“Waterloo county is noted for the eccentricities of its winding roads, which apparently go nowhere in particular, but somehow manage to arrive.” Orpheus Moyer Schantz
This site tells the story of my ancestors, Mennonites who migrated from Switzerland to the British North American colony of Pennsylvania in the early 18th century, then to Waterloo County, Upper Canada, in the early decades of the 19th century. I wrote this partly as a record for my children and grandchildren and partly as an exploration for myself. You can follow this story of migration by clicking here, then following the NEXT links at the bottom of each page. Alternatively, this story is accessible under “The History” on the menu at the top of the page.
To support the story, I created some reference materials—maps, ancestor trees for my 4 grandparents (my father’s parents, Elias Martin and Annie Brox, and my maternal grandparents, Peter Martin and Lovina Martin, as well as some of the Pennsylvania families from whom I am descended) and a few other things. These materials are linked from relevant places in the story, and are accessible under “Reference” on the menu. Under “Ancestors” on the menu, you can find the migration stories of my various ancestral families, from Europe to Pennsylvania and then to Canada.
Finally, I have written some personal reflections on my experience as part of this story, on how this ancestry affected me, on the impact of exploring this history on how I understand myself, and on random ideas that spring from this history. This material is more blog-like and non-sequential, and is collected under “Commentary” in the menu.
I hope you find something in here to interest you. If you want to be notified of new content when I post it, please click FOLLOW in the right sidebar.
Peace!
Rick Martin
Kitchener, Ontario
March 2020
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Preface: Notes on Reading this Story
500 Years of Migration 