies had a steady growth and in course of time
converted the vast treeless steppes into flourishing fields, or
chards, meadows and pastures, in which were found large
herds of sheep and cattle. By 1860 the Molotschna colony had
grown to fifty villages, and the Chortitz to eighteen with five
more in Bergthal, a daughter colony. The total population
was about thirty thousand, owning an area of about seven
hundred thousand acres of land.
While the colonies were not communistic, yet the village
undertook a number of municipal enterprises. Each village
had a common granary for emergency and for the poor. Fre
quently villages held tracts of land for later distribution
among a growing population. In 1820 the municipal sheep
flock of the Old Colony consisted of one thousand Merinos,
while the income from the common ferry was from two to
three thousand rubles annually. The municipal distillery, too,,
that year netted a substantial income for the common treasury.
Instrumental in bringing about this economic prosperity
was the Agricultural Association, founded in Ohrloff in the
Molotschna in 1830 by Johann Cornies and a number of other
far-sighted men. The association was given governmental
sanction, and in many matters acted as a semi-official organ
ization. The leading spirit was the above mentioned Cornies
who was early made its president, a position which he held

RUSSIA 157
until his death in 1848. He conducted many experiments and
adopted many methods now well-known in scientific agricul
ture. He was known far and wide as an agricultural expert,
'being frequently visited by government officials, including
both Alexander I. and Alexander II. Similar societies were
formed in other colonies, and their activities were not confined
to the Mennonite settlements but they influenced neighboring
Jewish, Russian and Tartar colonies to better farming.
Among the results secured through the efforts of the organ
ization were the planting of large numbers of trees especially
mulberry trees for the silk industry, the four-year rotation of
crops, the breeding of improved strains of stock, and the
building of model school houses and practical farm buildings.
The poorer colonists were induced to enter the service of the
more prosperous. Neglected children were provided for, and
the organization even was influential in securing regulations
compelling the lazy to do work. The administration of the
schools was finally turned over to the association also. In
some of the colonies this association still exists, while in
others it has run its course.
In the course of a half century the land question became
one of the acute problems in both colonies. By 1860 in the
Molotschna out of forty-four hundred families only fourteen
hundred owned entire estates or half estates, leaving over
two-thirds of the families without any land whatsoever. The
surplus land which in the beginning was not put into cultiva
tion and which was the property of the entire colony was
leased to the rich land-owners for sheep raising at a ridiculous
ly low rent while such of the landless as desired to farm were
often forced to go many miles out from the settlement and
lease land at a high rate. Since only the landowners had a
voice in the village assembly in the management of affairs the
poor were almost helpless in their attempts to secure redress.
And since the large estates were to serve as model estates the
original one hundred and seventy-five-acre farms had not been
subdivided.

158 THE MENNONITES
This condition naturally bred a great deal of discontent
and ran a dividing line through the population, often cutting
through the ties of domestic and social kinship. Cornies
sought to remedy the situation by introducing manufacturing
industries in Halbstadt, but to no avail. The only relief
available w|s to enter some industry other than agriculture,
buy or rent land outside of the settlement, or emigrate else
where. The landless finally organized and appealed to the
Russian Government for help. Their program demanded a
division of the common land, a dividing of the large estates
into smaller ones, and the purchase of the entire colony uf
new lands for the benefit of the landless.
The Government finally recommended that the original
estates of one hundred and seventy-five acres might be sub
divided; that of the surplus land, estates of thirty acres each
might be created; and that the owners of the small estates
might have the same right to vote as those of large estates in
village assembly. These recommendations brought a meas
ure of relief, and together with the more recent development of
industry, the establishing of daughter colonies and the exodus
to America saved the situation from serious consequences, but
the land question was still an important one up to the recent
war. The local government of the Mennonite colonies was
unique and adapted to their special needs. As we saw, the
whole German population of south Russia was given a special
status within the empire. Their affairs were largely in the
hands of a committee ( Fuersorge Komitee), representing the
ministry and stationed at Odessa. The director, still more
closely in touch with the local inhabitants, represented a divi
sion of the large unit of administration called Government. In
all strictly local affairs the Mennonite colonies were given
great freedom to govern themselves and elect their own offi
cials. They constituted a sort of democracy within an autoc
racy, and enjoyed greater freedom than the native Russian
communities. At the head of each of the two colonies,

RUSSIA 159
Chortitz and Molotschna, presided a superintendent (Ober-
schulzen) elected by representatives from the different
villages and a clerk (Schreiber) who kept the records and
must be able to use both the German and Russian languages.
Over each villege there was a sort of an over-seer or magis
trate (Schulz) who carried out orders from above, presided at
the village assemblies, and punished petty misdemeanors.
Here we have one of the very few instances in Menno
nite history of a self-governing Mennonite community. It is
needless to say that it was not always easy to carry out the
Mennonite principles of non-resistance and opposition to
fprce and at the same time maintain the discipline necessary
for a stable order. To the Mennonite magistrate fell the lot
of administering local discipline. Whipping was a frequent
method of punishment. To lead a fellow-member to the
whipping post seemed at times a little inconsistent with the
injunction "Resist not evil." To the village meeting were left
also such local questions as providing for , schools and
teachers, appointing herders, maintaining roads, caring for
the poor and distributing the surplus land.
Being a religious group, the government approached that
of a theocracy. The elders though not at the head of temporal
affairs, yet as heads of the church exercised great influence
over matters of government, especially over schools which
were largely controlled by the church. At first the directors
requested the elders to assist them in the administration of
many local affairs. This necessitated frequent meetings of the
elders. Out of this grew an institution known as the Church
Council (Kirchen Konvent) in 1850, the highest church, author
ity in the colony, which also exercised some influence in mat
ters not strictly "ecclesiastical. Laymen had no voice in these
meetings. The elders thus occupied a position of unusual
power in the colony. The formation in 1883 of the General
Conference of the Mennonites of South Russia ended the old
Church Council.
School matters were left entirely to the local communities.

160 THE MENNONITES A
Mennonites could have any kind of schools they desired, or
none at all, if they so wished. This was true until 1881, when
school administration was taken over by the Russian Govern
ment. From the very first, however, elementary subscription
schools were established in most villages and appropriate
though primitive school buildings were erected in course of
time. The interest in education among the masses was not
very strong. It was especially difficult to secure efficient
teachers, meager as the requirements were. The first teache'rs
were usually old men, workmen frequently, who converted
their workshops into a combination school and workroom with
school desk and work bench side by side and the rod and plane
both within easy reach. The teacher's only task was to keep
order and to hear the lessons assigned. This gave him plenty
of opportunity to ply his real vocation, that of a carpenter, or
shoemaker, perhaps. Progress of course was slow. Several
years were usually spent in mastering the bare rudiments of
reading and writing. The distinctive school furniture within
the room consisted of a long table through the center, with the
boys on one side, the girls on the other, and the master at the
head. The two primary aims of the school system were to
maintain the German language and to teach religion. The cur
riculum consisted of the traditional three R's with singing
added. In spite of valuable service rendered the school cause
by the Agricultural Association and especially its president,
Johann Cornies, in the early days, the second generation of the
Prussian emigrants degenerated both intellectually and spiri
tually in their new home, a stage through which all pioneers
must necessarily pass.
There were a few farsighted men, however, and especially
a few enthusiastic teachers who kept the cause of education
alive. In the early twenties at Ohrloff an association was,
formed for the purpose of establishing a school of higher
learning. To the head of this school they called as principal
teacher, a Tobias Voth, who had considerable experience as
a teacher in West Prussia. For six years Voth succeeded in

RUSSIA 161
influencing a large number of students to enroll for work.
Evening classes and reading circles were introduced. Mission
study was organized. For lack of proper support, Voth was
soon forced to leave Ohrloff, however. Later he established
private schools' at Schonsee and Steinbach. He was succeeded
as an educational leader by Heinrich Hesse, a member of the
progressive Gnadenfeld church, who encouraged especially
the study of Russian among the German colonists. Hesse re
mained here until he was called to Chortitz in 1840 where he
founded a "Central Schule," a sort of high school and Normal
school for the training of teachers. Similar central schools
were also founded in the Molotschna and other colonies. Ger
man and Russian were both taught. The course consisted of
three years' work. Free tuition was offered poor students on
condition, however, that they promise to serve the community
after school either as teachers or village clerks, the two posi
tions at that time requiring some little training. Russians as
well as Germans frequently attended these schools.
Another well-known teacher of the time was Heinrich
Franz, successor to Hesse in Chortitz and later head of the
"Bruderschule" in Gnadenfeld in 1857. This school was es
tablished largely for the purpose of training missionaries, and
marks a step in advance in the progress of Mennonite schools
in Russia. In 1859 both the Gnadenfeld "Bruderschule" and
the Ohrloff "Vereinschule" were recognized as training
schools for Mennonite teachers.
It has already been suggested that the spiritual and moral
standards were not high during the early years, and were not
improved during the first two generations. Living conditions
were such at first as are common in frontier settlements.
Educational opportunities were meager. Church life was
formal. Children almost automatically joined the church at a
certain age, irrespective of their religious experience. In
Chortitz, a drinking house was early established. Drunken
brawls were not unusual, in one of which a man was killed.
The colonies were closed communities and were made im-
6

162 THE MENNONITES
pervious by language and religion as well as by geography to
any outside influence either good or bad. Among themselves,
they had neither printing press nor papers, and but few books.
These conditions were not improved by numerous
quarrels and dissensions. Among the unfortunate quarrels
was the Ohrloff-Barley controversy in 1858 as it was called,
which began as a local quarrel between two members of the
Ohrloff settlement over a rented barley field. The quarrel
grew until it divided not only the Ohrloff congregation, but
extended wide over the entire Molotschna settlement. At the
same time, too, occurred a controversy in the Halbstadt con
gregation over the building of a new church. On the matter
of church doctrines and discipline, too, there were numerous
controversies. At the time of their immigration from Prussia
they were divided into three groups, all inherited from their
original homes in Holland — Flemish, Frisian, and old Flemish
or Uko-Walists. There was little religious intercourse among
these groups, and intermarriage was forbidden. That the
Empress Catherine regarded these religious divisions detri
mental to the material prosperity of the early colonies is
shown by the fact that she sent van Trappe to Holland to
study the reasons for these divisions and also to enlist the
help of the Dutch Mennonites in bringing about agreement
especially permitting intermarriage, but to no avail.
Kleine Gemeinde
To these imported divisions new ones were soon added
within the colony. The first controversy arose over the ques
tion of church discipline, and especially the question as to
whether Mennonites might become magistrates and use force
against fellow Mennonites. The issue was raised between
1812 and 1820 by a recent Prussian minister by the name of
Klaas Reimer, an ambitious, hypercritical, self-willed, though
sincere man, who answered the latter question in the negative,
and who favored a more rigid discipline in religious matters
than was being practised at the time in the Molotschna colony.
Reimer stirred up so much dissension through his preaching

RUSSIA 163
that Jacob Enns, the Molotschna elder, asked the Mennonite
governmental authorities to silence him, a power, no doubt,
within their jurisdiction. The former appealed his case to
Johann Wiebe, the Chortitz elder, who in tunrthreatened him
with Siberia, if he insisted in creating a distinct religious or
ganization which he was now attempting to do. This only
made matters worse and soon after Reimer, together with eigh
teen others, seceded from the church and organized one of
their own in spite of the above threats. Through the influence
of Johann Cornies of the Agricultural Association they were
given recognition by the Russian Government which guaran
teed them all the rights originally granted the colonies as Men
nonites. Other similar small groups seceded throughout the
various settlements and thus was founded what became
known as the "Kleine Gemeinde."
They were strict disciplinarians, practised the most rigid
simplicity in their clothing, houses and furniture; would not
hold office and believed it wrong to turn over a church brother
to the temporal authorities to be punished; objected to the ex
cessive hilarity at weddings and the social features of burial
occasions; and condemned smoking. They declared the old
church too formal and demanded a more spontaneous religious
life based upon definite experience. They were decidedly se-
clusive and condemned all educational efforts. In 1826 feet-
washing was introduced into their communion service.
According to Reimer himself some fell into excessive fanat
icism in the fervor of their early religious experiences. They
laid much stress upon visions and dreams. Certain of them
forced themselves to undergo excessive hardships, went
through long fasts, spent hours in prayer standing or lying in
deep snow, from the effects of which at least one young man
died. Others when praying before meals would not eat unless
their emotionalism could find relief in bitter weeping. They
frequently ate poor food and went hungry, thinking thereby
they would please God. As is frequently the case, so here, too,
their excessive emotionalism, finally led to serious immorality.

164 THE MENNONITES
Reimer himself, however, seems to have kept his head. But
his church never had much influence and it never grew large.
By 1860 it had nearly run its course. In the seventies a small
group planted the division in Kansas.
In the meantime other conflicting currents within the
church developed into separate divisions when Elder Bernhard
Fast of Halbstadt, a liberal-minded man, introduced a number
of innovations (1822-1824) into his services. Three-fourths of
the conservative Flemish membership over which he presided
withdrew from him and reorganized their congregation.
Among the innovations to which they objected were the or
dination of Elder Fast by the Frisian elder at Rudnerweide,
and not by the Flemish official at Chortitz as had been the
custom heretofore ; the admission of an Evangelical missionary
to the communion table ; the founding of the Ohrloff Verein
school ; and the organizing of a Bible society, a branch of the
St. Petersburg society. Among the objections raised against
this Bible society was the fact that the titles president, secre
tary, etc., savored of militarism. Scarcely one hundred and
fifty families remained with Fast. The remainder secured a
new elder, ordained at Chortitz and called themselves the
"Pure Flemish" but later they became known as the Lich-
tenau-Petershagen group of churches, or sometimes too as the
"Grosze Gemeinde." They were exceedingly conservative and
opposed every forward step in their church life. The Ohrloff
congregation on the other hand which followed the lead of
Elder Fast became the most progressive in the colony.
Bruedergemeinde
The most far-reaching of the church controversies, how
ever, was the one which resulted in the formation of the
Brudergemeinde. The church as a whole as has already been
indicated at this time was rather cold and formal so far as
conscious religious experience and special religious activity
was concerned. But in one congregation, at Gnadenfeld, there
seemed to be the beginning of a more vital spiritual awaken
ing. The Gnadenfeld congregation of forty families had re-

RUSSIA 165
cently (1835) located by special permission of Emperor
Nicholas I in the Molotschna from Brandenburg, Prussia, un
der the leadership of the Elder William Lange. Here were to
be found a missionary society, prayer meetings, and other
activities unusual in the churches of that period.
In the meantime the Mennonite churches came into con
tact with two outside currents of religious life which exerted
some influence among them. The first was a new movement
sponsored by a group of rationalistic Zionists in Wurtemburg,
known as Jerusalem Friends or Templers. The literature
found its way to many of the Mennonite villages and es
pecially to Gnadenfeld. One of the teachers of the Gnadenfeld
school, Johann Lange, had received his training at a Jerusalem
Friend Institution. Gnadenfeld thus became a center of the
new -teaching. The Mennonites were bitterly condemned by
the enthusiasts, and an attempt was made to establish a
Temple, as their church congregations were called. A bitter
controversy followed resulting in the imprisonment of Lange
for six months and later in the emigration of the Templers to
the Caucasus where there is still a congregation or two.
The other was a more wholesome though not a less
troublesome movement, and was largely the work of an en
thusiastic Evangelical preacher, known as Pastor Wuest,
from an Evangelical church near Berdiansk. Pastor Wuest, a
sort of a John Wesley of South Russia, traveled extensively,
and being an eloquent and fiery speaker drew large crowds
wherever he went among all denominations. He laid special
emphasis upon the doctrine of the free grace of God, and the
need of a definite religious experience in the Christian life.
He often visited the mission fests at Gnadenfeld and other
congregations where he secured a considerable of a following.
Finally a number of his disciples from several of the Menno
nite churches becoming dissatisfied with what they regarded
as the formality of the church held meetings among them
selves, and considering themselves too pure to participate in
the communion services with the others, demanded that the

166 THE MENNONITES
elder administer the sacrament to them as a separate group,
which, of course, the elder refused to ' do ; whereupon they
celebrated the rite among themselves in a secret meeting.
When these secret activities became known they naturally
aroused a great deal of opposition and brought matters to a
head. The new party declaring the old church to be hopeless
ly corrupt decided to withdraw entirely and found a new
organization. On January 6, 1860, a group of eighteen men,
but not a preacher among them, drew up a document in which
they stated their reasons for withdrawal and which they pre
sented to the Mennonite elders. Among these reasons were :
"The religious decay of the entire Mennonite brother
hood, and on account of the Lord's will and our conscience
we can no longer fellowship with you as a church. For we
fear that God's judgment is inevitable, since the prevailing
Godlessness crieth unto Heaven. Besides we are fearful lest
the Government repeal the special privileges granted to the
Mennonites on account of their open transgressions. It is sad
to behold how on market days the Mennonites carry on such a
frivolous life, in which even the ministers take part."
The elders, of course, opposed the secession movement.
For several years there was a bitter controversy between
them and the new party over a separate organization.
The Molotschna colony was not only a group of church
congregations but also an economic and civil unit with
special rights and privileges granted by the Emperor. It was
a self-governing body and as such could prevent seceding
groups from enjoying the economic and civil privileges grant
ed the original colony. By enforcing the church ban also,
which in most of the churches excluded the excommunicated
from all business and social activities of the congregation they
could be isolated almost entirely from the community life. By
virtue of a regulation of 1857 which gave the colony the right
to prevent the organization of secret societies within the body,
the elders attempted through the local Mennonite civil au-

RUSSIA 167
thorities (Gebiets Amt) to prevent the seceders from
organizing. The latter were threatened with Siberia and
several of the leaders were imprisoned for a short time.
By an appeal to the Imperial Court at St. Petersburg, however,
through Johann Claasen, one of their most influential leaders,
they won their case and became a , separate unit. Being in
formed by the authorities, however, that they could not be
come a separate society, but might remain as a distinct
division of the original Mennonite body, they now insisted in
order to retain their special privileges in the Molotschna
colony that they, and not the main body, were the true
followers of Menno Simons, and to this end they maintained
their right to membership in the fold by christening them
selves "Mennoniten Bruedergemeinde" (Mennonite Brethren).
In the main the Mennonite Brethren did not depart far
from Mennonite fundamentals. The characteristic doctrines
were all retained. In addition they emphasized the emotional
side of religion and taught the need of a definite religious ex
perience. They soon introduced baptism by immersion,
which accounts for their intimacy with the Baptists, both in
Europe and America, and feetwashing, and were strict in
discipline. In common with other movements advocating a freer
and more spontaneous expression of their newly found
liberty, they made much of enjoying their experiences, and
were quite demonstrative, giving vent to their feelings in
singing, shouting, and sometimes in dancing. One case is
recorded where the brethren washed the feet of the sisters, the
latter also reciprocating. Some burned all their books except
those advocating immersion. Others, like the Quakers in New
England, even attended the meetings of the old church for
the purpose of disturbing them. Such cases, of course, were
rare and the spirit of fanaticism did not last long. Time soon
eliminated these excesses and on the whole the movement
had a beneficial effect on the old church in emphasizing the
need of a deeper spiritual life and a more vital religion. Under

168 THE MENNONITES
the leadership of such men in the old church as Lenzman
from Gnadenfeld, Suderman from Berdiansk, and Harder of
Ohrloff and others, progressive church activities were in
creasingly fostered in the main body during the last half of
the nineteenth century.
The Mennonite Brethren maintained a steady and sub
stantial growth from 1860 to the present. By 1885 seven
hundred and four had been received into the church at
Molotschna. The movement also spread into Chortitz and to
the Crimea, where a church was organized under the leader
ship of Jacob Wiebe, an elder of a "Kleine Gemeinde." In
1874 and later many of the Mennonite Brethren followed
the great exodus to America. The church continued to grow
and later additions were secured wherever the Mennonite
church was found in Kuban, Cherson, Warsaw, Samara,
Turkestan and Siberia. In 1910 the membership was seven
thousand with a total population of about seventeen
thousand, nearly one-fifth of the whole Russian Mennonite
population. As the two original colonies grew, the original land pur
chases became too small to accommodate the growing popula
tion. As early as 1836 Chortitz found it necessary to add to
the original land area. With the help of the Russian Govern
ment they secured a tract of land near the original, large
enough to care for one hundred and fifty families. Five
villages were located here in a new colony which they called
Bergthal This colony later migrated bodily to America in
the seventies after selling their land to a group of German
Catholics. In 1846 one of the elders in the Molotschna was
forced to leave his colony for having incurred the ill will of
the Mennonite "Gebiets Amt." He went to Poland whither
he was followed by sixty families from his own church.
In the early sixties the Russian Government offered
land on easy terms to industrious farmers in the Crimea
where large numbers of Tartars had been forced to leave be
cause they had been disloyal during the recent Crimean war. ,

RUSSIA 169
A number of Mennonite villages were ultimately established
on these vacated lands. In the early seventies also a number
of the Molotschna colonists located in nearby Cherson. In
1895 the Molotschna colony bought an -extensive tract along
the lower Volga, which they offered on easy terms to their
landless inhabitants. Recent statistics show that in addition
to the two original colonies in the provinces of Ekaterinoslav
and Taurien, Mennonite groups are now found throughout
South Russia in the provinces of Cherson, Saratov, Samara,
Ufa, Orenburg, Kuban, Crimea, as well as in Volhynia and
Poland and also in Turkestan and Siberia.
Some of these daughter colonies, it will be observed,
were municipal enterprises for the benefit of the new swarms
that found no room in the old hive. Most of them, too,
followed the custom of grouping themselves into villages,
although in a few cases farm-houses were built in the open
country. In addition to these various daughter colonies, several
settlements were made during the middle of the century
direct from Prussia, independent of the old Chortitz and
Molotschna colonies. The emigration to Volhynia and
Poland in the latter part of the eighteenth century and of the
.Huterites to Wrschenka, and the Gnadenfeld group to the
Molotschna in 1835 have already been mentioned.
Especially interesting is the settlement made at Saratov
by a group of Prussians in 1853 to escape military
service. In 1850 the Russian Government had offered the
West Prussian Mennonites the choice of several tracts of land
on the lower Volga, near the southeastern frontier. A small
band of Prussians accepted the offer and located on what was
kwown as the Salt Tract, near Saratov, in the province of the
same name. This colony they named Koeppenthai. In 1861
a second one was established near Samara. Settlers from the
Molotschna also located here. By 1888 the Saratov members
numbered six hundred and nineteen and those at Samara
four hundred and eighteen.

170 THE MENNONITES
But the great emigration from all the colonists was the
exodus to America between 1874 and 1880 which was caused
not so much by the population pressure, as by the change of
policy on the part of the Russian Government toward its
German colonists and especially with reference to the in
troduction of universal military service without exemptions.
As already stated the Mennonites were not the only
German settlers in Russia. Under the liberal policy of
Catherine and her successors, Germans of every faith had
located in South Russia in large numbers. By 1870 the num
ber perhaps was not far from two million. By special agree
ment with the Prussian Government at the time of the
immigration they had been granted certain special rights,
such as the use of their own language, their own form of local
government, and military exemption. They constituted in
reality a little "Germany" within Russia. Because of their
industry and superior skill and special privileges they had in
curred the jealousy of the native Russians, whom they in turn
held in contempt. Such an anomalous situation, of course,
could only be temporary. And it was not strange that in the
late sixties with the growth of Prussia as a military power,
Russia decided to end these special privileges of her German
subjects. By 1870 a program of Russianification had been
adopted. The special German organs of local government
were to be abolished ; Russian was to become the official lan
guage ; schools, too, a few years later were placed under the
control of Russian officials ; from universal military service
Germans were now no longer to be exempt. In other words
these Germans who had retained their language, customs,
culture, and to a certain extent their loyalty to their original
fatherland, were now to be thoroughly Russianized. Among
these Russian Germans, of course, only a small number were
Mennonites, perhaps somewhere near thirty-five or forty
thousand. To the Mennonites especially alarming was the rumor
that they too, would be liable to military service, thus losing

RUSSIA 171
the privileges promised them in their charter by Paul I,
in 1800. It may be said here in passing, that the Mennonites had
always shown themselves loyal to their Government in war
and peace, and cheerfully contributed their share to the
national burdens. In the Crimean War the Molotschna
settlements were not far from the scene of action. Mennonite
teamsters did useful service in transporting troops to the
Crimea. In hospital service, especially, they did a noble work
in caring for the wounded in the very war in which Florence
Nightingale really inaugurated the present Red Cross work on
the battlefield. The Mennonites opened their homes to the
sick and wounded and cared for them at their own expense. It
is said that they provided for five thousand sick and wounded.
In the recent Japanese war too, they contributed, toward the
hospital and relief work and several of their young men died
in the field service.
Realizing the seriousness of the situation in 1870, the
different colonies sent three separate committees to St.
Petersburg in behalf of their special privileges. They were
granted interviews with the ministry and with the Crown
Prince but not with the Emperor. Spokesman for one of the
committees was Elder Leonhard Suderman from Berdiansk.
While defending the Mennonite peace principles before the
ministry, the minister of war interrupting him, inquired of him
what he would do in case he were attacked by an enemy. "I
would reconcile myself with the enemy," replied Suderman,
"would approach him, embrace him but not kill him," an
answer which, it is said, greatly amused the war minister.
These interviews evidently were not satisfactory and it
seemed that emigration would be the only recourse. A filial
written appeal in behalf of their former privileges was sent
to the emperor with little hope of success, however, for at the
same time preparations were being made to seek a new home.
But where were they to go? Africa and Siberia were both

172 THE MENNONITES
seriously considered, but America was finally decided upon as
furnishing the best asylum. B'ut of this country many
strange notions were held. In the words of the Suderman
above mentioned, to many, America was a country "interesting
for the adventurer and an asylum for convicts. How could one
think of finding a home in peace and under his vine and fig
tree among such and other-like people in addition to the wild
natives (Indians)."
The appeal to the Emperor, however, bore some fruit.
Through the efforts of Adjutant General von Todtleben, a
famous general of the Crimean War, and the reluctance of the
Emperor to lose thousands of his most industrious subjects, a
modification of the original order in behalf of the Mennonites
was secured. Instead of military service they were to be
permitted to substitute service in hospitals, government fac
tories, railroads, and especially in the national forestries, none
of which industries were carried on under the military arm of
the government. Count von Todtleben was sent among the
Mennonite settlements to induce them to accept the service
and not emigrate to America. By this time, however, the
emigration fever had already become quite general. Although
many were turned from their original purpose, yet about one-
third of the whole Mennonite population objected to any sort
of service that was in any way connected with militarism, and
these finally nearly all found their way to America. The
government set the year 1880 as the date for the beginning of
the forestry service and up to that time, Mennonites were free
to emigrate with all their possessions without the payment of
a special emigration tax.
The Russian Government did not encourage the emigra
tion, however. Several men who had played a leading role
in the emigration propaganda were ordered to leave the coun
try on short notice. Among these was Cornelius Jansen,
prominent resident, though not a Russian citizen of Berdiansk,
who had formerly acted as Prussian consul at that port. One
day in April, 1873, Jansen was given seven days in which to

RUSSIA 173
dispose of his property and leave Russia never to return. The
time was finally extended to sixty days, however, through the
intervention of Bismarck, who still had great influence at St.
Petersburg and with whom Jansen had become acquainted
while consul. Jansen came to America the same year, where
together with his son, Peter, he played an important part in
locating his fellow-countrymen upon the western prairies
during the years immediately following.
In the meantime a delegation of twelve men was sent to
America in 1873 to investigate various sites in Western
Canada and United States suitable for future homes. This
committee reporting favorably upon its return, preparations
were made for a large exodus the following year. Among the
leaders during the next few years were Elder Leonhard Suder
man of Berdiansk, already mentioned, Elder Isaac Peters of
Pordenau, Elder Jacob B'uller, Minister Heinrich Richert,
Elder Jacob Wiebe of the Crimean "Kleine Gemeinde," Johann
Wiebe of Chortitz, Gerhard Wiebe of the Bergthal colony,
and Abraham Schellenburg of the Brudergemeinde who did
not arrive until 1879.
As already seen the decision to emigrate was not unani
mous. The majority decided to remain in Russia, maintain
ing that under the circumstances the Russian Government had
been quite liberal toward Mennonite scruples. Among these
were many prominent men, who accused the leaders of the
emigration movement of being actuated sometimes by other
than purely religious motives in their desire to leave Russia.
The loss of their special status as Germans, it was charged,
had as much influence with these as did the loss of their
religious status. Undoubtedly there was a grain of truth in
this charge. The Mennonites clung tenaciously to their Ger
man inheritance. Of the committeemen sent to St. Petersburg
in 1871 only two could speak Russian. The remainder were
censured at the time by the Government officials for inability
to speak the language of their native land, three-quarters of a
century after the founding of the first settlement. Even in

174 THE MENNONITES
America one sometimes hears the expression among Menno
nites that Mennonitism is closely tied up with "Deutschtum."
A recent well-known historian of the church suggests that
Mennonitism would lose much of its essential character with
the loss of the German language. In addition to both the
motives just expressed there was the further economic con
sideration. While there were a few wealthy men among the
emigrants who sold their Russian holdings at a great sacrifice
and a number of well-to-do, the large majority were poor men
and had to be given financial aid in their early American
homes. From 1874 to 1880 there was a continual stream of
emigrants leaving from all the colonies, and the various wings
of the church. The Bergthal colony of five villages left as a
body, as did also the two Huterite villages. The Alexander-
wohl congregation transplanted itself bodily to Kansas where
it resumed its life under the same name. Every colony in
South Russia made its contribution to the general movement.
In all, somewhere between twelve and fifteen thousand left
Russian soil for Western America.
Not all of those who objected to forestry service left for
America. One small group in the Saratov colony and another
in the Molotschna turned their faces eastward. The Koeppen-
thal congregation in Saratov had come here as already in
dicated from West Prussia in the fifties. Even in their old
home a number of these colonists had come under the influence
of certain chiliastic ideas. Chiliastic literature followed them
to their new home. One of their own members, too, Claas Epp
Junior, son of the first leader of the same name, wrote a book
explaining the prophecies of Daniel and the mysteries of
Revelation, of which he had three editions issued at his own
expense and which he distributed widely. According to ._ this
interpretation Christ would appear in 1889, and somewhere in
Middle Asia was to be found the gathering place for the
faithful. The church in "Philadelphia" mentioned in Revela
tion to which the open door was to be revealed, of course,

RUSSIA 175
meant his own ljttle flock. As 1880, the close of the exemption
period, drew near, preparations were made not only in the Salt
Tract in Saratov, but also in the congregation of Elder Abra
ham Peters in the Molotschna, who held views similar to
those of Epp, for the most visionary adventure in all Menno
nite history — an exodus to a wild, unknown barren land in the
heart of a Mohammedan population to meet the Lord and
inaugurate the Millenium. In the meantime at St. Petersburg
a special committee had secured from Governor General Kauff-
man of Turkestan permission to locate near Tashkend, and a
promise of military exemption. Epp's followers accordingly
sold their property and started out on their adventure.
The first party of ten families, seventeen wagons and forty'
horses started put July, 3, 1880 headed toward the east,
accompanied for a short distance by relatives, prospective
fellow-wanderers, and friends and singing the well known old
hymn as a fitting pilgrim song,
"Our journey is through the Wilderness
To the promised Canaan."
For fifteen long weeks they continued to drag their weary
way toward the southeast over the mountain passes, across
uninhabited steppes, a vast stretch of desert, enduring all sorts
of hardships until they finally reached Kaplan Bek, some
fifteen miles from Tashkend, where they prepared to camp for
the winter. Twelve children had died on the way. Temporary
shelter was put up where many died from typhoid fever, in the
course of a short time.
The same fall another train of thirteen families from the
Salt Tract, and one of fifty-six families from the Molotschna
under Elder Abraham Peters, had started out. Both groups
reached their destination the same fall. The latter remained
in Tashkend for the winter. The next spring the two groups
parted, a quarrel having arisen over the question of church
organization. Elder Peters' group, with a few from the Sara-

176 THE MENNONITES
tov party, finally located at Aulia Ata on the Talas river at the
foot of the Alexander mountains about one hundred and fifty
miles from Tashkend. Here Elder Peters soon died and the
remainder of the colonists forgetting their millenarian de
lusions built up a rather prosperous settlement. The colony
now consists of five villages with a population of nearly one
thousand. Military exemption, however, was, not granted
them. They accepted the same kind of forestry service they
might have had in Russia. A little later about one-half of this
colony formed a Bruedergemeinde.
In the meantime, in the winter of 1881, the last group of
twenty-five families from Saratov under the leadership of Epp
himself had arrived. He immediately took charge of the three
Saratov contingents, and the breach with the Peters' party
became more marked than ever. The followers of Epp now
sought in vain for a location near Tashkend and Bokhara
where they might escape military service. They were driven
from one place to another until they were finally offered an
asylum by the Khan of Khiva, who desired German settlers
within his territory. Epp regarding this as the open door
spoken of in Revelations accepted the invitation, locating on,
the Lausan, a tributary of the Amu. The open door, however,
only proved to be one to further trouble. Their mud houses
with thatched roofs were not rain proof, and many died of
malaria. Worst of all, bands of thieving Turks began to steal
their horses. Finding the non-resisting settlers an easy prey,
they soon became bolder and made nightly raids, breaking into
houses, stealing whatever they could find and even attempting
to carry away the most attractive women. In one of these
raids one of the settlers was murdered. The young men
finally asked permission to defend themselves with weapons,
but the only means of defence granted by the leaders was
permission to remain up all night armed with clubs and canes.
These weapons, however, proved no match for the swordsiof
the Turks and the settlers were finally forced to strain their
extreme non-resistant principles to the extent of asking pro-

RUSSIA 177
tection from the Khan. The latter sent them a group of
soldiers but as soon as these were withdrawn depredations
were renewed. They were finally offered a refuge near the
city of Khiva, at Ak Metchedj, where they still live.
In the meantime, Epp went from bad to worse in his
extravagant views. He was largely guided by dreams and
visions. For every mystery in Revelation he had an inter
pretation. He himself was to be one of the two witnesses of
the coming Millennium. A fellow-minister with whom he had
a quarrel and whom he excommunicated was the Red Dragon,
whose expulsion was celebrated for many years by the congre
gation. Other similar holidays were added while less and less
was made of the old holy days. Soon Epp was to meet Elijah
in the skies and with him be transported bodily to Heaven.
The time was actually announced and an audience of both the
faithful and doubtful gathered to bid him farewell. A table
was prepared, behind which stood Epp clad in his ascension
robes ready to depart. It is said by those present that he
actually disappeared from behind the table, but no one
witnessed his ascension.
Finally the great day for Christ's appearance on Earth
was set for March 8, 1889. As the time passed without any
unusual occurrence, Epp was ready with an explanation for
the failure of his prophecy.. He had been given the clue by an
old wall-clock, whose hands pointed to 89 on the dial. But now
in a vision he had been shown that the clock had indicated
the wrong numbers because it had been leaning slightly to
one side. Upon being stood erect it indicated 91. That was
now to mark the end — the year 1891. The climax came when
Epp finally claimed to be a son of Christ as Christ was the
Son of God, thus constituting the fourth person of the God
head. In baptism he used the formula Father, Sons, and Holy
Ghost. As a result of these extravagances and blasphemies Epp's
flock continually dwindled smaller. Many had been cured
early of their foolish beliefs, and in the early eighties had

178 THE MENNONITES
come to America. Some returned to Russia; others joined
the Aulia Ata colony; a handful, however, as misguided as
Epp himself remained loyal to him awhile longer, but even
these finally found his extravagances unbearable, and were
forced to excommunicate him. He died in 1913. At that time
the settlement consisted of about twenty families located on
about fifteen acres of land, most of whom were earning their
bread by some sort of day labor.
This episode, the strangest in Mennonite annals, is not
without a moral. Mennonites have been rather susceptible to
such unwholesome influences. Several times undue stress upon
chiliastic and apocalyptic views has led to unfortunate results.
Even at the present time perhaps there is more teaching of
this sort than is wholesome which, in times of stress might
easily lead to undesirable results.
A much more important migration of an entirely differ
ent character was that into western Siberia during the early
years of the twentieth century, in the general region of Omsk
in the provinces of Tomsk, and Akmolinsk on both sides of
the Siberian Railway. The first group of settlers came from
the Molotschna and Samara locating near Omsk in Akmolinsk
in 1889. By 1913 the colony had grown to about five thousand
inhabitants. In 1897 a colony had also located in Tomsk at
Baulodar, where by 1913 there were twelve villages, and in
1909 a much larger settlement was founded at Barnaul, one
hundred and seventy-five miles south of the Siberian Railroad
where there are now forty-five villages and a population of
some eleven thousand. These latter were principally of the
poorer classes in the old colonies, coming from the landless
group. At the time of the migration, each family was given
four hundred rubles by the home-colony. In the first years
they endured many hardships, being far from the railroad and
without marketing facilities. A branch railroad has now been
built to their colony. In recent years, however, several suc
cessive drouths and now the war, have greatly impoverished
many of the settlers.

Mennonite Church at Ohrloff, Russia.

Girls School, Halbstadt, Russia.

RUSSIA 179
The forestry service in Russia for the Mennonite young
men was inaugurated in 1880. Most of the men took this ser
vice in preference to other forms of state work open to them.
The law provided that they work in groups and live in bar
racks by themselves. These barracks were provided by the
church and a minister was in charge, looking after their spir
itual needs. Before the war there were eight of these forestry
barracks in which about one thousand young men were serv
ing. The service, at first four years was later reduced to three.
During the recent war the Mennonites were able to maintain
their non-combatant standing.
The program of Russianification inaugurated between
1870 and 1880 included also the partial control of the school
system. The schools remained largely church schools, how
ever. As such the Mennonite authorities remained in charge
of all religious instruction and of all German branches, while
the Russian Government school officials took over the super
vision of all other subjects. In addition to the village schools
there are ten advanced schools similar to our high schools
called Central schools. Several of these, including those at
Halbstadt, Chortitz, and Omsk, give additional pedagogical
courses for the training of teachers. The Central schools are
not co-educational, and consequently a number of girls'
schools are provided for.
The statistics for 1910 show that of village schools, in
cluding those on large estates, there are about four hundred
throughout all the various Mennonite settlements. The
teachers, almost exclusively men, number about five hundred.
Salaries in the villages average about $300, with a teacherage.
The highest salaries paid in a Central school are $800. The
Ohrloff Central school has adopted a pension system. During
the above year there were about 15,000 Mennonite children in
the schools. There were about two hundred young men and
women in the Russian institutions of higher learning, and
fifty in foreign universities and schools.

180 THE MENNONITES
Many of the ministers come from the teaching ranks and
thus are equipped with some pedagogical training. There
were in 1910 about five hundred ministers all told of whom
forty-seven were elders. About one-third of these ministers
have received either pedagogical or theological training. With
the exception of travelling and visiting ministers the preach
ers receive no stipulated salary, although many receive some
support. l
During the last forty years there has been a growing in
terest in missions. In 1881 the pioneer missionary, Henry
Dirks, returning from Sumatra, became elder of the Gnaden
feld church and also travelling secretary for the mission work,
in which capacity he greatly increased missionary interest.
The work in Russia is carried on through the Dutch society
in which the Russian church is represented by a Board mem
ber. In 1910 there were ten active Russian missionaries in
Sumatra and Java, while four had returned to the homeland.
The Bruedergemeinde works with the Baptist society. In
the same year they were represented by seven missionaries
on the field.
Since 1883 the various (Altkirchliche) Russian Menno
nite congregations are bound together by a General Confer
ence which took the place of the old Church council organized
in 1850. This conference meets annually. The session of
1910 devoted much of its time to hearing reports from various
church institutions, but also passed several interesting reso
lutions. One of these recommended that dramatic perform
ances in the literary clubs in the schools be discouraged, es
pecially in the Christmas exercises; another advised the elder
not to marry cousins. Several ministers were appointed to
visit the Siberian churches and distribute among them such
financial aid as the church desired to send them. The confer
ence also supervises a number of charitable institutions. Among
these are a number of hospitals, several orphanages and
old people's homes, a deaf and dumb school, and a sanitarium.
The literary output of the Russian Mennonites has not

RUSSIA 181
been extensive. The first book published in Russia was the
ninth edition of the old Prussian song book published at
Odessa in 1844. Outside- of school-books, Confessions of
Faith, catechisms and song books, not much has been written
or published since. Being Germans they imported German
editions of Menno Simons, van Bracht and Deitrich
Philip, a few controversial pamphlets which together with
such additional allegories as "Die Wandelnde Seele", fur
nished the sole source next to the Bible of mental and spiri
tual food. A number of historical works have appeared, how
ever, during the past forty years by far the most compre
hensive of which is the recent work by P. M. Friesen.
"Der Botschafter" published at Ekaterinoslav is the offi
cial church organ. The Bruedergemeinde published the
"Friedenstimme" at Halbstadt, but the name was changed
since the war. Several Year Books also appear annually.
The German Mennonites of Russia on the whole have
been successful and prosperous in their material life, greatly
exceeding in wealth and achievement that of the native Rus
sians. In 1908 the total Mennonite wealth was 250,000,000
rubles ($125,000,000), a per capita wealth of $625 for every
man, woman and child, the average throughout Russia being
only $200. The Mennonites owned before the war about
2,500,000 acres of land, an average per capita of twenty-sev
en acres. P. M. Friesen, from whose valuable history these
statistics are taken, estimates that the entire Mennonite pop
ulation counts up between 85,000 and 100,000, of whom a little
less than one-half among the "alt Kirchlichen Mennoniten"
(Mennonites not of the Bruedergemeinde) are actual baptized
members. The ratio is about four to five. Of the entire Men
nonite population about 17,000 are of the Bruedergemeinde,
about 7,000 of whom are baptized members. The ratio of
baptized to unbaptized among these is about as two to five.
"Kroeker's Familien Kalender" gives the following statistics
for all Mennonites for 1911 : Taurida, 75 villages, 33,500 souls;
Ekaterinoslav, 72 villages, 21,440 souls; Kherson, 16 villages,

182 THE MENNONITES
5,600 souls; Samara, 35 villages, 12,000 souls; Orenburg, 20
villages, 8,000 souls; Stravapol (Kuban) 2 villages, 2200 souls;
Terek, 12 villages, 3,000 souls; with scattered settlements in
Warsaw, Volhyriia, Saratov and Ufa. In Siberia also there are
two large settlements of about 10,000 souls in 50 villages.
During the recent war the Russian Mennonites were able
to maintain the privileges granted them in 1873, that of non-
combatant service. It is estimated that in all some eleven
thousand served in some capacity during the three years of
war. About three thousand had volunteered in the hospital
and other sanitary departments. These received government
support for themselves and their families. The remainder,
however, in various kinds of non-combatant service had to be
supported by the church at large, which proved to be rather
a heavy burden.
Being Germans, the Mennonites together with other
Germans, were early placed under specia} restrictions by the
Russian Government. Their German schools were closed. The
German language was prohibited in worship. Their German
church papers "Der Bbtschafter," and the "Friedenstimme"
were forced to suspend. A number of individuals were sent
into Siberian exile for alleged disloyal utterances. Others
were cast into prison, but frequently promised their freedom
upon th<» ray merit of large sums of money. Great was the
gloom nong the Mennonites as to their future, and before
191' iere was a prevailing sentiment among them for migra
tion to America after the war.
Then came the Revolution of 1917 which dethroned the
Czar and established the republic, freeing all people and
giving them equal rights. Gloom was turned to great re
joicing for a brief period. Although the Mennonites had been
loyal to the Czar and his government throughout the early
years of the war, they were also sympathetic to the new
republic when it was established and from which they to
gether with all others expected a new reign of universal

RUSSIA 183
freedom. The beginning augured well. The restrictions on
the use of German were removed. Their schools and churches
were again opened, and their papers again published, but the
"Friedenstimme" under a new name, the "Volksfreund."
The exiles were permitted to return. These privileges
especially so far as the use of the German was concerned were
guaranteed by the treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The war for them
was over.
But the rejoicing was premature. Hardly had the new
republic been inaugurated when it collapsed and was suc
ceeded by the government of the Bolsheviki, which intro
duced a period of anarchy, bringing with it burdens for the
middle class and especially the non-resistant Mennonites in
many respects, greater than those of the war itself. During
the past three years the channels of communication with
Russia have been pretty effectually closed, but from oc
casional letters to friends in America, and accounts of condi
tions appearing in the Swiss and German Mennonite papers
we learn in a general way of the Mennonite ' situation. Now
that the war is over we will know more about the actual con
ditions. Most of the Mennonites in Russia live in the Ukraine
but their experiences were similar in the various divisions of
old Russia wherever Bolshevism was in control. The program
of the Bolsheviki included the nationalization of all land and
the equalization of property. This program was carried out,
reducing many of the wealthy Mennonites as well as other
landowners to beggars.
According to letters from Russia appearing in such
papers as the Rundschau, Bundesbote, Zionsbote, Wahrheits-
freund, and Herold and other papers circulating among the
American Russian churches we learn that in the Ukraine
the land was to be sold by January, 1917, at a nominal price,
and paid for in twenty-five year bonds bearing interest at the
rate of four and one-half per cent. Bolsheviki committees con
sisting often of the hired men of former owners appraised the

184 THE MENNONITES
value of the machinery, equipment and products on the
estates with a view to distribution, and remained on the
grounds as guards to prevent the sale of movable property.
Each colony was assessed a certain sum of money which it
was to pay into the treasury of the new Bolsheviki govern
ment. The sum for the Molotschna colony was 5,000,000
rubles; Chortitz was to pay 2,000,000 rubles, and seventeen
prominent men were taken away as hostages who were
threatened with death if the contribution was not made up.
Worst of all was the .collapse of government everywhere
and the class war which followed throughout all Russia.
Marauding bands of cut-throats took advantage of the situa
tion and roved about the country at will, stealing, plundering,
destroying and killing as they pleased. The wealthy, non-
resistant Mennonite communities seemed to be special marks
for these lawless bands, although, of course, the same con
ditions prevailed throughout the greater part of the former
empire. The large estates in the open country were the first
to fall victims to the marauders. Early in 1917 many of the
farmers were forced to seek refuge in the towns after their farms
had been plundered and their buildings often destroyed. Many
of the small villages were completely ruined — among them
Steinbach and others in the Molotschna colony. At Halbstadt
a small band of ruffians heavily armed and assisted by some
sailors from the Azov, plundered the community at will, took
a number of prisoners, and shot down in cold blood six of the
leading Mennonites. The Mennonite villages were made to
suffer more heavily perhaps because they were known to be
non-resistant. The bands of plunderers were not always
large and in non-Mennonite communities where there were no
conscientious scruples against self-defense by force of arms,
well-organized local militia often were able to prevent the
most serious of similar disturbances. An Evangelical village
near the Molotschna community, having no scruples against
the bearing of arms, armed its citizens, proclaimed them
selves Bolsheviki also, and threatened to shoot any Bol-

RUSSIA 185
sheviki from elsewhere who dared touch their property. Their
rights were undoubtedly respected.*
The community which seems to have suffered most was
the colony in the province of Terek, in the Caucusas. Accord
ing to a letter appearing in the Bundesbote of October 31,
1918, this colony consisting of fourteen Mennonite villages,
was continuously harassed by their Mohammedan neighbors
who took advantage of the anarchy of the times and the
non-resistant spirit of the Mennonites. The latter after
suffering many hardships and the loss of several persons at
the hands of the Mohammedans were forced to decide be
tween taking up arms in self-defense or abandoning all their
possessions to their enemies. At a meeting of the leaders held
February 8, 1918, it was decided not to organize a local
militia, but rather to abandon all their possessions valued at
millions of dollars, and seek refuge among their brethren in
the interior. This decision was carried out and at the time
the above letter was written most of them were still among
the Mennonites in Kuban, others in Taurien and Ekaterino
slav. If these conditions were to continue for any length of
time among the Mennonites, of course, there would be an
other exodus to a more secure land. Many have already been
looking toward other countries with a view to leaving
Russia. But as this is written the peace terms of the great
war are being arranged and undoubtedly out of it will also
come peace and established order for distracted Russia.

*Since the above was wiritten it seems that the Mennonites were
forced in some parts of Russia to give up their non-resistant prin
ciples and resort to arms for self-protection. For a brief description
of conditions in the Mennonite settlements in the winter of 1919, see
a letter dated January 29, 1919, from Halbstadt, written to Peter Jan
sen of Beatrice, Nebraska, and printed in The Mennonite of October
2, 1919.

186 THE MENNONITES

CHAPTER VIII
FRANCE, ALSACE AND LORRAINE
The three political divisions named in the title are
grouped together here because they really form one settle
ment historically and geographically, and until 1870 were
much of the time under the same political jurisdiction. We
have already seen that early in the history of the Anabaptist
movement, Strasburg became a rallying point for the breth
ren. Here such men as Denck, Hetzer, Sattler, Marbeck and
Hoffman labored. Here also were held later a number of im
portant conferences. Small settlements were found early in
the Jura and Vosges mountains and the surrounding country
in France, Alsace and Lorraine. These original settlements,
however, in course of time, were all practically exterminated.
The present congregations are almost entirely the result of
Swiss immigration from 1650 to 1750, and are for the most part
of the Amish branch of the church. The following list of minis
ters taken from a recent Year-book shows that even in present
France they are of Swiss and German, and not of French ances
try. The list includes such names as Schmutz, Roth, Lugbill,
Joder, Widmer, Amstutz, Graber, Klopfenstein, Goldschmidt,
Kennel, Hirschy, Bachman, Esch, Schmouker, Sommer,
Gingerich, Springer, Lidwiller and Mosiman. In Alsace and
Lorraine appear the additional names of Ropp, Peterschmidt,
Grieser, Augsburger, Wagler, Wenger, Neuhusser, Guth,
Jordy, Pelsy, Schantz, Nafziger and Schertz.
.The Mennonite population of Alsace and Lorraine in 1914
was approximately twenty-three hundred souls, grouped
under eleven scattered congregations extending along a line

Mennonite Church, Belfort, France.

FRANCE, ALSACE AND LORRAINE 187
of small communities through the middle of the provinces
from Altkirch in the south, through Colmar, Dieuze, to near
Metz on the north. In France there is a population of about
twelve hundred, scattered through eleven congregations near
the Alsatian border, in the departments of Doubs, Haut,
Saone, Vosges, Haut Marne, Meuse and Meurthe et Moselle.
Alsace and Lorraine were under various political juris
dictions until the reign of Louis XIV, when both were added
to France under whose control they remained until the Franco-
Prussian war in 1870. As .already seen, during the Swiss
persecutions of the seventeenth century these regions offered
an asylum for Mennonites. Louis XIV, however, attempted
to persecute them,/ and issued a decree in 1672 banishing
them. But an investigation of the teaching of the Menno
nites of the Netherlands by a French theologian who had in
fluence with the king resulted in staying the persecution. The
fact that they lived quiet and simple lives in the secluded
valleys of the Vosges mountains undoubtedly also contributed
to their security. In 1712 when the Swiss were coming into
Alsace the king again ordered them out. Some obeyed the
order and settled in the Duchy of Zweibrucken, but others re
mained being protected by the petty noblemen on whose es
tates they had proved themselves industrious and profitable
tenants. After 1728 during the regency of the Duke of Or
leans, Mennonites were legally permitted to remain, but not
to expand their settlements. This order was secured by noble
men who desired to retain the Mennonites as tenants on their
estates. As in other countries Mennonites found it difficult here
also to escape universal military service. During the French
Revolution in 1793, they petitioned the National Convention
for release from the general levies which were then being
made in the wars against Prussia and Austria. The Committee
of Public Safety composed at that time of Robespierre and
four others issued an order in which they commended the
Mennonites for their simple virtues and recommended to the

188 THE MENNONITES
local authorities that they treat them considerately and per
mit them to enter non-combatant service, or even to substitute
for personal service an extra tax. This limited exemption was
retained for a while, and when it was no longer renewed
Mennonites took advantage of the right to secure substitutes
when they were conscripted. In the conscription laws for
universal military service passed since the Franco-Prussian
war no special privileges were granted the Mennonites. A
number have- emigrated to America during the last hundred
years. The rest have taken service and in the recent war
have fought against their brethren across the arbitrary divi
ding line which separated the French from the Alsatian
churches. After the Napoleonic wars, from 1820 to 1850, a number
of families from all these regions emigrated to America. The
large Amish settlement in central Illinois, and those in Butler
and Fulton counties, Ohio, New York and Canada are largely
made up of Alsatians and Lotharingians with some from pres
ent France and South Germany.
The following description of the Amish taken from a
French religious journal in 1819 at the time of the emigra
tion to America describes the ideas and customs which they
brought with them to the new world.
"The entire number of souls may be twelve or fifteen
hundred scattered about through German Lotharingia, Elsasz
and the neighboring Departments. Their principal settlement
is at Salm, near the Vosges which they occupy almost exclu-
I sively. I do not believe that there is a single family living in
any of the towns. They are small farmers being found es
pecially as tenants on the estates of noblemen. Through
their industry, intelligence and experience as farmers they
have become expert in all branches of agricultural industry.
This circumstance as well as their reliability and punctuality
in meeting all their financial obligations have made them much
sought after by noblemen as farmers on their estates."
"They consented with reluctance to carry the tricolor

FRANCE, ALSACE AND LORRAINE 189
cockade when that was made a duty. When they greet one
they take off their hats, but like the Quakers they do not take
an oath nor bear arms. When the National Convention at
tempted to compel them to perform military duty they refused
and suggested that they be permitted to do work in the Quar
termaster department instead, which was granted them by
the Committee of Public Safety. Some of them served in this
capacity rather than hire substitutes. To their credit be it
said that unlike many others they pay their debts not in worth
less assignats, but in good coin. They do not use tobacco
nor play cards. To music and art they are strangers. They
do not go to law. They take care of their poor and come
to the rescue of their members who have financial reverses
for which they were not personally responsible. On the whole
they are rather illiterate, but honest, temperate, industrious
and of good moral character."
Since the above was written the Mennonites, or Amish
rather, of these regions have not changed a great deal. They
are still a rural people although some are entering industrial
and business life in the towns, and as they do so they are drain
ing the home communities of prospective leadership. Mem
bers of congregations are often scattered over a wide terri
tory often as much as sixty or seventy miles apart. In many
places meetings are frequently held as in Switzerland in pri
vate houses, where worshippers are invited to remain for din
ner before beginning their long tramp home. 'Meetings oc
cur only every two or three and sometimes four weeks apart.
Preachers are untrained, unsalaried and are elected by lot, and
are of the usual three grades, bishops, ministers, and deacons.
All the congregations with one or two exceptions practise
feet-washing with the communion service. Marriage with
outsiders is forbidden and punishable by excommunication.
They have no training schools, but their ministers occasion
ally attend the missionary training school at St. Crishona, near
Basel, which has also been utilized to some extent by the
Mennonites of South Germany and Russia. Until recently

190 THE MENNONITES
the Ausbund was still the accepted song-book, but it has since
been replaced by more up-to-date hymnals. The Alsatian,
Lotharingian and French congregations meet annually in two
separate i conferences. The French have also a separate pa
per since 1901, called the "Christseul." Up to the war of 1870
and a number of years after, the German language was in
common use in service and instruction on the French side of
the border, but gradually the French has entirely replaced
the German which has also cut them off from their old litera
ture and hymn books, and which has had a tendency to wi
den the gap which the political events of 1870 and also this re
cent war has made within the ranks of what was once one
people with a common history and ancestry.
A number of the Alsatian and Lotharingian settlements
were well within the battle zone of the western front. The
church at Saar suffered heavily at the beginning of the war.
The church building itself was demolished and among the
members whose farms were seriously damaged was that of
Minister Valentine Pelsy. Fortunately for these congregations
the war ended before the battle zone in the Lorraine sector
had advanced very far toward the Rhine. The coming peace
convention will undoubtedly restore Alsace-Lorraine to France.
That will unite these various churches once more under one
national jurisdiction, and will demand certain adjustments to
the new order of things.
There is also a small congregation in Luxemburg. The
Year Book of 1913 gives a congregation of one hundred and
twenty and the name of Nicholas Nafziger from Liessem,
near Treves as the elder.

AMERICA

FIRST SETTLEMENTS 193

CHAPTER IX
FIRST SETTLEMENTS
The first Mennonites to come to America were stray Dutch
traders and colonists, who accompanied their fellow countrymen
from Holland to their possessions in the new world in the early
days when New York was still New Netherlands. The term
Anabaptist, undoubtedly Mennonite, is frequently found in the
early colonial records of New Netherlands. The term Mennon
ite itself is found first in a report of the religious conditions in
the first Dutch settlement made in the new world found in the
writings of a French Jesuit traveler, Father Jogues. In a letter
dated 1643, describing the "Manhate" settlement he enumerates
among the religious groups — "Calvinists, Catholics, English
Puritans, Lutherans and Anabaptists here called Menists." In a
later document "Menonists" are reported at Gravesend, Long
Island, in 1657. Beyond these bare items, however, nothing is
known concerning these first comers of the Mennonite faith.
A few years later, in 1663, we glean a few more scraps of
information regarding a third Dutch Mennonite colony led by
the social reformer Cornelis Pieter Plockhoy or Zeirik Zee.
Plockhoy was a liberal minded Dutch communist of Mennonite
ancestry, who after several vain attempts to interest Cromwell
and the English Parliament in behalf of a communistic common
wealth composed of the poor to be established somewhere in Eng
land or Ireland, finally succeeded in securing financial aid from
the city of Amsterdam with permission to establish a colony of
twenty-five Mennonite families on lands recently purchased by
the city along the Delaware bay, at that time a part of New
Netherlands. According to a pamphlet written by Plockhoy in 1662, his
7

194 THE MENNONITES
proposed colony was to be an experiment in cooperation, but
only partly a communistic one. Provisions were made for a
large colony. All the future settlers were to live in common
houses accommodating from thirty to forty people, but property
was not to be held in common except for the first three years
during which time everyone was to work for the common good
and live from a common store house. Education was to be free
to all, while religious toleration was assured. There was to be no
state church, nor taxation for the support of a religious institu
tion. Denominationalism was discouraged and there was to be
but one house of worship. To insure freedom from sectarian
disputes no clergyman was to be permitted to locate in the colony.
Among others who were denied admittance were, "Those in com
munion with the Roman see ; usurious Jews ; English stiffnecked
Quakers; Puritans, foolhardy believers in the Millennium; and
obstinate modern pretenders to revelation." Slavery was pro
hibited, and those having conscientious scruples against bearing
arms were to pay a special tax for the support of those who
entered military service.
How much of this scheme was actually put into practise we
do not know. Our information regarding the history of the
colony is scant. We do know, however, that the good ship St.
Jacob sailed from Rotterdam in May 1663, and landed a few
months later on the Horekill near where it empties into the Dela
ware, leaving there forty-one souls with baggage and farm uten
sils. We know also that two years later during the Dutch-Eng
lish war an English expedition sailed up the Delaware, plundering
all the Dutch settlements, "also that belonging to the Quaking
society of Plockhoy," which was laid waste "to a very nail."
The colonists were seized and dispersed, but what became of them
remains a mystery. One further bit of information exhausts all
that has thus far been brought to light regarding this Mennonite
experiment. Thirty years later, in 1694, Plockhoy, now blind and
penniless, together with his wife found his way to Germantown,
where he was cared for at public expense by those of his own
faith who had succeeded better than he in securing a foothold in
the new world.

FIRST SETTLEMENTS 195
The first permanent Mennonite colony in America was that
established at Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1683, by a group, of
Germans of Dutch ancestry from the town of Crefeld, and sur
rounding region along the lower Rhine near the Dutch border.
This colony owed its' existence to two forces — religious intoler
ance, and Quaker missionary zeal.
Mennonites at the close of the seventeenth century had not
yet secured entire religious liberty. The day of the stake and the
rack, to be sure, were past, but even in Crefeld, which was one of
the most liberal of German cities toward religious dissenters,
they were still compelled to erect their house of worship in a
back alley in order that they might not attract public attention.
Active propaganda was forbidden. Special taxes were levied
against them. Frequently they were subjected to extortion at
the hands of petty, but greedy lords upon whose estates they
lived. The Quakers especially, of whom there were now several
congregations in the cities along the lower Rhine, were abused
because of their aggressive efforts in extending their faith.
Between 1655 and 1680 a number of Quakers from England
including both Fox and Penn had visited Northwest Germany
and Netherlands repeatedly in the interests of their cause. These
were especially well received by the Mennonites among whom
they gained a number of Quaker' converts in Crefeld, Kriesheim
and other towns. It was to these Mennonite-Quakers and their
Mennonite friends and relatives that Penn first made his appeal
for German immigrants to his newly inherited colony of Penn
sylvania. In 1682, Jacob Telner, a Mennonite merchant from
Amsterdam, who had visited New York several times and who
was acquainted with the London Quakers, together with five
other Mennonites from Crefeld and surrounding towns purchased
18,000 acres of land in Pennsylvania for the purpose of founding
a colony. About the same time too a group of Pietists from
Frankfort on the Main, under the leadership of Francis Daniel
Pastorious, established the Frankfort Land Company which pur
chased 40,000 acres north and west of Philadelphia. It was from
these two groups that actual settlers purchased most of their
land.

196 THE MENNONITES
Soon after, on October 6, 1683, a group of thirteen families,
Mennonites and Mennonite-Quakers, from Crefeld and the sur
rounding region, all with Dutch names, some well known in early
Mennonite history, arrived at Philadelphia on board the ship
Concord. They immediately preceded north several miles to a
place selected for them by Pastorious, who had preceded them by
several months, and founded Germantown, not only the first
permanent Mennonite, but the first German colony in America.
Francis Daniel Pastorious, the Pietist, not a Mennonite, the
agent of the Frankfort Land Company, became the John Smith
of the new colony. Well educated in law and the classics, held in
high esteem by William Penn, aggressive and industrious, he was
well fitted to be the leader of the new enterprise. When German-
town became a corporation in 1691, he was elected the first chief
magistrate, and often served the corporation as clerk. His later
years were devoted to teaching in the Germantown Academy.
Until his death in 1719, he remained the leading spirit of the
settlement. These first Mennonite and Quaker colonists were mostly
mechanics and linen weavers, unlike later Mennonites who came
to America "not given much to agriculture." They founded a
village, cultivated the soil on a small scale at first, but soon
turned to weaving as the chief industry. Although they passed
through a brief period of hardships, they were free from Indian
dangers and disease epidemics, fatal to so many colonial experi
ments. Soon other settlers followed these first thirteen families,
many of whom located on the lands about the village. By 1700
the following family names including the first comers appear
in the early records — Op den Graf, Lensen, Streypers, Lucken,
van Bebber, Jansen, Schumacher, Kessel, Keyser, Rittinghuysen,
Kunders, Tyson, Siemens, Keurlis, Bleikers, Tunes, Gotschalk,
van Sinteren, Neus, Engel, Schlegel, Graff, etc.
Mennonite immigrants to Germantown were not numerous.
In all there were perhaps not more than fifty families. Later
many more of course located farther west at Skippack and
Pequea. After 1700, however, Germantown became the nucleus
of a large settlement of non-Mennonites. Especially attractive

FIRST SETTLEMENTS 197
was the colony for numerous German sects and religious denomi
nations. In Germantown were organized not only the first Men
nonite, and the first and perhaps only German Quaker congre
gation in America, but also the first Dunkard, the first German
Reformed, German Lutheran, Moravian, and German Methodist
churches, to say nothing of a number of sects never heard of
before this side of the Atlantic.
By 1702 the available land about Germantown had all been
taken up, which necessitated the establishing of a second Men
nonite colony along the Skippack creek, a tributary of the
Perkiomen, about thirty miles above Germantown.
Mennonites and Quakers first met for common worship, but
as new immigrants came and as they represented different de
nominations, the religious groups began to separate for worship.
By 1690, the Mennonites, although they were without a minis
ter, met in a private house for religious instruction consisting
of reading by one of their number from a book of sermons.
William Rittenhouse who arrived in 1688 was soon after, in 1690,
elected as their first minister. A little later, in 1703, he was also
appointed the first elder of the congregation upon the advice and
authorization of the elder and ministers of the church at Ham
burg, Germany. In 1708 the first lpg meeting house was erected
on the site occupied by the present structure on Germantown
avenue. The Mennonite group among the colonists did not
grow rapidly, Germantown being passed by for the newer
colonies farther west. By 1712 there was a membership in the
two congregations of Germantown and Skippack of ninety-nine,
embracing in all perhaps a Mennonite population of about two
hundred. The Germantown Mennonites not only formed the advance
guard of the German immigration to America, but they were
pioneers in other important respects also. In 1688 they issued
the first public protest against slavery on record in America,
although the institution had also been forbidden in the Plock
hoy colony in 1663. To the German Mennonites the holding of
slaves ran counter to both their racial ideals and their religious
convictions. The English Quakers still held slaves. It was for

198 THE MENNONITES
the purpose of showing their disapproval of the practise as well
as for the purpose of fostering German immigration that a group
of four men in the year mentioned — Pastorious, Lutheran Piet
ist, Gerrit Hendricks, Mennonite, Derick Op den Graff, Men-
nonite-Quaker, and Abraham his brother, first Mennonite, but
later Quaker and finally free lance, sent a memorial to the Qua
ker Monthly Meeting protesting against the holding of slaves.
"Those who hold slaves are no better than Turks," the. pro
test declares, "for we have heard that ye most part of such
Negers are brought hither against their will and consent, and
that many of them are stolen." The institution was also cited
in Germany evidently as an argument against further emigra
tion. "For" the protest continues, "this makes an ill report in all
those countries of Europe where they hear off, that ye Quackers
do here handel men, like they handel there ye cattle and for that
reason some have no mind or inclination to come hither."
The English Quakers were not ready yet, however, to cham
pion the cause of absolute freedom. The Monthly Meeting
deciding the matter too weighty for their consideration referred
it to the Quarterly Meeting, which in turn avoided the subject
by passing it on to the Annual Meeting where no further action
was taken on the matter.
The Germantown colony also furnishes us an interesting
example of a Mennonite political experiment. In 1691 the vil
lage was incorporated under the laws of the Province receiving
a special charter. The form of government provided for in this
first Pennsylvania borough was that of a closed corporation, the
corporate members being granted the exclusive right of the
franchise, of legislation, and of admitting new members into the
corporation. The first corporate members were mostly Men
nonites and Mennonite-Quakers, who maintained control of the
village government long after they were outnumbered by resi
dents who did not share their religious views, nor their scruples
against the use of force in maintaining order. So long as vil
lage ordinances and local litigation concerned itself only with
stray pigs and line fences there was little difficulty in securing
Mennonite officials, but with the building of a jail and the intro-

FIRST SETTLEMENTS 199
duction of stocks and the whipping post, they lost their desire
for office. As early as 1701 Pastorius complained to Penn that
he found it increasingly difficult to find men who would serve in
the General Court for "conscience sake," and hoped for relief
from the arrival of new immigrants. Several men declined to
accept offices to which they had been elected. Finally in 1707,
the village lost its charter, and it was merged for political pur
poses with the township of which it was a part. The Mennonites
refused to hold office, but at the same time retained control of
the franchise. For this reason we have here the unparalleled
instance of a corporation losing its charter because no one could
be found who was willing to hold the offices.
The remaining history of the Germantown church can be
dismissed with a few words. Later immigrants as we saw
passed it by for more favorable lands elsewhere. In 1770 the old
log building was replaced by the little stone structure still stand
ing. At that time the congregation numbered only twenty-five..
It finally became extinct, but was again revived in 1863, under
the pastorate of F. R. S. Hunsicker. At present it has a member
ship of thirty-one, and is affiliated with the General Conference
branch of the church. Insignificant as its later history may have
been however, yet the Germantown settlement exerted no
mean influence upon the church at large, and indirectly upon the
civil and religious history of Philadelphia and the state of Penn
sylvania. In the house of van Bebber was held in 1690 the
first service of the German Lutheran church in America, and at
least ten of the present churches of Philadelphia including one
Evangelical, two Episcopal, one Presbyterian, were all first or
ganized in the little Mennonite meeting house. Many of these also
drew heavily upon the Mennonites for their membership.
In the list of names prominent in the industrial and political
life of Pennsylvania can be found many of the descendants of the
first Mennonite settlers. In 1690 William Rittenhouse built on
the Wissahicon, now a part of Fairmount Park, the first paper
mill in America. His great-grandson, David Rittenhouse, born in
1732, became a celebrated astronomer of his day, and an intimate
friend of Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. He became

200 THE MENNONITES
a prominent member of the Assembly during the Revolutionary
war and was appointed first director of the United States Mint
by George Washington. Among recent prominent descendants
of the first Mennonites was the later Governor Samuel Penny-
packer, who in addition to his political activities did much to
create an interest not only in Mennonite history, but also in that
of all Pennsylvania Germans.

THE SWISS AND GERMAN PALATINES 201

CHAPTER X
THE SWISS AND GERMAN PALATINES
The Germantown colonists, as we saw, came principally from
Northwest Germany and were of Dutch ancestry. This group,
however, was small, and few came from this region after 1700.
A much larger immigration was that of the Swiss and German
Palatines during the first half of the eighteenth century. We are
here concerned only with the Mennonites, but in order to keep the
subject of our sketch within proper perspective, we need to
remember that during this time tens of thousands of Palatines
of every faith known in Germany — Lutherans, Reformed, Cath
olics, Dunkards, Schwenkfelders, Moravians, Baptists and Mys
tics, as well as Mennonites settled in Southeastern Pennsylvania
and formed the basis of that picturesque element of the Quaker
state population commonly known as the Pennsylvania Dutch.
The cause of this immigrant tide was mainly economic
pressure, although in the case of some, religious oppression was
a contributing factor. During the early eighteenth century there
was great poverty and distress throughout the Palatinate. Dur
ing the war of the Palatinate (1688-1697) the French armies
completely devastated the country. Several severe winters soon
after, and famine added to the distress. Just at this time, too,
came an urgent invitation, widely published, from Queen Anne
of England to settle in the American colonies. The climax of
distress seems to have been reached in the year 1709, for in that
year a sudden emigration fever seems to have seized the Palatines.
Some eight or ten thousand during the year poured into England
hoping to be transported to America. The English Government,
surprised at this sudden inundation of Germans, was hardly pre
pared to care for them. Most of them were induced to return to
Germany ; some were settled in Ireland. About six hundred were

202 THE MENNONITES
transported to the Carolinas where Graffenreid had already estab
lished a Swiss colony at New Bern. The next year a number
were sent to New York. Only a few families found their way in
this year to Pennsylvania. The next year, however, and -the years
following the latter state became the chief objective of the move
ment. The Mennonites who formed only a small part of the
immigration tide had added reason for leaving the Palatinate.
While the larger portion of the settlers were Germans, the Men
nonites were Swiss exiles who had been forced to find temporary
homes in the Palatinate in 1671 and the years following. These
were still living under annoying and oppressive religious restric
tions. The first Mennonite Palatine immigrants joined some Ger
mantown colonists in founding the Skippack settlement on a
tract of land bought by Matthias van Bebber in the year 1702, in
what is now Perkiomen township, in Montgomery county. Be
fore 1709, however, there were only a few scattered families.
According to Penn, in that year six Palatine Mennonite families
left London for Pennsylvania, but where they settled is uncertain,
undoubtedly on the Skippack, however. This initial colony ex
panded during the next fifty years by natural increase and by ad
ditions from Germany until it formed a Mennonite community on
both sides of the Skippack creek ten miles wide extending north
through the north central part of Montgomery county, the west
ern part of Bucks county, a small section of eastern Berks and
Lehigh counties, southern Northampton and included also a few
scattered settlements in Chester county. By the time of the
Revolutionary war the following congregations, nearly all still
in existence were formed :
"Schiebach, Indian Krik (Franconia), to which belong also
Salford Rokkil and Schwammen, Deep Ron (to which belong
Berkosen on the Delaware and Aufrieds), Blen, Grooten Swamb,
(to which belong Socken and Lower Milford), Hosenok, Lehay,
and Term, Matetschen, Schuylkil."
Among the prevailing Mennonite family names in theif
modern spelling are the following: Funk, Stauffer, Gotschall,
Ziegler, Clemmer or Clymer, Roth, Bechtel, Boyer, Moyer, Ber-

THE SWISS AND GERMAN PALATINES 203
gey, Detweiler, Huffman, Gehman, Bauman, Kolb, Pennypacker,
Frey, Showalter, Kratz, Oberholtzer, Longenecker, Yoder, Hun-
sicker, Alderfer, Wambold, Haldeman, Fretz, High, Geisinger,
Geil, Benner, Hiestand, Souder, Allabach, Beidler, etc.
An early Mennonite Palatine settlement was made in North
Carolina which was still in existence in 1773, but of which little
is known since.
By far the largest and most important of the early Palatine
colonies, however, was the one established by the Swiss Men
nonites on the Pequea creek, a tributary of the Susquehanna in
what is now Lancaster county. These pioneers who founded the
first white settlement in the region of the fertile Susquehanna
were mostly of such Swiss as had been driven into the Palatinate
in 1671 and the years following. The Swiss exiles of 1709 and
1710 were not among the earliest comers, although later many of
these found their way into Pennsylvania also.
This pioneer group consisted of ten men, "Switzers, lately
arrived in the Province" to whom Penn gave in 1710 a warrant
for 10,000 acres of land situated "on the northwesterly side of a
hill twenty miles easterly from Conestoga near the head of the
Perquin creek. The consideration for the entire tract was five
hundred pounds sterling money, and one shilling quitrent annu
ally for every hundred acres. The region was "a rich limestone
country, beautifully adorned with sugar maple, hickory, and
black and white walnut on the border of a delightful stream
abounding in the finest trout."
The first settlers were evidently well pleased with their sur
roundings, for early the next spring (1711) they sent one of their
number, Martin Kendig, back to the Palatinate to urge their
poverty-stricken and oppressed friends and relatives to join them
in their new home. Kendig returned the same year with a number
of new families, and during the next fifty years hundreds of Men
nonite families from the Palatinate — Swiss and South Germans —
were added to the original Pequea colony. For during all these
years the Palatines remained poor in Germany and suffered cer
tain religious restrictions in their native land. Their distress was
continually aggravated too, by the continued arrival of fresh

204 THE MENNONITES
exiles from Switzerland. These conditions together with the invi
tation of the king of England, himself a German, to settle in
Pennsylvania, as well as the repeated invitation of relatives
already here were responsible for the steady stream of immi
grants who came to Pennsylvania during the next half century.
Although a few of the pioneers were men of means, the great
majority were too poor to pay their passage money across. The
Dutch Mennonites of Amsterdam organized a "Committee of
Foreign Needs" to help their needy Swiss and Palatine brethren.
By 1732 over three thousand had asked for assistance many of
whom were giyen aid. Among the Germans themselves who were
active in behalf of their poor were two elders, Benedict Brecht
buhl and Hans Burghalter, who were untiring in their efforts to
relieve distress and in enlisting the aid through many letters of
the Dutch Mennonites in behalf of those of their number who
needed help. Both of these names are common today in Lan
caster county. Burghalter was for many years a minister in the
Geroldsheim church in the Palantinate where he died at a ripe
old age in 1752.
The year 1717, was one of exceptionally heavy immigration,
for many besides Mennonites were now coming to Southeastern
Pennsylvania, although the pioneer Pequea colony remained
largely Mennonite. This settlement expanded until ultimately the
Mennonites occupied nearly all of present rural Lancaster county,
with some scattered settlements along the edges of the neighbor
ing counties. By 1727 so many Germans had come to Pennsyl
vania that the English Provincial authorities became alarmed lest
the Germans completely dominate the political and social life of
the Province. To discourage further immigration a law was
passed in the above year levying a head tax upon every immi
grant, and compelling every ship captain to submit a complete
list of all new arrivals after that date.
As to the exact number of Mennonites who came to Penn
sylvania during the eighteenth century most estimates are too
large. The estimate of 100,000 Germans all told may not be
much out of the way, but of these the Mennonites formed a very
small part. The entire number was certainly not over two thou-

THE SWISS AND GERMAN PALATINES 205
sand families, and likely considerably below that.
By the time of the Revolutionary war which marked the end
of this period of German and Mennonite immigration the fol
lowing family names were common in Lancaster county — Ken
dig, Miller, Graff, Herr, Overholt, Bowman, Schantz, Weber,
Brenneman, Hershey, Brubaker, Baer, Lehman, Witmer, Funk,
Shenk, Landes, Huber, Kaufman, Kreider, Boehm, Eby, Brack-
bill, Burkholder, Stemen, Ffick, Erisman, Newcommer, Neff,
Boyer, Erb, Reist, Hess, Bookwalter, Nissly, Snavely, Good,
Beyer, Musselman, Meyhn, Martin, Root, Ebersole, Wenger,
Eschleman, Shellenberger, Mellinger, Bamberger, Risser, Schertz,
etc. The Pequea settlement was in the heart of the Indian coun
try. For a time Mennonites and Indians lived on friendly terms,
and their children often played together. But as the settlement
grew, the Indians moved farther west, and during the later
colonial wars the entire frontier from Pennsylvania through to
the Virginia settlements often suffered from Indian raids. In
1758 a letter written by several Mennonite ministers to Holland
asking for financial help states that two hundred families in
Pennsylvania had been robbed of their property by the Indians
and fifty persons had been killed. Among these were some Men
nonites and Amish.
According to the laws of Pennsylvania only the English and
naturalized non-English could bequeathe and inherit property.
Since naturalization could be secured only by a special act of the
Assembly upon petition, German Mennonites frequently found it
difficult to become fullfledged citizens. The Germantown Men
nonites were naturalized in a body in 1709. No Lancastrians
were naturalized until 1729, and then only after years of petition
ing. This act did not apply to the Amish, who had to petition
separately in 1742. After the latter year a general act was
passed covering all aliens and special petitions were no longer
necessary. As just noted, the Palatine Mennonites were with a few
exceptions mostly of the poorer classes and many did not have
sufficient means to pay their passage across the Atlantic. Such

206 THE MENNONITES
as did not receive sufficient help from the Dutch relief committee
were forced to seek means elsewhere. It was the practise in
those days for poor emigrants to sell their services for a number
of years to the ship captain in return for free passage. Such
labor then the captain could dispose of as he saw fit. Usually
it was sold at public auction to the highest bidder when the ship
arrived at Philadelphia. The term of service for an adult was
usually four or five years, while a minor served until twenty-one
years of age. Persons thus serving for their passage were called
Redemptioners. Many of the Pennsylvania immigrants, includ
ing not a few Mennonites, were of this class.
The passage across the Atlantic was long and frequently
hazardous. In fair weather and under normal conditions ten or
twelve weeks was sufficient for the voyage, and suffering was
not great, but in case of contrary winds and storms, ships would
often be driven far out of their course. The death rate especially
in case of small children was often high. In 1732 the ship John
and William left Rotterdam with two hundred and twenty pas
sengers, including a number of Mennonites. The ship was seven
teen weeks on the way, and forty-four passengers died enroute.
In the same year another ship from Rotterdam bound for' Phila
delphia landed at Marthas Vineyard Island after a voyage cover
ing twenty-four weeks. Provisions became short. The passengers
had no bread for eight weeks. So great was their hunger that they
scoured the ship for vermin. A rat was rated at eighteen pence by
the hungry castaways and a mouse at six pence. Seven persons
died of starvation in one night. Of the one hundred and fifty pas
sengers that left Rotterdam only fifty survived, one hundred hav
ing starved on the way. The next year the ship Experiment left
with one hundred and eighty passengers and arrived at New York
with only eighty on board.
These were exceptional cases of course, but even at best a
voyage across the ocean in those days was a matter requiring
great courage. Added to these hazards beyond human control
were others due to the greed of ship owners. Often greedy cap
tains would overcrowd their ships, furnish poor food and by
failing to provide proper sanitation greatly increase the death

THE SWISS AND GERMAN PALATINES 207
toll. Gottlieb Mittelberger, who arrived in 1750, wrote a book
describing conditions on the immigrant ships in the hope of alle
viating the worst conditions. Thirty-two died on his ship.
Among the breeders of disease on shipboard he mentioned "foul
water full of worms, salted food, biscuits full of worms and
spiders, damp, heat, hunger, lice so thick that they had to be
scraped off." Warm food was furnished only three times each
week, he said, and children under seven usually died from hunger,
thirst and itch. The Pennsylvania Assembly finally passed laws
specifying the number of passengers that could be placed on
board ship, and regulating the quality of food and sanitary con
ditions in general. For a long time too, strict quarantines were
maintained to prevent sick passengers from spreading contagious
diseases in the Provinces contracted on board ship due to unsan
itary conditions.
The Pequea and Skippack Mennonites were of the small
farmer class in their Swiss and Palatine homes, and here too, they
became tillers of the soil exclusively, avoiding the towns and
cities as they developed later. It was the relatively few Scotch
Irish and English who organized and named the townships, cities
and other civil units. Although the Mennonites founded the first
settlement in Lancaster county and later absorbed nearly the
entire county, there are few names on the map outside of a
number of cross roads post-offices which would indicate a Ger
manic origin. Lancaster city was founded by the English settlers
and developed into one of the most influential towns of the day.
It was seriously considered by the first Congress as the permanent
Federal Capital. A Geography of 1816 calls it the largest inland
city in America. Although the city is full of the descendants of
the pioneer settlers it was only within recent years that members
of the church organized a congregation there. There is today
within the county a Mennonite population, including all the fami
lies', of about twenty-five thousand.
There was little organized church life among the Mennon
ites. Each congregation was a unit to itself. Occasionally mat
ters of common concern, however, required united action. In
1727, a conference of all the Pennsylvania congregations was

208 THE MENNONITES
held, just where is not known, to consider among other matters
an English translation of their Confession of Faith. The fol
lowing ministers and congregations were represented at that
meeting :
Skippack — Jacob Gotschalk, Henry Kolb, Claes Jansen,
Michael Ziegler.
Germantown — John Gorgeas, John Conerads, Claes Ritting-
hausen. Conestoga — Hans Burghalter, Christian Heer, Benedict
Hirschi, Martin Baer, Johannes Bowman.
Great Swamp — Velte Clemer.
Manatant — Daniel Longenecker, Jacob Begthley.
Frequent, but irregular conferences were held later. By
1844 Christian Herr, a local historian writes : "The Mennonite
congregations in Pennsylvania are divided into three general
circuits within each of which semi-annual conferences consist
ing of bishops, elders or ministers and deacons are held for the
purpose of consulting each other and devising means to advance
the spiritual prosperity of the members."
Among the Palatines were a number of peace sects having
much in common with the Mennonites. Among these were the
Dunkards, who had their origin in Germany in 1708 and moved
bodily to Germantown in 1719. They followed the Mennonites
to their Skippack and Pequea settlements where their proselyting
zeal gained a number of adherents to their faith. Conrad Beisel,
one of their number, withdrew from them in 1728 and founded
at Ephrata the Seventh Day Baptist monastic community. The
old community house where the brethren lived monk fashion in
their cells is still standing, a venerable old reminder pf the good
old days long past. Several of the early Mennonite pioneers were
drawn into this movement. The attempt of Count Zinsendorf
to unite all the Pennsylvania Palatines into one church did not
seriously affect the Mennonites. Some of them, however, were
won to the Wesleyan revival which struck Pennsylvania during
the latter quarter of the century. Among them was Martin
Boehm, Mennonite bishop at Willow street, who together with
Otterbein, a Reformed minister, founded the United Brethren

THE SWISS AND GERMAN PALATINES 209
church, but who later also became one of the pioneer Methodist
preachers in Pennsylvania, i
About the same time, too, Jacob Engel, Mennonite, be
came the founder of the River Brethren.
The Mennonites were not a proselyting people, nor were they
active in the spreading of their propaganda. Consequently al
though they lost large numbers to other churches they scarcely
ever gained any in return.
One of the chief reasons for the loss of membership, chiefly
among the younger people, was the ultra conservatism of the
great mass of the Pennsylvania churches. Large, compact com
munities maintained a much stronger spirit of conservatism than
did the smaller, more open daughter colonies established in the
States farther west. Lancaster county with some seventy congre
gation of Old Mennonites and several other groups of conserva
tive branches totaling a population of perhaps some twenty-
five thousand souls, is still reluctant to affilitate upon terms of
equality even with other congregations of its own branch of the
denomination in the western States. Had the Pennsylvania Men
nonites been as able to hold their young people in the church as
have the Russians they ought to have a membership of at least
several hundred thousand today.
An interesting question for study in connection with the
daily life of the Pennsylvania Mennonites is that of their lan
guage, the so-called Pennsylvania Dutch. This dialect which is
not peculiar to the Mennonites, but common to all Pennsylvania
Germans is a modification of the South German dialects mixed
with an occasional English word. The following extract from
Harbaugh's — "Heemweh" illustrates the language once common
among the Mennonites of Southeastern Pennsylvania in the home
and pulpit, and still the prevailing tongue in some parts, over two
hundred years since it was first introduced:
"Ich wees net, soil ich nei' ins Haus,
Ich zitter an d'r Dheer
Es is woll alles voll inseid
Und doch is alles leer,
'S net meh heem wie's eemol war,

210 THE MENNONITES
Un kann's ah nimme sei :
Was naus mit unsere Eltere geht
Kummt ewig n^imme nei'
Die Friede hat der Dodt gearnt
Das Trauerdheel is mei."
As just intimated with the exception of the more liberal
General Conference wing of the church in recent years, the Penn
sylvania congregations were not able to hold many of their
talented young men in the church. This does not mean, however,
that they were less capable than other people if they were given
a chance. Hundreds of young men went out into the world to try
their fortunes, and succeeded. A long list of American College
Presidents and University Professors, Congressmen, Judges,
Literary men and Captains of Industry have had a Pennsylvania
Mennonite ancestry, but they did not remain with their faith.

EXPANSION OF PEQUEA COLONY 211

CHAPTER XI.
EXPANSION OF THE PEQUEA COLONY
(1709-1800)
Before the middle of the eighteenth century the best lands
of Southeastern Pennsylvania had been occupied by the German
and Scotch Irish immigrants. Consequently the children of the
pioneers as well as later immigrants were forced to push the
frontier line of settlements up the river valleys into the interior
of Pennsylvania and Virginia. In the very front of this advancing
tide were usually found a number of Mennonites who settled in
small colonies far out on the frontier where land was cheap, and
where room for expansion was ample.
Before the French and Indian war, Lancaster county Men
nonites, following the advancing tide of settlements planted
colonies across the Susquehanna in York county, and then
through the Cumberland valley in Cumberland and Franklin
counties, Pennsylvania, and Washington county, Maryland. In
the latter region they were numerous enough by 1776 to demand
some recognition upon their refusal to bear arms during the
Revolutionary war from the state convention, which was then
drafting a new constitution.
The Cumberland valley leads into the beautiful Shenandoah
of Virginia. Here at Massenutin along the South Fork of the
Shenandoah near what is now Luray, in Page county, in 1729,
in the very first German settlement in the valley, were found a
few Lancaster county Mennonites. In a few years they formed
the largest contingent of the Germans in that pioneer settlement,
although there were perhaps never more than several dozen
families in that place. These settlements in Page county were
never prosperous, and have long since become extinct. During
the French and Indian war the Indians made raids into the

212 THE MENNONITES
valley, and carried off many of the settlers. In one of these raids,
in 1766, John Rhodes, a Mennonite minister, his wife, three sons
and two daughters were killed by the Indians, and a surviving
son was carried away who after three years of captivity returned
to his friends. Many families were compelled to return to Penn
sylvania during these times. This colony, too, was located in
what was called the Northern Neck, a region to which Lord
Fairfax for many years tried to establish a private claim. During
this controversy many of the settlers, including the Mennonites,
feeling themselves insecure in their land titles moved farther up
into the valley in what is now Rockingham and Augusta coun
ties. By about 1800, the Mennonites had occupied the greater
part of the Linville valley, which embraced the region extending
from Linville creek on the east to the North Mountain on the
west, and the Shenandoah on the north, to Linville and Singers
Glen on the south, a district about ten miles long by eight miles
wide. After 1780, however, when Harrisonburg was founded as
the county seat of the newly organized Rockingham county, many
of the Linville settlers located west of the new town, where a
large community has since developed.
The Virginia Mennonites were the only members of their
faith within the late slaveholding Confederacy. To their credit
be it said that, true to their religious principles, they never held
slaves. As late as 1864, at a time when it took great courage in
the South to oppose the institution, they went on record in a
conference resolution to the following effect :
"Decided that inasmuch as it is against our creed and disci
pline to own or traffic in slaves, so it is also forbidden a brother
to hire a slave unless such slave be entitled to receive the pay for
such labor by the consent of the owner. But where neighbors
exchange labor, the labor of slaves may be received."
It is needless to say that this traditional opposition to both
slavery and war brought upon them serious trouble during the
Civil war, but these experiences are related elsewhere in this book.
During the first half of the last century the Virginia Men
nonites developed considerable interest in literary activities.
Among the early Virginia families were the Funks. One of these,

EXPANSION OF PEQUEA COLONY 213
Joseph Funk, did much for the music and literary interests of
the church. He was a school teacher, and also a publisher of
Mennonite and music books. In 1832 he compiled a book of
sacred melodies called "Harmonia Sacra," which had a wide cir
culation not only through Virginia, but throughout the Mennon
ite church at large. It went through seventeen editions, the last
one appearing in the latter seventies of the past century. In 1837
he also translated and published the so-called "Long" Confession
of Faith of thirty-three articles found in the Martyrs' Mirror,
together with "Nine Reflections" by Bishop Peter Burkholder.
In the meantime the tide of settlement had ascended the
Susquehanna and Juniata. In 1772 John Graybil from Lancaster
county began a colony on the Mahantago in Snyder county, near
what is now Richfield. A few small communities were estab
lished in Juniata county also. A little later a large settlement
of Amish was made in Mifflin county. About the same time, too,
in 1767, Christian Blauch founded a Mennonite settlement near
the headwaters of the Ohio river. By 1800 large colonies of both
Amish and Mennonites were found in Fayette and Westmore
land counties, and scattered settlements in Cambria, Blair, Cen
ter, Clearfield and Butler counties.
By the close of the eighteenth century then the Mennonites
of the southeastern Pennsylvania had appeared in the fertile
valleys of interior Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. Few
new communities have been established in these three states
since then. With the opening up of the Northwest Territory,
however, these pioneer settlements became in turn mother com
munities of many congregations organized early in the next
century in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.

214 THE MENNONITES

CHAPTER XII

THE AMISH

The European origin of the Amish branch of the church has
been related elsewhere, and needs no repetition here. Just when
the first Amish came to America is not certain, but it is quite
likely that a few stray members of the faith were to be found
among the earliest Palatine immigrants. According to a letter
written by Penn in 1709, among the Palatine immigrants of that
year were "divers Mennonists," who may have been Amish.
Among the Bernese exiles of 1711, some of whom soon after
came to Pennsylvania, were a number of Amish, although no
Amish names appear in the records before 1715. From 1727 on,
however, the time when complete lists were required of all ship
captains, such names are frequently found among the ship pas
senger lists. In that year there arrived, among others, Jacob
Mast, Peter Zug and Ulrich Pitscha. Between 1727 and 1750
familiar names are numerous, only a few of which can be men
tioned here. In 1742 Moritz Zug and his two brothers, John and
Christian, founders of a long line of Zooks, arrived at Philadel
phia on the Francis Elizabeth. In 1744, among others, came
Peter Jutzy, Jacob Hartzler, founder of another numerous Amish
family, came in 1749, followed the next year by the Blauch
brothers, Christian and Hans, and by Andreas Hoelly. Nicholas
Stolzfus landed at Philadelphia in 1766, and Peter Bietch in 1767.
Familiar names appear in these passenger lists as late as the
Revolutionary war, after which Palatine immigration practically
ceased. Just where these earliest immigrants first located is not
quite certain, but one of the very earliest congregations was to
be found in the northwest corner of present Berks county, along
North Kill creek. By 1742 this community was strong enough

THE AMISH 215
tojpetition the Provincial Assembly for exemption from the oath
in naturalization, a privilege which was granted by the Assembly.
Another early community was established in Lancaster county
at the headwaters of the Conestoga. From these two original
communities, other settlements were made near by. Not many are
left now in Berks county, but in Lancaster there is still a com
munity of something over twelve hundred members. The entire
European immigration could not have been large, as is shown
by the comparatively small number of family names among the
Pennsylvania Amish and their descendants today. The following
list in their modern spelling is nearly all inclusive, — Yoder, Zook,
Mast, Plank, Stolzfus, Stutsman, Hooly, Beiler, Koenig, Beechy,
Miller, Hostetler, Kaufman, Jutzi, Troyer, Umble, Gnaegi, Hartz
ler, Lapp, Hershberger, Smucker and a few others.
From these two pioneer settlements all the later colonies in
Pennsylvania — in Somerset, Westmoreland, Mifflin, and Juniata
counties were made, and indirectly many more in Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Iowa and other western States.
The Amish do not seem to have followed the Mennonites
and other Germans south into the Shenandoah valley. The first
colony to leave the home community seems to have crossed the
Alleghanies into southwestern Pennsylvania. Soon after the
French and Indian war, a number of settlers from Berks, Chester
and Lebanon counties located in what is now Somerset county.
Jacob and Christian Blauch, who undoubtedly were Amishmen,
located on government land in what is now Conemaugh township
as early as 1767. They were followed by a number of others
before the Revolutionary war. Before the close of the century
the largest of all the Berks and Lancaster county daughter
colonies were founded in the beautiful Kishocoquillas valley in
what is now Mifflin county. This narrow, beautiful and fertile
valley, hemmed in on both sides by picturesque mountains, now
contains a solid Amish community covering an area three or
four miles wide and fifteen miles long in the general region below
Belleville. This settlement in turn during the next century fur
nished a large share of the Amish colonies in the western States.
During the first half of the nineteenth century, Pennsyl-

216 THE MENNONITES
vanians founded numerous Amish communities in Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and other western States. The first
pioneers to enter Ohio were "Yockle" Miller and his family, who
located on Sugar creek in what is now Tuscarawas county in
1808. Later Pennsylvania colonies were established in Holmes,
Wayne, Logan, Champaign and Geauga counties.
By 1840 the westward tide had reached Indiana. A group
of landseekers from Somerset county, including preacher Joe
Miller, after visiting Iowa and walking back through Indiana,
decided to locate in what is now Elkhart county east of what is
now Goshen. From Pennsylvania and some of the older Ohio
settlements there were developed within the next twenty-five
years numerous congregations in Elkhart, Noble, LaGrange,
Marshall, Adams, Newton, Howard, Miami, Allen, Jasper, Davis
and Brown counties.
Between 1848 and 1852 several Mifflin county families
founded the Rock creek congregation in McClean county, Illinois.
After the Civil war another large community of conservative
Pennsylvanjans largely from Somerset county established the
Moultrie and Douglas county congregations.
In Iowa the first colony of native Amish was established in
1846 in Johnson county by a number of Pennsylvanians. In more
recent years the lure of cheap lands has called numerous colonies
from all these older States to Nebraska, Kansas, Arkansas, Ore
gon, Colorado, Oklahoma, the Dakotas, Montana and Idaho.
Renewed Immigration
In the meantime the tide of European immigration, lasting
Jrom about 1820 to 1860, and which is described elsewhere,
brought with it a number of Amish from South Germany and
France. The causes of this immigrant movement being given
elsewhere need not be repeated here. These came largely from
Alsace, Lorraine, Bavaria and several groups from Hesse-Darm
stadt. The pioneer of the Amish contingent was a Christian
Augsburger from near Strasburg, who came to America in 1817.
After spending a few months in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania,
he went back to France, but returned in 1819, and together with
five other families located in what is now Butler county, Ohio.

Carlock, Illinois, Mennonite Church, Central Conference.

THE AMISH 217
Another pioneer was Christian Nafziger, a Bavarian, who landed
at New Orleans in 1822. From here he found his way to Lan
caster county, walking a part of the way, and from there to
Waterloo county, Ontario, in search of cheap lands for prospec
tive settlers. He secured an option on a tract of land and went
back to Bavaria, but did not return until 1826. In the meantime,
in 1824, a German colony had been established in Canada.
About the same time, too, a small group located in Stark county,
Ohio. During the next twenty-five years numerous Amish families
and young people followed these pioneers to America. Lancaster
county was the first stopping place. From there prospective set
tlers would come to Butler county, Ohio, by way of Pittsburgh
and the Ohio river, and from that settlement as a distributing
station would seek a location in new regions where cheap lands
could be had in large quantities, appearing usually among the
very first settlers in their respective communities.
In 1830 a colony was established in Lewis county, New York.
Beginning with 1831 and lasting to 1850 a number of Alsatians
arrived in Illinois — some by way of New York or Philadelphia,
Lancaster, Pittsburgh and the Ohio-Mississippi-Illinois rivers;
others by way of New Orleans and the river route, and began a
large settlement along the Illinois river in what are now Taze
well, Woodford and Bureau counties. In Woodford county two
years after their first settlement was made, they organized the
earliest German church in the State, and the second of any de
nomination within the county. In 1834 also the large settlement
of European Amish was begun in Fulton county, Ohio, and
before 1840 a small colony was located in Southeastern Iowa.
The Hessians formed a group rather by themselves and founded
separate congregations in Butler county, Ohio, and McClean and
Putnam counties, Illinois. Many of these Amish were originally
of Swiss descent ; others were South Germans. Among the family
names of the immigrants of this period the following were the
most common, — Naffziger, Oesch, Virkler, Gascho, Schertz, Fahr-
ney, Roggy, Rupp, Stucki, Gerber, Guengerich, Belsley, Auer,
Zehr, Moser, Burcky, Roth, Litwiller, Schrock, Steinman, Al-

218 THE MENNONITES
brecht, Bachman, Kennel, Imhoff, Sommer, Beck, Slagel, Spring
er, Guth, Sweitzer, Rediger, Mosiman, Augsburger, Salzman,
Gauchy, Kinsinger, Schlabach, Risser, Kamp, Bechtel, Schmidt,
Ruvenacht, Gundy, Egly, Klopfenstein, Raber, Swartzentraub:
Up to about the middle of the last century the Amish were
one body so far as their faith and practise was concerned, al
though, having no conferences, there was no organized church
life beyond that of the congregation itself. They were exceed
ingly conservative, but differed from the Mennonites mainly in
a rigid application of the practise of "shunning" to all excom
municated members. All men were required to wear beards, as
had been the custom of their fathers in Europe for centuries,
but mustaches were forbidden. Parting of the hair, which had
to be cut long and after a prescribed form, was also prohibited.
All clothes must be home made and fastened with hooks and
eyes instead of buttons. Suspenders, too, were in the class of
proscribed vanities. Up to 1850 there were no meeting houses.
At first in Europe scattered settlements, long distances to the
place of meeting, necessity for secrecy and poverty — all forbade
the erection of meeting houses. What was thus once a necessity
in Europe became an established custom in America, still per
petuated among the Old Order Amish. Services held every
three or four weeks were long, lasting often for several hours.
Dinnei was served by the host at whose home the meeting was
held. The speech of every-day conversation was the Pennsyl
vania Dutch among the Pennsylvanians, and the Alsatian and
South German dialects among the recent immigrants. The lan
guage of public worship was German until within the past few
years. The old Ausbund was used exclusively as the authorized
hymnal, and more than one part singing was strictly forbidden.
Ministers were selected by lot and received no support. If the
lot struck one unqualified for the ministry, as it often did, there
was no escape from what was regarded as a direct call from God,
for every applicant for baptism was made to promise that he
would accept such a call before he was received into membership.
The women, too, were dressed severely plain. They wore
tight fitting plain clothes, without laces or frills, with capes and

THE AMISH 219
short aprons. During worship they wore a black cap as a devo
tional covering. This was the conventional garb from which
no sister in good standing dared to deviate the slightest on pain
of church discipline.
In their house furnishings and every-day conveniences the
same rigid austerity was prescribed by the Amish. Everything
new was tabooed. Under the ban were musical instruments of
all kinds, pictures on the walls, curtains, carpets and every bit
of unnecessary decoration or adornment. During the middle of
the last century the more progressive members introduced top
buggies when these conveniences came into vogue. During the
same period among the Mennonites in some of the eastern sec
tions the old-fashioned dearborns were in good standing, but
"falling" top buggies were not. Among both Amish and Men
nonites this new and more comfortable means of transportation
gained the sanction of those in authority only after much oppo
sition and numerous church meetings. Failure to comply min
utely with these various regulations was punishable by excom
munication. At one time, some fifty years ago, a member in an
Illinois congregation was excommunicated for insisting on wear
ing a starched shirt bosom, at that time a forbidden bit of wearing
apparel. In spite of these rigid austerities, however, the Amish were
sound to the core in the fundamental virtues. They were honest,
industrious, God-fearing, religious, kind-hearted and willing to
help in times of need. They were usually among the most suc
cessful farmers in their communities, and always maintained the
respect of those with whom they came in contact.
Owing to the scattered settlements among the Pennsylvania
descendants, and to the introduction of new blood from Europe
among the Amish, a series of local differences began to appear
about the middle of the last century. In 1850 a dispute arose in
Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, which later spread to Wayne
county, Ohio, over the method of baptism, whether it was to be
administered in the house or outside in a running stream ; at the
same time, too, the Butler county Amish began to use musical
instruments in their homes; the preachers of Wayne county

220 THE MENNONITES
prayed without their prayer books, and had discarded the old
time-honored Ausbund for more modern hymnals ; in some con
gregations, too, the ministers discarded the old custom of with
drawing to the little side room (the abrat or kaemmerle) before
the services. i
It was for the purpose of harmonizing these and other dis
cordant elements that a general conference was finally called of
all the Amish churches of America. The first session of this
series of conferences was held in a capacious barn in Wayne
county, Ohio, in 1862, at which seventy-two ministers were pres
ent from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and
Iowa. Annual sessions were held after this for twelve years, the
last meeting being held at Eureka, Illinois, in 1878, without ac
complishing the purpose for which the conferences were first
called. During this time the church became divided into several
permanent factions. On the one hand several liberal congrega
tions in Butler county, Ohio, and McClean county, Illinois,
adopted a more liberal policy. On the other hand a goodly num
ber of the more conservative congregations withdrew from the
conference even before its last session was held, and together
with those which never favored it, continued in the good old
ways of the fathers. These are now usually spoken of as the
Old Order. In between these two were left a number of con
gregations that later organized themselves again into confer
ences, and occupied at first a rather middle position on questions
of church practise, but now are more progressive. These have
gradually assumed the name of Amish-Mennonite, being prac
tically in sympathy in every respect with the main body of the
earlier American Mennonites, spoken of in this book as the Old
Mennonites. Old Order
The Old Order have maintained to the present time all the
good old customs of the fathers without the slightest departure.
Hooks and eyes, beards, aprons, capes, old fashioned bonnets,
suspenderless trousers, broadbrimmed hats and long hair are

Two Old Amish Brethren of Lancaster County, Pa.

THE AMISH 221
prescribed as rigidly as ever. New practises and improvements
are sparingly adopted. Under the ban are still Sunday schools,
revival meetings, conferences, high school education, top bug
gies, dashboards, furnaces, curtains, musical instruments, "store"
suspenders or suspenders of any sort, and in some localities even
windmills and sewing machines. Strange to say among this list
of worldly contrivances the automobile has quite generally slipped
in as a necessity and not a luxury. In some communities mem
bers are not permitted to install telephones into their houses,
but may use those of their worldly neighbors. Their houses are
usually painted a pure white, but in some localities in Indiana and
Pennsylvania they show a partiality for painting gates and out
buildings blue, for which reason they are sometimes known
locally as "Blue Amish."
While in general they are still sound morally, they are
addicted to certain social practises and moral ideals that are not
wholesome. Among these are their courting customs, which re
semble in some respects the old New England custom of bundling,
and the results of which are often no less unfortunate.
The chief centers of the Old Amish are Lancaster and Mif
flin counties, Pennsylvania; Holmes, Tuscarawas and Geauga
counties, Ohio ; LaGrange, Howard, Elkhart and Davis counties,
Indiana ; Douglas and Moultries counties, Illinois ; and Washing
ton and Johnson counties, Iowa, with smaller communities in
Ontario, Canada, and in the western States of the United States.
It was not to be expected, of course, that a church so indi
vidualistic and unorganized as the Amish could long continue
without serious internal dissensions. In addition to the differ
ences already mentioned they passed through three such periods
during the middle of the last century, mostly in Indiana and
Illinois. New Amish
The first of these difficulties was the one with the so-called
"New Amish" or "Neu Taeufer," whose origin in Switzerland
has already been described in another chapter. These people
were locally called New Amish in Illinois, not because they sprang
from the Amish, but because in Illinois the latter furnished the

222 THE MENNONITES
earliest converts. The adherents of the new faith spoke of them
selves as the "Glaeubige" (the fatihful ones), but more recently
they have assumed the name officially of the "Apostolic Church."
As already suggested, the first of these Neu Tauefer came to
Ohio from Switzerland in 1846, where they secured a small fol
lowing among their countrymen in the Wayne county Mennonite
settlement. In 1852 several more appeared among the Amish in
Lewis county, New York, where they caused the usual disturb
ance. From the latter place a few zealous proselytes to the new
following arrived soon after among some of their kinsmen in
the Amish settlement in Woodford county, Illinois, where they
secured a few more disgruntled church members to their faith.
In 1862 one of the leaders from Illinois established a small fol
lowing in Butler county, Ohio. Illinois has remained, however,
the center of the new sect. The growth for many years was
slow. By 1877 there were only eighty-nine members in all these
places, and the number would have remained insignificant had
not a large number of immigrants from Switzerland within recent
years been added to the original nucleus. There are at present
a number of large congregations in Woodford, Tazewell and
Livingston counties, Illinois, aggregating perhaps several thou
sand members. Small communities have lately also been estab
lished in Indiana and other States.
They still maintain the same spirit of exclusiveness and
superior piety which characterized them in Switzerland. Their
creed forbids them to have any religious association with those
of other church affiliations. They dare not listen to preaching
or praying, or any religious exercise conducted by members of
another church, hence they never visit other churches. They do
not attend the funerals of even their nearest relatives if not mem
bers of their own sect. All outside of their own fold are of tfye
"world" and sure to be eternally damned. With the "world"
they can have no religious affiliation whatsoever, and very little
social intercourse. They carry on no missionary enterprise, and
are not in favor of higher education. They still insist upon a
rigid observance of shunning the excommunicated, of whom they
usually have a goodly number among them. Even husband,

Orphans Home, Flanagan, Illinois, Defenseless Mennonites.

THE AMISH 223
wife and children must observe the practise among themselves
in case a member of the family has come under church discipline.
The practise has led within recent years to a number of domestic
tragedies in Central Illinois. In one case an entire family was
wiped out. They are a good people, however. They are honest,
industrious, and prosperous, occupying the finest farms and best
kept .farm buildings within the rich corn-belt of Central Il
linois. Defenceless Mennonites
Hardly had the New Amish disturbance blown over when
another little storm center developed among the Amish, this time
in Adams county, Indiana, and later also in Illinois and Ohio.
The leader of this new movement was Henry Egli, a minister in
the Amish congregation of that place. About 1864 Egli began
to urge the necessity of a definite conversion experience in the
religious life. His charge that the religious life of the time was
too formal and was not based on a vital experience may have had
some ground, but the contention that the austere, simply dressed
brethren of that day were too liberal in their dress regulations
can hardly be taken seriously. In 1866 Egli withdrew from the
old church, and formed a new one which soon included the larger
part of his former congregation. The movement later spread
to Livingston and Tazewell counties, Illinois, where several large
congregations have since developed.
At first Egli's followers were quite strict in their dress
regulations, rather exclusive in their religious affiliations, and
rebaptized all those of their members who had come from the
old church who could not confess that they had been truly con
verted before, a confession which of course under the circum
stances few could make. In recent years the old differences have
largely disappeared, and the younger generation have forgotten
that they are not of one faith. They are optional immersionists,
and have discarded the former dress restrictions. In every other
respect their faith and practise is identical with that of the Amish
Mennonites and the other more conservative wings of the Men
nonite denomination. At first they were spoken of as the "Egli
Amish" by members of the church which they left, but they in

224 THE MENNONITES
turn officially assumed the name Defenceless Mennonites. The
present membership in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio and a few
small communities in other States is about one thousand.
Central Illinois Mennonites
Hard upon the Egli defection followed the trouble between
Joseph Stuckey and the Ministers' Conference already mentioned.
Stuckey was a bishop in the Rock Creek, Illinois, congregation,
and was one of the leading men in the entire church. He was a
man of strong personality, a writer of some ability, and talented
with more than ordinary organizing power, and was one of the
leading spirits in the Ministers' Conference. Being rather more
liberal minded on religious questions than most of his fellow min
isters, he occasionally was brought into friction with other leaders
even before 1870, the time his troubles began with the Conference.
About this time a dispute arose between Stuckey and the Confer
ence relative to the expulsion of a liberal minded member of the
former's congregation by the name of Joseph Yoder. The Con
ference ordered Yoder's excommunication on the ground that
he did not believe in eternal punishment, having expressed this
sentiment in a poem called "Die Frohe Botschaft." Stuckey,
however, refused to carry out the order. The question was taken
up at the annual sessions of 1870-71-72 without a final agreement.
Finally a committee of Easterners was appointed to make a thor
ough investigation of the whole matter and dispose of the case.
This committee, made up of ultra-conservative Pennsylvanians,
decided adversely to Stuckey and his congregation, which stood
by him in this controversy. The committee further decided that
Stuckey and his congregation, unless he complied with their
findings, would no longer be regarded as members of the Con
ference. Most of the other Illinois congregations regarded this
decision as final, and it was announced in ihe various churches
that Stuckey and his following were no longer one of them.
Stuckey did not attend the later Conference sessions, which
ceased a few years later- on. There was no further formal divi
sion, however. The Illinois congregations were independent of
each other and each went its own way. Had it not been for the

THE AMISH 225
influence later of the conservative Mennonite ministers of the
East it is more than likely that to-day there would be little differ
ence even in matters of dress between the Amish Mennonites and
the followers of Joseph Stuckey. When, however, in the late
eighties the Western District Conference of the Amish was, organ
ized Stuckey's congregations were not included, and since then
have been considered a separate branch of the church. Stuck
ey not only retained control of his home church during this con
troversy, but also of a small congregation at Meadows which he
had been serving as an elder. Soon other congregations joined
his in a more liberal church policy and new ones were formed.
What was for a long time known as the "Stuckey" following
grew and prospered largely at the expense of the old church
until to-day there is a membership of about twenty-five hundred,
nearly all in Central Illinois, although there are several churches
sin Nebraska and Indiana. In 1899 these congregations organ
ized a conference and assumed the name of Illinois Conference
of Mennonites.* -Outside of the removal of dress restrictions the
Illinois Conference of Mennonites differs little from the Amish
Mennonites and the Old Mennonites in their faith and practise.
The Conference maintains several city missions and also a station
in Africa, and recently has been one of the strongest supporters
of Bluffton College. Its leaders are earnest men devoted to the
cause of the church.
All of these progressive elements, including the Amish-Men-
nonites, of what 'was once known as the Amish wing of the
church, have made rapid progress during the past decade in re
ligious and educational endeavor. The missionary interest is
strong; the young people are attending High Schools and Col
leges in increasing numbers ; training for the ministry is receiv
ing more attention than formerly; and in keeping with these
new interests there has also developed a finer type of religious
and social idealism. All this advance, especially among the
younger people, which falls almost entirely within the ¦ brief
span of the present rising generation, speaks well for the future
usefulness of the church.

•Since changed to Central Conference of Mennonites.
8

226 THE MENNONITES

CHAPTER XIII
DURING THE REVOLUTION
The Mennonites, consistent with their non-resistant princi
ples, did not participate in the Revolutionary war on either side.
Most of them undoubtedly sympathized with the colonists, but
there were some who rather favored the opposite side. To the
• usual opposition to all war these found in this particular war
another objection, namely, that it was a rebellion against consti
tuted authority, and their religion bade them to pray for their
rulers, not to rise up against them. A number were perhaps out
and out Tories in their sympathies. These migrated to Canada
after the war.
From actual military drill which was prescribed by the
Pennsylvania Assembly, the Mennonites and other peace denom
inations were exempt, but they were to pay an extra sum of
money called a fine for this privilege. These fines were paid
with little objection, but as to whether they could consistently
pay the special war tax which was levied upon all the inhabitants,
there was some difference of opinion. Many of them joined the
Quakers in their opposition to helping the war with their means
as well as by actual bearing of arms. A discussion of this ques
tion in Montgomery county, in 1776, led to the first division in
the American Mennonite church. In that year a meeting was
held in Indianfield township in the above county for the purpose
of choosing three men to represent the township in a general
State convention which was to determine whether Pennsylvania
should join the other colonies in declaring her independence
from England. Most of the Mennonites who were present de
clared that since they were a "defenceless people and could
neither institute nor destroy any government, they could not
interfere in tearing themselves away from the king."

DURING THE REVOLUTION 227
Among those present was a minister, Christian Funk, who,
though a staunch defender of the cause of Congress, did not at
this time seem to offer any serious objection to the above declar
ation. The following year, however, when some of his fellow
ministers declared that their non-resistant principles forbade them
pay a special war tax of "three pounds and ten shillings," Funk
protested and maintained that the tax should be paid. "Were
Christ here," he said, "He would say, Give to Congress that
which belongs to Congress and to God that which belongs to
God." Andrew ^iegler, the spokesman for the opposite party,
replied, — "I would as soon go to war as pay the three pounds
and ten shillings." Funk was finally excommunicated, in 1778,
for these views, and together with those who believed as he did,
he organized several small congregations of his own throughout
the county. This small group of people, called "Funkites," re
tained a separate organization until 1850, when long after the
participants in the original dispute had died, it became extinct.
The majo'rity of the Mennonites of Pennsylvania objected
not only to the payment of the special war tax, but also to the
new oath of allegiance which was required of all citizens after
the Declaration of Independence. Not that they did not wish to
be loyal citizens of Pennsylvania, but in addition to their opposi
tion to all oaths, they feared that this one in particular would
commit them to the cause of the war. Many refused to take the
oath, and some who took it were excommunicated from the
church. The State authorities, however, knowing their scruples
against both the oath and war, and that they were not disloyal,
were inclined to treat them leniently.
Although the Mennonites did not bear arms during the war,
several of the engagements took place in Mennonite communities.
The battle of Germantown was fought in the vicinity of the little
Mennonite meeting house which shows the scars of battle to this
day. The Valley Forge winter quarters were located in the Skip-
pack region. A number of the Mennonites were impressed into
the service at the time, while Washington's headquarters were
in the home of a Mennonite preacher. In Lancaster county, too,
the horses and wagons of the rich farmers were frequently im-

228 THE MENNONITES
pressed into the quartermaster service during the Pennsylvania
campaigns. Another event, the apostacy of Martin Boehm, while not a
result of the war, yet occurred at this time and may as well be
told here as elsewhere. Boehm was a Mennonite bishop at Wil
low Street in Lancaster county. In a visit to Virginia in 1761
he came into contact with a revival movement and was greatly
influenced by it. By 1775 he had aroused the ill-will of his fellow
ministers by his fiery preaching and was expelled. In the mean
time the Methodists had entered Pennsylvania, and Boehm soon
cast his lot with them, becoming one of the pioneer Methodist
preachers in Lancaster county. In 1800, together with Otterbein,
a minister of the Reformed church, he also became the founder
of what is now known as the United Brethren church. In 1805
he was elected a bishop in the United Brethren church, but in
the meantime also had his name enrolled in the Methodist class
book. Whether he was a Methodist or United Brethren was
perhaps not quite clear to his friends, as the following epitaph
which appears on the stone marking his last resting place, would
indicate, —
"Here lie the remains of Rev. Martin Boehm, who departed
this life (after a short illness) March 23, 1812, in the 87th year
of his age. Fifty-four years he fully preached the" Gospel to
thousands, and labored in the Vineyard of the Lord Jesus in
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia among many denomina
tions, but particularly the Mennonites, United Brethren and
Methodists, with the last of whom he lived and died in fellow
ship. He not only gave himself and his services to the church,
but also fed the Lord's prophets and people by multitudes. He
was an Israelite in whom was no guile. His end was peace."

ONTARIO 229

CHAPTER XIV

ONTARIO

During- the latter part of the eighteenth century because of
population pressure, the younger people of Lancaster, Bucks
and Montgomery counties found it necessary to search elsewhere
for cheap lands for future homes. After the war, colonization
societies had been formed for the purpose of helping the poorer
members of the old communities to find new homes. At the same
time, too, as we saw, there were those who were not in sym
pathy with the separation from the English crown. The period
of anarchy following the close of the war did not strengthen
the confidence of this class in the new government. To all of
these the large tracts of cheap lands in Ontario, not far from
the American line, seemed to offer an opportunity both for bet
tering their material condition, and at the same time remaining
under the rule of the English king.
Among the first to turn their eyes in this direction were a
small group of men from Plumstead, in Bucks county. As early
as 1786 John, Dilman, Jacob and Stoffel Kolb, Franklin Albright
and Frederich Hahn left this community for the Canadian bor
der. Following the Susquehanna, they crossed the boundary at
Niagara, and located in Lincoln county, about twenty miles from
Niagara Falls. Later a number of other settlers were added to
this community, which became known as "The Twenty." Other
small groups also soon after located in Wellington, Welland and
Haldeman counties.
In the meantime another colony was located farther out on
the frontier. In 1799 Joseph Schoerg and Samuel Betzner from
Franklin county, crossed Pennsylvania and New York for the
region beyond the Great Lakes. After spending the winter on
the Canadian side near Niagara, the next spring they started

230 THE MENNONITES
out on a tour of investigation, and finally selected the fertile and
heavily timbered region along the Grand river in what is now
Waterloo county for their future homes. This part of the coun
try was still unsettled at the time except by a few fur traders,
who had erected temporary quarters along the banks of the river.
Returning to Niagara, these two pioneers located the next spring
with their families about thirty miles beyond Dundas, near the
present villages of Doon and Blair, in Waterloo county, which
at that time marked the frontier line. Later in the same year
other families from Lancaster county arrived in Conestoga
wagons, and settled in the same region. For the next thirty
years numerous colonists were added to the original settlement,
and the colony grew until all of the present Waterloo township
and large parts of surrounding townships were occupied by Men
nonites. They came principally from Bucks and Lancaster, but
also from all the other counties of Southeastern Pennsylvania in
which Mennonites were found. A little village developed in the
center of the, settlement, which at first was called Ebytown, but
according to a traveller in 1833 was then known as Rumble-
town. Soon after, however, it became known as Berlin, but dur
ing the recent war the name was again changed by a vote of the
people themselves to Kitchener.
The most common Canadian Mennonite names are Bauman,
Bechtel, Bergey, Betzner, Brubacher, Burkholder, Cressman,
Detweiler, Eby, Erb, Gehman, Gingerich, Reist, Sherk, Stauffer,
Groff, Hagey, Hallman, Kolb, Horst, Honsberger, Hoffman,
Martin, Moyer, Musselman, Reichert, Weaver, Snyder, Shoe
maker, Shantz, Witmer, Hoover, Wismer, etc.
The first settlers all bought their land from a speculator by
the name of Richard Beasley, who owned the greater part of
Waterloo township, at a price ranging from one to four dollars
per acre. In 1803 it was accidentally discovered that the land
sold by Beasley was covered by a twenty thousand dollar mort
gage. Immigration ceased and the colony was about to be
broken up, when, upon the advice of Hans Eby, a group of Lan
caster county Mennonites formed a company similar to our pres
ent stock companies and bought the entire township, assuming

, ONTARIO 231
the mortgage. The twenty thousand dollars in silver, it is said,
was carried in a box in a light wagon to Canada, where it was
used to liquidate the mortgage, for which the company in turn
received a clear title to 60,000 acres of land in what is now
Waterloo county. The entire tract was divided into lots of 448
acres each, and each stockholder drew by lot his share of the
tract according to the amount of stock he held.
A little later, in 1824, a colony of European Amish immi
grants also founded a settlement in Waterloo county.
In the meantime, in 1803, another settlement had been begun
in York county, near the present town of Markham, about twenty
miles north of Toronto. This community consists at present of
four small congregations. ,
These early pioneers were of hardy stock and endured the
usual pioneer hardships. The journey from the Pennsylvania
settlements to Waterloo covered about five hundred miles, and
had to be made over the Pennsylvania mountains through heavy
forests and almost impassable swamps. Some went on horse
back, but most of them loaded their household goods on the well-
known Conestoga wagons to which were hitched four or five
horses. They frequently drove their cattle with them. The route
usually followed led across the Alleghany mountains, thence up
the Susquehanna through New York, and struck the Niagara
a little below Buffalo. From here the journey was made to
Dundas by way of what is now Hamilton, thence across the
"Beverly Swamp" to the new settlement on the Grand. The time
occupied on the journey was from four to eight weeks. This
region was heavily wooded and the first few years were occupied
largely by the settlers in making small clearings from which they
might extract a scant living, and in erecting their first log-cabins.
During the War of 1812 communication between the Cana
dians and their Pennsylvania brethren was broken off, and there
was no immigration for a few years, although it was resumed
soon after. The Mennonites were not forced to serve in the
army, but a number were impressed with their teams into the
transportation service in the Niagara region during the battles
that were fought in that vicinity. After the war the British

232 THE MENNONITES
Government made good all the losses suffered, and paid for the
time of actual service at a fair price.
Among the early pioneers was Benjamin Eby, who came to
Waterloo county in 1806. Three years later he was ordained
to the ministry, and in 1812 to the office of bishop. From this
time until his death in 1853, he was one of the leaders in all the
important events in the history of the Canadian church. In 1813
the first Mennonite meeting house, built of logs, was erected on
his farm, and was known as the Eby church. Here Bishop Eby
preached and also taught school during the winter months for
many years. He was a man of more than ordinary talent and
wrote several books, the most important of which was a short
history of the Mennonites, first published in 1841 at Berlin,
Ontario, in the German language.
The Canadians, of course, were typical Pennsylvanians, and
brought with them Pennsylvania customs, Pennsylvania con
servatism and the Pennsylvania Dutch speech.
Like the Mennonites elsewhere they did not escape internal
dissensions. About the middle of the last century there began a
movement in Lincoln county in favor of more aggressive church
work. The leader of this cause was Daniel Hoch, a minister,
who advocated more modern methods of church work, and espe
cially greater evangelistic activity. The result of this agitation
was a church division. Hoch soon found a kindred spirit in
Oberholtzer, who was leading a similar movement in Pennsyl
vania. He warmly seconded the efforts of Oberholtzer in 1860
for the establishing of a general conference of a number of the
liberal congregations in America, and was one of the promoters
of that enterprise. His followers in Canada never developed
much strength. They finally affiliated with a similar group under
the name of New Mennonites. A movement very similar to the
above arose in Bruce county a little later, in 1871, under the
leadership of Solomon Eby. This agitation in turn also spread
to Waterloo county as well as to Indiana. These various groups
of Mennonites, all favoring prayermeetings and more aggressive
evangelistic efforts, formed in 1874 what became known as the
Reformed Mennonites, not to be confused with the present body

ONTARIO 233
known by that name on this side of the line. A later amalgama
tion resulted in the United Mennonites, which still later merged
with other groups into the present Mennonite Brethren in Christ.
The Martinites or "Woolwichers," as they are called locally,
include a number of members of the Woolwich township church,
who in the early seventies followed the lead of Jacob Wisler of
Indiana in his stand for ultra-conservative ideas. In the early
eighties these formally withdrew and now form an independent
body, although they associate in religious work with the Wisler
Mennonites of Indiana and Ohio.
Among the main body of Mennonites the work of John S.
Coffman in the early nineties resulted in a decided religious
awakening. From these early settlements in Ontario there have devel
oped a number of congregations of various branches approxi
mately with the following membership at present, — Old Men
nonites, 1,600; Mennonite Brethren in Christ, 1,800; Wool
wichers, 500; Amish, 400.

234 THE MENNONITES

CHAPTER XV.
THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
The Westward Expansion of the Pennsylvania and Virginia
Mennonites
During the first half of the nineteenth century numerous
colonies of Mennonites from the old settlements beyond the Alle-
ghanies in both Pennsylvania and Virginia were established
within the States of the old Northwest Territory. In the very
opening of the century, and before Ohio became a State, a flour
ishing colony had been established within the boundaries of that
State. Among a group of colonists from Lancaster county,
Pennsylvania, who had founded the present town of Lancaster
in Fairfield county, just ten years after Marietta was settled,
was a Mennonite named Martin Landis, who a few years later
built a meeting house on his farm to be at the service of all
denominations desiring to use it. Several years later a number
of Mennonites came to the same region from Pennsylvania and
Virginia. Among these was Henry Stemen, who settled near
the present town of Bremen in 1803, and who became one of the
pioneer Mennonite bishops of the State.
During the next fifty years a number of communities were
organized by Easterners in various parts of the State, wherever
cheap lands in good farming regions were to be found. Congre
gations were begun in Stark county in 1811; in Mahoning and
Columbiana counties in 1815 ; and in Wayne and Medina coun
ties in 1825 and 1834, respectively. Before the Civil war, small
groups had located throughout Northwestern Ohio in Allen, Put
nam, Hancock, Wood, Seneca, Williams, Ashland, Clark and
Franklin counties. With the exception of small congregations
at Elida, Bluffton, New Stark and Mt. Blanchard, these have
practically all become extinct. During these years, too, a large

THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 235
number of Europeans, both Mennonites and Amish, located in
Ohio, as did also a number of Amish from Pennsylvania. In
1852 also Minister Ephraim Hunsberger of the Oberholtzer fol
lowing from Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, organized a
congregation at Wadsworth, in Medina county.
During this same period several small settlements had been
made in Northwestern New York not far from the Niagara
boundary. Natives from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, had
located in Niagara county in 1810, and in Erie county in 1824.
In 1831 several German families from the Palatinate found their
way here also. These communities never grew large, however,
and are now nearly extinct.
The first Mennonites in Indiana were the Swiss, who came
in 1838. The first native members of the church, however, came
from Ohio under the leadership of John Smith from Medina
county, who visited Elkhart county, Indiana, in 1843. Two years
later he returned with others and began a community in Harrison
township in the above county. Other Ohioans followed, and soon
several congregations were formed in the county. In 1853 a
group of Hollanders from Europe joined the present Salem
congregation. There are at present eleven congregations in
Indiana, and several in Michigan. Several church divisions oc
curred in Indiana during the early seventies, one led by Jacob
Wisler, and the other by Daniel Brenneman, but these are dis
cussed elsewhere in this book. There are a number of Wisler
and Mennonite Brethren congregations now in the region of the
early settlement.
Mennonites reached Illinois even earlier than Indiana, com
ing to that State only a few years later than the Amish. The
first Mennonite family to locate in Illinois was that of Benjamin
Kendig from Augusta county, Virginia, who left his home in
the spring of 1833 in search of better opportunities for himself
in the then far West. Loading all his worldly possessions on
three wagons, he began his journey overland through Kentucky,
Indiana and Illinois for his western home. In October of the
same year, after a journey of eight hundred miles, which was
made in seven weeks, he reached what was then known as Hoi-

236 THE MENNONITES
land's Grove in Tazewell county, where he began the first
Mennonite community in Illinois near the Amish settlements
begun two years before. Others followed from Virginia and
Pennsylvania, but the community never grew large and at times
was scarcely able to maintain itself as a religious organization.
Between this and 1865 a number of small groups of Mennonites
from the East located throughout the State, but none of them
were large. The entire membership today of all the scattered
communities is barely over five hundred. Among the congrega
tions are those at Freeport, founded in the forties; Cullom, in
Livingston county, established in 1858; Sterling, founded about
the same time ; and Morrison, in 1865. Several other congrega
tions were organized which have since become extinct. In 1842
also was begun the German colony in St. Clair county. The large
Amish settlements, throughout Central Illinois described else
where, do not belong to the group discussed in this chapter.
Throughout the States beyond the Mississippi, too, after
the Civil war small scattered groups of Mennonites from the
East were located in Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Idaho,
Colorado, Oregon, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Texas and several
other States. The entire membership, however, west of the Mis
sissippi of such churches as migrated from the East, most of
which belong to the Old Mennonite branch, exclusive of the -
Amish and later European immigrants, of course, is scarcely
over one thousand.
Many of these pioneers in the far West had to endure all
the usual hardships of frontier life. Many were homesteaders,
and all were poor. In the early seventies the grasshopper plague,
and later hot winds, drove many either back East or to other more
favorable western localities. Others remained and have since
become fairly prosperous. A New Immigrant Tide
In the meantime, from about 1820 to 1860, a new wave of
European immigration had set in from south Germany and
Switzerland. The main background for this movement has been
discussed in the chapter on Switzerland, but in addition to the

THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 237
reasons there given — militarism, economic distress, and the polit
ical unrest of such revolutionary years as 1820, 1830 and 1848 —
may be added as an attracting force on this side of the Atlantic,
the rapid expansion and economic development of the Middle
West during this period. Directly after the war of 1812, sta
tistics show that immigration from all classes from Middle and
Western Europe rose rapidly, culminating' especially in the high
record of the year 1820. Enthusiastic letters to friends and rela
tives in Europe from those already here, and systematic adver
tising on the part of the ship companies in all the large centers
of population greatly aided the immigration movement during
those years.
In addition to all these causes which affected all classes
more or less, we saw that the Mennonites were especially con
cerned about the military question. The Mennonites of South
Germany and Switzerland had been impressed into service during
the Napoleonic wars. At the same time they were trying to
maintain their non-resistance. The Ibersheim Conference of
1803 threatened with excommunication all the young men who
voluntarily joined the army. The fear lest they might not be
able to maintain their peace principles was a strong factor in
determining the immigration of so many Mennonites.
Among the first of the immigrants of the new tide were the
Swiss from both the Jura and the Emmenthal settlements. As
just suggested, the European side of this immigration is dis
cussed in another chapter, and needs no mention here. The
pioneer of the Swiss movement was Benedict Schraag from
Basel, who located with his family in what is now Wayne county,
Ohio, as early as 1817. As a result of enthusiastic letters written
back to his friends, two years later four families from the Jura
settlement — Peter Lehman, Isaac Sommer, Ulrich Lehman and
David Kilchofer — began the large settlement known as the Son-
nenberg congregation near Dalton. In the years immediately
following many other families joined these early pioneers from
both the communities in the Canton of Bern. Two large congre
gations were formed in Wayne county, and in 1833 Michael
Neuenschwander, who had come to Wayne county from Switz-

238 THE MENNONITES
erland ten years before, began another colony in what is now
Allen county, along the banks of Riley creek, three miles north
west of what is now Bluffton, but then a howling wilderness.
In the years immediately following numerous Swiss and several
Alsatians located in this region, and the community has since
developed into four large congregations, embracing an entire
Mennonite population of nearly twenty-five hundred.
In the" meantime, before 1838, Daniel Baumgartner and
several others from Wayne county began another settlement in
Adams county, Indiana. In a few years a small group of his
fellow-believers had settled in the same region and had formed
a church. It was not until the years from 1852 to 1854, however,
that large numbers came from Switzerland and laid the founda
tion of the present large congregation at Berne. This com
munity now embraces about two thousand souls. The congrega
tion of nearly one thousand souls worships in the largest and
finest Mennonite church house in America, and is perhaps the
best organized and one of the most progressive found in any
of the branches of the denomination.
From these pioneer Swiss settlements in Ohio and Indiana
other small communities have been established in recent years in
Missouri, Oklahoma, and Oregon, with individual settlers in
many localities in the West. In recent years, too, several small
communities have been founded in the western States by immi
grants direct from Switzerland. Among these was a small group
of fourteen families who located at Pulaski, Iowa, in 1873, under
the leadership of Philip Roulet, who after two years in Butler
county, Ohio, had come to Iowa in 1869. This group later moved
to Missouri, however, and finally to Kansas. In 1883 another
group of ten families came direct from the Canton of Bern to
Whitewater, Kansas.
The Swiss immigrants of the earlier period, when they left
their homes, packed their goods, wives and children in one-horse
wagons and started out on the first five hundred mile lap of
their long journey through France to Havre, where they would
sell their horses but not their wagons, and wait for the ship on
which they were to take passage. A voyage across the ocean

Mennonite Church, Berne, Indiana.

THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 239
in the small sailing ships of those days was still somewhat of
an uncertain and hazardous venture. One group of one hundred
and seventy-five persons were given an entire vessel to them
selves, a small cotton freighter, a three master, only one hundred
and twenty-three feet long, twenty-two feet wide, with a carrying
capacity of eight hundred tons. The captain, two steersmen, a
cook, mate and seven sailors constituted the crew. In this frail
bark they spent six weeks on the seas, a part of the time in
heavy storms.
The ships usually landed at New York. Here our Swiss
immigrants would again purchase a horse, which they would
hitch to the wagon they had brought over with them, and begin
another overland journey of some five hundred miles over the
mountains and across the rivers of Pennsylvania to their chosen
homes in the hardwood forests of Ohio, the entire journey from
Switzerland to Ohio lasting usually in the early days about six
months. >
The first settlers usually being poor, located on uncleared
government land which could still be purchased at $1.25 per
acre. The first years were spent in making small clearings, and
erecting the first log buildings. Farm products were cheap.
The nearest market was one hundred miles away. Money was
scarce. One Switzer in Wayne county at one time walked fifteen
miles to the home of an Amishman for the price of a postage
stamp to send a letter home. Clothing, from straw hats to
wooden shoes, was all home grown and home made. For a long
time, too, the Switzers retained their strange Swiss customs —
hooks and eyes, and "Swietzer Dietch," which is still the common
language of everyday conversation. Before 1854 baptism was
always administered in private, never in public — a custom made
necessary in the early days in Switzerland because of persecu
tion. In their church affiliations they remained for a long time
independent from any of the American organized conferences.
The Chippewa and a major part of the Sonnenberg congregation
now rather affiliate with the Old Mennonites. The remaining
communities in Ohio and Indiana joined the General Conference

240 THE MENNONITES
group of churches in the early nineties. In 1878 all the Swiss
congregations met at Sonnenberg for a conference. The bishops
present at that time were Ulrich Sommer, Christian Sommer,
and Christian B. Steiner from Wayne county ; John Moser from
Allen county ; and Christian Sprunger and Christian B. Lehman
from Berne, Indiana.
In the early thirties about one hundred Hessian Mennonites
from Hesse-Darmstadt settled in Butler county, Ohio, near the
Amish community there. A little later several families moved
from here to Putnam county, Illinois, and in the early fifties a
congregation was also established in McClean county, Illinois,
near the Rock Creek Amish settlement. In all these places, after
vain attempts to affiliate with the Amish in worship they organ
ized separate congregations.
The Amish immigration from Alsace and Lorraine belongs
to this same general period and had its source in the same
general causes, but their story is told in another chapter.
A little later, during the forties and fifties, a number of
individuals and several groups of Mennonites from Bavaria and
the Palatinate had arrived. Individual Bavarians settled with
the first Amish in the early thirties in their settlements in Illinois
and Ohio. In the early forties small groups located near what
is now Summerfield, St. Clair county, and near Galena, Jo Davis
county, Illinois. Between 1844 and 1856 groups of Bavarians,
and including practically the entire congregation at Eichstock,
emigrated to America, most of them locating in Lee county,
Iowa. Many of them later moved to Summerfield. An early
congregation also was formed in Ashland county, Ohio, near
Hayesville, and later a small congregation wa;s also main
tained at Cleveland. The Iowa congregations were located at
West Point and Franklin Prairie. Some of the Ohio congre
gations have since become extinct, but the Summerfield and
West Point congregations both became important charter mem
bers of the General Conference movement in the early sixties.
Among typical names of this group of immigrants are Krehbiel,
Pletscher, Baer, Leisy, Weber, Ellenberger, Eyman, Ruth, Vogt,
Risser, Kramer, Schmidt, Hirschler, etc.

THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 241
The small group of Dutch Mennonites who left Holland in
1853 to escape military service, and settled in Elkhart county,
Indiana, has already been mentioned.
During and after the Civil war there was no further immi
gration in any appreciable numbers except perhaps individuals
here and there who had friends and relatives here, until 1873,
when the extensive Russian immigration began.
As to the number of Swiss and Germans who came from
these regions to America during the period above mentioned it
is difficult to say, since there are no statistics whatsoever. Judg
ing, however, from the present descendants of all these immi
grants the following guess is perhaps not very far wrong. Esti
mating that the population doubles itself every generation, a con
servative estimate for German Mennonites, the entire number
of the immigrant population was somewhere near three thousand,
distributed as follows, — Amish, 1,500; Swiss, 1,200; Bavarians
and Palatinates, 200; and Hessians, 150.
Church Divisions
The Mennonites of America as well as those of Europe have
been unusually susceptible to church divisions. For this there
are several reasons. In the first place the Mennonite faith has
always fostered an extreme individualism. This spirit may
make for strength of character, but at the expense of uniformity
often. In the second place, the congregational form of church
government and the lack of regular unifying conferences per
mitted scattered congregations to develop certain slight differ
ences which later presented points of dispute when uniformity
of action was desired for any particular purpose. Mennonites
as a class were rural people, coming from the humble and simple
walks of life, and not trained to subordinate non-essentials to
the broader and more important interests of life. Several divi
sions, too, were caused by the pure stubbornness of certain self-
willed individuals of a quarrelsome disposition.
At the time of the first American immigration there were
two branches of the church — the Amish and the main body of
Mennonites. The story of nineteenth century Amish divisions

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The Origin of Mennonite Divisions in America.

THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 243
has been told in another chapter. The immigrants among the
nineteenth century Mennonites, too — Hessians, Bavarians, and
Swiss — founded independent groups and for a time did not affili
ate with any of the American groups, although later nearly all
of them joined the General Conference movement. It remains
here to speak of the divisions among the Pennsylvania Mennon
ites and their descendants.
The first division in the Pennsylvania church in 1775, that
led by Christian Funk over the question of paying the war tax,
has already been discussed. The Reformed Mennonites
The second division occurred in Lancaster county in 1812,
resulting in the organization of what is now known as the Re
formed Mennonites. The founder of this sect was John Herr,
never a Mennonite himself, but the son of Francis Herr, a Men
nonite minister who had been expelled from the church on the
alleged ground of irregularities arising out of a horse trade.
Francis Herr, together with several of his friends, also ex-Men-
nonites, held religious meetings in his own house for some time
after that. Upon his death his son John Herr took up his cause,
and becoming "convicted of sin," attended the meetings of his
father's associates. He finally had himself baptized by one of
these associates, whom he in turn rebaptized. Several others
were added to the group, and John Herr was soon elected bishop.
Thus was begun the sect which soon assumed the name of Re
formed Mennonites.
In numerous controversial pamphlets written soon after, the
old church was charged with being dead, corrupt and worldly.
What Herr and his associates meant by these terms soon became
clear by the practises they adopted soon after. In the main the
fundamental doctrines of the Mennonite church were retained,
but in a few questions of practise they carried their principles
to extreme lengths. They are still extremely exclusive in their
religious affiliations. All those not of their faith are of the
"world." Like the New Amish of Illinois they refuse to attend
religious services of any sort if conducted by a minister of an-

244 THE MENNQNITES '
other faith. The Ban and Avoidance are rigidly applied. They
are severely plain in their dress, and discard all unnecessary
adornment in their houses or on their persons as vain or sinful.
They have grown slowly, and have not even held their own
children. Many of the children do not join the church of their
parents, and being taught that all other churches are of the devil,
they frequently refuse to join any. Their stronghold is still in
Lancaster county, but they have a few scattered congregations
in Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and Ontario. Their influence has
been small, although in Lancaster county there was often much
bitter feeling for many years between the "old" and the "new"
Mennonites. The entire membership today is scarcely over one
thousand. The Oberholtzer Schism
The next church controversy, commonly spoken of as the
Oberholtzer division, began in Montgomery county, Pennsyl
vania, in 1847. The Mennonite church in this region at this
time was still ultra-conservative on all questions pertaining to
religious, as well as secular, customs and practises. Protesting
against many of these severe customs, many of which have since
been discarded by the old church, was a small group of liberals
throughout the Franconia district led by a young minister by
the name of John H. Oberholtzer. Oberholtzer was a young
school teacher and minister, better educated and of a more pro
gressive spirit than most of his older brethren of the "bench."
His troubles began soon after he entered the ministry. He pro
tested especially against the wearing of the so-called minister's
"plain" coat which was collarless and of a prescribed cut, on the
ground that the Mennonite creed did not specify the cut of a
minister's coat. Practise, however, was almost unanimous for
the conventional coat among the preachers. Oberholtzer after
some dispute appeared in the coat and the matter seemed to be
settled, but in 1847, when he asked the Conference to adopt a
written constitution in order that conference proceedings might
be conducted more systematically his request was refused, and a
new quarrel arose.

THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 245
As a result of these and other differences of opinion, which
were mere surface indications of more fundamental differences,
Oberholtzer and fifteen other ministers, who evidently were out
of sympathy with the conservative view of the majority, with
drew from the Conference, and at the same time, too, were ex
pelled in turn by the Conference. On October 28, 1847, these
sixteen ministers, a number of them carrying their congregations
with them, met in the old Skippack meeting house and organized
a new conference.
That the liberal element was quite strong throughout Fran
conia was shown by the fact that a number of the congregations
went over bodily to the new organization. In others the congre
gations were divided. The new party soon adopted a decidedly
more liberal church policy than that in practice in the main
church at the time. They declared in favor of open communion,
and a liberal interpretation of the Ban. Inter-marriage with other
denominations was permitted, and soon a salaried ministry was
inaugurated. These new practises show that the differences be
tween the two factions was deeper than a difference of opinion as
to the cut of a coat or the adoption of an improved church con
stitution. These "Oberholtzer" churches later became charter
members of the General Conference movement, with the excep
tion of several that later withdrew to form another small inde
pendent group — the Evangelical Mennonites in 1853.
The Holdeman Faction
In 1858 -John Holdeman, a layman in the Old Mennonite
church of Wayne county, Ohio, ambitious to preach, but despair
ing of being called to the ministry through the uncertain chances
of the lot, decided to preach without the conventional call. He
pretended to be guided in his course of action by visions and
dreams in one of which he claimed to find a call to preach. He
therefore began to hold meetings in his own house, and secured
a few followers including members of his own family. Like
Herr before him, he took up his pen in defence of his own views
and became a prolific writer. The old church he maintained had
departed from the truth, and his own congregation was now the

246 THE MENNONITES
true church of God, which had maintained the lineage of, the
saints from the days of the Apostles. His own small following
which he now called the "Church of God in Christ" grew slowly
in numbers. By 1865 his congregation consisted of but twenty
members. It has since grown, however, especially in Kansas,
Manitoba and other western states among the Russian Mennon
ites. The present membership is about fifteen hundred. They
differ little from other Mennonites in their fundamental beliefs.
Among the distinctive features introduced by Holdeman was
objection to the "taking of usury," and the "laying on of hands"
aijter baptism. • The Wisler Mennonites
The next division began in the Yellow Creek congregation
in Elkhart county, Indiana. Among the pioneer settlers in this
community was Bishop Jacob Wisler from Ohio, a man devoted
to the principles of the church, but exceedingly conservative by
nature, and opposed to the introduction of all new things, such
as English preaching, four part singing, Sunday schools, evening
meetings, protracted meetings, etc. In fact every slightest de
parture from the ways of the fathers was placed under the ban
by Wisler and a considerable part of his congregation. A num
ber of the more progressive members of the congregation, how
ever, under the leadership of Daniel Brenneman, a fellow minis
ter, demanded a more progressive policy. This Wisler opposed/
and threatened with excommunication those who advocated the
introduction of the new methods of church work. Finally the
latter's arbitrary method of enforcing his views resulted
in a church trial in 1870, in which Wisler was deprived of his
office. He and those who believed as he did then organized a
new congregation.
The same attempts to keep the church within narrow bounds
were made by other ultra-conservative men in other sections of
the country. All of these finding themselves weak in number,
but akin in faith, finally affiliated themselves into one body. The
first contingent to join Wisler's group was a band of conservatives
in Medina county, Ohio. A little later, in 1886, several groups of

THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 247
conservatives in Woolwich township, Waterloo county, Ontario
opposing English preaching, Sunday schools, evening meetings,
"falling" top-buggies, and other evidences of modernism among
the Mennonites of that community, withdrew from the church
and set up a separate organization! These "Woolwichers" as they
are locally called, soon allied themselves with the Indiana Wis-
lerites. A second group was led by Bishop Jonas Martin of the
Weaverland congregation in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania,
who in 1893 because of a quarrel over a new pulpit recently
installed into his church, withdrew .from the church and posing
as a conservative on other questions retained one-third of his
former congregation. The third group consisted of a conserva
tive Virginia congregation in Rockingham county of about one
hundred members which allied itself with the Martinites of Penn
sylvania. These four original groups of Wislerites, Woolwichers, and
Pennsylvania and Virginia Martinites now count up all told about
six hundred members throughout Indiana, Pennsylvania, Vir
ginia, Michigan and Ontario. They are all still ultra-conserva-
, tive in dress, forms of worship, and social customs and are very
slow to adopt new ideas. With the exception that they do not
wear hooks and eyes nor the home made coats they are similar
to the Old Order Amish in their general spirit and might well be
called the "Old Order" Mennonites.
The Mennonite Brethren in Christ
The Mennonite Brethren in Christ branch is the result of a
series of amalgamations of several small kindred groups of Men
nonites, who at different times had seceded from the main body,
largely for similar reasons.
The Mennonites during the first half of the last century in the
main were never given over to mucri emotionalism. They took
their religion seriously as a normal growth, often rather as a
matter of fact. Children were taught in the ways of the church.
In course of time most of them as a, result of this teaching came
to a realization of the need of a personal Savior in their lives.
The worship consisted of formal services, and no attempts were

248 THE MENNONITES
made to stir up the depths of individual religious feeling. Some
fifty or sixty years ago, however, there appeared the conviction
in different localities that true religion consisted in a more vital
experience and a more conscious and definite conviction of sin
fulness than seemed to prevail among the church members of
the time, and especially that it demanded a more persistent cul
tivation of the religious emotions through prayer meetings and
evangelistic efforts. Although these doctrines were not denied,
the practises which resulted from them were contrary to the
customs of the church at that time. The first to attempt to put
these ideas into practice were a group of Mennonites in Lehigh
county, Pennsylvania, led by William Gehman, a minister in one
of the Oberholtzer churches. In 1857 because they advocated
and practised prayer meetings contrary to the advice of the
church authorities these were expelled. They thereupon formed
a new organization and called themselves "Evangelical Mennon
ites." Among the doctrines stressed by the new body were the
need of a more definite religious experience, more evangelism, and
prayer meetings.
New Mennonites was the name applied to several groups of
Mennonites in Waterloo county, Ontario, who in the fifties and
early sixties had withdrawn from the old church because of op
position on the part of the latter to greater evangelistic efforts.
Among the leaders of the new movement was Daniel Hoch, at
one time interested with Oberholtzer in the unification plans
which later developed into the General Conference.
The Reformed Mennonites arose from the same demand for
prayer meetings in the Port Elgin congregation in Bruce county,
Ontario led by Solomon Eby. In 1871, Eby and his congregation
were expelled because of countenancing these meetings contrary
to the rules of the church. The movement in the meantime had
spread to Waterloo county, and also to Elkhart county, Indiana,
where Daniel Brenneman led a similar movement for more ag
gressive evangelization work in the Yellow Creek congregation,
for which he was expelled. In 1874, the Indiana and Canada
groups formed an organization called the Reformed Mennonites.
The fourth group was the Brethren in Christ who as early

Members The General Conference of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ, held in New Carlisle, Ohio, Oct. 1916.

THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 249
as 1838, had seceded for similar reasons from the River Brethren,
who in turn had originally sprung from the Mennonite body
during the preceding century.
These four small bodies all originally either directly or in
directly from the Mennonite church, with similar beliefs, largely
by a series of amalgamations united to form the Mennonite
Brethren in Christ organization.
The first union occurred in 1875 in Waterloo county, Ontario
when the New Mennonites and the Reformed Mennonites con
solidated under the name of United Mennonites. In 1879, the
United Mennonites joined with the Evangelical Mennonites to
form the Evangelical United Mennonites. The latter in turn in
1883 near Jamton, Ohio, united with the Brethren in Christ to
form the present Mennonite Brethren in Christ.
This branch of the Mennonite denomination holds to prac
tically all of the characteristic doctrines of the faith. As a re
sult of the amalgamation of four different groups, however, all
of which in course of time developed distinctive practises, the
Mennonite Brethren now lay stress on a number of distinguish
ing doctrines, including immersion, open communion, sanctifica
tion as a definite work of grace, pre-millenialism, and feet-wash
ing. They were among the first of the Mennonite bodies to in
clude in their discipline a recommendation against the use of
tobacco and strong drink. They insist upon a thorough con
version and a definite conviction of sin, as well as a decided
assurance of salvation as a condition to membership. In their
camp meetings they are inclined to give free play to their feel
ings, both of joy and agony of soul.
They are decidedly an evangelistic and missionary church.
No other branch has reached out into non-Mennonite fields for
its membership as widely as the Mennonite Brethren. One finds
fewer of the characteristic old time Mennonite names among them
than among other branches. This fact has brought with it special
problems also. During the recent war the principle of non-re
sistance was much more difficult to maintain in Canada and Mich
igan where there was a strong membership of non-Mennonite
ancestry than in Indiana where the opposite was true.

A =. 3ooo ?vwa^v^t^Cvtf

The Distribution of All Branches of Mennonites in the United States and Canada.

THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 251
They are among the best organized of all the branches, being
semi-episcopal in their organization. The highest administrative
officials are presiding elders elected annually over districts or
conferences. Ministers are licensed to preach upon satisfactory
evidence that they have a definite call to that service. The
Gospel Banner, edited by J. A. Huffman of Bluffton, Ohio, is the
official organ. The church is now divided into seven conference
districts. A general conference is held quadrennially. In 1916,
the entire membership in the United States and Canada was
seyen thousand, five hundred and fifty.
The Old Mennonites
The list of divisions above described leaves the main trunk
of the American Mennonites who in this treatise for convenience
are called Old Mennonites. The leaders of this branch of the
church object to the prefix "old," and insist that since they are
the main body from which all the others departed they are
entitled to the simple term "Mennonite" on the ground that they
are the real descendants of the church founded by Menno Simons.
Organically and numerically they are perhaps entitled to this
distinction, but since a writer must adopt some method of dis
tinguishing different groups either by name or number this larger
body is here referred to as Old Mennonites. They speak of them
selves officially, however, simply as Mennonites. To make the
confusion worse this branch, together with the Amish-Mennon-
ites are now affiliated in a General Conference, which is some
times confused in the literature with the General Conference of
Mennonites of North America. To distinguish between the two
the latter is sometimes referred to when both are under considera
tion as General Conference A, while the former is General Con
ference B. These titles are merely for convenience and are not
official. - The Old Mennonites are numerically by far the strongest
division of the denomination. Their Year Book for 1918 gives
a membership in the United States and Canada of 28,000, about
one-third of which is massed together in one large settlement in
Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, the original home of the Palatin-

252 THE MENNONITES
ate immigrants. They are still quite conservative on all matters
of church policy, and the leaders lay strong emphasis on the doc
trine of non-conformity to the world. Dress regulations are still
quite rigid, especially for the women, who are all required to
wear bonnets instead of hats.
This branch of the church has little religious affiliation with
the other branches. It had no representatives at the Carlock All-
Mennonite Convention in 1917. They are not even entirely
united among themselves. The Lancaster County Conference
has little organic connection with the churches farther west, and
does not recognize the General Conference B referred to above.
Ministers were formerly selected by lot, but in many places now
this is no longer the prevailing method. Ministers are still for
the most part untrained for their work, but the demand for an
educated ministry is growing. None receive a salary. Both the
missionary and educational interests of the church are making
progress. Last year this branch of the church together with
the Amish-Mennonites collected over one-half million dollars for
missionary, educational ' and war reconstruction work. The
Gospel Herald published at Scottdale, Pennsylvania, with a cir
culation of about 10,000, more than that of all other Mennonite
periodicals combined, is the official organ of the Old Mennonite
and the Amish-Mennonite branches.

DAVID GOERTZ

THE IMMIGRATION FROM RUSSIA 253

CHAPTER XVI.
THE IMMIGRATION PROM RUSSIA
1873-1880
The Russian background of the German-Russian Mennonite
exodus to America in the seventies has been discussed elsewhere
in this book, and only the American phase of the movement need
be described here. After considering both South America and
Africa, and sending an investigating commission to Siberia,
North America was finally agreed upon by those who had de
cided to leave Russia as affording the best prospects for future
homes. As early as 1872 and 1873 several individuals and small
groups had come to the United States on prospecting tours, or to
remain here. Among the first to arrive was young Bernhard
Warkentin, later a prominent business man in Newton, Kansas,
who came with several others in 1872. He was followed in 1873
by Cornelius Jansen, former Prussian consul at Berdiansk, who
was given seven days to leave Russia never to return because of
his connection with the emigration agitation, and David Goerz
and his family later a prominent leader among his people. These
three men soon took a leading part in everything that affected the
welfare of their fellow-immigrants, and especially in directing
them to their new homes on the western prairies.
In the same year also came a special delegation of twelve
men, including one member from West Prussia, from such com
munities as were interested in emigrating to investigate suitable
locations for prospective homes. This committee made a thor
ough inspection of the unsettled lands in Manitoba, Dakota, Min
nesota, Kansas, Nebraska and Texas, where it still would be pos
sible to secure cheap lands in areas large enough to form exten
sive, compact settlements ; for they had been instructed by their
Russian brethren to select regions where they might locate in

254 THE MENNONITES
compact, and preferably closed communities. Returning to Rus
sia the same fall, various members reported favorably on dif
ferent regions.
In the meantime, throughout the Mennonite settlements pros
pective emigrants were selling their property often at a consider
able sacrifice, preparatory to the long journey to the land of
promise. Although the great exodus from' the two largest colonies did
not begin until early in the summer of 1874, several families had
arrived here in the fall of 1873 and had begun settlements in
Kansas, Dakota and Minnesota. From the files of the Herald
of Truth we learn that by January, 1874, there were ten or twelve
families near Mountain Lake, Minnesota, and several more in
Marion and McPherson counties, Kansas, which soon became one
of the centers of large settlements. In the same issue it was
announced that one thousand families were to start for America
in April. By May the stream had begun. The issue of the Her
ald for May 5, announced the arrival of the fifty-eight Mennonites
from Poland. By May 20, fifty more Poles (Volhynians) had
arrived and located at Yankton, Dakota. The June issue reported
that forty more had been brought by William Ewert, the Prus
sian member of the Committee of Twelve, to Summerfield, Illi
nois, from which place they soon found their way to new homes
in Kansas. On July 8, seven more families stopped at Summer-
field enroute to Kansas.
In the meantime the American Mennonites were busy organ
izing emergency committees to provide for the temporary needs
of the new arrivals, and to help them to their new western homes.
Some of the immigrants were rich, others well-to-do, but the
large majority were poor ^.nd some extremely so. Many of these
had to be provided with means to begin their life on the raw
prairies and had to be temporarily supported.
In 1873, the Western District Conference largely through
the influence of Rev. Christian Krehbiel of Summerfield had
appointed a committee to collect money for such of the immi
grants as might need help, and to direct them to their new settle
ments. , About the same time John F. Funk of Elkhart, Indiana,

"THE IMMIGRATION FROM RU(SSIA 255
secured a similar organization among the Old Mennonites of the
middle West. These two organizations were soon consolidated
into the Mennonite Board of Guardians, with Christian Krehbiel
as president; David Goerz, as secretary; John F. Funk, treas
urer ; and Bernhard Warkentin, agent. The Mennonites of Eastern
Pennsylvania organized a special committee, as did also the
Canadian church under the leadership of J. Y. Schantz of Berlin,
Ontario. These organizations all did valuable service in provi
ding for the needs and conveniences of the Russians while they
were becoming settled. It is estimated that about $100,000 was
collected and spent for this work, some of which was tendered
as a loan and later repaid. In addition to this sum there were
many individual loans, and in Manitoba the Canadian Govern
ment advanced a loan of $96,400 at six per cent, to prospective
settlers upon security furnished by Ontario Mennonites, all of
which in due time was paid back.
Railroad companies and State Immigration departments that
had vast stretches of unoccupied lands still awaiting settlement
took a lively interest in the coming of thousands of industrious
European farmers. The Canadian Government passed a law
offering each settler of twenty-one years of age and over a free
homestead of one hundred and sixty acres, with an option on
another three-quarters of a section at one dollar per acre in the
Province of Manitoba. To the Mennonites full religious rights
were granted with exclusive control over their schools, and entire
military exemption. Some twenty-six townships of land were
finally reserved for the exclusive use of the Mennonites.
In Kansas, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad
Company, aided by the State Immigration Department, secured
the passage of a similar law exempting the future colonists from
the State militia service. This law was confirmed as late as 1915.
Vast stretches of railroad land was offered at from $2.50 to $5.00
per acre. So active was the Santa Fe Company in directing the
immigrants to Kansas that they sent their agent, C. B. Schmidt,
to the Russian colonies for the purpose of presenting early the
claims of the Sunflower State. The company even chartered a
Red Star ocean steamer which was sent to the Black Sea for a

256 THE MENNONITES
shipload of Mennonite household goods and farm implements.
These goods were brought to New York, and thence by rail to
Kansas all free of charge to the colonists. Influential men among
the immigrants and members of the various committees were
granted passes over the road. Groups of immigrants as they
arrived at the Atlantic ports were carried west in special trains.
The Chicago, Burjington and Quincy Railroad Company was
equally active in Nebraska, but the Santa Fe secured the largest
number of settlers for Kansas.
Aided and directed by these various organizations, the immi
grants continued to find their way to the western settlements -by
the hundreds throughout the summer and autumn of 1874. The
Herald reports that on July 18, eighty families had reached Bur
lington, Iowa, enroute to Nebraska. The next day, thirty arrived
from the Crimea under the leadership of their elder, Wiebe, at
Elkhart, Indiana, where they remained for the night in the Men
nonite meeting house at that place, and the next day left — some
for Kansas, and others for Yankton, Dakota. The total number
of arrivals at the harbor of New York by July 8, was six hun
dred. At the same time too, many had arrived at Toronto, Can
ada, on their way to Manitoba. On July 20, three hundred and
seventy are reported, and on July 30, two hundred and ninety
more. The next day five hundred and four left for Manitoba.
And thus the steady stream continued throughout all the summer
and fall. An account given in November, 1874, shows that the
Mennonite Board of Guardians reported from the Inman line the
arrival of two hundred families. The Pennsylvania Aid Commit
tee reported thirty-five families on the Hamburg line. The Ca
nadian committee reported the arrival of two hundred and thirty
by way of the Allan line for the year. The total estimate for all
the settlements for the year was about twelve hundred families,
with the prospect that one thousand families would follow in
1875. And the latter year was largely a repetition of the first.
Whole vessels were chartered by the immigrants. In December,
1874, seven hundred had arrived in the "Fatherland," and four
hundred in the "Abbotsford." On July 25, 1875, the "Nether
lands" steamed up to the dock at New York with five hundred

The Bethel Deaconess Hospital, Newton, Kans.

THE IMMIGRATION FROM RUSSIA 257
and fifty Mennonites on board, and soon after the "Nevada"
unloaded five hundred and seventy.
By the fall of 1875, the greatest rush was over, but small
bands of Mennonites continued to come up to 1880 and several
even later. By August, 1879, the Herald estimates that in Mani
toba alone there were seven thousand three hundred and eighty-
three Mennonites. The number in the United States — Kansas,
Nebraska, Dakota and Minnesota was somewhat larger. The
exact total number in America by 1880 is conjectural, since
accurate statistics are not available. All those who are in the
best position to know are agreed that more came to the United
States than to Manitoba, and the present statistics on the Men
nonite population on both sides of the line would bear out that
impression. The difference, however, was not as great as many
think. Wedel's estimate that only two hundred and thirty fami
lies settled in Manitoba as against nearly one thousand in the
United States is certainly not correct. Indeed both his estimates
of twelve hundred families, or ten thousand souls for all America
during the emigration period are undoubtedly too low. His
twelve hundred families evidently are meant to cover the end pf
the first year's immigration in 1874 and not the entire period up
to 1880. Judging from the reports in the Herald of Truth at the
time, and from the present number (about 67,000) almost equally
divided between the United States and Canada, all descendants
of the first settlers, about one generation ago, it would seem
that the original number could not have been less than 15,000.
As already indicated these colonists came in various groups,
separated in Russia by geographical or doctrinal differences.
Those from the Old or Chortitz colony and the entire Bergthal
church and a number from the Fuerst'enthal, two daughter col
onies of Chortitz, located in Manitoba. The Molotschna fur
nished the settlers in Kansas, Nebraska and other western states.
The Volhynians went to Dakota and Kansas. The Huterites
located in Dakota. Scattered members from all the Russian
colonies were found throughout all of the United States settle
ments. Besides these geographical groups, which differed more
or less from one another, there were the different church divi-

258 . THE MENNONITES
sions imported from Russia, to which were added several new
ones. The most important of these were the"Bruedergemeinde."
"Krimmer Brueder," "Kleine Gemeinde," and a small division
locally known as the "Isaac Peters Gemeinde." Frequently groups
and congregations, or small bands were led by faithful elders.
Among these bishops were Jacob Buller of Hoffnungsau ; Johann
Wiebe of the Old colony in Manitoba; Gerhard Wiebe of the
Bergthal congregation; Abraham Schellenberg of the Brueder
gemeinde; Jacob Funk from the Crimea; Leonhard Suderman
from Berdiansk; William Ewert with the Prussians; Andreas
Schrag, leader of the Volhynians; Paul Tschetter of the Hut
erites, and a number of others.
With these Russians came also a contingent of about one
hundred families from West Prussia who settled near Beatrice,
Nebraska and near Newton and Emmaus, Kansas. In 1873, also
a number of the earlier settlers from the Palatinate, who had
immigrated some years earlier to Iowa and Illinois, located near
Halstead under the leadership of Christian Krehbiel.
Manitoba
The Manitoba settlements, composed of colonists from the
Chortitz, Bergthal and Fuerstenthal communities and a group
of Molotschna Kleingemeinder, form a group by themselves and
deserve a separate description. As already stated, they were
granted by the Canadian Government two reserves (later in
creased to three) of twenty-six townships, in the fertile Red
River valley south of Winnipeg in Manitoba near the Dakota
line. Here in large closed communities they reproduced with prac
tically no change the life to which they had been accustomed in
Russia. They were all farmers, but grouped themselves into
villages of from fifteen to thirty families, surrounded by their
homesteads. The houses were built back on each side of a wide
street which in course of time became lined with shade trees.
Each village was in a way a self-sufficient economic and civil
unit, with its school and shops. Each village had a magistrate
(Schultz), and together with others in the colony was ruled

THE IMMIGRATION FROM RUSSIA 259
over by a Superintendent (Ober-schultz), who directed the gen
eral secular affairs of the entire group of villages composing
the different congregations, while an elder or bishop assisted by
a number of untrained and unpaid preachers, had charge of
spiritual matters. This village life has been abandoned in a
number of places, but among the Old colony people a number
still exist.
In their religious customs and everyday practices most of the
congregations were decidedly conservative. The "Old Coloniers"
worshiped in church houses without paint. Inside the hard
seats were without backs, which did not add to the comfort of
listening to the' long sermons of the time. Although a number
of preachers were usually present at every service never more
than one preached. The sermon was read from a book and the
preacher seldom looked up at his audience nor indulged in any
gestures, nor in the slightest degree, departed from the practices
of the fathers. In dress, he as well as the members, had to con
form to the established conventionalities. White collars, shining
watch chains and bearded faces were forbidden. To be in good
standing and a model example the "Old Colonier" preacher was
to appear in the pulpit in old style trousers tucked into high-
topped boots. The dress of the women, of course, was equally
conventional and severely plain.
The language of the pulpit was the High German, but that
of ordinary conversation was some dialect of the "Piatt Deutsch"
imported from Prussia to Russia nearly a century before. Prayer
was offered in silence and kneeling. Singing was from an old
hymn-book also imported from their Prussian ancestral homes.
The hymns were without notes and the melodies to which they
were sung had under-gone wonderful transformations' as they
were passed on down through the generations. All sang in
unison, the singing of different parts being forbidden.
These old customs and practices are still in vogue with prac
tically no change in many of the secluded communities. The
Rhineland congregation of Old Colonists of nearly two thou
sand members still forbids all participation in such outside civil
or religious activities which may take place in the few towns

260 THE MENNONITES
which have sprung up around the railway stations within the
original settlements. The members are forbidden to participate
in business or even to take up their dwelling in one of these
towns, nor hold office of any sort outside of those directly con
cerned with their church life. Civil offices, modern clothing,
modern houses, the English language, Sunday-schools, prayer
meetings,- higher schools — all are of the "world." They own
neither telephones nor automobiles. The latter they call "Hell-
Wagons." Not all the seven groups in Manitoba are quite so con
servative as this, of course, but the most liberal even would be
regarded as conservative by the large body of Mennonites on this
side of the Canadian line. The seven different groups at present
are the Bergthal, Reinland, Kleine Gemeinde, Sommerfeld, Hol-
demans, Bruderthal and Bruedergemeinde. Religious affiliation
between these different groups there is practically none. The
entire membership of all these groups is over seven thousand,
totaling over seventeen thousand souls, with nearly fourteen
thousand more in Saskatchewan and five hundred in Alberta,
most of whom are the descendents of the original Manitoba
settlers. A large majority of all these may still be classed among
the conservatives. In the development of the higher cultural life, the Manito-
bans as a whole have made little progress except in individual
cases. Books are scarce and many schools are poor. In their
early compact settlements the Provincial Government permitted
them for many years, to conduct their own schools with no out
side supervision. These all began as private schools, and it was
only gradually that a number of these were transformed into
public schools which improved their character somewhat. These
private schools were taught at first exclusively in German by
teachers poorly equipped. The curriculum was meager. . Finally
English was introduced and both languages taught, bilingual
teaching being permitted by the Manitoba Government until two
years ago. During the last quarter century, H. H. Ewert, the
pioneer educator among his people in Kansas, has performed a
valuable service in raising the educational standards of the Men
nonite schools in Manitoba. Against great discouragements and

Gretna Normal School, Manitoba.

THE IMMIGRATION FROM RUSSIA 261
with many sacrifices he has spent a good part of his life in
behalf of the educational interests of his people. For twelve
years, 1891 to 1903, he occupied the position of Government in
spector of Mennonite schools, during which time he increased
the public schools from a bare half dozen to over forty. He was
also one of the leading spirits in the founding of the Gretna
Normal school in 1891, for the training of teachers in both the
private and public schools, of which there are now over one hun
dred throughout the various settlements. A local disagreement
some years ago among some of the school people led to the
founding of another school at Altona, which for several years
was in charge of Jacob J. Balzer, who for over thirty years had
done great service to the educational cause of his people at
Mountain Lake, Minnesota. The Altona institution has since
suspended operations, however. Under a liberal educational law
permitting the use of both German and English, considerable
progress has been made, and English has come to be used more
and more. But the recent law abolishing bilingual teaching
among the Mennonite public schools has had an unfortunate re
sult in transforming a number of the public schools into private
schools where German was still permitted. If the Government
should forbid the use of German in all schools, as is feared, as
well as in church and other papers it would undoubtedly work a
temporary hardship and likely would not make for an immediate
educational progress. Since the war is closed now, however, the
antagonism to the German language will abate gradually and the
elimination of the German in the schools may not be immediately
adopted as a Governmental policy after all. It is inevitable,
however, that ultimately the Government should prescribe and
enforce the use of the English language and provide for a more
rigid supervision of the whole educational system among the
Mennonites. The relation of Mennonite education to the State
Government in Saskatchewan is in the main similar to that in
Manitoba. Here too, David Toews, head of the Rosthern school
is doing an educational work among the Mennonites similar to
that of H. H. Ewert. There are at present still about eighty
private schools in Manitoba and thirty district schools, while in

262 THE MENNONITES
Saskatchewan there are thirty private schools and sixty public
schools. It is thus observed a majority of the Mennonites in
Canada still oppose the public school. In fact the Old Colonists
in both Provinces will not permit children to attend the public
schools and will discipline the parents who send them. This oppo
sition to public schools has already brought the Old Colonists
into serious conflict with the Governmental authorities. A recent
law in Saskatchewan prescribed the building of public schools and
the use of the English language in the settlements that had hith
erto been permitted to maintain their own private schools. Be
cause they refused to send their children to the public schools a
number have been punished with short jail sentences.
With poor schools, the maintenance of a foreign language, a
compact settlement, an uneducated and unsupported ministry, a
conservative and exclusive church policy, progress in the direc
tion of a more vital and aggressive religious life will be slow.
But in spite of all the peculiarities and formalities just described,
the Manitoba Mennonites are known to be an honest, industrious,
law-abiding and in their way a God-fearing people, and have
played an important role in the economic development of Mani
toba and the Canadian Northwest. In recent years, since the
early nineties, many have swarmed from the original hive and
have 'planted daughter colonies in Saskatchewan, Alberta and
British Columbia, where theyhave reproduced largely the life of
the parent community, but where undoubtedly because of the
smaller and more scattered settlements the old customs will be
abolished more easily. The greatest hope of a reformed Mani
toba lies in the breaking up of her closed communities and in
keeping up social relations and religious affiliations with other
more liberal Mennonite groups.

Since the above was written, public schools and the English lan
guage have been prescribed in the western provinces. In a number of
districts among tb.2 extremely conservative Mennouites the govern
ment has found it clifrrcult to enforce compulsory attendance in the
public schools, and several of the Mennonites have served short jail
sentences rather than to exchange their German parochial schools for
the English public schools.

THE IMMIGRATION FROM RUSSIA 263
Western United States
In the United States the greatest number of Russian immi
grants chose Kansas as a home. These came largely, as already
indicated, from the Molotschna and other scattered Russian set
tlements, and were more progressive in the beginning than those
who settled in Manitoba. They located in the heart of the State,
along the Arkansas valley in the counties of Marion, McPherson,
Butler, Harvey, Reno and Barton on lands bought from the
Sante Fe at a low price on easy terms. Among the most promi
nent congregations in the state is the large Alexanderwohl con
gregation which emigrated bodily from Russia, and consisted of
nearly six hundred persons at the time. To the smaller groups
belonged the Poles, Volhynians and Prussians scattered through
the central counties. Somewhat later other small non-Russian
groups located near the original settlements. Among these was a
small congregation of Galicians who came direct from Austria
in 1885, and located near Arlington and near Butterfield, Minne
sota. About the same time a small number of Swiss arrived from
Bern, Switzerland, settling near Whitewater.
In Nebraska a colony of West Prussians located near Bea
trice. In the early eighties a small group of Russians from Claas
Epp's ill-fated Asiatic expedition also settled near here. Isaac
Peters from the Pordenau congregation, and a number of his
members arrived among the first Russian immigrants and estab
lished a colony in York county. A small group from the Brueder
gemeinde also located in this county.
South Dakota received the large Huterite colony, and a num
ber of Volhynians and others who located along the James river
in the southeastern part of the State.
About one hundred families settled in southern Minnesota,
where near Mountain Lake there are at present a number of
flourishing congregations.
From all these original colonies new settlements have been
made in nearly all of the newer western States. Oklahoma espe
cially received many settlers during the eighties and nineties
from Kansas, but there is hardly a State now west of the original

264 THE MENNONITES
settlements that does not contain a number of prosperous Man-
nonite farming communities.
The first immigrants aroused considerable interest when they
first arrived in the localities where they were to make their homes.
In the fall of 1874 the Sante Fe Railroad Company was obliged
to find temporary quarters in their shops at Topeka for several
hundred families for several weeks enroute to their homes on
the Kansas prairies. While here their strange clothes and man
ners were the source of interesting and sometimes unfavorable
comment, but when they began to spend money liberally in the
Topeka shops and stores for supplies and equipment to be used
on farms still undeveloped their peculiarities were soon forgotten,
and Governor Osborne even arranged a public reception for them
at the State House.
Once on their lands, the Sante Fe erected large temporary
sheds to quarter them while they were erecting their first crude
long, one-story sod and frame houses. In Kansas the first set
tlers also tried to reproduce their Russian village life, but they
soon gave it up as impractical and all soon followed the Ameri
can custom of living in the open country in isolated farm houses.
The years 1873 and 1874, it will be remembered, were the years
of the panic and grasshoppers. The first settlers, especially the
poor, were reduced to extreme poverty, and their Eastern breth
ren were obliged to send them relief. Those who came a little
later, however, and who were obliged to buy farm equipment
found the panic prices a decided advantage.
Like their countrymen in Manitoba the so-called Russian
Mennonites in the United States were not Russians at all, but
Germans who had come from Prussia three-quarters of a century
before, and had retained practically all their Prussian culture
including their "Platt-Deutsch" dialects. German is still the
language of the pulpit, while the "Platt-Deutsch" dialect is used
in everyday conversation. They brought with them, too, some
of their Russian farm utensils including small Russian wagons,
forks, rakes, and especially several large threshing stones, all of
which, however, they had the good sense to discard after the first
year or two. A number of them also thinking the conditions

THE IMMIGRATION FROM RUSSIA 265
favorable for the development of the silk industry planted mul
berry trees and grew silkworms. The silk industry, however,
never passed beyond the experimental stage.
In their church connections most 0I tne main body of Rus
sian Mennonites, called in Russia the "Alt kirchliche" to distin
guish them from the "Bruedergemeinde" and other divisions
described a little later, affiliated themselves with the General Con
ference of Mennonites rather than with any of the other Amer
ican groups, because the former at the time were the only Men
nonites in America actively carrying on missionary work, a cause
in which the Russians also were interested. Another reason may
have been the fact that the General Conference showed them
selves more willing to cooperate with them on a basis of equality
than any of the other groups. A number of congregations, how
ever, have remained independent, or have formed small confer
ences among themselves. Among these is a congregation in
Mountain Lake, Minnesota, which is in sympathy with the Old
Mennonites, but is not a part of that conference. The Peters
churches in Nebraska, the Wall congregation in Minnesota, at
first independent have recently organized a small conference of
their own. The Manitoba settlement, as we saw, was divided into
two independent groups. In addition to the divisions imported
from Russia a small number of the members of the various con
gregations, especially in Canada, have joined the Holdeman
church. As already indicated the Russian Mennonites in our own
West have been more progressive than those across the Dorder.
Their early interest in good schools and colleges is mentioned in
another chapter. It was largely for the purpose of promoting
the education of their children, that the Kansas Conference was
organized in 1877, and school matters received a good share of
the attention of the Conference in its early sessions. At the same
time, too, David Goerz established at Halstead, Kansas, the "Zur
Heimat," a religious newspaper of great influence among the
early Russian immigrants. They were greatly interested in mis
sions from the beginning and soon heartily supported the indus
trial mission stations among the Indians, which were founded by

266 THE MENNONITES
the General Conference. In material matters, too, they have suc
ceeded and have been among the most prosperous and progres
sive farmers in the entire West. They have become more thor
oughly Americanized also. Among them have been a number of
men who have served their State and Nation in responsible posi
tions. One of these is Senator Peter Jansen, son of Cornelius
Jansen, already mentioned and a wealthy sheep-rancher, who has
served his State in the State Senate and who was appointed by
President McKinley, one of the United States commissioners to
the Paris Exposition. For many years he has taken an active
interest in the political affairs of his native State, Nebraska.
Among the groups which have had a separate religious his
tory from the beginning in America, the most important is the
Bruedergemeinde
or the Mennonite Brethren Church, which had its origin in Rus
sia in the sixties of the last century. Scattered bands and indi
viduals were found in most of the first Russian Mennonite set
tlements in America, but they were so small that at first there was
little organized church activity. With the coming, however, of
Elder Abraham Schellenberg from the Molotschna in 1879, more
aggressive work in behalf of their cause was begun. And soon
such members as came direct from Russia together with such
proselytes as were secured from the old church here formed
aggressive congregations in all the settlements. By 1887, they
had a membership of twelve hundred and sixty-six, in eighteen
congregations. They place special emphasis upon a definite con
version experience, and baptize by immersion backward, and
practise feet-washing in connection with the communion. They
have much in common with the Baptists and at first lost a few of
their members to that church. The Adventists also have made
some inroads among them. They are perhaps more conservative
than their own brethren in Russia, but follow an aggressive mis
sionary and evangelistic policy. For several years beginning with
1898, their educational interests were served by a "German De
partment" in McPherson College, a Dunkard institution, which
the conference helped to support. In 1908, however, they founded

THE IMMIGRATION FROM RUSSIA 267
Tabor College at Hillsboro, Kansas, which has since grown into
a prosperous institution. The "Zionsbote" is the official publica
tion of the church. They have increased their membership per
haps more rapidly than any other group. The membership in
1918 was six thousand and three hundred, with one hundred and
sixty ministers, eight foreign missionaries, three city mission
aries, and nine traveling evangelists. Closely related to the
Bruedergemeinde are the Krimmer Brueder
The Crimean Brethren, who were organized from a Crimean
"Kleine Gemeinde" by Jacob Wiebe in 1869, came to America in
1874 and organized a separate church congregation. Although
of thevsame faith as the Mennonite Brethren as to baptism and
other religious practices and doctrines they inherited certain ten-.
dencies from their Kleine Gemeinde origin which together with
their separate organization in America prevented them from
affiliating entirely with the Mennonite Brethren. They are also
sometimes spoken of as the "Wiebe Gemeinde," after their old
elder who was still living several years ago in Kansas. Their
entire membership at present is less than one thousand, the largest
congregations being found in Kansas with others scattered
throughout Oklahoma, Nebraska, Saskatchewan and several
other western States. They control their own printing estab
lishment in Chicago where they publish their paper the "Wahr-
heitsfreund." An interesting side-light into church practices is
found in a series of conference resolutions passed in 1905. Mar
riage with those outside their own or the older Mennonite Breth
ren church was forbidden. Worldliness in superfluous dress,
excessive buying of land, attendance at theatres and circuses was
discouraged. Brethren owning guns were not to carry them. Hail
insurance, life insurance, voting, and taking of oaths were all
proven to be wrong by copious Scripture passages.
The Isaac Peters Churches
are a group of congregations in Nebraska and Minnesota which
grew up around an original congregation which had immigrated

268 THE MENNONITES
to Nebraska quite early from the Molotschna under the leadership
of Elder Isaac Peters. Peters was an aggressive elder of the
Pordenau congregation, who took a conservative stand on many
questions and stood rather aloof from the other congregations
before the emigration. He was exiled from Russia in 1873 be
cause of his activities in the emigration agitation. In America
his congregation stood for aggressive, but at the same time con-
serative church practices, and they have been inclined to affili
ate with the Old Mennonites, although they have never been an
organic part of that body. In the meantime Bishop Aaron Wall
of one of the Mountain Lake, Minnesota, congregations, also held
decidedly conservative views. A large part of the congregation
being decidedly opposed to Sunday schools, missions and other
lines of work favored by more progressive elements, organized
a congregation of their own in 1889. At first inclined to affiliate
with the Old Mennonites they later joined with the Peters con
gregation in Nebraska, and in 1910 formed a conference under
the name "Defenseless Mennonite Brethren in Christ of North
America." During the same year also, they founded their church
paper "Der Evangelisations Bote." The Mennonite Year Book
of 1918 gives these Peters and Wall congregations a membership
of fourteen hundred and eight with four bishops and twenty-
seven ministers, principally in Minnesota and Nebraska, but
scattered groups also in Montana, Kansas, Idaho, Oregon, Mani
toba and Saskatchewan. Much of their earlier opposition to
progressive church work has been abandoned, for they now sup
port foreign missionaries in India and Africa and a city mission
in Chicago. Huterites
Although the Huterites have no organic connection in Amer
ica with any of the Mennonite bodies, yet they have a common
origin and have had a common history in Europe, and must
therefore be included in any complete history of the Mennonites.
They located first in Bonhomme county along the James River in
South Dakota, but later in neighboring counties farther up the
river. They are still communists and live in large Households

THE IMMIGRATION FROM RUSSIA 269
called "Bruderhofs," containing each from ten to thirty families.
The first Household established in Bonhomme county has
since expanded into sixteen, mostly in South Dakota, but a few
in North Dakota and Montana, with a total population of about
two thousand. There are several scattered colonies, the most
important of which, is the settlement in Wolfs Creek which ,
covers over twelve thousand acres. A visitor to the colony in
1902 found at the time on the farms two thousand sheep, four
hundred head of cattle, one hundred and fifty milk cows, seven
hundred geese, seventy horses, three hundred swine, one thou
sand ducks, and sufficient up-to-date machinery and equipment
to operate the establishment. All work in common, but each has
his distinct work to do. Each department of work is in charge
of an overseer, while a superintendent directs the work of the
entire colony. The spiritual welfare of the community is in charge
of a bishop. All eat in the common dining-room of the House
hold, which is also used for the final devotional and business
meeting held each evening before retiring. Children are brought
up in nurseries and are with their parents only at night. They
have their own schools and still speak the German language.
They take life rather easy, and require, little money to carry on
their individual business transactions, although as a community
they have become wealthy. Their worship is simple. Peter
Riedeman's Confession of Faith printed in Germany in 1565, and
once in America at Berne, Indiana, in 1902, still furnishes the
basis of their church doctrine. Their hymns are old, dating
back to the sixteenth century and were never printed until 1916.
Their clothes are quaint and old-fashioned, the men in several of
the colonies still wearing hooks and eyes instead of buttons.
They are opposed to higher education, missions and modern
methods of church work. They are still strictly non-resistant.
During the recent Liberty Bond campaigns, upon their refusal to
buy bonds and contribute to the various war funds many of their
sheep and cattle were forcibly taken and sold by the local county
authorities for the sum of about $20,000, which was deposited in
the banks with a view to use for the war fund. These officials
were compelled to abandon these tactics, however, by the author-

270 THE MENNONITES
ities higher up. The money was then to be returned, but the
Huterites demanded their stock instead of the money. As a
result of these experiences most of the colonies disposed of their
holdings and bought large tracts of land in the Canadian North
west under the impression that their young men might there
enjoy the military exemption that had been granted to the Men
nonites already there. Their coming, however, aroused bitter
antagonism and certain business and military organizations and
even ministers assemblies stirred up such a feeling against them
throughout the Canadian Provinces that it was doubtful at the
time of the close of the war whether they would have been able
to secure exemption.*
The entire number of Russian Mennonites in the United
States, in 1880, including all the divisions enumerated above, was
somewhat larger than that of Manitoba. The living descendants
count up now about thirty-five thousand. These together with
about thirty-two thousand in Canada would bring up the entire
Russian Mennonite population in America near sixty-seven thou
sand. Including the eighty-five thousand or more now still found
in Russia would bring the total up to more than one hundred and
fifty thousand descendants from the six or seven thousand Prus
sians who came to Russia a little over a century ago. When we
remember that this was less than the number that remained in
Prussia at the time, and that the present number of West Prus
sians is only about ten thousand, we can realize how influential
the Mennonite church might be today, if in Germany and Holland
during the last three hundred years the church could have suc
ceeded as well in holding her young people, as did the Mennon
ites of Russia and their descendants in America.

* The Canadian Government has since forbidden Huterites and
Mennonites to settle in Canada.

JOHN H. OBERHOLZER

GENERAL CONF. OF MEN. OF N. A. 271

CHAPTER XVII
THE GENERAL CONFERENCE OF MENNONITES OF
NORTH AMERICA
The General Conference originally was not a separate branch
of the denomination, but was a unification movement aiming at a
union of all Mennonites in America. As a unification movement
it had its source in three distinct local centers — in Pennsylvania,
Ontario, and Iowa.
J. H. Oberholtzer and his followers, as already noted, after
their expulsion from the Franconia Conference in 1847, imme
diately organized themselves into a new religious body. Ober
holtzer began a vigorous campaign for the spread of his cause.
For the advancement of the religious interests of the congrega
tions which had cast their lot with his, he founded in his home
town, Milford Square, the first Mennonite church paper in Amer
ica called "Religioeser Botschafter." This paper he published at
his own expense for the good of the cause until 1856, when it
was taken over by an association called the Mennonite Printing
Union, and the name of the paper was changed to "Das Christ-
liche Volksblat." This paper Oberholtzer used to good advan
tage in advocating a closer union among a number of isolated
Mennonite communities.
Although Oberholtzer was active in promoting the interests
of the new movement, he had not entirely abandoned the hope of
effecting a reconciliation with the old church. He sincerely de
sired a union, and as late as 1860 he suggested in a pamphlet
called "Verantwortung und Erlaeuterung" the terms upon which
the two groups of churches might come together. These terms,
however, were rejected by the old church, and so no reconcilia
tion was possible. At the same time, too, he was advocating
through his church paper a union of all the Mennonite congre
gations of America.

272 THE MENNONITES
In the meantime a liberal movement, similar in many respects
to the one in Franconia had been making headway among a few
of the scattered churches near Niagara Falls, in Lincoln county,
Ontario. This movement was one in behalf of more aggressive
church work, especially of greater evangelistic efforts, and the
leading spirit was a minister by the name of Daniel Hoch. In
1853, Hoch was appointed at a meeting of this group of churches
as a visiting minister to various scattered congregations in the
region. He also had come into contact evidently with a small
congregation at Wadsworth, Ohio, composed of a few families,
who had recently come there from Pennsylvania under the leader
ship of Reverend Ephraim Hunsberger, for in 1855 these two
groups organized themselves into the Conference Council of the
Mennonite Communities of Canada- West and Ohio. The purpose
of the organization seems to have been to promote greater evan
gelistic and missionary zeal among the churches.
Oberholtzer had taken a deep interest in the Canadian move
ment from the very beginning, for here might be an opportunity
perhaps of enlarging the circle of congregations that favored a
more liberal church policy, and the beginning of the realization
of a dream which he already began to cherish, namely the unifi
cation of all the Mennonite churches of America. Consequently
in the Volksblatt in 1856 he advocated the union of the Canada-
Ohio conference with his own Pennsylvania conference in the
interests of the mission cause, and suggested a general council of
the two conferences. This plan was favorably received by the
Canada churches, and resolutions were passed by the Conference
in its session of 1857 urging that steps be taken in this direction,
but no further results followed at this time.
While this subject was being agitated in the East, a similar
movement had begun in the West. In Lee county, Iowa, there
were two small congregations composed largely of Bavarian and
Palatinate immigrants who had come to the State some few years
before. They were located near the Amish settlement, which
had been made some time earlier. But being more recently from
Europe than the Amish, and differing from them in customs and
practises they never worked in harmony with them. Conse-

GENERAL CONF. OF MEN. OF N. A. 273
quently these two congregations found themselves somewhat
isolated from the other Iowa churches. Feeling the need of
united effort especially in evangelistic work among such members
of the church as had settled some distance from the main body,
a joint meeting of the West Point and the Zion congregations
was brought about at West Point in 1859, largely through the
influence of Daniel Krehbiel, who continued for the rest of his
days a most enthusiastic advocate of the unification cause. An
other leader of the union movement for the Iowa churches was
Christian Showalter, also a South German immigrant, and at this
time a teacher in the parochial school at the Zion congregation.
According to the resolutions passed at this meeting its purpose
was to "devise ways on the one hand for the centralization of the
Mennonite churches, but chiefly on the other for supplying iso
lated families with the Gospel blessings." The ideal of the union
of all Mennonite churches seems to have captured the imagina
tion of the leaders of the Lee county congregations also. Near
the close of the meeting after an urgent plea by Daniel Kreh
biel, it was decided to extend a general invitation to other Men
nonite churches to meet with them in another conference at West
Point the following year. The report of the initial meeting to
gether with the invitation for the coming year were published in
the Pennsylvania paper, the "Christliche Volksblatt."
Oberholtzer naturally was also interested in the Iowa move
ment. During the year he repeatedly urged through the columns
.of his paper that both the Pennsylvania and the Canada congre
gations send representatives to the meeting in Lee county.
Neither, however, seemed enthusiastic in responding to the invi
tation, and that for several reasons. In the first place Iowa at
that time was on the frontier line of American civilization, and
why should the eastern churches go so far west to attend a meet
ing the purpose of which was to form a union of congregations
almost all of which were in the East. Secondly the lowans were
recent European immigrants in whom the Easterners, whose an
cestors had been in this country for the better part of two cen
turies, felt little personal interest. Neither of the eastern con
ferences appointed delegates to the western meeting. Hoch and

274 THE MENNONITES
Oberholtzer appeared to be the only individuals in the least inter
ested in the enterprise, and it seemed extremely doubtful whether
even they would be able to attend because of financial considera
tions. But finally at the last moment through the generosity of
a friend it was made possible for Oberholtzer and one companion
to be present. These two men were the only representatives at
the meeting from the churches outside of the Iowa congregations.
The conference, if indeed it may be called such, was held
May 28-29, 1860, near West Point, and was composed of the two
congregations already named, another minister from a near-by
settlement and the two representatives from Pennsylvania. Ober
holtzer was chosen chairman, and Christian Showalter of the
neighboring congregation, secretary. Although unpretentious
and local in character, this meeting was not deterred by that fact
from discussing a lofty and ambitious ideal, namely the unifica
tion of all the Mennonites of America under one working organ
ization. Deploring the fact that there was so much factionalism
among the Mennonites, and that the denomination "has never
since its existence in America constituted an ecclesiastical organ
ization," and further that because of this factionalism there is
"a corresponding decline in spiritual life," the assembly drew up
a set of resolutions which it was hoped would serve as a common
platform upon which all might unite for the extension of the mis
sion and other interests of the church. These resolutions are as
follows :
1. That all branches of the Mennonite denomination in
North America regardless of minor differences, should extend to
each other the hand of fellowship.
2. That fraternal relations shall be severed only when a per
son or church abandons the fundamental doctrines of the de
nomination; namely those concerning baptism, the oath, etc.,
as indeed all the principles of the faith which we with Menno
base solely upon the Gospel as received from Jesus Christ and
His apostles.
3. That no brother shall be found guilty of heresy unless
his error can be established on unequivocal Scripture evidence.
4. That the General Conference shall consider no excom-

GENERAL CONF. OF MEN. OF N. A. 275
munication as Scripturally valid unless a real transgression or
neglect conflicting with the demands of Scripture exists.
5. That every church or district shall be entitled to continue
without molestation or hindrance and amenable only to their own
conscience any rules or regulations they may have adopted for
their own government; provided they do not conflict with the
tenets of our general confession.
6. That if a member of a church, because of existing cus
toms or ordinances in his- church, shall desire to sever his con
nection and unite with some other church of the General Con
ference such action shall not be interfered with.
As just indicated, the motive for this united action was to
provide for more effective evangelistic efforts, but two other sub
jects were also discussed during the meeting — the establishing of
a publishing house and an institution for theological training.
Both of these measures had been advocated for several years by
such men as Oberholtzer, Hoch and Daniel Krehbiel, and these
men were undoubtedly responsible for introducing them into the
discussions at this time. After a two days' session, the assembly
adjourned, but not before it was decided to meet again the follow
ing year at Wadsworth, Ohio.
Thus was launched the General Conference of the Mennonites
of North America. The aim of the movement was an ambitious
but worthy one. Just how seriously the leaders of the cause at
this time entertained the thought of a union of all the Mennon
ites it is not easy to say. It may be safely inferred, however,
that none were so sanguine as to expect the fulfillment of the
work in their own day, for such a task would have been an im
possible one. The gap between the opposite extremes of Mennon
ite custom and practise of that time was too wide to be bridged
over easily. But a union of some of the more liberal of the
older American Mennonite churches and a number of the recent
immigrant congregations was entirely feasible, and the leaders
of the movement undoubtedly hardly hoped to see more than
that much of their plan accomplished in their own day. The
dozen or so of the Pennsylvania congregations of course would
likely come into the union, as would also' a number of the South

276 THE MENNONITES
German churches in Summerfield, Illinois, and Hayesville and
Cleveland, Ohio, all of whom were bound to the Lee county peo
ple by ties of kinship. The Wadsworth congregation of liberal
Penhsylvanians would also be likely to join the movement. And
so would the two or three Canadian congregations under the in
fluence of Hoch. But beyond these scattered congregations there
was not a strong probability that many others could be secured
for the cause in the immediate future. And yet this time was
more opportune perhaps than any later period would have been
for attempting such a program. For none of the Alsatian Amish
churches nor the older Mennonite churches in Ohio, Illinois and
Iowa had as yet formed themselves into Conferences. Each con
gregation was independent of all others and some had already
departed somewhat from the older traditions and customs. A
few of these in more recent years have affiliated themselves with
the movement, but after the organization of conferences of their
own and especially after they came under the influence of the
conservative elements of the East the probability of an affiliation
with the General Conference had passed. The growth of ther
movement has since been confined almost entirely to isolated
congregations of later Russian and Swiss Mennonites.
The General Conference, however, was hardly a fact as yet
in 1860. Neither the Canada-Ohio Council, nor the few other
independent congregations which it was hoped might be brought
into line had accepted the first invitation. It remained to be seen
what action these would take at the next meeting at Wadsworth.
This session, the second to be held, met at Wadsworth, Me
dina county, Ohio, May 20, 1861, in the very days of the opening
of the Civil war. It was soon found that the unification move
ment was taking root, for now eight congregations were repre
sented, including in addition to those present the year before
those at Waterloo, Ontario, Summerfield, Illinois, and several of
the Oberholtzer following in Pennsylvania. Daniel Hoch of
Canada, and Daniel Hege of Summerfield were elected chairman
and secretary respectively. Two new subjects were discussed at
this meeting. A new article discouraging secret societies was
added to the platform adopted the year before, and the first steps

General Conference Delegates and Jubilee Guests, Beatrice, Nebr., 1909.

GENERAL CONF. OF MEN. OF N. A. 277
were taken toward the establishing of a theological school. Daniel
Hege, a well educated minister of the Summerfield congregation,
was appointed as home evangelist and was authorized to visit all
the churches in the interest of missions and the new school. After
signing a formal unification agreement, the assembly adjourned
to meet again, the time and place to be decided by the chairman
and secretary. The conference was now a fact. After this, ses
sions were held regularly, at first biennially, but later triennially.
The third meeting was held in Summerfield in 1863. The
chief discussion at this time concerned the proposed school, and
further steps were taken toward its organization, Triennial meet
ings were agreed upon and also a method of representation ac
cording to the size of the affiliated congregation. From this time
on the Conference maintained a steady growth. Nearly every
succeeding meeting showed a gain in the number of affiliating
congregations. At first of course the new additions came from
the Pennsylvania Oberholtzer churches. But in 1875 the Swiss
congregation at Berne, Indiana, was represented for the first time
by S. F. Sprunger. And the following year at a special session
the first Russian church, the Alexanderwohl congregation, was
represented by Henry Richert and David Goerz. Twenty con
gregations were present by delegates at this session. After this
most of the additions came from the recent Russian immigrant
churches whose sympathies had been won to the leaders of the
General Conference movement both because of the help they had
received in settling in their new home and also because of their
interest in the cause of missions, an interest which was shared by
a number of the Russian churches. The meeting of 1893 was
held at Bluffton, Ohio. For the first time the Swiss churches at
Bluffton and Dalton, Ohio, and the Amish congregations at
Trenton, Ohio, and Noble, Iowa, sent delegates. Fifty churches
were represented at this meeting, eighteen coming from Kansas.
Each succeeding session now recorded some new additions either
from the Russians or some other isolated congregations which
for various reasons had not become identified with any of the
other special Mennonite conferences which were being formed
in the meantime. In the early nineties there seemed a fair pos-

278 THE MENNONITES
sibility of winning a number of the congregations of the present
Central Illinois Conference to the movement, but with the found
ing in 1899 of a separate organization of these churches, that
source of additions was closed for the time. The last session of
the General Conference was held at Reedley, California, in 1917.
Delegates from one hundred and twelve congregations were pres
ent representing a membership of 16,057.
Among the men, in addition to those already mentioned, who
played an important part in the early formative period of the
movement must be mentioned A. B. Shelly of Pennsylvania, pres
ident of the Conference continously from 1872 to 1896, and inter
ested in all its various lines of work ; Christian Krehbiel, of Sum
merfield, Illinois, but later from Halstead, Kansas, a South Ger
man immigrant, interested in the Russian immigration, and one
of the leaders in the Indian mission cause; David Goerz, a Rus
sian immigrant, and one of the leaders in bringing the Russians
into the General Conference ; Henry Richert, from the Alexander
wohl congregation, also a leader among the Rus6ians ; J. C. Kreh
biel, chairman of the first meeting in 1859 at West Point, and a
member of many important committees later ; S. F. Sprunger of
Berne, Indiana ; Ben Eicher, leader of the Amish churches in
Henry county, Iowa ; Daniel Hege, the first home evangelist and
collector of funds for the Wadsworth school ; C. J. van der Smis-
sen, theological professor at Wadsworth, and later secretary of
the Mission Board; J. S. Moyer of Pennsylvania; and John S.
Hirschler of Kansas. A number of younger men still living and
active have done much for the General Conference in recent years,
but it is left for some future historian to estimate the value of
their contributions.
The two questions that occupied much of the time and
thought of the Conference during the first twenty years of the
history of the movement were education and missions. The school
at Wadsworth held the center of interest from 1863, when the
first committee was appointed until 1878, when it was forced to
close its doors. It took six years after Daniel Hege began to
collect funds in 1862, before the school was opened. The insti
tution which was known as "The Christian Educational Institu-

GENERAL CONF. OF MEN. OF N. A. 279
tiort of the Mennonite Denomination" was located at Wadsworth,
Ohio, which was thought to be the most centrally located between
the East and the West. It opened its doors on January 2, 1868,
with Christian Showalter, of Iowa, as principal, one other teacher,
and twenty-four students. Its purpose was primarily to train
young men for Christian work, although secular subjects were
also taught. During the same year C. J. van der Smissen from
Friedrichstadt, Germany was called to the chair of theology with
the assurance that the position was to last the rest of his natural
life The school never prospered. The attendance hardly ever
went beyond that of the opening day. It began with a deficit in
the building fund, and poor financing handicapped its work
throughout its entire career. Although there were only three
teachers, expenses could hardly be met. Besides financial dif
ficulties there were quarrels within the faculty. Showalter and
van der Smissen did not agree upon matters of policy, and the
former finally resigned, leaving to the latter the entire manage
ment of the educational policy of the institution. Finally the
churches of the West and those of Pennsylvania disagreed as to
certain questions of management, with the result that the school
had to close with a heavy debt, a theological professor hired for
life, and but few students, in 1878, just ten years after the first
students had entered its doors for instruction.
In the meantime as soon as the school had been successfully
launched the mission question received a good share of the atten
tion of the Conference sessions, as did also the publication inter
ests, but these being discussed elsewhere in this book need no
repetition here. During recent sessions considerable disagree
ment arose among different factions in the Conference as to the
desirability of remaining affiliated with the Federal Council of
Churches to which the General Conference had been admitted
some time ago. At the 1917 session it was agreed by a majority
vote of the delegates present to discontinue the membership. At
the same session, too, the question of secret societies was dis
cussed and a committee appointed to formulate a policy of action
with reference to such congregations as permit members of lodges
in their churches.

280 THE MENNONITES
It will be observed that the General Conference of Mennon
ites is not a separate division of the church, or at least that is not
its aim. It is rather a conference whose aim is the ultimate
union of all branches of the denomination, any or all of which
are eligible to membership in the Conference if they so desire.
This it hopes to accomplish along the lines laid down in 1860.
Few limitations other than such fundamental principles as have
always been regarded as essential to Mennonitism, including as
just noted anti-secrecy, are placed upon the congregations com
posing it. Each governs itself and determines its own policy.
But all unite in carrying out certain lines of Christian activity,
such as missions, publication work and evangelism. The purpose
of the movement is best set forth by H. P. Krehbiel, its chief
historian. He says :
"The churches constituting the General Conference have by
their union not become something different from what they were
before. Each church remains just what it was and retains all
peculiarities she had if she chooses. Each church retains her
individuality as well as her independence. It is not a separate
class or division of Mennonites which may be distinguished from
others by special doctrines or customs. It is impossible to class
the Conference as such a division because her membership list
contains churches which differ very much in customs and special
views, and which to this day retain these differences precisely as
they did previously to uniting with the Conference. The General
Conference is therefore in no sense a branch or division of the
denomination." After all, however, the members of the organization neces
sarily have certain common interests and religious opinions which
differentiate them from other Mennonite groups, and which give
them many of the characteristics of a separate branch of the
church. While they permit a great diversity of practise and cus
tom, they agree in such fundamental doctrines as rejection of in
fant baptism, non-resistance, opposition to the oath, anti-secrecy
and other characteristic Mennonite doctrines. In 1902 the Con
ference authorized the translation and publishing of the Cornelis

General Conference-Mennonite Conference, July 5-6, 1906, Eigenheim, Sask., Canada.

GENERAL CONF. OF MEN. OF N. A. 281
Ris Confession, one of the most liberal of existing Men
nonite Confessions.
Unlike the Old Mennonites and the Amish and several of
the other more conservative branches, none of the General Con
ference congregations demand of their members any specific
mode of dress. Most of the congregations have either discarded
or have never practised feetwashing as a church ordinance with
the exception of a number of the conservative Russian churches,
among whom the practise is still in vogue. Most of the General
Conference churches maintain a salaried and trained ministry
except a number of the Russian congregations, where the old
type of untrained, unsalaried preacher is still the rule.
The movement for union along the lines laid down by the
General Conference has not made much progress among the
more conservative elements of the older American Mennonites.
Old customs and traditions are too strongly entrenched among
these and they are now too well organized to be greatly influ
enced by any liberal and progressive movement outside their
own body. Certain influences, however, in recent years have
made for a measure of unification sentiment. During the recent
war all branches of the denomination, including even the Old
Order Amish, have worked together at different times in the
interests of their common non-resistant doctrine. Significant
were the two all-Mennonite conventions held at Berne, Indiana,
in 1913, and at Carlock, Illinois, in 1916, at which unofficial rep
resentatives of the various branches of the denomination came
together to discuss their common problems. Auspicious, too, is
the co-operative control of Bluffton College by a Board of Trus
tees representing five different branches of the church. As men
work together in a common cause and learn to know each other
better, they become less suspicious of each other and find that
their differences disappear. Growth of the General Conference
by the addition of new isolated congregations will perhaps soon
reach its limit. May the next step, perhaps, not be a federation
of conferences already existing in the interests of such common
enterprises as missions, education and other essential underta
kings ?

282 THE MENNONITES

CHAPTER XVIII
THE CHURCH AND THE STATE
Oath, and War
On no other points of their faith have the Mennonites been
so often misunderstood as on their attitude toward the oath and
warfare. Their objection to the oath and refusal to bear arms
have both been repeatedly misconstrued, both in Europe and
America, as indicating a spirit of disloyalty to their adopted
country. In Pennsylvania the Mennonites were welcomed by>
the Quakers, who held similar views on these questions, but the
law passed by the English Parliament permitting the affirmation
instead of the oath applied to Quakers only. Mennonites and
others who had similar scruples against the taking of the oath
in becoming naturalized were compelled to petition for the priv
ilege. The Mennonites, in 1717, and the Amish, in 1742, were
granted the rights of affirmation.
In Maryland the constitution of 1776 specifically mentions
"Quakers, Tunkers, and Menonists," to whom the right of affirm
ation is guaranteed wherever an oath would otherwise be re
quired. Today this right is guaranteed both by the Federal
Constitution and in practically every State, and frequently even
those not belonging to a non-resistant faith avail themselves of
the privilege. Exemption from military service was not always so easily
secured, but conscientious scruples were always given careful
consideration by those in authority. The only Colonies in which
Mennonites were located at the time of the Revolutionary War
were Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. In each of these
Mennonites were exempted from military musters, which seemed
to be generally provided for by the local county authorities upon

THE CHURCH AND THE STATE 283
the payment of a sum of money usually called a fine. In Vir
ginia, however, in 1777, where provisions were made for con
scription, Mennonites in case they should be drafted for service
were to be discharged upon furnishing a substitute, who was to
be paid by a levy upon the membership of the entire church.
After the war, in 1790, the constitution of Pennsylvania
declared that "those who conscientiously scruple to bear arms
shall not be compelled to bear arms, but shall pay an equiva
lent." A law of Maryland, in 1793, provides that "Quakers,
Mennonites, and Tunkers and all others who are conscientiously
scrupulous of bearing arms, and who refuse to do military duty
shall pay a sum of three dollars annually. The Virginia code
of laws in force, in 1860, provided that all privates refusing to
attend military musters must pay a fine of seventy-five cents,
which of course the Mennonites freely paid. The wars of 1812
and of 1848, as well as the war of 1898, were all fought by vol
unteers, and consequently there was no occasion to test the faith
of the non-resistant churches.
In the Civil War both the North and the South were finally
forced to resort to conscription. The Federal act of February 24,
1864, exempted those having conscientious scruples, permitting
them to accept hospital service when drafted, or to pay $300 ex
emption money. No person, however, was to be entitled to the
benefit of this clause unless his declaration of conscientious scru
ples "shall be supported by satisfactory evidence that his de
portment had been uniformly consistent with such declaration."
This exemption clause, it will be observed, differed from the pro
vision permitting substitutes, by which one could secure exemp
tion by furnishing a substitute at such price, of course, as the
substitute demanded. Under this law Mennonites were not dis
turbed except in a few communities, among others Fulton county,
Ohio, where a mob, objecting to any discrimination in favor of
conscientious scruples, attacked a number of exempted Men
nonites. In the South, Virginia resorted to universal service almost
from the beginning, and no exceptions were made in behalf of
religious scruples. A number of Mennonites from Rockingham

284 THE MENNONITES
county were called into the army in 1861. These refused to
fight. Others were captured attempting to escape through the
lines into the North. These were imprisoned in Libby Prison
for a time and tried,, but because of their religious convictions
were permitted to go home. Early in 1862 Virginia passed a
law exempting members of a church forbidding the bearing of
arms upon the payment of $500, and the further sum of two
per cent, of the assessed valuation of all taxable property. In case
of the refusal of such members to comply with this law or the
inability to do so, they were to be taken into some form of non-
combatant service.
This law, however, was soon superseded in the same year
by the general conscription act of the Confederate Government,
which also provided for the exemption of members of the "So
ciety of Friends, Association of Dunkards, Nazarenes and Men-
onists" upon the payment of $500. All these religious denom
inations, being opposed to both slavery and war, were bitterly
denounced in their communities by those not of their faith, but
they were not compelled to take up arms by the Government
until the summer of 1864, when, because of the great need of
men, the Confederate Congress repealed all exemptions. A num
ber of the young men escaped through the lines into western
Virginia and into the North. The Mennonite communities, being
located in the heart of the Shenandoah valley, also suffered
heavily from the numerous raids made through the valley.
The Canadian Government has been more considerate of
conscientious scruples even than the United States. As early
as 1808, Ontario passed a law exempting "Quakers, Menonists
and Tunkers" from militia service, upon an annual payment of
twenty shillings in time of peace, and five pounds when the
militia should be called out for defence. Refusal to comply with
this law was to be punished by a jail sentence of not more than
a month. In 1839, after the union of the Upper and Lower
Provinces, the fine was raised to ten pounds instead of five, and
later several minor changes were made in the law, but its general
purport remained the same. In 1868, after the formation of the
present Dominion of Canada, an act was passed exempting Qua-

THE CHURCH AND THE STATE 285
kers, Mennonites, Dunkards and all members of other religious
denominations opposed to war from militia service under such
conditions as the Governor-in-Council might prescribe. This
law was still in force at the time the recent war broke out, al
though perhaps not generally known. The Conscription Act of
1917 exempted from combatant service all religious bodies op
posed to war in principle. The clause in this act which exempts
only from combatant service, it will be observed, differs from
the act of 1868, which exempts from all service. The act of
1868 was the basis on which the Canadian Government promised
the Russian Mennonites who settled in Manitoba in 1873 com
plete military exemption as a condition of their migration to
that Province. The State of Kansas also guaranteed exemption
from military musters to all those conscientiously opposed to
bearing arms, in behalf of the Russian Mennonites in 1873. This
guarantee was confirmed as late as 1915, but it is of no value,
since it is subservient to the Federal law on the subject. In
fact, nearly half of the States in the Union exempt by constitu
tional provisions from militia service those conscientiously op
posed to such service.
' When the recent Canadian Conscription act was passed the
Government, upon being reminded of this early law and promise
by a committee of Mennonites from the western Provinces, gra
ciously agreed to abide by the promises made to the early Rus
sian settlers in 1873, and granted entire exemption to all the
descendants, both baptized and unbaptized, of the original Rus
sians. Whether this liberal provision would apply also to the
Mennonites of Ontario, who were not a party to the agreement
of 1873, but were included under the act of 1868, at first seemed
doubtful. A number of Ontario young Mennonites were taken
into the army at first, and upon refusing to serve were court-
martialed and given a two-year prison sentence, but which was
later changed to farm furloughs. As just indicated, the laws
of 1868 and 1917 were not quite similar, but the Canadian Govern
ment finally decided to abide by the more liberal provisions of
1868 and the promises of 1873, and thus granted the Ontario
Mennonites the same gracious consideration as that given to

286 THE MENNONITES
members of the church in Manitoba and the western Provinces.
The Canadian churches also took a stand in the beginning
of the war against contributing to war loans. But upon the
promise of the Government at the time of the last loan that ,
Mennonite money was to be used only for relief purposes and
not for direct war purposes, the Russian churches all endorsed
the loans, and it is estimated that they raised about a half million
dollars in the western Provinces. Red Cross and Y. M. C. A.
campaigns they supported heartily. In the last drive each
farmer was expected to contribute fifty dollars for each quarter
section of land, and business and professional men accordingly.
It is estimated that some $200,000 was raised for this work, an
average of over six dollars for every man, woman and child
among them.
Few of the young men enlisted in the service and such as
did were usually considered as having forfeited their member
ship. The price paid by the Mennonites, however, for their
exemptions was disfranchisement for the period of the war,
The Dominion Government was considerate of Mennonite scru
ples throughout the war, but in some localities, especially in the
extreme West, considerable bitterness began to develop near
the close over a new problem. The question as to whether the
exemption applied to Mennonites who should enter Canada after
the passing of the Conscription act was precipitated by the migra
tion of a number of Mennonites from the States, especially the
Huterites from South Dakota, who bought large tracts of land
in Saskatchewan and Alberta for the purpose of escaping service
and intimidation in the United States. Appeals were made to
the Government by numerous local organizations not only to
prevent the settlement, but even to repeal the original exemption
clause. The Government took no formal action on the matter,
l
but it seemed the opinion of many of those in authority that such
immigrants were not entitled to the exemption, and had the war
continued much longer, measures would perhaps have been taken
to restrict the privileges of the new arrivals. As it was much
bitter feeling was developing throughout the Northwest, espe
cially against the Huterites, who claimed to be Mennonites.

Administration Building.

Ropp Hall.

BLUFFTON COLLEGE

THE CHURCH AND THE STATE 287
Whether the same objection to their arrival will continue now
that the war is over remains to be seen, but likely not. The
latter, too, are not sure that they made a wise choice in selling
their fine homes in South Dakota at such a sacrifice, and many
are wishing themselves back again.
Within the United States this war has tried the faith of
the Mennonites as no other American war ever did. The struggle
was on such an enormous scale, and has demanded such a com
plete mobilization of the Nation's resources that every single
individual has been called upon as in no other war to bear his
share of the burden. The universal service law, the popular
Liberty Bond campaigns, and Red Cross and Y. M. C. A. fund
drives have immediately singled out and marked as "slackers"
those who would not participate, no matter what their motives
may have been.
The National Congress, however, influenced by numerous
petitions from the non-resistant churches, by influential Quakers,
the example of the English conscription act, and our own former
precedents, included an exemption clause in the conscription
law passed May 18, 1917. This clause was found in the bill as
it came from the hands of the Committee on Military Affairs.
It was debated, several attempts were made to amend it; and
one vote was taken in the Senate to repeal it, but it stands now
practically as it came from the hands of the committee. The
clause exempts on religious grounds :
"Members of any well organized religious sect or organi
zation at present organized and existing whose creed or princi
ples forbid its members to participate in war in any form and
whose religious convictions are against war or participation
therein in accordance with the creed or principles of the said
organization. But no person shall be exempted from service in
any capacity that the President shall declare non-combatant."
Under this law a number of young Mennonites were drafted
and taken to various camps during the summer and fall of 1917.
In the meantime the church leaders were formulating the policy
for the church at large toward the war problem. The view
became quite general during the summer that in order to main-

288 THE MENNONITES
tain their non-resistant principles they could not even accept
non-combatant service if it was to be conducted under the mil
itary department of the Government. The Gospel Herald, the
most conservative of the church papers, and representing over
half of the constituency, not only opposed the acceptance of
non-combatant service, but even declared it inconsistent to par
ticipate in Red Cross, Y. M. C. A. and Liberty Loan campaigns,
and all other campaigns for direct war purposes. Several of
the other papers reflected the same opinion, but none of them
were so outspoken. The Mennonite, organ of the General Con
ference, while thoroughly in sympathy with the non-resistant
attitude, advocated the purchase of bonds, and participation in
all the auxiliary war fund drives. A meeting held at Goshen,
Indiana, July 9-10, 1918, of representatives from practically all
of the branches of the denomination, declared against entering
non-combatant service under the military arm of the Govern
ment, and sent a petition to the President stating their decision.
During all this time, too, a number of special committees from
the various branches of the church were in communication with
the War Department working in behalf of some sort of service
not under the military organization.
The War Department . in the meantime found the problem
of the conscientious objector a difficult one. Many of the young
men from all branches of the church refused to put on the
uniform and to perform work of any sort. These were frequently
roughly handled by petty officers who had little sympathy for
their scruples nor the law under which they were permitted to
enter non-combatant service. In all the camps they were sub
jected to ridicule and were considered fair game for any army
officer or Y. M. C. A. secretary who cared to take a hand in
converting them. Even some of the higher officers in some of
the camps were entirely out of sympathy with the liberal policy
of the War Department, and consequently permitted unnecessary
abuse of the conscientious objectors, as those were called who
refused to work in the camps even at non-combatant work, and
usually refused to don the uniform. In Camp Funston the worst
abuses prevailed, and two officers, a major and a captain, were

THE CHURCH AND THE STATE ¦ 289
removed for negligence in permitting, rough treatment of the
conscientious objectors. Some of these men were brutally
handled in the guard house; they were bayonetted, beaten and
tortured by various forms of the water cure ; eighteen men one
night were aroused from their sleep and held under cold showers
until one became hysterical. At another time a man had the
hose played upon his head until he became unconscious. The
War Department finally was forced to interfere a short time
before the armistice was signed with the result noted above.
Fortunately for the Mennonites both President Wilson and
Secretary Baker displayed the greatest consideration for the
scruples of the sincere objectors. These abuses were not per
petrated with the consent of the War Department, and those
guilty of them were usually punished as soon as discovered.
Secretary Baker stretched the Conscription act to the limit to
meet the situation. The Government was rather slow in working
out a satisfactory policy, but by the spring of 1918 a fairly
satisfactory system of taking care of the conscientious objector
was evolved. The abuses above described continued in some
of the camps, however, throughout the period of the war, due to
the inability of the War Department, to keep in close touch with
all the details of the work of the vast military machine in charge
of organizing the army.
On March 16, 1918, upon the suggestion of the War Sec
retary Congress passed a law permitting the department to fur
lough out certain men in camp for agricultural purposes when
ever it was deemed advisable. On March 20, the President for
the first time defined non-combatant service. On April 22, the
War Department completed its program for the conscientious
objectors who refused all work. First of all a special Board
of Inquiry, consisting of Julian W. Mack, of the Federal Bench ;
Dean H. F. Stone of the Columbia Law School, and Major
Richard C. Stoddard of the United States Army, was appointed
to visit the various camps in which conscientious objectors had
been segregated and weed out those who were sincere from the
spurious ones. Those who were found to be sincere were to be
sent to a detention camp at Fort Leavenworth, from whence
10

290 THE MENNONITES
they were to be furloughed out for farm work. Court-martial
was provided for three classes — the insincere, those who were
defiant, and such as were engaged in active propaganda among
others. The first class was to be sent into the ranks, while the
other two were to be given prison sentence. This program was
carrjed out only in part. The sincere objectors were not sent
to the Fort Leavenworth detention camp, but were furloughed
out for farm work directly from the camps to which they had
been sent originally. Such as went to Fort Leavenworth did so
under prison sentence.
The young men in the meantime in whose behalf the church
was formulating its advice and the Government its war policy
were compelled to work out their own line of action. Not all
followed the recommendations of the Goshen meeting already
referred to. As to the exact number who accepted some form of
non-combatant service is not quite certain, since statistics have
not yet been gathered. Neither has anyone ascertained as yet
how many Mennonites were in all the camps. But since many
had deferred classification both because of occupational and de
pendency reasons, the number was less than the general average
of other classes. Perhaps between fifteen hundred and two
thousand all told were in camp and overseas during the war.
Of these it would seem from such partial information as is
now available that a large majority, take the denomination as a
whole, refused service of any sort; a strong minority accepted
non-combatant service with the uniform; while a very few en
tered the regular service. The church as a whole and especially
the leadership stood quite unitedly in favor of maintaining the
non-resistant doctrine. Among the young men, however, in
different sections and in isolated congregations there was some
difference of practise. The following random observations have
come to the casual notice of the writer. The Huterites were the
only group whose young men stood as a unit against service
of any sort. The Krimmer Brethren with a membership of
nearly one thousand, had fifty young men in camp. Twenty-
eight of these were conscientious objectors; twenty took non-
combatant service; and two entered the regular service, one of

THE CHURCH AND THE STATE 291
whom was killed on the battlefield. The Central Illinois Confer
ence with a membership of twenty-six hundred reported in
August in 1918, seventy-two men in the service. Of these
twenty-six had enlisted ; thirty-eight were in the regular service ;
twenty-seven were non-combatants, and only five were classed
as conscientious objectors who refused all work. Of the Old
Mennonites and Amish a large majority were conscientious ob
jectors, though some of these accepted camp work. Among the
Russians, both the General Conference and Bruedergemeinde,
perhaps three-fourths of those in Kansas and Oklahoma, were
of the conscientious objector class, while the remainder took
non-combatant service. Barely a dozen among the Russians
throughout the entire West took regular service. On the Pacific
coast and in Minnesota there were a larger number of non-
combatants and fewer conscientious objectors. The Eastern
District Conference Mennonites generally accepted non-combat
ant service. The Mennonite Brethren in Christ were mostly of
the conscientious objector class. The large Swiss community
at Bluffton, Ohio, had a few men in the regular service, but all
the rest were non-combatants. None were conscientious object
ors. The Swiss congregation at Berne, on the other hand, had
a number of conscientious objectors, several of whom were sent
to Fort Leavenworth. One congregation in Iowa perhaps sto&d
alone in having practically all of its young men in the regular
service. Mennonites were by no means the only people who refused
to enter the army. Quakers, Dunkards and other peace denom
inations, totalling perhaps an entire population of one million,
all came under the exemption clause of the Conscription act.
Both the Quakers and the Dunkards, however, accepted the non-
combatant service prescribed by the law far more generally
than did the Mennonites. This circumstance, together with the
fact that many of the latter were of more recent German origin,
explains why the Mennonites were given more unfavorable pub
licity during the war than the other non-resistant denominations.
The original clause exempting only members of well recog
nized religious denominations was soon stretched by the War

292 THE MENNONITES
Department to cover conscientious objectors of any religious
organization or none. Scruples had to be on religious grounds,
however. Objection to war on political grounds was not recog
nized as a valid reason for any degree of exemption. The fol
lowing extract from an article written by the Vice Chairman of
the National Civil Liberties Bureau in the Survey of December
7, 1918, summarizes the status of the various conscientious ob
jectors and shows that they were a varied company:
"Of the twelve or fifteen hundred conscientious objectors
examined by the Board of Inquiry, approximately eighty per
cent, are Christians, members of various sects, opposed to war,
of which the Quakers are the best known. The other twenty
per cent, are international socialists, Tolstoians, Jews, and other
objectors hard to classify. Jewish objectors on simple religious
grounds are few ; Roman Catholics still fewer. Only one I. W. W.
appeared before the Board, and only three Negroes. Most of
the objectors rest their cases on a simple, rather naive religious
prohibition of war; some of them base their position on a lofty
and carefully thought out idealism — Christian, socialistic and
humanitarian." Major Kellogg, a later member of the Board of Inquiry, in
a recent book entitled "The Conscientious Objector," states that
twenty-one hundred objectors were examined by the Board,
half of whom he estimates were Mennonites. Of these fifteen
hundred were recommended for farm or industrial furloughs;
eighty for work in the Friends' Reconstruction Unit ; three hun
dred and ninety for non-combatant service; and one hundred
and twenty were sent back into the regular service as insincere.
The above number does not include thirteen hundred who took
non-combatant service, nor four hundred who were sent to Fort
Leavenworth. An interesting study made of one thousand conscientious
objectors in twelve army camps by a special psychological board
classifies those studied as follows :
Mennonites  554
Friends  80
International Bible Students  60

THE CHURCH AND THE STATE 293
Dunkards  37
Israelites of the House of David  32
Church of Christ  31
Church of God (colored)  20
Seventh Day Adventist  '. 20
Pentecostal Assembly  13
All other denominations  206
The conclusions of this special board were that the consci
entious objectors ranked above the average in intelligence, al
though Major Kellogg declared that of the Mennonites who
came under his observation less than ten per cent, had gone
beyond the eighth grade in their educational progress. He
credits them, however, with absolute sincerity and with a thor
ough knowledge of their Bibles.
Of the four hundred conscientious objectors confined in
the disciplinary barracks at Fort Leavenworth at the close of
the war, only about one-third were Mennonites. So far as the
Mennonites and other religious objectors were concerned these
were practically all here because of the wilful misrepresentations
of local courts martial. The law provided only that the insin
cere and defiant be given prison sentence. The "wilful disobe
dience of orders of officers" which constituted the charge against
practically all of these, of course, in reality meant the refusal
of sincere objectors to obey orders which ran counter to their
i religious convictions.
Some of these prisoners at Fort Leavenworth, including a
few Mennonites, suffered tortures that would have done credit
to the medieval Inquisition at the hands of prison guards and
officials for refusing to perform certain service which they re
garded as inconsistent with their religious convictions. They
were regarded by the prison authorities as ordinary criminals,
and not as political prisoners. Some refused to work on the
ground that the prison was a part of the military system ; others,
for various reasons, refused to put on the uniform; still others
refused to work because of sympathy for those who were dis
ciplined for unjust causes. Some of these men may have carried
their logic to unnecessary lengths, but no matter what the provo-

294 THE MENNONITES
cation, there was no justification for the harsh measures adopted
in breaking the spirit of these men whose only crime was a
tender conscience. Among the methods resorted to were "con
tinuous solitary confinement in cells in a hole under the base
ment of the prison, sleeping on a cement floor between foul
blankets full of vermin, fed every alternate two weeks on bread
and water, forbidden to read and write or talk, manacled in a
standing posture for nine hours a day to the bars of the cell.
In addition they were frequently beaten and tortured by the
guards." Among those given this treatment were several Mennonites.
Two Huterite young men died as a result of exposure and torture
received at the hands of prison guards. Two young Amishmen
sent here from Camp Sherman refused to don the prison uniform
because their creed forbade them to wear clothes with buttons.
Both were forcibly disrobed by guards and held under cold
showers until they were thoroughly chilled. One of them was
dragged across the cell room by the hair, knocked down upon
the cement floor and then pulled up by the ears and otherwise
roughly handled. As a result of this treatment both of them
submitted to prison labor contrary to their religious convictions.
The National Civil Liberties Bureau, together with such'
journals as the Survey, Nation and the New Republic, gave
these abuses of the conscientious objectors in the Leavenworth
prison wide publicity with the result that a short time ago the
War Department ordered the abolition of manacling and other
severe methods of punishment. Still more recently, January 25,
1919, one hundred and thirteen of the conscientious objectors,
mostly Mennonites, were honorably discharged from the army
and released from prison. As stated about one hundred of these
prisoners in Fort Leavenworth were Mennonites, -principally
from the western States, and largely from the Russian churches.
It is only fair to say, perhaps, that the large majority of
the Mennonites at Fort Leavenworth had little cause to complain
of their treatment as prisoners. It was only those who because
of their tender consciences refused to perform the prison work

Convention of Young American Mennonites in Reconstruction Work
at Clermont-en-Argonne, Meuse, France, June 20, 1919.

Clermont Hill Where Convention Met. Ruins in Foreground.

THE CHURCH AND THE STATE 295
assigned them and to put on the prison garb who were given
the drastic treatment described above.
These hundred, of course, constituted only a small portion
of the Mennonite conscientious objectors. The vast majority
of them were furloughed out for farm work directly from their
local camps. A number were permitted to enter the reconstruc
tion work carried on by the Friends' Reconstruction Unit. The
furlough system worked fairly well, but in some localities the
non-Mennonite population objected to the presence of farm hands
from the camps and they had to be sent back.
As to participation in the various campaigns for war and
relief work there was a diversity of opinions and practise during
the war. The leadership at first was quite generally agreed
except among the more liberal congregations against any partici
pation. But the pressure from local committees in most locali
ties became so great that in almost every community there was
a large number that supported the various campaigns for funds.
The Old Mennonites, Amish, Defenceless, Reformed Mennonites
and the Mennonite Brethren opposed all participation, but most
of them under compulsion made some contribution to the various
funds and bought bonds. Several attempts were made to escapee
the purchase of bonds directly by depositing money in local
banks for a stipulated number of years, but which it was under
stood was not to be used for buying bonds, although it might
release other money to be thus invested. In several localities
scruples against supporting the war with money was satisfied
by promising that money contributed would be used for the
purchase of food, and not for ammunition and other means
of warfare. The Russians in the West as a rule contributed quite freely
to Y. M. C. A. and Red Cross funds, but hesitated to buy bonds,
although under compulsion many did so. The Middle District
and, the Eastern District of the General Conference, and the
Central Illinois Conference bought quite freely, and contributed
quite liberally to all funds.
Besides these funds the Old Mennonites and the Amish,
assisted by the Central Illinois Conference and the Defenceless

296 THE MENNONITES
Mennonites, contributed heavily toward reconstruction work in
France. Up to date over $300,000 has been collected and the
work is still going on. Since the war has been closed the Gov-l
ernment has given them a new field of relief work in Armenia. \
The first relief ship with a number of volunteer workers left in
early February, 1919, for that new field of labor. The Russian
churches are also just beginning to collect funds for relief work
among their own brethren in South Russia and Galicia.
In spite of these efforts, however, and in striking contrast
to ¦ the considerate treatment accorded them by the Federal
Government, Mennonites in most communities were harshly
criticized and frequently abused by the non-Mennonite popula
tion. Throughout central Illinois a number of church buildings
were painted yellow by irresponsible hoodlum elements, as was
the case also in many other sections of the country. In Kansas
several men were tarred and feathered. The most serious attacks
were made upon the German speaking Russians in Oklahoma.
. One minister was seized by a mob and strung up a telegraph
pole, but rescued by local officials. Two other men were at
tacked and driven out of their community for preaching the
Mennonite doctrine of non-resistance. Two Mennonite church
houses were burned down, as was also a barn which was being
used as a temporary meeting place. In Ohio one prominent
minister was called from a prayer meeting and had his hair
shorn because his liberal donation to the Red Cross was not
considered large enough by the mob which attacked him. Every
where men were intimidated and abused by local committees for
hesitating to purchase bonds or contribute to the various war
funds, although Mennonites as a whole gave a great deal more
to relief work than those who abused them. In South Dakota
the Huterites, after making liberal contributions, but refusing
the excessive 'demand made by the local county committee, had
hundreds of their sheep and cattle driven away and sold, the
proceeds from which were to be invested in war funds. The
perpetrators, fearing prosecution for their actions, would have
been glad later to return the money, but the Huterites demanded
their stock.

THE CHURCH AND THE STATE 297
Comparatively few communities escaped some form of in
timidation or abuse from local mobs, or even Councils of Defence
and self-styled' Vigilance Committees. The newspapers, too,
both local and metropolitan, throughout the entire country, were
most bitter against the non-resistant churches, and especially
the Mennonites, and many were unscrupulous in their attempts
to stir up feeling against them. Few of the papers and few of
the local communities were in sympathy with the liberal policy
the Government followed toward the conscientious objectors;
Only a few of the journals like the Survey, the New Republic and
the Nation had the courage to defend those who refused to enter
the war because of their religious convictions.
The Government authorities were quite lenient, too, toward
Mennonite publications and church leaders, who, under : the guar
antee of religious liberty, were permitted considerable freedom
in advising their constituencies against participating in war ac
tivities. One editor of a Mennonite paper, however, was fined
$500 for printing an objectionable article. Most of the editors
were wise enough in their papers to merely state the position of
the church on all war questions, which under the guarantee of
religious liberty they had a perfect right to do, but not to urge
any opposition to the policies of the Government which under the
Espionage act they could have been prosecuted for. A number
of the Old Mennonite ministers who signed the Yellow Creek
Conference resolutions advising the Mennonite young men against
accepting non-combatant service were interviewed by Federal
officials, and warned not to interfere too seriously with war
measures. Judging from remarks made by some of these officials
to outside parties, it would appear that had the war continued
much longer several of the church leaders who were most out
spoken against participating in the various war work campaigns
would have been placed under certain restrictions for the period
of the war.
What effect this war will have upon the non-resistants in
the future it is difficult, of course, to tell. American Mennonites
through a .weeding out process have received from Europe those
who strongly oppose war, and for that reason non-resistance

298 THE MENNONITES
has always been a cardinal doctrine in the American church.
The bitter opposition during the recent war of the general public
to all forms of exemption would indicate that if miltarism should
become the settled policy of the Nation, and especially if uni
versal military service should unfortunately become compulsory,
it would become increasingly difficult to maintain the non-resist
ant position. Let us hope, however, that the newly created
League of Nations may make militarism unnecessary, and that
the world may never again have to pass through such a trying
time as these past four years have been.

Old Wadsworth School.

SCHOOLS AND MISSIONS 299

CHAPTER XIX

SCHOOLS AND MISSIONS

The first Mennonite settlers in America in all the immigra
tions were for the most part a rural people, and without much
opportunity for extended schooling. They were usually of the
pioneer class, with little opportunity nor inclination to educate
their young people beyond the bare rudiments of learning. In
Pennsylvania there was no public school system during the
eighteenth century, and each community was at liberty to work
out its own school policy or none at all. In Germantown an
academy was established quite early with Pastorious as teacher,
and in most of the Mennonite communities private subscription
schools were held, usually in the church houses. The curriculum
in these schools of course was meager, consisting of the three
conventional R's, to which was added a fourth — Religion. Chris
topher Dock, "the pious schoolmaster of the Skippack," though
the best known, was only one of a large number of teachers
who kept school in the Mennonite meeting houses before the
coming of the public schools in Pennsylvania.
Among the more recent Russian immigrants, also in Kansas
and other western States, elementary education became an im
portant problem from the beginning. In the very first years
after their arrival in the early seventies, while they were erecting
their crude dwelling houses, they provided for a few months of
school each year for their children which they extended to longer
terms as soon as their pioneer tasks permitted. These were
parochial schools established usually by the various congrega
tions, in which Bible and German played a conspicuous part in
the curriculum. English was also encouraged, however, in order
that they might the more readily accommodate themselves to
their American environment. Later, when the public schools were

300 THE MENNONITES
established in the various communities, short terms of from one
to four months of German schpols were held each year in addi
tion to the regular public school terms required by the state law.
These schools are still maintained in many Of the congregations
and their purpose of course is to maintain the German language
and to give the children instruction in the Bible and in church
history. During the recent war, however, most of these ele
mentary German schools were discontinued due to the preju
dice among the non-Germans against the German language, but
in some cases English schools were substituted.
In the field of higher education Mennonites showed little
interest until well toward the close of the nineteenth century.
Not that Mennonite youths never wandered along forbidden
paths, for frequently some boy more ambitious than his com
rades would find his way to a college or university, from which
he would graduate with honors. But he seldom returned to
the church from which he came, a fact which not only increased
the prejudice universally found among the Mennonites before
the middle of the last century against higher learning, but also
deprived these churches of the very leadership needed to increase
their interest in the higher things of life.
It finally began to dawn upon a few of the more enlightened
leaders of the denomination that it was only through schools of
their own that leaders for more aggressive work could be devel
oped. The first to realize this fact was a small group from the
General Conference branch of the church, among others — John
H. Oberholtzer, Daniel Hoch, Daniel Krehbiel, and Ephraim
Hunsberger. The founding of a school for the training of min
isters was discussed in all of the early sessions of the Conference.
In 1863 at the Summerfield, Illinois, session, it was decided to
establish a school under the cumbersome title of "The Christian
Educational Institution of the Mennonite Denomination." The
institution was finally located at Wadsworth, Ohio, and first
¦opened its doors to students on January 2, 1868. It was under
the direct control of a committee appointed by the General Con
ference. Its relation to the Conference is discussed elsewhere in

SCHOOLS AND MISSIONS 301
this book and only the educational policy of the school will be
mentioned here.
The purpose of the institution was largely to train young
men for Christian work. Religion and church doctrine were
given a prominent place in the curriculum, though secular sub
jects were also taught. One member of the faculty was the "The
ological Professor." The course of study covered three years.
Prospective students were admitted by examination, and no qual
ifications were prescribed other than a good character and an age
limit between eighteen and thirty. The instruction was to be
principally in the German language, even the Pennsylvanians at
this time using that language exclusively in their worship. The
school was for boys only. Early in its history, the Pennsylvania
•churches suggested that it be made co-educational, but the Ger
mans from the West and especially the "Theological Professor,"
van der Smissen, and his wife opposed the suggestion so strongly
that women were never admitted. The practical natures of the
promoters is shown in the provision that each student was to
spend three hours each day in some sort of manual labor "for
the sake of their mental and physical health and for the benefit
of the institution." That this program was carried out is evi
denced by glancing through a random list of assignments made
by the steward for one day. On this particular day one person
was to do stable work ; two were to peel potatoes ; two were to
carry wood to the kitchen, and another was to take a wagon to
the blacksmith ; still another was to fasten the wash line ; three
were to work at carpentering and two at shoemaking; two per
sons were to saw wood and one to bdrrow the saw in town ; one
was to go after the mail, another to take meat to Hunsberger's
to be smoked, while all the rest were to cut wood.
Thus it was hoped that expenses could be kept down. But
the cost of getting an education at Wadsworth was not high. For
the sum of one hundred dollars per year the student was entitled
to "instruction, board, lodging, washing, fuel and light."
As already seen, the school was forced to close its doors in
1878. The experiment in higher education, however, was not a
failure. Many of the later leaders' of the church received their

302 THE MENNONITES
initial training in this pioneer Mennonite institution.
The demand for a church school especially among the Rus
sian and South German churches in the West did not die with
Wadsworth, however. Soon after the closing of the Ohio insti
tution the Kansas Conference established a small "Vorbereitungs-
schule" in the Alexanderwohl congregation near Newton, Kansas,
with H. H. Ewert as principal in 1882. The next year a building
was erected at Halstead, and the institution was maintained under
the same management as a "Fortbildungschule." Mr. Ewert re
mained in charge of the institution until 1890 when he was called
to head the pioneer educational work among the Mennonites of
Manitoba. In 1893, in the meantime the Halstead institution
gave way to Bethel College at Newton which was controlled by a
voluntary association, but with Conference sanction and support.
David Goerz, one of the pioneer immigrants, became the business
manager of the College, and from this time until his death in
1914, devoted his best efforts to the educational interests of his
people. C. H. Wedel as president of the Faculty was made, the
educational head which position he held until his death in 1910.
Bethel College has made its influence felt strongly throughout
the western churches from the beginning, furnishing many of
the church leaders and missionaries. Recently an attempt was
made to bring the school directly under the control of the West
ern District Conference, but so far that has not been accom
plished. The last catalogue shows an attendance of two hundred
and seventy-one, not including special music students; and a
Faculty of twenty-five during the past year.
The Old Mennonites and the Amish-Mennonites did not
awaken to the need of a church school until within the last
twenty-five years, and even then there was very little sentiment
in favor of such an institution in the two branches of the church
mentioned. Goshen College owes its existence to the foresight
of a small group of progressive men who realized that young and
efficient leadership could be secured and maintained only through
an educational institution controlled by the church. In 1895,
this group of men formed an association and secured funds for a
building at Elkhart, Indiana, for a preparatory and Bible school.

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Bethel College.
SCHOOLS AND MISSIONS 303
This institution, called Elkhart Institute, was the outgrowth of
a private normal and business school founded several years
earlier by Dr. H. A. Miimaw of Elkhart. In 1902, the school was
moved to Goshen and enlarged into a college under the name of
Goshen College. This college has already trained most of the
foreign missionaries and many of the younger leaders of the
church. Among a long list of pioneers in the history of this
pioneer institution among the Old Mennonites and Amish-Men-
nonites must be mentioned JohnS.Coffman, pioneer evangelist,
who took a leading part in the founding of the Elkhart school,
and was the president of the Board of Trustees until his death
in 1899; Jonas S. Hartzler, who as secretary and treasurer for
over twenty years bore the chief financial burden of both schools
which often were exceedingly arduous ; and Noah E. Byers who
first as principal of the Elkhart school and later as president of
Goshen College moulded the early educational policy of the in
stitution during the formative years.
The Bruedergemeinde co-operated for a few years after
1898 with the Dunkard college at McPherson, Kansas, in their
educational work, but in 1908 they founded their own school,
Tabor College, at Hillsboro, Kansas. A fire in 1918 destroyed
the entire plant, but a vigorous campaign for funds secured
$100,000 for new equipment. Among the leaders in the founding
and present management of Tabor College are H. W. Lohrenz,
president, and D. E. Harder, secretary, a member of the Krim
mer Brueder who are affiliated with the Bruedergemeinde in their
educational work.
The Mennonite Brethren in Christ also attempted to found
a Bible Training school at Elkhart in 1902. A small group of
Indiana members secured the Elkhart Institute building in which
a school was held for several years, but owing to opposition and
lack of support the work had to be abandoned.
The latest and most ambitious venture in the Mennonite
field of education was the co-operative movement culminating in
the founding of Bluffton College and Mennonite Seminary. This
institution owes its origin to several sources. In a number of
issues of the Mennonite of 1912 we find several articles written

304 . THE MENNONITES
by Rev. Silas, M. Grubb, of Philadelphia, advocating a Mennon
ite Seminary located preferably at Germantown, Pennsylvania.
Dr. S. K. Mosiman, president of Central Mennonite College, in
replying to these articles suggests that a number of branches co
operate in establishing such an institution. President N. E.
Byers, of Goshen College in 1913 in a letter to President Mosi
man suggested that various branches co-operate not only in or-.
ganizing a seminary, but in establishing a standard college as
well, preferably in connection with one of the three colleges al
ready in existence. Shortly after this and as a result of the last
suggestion three college presidents, N. E. Byers, S. K. Mosiman
and J. W. Kliewer, of Bethel College, together with A. S. Shelly
from Pennsylvania met in Chicago for a preliminary discussion
concerning the question. This conference resulted in the calling of
a meeting of unofficial representatives from five branches of the
church at Warsaw, Indiana, to discuss further plans At this
meeting representatives were present from the General Confer
ence Mennonites, Old Mennonites, Mennonite Brethren iri Christ,
Illinois Conference, and Defenceless Mennonites. Here it was
decided to establish a cp-operative institution in connection with
Central Mennonite College which had been founded at Bluffton,
Ohio, in 1902, by the Middle District Conference, offering work
in three departments — College, of Liberal Arts, Theological Sem
inary, and Conservatory of Music. The following year the Trus
tees of Central Mennonite College turned the college over to the
new organization — Bluffton College and Mennonite Seminary,
with S. K. Mosiman as president and N. E. Byers as dean of the
College of Liberal Arts.. Another year later J. H. Langenwalter
became the dean of the seminary. John Ropp of Bloomington,
Illinois through liberal financial support at the right time became
an important factor in making the institution possible. The
school has had a steady growth since its founding in 1914. The
catalogue of 1918 shows that during that year including the sum
mer term, three hundred and forty different students were en
rolled in all departments of whom one hundred and fifty-three
were in the College of Liberal Arts, sixteen in the Seminary, and
the '-remainder were enrolled as special and music students.

SCHOOLS AND MISSIONS

305

In addition to the colleges just mentioned a number of pre
paratory and Bible schools have also been established by various
branches of the church, mostly in the West among the Rus
sians. The Gretna Normal school founded in Manitoba in 1891
has already been mentioned, as has also the school at Rosthern
Saskatchewan. Among the Russians a number of schools have
been founded which at first were intended in a way as advanced
schools in which German and religion were especially stressed,
but which have since become rather preparatory schools.
Most of these are under the control of local churches and
school associations. The General Conference Committee on Ed
ucation in 1917 reported on nine of these schools as follows :
Alexanderwohl und Tabor Gemeindeschule, Goess'el, Kan.
Bethesda Fortbildungschule, Henderson,' Nebraska.
Vorbereitungsschule, Mt. Lake, Minnesota.
Fortbildungsschule, Beatrice, Nebraska.
German-English Preparatory school, Gotebo, Oklahoma.
Hoffhungsau Vereinschule, Inman, Kansas.
Mennonitische Lehranstalt, Gretna, Manitoba.
Vorbereitungsschule, Hillsboro, Kansas.
Vorbereitungsschule, Meno, Oklahoma.
Four hundred and fifty-one pupils attended these nine schools
during that year.

Not included in the above list is the Fortbildungschule at
Moundridge, Kansas ; the Training school at Rosthern Saskatch
ewan; Freeman College, Freeman, South Dakota; and the

306 THE MENNONITES
Zoar Vorbereitung und Bibel Schule under the control of the
Krimmer Brueder at Inman, Kansas.
Among the Old Mennonites Hesston Academy and Bible
School at Hesston, Kansas, was established in 1909, and the
Eastern Mennonite Bible School at Harrisonburg, Virginia, in
1917. All of these schools have done great service in educating
the leadership of the church and in furnishing opportunities for
an education to many young men and women who otherwise
might never have had a chance to get an education. A casual
survey of current university catalogues shows that at least ten
of the state universities of the Middle West, besides a number of
the smaller colleges throughout the land have Mennonites on
their Faculties. Missions and Evangelization
The-awakening of the entire church to the need of educating
its young people was only one of the evidences of a renewed
spiritual life. At the same time, too, there developed an interest
in other lines of aggressive work such as Sunday schools, evan
gelization and missions.
Here, too, the General Conference took the lead. It was for
the cause of evangelization and home missions that Hoch, Ober
holtzer and Daniel Krehbiel urged a closer union among their
congregations in the late fifties of the last century. The found
ing of a missionary society was one of the first official acts of the
Conference, but it was some time before any attempt was made
to engage in actual foreign mission work. S. S. Haury, a grad
uate of the Wadsworth school, became the first volunteer, but
the Conference remained undecided for a number of years both
as to the location of a mission station and as to the best means
of establishing the work. After some communication with the
Amsterdam missionary society, with a view to supporting their
work in the East Indies, it was decided to form an independent
organization, and to begin work among our own native North
American Indians. S. S. Haury and J. B. Baer made an extended
trip through Alaska looking for a desirable field for Indian mis-

Standing Elk, or Chief Vonokass (Light) and Daughter.
Members of Mennonite Church at Lame Deer, Montana.

SCHOOLS AND MISSIONS 307
sion work, but returned undecided. Finally in 1880 Haury estab
lished the first mission station among the Arrapahoe Indians at
what is now Darlington, Oklahoma. Later on other stations were
opened up among other tribes in the old Indian Territory, and
also among the Hopis in Arizona, and the Cheyennes in Mon
tana. All of this work is still being carried on.
The first mission station abroad was founded in India in
1900, by missionaries Rev. P. A. Penner and J. F. Kroeker and
their wives. Since then another station has been established in
China. The Foreign Mission Committee of the General Confer
ence reported at the last Conference session that at that time forty
white and seventy-five native workers were engaged in carrying
on the work in these various stations in America and abroad.
Among the Old Mennonites and Amish-Mennonites the Men
nonite Publishing Company at Elkhart, Indiana, and the pro
gressive congregation at that place served as the center of the
progressive movement. Among the most influential men here
were John F. Funk, founder and president of the company, and
J.' S. Coffman, pioneer evangelist. During the late eighties and
early nineties of the last century Coffman aroused the entire
church through the Middle West and Canada through extended
evangelistic tours, the first of their kind in the church. Among
the aggressive movements following these campaigns was a
series of Sunday school conventions, at first including all the
congregations throughout the Middle West, but later held in
each State. Here the younger men and women were first given
an opportunity to discuss church problems. One of these prob
lems was that of missions. Among the earliest advocates of the
cause was M. S. Steiner of Bluffton, Ohio. In 1893 at a Sunday
school conference at Bluffton, Steiner was appointed as superin
tendent of a proposed mission in Chicago. Since then city mis
sions have been established in a number of the larger cities.
Steiner, who remained a leading advocate of the mission cause
until his death in 1909, was also largely influential, together
with others, in securing the appointment of the first missionaries
to India in 1898— Dr. and Mrs. W. B. Page and J. A. Ressler.
This mission has since grown to large proportions and is said to

308 THE MENNONITES
be one of the best equipped stations in that section of India. In
1917, two families, Rev. and Mrs.. T. K. Hershey, and Rev. and
Mrs. J. W. Shank, were sent to Argentine in South America for
the purpose of opening a station in that country.
The Bruedergemeinde early manifested a deep interest in
both foreign and home missions. They supported their first native
worker in a foreign field in 1883. In 1885 the first mission board
was established. Native workers were supported in India, Africa
and the North America Indians. The first foreign station was
established in India in 1898. At present they have nine mission
aries on the foreign field and others in the home field. The con
tributions have grown from forty dollars in 1883, to over forty-
seven thousand in 1918, an average of $7.10 for every member.
The Krimmer Brueder, numbering barely a thousand, sup
port a mission among the Negroes in North Carolina. They also
have stations in Mexico and several missionaries in Africa and
China. The Mennonite Brethren in Christ support a large number
of both home and foreign missionaries, about fifty serving abroad
just before the war, in Africa, Armenia, China, India, Thibet, and
South America. The first foreign missionary from this branch
of the church was Eusebius Hershey, who in 1887 went to Africa
on his own initiative without either church support or authority.
Later, however, the church actively supported the cause, being
especially active since 1900.
The Central Illinois Conference of Mennonites and the De
fenceless Mennonites have formed a united society in behalf of
a station in Africa.
Considering the fact that the mission interest is only of
recent growth among the Mennonites what has thus far been ac
complished promises well for the future. The support now given
the work compares favorably with that of some of the churches
which have been engaged in missionary efforts for a-much longer
period. According to the statistics for the past year the average
per capita contributions for the year for both foreign and home
missions was as follows:

Old Mennonite Mission at Sundarganj, Dhamtari, India.

SCHOOLS AND MISSIONS 309
Defenceless Mennonites  $8.30
Mennonite Brethren in Christ  7.50
Bruedergemeinde  7.10
Krimmer Brueder  6.00
General Conference  6.00
Old and Amish-Mennonites  5.00
Central Illinois Conference  4.95
All of these branches of the church have always responded
liberally to every call of the needy and hungry for help. Espe
cially liberal was Mennonite support toward the relief work in
India in the late nineties and more recently in Armenia and other
needy countries.
A number of them support their own Old People's Homes,
Children's Homes, Deaconess Hospital, Tuberculosis Sani
tarium and other charitable and philanthropic institutions.

310 THE MENNONITES

CHAPTER XX
LITERATURE AND HYMNOLOGY
The Mennonites likewise were not a literary folk. Being
for the most part a rural people and of a religious turn of mind
they had few ambitions beyond the desire to make an honest
living for themselves and their families, and a passion to serve
their God according to their convictions. The first comers to
America brought few books with them, perhaps a well worn
Bible, a copy of their Confession of Faith and a prayer book.
Occasionally one might find a family owning an old Dutch copy
of the Martyr Book, a family heirloom likely, and soon unread
able by the younger generation. An occasional copy of the
works of Menno Simons, too, in the same language could be
found. The first meager supply of necessary books evidently
was soon exhausted, for in 1708 the Germantown church wrote
to Germany for a supply of Bibles, prayer books and catechisms.
The first book printed expressly for the American Mennon
ites, strange to say, was an English edition of their Confession
of Faith, issued at Amsterdam in 1712, and reprinted at Phila
delphia in 1727. With one or two exceptions this was the only
English edition of a standard Mennonite book for over a century
and a half. The demand among the Mennonites at this particular
time, according to the preface of the first edition, was for the
purpose of setting themselves right with their fellow English
colonists, for "the greatest part of the people doth not know
what they (Mennonites) confess of the Word of God and by
reason of that ignorance can't speak and judge rightly of their
confession nor of the confessors themselves, nay through preju
dice as a strange and unheard of thing do abhor them so as not
to speak well but oftimes ill of them."

LITERATURE AND HYMNOLOGY 311
The most highly prized book among the early Mennonites,
next to the Bible, was the old Martyr Book. This book, as its
name suggests, is a compiled record of the sufferings and death
of a long list of marytrs principally of the non-resistant faith
through all the ages, and including the Waldenses, Wycliffites,
Hussites, Anabaptists and Mennonites, as well as various relig
ious sects of the medieval and ancient times from the days of
the Apostles themselves. It was highly regarded because it
told not pnly of the trials and sufferings of those of their own
and kindred faiths, but often of those of their own blood; for
many of the martyrs bore names still familiar among the Penn
sylvania Mennonites and their descendants. The book was a
voluminous work, as large as the old family Bible, and was first
issued in its present form in the Dutch language in 1660 by
Thielman J. van Bracht, a Dutch Mennonite theologian. The
full title rendered into English reads, "The Bloody Theatre or
Martyrs' Mirror of the Defenceless Christians who baptized on
Confession of Faith and who suffered and died for the Testimony
of Jesus their Savior from the time of Christ to the Year 1660."
There seemed little demand among the first generation of
pioneers for more than the occasional copies of the book which
the first settlers brought with them. But by the middle of the
century the dangers which threatened the doctrine of non-resist
ance among their young people because of the colonial wars
created a demand for their book of martyrs, written in a language
that could be read by all. After attempting in vain to have the
work published in Germany, the Pennsylvania churches con
tracted with the monks of the Ephrata cloister for an edition of
thirteen hundred copies. The undertaking was an arduous one
and it took three years to finish it. The Ephrata Brethren were
obliged to manufacture their own paper, make the translation
from the Dutch into the German, and do all the printing and bind
ing. The book was issued in 1748, a large volume of over four
teen hundred pages, the most ambitious publication undertaking
in Pennsylvania up to that time. The Martyrs Mirror has gone
through a number of editions since then, the last English edi
tion coming from the press at Elkhart, Indiana, in 1887, iand

312 THE MENNONITES
a German edition printed at Scottdale, Pennsylvania, as re
cently as 1916.
The various works of Menno Simons were also familiar,
but these were printed only in fragments. Among Menno's
treatises the most important is the "Foundation Book," which
contains the most complete statement of his views. This was
printed as a pamphlet at Lancaster in 1794 and was the first of
his works to appear in an American edition. Other treatises
were published through the nineteenth century, but the first
complete edition was issued in German at Elkhart in 1876 and
in English on the same press in 1871.
Deitrich Philip, a co-laborer of Menno's, also wrote several
books, the best known of which was "Enchiridion" or Hand
book, a treatise on the characteristic Anabaptist doctrines, first
published at Haarlem in 1578. The first American edition was
published at Lancaster in 1811. Two later German editions
appeared, and in 1910 it was translated into English by A. B.
Kolb and published at Elkhart. It is still occasionally read
among the Old Order Amish because the author stresses the
strict observance of the Avoidance practise. Philip was also
one of the few old authors to write at length on the ordinance
of feet-washing. Among other books found occasionally on the bookshelves
of the Mennonite pioneers were several books of sermons written
for the most part by Dutch and North German ministers of the
seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Among these com
pilations were those of Jacob Denner (1659-1746), for many
years a minister at Altona, and those written by Johan Deknatel,
originally printed in Dutch, but later in 1757 in German. The
latter were never issued in America, but Denner's collection was
printed in 1792 in Germany at the expense of two Pennsylvanians
for the Pennsylvania Mennonites. The book was a large volume
of over 1,500 pages and the edition consisted of five hundred
copies. In 1830 a book of sermons by Wilhelm Wyngantz,
also a minister at Altona, in 1654, was translated from the Dutch
by David Zug, an Amishman, of Belleville, Pennsylvania, and
published at Lancaster.

John F. Funk, Bishop of Old Mennonite Church. Founder of Herald
of Truth, 1864, and Mennonite Publishing Company, Elkhart, Ind.

LITERATURE AND HYMNOLOGY 313
Among other old books popular in Mennonite homes for
years, all in German, were "Golden Apples in Silver Shells,"
printed at Ephrata in 1745 at the request of the Mennonite
church ; "Spiritual Flower Garden of the Inner Soul," published
for the eighth time in America in 1800; and "The Wandering
Soul," written by a Mennonite minister at Alkmaar, J. P. Scha-
balie, in the seventeenth century, printed many times in the
Dutch, translated into the German and recently published for the
sixteenth time at Philadelphia.
The first book written by an American author was "A Mirror
of Baptism with Spirit, Water and Blood," published in 1744
on the Christopher Sauer press and in four later editions. The
author, Bishop Heinrich Funck, migrated to America in 1717
and became the founder of a long line of Funks, many of them
prominent publishers, including J. F. Funk, founder of the
Mennonite Publishing Company of Elkhart; Joseph Funk, pio
neer Virginia printer, and Isaac Funk, member of the Funk-
Wagnall firm. Bishop Funk also wrote a more extended work,
"Restitution," a treatise on a number of the principal points of
the Law, their fulfillment and significance. The book was pub
lished by his children after his death, was reprinted at Lancas
ter in 1862, and was put through an English edition at Elkhart
as late as 1915. This book has the distinction of being the only
American Mennonite work to be published abroad, being issued
at Biel, Switzerland, in 1844.1
Christian Funk, son of the above, and founder of the first
division in the American church, published at Germantown in
1785 a justification of his activities, which in 1805 appeared in
English as "A Mirror for all Mankind."
Another book of the eighteenth century worthy of mention
was Christopher Dock's "Schul Ordnung," published after his
death in 1770 by Christopher Sauer Jr. This small pamphlet
describes Dock's method of conducting a successful country
school — how he receives his children ; how he teaches them their
A, B, C's; how he maintains discipline; how he secures the love
of the children, etc. Being the earliest American treatise on
record on the subject of school teaching, the work has received

314 THE MENNONITES
more attention from writers on the history of education than it
otherwise would merit. Dock also wrote a number of poems and
"A Hundred Rules of Conduct for Children." Some of these rules
are interesting, including this one on table manners : "Rule 34.
The bones, or what remains over, do not throw under the table,
do not put them under the tablecloth, but let them lie on the
edge of the plate."
During the early and middle nineteenth century the books
of Mennonite authorship were for the most part controversial
in character and were written by the founders of various church
divisions in defence of their views and activities. Among these
men were John Herr, John H. Oberholtzer (1809-1895), Jacob
Stauffer, and John Holdeman (1832-1900).
The most valuable literary work done in the last hundred
years has been that in the field of church history. The earliest
work in this field was Benjamin Eby 's "Short History of the
Mennonites," which appeared first in 1841 in Berlin, Canada,
and whose chief merit is that it appeared first. Daniel Musser's
"History of the Reformed Mennonite Church" was published
at Lancaster in 1873. A "Brief History of the Mennonites," by
Professor C. H. Wedel of Bethel College, in four volumes (1901-
1904), is the best and most readable work on the subject that
has yet appeared, although too much space is devoted to the pre-
Mennonite period on the untenable theory that Mennonite history
must be traced back to Apostolic days C. H. A. van der Smissen,
pastor at Summerfield at the time, published in 1895 an excellent
short treatise on the history and the doctrines of the Mennonites,
which also included his father's translation of the Cornells Ris
Confession of Faith. H. P. Krehbiel's exhaustive "History of
the General Conference," published in 1898, will undoubtedly
remain the authoritative work on the early history of that move
ment. Hartzler and Kauffman's "Mennonite Church History"
was printed at Scottdale in 1905. The same press published also
in 1916 "Menno Simons, His" Life, Labors and Teachings," by
John Horsch, which next to the comprehensive book by Vos,
the Dutch Mennonite theologian, is the most important recent
study of this early leader of the church. In 1917 appeared Dean

LITERATURE AND HYMNOLOGY 315
J. H. Langenwalter's "Christ's Headship of the Church as Taught
by Those Anabaptists Who Later Were Called Mennonites."
All of these books with a few exceptions among the recent
works appeared in the German language.
In any discussion of the reading matter to which our Men
nonite forefathers had access and which they perused for pleas
ure or profit we must by no means neglect to mention Suers'
Almanac, issued at Germantown during the eighteenth century,
and Baer's Almanac from Lancaster, printed throughout the
nineteenth century and still found for sale in the bookstores of
every Pennsylvania German community. Important, too, as
sources of valuable historical information are the various
Year Books published by the presses of the Old Mennonites and
the General Conference Mennonites.
In the field of Mennonite hymnology the old Ausbund easily
holds the center of interest. The Ausbund, which is undoubtedly
the oldest hymnbook still in use anywhere in America, consists
of a collection of one hundred and forty hymns from various
sources, including a nucleus of fifty-one originally composed
for the most part by a group of Swiss Mennonite captives driven
out Of Austria and imprisoned in the castle of Passau on the
Bavarian frontier between 1535 and 1537. This collection was
first printed about 1571, since which time twelve editions ap
peared in South Germany and Switzerland, the last issue being
printed at Basel in 1838. This book became the adopted hymnal
of the Swiss and South German Mennonites for several hundred
years. When thelirst Palatines came to Pennsylvania they
brought this book with them, as did also the Swiss Mennonites
and the Alsatian Amish in Ohio and Illinois in the 'early nine
teenth century. The first American edition was printed at Ger
mantown in 1742. It has appeared in eleven American editions
since, the last appearing at Elkhart in 1913.
This old book was never revised, merely reprinted, thus
perpetuating its original quaint colloquial Swiss-German. Many
of the hymns are detailed narratives by the trials and the suffer
ings of the early martyrs; others consist of lengthy discourses
upon some points of doctrines. Few of them possess anything

316 THE MENNONITES
of a lyrical or subjective quality. Most of them are long, several
of them consisting of some scores of stanzas. They were printed.
without music. The melodies to which they were sung were
transmitted from one generation to another and in the process
tunes were developed that defied both rhythm and time. To sing
one song often required the better part of an hour. The opening
verse of the Haslibacher hymn, often sung among the Old Order
Amish, among whom the book is still in use, is typical of many
of the songs: "Was wend wir aber heben an
Zu singen von ein'm alten Mann
Der war von Haslibach
Haslibacher ward er genannt
Aus der Kilchoeri Sumiswald."
Another collection of hymns almost equally as venerable
as those of the Ausbund is the collection used in worship by the
Huterites, many of which are also martyr stories first told in the
sixteenth century. The collection was preserved in manu
scripts in the archives of the various Bruderhofs and were not
put in print until 1916, when the Dakota Huterites had them
published at Scottdale, Pennsylvania.
Before the close of the eighteenth century the Pennsylvania
Mennonites, but not the Amish, had discarded the Ausbund,
whose place was taken by different psalm and hymnbooks. In
order to secure a book for common use the Franconia Mennon
ites had published at Germantown a new hymnal, "Die Kleine
Geistliche Harfe," in 1803, which went through a number of edi
tions in the course of the century, being printed for the sixth
time at Lancaster in 1870. About the same time, too, another
book was published at Lancaster in 1804 called the "Unpar-
theisches Gesangbuch," which was printed for the sixth time
in 1841, at which time it was stereotyped and all later reprints
were of the sixth edition. The book is still in use in places. It
contained many of the hymns of the old Ausbund. In 1871 the
Mennonite Publishing Company at Elkhart, Indiana, published
the "Allgemeine Lieder Sammlung" for the Old Mennonites
and Amish which went through a second edition with an Eng-

LITERATURE AND HYMNOLOGY 317
lish appendix in 1877. "Eine Unpartheische Lieder Sammlung"
came from the Baer press at Lancaster in 1870. The various
immigrant groups during the past century brought with them
their own hymnals, but such as later joined the General Con
ference movement adopted the book "Gesangbuch zum Gottes-
dienstlichen und Hauslichen Gebrauch," which the Conference
published in 1873.
The first English hymnal was printed by the Virginia Men
nonites in 1847 under the title of "A Selection of Psalms, Hymns
and Spiritual Songs." The book was reprinted five times on
the handpress of Joseph Funk at Singer's Glen, and the copy
right was sold later to the Mennonite Publishing Company,
where the book was published in several later editions.
All these hymnals were without notes. For the purpose of
furnishing new melodies for the old hymns Joseph Funk in 1832
published ,a "notebook," the "Harmonia Sacra," which in course
of time passed through seventeen editions and in 1875 was suc
ceeded by the "Philharmonia," issued at Elkhart to serve the
same purpose. The General Conference in 1890 published a
book with words and notes called "Gesangbuch mit Noten,"
and the Elkhart house a little later published a similar work
for the Old Mennonites. Since then several new song books
have been issued.
The Mennonites had no early printing presses. Their first
books were printed by a number of well known printing firms
of the early days, notably the Christopher Sauer press, that of
the Ephrata Brethren, and later the establishment of Johan Baer.
The first Mennonite to venture into the printing and publishing
business was Henry Bertolet of Skippack, who in 1836 pub
lished a paper called "Religioeser Botschafter." The under
taking aroused so much opposition, however, among his breth
ren that he was obliged to suspend the publication after the
first issue. Joseph Funk in 1847 set up at a little hamlet in
Virginia called Singers Glen a small hand press on which for
many years he published a number of song books and other
productions. In 1852 John H. Oberholtzer erected a small press
at Milford Square, Pennsylvania, upon which was printed the

318 THE MENNONITES
"Religioeser Botschafter," named after Bertolet's paper, un
doubtedly, which was later taken over by a printing company,
and after undergoing several changes in name was finally united
in 1881 with "Zur Heimat," a paper published by David Goerz
since 1875, for the Russian immigrants. The new publication
was called "Christlicher Bundesbote," and is now published by
the General Conference Publication Committee. The "Mennon
ite," the English organ of the General Conference, was founded
by the Eastern District Conference in 1885, and taken over by
the General Conference in 1901. The most ambitious of the
private Mennonite printing establishments was that founded
by John F. Funk and his brother in Chicago in 1864, but soon
after removed to Elkhart, Indiana, under the name of Mennonite
Publishing Company. This firm for many years published the
Herald of Truth in both the English and German editions,
which was read widely by various branches of the denomination,
and also a number of the old standard Mennonite books that
otherwise would not have been-accessible to the average reader.
These enterprises were all under private control. The first
plant controlled by the church was the Mennonite Book Con
cern, founded by the General Conference at Berne, Indiana, in
1884. The Mennonite Publishing House at Scottdale, Pennsyl
vania, owned by the Old Mennonite and Amish-Mennonite Con
ferences, was founded in 1908 by securing the rights of both
the Old Mennonite Publishing Company of Elkhart and the
Gospel Witness Company, which had been established by private
parties a few years before and had published the Gospel Wit
ness. This paper was now united with the former Herald of
Truth into the Gospel Herald. The Mennonite Publishing House
now also publishes the "Rundschau," a paper read widely by
the Russians, and the "Christian Monitor," a paper for young
people. The Mennonite Brethren in Christ appointed a publica
tion committee in 1879 to secure a partial equipment to print the
"Gospel Banner." The enterprise did not succeed and the paper
was issued by private plants, but under Conference editorship
until 1916, when the General Conference purchased the Bethel
Publishing Company, established in 1903 by J. A. Huffman.

Goshen College.

Mennonite Publishing House, Scottdale, Penn.

LITERATURE AND HYMNOLOGY 319
This church now owns its own publishing house and publishes
its own periodicals and church literature. The Bruedergemeinde
also owns its own plant at Hillsboro, Kansas, which publishes
the official organ of the church, the "Zionsbote." The Krimmer
Brueder publish the "Wahrheitsfreund" on their own press in
Chicago. A number of congregations of the Eastern and Middle
Districts of the General Conference publish local papers which
frequently contain articles of more than local interest, as do also
the different Mennonite Colleges.
Several other branches of the church issue periodicals, but
do not own their own publishing plants. The "Christian-Evan
gel," organ of the Central Illinois Conference, was founded in
1910; "Zion's Call," representing the Defenceless Mennonites,
appeared first in 1898; the "Heilsbote," a German paper, is no
longer published ; "Der Mitarbeiter," published at Gretna, Man
itoba, since 1905, is the official organ of the various church enter
prises of the Manitoba Mennonites; "Herold der Wahrheit"
represents the Old Order Amish. There are several other pub
lications representing small branches and special enterprises.

320 THE MENNONITES

CHAPTER XXI
I
DOCTRINE AND PRACTISE
Mennonitism is the essence of individualism, and conse
quently Mennonites as a body were never committed to any one
particular Confession of Faith. Their religious beliefs are to
be gathered from different sources — writings of early church
leaders, public debates with state church theologians, testimonies
of martyrs, decisions of conferences, and a variety of Confessions
of Faith. Among the leaders only Menno Simons and Dirck
Philip wrote at length on questions of church doctrine; the
debates include such general discussions as the Frankenthal Dis
putation of 1571. The Wismar rules of 1554, the Strasburg Con
ference called to discuss these rules in 1557, and a later famous
meeting at the same place in 1568, are typical of the conferences.
Of confessions there were a variety drawn up by different parties
and factions, frequently forming a basis of co-operation between
opposing groups.
The earliest known Anabaptist statement of principles is the
brief summary of seven articles drawn up at Schleitheim in South
Germany in 1527, supposedly formulated by Michael Sattler.
During the remainder of the sixteenth century, which was one of
severe persecution, few confessions were formulated, but the
testimonies of hundreds of men and women who suffered at the
stake leave no doubt as to the fundamental religious beliefs for
which they laid down their lives.
The first third of the seventeenth century was a period of
attempted reconciliation among various Mennonite parties in
Holland. It was during this time that most of the Confessions
of Faith, most of which were composed to serve as a basis of
union, were written. One of the earliest of these was the Concept
of Cologne drawn up in 1591, at Cologne and signed by represent-

DOCTRINE AND PRACTISE 321
atives of the Frisian, Flemish and High German churches along
the Rhine. A little later, about 1600, according to van Bracht
appeared the long Confession of thirty-three articles said to have
been written by Pieter Janz Twisck and copied in the Martyrs
Mirror. This Confession went through an American edition,
baing published at Winchester, Virginia, by Elder Peter Burk-
holder. The Hans de Ries Confession written as early as 1581
and officially adopted some thirty years later represented the
liberal Waterlander churches in Holland and evidently was writ
ten to prove that the Mennonites were not Socinians. In 1627,
the Olive Branch articles signed by Tobias Govertz and three
other Dutch ministers attempted to bring about a union between
the Dutch Flemish and Frisian churches. Although not imme
diately successful in attaining its object it later came to have a
wide circulation. The Jan Cents Confession which also appears
in the Martyrs Mirror served as a common basis of faith for a
number of united Frisian and upper German congregations. One
of the best known of the Confessions was the Dordrecht state
ment of 1632, signed by fifty-one representatives from seventeen
Dutch congregations in Holland and Northwestern Germany
in behalf of the Frisian and upper German parties. This has
been perhaps the most widely used of all the Confessions. In
1660, it was adopted by the churches in Alsace and the Palatinate.
It was imported early into Pennsylvania, and became the ac
cepted statement of faith for the early American church. It
teaches conservative doctrines and advocates a strict discipline,
and is still the recognized Confession for the Old Mennonitas,
Amish, and the Central Illinois Conference of Mennonites.
More than one hundred years later, in 1766, appeared the
liberal Cornelis Ris Confession first written to unite the Frisian
and liberal Waterlander congregations in Hoorn, Holland. Later,
in 1773, it was adopted at Amsterdam by a number of congrega
tions of Holland which met in conference in the church called
"The Sun." It was also accepted some time later by some
of the Prussian congregations, but was given little recognition in
South Germany. In 1849, C. J. van der Smissen, pastor of the
Friedrichstadt church, made a new translation into the German,
11

322 THE MENNONITES
and in 1902 the General Conference of Mennonites of North
America authorized an English translation. This Confession be
ing originally a compromise between two liberal groups is one of
the more liberal statements of Mennonite faith.
Among other Confessions of Faith which had more or less
of a vogue among certain groups of congregations during the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were the Flemish Confes
sion written by George Hansen, minister at Danzig in 1678 for
the Mennonites called the "Clarichen ;" the Gerhard Roosen state
ment of 1702 in use for many years at Altona and also in South
Germany; the Old Flemish Confession of 1755; and the for
mulary authorized by the South Germans at Ibersheim in 1803.
Among recent revisions and new Confessions are the 1895
revision of the West Prussian Conference, and thel896 revision
for the Russian churches. The Bruedergemeinde both in Russia
and America use the Confession first adopted in Russian in 1873.
The Mennonite Brethren in Christ have issued their own con
fessions and Disciplines since 1880. The Defenceless Mennonites
adopted a revised edition of their Confession in 1917. The
Huterites still follow the principles laid down in Peter Riede-
man's "Rechenschaft" in 1543. The General Conference repre
senting the Old Mennonites and the Amish-Mennonites published
at Scottdale, Pennsylvania, in 1914 an exhaustive treatise written
by various leaders of the church, of all the doctrines and prac
tises as taught by that wing of the denomination.
Mennonite theology has never been fundamentally philoso
phical, but decidedly ' Biblical. Leaders of Mennonite thought
never concerned themselves much with fine spun theories and
philosophical distinctions made by the theologians of the day;
but they expressed themselves in speech and writing on all ques
tions of church doctrine in terms of Biblical phraseology. Their
statements, well buttressed with Scriptural references, were in
clined toward a literal interpretation of the Bible. And then, too,
correct living seemed to appeal to them more strongly than a
discussion of obscure points of doctrine which largely, because
of their early training, they could not understand anyway. For
this reason one finds little reference in these Confessions to the

DOCTRINE AND PRACTISE 323
fundamental philosophical questions which were puzzling the
heads of the churchmen of the times. Only two of the Confes
sions — those of Peter Janz Twisck and Cornells Ris, contain any
mention of the doctrine of the Freedom of the Will. On the
question of Calvinism, Mennonites can hardly be classified. In
the seventeenth century, however, they were regarded as Armin
ians, and so far as their position on the Free Will controversy
was concerned they were perhaps properly classified, although
they did not accept the entire system of reasoning of the Armin
ians. Cornells Ris approached the Calvinistic position on many
points, but stopped short of the goal of the Calvinistic system,
advocating a modified Calvinism. "God decreed" he says, "to
impart His love, His grace, and His gifts in larger measure to
some than to others and this according to His own will and pleas
ure — but His loving kindness is so great and so far reaching and
so all inclusive that no one is excluded therefrom without a just
cause." Ris evidently is not quite sure of himself on this point
and finds consolation in the thought that anyway in "the wisdom
and ways of God, especially in this matter there are depths which
will ever be beyond our ability to fathom in this life." A num
ber of recent Confessions emphasizing such doctrines as Sancti
fication, Holiness, etc., are undoubtedly tending toward a more
rigid Calvinism.
On the general church doctrines such as Creation, Fall of
Man, Trinity, Christ, His nature and function, the Scheme of
Salvation, Resurrection and the Future Life, Mennonites held the
usual orthodox beliefs of the Protestant churches. But on a num
ber of points their beliefs were sufficiently individualistic to merit
extended mention.
Baptism was to them merely an initiatory ceremony signi
fying membership in the body of believers organized as a church.
The church is a' voluntary association composed of those pos
sessed of a regenerated heart. Infant baptism consequently, the
sign of compulsory initiation into a universal, unregenerated
state church they condemned. It was the insistence upon adult
or believers baptism that first gave Mennonites the name of
Anabaptists. As to the form of baptism the early Mennonites

324 THE MENNONITES
generally practised sprinkling, although several divisions oc
curred in Holland and northern Germany during the sixteenth
century because of this question, resulting in a "dompelaar" or
immersionist wing of the church. The Confessions are all silent
on the question of the form except that of Cornelis Ris, which
evidently aimed to conciliate the immersionists with the state
ment that the act is "an immersing of the whole body in the
water, or a liberal sprinkling with water, which latter mode we
in these northern latitudes consider more generally appropriate,
since the same blessings are signified by it." At present in Amer
ica the Mennonite Brethren in Christ and the Bruedergemeinde '
and the Krimmer Brueder practice immersion. With the De
fenceless Mennonites the form is optional with the candidate.
The Lord's Supper was regarded as merely a memorial in
commemoration of the suffering and death of the Savior. The
bread and wine contains neither the real nor spiritual presence
of Christ as the state churches teach.
The practise of Feet-washing was inaugurated by the Ana
baptists and was based on a literal interpretation of the example
of Jesus at the last Supper. The practise was common among a
number of the Mennonite churches in the sixteenth and seven
teenth centuries, but not universal. The significance of the prac
tice, which was regarded as a binding ordinance by such churches
as kept it, is two-fold according to the Confessions which advo
cate it — "an act of humiliation and a sign of the true washing of
the soul in the blood of Christ."
As to form, there were two methods of administering the
practise. Some following the literal example of Jesus made it a
part of the communion service; others observed it in its earlier
Old Testament form and washed the feet of distant ministering
brethren when making visits. The practise was not observed
among the Dutch Waterlanders, but was common among the Old
Flemish and the strict Frisians, and was introduced by the latter
wherever they migrated into northern Germany and later into
Russia. In South Germany and Switzerland it was not common
in the seventeenth century, but was introduced by the Amish in
Switzerland and the Palantinate near the close of the century.

DANIEL BRENNEMAN
(1834-1919)

JOSEPH STUCKEY
(1825-1902)

JOHN S. COFFMAN
(1848-1899)

DOCTRINE AND PRACTISE 325
Among the early writers Dirck Philip was the most consist
ent advocate of the custom. Menno Simons gives it only a pass
ing reference in his written works, and even then he seems to
refer rather to the custom of washing the feet of visiting min
isters than to a communion ordinance. The various Confessions
of Faith differ widely in their treatment of the subject. None
specify that the practise is to be observed as an ordinance in con
nection with the communion service, but in the absence of any
directions to the contrary it is perhaps fair to assume that such
observance is taken for granted in the Confessions advocating
the general custom. Among these are the Dordrecht, Olive
Branch, Prussian (1678), and the Old Flemish Confessions. The
Concept of Cologne states that the rite shall be administered when
members of the faith request it. The Jan Cents articles recom
mend that "when our fellow believers from distant places come
to visit us we wash their feet according as opportunity affords,
after the custom of the Old Testament and the example of
Christ." The Pieter Jans Twisck Confession of thirty-three
articles advocates the same form of the practise. The Hans de
Ries and the Cornelis Ris Confessions make no reference to the
ordinance whatsoever.
The custom was not common in America among the German-
town and Skippack settlements for the first hundred years. It
was introduced into Lancaster county by the Amish and the
Pequea Mennonites and through these throughout the entire
colonial church. The practise has been discarded in Europe ex
cept among the Amish and perhaps among some of the more
conservative Russians. In America it is still quite widely ob
served, being a cardinal ordinance among the Old Mennonites,
Amish of all branches, the Illinois Conference of Mennonites,
Mennonite Brethren in Christ, Reformed Mennonites, Wisler
Mennonites, Bruedergemeinde, Krimmer Brueder, Defenceless
Mennonites, and a number of individual congregations among the
Russians in the General Conference. It is also still common
among a number of sects which had an Anapabtist or later Men
nonite origin, such as the Dunkards, Primitive Baptists, Mora
vians (not since 1818), United Brethren, River Brethren, etc.

326 THE MENNONITES
Among the Old Mennonites one still frequently finds among the
older' brethren those who follow to the letter the example of
Christ when he arose from supper "and laid aside his garments ;
and took a towel and girded himself."
One of the most fundamental and distinctive Mennonite doc
trines is that of Non-resistance. All the Confessions condemn un
qualifiedly the taking of revenge or the use of force in settling
disputes either individually or collectively. War they declare to
be wrong, and the Christian has no part in it. All are agreed,
too, that the Christian cannot be a magistrate. The early Ana
baptist and Mennonite view of government was that it was a
divine institution ordained of God to punish the evil and protect
the good — a sort of necessary evil — and that it was the duty of
the Christian to pray for his rulers and obey them. But since
government was essentially worldly the Christian could take no
part in it.
This view is the outgrowth of the doctrine of non-resistance,
which based upon the principle of love as a ruling force in human
conduct, and upon a literal interpretation of such injunctions as
"Resist not evil," etc., regarded all use of force as wrong, espe
cially if used to the bodily injury of a fellow being either friend
or foe. Undoubtedly the application of the doctrine to govern
ment was also partly due to the fact that governments were
everywhere using their power to suppress religious toleration.
Although this function of government has greatly changed since
the early days both in Europe and America, magistrates must
still depend upon the use of physical force to maintain social
order. In Europe the old views have been almost entirely
discarded, but in America there is still a strong sentiment against
the holding of office among the more conservative branches.
The Old Mennonites and Amish discourage the holding of office
beyond that of road supervisor, school directors, and similar local
offices. The Reformed Mennonites, Wisler Mennonites, and even
some of the more liberal groups either forbid entirely or discour
age going to the polls to vote in the regular elections. In spite of
these restrictions, however, the number in all branches who ac-

DOCTRINE AND PRACTISE 327
cept local,- town and county positions of trust is increasing. In
recent years a number from different* localities have been elected
to state legislatures as well as other positions. The present Con
gress contains one Mennonite and another member who at one
time had been of that faith. Few perhaps would accept such an
office as that of sheriff which would involve the enforcing of
the death penalty. One Mennonite from a western State some
time ago refused the nomination for governor at the hands of
his party on the ground that if elected he could not conscien
tiously enforce capital punishment. There is a strong sentiment
among many of the branches against making use of the law in
securing justice in personal disputes, but practically all permit
the use of legal measures in defensive action. On the question of
war also the official leaders of all the branches in the American
church remained true to her traditional peace principles during
the recent War.
Church discipline was maintained among the Mennonites
by a liberal application of the Ban. Since the church was a vol
untary organization divinely ordained, and composed of the truly
converted it must be kept pure by excluding all those who proved
themselves unfaithful. The Ban was pronounced upon the guilty
through the elder or bishop by a vote of the congregation. Dur
ing Menno's lifetime the question of a liberal or strict application
, of this means of church discipline was a source of bitter quarrel
ing. Menno himself favoring the strict party, maintained that
without a liberal use of the Ban it would have been impossible
in his day to keep the church free of the "corrupt sects." Closely
^associated with the Ban was the practise of "Avoidance" or shun
ning all those who were excommunicated. This question, too,
for years was a source of endless bickering and countless heart
aches, dividing the church almost from the beginning into loose
and strict constructionist parties with reference to the practise.
The liberals contended that the Pauline injunction "not to eat"
with the unfaithful (I Cor. 5:11), referred merely to the com
munion table,- but the strict party insisted upon a rigid social
and business ostracism. The faithful were not to eat, drink,
visit, buy from nor sell to one excommunicated. Some, includ-

328 THE MENNONITES
ing Menno himself, would even apply the principle to all family
and marriage relations.
The reason for the practise according to the Dordrecht Con
fession was "so that we may not become defiled by intercourse
with him — and that he may be made ashamed — and thereby in
duced to amend his ways." The latter reason was undoubtedly
based upon a correct literal quotation of Scripture, but upon
rather poor psychology as well. Although none of the Confes
sions, with the possible exception of the Old Flemish, specifi
cally mention marital avoidance, it is perhaps implied in the
Confessions advocating the strict application of the avoidance
practise. Among these are the Dordrecht, Olive Branch, Jan
Cents, Pieter Janz Twisck, and the Concept of Cologne state
ments. All warn against carrying the practise too far, however.
Cornelis Ris on the other hand would deny the excommunicated
only "spiritual church fellowship." In America the Reformed
Mennonites, Old Order Amish, and Old Colonists in Manitoba
still "shun" their excommunicated of whom they usually have
a large number, to the limit. Wherever the practise is carried to
its extreme length especially in closed communities where there
is littje opportunity for social or economical life outside of the
church community, and especially if the domestic relations are
involved, the results are frequently tragic. Among the so-called
"New Amish" in central Illinois, who undoubtedly inherited the
practise from the Mennonites in Switzerland during the early
part of the past century, several domestic tragedies have oc
curred in recent years one of which ended in the annihilation
of an entire family. The great majority of Mennonites in both
America and Europe of course have outgrown this doctrine.
In addition to the above enumerated doctrines the church
was also committed to a number of practises and customs which
were perhaps more or less common to other denominations, but
since discarded, and for that reason not matters of dispute and
not included in the Confessions.
Among these was the so-called Devotional Covering. It was
undoubtedly a common custom in the early as well as the later
Reformation churches for women to appear in worship with their

Group of Students of the Old Elkhart Institute.

DOCTRINE AND PRACTISE 329
heads covered. Among the Mennonites, however, this covering
developed in course of time into something distinct from the ordi
nary headgear worn for protection. Among the Old Mennonites,
Amish and Reformed Mennonites and several other small
branches of the denomination this covering, still worn during
worship, consists of a small tightfitting cap made of a white
gauze material. In Pennsylvania among these branches the
women are required to wear this cap at all times and on all occa
sions, not only at times of worship. Another custom inherited
from the past and still practised among the above mentioned con
servative groups as well as several others is the Salutation of the
Kiss, practised in connection with the feet-washing service, and a
common method of greeting among ministers and church leaders,
and also made a part of every religious rite. Other questions
which in recent years have been given increasing attention by
various branches of the denomination are Millennialism, Sanc
tification, Inspiration of the Bible, Higher Criticism, Adoption,
Divine Healing, Anti-secrecy, Life Insurance, etc.
It will be remembered of course that in this discussion we
are dealing with the past history of the Mennonites as well as the
various groups of the present. Many of the above practises and
customs have been discarded of course among the more liberal
elements of the denomination, and especially among the General
Conference congregations, the most liberal of which are those
in Pennsylvania. In the field of Church Government Mennonites were the orig
inal Congregationalists. Each congregation was an independent
unit. Conferences were held occasionally to settle matters of
controversy, but they had no power to legislate for the entire
church. In recent years annual conferences have been organized
which are coming to assume more and more of legislative power.
Ministers according to the various Confessions were of two
ranks — elders or bishops, and deacons. In practise, however,
three were recognized — Elders (Voellige Diener), with power to
administer the sacraments and enforce Church discipline; Min
isters, mere preachers (Diener zum Buch) ; and deacons (Armen

330 THE MENNONITES
Diener), who looked after the poor and also assisted in adjusting
any personal disputes that might arise within the Congregation.
Ministers at first had to support themselves. It was not until far
into the seventeenth century that they were given stated salaries
in Holland, and northern Germany. In South Germany, Switzer
land and Russia they remained unsupported until well within ^
recent years. An unsupported ministry of course also meant an
uneducated ministry. In America it was only within recent times
that the Eastern and Middle Districts of the General Conference
of Mennonites of North America placed their ministry upon a
salaried basis. The Mennonite Brethren in Christ support their
ministers but not always with a specified salary. In all the other
branches of the denomination including many of the Russian con
gregations in the west, the work of the ministry is still a work of
love with a few material rewards. The demand for trained mis
sionaries and ministers, however, is everywhere making for a
regularly supported ministry among all but a few of the most
ultra- conservative branches. At present several different types
of church polity are discernable. The Old Mennonites practise
a sort of primitive episcopacy, that is a bishop for every church.
In Lancaster county, however, a half dozen bishops form a sort
cf Council which dominates the entire church in that large set
tlement. In the General Conference the term bishop is not used.
The government is strictly congregational, but some authorities
in the church note a tendency toward Presbyterianism. The
Mennonite Brethren in Christ follow the Methodists in a semi-
episcopal church polity.
The method of selection under the old system was by lot,
and acceptance was compulsory on the part of those chosen.
Such a call was conceived of as coming direct from God, and
could not be set aside. Once thus called, the minister carried
his office with him wherever he went and had a divine right to
preach in whatever congregation he chose to make his home
irrespective of their own wishes in the matter. His call came
from God, not men. In this way some congregations, especially
among the early immigrants in America, frequently became over-
supplied with spiritual leadership. The Partridge Amish congre-

DOCTRINE AND PRACTISE 331
gation in central Illinois during the middle of the last century was
blessed at one time with thirteen ministers four of whom were
bishops all of equal jurisdiction by virtue of their residence. No
special training was demanded, in fact none was permitted. The
Holy Spirit, it was said, would guide the speaker's tongue when
the need came for him to preach. These theories and practises
were common among even the most liberal of the Mennonites
until far into the middle of the last century and still prevail
among the ultra-conservatives.
Mennonites have always lived in more or less secluded
groups, and were endowed with a strong sense of "other world-
liness." This feeling of seclusion was due to several causes. In
the early Anabaptist .days they were driven from pillar to post
by unfriendly state and church authorities, preventing intercourse
with the outside world'. A literal interpretation of the Scriptures
emphasized the virtue of being a "peculiar people." Marriage
with outsiders was forbidden under penalty of excommunication.
They were, too, for the most part a rural people, and settled in
closed communities. In America many of these were made up
of immigrant groups who by maintaining their own language
tended to perpetuate their isolation. The city churches of Hol
land and northern Germany were the first to escape from their
extreme provincialism, but in other parts of Europe and in
America where the churches are still almost entirely in the coun
try Mennonites retain much of this early spirit. This conser
vatism has perpetuated many antiquated customs especially in
styles of clothing, among several branches of the church. The
Old Mennonites, the Amish, Reformed Mennonites, Huterites,
and Old Colonists of Manitoba and the Wislerites are the strict
est observers of bygone styles of dress. Most of these require the
women to wear bonnets instead of hats, and recommend that tb.e
men wear the so-called collarless plain coat. Stiff hats and neck
ties are not in good standing. The Old Order Amish, some of
them, still forbid the use of suspenders, "store" clothes, starched
shirts and other modern styles of dress. Men must wear long
hair, beards, and old style trousers. Women appear in bright,
but plain clothes with capes and aprons. The dress question has

332 THE MENNONITES
always played too large a role in the history of the Mennonite
church. The American Mennonites imported from Europe and re
tained in their public worship and daily intercourse some form
of German dialect. The early Pennsylvanians brought with them
the Swiss and South German dialects which have since developed
into the Pennsylvania Dutch. The Illinois Amish brought the
Alsatian, and the Ohio Swiss at the same time the Swiss dialects.
The Russians spoke some form of Low German. The Russians
and the Swiss still retain the German in most of their worship,
but all the others have changed to the English during the past
twenty-five years. The maintenance of a foreign language has
been a strong contributing factor in keeping up Mennonite, prov
incialism during the past.
Although Mennonites have always lived a simple and some
what secluded life, they were noted for their liberal endowment
of the fundamental virtues of life. They were industrious, sober,
honest, philanthropic, law-abiding and religious. Today they are
everywhere well-to-do and are among the most peaceful and
generally prosperous people in their respective communities.

STATISTICS 333

CHAPTER XXII

STATISTICS

The following statistics are taken from various sources, and are
approximately correct, although no attempt is made to give the exact
numbers as they appear in the various omcial statistics, since the
omcial lists for the different countries are not all for the same year.
In Europe it will be noted the figures include the entire Mennonite
population, and not only the baptized members as in statistics for the
United States and Canada.

Europe.

(Entire Pop- (Baptized Mem-
ulation) bers Only)

Netherlands   _    ,  65,000
Switzerland ,     „.. 1,500
Galicia     590
Germany .     20,000
Russia    85,000
France — Alsace-Lorraine   3,500

175,090
North America.
United States and Canada.
1. The Old Mennonites  -   28,000
2. The General Conference of Mennonites  17,000
3. Amish Mennonites  _  „  9,000
4. Old Order Amish  8,000
5. Mennonite Brethren in Christ  7,500
6. Bruedergemeinde  6,700
7. Central Conference of Mennonites  2,500
a Church of God in Christ  1,500
9. Wisler Mennonites  1,600
10. Conference of Defenceless Mennonites ofNorthAmerica 1,400
11. Amish Mennonites (Conservative)  1,250

334 THE MENNONITES
12. Reformed Mennonites  .  '¦  1,200
13. Huterites  1,000
14. Krimmer Mennonite Brethren  ;  1,000
15. Defenceless M'ennonites  900
16. Staufferites  200
17. Independent Russian Groups in Manitoba, Saskatche
wan and Alberta  9,500
98,250

BIBLIOGRAPHY 335

CHAPTER XXIII
BIBLIOGRAPHY
In the following bibliography no attempt is made to list all the
books in the field of Mennonite history, but rather to cite the reader
to the most important sources and books on the subject all of which
are available in the various Mennonite libraries in this country. Among
the most valuable collections of Mennonite books in America are the
private collections of N. B. Grubb of Philadelphia; John F. Funk,
Elkhart, Indiana; C. H. A. van der Smissen, Berne, Indiana; the Col
lege Collections at Bethel, Goshen and Bluffton; the library of the
Mennonite Historical Commission at Slcottdale, Pa.; and that of
the Mennonite Historical Society of the General Conference in charge
of H. R. Voth of Goltry, Oklahoma; Mennonite books in the Penn
sylvania State Historical Society Library; and stray books in other
large public and University Libraries.
Ausbund: dast ist, Etliche schone christlkhe Lieder, etc. Eleventh
Edition. Elkhart, Indiana, 1913.
Abdruck der Gesammt-Protokolle der Kansas und Westlichen Di-
strikt-Konferenz der Mennoniten von Nordamerika. 1897,
1909.
Burkhard, F. Die Basler Taufer. Basel, 1898.
Bartch, Franz. Unser Auszug nach Mittelasien. Halbstadt, 1907.
Beck, J. Die Geschichte der Wiedertaufer in Oesterreich-Ungarn.
Wien, 1883.
Bundesbote-Kalender. Berne, Indiana, 1886 — .
Brons, Anna. Ursprung, Entwickelung und Schicksale der Altevan-
gelische Taufgesinnten oder Mennoniten. Norden, 1891.
Bax, Belfort. Rise and Fall of the Anabaptists. London, 1903.
Bullinger, Heinrich. Der Wiedertoufferen Ursprung, Fuergang, Sek-
ten, etc. Zurich, 1561.
Barclay, Robert. The Inner Life of the Religious Societies of the
Commonwealth. Third Edition. London, 1879.
Burrage, Henry S. A History of the Anabaptists in Switzerland.
Philadelphia, 1881. /
Cornelius, C. A. Geschichte des Miinsterischen Aufruhrs. 1885.

336 THE MENNONITES
Christlicher Gemeinde-Kalender. Herausgegeben von der Konferenz
der siiddeutschen Mennoniten. 1891 — .
Cassel, D. K. Geschichte der Mennoniten. Philadelphia, 1890.
Cate, S. Blaupot ten. Gesch. der Doopsgezinden in Friesland. Leu
warden, 1839.
— — — — Gesch. der Doopsgezinden in Groningen, Overyssel
en Oost-Friesland. Leuwarden, 1842.
 Gesch. der Doopsegezinden in Holland, Zealand, Utrecht
en Gelderland. Amsterdam, 1847.
Confessions of Faith.
Dock, Christopher. Eine einfaltige und griindlich abgefaszte Schul-
ordnung. Germantown, Pa., 1770.
Diffenderfer, F. R. The German Exodus to England in 1709, Lan
caster, Pa., 1897.
Dexter, H. M. The True Story of John Smythe, the Se-Baptist, Bos
ton, 1881.
Doopsgezinde Bijdragen. Ed. Hartling, Cool, and de Scheffer. Am
sterdam, 1861-1911.
Egli, Emil. Die Zurcher Wiedertaufer. Zurich, 1878.
 Akten-Sammlung zur Geschichte der Zurcher Reforma
tion. Zurich, 1878.
 Die St. Galler Taufer.
Epp, D. H. Die Chortitzer Mennoniten. Odessa, 1889.
Ellenberger, J. Bilder aus dem Pilgerleben. 1878-1883.
Eshleman, H. Frank. Historic Background and Annals of the Swiss
and German Pennsylvania Pioneer Settlers of Southeast
ern Pennsylvania. Lancaster, Pa., 1917.
Erbkam, H. W. Geschichte der Protestantischen Sekten, etc. 1848.
Eby, A. Die Ansiedlung und Begriindung der Gemeinschaft in Ka-
nada. Milford Square, Pa., 1872.
Friesen, P. M. Die Alt-evangelische Mennonitische Briiderschaft in
Russland (1789-1910). Halbstadt, 1911.
Funk, John F. The Mennonite Church and Her Accusers. Elkhart,
Ind., 1878.
Family Almanac. Mennonite Publishing Company, Elkhart, Indiana,
and Mennonite Publishing House, Scottdale, Pa., 1870 — .
Fuesslin, J. C. Beitrage zur Kirchengeschichte des Schweizerlandes.
Zurich, 1741.
Franck, Sebastian. Chronika, 1578.
Gospel Herald. Scottdale, Pa., 1908—.
Gospel Witness. Scottdale, Pa., 1905-1908.

BIBLIOGRAPHY 337
Griffis, W. E. Influence of the Netherlands Upon England and
America.
Grubb, N. B. The Mennonite Church of Germantown. Philadel
phia, 1906.
Grubb, W. H. The Mennonites of Butler County, Ohio. Trenton,
Ohio, 1916.
Hartzler and Kauffman. Mennonite Church History. Scottdale,
Pa., 1905.
Hege, Christian. Die Taufer in der Kurpfalz. Frankfort, 1908.
Hege, Christine. Kurzgefazste Geschichte der Mennoniten-Gemein-
den. Frankfort, 1908.
Habegger, Alfred. The Development of the Missionary Interest
Among the Members of the General Conference. 1917.
Horsch, John. Kurzgefaszte Geschichte der Mennoniten-Gemeinden.
Elkhart, Ind., 1890.
 Menno Simons — His Life, Labors and Teachings. Scott
dale, Pa., 1916.
Harder, C. Das Leben von Menno Simon, Konigsberg, 1846.
Hartzler, J. S. Mennonites and the World War. Scottdale, Pa., 1919.
Herald of Truth. Chicago and Elkhart. 1864-1908.
Holdeman, John. History of the Church of God. Lancaster, Pa., 1876.
Hunsicker, Abraham. Das Religions-, Kirchen- und Schulwesen der
Mennoniten. Wimpfen, Hesse, 1830.
Heath, Richard. Anabaptism from Its Rise at Zwickau to Its Fall
at Muenster. London, 1895.
Isaac, Franz. Die Molotschnaer Mennoniten. Halbstadt, 1908.
Iutzi, G., and Zook, S. Ermahnungen von G. Iutzi, etc., nebst einem
Anhang fiber die Entstehung der Amischen Gemeinde.
Somerset County, 1853.
Jehrung, J. C Griindliche Historie von denen Begebenheiten, Strei-
tigkeiten und Trennungen, so unter den Taufgesinnten
oder Mennoniten, etc. Jena, 1720.
Jansen, Peter. Autobiographical Sketch, in Manuscript.
Keller, Ludwig. Die Geschichte der Wiedertaufer. Leipzig, 1880.
 Hans Denk, ein Apostel der Wiedertaufer. Leipzig, 1882.
 • Die Reformation. Leipzig, 1885.
 . Die Waldenser und die deutschen Bibeliibersetzungen.
Leipzig, 1886.
Kaufman, Edward G. Social Problems and Opportunities of the
Churches of the Western District Conference. 1917.
(Manuscript in the Library of Bluffton College.)

338 THE MENNONITES -
Krehbiel, H. P. History of the General Conference of Mennonites of
North America. St. Louis, 1898.
Klaasen, M. Geschichte der Wehrlosen Taufgesinnten Gemeinderi.
Danzig, 1873.
Kuehler, W. J. Het Socinianismus in Nederland. Leiden, 1912.
Kuhns, Oscar. The German and Swiss Settlements of Colonial Penn
sylvania. New York, 1901.
Kellog, Major W. G. The Conscientious Objector. New York, 1919.
Loserth, J. Kommunismus der Mahrischen Wiedertaufer. Wien. 1894.
 Der Anabaptismus im Tyrol. Wien, 1892.
Lohrenz, J. H. History of the Mennonite Brethren Church of North
America, 1919. (Manuscript in the Library of Bluffton
College.)
Langenwalter, j. H. Christ's Headship of the Church, According to
Anabaptist Leaders Whose Followers Became Mennon
ites, Berne, Indiana, 1917.
Mannhardt, W. Die Wehrfreiheit der altpreuszischen Mennoniten.
Marienburg, 1863.
Mueller, Ernst. Geschichte der Berniisphen Taufer. Frauenfeld, 1895.
Mennonitisches Lexicon. Hege und Neff. Frankfort am Main und
Weierhof, 1914—.
Mennonite Year Book and Directory. Scottdale, Pa., 1905 — .
Mennonite Year Book and Almanac. Quakertown, Pa., 1895 — .
Mennonite, The. Berne, Indiana, 1885 — .
Mennonitische Blatter. Hamburg, Germany, 1858 — .
Mennonite Periodicals: Mennonitische Rundschau, Bundesbote, Wahr-
heitsfreund, Mitarbeiter, Heilsbote, Zionsbote, Zionspil-
ger und Freie Zeuge, Der Botschafter, Friedenstimme,
Gemeindeblatt, Gospel Herald, Gospel Witness, Herold
der Wahrheit, Christian Evangel, and others already
mentioned in the bibliography.
Mueller, J. P. Die Mennoniten in Ostfriesland. Emden, 1887.
McGlothlin, W. J. Die Berner Taufer. Berlin, 1906.
Musser, Daniel. The Reformed Mennonites, etc. Lancaster, Pa., 1873.
Martin, E. K. The Mennonites. Lancaster, Pa., 1883.
Menno Simons' Complete Works. Elkhart Edition, 1871.
Martyrs' Mirror. T. J. van Bracht. Elkhart Edition, 1887.
Newman, A. H. A History of Antipedobaptism. Philadelphia, 1897.
Nitsche, Richard. Geschichte der Wiedertaufer in der Schweiz, 1885.

' BIBLIOGRAPHY 339
Oberholtzer, J. H. Verantwortung und Erlauterung. Milford Square,
Pa., 1860.
Philip, Dietrich. Enchiridion or Handbook. Translated by A. B.
1 Kolb, Elkhart, Ind., 1910.
Pennypacker, Samuel W. Historical and Biographical Sketches.
Philadelphia, Pa., 1883.
Pannabecker, Floyd. History of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ.
1919. (Manuscript in Library of Bluffton College.)
Pennsylvania German Society. Proceedings. Philadelphia. Vol. IX.
Quack, H. P. G. Plockhoys Social Planen. Amsterdam, 1892.
Regier, Peter. Kurzgefaszte Geschichte der Mennoniten-Bruderge-
meinde. Berne, Indiana, 1901.
Reiswitz und Wadzek. Beitrage zur Kenntnis der Mennoniten-Ge-
meinde. Berlin, 1821.
Rues, S. F. Tegenwoordige Staet der Doogsgezinden of Mennoniten
in de Vereenigde Nederlanden. Amsterdam, 1745.
Roosen, B. C. Geschichte der Mennoniten Gemeinde zu Hamburg und
Altona. Hamburg, 1886.
Randt, Erich. Die Mennoniten in Oestpreuszen und Litauen bis zum
Jahre 1772. Konigsberg, 1912.
Roosen, B. C. Menno Simons. Leipzig, 1848.
Rembert, K. Die Wiedertaufer im Herzogtum Julich. Munster, 1893.
Rupp, I. D. History of Lancaster County. Lancaster, Pa., 1844.
Schoen, M. Das Mennonitentum in Westpreuszen. Berlin, 1886.
Schyn, H. Geschiedenis der Mennoniten etc. 3 Bde. 1743-5.
Smith, C. Henry. The Mennonites of America. Goshen, Ind., 1909.
Stark, J. A. Geschichte der Taufe und Taufgesinnten. Leipzig, 1789.
Stuckey, J. Eine Begebenheit etc. Elkhart, Ind., 1883.
Seidensticker, O. Bilder aus der Deutsch-Pennsylvanischen Geschich
te. New York, 1886.
Troyer, David A Ein unparteiischer Bericht von den Hauptumstan-
den, welche sich ereigneten in den sogenannten Alt-
Amischen Gemeinden in Ohio vom Jahre 1850 bis unge-
fahr 1861, wodurch endlich eine vollkommene Spaltung
entstand.
Van der Smissen, C. H. A. Geschichte und Glaubenslehre der Taufge
sinnten oder Mennoniten. Summerfield, 111., 1895.
Verhandhingen der Allgemeinen Konferenz der Mennoniten von
Nord-Amerika. Erste bis elfte Sitzungen. Berne, Ind.

340 THE MENNONITES
Vos, K. Menno Simons, 1496-1561, Leven, Werken, en Reformator.
Leiden, 1914.
Vedder, Henry C. Balthasar Hubmeir. New York, 1905.
 A Short History of the Baptists.
Wayland, J. W. The German Element in the Shenandoah Valley.
Charlotte, Va., 1907.
Wedel, C. H. Abrisz der Geschichte der Mennoniten. Newton, Kan
sas, 1901-1904.
Wappler, P. Die Stellung Kursachsens und des Landgrafens Philip
von Hessen zur Tauferbewegung. Munster, 1910.
Wolkan, R. Die Lieder der Wiedertaufer. Berlin, 1903.
Wick, B. L. The Amish Mennonites. A Sketch of Their Origin and
Settlement in Iowa. Iowa City, la., 1894.
Zook, Shem. Eine wahre Darstellung etc. Mattawana, Pa., 1880.
Zur Linden, Otto F. Melchior Hoffman, ein Prophet der Wieder
taufer. 1885.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY