C. Henry Smith, The Coming of the Russian Mennonites

I recently received an interesting book written by an early and (as far as I know; please correct me if you know otherwise) generally reliable Mennonite historian: C. Henry Smith. A professor of history at several Mennonite schools and colleges (e.g.,  Elkhart Institute, Goshen College, Bethel College, Bluffton College), Smith wrote a number of works about the Mennonites, including:

• The Mennonites: A Brief History of Their Origin and Later Development in both Europe and America (Berne, IN: Mennonite Book Concern, 1920). Available online here.


• The Mennonites of America (Scottdale, PA: Mennonite Publishing House, 1909). Available online here.

Both of those more well-known works are worth reading more than once; I suspect the same will be true of a book I only recently discovered: Smith’s The Coming of the Russian Mennonites: An Episode in the Settling of the Last Frontier, 1874–1884 (Berne, IN. : Mennonite Book Concern, 1927).

The table of contents lists the following chapters:

1. The Ancestral Home in Prussia
2. A Century in the Land of the Czars
3. Spying out the Promised Land
4. A Petition That Miscarried
5. Beginning the Great Trek
6. Lending a Helping Hand
7. Establishing Frontier Homes: Kansas
8. Establishing Frontier Homes: Dakota—Minnesota—Nebraska
9. Establishing Frontier Homes: Manitoba
10. Transplanting a Bit of Russia
11. The Little Red School House
12. The Organized Church
13. Keeping the Faith

As far as I can tell, no Bullers are mentioned in the book—but at least one member of our family is both mentioned (p. 175) and pictured (opposite p. 100): the Reverend Isaac Peters, Grandma Malinda’s great-grandfather (see further here).

One other intriguing lead appears on page 174 and the photo opposite. Mention is made of Heinrich Epp of Elizabeththal (Molotschna), and the caption under his photo identifies him as the founder of the Henderson “Colony” (i.e., village). What is interesting is that it appears (this is only a hunch for now that awaits further investigation) that Heinrich Epp was the older brother of our own ancestor, Margaretha Epp Buller, that is, wife of Peter P. If this proves to be the case, then not only will we have learned a little more about our own broader family (the Epp part), but we will also gain greater insight into another instance of Buller matrilocality.

But enough talking about the book; it is far better to read the book. Thanks to U.S. copyright law, anyone reading this blog can also read the book for free. The Coming of the Russian Mennonites was published in the U.S. in 1927, so it is now in the public domain. That means it is legal for us all to read a scan of my copy, now converted into a handy (although large) PDF file. If you want to read the book for yourself, feel free to download it to your computer or device and read it on your preferred app. The 41 MB file has been posted and will remain accessible here. Beatus lectio!