[We are pleased to present this slightlymodified article, initially presented to the May10, 1986 meeting of the Mennonite HistoricalSociety of Ontario-ed .]

ForewordThe 1841 census shows that there werehundreds of Mennonites, Quakers andTunkers then in the Niagara peninsula, withwide geographical distribution . Today thereare only two congregations of SwissMennonite origin and one Quaker church inthe area . The Tunkers, now Brethren inChrist, have only one small congregation inthe area near Lake Ontario, where they firstsettled .The Niagara Peninsula has the earliest

settlements of Mennonites, Tunkers, andperhaps of Quakers, in Canada . Only herewere these three groups of Plain People foundtogether . They were diverse in culture,language and in some religious beliefs, but hadmany of the latter in common .

It was a strong movement, now largely lost .Finding the lost is an evangelical task, and isa neglected but important part of Canadianhistory . This paper takes a small step in thatdirection .

In addition to the histories of this movementalready written, much credit goes to Reg andKathy Good for generating interest inMennonite and Tunker history when theyvisited the peninsula in 1984 with MennoVan .Reg also uncovered some new information .

SettlementThe Quakers were probably the first of thePlain Folk to settle in the Niagara Peninsula .A.G . Dorland says that when the PelhamMonthly Meeting (which included BlackCreek) organized in 1799 there was already ameeting house which had been in use for upto fifteen years . John Hunt, visiting Pelhamin 1800 thought this building made "offlattened logs" was "small and crowded."'There was another early building in Black

Creek, on an old road not now in existence .It was situated on what is now the south sideof Gilmore Road, halfway between the PointAbino road and Burgar Road . Howard Fretz,

The Lost Tribes of the Niagara Plain Folkby Harold Nigh

Harold Nigh

whose farm is adjacent, reports this buildingis said to have been the oldest Quaker churchin Canada . Quakers thus must have arrived inthe Peninsula before 1785 .Among the early Quaker pioneers was Asa

Schooley . There is a memorandum to theCommanding Officer of the Niagara Garrisonfrom Hartwick, Sussex County, New Jersey,dated April 20, 1788 . It certifies "on behalf ofAsa Schooley, the bearer [sic], that he is anorderly and peaceable man, and is a memberof the Society of The People called `Quakers .'" The memorandum was signed by elevenmen, including seven Wilsons, two Lundys,a Widdificld and a Willette .zBoth Schooley and Samuel Wilson appear

as signatories in 1793 of the "Memorial of theInhabitants at Sugar Loaf ."' Asa Schooley tookup land on what is presently the Cherry Hillgolf course near Ridgeway . Another earlymeeting house had been built here, facing theGarrison Road .The Mennonites and Tunkers came to the

Niagara peninsula first in 1786 . L.J .Burkholder wrote "The grant of land madeto Jacob Sevits in 1797 shows that he came in1788 . This is the earliest known record of aMennonite family coming to Upper Canada .`4An elaboration/correction of this comes

from the late Leslie R. Gray, a past Presidentof the Ontario Historical Society . He wrotethat "a family Bible ofa daughter of ChristianZavitz says that Christian came to Canada in1786, built the Sugarloaf Mill, then returned

to Pennsylvania, got married, then persuadedmost of the family to settle in Canada . Theycame in the spring of 1788 . Their names wereon the 1788 (Pa.) tax list, then crossed out. Ihave seen the original ." ,A Zavitz family history suggests that this

family was originally Swiss Brethren thatmigrated to the Palatinate, from which someof the family came to America. George andBarbara Zavitz came to Bucks County inPennsylvania. Their son, David, had three sons(Henry, Christian and Jacob) who came toCanada in 1788 .6 The Zavitz family had beenmillers for generations, but it was natural thatChristian would build a mill at Sugarloaf.

Christian lived at Sugarloaf for many years .He went later to Elgin County with his family .In that area they were known as Quakers. Itis not certain whether Christian wasMennonite while at Sugarloaf, but it is likely .He lived in a predominantly Mennonitesettlement at Sugarloaf.

Little is known of the middle brother,Henry Zavitz . But there is no question aboutthe religious identification of the youngestbrother, Jacob. His wife, Catherine Learn, islisted in the 1851 census as a Mennonist. Theiroldest son, George, was first on L.J .Burkholder's lists of Mennonite ministers inWelland County.' However, George'sbrother, Jacob Zavitz III, married ElizabethPound, a Quaker . They moved to MiddlesexCounty and became part of the early Quakersettlement there.There was another settlement of Mennonite

families about three miles northwest ofSugarloaf Hill . This one was establishedbetween 1788 and 1790, and included thefamilies of Christian Stoner, Christian Kniselyand Abraham Neff. In 1817 Stoner wrote(original spelling retained):

1817 Novbr 6 To all whom

cosernedThis is to certyfy that Christian Stoner,Christian Knisly and Abraham Neff setletin the settlement of shugarloaf . I CristianStoner was in this (:unity in the year1788 when Col hunter commanded atNiagara fort and he gave me leave tosetel in this country and then the folowing

(Continued on page 14)

Lge 14

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1841 CENSOs

7 MENNoNITES

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l3 MENNONITES27 TUNKERS

lowOANrSCHuRcH OR C7ScHooL- u3EDDYMl .NONIrIS

SbINT INoNSTRyCrtDNGAW po1Nt,

This inap, covering what is now the area of Kcgional Niagara, is riot esh:uIStive . It gives the location of all the Plain Folk meeting houses, anda leu, other related ones, in the lust century of their- settlement in Niagara . There were Mennonites west of Lowbanks, but not enough is knownof them to include . There are tu°o references on the map to agricultural innovations. John Crmv's todder was twigs and leaves of trees whichkept his cows healthy throughout the winter before he Could grolk - enough hay (a pr- actice used bt the Romans 2000 years ago). Uncle Santntv'sWeed as alfalfa introduced to the Like Erie region .sornrtirrtc, in the 19th century by SartruCI Sherk .

summer 1789 1 came in the second timewhen Col bars comanded and he gavemee leave to make improvement and wassent to Esq warn he was then athorisedto let people settle there then he gave meleave to make an improvement and hepromised to save hit one year for meethen in the year 1790 I moved my famelyin and knisly and Neff moved in withmee and they was alowd to settle and tobe careful to leave on another room .

I can certyfy that knisly was very sicklywhen we went for our ticekets and hewent sometime after to the gcnrl surveyorsmith and he told me he would make itright and there was a ticket gave outbefore the office was moved to York somuch frome your frind and well vt-,\

Christian Stoner'

Another early document from this settlementread

t-zAVlrx- OrbwPREACHER M11L 1186P1ETHO}7IST

SILAS FURRYLHURc H~SEO Dy

k~Ll.EO NRREMENNONITES

" 1911,

~taa . ix.r ycav vent)

C Ra(lRA1NSip

I,ownship do hcrebv Certify that the saidChristian Knisely has a barn and well and12 Acres improved on the North End ofLot No . 30 in the Third Concession ofHumberstone and that no other personis living or has improved on that half Lot .

Witness our hands at Humberstone Oct21st 1817 .

Cristian StonerAbraham Neff

------ ZimmermanChristian Z;IVltzAbraham HershcvEmanuel WinterDavid Neff

lDanie----

TpNUEE NS

NIAG AsIAFALL S

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1841 CENSUS3 119 MENNONITE%

LUINDMUL FOR

Log 'rVNKEFtsC, AOr ~fuILTUY YRtALHERSaAS FURRY

in Humberstone Township where a colonyfrom Bucks County was beginning to beestablished . . . . Mr . Stoner took no part inpublic affairs, but was a firm adherent of they1ennonitc ChUrCh."")

(Continued on page 15)

Mennogresprach is pul,lished semi-annually bythe Mennonite Historical Society of Ontario,Conrad Grebcl College, Waterloo, Ontario

Mennogesprach is received by all members ofthe Society . Sec membership form for currentrates . All correspondence should be directed tothe editor .Assistance received from the Ontario Ministry

19%I CENSUS CHuRcH ~

Citizenship is gratefully: of Culture &We the undersigned Inhabitants of the

Peter Sherk" acknowledged .Township of Humberstone and Nigh In her genealogy of the Zavitz family, Helen ISSN 0824-5673neighbours to Christian Knisely of said Zavitz Clark says "Christian Stoner located

Jacob Neff N2l_ 3G6 .Abraham Augustine Editor: Sam SteinerCasper Kinsv Editorial Committee : Herb Enns

-Levi Doan Margaret GoodKeg Good

(Continued from page 14)

That Christian Knisely was Mennonite isattested to by a Council Meeting note in JacobMoyer's bible : "1819 on January 23rd meetingwas held at Sugar Loaf at Christian Kneislis,text John 14 :23."" This entry both confirmsthe existence of a Mennonite organization atSugarloaf, and that Knisely was one of itsleading members . It also establishes aconnection between The Twenty Mennonitesand those at Sugarloaf.Florence Neff Young says Christian Knisely

had married Anna Stoner, a sister of ChristianStoner . Christian Stoner had married ElizabethNeff, a sister of Abraham Neff . The Stonerbible is in the Lundy's Lane Museum . All threefamilies were Mennonites, and most of thenext generation was Mennonite . In the thirdgeneration they became Methodists, etc .' 2Reformed Mennonite Church records

indicate that Christian Stoner's sons, John andAbram were their first ministers, ordainedbefore 1841 . Florence Neff Young asserts theywere ordained in 1825, the year the firstMennonite church was built in Humberstone .Thus we have a continuous Mennonite

community in Welland County, Ontario asearly as 1786 and no later than 1788 . ThatMennonite community finished a chapter ofits history with the sale of the Sherkstonchurch in 1931 to the Brethren in Christ . TheReformed Mennonites continue as a Stevens-ville-Port Colborne congregation at theirStevensville meetinghouse .There is some question about the

authenticity of the claim of Mennoniteaffiliation concerning the 1786 party that cameto The Twenty along Lake Ontario . The fourfamilies that comprised this party were thoseofJacob Culp, Tilman Culp, Staats Overholtand Frederick Haun . They are considered tohave been Mennonites."However Tilman Culp and both John and

Jacob Culp (likely the sons of pioneer JacobCulp) are listed as Tunkers in the 1818 LincolnMilitia Return .' 4 Also listed as Tunker isConrad Tufford (Dofert) who also came in1786 . According to Gary Culp, Conrad Dofertin 1776 was confirmed at the age of 16 in theGerman Evanelical Lutheran Church ofEaston, Pennsylvania." Were the two Culpfamilies and Conrad Tufford's family Tunkerwhen they came in 1786? It is likely that theywere . It is not likely that they "were drawninto the . . . Tunkers . . . in that region," asJohn Ruth suggests . ' 6 The 'Fun ker center %vasin Pelham, miles beyond the escarpment .Nonetheless, there is not conclusive evidencethat they did not become Tunker after theirarrival . The 1841 census lists 18 Tunkers inClinton Township and 28 in neighboringLouth, a combined total greater than inPelham (33), the supposed Tunker center .

If the 1786 Culps were not Mennonite whenthey came, then what of the Ilaun andOverholt families? Gary Culp indicates infor-mation on Frederick Haun is very scant v, andthat it is very possible he died shortly after hisarrival." John Ruth writes that "in theirnew settlement the Overholt family becamethe nucleus of a Baptist fellowship" and "as

late as the war of 1812 the Baptist congregationnoted that Staats and Susanna Overholt couldnot walk with us because we bore arms."' 8This suggests that although the Overholts soonbecame Baptists (who were close by) they stillhad pacifist leanings 26 years after their arrival .There is no reason, then, to doubt that theOverholts were Mennonites when theyarrived . However, none of the 1786immigrants to The Twenty effected aMennonite organization, as the early settlersin Sugarloaf evidently did .

The Aerk.ston church, built in

DevelopmentThe Welland County Mennonites suffered adivision quite early . In 1825 John Herrorganized the Reformed Mennonite church,first in Humberstone and then in Stevensville,taking the conservative and apoliticalMennonites into that body . Since both theparent body and the Reformed church wereknown as Mennonites in 1825, it is difficultto trace the non-Reformed organization of thatarea .The 1841 census listed a total of 291

Mennonites in Humberstone and Wainflect(formerly Sugarloaf), almost as numerous asthe 377 Clinton Mennonites or those in Bertie(349) . Even if it is assumed half of these wereReformed Mennonites, we remain with asubstantial number of (Old) Mennonites evenafter the division . Who were these Mennonitesand who were their leaders?We know from various sources that

Augustine, Bearss, Zimmerman, Hershey andShcrk were Mennonite names . Florence NeffYoung adds the names Barrech, Minor,Gravbiel, Rathfon and perhaps Morgan .

It seems the Neff-Knisely-Stoner group wasvery conservative, and kept away from localpolitics . But Michael Graybiel, whoimmigrated in 1797, married Marv Hersheyand built the large stone house now knownas Rathfon Inn (on Lake Eric) . Graybiel actedas squire (tax collector) for John GravesSimcoe (1752-1806) first Lieutenant Governorof Upper Canada . Simcoe visited the Graybielfarm personally to pick up the tax money .James Bruce, Earl of Llgin, who wasGovernor-General of the United Canada from1846-1854, seas a guest at the Gravbicl homewhen he visited the area to "investigatedissension concerning the waterways ."' 9 The1875 biography of W.H . Merritt, one of the

Page 15

prime movers in building the Welland Canal,indicates Merritt "met Mr . Grabel, who withMr . Hoover was the leader of the Mennonitesin this area, and a strong supporter of Mr .Merritt ." 2 °Some interesting information exists on the

Minor family . Dr . Harold Miner providesvarious versions of how a Henry Minor ofHighbanks went through the ice on the GrandRiver with his team and sleigh . In the mishaphe lost his wife, Mary Neff, and nine-month-old child by drowning . Henry Minor himself

1917 and , . )Id to the Brethren in Christ in 1931 .(CGCA photo collection)

was rescued by his Labrador dog . He wasmarried twice after that to two Bearss sisters,and fathered a total of 21 children . The noterelevant to our study is that when HenryMinor died, "he had the biggest Mennonitefuneral ever seen in that area ." 2 'Where did these Mennonites worship? Paul

C . Fehrman, the present Reformed Mennonitebishop of the Stevensville-Port Colborne area,recalls hearing about overflow church servicesat Lowbanks (a church or school?) and at theMorgan's Point church . There is one traditionthat the Mennonites and the Methodists builtthe first frame church jointly on the locationof the present Morgan's Point UnitedChurch . 22 An Ellsworth family tradition saysthat the Mennonites rented it from theMethodists for $100 a year." It's also possiblethat the "Dutch" school of 1815 now at thePort Colborne museum was also used forworship . But then why would Jacob Moyerhave held the 1819 council meeting atChristian Knisely's rather than at the school? 24Even more puzzling is trying to identify the

ministers of these Sugarloaf Mennonites . EarlyReformed Mennonite ministers after John andAbram Stoner included George Augustine(1861), Wilson Near (1871), Jonathan Kinsey,Jonas Anthes (1891) and Wilmer Steele(1899) .''-s 1 have not found one solid name ofan (Old) Mennonite preacher in this area . Theonly clue is a reference to a John Rathfon, Jr .,who emigrated to Canada in 1892 . He marrieda Priscilla Augustine, took over the bigGravbicl stone house and "was a farmer andMennonite minister ." 26 As slight as thisinformation is, that of the preceding centuryis even slighter . We don't know as yet whothe (Old) Mennonite ministers were, if therewere any for this area .

(continued on page 16)

Page 16

(Continued from page 15)

Before we leave the Sugarloaf area, there aretwo more mysteries to be posed. Why werethere absolutely no Tunkers in eitherWainfleet or Humberstone Townships in1841? There is a story that suggests early inthe 19th century an 18 year old girl wasdrowned in a winter baptism in Lake Erie, andthat that incident put an end to suchba,ptisms.z' It's pure conjecture that this wasa Tunker baptism, but it is' possible, and itcould have been related to the disappearanceof the Tunkers in that area .The other mystery is the identification of

Preacher Silas Furry. He was killed by Indiansa mile or two west of Sugarloaf Hill sometimeafter 1812 . Was he a Quaker as reported? I'venot been able to confirm this from other thana single article on him.z"

No mention of Furry is made in Dorl md'shistory of the Quakers, or in early churchrecords at the (Orthodox) Friends church inPelham . His prodigious strength and hisengineering feat of building a windmill largeenough to grind grain at "Windmill Point" areof the stuff that legends are made of . But thelegend is an uncertain, if a romanatic, one .The accepted Brethren in Christ history is

that John Winger and Jacob Sider came toPelham and settled in the Short Hills in 1788 .Shortly after their arrival Bishop Jacob Englecame from Pennsylvania and ordained JohnWinger as bishop of the Tunkers, really calledRiver Brethren . We now know from a Mootefamily history that a Johan Groh came withWinger and Sider. Ha anglicized his name toJohn Crow and also settled in Pelham . 29 TwoDamude brothers also arrived with this party.In 1799 Winger and Sider moved to BertieTownship .Of course there is the possibility that the

Culps and Conrad Tufford, whocame in 1786,were also Tunkers, as discussed earlier . If weadd the Tunkers in the 1841 census fromClinton, Gainsborough, Louth, Grimsby andThorold Townships to the Pelham Townshipnumber, we have a total of 134, more than the108 of Bertie Township . Thus it is evidentthere was a thriving Tunker movement inPelham and adjacent areas following JohnWinger's departure.A fascinating reference to Tunker

appearance and preaching in PelhamTownship appears in a September 14, 1825letter from James Linsey to Lieut. GovernorMaitland, complaining about the Tunkers.Linsey was a local school teacher who wantto hear a visiting Tunker preacher from theUnited States, Jason Shephard . Linsey wrote:

He was speaking against all Christiansectarians as he termed it . His beard waslong, down to his breast and his hare [sic]over his shoulders. I sure perceived that hadid not hold with the doctrines of thescripture, or that ha was band on deseption[sic] . . . . Ha first asserted that he wouldpreach Jesus Christ and himself our humbleservant for Christ's sake and that hiscommission to preach was from his father .He next turned his ridicule against all civilauthorities throught [sic] Christendom and

John and Elizabeth Moote were Tunkers in in Pelham . She was the daughter ofJohn Crow(Groh) who came with john Winger in 1788 . This photo, ca . 1860 shows buttons and trills notcharacteristic of Bertie Tunkers. (Photo courtesy of Harold Nigh)

was very much displeased with the idea ofjustice in the civil courrts, and as much assaid all justice was done away in Christ, andnothing but mercy was acceptable to Godand that we not only ought to forgive them,but clear them from all punishment andbrought forward a similar [sic] in this waysaying: `if I murder my° fallow creature youwould disobey the laws of Christ if You putma to death . . . .' I call upon my superiorsto inform ma whether it is lawful, whetherit is safe, whether it is politik, whether itis consistent with a Christian governmentto let such dangerous doctrines be calmlyintroduced with[out] interruption . . . . ""'

Linsey than proceeded to give this choiceclescription of Tunkers: "They wear beardslike the barbarious robbers on the deserts ofArabia and I fear the heart is as near inresemblance to the Arabian as the outside."These Pelham 'hunkers in 1825 were not

exactly "the quiet in the land," if Shephard'ssermon as understood by Linsey is anyindication of their character. There was astridency against other Christian "sectarians"and against civil authorities for using capitalpunishment . This was not in character withthe milder Winger and Sider reputations . Onewonders if this spirit ),v s already present in1799 in Pelham, and was a factor in JohnWinger's departure. Or might they havelearned soma agitation against authorities fromthe Quakers? V'a know that William LyonMcKenzie visited "m` old friend Mr . WilliamWilson" in Black Creek in 1833, just four yearsbefore the rebellion .?' Wilson, a Quakerschoolteacher, was obviously no shrinkingDutchman .John Bossert reports a family tradition that

there was trouble among the Tunkers inPelham Township before John Winger left,and that it may have been over the claim tobe Loyalists. Winger and Sider didn't want tobe known as Loyalists because of the militaryovertones to the name, but soma other localTunkers pressed for that distinction, with itsaccompanying advantages .'=John Winger's daughter, Anna, married

Henry Damude in Pelham . Within three

generations her descendant, A .B . Damude,became Reeve of Fonthill and then M.P . forWelland County for two terms, with thehighest majority every polled there." In BertieTownship the Brethren in Christ havegenerally kept clear of political involvement(until recently when some memberscampaigned for the present incumbent of theErie riding). Is it coincidental or causative thatin Pelham the Tunkers lost their separatenessand their identity relatively early, while theBertie Tunkers have retained both untilrecently?Whatever the reasons for Tunker decline in

Pelham in the 19th century, it did not comeearly. The 1851 census gives Tunker names ofHowell, Brown, Rinker, Patterson, Wiggins,Hendershot and Pattison (a three year oldchild was named Wealthy Pattison). The 1861census adds Solie, Laws, Simpson, Namp, Sure,Mitchell and Martin . But by the time of the1871 census, there was only one Tunker listedin Pelham - Susan Mitchell, aged 73 . TheRinkers were listed as Mennonites . JohnBossert says that most of the Pelham Tunkersbecame Baptists . Elinor Mawson says thatmost of the Clinton Tunkers became Disciples(Church of Christ).The Pelham Township Tunkers weren't

obliterated however. Around 1900 evangelistscame to the area with the new Brethren inChrist Wesleyan holiness preaching. A localresident, Seth Willford, testified to aknowledge of salvation because, "When ha gotconverted the desire to stick his pig with thefork was gone ." A Sunday school I was startedin U.S .S . #6, bush meetings ware held at thecorner of Webber and Balfour Roads, and achurch was built in 1899 . In 1907 a revivalmeeting was held lasting six weeks, followeda little later by baptismal services . It wasDecember 24th, and the temperature was 8°below zero F. Ban Pattison, who was athrasher, brought his traction angina, and usedthe steam to heat up a tank of water for theceremony by tine immersion. The 1899church, called Zion church at the corner ofWebber and Church Roads, later was moved

to become the Boyle Brethren in ChristChurch .34

It's not within the scope of this paper tooutline the history of the Mennonites of TheTwenty . That has been done elsewhere. Butit is noteworthy that the Mennonites survivedand the Tunkers disappeared around LakeOntario, whereas the reverse happened alongLake Erie . In each instance the more liberalmovements lost their Mennonite or Tunkeridentity while the traditional or conservativegroups remained . Thus in Bertie andHumberstone only the Reformed Mennonitesbear the original name . This is better illustratedfor the Tunkers by the Beverly members whobecame United Brethren . With the Quakers,however, the phenomenon was reversed . Thetradition Hicksite Quakers disappeared com-pletely in Black Creek and in this century inPelham Township .There had been two or three Quaker

churches in the Ridgeway area . Two have beenmentioned- one on Asa Schooley's farm, theother next to the school visited by WilliamLyon McKenzie in 1833 . There was also a thirdin the heart of Ridgeway, across the road fromthe Friends' cemetery still located there . IndeedRidgeway takes it name from the Ridgewayfamily which owned the land on which thevillage was later built . The Quakers also usedthe community Riverside church at SherkRoad and the Niagara Boulevard, known toMennonites as the Miller church ."All of these Quaker churches were

traditional Hicksite (and the object of somecensure from Thomas Shillatoe, a visitingevangelical Quaker) well suited for earlypioneer days with their emphasis on silentworship and spontaneous exhortation .However they were unable to compete withthe preaching of the Methodist circuit riderand the emotionalism of his camp meetings .In 1869, Black Creek Preparative Meeting was"laid down," and one of the oldest Protestantcongregations in Upper Canada ended lessthan a century after it began. 'The PelhamHicksites were active until around 1920, andthe Orthodox (evangelical) Quakers still havea strong congregation . 36

Leadership, Language and Charisma

What role did leadership play in the decline,growth or stability of these early churches? Forthe early Black Creek Quakers, no leaderemerges except the shadowy figure of PreacherSilas Furry. However, Pelham Quakers hadan outstanding leader in William Wetherald,a noted educator and preacher and the fatherof poetess Ethelwyn Wetherald (1820-1899)."He was at the height of his powers when BlackCreek Prepartive Meeting was "laid down."His strong leadership must have contributedto the relative stability of Pelham Quakers, aslack of leadership contributed to Black Creekdecline and demise .Mennonite historians have noted that lack

of leadership contributed to the decline ofBlack Creek Mennonites . Now that we'relearning a little more of the SugarloafMennonites, the same would seem to be truefor them . As previously mentioned, I havefound only one brief reference to a non-

The Riverside church, known to Mennonitesas the Miller Church .

(CGCA photo collection)

Reformed Mennonite minister in Wainfleet,John Rathfon Jr . (1844-1933) . Both leadershipand meetinghouses are hard to find inWainfleet . If there had been more JacobMoyers on both sides of the peninsula,Mennonite history may have followed adifferent course .On the other hand, George and John Zavitz

and Jacob Miller seemed to have been quitestrong Black Creek Mennonite leaders, butthere was little communication between theZavitzes and The Twenty or Waterlooleadership . Language may have been onebarrier . John Zavitz, sometimes referred to asa bishop, preached in English (his wife couldnot understand German). Michael Sherkwould get very angry when Waterloopreachers came to Black Creek and preachedin German : "Why don't they realize that we'reliving in a country which uses English ."38However, Jacob Miller's German bible is ondisplay in the Willoughby museum, with thecaption that its owner was a Mennonite circuitrider who used to go on horseback toWaterloo to preach there . So we have thecurious anomaly of a Niagara Mennonitepreacher going to Waterloo to preach, likelyin German while Waterloo Mennonitepreachers came to Niagara to preach - in aGerman unappreciated by the localcongregation . It was hardly a state of affairswhich would promote communication!English speaking Quakers in Niagara

without doubt influenced their Mennoniteneighbours to the use of English, and thus toearlier acculturation and loss of identity . Theconservative Brethren in Christ, however, usedEnglish from the beginning (1875) of the Bertiechurch and did not lose their identity . Thatwas likely due to a continuity of fairly strongleadership . There has been a virtual dynastyof the Winger and Sider families in the bishop'soffice in Bertie . Coupled with the centralizedauthority inherent in that office, it hasprovided stability . The evangelical missionaryactivity of the United Brethren, for instance,among the Mennonites in the peninsula after1860 didn't seem to touch the Brethren inChrist . They had Pietistic roots of their own .While they had some trouble absorbingWesleyan holiness teaching around the turnof the century, they had already had a strong

revival movement around 1875 . AsaClimenhaga wrote, "The largest revival theBertie district ever had was in 1875 . It startedat Sherkston and spread throughout the wholedistrict . No evangelist was engaged, and themembership continued to increase from theresults of this revival for several years after .There were one hundred and three baptizedin Lake Erie in one year ." ,9Such spontaneous religious renewal,

probably without equal in the annals ofNiagara Plain Folk history, complicateshistorical analysis . There was a leaderlesscharisma at work which was not specificallyMennonite, Tunker, United Brethren orMethodist, but the Tunkers seemed to reap theharvest . The revival started at Sherkston, aMennonite center miles away from the newBertie Tunker church erected in that year . Therevival ended by giving a powerful impetus tothe growth of the first Tunker congregationto have a church building in Canada .

"Bishop" John Zavitz and his wife .(CGCA photo collection)

Queries and Conclusions

Page 17

A question to be posed, but impossible ofdefinitive answer might be stated : Howdid theBrethren in Christ Pietistic teaching of theNew Birth fit in with the Quaker insistenceon the importance of "The Inner Light" andthe Mennonite insistence on the work of theHoly Spirit both in inward renewal and inconduct of life? Was the triumph of "NewBirth" teaching over "Inner Light" and "beingguided by the Spirit" and indication of agreater appropriateness for its time, or was itdue to other factors?That leads to further queries about the

influence of Plain Folk on each other. Whydid the Tunkers first call themselves "TheSociety of Tunkers in Pelham," using the sameterm later in Black Creek. Obviously"Society" was borrowed from the Society ofFriends and used by others for all dissentinggroups, but it seems that only the Tunkersadopted the term for themselves . Did the useof the word "Society" for the Tunkers haveanything to do with the strong tradition thatTunker bishop John Winger was the firstminister outside the Church of England to begranted the right to perform marriages? TheQuakers with their non-liturgical marriage hadhad that right from the very beginning.

(Continued on page 18)

Page 1 8

(Confined from page 17)

Does the early Tunker emphasis on the"New Birth" have anything to do with thefact that the Pelham Friends' church is nowthe only Orthodox (evangelical) Friendschurch in Canada? Did the Quaker readinessto go into politics after 1833 when anaffirmation, rather than oath, of allegiance wasmade legal have any influence on the PelhamTunkers losing their anti-political stance? Wasthe Tunker insistence on baptism byimmersion the reason the Pelham Tunkersmostly went to the Baptists and the ClintonTunkers to the Disciples rather than to theMennonites? Why was Tunker-Mennonitechange of denomation mostly from Mennoniteto Tunker in the peninsula and from Tunkerto Mennonite in Waterloo County?Since we're so late in getting into the history

of the Plain Folk in the peninsula, we maynever have enough evidence to answer thesequestions satisfactorily . However, theMennonite and Tunkers, and Quakers to acertain extent, had many ideas in commonwhich were new in Canada and important forthe development of our character.

First, we agreed on the principle of self-determination in religion . We all rejected theidea that God's grace comes through liturgy,or that it is imposed on any individual or anyterritory. In two of our groups infant baptismwas rejected ; in the case of the Quakersbaptism was only of the Spirit . All agreedbaptism was only for the prepared soul . It wasonly a short step from personal freedom inreligion to freedom of religion for others .We also agreed that war was not a proper

means to solving conflict . CommandeeredMennonite and Tunker horses may havestrengthened British military power (as didfood from local farms), but the idea of therenunciation of warwas a much stronger forcefor peace than all our teams combined .411 Peacemovements everywhere in the world arefollowing an idea totally new to Canada in1800, an idea before its time - that analternative to war must be found.Third we agreed that Christian faith was a

matter for the workplace. We didn't want tohold land in clergy reserves; we worked it . Ourpreachers all worked for aliving, and wereavailable to each congregation . One preacher,Peter Sherk, had the good sense not to preachagain after he tried it once . Some never didwell ; others did very well indeed . They allshunned professionalism in religion, for verypractical reasons, at least in part because oftheir concept of the church as a communityof believers. The church in the workplace isa concept that we had originally, butnow haveall but lost . Other denominations, especiallythe Catholic Church, are picking up that idea .All churches must get into the workplace ifthey are not to be irrelevant to today's world.An old public school history text says that

the contribution of these early settlers toCanadian life can't be overestimated. Perhapsthe Mennonite bicentennial year is a time todo some estimation, neither over nor under,of their work .

Notes1 Arthur Garratt Dorland, The Quakers in Canada, ahistory (Toronto : Ryerson, 1968), p . 82 .

2 Lloyd R. Schooley, The Schooley family in America.3See J.C . Fretz, The early history of the Mennonitesin Welland County, Ontario (Reprint fromMennonite Quarterly Review, January, 1953) .

4 L.J . Burkholder, A brief history of the Mennonitesin Ontario ([Markham: Mennonite Conference ofOntario], 1935), p . 31 .

5 Leslie R. Gray to G.D . Zavitz, November 2, 1973 .There were two bibles with similar inscriptions, bothwritten by descendants of Christian Zavitz . One waswith an Augustine family at Stromncss or near there .The other was with a Sutherland family at Glencoe .This Christian Zavitz was a brother to theJacob Sevitzmentioned by L.J . Burkholder . The Leslie R. Graypapers, which represent many years of research on theZavitz family, are in the Weldon Library, Universityof Western Ontario, London .

6 Helen Annette Zavitz C:Iark, Benjamin Zavitz. andEsther Augustine, their ancestors and descendants(1983).

7 Burkholder, p. 50 .8 The original is in the possession of Florence NeffYoung at Port Colborne . A photocopy is at ConradGrebcl College .

9 Ibid.10 Clark, op. cit .11

"The Jacob Mover bible : translation of its contents,"Mennogesprach Vol. 3, No . 1 (March, 1985), p . 4.

12 Florence Neff Young lives in Port Colborne and is adirect descendant of Abraham Neff .

13 Gary M. Gulp, "1)ielm.tn KoIb of I Inicum Township :the father of the first Mennonites in Canada,"Mennonite historians of Eastern Pennsylvania, Vol.11, No . 3 (September, 1984), p. 3-4 .

14 J .A .C . Kennedy, ed ., "Lincoln Militia return, 1818,"Families, VOL tO (1971), p . 13-14 . This was broughtto my attention by Reg. Good .

15 Gary Culp in a November 22, 1985 letter to MurielTufford .

16 John L. Ruth, Maintaining the right fellowship(Scottdale : herald Press, 1984), p . 162 .

17 Culp, "Diclman Kolb . . . .," p . 4 .18 Ruth, op . cit .19 Donna Gugliclmin, "pioneer

home . . .," PortColborne news (January 16, 1980) .

20 J.P . Merritt, Biography of the Hon. W.H . Merritt,M.P. (St . Catharines : Lcaccns+otth, 1875), p. 143 . l his

Book noteStephen Scott, Why do they dress that way?(Intercourse, Pa . : Good Books, 1986), 160 pp .

The book, to be published in November,fills a gap in popular understanding aboutMennonites, Amish and related groups whowear distinctive "plain" clothes.Although the orientation, as with other

books by this publisher, is primarily towardthe tourist market in SouthwesternPennsylvania, this book is a cut above someof the earlier titles in the series .Religious reasons, historical development,

and detail about individual items of plain garbare all discussed. Particularly interesting is theauthor's argument that Mennonites weredistinctive in their dress at least as early as the17th century. This is a departure from muchmodern Mennonite scholarship which assumesa distinctiveness from our neighbors came onlylater in the 19th century. Scott documentsnumerous sources in support of this position,and almost pursuades me .

Material about Mennonites and Amish inOntario is included in the book, and many ofthe generalizations about dress in Pennsylvaniawould apply here as well . Detailed chartsinclude the Amish in the Milvertou area and

reference was supplied by Reg Good . Note the changein spelling from Graybiel to Grabel . A Wainfleetresident, Roy Grabel, says that this ancestor went toCalifornia in the gold rush of 1850 and was convertedwhile there . Upon his return to Canada he wasoffended by the conduct of the Wainfleet Graybiels thathe changed the spelling of his name to Grabel .

21 Dr . Harold Miner spent many years collecting bits ofSugarloaf history, but he died before the informationwas organized. We don't know where the collectionis. This story is from a March 12, 1965 letter to Ninaand Henry Hill, now in the possession of the author.

22 Mrs. Franck Canby in an article of WainfleetTownship, 1962.

23 The Ellsworth family has been Reformed Mennonite.24 Florence Neff Young says that Christian Kniscly's

stone house had windows high up on the first floor .Perhaps it was built as a house church . RobertGourlay's statistical account of Upper Canada saysthe only "church or place of worship" in Hutnbcrstonewas Mennonite, as was the only preacher there,(London : Simpkin & Marshall, 1822), p. 456-457.

25 Supplied by the Reformed Mennonite bishop, Paul C.Fehrman.

26 Gugliclmin, op. cit .27 Told to Florence Nell Young by her grandfather Flihu

Neff .)8 Harold Mclick, "Centennial year sketches," Dunnville

Chronicle (Feb. 8, 1967) .29 Elinor Mawson, A very singular Moote (1979) .30 Linsey actually uses the term, "Dunker." There is the

possibility that there was an enclave at Dunkers(German Baptists) who also wore long beards like theTunkers.

31 Dorland, p. 162 .32 John Bossert is a Brethren in Christ lay preacher from

Stcccnsville .33 Fonthill Women's Institute, History of the village of

Foothill (Fonthill, 1944) .34 John Bossert, in a history of the Zion church .35 Mrs. Ivan Sahs, telephone conversation .36 Dorland, p. 162 .37 Dorland, p. 187-189 .38 Sah, . She is Sherk's granddaughter.39 AAK~ . Chmenhaga, History of the Brethren in Christ

Church (Nappanee: F.V . Publishing, 1942), p . 201.40 '1 he Quakers refused to allow their teams to be used

by the nulitarv .

the Old Order Mennonites of the Region ofWaterloo .

In many ways this book supersedes MelvinGingerich's Mennonite attire through fourcenturies. The illustrations, bibliography andstyle are first rate . Scott's work deserves widecirculation .

-Sam Steiner

Mennonite Genealogical Resources:the Grace Schmidt Room, Kitchener Public Libraryby Susan Hoffman, Local History Librarian & ArchivistThe Grace Schmidt Room officially openedto the public on October 14, 1984 . The twomajor collections housed in the GSR belongto the Kitchener Public Library and theWaterloo Historical Society . The library hasbeen collecting local documents for manyyears, as a result of the efforts of former chieflibrarians, Mabel Dunham and DorothyShoemaker . The Waterloo Historical Society,after its formation in 1912, has kept its archivaldocuments in the library . A third collectionkept in the GSR is the book collectionbelonging to the Waterloo-Wellington Branchof the Ontario Genealogical Society .Grace Schmidt was a librarian at KPL for

35 years until she retired in 1980 . She is a long-time member of the WHS and has been on thePublication Committee since 1960 . She is alsoactive as a volunteer for the Schneider Hausin Kitchener and as a member of the WaterlooRegional Heritage Foundation . The librarywas pleased to name the local history roomafter Grace .

Books and PeriodicalsKPL has been collecting books aboutMennonites and their faith for many years .Anyone involved with Mennonite genealogyshould become familiar with basic books aboutMennonites, especially in Waterloo County .A good genealogist must be aware of thehistory of his area of interest . This isparticularly true with Mennonite genealogy .

Some standard titles available in the GSR are :Burkholder, L .J . Brief History of theMennonites in Ontario .(Markham, 1935)Epp, Frank t l . Mennonites in Canada .Vol . I - 1786-1920 ;Vol . 2 - 1920-1940 (Toronto, 1974,1982)Renner, Margaret Loewen One quilt,many pieces - a concise reference guideto Mennonite groups in Canada .(Waterloo 1984) .

These books will help a genealogist sort outthe different Mennonite congregations and thedifferent migration patterns into Ontario andother parts of Canada .The book collection also includes man

genealogies . Ezra Eby's book Biographicalhistory of early settlers and theirdescendents in Waterloo Township (1895, 96,reprint Kitchener 1971) is one of the mostvaluable sources for Waterloo Countygenealogy . However, individual families havecompiled their family trees as well .KPL has subscriptions to many periodicals

which will be useful to a genealogist . Sometitles in the collection are :

Mennogesprach (March 1983- )Mennonite family history(January 1982- )

Pennsylvania folklife (1969- )Pennsylvania Mennonite heritage(1985- )

The GSR collection contains many of thestandard genealogical tools, such as theWaterloo County census for 1851, 1861, 1871,1981 and 1891, early county directories,assessment records, newspaper and oral historytapes . Following are other possible sources ofinformation for the genealogist :

Gore District Censusand Assessement Records

These microfilms were purchased from theOntario Archives and represent early censusrecords between the years 1816 and 1850 . FourWaterloo County townships are included onthe films : Waterloo, Wilmot, Woolwich andNorth Dumfries . Not all Years are availablefor each township .These records include the time period when

this area was part of the Gore District(1816-1842) before it became part of theWellington District . Thcv do, however, onlvlist the head of the household, although someindication of the number of people in eachhousehold is often listed . Different censusinclude a great deal of information about thefarms, animals etc . that each family possessed .

Naturalizations RecordsThe GSR collection has two sources ofinformation about naturalization records . Theearly records are contained in a transciptionof the Upper Canada Naturalization Registersfor the Wellington District 1843-1850 . Thetranscription was prepared by FrancesHoffman, using records found in the PublicArchives of Canada . The volume has beenindexed, and each entry includes the person'sname, his residence at the time, and the dateof expiration of the seven year residenceperiod .The second source of information is a

microfilm which includes cases heard between1853 and 1872 . There is an index at thebeginning of the microfilm reel which has analphabetical list of names and the folionumbers . In all, there are 339 cases ofproceedings in which citizenship was granted .

Birth, Marriage and Death RecordsOne of the most challenging aspects aboutMennonite genealogy is the lack of churchrecords, especially in the first 75 years ofMennonite settlement in Ontario .However, there are other sources of

information about births, marriages and deathsthat help fill in some gaps . For a number ofyears, we have been indexing the early Germannewspapers for birth, marriage and deathnotices . The earliest newspapers to be indexedare :

Canada Museum, 1835-1840Deutsche Canadier, 1841 ; 1844-1862Berliner journal, 1860-1879

Page 19

The announcements are translated intoEnglish and are kept in a rough alphabeticalorder . The translating work continues, andthese indices have been well used since theproject began . The early announcements areparticularly important before 1869, when theOntario government started to keep records .Another source worth checking is the copy

of the record book of the Rev . F . W .Bindemann . The original is kept by St . Paul'sEvangelical Lutheran Church, Kitchener .Rev . Bindemann came to Canada from

Pennsylvania in 1834 and began a ministrywhich continued until his death in 1865 . Hisrecord book contains baptisms, confirmations,marriages and deaths . The marriage records arevery valuable becaus Rev . Bindemann wasknown as the "marrying pastor" - he keptextremely busy marrying people . The marriagerecords have been translated into English, andare accessible through the groom's or bride'sname . Although he was a Lutheran pastor,Rev . Bindemann's records show that hemarried a great number of people whosefamilies were Mennonite .Between the years of 1858 and 1869, clergy

were required to report the marriages theyperformed once a year . The original reportingforms are at the Archives of Ontario, but thereis a microfilm copy for Waterloo County inthe GSR .Unfortunately the forms were not filmed in

chronological order . However the GSR staffhas examined the film and made a list of thechurches that could be identified . There area number of Mennonite congregationsincluded on the microfilm . The GSR staff canshow the list of churches to anyone interestedin these records .One other source of Mennonite baptismal

records was compiled by Isaac R . Horst, calledBaptismal Records 1842-1980 . According toMr . Horst, he has attempted to publish recordsof Waterloo County Mennonites until 1889,continuing with the Old Order Mennonitesuntil 1980 . The book also lists the Bishops whoserved from 1812 until 1980 .Cemeteries are one of the richest sources of

information available for the genealogist . InWaterloo County, the Waterloo-WellingtonBranch of the Ontario Genealogical Societyhas been working hard to record all thecemeteries in the county . Completedtranscriptions of many cemeteries arc nowavailable in the GSR, and the work continueson other cemeteries .The Genealogy Committee of the

Mennonite Historical Society of Ontario hasalso been listing the Mennonite cemeteries inWaterloo County . Copies of the completedlists are being given to the Waterloo-Wellington Branch of the OGS and are alsoavailable to interested researchers .

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Tweedsmuir HistoriesOne other resource that is available togenealogists is a microfilm set of TweedsmuirHistories . These histories are collections oflocal history that have been kept by branchesof the Women's Institutes . Most of themicrofilm in this set represent branches inNorth Waterloo . They contain a great deal ofinformation about the area's people, farms andindustries .The Grace Schmidt Room is located on

Level I of the Main Branch of the KitchenerPublic Library, 85 Queen St . North,Kitchener, ON N2H 2H1. The hours of theGSR are limited, so researchers are advised toall ahead - 743-0271 ext . 252.

A Mennonite Petitionof 1787

by E. Reginald GoodWhile doing research on behalf of theMennonite Bicentennial Commission, thewriter discovered an important document inthe Public Archives of Canada (Ottawa) . It isa petition from a Mennonite family for a landgrant in Canada, dated 1787 . It is the onlyknown claim from Mennonites for pre-1792loyalist lands, and thus sheds significant lighton early Mennonite immigration to, andsettlement in, presentday Ontario .Possibly the reason the petition has been

overlooked thus far is because the family nameon it was written "Obenholt" (the Germanspelling) rather than "Overholt" (the Englishspelling) . The family was definitely Mennonite(see John L. Ruth's Maintaining the RightFellowship (Scottdale : Herald Press, 1984), p.160), evidenced by the fact that the petitioneraffirmed, instead of swore, to the validity ofthe claim presented . It reads as follows:

"Proceedings of the Loyalist Commissioners,Montreal, 27 Aug. 1787"827. Claim of Widow Obenholt, late ofPensilva .The oldest son of John Obenholt appears.Claimt . affirms .

NAME

ADDRESS

That this is a Claim of his Father's Estate .It is entered in his Mother's name, but was senthome by Claimt . & was intended to be aClaim for the whole family .His Father, John Obenholt, was a native of

America. Lived in Buck's Co ., Pensilva . Heaided the Brit[ish] all he could. Joined themat New York in the year [17180 . He had beenactive in assisting Brit[ishl officers to get [a]cross the Delaware, this being known he wasobliged to fly . He had been committed forhigh Treason, broke Gaol &got to New York .Died there in [17]80 . Made no Will .

Left Elizth ., his Widow, now living in BucksCo . Claimt ., his eldest Son. John, now about16 years of age, now in the Colonies .Claimt . lived with his Father when the

Rebellion broke out. He staid till his Fatherwent to New York . Claimt . had been activein carrying some of the soldiers who weretaken Prisoners under Burg . He went to NewYork once or twice on this Business to carryin Prisoners, on no other occasion . Continuedin the States till last Fall .His Father had a farm, 6 miles, in Bucks Co .,

purchased 24 or 25 yrs . ago. There were 260acres, a grist mill, 2 houses & 2 Barns. TheDeeds are in the Colonies but a Copy has beensent to England . Thinks his Father gave 700or 800 £ for it . This Estate has been valued at1,100 Pensilv . Cury . It has been confiscated &sold . A certificate of Sale is sent to England.His Father had considerable moveable

Estate, which were seized & sold .3 horses, 5 Cows, 12 Sheep, 6 Hogs,

considerable furniture, Hay, taken & sold .'

The petition indicates that both JohnOverholt, Sr . and John Overholt, Jr . servedthe British in noncombatant roles during theRevolutionary War. The Americans convictedJohn Overholt, Sr . as a traitor for havingassisted the British in this way, and confiscatedhis real estate and chattels . John Overholt, Jr .came to Canada in Fall 1786 - probably withother Bucks County Mennonite immigrants- and sought economic relief from the Britishfor his destitute mother, siblings, and self .

Interestingly, the Loyalist Commissioners inCanada rejected Overholt's petition, giving theterse judgment that he was "no loyalist, nor

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

CITY

POSTAL CODE

SPECIAL INTERESTS

Memberships :

PHONE

[was] any member of the family now living,"and therefore undeserving of relief. The strictdefinition of a loyalist was one who "hadadhered to the Unity of the Empire, and joinedthe Royal Standard in America before theTreaty of Separation in the year 1783," or thespouse of such a person .' Apparently thisdefinition was interpreted to exclude pacifistsand/or persons who had been impressed intoservice . At any rate, Mennonites wereeffectively denied loyalist benefits, evidencedby the fact that no known Mennonite waspermanently placed on the United EmpireLoyalists list .'The rejection of Mennonite claims, as

represented here by the Commissioners'response to the Overholt petition, may helpto explain why more Mennonites did notemigrate to Ontario in the 1780's . The groundson which the Overhold family based theirclaim, on the other hand, may help to explainthe motives behind the migration of a fewMennonites at this time .Because Mennonite claims were rejected,

most Mennonites who settled in presentdayOntario did not bother to petition for landgrants until after 1792 when Simcoe changedthe criterion for receiving them . Simcoeresolved to issue settlement - as opposed toloyalist -grants to the "King's subjects" andrepentant republicans who immigrated fromthe United States .°After 1792, therefore, there are many records

of Mennonite petitions for land grants . But theOverholt petition is one of only a few, raredocuments which shed light on the earliestyears of Mennonite settlement in Canada,1786-1792 .

Notes1 RG1, L3 . Claim of Elizabeth Obenholt, 27 Aug.

1787 .2 The Old United Empire Loyalists List

(Baltimore : Genealogical Publishing Co ., 1969),p. 127 .

3 An Elizabeth Oberholt, possibly the onementioned in his article, appeared on the LE.L .list of 9 November 1789 but she was expungedby an Order in Council dated 23 May 1802 .

4 Public Archives of Ontario, Report, 1929, pp18-19, 37-28, 187-92 .

Student - $5.00 Mail to: Secretary, Mennonite Historical Society of OntarioRegular - $ 10 .00 c/o Conrad Grebel CollegeAdditional memberships Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G6at same address(one mailing) - $5.00Sustaining - $15 .00