Where to begin a history? How did Mennonites find themselves living
along the Grand River in Upper Canada? How in fact did the Grand
River come to be purchased from the Six Nations by German Americans
when it had been the recognized home of the Mississauga for years
and historically part of New France?
This history begins with a war between the English and French that
left most of eastern North America in the hands of the British.
The Six Nations still lived south of the Great Lakes and much of
Southern Ontario was recognized as home to the Mississauga. The
Mennonites still lived in Pennsylvannia where they had sought religious
refuge from persecution years earlier. The new British Quebec was
largely French and awarded its citizens the privileges of French
law, religion and language. As before the French-Indian war, Quebec
stretched down the back of the Thirteen Colonies restricting westward
expansion. This was one of the factors leading to the American Revolutionary
War in 1776, which ended with the loss of Quebec south of the Great
Lakes and a flood of refugees to Canada.
Upper Canada was created in the face of
Loyalists moving to the Maritimes and Quebec demanding compensation
for war losses and a voice in government. It became necessary
to split the remnants of Quebec into two colonies Upper and Lower
Canada, each with its own legal system. To provide the Loyalists
with lands, huge swaths were purchased from the Mississauga and
divided into lots for farms.
The Grand River Tract was purchased
to compensate Britain's Six Nations allies. The British expected
them to farm the land and were indignant when they sold sections
to speculators. They eventually backed down but demanded that
any land bought from natives had to be paid for in full before
title could be granted. Mennonites who had already been enticed
to settle along the river found their ownership in jeopardy when
they discovered that the land speculator who sold them their farms
had not yet paid the Six Nations the full purchase price. To solve
the problem they sought help from their bretheren in Pennsylvannia
who, with the purchase of yet more land, met the government's
requirements.
Mennonites had a long history in North America. They first
arrived as part of the Pennsylvania experiment in religious freedom.
The Pennsylvania colony invited Protestants from all over Europe
to come to America and practise their religion without persecution.
Quakers, Thunkers, Mennonites and others, many from Germany, settled
the colony. They maintained cultural as well as religious traditions,
and inteh case of the Mennonites, they continued to speak their
native language, living in small communities away from the influences
of the growing English population. As they prospered, they needed
to find more farmland and prices were skyrocketing in the new
USA. In Canada, land was cheap and in 1793 a further incentive
was added when Lt. Gov. Simcoe promised Mennonites freedom from
military service if the immigrated.
The Schneiders were one of the earliest
German Mennonite families to travel to the Grand River. The journey
was arduous and the land they received was uncleared bush. But
within a few years they had a large frame house, a profitable
saw mill and a successful farm. Their home, which still stands
near the center of Kitchener, was part of a growing German community
that formed around the town of Berlin, the regional capital of
Waterloo County.
