Waterloo County GenWeb

Mennonite Community in Waterloo County

Menno Simons (ca 1496-1561) was a Dutch religious reformer. In 1536 he left the Roman Catholic priesthood because of his disagreement of infant baptism and other Catholic teachings. He organized and led the less aggressive division of Anabaptists in Germany and Holland. The name Mennonites is derived from his name, although he did not actually found the sect. The Mennonites were a Protestant sect which arose from Swiss Anabaptists. They were also called Swiss Brethren

Settlement of Waterloo County began in 1800 by Joseph Schoerg and Samuel Beizner, Jr. , Mennonites, from Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Other settlers followed. In 1805 a company formed in Pennsylvania purchased 60,000 acres (most of Block 2, Grand River Indian Lands- later known as Waterloo Township). Settlers came from Pennsylvania typically by Conestoga wagons. Most settlers purchased land title deeds directly form Richard Beasley. It was later found out that Richard Beastly did not have clear title to Block 2 and the settlers deeds were invalid. The settlers were forced to ask for relief from their home country.