This is from the Hans Ediger book by C. T. Friesen:

Mennonite Colonies of West Prussia.
Since the Dutch had become adept at reclaiming the lowlands from the sea, the West Prussian government invited these refugees to settle in their underdeveloped swamp lands. Here the Mennonites built thriving farms and well-kept orchards. Eventually, they built up their lands and developed the custom of building their houses and barns end to end, a practice they later carried with them to Russia. The Mennonites were not allowed to win new converts and the church did not allow marriages to "outsiders", thus family names were no different from what they had been in the Netherlands. For nearly two hundred years, they clung to their Dutch language. As various dialects of German developed, the dialects of the German highlands became known as "high German," and the dialects of the lowlands became known as "low German", or "Plattdietsch." By the late 1700s, the Mennonites of West Prussia had more fully accepted the high German for worship services and literary purposes. Low German was more accepted in the home and for conversational purposes.

Eventually, the prosperity of the Mennonites roused the envy of the Prussian citizens living in the surrounding areas. Beginning in 1780, the government required the Mennonite to pay exorbitant capitation taxes to release their young men from military service. The money was used to support the military academy, and thus the Mennonites were no longer exempted from the duty of aiding the country's military. The religious freedoms of the Mennonites of West Prussia had been impinged. Russian Czarina Catherine the Great wanted to develop the open lands of southern Russia as an agricultural center. And thus her colonizing agent Baron Georg von Trapp, who spoke the Plattdeutsch, visited the West Prussian Mennonites with an invitation to come and build.

Colonies in South Russia.
Czarina Catherine the Great had issued several previous Manifestos to induce immigration, yet the Mennonites felt these Manifestos were inadequate. Two Prussian Mennonite deputies to the Russian capital of St. Petersburg visited personally with Catherine the Great. Meanwhile, a few of the Mennonites began moving into southern Russia, establishing the Chortitza Colony. Catherine the Great died in 1796, and her son Czar Paul I came to power. The Chortitza Mennonite colonists feared for their previous agreement with the government, and sent agents to negotiate. In 1800, after two years of negotiating, Czar Paul I signed the document known as the PRIVILEGIUM. The points of the PRIVILEGIUM included:
1. The Mennonites and their descendants were assured Freedom of Religion.
2. Each family is to receive 65 dessiatinen of land (approximately 175 acres.)
3. Vocational freedom and trade, factories and industries, is assured within the colonies and throughout Russia.
4. The Mennonites may use their land as they wish, fish in it's water, brew beer and vinegar.
5. Non-Mennonites are not permitted to have a saloon or brewery on their lands without permission.
6. None of the Mennonites or their descendants shall be drafted for military service, unless they volunteer.
7. Mennonites shall not be called on to lodge military troops, but they shall build and keep their own roads and bridges in good shape and contribute to the maintenance of stage-coach service.
8. Mennonites shall have their own property and inheritance laws.
9. The Molotschna colony is exempt from taxes for ten years, and the Chortitza colony is exempt for an additional five to ten years.
10. All governmental officials are to honor these privileges everywhere, the Mennonites are not to be disturbed.

The PRIVILIGIUM prompted a great exodus from West Prussia, and in 1803, 162 families embarked for southern Russia.

The following is from "Our Heritage" by Wilmer A. Harms, MD:

Historically the Mennonite people have been a people of sojourn, a parallel to the children of Israel. In spite of their shortcomings, their history is a powerful testimony to the survival of a faith amidst wanderings and
hardships of a pioneer. For more than 400 years these people have retained their identity while wandering from the Netherlands and Northern Germany to Prussia, from Prussia to Russia, and eventually to the Americas. With the progression of time, their lifestyle became increasingly more revolutionary; regrettably their faith has increasingly lost some of its simplicity but always remained as the basic ingredient in the demanding sacrifices of a pioneering spirit. Wherever they found sanctuary they exemplified thrift, industriousness and honesty. Their hallmarks were: thriving wheat fields, mulberry hedges, orchards, hard work and a simple lifestyle...

...The simplistic and literal interpretation of the Scriptures given by Menno Simons only served to encourage the fledgling Mennonites to withdraw from intermingling with those considered to be non-believers. As a result
the Mennonites were accused of being revolutionaries and persecution measures designed to destroy them began in earnest.

To avoid being arrested and killed, isolated families and small groups of Mennonites began to flee. Since West Prussia was one of the countries favoring Protestantism, many religious refugees found their way to this
country. The escape routes to the east were overland along the sea coasts and also by means of trading vessels sailing through the Baltic Sea. When German and Polish nobles in West Prussia heard about these persecutions they began to offer refuge and religious freedom to any Dutch Mennonites who would come to settle in their under developed swamp lands. Primarily this involved the Mennonites living in the low lands of Holland and Northern Germany which was fortuitous for all concerned. These thrifty Mennonite farmers had become very adept at reclaiming the low lands from the sea by the building of canals and dikes. Thus they were not hesitant to accept low lands assigned to them in the Vistula River delta in preference to hilly, wooded areas offered as an alternative. Hundreds of Dutch and Flemish families migrated and settled in the lower Viatula River area.

The new settlers built "Dutch Windmills" and canals and soon diverted the waters over the dikes and back to the Baltic Sea. This required an immense amount of energy and patience along with hard labor to build the water mills, dig endless numbers of canals, construct dams and improve the existing German-built dams on the Vistula and Nogat Rivers. But the reclaimed fertile soil soon afforded beautiful farm lands and well-kept
orchards. As usual, new hopes often bring new hardships. Economically the Mennonites had many disappointments as these arable lowlands were ever so often ruined overnight when the ice packs of the Vistula River would break the dam and heavy spring rains would flood the fruitful fields with sand. Tremendous effort was required to rebuild the dams and ruined buildings. Even though their crops were destroyed they remained faithful to their chosen homes hoping for better times. In time the Mennonites began to build
their farmyards up above the original water level. This involved moving a lot of dirt so that the farmsteads were made rather small and soon became crowded. To cope with this situation another innovation was developed
whereby the house and barn were built together end to end. This worked out so well that it became a standard practice when they moved to Russia later on and to some extent also by the earliest settlers coming to America. This combination of a house, stable, and barn under a single thatched roof became known as a "Reihenhof." However, the cost of land reclamation was high and countless numbers died of swamp fever during the first generation, the estimate of deaths going as high as 80% of the settlers....

...For a period of more than 200 years (1540-1788), the Mennonites enjoyed the fruits of hard labor and a frugal and simple life under the protection of benevolent kings in their territory. Because of their peaceful lifestyle
and industrious farming, the Mennonites had continued to receive special privileges from these kings. A census taken in 1774 revealed that the Mennonites owned at least 80,000 acres of rich farm land in West Prussia.
Eventually their prosperity aroused the envy of Prussian citizens living in surrounding areas and in turn, began to complain to the government. Initially the kings countered this by exacting heavy property taxes from the
Mennonites to support the Prussian military, and also withdrew military exemptions. The Mennonites were also forbidden to purchase farm land except from another Mennonite. Additionally, beginning in 1780 the Mennonites were required to pay rather exorbitant "capitation taxes" of 5000 thaler annually to release their young men from military services. This money was used to support the military academy at Culm and thus the Mennonites were not exempted from the duty of aiding the defense of their country...

...In a move which changed the destiny of our forefathers, Russia crowned the German Princess, Sophia Augusta Fredericka, as Empress (Czarina) Catherine II on Sept. 22, 1762. She succeeded her husband, Peter III and became known as Catherine the Great. She had married Prince Peter in 1745 and been rebaptized into the Russian Orthodox Church and renamed Catherine. She was to reign over her newly adopted country until 1796. One of her most innovative projects was to fill the empty lands in Russia - vast stretches of fertile lands in the South and East which were then lorded over by nomadic tribes. Her goal was to bring western culture and industry to Russia. What better source was there than the industrious peasants of her native land? On December 4, 1762 she issued her first Manifesto inviting Germans and other European immigrants to come and settle in her Empire. Since the Seven Years' War, affecting both Germany and Prussia under Frederick the Great, was still in progress, she did not get any response. On July 22, 1763, she proclaimed her second Manifesto and to induce immigration to her uninhabited lands she made some very enticing promises. Some of the more important promises were:
1. Foreigners coming to Russia would be granted free exercise of their religion.
2. Freedom from taxation for 30 years.
3. Would not be asked to perform military or civil service against their will.
4. Interest free loans for 10 years
5. Local self government according to their customs
6. Money for sustenance and travel as soon as they would reach the Russian border.

This brought some 30,000 immigrants, the majority of which the Russian government settled in the region around the Volga River (these have been referred to as Volga Germans, were primarily Catholic people, and when they emigrated to America in the 1870s they settled primarily around Hays, KS). The emigration was brought to a temporary standstill by the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774. Nevertheless, knowledge of this Manifesto and subsequent emigration now offered a very viable alternative for the "oppressed" Mennonites to consider who were living in the area of Danzig and West Prussia.

Following the Russian defeat of Turkey, Catherine II now found herself with more vast new lands - namely the Ukraine area north of the Black Sea. Realizing that agriculture was the backbone of national prosperity she
placed these southern lands under the jurisdiction of her Prime Minister, Potemkin, and encouraged him to expand all possible efforts to get these lands colonized. Potemkin hired a colonized agent by the name of Baron Georg von Trapp, a former german countryman of Catherine II, who had been a Russian General during the Seven Year's War and had become very familiar with the Prussian Mennonites' farming abilities. (The Seven Year's War, 1756-1763, although it involved every nation in Europe, for our purposes it was a "quarrel" between Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, and Czarina Elizabeth of Russia, who bitterly hated and feared the King of Prussia.) Trapp was aware of the Mennonites' repression at the hands of Polish and Prussian rulers and able to speak Plattdeutsch he traveled to Danzig and West Prussia in 1786 and began to interest the Mennonites to move to Russia. Trapp slowly began to win the Mennonite people by appearing very friendly
assuring them that the Manifesto issued by Catherine the Great in 1763 was now issued to them also. Realizing that the Mennonites were not about to pack up and leave for Russia like the German immigrants had done, he
suggested that they appoint two deputies to travel to Russia at government expense to investigate the lands being offered.

Trappe's offer appeared to be a most sensible approach and so Jacob Hoeppner and Johann Bartsch were elected to go "spy out the promised land." They left Danzig on November 1, 1786, going first by boat to Riga - the Russian port of entry. The second leg of their journey was made on sleighs with the latter part of the trip being along the Dnieper River to Kherson where they met Potemkin who showed them the arable land available for colonization including the area in the Crimea, down in the peninsula of the Black Sea. Hoeppner and Bartsch finally chose a tract of land near Berislav situated close to the mouth of the Dnieper River where it enters the Black Sea. This area was chosen because it was considered large enough to accommodate about
1000 families and resembled the lowlands of the Vistula River back in Prussia. The land appeared to be well adapted to raise small grains and raising cattle as well as being strategically located for trading and selling their products.

Assured that they had made the best choice possible, they now went back to St. Petersburg where they personally visited with Catherine II and won from her special concessions for the Mennonites beyond the Manifesto of 1763. While on the journey to St. Petersburg, Hoeppner had the misfortune of breaking a leg in a sleigh accident, and Bartsch sustained some severely frozen toes, but they finally succeeded in obtaining confirmation of all the privileges they felt proper and desirable before leaving for Danzig again, arriving there in January of 1788 - having been gone on their special assignment for nearly 15 months...

...When Hoeppner and Bartsch returned to Danzig and gave their glowing reports this was all the encouragement needed and groups began to leave as fast as they could secure passports. The first group left on March 22, 1788 and other followed. They gathered their meager belongings along with their
wives and children and left for South Russia. They traveled by covered wagon for those who had horses, others on foot, and with push carts. They expected the new land to be fertile with no dikes to build or forests to clear. The farm land would be given to them free and the Russian government would supply the homes and many other needs for the pioneer.

Because of the lateness of the season at this time and the renewed warfare between Russia and Turkey, the immigrants were forced to encamp here for the winter. The experiences here were disheartening to say the least. Contacts with Russian people where both pleasant and unpleasant. The crude, temporary shelters made the Russian winter seem long and cold. Added to these material discomforts, there was a certain degree of religious unrest due to the rivalry of two religious factions represented - Flemish and Frisian. This Frisian and Flemish division had been imported from Holland to Danzig and West Prussia, and the rift between the two groups even now, in their early Russian period, was as wide as ever. Intermarriage between the two factions was forbidden on pain of excommunication. Because this group represented the poorer class of Mennonites, they had no one who could perform a marriage ceremony or serve communion; the sermons were read which
had been prepared by ministers at home.

The deputies, Hoeppner and Bartsch, were with this group and as soon as the ice melted on the Dnieper River the journey was resumed. Baggage, boxes and trunks were placed on barges as well as some passengers, and sent downstream. The reminder proceeded by wagon, while Jacob Hoeppner and a selected group of men hurried ahead so they might meet the barges at Berislav. When they arrived at Krementschug they were met by Potemkin who surprised them with the unpleasant news that they were not permitted to travel to Berislav - apparently because of the Russian - Turkish fighting still going on in the area. Instead, a new order was given for them to proceed to the area where the Chortitza River joined the Dnieper River. In spite of the strong objections by Hoeppner and his companions, the order could not be changed. The disappointing factor in this exchange was the land at the new designation appeared to be a wilderness - no trees, only bare and hilly steppes with sandy soil. Although the industrious colonists eventually transformed this area into rolling meadows, gardens, orchards, homesteads, etc., the initial disappointment had a major impact which
created an atmosphere of ill will and discontent between the immigrants and the government which also failed to keep other promises made to the immigrants. Eventually this resulted in some most unfortunate accusations
being made against Hoeppner and Bartsch and subsequently shameful treatment of these two former deputies by the colonists.

According to Russian records, the original group to settle in Chortitza area was 228 families - 958 persons were Mennonites and 375 were Lutherans. The years of 1793 to 1796 brought another 118 families to this area bringing the total number of colonists to 1800 people living in 18 different villages covering an area of about 6000 acres.

The Russian pioneer farmers were by and large transplanted from the fertile soil and abundant rainfall of the Vistula Delta in Prussia. The Russian steeps were more dry and barren. With an average annual rainfall of only 15 inches the new colonists encountered difficulty adapting their farming methods to the climate of the new environment. Thus there were years of experimentation before they learned to adjust to draught, crop failures and grasshoppers. However, with time and perseverance they became outstanding and successful farmers. Before the Mennonites left the steppes of Russia they had turned South Russia into the breadbasket of Europe, an accomplishment they were to repeat later in America to an ever greater extent.

By 1840 a new type of hardship began to present some grave concerns. All the “crown land” given by the Russian government was now occupied. Each head of a family was entitled to 175 acres in the original contract. The government forbade the sale of land to outsiders and the division of the farm upon the death of the original owner. It had to be kept intact, either within the family or by some other Mennonite. By intelligent planning neither of the two original colonies had distributed all the land granted by the Russian government. A certain amount had been retained to be used as common pasture land with the income to be built up in a fund with which surplus population some time later might be helped to purchase land outside of these colonies and settle a daughter colony. The population of Mennonites grew tremendously, doubling every 25 years. By the 1860’s the population pressure became a serious problem in both of the original two colonies. Only about one-third of the families owned “crown land”. By 1865, in the Molotschna Colony alone, there were 1,384 landowning families, 2,356 landless families and another 490 families were living on farms outside the villages. In most of the villages there were small tracts of land on which the landless were allowed to build a house and make a living as best they could working as hired help or in the various industrial plants. These were spoken of as the “Anwohner” (landless). To make matters worse they had no voice in the meetings of the local assembly in the various villages.

With the prosperous economy came a deterioration of the spiritual life in the colonies. Not the least of all the contributing factors was the government’s permission for the immigrants to establish their own breweries. From the standpoint of religious characteristics there were at least 3 similarities found among the Russian Mennonites which followed practices prevailing in Prussia. (1) Independent congregational units were founded either by villages or groups of villagers and were either Frisian or Flemish in affiliation. In the Chortitza Colony most of the churches were Flemish except in the village of Kronsweide, which was Frisian. In the first 20 years of the Molotschna Colony the village churches in Halbstadt, Ohrloff and Alexanderwohl were Flemish, while Rudnerweide was Frisian. (2) Each congregation had an elder, several ministers, one or two deacons and several “foresanger” (song leaders). Since none of these were salaried they were chosen from the laity who were without special training and usually represented the well-to-do owners of the larger farms. (3) Church membership was required for marriage. One of the weaknesses in the PRIVILEGIUM granted by Catherine II to the Mennonite colonists was that the benefits or privileges could only be enjoyed by members of the Mennonite faith. This more or less required that at a certain age all young people were required to join the church by baptism. Obviously this obscured the concept of a believers' church in that some took this commitment seriously while for others it was only a formality.

Spiritual renewals swept through the villages at different times as some pious men were willing to speak out in behalf of insights gained from their personal study of the Scriptures. One such person was Klass Reimer who, after serious study of the Bible and diligent reading of MARTYR’S MIRROR, was able to gather a like-minded group subscribing to his teachings and in 1814 organized a separate group which was referred to as the KLEINE GEMEINDE (the group is now known as the Evangelical Mennonite Conference with churches in Nebraska and Manitoba, at one time also had one in Meade, Kansas). Soon after 1850 a spiritual awakening became evident among the churches primarily due to the evangelizing efforts of Edward Wuest and Bernhard Harder. Wuest was an ardent and fiery minister from the Reformed Lutheran Church in the German Lutheran colony of Neuhoffnung near the Molotschna Colony. A most eloquent speaker, people came from far and near to hear him preach on repentance, conversion and living a consistent Christian life. Harder was a Mennonite, an admirer of Wuest and also a gifted speaker. A revolutionary and inspiring evangelist he spoke with conviction and a thundering voice. He has been referred to as “the greatest evangelist and pulpit orator the Mennonites of Russia produced”. His contribution to the religious life of the Molotschna Colony ranks in stature to the agricultural achievements accomplished by Johann Cornies for the colonists.

Out of the Bible study and prayer cells which began to characterize the revitalized spirituality a group of 18 members of the Gnadenfeld Village Church met with Abraham Cornelsen as their leader in homes for private communion services and Bible study. There was a growing concern in regards to corruption in the church and elders appearing to tolerate these practices rather than instituting measures of discipline. Finally, on January 6, 1860, a “Document of Session” was drawn up and officially signed by 18 concerned brethren thereby withdrawing from the organized church. Their document of withdrawal formed the basis of a new church which later became known as the MENNONITE BRETHREN CHURCH. Another group born out of the spirited revivals, and closely related to the Mennonite Brethren Church in thought and practice, was the KRIMMER MENNONITE BRETHREN CHURCH. This group was led by Jacob A. Wiebe and involved new converts in the village of Annafeld in the Crimean Colony. Being in disagreement with the mode of baptism practiced by the KLEINE GEMEINDE they chose to break away to practice immersion baptism upon confession of a faith which had been preceded by a conversion experience. These various church divisions were blessings in disguise and had a rejuvenating effect on the spiritual life of all the Mennonites in the Molotschna Colony.

By 1870 the Mennonites in Russia had become an established people. From the original two colonies, Chortitza and Molotschna, daughter colonies had been established through organized efforts and assistance to provide for an increasing number of “landless people” alluded to earlier. Of these daughter colonies, Crimea was the largest with 25 villages, smaller colonies were in the Kuban, Shoenfeld, Volhynia, Samara (along the Volga River) and the Trakt. As a whole, the colonists were a small minority in a vast nation under one of the most autocratic governments in the world, yet existing as an autonomous state within a state with a different language, democratic local governments, a superior system of education. a different religion, and a completely different cultural and economic background. It is estimated that by 1870 some 9000 Mennonite immigrants had come to the original two colonies - 8000 of those were from West Prussia, the rest were from Germany and elsewhere. As colonists in Russia, they had increased to a total population of 45,000 occupying nearly 800,000 acres of land. The Chortitza Colony had expanded to 18 villages, the Molotschna to 55. Of these two colonies, the Molotschna was the more prosperous and the recipient of more favors and attentions from the Russian government.

Then, almost without warning, ominous indications became apparent that a new and more militaristic Russian government was about to begin a Russification process. France and Germany were at war with each other and Czar Alexander II became concerned about the large number of German nationals living in Russia, particularly those in the Ukraine who had special privileges not given the indigenous population. So in 1870 the Russian Czar issued an imperial UKASE which affected the Mennonites as follows: (1) the Fuersorge Komitee at Odessa, a representative for the Czar overseeing the various colonies in the Ukraine area, was abolished and the colonies were to be governed directly from St. Petersburg, (2) the official language in political areas and in the schools would be Russian, (3) the schools themselves were to be under the direct supervision of the imperial education authorities, and (4) military exemption, enjoyed for nearly a century, was also abolished. The colonists were given 10 years within which to comply with the new laws. After that they would become full-fledged Russian citizens.

One of the first to become aware of this UKASE was Cornelius Janzen, a Prussian Mennonite and grain merchant serving as a Prussian Consul in Berdyansk, located on the northern coast of the Sea of Azov, about 21 miles from the Molotschna Colony. Recognizing the serious impact this would have on the Mennonite colonists, if this were directed toward them he sought confirmation. Because of his position as Consul, he moved in political circles and was personally acquainted with the Russian governor-general at Odessa. When approached by Janzen the governor-general hedged at first but finally agreed that the report was true and would be enforced. Janzen informed the colonists accordingly, namely, that the freedom from military service, which the Russian government had recognized and honored for 80 years, would now be ended. On the basis of this report the leaders of the Molotschna Mennonites held a meeting in December, 1870 and again in January 8, 1871. A third meeting together with delegates from Chortitza and Bergthal Colonies were held to remind the government of the rights given to the Mennonites in the original Privilegium. Their concern was the principle of non-resistance now in question and which had recently been lost by the Mennonites still in Prussia. The delegation consisted of Leonard Suderman, Peter Goertz, Franz Isaac, and Herman Janzen from the Molotschna Colony and Heinrich Epp and Gerhard Dueck from the Chortitza Colony. They were unable to meet with the Czar, but met with a number of high ranking officials who not only refused to be sympathetic to their pleas, but also became quite irritated that none of the six delegates could converse in fluent Russian.

A second delegation was sent to St. Petersburg in 1872. Again they were not given an audience by the Czar, but were able to meet with Crown Prince Constantine who had visited the Mennonite Colonies earlier. Although he was more sympathetic than the first delegation had encountered, yet he was unable to give any assurance concerning military exemption but offered the possibility of some type of non-combatant service. This was unacceptable to the delegation and so they returned home. Energetic plans to emigrate now began to surface. Under consideration were such places as: Russian Turkestan, which was under different laws, New Zealand, Australia, North and South America. The Mennonites found compelling reasons to leave Russia. Not the least of them was the distrust that was developing in the government which was not recognizing the special privileges granted the Mennonites back in 1789, which was to be honored for 100 years. There were still 18 years to go. Also the Mennonites had not been informed about an agreement made several years earlier between Bismark, Emporer of the German government, and the Russian government. Cornelius Janzen had become aware of this while serving as Prussian Consul at Berdyansk. Apparently Germany felt they had a political right to all the German colonists in Russia. So when Germany was at War with France the question came up what to do about the German people, including the Mennonites, who were living in Russia. When Bismark asked the Russian government to remain neutral towards the two countries at war, as a condition for this favor, Russia requested Germany to withdraw its political guardianship it exercised over German colonists living in Russia. Bismark agreed to this on the condition that these colonists would be given a ten year period during which they could emigrate out of Russia if they so desired, after that they would be considered as full-fledged Russian citizens. On the basis of this it was Janzen’s contention that the Mennonites should migrate to America within this 10 year period of grace or else they would lose their religious freedom and all special privileges granted in the Privilegium.

In the meantime, Cornelius Janzen had begun correspondence with Christian Krehbiel of Sommerfield, Illinois, and John F. Funk of Elkhart, Indiana, asking about military laws, natural resources, land laws and other matters of interest of prospective settlers. He also contacted the British Consul in Berdyansk regarding the same matters and the availability of large tracts of land for settlements in Canada. When Canadian authorities were informed about the prospects of getting thousands of the finest farmers coming to Canada to settle western Canadian prairies, diplomatic contacts were made with Russian officials in St. Petersburg and permission was granted that the Mennonites could be approached and processed for migration would not be interfered with. The Canadian government sent a William Hespler to the Mennonite Colonists and authorized him to grant any demands they might have. The Mennonites asked for basically the same privileges originally granted to them by Catherine the Great nearly 100 years ago.

By the summer of 1872 the momentum to emigrate was such that Cornelius Janzen took his family to visit America and investigate settlement possibilities. Before he returned to Russia, four young men: Bernhard Warkentin, Jacob Boehr, Phillip Wiebe, and Peter Dyck, who were sufficiently wealthy to finance their own travels also left for America for pleasure and an inspection tour - visiting Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska. While they were traveling in America, Warkentin’s wife died in Russia and so he chose to stay at Sommerfield, Illinois for the winter while the other 3 men returned and reported on their trip. Leonard Suderman and Cornelius Janzen, both from Berdyansk, now became leaders in the emigration movement. Janzen had strong feelings about the loss of military exemption and wanting to capitalize on this as a reason for migrating, he published pamphlets on non-resistance for which the Russian government promptly expelled him on May 22, 1873. Janzen left for America and became a contact person for Russian emigrants. The Canadian representative, William Hespler, was also exiled from Russia for his overly zealous activities, all of which helped the Mennonites to realize how precarious their position was under the new government.

Seeing and admitting that little could be done about their situation in Russia, the Mennonites met on Sept. 25, 1872, at the Alexanderwohl village and chose a delegation of 12 men, representing various communities, and sent them to America to look for specific areas where new settlements could be located. This deputation consisted of: Leonard Suderman and Jacob Buller from Molotschna; Cornelius Toews and David Klassen as Kleine Gemeinde delegates; Paul and Lohrenz Tachetter, Hutterite delegation; Wilhelm Ewert representing Mennonites in Prussia; Andreas Schrag and Tobias Unruh representing the Polish and Dutch colonists of Volhynia; and Heinrich Wiebe, Jacob Peters and Cornelius Buhr from the Bergthal Colony. These 12 left Europe in April and arrived in New York on May 22, 1873.

The deputies spent 3 months in America exploring the open lands of Manitoba, Canada, and the Dakotas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Texas in the United States. At times they traveled together and on several occasions they split up into 3 groups in order to cover more territory. Each man kept a diary describing his impressions of the various areas explored. On Aug. 20, 1873, they all met again in New York to compare notes and impressions and to prepare for their return voyage. The Bergthal and Kleine Gemeinde delegates were impressed with the large uninhabited lands in Manitoba and the assurance they were given of exemption from military service. (Paul and Lohrenz Tachetter and Tobias Unruh had visited President Grant in person in Washington and asked for a military service exemption for 50 years, a petition not assured them by President Grant.) The Hutterite and Volhynian delegates favored the eastern part of the Dakota territory while the rest had been impressed with Nebraska and Kansas. All things considered, the deputies favored emigration and returned home to give their eagerly awaited reports.

At this point we need to digress a little to determine how the land had become available for the immigrants to settle. In 1862 President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act which granted to U.S. citizens the title to 160 acres or less of unappropriated land provided they would live on it and cultivate the land for 5 years. In particular this was meant to attract settlers to the wide open prairies available, especially in the Midwest. The following year the United States Congress passed a bill which specified a large land grant to encourage construction of railroads across the vast acres of prairies. It specifically stated that the railroad would be given every alternate section of land designated by odd numbers and extending for 10 sections on each side of the railroad right-of-way. Furthermore, these roads had to be completed within 10 years or else the land would revert back to the United States government. In the case of the Santa Fe Railroad this grant gave them three million acres in Kansas alone extending from near Emporia west to the Colorado state line. Even though the land would be given to them, Santa Fe would somehow have to raise funds to build the railroad. It was in 1868 when ground-breaking ceremonies were held in Topeka to begin construction. By August of 1870 the rails had been laid to Emporia, by the end of 1871 it extended to Newton. In 9 years only 127 miles had been constructed with 285 more miles left to reach the Colorado state line. Construction activities now became furious with time being against them. However, on December 28, 1873 the state line was reached and cars began running from Missouri to Colorado. Thousands of acres of fertile prairie land was now ready to be settled. Since Santa Fe railroad was aware of the Mennonites preparing to migrate and that these people were excellent farmers as well as a thrifty and honest class of people, they wasted no time in enlisting the services of Carl B. Schmidt, an implement dealer in Lawrence, KS who had a convincing personality and could speak German fluently. Santa Fe was now ready to extend every effort to invite and solicit the Russian Mennonites to settle on these vast virgin acres of Kansas.

The return of the 12 delegates in September, 1873 marked the beginning of Mennonite emigration to America. In fact, while the delegates were preparing to embark at New York for their homes in Russia and were looking for places to settle in America (these were the Funk families who eventually settled northeast of Hillsboro, Kansas). After the delegates had given their favorable and encouraging report concerning their findings in Canada and the United States, emigration preparations began in earnest. On the basis of the reports colonists from the Chortitza and Bergthal Colonies along with KLEINE GEMEINDE people chose to go to Canada while the Molotschna colonists planned to settle in United States.

Now it was the Russian government’s turn to be alarmed as they began to realize that the colonists were reacting to the UKASE — which plainly indicated that if they could not conform to the new law they were better off leaving the country. The prospect of losing thousands of their best and most prosperous farmers resulted in serious feelings of consternation. In an effort to appease the colonists desiring to emigrate the government sent Adjutant General von Todtleben, a German Lutheran and well acquainted with the colonists, to persuade the Mennonites as much as possible to remain in Russia. The following excerpt taken from personal memoirs of Elder Jacob A. Wiebe who wrote this about what General Todtleben had to say to the Mennonites who, in May 1874, gathered in the church at Halbstadt and later also at Alexanderwohl:

“Then General von Todtleben in his full military uniform stepped before the great assembly, and looked about with the question: ‘Are all these emigrants?’ then he began to speak, loud and distinctly, in pure German: ‘His majesty, Czar Alexander, has sent me to you and I am to tell you he loves you, you are worthy to dwell in this empire, why do you have it in mind to emigrate? One hundred years your fathers have been in this land, you enjoy it here, you have fine churches, fine houses and gardens, you need not work yourselves, the work is being done without you, all you have to do is to look after the work, you can hire Russian laborers at low wages. Why will you emigrate? When you come to America you will have to dig trees, weed the roots and break the prairies and do all of the work yourself. Here you have it as fine as you wish.’ ”

“And so the high official worked very hard against emigration; he was faithful and true to his duty, and later made an offer, that those who did not like to serve in military duty, and take weapons, they could do sanitary service, nurse the sick, build bridges, or make plantations, that is, take care of woods and forests.”

Needless to say, this meaningful confrontation by the Russian government resulted in a good number of the families deciding to stay although this offer for alternative service, in lieu of military service, left them with fears that this could eventually result in a loss of all religious freedoms since the law provided for this service only for 20 years. However, in view of the tragic historical events which were to adversely affect the Mennonites in the ensuing 70 years, in the end their decision to stay proved to have been the wrong one to make. Nevertheless, those who stayed were now able to buy very cheap property from the thousands who had to dispose of their goods and possessions. Obtaining passports often proved to be time consuming and costly as corrupt government officials would accept gratuities “under the table” before providing the passports. As much as possible the emigrants tried to leave in groups so as to be supportive to each other. In two instances almost the entire congregation migrated en mass. The first was the KRIMMER MENNONITE BRETHREN group under the leadership of Elder Jacob A. Wiebe who left their homes in Crimea at the end of May, 1874 and settled in Marion County, KS, southeast of Hillsboro; the second was the Alexanderwohl congregation (less 7 families) of 800 people left in July, 1874; 475 of these were under the leadership of Jacob Buller and settled 15 miles north of Newton, KS and the rest, under the leadership of Dietrich Gaeddert settled southeast of Inman, KS.

Not only was the imperial UKAS of 1870 abolishing the rights in the Privilegium an incentive to leave Russia, an additional incentive to emigrate concerned the large number of landless colonists. By 1874, there were around 45,000 or more Mennonites in Russia. C. Henry Smith estimates that all of the “families” about two-thirds of them were without land. For them, the prospect of being able to be a landowner in America was a priority incentive. However, not having land or possessions to sell, most of them were unable to finance their trip to America.

In the spirit of love and brotherhood, provisions were made whereby no one was left behind due to lack of funds. In Russia, 70 individuals paid 11,785 rubles into a mutual loaning fund from which needy families could borrow without interest for periods of 1 to 5 years. In the meantime, Mennonites in America also organized committees through which to provide in various ways for the immigrants from Prussia and Russia. At first there was the Western Board of Guardians and the Eastern Aid Committee who soon merged as the Mennonite Board of Guardians with Christian Krehbiel as president, David Goertz as secretary, John F. Funk as treasurer and Bernhard Warkentin as agent. Through the efforts of this committee, $150,000 were collected and deposited in the Banks of New York from which to make loans to the immigrants at reasonable rates of interest. This committee also contracted with the Red Star Line (owned by Quakers) and the Inman Line to have their passenger ships bring immigrants over from European ports - usually from Liverpool, England or Hamburg, Germany and were brought to Philadelphia by the Red Star Line and to New York by the Inman Line. As per arrangements by this committee steamship passage cost $42.00 per person. Arrangements were also made to meet the immigrants on arrival and get them in contact with the various railroad land agents. Those desiring to go to Kansas usually met with C. B. Schmidt who facilitated travel arrangements to get to Topeka after which the appropriate land sales were transacted, usually by Mr. Schmidt.

The first ship to bring Russian Mennonites to America was the Frisia arriving in New York in May, 1873. On July 15, 1874, the ship called City of Brooklyn brought the entire Crimean Church group into New York harbor. The large Alexanderwohl group was divided into 2 groups: Jacob Buller’s group arrived in New York aboard the Cimbria on Aug. 27, 1874 and Dietrich Gaeddert’s group on the Teutonia arrived on Sept. 3, 1874. Generally the ocean voyage took 2 to 3 weeks. While aboard ship the immigrants had to furnish their own food which consisted primarily of toasted zwiebach and dried meats plus whatever else could be preserved for this time of their trip. One interesting adjustment which the immigrants had to make on leaving Russia was to change their calendars to the western or Gregorian calendar which was 12 days ahead of the Russian calendar.

In Kansas the Mennonites settled primarily in Marion, McPherson, Harvey, Reno, Barton, and Butler counties. Most of the railroad land in those counties sold for two to seven dollars per acre. According to C. Henry Smith approximately 18,000 Mennonites came to North America from Russia between 1873 and 1884: 8000 of these settled in Canada (mostly in Manitoba) and the rest in the United States. Because of the milder winters in Kansas, which the settlers felt was more like Russia where they had learned to raise the Turkey Red Wheat they had now brought along to plant here in Kansas. Half of those coming to the United States came to Kansas (at least 5000). In just a few years, it was very apparent how uncanny the Mennonites had been in choosing their farmland that was fertile, tilled easily and a reasonably high water table. Soon they were raising wheat that was making up to 25 bushels per acre.

Today (1984) there are no Mennonites left in the Chortitza or Molotschna Colonies, nor in any of their daughter colonies except or Orenburg - it is estimated there may be around 1000 Mennonites there and about an equal number in Pleschanowa. It is variously estimated that there could be around 30,000 to 50,000 Mennonites in Russia today, most of them somewhere in Siberia. However, those still living in Soviet Russia are not free people and independent farmers as they once were. The low and high German language has been retained by some of them. When the Russians dissolved their villages and communities, they became a scattered people in an alien country. They are laborers on collective farms in in factories. Their children attend communist schools. The Russian government does not recognize the Mennonite Churches as a denomination and so most of them are somehow joined to or connected with the Baptists or some other evangelical congregation which has government recognition. Therefore it is not uncommon for the Mennonites to attend the organized Baptist church services in the forenoon and meet as a group of Mennonite believers informally on Sunday afternoons.

History now bears evidence that out of the original Prussian and Russian Mennonites has come a world membership of Mennonites of about 690,000; 235,000 in the United States, and around 92,000 in Canada, the rest are scattered out in over 40 countries of the world.

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